Jesus is my Homeboy!

So yesterday at work was a very sad and stressful day. My co-worker found that her daughter was killed in Irag by a roadside bomb. That was Friday. On Thursday night at work she was talking about how she had just talked to her daughter that day and was planning what to do when her daughter comes home on leave over Christmas. And then this happens not even a full day latter. Today at work I found out that this daughter had worked at my store before joining the Army. My bosses all knew this young lady and were her friends. My store manager was also in the same troop (or something very close to this) as this girl. He was crying, everyone was. I was putting away my shampoo and straightening the face washes with tears running down my cheeks. And the next thing that I was thinking was .... You know what, I've never met this girl, but I'll never see her smile or hear her laugh. She is no more. And it so hard right now to think of her not being here. And it just struck me that I have never thought of the numbers that I hear on t.v. or read in the paper as a person. Someone who laughs, someone who cries and someone that is a brother, daughter or parent. I've never thought of that before. There are so many lives that have passed without me knowing or caring and I want to cry on behalf of everyone. Because they gave up their life for me to have this freedom and for me to be able to live a life for years without even thinking of who they were or what they are doing for me.

With all of this said, I truly am grieving over the life of someone that I have never met.

Father thank you for their lives and their dedication to this country. Thank you for the parents of these children who have been by their sides even to the end.

God I pray that you would help me to realize the cost of my freedom and what I can do to help others obtain freedom at what ever cost it may need.

My 21st Birthday was yesterday... and it sucked!! and so did my party on Saturday. I will never again celebrate my birthday. I hate it anyways. I wish that I had the option of forgetting it, but to many papers and what not ask for it.

dam the world!

This was just so wrong on a lot of different levels, that I thought I should blognapp it in a way and share it with you lovely people!

When it comes to parasites, it's all about perspective. You may call a lifetime of growing and feeding off another organism lazy, but we call it opportunistic. In fact, these life-sucking go-getters have managed to carve out some of the most ingenious survival strategies in the world.

1. Cymothoa exigua: Biting your tongue, so you don't have to

When fish mommies want to strike fear in the hearts of their misbehaving fish babies, we suspect they draw on the chilling animal savagery of the Cymothoa exigua.

As a youngster, this nasty little parasitic crustacean begins a life of terror by fighting its way through the gills of its fish host of choice, the snapper.

Once there, it attaches itself to the fish's tongue and begins feeding on the rich blood pumping through the artery underneath. As the parasite grows, it drinks more blood and eventually causes the tongue to atrophy and disintegrate.

But does the Cymothoa mouth-squatter leave its fishy friend tongueless? Of course not. It does what any crafty parasite would do and replaces the old tongue with its own body.

The fish is actually able to use the parasite just like a normal tongue, only it has to share all the food with its new friend. Yes, the whole foster-tongue thing seems like a pretty nice gesture on the part of ol' Cymothoa --until you remember there was nothing wrong with the fish's old tongue in the first place.

2. Sacculina carcini: Reasons you shouldn't pick up a hitchhiker

If you ever have a choice between being possessed by the devil and being possessed by a Sacculina carcini, opt for the devil -- no contest.

A female sacculina begins life as a tiny free-floating slug in the sea, drifting around until she encounters a crab.

When that fateful day arrives, she finds a chink in the crab's armor (usually an elbow or leg joint) and thrusts a kind of hollow dagger into its body. After that, she (how to put this?) "injects" herself into the crab, sluicing through the dagger and leaving behind a husk.

Once inside, the jellylike sacculina starts to take over. She grows "roots" that extend to every part of the crab's body -- wrapping around its eyestalks and deep into its legs and arms. The female feeds and grows until eventually she pops out the top of the crab, and from this knobby protrusion, she will steer the Good Ship Unlucky Crab for the rest of their commingled life.

Packed full of parasite, the crab will forgo its own needs to serve those of its master. It won't molt, grow reproductive organs, or attempt to reproduce. It won't even regrow appendages, as healthy crabs can. Rather than waste the nutrients on itself, a host crab will hobble along and continue to look for food with which to feed its parasite master.

3. Filarial Worms: Proof you need thicker skin

Filarial worms are the nasty little suckers you can thank for lymphatic filariasis, which, according to the Pacific Program to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis, is the second-leading cause of permanent and long-term disability in the world. (Mental illness is No. 1.)

Filarial worms are round, thread-like parasites that travel from human to human via that harbinger of disease transmission, the mosquito.

How do they make the leap of host? In an interesting (if scary) example of parasite ingenuity, filarial worm embryos living underneath the skin can sense the onset of night, which is their cue to head upward to the skin's surface in order to increase their chances of being picked up by a passing 'skeeter.

Should they get sucked up, they grow into larvae within the mosquito's muscle fibers and then get themselves injected into new hosts.

Once they've returned to a human home, they open up a franchise in the family business -- Wreaking Havoc.

Filaria often lodge in the body's lymphatic system, where they can inflict any number of torturous symptoms, not the least of which involves carting your genitals off to the elephantiasis clinic in a wheelbarrow.

4. Guinea Worms: Exposing parts nobody wants to see

Where there are guinea worms, there is Guinea Worm Disease -- and that's usually in Africa.

When a human consumes water contaminated with guinea worms, the little buggers infiltrate their host's intestinal walls and commence mating. After conception, the males die off, and the females hang around for about a year, growing and eating.

Eventually, these slender ladies get bored and decide they need to lay some eggs. To do so, they make their way down the body to the lower extremities, where they bore a small hole through the skin.

The resulting lesion begins to fester and burn, which usually leads the host to plunge his or her foot into a soothing bucket of water. (Of course, in areas where an entire village shares a single water source, this helps spread the infection.)

Unfortunately for the sufferer, the water doesn't solve the problem of having a three-foot female worm dangling its genitalia out of your foot.

And to complicate matters, if you yank on that sucker, it'll break apart and could cause a fatal infection.

So how do you rid yourself of the not-so-little hitchhiker? You go see a doctor, who -- over the course of three or four weeks -- will kindly wind the worm around a stick, inch by agonizing inch. Not the most pleasant method, but certainly a proven one.

This cure for a guinea worm infection has been around so long, some believe it's where we get the snakes-around-a-staff symbol for medicine.

5. Leucochloridium paradoxum: Parasite for sore eyes

Prepare to be dazzled. This parasite's got a life cycle more mind-bending and chilling than an M. Night Shyamalan film.

Leucochloridium paradoxum are a type of fluke (a.k.a., parasitic flatworm) that prey on birds -- a fascinating turn of events considering they begin their lives as eggs in bird droppings.

Thus, the problem facing baby Leucochloridium paradoxum is, "How do I get myself back into one of those feathery things?"

Taking a page from Greek history, the infant flatworms rely on Trojan trickery. First, they hang out in the droppings until a snail happens along and eats the bird dung. Then they initiate their devious plan of action by taking up residence in the snail's eyestalks. (Sure, it sounds slimy and gross to us, but after a childhood spent living in bird feces, it's a step up.)

As they mature, the flukes become visible through the snail's translucent skin. And that's when things really get interesting.

To a bird, this fluke-filled eyestalk looks like a caterpillar. So the bird devours the stalk and ends up with a bellyful of Leucochloridium paradoxum that will, of course, lay eggs and begin the cycle again.

Meanwhile, the snail shakes its head, shops for an eye patch, and vows never to eat feces again.

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how come no one ever really reads my blogs? are they boring?

Things that I'm pondering

I've only ever had one friend that was male outside of boyfriends. and even then my boyfriends were more of a title than a close relationship.

It saddens me that I am only ever really around girls and getting advise from them. Now don't get me wrong, I love these relationships but at the same time I'm almost 21... shouldn't things be different now? I'm really ready for a change. I'm really wanting a close friendship with a guy right now.

Why did David ever have to leave?

I'm sick and tired of being where I am with God. I know that I am the only one at this point that is holding me back for a few key things. Such as, playing the guitar, learning a second language and teaching. I know that given just a little time and guidance by someone that will push me until I cry and then some, I know that I can do these things. I'm sick of giving up my battles so easily and not caring that I have given up OR not even noticing until a year has past and I've wasted time. aaarrrgggg... I am seriously going to explode if I don't get what is inside of me out of my system and let the world know who I am and not hide behind some jokes or some laughter. I want to be me and to bless other people. NO more of the "I" crap. It's killing me. Although I think most of the time that I have done something to be where I am or play the victim role while around others, it's just my pride or the lack there of. I really am sick of all of this. I want to walk in freedom and to have Jesus as the true center of my life... wholly and completely being my every breath and every thought.

But why is it not that way?

So... I really really need a job. And last night I applied at Walgreen's. I've worked there before (last  summer) and it was horrible. Do I really want to work there? I mean I really want to work at a place that I enjoy and that I can be excited about working there and going to work. I don't want it just to be me working there to pay the bills. that is not the right way to view your job. 

After 36 hours of labor and only 20 mins of pushing he's finally here!!!!
Asa Allen Christen Weckerly
6:18 pm on 6/18/07
5pounds 13 ounces
don't know the height...


when do you think that I can start making fun of my sister for the name?

So yep, I'm going to be an aunt today!!!

whooooohoooooo.

so yea, my sister is in labor at the moment. which is way cool!!!!!


I'll post more later!

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i hate my homework this week and the fact that the staff memebers aren't really doing anything for me to better understand the matierial and that we are reading or the stuff that we have to do for homework or the stuff that we are covering in class...
so basically i'm lost, people know it, and don't care
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