The Last Blog?

The only negative thing the last day of class being next week, is that my teachers have decided to make a lot of work due next week. So between now and Wednesday, I have to put in time to get my work done. It's really not that much. It's just taking the time out to get it done that seems to be the challenging part. It's okay though, I know that I am going to get everything done and make sure that I do everything well like always. Right now, my motivation is knowing that it's the end and I only have a few more days and I am completely done with school...until next semester anyway.

My schedule for next semester is so weird. I'm actually going to take a 5:30 class! After that I have a lab at freaking 7:10 at night! I do not know how this is going to turn out, but I am PATIENTLY waiting for next semester. I am not anxious or anything. The summer can go as slow as it pleases with no complaints from me. I just realized that this is my last blog. Sad Face, lol, who knows maybe I will feel the need for blogging in the future.....

Once Again, No more Rain

It's raining again. I have heard that April showers bring May flowers but this is getting ridiculous. I am so tired of my pants getting so wet that they stick to me. I feel like I should take another shower. I have to constantly worry about my hair getting wet and it is just a mess. With all of this rain May shouldn't be the only month with beautiful flowers. We should have the rest of the year to just be perfect. Well, I know that will not happen but it sure does sound nice. The only time that the rain is okay is at night when I am sleeping. I have no idea why, but I get the best sleep when it rains. I know that I am not the only person that thinks like that, so I wonder what is it about the rain that makes people sleep better than usual. If anyone finds out, be sure to let me know. I hope that it does not rain this weekend. It feels like I was saying this same stuff last weekend. It’s like every weekend I hope and pray that it does not rain. That’s pitiful. Maybe I should start embracing the rain instead of hoping it doesn’t come.

Not a Part of it, Yet a Part of Me

Asnanti Jones
Mr. Mynatt
Sociology Extra Credit
April 18, 2008

Growing up, I was forced into a religion like most people are before they enter adulthood. I always felt that my circumstance was a lot different than most people that I have encountered throughout my life. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, Birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and anything else that was usually considered Holidays or events to look forward to were anything but that for me. When I was aware that these glorious times of celebration were on their way, I wanted to get under a rock and hide. When your mom is a Jehovah’s Witness, those holidays do not exist.

Not long after I was born, my mother began to study with Jehovah’s Witnesses. She found so much strength and love in her studying that she left her horrible living arrangements and moved to start a happier life as a Jehovah’s Witness. She later was baptized and has been a Jehovah’s Witness every since with no doubts. With her love and devotion as a Jehovah’s Witness and myself being the youngest of her children, I was obligated to be just as involved as she was, but I soon had another agenda.

There are several rumors about Jehovah’s Witnesses. I feel Jehovah’s Witnesses would gain more respect and less criticism if people actually took the time out to find out the truth of what they believe. Many rumors leave people to believe that Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe in God or Christ. In my opinion, this rumor is based upon pure ignorance and lack of common sense. In the earliest of Christian Bibles, one will find that God’s name is Jehovah. Hence, they are represented by the title Jehovah’s Witnesses. They believe that they are indeed witnesses of Jehovah God. However, I have found that the major difference between Jehovah’s Witnesses and other Protestants is they do not believe in the Trinity. They believe that God is one being. His son, Christ Jesus, is another being, and his Holy Spirit is another separate being. Also, they do not attend “church”. Their place of worship is called the Kingdom Hall. Sometimes they may refer to it as the Hall for short.

They have different congregational meetings that they attend through out the week. Each congregation has different times that they meet. The usual events are three times a week. Every Kingdom Hall has more than one congregation that meets there at a Kingdom Hall at different times. Each congregation also has a different name. Many times the congregation will be named after parts of the city near the location of the Kingdom Hall. For instance, a Kingdom Hall located in the Raleigh area of Memphis, may have congregations by the names of Raleigh, Frayser, or North (North Memphis). Along with their scheduled meeting times, they also meet for field service. Field service is the activity in which they take part in witnessing to others. The go around from door to door trying to reach people who may want knowledge of God to have a relationship with him. Sometimes, they find people who are just interesting in Jehovah’s Witnesses and want to learn more about them.

I have learned to understand why Jehovah’s Witnesses do not celebrate holidays. Every holiday was made up by man. Some of the holidays were created by Pagans. Pagans are not believers of the Christianity, Jewish, or Islamic beliefs. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe in Christ, therefore they are Christians so it really make sense to celebrate and become involved in holidays that were created by people who do not believe in Christ. How can they not celebrate Christmas, when it is to celebrate the birth of Christ? Jehovah’s Witnesses also choose not to be involved in holidays because there are so many other additions to holidays that do not pertain to the meaning of the holiday, such as Santa Claus. Also, they have found evidence that Christ was not born on December 25, so they do not feel it should be celebrated. However, Jehovah’s Witnesses do celebrate anniversaries.

There are similarities as well as differences in the atmosphere of the Kingdom Hall and the Church. Both include singing and men speaking to the congregation about different topics. I have noticed In African American churches, people express themselves with shouting, dancing, and standing during the service. In the Kingdom Hall, the congregation sits and quietly listens until it is time for everyone to stand and sing from their song books.

Of course, there is so much more to Jehovah’s Witnesses as well as an abundance of similarities between them and other Protestants. Before you just run with a rumor that you have heard, talk to them for yourself. Instead of hiding when they come to your house or approach you on the street, just ask them about some of the things that you have heard. They won’t hesitate to answer your questions. Although I have chosen not to get baptized as a Jehovah’s Witness (nor am I baptized in any religion), I still have the upmost respect for them and their witnessing. Since I was raised in that religion, many of the values that I learned there are still attached to me today. I have decided to attend church because I do enjoy the atmosphere more and I feel more comfortable in Church than I have at the Kingdom Hall. My mother has not disowned me and I still respect her decision to be a Jehovah’s Witness.

Ranting about my class.........

I hate my Art class. It is the most unorganized mess that I have ever been apart of. We have done so much work in the class, but we barely get grades back for them. We get our test grades back weeks after the test, but we don't get the grades back for papers or assignments that we have done. The class is very large but we have three teachers in the class and some other people whose names are on our syllabus but we don't even know who they are. So I feel that there is no reason why our assignments are not being graded. Granted, the class is about 150 people, but they should not have given us so many assignments if they knew that they were not going to grade everything. Everything that we do in the class is so unorganized and random. The teachers are always just adding things to the course that are not in the syllabus. I just do not understand why this class has to be so chaotic. I have done every assignment that they have given and I have done it correctly so I am going to be super pissed if my grade is less than a B. I have passed every test that we have had, and I have only been absent once the entire semester. I can't wait for it to be over.

Thoughts and my paper

It was so weird this morning when I woke up to realize that I did not set my alarm last night. This is the first, or maybe the second time during this entire semester that this has happened. I am so glad that I woke up in just enough time to throw on some clothes and make it to class. I got in kind of late, so that wasn't the smart thing especially since it's been happening everyday this weekend as well as last weekend. Lol, I know it's bad but I am going to work on it. I know that I can not afford to start slacking just as we get closer to the end of the semester. It's difficult to keep pushing myself to keep up with school since I can see the end, but there are no excuses so I'm going get back on track this week. I have been trying to decide what to do about my paper. I feel like I have said all that I have to say, given all the information that there is to give and I am out of juice. Tomorrow, I am going to get them all together and read them all as if it was one paper. Hopefully, some new ideas will come and maybe I will be able to reconstruct it myself.

Let's Wrap it Up!! (He-He)

Another week down for this semester and it has ended beautifully. After the storm and roughness of yesterday, we conclude this week with warm sun rays and cool breezes. I should write poetry or something, lol. Seriously though, the weather should be like this more often. Not too much because we won't appreciate it anymore if it becomes all that we know. I hope the weather is going to be nice for the weekend but I heard that it is supposed to be cold. I don't want it to be because I like to be out and about getting my car wash wearing clothes that make my mother frown. She is always talking about the way that I dress, but if that is the only really negative thing she has to say about me, I think that she will be okay. It could be a lot worse! Regardless of how the weather looks, I still have to attend my brother's wedding which should be very interesting. My family is so.....funny. I can't wait to see everyone. I haven't been with my whole family at once since my graduation from high school, so I know that they will ask me over, and over, and over again, "How is college?" How is everything going?" "Are you still with that guy that we met at your graduation party?" All of the questions are okay, except the last one. I hate having to tell everyone that we are not together anymore because it was a year and a half and it's hard explaining to people why I broke up with him. I have so many reasons that I don't want to tell everyone every single thing. So I just have to keep it at, "He just didn't make me happy anymore and I knew that I would better without him." This statement is hella true, but since I know that there was so much more to it, I want so badly to tell people everything. As long as I stick to my line, I will be just great. That's enough, HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND!

Nouveau métier pour moi (new job for me)

So, I started my new job yesterday and I like it. It's at a massage clinic. I'm a sales associate which means that I will still get to deal with customers which is something that I enjoy doing. Once I get over being "the new girl" I feel that this job will be fun. The people so far seem nice, but we all know that everyone seems nice at first until you get to gossipers. Once you find out the gossipers and the gossip, every person changes, but that's fine with me because I am there to do my best at a job, not make friends. My business will remain just what it is, MINE! Lol, but I am looking forward to this new experience. I am excited about my third ever job. It's going to be a challenging to go to two jobs and be a full time student, but I am ready for the thrill. This new job is only three days for about 15 hours a week, my regular job is 16 hrs a week and school is another 15 hours a week. Sounds bad when I put it like that. Who cares, I only have to push out school for another few weeks and then my regular job and school will no longer be an issue since the job is work study. Once school is over, I am going to hit pavement and find something else. Doing my taxes next year is going to difficult!

Just a Wednesday

I hope that I get some good advice on my paper tomorrow for English because I pushed out all that I could and I didn't have a full third page. Once I wrote what I thought a good solution would be and what the government is already doing to for minimum wage, there wasn't too much more that I could write about. I will find out tomorrow what others have to say. I was finally able to catch up on my sleep and I feel so much better now. I had a nap yesterday, I slept really good last night, and since my class wasn't until 11:30, I took another nap this morning after I woke up. Lol, I know it sounds like a lot, but I needed it! I woke up feeling so refreshed and ready to start my day. I had a dream this morning about Diddy and it was hilarious. I woke up telling my roomy about, and all that we could do was laugh about it. I was happy to find out that I got a 90 on my Sociology test. Looks like I don't have anything to do today and I am so glad. I really want to get my nails done, but I may not.

Today or Tomorrow

Take away the hurt and take away the sorrow
I don’t want to feel it today or tomorrow
The pain is a receipt for the actions that I chose
But still I feel that all of it should go
Forgive me for challenging myself and the human I am
Thinking that I could handle more than I can
I pray to my forgiving GOD, my friend
Honestly this time, it will not happen again
You delivered me from it and still I wanted
So stupid of me to face the haunted
Please, Take away the hurt and take away the sorrow
I don’t want to feel it today or tomorrow

Sleepy Me

I am so tired. I decided that I be grown this weekend and go out every night. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. All three days I got up early, and got in late. Not very smart of me. I thought that I would get my sleep Monday since my class is not until 11:30 but I had to get up early to wash my clothes since I knew there would be no one washing that early on a Monday. I headed to class to find out it was cancelled and I could not go to sleep then because I had to be at work at 12:30. So I just chilled in my room until I had to be at work. Then, my friends dragged me to the Rec. when I got off of work. My other friend dragged me to the Field House to watch the game, after we got hot wings. I finally got to sleep a little after midnight after I had to fold my clothes from washing that morning. Just when it seemed as if I was going to get some sleep, I had to get up at 7 am for my 8 am class where I had to dress up. Uh, just great. Today was the day that I had four classes, but the end is finally here. Once I get off of work, I am going to take a nice long bath, get something to eat, and just sleep. I don't want anyone to call and tell me anything. My phone will be put on silent and my snoring will be turned on loud.

My Opinion of Minimum Wage: Is it Too Harsh?

About minimum wage. In my opinion paper, I basically bashed anyone who felt that minimum wage should always increase. I feel kind of weird about that now because I am not sure how I feel about the issue. In my paper, I pointed out that people pursued secondary education that they would be less likely to be stuck with a job paying minimum wage. I think that most job that pay minimum wage are for teenagers and people who are in school because it's minimal labor that employers need to have done. Also I feel like it is not very smart for people to suggest a higher minimum wage because a higher minimum wage means the living wage (cost of living) will also be raised. Even though some of my research says that the living wage will not be raised very much, more is more in my opinion. So in the end, raising minimum wage will not do much good. All in all, if you are not driven enough to pursue some form of secondary education such as college or trade school, then you are basically choosing to accept minimum wage, so why complain about it? After I gave my opinions some thought, I started to feel bad because of the people that I have heard talk about minimum wage. Some people have some of the saddest stories about how they are barely making it. If a person does not have any kind of disability, why can't they involve themselves in the necessary procedures to gain further knowledge of higher paying positions?

Ending Another Week

I'm so upset that I had to walk to class another day in the rain. I am just glad that it was only one class today and not four like it was yesterday. I took a test in sociology this morning and I think I did really well. I hate it when I feel that I have done really well on a test and I get back a c or something. That is so frustrating. I am just going to pray about it and have faith since I know that I studied. This weekend should be worry free. The only assignment that I have to think about is the last part of my paper. I am so happy to not have any major worries. I always take advantage of these times when they present themselves. Hopefully, the rain will stop and I will be able to enjoy some sun this weekend as well, but if not, I will be okay with knowing that I don't have any homework. It’s hard to believe that this semester is coming to a close. I can not wait! The only thing that I will miss is my dorm room. I wish that I could stay there during the summer but that is only if I want to take summer classes and that is not going to happen anytime soon unless I fail a class and have no other option. I can not wait to see what the summer holds for me, hopefully good stuff.

Race.....Again....YAY!!!!!

As I have stated before, race isn't an issue for me, it's more of an interest. Even though I get upset and easily offended when I talk about race, it is still one of my favorite subjects to discuss. I hate that some people can not just face the real truth that everyone is different. Stop trying to tell the world all of the bs about we are the same. No, there are different races of people as well as different cultures. Granted, we may find similarities with each other, but I do not feel people can or will ever look past skin color. With that being said, every difference that people have can or will never be looked past. Even people with disabilities are viewed differently. As much as we all want to look past differences and give everyone equal opportunity, it's not going to happen. Honestly, I have never been involved in a racial conversation that has ever had a conclusion. Race is too broad of a subject for people to agree upon. Everyone has their own viewpoint which is bias. It will always be a topic that people have to agree to disagree. These are just my cotton pickin opinions.

Stupid Granny.......

So, today's blog can not top yesterday's blog about my stripper adventure sorry. When I was driving to the store, I was listening to the radio and singing along, as usual, when this freaking old lady decided she wanted to cross the street. I tried to stop, but the wet streets didn't let me. I slid right into her in that wheel chair. My car has some dents in it, and my windshield broke into many, many pieces. I was so pissed. I just got my car two weeks ago! I got out of the car to check on the granny, and she was just lying there bleeding to death. I'm so screwed! All I could think about was why in the world did she roll out in front of my car? That was not funny. I have to call insurance people and I still have to tell my mom, she may get upset with me. Any who, I picked up the old grandma and tossed her to the nearest gas station. Before I dropped her off, I took my tag off my car so no one could identify me. I made it to my dorm and took a shower and went to bed. Some day, huh? Okay, so april fools. This entire story is false.