College in a Suitcase

So, today’s blog from our series has been removed by it’s authors. I could go on to the next one, but I feel like it’s a sign. Well, not really actually.

At any rate, it’s a Friday morning and I picked up an extra desk shift and now I’m asking myself why. I am soooooo tired. I want to go back to bed. I’m supposed to go to the abortion clinic to pray tomorrow, but I might just stay here and sleep because I’m going to be on duty tomorrow night and I’ll need the sleep.

I hope everyone has a good weekend. Tonight we’re doing our haunted trail and our weather looks craptastic. Joy. I hope it goes well.

Miss Lissy

Today my school’s Students for Life group did a day of silence, representing all the babies who die because of abortion who will never have a voice. My teachers were much more understanding than I thought they would be. It’s my friends and people who I know who aren’t understanding. This is a cause that matters a lot to me. Abortion is murder – there’s no way around that. I wonder if I would get the same scrutiny if I was silent for GLBT issues. There’s no way to know that.

At any rate. I digress. I should apologize to the owner of this next blog if I have offended them by including those highly political thoughts in with their review and if they want this review retracted, I will move it to their own post. If not, I’ll go on having my free speech.

From our series . . .

Name of Blog: The Copywriting Maven
Blog URL: http://www.copywritingmaven.com/
About the Author: She’s a copywriter with a lot of experience. That’s almost the only thing I could find about her.
What I Think of This Blog: I think she’s witty but it’s pretty video heavy. I almost always want something that I can read at work and this blog is not it.
Example of a Topic Covered: Last Friday Funny Video Early: Most Wonderful Time of the Year It’s a video – I’m at work so I couldn’t watch it.
Relevance to College Students: If you like videos and you want to be a copywriter – have at it!
Does This Blog Make It To My Blogs to Read Bookmarks?: No – too many videos for me to be able to read it on a consistent basis.

Have a good day everyone!

Miss Lissy

So I’m working on getting things back to normal. Today is my first day back at work, I’m seeing the counselor today, and I’m also getting back to my regular swing of things in blogging. I have a lot of homework that needs to be done after missing class yesterday, but I don’t want to miss again tomorrow. I slept for 12 hours on Monday night because it was the first time that I could actually sleep and sleep well since the accident. I missed all of my classes. But it was necessary. Anyways, onto reviewing today’s blog, with a title that I find ironic.

Name of Blog: Good Karma
Blog URL: http://karmawilson.com/goodkarma/
About the Author: Karma grew up with only 3 TV channels with a single mom in Idaho. She loved to read and even tried to read while biking! (I did this – the trick is training wheels karma – they keep you balanced so you can read). She loves fantasy and historical fiction. Her mother was a professional writer and Karma considered it something she never wanted to be. After they got a computer was when she wrote her first children’s book which was released in 2002. She’s had over 30 books published! (Which I think is super awesome). Her and her family have horses (which I also think is cool).
What I Think of This Blog: I like it. I mean, I don’t want to write for children at this point, but that might change. I think she has a fun voice and to me at least she is very successful so I like it.
Example of a Topic Covered: Now I must read this book! It’s about a book that’s making headlines in good ways and in slightly controversial ways.
Relevance to College Students: It’s probably not very relevant unless you plan on writing children’s books.
Does This Blog Make It To My Blogs to Read Bookmarks?: Hmmmm – I want to say yes on the one hand because I really like it, but at the same time, I have so many blogs. Oh well, I will say yes.

Miss Lissy

The internet’s down as I write this post. But it’s something that needs to be written. If those two sentences don’t tell you enough, I’m taking a break from the series to write this post.

This isn’t an easy post to write – and sometimes I think that I should wait to write it until I’m a little more removed from the situation. The events which I’m writing about happened yesterday. And yes, it does make me cry to write this. This was the scariest thing I have ever experienced.

Yesterday started out as a good day. I got to see friends who I hadn’t seen in a long time. I got to see my fiancée who I hadn’t seen in a while. I got to be in his arms and get a hug – that was great. Right before I left, the five of us took a picture in front of the pet shop. In that picture I’m smiling and I’m happy. And I was. I really was. Nothing could go wrong. I was on top of the world.

We said our good-byes. We left, headed in very different directions. I had been driving for about an hour, on my way back to school. I started getting sleepy, but this is nothing that hadn’t happened before and I was like, I’ll be fine.

Well, I will tell you the truth. I was not fine. People can talk all they want about drinking and driving and texting and driving and yes those things are dangerous, but what I did yesterday, was also very dangerous.

I fell asleep behind the wheel. Going 65 on the freeway. I’m pretty sure my cruise control was on, but I don’t remember exactly – we had been slowing down before, Packer traffic, so I don’t remember if I turned it back on or not. I was driving in the right hand lane. I crossed one whole lane of traffic, while asleep, without hitting anyone. I woke up as I was going over the rumble strip. I tried to correct and get back on the highway, but I was already too far in the ditch and the ditch was too deep, my car swerved into the ditch and rolled with me in it. I feel so irresponsible because the accident was my fault.

If I had pictures other than the ones on my phone, I would post them. Actually, I might have been in the paper my mom said. If the internet was working, I would look it up. I tell you one thing. When I crashed, I got up and I got out of that car. Looking at my car, you would not know that I was all right. I have a small cut on my finger and I’m badly bruised and very sore, but I’m alive. I was wearing my seatbelt and I tell you the truth, God must have been with me.

The electrical part of the car still worked enough for me to get out of the car. The music was still eerily playing – David Ball was in the CD player at the time. The electric windows still worked thankfully and the people who stopped were able to help me get out. I literally walked away from the crash.

And I think of how lucky I am. And how God was with me. God must have been watching over me because I think back to like Zach and Ryan, who lost their lives last summer in a car accident and Ashley, who also lost her life in a car accident less than a week after we all graduated from high school. I wonder why I lived and walked away without a scratch when they did not. God was with me, there in that car, and he must have greater plans for me.

To all the people who stopped to help, I want to say thank you. Thank you for stopping to help and calling 911. My cell phone was telling me that it could not complete the call when I was dialing 911 from inside my car and I was so scared. You were there right away, calling 911 and helping me out.

I was about an hour from my home, but I wasn’t even injured enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room. When I said I walked away from this, I meant it – literally. I asked, “Well, what do you do with me, since I’m not from around here and my parents won’t be here for like an hour.” They took me to Culver’s. I couldn’t stop crying. I had gotten a hold of Nick earlier, shortly after I crashed and when they took me to Culver’s, I called him. I stayed on the phone with him the whole time I was there. He told me to just keep talking and he saved me from completely losing it. He kept me calm. I am so thankful that the Lord has given him to me.

We went to where the car had been towed to get my stuff out of it. The car is a wreck. The front passenger side window completely shattered. The windshield on the driver’s side has huge cracks. The whole driver’s side is lower than the rest of the car. The trunk popped open in the process and all my stuff flew out. I’m typing this on my computer, which despite being thrown from the car is okay. Completely okay.

And I think of all the little lucky things, like how my friends were in my car earlier so that means I moved my stuff to the trunk and it wasn’t flying around in the car as I crashed. I never hit my head, on anything. I was wearing my seat belt. God was with me, protecting me.

I’ve learned a bunch of things from this. All things I already knew, but all things that needed to be emphasized.

-I learned that God is great and He is with me. I already knew that, but yesterday I really saw His hand. If you want to ask me if I prayed when I realized I was crashing, but I had just woken up, my only thought was what do I do. I’ll be honest, I didn’t pray and I wish I had, but I was still trying to figure out how I ended up over here. It all happened so fast and so slow all at once. God was still with me though.

-I learned to wear my seat belt. There’s only been a few times where I haven’t worn my seat belt but I will never do that again. If I hadn’t been belted in, my injuries would be much much worse and it’s likely that I would be dead.

-I learned that if you are tired, you should stop and sleep. Don’t think you can make it. Because yeah, you will make it sometimes, but there are also times you won’t. And let me tell you, waking up to that was the scariest thing ever. I couldn’t sleep last night because of it. I closed my eyes and I just saw it happening over and over again. It was about 2 AM I think before I fell asleep and I tried to sleep at 11:30 and the only way I could was to fall asleep on my friend’s futon watching Aladdin.

-I learned that people are still good. I was shown so much kindness yesterday. It’s unbelievable how many people stopped. Sometimes I get down on society because we feel so cold, but we are usually genuinely good to each other when it matters. Accidents and tragedies bring communities together.

-I learned that my parents love me. I didn’t hear it a lot growing up, but their actions showed me yesterday that they do. I love them – I hope they know that and I hope I never take them for granted again.

-I learned that life is too short. I don’t know how to expand on this, but I don’t want to put my dreams on hold. Some of them have to be, like my wedding, because I can’t be married to Nick and have him be so far away. If something like this happened again, I would want him to be there as my husband. I mean, I still wanted him to be there, but it was manageable. I still want him to be here in fact. But don’t put off things for tomorrow that you could do today. Especially in telling people you love them.

So that’s all I have to say. That’s what happened, that’s what I learned. I hope you all are well. I hope you know how much it has helped me to write down all of this.

Miss Lissy

This post will be my 100th post. Wow – that’s all I really have to say. It seems like a lot, but at the same time not a lot. I dunno. Tonight is a busy night at work. But never fear, I will bring another blog review from this lovely list.

Name of Blog: PureBlogging
Blog URL: http://www.pureblogging.com/
About the Author(s): It was started by David Culpepper but it’s other contributers include Michael Martine, Steven Snell, Sharon Hurley Hall, Steven Finch, Misti Sandefir, Jim Smoot, Kevin Ott, and Kathryn Vercillo.
What I Think of This Blog: I really like it. I think it’s very helpful if you’re a blogger. They do the continue reading on some posts, but not on all of them. That’s a little more forgivable.
Example of a Topic Covered: DMOZ Editor Accused of Extortion It’s quite interesting.
Relevance to College Students: I think that if you’re a college blogger this would be very, very helpful.
Does This Blog Make It To My Blogs to Read Bookmarks?: Yes

Have a great day

Miss Lissy

Hello everyone – Just a quick note, that my posting schedule will be changing a bit. I want to try and spend more time on my school work and less time online. While this means that I won’t be posting every day, I will still try to post regularly. You can expect, almost for sure, a post on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I’ll also occasionally post on Saturdays. Any other posts are unexpected, but I hope welcome surprises.

But thanks to the lovely Kathryn, we will be continuing our series on blogs.

Name of Blog: The Writing Bug
Blog URL: http://the-writing-bug.blogspot.com/
About the Author: Kerrie is a freelancer who also happens to be the director of the Northern Colorado Writers. She has been published in some Chicken Soup for the Soul books and has had her own children’s book published! She also used to be a teacher.
What I Think of This Blog: I really like it! I like her honest voice that doesn’t sound preachy but yet conveys helpful information. I also like the way she seems very down to earth. Her credentials (at least to me) are pretty impressive and she could be snooty about it, but she isn’t (in my opinion).
Example of a Topic Covered: What Does Your E-mail Say About You? A very helpful post on having a professional e-mail. Do you have one? I do. But this is something I am wondering about – what do I change it to after I’m married? Do I keep the e-mail I have for simplicity’s sake, or do I switch it to reflect my married name, which I will be going by? (Oh what silly things I ponder sometimes).
Relevance to College Students: If you are a college student who also has hopes of being a full-time writer (as I do), I would say this blog is 100 % relevant to you.
Does This Blog Make It To My Blogs to Read Bookmarks?: Yes! I love it.

I hope everyone has a fantastic day!

Miss Lissy

So, I’m writing you another one of these lovely blog posts as I sit here at work, which is why I entitled it, partially, women with work, because I am a working woman. And most of the time, most of the time I like my desk job, but I would also like the sleep. Though, to be honest, I’m not sure when else I would work at the desk. My nights are jam packed full. Also, it’s very hot in this building. I want to take off my sweatshirt, but I wasn’t planning on needing to, so the tank top underneath is a little less than appropriate. So I’ll roll up my sleeves and stick with it.

So, another day with the list, eh?

Name of Blog: Men with Pens
Blog URL: http://menwithpens.ca/
About the Author(s): There are five of them and I’ll pick out the most interesting details about them each:
-James Chartrand: A Canadian (Quebec) teacher/copywriter/problogger/just about everything who loves blue, his kids, and ice skating
-Harrison McLeod: An American (Las Vegas) graphic designer/web designer who loves red, reading books, and archery.
-Charlie Pabst (like the alcohol?): An American (Seattle) writer/graphic designer/musician/just about everything who can climb large rocks which makes him brave and cool. (The only one without a color as well).
-Dave LaTulippe: An American (New York) graphic designer/web artist who can make things pretty and likes orange, his wife, and his cat.
-Taylor Lindstrom: An American (Boulder) female (!) copywriter and journalist who loves green and medieval weaponry.
What I Think of This Blog: They get plus points for a) the founder being Canadian and b) having mini-bios of all of them on their about us page. They even get points for content – I really like it. However, they committed my one blogging pet peeve – not giving me full articles on the first page. I don’t know why this bothers me so, but I’m sure everyone has their pet peeve.
Example of a Topic Covered: What the Heck is Going on With James? Which is about vacations. Which I would very much like.
Relevance to College Students: I think it’s very relevant – there is a lot that you can learn about writing and about blogging, so if you are a writer and a blogger, this blog is awesome for you!
Does This Blog Make It To My Blogs to Read Bookmarks?: No. Unfortunately, I can’t get over that full post thing. Maybe it’s my instant gratification or maybe it’s just that I like to skim my articles unless it’s something that I find really good or valuable, but I can’t handle that. Oh well – I know you have your pet peeves too.

From the longest review ever, I’m signing off.

Miss Lissy

So, I hope everyone is doing well on this Sunday morning. I’m definitely looking forward to today. Supporting the girls on my floor and my friends who are in our show this afternoon, Urinetown. After that, I’ll leave here and go and pick up Emily and go to church – something that I look forward to every single week. Hopefully, I’ll be going home this weekend and then two weekends from now, visiting my friends at MLC. It’s something that I sorely need. I woke up at 9 this morning and I wasn’t tired for once – it was great! Currently, I’m listening to Obama on my iPod, thinking that he’s a lot of talk without seeing a lot – and I don’t know if I will vote for him again. I also just washed my face and I’m so broken out – I hate it!

But anyways, today it is time to talk about another blog. My spirits are up – I know I’m gonna be okay and I know I’m gonna make it through. My spirits are high at this moment.

Name of Blog: Andrea Goulet
Blog URL: http://writeideasmarketing.wordpress.com/
About the Author: Her name is Andrea (duh) and she’s a copywriter with a twist; her degree is in Marketing, not English or Journalism or any of those that you would find typical for a copywriter. In her sales job, she got tired of the same old same old and took a more personalized approach that worked. Eventually, she reexamined what she was getting from that job and decided to start being an honest and easy to understand copywriter.
What I Think of This Blog: I think it is definitely filling a niche and that it would be extremely helpful to people who are trying to market themselves or a product! There is also information about writing.
Example of a Topic Covered: What’s Your City’s Icebreaker Question? – This post is about a question that people commonly ask you when you’re in that city to try and get to know you.
Relevance to College Students: I think this is very relevant because in this economy, you need to know how to market yourself. So, I think this could definitely give you some helpful pointers that you can use to make the most out of your experience.
Does This Blog Make It To My Blogs to Read Bookmarks?: Not quite. I’m not quite ready to market myself yet and it’s a little heavy on the marketing side of things. But, I feel like I should definitely keep it in my arsenal for the future.

Have a great weekend!

Miss Lissy

I’m not gonna lie. I am NOT digging these temperatures. And the snow? It has to be a mistake. I’d like a refund. It’s October from crying out loud.

I also almost forgot to blog.

But never fear. I remembered. And so I’m sitting here and blogging while I work. I work four hours tonight, like every other Saturday, and I feel strangely homesick, for my family – for Nick, Paul, Mark, Emily, Aaron, Katie, Janet, Andy, Brian, Krystal – everyone because I know there’s more. I want to be back in my community where I’m safe, instead of here.

But what can I do? Sometimes I feel like crying I miss it so much.

I don’t feel like getting into the series today. I haven’t the heart.

Miss Lissy

That title alone should give you an idea about how I am feeling. Now I’ll be honest, I did vote for Obama, but I do not feel he deserved a Nobel Peace Prize.It seems like a popularity contest. I hate how people act like the man can do no wrong, because he can do wrong and there are a lot of people who think he can fix this country. Well, news flash, he can’t – at least not on his own. In fact, our economy is still failing so . . . good luck people of America.

But anyways, this is distracting us from our current series written by the lovely Kathryn.

Name of Blog: Blogging About Writing
Blog URL: http://www.bloggingaboutwriting.blogspot.com/
About the Author: All I could really find is that she is a female freelance writer.
What I Think of This Blog: I really like the tone and the content, however, it hasn’t been updated in a loooooong time.
Example of a Topic Covered: Feeling Sick and Writing
Relevance to College Students: I think there’s some great content here that everyone could learn a lot from.
Does This Blog Make It To My Blogs to Read Bookmarks?: No – while I think it is good content, it hasn’t been updated in forever and checking it for new content would be pointless.

I hope everyone has a good weekend!

Miss Lissy