Road Trip! Road Trip! Road Trip!

Elizabeth and I were appalled upon hearing that Jo had NEVER been to Chicago. Never. Ever. Never ever. Growing up in Northern Indiana, this fact was hard for me to comprehend. It felt like i went to Chicago all the time. It's my favorite city in the whole world (Not that I have seen or been around the whole world as of yet so right now I guess Chicago doesn't have much competition but honestly that's not the point. I mean the girl has NEVER been to Chicago.), plus my boys of summer aka The Chicago Cubs = ) are there! Unable to accept that Jo had never been to Chicago before, Elizabeth suggested that we go to Chicago. And, we did. = )

Spontaneous road trips are always adventurous. Elizabeth, Jo, Cherry, and I all left for Chicago Thursday night. Elizabeth drove as always while Jo sat in the front seat. Cherry and I sat in the back of Elizabeth's white Jeep Liberty. With the help of Alley (Jo's GPS), we set off for the north western suburbs of Chicago. We were staying at Cherry's mom's apartment that night, and we would rise early in order to achieve maximum Chicago time on Friday. The ride was a long one. We left around 10:45 Lafayette time and arrived at 12:30 Chicago time. Music, singing, snapping, stories, White Castle ( I personally hate White Castle, but Elizabeth and Cherry LOVE it and Jo thinks it's pretty okay.), and Jo obnoxiously asking Elizabeth over and over "Are we there yet?" helped the time fly by. Approximately 20 miles north of West Lafayette on 65, we were surrounded by bean fields. Above these beans fields were flashing red lights. "What are those?" Jo asked.

"They are the windmills!" I responded, "All the windmills have to have those flashing red lights, so planes can see them." As we drove farther down the road, we approached some windmills built closer to the road. It's incredible to be close to them. You don't realize just how huge they are.

"I forget who I was talking to, but they said something about how the main post of the windmill is the length of four school buses," stated Cherry as Jo stared wide eyed at the giants (Every time I pass these windmills, which is more often then one would think, I ALWAYS think of Don Quixote and how he fought the windmills because he thought they were actual giants.)

"On our way back home you'll see them during the day," I said. "You know, in their own way, I really do think the windmills are beautiful."

As we got closer to our destination, we stopped at a gas station. I had been wearing a Hawaiian leis Elizabeth kept in her jeep the entire trip. A short man named Theo was working the counter. Super happy and chatty, we conversed while he checked out my items (which were actually Cherry's) and he proceeded to ask me if it was my birthday because I was wearing the lei and a constant grin. Of course it wasn't, but we all got a real kick out of him asking. When we arrived at Cherry's mom's, she greeted Cherry with a hug and a smile. The two hadn't seen each other in quite sometime. I myself hadn't seen her in roughly five years. It was late, and we were tired, but Cherry went to wake up her little three old sister. I hadn't seen her since she was a wee little baby, and now she was three! She was the sweetest little thing! She kept kissing all of us girls and telling Cherry how much she missed her. Our visit was short lived due to our early leave to get to Chicago, but I'm really glad we were able to stop there. I think Cherry needed some family time, and they needed to see her too.

The hardest thing in the world to do in Chicago is find somewhere to park. We drove around downtown for an hour looking for somewhere to park that would cost less than $50. Eventually we found parking on Van Buren for $21. Really the best parking deals are the valet parking that restaurants do. The only catch is that you have to eat at their restaurant in order to get the good deal parking of $12 - $16. Once we parked, the four of us began our walking journey. We walked to Grant Park where we saw the beautiful giant fountain (pictured at the top). After taking pictures, and Jo jokingly pretending to jump into the fountain in order to "see how deep it is" we continued to walk toward north along Lake Michigan to Navy Pier (also pictured at the top...forgive me...I'm still trying to figure out this whole posting pictures in my blog exactly where I want them to go thing). There is a bunch to do at Navy Pier. They have fair rides, such as the giant ferris wheel which Navy Pier is famous for. Water taxis offered rides to Navy Pier all along the beach. Any kind of food you could want can be found country corn, funnel cake, elephant ears, Bubba Gump Shrimp, and Billy Goat Tavern are just a few of the places/food items that you can enjoy while you are there. I have a particular interest in the Billy Goat Tavern because of it's connection with the Chicago Cubs' Billy Goat Curse, but I will save that for another blog entry.

While we were at Navy Pier we went into the Amazing Chicago Fun House Maze. It was definitely an old maze. I could tell because Scott (our video tour guide man) was wearing some clothes straight from the 90s and he referred to the Sears Tower (now the Willis Tower) as the tallest building in the world. The premise of the maze was to learn the history of Chicago. Facts about Chicago are written throughout the maze. First we journeyed through the underground tunnels of Chicago. This part of the maze was pretty challenging. There were a bunch of mirrors and laser lights we had to navigate through and several times we got completely turned around because it was so dark. Elizabeth being the jokester that she is even pretended to run into one of the mirrors. After the mirrors we were squished into a tight wall made from the material of those large bounce houses. from there we helped the fire department put out the infamous Chicago Fire. We ran through punching bags painted like fire and had to find the bag which would sound the fire alarm. Then we went into a room to stomp out the fire. After we saved the city, we went into a tunnel. Bare with me on this description. We walked out onto a stationary metal platform with rails;however, the platform was surrounding by a spinning tunnel lit with glow and the dark stars. As the tunnel and stars spun around you, even though you yourself were stationary, it felt like you were moving. We must have looked completely ridiculous, but the tunnel completely throws off your sense of balance. We dawdled in there from quite sometime; it was for sure my favorite part of the maze.

I'm not sure what was going on in Chicago that day, but Kraft Mac-N-Cheese was EVERYWHERE! We got free already made samples, and they were passing out free packages on the street. The new Transformers movie is also being shot in Chicago, so several streets have been blocked off due to the filming. Unfortunately, we were unable to find and capture Shia LaBeouf. = / = (

From Navy Pier, we continued our walking adventure to find Michigan Ave. Most of the good shopping is on this street and Gino's East is right off Michigan Ave on Superior. Gino's is by far my favorite pizza place in Chicago. Their deep dish is to die for. The four of us split a large crumbled sausage and cheese deep dish pizza. Splitting the large allowed each of us to have two pieces, which is more than plenty when you are eating a deep dish, making each of us pay roughly $8.50 for dinner including the tip (this is assuming you eat, I mean drink, water with your meal and do not get an appetizer. All and all it's a pretty good deal for a dinner in Chicago.) We didn't do much shopping though we did explore the Garmin, Apple, and Disney stores for awhile. By this time of day though, we were all totally exhausted and completely unsure of exactly where the Jeep Liberty was. We used the GPS on Cherry's Iphone all day in order to help us navigate Chicago; however, there is serious lag time and it was confusing to figure out exactly how to hold the GPS in order to figure out which direction to go.

As we walked to find Van Buren and the white Jeep Liberty, we stumbled across the bean. The bean is made of stainless steel and is the focal point in Chicago's Millennium Park. The reflective bean takes the classic 'MySpace Mirror Pic' to a whole new level. After taking several pictures in and underneath the bean, we continued our search for the car. Gray clouds had started rolling across the city, and beating the rain was going to be tough. Luckily for us, Michigan Ave and Van Buren run right into each other! We quickly dragged our exhausted bodies into the vehicle and headed for my grandparents house to rest for the night.

Cherry fell asleep on the drive to my grandparents house. I kept chatting and warning the others about my grandparents and their specific habits. "If we are lucky, there will be pie. The casinos give away apple pies a lot. Grandma, Grandpa, and Auntie go quite a bit, so if we are lucky, there will be pie."

When we arrived to my grandparents house, no one was home. As we settled in, Cherry started talking about how hungry she was -- hungry for desert. "Where is the pie?" Cherry exclaimed, "You said there would be pie!"

"What?! I never said there would be pie. I said if we are lucky there will be pie. Big difference. Apparently we just aren't that lucky."

"That's not what I heard," countered Cherry with her little sassy attitude.

"You were asleep! How the heck do you even know what I said?"

"I woke up for a second and you said 'I can't wait to get to grandma's because there will be pie' and then I fell asleep and got all excited about this pie and now there isn't any."

Cherry never did get her pie. When Grandma, Grandpa, and Auntie arrived they were ready to sit and chat with us girls. We talked to them for roughly two and a half hours before they went downstairs to watch Evan Bayh on Sean Hannity. Elizabeth and I tucked Jo into bed on the couch that night. We worked really really hard to completely tuck and snuggle her in, but that crazy girl just had to get up and use the restroom right after we had finished tucking her in. We had to leave early the next morning in order to get plates for Cherry's new car. When we arose, Grandma and Auntie had started making breakfast. Cubbie Bear pancakes, omelets, peppers, milk, juice, cereal, and a variety of fruit was all laid out and ready for us to consume. No one can cook quite like Auntie and Grandma. Everything they make is always beyond delicious. Once everyone was forced to eat more than their stomachs could actually hold, we had to bid my grandparents and auntie adieu and head back to West Lafayette. Sorry for this abrupt ending folks, but I'm pretty tired and still have a minimum of two other events to blog about from this weekend.

All my Love,

Koya = )

The Things People Do For A Buck Or Two

As I sat in the kitchen of Apartment 22 pondering what my next blog entry would include, Elizabeth and Danny started another one of their epic disputes. Both were at the stove attempting to make something delicious. Elizabeth was reheating her wonderful chili (which was delicious), and Danny made hot ham and cheese (we will give him the benefit of the doubt and assume it tasted okay). Elizabeth has a gift for knowing exactly what to say in order to irritate Danny. Sandy sat on the futon tired and exhausted. She didn't feel well and decided to not get involved and let her best friend and boyfriend duke it out as they always did.

"Danny, you're an idiot!"

"Shut up Elizabeth! I'm going to suffocate you with a pillow in your sleep!"

"Ha! Too bad I sleep with my eyes open Danny! I'll kick your a**!"

No need to worry. This is how the two normally address each other-- like a brother and sister pair who aren't afraid to wrestle until the death. So many empty death threats are exchanged throughout the apartment, I have already declared that if one of us shows up dead I will not be providing alibis for anyone. When a pause in the bickering occurred, somewhere in between Danny flipping his hot ham cheese to toast the other side and Elizabeth tasting her chili's temperature, I lamented to my friends about my short comings as a blogger. "I've been so busy with school. I haven't even really had time to think about what my next blog will be. I've been slacking so hard core when it comes to posts. If I even have a shot at this job I really need to start writing more often, but all I've done lately is school work. I mean, you can only write so many blog entries about how awful MatLAB programming is. I need to write one tonight and post it, but I haven't done anything worth posting! You guys need to do something entertaining tonight. Do something funny. Hey, Danny could you do something really stupid for us?"

Still fired up from his tiff with Elizabeth Danny replied, "Dang it Sequoia! I knew that's where you were going with that little speech! And NO. I WON'T!"

"Haha just talk about the stupid things Danny has done," giggled Elizabeth uncontrollably while she stirred her chili, "for example, the time this idiot snorted an aspirin."

With this comment Sandy jumped in with a laugh, "You mean a baby aspirin, and he couldn't even do it!"

Defensively, Danny replied, "Hey, back in the day I used to be able to snort those huge pixi sticks okay. That really hurt when I tried to snort that aspir-"

"You mean baby aspirin," interrupted Sandy.

"I really need to start hanging out with more boys," stated the defeated Danny.

Here is the short but hilarious tale of Danny attempting to snort (emphasis on the word attempting) a baby aspirin.

I was reading my MatLAB textbook in an effort to actually understand what was occurring in my engineering class when Danny waltzed into mine and Elizabeth's room. "Is five dollars enough money to snort a baby aspirin?" asked Danny as if it were a normal question anyone would ask.

"What?"

"Don't ask questions. If someone offered you five dollars would you snort a baby aspirin?"

Assuming Danny was going to give Sandy five dollars if she completed this snorting task, I decided to help her cash in more than five dollars. Of course we all know what happens when one assumes."Uhhh...are you serious? No way. It would take a heck of a lot more money than that to get this nose to snort anything. A minimum of at least...I don't know...say...twenty bucks? Yes, it would take at least twenty dollars for me to consider snorting aspirin, so you can imagine how much money it would take in order for me to actually do it."

"Thank you, Sequoia," nodded Danny. While he walked out the door he shouted, "Sandy! I'll do it for twenty dollars!"

Obviously if I would have known Danny would be the one snorting I would have lowered the price to fifty cents in order to help a sister out, but I suppose we all know what happens when one assumes.

"Twenty dollars? How about I give you three?" countered Sandy. She wasn't going into double digits let alone into the twenty dollar range.

"What? That's lower! I'll do it for ten."

"Five."

"Nine."

"Five and a half."

"Seven?"

"Eh, I guess seven is fine. Now snort!"

"You aren't seriously going to snort that are you?" I questioned, attempting to be the voice of reason. Though when Danny responded with a yes I certainly wasn't going to press the matter. It was always entertaining when Danny did idiotic things. "Okay, well if you are really going to do it you need to wait while I get Elizabeth because there is no way she is going to miss this...ELIZABETH COME QUICK DANNY IS GOING TO SNORT BABY ASPIRIN!"

"I hate you Sequoia."

"Haha the feeling is mutual Danny," I replied with a sly grin.

Sandy ground the baby aspirin into a fine powder. After the bathroom counter was sanitized the powdered baby aspirin was sprinkled into a long fine line across the edge of the counter.

"Don't make me do it."

"Oh come on you big baby. I'm giving you seven bucks for it! Just do it!"

After about five minutes of bashing on Danny's ego, Sandy and Elizabeth were able to talk Danny into snorting the baby aspirin. He bent down, place a finger on one nostril and began to inhale the powder. However, after one quick sniff, Danny went into a fit of sneezes and coughs while Sandy, Elizabeth, and I went into a fit of laughs.

"That hurt. Do I get my seven dollars now?"

"Hahahaha heck no! Are you serious? You didn't snort all of it! Shoot you didn't even snort an eighth of it!"

"Man that hurt. I really could snort a whole giant pixi stick back in the day."

"Haha you are such a pansy Danny!" piped Elizabeth, "This baby aspirin thing is going to give us something to laugh about for years."

"I really wish you could have seen yourself," I added, "Hahahaha you should totally try again except this time we will video tape it, send it into America's Funniest Home Videos, and then it will be voted the best and we, meaning Sandy; Elizabeth; and I, will win ten thousand dollars and go on a big fancy vacation!"

"You guys really aren't ever going to let me live this one down are you?"

"Haha not a chance in you know where Danny," replied Elizabeth, "When we are old and in wheelchairs, I'll say 'Hey old fart, remember that one time you were an idiot and seriously tried to snort a baby aspirin for seven dollars? Hahaha ohhhh good times, good times.'"

"I really do need to start hanging out with guys more often."

After reflecting on Danny's baby aspirin stunt, I found it appropriate to include an event that occurred the first semester of my freshmen year. Before I left for college, I made a ten dollar purchase at Gander Mountain. It was a container of pepper spray in order to protect myself when walking back to my dorm at night. Don't get me wrong. I do feel very safe on campus because of programs, such as the Safe Walk program and the emergency response boxes with the blue lights scattered throughout campus; however, I had never lived anywhere but my house, and I wanted to feel safe in my new environment. The pepper spray clipped right on my key chain and went everywhere I did. It was a normal night out with my boys Riff, Action, A-Rab, and Baby John. The five of us went for a walk around campus that early September night. On our way back to Cary Quad, we wandered into Tark Mart or Boiler Junction as it is formally known. We used our dining dollars in order to buy snacks for our movie choice of the night, The Big Lebowski. On our way out of Tarkington, Riff managed to unhook my pepper spray from my key chain without my knowing. Ever since I had purchased the pepper spray, Riff had badgered me into letting him "test out the pepper spray to make sure it works properly." As we walked up the side walk toward the road, Riff approached A-Rab and said, "Hey A-Rab, I'll pay you ten dollars if you let me spray this in your face."

"Well heck yah for ten dollars I'll let you spray me in the face!" replied A-Rab instantly.

Upon realizing that Riff was holding my pepper spray, I immediately jumped in the situation. "A-Rab are you crazy?! You are not seriously letting Riff spray you in the face for ten bucks. Are you nuts? It says military tear gas on the side of the canister. MILITARY TEAR GAS! Are you honestly going to let him spray you in the face? Back out of this right now!"

"Sequoia, it's ten bucks. That's not bad at all."

Realizing that reasoning with A-Rab would be challenging especially with the support of Action and Baby John who had been enjoying every moment of my frantic attempts to stop Riff and A-Rab from being completely stupid and who were in full support of the spray in the face deal, I turned my attention to Riff. "Riff! Give me back my pepper spray! That's mine and you can't use it without my permission, and I'm not giving it to you! Give it back! Don't you dare even think about spraying A-Rab in the face. He'll go blind! Riff, please. Please just give it back. He could seriously get hurt, and it's only nine o' clock! People are out and about on campus still. Really guys this isn't safe!"

I tried playing the good cop/bad cop routine on Riff and A-Rab for another ten minutes, but my efforts were beyond futile. Within this ten minutes, Action and Baby John returned to Tark Mart in order to purchase a gallon of water for A-Rab's face once he was sprayed. Baby John also started video recorder on his phone in order to document the incident. There was no way I could stop this ridiculous scene from occurring. Brute force was useless considering all of the boys were significantly strong than I. Action held me back, and I was forced against my will to witness Riff pepper spray A-Rab right in the face. I had never seen someone fall like that in my life. A-Rab's legs literally collapsed right out from underneath himself as he grabbed his face with his hands. While the boys laughed I quickly ran to try and aid A-Rab. As I walked toward him, Riff slipped the pepper spray into my hand. Noticing the spectacle, students started to walk towards A-Rab and observe him flailing about in the grass unable to see. "What happened to him?" people asked. Action replied, "Oh he was trying to rape her (as he pointed directly at me) so she pepper sprayed him. No worries bro everything is fine."

You can imagine the reaction this rape cover story evoked from me. I don't think the boys had ever seen me quite so hysterical and angry. "Action don't you dare tell people that! Sorry about that folks. That's not what happened at all! This idiot (as I point to Riff) told this idiot (as I point to A-Rab whom is still on the ground) that he would give him ten dollars if he could spray him in the face with pepper spray! Let the record show I was against this plan from the beginning! Come on boys. You all are making a huge scene (though really at this point, I was the one making a huge scene), and now, thanks to you, Riff, A-Rab can't even watch the dang movie because he can't see anymore!"

We all started walking towards Cary Quad, the boys still laughing hysterically and brushing off my scoldings when a voice called from behind. A-Rab had managed to stand, but asked us to wait up because he couldn't see and didn't know where to go. Action's response? "Follow the sound of my voice!"

Riff and Action walked on either side of A-Rab and escorted him back to Cary Quad safely while all of the boys listened to a loud and long scolding from me. Once we returned, we were able to see A-Rab's face in it's full glory. His face had completely swollen and was extremely red and irritated. His eyes were completely swelled shut. Riff took A-Rab to the restroom in an attempt to wash him while I visited the neighbor whom was in ROTC. He had been pepper sprayed as part of his military training, and I was hoping to gain some advice on what to do for A-Rab in order to ease the pain. Unfortunately, there was no immediate relief. A-Rab would simply have to wait it out. While Riff and I attempted to help A-Rab, Action and Baby John hopped on the computer to upload the video Baby John took on his phone of Riff spraying A-Rab. It took about a half hour, but the pair successfully uploaded the video to YouTube. Though Action tried to edit the video and make the image brighter, he was unable to make the original film anymore visible than it was originally. If you wish to see the seventeen second video of A-Rab being pepper sprayed, here is the link but first let me caution you that the title of the video is vulgar, and the darkness makes it hard to see. If you watch it a few times you will see Riff approach A-Rab and spray followed immediately after by A-Rab collapsing. It might take a few tries and some adjusting of the computer screen, but you can see it I promise. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VwQnaP75OQ.

Both Danny and A-Rab were guilty of the same thing--indulging in a ridiculous request by someone in order to make a little money. Now don't get me wrong. I've been guilty of this type of act before too. I once put sunscreen on a passed out man's belly for six dollars. I know as college students money is a huge issue since there isn't a lot of it to go around. But why is it when money is offered in exchanged for doing something idiotic and harmful to your body, males seem to jump right up to shake hands on the bet? This pattern can even be seen in the little ones. When I saw my little brother a few weeks ago he participated in a game called "Pepperoni." Every time the a person scored a point while playing ping pong, they got to hit the ping pong ball as hard as they could against their opponents bare back creating red circular marks on the person's back or "pepperoni." Ridiculous right? I don't understand why they participate in these sorts of ridiculous activities. It is amazing what people will do when a little money is offered in return for finishing the task.

All my love,
Koya = )

Riff- West Side Story
Action- West Side Story
A-Rab- West Side Story
Baby John- West Side Story
All of these characters are members of the "Sharks" for those whom are familiar with the show. Oh and Ps.
I cooked some peas and put them in some left overs from that chicken stuffing casserole from the last entry, and it was pretty tasty. If you like peas you should for give it a shot!

Viruses, Sun Burns, and Desperate Housewives

simply sequoia loves simply sam. it's just that simple.

let me do all this discussing for you...

-your comp virus was no good, but a dozen chocolate chip cookies later... problem no MORE!

-your sunburn? what sunburn? you are nothing but sexy bronzed skin

-desperate housewives is the best. kathryn murdered her husband.. who woulda thought? crazy lady. Gabi reminds me a lot of myself i kinda like her :). The pregnant cute one? I agree with you, she is very cute. The firecrotch is also wild. But she really likes to gossip, that's not for me. Cancer girl kicks ass. She's got the best thing going in my opinion.

Your casserole was delicious. You will make the best wife someday :) LOVE YOU!!!!!!!~!

^^^

This is an example of how my blog entries would be if my good friend Samantha were to always write my blogs for me = ) lol

Okay for starters...let me just tell you how much I hate computer viruses. This is the second time I've gotten this stupid virus. It's one of those viruses that poses as an antivirus so just a general warning to the world beware of the posers also known as the fake anti viruses. So what happens? What can you do if you are unlucky enough to contract such a virus? Well the first time I got this virus I went straight to Itap--Purdue's technology and computer support system. I asked them if they could please get rid of this virus, but they said no. Apparently this virus is so horrid that it infects your registry. Since it affects your registry, there is a liability and legal issue which prevents the students whom work at Itap from being able to rid computers of such viruses. I quickly called my friend dad whom worked with computers for a living. Since my antivirus did not even recognize my computer did indeed have a virus, my second father informed me to download a registry cleaner and a cc cleaner. I was able to successfully download these programs. After I ran them several times, enough of the virus had been removed that my antivirus software was able to detect and destroy the nuisance. This week, however, I was not this lucky. Trudy, who you should all know at this point as my computer, had to have her hard drive completely wiped. Nick in my engineering class heard of my whoahs and asked me to bring my computer to class. The next day in class Nick started fiddling with my computer; he asked me to save some files to a flash drive and upon completion I moved my fingers to the keys of the class computer in order to continue taking notes. "Okay, I'm just going to go ahead and close this screen right now, things are getting a little inappropriate." Sure enough, just as an engineering tour walked right by our classroom (my computer screen was facing the window of this classroom) my computer started downloading porn in the middle of class! I was appalled and greatly embarrassed by the virus's wonderful timing. Nick's words of encouragement were, "Really Sequoia, it's fine. I mean I highly doubt this is the first time porn has been downloaded during a class. And besides, I shut the screen quickly, so I doubt anyone saw." It was then when Nick decided wiping my hard drive would be the best course of action. As Sam put it earlier, a dozen cookies later Trudy was fixed! I had to reinstall all of my software and programs; it was frustrating, but Trudy really is a whole new woman now. Moral of the story? If you contract such a computer virus as this, try downloading this registry cleaner http://www.eusing.com/free_registry_cleaner/registry_cleaner.htm and/or this cc cleaner http://download.cnet.com/ccleaner/. After running these programs 2 or 3 times each, try running your antivirus software again. If your software still does not detect and kill the vermin virus, ask a genius computer to aid you in your troubled computer times. A batch of cookies is usually all they will want in return for payment.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of returning to my hometown of Green County where my dear friends and I floated the river. Myself six lovely ladies whipped out river tubes and floaties every one's lives. Initially we planned to start our float at noon, but let's face it. Getting seven girls who are all on very different schedules to the same place on time is nearly impossible. Scarlett parked her car at the park--our final destination. The seven of us all piled in "Old Blackie", Bertha's truck in order to ride out to 700 to start our river adventure. (Let me just inform you all that I am extremely fair skinned and start baking and burning the second I'm exposed to sunlight. The only sunscreen available was SPF 12 and it was not water proof.)Halley and Katherine sat in the back in order to keep all of our tubes and floaties from flying out the back. The river was much lower than we expected. It had been several days since a rain had come, and the river was proof of that. The seven of us waded into the river until our butts didn't drag our tubes against the river bottom and away we went! Now for those who are unfamiliar with Green County's Green River, let me just tell you it is not the cleanest or safest of all rivers. A little boy was swept under the rapids and killed just a week before; this incident made both Cherry and I slightly apprehensive about our excursion. I was floating the river in on of Halley's river tubes. Though lying on my back with my butt and stomach partially in the water from being in the center of the tube was the most relaxing way to lay, I found that for nearly the entire trip I was forced to lie on my stomach across the tube in order to steer myself through the obstacle course the river had provided for us. Fallen trees and rocks proved to be difficult to navigate through, and I could steer best when I laid on my stomach. At one point nearly the entire river was blocked by a combination of trees, rocks, and a sandbar. Being the intelligent person I am, I had the clever idea of attempting to float underneath a tree which provided no more than five inches between itself and the water. Against every one's better judgment, I began to limbo myself and my tube underneath the tree. The current picked up and eventually my tube and body were on the other side of the tree. Well, my body minus my head. My head was caught on the other side of the log. The current was strong enough to sweep my tube out from underneath me flipping me into the water and moving my head to the other side of the tree. Scarlett, who is gorgeous and still completely dry and put together even after floating the river for about an hour and a half at this point could not stop laughing as I being completely soaked at this point retrieved my run away tube. Our trip ended at Train Bridge, the landmark which informed us to get off the river because a. we were now at the park and b. the dangerous rapids are closely approaching. Train Bridge as the townies have come to know it by is an old train bridge that is no longer in use which stretches the width of the Green River. In the summer, kids ride their bikes down to the park and jump off the top of the bridge into the water. Many of my summers growing up were spent on that old bridge. We would mess around on that bridge and in the water for hours. It was always such a thrill jumping off into the water. Rumor has it that if you jump off Train Bridge you will stay in Green County forever (I believe I'm living proof that the legend is not true). Scarlett and Cherry had work at 4 and 4:30 respectively that day. Scarlett and I being the first two to finish the trip dropped our tubes by the side of the river and ran to Scarlett's car. it was already 4:15 and Scarlett still had to take me back to 700 in order to retrieve Old Blackie to pick up the other girls. Note only were we the first two to finish the river float, but also the two of us are most definitely the whitest girls out of the bunch and the most badly burnt. I didn't realize the extent of my sunburn until I was at the beach with Cherry while she worked. Since I had laid on my stomach most of the day, my entire back side was completely fried. I looked like a lobster that had been half cooked but still managed to pop the lid off in time to escape. Simple actions like sitting, laying, and moving in general were extremely painful. Aloe only alleviated the pain for a few minutes before the back side of my body started aching again. Five days later, my burn has slightly bronzed over but my skin is still slightly red and very very itchy. The moral of the story? It is never okay to not apply sunblock when you are as white as a ghost. You may think it's no big deal and one day won't be so bad, but you are dead wrong. Apply sunblock. It works miracles.

In 2004 a show called Desperate Housewives made it's television debut and took the small screen by storm. Six years later, I discovered it. I knew the show existed, but I wasn't one who usually watched TV unless it was Gilmore Girls. Well, let me just tell you that my roommates Elizabeth and Sandy have been addicted to it for the past year. I would occasionally and casually watch the show with the two of them if I happened to be in the room or over while they were watching it. It wasn't until this summer when I moved in with the two of them that I really started watching the show. The apartment has NetFlicks through the Wii console and conveniently seasons four and five are on instant demand. I don't think I have ever become so deeply and emotionally involved in a fictional story (minus Harry Potter) so quickly. I don't know what it is about that show, but Wisteria Lane is far from boring and call me crazy, but I wouldn't at all mind living on that street. I find it slightly entertaining that the characters on the show are both Colts and Pacer fans. Knowing this information I assumed that Marc Cherry, the creator of Desperate Housewives, was from Indiana. After some research, it turns out the man's from Oklahoma. Who would have thought? If you are looking for a new show to watch or are just bored, rent the first season of Desperate Housewives and start watching it. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. Most likely, should you start watching this show, you will probably become an addict like myself. My name is Sequoia Murray and I'm a Desperate Housewives-oholic. I don't want to tell you any plots because that just ruins everything. You can refer to Sam's mini description at the beginning of the blog, but some of her facts are slightly inaccurate since she is not as far as I am in the season. The show is totally bizarre and will not lose your interest. Why am I telling you this? There really is no reason. It's just become a part of my life lately and I thought I would share it with you all. However, if you are in college or going to college, it's nice to have a stash of movies and TV show series because I can promise you will watch a lot of DVDs throughout your years. Desperate Housewives. You should watch it.

In reference to the comment Samantha made about the casserole I made. In case anyone was curious I made a chicken and stuffing casserole the other day. My mom makes it, and it's extremely easy to make, so if you are interested here is the recipe:
(For those of you who do watch Desperate Housewives, just call me Mrs. Van De Kamp)

Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

2 boxes of Stove Top stuffing
3 chicken breast (raw or cooked the casserole can be made using either)
2 cans of Cream of Chicken Soup
1 stick of butter (used in the stove top stuffing)
3 cups of water (used in the stove top stuffing)
A splash of milk
A casserole dish
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom of a casserole dish (if you don't, cleaning the dish is going to suck and you will be very angry with yourself for not greasing the dish). Cut the chicken breasts into bite size chunks. Make the Stove Top stuffing according to the box directions and place in a casserole dish. Spread the chicken throughout the stuffing. Pour the cans of Cream of Chicken Soup right on the stuffing and chicken. Mix the contents. Splash a bit of milk on top to ensure that the casserole will not dry while it bakes. Place in the oven uncovered for 45 minutes. The dish can serve roughly 8 or 9 people.
It's easy and delicious! I've been thinking about experimenting with the recipe more. Maybe I'll add some sort of veggie to the dish, since I'm a vegetable kind of girl. I was also thinking about possibly using Cream of Mushroom Soup instead of Cream of Chicken or maybe doing one of each? I don't know! The possibilities are endless! You are more than welcome to try out the recipe as is or add your own little flare to it. Regardless, you will enjoy this recipe. It's delicious.

All my love,
Koya = )
Scarlett- Someone Like You
Halley-Someone Like You
Katherine - Forever
Bertha-(Not from a book, my friend insisted this was the name I was to use)

The House That Built Me

Sorry it has been soooo long since I've made an entry! Trudy (my computer) decided that she would contract a virus...AGAIN! In a day or so I'll probably tell you all about that fiasco, because this blog entry is not about computer viruses.

Have you ever heard Miranda Lambert's song "The House That Built Me?" Ever since I heard it on the radio, I randomly sing lines from it throughout the day. At times, I feel like Miranda wrote that song for me -- that's how connected I feel to it.

I grew up in a tiny hick-ville everybody knows everybody kind of town (for Elizabeth's amusement, let's call this town Green County). The summer going into my freshmen year, my family moved to the suburbs of Indianapolis. However, five years later, my parents and brothers have spent the past two days on the road moving to a new house. When I went home last weekend, a lot of my belongings which I left behind were lost in a mess of moving boxes. Before I left, my sister and I walked around the house. I didn't feel anything. No sadness. No loss. The house I lived in the last four years didn't mean a thing to me. Don't get me wrong, I'm at a loss for how sad I am that my family is moving so far away, but I felt no attachment to the house or town they were leaving behind. It was interesting to compare my feelings then and the feelings I had when my family moved from my home town.

My sister and I cried for days and days; we were so angry with our parents. I was leaving what I believed to be the perfect life. Before all of us kids were shoved in the van to head to the Indy area, I walked through the house and around the yard. Not only did I walk around, but I spoke to things. I spoke to the individual rooms in the house. I talked about all the things I had done there and what I would miss. I went through the back yard and climbed the pear
tree one last time. I visited Little's grave to tell her goodbye; I still feel guilty about leaving her there.

So here it is folks, with the help of Miss Lambert's (Soon to be Mrs. Blake Shelton, though I highly doubt she will actually change her name..but anyway...I digress...) song, I'm going to tell you a little about the house that built me.

"I know they say, you can't go home again. I just had to come back one last time. Ma'am I know you don't know me from Adam, but these hand prints on the front steps are mine. Up those stairs, in that little back bedroom is where I did my homework, and I learned to play guitar. And I bet you didn't know that under that old oak, my favorite dog is buried in the yard."

Thomas Wolfe once said, "You can't go home again." I was always skeptical of this statement until I tried going home myself. Green County was my life! My friends and future were all lined up right there for me. Just as things seemed perfect, I had to leave. Going home was the hardest thing. At first it wasn't terrible, but slowly I felt pushed out of the conversations. My friends would mention new people I had never met, and they didn't know anyone involved in the stories I told. I was always so incredibly excited to return home and see everyone. During the three hour car ride "home" however, I would get extremely depressed and sad about what I had left behind. Because, no matter how many times I made friends walk, ride, or drive past my old house, it wasn't mine anymore. A new family lives there. They play basketball on the hoop my dad purchased and cemented in place, yet they have no idea whose feet and initials are forever embedded in the concrete which supports the pole. Everything changes. Nothing stays the same. Wolfe is right. Once you leave, you can never go home again because you and your home are both constantly changing. Nothing will ever be exactly as how you once remembered it, and that fact is at times hard to stomach. Most kids don't learn about this until they go off to college their freshmen year, but lucky me was exposed to it my freshmen year of high school. What I just wrote sounds really depressing and harsh upon rereading it, but I want you all to know that it's fine. It's okay that you can't go home again. It's scary to think about at first, but it's okay because soon, you will find a new home. Even if you don't get the "homey" feeling right away, be patient. It will come.

"I thought if I could touch this place or feel it. This brokenness inside me might start healing. Out here it's like I'm someone else. I thought that maybe I could find myself. If I could just come in I swear I'll leave. Won't take nothin' but a memory from the house that built me."

So why did I keep going home? I would get so excited to go back home and visit everyone, yet every single time, without fail, I rode back "home" extremely depressed and saddened. It was a pattern which I repeated for four years of my life. In my new town things were different. No one knew me (which was partially my fault considering the first two years I lived their I had absolutely no intentions of getting to know or getting close with anyone in that town. I automatically hated everyone and everything related to my new suburban residence.). I felt empty and broken without my life in Green County. I kept telling myself that if I kept going back and tried harder things would be the same. If I kept going back, I could find the strength to be Green County Sequoia in my new town. Very few people from Indy know the Green County Sequoia, and a lot of that is my fault. I wasn't willing to embrace the change of my environment. I was losing myself to somebody I didn't want to become. In my mind, going home again and visiting those who helped create me was the only way to find and be myself again. Of course that logic is seriously flawed in more ways than one, but I was young. I probably would have felt differently had I known that in the future I would still be crazy close with some of my besties from Green County, but I didn't, and I did everything possible to cling onto those people and our memories together.

"Mama cut out pictures of houses for years from "Better Homes and Garden" magazine. Plans were drawn and concrete poured and nail by nail and board by board, daddy gave life to mama's dream. I thought if I could touch this place or feel it, this brokenness inside me might start healing. Out here it's like I'm someone else. I thought that maybe I could find myself. If I could just come in I swear I'll leave. Won't take nothin' but a memory from the house that built me."

This part of the song makes me think about my parents and how far they have come in their lives together. I don't think I've ever seen two people so in love even after all this time. I get a gag me this is adorable but weird because they are my parents type of reaction every time I see them together. My parents had a rough go of it at first, but through hard work and my father's genius career moves our family is now doing extremely well. This new move has hit me in a different way than the first. My parents and brothers are moving into an extremely nice house very far from my sister and I. It's weird to think that they are starting a whole new life together as a family--without us. At times I feel like this move and their new life doesn't involve me. It's like, I'm not apart of the new family that's starting over. Realistically, I'll probably never live in the new house. From here on out, every summer this little chemical engineering student needs to find herself internships meaning I won't live with them. Most of the year I'll be at Purdue, and during breaks we will all be up in northern Indiana with the family. I guess I'm trying to say that I'm just not sure where I fit. I don't know where I fit into this new family with this new life--which both saddens and scares the crap out of me. Trying to go home again brings me back to the times when I knew who I was within the family. But like I said earlier, people change. No matter how hard you look or try to act, your family and how they function as a unit is never quite the same.

"You leave home, you move on, and you do the best you can. I got lost in this whole world and forgot who I am. I thought if I could touch this place or feel it, this brokenness inside me might start healing. Out here it's like I'm someone else, I thought that maybe I could find myself."

So this is what I've done. I've left home and gone to college. I'm doing the best I possibly can, but Purdue's slogan should be as follows: "Purdue University: Where Your Best Hasn't Been Good Enough Since 1869." There really is a lot of truth to that statement especially if you are in one of the more challenging majors i.e. engineering. It seems as though no matter how hard you try, it's simply not good enough. You start realizing that the 60% you received on your math exam isn't half bad which is a state of mind I thought I could never achieve. Going from salutatorian of my graduating class and having the "I must get an 'A' on everything" mentality, the 52% I once received on a chemistry exam really messed with my head. Purdue academics are mentally exhausting and force you to push yourself to places you never thought you could go. I mean, I programmed a robot. Me. I PROGRAMMED A ROBOT! This is coming from one of the most computer illiterate people on the planet, and I, Sequoia Elite Murray can proudly say I programmed a robot. I'm starting to digress again...Towards the end of last year I had a mini break down regarding school and my life in general. I felt like my world was crashing to the ground; it was not a pretty situation. When I talked to my parents all I could say and talk about was how much I wanted to go home and how much I needed to be home. When people feel lost they turn to the familiar in order to feel safe and find themselves again. For me, home is the familiar place I turn. No matter what phase I am in my life, I always run home in order to get that feeling of security and reassurance. In fact, I'm doing so this weekend. Cherry and I are making a Green County trip this weekend to get together with some old friends. My old group of girls and I plan to float the river, jump off train bridge, and do other random Green County activities which I have greatly missed. I'll visit all my old hang outs and have a weekend full of reminiscing. At some point I plan to drive by my old house. It's a classic, old three story farm house with a front porch and a swing. Pine trees line the perimeter of the property (my family planted them), and a pear tree, grape vine, and raspberry bush are in the far back. The property is roughly an acre in total. So many changes have been made to the house since I lived there roughly five years ago. If I'm brave enough, I'll march up to the front door, knock, and if someone is home, I'll tell them how their current house helped mold me and state "If I could walk around, I swear I'll leave. Won't take nothin' but a memory from the house that built me."

Wish me luck!

All my love,

Koya = )

For the Procrastinator

Sooooo...this weekend I went home to visit the family! However, since I'm taking a summer class, a good portion of that time was spent doing homework at Starbucks. Certain locations have had free Wi-fi since July, so all of you Starbucks goers should probably take advantage of that! For those who are unaware, I am taking Engineering Part II Ideas, Innovations, and Matlab programming (yeah rah! (sarcasm)) this summer. The course has been pretty intense thus far, and I know these next few weeks are going to be tough. Anyway that's not the point of this blog entry tonight. As I sat attempting to complete my homework, I couldn't help but continually get distracted. For those of you who often sit staring at your work in hopes that it will magically complete itself, this entry is for you. I am going to attempt to compile a list of all the best ways to occupy yourself while your work is busy completing itself. As suggestions come in I will update the list and/or write another entry at a later time containing the new procrastination technique discovered.

Youtube
We've all done it. I don't know how many times I've looked up random videos on youtube. Here are a few videos that I find particularly entertaining.
Barats and Breta- I find most of their videos very funny. This video is definitely their shortest but never fails to make me laugh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn1-M5Ze0p8

Greyson Michael Chance and Nick Pitera- Okay so I saw both of these guys on Ellen. I love Ellen and her show, but I really love/admire these two guys. Greyson is this totally impressive 12 year old who sings, writes music, and plays the piano. His cover of Lady Gaga's Paparazzi is awesome. Nick Pitera...well...at first you will be confused and think there is nothing special but just keep watching.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxDlC7YV5is (Greyson's Video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9-CS2v8wcc (Nick's Video)

My friends and I quote this next video quite often. I'm really not sure how to introduce it. Let's just say Tracy will prep you for meeting Peter. Peter at the Perk (Park).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtkU2ch0sRI

For those of you who are frustrated with BP and the tragic oil spill in the gulf, here is a video spoof of how BP would handle a coffee spill in the office.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AAa0gd7ClM

Alright so the last video I would like to share with you was shown to me by my roommate last year. There is some debate as to whether or not it's real. Personally I think it's hilarious either way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzRTEJo9YYI

So this next website is my good friend Elizabeth's favorite. It's a good one to check out when you feel as though you have been loosing faith in the world.
http://www.givesmehope.com
Gives me hope is a more uplifting version of F my life.
http://www.fmylife.com
Some people prefer the average life over hearing about inspirational or tragic stories.
http://www.mylifeisaverage.com
Others just want to hear about what exactly did happen last night...
http://www.textsfromlastnight.com

For those of you with a secret, a man named Frank Warren might just be your perfect outlet. He is the creator of the PostSecret Project. Frank receives thousands of anonymous postcards everyday from people all over the world. These postcards contains thoughts and feelings these people have never shared with anyone. Frank gives them an outlet by letting them tell someone. Frank posts new secrets every Sunday on http://www.postsecret.com Some secrets are funny, others are silly, yet some are extremely serious. Those who go to the website can comment on the weekly secrets. You'll be surprised to find out just how much you might have in common with someone random in the world. It's a nice feeling to know that you aren't alone. Warren is helping the world discover this. He also has published a few postsecret books. The books are simply a bunch of the complied postcards.

If you miss the good ol' days when people played Tetris and Pacman, you are in luck! I myself am completely addicted to Tetris. My mother is a HUGE fan of Ms. Pacman, but I think she would settle for just Pacman if she had to.
http://www.freetetris.org/ (TETRIS!!!)
http://www.freepacman.org/ (Pacman!!!)

Some other classic ways to procrastinate include calling all of your old pals and seeing what is going on in their lives. I'm a gifted talker/listener, so calling to chat with friends or close relatives is a popular choice for me. If the friends aren't far from you, you can always make a play date if your due date allows you to procrastinate to that degree.

If politics are your thing, you just might like The Onion, or you just might despise The Onion. Regardless of the political stance, I find this comedic newspaper and it's satirical articles hilarious.
http://www.theonion.com

For your viewing pleasure here are two websites which really know how to capture some lovely moments- Awkward Family Photos and People of Walmart
http://www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com
http://www.peopleofwalmart.com

It is very possible that you all may have heard of everything I have just typed. If you are one of those people, I apologize. You are obviously a far better procrastinator than I, and I would appreciate some comments or messages informing me of some procrastination tools which I have forgotten or simply do not know about. Even if you have found all of the above completely boring and a waste of your valuable procrastination time, I hope this website turns that all around. My sister just recently showed me this website, and it is addicting. Stumbleupon asks you to check boxes of topics which you are interested. Based on the topics checked, Stumbleupon directs you to random websites. Once you are done looking at a particular site, simply press the 'Stumble' button to move on to another choice. Based on what websites you like and dislike, Stumbleupon will continually find websites to thoroughly entertain you. This website has the ability to keep you occupied for hours.
http://www.stumbleupon.com

Of course the ultimate tool for procrastinating these days is Facebook. I avoided mentioning it until the very end since it's one that most people know about and use an unhealthy amount. I often refer to Facebook as "Creepbook." If you have a Facebook, you know exactly why the title is fitting. Most college students are crazy addicted to Facebooking or "Creepbooking" as I like to call it. You can literally find out anything and everything about some people on Facebook, but you already knew that. = ) I figured an entry about procrastinating would not be complete without mentioning the website that side tracks us the most.
http://www.facebook.com

Well it's bed time for me! Happy Procrastinating!

All my love,

Koya = )
P.S This is for all of my fellow Engineers/people who program with Matlab. When programming I often get frustrated or stuck. To relieve some stress type into the command window 'shower.' It shows you a diagram of how a shower regulates water. If you type 'why' in the command window a shocking result will emerge. Keep typing in the command 'why' to see exactly how far the ridiculousness goes. It made me like the creators of Matlab slightly. Other words or "commands" that make Matlab do interesting things include 'image,' 'penny,' 'life,' and 'spy.' If you know of any others please let me know! I've looked up some things online regarding these secret code words in Matlab, but not all of them worked. I'm not sure if that's because I'm using Purdue's version which is constantly updated or what, but not all of the commands you find on the internet produce the result they say it will. Most will just give you error messages, but I do think it's worth it to try a few. I feel like it makes your time programming slightly less stressful. It may add some time to the length of your assignment, but I mean, come on! The title of this entry was For the Procrastinator, so you were well aware what you were getting yourself into. Good luck with whatever you are programming! Stick with it! All this hardwork will be totally worth it when you graduate = )

Sometimes You, the Jelly, Become the Bread

Friendship. It's arguably one of the most important things a person has in life. I've had loads of different friends and best friends walk in and out of my life as all of us have had. It starts out so simply. For example, Judy likes to play with the bucket while she's in the sandbox, and you like to play with the shovel, so together, well, you two make a pretty great pair and the best sandcastle on the playground. It starts in the sandbox and develops into things like tag and the exclusive monkey bars club (because I mean really let's be serious...only the coolest kids can make it across the monkey bars). Eventually you hit middle school and your friends become the people on your sports or academic teams or clubs. Some of those friendships carry over into and through high school-- some don't. If there is one thing that I've learned since attending college, it's that your high school friends won't be your friends for much longer. Okay that wasn't a fair statement. RARELY will your high school friends be your friends through college.

One of my best friends from high school and I have been having a pretty rough go of it lately. Well, at least that's how I've been feeling. It's hard to accept when people whom you know so well, become people you knew. When the 'o' turns to an 'e' it's a pretty hard reality to accept. I often grab for my phone wanting to text or call several of my best friends from high school, but I stop right as I'm about to press send and think better of it. Why? Because I'm scared they won't respond. If they don't respond then I get upset. Not pressing send is a really messed up way of trying to protect myself from getting hurt. Our communication has been terrible. I realize that we are both extremely busy, but there comes a point in your life when you are tired of calling and no one picking up the phone on the other end. If someone wants to see you and spend time with you, they will make that time for you, whether it's at 3am for ten minutes before they go to bed, or whether it's in the middle of the day and they just feel like chatting with you. What makes people grow apart? Well, some friends go to different colleges; others simply change as freshmen year continues. You realize some of those "great friends" you've had for years of your life, turn out to actually not be the greatest of friends. Some party hard and boy hop while others get engaged.

Enter Bridget and Lena. These two were attached at the hip! You never saw one without the other. They were the classic definition of best friends-- two beautiful girls with totally opposite personalities. Whenever Lena and Bridget were mentioned, someone would ALWAYS bring up how jealous they were of their close friendship. Lena is one of the sweetest people I have ever met in my life. She never talks badly about anyone and carries a soft, gentle tone for a voice. Bridget is one of the craziest girls I have ever met. She is loud and very proud of this fact. She could carry a conversation with a rock, and I'm pretty sure the rock would talk back. The first time I ever met her, the two of us talked for a solid two hours about anything and everything. It was the classic example of opposites attracting. One might say Lena was the peanut butter to Bridget's jelly.

Enter Kostas. Kostas meets Lena. Lena is swept off her feet. The pair fall in love hard and fast, and roughly six or sevenish months later...BAM! The two are engaged! Everyone is thrilled and excited for the adorable and seemingly perfect couple. Everyone, that is, except Bridget. Ever since the start of Lena's fairytale Bridget felt she was slowly becoming less important and pushed out of Lena's life. To cope, Bridget started talking to and hanging out with other people. Once the engagement was official, pent up feelings of anger and hurt which had been festering on both sides of the friendship were released-- on me. Once Bridget and I became close, she slowly started to reveal these bottled feelings.

Lately I have been super, super concerned about Bridget and Lena. Sandy and Danny (two of my wonderful summer roomies = ) )and I were talking about it one night and decided that those two just needed to hash it out. I mean, if their friendship ended then all of the friendships in the world were doomed! It wasn't fair, and it wasn't right! What is it with girls anyway? The general trend is for us to withhold our feelings from the rest of world, yet we still expect everyone to know EXACTLY what is wrong with us AND we expect it to be magically fixed! You can call me a hypocrite because I myself am as guilty as the next one of my fellow females for this trend, but really the whole thing is totally ridiculous! The crazier thing is, is that we often know EXACTLY what we are doing, yet fail to change our ways. We all really just need to take some advice from John Mayer and say what we need to say. Communication is the key to any and all types of relationships. Why is it that people seem to struggle with it the most? So much confusion and heartache would be saved if people could just learn to not be scared or intimidated to say what's on their mind and what's bothering them. The other day Bridget called me upset and concerned about her's and Lena's friendship. I love Bridget to death, but enough was enough.

"You and Lena need to have serious talk Bridget. It's the only way things will get better. This distance thing is making your communication totally suck. You and Lena are a team! You can't just let that all go down the drain because she's getting married! I'm sure she has thoughts and feelings about the matter too that she would love to share. The two of you just have to be willing to sit down and do it. You HAVE to talk about the awkward things. The whole situation is really uncomfortable and it's going to get a lot more uncomfortable before it gets better. You just have to do it and be 100% honest with each other. She's the peanut butter, and you are her jelly. You can't just let that go. That means you are paired for life no matter what." (I tend to make really, really strange analogies about things…just ask Fritz! I once compared his relationship to owning a 90 cent fish from the grocery store…)

"But I'm not her jelly anymore."

Taken aback by this statement and sadden by the hurt in my friend's voice, I quickly altered the analogy. "Okay so maybe you don't want to be the jelly anymore. That's fine. The jelly is messy and falls off the sandwich onto the plate and your hands anyway. Besides, friends are like the bread. They are strong and sturdy and support the sandwich. You are the bread to Lena's peanut butter. Now how often do you see peanut butter fall off of bread? Exactly. You don't. So whether you two like it or not, you are stuck together like bread and peanut butter. No matter what happens you two will always have each other because now that you are stuck, you are stuck for life. (In the words of Elizabeth) Suck it up cupcake. Go talk to your peanut butter and get this mess fixed. It'll take some time, but you two will pull through. She needs you, and you need her."

"She's calling."

"Then answer. I'll talk to you later sunshine. Love you!"

Lena and Bridget talked. It'll take some time¸ but I'm confident that the two will pull through just fine. Relationships change. Though your friendship and role in someone's life may change, it doesn't mean that it has to end. It's okay to be the bread instead of the jelly. If you ask me, the bread is pretty important. Sure, the peanut butter and jelly may get all the hype, but you can't have a successful sandwich unless the peanut butter and jelly have their respective slices of bread. Now if you will excuse me, this piece of bread has to make a phone call to some peanut butter.

All my love,

Koya = )

Lena, Bridget, Kostas - The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Sandy and Danny - Grease

Professor Friedrich "Fritz" Bhaer- Little Women

Blogging for a Job

Every single day I wake up, eat a grapefruit, and check the job listings on Purdue's Student Employment website. Every single day I am disappointed to find that all of these wonderful research and job opportunities are not available to me since I do not qualify as a "Work Study" student. Finding a job is tough, especially in this economy. Add the fact that I am 19 years old and a sophomore in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, well, the odds are not exactly in my favor - at least not until I graduate.



A few days ago I stumbled upon a job opportunity that was entitled "Admissions Blogger." The job entails writing blog entries about Purdue experiences for incoming and inquiring students to read. My first thought was, "Hey! I can do that! I LOVE PURDUE! Plus, I Facebook my entire life anyway so why not put it in a blog form and make something useful for future students and the university?" When I inquired about the position, the contact informed me that I needed to already have a blog, i.e. "blogging experience." So here it goes folks: My name is Sequoia Elite Murray, and I over the course of these next few weeks will (hopefully) blog my way into a job at Purdue University.



*Side note: Some of the names in the blog are disguised as characters from some of my favorite literature. This is of their own choice. Though all of the names may or may not be real, all of the events are fact, or as the character which you are about to meet would say "all of the events are 'real talk.' Truth."



That night at approximately 10:20ish pm, I picked up my best friend's brother, Sodapop, from the Lafayette train station. I hadn't seen Sodapop in almost a year, so I was slightly nervous and excited to see him. He moseyed off the train and down the steps wearing what I thought was an atrocious University of Illinois hat, a backpack, and the same goofy grin he has worn since I met him in third grade. Though Sodapop is a year older than I, he looked like an adorable ten-year-old boy coming off the train dragging his feet and even stumbling while he carried his suitcase in one hand and clenched the shoulder strap of his backpack with the other. Sodapop came to West Lafayette for one purpose- to retrieve his belongings from his sister and my best friend, Cherry. Sodapop moved in with Cherry after a rough, but needed break up with his girlfriend. They had been dating on and off for years, and everyone and their grandma was more than relieved to see them finally part ways for good. Now Sodapop lives and works in Chicago, and it was time for him to bring his things along with him.



As I drove Sodapop to Cherry's, he began chatting away as if we had seen each other yesterday. He's always had the ability to talk as if absolutely no time had gone by since we had last seen each other. I suppose that's just how childhood friendships are suppose to be. Regardless of what happens in your life and how long you are apart, in the end you can always count on that sense of familiarity to calm and lighten the situation. There is something about childhood friends and growing up that bonds you together in some way whether you like it or not.



After we complied and compress all of Sodapop's belongings into several bags (One of which I thought he stole from Mary Poppins. I'm not kidding. For a minute or two I thought he was going to pull a lamp right out of the bag.) Sodapop, Elizabeth, Jo, and I sat around the living room of Apartment 22 and chatted all through the night. Jo, due to a nasty case of mono, grew tired quickly and zonked out from exhaustion fairly early in the conversation. Sodapop, however, who was scheduled to leave on a 7:30am train the next morning decided it would be a wonderful idea to stay up all night. Elizabeth had to open at Red Mango, a trendy frozen yogurt joint that recently opened on Chauncey next to Noodles & Company and originated in Korea, the next morning, so needless to say she was not thrilled about the idea of staying up all night. (The continued talk of "staying up all night" caused me to hum Yellow Card's "Ocean Avenue" all night) I didn't really mind. For some reason which I have been unable to discover, I cannot, no matter what I do, get a good night's rest while I am at Purdue. When I travel home I sleep for hours and hours like a baby, but the second I try and sleep on campus, I am completely incapable. So, really, Sodapop and Elizabeth were just keeping me company on a night when I probably would have only received a few hours of sleep anyway.



At around 1 am or so, I started whining and complaining about how hard I have worked to find a job this summer, yet all of my efforts have seemed to go to waste since obviously I still did not have a job. I began to tell Sodapop and Elizabeth about the blogging job posted on Purdue's website and about how I did not think I would get the position since I have never blogged before.



"Oh my gosh Sequoia!" yelled Sodapop from his seat on the kitchen counter, "you would be perfect for something like this. You have to make a blog. Tonight. Before I leave. Seriously, if you had a blog, I would totally read it, and I think other people would too. I don't know. I just think you would be good at it."



With Sodapop's encouragement, I quickly googled free blogging websites and quickly found blogger.com. I quickly filled out all of the personal information needed and clicked next, but I paused when I read the box "Blog Title." I was stumped. Ever since I was a wee little tyke writing papers in first grade I had always spent an unhealthy amount of time dedicated to determining the titles of anything. The title of something is what a reader first reads, and in most cases, determines whether or not the reader will even continue on to read the story. For three hours Elizabeth, Sodapop, and I threw around titles at each other and brainstormed about a possible title for my blog. Here is a brief list of some of the more entertaining blog titles that were put on the table that night, or I guess technically that morning: "Purdue: Real Talk" (According to Sodapop, the term 'real talk' is a slang term for the word truth indicating that I would be blogging the raw truth about being a Purdue student. Since both Elizabeth and I had never heard the term before it was quickly eliminated but not before the term 'real talk' started entering our everyday speech in a joking manner.) "Purdue: Chicks and Hicks" (Elizabeth thought of this one. We laughed when she said it and all agreed that if we saw a title like this we would most definitely read the rest of the story. However, I finally deemed it inappropriate for what I wanted for the blog.) "Purdue Pandemonium" "Purdue: Life After Your Initial Tassel Flip" "Starting Over," and "The World's Wide Open." There were of course many many others within the course of that three hours, some of which I do not remember and others which were...well...I will just end this portion with three dots...



The three of us ended up passing out at roughly 4 o'clock. Poor Elizabeth woke up at 6:30am in order to get Sodapop to the train station on time. I briefly remember waking up from my spot on the futon to watch the pair walk out the door, but I quickly fell right to my pillow not conscious enough to utter a 'bye.' I woke up just in time to get to my summer class-Engineering 195 Part II. I always turn my phone off before that class since it is in the basement of Armstrong, and there is absolutely no signal. When I left class I had three text messages from Sodapop all containing potential names for a blog and all of which he felt the humor and irony would be wasted on the general population. All that is except for "Purdue Pickle" which just made no sense at all.



The very last words he wrote to me were, "I don't know Sequoia, if you had to pick a blog name right now, right this very second, a now or never type thing from your gut what would it be? I know we keep trying to incorporate Purdue within it somehow, but really the most important thing is that it's about you and says something about you. Because...well because for the blog to be at all interesting or successful it needs to be you."



So, here I sit at my kitchen table almost a full 24 hours since I mentioned this blogging job to Sodapop and Elizabeth. I still do not know why I entitled my blog "Simply Sequoia," but I did. I guess it was a now or never type thing from my gut. I hope to eventually catch the essence of me in this blog, whatever that essence might be. Goodnight for now, though I am sure when I shut down my computer it will be a solid two or three hours before I actually fall asleep.



All my love,

Koya = )

*Side note: For those interested, here are a list of today's characters and what books they are from.
Sodapop - The Outsiders
Cherry Valence - The Outsiders
Elizabeth Bennet - Pride & Prejudice
Jo March - Little Women