I have always looked at my silver, toy Yorkie and ask her, “What are you thinking?” She would always look up at me with her black button eyes and lay her fluffly head back down as I continue to stratch her pink, pig-like belly. She would moan in comfort, leaving me wondering if I had triggered any doggie brain sparks.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein is an outlet to let you in the mindset of one particular canine, Enzo. Enzo is a lab mix who takes you through the journey of his life with his best friend and owner, Danny Swift. Instead of reading a book that is through the perspective of a human with a dog (who tells his story rather than his connection with the dog), you get thrown into the dog world. So for all you dog lovers, this is a book to set your set of paws on.

First, The author does a great job portraying the characteristics  of Enzo.  By using formal language, Stein displays Enzo as being an intellectual, especially when he speaks of philosophy by using the the ideas of race car driving and applying it to life. This works because we humans, tend to look at a dog and underestimate their abilities of communication. However, The Art of Racing in the Rain will get you to start looking at your pet in a different way. One of my favorite parts is when Enzo addresses the reader and explains his theory as to why dogs are the most related to humans, not chimps. He does this in a clever and humorous way that gets you to respect Enzo and his desires of being human.

The plot is juicy with family problems even though they are a good family who love each other. Enzo, the silent observer, sees what happens and are thrown into the mix. So throw out the worries that the plot is dry with pointless doggy “I want a bone” arguments. No, this book has a lot more substance in its story since you do follow the family.

Dane, his owner, is a strong character in that he has Enzo there for comfort.  The relationship between the dog and Dan is very strong as you see them watch television and Dan speaks to Enzo like an equal as Enzo thinks of what he wishes he could say back. It is amazing how these two feed off each other in the book for strength. Dan keeps losing and losing people, job success, the law and more while Enzo is there to help him understand that it was not the end.

Enzo gets his education through a TV. Dan leaves it on for him while he goes off to work and Enzo sits there and watches what is on, learning of different things in life and feeding his mind with more wishes to become human. Like this below,

“In Mongolia, when a dog dies, he is buried high in the hills so people cannot walk on his grave. The dog’s master whispers into the dog’s ear his wishes that the dog will return as a man in his next life. Then his tail is cut off and put beneath his head, and a piece of meat or fat is placed in his mouth to sustain his soul on its journey; before he is reincarnated, the dog’s soul is freed to travel the land, to run across the high desert plains for as long as it would like.

I learned that from a program on the National Geographic channel, so I believe it is true. Not all dogs return as men, they say; only those who are ready.

I am ready.”

I love this book. I love the idea of looking at life through a dog’s perspective. So if you want to try something new, I would recommend this.

So I went to a club last night and all I can say is “wow”.  Im not a constant club go-er but I do like to dance. Last club I went to was the Inferno in Greensboro, NC and it was so much fun. They played “retro” music from the 70s to the 90s. The club had a cool dance floor that lit up and had a relaxing atmosphere. Now I went to this other club called the N-Club last night and I couldn’t believe my eyes! It was seriously like a place to go find sex. Girls were half naked and I’m not exaturating because if i can see some other girls boobs literally pop out of their bra….. or see a fold of an ass cheek, ya know there’s something too revealing in your outfit! Women were on the dance floor doing dirty moves as men stood on the outside of the dance floor with beers and cigarrette smoke while watching them. Its unbelievable how incredibly ugly this club was. Call me naive but I thought it was everyone on the dance floor just dancing away to some great hip hop beats. I expected everyone to be dancing not just 6 women in a circle going to the ground shaking their butts as men whispered to each other checking out their bodies! It was totally degrading! Then the DJ was trying to get everyone pumped up by telling them to stick up their middle fingers up and repeatedly say, “I DONT GIVE A FUCK!” When that was said, i finally concluded that this club was a place for ghetto people. That club had no class! It was like a place for women to act like hoes and men get to chose. REALLY?! Now I don’t listen to hip hop because it is not my type of music. However, I prefer hip hop when it comes to dancing because it has great beats. Yet last night i heard songs that were beyond wrong. Songs were describing women as “hoes” and also describing the oral sex that these women gave them! Drugs, sex, Drugs and more sex was the theme of every song but in the most racy way you can think of.  Friends warned me of the club’s reputation but i had no idea it was up to this extent. I would not feel safe there if I had not gone with my boyfriend and friends thats for sure!

Anyways, it is just sad to see women degrade themselves just to get a man’s attention! I mean, wow! Men are becoming more perverted because women don’t hold their class anymore. They just want to throw themselves out there like an open buffet line instead of prizing themselves and justifying their worth. Im disapointed in both sexes and it worries me too because the younger generation is copying these awful trends! My friend works at the YMCA and she said the club was not that big of a shock because she is used to seeing this behavior in middle school kids at parties at the YMCA……MIDDLE SCHOOL PEOPLE! I know if i have a child, whether boy or girl, I will drill into them what our current generations lack. Bill Cosby is fighting these ideas that younger people think is cool such as, rap music that has cuss words and terrible content, language, and etc.  Its ok for culture to evolve but we are evolving into something bad instead of something good! We need more people like Bill Cosby and such to bring back the morals that people today have forgotten.

My other friend went to this FLO RIDA concert at the N-CLub….whooo heee! She said it was graunchy because everyone was drunk and the people performing on stage brought these women up and made gestures of oral sex. He made them squat and put the women’s face into their crotches. WOW! Then these women started taking off their clothes, ON StAGE! I dont know, but to me it seems like something has to change!

I had a crazy…crazy dream last night. But I like it becuase it helped me realize some things afterwards (hated it during the dream).  It was about me and my boo and we were on this wierd adventure. 

It all starts out with Mike and I hugging and then all of a sudden in Walmart…a group of terrorists came and shot up the place telling everyone in Walmart to go into a dark cave.  For some reason, there was this big butt cave in the corner of walmart. I remember seeing a herd of people go in this cave in panic…which is weird.  Idk why mike was not with me but I ran for my life into the cave with everyone else and then saw a train. It was like those lil kid trains where you just step in and sit down. I got this sinking feeling that I was going to die, I was so scared all i wanted was Mike. This  white man with a whip wanted me to get in and i said i only wanted to sit with my baby, Mike. he kept trying to get me into the cart but refused like crazy. Then the guy  finally gave up and rolled his eyes. He said that Mike was is in the  retard section. I looked over to where he was pointing and saw my love staring off into space. I didnt care, all i wanted was to be with him and if he really was retarded, I wanted to take care of him in this time of crisis. But as the train started to move through a tunnel i whispered to Mike asking him if he was faking it and he looked over at me with his blue eyes glowing so beautifully and nodded. He then grabbed me and kissed me before the dude with a whip saw. As we went through the tunnel I saw Lindsey Lohan make out with this dude with no top on in the other dude’s shirt……What the hell right? haha Then we were stuck in this city and were made to work like slaves. This black guy with a whip started asking people in lines whether they accepted Christ as their lord and savior while in the background some building burned and the whole town was dressed up in the KKK outfits. I know i know….what the heck? Everytime someone said they didnt know Jesus, the black guy would whip them crazy. Turns out there was a witch over the city that was making all this evil come out. So i went and i dont rememeber how the hell i did it but i ended up caging her and burried this bottle that seemed to give her powers in the sand. She screamed and hollered as i left to bury the bottle. When I came back the witch told me that Mike had died. She said she had poisoned him with her eyes. I cried like a freakin kid who had all their limbs broken! I was like…..I dont want to live without him! I just want my baby! Bring him back,bring him back! I cant live without him! He is my life! And then i saw mike on this Aladdin bed beside the witche’s cave. I ran over and i kissed his dead body and hugged him sobbing like crazy. Then Mike woked up and carresed my head and said…”its alright baby im here.” And we just hugged and kissed…….It was a happy ending to a WIERD AND CRAAAAZY story!

Your problably wondering….why? Well idk I have the wildest dreams…dont get me started! But when i woke up i had tears in my eyes and i had this warm feeling of gratefulness that Mike was still alive. I also felt my love for him just beaaaaaaaaaaaam out of me like crazy becuase i was so close to losing him…in fact i did lose him and i couldnt stand it!  I am just so happy to have Mike in my life. Even though this dream was so funky, im glad i had it! I love my bf….i know i know im a cheeseball!

I was listening to a radio station named the Two Guys Named Chris and they were talking about a movie that one of the Chris’s saw. He said that in this movie there was a man and a woman who took their children to the pool and chatted. They both had seperate unhappy marriages and then they ended up having an affair.  Chris’s wife says that these two people shouldnt even have started a friendship relationship becuase it sets up feelings that can eventually lead to an affair. 

I think it is possible to be friends with the opposite sex but there has to be bounderies that cannot at any time be crossed. As long as the two people keep up a light conversation and not confide in each other, then it is possible to be friends with that person.  If you confide in someone of the opposite sex, you then you will develop an emotional attachment. It is important to keep a distance with that person becuase it is possible to keep a light conversation but see that person every day or week.  You must keep a distance because the more time you spend with the opposite sex,  the more safe you will start to feel with that person which will lead you to confide in them.  Flirting should never be allowed.  I think that explains itself.

I had a guy friend here at App and I didn’t think much of it. I never saw him alone; i was always with a group of people.  Me and him laughed, joked around, and he always walked me and my roomate home with his roomate becuase it would usually be 1 o’clock everytime we left and our dorm was across campus.  I have always had kind of a flirtatous personality that i never notice. So eventually this guy i see at App ended up liking me…which eventually killed our relationship.  All my friends say i flirt but I dont mean to. I am always just joking and having a good time…aparently thats flirting. It sucks cuz all my guy friends end up liking me due to my false signals and I hate it becuase I like to hang with guys. They dont involve emotional drama like girls…at least most of the time. The dudes just want to have a good time and thats what i look for. I dont need a best guy friend…the guy would have to be gay for me to be able to confide in them.  I have a wonderful bf who I want to stay with forever so I want to be careful. But you see the problem with spending time with the opposite sex and flirting with them even when it is harmless?  It is important to keep distance in order to keep that friendship.  Of course there are few exceptions to were the two people can be friends and do everything that i say not to do…but just wait and see that eventually one of them will develop feelings for the other or have already tried and are ok to just being friends.

 Therefore, I say if you just keep a distance, not confide in, and not flirt; you can be able to sustain a safe relationship with the opposite sex. Otherwise…its love town for them!

For Easter break I had almost a week off from school. I went to Myrtle Beach where I had the time of my life!  Day one was magical, day two was orgasmic! and day 3 was the perfect ending.  I have never embarked on so many things in one trip!  I got to walk Barefoot landing in North Myrtle and stroll around the shops and get a caricature done. I had the opportunity to hold and take a picture with a white tiger and a Gibben named Yogi. I can still feel the tigers wooly yet catish fur on my fingertips and the monkeys soft but rubber fingers around my neck! Next year they have a tour where you can spend time with the animals and different kinds too! Imma taking it! I got to go on an adventure in treasure island putt putting where i went through caves with waterfalls several feet high while hitting balls into holes.  Then I got to witness dinosaurs swimming, flying, and stomping around at the I-MAX theater at Broadway at the Beach. And lastly, I had the grand privilage of being at Medievil Times! Now, I thought it was going to be this overpriced gig where I see the horses far down below me and the food was going to be crap…but instead i was pleasently surprised to see that I was close up near the horses and action! plus the food was delicious! I got to cheer on my knight (who was red and yellow) and see him defeat the bad guy in the end all the while eating my delicious meal. LOVED IT! Not only did i get to do these things, I still had a chance to visit the beach and bask in its magnificance!  The best part of my trip however, was being with my bf whom I love dearly.  Without him this trip would lay insignificant.  While i got to do these things, I held his hand and kissed his lips all through the day! There is nothing like doing something fun with someone you love.  We sat huddled together on the sandy shore watching the seagulls get fed and our feet dig in the warm sand. We got to cheer our knight and kiss under the waterfall.  We had our picture taken petting wild animals and hold hands walking the layers of shops.   I had the best time and it was so relaxing. There’s nothing like a perfect trip to keep your optimism high!

On February 17, 1998 I galloped down the stairs at the sound of my father’s voice. It was before school time and I found it strange my mother was not around preparing breakfast. My dad then told me to sit down and that today was a special day because my new baby brother was born. Joshua, my other brother, and I wiggled in our seats in excitement. What would he look like? How small is he? Many curious questions popped up in our minds.  Soon we arrived at the hospital with my grandma behind and walked towards my mother’s room.  As I looked in…there he was. A little tiny baby, wrapped up in blankets as if he was out in the artic. He was sleeping peacefully with his blonde curls resting on his new born skin.  When I saw his tiny fingers bunched up in his fist, I knew then that my brother was special.Liam as a toddler was a playful little child. He called me mom and my mother mommy. I would play with him all the time and we would giggle at our silliness.  He was always full of laughter and smiles. That’s what makes everyone love him.Liam is a warm hearted, spirited fellow filled with never ending energy. His heart is bigger than mine! Liam is always there for you and always cares. That is one of his best qualities. When you are sad he pets your hair and kisses you. When you are mad, he listens and when you are happy, Liam is always there to share the laughter and grins.  His energetic spirit is all the more social and young.  Liam always enjoys other people’s company and has a youthful imagination. Playing with him is a never ending circle of creativity. From superman action hero figures to Spiderman games on the X-box, Liam’s energy to play never dies out. He and I love to make crafts at home when ever there is a supply of art materials. With that we get to fest our eyes on his pictures of dragons, his friends and such; as well as portraits of us, his family members.  Liam loves animals! Including his great stuffed monkey named Nacho from “Build a Bear.”  You can find him petting dogs and learning of animals in books. When Liam is curious about something, he does not stop to think about getting a book from Barnes and Noble to learn about the particular animal. My family and I love Liam. He truly is a treasure box of surprises and idiosyncrasies. I can’t wait to see my little brother grow up to be somebody big. I know in my heart there are great things in store for him.  Everyday as I look into those big green eyes, I know that God has placed a gift and destiny in his soul.  All we have to do now, is wait and watch his winding road….unwind.