**Spoiler Alert**: The Vow

   Last Friday I went to go see The Vow. It was great! Prior to watching it I had heard mixed reviews with most of them being negative, but I loved it. I thought the plot line was very similar to The Notebook with Paige going back to her family and old boyfriend and then returning to Leo at the end of the movie. There was a really funny wedding scene, as well. The only people there were Leo, Paige, and a couple friends who were videotaping it. It was in a museum, and a security guard came up right before he "pronounced them man and wife". They quickly said the words and ran away. It was really sad that she never remembered the couple years before the wreck. It's hard to believe that something that crazy can really happen! I can't imagine forgetting three years of my life. There was a major twist when Paige discovers why she had left her family, and they were taking advantage of her memory loss. I was really happy when Leo punched Paige's ex-fiance because he was really annoying and unattractive. Overall...great movie!

30 Hour Famine + A Very Busy Weekend

   Last weekend I participated in my Trinity Cathedral's 30 Hour Famine. The 30 Hour Famine is an event sponsored by World Vision that  is used to raise world hunger awareness. The main part of the event is the 30 hour fast that begins Friday night at 12:00 and ends Sunday morning. On Saturday night we sleep in cardboard boxes in the Cathedral's courtyard, and yes...it is very cold! We wake up bright and early the next morning and eat at the homeless breakfast that our church provides for those that need food. The breakfast is a very enlightening experience because you get to have real conversations with people that you would normally never talk to. The two men that I stood in line with were very nice, and they were very interested in our service project. The two men that I sat with for the meal asked us what we were currently studying in science. This conversation went on a tangent to subatomic particles, Einstein's theorem, and evolution. These experiences really give you a new insight into the issue of hunger and homelessness. Clearly, these were very smart people who had just been put in a bad situation.  Our youth group raised around $25,000 through people sponsoring the participants in this event. We will also receive a 6:1 matching grant which will greatly increase this number. This was my third time doing the famine, and I hope to continue doing it every year.
  Now, for my explanation on why my weekend was so busy. Friday afternoon, I left school with the math team and travelled to College of Charleston for a math competition. Saturday morning we woke up and went to breakfast (which I could not eat since I was fasting). We then proceeded to the math competition. I participated for about three hours. My dad picked me up from Charleston, and he brought me back to Columbia so I could participate in the famine's activities such as building our cardboard house and going on  a scavenger hunt in the Vista. I did the famine, went to the homeless breakfast, and went to church. I had to leave right after communion because we had to book it to Irmo for the last two games of my soccer tournament.
Now that's a busy weekend!

The Sweet, Crazy, and Always Full of Surprises: Lulu

  I have two dogs. One of which is fairly normal the other is crazy! Lulu is the crazy one, hence the name. We got Lulu from a friend on my club soccer team whose family felt that she didn't get enough attention because they had 5 other dogs. They had gotten Lulu from the side of the road and think she had been a trucker's dog which would explain her street smarts.
  So, We took Lulu as we were looking for a companion for our golden retriever, Josie. The couple weeks were pretty hectic. It was almost impossible to get her inside because she hated walking on hard wood floors. Almost everyday we would come home to some sort of disaster such as extension chords being eaten two dog beds being ripped apart, the stuffing in quilt being extracted and and a never-ending supply of stuffed-animal fluff covering our yard. There were also several nice pillows shredded to pieces.  Although it is possible that Josie's puppy habits had been brought back with the excitement of her new friend, we blamed all this on Lulu.
    A more recent example of her craziness was when she "played hit by a car". The neighbor drove by our house and saw Lulu laying on our driveway with her head hanging limp over the curb. She knew that Lulu had a history of escaping from our porch and thought maybe she was just tired from running around all day. She went to go pick up her daughter from school and returned home passing by Lulu who was still in the same position. She got out of her car and went over to the pathetic looking dog. She tried to touch her paw and Lulu pulled it away. Then she tried to persuade Lulu to get up, and Lulu ignored the commands as if she was unable to move. She then proceeded to pick Lulu up (assuming by now that she had been hit by a car). Lulu tensed up like a statue. Then, she went to my other neighbor to ask for assistance in getting the dog into the car to take her to the vet. They got her in the car and told my mom. Mom texted the rest of the family the news and rushed to the vet. Meanwhile I am at soccer practice trying to stay calm at the fact that my dog has been hit by a car. My mom has to wait in the waiting room for a while until the vet comes out. Lulu is fine.
  To any person with a normal dog, Lulu's behavior would have signaled hit by a car. But the behaviors when displayed by Lulu were perfectly normal. No one at the scene would have known this, though. I do appreciate the genuine concern of both neighbors because if the situation had been real, it would have been very important that Lulu get to the vet.
   Ooh Lulu!