A post I put on imdb...

If and when I post on imdb (which is about once a year), I try to avoid making anything personal because people on their don't need to know anything about me, but every now and then I feel the need to respond to something. I was reading the latest press releases and found that Tom Hanks had issued a statements against Mormons for supporting Prop 8 - big surprise there. I decided to go to his discussion boards and see if anyone had started a topic. The first one I found was called "anti catholic and anti mormon." I decided to look into it. This was my response to the original poster with a few changes...

It's really making me angry that all of these stars in Hollywood are speaking out against the Mormons without doing any research. There were lots of churches that were involved in getting Prop 8 passed including the Catholic church but it seems that the only church to get any flack from it is the Mormon church. Mormons are great people. Since when is it wrong for people to stand up for their beliefs? Long before Prop 8 was even thought up, the Mormon church issued a statement saying that marriage is between a man and a woman.

As far as Tom Hanks is concerned... it makes me angry that he would produce anti-Catholic movies or make anti-Mormon statements. But what makes me even more angry is that he'll get away with it. He made these choices when he was 100% sober, yet when someone like Mel Gibson makes an anti-Semetic remark while under the influence, he becomes the worst thing in Hollywood. I'm not trying to make light of what Gibson did. I think his statements were crude and demeaning. But aren't Hanks' actions also crude and demeaning?

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? wrapping paper... it's so much more fun to open gifts when they're wrapped
2. Real tree or Artificial? definitely real
3. When do you put up the tree? I don't... my parents do :( but then I get to enjoy it when I go home :)
4. When do you take the tree down? If my mom had her way, the day after Christmas, but my dad and I can usually convince her to keep it up until about New Year's
5. Do you like eggnog? Nope
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Totally Hair Barbie, though I'm pretty sure I cut off her hair at one point
7. Hardest person to buy for? um.... everybody???
8. Easiest person to buy for? Myself. I know myself better than I know anyone else.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? I have a couple
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Neither... I'm not to that point in my life yet, though most people will get a "Merry Christmas" text on the 25th!
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? um... I'm not sure
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Home Alone, Home Alone: Lost in NY, Elf, and White Christmas (but White Christmas is the only one I actually own...)
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? a couple of weeks before the big day!
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not that I remember
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My mom's coffee cake
16. Lights on the tree? Yes, white!
17. Favorite Christmas song? O, Holy Night
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Technically, I travel. But I travel to my home. But this year is going to be weird because my parents are in a new house that I've never been in.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, Blixen, and Rudolph! (I'm sure the spelling is wrong...)
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? one or two on Christmas Eve, then the rest in the morning!
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? All the snow! Most people would love it, but not me. I like going home to Georgia where it is snow-free!
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? um... my family has never done themes or colors. We're all about the ornaments meaning something, like the Cozumel bell ornaments from a summer cruise or the Santas painted on seashells from Savannah.
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? as long as there's ham, I don't care what goes with it
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? a happy, healthy niece :)

Appearantly I'm funding hate...

One of my favorite websites is imdb.com. Tonight, I found this article and found that by being in Utah, I'm funding hate. Is anyone else incredibly SICK!!!! of the ignorance surrounding the Mormon church and its involvement with Prop 8? I know I sure as heck am... I mean, half the people in my phone are gay. Half the people I work with are gay. I have 2 gay cousins. Even my landlord is gay! I listen to gay singers. I own movies with gay actors. I watch TV shows with gay actors. But because I'm Mormon and I live in Utah, I fund hate. Guess I better tell my landlord I'm moving out because I no longer want to fund "the hate" I feel towards his lifestyle... Oh, and can someone please explain the connection between Sundance and Prop 8? Because I'm pretty sure Robert Redford isn't Mormon and that Sundance didn't encourage California voters to vote for Prop 8.

Film Stars And Fans Urged To Boycott Sundance Over Proposition 8 Connection

Gay rights campaigners are asking Hollywood stars and film fans to boycott next year's Sundance Film Festival in Utah, accusing one of the event's backers of supporting California's gay marriage ban.

According to political activist John Aravosis, Cinemark Theaters boss Alan Stock - a Mormon who owns a number of Sundance venues - made a personal $9,900 (GBP6,600) donation to support Proposition 8, which was passed last month, outlawing same-sex unions in the Golden State.

A representative for the Sundance Institute has defended the festival - which was founded by Robert Redford - insisting all the movies screened at Cinemark Theaters are available at other cinemas.

But AmericaBlog.com editor Aravosis is dissatisfied, telling the New York Daily News, "If you go to Utah, you're funding hate.

"Just moving movies around is not enough. Money from this festival is funneled directly to the Mormon Church and to a supporter of Proposition 8. Sunshine should simply say they won't screen films in a hate theatre."

A Sundance Institute spokesperson says, "(The festival) has a long history and in fact was founded on the idea of championing diversity. It is our hope that people will embrace the festival for its commitment to diversity, not avoid it."

Sundance will take place between 15 and 25 January 2009 in Park City, Utah.

Bill Gates' Money

So today was a very different day for me. For the first time ever, I didn't have my iPod to listen to on the bus on my way to school or on my way home. I had it with me, but the battery was completely dead. Therefore, I could actually hear what was going on around me. Nothing interesting happened on the way to school as I was one of 5 people on the bus, including the driver. The ride home was a different story. School must have gotten out early because there were a lot of kids on the bus, but this one particular group sat right in front of me. They broke out their yo-yos (don't you remember when they were, like, the coolest thing ever?) and this one kid was saying that he paid $23 for this one that he had (I really hope his parents had the sense not to let him spend that much on a yo-yo). Anyway, his friend responds, "No way. That's like half of the money that Bill Gates has." The conversation then went as follows...

Kid #1: "Uh-uh. Bill Gates has like 50 billion dollars."
Kid #2: "No, he has like 50 billion and six dollars."
Kid #3: "No way, more like 50 billion and eleven dollars."
Kid #4: "You're all wrong. Bill Gates has at least 50 billion and seventy-three dollars."
Kid #2: "There's no way he has that much money."

My take on the conversation: If I had the original amount of $50 billion, I wouldn't care less whether the additional amount was $6, $11, or $73. But personally, at this point in my life, I would gladly take the $6, $11, or $73 and let Bill Gates keep the $50 billion.

Why I Hate Politics

I'm so over Prop 8. First of all, California wasn't the only state to have a "Prop 8." Florida and Arizona also had similar votes and passed legislation to ban gay marriage. Where's the press on that? The Mormon Church wasn't the only church to support Prop 8. The Adventist Church and the Catholic Church also supported Prop 8. Where's the press on that? I don't get offended easily at all. I've always believed that people who get easily offended do so because they are immature and/or lack confidence. I guess I'm not really offended, just annoyed at the total lack of ignorance that surrounds the beliefs of the Mormon Church.

What brought this about was a post a friend had on his website. It was a link to comments made on a news article about the demonstrators in Salt Lake. (I do have to say that one comment made me laugh right out loud - "Let the gays get married and be miserable like the rest of us.") Some of the comments were so ignorant. Especially "Why did the Morman Church spend so much money trying to pass Prop. 8? Who gains? Gay marriage does nothing to threaten heterosexual marriage. Polygamy does much more to threaten it. Polygamy has been a part of the Morman Church for a long time as has having under-age girls marry. Talk about threatening traditional marriage!" Seriously?! Do your research! That's the FLDS Church, not the Mormon Church. Yes, polygamy was practiced at one point, but it hasn't been practiced in well over 100 years. And as for marrying under-age girls? That has never been practiced.

Sorry about the lack of updating...

I'm sure we've all noticed that I rarely update my blog. It's usually at the prodding of my mother that I get around to updating it. But I have no life. So there's really nothing interesting to blog about. In the past few weeks since my last update, I officially quite my job with Eastside. I went to court along with 2 of my roommates. Did the mediation thing. Settled on paying $95 each to the plaintiff. Took my midterms. Enjoyed my fall break. Went back to work at Eastside because the job I was hired at still hasn't placed me. And I recently developed my first crush in almost 3 years. That in itself is a story.

From my sister's blog... "my sister's roommate invited a guy over to meet her; without telling Caitlin that was why- Ross and I are excited about the possible prospect of a brother-in-law- and when she said basically all she knows is where he went on a mission and that he hates feet, I knew they were destined- Caitlin hates feet!!!"

She posted that the day after I met the guy! Possible prospect of a brother-in-law??? It must be all the baby hormones she's experiencing.

So let me explain about my first crush in almost 3 years. After I broke up with my high school boyfriend, I started dating another guy almost immediately. I didn't mean for it to happen, but since he approached me first, I can't be blamed for a so-called "rebound relationship." We dated for a couple of months then he broke up with me over a text message. Don't worry. I laughed, too. To be honest, there wasn't much chemistry and kissing him was like kissing my brother. At least, I'm pretty sure that's what it would be like. So after him, I knew I was going to be moving in just a few months so I didn't allow myself to develop any feelings other than think guys were good looking. When I first arrived in Utah, I went through the typical young adult Mormon girl thing where I felt I had to be married immediately and I started crushing on any guy I talked to. After about 10 guys who I was convinced were "the one," I started really liking this one guy who was "the one." But we were never more than friends. I finally got over him when he started dating the girl who is now his wife (and they're expecting their first baby in January - congrats to them!). That was my last crush and it was the beginning of 2006. Now we're almost to the end of 2008 and I actually like someone! Yes, I'm just as shocked as you are.

For my mom...

My mom has been asking for pictures of my room since I moved into the bedroom in the basement. So here it is... along with my house. And the adorable onesie that I found for my niece-on-the-way at Wal-Mart.

Work, Work, Work

Well, it's time to say good-bye to my job and find a new one. It's a long story about why I'm leaving. We all know I've never liked the company I work for, but I've always loved the residents I work with and they're the reason I've never been able to pull myself away. However, the company finally did something to make me so angry that I put in my 2 weeks notice yesterday. Basically, they took away my hours and I'm being replaced by a new girl. The resignation form told me to be candid in my answers as to why I'm leaving. And I was definitely candid. Some of the things I wrote were...

In response to whether or not I will return in the future: "This is a horrible company and after the way I've been treated, there is little to no chance that I will ever return."

After having to rate my supervisor in different categories: "(My boss) is awesome. The fair mark is no fault of her own but the company's failure to recognize the hard work of its (caregivers). Without us, the company is nothing."

Commenting about my overall ratings of the company: "The pay sucks for everything that is required of (caregivers) and I never thought that departments heads would treat their employees so terribly."

I held nothing back. My boss brought my papers to the department head meeting today. 2 of them called me later to apologize. I basically told them thank you for calling and I appreciate the apologies. Part of me feels bad for what I wrote but another part of me feels invigorated for actually saying what was on my mind.

But I do feel absolutely horrible. One of my previous co-workers quit because of me. Well, it wasn't really because of me, but she was basically in the same situation I was. At the beginning of the summer, I went back to work full time so I could save up some money while I was only taking a couple classes. I found out today that this person was told she couldn't have her hours anymore because they had 3 full time staff in the afternoon. To this person, you know who you are, I am so very sorry and you know I would never have done that one purpose.

I do have some good news. I went to mutual with my ladies a couple of weeks ago and they had a luau! They had Polynesian dancers and it was so cool. I took a couple of pictures with my phone. They aren't the best but I really enjoyed the dances. The greatest part was when the emcee introduced her husband as Johnny Lingo and told us her pair 12 cows for her!

Why teachers make me laugh

I've survived the first month of school! And if I make it through the next 2 weeks, it will all be downhill! So far, I've had three very memorable moments.

The first one came during my Crusades class. First of all, I think my professor is awesome! He has a fun personality and he's from Germany so he has a fun accent. Accents always make me happy. Anyway, one day he was talking about one of the leaders during the first Crusade. I don't remember which one but I know it wasn't Godfrey of Bouillon because he would have been too young. So he was saying how this one leader was really old for the time because he was around 60 years old. Then he made some comment about how these days when you're 60, "you're like a spring chicken. Just look at me!" It made my day.

Another one came during an education class. And this was when I found out my professor is definitely Mormon. At the U, it’s a toss up whether a professor is LDS while at BYU it was pretty much a given at Georgia State, none of them were. So this one day, my professor was going off about something he didn't agree with in education. I'm pretty sure he was going off about how high school teachers care too much about facts and dates and not enough about concepts and reasoning. And to wrap up his rant he concluded with, "And that brothers and sisters..." I'm not sure what he said after that because I was too busy trying to suppress my giggles along with the majority of the class.

And my final memorable moment happened just last week in my Classical Greece class. My professor isn't the best but he's passionate about the subject and always knows answers to any and all questions relating to Ancient Greece, no matter how obscure. But sometimes, I find it hard to pay attention to his lectures and I'll start doodling or reading for another class. But this particular day was quite interesting. He was focusing on Sparta and talked about things like the Trojan War and the 300 Spartan soldiers. But the best part came during his PowerPoint slides. He usually has maps, artwork, and pictures of ruins. This day, there was a picture of Gerard Butler as King Leonidas in 300, with a caption reading. "WE ARE SPARTA!!!" It made me so very happy. :)

Why actors should stick to acting...

And stay away from making statements about politics. Awhile back I read a quote from an actor about John McCain's choice to have Sarah Palin as his running mate. This isn't about whether or not you like her as a person, as a politician, or both. This about what an Oscar winning actor said about her. First, he went off about how she's like a bad Disney movie; the hockey mom from Alaska steps in and makes a difference. Or whatever it was he said. This was the part that got me. He said he felt like McCain chose her for... brace yourselves... "political purposes." What's that you say? A politician chose another politician as his running mate for political purposes? How dare he? What was he thinking? I know I would definitely choose my running mate because I thought he had pretty eyes or she had a nice smile or maybe his dog was extra friendly towards me and my kids, but definitely NOT for political purposes. Seriously, how ignorant can one person be?

On another note relating to Sarah Palin and all the bad press she's getting. Again, I'm not saying one way or another what I think about her. This is just me reacting to the idiots in the press. Sorry for using that word, but there's not a better one that is coming to my mind. Someone said that if she can't control her family, how can she control a country? Does no one remember that not long after Bush took office, both of his underage daughters were caught drinking? Yet, less than 4 years later he was reelected for another term in office? I know I remember but I never thought less of Bush. And I don't think any less of Palin and her family's choices. Maybe her husband has a DUI but she didn't force him to drink and she didn't force him to drive. As far as her 17 year old daughter being pregnant... I know lots of girls that could have been pregnant at that age and some that were. There were even rumors that my high school was going to open a nursery so the drop out rate would be lower. I myself made lots of stupid decisions at that age but does that mean my parents were bad parents? Of course not! My parents are awesome! But at 17, teenagers make their own decisions and there's not really much their parents can do about it. If you're anything like me at that age, the more your parents tried to control you, the more you wanted to rebel. Maybe Bristol was a lot like me at that age. With that said, did the press ever stop to think, "Wait a minute, Obama was born to a teen mother. Should we insult her like we're insulting Sarah and Bristol?" No. No one ever did. And the real shame of it is that I never heard anyone from the Obama campaign speak up on this issue. Shame on them. And shame on the press. And shame on the people who think Palin should have aborted her baby when she found out he had downs syndrome.