After the Movie

So the movie was basically what I thought it was going to be, a nice storyline but way too much singing and over dramatizing of the plot. The plot actually was kinda screwy and jumped around a lot but it was easier to follow once you knew the difference between Linda and Lila. The popcorn was pretty good and everyone was really helpful once you entered the theater because I had about five people ask what I wanted. I enjoyed going back to the theater after all this time though and seeing how much had changed over the past years. Somehow I think I actually sat in the same seat as the last time I went to the theater with my family. Also, I think the same old man was the ticket giver like he always has been. As for the movie experience, it just felt good to get out of that bitter cold weather and get inside somewhere and try to have some entertainment for awhile. Each person's voice was rather unique when they sang and it felt kinda weird to see where the song White Christmas first got its popularity. Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire both sang really well and it was pretty cool how the plot covered many holidays in it. The two ladies in the film do a really good job in their parts as well but I had trouble remembering which one was Lila and which one was Linda because they jumped back and forth between the two guys about 3 times it seemed. There were lots and lots of performance-like events in the movie, with many of them taking place at the Holiday Inn and the last couple at Hollywood. I was not really a fan of how much singing there was but at least it was not one of those musical films where they randomly bust out into song and somehow synchronized choreography. Instead, the plot was based around the singing so it at least went with the story and did not hinder it. Of course, as in basically all old Hollywood movies, the film had one of those touchy, never could be real, "Happily Ever After" endings where everyone ends up with who they should be with to live a happy life. I was kind of happy that I went because it gave me a break from my real studying while still giving me time to go out after as well. I am also glad because the ticket was only 5 dollars so I kind of think of it as only spending 5 more dollars to keep an A, which I think is a pretty good deal. One thing I would change at the theater, however, is that they did not have the lights on for the night show AND they did not use the vintage box office they have out front to sell tickets. Instead, they had the lights off and you had to get your ticket from the guy at the stand once you got inside the theater lobby. Overall, though, I did kind of enjoy my experience with the movie and going back to the theater and I would consider going there for another showing of a different movie sometime.

Before the movie

I did a bit of research on the movie, which is called Holiday Inn. I mainly looked at IMDB and Wikipedia to try and see what it was about. After reading about the legacy and the effects of the film in America and the rest of the world, I am kind of intrigued to see it. However, I am not big on musical films, especially ones from the the black and white days, so I am unsure what exactly to expect. I grew up here and have been to the Normal Theater a couple times with my family, but the last time I went was well before I was even in High School. I assume that they have probably made some changes since I had been there last so I wonder what differences there are since my mom dragged my brother and I out to watch another Christmas movie back in the day. Hopefully this experience will be a little different than that one. Going back to my research, I found that lots of pop culture things arose out of this film. The immensely famous song "White Christmas" was actually popularized by Bing Crosby in the film when he sings it on stage. One other special note about the movie is that the Holiday Inn chain owners named their hotels after the film. Well, I hope this is not a waste of two hours and that I actually kind of enjoy it. Also, I am hoping that the weather won't be too bad on the way out there, especially while trying to walk with my bad leg. Time to go see if this film is worth all of the praise it got back in the day

Thanksgiving Break

I had an awesome Thanksgiving break! I got to hangout with my girlfriend literally the entire week and experienced my first Black Friday with her, but I didn't even buy anything and I am definitely not doing that ever again because people are insane on that day and I love sleeping too much. It sucks that I had to come back to school but I always remember that there are only two and a half more weeks here for me so that is perfectly fine. I'm really glad I got to be with my grandparents and my uncles again for thanksgiving because with the way my grandpa has been acting, you never know which one will be your last with some of the individuals you love so you must cherish each one. We all had a great time eating my mom's wonderful sweet potato casserole, noodles, and everything else that she made. The funniest part of the weekend definitely was when my obnoxious uncle told the women and kids to go in another room so they older guys and the men could watch football together. Everyone laughed at him but then they shut up because we love our football too much. My girlfriend and I got to celebrate our 6 month anniversary Sunday together by going out for lunch and dinner and just having a nice casual evening watching a movie. I'm really thankful to have such a loving and helpful family and girlfriend and even her family cares for me which is awesome! I got to go to her family's thanksgiving this year as well and I had a great time talking about sports and politics with her hilarious drunk 90 year old grandfather who just keeps life funny at such an old age. I had to work alot but I'm glad I made enough money to probably pay for most of my books next semester which opens opportunities up to buy a new TV with the money I make over winter break. Well, I hope everybody had as good of a thanksgiving break as I did!

Letters

The first person I chose to write a letter to for the project is my mom. After my parents divorced, my mom rose my brother and I completely by herself for awhile. As a result of that and my strong church influence, we have almost identical values and that has helped us build the close relationship we have today. In addition to that, she also works for a State Farm Insurance Agent like I do and actually worked for awhile at the office where I currently work. I am a business-insurance major here because of her and my dad and the rest of my family being involved with State Farm in one way or another in addition to my mom being an ISU alum. I would definitely write to her about this subject and try to convince her about how the classes will be easy because of previous knowledge, my solid four year plan, and also about the prestige of the Katie School of Insurance. The next person I will write to is one of my best friends. We became really great friends as sophomores at NCHS and we just got closer as the years went on. He graduated with me and is now currently a freshman at Heartland Community College. We both really love sports and we hang out every weekend. He helped me through many of my problems in high school and vice-versa. He and I also share the same values so it is easy for us to get along. I would definitely convince him about would be internships that will get me paid well with good experience, the awesome insurance fraternity, and also how I will be able to get my degree fairly easily.

Free Write

I am so excited right now because one of my sports teams that has been terrible lately has made a comeback and is now on the brink of going to the World Series, thanks to their outstanding pitching. I have been a huge San Francisco Giants fan since I was little, mainly because I was born in California like my dad, who actually grew up in the Bay Area. Towards the end of the regular season, we started a run and caught the San Diego Padres and ended beating them in the last game of the season to earn a playoff berth ahead of them. In the NLDS, we faced the Braves and shut them down with our rotation. We have arguably the best pitching rotation in all of baseball with Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, and Madison Bumgarner. In addition to that, we have no doubt the league's best closing pitcher in Brian Wilson. With the emergence of our rookie Buster Posey and the team's batting average steadily growing after each game, there is more hope than ever in my mind that we will close out the series tonight against the Phillies and go to the World Series for the first time since 2003, when we lost to the Angels. I am proudly wearing my orange Tim Lincecum jersey today and hopefully when he pitches tonight against Roy Halladay for the second time in the series we can pull out that final win and represent the National League in the World Series. This is also the last game in our home stadium in the entire series so it would be even better if we can close it out (literally with Wilson) in front of the home crowd at AT&T Ballpark where I have seen numerous games. Sorry if you read this and aren't a baseball fan but...Go Giants!

My Research Topic-Insurance

I am planning on majoring in Insurance and minoring in Accounting. I have chosen the topic "Why people need car insurance." My whole family has worked at State Farm so I grew up learning bits and pieces along the way but this summer I finally realized my interests and worked for an agency here in Bloomington. Upon working there, I learned lots of information and went to seminars and eventually took the test and became licensed in insurance. Out of all of the seminars, I learned that it is necessary for every person who has a vehicle to have insurance for that vehicle. I handled countless claims where an accident or a rock shooting up and hitting the window caused damage out of the blue. In addition to that, many other people were victims of hit and runs and did not have any insurance to cover it so they had to try and pay that huge sum of money right out of their pocket. Insurance gives you peace of mind as well as confidence while driving that you can never have without it. If anything were to happen to you or your car while driving, sufficient insurance will cover almost all of the costs while only needing you to pay a low premium to keep an insurance value that exponentially more than you pay. I have also seen some people involved in accidents who went to jail because they were uninsured and injured someone in the other car. Not only does insurance cover the monetary costs of injuries or damages to you and your car, it also covers costs for injuries or damages you might cause to other people or vehicles in an accident. Insurance is definitely needed for everybody who drives or owns a vehicle, because you never know what might happen to you or your property.

ACL Surgery

On October 29th, I am going to have the biggest surgery of my life. As I was playing football over the summer, I tore my MCL and had to go to the hospital. I went through alot of physical therapy and was finally getting back into shape. I worked with Mclean County Orthopedics so I could hopefully get back into sports this year and be ready for football in the spring. I finally got cleared on August 17th, the day before move-in at ISU. On my first day here, I decided to test my knee in my brace on the basketball courts at Manchester. As I came down on one play, my leg got caught on the curb and I heard my leg snap. My friends called the ambulance because I was in alot of pain and could not walk, but it still felt just like when I had torn my MCL, not my ACL. The doctor finally said that he also thought that I had just torn the MCL without any further damage. However, once I visited my doctor at Mclean County Orthopedics, I found out I had torn my MCL, my ACL, and even some of my cartilage. Now I have to go through a huge arthroscopic surgery where they take a ligament from a cadaver, cut it up into the shape of what my ACL should look like, and drill through two of my main leg bones to fit the ACL into place. I will have to go through at least 5 months of rehab in hopes of playing sports ever again and I will be in a full leg brace and crutches for awhile at school. This is going to be really tough for me, but hopefully I can get through the worst of it and come back as good as I was or even better.