http://www.pleonast.com/user/rapunzel recent pleonast.com entries by user rapunzel en-us http://www.pleonast.com/user/rapunzel?l=5&entryID=595659 Currently, there are a bunch of hooligans in the street outside my apartment blowing whistles, screaming, shouting, and playing their bass 100 decibels to loudly. Someone said yesterday, "Obama is a popstar." So true. The presidential race has been degraded to a popularity contest. The ruckus going on outside sounds more like a tailgate party than a post-election celebration. Seriously wishing right now people under age 25 didn't have the right to vote. Wave a mystical, magical word in front of their faces like "change" and they go berserk and lose all their senses. And I just might burst out laughing the next time I hear a black person talk about how you shouldn't judge a person by the color of their skin. Whatever. It could always be worse, right? Hm. Maybe I should go read a Stalin biography to make myself feel better. 2008-11-05 http://www.pleonast.com/user/rapunzel?l=5&entryID=591554 Did you know... "In the early 1990's when airbags were introduced, there was considerable debate as to how fast the air bags should deploy in the event of a crash. Those that argued that air bags should deploy rapidly enough to protect an unbelted occupant succeeded. The force this requires is a problem for smaller people and people who might be positioned close to the air bag. The risk of injury is greater for infants, children, small adults (generally those adults who are under five feet, five inches tall) or frail older adults. Infants and small adults should be seated in the rear of the vehicle that is equipped with dual air bags protecting the front seat. If this is not possible, they should position their seats as far back from the air bag as possible." --Drug and Alcohol Course Material from the DMV ...I always knew there was a reason I didn't like driving! My gut instinct was trying to tell me I shouldn't be in the front seat. 2008-10-25 http://www.pleonast.com/user/rapunzel?l=5&entryID=590767 I was reading through a list of perils that are not covered by a homeowners policy, and found the following exclusion: f. War, including the following and any consequence of any of the following: (1) Undeclared war, civil war, insurrection, rebellion or revolution; (2) Warlike act by a military force or military personnel; or (3) Destruction, seizure or use for a military purpose. Discharge of a nuclear weapon will be deemed a warlike act even if accidental. g. Nuclear Hazard, to the extent set forth in the Nuclear Hazard Clause of SECTION I – CONDITIONS. So, in the event that the Commies decide to come over here and Johnny Reb rises again, need to start stashing away the mula since State Farm won't cover the damage done to your proeprty by the next A-bomb. Just so's ya know. Oh, but don't worry--volcanic eruptions are covered, so don't lose any sleep over that. 2008-10-23 http://www.pleonast.com/user/rapunzel?l=5&entryID=579736 The last day to register to vote in Florida is October 6. Apparently, you do not need a Florida driver's license as I aforetime believed. If you do not have a Florida license, you simply put your SSN. FC students, if you are not registered to vote in your home state, I heard rumor you can register to vote in Florida using the school's address. Visit your local political gurus for more information (i.e. Drs Dickey, Crispell, or Bingham). I'm sure they'd be happy to help you out. For even further information and for a printable copy of the voter registration application, please check out http://www.votehillsborough.org. Do your civic duty--register and vote. 2008-09-25 http://www.pleonast.com/user/rapunzel?l=5&entryID=570748 1. I like living with my own little family! Living by myself had many pros, but I'm glad to be living with these wonderful girls. We talk, laugh, cook, cry, share, and shop together (last one--very important). 2. The job has gotten BUSY. Time flies! One minute, I'm clocking in, the next, I'm scrambling around to tie up all the loose ends. I like getting to talk with the people; they're a fascinating variety. We kinda follow them through little sections of their lives: we found out when Mrs. Smith's husband went off to Iraq, and today I heard from her that he had come home. Another plus: I've becoe so absent-minded lately, that I rarely ever take my work home with me, because I simply can't remember any of it! 3. Having people over pretty much rocks. I think we've had people at our apartment nearly every night the past two weeks, inviting especially some of those we don't ordinarily get to spend a lot of time with. Friday, we squashed 25 people into our 16'x15', un-air-condi... 2008-09-03 http://www.pleonast.com/user/rapunzel?l=5&entryID=566637 ...someone threatened to call the cops on me, and meant it! Can't say I ever imagined that happening. I and my group of friends had left the Taco Bell building because they were locking up for the night and instead of departing, we stood on the sidewalk and talked for a while, the girls about how to cook with bananas and the guys about the constitutionality of the draft, until finally one of the employees beat on the inside of the locked door and said he was going to call the police if we didn't leave. Now, I believe the threat was unjustified for multiple reasons. First of all, the sign on the door said they closed at 11pm. At 10 they started cleaning, and finally at 10:30 they were locking the door--obviously they were closing. We got up, walked outside, and they immediately closed the last door behind us. I didn't like the fact that they were false advertising the closing time, but decided it really wasn't anything to make a fuss about, but then at 11 the guy tells us if we... 2008-08-24 http://www.pleonast.com/user/rapunzel?l=5&entryID=556558 I've been thinking about my liberal arts education lately-particularly the aspect of how one can study literature and take spiritual application from it, even if said literature isn't 100% "pure," so to speak. It's interesting to note that Paul made use of bits of knowledge that were from less than pristine sources. Consider: Acts 17:28 "For we are also his children" is a line from a poem written by Aratus, who wrote poems of praise to Zeus and other Greek deities as well as the stories of the consetellations. Titus 1:12 "Cretans are always liars" is apparently better known today to the non-Christian world as "Epimenedes Paradox" as Epimenedes was a Cretian, though apparently Paul either missed or decided to ignore the paradox and just went with the literal meaning of the statement. 1 Cor. 15: 33 "Bad company corrupts good morals," is a phrase from a Greek comedy written by Menander the Athenian, ca. 300 B.C. Menander was conside... 2008-07-30 http://www.pleonast.com/user/rapunzel?l=5&entryID=555192 Well, the evil GRE has been slain...or, I have been slain. I'm not positive which one is really true! But, on other matters... I learned a valuable lesson at work the other day. One of my Baptist co-workers was having a particularly difficult time with a client on the phone. The client kept shouting at her again and again to change something she was unhappy with about her policy. It really upset my co-worker. When I later learned that the client was a member of the church, I was aghast. How awful to think that we will come to church on Sunday to worship God with our brothers and sisters, and the next day call someone about our insurance and shout at the customer service rep. I realized how important it is that we live our daily lives in such a way that shows our faith. ...But the lesson did not stop there. Eventually, the woman came to our office to speak about the matter with my coworker, who was dreading having to speak with an angry, shouting client. I sympathetically ... 2008-07-26 http://www.pleonast.com/user/rapunzel?l=5&entryID=552186 I have much to be thankful for today 1) sisters who like to talk with me on the phone (it's mutual) 2) the sound of my family laughing in the background of such phone conversations 3) God's providence (I'm getting really excited about our upcoming new apartment!) 4) friends who like to talk about spiritual things and who support the decisions I make 5) a certain little dog who crawls up into my lap and licks my face 6) chocolate 7) being able to visit family tomorrow that I literally haven't see in years 8) knowing that I'm small and ignorant and have such much to learn about God and yet being blessed today with a calm feeling of peace 2008-07-19 http://www.pleonast.com/user/rapunzel?l=5&entryID=549892 I really like attending the Antioch church of Christ. In the past three and a half years, they have become more and more like my family. They lift my spirits when I'm feeling down, and I know I can count on them for anything. One of the great things about the past year has been getting to know the older people better. So often in the past I've wanted to get to know the older people better, but was afraid they just viewed me as some pip-squeak kid; I've learned that the older people want to get to know us younger people, but they're afraid we just view them as some old fogies. Isn't it funny how incredibly mistaken people can be some time? There is this particular older lady there I've had the pleasure of talking to more often in the the past few months. She is quiet, conservative, and kind, with a gentle chuckle and a pleasant voice. She and her husband have been married for fifty-two years. She always sits by her husband, follows him around the building, and keeps his ho... 2008-07-13