Life Lessons According to Megan

1. If you act like you know what you are doing, people WILL believe you.
Now, use judgement here. Acting like you can disassemble a bomb when you don't have a clue is just stupid. But in ordinary situations, ths really does work. And truthfully, if you have enough guts to act like you can do something, you probably can.

2. If you have nothing else to say to someone say "Gotcha."
Then move on. Sometimes its all you can do. Make sure you aren't agreeing to anything stupid just to get out of the situation. Also, if you do this all the time, peple catch on. Try so interchange "I got it.", "Taken care of!", or something similar. Be enthusiastic and actually do what you have so agreed to do. Atleast leave a trail that shows you tried.

see? She's happy, he is definately happy.

3. It is your right as an American to vote! It is also your right as an American to choose not to vote.

I am going to let you in on a little secret. If you don't like any of the candidates, you don't have to vote. Its called peaceful protest. You don't have to go and get all hippie-freak on or anything, but don't let anyone make you feel bad about not voting. Just make sure you have a good reason for not voting. And all that "If you don't vote, you can't complain" crap is just that. Crap. America was built on people who didn't like how they were ruled, complained, then fought to change it. Be ready to fight.

4. A good soundtrack mends even the frailest of hearts.
A few on my list right now:
-Let Go-FrouFrou
-Sweet Child of Mine-Guns'N'roses
-Closer-Joshua Radin
-Holding Out for Hero- FrouFrou
-Never Leave Your Heart Alone- Butterfly Boucher (A+)
-Where Did my Baby Go?-John Ledgend (Actually this one still kills me)
-Everything I'm Not- The Veronicas
-Leave Me Alone- The Veronicas
-Ode to Divorce- Regina Spektor
-Bartender -Regina Spektor
-I Believe in a thing Called Love!- The Darkness
-Anything by Lenny Kravitz (Who somehow was NOT in my Christmas stocking this year. AGAIN.)

I will post more later and I reserve the right to change any of the rules listed above. I'm only 20 afterall.

This book is the product of a social experiment started a few years ago by a man named Frank Warren. He invited anyone to mail a secret in on a postcard to his address. he posts new ones online everry sunday (http://www.postsecret.blogspot.com). I find some that make me laugh, some that make me cry, and some that really make me feel like I am not alone with my feelings. Right now they are all Christmas related, so instead of a card from me, drop over there for multiple postcards from complete strangers.

The Old Railroad Tunnel

The Old Railroad Tunnel
Originally uploaded by clintonmass.

I must find this place!

Holy cow! I go to a school full of drama!!



Friday, December 15, 2006

White powder causes a scare at college library
By John Weeks
ITEM STAFF


LANCASTER— Ten years ago, the most a college library had to worry about was overdue books and inappropriate student liaisons. Those days are long gone.

Wednesday morning, the G. Eric Jones Library at Atlantic Union College was hit with a "white powder scare" that emergency responders have had "way too much experience" with since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

According to the Lancaster Fire Department, fire personnel responded to the library late Wednesday morning for a report of an "unknown substance." They found a white powdered substance in a book that had been delivered to the library's circulation department from the Central Regional Library. Taking all precautions, the firefighters activated a statewide response system.


"With all the anthrax scares, the state fire marshal had a lot of calls for powdery substances," said Fire Chief John Fleck. "It was done by the standard operating guidelines. We also activated the decontamination unit at the (Clinton) hospital. We did not know if we would need to send two, six or 16. We ended up sending three; two library employees and an EMT."

The District 6 Hazardous Materials (HazMat) team responded to the scene, according to the Lancaster Fire Department. Meanwhile, mu-tual aid was provided by the Shirley Fire Department and the Clinton Fire Department. The Boylston Fire Department was also seen covering the Clinton fire station and responding to other calls.

Clinton Police blocked all non-emergency access to Clinton Hospital while emergency crews set up what are known as MDU's (Mass Decontamination Units). The MDU's are sophisticated tents that allow potentially contaminated people to shower without exposing hospital staff or patients to contamination themselves.

The white powder was sent to a lab run by the state Department of Health for testing, but is not believed to be anthrax or any other dangerous substance, according to Jennifer Mieth, spokesman for the state fire marshal.

Fleck said no students were directly affected. A total of 16 people were in the library when the white powder was found. Only three, including the EMT, had direct contact.

"Those with direct exposure were sent for decontamination," Fleck said. "The others were advised to wash their hands. Then, when they got home, they were told to put their clothes in the laundry and to shower."

Mieth said the fire marshal's office coordinates the response of the HazMat teams, but the teams themselves are "staffed by local firefighters who are specially trained and equipped."

"The Massachusetts HazMat teams were decades in development," she said. "When those white powder scares occurred in 2001, we were one of the few states in the country able to respond. We have had a hyper vigilant and concerned public and that is a good thing. I should point out, though, that anthrax has never been found in Massachusetts."

Mieth said the state's response system works well because of cooperation between different agencies, such as the fire marshall's office, the Department of Health and local firefighters. She said the HazMat teams have gone through extensive training and have also had plenty of opportunity to respond to real scares (see a related editorial, page 8).

"They have had way too much experience since 2001," she said. "All of that planning and working with other agencies has really paid off. We are able to protect a hospital in case it was needed for decontamination, as it was on Wednesday. I don't like to think about these things on a regular basis, but I'm glad someone is."

Clinton MASS

Museum of Russian Icons
Originally uploaded by clintonmass.

so wow, I have found out that Clinton has a lot to offer to me this winter. I thought it was much smaller than it actually is and there are tons of things to explore there. Newspaper boy should show me around, after all, he is a reporter there so he should know everything, right? Anyways, this picture is from the newly opened Museum of Russian Icons. It is the ONLY museum of its kind in the US and maybe anywhere for all I know. I like the Marys more that a non-Catholic should. I will keep you all updated on my adventures.

I'm a star.

AUC students help bring holiday spirit to D.C.


LANCASTER— Megan Kirkland left her home state of Tennessee to brave the harsh winters of New England so she could study art under Wayne Hazen and his wife Maria Roybal-Hazen at Atlantic Union College (AUC). The couple has not disappointed.

In addition to taking classes for her Business and Management of Art and Graphic Designs major and building her own portfolio, Kirkland has spent the semester working on a massive nativity set that is destined for the nation's political center. It will be used for several live theatrical presentations of the Bethlehem Nativity.

"I've been working on painting it," she said. "I also worked in my concept design class with Natalie (Ford) to come up with designs for the well and carts that are part of the set."

"We've been working on it since the beginning of the semester," said Ford, an art major in her senior year. "It's mostly made out of styrofoam. We had these huge blocks of foam delivered in September. They were like little houses of foam."

Hazen said the nativity is comprised of foam, wood, stabilizing wire anchored to sandbags, paint and other decorations. It is 100 feet long, 45 feet tall at its highest point and 10 feet wide at its widest point. It includes the standard nativity as well as facsimiles of the ancient Temple of Jerusalem and Herod's Palace.

Hazen, who is first and foremost a sculptor, designed the set with AUC art students Eliasib and Elib Apodaca. The set was then heat gunned and spray painted to make it durable enough to withstand the elements. The set will maintain its integrity for several years, allowing for many future performances.

Hazen said the set took about 2,000 hours of work to build and has cost about $14,000.

"The entire production costs about $100,000," he said. "It is all funded by donors."

The performance will be held outside the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Takoma Park, Md., directly adjacent to Washington D.C. It will be directed by AUC's Maestro Francisco de Araujo and will feature 50 actors, many of whom are AUC students.

"Natalie and I play angels," Kirkland said. "This was all the maestro's idea and we're all going down there to help out."

The performance will run Dec. 15 through 24. It is open to the public and is expected to entertain fellow Seventh-day Adventists, people of other faiths and D.C. power brokers.

Kirkland said building the set was an example of the hands on, professional work experience that Hazen and his wife have emphasized since launching a revitalized art department at AUC this year. The couple met and fell in love while attending AUC 30 years ago and this is a way for them to give back to the college.

"I attended Southern Adventist University in Tennessee for two years," Kirkland said. "Wayne and Maria were my professors there. They told me they were coming up here to start a new art program and asked if I'd like to join them. I followed them and I'm getting ready for an exciting winter. In Tennessee, everyone panics when it snows."

Kirkland said New England culture promotes art a great deal more than her home state and she never could have imagined working on a project such as the nativity set back there.

"In the south, art is viewed like, is it necessary? If not, it's just extra," she said. "Art is really important up here."

Kirkland said even the historically important buildings at AUC are testaments to the value that is placed on art and culture.

"It's nice," she said. "In the south, if something is old, we just knock it down. Except Graceland. That is eternal."

• Denial (this isn't happening to me!)
  
• Anger (why is this happening to me?)
  
• Bargaining (I promise I'll be a better person if...)
  
• Depression (I don't care anymore)
  
• Acceptance (I'm ready for whatever comes)

or......

• Numbness (mechanical functioning and social insulation)
  
• Disorganization (intensely painful feelings of loss)
  
• Reorganization (re-entry into a more 'normal' social life.)

la fin de cela.

I know I have neglected you guys. And I am sorry (not really, don't feel TOO bad) but i have been busy!!! Portfolios, business card, stage sets, naked swan-men, and little dogs await you below!

This is Xavier trying to convince me that I need a rolling stones poster for my wall. It didn't work. We were supposed to be buying art supplies.

Francisco de Araujo! This charming gentleman will be directing the Great Nativity Drama that Natalie (the hotter girl pictured above, and my stunning roomate to boot!) and I will be angels in. I remeber when I was little I would misspell angels and angles and I never thought it was funny when people laughed at me. Its kindof funny now... ANYWAYS, this picture was taken after he conducted Handel's Messiah. He saved Natalie and I the best seats in the house..... RIGHT BEHIND him!

This is Theodore. Equally charming.

Piper takes a bow!

Naked Swan-Man from the Worcester Art Museum. Dreamy.






Here is the biggest project EVER. The whole of the art@AUC body has slaved over this behemoth. It is over 30 feet tal at its peak and s made out of hardened styrafoam. It is now completely painted, but I dont have new photos.

Hand carved EVERYTHING.

The smartest Mexican twins ever. NO, maybe the smartest twins ever. no, really.

My hot hair.

And last, but not least.......PARTY OVER HERE!

Continuing on this World AIDS Day trend, please take 5 seconds and light a virtual candle by clicking below:

https://www.lighttounite.org/

Bristol-Meyers Squibb (one of the U.S.'s largest pharmaceuticals) is donating $1 for every candle lit. For 5 seconds you can make a difference.