BRAINS

• My Brain is like a wild jungle.
• Lorelei’s Brain is like a wild jungle.
• Thus my brain is like lorelei’s
• My thought process goes a little something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiyiZXCtHGc

Novels

• Rika and I are writing a joint novel (and individual ones) for NaNoWriMo this year
• Its about us
• Its pretty freakin amazing
• Will it be fiction, or will not? THAT is the question o_O

Quotes

• You can kid the world, but not your sister
• Friendship isn’t a big thing–its a million little things
• Once you choose hope, anything is possible
• Don’t tell me the moon is shining–show me the glint of light on broken glass.

OH MY!

• How do we do it?
• How do we: go to school (as AP students), come to the office and work, and then go be super awesome super secret spies at night.
• I honestly don’t know.

*Love Always, Sarah*

I doubt the world really will end in 2012, but it never hurts to be prepared. Well, there are a few things you will need (And they’ll be good to have even if the world DOESNT end ;D) This list is compiled of all the basic necessities.

1. Chocolate. Lots of chocolate. It’s brain food.

2. Water. lots of that too. Sure, it doesn’t taste as good as soda, but it grows on you.

3. Pink Tasers. You will need 2 of these. one real, for kicking bad guy’s butts in self-defense situations and one for metaphorical purposes.

4. Notebook(s) and pen(s). These are to record all the things you theortically taser yourself or others into doing.

5. A good book to read when your bored.

6. Music, to accompany that book reading.

7. Tennis shoes/sneakers/whatever you want to call them. If the world ends and you’re left alive, my guess is your going to be doing a LOT of walking and a considerable amount of running.

8. Last, but indubitably NOT least….CHUCK! The best tv show around, alive today!

Well, thats about it. Later, everybody!

*Love, Sarah*

My goal is to live forever.

So far so good!

In all seriousness, a long, healthy life is an admirable goal. No, it’s more than admirable- it’s the ultimate goal. The goal of all goals. It’s the one mission that everyone subconsciously strives for.

Image by "thelastminute" via Flickr

Is YOUR goal to live forever? Well then stop searching for the fountain of youth and be realistic. Here are 4 ways to try to live forever:

1. Learn how to save yourself and what to do during the worst case scenarios. But there’s one piece of advice that ALWAYS pays well: don’t panic!
2. Eat healthy. Every third grader can recite the main food groups. Most adults know what a healthy diet should be. But how many people actually eat healthy? I know, I know, we all have our weaknesses (like chocolate), but eating right is all about willpower. And by simply doing things like sprinkling blueberries on your disgusting (but full of fiber and vitamins) cereal in the morning can make that cereal taste a little better. Sacrifices will have to be made- like soda. Don’t get me started on High Fructose Corn Syrup. Not to mention how the acidic nature of soda destroys teeth enamel.
3. Get outside more. Go to the park, go for a morning jog- but don’t forget the sunscreen! Vitamin D can be obtained from sun exposure, and because Vitamin D protects against cancers, what do you have to lose if you wear sunscreen? Another note here: tanning is a one way trip to skin problems. Don’t do it!
4. Exercise. It’s the cure-all prescription that will dramatically increase your quality of life. But still people aren’t getting enough. Do yourself a favor and walk to the mailbox, spend some time at your local gym, do some push-ups, or bike to work.

There you go. I just gave you four ways to live forever. The key to the chest. The map to the fountain of youth.

What are you waiting for! I didn’t say living forever was easy! Eat some fruit, lace those sneakers, and jog to your CPR class. Seal your future with decisions that all the health buffs are envious of.

-Rika

So apparently I am not allowed to say the “P” word so instead of what ticks me off, I’ll write about what “bugs me”. (Plural = “Buggers”) (I know used quotation marks *gasp*)

(I bet this bugs Jala!!)

Buggers:

• People steal your book and threaten to read the end and then tell you.
• Random things not in the correct order, like books not stacked straight in row.
• The little string things on jackets, it takes me forever but i have straighten them and make them even.
• Not knowing what’s happening in my mouth at the dentist.
• When you are sleeping on a makeshift bed (aka a couch) and you wake up and don’t make it in the morning.
• The phrase “It was the last place you looked, right?” , well duh once you found it you stopped looking.
• The phrase “What’s up?” ummm the sky. I mean come  on, society has deluded  itself  into think that means “How are you doing?” and that asking “What’s up?” is “good English”, it’s not!

I know I have more buggers than this I just can’t think of them at the moment so that’s it for Jala’s Buggers.

P.S. ~ Thanks so much for voting me your favorite staff member.I’ll think really hard and pick a good theme for next month.

• Go outside. Or at least look out the window. It’s (most likely) a beautiful day outside! Even if it isn’t, enjoy the great outdoors!

• 
• Working. Procrastination leads to piles on your desk that could harbor dust: or worst, desk monsters!

• Be with your family. The theme of pretty much every comedy is something along the lines of “don’t work too hard and neglect your family”! (Yes, I’m looking at you Click!)
• Learning. You’re learning right now! You’re learning that people with brand new cameras jump at every chance to take a picture of windows, houses, even- gasp- the most mundane: DESK PILES!
• Sleeping. Six hours of sleep is not enough, people!

So the moral of today is that we waste a lot of time. If you find yourself getting to the point of boredom where you gleefully snap photos of napkin holders and labeling them

“DRAMATIC NAPKIN HOLDER”

then you need to take another look at what you’re doing with your time. And you probably need a sanity check, too.

***All above pictures taken by Rika!

-Rika

     Jan 18-24 is national hunt for happiness week. I think that people need more than week to hunt for happiness isn’t that supposed to be a life long venture? Oh I guess I read that wrong. It’s supposed to be a week where you realize and celebrate all thing that have made you happy in life and celebrate them while continuing to have (or find) happiness. To celebrate happiness do what made you happy, buy cake, make some else happy by serving them, etc. This sounds like great week to me!

[Picture citation]

Here are some of the national days/weeks for January:

(I am not positive that I got all them *I just got them off http://www.epromos.com/calendar/promotional-calendar.html )  

Coming soon History, Heart, Marfan Syndrome, Time, Library Lovers (YAY), Plant Seeds, Weddings, Parent and Youth leadership Month !!!! (AKA February)

~Jala  

P.S. yes I did break down and write article *gasp* lol

Welcome to the 2009! (And did I mention…January is Numbers Month!) Everyone is so thrilled that it is the start of a new year, a fresh new start. Are you a person who makes New Year resolutions and never seem to keep them? Well, you’re not the only one! Many Americans struggle to get those goals or things they have always wanted to accomplish. Though we have all the best intentions in keeping them, they don’t always work out. Here’s the scoop.

1. Resolutions:

• Statistics show that when you make resolutions, only 46% of you will continue your determination past 6 months.

   2. The plus side to resolutions:

• You always have the best intentions.
• If you keep them; good for you!

   3. The not so good side to resolutions:

• Unfortunately many do not accomplish that second bullet point in number 2…
• Without motivation and a plan of action, it is hard to even start to accomplish your goals. Usually when you do not want to do something (like working out), you probably won’t, or you will not do it to the degree needed.
• By separating your resolutions into categories (such as Short term, Mid term, and Long term), you may feel pressured into accomplishing your goals within that category/time period. For example, if you have a short term goal, you may feel like you need to accomplish it super fast because it is in that category.
• You may focus on the actual goal, and not the process of acheiving that goal. An example could be, losing so many pounds. Chances are, you are setting this goal simply for the physical side of the goal, and not the internal side of the goal. Your mindset is probably on fitting into those pair of jeans, or into that bathing suit for the summer. However, you do not realize that if you set a goal like this one, you should do it to improve your health.

   4. More effective ways to get results:

• Learn from your mistakes (yes…just as your mother would say). If you truly believe that you made a mistake that you are willing to fix, then use that motivation to achieve that goal.
• Make a plan. If you are sure that you want to accomplish a certain goal, make a plan on how to do it. An idea would try to use the 5 W’s to help you. Who will motivate you?, What will motivate you? and/or, What is a good span of time to accomplish this?, Where will be the best place to accomplish this?, When will be the best time?, and most importatntly, WHY do I want to accomplish this?

The Why part is the most important. If you ask yourself, why do I want to accomplish this, and let yourself honestly answer, this could be the answer to if you are really motivated, or if you have the best intentions. If you follow this, this may be just the thing to accomplishing what you have always wanted.

Have a great 2009!

-Hope

15 reasons why math homework is useless.

The 25 worst lines in the president’s speech.

5 things you never want to hear in a restaurant.

Yes, January is numbers month, and we’re listing our way through the month! Why?

1. TNF is going theme! We’ve decided that to start off the new year, we’re going to stop procrastinating and start making each month based on a theme.
2. Commenting on all current events is just not humanely possible. No matter how many times a day we check the news, we never succeed in writing comments on everything that is happening. With themes, we don’t feel compelled to write until we get carpal tunnel because half the things that we were going to write about don’t go along with the theme.
3. Everybody loves lists. There’s really nothing more I can say about that.
4. Lists are easier to read. Wouldn’t you rather read clean, organized lists than a messy paragraph? I thought so.
5. Categories! We love ‘em! From Rika’s Announcements about tasteless jokes to themed months, The Nearby Future is category-happy.

Starting the New Year off right,

-Rika

This year The Nearby Future staff has written a collective 48,747 words! Here are your favorite articles from staff members with the most page views (not counting Jala, because she writes pages, not posts).

• Rika’s best articles: “Corn“, “Stress: Side Effects Include…”, and “The World is Not Coming to an End“
• Calister F. Well’s best articles: “When In Rome, Think Like the Greeks”, and “Humming the Song of the World’s Destruction“
• PLOTG’s best articles: “Personal Rights Conflict With Hollywood’s Big Bucks”, “Teens and Their Sleep“, and “The Pledge“,
• Hope’s best articles: “HPV Vaccine“, “Izze: A Healthy Alternative“, and “Clocky: Crushing the Dreams of Snooze Button People Everywhere“.

And even though she doesn’t write for us anymore, big thanks to contributor ‘Ashley Lampost’ for her wonderful article about cars!
Looking forward to a great new year,

-Rika

Note: Each article that has won this prestigious award will bear the following picture upon it’s page: