Melissa08's Blog

Valentine’s Day is Thursday….

Why is this holiday so materialistic? What happened to homemade cards and candy?

My brother is taking his girlfriend of 7 months to the Melting Pot for dinner, created a dog stuffed animal at Build-A-Bear (it is really cute) and is spending an obscene amount of money on roses.

My friend on the other hand is cooking dinner with her boyfriend and they both agreed on no gift giving this year.

What are you doing for Valentine's Day?

Do you feel like the romantic holiday has gone to extremes?

On Saturday night my friend was randomly pulled over by a cop. He told her to get out of the car, but refused to tell her why he pulled her over. I was not there at the time, but she told me that the officer proceeded to make her do a variety of sobriety tests.  She was told to walk the line, stand on one foot for more than 20 seconds, count backwards, and say the ABC's backwards.

She refused both the alphabet and number test. She had not been drinking. He eventually let her go, but without an explanation of why he pulled her over.

Have you ever been randomly pulled over for no reason?

How did you react?

Last night I came home around 1:00 a.m. 15 minutes later as I tried to fall asleep, I heard a loud boom coming from the front of the house.

My parents started screaming and all I saw was my dad running out of the house with his car keys. His car was parked in front of the house. Turns out a lady hit his car and decided to take off. A hit and run.

My dad drove up and down the streets trying to look for the small white car that had just plowed his car from behind. He figured she couldn’t have gotten far because it was clear from the scene that her car was leaking something. My brother and I joined in on the search party.

My dad called the cops, and they too were looking for the white car. My brother and I drove up and down streets, but it seemed like no one was driving anywhere… A little while later, my dad called my cell phone and yelled, “I FOUND HER!”

Four or five streets down from our house sat the white car. Her car was a mess. She was immediately arrested.

I felt like I was on an episode of cops. What an end to a crazy night.

Have you ever been involved in a hit and run accident?

As the rest of the country has the day off for the MLK holiday, I'm sitting at school. As my dad slept in, I woke up early and struggled to pay attention in class during the delcared holiday.

What are your thoughts about having classes on MLK day?

Last night I saw the movie “The Bucket List.”

 The movie is about two men who find out they are going to die soon. The friends create a bucket list that includes all of the things they want to do before they “kick the bucket.”

 I thought this was an inspirational idea. Why is it that we do not think to make a list of what we want to do in life before it’s too late? Today I started my own bucket list. So far I have 10 things I hope to do in my life.

 What would you include on your bucket list?

I've decided I need a vacation.

That's right, my last semester at Lindenwood hasn't even started yet and I am ready to travel far away.

Two of my friends are studying abroad this semester. One in France, one in Denmark. How cool is that?

So for spring break Chelsea and I are going to her hometown of Texas. We plan on hanging out in South Padre and getting tans that are way overdue. Kicking back on the beach without a care in the world. Sounds like my kind of vacation.

Where do you plan on going this year? Where do you wish you could visit?

Do you have the fever yet? The America Idol fever that is.

I have been a fan of the show since Ryan Seacrest announced Kelly Clarkson as the winner of season one. But last year wasn't so promising. The young and talented Jordan Sparks won, but sadly had dissapointing CD sales.

I'm prediciting this year to be different. I'm hoping for the next Kelly Clarkson to walk into the tiny room with the hardwood floor and leave Simon speechless.

Do you plan on watching American Idol this season?

If you had the chance to try out what song would you sing?

Limos remained parked in garages and expensive dresses hung on store hangers.

The Golden Globes were canceled.  The Writers Guild of America has been on strike for the last 10 weeks, and the Screen Actors Guild announced last week that the presenters and nominees will not attend the Globes. Instead of an award show, viewers can tune into the re-run of American Gladiators. I doubt these muscle bearing men will be dressed in high priced dresses and slacks.

What is happening to Hollywood? Do you think the Oscars will be canceled too?

That's right I said parrot. Most of the time local pet stores have high tech alarm systems or loud barking dogs. But parrots?  

Merlin, a seven-year-old blue and yellow macaw, scared off burgulars trying to break into a pet store in Massacusetts. The crime fighting bird started yelling "Rhonda," which is the name of his previous owner. Thinking the yelling was coming from a person and not a parrot, the intruders ran.  

One burgular fled with only $15.  

Good for Merlin. I think he deserves his cracker now :)

Taking a nap. Something that I wish I had more time to do.  

During a recent study, a brain surgeon in Israel found that taking a 90-minute nap during the day can actually help increase a person’s long-term memory.  

But who actually has time to take a nap? I miss those kindergarten days sipping on a little carton of chocolate milk and curling up in a blanket for “nap time.”  

What do you do to relax during the day?

I asked five different students about their thoughts on the political race. Were you surprised at Hillary Clinton’s win? Who is your favorite candidate so far?  

A 20-year-old male said he wants to see a Democrat win the presidency. He also thinks the race between Obama and Clinton will be close. He wants to see the issues of health care and gas prices changed.  

Last night I sat down with a group of friends for dinner. When asked about politics, most said they weren’t following the presidential race. However, when asked what they thought about Hillary taking New Hampshire the conversation started.  

One of my friends raised an interesting point. He believes that if the United States does have a woman president that some countries wouldn’t take us seriously. Some countries look to men for power, and women as having less power.  

Do you think the United States would lose credibility as a country if a woman president were elected? Please give me your thoughts.

Our journey at Fox 2 continues. Today we had the chance to go out into the field. Early Wed. morning two young men robbed a Convenient Food Mart in St. Charles. One suspect was shot by a police officer and later died at an area hospital. The other suspect is being held on $500,000 bail.

The five of us took a trip to the St. Charles Police Dept. to watch Roche Madden interview Sgt. Donovan Kenton. Kenton explained more about the situation and released the names and pictures of the suspects. Kenton was really helpful in explaining why it's so important to have a good relationship with the media.

Next, Roche took us outside to watch his live shot from the police station. He gave a brief summary of the new info and showed viewers pictures of the suspects.

The whole experience was a lot of fun and interesting to watch. Kenton was very cooperative, and Roche was really nice to let us tag along. It was exciting to be a part of a news update.

What do you think about  the Convenient Food Mart robbery?

It did happen. Sunday and Monday brought record breaking highs. Many houses got the chance to breathe again as people opened doors and windows for the first time since September.

What did you do during the nice weather?

Unfortunately, this little glimpse of spring came to a stormy hault. As Monday night approached, winds picked up and rain began to fall. No, let me put it a different way. Rain pounded the tops of roofs as thundering and lighting danced in the sky.

Tornados, yes tornados in winter tore through southern parts of Missouri, killing a few people. So why is St. Louis weather so unpredictable? It has been said that if you don't like the weather on Tuesday, chances are the weather will be different Wednesday.

I've decided that I really don't like today's weather. Streets are soaked, the sky is gray, and a light mist is falling. Tomorrow I'm hoping for sunny skies with a high of 80 degrees. Living in St. Louis, it could happen.

Here is a clip of a mom we talked to about her opinion of the Highway 40 shutdown.

She is one of the lucky ones that aren't affected by the highway closure.

Stay tuned for more adventures of the LU crew!

   Day 2 of the journalism class at Fox 2 sent us out on the streets of St. Louis. We talked to various people to get their reactions to the shutdown of Highway 40. Pulling into the parking lot of the Target Greatland in the Brentwood shopping center, people were busy shopping as business went on a usual.

   One girl we interviewed said she thought the media has done a good job of getting information about the shutdown out to the community.

    She checks various Web sites and listens to the radio to find out more about different driving routes and road closures. She also is happy about the additional lanes that were added to Highways 270 and 44, and said so far her commute has not been too bad.

     As we packed up our notebooks, our next stop was the Ladue/Clayton area. A woman standing outside of a small shopping center had a different opinion about the continued media coverage.

   In her opinion the coverage has been too excessive and over the top, causing people to become anxious. She added that the construction on Highway 40 is something that needed to be done, and people have blown the project out of proportion.

    The owner of Williams Community Pharmacy is doing what he can to help employees. He plans on expanding business hours, opening earlier, and cutting the full-time staff from five days to four in order to help out their traffic travel. So far his business hasn’t been affected by the highway shutdown.  

    Traveling through the Brentwood and Clayton areas, drivers are reminded of the Highway 40 shutdown by orange cones that align roads and large white signs that scream "ROAD CLOSED.”

   But should people really be that worried about the shutdown? It seems for the most part people are taking the shutdown day by day. Besides with added highway lanes and alternative routes, if people want to go to Target, they will get to Target.