How is everyone’s summer going? Mine has been quite, different. At the beginning of the summer, I had to work off a bill that I ran up ($720 worth of text messaging) because I didn’t have unlimited texting. I must admit though, I did enjoy some of the work. Now that I’m finished, I’ve been plotting my summer, mostly hanging out with Shelby before we both go back to school.

I do have an exciting trip coming up soon though! I’m flying (for the first time) to California! Across the country is a long way in an airplane. But I will enjoy it! I’m visiting my sister in Oceanside, CA. I get to see my lovely niece again, and maybe my nephew. We might go to Sea World, and the San Diego Zoo, but we also might not because my niece has the chicken pox. But we believe she’s had her vaccine, so hopefully it won’t last long. If she does get over the pox before I get there, I might get to see my newborn nephew.

My nephew, Ayden, is in the hospital, because he, just like his older sister, Lauren, was born premature. So he is still in the hospital until he meets the requirements in order to get out. But he is in good condition, so I’m not that worried.

I’m downloading music for my iPod, and I need suggestions. These are songs for the airplane ride to San Diego, so please no suggestions like “The Day that I Die”, or “Crash”, or “Airplane Failure While Flying to California”. (I’m not sure that last one is a song, but you get the idea.) I like upbeat songs, and since it’s summertime, I prefer songs about summer. I like Pop, Rock, and Country, (The latter is because I date a southern girl). But I don’t like Rap/Hip-Hop. I do like R&B though. So if all of you could send in about 5 or so songs, I’d really appreciate it.

If you listen to the song “Summer Nights” by Rascal Flatts you should get a good idea of what kind of music I like. The title of this post is derived from the song name. Also, I’m in the makings of learning to code wordpress. (Thank you so much Erin, that website has really helped.) But, in the meantime, I will find another premade that I like and customize the header. I’m thinking of using some pictures of the upcoming Alice in Wonderland movie. (Starring Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, and others.)

I’ll end this post by saying I’ve gotten my new schedule for the 2009-2010 school year and I am fairly pleased. But my little sister is bugging me, so I must go. Until next time.

I again, I’m very sorry about not updating in forever. I could give you all tons of excuses, but I won’t. Not this time. I haven’t blogged in a long time, but I’m blogging now. The layout is old and well past time to change. And I have been doing some background work. I’ve been trying to learn how to code Wordpress themes, and I’ve made substantial progress towards coding. So if you all know any place that helps teach Wordpress coding, send me the link. That’s all for now!

What has the World Wide Web come to? What happened to the good old days when there was five classes of websites, and each one *almost* coincided happily together? I think I’ll explain these five classes in my own words.

Class 1: ‘Low Freewebs’: What happens when you mix a freshly-bored-of-neopets tween and iconator.com? You get Low Freewebs. We’ve all been there. We found out about iconator.com, and thought that we could become one of the elite. Then we found out that being elite required; talent, time, Paint Shop Pro, and Animation Shop 3. So we just ogled over the elite’s profiles until we happened to stumble along a freewebs website and we got the inspiration to start a freewebs of our own. This was the Low Freewebs stage. Most blogs consisted of text lYK tHISSSS!!!!! and were extremely hard to read. The lucky ones advanced to the next stage, High Freewebs/Low Sub-domain.

Class 2: ‘High Freewebs/Sub-domain’: Again, if you were lucky enough to hold your interest of web design for a couple years, until we all matured, then you advanced to this stage; High Freewebs/Low Sub-domain. These were the freewebs-ters that had more content than ugly icons and made better and more sophisticated layouts than the usual grunge-based “lets all put airplanes, X’s, and skulls on our layouts!”. If you got lucky, you were offered a sub-domain, and may have advanced to the next stage.

Class 3: ‘High Sub-domain/Low Domain’: This is where it gets interesting, either you begged your parents into buying you a domain, or you got hosted on someone else’s domain. This people were usually very creative, but also very hard to find. If you were in this stage in 2006/2007 then you probably made top-of-the-line blends, and cool-looking PSP brushes that you called ‘Visitor Content’. If you are more recent to this stage, then you might have had fancy textures and your visitor section was labeled ‘Resources’. You got more picky with your affiliates, which you no longer called ‘AFFIES!!! YAY! OMGZ!!!’ Speaking of affiliates, you might have been accepted by a few higher-up websites, which leads us to Class 4.

Class 4: ‘High Domain’: Wow! Congratulations if you reached this point! You probably hold one or two of these qualities; you’re extremely talented, have a niche for web design, or you found that one extreme edge that sets you higher than most. Your blogs are probably well-thought of, managed by Wordpress, and you don’t offer a huge amount of content, but what content you do offer is definitely high-quality. You might offer advertising, but it’ll cost the advertisee. Good job for getting this far, you might as well try to advance to the next stage.

Class 5: ‘Elite’: There are probably only 5 websites that have actually EVER gotten to this point. It requires constant supervision, awe-inspiring time management, two completely different sides of oneself.

Now, back to why I started this blog. I would announce congratulations to one of the only still-existing Elites, but I don’t want to start online drama. Also, I wouldn’t even consider it Elite anymore. Sure, it still has Elite qualities, but I looked today and the blog isn’t elite material. I won’t use direct quotes, but the blogger didn’t even know how to capitalize their I’s, and it looks really immature when you’re out of high school but you still put five (I counted) exclamation points at the end of a sentence that was written in all capital letters. Looks like someone dropped back down to stage 3…

So, charge ahead, and keep your real goals in mind on your quest to web-design fame.

Finally. This will have to be a short blog, considering it’s 11:30 and I might have to get up early tomorrow. Even though school is finally over, I’ve found that summer doesn’t exactly mean that responsible life is put on hold. I still have a summer project that is required to be accepted into Honor’s English 10, and I still have Teenworks 2009 to suffer through.

I also have a crisis on hand right now. Although I highly doubt it, if anyone remembers Just Fade Away, the first website I opened, then you may remember that over two years ago my sister, Brandie, had her daughter 3 1/2 months early. Well Brandie is pregnant again, and she was admitted to the hospital about a week ago. She started having contractions, and right now she is on medicine to try and stop her labor. She has a higher risk for having another premature child, since she had my niece early. And even if there isn’t a whole lot I can do from this side of the country, I can pray. I am doing just that, and I must ask that you pray for her also. The longer she keeps her child from being born, the higher the chance he has of living.

I have to go soon, but I’ll end on a less depressing note. Since it is summer, I’ll try to make giant leaps towards learning to code wordpress. It may take a while, and the site be on the fritz at times, but just try to come back a bit later and it should be fixed. I’ll be adding more content, guaranteed. So this summer, keep an eye on Broken Suitcase, because I plan for it to raise in quality.

Cody

Hello everyone. I think that I’m actually able to blog regularly now that things at school have calmed down. This week has been alright, had its ups and downs, extreme highs and rock bottom lows, but that’s just the normal week of a teenager, right? So anyways, lets start with last Wednesday, after school.

My little sister and I got into yet another fight, provoking my dad to ground both of us. I had an essential chorus dress rehearsal, but he said that I couldn’t go, so I called my mom (who is staying across the country for the next two months, for family reasons.) and told her that she needed to explain to my father that my dress rehearsal was essential for me to be in the Spring Show, which is a showcase of everything chorus has done this school year. So after I yelled at him some more, I gave him my phone, and he decided that I was grounded from my cell phone for a week. I’ve been dealing well with this punishment, but I’ll be a much happier person when I get my phone back tomorrow.

Then on Friday, it seemed like everything was going good for me, I’m sure that I aced two of my tests (they were both in classes that I’m not doing too good in either!) And then, when I took another test, I knew almost everything on it. I’m hoping that I didn’t make any slight mistakes that might have thrown me off, but other than that, I’m pretty sure I passed.

On an ‘up’ note, I did get two new CDs on Friday. I saw the new Nickelback CD (Dark Horse) and got that, and I must say, it’s different from All The Right Reasons. Of course, the latter did have some suggestive songs (Follow You Home, Animals), but Dark Horse has centered it’s theme around sex. Songs like Something In Your Mouth, Shakin’ Hands, and S.E.X. prove that Nickelback feels that they have nothing to hide. I think that these songs shouldn’t surprise me, considering some of the hits that play on the radio. “Addicted” by Saving Abel, is a good example. While it is a catchy song, some words had to be modified for the radio edit. And “If You Seek Amy” by Britney Spears doesn’t even have a radio edit, even though Britney is clearly saying F.U.C.K. me. So, if songs like the previous are accepted on mainstream radio, then I guess I should see past Nickelback’s sexual innuendo (some of which is very entertaining) and just enjoy the CD.

Also, on Saturday I got the new Green Day CD. I was expecting a lot, hoping for a better comeback, and maybe a pinch of old school Green Day (I know, I’m only fifteen, but I was raised on CDs like Dookie and Nimrod). I got a little bit of all three. I am pleasantly surprised, and in fact, overjoyed. I liked the idea of American Idiot, but, I didn’t exactly understand the story Green Day tried to tell through American Idiot. 21st Century Breakdown, on the other hand, was complex, but understandable. Like American Idiot, it’s wrote in rock opera form, and it tells the story of a young couple, Gloria (¡Viva La Gloria! and ¿Viva La Gloria?) and Christian, (Christian’s Inferno) as they struggle to survive post-Bush times. I love the CD very much, and I especially like the fact that it has songs that can stand alone as singles (Know Your Enemy and 21 Guns). I have to say, 21 Guns is my favorite song, it provides a mood of pride, but also melancholy.

So overall, my week has been good. And, for a little technical update, I changed the layout to “Movie Theater” (with some tweaks preformed by me), but I’m still learning how to code wordpress, so please bare with the pre-mades for now. I’ve written some more poems, and hopefully I can add them soon. Also, on the sidebar you may notice that I’ve added some information, like updates, and a “What I’m Doing Right Now” text box. I’ll try to update those whenever I don’t have time to fully blog.

¡Vivá La Bye!,

Cody

P.S.- Here’s the song, 21 Guns, from Green Day’s new CD, 21st Century Breakdown;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQLzcoKUaVc

Cliché as it sounds, This is a catch-up blog. I know that I promised to write one light-years ago, but I have prepared the age-old excuse (yet another cliché)

I, seriously, didn’t have time.

I know, it’s the excuse I always use, but sadly, it’s true. Allow me to explain:

In late April, the chorus group in my school (if you recall, I’m part of this group) traveled to Orlando, FL, so that we could preform at Walt Disney World. The trip was five days long (including the train rides there and back) and we preformed at Epcot’s ‘Next World’ Stage. The trip was fun, and I’m glad that I had the chance to go. In fact, two very special happenings occurred while I was in Disney World. First, my third niece, Brooklynn, was born, and she is adorable. Second, I found someone very special. I had been hanging out more with a girl from  chorus, and it just so happens that on April 27th, at 11:43 p.m. (est) I started dating Shelby. I’m sure you all will be hearing about her more often now, and I’m overjoyed that I found such a beautiful girl. She means the world to me, and we have a very close bond. But, before I take up the whole space of this blog about her, I need to move on.

Then, in early May, I took a trip to Georgia with my family, so I could go see my older brother graduate from BASIC training. He is now back home (he’s in the National Guard) and I really haven’t talked to him since. Such is the life of brothers.

After that, I had yet another chorus show, our annual spring show, which was a success, and that just ended, I’m very happy to have did memorial day weekend free of homework (mostly) and the ability to spend time with Shelby.

I’m actually overjoyed and sad at the same time this weekend. I found out on Friday that my sister (who lives in California) is giving me my first nephew. I’ve wanted a nephew ever since my first niece was born, and although I love all three of my nieces, I’ve really wanted a nephew for the last three years. This is where the sad part comes in. My second niece, Lauren, was born premature, and now my sister who gave birth to Lauren is the sister who is pregnant with my nephew. I’m glad she’s having a boy, but what I would really like is a full-term baby. I’m praying for her and I ask that everyone else pray too. We are being extra careful though, my mom left us for two months so that she could help out my sister in California while. Well, thats basically whats been going on in my life.

Cody

What major events have happened to you in the past two months?

Sorry for the REALLY long hiatus, but I’m back and I will start blogging again soon. I’ve been caught up at school. But I’m finishing my college classes soon, and I just got back from a trip to Disney World, in Florida, USA. I went with my high school chorus, and I’ll be blogging about that soon. So I have to leave for now, But I will most definitely blog soon.

From http://www.twloha.com:

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that each year approximately one million people die from suicide, which represents a global mortality rate of 16 people per 100,000 or one death every 40 seconds. It is predicted that by 2020 the rate of death will increase to one every 20 seconds.

One person dies from suicide every 40 seconds. And to think that I know many people who have considered/attempted suicide. Whatever happened to the time when suicide was a socially taboo subject? It seems that nowadays, everyone’s talking about it or attempting it. So far this year I’ve heard about it so many times, and I think it’s about time that I talk about the mentions I’ve heard of it.

The first I had heard of suicide during this school year was from my teacher, who was explaining why she would be absent one of the school days. She said that her daughters’ friend from school ended up dying after playing ‘the choking game.’ I agree with her stance about why students should not attempt at this ‘game,’ ever.

Then during December, the same month I broke up with my ex-girlfriend, I found out that she was attempting to kill herself over our break-up, to make me feel bad and go back out with her. She supposedly slit her wrists one weekend, and tryed to drown herself the next weekend. I don’t care how pyscho she was, I still wouldn’t want to be to blame for her death. Suicide, especially after a break-up, is wrong and can never be justified.

Just a couple of days ago, I started my driving part of driver’s education. The next day, my friend started also. Then in a conversation, it was brought up about how easy it would be to kill yourself if you were taking the driving part of driver’s ed. I quote:

My Friend: “So I thought, ‘you know, if I was suicidal, it would be fairly easy to kill myself. All I would have to do is just, at the last minute, swerve out in front of the oncoming car and, BOOM, I’m dead.’ But that’s only if I was suicidal, which I’m not.”

Whats scary about this conversation is, it’s true. Thats really all it would take. “and, BOOM, you’re dead.”

P.S.- Please, before considering suicide, call this number; 1-800-SUICIDE.

It’s a real blog! I’m actually going to start posting real blogs. Obviously, I haven’t found out how to edit Wordpress yet, but I’m working on it. As for the title of this post, I needed some inspiration for a blog topic, but when I was on youtube, I was looking at my recent videos, and I found this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8iTeDl_Wug

I love the musical RENT, and this is one of my favorite songs from the movie, so I thought I’d post a topic kinda about it. But the lyrics gave me an idea. 525,600 minutes (all the minutes in a year), which is part of the song, made me think of all that happened since last year. So I’ll reminisce about the last year and tell about how it’s changed my life drastically.

January-March 2008: I was still being homeschooled, but this was a brighter time in my homeschool life. I was in the cast of, Jesus Christ Superstar, and it was the best time I had in over four years. I got to meet new people and tone my voice, which is still helping me today.

April-June 2008: This is what made my whole year worthwhile. I signed up for a five-day theatre daycamp called Teenworks. I met kids my age, and a bond was formed. I’ll never forget the people I met at Teenworks, or the experiences I had there.

July-September 2008: I found out that I was going back to a public during these months, and I also lived with my sister for almost all of August.

October-December 2008: I had my first high school experiences in a public school. “I laughed, I cried, it was pretty much ‘the best time I’ve had in my life.’ “

That was pretty much my 2008 year. I’ll start blogging more soon.

I’m not sure whether this site is open, I’m extremly busy (psychology exam 1 was this past week) and I haven’t been able to add anything. I’ll try to add stuff tomorrow and Monday (of there’s a snow day), but for now, I’m just going to have to not make any promises. Thats all I can say for now.