Towson University

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When my three roommates and I decided to live together this year we went searching for the ‘dream' house (well as dreamy as you can get for college students living in Muncie, Indiana). After a few houses we found one that we loved. There was a full basement (with enough room to house at least 3 folding tables for beer pong and a ton of guests), a big living room, a deck for tanning and 4 really big bedrooms. The only problem was our kitchen. Although it was huge, the layout of the room left us no space for a real kitchen table since there was a bar like counter. So we decided to sign the lease and figure it out later.

So after signing the lease in November of 2007, we forgot about house hunting and all of our responsibilities associated until about June, a month before we were going to move in. We realized we still hadn't come to a conclusion about the table. I knew I was in charge of the couch and my other roommates had divided up other furniture among themselves, but we still had to find bar stools or counter stools for the kitchen and basement. So when I was shopping at home before I came I looked for something for our kitchen that would look cute, more like counter stools than something you would be sitting on to drink a margarita. I found a few cute ones but our counter in the kitchen was an awkward height, so most of the stools I had looked at were too tall and the ones that seemed to fit made us look like midgets when we sat on them. So we opted to get a cuter kitchen table for our gigantic living room and to tell the truth, I was kind of nervous thinking that it would look really tacky, however it looks great and it gives us a lot of room to move around still (we even occasionally have beer pong up in there, and it fits with our TV., couch and the table with plenty of room to spare.

The basement however was much easier to find bar stools for. We found really cute black ones that were actually not too expensive for our bar and the swiveled and had black cushions and silver around them which matched our decorations down there! I think next year though when we are looking for furniture we will start a lot earlier and try to measure better, because when you live in a another state, it is hard to remember or picture the room if you have only seen it a couple of times and to find furniture that fits and looks good.

If you are considering getting a pet, please be sure that you can afford to take on this responsibility. You can get a pet relatively cheaply, but pet ownership can become very costly over the long haul. Most people consider the cost of taking the pet for a check up and the costs, but many people don't think about the cost of spaying and neutering their pet. There are some places that will do this at a discounted fee, just to insure that the world does not become overpopulated with cats and dogs because then these animals need to be destroyed. This is a sad fact there are tons of animals destroyed each year because there are no homes for them. Perfectly good loving animals destroyed just because no one wants to take care of them. This is not however, the only reason to spay and neuter. Believe it or not it is actually healthier for the animal to be spayed or neutered. Many animals have problems with their reproductive organs and having them removed can actually provide them with a longer and healthier existence.

Other costs to consider when getting a pet are the costs of providing an outdoor area for them to run. Some people prefer pens, but I feel that a big open yard is really the best way to go. You can accomplish this by fencing in the area or by using an electric fence. The only problem with the latter, is the issue that even though your pet will stay on your property, other animals can enter the area and then leave again and your pet can not fairly defend itself. Also, keep in mind when purchasing or adopting a pet, that sometimes pet expenses can be as much as human medical expenses. If you have a pet who is sickly or becomes ill, it can be a very costly venture to get them the care they need.

I am not trying to discourage pet ownership. I love animals and think that everyone should have a few pets around. They are excellent companions, are great friends to the elderly and children, and can give you a reason to get outside and move. Keep in mind however, that owning a pet is a lifetime commitment. Don't take the decision lightly. Research and find the perfect pet for your living situation and be sure that you can live up to your responsibility, that little creature is counting on you.

Losing weight is a struggle for millions of American's primarily because of our sedentary lifestyle and our poor eating habits. In this country many people suffer from heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, mostly due to the lack of nutrients in our diets and the fact that we spend so much time sitting around. So what can we as a country do. First and foremost, try to get some real food into your diet. Many people will complain that they don't have the time to watch their diets, however what could be easier than toting around some fresh fruits and vegetables to snack on? And walking instead of taking the elevator or escalator. What about walking on a tread mill while watching your favorite TV show? Did you know that some people have actually installed treadmills instead of chairs at their desks so they can walk while working on the computer or taking a phone call? Sometimes you have to be creative, but it doesn't mean that it is impossible to get yourself back in shape. Also there are many nutritional supplements and natural diet pills on the market if you find that you are having trouble controlling your appetite. Also, experts say that the key is eating many small meals (almost like snacks) all throughout the day. They say that this method helps keep your metabolism moving and keeps you burning fat and calories all day long. There are many little steps that you can take to get your weight back under control and keep it there. Using these steps in combination with one another can make for a great way to find balance and increase your fitness level. Let's face it we all want to stay around as long as we can, whether you are young and wanting to start your life, or older and hoping to stay around a while to see the great grand kids. Fitness is a concern in all walks of life, for every sex, creed, race and nationality, we all have one thing in common, we want to get and stay healthy and what better way to do that then to exercise, eat right, and take some natural diet pills to supplement. We can do it if we are just willing to retrain our brains to think healthy.

I just finished my first paper of the semester and can I just say that I am already feeling the semester pinching me. I am already starting to lose sleep over things and I haven't even gotten to those weeks where I will be doing more papers in three days that I have all year. I hope that something fun happens soon because I just need to blow off some steam for once so far.

My first paper deserves some discussion now that I have myself out of the way. This was for my modern medicine class and basically it was supposed to be a research paper about the development of any medical technology that we chose. I chose to look at the stethoscope since I have also been doing my EMS training these past few weeks and I have one lying across the room as we speak.

I looked in to the beginnings and the modern developments of the classic stethoscope. I found that Mr. Littman designed the original Littmann stethoscopes when he was at Harvard as a professor and researcher. He was designing these items for use in his work in cardiology. Cardiology stethoscopes soon came to be a big business for his after he the patent. Eventually the company was bought by the company 3M which still sells them to this day. They bought the company in 1967 and they are still the largest producer of stethoscopes to this day. Now that we have been completely immersed in the technological age, the design has moved to the electronic arena. Though the designs are still being worked out in terms of sound quality, I wouldn't be surprised if they became the norm quite soon.

I hope that you all found some kind of interest in this. I really had a lot of fun researching this because I also took a look way back at the very earliest histories of the design which were basically just conical tubes that had a bell at one end and was pressed to the chest. Now the design from Littmann has found its place as a modern staple of the medical community in this country and beyond.

Sometimes the news can be very interesting, but sometimes a bit troubling. I enjoy hearing about the latest technology trends but sometimes I find that the world is just becoming too advanced. Don't get me wrong, when I first heard about pbx technology that was exciting news. PBX technology is great news for those who are in big business, this is like voip except on a better larger scale to service businesses that have much more advanced phone services than anything you or I could even imagine. Now they can get the same great service and a nice low price and all in a business phone service. It is really wonderful news. I remember at the inception of voip reading the voip telephony news and getting really excited about it. I know that sounds silly but I had been struggling for years to bring down the cost of my home phone. I had switched companies and switched plans and it seemed no matter what I did, short of disconnecting it all together, I couldn't get that bill down past about seventy bucks a month. Well, I must have been one of the first customers at this company, because as soon as I read about this great new phone technology I was in. I have been actually happy about paying my phone bill every month. Anytime I can pay a bill for less than twenty a month I am really happy to pay it.

Anyway, back to what I was originally saying about technology. I don't find phone technology scary, but some of the science and medical technology leaves me a bit uneasy. I just wonder how far science has really come. Have you ever noticed that you hear little blurbs about stuff in the news, then like magic it vanishes and you never hear about it again. Like for instance, I heard this one story about cloning and scientists being able to clone animals and people, and then I never heard another word about it again. I always wonder if the government says, wait a minute, you can't tell them about that. That is all I can imagine, the government tells the media to put a sock in it and they do. Best I can tell, there are way too many things that we don't know and that I find a little bit unnerving.

A lot had been going lately, so I decided it was time for a change in my life. The most logical thing to do at this point in time was to pack up my stuff and move to a new state. I had 3 choices: Texas, Florida, or Georgia. Florida had beautiful weather but is hurricane prone. Texas is super hot but I have family in Texas so I'd be able to adjust relatively easily. Georgia has good universities, especially the historically black universities.

Unable to make a decision completely on my own, I called my mom for advice. She had been the one who had influence me to move in the first place, citing that the change would do me some good. “Who offers the best health insurance?” she asked when I looked for advice. Health insurance? Was she serious?

“I don't think there's much of a difference betweenTexas, Georgia and Florida health insurance, Mom,” I replied to her. I could hardly see what health insurance had to do with anything.

“You get sick easily, don't you? You want to be wherever you get the best health insurance coverage, because if you don't you'll end up getting very sick with nowhere to go.”

She had a point. I get sick very very easily because my immune system is weak. My previous year would have been pure torture if I didn't have insurance. I honestly caught every virus, bacteria, and illness that went around campus. I'd only started avoiding sicknesses when I began taking Vitamin C, and even then I would still catch a cold or two. People even started staying away from me, especially when they were sick, because they knew just how quickly I caught illnesses.

I hadn't even bothered to look for health care plans because, well, who does that? But I looked up a few plans anyway, deciding that I had nothing to lose. Turns out the school I wanted to go to in Georgia offered a health insurance plan as part of tuition, which meant I wouldn't have to worry about paying for it out of pocket.

I called my mom back to tell her what I'd found, and she sounded really excited. I'm not going to base this life-changing decision on some health insurance. Thought it's good to have that in mind, it's nowhere near enough to influence me this greatly.

I just hope this doesn't come back to bite me later.

I have never been to Canada, which seems strange because I have been to places much further than that and so many people I know have. One of my friends when I was in grade school had another home there (I think his dad traveled back and forth for his job). Last year Ball States football team played in a bowl in Canada, but I was on vacation so I couldn't go. I wonder though if it is a lot like here, since we are so close. It is weird to think that a location so close could be different from ours. I was looking online to find out a little more about it when I came across a website about The Financial Services Commission of Ontario and I clicked on it to see what it was all about. The website gives a ton of information for the consumers like Ontario health insurance quotes and what to do after an accident if you have Ontario auto insurance. This website seems like it is not only very useful for current residents, but also a learning tool for those that don't know very much about Canada and its policies but would like to get a better understanding. Some of the topics other than auto and health insurance include credit unions, banking and information about mortgages and financial and other institutions.

In one of my classes we are doing a project where we have to plan out our future careers and choose and home and cars and basically our whole lives and insure them and pretend it's real and make a budget and so on. But the only options we had were to live in the United States. I think it would be interesting it the project was expanded to living anywhere in the world. That way we would be able to learn more about other cultures and governments and their policies and how they compare and contrast to ours. It is inevitable that someone taking personal financial planning 110 at Ball State University will one day live outside of this country. It would interesting and beneficial for us to learn about mortgages and interest rates and taxes not only here in the united states (which is extremely important) but also in other countries where we could potentially decide to reside one day or at least maybe vacation for a long period of time. It can't hurt to know as much as possible.