Why we Write #4Rights

 I got this from Amnesty International:

http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/site/c.6oJCLQPAJiJUG/b.8463575/k.3A82/Pledge_Write_A_Letter_Save_A_Life/apps/ka/ct/contactus.asp?c=6oJCLQPAJiJUG&b=8463575&en=5eIzHINjG4LIKSMmH3IELUMDJfKCIONpE8LNLXMAKoKZG&msource=W1212EAIAR3

Dear Tracy,

Loneliness is creeping in. You've pushed beyond the limits of exhaustion. Your bones ache and tears have dried to your face.

You can't go on like this.

Then, the letters arrive. At first, just a few. Then, day by day, they grow. Soon, beautiful messages scrawled on colorful paper and decorative cards fill your world. These are letters written by people in nearby cities and far away countries. They are messages of support and solidarity, hope and inspiration, and strength and motivation from people you don't even know. They are messages written to both you and those who have imprisoned you.

At that moment, you realize that these aren't just letters - they are life lines. You feel free again.

Today, we officially kick-off Write #4Rights, our annual Global Write-a-thon. This is the time of year we ask you, our supporters, to build upon Amnesty's now 51-year tradition and incredible history of writing letters to save lives. We've selected 10 powerful cases of groups and individuals who could use your support in the form of a letter. Please take the pledge to write a letter and possibly, save a life.

Any friend of Amnesty International can tell you what we mean when we talk about "the power of the letter". It has driven our work from the very start.

When our founder, Peter Benenson, heard that two students from Portugal had been jailed for drinking a toast to freedom, apathy was not an option. Instead, he put pen to paper. He asked readers of The Observer newspaper's editorial section to write and mail letters to governments on the behalf of prisoners of conscience like these two Portuguese students - at the time, a truly groundbreaking concept.

He certainly didn't know it then, but that editorial would become the foundation for the greatest human rights movement in history - Amnesty International.

Today, we continue to revolutionize how we write for human rights. We tweet, we text, we email and we post. These tools have become essential to building momentum, amplifying our message and strengthening our impact.

Even though our toolkit for effective human rights advocacy has grown, nothing, and I mean NOTHING, compares to the power of the letter. Year after year, we see the proof. From the release of an Azerbaijani blogger jailed for posting on Facebook to winning freedom for a journalist sentenced to hard labor for criticizing the Sri Lankan government, these are the results we see when together, we put pen to paper and write for rights!

Won't you join us? Take the pledge now to Write #4Rights.

In Solidarity,

Suzanne Nossel
Executive Director
Amnesty International USA

The Fourth Kind/ Daybreakers/ Salt

Nov. 30: These are my movie reviews that were published on The Golden Vanguard. http://www.thegoldenvanguard.ca/ The Fourth Kind: I went into The Fourth Kind not knowing anything about this horror movie.  It starts off with Milla Jovovich introducing herself and that the film is based on real events and that some scenes are disturbing.  She’s right that it’s disturbing, but I find the movie was more depressing than scary.  I did jump a few times at the hypnosis session freak outs.  Those are the most frightening parts.  It is set in Nome, Alaska and there have been the highest amount of missing people than anywhere else in the world.  Abbey Tyler (Jovovich) is a psychologist who investigates it by talking with her patients through hypnotherapy.   Dr. Tyler’s life is tumultuous as she witnesses her husband Will murdered, but can’t see the killer.  Her six-year-old daughter Ashley (Mia McKenna- Bruce) is blind after her father died.  Her ten-year-old son Ronnie (Raphael Coleman) misses his father. There is lots of tension and drama. The movie is mainly splicing between real video footage and reenactments.  Most of the footage is when Dr. Tyler videotapes her patients under hypnosis.  The acting is really good because when the patients are scared during their sessions, they look genuinely scared and are crying.  After one session that leads to murder, Sheriff August (Will Patton) is onto Dr. Tyler.  There is an alien abduction theory of why there are all these missing people.  Dr. Tyler investigates and learns that Awolwa Odusami (Hakeem Kae Kazim) researches and believes in aliens.  Dr. Tyler’s doctor friend Abel (Elias Koteas) is skeptical.  The video footage of aliens coming down on Earth gets all fuzzy so you can’t really see it. By not knowing anything about the movie when watching it, I was able to get scared and believe it.  However, after doing some research on the internet, I learn that the movie is a hoax.  Here are a couple of websites that give evidence it has to be a hoax and that the real video footage shown is fake: http://io9.com/5397359/the-fourth-kind-is-a-hoax http://io9.com/5399895/fourth-kind-insider-yes-it-was-totally-fake If you like horror movies, mockumentaries, and aliens, this movie is for you. Daybreakers: In the year 2019, a plague has turned the majority of humans into vampires.  There are no shortages of disturbing images in this movie.  They show humans being farmed for their blood.  There is a shortage of blood and doctor and vampire Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) is working on creating a new blood supply.  If the vampires don’t get enough blood in their system, they will turn into frightening wild creatures with wings. Edward struggles to prevent it from happening by creating a blood substitute.  The task proves to be difficult as the move from animal testing to human testing shows disastrous results.  The character relationships are deep and well-written.  Edward’s vampire boss Charles Bromley (Sam Neill) has a human daughter Alison (Isabel Lucas).  Bromley is ruthless and will do anything to get his daughter back.  There is conflict between Edward and his little brother Frankie (Michael Dorman) who is a vampire soldier who hunts down and captures humans.  Edward may be at the top of the food chain, but he doesn’t want to be a vampire.  Through a chance of events, Edward meets a group of humans and he helps them survive.  They are Audrey (Claudia Karvan) and Elvis (Willem Dafoe).  They attempt to find a cure to turn a vampire into a human again. The movie is hauntingly beautiful, and creepy.  There are a lot of scary moments with surprise attacks and running.  There is very cool imagery with impressive special effects.  It’s a horror movie, but an action movie too with car chase scenes and shoot outs.  It is violent, dark, and disturbing.  However, it is poignant in themes about family and change too. Salt: If you like Jason Bourne and James Bond, then it’s about time you see a female spy in the movies.  Salt is a very impressive suspenseful spy thriller.     Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) is a spy for the CIA.  She is married to Michael Krause (August Diehl) who is a scientist.  A Russian spy Vasily Orlov (Daniel Olbrychuk) informs the CIA that the Russian President will be assassinated and the assassin’s name is Evelyn Salt. A neural scan proves that Orlov is telling the truth.  A tail spin of events occurs.  Salt’s boss Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber) tries to calm her down as Salt makes sure her husband Michael isn’t hurt.  Salt escapes from the CIA who tries to stop her from leaving.  A chase scene ensues as Salt is car hopping like you would see in the movie The Matrix Reloaded. The action scenes are well-choreographed.  There are dramatic flashbacks weaved into the story of how Russian children are being trained to be American spies. There are multiple plot twists as it keeps the audience asking: “Is Salt really a Russian spy?  Or is she a good guy?”  It’s unpredictable throughout the entire movie.  The last thirty minutes of the movie has the craziest plot twists.  I highly recommend this action movie that keeps your mind thinking and your heart racing. Bonnie Doon: The shoe store Naturalizer closed down.  The Zellers there also closed down. Dec.1 City Centre: In Oct. I went to City Centre mall.  The clothing store Cleo opened.  HG2 clothing store opened a couple months back.  There is no more Common Scents perfume store.  It will be replaced by No Excuses Fragrances. Le Chateau moved to a smaller location in the mall, but the store still looks good.  They got rid of the men's clothing section.  Urban is undergoing renovations and they were selling their stuff 20-80% off.  I read in the Edmonton Journal that it has opened up after the renovations are done. There is going to be a new store Eeava and Eve that will be opening there.  The shoe store Sole Comfort closed down.  The clothing store Ricki's is finished renovating and there is nice lighting.

jewelry business/ HIT & master list/ credit card sales

Nov. 21 Jewelry business: I thought: "Wouldn't it be cool and fun to start your own jewelry making business?  In fact, last year one of my friends mentioned that she was going to make her own.  Months later I found that email and I asked her about it.  She said she got really busy with her job and didn't start on it. I go to those Farmer's markets in downtown on the weekends in the summer.  There are always these booths selling handmade jewelry, and I like to look at it.  I did find this good article that asks all these questions I didn't think of: "What will your startup costs be? What are your materials costs? If you aren't handcrafting the product yourself, what will manufacturing expenses cost you? Is it more cost effective to manufacture your product in the U.S. or to outsource to another country? Should you open a physical store or are markets your best bet?  Finally, are you prepared to handle vendor fees, licensing expenses, and other unforeseen costs along the way?" http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/12/how-to-start-a-jewelry-making-business_pagen_2.html eHow: I found this website gave some really good and easy tips.  Start a website for free, and get your business cards at Vistaprint website. http://www.ehow.com/how_2135628_start-jewelry-business-small-budget.html Communications consultant: I did research on this earlier, but I didn't go to this website to learn about it. Ehow: It says they can work in any organization, big or small.  It did say if I was to consult, I would have to have at least 10 yrs experience in the communications field.  According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, a full-time one will be $47,000 a yr. If you are planning to consult, you should have at least 10 years of experience in the communications field. Read more: Job Description of a Communications Consultant | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5396926_job-description-communications-consultant.html#ixzz2Cu1nYwvs Social science: I had written down to research this for my careers. Wikipedia: "Social science refers to the academic disciplines concerned with society and human behavior.[1] "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to anthropology, archaeology, criminology, economics, education, history, linguistics, communication studies, political science, international relations, sociology, human geography, and psychology, and includes elements of other fields as well, such as law and social work." Nov. 22 Office job search: I'm back on my office job search.  For about a month I've been researching on careers.  I'm done with that.  Now I'm ready to do something more active like applying for jobs. HIT & master list: I was reading the Globe and Mail business article by Harvey Schachter.  He did a review of the book What to Do When There's Too Much To Do by Laura Stack, president of Productivity Pro consultants. A HIT list is a High Impact Tasks that are "a reasonable number of items, geared to how much time available in the day beyond meetings, email, and social engagements."  It's to "...evaluate the value of different tasks and the priorities that need to be assigned."  It's the saying I go by: "Focus on tasks that bring the most results" like my office job search. A Master list is everything you need or want to do without any due date.  It's like cleaning your desk.  It's not very important, but something that needs to be done. Nov. 23 Wal-Mart: I was looking for a job and I found this ad that Wal-Mart is hiring.  It seems they're going green because of their ad: " 1. To become a zero waste business; 2. To operate with 100 per cent renewable energy; 3. To provide customers with products that sustains resources and the environment." http://edmonton.kijiji.ca/c-jobs-customer-service-Wal-Mart-West-Edmonton-NOW-HIRING-Sales-Associates-W0QQAdIdZ433534986 Rant: Today at work, this Server #1 was being a jerk to Server #2.  He purposely gave her a table when she already got a table sat in her section.  He gave her that table because by looking at the customers, you know they aren't going to tip well or not at all.  The hostess is fair in doling out how many tables between how many servers, to keep things even. This reminds me of another server telling me how she worked at another restaurant before, and the manager gave the good tables to this server who's been there for years.  That server's been there for years, so she gets seniority, but it's not really fair to the others. Server #2 then ranted to a few of us about it, but won't tell him to his face.  Server #1 was then being a jerk to me and I told him about what he did to Server #2.  Server #2 thanked me for standing up for her, and she also stood up for me too. Baby-sitter's Club: Now for some reason, I got this flashback of the book series The Baby-Sitter's Club.  Dawn is not getting along with her friend/ step-sister Mary Anne because Mary Anne is hogging the good baby-sitting clients.  They're both available, but Mary Anne takes the client that she wants to baby-sit.  Then another time, they're both available, and she gives Dawn a client that no one really likes to baby- sit for. Nov. 26 Budget car rentals: I was looking for a job and I see that Budget car rentals is hiring receptionists who also have a driver's license.  I sent it to one of my friends.  I then talked to her about it, and she said she has applied to them before, but will again. Nov. 27 Fusion Software: I was looking for a job and I found this Edmonton company.  It's a tech company that helps your business with computers.  The website is really good and sleek. http://fusionsoftware.ca/index.htm Kognitive Marketing: I also found this and had to Google "Is Kognitive Marketing a scam?"  I found this forum and people are dissing it.  One person said he worked so hard, and made little money.  It's a scam.  http://forums.redflagdeals.com/kognitve-marketing-793032/ Credit card sales: I talked to a server who told me that she had worked at job where she got people to sign up for credit cards.  She worked 40hr weeks for 2 months, and only got paid $800. 40hrs x 8 weeks= 320 hrs $800/ 320hrs = 2.5 That's like $2.50/ hr.  Correct me if I'm wrong.  She said that she only got 1 pay check instead of 2.  Something about getting the job later, and getting paid once a month.  I wouldn't want to do that job prior to her telling me because selling and getting people to sign up for credit cards is hard. It was also about how she got a lot of people to sign up for the credit cards, a lot of it was also false information just to get this free item.  Or people do give correct information, but then they move or change their phone numbers, so she couldn't process the credit card to go through.  Thus, she didn't make money off them.

Take action for Indigenous Peoples in Colombia

 I got this from Amnesty International: 

http://www.amnesty.ca/get-involved/take-action-now/colombia-demand-protection-and-justice-for-women-amidst-conflict-relate?utm_source=Informz&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Informz


"Your messages are like a shield"A tremendous thank you and a call to action for Indigenous Peoples in Colombia 


“Each sentence that you send to the government of Colombia, every letter that you send gives us strength and helps us to continue fighting for our lives. It’s like a kind of shield. The government knows you are watching what happens to us. That’s why today they are being a bit more careful. Because they know you are watching.”
- Dora Tavera, Colombia

Dear human rights supporter,
It is a wonderful feeling to share this heartfelt message with you, and the many Canadians who have spoken out against threats to Indigenous Peoples in Colombia.

Dora Tavera is a Pijao Indigenous woman who works with the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia, a courageous human rights worker who we filmed during our recent mission to Colombia.
I encourage you to take 5 minutes to watch this video to get a sense of how much Dora values your support, and to understand more about the epidemic of conflict-related sexual violence against Indigenous women by all of the warring parties in Colombia.  Given the traumatic impact on women and vulnerable Indigenous communities, this is a deep scar that all who care about human rights must work to heal.
Please take action now.

The petition you signed early this year has attracted more than 30,000 signatures, and we've taken your words of encouragement directly to Indigenous Communities in Colombia.

Now we're going to do something more.

You may know that Amnesty International members worldwide gather on International Human Rights Day, December 10th, to write letters. This has become the biggest human rights event in the world, with participants in more than 80 countries.

We're inviting you - and the world - to join us to write a letter to end the threats to survival of Indigenous Peoples in Colombia. We'll also be featuring a letter-writing action to protect Indigenous women in Canada.

Together we can speak out to protect the rights and Indigenous Peoples in Canada and around the world.

Sign-up now.
Thank you!


Alex Neve
Secretary General
Amnesty International Canada

On Human Rights Day, Amnesty International is mobilizing to write for Indigenous People in Colombia and Canada - Please join us for Write for Rights!  

	12 compelling cases! You can write for Indigenous Peoples in Colombia, for Stolen Sisters in Canada and 11 other high priority actions.  Each will come with supporting video content, and most also allow you to write message of hope and solidarity. View letter-writing actions - Already over 35,000 letters are pledged by 20,000 writers in Canada
	“Wear Yellow”.  In addition to writing letters, we hope to attract more letter-writers and members by getting out in the public in Amnesty’s colours. We have new toques, pens and candles to help. Order a toque | Fundraise a minimum of $20 and get a free toque
	Write for Rights Kit & DVD. The kit includes some great content: a poster, tips from running a successful event, a sign-up sheet for participants, and a  DVD that features some of the most inspiring success stories from our global campaigning. Order by December 1st to assure timely delivery. Download kit resources | The full kit | View the slideshow
	Send "Stamps of Hope". Help fund this huge effort by purchasing one or several books of our symbolic "Stamps of Hope".  Every book represents the cost of a mailing a letter for each of the international cases featured in Write for Rights!  Stamps of Hope
	Find an event near you. Write for Rights events are being held in living rooms, workplaces schools and communities across Canada. You can sign up to write on your own, start your own event, or look for a public event near you.
	Spread the word! We want the world to know that December 10th is International Human Rights Day. Please tell your friends about the opportunity to take action with Amnesty International on this day. facebook | twitter | youtube | pinterest

At Risk: Prominent Lawyer detained and tortured in China

 I got this from Amnesty International:

http://e-activist.com/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1770&ea.campaign.id=17499&ea.url.id=116525&ea.campaigner.email=4PH318B4QP8bTUURO9nMPBFFMe9grgD0&ea_broadcast_target_id=0


Being a human rights activist is dangerous in China. You risk arrest, imprisonment, torture, and even execution.
You can be a part of a massive effort by Amnesty International to free a prominent lawyer who has been wrongfully detained in China. Take action now
In 2006, Gao Zhisheng, one of China's most respected human rights lawyers, was sentenced to three years imprisonment for standing up for his people's rights. Gao was jailed and experienced repeated, brutal acts of torture. No one, not even his family, was allowed to see him.
Four years later, after authorities were under pressure to disclose information about him, Gao was temporarily released and appeared in a media interview. He described the torture he had been through saying that he was beaten to within an inch of life. Gao was last seen a month after the interview.
In 2011, the Chinese government announced that Gao had been sent back to prison. He is currently being held in a prison in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, in northwest China.
Amnesty International is demanding that Chinese authorities immediately free Gao Zhisheng. 

Please be a part of our global campaign to free Gao:

1. Sign our appeal now 
Sign our eappeal urging the immediate release of Gao Zhisheng.

2. Write a letter for Gao on Human Rights Day
Amnesty supporters around the world will be writing for Gao and others on December 10th, International Human Rights Day. You can write hand-written a letter to Premier Wen Jiabao or write a letter of solidarity and hope directly to Gao.

Sign-up to Write for Rights | See Gao's letter-writing action

Amnesty is campaigning to protect many human rights defenders who have been targeted and detained by authorities in China. Gao, who had been named "one of the nation's top 10 lawyers" in 2001 for his pro bono work on behalf of human rights activists, was originally detained for the vaguely-defined offense of "inciting subversion", following work to protect religious freedom in China.
Your action today and on December 10th on behalf of Gao will let China know that the world cares about activists like Gao and the valuable human rights work that they do.

No one deserves to be detained and put through unimaginable acts of torture for courageously defending the basic rights of others.  
Thank you for taking action for Gao Zhisheng. Sign our appeal and add a comment here.
Sincerely,

Alex Neve
Secretary General
Amnesty International Canada

P.S. If you have not already signed up to Write for Rights, I urge you to sign up now. We've shown that the massive global attention we can bring on Human Rights Day can get results for people like Gao. Last year, over a million letters were written on and around December 10th in over 80 countries around the world, and we achieved positive results in half of the cases featured the year prior. And we here time and time again that letters of solidarity help give hope to those detained in horrible prison conditions. Plan to join us, and get warmed up for Write for Rights by signing an appeal on behalf of Gao today.

Light the way. Make this match.

I got this from Amnesty International: 

https://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/site/c.6oJCLQPAJiJUG/b.8455001/k.C6B4/Yearend_Appeal_2012/apps/ka/sd/donorcustom.asp?msource=W1212EYE1J

Dear Tracy,

Disappeared.

It is what oppressive governments do to people who dare speak out against them. They make you vanish, never telling family where you are, how you are, or whether you even still exist.

Gao Zhisheng, one of China's most respected human rights lawyers as well as a husband and father of two children, was disappeared by the Chinese government on Feb. 4, 2009.

When Gao was disappeared, his family feared the worst – that he had been murdered.

LIGHT THE WAY. Help free human rights heroes like Gao. Become a member of Amnesty International USA and friends of Amnesty will match your gift dollar-for-dollar until Dec. 31.

We know now that Gao is alive.

We also know he was brutally tortured. In a rare interview describing his ordeal, he said he was beaten so badly that “for 48 hours, my life hung by a thread."

Harassed and fearing for their lives, Gao's wife and two children made a dramatic escape from Beijing to Thailand in 2009. They were granted asylum in the United States.

An attack on one is an attack on all.

As you read these words, tens of thousands of Amnesty supporters are calling for Gao's unconditional release by writing letters to the Chinese government.

For over 50 years, we have persevered against villainy, cruelty and repression. We have risen to defend the brave ones, the forgotten ones, the fearless voices demanding fairness, equality and human dignity.

Your gift today helps us fight injustice, and it is urgently needed.

Together we are Amnesty and we light the way for human rights. We received the Nobel Peace Prize for our life-saving work and will never stop fighting for champions of humanity like Gao. 

Thank you for all you do to support human rights.


Sincerely,
Suzanne Nossel
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA

P.S. This is an excellent time to give. Your tax-deductible year-end gift will be matched by special friends of Amnesty - until Dec. 31. A gift of $75 will become $150. Imagine how much farther your gift can go. Make this match for human rights today.

feelings/ feng shui/ homework article

Nov. 12 Feelings: It's been about a week without my Paxil.  I'm okay.  I was working all long weekend and it was busy, so I haven't gotten a chance to go and pick it up.  It was also cold and the roads weren't very good either.  I did get to see my counselor.  I also chatted with two of my friends on the phone.  I also got to watch TV shows I liked so that makes me happy. Teen pregnancy: It's also been about a week since I saw that Dr. Phil ep.  I decided to go back and read those comments on that show about that teen girl Kayla who got pregnant on purpose.  It's on twop.com and I had to make a comment about it (it's basically from my blog). I didn't get angry reading it as people diss them.  I'm keeping myself in check.  Here's a comment: "The boy's dad was a total jackass. There is no other way to describe him other than a jackass." I did see the previews of the upcoming episodes of a man who hits his wife, and mothers who hit their children.  I scanned some comments, and I didn't get angry because I avoided watching the show.  I can't watch and absorb all this.  If I sit and watch it, I will get angry.  I'm at a distance by looking at these comments, but not seeing show. http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=1763083&st=13200 I then checked out twop.com "TV moments angry up the blood."  I didn't put this comment on my blog, but I will now.  I did write a review about it, but not this exact comment: Me: I was watching the TV movie The Pregnancy Pact on Youtube because I'm really interested in teen pregnancy. I was angry at it because the girls were really stupid for getting pregnant on purpose. It gets worse when they show one of them smoking, and another girl saying she's going to a party and drink alcohol: "I'll have like a sip, or half a drink." Later on, they show the girls totally chugging alcohol when they're pregnant. Teen Cribs: There was a rant about this show: Turkish: Pretty much every episode of Teen Cribs angries up my blood. For those not aware of what it is, Teen Cribs is a spinoff of MTV Cribs where spoiled rich kids show off their parents houses. That's all it is. Their is no way you will make it through an episode liking anyone involved. I just don't understand the point of this show or who MTV thinks this show appeals to. I get showcasing celebrity homes but a show where a bunch of nobody kids of wealthy people (most of whom aren't celebrities) brag about mansions and expensive shit they didn't even buy is the height of obnoxious. I don't think MTV is making new episodes but they did air a marathon today and I just had to rage about it. Here's some more info about this show: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1430134/ On Tumblr, there are some snarky comments and pics about it too: http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/teen-cribs Feng shui: I first learned about this when I read a teen magazine about it.  I've read about it in other teen magazines and the newspaper.  I was reading about it on the internet. Right brain: Feng shui says to clear out clutter in your room or house, because clutter will disrupt your chi (energy) flow in your room.  It will have an effect on your life. Left brain: Of course, it's good to clear out clutter so it can help you find things easier. Nov. 13: Right brain: Feng shui says that computers, TV, and work out equipment shouldn't be in your bedroom because of the electricity will affect your chi.  The bedroom is a place to rest. Left brain: I have read in newspapers, that if you have a TV in your room, it will affect your sleep.  It makes you want to stay up late to watch TV.  If it was in the living room, then it won't affect your sleep. Clean: Reading Feng shui did inspire me to clean my room and my computer desk.  I actually threw out some things like old receipts in my room.  However, the computer desk is a bit harder.  I actually cleaned out one drawer yesterday.  There were papers and things from 2002.  It belonged to my dad and brother, so I gave the papers to them.  I wiped the drawer and was able to put in 3 folders that were sitting on top of the desk. Medication: Today I finally picked up my medication and took a pill.  I noticed physical changes in myself without the medication.  I didn't have much of an appetite which is fine.  I wasn't tired.  I usually drink 3 cups of coffee a day, and sleep on the bus ride home from work.  Instead, I drink 2 cups of coffee and don't sleep on the bus at all without my meds. I didn't feel really sad.  I did notice it was harder for me to concentrate and focus.  Now I need to focus, that's important. Nov. 15 Doing too much: I was thinking about that song again by Paula Deanda called "Doing Too Much."  She sings "Baby, am I doing too much?"  I ask: "Am I doing enough?"  Sometimes I feel like I'm not working enough.  On Tues. I could have taken a shift at Call Centre #6, but I decided to work one shift on Wed. instead.  Then I thought: "I could have worked 2 shifts."  However, I was really busy at the restaurant for the past 4 days so I needed one night to relax.  That's good, because today I stayed way later at the restaurant than I was scheduled too.  One worker had to leave earlier, and she asked for me to take over, so I did.  Homework article: I was reading an article called "The after school battleground" by Kate Hammer in the Globe and Mail on Nov. 2, 2012.  It talks about how homework is good and bad.  French President Francois Hollande is against homework because of the disadvantages.  When students of poorer backgrounds do homework, they don't get as much help as a student with two educated parents. It mentioned it's good to have homework because Canada is lagging behind students in China and Korea.  The solution is about a moderate amount of homework like have students to do what they didn't finish in class. Flashback: I even remember in gr.7, my math teacher Mr. Roberts told my class that he talks to our science teacher Mr. Oxamitny about what days they're assigning homework so they won't overload us on one night. I also remember in gr. 12 English 30 class that the teacher doesn't assign us homework because: "I get a lot of students saying: 'I didn't complete this because I had so much homework in my other class.'"  That's good. Unlike my gr. 11 Social Studies teacher Mr. Smith who said this to the class: "I don't assign you guys homework, because I know you're not going to do it."  I was in Social 23, the low class.  He may be dissing us for being slackers and having low expectations of us, but he's telling the truth.  If he had experience teaching this class years before, what makes you think this class will actually do their homework? My opinion: I think it's good to have a moderate amount of homework.  It gives you good work ethic and helps you learn.  I remember I took Math 30 Pure to upgrade.  We weren't exactly assigned homework.  The teachers taught us the lesson, and the homework was optional.  They didn't mark it in class.  You do the homework, and then mark it yourself because the answer's in the back. I did the homework, because I had to so I could learn it.  If I didn't do the homework, I wouldn't be able to remember what I learned.