Wow…Can you believe who the final winner was? I must say I was totally shocked by the results.  Don’t get me wrong; I think Kris is a talented singer however I feel Adam was by far the best in that competition. Even as I was watching the final show I was just amazed at the different levels of Adams signing expertise.  There is not a note that kid can not hit. Regardless he is going to make it big..I have no doubt in my mind.

The rumors I have been hearing around town…People felt that they were not going to promote someone who could be gay; therefore they were not going to vote for him to be the American Idol Star. If this is true I think that is the most absurd thing I have ever heard. What is the problem with people and excepting the rights of gay Americans? This is a free country and if that is the life they want to live then more power to them…it should not be someone else’s decision on who one can love or not love. It just makes me ill…now back to the topic; we do not even know if Adam is gay or not and even if he is the name of the show is American Idol with the purpose of finding the next singing superstar. That is what we all should be voting on and if you are voting for different reasons then maybe you should not be expressing your opinion.  That is my opinion and I will leave it at that.

I wish Kris the best of luck and I congratulate him in being the winner! I think he is talented as well, but not to the same degree as the other contestants that were in the top 13. Funny thing is I was questioning why he was even in the top 13. I just did not feel he was as talented as some of the other singers. Obviously someone felt differently or he had enough people in his hometown voting for him.

I thought the season finale was a great 2 hour show between amazing guest and the final 13 contestants putting on excellent performances. This past show really was one of the best American Idol’s to date. It makes you wonder about how many real talented people are out there that never get noticed. We need more musicians today as I do not feel there are enough really talented stars. I feel this way because I am a huge music fan and I just do not feel the quality of music is as good as it use to be. 

My favorite performance was the Carlos Santana and Fergie performances. Although it was nice to see   all the performance that night; they were my favorite.  I think it is great how some of the old school artist come on American Idol and sing along with the contestants.  It must feel pretty good for them to have these young singers singing their songs like the best of them.

I am looking forward to next season because they are coming to my home town…Orlando, FL. I am sorry to announce you will not see me trying out for the show because signing is not my forte.  

I cannot believe how quickly this semester is flying by…It seems like I just started a couple of weeks ago, but in all actuality is has been 6 weeks. I am doing very well in my classes although I will admit some weeks are tougher than others. I will tell you that I seem to be having most difficulty with APA formatting and citing sources.

I have been writing papers in school for about a year and a half and while I have improved some; I have not manage to truly perfect APA formatting in all areas. There seems to be so many different rules and it is hard to learn all of them. Just when I think I am doing great…”Bam” – I get docked for citing something improperly.  Also because I am an online student most of our papers are utilizing online sources and I have not found anything that list APA formatting for online articles or pages. Is there a book or something that would give more information?

I have more and more classes wanting you to use resources to write your papers and cite the sources. I am not good at doing this because I like to read something and then put it into my words and how I interrupt what they are saying. I guess this is not what APA is all about. So I ask myself how do I combine the resource into my paper without changing the wording and then remember to cite it….Hmmm. Maybe I am making this out to be more difficult than it is, but I just get way too overwhelmed when it comes to formatting papers correctly.

Other than that school and my online classes are flowing efficiently. I cannot believe there is only 5 weeks in the semester left. My classes this semester are fundamental; Business Ethics and Excel – I love the Excel class because I am truly learning so much more with tables, pivot tables and formulas. And it is with the Microsoft Excel 2007 version which doesn’t get any better than that. I wanted to take Excel before having to take any other Math or Algebra classes. It will be a huge help! My Business Ethics class is going ok, but I will be honest in saying it is not my favorite class. We are allowed to have classes we do not like, right? I am just not all that intrigued by it.

Well I have to run, but I hope things are well on your end. And let me know if you have any suggestions on the APA Formatting because I could really use some help before going into the next semester. Maybe there is a recommend book I can buy or something?     

I recently moved within the same complex to a lower level apartment. Economically it was better for me and over all I will save $3600 in rent. I have a dilemma though with the neighbor above me and his out of control dog. I moved in February 2009 and to my surprise I realized that my new neighbor has a dog and not just any dog, but one that missed the obedience bus while growing up. The dog barks uncontrollably and jumps around like he is a child. I just moved from the top floor where no sounds were above me except the pleasant sounds of the rain and now I live below the Ogre and his dog.

My first reaction was to tell the Manager of apartment complex and let them deal with it. My complaint is not only the dog, but the guy walks like he weighs 600 pounds.  It is completely unnecessary and on top of the dog barking out of control it is going to drive me crazy. The apartment manger came back to me with “He just started putting him a kennel so you if you can bare with him until he gets use to it”. Are you kidding me…what about me? She then stated that the neighbor said he would try not to walk so hard.  Well I told her I would do my best to tolerate it, but how long can I really do that?

I complained several times within the my first month and called the complex and told them I wanted to complain to corporate since they were not going to do anything about the situation. Next thing I know there is a knock on my door. Oh and did I mention that the manager is a dog lover.  The knock was the neighbor from up stairs. When I opened the door he was amazed at how loud the barking was in my living room. He apologized and gave me his cell number so I could call him if it was bad.  I asked if he could put him in the closet area or bedroom. That way he is not right over my head while I am studying.  He was going to see what he could do and would try to make the situation better.

Things were better after that for a while and then I think he started getting lazy. He is now putting dog in the front room again. He is leaving him on the porch and the dog pees off the side onto my porch. And I forgot to tell you when the dog is in his cage he shakes it around trying to break loose which makes this horrible rumbling sound.  It is insane and the dog rally needs to go through some type of obedient school.

I am up to my ears with frustration over this dog and his owner. I have tried to be patience while the dog gets use to the cage, but I cannot take this anymore. What is my next step? Can I report the neighbor to the county for leaving his dog locked in the kennel for long hours or locked out on porch during hot climate days? I hate to be mean, but he is not helping either and I have been dealing with this for over 3 months. Does anyone have any ideas? Has anyone ever been in this type of situation? HELP!!