Marlee!

He told me that he’d plan everything. The restaurant, the reservations and everything that Valentine’s Day includes. But it was difficult for me to believe because he’s shy and doesn’t like to plan anything. But, he promised he would have everything under control, so I sat back and let him work out the details.
The day of Valentine’s Day I had to work from 1-5 (When I got to work, there were a dozen red and white roses waiting for me) and Tim said that he would be at my house to pick me up at 5:45. I rushed out the door of work at 5 on the dot and went home to start getting ready.
He got there right on time and he said before we went to eat we had to run by his mom’s and take pictures. So, we got there and at this time, I was worried sick we were going to miss our reservations. We walked in and it was all dark except for the lights on in the kitchen. I looked to my left and there was the table completely set and there was a candle lit in the middle. It immediately hit me that he had tricked me about reservations and he had made me all my favorite foods instead! It was much better than going to a restaurant and it meant so much more too! It was unforgettable and he couldn’t have made the day better!

And didn’t want to forget to mention.. On my plate when I first got there was a beautiful diamond heart neckalce! It was amazing!!!

about your childhood up until now,” is all I had to say in the last interview I did, and Ricky Ingram took it from there. He went from when he was born to his parents dying to trying to kill himself to finding himself at Central Bible College. I can definitely say that he was the most unique interview I’ve ever done. One question, 50 minute answer. It was the interview from heaven, if you ask me, and I can truly say that I never once got bored with him.
Ricky Ingram was born in the Projects and starting dealing at a very young age. He saw more things by age ten than most people see in their entire life. He stayed stong though and kept on while watching both of his parents die of AIDS, and him switch schools more often than he had hoped. Things were rolling downhill for Ricky and he had started thinking suicidal thoughts. He then turned himself into the police and got put into a program called Teen Challenge. It changed his life and his way of thinking. He was much more positive than he had been in the past and he realized that he had a calling in his life. He wanted to be a youth pastor and he’s now attending CBC, here in Springfield, and he’s very involved in his church. He’s turned his life around for the better.
Not only was he an easy interview, but he also had an amazing story to tell. He was a very inspirational person to me and I’ll never forget my interview with Ricky Ingram.

I’m weird. Yes, I have a strange phobia. Mannequins and dummies scare me unlike anything else ever has. The ones that scare me the most are the mannequin/dummies that “work” at Silver Dollar City. On most rides, there are at least a couple of them swinging their axes, and you can count on it, my eyes will be closed as we float past that scene. I can’t take it.
Another type that freaks me out are the ones at the mall that are dressed, have wigs and wear make-up. I feel like they’re staring at me, and nobody that I’m ever with takes my phobia seriously. They laugh as I turn around and jump when I see the life-like “human” doll peiercing me with their stare.
For example, my fellow HTV’er, Holly Fees, found it hilarious when we went to get Buzz-A-Thon sponsors at an old antique shop and I clinched her hand as soon as I saw one.
But, I’ve learned that I have to let people’s mean comments slide because one day, I’ll find out their weird phobias, and make fun of them 10 times more (: Because that’s what they get!

From manual audio to no audio at all, Lauren and I’s story about City Utilites was a nightmare to get done. We messed up everything we possibly could.. twice.. wait, three times. Yeah, three times. I’ll start from the beginning.

We started out with a very optimistic attitude about our lead story for HTV number 161, but that quickly changed when we accidentally captured all of our interviews with no audio. So, our only choice was to re-shoot allllll of our interviews. As if that wasn’t enough, when we went to re-shoot, none of the interviews were near as good as the first time we did them. We then went to interview Carol Cruise, CU Head of Transportation, and when we got back to school to capture what we had filmed, we realized that we had done our whole interview with our mic off. All we had was net sound, and Davis quickly informed us that it wouldn’t match the rest of our audio. After all of that, we went to shoot our stand ups at CU and shot them all with MANUAL audio on. Davis then LET US HAVE IT. He announced to his classes that the ‘M’ on the camera (standing for manual) stood for Marlee, which stood for mess-up. We also got a bum camera and a tape with a dirty head. But Meagan Dudley came to our rescue. We went back to the school, talked to Davis, and decided that we would re-shoot the next day. He told us that before we go, we MUST check and see if everything is working. Don’t just assume. So, we checked everything the next day and went back to CU for the final time. When we got back to capture, we were so relieved that we FINALLY did everything right.

This past story was crazy, and I so glad that I’m finally to the point where I can look back and laugh and really realize that I learned so much. I’m glad that Lauren and I had to go through this because there are things now that I won’t ever do wrong again, because I know that if I was to ever use manual audio again, DAVIS WOULD KILLLL ME. (:

But, on a brighter note, my next story is with Olivia, and we’re attending the Jason Aldean concert tomorrow night to shoot our story about teens loving country music. I can’t wait!!

Junior Year. Wow, I can’t believe it. It seriously seems like yesterday that I was running around Pleasant View Middle School thinking I ran the place. I thought I knew it all, and nobody was going to teach me a thing about life.
Things sure change, don’t they? I’ve learned more in high school than I ever thought possible. I’ve learned that whether you believe it, or not, you’re going to lose some friends that you care so much about to things that you thought were horrible in middle school. I’ve learned that you always, always, always have to stand up for what you think is right, you can’t let peer pressure ever suck you in, or else, you’re in trouble. But, on the brighter side, I’ve also learned that through all of this, you gain friends that are better than any others that you’ve ever had.
High school has been amazing, end of story. Things have gone wrong, yes, and I’ve thought my world was going to end a few times, yes, but, I “get back in the game,” every single time, and that’s pretty good compared to how I was in middle school.
I’m glad I’ve changed so much during these past few years, and I can now say for sure, I’m ready to take on these last two years!