Reading

I haven't always resided in Baltimore. I lived in a small town in Iowa until I was 11 years old. One of the things I miss most about Iowa is the quiet summer evenings spent sitting on the porch. The smell of the garden's evening primroses filled the air as the cattle marched back to the barn. An evening in Baltimore, conversely, is filled with the sounds of a busy city: horns honking, noisy trucks barreling through the streets and fire trucks responding to a new emergency. I enjoy brisk walks to corner restaurants for dinner with friends and the energy of city life. I'm glad I've been able to experience life in two very unique places.

Anya and Charisse are siblings and the best of friends. They like to play the same games, listen to the same types of music and eat many of the same foods. They even resemble each other physically: tall, long black hair, and deep brown eyes. There are some significant differences, however, between the two of them. Anya is extremely messy. Her room always has clothes all over the floor. She is also quite loud, and many people have said that she is bossy. It's interesting how two people that grew up together under the same roof can be so unique.

This year, I went on two vacations. The first vacation was spent tent camping in the woods. I stayed in a hotel at the beach on my second trip. The comforts of a hotel include cozy beds, warm showers and toilets that flush. I think my warm sleeping bag was my only comfort in the woods. While I enjoyed hamburgers on both trips, one was cooked over a campfire and the other was cooked in the kitchen of a restaurant. Each day spent in the woods brought a different adventure. I hiked, fished and spent many hours gazing at the stars. While at the beach, I relaxed with a book, swam in the ocean and the pool, and played a lot of miniature golf. Both vacations were quite enjoyable!

Buster is my first pet. He's a 4-year-old orange tabby cat. Buster has always been very playful. When he was a kitten, he would leap onto objects as they moved under a blanket. Now, his favorite game is jumping high into the air while trying to catch a feather on a stick. If the sun is shining through the window, I can usually find Buster napping in the sun. Gus joined our family one year after Buster. He's a 3-year-old black cat. Although Gus is not very interested in playing with toys or humans, he still demands a lot of attention. He frequently meows until someone pets him and will take every opportunity to climb onto your lap. Gus enjoys a good nap in the sun, too!

Tap water is required by law to be filtered and/or disinfected. By law, labs must test tap water and report their results to government agencies. Tap water costs only pennies a day and contains nutrients such as calcium and iron. Most tap water also contains fluoride, which helps protect teeth. Bottled water, on the other hand, does not have filtering or disinfection requirements. Testing and reporting is not required for bottlers. The price of bottled water can be more than $4.00 per gallon, and bottled water does not contain fluoride. Some estimate that 25% of bottled water is actually just tap water in a bottle! Choosing to drink tap water or bottled water is a personal decision. Regardless of which type of water you choose, drinking water has great health benefits because every body system depends on water.

Every night, a decision has to be made: should we go out for dinner, or should we make dinner at home? I'm a good cook, so our family would have a good meal regardless of what we decide. There is the issue of dishes, though. If we went out to eat, we wouldn't have to deal with cleanup. I do love that! There is also the issue of noise: a meal at home would be in quiet surroundings, unlike the bustle and noise of a restaurant. Finally, do I even feel like getting in the car to travel to a restaurant? Maybe I should call and have food delivered. That would be the best of both worlds!

Pop's Pizza and Aldo's Italian Restaurant are two of my favorite places to eat. Both have fabulous pizza with thin crusts and fresh mozzarella cheese. The wait staffs are attentive without being bothersome, and the restaurants are very clean too! The biggest difference between Pop's and Aldo's is the menu. Pop's is strictly a pizza place. In contrast, I can visit Aldo's to enjoy pasta, subs, soups and salads. While Aldo's has a pizza special on Monday nights, Pop's has a special every night of the week! Now that I think about it, I usually visit Pop's if I want pizza, but Aldo's if I'm in the mood for something else.

Summer has ended, and the temperature has gotten cooler. Sweatshirts and jackets are pulled out of the closet. The leaves are changing colors as they prepare to fall off the trees. The sounds of lawnmowers become less frequent, and bright orange pumpkins decorate homes around the country. Autumn has arrived. Six months later, temperatures begin to rise and jackets return. Buds form on the same trees as leaves begin to form. Flowers and grass begin to grow again. Welcome back, spring.

My best friend, Jorge, and I just finished the same class. Jorge took the class as an online course. I went to class on campus every week, sat at a desk and listened to my instructor. We found one major similarity in our experiences. We compared our notes and found that both classes covered the same amount of information. Other than that, the classes were very different. An online class does not give you immediate access to your instructor. When Jorge was confused, he had to wait for an email response to his question. I, on the other hand, could raise my hand and ask my question immediately. The online course allowed Jorge to do his work at his convenience, while the traditional class required me to be in class at a certain time each week. I think that's the perfect reason to give online instruction a try!

Paul and Randall just completed their final interviews for the programming position. Deciding which candidate should be offered the job is a tough decision. Both Paul and Randall showed good attention to detail. Their scores on the programming test were virtually the same. Paul definitely had better documentation skills, but Randall has not been held accountable for documentation in previous positions. I sensed that both had the basic logical skills, patience, and perseverance necessary to be a good programmer. While less experienced, Paul's personality seems like it might fit better on the team. Which candidate would you select?