After a week of no reply from Billy Joel on Facebook, I realized I'd have to try something else. So what did my terribly innovative and clever mind do? I did a google search. It was actually very helpful. I found Joel's fan mail address, and some tips and stuff to optimize your chances of getting a real autograph. Now I just needed something to send to get autographed.

My choice was between two of Joel's albums: Piano Man or The Essential Billy Joel 3.0. Piano Man is a classic, but Essential has around 40 songs compared to Piano Man's 10! I didn't have the money for both, so I went with the Essential album.

It came in the mail a couple of days later, and I got everything ready to send to Mr. Joel. I had a large bubble envelope with his address, and then I had a smaller bubble envelope with my address on it so he could send it back. I wrote him a letter telling him what it was for, and included the album (of course!).

I went back to...

As some of you may know, I am a pretty big fan of comic books, mostly Spider-Man. There's just something about superheroes that inspire me. Here these guys are, putting their personal well-being and happiness behind their want to do something good, to protect those that can't protect themselves. It's a noble, inspiring thing.

So where are the superheroes in real life? I'm sure most of you have heard about the shooting in Aurora, where a man shot many many people while everybody ran. No one stood up and went after him. I saw in the news big men talking about how awful it was. They ran, and left a six year old girl to die. Is this what we have become? A people more concerned with their own welfare than with the welfare of others? Of women and little children? There were a couple of heroes; two guys took bullets for their girlfriends, and I salute them for that. Those men are real heroes.

It's kinda ironic, in a sick way. These people were going...

Call me a woman, but I've already started thinking about Christmas presents. Not for me, for my family members, my aunt in particular. She's pretty darn tootin awesome, and I want to get her a present that reflects that.

My aunt is a big Billy Joel fan. I am too, thanks to her. So I was thinking about what type of present to get her, and all of a sudden I had a crazy idea; why not get her a autographed copy of Joel's first album, The Piano Man? Sound impossible? Yeah, my dad thought so too. Billy Joel isn't touring anymore, so I couldn't get an autograph that way. And to be absolutely honest, Joel can be kinda mean sometimes. He's got this cynical thing going. There's a reason why they call him The Angry Young Man! So how am I going to get an autograph?

I went to his official website, and at the bottom of the page there was a "Connect with Billy Joel" link. Bingo. I was hoping for an email address or something, but all I got was a link...

This coming fall, I will be a senior, entering my final year of high school and public education. After this year, I will have to pay for my education (barring scholarships of course). The thought of that is daunting, to say the least. I've heard the horror stories of students leaving college with huge amounts of debt that weighs them down for life. I'm determined not to let that happen to me.

Wednesday, my dad and I got back from a little college trip. We went up to Lipscomb in Nashville, and Harding in Searcy, Arkansas. Both of them were Christian colleges, and both of them really seemed to want me there, which surprised me. I mean, yeah, I'm above average, but those two schools were treating me like I was a genius, which kind of embarrassed me, and also scared me a little bit. What would they do if I went to their school and did really bad? Maybe they would kick me out. That happened to my dad, and he spent the next 7 years of his life trying to fix that mistake....