#13

A few blogs ago I talked about the number 13 and the superstitions that go along with it. I recently came across another article that caught my eye. Again it was about the number 13 but this time it had to do with the present and how the number 13 could effect us in this "unlucky year" Last week's Friday the 13th was one of 3 this year, something so rare that it only occurs every 11 years. The root of the fear of the number 13 goes as far back to biblical times when the 13th member of the last supper betrayed Jesus. People are so afraid of the number 13 that they often omit it from there everyday life. Next time your at a hotel check the floors as you go up the elevator, you will realize that there is no 13th floor in certain hotels.  Or next time your at an airport, check to see if there is a gate 13. There are many places that do not use the number 13.

So next time your out, take a look around and see if you see the number 13.

Janitor Jobs

So recently as I was browsing through my emails I came across a specific article that caught my eye. Now usually i would consider these to be junk mail but something about this specific article  pulled me in. The other day we were talking about openings of janitor jobs and New Trier. Now if you watch tv, listen to the radio or even just go online you know that we are in a serious economic crisis. The article I came across talked about a Middle School in Ohio that received an overwhelming response to a $15 per hour janitor job over the summer. This school got over 700 applications for the one job. I found this quite interesting because we just talked about this exact job in class. So many people are applying for this job because of the economic crisis and the because of the benefits they will get from this job. They know where they will be each and every day and the pay is great. Now i can only imagine what it would be like to try and find a job in such poor economic times, what do you all think about the recent fall of our economy. do you think more jobs like this will create more competition?

ZZZZZzzzzz

So lately I've been seeing a lot of tired kids at school, and its always a subject of talk within my friend group about how tired we are most of the time. This got me thinking...how much sleep do I really get vs. the amount of sleep I need. Or any teenage kid for that matter. So I did some research and found that teens on average need more sleep than a 9 or 10 year old kid to stay alert and function correctly throughout the day. Now according to Providence St. Mary Medical Center this means that teenagers need 10+ hours of sleep a night to maintain a high level of performance during the day. I can tell you for a fact that a rarely get 10+ hours of sleep a night due to school work and extra-curricular activities. And I know some people would say well why don't you cut down on your extra-curriculars, but the fact is, that college is coming and schools are looking for that "perfect student" so i know most of us cant afford to cut down on our outside of school activities just for a few more hours of sleep at night. Not only are colleges looking for that great all around kid but most parents are also looking for there child to be all they can be. Every parent wants their child to succeed, and success in these days means getting a great education and being able to have all the opportunities that are available in the real world. This often leads parents to push there child to be all they can be even if that means signing them up for another sport or club outside of school. In an article I came across on sleep deprivation the Dr. said one thing that really stuck with me. He said "Distractions may shift, but sleep needs don't." Regarding that when your little your parents have a set bedtime for you and make sure that you get enough sleep but as you get older they stop paying attention to their child's sleep needs. Another very interesting thing i found out was that teenagers are sleepiest members of society (accoriding to researchers at Stanford University when researching sleep in teens) and this can lead to poor school performance, increase in drug and alcohol use and an increase in automobile accidents. While these facts dont suprise me all that much i wonder what all of you think. In a school known for being academically competitive and having great extra-curricular oppritunities do you get enough sleep at night?