Saturday 27 November 2010

Computer Angst

My Macbook came with 60 MB of free space. About 2 years ago my hard drive crashed and i had to get a replacement one. And the smallest size they had was a 80 MB one. So for 3 years I have worked with a computer with a memory space of 80 GB. Until today.

My friend, Brian, came over at 2 today and started replacing my hard drive with his old one. A 250 MB. I don't even know what to do with the extra space.

A few hours ago when we were opening up my computer, I realized that if it isn't work, I wouldn't have a computer. So I freaked out a little. But it's working now, so I'm all good.

At the moment, I have Brian and my friend, Sam, who's home from college sitting in my room talking about techy things. So I'm writing my blog post now, so I don't forget about doing it.

But here I am, and soon enough I'll have a 250 MB large hard drive. I'm SOO exciting about having all the extra space to add photos and to upload my vlog.

<3 e

Wednesday 17 November 2010

1925

There are 750 different types of trees in North America alone. There are over 25 different types of diseases that kill trees. There are over 30 different types of insects that kill trees.



The first case of Dutch Elm disease in the US was in 1930. Between then and 1970 it had killed over 77 million trees. That means it killed 1,925,000 trees in one year alone.



Two months ago, the tree outside my house and the twin tree across the street were diagnosed with Dutch Elm disease. They had been living since 1925.



We view trees as something that will always be there. They are there when we are born, and they will still be standing when we die. They outlive many of us.



This tree has been a constant in my life. It has always been outside my house. And I thought it always would be. But I was wrong. With one pink slip of paper, it was condemned to die. The red line on the tree sealed it's fate.







My family and I went on vacation and when we came back the tree was gone. All that was left was a stump.



So my next door neighbors and I decided to count the rings on the tree. When we went out to see the tree someone had left a couple roses on the stump as a remembrance for the tree.



Eloise, the eldest, counted the rings of the tree while her younger sister, Esther, looked at it through a magnifying glass. Eloise counted that the tree was 150 years old, though it was actually planted in 1925. They were fascinated by what the "inside" of a tree looked like, and complained when we went inside. They loved sitting on the stump and looking at the tree through the magnifying glass.





The next day, workers came by and ground up the stump. And a few days later the wood chips were gone, replaced by dirt.



Something that huge and beautiful replaced by a pile of dirt.



The workers planted a new tree next to where the old tree used to be. This is the tree that my neighbors will grow up with. They won't have the majestic tree that I grew up with, large enough to hide behind in games of hide and seek and to sit under in the dark. They will grow up with a twig of a tree.



All that remains is a blank space in the sky.