International standards on customs services Essay

International standards on customs services - Essay Example In addition, the customs offices that are not working in collaboration with the international community can create chaos in issues like intellectual property and patenting. Thus, the need to have international standards in customs services has been well understood by people. As a result, a large number of international regulatory bodies have taken birth. The very first one is World customs Organisation which represents more than 166 members. On 23 June 2005, all the members of WCO accepted the SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade. The Framework intends to provide supply chain security and facilitation at a global level in order to enhance certainty and predictability. Also, it ensures an integrated supply chain management for all modes of transport. This introduces a number of changes in the existing system. Firstly, it harmonises advanced electronic cargo information requirements on inbound, outbound and transit shipments. Also, according to the Framework, it is the sending nation’s customs administration that performs outbound cargo inspection instead of the receiving nation. Such inspections will adopt non-intrusive detection equipments like x-ray machines and radiation detectors. This ensures that a clearance can be made before the cargo reaches the destination (World Customs Organization, 200 7, p.6-7). Another one is the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that deals with the global rules or trade between nations. This organisation works to see that trade is conducted smoothly, predictably and as freely as possible. The WTO usually covers goods, services and intellectual property. As nations become members of WTO, they have to disclose all the laws and regulations they have adopted. Then, the WTO committees will work to see that the WTO agreements are properly followed by the member nation. In

Wake Forest University President Nathan O’Hatch Essay Example for Free

Wake Forest University President Nathan O’Hatch Essay Wake Forest University President Nathan O’Hatch hinted that the success of the University has come directly from the students that inhabit the institution, along with the campus atmosphere created by them. He confirms that the university strives to obtain a vibrant and exhilarating community that moves toward success through education and character development. I believe that Wake Forest University is searching for students who will leave a positive impact on the establishment while having a strong concentration on their goals. I believe that my intellectual growth and experiences, religious background, and morally driven values and characteristics will contribute greatly to the expansion of the Wake Forest community. Lou Holtz once quoted, â€Å"Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. † This inspirational commitment to challenge your mind to attain success each and every day measures the achievements that a person will achieve throughout their life. Throughout my high school career, I have experienced many educational opportunities and held many leadership roles that were vital to shaping my future. A person’s ability, motivation, and attitude are imperative characteristics that define their motives throughout all of their endeavors. I have found it very important for one to surround oneself with positive influences, along with a diverse group of people in order to expand and grow as an individual. If one converses with the same community each day, they will never challenge themselves in their knowledge, and in turn become less intellectually rounded. I strive to be an active student in my school who engulfs many ideas and is well-rounded in the aspect of education and extra-curricular activities in order to leave a positive impact on my peers for the betterment of my future, and theirs. At the beginning of high school, I embarked in a program that has impacted my life in many ways. I have been molded into a confident leader who strives to make a positive impact at my high school, and on my community, due to my advisor and my personal commitment. This organization was Student Council. In the ninth and tenth grade, I was elected Secretary and then Vice President of my class. I then was nominated and selected to serve as the second vice president of the entire student body, which ultimately set me up to be the Student Body President my senior year. I have grown into a person through experiences that have come along as a result of my being an active part of the Student Council. My organizational skills have proved effective as I have planned and implemented many ideas throughout my high school career in Student Council. I have actively planned three Homecoming skits and dances, four spring dances, three Powder-Puff games, two dodge ball tournaments, three Mr. Central Cabarrus Pageants, two volleyball tournaments, and many more events as a head leader in leadership class and Student Council at my school. During my last two years as the Student Body second Vice President and Student Body President, I have actively led the council in a direction that has not been travelled before as we have embarked on a community service project and active participation throughout the community. As the second vice president of my council, we successfully raised $19,000 for Juvenile Diabetes through fundraisers including a dodge ball tournament, a spring dance, and many other small projects. We have set ourselves a challenge of exceeding this goal as a school this year. I have organized the council to participate in the Special Olympic Games at the Cabarrus Arena for the past three years to support and encourage these amazing athletes. I strive to lead the council and my school with a positive force that places a strong emphasis on community service and school betterment projects. Student Council has allowed me to work with the administration and high level officials in the community, building confidence in myself along with furthering my social skills. On numerous occasions, I have submitted proposals to the principal and school board to implement events, and I have had to professionally stand as the student body’s voice as I discuss these issues with officials of our community. Although disappointed after the Renaissance breakfast was rejected, I responded with enthusiasm to begin the next project of Darfur Awareness Week, a cause for which I am very passionate. I have actively taken a role in the Beta Club, Mu Alpha Theta Math Club, National Honors Society, and Junior Civitan Club, as I hope to do everything in my power to leave a legacy at Central Cabarrus High School. I strive to leave the school in a better place than I found the thriving establishment. On an educational basis, I have enlisted in numerous advanced placement and honors courses to further my intellectual ability throughout my middle school and high school career. Currently, I am challenging myself to complete two rigorous courses consisting of AP English IV along with AP Government just in this semester. These two classes are the most demanding at our school, and I am one of only ten individuals of each class who dared to confront these two challenging courses in the same semester. I admire each individual in these classes and learn new ideas and beliefs by surrounding myself with these amazing and bright students. In my AP English class, I have been exposed to many philosophies, and many forms of literature, including Shakespearean sonnets and plays, which I would have previously never studied. In AP Government, I have watched and analyzed the differing views of Democrats, Libertarians, and Republicans as we analyze the modern constitution and judicial system. I have set a high goal of myself to achieve success in each class with a broad knowledge of information from each lesson. If I keep a strong focus on my ability, motivation, and attitude, I will continue succeeding in each of these classes. I believe Wake Forest University President indicates the success of the University comes directly from the character development and diversity which is learned from surrounding oneself with individuals of intellectual and diverse backgrounds, and this is something that I have learned to embrace. Along with challenging me each day to intellectually grow from my experiences and education, the importance of Christianity has impacted and shaped my life in many areas. I was blessed to have the opportunity to attend a Christian school until the age of thirteen, which assisted in molding me into a compassionate, honest, and respectable individual. I received a well-rounded education that allowed me to allocate a strong moral background and foundation for my life. I learned the importance of keeping a respectable reputation, giving back to the community, and continuing to practice humbleness before God. I have been a Christian for as long as I can recall and have grown as an individual due to this commitment. I have challenged myself to spreading the many blessings of God and exemplifying a positive Christian attitude in my every day encounters. I have portrayed an active role throughout the community and have an ambition of making a difference in as many lives as possible. As the Student Body President, a member of leadership class, and the Varsity Cheerleading Captain, I have had the opportunity to achieve my ambition already in my adolescent years. I am very active in Race for the Cure, Walk for Juvenile Diabetes, Special Olympics, Join the World of Winners, and Darfur Relief efforts. It is extremely critical to participate in volunteer community service projects for the good of your community. I have served as a volunteer Special Olympics Cheerleading coach for a gym in my area. As I have surrounded myself with these children on a weekly basis, I have learned the importance of dedication, open-mindedness, patience, optimism, and compassion. They have challenged me to live up to their standard, which in return has played a huge role in the basis of my character. Jesus once quoted, â€Å"It is more blessed to given than to receive† (Acts 20:35). With this verse in mind, a person can grow to see the importance of giving and, in return, receiving the satisfaction of impacting a person’s life. As an eight year old, I was one of five girls to raise $10,000 for the Masonic Home for Children in Henderson, North Carolina. This amazing experience left me passionate about helping others at an early age after seeing the impact that I had left on the lives of those children after we delivered the check. As I have visited numerous nursing homes and children hospitals throughout my lifetime and directly met victims of the current Darfur genocide, I have learned the impact that an individual can leave on another person needing support. With Wake Forest building their foundation upon a Baptist, Christian philosophy, my desire to reach out and help those in need along with exemplifying Christian character displays my willingness to continue to build upon the Wake Forest Community. Due greatly to my educational growth and religious background, I have developed many characteristics that will greatly benefit me throughout my life. After being selected as the Student Body President, I have had the privilege to lead Student Council and the Student Body in all of our endeavors. I have learned so many important qualities such as the importance of teamwork, reliability, dedication, and the ability to motivate a group of individuals throughout the leadership roles that I have held oover my high school career. My leadership advisor has inspired me to grow as a person and expand my leadership qualities into becoming the most successful leader that I can become. Over the last three years, I have become closer and closer to one of my goal: Striving to obtain success through keeping a positive attitude and leading a life of upstanding moral character. With each of the clubs and activities that I have been active in, I have learned responsibility and commitment is the key to victory. After my second day of AP English, I was asked to recite a speech concerning the topic â€Å"Who I am, Who I am not†. I was very nervous and spent much time preparing for what turned out to be an inspirational speech of what I strive to attain each and every day. After completing the speech, my English teacher asked me to give this speech to her Varsity Volleyball team. I was so honored and anxious, and before their big game I recited the speech to them. This meant an immense deal to me, and I was very grateful to do my best to inspire this amazing team. Through my English teacher’s boost, and my Leadership advisor’s inspiration, I have become a more relaxed and comfortable public speaker along with building a strong leadership character to follow with me throughout my life. I am a person who strives to build upon my leadership qualities for the betterment of myself along with keeping an open mind to all ideas of individuals as I build on my values and characteristics. Wake Forest University seeks to â€Å"wed knowledge with experience† just as a leader must do each and every day. â€Å"Two roads diverged in the wood and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all of the difference. † Throughout an individual’s life they encounter many paths and decisions that define them as a person. They must sometimes choose the best direction for their life in preparing for their future aspirations. As a person of high motivation, I always choose to challenge myself with high goals and new challenges. Sadly, in today’s modern world it seems that the road less travelled is the right road; the road where, instead of walking alone through life never taking notice of others, a person stops along the way to reach out a hand to help those who are left by the wayside. This is the path which I have chosen to take for myself. I use all of my life experiences to build upon my life and achieve all goals that I strive to accomplish. I believe that with a diverse education, strong religious background, and character inspiration to becoming a great leader, I will greatly contribute to the Wake Forest community. Nathan O’Hatch’s praise to the beautiful campus and community of Wake Forest illustrates the intention of continuing to build upon one of the greatest universities in the nation. I strive to be a unique individual with high goals to leave an impact on the world. I am ready to meet the challenge of continuing to expand Wake Forest University through education and experience.

Personal Narrative- The Dieting Cycle Essay -- Personal Narrative, ess

It was about 1:30 AM. "Well, its time to hit the sack," I thought. I had had a really long day. I had been in school since 8 AM and I was truly exhausted. God I hated Mondays! Three classes, four hours of work, and then a night class where even the walls attempted to escape the boredom of the lectures. I wondered how I was able to do this every week. I laughed and thought, "I must have a lot of patience..." I quickly changed into my favorite pajamas - sweats and a tee- and I began to brush my teeth. As I washed my face to eliminate the dirt and grime of a hard days work, I caught myself staring into the mirror. I said to myself, "Gosh, I look horrible today." My hair seemed so dull, so bland. My face looked so pale, so white. My eyes were surrounded by a purplish blue coloring, the same coloring that I had attempted to hide that same morning with my makeup. My eye lids felt like they weighed a ton. "Damn! Mondays are really starting to wear me down. I got to start getting some rest." But that was not it, and I knew it. I lied to myself so that I would feel at ease and calm, but deep down inside I knew why I looked the way that I did. It wasn't my hectic schedule and it wasn't the lighting of the mirror. It was my relentless battle that I fought day and night with no chance of victory. As I entered my bedroom, I immediately pulled down the covers and laid my body to rest. My spine hit hard against the rings within my mattress and I was in pain. "Ouch! That hurts like hell! When am I finally going to get a mattress that is actually soft and comfortable and that doesn't dig into my back." But the mattress wasn't the problem. I had used that mattress for years and it never once gave me a problem. But now things were diff... ... was now past 2:00 AM. I had wasted more than half an hour walking to and from the kitchen debating whether or not I should or should not eat. This was ridiculous. "Tomorrow I start fresh," I said. I will eat lunch and dinner. I will start trying to get my life back together. I felt at ease and was comforted by the thoughts of living a normal life again. Deep down inside, however, I knew damn well that tomorrow would be no different than today. I knew that I would start the day worrying about how I looked and how much weight I had gained. Then I would spend the day dieting and not eating a thing. Then at night I would flip out and tell myself that I would try harder the next day to make things right. It was an endless cycle that just went on and on. I prayed that it would stop, but I feared that it was too late. I had gone too far and now there was no turning back.

Bill Bryson †“Notes from a small Island” Essay

What features make it amusing? â€Å"Notes From A Small Island† is Bill Bryson’s accounts from travelling around Britain. He writes in a very distinctive style. He compared this journey to a similar one that he took in 1973. He begins the book by recalling his first sight of England â€Å"on a foggy March night in 1973.† This is in the prologue. He begins chapter one by comparing Britain in 1973 to the time when he revisited it. The humour in this passage is how he complains about England. Through out Bryson’s accounts of his trip he portrays a lot of Irony. The Irony is that it is over twenty years since his last visit Britain has actually changed surprisingly little. In his accounts of Dover he has noticed that there are a lot of similarities to Dover in 1973, â€Å"†¦found myself square in front of Mrs Smegma’s establishment. It was still a hotel and looked substantially unchanged, as far as I could remember†¦Ã¢â‚¬  It is the Ironic features that makes parts of â€Å"Notes from a small island† amusing. The reason that Bryson’s books are so funny is because they are so true and honest. I especially find the chapters about London funny because I have been there so many times my self. I love the part where he talks about multi – story car parks, â€Å"You drive around for ages, and then spend a small eternity shunting into a space exactly two inches wider than the average car.† Another reason why we laugh at Bryson’s books is because it is a common instinct to laugh at other’s misfortunes. This especially occurs when we have been in a similar situation, in the past, our selves. â€Å"Notes from a small island† is written in first person. Bryson uses Elision and Ellipsis in his writing. This makes his writing seem more personal and it also seems like he is actually telling his stories to the reader themselves. He also uses similes and many adjectives to create images in the reader’s mind. The use of modifiers is included in his writing. He has included dialect into his writing as well. Bryson has used both compound and complex sentences. He also uses â€Å"Tongue in Cheek Tone,† â€Å"†¦a sprig of artificial lilies instantly informed me that the food would be mediocre but present with a certain well – practiced flourish.† The use of â€Å"Tongue in cheek† creates more humour in Bryson’s writing. The potential audience for this book is people whom whish to travel or generally people who like reading comedy. It is a travel book merged with humour. The purpose of â€Å"Notes from a small island† is to inform the readers about the different places but also entertain and amuse them. His lexical field is effective. Through out the book Bryson makes many observations, â€Å"†¦between them consumed the last of the profiteroles and the black forest gateau from the sweet trolley. The boy, I noticed, had a double heap of both, the greedy fat pig.† In this quotation Bryson has basically written about what the majority of us think but do not actually say. Bryson’s ability to put into words his travelling experiences so they can be read and enjoyed are not achieved all that often by others. He appears to have an open mind and as a result gives extensive reviews of his experiences. In these reviews provide entertainment for the reader, as they are very funny.

A Dirty Job Chapter 3

3 BENEATH THE NUMBER FORTY-ONE BUS It was two weeks before Charlie left the apartment and walked down to the auto-teller on Columbus Avenue where he first killed a guy. His weapon of choice was the number forty-one bus, on its way from the Trans Bay station, by the Bay Bridge, to the Presidio, by the Golden Gate Bridge. If you're going to get hit by a bus in San Francisco, you want to go with the forty-one, because you can pretty much figure on there being a nice bridge view. Charlie hadn't really counted on killing a guy that morning. He had hoped to get some twenties for the register at the thrift store, check his balance, and maybe pick up some yellow mustard at the deli. (Charlie was not a brown mustard kind of guy. Brown mustard was the condiment equivalent of skydiving – it was okay for race-car drivers and serial killers, but for Charlie, a fine line of French's yellow was all the spice that life required.) After the funeral, friends and relatives had left a mountain of cold cuts in Charlie's fridge, which was all he'd eaten for the past two weeks, but now he was down to ham, dark rye, and premixed Enfamil formula, none of which was tolerable without yellow mustard. He'd secured the yellow squeeze bottle and felt safer now with it in his jacket pocket, but when the bus hit the guy, mustard completely slipped Charlie's mind. It was a warm day in October, the light had gone autumn soft over the city, the summer fog had ceased its relentless crawl out of the Bay each morning, and there was just enough breeze that the few sailboats that dotted the Bay looked like they might have been posing for an Impressionist painter. In the split second that Charlie's victim realized that he was being run over, he might not have been happy about the event, but he couldn't have picked a nicer day for it. The guy's name was William Creek. He was thirty-two and worked as a market analyst in the financial district, where he had been headed that morning when he decided to stop at the auto-teller. He was wearing a light wool suit and running shoes, his work shoes were tucked into a leather satchel under his arm. The handle of a compact umbrella protruded from the side pocket of the satchel, and it was this that caught Charlie's attention, for while the handle of the umbrella appeared to be made of faux walnut burl, it was glowing a dull red as if it had been heated in a forge. Charlie stood in the ATM line trying not to notice, trying to appear uninterested, but he couldn't help but stare. It was glowing, for fuck's sake, didn't anyone see it? William Creek glanced over his shoulder as he slid his card into the machine, saw Charlie looking at him, then tried to will his suit coat to expand into great manta-ray wings to block Charlie's view as he keyed in his PIN number. Creek snatched his card and the expectorated cash from the machine, turned, and headed away quickly toward the corner. Charlie couldn't stand it any longer. The umbrella handle had begun to pulsate red, like a beating heart. As Creek reached the curb, Charlie said, â€Å"Excuse me. Excuse me, sir!† When Creek turned, Charlie said, â€Å"Your umbrella – â€Å" At that point, the number forty-one bus was coming through the intersection at Columbus and Vallejo at about thirty-five miles per hour, angling toward the curb for its next stop. Creek looked down at the satchel under his arm where Charlie was pointing, and the heel of his running shoe caught the slight rise of the curb. He started to lose his balance, the sort of thing we all might do on any given day while walking through the city, trip on a crack in the sidewalk and take a couple of quick steps to regain equilibrium, but William Creek took only one step. Back. Off the curb. You can't really sugarcoat it at this point, can you? The number forty-one bus creamed him. He flew a good fifty feet through the air before he hit the back window of a SAAB like a great gabardine sack of meat, then bounced back to the pavement and commenced to ooze fluids. His belongings – the satchel, the umbrella, a gold tie bar, a Tag Heuer watch – skittered on down the street, ricocheting off tires, shoes, manhole covers, some coming to rest nearly a block away. Charlie stood at the curb trying to breathe. He could hear a tooting sound, like someone was blowing a toy train whistle – it was all he could hear, then someone ran into him and he realized it was the sound of his own rhythmic whimpering. The guy – the guy with the umbrella – had just been wiped out of the world. People rushed, crowded around, a dozen were barking into cell phones, the bus driver nearly flattened Charlie as he rushed down the sidewalk toward the carnage. Charlie staggered after him. â€Å"I was just going to ask him – â€Å" No one looked at Charlie. It had taken all of his will, as well as a pep talk from his sister, to leave the apartment, and now this? â€Å"I was just going to tell him that his umbrella was on fire,† Charlie said, as if he was explaining to his accusers. But no one accused him, really. They ran by him, some headed toward the body, some away from it – they batted him around and looked back, baffled, like they'd collided with a rough air current or a ghost instead of a man. â€Å"The umbrella,† Charlie said, looking for the evidence. Then he spotted it, almost down at the next corner, lying in the gutter, still glowing red, pulsating like failing neon. â€Å"There! See!† But people were gathered around the dead man in a wide semicircle, their hands to their mouths, and no one was paying any attention to the frightened thin man spouting nonsense behind them. He threaded his way through the crowd toward the umbrella, determined now to confirm his conviction, too far in shock to be afraid. When he was only ten feet away from it he looked up the street to make sure another bus wasn't coming before he ventured off the curb. He looked back just as a delicate, tar-black hand snaked out of the storm drain and snatched the compact umbrella off the street. Charlie backed away, looking around to see if anyone had seen what he had seen, but no one had. No one even made eye contact. A policeman trotted by and Charlie grabbed his sleeve as he passed, but when the cop spun around and his eyes went wide with confusion, then what appeared to be real terror, Charlie let him go. â€Å"Sorry,† he said. â€Å"Sorry. I can see you've got work to do – sorry.† The cop shuddered and pushed through the crowd of onlookers toward the battered body of William Creek. Charlie started running, across Columbus and up Vallejo, until his breath and heartbeat in his ears drowned all the sounds of the street. When he was a block away from his shop a great shadow moved over him, like a low-flying aircraft or a huge bird, and with it Charlie felt a chill vibrate up his back. He lowered his head, pumped his arms, and rounded the corner of Mason just as the cable car was passing, full of smiling tourists who looked right through him. He glanced up, just for a second, and he thought he saw something above, disappearing over the roof of the six-story Victorian across the street, then he bolted through the front door of his shop. â€Å"Hey, boss,† Lily said. She was sixteen, pale, and a little bottom heavy – her grown-woman form still in flux between baby fat and baby bearing. Today her hair happened to be lavender: fifties-housewife helmet hair in Easter-basket cellophane pastel. Charlie was bent over, leaning against a case full of curios by the door, sucking in deep raspy gulps of secondhand store mustiness. â€Å"I – think – I – just – killed – a – guy,† he gasped. â€Å"Excellent,† Lily said, ignoring equally his message and his demeanor. â€Å"We're going to need change for the register.† â€Å"With a bus,† Charlie said. â€Å"Ray called in,† she said. Ray Macy was Charlie's other employee, a thirty-nine-year-old bachelor with an unhealthy lack of boundaries between the Internet and reality. â€Å"He's flying to Manila to meet the love of his life. A Ms. LoveYouLongTime. Ray's convinced that they are soul mates.† â€Å"There was something in the sewer,† Charlie said. Lily examined a chip in her black nail polish. â€Å"So I cut school to cover. I've been doing that since you've been, uh, gone. I'm going to need a note.† Charlie stood up and made his way to the counter. â€Å"Lily, did you hear what I said?† He grabbed her by the shoulders, but she spun out of his grasp. â€Å"Ouch! Fuck. Back off, Asher, you sado freak, that's a new tattoo.† She punched him in the arm, hard, and backed away, rubbing her own shoulder. â€Å"I heard, you. Cease your trippin', s'il vous plaà ®t.† Lately, since discovering Baudelaire's Fleurs du Mal in a stack of used books in the back room, Lily had been peppering her speech with French phrases. â€Å"French better expresses the profound noirness of my existence,† she had said. Charlie put both hands on the counter to keep them from shaking, then spoke slowly and deliberately, like he was speaking to someone for whom English was a second language: â€Å"Lily, I'm having kind of a bad month, and I appreciate that you are throwing away your education so you can come here and alienate customers for me, but if you don't sit down and show me a little fucking human decency, then I'm going to have to let you go.† Lily sat down on the chrome-and-vinyl diner stool behind the register and pulled her long lavender bangs out of her eyes. â€Å"So you want me to pay close attention to your confession to murder? Take notes, maybe get an old cassette recorder off the shelf and get everything down on tape? You're saying that by trying to ignore your obvious distress, which I would have to later recall to the police, so I can be personally responsible for sending you to the gas chamber, that I'm being inconsiderate?† Charlie shuddered. â€Å"Jeez, Lily.† He was continually surprised at the speed and accuracy of her creepiness. She was like some creepiness child prodigy. But on the bright side, her extreme darkness made him realize that he probably wasn't going to go to the gas chamber. â€Å"It wasn't that kind of killing. There was something following me, and – â€Å" â€Å"Silence!† Lily put her hand up, â€Å"I'd rather not show my employee spirit by committing every detail of your heinous crime to my photographic memory to be recalled in court later. I'll just say that I saw you but you seemed normal for someone without a clue.† â€Å"You don't have a photographic memory.† â€Å"I do, too, and it's a curse. I can never forget the futility of – â€Å" â€Å"You forgot to take out the trash at least eight times last month.† â€Å"I didn't forget.† Charlie took a deep breath, the familiarity of arguing with Lily was actually calming him down. â€Å"Okay then, without looking, what color shirt are you wearing?† He raised an eyebrow like he had her there. Lily smiled and for a second he could see that she was just a kid, kind of cute and goofy under the fierce makeup and attitude. â€Å"Black.† â€Å"Lucky guess.† â€Å"You know I only own black.† She grinned. â€Å"Glad you didn't ask hair color, I just changed this morning.† â€Å"That's not good for you, you know. That dye has toxins.† Lily lifted the lavender wig to reveal her close-cut maroon locks underneath, then dropped it again. â€Å"I'm all natural.† She stood and patted the bar stool. â€Å"Sit, Asher. Confess. Bore me.† Lily leaned back against the counter, and tilted her head to look attentive, but with her dark eye makeup and lavender hair it came off more like a marionette with a broken string. Charlie came around the counter and sat on the stool. â€Å"I was just in line behind this William Creek guy, and I saw his umbrella glowing†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And Charlie went through the whole story to her, the umbrella, the bus, the hand from the storm sewer, the bolt for home with the giant dark shadow above the rooftops, and when he was finished, Lily asked, â€Å"So how do you know his name?† â€Å"Huh?† Charlie said. Of all of the horrible, fantastic things she might have asked about, why that? â€Å"How do you know the guy's name?† Lily repeated. â€Å"You barely spoke to the guy before he bit it. You see it on his receipt or something?† â€Å"No, I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He didn't have any idea how he knew the man's name, but suddenly there was a picture in his head of it written out in big, block letters. He leapt off the stool. â€Å"I gotta go, Lily.† He ran through the door into the stockroom and up the steps. â€Å"I still need a note for school,† Lily shouted from below, but Charlie was dashing through the kitchen, past a large Russian woman who was bouncing his baby daughter in her arms, and into the bedroom, where he snatched up the notepad he kept on his nightstand by the phone. There, in his own blocky handwriting, was written the name William Creek and, under it, the number 12. He sat down hard on the bed, holding the notepad like it was a vial of explosives. Behind him came the heavy steps of Mrs. Korjev as she followed him into the bedroom. â€Å"Mr. Asher, what is wrong? You run by like burning bear.† And Charlie, because he was a Beta Male, and there had evolved over millions of years a standard Beta response to things inexplicable, said, â€Å"Someone is fucking with me.† Lily was touching up her nail polish with a black Magic Marker when Stephan, the mailman, came through the shop door. â€Å"‘Sup, Darque?† Stephan said, sorting a stack of mail out of his bag. He was forty, short, muscular, and black. He wore wraparound sunglasses, which were almost always pushed back on his head over hair braided in tight cornrows. Lily had mixed feelings about him. She liked him because he called her Darque, short for Darquewillow Elventhing, the name under which she received mail at the shop, but because he was cheerful and seemed to like people, she deeply mistrusted him. â€Å"Need you to sign,† Stephan said, offering her an electronic pad, on which she scribbled Charles Baudelaire with great flourish and without even looking. Stephan plopped the mail on the counter. â€Å"Working alone again? So where is everyone?† â€Å"Ray's in the Philippines, Charlie's traumatized.† She sighed. â€Å"Weight of the world falls on me – â€Å" â€Å"Poor Charlie,† Stephan said. â€Å"They say that's the worst thing you can go through, losing a spouse.† â€Å"Yeah, there's that, too. Today he's traumatized because he saw a guy get hit by a bus up on Columbus.† â€Å"Heard about that. He gonna be okay?† â€Å"Well, fuck no, Stephan, he got hit by a bus.† Lily looked up from her nails for the first time. â€Å"I meant Charlie.† Stephan winked, despite her harsh tone. â€Å"Oh, he's Charlie.† â€Å"How's the baby?† â€Å"Evidently she leaks noxious substances.† Lily waved the Magic Marker under her nose as if it might mask the smell of ripened baby. â€Å"All good, then,† Stephan smiled. â€Å"That's it for today. You got anything for me?† â€Å"I took in some red vinyl platforms yesterday. Men's size ten.† Stephan collected vintage seventies pimp wear. Lily was to be on the lookout for anything that came through the shop. â€Å"How tall?† â€Å"Four inches.† â€Å"Low altitude,† Stephan said, as if that explained everything. â€Å"Take care, Darque.† Lily waved her Magic Marker at him as he left, and started sorting through the mail. There were mostly bills, a couple of flyers, but one thick black envelope that felt like a book or catalog. It was addressed to Charlie Asher â€Å"in care of† Asher's Secondhand and had a postmark from Night's Plutonian Shore, which evidently was in whatever state started with a U. (Lily found geography not only mind-numbingly boring, but also, in the age of the Internet, irrelevant.) Was it not addressed to the care of Asher's Secondhand? Lily reasoned. And was she, Lily Darquewillow Elventhing, not manning the counter, the sole employee – nay – the de facto manager, of said secondhand store? And wasn't it her right – nay – her responsibility to open this envelope and spare Charlie the irritation of the task? Onward, Elventhing! Your destiny is set, and if it be not destiny, then surely there is plausible deniability, which in the parlance of politics is the same thing. She drew a jewel-encrusted dagger from under the counter (the stones valued at over seventy-three cents) and slit the envelope, pulled out the book, and fell in love. The cover was shiny, like a children's picture book, with a colorful illustration of a grinning skeleton with tiny people impaled on his fingertips, and all of them appeared to be having the time of their lives, as if they were enjoying a carnival ride that just happened to involve having a gaping hole being punched through the chest. It was festive – lots of flowers and candy in primary colors, done in the style of Mexican folk art. The Great Big Book of Death, was the title, spelled out across the top of the cover in cheerful, human femur font letters. Lily opened the book to the first page, where a note was paper-clipped. This should explain everything. I'm sorry. – MF Lily removed the note and opened the book to the first chapter: â€Å"So Now You're Death: Here's What You'll Need.† And it was all she needed. This was, very possibly, the coolest book she had ever seen. And certainly not anything Charlie would be able to appreciate, especially in his current state of heightened neurosis. She slipped the book into her backpack, then tore the note and the envelope into tiny pieces and buried them at the bottom of the wastebasket.

Imperialism in America essays

Imperialism in America essays It has been proven time and again throughout history that in order to survive, a nation must expand its borders and become more powerful. This is shown by the European countries' power at the beginning of the 20th century. They were the strongest countries in the world, and between them they controlled almost the entire globe. Soon after, America also became imperialistic. Three reasons America became imperialistic was to acquire naval bases and refueling stations for their ships, to control new markets in which to sell American products, and to get more raw materials and resources to help feed the growing American industries. The first reason Americans turned imperialistic was to control naval bases at sea in order to strengthen their military power outside of their boundaries. In 1885, America's navy was described as a "fleet of washtubs", and their army wasn't much better. It was obvious that if America wanted to protect its interests in foreign countries, it would need a stronger military force. The first step was to be able to defend itself should any foreign countries encroach on its territory. Naval bases were the key to this. So, after the Civil War, America looked to the Pacific islands of Midway, Samoa, and Guam, among others, to serve as bases and refueling stations for their navy. All three of these islands held very strategic positions. Midway was in the more northern Pacific Ocean, Samoa protected the southern Pacific, and Guam was the closest pacific island to the Philippines and China. Another reason America became imperialistic was to get more raw materials and resources. Like any industrial nation at the time, America was pumping out their manufactured products faster than the raw materials could keep up with. In order to keep producing at the rate it was, America needed to find another source from which to acquire their raw materials. An example is West Africa, where America used its Open Door...

Free Essays on Negative Effects Of Drinking In College

I have decided to talk about the negative effects of drinking while going to college. It’s hard to manage schoolwork responsibilities while still getting out and partying. It has many repercussions on ones school work. I found that drinking has many negative effects on college life; I’ll try to explain some of those effects that I have noticed from drinking and partying. Binge drinking is a major problem on most college campuses. Many people may not think that this is a major problem, but in fact it is. The Harvard School of Public Health did a survey of students from 119 colleges and found some shocking results. 44% of U.S. college students engaged in binge drinking during the two weeks before the survey. Students more likely to binge drink are white, age 23 or younger, and are residents of a fraternity or sorority. If they were binge drinkers in high school, they were three times more likely to binge in college. Over half the binge drinkers, almost one in four students, were frequent binge drinkers, that is, they binged three or more times in a two-week period. While one in five students reported abstaining from drinking alcohol. You may ask why college students do this? The survey found four reasons why students binge drink. They were: Drinking to get drunk (cited by 47% of students who consumed alcohol), status associated with drinking, culture of alcohol consumption on campus, and peer pressure and academic stress. Drinking in college has many different drawbacks, not just affecting the person drinking; it can also affect friends and other people. One bad thing about drinking is that drinking and partying seems to make most people lazy. This is by far the worst effect that drinking has on someone; it is the worst because laziness can affect so many things pertaining to school. Being lazy can cause a person to miss classes, this will in a short while catch up to that person, getting behind in schoolwork is an incred... Free Essays on Negative Effects Of Drinking In College Free Essays on Negative Effects Of Drinking In College I have decided to talk about the negative effects of drinking while going to college. It’s hard to manage schoolwork responsibilities while still getting out and partying. It has many repercussions on ones school work. I found that drinking has many negative effects on college life; I’ll try to explain some of those effects that I have noticed from drinking and partying. Binge drinking is a major problem on most college campuses. Many people may not think that this is a major problem, but in fact it is. The Harvard School of Public Health did a survey of students from 119 colleges and found some shocking results. 44% of U.S. college students engaged in binge drinking during the two weeks before the survey. Students more likely to binge drink are white, age 23 or younger, and are residents of a fraternity or sorority. If they were binge drinkers in high school, they were three times more likely to binge in college. Over half the binge drinkers, almost one in four students, were frequent binge drinkers, that is, they binged three or more times in a two-week period. While one in five students reported abstaining from drinking alcohol. You may ask why college students do this? The survey found four reasons why students binge drink. They were: Drinking to get drunk (cited by 47% of students who consumed alcohol), status associated with drinking, culture of alcohol consumption on campus, and peer pressure and academic stress. Drinking in college has many different drawbacks, not just affecting the person drinking; it can also affect friends and other people. One bad thing about drinking is that drinking and partying seems to make most people lazy. This is by far the worst effect that drinking has on someone; it is the worst because laziness can affect so many things pertaining to school. Being lazy can cause a person to miss classes, this will in a short while catch up to that person, getting behind in schoolwork is an incred...