Volume 3, Issue 2

What’s In

By Anna Petersen

This is a survey on WHATS IN!! How this is going to work; you’re going to look long and hard at yourself in a mirror, look in your eyes and do some soul searching. Figure out who YOU are and who YOU want to be, NOT your parents, NOT your friends, but you. Your clothes express that. Often the current fashion doesn't back you up on this, so this survey takes 6 things that you see a lot and its going to let YOU say what you think of them.     

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

The Story of Scarlet By Samuel Palmer 

Scarlet was born in a baby's house.  Charlotte grew up in a different house.  Charlotte was Scarlet's older sister.  Scarlet wanted to go visit his sister on his own.  Once they got all together, but then Scarlet and his mom went back home.  Then his mom disappeared.  That is what he thought.  He disappeared though.  He realized he was in a different dimension.  He looked in a red gray pond.  His hair was red, his skin was white, and his eyes were red.  He had a very long sword.  It was red and gray.  The handle was gray.  And he said to himself, "This sword looks weird.  This is not how a sword looks."  He had a shield which was all red with a gray feather in the middle.  Scarlet found some bad guys.  He found a bat and a mechanical bat that had a red cover with a gray leaf in the middle.  He thought, "That is the same as my shield.  He must be on my side.". He said to himself, "I should only attack the black ones, the real bats."  But his sword was too heavy, he couldn't take it out.  The bats started fighting each other.  The mechanical one got pushed to the wall and fell to the ground.  Scarlet said to himself, "I must help him!"  Then he found out his shield had pretty sharp ends.  So he used the ends to kill the bat.  The mechanical bat had been split in half, so once he had killed the real bat, Scarlet saved the mechanical bat.  His shield had magical powers once he had used it to kill the bat.  He touched both ends of the mechanical bat and the wires got linger and longer until they connected.  It pulled the pieces together, and the mechanical bay said to Scarlet, "Thanks for saving me.  Can I come with you on the rest of your journey?" The bat flew onto his shoulder, and Scarlet said, "Yes!" The two went off together to find the trail to the Mastermind.

Ravenclaw Challenge

Congratulations to David Morphis who solved this week's Ravenclaw Challenge!  The answer was tomorrow.  Riddle number two has yet to be solved, so we will carry it over for another week.

Who will solve the riddle?Who will ace the test?All will have gained something,If they give their best!

Riddle (8and up)

"The beginning of eternityThe end of time and spaceThe beginning of every end,And the end of every place."

Riddle 2 (under 8)

What is it the more you take, the more you leave behind?

Minerva Bronte

The Order of the Golden Fleece By Minerva Bronte

The Order of the Golden Fleece sounds like something out of a fairy tale, but it is an actual order of chivalry.  On January 10, 1430, Phillip III of Burgundy founded the order in celebration of his marriage to a Portuguese princess.  It was a very exclusive order restricted to just twenty-four knights and the sovereign himself.  Over the years the order has expanded to include fifty members.  That is still a pretty small group.  Members of this order enjoyed many special privileges.  For instance, the king would consult the knights before going to war and any knight who was arrested could stay with his fellow knights and be judged by them rather than going to prison.

The name of the order caused a debate at the time.  It seemed unusual for a Christian order to be named after a pagan symbol when some of the feats of Jason were not very christian.  But, the Bishop of Chalons argued that the golden fleece could be the fleece of Gideon that received the dew of Heaven.

The badge of the order is a sheepskin shaped pendent hanging from a jeweled collar.  The motto of the order is  "Pretium Laborum Non Vile" which translates "not a bad reward for labour".  The motto is engraved on the collar with Phillip's motto "Non Aliud" (I will have no other) on the reverse side.

In the early 1800s, Napoleon was awarded the order along with his brother.  This angered the exiled King of France who sent back his own collar in protest.  Today many european aristocrats are members of the order along with the Emperor of Japan and the King of Saudi Arabia.  Juan Carlos, the King of Spain is the current Sovereign of the Order along with Karl Von Habsburg of Austria.  The honor is awarded at the pleasure of the king.  So, if you ever have the chance to make friends with the king, maybe you can join the Order of the Golden Fleece.

 

Musings

A Weekly Column by Damarco Montoya

Four Eyes

Little James was small for his age.  He didn’t physically match up with all the other 12-year old boys he knew from school.  He thought about this often, being the “butt” of many social group jokes at school and he couldn’t think of any time at all in which any boy in the entire world compared with him in size or in any other way.  Of course he didn’t consider himself to be particularly disabled, in the sense he had both his arms and legs (though very meager or scrawny), a head (of course) with two ears, a mouth, a nose, and of course his four eyes. 

A medical professional wouldn’t consider him to have four eyes since two of them were made of various thick plastics and thin wire, but James didn’t know any different since that’s all he’s heard while growing up, “Hey Four Eyes!” He considered his extra set to be as valid as the set he was born with.  Since he couldn’t see without the plastic facial features, they were as good as real eyes.  He might as well have nothing but the plastic eyes instead of his remarkable greens his mother says she loves so much.  No one else had ever noticed he had bright green eyes behind the plastic set, so what did they matter?  What did it matter no one ever noticed his birth eyes when he had such remarkable lenses covering them all day long? 

James didn’t mind being known as “Four Eyes” everywhere he went.  Even his own siblings would call him by that name, since he owned it so well.  It got to the point his parents and grandparents were the only people on earth who ever called him by his birth name, “James” instead of his peer-given and self-owned name.  It’s alright, because Four Eyes liked his name.  He could see things with his four eyes others couldn’t, such as the pitiful state in which everyone with only two eyes lived. 

Four Eyes lived in a marvelous world most people never understood.  In his world the clouds didn’t just form imaginary shapes; they became those objects and zipped or jumped around the sky as airplanes or dogs and cats before strong gusts of wind transformed them into rabbits or turtles.  The moon didn’t contain a man.  How ridiculous is it to think such a man was large enough to be contained within the moon anyway?  Where did that man go when ½ or ¾ of the moon left?  There was no man, Four Eyes could definitely see instead of a man there was a creamy cosmic mixture of milk and cheeses being constantly replenished every month as the universe continued to fail in the construction of a new planet.  Every month the shell of a planet collected as much space materials it could find until it collected so much of the more liquid stuff that it sprung a leak and over the following few weeks was emptied and almost everything was gone before it was able to tilt back enough to begin collecting again.

The world was definitely more interesting with four eyes instead of just two.  Only someone with four eyes would ever be able to see how Baker his dog cared for no one more than him; not even his parents or brothers and sisters were able to hold Baker’s attention the way he could.  Birds seemed to chirp more cheerfully near his window than anyone else’s.  They even chose his window when deciding to build their nest!  Cars always drove faster when he was watching them through his better set of eyes than with his set of greens. 

If everyone had their own set of thick plastic eyes then they too would understand why they were pitied.  How could they function at all with only two eyes?!  Four Eyes had no problems being smaller than other boys his age.  He could handle the comments that were meant to be mean in regards to his plastic eyes.  He could see they were meant to be harmful and he still didn’t mind.  Those boys who tried to be mean with their wonderful compliments about Four Eyes’ various plastic and wire framed set of eyes simply had no idea what they were missing.  If he cared at all he would try to explain to them just how their words did nothing to damage his spirit.  He would further explain the details or differences in what he could see that they couldn’t.  He DID care but knew they wouldn’t understand.  Perhaps one day they would be privileged enough to have their own set of plastic eyes, that their eyes might truly be opened.

Eve of Destiny: Mission 1 Episode 1: Speaker’s Journal

By Bradley Palmer

I was headed for Mansul. I was going to get a journal. That’s all I knew. I didn’t even know who I was working for. I gave him the name Speaker cause thats all he did was speak. The elevator came to a stop.

The doors opened to a beautiful and lush plant environment. Mansul has a lot of creatures but no human as far as I could see. I stepped out into the world. Well it’s not really a world. Let me explain.

 We live in the world Tarus. But the scientists of the last war wanted to create a new land of peace without leaving the world so they created this building to make worlds within the floors as tests. Mansul was the final world they created. it was so close to what they’re goal was but some of the creatures were still dangerous and they concluded that a perfect world was impossible and shut the facility down.

Atrax, reactivated it so he could hide himself from speaker. Speaker told me this. Speaker seamed like a good guy but I was still skeptical. After all he wouldn't tell me anything about himself.

When I started into the world I was attacked by a creature called a Colossus. Its fifteen stories tall, hairy. Very similar to a minotaur. He had a belt made of rock a helmet of wood and a club that probably was a tree at some point with some spikes made of rock added on. I noticed he had a symbol on his forehead. The symbol was a wounded warrior. In ancient Urit the symbol means “I am weak”. This meant that his head was very weak.

When the fight began he had the upper hand, clearly. He swung his club at me but I rolled out of its path. I knew I had to hit its head because thats where it was weakest. So I jumped onto its hairy leg and started to climb.  It was difficult trying to climb a moving building but eventually after about an hour I reached its belt. It had a smallish pouch about the size of a master bedroom in its belt. The room was made completely out of stone. I rested for about thirty minutes and then continued my climb. The climb got easier the second half so I got to his head in about thirty minutes. Thats right it took me two hours to get there. When I got there I was very exhausted. I moved forward anyway and thrust my sword into his head. It cried out in pain. As I removed the sword from its head its black blood shot out of its head like a power hose. I jumped into a near by tree and the Colossus fell to the ground. I rested in the tree for a while.  The whole thing took about four hours. After I spent the whole morning fighting a giant Colossus I moved on trying to find where this Atrax was hiding.

End of Episode 1

Planning Ahead Pays Off at QA By Jane Smith

This week two of our student writers turned in their submissions at least one day ahead of their deadline. 

Great job Bradley Palmer and Samuel Palmer!  I’ve awarded House Points to Hufflepuff and Gryffindor in honor of your efforts.

 

Volume 3, Issue 1

QA is Back in Session!
 By Jane Smith

The Leaf would like to welcome back students and staff to Quercus Alba after the long Christmas break. 

We hope everyone had a wonderful time with family and friends, and spent some time thinking about our Savior who is our perfect example.

Now we can all return refreshed and excited for the New Year, “The Fountain of Fair Fortune!” 

This reporter cannot wait to see what fresh new ideas and amazing tales come out in The Leaf.

On chilly mornings or lazy afternoons as abstract thoughts swirl through your heads, don’t forget to write them down.  After all, winter is for stories!

My Christmas Presents By Robert Petersen

I got Star Wars the Complete Saga Wii game for Christmas. I got a truck. I got Lego Kingdoms. These are my favorite presents I got for Christmas.

Ravenclaw Challenge

Congratulations to Emma Palmer of Ravenclaw House and Natalie Morphis of Hufflepuff House for answering the Ravenclaw Challenge in the last issue.  

Answers to last issues challenge:

Riddle one - a fish

Riddle two - because it has scales

Take the challenge!

You will find

Practice makes

A sharper mind.

Riddle One (8 years plus)

"I never was, am always to be,

No one ever saw me, nor ever will

And yet I am the confidence of all

To live and breathe on this terrestrial ball."

Riddle Two (up to 8)

What is it the more you take, the more you leave behind?

Minerva Bronte

"If Only" By Alahna Petersen

If only, if only; a common saying among us today. We are constantly saying if only; if only I had a car; if only I had a cell phone; if only I was as pretty as her; if only I were rich. Why don’t we start thinking of what we really have: jobs, family, yummy food, and so much more.

If we start thinking of the things we have instead of “if only” we will find ourselves happier. We must be thankful for what we have and not wallow in jealousy which leads to hate and contention. But if we really think of what we have and not of what we don’t we will be more grateful and pure. In order to stay on the straight and narrow path made for us to follow by Jesus we must not listen to the promptings of Satan and think “if only”.

If we share and are generous we will be able to focus more on the blessings we have and to think of others. Heavenly Father wants us to be happy and it’s hard to be happy when all we are thinking about is “if only”. We are His children and He wants us to come back to Him and one of the many ways that Satan leads us astray is by making us jealous. It will make us see bad in everything because we are looking for it. Satan wants us to only see bad things in life because it makes us unhappy and he wants us to be unhappy just like him.  We need to be grateful to be happy and serving others helps us to be grateful.

Elder Carl B. Cook said, “What happens when we look up to see how Heavenly Father views us instead of looking sideways to see how others view us?” We shouldn’t be comparing ourselves to others but only to what Heavenly Father wants us to be. If we’re looking up there is no need to say “if only”.

 

Musings

A Weekly Column By Damarco Montoya

A Statue Named Bob

I was just minding my own business walking in the park when I noticed a very odd looking statue.  The statue looked incredibly life like, which is why it seemed so odd to me when all other statues in my mind have clearly looked like statues (go figure).  I found a nearby park bench and decided to sit for a while to watch this statue.

So what’s more strange, a statue that resembled a person, or a person staring intently at such a statue?  I couldn’t help it.  The thing was oddly alluring.  You know when you drive by a car crash, or two people have some kind of an accident, or when you see a clown in the middle of the business district pretending to be a mime?  I guess this statue thing is closer to the clown thing, but you just can’t take your eyes off of it.  I guess I wanted to see the statue move so my suspicions could be confirmed.  “Ah ha!  I just saw you twitch your nose!  You’re not a statue at all are you?”  But the thing wouldn’t move an inch.  I don’t think it moved even a centimeter (for all you Europeans who measure with the metric system). 

The statue looked to be in his young teens if in fact he was a person and not a statue.  He was wearing a blue hat of fabric, a bright red t-shirt, denim blue shorts and bright blue and yellow shoes.  His skin had a discoloration to it, almost a powder blue or a weathered metallic color.  His position was a standing thinking pose, the one like the famous Thinker only that he’s standing.  He was standing on top of some kind of a

block in the middle of the grass.  Try to picture this in your mind.  His bright blue hat nearly screamed for attention because of its color, and he was just standing there with his arms sort of crossed and his right hand seems to be holding up his chin in the famed Thinker pose.

Everything about him suggested he was just a teenage boy pretending to be a statue, but why?  He was doing an incredible job holding still, and the people walking by didn’t seem to pay any attention to him as I had.  Didn’t they notice the details that uncovered the truth?  He’s an imposter.  He has everyone fooled (including at least one dog judging by the wet spot clearly visible on his pant leg), and he’s probably placed a video camera somewhere up in a tree to capture the people’s responses to his act.  The camera would show how the birds chirp patiently from a nearby branch, hovering overhead in order to properly lay out their next statue art masterpiece (I’m talking about bird poop people).  The video camera would capture joggers, walkers, bikers, kite flyers, and probably the clown pretending to be a mime. 

About 15 minutes have passed since I first noticed the boy statue, and he still hasn’t budged an inch or centimeter (do I still have any metric readers?).  I’m even more captivated with this silly display than before since he’s got to move sooner or later.  I don’t think I could ever hold still for that long without even blinking.  I couldn’t even sit still for a minute without fidgeting or tapping a

foot or hand to some phantom musical beat.  I had to get a closer look.  This kid intrigued me like no other.

When I approached him I could see even more life-like attributes than before.  His skin had visual evidence of having makeup on it or at least some kind of a powder or foundation (help me ladies, I have no idea what I’m talking about).  He remained motionless even when I stood but inches from his face to investigate further.  I looked down at his

shirt and saw he was wearing some kind of a uniform shirt, and it wore the name “Bob” on it.  I said, “Hi Bob,” and I believe his lip quivered.  His lip quivered!  I got him to move!  “Ah HA!” I exclaimed right in his face.  “I got you to move, Bob.  You know it, and I know you know it.”  I held my head high, turned and walked away ready to tell all about the statue named Bob.  

What's in a Word By Professor Hunt

2011 is gone, long gone. I hope you can look back on it and remember all your successes, forget about any failures and start looking forward to a bright 2012! Have you made any New Year’s resolutions? You have? Good, now throw them out!

There’s a better way to make goals and it is all in a word. Just one word that you choose to focus your life in the direction you want. Blogger Christine Kane gives this explanation as to why many resolutions don’t work, "they address only one level of your life. The do level. It’s the DO-HAVE-BE model. It goes like this: “I will DO this thing.” (i.e., Lose weight) “So I can HAVE this other thing” (Self-Esteem) and I can BE this thing. (Confident.)”  And we at Quercus Alba know all about how to BE.  Instead of the DO-HAVE-BE model lets use the BE-DO-HAVE. For example, I will BE spiritual might lead you to read your scriptures and pray more frequently (DO) leading you to HAVE a more personal relationship with Heavenly Father.  

So instead of a list of things to DO, find a word that will inspire you to BE.  Let this word become a touchstone or guiding force in your life.  Write it down, tell it to a close friend or family member that will help you remember it throughout the long months of the year. Make a poster of it and hang where you will see it everyday.  As you approach situations in your life repeat the word to yourself, see where it will take you.

Take a quiet moment to yourself and ponder what changes you want to make in your life and what BE word will help lead you there. Here are some words from a list by Christine Kane that might inspire you.

Compassion Delight Generosity Wealth

Gratitude Abundance Willingness Change

Courage Peace Growth Health

Energy Presence Acceptance Courage

Confidence Love

Forgive Release

Knowing Patience

Fun Friendship

Laughter Commitment

Savor Listen

Prayerful Beauty

Joy Focus

 

The Wand Thief Comes to QA By Emma Palmer

The wand thief has not stolen any wands since Christmas Eve,but at charms Alahna Petersen told me that she lost her  wand and that is the 2 time. The first time it got lost Alahna was so mad she looked everywhere and when it did not turn up she wrote a latter to the wand thief and then left it on the table and in the morning were the latter was her wand. The wand thief has become more dangerous over the winter brake. 3 more attacks in America. Samuel palmer lost his wand at the beginning  of the year and had to get a new one. then during the Christmas brake professor  Bronte found  it now Samuel has two wands. the wand thief is close to us. be on alert 24-7

 

Volume 2 Issue 5

The House Cup!  By Anna Petersen

Well, here it is folks, the end of Hail the Dragonslayers. With it a new house cup! The scores as of last Friday are: in first place we have Gryffindor, in second place we have Hufflepuff, and in third its Ravenclaw.  I have interviewed somone from each house to see what they think.  

For Gryffindor, I have interviewed Professor Hunt.

Can you see your house winning the cup? “I think they have a fair chance!”

Do you think the Gryffindors will share the candy? “Most definitely!”

If the Hufflepuffs win, will They share? “They are Hufflepuffs!”

If the ravenclaws win, will they share? “YES!”

As you can see, she has complete confidence in the students of Quercus Alba!a

Next I spoke to William Hans Petersen of Hufflepuff.

Can you see yourself winning the house cup?s “No, Anna is, but could you even share with the Hufflepuffs?” (Said very pleadingly)

If the Gryffindors win will they share? “I don’t know.”

If the Ravenclaws win, will they share? “Yeah, you said you would, but I don’t know if the other Ravenclaw will share.”

What do you want to be in the house cup? “I don’t know. I want whatever candy I want. I want candy in the house cup.”

As you can see William will be happy for whoever wins, just like a true Hufflepuff.

Next I interviewed Emma Palmer fromRavenclaw house.  Do you see yourself winning the house cup? “A small window of opportunity is currently open.”

If the Gryffindors win, will they share the prize? “No idea. Sam says maybe, but it could go either way.”can

If the Ravenclaws win, will you share? “Of course! We may be smart, but we’re not stuck up.”

If the Hufflepuffs win, will they share? “Of course! They’re Hufflepuffs, nice and generous people.”

What kind of candy do you want in the house cup? “Mentos.”

As you can see each house is of it’s own opinion.  Personally, I think whoever wins, the candy will be split. Maybe not evenly, but everyone will get some.

 


Eve of Destiny Mission Opener By Bradley Palmer

Sam Cardiff finds himself in a giant abandoned military world creation base, alone. His only defense is his custom made gunblade. He walks down a dim lit hallway. He enters a room full of computer consoles. "Where am I?" he says. All of a sudden he hears the voice of a man who sounds like he's in his late twenties and from New York.

"You lost?" the voice says.

"Yea." Said Sam.

"How did you even get here?"

"I was hoping you knew."

"I know. I just wont tell you."

"Why you little…"

"Now ,now."

"So why am I here?"

"I need you to do some work for me. Your brother tells me you'll get the job done"

"Which brother?"

"Zaenor."

"Oh."

"Now let me give you your first mission and briefing."

"I need you to go to w3, Mansul. I need you to retrieve a journal that Atrax, one of my rivals, stole from me. He will probably have it well guarded. Do you accept?"\

"Yes. Got nothin' better to do."

"That’s the spirit. Sort of."

Sam walks into a near by elevator. The door shuts. It starts by its self. He is on his way to Mansul. Whether he wants to or not.

The rest of this story will be told in first person by Sam Cardiff.

To Be Continued…

 

Sam's Story By Samuel Palmer

Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Scarlet. He wnted to go on an adventure but his mom wouldn't let him. But his mom went out and so he left on his adventure. So he found a bb gun in his room. And grabbed it for his adventure. Then he put all his gear on. Then he went on his adventure. So when he got outside he put on goggles. He found an owl. So he shot the owl with bb gun and knocked him out.

Then he saw a golden trail. So he followed the path. On the trail he saw bunny tracks. He wanted the bunny for a pet so he followed the tracks. Soon he found the bunny. The bunny jumped up to him. He kept it as a pet. So he ran home. And right when he got home he let the bunny free.

THE END

Musings

A Weekly Column by Damarco Montoya

Is the Glass Really Half Full?

When I opened the windows to my soul, I realized my life had been blessed with another day.  I polished my pearly whites and then rinsed my pie hole with germ-killing solution.  I drank a tall glass of life liquid, and searched for the most important meal of the day. 

Everything is a matter of perspective.  Is the glass half empty or half full?  Have you heard that phrase before?  When describing a glass as being half empty rather than half full, you’re telling those with whom you are conversing that you see the negative before you see the positive.  The perspective is the glass is missing half of its capacity, rather than seeing the substance instead, or in this case, the wonderful liquid.  This person could have easily chosen to ignore the negative space, which would allow him (or her) to see the positive, or what was actually there.

It’s funny when talking to people and to see how differently things are viewed.  The glass analogy (a fancy word to describe when two things are compared, often using imagery) is cliché (over used saying) and therefore not very imaginative.  I thought it might be more fun to talk about eyes being the windows to a person’s soul, teeth as being “pearly whites”, and water as being “life liquid”.  All those items could just as easily been described with negativity rather than as being positive.  A person’s perspective might see the phrase above and instead describe the scene as being a set up for another dull day, as the person might choose not to see the good in even the mundane (often used to describe boring, regular-occurrence tasks or daily items and events). 

I have actually known people who start their day dreading to go to work and counting down the days until they can make changes in their lives.  The funny thing is when (or if) those people make changes in their lives they’ll STILL be miserable.  The only thing that will have changed is the scenery.  A person like that will be unhappy if he won the lottery because winning the lottery means beggars start calling and knocking on the front door, or because he’ll have to pay so much in taxes.  “Yeah, I won $10 Million, but now I need to pay $4 million in taxes!  That sucks!).  Why not be happy with the other $6 million?  You see, he only saw what was missing from the glass instead of what was still there.

Isn’t it wonderful to be blessed with another day when we wake up?  We could feel overwhelmed by chores and items on a list rather than feeling blessed to be able to DO them.  How about this one; car accidents are terrible, right?  Instead of focusing on the broken bones, cuts, and bruises, one could be grateful to still be alive since car accidents kill so many people every year.  I think we could all benefit by noticing the ways in which we are blessed rather than how our lives are difficult.

Let’s all grab a tall ice-cold glass of life liquid (water) and enjoy the many obstacles that make our lives interesting and fun.  Let’s look at the silver linings of our dreary clouds and see the beauty in even our most undesirable outcomes.  Some might say when they are given lemons (a lesser used sour fruit), they make lemonade (a delicious drink).  That person is able to turn “sour” moments into delicious and refreshing outcomes.  So squash those “sour” moments, add some sweet silver lining and maybe some of that glass that’s half full and sip down some delicious ice-cold lemonade.

 Ravenclaw Challenge

Congratulations to this week's winners of the Ravenclaw Challenge, Emma Palmer of Ravenclaw House for solving riddle number one, and Robert Petersen of Gryffindor House for solving riddle number two!  

Last weeks answers: 1. Anchor 2. Towel

This week just as the one before

Riddle one for those of eight or more.

Riddle two if you are seven or below

Let's see how fast this one will go!

Riddle One

My house is not quiet, I am not loud; But for us God fashioned our fate together.

I am the swifter, at times the stronger, My house more enduring, longer to last.

A times I rest; my dwelling still runs; Within it I lodge as long as I live.

Should we two be severed, my death is sure.

Riddle Two

Why is it easy to weigh fish?

Minerva Bronte

Living in Emergency Mode By Jane Smith

I live in Quadrant One.  If you’ve read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey, you know what I am talking about.  If you haven’t, what that means is that I spend my time doing things that are important and urgent.  That doesn’t sound like a bad thing, but it is because I don’t do anything unless it is urgent, unless it is practically an emergency!

This is why I am sitting here in the evening of a Thursday trying to come up with a topic for an article for tomorrow’s paper.  I am trying to think of something that I want to write about, but all I can think about is the half-finished giraffe piñata sitting on the kitchen table, that has to be finished in time for my daughter’s birthday tomorrow.  Or, I am thinking about all the food I have to make.  Or, I am thinking about cleaning up after the tornado that must have blown through my house. 

Living in Quadrant One is exhausting!  It means that as soon as you finish one project you have to race to finish the next in time. 

Quadrant One is a very stressful place.  It is a place where people lose sleep, where people have to compromise all their great plans and ideas, because there is no time.  I don’t care what people say about being their best under pressure, no one is their best in Quadrant One.

And, anything that is important, that I really should do, doesn’t get done if it doesn’t have a deadline.  I just tell myself, I don’t have time for that now, I'll do it after (insert major event here).  Completely failing to recognize that once that major event ends I immediately have to get ready for the next major event.

If I do get a little space between emergencies, I end up spending it in Quadrant Four, the place for those of us burnt out from life in Quadrant One.  Quadrant Four is where I do things that are neither important nor urgent.  Things like watching TV or surfing the internet for way too long.  I get so exhausted that I just veg until I’ve procrastinated my way into another crisis.

It’s not a very effective lifestyle.  Trust me, I know that its not!  I have been trying to get out of Quadrant One.  I have been trying to get a little ahead of my calendar and actually get things done BEFORE I have to, so I have time for other valuable things. 

I have a sneaking suspicion that some of our acorns may be living the same kind of ineffective lifestyle.  So, I invite you to join me in my efforts, let’s break the habit together!  Starting in the new year I am going to be giving out house points to students who turn in their Leaf submissions at least a day early.  I hope you will take the time to gather your thoughts and really consider what you want to write about.  Try to start your articles at least a week before they are due.  We can work together to make The Leaf the best that it can be!