I obviously need to work on some things in the area of revision

Most of the time I probably try to revise, edit and proofread all in my first draft. Sometimes that is due to procrastination. Maybe I'm just scared of my own writing. Maybe I'm scared that it'll become something that is so good that I don't know what to do with it, which doesn't even make sense, but I guess it could be a possibility. So now I know that revision is a good thing, and that I should really try to use this step in the writing process to my advantage. All writing has potential, and it's my job to figure out what that potential is and then just run with it, with purpose. Just running and not knowing where you're going will probably just get you lost. So there we have it: run with ideas, but don't get lost, and try to make them better, or write them in a way so that other's can understand and enjoy what they're reading. Sounds good to me.

I tend to procrastinate

Another thing that I most often have trouble with is leaving enough time to revise and think about what I've written. I tend to procrastinate and do things at the last minute. I'm working on this, because I know that it's not a very good habit, but nonetheless it is a habit. I'm not so good at letting others read my writing either, and that's another thing I'm working on. I guess I'm okay with them reading it when I'm not there (with my permission, of course). I suppose I'm just afraid of what they'll think of what I wrote or something.

Flash Trading

The SEC has begun an investigation on whether or not certain stock brokerages have been engaging in a shady practice called flash trading. Flash trading is when stock brokers let stock brokers see the order they are putting into the market before they file it, which is considered to be the less ugly cousin of the ugly and illegal practice of insider trading. Security and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Schapiro is set to begin investigating the practice, and the SEC is considering a flash trading ban. New York Senator Charles Schumer is completely in favor of a ban, and it may take some payday loans at least to find out who has been flash trading.

Writing Drafts

So in years past I haven't really liked writing rough drafts all that much. I can see the importance that they can have, but somehow they just take too long and maybe I just think I can write a perfect paper in one try. So my brain thinks, "just skip it, it's not important." I think that the only times I've really done a first draft is when I actually had to turn one in. So for the most part, I guess I haven't been a good little student and done rough drafts before the final one. That could change though.

The Plateau Indians could not live in the same place for very long

They had to move from place to place to find food. Most of the Plateau Indians lived in tepees. A tepee is a cone frame shelter made from long poles covered with woven mats or animal hides. These were very easy to take down and put up again. During the winter, they lived in pit houses. These were made by scooping out the leeward side of a hill and covering the entrance with animal skins. The Plateau Indians used horses or ponies to travel, hunt, and gather food. They usually caught wild horses and broke them, but they also traded, bred, and stole horses. The number of horses a tribe had represented how much wealth they had. Horses were used to pull the Indians' possessions around. They used a travois to do this. A travois consisted of two long poles, each having a different length. They were attached to the animal's shoulder by leather straps. A woven mat covered the gap between the poles.

The Coastal Indians had many different ceremonies, but the unique one was called a potlatch

A potlatch was a ceremony in which either the tribe or the chief hosted a huge party. The host would give the guests gifts. The purpose of it was to show how wealthy and generous the host was. It was kind of a contest because the host tried to be more generous than the host of the last potlatch. Some hosts would burn down their house or sink one of their canoes. Sometimes they even killed one of their slaves. All this was done to impress the guests.

I remember when I first got out of high school

I decided that I was going to take a year off and work instead of going to college. My parents were so mad. They told me I would never go to college if I did it that way. They don't quite understand that I wouldn't have had a way to pay for college if I had done that. I wish they understood that. They spent the whole year mad at me and trying to convince me to leave. I went the next year and was much better off financially. I was glad I did it although their pestering bothered my all year long. That is the decision I made though.