AVanDam's Blog

Unfortunately, as happens so often,  a few problem users have been causing problems on the MyFox sites.  Because of this, the message boards and blogs have been temporarily locked down until this issue can be resolved.  There are teams working around the clock to get the issue fixed and get everything back to normal, but at this time, we don't know exactly how long everything will take.  

 We apologize for the delay and hope you'll come back to blog with us soon!
 

By GABE SEMENZA
Courtesy THE VICTORIA ADVOCATE
YORKTOWN, Texas --

Give me a "C." Give me a "U." Give me a "T." What's that spell?

If you said, "Cut," you're only half right. When the Yorktown Independent School District allowed 14-year-old Wycoda Fischer to be cut from its high school junior varsity cheerleading squad, the move spelled trouble.

The Fischer family sought legal counsel, San Antonio's Anderson & Duke P.C., and is willing to go to court if Wycoda is not allowed to be a cheerleader.

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Maybe it's just me, but I think this is ridiculous! When you try out for a team, some make it, some don't. At least that's how it was when I was in high school five years ago. We had about 20 girls try out for our cheerleading squad. Quite a few of them didn't make it, but none of them sued. This family in Texas may sue because of "the embarrassment of being cut and the sting her pride took." Can we sue for absolutely anything in this country now? I always knew law suits were getting more and more frivolous -- especially after a woman sued her employer for violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act because she didn't like a co-workers perfume -- but this is taking it too far. Isn't it important to teach your children that you can't always have everything you want? Teach them to try their best and accomplish their dreams, but don't teach them they're entitled to it. Don't children need to know that you have to earn everything you get?

What do you think?

If you want to read more on this story, click here.

Well, it's time for a new music blog!  

What song most reminds you of summertime?  Do you have memories attached to it?

For me, it's Bryan Adams' Summer of '69.  The summer between my sophomore and junior years of high school was the most fun I've ever had.  My group of friends and I did pretty much nothing but drive around and play in parks like little kids, but it was a blast.  And for some reason, that song was always playing.

So with summer around the corner, I need to start working on a tan.  Especially because sitting next to Nineveh is really starting to make me feel ghostly.

One problem: I can't get a real one. After a fun little bout with melanoma two years ago, and a recurrence last year, I am not taking any chances.

The problem that I've run into is this: Fake tanners simply suck. I can't find any that look even semi-real and that don't turn my white sheets a nasty orangish-brown. Last spring, I tried one of those mist on tanning booths and it was horrible. It was worse than the lotions! I seriously looked like an oompla loompa's revenge.

Since I know our bloggers are experts at all-knowing beings, I thought I'd ask you. Have you tried anything that's worked? Did you get a spray-on tan that actually looked good? Let me know where.

I've noticed, being a web producer, that no one ever seems to leave comments on Mike Runge's blogs and I can't figure out why.  He always poses a question, so obviously is thinking he'll get some opinions.  Not to mention is is the best sportscaster in the state (sorry Rick, I still love ya).

Is there a boycott on bloggin' Runge that I don't know about? :)

Similar to the ever-popular blogs, we now also have a message board. Look for topics to be attached to our stories. If you would like to comment on a news story or give feedback to a reporter, please post it on the blogs. However, any further discussion, debate, or just random blogs will want to be posted on the message boards -- where pretty much anything goes. This will help us keep the blogs a bit more organized and surfer-friendly.

The message board format will also allow us all to engage in more of a conversation.

http://community.myfoxutah.com/boards/

See you there!

I want to start off this post by saying this is purely my opinion, and mine alone.  Whatever I say does not reflect the feelings of the station or any other employees. 

That being said, the photos and video clips of the Virginia Tech killer should not have been released.  As someone who works in the news business, I can understand on some level why NBC decided to air the images and distribute them to other news agencies: 1- People, myself included, want to understand why, how, this man - excuse me - monster, could do such a terrible thing.  People want to get inside his head in an attempt to gain an insight into this tragedy and why he decided to steal so much from us all.  2- Cold hard facts, ratings. 

However, I think the decision was wrong.  Sueng-Hui would not have taken these photos and made these videos if he hadn't wanted to gain media attention.  This is exactly what he wanted.  In his sick, twisted, sadistic mind, his selfish actions would make him famous, make him an idol, and as he himself put it, "like Jesus Christ, to inspire generations of the weak and the defenseless people."

And unfortunately, he was right.  We gave him what he wanted.

Yep, that's me!  I wanted to share a story with you that I thought was pretty funny.  And it's about me. 

I am absolutely terrified of spiders.  I would probably fall in the arachnophobic category.

So today, I'm going about my business getting ready for work, when out of the corner of my eye I see a black spot on my wall in the hall.  Without thinking, I immediately went over to see what it was.  To my horror, it was a spider.  (Excuse me if this next part doesn't make sense.  I'm having flashbacks.) 

It was HUGE - to me - to most, it was probably average.  Worse, it was hairy, and had those long pincers on the front of it.  Eww.  It's giving me chills just thinking about it.  I spun about half the roll off of paper towel, wadded it up and tried to approach the monster again.  After at least three to four minutes, I was finally able to walk up to it.  Then it took me another few minutes to actually squash the thing.  I screamed through the whole thing, and after it was over, I stood there, my hand pressed against the mountain of paper towels against the wall, and tried to calm down.  Once the chills and the muscle convulsions went away, I lifted my hand to throw the paper towels and the nasty, massive spider in the trash.  But, as soon as I moved, I swear it came back to life.

I was suddenly staring up at the ceiling with a severe pain in my neck and the back of my head, sprawled awkwardly against the walls of my hallway.  My dog, Madison, was furiously licking my arms trying to figure out what was wrong.  Once I figured out that I had actually fainted, I realized what a pathetic girl I was.  Then I ran into my room and locked the door, hoping the monster wasn't alive and coming after me.

We just noticed that our own Lil' Miss Cronk is on the cover of City Weekly.

Be sure to check out the issue to see what she won!  You can preview City Weekly here.
 

If you've read my last posts, you know I'm desperately trying to lose weight.  Well, now I have an actual deadline: September 16, 40 lbs.  That's the goal anyway.  And before you ask - no, I'm not getting married on that day.  I am, however, going on vacation and if my boyfriend of five years knows what's good for him, he'll propose.  :)  

I've been doing pretty good with just working out and watching my calorie intake - I actually lost 6.5 pounds just last week!  But does anyone have any great tips?  What worked, or didn't work, for you?
 

Last night, Sandy Reisgraf reported on some parents that are outraged that their son received a beer mug and champange flute as momentos for his junior prom.  

I attended high school here in Utah, actually in the same city as the story, West Jordan, and we were given them as well.  It has never occurred to me that they may be encouraging teen drinking. 

My point is, this has been going on for years. It's been six years since my junior prom and I know my school had this tradition going long before then.  I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but I am surprised that it has never come up before. 

What do you think?


 

Okay, so this is going to be a little weird and uncomfortable for me, but hopefully those feelings will breed success. 

I have been overweight for a large part of my life, I would say at least five years.  That may not sound like much, but keep in mind, I'm only 22 (my 23rd birthday is just around the corner in March).  However, recently, its been getting worse.  Because of it, I have been and still am struggling with depression.  I decided to end it today, and I need a forum to hold me accountable. 

I guess I should start with how I got this way.  Everyone in my family has always been curvy.  Not necessarily fat, understand, we just of hips and  . . . other things, if you catch my drift. :)

I used to be a dancer -- a great one.  I had offers to perform with Ballet West, and I was a state Latin Ballroom champion, twice.  This is where my struggle began, and those hips come into play.  I didn't look like a typical ballet dancer, and I knew I needed to in order to make my dreams come true.  So, when I was about 14, I slipped into bulimia.  And I'm not going to lie to you, it was the best diet I've ever been on.  Not that it's something to be taken lightly, it's a very serious disease, but I did drop 40 pounds in about two months.  But, those darn hips didn't go away.  Then, I blew out my knees and lost my ability to dance.  With that, I lost a large part of myself.  With the drastic drop in exercise, the pounds started coming back.  So, I fell back on purging even more.  I hid it for about a year before I got help, and I'm very proud to say I have been "clean" so to speak, ever since.  But wow, did the weight come back with a vengeance. 

So began my real struggle.  Now, back in August, I hired a personal trainer and really started trying.  I worked out five days a week and watched what I ate, but I was still gaining.  The motivation started to fade and I just about feel completely out of my habits.

Which brings me to the present.  Yesterday, for some strange reason I cannot explain, I decided to step on the scale.  Don't ask me what I was thinking.  I was completely disgusted by the result.   I am the heaviest that I have ever been, at a whopping 170.  Put that on a 5-foot, 2-inch frame and that's not at all pretty.  As Oprah says, I made a choice.  I'm putting an end to it.  And unfortunately for you, I'm dragging you all into it.  My hope is that by putting myself out here an being vulnerable that I will hold to my commitment.  Trust me, it took me a lot to include my weight in here, that is NOT something I want anyone to know.  But, I've decided to stop hiding.  I'll post at least weekly with updates with my diet and exercise habits and hopefully develop a small following for support.  Feel free to join me in my quest and give any suggestions you may have.

My next task is tackling the question, "why are you fat?"  There is always a deeper reason than eating, and I have to find what mine is so I can turn it around.

Thanks for listening,
Amber