Hope is the thing with feathersThere's more of it than what's present here, but this was my initial exposure to it.
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all.
I love it. =)
Thursday, November 26, 2009
DISCOVERY: "Hope is the thing with feathers" by Emily Dickinson
I came across this when I searched Emily Dickinson on Wikipedia, and that led to looking up slant rhyme which resulted in this discovery:
I love it. =)
I love it. =)
The Result of a Downhill Slump
As we continue on with the topic of magazines, I would like to add how disappointed I am in their current failure to stay on top and relevant among consumers.
The times are awful now. The economy is failing as the dollar is depreciating. People are having a difficult time finding jobs that can pay enough for them to make a living while still having enough spending/saving money left over. Lack of spending money means that people will resort to any opportunity in which they don't have to pay for things they otherwise don't need or don't want. People don't necessarily need magazines to survive. However, staying in touch with what is going on in the world and being entertained creates an uplifting mood for people to stay self-assured of themselves. It makes people feel that they have a sense of purpose, because they can feel that they are a part of something that seems to be calling to them.
Magazines serve that purpose. For me, they provide a way for me to be "in the know." As I said before, they are time capsules packaged in paper form. They allow you to refer to them for retrospective purposes. You can take them with you everywhere, rip them out and tape it to your wall, and share them with anyone you think will care about your discovery. With the advent of the internet, people are easily finding ways to fulfill their need to entertain themselves. The internet bill is paid for. Beyond that, most content is free. No longer will they have to wait for the scheduled times at which magazines and newspapers come out, and TV shows and news broadcasts come on. They are making the most out of their limited budgets.
These limited budgets as a result of our economy's downward slope is having a destructive effect on magazines everywhere. Time and time again, I continue to come across articles about magazines and newspapers folding. TV show ratings are going down, and work hard to keep them up. These industries now have to rely on the internet in order to stay relevant among the eyes of the American people. It's sad and disappointing. I love magazines so dearly, and would be sad to watch them disappear and phase out completely.
Once one aspect of the entertainment industry heads toward one direction, everything else follows suit. I feel like all of this began with the music industry. Napster, then iTunes. Now, iTunes comes out with albums that people can buy. I prefer the real thing where you physically flip through the booklets and hold onto the CDs. With iTunes, you are limited as to how many people can use the purchased music. With the physical CD, you can pass it on to as many people as you want. Now, CD sales are going down. CD store are going down with them. Sam Goody's closed down at Deptford Mall as well as other locations. FYE doesn't fare much better.
The internet versions of books and magazines, I find them to be largely inconvenient. They have more cons than pros. They are virtual, far from tangible. You can't physically rip them out, highlight them, circle parts that you think are important, or read them to your friends in an extremely long car ride or flight. You can't take them with you everywhere. If you're stranded in the middle nowhere with no internet access, how will you read it? If they invented a device to read it like Amazon does with the Kindle, what happens when the battery runs out?
The only thing great about internet versions of literature is that you don't have to take them with you. You can leave them at home. No need to pack them in your suitcase when you're traveling which means less weight to carry with you. This is OK as long as there will be internet access. I didn't have to pack my Biology text book as I made my way to New York City. Highly convenient, but in the end, I want my physical, tangible version with me, so that I can read it, highlight it, bookmark it, and flip through it with ease. I don't need to scroll as I get to the middle of the page. My face can get as close to it as possible and still be able to see things with clarity.
It's unfortunate that industries are resorting to digitize everything. It's a sign that the times are a-changin'. They need to keep up soon, or they'll fall far, far behind.
In the end, the physical versions have more longevity to them. There is less of a monopoly on their existence. More convenient, because you know you'll always have them as long as you haven't thrown them out. I hope magazines that have been around for years and years continue to stay. It's a pity that they have to diminish and gradually fade away, until finally they're gone. Phasing them out will be very sad.
The times are awful now. The economy is failing as the dollar is depreciating. People are having a difficult time finding jobs that can pay enough for them to make a living while still having enough spending/saving money left over. Lack of spending money means that people will resort to any opportunity in which they don't have to pay for things they otherwise don't need or don't want. People don't necessarily need magazines to survive. However, staying in touch with what is going on in the world and being entertained creates an uplifting mood for people to stay self-assured of themselves. It makes people feel that they have a sense of purpose, because they can feel that they are a part of something that seems to be calling to them.
Magazines serve that purpose. For me, they provide a way for me to be "in the know." As I said before, they are time capsules packaged in paper form. They allow you to refer to them for retrospective purposes. You can take them with you everywhere, rip them out and tape it to your wall, and share them with anyone you think will care about your discovery. With the advent of the internet, people are easily finding ways to fulfill their need to entertain themselves. The internet bill is paid for. Beyond that, most content is free. No longer will they have to wait for the scheduled times at which magazines and newspapers come out, and TV shows and news broadcasts come on. They are making the most out of their limited budgets.
These limited budgets as a result of our economy's downward slope is having a destructive effect on magazines everywhere. Time and time again, I continue to come across articles about magazines and newspapers folding. TV show ratings are going down, and work hard to keep them up. These industries now have to rely on the internet in order to stay relevant among the eyes of the American people. It's sad and disappointing. I love magazines so dearly, and would be sad to watch them disappear and phase out completely.
Once one aspect of the entertainment industry heads toward one direction, everything else follows suit. I feel like all of this began with the music industry. Napster, then iTunes. Now, iTunes comes out with albums that people can buy. I prefer the real thing where you physically flip through the booklets and hold onto the CDs. With iTunes, you are limited as to how many people can use the purchased music. With the physical CD, you can pass it on to as many people as you want. Now, CD sales are going down. CD store are going down with them. Sam Goody's closed down at Deptford Mall as well as other locations. FYE doesn't fare much better.
The internet versions of books and magazines, I find them to be largely inconvenient. They have more cons than pros. They are virtual, far from tangible. You can't physically rip them out, highlight them, circle parts that you think are important, or read them to your friends in an extremely long car ride or flight. You can't take them with you everywhere. If you're stranded in the middle nowhere with no internet access, how will you read it? If they invented a device to read it like Amazon does with the Kindle, what happens when the battery runs out?
The only thing great about internet versions of literature is that you don't have to take them with you. You can leave them at home. No need to pack them in your suitcase when you're traveling which means less weight to carry with you. This is OK as long as there will be internet access. I didn't have to pack my Biology text book as I made my way to New York City. Highly convenient, but in the end, I want my physical, tangible version with me, so that I can read it, highlight it, bookmark it, and flip through it with ease. I don't need to scroll as I get to the middle of the page. My face can get as close to it as possible and still be able to see things with clarity.
It's unfortunate that industries are resorting to digitize everything. It's a sign that the times are a-changin'. They need to keep up soon, or they'll fall far, far behind.
In the end, the physical versions have more longevity to them. There is less of a monopoly on their existence. More convenient, because you know you'll always have them as long as you haven't thrown them out. I hope magazines that have been around for years and years continue to stay. It's a pity that they have to diminish and gradually fade away, until finally they're gone. Phasing them out will be very sad.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
J'adore Les Magazines
I'd like to say:
I LOVE MAGAZINES!
My house is packed with them. I'm reluctant to throw them out no matter how old they are. They are like monthly time capsules packaged in paper form. Whenever I get a change to flip through my old issues, they bring me back to that point in time. They deliver a certain nostalgia for the past that you want to relive again with a now different perspective on how you view those times. They bring to my attention to things I hadn't noticed before, missed out on by ignoring them out of lack of interest or pure and utter dislike. I skipped all the bluff to get to the parts I did enjoy. Rereading the magazines shows you what you could have read had you not missed it the first time around.
I didn't understand magazines when I was younger. My mom always borrowed them from the library. It wasn't until I was a bit older did I realize that they were interesting. Short articles. Lots of pictures. Easy reading for someone who wanted to get a lot from a little.
My years of subscribing to magazines began when I was 10. There was an issue of Teen People I really wanted. 25 Hottest Under 25, I believe. It had Mandy Moore, Eve, and Justin Timberlake on the cover. I was on teenpeople.com. They had a picture of the cover when they were advertising their subscription service. I thought by signing up, I was guaranteed that issue since my mom wouldn't let me buy it at Shop Rite.
It turns out I wasn't. My first issue of Teen People from my subscription plan (my first official one had Christina Aguilera on the cover....Dec/Jan 1999?) had Sisqo on the cover. I forget what month. Maybe it was August 2000. My subscription with Teen People continued on until it folded with its last issue for September 2006. Carrie Underwood on the cover with the 3rd season cast of Laguna Beach on the back.
Then, there was Seventeen. I've subscribed to it on-and-off. I just resubscribed to it recently, because Five Star notebooks had an offer for a free subscription with the purchase of selected notebooks.
My mom subscribed to Teen Vogue when they first began to advertise it. "$1 per issue," she pointed out. She sent a request to subscribe it. We had issues coming in for a while. At the time, I thought it was too girly, too high fashion-y. I didn't understand why she still subscribed to it. Eventually, she canceled the subscription. I wish she hadn't. Looking back at all the old issues I've found, I've been in awe of what I missed out on. The models I admire now when they were first starting out. One of the first issues had Gwen Stefani on the cover. Within it was one of Jessica Stam's first editorials, and to see how far she's come... Wow. I also have other ones where I've spotted Doutzen Kroes, Iselin Steiro, and Gemma Ward...I couldn't believe it! Many started on Teen Vogue and have moved onto greater things! I became fascinated by Teen Vogue towards the end of my duration at Intermediate School, and my beginnings at high school. I subscribed to it when I was a sophomore. My first issue was April 2006 with Ciara on the cover.
Vogue was one of the magazines I certainly didn't understand when I was younger. How was I supposed to understand high fashion at such a young age. All I saw was pictures. That was it. I don't remember what drove me to subscribe to them, but I did it in 2006. Maybe it was the lovely pictures that always called to me whenever I was in Shop Rite or at Barnes & Noble. I began to admire the beauty of high fashion. I became curious about who the models were. Their names, their identities. My aunts from New York would give me their old copies. I kept them and savored every page I saw. The first issue of Vogue I bought had Natalie Portman on the cover. She sported a pixie cut after having it shaved for the movie she was promoting, V for Vendetta. I love her style and her beauty. When I saw her as I was planning on buying the Cosmo issue of that same month (because I found out through Ellen that Apolo Ohno was in it), I was captivated by the elegance of that cover. I didn't think twice about buying it. I followed that purchase up with a September 2006 issue with Kirsten Dunst on the cover, dressed like Marie Antoinette.
Actually, I remember now why I began to subscribe it. I was flipping through the October issue, I believe (I remember it had Kate Moss, and pictures from the CFDA event in it). I asked my mom if I could buy it. She said no, but suggested that I subscribe it since it's cheaper in the long run.
My first issue in the mail: Nicole Kidman for the following December. I still subscribe to it. I haven't had the opportunity to read it since the July 2009 issue was mailed to me. I have 4 issues waiting for me, wrapped in plastic, waiting to be read.
I also subscribe to Elle now. I never planned on doing it, but I had a great offer of $8 for the year. I couldn't resist it. I enjoy it. Not exactly on par with Vogue, but it switches up the models it uses for editorials, etc. all the time.
I was on a tangent about my history with magazines. I wanted to talk about magazines in this blog post, because I came across an article about Kirsten Dunst on the cover of the latest Allure issue. It reminded me that I haven't had the chance to flip through too many magazines in the past few months. I haven't had the time to. Busy with school work. No time to go to stores to read them for hours on end. Upset, disappointed that I didn't get a chance to. I hope that the new issues haven't replaced the old yet. Then, I can make up for lost times.
I LOVE MAGAZINES!
My house is packed with them. I'm reluctant to throw them out no matter how old they are. They are like monthly time capsules packaged in paper form. Whenever I get a change to flip through my old issues, they bring me back to that point in time. They deliver a certain nostalgia for the past that you want to relive again with a now different perspective on how you view those times. They bring to my attention to things I hadn't noticed before, missed out on by ignoring them out of lack of interest or pure and utter dislike. I skipped all the bluff to get to the parts I did enjoy. Rereading the magazines shows you what you could have read had you not missed it the first time around.
I didn't understand magazines when I was younger. My mom always borrowed them from the library. It wasn't until I was a bit older did I realize that they were interesting. Short articles. Lots of pictures. Easy reading for someone who wanted to get a lot from a little.
My years of subscribing to magazines began when I was 10. There was an issue of Teen People I really wanted. 25 Hottest Under 25, I believe. It had Mandy Moore, Eve, and Justin Timberlake on the cover. I was on teenpeople.com. They had a picture of the cover when they were advertising their subscription service. I thought by signing up, I was guaranteed that issue since my mom wouldn't let me buy it at Shop Rite.
It turns out I wasn't. My first issue of Teen People from my subscription plan (my first official one had Christina Aguilera on the cover....Dec/Jan 1999?) had Sisqo on the cover. I forget what month. Maybe it was August 2000. My subscription with Teen People continued on until it folded with its last issue for September 2006. Carrie Underwood on the cover with the 3rd season cast of Laguna Beach on the back.
Then, there was Seventeen. I've subscribed to it on-and-off. I just resubscribed to it recently, because Five Star notebooks had an offer for a free subscription with the purchase of selected notebooks.
My mom subscribed to Teen Vogue when they first began to advertise it. "$1 per issue," she pointed out. She sent a request to subscribe it. We had issues coming in for a while. At the time, I thought it was too girly, too high fashion-y. I didn't understand why she still subscribed to it. Eventually, she canceled the subscription. I wish she hadn't. Looking back at all the old issues I've found, I've been in awe of what I missed out on. The models I admire now when they were first starting out. One of the first issues had Gwen Stefani on the cover. Within it was one of Jessica Stam's first editorials, and to see how far she's come... Wow. I also have other ones where I've spotted Doutzen Kroes, Iselin Steiro, and Gemma Ward...I couldn't believe it! Many started on Teen Vogue and have moved onto greater things! I became fascinated by Teen Vogue towards the end of my duration at Intermediate School, and my beginnings at high school. I subscribed to it when I was a sophomore. My first issue was April 2006 with Ciara on the cover.
Vogue was one of the magazines I certainly didn't understand when I was younger. How was I supposed to understand high fashion at such a young age. All I saw was pictures. That was it. I don't remember what drove me to subscribe to them, but I did it in 2006. Maybe it was the lovely pictures that always called to me whenever I was in Shop Rite or at Barnes & Noble. I began to admire the beauty of high fashion. I became curious about who the models were. Their names, their identities. My aunts from New York would give me their old copies. I kept them and savored every page I saw. The first issue of Vogue I bought had Natalie Portman on the cover. She sported a pixie cut after having it shaved for the movie she was promoting, V for Vendetta. I love her style and her beauty. When I saw her as I was planning on buying the Cosmo issue of that same month (because I found out through Ellen that Apolo Ohno was in it), I was captivated by the elegance of that cover. I didn't think twice about buying it. I followed that purchase up with a September 2006 issue with Kirsten Dunst on the cover, dressed like Marie Antoinette.
Actually, I remember now why I began to subscribe it. I was flipping through the October issue, I believe (I remember it had Kate Moss, and pictures from the CFDA event in it). I asked my mom if I could buy it. She said no, but suggested that I subscribe it since it's cheaper in the long run.
My first issue in the mail: Nicole Kidman for the following December. I still subscribe to it. I haven't had the opportunity to read it since the July 2009 issue was mailed to me. I have 4 issues waiting for me, wrapped in plastic, waiting to be read.
I also subscribe to Elle now. I never planned on doing it, but I had a great offer of $8 for the year. I couldn't resist it. I enjoy it. Not exactly on par with Vogue, but it switches up the models it uses for editorials, etc. all the time.
I was on a tangent about my history with magazines. I wanted to talk about magazines in this blog post, because I came across an article about Kirsten Dunst on the cover of the latest Allure issue. It reminded me that I haven't had the chance to flip through too many magazines in the past few months. I haven't had the time to. Busy with school work. No time to go to stores to read them for hours on end. Upset, disappointed that I didn't get a chance to. I hope that the new issues haven't replaced the old yet. Then, I can make up for lost times.
Empire State of Mind: New York City
In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of. There's nothing you can't do... These streets will make you feel brand new. Big lights will inspire you.I'm in New York City...
--Empire State of Mind
Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys
My home away from home. =)
Taking Down Thoughts and Turning Them into Something Creative
I've always admired people who have a knack for turning inspiration into creative pieces of work. How did Taylor Swift turn her experiences into catchy tunes? How did Andy Warhol decide to turn ordinary objects into mass-produced art? How did J.K. Rowling develop the Harry Potter Series into, not just a set of books, but a world that many of us want to escape into?
I have always been curious by that. During my free time or whenever I have time to think for myself, I try to come up with ideas that I could utilize for creative ventures. I don't force it. Inspiration and the words that correspond with it comes spontaneously. Over the summer, I bought a set of 3 tiny Moleskine notebooks, so that I could jot ideas down whenever they came to me. Ideas, once gone, almost never come back.
Sometimes, when I'm listening to a song, I would have the lyrics up--even if I knew the lyrics by heart. I want to study its brilliance. I want to analyze the use of the words that weave themselves throughout the song. I want to explore its structure, its rhythm, its beat, its literary device(s), its pattern(s). I want to be able to replicate something similar. I'm fascinated by it all.
I always thought that nothing determines the limits as to how far your mind can go. If that person can do it, I can, too. I can't give up. I don't want to give up.
People think I'm crazy for being intrigued by very minor things and occurrences. They don't understand that there is something special about how things work, and how things are related. Although I am no longer a child, I can still be amazed by small things that I normally don't see. They don't understand that it can open their minds up to accept that the relationships that exist from one object to another are amazing. Instead, they consider it rubbish, and not worth their time. I don't want to miss an opportunity to explore something I never will encounter again. Who knows? I probably will, but I won't know until it happens.
I have always been curious by that. During my free time or whenever I have time to think for myself, I try to come up with ideas that I could utilize for creative ventures. I don't force it. Inspiration and the words that correspond with it comes spontaneously. Over the summer, I bought a set of 3 tiny Moleskine notebooks, so that I could jot ideas down whenever they came to me. Ideas, once gone, almost never come back.
Sometimes, when I'm listening to a song, I would have the lyrics up--even if I knew the lyrics by heart. I want to study its brilliance. I want to analyze the use of the words that weave themselves throughout the song. I want to explore its structure, its rhythm, its beat, its literary device(s), its pattern(s). I want to be able to replicate something similar. I'm fascinated by it all.
I always thought that nothing determines the limits as to how far your mind can go. If that person can do it, I can, too. I can't give up. I don't want to give up.
People think I'm crazy for being intrigued by very minor things and occurrences. They don't understand that there is something special about how things work, and how things are related. Although I am no longer a child, I can still be amazed by small things that I normally don't see. They don't understand that it can open their minds up to accept that the relationships that exist from one object to another are amazing. Instead, they consider it rubbish, and not worth their time. I don't want to miss an opportunity to explore something I never will encounter again. Who knows? I probably will, but I won't know until it happens.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
An Uprising. We MUST Prevail!
Today, I posted this on one of my friends' Facebook Walls:
As soon as the exam was over, off we went to Chinatown. I got Thai Milk Bubble Tea at Rising Tide (Delicious!). Then, we went to Sang Kee for Peking Duck (our substitute for the Thanksgiving turkey) which we took to my apartment. I heated up food my mom made last week that I wanted to get rid of before Thanksgiving break. I ended my night with hours and hours of fun playing Rock Band and Band Hero at Anthony and Jon's house. I started off with the drums, then switched to guitar, vocals, and then, finally, the guitar. I was incredibly uncoordinated, yet it was still a fun night filled with laughter before everyone goes home for Thanksgiving. I eventually slept over, because it was too late to go back to my apartment.
I woke up expecting a typical day. Well, a Thursday school schedule on a Tuesday is not typical, but I still had classes to attend to, and expected to carry on with my day like any other. I walked to my first class as usual. For the first time in a while, I had arrived at my 9:00 am Orgo recitation early/on time. I was the only one from my class who went. Another guy there thought it was a Tuesday schedule.
On my way to class, I looked over at the library to see how my bike was. I saw two bikes. They looked unusually small. Are any of them my bike? I walked closer to get a better look. When I got there, I realized my bike, my bike I've had since I was in middle school, had disappeared.
It's Tuesday morning, and I have finally overcame what I thought would be an almost impossible day to get through on Monday. I had a Chinese quiz (my studying wasn't enough), an Orgo quiz (sub-studying, but quite enough), and a Calc exam (studying...enough/not enough). The long day with a huge uphill was finally over at around 7:30 pm. My friend Vi has been having a rough week lately, confused about feelings she has over a guy (boyfriend, ex-boyfriend? I can't determine). Those feelings have left her unable to focus as we were studying for our Calc exam from 2-5 pm. I decided to take her phone, and made plans for a get-together at Chinatown as soon as the exam was over. Her phone, of course, she took back, but we highlighted the end of our troubling day with a silver lining.Chin, I believe our bikes have fallen into the same fate. We are now victims of a cruel, cruel prank-gone-wrong. In the coming days and weeks and months to come, we must arise to this occasion as not a sign of defeat, but the beginning of a powerful uprising against those who choose to acquire bikes through shortcuts that neither you nor I have chosen to follow through with. We will not step down to their level. We will not surrender until we prevail!
As soon as the exam was over, off we went to Chinatown. I got Thai Milk Bubble Tea at Rising Tide (Delicious!). Then, we went to Sang Kee for Peking Duck (our substitute for the Thanksgiving turkey) which we took to my apartment. I heated up food my mom made last week that I wanted to get rid of before Thanksgiving break. I ended my night with hours and hours of fun playing Rock Band and Band Hero at Anthony and Jon's house. I started off with the drums, then switched to guitar, vocals, and then, finally, the guitar. I was incredibly uncoordinated, yet it was still a fun night filled with laughter before everyone goes home for Thanksgiving. I eventually slept over, because it was too late to go back to my apartment.
I woke up expecting a typical day. Well, a Thursday school schedule on a Tuesday is not typical, but I still had classes to attend to, and expected to carry on with my day like any other. I walked to my first class as usual. For the first time in a while, I had arrived at my 9:00 am Orgo recitation early/on time. I was the only one from my class who went. Another guy there thought it was a Tuesday schedule.
On my way to class, I looked over at the library to see how my bike was. I saw two bikes. They looked unusually small. Are any of them my bike? I walked closer to get a better look. When I got there, I realized my bike, my bike I've had since I was in middle school, had disappeared.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Fried Cucumbers and Other Miscellaneous Desirable Treats
First thing: I am addicted to sugar!
I love desserts. They're too tasty and lovely and sweet to resist. Cakes, cookies, ice cream, brownies, dark chocolate, and cupcakes. They're 100% yummy in my tummy!
They're also probably, most likely the reason why I've already gained about 10 or so lbs within the first few months of this Fall semester on top of the weight I've gained Freshman year. I'm skinny, so weight gain is probably necessary. But gaining the amount of weight I've gained within a short period of time? Not good. If I keep it up, I'll be well over 140 by the time I graduate. Yikes! Not good.
Aside from the fact that I need to work out, I came across this on the Yahoo! home page today:
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/taste-test-best-boxed-brownies-541958/. Brownies? Who can't resist them?
As Britney Spears once said, "Sometimes, a girl just needs one." (Maybe, more than one.) Even though she was actually referring to boys, that statement holds true for brownies and other sweet treats that a girl simply cannot resist.
Following the success of my crispy potato slices, I tried to do the same with cucumbers. Semi-successful. Maybe more a failure than a success. The crispy parts were simply parts of the cucumber that were thin and close to burnt. I'll go on Yahoo! to see if it's really possible. We'll see.
Ever since I started living in this apartment, I've been forced to cook. It's a great thing. I don't have to rely on other people's incompetence in the kitchen and inability to make healthy food. I can't say that I'm a competent cook and am capable of making healthy food (I mean, I gained weight rather than maintain/lose it these past few months), but at least, I know for the most part what's in my food. I don't have a meal plan either, so I can't blame anyone else, but myself for being unhealthy. I also don't have that need-to-use-my-meal-plan burden every time I need to eat. Not only that, but it saves money. I get to choose what I want to eat, too--not choose from a limited selection. Hooray!
Anyway, I need to start working out. Riding a bike back and forth to campus doesn't seem to be enough, so I need to start making trips to the IBC as soon as possible! I need to get my abs and back. I need to get my toned legs and arms back. I wish I could run, but I would get shin splints and aggravate my knee injury (that comes and goes). Ugghh...
I love desserts. They're too tasty and lovely and sweet to resist. Cakes, cookies, ice cream, brownies, dark chocolate, and cupcakes. They're 100% yummy in my tummy!
They're also probably, most likely the reason why I've already gained about 10 or so lbs within the first few months of this Fall semester on top of the weight I've gained Freshman year. I'm skinny, so weight gain is probably necessary. But gaining the amount of weight I've gained within a short period of time? Not good. If I keep it up, I'll be well over 140 by the time I graduate. Yikes! Not good.
Aside from the fact that I need to work out, I came across this on the Yahoo! home page today:
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/taste-test-best-boxed-brownies-541958/. Brownies? Who can't resist them?
As Britney Spears once said, "Sometimes, a girl just needs one." (Maybe, more than one.) Even though she was actually referring to boys, that statement holds true for brownies and other sweet treats that a girl simply cannot resist.
Following the success of my crispy potato slices, I tried to do the same with cucumbers. Semi-successful. Maybe more a failure than a success. The crispy parts were simply parts of the cucumber that were thin and close to burnt. I'll go on Yahoo! to see if it's really possible. We'll see.
Ever since I started living in this apartment, I've been forced to cook. It's a great thing. I don't have to rely on other people's incompetence in the kitchen and inability to make healthy food. I can't say that I'm a competent cook and am capable of making healthy food (I mean, I gained weight rather than maintain/lose it these past few months), but at least, I know for the most part what's in my food. I don't have a meal plan either, so I can't blame anyone else, but myself for being unhealthy. I also don't have that need-to-use-my-meal-plan burden every time I need to eat. Not only that, but it saves money. I get to choose what I want to eat, too--not choose from a limited selection. Hooray!
Anyway, I need to start working out. Riding a bike back and forth to campus doesn't seem to be enough, so I need to start making trips to the IBC as soon as possible! I need to get my abs and back. I need to get my toned legs and arms back. I wish I could run, but I would get shin splints and aggravate my knee injury (that comes and goes). Ugghh...
Whatever Happened
So...I studied my Chinese conversation today (now, I have to do my homework for Monday and study for the quiz). I skipped Bio lecture just so that I could memorize the passage I needed to know for the class. I was freaking out, panicking, because I kept falling asleep in the wee hours of the morning. Once I got to Chinese class, Charlie, one of my classmates told us that we didn't need to memorize from the beginning of the conversation. Instead, she said, we just need to know the one long part for the conversation. No wonder, Huang laoshi said that we had a monologue. I felt better since I didn't have to recite from the beginning to the end of that part, but I was also frustrated since that part gave me the most trouble. I got through it, thankfully. I should've looked at the syllabus more closely. Instead of looking at "That kind of dumb mistake...It didn't burn," I read "...It didn't burn." Oh, me.
Today, I was using the bathroom at the Tech Center. Normally, the graffiti in bathroom stalls are annoying with So-and-So *heart* Another-So-and-So, and 4-letter words that people felt the need to express. My discovery today, I found to be the most amusing. It went somewhere along the lines of--
"Why the hell would anyone smoke weed when hey could just mow a lawn?"
Response: "Cuz weed gets you high."
I thought it was very clever.
I posted it as my Facebook status, and my friend, Nicole, posted one she has seen in the past: "Here I sit broken hearted, thought I'd shit but only farted." The rhyming, the play of words--clever!
Now, I'm at the Tech Center where I will need to get all my homework out of the way, so that I'll have time to study for more difficult things such as Calculus and Organic Chemistry.
It's 7:00 pm, and the Tech Center is about to close in 30 minutes, so I will have to go now. Ciao!
Today, I was using the bathroom at the Tech Center. Normally, the graffiti in bathroom stalls are annoying with So-and-So *heart* Another-So-and-So, and 4-letter words that people felt the need to express. My discovery today, I found to be the most amusing. It went somewhere along the lines of--
"Why the hell would anyone smoke weed when hey could just mow a lawn?"
Response: "Cuz weed gets you high."
I thought it was very clever.
I posted it as my Facebook status, and my friend, Nicole, posted one she has seen in the past: "Here I sit broken hearted, thought I'd shit but only farted." The rhyming, the play of words--clever!
Now, I'm at the Tech Center where I will need to get all my homework out of the way, so that I'll have time to study for more difficult things such as Calculus and Organic Chemistry.
It's 7:00 pm, and the Tech Center is about to close in 30 minutes, so I will have to go now. Ciao!
Hello, Everyone!
Hi! It's me, Melody.
I decided to create a blog for the sake of creating a blog. I don't expect anyone to read it, and probably nobody will, but I made one. I plan on using this as just my journal. With the stress that I deal with in college, I need an outlet to let out my thoughts and feelings. Even if no one will be there to read or hear what I have to say, at least those thoughts aren't just stuck within the confines of my memory--forcing me to dread every moment I think about them. Recording them allows me to avoid being torn between whether or not I want to remember those memories or force them out completely. You know, I don't want to force them out completely like they do in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, because the experiences I've had make up who I am. I take pride in that.
At the moment, I should be studying for Chinese class. Tomorrow...actually today, Friday, I have to recite a portion of a conversation in one of my Chinese text books. It's a lot more challenging than the ones we've had in the past. I didn't start memorizing it as soon I was supposed to...which was the beginning of this week. Now, I have to cram it all in. I'm incredibly tired, so we'll see how far I can go with it. As we were leaving class on Wednesday, I believe Huang laoshi (my Chinese professor) said that--unlike the conversations we've had in the past--this is going to be a monologue. =O
I believe I have ADD/ADHD or some degree of it. Actually, a lot of people do, but I feel like I have a higher degree of it than most do. I'll elaborate on the possibility that I might have it later. Where I'm trying to go with this is that my short attention span contributes to the ridiculous amount of tabs I have on my 2 windows of Firefox right now. To clean it up, every now and then, I would X them out. But before I do, I check to make sure that it's not an important site that I want to check out later.
As I was doing this just now, I looked at one of my style.com tabs. One of them had a link for the article Daul Kim Remembered. Anyone familiar with news articles would know that this means that someone has died. I was shocked, and eager to find out what happened. Did someone kill her? Did she have a mysterious illness that no one beyond her close circle knew about? Or was this article just an article about Daul Kim doing something worth writing an article about?
Model Daul Kim died from an apparent suicide in her Paris apartment yesterday (Thursday). It's sad. While I'm not a fan of hers, it's always sad to hear that someone has died at such a young age (she was 20). It's even sadder when you learn that the person has chosen to end his/her own life. They could have been able to accomplish more with their lives had they been alive and living. It's sad and disappointing. It gives me chills to the bone. The thought of it.
Yeah, I'm going to go know. Good first (but short) rant.
I decided to create a blog for the sake of creating a blog. I don't expect anyone to read it, and probably nobody will, but I made one. I plan on using this as just my journal. With the stress that I deal with in college, I need an outlet to let out my thoughts and feelings. Even if no one will be there to read or hear what I have to say, at least those thoughts aren't just stuck within the confines of my memory--forcing me to dread every moment I think about them. Recording them allows me to avoid being torn between whether or not I want to remember those memories or force them out completely. You know, I don't want to force them out completely like they do in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, because the experiences I've had make up who I am. I take pride in that.
At the moment, I should be studying for Chinese class. Tomorrow...actually today, Friday, I have to recite a portion of a conversation in one of my Chinese text books. It's a lot more challenging than the ones we've had in the past. I didn't start memorizing it as soon I was supposed to...which was the beginning of this week. Now, I have to cram it all in. I'm incredibly tired, so we'll see how far I can go with it. As we were leaving class on Wednesday, I believe Huang laoshi (my Chinese professor) said that--unlike the conversations we've had in the past--this is going to be a monologue. =O
I believe I have ADD/ADHD or some degree of it. Actually, a lot of people do, but I feel like I have a higher degree of it than most do. I'll elaborate on the possibility that I might have it later. Where I'm trying to go with this is that my short attention span contributes to the ridiculous amount of tabs I have on my 2 windows of Firefox right now. To clean it up, every now and then, I would X them out. But before I do, I check to make sure that it's not an important site that I want to check out later.
As I was doing this just now, I looked at one of my style.com tabs. One of them had a link for the article Daul Kim Remembered. Anyone familiar with news articles would know that this means that someone has died. I was shocked, and eager to find out what happened. Did someone kill her? Did she have a mysterious illness that no one beyond her close circle knew about? Or was this article just an article about Daul Kim doing something worth writing an article about?
Model Daul Kim died from an apparent suicide in her Paris apartment yesterday (Thursday). It's sad. While I'm not a fan of hers, it's always sad to hear that someone has died at such a young age (she was 20). It's even sadder when you learn that the person has chosen to end his/her own life. They could have been able to accomplish more with their lives had they been alive and living. It's sad and disappointing. It gives me chills to the bone. The thought of it.
Yeah, I'm going to go know. Good first (but short) rant.
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