Food Revolution!

It's a REVOLUTION

Jamie Oliver, a noted chef and celebrity has brought his cause over to the US. Settling in the heart West Virginia, he meets resistance as he tries to change the way people eat to make them healthier. This show is one of the most interesting things I have ever watched. One of the first episodes that I have watched showed children who couldn't identify simple vegetables such as potatoes and carrots. Children who couldn't use utensils! It is unbelievable and unfathomable to me. The show portrays how negatively Jamie is received and the resistance he meets. For more information CLICK HERE. You can see it for yourself or sign a petition.

WATCH THE SHOW

Help be the CHANGE!

Something new about me...

I LOVE Nature

Deforestation and the thought of extinction makes me upset. However, this video below made me a bit hopeful. I actually would love to visit this place someday.

Ignorance
n. the lack of knowledge or education

I am finally on March break, and let me tell you, I was SO excited to go home. I live hours from Philadelphia, so I don't get to go home very often. My friends, on the other hand too, but that is a rant for another time. Home is comfort, family, laughter, memories, bonding, headaches, and anger. I have a dear part of my life, and we will name this part locomotive ignorance (LI). LI is someone whom I love dearly, but it is not so easy. Nobody is perfect, and I should know. I am a huge pain in the ass. Just ask my friends. However, LI holds a special place in my prayers when I ask for strength.

I think it took about two hours before I was fantasizing about gagging him, and tying his hands together so he couldn't remove it. Some of you may be thinking, that is not very social worky, and I know, but I am not the Dalai Lama, and LI oversteps the line way too many times. It goes from homophobia, to racism to I don't even know what next, maybe the denial held in LI's heart. A lot of LI's connections go way over my head as well such as the new Disney movie the Princess and the Frog was only made because we have a black president. Riddle me this, how in the world does that make any sense at all? It also falls under Wall-E is a secret subliminal message on the Democratic agenda.

Philadelphia I miss, you. Save me from messing with LI's over righteous tracks.
Anyways, this song is in dedication to LI. I love Wilco, and this song just puts my thoughts to music, especially the quote below. Enjoy!

It's become so obvious
You are so oblivious to yourself

Weather can cause all types of problems, but one man died in Pittsburgh due to bad weather, and inefficient services. Read all about it HERE

The past few weeks have been almost nothing but stress. Why I chose to go and take 18 credits is often beyond me. Between doing schoolwork and finding a job for the summer and next school year, I have been going insane. Looking for ways to relax, I will exercise or watch some tv. My new favorite show came to me during a relaxing time. Call it my new guilty pleasure.

RuPaul's Drag Race has brought a smile to my face. If you haven't watched this show, you should! It is hilarious, and some of the girls look so real!

Shhhh

SILENCE IS GOLDEN

Or so we are told. In my opinion, I think it is a great way to be, and I aspire to be like that. Why? Because at times, I have diarrhea of the mouth, and cannot seem to shut up when need be. My parents raised me to be polite and true to myself, unfortunately, everyone else was sarcastic and spoke their minds. It seems that here in Philadelphia, it tends to get me into trouble with my friends from time to time. I needed to give something up for lent, maybe it's my abilities to be a total asshole. I just have those moments, where afterword I am like OH SHIT I should not have said that. Then I end up kicking myself for about a week afterwords. If anyone has a cure for foot in mouth syndrome, I would love the solution!


Credit
http://annonce.deviantart.com/

Love Someone Today

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

Not everyone has a significant other to celebrate it with (Guilty!)

Although I am technically spending it "on my own," I have found that there are many other ways I could be celebrating it. I have gotten some ideas from online, and kind of admire, how people have chosen to reinvent the holiday.

Click > COMPASSION. FUN. LAUGH.LEARN. GIVE. HELP. REMEMBER < Here

I just want people to also remember those who will not be able to make it to Valentine's Day, ans the families who are forced to live without them. On this day of Love, it is important to remember them too. Have a great day everyone, and remember that someone loves you!

SNOW

Snow has hit Philly pretty hard, and smart me, thought it wouldn't be a big deal. Yesterday I woke up, and it looked like I was back home! The big difference is, that at home, we are used to the weather, so when something like this happens, roads are cleared up quickly and in a timely manner, but down here, it isn't as expected. Instead of running around, I spent my day watching movies, and completing the Underworld series. If you ask me, it is a great way to spend a day snowed in.

Bathroom Confessions

I went out into the city the other day, and had lunch in a diner with my friend. Before braving the cold, and remembering that there are no free bathrooms in Philly, I stopped to use the toilet. Apparently, no matte how nice the place, the bathroom will ALWAYS have something interesting about it.





If the bathroom wasn't so dirty, I would have stayed longer to read these bathroom confessions. It was definitely something that I wasn't expecting to see, most of the bathroom writing I read is extremely inappropriate, but some of these seemed kind of personal. I wonder if people ever walk out of something as mundane from a bathroom, feeling better after making some sort of confession.

Okay, so I was excited about pretty much nothing. I didn't get the job that I had interviewed for, and I am pretty frustrated, not sure about what to do. I am a college kid fighting adults with degrees for a job. How will I fair? Things are probably sure to get better, but right now, I am kind of discouraged.

I have an interview!!!

Photo credit: http://www.visioncoachinginc.com

So my first winter break is not as breakish as I had hoped. I have spent a good amount of time applying for a summer job. This year my fingers are crossed and my heart is set on working at a camp for kids with emotional and behavior disorders. Very extensive applications, which is what they don't tell you. Hopefully I get everything done though, anyways, here is a little clip!








Credit: http://resumeprescreen.com/resources/DeskFilledWithResumes.JPG

Yes, I know it seems like a large thing, but I saw this movie, and I feel like it is something to recognize and remember. So often we take the time to make an opinion and keep it, but sometimes we just need to stick it out, and see. It was a wake up call for me. Can be watched at Loombo. Just watch it, it's awesome.

Picture Credit: Tribute

I am absolutely flustered when...

I make an off the cuff judgment, or lose my temper and then someone says, "That's not cool, aren't you planning on being a social worker?".
That one phrase drives me crazy, for some reason it makes me feel like I should become this zen master Buddha and deny any form of anger, frustration, excited feelings and what not. Take everything with a grain of salt and just be like "Whatever happens, happens, let's go hug a tree..." It's like I am some super hippy that should love everything, but I don't. If it makes me a bad social worker, then I guess someone should suggest a new career path, but I think that I am only human, and I can't be perfect, especially when I am but a young freshman.

FELIZ NAVIDAD!

Home For the Holidays

This is the milestone in being that it is the first year that I am coming home for an extended holiday in my college experience. Some people see it as a rite or passage, maybe growing up and experiencing a new path in life, but to me, it shows a shift, a symbolizing of growing up and moving on. Honestly, it is a bit scary sometimes. I am the youngest child, and so to come home for the first time after an extended absence from home feels strange. The elders are getting ready to move on in their lives, and at this time next year, we may not all be together the same way that we are now. A few years ago, I would have probably had a full blown anxiety attack, but now, I am starting the accept the changes, maybe not as gracefully as I would like, but I am accepting them.

For example, when did my parents start to look so tired? I know that a part of it is due to taking care of my grandparents, but the age is starting to show on their faces. They are no longer the invincible pair that I once saw. This year, I may be watching tv show marathons with my siblings, but they will be graduating soon, and I could possibly be braving this four week vacation by myself, without a job.

At the same time, I cant help but rejoice in life moving on. I am finally studying the area that I wanted to study as a student working with people. For once, I am at a school, where I don't hate myself or the people as much as I used to just a few years ago. People are starting to see me a little faster than they used to, and I am growing even deeper in my relationships that count. Even though the environment of this year may not be the same next year, I can smile and know that no matter what, I will have these memories and deepening relationships with the people I know and love.

Tis The Season

The most stressful week at the end of the semester is the one before finals. It feels as though all of the professors have realized that they have a crapload to catch up on. This is not one sided of course. Every student realizes that the assignments they were supposed to be working on all semester will be due in about three days time. I would say that coffee distributors make a lot of money during these times, although I personally do not drink it myself.

My workload is not too bad, but at the same time, I am trying to finish all of my Christmas shopping for the best type of values possible. It is a not so very nice task, and I really would enjoy taking a nao, but I think I can pull all of this work off, well I kind of don't have a choice, merit scholarships come with GPA requirements. I swear the roomie has less than I do. I barely see her going to class and in her spare time she has been playing farmville and making like 20 candycane decorations and hanging them on our door outside. How she manages to have enough time to do soemthing like that is beyond me. The most mysterious wonders in the world begin in my head. Only one and a half more weeks and I will be home.



Credit: Refracted Moments at Flickr

Living in Filth

Okay, so I just spent the better half of my day cleaning my dorm room. I usually pick up my stuff and then dust, but today I went even farther and vacuumed as well. What I have just realized is that despite the fact that my dear roommate has all of the cleaning supplies, she has failed to clean anything since we have arrived. She goes home a lot of weekends, but during the week, when she is not in classes, chances are she is in the room on facebook. Now, if she did not have time, I would understand, but seeing as she had all the time in the world to paint a big ass turkey on our window, I think it is safe to say that she has time. Her vacuum is also about the size of a cat, so you know, it's an effective time saver...
When I first came to college, I was worried about being the messy roommate, but now that I am here, I see that I am the cleaner one. This in itself is a massive revelation, and I hope that I can keep it up.
As for the shy boy who liked me, I am not sure what will become of that one. I hear he has been denying that he likes me and no longer acknowledges my presence any longer when we pass each other. My friends are probably more upset than I am, but that's how life works I guess.

Today is the national day for To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA). I have done my duty for support. The only downside to actually having the day in November, is that it is too cold to just walk around with an exposed arm. For those of you who have no idea what I am even talking about, TWLOHA is a non-profit organization supporting people who struggle with depression, self injury, addiction, etc. A really good cause, and if you missed the day this year, there's always next year!

The Roommate

I realize that colleges try to match people with their roommates based on personality, but in my opinion they screwed up with me. Before I went to college, I e-mailed my roommate and through e-mail thought we would be good friends. Come move in day, I found it wasn't the case. My roommate was not what I expected, she was awkward and quiet, and I just didn't feel comfortable at all. It only took a few weeks for me to have a good group of friends, and yet she had none at all. She took to following us around, inviting herself to dinner or any activity we were going to.

It would be unfair to say that she is weird, but she is definitely someone I would never hang out with. Her stories are not funny, and after she's done with them, the whole room will go quiet on account of having nothing to say. Coming into college she had a boyfriend, but I never really heard much about him. She was never even on the phone. When they broke up, she was sad, but I had a hard time feeling sympathetic. How can you show sympathy for someone who won't even talk to their significant other on the phone?

She never leaves the room unless she's in classes. She does eat with other people sometimes, but it's at the point where I can barely stay in my room. The case of the awkward roommate. Hopefully next year will be better.
Credit: ehow.com