New Years Resolutions for 2011!!!!

2010 was quite an interesting year. I had a breast biopsy done, became best friends with Melissa Graziano, graduated from high school, started my first semester of college, joined a sorority, got appendicitis, and met my amazing boyfriend Law Griffith. Looking back, I would say the good things from 2010 far outweighed the bad, but I can not wait for what 2011 has in store for me. 2011 is bound to be filled with great memories and fun times. But it will also be very productive. I have several goals that I am determined to achieve by the end of this new year.

1. Become a lomographer and bring my camera with me everywhere I go, never missing an opportunity for the perfect shot and practicing my photography until I have mastered the art.
2. Bring my sketchbook with me to almost every place I go and draw or paint or do something art related any time I am bored, thus perfecting my art skills and experiencing various mediums of art.
3. Quit biting my nails because my hands are so much prettier when I don't bite them and it looks more professional.
4. Keep my room clean and organized because I am more focused and happy when my workspace is clean and I am determined to be focused this year.
5. Get all A's and B's in my classes for Spring, Summer and Fall of 2011 and bring up my GPA despite the beating it took this year due to being unfocused and appendicitis.
6. Be as healthy as possible: Take my vitamins every day, go to the gym three times a week or start running every day, get enough sleep, and eat three meals a day at least ESPECIALLY breakfast which I have never done before. No more appendicitis issues and I need to gain weight. Health and fitness are very important to contributing to a good year.

I am excited to see how 2011 turns out for me and I am determined to make sure all my resolutions come to pass. Wishing everyone a happy new year and I hope the world gets their resolutions completed by 2012 :)

Homemade Color Filters forPhotography

Here is a great article I found on how to make your own colored filters for photography purposes. I plan on trying this very soon as it uses cheap materials you can probably find around your house. The instructions are simple and should be simple enough a project to do.

Homemade Color Filter from DIY Photography

Flowers :)

My grandma had been feeling sicky-poo so me and my mom went to a local U-Pick to pick her some flowers and one of my favorite subjects to photograph is flowers. This year, 2011, I am determined to step it up with my photography, and practice makes perfect.

Lomography

Urban Dictionary defines it as:
a type of art photography in which color is emphasized. Traditionally, cameras such as the Holga, Lomo, Colorsplash, and Supersampler are used to create strange and unusual photographs. Lomographic photos are primarily characterized by vignettes (blurry and faded edges), random subjects, and nonadherance to traditional photography rules.


I recently went to an Urban Outfitters with a friend who is a photography major at Ringling College and was looking at their Fisheye Cameras for about $48 and she said that she had bought one and told me it actually worked pretty well and I have another friend who owns a Diana camera and I know for a fact that it works well. These Lomographic cameras are considered toy cameras but I have seen some of the photos taken online and was very impressed with the artistic side of this photography. I immediately put them on my wish list and since they are not the most expensive film cameras in the world, they are actually reachable goals. I think my favorite aspect about this "lomography" is the philosophy behind it: Take your camera wherever you may go and just go about capturing life at its greatest moments and most banal and realize how amazing it really is. Art is supposed to show you just what the world can offer you and this unconventional approach manages to do just that. It views the world in a different light. A light I sometimes look through and wish I could capture. The reason I am so into photography and art.
Here are some examples of lomography I found online. NONE OF THESE PHOTOS ARE MINE





Rules of Lomography as Stated by the Lomographic Society
1. Take your camera wherever you go.
2. Use it any time - day and night.
3. Lomography is not an interference in your everyday life, but a part of it.
4. Try the shot from the hip.
5. Approach the objects of your lomographic desire as close as possible.
6. Don't think.
7. Be fast.
8. You don't have to know beforehand what you captured on film.
9. Afterwards either.
10. Don't worry about any rules.


Basically, go nilly-willy. Have fun and be unconventional. Just whatever comes to mind. I'm sure you can do this with a DSLR camera as well as long as you use self control and do not look at the pictures after they have been taken, but these cameras are so simple and the simplicity of them is what makes their creations an art.

Finals Week

Stressing, studying, think think thinking. So much stress in just two weeks. In these two weeks I prove that I have been paying attention in class and diligently reading my books. Sure, I haven't necessarily been to every class and I may have skipped a chapter or two, but now I get to catch up and show them what a genius I am. Now I get to see if those nights I chose to stay in instead of party really paid off and they will because I have high goals... except maybe in math. Today is my first final exam for my ecology lab and like always I've put studying for it last minute. I am studying for it now, but as I'm looking at the material I have a feeling that these two weeks are going to go a lot smoother than I thought and I am going to end up prouder of myself than I believed I could. I just hope this feeling is right. Now enough writing about studying and actually getting to it!

No place like home... for the holidays only please

I’m Puerto Rican so I have a very extensive family. And most times I just want to run away from them all, pretend like they don’t exist. But every year when it comes time for the holidays, meaning the important ones like Thanksgiving and Christmas, there is nothing more I love than to be smothered and surrounded by the hundreds of people that are related to me in some way or another and feel that because of this relation they have some say in my life and what I do with it.

I just cannot imagine Thanksgiving without a full house and too much food that somehow manages to get completely devoured. Without the craziness, I feel it would not be the holidays.

The same goes for Christmas. I can’t picture a Christmas without every child running around like a crazy person barefoot and screaming, wrapping paper floating behind them. I used to be one of them and I have so much love for these memories.

My family may be huge and irritating and meddlesome and critical but they are also loving and forgiving and loyal and definitely a force to be reckoned with.  I wouldn’t trade my family for any other as hodgepodged and crazy as they are. It just makes me sad that it takes a major family holiday for me to realize that. I really will try to remember it more often

Medical Marijuana

As a child, I was always told that the reason marijuana is deemed illegal is because of the dangers it poses to my health. However, as I got older, I found out that marijuana is sometimes prescribed legally by physicians after certain kinds of medical procedures or for specific medical conditions. If marijuana is so harmful to a person’s health, why is it that doctors prescribe it for medical purposes? Are doctor’s putting their patients at risk? I decided to research what the medical uses of marijuana are, how they positively and negatively affect the patient and how effective its use medicinally is.

The first thing I looked into was the history of marijuana use in medicine. According to Sula Benet in her paper “Early Diffusion and Folk Uses of Hemp” (hemp being another name for the cannabis drug), the drug originated in Asia and Africa, working its way into Europe as a kind of “cure-all” medicine because of the properties it had on the user. It was used after pregnancies, for headaches, earaches, tranquilizer, prevent convulsions, and even fevers. For a very long time, marijuana was used only for medicinal or spiritual purposes. It was not until very recently that people began using it recreationally and the question of health risks came into play.

I felt that I needed more current information about how marijuana is used in the medical field now. On ProCon.org I found out that it is used for a variety of different diseases and medical conditions from Tourette’s , migraines and arthritis to more serious diseases like multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s and AIDS.  Basically the calming effect of the cannabis drug helps these patients by subduing some of their more severe and uncomfortable symptoms of their disease such as getting rid of migraines by releasing pressure built up from stress, behavioral problems, nervous tics, and even, surprisingly enough, balance. 

The Americans for Safe Access (ASA) states in a booklet of theirs, “Cannabinoids have been shown in animal models to measurably lessen [multiple sclerosis] symptoms and may also halt the progression of the disease. In Maria Ceballos, PhD’s article “Prevention of Alzheimer’s disease Pathology by Cannabinoids: Neuroprotection Mediated by Blockage of Microglial Activation" published in the Journal of Neuroscience in February 2005, she argues that “cannabinoids succeed in preventing the neurodegenerative process occurring in the disease." However, Helen Phillips in her 2009 article, “Medical Cannabis Is a Blunt Tool,” published in New Scientist magazine states that THC, the chemical in marijuana that has such a controversial effect on humans, creates problems between the signals from our brain to our nervous systems and other parts of our bodies affected by these diseases using prescription marijuana.

As a kid and teenager, many “effects” of marijuana were told to us about the effect of marijuana on our bodies and to our health by our parents, teachers, and the media. For example, if you smoke, then your DNA will change. If you smoke, then your grades and attitude about life will go down, or if you smoke, you will get fat. Also, if you smoke, you will become addicted. After a lot of research I found that the only one myth that I had been told was true: if you smoke, you take the risk of acquiring a respiratory infection or even developing lung cancer.  According to a survey done by Joel Simon Hochman, M.D. in his book Marijuana and Social Evolution, many college students saw an increase in their grades mostly because of their positive outlook on life after they started smoking on a regular basis. B.R. Elejalde disproves the myth that using marijuana can change your chromosomes in his article “Marijuana and Genetic Studies in Colombia: The Problem in the City and in the Country.” What did cause abnormalities in those who smoked were those that also tried more synthetic drugs like LSD. The problem there is that marijuana is sometimes seen as a “gateway drug” but it does not actually do the damage of the drugs most commonly tried after it. In fact, Elejalde proves that marijuana has no negative effects on DNA, reproductive capabilities or libido whatsoever.

Different views exist on whether the use of cannabis as a medicine is safe or not, however I feel that the arguments made against have not been very strong or well-informed. For example, in the Eagle Forum, the brochure “Facts You Need to Know About Marijuana” mentions that it has ill effects on a person’s chromosomes, reproductive organs, and lungs. On the other hand, Frank Lucido, M.D. says in his article "Implementation of the Compassionate Use Act in a Family Medical Practice” that cannabis has historically been safe and effective as far as medicine goes, that it might be a more cost-effective solution than other pharmaceutical drugs, and it might possibly have less negative side-effects.

Finally, to conclude my research, I went straight to the source of my questioning: an officer who helps out with the D.A.R.E. programs at schools. I confronted him with the research I had found regarding marijuana use, the ill effects, and positive effects. Then, I asked him whether there would honestly be any problem with using marijuana, as far as a person’s health is concerned, as long as it was not smoked, but rather taken orally. His opinion was that, although he felt that it should not be used medicinally, the health effects would be greatly decreased because the chances of developing lung cancer would diminish.

After conducting all of my research I was able to determine that marijuana is a natural drug that has been used for centuries all over the world to cure all sorts of ailments that affect humans on a regular basis. I found that studies are being conducted to see how helpful the cannabis drug can be in preventing, stopping or halting the acceleration of more serious medical conditions and that thus far, not enough studies have been made or completed. I also was able to discover that many of the effects told to us as children are not true and have been scientifically proven so.

My research has led me to think that more research should be done regarding the medicinal uses of cannabis. Perhaps those in the past were right and this natural drug is an answer to all our problems. Or maybe it just can help ease the pain and comfort those that have serious ailments. However, I do feel that it should not be handed out to just anyone who gets a headache, or at least should have some laws that come with it. Just like alcohol, marijuana does impair the user and therefore no one should drive or operate heavy machinery while under its effects. Also, if more research is done, scientists may be able to find a way to use marijuana without any harmful effects to a person’s long-term health.

Phi Mu Definition

The definition of a Phi Mu girl: Cute enough to make you look twice, Sweet enough but not too nice, A lil crazy but not to wild, The kind of girl that will make you SMILE. A girl who believes in the basis of Love, Honor, & Truth. A girl that is cute but not a push over. Respected yet fun to hang out with. A lady that is dressed to impress, that can still make you laugh.

Creepers

The very strangest people insist on occupying this Earth with me. I don't know if anyone else has quite as many experiences with creepers or maybe they just aren't as aware of it as I am, but at least once a day I encounter a creeper. It's like a rule for my life or something! Today I was driving to this appointment I had to go to for work and, as I was waiting in a turn lane, I caught this guy in the adjacent lane looking at me and when he realized I had caught him he pointed at me and waved and gave me some weird creep-o smile, so I could do absolutely nothing else but smile sorta kinda funny back at him and wave like I was weirded out, which I totally was! So I carefully ignored him for the rest of the time but I sneaked a peak as I was turning and the dude was on his phone, smiled at me again and pointed at me like he was talking about me or something... Very strange people out in this world. And, Creeper, if you are reading this: next time please roll down your window and say something to make me NOT think you are a creeper. OK, bye now :)

Sisterhood

It's been a while since I last wrote. Life started to catch up with me and since I can't sleep right now (damn insomnia) I guess I should tell the world about what I've learned in the past month or so. I recently joined a sorority called Phi Mu (for more info check out their website www.phimu.org) and I've been experiencing what it is like to have sisters.

To some people joining a sorority is like joining a cult. Some don't see the point since they are already a sister to someone. I joined Phi Mu because I wanted to meet and get to know a group of girls with ideals similar to mine, who will have my back when I need it and who give me something to look forward to each week and Phi Mu has not disappointed me thus far.

For the couple of weeks that I have been a member of Phi Mu Theta Gamma I have learned so much about some of these girls and gotten to be very close to a few. And I've felt accepted and wanted and sometimes even needed. Being in a sorority is more than just being a clique. It's about learning how to make your own family, because I do believe that you can make your own family.
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Being in a sorority has made me involved in ways that I never knew was possible. I am going to be dancing in a homecoming performance! And I will be participating in community service activities on campus. Its gotten me to be more social with other people. And I haven't found it hard at all to make new friends. And it has taught me to be a leader. For once in my life I ran for a position on a council. I am one of the proud historians of the pledge class of 2010! I know it isn't president or anything but it puts me out there. And I am proud of my position.

The point is there is more to being a sister than partying it up, getting good grades and making connections. In just a couple of weeks, I've made friends that I know will be for life, that help me when I am in need.

Sisterhood is about being able to be yourself with your sisters and them loving you for exactly that person that you are, no matter how wacky, nerdy, or high strung that person might be. Sisterhood is believing that your sisters can do things that they have never done before because they are willing to try and get up there when no one else was. Sisterhood is about family, trust, love and loyalty.

As a sister I can not talk about certain things because they are sacred and secret and I have made a promise and a bond to my sisters that I refuse to break, but just no this:
Being a Phi Mu, even just a provisional member, has made me the happiest I have been in a long time and I wouldn't trade my bid or my decision to rush for any other. I know I have made ht right choice and that great experiences, life lessons and family are about to come my way.

Truth, Honor, Love. Phi Mu

Now a Part of the Workforce

As of this weekend I officially joined the millions of Americans who are happily or unhappily a part of that which we call the workforce. I had lots of fears about having a job, no matter how much I wanted one or needed one.For instance, I was terrified that I couldn't do the job, that I wouldn't be capable because I would be too stupid or whatever (I know, stupid, but that's how it is). And then I was also worried that I would be focusing too much on work and that I wouldn't have time for school or my friends. That my grades would drop and I'd be stuck in some two-bit job for the rest of my life because I flunked out of college. Or that I would lose all my friends because I was working constantly and I would steadily become this unhappy person that all they had in their life was work and school. I didn't realize that my time management skills are much better than I thought. Even working 14 hours this weekend I managed to finish all the schoolwork I needed to complete, sleep enough and hang out with my friends. All of my friends. And next weekend I feel I wil do just as well. I've sort of made up a kind of life schedule for myself. Where I need to do at least one social thing a week, one school event a week and have one day a week where I sleep in. Then all the rest of the time I can focus on school and work and I will still have a life. I feel like I have finally started accomplishing something in my life. Now I have school and a job and all I need to do is start incorporating art into my life again and it will all go perfectly. And I have a feeling that I'll be able to figure out how to figure that in.Once I have, my life is on track and actually have a life.

One of Those Days

I'm just having one of those days that makes you feel all out of sorts. You know. When you sit back and realize that today is just not your day and just maybe you should not have stepped forth. It started last night when I couldn't find clothes for my new job at a price I could afford, continued when I realized I had left my lunch box behind in class. Then this morning I didn't sleep as late as I could have because even my body is rebelling against me. And when I went to make my lunch, I had to end up taking a ham and cheese sandwhich since I couldn't find a tupperware that fit inside my tiny Snoopy tine can lunch box. I got into several nasty little snippets with my grandmother which I'm sure I'll hear about later from my mother and then it started raining after my first class when I had to get stuff from my car parked all the way at the opposite end of the Univerity of course. And as I finally get to my car... It stops raining!!! After I've already gotten soaking wet THEN the skies open up to let the sun out! The injustice of it, I'm telling you. Now when I check my e-mail, of course my math proffessor sent me an e-mail long after I had already gone to sleep for the night so I don't have what I need printed out for class and then I'm behind on my6 schedule for reading for my geography class (which has been the only highlight of my day) and that time of the month is quickly approaching. I almost slipped and died right in front of Graham Center and I wasn't even running. I have a party to go to tonight that I'm seriously reconsidering since I just may get slipped something today since it seems to be my day for horribleness. Come on world! Let's see what else you can throw at me....

When You Learn Something New

I find it interesting how, when you learn or discover something new, that has always existed or has existed for is not a new concept, it seems to follow you around and make itself as obviously there as possible. For example, in my Geography class, I recently learned the term globalization and all the little nuances that fall under that term. Now, globalization has existed for longer than I can even trace my ancestors and I know that I participate in it every day, but I never realize how much a part of my daily life and the world it was a part of until I learned about it in class. Now, it's like every day I notice something, or several things, that have to do with globalization: Facebook, the kids at my school, eating at McDonalds, buying products at WalMart. Every time I look at the tags on my clothes and toys and pens and everything that has a "Made in China" or Made in Indonesia" or wherever it was made, I'm aware of how that is globalization and all the effects that it implies. It's almost the same, except on a less serious scale, as when I was in middle school and I discovered Converse sneakers for the very first time. I'm sure everyone wore them before I learned about them. Maybe even people that were close to me. I just never seemed to notice them until my sixth grade year and then I was like "woah!" She's wearing them and he's wearing them too! What a coincidence? Not really. They were a pretty common shoe, just not for me at the time. I don't know if it's like that for everyone, but I know that every time I learn something that seems to have an impact on me or that really sticks in my head all of a sudden I see it everywhere. I see globalization in the book I read for pleasure and in the newspaper and on Facebook. I see Converse on everyone I meet and in stores, in magazines, etc. I just find it kind of amazing that the things you learn can actually open your eyes to the world. I makes me feel like maybe I just did learn something new

Doing What You Love Matters Most

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/education/26HUMANITIES.html?_r=1&sq=The%20Humanities%20for%20Love,%20Not%20Money&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=1&adxnnlx=1282914130-FVvGqAPbzl7AgpPW9Y4pUg

I just finished reading an article from the New York Times ( I know I'm one of the few weirdo 18 year olds who actually read the newspaper) and fell in love with this it! It talks about how all the statistics point to the fact that interest in degrees in the humanities and arts are growing after the recession. I've always thought it was more important to do what you love rather than what was going to make you a millionaire. I figure that if you are doing what makes you happy, everything else will just fall into place, and honestly, I've heard being a millionaire isn't all it's cracked up to be anyway. I'm so glad to see the growing trend of lawyers, doctors, and business-people who continue their education and decide to look into a field in the arts or humanities. Few people realize how important they really are, but when you think about it, our society and cultures would not be the way they are without our basic knowledge of the arts and humanities and a desire to delve more deeply into that knowledge, regardless of the kind of pay you know you will be receiving, I respect that so much. So to all my family that put down my goals of getting an art degree with a minor in art history and business, here's to you: I'm going to do what I love, I'm going to love what I do and I'm going to be so much happier than the rest of America!

First Week of College is Almost Done and Man Did It Fly By

My first week of college is soon coming to a close and I have to say that it has been one of the best experiences I have had so far. Being in college is very different from high school. It kind of reminds of being at like a workshop where I have a bunch of options as to what sessions I can attend and I attend the one that most appeals to me and then I meet up with my friends for fun stuff in between. There is an entire life to be had on campus if you want there to be. For one thing you can live on campus which would actually make things so much easier, I'm considering doing it if I get enough financial aid and scholarships next fiscal year. For another thing, you can work on campus which puts you so much closer to the action. Then there are all the events that they have there. Charity events, concerts, pep rallies, sports games, parties, socials, club meetings, etc. It's totally huge. They have places to eat there and not just a dingy cafeteria although the food there is really great too, but actual places like Jamba Juice, Chick-fil-A, Chili's, etc. If you live on campus there's really never any reason to leave. I don’t live on campus (yet) but I do plan on getting involved and, even though I already have a secure job at the airport, I'm going to see about finding a job on campus because it will be more convenient for me considering traffic, parking, schoolwork, etc. I'm already looking into joining a sorority. I thought the dues would be way out of my price range, but I found out that some of them are actually really very doable. Like Alpha Zeta Delta has dues at $350/semester and then you buy your own shirts or none of them at all if you don’t want. Me and Meli went to the Greek Barbeque yesterday and really got to know some Phi Mus and are really considering them as a possible option. Both of us! It isn't necessary for us to be in the same sorority but it would be really nice. And we already said that if it turns out Greek life isn't going to be for us for some reason or another, we'll make our own group called the Friendship Squad and live all together in Jackie's grandma's house (which is another thing we are thinking about). Apparently Jackie's grandmother is getting too old to live by herself so she may go live in Jackie' house and we can live in the grandma's house all of us together: Meli, Jackie, Sammy, and Kevin. That definitely sounds ideal. Well, anyway, I love the learning style of college; I love the freedom; I love the social scene; I love the food; I love absolutely anything there is to love about it! I even love my classes!

First Couple of Days of College

So I have officially experienced my first days of school, except for one class which is a bullshit class anyway (Freshman Experience, I know, how retarded) and I have to say that I really am loving it. I guess since you are only in the class for so long and classes aren't all day long it's easier for you to focus in class and actually feel excited about it. The two classes I'm most excited about taking are Ecology of South Florida and World Regional Geography which I already have homework for and I can tell I'm going to learn a lot. I know a lot of people look for slack classes with slack professors, but I feel that if you are actually paying for your education, you should be getting something out of it. I haven't been late to any of my classes (thank God) and I've liked all my teachers for the most part. I'm still not sure about my English teacher, but we'll see. I have a feeling she's one of those that you like sometimes and other times not so much. I haven't just been going to class either. I've been socializing with my friends I brought with me from Ferguson and even chatting it up with some I haven't ever hung out with or haven't seen in forever. And today I attended the Greek Life Barbecue and learned about some of the sororities I will be rushing and all about Rush Week and Bid Day and stuff. I really think joining a sorority is the best way for me to get involved on campus and still keep my grades up. They do a lot of community service events as well as attending games and playing some sports games themselves (intramural sports), plus events, socials, formals, mixers, etc with all of your sisters. They are really big on keeping your academics up though so I will be sure to have a study support system and maybe even have a sister who can tutor me if I'm struggling. So far, I have my ideas of which sororities I'm interested in and I can't wait till Rush Week to see if my ideas are correct.

F-I-U!!!

Ole Ole Ole Ole
FIU... FIU...
Ole Ole Ole Ole
FIU... FIU...


Don't give me a word, a word
Don;t give me a phrase, a phrase
Just give me that beat
Oh, that Panther beat
Go Panthers!!


Hey Panthers!
Yeah?
Hey Panthers!
Yeah?
Are you readyy to jigalo?
Hell yeah! I've got my paws up high, my tail down low and that's the way I jigalo!
Jigalooo Jig Jig-a loooo.
Jig a loo. Jig Jig a loooo.

First Day of College Anxieties and Excitements

     Monday is my very first day of college at FIU and like all new roads that we take there are certain things that can seem exciting and make us stick our heads out the window so we can see what is out there, but at the same time we make sure that we drive with our hazard lights on just in case and keep our eyes peeled for deer crossing the road.
     I think that after going to Panther Camp I am definitely more excited about going to a new place and meeting new people and starting my life. There's all these cool things to do at FIU that  didn't know about and I'm excited about rushing sororities and movie nights and Homecoming and all that stuff. Getting my textbooks today just made the whole start of school seem so real though and even though I'm excited to be starting, I'm also super nervous that things aren't going to meet my expectations or that I am going to be miserable, friendless and fail out of college.
     I know some of these fears are unfounded. Even if, on the off chance, I manage to make no friends I will always have the friends I have now so me being friendless is total BS. I guess I'm just worried that everyone in my classes will be totally chummy and I'll be the loser loner chick sitting by herself never talking, which I know isn't true because it's me and I always have to be talking to someone. Also, after going to Panther Camp, I realized that I wasn't that much of a loser and I do have some social skills even if they are minimal, and besides that, I know a lot of people going to FIU! The chances of me never seeing someone I know are very low. I'm also scared about not doing well though.
     Another unfounded fear. I'm not cocky or anything but I know that I'm book smart (although possibly not in math). How many people buy their textbooks and actually skim the first chapter of the books to see what their classes are like and how the books are set up?! And I'm totally excited about some of my classes and ready to start learning new things and researching the things that interest me. I know, I'm a weirdo. I guess the point is, that the likelihood that I will fail out of college is very low so I really have no reason to fear.
     Starting new is so hard, but I have already done it three times in my lifetime and, besides elementary school, I have been able to make each and every one of those new starts exciting, memorable and actually pretty pleasant circumstances considering. College can't be all that different. In fact, the likelihood is that it will be better. So Monday I start brand new with a positive attitude and hope for betterment, excitement and new beginnings.

Catch-22: Ugh I Can't Stand This Book!

The last book that I wanted to read before the summer was over was Catch-22, which is supposed to be about this guy named Yossarian who is a bombardier in a war and i constantly trying to escape fighting in the war and feels that everyone is trying to kill him and that there is this ridiculous law called Catch-22 where if you are crazy you don't have to fly the planes but if you try to turn yourself in saying you are crazy so you don't have to fly you are obviously perfectly sane so you are forced to continue fighting. I know, it's complicated to understand even when I try to write it. Needless to say I had heard mixed feelings about this book. There were quite a few people who said that this was the funniest book they ever read, their most favorite book ever. And then there was the people telling me that they couldn't even get past the first 20 pages, they thought it was stupid, didn't understand it, etc.Needless to say (if you read the title of this entry) I have to concur with the latter. This book, although not stupid, was so very difficult to understand. The way Heller writes it it sounds like a crazy person speaking and it flashes into the past and future and present with no warning so you never have any clue where you are in the story. I couldn't even finish it, although I did manage to get more than halfway (probably only because I was forcing myself too). Nonetheless, I totally hated this book. Almost as much as I hates The Secret Garden when I was in elementary school. I couldn't stand it. Even if it is considered one of the best American fiction pieces to date. I really don't care and I don't recommend this book to anyone I didn't want to confuse and aggravate to pieces.

Shopping: Not Just for Girls!!!

We were making plans to go to an outlet mall today and were trying to decide whether or not to take my brother because he was being so negative. He said that he hated shopping and why should he go. But then my mom said that she wasn't going to buy anything for him unless he came because she wouldn't know what he liked and all of a sudden he found himself on a 45 minute drive to the outlet mall and it quickly became apparent that Adam did not mind shopping at all.... As long as it was for him, of course. While we were scouring the racks for great deals on hot clothes for him and helping him try on his finds he was in total heaven and totally OK with spending an hour or so in just one store, but as soon as we started looking for someone besides him, like myself or my mom, all of a sudden we were taking too long in the stores, he was hungry, he was tired, his back hurt, his feet were killing him. And I realized, it's not that he has a problem with shopping, it's that he has a problem if it isn't all about him! And I realized that most men are like this. Totally OK shopping for the stuff that they want or need (Home Depot and men's clothing, Best Buy, etc.) but as soon as it's the women's turn to think about someone other than them, shopping becomes a burden that they just can't handle...

The Pros and Cons of Vacationing

PROS

1. Getting to see new places.
2. Experiencing new things.
3. Beautiful scenery.
4. Your hair always manages to look amazing in places that are far away from home.
5. Your skin always clears up the further from home you get.

CONS

1. Missing your home and bed.
2. Your friends always manage to do all the funnest stuff of the year when you finally decide to go out of town.
3. Being totally out of the loop...
4. Feeling like a total outsider... 

Find us on Facebook!!!

After reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, I am woefully aware of how easy it is for someone with minimal hacking skills to completely learn all the important information that we all keep on our computers, but I figured that if you just used the computer to eat crap they couldn't really find anything so inconsequential and then I realized that people in today's society are the perfect candidates for stalkers. We are all constantly using websites like Facebook where if you aren't careful, a person could know where you are any minute of the day and we make it so easy for stalkers by updating our status every hour or so. All a person needs to do is trace the IP address of your status to find out what time and exactly where you updated said status (satellites are amazing things ladies and gentlemen, they can track you through your computer, phones, basically anything that connects you to other people or the rest of the world). It's enough to make any person paranoid and go caveman on you. But does modern society care whether you are so easily traced through these social networking systems? Do they mind if they can be so easily stalked? Do they care whether someone with some kind of creepy obsession can know exactly where you are every minute of the day and even trace your phone number and then address? absolutely not. In fact, we make it even easier for these psychos by posting our addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses out there for the whole world to see and use for their ultimate convenience. And we are all over the web: text messages, Facebook updates, Tweets and now Loopt (one I just found out about that breaks it down easily for stalkers right away by just giving them the address of where in the world you are right away so they don't even have to work too hard for it and can meet you there!). I have to say that I am almost as guilty as most because I am a Facebook junkie and my life is posted on there for the world to see. I just say here though looking through Facebook and I became amazed at how easily traced we are. That there is no running from anyone. They can always find. Pretty creepy, huh.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

I just recently finished reading this book and usually I'm not one of those people who go looking for the books on the bestseller lists. I try to make up my own lists, but this book really caught my attention. I was in Publix when I read the back of it and was amazed to see that it actually sounded really good! It turns out that I was right. 

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a mystery novel about a journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, and a misunderstood PI with some amazing research skills named Lisbeth Salander who are hired by this billionaire businessman to dig up and solve a case that has been dead and closed for 25 years. Blomkvist and Salander are pulled into an intriguing family history and a search for a dead girl's murderer and in the process learn some things about themselves.

This book is hard to put down. On the one hand you have mystery. On the other you have some romance and touching moments. It's also brilliantly written and  very graphic at points. Completely enjoyable, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to try and unravel a good mystery.

My Day in Cocoa Beach

I absolutely love this place. Well, I love any beach that is. The weather was beyond beautiful today and I continued with my obnoxious photographing chronicle of our Family Road Trip. I actually got some pictures of the place we are staying at, Wakulla Suites. They've got this beautiful tropical garden in the entire middle of the courtyard with pathways you can walk through. The place looks like some out of the way hotel place in the middle of the rain-forest was cut and pasted out of a magazine advertisement to South America or something. It's really pretty homey and I'm thinking of suggesting to my friends that we come here next summer or maybe on a 3-day weekend during the school year. Just to get a way for a little while. I feel amazing and I've only been gone one day. So here are some pictures highlighting my day. For the full collection and play-by-play captions visit my Facebook album: Summer Family Road Trip 2010

By the way, some of these picture were taken by my mother. The captions on facebook should tell you which ones are hers. Enjoy!

First Day of the Family Road Trip

I am sitting on my full sized bed in a room at Wakulla Suites in Cocoa Beach, Florida at the moment and very much so enjoying myself. I spent the better part of the day arguing with my brother trying to end his negativity about a family road trip which I happen to think is the best thing that has happened this summer and on the road as Second in Command for my mother because I am the expert navigator in my family. And, of course, with nothing better to do, I obnoxiously started chronicling our trip, from the moment we left Miami to every stop and even the weather. It actually wasn't that bad of a drive. We did get into a part of town where it was "hurricaning" (that's what I call a storm so bad that you can't see: a little hurricane) and there happened to be a really bad accident as a result of it that I couldn't take a picture of, but all in all good road trip weather and my brother was busy playing video games or sleeping for most of the trip so mom and I weren't bothered by him too much (he's going though this stage right now where no one can really stand to be around him for too long or when he's in one of his moods). We made it to the hotel OK though and now I'm just relaxing.....

For a full chronicle of my adventures, visit my Facebook and go to my album Summer Family Roadtrip 2010