A is for Artist

So reading my friend's blog brought about inspiration for this post. (Thanks Jesse!)

I was reading about how he had taken a poetry class and had to put together a portfolio of poems together for the teacher to grade and he received a "B". Well, last quarter I also took a poetry class and had to do the same thing and I also received a "B".

Needless to say, just like Jesse was upset, I was pretty upset myself. I was upset because I don't mean to be cocky but I think I'm a damn good writer and to work so hard on all my poems and then to get a "B" I was like "Hey now...this doesn't seem right..."

Mostly though, I was offended because I don't think poetry should be graded. He can sit there all day and talk about how he's going to grade the poetry on "growth" but you all know he's sitting there reading them and giving "A"s to the ones he likes the best. Poetry is art. And art should not be graded. When it comes to something as versatile as writing or other forms of art through personal expression, what is great art varies widely from person to person. What one person thinks is beautiful, may be ugly and not satisfying to another. So how can you use a unified grading system for something so spread out along the opinion spectrum?

I came across this problem back in high school too. I took a ceramics class and while I ended up getting an "A", it was just barely and I remember getting so frustrated because while he said he was grading on technique, there were some pieces where my technique was perfect but the piece was more or less, weird looking or off in some way. I would receive lower grades on these less than perfect pieces and after I thought about it I realized how wrong this was. What if I thought that was art? People make imperfect pieces of artwork all the time, using the techniques that he taught us but my teacher was so set on yielding a certain result that if you didn't produce perfection, your grade suffered. Needless to say, I now hate ceramics...it definitely is towards the bottom of my art skills.

Going back to the poetry however, I got into a big argument/discussion with my poetry teacher one class period about the essence of poetry. We were critiquing a classmates poem in class and my teacher was saying how this kids poem wasn't concrete enough. It was too vague. He explained it a little more what he meant by vague and apparently it means that the poem was too thought based. There wasn't enough concrete imagery. I frowned, thought about this a moment and then raised my hand. I couldn't let that slide. Especially because I personally thought that this particular poem was awesome.

Well I was called on and said that I thought that poetry could be vague because it allowed the reader to make their own assumptions about the poem. If a poem is too concrete, it doesn't leave anything to the imagination. For me, the joys of a poem are trying to figure out what the heck the poet was trying to say. Although, half the time, I wonder if they even know themselves. That is why I think poetry is so amazing because everyone gathers something different from any one poem. One person could think one thing while another thinks something entirely different. My teacher didn't like how vague this poem was. He said it needed a theme, or idea to tie it together. I said, okay, sure, but that can be as simple as coming up with a different title, I don't think he has to re write the entire poem to make it say something.

Needless to say, I had to stop myself before I got too heated because I ended up getting really annoyed when my teacher kept trying to get this kid to change his poem dramatically. I wanted to go up to him at the end of the class period and tell him, dude, your poem(s) are awesome. Don't let that old loon tell you different. I would read your poems over some fool like Charles Bukouski who, by the way, I think is a complete and utter idiot in the poetry world. If he can get away with writing annoying and vulgar nonsense that has to do with drugs, sex and drinking, in graphic terms I cannot even type here, then this kid should be able to write whatever the hell he wants too AND get an A for it.

So for everyone out there who has ever been told their art is "B" work. Don't let those ridiculous people get to you. Keep writing, someone out there will enjoy what you have to say, guaranteed. And on the off chance that in this huuuuge world no one does, that doesn't really matter either cause at the end of the day, we artists do what we do because we enjoy doing it. :)

True Love

Oh my gosh, this article is precious. I want a man like this. Everyone is self conscious to some degree but I think women have it the worst.

Especially in this day and age.

I hope all of us women are lucky enough to have a man like this in their lives at some point :)

http://www.redbookmag.com/love-sex/advice/what-men-want-in-a-woman

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

So I apologize for not blogging at all recently. But in all fairness, I think I warned everyone about this in the beginning...

Anyways, this is my favorite time of the year right now. October through December is always when I'm happiest because there's so much to look forward to! Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and even New Years. Not to mention that its cold and rainy most of the time which makes me happy (weird, I know). The trees are also so beautiful with all their changing colors, I think it's amazing to look around and see all the vivid reds and oranges and yellows. It's the one time of the year where all the trees can show off their individuality instead of all being the same green color.

Now I have to add in a side note here -- my favorite kind of tree is a christmas tree, it's also my favorite smell in the entire world and it's also a tree that doesn't change color ever and I'm firmly okay with that lol. That's why we decorate them!

My family has so many traditions for Christmas and I'm a stickler for tradition. For example, I refuse to ever, EVER allow a fake Christmas tree into the house. NEVER. I don't know if I could be more clear but I hate them. I think they're stiff and boring and the main reason is because they don't smell like a real christmas tree. I love to just bury my head in a christmas tree and stand there smelling it, sorry if that's too weird, it certainly looks weird if people catch me doing it ;)

My grandparents used to go cut down a christmas tree every year, a great big HUGE tree and I loved it. They soon had to stop and I was devastated when I learned that they would be getting a fake tree. It took me soooo long to adjust to the idea but I finally let it go, as in probably a few years ago. They also decorate it the same way every year for as long as I can remember and I love it. Their tree belongs in a Christmas catalog for decorating homes for xmas because my grandma does the most amazing job ever. It's by far the most beautiful Christmas tree i've ever seen.

Another tradition for xmas is my grandparents have a small model replica of the North Pole that they put up every year. It's collectors pieces; buildings, people, animals, trees etc, that you see in Christmas stores. The buildings light up, some pieces move, you put fake snow around them, all that good stuff. Well, it was a tradition for a long time for my grandpa and I to put it up every year. We'd do it differently every year in terms of arrangement and building placement. I always loved putting all the pieces up.

Then there's Pickle Night. It's a German tradition (my grandparents lived over there for awhile) where someone hides a pickle ornament (it's only about three inches long so it's a pretty small ornament to find on a great big tree) on the Christmas tree and then the kids have to try and find it. Whoever finds it first gets a present. It's evolved for us into a huge deal, whoever finds it first gets to hide it again for the other kids, we all get a present but in order to get the present we have a scavenger hunt around my grandparents house. Clues leading to other clues and then finally at the end is the present.

I could obviously go on for days about Christmas traditions seeing as its my absolute favorite holiday of all time but it's making me too excited and I'm still stuck here at school studying for finals. I can't wait until this week is over and I can go home, listen to christmas music all day for the rest of December and just enjoy all that this amazing time of year has to offer. :)

Happy Holidays!!

Clothing Optional.

Disclaimer: Post rated PG-13

So the past week has been insanely hot. So uncharacteristic for this area. At one point, it was hotter here then in Death Valley. Like seriously!!! The majority of the places in this town are lacking in AC so as a whole I would say everyone was very unprepared. Me most of all because I hate the heat. If I was held at gunpoint and was told that I had to only pick one thing in this world that I hate the most, I would say the heat. It puts me in the worst mood ever. Last week I'm sure everyone just hated me because I was irritable and rude and sweaty....gross!

To make things worse, I live on the third story of an apt complex which, typical, doesn't have AC so my apt was like a sauna. It was the worst week ever. But, I will say that I took matters into my own hands and when life gives you lemons, you make a lemondrop and say bring it on.

On the very hottest day of the week, I had had enough. I turned on some loud, hip hop music, stripped down to my underwear and started dancing. If you have never danced alone, in only your underwear, you have not lived and I feel sorry for you haha. It is so much fun, plus a great workout! It made me feel SO much better and got me through another day of heat.

I like to do stuff like that every so often, have dance parties by myself. Or Like today, I was bored, so I pulled out my high heels, pulled on (or off I guess) the most minimal amount of clothing possible, turned on some new music and have been cleaning my apartment while alternating between playing dress up with all my heels.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I missed a spot on the counter...and those pink high heels are calling my name. ;)

Confidence is Key.

A friend once said to me, "don't ever let a guy let you think that you deserve less then what you think you deserve. Have confidence in yourself!"

I love this quote because it's 100% true. If you have confidence in yourself you can do anything as well as get whoever you want. Confident people draw others to them like a magnet and make people want to be around them.

Confidence and love of yourself. Love of yourself doesn't mean vain or self centered, it just means that you love yourself as you are, flaws and all and understand that no one is like you or will ever be like you. It is knowing that you're not perfect but saying that you're okay with not being perfect.

This quote means to not let a guy (or for my male readers, a girl) push your confidence down because they reject you or make you feel not good enough. Don't give them that power. If anything, their rejection should strengthen your confidence because you put yourself out there enough to even get rejected. You never would have known unless you had tried right? So have confidence, believe you deserve the best and you will get the best.

"Must be a full moon tonight."

Okay, so I have to do another post about my job because, well, it's just so darn entertaining sometimes. Sure, it can be annoying trying to deal with people who have no idea what they want or how they want it, but most of the time we find ways to laugh about it.

Now, at my work, there are several things that I've learned and that are always a guarantee.

-People will say something about how strong your forearm must be from scooping ice cream.

-Someone will try to order food from the ice cream counter.

-That sugar cone you're scooping will break on you at least once. They are the worst cone EVER.

-"Can you scoop AROUND the bubble gum pieces?"

-You will have to explain to someone that, NO, strawberry lemonade and chocolate dipped cheesecake are NOT ice cream flavors.

-People will ask for a scoop of Merlot Raspberry Truffle ice cream and then come back and complain that it tastes like wine. Um, helloooo, what did you not understand about the name, MERLOT Raspberry Truffle...

-When you're getting ready to close for the night, you'll get a family of ten who all demand ice cream.

-Two hot chocolates never means only two.
"Did you make those two hot chocolates yet? Oh you did? Well could you make five more?"

-"Cup or cone?" will be ingrained and forever in your vocabulary. It may even come out on accident.

-Along with asking which one, a cup or a cone, people will be looking at the cones and say cone but not specify. Ummm, there are three and I am NOT a mind reader.

-Someone will mistake Motor Oil with a coffee flavored ice cream because it says it has Kahlua in it.

-People will comment on how huuuuge that ice cream scoop you just gave them is (when it really isn't).

-You will have to describe multiple times what the difference is between the Tiny Scoop and the Regular Scoop (also known as the golf ball/baseball comparison).

-Someone will ask "are these real dog bones?"

-You can tell what time it is by the afternoon regulars (aka my favorites); Large Chi Tea Latte, extra foam, extra hot, cinnamon on top. Small Americano, room for cream. And L-Dog. :)

-Someone will ask for a Medium drink. Even though our menu only says small or large.

-The full moon will always bring out the crazy people. (or more so than usual).

Now this last one about the full moon you may think to be ridiculous. Well I thought the same thing until this week. I couldn't believe how many weird people came into work. The following scenarios all occurred Saturday afternoon at my place of work.

-Someone asked me for a small sample of ice cream today. A small sample. What do you think a sample is? No, we decided today, our sample is a whole scoop if ice cream. I thought it was hilarious.

-I was digging through the freezer in the back looking for an ice cream flavor we had run out of and this lady sneaks up on me with her half eaten waffle cone and starts complaining.
"I didn't get any cups in my peanut butter cup ice cream."
I just stared at her for a minute, then was like, "Oh, I'm really sorry about that." When I was really thinking, What do you want me to DO about it.

I then asked her who scooped her ice cream and she said that I had scooped it. And then I remembered her. There had been a line, and I had scooped the first scoop of her waffle cone and my boss had scooped the offending peanut butter cup scoop. It had been the bottom of the barrel. I said, Ohhh yeah, I remember, sorry about that. Now eat your ice cream and stop complaining. I ran back behind the counter after that. Now, I don't mind helping people with their problems, but she wasn't asking me to solve it, she was complaining.

-Along those same lines, I can't stand it when people think that they don't have to wait in line to get help from us. You are not better then everyone else, nor is your issue more pressing then those of the people waiting patiently in line. You will not make me, or the person you just cut, very happy if you bypass the five people waiting in line to ask me for a water refill/fresh straw/ketchup/etc. Going around the back to the cooks station or shouting across the counter don't work either. I don't mind helping people, that's what I'm there for but all I ask is you wait your turn. Please.

-A group of three kids came in, probably around the ages of 16-19 (for blogging purposes, their names will be Hat, Black Pants and Mute). I was up front at the fudge and Hat asked me if we would have any fudge left over that we were going to wrap up and throw away that night because he wanted to have it. Ummm, we don't throw away fudge. It's not like it gets old. Tomorrow it'll just be a day older but it'll still be damn good fudge. It was after this that I realized all three of them were on some type of drug. Black Pant's eyes were more red than white and it looked like thinking was extremely painful for him. Mute didn't say anything the entire time. So I tell them, no, no fudge sorry. Hat asks for some water, I give them water. They ask for another one (typical). I give them another one. Then Hat says, do you want a penny. I do my stare again, "A penny?" I ask. He nods, dead serious and holds up a penny. "Yeah, some lady gave it to me today and said it could give me good luck, do you want it?"

I was skeptical. "What do you mean 'could' give you good luck?" Hat shrugs. I say, "Have you had good luck today?" Hat nods and says, "Well I've been taken care of all day so I think it's a good luck penny." He hands it to me and it was my turn to shrug. I took the penny and then Hat says, "But you have to keep it on you for it to work, and then eventually you have to pass it on to someone." I laughed but nodded and agreed because I had nothing better to do but humor him and he was entertaining me for sure. They leave after that, but because of the full moon we hadn't seen the last of them.

Later that night as my coworker was bringing in the tables from outside he comes in with a piece of clothing.

"Someone left their jacket outside. Wait..." he pauses as he looks at the clothing more closely. "These are pants!"

I start laughing and my coworker pulls out a cellphone from the pants. "And a cellphone...who would forget their pants?!" We both laugh and he puts them down below the counter as we both wonder if anyone will come to claim them. But we should have known someone would. Sure enough, those same three boys come back, looking more messed up if thats even possible. Hat asks me the same question about the fudge again, I give him the same answer but then I'm struck with a suspicion and I ask, "Are any of you missing a pair of pants and a cellphone by any chance?" Hat's face lights up and he goes "Yeah! Wait...what color pants and what kind of cellphone?"

I shake my head, no way was it going to go down like that, "No, no, You tell me," I said. Hat looks over at his friend Black Pants (hmm, I wonder where he got his name from lol) and says, "They were black pants annnnnd, hey, what kind of cell phone do you have?" Black Pants frowned and did some "ummmm, ahhhh....mmmm" for what seemed liked days. It looked quite painful to be honest but he finally came up with the right model of cellphone and his Black pants and phone were restored to their rightful owner at last.

Mute's story isn't as eventful but I called him Mute because he came in as we were closing and bought a bag of chips without ever saying a word. I never heard him speak. He paid his money left and then came back and bought three more bags of chips without me ever hearing him say a word.

-Another small story was someone ordered their ice cream on a plate, while pointing to a bowl. I was severely confused, especially when I pointed to the bowl and said bowl and they nodded and repeated plate.

-I had another regular sneak up on me that night too. I was buried in the ice cream bin, scooping for a customer when I came up and there she was, staring me in the face. I was a little frightened because last time I had to help her she kept me talking for about fifteen minutes. Scratch that, I wasn't the one doing the talking, she was. I don't even think I needed to be present in the conversation it was so one sided. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind talking to customers, in fact it makes my job waaaay more enjoyable if I do have interesting conversations but she is not one of those people. She always gets the same thing and says the same things, "I had 40 dollars when I left my house and now I don't know where it went, I just don't know where it went"......"Stores sometimes offer discounts, you don't offer a discount..." I think she is a more you had to be there type person but it fit in nicely with our night of full moon crazy people.

I can't think of anymore weird stories that would be funny enough to tell. Most of them are you had to be there type stories but all in all these last few days of work have been very entertaining. There are some weird people out there for sure.

But again, don't get me wrong, I like my job and I like talking to people because besides all the crazy ones there are some very fun and interesting people out there that have a lot of cool things to say. And I don't mind helping people out or helping them solve a problem but please, do it the right way and ask me nicely. It never hurts to be polite. I will always greet you with a smile, all I ask is you give me one back. :)

"...because that's what living in. The six inches in front of your face."

I'm very, very excited.

Why?

Because my favorite season is almost here.

What season is that? Well, I could say fall/winter because that WOULD be true. I love the colors of the changing trees and the rain and everything that comes with these cold months. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years.....but I'm not talking about holidays or weather seasons. I'm talking about something better.

FOOTBALL SEASON!

Preseason has already started and I can't tell you how happy I am to hear all the sports talk switch to football. It's basically the only sport I follow and actually know enough to hold my own in a conversation. I haven't been following football long though, this is only my third year so I still don't know a lot. However, I decided to try something I've never done before.

Fantasy Football. And I have absolutely NO idea what I'm doing. It should be interesting. I'm also doing the one where you guess the winners of each game every week. I'll probably be better at that. Either way, I'm excited to try it out. I guess I better get on the phone with my cable provider, I still don't have ESPN and that will definitely be a problem come September.

GO STEELERS!

ReDONKulous

So I usually don't get out to see many movies when they're out in theaters. Usually because I don't feel like spending an outrageous amount of money. I remember when movies were five dollars. FIVE DOLLARS! Ahhhh, those were the days. But lately I've actually been seeing a lot of movies out in theaters. I've seen Ironman 2, Shrek 3, Twilight, Toy Story 3, Inception and Despicable Me. I feel like there's one I'm forgetting but seriously, this list is long for me. And also surprising is I liked them all, some I was very surprised about actually.

Like Twilight for instance because the first two were so awful, the acting made me cringe and I can't stand Edward or Bella for that matter. But the third one, Eclipse, was actually decent. Jacob was looking fantastic, mmm, and they actually put in some action scenes which spiced it up (not to mention the kiss on top of the mountain, damnnn). Bella also stood up for herself, finally! I can't stand weak main characters...

I also saw Ironman 2 and Shrek 3 at the Drive in, which I will write about how awesome the drive in is in a minute but I loved Ironman 2 and thought Shrek 3 was just adorable. I liked the first Ironman which weirdly enough I also saw at the drive in. Robert Downey Jr is hot, hot, hot. I also love how funny he makes the movies. Shrek 3 was also really cute. I didn't like the second one, the first one was good but this might just be my favorite of the three. It was funny and while most third movies in the series die, this one definitely held its own.

Now this brings me to another animated movie and another third movie in the series, Toy Story 3. EPIC. Like the facebook group says, "Move aside children, I have been waiting 11 years for Toy Story 3" It was awesome and I loved it and I teared up at the end I'll admit it.

I seem to be seeing a lot of animated movies because I also went and saw Despicable Me with my grandparents and thought it was cute and funny for sure. Not to mention the 3D was soooooo good! I thought it was a very cute movie and it was also one I was surprised about because I knew it was going to be good but it turned out to be better than just good.

Annnd lastly, Inception. I don't even know what to say about this movie besides the fact that I can't believe someone actually thought up that idea. How ingenious and creative and imaginative. I'm kind of jealous that I don't think that way because I would be making a ton of money right now and twisting people's minds like this guy is. Inception was definitely one of the better movies I've seen in a long time. I love movies like that that make you think and make you follow along instead of just sitting there and watching something. Although I will say this, I thought that Shutter Island was waaay more of a "mindfuck" as people are calling it (pardon my language) than Inception, even thought people said it was predictable, I don't know. I think they could have toyed with us a lot more in Inception but maybe they were being nice haha, either way, it was awesome and I will definitely go see it again.

I have also been very impressed with the quality of the 3D movies lately. I saw Avatar in 3D when it came out and I don't know whether it was the theater or not but I wasn't impressed. I saw Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me in a different theater and both in 3D and it was awesome. Either way, 3D is quickly becoming an impressive piece of technology and I hope that more movies are going to be in 3D, Can you imagine if Inception had been in 3D????? I also absolutely LOVE the drive in. I think its an awesome idea and its cheap. You pay half of what you'd pay at the movie theater to see TWO movies. And not just stupid movies either, box office hits that are out in theaters at the time. It's awesome.

The last thing I want to say too, is I saw Book Of Eli recently, (not in theaters, on demand type deal) and thought it was one of my favorite movies. Denzel Washington is a beast. If you didn't already know this then watch that movie and you will see exactly why he is a beast haha. Great movie.

I love movies and I love going to the movie theater to watch movies, I'm just sad it has to be so expensive... :(

(PS: If you didn't see Shrek 3, you won't understand my blog title haha) :)

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

I have decided to turn over a new leaf today.

For as long as I have enjoyed writing, I have had this self constructed road block built up. This road block keeps me from ever finishing anything I write and it has long been a goal of mine to write a novel and get it published.

Today is the day I'm going to tear that road block down.
Or at least, begin the process of bashing it to pieces.

My writing bug is back and lets hope that I can keep it this time because I am more determined then ever to finish something. I have one short story to my name. Only one, yet I have maybe about 50 starts to novels and random spurts of writing. This is not acceptable.

Even if my goal of finishing a novel is still some ways away in the future. My recent ambition is to write a childrens book. And boy is it HARD. You would think that writing something that contains nothing more than a few short sentences would be easy but I was wrong, oh so very, VERY wrong. It is probably the most challenging thing I've ever had to write. I can sit down and write essays for days. I can write excerpts from novels but a childrens book? It's a little overwhelming to tell the truth.

But I'm going to do it. One of these days you'll see my name in the bookstores.
Count on it.

"...cup or cone?"

Work is proving to be more entertaining than I thought it would be. Although I should have remembered that when you work in a service industry, particularly one with food, you get some interesting stories.

Now, I enjoy my job, I'm not bashing on it in any way, I'm just merely going to share some stories about some customers who I found funny.

Okay, so when you go into a store, you sometimes have to stand in line. Now, when you stand in that line, you either should know what you want to order when you approach the counter, or you should be thinking about it in the very least. But either way, by the time its your turn to tell me what you want, you should have arrived at a decision. Coming up to me after waiting in line for five minutes and saying "I want a scoop of ice cream" and then staring at me like I'm psychic does not help. I KNOW you want ice cream, I HOPE you want ice cream since you just waited in line, but please be aware that we have 16+ different flavors so being specific would help. I would love to read minds but that is just not one of my skills haha. Especially because after you say you want ice cream, I have to ask you a bunch of different questions such as "what kind of ice cream?" "....cup or cone?" "...sugar cone or cake cone?" It really gets quite tedious. I LOVE the people who come up to me and say, "I would like a single scoop of (insert ice cream flavor here) in/on a (insert cup/sugar cone/cake cone here)" Makes everyones life easier, wouldn't you say?

A lady one day came up to the register about to pay for the two double scoop waffle cones she held in her hands. While I was ringing her up she asked me if I had a bag for her ice cream cones. I looked at her for a minute, sure I had heard her wrong. "What?" I asked.
"A bag, for my ice cream." she says again. Now, please take note that it is well into the high 80s, maybe 90 degrees that weekend, ice cream melts pretty fast upon leaving the establishment so I stared at her again, positive I was going insane or at least needed a hearing aid.
"A bag. For your ice cream CONES??" I half re-stated, half asked again. Wanting to make sure. She nodded and I just was like, uhhhh I don't think we have those kinds of bags. I looked around hoping my boss was around, or at least someone to share this craziness with as I was trying my hardest not to laugh in her face. Luckily my boss had overheard and he comes over and tells her, I'm sorry I don't think we have those kinds of bags. She looks throughly disappointed, saying that oh I suppose thats okay, I just wanted to take them home and put them in my freezer for later.
After she left my boss and I let the laughter escape. I mean, what was she going to do with a bag?? Put her ice cream CONES into the bag? I mean, come on, everyone knows (I hope) that ice cream melts? She would have opened her bag later to find a messy, sticky, disgusting pool of melted ice cream with two soggy waffle cones at the bottom...I don't know what she was gonna do with that or what she was thinking.

I get a lot of questions by people asking if we have any soy based products. Now I can understand if you are lactose intolerant. I used to be too so I feel your pain. And asking for soy based products is okay, because we DO have soy milk for coffee drinks. However, asking me if there is any vegan products will get you a blank look. If you are vegan chances are you are trying to be healthy(?) and stepping foot into a store comprised solely of the most fattening sweets on this earth is NOT helping your diet so please, don't ask me for something healthy. I will point out the fruit on our menu and maybe the ham sandwich with wheat bread but stay away from the ice cream and fudge. So anyways, this lady comes up to me and starts to tell me she doesn't eat a lot of carbs, trys to stay away from fatty foods, etc...goes on this whole schpeel and I'm like, yeah yeah, okay, typical story, what can I make for you though, is what I really care about....and thinking she's going to ask me to make her some fat free, sugar free coffee drink, I am suddenly hit with her order of, get this, large cup of coffee with LOTS of room for half and half. LOTS of room for half n half, thats what she said. I stared at her for a minute, trying my hardest not to laugh and thinking, you DO know that half n half is like the worst thing you can put in your coffee right?? You DO know that your no eating carbs/fat just went out the window for today. Naturally I gave her what she wanted with a smile but I was highly entertained all the same.

Another funny story is we have this ice cream called Merlot Raspberry Truffle and it actually has a taste of red wine to it. Well most people don't know that, they just think its a name and one day this mom and little boy come in and start sampling the ice cream. He points out the Merlot Raspberry and his mom says okay, I'll have one scoop of that please, in a bowl. First I'm thinking, thanks for specifying :) I love you and then I'm thinking, a little kid wants a wine tasting ice cream? Ummm he's like a foot tall...I look at the mom and restate her order just to make sure. She smiles and nods, Yes, he likes raspberry. I smile back and start to scoop it, and after handing it to her I tell her, "You know it actually tastes like wine..." She looks surprised as she looks down at her little son, looking barely old enough to ride a bike let alone know what alcohol tastes like and says really?? I half laugh and grab a sample spoon, giving her a taste and she laughs and says you're right, it does taste like wine. Then eyes her son and says well I hope he doesn't know what he's tasting yet.
Better watch that one mom. I still don't even like the taste of red wine and I'm 21!!

After working in the food industry, I will forever be careful with how I order my food from now on. I am going to pay EXTRA attention to the menu and try and give an order that is not confusing or that requires too many follow up questions. I was telling my "...cup or cone?" story to someone and they mentioned that it's exactly like Subway and how they must get annoyed with customers come up to them and say they want a footlong and then stare are them. They're probably like, on what bread?? I was appalled because I have done that on occasion. Not anymore. I've learned my lesson!

Again, I find work amusing and highly entertaining. The regulars that come in all have their distinct personalities and I love having some familiar faces pop in when I work. Plus, I know what they're gonna order so I don't have to pelt them with millions of questions. My boss is also one of the best bosses I've ever worked for. When my mood turns annoyed because of a difficult customer his humor instantly turns it around. That is definitely a highly valuable trait in a boss. :)

E = MC^squared

As my quarter draws to a close, I'm a little disappointed that Children's Lit is over. One, because it was such an easy class, I definitely picked the wrong major when I chose business...I should have chosen Liberal Studies or something ha. Two, my teacher basically gave me all my topics for my blog posts because we rarely talked about children's books, instead he went off on tangents about life which, okay, were kind of annoying because I was there to learn about, well, children's literature but after awhile we all just learned to sit back, roll our eyes and quickly pass the children's books he insisted on passing around the room every class whether we wanted to look at them or not. Still, he was a cool teacher none the less.

I've been thinking about teachers a lot lately. Mostly because its starting to hit me that I only have one more year of college and then I'm done with school if I want to be. It's a little weird to think about because I've been in school for my entire life. In terms of teachers who have taught me, I've had some amazing ones and I've had some awful ones but this quarter I was lucky enough to have one of the best teachers I've ever had while in college, maybe even one of the top teachers I've had ever. I've usually found that college teachers aren't too personal with students, especially when you compare them to the teachers back in high school or earlier. It made me think of all the other amazing teachers I've had over the years and so this is a thank you to them. For teaching me more than just curriculum. :)

Pre-school:
Teacher Bev

2nd Grade:
Mrs. Coffelt

3rd Grade:
Mrs. Schmalenberger

5th Grade:
Mrs. Becker

6th Grade:
Ms. Muller

9th - 12th:
Madame Arino
Mr. Kirk
Mr. Hardy
Mrs. Benzel
Mrs. U

Cal Poly:
Mr. Perello
Rami
Colette Frayne

Pit Bulls.

I don't get offended easily. In fact its very rare.

But there are a few things that immediately make me defensive and piss me off. One of those topics came up this weekend and again I had lots to say about it. That topic is Pit Bulls. While there are four versions of the breed officially; the Staffordshire Bull Terrior, American Staffordshire Terrier, the Pit Bull and the American Pit Bull Terrior, All are usually referenced as Pit Bulls.

First of all, I own a Pit. So I'm not just saying all of this because I feel sorry for the breed, think people are stupid for discriminating against them, blah, blah, blah, I'm saying this because I have one and know for a fact what they are like as animals. When I mention the fact that I have one, people always look at me funny, ALWAYS. Not only that but it is so ingrained in people to dislike this breed of dog that I have been walking my dog before down the street and have people cross over to the other side of the street entirely in order not to let their kids pass too close to my "killer dog."

I think people often forget that dogs are animals. They are decendants of wolves and used to go around hunting in packs, killing things that were sometimes five times their own size. They used to be wild animals and I think people forget that just because they are now "domesticated" that means that they don't have any wildness left in them and that they are no longer in the habit of turning violent. I don't know about you, but I've never heard a dog speak english, and until that day occurs, dogs will forever be unpredictable animals. Yes, they are mans best friend, yes, I love my dog emmensley and probably more completely then I will ever love a human, but they are still animals.

Now I understand where people are getting all this bias from. Pit Bulls are the most common dog used in the dog fighting industry, there have been various incidences of people getting bitten, that sort of thing. I get it. But what about the other side of things, sure they are used as fighting dogs, but that is not because of their natural inclination for violence. I have never encountered an animal that was violent just for the sake of being violent, there is always a reason for their aggressive behavior. Bears attack people because they feel we threaten their babies or because of territory, sharks attack people because they mistake us for seals, all animals have a reason behind their actions and people forget that sometimes too.

It's the same with pit bulls except its not something natural, fighting is something that is taught to them by humans. WE are the reason that these dogs are vicious. It is not the Pit Bull as a breed. Pit Bulls as a breed just pose the most beneficial characteristics of a fighting dog that make them so easy to teach violence to. It's just like any dog and the quality of training and care they receive from their owners. If a dog is abused, neglected, beaten, etc, it will show those effects in the way it acts, if it is taught to fight other dogs and be violent in nature, it will reflect that teaching. You cannot blame the dog for acting and obeying what it is taught. It IS an animal, not some free thinking human with a knowledge of right and wrong.

Also, look at other breeds of dogs. Any dog can be trained to fight and to be violent. Don't people train dogs to be guard dogs all the time? And what about police dogs? Their handlers train them to attack "criminals" with the use of a word or a hand motion. What's to stop them from attacking at the wrong time? Training. Except policemen and their dogs don't get bad raps because it is professional teaching and those trainers know the right way to train the dog so they don't get mixed results. You can't go around saying that a Pit Bull and a German Shepherd are different when they are both being trained to attack and are both used for violence. One of them just got the better end of the stick unfortunately.

I have a story that I love to tell whenever someone brings up the Pit Bull as being a vicious breed. I like this story because it just goes to show that any breed, at any time can turn violent and people shouldn't automatically stereotype breeds.

My aunt and uncle raised a yellow lab from a puppy and at some point during its adult life, it bit my aunt and had to be put to sleep. The dog had been unnaturally aggressive for most of it's life, totally "uncharacteristic" of yellow labs who are said to be known as loving, family dogs. A yellow lab gone bad. That just proves that it isn't always the breed. Other circumstances can lead to aggressiveness.

I think the reason I get so offended when people automatically voice their disapproval of Pit Bulls is that they don't know the facts or anything about the breed. They only know what a few stupid people have chosen to publicized, heard about the laws against Pits and/or heard the stereotype about them. They have no idea that these dogs are some of the most beautiful and lovable animals out there. They are loyal, courageous and great family pets. It comes down to the owners of the dogs and the influence they choose to impart on the dogs. There will always be good owners and bad owners, it's just a shame the Pit Bulls have such a bad reputation. An undeserving bad reputation. Since they can't speak for themselves, its too bad more people aren't speaking up for them.

I could go on for days about this subject. I could collect articles, facts, numbers, to prove my point. I could talk about populations in cities where dog fighting is most popular and how that affects the number of dog attacks, or what causes dog attacks and how many of them are faults of the owner and not the dog or even how people should learn not to be so quick to judge something they know nothing about...but for now I'm leaving it at what I've already said.

I love my Pit. And in a few years when I'm capable of having a big dog of my own, I'm adopting another one.

Red, White and Blue

Even if you don't support war or agree with the reasoning of it, you still need to support the troops. As an American, it is part of our duty to give our respect to all those who serve in our military. I don't care if you think they should or shouldn't be over there, the fact is; they are following orders and are over there fighting. It's a fact. If you don't support our troops, you can wave the US goodbye and get out.

On a day like Memorial Day we need to remember all those brave soldiers who died fighting for the USA. Take a moment of silence to remember and thank them for the service they did for our amazing country.

So thank you, and God bless the troops.

Happy Memorial Day.

Until death do we part...

So last week, I was again sitting in Children's Lit, and my teacher AGAIN went off on one of his crazy and usually pointless tangents (this class should be a life lessons or life philosophy class or something, not children's lit) and his topic of the conversation was marriage.

Now, as a side note, marriage seems to be a popular topic with teachers in college. I don't know what it is about marriage but they all seem to want to impart their "wisdom" upon us and they all think they're experts. One of my teachers had a very bad divorce. He's a lawyer so all his classes usually involved some story about his ex wife and how much he hated her but they were at least directed towards whatever lesson he was teaching and were usually funny. You could never tell if he was serious or not (he prob was serious, which is scary) but it still was slightly entertaining. He felt so strongly that marriage was stupid and that women were trouble, blah, blah, blah...

Another teacher I had, also hated marriage. He'd been married for many years, had kids, then realized he hated his wife and got divorced. Nice, huh? He's so bitter that now he totally bashes on marriage and says its the worst decision he ever made in his entire life. He wasn't funny when he talked about marriage, in fact it was pretty offensive (and I don't get offended easily ha). Anyways, he felt that he was an expert on marriage and so he loved to talk about it all the time.

This brings us finally to my Child Lit teacher. However, unlike the other two teachers, he has been happily married for almost 34 years. So this particular class period, he went off on marriage and how much work it is. Isn't that the line we always hear? It takes work? Well let me just add in a huge DUH here. Um, HELLO, of course marriage requires work. But I also think that if it requires the kind of work that isn't enjoyable then its probably not the right marriage. Anyways, this brings us to my point of this entire blog and what I wanted to address. He said that his parents were divorced and that until he got married he didn't see himself as the marriage type. He barely knew his wife before he asked her to marry him, in fact he was only 20 when he proposed. That's crazy! But also awesome. He told us all this and then talked about how different society is today, and how divorce rates are high and people are getting married later or not at all. Now for me that is a very sad thought. I want to get married someday. Sometimes I think I'm terribly old fashioned like that. I'm a hopeless romantic too so that doesn't help matters that I live in a society where hook ups and divorce run rampant.

Some girl raised her hand in class when he was done talking and said "well in society now a days, a job is more of a guarantee then marriage." Isn't that sad?? When people are more focused on themselves and earning money and their career then in finding someone to spend the rest of their life with and have a family? Ha, I told you I was old fashioned haha. I'm all for having a career and a job but whats the point if you don't have anyone to share it with? That would be so lonely, especially if the job was something you were only mildly interested in.

Another kid raised his hand a few minutes later and brought up one of the best points I think I have ever heard and something that i've been thinking about lately. He said that these days people have the tendency to only see the short term. In college we are always focused on JUST GETTING THROUGH "this week," JUST getting PAST "this midterm" or "this final." But the minute we get past them, there's something else we have to "get past." It's a vicious cycle because after college it'll be "let me just get this promotion, or this job and THEN i'll start looking for a partner or whatever" but then you get that job or promotion and its something else like "let me just get past this deadline and THEN i'll do blank..." Putting things off until you "have time"

I always thought that living in the moment was a good thing, and I still think it does hold some truth. But I think that living in the moment and living to get through something are different. However when put into that kind of perspective where we're constantly just trying to "get through" things made me think about how I want to prioritize my life. His point was in reference to marriage, that people are so focused on getting a job first and then finding someone. And sometimes that is a smart thing to do, because you need to find someone that fits into your life...but I'm not always sure that's the best way to go. What if you wait too long? It's so easy to get caught up life and get so caught up in the flow of life and you don't LIVE life. If that makes sense.

I'm actually not entirely sure what my point was of this post, in fact its more just a discussion, but here are some random points about what I believe in, just in case I was a little wishy washy.

1. I think teachers preaching about marriage is awful. I instantly lose respect for them and if I wanted marriage advice i'd go to someone who's qualified, not someone who has their degree in Law or Finance or even Children's Lit. You may have experience, but I'm not here to listen to you bitch about your ex wife and how awful marriage is, I can experience these things on my own, thanks.

2. I'm not one of those people with a strict life plan in place. I want to get married and have a family tho. In fact, I'd prefer it to a job. Again, old fashioned...

3. Everything happens for a reason. If it hasn't happen yet, its not the right time.

4. Balance your life.

5. Work hard, but work hard on enjoying life too.

Little More You

I'm obsessed with this song right now. It's really cute :)

Do what you love...love what you do.

So today in my Children's Lit class, the teacher was rambling on as usual (he likes to talk about stuff that has nothing to do with Child's Lit) and he started talking about his oldest son. He said that when his son was younger, my teacher knew that he was supposed to pursue being a professional musician. He didn't have a choice because he was just that good and because his overall happiness in life would diminish if he did anything else. His father was right, the son tried to pursue a business degree and after two years decided that it wasn't for him and went on to do absolutely great things with music and that is where he is today.

But what struck me about the story was that my teacher said that you shouldn't do something you don't absolutely love because your soul will be damaged. You need to find something that you enjoy doing. It made me think because I have always thought about this. My family has told me this countless times that I need to find something I love and regardless of everything, do it and just go for it because i'll be happy. I know that what I am doing right now is not making me happy. (Well, what I'm studying isn't. School doesn't always make me happy, but I know that its needed regardless and after I'm done, I'll still have plenty of time to pursue whatever I want.)

Business does not float my boat. Its practical, yes, but I have no desire to pursue it after college which leaves me wondering what do I want to do after I graduate? It comes back to what my teacher said, find something that satisfies your soul. For me, that could be many things and there are a lot of ideas that have gone through my mind at one point or another. Things such as; relationship counselor, school teacher, something to do with wolves, writer, photographer, children's book illustrator/writer...to name a few. These things would probably not make me a lot of money but they would make me very happy.

Anyways, I thought it was interesting and made me think about my future. Scary but exciting and while life isn't always easy, its time where you don't know what you're doing that sometimes are the best of times because they allow you to open doors you may not have thought about before.

And, I've decided to do a picture of the day kinda thing. Today the picture is dedicated the weather outside. It's just the way I like it, cloudy and rainy :)

First Post :)

So before I begin, I got inspired by a friend of mine, Jesse Madera, to start a blog of my own. He has an amazing blog that I love to read from time to time. You can find it HERE, incase you want to have a look as well. I recommend it, Jesse is awesome!

Okay, so, I love writing and used to write all the time. I have notebooks at home filled with scribbling. Everything from poems to short stories to novels. The problem with my writing is I’ve never finished anything. Well, the poems and short stories, sometimes, but I’ve never finished one of my novels and I probably have started around 30 or even more, in my lifetime.

This also includes blogs, because I’ve tried to start blogging and I’ve failed multiple times. Usually its because I don’t know what to write about, or because no one reads it, or just because I simply have never been able to stick with something for long periods of time, like writing everyday in a blog or finishing a novel. But this time I hope its different because writing to me is one of the best stress relievers EVER. Probably only second to a hard work out.

And speaking of stress relievers, I’ve decided that’s going to be the first topic I talk about.

It’s fitting because I have been very, very stressed out lately. So here are my top 10 stress relieving activities. (Rated PG of course) ;)

1. Working out.

I love to lose myself in a workout, my music and I can spend a few hours at the gym easily.

2. Reading.

I love losing myself in a book!

3. Writing.


Getting out everything that I’m thinking, no matter how silly, always helps.

4. Being out in nature.


Its calming and peaceful and doesn’t demand anything from you. Nature just lets you Be.

5. Cuddling with my dog.

Dogs are good listeners and of course, they are proven to help people relieve stress, aka therapy dogs.

6. Listening to music.

Depending on my mood, there is always a fitting song.

7. Watching a movie.

Relaxing to a movie is almost as good as a book, almost.

8. Eating.

Eh, probably shouldn’t do this when I’m stressed but chocolate usually helps.

9. Shopping.

Probably shouldn’t do this either but buying a new pair of shoes or a new eye shadow when I’m stressed makes me feel better.

10. Drinking.


Now, I’m not saying be an alcoholic, but if all else fails, a glass of wine is my final weapon against stress.


I think that so often people don't know how to lessen their stress. In this fast world that we live in we need to remember to take time to slow down, take a break and recharge. Sometimes the fastest speed isn't always the best speed because the faster you go, the more things you'll miss and the more you'll forget to enjoy.

So slow down, look around and take a deep breath and let the stress melt away.