Day: December 5, 2011

Waiting Game

rangerthecatLeave a comment

I finally did it. I submitted my college applications to the Cal State schools and the UCs. It was totally stressful, considering how much I procrastinated – I literally met the deadline by one day.

I am so thankful that I have finished the application process. But I am just SO ANXIOUS to know if I will be accepted to one of the schools that I want to attend the most.

So now that I have finished my applications, all I can do is wait to hear back, and in the mean time, stress out. A lot. And wait.

And wait some more.

And as much as I can try to predict it and hope everything turns out well, I have no idea what the future holds.

All I can do now – besides MORE waiting – is cross my fingers and hope for the best.

52 hours later…

venturatrekerLeave a comment


Skyrim…Skyrim…SKYRIM!  To much dismay from my girlfriend and my family I am still playing Skyrim. In fact I just passed fifty two hours of active gameplay.  Yes that’s right. In the last 19 days, two of those have been utterly devoted to killing dragons, backstabbing elves, and committing paltry genocide ( that then involves a village of angry peasants chasing you).

From that I would like to segway into talking about just how great this game is and some of the things one can do in the world of Skyrim.

When in doubt: Incineration.  With the ability to throw exploding fireballs from your hands and also use your body as a human flame thrower, what could be better than setting a wide assortment of things on fire.  This will really work with most anything, from a villager to his chicken to a dragon.

If you are one for a more relaxing game experience, working the saw mill is always satisfying, especially when you culminate your day sitting in a tavern listening to a bard sing the tale of Ragnar the Red.  Quite satisfying.

However you may choose to play Skyrim will win your heart and soul for many…many… hours.

So sorry to all who know me but they claim there is around 200 hours of gameplay. I intend to find out.

Super Failure

therightliberalLeave a comment

The Super Committee was bound to fail from the start. But let me say this, it is not all bad that the committee did fail.

Whomever thought that putting 6 Democrats and 6 Republicans together to cut $3 Trillion from the US budget should not be in a position of power. I mean, let’s be honest; conservatives and liberals do not see eye to eye on many issues, but the one above all is how to go about cutting debt.

So from that it may seem as though no one is really to blame except for the system, but sadly, that is incorrect. The Republican party is to blame (I would highly recommend going to that link if you disagree, or agree for that matter) for the Super Committee not working.

With the above statement, I obviously have some defending to do, so here it is. Let me say this: I do not blame the Republicans for the failure because I am a Democrat (although usually I do love to blame them). The blame comes from the cold, hard facts.

Democrats were ready to make compromises on some key issues. They offered to lower the cuts on defense spending as well as put some more programs on the table that could be cut or have funding taken away from. Although they were not completely open (as is to be expected in negotiations) they were open to compromise.

That much could not be said for the Republicans. They refused to even look at a 30% decrease in defense spending, denied any attempt to raise tax figures for the ultra wealthy, and demanded that more programs be axed completely.

Now for the happy side. Luckily for the country, the Budget Control Act that was passed by Congress stipulates that if the “Super” Committee failed to come up with cuts, $1.28 trillion cuts would automatically go in to effect, half of which come from defense spending. Although a small amount compared to our $15 trillion of debt, it is a start, and everything has to start somewhere.

In an ideal world (which is probably just ideal to me) most of the cuts would happen in the defense department. But instead, unemployment payments will start being cut in July in many states and many government-funded programs will struggle for funding.

I think we as a country need to look deep inside ourselves and ask what we need and what we can do without. Do we need trillions upon trillions in defense spending? Or would it be easier to just have fewer enemies? These are stilted and bias questions but ones that we still need to ask ourselves.

Worst person #7-Jerome Simpson

backinphillyLeave a comment

If any of you are familiar with soccer, you would know that very frequently, players take a dive and fake injuries. This almost never happens in football. Apparently, Bengals tight end Jerome Simpson thought he was playing soccer.

During a scramble for a fumble by Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, Simpson pulled Browns linebacker Scott Fujita from the pile. Fujita then gave Simpson a little shove, but Simpson SLIGHTLY overreacted. Take a look at this ridiculousness.

Crazy right? That’s not even good acting. Last time I saw acting that bad, Jerry Sandusky was saying that he was innocent.

What? Too soon?

Gimme some suggestions for my worst people in sports. If you think of something I would love to hear from ya.

FOUR MORE DAYS !!

yrreskrapLeave a comment

OKAY.

I KNOW I SAID I WOULDN’T THINK ABOUT IT UNTIL AFTER I FIND OUT THE RESULTS BUT…

i just cant.

ALKEJFIOSDJFLSEMNFOALDKCM!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY!?
I feel like these four days are killing me.

On December 1st, I will receive two emails from Williams and Amherst, letting me know whether or not I have been accepted. I don’t know what time the emails will come which makes things worse for me! I will be checking every five minutes on that day! Will it come at noon like the last email? If so will it come at noon Eastern Time? Would that make it arrive in my inbox at nine?

I am scared because Williams and Amherst are one of the nations top colleges. Williams is rated #1 in Forbes Best College List and #1 liberal arts schools in U.S. News and World Report Best College List. Amherst is #4 on Forbes and #2 in U.S. News and World.

Williams College is a small school of just over 2,000 students with an acceptance rate of 20 percent. SDLKFJSDLJF. So 20 out of 100 students that apply get in. 80 get a rejection.

Amherst is even worse. It has an acceptance rate of 16. So in this case, 84 would get the boot.

What I am scared the most about is, like I said in my previous blog, whether or not I will hate the isolation. I am scared that I will hate being in the middle of nowhere (being three and a half hours away from Boston) and find myself hating the weather too!

I think too much.

I am both dreading and waiting for Thursday to come.

God, please choose the right school for me.

Alcatraz

thehungryrunnergirlLeave a comment

Alcatraz is a prison where the worst criminals were sent and lived during 1934 to 1963 which is an island located 1.5 miles offshore from San Francisco, California.

5 days ago, me and the family of (kirbyfullyloaded) toured Alcatraz island.

It only took less than 15 minutes to get there from San Francisco bay which was astonishing, because I thought it was too easy to escape! When we get to the island and looked back, it looked very close from the land.

However, most of the prisoners failed to escape when they tried to swim. The reason why was the strength of the water current and cold icy water of San Francisco bay.

When we walked inside of the building, the first thing I saw was the shower room, with the wall painted in white and green, which was very eccentric and realistic to me. It reminded me of the prison from the TV show Prison Break.

Read More »

Randoseru

thehungryrunnergirlLeave a comment

In Japan, all the kids in grade 1 to 6 have to have the same back-pack, or “ransel” in Dutch (but later it was called “Randoseru” by Japanese), to go to school. It’s our tradition. Some schools provide them for free, but most of them don’t, so parents have to get their child one. It costs about $100-150. It is made of leather, girls have red and boys have black ones.

Ransel has an interesting history. Back in the Edo period (1603-1868), trading between Japan and the Netherlands was prosperous. At that time, the bakufu (the Japanese government) provided the backpacks imported from Netherlands to the Japanese armed forces, so they called it in Dutch, “ransel,” And today, we still have this tradition.

For me, the school supplied me one, and 6 years later it all worn out; leather was peeled off and cotton inside was visible. I remember when I was in kindergarten I wanted the ransel very bad and couldn’t wait to get it!

Satara

kirbyfullyloadedLeave a comment

I walked into the room, bare of furniture save a polished teak table with a single crystal wine decanter sitting directly in the center.

Sparkling idly in the half-light, the decanter was shaped like an elongated pear; its tapered neck leading down to a rounded belly filled with dark red liquid. Only about a third full, even the color of the wine bled expensive taste, promising heavenly flavor.

The crystal etchings were sharp and severe, each ridge and curve flowing into the next in a symphony of crystalline delicacy. Looking like a frozen sea, the etchings were arranged in a snowflake shape that started at the heart of the decanter and stretched up and out, the tendrils of fineness touching every inch of its gleaming surface.

Reaching out, I touched it with one finger.  The glass was cool and smooth against my skin, the swirling designs felt hard and deliberate.  I gently flicked the decanter.

A lonely warbling note rang out, piercing the air with its high and tremulous sounds.  Stillness filled the room as the peal faded away, captured purity in its essence.  

Ripples appeared in the wine, slight disturbances skittering lightly across the surface of the red liquid.  I watched, transfixed by the sudden flurry.  

The door opened.  A young woman walked in, her face shadowed as she approached the table.  As she came into the light, I was struck by her beauty.  

Tall and slender, she stood with the controlled grace of a ballerina; her long legs and thin ankles were crossed attractively , one in front of the other. Clear, soft skin, the color of magnolia blossoms, glowed with a creamy light.  Golden hair like gleaming flax hung straight down her back in thick, shiny sheets, setting off the alabaster skin to perfection.  Black lashes cast shadow crescents on high cheekbones accentuating the hot pink flush.  Cupid’s bow lips were set in a tight hard line, emphasizing their rosy red color.  

Her eyes were chilling.  Startling amethystine violet, they were fierce and fiery.  Savage brightness illuminated their deep purple depths.  Laced with stormy silver tendrils they were luminescent and vehement, only enhancing her sultry radiance.  

She looked nothing like the girl I loved.

“Satara,” I said with a confidence I did not feel, “you’re back.”

She stepped forward, a murderous gleam in those gemstone eyes.  “Yes, Jason,” she snarled, spitting my name like a curse, “I’ve returned.  But only to deliver a message.”

“Oh?  And what’s that?”

She wrapped her slim fingers around the neck of the decanter and squeezed as if she could break the crystal.  Looking back up into my eyes she continued to strangle it.  

I was entranced by the color of those eyes, unable to look away.

“My sister is dead.”

“What?”

A roar louder than all the waves in the ocean filled my ears and filled my head with searing heat.  Blood began to fill my eyes and the redness tinged my vision.

Satara screamed and threw the decanter, it shattered inches from me, spattering my clothes and leaving bloody crimson stains.  

“She’s dead, Greek,” she shrieked, “Sahar is dead!” 

The Space Races Finish Line

frog3Leave a comment

The U.S. Space Program if floundering to say the least. Obama, in an effort to cut spending, has cut much of NASA funding. This decline has led to other countries, in this case Russia, to advance their own space programs. They have started conducting unmanned missions, even sending craft as far as Mars.

Russia like many countries in Europe is not alone in their efforts, but has received some support from the European Space Agency. (Even though they are not members.) Russia has assisted the ESA on numerous occasions, most recently locating a lost Mars probe.

The name of the once missing probe is Phobos-Grunts and shortly after its launch on November 9th it disappeared. The accepted theory was that it was not powerful enough to break out of Earths orbit and thus became trapped. On  November 22nd a Russian Space Station picked up a signal from the probe.

They were able to determine exactly were it is and the ESA have several plans to bring it back to Earth. Unfortunately for Phobos-Grunts it will no longer be able to complete it mission to go to Mars. Not only has it missed its window of opportunity but also has very little fuel left.

I for one am glad that countries have banded together to further advance Space technologies

The Wicked War is Over!

frog3Leave a comment

The war in Iraq, often called the “War on Terrorism,” has taken its toll on Americans. From stringent TSA security protocol to the loss of love ones, millions of Americans have been affected by this war. A point of contention for many people is the fact that U.S. forces are still present in Iraq.

In matter of fact, one of Obama’s promises during the 2008 election was that he would remove all U.S. forces from Iraq. (This promise has still not been kept.) Obama has withdrawn MOST of the US forces from Iraq but 11000 still remain. The Obama administration has stated that all US forces must withdraw from Iraq by 31 December 2011.

This removal is happening right now with US forces passing the responsibility of Iraq onto the Iraqi Army and police force. These efforts are being hampered by the further instability of the region.(Nuclear Weapons in Iran for example) It will be very interesting to see if this removal is completed by December 31st.

Currently the U.S. is on track to ship all soldiers out of Iraq. Most of the soldiers leaving Iraq will pass into Kuwait, turn in their equipment and begin the long flight home. After the deadline only 150 troops will remain in Iraq.

Whether you support the War in Iraq or not, we are all glad to have our troops home.