Category: potpourri

Rain

kirbyfullyloadedLeave a comment

It doesn’t rain much where I live.

I consider LA and south to be Southern California.

North of LA to San Francisco is Central Coast.

And North of SF is Northern California.

That said, I live on the Central Coast.

And where I live, there is a lot of fog and a lot of wind but not very much rain.

I happen to enjoy rain.

Quite a lot actually.

So I was extremely pleased to see it raining today.

I think one of the very best things is going to sleep, the sound of rain tapping against your window, wrapped up in a soft, heavy blanket.

The rain makes me calm.  It turns the ocean that stormy green-gray.  The waves start looking like white horses galloping across the water, their sea-foam manes tossing and scattering as they crest and roll away.

I like watching how it comes down from the smoky dark clouds and makes every inch of the water rough and wild.

Petrichor is listed as one of the 100 most beautiful words in the English language.

It is defined as the smell of rain on dry earth.

It is a recurring word in my favorite television show Doctor Who.

In series 6, Episode 4, “The Doctor’s Wife,” it is one of the passkey words the TARDIS sends to Rory Williams that allows him access to an archived control room.

The TARDIS describes petrichor as “the smell of dust after rain.”

I put that as my status on Facebook once.  My summer roommate Sonia pointed out, “If it’s dust after rain, wouldn’t that make it mud?”

I didn’t really know what to say about that.

But I do know it makes everything feel fresh, clean.

RAIN!

Integrity

therightliberalLeave a comment

The word integrity is defined by my Google search as “The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.”

This, as it would seem, is a key factor in a person. There is a reason that the word so often gets tossed around and applied in so many ways.

I have heard it said on multiple occasions that the generation of today lacks this quality when compared to those before us, and that statement makes me really look around and judge for myself.

Surprisingly, I would tend to agree with the above stated remark. I feel that my generation has less of a regard for integrity, it just simply is not a value that we seem to hold as dear.

As with most things, the blame can not be placed on one specific person or thing for the occurrence. But I do feel that there are some very key factors in this trend.

Money makes the world go round more than ever before. My generation has been taught that money is in fact the key to happiness and all satisfaction in life.

To achieve success through money, many feel as though cheating and lying is the way to get ahead, and in many cases they are right. The world of business can be a cutthroat place and in some situations a lack of integrity can really help you.

This sends a message of acceptability when it comes to lacking integrity. As stated in a previous blog, I believe that morals and ethics are unique to each person so this is not a judgement of people’s integrity, simply and observation.

Obviously business ties in with the world of pop culture, another area which I feel has diminished the importance of integrity.

It used to be that the people portrayed in movies were honest characters who would rather die than compromise their integrity.

I am not stating that these characters do not exist in the movies today for they are still prevelant, yet not in such an obvious manner. Added to that there is also the counter of many characters who derive their likability from their overall lack of integrity.

Again, I am not saying that this culture change is a horrible thing or that it is a positive. I simply find it interesting that our values have changed in this way.

From a personal standpoint I can see both sides. I have seen when being honest can bite you in the ass as well as the other way around. So it comes down to each person thinking for themselves on how much they value integrity.

Unfold

yrreskrap1 Comment

AHH!!! GOD IS GOOD!!!!!!!!!!

Everything is beginning to unfold!

Last Thursday, I found out about Brandeis U and got an acceptance and on Wednesday, I found out about Wellesley! I got in!

Nonetheless, being the overanxious person that I am, I thought that maybe it could be a mistake or that Wellesley changed its mind from the Early Evaluation that I received in February.

So in a way, I was expectant yet relieved to hear about Wellesley yesterday!

BUT that is not what is making the blood in my veins race or the tips of my fingers tingle.

I got a glimpse at my Wellesley financial aid package and it stated a $56,885 scholarship! Only $800 would be in loans!

God is good. He is just so good.

Now I will just have to wait to hear back from the other colleges! Next Tuesday: USC, Vassar. Next Thursday: UC Berkeley, Harvard, Columbia, Brown, Princeton, Dartmouth.

Can’t wait to hear what God has in mind for me!

Rah Rah Romney!

therightliberalLeave a comment

All the politicos are talking about the GOP so why shouldn’t I join in? I can think of some reasons but reasons be damned. I digress.

As the Great Divide among Republican questioning the validity of Mitt Romney as a candidate continues, people are running wild in wonderment of what the GOP will do.

The issue is simply that many members of the GOP feel that Mitt Romney does not hold true to their ideals and that is a valid concern. But they then look down the list and cringe, realizing that there is not a soul on there that is electable.

In this three horse race to the glue factory there is only one candidate that would have a chance against Obama and that is Romney. Granted, I don’t think it’s much of a shot but with American voters you just never know.

Santorum is seemingly gaining momentum but at this point it is borderline irrelevant. Gingrich can’t even see the other two, but in true nature of his sheer evilness, Gingrich is staying in the race in an attempt to spoil it for the other two.

I have no idea how many times I have written this but the GOP are a mess. I am on edge that there will be a sudden surge of conservatism and the GOP will regain their lost strength but I have not seen a hint of that happening.

It seems as though Republicans have packed up their guns and beer and decided that 2012 was meant for hunting anyways. Cheney will be delighted.

It is not as though the GOP doesn’t have the funds or the populous to draw from, they just don’t have a candidate. And in my eyes, its not as though they missed someone that should have run. Palin would have added to the hilarity but nothing more and Christie would have just made an ass out of himself.

Who knows, maybe I am completely underestimating the GOP and will be in for a shock come November. But for now I remain confident of the GOP and their mistakes.

Countdown

rangerthecatLeave a comment


I CAN HARDLY HANDLE IT!!!!
I’m getting so anxious there are no words to describe the feeling.
So anxious and crazy and excited and nervous that I can hardly focus.
I want graduation to come; even though I’m going to miss this place like crazy, there will be the most amazing feeling when I walk across that stage and officially become a college student. I will officially have made it to a place in life that I had serious doubts about a few times in my past.
Oh, and I guess that going to Cabo with 7 of my closest friends doesn’t exactly suck either, huh? 😉

So, due to this slight mental chaos that I’m having, I’m going to have a random blog.

First, I wanted to start by sharing a video and singing duo that I find to be just utterly fantastic.


They call themselves Jayesslee, two twin sisters named Janice and Sonia. They have so many covers of songs that have millions of views on Youtube, so the’re pretty popular. Their harmonies just make me want to melt… And I can’t stop listening to this specific one. I highly recommend anyone and everyone to listen to their stuff!

Secondly, I’m just getting so nervous waiting for my last college decision. I’m so pleased with the schools that I got accepted into (and a little bit disappointed with the ones I was rejected from). But most of my friends have already received their Chapman letters of acceptance, and I’m getting very antsy – I JUST WANT TO KNOW! I checked online on the website, and it says that my decision letter has been mailed out already, so it’s just a matter of time… Unfortunately I’m not the most patient person on the planet.

And last, I know that they are over about 2 months away, so I still have time, but I am already stressing out over the AP tests. Man, am I glad that I dropped out of a few of the AP classes I had been taking in the beginning of the year and lightened my load. Now, I only have AP Psych and AP English as opposed to 5 total as I had in the beginning. Still, I feel like these will be really difficult tests and I’m definitely no where near as prepared as I’m hoping to be. One of these weekends I’m going to have to do some serious looking into what the tests are going to expect.

For now, I’ll just keep looking ahead to the good things in my future like graduation and Cabo!!!!! Hopefully it will help the time pass faster, because as of now, it feels like everything is going by so slowly, I can hardly stand it.

The Dailey Method

yrreskrap1 Comment

With summer (and graduation) just around the corner, I have been trying to get fit. My goal is to lose about 5 pounds and get muscle tone.

Well, this weekend was a good step towards achieving my goal.

This morning, I went to the Dailey Method in Santa Barbara with my friend Emmy for the first time. I thought this class would be a breeze but boy was I wrong.

The Dailey Method kicked my butt (or, if i wanted to use proper Dailey Method terminology, it had kicked my seat).

The Dailey Method is a system that combines barre, core, yoga, and orthopedic exercises. There are multiple Dailey Method locations all around America, although many are concentrated in California.

What drew me to the Dailey Method was the way it toned your body to keep it in alignment. I have scoliosis in my upper and lower back that often makes me very tense. The end result of this tough workout was, surprisingly, a more relaxed body. My back feels great and I am not sore at all.

I only wish that they had a location in Boston, where I hope to go to college. For now, I will try to go to as many classes as I can!

Please check out the website: http://www.thedaileymethod.com/index.html

And the video:

College, College, College

rangerthecat1 Comment

Remember back in December/January when I posted a nice little blog about waiting for colleges to respond back to applications?

Well, finally, the waiting is over! (Most of it, at least).

Last Wednesday, I was sitting with a few friends when I looked to see I had a text message on my phone. It was from my Mom, so I wasn’t expecting anything super mind-blowing.

But instead, I open it and immediately start freaking out. She told me that Cal Lutheran had sent a letter to my house addressed to “Accepted Student” and asked if she could open it. Of course I said yes, called her, and she read me the letter. It said I had been accepted and that they were offering me a $15 thousand scholarship. I was so excited I even asked her to send me a picture of the letter.

Cal Lutheran wasn’t a school I was absolutely dying to go to, but getting that acceptance made me feel just that much more secure. I felt like I didn’t have to worry as much, and that I could relax for the rest of my college admissions (or rejections).

When I returned to school from the honors ski trip, I checked my mail box, and surprisingly there were two more letters waiting for me from Sonoma State and San Jose State. Accepted!!! I then checked online at Cal Poly, and unfortunately I wasn’t accepted like I was hoping… But to be honest, I wasn’t as disappointed as I had thought I would be. About a week later, I logged onto UC Merced‘s website and had another acceptance waiting for me!!!

I’m still waiting to hear from 2 colleges, Chapman and UC Santa Barbara. I really hope I get accepted, of course, but at this point I’m just too excited that I got into 4 colleges that if I don’t get in, it won’t be the end of the world.

Now comes the time to choose which one I want to go to. It’s going to be a really tough decision. Most of them are good schools and I feel like I’d have a great time at all of them. At this point, I don’t have a clue what I’m going to do, but it feels AMAZING to know I have options and that I don’t have to worry anymore.
I finally did it! There’s only 82 days until I graduate from high school and then just a few more months until I will be onto the next 4 years of my life in a new place.


The Eden House

kirbyfullyloadedLeave a comment

I have lived in eight different houses.  But I like to call this one, the one on the edge of a canyon, the Eden House. It has been almost nine years since I last entered Eden.  But I still remember everything, perfectly.

The hillside was green and covered in ice plant, dotted with the purple and yellow of bright, spiky blossoms.  When I was five, my father built me a playground with blue swings and a small trapeze.  There was a slide and a low climbing wall near the chicken-wire house, furnished with mildewing green futons.

A deck made of glass, wreathed in poisonous orange trumpet flowers, overlooked the canyon, a bird feeder hung from its rafters.  If I stood near the windows, I could smell the sea breeze from the wide windows while watching the sun turn the sky to fire at dusk.

Our house had a pool with a tiny waterfall that trickled out of the rose-colored flagstones.  The bottom of the pool, painted sky blue, appeared so vibrant in summer that I needed sunglasses while swimming.  Jade plants and sour grass bloomed around the black mesh pool fence.  A little river ran through a papyrus grove just below my window, leading to a tall macadamia nut tree in the yard.

In spring I would pick the nuts and put them in a red plastic bucket.  Then I would take a hammer from the tool shed and crack them on the driveway.  I can still taste them, buttery and earthy, their meat so savory, slightly crunchy and simultaneously smooth.

Wooden steps made a trail from the deck to a blossoming purple jacaranda tree, heavy with flowers and bright emerald leaves.  The bark was thick and knotted, dark brown and russet red.  I used to climb into its highest branches and sing with the birds nested there.  In March I wrapped ribbons around its trunk and hung a hammock to sleep in during summer.

A pepper tree grew outside our front door and when it rained the smell of fresh ground pepper wafted through the sitting room.  The house was painted teal and white, but the paint was cheap and cracking.  It flaked off after every storm, every strong wind.  The diamond-shaped windows were dusty and yellowing, but that house was beautiful.

Honors Ski Trip

rangerthecat1 Comment

Last week, I had one of the best weeks I’ve had so far this year. I took a trip with 18 of my classmates and close friends along with 4 faculty members to Yosemite for the Honors Ski Trip.

Now, I’ve been to Yosemite before when I was younger and I do remember parts of it. But it was so different than I had remembered and so amazing. It was a completely different experience and a really great one at that.

Day #1:
After arriving the night before when there was hardly any snow, we woke up unsure if there would be good skiing conditions. Nevertheless, we went up to Badger pass, rented our skis, and set off on our first cross country skiing journey. The skiing itself was extremely difficult for me, and I fell over at least every 3 minutes. It was so frustrating and I wasn’t really having the best time. about 20 or 30 minutes in, it started snowing lightly. It got colder, then began to snow harder and harder until I could hardly feel my hands or see very far ahead of me. We stopped for lunch at a campground, which was about 3 miles from where we started, and took a break in the cold snow storm for about 20 minutes. Then, we headed back the way we came to make a 6 mile trip. It wasn’t that far, really, but it seemed like it to be because I was terrible at the skiing, but being surrounded by beautiful scenery definitely enhanced the experience.

Day #2:
It wasn’t as hard for me the 2nd day because I had gotten used to the hang of the skiing, but I was still really slow. We went the same way as we did the 1st day, but part way through, we cut off the main path and went a few miles out on a side trail. It was so beautiful, with many less people, and it was sunny and warm (well, compared to the first day). At our stopping spot, we went up a really steep hill onto a flat area where some of us (including myself) stopped and ate lunch as a small group continued on to another destination. We stayed at this spot for an hour or a little bit more, making snow forts, having a snowball fight, building a snowman, and sleeping in the snow with the warm sun beating down on us. It was a very peaceful and beautiful experience. When we got back and were loading up the vans, a group of us saw a coyote that was so close to us we could almost touch it. Its eyes were extremely greenish-yellow and vibrant, and he was so much more calm than I would expect.

Day #3:
This was by far my favorite day. We split into two groups, one that went on another ski trip and one that went on a hike by half dome and the huge waterfall. We walked a while through the trees until we spotted a beautiful bobcat that was only about 20 feet away from us. It wasn’t scared or nervous, and just went about doing whatever it wanted to. I had never seen one before and it was probably the best part of the day – it’s not very often people see bobcats roaming around, even in Yosemite. We took a very nice hike about 4 more miles out to a location called Mirror lake. It wasn’t a very full lake when we were there, it was a bit more dried up than I imagined, but it was still beautiful. We stopped and ate lunch here and did some rock-climbing, if you could call it that… it was more of a sad attempt.
At the end of the day, we went back to where the hike started and took an interesting journey into what are called the “spider caves”. It’s pitch black, cold, rocky, and the spaces to fit through are extremely small. We weren’t allowed to use lamps, so we were all helping the person behind us through. I only made it through the first half of the cave; I chickened out and found a way to get out. The rest of the group, however, crawled through more small spaces for about 20 minutes until they made it out at the other end.

Overall, I would say it was an extremely valuable experience. I saw so many things that I hadn’t ever seen before, and we had SO much fun in our cabins at night playing charades, twister, and cooking dinner together.

To be honest, I was extremely sad for this trip to end and I wish I could do it at least one more time. All I can say is, I’m thankful for the time I spent with those people and that I had the opportunity to experience these new things. It was truly great.

Banking on Failure

therightliberalLeave a comment

One of the many changes we are facing in our country currently is a change in our banking system.

While many people feel that banks are a fairly unimportant part of our lives, on a national level banks are key.

But many people are now feeling as though the banks cannot be trusted. Between the bailout, fragile economy, and some interesting business practices, many of the American people are feeling nervous about using large banks.

Obviously BoA is getting the brunt of this. Many people are switching over to using local banks, which is both a blessing and a curse.

The blessing is that the move supports local business, giving more people jobs in their communities and providing for a more stable community.

The curse is aimed at the national economy. By hurting the big national banks, we no longer have such a strong national banking program. The government can not go around and take micro-loans from local banks if the national banks tank.

Although I am a supporter of the 99% movement, I feel the move to go to smaller banks is a mistake. We have to stay strong as a nation and support the national economy. I know that local economies are important and part of the backbone of the country. But at the same time, we have to keep our government running.