Of Cars and Men

therightliberal2 Comments

I drove around 300 miles today and they were some excellent ones.

I took my parents on an Easter excursion to see some great wildflowers up near Los Olivos, CA. The drive from Ojai to there was magnificent, something to really enjoy.

The roads are in great condition and the weather was beautiful, and it didn’t hurt that my mother allowed me to actually drive fast today.

To many, the car I was driving is not one to go fast in, and I would agree. I was driving a 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid, a car that has taken me many places, a car that already has over 120k miles on it. But if I try hard enough I can get it going and it actually handles pretty well.

I love cars, so much so that some may describe it as a problem. And on my drive today, every time I saw a car, I tried to think of its personality and what kind of person it matched. This doesn’t mean what person was driving, just, if it were a person, what person would it be?

I see a BMW 550i and imminently think of a pompous and obnoxious businessman. I see a small Toyota Yaris and think of a poor college student who is broke. I saw an Escalade smashed into a pole and thought of Mitt Romney.

But the gem of the day was seeing a BEAUTIFUL Ferrari 308 GTS cruising over HWY 154. Such a wonderful and fantastic car. I can’t help but get shivers when I actually see one driving.

I mean sure, I saw new M5s and 911 Turbos but they just have no class when it comes to a 308.

I am not a fan of older cars, I usually think they are slow and not really that good looking, but when you see a car that looks that good with a Ferrari badge on it, you have to respect it.

This is a video of the road (Figueroa Mtn. Road) I was on, although I was going a tiny bit quicker.

The might of Horses

venturatreker1 Comment

Today, I finally did something that I have been wanting to do at OVS for almost a year. I went Horse Back riding.


Upon arriving I was told I would be riding Lexi, the gentlest and easiest of all the horses.  That’s good of course, except she is HUGE.  Well not huge but pretty big.

While in the stall with the horse, brushing it and picking its hooves it really donned on me as to how big they are.  Although we claim to control them once you are on them or in the stalls with them, they can do whatever they want and you can’t stop them.

Once in the Arena and all mounted up it was time to walk.  Luckily Lexi IS the gentlest horse there so with a “HIGH HO SILVER AWAYYY” we were off at slow walk.

There really is something special about horse back riding.  For one only a hundred years ago or so they were the only means of fast transportation, and back then everyone knew how to ride.  Now its such a small part of our lives its quite sad.

It is wonderful that OVS still puts so much time and consideration into these powerful animals and offers such an incredible program to learn how to ride.

The first meet of the season!

thehungryrunnergirlLeave a comment

This Wednesday, we had our very first track meet at Cate school. Competing schools included Providence hall, Cate, Thacher and us, Ojai Valley.

We didn’t have any field competitors, but we had sprinters and long distance runners. We all ran well.

Two distance runners and I ran in 3 events: the 800m which is 2 laps, the 1600m which is 4 laps(1 mile) and the 3200m which is 8 laps (2 miles). There was only about 20 to 30 minutes in between the events, so it was pretty exhausting.

My coach (thebrownguy) and me warming up:

I love my track shoes, but they peel off my skin every time I run in them. I wear Nike Zoom Victory shoes and I can’t even feel them because they’re so light. Also, the colors are so bright and the colors of each shoe is different.

Well, it was such a fun meet and I can’t wait for the next meet, which is after our spring break!

Language of Flowers

kirbyfullyloadedLeave a comment

Long ago, in a land far far away…Nah.  Jk.

It wasn’t that long ago, or that far away.

During the Victorian-era in Britain (1837-1901) lovers spoke the Language of Flowers.

Ironically enough… I learned about the Language of Flowers from a Japanese amime show called Sailor Moon.

Yeah…

Anyway, the Language of Flowers was used to send coded messages using, wait for it… flowers.

Different blossoms in various arrangements carried special meanings.

For example:

Plumeria: Perfection, Springtime, New Beginnings
Orchid: Refined Beauty

Dahlia: Elegance, Dignity
Read More »

Crossover, Windows for Mac Impossible!!!!

frog3Leave a comment

https://i0.wp.com/cdn4.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Win-7-Boot-Camp-on-iMac.jpg

I love Apple’s OS. It is great, it’s quick, easy, and functional. Nothing of course is perfect and there is one major thing about Mac’s operating system that annoys me. There is just too much windows software that cannot be run on macs. This is a major annoyance. For example most computer games are for windows only. Now of course there is way to side step this minor obstacle. All you have to do is run Bootcamp and run and buy a $115 copy of windows. No one wants to spend money on that though.

This is where a handy little program called Crossover comes in useful. Crossover creates a Windows emulation on your Mac. This allows you to run window programs that would normally be incompatible with Apple’s OS. Crossover is much easier to use than other emulation software. For any Mac user who has trouble with running Windows programs I strongly recommend Crossover.(Link will be at the bottom)

http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/

https://i0.wp.com/www.traffictravis.com/img/v4/crossover-welcome.jpg

Keeping Up Traditions.

YourcupateaLeave a comment

Love

It is always important to keep up certain traditions, family memoirs that mean something personal and connect you with those who have passed or those that are far away.

Today I cooked my Grandmas recipe for an Easter nest. In no way is the recipe extravagant or different but to me it really means something.

I was taught this recipe at the age of 3. With my pull up stool giving me a little height, but not enough for my eyes to meet the counter, I would help her as much as I could in the kitchen. When I would arrive at their house I would run into the secret cupboard retrieve the stool and run into the kitchen readily awaiting my grandma’s presence to bake our Easter nests together.

As I grew taller and could reach the counter on my own the stool grew dusty but never did the recipe in my mind of the famous Easter nest. Yearly we would bake this same recipe together; it was our tradition, until I moved away.

Last year I made the nest all the way in California but it was not the same without her there. This year I will do the same. Although in many ways it makes me sad, this ritual is a joyous motion that honors my grandmother in England and connects us through a single recipe, despite the distance. This is a recipe I will pass on to my children and one day make with my grandchildren to connect to my Grandmother wherever she may be, passing on the love that I feel for her to them through our Easter nests.

Internet Censorship

rangerthecat1 Comment

I can’t believe that it has gotten to a point at this school where we will have our every move monitored while using the internet.

I can understand that students have been using the internet for inappropriate things during inappropriate times, but I just can’t believe that it has come to this.

All I want to do is to go on Facebook for a few minutes during my free period and play some tetris, look at some photos, and chat with people from back home. But, because student have been extremely stupid and disrespectful, I can’t even spend a few seconds on facebook in my “free” time, and I have to wait until weekends or after study hall.

Personally, I don’t do anything wildly inappropriate on the internet. Sometimes, I’d go on facebook during study hall or play a few games during my free period. I also like to use Skype to get information about homework from my other friends that don’t live on campus.

I like to think of myself as an adult, and my peers would think of themselves as the same. It’s ridiculous how we are treated like children and monitored, even if we want to do something simple like watch a video on Youtube.

I’m so over this…

Prom Season…The Perfect Prom Couple

backinphillyLeave a comment

This year, the prom theme is famous couples and this just BEGS to be taken out of context.

I’ve heard a lot of ideas thrown around. I’ve heard Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. I’ve heard Barbie and Ken. For God’s sake, my girlfriend tried to get me to agree to a Tom Brady and Gisele matchup (Hell no).

There’s a lot of wild celebrity couples out there.

However, you know that old saying that no couple in the world is perfect, no matter how in love they are?

I BEG TO DIFFER!!!

I know of one particular couple in popular culture that is nothing short of perfect.

Sadly, they had a very devastating breakup. But, while they were together for years, they were not only life partners, but best friends. They were a perfect team, as two partners are meant to be. They were such a beautiful couple that I won’t even insult them by using their names.

Well, I mean unless you really want to know.

Do ya?

Are you sure?

Well ok.

HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Just playing with you guys.

Probably the most dysfunctional couple in the history of the planet, Kobe and Shaq had their ups and downs. Judging by this picture, Shaq is having Kobe up, but he’s just begging to be put down. (see what I did there?)

Happy prom season to all. Also, to all who celebrate, enjoy the Easter weekend!

Time and Punishment

frog3Leave a comment

https://i0.wp.com/www.sosprograms.com/images/time_out_girl.jpg
Time and punishment. These words compliment with each other. If you commit a crime such as murder you can potentially receive a life sentence. This sentence will take possibly 25 years of your life away. Taking a human life is worth 25 years so what I might ask is the penalty for a minor infraction. Well at OVS there is a “convenient“ system in place. This system is known as Laps. I for one have become quite familiar with this system.

Sometimes Laps are quite justified, sometimes they are not. My most recent experience with this system is my “tardiness” during this Monday’s morning meeting. Well for one I arrived at 8:20, which is technically not late. Another thing is that everyone else arrived early making me appear I was late. During morning meetings I arrive at the same time every day. On Monday’s morning meeting when I was “late” I received 10 laps. I arrived at the top of the amphitheater hill at 8:20,  there was even teachers who walked down the hill with me.

If I received laps for disrespect then shouldn’t teachers have repercussions for lateness. Less than 59 seconds of lateness should not warrant a two-hour punishment. So is my 10 laps really justified? That’s for you to decide.https://i0.wp.com/osocio.org/images/uploads/torontohumane_laps_thumb.jpg

Insurance War

therightliberalLeave a comment

Oh America, how blinded you can be.

My families insurance is about to run out so we have started the battle to find a new one. This is no small task.

First there is the fact that there are thousands to look at. My mom spent hours upon hours searching and narrowing down the field.

She has been worried though because the last time we tried to apply, all three (me, my mom and my dad) all got turned down. It is not at though we have dangerous conditions; no history of heart problems, no history of cancer, etc, etc. But we do have some pre-existing conditions, especially me and my dad.

So my mom finally found some insurance that has a low rate of people they turn away, is a PPO and doesn’t have a deducible so high we have to mortgage the house.

So then she gets to fill out about 8 hours of paper work just to apply for it with a chance we get turned down. And our current Cobra insurance runs out at the end of the month so we really need to get on it.

The moral of the story: we should have a “socialist” health care system.

It makes it so much easier and so much more affordable. I am not commenting on the mandate, that is irrelevant. What is relevant is that people in the US deserve health care, and it’s not free health care either.

We all pay a little and in the long run create a much better society to live in. Sounds like a deal to me.