a small sampling

I was reading the blog of a friend of a friend and was inspired to do this post. The following is a list of things, people, and a few actions that have influenced who i am today for the better or the worse. There are no explanations and there is no particular order as to what comes first or last. Some of these are very large influences, but many if not most of the large influences are not included (so don't expect to see either of my parents, my religion, etc.). This is just for fun.

michael hamilton. Actually... all of the hamiltons.

lake tullouch.

princess mononoke.

applying to be a peer counsellor at washington and lee university.

not having a regular sleep schedule in high school.

phi kappa psi va beta.

driving between southern and norther california with my family many, many, many times.

my mom's chicken 'n dumplings.

The rest of my mom's cooking.

mr. i, my high school calculus teacher.

ikeda sensei, my japanese language professor and so much more.

professor fulcher, my developmental psychology professor.

mrs. thompson, my sixth through eighth grade history and writing teacher.

the disney channel in the 90's. Also, to a lesser extent, nickelodeon.

my violin and sandy mackenga, my violin teacher.

a separate peace.

my fat leg.

alien stories/conspiracy theories.

orson scott card and his books.

youth 'n government.

my jeep wrangler.

the internet.

being a freshman in college when facebook was invented.

the pacific ocean.

snow!!!!

Early this morning i opened up the curtains on my bedroom window to be surprised by giant snowflakes falling straight down! I was especially excited about this because i hadn't been paying attention to weather reports for the past few days so i had no idea that there was a chance of snow. The last two times that it was supposed to snow here in new york the weather didn't really deliver (and one was supposed to be a snow storm!), so i am very happy this morning.

I am now going to bundle up and go walk through the neighborhood to this cool little coffee/tea/fresh spices store because i am out of coffee. Once i get back i intend to make some of that coffee and then sit down by the window and right another blog entry. I know. Two entries in one day after like, half a year of no entries! I am being very ambitious.

You can't really see the snow because it was falling too fast for my camera phone, but here are two pictures of my window.

If you are wondering why it looks like my window is looking directly at a wall, it is because it kind of is. My window opens into a small courtyard between two buildings. It means my room is nice and quiet, but doesn't have an amazing view. I kind of like it.

idiot...!

OK, i spent the day today watching a marathon of the fashion show on bravo. I was enjoying myself and also trying to find an apartment to live in in new york until i got to the last episode of the marathon.  Then i was repeatedly assaulted by the stupidity of james-paul.  I don't know if this is becoming a trend, but recently i have heard several different people use the word indigenous as if it were a politically correct way of labeling people of the third world.  Now, used in the correct way, i guess it could mean that. If you were to say people indigenous to the third world, or people indigenous to any impoverished country or region of the world.  But, james-paul used it by saying he was inspired by 'indigenous people' wearing modern clothing.  And he said the phrase 'indigenous people' over and over.  

I have always understood the definition of indigenous to mean native to.  So saying indigenous people means nothing if you don't say where they are indigenous to. It does not mean they are tribal. It does not mean they are primitive. It does not even mean they are from somewhere else. It just means they are native to someplace.  They could be native to sweden and have the best quality of life in the world and all of the modern amenities.

This really started to get me frustrated and came to symbolize all of the ignorance of the middle class the more james-paul said it.  So i decided that i was going to rant about it and should probably make sure that i was correct about the word before i said anything about it. So i looked at two different online dictionaries and i was right.  In conclusion, james-paul is an idiot and so is everyone else like him.  Beware of committing my newest pet peeve or i will deem you an idiot as well.

cook it forward...?

So this is my first time blogging. I've been reading other people's blogs more and more over the past few years and i have been wanting to create my own blog and get in on the game for a while.  What finally got me to go out and actually start a blog was a post by my friends haley and chelsea on both of their blogs. Haley's friend started the chain and you can go to her blog to read about it, but basically the first three people to comment on her blog get something nice as long as they do something for three other people.  Well, chelsea was one of the first three on haley's blog and i was one of the first three on chelsea's, who is now going to write me a real snail mail letter, so now i have to do it.

So now the first three people to comment on this post get to have a home cooked gourmet meal cooked for them as long as they do something for someone else in return.  I'm going to pick what to cook for you as a surprise, but i want to know your input as to what in general you will want.  Obviously i have to know you and be in the same region of the country at least at some point to do this. 

I'm also doing this as my first post because i am interested in who will find this blog first and how long it will take three people to post on it.  If it doesn't work out that people comment on my blog then i guess i will just have to pick three people based on my whims of the moment. Hopefully this blog will become a regular thing and i'll be posting again soon