tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79443346184574902922024-03-12T21:27:14.547-07:00My Game, My RulesJust a personal blog documenting my life, with all of its bizarre adventures.Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.comBlogger565125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-87240097024687922972015-07-05T07:14:00.000-07:002015-07-05T07:15:58.340-07:00Open Letter to my Dear CoworkersDear coworkers,<br />
<br />
I appreciate your dedication to not doing your job. You are truly talented, creative people. In particular, I admire the morning crew (a whopping five or six people!) for managing to do absolutely nothing in the way of cleaning for a whole eight hours! Even when Iris is there, or when you're working in the evening with myself, I admire the way that you avoid doing any sort of cleaning at all; whether it means sitting and 'doing homework,' or hiding in the back, or just filling up the front of the ice shuttle so it's still empty, you have created an art out of laziness. <br />
<br />
Also, I would like to thank you for the way that you don't collapse boxes before throwing them in the garbage. By refusing to take the five minutes to collapse them, you manage to fill the dumpster within seconds, leaving an enormous pile of garbage which won't fit in the dumpster unless I climb in and remove everything you've done so far. On a related note, I appreciate how dedicated you are to not throwing away your own garbage... Saturday and Sunday morning crews, I'm looking DIRECTLY at you. Thank you for pulling all of my garbage cans in the back into the center of the room and piling them high with garbage... and then leaving. It means I have a full 20 minutes of work to do before I can even begin to start the baking (or cleaning the dishes you leave in the sink!)<br />
<br />
In addition, I would also like to say that I admire your skill in avoiding work completely. As in not coming in. I'm not stupid; I know you aren't sick when you call in. I also know that when you call and ask me every week to take the same shift because you don't feel good, it's because you have a thing with your friends and you just can't be bothered to work. I also admire your courage in simply not showing up to work, especially when you do so repeatedly. That's something that I would never have the guts (or motivation) to do. You take slacking to a whole new level of lazy.<br />
<br />
Thank you for all you (don't) do to help.<br />
<br />
- AngelaAngelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-20737465611255098522015-04-07T08:10:00.004-07:002015-04-07T08:10:40.267-07:00College of Lake CountyAs many of you wonderful readers know, I've been studying at CLC, or the College of Lake County, for almost three years now. I've taken many classes, although I've only been considered 'full time' for one semester. I've made friends, I met my boyfriend, and I've learned so much.<br />
<br />
This is why it makes me sad when people criticize CLC for being the 'college of last chance,' or when they say that only failures go there because it's easier than a four year school.<br />
<br />
Let me tell you something.<br />
It is not. Easier. Than. A. Four. Year. Institution.<br />
I have professors, such as my English professor, who taught at four year institutions and quit to work at CLC because they found the students to be more driven and focused. I have other professors who are teaching part time after having something like 50 years experience in their fields. Our nursing program is excellent; we have one of the highest rates of people passing their nursing exams and becoming certified. Our fire safety department is extraordinary, there's a two year dental hygienist program, and many people simply go for two years to save something like $35,000 per year on prerequisite classes.<br />
<br />
There is nothing easy about our academics.<br />
<br />
Also, none of our classes are taught by TA's. All are taught by a professor or instructor who has experience in their field. I've only had two or three professors in three years who have not learned my name, my major, and my learning style. The largest class I've taken was, I believe, either Intro to Humanities or English Comp I. Although I despised my Humanities professor, even he managed to learn my name and still greets me in the hallways, and my English professor has me as one of her research assistants and has been invited to my graduation.<br />
<br />
There is nothing sub-par about our professors.<br />
<br />
The students are driven. Sure, we have some slackers, but if you look at our chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (of which I am a member), you'd probably be astonished at the amount of students who have created and maintained a 3.5 GPA or higher. We have around 50 clubs and organizations, all of which have regular gatherings, and most of which perform service projects. We have organized study times and groups, There are tutors everywhere, and as someone who only passed physics thanks to the tutoring section, I can tell you that they are excellent AND popular. The writing tutors are usually busy, there's always a librarian around if you need help with something, and if you visit our computer labs you'll probably find all of the computers full with people writing papers or completing research.<br />
<br />
CLC isn't for people who just can't make it into a four year institution.<br />
<br />
If you visit the atrium of CLC, and if you sit and listen to some of the conversations, you'll realize that most of the students are discussing politics, religion, sexuality, foreign affairs. They discuss their classes, the curriculum, the college-run events, philosophy, and social injustices for fun. They care about each other; if you stop and ask someone where to find a room, they'll always try to point you in the right direction and half of the time someone will volunteer to walk with you and help you find where you're trying to get.<br />
<br />
<br />
Look. Stop criticizing CLC for simply being a community college. Yes, it's small. It's cheap. We're not the flashiest school. Our walls are mostly cinderblock.<br />
But here's the thing:<br />
Everybody who is at CLC genuinely wants to be there. They want to learn, and they aren't going to let things like cost or distance stand in their way. They aren't there because their mom and dad made them apply, or there to party and waste money. We're there because we care about what we're doing and what we're learning.<br />
We're there to better our lives.Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-44789580182856004092014-11-03T21:08:00.002-08:002014-11-03T21:08:31.478-08:00The Worst Negative ReviewsHey there folks.<br />
As you all know, I work at Dunkin Donuts as barista/cashier/maid/cook/etc.<br />
Sadly, we have, at the bottom of our receipts, something called a survey code.<br />
Which means that customers, who are usually poorly informed, can provide their poorly informed opinions on the operations of our restaurant.<br />
This is so that they can get a free donut.<br />
I digress.<br />
<br />
Today, while I was slaving away for minimum wage, I saw that my bosses had printed out our most recent survey comments. I flipped through the five or so pages of them, most of them either vague or positive, and a certain number of them stood out to me.<br />
Most of the noticeable ones were negative.<br />
My personal theory is that 99% of negative reviews come from customers who are very, extremely, exceptionally, unintelligent.<br />
I'll let you make up your mind after I list several of the reviews that stood out to me, along with my personal interpretation of said reviews.<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><strong>"You need to have an English speaking taking orders at the drive through! I could to understand your employee and she she didn't understand me because my order was wrong!!!"</strong></em><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">This is an actual and direct quote, including the double "she" in it.</span><br />
<br />
Really?<br />
I mean.<br />
Really?<br />
I still can't wrap my brain around this complaint.<br />
Did the person understand how dumb they sounded when they typed this?<br />
I mean, even if you accept that they may have had a typo (which would explain the "she she" and even the "could to" part), are you kidding when you say "an English speaking" as a noun?<br />
I can't.<br />
My interpretation of this?<br />
"I'm racist and I don't like Hispanic people. Also I order in a manner that's so confusing that someone who makes their living by taking orders can't understand what I want."<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><em>There was not only a line at the drive thru to order, but also a line to receive your order! Even when you go inside there is a wait, even if there isn't a line.</em></strong><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>...</em><br />
We're a fast food restaurant.<br />
Being busy is the only way we're still in business.<br />
We're not even that busy most of the time.<br />
And also we make your food as you order it so I apologize if your sandwich isn't immediate, but I think you probably want fresh food.<br />
Also please stop complaining to us about having a line. It literally isn't our fault that other people also decided to get their coffee this morning.<br />
My interpretation:<br />
"I am an impatient person who probably didn't like standing in line in elementary school and also probably my parents gave me whatever I wanted when I was a little kid."<br />
<br />
<strong><em></em></strong><br />
<strong><em>Make the coupon expiration dates longer.</em></strong><br />
<br />
IT ISN'T ACTUALLY UP TO US WHEN YOUR COUPONS EXPIRE. IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT, TALK TO COROPORATE. if YOU ACTUALLY GET TO TALK TO THEM, LET ME KNOW BECAUSE I HAVE SOME ISSUES WITH THEM TOO, THANKS.<br />
<br />
"I'm a decent person but I don't actually understand how franchises work."<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><em>Take the customers order, take coupons at point of payment, and don't tell the customer they are the reason for any mistakes.</em></strong><br />
<br />
Maybe if you actually ordered properly and gave us your coupons when you pay, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. However, it isn't our job to ask you if you have a coupon. We aren't actually mind readers. Also, I'm glad you know how to do my job better than I do. It's clearly always my fault when something goes wrong; it's never the customer's fault.<br />
Admittedly, no. We shouldn't actually patronize our customers and tell them they're the problem.<br />
(Truth be told though, they usually are the problem.)<br />
So try this, customer: How about you actually show some consideration for the fact that this employee has to talk to a hundred other people just like you and take orders that start sounding the same, and actually treat them like a person? How about you don't freak out if we make a mistake, because it's just as likely as you made a mistake with ordering?<br />
<br />
Interpretation:<br />
"I've never had a minimum wage job, I think I know better than you, also I'm way more important than anyone else in this entire building. Your job is clearly to be my servant."<br />
<br />
<br />
To be honest, there were a couple more, but I can't remember them off the top of my head. I'll get some more of them later though, so never fear!Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-55584061283543191752014-08-23T10:43:00.001-07:002014-08-23T10:43:19.921-07:00How to Order Food Like a JerkwadIt has come to my attention that all the "cool kids" are, in fact, total dicks to minimum wage employees. This includes yours truly.<br />
So, in order to promote general coolness in all customers, I have devised a handy guide for all of you who want to order like total buttholes.<br />
Here goes.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Order Something While Talking on the Phone</b><br />
You heard correctly. Maybe. With 99.999% of your attention on the fascinating conversation you're having, the minimum wage worker will have to repeat what she said a dozen times before you actually comprehend the words.<br />
And that's a baker's dozen.<br />
<br />
<b>Take Forever While Ordering but don't let the Employee Help the Next Person who Already Knows What They Want and are Prepared to Tip</b><br />
This step takes a certain skill. First of all, you need to take four or five minutes just to look at the menu, while still saying "I'll have.... uh... I'll do a......" while edging around the counter so that we can't get to the customer who has exact change in their hand (along with a tip) and who is getting increasingly irritated.<br />
(Make sure you're still on your phone, too.)<br />
<br />
<b>Order Something that isn't Even on the Menu</b><br />
So after you've taken five minutes of the employee's time (that's a while $0.68 worth of time in Illinois, btw) that they could actually be using to do things like take the drive thru orders, or clean the counter, or brew more coffee, or make the donuts, or sweep the floor, or start thawing more brownies or stocking cups or any number of things that they need to do...<br />After you've used up this time, now you have to order something that isn't even on the menu. This includes things like "original coolattas" and "chicken egg and cheese on a pepperjack bagel" and "coffee with a scoop of ice cream in it."<br />
This means that the employee has to figure out exactly what you want, as well as trying to figure out how to ring it up. This is going to be trickier since you're still on the phone, right?<br />
<br />
<b>Get mad at the Price</b><br />
Now that you have your insanely complicated and irritating order rung up, you need to get mad because they employee charged you for that ice cream AND the coffee instead of just giving it to you for free. Also get mad because it happens to be $5 for a milkshake.<br />
Because it's totally that individual employee's decision how much something costs.<br />
They're totally doing it just to spite you.<br />
<br />
<b>Pay with a $100 Bill</b><br />
And then get mad when you get your change in $5 bills because we don't actually carry a ton of $20s.<br />
<br />
<b>Be impatient while waiting for your food.</b><br />
This includes interrupting the insanely busy employees with questions like "CAN I HAVE A GLASS OF WATER" and "EXCUSE ME WHEN IS MY FOOD COMING" and "I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS IS"<br />
<br />
Yeah neither do we<br />
WHICH IS WHY WE GAVE YOU THAT LOOK WHEN YOU ORDERED IT<br />
<br />
hemhem.<br />
<br />
Finally,<br />
<b>LEAVE AS BIG OF A MESS AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN.</b><br />
This includes stomping on your ice cream cones, throwing dirty napkins everywhere, shaving in the public restrooms, leaving your coffee cups on the shelves, and overall just being a total ass about it.<br />
<br />
<br />
Good job.<br />
You have now ordered like a jerkwad.<br />
A+.Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-14404011007937295332013-11-03T14:40:00.002-08:002013-11-03T14:40:51.067-08:00Latte Adventures: Hot or Iced?Since I've been working at the local Dunkin Donuts, one of the most common orders is a latte.<br />
Especially from 3-6 pm.<br />
It may help that we have a 99c latte at that time.<br />
Maybe.<br />
I dunno.<br />
<br />
But anyway, we have these lattes. The thing is, though, is that whenever we have a customer, the order usually goes as thus.<br />
<br />
Me: Hi, how can I help you?<br />
Customer: I'd like a medium latte, mocha, with skim milk.<br />
Me: Hot or iced?<br />
Customer: Uhhhhhhhhhh<br />
...<br />
...<br />
...<br />
...<br />
customer: Which one's better?<br />
<br />
<br />
Really?<br />
I work at the stupid shop, like I'm allowed to say anything other than "they're both excellent?" So why are you even asking? And why didn't you think of this before you ordered?<br />
<br />
Eventually they'll make up their mind. Usually the hot latte people have no issue, but then there's the iced latte people.<br />
Let me tell you; iced latte people are either really nice or REALLY picky and have no idea what they're even doing.<br />
Like seriously some of these people I don't think should be allowed to go through the drive through.<br />
Actually, scratch that.<br />
I don't think some of these people should be allowed to order a latte.<br />
Or a coffee.<br />
Or anything.<br />
<br />
They'll order something ridiculous like "white chocolate mocha heavy on the mocha" and we'll make it. A cup of ice, add the espresso, add the syrups, add the milk, add whipped cream, and then any of the toppings (mocha or caramel syrups on top) and then give it to them.<br />
Wanna know what half of them say?<br />
<br />
"Isn't that too small?"<br />
Uh no, you did order a small.<br />
"Why is there whipped cream?"<br />
BECAUSE THAT'S HOW WE MAKE IT. IT'S ON THE STUPID PICTURE. IF YOU DON'T WANT WHIPPED CREAM, THEN SAY "no whipped cream please" AND THAT'S COOL IT'S LESS WORK FOR US ANYWAY.<br />
"But this isn't what I wanted... Isn't a latte just iced coffee?"<br />
You're kidding me.<br />
Just iced coffee?<br />
A latte has espresso and milk.<br />
An iced coffee is, let's see, COFFEE WITH ICE.<br />
Goodness me.<br />
"This has the caramel/mocha/pumpkin/white chocolate/vanilla/whatever, right?"<br />
No I just thought we'd mess up your order on purpose<br />
OF COURSE IT DOES.<br />
If we're unsure, we'll ask you at the window what flavor.<br />
<br />
I don't even know what half of these people think they're getting. Let me show you the picture that we put on all the menus.<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j6os6-2mA-Y/UEO2TPvoAmI/AAAAAAAAACI/y6WNCaHHzeY/s1600/Dunkin-Donuts-Fall-Flavors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j6os6-2mA-Y/UEO2TPvoAmI/AAAAAAAAACI/y6WNCaHHzeY/s320/Dunkin-Donuts-Fall-Flavors.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
See that?<br />
They. Have. Whipped. Cream.<br />
They. Have. Syrups.<br />
They. Are. NOT. COFFEES.<br />
<br />
I just.<br />
I don't even.<br />
<br />
And then today, we had this lady go through the drive through. Our conversation, to my recollection, went as thus:<br />
<br />
Me: Hi, how can I help you?<br />
Woman: I'd like four of the ninety nine cent lattes.<br />
(author's note: We only do two per customer.)<br />
Me: Uhhhh okay<br />
Woman: Caramel. Four. Hot.<br />
(only, when she said "hot" it definitely sounded like she said "iced" so.)<br />
Me: ...Okay.<br />
(Meanwhile, my coworker is starting the FOUR lattes.)<br />
Woman: *pulls up to window*<br />
Me: Um, by the way, the coupon only works for two per customer.<br />
Woman: Well my friend's in the car. So there's two of us. *glares at me*<br />
Okay okay fine lady<br />
Me: Okay....<br />
*money transactions*<br />
Me: Could you please pull forward to the next window?<br />
<br />
She did that, and we finished up the four caramel lattes.<br />
So then I brought it up to the window.<br />
AND THEN SHE WAS LIKE<br />
"But I want HOT LATTES NOT ICED. I SAID HOT. D:<"<br />
<br />
So we had to go back and remake everything which took way too long because to make a hot latte you need to steam the milk<br />
*facepalm*<br />
<br />
Finally I gave her her stupid lattes and had to pretend I was feeling all sorry I'd messed it all up when in reality I was just glad she was finally leaving.<br />
<br />
The only upside to this story is that my coworkers and I then drank the mistake lattes.<br />
Yum.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Here's my friendly advice to you people:<br />
KNOW WHAT YOU WANT BEFORE YOU ORDER. <br />
<br />
kthxbai<br />
<br />
So we're making the iced lattes, right? And then <br />
Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-45386644015089089912013-05-10T12:19:00.000-07:002013-05-10T12:19:26.599-07:00Science AND Religion?!There's a huge misconception that if you believe in God you also cannot believe in evolution. Or that if you believe that a higher being created the world that you can't also believe that the world started with the Big Bang.<br />
<br />
Uh huh.<br />
Sure.<br />
<br />
I'm one of the people we call "Christian Evolutionists."<br />
(Or, as my mom adds: "Catholic. Or Lutheran. Or sane.)<br />
That is?<br />
I believe in God. I think He created the world and made us in His image.<br />
But I also believe that humans evolved from microorganisms from which all life descended.<br />
Wait, what?<br />
Angela, you've gone crazy.<br />
Nuts.<br />
You're bonkers.<br />
<br />
Actually.<br />
Not really.<br />
<br />
If you really think about both theories, they go more hand in hand than a lot of people would believe. The idea that God created the universe does not block out the theory of evolution and the Big Bang. The creation story? Most of us do not interpret it literally anyway.<br />
The main point of the story is this:<br />
God created us. We screwed up. We have sin.<br />
Poof.<br />
<br />
This does not have to happen with women being magically born from a guy's rib. I mean, I could be totally wrong, but I somehow don't see it as being likely that we were formed from one single rib. First of all, science already states that men actually originate as women: Without a certain chromosome, they would be formed as females.<br />
(This is why men have nipples. JSYK.)<br />
<br />
So I don't see that as literal, no.<br />
Which leaves it totally open as to how God created the universe. He made it out of nothing, yeah, but there's nothing to say that he didn't do that by starting the Big Bang.<br />
Actually, if you think about it, his "days" could be huge sections of time for us, in which case the thing where we were created near the end would totally make sense seeing how we had to evolve to be humans anyway.<br />
<br />
But back to what I originally wanted to say.<br />
The more that I learn about science? The more "heathen evolution" I consume and the more I read about the Big Bang?<br />
The more I truly do believe that God did create us. Because there is no way that everything came from nothing, otherwise.<br />
<br />
<br />
The moral of this post:<br />
Religion does not cross out science, or vice versa.Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-1635349742189664372013-05-02T11:09:00.002-07:002013-05-02T11:10:43.190-07:00In Which Angela Discusses Gender RolesThere comes a time when I simply have to bash my head against a wall due to the stubbornness of others and their complete disregard for how reality works.<br />
Gender roles tend to cause these times more often than pretty much anything else.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
Gender roles are honestly one of the worst inventions in the world. Do they work?<br />
No, not really.<br />
Are they "traditional" as we refer to them?<br />
Nope.<br />
Do they make ANYONE happy except for self-inflated, egocentric, controlling men and women?<br />
I don't think so.<br />
<br />
Notice, too, that I said "men AND women." That was not a mistake. That was not my attempt not to be sexist against men.<br />
Males have some pretty awful stereotypical gender roles as well. They are just as unfair as those against women, and they have just as much based off of reality as the images of a woman being fragile as a flower and incapable of taking care of herself do.<br />
<br />
Gender roles don't discriminate. They hate everything.<br />
<br />
Let's take a look at the past, shall we?<br />
Men and women traditionally worked together to gather food. They raised children- sometimes other people's children- and women made important decisions as often as men did. They worked together to protect each other.<br />
We were so focused on the fact that we need to survive that we weren't like "OMG WOMEN COOK AND MEN FIGHT."<br />
We both cooked.<br />
We both ate.<br />
It worked out pretty well.<br />
<br />
Once the agricultural revolution came around, along with the domestication of animals? Yeah, men started taking care of the animals while women grew food.<br />
Different.<br />
But equal.<br />
<br />
And then it sort of spiraled down from there.<br />
<br />
We started marking "hunting" and "fighting" as "the strong things" and "the things you do when you can take care of yourself."<br />
Nevermind the fact that I'm sure there were guys who couldn't fight worth crap (notice: Guys DIED in war. If they were all mega strong manly men then either they'd all of died or none of them would have.), along with women who probably beat up animals and creatures and enemies because the guys were all off killing each other and hey, who's going to let a wildcat eat their toddler? <br />
Uh.<br />
Pretty much NO ONE.<br />
<br />
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Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that either job was stupid or unnecessary. Frankly, I'm glad that my ancient ancestors lived because I'm here now.<br />
Fighting was important.<br />
Agriculture was important.<br />
Raising children was important.<br />
Raising animals was important.<br />
<br />
In fact, I'd go as far as to say they're pretty much equal- at least in that time and place.<br />
So we have these two equal things.<br />
And then ALL the glory gets thrown on one of them- the fighting and raising animals- and then we have a problem.<br />
Because who raises animals and fights?<br />
Right.<br />
Men.<br />
But not all men enjoy this, I'm sure. I'm sure some of them have allergies to cow hair or something and feel nauseous at the sight of blood. <br />
<br />
So I'm going to break from this topic before I go insane trying to explain what I'm thinking.<br />
<br />
So let's move onto modern day.<br />
Women have "equality" and men are happy. Right? All is happy. We all get along. No one prejudices against-<br />
<br />
WHOA.<br />
STOP RIGHT THERE.<br />
<br />
I know, I know.<br />
It's a pretty picture.<br />
But hold it.<br />
<br />
Did you know that there are people who consider women to be "emotional" and "weak" and they need a guy to support them at all times?<br />
Yep.<br />
Even today.<br />
<br />
Sadly enough, in our society, that's not unheard of. It's pretty normal, actually. Women are always being told what to be and what to look like, and it's bullcrap.<br />
We're told that we should be happy for what we have and we should just suck it up and deal because WE HAVE EQUALITY ALREADY, RIGHT?<br />
<br />
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<br />
I'm going to continue this thought in a moment.<br />
Let's look at the other side of things.<br />
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<br />
In the same way that women are stuck inside of stereotypical gender roles?<br />
So are guys.<br />
<br />
Flashback:<br />
Remember back when fighting and hunting was the honorable thing, raising men to be higher than women?<br />
Well, that defined the whole of men. Ever. They were ALL like that. Because that's how they were expected to be, that's how a lot of people still define them as.<br />
<br />
"<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Well look at it like this, not to say that there aren't any exceptions, but on the General, people aren't going to band together under a girl, especially guys, and follow her into battle. There are exceptions but men like to be led by men. I know I'm using Sam's analogy here but in the same instance, most girls cannot achieve the same physical level that men can."</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I think my main problem with people who write stories with girls as the leader is that they fail to change the reality of the situation to a girl being in charge."</span></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">When God created the earth, he didn't create the women to be the leader, to make the tough calls and carry the burden, even for things outside of war, he created the man to do that and the woman to be the supporter."</span></span></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Guys never cry on one another's shoulder's or give each other supportive hugs. With guys, it's all about respect."</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Masculine Tactics:</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">1. Physical Strength</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">This is perhaps the most obvious. I could prove it with a science book.</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">2. Leadership</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Men make better leaders than women. That's just the way it is. Even if it was socially acceptable, Napoleon, Julius Caesar, Robert E. Lee, Hitler, Alexander the Great etc. would not have been as successful if they were women. And don't tell me about Joan of Arc or Debra. The only reason that anyone knows about them is because they are NOT the norm.</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">3. Mortal Intimidation</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">This can be broken up even further.</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">1. Indirect intimidation</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"I have the power to make someone kill you." (women can also do this)</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">2. Direct intimidation</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"I can personally kill you with my bare hands!" (When a women says this to a man, it is rare that he takes her seriously)</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">3. Grand Scale intimidation</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"I can crush you" Meaning my forces will destroy yours.</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">(This sort of intimidation is frequently attributed to a general or a king. Because women do not make as good leaders/commanders, they cannot be intimidating due of the strength of the forces. If you hear about a queen's army, you automatically assume that the queen is not in direct military command. Men like Napoleon have grand scale intimidation.)"</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://marianuniversitygenderstudies.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/advice-from-zombie-marie-curie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://marianuniversitygenderstudies.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/advice-from-zombie-marie-curie.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what I thought of when I read the last quote...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #282828; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14.44px/24.44px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span></span></span><br />
Yes. These are actual quotes.<br />
From actual people.<br />
And I truly am sorry that they have these unrealistic views.<br />
Because really? How is this realistic? At all?<br />
<br />
Guys are not unemotional psychopaths. Women don't need to be the "supporters" because without them guys won't be able to feel emotions.<br />
They aren't uncaring or incapable of taking care of their children.<br />
They aren't all scary people who look like this:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQWJW3prZeUt3H311VguWIq8EbSJ6hlKBDTWBcCZ9d8j9B5OmME" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQWJW3prZeUt3H311VguWIq8EbSJ6hlKBDTWBcCZ9d8j9B5OmME" /></a></div>
Nope.<br />
Thank God.<br />
In fact, they're pretty much... I don't know...<br />
PEOPLE.<br />
<br />
And the sad part is?<br />
The people who stereotype guys (and girls) and create gender roles, basically?<br />
They're guys.<br />
They're the super conservative, "MEN FIGHT AND GIRLS COOK" guys.<br />
<br />
They make up a very small percentage of the world. Everyone thinks they're nuts. And yet we have these stereotypes and gender roles because some people fit them (which is perfectly okay) and think everyone should (which isn't okay.)<br />
Let's think about something.<br />
I'm a girl.<br />
I fit the stereotype of loving cute animals.<br />
Does this mean everyone has to?<br />
Heck no.<br />
They don't have to think hedgehogs are cute. That's fine.<br />
<br />
But let's imagine I think they should.<br />
Let's imagine I'm going around saying<br />
"OMG YOU ARE FEMALE YOU MUST LOVE ALL ANIMALS BECAUSE YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE TWO X CHROMOSONES! D:"<br />
Uh.<br />
Right.<br />
<br />
Actually, let's go a step farther.<br />
Let's say that it's a cultural thing. That all girls need to think that animals are adorable. <br />
What if there's someone who thinks that bunnies are scary? Or who are allergic to cats?<br />
NO<br />
SHUN THEM<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nRB8Jor8tPs" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
How does this even make sense? You're probably all sitting here going "well that's stupid." because it is. It is stupid.<br />
<br />
<br />
Now, to break away from my "WE ARE ALL EQUAL" rant, let's look at something else.<br />
<br />
<br />
We aren't necessarily the exact same.<br />
In fact, yes. Guys are physically stronger. They have better upper body strength, as the mean average. They tend to show emotions in different ways. They aren't necessarily as willing to talk about their emotions as other people.<br />
<br />
When it comes to wrestling matches? Chances are the guy is going to win. This is simply because of their physical advantage.<br />
Does this mean that women are weak fragile, can't-be-as-strong-as-guys?<br />
No!<br />
<br />
Remember, I said the mean average.<br />
(For those of you who aren't up on your math: The mean average is what happens when you add up all the numbers and then divide them by the frequency. In this case, the strength of every guy divided among the number of males.)<br />
I mean.<br />
Let's see. Let's take my friend Katie and my friend Matthew.<br />
Katie could beat him up with no problem.<br />
<br />
Girl is stronger than boy in this case.<br />
<br />
Let's take another example.<br />
My mom and my dad.<br />
Uh huh.<br />
My dad is way stronger than my mom is.<br />
<br />
Boy is stronger than girl in this case.<br />
<br />
And?<br />
There isn't anything wrong with that.<br />
Because you know what?<br />
<br />
We have higher pain tolerance. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, literally. We have a better ego. It's more resilient. <br />
<br />
Sometimes I get the vibe from guys that they're thinking<br />
"Whatever you can do, I can do better, and we're only letting you have a job or a gender role at all because we feel pity for you."<br />
<br />
But really? When it comes down to it? There is no way that guys can do everything we can. Just biologically. Even if they could have children, it's a fact of life that all babies originally start out as female and only become male once hormones start activating.<br />
<br />
Guys come from women.<br />
(Take that, creation story.)<br />
<br />
For everything that we are "lesser" in, you can find something we're "better" at.<br />
When it comes down to it?<br />
Different.<br />
But equal.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
And I conclude my rant about gender roles.Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-80710328814285708522013-01-29T10:42:00.002-08:002013-01-29T10:42:28.260-08:00 You Have Leveled Up!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://troll.me/images/courage-wolf/when-life-gets-harder-you-must-have-just-leveled-up-thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://troll.me/images/courage-wolf/when-life-gets-harder-you-must-have-just-leveled-up-thumb.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
This is an image I personally love. As a D&D player, I love the idea that new monsters and new challenges just mean that you've gotten enough XP to level up.<br />
Sometimes, however, these challenges come in unfortunate or unpleasant forms.<br />
<br />
Such as being so congested you can't breathe.<br />
<br />
The other day I was in charge of watching Philip, and he ended up falling asleep on my lap. Unfortunately, I believe he was also sick that day because guess who woke up the next morning with a stuffy nose and a sore throat?<br />
That's right!<br />
I did!<br />
<br />
And currently my nose is still having issues so I can't exactly breathe quite right yet. It's irritating, but I have that picture up there reminding me that I just leveled up.<br />
Besides that, I have the imaginary voices of my body talking to me.<br />
Their conversations go something like this.<br />
<br />
Nose: YOU DON'T NEED TO BREATHE. BREATHING IS FOR WUSSES.<br />
Me: No! I need air!<br />
Lungs: NEED. OXYGEN.<br />
Nose: MWAHAHAHAHA. NO YOU DON'T.<br />
Throat: Ow ow ow ow ow. I'm in pain. PAIN, I TELL YOU. PAIN.<br />
Me: SHUT UP EVERYONE. WHY CAN'T YOU JUST DO WHAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING?<br />
Nose: You wimp. OXYGEN. Who needs oxygen?<br />
Me: I DO.<br />
Nose: Never! Have a little originality! You don't need to breathe. BREATHING IS UNECESSARY.<br />
Throat: No, seriously, I really hurt.<br />
Me: Shutttt up.<br />
Voice: Uh, sorry, but I'm starting to give out a little. I think I'm a bit under the weather.<br />
Nose: MWAHAHAHAHAHA MY EVIL PLAN IS WORKING.<br />
Throat: I will kill you. D:<<br />
Me: x.x I'm going to go take a nap now.<br />
<br />
<br />
So I'm still working on getting better. But while all of this is going on, I have several super heroes coming to help me.<br />
Such as tea.<br />
<br />
Tea: I AM HERE TO SAVE THE DAY. <br />
Throat: YES. PAIN RELIEF. I AM NO LONGER IN PAIN.<br />
Me: Hah. Take that, nose.<br />
Nose: Noooooooo! Airflow! D:<br />
Me: Yay!<br />
Tea: :( You just ran out of tea.<br />
Nose: :D :D :D >:D I CAN GO BACK TO NOT LETTING YOU BREATHE.<br />
Throat: PAIN. IS RETURNING. HELP ME. SOMEONE. SAVE ME.<br />
Me: X.X<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
...and that's how it's been going for me for the past few days. What about you guys?Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-55907935968029209102013-01-25T18:48:00.000-08:002013-01-25T18:49:11.238-08:00Selling Cookies to HippiesIt's no secret that some of the most interesting adventures I have occur while I'm selling Girl Scout cookies door to door.<br />
One of said adventures occurred the other day when my friend Nina and I went to sell cookies in her neighborhood.<br />
It started out normal enough: Nina and I wandering down the street singing the Doctor Who theme song and talking about how excited she was to sell cookies.*<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*Nina isn't actually a Girl Scout, but since very few Scouts live in her neighborhood I convinced her to go around and bother people with me. She was actually really thrilld to sell them, which I personally find bizarre, but it was good too! :D (love you, Nina.)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
The first few houses we went to had a more or less normal reaction<br />
("No thanks", "I already have some", "Sure", "My granddaughter sells them"), but then we came to a small grey house.<br />
<br />
Now, let me tell you that there is nothing about this house to suggest that it may be out of the ordinary, or that it may be inhabited by anyone other than the people who generally seem to live in this neighborhood:<br />
Normal families or older folks.<br />
<br />
Yeah.<br />
No.<br />
<br />
Nina and I walked up to the door, undoubtedly singing I Am The Doctor and laughing about all the random responses we had gotten so far.<br />
We rang the doorbell, and out came...<br />
A man with a beard, a yellow shirt, green pants, and red suspenders hanging from his sides.<br />
I'm not kidding.<br />
<br />
We were trying to be polite, so out came ther regular greeting from Girl Scouts:<br />
"Hi! Would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies?!"<br />
<br />
Now, just as a side note, most people either say "yes" or "no". They don't usually dilly-dally between yes and no, and they're usually very enthusiastic about either answer. <br />
(Yes, we know you're saying "sorry, but I already bought some", but we all know what you really mean is "WOOT I HAVE AN EXCUSE TO GET RID OF THESE RANDOM STRANGE GIRLS RINGING MY DOORBELL AND BOTHERING ME FOR MONEY".)<br />
<br />
This was the second sign that maybe this wasn't the normal sale.<br />
Instead of a "yes" or "no". we got...<br />
<br />
"Yeah, probably. Uh. Come on in."<br />
<br />
Again as a side note, it isn't smart to go into a stranger's house. But he had grabbed my order sheet, and I felt duty bound to protect it.<br />
So we went in.<br />
And were immediately hit by the smell of either (or both) incense and marijuana. <br />
It was a very strong smell.<br />
Overpowering, you might say.<br />
<br />
So while we stood there trying to breathe, the oddly dressed guy turned to the rest of the room and asked, <br />
"Do we want to buy Girl Scout cookies?"<br />
The four or so people sitting in a circle on couches eating scones had a mix of reactions that ranged from "Yes!" to "Absolutely!".<br />
That is, they all answered in the affirmative.<br />
<br />
Please note that he still was holding my order form.<br />
<br />
So while Nina and I stood there trying to breathe and not really believing what was going on, he motioned us farther into the house, saying that there was a table to write on.<br />
So we followed him.<br />
Into the house.<br />
Of hippies.<br />
That may have been filled with pot.<br />
It was interesting.<br />
<br />
So we ended up in the kitchen of this house. The dining area was filled with another circle of brightly colored couches, and the table in the kitchen contained a guitar, at least three books with men with beards on the front, and a bunch of boxes of obscure looking tea.<br />
There were also a bunch of brightly colored banners hanging from the stairs, and the entire house was painted yellow.<br />
<br />
While we stood there, and the hippie looked at the order form, he asked what is probably the most baffling question I've gotten all cookie season this year,<br />
"Do you have that new cookie? Like a fruity mango one?"<br />
Uh.<br />
What.<br />
I don't understand.<br />
Fruity... mango... cookie?<br />
Because this doesn't actually exist (and never has), I told him that no, we didn't have a fruity mango cookie.<br />
"That's okay. I didn't really want it anyway."<br />
O-kay then. And you were just asing for... fun then?<br />
Nina and I were by this time trying not to look at each other because it may have ended with both of us cracking up, or one or both of us bolting for the front door.<br />
<br />
The hippie asked how much it was per box, and I told him that it was four dollars. He then looked at me and said he better buy twenyt dollars worth. Because he didn't seem to be able to do math at that moment, I told him that that would be five boxes.<br />
"I better do two and three then!" he looked awestruck by his brilliance.<br />
Yes.<br />
Yes, three and two would make five, I suppose.<br />
<br />
So he ordered his cookies, and got out the money to pay us. Just at the moment where Nina and i were like "WE MIGHT ESCAPE FROM HERE ALIVE", one of the hippies (a very short, barefoot woman) wandered into the kitchen. <br />
She also seemed a lot brighter than the first hippie.<br />
"So do you live around here?"<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Author's note: I've already covered how much I hate that question. I hate answering it. It's creepy and stalkerish, and what if I DON'T live around there? What? Are you not going to order cookies? Well, will ya?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">This time the question was even creepier because we were standing in a buttercup yellow kitchen surrounded by tea and hippie books and.. well... hippies.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
Thankfully Nina doesn't mind telling a few white lies, so she answered that yes, we did live around there and yes we were part of the same troop, and I added that we were both seniors and that yes we were still Scouting and it really was quite wonderful and that I hoped they had a good day.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Another Author's note: It was disturbing too because the second hippie actually reminded me a lot of my teen group leader who I do love very much, but who also sort of frightens me. So the entire time I was standing there going "No, it isn't your teen group leader." Which made the stalkerish question even more scary.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
This is when the hippies let us leave their house.<br />
And yes, as soon as we were outside, Nina looked at each other and I started laughing and she gave me a look and said <br />
"That was seriously pretty scary in there. I would not have gone in there alone."<br />
And then we walked away as fast as we could, laughing the entire time, partially because it was so surreal and partially because we had just survived a close encounter with hippies.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
So yeah. That was the most interesting thing to happen to me this time.<br />
Also, I think I'll kidnap Nina and make her go to a site sale with me.<br />
:DAngelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-37289601007493108672013-01-13T06:51:00.001-08:002013-01-13T06:51:57.662-08:00Girl Scout Cookies: What They Mean to YouIt's that time of the year again, where we put on two sweaters, a coat, gloves, scarves, two hats, socks, boots, and venture out into the realm of grumpy non-sugar eating grandparents-with-Girl-Scout-granddaughters strangers to sell them cookies.<br />
<br />
Now, let's face it. Everyone loves Girl Scout cookies. There's always a type that you're going to love, even if you're a weirdo and don't like Thin Mints.<br />
...You think I'm joking, but a few of my closest friends can't stand 'em.<br />
Weirdos.<br />
<br />
We also all know the mission behind the Campain of Ruthlessly Harassing People to Buy Cookies. That is, we're trying to fundraise to go do a special trip, to go somewhere, or just to fund our troop for another year so we can go ask people to buy stuff from us next year.<br />
It's a vicious cycle.<br />
<br />
<br />
But what the actual person doesn't know is what Girl Scout cookies mean to <em>them</em>. Yes, we all know that you're "supporting your local Girl Scout troop!" when you buy a box of Savannah Smiles, but do you really know where your money is going?<br />
<br />
Let me break it down for you.<br />
The majority of the money goes to the Girl Scouts to take care of our camps, to pay the bakers, and to otherwise run the organization.<br />
The meager .80 cents we get?<br />
It goes to fund our vacation.<br />
<br />
HECK YES.<br />
<br />
So while you're enjoying your delicious boxes of Tagalongs at your kitchen, you're also allowing my troop to go out and enjoy <em>our</em> Tagalongs (yes we buy them from ourselves, silly) while sitting on a beach in Georgia.<br />
<br />
Wait, what?<br />
<br />
Oh, yes. Did "fund our trips" sound more noble than "throw money at me so I can go on a vacation this year"?<br />
Why do you think we're not as brutally honest as we could be?<br />
<br />
I'll tell you why.<br />
Because<br />
"Would you please buy some Girl Scout cookies" translates to "BUY THE FREAKING COOKIES MY FEET ARE GOING TO FALL OFF FROM THE COLD."<br />
"Thank you for supporting my troop" translates to "WOOT. I'M ALMOST A DOLLAR CLOSER TO MY $850 GOAL TO GO TO GEORGIA!!!!!"<br />
"Thank you anyway" translates to "You miserable jerk."<br />
"Good morning!" translates to "I'm about to harass you to buy some stuff at me"<br />
and<br />
"I'm selling cookies!" translates to "Throw money at my face! Fund my vacation, lowly minions and strangers! I'll bribe you with cookies!"<br />
<br />
But seriously, that's what's going on here.<br />
We're using the art of manipulation to force strangers to pay for our vacations.<br />
<br />
But hey.<br />
It works.<br />
:DAngelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-82149714795509501132012-12-09T06:15:00.002-08:002012-12-09T06:15:48.959-08:00In Which Angela Rants About Good DMing... And Bad DMing.If you've all read my geek posts, you'll probably know that DM means Dungeon Master. This is the person who runs a Dungeons and Dragons game. <br />
Some of you will also know that I'm a DM, a D&D player, and I belong to a Dungeons and Dragons group.<br />
<br />
As such, I feel like I can rant about DMing styles without too much grief. If anyone reading this is a bad DM, don't despair- your players love to make fun of what happens in your game.<br />
Actually, players love to make fun of what happens no matter what it is.<br />
It's just fun like that.<br />
<br />
I know quite a few good Dungeons and Dragons DMs. My Uncle Erik is an incredible storyteller, and my mother always makes people laugh. My friend's dad used to DM for our D&D group, and he could keep a story going without people goofing off too much between turns.<br />
<br />
Let's break down what makes each of these people a good DM.<br />
<br />
My Uncle: He's really good at describing things, especially zombies flying apart when you hit them. This just makes you want to keep playing, because you want to know what happens next. It also means that certain people (*cough*me*cough*) can randomly get scared of zombies possibly attacking them in a basement after an encounter where said thing happened.<br />
<br />
My Mom: She's silly, and she's not trying to confuse you with what's going on. If you have a question, there's a 75% chance that she'll answer it. Her games are more open ended... You have the choice of what to do, which adventure hook to chase, etc. <br />
<br />
My Friend's Dad: He left things incredibly open world wise, and he always encouraged you to create your character's backstory. Things that might seem trivial at first (but were fun) later turned out to be major components of the story which left you feeling like you discovered something huge by yourself. He also made sure that there wasn't much Out of Game talk.<br />
<br />
So now you know what, to me, makes a good DM. A little silliness, good storytelling and good description, and being able to let the characters do what they want while still going forward in the plot (and keeping the out of game talk to a minimum.)<br />
<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, even though I know these amazing DMs, the majority of the time that I play D&D it's with one of two rather... Unsatisfactory DMs. We'll call them Friend One and Friend Two. Friend One is very much a player character type person, and has a hard time getting into the DM mode, and Friend Two is too focused on the plot and controlling the game to let the characters make choices.<br />
Let's break these down as well.<br />
<br />
Friend One: Is too focused on combat, and is likely to get carried away on a tangent (but gets irritated when the players do so, not to mention when we make fun of the game.) The upside to this person DMing is that we definitely do get a lot of experience points, and everyone more or less knows to stay on topic.<br />
<br />
Friend Two: Is way too focused on the plot of the game. Friend Two treats the game as a story, and the players as characters he's trying to force to do one thing or another thing, which just makes us antsy (and turns at least two of us into instigators). The upside is that Friend Two doesn't mind us making fun of the game.<br />
<br />
And now you know what frustrates me. Being too serious about the game (it is a GAME, after all), and trying to control what your players do.<br />
<br />
And then there's DMs like me who never think to prepare stuff ahead of time (other than a rough plot outline), so they just make whatever the heck they want up while the players go through the game.<br />
It's not the best, but it's not the worst, either.<br />
Then again, I am biased.<br />
B)Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-55385735401982556822012-12-08T06:35:00.001-08:002012-12-08T06:35:38.056-08:00In Which Angela Discusses the Importance of Tolerance and KindnessSalutations my friends and followers.<br />
Er... Blog followers, that is.<br />
Um.<br />
<br />
Today I'm actually going to talk about something important. I am well aware that this isn't fair at all seeing how I haven't blogged in months, but it's something that has been affecting my life quite a bit recently.<br />
That is, toleration and kindness.<br />
<br />
We live in a world where there are billions of people. We live in a country where there are people with different beliefs, different political views, and different opinions. Individually we have to examine our views every time they're challenged and see exactly what we believe in.<br />
With so many different views and opinions, we have to be willing to tolerate them.<br />
<br />
To make this point clear: Tolerate doesn't always mean you have to accept the views themselves. There are certain subjects (for example, religion), where one just doesn't accept someone else's view into the way that you yourself view the world.<br />
But we do have to tolerate them.<br />
<br />
There are so many different people, and it isn't fair for us to simply mark off the people as wrong or bad because they think something different than we do. It isn't fair to be cruel to someone just because they believe one thing and you believe another. Especially if you're in the majority, it isn't fair to expect someone to put up with you just because you're "right" and they're "wrong" (and you're in the majority, so how can you be wrong anyway?).<br />
<br />
Same goes for if you're in the minority, by the way. I just have a habit of picking on the majority because they can do the most damage.<br />
<br />
Everyone has the right to believe whatever the heck they want to. It's undeniable that sometimes beliefs are wrong- the idea that the world is flat, for example, or that we have to sacrifice everyone born on a Friday, or that we have to worship all the purple paperclips in the world. They're just <em>wrong</em>.<br />
But with the exception of sacrificing people, we have to tolerate the beliefs. If they aren't hurting anyone, if they're not doing anything but giving someone something to believe in, then there is no problem with them. It's better to believe in something than nothing, and if this is what they believe then more power to them.<br />
And to the purple paperclips.<br />
<br />
I myself am a Roman Catholic. This is how I have been raised up, and this is how I'm living my life. I consider it the correct thing to do.<br />
However, I know quite a few people who are protestant, and not catholic. To show an example (and not to pick on anyone) (just kidding, I'm totally picking on nontolerant people), there are two types of those people.<br />
The type who accept that this is what I believe and are happy to know me anyway (or unhappy to know me, but it doesn't matter what I believe 'cause they're jerks and just don't like me)...<br />
and the people who refuse to accept the fact that this is my religion, that this is what I believe, and are insistant on trying to convert me because they can't let me be "wrong".<br />
<br />
I'm not friends with those in the second category.<br />
<br />
Speaking as someone who has been on both sides of the equation, yes. It feels great to be trying to correct someone if you think they're wrong. However, it's simply frustrating when you're the other person. Besides that, the person who is doing the correcting comes off looking like a huge jerk.<br />
<br />
So, please, tolerate each other.<br />
<br />
<br />
The second half of this post will hopefully be shorter, and has to deal with the (thankfully) commonly loved ideal of kindness.<br />
That is, play nice and share with others.<br />
<br />
I can guarentee that everyone has something about themselves that they don't like. If you are unkind you're just growing that, encouraging negative thoughts, and just being a destructive force. There are very few, if any, people who applaud people who are mean to them. <br />
So, please. Be kind. Appreciate the people in your life. Whether or not they're jerks, or unkind, or whether you agree with them or not, they're there for a reason. Maybe it's just to show you exactly what sort of person you don't want to become, or maybe it's to help you become the person you're ultimately going to be.<br />
So be kind. Say nice things. Share what you have, and listen to both sides of the story. Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-65995021021218922222012-09-22T09:16:00.001-07:002012-09-22T09:16:46.242-07:00Eco-Friendly Bangles.I've been terrible about posting lately. :S<br />
I'm sorry. My homework load has been INSANE and I can barely keep up with my own life.<br />
<br />
But here's a really quick tutorial (no pictures. ;_;) for eco-friendly bangle bracelets.<br />
:D<br />
<br />
<br />
Here are the things you're going to need:<br />
<br />
-Used glow sticks. Preferably with connectors.<br />
-Scissors<br />
-Hot glue<br />
-Fabric scraps- I used t-shirt scraps and denim scraps from jean refashions.<br />
<br />
Step one.<br />
<br />
Take your used glow sticks.<br />
If they have a connector, you're going to glue the two ends into it. Basically, put glue on the ends of the glow stick, and shove them into the connector. (You're making the bangle bracelet skeleton here.)<br />
If you don't have a connector, get a small piece of paper, glue one end of the glow stick onto it, wrap it up a little, glue on the other end, and then wrap the rest up. Then glue again.<br />
Lots of glue<br />
(I love hot glue.)<br />
<br />
<br />
Step Two.<br />
<br />
Take the fabric, and cut it into strips, as long and as fat as you want.<br />
<br />
<br />
Step Three<br />
Glue one end of the fabric to the glow stick bangle skeleton.<br />
Wrap fabric around bangle as tight or as loose as you want, gluing every so often to secure the fabric.<br />
Once you reach the end, glue the end down securely.<br />
<br />
<br />
Ta da.<br />
<br />
<br />
Kind of a lame tutorial, I know, but I see a lot of these that have to do with buying new bangles, but I being the thrifty/cheap person I am decided to use the used glow sticks.<br />
They look pretty cool, to be honest. :3Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-33154434743451185252012-09-10T07:59:00.002-07:002012-09-10T07:59:26.330-07:00Adventures in LifeI've been extraordinarily busy over the past few months. Between the start of CLC, the start of regular school, teaching piano, forcing myself to be social (EVERY. DAY.), and getting a new dog, it's been pretty insane in my life.<br />
<br />
I have to say, one of the biggest adventures in my life has been the start of CLC. It's a community college around my area, and I've been taking American History 2 there. It's a fun class, and I can more or less find my classroom without incident now, but the first few times were insane.<br />
<br />
In fact, I think I probably looked nuts the first few times, muttering to myself and attempting not to make eye contact with everyone and walking back and forth trying to find my classroom.<br />
Good times.<br />
<br />
Another amazing fact of my class is the amount of idiots in it. You'd think that because it's a college class, that there would be fewer idiots.<br />
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.<br />
No.<br />
In fact. There are several people in my class. Who I just want to grab. And smack. And wonder what they're even thinking.<br />
Example:<br />
The first Thursday class we had, we had to read evidence selections from people such as Booker T. Washington. All influential black speakers from reconstruction at the end of the civil war.<br />
At class, we were seperated into groups, and we were each given a piece of evidence to think about, describe, and then analyze out loud to the class.<br />
We were in the middle of talking about it when this girl in my group opened her mouth and said...<br />
"This is kind of a stupid question.... But are all these people black?"<br />
WHAT DO YOU THINK?<br />
WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT HOW THESE ARE ALL BLACK SPEAKERS WHO HAD DIFFERENT IDEAS OF HOW TO GAIN AFRICAN AMERICAN EQUALITY.<br />
IDIOT.<br />
<br />
Like... I don't even understand this!<br />
And how come I'm the one who always ends up doing the talking? I'm in a classroom with a bunch of other older kids.<br />
And yet I'm always the one raising my hand because the teacher is looking for class participation and everyone else seems to have gone temporary mute.<br />
I shake my head at you, college kids.<br />
<br />
So, right now I'm actually taking a break from reading my assignment for tomorrow's class.... It's rather boring, but I'm entertaining myself by taking notes about everything on it. <br />
<br />
I promise I'll post more later! Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-22917154055066115332012-08-17T14:16:00.002-07:002012-08-17T14:16:24.661-07:00Rose TylerWe adopted a new dog today! She's a mix breed (Shepherd and... Lab? Boxer? I don't really know.) She's from a non-kill shelter called Orphans of the Storm, which got her from a kill shelter in Tennessee.<br />
She's a sweet dog, and I love her lots and lots.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dTDP5ITmzgo/UC60dnJ1CWI/AAAAAAAABDw/kd9bWhMWO8g/s1600/RoseTyler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dTDP5ITmzgo/UC60dnJ1CWI/AAAAAAAABDw/kd9bWhMWO8g/s1600/RoseTyler.jpg" /></a></div>
That's her.<br />
<br />
Her shelter name was Stacey, which doesn't actually fit her at all. So we renamed her.<br />
Rose Tyler.<br />
Or Rosie for short.<br />
<br />
YES. WE HAVE A GEEKY NAMED DOG.<br />
<br />
We get to pick her up on Monday. I'm really excited.<br />
Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-64303547306187135522012-08-13T14:25:00.002-07:002012-08-13T14:25:21.698-07:00Our Adventures at the Dog ShelterAs my last post (I think) says, our old dog Fritz passed away.<br />
Yes, I was sad.<br />
No, I didn't cry.<br />
Yes, I've moved on.<br />
<br />
In fact, for the past week (two weeks?) we've been going to the dog shelter and looking at dogs.<br />
<br />
OHMYGERD THEY'RE SO CUTE.<br />
<br />
I love looking at dogs. Actually, no. I love taking the dogs out into the play area and playing with them. They're so sweet. They're so cute. They're so stinking sad and lonely that it makes me SO HAPPY to play with them.<br />
Especially the spazzy ones.<br />
<br />
At first we found a shepherd (2 years old) we were going to adopt, but she didn't like Carmen.<br />
So now we found a new one.<br />
<br />
She's 5 years old (a young five, though. They say she's six, but that's just not possible.) shepherd/(boxer)(lab)(maybe, we don't really know) mix.<br />
SHE'S SO SWEET.<br />
And, if she's still at the shelter on Friday, we're adopting her.<br />
AND NAMING HER ROSE TYLER.<br />
Rosie for short.<br />
Why?<br />
Because it's an epic name. And a geeky name. And a Doctor Who name. Who doesn't like a dog with a geeky name? No one? Psh.<br />
<br />
Anyway, yes. That's been our adventures.<br />
I want her.<br />
I also want to volunteer at the shelter (probably next year when I can drive), just to play with the dogs. Because they're so cute. And I love them. :)Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-91276741935369451832012-07-30T14:18:00.001-07:002012-07-30T14:18:02.054-07:00Fritz the IdiotLast night my dog, Fritz, died.<br />
No, I'm not going to say "passed away" or "left us" or that we "lost" him, because we didn't. He died. I went and saw him before he did, and there was no way that I can describe it in gentle words.<br />
<br />
He was about 7-8 years old, and a huge German shepherd. We adopted him a couple of years ago, and he's been a moron ever since we got him.<br />
Safe to say, I miss him terribly.<br />
<br />
He either died from heart disease or cancer, and there isn't anything we could have done about it.<br />
<br />
Rest in peace, Fritz.Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-67914459580771162722012-07-28T15:50:00.004-07:002012-07-28T15:50:39.491-07:00Adventure Exists In The MindAngela has nothing in particular to blog about!<br />
AHHHH NOOO! THE HORROR! SOMEONE SAVE US FROM THIS DISASTER!<br />
<br />
In fact, my creativity is more or less gone. I'm tired. I'm hungry. I have no inspiration, no motivation to write or create anything. The most I'm interested in doing is refashioning a t-shirt, something that doesn't take a lot of creativity anyway.<br />
My mind is as dry as an empty swimming pool.<br />
It's as exhausted as I imagine those hamsters are after running on their treadmill things for hours.<br />
It lacks motivation to do everything but sit and stare at a screen as my eyes slowly glaze over and my brain cells commit suicide from the radiation coming from the electronics.<br />
<br />
Why is Angela writing a blog post, then?<br />
Because I'm just awesome like that.<br />
<br />
Actually, that's one of the points that I've meant to bring up for a long time, but never actually gotten around to doing.<br />
You're awesome.<br />
<br />
Okay, no, seriously. Deep down, no matter how crappy you think you are on the surface, I think you must believe just a <em>little</em> bit that you're awesome.<br />
So just accept it already.<br />
<br />
I mean, think about it. Just because you're nothing 'special' doesn't mean anything. It just means that you're not held to an expectation to do something different than anyone else. You just <em>do</em>. You don't HAVE to do things your own way or think your own thoughts. You just <em>do</em> anyway. No one's standing over you, whipping you to do things your own way, or to conform. The reason you're you, and the reason you do the things you do... Is you. It's the way that your brain experiences different things. It's the way <em>you</em> accept things that happen... Or don't accept them.<br />
<br />
You're a different, unique, original person... Because you choose to be, one way or another.<br />
<br />
There is, in my opinion, no person who can be considered not awesome. Why? Because just the fact that you can make the decisions you do, and act the way that you do, and just think the thoughts that you do in the sequence that they happen means that you're awesome. It means that you have created your own personality, no matter how 'unique' it is. You're amazing, because you've created yourself into who you are. Even if you do something really crappy, it makes you awesome because you're just cool enough that you've made a choice.<br />
<br />
Choices make us who we are, and we define the choices we make. We create ourselves, and we mold ourselves into who we are and how our futures look.<br />
<br />
So, please, never believe that you aren't awesome, or that you're at the will of people besides yourself. Why? Because every morning that you get up and do something, you're shaping yourself and your future.<br />
You're awesome! :)<br />
<br />
<br />
(Hey. I found a blog post after all! :))Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-10927103310432416652012-07-12T16:53:00.000-07:002012-07-12T16:53:04.454-07:00I Wrote New Words!There's this song we were taught at camp.<br />
It goes a little like this song:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hNoXsV2X7bs" width="300"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
Only, for the chorus, we sung "The window, the window, the second story window, high low low high, he/she/it threw it/her/he out the window!".<br />
Okay?<br />
<br />
I'm also supposed to be learning the processes of Mitosis and Meiosis reallllly well.<br />
SO I WROTE NEW WORDS.<br />
And here they are. :)<br />
(And yes, they're a little off. But I had to write what the different stages were, and this was as good as I've gotten them so far.)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Interphase is the start, when chromatin is doubled. Chromosones are sistered up, the start of the...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Meiosis. Meiosis. I need to know meiosis. Haploid cells, haploid cells, are created by meiosis.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Prophase One is complex, and tetrads cross right over. The nucleoli disappear as the spindle forms, oh...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Meiosis, meiosis, I need to know meiosis. Haploid cells, haploid cells, are created by meiosis.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Metaphase One is the time when tetrads are aligned. Preparing to divide, yes, ready to divide for...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Meiosis, meiosis, I need to know meiosis. Haploid cells, haploid cells, are created by meiosis.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Anaphase One leads to the divison of the tetrads. Chromosones are still sistered up, part of the...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Meiosis, meiosis, I need to know meiosis. Haploid cells, haploid cells, are created by meiosis.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Telophase One leads to the splitting of the cell. Cytokinesis creates a furrow to continue with...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Meiosis, meiosis, I need to know meiosis. Haploid cells, haploid cells, are created by meiosis.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Prophase Two moves chromosones with a new spindle. Da da da, da da da da, to help with the...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Meiosis, meiosis. I need to know meiosis. Haploid cells, haploid cells, are created by meiosis.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In Metaphase Two chromoses align like in mitosis, chromosones point to different poles ready to divide. Oh...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Meiosis, meiosis. I need to know meiosis. Haploid cells, haploid cells, are created by meiosis.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Anaphase Two seperates the sister chromatids. Na na na, na na na na, part of the...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Meiosis, meiosis. I need to know meiosis. Haploid cells, haploid cells, are created by meiosis.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Teophase Two and cytokinesis create the final cells. To finish up with four cells it's time to end...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Meiosis, meiosis, I need to know meiosis. Haploid cells, haploid cells, are created by meiosis.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
There you go. Now you have a song all about the different stages of meiosis! :D You're welcome. </div>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-1895642273876821202012-07-11T17:59:00.001-07:002012-07-11T17:59:44.664-07:00The Woman in BlackWarning: This post is going to be FULL of spoilers. So, if you haven't read the book or seen the movie, and you don't want it to be spoiled, then don't read this post. XD<br />
<br />
A while ago, I was invited over to my friend's house to see The Woman in Black, aka my first horror film. It was pretty good, and I enjoyed most of it.<br />
Until the end.<br />
Why?<br />
Why didn't I like the end?<br />
BECAUSE NOTHING CHANGES.<br />
I'm not kidding. Nothing changes. To quote... Someone... I want to say it was Mikel... "They started at square zero, and went to square negative one!"<br />
YES.<br />
Yes, yes they did.<br />
<br />
Okay. So, basically, you have this awesome movie, and you ruin it by having nothing change. Jennet doesn't go away. She's still there, presumably still causing children to kill themselves... AND Arthur and his son die? Really? That's so dumb, I literally ranted about it to anyone who would listen for days.<br />
So guess what I did.<br />
I went and read the book by Susan Hill!<br />
<br />
And I will say this: The book had a better ending. Kind of.<br />
<br />
See, Arthur doesn't die in it. His son does, but then he gets remarried.<br />
But there are cons to the book as well.<br />
<br />
Namely, I don't like the way that the book didn't develop the characters and mystery/story of Jennet very much. Nothing really happens to Arthur. Nothing to make him as terrified as he should be... he goes there, he sees the woman in black, he gets scared (as he should be), and he leaves. I think the movie does a better job with developing the story behind the woman in black, and I think it also does a better job in making the stakes higher. You don't just think "oh, wow, I guess his kid is going to die", you feel it as a sort of terrible fate. Like, it's not a question at all.<br />
<br />
Besides that, I rather liked Arthur's character better in the movie, although I like his background better in the book. <br />
<br />
Altogether, I think it was a pretty awful movie (from the ending), and a decent book. In my opinion, if they changed the ending of the movie, just so that Jennet goes away- so that something changes- it would be probably one of the best movies I've ever seen. :)<br />
<br />
<br />
Now, it has also been pointed out to me that, seeing how it's the first horror movie I've seen, I'm not used to the way that the bad guys win because that's just how it works in horror stories.<br />
I have a few objections to that.<br />
Namely:<br />
The book "The Woman in Black", "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde", and "The Invisible Man".<br />
Guess what.<br />
THEY ALL HAVE GOOD ENDINGS.<br />
So, I'm still indignant at the ending of the movie The Woman in Black.<br />
But I liked it.<br />
Just not the ending. <_<Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-10197718352778469522012-06-22T12:41:00.001-07:002012-06-22T12:41:17.983-07:00B is for BackboardingAnd C is for certified lifeguard.<br />
That's right.<br />
I'M OFFICIALLY A LIFEGUARD.<br />
Woot woot.<br />
<br />
I'm actually pretty jazzed about this whole deal. The class was kind of boring, but I think I learned a lot... Besides that, I passed my CPR/First Aid/AED written test with only 1 wrong (woot), and I passed my written Lifeguard Skills and Shallow Lifeguard Skills tests with only two wrong on each.<br />
And then I did pretty much EVERYTHING right in my practical tests.<br />
And I got to be the victim. B)<br />
<br />
Anyway. Yeah. I'm excited about this. Next January I'm planning on applying for a job at the pool... Not sure how that's going to work, but hey, I'll try.<br />
<br />
...And now it's time to work on my packing list for camp, which starts on July first.<br />
Huzzah.Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-58369320633252981052012-06-16T09:52:00.001-07:002012-06-16T09:52:14.258-07:00What Angela Is Reading RecentlyIt seems like June is a time for litereature, for me. I've been writing a lot, editing a TON (way more than I'd like), and I've also been reading.<br />
Yep.<br />
Reading for fun.<br />
I ACTUALLY HAVE TIME TO READ FOR FUN.<br />
(Actually, I don't. I just have been doing it anyway.)<br />
<br />
So, I have some books that I want to read. Here's a list of the ones I can remember off the top of my head.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.bookliquidator.com/catalog/9780152052225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" pca="true" src="http://www.bookliquidator.com/catalog/9780152052225.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Story Time by Edward Bloor.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>George and Kate are promised the finest education when they transfer to the Whittaker Magnet School. It boasts the highest test scores in the nation. </em></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>But at what price? Their new school's curriculum is focused on beating standardized tests; classes are held in dreary, windowless rooms; and students are force-fed noxious protein shakes to improve their test performance. Worst of all, there seems to be a demon loose in the building, one whose murderous work has only just begun. </em></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier</div>
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<em>"Last night I dreampt I went to Manderly again."</em></div>
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<em>So the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter remembered the chilling events that led her down the turning drive past ther beeches, white and naked, to the isolated gray stone manse on the windswept Cornish coast. With a husband she barely knew, the young bride arrived at this immense estate, only to be inexorably drawn into the life of the first Mrs. de Winter, the beautiful Rebecca, dead but never forgotten...her suite of rooms never touched, her clothes ready to be worn, her servant -- the sinister Mrs. Danvers -- still loyal. And as an eerie presentiment of evil tightened around her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter began her search for the real fate of Rebecca...for the secrets of Manderley.</em></div>
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<a href="http://images.borders.com.au/images/bau/97814088/9781408803455/0/0/plain/coraline-and-other-stories-the-bloomsbury-phantastics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" pca="true" src="http://images.borders.com.au/images/bau/97814088/9781408803455/0/0/plain/coraline-and-other-stories-the-bloomsbury-phantastics.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
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Coraline and Other Stories by Neil Gaiman</div>
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(Mine has a cooler cover, though.)</div>
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Basically a collection of short stories (and Coraline!) by Neil Gaiman, who is amazing.</div>
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The Woman in Black by Susan Hill</div>
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(And yes, I'm ashamed to say that the only copy the library had has the same cover as this picture. Oh well. Daniel Radcliffe is awesome anyway.)</div>
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<em>A classic ghost story: the chilling tale of a meanacing specter haunting a small English town.</em></div>
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<em>Arthur Kipps is an up-and-coming London solicitor who is sent to Crythin Gifford- a faraway town in the windswept salt marshes beyond Nine Lives Causeway- to attend the funeral and settle the affairs of a client, Mrs. Alice Drablow of eel Marsh House.</em></div>
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<em>Mrs. Drablow's house stands at the end of the causeway, wreathed in fog and mystery, but Kipps is unaware of the tragic secrets that lie hidden behind its sheltered windows. The routine business trip he anticipated quickly takes a horrifying turn when he finds himself huanted by a series of mysterious sounds and images- a rocking chair in a deserted nursery, the eerie sound of a pony and trap, a child's scream in the fog, and, most terrifying of all, a ghostly woman dressed all in black.</em></div>
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(Saw the movie. I want to see how the book is.)</div>
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The Year of the Hangman by Gary Blackwood</div>
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<em>In 1776, the rebellion of the American colonies against British rule was crushed. Now, in 1777-the year of the hangman-George Washington is awaiting execution, Benjamin Franklin's banned rebel newspaper, Liberty Tree, has gone underground, and young ne'er-do-well Creighton Brown, a fifteen-year-old Brit, has just arrived in the colonies. Having been shipped off against his will, with nothing but a distance for English authorities, Creighton befriends Franklin, and lands a job with his print shop. But the English general expects the spoiled yet loyal Creighton to spy on Franklin. As battles unfold and falsehoods are exposed, Creighton must decide where his loyalties lie...a choice that could determine the fate of a nation.</em></div>
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<a href="http://www.hclibrary.org/highlyrecommended/wp-content/uploads/image/Kristen/chalice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" pca="true" src="http://www.hclibrary.org/highlyrecommended/wp-content/uploads/image/Kristen/chalice.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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Chalice by Robin McKinley</div>
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<em>As the newly appointed Chalice, Mirasol is the most important member of the Master’s Circle. It is her duty to bind the Circle, the land and its people together with their new Master. But the new Master of Willowlands is a Priest of Fire, only drawn back into the human world by the sudden death of his brother. No one knows if it is even possible for him to live amongst his people. Mirasol wants the Master to have his chance, but her only training is as a beekeeper. How can she help settle their demesne during these troubled times and bind it to a Priest of Fire, the touch of whose hand can burn human flesh to the bone?</em></div>
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So, there you go. I have other books I want to read (I want to finish Wuthering Heights, I want to reread The Bell Jar, I'd like to reread the first three Eragon books and read the last one, I need to reread the Abarat books so I can read the new one... etc.), but this is a sample. :)<br />
<br />
Yeah. So, that's basically my post for today.<br />
Sorry for the boringness.Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-18345579307595100552012-06-15T14:15:00.004-07:002012-06-15T14:15:57.608-07:00My Epic ClockToday I bought a clock. But not just any clock. I bought an antique clock from an estate sale. It's kind of steampunk, and extremely epic.<br />
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So I think you should look at my clock, because my clock is just really epic and stuff. Yeah.<br />
(I had fun taking these pictures.)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EU2nOKFRpoE/T9uk8wNfmbI/AAAAAAAABC4/3_HJcWhH3YQ/s1600/clock4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" pca="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EU2nOKFRpoE/T9uk8wNfmbI/AAAAAAAABC4/3_HJcWhH3YQ/s320/clock4.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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This is my clock, and an epic steampunk key necklace my friend gave me (taken on top of a pillow case). It's a wind up clock (antique, I told you), and it ticks REALLY loudly. The alarm is also incredibly loud. But in case you think you've seen all the awesomeness, let me share more pictures!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-99838mg6d2A/T9ulcf2O3QI/AAAAAAAABDA/4r4oZ2kR0eY/s1600/clock3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" pca="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-99838mg6d2A/T9ulcf2O3QI/AAAAAAAABDA/4r4oZ2kR0eY/s320/clock3.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
This is the back of the clock. It has a wind up for the time, a wind up for the alarm, a dial to set the alarm (which is the little circle on the clock face), a dial to set the time of the clock, and a speed adjuster. But sometimes the little things are the most important...<br />
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These are two switchy things on the top of the clock, and these are what sold the clock. I'm not even kidding. Look how amazing they are! I love this clock. It's so steampunk and so awesome, and it's so worth the $15 I paid. Yepyep.<br />
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And that shot is just because I liked it. :)Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-69323044992034506692012-06-15T09:02:00.003-07:002012-06-15T09:06:33.415-07:00How To Wake Up Early And Stay AwakeHave <span style="font-size: large;">YOU</span> ever decided to wake up early... Just to<span style="font-size: large;"> fall back asleep</span>? Do you find yourself <span style="font-size: large;">incapable of waking up</span> earlier than eight in the morning? Do you suffer from a <span style="font-size: large;">lack of motivation</span> for getting up early? Does your family tease you for <span style="font-size: large;">FALLING BACK ASLEEP</span> after setting your alarm?<br />
<br />
If so, <span style="font-size: large;">The Guide is for you</span>!<br />
<br />
On sale now for only <span style="font-size: large;">$999.99</span>, The Guide will solve <span style="font-size: large;">every problem</span> that you encounter*! It will teach you to avoid answering questions you don't want to answer, and it will provide a useful guide to secondhand sales! <span style="font-size: large;">BUY YOUR GUIDE NOW!</span><br />
This is a <span style="font-size: large;">LAST CHANCE OFFER</span>. Buy now and we will throw in an extra pair of underwear AND a toothbrush, FREE OF CHARGE!<br />
Call 555-555-5555 Now to claim this great deal!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">*The Guide does not claim to clean your room, feed the dogs, mop the floor, or save you when skydiving. Please consult a doctor before use. Side effects may include: Vomiting, awesomeness, exhaustion, cancer, and death. Please use at your own risk.</span><br />
<br />
---<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Chapter 7: How To Wake Up Early And Stay Awake</span></div>
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Chances are good that you've had to wake up early before. You probably woke up to your alarm, shut it off, fell back asleep, and then woke up again an hour later, late for whatever appointment you had to wake up early for. It's a common problem that plagues most humans. Here at The Guide, we're dedicated to waking up early. We've developed a stash of secret tips for waking up early and staying awake, and we've developed a comprehensible plan for you, the reader, to follow.</div>
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<strong>Step one: Go to sleep on time.</strong></div>
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It's amazing how many people do not follow this rule. If you need to wake up early, go to sleep earlier as well if at all possible. A good way to decide when to go to sleep is to follow the seven hour rule: If you need to wake up at seven, go to sleep by midnight. If you need to wake up at five, aim to be in bed by ten. This way you'll get enough sleep to deal with the next day.</div>
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<strong>Step Two: Set Your Alarm</strong></div>
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If you have a choice of alarm sounds, go for one that is loud, preferably a song or sound that you like, and one that doesn't make you want to fall asleep again. For example, we find it easier to wake up to Icon For Hire's "Make A Move", or Skillet's "Whispers In The Dark", than something more low key like Five For Fighting's "100 Years". </div>
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<strong> Step Three: Get Things Set Up</strong></div>
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After setting your alarm but before going to sleep, get everything set out for yourself tomorrow. Choose your outift and lay it out, get your favored method of music (iPod, MP3 player, internet, radio, CD player, etc.) set up for the next morning (See step four), and make sure you have a way to reach a light source from your bed.</div>
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<strong>Step Four: Listen To Music</strong></div>
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After waking up in the morning, start listening to music as soon as possible. Listen to something that makes you want to get up and get stuff done, or at least something that prevents you from falling back asleep. Start a CD player, or listen to your MP3 player. The music will make you stay awake.</div>
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<strong>Step Five: Turn On Lights</strong></div>
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Do not let yourself stay in a dark room! Turn on a light, preferably a bright one that lights up your room. Dont slowly turn on lights to give your eyes time to adjust, just turn them on. The light will help your body realize it's time to be awake, and will prevent you from falling back asleep.</div>
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<strong>Step Six: Get Ready</strong></div>
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Get dressed. Take a shower. Brush your teeth. Put on your makeup, if applicable. In any way, get ready for your day, probably still listening to music for as long as you can and always in light. By now you should definitely feel awake, and the chances for falling back asleep are slim. Still, don't let yourself lay in bed, but keep on your feet as much as posisble.</div>
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By the end of step six you will be more or less awake, and you are most likely going to remain so. Just follow these six steps, modifying them to suit your individual needs and environments, and you'll be staying awake after waking up early like a pro!</div>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7944334618457490292.post-91571866782128472422012-06-07T17:08:00.000-07:002012-06-07T17:08:55.111-07:00Rummage Sales, Refashioning, and Running Out of Ideas.Hey, guys!<br />
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I have an odd addiction to getting stuff at rummage sales. Recently I went to one near my house ($5 bag sale... YES.) and got a bag of stuff. I got some amazing boots (that my mom found- thanks), a sweater, a blue shirt (a pretty blue shirt that fits O.O), a pair of jeans (only for the denim- they don't fit me), and... A stack of t-shirts.<br />
What can I say?<br />
I'm a refashioning addict.<br />
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So, yeah. It's all very cool. I actually got some neat ones, and I have a HUGE stack of them in my room as well.<br />
Problem is?<br />
I'm sort of kind of maybe running out of things I want to try.<br />
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Don't get me wrong. There's like fifty billion cool t-shirt tutes on the web. But most of them are all the same- and geared for adults. I don't really want a shirt that you can't tell I refashioned.<br />
Truth is, I sort of don't need more shirts anyway.<br />
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Now I come with a challenge:<br />
Come up with some ideas for refashions (can be as specific as "here is a tutorial, go make it" or as vague as "maybe like a skirt with a ruffle on the bottom or with maybe a pocket?"), and either email them to me or leave 'em as a comment.<br />
And then I'll make 'em. :DAngelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18367954400853483390noreply@blogger.com4