Goals

I know everyone has been told this but I will repeat it and encourage anyone who reads this to truly think about what I am saying.

It is important to make goals for the different stages in your life. I do not believe it is important to know every single goal for every stage at this moment but to at least have a sense of what you may want to accomplish in the next one to five years.

I am going to come up with five goals to reach before I turn 30 which is only a few years out.

1.) I would like to publish two pieces of written work.

2.) I would like to have one child. (this could definitely change and that is okay).

3.) I would like to travel to three places that I have never been to before.

4.) I would like to have a successful career as a Graphic Designer, or be a full time Writer.

5.) I would like to be fit and eating better.

Now, it is not imperative that you meet every goal you make, they are goals for a reason. Just try your hardest and re-evaluate every now and then. If you decide that perhaps a goal has changed, that is fine. Goals make life more interesting and give us something to look forward to. Make sure that you celebrate when you reach a goal and not to be too hard on yourself if you miss your goal. Best wishes and good luck.

Swine Flu

This seems to be a slightly scary time for the entire world. The outbreak of Swine Flu and the possibility of a pandemic has many people feeling uneasy. I myself am nervous about the idea. I encourage everyone to make sure that they are taking proper precautions by practicing good hygiene and using tissues if you do fall ill. Make sure that if you are under the weather you keep a close eye on your symptoms and do not let things get too carried away before seeking help. Signs are not always the same for everyone but often look just like the flu. Coughing, runny nose, sore throat, fever, aches, lethargy, etc. To find out more visit Web MD, or go to any of the main news sites online, they are all talking about it.

People have been known to die from this flu within 48 hours of their symptoms showing. This is a worse case scenario of course. The death toll so far has stayed within the boundaries of Mexico and I am saddened for their countries losses. I pray as should anyone else who believes in prayer, that this does not reach a higher level on the WHO's scale. Unfortunately it is hard to know if a person will contract this virus or not, and those who do have it are often contagious for an entire day before any signs even show up.

Remember to stay calm and alert. This is not a time for panic, it is a time for using our brains and reacting apropriately. If you are able to, stay out of areas that are infected such as: California, Ohio, Kansas, Texas, New York, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and a few other countries across the ocean. Luckily there is a medication to treat this flu. Just be cautious and keep an eye on the news. Best wishes to everyone!

Jobs

The job market, as many of you know, is very poor right now. It is so frustrating spending hours and hours of time looking for jobs and not succeeding. Even when I have an interview the interviewers are being so picky that one of them told me she was going to interview every single person that sent in a resume... that's a bit much. I was the third person who interviewed; do you think she even remembers me? Probably not.

I am going to keep working at this whole job issue until it is resolved. I am not one to give up. I know I will find something, it is just a question of when and what.

Planets!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090421/ap_on_sc/eu_britain_new_planet

The above is an article about a recent planet discovery. I think that it is so exciting to know that there are other possible places for our civilization to inhabit. Someday down the road we could be traveling through space to a new home. It's also kind of scary because how does anyone know what happens on those planets. What if every four years or ten years the planet randomly floods and clears itself of parasites.. YOU DON'T KNOW! There could be worse things than Hurricane Katrina or Earth shattering Earth Quakes.. {would it be a Gliese 581 E Quake? Furthermore, do we really need to live on a planet called Gliese 581 E? Come on people, that is not a name you want to say when you are writing a report in school.) It's exciting but scary because of all the possibilities that exist within the unknown. I think maybe I would be willing to try it out though. Maybe.

Monday.. booo!

This has been a busy Monday. Perhaps this is an insane amount of time but I spent nine hours today making a website. I had to start over on my site because something was wrong. I feel like I am teaching myself this class. I don't feel like I am getting anything out of it. The professor is nice but he doesn't seem to know how to best utilize his time and get everyone the help they need.

I'm completely drained and need to sleep. Two more weeks of craziness, two more weeks and then portfolio show will be over and I can worry about less stuff.

Gardening frustrations

To anyone who has not seen my home; I have plants growing all over my entire yard. I however, have no idea what any of them are or how to take care of them or even what tools I need to deal with and manage them.

Today I took a garden hoe to the plant bed on the side of my house and promptly uprooted some form of flowering plant on accident. Luckily I have a compost (which I don't even know how to use. What can and cannot go in a compost?) so I took a heap of dirt from there and put the plant back in the ground. I hope it does not die. I also chopped up the creeping vine today and honestly am unsure as to whether or not I have destroyed it or if I should have cut it down even further. I got a thorn from I have no idea what, stuck in my thumb and i also scraped my foot on something as well and it is now burning slightly. Not bad for a beginner. I didn't get very far but I will continue to try my luck at this new found hobby.

I want to succeed at taking care of this yard but how do you know where to start or what to do to what plants when you have no idea what is actually growing? Hmm, some research may be required. If anyone has any suggestions, I am open to them.

Sandwhich of the day.

Buffalo Veggie Bagel

1 - whole wheat bagel halved
1 - wedge of sour cream and chives laughing cow cheese
1 T - whipped cream cheese
1/2 c - veggies of your choice (more or less)
1 - sprinkle of Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb seasoning blend
1 - sprinkling of Frank's red hot sauce.

Toast bagel halves and spread laughing cow cheese wedge on one half. Next spread the tablespoon of whipped cream cheese on the second bagel half. Add all of the other ingredients and enjoy.

Uneasy

I'm feeling very uneasy this evening. I just want to get through my homework and relax but there is a never ending pile of it. I keep taking short breaks but even with the breaks it is hard to focus. I find myself screaming in my mind "JUST GET IT DONE!" I am behind in my independent study class and I have an entire website to build tonight yet. Too much to do and not enough time to get it all done. Not enough time at least for the obsessive perfectionist that is screaming do it perfectly, inside my brain.

Losing Steam

It's that time of year where everyone who is in school starts feeling that crunch. I have one month left and I am losing my steam as well as my desire to be at school. I have sevearl projects to finish as well as other side projects and I find myself wondering how I will find the time to actually complete them all by deadline.

The weather is now turning quite beautiful and that makes me even less interested in sitting inside at a computer or a lecture. I know that time will go fast but that actually makes me feel more uneasy.

I cannot worry too much however, I have always finished what I have started in the past and school has ended well many years prior to this one.

Twitter and Celebs... Again

Okay. I have quit Twitter. As they say in Bambi: Many people appear to be "twitterpated." I myself see it as a waste of time. You can do the same thing with a text message. How many people could you really have that you need to tell what you are doing?

AIM or any other messenger service can do the same thing and you can actually talk back and forth if need be. There are so many other ways to communicate. Why do we need a service that is just for saying: "I'm eating breakfast?" "I'm washing the car." "I had a great weekend." Do we have so much free time and lack of creativity that this is how we want to spend it? I refuse to be addicted to such a thing.

Once again, I like Ashton Kutcher but doesn't he have better things to be a role model for? He has it made and what does he do, he leaves messages on Twitter about what he is doing?

Ryan Seacrest loves Twitter too. I guess in some respects maybe Twitter helps keep people from mobbing celebs in person. Maybe people will instead sit and stare at what they are doing on Twitter.

I will not be one of those people. Sorry Ryan and Ashton. I am not going to ever be one of those people who goes out of my way to obsessively follow you. I like hearing what you have to say once in a while but I won't devote my life to you.

In some respects I wish it wasn't so crazy in this world. There are things I would like to ask certain celebs but they will not speak to just anyone. They are not like other people on the Internet. Others on the Internet will randomly speak to one another simply because they can. You can start a friendship online but most likely not with a celeb. They seem to believe they are better or that they need to hide from the public.

That's actually true though. Celebs do need to hide from the public. You cannot be free and in the open, in person, because of stupid idolizing people. Do not idolize celebs. They are just normal people who have good days, bad days, and everything in between. They just got lucky one day and achieved their dream job. People who idolize celebs ruin it for the people who are normal, and the celebs. Who wants to go out to dinner and be followed by photographers and mobs of people? Who knows, perhaps I am the best friend that a celeb will never find.

Oh, and Celebs, (you know who you are), I don't care who you are with; I don't want to know what you yell out while having sex.

To all my friends who are not on Twitter: I am with you once again.

Easter

This past weekend was great. I went to Eau Claire and helped celebrate my little sister's birthday. We went to the movie Monsters vs. Aliens, ate at Shanghai Bistro and then spent the rest of the night dancing at Sammy's to the band 40 Fingers. If you haven't seen 40 Fingers, I recommend you go check them out. They play almost every weekend and most often can be found at one of the three following places: Sammy's Pizza (bar), the old Woo's Pagoda, or the VFW on Starr. They play a lot of great dance tunes and seem to do well at packing the house.

Anyway, Saturday was geat as well. I went to breakfast with Julie and got to spend some time with my uncle when I ran into him at breakfast. I also got to spend time with my parents and my in-laws which went pretty well. I really had a nice time. Saturday night we stayed at Garrett's Dad's house and had a nice meal, caught up, and watched some movies. I really could not have asked for a better weekend.

Now that the weekend is over I am ready to crash. Wore myself out. Hope everyone else had a great Easter and for those of you who do not celebrate Easter, I hope you had a great weekend!

Ashton Kutcher: Twittering Away

Okay. I know I have said this before but I really cannot figure this out. Why is Twitter so amazing? Why is it such a phenomena? Ashton Kutcher is on there 24/7 and I love him in a "wow you have some fun movies" sort of way. Not in a "I will follow you around way;" more or less I would like it if someone on Twitter such as Ashton or Soleil Moon Frye (two people who rave constantly about the wonders of Twitter) would explain to me why they like Twitter so much.

Hey Ashton! Say hi to me; I'm bored out of my mind sitting alone in Twitter land because no one I know is on Twitter.

There may be a rule against celebs speaking to people of my stature. Sad.

If anyone wants to join Ashton, Soleil and I on the Twitter Band Wagon, feel free. I will be the person sitting alone in Tweetville waiting for someone to actually respond to one of my posts.

American Idol: Who will win?

Of all the American Idol contestants I feel that Adam Lambert is the most talented and has the best range. He knows how to pick the right song and he goes for the gold every single time. There is no partial success with him; he always moves at full force. I predict that he will continue to move at this rate until the final two are left standing on the American Idol stage.

Next week proves to be very interesting. The number of contestants is becoming fewer and those who are yet standing have had some great performances.

I maintain that Danny, no matter how cute he may be ladies, is not as good a singer as Allison or Adam. He always sounds the same and even his last performance was mediocre for me. I think they should put me on American Idol as a judge next year. I can see the headlines now: "New Judge Has Everyone a Twitter," "New Judge Throws Idol Viewers For a Loop," "New Judge Is Just As Harsh As Simon: What will she say next?"

My prediction now has changed slightly. The final showdown will be between Allison and Adam, or at least it should be. They are the best voices on the show. Sorry Danny, I am just not into your performance. I would rather watch two mimes fighting over a melting ice cream cone.

Do not despair loyal Danny supporters; rest assured that your guy will create his monotonous music for your continuous joy and rapture despite losing on American Idol.

Despite my view points listed above, this is to all of the American Idol contestants: You are wonderful and all so very gifted. Never give up your dream.

Tweeting on Twitter

I recently joined Twitter and I have to be totally honest, I do not really understand the point of such a simple application. I am going to continue to give it a chance for a while to see where this goes but honestly, it is slightly frustrating. I have random people following me that I have never met in my life and I know nothing about. Why are they following me?

If I had designed a program to keep track of my friends and what is going on with them I would have added a few more questions such as: Are you available to hang out tonight? Are you taking phone calls right now? Am I allowed to drop by and visit you today?

Make it a little bit more informational so that people actually have something to go by on your availability. I would rather know if someone is available to hang out than know what they ate for dinner or what they are doing out of boredom.

The Dream

I have a dream to become an author. I have always wanted to publish a book and now I am really working on getting to that goal. I feel some frustration on this because I know that some of the people who know me do not back this decision and they feel like I shouldn't even bother with it. I am not listening to them. I am going to continue to work on my writing and get to this goal.

If you have a goal in life or several things that you desire to accomplish do not let anyone tell you that you cannot get to that goal or that it is ridiculous or you should not bother. Don't let anyone tell you that you are not good enough or try to mold you into what they believe you are or should be. You alone can decide who you are as well as who you surround yourself with. If you are alone in life, only you can choose not to be. Don't sit and feel sorry for yourself because that won't get you anywhere. I know we all do that sometimes but it never helps.

Pick up a pen, a paint brush, a camera, work on your acting skills, your singing skills, your dancing skills. Even if your dream is far out there; if you believe in yourself and know you can accomplish it, then perhaps it really is worth a shot. Only you can make that decision. Good luck and know that I will listen to you and believe in you. You must listen to and believe in yourself.

Changes

To anyone who is following me, bare with me. I try to write on here everyday but I have been a little busy this week; I am also contemplating making some changes. Better blog coming soon!

Get out and enjoy the beautiful weather, what are you doing inside reading this right now? ;0)