Rugged Maniac

This is my last blog for English!!!! Yay!!! I didn't really like this assignment at first but it was not so bad. I definitely do not plan to continue blogging because It is all stuff that I tell my friends and I get tired of typing it. I do understand the point of the assignment, because it is just like a journal.
Anyway so for spring break my friend and I decided to sigh up for a 5k called Rugged Maniac. It is a running course but it also has challenges and obstacles along the way. The course is designed by Navy Seals, so I feel it will be strenuous but also fun. I am not a runner nor will I ever be but I decided to sign up because I feel like it would be a good experience. It also reminds me of a mix between Survivor and The challenge, both are reality shows with challenges. Also, my friend from up in Clemson will join me, so it should be fun and exhausting all at the same time. I have been trying to "train" for this event. Meaning doing cardio and weights everyday except Sundays. So far I am on my 4th day and I feel like I should be able to keep it up until the race.

Practically Perfect in every way... Mary Poppins

So this weekend I went home to go see a musical from Broadway. I went to go see Mary Poppins. Mary Poppins is my favorite movie of all time, so my parents and brother bought me tickets to go see the musical in the North Charleston Coliseum. The show was amazing. It was so amazing I would not give justice to it by talking about it. The show is really an experience that is a must see. While some of the original songs are in the show, there are also songs that were created to fit the show. They flow very well. Also, because it is an adaptation of the movie, some scenes are different. Such as, the penguin scene, instead they used statues. All in all the show was just as magical as the movie with even a bit of extra awesomeness. The people really worked hard on this show and they deserve a lot of credit and praise for making a musical play from the movie. Also the woman that played Mary Poppins was spectacular. She was sarcastic yet lovable at the same time. I give mad props to those who participated in the show and made it magical.  

Procrastination at its finest

I am blogging because I am procrastinating. I have to somehow read an article by Francis Bacon. Reading Francis Bacon is a very hard task considering he uses words that I have never heard of. He also word vomits, so every sentence has about 5 words that could be taken out. Anyway so my procrastination continues. This will probably be a very random blog since I really have nothing to talk about. So here goes.

My favorite TV shows ( in no order)
1. Law and Order: SVU ( the only good one)
2. Criminal Minds
3. The Real World
4. Desperate Housewives
5. How I met Your Mother
6. Dexter
7. Survivor
8. Millionaire Matchmaker
9. Top Chef
10. Chopped

Top Five Favorite Movies
1. Mary Poppins
2. Home Alone
3. Toy Story
4. The Little Rascals
5. Easy A

Favorite Song EVER is Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield
My favorite colors are blue and green.
I like to cook, eat, play sports, and be in the cold.
I really want to live in England, Colorado, or even North Carolina or Virginia.
I get super excited when I play video games and will usually throw something with burts of yelling and hitting if I lose.

I have a cat that is my baby. His name is Charlie, or King Charles, since he is king of the house. Charlie is 4 years old and is a ragdoll cat. He is very mild tempered, much like a teddy bear.

Charlie really loves Crab and Shrimp!

Mind Game

A couple days ago in my abnormal psychology class a student brought up a very good question. He asked why we (people) always focus on the bad and never on the good. At first I just shrugged it off because everyone knows it is human nature, right? Then I got to thinking that it is not really human nature, but it is just the way we have built our lives. It is much easier for people to pick out the negatives and tear another person down. It takes courage to tell someone when they are doing a good job. My best friend’s sister actually wrote an article similar to this topic. The article said that schools should focus on rewarding and praising the students rather than just punishing them. Punishment tells someone what they cannot do, it never guides them to the appropriate behaviors that is wanted in life. It is proven people perform better with rewards and praise. Everyone loves a job well done; it leaves a sense of accomplishment. It may even change the attitude of being negative and thinking about the worst into being positive and seeing what people offer. Somehow everything I just said is connected, but whether it makes sense is a good question.

http://www.acei.org/images/stories/MiddleWinter11.pdf

www.acei.org

Love it and Hate It All at the Same Time

I was born and raised in the south. I have a special love for it, but I also have a little bit of hate for it. I know that no matter where you come from you will be looked down upon, stereotyped, and pushed to the side. The northerners are rude, westerners and weird, and southerners are slow and dumb. While many people have broken all of those molds, I feel sometimes I don’t belong in the South. I don’t have a noticeable accent, I don’t care for collards, coleslaw, or grits. I don’t get why people go out and shoot deer for pleasure. Maybe if they needed the meat it would be acceptable. What really baffles me is why every vertically challenged male usually has a lifted truck that is annoying and loud. I’m all about simplicity, but some southerners take that to the extreme. The slow pace of the south irks me sometimes, because I feel like I have a lot of wasted time. I like to be doing things and feeling productive, not sitting on a couch watching a football game. My biggest pet peeve of the south, besides the hick accents, is the slang. Sure I say y’all, but never will you hear me say “I ain’t done it” or “go down yonder.” Or even when people say “I did good,” I want to quickly correct them and say “you did WELL.” Don’t get me wrong the south is a beautiful place with a lot of America’s history in the roots and not all parts of the south are the way I described. I’m in a bit of culture shock coming from Atlanta to Charleston to Clemson.

Atlanta!!!!!

On the 14^th my friends and I went for a day trip to Atlanta. I of course was excited because I am from outside Atlanta, in a city called Lawrencville. Anyway, so we decided to go to the world of Coke. Coke was invented in Atl so it seemed right. I have visited the place before, but it sure did change. My favorite part was the 4d theatre. It was intense, somewhat like a kiddie roller coaster. My second favorite part was the tasting room. It is a room with all the “cokes” of the world. The best drink was definitely the drink from England, which was a carbonated lemon drink. It wasn’t too acidic, nor too sweet. But of course the classic coke couldn’t be beat. Along with sprite and Fanta.

Next we went to the global headquarters of CNN studios. This place was really amazing to me. I took stage tech in high school, and I have always had an interest in how things work behind the scenes. Well, First we went up and 8 flight free standing escalator. Free standing as in no supports underneath. Me, being scared of heights didn’t like that too much. Especially when my friends think it’s funny to mess with me, when I am clearly scared and clenching my hands on the rails. Anyway, we quickly moved into a room where I had an opportunity to pretend to be a news anchor. Reading a teleprompter is quite challenging, and being on the spot doesn’t help at all. We then moved to a glass panal wall where we could look into a real studio. Sadly no shows were being recorded. We then walked past were Nancy Grace does her show on HLN. It was a great experience. Atlanta is such a big and fast paced city. It was refreshing to be out of the country and back in my home environment.

After we grabbed lunch we walked through Centennial Olympic Park which was built for the 1996 olympics. Fun Fact: I apparently went to some of the boring games (horse jumping and fencing) of the Olympics, although I was 3 I don’t remember. The park was beautiful, even though it was winter. I convinced my friends to help me find my bricks. To build the park the people sold bricks to raise money. These bricks were engraved and laid down as part of the paths. My best friend ended up finding the bricks that my mom bought. We have four, one for me, my brother, my cousin, and a memorial one for my uncle that passed away before I was born.

My trip to Atlanta really made me miss it. Although I was 11 when I moved away I still feel like that is my place I belong. I can really see myself living in a flat in the city. That is of course if I don’t go to England. I also enjoyed looking at all the professional people with normal accents.

I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure.

I have the most indecisive friends ever. It wouldn't be bad if I could make a decision, but I can't. I have realized lately that not one of my friends ever says that they want to do something. They simply shrug their shoulders and push the decision on me. It irritates me like no other thing in the world. I end up making the decisions as to where we go, what we do, how we get there, and who's all going. I understand maybe once in awhile letting me decide on what to do, but not EVERY TIME. I have expressed my frustration many times, since it makes me feel like a mother pushing her kids to do something. My friends just don't listen. Now whenever I ask what they want to do, I will ask them again and again until the give me an answer. And just saying "I don't know" won't work. I would like to find some other people that aren't afraid to be the leader and step up. All my life I've had the mellow/follower personality and it makes me anxious being in charge. If I wanted to be and event planner I would have signed up for it.