Dear Me

I found an idea online and thought I might try it every couple of blogging weeks.  PLEASE comment and let me know what you think.  Good/bad idea? Is it relatable with a purpose?  Etc… THANKS and ENJOY! J (419)

                Dear Me,

I truly admire your hard work and know for a fact that your parents have instilled in you a sense of dedication.  A dedication that will surely carry you through the rest of your life; as there is nothing quite like a hard-nosed, grinding work-ethic that just won’t quit.  Relentless would be a perfect word to describe a specimen such as yourself.  No, you are not a creature or some kind of “freak.”  Let me explain further:

 If I know you like I think I do, you are a left-brained person.  Everything has a logical explanation that is well thought out and based on causes, effects, and details.  Many people refer to you as being anal-retentive about everything- nothing can get past you without you figuring it out!  Don’t worry.  This only assures you of your well-desired thirst for knowledge. 

I also admire your motivation, as you have never expressed any entitlement.  When I say entitlement, I mean “expecting anything to be handed to you.”  I believe that you value working for things and getting them by right and deservedness.  In your future, you will be looked up to as being independent and extremely capable of any task thrown your way. 

I wish you the best and brightest future. I hope and pray that you continue following your well devised plan towards all of your goals. Nothing should get in the way of you and them.  I know that you are strong enough to reject any harmful situation that arises near and walk away.  Don’t compromise what you have worked for or throw it away. 

Admirable qualities such as the ones I described are keys needed to unlock and accomplish all of your wildest dreams and aspirations!  Even though I am praising you for your track record, you are nowhere NEAR being done.  You still have to get up and prove yourself even more every day.  Keep the good work up.  You will be rewarded soon.  I know it!

Good luck, my friend!

Sincerely,

You

P.S. On a lighter note, you must promise me that you will never subject yourself to wearing ANY of the following: Sketcher Shape Ups, Crocs, Vibram FiveFinger Workout Shoes.  Your feet will die of embarrassment!  Trust me… Oh! And, honey, Gaucho/Palazzo pants are a “no-no.” 

Treat but no Trick. #Nasty

                Halloween outfits.  Come on, ladies!  If a guy doesn’t think you’re cute every other day of the year, what makes you think he will like you on Trick-or-Treat night?  Just because you look like an unprofessional nurse, desperate (and I mean… DESPERATE) Girl Scout, or a “BAAAAD” witch.  Like ew?  Not getting any candy from me.  How about putting on a REAL mask like the rest of us “do-gooders” that exemplify good, clean, wholesome fun on a highly decorated holiday? 

                Call me old fashioned, but whatever happened to the homemade costumes?  Like the bed sheet ghost with the cut out eyes or the papier-mâché/cardboard box costumes?  Get with it people!  Seriously.  Nobody gets excited enough about Halloween anymore to make their child’s costume.  They just go out to the nearest K-Mart… or in you ladies’ case… the nearest Victoria Secret or lingerie store.

                It’s just not classy.  Scout is a prime example of how to look classy on Halloween.  Scout from “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee went to her Halloween pageant at school dressed as a “Canned Ham.”  It doesn’t get any more innocent than that! 

                All Hallows’ Eve should be a fun holiday full of parties, bobbing for apples, jack-o’-lantern carving, pumpkin patches, horror films, bonfires, hayrack rides, and haunted houses.  Not girls in bikinis and swimsuits trying to show their Halloween “goodies!”  Think “Day of the Dead,” girls… not “Day of the Desperates”…

                So when picking out your costume this year, go for innovative!  I’m not saying your little petite frame and delicate face needs to be put in a Chucky mask!  But try something original.  For example: a pirate (especially if your name is Jack or Morgan), Raggedy Ann (if your name is Ann), maybe Harry Potter (if your name is Harry). 

**ATTENTION FELLOW LADIES: Take note!

My uncle went as a Popcorn boy.  He took a cardboard box and pinstriped it with white and red duct tape.  On the lids and his red ball cap he glued yellowish-white caulking to represent the overflowing popcorn.  The red, leather, skinny pants and stark white pumas really were the finishing touches though!  He kicked out the bottom of the box and slipped it over his body!  With a stencil he wrote “Fresh Popcorn!”  Needless to say, he won the competition for the best costume at the party as a street vender selling popcorn.  You all could learn something from him.  Job well done, Eric.

As for you promiscuous Trick-or-Treaters… KEEP TRYING!  The sanity of the clowns, bumblebees, and hippies depend on it! J (425)

Foxy Lady from Gangnam

Gangnam style!  The song that is sweeping the nation.  Its catchy club beat is oddly irresistible.  You have to get up on your feet and shake your ung dongee., while shouting random oriental words.  “I don’t know what the lyrics mean… alkdjflakdjlfkjasdk… HEYYYY! FOXXXY LAAADAAAY! …….GANGNAM STYLE!”

How charming.  For those of you that don’t know much about this craze of a song… I’m here to fill you in:

First and foremost the lyrics that you are singing, but have no clue at all what origin they are from, are Korean.  Huh?  When have any songs from Korea, Japan, China, or Asia, for that matter, ever been popular?  Usually we get cute little accents and guitarists from the U.K. (Beatles), Reggae from Jamaica (Bob Marley), and Latin Pop from South America (Shakira). The genre of music is considered K-Pop (Korean Pop).  So this alone makes “Gangnam Style” special in its own right.

                Second, what is the style associated with “Gangnam?”  Gangnam is a district of Seoul (capital of South Korean). Psy (the South Korean rapper) refers to the “Gangnam style” in the song to give reverence his native neighborhood and the prosperity within it. 

                Thirdly, what do the lyrics translate to?  If you are like me you probably asked yourself why the song is so popular if nobody can understand the verses and choruses.   Although, not understanding the foreign jibberish allows you to fully appreciate the beat and the music video.   http://www.kpoplyrics.net/psy-gangnam-style-lyrics-english-romanized.html <<< This link gave me the scoop on what Psy would be saying if he spoke English.  He apparently is talking about his dream girl and how a man should be. 

                Fourth and foremost, the music video!  This is the reason why this song went viral.  Youtube.  It recently won a Guinness World Record for most “liked” video in Youtube history.  The video shows Psy walking around town, singing and dancing amusingly.  Since then “How to” videos have been uploaded on the dance steps involved with the song.  Ellen DeGeneres, being a dancer at heart, invited Psy to her show for an interview and very public dance lesson.  The dance resembles prancing on your legs while waving your crossed arms over each other. 

                While there have been many flash mobs, tweets, parodies/skits, and article reviews, Psy has blown the world’s mind.  Who knew that a song with lyrics roughly 99.28% of the Earth’s population couldn’t understand would excite everyone?  Psy has become a celebrity, not only in Gangnam… but all over the planet!  J (415)

#CerealProbs

            The last thing I want to deal with when I get home and am hungry is going to the store to pick up a gallon of milk or box of cereal.  Invariably we will run out of them at separate times; never at the same time.  I mean… isn’t that the story of everyone’s life? 

Coming home and pouring my cereal into the bowl, I get enraged when I open the fridge and reach for the milk that decided to become invisible.  Who drank the last cup of gold… err… milk!?  I’m not joking when I say this is ridiculous and definitely a pet peeve of mine.  What is a girl with hormonal taste buds to do?  You can “best believe” I won’t eat “water cereal.”  #ewwwy

Another thing that really gets me is when someone thinks they are doing you a favor.  How could I be upset with that?  They are nice enough to do something nice for me!  It’s kind of a “you think that you’re helping me, but you’re actually hurting me” situation.  When someone else takes the initiative to pour my cereal for me… I lose it! 

This makes me think of a Facebook group that I joined a year ago.  It was comically named, “I hate when people pour my cereal. They don’t know the amount of milk that I like.  They don’t know how much cereal I want.  They don’t know me.  They don’t know my life.  They don’t know what I’ve been through!”  J (221)

"Poop Words" in Songs

            Vulgarity in songs is becoming unbelievable.  I mean… I’m not a “Language Prude,” but my lord.  Every other word is an “F-bomb.”  This is a considerable cause of our generation’s lack of respect and class… AT TIMES (before I get bulldozed in my comment box)! 

            These “artists” (mostly rappers… sorry, 2 Chainz) are taking the Freedom of Speech too far in their songs.  There is a thick line between singing your well-written, purposeful song and screaming every four letter obscenity out there.  Come on now!

            This is what our parents and elders talk about.  You know?  When they say our music is trash, and how different it is.  My parents tell me it’s nothing like the music they had.  Their music was REAL music is what they say.  Sometimes I have to agree.  Some of our music is downright trash.  Why is it so addicting though?  Maybe it’s the feeling of “being bad” and feeling “cool” or “gangsta.”  #holla  Maybe it just has a catchy beat. 

            Another thing I can throw in with cuss words in songs is song content.  Songs are supposed to have purpose and meaning, directly or indirectly stated in the lyrics.  The lyrics in today’s “songs” revolve around all the “big booty ho*s” someone can get.  Or how many “diamonds” someone has in their “watch.”  Not only are they all about materialistic objects such as: cars, clothes, money, and girls, but they are consumed with sexuality and sexual acts. 

            My mother has often times been in the car on a trip with me, and invariably the radio will be on.  I get so embarrassed and ashamed of what pop culture has done to music, that I turn it off/down or start up a really LOUD CONVERSATION!  The last thing I want my mother hearing is how trashy (insert famous rap star’s name here) is for putting down women in a degrading way.  You know?  Talking about a female’s thighs, hips, chest, or butt.  Or the horrid names they call them.  Like they are property to be “won.” 

            What we listen to becomes what we think and our views on society.  If young boys grow up referring to women as “b*tches,” they will have a warped view on what a woman should be like: how they should act, what they should do, what they should look like.  What kind of a girl would want to be a man’s b*tch? They should aspire to be respectable wives to their respectful husbands.  Young males should listen to music that would only praise women, lifting them up on a pedestal. 

            Bottom line is MOST (before I get bulldozed… again) of today’s music is offensive to a large portion of the population. “I will admit that I use rap and hip-hop to “pump” me up for a test or game, but I can’t help but wince if there are naughty words sung.  To all the hard working country and indie singers out there… #keeponrockin’  J (493)

A, B, B, B, D, D, A... #whynoC?

                Over the weekend, I woke up bright and early to a 6:00 am alarm clock.  You may ask, “Wow.  That is true dedication. She probably ran three miles or did laundry… you know? Something productive.”  Well… only some of that is true.  I do have pure dedication, and I did something productive… But it wasn’t running or household chores. 

                It was the Preliminary SAT… better known as the “PSAT.”  And it can be a challenging objective test… if you aren’t the greatest at bubble answer sheets.  When I say bubble answer sheets, I mean the ones that are run through machines.  The ones that require you to use a #2 pencil, and if you don’t fill in a circle all the way you get the problem incorrect. 

                While I think that this test is great to prepare you for your ACT or SAT test, I am a little critical.  The reason that these are scheduled exactly one Saturday before the REAL test is to prep the students and give them a sense of the time frames for each of the sections. (The PSAT takes about three hours.) I believe that it should be scheduled to where the students take it and get their results (that take a ridiculously long amount of time to come back in) before the ACT or SAT. 

                The PSATs aren’t beneficial to the students if they have no way of knowing how they did or what they missed right away or at least before the actual test.  This being said, I propose a solution.  I say that SAT employees should go around the country (providing jobs for more Americans… go me!) giving the tests to schools.  As soon as the kids are done with their practice test, the worker can run them through a portable grading machine.  This is so the children can get a good idea of how they will do, or how much they should study before their ACT. 

                Instead of doing this, students get their pre-test results in December… a week before they get their report that will determine their future (ACT score)!  “Wow… I missed almost every question on the Grammar and Writing section…  That really helps my ACT score NOW!” 

At least with the PLAN test I could get my results before I was allowed to take the actual ACT.  The PLAN test is an ACT prep exam taken by Sophomores in high school.  They give kids an idea of what field they should consider for their future, what subjects they know well, and what subjects they need to work on before their ACT test their Junior year. 

                This is possibly the only “beef” I have with the ACT and SAT organization.  After I was done with the PSAT, I went to a prep class offered at my high school for the Mathematics portion of the test.  My school also provided me with additional packets of information about the two tests and gave me two booklets to quiz myself on.  Wish me luck!  J (502)

SAY IT; DON'T WEAR IT!

            Ever heard about dressing to make a statement?  Lady Gaga, famous pop star, is a perfect example of that.  Her full body “meat locker” costume is a flashy wardrobe piece.  Bold, yet classy would be her personality/dress style. 
            Getting to the real part: BILLBOARD T-SHIRTS!  This is what grinds my gears.  They may have been a trend a few years ago, but no one wants to read what you have to say on your garment.  Shirts that state: “Call me…” (on the front) “maybe…” (on the back) make me want to barf just as much as the shirts with litter monsters storming the Empire State building.  #gagme 
            “Here comes the walking billboard” is what I think whenever someone is coming up to me.  And to top it off, you can’t even read everything there is to read on their camisa!  #ikarumba 
            Don’t even bring up the baby bibs… “Like father… Like son!” “If you think I’m cute, you should see my mommy.” Or “Don’t you wish your mom was hot like mine?” 

(Following up my last blog)  Kids should have a right in deciding if they want to wear that crap or not.  They didn’t ask to be used as a pick-up line for their parents!  And who is so physically confident in themselves as to buy their child that bib!  Give me a break! 

People do it for the “shock value,” but what I’m saying is… SAY IT; DON’T WEAR IT!  J (242)