365 questions: 333-341

333. What confuses you?

Probably my biggest confusion right now lies with education politics. ASU frustrates me. Federal student loan drama frustrates me. And all wrapped up together, it's a confusing bundle. Education is encouraged, but financially unattainable for so many.


334. In what way are you your own worst enemy?

I don't set myself up for success. I have a tendency to not do homework, because I don't feel like it, or because I often find it menial, and it affects my grade much later down the road. I also (as has been mentioned previously) am not the world's greatest communicator and tend toward emotional reactions. 


335. When did you not speak up when you should have?

I have always had difficulty with the word "no." I don't like negatively affecting others' opinion of me. However, I have recently been making more of a stand for myself.


336. What is your favorite quote?

The entire poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling. I absolutely adore it. 


337. What is your favorite fictional story?  (novel, movie, fairytale, etc.)

I think Jurrasic Park is pretty awesome. Plus, Michael Crichton is one of my favorite authors ever.



338. Where or who do you turn to when you need good advice?

My mama is always a good listener. Erika is pretty wonderful as well. And Kyle knows me better than pretty much anyone, so I value what he thinks. I also tend to spend a lot of time alone when I'm going through something stressful, so I have time to process and think. 


339. What artistic medium do you use to express yourself?

Music has always been my outlet of choice. I haven't had the opportunity to play piano very often in the last few years, but my music is definitely my artistic medium. Anything that relates to it, as well, is fair game. I have gone dancing on a fairly regular basis, as it's an expression of your body to music.



340. Who or what is the greatest enemy of mankind?

Today, I'm inclined to believe it's our own nation's Congress. Damn, guys. Get your shit together. Because it's OH SO TERRIBLE to allow me to stay on my parents' insurance (if they had any) for another year. 

341. What’s something you wish you had done earlier in life?

In the same vein as the previous question... got my shit together. I wish I would've found my focus much earlier, so I wasn't still in school for my undergraduate degree and $80,000 in debt.

Let's talk politics.

I'll preface this by saying I got into this discussion with my fab friend Sam earlier this evening. And it made me super frustrated - so much that I had to do some retail therapy. After a new cashmere infinity scarf and a gorgeous holiday dress, I feel much better. So much that I'll revisit this again. 

I hate politics. I hate that people get so worked up over "their side" that it invites hatred. One of the things I was taught from an early age is to never bring up religion or politics in a casual conversation, because they are both incredibly polarizing issues. My daddy is a wise man. 

Liberals hate conservatives. Conservatives hate liberals. This is an interesting debate for me, because I have always been a registered Independent, but have, until recently, identified more on the Republican side of things. More socially liberal, but fiscally conservative - leaning overall toward conservative values. 

Liberals think conservatives are uptight. Prudish. Jesus freaks. Controlling. Conservatives think liberals are all on welfare. That they all act like victims. They are all jealous and envious, because Republicans make all the money. Liberals are baby killers. 

And quite frankly, I'm tired of it. Mostly, I think this country sucks. Our politics suck. Our appropriation of money sucks. Our laws mostly suck. And people need to quit bitching at each other and accusing each other of being the problem. 

I believe the government should not have any say in what happens in my uterus. I believe I am entitled to healthcare that includes birth control. I believe we spend way too damn much on our military. I believe we involve ourselves in foreign wars to appear macho and we need to quit flexing our muscles. I believe we need to pour more of our money into educating our children and allowing young adults to afford a college education. I believe in small government, and I believe in equal rights for everyone, regardless of sex, gender, or sexual orientation. I believe we should take better care of our veterans who come home. 

Banana Republic, please hire me as a model.

I believe in people. I believe people are our greatest asset, and they are worth the investment. I believe we need to get out of our own way and treat others with love - the way you would want to be treated. 

Speaking of the way I want to be treated, I also just treated myself to this gorgeous sweater. So every time I wear it, I will be thinking of how I just preached that we need to treat each other with love. 

As I close this, I just received a breaking news notification that another US base has been attacked in Afghanistan. Whenever I hear news like that, I am immediately grateful that I don't have anyone I love over there right now. Then, I wonder what in the world we are still doing over there. And lastly, I'm saddened. Attacks like these are a reminder of how little respect and love we have for one another. 

Love your neighbor as yourself. 

xo! 

I am a Constitutional Libertarian. Or: Why the Gov't can suck it.

I last edited this on January 18th. Oops. Told you I was bad about getting things up in a timely manner!

I did the whole "STOP SOPA" script thing in my blog header last month in an attempt to black out my blog in protest of SOPA. All it did was give me a bunch of error messages and refuse to let me change the code back for hours. Rude.

So instead, I thought I'd ramble a little bit about my political leanings. I was asked to do so more than six months ago by someone I met in my travels in Europe, but I never got around to it. So Wing, this one is for you.

Ron Paul is my man.

No really. He is. From the minute I first heard of him, I liked him. The more I've heard from him, the more I realize our viewpoints are aligned. I have a signed copy of End the Fed as well as a signed copy of a pocket Constitution that he wrote the forward for.

He spoke on campus here last December (2010) and that's when I realized I might have been classifying my political views incorrectly.

I'm registered to vote as an independent. I formerly identified as a republican - fiscally conservative but socially liberal. Then Ron Paul was invited to speak by the local libertarian group at their annual conference, and it occurred to me as he spoke that what I thought of as socially liberal wasn't, really. I just don't think the government should be able to mandate a lot of things (whom I can marry, what I choose to do with my body, whether or not to subject myself to pornoscanners at the airport, among many others).

Ron Paul's take on the war? Get them out. I'm so on board. Ron Paul's economic stance? Well, he predicted the collapse of the economy several years before. This guy knows his shit. Ron Paul on abortion? He's pro-life but doesn't believe the federal government should be able to legislate that. Or, in his words, "We don't need a federal abortion police." Yep. He believes the War on Drugs is a waste. "Costly and ineffective." It certainly is both. His take on illegal immigration? "A nation without borders is no nation at all." And Ron Paul on healthcare? Obamacare is crap, but the current insurance situation needs to be abolished, too. Right on.

Ron Paul is my man. As an added bonus, he's incredibly intelligent (a medical degree from Duke isn't exactly a no-brainer). He's not a racist jerk, a pompous assface, or a philanderer. (What great candidates we have for the GOP, huh?) If you're not totally satisfied with the candidates out there right now, please look into his platform.

With that, I'm back to the books.

Ron Paul; Ron Paul!

Photos 25 - 27

Tuesday's photo (Day 25):
I mentioned I went and bought that 3 gal. water jug thing. Well here it is, being a hog in my fridge.

Yesterday's photo (Day 26):
I love it when Raj runs around on the floor. She is such a ham, and I had to take a picture. Yes, I do need to vacuum my floor. She knows how to make a huge mess.

And today! Day 27. I tried to get a part of the display that wasn't quite so gruesome. Looks like I wasn't quite successful, but hopefully the picture is small enough that it doesn't matter. We had some people from AbortionNO.org (or I'm assuming, since that's the web address that was plastered up) on campus today. They had their huge fear-mongering abortion display boards right outside the MU. I really can't stand these campaigns. People are going to have abortions whether or not you try to tell them that it's genocide, or throwing their baby in the trash, or any of the other things the posters said. Ugh.

I took an amazing 2+ hour nap earlier, and now I'm ready to do something productive! I think after I finish my German homework, I'll come back and review an article on PTSD that I read earlier today. Ciao!

It's finally fall!!

75 degrees outside right now, at noon. We had an awesome monsoon last night with the best thunder I've heard in a long while. I love fall in Arizona! We might not have changing leaves, but we have monsoons which are so amazing.

Had my German test earlier. Blech. I didn't study nearly as much as I should have. I tried studying last night but wasn't feeling well, so I went to bed early. I set my alarm to get up half an hour early this morning to study, but didn't do that either. So there was very little studying done for this test. Thankfully we had a few extra credit questions. Hopefully those will give me a little boost.

Tonight is my last "free" night this week. I'm had planned on going to the Chris Young concert with Lori, but she wasn't able to switch her work schedule, so she isn't able to go. I suppose I'll suck it up and not go, then, since I don't want to find someone else to go with me at such late notice. (Plus, I have an O-Chem test on Friday and my time could be better spent studying.) A little bummed, but oh well. It's the better decision for sure. I think I'm going to go to the Trace Adkins concert with her husband next week, and the three of us are probably going to see Darius Rucker later this month.

I paid off another chunk of tuition today. I only have $3500 left! I definitely had not planned on taking this long to pay everything off, so I'm a little irritated - mostly about the ticket insurance situation, since that's an extra $1600 that could be in my pocket right now, but I'll make it happen.

My tire pressure is low again. It always happens in the fall, with the change in weather. That's one of the downsides of being single, and of no longer living/working at Wilshire. I don't have a man to air up my tires anymore, and I hate having to pay for air at the gas station. I'm thinking about stopping by Wilshire tomorrow anyway and seeing if Mohammed has a minute to fill 'em up.

Yesterday's photo! (Day 18):
My adorable little birdy likes to hang out and take a bath in her water dish. She also has a toy, made from a wooden cooking spoon, that hangs right above said dish. I've noticed lately that she likes to scratch her head on it when she's bathing, and was finally able to snap a photo yesterday.

Today! (Day 19):
My favorite place to unwind.

In other news, Sarah Palin announced today that she will not be running in this presidential election! Amusingly, the caption of the video at the top of the CNN announcement page, is "Palin 'thankful' not to be running." Don't worry, Palin! You're not the only one!

I have some studying to do for Friday's O-Chem test since I won't be around much tomorrow evening. I should probably get on that. Ciao!