READ THE BOOK.

I happen to have a project now that I need to get done with two other individuals. Everything was going okay. We got the books needed to gather our information, and I was skimming through and taking notes.

And then this happened.

"Ugh, I can't believe this. I can't understand this. I hate it when you have to read these."

Really?

You're a college student - and you can't read a non-fiction book and understand it?

What the hell?

Are we so accustomed to professors spoon feeding our information through bullet points that actual college students can't take information from a book?

This cannot be right.

I do not care if you're better at math or science than you are at history.

All you have to do is READ THE BOOK. Its that simple. You don't even need to deduce conclusions from your information - you just need to READ THE INFORMATION.

GAH.

That one Asian chick

Being half-Caucasian and half-Chinese plus living in America means I get this one a lot:
"Hey, you're that one Asian chick!"

Yes, yes I am that one Asian chick. Good thing you know how to qualify my gender with the fact that you can't figure out whether I'm Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or a mix.

Americans (including people of minority ethnicities) have the habit of labeling people by their race, unless they're white. For example, if my friend is trying to explain her other friend to me I might hear:
"The tall blonde girl." Or "The short busty girl". Never the "Tall white red-head". Or the "French short girl."
However, if her friend is of another race I would hear:
"The black girl." or "The Hispanic girl with the curly hair."

Funny enough, Americans also have the habit of thinking that this wouldn't be the case if say, I were in China.
And they're right.
Sort of.
In China, I had the singular reaction of people pointing at me and saying:
"Foreigner!"
In fact, they do that to, well everyone, who isn't Chinese in China.
So they don't say "black person", or "white person", or even "mixed", they just go with "Foreign".

Obviously, this wouldn't really work in America. China has the advantage of the fact that the majority of their populace is Chinese, and all other ethnicities typically are just there on vacation. However, somehow I feel the reaction is a little better. For once I wasn't the Asian girl. I was just....different.

WTF Nebraska, WTF

Today, I drove home from school with the windows down.

.....

Yeah, it's not that interesting or terribly exciting.

But check out the date.

ITS JANUARY 30th.

I'm sitting outside on the porch, typing this post, in JANUARY.

For those of you not from Nebraska - this is rather strange. 70 degree weather doesn't happen in January. Ever.

Typically, Nebraska in January looks like heavy duty coats, three feet of snow, and -15 degree temperature.

It doesn't look like multitudes of people in the park, light jackets, and driving with the windows down.

So seriously Nebraska, WTF? The last time I checked, we were supposed to be having winter right now. But as far as I can tell, its either spring or late fall. Certainly not winter.

I just don't get it.

Review and Resolutions

2011 was a crazy year. After reminiscing about what all occurred in my life, I decided to write down some of the ridiculous shit and share them with you.
Oh, and also, I've got some stuff to say to 2012 too.

So lets check out 2011.

• accomplished first semester of college
• had several mental breakdowns throughout said semester
• didn't die, hooray!
  
• made strides to become more independent and self-sufficient
• used the metro bus system for the first time (add +30 to transportation)
  
• gained car (add +70 to transportation)
• lost/grew apart from close (and closest) friends
• found out who true friends really were (I LOVE YOU GUYS)

So 2012.

Here's the deal.

I've got some resolutions for you to tango with.

1. Find ways to de-stress regularly throughout the week. If I don't, I will break down from the stress of school. The end.
   
2. Don't die.
   
3. Become a better person. Hell, everyone needs improvements, and I know I have plenty of things I need to work on.

These aren't quite resolutions, but these are the things I'll be working on for 2012, so look out for them in the upcoming months:

Expanding YummyShinyThings (my jewelry line): I'll be actually creating an online store that will be fully functional hopefully in the next few weeks (definitely before the end of January!) I'm also going to try to get my jewelry in more shops for those of you that like to shop locally :D

Making Music: Besides the normal stuff you see from a music major in college, I'm going to attempt more online music projects, so keep an eye out for those.

Rantings: I'm going to continue to rant about stuff as regularly as possible, but I'm also gonna add some stuff. For example, I'm going to start making "How To" tutorials, and I'm going try to use more pictures in my rants for you to look at. If you have ANY suggestions as to what you'd like to read about, feel free to leave a comment!

And with that I'll leave you with a pretty picture for no reason whatsoever!

FWEEEEEEE!

....I need sleep.

Frozen yogurt - lets cut the crap.

I don't typically rant about nutrition.
I am not a calorie counter, in fact I barely check the nutritional facts about food. Typically though, I eat well. I eat lots of fruits and vegetables, not many fatty foods, and few deserts.
But there is one thing that I'm starting to see that really pisses me off.
The new frozen yogurt fad.

They all boast the: "Healthy Alternative to Ice Cream!"
They also follow this formula.

Color:____ + Fruit/plant:______ = Overpriced frozen yogurt.
Ex: Red Mango
Orange Leaf
Pinkberry

Somehow, this magical combination of fruit and color, plus the "modern" decor covered in simple geometric shapes, bright colors, and "do it yourself" dispensers gives people the opportunity to feel "cool and hip for 15 minutes" (I swear, this was said in all seriousness by another blogger) while spending a ton of money on not a lot of food.

Lets look at some numbers.

Red Mango's "Classic Vanilla Bean Yogurt" is only 110 calories. Sounds great! Until you check the serving size. It's 110 calories for 1/2 a cup, which is significantly smaller than the average frozen yogurt eater. On average, people consume around 5oz per serving. At this serving size, the amount of calories goes around 200 calories.

Now don't get me wrong, your average 5oz of "Cold Stone Creamery" is still 320 calories, which is significantly more.

But wait.

The Cold Stone Creamery calories already includes all the cookies, chocolate syrup, marshmallows, fruit, cereal, and chocolate chips that Red Mango offers to pile onto your yogurt.
With all these toppings, the calorie count can bounce up to anywhere between 280-320 calories. Not exactly the "healthy alternative".

But this is just the average. Some people pile tons and tons of frozen yogurt into their cups, and some people visit their favorite frozen yogurt place once or twice a week.

The calories add up.

But this isn't really where I'm concerned. Again, I don't count calories. Here's one of my main issues.

People think that eating frozen yogurt is just like eating regular yogurt.
WRONG.

Frozen yogurt has a third of the protein of regular yogurt, less enzymes and probiotics, and its significantly higher in sugar. In fact, some frozen yogurt actually has MORE sugar than ice cream!

But here's my main issue:

PLEASE, stop acting like you're "eating healthy" when you choose to eat frozen yogurt. Don't be proud because you spent significantly more on frozen yogurt than ice cream. It is not "cool and hip", it does not make you suddenly "higher class", and it does not make you more intelligent.

Stop the bullshit, and eat there if you really like frozen yogurt, not because you think it makes you look like the cool kid on the block.

Seriously? Drop the double standard.

"Oh he's so hot."
"Yeah, I'd never date a fat guy."
"Mmmmhmmm I need a six pack."

Ever hear this conversation? Ever hear it out of a group of rather obese girls?

How about this one:

"I can't date fat chicks."
"They can't be too skinny though."
"Dude, as long as there's boobs I don't care."

I bet you've heard this conversation. How about out of a group of either underweight or overweight guys?

Oh yeah. I've heard it.
And then I hear them complain. Why don't I have a boyfriend? Why don't I have a girlfriend? I'm a nice person, I'm smart, I'm funny- Why can't people just look past my appearance and see the real me?

Uh HELLO? Seriously? Drop the double-standard! You want to have a great relationship? Try this.
Instead of automatically tuning out the people around you that doesn't fit your "perfect body type" - try to locate people based on their personality. Just like what you'd want someone to look at in you.
You want to be noticed for your kindness? Look for a girl with a sense of humor. You want to be noticed for your intelligence? Look for the polite guy holding the door. Don't just zone out on anyone who isn't perfectly athletic, or blonde, or not blonde, or too short, too tall, not busty enough, or too plain.
And you know what? Chances are, if you're looking for someone like that, you won't end up going for the "hot jock" or "babe" who turns out to be a total douche/bitch.

This ends now.

I'm tired of feeling small and insecure.
I'm tired of feeling like I can't live up to anyone's expectations (including my own).
I'm tired of running to the bathroom between classes to cry.
I'm tired of being frustrated, that turns into anger, that turns into hot tears.
I'm tired of being told that I am not strong enough, fast enough, smart enough, skinny enough, witty enough, work hard enough, or courageous enough.
I'm tired of being less than what I could be.
This ends now.
This ends today.