Mmm... Yummy

FOOD LOG for Oct. 29

1 med piece of cornbread from Jiffy Mix

Garlic and Onion bagel with muenster cheese slices melted on top

1 8oz glass of instant raspberry green tea from crystal lite

1 med size bowl of homemade chicken fried rice (ingredients: white rice, frozen peas and carrots, egg, chicken, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce)

1 16oz blue Monster energy drink

5 oreos (just for interest, edited 3 times)

1 large piece cornbread

multiple oreos

1 mug tea w/ sugar

1 small bowl of homemade chicken fried rice

1 8 oz glass apple juice

Yeah, so my friend and I cooked chicken fried rice twice in the past week and my freezer is full of it. :) The corn bread probably had GMOs, the Oreos most likely did too. Usually I do better with eating my vegetables but today was not a veggie day. As for distance traveled, I'd have to say that the apples in the apple juice probably traveled the farthest from origin to my gullet, but the soy sauce may give the apples a run for their money. I can't say with actual distance because the apple juice doesn't say what kind of apples it is made from. The chicken fried rice is definitely slow food considering that Katie and I made it in my kitchen. I cook a lot because I don't have a meal plan because I consider it a waste of money. How many people do you know who end up losing meals at the end of the week? And I can feed myself just as well on less money. As a general rule, I do not eat fast food, partly because it is rather unappetizing and partly because I am a poor college kid who can't afford it. I mean, the stuff isn't that expensive on the surface, but I can get a lot more nutrition for my money by cooking for myself.

I'll take a shack on a rock over a castle in the sand

“American Dream”

All work no play may have made Jack a dull boy
But all work no God has left Jack with a lost soul
But he's moving on full steam
He's chasing the American dream
And he's gonna give his family finer things

“Not this time son I've no time to waste
Maybe tomorrow we'll have time to play”
And then he slips into his new BMW
And drives farther and farther and farther away

Cause he works all day and tries to sleep at night
He says things will get better;
Better in time

[Chorus]
So he works and he builds with his own two hands
And he pours all he has in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain are comin' crashing in
Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands
His kingdom stands

Well his American Dream is beginning to seem
More and more like a nightmare
With every passing day
"Daddy, can you come to my game?"
"Oh Baby, please don't work late."
Another wasted weekend
And they are slipping away

'Cause he works all day and lies awake at night
He tells them things are getting better
Just take a little more time

[Chorus]

He used to say, "Whoever dies with the most toys wins"
But if he loses his soul, what has he gained in the end
I'll take a shack on the rock
Over a castle in the sand

Now he works all day and cries alone at night
It's not getting any better
Looks like he's running out of time

[Chorus]

All they really wanted was you
All they really wanted was you
All they really wanted was you
[Fading]was you

by Casting Crowns

I was listening to this song today and I thought I would share it with you all. The song is a reminder not to let your pursuit of material success get in the way of your relationship with God. Though the song is meant as a reminder for Christians, it contains a message for non-Christians as well. Don’t let life pass you by. Sure it would be nice to be a millionaire or whatever, but there really isn’t any point in making money if you don’t do something worthwhile with it. Now the classification of worthwhile is different for every person, it doesn’t necessarily mean feed all the people in Ethiopia for a year or something. The point I am trying to make is that, while you are working toward whatever goals you have, examine your motives. What are you working for? When you look back on your life, would you do it over again?

These are questions I have already asked myself. I swear I’m not just trying to be preachy, they have helped me a lot in deciding what to do with my life.

On another note, since I have been philosophical with my posts lately, I promise the next one will be quite silly.

Weekend plans

My best friend from back home is coming to visit me this weekend!!!! I’m so excited. She will be spending the night at my place on Saturday and I will be showing her around for the rest of the weekend. On Sunday we are going to see Mythbusters!! I <3 style=""> If you haven’t seen mythbusters, you should try an episode or two, cause it is hi-friggin-larious. Anyway, back to the weekend, I am a bit worried about Sunday because I forgot to submit my sub in time and so if no one picks up my sub for Sunday Lunch 2 I may get another demerit at work. :’( Well, we’ll just have to see what happens. I can’t wait to show Amanda my room though, she will be so jealous. She is in college but she is a commuter. We’re gonna stop by the Hilltop tailgate, go shopping, play on the internet, tour campus, and all sorts of fun stuff. And I’ll be able to introduce her to some of my crazy friends here. (because everyone is crazy to one extent or another, don’t try and deny it.) Consequently, this week is gonna be crazy. I have a test today and tomorrow, I have a paper to write before next Wed. I have a couple other assignments to take care of as well. I’ll be busy, but it’s totally worth it. It is good training for later when I actually have a ton of work to do. Yay for working on time management!! W00T! I had way too much coffee and sugar this morning!!! *runs off, bouncing off walls* :D :D :D : D

So many anime, so little time

There is a dilemma that I have being here at school with the wonderful fast internet and also all the homework. I love to watch anime, but I don't have access to it except at school, so I want to watch it, but I generally don't really have the extra time to spend on it. There are several anime that I want to see, and several that I want to rewatch because so much more could be discovered in them for me. Some of these include:

To watch: Naruto, Bleach, Code Geass, Blood Plus, Claymore, Nodame Cantabile, and Hayate no Gotoku (or Hayate the combat butler)
To rewatch: Rurouni Kenshin, Darker than Black, Tokyo Mew Mew, and Cowboy Bebop

I guess this post is just a sort of public complaint, because it makes me feel better about it to complain. The anime will always be there, but (enter whiny voice) I want to watch it now! (/whiny voice). Oh well, I'll survive. After all, I'm here to work.

Wasteful, Polluting Humans....

	CATEGORY ACRES FOOD 4.4 MOBILITY 0.5 SHELTER 3.2 GOODS/SERVICES 3.5 TOTAL FOOTPRINT 12
	IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 24 ACRES PER PERSON. WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 4.5 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE ACRES PER PERSON.
	IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 2.6 PLANETS.

(begin prompt)
On average, people in the United States require more than five times their "share" of world resources in order to maintain the "American Way of Life." In addition, this lifestyle is taking a heavy toll on our environment (e.g., global warming, oil spills, garbage dumps, pesticide/herbicide contamination of waterways, air pollution, destruction of natural environments and ecosystems, etc.). Is it "fair" that Americans (and citizens of other "developed nations") consume more than their "share" of the earth's resources? Does this consumption bring a greater responsibility to redress the environmental consequences of this lifestyle?
(end prompt)

Whether or not it is “fair” or not that Americans, etc. consume more of their “share” of resources is a more academic question than I am prepared to answer. But….

Of course we (the more developed nations) have a greater responsibility for healing the environment after we muck it up! Think back to when you were a little kid, do you ever remember your mother saying, “don’t worry about that mess, it will clean itself up,” I don’t think so. She would say, “you made that mess, now you clean it up.” This applied to your messy room and to the spilled kool-aid on the floor.

This principal (clean up what you mess up) should extend to whatever we do in life. People really have never wrapped their heads around the fact that if we don’t take care of our planet, it will die and take us with it. But, other “more immediate” problems tend to throw conservation to the back burner. Some people would rather research how to move to other planets rather than take care of this one.

Another reason the more developed countries need to take responsibility for fixing the damage our lives have done to the environment is that we can afford it. People throw fits about how much more sustainable ways of life cost, but it doesn’t really cost that much more now, and it would cost less if we researched ways to make things like solar energy more efficient. Plus, if the richest countries in the world aren’t going to do something, then who exactly is supposed to? The lesser developed countries have a lot more they need to spend their money on than we do and they have a lot less money overall.

Putting off planet conservation is stupidly shortsighted. I would be doing things like composting organic wastes and growing a garden like the Earth Day site said, but I live in an apartment at Hilltop and I don’t think they would take kindly to me farming on their well taken care of grass. It would be even harder in a regular dorm. We could probably work to put programs for conservation in place on campus, but it would take a lot of time and effort that is difficult to find in these homework filled days. But we can still try and do what we can, like recycling.

Wonder

Despite having only gotten about 5 and a half hours of sleep last night, I find I can’t harbor resentment toward my 7:30 am class. I got up this morning as usual, grumbling about having to get out of bed, eating breakfast, and then I got outside. The stars were so bright is was breathtaking. The air was clear and cool and I could even pick out constellations. Orion jumped out at me immediately and I think I may have seen Cygnus. Most remarkable though, was that I could barely make out the Milky Way. Usually there is far too much light pollution to see most of the stars let alone the Milky Way. I saw Venus and couldn’t believe my eyes, it was as bright as the moon.

When I finally got to campus, I was surprised by how beautiful it was in dark. The bell tower especially took my breath away with its soft, upper story lighting. The dark changes how everything looks and gives everything soft lines that contrast the clear lines of the day.

The onset of fall and winter has turned a previously arduous trudge to class into a beautiful and invigorating walk. The cold really helps wake me up too.

Rearranging

I had an epiphany in class today, while waiting for lecture to start. I am acting far too childish for my age.

I have let the excitement of being in college, making new friends, and having wireless ethernet distract me from my purpose for being in college in the first place. I am here to work. I am here to learn so that I can get a career that I actually like after I graduate. All of this procrastination that I have been doing is childish behavior that I should have grown out of a long while ago. So, I will rearrange my room, and use that as a physical representation of rearranging my priorities. Making a physical change is the best way for me to get out of a mental rut.

Having rearranged my room, I feel much more productive, even just sitting in my chair. I have changed the feel of the room completely, even thought I basically switched two pieces of furniture, the bed and my desk. The space I work in is more concentrated now, so I will be able to concentrate better.

There is some tweaking I have to do. I need get another power cord so that I can move my lamp, and I need to move my little bookshelf because I don’t like where it is now. And I need to maybe reposition my clock. Other than that I like the room much better this way. ^_^