STORY TIME

Last night I went out and within like 2 hours got asked if I was in a sorority like… 12 times. No, I’m not. Stop asking.

Even better, everyone that asked me was at least 2 or 3 years younger than me, and even when I said that I was 21 they continued to hit on me.

EVEN BETTER! I was at a bar. That was carding at the door. Good thing too, I’m glad they’re effectively keeping the younguns out because these kids don’t make girls lives awkward by hitting on them every two seconds and then ASKING YOU OUTRIGHT IF YOU WANT TOO HOOK UP WITH THEM.

Did I mention I got that question too? Because I did. And by the way, I turned the guy down. Thanks sir, but we met like an hour ago in a bar and you’re seriously creeping in on my personal space while denying that you’re doing so. So no.

Fin.

Not The Girl You Expected

Sometimes I feel like you think

I should be prettier,

And smarter;

Like I should wear more makeup

And always dress well

And prance around like

I’m in some sort of

Parade or masquerade where

My every intention is to grasp your attention,

To hold your gaze,

To make you feel like a man.

You’ve never met a girl like me

Because you never thought we existed,

Us girls who aren’t afraid

To get a little paint on our pants,

Or mud on our hands,

Or sand in our hair

And feel the sun on our faces;

Who play like the boys

And laugh with sarcastic grins

And fight for what we believe in.

Sometimes you don’t see

That I am unique and beautiful

Because I am me

And not the girl you expected to meet when you met me.

Because I am strong for you when you’re weak.

Because I expect you to be everything

You’ve always wanted to be.

Rantspace: Thoughts on Religion

Ok, I’m respectful toward those who subscribe to religion even though I do not subscribe to any particular religion. I was raised Catholic and understand the appeal of the church and the family surrounding the church even though my thoughts about religion have changed drastically over the years. I recognize why religion is helpful as a friend and a guide for some and not for others. What I do not understand is how people can follow religion blindly. A simple statement sparked this thought today and that statement was:

“The bible says nothing about animals having souls. Which is just one of the things I do not like about it.”

Why do I dislike this statement? Because I don’t believe that Bible is to be taken literally, word for word nor do I believe that it holds all of the answers to life, like whether animals have souls or not (the soul argument is one for another day, although I believe that animals have a consciousness similar to that of humans). In religion the Bible should serve as a guide for living morally, not as a guide for every belief one has in their life or as a guide for every action performed throughout one’s day. Does the Bible tell you to brush your teeth in the morning? Of course it doesn’t, but you do it anyway to keep up with your dental hygiene and to prevent disease. Does the Bible say that animals have souls? Probably not, but that’s a conclusion you can come to for yourself.

That being said, I don’t believe that everyone subscribing to the belief in God thinks this way (nor am I attempting to imply that the person who posted that statement believes in the Bible blindly. Obviously they do not). That would be ignorant of me. But I do believe there are many people out there who do follow blindly. I guess what I’m trying to say is: Look beyond the literal sometimes, have an open mind, and think for yourself. It’s worth a shot.

Boys and Girls:

Don’t lead people on and then drop them. That’s not fair. It’s mean and nobody should do it. Ever. Respect the people around you. Respect the fact that they’re human and they have feelings too. Don’t be selfish about emotion. Think first. Be thoughtful. Be kind. If you must break a heart, do it in the most positive way possible and never leave any loose ends. Don’t leave someone in the dark. Don’t pretend.

Do it right.

Rantspace: USC’s Bike Summit

All I’ve heard about for the past two semesters on campus is this Bike Summit. A counsel is getting together to determine the best possible way to make pedestrian and biker travel on campus cohesive and friendly. We are considerate has been the campaign slogan, but I’ve started to question toward who we are being considerate. Pedestrians? Bikers? Skaters? All of the above? There seems to be little emphasis placed on being considerate towards those of us on wheels, and I am fed up with having pedestrians scowl at me for almost running them over after they purposefully walked out in front of my bicycle. You saw me coming, you still walked out in front of me expecting me to stop. Considerate? I think not. Even when I am trying to avoid you, dear pedestrian, and stay as far away from you as humanly possible, you find a way to make my life a living hell.

Now, not all pedestrians are bad eggs, in fact most of them are not ill intentioned at all, but a bunch of them are plain stupid about where they walk. Would you walk out in front of a moving car? No, you wouldn’t. So don’t walk out in front of a moving bike. Don’t cut me off when I’m speeding to class because I’m late thinking I can stop on a dime. Newsflash: I can’t. The likelihood of me hitting you with my bike is higher when you walk out in front of me. Or scowl at me, because I try to hit those who scowl at me. Just kidding.

Another concern are these satellite bike racks on the outskirts of campus. What!? As if I haven’t had two bikes stolen already! Let’s just place everyone’s bike in a secluded area at the edge of an open campus where any random passerby can walk by, cut my locks off, and roll away with my bike. And I won’t know until 2am when I’m getting off work and have to go home (which is 2 blocks from campus) that uh-oh my $300 bike has been stolen, again. This is a bad idea unless you’re planning on having security there 24/7 to guard my expensive transportation device. Also, how does this address the fact that people still have skateboards and scooters? Are they allowed to roll around campus with the pedestrians like it’s no big deal? Do they have to leave their boards on the outskirts of campus in a remote satellite location? Right, you never addressed that. I can see where the bias in this plan is already. Very considerate.

Or what about the talk of banning bikes from campus altogether? This would obviously be a large mistake on USC’s part. It will cause total chaos. Some of us don’t live in dorms on campus or across the street from campus anymore. Unless you plan on giving me free parking in PSX, you can scratch this plan.

And don’t get me started on this whole “hours you can and cannot bike on campus” thing. Really? Are you actually going to ban me from biking around campus for a certain number of hours? No offense, but I very highly doubt that bikers will listen to this sentiment. Even if you begged and pleaded with them. Biking is far too convenient for those that bike to ever give it up. You might as well ask me to walk to campus, which is essentially what you’re doing by suggesting this plan.

However, I do not disagree that pedestrians and bikers/skaters/scooter(ers?) need to be separated. There is a serious problem with respect from all parties.

A viable idea would be to establish some kind of bike lane. It doesn’t have to look tacky, but is has to be large enough for more than one bike to pass through at a time, or else we bikers will start wandering out into the pedestrian aisles (oh god, not again).

A viable idea would be to promote pedestrian to biker kindness, biker to biker kindness, pedestrian to pedestrian kindness, and any other combination of kindness you can think of.

A viable idea would be to create satellite locations on campus where I can check on my bike every so often.

It truly angers me that bikers get the short end of the stick in every conversation about this Bike Summit. We should all be respecting one another equally.

Overall, I think that bikers are willing to come to a settlement with the pedestrian population on campus. We are not here to maim you with our two wheeled beasts, we are here to go to class and do our work like any other student, and we want the on campus experience to be just as enjoyable as you do. Just reason with us.

Rant-space

I’m sick of people being so condescending! Why can’t you learn to work with people instead of constantly shutting them down? Does it help you build your own ego when you kill somebody else’s self-esteem?

Why don’t you try to start acting like the adult that you are?

Fuck society.

Fuck society for making me think that I have to look a certain way to be considered beautiful.

All of my life I’ve had bullshit propaganda thrown at me telling me I have to be skinny, I have to be blonde, I have to be blue eyed, I have to have perfect skin, etc to be considered beautiful. I’m so sick and tired of feeling like I have to conform to some standard of beauty.

I’ll tell you what society: I am not my appearance. In fact I am so, so, so much more than my appearance. And so is every woman out there who doesn’t feel beautiful all of the time. So stop making me feel like shit.

Rantspace: Being Vegetarian - A Subject Close To My Heart

Wow. I haven’t devoted an entire rant to this subject in a long time, but I think that finally, I have to do it. Finally, I have to give the unforgivable speech. Why? Because it’s extremely frustrating to me.

First, let me start off by saying that I have been vegetarian for nearly 7 years. That’s a long ass time. I’ve had my ups and downs with it. I’ve thought about quitting and going back to eating meat, but I just didn’t have the heart. I’ve gone vegan and failed, but have enjoyed every minute of it. Most people ask me why I do it. I used to say that it was for health reasons, because at first it WAS for health reasons. Being vegetarian made me feel good! And it still does. But as I grew into it and talked to other people about their choice to be veggie, there was this spiritual element that attached itself to my vegetarianism. Why that is, I don’t know, but most people would not find vegetarianism to be spiritual (I don’t think). The point is, being veggie is very special to me.

So, moving on to my rant, finally: It frustrates me when people pretend that they are vegetarian/vegan for some reason near and dear to their heart, and then a week later they’re back to their omnivorous diet. If you have to go back to eating meat for health reasons, I understand. You’ve got to keep healthy! If you were just trying out the veggie life and it just didn’t sit well with you, great! I applaud you for at least trying something new. If you NEVER wanted to be veggie but thought it would be a weird experiment. Fine, I accept. But if you’re claiming that vegetarianism is an essential part of your life, that it is important to you, that you feel like a part of the steadily growing veggie movement and love it, and then eat meat a few days later, I’m probably not gonna be too friendly toward you. This because I’ve been veggie so long and have heard every excuse in the book for not being a vegetarian. Don’t claim to love it and then so quickly push it from you and say you’re “taking a break” from it. If you’ve only been veggie for a week, you haven’t gotten over the difficult three week mark and should stick to the diet more fiercely than those who have been veggie for months. If you take the time to feel the lifestyle out, you can decide whether it’s right for you easier than you could if you’ve only been veggie for a week.

Also, you are not a vegetarian if you only eat fish. You’re a pescatarian. You’re not a vegetarian if you only eat chicken. You are an omnivore. I only say this in the most loving way! I only say this for clarification! Most people wonder why it matters. It’s only because, like I said, I’ve been around the veggie block many times and it’s been a very big part of my life for a while. I truly love the community surrounding the veggie/vegan lifestyle and I know it is important to them too, and I want it to be important to YOU! Or at least want you to understand why being veggie is important to other people. Anyway, this rant has kinda turned into some strange, interesting being, so I’m gonna go my separate way from it. Think of it what you will.

With love.