Change of plans

Someone use to tell me that it would seriously bum him out when his plans for the day/weekend would fall through. To be perfectly honest, I never understood why it would bother him so much. I use to tell him "it's okay, it's no big deal," and other things. Well, you know what? I had a change of heart, it sucks! Even if plans are only an hour old it's a horrible feeling when they don't come together.

Today for instance, I had last minute plans with a friend, she called me at around 6 and wanted to know if I wanted to grab dinner at 8. Then I went to the mall, but was back by 8, when I called her to finalize our plans, she tells me she was about to go to sleep. WTF?!? Really? Other than the fact that it was barely 8 pm, didn't she think it necessary to call me and tell me she no longer wanted to go out? I of course didn't say anything and just let it slide, but this is the 6th time in past two months that she does this. Other times she isn't feeling well, which I don't know if she's telling me the truth or not, but that isn't important. I can understand if she doesn't want to go out, I get it because there are times I don't want to go out either BUT she shouldn't say that she does and then essentially leave me hanging.

Other times that this has happened, I don't let it bother me too much, I usually make plans else where. But I was particularly bothered this time, and was in no mood to make other plans. Am I being dumb? Well my former self might say that I was, but not anymore. I wonder how many more times this will happen before I get so fed up that I tell her something, or actually do the same thing to her?

On a positive note yesterday on #19 of my birthday list - I'm a perfectionist - I stated that I was rather unhappy with my nails. Well since I had time today (more time then I would have liked) I decided to fix them. They look so pretty now, but since I still need to clean up the edges and I have no idea how long that will take I will not include a picture. But they are black with teal and hot pink polka dots, and yes my toenails match :)

Twitter love

So as you know today is my birthday. I decided to go out on a limb and ask Nicky Hayden, motorcycle racer extraordinaire, to give me a shout out for my birthday. Well to my surprise he actually re-tweeted my tweet, which was broadcast to his 29,000+ followers. Some of which then proceeded to wish me a Happy Birthday, but apparently Nicky re-tweeting my tweet made others jealous. I think I love him more now than I did before. It really did make my day! :D

Happy Birthday to me!

In honor of my 24th birthday, I'd like to list 24 random (little known) facts about myself:

1. I should be left handed - Apparently my parents didn't think left handedness was a good trait, because they would correct me and make sure I'd use my right hand instead. In many ways I think they did the right thing, but it didn't completely work because I do still prefer my left side when it comes to certain things
2. I sleep with a teddy bear - Haha yes, his name is Bear, and I've had him since as long as I could remember. Although in recent years I use him as more of a pillow, that lovable bear has be with me through everything, like moving away from home for the first time
3. I took Hawaiian dance classes when I was younger - It was only for a short time, but looking back it was rather embarrassing. For the short months I did it though, it was rather fun
4. My favorite color is teal - Teal, blue-green, aqua whatever you call it, its that color. It has been my favorite color since I was about 7
5. I consider myself shy - I really do, though some people will tell you that I'm full of it
6. I speak German - Ich liebe Deutsch! Although I only took one semester of German my Junior year in college, I had been studying German for a while. I'm not where near proficient or conversational, but I feel confident enough to not get lost
7. I like scruffy guys - I do, I really really do! I can't explain it but scruffy guys are my absolute weakness; not too scruffy though, more like a controlled scruff. Guys like Liev Schreiber, Bradley Cooper, Brody Jenner, just to name a few
8. I sometimes crave reckless behavior - I have been told more than once that I always plan everything. Yes, it's true, I am a capricorn it's in my nature. Yet, I do sometimes wish I were more spontaneous. I'm working on it...
9. Lisa Simpson was my inspiration to play saxophone - Originally I wanted to play the violin, but after I was deterred, I chose the saxophone because Lisa was the coolest/smartest kid on tv, and I wanted to be like her (haha animated and yellow :P)
10. I use to cry when I would get a B on my report card - I think back on this and want to kick myself! I placed so much unneeded pleasure on myself. Eventually I learned to relax, and B's weren't so bad, in fact sometimes when you're scared of even passing a class, B's are most welcome
11. I wish I had a sister - This is to say I wish I had a sister, as well as keep my brother. My mom has two sisters and I kind of envy the bond. However, I wish I had a sister now, without having to have dealt growing up with one
12. I like to go against mainstream society - I can't explain it, but if something is overly popular without merit, I refuse to conform (Haha I guess it's the rebel in me)
13. I have a birthmark - Haha it's actually really funny because I forget myself I have it. No, I will not tell you where it is
14. I'd like to have twins - I'm not sure why, but I love the idea of having twins. Sure it might be twice the work, but it's also twice the laughs and twice the smiles. But since twins don't run in my family, I know my chances are slim 
15. I'm mildly allergic to the cold - I can't remember when I discovered this allergy, but if it's really cold (windy) outside and if my arms or legs are covered properly, I get itchy and break out in small hives
16. I'm artistic - I've loved to draw/paint for as long as I can remember, and I'm good at it. I've won awards and contests for my art when I was younger, and although I don't draw/paint very often, I do love it
17. If I could travel through time I'd go to the Victorian Era - I'm not entirely sure why, but I'm fairly certain Pride & Prejudice (Jane Austen novels on the whole) have propelled my love for this era. I'm captivated by the language, manners, and dress
18. I love Chicago - Perhaps my favorite place in the world. I visited Chicago for the first time in 2007 with the TMB, and fell in love. It is definitely a city I would love to live in at some point in my life
19. I'm a perfectionist - My family gets annoyed with me because of this sometimes. It depends on the item/event/project how picky I will be of course, but for instance I spent the entirety of yesterday painting my nails because my black nail polish wasn't cooperating. They look nice, but they could be better, and believe me I have every intention of fixing them
20. I have a fear of premature aging - Anyone who has seen my family will tell you I'm crazy and have nothing to worry about, because the majority of my relatives age very well, but I think that's just it. I fear that I will be the exception. But so far so good, I'm 24 today but I know/am told I look younger
21. I broke my wrist as a kid (twice) - I broke my wrist when I was in pre-school while playing on the monkey bars. I fell and landed on my wrist, I remember that day well. I also remember being in a cast for a really long time (like 4-5 months), well it's because apparently during the recovery phase I re-fractured it
22. I once had an imaginary friend - I was an only child for 5 long years, and spent most of that time with adults. So naturally I invented a friend, who would play with me. Her name was Fina (Fee-na), and she looked like a cartoon. I also have no idea how I came up with that name
23. I wanted to be a lifeguard when I was younger because of Baywatch - I loved Baywatch! It was probably one of my favorite shows as a kid. Haha thinking about it now it's kind of lame, but I had a HUGE crush on David Charvet
24. Sylvester Stallone was my first crush - I'm sure I've said before that the Rocky movies are some of my favorite (Rocky IV is the best!), but I'm not sure if I would feel like that now if I hadn't loved the movies when I was a kid. Part of the reason I loved the movies then was because of Sylvester, make fun of him and his speech all you want but at around 4-5 he was my first crush

The true meaning of Christmas

I looked over posts I wrote last year. This time last year, I was wondering/guessing what I was getting for Christmas, I was busy wrapping presents, I was making sure that my cousins didn't eat all the candy canes on the tree (just yet). Well that is all in the past. This year, we have no tree, I personally did not buy any presents, and the only presents I wrapped were as a favor to a friend. All of this, and yet this might possibly be one of my favorite Christmas' ever.

This year, I have so much to be thankful for, I appreciate so much more, and although there is no tree to gather around, there is a man, my grandfather. Earlier this month my family and I were scared beyond belief. There was a point where we all feared the worst but desperately hoped for the best. We had no idea what was wrong, no idea what was to happen next.

I'm happy to report that after nearly two weeks in the hospital, and a heart procedure later, my grandpa is doing great. He may not be 100% yet, but he is on the road to recovery. He is our gift this year, and I don't think I could have asked for anything better.

Merry Christmas to all, I hope you are equally fortunate :)

Weekend Shenanigans

I will be the first to admit that I'm not spontaneous, I never have been, and although this was always a quality I wanted for myself,  the logic in my head prevented it. Well...after a stressful and less than adventurous week, I was determined to have some fun. Mission complete! I stepped out of my comfort zone for a bit and found myself having one of the BEST nights I can ever remember. In retrospect it was perhaps a little risky, but I have absolutely no regrets. So to all those involved (who will probably never read this), thanks a million! It was the most fun I had in a really really long time :)

Hurry up and wait!

No seriously, the title sums up my day. My grandpa was scheduled for his procedure today, but after an entire day of waiting around, the doctors decided to push it back until tomorrow. Tomorrow my day is equally long, though I need to leave home earlier because I am picking up my great uncle at the airport. I am so incredibly exhausted right now. Good night!

Stressful week

I can't remember the last time I posted from my phone.

I've been so busy this week, and not good busy either. My grandpa was taken to the hospital Thursday morning by ambulance (I accompanied him, #185 on my bucket list - ambulance ride), he has remained hospitalized and was transferred to another hospital today. Tomorrow he will have a procedure done and have a pace maker installed. I'm nervous and don't know what to expect. I drove up to San Diego to see him and I'm staying with an aunt to be closer to the hospital. I have no idea what time the procedure will take place and find it hard to believe the hospital doesn't know either. I plan on spending the entire day tomorrow at the hospital, hopefully not alone. Basically it's a HUGE hurry up and wait!

In the works

I just realized the amount of drafts of unfinished posts I have. I just deleted them all, since it was an idea I abandoned, I no longer had any idea what I was talking about, or they were so old there would be no point in posting them. I tend to start posts and then get distracted for a couple of days, this is something I will work on.

Defining a generation

I am fortunate enough to say that I grew up in the 90's. I am able to say that I have witnessed some great technological, political and historical leaps in my lifetime. I remember what life was like before cell phones and the internet, I remember the fall of the Soviet Union (although I was very young), and I watched the Olympic torch run through my town before the '96 games in Atlanta. I can also say that I grew up during the best time for children's television.

Oh! the 90's, there was always something entertaining to watch on tv. There was a mix of cartoons, game shows, live action series, and animated series. As much as I loved watching Disney Channel, and Cartoon Network on rare occasion, I think it's safe to say that Nickelodeon was the king of children's television. It wouldn't be prudent to list all the amazing shows from the 90's, because honestly there were so many. Among my all time favorite are Doug, Clarissa Explains it All, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and Rugrats, but even this short list makes me feel uncomfortable because I feel like I'm leaving out some really good shows. Anyway....

Recently I had a conversation with my 10 year-old cousin (one of many, for I have a fair amount of first cousins), and we were talking about television shows, and she was telling me which shows she liked and which shows she didn't. Interestingly enough, I know my way around children's television these days to know exactly what shows she was talking about and what they're about. She told me that her favorite show was SpongeBob SquarePants, which she has loved since she was a baby, because I remember watching the same SpongeBob DVD with her every time I went over. This made me stop to think about how long SpongeBob has been on air.

I am sure that around 97% of the American population know who SpoongeBob is and have watched (perhaps unwillingly) the television show at least one. The little yellow charismatic sponge, who lives in a pineapple under the sea, and spends his days going on misadventures with his dim witted pink starfish friend, Patrick. SpoongeBob premiered May 1, 1999 on Nickelodeon, but didn't reach enormous popularity until 2000, and he hasn't stopped there.

SpongeBob Squarepants has helped define a generation. Talk about star power, the show was recently renewed for an 8th season and SpoongeBob merchandise can be found everywhere. His likeness has been placed on soup cans and vegetable bags, because if an item is SpongeBob friendly, kids are willing to give it a try. While my generation was defined by a group of teenagers sworn to protect the world from evil (Power Rangers), this younger generation will look back at their childhood and think of a yellow sponge with an annoying laugh. What has children's television become?

I would like to start by saying that although I consider the 90's the golden age for children's television, not all shows were exactly child friendly. Recently, I rewatched some Ren & Stimpy episodes and actually couldn't believe this was the same show I watched as a child. Oh sure, the show was entertaining, but having a better understanding of the world, I was more in tune to certain sexual comments and innuendos.

I suppose that shows change depending on the time they were created. I use to watch Clarissa Explains it All, while my cousins currently watch iCarly, a show about a girl and her friends who star in their own web show. Having many young cousins I've never stopped watching children's television. I will not use my cousins as an excuse, I watched children's tv because I liked it, it was nostalgic, and I liked having something to talk to my cousins about. I noticed that over the last couple of years I have slowly cut back on my kid programming viewing, not because I think I'm getting to old, or an embarrassed by my programming choices, but because children's programming today has because overly silly and uses slap stick humor.

Shows in the 90's had depth, dealt with serious issues, but remained entertaining. I am a little saddened that kids who grew up/ are growing up in the new millennium do not have good television programming, but I suppose you can't miss what you never had. I find it hard to believe that children have changed so much, that writers believe this is the type of shows they want to watch - silly, slap stickesque comedy. I know I am not the only one who feels that 90's tv remains superior to any programming currently on air. Half the merchandise at Hot Topic is 90's television related, though that could be because most of their current customer base are those who grew up watching said shows.

As a whole I'm rather disappointed at the type of television programming currently on air. Every couple of years a new show pops up that shakes up the woodwork, and with any luck the show will last past its third season. My comfort comes in knowing that with people my age graduating and getting jobs in television and film, sometime soon television shows will reflect the voices of my generation. I'd like to think that we'll all be the better for it :)

No regrets

So today to kick off December (my birthday month), I decided to write a Bucket List. So far I have 181 items on it, but there are some activities that will help me cross off more than one item. The items on my list are in no particular order and I have every intention of adding more items as they come to me. I wrote this list for a couple of reasons,  but perhaps one of the biggest reasons is because I find that I tell myself 'I'd like to do that some day' or 'I wish I could do that' a lot. Well, why not? I know I can do anything I set my mind to, and when someone has that ability, why wait?

I'm attempting to start working on this list as soon as possible, though some things on the list like #72 Sail around the world, will have to wait until I'm older and have saved up enough money. I will be sure to update and post pictures of me fulfilling some of the items on my bucket list as they occur. As of right now, I have every intention of skydiving for my 24th birthday.