Friday, September 30, 2011

Words

You know, I don't think I am going to call it Urban Dictionary word of the day anymore. I think I am going to call it Urban Dictionary Word of the POST. I don't post everyday so it seems silly to have a word of the day when this isn't a daily thing. Right? Right!

Urban Dictionary Word of the Post:
Jib-Jab--A generalization of  something that requires an explanation in which the speaker rather not get into.
OR Something that isn't even worth talking about.

So interesting thoughts lately. My History of Mass Communications teacher brought up an interesting thing in class this week. Of course since we are talking about Mass Communications and the evolution of it, dating all the way back to the Middles Ages. You know, history is very graphic; people have died for so many different reasons. And its sad because so much of these causes could have been really avoided. Black Death? Stay away from rats and wash your body! Getting robbed on the roads for the shillings in your pockets? Power in numbers! But really, in the days of Martin Luther, many people died for voicing their beliefs about God, life, and the in betweens. And why? Why are ideas and thoughts, hopes and dreams so 'dangerous'? My professor said, "Ideas were dangerous things back then. And when voiced, they were even more dangerous. People died for their words. Wars would start, countries could rise and fall, and men would would up in arms all over words. Words, words are dangerous things." And you know what? They are. They really are. There is this commercial, I had to throw something regarding my major in there, by either Colgate or some toothpaste commercial that focuses on the mouths of different people and all the things that a mouth a capable of. So when he gave his spiel about words, it made me think of that commercial, because its true. As humans, we are capable of so much and out of all those abilities, the power of speech has to be one of the strongest.

Words are strong, so strong. They can life us up, tear us down, inspire us, break us, go through one ear and out the other...Think about it. Think about a time someone has really said something that just broke you, and remembering those words and the thoughts behind them that it took to say them...its damaging. Then are the words that make you feel like you can do anything, and sometimes, that voice has to be your own. But those words, those positive words can be something you may really need to hear.

Later that day, I worked a show at the auditorium about race. The Race Show: N*W*C. They are the derogatory terms used for the Black, Latino, and Asian cultures. But instead of hitting the audience with something hard, they play with it; they gave us the message through laughter. There were three guys, one male to represent each member of the stated ethnicities in which they expressed their hardships of simply being who they were. Each person talked about a time where they pretended to be someone they were not, a time they pretended to be White just so they could be seen as someone more than just their skin color. I, obviously, could relate to the Black guy, who talked about growing up and going to school in a suburban community that was predominately White. In class one day during his middle school days, they were reading Huckleberry Finn, and you all know the story right? 'Bad ass little White boy hangs out with his big Black friend and shit goes down ', as the character explained it during his story. Anyway, because of the time period, certain words were used to refer to the Black slaves in the story. We all know that word so I do not need to state it, I hate that word so even hearing it makes me cringe. He was chosen to read aloud in class and of course, he came across that word in class. Long story short, there was dead silence once the word was uttered and hung in the air. He mentioned how he felt the whole class turn to stare at him. 'That was the moment I realized that I was Black. That was the moment that I realized that that word, that word was me. And everyone knew it but me...' That has happened to me. I've been in class reading words such as that. I've been told that I was an Oreo or 'acted White'. Now that I am older, people try to clean it up, telling me that I 'act proper'. But when it comes down to it, why does it matter? I am me, you are you. What is the damn problem?

So I tell this story because its all about words; what they can do, how they make people feel...Words are strong. What my professor said in class and then going to the show that night really got me thinking about words and what the can mean. Even the absence of words, when someone is so upset with you that they don't even bother to speak to you, can hurt just as bad if not worse.
In summary, think about your words and think about what you say. They can change our world or change a life...

<3 Shi

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

And now, to tickle your pickle.

Urban Dictionary word of the day:
Fishwrap--Newspaper, or any type of publication or newsprint.

So I am starting to realize that most of the words in my urban dictionary aren't as funny as I initially thought. That sorta sucks. Doesn't matter, I am still going to flip through it. I used this one because I am an Advertising major and decided to honor my first day of Ad classes with this word. Oh, how appropriate!

Well, people who actually read my blog, its the second day of class. Whoot, whoot! I got to start with the most awesome class for my first day (yesterday): Japanese! 'Cept I felt really stupid again; things I really should know or remember, I do not. Yes, yes. I went to Japan. We all know. I was getting good right before I had to leave and I was still good for about a month or so. But, by the way that things unfolded, a lot has drifted out of my head. At least I will be able to relearn some things this semester, I am trying to keep positive about it. Japanese has been my passion for too long to throw in the towel now for ANY reason. I'm pretty sure in a past life I was Japanese. And adorable. An adorable Japanese girl. Named...Kaori or Kashiyuka or something. :P

Anyway, so the first day of class was awkward, everyone was fresh from summer so we were all rusty. Today, classes part 2, was interesting. Sadly I have to use Macs in my Mass Comm. Writing class. I almost cried walking into the room. (Ha.) My professor is cool though. She's this trendy older lady with an awesome hair cut and a tolerance for breaking the rules regarding the allowance of coffee near the computers in the room. Kudos to her on that, she and I will get along juuust fine. I'll be careful even if they are Macs. But here is the best part, my Foundations of Advertising class has a very interesting group of students in it. Its very diverse but there are these two guys who talk way too much even if they are funny. But the best BEST part is that my professor's name is Professor Um. HOW freakin' awesome is that?! Too awesome for words! His full name is like Korean and a little hard to pronounce correctly even though its short. He cracks a lot of jokes and carries a lot of Engrish because he's Asian so I am down for this Prof. :D
My last prof is kinda odd. He cracks jokes too but he looks like someone's dad from the '80s. Maybe like he played Molly Ringwald's dad in some movie. He's cool though, relatable and such.
All in all, this seems like its gonna be a good academic year. (Let me cross my fingers or knock on wood or something.) I'm even lining up a lot of plans for myself; traveling and finding myself/making something of myself or some jib jab like that.

Here comes the tickling your pickle part I guess. Have you heard of this new thing where you can personalize your car to where someone can tell that its a woman's car? NO? You mean you have not heard of the latest ridiculous female accessory? Where do you live, under a rock?! No I am just kidding, I had no idea they existed until I moved in my apartment at school and saw a car in the lot with then. They are called Carlashes, people. CARLASHES! What is this world coming to?! We have Apps for everything (thanks to you, Apple), short cuts to do certain tasks faster, microwavable foods, everything has gone digital or online and now we have this Godforsaken Carlashes! Dear Buddha, that's ridiculous. I took a picture on my phone of the black car that had them, promising that there would no mercy in regards to blogging and making fun of it. But here is this God-awful picture of someone degrading a perfectly beautiful VW Beetle with these damn things. See here:
They are even on Jeeps! Ugh! Who created this blasphemous item?!
I mean what is this?! I hope that tickled your pickle with very ridiculous vibes.  

Ready for more? Then get this: there is this thing called vajazzling. Can you guess what that is? (Disclosure: this could get inappropriate.) Women are doing this new "craze" of bedazzling their lady parts. I heard this about 30 minutes ago while typing this very blog. Excuse me? You put crystals/rhinestones where?! Again, this world is becoming extremely retarded. So in my plan to call out the world of all its retardation, I did some research. Jennifer Love Hewitt, an actress I only recently started paying attention to by watching the Ghost Whisperer obsessively on my crash-return home. Although beautiful, she's lost some serious kudos points with me. I found this video above about her talking about a book she has written (I like the title, though) and how there is a whole chapter about this INSANE act. 

This is the world that we live in people. Can you believe  it? 
That's enough posting I guess, the content of this post is way to out there to keep going. Hence, your pickle being tickled. :D 
~<3Shi

Thursday, September 1, 2011

1,2, 3, and 4! And 1, 2...

Urban Dictionary Word of the Day:
Soup to Nuts: From start to finish.
I mean ha! Who'd say that?! I just thought it was funny so I decided to use that one this time 'round. Whatevs, I won't be using it too much in relation to this post. SO!
Workin' it out.
Constantly, people have been asking me/wondering how I lost all the weight. Its been a long rough road and for that, I will not actually say how the dramatic weight loss actually started. Its actually not great how it started. But if we wanna go back ('I'm goin' going, back to Cali, Cali...') I guess I can give a little history lesson. 
I'd never felt comfortable in  my own skin. There was a time, maybe up to 4th grade, where I actually could deal with talking in front of others and felt that I had all the friends in the world who would accept me no matter what I looked like. 
Sadly, that drastically changed by 6th grade. I still loved all my friends and was happy in that aspect, but my body image was taking turns for the worst. I would be depressed/angry/unhappy with how I looked compared to other children in my classes. Long story short, for years and years and years onward, my self image took even a larger nose dive. I'd tried off and on to lose weight and begin a good regimen for change but I always ended up backsliding and giving up.
What really changed, you wonder? 
JAPAN. 
Japan, as many of you know, meant/means THE WORLD to me. Among all the the things it did for me, a healthy lifestyle and diet was one of them was yet another thing Japan offered me. During my short time there, I'd ride my bike to classes daily, up a witch of a hill at one of the main gates. I also walked everywhere when I wasn't biking. And the natural plus, Japanese cuisine is so much healthier than American food. I could buy these amazing Baum Rolls (little Vanilla cake rolls of delicious goodness that made you just go "MMMMmmmm") from Top World and eat like 3 of them and still lose weight. Why? Ingredients. Plus, each roll was only like 63 kcal (just about the same thing as 'cal's. 'Sup with the K, Japanese people?) so you didn't feel so bad after eating them. Regardless, I limited myself to only 1 or 2 after a meal. Since I was on my own for food, I could control what I ate; that meant awesome Japanese supermarket shopping and buying rice, fish, veggies, fruits, milk, BANANA MILK!, and the like. This inspired me to take more control over what I ate once I got home too. 
On top of the diet change and automatic daily exercise, I joined archery and a running club. The Japanese students in the archery club didn't seem to like me much, well, the girls anyway but regardless, the practice meets were good for the arms and for correcting bad posture. Running club was awesome. A roommie and I would encourage each other; she would bring her friends and I would bring mine and before you knew it there was a big group of encouragement. Plus the Professor who ran it was very inspirational, hilarious, encouraging, and knew how to switch up our runs: (running to the Kuzuha Mall just for cheese bread; a contradictory goal really, running to see the plum blossoms, and running to see the greatest displays of cherry blossoms; which I missed be heard was awesome...).
So that is the back story. Here are so more tips though as my experience goes:
  1. GIVE YOURSELF A REASON:
    • Why are you doing this? For you? GOOD! That is the best person you could do it for. If there is something YOU want to change for YOU, you're already half way there. 
  2. CHANNEL YOUR MINDSET:
    • Come up with exercises that you feel capable of doing. For me, I used to hate running and I have come a long way in not only liking and enjoying it, but becoming capable of doing it. If you want to shed pounds first, I'd start with power-walking or jogging. Arms, legs, buns? Pilates and yoga are your new best friends. 
    • Another important thing is not to look at working out as something you dread. If you dread it, you'll have so much less motivation to actually do it.
  3. DIETING ISN'T SO BAD:
    • I LOVE sweets; chocolate, cookies, cake, cheesecake, ice cream,  WHATEVER. You don't have to necessarily leave all your guilty pleasures in the dust in order to get where you want to be. Lord knows I still reach for my share of cake and someone's party. Do you wanna have your cake and eat it too? Then portioning is VERY important. Have a slice, but that's it. Don't get a huge piece and don't keep going back for seconds, thirds, and so on.  (BTW: I'm not perfect, I've gone for the second helpings too.)
  4. TAKE CONTROL:
    • I've been home since March and I've been living with people who buy and/or consume M&M chocolate chip cookies, Lemon icing cake, pizza, hot dogs, fried chicken, etc. and so on. (Again, if you must have these things too, PORTION!) Otherwise, since I do not agree with what's here, I go on and buy my own things or request alternatives. My parents will sometimes graciously buy salmon or chicken patties, deli salmon, tilapia, chicken breast, and yogurt for me. On my own, I purchase low fat Yoplait vanilla yogurt, granola, just about all the berries (straw, rasp, black, and blue), other fruits such as kiwi, mango, banana, apples, and peaches. Also, WILD RICE (so healthy), zucchini, squash, broccoli, and tomatoes. 
    • Also, if you really cannot stay away from the sweets, buy alternatives. SKINNY COW is a life saver. They actually taste good unlike most diet ice cream/candies. Try it. You'll like it. I also tried the Fiber One brownies. No, they don't taste like brownies should, but nevertheless, its chocolate and only like 80 calories per package. Quaker is nice for the little rice snacks and SPECIAL K protein shakes, snacks, cereal, etc are pretty essential.
  5. KEEP MOTIVATION RUNNIN': 
    • Make a visual reminder of why you're doing what you are doing. I've always loved making things with my own hands so I've made collages and inspiration boards for myself around my room. Also, little post it notes help too. Stick 'em on your mirror, kitchen cabinets, wherever you will see them! BE YOUR BEST CHEERLEADER!
  6.  HYDRATE & SUPPORT!!!:
    • Water is IMPORTANT--I cannot stress that enough. Dump sugary drinks. (Few to little soda and juice consumption.)
    • VITAMINS, I take vitamin D and C and Biotin daily. Take what you're comfortable with, whatever that may be. (D supports bone health, C supports the immune system, and Biotin supports nail & hair growth.)
  7. FUTURE FEELINGS:
    • Think of how good you'll feel when you realize that you can't fit those jeans anymore, in a good way! Or, ladies, think of how awesome it'd be to get a great new wardrobe! They say "No pain, no gain" (freakin' cliche sayings, LOL) and "Feel the burn" for a reason. Do it to it, there's nothing but good that can come from such drive, self-empowerment, and goal reaching.
I hope that helps. I am speaking from experience and its been a long tough road. There are days where I say I'm going to go for a run and then I don't. And days where I realize I'd had way too many sweets or fats. If you have your splurge days, that' fine. You can always work it out the next day.

Good luck and I hope for those of you who wondered benefited from this.
~Shi<3