Palm Sunday

I actually went to church today for the first time in months because it was Palm Sunday.  It was actually enjoyable with good music and time for reflection, but I left during the Nicene Creed because I couldn't say the words without feeling like I was lying and the rest of Mass is basically preparation for the Eucharist which I can't participate in and thus feel quite awkward sticking around for.


I then attempted to go find Planned Parenthood's Aurora office to welcome the pro-life Team Illinois bikers and got quite lost, actually driving almost all the way to DeKalb by accident because GoogleMaps lied to me!!!  I eventually found the place where it was supposed to be and it wasn't there.  So I'm thoroughly confused.  Maybe that's a good thing.


Oh and I have a new niece!!!  Her name is Elizabeth and her nickname will be Ellie.  I won't get the chance to see her until Tuesday, but she exists outside the womb now!!

interesting article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/la-na-hometown-santa-fe28-2010mar28,0,7549400.story - story of a guy who claims to be "hypersensitive to certain frequencies of electromagnetic radiation", including wifi, cellphones, etc.  I can kinda sympathize b/c i claim to have 4S, but that's another story.  Gotta get back to work.

Casino Night

I just got back from CASINO NIGHT!!!!!!!!! It's this one event at DU where, yup, everyone gets to gamble-with chips given by the school, of course.  After gambling, we get to cash in our chips for raffle tickets.  Though the prizes are slightly lame, there's still that thrill of winning something or even just having the chance to win something that gets people extremely excited. Well for some that is.  Others, who could be called gambling enthusiasts, just come to gamble and don't care at all about the prizes.  My friend Tim is one of those guys.  He won big and kindly gave me a couple of chips when I ran out.

A few of my friends felt that last year's Casino Night was better than this year's.  We couldn't figure out why.

One of my friends who no longer goes to DU was there tonight!  It was so great to see him and hang out with the guys for the night.  Apparently there'll be a new chair for the computer science department and my friends are a little stunned.  Kevin and Jeff and I didn't feel like going to sleep right after that so we went to Submarine Tender (Sub T).  Food wasn't all that great, based on Kevin's sub which he said was worse than Chartwells' and my average fries and shake.

Sidenote: Now that I think about it, anyone off the street could come in and play if they knew it was tonight since there are no ID checks.  I don't really care about that possibility because it wouldn't be such a big deal to me, but it IS possible.  All you would have to do is walk onto DU campus, find a flyer and then come.  Is that weird?

It's nice to have the couple friends I have here at DU.  It's not easy for me to relate to a lot of the people here, but I expect that good things will come if I keep trying.

Journalism Work in Progress

I'm writing a profile piece on Dr. Faltynek, a chemistry professor at Dominican University for my Intro to Journalism class.  I had Faltynek last year for Gen Chem I and II and thought he was a really cool guy, so now I get to annoy him with ridiculous questions such as "What was your childhood like" and "If you could be an element on the periodic table, which element would you be?"  He actually said he enjoyed being interviewed, however, and I'm going back tomorrow for some follow-up questions.  By the way, he said all his ties are gifts and that he hasn't bought one in 11 years.


Does anyone have any questions they'd like to ask him? a science professor?


If you want me to post my article on him when I've finished it, please hit "tell me more". If you don't, hit "tmi".

Another survey going around!

Val is doing a survey for her advertising class on microfinancing and OptINNow.  It only takes like 10 minutes so if you have the time and are willing to help out please go to her FB event page at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=105632556133311.

Val has now ended her project.

XKCD.com

Drew endorsed this website on facebook and it's a great thing he did because it's hilarious.  Some of the humor is a little raunchy, but I spent (note: not wasted!) about an hour looking through the comic strips posted here.  Go check it out!

Drew is also doing a really short survey on what people call carbonated beverages.  Please go help him out!!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=104303029601830&ref=mf
Direct link to the survey: http://www.kwiksurveys.com/online-survey.php?surveyID=KJNOOO_5791f1dc

Thursday

Tonight I did my presentation on blogging.  I felt it went rather well, but I wish more people could have been there.  It was quite an ego-boost to be doing a public presentation on blogging, lol.

Flashforward, this show I really like, resumed tonight.  The new episode will be available on hulu tomorrow and I'm so excited to see it!  I miss watching Cold Case and Without a Trace...they're on so late at night that it's usually not worth staying up to see them.

I'm going to interview Dr. Faltynek tomorrow afternoon for an profile article for Intro to Journalism...anyone have any questions they've always wanted to ask a science professor?

Nothing else super exciting is going on unfortunately.

Blogging/Social Networking Presentation Tomorrow

I'm presenting information about blogging tomorrow as part of the Videogame/Technology Club night and I'm really nervous but excited at the same time.  My blog has only been "in business" for a few months now and it's been a while since I've made an individual presentation.  I'm of course creating a powerpoint presentation which will certainly be useful, but I'm running out of topics I wish to discuss.  So maybe what I'm asking for is this: what information do you think might be useful to include?  I really want to make it AWESOME!

Digital Divide & Net Neutrality

Tonight in my TV/Radio/Internet Industries class we discussed the Digital Divide and Net Neutrality.  Both concepts are surprisingly relevant to "real life".

(Now when I say that, I don't mean disrespect to my professor, but as we all know, so often what we discuss in school seems hardly important to our daily lives.  You know, college is supposed to be that place where you discuss concepts which are either beyond the basics and are "enlightening" or more "relevant" to what future we want to create for ourselves.  But sometimes (for some people, frequently would be a better word), that doesn't happen.  I'm glad about 75% of my coursework has actually been one or both of those (whether I understood the work at the time or not), and that it's only the little things I have to complain about.)

I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with the terms "digital divide" and "net neutrality" so here's some information!

The digital divide is the gap between people who have access to the internet and people who do not.

My professor asked a few questions of us which maybe you guys want to answer too:
Is technology neutral? (Interpret as you wish; I still don't understand the question.)
Does technology itself widen or narrow the gap between the rich and the poor?

Net Neutrality is the current standing of the federal government which does not enable the 4 ISPs (AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, and Time Warner) to basically take control of what content is available on the internet to users.  The 4 ISPs want to get rid of this, and they are currently lobbying in Congress to do so.

For more on digital divide, try taking a look at wikipedia (lol), Bridge the Digital Divide (effort to discontinue this phenomenon), and this website of the US Dept of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration committee.

For more on net neutrality, here are links to:
wikipedia
http://www.opposingviews.com/questions/should-the-government-regulate-net-neutrality (OOH THIS LOOKS LIKE A GREAT WEBSITE!!)
http://www.savetheinternet.com/ (effort to maintain net neutrality)

I refuse to put a title here title

Just woke up from a nap (I'm sick) where I dreamed that I was in a military FPS RPG game.  I kept messing up because I wasn't following the directions and because my team was hell-bent on completing the mission despite losing so many guys I was the last one remaining.


WHY?


Why does it seem that most people tend not to follow directions?  Or is that a false assumption?
I did a tidbit of research on whether or not people tend to follow directions and found the following articles which though slightly irrelevant (the best i could find tho in the couple minutes I spent) are still potentially interesting:


"A high percentage of doctors are not following national guidelines that could help them treat patients better. They don’t have enough information, time or readiness to change—or enough confidence in their ability to do everything the guidelines recommend, according to a new study." The study, unfortunately, is from 1999.
See article here: Study finds reasons doctors don’t follow directions



"Two-thirds of jurors in criminal trials do not fully understand the trial judge's legal directions, according to a study published today based on research carried out in England & Wales."
See article here: Two thirds of jurors don't follow directions, study suggests


And THAT is the extent of the somewhat relevant information I found.  Looks like somebody should do a massive psychological study.  Or maybe you know of one?  Let me know so we can post it up here.


Now I'm not trying to preach here.  I rarely follow directions because I think I know how to figure things out without them.  I don't even really like to follow directions if I'm 85% sure I know where I'm going.  Using a recipe, however, is something I do do.  


But I am interested in why or to what extent people don't.  


Do you follow directions?


BTW, another blogger wrote a great post on this topic.  See it here: http://beyondtheoutside.wordpress.com/2009/01/13/following-directions/

End of the trip

I got back from SF last night and am now trudging through homework.
Drew and I actually got the chance to meet up on my last day in SF.  It was really unusual seeing him there!  ok more like WHAT!?!?!?! I'm seeing one of my friends by random chance in another state!?!?!?  He was there with one of his friends and that friend's sister and we met up after I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge.

Actually crossing the bridge ON FOOT!! was so awesome I need to talk about it.
1. It was REALLY REALLY windy.
2. There were 3/4 suicide hotline booths which people were laughing at (initially, I admit, I thought it was a tiny bit funny but then I got over that and thought it was sad. (obviously))
3. It was beautiful.
4. It was REALLY REALLY windy.

Here's a picture.   (More pictures of Drew and me and his friend and her sister available on Facebook.)

Just 2 more things:

1. I saw Men who Stare at Goats on the flight back and liked it.
2. A really stupid joke I made up:

Q: What did one crepe say to the other crepe when he saw him doing something weird?
A: You're a bit crepe-y!

Tom said it'd be better if it were like this:

Q: What did one pancake say to the other pancake when he saw him doing something weird?
A: You're a bit crepe-y!

Like it????

Not just "another Johnny Depp movie"

Remember the animated Disney version of Alice in Wonderland?  Did you hate it?  Go see this one rather than hating the entire story. You'll love it.

Alice in Wonderland (2010) is the story of Alice, a girl who is about to embark on some serious adventures in "real life" when she spots the White Rabbit who encourages her to follow him down a rabbit hole.

I saw the movie Sunday night and, in short, I'm between liking it and loving it.  It was a little weird because Tim Burton's style is always a little out there, what with Johnny Depp's portrayal of the Mad Hatter, etc.  But I really liked it anyway because Burton really made the story "come alive" for me.  I would go as far as to say that it was nearly as good as Avatar.  And all this after dreading seeing it because I thought I hated the story!

The end was pretty cheesy though since it was completely unrealistic for the time period.  But to end it differently would compromise the message, which I strongly believed was "find yourself; be yourself".  If Alice was truly like that, then her actions at the end were appropriate.

This is a movie I would see again.  Tell me what you think.

San Francisco, Day Three (Monday)

Today I went to Fisherman's Wharf and hung out, got a delicious strawberry crêpe, and did some shopping.  I also went to In-N-Out Burger, a somewhat classier version of a hamburger fast food place.  Classier b/c it tries harder to be less disgusting.


I dont think I've told you all about my crêpe obsession.  Basically, whenever I go to a new restaurant where i can get them, I do.  I used to be on a serious search for the best ones ever since I made them in Home Economics class in 7th? grade, but now it's more of a casual hobby.  Supposedly I HAVE to go to France if I want to get the best...but I'm hoping I can find the best in the US.  Today's was pretty good, but the hip style of the crêpe restaurant and the two guys running the place was probably the best part.  It's not every day you see two Hispanic guys running a crêpe hut.  Still have to hit up La Crêperie in Chicago.

Do you have a similar obsessional quest?  Or am I just weird? (or both, haha)

San Francisco, Day Two

I woke up pretty late this morning so I think I missed out on the opportunity for "dim sum".  But I'd like to tell you all about the rest of yesterday.  INTERJECTION: Jim came in now and told me it's not too late!  More ridiculous food!


After we got back from Sally's, a bunch of us took naps.  Then we got ready for the rest of the day.  We went to the Mission district for the evening, and it was beautiful.  We crossed over the expressway via a little catwalk and that was really cool.  I love catwalks, btw.  Getting to see all the cars zooming by is really neat, haha.


Once we crossed over the catwalk, we were in the outskirts of the Mission district, Jim said.  


We found this taco truck where we each had head and neck of pig?  It actually was pretty good even though I was pretty nervous about eating it, naturally :P  We also got some mangos from a street vendor who was selling them a lot cheaper than Wild Oats does.


We then got to see the murals!  I dont remember where they are located, unfortunately, but Yvonne took a bunch of pictures of our entire day so I'll upload those as soon as she does.


Then we passed by this Mission pie place where Yvonne said that the restaurant owners had found a bunch of street kids and taught them how to make pies so they could be employed.  I thought that was pretty cool.  We might go back and grab some pie today or tomorrow but we didnt  want to show up to the restaurant with too much food already with us!


We then walked several blocks to the bar where we had some more crazy food like bone marrow.  It was a really nice place and the waiter was cute, so we took a picture of him and me in Aunt Gloria's honor.  We then took the bus home, where I spotted an older black man playing the guitar with his dog.  I thought the guy was blind because he had the dog and the sunglasses, but Jim said he was walking far too well to actually be blind.


We got home and they watched a movie but I went straight to bed.  Jim isn't feeling too well but he's still willing and ready to go about the city with us, so I'm glad.

Recent Changes to the Blog

I've decided that it would be more appropriate to title this blog more personally since it has really only been me writing.  If there is significant revolutionary backlash, I will change it back, but I feel like I'm lying to my readers if I kept it the way it was.

San Francisco, Day One, Part 2

I'm here!  Took a cab to Yvonne's house (my brother Jim's girlfriend) and everything has gone pretty smoothly.  We went out for breakfast at Sally's almost as soon as I got here where I got french toast with nutella and bananas and it was pretty good!  We're going to Bar Tartine tonight in the Mission district with Yvonne's sister Caroline.  I'm somewhat anxious because even though I want to try a lot of new stuff here, the food there seems a little scary.  I kinda forgot how hilly it is here too!  I knew it was hilly, but this hilly all over the place?  Jim and Yvonne were joking that they're glad the bus stop they need to go to to get to work is down the hill because otherwise it'd be a lot harder to get to work on time.  My battery's running low; I'll check back in later!

San Francisco, Day One

This was written while I was on the plane.

Today I'm on my way to San Francisco.  I should be there in a few hours.  The flight I'm on has been quite enjoyabe; there hasn't been anything too dramatic.  Even though it meant getting up before the sun, (4am to be exact), the trip has really been somewhat fun already.  There's only one woman, Sue, in my row on my side, and she's nice.  She kindly helped me with my bag and we kinda joked together a little before we both just fell asleep.

(I really enjoy writing in this style by the way.  It makes me feel more "professional" or something.)

You know, quite a few travel books suggest places where you can go "people-watching," but people seem to be creeped out when you appear to be doing anything like that.  Odd (and an odd tangent, :P )

Maybe Nora felt this way when she was writing her blog about England (she might still be, idk, I haven't read it in a while unfortunately).  There's a tricky balance between being too formal and being too personal.  And I just skipped from one end of the spectrum to the other!

Anyways, the airport at home wasn't too bad either.  Security went pretty smoothly once a bunch of us made a mad dash to a less crowded station that had opened up.  I even had time to stop for gum and some chow. I wish I remember the name of the place where I got chow from; the men who were working there were REALLY nice and friendly.  But I can describe the location! It was a cafe near gate C24.  I was actually thinking of giving them a tip but stingily didn't because I'm on limited funds right now.  I really wanted to run  back and toss a $20 in, but that wouldn't be wise.

But I guess quality conversation takes two people; money isn't a necessary part of the equation.  Unless they're truly in dire poverty.  I was thinking maybe poor people could hire themselves out as conversation partners?  That would require a certain level of trust however, and there are good people to talk to for free if you have the courage.  That's all for now folks!
PS: I really could use a pencil sharpener.  And I'm taking a taxi alone for the first time today! Yikes! :P