Snow in April?

I know I'm not the only one that finds the recent weather patterns strange - although there really is no "pattern" for the snow, extreme wind, thunderstorms, and heat that Chicago has been experiencing recently. I do love snow, but at some point, it gets annoying when I don't know whether I should wear shorts or a winter jacket; and in April of all months! Now is the time it should be raining pleasantly, letting last year's vibrant flowers pop up, with little critters hopping about our neighborhoods. Cheesy? Yes. But instead, we have to run around covering up the furniture on our porches from the snow flurries severe rain downpours, or constantly swatting at persistent flies in the humidity. 

I believe this goes hand in hand with Earth Day (April 22), and the cruel treatment of our helpless planet. Every day, we add just a bit more poison into the air, and kill the natural life a smidgen more. The good news is that people are becoming increasingly more aware of what we are doing to the earth, and to ourselves, by overindulgence in luxury cars and other electrical amenities. 

For more facts about how we are affecting Earth, click here.

The Dark Knight

"The Dark Knight," a movie emphasizing the struggles between the hero, Batman/Bruce Wayne (played by Christian Bale), and the villain, The Joker (played by the late Heath Ledger), is a dark and bitter movie. Despite its obvious fictional qualities, this movie shows that there are evil, twisted people out there, trying to create danger and mayhem even if just for no apparent reason. The Joker only wished for troubles and conflict, whereas the typical criminal (such as the mob shown at the beginning of the movie) seek money and/or fame. "The Dark Knight" also shows that there are people trying to help make this world a better place, and rid us of the heartless, cruel people around us, though they are most often misunderstood and unappreciated, such as when the residents of Gotham City believe that Batman is only causing more troubles in their lives. This movie, in general, made me feel weird; after some scenes where something happens that is just so sudden and so overwhelming, I would get the chills and would think, "whoa...what do I do now?" I'm not exactly sure how to explain it, but an example would be after Maggie Gyllenhaal's character, Rachel Dawes, was supposedly blown up. Honestly, during the scene(s) leading up to that explosion, I refused to believe that she would be left their to be blown to pieces; I thought no one had the guts to do that to an innocent woman, but apparently, the Joker did. After Batman arrived at the address (given to him by the Joker) where he thought Rachel was being held hostage in, finding Harvey Dent there instead, I really did not know what to expect, though I did not imagine that Rachel would be killed. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

In general, I felt this movie was trying to being across a strong message, that people can interpret as they may, but in my opinion, it seemed as if it was trying too hard to be profound, such as the narration at the end of the movie, said by Gary Oldman's character, James Gordon ("He's a silent Guardian. A watchful protector. A Dark Knight."). Now please understand that this is just my opinion, and that other people have their own thoughts on the movie that don't agree with mine. I did, however (as I'm sure many people have) find the acting phenomenal, and it is clear that the actors really "became one" with the characters they were portraying.

Winter Wonderland

For me, winter is the happiest time of the year. I love everything about it, though I seem to be the only one around that feels the same way. Every aspect of winter just makes me feel warm and contented; yes that sounds cheesy and very contradictory, since winter is the coldest time of the year. I love the soft, powdery clumps of unique snowflakes falling to the ground; I love the deep layers of snow covering the wet roads and lawns; I love how beautiful it is outside at night when the lights from the lampposts reflect off of the white ground, making the snow sparkle. Most of all, I love the fact that my birthday is in winter, and winter seems to be the biggest holiday season, when everyone is out shopping for presents or celebrating with friends and family. For some reason, I always enjoy the fact that the mall is packed with people walking around, swinging their abundant shopping bags filled with gifts, and wearing Santa hats. And some of the best times in winter for me are when it is snowing outside - not the wet snow that melts right when it touches the ground or my coat, but the soft, delicate snowflakes - and I look up at the sky, and feel the snow falling on my face, and all around there is just a feeling of silence and peace as I gaze up at the gray sky, against which the pure white snow contrasts greatly.

There are three scenarios that I always imagine, when everything is perfect - and they all take place during winter. One is when it is dark outside, and I can hear the snow falling against the windows, but I am sitting on my couch, curled up with a fleece blanket and a cup of hot chocolate (with the little marshmallows), the fire is crackling, the TV is on to some holiday movie, and my dog is lying next to me (though he's on the floor because he isn't allowed on the couch). The second scenario is when I am skiing all alone on a massive mountain, somewhere in Colorado or Utah, with dark trees surrounding me, the sky graying, snow falling gently, and only the sound of my skis scraping against the smooth, packed snow below me to keep me company. The third is when my friends and I go outside at night to the front of our house, and play in the snow, with our neighbors outside, who are running around in the snow as well - we would have snowball fights, build forts, go sledding on the hill nearby, and not even care that at our current ages, we should be acting much more maturely than we are.

Everyone has those moments when they feel that the world is in perfect balance. This whole blog post may make you cringe and think about how cliched everything I've talked about is, but it may also lead you into thinking about your own perfect scenarios in you own perfect world...

Don't Be Lazy

This past fall has been my second year of being on the high school swim team, and I feel that I improved tremendously since my first year. I was a lot less lazy to do what the coach told us to, and I was a lot more committed to the team. I came to every practice (except the morning practice that I accidentally slept through - oops!), and I pushed myself to swim a lot faster. The results were great, and the coaches put me in more meets, and gave me much harder events (such as 100 yard of butterfly stroke) to swim. And in general, the feeling of belonging to a team, and contributing to the school's success, pride, and teamwork was great, no matter how cliched that sounds! Participating in dress-up days, be it 70's day, or rainbow day, and also cheering along with the rest of the team right before a meet, helped me get more excited and motivated to swim even faster and show everyone what I am actually capable of. There were many benefits of participating in the swim team, such as a positive attitude, school spirit, and not to mention the physical advantages of swimming five days a week for three months.

Unfortunately, after those three months ended, the amount of exercise I got went down the drain. I feel that since I wasn't really being forced to swim a certain amount of laps, or jog for a certain amount during "dry land" during practice, I lost my motivation, and I just kept coming up with excuses to not go work out ( such as "I have too much homework" or "I'm too tired from school"). And the amount of time I spent on homework increased greatly, which allowed me less and less sleep each night. At this point, I am working on just getting my lazy butt up and going to exercise at least once in a while, because I know firsthand how helpful and important it is. Hopefully I will get back up to the same fitness level I was at earlier in the school year is, but the bottom line is that getting exercise is vital in helping you get sleep, do your work faster, and just have a better attitude. I know this is constantly repeated, and you are probably thinking, "yeah, yeah, I've heard this all before," but it is all very true, so listen to it.

Twilight

It may not come as a big surprise that I am writing about the new craze that has hit us by storm (though its primary audience is the countless number of teenage girls that have become its obsessed fans), Twilight. I have talked to many people about the topic of the book (and its three sequels, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn) and its new movie, and it seems as if people either love it, or hate it (though the people who hate it are mostly those who haven't read it). The book was published in 2005, and tremendously increased in popularity since then, especially with the release of the movie remake. I know plenty of people that fell in love with the book from the start - much of that on account of the vegetarian vampire, Edward, who it is very hard not to fall head over heels with, despite the disappointing fact that he is fictional - but they simply refuse to watch the movie. I must say that I was of the same opinion when I first heard that there was going to be a Twilight movie; I had envisioned my own scenes and images of the text as I read the four books in the series, and I was worried that as soon as I saw the movie, those visualizations that were so vivid in my mind would vanish and be replaced by those given by the movie. But surprisingly, as the release date of the movie drew closer and closer, I became excited and eager to see it, and I ended up going to it on opening night. As I was watching, I realized that it was a good thing that I had read the book before seeing the movie, and also that it really didn't interfere with what I had pictured in my mind before the movie.

Personally, though I had previously been critical of the choices for the characters, my opinion changed quite drastically during the movie, and believed that the actors chosen were really good fits, and that the movie was actually a great success. Again, that is just my opinion, and obviously others are entitled to their own thoughts, which may differ from mine. But I would definitely recommend at least reading the book - you get addicted and find yourself finished with the book with a day or two (if you have the time to read it nonstop for that long); some people who I have talked to refuse to read the book, but they won't explain why, and I have a feeling they don't want to just because they do not want to follow the crowd and do what everyone else is doing. And if you are willing to, I would also recommend seeing the movie. News flash: it really isn't a big deal if you read Twilight, even if you do want to stand out and "be an individual"; just call it your guilty pleasure.

Procrastination

One significant problem that many people are faced with on a daily basis is procrastination. This "ailment" affects everyone, from adults overloaded with paperwork at the office to students piled with homework (but at the same time faced with the temptation to, say, watch television). I can greatly relate to these people, because no matter how often I give myself pep talks saying something along the lines of, "Okay. No more putting all of these assignments off. Just don't turn on the TV. DO NOT turn on the computer. You can have all the fun you want after you finish your homework. YOU CAN DO THIS," I can't do it. It is as if the more I tell myself to not succumb to any distractions, the more I feel the need to do just that. Sometimes, it seems like a permanent problem, and you just can't help procrastinating, but other times (at least I speak for myself here) I realize that it is just a differently-worded excuse for being lazy. I have tried every "line in the book" as justification for procrastinating, such as "Oh, this desk, and this whole room, are such a mess...I just can't work with so much clutter...maybe I should clean it, and I'll be able concentrate," or "I work best under pressure...I'll just wait to finish this until the night before it's due...that way I'll complete it faster." Fellow procrastinators probably have a much larger variety of these excuses, but each and every one of them (in most cases, at least) is as truthful as "my dog ate my homework."

But, you must remember that you're not alone. Everyone procrastinates, for whatever reason, and in essence, it is just a part of being human. Despite what anyone says, there are many reasons for why he/she really procrastinates. Maybe they are perfectionists, and they know that once they begin something, they will have to go "all out," and not be able to stop until it is "perfect". This may lead to someone dreading starting the piece of work, and trying to put off the tremendous amount of energy that will have to go into it. There may be many other reasons as well, but one that has a very bad impact on the work methods of people is that procrastination helps reinforce itself. When a student writes a paper at the last minute, and he/she ends up getting a good grade on it, he/she will repeat putting it off, because it seems to work. I personally suffer from this.

The good news is, if you are really willing to improve this nuisance, as I am slowly beginning to learn, there are many ways overcome this obstacle. Try taking all the work you have ahead of you, and dividing it up into parts, for example: working for an hour at a time, and taking a small break in between. Also, it is important to take all the excuses you have for procrastinating, and understanding how those are actually irrelevant when you think about it. And, though this may seem unnecessary, try working on a piece of work with a deadline when there really isn't one.

The most important way to "overcome" procrastination is to see the positive facts of going ahead and getting you work done, instead of doing something that will provide you with fun for a short while and then being faced with the stress and anxiety of all that you still have to accomplish.

Wives' Tales - Remedies

Recently in Spanish class, our teacher told us a story about a time when she was pregnant, and her mother-in-law urgently asked her to spit on her sister-in-law's bee sting. She told the class that no one had any idea what was going on at the time, and that the sister-in-law, equally clueless, had told her to just humor the mother-in-law. She later asked a doctor why she had done that, and, to her surprise, he told her that the body produces some sort of anti-inflammatory enzyme in the saliva when the woman is pregnant.

Some wives tale remedies make sense, and can be proven by science, so matter how ridiculous or gross they may seem, such as the one above. Though many wouldn't be willing to test them out - who would willingly urinate on their own jellyfish sting? I think I would pass on that one, thanks. Others are just misconceptions, such as putting butter on a burn - just because something looks and feels like an ointment, doesn't necessarily mean that it works like one. In this case, butter just keeps the heat in, and is only inviting bacteria into the wound.

A home remedy that I remember being used on me involved boiled eggs. When I had an ear infection, my mom forced me to lay down on my back, and put a hard-boiled egg by the infected ear. Even though it was wrapped in a towel, it would be nearly scalding, and hurt, though I don't remember if it worked. It was also used for an eye sty, and that would be even hotter held up against my eye.

One "ailment" that I have always wanted to know how to "cure" is the hiccups. Different people have told me of various methods in the past, such as holding your breath, holding your breath and plugging your nose, drinking water while holding your breath, getting scared, etc. They are either effective some of the time and ineffective at other times, or hiccups just come and go away for other reasons, and those "cures" have nothing to do with it. But all I know is that they are annoying, loud, and sometimes even painful.

For more wives' tale remedies, you can visit here or here.