And so There Was Light…
My neighbors downstairs always say they dislike our apartment building due to the where our windows are they say they do not get a lot of daylight sun inside. Now these girls are from let's say a very different life style than I. To put it in a way without sounding jealous or anything, they have personal chefs, drivers, shoppers, etc back at home. Their house is filled with designer everything. If you utter the word Ikea around them, they recoil and scowl in disapproval. I remember one time one of them was telling me someone mistook her Marc Jacobs bag for a Tommy Hilfiger and she was saying how crazy she got on the person. Like seriously, you cannot expect everyone to know what designer is what, especially if they themselves are not a fashionista or something. They were looking for ways to improve the light situation inside their apartments and decided to buy pendant lamps for their apartment. No of course these too had to be designer lamps. Nothing short of absolute perfection would be expensive. You will not see them at an Ace Hardware or Kmart looking for their lamps, goodness, that would be unacceptable after all. I am sort of reminds of Sharpay from High School Music, yes I said it. Her song in the second movie “Fabulous” really perfectly outlines how these girls seek for things. “I want fabulous, that is my simple request, all things fabulous, bigger and better and best, I need something inspiring to help me get along, I need a little fabulous is that so wrong? Fetch me my Jimmy Choo flip flops, where is my pink Prada tote? I need my Tiffany hair band, and then I can go for a float.” Like I said, it exemplifies their obsession and necessity for designer everything. I mean, if I were not a struggling student I would absolutely go designer. It is a symbol of one's style, class and a way to be identified in a realm of banal and pedestrian persons. I am waiting for them to get their lamps so I can marvel at them and be amazed at their awesomeness. I mean the lighting in my house is not the best either but I am moving in a few months so I can suffer without the ample light I would get with a good pendant lamp. I'm fine when I open the blinds anyways; my apartment is probably stealing all the light they would be getting if there was not a second story. Oh well.
Posted by Jen on Friday, April 17, 2009 @ 8:05 PM
Quit Smoking
Are you a smoker? I have never smoked in my life but I definitely have friends that have either quit or tried really hard to quit. I guess I don't really understand the addiction and urge to keep smoking, but it must be strong if people continue on with the nasty habit.
I recently heard about a new way that people are using to quit smoking. There have been so many ways including patches and gum and even getting hypnotized. But Njoy Electronic Cigarette is a way that people are trying so that they can continue to ‘smoke' but nothing bad will happen to them or to others.
Sometimes people just need to keep up the habit and have it between their lips and hold it and get the feelings that they are smoking. So by using an Electronic Cigarette they can keep up with that habit but at the same time they can eliminate any negative effects. You are still ‘smoking' and it looks, tastes and feels like it still but there is no second hand smoke and it is even cheaper.
So if you have already tried the patch and the gum and have even gotten hypnotized and still are looking for a way to quit that nasty habit, this is definitely the route you should take. You could even just use it as a stepping stone to quitting. Maybe try the Electronic Cigarette for a few months until you are over the actual nicotine addiction and then you can gradually cut back on the fake ones.
This way you are still getting that feeling for awhile while you go through the withdrawals and you may not feel like you are just doing it cold turkey. Obviously I have never experienced this because I haven't smoked (and hopefully I will never have to). But I really do give a lot of credit to people who are trying to stop and get healthier. I saw on a documentary that the minute you stop your health starts to increase. Every single second you are smoking you are hurting your body. So try every single option that you have until you find one that works for you whether it is chewing gum or sticking a patch on yourself or going to meetings or even an Electronic Cigarette ha. Because it is a serious thing that you are gambling with.
Posted by Jen on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 @ 11:23 AM
My Dad's Job
My dad works for this magazine company (sort of). I think he just does the business and money part but basically their company buys and sells (and distributes) magazines to other places and stores. So when you walk into a store and see one of those auto performance parts magazines, they came from his work!
So we always have extra car magazines lying around our house (trust me, if I could pick the magazines that we got left with those definitely wouldn't be it). But all of my guy friends love them. I remember one time they were looking for these things called vellano wheels (I have no idea what they are, well now I do after the whole search fiasco ha) but they would come over and spend hours looking through the magazines and brochures for used car parts and pieces to put into the old car they got that they were fixing up.
We even went to this auto aftermarket parts place with some guy my dad works with. It was bring your daughter to work day so my sister and I went but my dad just stays in the office and has meetings all day and does paper work and bills and stuff like that and we wanted something fun so this guy (who also brought his daughter) let us come with him when he did his route (they are self employed kind of through my dad's company) and we got to see all of the places that had the auto magazine racks. Most of them were grocery stores and places like blockbuster. But some of them were actual auto part stores or the kind of place that you get your oil changed, like Jiffy Lube. So we spent the day going from place to place and checking them out.
I think it's so weird because when you're in school with a business degree you probably don't know or think you're going to be buying and selling magazines to companies. It is such a great job and he makes a ton of money and he likes the business aspect, but sometimes you just have to wonder how you ended up where you did and if you thought that's where you were going to be ten years ago. I guess we never know what our future holds. But I hope that mine holds lots of magazines (like the good kinds ha).
Posted by Jen on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 @ 6:36 PM
True Life Documentaries
I was watching a show the other day about parents going back to school. Most of them were in their late 20's to their late 30's and they either didn't go to college or they dropped out because they had kids.
So now, they have decided to go back and get a degree so that they can do something great for their families. A few of them went back to the classroom and school atmosphere to finish up their degree or go for the first time. But a lot of the finished through something called elearning.
They took online training courses from their homes, meaning they could do it on their own time and spend the time that they would be traveling to and from school or a classroom with their families. If they had a class at 5pm, it would leave no time for them to get home from work and spend time with their kids. But on the show, they took online training videos and used videos and books to get their degrees and that way, they could spend time with their kids and then tuck them in at night and then when they were sleeping at night or early in the morning they were able to get their class work done for their degree.
I think that a lot of people look down on parents who can't do a lot for their kids because they didn't go to school or they dropped out (which isn't fair and is rude, but it also true sometimes), but now so many of them are trying their hardest to get their lives on track and do what they can to make them better. And they definitely deserve all of the credit in the world. They are working so hard to better their future and while people look down on them a lot of the time, really it should be the other way. These people came from nothing and worked on their own to get to where they wanted and needed to be.
It was really inspiring to see how far these people had come. Most of them were at the poverty level or very close to it and sacrificed a lot to help their families and they get a better future. It was an amazing documentary to watch and I would recommend it to everyone.
Posted by Jen on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 @ 9:46 AM
Looking for handicap vans online
My grandma recently moved from the east coast to Austin (Texas). I have no idea what made her wish to make such a change but I hope it is good for her. I do worry about her out there though. We have no family out there so it is a very odd choice for a move. In her elder years she has been so immobile though that also worries me quite a bit. Ever since grandpa passed away I have been so concerned for her. I think she is going to end up hiring an aid type person. She already has a van and with those van conversions they do, it can be made into a wheelchair accessible vehicle which she really is in need of without a doubt. I know she could find handicap vans online but I am not sure if she wants to sell her van and then have to buy a new one. If the conversion is cheap enough I think that is the best bet for her. I told her she should just Google “wheelchair vans for sale texas” to bring up listings for vans for sale. That way she can compare how much a conversion would be versus buying a new one. Given her van is pretty new I think she should get a good amount for it or towards a trade-in type situation. I wish she decided to move closer to us family so we could look after and be around her. Maybe she will give it a year or two then decide to move closer to us. In some cultures, elderly family move back in with their children or grandchildren as a reciprocation for them taking care of them. It makes sense. American culture though is not quite like that although I know the extended family is becoming closer and more dynamic I suppose. My grandma shouldn't be driving anymore but that will be a battle for another day. I need to convince my family she is not safe on the road but no one wants to or has the guts to stand up to her. I mean, not many people would brave that fight I do not think. We shall see how it goes. The weather here is so chaotic! It was sunny this weekend now raining. Boo! Sorry I got distracted by the ominous clouds outside. I am going to grab the mail before a downpour ensues. Later gators.
Posted by Jen on Thursday, April 09, 2009 @ 9:47 AM
Tasting the best Haribo candy
I am somewhat of a gummi specialist of the gummi candy. If it were up to me gummi treats would be their own food group. After searching and sampling bear after bear across the globe, the Haribo are the best ever. The flavor and more importantly the consistency of the gummi is perfect. They are not too soft, so some of the cheap store brands and they are not too hard or solid to where you can't chew them easily. When I bring bags to work to share, they disappear faster than any other candy. Really a treat. People laugh when I tell them Haribo is the best gummi bear ever, but once they try them, they all agree with me.The first time I tried Haribo Gummi Bears was when my friend who did a semester in Germany brought some back for me. At first I thought they were similar to other gummi bears I had tried…but I was mistaken, big time. With delicious flavors including pineapple (white), strawberry (green), lemon (yellow), orange (orange), and raspberry (red) these are truly a delicious candy treat. In Germany, these are THE brand of Gummi Bears to buy and for good reason. When my friend returned to America he expressed his dismay of not finding Haribo as easily. I know you can buy bulk candy online from various retailers though so satiate your desire. If you have never had Haribo Gummi Bears, you really need to try some. A 5-pound bag seems like a large quantity, but I promise, you will not be disappointed. These gummis are by far the best; the taste is tart and sweet, and the consistency is yes, gummy but not sticky. The bears resist the teeth with a pleasant rubbery consistency. And the outside is lightly dusted to prevent sticking together--however, they will melt with high temperatures in the Texas summer. They are nice mixed in trail mix for hiking, by the way. These Haribo Gummi Candy Gold-Bears are just bursting with Flavor! They're a great snack and most people can eat them because they're not a "chocolate-type candy" where you'd have to worry about allergies or anything of that sort. I definitely recommend these gummi bears, they are a sweet and delicious treat and the VALUE is phenomenal! I will definitely be ordering more and different kinds. We all have our favorites! I have now been hooked on these delicious candies for a while now and I am happy to admit this. You can find them online or in German specialty stores. My friend claims she saw them at Longs because they are expanding their foreign or special areas so next time I run to the drugstore I will check and see.
Posted by Jen on Monday, April 06, 2009 @ 8:36 AM
WEIGHT LOSS OUT OF CONTROL
Having never struggled with my weight I guess I must be one of the lucky ones. So many people, especially when they go away to school begin to pack on the pounds. I have always just been lean, as a matter of fact when I was really little they told my mother that I was underweight and I had to drink a special shake twice a day to try and put on some weight and I hated that. I didn't like the way the drinks tasted, I mean they looked like a milk shake, but they definitely didn't taste like one. And I never put on any weight anyway, so eventually my mother just had me stop drinking them. I really feel for those who battle with weight loss though. A girl I met here at school, is one of those people who is constantly on a diet, and she even has tried to lose weight by starvation, and I think now that perhaps she is bulimic, although it is hard to be sure. I know that she continues to lose weight even though she eats a lot at a sitting, and many times she runs to the bathroom right after she eats, and I have often wondered if she is throwing up after eating, but I can't be sure. It just seems that there are so many diet plans available, and even all natural diet pills and stuff, that you would think that there would be a better way. Even now that she seems to have her weight under control she is constantly obsessing about calories and such, and she is always saying how fat she is or how she wishes she looked like this person or that person.
As a person who really has never dealt with this type of issue, I am really not sure how to help her. I am just sure that a person who is dealing with their weight really doesn't want to hear from someone like me who struggles just to eat enough to keep myself from being underweight. I am not sure what to do, but I really think that this girl needs help.
Posted by Jen on Friday, April 03, 2009 @ 9:09 AM