Teh Notebook

It seems like every friendship has that one thing that keeps it together. For me and my friends it was Teh notebook. No not the notebook, TEH NOTEBOOK. It was a silly idea one friend came up with our sophomore year of high school. The basic idea of Teh Notebook was for it to be passed to different people and each person would write in it and respond to the other entries in it. Well it started out as a large group thing, one of which I wasn’t even part of might I add, but it was eventually narrowed down to my two friends, Symone (aka Mone) and Dana (or as I like to say, because it pisses her off, D’Moneyyyy!!!) , and I.

You might ask why we started Teh Notebook when we could all just talk to each other. Well the answer is it was to give us something to do when we were bored in class and couldn’t physically speak. However, it eventually became much more. Everything, and I mean everything, was written in there. It covered problems at home, teachers, gossip, crushes, relationships, sex, the would you rather game, weekend plans, homework, truth or dare, pages and pages of song lyrics, and much, much more. Teh Notebook was there through thick and thin. It was our friendship that made up the bound pages of the marble composition book.

Well needless to say Teh Notebook was filled up quickly and soon after came Teh Notebook 2 or TNT, Teh Notebook the Trilogy, and Teh Notebook the Final Chapter. Junior year the three of us had less classes all together. So Teh Notebook became even more necessary for us to talk during the day. Senior year it kind of faded out of the lime light because we all became busy with prom, graduation, AP testing, and college applications. It was still present though.

Today, I’m sad to say there is no Teh Notebook. Mone and Dana had some drama that could not be fixed and they stopped speaking. I remained friends with both, but Dana barely contacts me now. Me and Mone are still the best of friends, but college makes it difficult to see each other. The only thing I can hope for, is that eventually there will be a Teh Notebook the Comeback and a reunion of an old group of friends.

The New Literature

So I realize I’ve been neglecting my blog lately but I’m busy like a bee. That is no excuse though, so here I am straightening my hair, getting ready for class, packing, rocking out with Smashing Pumpkins and writing this blog. See… busy.

I thought I’d run off my last entry for this one and think through a random thought I just had on music and literature. In the past literature was extremely important. It was a major form of entertainment. History was preserved through these great works of art and life lessons learned. Today however, less and less of the population is reading but music is always listened to. Is it possible that musical lyrics will someday take the place of poetry and plays? That our music will carry on our legacy and not our books?

In my high school English class not only did we analyzed poetry we analyzed music. Lyrics are just a form of poetry after all. Music has the almost magical ability to make us happy or sad, to change our emotions. We can relate to them at extremely personal levels at times feeling like they were just written for us. Songs tell stories of the time, for instance “Hero of War” by Rise Against shows a popular view to America’s current situation. Songs also teach us lessons too. “Don’t Worry Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin (as seen in last entry) teaches us that you shouldn’t let anything ruin your happiness. NAS’s “I Can” teaches kids that they can do anything they want if they work hard. Some songs are just as deep as any book, poem, essay, or blog post. They provoke thought. Two I can think of off the top of my head are Muse’s “Plug in Baby” and Cold play’s “Viva La Vida.” I think that music, instead of being it’s own category of art should perhaps just be a subcategory of literature.

We all have our favorite song. I am sure you have yours. Why is it favorite? What does it mean to you? It is most likely not the same song as when you were little or maybe even a few years ago because as we change our mind, emotions, and taste change. I’m sure you look back and think “Why in the world did I ever listen to that?” I get that feeling about Aaron Carter, although I still jam out to some Spice Girls.

Dont Worry. Be Happy!

Needed a pick me up after my theology test today and this thought popped in my head. So for all you students out there who have the same feeling as me right now, this is for you:

Midterms got you down?
Well wipe away that frown
Dont worry. Be happy!

If I May Call You Edna?

Are you one of those people who does their best thinking in the shower? Are you a fish who never wants to leave the water? Does everything just seem right when you are in it?

Water, the giver of life. Without water nothing on Earth would exist. It would be barren as many other planets are. The rain after a long drought replenishes the land. The oceans provide a home for all types of aquatic life. Everything mammals eat and drink contains water. The human body is 55%-78% water. We can only survive 3 days without it. Water is essential.

In many beliefs water is not only essential, but magical. In Christianity, water is used to cleanse one’s soul of sin, in the ritual of Baptism. It is also used for blessings and exorcisms. In Hinduism, there are sacred rivers such as; the Ganges, Yamuna, Godavari, Sarasvati, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri. In Islam and Judaism it is used to keep one pure. Waterfalls are sacred in the religion of Shinto. In Viking burials, the dead were sent out to sea. In the practice of Zoroastrianism, water is kept from being polluted, because it is sacred itself.

Water is a major symbol in many literary works. In Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse, water conveys knowledge and tranquility. In the song “Once In a Lifetime” by The Talking Heads, water symbolizes life. In Kate Chopin’s, The Awakening, water represents freedom and cleansing.

Now that we have learned a little bit about water throughout life, I think its time to explore what makes us so comfortable in it. My theory about this goes back to when we were just mere babies in our mother’s wombs. We were floating in fluid and felt safe. When we are in water it’s the same feeling, the feeling off safety. And when we are safe we feel free to think.

So why then are people afraid of the water? To look at the other side of water, it is very powerful. It gives life and has the power to take it. It can wipe out whole cities and topple boats like rubber duckies. As tranquil as it is, it also has great destructive energy. It has the power to pull people into its depths and never let them go.

I transform into a fish when summer comes around and I get brilliant thoughts in the shower. I love running in the rain and the ocean is my playground. Once I get in the water, its hard to get me out. All I know is there is nothing like going under water on a bright summers day. When you look up and see the sunlight glistening on the top and streaking through, everything just seems right. The silence and faint noise of moving water, put you at peace. My only wish is that I could stay down there longer, but alas I eventually have to surface for air.

“The foamy wavelets curled up to her white feet, and coiled like serpents about her ankles. She walked out. The water was chill, but she walked on. The water was deep, but she lifted her white body and reached out with a long, sweeping stroke. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace.”

http://www.africanwater.org/religion.htm

http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/ChoAwak.html

http://www.liquidsculpture.com/index.htm

Unknown

I feel as though I have something important to say, world changing even, but I don't know enough yet to say it; nor do I know what it is.

Beautifully Destructive

Nature… beautiful but destructive. Natural disasters have plagued humans as long as civilization has been around; from the flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates to Hurricane Katrina and to the recent earthquake in Haiti. But are natural disasters… really disasters? From the perspective of the human race, yes they are disasters. They kill people, devour cities, and diminish people’s livelihoods to ruins.

I beg to differ with this way of thinking though. I think it’s important when nature is concerned to look at it on a grander scale. The earth has been here long before us and may (unless we continue on the path we are on) be here long after us. It is constantly changing and evolving. Islands are formed and destroyed, continents are shifted into new ones, plant life evolves and changes. The old gives way to the new.

As human’s we have a certain resistance to change. We want to have control over everything. We want to control the weather and even the Earth. But really, the Earth controls us. We are at it’s mercy. After all, we are just animals, even though we have the capacity of higher thinking. We have the same basic needs, the same drives: food, water, shelter, sleep, and procreation. As Darwin put it, “survival of the fittest.” This is the way nature works, and we can fight it all we want, put in the end we are still part of it.

So no, natural disasters are not disasters at all. They are normal reactions the every changing Earth has to the environment. Fires clear out the old plants and make it so new trees can grow, providing oxygen. Volcanoes create islands and give already existing lands a clean slate to rebuild. Earthquakes create new land forms and reshape the land. Tsunamis create new lakes and waterways. Hurricanes and floods provide rich soil deposits to the lands. In my opinion, the benefits outweigh the bad. Why try to ruin a system that has worked for billions of years?

The Red King

`Now, Kitty, let's consider who it was that dreamed it all.
This is a serious question, my dear, and you should not
go on licking your paw like that--as if Dinah hadn't
washed you this morning! You see, Kitty, it must have
been either me or the Red King. He was part of my dream,
of course--but then I was part of his dream, too! Was it the
Red King, Kitty? You were his wife, my dear, so you ought to
know--Oh, Kitty, do help to settle it! I'm sure your paw can
wait!' But the provoking kitten only began on the other paw,
and pretended it hadn't heard the question.

Through the Looking Glass

~Lewis Carroll~

Have you ever had a dream that was so real you didn’t truly know whether you were dreaming or not? Or have you ever gone through a day in real feeling like it was a dream? Most of us have these moments once in a while. But the question is, is the life you we live truly real or is it just a dream?

When we dream we experience the same sensations as when we are awake. You can see in a dream, touch, taste, talk, hear, smell, just like you can in real life. We see some of the same people and feel the same emotions. We only consider the dream over when we wake up. But imagine for a second waking up is really falling asleep. Then the life you consider to be real would be a dream. Or maybe it’s not you dreaming at all. You could just be a character in someone else’s dream.

I can’t answer these questions. No one can. Cause if this is just a dream we wouldn’t know. Me writing this right now may just be a dream. Or you reading it may be a dream. Who knows? Now I find the time has grown late and I must sleep, or the red king must awake.

http://www.sabian.org/Alice/lgchap12.htm

Girls PWN

Think of someone playing xbox, mmo, or any other type of game. Is the person you see a overweight, geeky looking, loner guy? Well maybe you should see an average looking girl. I don’t know why people assume girls don’t game, it upsets me just a bit. Some of us like blood and fighting just as much as guys. We have just as much game as them if not more. I mean we’re ruthless in real life imagine us in a game! :P

Out of all the gamers out there 40% are actually women. Sure while we may not make up the majority of mmo players, as well as other game forms, women tend to be more committed and to log more hours then men. This automatically qualifies a lot of women as hardcore gamers. It was also found that in the case of who is more aggressive, that women and men both have a large range of different levels of aggressive, that there is no difference.

Research has shown that women tend to play games for different reasons then men. Men play for achievement reasons whereas women play for social reasons. I agree with this to a certain extent. I started playing mmos when my friend asked me to, and I thought oh it’ll be cool to play together. So yes, in that respect my playing is social. But also I now play a lot alone and actually enjoy it more at times. Being able to level or defeat something you could not before all by yourself without help gives one a certain mount of satisfaction. It also simply provides a great escape from daily life. So yes I agree with the studies that women start playing mainly because of social influences, but the reasons we continue to vary.

What I found really interesting about what I read was that the women in the test under reported their play time much more then men. It said this was because of the social stigma of women in games, as well as gamers in general. I think since this study was done a few years ago things have changed for the better. I know there are multiple gaming forums just for women and well as face book pages.

So in conclusion, GIRLS PWN! We kick ass and look good doing it. Remember that boys. ;)

http://dmitriwilliams.com/LFGpaperfinal.pdf

http://www.facebook.com/#/group.php?gid=6156531666

Love?

Is it possible to love more then one person? Or do everyone just have one true love? One soul mate? What is love anyway? Are there different kinds of love? I think it’s best in this situation to at least establish a definition for love. According to Webster’s dictionary love is:

1 a (1) : strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties (2) : attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers (3) : affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests

And…

2 a : to feel a lover's passion, devotion, or tenderness for b (1) : caress (2) : to fondle amorously (3) : to copulate with

And…

3 : to like or desire actively : take pleasure in
4 : to thrive in

And… well I think you get the point… it has many definitions. This automatically answers my other question. Are there different types of love? Well of course there are. You don’t love your mom, the same as your husband, the same as your child, the same as your best friend, the same as your pet, the same as pizza, the same as shoes, the same as your favorite book, the same as the song playing now, or even the same as reading this blog. What I want to focus on more is the love for that special person, the one you want to spend the rest of your life with.

I think it’s very possible to love more then one person. You love the person who excites you. You love the person who understands you. You love the one who just make’s you happy. You love the one who laughs at your little jokes. You love the one who appreciates you. You love the one you can be completely serious with at any time. You love the one who is always there for you. You love the person you bicker with. But, when you combine these qualities then you found the one you are meant to be with, your perfect match. Is there more then one of these people out there? The ones who fit all these qualities? That I can’t answer, I haven’t met more then one who fits all my qualities yet. But, if you happen to, let me know…

http://m-w.com/dictionary/love

The Importance of Breathing

STOP what you’re doing unless it‘s reading this, which case feel free to continue. Turn off everything: lights, tv, music, etc… OFF! Now lay down, close your eyes, and just breathe. Focus on nothing else but your exsistence. Feel the blood flowing through your body. Explore it mentally. Make sure to feel every last cell. The movement, the flow, the life. And most importantly don’t forget to breathe. You are human and you breathe to live. So as long as you’re breathing you should be smiling. Cause even if it seems bad, life is good and it goes on…