Day 103

An Amazing Combination of my Favorite Man on TV and my Favorite Film Series. Enjoy.

Day 102

For my Japanese assignment, I have to talk about my family (I think I may have mentioned this before... maybe it was my writing assignment. Not sure) so I wanted to share the first draft of my script. Excuse the random English in there, I wanted to double check with my sensei about the proper word to use. Also, there are pictures to go with it that you can't see.

Basically it says:

There are five people in my family. There is a mom and a dad and a little sister and a little brother. The person wearing the suit is my little brother. His name is Kyle. He is 16 years old but he's really tall. The girl is my little brother's girlfriend (the picture is from prom). Her name is Daniella. They are not married, but she spends a lot of time with our family. The jacket-wearing, jeans-wearing person is my little sister. Her name is Amanda and she is 15 years old. She is good at basketball and soccer. She works at the zoo.

Day 101

Today, I want to share with you guys one of my favorite new shows (thanks Hannah!) It's called Bob's Burgers and if you haven't seen it already, you need to. Here's a little bit of a preview for you guys.

Day 100 :D

So for today, I want to elaborate a bit more on yesterday's arranged marriage theme by talking a bit about my own beliefs on it. As with anything I write, you don't have to agree with me.

I'm not opposed to arranged marriages, as long as the potential wife and husband have the option of saying no.

 Family is extremely important to me and marrying someone my family didn't approve of, or not feeling accepted by my husband's family, would bother me. To me, when I'm dating someone, I'm dating their family in the sense that I'm trying to see if I'd be a good fit in their family and, if so, trying to get them to like me. I'm lucky that everyone I've met in Sam's family seems to like me and that makes me a lot more confident about being together with him, knowing we have family support. I feel like having an arranged marriage would take the stress out of creating family ties.

I don't think this is true in all cases, but for me, my mom is always right. I think she predicted Sam and I dating two years before it actually happened. She's got a really good instinct and based on my somewhat questionable dating judgement (before Sam of course), she'd be a better person to pick the right guy for me than I would. Now, I know that a lot of mother's aren't connected with their kids, but in the societies and situations where arranged marriages typically occur, they are, at least more so than in our society. I think this has to do again with the importance of family.

Even if it's not a marriage situation, I don't think being set up by your parents is necessarily a bad thing. Although there can be instances of parents trying to set their son or daughter up for their own gain, parents generally care about the happiness of their child. Worst case is, the person they set you up with is totally not your type and you never date them again. Best case is, they got it spot on and you could fall in love with someone you otherwise may not have given a chance.

If I wasn't dating Sam and my mom tried to set me up with a guy, I'd trust her judgement. When it comes to my dad, I'd probably still go on the date, but I know my dad would try to set me up with someone that's not quite my type, even though the set up was with the best intentions. I don't think he would have initially picked Sam for me - scratch that, I KNOW he wouldn't have initially picked Sam for me, but he likes him and that's all that really matters.

There are of course some bad things that can happen in arranged marriages, but I think that most of those negatives would be aspects of forced marriage, not actually of arranged marriage as it exists today. As long as the choice of marriage was ultimately left up to the couple, I don't think there's anything wrong with some input from mom and dad.

Day Ninety Nine

I watched this video today in my Sexuality and Culture class. Just as a little background information, family arranged marriages still the norm in many parts of the world today. These arranged marriages, however, aren't the stereotypical arranged marriages where the bride and the groom meet for the first time after they're already set up and get married off with no say in the manner. Today, those are called "forced marriages." While the video is obviously staged, it gives a more accurate depiction of what arranged marriages today really are like.

Day Ninety Eight

Finally got the first draft of my (exactly) 2,300 word paper!

That's why I haven't even started my blog post until 1 am, which means I didn't technically do a blog post for yesterday but you know what?

So for today, I'm going to share with you part of my essay, except I'm doing to make it more interesting by adding pictures and GIFs. It would be really cool if I could actually do that with my essay. I feel like it would make for a better read. Just as a note, my essay is supposed to be written in our own voice, so it's not going to be as formal as you''d think.

~~~~~

"I have often said that if one takes care of the means, the end will take care if itself." Gandhi’s words are basically the philosophy I've adopted when it comes to Sam and I both in terms of our own lives and our relationship. When looking at Sam’s enlistment as a whole through the lens of Gandhi’s philosophy, simply put, a career in the medical field is the end and the Army is the means to that end.

 Gandhi’s message, in the context of the essay this quote came from, referred to something abstract and seemingly intangible, but in Sam’s case, the “means” and the “end” are much more concrete. This is true even in regards to smaller milestones along his journey to the ultimate “end” of his military service. When Sam was still studying for his EMT license, he would come to me completely stressed out over how he would do on the class tests or the All Skills or the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) exam...

...despite being able to perfectly describe to me what he learned in class that day. What he didn't realize is that he had more than taken care of the "means" to pass everything that he needed to which is why he passed all of his All Skills tests and the NREMT.

I think the philosophy of “means” and “end” can be applied to our relationship. For me and for Sam, the “end” is a life together. My roommate has a 27 inch by 40 inch poster of the “Victory Over Japan Day” photograph hanging on her wall, the one where the sailor is kissing the woman in the while dress right in the middle of Times Square after World War II, and it always reminds me of the day Sam and I were sitting on my bed staring at it, me because it was slightly crooked and it was bother me, and him because the photo actually made him think. I remember him turning to me and saying, “I’m gonna kiss you like that someday.” 

Even though the two people in the photo were strangers in real life and probably never saw each other again after that kiss, I look at that photograph on the wall and think of Sam and I’s “end,” the day he, like the sailor in the picture, will finally be home for good and we can have a normal relationship. As long as we take care of the “means” of maintaining our relationship long distance by staying faithful and keeping each other’s morale up, the “ends” will take care of itself.

Day Ninety Seven

Guess who got their first full length article posted!

http://lanetoday.com/2013/04/24/adrenaline-film-project-36-film-makers-12-films-72-hours/

Okay, now onto what this article's really about: tattoos. There's been talk of tattoos before (my roommate guest wrote a post about her tattoos on Day Forty Three) but I've never talked about them from my own perspective.

I have a love/hate relationship with tattoos.

Love:

Hate:

I think there are some questions to consider before you get a tattoo:

1. Will it make you unemployable?
2. Have you thought about it for more than 5 seconds?
3. Will it make you look like a douchebag/douchebagette?
4. Do you think getting it will make you cool?
5. Are you getting it because you lost a bet?
6. Are you sober?
7. If you're getting a tattoo with your boyfriend/girlfriend, have you been together more than 2 months?
8. Will it prevent you from getting laid if a member of your preferred sex sees it?
9. Did you spell/grammar check?
10. Would you be embarrassed showing it to your grandma?


In all serious though, I think that if you're going to get a tattoo, it should have some sort of personal significance. A tattoo is going to be a part of your body forever, so really think about it before you get one. If you have an idea in mind, wait a year and if you still want it just as much, go for it.

Currently, this is the tattoo I have in mind

Ignore the watermarks. I couldn't find a sketched one without it.

 I'm only going to get this tattoo if I get this tattoo if I get the opportunity to travel internationally for my career (or even for leisure). It would be a pretty small tattoo on my shoulder blade. I was also thinking about getting a sketched outline and filing in an "X" over a country after I go there. I just can't imagine myself going under the needle more than once because I absolutely hate needles.

Day Ninety Six

I've literally wasted my entire night because I can't find my phone. I have no idea why it's causing me so much anxiety - it's not like I'm waiting for an important call or text or anything. I seriously need to go to sleep.

But first! Aside from the interview I might do with the winning film team (if they ever get back to me) I want to share with you all part of my Lane Today article about the Adrenaline Film Project. It's the first full article I've written and I'm a little bit proud of it. I mean, it's not the most interesting topic without actual interviews, but still, I don't think I did too bad.

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Last Saturday, the Adrenaline Film Project Oregon held its fourth annual film showing and awards night at Prince Lucien Campbell Hall on the University of Oregon campus.

The Adrenaline Film Project is certainly a fitting name for this completion. Competing film teams have 72 hours to pitch, write, cast, direct, shoot and edit their own short film after receiving their randomly assigned genre. As an added challenge, the films must incorporate one prop and one line of dialogue into their films. This year’s prop was a chancla, drawing from this year’s focus on Mexican cinema, and the line of dialogue was, “Don’t fly my kite.” The phrase comes from Singlish, a combination of English and Singaporean, and means, “Please don’t go back on your word.” However, the film teams took the phrase and found creative ways to fit it into their films, sometimes changing the use of the phrase.

This year’s films are as followed:

Act Your Age!

Genre: Coming of age

Aaron Blanton, Haley Fluke, Collin Golden

La Viajera

Genre: Film Noir

Lindsey Greenwaldt, Eli Spencer, Jazlin Sobel

Wine Not?

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Cody Byrne, Derek Brown, Eric Straubhar

Worthless

Genre: Thriller

A.J. Baker, Jordan Ledbetter, Travis Hodgin

Out of Touch

Genre: Superhero

Alex Kramer, Will Paugh, Jon Paul

Dog in the 9

Genre: Gangster

Jesse Vinton Justin Crowe, Neil Kirkpatrick

Sandals

Genre: Bromance

Elijah Sprints, Noah Birch, Collin Zeal

Sole-less

Genre: Zombie

Jonathan Klimoski, Jake Valdez, Henry Huntington

 The Real Deal

Genre: Heist

Gregory Henkhaus, Matt Staib, Garrett Guinn

Who’s Watching Christ Benishek?

Genre: Horror

Carter Diamond, Julian Master, Taylor Clarke

Rinse

Genre: Revenge

Henry Brown, Lucas Cruzen, Jordan Blaisdell

Family Dinner

Genre: Comedy

Zach Shivers, Claire Berger, Will Cuddy

The films ranged in mood from intense and dramatic, like Who’s Watching Christopher Benishek? and Dog in the 9 to heartwarming and adorable, like Sandals and Act Your Age. The youngest team, comprised of all high school students, produced Worthless, one of the most thought-provoking films of the competition. Worthless was also the only film without a single line of spoken dialogue, though the team still managed to incorporate, “Don’t fly my kite,” into the script.

Day Ninety Five

I saw this an I knew I had to share this.

Day Ninety Four

Where has all of my motivation gone? This has been me lately:

Except, ya know, I'm taken too. Most of the relationship I have with Sam right now is over the computer though. When I tried to explain that to someone the other day, this was literally the comment I got back - "What are you doing wrong that you have to resort to online relationships?" First off, asshole, I'm not resorting to anything, this is my first choice, certainly not my last choice. And second, why does my relationship have to mean I'm doing something wrong? If anything, I think I'm doing something right. I've committed to someone I love, knowing that we're not going to have an easy relationship, and have kept that commitment. I don't see anything wrong there.

The hard about having a relationship with Sam isn't staying faithful nor is it being apart for so long and still maintaining our feelings for each other. It's having those feelings for each other and not being able to do anything about it. It's not being able to be a part of each other's lives. It's having people constantly question your relationship and try to convince you it won't work out. It's the complete lack of understanding from most of the people around you. My personal favorite is when people complain about not hanging their boyfriends and how loooooong a week is without seeing them. 

When/if Sam deploys, I won't see him for nine months - that's about 38 weeks, or the length of a school year. How's that for perspective? I understand missing your boyfriend, even if it's only for a week, but I am not the person to bitch about it to. 

Day Ninety Three

I am literally so tired that I might fall asleep at my computer. At 9:30 I attended the Adrenaline Film Contest showing night and it was fantastic. Way more entertaining than I thought and I was surprised at the quality of films that were produced here and even more so by the fact that they were done in 72 hours. I wish I could share with you my favorite ones, but they're not up on Youtube yet. When they are, though, expect them to be here.

I could stay up and write you guys a long blog post, but I'm way too tired and it would just be crappy and not worth the read. Expect a better article tomorrow to make up for it.

P.S. Huge thank you to you all, my readers, for getting me over the 3,000 page views mark in a tiny bit over three months. You keep me motivated to keep doing this.

Day Ninety Two

You know how when you find something you love, like a band or a book, and then it gets really popular and it makes you kind of mad because you knew about it first, then you realize that was a very hipster-ish thing to think but you can't help it? That happened to me today, except instead of a band or a book, it was an image.

I literally laugh every time I see this for an extended period of time. Just take a second right now to imagine a derpy wolf stumbling along behind a pack of wolves and all the other wolves rolling their eyes. Don't tell me you didn't smile just a little bit. 

I was so excited to have found a hilarious post and I decided not to repost it or anything so I could have it to myself. Then I get on Imgur today and THIS happened:

NO! That was MY thing. Moon Moon was MY thing. Gah! It's not even like the original Moon Moon post happened yesterday and this was an immediate reaction to it - I physically upvoted the original a few days ago. First the Hunger Games, now this! 

As illogical as it is, I think it's natural to want the things that you love to avoid getting popular because once everyone likes them, being a fan of that particular thing doesn't make you unique anymore. If you love Harry Potter, congratulations, you are one of the MILLIONS of people who do. Doesn't make you special. I think it's the fact that when something you love gets popular, you lose one of the things that makes you unique. In that way, I sympathize with hipsters when one of their favorite indie bands goes "mainstream."