realizations

1. Getting around in a manual wheelchair is awfully hard. There are obstacles that you can't imagine until you actually try it.

2. Some people love drama, but overall, people are more mature in college.

3. Securing a field period site is freakin difficult.

4. I am addicted to Farmville.

5. Life is fragile.

6. $7.25 an hour does not add up to that much

7. I have no idea how to study for a test.

8. Sometimes you do things because you enjoy them, but sometimes you do an activity because of it's expected long term effect.

9. The consensus is that I would be a hilarious drunk, but will most likely be the DD, by choice.

10. My list felt incomplete without a tenth item...

What is society's definition of poor?

I went to the Yates County building today and helped with childcare during a community outreach for a group called rotaract. The idea was to watch the children, which ranged from 9 months to about 7, while the parents were taught how to make a healthy meal and then actually made it for all of us to eat.

First of all, the kids were soooooooooooooo cute. Did I mention I wanna work as a pediatric OT when I get outta school? Anyway, I was with the nine month old, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. she was so cut and curious and drooly. (okay, the drool was a little gross, but what evs, no one's perfect).

So when the meal was ready, the lady that runs the program invited us to stay and eat, so we did because there was very little chance we were gonna make it back in time to eat in the dining hall, and as much as I love subway, I love my money more. So we stayed for some baked mac and cheese and applesauce, which was alright. I polietly took a small helping, cleared my plate, washed it, and went back and watched the kids while my colleagues had seconds. Now really, I couldn't bring myself to do that, because these people are here because they cannot afford to feed their kids a healthy meal , and I'm gonna take seconds?

Now, I have a confession to make. I've kind of been reading up on poverty, (Nickeled and Dimed and The Working Poor) as I'm on a weird non-fiction kick thanks to the crazy Mr. Obenauer who made me read Freakonomics (can't wait to read the sequel) for my Sociology class last year. On good point that The Workig Poor made is that people lving in poverty do their best not to be left behind by society, and thus, they pay for expensive cable TV to stay connected with society. I understand this to a point, but I have to say, I do not understand why an Env3 would be necesary. Any old cell phone would do, you would think, so why a $50 phone connected to expensive service plan? I have an Env3. It's a very nice phone. I got it for graduation, and I absolutely love it. But I think if I was struggling to feed my children, a tracfone would be just fine. I'm still wondering whether part of poverty is bad choices. The same man was also complaining about how expensive Rogaine is and talking about making a $400 purchase of some kind (I was trying not to eavesdrop, but he was talking very loud. discretion seemed not to be part of his repitoire). This is the same family who didn't bring shoes for their 9 month old and encouraged us to wipe the baby's nose (which was like a freaking fountain) with the blanket, which had been all over the floor. I don't get it.

Pizza, Patch Adams, and Heath Care.

We went to the Amazing Maize Maze again. This time Joanna, Dan, Nicole and I. it was awesome. Again. Love how they start the "stalk talk" by saying that there is no running and no touching the corn, and that is basically all we did. We ran through the maze throwing corn kernals at each other (btw, those things can really hurt when thrown with some velocity). Actually, I found some ammo in my pocket when I went to wash those jeans...

Then we had pizzas at Dan's uncle's resturant, Mina's, in Palmyra. The pizza was amazing, so if you're ever in Palmyra, go there, and if you can, bring Dan so you can get free soda.

Lastly, we went to Dan's House at about 10 to watch a movie. We decided on Patch Adams, and I decided that that idealistic view of healthcare is good in theory but way impractical, and am still sticking with my theory - health care companies should take the hippocratic oath (ie. do no harm) and become client centered. The health insurance system needs to be reformed. That is obvious. But a goverment-run program is not the way to do it. Especially not under Obama, whose previous legislation is not exactly helping right now...

The entire system does not need to be overhauled. We just need some caring, level-headed people to reform it to what we all know is logical. Abandoning capitalism is not the answer, but neither is abandoning the patients.

Ninja Squirrels

Today, as I was walking to class, I saw two squirrels chasing each other down the sidewalk. At first I was scared, but then I realized what they were doing. One would lead, run a short distance, and then hide behind a wall or tree. The other would then follow very stealthily. I remember when Andrew and I used to play that, pretending we were spies. So I respected their covertness and pretended I hadn't noticed them. MLIA.

50th post hodgepodge

This is my 50th post on Gatos Muertos!!! Yay! Thank you, thank you very much. Please, you may stop applauding... please, no need to bow to my greatness! :)

And now, a serious of pointless lists to cure your boredom for a couple seconds.

Things I wanna add to my bucket list:

1. Play a life size game of hungry hungry hippos.

2. Mess around in a giant sumo suit.

3. Learn to weld.


People that proved to me that I am going into the right profession:

1. Heidi Beichy - Heidi has a hereditary form of cerebral palsy that gives her a VERY unstable gait and makes it hard for her to walk long distances. Thus, she ambulates with a crutch and cruises in a power wheelchair. Lots of people would be discouraged by such a predicament and make excuses and get down on themselves about what they can't do. Heidi, on the contrary, thrives on what she can do. This was proven to me when she divulged her plan for passing the exercise requirement of her wellness class. Rather than taking the alternative assignment and writing a paper, Heidi treks up to the gym a couple times a week and does what she can. I find this utterly inspiring and can't wait until I can help people like Heidi inspire others as Heidi has inspired me.

2. Jess - Jess  is a student in the Keuka College DRIVE program who is developmentally disabled. When I started working with her, she would not speak to me, or talk much at all around me for that matter. I figured that was just the way it was and continued to include her in the group and ask her questions, waiting awkwardly for answers that probably weren't coming. Then, about a month into my job, I sat down at a lunch table with Jess, her boyfriend, and another work study. And here comes the good part - the turning point of sorts. Jess talks to me - like seriously, we talked about her cousin drinking mountain dew and high school musical and the cheetah girls for a good half an hour. I had to interrupt her to tell her that I had to leave to go to class. Jess was suddenly a chatterbox, apparently comfortable with me. The other work study later confided that she had been working with Jess for 4 years now and that's the most that she's ever heard her talk. Never have I been more surprised than yesterdy afternoon when I passed Jess on the sidewalk and said hi and she cheerfully returned the hello along with a playful punch in the arm. As simple and normal as this seems, I couldn't stop smiling.

Things I am currently addicted to:

1. Sporcle.com. Thank you to the optimistic pessimist for that.

2. Geiser's hot chocolate.

3. blogging.

4. MLIA

5. hulu. I've never watched so many shows.

6. Fantasy football.

7. texas holdem on facebook

Things I've learned so far in college

1. Diversity comes in many different ways.
2. Think before you get angry.
3. Not everyone should be measured on the same scale - I remember Zea saying this to our AP Lang class once and thinking, "why the heck not?" Now I understand. Just as we all have different abilities, we have different accomplishments. For me, walking half a mile is a piece of cake. For someone with a disability, walking a couple steps is an achievement. For me, getting a 70 on a test is a disaster. For some, it is a badge of honor. For me, just hitting a softball with that heavy metal bat is a feat worthy of applause. For some, it is a given.
4. Making friends and 'networking' is very important.
5. I heart hot chocolate.

Awkwardness

Yesterday, I woke up at an ungodly hour of the morning (not quite de la madrugada, but way too friggin close) to go to the breast cancer walk up at the waterloo premium outlets. I slept on the bus (which is hard to do) and when we got there, we walked around the place twice in awkward silence. Then the walk was done. (as a sidenote of sorts, they had really good bagels. They were cranberry cinammon and shaped like ribbons.) Anyway, here comes the awkward... after wasting 3 hours or so, we decide to sit on a bench until the bus would leave at 3.

So we're sitting there, and out of the blue, with no warning, my friend says, "Are you a virgin?"

And I was thinking, did she seriously just ask that so directly?

She did.

I said, "uh, what?" but she didn't get the message and just asked again. So I said, "uhm, yes. Why?"

And she goes, "just wondering."

Just wondering? Wth is this crazy wondering about my virginity? So as I'm pondering escape routes, I mumble, "you probably could have figured that out though. I'm 18, plus, I'm Catholic."

And then she gets all offended. really. What cause does she have to be offended? She goes, "don't judge me. I feel like you're judging me."

So I was like, "how am I judging you?"

And she says, "when I was 18..."

"well, that's your choice."

"so don't judge me."

"I'm not judging you."

At this point, I am frantically texting, trying to get someone to respond so I can politely ignore her and text. And guess what? She's offended by this. She raises her voice, all annoyed, and says, "You cant go 15 seconds without checking that freakin phone. You make me feel old!!"

So then she looks at her phone, and apparently has no one to text, so she calls her "crazy friend" whom she thinks has a mental disorder from being in the army. They talk for a while. I text like crazy.

She gets off the phone and stares at me. Just stares. I'm creeped out, so I say, "What?"

And she says, "Do you really think your parents were virgins when they got married?"

I cant fathom what would make someone ask this other than a scary mental illness, so I not so skillfully blow off the question and text even more frantically.

And thus, she gets more angry. "It's so annoying that you get all quiet when things get a little awkward," she says in a raised voice.

A LITTLE?

Homecoming

Homecoming was great! Got to see a lot of friends, and the football team won!
Took Heidi home with me, pretty damn sure she loved it.
Actually wish I could stay home longer - but I have to do the breast cancer walk tomorrow.
That's all for now, I'm a bit scatterbrained and a little homesick...

Party again!!

Partyin' with the friends again, and it was just like old times. I love my friends. Introduced Heidi to them. They got along great. The meshing is fantastic. Homecoming tomorrow... which is ironic because I only went 1/4 of the times I could in high school - and now I'm coming back from college to go. lol. kinda cant wait... more time with the friends and football games/ all the lovely floats.