Calvinists Taking Over YouTube

I need coffee badly right now. I'm sitting in The Reformation Era, a History/Religion course, trying not to fall asleep. We're even talking about Scottish Calvinists (Presbyterians)! What a failure. ;)

I stayed up too late last night with Hannah, probably boring her to tears. I think we spent about three hours on YouTube watching nonsense; mostly Leona Lewis live performances and music videos. While I had a good time, apparently it is catching up to me.

I only got six hours of sleep, which is about three less than normal for me. See, I take my sleep schedule pretty seriously and find myself a bit cranky when it has been disrupted. For example, I was not looking forward to giving a tour to some prospective students, which I normally enjoy, but it went OK.

The book I have been trying to read has been shelved as I believe it and I are not a good match. So, I've moved on to the next book in a series I started in junior high. I was relieved to see that it grabbed my attention from the get go. I am a little worried as it has bad reviews, but, alas, I am a dedicated fan and will finish the series.

Lastly, I'm ashamed that it looks as if I will be doing nothing spectacularly amazing for Earth Day. How's that for going green?

Well, here's a treat: Leona Lewis singing Bleeding Love, from Spirit, at the Brit Awards.

Elitist Butts

I am no longer an employee of the H.E.Butt Grocery Company... apparently. My last day was supposed to be this Wednesday but when I got this weeks schedule I saw:

MON - OFF

TUE - OFF

WED - OFF

THU - OFF

FRI - OFF

SAT - OFF

SUN - OFF

The only thing I'm disappointed about is when I last worked, last Wednesday, I didn't know it was my last day so I didn't say good bye to people; I just walked out. However, I'm glad that I'll have more time to devote to writing my finals before I leave on Thursday to go to my placement event. 

I did visit HEB today to shop and furthered my going green, which was pretty expensive this round. But I figure it's worth paying extra for organics and if I just spend less in other areas, as I've been doing, it will even out and I'll feel better about where my money is going.

Home went well; I successfully helped my mom set up her computer even though she doesn't quite get how to use it yet. I tried hard not be impatient and I did well for the most part seeing as I was rushed. I got to see my nephew, Josh, who got sick the next day so I wasn't able to spend a lot of time with my brother and his wife. But I'm looking forward to spending the summer at home with everyone, including Henry. And also with my parents new tv!

In other news, I'm really frustrated with a book I just started. You see, when two of my friends went home with me for spring break we stumbled upon a great $0.99 book sale at Hasting's where I got 8 books. I have already read the first one, Elements of Style, a quick-read, witty satire of NYC's elitist social society. It really made me think whereas the book that I've just started seems to be going nowhere! It's just a little disappointing because I'd like a good book right now!

And on that note, good night!

Prius, Meet Kerala, Cousin of Gujarat

I met an Indian woman today at work; she spent her first 18 years of life in Gujarat, a state on the western coast, and the last 18 years here in the States. Most exciting was that she just returned from a visit to Kerala, a state on the southwestern coast I will live in if I am placed in India. I told her about YAV and she was so genuinely excited for me.

She explained that she would love for her daughter, who is in the 9th grade I hear, to live in India so that she would understand how to appreciate the "facilities" we have in the States. She even told me that she wouldn't lie, a year would be intense; I excitedly explained that I would be disappointed if it wasn't. 

In the end, it was great to visit with her and I was amazed at how supportive she was and she seemed to "get" why I wanted to go. I absolutely can not wait to know where I'll be adventuring at the end of August.

Also, while at work, I asked a woman how she liked her car, a pastel green Prius. Apparently it is amazing and as soon as I have a little money, I should buy one. I sincerely promised her I would. 

More on the India site:

Seriously!?

Thanks for letting me know. Now, go plant a few trees to offset your carbon sasquatch-print.

Hello, World.

Good morning! I'm sitting at my computer with my morning cup of coffee and enjoying the sounds of the birds, air units, and the breeze as I decided to open my windows. Opening my windows is one of those things that I always enjoy but seem to never remember. Back to my morning cup of coffee. It's different today! Instead of Coffeemate French Vanilla liquid creamer, I'm using half-and-half and sugar and here's the kicker: they're both organic (my coffee would be too, but too bad my roommate already filled the bean reservoir with something else).

The point of all of this is to let you know that I've decided to ease into "going green". See, I have a tendency to rush into things, devote all my energy, peak early, and quickly burn-out. I'm trying to avoid that here. My first step was to start buying organic food not only because of the lack of additives, but also because of the lack of damage done to the environment in their production. Here, I must vent for a moment; I'm very frustrated at not being able to find a good, user-friendly website that helps you to live a more environmentally lifestyle! So, if I find a good one, I'll post it here, and if you find a good one, you'd better do the same. ;)

So, I went to that wonderful place we call HEB (where I also happen to work) and made my way through the aisles grabbing some produce here, some cereal there. Now, I had heard how expensive organics were but I was quite happy with my bill as I didn't feel it was ridiculous by any means. Hopefully a less materialistic lifestyle (something I'm continually working on, but inevitably failing at) will help to offset the price of eating/living healthy. Oh, and I also bought reusable grocery bags to bring my groceries home in!

All in all I felt pretty productive as I finished my scheduled day at 1:00 PM and went to Starbucks then because my class was cancelled. It is then that I went on my Organic Extravaganza, but it is what happened afterward that is truly remarkable; I went to my room and worked on my big paper! I've been really bad about this one due to a lack of motivation for a poorly chosen topic (which has thankfully been changed) and general procrastination. Yet, I finished re-watching the movie that I'm writing over (Daughter of Keltoum, which is recommended viewing) and took no less than 12 pages of notes. I then found 22 articles over Algeria, the Berbers, women, water, and mountains that I now need to work through. The point is, I'm now really excited about this paper and am looking forward to working on it later tonight when I get off work.

And now I'm going to finish my morning internet rounds, drinking my coffee, and enjoying my view (which I realized yesterday is quite nice)...