Talking the Talk, Constantly

If I had the wisdom to know when to keep my mouth shut and when I need to speak my mind, I would probably feel a lot more successful.  I never really thought about being a "man (woman) of few words" to be a virtuous position, but really, I guess it is.  Anyone can babble on and on hoping a few worthwhile sentences come out every once in a while.  However, a truly wise individual speaks when necessary and when he or she says something, people listen.  Their words have a value mine could never have, because I just talk and talk until there's nothing left to talk about.

I guess the life lesson here is two-fold.  Listen to the ones who don't speak and try to be a little more selective with the never-ending babble.

18 Inches

You are supposed to pull off 18 inches of floss to use for flossing your teeth.

Why do I remember that?  I can't recall the last time I read the floss package for instructions.  For some reason, that is just a fact I will never forget.

I've always wondered why I remember certain things.  Some of the things that stand out in my memory seem so insignificant.  It makes sense to remember your first day of school, your prom, your grandmother's funeral or any other significant life event.  Those are milestones, but what about all that seemingly random information that you retain?  

I'm sure there is a really smart-sounding, scientific reason for it.  Something to do with chemicals, I'm sure.  I'm really not interested in that though.  Science is just one way of looking at something, and it's not my medium of choice.  I think that there is a reason that we remember these things.  Everything, every little intricate detail, has a purpose.  This is making me think of the movie Signs, which is perfect for a more exciting explanation of my point.  

I hope one day, I will need to know that you need 18 inches of floss.  For now, I am going to just keep estimating and hoping I tear off a comparable amount.

That's What She Said

I wish I could just tell the world exactly what was on my mind all the time.  100% honest, no holding back.  I wonder what people would think of me if they knew what I really thought about everything.  Scary...

P.S. I use Tumblr from time to time and if anyone wants to look at it the URL is http://yesjess.tumblr.com/

Gotta do the 9-5 (or 7:30 to 4:30)

I could totally write a new "The Office" series.  My office is undoubtedly funnier than the current episodes they have running.  

Everyone here is just twiddling their thumbs and waiting until 4:30 when they can go home.  Every job here is dead-end and no one cares about it at all.  I mean, I don't.

I hear more political gossip, relationship news and weekend stories than I do about work.  I'm not complaining.  It's just funny.

School in Ecuador

Here's some culture:

In the Ecuadorian school system, when students start high school they have to take some sort of aptitude test to determine what they should study in school.  Whichever one they score highest in, that is the route they follow throughout the rest of their school careers.

There are three possibilities:  Physical science, biology, or social science

When our teacher in Ecuador told us about this, our totally non-communist/socialist minds wandered.  "Wouldn't you just try to incorrectly answer the questions for the areas you didn't want to study?"  "How can they make you study that if you don't want to?"  "What if you do well in all of them?"  "What if you do horribly on all the sections?"

If someone excels in all the areas, he or she gets to choose which one he/she will pursue.  And the answer to the last question..."You'd get put in social science."

Thanks for putting that social science jab in there.  Even in Ecuador, I can't get away from the connotations of my major...

Thoughts I'm Thinking in My Mind

1.  2004

I want to go back to this year.  This year, I didn't have a job, I was still in high school with one year to go.  I had no worries, and life was fairly easy.  I wasn't concerned about desperately needing to find a job.  I wasn't even in college yet.  Also, I went on a trip to Boston and had some great memories with friends.

2.  2011

Hopefully, by this time, I will have a job and not be worrying about it.  Then, maybe I will have a stable and steady life.  I also like the number 11, so I bet it will be a good year.  Plus, 24, the age I will be, is one of my favorite numbers.  

3.  Capital One

I owe them a little money.  Actually, kind of a lot of money.  A lot for me anyway.  I feel so buried in stupid debts right now.  My goal is to not spend any money this week...let's see how that goes...

4.  Easter candy

I think by tomorrow I will have a blood sugar level of about 323 and severely damaged teeth.  I never even want to see sugar again.  It was good though.  Delicious.

5.  Work

I have to be at work in 7.5 hours.  I am going to be really tired, but thankfully, I don't do much of anything there, and it shouldn't be too stressful.  I just have a lot of stupid homework to do, so I hope that all works out for me.

6.  Hours

I think it is sad that I think of my time in hours.  How many hours I have to do an assignment.  How many hours I have until work.  Sad, sad.

7.  Smells

Something smells gross in my apartment, and I have no idea what it is.  Hopefully, there is nothing rotting somewhere.  Which, for the record, would be absolutely disgusting.

8.  Weather

It is cold in here.  I hate turning up the heat, because it gets really hot at night, but I hate leaving it off, because it gets too cold.  What am I to do?!  Ughhhh.  :)

That's it.  Oh, and I decided to have a really redundant sounding title.  So, maybe number 9 should be "Redundancy".

UGHHHH

During my last quarter of my undergraduate career, I can't help but imagine what I could have done differently.  I could have, and definitely should have, worked harder.  My grades aren't terrible, but they are nothing to brag about.  I chose a major because I couldn't choose a major.  Now, I have about two months to decide what I want to do with my life and then the even more difficult task of actually finding a job.  

I am so unprepared for the real world.  

And Now It's Time

I think it is comical how people can have so very little personal responsibility.  It is absolutely ridiculous.  There comes a time when you need to grow up and be able to look at yourself and think, "Hmmm, what could I be doing differently in this situation?  What did I do wrong?"  Instead, people just want to blame everyone around them for all their problems.  No matter how obvious a situation is to everyone else, they continue to deny that anything is happening.  Then when they receive a displeasing outcome, who do they blame?  Everyone else.  Never themselves.  It is just irritating.  We aren't little kids anymore and we need to realize we aren't always right.  

Just take a little responsibility for your actions, really.

Shabby

Jobs I Will Never Be Able to Attain...

Department store Santa Claus

Skydiving instructor

Tom Cruise's stunt double

Tour guide in the Galapagos

Broadway singer

Ballerina

Olympic swimmer

Contortionist

Why I Am Awake and Writing this at 3am, I Don't Know

In the hopes of pursuing a higher education, I chose to go to The Ohio State University.  In the last four years here, I have learned a lot, both in and outside the classroom (cliche!).  I've also done a lot of observing, people watching, if you will.  

I have come to realize that professors are, for the most part, people who like to hear themselves talk.  At least, I think that is what they are up to.  They aren't in it for the teaching, that's for sure.  They seem to enjoy spreading their knowledge only to impress everyone with the large quantity that they have.  To them, all problems in the world can be easily solved with a few intellectuals sitting around a table.  They believe that people who question science are fools and those who have faith in God are fools too.  Generally, they have a passion for their subject, but lack a passion for the general public.

Students, who pay thousands and thousands of dollars for their education, spend half of their college careers to get out of it.  Skipping class and ignoring reading assignments are two great ways of achieving this.  The weekend starts on Thursday, game days are crazy, spring quarter equals madness, fall is for football, and winter is the time of year that everyone just stays inside to drink.  Drinking needs to rhyme or reason.  There is drinking on every holiday, birthday or special occasion (i.e. the weekend).  When there is no event to throw a party for, one is made up (White Trash Party, Cowboys and Indians Night, No Clothes Party).  If it's a day of the week, there is reason to party.  Money is spent like it is nothing, even though no one has any.  Until the last quarter of senior year, no one thinks much about the harsh slap of reality that college is supposed to prepare you for, the slap of real life.

College is much more than an education, it is a lifestyle.  It's a time when we regress heavily, turning from maturing teens to babies.  Babies who are about to be thrown into the real world.  Pretty scary stuff.