Tuesday, November 24, 2009
If You Want To Know The Truth...
Between you and me, this is not a real "blog" entry, I just want to tell anyone who likes what I have to say here to head on over to my new website, http://www.haveasliceoflife.webs.com , which features these blogs and much much more. Thanks!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
My Name Isn't Earl: An Experience With Karma
A little while ago I was in my kitchen. I was doing nothing really, just my daily ritual, scrounging around for food and not finding any, then complaining loudly that there is never anything to eat in the house, while never actually going out to get anything. This ritual takes place at least 5 times a day.
I saw an article the other day, and I can't remember what it said because I didn't read it, really I was just trying to look cool and smart.
(...It just proves how much of a nerd I actually am that I think that reading the paper would make me look cool or smart...)
But one thing I do remember seeing was the growing importance of teaching today's children to look at society and everything in it more analytically. Instead of hearing one side of the story and accepting it as truth, we should think about other explanations and different ways to look at things.
Oh yeah, but I was trying to tell you about me and Karma. So while I was in the kitchen trying to make food appear in the hopelessly empty cabinets, my brother walked in and asked me to help him with this homework assignment for school. So being a good, caring sister, of course I said no.
Wait, wait a moment, you would have said no, too. I mean, he needs to figure out to do things on his own, right? He needs to learn independence! OK, none of those are the real reasons that I said no, but they sound good on paper. Really, I am just super lazy, especially when I'm hungry, which is all the time.
So after he finished begging, pleading, whining, yelling, and finally crying, he gave up and stormed back to his room. Feeling somewhat accomplished, I poured myself a glass of Coke. One thing about me: I don't drink soda. This was the result of having nothing else to drink or eat. If and when I do drink any soda, if fill the glass to the top with ice first and then fill the empty space with soda. That's just the way that I like to do it. Sue me.
Anyways, I walked to my room with the Coke. Then I watched television for a while thinking about how great of a sister I was. How lucky could a kid be? At that point I got up from my bed, and upon standing the glass (still 3/4 full) flew out of my hands.
It was like slow motion; I was in fits of agony as the brown liquid flew up into the air and then gravity so cruelly pulled it down, down and deep into my favorite bed sheets and cream colored rug. The ice flew everywhere - under the bed, they even broke apart and shattered so that there were shards of melting ice everywhere. For ten seconds I was completely still, and then it hit me. The ugly brown stain was mocking me! It was saying, "You should have just helped your brother!".
As I cleaned up the mess for the next twenty minutes I thought about how much different it would have been if I had just helped out my brother. It definitely would not have taken as long; I guessed maybe ten minutes tops. So when I was done cleaning, I hurried downstairs, eager to put Karma's lesson into action. When I got to his room, I told him that I had changed my mind and decided that he could use some help. To which my brother responded: "Great, I thought I was going to have to do this all on my own!" I cheerfully asked him what I could do. He said "I guess you could start by helping me answer the first twenty reflection questions!"
Darn you Karma! You've got me again.
I saw an article the other day, and I can't remember what it said because I didn't read it, really I was just trying to look cool and smart.
(...It just proves how much of a nerd I actually am that I think that reading the paper would make me look cool or smart...)
But one thing I do remember seeing was the growing importance of teaching today's children to look at society and everything in it more analytically. Instead of hearing one side of the story and accepting it as truth, we should think about other explanations and different ways to look at things.
Oh yeah, but I was trying to tell you about me and Karma. So while I was in the kitchen trying to make food appear in the hopelessly empty cabinets, my brother walked in and asked me to help him with this homework assignment for school. So being a good, caring sister, of course I said no.
Wait, wait a moment, you would have said no, too. I mean, he needs to figure out to do things on his own, right? He needs to learn independence! OK, none of those are the real reasons that I said no, but they sound good on paper. Really, I am just super lazy, especially when I'm hungry, which is all the time.
So after he finished begging, pleading, whining, yelling, and finally crying, he gave up and stormed back to his room. Feeling somewhat accomplished, I poured myself a glass of Coke. One thing about me: I don't drink soda. This was the result of having nothing else to drink or eat. If and when I do drink any soda, if fill the glass to the top with ice first and then fill the empty space with soda. That's just the way that I like to do it. Sue me.
Anyways, I walked to my room with the Coke. Then I watched television for a while thinking about how great of a sister I was. How lucky could a kid be? At that point I got up from my bed, and upon standing the glass (still 3/4 full) flew out of my hands.
It was like slow motion; I was in fits of agony as the brown liquid flew up into the air and then gravity so cruelly pulled it down, down and deep into my favorite bed sheets and cream colored rug. The ice flew everywhere - under the bed, they even broke apart and shattered so that there were shards of melting ice everywhere. For ten seconds I was completely still, and then it hit me. The ugly brown stain was mocking me! It was saying, "You should have just helped your brother!".
As I cleaned up the mess for the next twenty minutes I thought about how much different it would have been if I had just helped out my brother. It definitely would not have taken as long; I guessed maybe ten minutes tops. So when I was done cleaning, I hurried downstairs, eager to put Karma's lesson into action. When I got to his room, I told him that I had changed my mind and decided that he could use some help. To which my brother responded: "Great, I thought I was going to have to do this all on my own!" I cheerfully asked him what I could do. He said "I guess you could start by helping me answer the first twenty reflection questions!"
Darn you Karma! You've got me again.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
e-Bullies
I got an interesting email yesterday. I mean, I didn't receive it yesterday, but it really affected me. As you will notice the name of this blog is A Slice of Life. So when I was looking for a site to host this, the name Slice of Life was taken by someone else. But when I visited their page, it was empty and I could only think of the things that I wanted to be doing with it. So I made a comment to the person responsible, and yes, I am ashamed to admit, it was not the nicest thing to say in the world. I believe the word pathetic might have made an appearance, I?m not certain.
The email that I recieved yesterday was from the person who's title I had coveted! She admitted that yes the account was pathetic, and yes, she would have gladly handed it over, but because of how rude I had been, she was not going to give me the account.
As you can imagine- or maybe you can?t- I felt horrible. More than horrible. I felt embarrassed, ashamed, and regretful that I had left such a rude comment. I began to think about the reasons why I had decided to do something that was so not like me. Because really, I don?t write hate mail, or subscribe to the whole cyber bullying issue. But for the first time, I could actually see what effects I had on another human being, someone who I didn?t even expect to read the comment, let alone actually answer it.
So that led me to my next revelation. Why do people go online? We do it to interact with others without speaking or physically being close to them. Yes, I think that was the whole idea behind the invention of the internet, a series of computers that are all connected. Ok. People go online to communicate, to find answers, and to entertain themselves. But what motivates anyone to say mean and nasty things - usually about the most obscure of topics- use curse words and basically berate everything and everyone in sight?
I think that that is the problem with the anonymity of the internet. I think that is the reason that I made my particularly insensitive comment. People are much more likely to say mean things if no one knows who said them. Maybe people who would never say things like that in a million years want to break out and do something they wouldn't normally do; it would almost be like stepping outside themselves for a while, like putting on an alternate identity. Under the mask of the World Wide Web, people will do things that are unimaginable. When I sat there and wrote the comment, sure it said name and email address, but who in their right mind would commit a bloody murder and then knowingly leave their fingerprints behind?
It basically comes down to this. What did I do in response to this person who clearly wasn?t happy with the words I had said? I wrote them a letter of apology and I thanked them for standing up to me ? dare I say it ? the cyber bully. I thanked her for sending me this email, and standing up to me, because I realized that this is something everyone should do if they get a chance. People who use sites like facebook and myspace to be cruel to others should be punished. So stand up, and don't let those people get away with it.
The email that I recieved yesterday was from the person who's title I had coveted! She admitted that yes the account was pathetic, and yes, she would have gladly handed it over, but because of how rude I had been, she was not going to give me the account.
As you can imagine- or maybe you can?t- I felt horrible. More than horrible. I felt embarrassed, ashamed, and regretful that I had left such a rude comment. I began to think about the reasons why I had decided to do something that was so not like me. Because really, I don?t write hate mail, or subscribe to the whole cyber bullying issue. But for the first time, I could actually see what effects I had on another human being, someone who I didn?t even expect to read the comment, let alone actually answer it.
So that led me to my next revelation. Why do people go online? We do it to interact with others without speaking or physically being close to them. Yes, I think that was the whole idea behind the invention of the internet, a series of computers that are all connected. Ok. People go online to communicate, to find answers, and to entertain themselves. But what motivates anyone to say mean and nasty things - usually about the most obscure of topics- use curse words and basically berate everything and everyone in sight?
I think that that is the problem with the anonymity of the internet. I think that is the reason that I made my particularly insensitive comment. People are much more likely to say mean things if no one knows who said them. Maybe people who would never say things like that in a million years want to break out and do something they wouldn't normally do; it would almost be like stepping outside themselves for a while, like putting on an alternate identity. Under the mask of the World Wide Web, people will do things that are unimaginable. When I sat there and wrote the comment, sure it said name and email address, but who in their right mind would commit a bloody murder and then knowingly leave their fingerprints behind?
It basically comes down to this. What did I do in response to this person who clearly wasn?t happy with the words I had said? I wrote them a letter of apology and I thanked them for standing up to me ? dare I say it ? the cyber bully. I thanked her for sending me this email, and standing up to me, because I realized that this is something everyone should do if they get a chance. People who use sites like facebook and myspace to be cruel to others should be punished. So stand up, and don't let those people get away with it.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Is Google Making Us Stupid?
I read an interesting article the other day. If you want to read it here is the link:
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google
Anyway, what it was basically saying was that using Google is bad because it is making us less likely to read articles and actually look for information when we can just use a search engine and get the answers very quickly. The author mentions that writers such as himself have less of a capability to sit and read anything longer than a paragraph when searching for information (Reading up to a paragraph would be a miracle for people today in my opinion).
Now the first thing that came to my mind was the thought that apparently, Google is not affecting my brain because I am sitting here reading this 7 page article. I just want to mention that I use Google, umm... just about EVERY time I am on the computer. It's my homepage! I visited Google five minutes ago to find the article! And I am probably using Google as you read this right now. But I still read articles and blogs and other things just for the fun of it, so it does not affect everyone.
For anyone who has mustered up the brainpower to continue reading this entry, don't get me wrong. Google is evil, make no mistake about it. But that doesn't mean that I won't take advantage of it's charm. Not to discredit the guy who wrote the article, he made some really good points regarding the perils of the internet, but are you seriously trying to tell me that you would rather live in a world without search engines? I doubt it.
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google
Anyway, what it was basically saying was that using Google is bad because it is making us less likely to read articles and actually look for information when we can just use a search engine and get the answers very quickly. The author mentions that writers such as himself have less of a capability to sit and read anything longer than a paragraph when searching for information (Reading up to a paragraph would be a miracle for people today in my opinion).
Now the first thing that came to my mind was the thought that apparently, Google is not affecting my brain because I am sitting here reading this 7 page article. I just want to mention that I use Google, umm... just about EVERY time I am on the computer. It's my homepage! I visited Google five minutes ago to find the article! And I am probably using Google as you read this right now. But I still read articles and blogs and other things just for the fun of it, so it does not affect everyone.
For anyone who has mustered up the brainpower to continue reading this entry, don't get me wrong. Google is evil, make no mistake about it. But that doesn't mean that I won't take advantage of it's charm. Not to discredit the guy who wrote the article, he made some really good points regarding the perils of the internet, but are you seriously trying to tell me that you would rather live in a world without search engines? I doubt it.
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