Life @ Nov. 25

In the month of November I:

• Voted
• Made good grades on my tests
• Went on a Saturday getaway to North Georgia with the girls
• Turned 20
• Made a kick ass powerpoint
• Got closer to God
• Knit something other than a scarf
• Got my first caricature made
• Rubbed elbows with the agriculture elite
• Hiked 5 miles (and survived)
• Woke up at 6am so I could go to work with mom
• Applied for a credit card
• Applied for a loan

So I guess you could say I'm moving up in the world haha. I can't wait to study abroad and I am itching to get an internship. I'm getting close to publishing my first website/blog (more to come later). I'm trying to stay afloat in English with a poetry collection and portfolio due next week, so I wrote a terrible poem today:

"Apples"
My tree has a sturdy trunk
With two thick branches,
Loaded with sweet red apples.
Half taste Nicaraguan, half Puerto Rican.

Tree always growing, apples keep coming:
8 big apples 13 medium apples 2 little apples
7 big apples 15 medium apples 9 little apples
More than plenty for apple pie.

My apple family of 5 is tiny in these branches,
But it is just the right size.
It joins two families together
Creating this one big tree.

When we all come together,
Don't expect a normal family gathering.
It’s a party, an overwhelming celebration
With food, laughter, and dancing!

My poetry collection is on family trees and she said it would be good to have a poem you wrote yourself so why not. I hate myself for writing corny poetry...

Thanksgiving is coming up and then November is over and then 2008 is over. Where does the time go?

San Francisco

I was thinking today about the trip I took to San Francisco last month and really it was like celebrating 2 centuries of being alive.
I was actually born in San Francisco (well really Santa Clara if we're going to get specific) 20 years ago and moved away after the earthquake in '89. For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to go back and see what this place was like. This was such a big dream for me that I couldn't say no when the opportunity came up.
Unfortunately I built high expectations for myself. Its not really that great of a place other than to say you've been there. I wouldn't want to live there. While I was there I didn't really enjoy it. But looking back on it, it was a great trip. I think what really made it worth it was seeing the Golden Gate Bridge. I got chills.
So after being gone for 20 years, I went back and saw the places my parent's talked about. And I did it all on my own... well mostly. It was my first big adventure without adults really (although the Savannah trip comes pretty close). Even though it sucked having to pay for it on my own, the trip was that much more mine.
So giving myself a 400$ birthday present to see the state I was born in on my 20th anniversary of being alive was totally worth it.

As a side not I learned the most crazy thing today. Monkeys open their bananas from the opposite end then us. Its actually quite effective. View the instructional video for more details!

3 things I learned about Arizona in San Francisco

1. Arizona has Agriculture

Who would have thought stuff (other than cactus) would grow in the desert? Turns out Arizona isn't all rock and sand... some parts even have forests. It has the perfect climate for growing cotton and citrus. I have a feeling this has a terrible impact on whatever river they are irrigating from.

2. Road Runners Exist

The Arizona gal couldn't believe our amazement at such an animal being real. What she failed to tell us is that they don't look like the cartoon. They are short fat birds that run across the road really fast. She says you barely ever find them as road kill. Also, contrary to belief... these birds do not go BEEP BEEP!

3. Scorpions are Everywhere

While Scorpions and Arizona go hand and hand in my mind, I didn't realize how invasive they were. Apparently Scorpions just LOVE making homes out of piles of clothes you left on the floor. I feel that I would have a big scorpion problem seeing as I leave clothes on the floor 90% of the time. I guess I would just have to get really good at shaking them out. Supposedly you can get more than one to hide out in there. And they're also pretty good about hiding out in your shoes so check those before putting them on too.

My Hat, It has 3 Corners

I was recently in need of a hat, but I didn't have one with me at college and didn't want to buy one. Therefore, I came up with THE GREAT NEWSPAPER HAT INITIATIVE and made one myself out of newspaper.
As Alyssa can attest, this made my side of the room look like a newspaper bomb had exploded. Overall it was WAY fun. Much more fun than doing homework too. Not only did I learn how to make the traditional 3 corner type, but several other less known types as well. So if you ever need a hat made out of newspapers, you know who to call! Because trust me, I'm a pro :P

Penises

What would the world be like if men didn't have penises? In my bird class that I'm taking this semester we learned that only 4% of birds have penises. For most birds all sex requires is a quick touch of the butt. The only way to really justify carrying around the extra weight of a penis is for water birds who would need to get sperm further in so it wouldn't wash off in the water. Other birds that have penises are ratites which include larger birds like ostriches, emus and rheas.
Since birds don't have penises, the female is the one that gets to wear the pants in the relationship. If a male wants to produce offspring, he has to put 100% into attracting a female. He can't just walk up and "rape." If a female doesn't want her offspring to have a certain male's dna, she doesn't have to mate with him. Some birds can even reject unwanted sperm. But if a penis was used, she'd be stuck with the sperm.
Interestingly enough, ostriches, which have penises, have male dominance unlike these other birds. Even though the male still has to court the females, the relationship is much more of the patriarchal variety. So I have to wonder... is this why most human societies are dominated by males? Because they wear the penis? What would life be like if guys didn't have penises? I mean other than what sex would be like lol.
This article I found while writing this post goes much more into detail about bird sex and penises. Its based around the idea of why Zeus chose to be a swan to rape Leda. I would highly recommend checking it out.

Bottom line: Penises are dangerous.

Things That Were Cool When I was a Kid

Okay granted, that wasn't that long ago. I haven't ridden a bicycle in oh... probably 8 years, but walking around campus today and seeing all the bikes, I suddenly had nostalgia of being a kid and riding my bike around the street. Riding your bike around was like "the cool thing to do." And not just because it was the environmentally friendly thing to do. So today I want to look at things that made bikes, or in particular my bike, cool.

The Kickstand

Why were kickstands so cool? I don't know. Maybe it was because of the cool way it folded/swiveled up or down at a moments notice. Maybe it was because of the way it got your bike to stand up all by itself. All I know is that whomever invented the kickstand is a genius! I was sad to notice today that not many people have kickstands on their bicycles because kickstands=kickass!
Sidenote: I actually looked up to see who invented the kickstand and it is a certain "Gunter Baron." Tragically, he does not have a wikipedia page. Did you know that kickstands were patented in 1983?

Pedaling Your Bike Upsidedown

I don't know if anyone else used to do this, but it was a big thing on my street to turn our bikes over and "play mechanic." All it really involved was turning the pedals and watching the wheels go around and maybe pretend you were 'fixing' your bike. Some times we would race to see how fast we could make our wheels go. It was such a cool concept to me that you could flip a bike so that its wheels were in the air, that I wished there was more you could do like play fort or pretend it was "an exercise" machine. Here is a better picture that illustrates what I mean by this.

Spoke Beads

I wish I could remember what I called these as a kid, but I never would have thought to call them spoke beads. I just know my neighbor had some on her bike, and I had to get me some! I loved the colors, but even more than that, I loved the sound. A light, tinkling musical sound that gives you the same shivers as listening to a rain stick. This was another reason to pedal your bike upside down... just so you could listen to these babies. I haven't seen them on a bike in ages, but I'm pretty sure you can still buy them.

Noise Makers

I think I went through at least two of these, but they were plastic (and colorful) of course. I feel that they didn't last very long due to bike and ground contact. Plus I feel like I wasn't very good at steering and honking at the same time. I also had at least one bell, with which I faced similar problems with (I think it involves more skill to push the lever than to squeeze):



So I hope you have enjoyed reminiscing with me over the "bike riding days." If I ever get a bicycle, now that I'm older, this is one accessory I would definitely love to have:


What are you favorite bicycle parts-- past, present, future?

If I was a super crafter...

I would definitely make this:
cute tote here










I think I would use a less busy pattern for the inside but I LOVVVVVVE the internal organization which is key for me in any purse. This bag is so well made! I really hope she puts a tutorial up that way I can get someone to make it for me haha.