Wear jeans...

...to an interview.

Seriously, dont do it. I watched those poor things walk in, then marked "do not recommend" on their form.

Never try to convey in words what you feel through music. ever.

While listening to the Moonlight Sonata composed by Ludwig Van Beethoven, I began to write down words that came into my mind, inspired by the enrapturing music. In a way, I believe music takes my soul on an ineffable journey which cannot be done justice by my attempt at a poem.

Blind

Melodies wavering,

Lilting, swaying bodies

Graceful, twist, shapes emerge

Weaving, spinning stories beneath

Moonlight, spilling, cascades

Into mist, enveloping

Breathe in, submerge

Floating, caress

The surface

A lover’s kiss

Cold, and sweet, snow

Drifts gentle, settle, blanket

In white, spinning

Swirling up, illuminate

The sky, warmth

Spills over, glowing sun

Gentle tugging breakthrough

A rose in bloom,

Bright petals float

Carried by the wind, falling

Cascading

Yellow,

Orange

Red

Circle

Stir sounds

Awaken, flood

Of lights, movement,

Swaying, harmony

Of sounds, surrender,

Moving, breathing,

Rise and fall

Linger

My New Year's Resolution List (Habits That Are Not So Awesome)

1. Do not leave anything unfinished. (Not feeling accomplished is not so awesome)
   I have this bad habit of starting something and then losing interest in it. Like reading books. I've started a bunch of them, and I read about half of the book before I start slowing down. Eventually I'll forget about the book, and by the time I remember that I'm reading that book, I have to restart it. I know the first halves of many books very well. I know the endings to very few books.
    I also have this habit to start projects and not finish them. Project 365. My letters challenge on my personal blog. My greeting cards project. Etc. The goal is to finish all of them, except for Project 365, which I'm still debating whether or not I should restart.
   Leaving stuff unfinished doesn't really apply to schoolwork, but I think that's because I know I'm screwing myself over if I don't finish a paper or something. The point is, I need to develop intrinsic motivation for the non academic projects I decide to pursue.

2. Don't wait until the last minute to do something. (Realizing how much stuff you have to do  leads to not feeling accomplished, which is not so awesome).
   I suppose I have just been procrastinating the finishing of something. But there are times when I procrastinate starting something. And that is worse. 
   Besides that,  I feel people lose a lot of opportunities when they wait to do something at the last minute.

 3. Make an effort to clean, and then keep things clean. (Sharing a room with dust bunnies is not so awesome.)
   I have been putting off reorganizing my bookshelves and drawers for a while. Which leads to me misplacing things. And that could be a contributing factor to not finishing something and/or procrastinating.
   More than that, I've been meaning to clean the room on a more regular basis. My roommate and I are actually pretty good about this (we don't really know anyone else on our floor who owns a vacuum, much less uses it), but the goal is to maintain a regular cleaning routine. I don't know if you've ever seen a picture of a dust mite up close, but if you lack the motivation to wipe off your desk every now and then, you should look it up.

4. Talk to people. (Being a hermit is not so awesome. Most of the time.)
   I'm not saying I didn't talk to people last year. Don't be smart. But I probably didn't talk to the people on my floor as often as I should have. Usually when I tried socializing with them, that led to me procrastinating, which is counterproductive to one of my New Year's Resolutions. So I'm not sure how this one is going to work without me blaming the entire floor for my unfinished chemistry homework.
  Maybe I'll tone it down to not being socially avoidant when people are talking near my room. Or learning to be socially avoidant out of necessity.


5. Fix my sleeping schedule. (Being nocturnal is kind of awesome, but not practical.)
   Going to sleep at 2 or 3 in the morning is not healthy when I have to wake up at 8:30. I know what you're thinking: "That's 5-6 hours of sleep! That's more than enough! You shouldn't complain; I go to sleep at 4 or 5 in the morning!" First, I like my sleep. I can be a very cranky person without sleep. Second, I do not like sleeping until 11 or noon when I don't have to get up early. Third, I don't enjoy being awake when everyone else is asleep. It gets boring. Fourth, your sleeping schedule is more screwed up than mine, and it is exactly what I'm resolving to avoid.
  

Rereading this list, I realize I only have one New Year's Resolution: Don't procrastinate.
 

Thou shalt not lie (or keep secrets for that matter)

A diatribe-like missive on the dissemination of legitimate information

Truth. It’s a big word. Big enough that we have put a taboo on it, knowingly or unknowingly, so that we are made to believe that ordinary people such as ourselves are too weak to appreciate or fathom it. It is due to our own doubts about our mental stability that we believe our minds to be too fragile to handle the knowledge of government actions – actions that are not widely publicized in today’s media. I would like my audience to know that I am writing this harangue not to begin a revolt, though I doubt I could reach that many people or emotionally arouse them to that point for that matter, but to express my deepest concern about two very important points I have noted during the course of events occurring within the past three months: the failure of our media to expose or even deliver the information it was created to distribute, and the unfair governmental attack on a small organization wishing to do just that job.

Thou shalt not bear false witness. The Ninth of the Ten Commandments given to Moses at Mount Sinai should be remembered at this point. Since our childhood, we have been taught neither to lie nor to withhold the whole truth. It is much simpler to tell the truth because you do not need to remember it. Lying creates a web and that web can very easily kill the person who created it, or at the very least, trap them in their own lies. So then why is it that our own Government is withholding information from us? I would like to bring up the famous Gettysburg Address given by President Abraham Lincoln where he stated, “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us … that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”. This beloved land of ours was founded on the principle of brotherhood and shared beliefs about our God-given rights. The founding fathers sought shelter from the oppression of the King and created a government where the People’s voice was the voice of authority and where the Government had a duty to protect the unalienable rights given to us by God – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Through this belief came the Declaration of Independence and liberation from injustice soon followed. The founders of our nation agreed that the Government derives its rights from the consent of the people it seeks to govern and protect. If that Government cannot live up to its expectations, “that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness”. I restate what I had said earlier – this is not an address to inspire revolt. It is simply a statement bearing facts that the people have a right to reproach and hold the Government liable for its misdeeds. How can the People hold their Government accountable for anything, though, if we are not given information about its actions? It is the sole purpose of the media to inform the Public about the actions of the Government and the Society with which it interacts. We have a right to know what is going on around us because it involves us – directly or indirectly. Leaders may justify Government secrets by parroting the media ethics regarding public interest. In reality, this is just a cover-up used to keep us sensitized to the point that any “leaked” information will scare us or anything graphic or unethical that our Government is involved in will generate unimaginable chaos in the nation. We underestimate our own strength and therefore so does the Government. We don’t stop to comprehend that we placed leaders in their positions to act on our behalf – to act on the Public’s voice and opinion. We obviously need protection from terrorists and anarchists. Do we need protection from actions that our own Government takes? Shouldn’t the Government theoretically, and in this case idealistically, be transparent since it is for the people, by the people, and of the people? Isn’t that the point of journalistic integrity, to tell us what the Government is trying to keep secret so that we may bring it out in the open and do something about it? Instead, our media prefers to bombard us with trivial stories about celebrities gone wild and other relatively meaningless headlines meant to distract us from what is really going on in the world. Moreover, if by chance the reporters get their hands on an informative and invaluable news story, it is torn apart by propaganda and filled with lies for the sake of political ambition and preservation of the Status Quo. News is supposed to be delivered unbiased, yet even the simplest of people understand the political stances of news networks, that CNN is left wing while FOX is right wing. Political games distract us from understanding the reality of our situation. We have created this image of ourselves as being too weak to understand the workings of the great politicians who claim to be the servants of our nation. Liars not only go to the White House, they also invade Congress - liars that have too much time on their hands, not enough knowledge in their brains, and greed on their mind. They have no respect for the public and create ineffective laws and policies with loopholes purposely attached for the benefit of lobbyist groups. Why do we keep sending people like this to run our nation? More importantly, what separates them from us? Certainly there are many among us that are as qualified if not more to do what those liars do. But of course no one will take action because big business employs us, favors the liars, and in return gets the profits while the rest of us sit entrapped in a bubble of lies and secrecy – a ploy used by the Government to shut us out and keep us ignorant of their inner workings. Our Government has become corrupted but it is still relatively virtuous compared to other Governments in the world. The People still have some power – even if it is not recognized or acted upon enough.

I don’t consider the public to be the ultimate victims of this scheme. We have power in our hands given to us by the founding fathers – our First Amendment Right – Freedom of speech and press. We have a right to speak out against actions that our leaders are taking and “Congress shall make no law… prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”. Of course, public interest and safety is a major factor in how far we can push the envelope so to speak on this amendment. As long as victims are not created, we are free to speak our minds for the sake of justice. We have been given more freedom than other unfortunate citizens – yet we take it for granted. Instead of being empowered by freedom, we prefer to sit in our bubble, stick our heads in the sand like proverbial ostriches, and let the rest of the world go to hell while our Government continues to degrade itself. We are not brave enough to take action yet when a small organization begins to publish information regarding the misdeeds of our Government and that of other nations, we begin to reproach it and turn our backs while our Government reacts with brash threats of extradition and charges of treason. Why is it that we complain about being kept in a dark room yet, when we receive news, become angry at the organization for publicizing the failure of our Government? If anything, we should join the cause and show our Government that we are neither frail nor stupid and we will hold our leaders accountable. Wikileaks has not generated the numerous supporters insofar as was expected, not because we condemn its purpose, but because the media and our leaders tell us the organization is anarchist. They feed us lie after lie about how it is hurting innocent people and victimizing other Governments who are just trying to protect their people. There has been no proof shown by the Government of such wrong doing while there has been proof of the Government committing horrible acts or letting such acts occur. As for the accusation of preaching anarchy, Wikileaks is simply an organization that believes Governments should exist to help people and gain public trust by being open – quite the opposite of anarchy. People react negatively when a video is leaked about our soldiers killing innocent civilians in Iraq, or Bhagdad, or Afghanistan but what they forget is people in those countries witness this every day. To those civilians, this is the atrocious face of our military. No matter how enthusiastically we support our troops, those citizens will believe differently because the actions of soldiers are louder than words of politicians. Instead of reforming their actions, the Government and its leaders prefer to battle the small organization and go after the co-founder for accusations completely unrelated to the organization. Why? Because when a big organization like our Government receives a slap to its face, it retaliates by slapping the face of the smaller organization. It is petty and childish but since public support of Wikileaks isn’t strong enough, the Government will continue to try to bring this organization, which is doing a huge favor to the world, down. Politics is the main driving force behind this case and controversial topics continue to arise but I believe, and a lot of others seem to agree with this opinion, if our Government was indeed doing nothing wrong, the leaders wouldn’t be fighting this hard to bring Wikileaks down. Looking at the actions currently taking place, I’d say our Government has committed numerous offences and is trying to shut Wikileaks down before any more of its transgressions are leaked to the public. Instead of worrying about putting Julian Assange in solitary confinement, our President and the heads of our intelligence services should be spending time and energy fixing, or rather reforming their actions on a national and global scale. It is high time that our Government and the People to take a good look at what we are doing and try to come clean with ourselves. Every organization has secrets but a Nation should not keep secrets from its own people. We deserve to know what is happening around us – it is our right because it is our Government.

I know that we have to travel a great distance and spend a lot of time and energy trying to reduce the corruption in our Government but if we don’t start now, it will only get worse. We deserve better and we must rise with the occasion. Lying has gotten us this far. If we continue to lie and deceive, our future looks bleak. The actions and support of the public is sin qua non to creating a medium for the nurturing of justice. With justice and freedom as our foundations, we will be one step closer to becoming the great Nation we were meant to be – a city upon a hill.

Thank you

Anusha Ali

P.S Isn't it a bit disappointing that Wikileaks has released more useful information in the short time since it started operating than all of the world's media combined? Just goes to show what a horribly pathetic job the media does and how much the world really needs Julian Assange.

TOP 10 KEY culprits of procrastination or things you shouldn't do if you have something to actually be doing...

So I just realized that I have only posted once on this blog. I guess I can't really get rich and skip college at this pace, now can I? But, in my defense, I've thought of many interesting things to post here. I just haven't gotten around to actually physically putting them on this page. Which brings me to my main topic: procrastination. Something I'm sure many of us could win a Nobel Prize in if, you know, they gave a prize for that. Anyway, after attending a high school more rigorous than college, I've not only mastered how to ace tests without knowing the material, juggle 7 AP classes and write a gazzilion essays in one night…I've learned to be a pro procrastinator. However, it is not a task to be taken lightly. One must know when to stop (no, the "I can stop whenever I want" thing doesn't work here. I've been told that's for alcoholism). One must also know what the greatest sources of procrastination are. And thus, I proudly present my TOP 10 KEY culprits of procrastination or (to go along with the blog name) things you shouldn't do if you have something to actually be doing (like a 10 page research paper…hehehe).

1. Facebook. Obviously. We love it. We hate it. We hate to love it. And we love to hate it. You get the point. Biggest problem with Facebook? You go online to check your notifications (all 50 of them because someone tagged you in a post that someone commented on that someone liked that someone…etc etc etc). Then you feel obligated to respond to them all. Then you find someone you share common interests with. Then you find a new Facebook friend. Then….then it's 3 hours later and you've done NOTHING with your life. Good job.

2. Friends. As in real ones. The friends you've actually met in a non-creepy/shady way. You feel obligated to stay in touch because honestly, who wants to end up an old lady with 27 cats for friends. Noone, right? Especially guys because that would be sad AND disturbing. Anywho…your friends say you should hang out. So you do. Then you're tagged in a million pictures. Then you make matching profile pictures. Then you spam people's walls. Then…then you decide to skype.

3. Skype. You start off by asking how everyone is doing and before you know it, you're doing a group video call (yes, that is possible if all of you update your Skype). And you're taking weird screen shots. And whispering stuff (on a side note, if your roommate is in the room but NOT in the actual conversation, it is not wise to up the volume as high as possible to hear what your friend is whispering. They're called headphones. Use them well). Basically, Skype is bad.

4. E-mail. You e-mail your teacher or friend or boss or someone and then continue to hit the refresh button until you see the long awaited INBOX(1)! Note: the number of times you hit refresh does not correlate with the number of e-mails you will receive. Just saying.

5. Music. Here is the logical reasoning you give yourself for listening to music while you work: it keeps me alert and I'm more productive. Bonus points if the music is in a language that you don't know (say...Korean?) and you can thus claim that it's not actually distracting you. Until your curiosity gets the better of you. And you want to know what they're saying. So you find the subbed video. And you listen to more songs, now knowing what they say. And you find similar artists. And before you know it, you have an iPod filled with foreign songs, a dorm decorated with the singers' pictures and one pissed off roommate. Oops.

6. Stalking/Twitter. Basically, you decide music videos are not enough and decide to follow every celebrity you can. By the way, there's a lot of them out there. Good luck.

7. YouTube. Ha. Those "Related Videos"? Yeah, those are death. Start off watching a Wong Fu video, go on to a NigaHiga clip, then KevJumba, then….then you're watching some girl talk about hairstyles? Or better yet, watch a funny music video and end up crying over a movie scene. To sum it up, resist clicking anything on YouTube.

8. Children. As in siblings or other young children (not your own though. I hope). Of course it's not bad to give them some of your time. Until you spend 4 days straight doing nothing but playing hide-and-seek, drawing cars, racing cars, building Legos and running in circles. While your homework rots away. No, it will not actually disappear. And no, you can't use that as an excuse. That's worse than saying your dog ate it.

9. Karaoke. Remember those friends you have? And that foreign music you suddenly like? Well…now you get to combine the two! Karaoke is great except for the whole losing your voice/reasoning/time part. And of course, if you are not a native speaker of whatever language the songs are in, you must take the time to attempt to learn (or look like you learned) the song lyrics. Pretty darn impossible to accomplish this. But hey, there went another couple hours of your life.

10. Life. No, I am not saying we should all die. But living is essentially very distracting. You have to eat (or you don't have to…but then you still do). You have to sleep. Then you have to wake up. Then you have to breathe. It's so much work, no wonder we never concentrate on stuff like research papers.

And if you've reached the end of this list, you're obviously as good at concentrating on something impostant as I am. On that note, I should go work on my paper. Or at least open a word document.

Curiosity Can Kill More Than A Cat.

I think the reason I turned out okay (for those of you who say otherwise, it would be wise to kindly shut up, thank you) is because I did all the stupid stuff as a child.

1. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to staple your finger, read this before you decide to do it: it will >>insert profanity<< hurt. No, the staple will not go all the way through your finger, but it will puncture pretty deeply if you slam the stapler down hard enough. All in all, it'll feel like a splinter. Or a piece of shrapnel.

1b. If you happen to step on a staple, the smart thing to do would be to pull it out, not twist it around until it breaks that second layer of skin and draws blood.

2. You know that trick where you swing the bowling ball and it doesn't hit you when it swings back your way? The same cannot be said for a person on a swing set. They can change their momentum and kick you in the face.

3. It is not okay to inflate juice boxes and stomp on them so that they explode. Especially when the straw is still in it. I didn't poke my own eye out, but I came very close to poking a rooster's eye out. Maybe that's why he became hostile towards me later on.

4. Don't backhand the rice cooker. Even if the steam it's creating reminds you of Cruella DeVille and how she went around smoking that cigarette. It's cooking rice, not dalmatian puppies.
---

Originality: EXPRESS YOURSELF

Express yourself!

Why would I want to be friends with a copy when originals are the best? I don't like it when people follow the norm just to make friends. Normally, I would encourage following the norm - it means you actually fit into society. Good for you. But when it comes to decisions on clothing, classes, hobbies, do what you do best. Pick things that interest you, not what your friends are doing. Chances are you'll find someone who shares the same passions as you and soon enough, you will be linked at the hips by super glue. Painfully awesome. I know people dislike the word "hate" because of its strong negative connotation but I will use it anyway. I HATE copies. People copies.

Hello Marshmellow

1.) You look fake. And you know it. Fashion styles are just that. Styles. Not meant to look good on everyone because everyone has a different body type. Love your body. Wear clothes that are comfortable and make you feel and look your best. Everyone was made differently and we should celebrate that. What if everyone looked the same? I'd shoot myself. The world would be too boring.

2.) You seem insecure. If you can't find your own style, it means that you follow everyone else's since you too scared to look weird. WEIRD IS GOOD. At least you're expressing yourself and being true! Chances are someone thinks you look awesome! So GO FOR IT :)

All the single ladies!

3.) You're one of those people that try too hard. I REALLY dislike those people. You want to fit in. Cool. Find people that share the same interests. Don't force yourself on a specific group. And if a group is telling you to dress or act a certain way, chances are they're not your real friends and probably make fun of you (along with everyone else). Don't worry - your awkwardness will pay off when you find people with mutual awkwardness. Till then, rock being single. Like Sasha FIERCE. Beyonce. Uh huh.

So originality is important. It defines you and can be of great benefit if used correctly. Now go out there and rock your style. And while you're at it, give yourself a high-five. You deserve it because you are PHENOMENAL.

Peace, Love, Gassy Goats

Why HELLO THERE!

Anusha Ali