Have you ever met people that were good, honest people at heart but were just plain rude. Maybe I'm just overly sensitive (I know I am) but that's just one characteristic in people that I simply can't put up with.
A few weeks ago I was at a restaurant with my mom and two other men that she helped out a few years back. My mother has recently lost a significant amount of weight since they had last seen her and she was being complimented on it. That's all well and good. Jokingly my mother mentioned that she could now fit into all of my clothes and how much I hated it when she would wear my clothes (True, I'm sorry but are Abercrombie tanks really fit for women over twenty?)
Then things took a turn when one of the men mentioned that "Pretty soon her clothes are going to be too big for you!" then he told me outright that I should go on a diet as well. In those words "You should go on a diet."
Excuse me?
Are you kidding me? You are telling me, a size 4, 130 pound girl that I need to go on a diet because my mom just lost the overdue pregnancy fat? I understand that there is a time where one needs to laugh it off, which I did do in that situation, but that sort of thing just immediately put me off. Later when I was ordering the shrimp, he mentioned that he wouldn't eat it because it was very fattening. My mother was very put off as well and laughed and said that I was perfect, I don't need to loose weight (Which I don't).
Now, these are good guys: they payed for our meals, they've driven me to my extracurricular activities when my parents couldn't, so I don't think the meant any harm. The only problem is that they are just so rude. People like that make me sick to my stomach.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Reader's Journal
Title: Le Miserables
Author: Victor Hugo
Why I Decided to Read this Book: It looked interesting and pretty big, and my mom said I would be able to relate to it more than Dostoevsky.
Plot: It spans about a generation and a half, the main story is mostly about Marius and Cosette and how they're trying to be together, but the orchestrator of the whole book is Jean Valjean who rescues both Cosette and Marius at some point, Cosette because he made a promise to her dying mother, and Marius because he was going to get himself killed in the French Revolution.
Themes: Hugo was very active in standing up for the poor and abandoned. He said that it is the fault of the masters and people in power when the poor and weak are suffering. (paraphrased) Le Miserables means misery in French so a lot of the book does cover the number of miseries people go through, but there is also redemption, mainly the redemption of Jean Valjean who is often likened to Christ throughout the novel. Hugo also talks politically about the French Revolution.
Recommendation: For everyone that loves to think, it isn't all that sad, and makes you appreciate what you have to an extent.
Title: Le Miserables
Author: Victor Hugo
Why I Decided to Read this Book: It looked interesting and pretty big, and my mom said I would be able to relate to it more than Dostoevsky.
Plot: It spans about a generation and a half, the main story is mostly about Marius and Cosette and how they're trying to be together, but the orchestrator of the whole book is Jean Valjean who rescues both Cosette and Marius at some point, Cosette because he made a promise to her dying mother, and Marius because he was going to get himself killed in the French Revolution.
Themes: Hugo was very active in standing up for the poor and abandoned. He said that it is the fault of the masters and people in power when the poor and weak are suffering. (paraphrased) Le Miserables means misery in French so a lot of the book does cover the number of miseries people go through, but there is also redemption, mainly the redemption of Jean Valjean who is often likened to Christ throughout the novel. Hugo also talks politically about the French Revolution.
Recommendation: For everyone that loves to think, it isn't all that sad, and makes you appreciate what you have to an extent.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Dissapointment
Ugh...
I've been trying not to get too down about it, but still, I can only write about this fairly objectively after a few days. So far in the space of a week I've been yelled at for spilling things more than usual, been forbidden from taking my permit test because the picture on my green card is from before I was 14 years old and now there's the choice of going to INS or the embassy in Chicago to get something fixed, Applebee's was a really big letdown after that (Panera all the way), and my school won't let me take all the courses that I want (so much for education).
The thing I hate the most is when I'm being prevented from reaching my full potential as a person for no reason. The purpose of school is to help children reach their full potential as law-abiding adults. It's a shame the American public school system doesn't do that anymore.
Speaking of the USA's detriments, here's the number one: immigration. Now, I'm legal. I'm not Hispanic either. And the photo on my green card was taken when I was eleven. I am now fifteen, I have never dyed my hair or worn makeup. It's quite clear that the photo on there is a photo of me! I do not get why the stupid lady in the DMV kept insisting that she couldn't let me take the test because "the photo of me is too young." I did not tell her this, she purposefully looked up the date it was taken and called my mom over to tell her that I have to go to INS so they can either take a new photo or put a sticker on the back verifying that it has been updated and yes, the photo is of me. So much for "give us your sick, your poor,..."
I've been trying not to get too down about it, but still, I can only write about this fairly objectively after a few days. So far in the space of a week I've been yelled at for spilling things more than usual, been forbidden from taking my permit test because the picture on my green card is from before I was 14 years old and now there's the choice of going to INS or the embassy in Chicago to get something fixed, Applebee's was a really big letdown after that (Panera all the way), and my school won't let me take all the courses that I want (so much for education).
The thing I hate the most is when I'm being prevented from reaching my full potential as a person for no reason. The purpose of school is to help children reach their full potential as law-abiding adults. It's a shame the American public school system doesn't do that anymore.
Speaking of the USA's detriments, here's the number one: immigration. Now, I'm legal. I'm not Hispanic either. And the photo on my green card was taken when I was eleven. I am now fifteen, I have never dyed my hair or worn makeup. It's quite clear that the photo on there is a photo of me! I do not get why the stupid lady in the DMV kept insisting that she couldn't let me take the test because "the photo of me is too young." I did not tell her this, she purposefully looked up the date it was taken and called my mom over to tell her that I have to go to INS so they can either take a new photo or put a sticker on the back verifying that it has been updated and yes, the photo is of me. So much for "give us your sick, your poor,..."
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Why?
I really don't get it.
Shows like America's Got Talent, Hell's Kitchen, X-Factor, etc, why are they so popular. They have an indiscriminately negative effect on all pop culture and whatever mediocrity of genuine talent, intelligence, and good character that happens to stumble upon these consumer-driven wastelands is killed off while mindlessness is honored.
In fact, I don't even know how they get their auditions. After watching the show for half an hour who would want to be associated with it? Sure, there is the one in a hundred million chance of being a Susan Boyle, but apart from that they encourage the decline of class, manners, courtesy, and general work.
Fame comes from being recognized for achievement, charisma, genius, and luck. It requires years of hard work for those who earn it and isn't a "fair" shot that can be brought upon by an audition or an application. What is being popularized on these television shows a fantasized notion of celebrity. Why are these people the people this culture is paying attention to? What is so remarkably fascinating about them to begin with. Some do have a knack for playing pretend and some have been genuinely or artificially blessed with faces and bodies that look well after a couple layers of makeup and a couple hours of photoshop, but after that what is there of substance? Why aren't surgeons, volunteers, nurses, priests, engineers, teachers, people doing things that help the lives of people and help propel the great age we live in into greater success being honored with the same sort of fanaticism being allotted to Beyonce or Justin Beiber?
Shows like America's Got Talent, Hell's Kitchen, X-Factor, etc, why are they so popular. They have an indiscriminately negative effect on all pop culture and whatever mediocrity of genuine talent, intelligence, and good character that happens to stumble upon these consumer-driven wastelands is killed off while mindlessness is honored.
In fact, I don't even know how they get their auditions. After watching the show for half an hour who would want to be associated with it? Sure, there is the one in a hundred million chance of being a Susan Boyle, but apart from that they encourage the decline of class, manners, courtesy, and general work.
Fame comes from being recognized for achievement, charisma, genius, and luck. It requires years of hard work for those who earn it and isn't a "fair" shot that can be brought upon by an audition or an application. What is being popularized on these television shows a fantasized notion of celebrity. Why are these people the people this culture is paying attention to? What is so remarkably fascinating about them to begin with. Some do have a knack for playing pretend and some have been genuinely or artificially blessed with faces and bodies that look well after a couple layers of makeup and a couple hours of photoshop, but after that what is there of substance? Why aren't surgeons, volunteers, nurses, priests, engineers, teachers, people doing things that help the lives of people and help propel the great age we live in into greater success being honored with the same sort of fanaticism being allotted to Beyonce or Justin Beiber?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)