Today was different. It went as followed... Work at 8:30am, getting sick and leaving at 12. Sleeping until around 2 then wasting time until now. I had planned to go to the new Outlet mall in Leeds, by the Bass Pro Shop, which is literally less then 5 miles/5 minutes away from me. But me getting sick ruined that. I actually was really, really excited to go. I had gone yesterday before work, but the place was PACKED!!! So I left after about 20 minutes, because I was afraid I might be late to work.

Well now I guess I should start some studying.

rushing?

THE SITUATION - In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.

About 4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

At 6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

At 10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.

At 45 minutes: The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while.
About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

After 1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.

This experiment raised several questions:
*In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
*If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made …
How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?

So I read this on another blog and I had to pass it on...

late nights

Ibogaine

Imagine there was a drug that an addict could take just ONE dose to relieve them from their addiction and the dreaded withdrawal. Well, apparently there is... but there is a catch.

Okay, why am I even talking about this, you wonder? Well I'm sitting here watching Law and Order: SVU where a heroin addicted kid needed to clean up to testify against the bad guy, but the bad guy was his dealer and legal guardian (lucky kid, huh?). Long story short, the psychologist of the show, Dr. Wuang, spoke of a drug, Ibogaine, that could cure almost all addictions. However, the drug was no longer legal in the USA (but is used worldwide) because its patent expired and no drug company would pay to run the needed trials for the FDA to approve it. The reason no drug company would pay for the trials was because there is apparently no profit in selling Ibogaine. They make more money selling Methadone, then Ibogaine. Which in case you didn't know, Methadone is used to treat opioid addicts. The drug blocks the euphoric effects of heroin, morphine, other opioids. So patients no longer need those illegal drugs, instead they need the legal Methadone in place to avoid withdrawal symptoms. Well, after patients start Methadone, they are suppose to slowly decrease their amounts until the patients no longer need Methadone or any other drug. However, a high number of patients become addicted to Methadone, so instead of getting off drugs, they get on to uhh... legal drugs.

Ibogaine on the other hand, is usually extracted from the Iboga plant, and is used in the UK, Canada, and many other countries as a form of drug treatment. Ibogaine is used to remove the dependency of methadone, nicotine, heroin, alcohol, cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamines, as well as compulsive behaviors. One dose of Ibogaine removes the patients desire to use.

My point is not to bash Methadone, obviously it has helped a lot of people get clean and move on with their lives. My point was that there is a drug that could help addicts in a better way but because of its lack of profitableness it swept under the covers.

If I tugged on your interest line, I have a lil news video on Ibogaine... Ibogaine In the News

...end of rant.

On current affairs, MiKayla, Erin, and I went on a nice little 5.11 mile run this morning! That is now the longest distance I have ever ran. Just 1.9 miles until it can be considered a 10k! So even if I do nothing today, I can at least say I achieved that!

my life is...

currently consisting of school and work. But our fall break is this week (Thursday and Friday). I already have every Friday off of school, but now I get a Thursday off as well. But the best part is that I get Thursday off of work too, because I usually have lab at night and morning classes during the day so I cant work. So Thursday, I am thinking of a nice workout section, along with some sleeping with the dog and watching some Law and Order: SVU and Freaks and Geeks (my latest new obsession!)....

Speaking of obsessions! I am also in LOVE with the school Glee!!! And I mean in love! For those who watch it, Brittany is my favorite, and for those who don't go to Hulu.com and watch the last five episodes, please! Actually I am working on a Lab quiz and waiting for the new episode to start is 13minutes!!

Okay, my day today was me waking up at 8, going to speech class with Brittany Bullock at 11, then chilling in the Engineering building for 2 hours until my Philology class. Usually I skip my Tuesday Philology class because we do nothing in there, but today she was giving us our essay test questions, so I managed to stay for that. My teacher is basically a talking skeleton with ADHD trying to teach 50 college students on difficult choices. Needless to say all I do is talk to my friend in the back. (for an interesting fact, she told us in class one day, that she didn't have a preference for anal or vagina sex...yeah TOOOO much information)(also she tried to tell us what sex was like post-menopause, but she didn't thank goodness!)

So yeah this was my life update! I love you guys, and I will leave u with a Brittany S. Pierce quote, "I don't brush my teeth, I rinse my mouth out with soda after I eat. I was pretty sure Dr. Pepper was some sort of dentist."

Left with Spit in my Hand

Today has been a pretty awesome day!! And that might be an understatement. Start off with getting to UAB early enough to study Anatomy and had a pretty active group discussion in Speech. Then a light arm work out with MiKayla followed with a timed mile of 6:34 (and yes I just time -dropped... get it?). Then I turned in my essay test in Philosophy! Which meant no class for me, moreover, because of Labor Day, MiKayla and I had no Anatomy lab today!! So our weekend started at about 12:15pm today!!!!! We grabbed an amazing lunch at Subway where MiKayla was pretty hyper, if I may say so myself!!! Also we totally saw a Charlie Sheen look-a-like at subway too!!! The only downfall of the day was when I rubbed my eye only to relocate my contact in my eye. But don't worry I found it when if fell on the nasty rug, which caused me to spit in my hand to rehydrate it until I could retrieve my contact fluid for a cleanse. So today I believe I will finish up with some studying and maybe a small bike ride if I am lucky!

New Goal: Beat Erin's mile of 6:09!

(so Erin be sure to rub your much faster time in my face to motivate me! Competition is the best motivation!)

too many exclamation points?

uhh yeah

Okay this is the first time in a while that I have actually had the night to relax. I don't have to have to rust to work or to class, no, now I can just sit and watch whatever on the TV. Sometimes I tell myself that today will be the day I will just quit my job and then I wont have to worry about it affecting my school and study schedule. But right after that thought I think about if I would even really use that time productively. I know I wouldn't. So sometimes it feels like I am just going through the motions. Like I am not using all my potential. I don't want to wake up 20 years from now thinking that I have done nothing worth while in my life. I mean I don't think that I have to cure cancer for my life to be worth while, but I just think that there must be something that makes this all worth while, you know.

And this is where I will sound stupid or ignorant of real life, but ever since I was little there has been a small part of me where I wish that maybe I could like trade lives with somebody else who has a harder life then me. So like if I can overcome it, then my life would have a purpose... or something. Like no matter what happens then at least you have accomplished something. But now that I think about it, it almost seems like if that was the case then I would not have to take the risk of failing or succeeding at something major.

But maybe I am looking at this the wrong way. This gives me the chance to accomplish a major achievement. What that is, I am not sure yet.

Reveal the Revel!

I finally got a new mountain bike, the Giant Revel 1, after trying to decided on what company, make, and model. And after endlessly searching craigslist, Cahabacycles, eBay, and many other bike stores, I was able to finally make a choice! Plus it was on sale too!

The sad part is that after I bought the bike I only really had the opportunity to ride it once so far, because of the "drabby" weather. But that in that one ride, I was able to finish a particular section of the Trussville trail in 7mins faster then my fast time! I think it is because of the added front suspension that my last bike did NOT have.

Well another update, I have a new goal now, it is to run a 5K!! I'm not sure which race or when, but more then likely it will be before this year is done with. I should up my goal to two 5K's (is that correct form?) before the year is out.

Goals of 2010

~Compete in a mountain biking race

~Compete in two 5K's

~Get an A in anatomy

~Get a waitressing job

Dead Dog X

The date and time is now set for the Dead Dog X cross country mountain biking race in Trussville. October 24th at 8:00 AM!

Okay so I'm nervous, but excited as well. This is be my first mountain biking race EVER. I am nervous because I have yet to run the whole course straight with no "breathing breaks", but to counteract that fact, these next few weeks I will be in training mode. I am excited because no matter what, I know I will have a good time. After reviewing the results of last year, and after stalking... I mean visiting the BUMP website (the host), I have come to the conclusion that the overall atmosphere of the mountain biking community is very chill. Chill as in an older, not judgmental crowd. Last year most of the racers where middle aged men, leaving only only four women, two of them over 30, who were apart of the race. That number seems a little too small :( . All the times, including the mens, were ranging from the one hour mark all the way to the two hour mark. Actually the lowest time last year, 35 minutes, belonged to a Hewitt-Trussville High School sophomore. He was in the men's beginner category (14 and under).

My Goal: Complete the race in under one hour!

PS. Sorry about the nonlinear flow of my blog and misuse of commons. Writing is definitely not one of my strengths.

1st Day of School

So right now I am sitting in the library. BORED. What a way to start off a new year. Maybe this is an omen of good things to come. I have my second, and last class at 2 and approximatively 30 minutes to burn. I did start reviewing anatomy. You know, cause I am an overachieve and all. But after realizing that there is no way that I will voluntarily rewrite 55 power points worth of information, I have decided to write a lil post.

For lunch Brittany and I stopped by the beloved Starbucks that I have recently been denying since the spring semester. What did I get... well not coffee! I got my favorite organic milk that might have a nominal 29 grams of sugar. But at least its reduced fat, right?

And this is mine not so subtle way of ending my blog... I am looking forward to working outwith the besties tom.

Ready for a Change

yup. I'm ready... but nothing happens. i guess that is why change can be so hard because somethings you have to make the first move.

on another note I've been thinking about getting a tattoo or another piercing. My choices are have been narrowed down to either the snakebite piercing or a tattooed poem. I would get the snakebites very very small, like the smallest they have, or I could get the tattoo on my ribcage. The tat would be a poem I first heard in the movie G.I. Jane (one of my childhood favorites... big shocker, right), it is called Self-Pity by H.d. Lawrence.

I never saw a wild thing
sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself.

Basically I want this poem to be my new life motto. I will no longer complain about any differences in treatment my brother and I receive. I will no longer dislike my job because of unfair situations. And blah blah, self-improvement.

So the cons of having the piercing is that they are on my face, and with the tongue ring I think that might be too much. Also when I remove them I could have small holes/scars there, and that would be annoying for lack of a better word. On the opposite side, the tattoo is permanent. As in FOREVER... like herpes or the change to vampirism ( and yes I did just make that word up and it is referring to twilight).

So I'm not sure when of if I will be getting anything. But when I do, obviously y'all will know!

So I got my cavity filled yesterday and it didn't hurt while getting it, but about 3 hours later my tooth and cheek hurt soooo bad. I actually had to hold back the tears. But I woke up this morning feeling okay so its all good, I guess! While the dentist was filling the cavity he kept saying. "Ohh this one is in a hard place." Which is deff not what you want to hear from your dentist when your getting your first cavity filled. So I just looked up at the light and repeated counted to five. After this interesting experience I decided to make my new goal to floss everyday.

Right now I am taking a break from studying physics. (I had to google that to make sure I wrote the right word, because I always get physics and psychics confused). I have a test tomorrow and it should be pretty easy considering it is only covering three chapters. I use to be afraid of summer classes. I always heard that they go by sooooo fast and there is so much material covered. But after this summer and from hearing other people's experiences I don't think summer classes are soo bad anymore.

That Last One Was Too Long

So its been a few days since I've last blog. I guess I have writer's block, because I have nothing really to write about.

I went to the dentist yesterday and guess who got thier first cavity... yes its me. I get it filled next Monday so that will be a new experience! They said my top molars have come in and that my lower two are starting to peak their lil heads. They suggested surgery. I suggested not. The way I see it, once they come in they are fine (or at least in my case). I have had a few issues with pain from them, but that is just the pain that goes along with a new tooth coming in anyway.

Yesterday was an extremely crappy day. They asked be to pull a split shift and not thinking I agreed to the extra hours. It wasn't until late Wednesday that I agreed to have a hectic day. So I worked in the morning then went to the dentist then worked till close, then I went to see Breaking Dawn... (Is that its name?) or the new twilight movie with some friends. For the record I'm totally Team Jacob! But going to the movie theater reaking (Did I spell that right?) of fish... SUCKED. I know what your thinking, why didn't I go home and shower before the movie? Well that was the plan but work lasted way longer then expected.

Other new things in my life include my dog, Lula! Guess who got an awesome haircut? Well its def not Lula. I come home from work one day last week and I saw the massacre that is Lula's haircut and I cant stop laughing. It literally is the worst haircut EVER. My mom decided that Lula must have been too hot in all her hair, which isn't really that much. So she cut her hair in layers. Yeah, very cute on dogs! And when I say layers I mean uneven, rings that leave Lula looking like a rat or pig!

Toygers: The Designer Cats!

So while on facebook I came across a status post by Alexis (a friend of mine) that she wanted a... Toyger. . Me being unsure of what a Toyger was I googled, it like anyother self-respecting person would, and it came up with Toygers.org. It is a specially mixed breed of a cat that resembles a "toy tiger", which is totally different from a real tiger of course. But can you say bad-A!!!! Who wouldn't want a mini tiger to protect the homestead!!

I work the D!

So I just got off work! It was boring and slow which is different from how it usually is. Usually by the end of my shift I am pissed, not by the constant flow of rude old people customers, but by my coworkers. Some days I'm sure they get together before work and come up with a new way to annoy me. I've actually had a coworker ask me if I was on drugs because I apparently have crazy mood swings when I'm working. Of course the answer was "No, I'm not on drugs.", however the damage was done. He kept looking at me like I was a freak the whole night. But thats okay... I know I am making it sound like I hate work, but I really don't on most days. Usually I have a lot of fun. Actually that is an understatement. Most of the time I am having a blast. Because once it turns 8:30 p.m. the customers are reduced to a few hungery loners and everybody begins to have a good time. The managers that work the night shifts are all pretty laid back. They don't care if you eat for free or talk on your phone as long at when the clocks hits 11:00 your done with your work.

Now to explain the pictures... The first is a hushpuppy ring that is fashioned with a very flattering French fry as the ring base. And the second shows my 100% original Freddie Krueger gloves. I'm thinking of selling them on eBay, but I'm not sure of what the starting price should be, I was thinking around $2,000.

sunshine is the best disinfectant

Okay so in case you didn't know Trussville has about 5 miles of legit mountain biking trials in the Sports Complex!! And with me trying to feel my free time from school and work with something active, I might have become a visitor of these trials. (This is a nice time to thank my parents for getting me a hatchback car because it becomes very handy when moving my bike) Anyway well pretty much every time I go, I end up with a new injury. (for a recap I have chain marks that go up my right ankle, back of the calf strach from the chainset, rolled right ankle from a fall and blah blah blah...) Well guess who gets to add another one to that list? Yeah it's that Lena girl. Imagine me going down a rocky hill coming to an opening in the trail where the road is present. I pull on my brakes and I find that they worked a little too well, because I ended up coming to a complete stop while flipping over my bike. My injuries include a trail of scratches on the back of my arm and forearm, rock impalements down my leg, a very large bruise on my left thigh in the shape of a bike stem and I'll spare you the details on where the top tube of the bike ended up. I know right I must suck at mountain biking and your right I do. But I now have a little goal to achieve. I want to compete in a mountain biking race! So in case you didn't know Alabama has an impressive mountain biking following... apparently. Every year a group called BUMP (Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers) holds two races- The Bump N'Grind and the Dead Dog Trail! The Bump N'Grind is located in the Oak Mountain State park and it was this last weekend. But the Dead Dog Trail Race is usually at the end of the year and its trail is the Trussville trail! Its like fate, right???! So there it is, my new goal is to compete in the Women's Beginner race bracket! BAM! I now have another goal to add to my list!

"What stops you here stops your entire life."

Okay so I'm reading a new book (I know about time right!). But the book is Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk. Right now I bet you are thinking that you have never heard of him before... BUT if you know me then you know that I love the book and movie Fight Club.

"In Tyler Durden we trust."

Well, Palahniuk is the amazingly talented author of this masterpiece, but I'm off topic. Haunted is about a group of writers who agreed to leave thier current lives to live in a house for three months in the hope that a life changing work of art will be the result of their experience. The characters all write their own personal stories. And when I say story I don't mean a happy little fairy tales with a happy endings but tales of desperation and horror.

The story I just read was bout "how rich, bored people kill time...". It's basically about rich people who were tired of their famous lives and they found refuge by living as homeless people. These aristocrats believed that "nobodies were the new celebrity" and that "insanity is the new sanity". I believe the reason that I love Palahniuk's books are because they always force me to rethink the norm. Anyway, I guess this story will come in handy when I become very famous and rich and need to find an escape from the upper class life that I will undoubtedly live one day.

Okay here it is... my blog.

Created for my besties, Erin and Jill!!!!!!!!!!!!!