Wisdom is not in words; Wisdom is meaning within words

For all my wordsmith friends -- this is really fun! I typed in my blog address, and out popped a beautiful word cloud of the things that I apparently deem important enough to write about. Quite shockingly, it does not include the word "Britney." But, thankfully, it also doesn't contain the word "moose."





Thanks for the link Hailey!

THANK YOU!

I want to preface this by saying that I very much support people's right to challenge their government. If you have a problem with a policy, by all means, tell your representative -- that's why they are there! But if you ARE going to take up everyone's valuable time, please make sure your argument is based at least somewhat in reality.

Personally, I feel that health care should be a right and not a privilege (aren't our inalienable rights "LIFE, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?"), but I absolutely understand why people might have legitimate concerns about a public option on health care. But you know what, these real concerns will be brushed to the side if the most vocal members of the plan's opposition make dangerous and hate filled claims, such as "this plan will kill your grandparents" (a horrific lie), and "Obama is a Nazi" (will someone PLEASE explain to me how providing health care to people who need it the most in any way resembles the systematic murder of 6,000,000 innocent people???). And, to not only blame the people who are making these claims (with whom I so clearly disagree), the government officials who allow this insanity to go on are in no way encouraging genuine debate.

So, thank you Barney Frank, for finally telling one of the crazies to STFU. When people realize that only rational worries are worth debating, we will finally be able to have a real discussion that will hopefully lead to the compromise that we really need.

Extreme Home Makeover: Queens Edition

As many of you know, I moved into my very own, big girl apartment this past week! And I am in love with it! So, after a long weekend of cleaning, arranging, and decorating, I'd like to show the results in before/after format.

Bedroom: The guy who lived here before didn't so much decorate. Here's what I've done with the room so far, minus the curtain, which I haven't put up yet. It's better than what he had, which was a blanket thumbtacked to the wall:
Before:

After:


Living Room/Study: Now, I used the term "study" because that's what I turned it into. The previous tenant probably referred to it as, "Where I piled all my crap."
Before:


After:


Kitchen: Ok, the kitchen doesn't look that different. But I have bobbleheads!
Before:


After:

Because my life is consumed with moving and LSAT class...

...So You Think You Can Dance is apparently the only thing that gets me through the week*. I swear that this isn't becoming a SYTYCD blog, but as I sit on my empty mattress in my completely packed up room, waiting for the movers to arrive, all I can really do is re-watch my favorite dances on youtube to avoid thinking about how much I'm going to miss the Upper East Side.

So, here is this week's installment of "Why I love Jeannine." She may not be the best technically (Kayla or Melissa), but girl's got PERSONALITY. This dance is hot. If she's not in the top 4, I'll boycott the show. And by boycott, I mean, um, still watch religiously but shake my fist in anger every once in awhile?



*Other than my awesome boyfriend**
**Footnote requested by said awesome boyfriend

My summer obsession

So, last summer I became unapologetically obsessed with "So You Think You Can Dance" (is anyone surprised?). Mia Michaels (one of the choreographers) has always been hit or miss for me, but I was blown away by her, and, of course, the dancers last night with a piece that represented the devastation of addiction. Don't get me wrong, I still love Jeannine and Phillip, but, for me, this was the best dance of the season so far.

If you don't watch this show, WATCH THIS SHOW. Hailey and I have perfected the ability to watch the entire show in less than 45 minutes, so it's not even a time commitment. And it doesn't make you feel dirty when you watch it, like Dance Your Ass Off or NYC Prep. Or, you know, Daisy of Love...but that one is totally worth it.

Happy Birthday America: You're fat.

I don't usually soap-box about these things, but I find it completely unacceptable that I live in a state that is ranked 37th in adult obesity (not great, but not horrible) but 18th in overweight and obese children. We as a society can continue to create and watch shows such as "The Biggest Loser," "Dance Your Ass Off," and "More to Love," we can continue to poke fun at the dangerous direction our nation is heading, but we CANNOT ignore the health threat this poses to those who can't make educated choices. If an adult wants to have an extra piece of cake or an extra bucket of fried chicken, that is their prerogative. But the idea that these habits are being passed on to children without the OPTION of fresh fruits and vegetables is, I believe, a national tragedy.

This is not an aesthetic issue, it's a health issue. It's not just that future generations will look like the human beings in Wall-E...it's that those people attached to their motorized chairs will also have heart disease and type II diabetes by the time they are 20. It's not a future that I want to imagine.

I realize that I am either preaching to the crowd or to those who won't have to worry about teaching their children proper dietary habits for many years to come, but I just needed to vent. Sadly, beyond teaching our own children (or children with whom we have regular contact) healthy habits, there doesn't seem like there is much we can do individually to solve this problem. Unless someone wants to help me green light a "Dance Your Ass Off: Children's Edition." Something makes me think that Fox would pick it up.

Update!

Ok, so I've been lame lately, but I don't really feel like writing a blog post to catch up. So, here is a list of some awesome things that I've done in the last few weeks, and I will try to get back to the witty social commentary soon.

1. Finding a new apartment! Finally a big girl and living on my own (well, as of July 16th). And I'm moving to Queens, so I get some street cred ;-)
2. Drinking in a canoe in Seattle, Washington (and seeing some of my favs on the West Coast!)
3. Hiking to the top of this waterfall
4. Getting back in the SYTYCD groove. LOVES (favorite dance so far):