What? There's no way around it?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/28/health/28zuger.html?ref=health
Damn apples.

Groooossss

I really need some self control when it comes to late night Denny's excursions. One: part of a vanilla milkshake: appr. 100 calories. Two: a large handful of seasoned fries: 120 calories. Three: a third of a "puppy (pancake) sundae:" 150 calories. Four: one mozzarella stick: 93 calories. Bad news. I thought I was dieting, but I guess I was wrong. Perhaps I have a self-control issue? I think yes. Let's look on the bright side, at least I'm conforming with the rest of America.
Okay, you know that competitive person who wins once, then proceeds to jump up and down squealing because of her win, and says snide little comments about how she kicked your ass? People like that kill me. They really shouldn't, but they do. I try to reason with myself, "That's just their personality. Don't let it bother you." Yet time and again it does. I'm especially irked when it comes to matters of academics. I hate that I am. I really do. It's a fault of mine and I admit that I, perhaps, am the same way. I just don't outwardly display it. But when somebody complains about their 3.5 GPA being too low (I could only dream of maintaining a 3.5),  I feel like leaping upon them and strangling them. It would have been a messy affair. We were at Denny's after all. Milkshakes would have flown from the table to splatter across the floor and across the shocked faces of spectators as I leaped haphazardly over the ugly green table. My arms outstretched, reaching for her neck, a wild look in my eyes. Maybe that's a little too extreme. Alright, it is; but it would have been epic. People like that just bother me. Competitive people who can't seem to get a grip on reality and have such low self-esteem that they have to give themselves a halo to outshine the rest. Well, I've vented.

To Read.

The Grapes of Wrath
Catch-22
East of Eden
1984

Part 1 - The Ghost in your Genes - BBC Horizon

Sooo interesting. Gotta love DNA methylation. Subsequent parts available on YouTube also.

MUSIC!

I love music. The rise and falls of a ballad or the soulful notes of a lone guitar. None of that synthesized modern pop stuff though. Rap, definitely not. I admit, some rap artists do have talent, but how are they capturing humanity in a song about bitches and hos? True music, I think, has a poetic value. It weaves into the human experience, or creates an experience of its own. I do listen to a Katie Perry song or a Ke$ha song here and there, alright, but I do have to say I am slightly ashamed by it. I do like "Your Love is My Drug," simply because it's really catchy. Then again, I can't really judge myself or others on choice of music, although what people listen to usually says a lot about them. It would be hard not to assume some things about a person who listens only to Eminem and 50 Cent, or even if they listen only to country music for that matter.  In my experience, people relate to songs, so they listen to them. This definitely doesn't always apply. I listen to a generous number of love songs, but my love life sucks (I'll get into that later I'm sure). I believe that music, however, will always be a defining aspect of a person. Furthermore, music connects people. I've shared so many songs with men only to have them ask me out because we have a similar taste in music. And every date I've been on has music somewhere in the conversation. Friends and I have connected based off of our music preferences. A stranger has even approached me at a party and pursued a friendship over music. I must add, though, that none of these relationships have continued, probably because we had nothing else in common and you really can't base a relationship upon music. Considering all of this, here's a sample of what I listen to...

Ahhhh. The Internet.

       How many hours a day do I spend on the internet? Too many. Really, the sad thing is that I tell myself nightly, "Tomorrow, no internet or television for you sista," yet, tomorrow comes and my plan repeatedly fails. I'm not exactly sure whether it's a simple lack of self-control, or a need for some sort of social contact- my addiction peaks during my stay at home during winter break and during finals season. Is this why so many Americans keep their eyes glued to various screens and their fingers clicking upon Facebook, Stumbleupon, Google, and the like? We continually turn back to the screen out of loneliness, boredom, and sheer desperation? I spent an approximate three hours on Stumbleupon tonight alone and now I'm blogging. What the heck? I could have finished my novel in those three hours (The Scarlet Letter), or I could have met up with some friends, or even practiced Spanish (okay, that's a little bit of a stretch). To the above right is a sample of what I found and proceeded to post upon my architect-friend's Facebook wall. 

Shoot, if I hadn't been wasting my time staring at all of the glorious, random facts and pages that Stumbleupon has to offer, I may have begun the blog earlier. Perhaps I need to prioritize. The hours of winter break are slipping away. All I have to show thus far is: watched multiple movies: Post-Grad, True Grit, some movie about an autistic woman who invented things for slaughterhouses, Forgetting Sarah Marshall (dumb movie, don't watch it), and Devil, watched multiple television shows: lots of What Not to Wear, NBC news, 30 Rock, SNL, Mystery Diseases, and a bunch of other shit that isn't important, and finally lots of hours staring at/refreshing my Facebook page. Sure, I've seen some friends, but I don't think I've done nearly enough to make this break memorable or fulfilling. At least I finally set my parents up with WiFi, although this may have contributed to my addiction.This "screen dilemna" (as I shall not title it) will forever haunt me and, as I assume, the rest of America. Maybe I can break the habit once I get a life.