OU/TX Weekend

Today my friends and I are driving down to Dallas for a weekend of fun and football. Well, there is definitely going to be a lot of football, and I can only hope that it will be fun. The last two times I have gone down there, I haven't enjoyed myself. But hopefully, being older and "wiser," it will be a more enjoyable experience.

At the very least, it'll be a chance to spend time with my friends... and heaven knows I could use a vacation right now. Can't wait for ignoring responsibilities for a while.

Progress Review 1 - Complete!

Last night was the first of two progress reviews for my business internship with CCEW (Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth). It was the chance for my team to make a super-elaborate slideshow, talk about our project in front of all the other teams (and a few alumni of the program, etc), and get feedback. Overall, I think it went pretty well-- though there was still a lot of confusion as to exactly what we are making, so that's not good at all. We'll have to work on that.

I'm just glad it's over. The time I spent preparing for the slideshow (with research and practice) was basically the same amount of time that I'd spend studying for a mid-term. But then add in a bunch more stress because I was talking in front of a large group of people, not just filling in bubbles and writing short paragraph answers.

For me, one of the things about the slideshow that took so long was getting familiar with "business speak." I've come to realize that there is this whole other language required of business people in order to sound intelligent, and without it, you really don't seem like you know what you're talking about. You have to be able to throw around words like "value proposition," "differentiate," "market segmentation," and "early adapters" like they're in your colloquial vocabulary.

In fact, that'll probably be one of the most valuable things to come out of my internship with CCEW. Over the course of the semester, I guess the goal is to acquire a business vocabulary (and basic business smarts) so I can appear competent to potential future employers or, if I go into film production, impress potential investors.

And large stressful presentations aside, I'm really enjoying the internship so far. Our team has an awesome idea for a software company, and I can't wait to tell you all about it (once it's ready for market-- I guess I can't spill the beans about our secret operation just yet). So stay tuned!

. . .

"The unexamined life 

is not worth living."

-- Socrates

Power Week Commence!

It's one of those whopper weeks. You know, the "plan everything down to the half hour, lunch on the go, never see your roommates" kind of weeks. When I think about it, the whole month of September has been a whopper month. I look forward to things settling down a bit after applications and all those extras are no longer due.

At least there is a bit of light at the end of the tunnel... The OU/TX football game (aka The Red River Rivalry) is this upcoming weekend, and my girlfriends and I are headed down to Dallas to enjoy the game. Well, I'm not going to the game, since I didn't get a ticket. But a few of us plan on finding a local establishment during which we plan to appreciate all the tackles and tight pants on a wide-screen television. And since the weekend is really just all one big event, I definitely don't feel like I'm missing out by not standing in the packed stadium fighting the potential elements for hours on end. I'm happy with a glass of ice water and a seat at the bar, thank you!

A Beautiful Weekend

I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to live in a house with my four best friends this year. Nothing compares to living with people you love. It's comfortable and comforting.

In the mornings, we'll brew coffee for each other and call out, "Have a good day, dear!" as we leave, just like good fifties housewives. We cook for each other once a week-ish, so that we'll all have at least one real meal a week (with plenty of leftovers for later). On Friday afternoons we clean together, as our kitchen is always a disaster after a long week of piling the dishes high (since we're too busy to pick up after ourselves in the midst of classes), and on weekends we lounge around together, like a real family on Sunday mornings.

Yesterday morning was one of those mornings. Good for your soul. I woke up early (as did the rest of the house), and we lounged around all morning in the living room, each of us doing something pleasant, like reading or chatting (a.ka. anything unrelated to school). The weather has been glorious, so we opened both doors to the house and let the cross breeze cool the room, to the soundtrack of birds chirping in a nearby tree. 

My leisure activity was setting up my easel by one of the doors and painting for a few hours. I am trying this new art technique called impasto, where you spread paint on the canvas really thick with a palette knife, and I love it. Probably because it combines two of my favorite things -- creating pretty things and playing with textured goop. Seriously. Playing with paint (or flour or icing or whatever) is one of my favorite parts of painting (and baking and everything else). So. much. fun.

So far I'm pretty happy with the way the painting looks. It needs just one afternoon or morning more and it should be done. And then it's on to my next painting...

My plan is to paint tons and tons more paintings and fill the house with them. I want to paint a three-panel spread for my bathroom, a three-panel spread for over the living room couch, and a few more paintings to spice up my bedroom. After that, I'm taking requests.

And since I can work quickly with impasto, there's a chance that I'll at least finish both three-panel pictures by the end of this semester-- if I complete at least one painting every two weeks. I think I can do it, since Saturday mornings have already been designated as my painting days and so far I've done a pretty good job sticking with it. I'm excited to have a house full of paintings again-- just one more reason getting a house is one of the best decisions my friends and I have ever made.

The Height of Selfishness

This morning, after blitzing out of the house half "done-up" to make it to a meeting, I stopped by one of the public restrooms to make sure my hair wasn't sticking straight out of my head and to apply that much-needed mascara. 

That's the backstory to this post. However, the real story is that when I entered the restroom, the first thing I noticed was the water running full blast in one of the sinks. 

That's irresponsible, I grumbled to myself, thinking someone had just forgotten to turn off the water when they left.

As I moved to turn the water off, however, I remembered that sometimes people have what they like to call a "nervous bladder," and they "need" running water in order to be able to use public restrooms (I assume to mask the sound?). Maybe that was this situation? I checked beneath the stalls, and sure enough, there was a pair of feet. 

So now I'm faced with a dilemma. On the one hand, I want to be a considerate person. This girl obviously thinks she needs to turn on water to use the bathroom, even when she is in there all alone, and I should probably respect that. I also didn't want to turn off the water right away and then stand there doing my make-up, because inevitably she'd come out and be pissed that I'd turned off the water on her. 

But on the other hand -- COME ON, LADY!!! 

It is incredibly selfish to "need" to unnecessarily waste gallons of water just to go to the bathroom (?!?!). There are people in the world that have to walk 2 or 3 miles every day to reach a source of drinkable water. Water is a non-renewable resource, and just because you have always been able to turn on your faucet and see water doesn't mean you will always be able to do so in the future. 

FACT: A running tap can waste up to six liters (1.5 gallons) per minute.*

I was fuming as I put on my make-up. In retrospect, I should have just turned off the water and made her deal with it. But that's rude. I don't want to be rude. And chances are, she'd come out of the stall and I'd end up knowing her (since I was in my department building). 

So I put on my make-up and left -- and I am still angry about it forty-five minutes later. 

I guess I'm not angry at her, per se. But I am so so so frustrated at her attitude-- one of privilege and self-involvement and a complete lack of disregard for other people.

Okay. So her four or five gallons of wasted water hasn't drained the Pacific Ocean. And when I run the dishwasher or wash my delicates, I'll use more water than that (and it can definitely be argued that that's wasteful as well). 

But what if everyone in the world (blessed enough to have running water) just decided one day to waste a couple extra gallons of water going to the bathroom, just because they had a "nervous bladder"?

People think that the impending shortage of fresh water isn't their problem. Using up the world's resources is not their problem. But they're wrong. Water is important to everyone. 

According to the second UN World Water Development Report** ("Water, A Shared Responsibility"), if present levels of consumption continue, two-thirds of the global population will live in areas of water stress by 2025.* 

That's nothing to thumb your nose at.

I believe we all have a responsibility to do our part (no matter how small). The beginning of responsible energy usage is to eliminate your waste and increase your efficiency. Recycle. Change your incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs. Unplug your appliances when not in use (including your TV).

The same applies to water. Turn off the water while you are brushing your teeth. Put something large (like a brick) in the toilet cistern to displace water so not as much water is used to flush. Take short showers instead of baths.

We all share Earth. And just because we've been lucky enough to grow up in an area of the world where fresh water feels unlimited does not mean we can wrap ourselves up in our bubble of privilege and care only for ourselves. It's not going to kill you to let others hear you tinkle. Please grow up.

*Article on Water Efficiency -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_efficiency

** United Nations World Water Development Report 2: Water, A Shared Responsibility -- http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001444/144409E.pdf 

Love Is Where It's At

I have officially found THE best way to procrastinate online. It's called Odosketch, and it's amazing.

Basically it's a giant sketchpad, but the drawings look a lot like watercolors or ink on parchment paper. 

I'm in love. And to celebrate this love, I spent twenty minutes on that darn thing making all sorts of fun pictures and designs.

For example, the masterpiece below is the product of my hard work and determination to spend as little time as possible on researching the advertising methods and promotional strategies of Facebook and Gowalla. 

. . .

"Know that almost no success or failure is a permanent condition.

Always be prepared to move to your next level."

- Joe Henderson

Wow.

Now THIS is something I want to see.

I just read an incredible article in the NY Times about a female director, Sonia Nassery Cole, and her battle to make "The Black Tulip," an Afghani film critical of the Taliban, which she filmed on location in Kabul in 2009. As the article states, it is extremely rare for a film to be shot on location in Afghanistan, and it is unbelievable to me what she and her crew endured to get this movie made-- including death threats, bomb blasts, and having her lead actress' feet cut off by militants a few weeks before production.

And yet, to me the most powerful part of the story is the fact that this woman, an Afghan expatriate, refused to allow violence to derail her from the story she needed to tell. Come danger and even death, she knew she had a story and she knew it had to be told.

That's powerful. That's what it means to be a storyteller.

Sometimes I think there are two different kinds of writers in the world. There are the writers that love the craft and are always searching for their next story through which to share their voice. And then there are writers who burn with a story they need to tell, and they develop their writing for the purpose of sharing that specific story.

I would definitely consider myself in the first camp. I love to write, but good stories are hard to come by. And I envy those in the second camp, because you need to have a compelling story to keep people coming back to your work.

I need to find a compelling story.

Open Letter to Road-side Homeowners

The other day, I found this open letter scribbled on a sticky note and stashed in an old folder. And even though I haven't been on a train in a while and road trips are a distant memory, the thought still holds true.

Dear People who Live in Cute Homes by Large Highways or Railroad Tracks,

Thank you for buying that house with the beautiful gabled roof and wrap-around porch, even though you know how loud that constant traffic is going to be. I can see your homeowner's pride in that manicured lawn and impeccable flower beds, and I thank you for it. Because of people like you, I have an enchanting view from my seat on the train.

Sincerely,

A Happy Traveler

Notes from Professor Yoch

Today my Shakespeare's Comedies professor, Dr. Yoch, told us that he'd like us to be able to speak well on the spur of the moment, "so when you take over the world, you will be indicative, sensitive, and imaginative."

I'll have to work on that.

This is where Facebook gets creepy.

It's getting down to job search time, and naturally, I'm worried about my Facebook (even though I've taken great pains throughout college to keep a respectable profile, etc). People lose jobs and opportunities all the time because of things they post on social networking sites. So while I've always had my profile on private, I only accept friend requests from people I know, and I'm only searchable if you're a friend of my friend, I'm still uncomfortable with the idea of employers searching for (and finding) me on FB. I'd hate to have people judge me before they know me.

So to ease my worries (which are probably completely irrational, since I have just about as clean an FB as possible), I googled privacy settings for FB. And viola! I found a great way to check if my Facebook profile is searchable and such online.

Go to youropenbook.org and type in exactly what your FB status says right now. If your profile picture and status come up, then be careful. You are officially search-able to all potential employers. Woops!

I'm a good student. Really.

Sometimes when professors look at me all disappointed for not turning in a minor assignment on time (when I've had one of those busy weeks, both personally and academically, that equal almost zero sleep and requires impeccable time management in order to survive), I just want to take them by the shoulders and shake them, shouting, "You don't understand! My life is in chaos!"

Please just cut me a little slack sometimes. I promise I wont abuse it.

Add this to "Things I'm Loving"...

Things I'm Loving Right Now

1. Pioneer Woman !!! -- Actually, Pioneer Woman belongs on the "Things I'm Loving Right Now" list for ever and always. I'm obsessed. And if you aren't already, you will be soon.

Not only is Pioneer Woman entertaining, but she's an honest writer, sharing almost everything about her life to her readers (but not in an angsty, uncomfortable, or unsafe way).

She is also incredibly inspiring. I would love for my blog to look like hers someday-- full of blogs and stories and pictures everywhere you look. There's SO much content on her website, it's insane. She's a talented photographer. She's a great cook. She's a wonderful writer. All the things I aspire to be, in one person. If only I could meet her and thank her for changing my life (seriously).

2. "I am the hole on the flute that Gods breath flows through."

— Eckhart Tolle

5. Mint.com -- It keeps track of my finances and the budget I've set for myself this month. For example, I now know that I've spent three dollars over my coffee allotment for the month. Aaaah!!! How will I survive the next ten days?!

4. Isabella and her mamma Evangelina took a trip to Arizona a week or so ago to see Mom, Stan and Rebecca. I'm obsessed with the pictures taken of their trip.

Isabella discovers the windchimes on Aunt Rebecca's porch.

Success!

I am done, at least for a little while, with all my application essays.

Time to celebrate by playing a community league soccer game and running around till I drop from exhaustion. Then I'm headed to a friend's house for a quiet evening. Can't wait to get in some exercise and good time with friends!

As a Writer

You know you need to write a particular story when you find four independent "idea" sticky notes-- written at different times and stashed in random places (for who knows how long)-- and all the ideas have the exact same characters and basically the same premise. That one needs to be on paper, me thinks.

. . .

"Things are never quite as evident at the time

as they appear to be in retrospect."

-Hugh Laurie

Three Beauties

Evangelina, Isabella, and Aunt Rebecca

Twinkle Twinkle Little Satellite

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, we can't see all the satellites at one time from our perspective on Earth and the satellites are indicative of how far we have come in the world of technology (although not far enough, perhaps, to get rid of the need for them altogether?).

And on the other hand, those satellites make Earth look uuuugggly from outer space. They remind me of a giant swarm of gnats hovering over a beautiful flower bed.

P.S. What about the idea of inventing some sort of forcefield to go between the satellites that sucks all that unnecessary CO2 out of the atmosphere and/or creates another ozone layer to help keep out the sun's harmful rays? Kinda like a connect-the-dots thing that cleans up the atmosphere and all that jazz. Then we can all keep polluting and destroying Earth to our hearts content. Sounds perfectly logical to me.

. . .

"The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation

but thought about it. Be aware of the thoughts you are thinking.

Separate them from the situation, which is always neutral. It is as it is."

— Eckhart Tolle

If a camera adds ten pounds, why would people want to eat it?

Until Saturday...

You will not be hearing from me very much until Friday has come and gone. I have two major applications due (my complete Teach For America application and the rough drafts of my statements for a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship), and they will be consuming my life.

That is, they will be consuming my life on top of writing a short film proposal, editing film footage, researching growth strategies and recommending a specific growth strategy for my CCEW team, meeting with SFPC officers, writing a 2010-2011 budget proposal for SFPC, and reading Shakespeare, etc.

Wish me luck! And until the end of the week, you will just be getting a bunch of quotes and embedded videos from me. My apologies.

See you on the other side!

. . .

"Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at this moment."

-Eckhart Tolle, from A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose

! ! !

"Don't let a mad world tell you that success is anything other

than a successful present moment."

— Eckhart Tolle, from A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose

Nostalgic Again

I miss Montana. I have been on quite the nostalgic kick this last week, and I'll blame it squarely on having coffee with Dr. Horton and watching picture after picture of gorgeous Glacier National Park slide past on the television (he'd purchased some sort of DVD photo slideshow while he was there with his wife this summer). That started it all.

Since then, I've literally googled Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park at least two or three times apiece and scrolled through Google Images of the parks for hundreds of pages. I've looked through as many old pictures of my childhood as I can find, and I cried when I heard Miranda Lambert's song "The House That Built Me."

I also wrote that blog about Homegrown Tomatoes (which meant that I spent at least an hour watching silly photo slideshows and homemade videos of anything Montana on YouTube). And I went through my financials for the semester and tried to work out if I could make a trip up to Montana for Christmas break. That would make me so happy -- to see old friends and familiar places again. And maybe I could work in a trip to the mountains.

Sooooo Funny

I think the Student Film Production Club needs to start a YouTube channel and start uploading our short films, like Vancouver Film School does. Most of us don't do animation (I know of only one who does), but the idea of having one place for all our projects is such a great idea.

Oh, and this video is hilarious.

Some Good Ol' Healthy Trash Talking

I can't take credit for this, because it was a friend of a friend's FB status, but...

"The National Weather Service suggests that in case of a tornado, Stillwater
residents should take shelter at Pickens Stadium because it is highly
unlikely that a touchdown will occur there. BOOMER!"

. . .

"When the power of love overcomes the love for power, the world will know peace."

- Jimi Hendrix

. . .

"You cannot let go of anything if you cannot notice you are holding it. Admit
your 'weaknesses' and watch them morph into your greatest strenghts."

- Neale Donald Walsch

Dryer Issues

For the last few weeks, our dryer has been terrible. It never dries our clothes completely on the first cycle, and sometimes we have to put our clothes in three or four times before they are dry. We couldn't figure it out and sorta chalked it up to cheap appliances, like the rest of the house (Lesson for future home purchasing: Thoroughly examine the little things, like weather-stripping and quality of appliances. Be not hypnotized by new carpet and granite countertops).

Last night, Valerie pulled out her still soggy jeans from their third drying cycle.

"What is wrong with this dryer?!" she exclaimed.

But then, like a flash of genius, it hit me-- what was the situation with the dryer lint? I was surprised none of us had thought of it before.

So I hopped up to check. And sure enough, out came the most honkin', epic piece of multi-colored dryer lint I have ever seen. Valerie and I could not stop laughing.

I've included a picture for your appreciation. The sticky note says: "Do not throw away until everyone has seen it," and there is an arrow pointing to it labeled, "epic dryer lint." I kept my hand in the picture for scale.

It's a wonder we didn't burn the house down.

Hooray for a Big Turnout!

I am so excited right now! Last night was the first Student Film Production Club (SFPC) meeting of the year, and we had a GREAT turnout (despite the torrential downpour and ominous yellow-tinted sky). I'd say there were about thirty or forty people who showed up, and every person I talked to was excited about the club this year and equally serious about participating and making films.

When we first started out the meeting, I was definitely a bit nervous. I mean, being President means I am in charge of running the entire meeting. And while talking in front of people is usually something I really enjoy, it's not as easy to do when you have to simultaneously hope people like you while working really hard to invest them in something that you are crazy obsessed about. I felt like there was so much pressure to make SFPC sound super-duper amazing so that everyone would want to come back again.

But thankfully once the meeting started rolling, it got progressively easier to speak in front of the club. Hopefully I wont even notice the jitters by the end of the semester.

Anyway, the official meeting lasted only about thirty minutes. It was just a basic "Why SFPC Rocks" meeting, so we gave a quick run-through of all the things that make us awesome, including (but not limited to):

>>> $15,000 worth of (good) equipment -- including a camera and 16 ft of track

>>> fun events like the 24-Hour Film Blitz -- a no-pressure movie-making event perfect for beginners

>>> plans for a SFPC-organized road trip down to the Austin Film Festival

>>> serious projects (like SFPC-sponsored short films -- with money attached)

>>> a mentoring program with the local high schools

>>> RedBud Film Festival -- our end-of-the-year film fest with awesome prizes

>>> AND MUCH MUCH MORE!!!

Haha! Are you convinced yet?! =)

Overall, it was an awesome meeting. And after we finished with the meeting's official business, we broke up and I encouraged people not to leave right away. Instead I challenged them to try to meet at least five new people before they left. And I think it worked, because everyone stuck around to chat, and people didn't start leaving for another half-an-hour after the meeting was officially over.

On top of a successful turn-out and (what seems like) a lot of enthusiasm from everyone, a little personal victory was that I was able to shake hands with every single person who came to the meeting. And by the end of the evening, I had almost everyone's names down too. I've forgotten a few since then, but coming from someone who normally forgets everyone's name less than thirty seconds after they've introduced themselves, that's a big accomplishment. Let's hope that one lasts.

Well Said (and Rather Timely)

"He hath disgraced me, and hindered me half a million, laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted by bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies; and what's his reason? I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die?"

-- Shylock (from The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare)

From a Friend's FB Status:

You can tell a lot about a man by the way he handles three things: a rainy
day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas lights.

-- Quite fitting on a drizzly day like today.

What would life be without homegrown tomatoes?

Homegrown tomatoes, homegrown tomatoes,
What'd life be without homegrown tomatoes?
There's only two things that money can't buy...
And that's true love & homegrown tomatoes.

Ever since being the lucky recipient of a bunch of little homegrown tomatoes yesterday morning, I can't get this song out of my head. It brings me back to camping in Paradise Valley, Montana, and going to see an old country/folk band play at a small diner nearby (tucked into the hillside on the side of the highway). I think the band was called Paradise Players, and they sang all these classic old country songs that we used to listen to on tape all the time.

In fact, we listened to their music so much that I still have most of their songs memorized, and I haven't heard them in over ten years.

So after singing this song to myself all day (but only remembering the refrain), I finally looked up the lyrics. And then the "Homegrown Tomatoes" song took me back, so I had to google the Paradise Players and see what they were up to. Doesn't look like they are still a band (not surprising since they played forever ago), but I did stumble upon a little homemade YouTube film of a Fourth of July parade in Livingston, Montana, which is right around where I used to live for a year or two growing up.

Favorite parts of this little treasure:

0:38 -- So cute!

0:57-1:37 -- I love this small-town parade. Everyone looks so happy!

4:35 -- That float is actually pretty impressive.

6:10 -- So so so adorable. I challenge you not to yawn as well.

7:17-8:24 -- Makes me miss small-town living a little. A very little.

"I think God must have been a cowboy at heart,

Cause he made wide open spaces from the start.

He made grass and trees and mountains and a horse to be a friend,

And trails to lead ol' cowboys home again."

- "God Must Be a Cowboy"-- sung by Dan Seals

Coffee with the Hortons

A week or so ago, I had arranged to meet with an old professor of mine on Monday (today) to catch up on our summers. But we'd forgotten that today was Labor Day and therefore he wouldn't be in the office. But instead of canceling or rescheduling, he invited me over to his home for a cup of coffee with him and his wife.

I have been to their house a couple times before for various networking/dinner parties that they hold every so often for creative minds in the Oklahoma area (they call it a Writers Block Party), but never have I been to their house on a quiet Monday morning for coffee.

It was so much fun! The two of them, along with a group of old friends, had taken a trip up to Montana this summer to explore Glacier National Park, so they told me of their adventures and put on this DVD in the background that was basically a slideshow of gorgeous pictures of the park. It made me so homesick. I miss the mountains!!!

We also talked about my plans for after graduation and about my internships in France and Philadelphia. They have children right around my age, so it was interesting to hear their insights as parents into the recently graduated life, etc.

And then, right before I left, we were talking about gardening and the wife mentioned that they had an overabundance of peppers in their garden that she didn't know what to do with. Well, I swooped in and took that opportunity to mention that I live in a house with a bunch of girls and that I was sure we'd love to take a few peppers off her hands. Not a problem.

Sure enough, she came back with a HUGE basket of delicious-looking little red, green, and yellow peppers. All of me! She doesn't know which ones are the hot ones though, so that should be an interesting experiment. And then, after gushing about how wonderful it would be to have fresh vegetables in our house, she invited me to come outside and look at her garden. And then she gave me MORE vegetables -- a pile of fresh baby tomatoes and a bunch of fresh basil leaves. Yum!

I can't wait to get all fancy-shmancy with my cooking, now that I have some wonderfully fresh ingredients to use. Anyone know of anything good to make that involves peppers, basil and/or baby tomatoes?

The "Lizard Brain"

The other day I found another site full of inspirational videos THAT I LOVE, which are along the same lines as www.ted.com. This site is called 99% and it's a channel on Vimeo (which is a site a lot like YouTube, except with higher-quality films -- "a respectful community of creative people").

The neat thing about 99% is that they focus on what happens after inspiration strikes, and all their talks are about how to turn that great idea into a reality.

The most recent film I've watched on 99% is The "Lizard Brain."

Synopsis of Lecture:

"What you do for a living is not be creative, what you do is ship," says bestselling author Seth Godin, arguing that we must quiet our fearful "lizard brains" to avoid sabotaging projects just before we finally finish them.

Seth Godin: Quieting the Lizard Brain from 99% on Vimeo.

. . .

"If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it. Any thing you want to, do it. You want to change the world? There's nothing to it."

--Willy Wonka

It's That Time of Year Again...

Today's the first day of Sooner football, and the atmosphere is electric. Our house had College Gameday playing on our TV from the moment Brittany (our true football fan) woke up this morning.

And once the pre-game festivities begin a couple hours before kick-off, there will be zero productivity for the rest of the day. It's all tailgates and crimson & cream and "Boomer! Sooner!"

Can't wait!

We play a video like this before every Home game. And people go crazy. I'm not going to lie... it fills me with pride to watch it.

Go Sooners!

In My Inbox Today

My Dixie Wrecked!, (super lame name of my community league soccer team)


Happy 9/02/10! Get it? 9-0-2-1-0.

-Cap (our team captain)

Current Thoughts...

Last night I didn't do my homework. Just deliberately didn't do any of it. And I had quite a bit of reading and brainstorming and emailing and drafting to do. Instead of being productive, my housemates/best friends and I sat around the table for an hour or so talking about our uncertain plans for the year after we graduate. Then I went to bed early.

This morning, I woke up early with the best of intentions. I was going to do my homework before the upcoming class, like a good student should. But one of my roommates had the television turned on to the morning news, and I got sucked into watching the live speeches being made by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (who, I might add, were all much nicer and more articulate than I'd expected, whatever that means).

At one point, I was so involved in what was being said that fifteen minutes of crucial homework time slipped by. Remembering abruptly what I should actually be doing with my time instead of keeping up with world events and informing my mind or whatever, I jokingly (kinda) threw my notebook down.

Gesturing emphatically toward the television, I almost yelled at Valerie, "THIS is history being made. THIS is what I should be paying attention to, but I'm stuck needing to read stupid Shakespeare!"

Valerie just laughed at me. "Have senior-itis already?"

Hmm... Yes. In this case, yes, yes, a thousand times yes. The world and its happenings are so much more important in the grand scheme of things than reading Act 2 of The Merchant of Venice or writing a reflection paper on Stranger than Paradise.

And no. I don't have senior-itis.

That would mean that I was ready to leave here. That I was ready to get out of this comfortable little bubble of film screenings, analytical papers, and clearly-defined expectations. That I didn't need this anymore.

But let's not kid ourselves. I still need college terribly. Because no college means real life and having to define myself by something other than "student" and "film major." And with my future (at least my very immediate, very near future) so uncertain and fuzzy, I'm not sure if I'm ready for that yet.