a spoonful of youth

[crystaliam-blog]

my family has a product design student

Walking out of my room today, I heard the sound of a functioning sewing machine. My sister was using it. As I walked near her wanting to see what she was working on, I saw her sewing two pieces of paper together.

It was not the first time I encountered such a weird moment of her using machines the ways that they are not meant for. I even saw her heating up plastic with a hair dryer once (she was trying to fold the plastic into a chair). She claims that it is to fully utilize every machine we have.

I am not suggesting that I do not feel proud of my sister being a product designer. She is, in fact, a pretty outstanding one at school. It is just that I realized living with one is so much more than seeing her working on her Mac coming out with the next big idea.

Thinking back, I have been under my sister’s influence and have started changing my mindset toward awkward activities unknowingly. However, she thinks that those activities are just things she must do or experience to improve her designs. Living with her exposes me to a wide variety of surprises, some of them make me laugh while some make me mad.

I would go home one day and see my sister wrapped with newspaper on her joints just to experience being a handicapped. I would also wake up one day and see the Swiffer Wet Jet we had being decomposed because she wanted to know its parts. Our kitchen would be stocked with different kinds of scrub sponges and our toilets with different kinds of cleaning cloths just because she wanted to know which one works best.

It is true that sometimes she brings back her own designs that we can actually use, but they are minimal.

I don’t know how people usually think of having a product designer in their family, but I certainly don’t think it is as cool as it seems when you live with one. After all, aren’t things always different from what we think they are?

[anthonyahumada7]

For my videography project, I was able to cover the election poll at the B.S. C. center. My partner and I arrived at the center around noon. There was a long line leading up to the polls. We were able to get three interviews. We did not ask any questions relating to whom they were voting for....

[tristademuth]

I just finished writing my field assignment! Now that calls for a celebration! Just kidding… but I am pretty relieved to check that off my list. Even though it’s done I am going to wait at least until tomorrow to turn it in. I have learned throughout my past experience for reporting one as well...

[crystaliam-blog]

won't let bad timing doom my work

Of course, writing an article needs the basic writing skills and an AP style book. However, finishing this field assignment made me realize that investing a good amount of time for the interview is necessary. It was not that I needed to interview a lot of people; it was that I needed to reach out for possible interviewees step by step, and it consumed more time than I had expected.

My article is about exchange students. It was not hard for me to reach and interview the Study Abroad/Exchange Coordinator in my school since his contact information is put online. The hardest part was to reach out for the exchange students. I did not expect myself to spend so many times just to find them. They are just so scarce. I would have been in a better shape if I attended their regular meeting the Thursday before, but I was in a bad shape of going to school as I had to visit the doctor for my allergy. Thinking back, if I had just attended the meeting first and visited the doctor the next day, it would have been relaxing in the past few days.

Those were regrets that could not change anything. So I started to find people that may know those exchange students. I first contracted for the Exchange Coordinator and he was willing to offer me help. I knew that was not enough for my article, so I started making connections though the people I know. I was lucky to have a friend working in the International Office, who was able to help me in reaching my possible interviewees. Although it sounds like everything went fluently, I was worried for over a week because none of my sources had gotten back to me. I was lucky that both of them replied me with good news afterward. I finally found three very helpful German exchange students who were willing to be interviewed. It turned out that both of my sources referred me back to the same group of German students.

Told you. Exchange students are scarce.

[josephineegan-blog]

It’s not every day that a house goes into complete combustion, and a human body is found dead inside a parked car of the fiery mess less than a mile from your own home. This past Monday, this exact scenario played out only two minutes from my house. I live in the quite town of San Dimas, not too...

[crystaliam-blog]

"be dead," said assignments.

Seeing this photo in the busiest week of the quarter makes you feel something. This is, in fact, so true!

I do not like complaining about classes since doing so can only make me realize how bad things truly are, but the flame of anger is burning inside me and slowing down my work efficiency. Therefore, I am here to release my anger and hopefully this will stop the voice in my brain from telling me how I should be relaxing now instead of sitting in front of the computer. I have found pretty much all the classes I took and am taking having the same issue throughout my college/university life: things never go as scheduled.

Just like the 12 quarters I had before, I was hoping (praying wholeheartedly to be exact) that everything go as scheduled, thinking to myself that not having a week with everything important cramped together can slightly ease my hatred toward the messy schedule.

But school has, once again, failed me on this.

As scheduled, I would have finished my midterms last week, submitted my field assignment and another big assignment yesterday, working on a Photoshop project now and would be brainstorming/writing my next blog post while sipping coffee sometime this weekend. However, as time went by, the planned due dates were changed again and again, new assignments filled in eating up my available time, and now I am left with everything listed above all due in this week. All aside from sipping coffee!

You may now want to question me: when assignments are being postponed, you have more time to work on them and submit a better assignment, so you should not be complaining at all. To answer this as straight forward as I can: we are not living in Utopia. The idea of perfect time management is a simple concept and almost everyone understands it, but most people, including me, just don’t have that in them to make use of the available time bettering their assignments. Only people in Utopia, I believe, have the secret gene that makes them hardworking enough to put extra time in working on assignments.

It is true that I may just have wasted your five minutes complaining about things I should not be complaining about, but I do not necessarily have the time to apologize since by the time you finished reading this, I should be drown in the dreadful world of assignment. 

[monicaornelas-blog]

I hate registering so early int he quarter, its dumb. It adds the stress i already have without the quarter even being over! Any who, for the past 3 years i have being taking only 3 classes since i work and have my sorority so i really don’t try to take on too much so i wont drive myself...

[crystaliam-blog]

future possibilities: not something you should be concerned of

There is a simple concept of doing things to me: if you want something, you start doing it, then you reach your goal (or not). However, I have come to realize that this simple concept is often being complicated. There are no perfect plans of doing things. People can think of how to do it, but wanting a perfect plan oftentimes pull them back from doing anything. They often end up thinking too much, or being afraid to make the move than actually start doing anything.

Lately, my friend was concerned about whether she should to do grad school or not. I understood her concerns, but she had started annoying me of being afraid to make a choice that she may regret. To me, put aside all the practical concerns of money and time, there should be nothing holding her back from doing what she wants to do. However, a girl being a girl, she is afraid of choosing a major that she likes it now, but may find it boring then regret of choosing such major in the future.

It pushed my button of insanity.

I had always been a very good listener to her, but I could not help start fighting back. I understand there are always a few things to think over before making a decision, but thinking of the future possibilities is just not necessary. In my friend’s case, all that matters is what she wants now. Future has too many possibilities that she can actually care about (or even try to control). Also, there are always things we like and dislike about one thing. We may like something now, then we can find out the bad side of it and change our perception a bit, but there is no right or wrong in doing one thing, nor should anyone regret making their decisions. Don’t put yourself in ten years from now. All you need to think about is the present time.

After all, doing something is way better than doing nothing at all.

[josephineegan-blog]

Due to the hour and ten minutes I spent this past Tuesday trying to find parking, along with the multiple posts I have seen about parking problems on campus, I have been inspired to blog about the parking system at Cal Poly Pomona.

To begin, I must express my gratitude that I am not alone in...

[crystaliam-blog]

amanda todd: the world that doesn't care

Never had I truly thought about the problem of bullying. The high school I attended seldom has such problem. Of course, seldom doesn’t mean that was none.

Yesterday when I was surfing on Facebook as usual, I saw my friend liked a page called “R.I.P. Amada Todd.”

At that moment, I thought it was just another page of a girl who was sick yet she had faced life bravely before she died. I wasn’t going to do anything about it, but I still clicked into that page to have a look.

I was stunned when I saw the video of her explaining how her life was in a mess just because of one mistake on the internet.

This is just wrong. Everyone makes mistake somewhere in their lives: they correct it, others accept it or grow tired of it, and they movie on.

Apparently, this simple concept just doesn’t work on the internet or children nowadays. It is just like when a mistake is being made, someone can just decide that he or she wants you to be dead, and it can somehow works out. Some may gradually become bored of it and leave you alone, but at the same time there are more people who find it interesting and do the same thing to you.

Of course I also agree with some people saying that she may not have tried hard enough to ignore it or move on, but she was just a kid after all. She was naïve when she did what she did, but then she learnt her lesson and corrected her mistake (even though it is impossible to take down the photo on the net), but people just don’t forgive.

There were comments saying that people die every day, we don’t care how people die in the third world, so there is no reason we should care about this one. I know there is not much we can do to the people in third world, we donate sometimes, but it is just impossible to help all of them. But she, Amanda Todd, is not someone who committed suicide; she is a reflection of what is happening nowadays. When such horrible thing can happen to her, it means that it is happening to many other people and people you love may be the next one.

It may seem that I realized a lot of things watching the video, but all I could do was to like the page. I would have written a comment or shared the video, but nothing I do now can change the fact that people don’t care what he or she does can kill someone inside out. 

[andrewperias-blog-deactivated20]

Musicals today are very formulaic, essentially they are all similar in execution. But that is because the formula works, it is enjoyable and has a deep enough plot to absorb well. One of the great originators and timeless classic that is always referred to is Singin’ in the Rain. I was lucky enough to go see it in theaters over the past summer. The film just celebrated the 60 anniversary and I caught a showing at an AMC. I have seen the film a few times, but in theaters it is a different experience entirely.

                The musical follows the trio Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly), Kathi Seldon (Debbie Reynolds) and Cosmo Brown (Donald O’Connor) in their careers in the movie business. The film is set in 1927 where silent films are the norm. Movie studios are starting to adopt sound the use of sound in films. This transition is not a simple as everyone would expect. Don Lockwood’s normal co-star in several of his films, Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), is one of the people that has the most trouble with the transition. The transition to sound and the romantic triangle between Lockwood, Seldon and Lamont creates an interesting and unique situation that the musical plays out.

                This musical is a classic, it has spawned several parodies and is one of the cultural references that many know. One of the amazing facts about this musical is that one of the main actors, Kelley, is also one of the directors. Kelley and Stanley Donen never expected to make a musical that would become this big, but did it well and created a memorable masterpiece. The emotions portrayed by the characters, the memorable and catchy songs and the enjoyable characters all mix well to create a masterpiece. A film that celebrates it’s 60 anniversary is not something to come by often, it has stood the test of time and has been apart of people’s lives, and hopefully will continue to for more years to come.

[crystaliam-blog]

stop finding reasons for yourself to do things. you don't need one.

Bored of doing my assignments, I walked away from my working desk and stood in front of my bookshelf. Looking at all the different things I put on it, a book caught my attention. There are things if you don’t do now, you’ll never do them. Content of the book is, obviously, a list of things that people usually don’t do because they can’t find the reason of doing them.

I went across some interesting points while I was reading it: “put a joke book beside the toilet”, “write a letter for your future children”, and “find a friend that you lose contact with”; there were also some that put me in deep thoughts: “when was the last time you hold your mother’s hand” and “have a walk with your dad”.

The last two points had definitely stunned me at first, and as I kept reading the paragraphs underneath, I felt that I was the worst daughter ever: Living our busy lives, we always forget or ignore things we ought to remember and pay attention to. As grownups, we are always overwhelmed with works we need to do and decisions we ought to make, but how many of us actually stop for a while and hold the wrinkled hands that raised us and gave us warmth as we needed them?

Not to mention when was the last time I hold my mother’s hand and had a walk with my dad, I found myself asking “when was the last time I have a conversation with my parents that last more than 10 minutes?”

Three months ago.

Thinking back those three months, I had had times when I was busy studying for the upcoming exam, working on the assignment that was due the next day; there were also times when I was bored doing nothing and was too crazy forcing my friend to drink the next shot.

Why didn’t I call them? Because I didn’t find myself reasons I should call them? Why do I even need a single reason to call them?

Exactly. I don’t need a reason to call them, or if I need one: they are my parents.

I then put down the book, picked up my phone and dialed the number that echoed in my head.

[andrewcanales-blog]

October is the rare month of the year when all four major American sports are in season at the same time.

If the 2012 World Series goes seven games, the final game will be played on Thursday, Nov. 1. If that is the case, the champions of the American and National Leagues will play at the same...

[crystaliam-blog]

it's all about habit

I don’t know how many people like to think about when and how they got their habits, it is only recently that I have started thinking of how I got my few strange habits, in which mostly my parents have undeniable involvement.

A few days ago my friend asked me whether I hate French fries or not when we were having In n Out. Stunned by the strangeness of the question, I denied. She then mentioned how she realized I almost never touch the French fries on the tray. Went into such a bizarre discussion, we realized that I actually have a habit of finishing the burger first, then the drink, and lastly the fries, which I always fail to finish. I immediately recalled one of the rules I must follow in order to eat fast food when I was small: finish the burger first! (Please be noted that McDonald is generally representing everything about fast food in my family.)

Realizing my parents' contribution, it is not that strange after all.

My parents used to hate letting me and my sister eat fast food, but out of all fast foods, French fries is considered the unhealthiest of all with a pure combination of excessive carbohydrate, salt and oil. With this important piece put into the puzzle, the creation of such rule must be a way to prevent us eating French fries. They knew well that after finishing the burger, we would be too full to eat the fries.

Finish the burger first. Such an amazingly set rule. They must have been proud of being able to come out with such an idea.

Other than not eating French fries, I have another habit relating to fast food: the crave for vegetable every time I have fast food. By now, it should not be hard to figure my parents’ involvement in this. That’s right. My parents used to give me and my sister each a small bowl of boiled vegetable when we get home from McDonald, which we were told to eat them as snacks. Thinking back, these are all just little tricks my parents used to keep us healthy that turn out becoming habits of mine.

Nice job, mom and dad. 

[josephineegan-blog]

Reality television can be defined as a genre of television shows that portray a modified and highly influenced form of reality. As defined by me, the genre can be classified as worthless nonsense. Now, it is highly rare to catch me gazing into a television screen. I simply do not have the time for...

[crystaliam-blog]

sickness has bad timing

When do you usually get sick? Do you have the feeling that sickness usually doesn’t come at the right time?

I’m quite a healthy person, but I always find myself getting sick by the end of the quarter/semester. Just like now, in the middle of the final weeks, I’m sick again. The worst thing about this is that I don’t recover easily.

I can’t express how much I hate getting sick: instant coughing, the dizziness that last the whole day because of the medicine, the stresses when remembering the tons of things waiting for me to finish, etc.

When I’m writing this blog, I just wasted my whole day resting because the medicine had been keeping me in bed this whole time.

I strongly feel that sickness chooses the time to make me sick. Last week, I finished the busiest week in the quarter. I was so glad I didn’t get sick during that week. I had this perfect plan of getting enough rest and meeting my friends in the long weekend, then doing my papers and studying for my finals. I shouldn’t have trusted my body to be good for at least once, I got sick again last Sunday.

Not to mention about my plan of getting enough rest, sleeping for the rest of the long weekend couldn’t make me better, the sickness just got worse and worse. I was lucky that I didn’t get a fever and were still able to go to class, especially when the last week of class always talk about the finals or it is the due date of final assignments.

Now I just hope all the finals end soon so I can stick on my bed and let my body recover.  

Well, thinking this in a positive way, I can have a healthy body to enjoy summer right after this quarter ends. This year, I hope I can recover before my birthday, which is the weekend right after finals.

[rosemariehosmanek-deactivated20]

This quarter I was a member of the special events planning class that put on the annual Com Day. After 8 weeks of planning it all culminated in the all-day event today. I am hoping that all you communication majors out there found some time to attend. Overall I am very happy with how the event...