Professional Athletes

So I know this story is a little old, but this is really bothering me. So this is just one recent example of how professional athletes are way over paid or not generous enough.  Click on the link:

http://twentytwowords.com/2011/06/21/the-boston-bruins-bar-tab-after-winning-the-stanley-cup-156679-74/

Now I believe people have the right to go out and have fun.  However, $150,000.00+ spent on alcohol is a little much.  That money could have been given to the poor, helped pay for a college education for someone, built a well for clean water in Africa, ANYTHING.  I have no sympathy for athletes who demand more money.

However, I do believe that in the case of the NFL lockout, the players deserve better care after retirement.  I'm not talking huge amounts, but a little something to help them with health issues etc.

If I were rich, I would probably spoil myself on things too.  I would probably buy myself nice cars, clothes, a fancy house (not necessarily large), I'd go on vacations, etc.  However, I would not go to such great extents to throw away my money like the Bruins did. Oh well, that's my opinion and you are free to disagree. Let me know what your thoughts are.

Politics...

Politics is a sticky topic. There are so many people with so many views it's outrageous. However, I do like politics, or at least talking about them from time to time. As we all know the next election is coming up soon. So I figured I would chime in a bit.

Last election, I did not care for either Obama or McCain. I didn't vote, mainly because I was out of state for school and I forgot to get my absentee ballot. After Obama won, I had a conversation with my parents and we all said, "I don't know what he is going to do, but I hope Obama does a good job and helps us get out of this recession." I was impartial and hoped for the best.

But let's look at what has happened. Obama made a promise to everyone that unemployment would never rise above 8%.   Obviously, it was a promise he shouldn't have made because he couldn't keep it. Maybe this is a good situation that you never know all the facts until you get the job. It happens to almost every person who gets elected president.

A big thing that is happening is the whole same-sex marriage issue. Obama has made it clear he is for same-sex marriage. Now, I am against same-sex marriage.  BUT I am for civil unions. People don't realize all the facts in this situation. I wrote my senior paper on this topic, so I am well informed. Let me break it down for everyone. If same-sex marriage is allowed, religious freedom is destroyed. The term "marriage" is a religious term.  Plain and simple. If same-sex marriage is legalized, then religious institutions would be FORCED to go against their beliefs to marry same-sex couples (because same-sex marriage would be made into law, so if religions go against this, they will face punishment). Where is that fair? We would be going from not offering equal rights to everyone, to obstructing religious rights that are embedded in the 1st amendment. Now the problem is that civil unions are not offered throughout the U.S. and are not recognized from state to state.  My solution to this controversy is to make civil unions available throughout most, if not all the U.S. so same-sex couples can have their rights. In the end, "marriage" is a religious term, so let religions decide who to marry. Don't overlook them in this controversy because their beliefs, rights, and freedom are destroyed if same-sex marriage is legalized.

Moving on, Obama pushed and pushed his health care bill relentlessly. Granted, facts show that a president can get the most done at the beginning of a term than later. However, what was the big rush? And most importantly, why couldn't he focus on creating more jobs and helping the unemployment situation first? This health care business is going to cost millions of Americans a fortune instead. My opinion: Take care of the job situation first, then worry about the things you want in place that cost people money.

Here is a video I saw (Unfortunately, I could not upload it on here, but click on the link):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6oJMr1R92c&feature=player_embedded
I know so many friends that are in this situation.  Friends that have just graduated, that have amazing skills and talents, but they can't find a job. I'm not blaming Obama completely for the whole unemployment situation, but he has not helped at all. Now here is another video I saw, take a look and tell me what you think:

My whole point to this post is to say that the current path we are on is not working and we need someone else who can lead us in a better direction. I have no idea who that person is. It is like America goes through trial and error when it comes to finding a good president to lead us through rough times. Just my thoughts for today. =)

Being old...?

Briefly before I go to work this morning. I was thinking about how my body aches a lot. I have my knee that causes me troubles (which last month I found/felt a weird bump on the front of my knee.  I have no idea what it is and it just showed up recently).  Then, I have neck, shoulders, and back pains which seems to be from the way I sleep. Lastly, I have jaw problems which thankfully hasn't been a huge problem lately.

I feel old.  I shouldn't feel old. If I feel like this now, I'm scared about what the future holds. I'm 21 and there are times when I just want to take some ibuprofen, collapse on my bed, and fall asleep. There are some good days even though at the moment I am complaining like crazy.

Just my thoughts for the day.  By the way, if anybody comes here to visit me or what not, we need to go to this amazing Chinese buffet right next to my work. It was so delicious and I don't say that very often when it comes to Chinese places.

I Love/Hate being an Introvert

"Definition: Contrary to what most people think, an introvert is not simply a person who is shy. Shyness has an element of apprehension, nervousness and anxiety, and while an introvert may also be shy, introversion itself is not shyness. Basically, an introvert is a person who is energized by being alone and whose energy is drained by being around other people.

Introverts are more concerned with the inner world of the mind. They enjoy thinking, exploring their thoughts and feelings. They often avoid social situations because being around people drains their energy. This is true even if they have good social skills. After being with people for any length of time, such as at a party, they need time alone to "recharge."

When introverts want to be alone, it is not, by itself, a sign of depression. It means that they simply want the time to be with their own thoughts. Being with people, even people they like and are comfortable with, can prevent them from their desire to be quietly introspective.

Being introspective, though, does not mean that an introvert never has conversations. However, those conversations are generally about ideas and concepts, not about what they consider the trivial matters of social small talk." -About.com

I have such a love/hate relationship with this personality trait. Yesterday I went out with a whole bunch of people to cave mountain lake. It was fun, I met new people. However, I have difficulties constantly hanging around people and going up to people to talk. Now I did it, I went up to people to talk, but I had to push myself to do it. A good friend once told me that I make friends passively. It's true. I'd prefer people to come up to me and talk because then I feel more comfortable.

I am not shy, in fact there are times when I talk like crazy. I have social skills, I'm just a person who prefers to stand back from a social gathering and think. I think a lot, but when someone asks me what I am thinking, its difficult to put my thoughts to words.  It's almost like there is a translation barrier.

Also, I have discovered an extrovert side to me lately. I love to hang out with people more these days. I don't know if it is because I am finally done with all the stress of school and I have nothing else to do other than go work, but it's interesting. I have always enjoyed hanging out with people, just not to this extent.

Either way, I hate being an introvert because I enjoy hanging out with people, but I sometimes have to push myself outside my comfort zone in order to be with friends. I love being an introvert because I'm not a loud obnoxious girl, I love thinking about things, and I don't have to rely on always being out with everyone to be happy.

Just like men, I don't understand women...

Everyone who knows me, I am more of a guy than a girl personality wise. I play video games, love sports, hate shopping, only own a few pairs of shoes, watch espn, etc.  I prefer to hang out with guys rather than girls, always have.  I don't know what it is, but I hate the drama and unnecessary things girls bring to the table.

But why do girls do the things they do?  Is it a desperate attempt to gain attention? There was a girl that stood up to talk in church 2 weeks ago and I was just shocked.  She went on about how much she loved trials and hard times. Now I appreciate trials and hard times because they help me grow, but I do not love them. But this was not the issue I had with her. She got up and faked cried in front of everyone, there were no tears and the whole time she was "crying" she was fixing her hair to make sure she looked "ok" in front of everyone. Now I am never the one to judge people right away, in fact I think this girl is a nice person. Later on I found out she was a theater major in college.  This explained a lot of her "act" in front of everyone, but geez I feel like her words had no real meaning with her whole act up there. The whole time this was happening, I thought "why can't this girl get up and say what she has to say without all the dramatics?" It is clear that the only reason why the girl stood up was because she wanted attention from everyone. Why do girls have to do this?

Another thing, I feel like a lot of girls are manipulative and will stab whoever in the back to get what they want. I hate this. I have only found a few girls that don't do this. This is why I only have a handful of girlfriends. Otherwise, I find friends in guys because they don't manipulate, they are more simple and not complicated like girls. I can relate to them more based on my interests.

I have had a girl stab me in the back because of a guy they wanted. She was purely looking out for her own interests and took advantage of a bad situation between me and someone else. I have also experienced how girls can ruin a guys life through manipulation.  One girl did this to a good friend and I have found that she almost ruined him by making him think that all women are like that.  He didn't want to trust women ever again...he didn't even trust me with just simple things.  I guess in conclusion, girls don't play nice. It is all about them and nobody else. Now I am not saying I am perfect. I just hope more women would just stop playing the games and care about others outside of themselves.

Thursday Thoughts

So I just watched the movie "The Social Network." For those of you that don't know what it is about, it essentially tells of how Mark Zuckerburg founded facebook. I have no idea if any of it was true, but it made me think about how people treat each other has friends. I value my friends a lot, even though I may not show it. Lately, I feel like I have lost contact with a lot of friends I used to have and I feel terrible about it. I guess going down separate roads in life takes a toll on friendships. All of my friends from high school went to different colleges and went and did other things. As for friends from college, there are some that have left that I regret not keeping in touch with.  

Then, there are friends that no matter how much happens in life, they will always be there for you. They will even pick up a conversation like nothing has changed and you are talking to them like you used to when you did talk to them everyday. Those are the friends I love the most. They are almost like family. 

Now this movie I watched tonight made me somewhat mad. The founder of facebook took advantage of and betrayed his one true friend. I hated it. I personally believe in trying to give more than receive in any kind of relationship, whether it be a friend, lover, or family member. There is just something inside of me that believes that people (Everyone) should look outside of the "me" box and stop being so selfish.  Try to care more about the ones who care about you.  If you do, most of them will return the favor and you will be happy because of it. 

Just a thought for the day.  I want to tell everyone that no matter where we stand, I value the friendship we have. Here's a good song:

My Internship

Just in case a lot of you didn't know, I just started an internship. I am absolutely LOVING it. I never thought I would like a job like this, but it is absolutely amazing so far. It is a internship that leads into an assistant management position. Normally it takes on average several years to lead up to an assistant management position and this internship was specifically made for jumping starting a person into this career. I may not be completely 100% accurate on this, but I believe the company chooses from only 15 colleges throughout the U.S. and choose only two people from each (My school was a special case because they chose three of us instead of two).  

I feel truly blessed to have gotten this internship and I am EXTREMELY thankful for it to be a paid internship. It is a lot of work, but the people I work with are amazing. The store I work at has very experienced associates (most of them have on average 10 years experience or more). They are very knowledgeable and are really nice and helpful to the three of us interns.  I am learning all the operations of a billion dollar company that is the 26th largest economy in the world. Though I may be a small part in how much the company makes as a whole, I feel like a valued member of the company and what I accomplish matters. 

Otherwise, I am working 40 hours a week. It is a little tough on me physically because I am not used to standing on my feet fot that long. Thank goodness I have a roommate who gives me back and shoulder massages when I'm really hurting. (Thanks Serena).  My bad knee seems to be holding up, it is mainly just my legs and shoulders that hurt after a long day of running around. However when I get home, after a few hours of rest I am back up ready to go again. 

If you want to know more or have any questions let me know. =)

LeBron great in stats, but lacks a lot of drive.

So i figured with the NBA finals being over, I will spill out my opinion on LeBron James and the Miami Heat.  For all of those that know me on a good personal level already know that I absolutely loathe LeBron James and everything he stands for.  I hate the fact he was signed to a 90 million dollar deal with Nike before he even played ONE second in the NBA. It makes me sick when athletes are given so much money before they actually show what they can offer on the professional level. Everyone else in America has to work for their money before seeing a single penny. Now I know that this happens for almost every athlete and it sickens me, but LeBron's case is the worst.

Let's take Tom Brady to show how things somewhat should be.  He was pick 199 of the 6th round. I guarantee you that he was not offered $90 mil before even playing a second in the NFL. He maybe making that much money now that he has proven how much of an amazing quarterback he is. Now I am not a fan of Tom Brady, I think he is brilliant, but I will not route for him unless he plays against the Cowboys. But my point is, why on earth do we shove money in a highschooler's face?

Onto my next points of why I hate this man.  He has NO humility. Early on in his career he named himself "King James".  What the hell?  How much more immature can you get?

Apparently a lot more: Next in line is how much of a CRYBABY he is.  Time and time again whenever he loses or things do not go his way he throws fits and starts pouting.  Winning is clearly on his mind, but in order to be a winner you need to show that you can be a good loser.  Imagine if everyone in the league broke down and started acting like LeBron.  No one would watch the NBA again.

Then we could go into his betrayal towards Cleveland.  However, I do not think it was that big of a deal. Cleveland fans have a right to hate him for that because he was the one who was supposed to turn that club around. The way he did it was unacceptable though. Calling this team in Miami the "super team" and his choice to leave "The Decision."  What the...?  Just like how we were all supposed to be a "Witness" in Cleveland.  LeBron jump down from that stupid pedestal you have put yourself on and start having some humility.  Oh and STOP throwing powder up in the air too...making people choke on your nastiness.

Clearly, I could keep going with this.  I want to make it clear though that I think he is an amazing player.  He has a lot of talent and skills. However, when a person contains no class, dignity, or humility, I refuse to support them.

I am so glad the Mavs won. They deserved it.  Dirk and Jason Kidd are amazing players that just never had the right team around them in order to win a championship. I'm glad they got to capture a ring before retiring. Now LeBron fell apart in the 4th quarters this whole series. Something that Michael Jordan and others have not done. So EVERYONE stop comparing LeBron to MJ.  Please...I'm begging you, stop making fools of yourselves. BUT wait, let's look at this falling apart again.  This is not the first time LeBron has fallen apart when it matters most.  Last year against the Celtics he broke down then too.  Clearly Lebron has amazing stats, but he has a lot to learn when it comes to being the player all his fans want him to be.

Thanks for letting me rant.

Beginning a New Chapter of My Life

Here we go.  I have decided to start a blog.  I figured that since I finally finished college and am starting a new chapter in my life, I will start a blog to keep people up to date with my journey through life.  Let me know if you want me to cover certain topics in my next post.  Thanks.