Life...

In high school I was on stage performing at least twice a year. I kept up with my voice lessons and performed in musical theater shows often. When I went to study theater at Long Beach State I found that those theater majors did not consider my personal favorite form of theater to be "real" theater. They turned their noses down at musical theater. To my fellow students, dramatic theater is was the only theater form worth studying. This was a very sad realization for me.

By my third semester in college I was searching for a new major. That's when I took my first political science class. I really enjoyed the topic and decided this was the path I would take. Shortly after I decided on a creative writing minor and I was finally settled into this whole college thing.

I love both my major and my minor but now I feel like something is missing in my life. I miss singing and I miss being on stage. Life is so hectic with school and work it is hard to find time to perform these days. I hope that I will be able to get back into theater once I am done with school. At least until I figure out what else I am going to do with my life.

A System That Could Use Some Technology

Recently I interviewed the federal receiver of prison health care in California. The interview was pretty close in time to my rant about the use of technology in the library. In this interview, however, I discovered a system that is running entirely without technology. I ranted and raved about the sole use of technology in the libraries and I was so upset about the lack of a back up system. Then I learned that the medical care system within the state prisons does not use any technological record system whatsoever. This made me feel a little bad about the harsh tone I took with the libraries dependency on technology.

I can't believe that medical records for any kind of health care system can be kept without a computer. I also learned that they don't even have a neat filing system. All the medical records for the state prisons are kept in shambles. It is the year 2007, I think it is time for a little advancement.

Although I still think it is irresponsible to depend solely on technology and have no back-up system in case of a power loss or whatnot, I also understand the importance of technology in today's world. It is the smartest and most organized way to keep records, such as medical records, in proper order. We have become dependent on technology and I find it strange when it is not used where it so obviously should be. Still, I cannot stress enough how important a back-up system is!

Technology: Not Always a Good Thing

Isn't it true that libraries used to use no technology whatsoever? There was a card catalog and one would go look up the book one needed manually there. Now libraries, or at least the libraries I go to, are cataloged and run with computer systems. It is not so strange to think that they would still have a back up process, just in case the computers were to, say, fail. Unfortunately, I have not found that to be the case. I have found that when a library computer systems are down us students are stuck with no way to access the things we may need very badly.

I needed to get a sort of study guide that was on course reserve for a midterm I had today. I decided I would study first then get the study guide the day before as a sort of helpful, extra tool. So yesterday I go to the library between classes and try to go to the course reserves desk. However, there was a problem. The computers in the library were down. I asked if there was no other way to find the item that I needed. The man helping me said that they had absolutely no other way of locating this document without the computer system working. All I could think was "this is absolutely ridiculous!"

Am I over reacting, or does it seem absurd that a library would have no back-up system in case of computer failure? So many people count on libraries, especially ones as central and the Martin Luther King Jr. Library. Technology is not always the best option. We can not fully rely on it. There must always be a way to back-up such unstable"advancements."

I Forgot...But I Had Good Reason

As I am sitting at my computer writing a paper for my Human Sexuality class it suddenly hits me, I completely forgot to write my blog for Friday. So now I am two days late and hoping that if I write two blogs this week I can make up for my memory loss last week. There is an explination for my slip up. Allow me to give that explanation.

This semester is the semester from hell for me. I have never had so much reading and so many assignments due on a weekly basis. I know this is college and I need to learn to juggle such things, that is fine. I can learn to juggle the school work with my job and my other life responsiblities on a normal basis. However, this last week was exceptionaly crazy.

I currently have a very bad roommate situation so I have been looking for a new place for about two months now with no luck. Then finally two weeks ago I found a place and began moving in last week. Moving and working and doing massive amounts of homework all at once is a difficult task. I am not complaining, I am just pointing that out. As if that wasnt bad enough, I had to begin moving in the two weeks in a row filled with the most homework I have ever been assigned at once. This week comming up is filled with 4 different writing assigments, a whole bunch of reading assignments, 2 midterms, and a quiz.

Now I know this is no excuse, I should have remembered. I just wanted to supply an explination as to why I forgot my weekly blog last Friday. I am stressed beyond belief right now. Isn't a girl allowed to forget sometimes when placed under such pressure?

Please Excuse This Rant

I don't understand how love works. You think you are in love with someone, then you break up. Then you find someone else and swear you have never been so in love, then you two break up. The cycle continues to repeat itself until one of two things happens; you either find someone you are really compatible with and spend a relatively carefree existence together or you simply give up on finding love. At 21 years old it's impossible to say which direction I will end up going in the long-run. However, at the moment I feel as though I should never try to love again.

Men are too complicated. You go along in a relationship thinking everything is wonderful, then out of nowhere you are blindsided by the idiotic things your significant other has been doing behind your back. The things he has been doing might not seem so bad in another person's eyes, but to you it is a total violation of everything you two shared together. He swears that he didn't think he was doing anything wrong, but can he really be that stupid? So now you have a decision to make. Give him forgivness and try to move on or walk away and move on by yourself?

How is one person supposed to make such a big decision? You don't know which decision will be best for you in the end. You can't look into the future to see what you are supposed to do. You are basically stuck making an impossible decision that no one can help you make. Either way you are going to be hurt for a time. The question is, which hurt will be better for your soul? Love is too tricky for me. I have no interest in loving anymore, or at least for some time. Love is a complication that young people, such as myself, do not need.

Help Me!

Searching for a new apartment is a very annoying and stressful task. You could search for months and find nothing. Being young adds even more obstacles. I've had many people make up random excuses for not wanting me and my two roommates to rent their homes. It is even more stressful since I am searching for a new place in the middle of an extremely busy school semester. My limited location options don't help much either.

Since I am still a student my mother helps me out by paying my rent, as she did for my brother and sister when they were in college. However, she says that I must live somewhere that I can either walk to school or walk to the light rail and take it to school. So my options of locations to search in are limited. I am so stressed out because my current lease is up in October and I have to have a place to move by then. I can't stay in my apartment because I cannot stand my roommates any longer. I wish there was a rental fairy who could come solve all my apartment hunting problems for me.

Baby Fever

At 21 years old, I could not imagine taking on the responsibility of a baby. It is a 24 hour a day job that I have no desire to attempt yet. This is why I don't understand all the young people around me I am seeing with babies. I walk through the mall and see all these very young people with their babies. A friend of mine lives with her best friend and her best friend's baby. My friend Desiree, who is only 20, just had a baby four months ago. I just sent an RSVP to attend the baby shower of my friend Jamie who is only 22. Just last year Jamie's younger sister had a baby. Most of the girls I know who have children don't have a father in the picture. It seems as though young people are overcome with baby fever.

I wonder if they understand the responsibility that they are about to take on when they are so eager to have babies. I am fully aware that at this point in my life I am far too selfish to have a baby. I am 21 years old and I love going out and partying whenever I please. I enjoy getting sleep for as long as I please. I like thinking about myself first when I am making important decisions. This may sound bad, but I am just aware of who I am right now. This isn't just me. Jamie, who is now six months pregnant, was a go-go dancer at a club. She would go out with a different guy every month. She loved having fun. She loved her life. Then her younger sister had a baby and she decided she should have one too. I just don't understand having baby fever at such a young age.

As I write this blog there is a baby crying in an apartment close to mine. This same baby kept me up last night because it was crying all night. My guess is that the baby's parents are young and not sure how to make their baby stop crying. I don't want to be misunderstood. I love babies and I believe I will make an excellent mother someday. In fact, when I am ready to have children, I would like to have three of four. I just don't understand why so many young people are in such a hurry to have babies. There is plenty of time for babies. I think you should have children when you are stable and ready to take care of them. I am a strong believer in using your early 20's to have fun and figure out who you are and what you will be doing with your life. That is hard to do with a baby attached to your hip.