I'm back!

Hi readers, I've missed you.  I'm sorry for being away for so long.  I was dealing with summer classes both online and in person-although I'm convinced that online ones are more work than in person.  In person one can fudge the reading and can listen to lectures.  Basically we read the complete textbooks in 6 weeks.  I had one teacher who liked to use CAPITAL letters in her emails telling us to read the syllabus.  In my film class (which was in person and which I enjoyed) there was one student who couldn't understand why we would want to watch films from any other perspective but the American perspective.  I was about to say, "What do you think is the point of film?  We get to travel to places we will never see and meet people would probably never get to meet otherwise.  The point is for us to open our eyes."  I was just opening my mouth when another girl, albeit a little know-it-ally, said a little more bluntly, "What are you talking about?"  They proceeded to fight about Kubrick's position on war (anti-war obviously but not so obvious to our friend here who believed Kubrick loved war and that was the reason he focused on it so much).  It reminded me of when I had tutored this spring.  I was going over Shakespeare's Julius Caesar with one of my tutees.  I was giving some background on Shakespeare and how he explores human themes like love, loss, and betrayal.  My tutee then says, "Man, he had a lot of problems."

So, after surviving 3 summer classes, a home makeover (and unsuccessful garage sales-one man asked if I had any old firearms or Navajo rugs.  I hope you are not allowed to sell old firearms?), and lots and lots of swimming (oh do I have a story for you there...) I am now preparing to go back to Stanford in the fall-2 weeks away.  I will have a mobility scooter (not the cool Vespa kind, more like the elderly kind with a basket in the front).  My mom said, "You will be popular with your scooter," and I said, "I don't think that's how the whole popularity thing works.  Not that I would know."

Initially I was scared shitless (excuse my bad language here but sometimes it seems like other words don't fit) but now I guess I feel more nervous but kind of feel like, "Let's finish this up already." 

Facebook Be Damned

As I've been away from school (Stanford University) for two years now I sometimes find myself drawn to Facebook to try and reconnect with the campus and its happenings and my peers.

This proves to be a bit masochistic as I always come away feeling more depressed.  I should remind myself of these following reasons I should stay away from Facebook:

1. Just like Mindy Kaling's book title http://theconcernsofmindykaling.com/the-book, everyone is indeed hanging out without you (or me in this case).

2. Getting messages for events that I would not have even gone to if I had been on campus is kind of annoying.  Especially when the same person keeps sending 50 billion messages a day.  I get it and I still don't want to go.

3.  Staring at the typical Stanford girls with their flowing locks and slender, athletic builds does not make me feel better.  I am what they deem "curvy" and have a pixie cut and blue hair mind you.

4.  Through mutual friends finding someone that looks really cool (or let's face it, is really cute) and realizing you will never meet them is sad.  When this causes you to almost seem as pathetic and desperate as you currently feel by wanting to message them and hoping for a pen-pal situation that will never happen makes the whole thing even sadder.

5.  Having to read through the news feed and see everyone sort of boasting but pretending not to by posting their latest accomplishment on their status feels strange as you could never bring yourself to do that without feeling silly.

6.  When we judge our worth by number of likes and friends (that aren't even real friends in the true sense of the word since we never see them or talk to them that much) the whole thing seems like a bit of a hoax.