Mindless Money

   Last summer, my dad decided that it would be a good idea for me to start to manage my own money. I have always gotten an allowance and spending money for when I went out but this was different. We went to the bank and opened a debit card account and at the end of every month he puts a certain amount in the account and it is for me to spend or save how I please. Something I learned very quickly was that all those little purchases, those $2-3 items, they add up really fast to the point where I think I have $30 when I really have $10. While a debit card is considered to be cash, it's still a credit card. You cannot physically see how much you have unless you look it up online whereas with cash, you run out and your done for the day. Another thing I have found is that saving, something that used to be so mindless, has become increasingly difficult. Moving money from one account to the other is easy but its not like cash where you can hide it and have it just grow. I have figured it out to a point so that every month I split my allowance in half so a little bit goes to both spending and savings. I better start saving now if I want money for the long run I guess.

Singin' in the Rain

      I drive to school everyday. I usually am at school by 7 am because that's when parking spots are in abundance and I like the school quiet. On my way, I usually see my friend Greg walking to school and normally I would just wave and then see him later in the day. On this particular day, the clouds looked rather dark and threatening and it was already drizzling a bit. Glancing in my mirrors, there wasn't anyone behind me, or at least the person behind me was far away. Usually stopping one's car in the middle of traffic (even if it's light) isn't the greatest idea but I rolled down my window and yelled for him anyway, offering a ride to school (he really was about 3 min away from entering the driveway). He said yes and hopped in. Almost as if on cue, the clouds unleashed the rain. He would have been soaked by the time he got to the buildings and I was happy to have prevented that. Who wants to be singing in the rain when they don't have to?

Mad Men

   I am a huge fan of the show Mad Men. The show is set in the late 1960's in an advertising firm. One of the things the show is most known for is sexism and they are not afraid to show it. Gender roles are clearly defined in both the work place and the home front. At the office, its a man's world; they are the head honchos and the woman are secretaries, with the exception of a few that decided that they were better than what society said they should be. At home, the man goes to work and the house wife stays home with the kids, cooks and cleans. During this time period, the main idea that was drilled into the minds of young kids is that girls are dependant on men and in order to live a full and happy life, they must find one, marry him, have kids, and turn a blind eye while their husbands stray only to come home just in time for dinner.

Blog 9

  Growing up, I was always taught to listen to all the adults in my life, namely, my teachers. My mother always made a point to make sure that I was respectful, considerate, and a good student in all of my classes throughout my years in school. Fast forward to being a Senior in high school, I can remember every teacher I have ever had, specific conversations and things I like or disliked about them, but most of all, what they taught me about life.
   I used to live in Morristown, New Jersey until after second grade. The school I went to was small, very diverse in kids, had no air conditioning (I had the seat by the fan, so I was happy), and had my first grade teacher, Mrs. Semel. I remember having some pretty funny moments in her class, like the time she brought a box turtle into class in a bucket or that she always smelled like carrots, or that she went out of her way to yank my pony tail. But she knew upon meeting me that I was very much my own person. After the first day of school, she called my mother to tell her exactly that. She said, normally, when one student raises their hand to go to the bathroom, 22 other hands raise to ask to do the same. She said that I was different, because I said I didn't have to go to the bathroom, so why should I raise my hand. Her words exactly were, "She marches to the beat of her own drum."
   Students often have a love/hate relationship with school. Some love it and enjoy every minuet of it and others are itching to move up, on , and out. School, really, is the biggest socializing agent in a persons life. It teaches you how to learn, how to be around other people, respect higher authority, time management, and a host of other values. I sound like a broken record because I have honestly loved school and would be a totally different person without it. Mrs.Semel had the right idea; in all of my 18 years, I have been a very independent person who enjoys not always doing what everyone else enjoys.
   After moving from New Jersey, my family vowed to stay in touch with as many people as possible, one being Mrs. Semel. I remember going back to visit and we would go to her house or go out to breakfast. But more often than not, life tends to get in the way of keeping up with old friends. We would call on Mrs. Semel's birthday because it was only a few days away from mine and catch up but that eventually stopped. When I got into college, I was so excited and wanted to share this excitement with everyone I came in contact with and asked my mother to give Mrs. Semel a call because she had always been apart of the big things in my life. Mrs. Semel passed away last August, three months before I got into college. When I had her, she was 72 and she lived to be 83; I honestly thought she was going to live forever just so I could tell her all about the big things in my life. Even though she is no longer physically here, the lessons she taught me will stay with me the rest of my life.

Beware of the Bathroom Counter.

   Our bathroom counters are very scary places. Or really, they just say a lot about us and what we value. How organized is your counter? Are things strewn about, make up and hair all around the counter? On the surface, we have our essentials, things that we keep apart of our daily routine. In my bathroom, I share it with my sister and on our counter we have a little organizer for our toothbrushes, make up, hair product, and other things we consider necessities. Outside of that, there's Q-tips in a small box in the corner, mouth wash, a magnified mirror, lotion, make up remover, cleanser and the occasional bobby pin or hair thing. For us to be able to walk out the door in the morning, we feel the need to use all of the items listed above. We keep everything organized to a degree so then getting ready is a breeze. We know exactly what we need and it's all laid out in front of us.
   The bathroom counter is just the surface of us. What's in our medicine cabinets and under cabinets says even more about us. What do we hide from sight? What don't we want other people to see? If I had a guest coming over, the first thing I would clean is the bathroom. No one wants to see tampons or various ointments and meds laying out. In the case of those items, some things are better left out of site, out of mind.
   Materially and non-materially speaking, Americans value looks and appearances (give or take). On the surface, we can paint any picture we want with all of the product and make-up we want (the bathroom counter) but dig a little deeper and you will find the unseen (under cabinets)

Food, Glorious Food.

   I am a foodie. I love food and all of its flavors. From a young age, my family had exposed me to different tastes and it had often left me wanting to go out and keep trying new foods. Often when I try something new, I want to share the same experience with others. It seems most logical right? But it never fails to shock me how close minded my friends can be. Non-materially speaking, why wouldn't you want to try something new and different? The worst thing that could happen is that you don't like the food in which case you don't have to continue to eat it. But that also doesn't mean that you should never try a new food again and stick to what you know. All food and things are new to us at one point or another.
    Rachel Herz from the Wall Street Journal pointed out that within the last few years, there has been a huge interest in research on disgust.

   "Most children get their first lessons in disgust around the time that they are potty trained. After that, the triggers of disgust are quickly acquired from the responses and rules of parents, peers and, most importantly, the wider culture. One of the best places to look for the vast differences in what is or is not considered disgusting in different parts of the globe is food, especially distinctive foods, like every culture's favorite fermented dish.
    Take cheese, considered by Westerners to be anything from a comfort food to a luxurious delicacy. A good taleggio, Gorgonzola or Brie might be described as sweaty or slimy. Cheese also has its fair share of aromatic obstacles and, depending on the circumstances, may be confused with vomit, stinky feet or a garbage spill. Many Asians regard all cheese, from processed American slices to Stilton, as utterly disgusting—the equivalent of cow excrement."

  So maybe that's it, that while I'm not afraid to try something new, other people may be afraid to try it because they think it's disgusting? That it all depends on where you come from and where you grew up.

Link to article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204661604577186843056231170.html

Ahh, social networking.

 
This week we learned about three different theories, Conflict, Structural functionalism and Symbolic Interactionism theory and their effect on social networking in our lives.It's interesting to think about who really has power in the world of social networking. The people or the people who create the sites? If we look at conflict theory, we ask who has the power? and when you have the power, what can you do with it? People often want to have their voices heard, and when this does happen, great change or a big ripple can occur. Take the riots in Egypt not so long ago, that all started on social networking sites. Not only was the message heard by a large volume of people, eventually, words became actions and the people of Egypt overthrew their long time president causing great social change.
   With structural functionalism, we have the ability to connect with others almost effortlessly. You can post a question and have an answer in the matter of minuets. But this also causes excess posting, and you can then find people posting about every detail that happens in their lives.
    Lastly we have Symbolic interactionism. What makes a post different than a message? What does it mean if you spell love instead of luv. Really, the symbols are like saying, hey, your worth having a private conversation with and for once in my life, I will actually spell out words.
   The way I relate myself to the ideas above is that yes, I am very apart of Facebook, but I don't have to post my every move there. If I find something funny, and I think it's worth sharing, I'll post it. If I feel that a conversation is becoming too deep while posting, I'll switch over to a private message or actually call that person on the phone. Some may argue what I'm doing now relates to Structural functionalism, that I'm posting too much, but in a sense, I'm ok with that because in order to explain an idea you have to go into the details of the idea in the hopes of other people understanding.