Nose Picking

Great news nose pickers! You are not at risk for contracting Alzheimer's Disease.

Neither are those of you who eat brains.

Congratulations!! Celebrate!! Pick a nose! Eat a brain! Neither have to be yours.

Rejoice and be happy.

However - if you are getting older, I'm sorry. You are at risk of getting Alzheimer's Disease, for it is the only positive correlation of being a victim.

What the hey - go ahead, and still drink and be merry :) and don't fall over during earthquakes.

Fly Traps - the Root to Evil

The vinegar fly trap works wonders. :) I think I have caught several hundred, which is a good and bad thing. Good: I've caught so many. Bad: why in the world ARE there this many to begin with? I'm assuming there weren't this many to begin with.

I also find myself having more aggressive behavior towards them, tapping on the bowl so the flies in the bowl (but not yet in the water) will fall down, and drown. Does this make me an evil person? slightly, I'm sure.

Body Image Distortion

Lately I've been a little more body conscious than I'd ideally like to be, and seeing how the rest of America perceives a woman's body should look like to be considered "beautiful". Browsing around online, there are so many websites dedicated to get girls to look size 0 skinny, and I even checked out some forums to see what young girls were saying about themselves; some interesting things that popped out:

• "I’m currently a size 0, but I’d like to be skinnier."
• "i don’t really like the so-thin-you-got-no-butt-or-boobs-or-hips look."
• "NOT all Asians are anorexic either, I hate being called that, it’s like a knife in the face..."
• "Just wear gel bras! =D They’re my fav!"
• "the only 0 size they had didnt fit me, still too big...I actually asked if there was a size -1"
• "I need to lose weight too now reading this forum! Makes me feel fat!"
• "i think you should just be happy and do what makes you happy."

After not watching TV for a good amount of time, I just recently found out America's Top Model Winner, as this picture appeared:

Jaslene Gonzales (runner up) and Whitney Thompson (winner)

So, that's great that an "average" looking American White girl won, right? RIGHT? I mean, c'mon, she's even wearing an American flag colored bikini! So many people/posts/comments regarding how wonderful that America is recognizing other images of beauty, but honestly, it comes to show you how political this show is.

It is, of course, your typical blond hair, blue eyed white girl that wins. So, she has a thicker body than the customary super thin model figure. Why? Is it to show that America is now not being as superficial? Is America accepting that the average woman's height is 5'3"-ish at 152 pounds? (Those numbers are ballpark from my memory) OR is it to just give off that image? To boost the show's ratings and appeal to more women that actually look like this?

They also mentioned the winner as a PLUS SIZE MODEL. This girl is definitely not plus size. If the media and others are calling her as such, what are actual heavier set girls supposed to think? "Well, if she's plus size, what the hell am I?" Exactly. Is her winning actually based on her beauty, or is it to cause a controversy in the media? As a disclaimer, good for her. She's a pretty girl and if she wants to model, than all power to her.

So why is America so obsessed with body image? Why has it caused corruption in the minds of young, naive, vulnerable people that cause them to succumb to such diseases like anorexia or the need to bulk up? What's really sad, is that we'll fight the norm and say that a person is beautiful at every body type, but innately, we're thinking to ourselves how we want to lose those 10 pounds, gain that extra muscle, or change that flat nose.

To me, beauty is taking care of your body and the choices you make about it, whether it be the foods you ingest, the exercise you do, or the toxins you take in.

What's beautiful? Being healthy and fit, and having the confidence to say that you are beautiful.

What's beautiful? Having a heart to care about others and the troubles the rest of the world faces, and not about how much weight Lindsay Lohan lost in the past month.

What's beautiful? Humbling oneself and accepting who you are; setting goals and achieving them.

What's beautiful? Genuineness and appreciation.

Beauty is seriously everywhere around us; I find myself examining closely the face of the people around me (some may consider this creepy), and I think to myself (though usually am vocal about it) about how beautiful they are. In simple, natural things like the diversity of eyes, noses, face shapes, and most importantly the consistency of their smiles are extremely gorgeous to me.

I'm sorry that the media has instilled such a distorted view of beauty in our minds that we may so consciously try to avoid. I'm going to have to agree with the lovely quote I found in that blog, to just do what makes you happy, but I'm going to add that just as long as you don't harm anyone in the process, including yourself.

Happy beautifying!

Honey Bunches of Oats

Relationships are like a box of Honey Bunches of Oats.

The good parts are like the oat clusters, but it makes me wonder if it's only as delicious as I make it seem because of the other bland cereal surrounding it, or is it because it's actually a taste of heaven for my taste buds? (as you can tell, Honey Bunches of Oats are my favorite cereal)

It's both! You can't appreciate the delectable oat clusters unless you have those exciting almonds, those plain flakes, those healthy whole-grain flakes, and those on-par frosted flakes. As in relationships, you need to have those exciting bursts of joy, plain moments, healthy arguments, and on-par compromises to really appreciate those amazing times with your partner. Granted, those bunches of oats actually make you salivate, and those amazing times actually make you jump for joy. (I guess both should make you salivate, shouldn't they?) You appreciate how wonderfully those oats are put together and those happy moments are, in it of itself. Though in my opinion, there is another aspect of fully being able to appreciate.

Appreciation comes from comparing, whether it be to those other flakes or to having no cereal at all. It's true that you don't really realize what you have until it's gone. Now take that as lightly or as seriously as you want, but in the general term, true appreciation is found through comparing. For example, you won't appreciate those oat clusters if you didn't have those other cereals around it to make those clusters EXTRA special. Also, if you didn't have any cereal at all, then you'd really miss those yummy clusters, wouldn't you? No other cereal compares to your favorite Honey Bunches of Oats. So in a sense, you need those other mediocre flakes surrounding those oat clusters to fully taste its deliciousness.

But don't get me wrong, there are definitely times when I get greedy and pick out all the clusters and eat them all at once. It's like an orgasm in the mouth... with the cereal, that is. ;)

Drosophila Belong in a Research Lab

They do not belong in my room, my safe haven, and one of the few places where I can be naked without getting a ticket for indecency.

I have yummy fruits in my room that belong to ME and not to the fruit flies that have infiltrated my sanctuary. I tried the fly tape, and it was successful, in maybe about 10-15 of them. I think they got a little frisky, which I don't blame them for, since I would get it on in my room too ;). From an original group of about 10 flies, there are now 50. Insert angry face.

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, I have made my own bowl trap: apple cider vinegar and soap covered by plastic wrap with small holes. The vinegar is the alluring fragrance and the soap is to break the tension in the liquid so the flies will drown on demand! The small holes are to allow them to come in, and not be smart enough to fly out. muahaha!

Another favorite how-to is the plastic zip lock bag trap:

• Place a few slices of an apple inside a zip lock bag
• Leave an inch open to allow pests to enter. The little pests will soon be on and surrounding the apple.
• Zip the bag closed and crush each one with your fingertips.

I will update on the success of my trap. That cantaloupe is mine, dammit!

A Lesson in Love

If you know me, you would know that I'm a sucker for romance. That's the problem, which could be a term up for debate, that I think many women (or men) have - that is, thinking with your heart rather than your brain. My mom always told me that women are smart and can probably take over the world, if they didn't base some of their decisions on their heart. I believed this, until I allowed myself to fall in love for the first time.

It was joyous, yet frightening. It was beautiful, yet dangerous. It was vulnerable and indeterminate, and I think that's what scared me the most, when you are unsure of where things will lead to. Well I did it. I fell in love. I allowed my feelings to get the best of me and listened to that organ beating inside of me, when the one that sits on top of all other organs is calling myself consistently crazy. As easily as it was the first time to fall in love, it was to fall out of it, over and over again. And it was painful every single time, as with most break-ups I assume.

So why fall in love again? Just for those momentary, non-concrete feelings? What good is it if you don't know why you're investing yourself if you don't know if your partner is the one? Shouldn't you save yourself, whether it be from emotion or being, for the one you are going to spend the rest of your life with?

After my first experience with romantic love, I thought, there's just no point. I'd just end up getting hurt again, as would whoever I would chose to have relations with. I can just play, do the whole temporary thing, and no one would get hurt. Since then, I haven't really allowed myself to fall in love again. Maybe I truly don't feel it, or maybe I'm just terrified of the idea. Terrified of love and terrified of a serious relationship.

I had nice little chat with a friend today, where I explained where I was coming from. She replied,

"I just think that you should think about it. dont be scared to really like him...serious is ok...even if you dont love him, you really really like being with him, and thats just as important

ok, bye now :)"

The truth is, I really am enjoying right now. I am having so much and I "really really like being with him". I'm just scared of hurting the both of us in the end, yet another wise one told me that if I have my foot in each door, current and exit, I'll more likely to end up in the exit door because I'll always be thinking about it. Good point. So, I'll just see where this goes. If I fall in love, so be it. If I get hurt, so be it. At least I'll be able to say it was worth it.

CHEERS to new beginnings

I finally took that extra step to actually starting a blog, instead of always saying that I will. Story of my life, really. But today marks the day of change, and this blog is to keep me accountable.

• No more being all talk. Accomplishments are waiting.
• No more delaying what I want to do. Memories are to be made.
• No more strife, stress, and negativity. Love and happiness are what makes life worth living, so why not make more of it?

I am excited to document this stage in my life. Why? Maybe I think it will be therapeutic. Or maybe I think I will scare my loved ones away, considering how much I'm using them as a vent outlet. Nah. I'm enriching them with Diana-thoughts, and they can't get that anywhere else but me :) and now my blog will have that luxury (or is it torture?).

This whole year has been an exhilarating adventure, and has shaped who I am today immensely. So many changes took place this year, and so many circumstances that really allowed the transition from young, naive, silly Diana, to... well I guess, I'm still all of the above, just maybe add a touch of maturity in there somewhere. It took me a while to feel content with myself, and to grow comfortable in my own skin. I am proud to say that I am actually learning how to do those a little more each day; however that is not to say that I will remain stagnant with myself. There is always room for change, as each day brings new experiences to learn from and new ideas to bounce off of to generate new wisdom.

So here's to new beginnings. (and to getting sleep when your bedtime is long overdue) CHEERS.