My first day back to college!

Yesterday, being my first day at college, was a little iffy. When I first woke up this morning I was in a panic thinking I overslept, only to find I was ahead of my alarm by 30 minutes.
Go figure.
I went back to sleep and woke up again when the alarm went off. Got up, ate breakfast and made a cup of a much needed warm caffeinated beverage which will soon be my morning friend.

Driving to school felt like getting back on a bike after a really long time. I knew the way, it just seemed slightly foreign to me.
I felt slightly resistant to going back to school. The work, the lectures, the commitment to finishing the classes.
After a certain point in my drive to school, those feelings just seemed to ebb away, school seemed to be what I was meant to do. I was going to get through this A-okay!

Finding a parking space was really fun, the lots were almost full. The one particular lot I wanted to park in was already full, so I went to the next closest one. I made a mental note to come to school early on Tuesdays.

First class was uneventful, going over the materials and syllabus, but I enjoyed the professor. He seems like an okay guy, pretty funny, and very efficient, intellectual, my kind of professor.

One thing I forgot about these classrooms were that I tend to get sweat, my hands tend to puff up and retain water, and after a while of sitting with sweat makes my butt itch and other parts start chaffing. It might be the air-conditioning, or maybe it was my choice of clothing, I just hope that it will quickly pass.

After class ended, everywhere was so overcrowded. So, so overcrowded! Too many people for my liking! With all the time I had to waste I went to my favorite spot, the library!


It seemed like time was passing slowly when I sat down in a cubicle. Thank you Lappy! I don't know how I would've survived after 3 hours of nothing! (I probably would have read a book, which I ended up doing...)
In those three hours; I read the first few chapters in my textbook for next class, found another book, read a few chapters and took notes, and emailed my professor a quick question about Stock Market and how to get started.

About a half hour before my next class I decided to lighten up my backpack and grab some food. Now the cafe food is good, but free food is awesome! There were people from nearby places, like Applebee's, giving away samples. Since I was going to get food anyway, why not have free food! I still went to the cafe to grab a water and some snacks for break, if I got a break.

Like the first class, the second class was also seemed uneventful: going over the syllabus, learning every fellow students names, talked about the textbook, took a break. The professor rambled a lot and isn't quite as methodical, he's pretty fun! He's definitely had a lot of experience. He only skimmed the first chapter of the text book and didn't really 'go by the book' and I had a hard time keeping up with him. I may have a harder time with this course.

One thing in this class, that I haven't had in previous classes, is group work. If there is one thing I dislike, it's group-work. I prefer to work alone, or at least if in a group everyone needs to pull their weight.

Our group assignment was based on investing, what a coincidence! I have 2 out of 4 people in my group, chosen by me, who know about and trade stock. Lucky me! I love my intuition!!!

Upon returning home I received another coincidence, my first class's professor replied to me about the stock market. A few books, a TV show and we'll be talking about stocks later in the course. Some information which I most likely will use for my next class!
I love when things work together...

Overall, I am now excited for school and can't wait to learn!
Til next post! (which will most likely be on Wednesdays)

Rituals: the new way to celebrate life's changes

What happened to Rituals:

Definition: A ritual is a set of actions, which often have symbolic value. Rituals are most well-known in religious practices.

Some of you may know that I follow a more eclectic spiritual path, but I grew up with a more traditional religion. ((Christianty wasn't my thing and I'm not religion bashing)) One thing that lead me to my current lifestyle was the fact that you are in charge of your life and it's repercussions. Another thing that intrigued me was the bells and whistles, the multitude of rituals.

Some 'rituals' we already have, in modern USA, are birthdays, weddings, and funerals. Each are special, but what about other more important individual rituals. For example, coming of age ceremonies, why don't we see any of those?

In our modern society, where jobs and money make up most of our time, we forget the smaller, more important things. We are so bound by work, responsibilities and electronic entertainment, that we forget the the moment, the things that are happening right now.

Rituals bring you into the present moment, they help you with transitions of life, to celebrate important milestones. Some are made up on the spot, while others are more planned out. I feel the more planned out ones make things more special, you took your time to make this happen. it will be better engraved into your memory.
You don't even have to follow any sort of religion to do them!

Types of Rituals and Ceremonies:
Here's a list of ritual examples and ideas:

Celtic Handfasting

• Coming of Age ceremony (child to teen)
• Coming of Age 2 (Teen to Adult)
• Becoming an Elder(wise one!, Adult to Elder)
• Motherhood ceremony (similar to baby shower, but not quite)
• Ritualistic Cleansing (of negativity)
• Seasonal changes
• New Friendship
• Loss of (body part) (transition from one to another)
• New Pet
• Moving out
• Death of a loved one anniversary

Most of these Rituals and Ceremonies are more or less celebrating life stages and events. Many times we just go through these stages with out much thought. One day we wake up and we finally realize the change.
What if we had more rituals in our lives to help us transition and celebrate the more intimate parts of growing up and living?

A good question people ask is 'Why do you need one?'. Why does this ceremony need to take place?
Like I said before, it's to celebrate life stages and events, and that pretty much happens on a daily basis all around the world.

How would I know I'd need a ritual or ceremony?
Here are a few questions:

• Are you changing in some way? (whether physical, emotional, mental or spiritual?)
• Is there something new that's coming into your life? (person, place, thing?)
• Is there something that needs to, or is, leaving your life? (person, place, thing?)
• Do you just feel the need to celebrate?!

If you said yes to any of these then yes, you can have a ritual/ceremony. Now, like all celebrations they should be safe and sane. We don't need anyone getting hurt or being sent into a mental institution.

How to go about making a ritual:
Links of love time! Here are a few resources to get you started!
RitualCraft: Creating Rites for Transformation and Celebration,(Highly recommended, despite religion)
Easy Cleansing Ritual Bath, (rituals can be as easy or as hard as you want them to be!)
Create your Ceremony, (a good basic guide, even though it's for weddings, you can change to your liking)

All in all, rituals and ceremonies are an important part of life that much of the modern age has forgotten or doesn't put much emphasis upon. Rituals and ceremonies can be what you make it, each special in it's own way. They can be a simple or as gradose as you want it to be. Single solitary intimate rituals, or grand annual traditions. Anything goes!
So what rituals are you going to incorporate into your life?

Motherhood: is it for me?

Yesterday I went to a friends' baby shower. I had a good time, got to play with my friends kids. Remembering when those kids were babies and toddlers way back then. It was fun.

It just seems so strange seeing my friends grow up from how they were then, to how they are now. More Adult-like, responsible. Cooler.
Yes, cooler.
I am somewhat envious of my parenthood friends and co-workers. They have this attitude that says "I'm more confident, responsible, and mature. Also, don't mess with my babies". As if you're looking at a wild mamma bear and you go "Whoa, shit just got real!".


Biological Ticks:

For a while now, my body's been in 'baby-making mode', I mean I've been 'in the mood' more often than not. I can feel my body just want to have children.

Heck, my mind keeps saying "I'm ready for a baby, I want to have a baby", like some sort of mommy-mantra.

Oh yeah, my biological clock is definitely ticking...

The question is "Am I ready to become a mother?".
Actually, the better question would be "Will I be dumb enough to get knocked up?".
I hear so many ladies more or less say "I didn't plan this pregnancy". I guess you could say that one of the joys of parenthood is that it sneaks up on you. Just when you least expect it.
It takes two, and I really don't have another person in my life in order for that to happen. Well, not yet...

Life with Children:

What worries me the most is the high stress situations. I don't do high stress. I avoid conflict whenever necessary.
With children, you can't do that.

At my workplace, I see a lot of happy babies that just brighten the day. Then, you see the toddler screaming its head off because it didn't get its way.

Do I really want that?

Or even when they get older, teenagers. I see the good and the bad. Mood swings and really inappropriate clothing.
'what if my child becomes a druggie or a teen mom?'

It can happen.

But then there's a period in every parents' life where they are rewarded with children who will take care of their needs when they become elderly! So it all works out! Right?

Life without kids:

There are a lot of people these days who don't have kids and are living a rather nice lifestyle.
So no kids = better lifestyle?

I mean sure, they don't have to pay for unhealthy kiddie food, lots of children's clothing, toys, school supplies. All that money gets invested into nice houses, pets, maybe even travelling expenses and boats. But they don't get to experience all the joys (and pains) of parenthood.

Freedom, is really what it narrows down to. 'Can I do this with children?'. I've heard of stories of parents living an alternative lifestyle, like world travel, with children. It is possible, but that sort of lifestyle would take a lot of planning and wise money management.


Motherhood is like another world to me. It really feels like I'm 'not a part of their world'. Until I have children of my own, I will never understand.
One day I will have to join, or forever be childless.

Catchy Songs: is there a science?

Catchy songs can be great! I mean that one good song over and over in your head for the rest of the day, or week, or two... it's the best feeling ever, right?
No not really. It can be a real concentration drainer, it can keep you up at night and it can annoy your loved ones.

What makes a catchy song?:
Don't have a song stuck in your head?
Don't be shy... go ahead and choose one!
Your welcome!

Pink Fluffy Unicorns

Pedobear

North, South, East and West

Surfin' Bird

Conga

The science behind catchy songs:
Technically, there is no science behind making a catchy song, but here are my findings on why songs can be catchy.

They aren't whole songs:

"The sticky songs we call earworms engage what psychologists call the Zeigarnik Effect: our tendency to experience intrusive thoughts about things we start and don't finish. A song's catchy hook or chorus is particularly prone to intrude your thoughts if you don't know the next verse, leaving them unfinished in your mind." - Lifehacker

More evidence!

The songs that get stuck in people's heads tend to be melodically and rhythmically simple, says Daniel Levitin, [...] It's usually just a segment of the song, not the entire thing from beginning to end... "What we think is going on is that the neural circuits get stuck in a repeating loop and they play this thing over and over again," Levitin said. - Lifehacker (again)

So if you create a song that is simple, has a decent, steady beat, and when played it feels incomplete.
Then you have a catchy song!

How to get rid of a song stuck in your head:
Now that you have a song in your head, let's try to get it out!
Use any of the following methods. Become your own experiment!

Learn the lyrics:
Find the song by using Shazam or Soundhound,
Write down the lyrics,
Write down a different songs' lyrics,
Talk out the lyrics,

Distraction Method:
Play a different song,
Do a puzzle (specifically, anagram),
Stop your own thoughts (try to not think),
Earwurm,
Unhearit.com,

Other:
Give in and listen to the song on repeat,

My experiences:
I got a song stuck in my head while doing this post! So here's what I did.
First I decided to read all the lyrics. Done, It's still in there, but with all the lyrics.
I listened to another song, it worked, but now there's another song in my head.
I read some research on how to get songs out of your head and the songs went away, for now...
It's an endless loop!

Here's some food for thought:
What if songs are always playing in your head whether you are aware or not!?

What is the most annoying song that has gotten stuck in your head?

They might be Kaiju

Another one of my close friends is having a birthday today and I decided to write another special post based on his interests. With the new Godzilla movie coming up, I decided that this would be perfect for today's post! Everyone has at least heard of Godzilla, right? The giant lizard who stomps around Tokyo? Well there is more to this giant lizard than meets the eye.

They might be Giant:
In Japan, Godzilla and other similar creatures are known as Kaiju, which literally means "strange creature", while in the USA, the word translates roughly to "giant monster". Surprizingly, monsters like vampires, werewolves, Frankenstein, mummies and zombies would also fall into this kaiju category.
There are about 31 Kaiju which are typically modeled after animals, insects or mythological creatures. However, there are a few that modeled after ordinary objects and food. Most popular and well known of the Kaiju being Godzilla, other notable Kaiju include Gamera, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla and Rodan.

Mothra might just be an oversized moth though...

More than just it's size:
 Kaiju are more than just big bad building stompers. Kaiju have alignments and they have heart!

"Kaiju are sometimes depicted as cannon fodder serving a greater evil. Some Kaiju are elite warriors which serve as the right-hand man to the greater villain and are destroyed by the heroic forces. Others have a neutral alignment, only seeking to destroy buildings and other structures. [...] [later in television, after becoming good] These kaiju adopted many classic monster traits, appearing as the "Misunderstood Creature". Godzilla, [...], has played the roles of hero, villain, and force of nature in the course of his existence, one of the few Kaiju of any type to be depicted in multiple roles [...]." - Wikipedia

King of Monsters:
When I think Godzilla, I think 'giant lizard that grew from too much radiation'. I'm not quite that far off.

"Godzilla was created as a metaphor for nuclear weapons." - Wikipedia

[...] Inspired by the fictional Rhedosaurus [...] Godzilla's iconic character design was conceived as that of an amphibious reptilian monster based around the loose concept of a dinosaur^[12] [...] Art director Akira Watanabe combined attributes of a Tyrannosaurus, an Iguanodon, a Stegosaurus and an alligator^[14] to form a sort of blended chimera, [...] To emphasise the monster's relationship with the atomic bomb, its skin texture was inspired by the keloid scars seen on Hiroshima's survivors.^[16] [...] Godzilla's distinctive roar, was created [...] by rubbing a resin coated glove along the string of a contrabass and then slowing down the playback.^[17] 

(Godzilla, the Tyrano-guano-stegosaur-alligator! Interesting...)

 The very first Godzilla movie was debuted in 1954, just around the time after the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Lucky Dragon 5 incident. The movie tells of a giant monster, named Godzilla, who was mutated by nuclear radiation. This was the first of many Kaiju films released in Japan, setting the standard for the genre and future Kaiju films, many of which feature Godzilla. Which explains why Godzilla is so well known.

Although Godzilla is considered the "King of Monsters", he isn't quite the 'protector of humanity'.

"Godzilla's allegiance has changed from film to film to suit the needs of the story. Although Godzilla does not like humans,^[31] it will fight alongside humanity against common threats. However, it makes no special effort to protect human life or property^[32] and will turn against its human allies on a whim.

So basically, Godzilla has a Chaotic Neutral alignment.

When inquired if Godzilla was "good or bad", producer Shogo Tomiyama likened it to a Shinto "God of Destruction" which lacks moral agency and cannot be held to human standards of good and evil. "He totally destroys everything and then there is a rebirth. Something new and fresh can begin."^[19]" 

Godzilla, Chaotic Neutral Japanese God-like (Tyrano-guano-stegosaur-alligator) of Destruction. More than just a simple building stomping mutated lizard we all knew it/him to be.

How to feel like a Goddess

I'm a big advocate to feeling good, sexy and just plain awesome, regardless of whatever size you are. I love how we are more and more becoming accepting with our body types. 'Fat-equality' is just as important as gender-equality, marriage-equality, and geek-equality (I'll talk about this another time).

They didn't care about size, so why should you?

Even quotes that advocate to loving your body:

"Please, please remember that if you didn't hate yourself, they couldn't sell you anything to fix it. Don't believe any of it! I would never question your worth and I don't think you should either!"
-April O'Peel

How to become a Goddess:
Feel free to change 'Goddess' to something you would prefer, like Siren, Pirate Queen, Queen, Overlord. You know, something that makes you feel really good!

"Should I wear my hair up or down?"

Dress: 
To me flowy fabrics, leather, and lots of colors work best. It feels like I am a Greek Goddess. Maybe you're more of a modern business casual kind of Goddess. A leather-clad Amazonian perhaps?
It can be as much or as little as you'd like. Do what makes you feel good.

Scent:
Smelling good and being around scents that make you feel good are important. Did you know that scent and memories are closely linked?

[...] [T]he olfactory bulb is part of the brain's limbic system, an area so closely associated with memory and feeling, [...], smell can call up memories and powerful responses almost instantaneously.
The olfactory bulb has intimate access to the amygdala, which processes emotion, and the hippocampus, which is responsible for associative learning. - Howstuffworks.com

So use associative learning to your advantage. Feeling good & smelling good = other's will associate your scent with good feelings (and of you being happy). Then, scent = others feel good around you.

Inner thoughts:

When you think about yourself in a positive light, you'll feel confident. When you feel so good, so positive and confidant, you just shine, you'll glow! You'll naturally attract similar people to you. You may even *gasp* attract a man into your life!

Don't worry, shes got this!

Some of you may not know what I am talking about and that is okay, here is an exercises to do to get you started.

This can be an emotionally hard exercise to do, but well worth it when you succeed!

Believe you're pretty exercise:

Look at your face in the mirror, do you like what you see?

Smile. Look again in the mirror. How about now?

What are you feeling? What thoughts are flowing through your head?

If they are really negative, literally tell yourself out-loud, "Stop" (did it work?)

Tell yourself, preferably out-loud, "I'm so (pretty/beautiful/gorgeous/etc...)"

Now say "I love you"

Do you feel good when you say it, when you see yourself saying it?

You feel happy? Then congrats! Keep doing it whenever necessary!

If not, repeat the exercise over and over again, for many days, until you are happy with yourself.

I'm not really here to be a self-help guru. I just want women, and men, to being okay with themselves, and loving every inch! Flab and all!

So go ahead, don't cut yourself short, be free to shine!

There seems to be a pattern here:

Do what makes you feel good!

Men can do this too!

I know you guys are like "I don't do all that frou-frou stuff".

Well, how about this. Do you want tons of women (and/or men) to be attracted to you? Do you want to feel confident about yourself? Do you want to be seen in a positive way?

Becoming a God:

Now you may not actually become a god that can throw down lightning bolts, but you can have the feel of one.

Smell Manly:

"He smells like he just did the laundry, Omg that's so hot!"

When you guys smell really good, we ladies just can resist you. It's a serious turn-on, whether or not we voice our opinions, if you smell good, we notice!

Feel Confident:

"Women don't go after bad boys,they go after confident men who know what they want"

It's that simple. Find the things that make you feel confident. It might be an article of clothing, a signature cologne, or just a picture you see everyday. When you are confident others will notice, and may even respect you, more than before.

Would you respect a guy who's a doormat? No not really. He's a pushover, so why should you respect him when he doesn't feel confident in himself to not let others walk all over him.

Now don't be cocky-confident, that's just being a jerk! I'm talking about the guy how just has this bounce in his step. He knows he's awesome and shows it in his body language, in his eyes.

Think Positively:

No one likes a confident asshole, so think happy thoughts, you know, those guy thoughts that make you happy. Whatever those are. I don't know cause I'm not a guy. Drink beer, hot chicks, some other stereotypical guy stuff...

When you exude positivity, you attract like minded people. You might even  *gasp!* get the woman of your dreams!

Wait a minute, this kinda sounds like the stuff you said before.

Well, that's because it is! Just formulated for guys to handle. You don't do that frou-frou stuff remember?

So ladies (and gentlemen), there you have it. To feel good both inside and out. Don't be afraid to shine that inner light of yours. It starts with loving yourself and ending with feeling and looking awesome inside and out!

So what do you got to lose?

Nightcore: Chipmunks at a dance club

Nightcore, I first thought this was a band. In actuality, it's a type of music, a genre, that can be summed down into fast techno beats, anime girls, and chipmunk voices.

Nightcore is most commonly known as a band but Nightcore is really a branch of happyhardcore. It involves taking people's music that have meaningful lyrics and changing the tempo and changing the pitch. Anyone can really do it. 

So pretty much anyone can create a Nightcore tune. That can be really good, or really, really bad thing.

The first song I heard that was considered Nightcore:

There are great remakes, then there are horrible remakes.
Nightcore. I do not know where you come from, but you are mostly in the latter category.

How to be considered a Nightcore song:

The song!:
Songs that seem to do the best are songs that already have fast paced beat. Pop, hip-hop, and Techno songs are good genres for this type of music. Depending on the creator, they can make or break a song.
The Good:
Some songs are just so much catchier after they become a Nightcore. Or they become even better.
This one is Maklemore's "Thrift shop"

This one's interesting. It's a Nightcore version, of an english dub, of a remake of Japanese videogame song. It's called Bad Apple. So it's a remake, or a remake, of a remake! Regardless, I really like this one.

The not so good:
Most of the time, all that nightcore creators do is speed up the song and bringing the pitch up. No beat or techno. All based on the songs original tune and beat. It can make, but mostly break, a song.
Here's Gangam style, Nightcore style:

The WTH?:
Sometimes, there are songs that makes you go 'Really? you made this into nightcore?"

This is from Les Misrables, Castle in the Clouds. It's cute, different, but just sounds like a chipmunk/doll singing.

Length:
Apparently they like to do a lot of 1+ hour song mixes too:

How to make a Nightcore song:

What you need:
A song of choice
An anime image
Audio altering software (ex: Audacity)

The Name:
Nightcore songs usually have the name "Nightcore" somewhere in the song title of song description. It's to differentiate the original song from this 'remake'.

The look:
Mostly all of these have some sort of anime girl, or guy, featured in the video, mainly as a background picture. Why this is prevalent throughout the genre I don't know. If you wanna make a Nightcore song, find a picture of some anime characters, or make your own.

I'm so Nightcore now!

Programming:

The most simplest way to create a Nightcore song, is to tweak the pitch and speed of the song. That's it. The only free program that I know of that does this is Audacity.

So there you have it, now you can be one of the thousands of Nightcore creators!

Nightcore. Or more correctly; sped up, chipmunk sounding, remakes of songs that appeal to ravers and anime fans! Do you agree? Or maybe I'm wrong, comment below!