November 09, 2005
Slammed
Slam
To be slammed
Knowing it would come
Thinking about it
Others telling you not to
Others not
It goes along slowly
And then the
Slam
Of what we thought we knew
What we thought was life
All at once
Hard to control
Difficult to see past
Caught up in the now
Longing for the past
Questioning what was
Slam
Posted by lcisthur at 04:38 PM | Comments (0)
October 28, 2005
Java Jive Jokes Around!
I liked how this brief article really gets at what is not usually talked about or addressed. It does not really intend to fix anything or suggest solutions to problems, but it points out humorous random points about things we all do wonder and think about, but never bring up. It knows people know Starbucks, it knows people wonder about a semicolon... The fact that people get all so wrapped up in a whole different language of a coffee shop shows just how easily influenced we all are, and that we need to take a step back and look around at ourselves, and our grande lowfat triple shot maple carmel macchiattos. I've noticed these things too, but they never really were anything more than just things I wondered about; not anything I read about.
Posted by lcisthur at 12:00 AM | Comments (1)
October 25, 2005
Java Jive
I don't go to Starbucks. During my three years in the States probably I was there only for three times. However, last weekend I went to explore the Prudential area with a friend and we went into Barnes and Nobles and decided to get a coffee while looking through magazines. When I approached the counter there was no one around except the cashier. I asked for a small coffee. She mumbles to herself. I again asked for the small coffee. She looked at me in an annoyance and said, "We don't serve small coffees, we only have tall ones" I looked at the chart and assumed that the cheapest one would be the smallest, so I went for the "tall" coffee. I think the Starbucks managers chose to promote to have "tall" coffee and abuse the meaning of the word "tall" instead of small is that the many consumers in this country choose "extra large" s over the regular sizes. Now who would like a tall coffee?
Posted by lcisbold at 12:11 AM | Comments (2)
September 15, 2005
Culture According to Allie
We all belong to more than one culture. In fact, there really isn't such a thing as ONE culture. There are so many different cultures, each overlapping with each other and lacking definitive lines. In my opinion, this adds to the beauty of it all, and feeling welcome in more than one culture is what moving forward as a world is partly about.
To me, culture has a lot to do with sharing. Culture is a group's shared background, beliefs, religion, location, ethnicity, the manner in which they go about their daily lives. Reactions to encounters are part of culture; values, a way of thinking, language. A common heritage, shared customs, shared foods.
Culture is the accepted practices of a society, its traditions, its shared life goals, its guidelines of what is right and what is wrong. What matters in life to you is your culture. What you do, what you make of yourself, where your priorities lie, what you are proud of, and how you choose to spend your time is your culture.
If we think of culture in this way, it is not difficult to see that almost everyone in the world shares some part of their culture with someone else - no matter how opposite they may appear to seem to each other at first glance. Culture goes beyond that.
After all this, it feels difficult to try to start to touch upon my culture!
Location: I was born and raised in one of the most culturally diverse and accepting areas. This has had a big impact in shaping how I look at the world and how it sees me. It almost feels unnatural to me to be in a room with the majority of the people in it being white (I'm not saying there's anything wrong...). I'm used to having ethnic leftovers with my Dad -literally having Japanese, German, Burmese, Indian, Chinese, Italian, and Mexican food in the timespan of a few days! I feel I respect other cultures, and exploring and learning about new ones is one of my life priorities -my culture.
Family: The values my parents have set for me have greatly impacted my priorities, what matters to me, and what I do with my time. They have always pushed me to work to reach my potential, and have always been supportive of me in my endeavors.
Heritage: My "Mum" coming to the United States from England, all my remaining family on her side is still in England. I live with British traditions everyday at home, hear British accents on a daily basis, and have been able to visit and live in Britain, which has had one of the biggest impacts on my life. I feel so fortunate to have been able to actually escape the United States to see what lies beyond our vast country, and to see that there are so many other places, ways of life, and cultures (!!!) out there.
My Grandpa being a Jew in Germany at the time of the Holocaust, he was incredibly lucky to escape and make it to England, despite losing relatives, friends, and everything that belonged to his family for many generations. Understandably, he was always relunctant to talk about his life in Germany, but his German culture was evident through his cooking, traditions, and very interesting Northern England/German accent. Over the past few years I have explored the German side of my heritage, have been able to visit Germany, and feel I have a better sense of that side of where I come from.
Posted by lcisthur at 12:23 AM | Comments (2)
September 13, 2005
Ode to a... PEN!!!
An object that practically every person possesses. It lies, smooth, rounded, slender, either on the desk back home, or in your hand as you go about doing your work. This object is everywhere; it is vital in every scholar's life. Not worth much in terms of money, it has other values that stretch way beyond what we may think, every time we use it.
A pen. A simple, three-lettered, one-syllable name -nothing fancy. Yet this basic tool provides us with endless possibilities.
It enables you to express yourself; Remind yourself through a note, organize your day through a schedule, communicate through a letter, understand yourself through a journal, keep you focused through a to-do list, demonstrate creativity through a story, put things together in an essay, and helps you tap into your artistic side, either through a quick sketch or a detailed drawing.
It naturally fits snuggled into your hand, gripped between your fingers. You control its every movement. It flows as you want it; it stops when you do. You control the sound it makes against a hard or soft surface. Your handwriting that comes from it -characteristic to you, can be big or small, in cursive or print, sloppy or neat. It can show your mood, if you were in a hurry or relaxed. A pen shows who you are. Your signature is the most common identifying trademark you use, and each time, it is made with a pen.
Once it has served its purpose for the time being, you throw it into a bag, or set it down for next time. Small and light, and sometimes having a cap to replace when not in use, it is one of the most convenient items to store and to access. And if for some reason that particular pen is not there for next time, not a second thought is given when you use another one.
We all use a pen, yet never really stop to think about its valuable function and worth in our lives. Or to think about what we would do, or where we would be, if pens did not exist (no... don't think "just use a pencil"). No doubt, our culture would be completely different - no Romeo and Juliet, no Diary of Anne Frank... would any of our literature exisit? Would there even be such a thing as literature?
A pen is one of the many essential tools that we use every day, yet do not take the time to appreciate. Next time you grab a pen lying around to quickly jot down a note, stop and think about how much it does for us!
Posted by lcisthur at 01:22 PM | Comments (0)