It's My Duty to Enjoy My Christmas Present

I got my first Christmas present today. My contract with Verizon Wireless finally ended and I switched over to AT&T. Rather than making me buy a temporary phone to use for the next month, my parents bought me the iPhone and gave it to me on the day that I switched providers. I could honestly say that activating this phone was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. The iPhone is one of the most advanced pieces of technology out there today; consequently, it is also one of the most confusing. It took me three hours to complete the activation process, which is a do-it-yourself process that you go through online.

Having this phone made me realize how far we’ve come in terms of technology. We have advanced to a point where one single contraption acts as a phone and as a computer simultaneously. At the same time, it is scary to ponder how dependant we have become on technological innovations that we previously lived without. After my phone had been activated for a couple of hours, my friend called and asked me whether I had received her text message. I had not received any text messages, and I immediately assumed that my phone was not working properly. My sister sent me a text message which I did not receive either. I can’t explain in words how fast I rushed over to the nearest AT&T store to figure out why I wasn’t receiving any text messages, and to ask how soon they would be able to fix my problem.

I literally dropped everything I was doing as soon as I found out that I was cut off from this particular form of communication. When did text messages become so important? I’m not sure, but considering the fact that I’ve been exposed to “texting”, I can’t imagine my life functioning properly without it. The same idea can be applied to other technological aspects. This past summer when we had a power outage that lasted a couple hours too long, I went into a state of depression. I couldn’t take it because everything I wanted to do required electricity, which hasn’t always been available to human beings.

It’s dangerous and ignorant to rely on technology as heavily as I do, but it’s easy to get used to certain inventions, like the iPhone, that are capable of making your life much more comfortable.

Picture Credit: http://www.letsgodigital.org/images/artikelen/64/apple_iphone_zoom2.jpg

It's my duty to shop

Shoppers lined up at a Toys"r"us store scheduled to open at 5:00 A.M.
Today was Black Friday, and it seemed like everyone who had been hibernating these past few months because of rising gas prices and declining home values, jammed malls and stores for pre-dawn discounts to officially affirm the start of Christmas shopping. Actually, I would have to argue that Christmas shopping began the day after Halloween. I remember going to the mall during the first week of November, only to find Christmas decorations placed everywhere. I recall asking myself whether anybody still celebrated Thanksgiving, or if the retail business simply skipped over it in an effort to prematurely begin their most lucrative and profitable holiday.

People literally camped out at stores that boasted huge discounts on electronic gadgets. My sister arrived at Circuit City at five o’clock this morning, hunting for a good deal on a laptop, and apparently that wasn’t early enough. She told me that there were sixty people lined up in front of the entrance, and that the first twenty shoppers were given tickets which gave them the option of purchasing a Sony Vaio laptop, carrying case, and printer for only $300.00. That is quite obviously an amazing deal, but I wouldn’t dream of spending the night in front of a store in 50 degree weather just to save some money.

I went to the mall at ten o’clock, and found a parking spot around eleven. As I predicted last night, the place was a zoo, with holiday shoppers crowding every store, trying to knock out their rivals with their massive shopping bags. My sister complained that she must have been hit in the face by a shopping bag at least twelve times. While some of the stores in the mall had some good deals, all in all, the savings were few. Nevertheless, there was an increase in the turnout of shoppers. I think the tougher economic conditions, characteristic of this past year, are driving more shoppers to take advantage of Black Friday sales.

Photo Credit: http://graphics.boston.com/bonzai-fba/AP_Photo/2006/11/24/1164377813_0122.jpg

It's my duty to take a break from my family...

I never want to see another plate in my life, unless it is made out of paper. Today is Thanksgiving Day, and my mother generously offered to host this wonderful holiday at our house this year. Actually, we get stuck hosting Thanksgiving Day at our house every year. Around two o’clock this afternoon, the guests began to flock in. First there were the appetizers, and the forty dishes that they were served and/or eaten on. After the appetizers were cleared off of the table, and prior to setting up the Thanksgiving Day feast, I had to help my mom wash all of the dishes she had used for cooking. After lunch, we had to wash about forty more dishes, and less than two hours later, the dessert dishes began piling up. From my experience, it would be rational to conclude that I spent the majority of my holiday in front of the kitchen sink; therefore, I am planning to personally invest in some paper plates for next year.

Although no amount of lotion could cure my hands, which, I might add, still feel dry thanks to the fact that they were drowned in dishwater all day, there was a very significant benefit to being awarded the job of dishwasher on this particular holiday. The good thing about making an effort to help my mom by washing dishes was that I was stuck in the kitchen and didn’t have to spend a whole lot of time with my family. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family, but they have the capability of driving me insane after about three straight hours. At our table, there are always, at a minimum, four different conversations happening simultaneously, with three out of those four happening all the way across the table, not to mention the older family members who repeat what they say ten times or more. Our family gatherings are full of multiple, loud, passionate conversations. Having to go to the kitchen to wash dishes allowed me to take a break from my family and all of the noise associated with them.

These periodic breaks gave my head a rest. That is to say until one of my older cousins thought that this was her chance to talk to me about law school. Claiming that she wanted to make sure I was making the right decision in choosing a career in law, she went on and on about her own experience, “I had five classes during the day, and about 250-300 pages of reading every night”, she boasted. She knew just how to put a damper on the day. All in all, if I had to describe my family in one word, that word would have to be ‘interesting’. At this point, I am going to end my blog session because I am exhausted, and I have to get some sleep so I have enough energy to wake up early tomorrow and go to the zoo… I mean the mall.



Photo Credit: http://www.adamzyglis.com/images/cartoon398.jpg

It's my duty to ask, what's going on with the world these days?

First of all, everything has become tremendously expensive. This might sound strange, but when I eat, I am less susceptible to give into distractions, so when I study or do homework, I like to keep some snacks around. Yesterday I noticed that we were completely out of snacks, so I went grocery shopping. I went to Safeway and picked up various packs of snacks ranging from chips and Cheese-Its, to pop-tarts and Dole fruit cups. When I proceeded to the check out, I had less than ten items, yet I had to pay over eighty dollars for them.

Then, just spending an hour watching the news while I was waiting for the tire shop to rotate and balance my tires, I realized that the country is facing an array of problems. The first issue that CNN discussed involved the question, are we protecting our borders or racial profiling? Apparently, the Los Angeles Police Department has begun to map out Muslim communities in the Los Angeles area. The police department has argued that the project is geared at “helping Muslims avoid the influence of those who would radicalize them” (CNN). In my opinion, this is a clearly false premise, and an insufficient reason to map out and monitor Muslim communities. Although the department has argued that they simply want to map out the community based on demographic features to figure out who lives there, I believe that the mapping is based solely on religious affiliation, and is thus quite intrusive.

The next story on CNN focused on the ongoing controversy involving immigration. The story’s main concern seemed to be whether our current process of dealing with immigration creates an underclass. I believe that it does because the government does not provide illegal immigrants with a path to legalization. Many illegal immigrants travel here with their children. Those children who come here when they are maybe three years old are going to have a lot of problems when they grow up in this country. They will get thrown into an economy where they can’t get a legal job, and are thus more likely to end up in poverty. We should change the way in which we enforce our immigration policies so we allow the possibility of upward mobility for those young people. It’s apparent that our country is dealing with a variety of problems, and has a lot of work to do to maintain our economy, and the concepts of justice and equality as well.

Happy Halloween

These past few days have been quite interesting. First came the news regarding the out of control fires spreading through the Malibu area. Before we were able to manage that crisis, an earthquake occurred in Alum Rock, which was a little closer to home. After all, we experienced the aftershocks of that startling event. The earthquake was rumored to be the strongest one we’ve had since Loma Prieta, and it has recently been the topic of discussion almost everywhere I’ve gone. Unfortunately, I am unable to give any input in those discussions because I was driving at the time the earthquake hit; therefore I was completely unaware that an earthquake had even occurred. As I listened to countless individuals give me details about where they were and what they were doing at the time the earth suddenly began to shake, I noticed a similarity in all of their stories. None had followed standard procedures for what to do when an earthquake occurs. We’ve been conditioned since grade-school to “duck-and-cover”, stand under a door frame or even to run outside to an open space, where nothing large and heavy can fall on us and squash us.

When I asked my friends what they did when the earthquake hit, they all gave me roughly the same response, “I don’t know, I kind of just rode it out and waited for it to stop.” I assume that very few people actually did the right thing when the 30-second earthquake hit on Tuesday night. Scientists are currently predicting more earthquakes, warning that there is a lot of heat trapped under the earth’s surface. The risk of another big one is apparent, and what is also apparent is that few people are going to prepare for it. People should be advised that riding it out like a surfer is probably not the best option.

For me, the “crazy days” ended with Halloween. I spent the majority of the night in my room attempting to finish up an assignment. I use the word “attempting” because doing homework on this particular night was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. The doorbell rang every five minutes, which was expected. What I didn’t anticipate, however, was how annoying my dog was going to be. I have a Chihuahua, which is an extremely territorial breed. Thus, every time the doorbell rang, you heard the doorbell combined with Dolce’s nonstop barking. It’s also difficult to pass out candy while trying to block Dolce from running outside and attacking the trick-or-treaters. Nevertheless, it was a fun night, and I saw some adorable costumes. My personal favorite was a toddler dressed as Chicken Little.

All things considered, after such a crazy week, it’s my duty to relieve some stress this weekend.

Photo Credit: http://top411.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/globe-02_tree-ghosts-orig.gif

I Love Islands

Last night, my boyfriend took me out to dinner in San Francisco. We go out to dinner often, but what made this particular night unique was the restaurant. He refused to tell me what the name of the restaurant was, but when we arrived at the pier, I assumed we were going to the Hard Rock Cafe. When we walked right past it and down toward the water, I was confused. My boyfriend was headed for a small gray telephone located at the end of a long dock, right at the water’s edge. He used the phone to summon a shuttle boat. I had no idea what was going on, and at this point I imagined we were going to have dinner in the middle of San Francisco Bay. Surprisingly, my assumption turned out to be correct. The boat took us to a small island, and as the wind blew, the palm trees weren’t the only things moving; the entire piece of land was moving. I found out later that this was because Forbes Island is a man-made, floating island.

We dined next to a huge fireplace in an underwater dining room with small portholes all around, which offered incredible views of the bay, all beneath the water’s surface. The menus were quite brief and exclusive, lacking many options. Nevertheless, the food was incredible. After dinner, we walked up an antique, spiral staircase to the top of the lighthouse. From there, we could see the entire bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, even the huge skyscrapers located in Downtown San Francisco.

I was shocked that I had gone to the pier so many times and never noticed this floating island restaurant. This might be due to the fact that it was originally built in Sausalito, by a millionaire houseboat designer to be his own, private floating home. The island was moved later to its recent location at the pier in San Francisco. The experience was utterly amazing and I can’t wait to go back, perhaps for Christmas, when lights will shine all over the city. Although somewhat pricy, it's my duty to recommend this place to anyone looking for something entirely new to try.

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Different Cultures, Different Views

The reason I am submitting my blog so late is because our house guests just left. My uncle arrived from Germany two nights ago, and my mom threw a dinner party for him tonight. Having him here made me realize that cultural differences can cause significant problems. Apparently, Germans don't like a lot of noise. They enjoy relaxed, slow-paced environments. Unfortunately, my family is loud and my mom enjoys having guests over.

My uncle came to our house under the impression that he would be having dinner with my family and my grandparents. My mom, however, had her own agenda. She had invited fifteen of our closest cousins. I caught my uncle literally plugging his ears maybe ten times during dinner. One of my cousins thought he was rude because when she asked him a question he answered with "yah" instead of "yes". I explained to her that his answer was not a reflection of his personality, but could be attributed instead to a difference in dialect.

After all of the guests finally left, my uncle told me that Americans are strange because they favor those who agree with them, while Germans feel that someone who disagrees with them is displaying signs of respect and interest. He maintained that Germans enjoy engaging in conversations where the parties don’t necessarily agree, while Americans enjoy chatting mutually about a subject. Thus, he viewed the American as nice, but boring, and my cousin, who was born in America, viewed him as rude.

I believe that in order to have transnational acceptance, the domestic individual should assume that cultural differences exist rather than placing the blame on the foreigner's personality, or lack of. At the same time, I believe that the foreigner should make a greater effort to adapt to the new environment, and assimilate into that environment's culture. At this point, it's my duty to stop typing because I am exhausted and I have to get some sleep.

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