#election2012

I'm not much of a tweeter but on presidential debate nights and especially tonight, I love twitter!!! Most of what I enjoy are the jokes (I had a good time scrolling through "binders full of women" comments) but it's also really useful when your parents send you up to your bedroom to do homework but statistics isn't as interesting as the leader of the free world.

On top of all that twitter, this is the first election when I really know what's going on. In 2008, I was an 8th grader, vague about issues and taking in all of my information from The Daily Show. Now, I'm 5 months away from being an adult (GAHHHH!!!! I want to vote!!) and because I drive myself to school, I got a dose of NPR almost every morning. I really care this time about the issues and the outcome of the election.

I'm not sure what time this will post as but it's 10:35 PM and I am getting really anxious about the Congressional campaigns. People always wonder why voting matters because there are 300+ million people in this country and one vote won't make Obama or Romney win but WHAT ABOUT THE LOCAL ELECTIONS!?! Those are so important for deciding how Congress votes, state legislature, state Supreme Court, gerrymander, and so much more!! Voting shows candidates the proportion of how many citizens believe in certain causes— why else would someone vote for a third party candidate? Do they really think that Jill Stein will be come president? No! They vote for her to show that they care about the environment, social causes, and peace!

Anyway.... I actually do have to get that statistics done so I'll have to leave but there will definitely be an election reaction post. Maybe not definitely. I'll at least write it in my head.

Yay Elizabeth Warren!

Stop the madness!

Why do I always do this!! I've seriously been telling my self to post something for the past week but every time I open my computer, Facebook and Hulu suck me in. But not this time!

I also have really been wanting to adress the list that I created in my last post but because I'm tired and I want to get it done, I'm going to talk about most of the things and only save certain ones to have their own posts.

Oh wait, the list isn't actually that long. Instead I'll talk about this blog— where it's going and where I want it to go.

When I started the blog, I really didn't know what it would become but I didn't expect to alternate between text and nails— which reminds me, I have a nail thing to post. I expected to share more fashion related things but I think that a combination of my own laziness, lack of Photoshop and Illustrator (I had a 30 day trial but it's over now), near embarrassment in my interest in the subject, and my self doubt on my ability to know anything has prevented me from doing so. Yes, I wear clothes and I can post about that but everything I wear is boring. Do you want to know what I'm wearing? Jeans. Jeans, a simple shirt, and a black cardigan. And maybe once a week I'll wear one of the 3-5 dresses that I actually wear to school. I'm not sure if it's because of my lack of sleep but I've recently almost stopped caring about what I wear. Or maybe I've stopped caring because while I have clothing quantity, I don't have clothing quality. And maybe that's why I'm so obsessed with having interesting nails. Hmmm... things are all coming together.

I don't want to keep posting long things of text but I don't know what else to do! Without a way to edit pictures, it's hard to create wishlists or shopping guide things or any post like that. I'm seriously considering switching to vlogs on YouTube but I know that I don't have the camera, editing skills, or energy to take on that task. Also, I wouldn't be able to listen to my own voice. Ugh. I'm a mess right now. And spring break really didn't help with that. Why? Because my spring break was five days of college visits and two days of vomiting. Or something like that.

Also, this. And this.

Hopefully I can get my life back together.

Nude Nails 2.0 and a bunch of updates

Oh boy. Once again, I've been lazy with posting. I'm always coming up with ideas for things to write on here but my problem is that I always think of things at really inconvenient times— in the shower, at school, in the car, while I'm doing homework. So this post will probably be jam-packed with the exciting things that I've been up to. And to make things easier for myself, I'm going to number them. Deal with it.

1. My Nails! 

Yes, yes. I know that it's not Friday... or even Saturday. It's Sunday! It seems like Nailday isn't really working out too well. To be honest, I did plan on doing it and I painted my nails on Friday night but it got late and I got am lazy. Remember, late is better than never! 

So as you can see, it's not very exciting. But it's still more interesting than plain beige! At first, I was going to keep it simple and go for nude nails but similar to the situation with my Valentine's Day nails, I got bored with it. To jazz things up a bit, I added gold triangle-ish things to the tips of my nails. My only disclaimer is that the flashes of gold are really distracting when I move my hands so paint with caution! 

2. LUSH!!!! 

For a while now, I have watched "beauty gurus" on YouTube talk about how much with love Lush products and I have always wanted to try them out. Well, the other day, a friend of mine mentioned that she went to the Lush store at our local mall (with is HUGE) and I was confused because I know most of the mall stores and I have never noticed Lush (once again, because the mall is HUGE). So yesterday, I went to the mall with my mom to sort out some prom dress issues and I decided that I absolutely had check out Lush. After finding a mall directory, I spotted the Lush store and headed straight to where it was. I wasn't surprised that I hadn't noticed it before because the store is located in an area that I don't usually go to. When I stepped in, I was overwhelmed. The soap! The lotion! The face masks! The solid shampoo! I wanted it all.

After testing out a few things and smelling almost everything, I ended up walking out with a soap and a solid shampoo. These products smell amazing and while I was a bit skeptical of the solid shampoo, I was impressed by it when I showered last night. I didn't expect for the shampoo to lather very well because it feels very solid—it does crumble or anything like that— and because when I rubbed it in my hands to get some bubbles, my hands had barely anything on them. But, when I started to rub my hands into my hair, THERE WERE SO MANY BUBBLES!! It lathered perfectly and I could definitely see myself using the solid shampoos from now on.

3. The Hunger Games
I'm going to keep this one short because it's less exciting than nails and soap. I haven't read the books yet but everyone seems really into them. As of now, I'm almost half way through and I'm not blown away but it but it's interesting. We'll see. Hopefully, I'll get around to a review.

4. I'm a crazy person
Last night, instead of getting work done or posting anything on here, I cleaned out my bathroom countertop. To those of you who have never been through my bathroom— so everyone except my sister who shared it with me until she left for college last September— the countertop is cluttered with half empty bottles of products that don't get used anymore and containers filled with old junk.

Now, the unused and very old products have been thrown away, the junk-filled containers have been emptied, and things are looking a little better. Also, I emptied out an organizer that was on my dresser collecting jewelry from my middle school days (junk) and moved that into my bathroom to use for nail polish storage. The top compartment now holds things like nail clippers, files, dotting tools (pens and pencils covered in nail polish), and nail art pens, and the three drawers hold the polishes, arranged by color. Top drawer: neutrals including black, white, greys, and glitter. Middle drawer: warm colors. Bottom drawer: cool colors.

I think it's because of the Lush things but I now have a really strong desire to redo my bathroom. It also doesn't help that the walls are a watermelon pink and lined at the top with a wallpaper that features sail boats and smiling suns— a tragic choice made by the people we bought the house from.


I guess I'm done for now. I could have talked about Draw Something Free or the weather but this post is getting too long. 

I Lost Two Teeth Yesterday

No, not any teeth that you would see... I got my wisdom teeth out yesterday! 

At school on Thursday, I wasn't very nervous. Everything was normal, classes were the same, and I don't think I was acting very unusually. After math (5th period) I headed to the lobby to wait for my mom. When she arrived, I went home for a few minutes and then we went to the oral surgeon. 

I had been there once before for a quick consultation where I got a 3D x-ray done, watched a cheesy video about the process of getting wisdom teeth removed, and decided to commit to the procedure. When I walked in for the second time, I was anxious. I wasn't screaming or freaking out about anything but I was definitely aware that in a few minutes, I would be hooked up to a bunch of machines, knocked out, and my gums would be cut open (ew). 

It didn't take long for my name to be called. I closed the copy of Architectural Digest that my mom and I were flipping through (Diane von Furstenberg's house is really cool), put my coat on the chair that I was sitting on, and followed the nurse behind a white door. In this area of the practice, closets with open doors were filled with IV bags, chemicals, medicines, and other things that really didn't help with my nerves. I was led into a surgery room and instructed to rinse my mouth with a blue liquid sitting in a small paper cut by the sink— not mouth wash, something stronger (and grosser). The nurses then led me to the chair/bed in the middle of the room and placed a laughing gas thing on my nose. After this, the contraption on my face blocked me from seeing what was going on and I began to panic.

Now, I've never been good with needles. And by "never been good with needles", I mean that I probably have a phobia. Not seeing what was happening meant in my head that I was going to die. My knees began shaking and my teeth started chattering. With every new monitor that was put on my arm, clamp placed on my finger, and brush of the nurses walking by and checking things, I asked in fear, "is that a needle?!". Those nurses were probably so sick of me by then because I was freaking out. Between nervous gasps I tried to explain that I didn't care about the upcoming tooth extraction and that all of my shenanigans were in anticipation to a needle that might find it's way into my arm. 

When the surgeon came in, I was frantically trying to calm down. I know, I know. That doesn't make any sense. How can you frantically calm down? Exactly. I was crazy. 

He came in and it was very clear that I wan't feeling on top of the world. He asked me if I still wanted to go through with the surgery, I thought to myself "Uh... YEAH! I don't care about what happens after I fall asleep! I just can't take needles!!!", and I answered with a simple "yes". 

Then the needle came. I had been waiting for this moment for what felt like forever and the laughing gas was proving to be useless. The surgeon told me what he was going to do and the nurse gave me her hand. Big mistake. I squeezed her hand really hard and the whole time I was thinking about how my right arm (the one getting the IV) was about to fall off and my left arm (the one that was holding onto the nurse for dear life) was being mean to the poor woman trying to comfort me. As I prayed to myself, shut my eyes, and tried to be mature, I slowly felt myself slip away from the room and the beeping of the heart monitor got quieter and quieter. 

I then found myself in recovery where a different nurse helped me onto one of the beds. I don't know how I got in that room but I have a very vague memory of transitioning from something to the bed and another memory of trying to chew on what I thought were squishy teeth but what I later realized was just gauze— this would be the drugs wearing off. 

After lying down, I got to sleep. I have a feeling that I was dreaming some pretty strange things and that I woke up a few times because of the strange things that I saw but I have no idea what actually happened and what didn't. Also, I think I was singing to myself for a little bit. Then, I saw my mom again and tried to explain to her what had happened. Despite the sign that I pointed out to her that prohibited taking pictures or video, she whipped out her iPhone, pointed it at me, and told me to repeat what I had just said. While I was talking, I honestly thought that I was acting totally normal. In fact, the second video ends with me repeating "I'm not crazy" about five times in an effort to convince my mom that I was back to my regular self. 

After a talk about how to take care of me at home, my mom and a nurse led me to the car and I fell asleep with an icepack on my face. After getting home, I plopped myself on the couch. Luckily, my face wasn't very swollen and I was pretty much conscious by 5pm. The biggest issue to me was that I couldn't feel my chin until this morning. 

All in all, it went well and while I wish I could eat more than applesauce and rice, I'm glad that I got my wisdom teeth out before they grew more. 

Palm Sunday, Ash Wednesday, Black Friday

Growing up as a Baha’i, I didn’t have much exposure to Christian traditions other than Christmas and Easter. Even with these two holidays, all I knew about when I was younger was that Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus, Easter has something to do with His death, and on both days, people get presents. I didn’t know because no one had really taught me. My parents probably told me what these various days celebrated but I felt too excluded by my lack of a tree and inexperience with egg hunting to take any of it in.

Then I heard about Palm Sunday and Ash Wednesday. I have read about these on Wikipedia and I know that they relate to the crucifixion of Jesus and I have asked my classmates about them but I don’t have a good idea of the spirit of these days because of my lack of exposure to them. Are they holidays or holy days? How significant are these days? Do different sects celebrate them in different ways? I really don’t know. 

Hearing about Palm Sunday and Ash Wednesday brought the opportunity to learn about Lent. In elementary school, kids would talk about giving up chocolate or Rugrats for a period of time but that was it. No one talked about why they gave up these things or what it meant. 

In middle school, I learned about Black Friday. To a fifth grade me, it was another Christian holiday named by an adjective and a day of the week. I had no idea what it was but I knew that stores loved it. Hearing people talk about “participating” in Black Friday really confused me and asking what it was embarrassed me. To be honest, I didn’t know that it was a day dedicated to America’s obsession with material things until a few years ago.        

On Wednesday when I saw a black cross on a forehead for the first time that year, I had to do a double take. Every year, I see people displaying the symbol and every year I have to ask in order to remember what it’s for. After only seeing it on two athletic girls before lunch I thought, “spirit day?”. Upon seeing it on a parent volunteer and a few guys later in the day, I rushed to my next period to ask people in my class. I then proceeded with a brief interrogation with my peers about the origin, significance, and execution of this tradition. 

It’s strange to me that people don’t like to talk about religion. Because it is one of those topics that everyone has some sort of connection to—whether or not one believes in God— I see it as an important factor in someone’s identity. Why have I only been exposed to the materialistic side of Christian holidays? I mean, really. I knew about Black Friday before I knew about actual Christian celebrations. And for some reason, I’m capitalizing it even thought it’s not a real thing!  If people talked about religion, maybe I would know more about these holidays and maybe others would know about Baha’i holidays, making it less awkward to sneak away during lunch for three weeks while I fast. 

Then there is the other angle on this issue. Once a year, Christians abstain from partaking in something that they enjoy, draw a symbol of religious devotion on their foreheads, and prepare for the coming of an important day with a period of reverence.  So then why are some people so weirded out by fasting, religious clothing, and periods of reverence when expressed by an unfamiliar faith?

There are so many themes that connect each religion and so many similarities that get looked over. Instead of being afraid of offending others by expressing differing beliefs, people should be open to–respectfully- talking about God and faith. We all have a personal relationship with religion and whether it is a positive or a negative one, we all have something to say and something to agree about.

The Fault In Our Stars

I finished reading John Green's most recent novel, The Fault In Our Stars, about a week ago but I have been putting off writing anything about it. As a nerdfighter, I decided to preorder the book to ensure a signed copy but I wasn't too into reading it. Most of the reviews of John's previous books that I had read and heard from people who don't watch is Youtube videos were fairly negative. They said that his writing was inconsistant and came across as if he was trying too hard and I could see where they were coming from just by listening to him talk a couple times a week in his videos.

I hated the first chapter of TFIOS. I was immediately bored and really considered closing the book and giving it a permanent place on my bookshelf. I felt that the characters were empty, the descriptions were unprofessional, and overall it didn't grab my attention. However, while on Facebook on the day that I decided to stop reading the book, one of my Facebook friends wrote a status about how much she loved the book. Because of that status, I decided to read on.

The following chapters weren't very interesting either and I'm pretty sure I only finished the book out of boredom and loyalty to nerdfighteria, the community of people who watch John and his brother Hank on Youtube. I never got to like Hazel or Augustus, the two main characters. Their personalities were annoying that the fact that they kept quoting some fake book the whole time really bugged me. They tried to act really philosophical because they were those kids who excused their loneliness with being too cool and dying of cancer but none of anything they do would ever really happen. And the shtick about how some infinities are larger than others— yes, I agree but you don't have to mention that in every other page!  The book repeated itself a lot and not many things were catching or unexpected, making it hard to care about the relationship between these two teenagers.

I felt that Augustus 1.has a name that sounds really bad out loud so I would always skip over it while reading 2.needed to stop comparing Hazel to Natalie Portman 3.should stop putting cigarettes in his mouth "metaphorically" because it was a stupid and pretentious thing to do and 4.was never properly, or at least memorably, described so in my mind he remained a stick-figure with one leg.

Hazel wasn't much better. She owned a knee-length dress from F21, which never happens because everything there is either mini or maxi, and for some reason that really bothered me. I also didn't like the way she spoke or anything else about her.

Whenever I read or watch anything, I always pay attention to the way children treat their parents. Hazel was really moody and the only thing she told the reader about her dad is that he cries a lot and Augustus's parents were about as relevant as house plants. Neither of these are good things.

All in all, I didn't like the book. I think that its a meh read for John's fans but people who don't watch the Youtube videos should stay away from it. The only exception to this is tweens because they will fall for anything and see the improbabilities as romantic.