Artists and writers, I realized, basically earn money by selling ideas. People pay you based on what you think, for the thoughts in your head made flesh on paper, or canvas, or whatever you use. But then I kept following this line of thought, and I realized that all people doing anything are basically selling ideas. It takes an idea to build a bridge. It takes ideas to farm, to plant, to harvest. Every human thought is worth something. I suppose then, that knowledge really is worth a lot then.And thus learning=PROFIT.

I think women get mad at you for things you don’t know you did, then you don’t wanna ask why they’re mad because they’re going to deny it and then get even more mad for asking. Then they’ll get mad because you’re not asking. It’s a trap!

Note to self: don’t forget about this Fairmont Sonoma Spa and Inn place. It has a hot spring, spa, and wine tasting in Sonoma Valley. Also note that I need $500 for this.

Also an idea I should steal: a bath with rose petals and candles.

So China has an annoying amount of pollution. I feel dirty every time I walk outside. It’s super making me cough and burning my eyes too.

Man China, why you gotta be killing the earth like that? Everything’s cheap in China, but it’s only because they have the environment pay for most of their stuff.

Since this entry about my first concert has been just sitting in my saved drafts folder, and I lack the feeling-like-it to fully flesh it out, I’m just gonna post it in draft form. Forgive me my laziness, but it’s Christmas today and I’m takin’ it easy.Woke up last Satuday in the morn’, ready for the day to begin–ready to go to my first rock concert ever.Eddie came over first, then Daryl met up with us at my house. Greenhut was supposed to meet up with us as well, but he was bein’ a little feeb about not wanting to leave his car anywhere besides his house since my neighborhood is one tough ‘hood. And Newark is one tough town. Thus, we loaded into Daryl’s van and moseyed on over to Greenhut’s place. Greenhut and his friend Cyrus jumped in. Greenhut had gotten lucky because he got BFD tickets for free from someguy who works at 105.3, the bastard. Anyway, we grabbed some grub at the local Burger King since we were fully not wantin’ to pay for some $10 garlic fries or some other ridiculous food extortion crap. And BFD was an all day concert. Oh and I just feel like I should mention that Danica went to BFD, too bad we didn’t see her/surround her/get all up in that/green team. I copied Stan’s recipe, except I used BK food–I combined a Rodeo Cheesburger with a Spicy Chicken Crisp to make a delicious hybrid burger.The drive there was just some hyping up for the majority of the van, since most of us had not gone to concerts before. Oh did I mention that Paulo was supposed to go but then he totally feebed out and didn’t go? And that he wasn’t planning on telling me? And I already bought the tickets?Anyway, we parked the car in the parking lot which we thought would be free but actually wasn’t, though you wouldn’t know that since they put the “$15 parking” sign on the last possible sign right as you turn into the parking lot. Tricksters.We got out and started walking to the line. I was worrying a lot because I didn’t know how I was going to scalp this extra ticket I had, but it turns out scalping tickets is easy like walking towards the line and random people stop you to ask if you have any extra tickets. I sold it for $25 when I could have gotten at least $40, but hey, I’m a nice guy.Got to the line. No one brought a camera which was grrrr and then we only had a flip so ruff then bark bark growwwwwwllllll. Okay. Cyrus was prehyping by high fiving whoever would accept his high fives. At least we got videos with the flip though. It was also random how Cyrus knew hella people who would be walking by. Guess he’s known in the concert scene, yo. He also asked questions of random people.At the gate, the security check rendered my pouring of purified delicious water into my Camelbak 100% useless since they made me pour the entire thing out. I refilled it with 100% non-delicious water from the water fountain. Sadface.We kept walking on and Daryl spotted an unmarked booth with two people standing about, looking bored. We asked what the booth was all about, and they responded that it was a designated driver booth. You say you’re a designated driver, they give you a wristband, and you get a coupon for a free soda, hooray! Thus, Daryl took advantage of his never drinking alcohol and got the goods.

• go to lawn, walk through, soundcheck stage, craapy cathoic home band wtfkinda name?
• bud light festival stage, watch two bands’ sets, not so hyped, mostly chill
• hella want to go to subsonic tent, we go,wtf so much fun hella rave, people start moshing, me n eddie jump in hella excitedly and push/get pushed around hella which was fun. do it like 3 times. then just ravin for hella days, get hella hot, take off shirt. so much hyped at daft punk song and sweet dreams are made of.. song, part of dont trust me and other great dance house songs. great dj.
• get pushed by crowd hella, pushed into some girlwho starts grindingall up on me take closerlook and realizes shes 15, inch away afterward
• come outside hella sweaty, shirts soaked so go without shirt until evening
• siton lawn at main stage, chill, try to dry shirt, greenhut being a feeb, medaryl eddie head out to bud lightfestival stage again to watch bands
• sit down on ground and they are playing reggae band. music for high people. after awhile, daryl and i decide go into the subsonic tent again for zion i.
• zion i is hip hop but hella good. hella fun. plays some club ass songs that we and crowd proceed to go dumb hyphy crunk to. mostly white people.
• go back outside, listen to a alkaline trio set, part of taking back sunday song, go back to subsonic tent
• daryl and i rave for like 12 hours or something. hella tiring. i thoguht it would end many times but it justkept going. crowdsurfing happens. beach balls.fun.
• go back to mian stage but first go to get darylsfreesoda. lines take 30 minutes. lawn is packed, meet up with everyone else. yeahyeah yeahs play.
• 311 next plays. very chill music but random3 guys juststart moshing, by themselves. huge circle cleared. me daryl and eddie make up over 9000 different dances and do them. greenhut is gay and wont join in the fun.
• off spring finally at night. stage is super cool. hella hyped. played song i didnt know, hammerhead, come out and play, pretty fly for a white guy, kristy are you doingokay, other song, stuff is messed up, kids arent alright which so excited for 100000 percent, youre gonna go far kid, self esteem, why dont you get a job, cant get my head around you,other song? piano version of one song
• go home, stop at in n out first. get eat, talk. greenhut sees some newark girls i think in car. girls diss on daryls van. daryl gets in van and revs engine at girls, as we make challenigng gestures, back out fast. end of night.

“I would have to…investigate more of Bill’s dancing abilities, you know, and some of this other stuff before I accurately judge whether he was in fact a brother.” –on whether Bill Clinton was “our first black president” “You notice that people who’ve been in Washington too long, they don’t talk like ordinary folks,. We had this debate in Las Vegas, and somebody asked me, What are your weaknesses?’ So I said, Well, you know, I don’t keep track of paper that well, I’m always losing paper, my desk is a mess.’ And then they asked the next two candidates. And one candidate says, Well, my biggest weakness is I’m just so passionate about helping poor people.’ And then the other one says, I’m just so impatient to help the American people solve their problems.’ So then I realize well, I wish I’d gone last and then I would have known.. I’m stupid that way, I thought that when they asked what your biggest weakness was, they asked what your biggest weakness was. And now I know that my biggest weakness is I like to help old ladies across the street.”

 :D

“On his image: “Who is Barack Obama? Contrary to the rumors you have heard, I was not born in a manger. I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father Jor-El to save the Planet Earth. Many of you know that I got my name, Barack, from my father. What you may not know is Barack is actually Swahili for ‘That One.’ And I got my middle name from somebody who obviously didn’t think I’d ever run for president. If I had to name my greatest strength, I guess it would be my humility. Greatest weakness, it’s possible that I’m a little too awesome.” –at the Al Smith Dinner”

 Obama may just be the greatest superhero ever.

Who here knows about neuroplasticity and its implications on human life?Oh me! Pick me!Okay. So neuroplasticity is basically a fancy word for saying that the brain is able to change its own structure, that it is “plastic”, or changeable.What does this mean for you? It means there’s scientific proof that no one is stuck being how they are. You can always change, as long as you consciously will yourself to. Say you have unconscious urges you can’t control, say for an ex-girlfriend. While you’re going to keep wanting them, despite how you try to think that you don’t want them, as long as you continually put that effort than eventually your conscious thoughts will change the structure of your brain (the unconscious part of it) by creating new neurons from your new thoughts and your brain’s deactivation of neurons that aren’t as important anymore. Same thing goes for food or addictions or other things.And the same goes for less tangible things, such as being told you’re lazy, or unmotivated, or a failure. It really is a case of belief becomes real. If you keep believing that you will never be anything, that you aren’t anything good, then that’s how you will be. That is the structure that will be created within your brain. When your parents or other people tell you that when you’re young, that has a profound influence on how your brain develops, because it’s during puberty and childhood that your brain grows the most. However, throughout your life your brain is always growing and changing. If you’re willing to take the things that have been ingrained in you as a child and say “No, no, that isn’t right. I am not a failure. I am not nothing. I am worth something. I am valuable. I am good. I can even be great” then eventually that’s going to become true for you, even if you don’t believe or feel it for a long time. If you make the conscious effort, bit by bit, belief will change who you are. Just by thinking are you able to sculpt your own mind. Just by willing it, you can change the person you’ve always been told you were.Just by believing in yourself, you create your Self.So never give up and never think that thoughts are meaningless, because thoughts can change you, and you can change the world.

I did a little taste comparison between organic potatoes and conventionally grown. The results? Organic potatoes have a much better flavor: creamier, richer, with a sweet butteryness that is missing in the conventionally grown potato. The conventional potato tasted very plain in comparison, with a slight note of bitterness. I wonder if that’s from the chemicals they use on the potatoes. Anyway, the organic potatoes were only about a dollar or two more, $3.49 for a 5lb bag. Coupled with the benefits to the environment, the unsustainability of our current industrial food system, and the increased amounts of nutrients in organic food, I’d say you should go organic all the way.

Transitioning on, I checked my degree requirements today, and after this semester I only need a few more marketing electives and then I’ll be graduating with a business degree! My english degree still needs some more classes–senior seminar, pre-1800 requirement, and a few classes, but I can taste the end coming soon. I’ll probably take a few extra english courses though, just to fully flesh out my education. Then, it’s off to graduate school, hopefully. I should really be studying for the GRE though. That would be wise.

Being a volunteer this semester was a very rewarding experience. It made me meet some people and get a lot more involved in school. I also know a lot more about the resources we have on campus, and I felt like I was actually helping people out when we would work with high school kids in helping them go to college. It was great. I also got experience working within an organization, which was pretty useful. Volunteering: you should do it.

I feel like my english analytical and writing skills have improved a lot this semester. It felt really good when Prof Merriman complimented me the other day. I improved in my social skills a bit as well. At least I hope I did. I hope I’m more approachable now. Culinarily, I think  improved too. I realized some important missing ingredients: time, temperature, and not crowding the plate. Also, using enough oil.

This has been a very meandering blog, but I suppose I’m in a meandering mood.

Tf why would you purposely fuck with me just to make me mad? Wtf? No that’s not okay.

On another note, I have 3 presentations and 2 exams this week. Wooooot!

I also want to try my hand at making homemade yogurt.