Friday Fill-Ins

Today I learned about a new post idea, so now introducing "Friday Fill-Ins". Feel free to use this on your blog as well. I learned about it from a new blog friend who I'm now following, Kt Moxie, May Bite If Provoked.
Enjoy!

1. The sky is cloudy with a threat of rain and wind, so I'm feeling cold and pissed that I moved to Los Angeles for this. It's been rainy and overcast ALL WEEK! : (

2. My bed is comforting to me.

3. I always thought I'd be married with at least one child by now. Boy, was I wrong!

4. I couldn't believe how much I could see in the dark house and then I went outside to look at the full moon.

5. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to babysitting a sweet 17 little girl named Hannah, tomorrow my plans include a 9 mile training run in the morning, a lunch in Anaheim with two friends I haven't seen in forever, then a Temper Trap concert at night and Sunday, I want to sleep in, bake a little and figure out my Halloween costume.

Is it FOBO, FOMO or something else entirely?

I was waiting for some more responses from my friends but it appears that this is all I'm gonna get so here we go.

So I've been hearing a lot about commitment issues from my friends lately so I thought it would be an interesting topic to discuss here on my blog. Whether it's big or little events, dates, small get-togethers, dinners, parties or anything else, it appears that we CAN'T COMMIT. At least my generation doesn't seem to be able to commit. What is the deal?! I wanted to know what my friends thought so I asked a few of them for their opinions on this strange dilemma.
Here's exactly what I asked:
So, what is the deal with my generation (most of yours) and our lack of commitment?! I don't mean relationships but more our commitment to go on dates, dinners, parties and all other sort of get-togethers? Is it 'Fear of Better Offer (FOBO)? Or the Fear of Missing Out? (FOMO) Fun abbreviations, huh? : )

Here's some of the best responses:
-I'm always like "let's just wait and see". We end up doing it most of the time, but I hate feeling tied down to it.

-"I think the lack of commitment in our generations might come from the evolution of social relationships. In our parents era, it was the 'right', 'normal' thing to do, to go to dinners at friends houses, parties, and other organized social events. I think our generation doesn't feel that same social pressure or need to organize our life so much. I also think it avoids the chance of really disappointing people. I want the freedom on a Friday night after a bad day at work to sit on the couch, eat pizza with by best girlfriends and blow off any sort of big social gathering. If I've committed to that social gathering I have the guilt for not going, and the worry that I just hurt their feelings/made them mad by not going. If I don't commit, then I can avoid all of that!"

-"In my opinion, the problem is not so much fear of xyz but rather an issue of apathy. Many of our younger generation lack a work ethic, which trickles over into other aspects of their lives. In a recent poll, more kids wanted to be “famous” when they grew up rather than any other (and actually real) career. We are inundated with an onslaught of music videos, TV programs and faux-celebs depicting how easy it is to get something without actually working for it, so many start to believe that is the reality when it is not."

-"People are lame, and over-book themselves. What's more upsetting is the time you DON'T plan for yourself! As in EVERYONE else is in control of your time and your sense of obligation. I can sort of relate to this topic from the point of view of the person who gets bailed on. I think that I'm pretty true to my word. If I RSVP that I'll be there, I'll be there. I think it's just rude and discourteous to back out on something you've committed to. People are counting on you to be there. Maybe there was a set amount of food prepared or maybe it's just that your company is really anticipated! Whatever the reason, if you say you'll be there, you should be there. I do think that you hit it on the head with the FOBO and FOMO. People like to keep their options open...and to that extent I am sometimes guilty. I do like to keep my options open, and therefore I'm often on the later side to RSVP. But, once I've committed I'll stick to it (unless of course there's an emergency--illness etc.)"

What do you think about these responses? Have you had experience with commitment phobia lately? Do your friends bail out at the last minute or do they not RSVP at all?

For more on FOMO, check out this interesting website.

A Learning Disability?!

This week's Mama Kat's writing assignment that I chose is 1.) In what way were you labeled as a child and how did it affect you?

There's no denying it, I am terrible at math. I always have been and I'm sure that I always will be.

There was a time when my parents and teachers didn't understand why I was so awful with numbers. They simply refused to admit that I just wasn't going to grow up to be the next math wizard. Sadly, I was one of those kids who couldn't add or subtract without using my fingers and toes for help. Then, when multiplication was dropped in my lap, it was an even rougher battle. I remember walking around my house chanting out the 6, 7, 8, 9 times tables and it still not sticking in my head. My mom would call out, "One more lap around the house Leah until you know them by heart!" It was torture! And then we got to ugly, ugly division... forget about that! I was a lost cause indeed.

Finally in 7th grade, my teacher asked my parents if I could be tested to see what was really wrong with my skills. My teacher wanted to know what was the root of my problems. I actually overheard this conversation and it tore me a apart. My mom never knew that. I think they all thought I had some kind of a learning disability. The phrase 'learning disability' sounded awful to me and for some reason, it made me think I was dumb. It also made me feel weak and less smart than all my friends. For one a girl who already wore huge glasses and in middle school, that is the worst feeling ever.

So at the time, my dad was kind of obsessed with student learning styles. For example; should you be studying in plenty of light or a dim room, studying in a cold or a hot room, seeing materials as opposed to hearing it explained. Anyway, my dad thought that I should be given all these tests too to see if I've just been studying and working in the wrong environment for my needs. Turns out, not so much. We did learn that I can't just have things told to me, I need to visually see things. I also can't have music or anything else playing in the background when I'm studying. Honestly, though, I knew all this before those tests.

After several weeks of numerous other tests, they finally concluded that basically numbers in general terrify me. Um, I could have certainly told them that without all those lame and scary tests. Ugh, I hated those things. Just knowing that they were 'tests' was enough to freak me out and not perform well on them. The tests also showed that I needed more time than most to complete math tests. I also made sure that my teacher understood that getting up in front of the class to answer math problems on the front board was absolute torture and if I could be excused from that hell from now on. Thankfully, she took mercy on me and I never had to get in front of my math class again. I was also given a little extra time to finish math tests which I was grateful for.

So, I might not have been exactly labeled with a learning disability but just the possibility that everyone thought that I might have one was enough to make me realize that we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Just don't ever ask me to calculate anything for you without my trusty calculator/an hour of your time. : )

It was time for a BlackBerry!

Yes, today I joined the rest of the world and got a blackberry. Woo hoo! Yes, let's all make fun of me and welcome me to the 21st century. : ) I know that it was time for me to mature phone-wise. So it's called the BlackBerry Curve 3G and my number is... haha, just kidding. I certainly don't need my number out there in the blog worId. I kind of wanted to get the iphone but I'm not willing to spend the money to break my contract with Verizon Wireless yet. They are supposedly getting the iphone in July so I'll just wait for that. So far I love this phone! It's a lot more complicated then my last phones but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it eventually.

It's really strange being able to see new emails coming in and of course being able to check in with Facebook from a phone. I still say that nothing beats doing all that internet stuff on a big computer screen but it will come in handy when I'm not at home.

However, despite how convenient and fun this phone is, I will not, I repeat, I will not become one of those people obsessed with their phones and can never stop checking them. I know way too many people like that and it annoys the crap out of me. There are way too many other important things in life than our phones! Right?!

Have you moved over to the BlackBerry/iphone world? Why or why not?

What to be for Halloween??

Ok, I'm starting to get a little annoyed that everyone already knows not only what they are going to be for Halloween but also what they are going to do next weekend. I still have not picked my outfit or decided with my friends what we are going to do. This is my first Halloween in LA so I want to go all out and really see what this city is like on one of my favorite holidays.

I don't know whether to be something cute, sexy, scary, funny, interesting or just plain dumb this year. I LOVE dressing up so I will definitely be in costume this Halloween. Got any ideas? I have a few but nothing is really sticking out to me yet. I even thought about being Lady Gaga again this year since I still have the outfit. But that's no fun, I want to be something new.... I also don't want to spend a ton of money so that narrows things down a little bit. Perhaps, I'll go online and see what those costume stores online have in stock. I do really hate waiting till the last minute to figure it out so I am hoping that I have my costume all planned out by this weekend.

Wish me luck and please feel free to send me your ideas! Any and all are totally welcome!

Update on the filming...

Yep, there is officially some serious filming going on in front of my house and they will be here for another week and a half! At first, I thought, hey, that's kinda cool, my street and neighborhood will be in a movie, but now it's starting to get annoying.

For starters, the crew isn't nice at all and they don't even smile when we walk past them! Geesh! They are infringing on our home not the other way around! Secondly, their trailers and cars take up the entire space right in front of our house so parking has been pretty annoying and a bit difficult to find. Lastly, they begin working bright and early at about 6AM every morning and don't stop till 8ish at night. Next week, they are going to start working at 3AM! UGH! Yes, they did have the courtesy to put a note on our gate last week to let us know their schedule.

I'm not sure if I should tell you what the movie is called that they are filming but I will tell you that one pretty famous actor is in it. Perhaps, we'll catch him right outside our front door one of these days. Don't worry, I'll be sure to blog all about it.

AIDS WALK

This morning my roommate Gina and I walked in the 26th Annual AIDS WALK Los Angeles. It was a short 10k which is nothing at all compared to the 60 miles I walked just three short weeks ago for breast cancer. Yet, it was still nonetheless for an amazing and important cause.

The following is a short article about the walk from KTLA:

"Thousands toughed it through the streets of West Hollywood in the rain Sunday morning all to be a part of the 26th Annual AIDS Walk.
The 6.2 mile walk kicked off at 10:00 a.m. Sunday in West Hollywood Park where an estimated 30,000 supporters, including several celebrities and politicians, gathered to raise money.
About 60,000 people in Los Angeles are affected by HIV and AIDS, and more than 33 million suffer from the pandemic worldwide.
This year's AIDS Walk comes just days after the announcement of a $52 million budget cut to California's HIV/AIDS care and prevention programs.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spoke at the event, reminding participants to keep up hope despite the lack of public funding dedicated to the cause.
"When I was in the leg in 1995 we were leading the country in AIDS programs," Villaraigosa said, "It is demoralizing but that's why we walk today."
The walk is expected to bring in $3 million to help low-income Angelenos living with HIV and AIDS.
In the walk's 26 years, it has established itself as one of the biggest fundraisers for AIDS in the nation, bringing in a total of $66 million."

The only negative aspect of the walk were the awful few people rioting the event. It really infuriates and tears me a part inside that there are still people in today's world that still do not accept homosexuality. I mean, WTF, it's 2010!! I just do not understand people that cannot accept love in all it's forms. Plus, this walk was about saving lives. Thankfully, there weren't many of these ignorant people on the course and no violence came of it. Actually, all the walkers did as they passed by these groups was flip them off. So at one point, all Gina and I could see was a sea of F-U's in the air. Quite the perfect response if you ask me. : )

All in all, it was a wonderful event and I am so proud of Gina and I for getting up this cold and wet morning and being a part of such a great event.