I could not believe how people could be so rude towards each other. Today, I was working at the Santa Clara courthouse on 99 Notre Dame Avenue. I was helping out Gurneet, and my other friend on filling out the paper work for a child custody case. We were mining our own business when one of our staff attorneys came in with a client. The client seemed nice at first, but she was a real bitch. I usually do not listen in when the lawyers are helping out the clients, but this client was different. The client came in carrying all her paper work. The staff attorney asked her general questions about her case; which was a child support case. The client told the staff attorney what she needed to know. Then, the staff attorney looked over her paper work and found out that she was filing in the wrong county. The client got upset and started to raise her voice. The client then explained to the staff attorney that she had a legal right to start a case in any county as long as she was able to file the proper paper work. The staff attorney listened to her complaints, but explained to her that she is not allowed to handle paper work that is not officially from the Santa Clara county superior court jurisdiction. The client would not have it and she started to bitch about how far she had to drive to our courthouse. The staff attorney was calm, and tried to explain to the client, again, that the paper work that the client filled out was in the wrong county. The client then raised her voice and told the staff attorney to stop talking loudly. I wanted to bitch slap the client because the staff attorney was trying so hard to help her, yet the client thinks she knows the law better than the staff attorney.
Professor Danopoulos, explained to my NGO/IGO class that people in desperate situations will be frustrated and act in an ill-mannered fashion. When the client was unwilling to listen, I wanted to yell at her, but I thought about what Professor Danopoulos said to my class. I could see that the woman was desperate in trying to get her case settled. I wanted her to get he paper work over with so she would go on with her life. I could see that she just needed help, yet she was angry of what happened in her life so far. The documents she brought in were her divorce judgment papers, her child custody papers, and other miscellaneous papers that affected her life. I felt bad for the client, but I did not believe that she should have acted the way she did with people that were only trying to help her. I had other client who came in with drug problems and their lives were falling apart on the spot. Yet, they treated us with kindness and knew that we were there for them.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Black Friday
Last Friday, was the first time I went to the stores for Black Friday. Black Friday is the day where most stores sell their merchandise for ridiculously low prices, and open earlier than their regular hours. I never believed in waking up at three in the morning in order to buy a huge, unbranded, 50” L.C.D. H.D.T.V.. I always laughed at the people who stood in line the previous Wednesday so they were guaranteed to get the $300 Sony Vaio Laptop. For me, it all seemed ridiculous to spend time in a line in thirty-degree weather in order to get low quality electronics. Yet, I went anyways with my friend, disregarding all my past prejudices about Black Friday shopping.
The first place my friend wanted to go was to the Gilroy Shopping Outlet. We went in the back of a line to get into the Coach handbag store. The line was literally half-a-mile long when we got there. We stood in line for about a hour, then she decide it was not worth standing for another five hours to get ten percent off a handbag. We went to every other store she wanted to go. We stood in lines that seemed to be never ending. She tried on every type of clothes there were. In the end, she got a tank top, and two sweaters. My friend only saved a couple of dollars. I took her home because she was tired. I felt irritated that we were there for five hours and all she got were three things.
I did not feel satisfied from my Black Friday adventure, so I made a goal for myself. That day I will finally get the Nintendo Wii. I knew there was a shipment of Wiis coming in at EB games, yet I decided to see if the big named stores had it first. I went to the other stores first, because they were opened at four a.m. while EB games would not be open till seven a.m. I fought the crowds at Wall Mart, trying to get my way into their electronics department. I had no luck at Wall Mart; their Wii shipment was gone for weeks. I stood in line at Target, also fighting the crowds to get to the electronics department. Target had no Wiis either.
I decided to make the trip to Valley Fair Shopping Mall to go to EB games. I was third in line in front of the EB games store. I waited, hopping that they would have the Wii. I saw a store employee putting up some displays across the floor. Then, I saw the employee put some boxes away. I was nervous and tense; I have not been in bed for the past twenty-four hours. If EB games did not have the Wii, I would have been crushed. Suddenly, I saw the same employee and another employee coming out of the storage room. I looked at what they were carrying, and what it was were Wiis. I felt rejoiced, yet I was anxious to get one. I took my credit card out and waited till the employees unlocked the door.
When the employees opened the doors, people rushed, the employees decided to control the crowd by making two lines. I was unfortunate to be in line with the most indecisive people. The first person in line did not know whether to get the extended warranty or not. He debated to himself for about two minutes. I looked at the line next to me and saw that the people knew what they wanted so their line kept on moving. The guy in the front also asked for more controllers and a couple of games, extending his spot in the line. Finally, the guy left with his Wii. The next person was a woman who did not even know the title of the games. The employee had to play a guessing game with her for minutes. I saw the Wii shipment dwindling down to only a couple, because the people in front of me did not know what they wanted. Soon, the woman left with her Wii. I got my turn, I was groggy and felt that I was going to pass out. I told the employee, I wanted one Wii and one other controller. The employee sold the system to me and I went home and slept knowing I accomplished what I set my self out to do.
The first place my friend wanted to go was to the Gilroy Shopping Outlet. We went in the back of a line to get into the Coach handbag store. The line was literally half-a-mile long when we got there. We stood in line for about a hour, then she decide it was not worth standing for another five hours to get ten percent off a handbag. We went to every other store she wanted to go. We stood in lines that seemed to be never ending. She tried on every type of clothes there were. In the end, she got a tank top, and two sweaters. My friend only saved a couple of dollars. I took her home because she was tired. I felt irritated that we were there for five hours and all she got were three things.
I did not feel satisfied from my Black Friday adventure, so I made a goal for myself. That day I will finally get the Nintendo Wii. I knew there was a shipment of Wiis coming in at EB games, yet I decided to see if the big named stores had it first. I went to the other stores first, because they were opened at four a.m. while EB games would not be open till seven a.m. I fought the crowds at Wall Mart, trying to get my way into their electronics department. I had no luck at Wall Mart; their Wii shipment was gone for weeks. I stood in line at Target, also fighting the crowds to get to the electronics department. Target had no Wiis either.
I decided to make the trip to Valley Fair Shopping Mall to go to EB games. I was third in line in front of the EB games store. I waited, hopping that they would have the Wii. I saw a store employee putting up some displays across the floor. Then, I saw the employee put some boxes away. I was nervous and tense; I have not been in bed for the past twenty-four hours. If EB games did not have the Wii, I would have been crushed. Suddenly, I saw the same employee and another employee coming out of the storage room. I looked at what they were carrying, and what it was were Wiis. I felt rejoiced, yet I was anxious to get one. I took my credit card out and waited till the employees unlocked the door.
When the employees opened the doors, people rushed, the employees decided to control the crowd by making two lines. I was unfortunate to be in line with the most indecisive people. The first person in line did not know whether to get the extended warranty or not. He debated to himself for about two minutes. I looked at the line next to me and saw that the people knew what they wanted so their line kept on moving. The guy in the front also asked for more controllers and a couple of games, extending his spot in the line. Finally, the guy left with his Wii. The next person was a woman who did not even know the title of the games. The employee had to play a guessing game with her for minutes. I saw the Wii shipment dwindling down to only a couple, because the people in front of me did not know what they wanted. Soon, the woman left with her Wii. I got my turn, I was groggy and felt that I was going to pass out. I told the employee, I wanted one Wii and one other controller. The employee sold the system to me and I went home and slept knowing I accomplished what I set my self out to do.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Pyramid Scheme
Last week, I joined a company that will remain nameless in this blog. This company started setting distribution offices, about two years ago, in Northern California. Yet, the company has been around since 1992. The company sells high quality products that cost a lot of money. Yet, in order to make the most money in the company, people have to bring people in to help sell the product. This company feels like a pyramid scheme, since they practice multi-level marketing. The company also awards its higher-up employees with massages and platinum medals at their conventions. I usually do not like working for companies that deals with any type of multi-level-marketing, yet, I did.
Before I joined the company, my friend called me up to go with her to their meeting. I am usually a nice guy, so even though I did not want to join, I decided to humor her. Before I went, I invited one of my other friends to come along with me since I did not want to be alone when my other friend, the one who invited me, would be speaking and not sitting with me. I explained to her that they would probably try and recruit us, yet, I told her that if they do, we should just tell them to fuck off!
When my friend, the one who would sit with me, and I came, we were bombarded with many happy people who welcomed us. Yet my friend seemed to get all the attention. After we sat for the two-hour meeting, people came and tried to recruit us. I stayed with my position of telling them to fuck off, yet they kept on trying. I saw my friend saying no as much as I was but it was too late. I saw her recruiter welcoming her to the family. I took her to the side and asked her what happened? She replied that she felt weak and just fell into peer pressure. I felt bad that I brought her into it, so I joined also. Now I am constantly being bombarded with phone calls from company representatives. My friend is more into it than I am; yet she is also as annoyed with the phone calls as I am. I want to quit, but I promised my friend I help her all the way.
Before I joined the company, my friend called me up to go with her to their meeting. I am usually a nice guy, so even though I did not want to join, I decided to humor her. Before I went, I invited one of my other friends to come along with me since I did not want to be alone when my other friend, the one who invited me, would be speaking and not sitting with me. I explained to her that they would probably try and recruit us, yet, I told her that if they do, we should just tell them to fuck off!
When my friend, the one who would sit with me, and I came, we were bombarded with many happy people who welcomed us. Yet my friend seemed to get all the attention. After we sat for the two-hour meeting, people came and tried to recruit us. I stayed with my position of telling them to fuck off, yet they kept on trying. I saw my friend saying no as much as I was but it was too late. I saw her recruiter welcoming her to the family. I took her to the side and asked her what happened? She replied that she felt weak and just fell into peer pressure. I felt bad that I brought her into it, so I joined also. Now I am constantly being bombarded with phone calls from company representatives. My friend is more into it than I am; yet she is also as annoyed with the phone calls as I am. I want to quit, but I promised my friend I help her all the way.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
99 Notre dame
It has been about two months since I started working for The Justice Corps, which is an Americorps program that helps people who cannot afford a lawyer but wants legal help. In the past two months, I have learned a lot of things that involved family law issues when it came to divorces, child custody and child or spousal support. My family is still together, and most, if not all, my other cousins still live with their original parents. My friends, who are from single parent homes, went through their parent’s divorces when they were children, so they usually forgot how hard it was for their mom and dad to go through the process. I have never been in an environment where divorce was an issue.
Anyone who has ever been to 99 Notre dame Avenue in Downtown San Jose, would have sense the gloominess in the air. In 99 Notre dame, there is the Self Help Center that helps people fill out the proper paper work to get a divorce, child custody, visitations, and support. People line up as early as 5:00 a.m. to help get their paper work started. It is sad to see women as young as 21 who already have three children trying to force child support from their boyfriend who ran out on them. There are people who bring their children in and leave them in the playroom while they fill out the papers for divorce. Watching all of this makes me think about the lawyers who practice family law, and how they have to feel when they work with parents who would not agree on child support. I witnessed a case last Friday, where these people who have been divorce for 7 years, were still fighting about child support. The man in the case spends $30,000 each year on attorney fees because his ex-wife would not settle for $3,500 a month. One of the deputies that works in 99 Notre dame told me, before I get married, think about my experience here before I start thinking that she is the one.
Anyone who has ever been to 99 Notre dame Avenue in Downtown San Jose, would have sense the gloominess in the air. In 99 Notre dame, there is the Self Help Center that helps people fill out the proper paper work to get a divorce, child custody, visitations, and support. People line up as early as 5:00 a.m. to help get their paper work started. It is sad to see women as young as 21 who already have three children trying to force child support from their boyfriend who ran out on them. There are people who bring their children in and leave them in the playroom while they fill out the papers for divorce. Watching all of this makes me think about the lawyers who practice family law, and how they have to feel when they work with parents who would not agree on child support. I witnessed a case last Friday, where these people who have been divorce for 7 years, were still fighting about child support. The man in the case spends $30,000 each year on attorney fees because his ex-wife would not settle for $3,500 a month. One of the deputies that works in 99 Notre dame told me, before I get married, think about my experience here before I start thinking that she is the one.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Ohhh Halloween
What has happen to Halloween? It seems that no one celebrates it anymore in my neighborhood. When I was a kid growing up in my neighborhood, almost every neighbor had some kind of Halloween decoration up, or at least a carved pumpkin. Yet, the past six Halloweens the decorations started to go down and the trick-or-treaters have been disappearing. Halloween just became another day.
My neighborhood has lots of kids; most of them are in their elementary years. I feel sad for them whenever they go out and go trick-or-treating. A lot of the neighbors do not bother and go buy candy anymore. Last year, I took my niece and nephew out for trick-or-treating. Only a few houses had candy for my niece and nephew. I live in a gated community, and some houses have their own gates for their driveway. Some of the privately gated houses close and lock their gates, so no one would bother and knock on their door for Halloween. I always believed in respecting people’s privacy, but to not bother and leave a bowl of candy out for Halloween is just rude. I wish people would just get into the spirit of Halloween and celebrate it for the kids.
The new thing to do for Halloween is to go trick-or-treating in the mall. That is the most ludicrous idea ever. A reason why it is so ludicrous to trick-or-treat in the mall is that it does not bring a neighborhood together. Also, the mall stores give only a few amounts of candy to the kids and they close at 9:30 P.M. People say that trick-or-treating in the mall is safer because the candy is from a store, not a person. Yet, I believe that parents should always check the candy of their kids when they trick-or-treating anywhere. Trick-or-treating and Halloween should stay in the neighborhood, since this brings a community together to help make childhood a little more fun
My neighborhood has lots of kids; most of them are in their elementary years. I feel sad for them whenever they go out and go trick-or-treating. A lot of the neighbors do not bother and go buy candy anymore. Last year, I took my niece and nephew out for trick-or-treating. Only a few houses had candy for my niece and nephew. I live in a gated community, and some houses have their own gates for their driveway. Some of the privately gated houses close and lock their gates, so no one would bother and knock on their door for Halloween. I always believed in respecting people’s privacy, but to not bother and leave a bowl of candy out for Halloween is just rude. I wish people would just get into the spirit of Halloween and celebrate it for the kids.
The new thing to do for Halloween is to go trick-or-treating in the mall. That is the most ludicrous idea ever. A reason why it is so ludicrous to trick-or-treat in the mall is that it does not bring a neighborhood together. Also, the mall stores give only a few amounts of candy to the kids and they close at 9:30 P.M. People say that trick-or-treating in the mall is safer because the candy is from a store, not a person. Yet, I believe that parents should always check the candy of their kids when they trick-or-treating anywhere. Trick-or-treating and Halloween should stay in the neighborhood, since this brings a community together to help make childhood a little more fun
Friday, October 26, 2007
What an Asshole
I have this friend who keeps on making fun of people. Wherever we go, he has to make a comment on people we do not even know. Sometimes they are funny, but other times I think he is an asshole. Lately he has been commenting on some of our friends. Our friends all know that he can be an asshole, but they still laugh at his jokes and comments. Whenever I see him, and he starts making the comments, I always tell him, “shut the fuck up!” I know he can hurt a lot of people with his comment, but he is still a good friend to me.
Last week, my friends came over to my house to play Texas Hold ‘em. One of my friends is a guitar player. He loves playing his guitar and whenever he comes over to my house, he picks up my guitar and strums it. That night, my asshole friend started picking on my friend who plays the guitar. My asshole friend started to say things about how my guitar playing friend always has to bring up guitar in all of our conversations and how he always has to play a song for us when ever we play Texas Hold ‘em. The guitar player started to get mad and started to accuse my asshole friend on how he is an in the closet homosexual. The poker game started to heat up with anger and my asshole friend said to the guitar player, “ I bet you love guitar so much you have a blowup doll in the shape of a guitar!” After the comment, the guitar player punched my asshole friend and they got into a fight. I broke it up and now I have to hang out with each of them separately.
Last week, my friends came over to my house to play Texas Hold ‘em. One of my friends is a guitar player. He loves playing his guitar and whenever he comes over to my house, he picks up my guitar and strums it. That night, my asshole friend started picking on my friend who plays the guitar. My asshole friend started to say things about how my guitar playing friend always has to bring up guitar in all of our conversations and how he always has to play a song for us when ever we play Texas Hold ‘em. The guitar player started to get mad and started to accuse my asshole friend on how he is an in the closet homosexual. The poker game started to heat up with anger and my asshole friend said to the guitar player, “ I bet you love guitar so much you have a blowup doll in the shape of a guitar!” After the comment, the guitar player punched my asshole friend and they got into a fight. I broke it up and now I have to hang out with each of them separately.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Mundane and Selfish
There is nothing important to write about in this blog entry. This week has been nothing but midterms, papers and problems. I have been disconnected with the world, and I have been focusing solely on myself. I barely picked up my phone, answered any text, or commented on someone’s MySpace. I have been busy, but I do not feel fulfilled. People wanted to talk to me, but I did not listen. People wanted to ask me for favors, but I did not care. This week was just I in my own world. This was the first week, in along time where I focused on myself.
This blog sounds selfish, but I do not care. I just want this week to be over, so I can go back to whom I was the week before this week. I did not like myself this week, but I can change. Hopefully this mundane feeling will go away after tomorrow. I have nothing else left to write in this blog. I do not know if it is my selfish attitude that is giving me a writer’s block? Or, if it is the fact that I feel unfulfilled of this week. Midterms may be over for me, but I do not feel happy or relieved.
This blog sounds selfish, but I do not care. I just want this week to be over, so I can go back to whom I was the week before this week. I did not like myself this week, but I can change. Hopefully this mundane feeling will go away after tomorrow. I have nothing else left to write in this blog. I do not know if it is my selfish attitude that is giving me a writer’s block? Or, if it is the fact that I feel unfulfilled of this week. Midterms may be over for me, but I do not feel happy or relieved.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Appologize for What?
“Okay before we go any further, can I check those diplomas because I want to make sure that they’re not from some med school in the Philippines”? These are the words Susan Mayer, Teri Hatcher’s character, said on Desperate Housewives. These words caused a controversy amongst many Filipino’s, especially the ones that work in the medical field. After the airing of the episode where Teri Hatcher’s character said the so-called racial slur, the Philippine Government issued a statement demanding ABC to apologize for airing the Desperate Housewives episode.
Speaking as a Filipino-American, I believe what the Philippine Government and other individual Filipinos are doing about the situation as Bull Shit. My family and my Filipino friends keep on lecturing to me on how it was wrong for her to say that. I agree with them to an extent.
One thing that I do not agree on, is how many Filipino’s called what Teri Hatcher’s character said, a racial slur. What she said is not a racial slur. If people would listen to what Teri Hatcher’s character said, people would find out that she was identifying medical schools in a country not talking about the people of the country. Teri Hatcher’s character never said Filipino; she just had an elitist view on how medical schools in the United States are better than ones form a third world country. It was wrong for Teri Hatcher’s character to say what she said, but it is not a racial slur.
Another thing I do not agree on with how the Filipino people and Filipino Government are doing about this situation is demanding an apology from ABC. People cannot demand an apology since that contradicts the point of an apology. An apology should be what the offender gives to the one he or she offends out of guilt not force; demanding one is meaningless.
Hopefully this situation will blow over, but until then, I hope I will not be bothered with another petition ordering Teri Hatcher and ABC to apologize.
Speaking as a Filipino-American, I believe what the Philippine Government and other individual Filipinos are doing about the situation as Bull Shit. My family and my Filipino friends keep on lecturing to me on how it was wrong for her to say that. I agree with them to an extent.
One thing that I do not agree on, is how many Filipino’s called what Teri Hatcher’s character said, a racial slur. What she said is not a racial slur. If people would listen to what Teri Hatcher’s character said, people would find out that she was identifying medical schools in a country not talking about the people of the country. Teri Hatcher’s character never said Filipino; she just had an elitist view on how medical schools in the United States are better than ones form a third world country. It was wrong for Teri Hatcher’s character to say what she said, but it is not a racial slur.
Another thing I do not agree on with how the Filipino people and Filipino Government are doing about this situation is demanding an apology from ABC. People cannot demand an apology since that contradicts the point of an apology. An apology should be what the offender gives to the one he or she offends out of guilt not force; demanding one is meaningless.
Hopefully this situation will blow over, but until then, I hope I will not be bothered with another petition ordering Teri Hatcher and ABC to apologize.
Friday, October 5, 2007
I Do
Growing up in a Catholic family, marriage was always defined, as something two people uniting in front of God. Marriage to me was always sacred, so I have always believed that I can only marry one person in my lifetime. While watching television, I have always seen shows where two people would go and marry each other with out thinking twice. I have always thought that this was the most random way of keeping a relationship with someone. I never felt that the people on television getting married feel the same way for each other. I felt that they just make a mockery of marriage.
As I entered my late teen years, my view on marriage changed. I started to believe in carpe dium. Marriage was a spontaneous activity that two people in love would do. I still believe that marriage is a sacred union, even in my late teen years. I wanted to find the right girl and marry her, but my definition on the right girl was loose.
I am now a Political Science major attending San Jose State University. In the past 4 weeks, I have interned in the family law courts in Santa Clara County. In the courts, my view changed again about marriage. People who married the wrong people would come in and try to get out of their marriage. I witnessed many cases where people’s love for each other was liquidated into a cash settlement. Piles of paper work would end up at our desk on divorces and child custody. Working in family law made me realized that marriage is sacred, and finding Mrs. Right will take time.
As I entered my late teen years, my view on marriage changed. I started to believe in carpe dium. Marriage was a spontaneous activity that two people in love would do. I still believe that marriage is a sacred union, even in my late teen years. I wanted to find the right girl and marry her, but my definition on the right girl was loose.
I am now a Political Science major attending San Jose State University. In the past 4 weeks, I have interned in the family law courts in Santa Clara County. In the courts, my view changed again about marriage. People who married the wrong people would come in and try to get out of their marriage. I witnessed many cases where people’s love for each other was liquidated into a cash settlement. Piles of paper work would end up at our desk on divorces and child custody. Working in family law made me realized that marriage is sacred, and finding Mrs. Right will take time.
Friday, September 28, 2007
An Old House By Santana Row
I lived in San Jose for the past 17 years. Yet, it was not till Wednesday that I visited the Winchester Mystery House. Growing up with my group of friends, I have heard many ghost stories. My friends and I always wanted to explore many places that people have claimed were haunted. Whether it is on San Felipe Road in the Evergreen Valley, where they said a ghost of an old woman on a bike will greet you and your lover in the car. Or Marsh Road in Milpitas, where there have been rumors of a girl at the end of the road that will chase you down if you do not leave right away. We have been going down old roads, sneaking into abandoned property and trying to take all the pictures as possible to try and see if we can get a safe paranormal experience. With all of that behind us, I have decided to just go and pay $23.95 to take a tour of the Winchester Mystery House.
I have heard the story about Sarah Winchester and her husband’s rifle company. The legend goes that she built the Winchester Mansion to appease the spirits that were killed by the Winchester rifle.
It was still daylight outside when I toured the mansion, yet I still had an eerie feeling something was there besides my tour group. We went down twisted staircases and saw doors that led to nowhere. We visited the room where Sarah Winchester died and took a peek at her séance room. In the end of the tour, that eerie feeling went away when our tour guide conveniently lead us into the gift shop. I was satisfied that I was able to visit a part of San Jose’s history, and got to visit a haunted house with out climbing over a fence or crawl through holes on the side of the walls.
I have heard the story about Sarah Winchester and her husband’s rifle company. The legend goes that she built the Winchester Mansion to appease the spirits that were killed by the Winchester rifle.
It was still daylight outside when I toured the mansion, yet I still had an eerie feeling something was there besides my tour group. We went down twisted staircases and saw doors that led to nowhere. We visited the room where Sarah Winchester died and took a peek at her séance room. In the end of the tour, that eerie feeling went away when our tour guide conveniently lead us into the gift shop. I was satisfied that I was able to visit a part of San Jose’s history, and got to visit a haunted house with out climbing over a fence or crawl through holes on the side of the walls.
Friday, September 21, 2007
It is Just Music
“That’s just emo!” “What happened to Hip-Hop?” “I hate mainstream crap.” Everyone keeps on telling me his or her negative opinion on music. While growing up in the United States, I was fortunate enough to listen to many varieties of music. I always had my favorites in each genre, but people keep on telling me that some of my choices are crap. They literally think that I care about their opinion, to the point where they will get angry with me when they think I do not get what they are trying to lecture me about. The sentence I hear the most is, “Music isn’t what it was when I was growing up.” This is coming from a person that is my age. Each time they ask who are my favorite bands or artist is I ignore the question and talk about politics.
I love music; I understand that music evolves and adapts over time. What a band or artist was, when they started, is not going to be what they are going to be now. The good band or artist adapts to their listeners. Some people believe that they are betraying their fans when they change their sound, but what they are doing is trying to get a new generation of fans. For example, the band Green Day had a sound that would appeal to most audience when they had their first album, Dookie in 1994. It was mellow and the album was easy to relate to their main audience since it dealt with boredom and wanting to get away from it. Yet their second album, Insomniac, was more of a punk album, with more power chords and a harder sound. This album related more to the people they played for in the past, the punk crowd.
Other people believe that mainstream music, is commercialize and money is the only thing they want out of their experience. These people like to trash the artist from companies like RCA, Arista, and Sony. They like underground artist from independent record labels like Look Out Records and A&M Records. Even though their artist is in their taste, it might not be for someone like me.
People need to get that music is a form of art that is judged only by personal opinion. It is not something that people should trash just because they don’t like the band or artist. Music is something that people should just listen to and shut up about it because in the end, its just music
I love music; I understand that music evolves and adapts over time. What a band or artist was, when they started, is not going to be what they are going to be now. The good band or artist adapts to their listeners. Some people believe that they are betraying their fans when they change their sound, but what they are doing is trying to get a new generation of fans. For example, the band Green Day had a sound that would appeal to most audience when they had their first album, Dookie in 1994. It was mellow and the album was easy to relate to their main audience since it dealt with boredom and wanting to get away from it. Yet their second album, Insomniac, was more of a punk album, with more power chords and a harder sound. This album related more to the people they played for in the past, the punk crowd.
Other people believe that mainstream music, is commercialize and money is the only thing they want out of their experience. These people like to trash the artist from companies like RCA, Arista, and Sony. They like underground artist from independent record labels like Look Out Records and A&M Records. Even though their artist is in their taste, it might not be for someone like me.
People need to get that music is a form of art that is judged only by personal opinion. It is not something that people should trash just because they don’t like the band or artist. Music is something that people should just listen to and shut up about it because in the end, its just music
Friday, September 14, 2007
That is messed up Food Network
Am I the only person in the world who does not like Bobby Flay?
If you have ever watched The Food Network on late night, you would see this show called Throw Down with Bobby Flay. This show is about a New York Chef named Bobby Flay; he goes around challenging unknown chefs on their signature dishes. To do so, Food Network producers would go down to the home town of the unknown chef and lie to them by telling them that The Food Network would give them their own segment on a made up show. While back in New York, Bobby Flay would practice making his own style of their signature dishes. At the climax of the episode, the unknown chef would host some kind of gathering where he or she would make or bring their signature dish. Before the festivities start, Bobby Flay would sneak into the crowd and present himself and his challenge of who would make the better dish. After the tasting of the dishes, food critics and or local chefs would be selected as judges to judge which dish is better. Usually, the unknown chef would win the throw down.
My problem with Bobby Flay is his ego. Even though he looses most of his throw downs, his ego seems to still be there. My family who likes his show likes to claim that he is exposing these unknown chefs to the world. Yet, if you watch the show, the camera is mostly on Bobby Flay. One episode had a doughnut throw down. In this episode, Bobby Flay challenged Mark Israel of Doughnut Plant. Mark’s reaction was pleasant at first, yet when the cameras was still rolling on Mark in the back of the stage, he was yelling at his cell phone screaming, “They lied to me!” Throughout the episode Mark’s attitude was in disgust, especially when Bobby Flay asked Mark to taste his doughnut.
Bobby Flay needs to calm himself down. He does not need to make food into some kind on competition. Food should be left alone as something to eat, not for something to compete.
If you have ever watched The Food Network on late night, you would see this show called Throw Down with Bobby Flay. This show is about a New York Chef named Bobby Flay; he goes around challenging unknown chefs on their signature dishes. To do so, Food Network producers would go down to the home town of the unknown chef and lie to them by telling them that The Food Network would give them their own segment on a made up show. While back in New York, Bobby Flay would practice making his own style of their signature dishes. At the climax of the episode, the unknown chef would host some kind of gathering where he or she would make or bring their signature dish. Before the festivities start, Bobby Flay would sneak into the crowd and present himself and his challenge of who would make the better dish. After the tasting of the dishes, food critics and or local chefs would be selected as judges to judge which dish is better. Usually, the unknown chef would win the throw down.
My problem with Bobby Flay is his ego. Even though he looses most of his throw downs, his ego seems to still be there. My family who likes his show likes to claim that he is exposing these unknown chefs to the world. Yet, if you watch the show, the camera is mostly on Bobby Flay. One episode had a doughnut throw down. In this episode, Bobby Flay challenged Mark Israel of Doughnut Plant. Mark’s reaction was pleasant at first, yet when the cameras was still rolling on Mark in the back of the stage, he was yelling at his cell phone screaming, “They lied to me!” Throughout the episode Mark’s attitude was in disgust, especially when Bobby Flay asked Mark to taste his doughnut.
Bobby Flay needs to calm himself down. He does not need to make food into some kind on competition. Food should be left alone as something to eat, not for something to compete.
Friday, September 7, 2007
F U Steve Jobs
I hate Apple Inc. recently they cut the price of the 8GB iPhone and introduce a new line of iPods. They did not have the decency to wait at least a year before making something obsolete. The 8GB iPhone is now $200 less than what the price was when it came out last June and the 4GB iPhone will be gone in a few weeks.
I bought an iPod Nano last February since my 30GB iPod Video broke for some reason. Now Apple Inc introduces a new Nano that also plays video. To be honest, I rarely used the video function on my iPod, yet I wish I waited a few more months to get the new Nano. The 30 GB Ipod Video will also be obsolete just like the 4GB iPhone. Steve Jobs is introducing a 160 GB iPod and calling it the iPod Classic, just like coke re-introduce their old recipe and calling it Coca Cola Classic.
Why did Steve Jobs do this to his loyal customers? He is punishing all the people who wanted to get his new products early. The iPod is more than just a product; it became part of a lifestyle with all the accessories you can buy for it. He says that he will give a $100 Apple rebate for the people who bought the iPhone with in fourteen days of the price drop, but how about the other people who bought his product a little earlier than that. Where is our rebate ?
I bought an iPod Nano last February since my 30GB iPod Video broke for some reason. Now Apple Inc introduces a new Nano that also plays video. To be honest, I rarely used the video function on my iPod, yet I wish I waited a few more months to get the new Nano. The 30 GB Ipod Video will also be obsolete just like the 4GB iPhone. Steve Jobs is introducing a 160 GB iPod and calling it the iPod Classic, just like coke re-introduce their old recipe and calling it Coca Cola Classic.
Why did Steve Jobs do this to his loyal customers? He is punishing all the people who wanted to get his new products early. The iPod is more than just a product; it became part of a lifestyle with all the accessories you can buy for it. He says that he will give a $100 Apple rebate for the people who bought the iPhone with in fourteen days of the price drop, but how about the other people who bought his product a little earlier than that. Where is our rebate ?
Friday, August 31, 2007
Ungrateful Parents
For the pass three years I have been working as a tutor for elementary and middle school children.I have tutored countless amount of students, and I have corrected homework and tutored them in subjects such as math, social studies, reading, and science. I have worked with a variety of kids that have learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, and kids who would not stop talking to their peers. The children have used many kinds of profanities again ts me, some were also racial slurs. They have stolen some of my personal property and some that belonged to the tutoring company that I work for. Yet with all the problems I face every Monday to Friday with the students, nothing upsets me more than their unappreciative parents.
I understand that when a parent sends their child to our program they expect progress. Yet they expect a dramatic positive change in their child's understanding of the different subjects to come after only three hours of tutoring. Some of the parents do not see that learning takes time and will not come overnight. The parents forget that they hired me as a group tutor, not a personal tutor, so they forget that I tutor around ten to twelve students in a three hour session. They want me to focus on their child more than the others since they believe that their child is doing the worst in their classroom. Yet when they see that I am not paying attention to their child, they complain wondering why would I ever turn away from the task they want me to do. They treat me like if I was their teacher, expecting me to teach their child advance subjects so they will be ahead of their class. They fail to see that I have to tutor and correct homework of ten to twelve children, some who have learning disabilities, in three hours.
Some of the parents have time issues. They either drop off their child late around a hour and a half into the day and expect me to get their homework finished before they come to pick them up. Other parents forget to pick up their children and make me stay for an extra two hours, with out pay, calling them to pick up their child. Others even take advantage of me and my fellow tutors by dropping their child off with us after hours expecting us to help their child with the homework the parent assigned to them and lying to us by calling it school work that is due by the next day.
With all the things these parents put me through, I would like to thank the appreciative parents. The parents who smile and say thank you for tutoring their child. The ones who know the difficulty in working with children and know that I have more than one to deal with. Most of all I would like to thank the parents who drop off and pick up their child on time or at the least say sorry for coming in late.
I understand that when a parent sends their child to our program they expect progress. Yet they expect a dramatic positive change in their child's understanding of the different subjects to come after only three hours of tutoring. Some of the parents do not see that learning takes time and will not come overnight. The parents forget that they hired me as a group tutor, not a personal tutor, so they forget that I tutor around ten to twelve students in a three hour session. They want me to focus on their child more than the others since they believe that their child is doing the worst in their classroom. Yet when they see that I am not paying attention to their child, they complain wondering why would I ever turn away from the task they want me to do. They treat me like if I was their teacher, expecting me to teach their child advance subjects so they will be ahead of their class. They fail to see that I have to tutor and correct homework of ten to twelve children, some who have learning disabilities, in three hours.
Some of the parents have time issues. They either drop off their child late around a hour and a half into the day and expect me to get their homework finished before they come to pick them up. Other parents forget to pick up their children and make me stay for an extra two hours, with out pay, calling them to pick up their child. Others even take advantage of me and my fellow tutors by dropping their child off with us after hours expecting us to help their child with the homework the parent assigned to them and lying to us by calling it school work that is due by the next day.
With all the things these parents put me through, I would like to thank the appreciative parents. The parents who smile and say thank you for tutoring their child. The ones who know the difficulty in working with children and know that I have more than one to deal with. Most of all I would like to thank the parents who drop off and pick up their child on time or at the least say sorry for coming in late.
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