for those of you that have not heard the news yet

Sen. Craig pleads in airport arrest

this is really funny too. we need more maps!!

this article seriously threw me off. the title alone made me go, "uh....what?" then i read on. then i went, "whoa! what?"
its worth the read just to do the same.

i seriously am thinking of trying to create this, although i guess i am allergic to grass....but....a couch made of grass!
for those of you (like me) that have an obsession with staying as warm as possible during the winter, here is a really easy method of making a very warm blanket !!

for the more "wow, i really should have thought of that" catagory, i found MAKE to have an amazing list of things.
how to: make a drawer light
how to: make an over-the-bed-computer cart
my personal favorite of them all: how to: make a paint chip wallet!
another one i really love...: how to: make an aquarium coffee table!
how to: make your own conga drum
how to: turn excess attic heat into hot water
for those of you trying to come up with a halloween costume, go as mr. t!

now that i have went link crazy here, lets get to some actual serious commentary.

for the last few weeks i have been focused on some deep rooted mental notes. one of them is generally what people expect from one another. my mom has always made this statement how "society has changed, that people are much more ungrateful than when she was growing up." is that truly the case? i've thought about it a lot in various points, and i broke it down into yes/no points of thought (without exercising my own, per se)...

1. YES: with the changes in how we raise children and the simplicity of life (say for example most kids are not raised on a farm anymore...they might live in a single parent household where they take care of a younger sibling, etc, but they always have the various "support" that might not have existed prior to government support or community support). the fascinating argument as to the use of government aid can easily be added into this, but you can also bring in other various arguments such as the introduction to various medicines in our society that alter children's behavior, higher amounts of various health conditions for children, economical difference, different diet structure (its not like we always had cheesburgers for dinner, you know), and so on. these various elements can alter behavior, and have given children a different grasp on what behavior is acceptable in our society. sorry folks...i'm not using video games, music, or video as an argument. when you could shoot a cow in front of your kids and it wasn't even considered anything out of the ordinary, i'm not placing blame on a video game where you go around shooting aliens, your supposed "enemy", or actually have to hit pedestrians with your car for extra bonus points.

2. NO: look at it this way....that's what has always been said. your grandparents said that about their kids, and its the fun phrase we always will use. it gives excuses for bad parenting, perhaps...or just kids that are brats to begin with. taking my parents into consideration, for example, they grew up as farm kids. they couldn't get away with many of the statements that they wished they could say simply because it was much more legal then to "discipline" their children in certain ways then it is today. spanking is frowned on in this day in age when it was used as a regular punishment in schools. maybe the difference was that kids were simply afraid to say anything that they were thinking. it doesn't mean they didn't say it in the slightest...they just didn't want to endure the pain of being humiliated in front of their classmates with such a terrible punishment. money isn't necessarily a factor, since during the '50's we spent more money on crap than you could imagine. once the depression ended, people went nuts with having kids and spending money. they were perhaps even more harsh in certain ways with exploiting the differences between people. we still have not ventured completely away from such thought, but lets put it this way: you don't hear the single parent mom get slammed quite like she did back in the '50's. i'm definitely not saying that there is no negative commentary on such a subject (i mean, how many times have i heard about "we need to change such a household because it creates more families on welfare" and so on?), however i am saying that we have started to expand enough as a whole in population that many of the "judgements" that were held by popular society are becoming more of a norm.

why did i bother making this analysis?

i find myself offering help all the time. its something i like to do. if someone is in trouble, you should have the decency to ask and see if the smallest thing could make any difference at all. the more i offer help lately, the more i get a strange feedback. its not necessarily positive or negative, but generally a stunned reaction. i found myself distraught enough about it that i've asked around. the reaction that my parents and people older than myself have given (and i mean from that specific era, not 5-10 years older than me), is the general statement of, "people are more ungrateful now." the reaction of people closer to my age is, "maybe people are not adapted to the idea of someone being generally kind without expecting anything in return." both reactions confused me. is it strange that i want to help? is it strange that i actually cared?

now, onto the other train of thought. this is completely unrelated.

i've worried about myself a lot lately. my sleep changes, my inability of focusing on what people are saying, my extreme social anxiety (yes, i have it...whether or not people believe it or not), and my stress. then i laughed at it all when i got to work. am i worrying about worrying? have i actually hit a limit where i am stressed at the idea that i am so stressed? how does one get to such a point? i've thought about trying to manage my stress, but i realized so much of my stress is actually wrapped around the idea of how i try to manage it (how this makes sense, i have no idea...), and the rest of my worries are all placed on "how do i do multiple extracurricular activities?" what about the fact the word "extracurricular" was added in there? is it necessary? of course not! why do i keep thinking that every little thing is so important? am i really one of those people that worry that, "i won't accomplish all the things i should have in life" at age 24? have i been so pressed mentally to believe that my life is my work, and that the idea of having free time means i am a slacker? how do i learn how to relax? why am i always so freaking exhausted?
i decided to make a list of things that i know relax me. my goal is to try doing one of them every day for now on. here we go:

soaking in the tub
taking a bike ride
preparing a meal
playing guitar
writing
crocheting
dancing
sewing
cuddling (with only my sugar poodle, of course)
reading
watching a flick
doing the crossword puzzle/jumble
reading the comics
screaming at something. perhaps a wall.
diy projects
going out for sushi
wine tasting/flight decks
receiving a massage
working on a puzzle/board game/card game
writing in my journal (all 4-5 of them...its getting out of control)
working in my parent's garden
washing the dishes
pulling weeds
hiking
floating the river
swimming (i do like trying to swim...it is relaxing to be in the water...)
going to book stores
going to craft stores
going to the library
going on a date (only with my sweetheart, of course)
hanging laundry out to dry
listening to records and talking

i think these things seem simple. i will start there.