Children

     
       For Mother's Day this year my roommate and I decided to drive down, surprise my Mom and take her to the SF Zoo. I know, as a 20 year old I may seem a little old for the zoo, but I'm a kid at heart so, suck it. What were we thinking? The place was crawling with badly behaved children. I have to say just because it is Mother's Day does not mean that you get a break from being a mother, it is your job. If you have children that cannot behave then please, for the sake of the rest of the world, do not take them out in public. Some people might describe me as slightly outspoken, and all I have to say about that is, these mothers who could not control their children were so lucky that I was with my mother and had to be on my good behavior.
        Every time I went to open my mouth, there she was, just looking back at me and repeating the phrase that was drilled in my head since birth, "Melissa Leanne. Be a lady". Which apparently consists of keeping my commentary on others' poor parenting skills to myself. As this was my mom's day, I kept my mouth shut and watched the future of our society run amuck, pushing, shoving, screaming, and hitting, all without any sort of reprimand that that sort of behavior is not acceptable.
        I did wander off from my mom and Amy at one point long enough to make one snide remark to a mom who was completely ignoring her children. She was on her phone, (I didn't eavesdrop long enough to determine if it was work related or a social call) and literally was facing the complete opposite direction of her children while they were trying to climb into the polar bear den. While a concerned stranger got the children to stop attempting to shorten their lives, I walked by the mother did the judgmental up and down look and said, "I'm glad to see you are really appreciating the meaning of the day, it must mean the world to your children that you take your role as a mother so seriously".
        After the events of today I have come to the following conclusions:
      1. My children will be the best freaking behaved kids that you have ever seen.
      2. I should never go the zoo or any child friendly place on a weekday, weekend, or holiday
      3. Even at 20 years old, I instinctively have better behavior around my mom. Obviously some people could take lessons from her
      4. I do not want children for a very very very long time.
       
     

No Shoes. No Service

       

         Can someone please explain to me why the new trend for guys is to go barefoot? Its disgusting. Lately everywhere I go I see boys and their naked feet. Whether they be walking, skateboarding, or biking they just do not feel that shoes are necessary. I just do not understand. Is it the hot weather? Are they rebelling against no shoes, no shirt, no service? Because if that is it, I believe most girls will agree with me when I say that I would much rather you rebelled against the no shirt part of the deal.
          Do they not realize how unsanitary it is to not wear shoes? Especially outside! How often does the ground outdoors get cleaned, oh thats right, NEVER. There are germs, bugs, and who knows what else all over the ground and yet boys and their "who cares" attitude take each barefoot step a little too easily. I have also seen a few too many boys without shoes in class. Really? The classrooms never get cleaned, and if you are in doors on a warm day and your feet start to sweat do you know what happens? They start to smell! But apparently some of the boys in my classes missed that memo.
       Is it just laziness? Are boys getting lazier with the end of the year approaching and not wearing shoes is just one less thing to do in the morning? Do they think its attractive? Because its not. Why don't their girlfriends, moms, or friends say anything to them? How hard is it to say "bro, put those away, they're nasty". Done deal. Complete honesty is part of being a good friend. Let's please all step up before this barefoot disease spreads. For everyone's sake.

Cake Faced

       In the past week I have seen more and more girls who must literally paint their face on each morning. It has always been my belief that when it comes to make-up more frequently than not, less is better. There is no need to walk around looking like a clown everyday, it just isn't necessary. I doubt that guys find that look attractive and it certainly is not good for your skin. So why do girls feel the need to spend all the money, time, and energy on caking their face on? I honestly believe that they do it for other girls, girls generally try to dress cute and do their make-up well to look good compared to other girls, not because it is what they think guys want. Its sad to think about that because girls lack confidence they drench their skin with heavier makeup which then just makes them look worse.
 

I don't understand it. Don't they look in the mirror and see that they have too much make-up for their own good? This past weekend I saw a girl at my work give my friend who was much taller than her a hug and when we were walking away we saw that he had powder all over his shirt. I'm not saying don't wear make-up at all, let's get real here some people seriously need it, but don't over cover up please ladies. 

Something New

      Although I love food, writing about is getting a little boring for me, so I wanted to try something new. However, I am not sure exactly what it is I want to try yet, I, as well as many other students, am going through a somewhat burned out phase. I love school, but I just feel so drained lately, it is tough to stay motivated.
        When I declared a double major I knew it was a serious time commitment, it is tough enough to get classes for one major, I could not imagine what taking on a second would feel like. And although I stand by my decision and love both majors, realizing how much more I have to do before I can think about graduating is so overwhelming. I came in to college ahead of the curve and thanks to AP classes and classes taken at the JC by my house, I had sophomore standing when I graduated high school. Now, I just feel so behind and its kind of a downer. Although if there is one thing I can always count on its that when I'm not in class, at work, at a sorority event, or in the library for the day, I have amazing friends who support me and help me get by. 
       This semester has taught me how lucky I am. I used to dwell on the loss of money my family felt in the economic recession, and the loss of family that I experienced when my relatives put getting their greed before me. But I have to be thankful for everything I have. My parents are amazing, and support me in just about anything I do. I may not always follow the path they tried to lead me to, but I do what is best for me and they are always there cheering me on me along the way and doing whatever they can to help. Together, the three of us learned that it is not blood, but heart that makes you family.
       I have three world of friends. Those who I spent the most amazing four years with throughout high school, those who adopted me when I got my job, and those who taught me more about myself than I could have ever imagined throughout our college experience together. My friends here are the most spectacular people I have ever met. Despite the little arguments and minor drama, at the end of the day we all know we have each other's back, and when one person goes for something, we all go for it. As a team we help each other through highs and lows of life. I do not know where I would be without these people. They have gotten me through times that I never thought I could recover from.      
       On top of the best friends and parents a girl could hope for, I have a steady job and attend a great school. I tend to take these two basic things for granted, but in a time where jobs are impossible to come by, as much as I whine about mine, good luck getting me to leave it. Knowing that every Friday morning money will magically appear in my bank account is one of the highlights of my week, if Friday was not my favorite day of the week before I got hired at Macy's, it sure as hell is now. I love school, I really do. Just like other students do, I whine, bitch, and groan about being here, but this was my choice. I wanted a higher education, I chose where, I choose my classes, and I chose to pay for it. Living with my best friends, being part of a great sorority, and getting an education all at once, I'm a busy bee but a lucky girl. Let's get real here, with constant budget and class cuts while I'm trying to complete two majors means I'm gonna be here for a while, but I look forward to every day of it.                                                                                                                                                     

To Coffee or To Coffee

     When in the mood for that quick caffeine jolt Sonoma State students are faced with the unfortunate dilemma of deciding between Starbucks and Charlie Brown Cafe. Let's review the differences. Charlie Brown Cafe is conveniently located on campus, and if you have been studying at the library or have time to kill between classes its location is a big pro. Although Starbucks may be across the street, which come on I know our generation is lazy but I think we can make it across the street, it has the ease of a drive-through. No waiting in the never ending line squished in that awkward corner of Charlie Brown, just relax in your car, listen to music, and appreciate the shorter wait. Both locations have definite pros.

        Next, menu options. Charlie Brown obviously has a wider variety among their menu options, given that they serve not only coffee drinks but smoothies as well. Although if you are only interested in coffee type drinks, the menu at Starbucks has more to offer. For drinks each menu has its benefits, it just depends on what type of drink you are looking for. As far as food goes, both have a good amount of options depending on the time of day. If you are looking for a meal, Charlie Brown has more options such as a variety of sandwiches, wraps, and salads as well as chips, cookies, pastries, and bagels if you are looking for more of a snack. Starbucks has all kinds of pastries, however their options vary by day, location, time, and season. While writing this blog I took a break and went to the Starbucks across the street and they had tons of pastries making the decision between a croissant and a chocolate chunk cookie was pretty difficult. My friend had the same difficulty deciding between a parfait and a ham and Swiss sandwich. Although the over-pricing of the sandwich swayed her to go with the fruit and yogurt parfait.
       As far as pricing goes, they are about equally over priced. Whether you go to Starbucks or Charlie Browns you are being ripped off. Personally, I prefer Starbucks for a myriad of reasons. Firstly taste. Charlie Brown coffee drinks taste stronger, I do not know if they necessarily are stronger, but they do not blend their favors as smoothly as Starbucks does. Charlie Brown Cafe's drinks have very distinct tastes. I also prefer Starbucks because of their accommodation options. Given the recent discovery of an ulcer in my stomach lining, my diet has become very limited very quickly however due to their soy options there are still multiple drinks I can get at Starbucks. Thirdly, believe it or not all Starbucks locations are kept kosher, so I can drink them without my family nagging me. So next time that caffeine monkey jumps on your back where will it take you?
    

Mi Pueblito, Me Likey

         As a given I always have to embarrass my Big. And luckily most days, I do not have to work very hard at it. Since we can both eat Mexican food for days, we decided to have dinner at Mi Pueblito in Cotati the other night. We have never had a bad experience there, and that is a lot because we eat there quite frequently. I usually fill up on chips and salsa before we even get the chance to order, so its pretty cheap for a broke college student. However, this is your warning, their salsa is really spicy, tasty, but spicy. The chips are perfect, they are oily but not too oily, and salty, but not too salty. They have that perfect crisp, so they break easily but not into a million pieces that fall all over your lap while the cute waiter is trying to take your order. Big plus ladies, the waiter I have almost every single time is just as tasty as the food.
       It had been a really long day of not eating very much so my Big and I were starving. Usually I'm a pretty decisive person and can make big decisions such as what to order, pretty quickly. But tonight, I just could not decide between a cheese enchilada or a wet super vegetarian burrito. Obviously I picked the easiest yet least practical solution and ordered both. It was worth the expression on the cute waiter's face when he realized that after downing two bowls of chips and salsa I was ordering two meals. Not realizing my endless eating capabilities, we are pretty confident that he thought I was a preggo eggo.  That shows you waiter boy, I do not need to be pregnant to eat for two, I can do it all on my own.
       Ordering both meals was clearly the wise choice. Both were amazing. The enchilada sauce was one of the best I have ever had, not too spicy and not too creamy but not too thin or watery either. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of having a wet burrito from Mi Pueblito, stop what you are doing with your life and go get one. The super vegetarian had rice, beans, cheese, guacamole, salsa, lettuce, and (I know its strange but I promise lots of Mexican restaurants put these in their veggie burritos), broccoli, carrots, and zucchini. Since their burritos are about the size of a new born, you will never leave this restaurant hungry. You will leave like we did, barely able to keep your jeans buttoned. I promise, it is worth the bloat. Another positive aspect of eating here is that unlike some other restaurants in the area they are really student friendly and even host multiple fundraisers throughout the semester. In an area that is not so college-town friendly, it is really rewarding to find places that appreciate the business the students bring.

Oh hey, St.Patty

As a very proud Irish girl I prepared for St.Patty's day for weeks. I had class until 4:40 and then it was time to make my ancestors proud. I bought my ticket for the Get Lucky dance at the Phoenix two weeks in advance, and dropped some serious bank on a new green-liscious outfit. My guess is that being a broke starving college student, I have a very different definition of "serious bank" than others, but put yourself in my financial state and I promise you will understand the pain I feel each time I hand a sales associate my pink hello kitty debit card. As the day of my people came closer, I got more and more excited. As the beginning of the week approached I could barely contain my excitement. Not having any Monday classes, I spent my Monday at my friends house writing a paper we had due the next morning, and left around 10 happy and ready for a late night adventure with my roommates. I crawled into bed around 3 AM knowing I had begun my week on a great note. Then it happened.
            5 AM rolled around I sprung out of bed and made a mad dash for my bathroom. Something, a lot of something, was coming up. I will spare the details and just explain that I woke up on my bathroom floor about 12 hours later with the chills, body aches, and according to my nifty digital thermometer a fever of 101.5. Just my luck that my roommates were all out at the time, so I texted all of them demanding tylonel and company. Two minutes later my hero was standing over me with water and tylonel in hand. When she turned the light on it was as if there was a halo on her head and a hallelujah chorus praising her presence. However, I quickly began to resent her when she looked down at me, told me I looked like crap and insisted on taking me to the emergency room. Going to the ER meant walking to her car, a function I did not feel capable of. After the slowest and longest walk of my life, followed by sleeping in her car we arrived at the Petaluma Valley Hospital Emergency Room. I was poked and prodded and constantly told how horribly sick and pale I looked. 7 hours, 2 IV bags, 5 pills, and 2 doctors later I was back in my own bed. Being the responsible patient that I am all I could think about was Thursday night.

             Wednesday morning rolled around and I told myself it was all psychological, if I said I was okay and acted as if I was okay, I would be okay. Obviously that worked out real well for me, because I slept the day away and was sent home from the one class I tried to attend. Before I knew it, it was here. St. Patty's Day, this is not a drill, I repeat this is not a drill, the real thing had finally arrived. I was ready. I had the outfit, I had every minute of my day mapped out, I was about to make this day my b*tch. Apparently some higher power thought that my weeks of preparation were just not enough, because next thing I knew I was sick as a dog and my roommate was dragging me back to the all too familiar Petaluma Valley Hospital. After what felt like a lifetime, another 2 IV bags, endless visitors, and more pills the doctor arrived. Behind him were the two people I least expected to see , I knew the shoes before their faces were even in site and as my jaw dropped to the ground they began to laugh endlessly. They knew what shock I was in. I sent the much needed "hide everything" text to my roommate who had stayed behind, and looked up to find my parents standing over me. Hoping it was a hallucination I squeezed my eyes shut just to hear that familiar "Melissa Leanne what are you doing?"
           HOW WAS THIS HAPPENING? what did I do to deserve this kind of St.Patty's Day? What was supposed to be the best day of the month was turning into a nightmare. After being released I had to stay behind while my friends partied and went to the dance. I despised and resented each one of them for leaving me in bed on my 36 hour all water diet. Although the night was not a total waste, two of my friends who had opted not to go out stayed with me and we may or may not have pulled some amazing pranks in the party goers rooms and cars. If any questions were asked, we plead the fifth.