Not so deep but surely interesting thoughts on this May evening

I get why my Granddad is confused. Facebook and Twitter are all over the news. Sometimes they’re in articles about the new privacy policies or fads that are causing a ruckus. Most of the time they are mentioned at the end of stories. “You can also find them on Twitter and Facebook,” the reporter says. If I didn’t know what either of those were I’d probably Google it or check out Wikipedia. But what about Granddad? I’m sure he’s not the only old guy who watches the news. What about the other folks who don’t know what this new media is?

It’s been about a year since I started studying journalism here at the U of O. I’m still baffled by the changes in media. Sure, there are still jobs in journalism. But things are changing so fast and sometimes so slow that it’s hard to know exactly where to look.

On the other hand, it’s pretty rad that new media is taking over the world. I love that social media is becoming so strong. People are more aware of what things are happening in the world. They engage in the conversations. What could be wrong with that?

I’m not quite sure what the future of journalism is gonna look like. I’m not positive what my future will look like and even if I’m going to be working in journalism. We’ll see. There’s no sense in getting ahead of ourselves.

that dang language barrier

Japanese. Korean. Chinese. Indonesian. German. They’re all foreign to me. I barely know a word of any of the languages. Perhaps I could understand one word in a typical conversation. This would be only because the word is a cognate. I just don’t know enough foreign languages.

Today, I took the bus from the U of O to downtown Eugene. During that short seven to ten minute trip, I sat next to two people from Asia. Unfortunately, because of my ignorance about Asian cultures, I couldn’t even tell you where they were from or what language they were speaking. It made me sad.

While I was sitting there, I was writing in my journal. I stopped when I heard a word I thought I understood. I honestly believe they may have been talking about how no one understood them when they spoke on the bus. I heard, “they learn English in grade school, English in middle school, and English in high school.” And then there was laughter. Okay, so I’m not sure they were saying this, but as I’ve said before, I’m a tid-bit narcissistic and suffer from a slight case of Truman Syndrome and thus believe everyone is always talking or thinking about me.

As I sat there in ignorance, I was transported back to Ukraine. My friends and I used to visit Kyiv every few months. When we got together on the Metro, we were always loud. I tried to shut us up; I hated to be an obnoxious American, but it didn’t matter. We were loud. We dressed funny. And we always stuck out on the Metro.

One of the reasons I learned Ukrainian so well was to abolish the isolation I felt for being a foreigner. I think it’s important to learn and see other cultures. Learning the language of the other culture is an essential part of this.

Here’s the summer goal: No matter where I am this summer, I’m going to work on my Spanish. It’s important. A good chunk of our population in the Pacific Northwest grew up with Spanish as its primary language. It’s about time I step up to the plate and communicate effectively with my friends and neighbors. ☺

HEROES

“I already have a family.” And she jumps out of the window. Talk about great television. I’m hooked.

Heroes is just about the greatest show I could be watching.

Hiro Nakamura – by far the coolest hero ever.

Some kid from my grad school classes doesn’t like the show. He says it’s a knock-off of X-Men. Even if it were, it wouldn’t matter. I love it.

Sylar – Evil Man. What power allows him to move things and stop bullets mid-air?

Peter Petrelli – My hero.

“Turns out you’re the villain, Peter. I’m the Hero.” – Sylar

The bomb. AHH!!!

“Save the cheerleader; save the world.” Hmm. What is going on? I doubt Nathan really just died. And there is a big explosion in the air. So Nathan did turn out to be a good guy? What? So confused and yet the music is supposed to help me feel much better, happy and good, you know.

Good line: “Home is anywhere our family is together.” – Mr. Bennett

Is Ando going to be gone from Volume 3? I really liked him. He was funny and cute.

I finally finished watching Heroes Season 1. My sister loaned it to me when I visited her for New Years. It’s now the middle of May. Oops.

I always wanted to be Supergirl when I was little. She could fly. She had blonde hair and she saved people. I never thought superheroes could have all the super powers they have in Heroes. I mean, Claire can’t die. She just regenerates. How groovy is that?

Superpowers… What power would you have if you were a superhero?

cell phone terror

There’s a reason I try not to have cell phone conversations in front of others. People listen in. I do it. My ear stretches out to catch the private words people are sharing in public. Why wouldn’t I listen in when the person is shouting so loud into the phone that even my grandfather with horrible hearing could catch every word?

The other day, I took a bus to campus. When I got on, a girl was talking to her friend about school stuff. When she got off, she was still talking to the same friend. We both walked across the street and took the same sidewalk up 13^th on campus. She was still talking to her friend. At first, I’d been listening. Then, I realized I was annoyed and started to tune her out. By the time I got to the path to the J-School, she still hadn’t stopped her conversation.

Seriously? Does she like to be noisy and obnoxious with her telephone conversations?

Yesterday, I got news that I was one of the people OPB was looking at for a summer internship. I was pretty stoked. I tried to e-mail my mom about it, but she didn’t read them right away. I ended up calling her when I was walking four blocks from my house. Sure, I was chatting loudly on my phone, but I made sure there weren’t any people walking behind me. Plus, the convo only lasted about two minutes.

Cell phones... Be careful where you use them.

job skills

When I was in high school, I took a skills test. It asked about my interests, where I wanted to live, and how much money I wanted to make a year. I wasn’t sure how much money was normal, so I shot high. I was a smart girl, I thought. Why NOT make a bunch of money?

Well, that skills test hasn’t gotten me anywhere. I know the same things I did back then. I love to write and I love photography. But neither of those has made me any money yet.

Tonight, my cousin called me about a possible move to Portland. She’s going to need a new roommate and wants to know if I can move up north. I would love to, but I’m not quite sure what the heck is going on these days. I need a job. I need to finish school. And I need a vacation. That’s all I know.

I started to browse online for jobs in Portland. I had no luck so I moved on to Seattle, the place I really want to move to. I stumbled upon the job title, “funeral director.” That’s what the skills test told me. I was going to be a funeral director. There was no other way to use my smart skills and make that amount of money. Hmm… is this my calling?

homework stuff

Whenever I work on homework, I surround myself with distractions. I don’t know that it’s the smartest idea.

Look at today.
I got home at four. I decided to take a short break and watch something on Hulu. It was the latest episode of Glee. Then, I started to download songs from iTunes. It’s my latest addiction. iTunes can be dangerous to the poor girl’s budget. After iTunes, it was Friday Night Lights (FNL) on Netflix. I’m loving this new show. I have to read the book for a project. The show is great too. The goal is to connect with small town life and be motivated to search for the thing that holds Dayton (Oregon) together. I’m so enthralled with the show that I have a hard time thinking of anything but football. And sure football used to keep Dayton together, but I’m not sure that it still does today. After FNL, I decided to work on homework. I pulled up my word document and typed a little bit. Then, I checked my blog. A friend had left a comment. I went to her website… for half an hour. Then, I had to move on. More homework. First, a little music. Rating songs on iTunes. Working on my laptop in bed. Watching and listening to 30 Rock. Talking to a friend on the phone. Writing this blog post.

So yeah, I’m having a little trouble focusing on my homework.

Introvert vs. Extrovert

I was reading something in Mental Floss, the best magazine in the world, and I stumbled across a bit about personality type. I decided to figure out what kind of person I am and I asked my brother his opinion. Am I an introvert or an extrovert? Without thinking for a second he said, “introvert.”

“Really,” I asked.

“Well, you were when you were younger,” he said.

Hmm… that got me thinking.

A little while later, I asked my sister. “Shanna, am I an introvert or an extrovert?”

“Extrovert,” she said. “But sometimes you can be a little introverted.”

What a strange thing this personality thing is. I suppose I’m a miffle. Yes, this is a Sharece word. It means the same thing as “enigma.” Yep. I’m a mystery. At times, especially when I’m in strange and unfamiliar places, I get quiet. I may not be “shy” but I am most definitely quiet. The wheels are turning at record speed but I’m not sure what exactly is going on.

I’m not sure what to really call myself. All I really know is that I’m Rece. I love to talk. I can also listen. And people watching can be a whole lot of fun.

Fairy tale rebeliever

I don’t believe in fairy tales. Sure, I like to read the occasional story to my niece. And the Disney princess movies will always hold a special place in my heart, but for the most part, fairy tales cease to be real to me.

There is a story, however, that has recently filled an empty hole in my heart. The Princess and the Frog is by far the BEST Disney princess story of all time. Mulan doesn’t count as she isn’t a real princess, is she?

I used to love Sleeping Beauty best. Then I grew up and realized that Princess Aurora basically gets hurt and can only get made better when a prince comes to save her. Come on now, how realistic is that? Princes just don’t ride up on their white horses anymore, despite what Julia Roberts and Richard Gere pretend in Pretty Woman.

Okay, so I know I probably sound like a bitter old woman, but that’s not what I intend at all. This new frog movie has revitalized my faith in the whole love biz. Yep. Love stories may not always turn out the way we expect, kiss a frog and you find your prince, but they may turn out eventually, down by the Bayou. ☺