R.a.c.h.e.l’s Weblog

Once upon a time there was you,
once upon a time there was me.

We met.

Once upon a time there was you,
once upon a time there was me.

We became friends.

Once upon a time there was you,
once upon a time there was me.

We were separated for a time, but then we found each other again.

Once upon a time there was you,
once upon a time there was me.

We fell in love,
now there is us.

So in an attempt to get the business up and running, my partner and I created a blog, to help launch our concept out into the realm of cyberspace and endless possibilities.  I hope it works out.  Basically our concept stems from the fact that things suck, and what’s more, they suck for a lot of people our age, who seem to be getting the shaft when it comes to education and employment.  So we are wanting to do something about it, shine some light, let down a ladder, toss a paddle into the lake.

Any ideas, or comments you care to leave, please do so at:

http://yourgradlife.blogspot.com/

What an amazing birthday!!

I read a great article, a realistic yet optimistic article in the San Francisco Chronicle today, and it wasn’t the depressing nor was it whinny, it was real. The truth is, I happen to love journalism, always have. I happen to believe that even though the industry isn’t trusted or respected, it will eventually be needed all the same.   So when I read this article, I was reminded that I have to work harder, and aim high, otherwise I will loose my talent and my passion.

So to all my fellow journalists, hang in there, be bold, take chances, there are tons of stories waiting to be told!!

Favorite accessory? watch

What do you wear when you’re down? loungepants

When you’re feeling pretty? dress

When it’s raining? sweats

What do you sleep in? cotton

Favorite desginer? BCBG

Handbag? Cleobella

Jeans? vintage

Worst fashion moment? March

Mom’s style? conservative

Your L.A. style? casual

Your N.Y. style? trendy

Your L.V. style? comfortable

Three places you’d rather be right now? Hawaii, Greece, Tahiti

Your hair? uninventive

Favorite thing? MacBook

Celebrity crush? Timberlake

Favorite color? green

Drink? Coke

Food?Japanese

Your dream/goal? family

Your dream last night? creative

Your fear? rejection

Where do you want to be in 10 years? blissful

On your wish list? love

Your T.V.? unnoticed

Your computer? helpful

Your life? balanced

Your mood? mellow

Last time you cried? unimportant

Last time you laughed? weekend

So while valued educators are facing the possibility of being unemployed all across the nation, the legendary Manny Ramirez is getting a penalty of only 50 games for doing something questionable with substances.  Let’s put this in perspective shall we: we pay professional athletes millions of dollars, and they get a slap on the wrists when they cheat, or play unfair, and on the other hand, the threat of unemployment lurks over thousands of teachers, not administrators, but legitimate teachers, because states are in a budget crisis.  O how sad is the day when the most powerful country in the world is in trillions of dollars of debt, and yet we pay celebrities, athletes, politicians,and administrators their normal salaries.  Still we need to cut the deficeit and the only way to do that is to fire educators.

I was asked a few days ago the most random question ever.  If I had a superpower, what would it be?  Well I can’t fly, and I don’t have the best eye sight, I don’t have knives that come out of my hands, and I’m not capable of being invisible.  Is there still hope for me?  Thinking about the word superpower for just a second, the word suggests that there is a power that is more supreme than any force known to mankind.  Wait, I totally have one of those, two actually.

Forgiveness:  Hard to come by these days.  There is so much wrong being done, so much pain being inflicted.  The cycle of course is perpetuated when the wrong is turned into another wrong by those seeking vengeance and vindication.  Choices are a funny thing, we make choices everyday about the smallest things; why can’t forgiveness be a choice?  Well it is, and after all I’ve been through in recent years, I’ve learned that no matter what, the choices of others can’t really harm me unless I chose not to forgive them.  Resentment and bitterness only damage the hurt individual more.  So one of my superpowers, is the choice I make to forgive! It’s not flying or turning invisible, but it’s rare and unique, and that is really what superpowers are about.

Optimism: My second superpower would hands down be optimism.  I’ve always taken the ‘glass half full’ approach.  A very good friend taught me to rely on the motto, ‘when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.’  Maybe my optimism makes me too trusting, but thank goodness I have superpower number 1 to back me up.  I say again, too much bad in the world, confusion and chaos roam free, but there is always a brightside.  So not knives coming out of my hands, or the ability to see through walls, but the powers I have I chose to exercise to try to make the world a little brighter.

“I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.”
- Goethe

Yes, I would say it is.  Is today’s journalsim essential to democracy? No, I would say it is not.  True journalism hasn’t existed in its rare and unadulterated form in quite some time, especially since we gave Perez Hilton his own website and called him an ‘entertainment’ journalist/blogger.  Is that really all anyone cares about anymore? Who is sleeping with who, the octo-mom and her new house for all the kids she can’t afford, and my personal favortite, is Angelina too skinny? Who the hell cares? Maybe all the attention given to glamour, fame and stardom should’ve been directed at the CEO’s who are now taking bonus checks when there are thousands of Americans who are jobless.  Perhaps we should’ve been more concerened with getting the scoop on that story!  I didn’t spend four years in college, and am continuing to spend another two years at the master’s level so that Danny, Rick, Susie, and Nadine could sit at home in their underpants and “break” news on their blogs.  I blog because sometimes I have thoughts which I can’t convey anywhere else.  How sad is it that reporters are being let go and newspapers are out of style.  It marks the end of period of time when life could afford a few moments to pick up a newspaper, sit at the breakfast table with your family or whoever and be informed about what is going on locally as well as internationally.

Thomas Jefferson once said, “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”

I say again, journalism today suffers, the journalism of today is not essentail for democracy because it’s not about informing the public anymore, now it’s about the almighty dollar.  Editors have quotas to meet, coporate interests to look out for, and the news, the truth, it suffers.  Like democracy, in its true form, journalism is a way of bringing ideas and facts together, thereby letting the reader form an opinion.  Is that not how democracy functions?  A plethora of ideas, being neatly molded into issues and laws that we the public vote on from time to time.  Are we the public so fixed in the so-called ‘consumer-driven’ society where are we care about it is whether or not Ashton Kutcher is going to beat CNN to a million followers on Twitter?

Call me old fashioned, anti-progressive, or just plain stupid, but I’m willing to bet money, that one day, it will all get old.  People distrust the news and news organizations so much, gee, isn’t that how it always has been, even during the founding of this country, did the press not exist to expose greed and coruption, and also shine light on those situations that were beyond comprehension.  Of course that is how it is supposed to work, no body likes the truth, people don’t want to admit when they are wrong.  No one is perfect, I’m not suggesting they should be, everyone could benefit from having a little slack cut their way.  But these are subcategories to the issues that continue to look the average American in the face daily, and if I’m complaining, at least I plan to “do” my part in chaning it, instead of being someone who complains and yet doesn’t have the balls to do anything about it.  I will do my part to bring journalism back from the long sleep its been in for years!!