Relaxation Techniques

Today, certain people continued to get on my nerves, and I was pretty fed up with the world. I really was not in the mood to deal with anyone. I had planned to stay after, but my club was cancelled and I missed the bus... So, I went to the only place that I could: the art room.

I expected to just work for a little while and get pretty bored... I actually really started to relax! It was so nice just to be able to meditate on my art piece and forget about the world. I could literally just focus on my drawing and block everything else out. This time also gave me a chance to sort some things out in my head. I had a quiet, calm place to think and plan. The art room = HEAVEN! I then went home to rant to my mom about everything that annoys me, but that's besides the point - I found a sanctuary!

I've gotta learn how to meditate for real, now. . . :)

Even more thoughts...

As you can see, my post titles are becoming less and less creative - oh well, at least they're still coming. This is the longest that I've ever been blogging on one site!

I have very little homework, because it's the first day back from midterms. So nice not to have to work!

The weather today was supposed to be horrendous, but it turned out to be not so bad. Of course, my school district was the only one that was still open (as usual), but I got a lot out of being in school. I complained about it a lot, but then I realized that in the end, what's one day in a lifetime? Anyways, school is going great. I have a couple of really close awesome friends, and all of my teachers are great this year! :)

Hey, by the way, check out this video embodying the entire Obama campaign. It's beautiful:




or what about this? Ugh, Bush...




Why do so many ignorant people wink? Bush, Palin, cough cough.

I have a great video that I made with all of the best debate moments from Palin... I'll try to upload it...

So yes, today's theme was politics, obviously. Well, I hope you've enjoyed it!

See ya! - Brianna

More thoughts...

Here's some great essays about teenage inauguration attendees - definitely worth reading!

Midterms are over! I did fairly well on all. They were not as bad as I expected, although I still don't understand the necessity of them only in certain classes.

I'm working on making the blog more interesting without clogging it up, so thoughts would be great. I've added a music player, so comment about that... It was surprisingly easier than I'd planned for.

I'm dreading actually having to go to classes tomorrow - even though there were exams, I enjoyed having half days today and yesterday! I definitely enjoy school, but of course with high school comes the typical social awkwardness(although I still feel like I have some good friends), and the high stakes for grades - that's pressure, haha. I do cause some of it, considering the fact that I'm the freshman that's concerned with college.

Also, I finished a very peculiar book review from the New York Times: it chronicled a woman's experience in a mental hospital. The catch was, she feigned being mentally ill to experience firsthand patient conditions, so that she could write about them. Being in these facilities, she relapsed into depression, and truly needed treatment. A similar idea was done by Nellie Bly, the famous journalist, during the Industrial Revolution. Here are the two links:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/health/27book.html?ref=health
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/bly/madhouse/madhouse.html

Another hot topic: teens and sex. It's being discussed on nytimes.com, which says that despite rumors of teens being wildly promiscuous, the percentage of sexually active teens has gone down. It appears that teens today are more careful about sex, but that ideals behind relationships have changed. There are "hook-ups" more often, where teens are physically intimate without having a long-term relationship. This is where "friends with benefits" falls. Those that are unwilling to commit but are interested in a physical relationship become "friends with benefits" or "hook-up". So, what do I, a real live teen, have to say about all this? Well...

It's clear that sex is on teens' minds; anyone could see that. At my school, teens have been "going out" and having relationships since 5th grade. The "popular" teens constantly switch boyfriends and girlfriends, and by this point, certain students have gone out with almost all of their friends of the opposite sex. What I don't understand is, how does one "go out" without having a car? Your parents have to give you rides, so it's technically not "going out". But that's not the point. As I was saying, teens do think constantly about sex and relationships, and some adults have caught on to this. They attempt to talk to us about this, which is extremely awkward, and they do excercises about this type of thing. My classmates and I were "polled" by our guidance counselors, to discover that we perceived the senior class as wild, party-loving, substance-abusing, non-virgins. In actuality, I know many upperclassmen that I know are not sexually active. Yes, there is a percentage of students in each grade, but for the most part, teens may talk, but do they actually do it? My guess is no.

Well, that's all for now. Ta ta!

Midterms

THEY CONSUME MY LIFE!

I won't be blogging for a few days because of them, but I'll be back ASAP!

Thoughts

Here's an interesting article about fairness. It bothers me that this game even happened - what were they thinking when they agreed to this matchup??? Can anyone say "unfair"? It's disturbing to see some of the comments on that. Thoughts?

Interesting...

Here's two very interesting editorials from the New York Times, one on Chief Justice John Roberts' flubbing of the presidential oath, and the other on what we hope the Obama presidency will mean for America. Check those out, and comment with opinions.

Also, I'm currently reading a book titled Coffee With Buddha. In it, Buddha is fictionally "interviewed" by the author. It provides an insight into the life of Buddha, and the concepts of Buddhism. Buddhism is much more complicated than I'd thought! I'm really enjoying learning about how to let go of things, which would be an excellent skill for me to have. Also, it teaches the basics of meditation. I've tried it, but have been unsuccessful so far. If anyone wants to try to meditate, here's a great link on basic stuff. Again - more complicated than it seems.

I play in my school's pep band, which plays at all the home games for basketball season. It's actually pretty fun, and we all joke around about being band geeks... fun times. Also, a really great thing about my school is that the athletes and cheerleaders don't consider themselves elite. In fact, many of them aren't the "popular people". So, yeah. B-ball games are pretty fantastic, hanging with friends and watching some really talented players. Always a good time!!!

Ah! I am definitely in the mood for some pizza right now, even though I had some last night! Oh well...

Well, I have a very busy weekend, and I have to study for midterms. But I think it'll get done alright. I hope. Wish me luck!
-Brianna

Simple Musings...

Seeing as how I've vowed to write as often as possible, and as how nothing extraordinary happened today, I'll share some general thoughts.

First, I guess something did happen today. Obama has already halted prosecutions at the torture center Guantánamo. Yay! Change is currently here, with much more to come. Here's the article.

Also, I'm a self-proclaimed technology addict. With the blogging, checking email, and scouring news sites, I'm hooked. It's so hard not to wonder what's been going on in the past few moments, knowing that you can check with a few clicks of the mouse. I seriously need to work on this. Right now, I'm currently wondering if I have any new mail in my two email accounts. Sure, computers and the internet are wonderful things, but in moderation. IN MODERATION. haha...

Thirdly, I've caught midterm fever!!! Geez, you think they'd go easy on freshmen, but not so. I have three exams that are major portions of my grade, all next week. I stayed after school to look at old global studies tests and record some of the difficult questions and terms to study... That took longer than I thought! A good 40 minutes, and 3 pages worth of notes!!! It better be worth it - I'm bringing home huge, paper-stuffed binders every day, wondering to myself, "When does the madness end???" Hopefully, soon.

Currently listening to the hit of the 2000s, "Stacy's Mom". How many people remember this song??? I heard a kid playing it in the lobby of my school during one lunch period, and since then, I've bought it on iTunes and played it nonstop. It brings back memories of elementary school, snack times, wasted nap hours, and being in one classroom all day. Good times!

Speaking of nap-time... Don't you wish we still had naptime? I miss it. A lot. As a kindergartener, I didn't understand the true value of something like that. Now, with exams, honors classes, and extracurriculars piling up, I'd love to fall asleep for a half hour in the middle of the day! Ha. Opinions on this? Maybe I'll set up a poll on this page about that... Hmm... :D

Well, back to studying for now. Thanks for reading!

-Brianna

PS - Thanks to Chris Iven at the Post Standard Voices page for the shoutout! I appreciate the compliments and publicity.

Inauguration Day

So, yes. Today was the long-awaited day when President Elect Barack Obama took the oath of office and was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. It was a momentous occasion for many, seeing as how Obama comes into office during such tumultuous times. I had two friends at the inauguration. I remained in Central New York, enjoying the festivities from home. Before I describe my experiences, I'd like to discuss a few things...

Firstly, I am bothered by the fact that people feel the need to identify Obama as the "First Black/African-American President". Yes, based on skin color, this is something that is new to America, but is his race truly the important thing? I'd rather refer to him as the President that brought change and hope, who happened to be PARTLY AFRICAN AND PARTLY CAUCASIAN. Yes, that's right. He's not all African American! He's biracial, just like me. So therefore, he's not our first black president... That's not a bad thing, just saying. Besides, AMERICA STILL LOVES YOU! :)

Also, did anyone else notice that the invocation prayer leader happened to be an openly anti-gay Californian pastor? Offensive???

What did you think of Obama's speech? I thought that it wasn't his best, but it wasn't his worst. He is an extremely powerful speaker, and his speeches are extremely well-written. I was very impressed with his composure and eloquence, even if he does use teleprompters...haha.

We watched this in school, in an assembly in the auditorium. I expected kids to be rude and chaotic, but actually, I was pleasantly surprised. I was overjoyed to see the entire school stand and become quiet as Barack Obama was sworn in as our 44th President. It almost brought me to tears to see so many unique individuals unite for those few moments, all because of one man.

Thanks to today, I truly have hope and faith in the future. For Obama - time to get started on those campaign promises!

See ya!
Brianna

Funk N Waffles

Last night, I went to see Joe Driscoll in performance at Funk N Waffles. It was absolutely amazing!

Funk N Waffles is a fun little place on the SU campus, behind Marshall Street. To get there, you walk down a little alley and down some stairs to reach a set of double doors. Inside of those doors is an awesome restaurant and music venue. Serving waffles and panini sandwiches with a variety of hot and cold drinks, this place is definitely funky. They have normal hours, but are often open after hours for band performances like Joe's. Also, this venue doesn't serve alcohol, making it a prime place to hang out for "cool" high schoolers and collegiates that are under 21. The fact that there is no alcohol also makes it more family-friendly, in a sense.

We arrived at the door a few minutes before 8:00, hoping to get in early for good seats. Unfortunately, we had to wait outside in the doorway until exactly 8:00, because of setup.

Once we were inside, the café opened up, allowing us to order all sorts of fun dishes. I, being very traditional, ordered the Brussels: a typical, light Belgian waffle. It was fantastic. I was with several friends and my family; they ordered Brownie Waffle Sundaes and a Grilled Cheese Panino on foccacia. Both were excellent as well. The food was wonderful, and it was to be followed with some amazing music.

The ambiance of this little restaurant is very unique. Drawing in a crowd of "indie"-type students, it's not uncommon to see Afros, dreadlocks, piercings, bushy beards, and tons of original clothing items. This clientel brings with it a rambunctious, fun-loving, risk-taking mood, accompanied by the occasional usage of some swear words. I was a bit overcome by this crowd at first, and I could tell that some of my company was as well - we don't usually hang out with this type. With time, I grew to love the feeling in the room, and relax. Overall, the crowd stayed under control, having tons of fun dancing and singing along to Joe's music.

The night was opened by two members of the band Dufus. I found their music to be a bit on the wild side, but with lots of positive energy and emotion. They played one set, with very original songs and sounds. It was pleasing to listen to, but to think about the meaning of the words/music would be to ruin it.

Then came Joe. Joe Driscoll is a performer who uses a loop machine to create background for his singing. He beatboxes/sings/plays guitar or digeridoo into the mic, and it will record and repeatedly play back, creating the sensation of a band, when there is only one man. This is a truly fantastic thing to watch, and listen to. This was my first time seeing him live, after hearing his CDs. It was so cool to see Joe beatbox for a couple of beats and then be able to stop without the sound ending. His spectacular performance got the crowd dancing. We danced long and hard, and Joe's first set didn't end until 11:00. The crowd definitely enjoyed this one-man band, who happened to be accompanied by a saxophonist and an African drummer on that night. It was great to see.

So, overall, what did I think of Funk N Waffles? Amazing, if you couldn't already tell. It's great to have a local alcohol-free spot for teens to hang out. Good times!

By the way, Happy MLK Day! Happy Inauguration Day Eve!

-Brianna

Hello world!

Hello, everyone! My name is Brianna, and I'll be sharing what I like to call "Central New York Experiences". These are local experiences that have made a difference in my life. Feel free to comment on my own experiences with experiences of your own! This will be somewhat like a journal, so we'll see how this goes. Look around, explore, and enjoy!