Ahhh, tax season.

Just had a mini revelation while in the shower...I was thinking about how a certain employer *cough*Plano Pets *cough* still hasn't given me my W2 from last year, then my thoughts pondered to how he was probably taking more taxes out since he is such a shady individual...and then came to ponder what other ways I am being screwed with my taxes...so I'm posting it although I'm sure millions of other people have already thought about this. Hah.

So I figure that the government or someone else are probably screwing us in some manner because no one nowadays knows how to do their own taxes.  America has become SO lazy! Back when my grandfather was our age, he knew how to do his taxes.  Then, the age of personal tax people came along so we wouldn't have to bother with knowing all of the stuff, and they would just do it for us.  Alas, then the internet came along and TurboTax has taken over doing our taxes online...So we just plug numbers into our computers and rely on it to do our taxes for us.  I'm still weary every time I deposit a check into an ATM, it's amazing that we let technology handle our money going to the government. Just sayin. Any thoughts or enlightenments?

Excuse the randomness. I've been up since 8 am at school and didn't get off work until midnight. Ohhh college life is fun, right?

I wrote this for my philosophy blog. :]

For my Philosophy of Contemporary Environmental Issues class, we have weekly readings which are relatable to current issues regarding the environment, different ethnic groups, religion, among other things. Anywho, for every reading, we read current news articles that may pertain to it. For that article, we write a blog post. So, since I haven't posted for a while, I figured I would post mine for this week. :]

In the article, "Maybe no one cares about climate change because we're wired for extinction", George Black reports on a thesis written by psychologist Andrew Shatte, who basically states that humans are hardwired for extinction. How? Shatte parallels humans to the Irish Elk, which became extinct about 110 centuries ago. Comparable to modern day elk, the males had huge antlers to assert dominance as well as to attract mates. However, the antlers these massive beasts carried were abnormally large, and would hinder their ability to easily navigate in its surroundings, thus causing them to starve to death, or eventually ate away at the Elk's calcium since they were unable to eat enough calories to nourish the growth of their antlers. So why are we like the Irish elk? Shatte states that the human brain development is behind and fails to change with the issues in our world. This causes us to fear the same things humans feared years and years ago, such as sharks or snakes. Black then goes on to state that Americans have the least amount of concern when compared to other developed countries when it comes to the crisis of the environment due to human destruction. His speculation for this is that there are a great number of conservative states in our country, and since they are generally anti-science, they completely ignore and retaliate against any government attempt to control carbon emissions. But the question still poses, why are Americans the least concerned for the environmental crisis? Eileen Claussen* states that the United States is the only country in the developed world that has a major political party who turns a blind eye to the scientific community. It is so discouraging to see political parties in America disagree on something that seems so common sense: preserving the world in any way possible, even if it's something as simple as recycling.

I personally feel that the Republican's refusal to acknowledge that the climate crisis is a tremendous matter which needs immediate attention has a lot to do with the fundamental detached thinking of Americans - that we can control nature to fit our demands as we see fit. In Aldo Leopold's writing, "Thinking Like a Mountain", he describes how he finds a wolf and a pack of her pups and kills her because it was convention to kill a wolf upon sight. He then depicts the "fierce green fire" in her eyes vanish as she was dying.  In the eyes of hunters, fewer wolves meant more deer to hunt; in the eyes of farmers, fewer wolves meant less predators to prey upon their stock. However, as Leopold witnesses the "wolfless mountain and [saw] the south-facing slopes wrinkle with a maze of new deer trails" (Leopold, page 2), he sees that a mountain without wolves was not the hunter's paradise he had envisioned. Instead, lay a desolate, rock-barren mountain overrun with starving deer.  He states that we have not learned to think like a mountain, because we fail to foresee what damage may come when humans upset the perfect balance of mother nature.  In this way, we continue to ignore the problems that occur from our actions. We seem to see nature as an expendable resource, and absorb everything we can from an area until we have annihilated everything.  What happens then, when we have nothing left to destroy? 

Butterfly kisses and secret wishes.

Wow! I seem to suck at this blogging thing, it has been a while since I have written last. This has certainly been a week of crazy! Currently switching jobs (hooray for no longer having to drive 30 minutes to and from work), and studying for a killer chemistry test tomorrow. Needless to say, this girl is worn out!

So...as we all know, today is Valentine's Day (or for some, Singles Awareness Day).
Never been much of a romantic, so this is always a weird time for me. Ideas fail to come to mind, and I try to avoid stores because they are so cluttered with masses of pink, red, and white. It's pretty overwhelming in my opinion. Since Nathan and I are a pretty odd couple to begin with, naturally, we celebrated in our own special way.

NARBC is THE north Texas reptile convention. The North American Reptile Breeders Conference attracts reptile breeders from all over to sell their critters at this show. This year, Kalah, Nathan, and I made our excursion to the Arlington Convention Center, where there happened to be a Yu-Gi-Oh championship next door (was anyone aware people still played???! I may have to bust out my Pokemon cards...hah). Anyways, getting a little off track here. Every time I go to one of these, I vow to NOT bring home another animal. But Nathan being the spontaneous soul that he is, talked me into getting a gargoyle gecko (which I have ALWAYS wanted...they are just so darn adorable!) Meet Valentine. :]

Haha, Kalah and I are losers and got these cool Petsmart tattoos...why are they on our forearms like that? We're still not quite sure. Hah.

On another note, Nathan has decided to join the Air Force in the fall! SO excited for him and this opportunity, what other job will offer the travel, free school, and will over all just TAKE CARE of you like they will? (And if someone knows, then hook me up pretty please. :])
So what are we doing relationship-wise, you might ask?
We're sticking together of course! What else would two kids head over heels in love do? ;]
I'm so grateful for having him in my life, and I love everything about who he is.
So here's to you, my love, for the smiles and laughter, for being a shoulder to cry on, for being an ear to vent to, for loving me regardless of my many faults and oddities, and for most of all, being my best friend. I can't wait to see what this new adventure has in store for us!

college chemistry may not be the death of me

today I'm thankful for Mrs. Robinson...because even though she was extremely difficult, 5 years down the road I still remember a lot of my chemistry skills (with some reminding of course). :] hooray!

Snowpocalypse 2011

Today is day 5 of "Snowpocalypse 2011". I am extremely grateful for having such a wonderful boyfriend to curb my cabin fever with, and for my family and friends being safe on their ventures. :]

We ventured to Michael's on foot...which was a very smart idea in case anyone was wondering (Hah, I might as well say to you, Ashley since you're the only one who reads this. :])...and got several projects to keep us occupied for the next few days. :D

a marvelous fruit salad. :]

We also made an awesome snowman at work, he's pretty rad. :] Yay for being paid while doing this!!!

The Internet is for...

This year, I am trying to broaden my knowledge as much as possible. I feel so ignorant of many things that are going on in the world, because I'm starting to realize that the more I see, the less I know.

The internet is truly an amazing thing. I am grateful to have the world at my fingertips.
It is day seven of the Egyptian protests in an attempt to overthrow their current president, Hosni Murbarak, who has reigned for about thirty years. Because of the internet, this Revolution has reached many people that otherwise would not have cared.

So, if you took the two minutes to read this, you should take four minutes to refrain from watching yet another silly (yet super cute) kitteh video and watch this video instead. :] Who knows, you might actually learn something. :]

Artwork with the love of my life.

Nathan decided to take me on an amazing date to Lowe's, and this is what we have created thus far:

Finger painting dates are amazing fun, I highly recommend trying it out at some point. :] We still ended up having a lot of paint left, so these are the first of many of our creations! We're hoping to fill a whole wall with color and awesome-ness.

The first one was actually our second "masterpiece". Haha, our first attempt at fingerpainting together ended up not meshing well. Perhaps if we alter it a little I will end up posting it. It's hard to notice, but in the background the colors are going in different ways because Nathan started on one side, while I started on the other. In person, it looks really cool because the styles of the colors collide. :]

The second was done on a black poster board, and the inspiration came from an American Eagle shirt that Nathan has with this image on it. We thought it was pretty unique looking, so there it is. :]

I adore you, Nathan Alan Hyer, because I love you more than I could ever promise, and you take me the way I am.

Good morning starshine, the Earth says hello

I love the feeling of the sun on my skin. I love how it warms and spreads happiness throughout me. :]

As much as I hate the frigid cold of Texas, I prefer it to most any other state simply because most days of the year, it is nice and sunny. So thank you Texas, for giving me a break from the winter and being a lovely 75 degrees for me to frolic in.

Temper gets you into trouble, but pride keeps you there.

We all loathe being wrong.
We often dig our heels in and keep our stance because we allow our pride to control our emotions.

This is especially true in relationships...we want our significant other to see our side so badly, that we sometimes forget that they have a side too. So today, I'm thankful for forgiveness. Because we cannot show our unconditional love for someone unless we learn to forgive them, and we cannot gain their love unless we are forgiven.

"I'm just a little girl lost in the moment, I'm so scared, but I don't show it. I can't figure it out, it's bringing me down. I know I've got to let it go and just enjoy the show." - Lenka, "The Show"

tree huggers and whale savers

I am so grateful for Reema. Although I have only known you for a little over a year, I feel like I know you better than any other friend. Thanks for the car rides, hysterical laughs, killing rants, Dr. Pepper, and the tree adventures. Most of all, thanks for listening and keeping me sane (for the most part anyways). Also, thanks for teaching me how to embrace the evil side of life. Life is much more fun this way. :]

For better of for worse, you have changed me for good...and I look forward to spending an eternity of 'fun hell' with you. :] No homo though.

"I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn. And we are led to those who help us most to grow if we let them, and we help them in return. Well I don't know if I believe that's true...but I know I'm who I am today because I knew you." - Wicked.

laughing

I cannot imagine a day without smiling...even on my worst days something will make me laugh, and in those moments, what bothered me or made me upset will vanish from my mind.

So here's to the silly cat videos, the ridiculous blogs, hilarious friends, and an amazing boyfriend. Y'all lift me up with the smallest things without always knowing it! :]

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." - Leo F. Buscaglia

windows down, wind blowing through my hair

Today I am thankful for these car rides alone. With such a busy schedule, I'm always running from school  to work and at the same time attempting to maintain some sort of social life...these car rides are where I can have peace, solitude, or even scream and sing my frustrations into the wind.

a fresh start.

I know, it is already halfway through January...however I have decided to write about one thing which I am grateful for every day...or at least try to anyways. (I do admit, I am pretty terrible at keeping up with journals) Looking back on this year, many things in my life have changed...many for the better, some perhaps not so much. Either way, I am a much different person than I was 365 days ago.

So, the first thing that I am thankful for is taking a leap of faith.
I have always been a very cautious person...I suck at being too opinionated, and I am indecisive and tend to weigh out each possibility. However, without taking a leap of faith every once in a while, life is dull and colorless. I am so thankful for finally having the balls to be me...without caring what anyone else thinks.