The Heartless & The Homeless

     I know for many it is difficult to understand how someone could become homeless. But that's a whole different topic for another time, I think.

     The complexities of community responsibility in Los Angeles as well as the realities that homeowners have to deal with 'traffic control' come to a head. Many moons ago, I used to have less compassion for the homeless. That comes from being brought up in a place where there wasn't an evident homeless problem, where misconceptions were perpetuated. "They should just go out and get a job like everyone else..." "The takers keep on taking..." "Don't give them money because they'll just spend it on alcohol and drugs..."

     When you find out the story behind each face, homeless grows into a new definition. When you find out that people you know are or were homeless, you somehow separate them from the rest of the homeless. But that's the problem: many don't make the connection that each homeless person comes with a unique story that is no less valuable than their own. People need to stop viewing those without material goods as sub-humans. It's unfair to think that, just because you are without residence, that your rights as a human become null and void. But that's the sad truth in this country.

     I kind of feel like I'm rambling today, but talking about our homeless population really sickens me because it is a problem that could be easily solved by a little contribution from EVERYONE in a community.  There are over 53,000 homeless people in Los Angeles, many of them are children. Los Angeles Almanac (laalmanac.com) reports that about "42% to 77% [of the homeless population] do not receive public benefits to which they are entitled." We have become a world of Me Me MEEE, and I think we need to reevaluate how we want our world to be. Mr. Homeless Man on the street is my responsibility as well as yours.

     There are so many with warm souls on the inside, while their outsides are covered in filth and excrement. It sickens me that people in a community would actively try to starve others just because they are viewed as a nuisance. That sounds like the Middle Ages to me.

     '“People here — it’s their only way to eat,” said one homeless man, Aaron Lewis, who lives on the sidewalk outside a 7-Eleven. “The community doesn’t help us eat.”'

     Los Angeles City Council, please don't give in to the voices of a few "entitled" homeowners. Step up to the plate and make positive changes instead of further oppressing a minority voice. Our homeless population could be a thing of the past if we all work together.

If you want to read the original article: http://goo.gl/ar76dc

Might As Well Face It; I'm Addicted To My Smartphone

     I don't even know what life was like before my first smartphone. I guess I remember playing Bookworm, or accessing some music database. What I remember about these dark ages is that I had limited access to the internet, to the world wide web of DATA...sweet information at my fingertips!  

     

     I now have an app on my smartphone that tells me movie information at the drop of a hat. When I wake up, I like to read my virtual newspaper. I usually start with Twitter, looking at my news list. I knew what happened before many people that there was a shooting at LAX because of my resources, like,  Facebook and Twitter. Basically, I start my mornings checking to see whether the world is still operational or not. 

     I also have a smartphone app that helps me study for data-intensive classes. For example, do you know when the Middle Ages began and ended? What key instruments were used during the Renaissance? I do, and it's because of my smart phone. It helps me with my studies, with navigation, and even with the occasional bus I need to catch. It also helps me to kill time.  

     First thing in the morning, I access Facebook and Twitter for notifications. There is always so much to catch up on. When I log in to my PC, I find myself checking my phone (probably Facebook) while I check Twitter on my phone. Between classes, I check Facebook. It's like a slot machine in Las Vegas. Sometimes there're notifications; sometimes there aren't. If there are a few seconds before math class, I guarantee I'm looking at Facebook for any new updates. 

     Thanks, smart phone! You offer me entertainment, access to information, and news.  

Today's Challenge, Tomorrow's Acceptance

Today's challenge is reaching tomorrow's acceptance that my body's limitations will cause me to RSVP "maybe" to every invitation from a friend.

Today's challenge is reaching tomorrow's acceptance that sometimes I can...and sometimes I can't.





Today's challenge is reaching tomorrow's acceptance that there will always be a pile of papers to sort through.

But I try not to overlook the battles, no matter how small or how large, where I come out victorious:

Throwing out expired medicine is therapeutic. 

Dressing up every so often is fun, especially Halloween! 

Happy Friday!
xoxo

Get Off My Back About Back Fat!

I'm coming clean because I think it just feels right to be honest now.


I have back fat. Yes, back fat.

No matter how thin or thick I am, the back fat is always there. Earlier this year, I posted a picture on Facebook, one showing me with my back turned to the camera, and I was appreciating the landscape.

I photo-shopped my own back fat out of the picture, then proudly posted it.

Why should I be ashamed of my own fucking back and how it naturally looks? So, to the world, I give you these two pictures: The photo-shopped and the original.

Hmm, this feels kind of liberating. Everyone should try it!

International Walk To School Day

"Despite the clear public health and safety problems presented by pedestrians being hit by cars, pedestrian safety is still neglected in the United States. Little federal spending goes to protect the most vulnerable road users. Most traffic safety programs are aimed at ensuring the safety of motorists, and too often pedestrians are considered at fault in accidents." (http://www.transact.org/report.asp?id=156)

     Why not turn International Walk To School Day into a lifestyle? The line of SUVs in front of our local elementary drop off/pickup is usually about a half mile long (and I'm not even counting the SUVs that try to cut in line by doing crazy maneuvers). For the most part, these families live within a mile radius of the school. What gives? Here are some interesting statistics directly from AmericaWalks.org. I am shocked at the decline of moving legs.

• Less than 6% of Americans’ trips are on foot, yet 13% of all traffic deaths involve pedestrians.
• Each year 6,000 pedestrians are killed and 90,000 are injured. One in five is a child.
• Among students living within 1 mile of school, the percentage of walkers fell from 90% to 31% between 1969 and 2001." (http://americawalks.org/resources/walking-facts/) 
• Parents driving children to school comprise 20-30% of morning traffic congestion in urban areas.
• You are 36 times more likely to be killed walking than driving a car.
• Almost 60% of pedestrian deaths occur in places where no crosswalk is available.
• Being hit and killed by a car is now the second leading cause of fatal injury and the fourth leading cause of hospitalized injury for California children aged 5-12.

     I was hit by a minivan when I was 19 years old. I crossed in a crosswalk. The person admitted he wasn't looking and only saw people crossing when it was too late to brake. For those of you who don't what that feels like: it's scary, your life flashes before your eyes, you're pretty sure you are going to die (especially the part where you go flying through the air), and it also fucking hurts. The driver's lack of respect for his vehicle's power and lack of attention to pedestrians crossing the street probably has stayed with him a little, but I am reminded of it every fucking second of my existence. Some days my arthritis and fibromyalgia are so bad that I can't do much at all, let alone walk. 

     If you are healthy and able, you should skip the car as often as you can and walk on your two legs. I guarantee you will miss being able to walk when your body tells you that you aren't allowed to walk anymore. Perhaps people's respect toward pedestrians would also improve if erratic drivers had the experience of "trying not to die" each time they set foot onto concrete.

Vehicles are killing machines. It's time to take them a little more seriously. 

     
http://www.glendalenewspress.com/photos/tn-gnp-me-walk-pg,0,755379.photogallery

Passion: Heart Smart

     Follow your passion! I started school because I was so driven to study linguistics and anthropology after having found myself at a glass ceiling in banking just before the crash – around 2005 – someone doing five jobs in one and deserved to be paid much, much more. I had so much experience in the administrative and project world, but I completely adored the thought of college and I loved the fact that I could tie culture into the evolution of language…eventually I found myself immediately enrolled in vocal music courses in addition to anthropology.
     I was so excited to be joining choir again after so many years. After a semester or two, I figured out that music was calling me directly by name. I had joined choir, immediately joined the honor choir, and was selected via auditions for special conventions and was a leading student in the music department.
I knew by 2010 that music was my mission. I began my trek as a vocal major and enrolled in every music course possible, including private lessons with an incredibly gifted vocal coach. Also, by early 2013 I had so much music theory training that I was writing so much music. I found that I couldn't stop writing music. I wanted to experience various time periods, various moods, various instruments...and WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?
     I am constantly driven by the memory that I started at a place where music in my head would remain just there: in my head, and I was bound to be eternally depressed and oppressed! I never thought that I would ever live in a world where I understood what that bass guitarist was thinking, just with his eyes, or how much I enjoyed the playful banter with my accompanist, where she points at me and says I'm singing the wrong note. I'll especially remember those experiences sitting near major choral composers who admitted what they were thinking (by candlelight in isolated cabins) when they composed their major works, or reading the advice of more contemporary composers such as Ken Ueno or Laura Shigihara.
     I love the challenge of getting it right. I love the challenge of trying to understand what the previous generations of composers were trying to say - through the rules and the deviations. In May 2013, I began writing a comprehensive piece, the first of its kind, for me. I have written other pieces and discovered that my true passion was making music and not just singing it. Why go into a field that isn't specific to what you really want to do? Someone has yet to explain that to me who is completely happy and following his or her passion. Learn what you love and learn it well.

Special thanks to friend Stel Pavlou for changing my life path.
Check out his site at http://www.stelpavlou.com/

Corporate Bailout

     The White House recently met with key officials in Detroit to discuss measure to "clean up" the city, whistling to the tune of around $300 million.  The money would be used to demolish old buildings and to hire more employees in public transit as well as firefighters. None of this money will go to lowering the debt which has brought Detroit to its knees. But is the government really responsible? In some ways, yes, as the vitality of this country depends on the health of each muscle, valve, organ, and artery.
     More importantly is the obligation the auto industry has on its Detroit constituents. The government's role in assisting Detroit is only a bandage for the greater problem which is massive job loss in Detroit. Corporations should have accountability because they were bailed out but left the cities we hold dear in ruins - many in poverty and without work. The repercussions of the auto industry abandoning its golden child, Motor City, is truly jarring. Further, it disgusts me to think that people are still willing to dish out thousands of dollars to allow auto companies to thrive while the people who made it possible for the auto executives are left in hunger, and with no way out.



Sources:

http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/27/news/economy/detroit-federal-help/index.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/27/us-usa-detroit-aid-idUSBRE98Q05020130927
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/09/27/white-house-details-obamas-plan-to-help-detroit/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johntamny/2013/07/21/the-unions-didnt-bankrupt-detroit-but-great-american-cars-did/
http://money.cnn.com/2013/07/19/news/economy/detroit-streetlights-police/index.html?iid=EL