Never before in my life has it been quite so painfully obvious that I have nothing going for me.
I’m still living at home, no job, no life, and the only thing I do have- my attempt at a college education- I’m starting to not care about. I don’t know why it hit me all of a sudden.
Perhaps it is because of the imminent change coming to my life: this cushy living arrangement I’ve had with just myself and my mom is coming to a quick close. I loved what we had going here, and it saddens me that it will never be the same again. That’s life, I suppose, always changing and whatnot.
The change which is coming to our living arrangement (one which I will not disclose on here) will most likely end up in me wanting to move out. It is near impossible for a student to find the means to do so, though, so I guess what really bothers me is the feeling of entrapment or lack of freedom. Every person goes through this, of course, but that doesn’t make it suck any less.
Le sigh…the word “I” has come up an awful lot in this blog. Rather disgusting, no? Innocent humanitarians are being killed by Israel right now, and I have the nerve to bitch about my life? Okay, Elaine, time to get a grip on life and learn to go with the flow.
There. It’s time to move on.
Peace!
The Starfish Story — original by Loren Eisley
One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.
Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”
The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”
“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!”
After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said… “I made a difference for that one.”
Every single day we have a chance to make a difference, to do something for another person, to bring someone else a smile. Why, if we had that wonderful choice, would we ignore it?
I’m not saying to change the world, I’m not saying to start a revolution that effects every single person in the world. Instead, help one. Maybe tell a stranger you find attractive how pretty or handsome you find that person. Give a lady a flower because she deserves one. Do the dishes when it isn’t your week to do them. Pay a toll for the car behind you.
Random acts of kindness, no matter how small, make a difference. You may not change the world, but as the little boy in the above story so bluntly puts it, if you “[make] a difference for that one,” it is all that matters.
Love you bunches!
Elizabeth <3
Just back from the East Coast, devastatingly behind in my classes, and suffering from sleep deprivation/jet lag, I present to you: The West Virginny Blog!
While I should be doing things of import (i.e. writing research papers, studying, etc.), I instead find myself coming home to this blog site to rabble on about non-important matters and things which are better left unsaid. On the other hand, my brain is about as useful as a bowl of jelly, so I guess you could say I’ve come to the right place.
Where to begin…
If anyone is unaware of the reason I went to WV, it was for my best friend, Amanda’s, wedding. The wedding was swell as was the reception. A few highlights: my awkward conversations with strangers, Amanda accidentally being thrown to the floor during the Father-Daughter dance, and, of course, our beloved Professor of World Religions- Dr. Stout- spilling a large glass of red fruit punch on the white table cloth. All in all, I’d say it was a success.
I felt a little out of place of course, being the non-Christian, liberal Yankee who wears leggings and doesn’t make jokes at the expense of minority groups. Other than that, I got along with the peeps pretty well; I am halfway insane, after all (I mean no offense to West Virginians, by the by). The natural setting was beautiful; I was amazed at how hilly and lush it was.
While it was a lovely place to visit, one which I will no doubt visit again, I know I could never live there. Things are just too…different. The people are incredibly hospitable and friendly, but the quality of life is simply not up to par. By no means am I an expert on the West Virginia economy, but from what I saw and experienced, I know it can’t be too good. This is all from my own perspective though, so maybe it’s really not all that bad…
I’m very thankful that I was able to somehow make it there. It’s always beneficial to experience a different part of the country or world, and West Virginia was certainly an experience.
Lots of laughter, not enough sleep, and several biscuits later, I’m still alive.
Until next time!
Alright.
I just returned from my last exam for the year, and I need to vent.
I just finished my exam in a course called Examen Facultatum, the study of social science and ethics. If you are one of the people who have talked to me about this in the past weeks, I will have complained about how mindnumbingly dull this course is, but that is beside the point.
You see, this course, like all the others, gives 10 study points. One year in Norwegian college = 60 study points. So. I just came from a 4 hour exam, which I finished in 7 minutes. And to top it off, I am afraid that I wrote TOO MUCH! We were given a list of about 80 questions from the curriculum. Some general, like what is an empirical study, and some specific, like what does Thomas Kuhn say about scientific revolutions. These 80 questions our lecturer went through in the final lecture, and he told us that we would get about 8 of these questions as the exam.
So what have I been doing the past few days? Memorizing 80-ish questions. On my exam i got 9 questions. !0 minutes later I was finished. I then spent 20 minutes picking my nose and farting, then left.
What the fuck! Is this shit what passes for academia these days? I am aware of the fact that the college in Bodø is a B-school. One of my lecturers said so himself. But come on, if you keep shit like THIS, you will always stay a shit school.
At college you are supposed to understand your curriculum, and be able to use it. Not just repeat simple answers like a fucking robot!
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
So, in this entry I’m going to let out some frustration, and inform you about a touchy (for me that is, and hopefully you too) and quite provocative subject, without going too much in depth. Just a minute ago, I found this article in the Norwegian newspaper Adressa.no, and what I saw provoked me to let out some steam on this matter. Whereof this entry…
In short the article says that the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management wants to apply for a felling permit on a bear, which (they think) killed and ate less than 1 -ONE- percent of all the sheep, wandering alone and without supervision in the wilderness, in Oppdal municipal. FUCK this shit I say. The falling permit should be targeted to the idiots applying for it. Anyhow, I strongly disagree with killing natures predators, when the problem, in fact, is us. How the hell would a bear, or a wolf for that matter know where the fuck we don’t want it to be? Well, some believe we only need to draw a line and put up signs that says “No bears behind this point!” to keep them away from our sheep, which just as likely will be an inch behind that sign. I’m sure that bear will think; “fuck, I can’t pass!! Well, I’ll just leave hungry then…”
Why do we even bother preserving animals anymore, especially when it’s so freaking easy to get a felling permit, and just shoot them the day after? Ideally we preserve animals to build a diversity of species both nationally and internationally and to give animals the right to live healthy and mate with someone who aren’t their biological sibling or cousin. Not to mention, preventing them from extinction. Screw that… Let’s keep the number of individuals in each species at a minimum, that way chances are smaller they’ll come near us, or eat 1% of the sheep we put unattended in the wilderness, yay I say. How can we blame a bear, or a wolf, or an eagle (EAGLE, FUCK YEAH) for following instincts? If I were to leave my laptop in the middle of a street for a month, and expect it to be at that exact place when I get back, would I be allowed to lynch the bastard that took it, or moved it? (Example from the comment field, by Felleskjøpet)
Animals don’t fucking understand human language, let them live as wild animals, and make the diversity of species increase over time. We did it with non-predator animals, why is this so fucking impossible? Some find it amusing and fun to hunt down and shoot our predators. They hunt for days, just to get the thrill of benching an animal, which is blamed for our mistakes and misbehavior.
Whether you believe it or not, I am trying to be objective. Therefore I will be fair and add this, in favor for felling bears and/or other predators:
Bears don’t only eat sheep; they also eat foxes, salmon and other wildlife animals, which again eat a lot of other individuals. Right there is a chain of the ecosystem, a small one at least. If there were too much bear it would cause the number of individuals beneath it do decrease, and cause the individuals the bears prey eat to increase. This will put our ecosystem in imbalance, but if I have a say, I would say that is the way of nature. Nature survives, but we keep fucking it up all the time.
As you were, soldier!
Steinar