it's called a personal life for a reason...

one thing that really bothers me is the lack of privacy that professional and collegiate athletes face.  being a college volleyball player, the information in my personal life isn't in too high of a demand from the fans; in fact, there isn't a demand, or fans really, come to think of it.  however, other more notable and famous athletes often struggle with the media and how much of their lives are shared with the public.  i understand that most athletes are looked up to by younger fans and often serve as role models for these impressionable youth.  this creates and added pressure for athletes to either live good, wholesome lives or extend extra effort to keep hidden the not so wonderful parts of their lives.  what makes me mad is how far reporters are willing to go to find out any and everything about an athlete's life.  to me, reporters should only report on events that deal with the athlete's career and forget about the other things. what does one's personal life have to do with their athletic career anyway?  i recently got heated over an article published in the smu daily campus newspaper (pictured above) regarding one of the smu football players.  i understand that a reporter's job is to report the news as it comes but i think they could have handled this situation a lot differently.  obviously, i do not condone the behavior that was reported of the football player, but to have this on the front page of the paper, smack dab in the middle, seems to me like the paper is heartless.  it's like they forgot that he is actually a person with feelings and that this accusation, if it even holds to be true, will most likely haunt him the rest of his life.  what really makes me mad is that they titled the article, "smu football player arrested, accused..." why not just put smu student? after all he is a student.  why does it need to be pointed out that he is an smu football player when this incident, in fact, has nothing to do with football in the least bit?

doo-hickies and gizmos

i've recently realized that i am technology crazed.  when a new product is coming out, i am always quick to research every aspect of it and learn all about it.  once i finally got the 3G iphone last summer i have become even more obsessed with apple products than i already was.  unfortunately, as you can see in the picture, my iphone went through some rough times.  luckily, my contract was available for an upgrade so all i had to do was save up the money to replace it.  well while i was saving money, discussions of the iphone 4 started buzzing around the web.  naturally, i did my extensive amounts of research and because i always feel the need to have the newest and greatest technology i decided to start saving for that version instead.  and why stop there?  i decided that i needed the 32-gig version rather than the 16-gig, even though i hadn't even filled up my old 8-gig one.  nevertheless, my savings goal quickly jumped from $100 to $300 in a matter of minutes.  of course, the ipad recently came out so that is the next must have item on my list, because apparently my 2008 macbook isn't cutting it for me anymore, even though it is great condition.  i'm not sure when and where this obsession with technology started but you could probably sell me anything that looks futuristic and has a plethora of "bells and whistles."

hooked on the "book"

i am currently a member of a variety of social network platforms, from the ever-popular facebook, to hypemachine and twitter.  recently, my workload for my courses picked up due to midterms and i found myself with not enough time in the day to complete all my assignments and study for upcoming tests.  i began thinking about where i allocate my free time and the biggest time sucking leech i could think of was facebook.  i realized that i usually spend hours on facebook simply looking at pictures people put up or "creeping" on people by seeing who wrote what on who's wall.  i decided to see how long i could go without logging into facebook and, to my surprise, i have lasted two whole weeks.  intially, i was not sure what i was going to do with my newly found free time, but i quickly realized that what i considered free time before was actually time that could be spent completing the monstrous laundry list of assignments and studying i needed to do.  i  knew i spent a lot of time on facebook, but i never realized how much valuable time i was actually wasting.  over these past two weeks i have found that i am more productive and i actually go to bed earlier because i'm not worried about missing something "important" on my news feed.  i was originally going to end this little experiment when my week of midterms is over on friday, but now i think i'll keep pushing through and see just how long i can go.  i never thought life without facebook would be this much easier, but then again i almost forgot that there was life before facebook when i was still addicted to it.  i honestly think everyone should try this at some point, you'll be surprised how much time you waste "liking" things and "poking" people.

mother knows best

have your parents ever confronted you about something that you were sure they didn't know anything about?  did you wonder how they could possibly know anything about it since you obviously didn't tell them? my sophomore year of high school my friends and i were bored so we were driving around town trying to figure out something to do.  as teenagers, naturally, the first thing that came to mind was to toilet paper my best friend's house because we knew she was going to be out of town all weekend.  for quite some time we had been wanting to try "vaselining" and saran-wrapping someone's car, so this was the perfect opportunity.  "vaselining" consists of smearing vaseline under the car's door handles so the owner is greeted with a slimy surprise when they try to open the door.  so we gathered all of the supplies and put the plan into action. we bought the biggest package of toilet paper we could find,  a jar of vaseline and 2 rolls of saran wrap for the car.  just as we were about to finish, several cars drive by so we hit the deck and continued after they passed by.  the vaseline was in place and the car was saran wrapped shut.  all of a sudden we hear sirens and panic, because toilet papering is illegal, so we make a run for the cars and get the hell out of there, even though the sirens were definitely not because of us.  we left the crime scene completely satisfied and couldn't wait until our friend came home to see our excellent job.  the next day, i woke up to 3 or 4 missed calls and a voicemail from the friend that was driving the getaway car.  all the message said was, "dana, we've got trouble.  call me back." my heart finally worked its way out of my stomach and back to my chest and i call him back and he tells me the bad news.  apparently, what we thought was my friend's white acura just so happened to be her next door neighbor's white lexus.  did i mention the next door neighbor and the owner of the lexus just happened to be the assistant to the headmaster of my high school?  needless to say, she had quite a bit of power at our school.  she had parked her car in my friend's driveway to avoid the debris from her roof that was currently getting worked on (oh the irony) and to make it look like someone was home at my friend's house.  i guess she caught us in the act and recognized our driver's car and our high school's required parking lot sticker and traced it back to him.  however, she didn't know who all assisted in the vandalism so naturally i was not going to come clean if i didn't have to.  i guess this idea wasn't shared with the group because before i knew it i was in the dean's office discussing the events that took place.  all this time i hadn't told either of my parents about the incident because i figured i could handle it on my own and avoid extra punishment from them. well the owner of the lexus, aka the assistant to the headmaster, was not a happy camper.  she was doing everything in her power to get my friends and i in the biggest amount of trouble possible, even though there was no permanent damage to her car.  the next thing i knew, parents were being called.  once again, so much for my plan.  but to my surprise, when i overheard my mother on the phone, she knew all about the incident.  i mean every single, minute detail.  when i asked her how she knew all of the information she simply said, "i have my ways.  i'm a mom."  this was not the first time, nor certainly not the last time, i have heard or will hear these words come out of my mother's mouth.  either my mother has esp or she is an even better parent than i could ever imagine...

butt of the joke

one of my favorite qualities in people is the ability to make fun of one's self, especially when these people happen to be celebrities.  we have all done something dumb in our lives at least once or twice.  i think the ability to laugh off these mistakes and not take things so seriously is one of the key factors in living an enjoyable life.  above is a hyundai commercial featuring brett favre.  he is poking fun at himself and all of the criticism he receives for being one of the oldest football players still currently playing in the nfl.  he is aware that many of the criticisms are true and he can't help that.  i just love that he agreed to star in a commercial that makes fun of himself for the majority of the spot.  the same goes for saturday night live where the celebrity hosts are constantly seen making fun of themselves for something that the media has recently gotten light of.  as much as lindsay lohan has messed up in her life, i still give her credit for being able to make fun of her self.  she was recently seen on the mtv video music awards in a skit making fun of her recent troubles with alcohol abuse and her infamous scram ankle bracelet.  although i don't condone what they may have done, i do admire this ability to laugh things off and i am glad i am able to incorporate this into my life also.  i can't even imagine how stressed i would be all of the time if i couldn't laugh at myself every once and a while.

"you grow up the day you have your first real laugh -- at yourself" -ethel barrymore

book of revelations

ever since i took my first advertising class freshman year, survey of advertising, i fell in love with the major.  now i am a junior and i am still just as in love with it as i was at the start.  from advertising media, to intro to creativity, to advertising ethics, i haven't taken an advertising class that i haven't enjoyed.  how can i not love a subject that allows me to "study" by simply turning on the tv and recognize and apply what i have learned.  this semester i am in intro to creativity and it has shown me a whole new side of advertising, as before i wasn't as aware of what all went on on the creative side.  before this class, i always thought the creative side wasn't for me.  i was definitely one of those people that thought that creative people were simply born and that i would never be one of them.  so far, this course is proving me to be horribly wrong in that belief.  before the semester even started, when i picked up my books i knew that i was definitely going to enjoy my advertising classes this semester.  it took one quick look at the cover and flip through the book for me too remember exactly why i liked advertising, the freedom.  not many other majors can get away with having a textbook of this style, but this book reminds me of the core of advertising, which is creativity.  whether its on the management side or the creative side, creativity is used throughout the whole industry.  recognizing this, i've actually used a few of the techniques and suggestions in the book and i truly feel my creative juices flowing and i am finding myself working harder and harder to become more creative, since it does, in fact, take practice.  this course has simply reminded me of why i was drawn to advertising in the first place.

*i realize this blog is for my intro to creativity class, and i am not trying to suck up in anyway, but if a certain teacher happened to read this post, a few brownie points wouldn't hurt...just kidding...but really...

frenemies

tonight i have a volleyball match against the university of tulsa and it made me think about the term "frenemies."  playing volleyball, or any sport for that matter, you meet a lot people and make a lot of friends, whether it is the people you are playing with or the people you are playing against.  i have been playing sports since the second grade so you can imagine how many people i have met and how many friends i have made over the years.  on tulsa's volleyball team alone, i played club and high school volleyball with and against three of the girls on the team, as they are also from oklahoma (mugshots above).  what i find interesting about the friendships one often makes through playing sports is the friends you make that are your competition.  off the court you could be the best of friends and get along very well, but on the court, these are the people that i find i am most competitive with.  it's almost like i know who they are as a person, whether it be good or bad, and that somehow motivates me to want to play better so i can outplay them.  i guess it's just due to my long history of sports, but for some reason when there is a familiar face on the other side of the net i get even more competitive than usual.  frenemies is the best and only term i can think of for this situation.  i'm friends with all three of these girls until the stats come out for the weekend and then that competitive spirit comes out.  although i've made many friends through sports, they often remain competitors, first and foremost.

procrastinate now, don't put it off until later.

it's almost 2:30am and where am i? in the library of course.  coming into this week i had one quiz, two exams, one midterm, and a very important volleyball match in four consecutive days.  did i study last week in anticipation of the crazy work load i would have to deal with? of course i didn't.  did i wait until the night before to prepare for all my quizzes, exams and midterms? absolutely.  last week consisted of me sitting in front of the tv and watching all my favorite shows and going to bed before midnight.  now i find myself in the library and unsure of when i'll even be leaving, let alone going to bed.  hindsight is 20/20, but i now see my blaring mistake.  although i am complaining about all the stressful events occurring my life this week, i brought this stress upon myself.  for some reason, i have never been able to do anything productive until right around the last minute.  it's almost as if i thrive under the pressure of the deadline and that is when i produce my best work, or so it has proved true thus far in my life.  i recall beginning to read a 400+ page novel 4 days before the final over the entire novel for my freshman year english course, and finishing right on time, might i add.  countless papers crammed out at the last minute, only to receive high marks.  the list goes on and on.  this may seem extreme, but this type of procrastination has always been present in my life.  papers, studying, homework assignments, etc; all involve devastating amounts of procrastination.  i always tell myself that i will change this semester, that i will study days in advance and actually produce rough drafts and the like.  does it ever happen? take a wild guess...

"if it's not broken, don't fix it." - anonymous

filled to the brim

i went to lunch at chipotle the other day, as you can see by the picture, and when i opened up my burrito i was amazed by the sheer size of the thing.  i thought to myself, "how can any one person possibly eat all of this food in one sitting?" i barely made it through half of it before feeling like i was going to pop at any second.  this led me to start thinking about portion size and how much it has changed over the years and how this must be part of the cause of today's obesity problems. i did some searching and i came across an article on the centers for disease control and prevention website. (http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/nutrition/pdf/portion_size_research.pdf)  in the article, it states that portion sizes have, in fact, grown over the past two decades.  the article states that, "americans are surrounded by larger portion sizes at relatively low prices, appealing to the consumer's economic sensibilities."  i continued reading the article and one particular part basically jumped off the page at me and left me dumbfounded.  the article states, "there are no empirical studies to show a causal relationship between increased portion sizes and obesity, but there are short-term studies showing that controlling portion sizes helps limit calorie intake, particularly when eating high-calorie foods."  it took me awhile to pick my jaw up off the floor and wipe up the drool, but then i started thinking about how there is absolutely no way that the increasing portion size isn't a direct in obesity.  it just seems like plain common sense that people are going to tend to overeat when they are presented with a portion size that is much greater than the suggested serving size.  i just know that if i had the stomach for it, i would have finished my whole chipotle burrito bowl in one sitting because it tastes that good.  i guess it just baffles my mind that to this day, there is only short-term evidence, as stated in the article, that shows that people eat more when they are confronted with larger portion sizes.  i understand that other factors contribute to obesity, but i do not understand how a direct causation between the two has not been found.  i can't be the only one that thinks this is common sense and pretty much on the level of a high school biology paper, can i?

domo arigato mr. roboto

the last few days i've realized that i'll get to school or class an not even remember the drive to campus or the walk to campus to get to my class.  it's like someone put a roofie in my oj at breakfast.  i won't even remember turning my car on but the next thing i know i'm sitting down in class about to start taking notes.  after doing things the same way for a certain amount of time, they become automatic processes that require minimal attention to complete and can often be done in conjunction with another automatic process.  this makes me wonder how much of my life i go through in this trance-like, auto-pilot state.  it's scary to think that one can go through a good portion of their life performing functions in an almost robotic manner with no thinking involved.  i believe, and i feel many others would agree, that the number of these automatic processes that occur in our lives need to be cut down so we can truly enjoy life and experience all that it has to offer.  i learned in my advertising class that one way to end this numb behavior is by coming up with different ways of doing things, even things that occur in your everyday life, thus being creative.  it could be taking a different route to school or sitting in a different seat in class, i'm sure even the slightest change will produce the desired results.  so from now on i am going to consciously eliminate these robotic processes from my life and hopefully even find a new and more enjoyable appreciation for the little things in life.

"enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things" - robert brault

things you learn in school actually apply to the real world?

today i was driving home from getting a quick lunch at chipotle and i noticed there were a bad car wreck in the right lane.  naturally i wondered if they were all okay, and who out there can't stare at a car wreck when they pass it, so i was doing this and all of a sudden a topic from my psychology class popped into my head.  this topic happened to the be bystander theory.  this theory states that the more bystanders there are in a situation, the less likely it is that someone will step forward and offer help, due to the idea of the diffusion of responsibility that occurs in groups.  in layman terms, no one will help because they all think someone else is going to help, thus the idea of the diffusion of responsibility.  all of this information rushed into my head about 1.8652 seconds after i initially saw the wreck and i quickly decided to turn around and see if i could help in anyway.  when i finally made my way back around i noticed that traffic around the accident had begun to pick up and drivers were getting frustrated trying to work their way around the wreck.  by the time i got to the actual wreck and i was about to park i noticed that the drivers were both out of their cars and one of them was already calling in the accident so i knew my help was not needed.  this incident only confirmed the bystander theory in my mind in that in the whole time that it took me to get back around, about 3 or 4 minutes, into a position to help, no one else had stopped to see if they needed help.  from this experience i've come to the conclusion that everyone should take at least one psychology course in their lifetime.  not only did it make me more aware in this situation, it has made me think about other theories and how they actually apply to my life.  i think psychology is an important course for everyone to take because it is the study of behaviors and mental processes, or essentially how humans think and why they do the things they do.  what could be more important and valuable than a basic understanding of what makes humans tick?

"the unexamined life is not worth living." - socrates

*obviously that picture is not the wreck i saw because i couldn't take a picture of the actual wreck.

no shame, no game

i was looking at all of the pictures on my phone last night and i realized they pretty much all have the same theme and led me to the same point.  both of my groups of friends, at home and at school, are ridiculous and have no shame.  so many of my pictures are of my friends and i either making fun of each other or just simply doing something stupid.  the pictures here are of my friends at school before we went to a frat party that had a theme of "thug mansion."  we figured that all of the girls at the party would be dressed on the slutty side so we decided to go the complete opposite route.  in fact, we went so far in the other direction that someone i have gone to school with since the first grade mistook me for an actual man.  my group of friends made up the majority of the party that went all out for the theme and i'm so glad we did.  i have so many memories from that night and i know it is mostly due to fact that we didn't hold anything back and had no shame.  even when we got their we took on our roles and acted as if we were actually men. i honestly think this is why i have so much fun in life.  i surround myself with friends that, like me, aren't afraid to let loose and do something stupid for a good laugh.  sometimes it's scary putting yourself out there like that, but really that is the only way for people to know the real you.  this is how i have always lived my life, and i hope that i will never stop doing so.

"if you're not scared, you're not having fun." - Biker Fox

pony up?

my last post about the ou/tx rivalry got me thinking about the school spirit at smu.  i understand that there is a huge difference between the rich football tradition at those big 12 schools that provides for their huge fan base, as opposed to smu's football history that was almost non-existent due to the death penalty in the late 80's.  at the same time, i don't understand how you can choose to go to a school and have no school spirit for that respective school.  i understand that some people simply aren't interested in sports, but i'm talking about the "boulevarders" that barely make it through half-time of any of the games.  it's like sporting events at this school have become simply an event at which to make an appearance and leave promptly afterwards.  it might be different for me, being a student-athlete and having such a long history involved in sports, but i actually go to the games to enjoy the actual game and not to be a drunk idiot that doesn't even pay attention to the game.  if we have a conflict with volleyball, i am always the one sprinting to the stadium or gym just as half of the fans are leaving the game.  from the moment i knew i was going to smu i had immense pride for the school and began cheering for them in everything so naturally it has continued.  i just can't see myself ever leaving a game early, for whatever reason.  i would give anything to take our "boulevarders" to any big 12 or sec school and teach them a lesson in school spirit, until then i will continue to ignore the psuedo-fans since i won't see them that long anyway.

booooooomer soooooooner

being sooner born and bred, naturally i could not let the weekend pass without a post about the great rivalry that is OU/TX.  we're talking about a rivalry that is so huge that thousands of fans travel to dallas to be a part of the weekend even if they don't have a ticket to the game.  lucky me, going to school in dallas i don't have to get off my couch to experience the craziness of the weekend.  furthermore, my roommate, and best friend, just so happened to be born in austin and raised as a die-hard longhorn fan.  we are the epitome of a house divided, but we manage to keep the rivalry under control under our roof.  outside our humble abode, however, "boomer sooner" and "hook 'em" can be heard echoing through the city.  the last two years i have gone right into the eye of the hurricane that is downtown dallas too see all of my visiting friends.  i can honestly say i have never experienced a rivalry so deep.  i've seen countless fights, verbal and violent, in the halls of the hotels all because someone had on the "wrong color."  i just love that schools get so intense and heated over a game of pigskin to the point that they can't stand to be in the same hallway as someone from the opposing school.  this type of intense, unwavering school spirit and state pride amazes me and makes me proud to be a part of it.  i'm sad to say that i didn't get to experience the rivalry this year because i have volleyball, but i proudly wore my crimson and cream oklahoma shirt to our watch party that was filled with texas fans.  depsite not being able to join in on the fun, the best part of the day was the scoreboard, 28-20, just in case any of you missed it.

* i just couldn't bring myself to use orange in this post.

a walk down memory lane

i always love it when there is a certain song, picture, or video that triggers a vivid memory of a special time you shared with friends.  especially when its a ridiculous memory that you don't want to forget, like the video below.  that video was on new year's eve, so of course it is a night that i want to remember, even if i wasn't in the best state to remember things very clearly.

being from tulsa, oklahoma and not being 21 years old, there really isn't much you can do to celebrate new years unless someone's parents let you have a party, lame, i know.  this past new years eve everyone got kicked out of the party right after the ball dropped so my friends and i just went back to my friend katey's house.  her dad wasn't there so we had the house to ourselves and we were just gathered around the table playing any drinking games we could think of or make up.  of course after a few rounds, the table was cluttered with empties so naturally my friend cole decides to start crushing them with his head, although he misses terribly in the video.  i just love the fact that when i watch the video today i still laugh just as hard as i did when i was actually there and i remember how much fun that night was even though it was literally a group of 7 people.  whenever i watch that video, i get a feeling deep in my stomach, which i usually attribute to being homesick,  and i think about other great times we've had in similar situations.  it just shows me that i really do have a great group of friends if i can have one of the best memories from one of the most simple and laid-back nights.  obviously the old saying of, "it's not where you are, it's who you're with," holds true.

the big easy

this weekend for volleyball we had the pleasure of traveling to new orleans to play tulane.  this is always my favorite trips of the year because new orleans is always one of my favorite cities to visit.  upon arriving, we got the opportunity to eat at a restaurant in the french quarter and walk around for an hour afterwards and explore.  at first glance, i saw exactly what you expect to see when you are in new orleans; tons of green, gold and purple, mardi gras masks, and new orleans saints decorations and apparel.

this is one of my favorite aspects of the city. walking around you can't help but be enveloped in the spirit that is ever-present.  it surrounds you and you almost can't help but want to be involved.  but beyond that, when you get past all that excitement and you take time to really look at the city you really notice the true beauty of the city.  just looking at the buildings and architecture you see things that are so simple but so beautiful at the same time.

it's amazing how a city that has been affected by so much, namely hurricane katrina, can be mostly run down and beaten, but still so beautiful in its own way.  the people and their spirit along with the beauty of the city itself make this city one of my favorite places to visit and one of the most unique cities in the united states.