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.