Free games
With a lot more free time just dropped on my lap by the end of the semester, I have been enjoying a new love interest. There are countless free games sites on the internet. Any game you could ever imagine is on there. Anything from the more oddball board games you have ever heard of, to old standards like dominoes and of course internet poker. I have been most interested in the simpler games like dominoes, but I have tried my hand at a few of the more lengthy free games such as online monopoly. I don't usually like to play any of the card games except the free games on the bigger sites. Usually the majority of those types of games are played at a price and use real dollars and cents to play. I of course am on a very poor, overworked student's schedule so I can't afford to pay for anything more than I already do. I am satisfied with what I can play now though. I don't think that I am missing out on anything by playing only the free games. I mean I could use the extra money if I won but if I lost it could literally mean paying my rent or not. All of the free games I have been playing are really cool because I always choose the ones where you can chat live with the person you are playing against. I have been trying to get to know all of my opponents as I play them and strike up interesting conversations while kicking their butts. I think that that might be my favorite part of the whole thing because every one of my friends have left town after finals week and those of use left are either working way too much or spending way too much time in summer school. I fit in the third category of those who work enough and have nothing else to do with their time. That is why internet gaming has come to fill in the hole in my life this summer. Now I just hope that when the fall rolls around I can stop playing and start focusing again fairly easily.
Dahn yoga
I have just returned from a yoga retreat in New York where I have been staying since classes finished a month ago. The retreat was centered around the practice of Dahn Yoga which was a foreign practice to me before I began and has become something I will integrate in to my practice as much as possible. It is a form of Yoga from Korea that, at this event in particular, integrates many different types of mind and body practices. At this even we were doing what I could tell was a blend of both Dahn Yoga and Qigong which is a form of mind body work from China. When I used to teach I had just begun to integrate Qigong in to my classes when I had to stop for school scheduling reasons. I eventually want to go back and teach again and I think that I would like to do a few more of these Dahn Yoga retreats first so I can integrate some of their ideas in to my particular style of yoga. I don't think that I want to name my yoga style any time soon because it really is just a blending of all of the different mind body practices I have done over the years. This retreat lasted for about two weeks and was actually two retreats that I purchased as one and did back to back. Now I have been practicing the techniques I learned there and trying to figure out how I can fit these exercises smoothly in to my practice and the practice that I may one day teach again. I have been influenced mainly by the Indian styles of mind body work so the Korean style of Dahn Yoga is quite a bit different than the typical movements I am used to. I have found a few avenues of crossover that are a bit more subtle than just gross motion similarities. There are certain movements within this style that act in different ways on the broad view but then cause very similar internal physical and energetic changesto those that occur in Indian Yoga styles.
lower back pain
I have been to quite a few chiropractors looking for one that suits me. I would like to have a Chiropractor that can adjust me and not be afraid to use a little force. I don't mind the cracking noise that getting adjusted makes, that is what I am going for and that is what I expect. I guess I am lucky since my parents have been getting me adjusted since I was little. I have always noticed that I seemed to have less aches and pains than others, and way less health problems. Now that I am in my twenties I am realizing that I was very lucky and that most people did not get Chiropractic care from the time they were little. As a matter of fact, most people have never received Chiropractic care before in their life, in their whole life, not even for lower back pain?!
Well, I when I moved here from Missouri, I didn't know who I was going to get adjusted by, but I knew that I wasn't going to be able to only get adjusted on breaks, I needed a Chiropractor here at school as well as at home. So I have been frantically looking up Rockville Chiropractors, trying to find someone who can help me. I did find this one Maryland Chiropractor that was quite nice, but I really couldn't stand his adjustments. I am a big guy and I need someone who is really not afraid to get in there and move that bond back into place. That is one reason I don't want to find a female, I am afraid that they will not be forceful enough to get the job done. I know what I need and where I need it, I just need someone to do it for me.
The great thing about getting adjusted is that you feel really great afterwards. All the stress leaves your body and your muscles feel refreshed and rejuvenated. I am so grateful to my parents for getting me adjusted since I was little. I know how lucky I am to have a clear nervous system and know the healing power that my body has. I will still go see my regular Chiropractor at home, but I need to find someone to take care of me while I am in school. I can't go a few months without getting adjusted, I mean I could, but who would want to.
security cameras
I have been thinking about it and I think that having security cameras and surveillance cameras and just about any type of security system is just fine with me. I am a senior citizen and I have lived my life as a reasonably good citizen and a reasonably honest person (except for the occasional little white lie) and if I am out in this public world that we live in, I just really don't care if there is surveillance security any place that I am probably going to go. It can stop so many crimes and if it does not stop them, it may catch the villain and help out the victim in doing so. I guess I am less worried about my overall freedom being invaded than I am that surveillance cameras can slow down that perpetrator that is so desperate that they are going to knock down that unsuspecting person at the ATM and take all of the money they just drew out to get them through the week. I'd rather that security system or those surveillance cameras be able to pick out my pretty face and pleasantly plump physical attributes scratching my hind end or picking my nose or making those faces that I make when I am talking to myself, than I would for some jackass stealing from the store or the purse of that little old lady like me inside the store or high jacking someone in the parking lot. If I had my way, there would be surveillance security systems in place on every major street corner, at every major traffic light, on every car of anyone who felt like they needed a security system with them in their day to day business. I know people who feel like their privacy is being invaded because of the security cameras that seem to be everywhere these days. Well, maybe they are just not comfortable with what they do in their day to day comings and goings. If you are not doing anything wrong, why would you worry if the security cameras caught you going to the bank at 1:30 p.m., then saw you again at 3:15 p.m. at the grocery store, then at 4:00 p.m. at the liquor store. Oh, it's that liquor store I bet. Well, if the world doesn't know that you drink or have friends that drink, then don't go there. I guess, I don't want Big Brother in my house, but honestly, the poor person that had to review THOSE surveillance camera films would kill themselves from the boredom.
flower delivery
My new job for the summer is working at this cute little flower and gift shop down town. I have always been really in to flower gardening so this is going to be the perfect job for me. I have never gotten to actually work at a shop before so this will be new in that respect, but it will be nothing new to me. I have worked on a horticulture farm before and we did flower delivery there all of the time. I think I have enough experience that I actually exceed the knowledge needed for the job. I walked in and knew every plant species and how to grow them. I don't think that any of the other girls in there knew anything about actually growing most the plants they were selling. I am really excited to handle that part of the job. I also really like doing the flower deliveries to markets and things. With this job we will also be doing the individual buyer deliveries which I am really excited about. I know there aren't many holidays over the summer where flowers are really in high demand when it comes to delivery, but I think I will really like doing that. I just love working with flowers and people so doing the flower delivery orders will be a very fun experience since I will be the giver of some kind of joy to these people. The other part of the job is the gift shop stuff which I will have to try my best to stay away from for a couple of reasons. One reason is is that they sell a huge selection of gourmet chocolates. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a fiend when chocolate is anywhere near me. If it is in my apartment I will eat it all and not try to save any for later. Also there are lots of little kitschy things which, though I know they may be cute and nice for some people, just don't jive with my style. I would much rather just stick to the flowers and keep the chocolates and fake beach signs away from me.
Mission travel
Okay, so I am really trying my best to find a decent rate on airfares, which honestly is not easy in this day, with the economy being in such bad shape. I don't want to just be another one of those people blaming things and problems on the economy, but the cost of flights have really gone through the roof. What really frustrates me is that the airlines offer some type of discounts for death in the family, for students, and now recently I have found out that they offer Church Airfares. Now don't get me wrong, I am a strong believer in God and the church. I go to church every week. I just know for a fact that there are many people taking advantage of this discount and saying they are doing mission travel just to get the discounted rates.
I do realize that all religions need to be recognized and that everyone has a right to their beliefs, however, I do feel that many people pretend that their beliefs are religious when in fact, most of them hold their beliefs and then create a religion to suit that belief system. I think that it is great to give discount missionary flights as missionary travel can get really expensive, and from what I understand many of these people have to pay out of their own pockets to complete their missionary work.
Don't get me wrong, I do realize that there are people out their doing really missionary work and religious tours and I applaud their level of commitment to their churches as well as God. I know that God smiles happily upon those who are really trying to bring back society to a more God based place, and that is what it says in the Bible as well. I look forward to the day, when all religion will be based in the good realm instead of religion based on twisted ideas that could have only come from that un-Godlike place in our universe. I look forward to the day, when everyone finds it necessary to spread the word of God and religion in the purest form all over the globe. I think that there are many people in the world who could use the good news of a higher power and a better world through Christ. I don't know how long it will take to get to this place, but I know it can make a difference.
luxury Italy villas
Traveling to Europe is always a wonderful experience. There are many exciting places to see and things to do. I have always enjoyed my trips overseas, especially to the incredible country of Italy. Italy has many diverse areas which provide something for everyone. I especially love the luxury Italy villas that vary from a quaint cottage to an antique farmhouse, each with its own special charm.
I especially recommend three particular areas of Italy which I happen to have fallen in love with. Each one is its own little paradise, with many different things to offer. These specific areas are Tuscany, Sardinia, and Sicily.
Tuscany is an especially quaint area with some of the most beautiful landscaping that I have ever seen. There are very simple things to do in Tuscany, like go for walks and bike rides and be sure to check out some of the incredible antique churches in this region. They will knock your socks off. Be sure that if you go to this area that you stay in some of the luxury Tuscany villas. They are extremely varied and offer something for everyone's taste.
Sardinia is an amazing island off the mainland, that at first glance seems relatively quiet, but as you move further inland, you find some of the most amazing little towns that you have ever seen. The town's people are very friendly and the shores and waters of this island are a sight to be seen. Also, be sure that while in this region you check out some of the luxury Sardinia villas along the coastline, they are some truly beautiful and scenic accommodations, to say the least.
Finally, any trip to Italy would not be complete without a trip to Sicily. My grandmother is from this region which is what drew me here originally, but once I visited this scenic region I was hooked. This area offers some of the most amazing architecture I have ever set eyes on and delights for the taste buds beyond you wildest imagination. This region is also very different in the fact that the landscape is also very scenic and mountainous unlike the simple rolling landscape of Tuscany; I found this area to be a more rugged kind of beautiful. The luxury Sicily villas offer many options as well, and offer a lot more ambiance than that of a standard hotel.
In all, I enjoyed my stay at all the luxury Italy villas, but I would have to say that the ones in Sardinia were my favorite. Which will be yours? You will need to check them all out and decide for yourself.
PPC management
I do think that I know a lot more about the internet and my computer than the average user. I have been online opened my own website, bought and sold on it, and pretty much can type html and do lots of other things that a lot of people would think is amazing. Especially since I have only been working on a computer for about 8 years, and most of what I know has been self taught. Every day it seems that I learn about something new, that just totally blows my mind. Most of the new things I have been finding out about lately have been things like PPC management, which is a company that manages bidding for specific keywords and the ads that go along with them. Who even knew these type of companies existed. The reason that I have been doing more research along these lines is because I want to find out how to get my website to get the most exposure possible and I don't like having to rely on someone else to explain to me these things. I am always afraid that sounding like a novice will get someone to rip you off for services you could get more cheaply. I think that sounding like you have a handle on the concepts makes you a better consumer and less likely to be suckered in by a company that will promise you the world and than not deliver.
Most people would ask how you can find out about all the different terminology and services there are out there to build a website. My simple answer is the computer. The more you look for information on the internet, the easier it becomes to find it. I have found that the one key to joining the computer literate world is to just keep using it. The more you use your computer and try it out, the better you will find that you get at it. Now that I have a better understanding of my computer and how it works, I can access all kinds of information very quickly. I now find that my computer has replaced things like mailing bill payments, the dictionary, the phone book, the thesaurus, company catalogs, and so much more. I look everything up online and use it to do school research projects and to find concepts explained in different ways, to help me get a better handle on them when an instructor sends me spinning.
In all, your computer is a valuable resource that should be used to its fullest potential.
Health insurance quotes
When you are in college, or the rest of your life for that matter, there is a fine balance that we as students really need to dance along to make our lives as satisfying as possible. Each day we are bombarded with daily and sometimes mundane responsibilities and tasks. We do all of these with an understanding that someday these grades we get right now are going to get us a good job and a better standard of living. What we all should be working to maximize is our sense of satisfaction with our use of time. We need to have that perspective to be able to look at what we do in school as part of a larger period of our lives. At the same time we need to be able to look at what we do now as a singular moment that we can never relive so it must be cherished to its utmost potential. This is an interesting line to walk because I think that both can be achieved at the same time and it really just takes a certain degree of effort and a true understanding that only come with having felt unsatisfied with a past experience. I am not sure how many college students have had these kinds of experience that are strong enough to elicit this reaction in thought, but everyone has had that feeling at some point before. Now of course there are some experiences that are easier to fall in to one side than the other. I mean if you are browsing health insurance quotes for example, you really want to be thinking of how it is going to affect you later the most. Now i am not saying that you can't be in the moment while browsing health insurance quotes, but most of us would rather do it quite quickly and get it over with. The same can be said for homework. Most of us don't have the constant thought that homework is what is going to make us better at our chosen career, but when we are doing it we are stuck in the moment and trying to get it over with. I thought that was pretty interesting but then again I have now slept very much this week since I have had tons of final projects and exams to prepare for.
pet meds
This week I have a great new task. Since the semester is now over I am back to working at the fitness studio and my job this week is to recruit us a new mascot. The owner, my only boss, is looking to revamp the image of the studio by getting a new dog. We used to have his own personal dog Bosco as our mascot but he died about a year ago and he has since said that he doesn't want a new dog. So I have officially volunteered to be the one who gets themselves a dog and have them be the mascot. I have been wanting a dog for the longest time but I have never been able to afford it what with the initial cost of a dog and then the cost of the food and the pet meds. So my boss has said that he will foot all of the dog bills outside of my working expenses for the pet meds and such, and I get a free dog out of the deal as long as I keep working there. I have been scouring all of the local shelters and pet shops for a dog and haven't found one that I think would make both a great companion and a great spokes dog. I think I am going to start looking online for one tonight when I get home from work. right now I am teaching all of the yoga classes in the studio which amounts to about three a day staggered throughout the day. We are really lucky that in town here we have big crowd of people for yoga classes since our area isn't all that populated comparatively. I have friends that teach in the Philadelphia area and they say that it is hard for them to recruit students even with all of the liberal minded people in town. I think that we have just found a good way of getting our message out and in those ads we actually emphasis our people skills more so than all of the equipment we have. That is why we have been bothering so much to get a dog for a mascot. I think it just makes people feel more comfortable and less like this place is a prison or some kind of work away from work.
Chocolate gifts
I start my new job as a florist on sunday. Really I guess I would be an amateur florist, but people are going to be asking me all about flowers and I better learn it all pretty darn fast. My last final is friday afternoon, imagine that, and then I will have one day off before I get to start the job. I am excited to start since I have no experience in flowers and because this shop also sells chocolate gifts. Now if you met me you wouldn't think that I would be an addictive person, but when I see chocolate in front of me I just can't stop eating it until I have finished it all. Fortunately for me, I will be getting a discount on everything including the chocolate gifts. I plan to spend my time off of work either at the pool or hiking so I don't think I need to worry about eating too much chocolate this summer. I mean really is there ever such a thing as too much chocolate? Anyway, so this job is going to be great because I have worked at a farm before but we didn't grow flowers. I want to use both of these experiences eventually to set up a community garden in a city somewhere. I think I would do a full hydroponics set up and try to get it all funded by the city. I would also like to use the garden as an experience for my students when I am a teacher. I will be teaching history and I think that anything having to do with knowledge of the earth and growing our own food, is one of the most important social lessons we can learn. So I think this will be my first step towards really realizing this goal since I had dreamed the concept a year ago while working on that farm. So for now I think I will be the only employee out of any flower shop in town here who is taking notes while they work. If you see me around staring at flowers and writing stuff in notebooks, please refrain from any laughing and joking and just leave me be.
auto insurance
Things are beginning to wrap up today and move on to the next big thing. I have finished all three of my finals today and now I have about a two weeks until I start the first of two summer sessions. I won't be leaving so I just have a lot of time to prepare for the next semester and get some personal stuff done like relax for once. I did get a new job for the summer as a pizza delivery person so I have to go out and shop for car insurance this week. I have never had auto insurance so I don't know what I have to look forward to when sifting through auto insurance quotes. I am excited to start the job because I hear that when the fall and football season roll around I will have lots of business and a lot more money than I have been making working at the library on campus. This summer I will only be taking six credits so I won't be too strapped for time or anything, but the courses are quick and will require a lot more focus to keep up with the material. I have a lot of trouble with stuff like that so I chose two easy courses, one each session, just to keep myself going at a good pace and not to relaxed before the fall semester starts. The second one will be the killer though because I will only have about four days in between the two semesters where I can relax. Those days will be key because if I don't relax in that time I may go crazy when school starts again in the fall and I have not had any time to wind down. I think right now that is one of my number on concerns about this summer. I am a bit high strung under normal circumstances and that is what led me to only take one class per session, but I hope that even that isn't just a little bit too much for me. Anyway I hope everyone else's summer goes well and if you are sticking around for sure.
opiate addiction
I think that some of the most difficult addictions to combat are addictions to recreational drugs, since I know that for some of the drugs, given the combination with the "correct" person, only a single time that a person tries a drug can result in a life-time addiction. In addition, a lot of drugs "mess" with a person's body, meaning that addiction is not only making a person suffer psychologically, but also changes the body's metabolism, breaking some of the most basic physiologic functions. As a result, the person is not able to function normally, lead a normal life, be a normal individual, and contribute normally to society. Another awful event that happens to individuals addicted to drugs is the withdrawal symptoms, which are, really, just part of addiction itself. Withdrawal symptoms is what makes the addiction be so addictive, meaning that no matter how hard an individual tries to get rid of the addiction, the symptoms of withdrawal are sometimes worse than the addiction itself. A lot of times, when doctors try to get the individuals off the drug, they just them another one. Like, for example, if health care professionals work with the patient with a goal of stopping the cocaine addiction, they just give the person methadone, witch have less side effects, but is a drug in itself; constant doses of methadone may lead to a methadone addiction itself. Then, meth treatment becomes a burden in itself. It just seems that once the person gets into the recreational drugs, it is a vicious circle from that point on, and it is really truly hard to become addiction-free. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. A lot of drug detox programs are very successful, given the desire of the individual to become fully healthy again and the constant, limitless support of his/her family and/or friends and other significant others. Some opiate rehab that combine several types of treatment and do their best to discover the causes of opiate addiction are sometimes very successful, helping individuals finally regain control of their lives. And, again, I think that in almost all cases, the desire of the individual to be cured has to be there, otherwise there is not a single drug detox program that is able to cure him/her.
drug rehab
I am not sure if I have a drug addiction problem. I mean I have done some drugs in the past, however, lately I am feeling a little out of control about the whole thing. I am just starting to notice that I am taking more and more prescription drugs and they are readily available here at school. I think they are really very available around the globe. I mean especially pain pills, if you think about it, it makes sense. There is absolutely no test for how much pain a person is in. If I head over to the doctor and tell him that I was helping a friend move last night when I felt something pop in my back, and now I have this horrible pain, the doctor has no test for that. There is no quantitative measure of pain, so in that case, if he takes my word for it, then I may be able to get some pain pills and off I go again.
The problem lately is my mood, when I am on the pills, I find that I fell pretty even, but when I am off them, I find I am very short tempered and angry. I don't think that I am at a point yet where I need to go to drug rehab or anything. I think that if I just cut back I will be fine.
I have a friend who has been to drug rehabilitation center, and she found it a total drag. She said detox was the worst and that they wouldn't give her anything to help her with it. Well, with the way I have been feeling lately, it will be near impossible for me to hold my tongue if they were just leaving me there suffering. And she was in rehab for a whole month, and a month later she was back using again. She said that the counseling was good and so was the food, but she said it was really hard work. The place she was at, they had to do lots of work, and they had to be up at 5 am. She also left something in her pocket when it went into the laundry, and she had to scrub the bathroom floor with a toothbrush.
Anyway, I am not quite ready to subject myself to drug rehab, although I know I probably will have to at some point in the future. I just don't want to have to wait for my friends and family to do an intervention. I think that's just embarrassing.
Discount airfares
At first it seemed impossible, but I finally found a cheap airfare for my trip this summer. When I first began researching discount airfares, I found the rates to be much higher than those I had gotten in the past. I was a little disappointed, but I knew that this was probably a sign of the difficult economic times our country has been facing. Also, I am aware that the airline industry has had to incur other expenses which in turn have been passed onto the customer.
I was looking to travel internationally and have made several of these types of flights in the past, so I knew how much I wanted to pay. I went online, just I had always done in the past, and searched cheap international flights, but my search did not produce the results I was hoping for. It seems that international airfares have been the ones hit the hardest by the increasing prices, which I would have thought would have not been the case.
Well, my search for discount flights was definitely becoming a much bigger hunt then I had planned for. I was complaining to a friend of mine about the increases in airfares, and how I wasn't sure I would ever get to visit my friend in Paris this summer, when she told me about student airfares. She said that she found out about these last year when she was traveling abroad, and that she now always tells them that she is a student and she finds that she saves some money doing this. She said that all airlines don't offer this type of discount, but she gave me the names of several airlines that she knew offered a student rate on flights.
Well, I contacted a few airlines, and finally got a flight book. The student airfares really made quite a difference, although it was still more than I wanted to spend; I was able to afford it. I will still be able to work for a few months and get to save some more money before my big trip, so I am sure it will all work out. I will probably have to put in a few extra hours a week, but I am really glad that I will still be able to make my trip as planned. My friend has been counting on me to come this summer, and above all else, I wouldn't want to let her down. She has been enjoying school in Paris, but is starting to get a bit homesick and I promised to bring her some goodies from home to cheer her up.