Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I thought I'd share with you 40 things I am thankful for.

I'll start with the obvious ones...

1. Family (including step-families)

2. Friends

3. God

Now on with the rest...

4. My home

5. My baby sister (even if she's part of family, she still counts as a separate one)

6. Hot showers

7. An education (whether or not it's a good one is totally up to you)

8. Technology

9. Opportunities to express my creativity

10. Music

11. Diversity and the fact that some people embrace it

12. Those people I have in my life that I hardly deserve to have there

13. Water

14. Food

15. Scholarships, jobs, etc.; anything that has to do with making money

16. Slippers

17. Gloves

18. My bed

19. My boyfriend

20. Doctors & medicine (including over-the-counter stuff like Ibuprofen and Midol)

21. Literature

22. Video games

23. Cars

24. Being born in America (as opposed to a third-world country)

25. Anyone that has been there for me when I really needed it

26. My church youth group and everyone I've met there

27. My mental health and the fact that I'm not seriously messed up in the head

28. Everyone who fights to keep us all safe (military, cops, firemen, etc.)

29. Teachers

30. Words of wisdom, especially the ones I've received the past two or so years

31. Dreams

32. Holidays

33. The fact that my cousins and I all love each other even if all our aunts and uncles hate each other

34. Make-up (not to sound vain or anything)

35. Comedians/Satire
36. Movies
37. Being alive for the past 17 years, 4 months, and 11 days
38. The air I breathe
39. Nature and all its beauty
40. All the little things that keep me going

We're not the only racists

So the promotional poster for "The Couples Retreat" starring Vince Vaughn is causing some controversey. This is because the UK version omitted two black actors from their poster; the US version still shows the actors.

A Universal spokesman said the poster aimed "to simplify the poster to actors who are most [recognizable] in international markets."

Or, as some people would say, to make sure there are no blacks.

But, to be fair, Universal regretted any offense it caused and scrapped all plans of using the modified poster in other overseas markets.

It's true, the two actors are not as 'famous' as the other actors. However, this is not the first time this has happened. The New York Times said in 2007 that American films with black stars typically struggle in the overseas market.

I'm not saying racism is going to die just because Obama is president and people are afraid of being politically incorrect. My point is the marketers of this movie should have been more fair to the other actors, regardless of race, fame, etc.

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/movie-talk-couples-retreat-posters.html

Gaining Weight in my Head

I've noticed I have different reactions to all my dreams. Sometimes, I'll just open my eyes and go right back to sleep. Other times, I might wake up and gasp for breath, or I might start sweating, or I might even have a hard time falling asleep because the image keeps coming back in my mind.
But last night was very weird and I wanted to share the experience.
Let me give you a back story first (fake names, though). So my friend, Tyler, has very hostile feelings toward someone I know, Stephanie. She keeps trying to get him serious trouble because I guess she has some sort of vendetta against him or something because she thinks he got all these people against her.
So in my dream last night, Tyler was sitting down and was in a verbal confrontation with Stephanie. They soon had their hands on each other like a fight was about to start. Tyler was now up out of his chair and was getting physical with her (no beating or anything). Finally I pulled her away from him. Tyler sat back down and buried his face in his hands. He stayed this way for 'hours' (even though it was a dream, I know it was hours).
So I woke up from that feeling dizzy, but that's normal. But my head felt really heavy, like there was about 10 lbs. of weight in my head. This was a phenomenon I've never felt before.
I told Tyler about this and he told me how 'accurate' the dream itself was. He said my head might have felt heavy because it really bothered me. The situation between him and Stephanie never made me feel like I was in the middle or anything, so I guess I was bothered by either Tyler feeling ashamed of himself or how he would try to physically hurt her (not that I'm good friends with her or anything).
Usually, my dreams teach me something new. Honestly, though, I didn't learn anything I didn't know already: the whole Tyler vs. Stephanie thing bugs me, I'm afraid it'll get out of hand, and I hate seeing Tyler get so upset at himself. However, I did learn I wake up to dreams differently (which I guess is interesting to me).

Sometimes, We Know Better

Last night I received an e-mail from a friend of mine. It was sort of a chain letter a friend of hers started to have people pray for her brother, who has Neuroblastoma Cancer. I'll be honest, I have no idea what that is and I haven't lost someone to cancer since 2004.

I do not personally know this kid, and neither does my friend that sent me the e-mail (one of those person-who-knows-a-person situations), but she does know someone who died from that kind of cancer. She really wanted me to at least send the e-mail to someone.

I really don't know anyone who would care about this. Most of my contacts would probably say, "We have problems of our own, why should we care about this stranger?" However, I would feel selfish if I didn't send it to someone, whether I truly cared or not.

So I thought to myself, "Who would honestly care for this kid? I know I wouldn't." So I sent the e-mail to my pastor. I know what you're thinking: "Well, duh, simple solution." I've known this pastor for a while and knew he had a huge heart, much huger than mine. I still prayed for him, but knew my heart wasn't fully in it since I didn't know him. With my pastor, he doesn't have to know who he is praying for. That's the reason I sent it to him: He is far less selfish than I am.

So what have we learned today, kids?
A. I'm too hard on myself
B. It's nice to know there are people out there that are geniunely kind and caring towards others. Maybe I can learn a thing or two from them.