Monthly Wrap-Up: January

Well, this is it. January 31st. The last day of the first month of the year. Now, I'm not sure of you guys, but I can get pretty nostalgic for this sort of thing (months ending, years ending, seasons ending, birthdays), so it means something to me. That being said, let's do a month wrap up:
In this month, a petition reached the White House to deport Justin Bieber
In this month, it snowed for days and days, and I don't think more than a day or two went by where there wasn't snow on the ground.
In this month, my sister turned 20 years old.
In this month, I wrote 5.1 posts, and got this year off to a nice start.
In this month, I got sick, and had to stay home on Friday, 31st of January.
In this month, a new semester started for my school.
In this month, I became one with the universe.
I look forward to what February brings.

Wednesday #5 - The Optimist, The Pessimist, and In Between

     Hello everyone! How's everybody doing? It's Wednesday, and I'm sure you know what that means... A NEW BLOG POST! That's right folks, every Wednesday for the next year, something is going up on this blog, so be sure to check in on it! This week, I want to talk about something I was discussing with some friends (when we probably should've been practicing music..)(I'm in a percussion ensemble, this is where this topic originated, or at least for my discussion). Now, let's examine the differences between optimist, realistic optimists, realist, and pessimists, and how they are distinguishable.

The Optimist

     An optimist is often thought of as someone who thinks that everything is great, that every thing is grand (I've got the whole wide world in the palm of my hand...). They believe that, even when things aren't going great, they still will turn around, and everything will turn out just fine. Throughout this discussion, I'm going to make use of a hypothetical math test to explain the four different styles of thinking, and what the expected results are. Let's suppose that you were going into a math test for a class you were taking. For this particular test, you are worried with the grade you are going to earn on it. This worry is because you didn't entirely understand the concepts going to be tested on when they were taught in class, and you didn't study much/well in preparation for the test. In this situation, the optimist wouldn't be shaken on how ill prepared they were. They would think thoughts such as "I'm good at math, I can do well on this test!" or "It's gonna be fine, I'm sure that the test is gonna be easy". In very extreme cases it would be like "I am always going to be good at what I do, and will succeed in everything." In this experiment, the Optimist will think that they will be earning an A, when in fact they tested for a C or maybe a B.
     While being optimistic is good, it can lead to problems. When the delusions of grandeur fall through, the Optimist is left disheartened of course, but that's not the real problem. An Optimist will, despite things often going against them, continue to believe that everything is going their way, and will make irrational decisions based on unlikely chances and high risks of failure.

The Realistic Optimist

     While the Optimist is illogical, and honestly impossible for someone to be a complete optimist, there are a lot of optimistic people. These, I call Realistic Optimists, or R.O.'s for short (things are more legit when they have shortened names, like JFK, NASA, or GTFO)(except for YOLO. YOLO is stupid, and will cause immediate defenestration). You are, most likely, an R.O. dear reader. If you look on the bright side of life, look for the good things that happen, but are still able to comprehend you may not succeed at things, that things will sometimes go against you. As an R.O. you can except [editor's note, it should be accept] that there will be battles that you will lose, despite your hardest effort. In the Math Test Scenario, you would think something like "okay, I didn't really prepare, but I can at least pass this test, maybe get a B on it." This style of thinking is fairly accurate, still leaving room for failure while supporting unexpected success.

     This sort of thinking is (in my personal opinion) the best of the four I will be describing. While it does have it's own weaknesses (the blues will last longer, if an R.O. falls from thinking happy), it allows for life to be enjoyed more, with hopes and dreams that might not be possible still hopeable  (not a word, I know) and dreamable (again, I know).

The Realist

    If you weren't an R.O., chances are you fall into the category of the Realist. I find that Realists are less common then R.O.s, partially because a lot of people give off an optimistic attitude, masking the Realist inside (not to say that being a Realist is bad, but it can be a Debbie Downer). Realists will see things as they are, and can very easily be both optimistic and pessimistic about things. They are less likely to make plans into the future if there is enough uncertainty in them, they won't typically lie about their emotions, and they will often act as a sort of reality check for really optimistic thoughts. They will occasionally not allow themselves to conjure up or entertain fairly irrational ideas involving themselves (they won't believe that they can suddenly change around their lives and become a gold winning Olympic athlete in several years). In our Math Test Scenario, they will realize that they will not perform exceedingly well, but are able to aptly judge their own abilities and know their own limitations.

     The Realist is honestly a fine mindset, but from the several Realist I know (to the Realists who think I'm speaking directly to them, yes I do know more Realists than just you), it can often be demoralizing, and may lead to more pessimistic thoughts than optimistic ones.

The Pessimist

     "The worst of the worst is going to happen", thinks the Pessimist. Much like the Optimist, no one is a complete and true Pessimist. The closest thing you will find is someone who is clinically depressed (which is not good, and if you find yourself thinking you're depressed, talk to someone you trust. Depression is a serious problem), but in a "healthy" mindset, there aren't Pessimists, just pessimism. Pessimism will manifest itself as negative thoughts, believing that the Universe is going against you, nothing will ever go your way. In the Math Test Scenario, the Pessimist believes that they will fail, completely and utterly, when they could easily get a C or a D (a D is still failing though). 

     Pessimism is almost a societal poison. It breeds negativity, denies happiness, and can even take lives. If you honestly think you're a Pessimist, I'm going to tell you now that you simply aren't. You're just a Realist with some negative thoughts. 

     Well, that's about all that I have time for this week. I'll see you guys all next week, but don't forget to leave a comment below about which of the four you think you are, or what should I talk about next week? Also, I may be posting things on the blog not on Wednesdays. These are going to be called Wednesday Extras, and they could be things like a story I wrote, some photos I may have taken, or essays that I write. If you like that idea, let me know.

     I now end this post in the way that it is done

Almost Man

i almost saw an almost man,

he waved at me with his almost hands,

i almost waved when i saw him there

almost alone in his almost chair

it almost seemed like he waited for me

so i invited him in and almost gave him tea

the visit felt good, almost right,

although he stayed almost till night

and as he almost walked out into the snow

i think he almost said goodbye bye, but i'll never know

"JD IS ONE WITH THE UNIVERSE" -Claire Schiavone

Wednesday #4 - The Year When Nothing Happens

     Hello everyone! It's Wednesday! And you know exactly what that means! Welcome all to Wednesday #4, thanks for coming, glad you could make it. Folks, we're gonna get serious here this week, so I want everyone to put on their serious caps... and then look yourself in the mirror and question why you even own a serious hat. You really do need to lighten up, man.
     I propose that the 20th year of age is the most forgotten, ignored, uneventful year of life. While many of you who know me personally will most likely say "How do know, JD? You're not 20.", all I have to say is "Poppycock, I've got eyes that see, ears that hear, and a chunk of nerve tissue in between them!" Now, if you're as old as/older than 20, answer me this: what's a funny or awesome story that you have from your 20th year? If you have one, leave it in the comments below. If not, it's okay, in my experience nobody has one. If you're younger than 20 (but older than 13, because otherwise you shouldn't be surfing the web without a parents permission and supervision you non 90s child!), can you recall a funny or awesome or dare I say legendary story from a ≥20 year old, relay it in the comments below. However, I doubt that there will be any comments of that nature in the comments. But, I want to explain why I think this. I believe this to be the truth because of the chronological location of 20 in regard to the legislation of the United States of America. When you turn 18, you're allowed to purchase cigarettes, view explicit material, fight in a war, vote for government officials, and be tried as an adult. Not to mention you get to go to college for the first time if that's your life path like most of the demographic that reads this! that's all great, but let's look at what happens three years down the line.
     At the age of 21, you're able to purchase and legally consume alcohol (not sure why you would, but that's a subject for a different week), and the dating world of the bar scene opens up to you (I'm seriously convinced that my generation will frequent pubs and look for the loves of their lives in them due to HIMYM)! In addition, you get a full license, and you're treated more like an adult than 18, 19, and 20 year-olds.
     All of these are wonderful, but they are only applicable at the end of the 20th year, which means it's an entire year spent in waiting for the next year, with nothing for it in the meantime. 20 is the year of being a junior in college (if you follow the assumed age range for different years of school) and as we all know from high school, junior is merely an intermediate phase, something you just have to get through. Every college you apply to is looking at the junior year, putting such pressure on it, while there's not much in the way of fun happening for it. And in college, you've been there for two years already, so everyone expects you to be a truly mature and responsible adult and student. 
     Well, I've exhausted topics for this week, but that doesn't mean we have to stop talking! That's right, you can leave a comment below and keep the thoughts flowing! But that's not all you can do in the comments. If you feel so inclined, you can leave things you might want me to talk about, or questions you might have about anything really. There are definitely questions I'm not qualified to answer, but I'll still give it my best shot.
     That's all folks! See everybody next week!
The Trees

The forest lies in rest
Silence wafting like fog
Hiding trees and concealing logs

It sweeps over me
A sends me to reprieve
Where something happened you'll never believe

The trees whispered to me
Told of all the thing they've learned
Of time, of life, of the feeling of being burned

I just lay there, quietly
Hearing every word they spoke
Till I filled with wisdom from willow and oak

The lessons I was taught
Were teachings we had lost
Like trees lose leaves with frost

But I'll never forget them
As long as I shall live
Sharing all I have to give

There is not way to say it
In our mortal speech
But in the voice of a smooth barked beech

But what I know now
Is to always try to grow
And forget to do so

Plants your roots deep
But climb towards the sky
Up to the sun on high

Branch out far and wide
Spread your shade for others to rest
Make limbs strong for birds to nest

I give this now to you
The one who reads my words
So that you might be assured.

"The four saddest words in the English language "What might have been.""- Norman Crosby

Wednesday #3 - D.C. Trip

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen!
     Welcome to the 3rd Wednesday of the year 2014! I hope you all are enjoying the winter weather (that feels A LOT like fall), and I trust you have been keeping alive the flame of the human spirit. I haven't got too much to talk about this week, which can only mean one thing: I need your help. That's right folks, you can contribute to Across 53 Wednesdays this very day! All you have to do is leave a comment below with questions you may have, things you might want talked about, or remarks on the things I talked about that week. That how we can make this special people, and making things special is what makes life worth living.
     This week -Sunday specifically- I traveled down to the capital of the United States of America, known in the English language (and all other languages because it's a proper noun) as Washington D.C.. I had my official camera crew (my girlfriend) take several pictures of the adventure, which I will attempt to tell in an anecdotal style.
     The day began early on a Sunday morning in January. I arose around the hour of 0600, and prepared myself to leave at 0630 to pick up a member of our group, and then report to the meet up point. Having all successfully arrived at the rendevouz, we -the four of us: me, Micki, Brad, and David (no, last names aren't important)- and drove down to Shady Grove, where we caught the metro into Metro Center, where we jumped to the Blue Line (we were on the Red Line before) into Smithsonian. we arrived fairly early (around 0900 or so) and thus began our adventure. We traveled due West, passed the Washington Monument, where a group of predominantly female Asian tourists asked us if the could take a picture with us. That was interesting to say the least. From there we went to the memorials, and had some pretty solemn moments at the WWII Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial. I'd honestly prefer not to get into my rant about the Price of Freedom and how Freedom is not Free, but I feel like that is a discussion for another time. After witnessing a protest at the Lincoln Memorial involving the situation at Guantonamo Bay, we preceded to the National Museum of Natural History. But lunch was on the horizon.
     We traveled to the National Place to eat at the Five Guys there. As great as a plan as this was, we failed to realize that the National Place isn't open on Sundays at all. And the four of us stood there at the corner of 13th and F street before the locked doors of the National Place, hungry and not sure what to do. So, we went to a place within the same block called Shelly's Backroom (r) Tavern. If you don't mind the smell of cigars, I recommend it to you. I personally like the smell of cigars (not the smoke, just the smell) and so I honestly enjoyed the atmosphere of the place. Definitely bar like, definitely Scotch and Cigar High Society Bro feeling to it, but the burger was good and the food came out fast. The only problem was that we were outside and ready to eat at 1130, and the Tavern didn't open until 1200... so we waited for a half-an-hour outside. But other than that, the day was still trucking along! Back to the museum!!!
    Can I just say that I love dinosaurs? I know a lot of people love dinosaurs, but when I say that I love dinosaurs, I mean to say that they were that one thing that I absolutely obsessed over as a child. Like, would sit through the 230 minute long BBC special called Walking With Dinosaurs loved dinosaurs. And so, when I walked into the dinosaur exhibit for the first time in a couple years, I felt a great bubble of childhood happiness rise up through my body, and almost exploded in the form of a childish gleeful yelp. I didn't though, and while my company wouldn't have enjoyed that if I did that, I certainly regret not doing that. We traveled through bones for a bit, and then oceans, and then we split up to cover different things. During this time, Brad and I breezed through the Geology Exhibit, and the Genome Exhibit, and the Insect Exhibit, and the Non-Extinct Animal Exhibit. 

     As much as I love the museum, I've seen it so much that it's begun to (unfortunately) lose some luster to it. I find that I want to go the the American History or the Native American History museums more than before. Oh well, maybe next time, right?
     Well, that's about all I have to say this week. Not too much happened, and I'm feeling way too tired for 2200. I will end this as I have before, with a poem and a quote, but also an allusion. It's a little something new, so you can learn something from this, because learning is cool, makes you look smart:

The Better Side
By JD Galuardi

I wish to be on the better side
Where grass is green and nature needs no guide
Where the good people wait
Where no one weeps at the sight of his fate

How can I get there?
When vines are all around,
And all I know,
Is crushed to the ground?

I wish to be on that better side
Where light is strong and darkness will hide
Where my path cannot go
To the shore I'll never know

I can smell the beauty
And hear the voices
The angels singing
Saying unchoosable choices

I need to be on that better side
Where strong things grow and nothing has died
Where I can lay to rest
After being my best

I see out there that better side
The way i found, in you I'll confide
Find what you love, and do it everyday
That is, and will be the only way.

I have made it to the better side
Where grass is green and nature needs no guide
Where the good people wait
Where no one weeps at the sight of his fate

Term: Magnum Opus

Origin: comes from the Latin "Great Work"

Meaning: that which is considered the greatest work by an artist, composer, or writer

Example: Many argue that David Copperfield was Dicken's magnum opus.

"The wisest men are also the weirdest." -Tyler Weddle

The Washington Monument

David, me, and Brad at the WWII Memorial

The Emblem on the ground on the Atlantic side of the WWII Memorial

A bird from the bird exhibit

The American Woodcock

Aqua Fossil Tracks

Petrified Tree trunk

A Fossil Rock

More Petrified Tree trunk

Dinosaur Skull (not a Triceratops)

BUTTERFLY!!!

North American River Otter

I honestly can't remember

It's a Polar Bear!

Saber-toothed deer, or the Chinese Water Deer

The secondary emergency meet up place...

Wednesday #2 - Knocking Signatures

Hello, and Welcome to Finals Week (for my school)(I know, why have finals after the winter break?)!
      Today, I'd like to address a problem I constantly run into: the severe lack of people who still knock on doors. If this is you, it's fine, and I forgive on one condition: you start knocking on doors again. Door knocking was a societal practice developed to inform any occupants of a room with a closed door that someone wishes to enter, and that if the occupants (if there are any) wish to not be intruded upon, they may inform the person. This practice is typically used on bathrooms, private offices, dressing rooms, bedrooms, households that are not your own. Really, it's for any room where someone might be disrobing. The word will be better if we all agree to take up knocking again.
     I know that that was kinda harsh, but I've had that on my mind for a while now. Moving on to the next thing I wanted to mention: crowded hallways. I'm not going into depth with this, but have you ever thought that the people in the hallway are like those two men from the Dr. Seuss story who wouldn't get out of the others way? One was heading one direction, and the other was heading the exact opposite, and neither one would take a step in any direction but the one they were going, and this reminds me so much of a lot of people in my school's hallway (these people will remain nameless).
     So, I was thinking recently about how people find signatures valuable. Just to clarify, I don't mean the signature you put on the permission slip to go on the school trip, I mean the signatures of fairly famous people in history like Abraham Lincoln or JFK. I'm a little confused about this, because all a signature is is some ink arranged in a specific pattern. I understand why they're valuable, because someone significant who is also dead signature become valuable, because there is now a limited amount of them on the planet, and there are wealthy collectors who will spend money to acquire the signature. But I can't help but feel like there's a great way to make money off of this for the future generations of a family lineage. Say President Obama were to write 10 copies of his signature. He then leaves them in his will, and in 100 years his descendants can sell them (because regardless of your opinion of the Obama Administration, he is the first black president, therefore immediately making him significant to American History). Because of this, I will sign 10 pieces of paper and hold onto them, that way if I become a significant historical figure, my descendants can get some cash. Now that's a far reaching retirement plan.
     Baby, it's cold outside! It snowed on Thursday and Friday, got warm enough for the snow to melt a bit, and then Monday night, all of endothermic hell broke loose as the temperature dropped to 3 degrees Fahrenheit. But that's not all. When you factored in windchill, the outside temperature felt like -19 degrees Fahrenheit. And we had to go to school... Don't get me wrong, I love school and all, but when it's -19 outside, you shouldn't be sending kids to school.

Thursday as the snow began to stick

     Well, that's about all I have to say this week. Make sure to leave a comment below on your thoughts about what I talked about this week, and make it something we talked about this week (see what I did there?), and don't forget to follow me and share this with your friends! I now end this post with a poem and a quote. See you next week!
Cold
As I try to write this down
My fingers shiver and shake
My face a frozen frown
No speed does my blood make
My pen is frozen solid
And with it is the ink
And like the pen is my brain
So cold it can barely think...

"You cannot move into the future without first knowing the past!" -Shun Kazama, From Up On Poppy Hill (2013)

Wednesday #1 - New Year's

 Happy New Year everybody! Today is the 1st of January, in the year 2014. Get ready to accidentally write 2013 on your papers for the next couple of weeks, I know I will be.
     So, I don't know if anybody else noticed, but the year 2014 both starts and ends on a Wednesday. This means that there will be 53 Wednesdays in the year. Not super special but hey, it's a little fun factoid. Anyways, I decided that I would get back into blogging this year. Call it a New Years resolution if you will.
     How this is supposed to work is that every Wednesday I post something on this blog. It could be a random thought I had, it could be a slight anecdote about something that happened that week (maybe with pictures), or even (if I'm feeling it) a video or two. The main point of this is to get me back into the whole writing mindset, and create a fun and very potentially embarrassing thing for my future offspring to stumble upon and freak them out. Either way, it should be fun.
     Can I ask a question? Does anybody honestly know the words to the song Auld Lang Syne? Because there was a failed attempt to sing it (perhaps by me) at the New Years party I was at last night/this morning, and no one there apparently knew the words. Perhaps someone knew, but they were keeping it secret... But the more that I think on that, the more I know that's highly unlikely (still possible). It would seem that everyone knows the tune and can at the very least hum that, but the words are lost to the world... I mean, they're on the Internet, so they aren't lost to knowledge, but I'm not entirely sure that they can be held in the human mind long enough to learn and then sing at the appropriate time.
     Since this is a blog whose origin is founded on the concept of the New Years Resolution, it only seems fitting to ask of you this: What was a resolution you had that you completed, and what are some you have for this year? If you feel inclined, leave something in the comments below. Well, there isn't much left to say, so I guess I'll just leave it with the following:
A little poem I wrote, see if you can tell what its about
Downfall
The sky is clear
on the fateful day
the metal bird
can see the way
the lines below
soon erased
by the Greatest Destruction
man's yet faced

down falls a Fat Man
and a Little Boy
from a hurting world
and cries tears not of joy
-JD Galuardi

"War is no longer just about soldiers" - Norman Crosby