It's been a while!

I haven't posted in a few days now...crazy! I've been busy with my sister visiting. It's not even like we're doing a lot of running around but I guess always having company takes its toll on blogging. My lower back pain (which left gracefully after a good yoga workout sometime last week) has returned again. I am really hoping this isn't something that lingers for the rest of my life otherwise I can see myself actually picking up a scalpel and trying to cut the nerve that is causing all of this. It's really a burden in daily activities and I have a newfound sense of sympathy for back pain sufferers. This is my first time experiencing back pain and I never knew it could be so bad!

In other news, Kal Penn working at the White House is interesting. I think it's cool that he's actually doing something substantial about the things he supports. He says he's really into politics and he was even studying something related at Stanford so I guess he's legit. I just wonder if he's qualified. Either way, good for him!

I haven't watched a single episode of House this season and I'm really looking forward to catching up! It's gonna be a great summer...I'm gonna watch this past season of House and the seasons of 24 that I have missed.

Speaking of missing--I think one thing I am missing is knowledge about art. I haven't ever gotten the chance to take an art history type class and I think that's a major regret. I have always wanted to be a doctor so most of my classes were geared towards that. While I would've always been interested in taking those liberal arts classes, there just wasn't enough time. It's okay though because later in life when I get to where I have to be, I will make the time to get where I want to be =)

Oh and that last paragraph reminds me of my new policy. I'm an optimist at heart. I usually go into things with a positive outlook and with a lot of hope. I don't like to think negatively and pessimistically so I've come up with something to stop myself when I get into one of those spells. Any time I think something negative, I follow it up with "It's okay because...". I know it sounds like one of those lame "give a put-up after a put-down" type of strategy (okay so you've never heard of that strategy...I knew those 2 weeks of Girl Scouts would scar me for life!) But seriously, that strategy has really helped me get away from the negativity I don't like.

Alright..time to watch Arthur and then get to bed! Btw I have watched a lot of movies that I need to comment on some time soon!

I love you man but not the government

Last night I went to a free screening for the movie coming out on Friday--I love you, man. It was a good movie! I really liked it. I like Paul Rudd. I feel like he's not self-conscious and he's not afraid to take on roles that involve him acting gay or stupid. In I love you man, Rudd's acting made me think of Steve Carrell. Overall, it's a funny movie and I liked it!

In other news, the whole AIG bonuses thing has really got everybody angry. The general public is mad at the executives that are taking home these hefty bonuses. What I don't understand is how the government failed to have the foresight to prevent this from happening. I don't understand how the government basically gave a handout without putting any conditions that cap the bonuses. Why didn't anybody in Washington do something about this huge loophole?

When I was at the gym yesterday, they were playing CNN Newsroom on the TV and they had this interesting interview. This guy was out of a job (no surprise there) and to advertise himself, he bought a billboard ad. Apparently he received a lot of offers for interviews from CEOs that saw the billboard. I thought that was such a creative idea and I'm glad it worked or his financial situation would probably be worse off cuz of the expense of advertising!

Soo I wanna share my thoughts on politics. I realized my view last night and I think it's important that I write it down so I can refer to it later when I'm interviewed on the Colbert Report (one can dream!). So up until now I considered myself a Democrat. I didn't exactly change to a Republican philosophy but I can definitely understand it. There's problems with both philosophies and I guess I don't know yet which is the lesser evil. See, in the Democratic standpoint, a shift of wealth to the lower income class is purported. Democrats want to help out the people at the bottom that 'need a hand' to get up. Whereas the Republicans have a self-righteous attitude about the money that they 'worked hard' to earn and they don't think people at the bottom, who haven't worked as hard, deserve the help. I think there are fundamental problems with both mindsets. The Democratic philosophy is too forgiving of the people at the bottom that are lazy and just waiting for the government handouts. I don't think that's right because there are people out there who work two jobs and work overtime. It's interesting because some of these people may actually jump into a higher socioeconomic class because of the amount they work and what do they get rewarded with? HIGHER TAXES! So that family is working like crazy to make a better future for themselves and all of a sudden they're expected to give even more to the lazy people at the bottom! Why does their hard-earned money go to the families that aren't even trying? I know there are lots of worthy people at the bottom that really need the aid and it's unfortunate that their actual needs get twisted up with the lazy people who just aren't trying. Now the problem with the Republican philosophy in my eyes is that it operates on the premise that the people who are at the top making a lot of money all worked hard to get there. There are undoubtedly people who really did climb the ladder and got where they are with their own sweat. But certainly there are those who had the right connections and just got there without lifting a finger. Even now, after having gotten to the top, there are some executives that actually work hard and care about things and others that are only looking at the money. So what you end up with overall is a Democratic philosophy that helps the undeserving lazy people and a Republican philosophy that helps the undeserving greedy people. Which is the lesser of the two evils?

Okay so I have a neuro practical exam tomorrow that I'm not really prepared for. Considering I just woke up, I should probably get moving. Happy Thursday!

Some life lessons are costly

Good morning! I slept in until 10 this morning...hooray for days that start at 2! Last night I was up kind of late watching a movie. I saw Paycheck with Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman. It's a really interesting movie. It's about a guy who is doing some covert operations for the government but in order to prevent the secrets from leaking out, the government erases the guy's memories. So essentially, he is missing chunks of his life that were spent doing these missions. I wouldn't be willing to do that for any sum of money. To lose that much time of my life is nuts! I think I'd rather just go through this many years of schooling and become a doctor..you know, make money the traditional way.

Also I was reading about Madoff this morning. I can't believe how easy it is for someone to do something like this for years and not get caught until 2 decades (or 1, according to him) later! My opinion is that the investors really have some fault in this. I do think what Madoff did was wrong but for all these investors to claim that they are 'victims'? Yeah, someone wronged you but you did CHOOSE to give the guy all of your life savings! And when someone promises returns that high, you know there's a high risk involved. I don't understand why anyone would trust someone who seems to have a high risk plan with all of their money. Those people really should've been wise about how they're investing. In the end, it's your money and whatever you do with it, you deal with the consequences. I think it's foolish to trust someone who is proposing a risky plan with most of your money. Maybe I'm conservative and maybe I'm a bit harsh, but hey, at least I'm not broke!

I'm gonna go play squash at the gym pretty soon. I'm excited cuz I really love playing squash! I have tickets to a screening of Knowing (Nicholas Cage) tonight. The trailer looks kinda cool so it should be a good time. Either way, it's free so who cares if it's good right! Alright off to the gym!