Can You Speak English?!

It's been a little while since I've done an experience-based-rant post, so why not bring it back?  Today, I want to start off my rant with a little story.

Last Friday, I was riding a particularly crowded bus.  Now, practically everybody who regularly rides public transportation knows that there are a few rules about riding in the front of the bus.  Mainly, that's fine if you do so, but if you see someone who needs the seat more (ie, an elderly or disabled individual) then you have to let them have it.  They announce this about every ten minutes over the bus intercoms and it is also posted graphically on all windows at the front of the bus.

As I mentioned, this particular morning the bus was packed, although this didn't seem to stop even more people from trying to cram their way on.  As you might imagine, people's patience were running quite short; I know I was repeating an inner mantra of "Stupid bus driver, stop letting more people on!"

At the front of the bus, there were a bunch of elderly women already comfortably settled, and one young Asian woman typing quickly on her phone.  Apparently the older white woman across from her couldn't handle the thought of her taking up a seat in the front, because she said very loudly across the isle, "Can't you speak English?!  You can't sit up here!"

Cue rant.

Yes, at that moment tensions were running high and patience was at a communal all-time low.  But does that make it okay to make a blatantly racist comment on a bus full of other Asians?  I think not!  This woman assumed that, because the young woman was Asian, that she was foreign and therefore couldn't understand English.

I've been thinking about this all weekend, deviating between anger at the older woman and saddness that we still have so far to go when it comes to our attitudes on diversity in the US.  Yes, I know it's 2014 and the fad seems to be pretending that we're in a "post-racial" society because, after all, haven't we elected a black man as President?  But the truth is, we're still a highly racially insensitive society, it's just a bit more implied and subtextual.

I think what made me so mad about this encounter was that I've had experiences like this myself.  Last year, I was riding the bus while reading a book by a Thai author with a picture of a little Thai girl on the front.  One of the white men in front of me tapped on my book and said, "That's cool, you're on your book cover!"

I believe my response was to blink at him and do my best not to lecture him on his ignorant statement.

When speaking of a European or Caucasian individual, we generally specify where in Europe their ancestry is from.  So why should we do any differently with people of color?  All Asians are not the same, just like all Latinos are not all the same and like even people who are African-American have historically come from many different African countries.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you even feel vaguely ignorant or unsure about a racial comment you're about to make, just don't say it.  That's fine if you're not sure what race of Asian someone is; that doesn't mean that you should make stereotypical assumptions that will probably end up insulting someone.

Clueless in College: Swearing

So, I decided to start a new little segment here on the blog called Clueless in College because, let's face it, I'm still pretty clueless after almost three years of observing college life in its natural environment.  As the title of this post suggests, I'll be talking about swearing this time around.  Let me start with a little anecdote.

Earlier this week I was sitting in the cafeteria at school, working on some homework.  The entire space was buzzing with the amazing sound that comes from countless students talking and moving around.  And yet one conversation stuck out amidst all that noise, from directly behind me.

"I was like s--- man, this is just a f------ tv show!"

I turned around to catch a glimpse of the speaker, only to find a very cute Asian girl in pigtails and a sundress cussing up a storm while reminiscing about the Power Rangers tv show with a friend.  Cussing about Power Rangers.  Really?

I cannot understand why so many young people, in both high school and college, feel the need to swear in every single sentence.  If you want to spice up your conversations, how about scouring a thesaurus for some interesting, clever words instead?  I find it particularly disappointing in college students, because I think that it sounds very uneducated and essentially negates the whole point of getting a good (and very expensive) college education.

This is not to say, of course, that I am perfect and never swear.  I just think that it's best to do so in moderation.  Besides, doesn't using a word all the time negate its scandalousness?  Over the summer, I felt like I was swearing too much and that I was wearing the f word out every time I stubbed my toe.  I now reserve the f word for only the most serious of moments when I really want to punctuate.  For clumsiness, I now prefer "frack."

Mind Your Manners, Please

Last week, I took a trip to Universal Studios Hollywood with my dad and my brother, Trevor.  Expecting to have a fun, stress free day at our favorite theme park, we were rather shocked by how rude the people there were.  We were constantly being shoved and yelled at, and I caught more than one person staring at me after I had already walked past.  The icing on the cake, however, was at lunch, when a man stood behind Trevor's chair for fifteen minutes watching us finish our meal, simply because he wanted our table.

Needless to say, we haven't been able to stop talking about our lunch experience that day.  Trevor, who's working on establishing himself on YouTube, has been talking about doing a "rant" video discussing just what about people's behavior annoys him.  I've decided that this is a rather good idea, so this will be a post discussing the three things people do that I just can't stand.  Of course, it will be a little less rant and a little more discussion.

1) Staring

I know I'm good looking and all that, but is it really necessary to stare at me?  In all seriousness, I think this is one of the rudest things that people do.  The freshmen at school do it all the time, and it makes everyone feel really uncomfortable.  Even if you think that you're flattering someone with your attention, trust me, that's not what it'll feel like.

My solution?  Just don't do it!  Try glancing instead; you'll see just as much without making the object of your attentions feel like their being stalked.  Actually, I would encourage glancing in a situation in which you're trying to catch someone's attention.  The idea that someone is interested and yet trying to be sneaky about it is actually very mysterious and intriguing.

2) Making You Wait for Them

Okay, I know that I am not always so good about this one, but that doesn't mean I can't be bothered by it.  This is probably the rudest thing in the entire world.  As my mom has told me, it is a total control thing, especially when you start getting ready to go somewhere ten minutes before you're supposed to leave.

So what can we do to avoid making this social faux pas?  Simple: if you set a time to meet someone, do everything in your power to make that time.  Don't squeeze in meetings or appointments if you don't think you'll be able to make it in time.  If you know you take a long time to get ready, give yourself a timeline and do your best to stick to it.  Better yet, set fake times for yourself so that you have a buffer in case you run over.  Trust me, it may just work.

3) Using Other's Things and Treating Them Poorly

Have you ever lent someone a shirt or a bag, only to have them return it to you damaged in some way or another?  I have, and it frustrates me to know end.  A shirt gets stretched out and never fits the same way again, or a bag gets weird stains on it that seem to never get entirely out.  In college, people borrow clothing items to wear to parties and return them with additions of alcohol stains and bodily functions.

There are a couple of ways we can deal with this.  If you are the borrower, it's really quite simple.  If you use other people's things, treat them the way you would treat your own possessions.  If you're the lender, maybe you should rethinking your lending policy.  Try talking to your friend about how they are treating your things, and if that doesn't work, that may be a sign that it's better not to lend them anything at all.  Keep in mind that you're lending policy should be the same for all of your friends.  If you're not letting one friend borrow things, stay consistent and don't let anyone else borrow things, either.

I hope this can help in some uncomfortable and awkward situations.  The best advice I can give, however, is to simply treat others the way you want to be treated!

Disappointments

Hello, all. Do you ever have those days where every little thing that goes wrong seems to be much more important than it really is? I'm definitely having one of those days.

Last night, my MacBook Pro decided to crash on me. Now, I actually managed to not freak out too much, as it had happened before and I was pretty sure that I knew what the problem was. Instead, I calmly set up an appointment with the Genius Bar at our local Apple Store, and took it in this morning. The "Genius" was very nice, and the poor guy worked on it for nearly an hour before conceding that it was a harddrive problem that he couldn't fix. Fortunately, I can get the harddrive replaced for free. Unfortunately, we may not be able to retrieve any of my files from the computer, which (ironically enough) I was starting to back up when the computer crashed. 

Needless to say I left the store trying not to freak out in public. But what can I say? I have all my writing, all my music, all my artwork, and all my pictures from freshman year on that computer. Losing all that is like losing an entire year of my life. Well, that's probably a little overly dramatic, but that's how I'm feeling right now. Thankfully my dad knew of another repair shop, so we took it there where they are trying to diagnose the problem and see if they can save the data. That being said, until I get the new harddrive, I am stuck using this very old computer that I got in seventh grade:

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm thankful to still have a computer to use at all. But for a self-proclaimed internet junkie, this is a blow. This computer's ability to perform even the most basic of tasks on the internet is spotty at best, and it cannot handle videos at all. But, at least I can still write for all of you lovely people. In fact, this whole experience has really forced me to realize just how addicted to technology I am. Between my laptop and my Blackberry, I am almost completely controlled and indebted to the machines in my life.

To add insult to injury, I received an email from Threadless.com informing me that my design has been dropped from voting, and will therefore not be getting printed. Apparently I didn't get enough positive votes within the first 24 hours it was up. I blame the computer meltdown, as I didn't get to do half of the promoting I had planned. Well, that and the fact that it was only my first design and I'm still learning how to draw for an audience. I guess I'll have to just keep designing and submitting!

Thanks for listening to me rant. May the end of your week be better than mine.

Welcome, 2011!

Whoever thought up paper grocery bags without handles was an idiot. I know this sounds random, but bear with me for a second. Why would a bag that is supposed to be carrying milk, eggs, produce, and the like not have handles? Keep in mind that these are all things that generally people do not want to drop and have spill all over the floor, which is typically what happens when one is carrying (or trying to carry) three handle-less bags.

My family generally tries to bring our own reusable bags to the grocery store, but on occasion we forget. Today just happened to be one of those days, and add rain to the situation and the dumb paper bags didn't stand a chance. Luckily, they didn't rip until we were already inside the house.

Anyways, I hope you all had a great New Years. It was rather sunny yesterday, so my family and I (being the non-traditionalists that we are) spent the day at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. It was a nice drive up, with few cars on the road, classic rock, and enough sunshine to satisfy everyone. We beat the crowds to the Aquarium, and were leaving by the time the rest of the world decided to show up.

The sea horses have always been my favorite part of the Aquarium, but my little cousin (who we had with us) was more fond of the sharks and sting rays, as he could actually touch them. This car, while obviously not on display at the Aquarium, was one of the many gorgeous old cars we saw while driving along the coast.

It's 2011, folks! Let's make it worth something!