Stereotypes

I watched a movie of Adam Sandler called Don't mess with the Zohan - a stereotypical movie that literally makes the cliche's come to life. A spoof on the life of Arab and Israelis living in America and the life of an immigrant.

It was funny - to me it was - I am not sure if a Middle Eastern saw it what they would think. It was light hearted and silly but I am not sure if my neighbour would appreciate it or maybe he would be OK with it - after all he is living in America.

I live in a multicultural neighbourhood - we have all the races, actually Caucasian may be a minority. The kids all go to the same school on the same bus. They don't see color when they see their friends, they see the person for who they are.

One day as we went for a walk we noticed the number of lights and motion sensor lights at the neighbour. We heard it was because some kids were vandalizing their property and harassing them. I had no idea since I live next door and never heard a thing.

You would think that once you come to America there would not be this kind of behaviour. You should be able to live without fear. However from what is happening around me, it looks like it is easy to target those that fall under the stereotypes.
Sad because it is the kids who are doing this - and all that because of fear. Even sadder is it is not the true nature of the kids but what they hear from the adults.
Everyone is scared and it is easy to hate and bully than try and all get along.

Actually if you look beyond the suspicion - everyone is just trying to make a living. Here in America - you can achieve so much - everyone is trying to follow their dreams.

So live and let live.

Secret of taking the ACT/SAT successfully

For those not familiar with the ACT and SAT - it is the American College Test and the Scholastic Aptitude Test are the standardized tests that are taken in the United Sates by 11th graders in order to get into college. The scores on those tests are what the colleges use to sift the wheat from the chaff so to speak.

I went to one of the coaching classes and was fascinated to find out that here too you have to use the positive thinking concept in order to succeed. The tests are just that - tests. It is a question af how you take the test -so if you are not a good test taker then take them a few times so you know how to take the test.

If you think about it - the concepts used to take the test are the same as when you train for a marathon or a dance or a task that requires a tremendous amount of concentration. You focus, prepare, breathe, plan and execute. Most important, you have to look at the task as something you can achieve in the time that is allotted. You have to believe and not get overwhelmed by all that is happening.

There is a technique to study and a technique to do well. It all boils down to planning, literally to the last minute. To make it challenging, you give yourself only 50 minutes. When you are under pressure - your brain learns to make decisions in a small amount of time. Then you further break it down to each section and number of minutes per question based on number of questions.

The trick is not to dwell on each question but to spend only the planned time on each question - so if you still have not figured it out - move on and come back later. Now you know why you gave yourself only 50 minutes?

So are these tests on how well you will do in college? Umm no -All it shows is your basic understanding of language and math, do you follow instructions and how good are you at taking tests?

So how well did yo do your tests?

Endorphins make you happy

That is the truth - endorphins make you happy. But working out after almost a month sucks! Where did all those random muscles show up from - I thought I knew where everything was.

The hardest part about getting back into the running is getting back into the running. I had to drag myself and put my feet into those expensive running shoes that I am still justifying to everyone and force myself to go to the gym.

That was the hardest 30 minutes of my life - Sheesh! The weather is great but I figured running on a treadmill will at least let me keep track of the time and distance. I am supposed to be running by time now, not distance to build stamina.

You know the worst part about it - the legs start aching and protesting and just as you get into that comfortable mode - your blood vessels decide to start pumping more blood - next thing you know the hives start. I don't know about others but those hives was my reason to not run. Wait, you have yet to hear the worst - it takes 25 minutes for those hives to show - that means your most comfortable point is after that.

OK now that the whining is over - I am happy - I have to since I exercised, which produces endorphins, which makes you happy. Anyone have a problem with that?

Romance

There is nothing wrong in believing in Happily Ever After. I am a die hard romantic. I get made fun of a lot because I believe in romance. I admit, it is my guilty pleasure - reading romance novels. But I have to defend it - it makes you look at the world in a whole new perspective.

I don't think there is anything wrong in believing in romance -just because other people don't believe in it does not mean it does not exist.

Reading those romance novels is like opening Pandora's box. It gives you hope that the good things in the world do exist, there is abundance for everyone and the good people do win. A positive person cannot survive in negativity for long, they cannot gossip about people and find pleasure in other's misery. When you are in a situation like that it drains you, you are exhausted and depressed. Watching the news is just as depressing - all you hear is of plane crashed, deaths, murders and scams.

So now you say that in real life you have problems - well, in almost very story there is a hero and a heroine and there is a conflict or many conflicts. It is the resolving of the conflicts and the process that they take to resolve the conflict that makes it interesting. Of course it does make it fun if the hero is tall and dark and handsome and rich but at the end of the day it is the person inside that counts - what kind of character he/she is and how does he/she perceive the world. the interesting thing is art imitates life - a lot of those stories are based on people that do exist. For a writer - it is such freedom to create the character you want and make it behave the way you think it should.

I have heard many a time that life is not fair - but life is fair, you just don't know all the facts. In a romance novel - the facts all are presented to you at one time so the conflict resolution is easy.

Some say it is an escapism - but then so is television isn't it? A good escapism is my mind. I get to meet all these characters that I had no idea existed and I get to find out how they resolved a conflict and I don't have to wait till next week or ads to find out what happened next. Sounds like a plug for reading doesn't it? Hey if the shoe fits...