alliekolbe’s blog

Beads. Masks. Cocktails. Last day of Mardi Gras. Day before Ash Wednesday. It's a night we all love to celebrate, but why? The most famous Mardi Gras celebrations are held in cities such as Rio de Janeiro and Mazatlan; however, since we're in North America we will discuss the North American way of celebrating Fat Tuesday - New Orleans. It's often called "the greatest free show on earth" due to the parades, balls, festivals one can go to while there during this time. There's even a bar named after this wonderful day http://www.fat-tuesday.com/homemovie.html.

The annual festivities start on January 6, the Twelfth Night Feast of the Epiphany, when the three kings are supposed to have visited the Christ Child, and build to a climax on Mardi Gras. The parties and parades continue until Lent (Fat Tuesday). Mardi Gras is a legal holiday in New Orleans. It is scheduled to occur 46 days before Easter. Since the actual date of Easter changes yearly, Fat Tuesday falls differently each year. For two centuries it has been an annual event in new Orleans, except during the two World Wars.

Us college students take full advantage of this day because of the fun games we get to play for beads, drinks, etc. If you missed out on Fat Tuesday this year, be sure not to forget about it next time. You're missing out on a good time :)

There's this game that my friends and I like to play while having cocktails before going out.

Would You Rather...

...be machine-gunned to death by lite-brite pegs
OR
...be assassinated by Cabbage Patch Dolls

Things to consider: glow in the dark corpse, eerie expression on cabbage patch dolls, garbage pail kids retribution

...fly when you pass gas
OR
...pee every time you laugh

Things to consider: um, your social life

...marry an ugly billionaire
OR
...marry a hot poor person

Things to consider: divorce benefits

...have one GIANT tooth
OR
...millions of tiny teeth

Things to consider: making out

...have your eye pop out randomly all the time
OR
...have uncontrolable constant drool

Things to consider: first dates

...be smart and ugly
OR
...be brilliant and beautiful

...have to recite the lord's prayer every time you erase with a pencil
OR
...be forced to sniff 725 crushed cashews every time there is a solar eclipse

Things to consider: lots of nuts

...stuff yourself to death
OR
...starve yourself to death

...be stuck in the movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
OR
...be stuck in the show The Teletubbies

Things to consider: the noise the teletubbies make -- they don't TALK

...make out with a 70-year old
OR
...make out with your dog

...have no ears
OR
...have no eyes

...be mauled by a mountain lion
OR
...be dragged behind a pick up truck for 10 minutes

...die happy and poor
OR
...die rich and sad

...have your skin be the consistancy of jell-o
OR
...have your skin be the consistancy of cement

Things to consider: private parts

Dotillusion

So, I've never been really good at these illusions. I'll see one thing then I won't be able to get myself to see the other part; however, THIS ONE IS CRAZY. One of my favorite things to is trying to see those hidden pictures through the smudges of color, but this is even better. Stare at the dot in the middle and the colors around the dot will start to disappear. Can anyone tell that I'm making this blog instead of doing my other homework? I should really call this blog "If you want to procrastinate..." because I seem to be really good at it lately. Anyways, enjoy :)

So if this isn't enough to scare people away from gymnastics, I don't know what is. The reality of it is that these things DO happen and sometimes do look this bad, but most of the time you only end up with a sore or sprained muscle. Most of the reason I loved this sport so much was because it was so risky. Everything you did had it's risks (i.e. falling off of the bars, over-rotating a skill on floor to your back, crotching the beam, etc.) Don't worry, when you first get started in gymnastics they teach you how to fall by doing various versions of the "safety roll." Aside from all of these risks are extremely fulfilling rewards. There's nothing more rewarding than landing a new skill in a meet and getting a good score. So, watch the video and enjoy... and remember, these things don't happen TOO often :)

I don't really have a whole lot to say about this video, but it is honest to God one of the funniest things I have ever seen. One day I saw it as a link in one of my friend's away messages, so I clicked on it and immediately started cracking up. Quickly, I ran into my roommate's room and showed her and we laughed for probably 15 minutes and watched it about 10 times. Enjoy :)

...when people suck at talking on their cell phones and driving, but do it anyways

...when parents still try to ground me you during breaks if you do something stupid, even though you haven't been living at home for four years now

...when you forget to get gas, then the next morning it's 20 cents more than it was the night before

...when a girl complains about her friends talking behind her back, because isn't this girl talking behind her friend's backs to you now? Same thing. Duh.

...when you can't fall asleep and there's nothing on TV except infomercials

...when people don't know the difference between 'Yield' and 'Merge' when approaching an on-ramp

...when you finally choose to spend money on a nice pen then lose it, but still have every crappy pen that you ever bought and never seem to lose those

...people who blow their horn at you the SECOND the light changes to green

...public restrooms. Enough said.

...when you're on a date and guys bring up previous relationships or how much they think girls suck. AWKWARD. And if girls suck, then why did you bring me here?!

...going to stores where people who work on commission, because it's not humanly possible to shop in peace. If you haven't heard of the Holister game, I dare you to walk in the store and touch the very back wall in the very back of the store then walk out. If you don't get bombarded by at least two salespeople, you win.

...hearing about something rude a girl had said about you, then seeing her in the bars and having her come up to you and be fake-nice. Barf.

...actually witnessing a pick n' flicker in public. Ew.

...the STUPID commercials during election time, "This is George Bush and I approve of this message." Okay, so someone couldn't just mock his voice? I bet if you contacted Saturday Night Live they could give you some pretty sweet tips

...when rappers say 'aks' instead of 'ask'

...hearing about the poor celebrity babies being given such God-aweful names (i.e. apple, coco)

...people who flash their brights at you when yours aren't even on

...when people use the wrong word (i.e. your and you're; two, to, too; there, their, they're)

visit this site for funny pet peaves:
http://theoryofthought.blogspot.com/2006/09/pet-peeves.html

"As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to let you down probably will. You will have your your heart broken, probably more than once, and it's harder everytime. You'll fight with your best friend and you might even fall in love with them. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing so fast and you'll eventually lose someone you care about. So take too many pictures, laugh too hard, and love like you've never been hurt, because every minute you spend upset is a minute of happiness that you will never get back."
- Unknown

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; loving someone deeply gives you courage."
-Lao Tzu

"After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul and you learn that love doesn't mean leaning and company doesn't always mean security. And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts and presents aren’t promises and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes ahead with the grace of a woman and not the grief of a child. And you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans and futures have a way of falling down mid-flight. After a while you learn that even the sunshine burns if you get too much, so you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. And you really can endure, you really are strong, and you really do have worth and you learn with every goodbye… you learn.”
-Unknown

"Nothing lasts forever... so live it up, drink it down, avoid the bullshit, take chances, and never have regrets... because at one point everything you had was everything you ever wanted."
-Unknown

I chose to submit a few of my favorite quotes in my blog because there are a lot of changes going on in my life right now (i.e. finding a job, graduating, etc.) and I usually am able to look at quotes such as these to let me know that I'm not alone in what i'm going through. I think quotes are fun to look for, and it's fun finding one that you think fits perfectly with your life at that moment.

IMG_0865.jpg

Patience is Man's greatest virtue,
or so the saying goes.
A gymnast must have said it,
for a gymnast surely knows

that in this funny sport of ours,
discouragement runs high,
and at times the very best may find,
that this virtue has passed her by

When hands are ripped and throbbing,
and every muscle's sore,
can you still have the patience
to limp in the gym for more?

Can you admit that you're frightened,
yet not give into fear?
Can you conquer pain, frustration,
and often even tears?

When someone else does something
you've tried so long to do,
can you really feel glad for them?
Or pity just for you?

When you've lost old moves you used to do,
and progress seems so slow,
can you still have faith in better days
and not feel sad and low?

And when success seems so far away,
your efforts all in vain,
can you force yourself to wear a smile,
and disregard the pain?

If despite these tribulations,
you can say, "I won't give in!"
Maybe someday you'll discover
that now's your time to WIN!

-unknown

I chose to include this poem in my blog because it hits very close to home. I was actually a gymnast for many, many years. My freshman year on high school gymnastics, the captain gave all of us this poem on our way to Sectionals. Ever since then it has been one of my favorites and I love sharing it with people... especially the ones who don't think gymnastics is a sport :)