Everything old is new again

The great bard once called it the winter of our discontent, the season brought nothing but despair and angst. Funny how times change. One of the constant factors in life: Change.

But one thing that never changes: your old favorite things

When you leave for college, the biggest fear you have is not going to a new place. No, no, no. It's what's going to happen to your room? Will it still be there when you get back? Or will the parents transform it to meet their needs signalinging that you are growing older everyday?

When I departed for my first session of college, plans were drawn up for a new sewing room, one that would be outfitted with all the newest advancements in clothes construction to meet my mother's needs. I started to resign myself to the fact that the room that I once used to put on my one man productions was going to be gone, forever weaved into my Mom's creative fabrics of designs.

But when I came home, nothing change, it was just neater. Shocked, you better believe it. I thought for sure my treasure chest at home would be discovered and taken away. But my parents ruled against it. Would things be different if I had another sibling? Maybe. Knowing my parents, however, they would respect my wishes to keep it the room the way I wanted.

This past winter break, I came home tired and worn out. I had a rough semester and I was ready to let loose and do something I rarely did: relax. I started to rummage through some of my old bins and discovered all these old comic books. When I was younger, I would stay up FOR HOURS reading about the adventures of the X-Men and my process was always the same: start by looking at the pictures, reread some dialogue, and then read the entire story. Again, reacting to old instincts, I did the same thing. I relived the Inferno Saga, mourned the loss of Phoenix during the Phoenix Saga, and celebrated the rebirth of the X-Men franchise in New X-Men. Probably to many of you, the topics I just mentioned have very little meaning. But to me, it served as a link to my childhood, and as I approach 21, the feeling of it slipping away everyday becomes greater and greater as the minute hand clicks.

Though, what really made this break the best was the enjoyment provided by the oldest entertainment system in the world: Super Nintendo. Yes, the 16 bit game processing system with classic titles like Star Fox, Super Mario World, the Super Star Wars series, Super Godzilla, and the list goes on. For countless hours, I sat there, trying to get Mario to get the coins, evade the blasts to my Arwing, and trying to find every cheat imaginable to complete each game. I never knew how much fun it would be to play the system again, but the time I had was invaluable. I felt a connection with the childhood I left. I remembered playing tournaments with my parents, enjoying them watch me play, and enjoying them try to master the Super Nintendo System. As I was playing, my Dad walked in to drop something off, and he just stood there for 10 minutes. He was mesmerized by the game. A game that was, oh I don't know, at least 10 years old. And he couldn't take his eyes off of it.

"This is the game that I want to play when I'm 80. Nothing else. Just this game."

It just goes to show you, everything old is new again.


What is your favorite childhood memento? Do you still go back to it?


Rock it!

OH and before I forget, check out Britney Spears' "Mmm Papi", a great workout song, something you can definitely get to shaking your body to.

The adventures of Will and Grace

Hello readers!

I am so sorry I have been behind with posts. The holidays have been so crazy and i am still trying to breathe. So I promised you a post so here it is:

There comes a time when the world throws you against the wall and challenges you to rely on your friends. It demands you to really take note of who really will stand by you.

Everyone deserves to have one, at, least who can come in and rescue them and request nothing in return. That is a true friend.
The friend I keep on referring to is one of these people.

Grace and I met each other during freshmen year during summer and it was not love at first sight. She was vivacious i was timid and reserved. Outside of class we didn't really hang out until a really quiet summer day. I had found a date from a party who was way too old for me and would have taken advantage of me. Back then my dating skills were not as sharp as they are now. When I told Grace she immediately issued a no go.

Seth how do you know you can trust this person?
They seem nice
Yeah until they have you dead on the side of the road

Yep verbatim

That night we hung out at her room working on our projects due the following week.

Had I gone that night i would have been in a situation beyond my control

Who wants to be a Millionaire?

There was a time in which we saw movies that let us take use from our seats and put us on the edge. The Dark Knight did that over summer along with WALL-E, and now a new film gets to join the ranks with these impressive films.

If you haven't heard about it, be sure to treat yourself to it. The movie is Slumdog Millionaire directed by Danny Boyle. You have probably seen or at least heard of Boyle's work. He's directed such movies as Trainspoiting (sp?) and The Beach.

But perhaps, Slumdog Millionaire is the gem of a career of filmmaking, and it's that kind of movie that we as college students can definitely relate to.

I'll give you the premise: A impoverished young man is selected to go onto India's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. His recount of how he got on the show is told through the game's questions and to a police officer after the man is accussed of cheating.

But this is not a Bollywood movie nor a movie laced with feel good moments. No. It is probably one of the BEST rag to riches stories I have heard in a long time. It made me really think about where I have come in comparison to others around me.

If you are in college now, consider yourself EXTREMELY lucky. By entering college, you have joined a dying breed of humanity, as college increasingly becomes a luxury item rather than a god given right. You have basically told the world that you have a desire to increase your knowledge and your chances of securing a job in this crumbling economy,

The truth is, not everyone in the world is in the same position you are. As Slumdog taught me, fate can intervene, but most of the time, a person's position is already determined the moment they exit the uterus. It's sad, it's horrible, but it's true. Unfortunately, we can only do so much. If we want to be the next Angelina Jolies or Brad Pitts or George Clooneys, we need to have the financial resources to accomplish our goals. That comes from either two ways: 1) luck or 2) college education.

Slumdog is a movie that is very honest and truthful about the character's circumstances. It never sugar coats it, it never hides it under a Disney headline. It's in your face reality. I felt as a college student, I needed to see this. I needed to be reminded that I went to college for a reason and that in return I should give back to the world.


If you are doing nothing this winter holiday, give some time and go and see Slumdog. Also, consider what you might to give back to the world. is it through your job? Or is it through philanthropy? Either way, think of something.

Merry Christmas!

And before I forget....

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!!

May your holiday be full of joy and peace and also, HAPPINESS!!!


Also, a huge thank you for reading the blog! We appreciate it :-D

2008: The year our economy hit the pavement hard, but we still had fun at the movies

Today, I was checking out msnbc.com and they asked their readers to list their favorite movie of 2008. They provided some other thoughts on the matter, remarking on how this year saw the popcorn films better crafted while some of the Oscar pictures were bores...well some of them ( I haven't seen all, but I've liked what I've seen).

I thought to myself what were my favorite five films of 2008, and it boiled down to these 5 films:

1) The Dark Knight
2) WALL-E
3) Tropic Thunder
4) Milk
5) Cloverfield

I also gave some nods to Sex and the City as well as Mamma Mia, two films that I didn't particuarly love to death as these five, but were good enough that they deserved some recognition.

After finishing my post, i started to think, what movies really appeal to college students. I phoned my friend Grace (she wanted her security name changed to this, so from now on it will be referred to as Grace, a follow up post will explain this) and asked her what movies she enjoyed this year. Her list was considerably different from mine:

1) High School Musical 3: Senior Year
2) Sex and the City
3) The House Bunny
4) Pineapple Express
5) Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Now Grace and I are two different people when it comes to movies. She appreciates the arthouse side of me, while I can withstand being propped in front of HSM 3 and still coming out unscathed.

So what does this say about college students as movie goers?

I think we're not any different from the rest of the public. I think when you attend college, there is a sense of this challenge to go and see the intellectual fluff that everyone else understands. But there's also this need for us to just enjoy some stupid films.

The guilty pleasure for this season of film: The House Bunny. For some reason, it looks dumb and yet I still want to see it. Anna Farris is one of my favorite comedic actresses. She has the perfect combination of blonde and wit, it's great. I want to see her act as a Playboy bunny. I hope it's worth it.

What's your favorite movie? Do you feel a need to try and see the smart films since you are in college?

The sharks are out, circling around, waiting for their prey

Look at this picture. Looks like an assembly line doesn't it?




Is this how we as a society try to achieve perfect health and peace of mind?




Well, yeah.

I started my fitness quest after my freshmen year. That summer, after receiving a provoking comment, I thought to myself I'm tired of having man tits and skin that's flabbier than Flubbers. I woke up constantly feeling groggy and close to death, and I wasn't sick at all. So I began the process of working out and eventually lost the weight and began building muscle

It's now been a year and a half since that glorious beginning and I've still been at it. What are my goals now? They change session by session. Sometimes, I want to push myself to the brink, sometimes I want to break a sweat.

Today, I was at my local gym, and I noticed something funny. There's a sort of change that occurs when you get wrapped up in working out. Something is released in the body, and the sensation of every exercise is heightened. You also notice EVERYONE around you. You compare yourself, you silently critique others, your mind plays games.

For some reason, I felt today everybody was on edge or some adrenaline. It could of been me and my own mind playing games, but it felt like I was on the Serengeti and I was being watched by a million eyes.


The gym at college is no different. Come back and read my post about it when I go to college.

Oh, and before I forget, Davey Wavey posted a really nice post and it was really beautiful with delightful prose. It brought a tear to my eye. www.breaktheillusion.com

Oh if I were living on a beach

“Don't grow up too quickly, lest you forget how much you love the beach.”

-- Michelle Held

And yet, I had forgotten about the beach. It's funny how I was born in a beachtown then moved to a town that has a beach but I was nowhere near it and now going to college in a town that is truly landlocked. There's something about water that is so prestine and so calming, being near it makes you forget all your troubles. When I visited my ex in Fort Whalton Beach, our troubles simply melted away. I was in paradise and I said to myself, can it get any better than this? As you can tell from the top picture, if you can see it, it was like from a brochure. And the brochure didn't lie.

And then I went back to the college town, and the troubles returned. The ex and I broke up, I cried it out, I laughed it out, I went back to the ebb and flow of classwork. And yet I missed the beach.

It seems strange to think how college life would be if it occured on or near a beach town. My Dad went to a college near the beach and the temptaiton of lounging about was always around the corner. Would I feel that way? I don't know. I'm not one to miss class except the time it involved brain anatomy, something I lived to regret (another blog post will explain the consequences of missing class). But in the town I'm at, peace and quiet is sometimes hard to find. I personally like downtown, but getting to downtown is hard without a car. The times I have been down there, it's been to walk around or take people on tours of the city. I never took a day just to go down there by myself.

As the New Year approaches, it's time to make some choices on how to better oneself for the the next cycle. Watching Sex and the City, i find myself perhaps more reflective. Carrie is an interesting character. Her three friends represent her personality and she lives her life through them. Of course, these are four affluent women living in the busiest city of the world (or close to it).

So a goal for this college student: try and find a place of peace and quiet in which I can go to be myself and have that ever precious ME time.

Important for any college student is finding that ME time, as we in the Housing business like to call that sponge squeezing time. I thought it was the gym, but perhaps it's a two prong ME time.

Let's see if we can find out.

And the GRE bandwagon begins rolling

When did college become such a hardship? Probably the day they created tougher standards.

Turns out that most of all of my prospective graduate schools want the GRE for application evaluation. And most of them want at least a 1000 combined score. Never before have I been faced with such an odd set of circumstances. The test date is at the end of February. I have to study for that as well as the Professional Development Exam. And classes haven't even started yet.

I feel that this is the only option available to me right now. To finish up the two degrees and then go running into the real world, I feel like I would be making a huge mistake. I'm not destined for the classroom just yet, but I'm not too comfortable with running and starting doing the audition circuit. There comes a time in every college student's career in which the real world becomes the real world.

The economy is in shambles and education jobs are plentiful but not in the field of theatre. To truly accomplish a great theatre program, I need more experience to give my students what they truly need.

But that GRE...it looks like a beast. A beast with fangs and claws sharper than the SAT and filled with more venom to make my brain ache. And according to recent reports, it's going to get worse by March.

When winter break become the week of pondering and worrying? Is it really the holidays that makes us this reflective?

If you've taken the GRE or even the SAT or even MCAT or LSAT, tell your story. What made you want to jump that gorge and take the test? Was it worth it?


Thank you for those who have commented thus far, you've definitely contributed a lot. Make sure you tell your friends about us, and that we are always looking for new readers :-D

Rock it out!

The musings of Davey Wavey

I know I've been blogging a bit too much, but hey sometimes excitement turns into temptation which turns into all night insomnia...yeah never too much fun. But as college students, we all definitely can understand that when you have a break after a LONG semester, sleep comes and goes very easily.

Well, chatters, I put in my first blog post that this blog was inspired by the blog of Davey Wavey from breaktheillusion.com. He brings up some interesting topics that I feel whether you are gay or straight or bi or tri or questioning or whatever label you profess, will make you think but also really wonder about the character of Davey Wavey.

Perhaps one of the best characters to come from youtube since lonelygirl115, Davey is a happy go lucky gay man who muses about life, relationships, sex, job, and rather interesting fascinations. He is extremely upfront and really wants to help people.


WHOA, wants to help people?

Yeah, sounds fishy.

I personally think, after reading his posts and watching his videos, Davey seems to be geniune. But someone who posts so much about his personal life and really let his audience in, isn't there some what of an act that goes along with it? Perhaps.

We as college students constantly are faced with these identity crises and go through a progression of finding our true identity. At the age of 25 (I'm assuming), Davey seems to have it all figured out. He has a job he loves, an apartment he loves...well condo, a lovable dog, and just is happy with life. I wonder how he got to that point.

Where do we stop worrying and start loving life? Is it after college or is it during? I know with me, I love life in small doses. Too much freedom brings chaos in my life. I like to have structure mixed with spontaneity. I'm usually the hugest procrastinator when it comes to work and will find any excuse to have fun. Though some work gets done before others, as this last semester pointed out. (I got my first B...in college...I know, I know, pathetic...but I hold myself to high standards)

I cannot decide though if Davey is a character or is true reality. That's what makes him so addictive, besides the fact he's barring his chest in every youtube video. That's what makes him happy. More power to him. If I had the capabilities of him, I don't know if I would feel comfortable about filming my life on a youtube camera.


And yet I want to do film. Funny ins't it?


So, here's my question for you: do you know who you are? If so when did you know?

I really would love if Davey Wavey stopped by and contributed his thoughts. Please don't look at this posting as an attack on him or my proclamation that I don't like his thoughts. I actually find him extremely fascinating and rather humourous. His heart's in the right place and he cares about his blogosphere.


Definitely gives his a blog a view or two. Probably, I will check back in on this subject in another post. Who knows what new material Davey will present to the world and further, will Davey find a boyfriend? With a body that developed and that toned, it would be hard to imagine him without a special someone. Next development!! (See...it's like watching The Hills only BETTER and no Speidi)

So if you get bored with Blogger

There's now a website:


http://firesidechatblogcollege.weebly.com


Just another option for you amazing readers :-D

I know it's only the first day

But I just read some interesting things about blogs in general that made me start thinking about how this blog is going to be done.


This is not a blog in which I publicly go after people.

This is not a blog in which I discuss my private life to a full extent.

This is not a blog that's going to serve as a launch point for the manipulation or promotion of ideology


This is a blog that we as college students can talk about life

This is a blog that we can ALL relate to and try to HELP each other

This is a blog that we will respect everyone's opinions


I thought to myself, am I getting myself into a pickle? Maybe. But what I post here is not going to show me in this horrible light. It's extremely objective and doesn't bad mouth anyone.


I just want there to be a blog for college students that appeals to them and lets them talk about what they want to talk about.


As always, ROCK IT OUT!

The only thing we have to fear may not be fear itself

The Only thing We have to fear is Fear itself

Oh President Roosevelt, FDR for those who are keeping track, I wish you were truly right. It would be wonderful if life really conformed to your words...but alas, not really.

Tonight as we were dropping my cousin and his girlfriend off at the airport, the entire time I was petrified of people driving around us. Everytime a car would swerve in front of us or someone would cut it close when changing lanes, I freaked out. I thought to myself: Umm...Seth...you've been a drive for two years now, why are you freaking out?

It was about a year ago that my friend Trish and I (told ya she was going to come up in these posts a lot) were driving back to college and we got involved in a minor traffic accident. However, the events leading up to the accident were terrifying. To miss a car that stopped suddenly, we swerved into the shoulder of the interstate. We came to a stop, we were a little shaken up. Then all of a sudden, Trish screams out something. And then BOOM. Her foot was on the brake and thank god we didn't go flying into the car in front of us. Needless to say, I was scarred to death. My neck had a spasm and immediately locked up. Soon, parents were being called, panic was ensuing, police driving to our location...not something I ever wanted to be thinking of telling the grandbabies. After all that was said and done, we started driving again and a tractor trailer switches lanes, almost clipping us in the process.

To say that I was unnerved was an understatement. I trust Trish with my life and she did absolutely nothing wrong. It was everyone else.

The incident sort of left my mind, kind of became the not so funny but has some humor story to tell coworkers and other pals. I came home again and drove, had no problem.

But for some reason, this whole entire week, I have been worrying and quite literally fearing I'm going to get into an accident. When anyone is in the car, my panic goes up even more.

When trying to tell my Mom about it, I got embarrassed because this shouldn't be happening. I'm not one to kowtow to fear and label myself a victim. FAR FROM IT. Doing that is saying I'm weak.


Or could it?


What do you think readers? Do you think FDR was right that we have nothing to fear but fear itself? Or is fear sometimes legit? I would love to hear YOUR comments.

As always, rock it out!

Seth

The first post!

Wow...I cannot believe it, I am actually doing the whole blog thing. My professor for teaching writing in high school said blogging is perhaps the next best thing for a growing teacher to do. It allows them to be reflective as well as increase their perception of their own unique abilities. So, after much deliberation and perhaps A LOT of laziness, I've decided to take the plunge and do it...literally.

I can't continue without first crediting this inspiration to Davey Wavey's blog, breaktheillusion.com. He is a very interesting character and as a teacher, writer, actor, singer, and just all around observer, watching him has been the most fun I've had in a long time. Though he and I may differ on somethings...well a lot of things...I think he presents valid points and you should definitely go and read his blog. He also includes really unique workouts that are a lot of fun to do. So after you are done reading my blog, go and check his out. He will definitely appreciate it :-D

So...you are wondering at this point who the heck I am. I'll give you the basics. I am a college student majoring in Theatre and English Education who has dabbled in a lot of entertainment fields, including modeling. If you have ever watched America's Next Top Model, I'm the Js plus Nigel. I am extremely fun and outgoing and, I will admit, a bit over the top. I like the extravagent both on stage and in life, though I'm trying to really discern the two and prioritize. That didn't come out that well, but oh well.

As the title says, this is the college edition. I have two years under my belt and along with it a lot of unique and enlightening experiences. I will let you know right now I have never gotten crazy drunk or drank an immense amount of alcohol. Whether I have drank or not is really no one's business but my own. Really, it is. If you want to talk about college students and alcohol, I'm ok with that and my opinion on it. But my personal life is going to be off limits for the most part. My ideal night is getting my homework done and watching my sitcoms or hanging with my friends. But of course, I don't know the other side. That's what I hope you all will bring to the table. I don't condemn or criticize. I believe in the philosophy: What you do is your business not mine.

I go to one of the best colleges on Earth that has the best program for both Theatre and English Education. Technically, I'm a senior but I'm only in my third year. The university will probably start pressuring me to graduate, but I'm not in a rush. I hope to finish out on time with all my classmates. One person I will constantly refer to is my best friend Trish. For security purposes, that's her name. Our conversations will make you laugh, make you cringe, and make you wonder how crazy we can truly get.


The title is Fireside Chat Blogging. The term fireside chat originated with President Franklin Roosevelt who used the chats to appeal to his voters and give them an insight to how he was running government. Our current President elect Barack Obama has also started to do these chats, via youtube. Well, I haven't figured out youtube out just yet, so I thought why not try Fireside Chat Blogs? I am appealing to you. I want to get to know your college experience. I want to hear from all undergraduates, graduates, post-doc, current doc, people who have graduated, people who dropped out. This blog is for you!


I hope you all stick it out with me and I can't wait to hear your feedback! Feel free to send any inquiries to this e-mail address: smf06@fsu.edu. I am open to any ideas for blog posts.

Rock it out,

Seth