Have it your way, asshole!

It's probably not a secret that I work at Burger King. I like to complain about it on Facebook and Twitter and Tumblr and real life and everything, and I also am sure that my ass has gotten the opposite of "more toned" since I began working at the land of chicken tenders, fries and ice cream.
I think some of us who are lucky enough to have a liberal arts education tend to look down on fast food people. Maybe I was the only one, but I think we are quick to judge. When we are being trained to be teachers and economists and we have snazzy internships, what do we think about the folks behind the counter who serve us fried things? Most likely, that they're not as educated as we are. That they are supporting their kids, and they probably had their kids really young. That they kind of don't give a damn about us. And maybe, depending on their skin tone, that they are here illegally.
Basically, that we are on a higher tier than they are.
Yeah, I have thought those things in my young life about people I've seen out and about. I'm not proud of it and I know there are others here and elsewhere in the world who have.
When I began working at BK (I also call it The Burger or Beta Kappa Sorority when I feel like it), I was kind of apprehensive about my coworkers. It is hard to explain why. First of all, my fiancee got me the job. So that's awkward. But from what she had told me about work, it sounded like it was a crew of young parents, immigrants, some students, and the random middle-aged folks. I wasn't sure how I would fit in to the group.
Well, my assumptions were correct. Everyone in that store can be fit into one of those four categories. There are people there from many different walks of life, and my own personal walk is quite different from everyone else's. And the experience has been something that has made me yell, laugh, be afraid, be confused, be pissed off and everything in between...you don't know how infuriating the human race can be until you have put on a visor and a drive-thru headset.
But let me tell you something about working in fast food that I have realized. When you have customers on the phone and in line at the counter and backed up in the drive-thru, no one cares that you go to an expensive school. When a timer is beeping at you to go faster and you just spilled 40 ounces of fruit punch into the ice bins, it doesn't matter how many friends you have on Facebook or how drunk you got last night. When some stupid kid pukes in the Playland and you have to mop it up, nothing matters LESS than the fact that you have a fancy grant to a foreign country. All that matters when you are in those situations is that you are quick to react, good with the customers, and working like a team. My degree really doesn't help me at The Burger. At all. What helps me is my common sense (lacking) and my people skills (a redeeming quality if I have had enough caffeine).
I know getting a good job means everything to us, and our parents. I know that being in fast food is something many of us might be ashamed of. Why get out of school just to scoop fries and hand fatty snacks out a window? I think a lot of us have big plans. I know I do. But I also know there is nothing wrong with taking a job we may think is "below us" to make some money while we look for something more suited to our major or our life plan. It teaches you something. It's pretty humbling, as a matter of fact.
Some of us may be on a TiPiT or have a great internship. Those folks are people to be proud of. But those who are at some minimum-wage gig are just as worthy of our pride and our support. Dream as big as you want to, but don't be afraid to take a few extra baby steps to get to the top.
...do you want cheese on that?

Speaking metaphorically...

This turkey sandwich is a metaphor for my life…I try to fit too many things into it, thinking it will be a delicious accomplishment. Then it all spills out and I burn my fingers and get mad. The cheese is not melted and I am sad.

Also, a cat has diarrhea.

Writin' a paper...sippin' on tea...

I am going to feed my Panera obsession today as I write a paper and job search.
Wish me and my wallet some fortune.

The 'original crime family'

Finishing my senior paper on the Borgia family the night "Assassin's Creed: Revelations" is being released. There is something like irony there. Too bad no Borgias are in this one or I may have to play through it "for research."

I miss you, OWU Women's Soccer. Good luck tonight at NCAAs. <3

Today I woke up with an engagement ring on my finger and I huge smile on my face.

GAY ENGAGED

WHAT I BELIEVE IN: Good effing grammar!

Every now and then, people have to stand up for what they believe in, right? 

I recently have gotten into several Facebook status fights with people I don’t even know, trying to defend my views on homosexuality. This, in and of itself, is a whole different column. But on my daily Internet ramblings and even the non-Internet ones I unfortunately come across some other form of ignorance. And not the “I hate Muslims because I listen only to Republican debates” kind of ignorance. The “I don’t like/don’t know proper grammar” kind of ignorance. And, of course, I have to fight it.

Now, I’m a journalism major. But I know there are others out there who give a damn about looking intelligent and who don’t spend hours a week in a newsroom. I’ve written about it before and I will write it again! If you are trying to hold an email conversation, or fight with someone on Facebook, or make a point…maybe I can key you in on a few little grammar treasures.

This country has a language problem. I’m not talking about the blatant misspelling of “Krusty Krab.” I don’t care that Toys “R” Us is both frugal with letters and trying to confuse me. I’ll even let Fergie Ferg and will.i.am spell it “‘t’ to the ‘a’ to the‘s-t-e-y.’”

No, we have a much greater problem, one so elementary that even my 11 and 14-year-old brothers could spell it out for you.

My fellow speakers of the English language, allow me to make one important distinction for you. “YOUR” AND “YOU’RE” ARE NOT THE SAME WORD.

I encounter the confusion of these two words on a daily basis. Facebook. Text messages. E-mails. Tweets. Status updates. Even advertisements and ABC 6 special reports. Apparently, everyone and their mother wants to make me cringe.

So for you grammar heathens, I’m going to review what we learned in first grade. We’re talking about “Schoolhouse Rock”-type lessons, folks. Stop eating Play-Doh and coloring outside the lines and listen. “Your” is possessive. It indicates something that belongs to the person you are addressing. It can be singular or plural. Example: Your grammar is atrocious.

“You’re” is a contraction of the words “you “and “are.” It’s a being verb. Example: You’re making me question how intelligent you are when you butcher the English language.

Please do not use these words interchangeably. You look like an idiot to anyone who knows better if you do, and your English teacher may or may not have a heart attack. Furthermore, I become ill and am forced to cease all physical activity for at least five minutes when people shorten either “you’re” or “your” to simply “ur.” Last I checked (and I am a religion major as well), Ur was an ancient Mesopotamian city that flourished between 2030 and 1980 BCE. So unless you are discussing the book of Genesis with me, please take that extra effort to move your thumbs just a little bit more and include all of the letters. Correctly. Just imagine how stupid we’d all look if we decided to be lazy and omit the letters “y,” “o,” and “e” in our everyday life. Nt nly wuld it lk quit prpstrus, but I wuld als g insan.

Another infuriating thing I encounter is a misuse of possessives. I guess this goes along with the whole your/you’re thing but bear with me. Apostrophes. They are great. They indicate possession or a contraction. But sometimes people like to add them into a plural form of something – for example, “The Rotuno-Johnson’s are coming to dinner.” Oh really? Now, if you were thinking you would know that you do not need an apostrophe unless the Rotuno-JohnsonS are bringing the Rotuno-Johnson’S cats to dinner. See what I did there? Plurals don’t need apostrophes. If I were to put apostrophe’s in all the plural’s of all the word’s people would have confused brain’s because they would think all of my word’s have something that belongs to them. That is just silly.

To avoid future silliness, my colleagues, please do what you can to use you’re brain’s. Ouch. Mine is hurting because of that sentence…

Baby, baby, baby OHHHHH

Kind of enthused to see the results of Bieber's paternity test...

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20541938,00.html

Article from the Transcript on break policy

 COPYRIGHT 2011, THE TRANSCRIPT

“What is wrong with OWU, all international students are going to be CHARGED for staying in THIS THANKSGIVING BREAK, and no rooms for you all for the Winter Break! I am very angry at this! If you feel the same way, we need to do something!”
This Facebook status, posted on Oct. 17, was the first “unofficial” announcement of the housing policy for international students over some academic year breaks and how it may affect students.
Since the posting, student across campus have expressed frustrations, formulated lists of questions and waded through rumors surrounding the policy “change.”
Wendy Piper, director of residential life, said only the implementation of an official policy has changed, not the policy itself.
“The official policy is that all students will be charged for staying on campus as they register to stay over break,” she said. “This is our housing policy. The policy has not changed, it has just been a practice of ours to not charge international students for staying over Thanksgiving or spring break.”
Chaplain Jon Powers said though he has heard little information about the housing policy situation, he believes that there’s been a lot of miscommunication, and that students are feeling “blindsided” by the news. 
“I’m concerned about the students’ welfare,” Powers said. “It’s hard enough to be on campus over winter break.” 
Powers also said he is concerned about the students’ reaction, and how it will be dealt with by Residential Life.
 “I am in no way being critical,” he said. “I’m just concerned about the well-being of the students involved.”
Piper said the rumor that students are to be consolidated in the Thompson basement is not completely true.
“We are working on a proposal for consolidating students over break,” she said. “This is not something new; we have done this in the past, just not in recent years. We are not anticipating using the ground floor of Thompson.  We anticipate keeping open the Citizens of the World House, Phi Delta Theta and Bashford Hall.”
With three weeks until Thanksgiving break, there has yet to be a formal announcement about the policy implementation. 
Junior Guanyi Yang, who is from China, is a resident assistant (RA) in Smith Hall. He said he was told he had to pay to stay in a meeting with his supervisor.
“The only time it was ‘formally’ announced to us was at a meeting of international students planning their Thanksgiving trip to New York, and that we’ll be charged for the days that we will be on campus,” he said. 
Around 30 students, generally upperclassmen, are eligible to go on this annual trip.
Piper said staff members have been prepared to answer students’ questions about the policy.
“All the new international students were informed by the International and Off Campus office prior to their matriculation,” she said. “We have been in touch with some of the RAs that are acting as a voice for international students and taking that feed back.  We’re hoping to put together something for the international students that this will affect.”
Piper said the change has been in the works for “a number of years.” 
“The question of equity was coming up frequently, that there were students who had the privilege of staying on campus without being charged and others who did not,” she said. “The implementation of this [policy change] is that students will be charged equally for services rendered over the break.”
Yang said international students usually stay on-campus because there is nowhere else to go.
 “It’s the school that requires to us to be on campus in the first place,” Yang said.  “For myself, I am going on the New York trip for Thanksgiving, and for the rest of break just come back.  As far as I know, most of my friends don’t know where to go, and they don’t want to pay the rate. The reason they stay here is because they don’t have money to travel.”
Piper said the cost for staying on campus during break is a fee of $20 a night.
”[It’s] certainly much cheaper than a nearby hotel room,” she said.  “Because of so many services that are unavailable on campus, we encourage students to go elsewhere. We don’t expect you to go home, but many students have family in the states or go home with other students to experience Thanksgiving with an American family.”
Junior Dasom Yang, a native of South Korea, said he was upset.
“I was really pissed off because, as an international student, it’s a sensitive thing,” he said. “If you’re 14 hours away by plane, you can’t go back any time you want. Thanksgiving break is just too short to pay $1,500 for a plane ticket.
“The school had to decide on some of the changes, that’s fine,” he said.  “But there should’ve been students involved in it, voicing their concerns, and the school should’ve listened to our situations first, and then announce it formally so we’re aware of the decisions that the school is making.”
Piper said the issue has always been about fairness.
“It has never been stated explicitly in the housing agreement that international students would not be charged for staying,” she said. “It didn’t quite seem appropriate that they received a privilege that other students, who may also have a legitimate reason for staying on campus, were not receiving.”

Maybe I'm sleep deluded and stressed about this paper but I am almost crying at how happy I am right now. Miranda Lambert is one of those artists who has defined moments in my life, who has expressed anger, hurt and love I have had no other words for. I am so excited to listen to this album and so proud of all she has become, from a Nashville Star contestant who didn't quite make it, to an angry fireball of a twentysomething, and now to a proudly married, award-winning legend in the making who still knows how to pack a punch. 


Thanks Ran. :)