Y is for...

You Only Live Once

Cliche I know, but true nonetheless.  In recent years, I have slowly but surely come to the point where I will attempt almost anything at least once.  I say almost because I'm not stupid and I'm not going to try drugs and death-defying stunts and what not.  I mean, trying new foods and stepping out of my comfort zone.  You only live once, so why not try everything?  The main thing that I get out of this is to live your life with no regrets.  I don't want to be 80 years old and look back at my life and say, why didn't I do that while I had the chance?  Or, why did it take me so long to try this food or go to that city?

This is very close to the post I did for N- New Experiences.  But the differentiating factor between YOLO and New Experiences it that living life with no regrets doesn't necessarily have to be trying new things.  It can simply be living everything that you are doing to the fullest extent possible.  Make the best out of every occasion.  Work at the job you love, or at least can tolerate until you find another one.  Don't worry yourself to death!  Sometimes you just have to accept the fact that everything happens for a reason and if something didn't happen, then maybe it just wasn't the right time.  Things like that.

N is for...

New Experiences.

N was originally going to be for New Zealand, and I mean seriously, what else could N possibly be for?  Except that I don't really have much to post about New Zealand that I haven't already.  Basically it would just be a reminiscing blog and I don't want to do that.  So I will, instead, focus on new experiences and anyone interest in reading about my time in NZ can check out this post or this one. 

New Experiences!  I love doing new things.  Even if they turn out to be pretty suck-y, new things just give a little kick to life.  I've had a lot of new experiences in the past year, going to NZ, traveling around NZ, traveling around cities, abseiling, almost skydiving, etc.  All of those experiences are great memories to have.  Even little things like going to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Fair last fall or the 2012 Northeast Conclave of The Wildlife Society this past weekend (the reason I posted three blogs at once) are great to mix up the daily grind.

Yes, days off are always important.  Give yourself some time to relax, sure, but make sure you get out, too.   There is so must to do, so much to see, and so much fun to be had!  Why would you ever pass it up to sit on your couch and watch reruns on TV?  There are plenty of activities out there, both that require money and ones that don't.  There are plenty of parks around, even stopping by a playground while school is in session and spending some time reliving your childhood is a great way to step out of the ordinary.  Teach yourself to knit or go to a photography workshop.  Like the picture says, try something new! 

A reoccurring theme in one of the books I'm currently reading is the John Lennon quote, "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."  Don't let life go on without you because believe me, it's entirely too short to begin with.

Who Wears Short Shorts?

Alright.  Here we go.  My first real blog in a long time.  And by ‘real’ I mean a blog in which I do something other than describe my day.  And the topic of the day is…Short Shorts!!  YAY!

Some of you may be thinking “Yeah, alright.  Short shorts are pretty common in summer.”  To which I would respond, “Yes, yes they are.”  However, the main subject area of this short shorts discussion is men.  Yes, men.  Men in short shorts.  Now you’re probably thinking something along the lines of “…oh.  Hahahahahahaha.”  However, before you go and start judging all the short shorts wearing Kiwi boys, just hear me out. 

If you see boys in short shorts in the States, it’s either in a picture from the 70s, or they’re involved in a sport (cough cough drum corps).  If it’s the former you just giggle but give them some slack because, let’s face it, it was the 70s.  If it’s the latter, again you just giggle and again give them slack because they’re usually pretty built.  Generally any other viewing of boys in short shorts is just weird.  But here, oh no.  Here it’s common place to see short shorts.  In class, in the dining hall, at the supermarket, whatever.  And after some deliberation with my female companions we have determined the reason that it’s not strange (and actually quite attractive) here: no tan lines.  These guys do not have pasty legs.  If boys do wear short shorts, it is so much more attractive when their legs don’t blind you if struck by a ray of sun. 

But every good thing must come to an end.  In this case, I was unfortunate enough to discover the limits of short shorts, while eating dinner, I might add.  There we were, having ourselves a nice, processed, school provided meal when BAM!  What do I see?  Man ass. Yep, right there in the dining hall.  This particular pair of short shorts managed to cover everything important but as soon as their occupant bent over, for whatever reason, we were treated to a fully fledged view of some unknown guy’s lower man ass.  It was at this point that all of us at the table became a little weary of short shorts.  So here’s my advice:  admire them all you want, just be aware that you might see a little bit more than you were planning for…