Read this line on the WaPo and had to share my thoughts.

“An ancillary message is that human beings should not be too chauvinistic about what constitutes, or characterizes, a living thing.”

The article is about how scientist have discovered ancient life on the bottom of the ocean floor. They are barely surviving and don’t necessarily fit the standards of what most people consider to be a living thing. Read the full article here.

I thought this was interesting because I’ve always had this mentality regarding extraterrestrial life. Scientists say, “well planet X has the same habitat, or traces of water of, etc as Earth so there is a possibility of life there.” I’m no astronomer and my opinions are not researched based, but who are we to assume whether or not all creatures in the entire universe need oxygen, food and water? Isn’t it possible that there are creatures living on another planet even in our own solar system that survive off quite different things than us? Even if they are minuscule.

Just a thought. 

I am the 80% haha. I like to think of myself of mostly optimistic with a hint of realism. But maybe that’s too optimistic. It’s interesting to think about the psychology and ramifications of optimism and how high expectations can shape your life.

The whole 2012, end of the world thing, I’m pretty optimistic that it won’t happen but I wouldn’t be surprised if it did. I think that pretty much sums up my optimistic/pessimistic/realistic outlook on life. 

The Oregon Coast, with filters ;)

There’s something disappointing about that moment when that song that you discovered (you surely discovered it, there’s no way anybody else in your hemisphere could have possibly known about it), that idea you had or that trendy style you had, is suddenly the “it” item of pop culture and your insightful little secret is exposed to the world.

Side note, have we come up with another term other than “pop culture”? Sounds a little dated. 

I have issues when anything goes super mainstream—The Hunger Games, Linsanity, Kony. I’m definitely a little weary about the hype and over exaggerated praise. I guess you could say I have a strong opposition to the band wagon syndrome. I doubt anybody would admit to being a band wagoner, but it certainly is an epidemic among the masses. It’s one thing if someone becomes aware of a certain issue, piece of media or person because of the intense coverage and it affects that person in a deep way, but what I have a problem with is when something is so “of the moment” and then just dies in a matter of months or weeks and nobody gives a rip anymore. I suppose that’s the nature of life and progress but I try not to invest too much into trendy, hypey, stuff because I see it’s so-called exponential growth and popularity to be short lived. 

This is certainly an applicable issue in my desired career path. The advertising industry is a hub of hype waiting to happen. I don’t find fault with it because I would be person curating the hype. And the type of agency environment I see myself working in is one that creates movements or revolutionizes perceptions and behaviors with long term relationships in mind, not superficial short term attention. Think Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty, think Nike’s Girl Effect, think about things that are meant to last.

That said, if you give me a while maybe I’ll give in to what everybody was squawking about four years ago . For example, when Twilight came out, I was not interested. I never read the books so when the movies came out I wasn’t that excited and I certainly did not feel compelled to do so just because it was hardcore trending. I didn’t have any personal investment in the series and I felt that becoming interested at this point would be band wagonish of me. Just last summer I succumbed to Twilight. But now, I wasn’t just doing it because everybody else was. Somehow in the psychology of my mind that makes it okay. Pop culturey things I am proud to announce my devotion to are Harry Potter and Star Wars. I read Harry Potter shortly after the first book came out, before the madness. Plus I was a kid. It was something I grew up with. And although I was not raised in conjunction with the original Star Wars trilogy, I do have an affinity for it because I used to watch them with my older brother since I was in elementary school. Same kind of investment—a legitimate one. That’s why I proudly wear Star Wars tees, yawn like a Wookie and named my first dog Chewbacca. 

It’s a trivial issue, but for me it’s a deeper look into the thoughts in my head and how I function:

I value authenticity, originality and longevity. It is important to be genuine and true to an idea and not try to embody a facade.

My name, Katherina, means “pure.” To me the word “pure,” as it pertains to my name and my personality, regardless of the actual intended definition, means being real. Being in real in what you say, how you act, the things you’re interested and the people you surround yourself with. 

Being pure is being yourself. Being anything else a lie. I would like to say that I march to the beat of my own drum, and I know that I do, but I think that everybody does. Some of us just have that beat muted. My friends always told me I was weird and strange growing up (all out of love of course) and I always liked it. I appreciated it in a way. But what I’ve come to learn is that we’re all weird and strange, we’ve all got our little quirks. I just see them as being an asset and personality enhancer rather than a opportunity for social scorn.

Moral of the story: be yourself pure.

I enjoy photography. I like taking candid photos of people and picturesque landscapes. I have thousands of photos (then again, doesn’t everybody?) in several different locations. Flash drives, hard drives, SD cards, on my phone etc. My camera, over there to the right, whose name is Cecil, is an awesome piece of equipment for an amateur like me. I had a photography internship with the Britt Festivals last summer and I get a few gigs now and then so I guess you could say I have a developed interest.

I have a confession though. I could really care less about a photo to intentionally commemorate a moment with someone. I started thinking about it when one of my roommates was moving out. Another roomie and I were hanging around waiting to say our final goodbyes and she suggested a goodbye photo to which I explained to her what I’m about to explain now. 

I may like photography and taking photos and having a good photo taken of me, but there is very little sentimental value for me in a commemorative photo. Traveling and very special occasions, like weddings, are two exceptions. My mom always wants me to take family photos when I come home (heyyy tripod and self-timer) and no offense mom, but that photo won’t really mean that much to me. Before I sound too insensitive, I should probably explain what would mean a lot to me. 

Trinkets. Little knick knacks. Notes. Objects mean a lot to me. Which may be why I name all of my things. 

I’m a big fan of notes. I like to leave secret admirer notes for special people. Best friends, boyfriends, mom <3. My hope is that it will be something they’ll hold on to and look at it one day and be reminded of me. Photos are tricky that way, that moment is a reminder of a specific time and place. Memorabilia is timeless. Sort of. My thoughts are that you can remember exactly what you want to, or when you want to.

I have some goodies stored up in my car and I’m always collecting when something comes my way. So far I have a heart-shaped rock from my first boyfriend, a business card I got from a Jewish man in Beverly Hills outside of Steven Spielberg’s mom’s restaurant that says, “KEEP SMILING,” an 8-inch stick carved by my second boyfriend and an encouraging post-it note from my dad that he put in my change compartment with a $20 about three years ago. Obviously I spent the money, but I’ll always keep that note. I just found a poem someone gave me in my wallet today. The ring I wear every day is from my mom. Silly bandz. Sweatshirts. Tee shirts. Those are things that mean something to me.

These days, most of the photos I take go straight to Facebook. It’s a public declaration of the moment. If things ever go awry (I’m talkin’ relationships and friendships) then I would probably take those photos down. Of course I can just trash the stuff Joe Bob or that backstabbing beeotch Cindy Lu gave me, but that’s not really my style. For whatever reason it didn’t work out, and however high that person may be on my hit list at the time, there’s just something I like about having a piece of them with me. It’s very personal.

Songs are like that too. Certain artists and event entire genres remind me of certain people. Sometimes it makes it difficult to listen to, but it’s definitely a one-of-a-kind experience. I went to my mom’s ballroom dance performance last weekend in Medford and this couple did a waltz to Lady Antebellum’s, “Can’t Take My Eye’s Off You.” Here’s a ghetto Youtube vid of it. Anyway, I had a pretty emotional reaction to that song during a relationship that will forever remind me of a certain boy (who resides in Medford) and just hearing it out of the context of my iPod or computer in public, in Medford was poignant. It kind of killed me but made me smile and laugh at the same time. Bittersweet I guess. That’s something a photo would never give me.

Moral of the story: if I don’t want to take a photo with you, it’s nothing personal to you, it’s just not personal to me. 

I’m from Medford, Oregon. A small town in Southern Oregon. Check out some Wiki knowledge here if you’re not familiar with it. We have a love-hate relationship right now, but growing up it was mostly hate. There was “nothing to do.” Then again, I was always busy working at Red Robin or spending my time on the yearbook so I didn’t have much free time anyway. When I did have time it was either bowling or the movies. Pretty much the only options as a teenager.

Let me also say that as I’ve grown up, I’ve come to see the world in terms of politics. Particularly, political affiliation. I see people, places and things as democrat or republican and liberal or conservative. I’m not sure when I started to think this way, but I find political ideology can help you learn a lot about a person. Now, many people claim that they don’t follow politics or even just hate it, but everything is politics, and the views people hold regarding the balance between freedom and equality are integrated into our everyday lives. 

Back to Medford. So I didn’t really notice too much as a teen, but Medford is generally a more conservative place, more so than the rest of the state, with the exception of Eastern Oregon of course. Now I’ve been at the UO in Eugene for three years and it’s still a culture shock. First of all, I feel like I live at the University of Oregon, not Eugene. I have everything I need in a one mile square radius. School and Safeway. That’s all I really need except for the occasional Target trip. This pictures sums it up:

So even though I’m surrounded by a bunch of college who are basically just like me, I can’t help but get the Eugene vibe. The campus area is frustrating. I love that I live so close but the constant hustle and bustle makes me uneasy and the neighborhood bums act like they run the block. Not to mention my house has been broken into along with both of my neighbors. People take advantage of the students around here because they know they won’t do anything about it. It’s sad. Granted, students are drunken idiots and some of them probably deserve a little taking advantage of but I shouldn’t have to feel scared when I walk two steps to my car at night. Alright, so that was basically just a little rant, but what I’m really trying to get to is that Medford and Eugene are so DIFFERENT.

Clearly, no two towns are the same but I feel like a different person when I’m in either city. The cars are different, the people are different. Time is different. Maybe it’s just me. When I go home to Medford, everything seems to slow down. My irrational fear is that time will actually stop and I’ll get sucked into the black hole that I perceive to be Medford. I have a lot of animosity toward my home town. Proud to be from there but happy to have moved on. I have this imbecilic opinion of people in Medford. “Oh you still live in Medford, that’s cute.”  Definitely something I’ve never said out loud and not really something I think consciously in my head, but it’s mentality that I know exists in my head that I need to work on changing. In reality, a lot of people are getting their shit together, they just do it in different ways. My perception is that time is so much slower because I see it that way, because my life moves on in another place. My life there has essentially died. My mom and dog and my brother live there but it hasn’t been “home” for a while now. And this place, this one-in-a-million college town, is nothing but a holding tank for me. 

I don’t want to go back and I don’t want to stay here. I need to get away. 

While Eugene (by Eugene I mean UO) has grown on me in the last year, which is largely part to the fact that I’ve found a community of awesome people (Alpha Kappa Psi), I still get mad at this place sometimes. Too many one-ways. Stoners everywhere. No, mister street petitioner, I do not want to help decriminalize marijuana. When will it stop raining? And so on. Back to the political affiliations. Eugene is a liberal town. Simple as that. What I struggle with is that, at times I feel liberally overwhelmed. Weed is everywhere! In the news, in our own paper, in our sports coverage, in the streets on campus. I’m not trying to sound like a prude, I’m just not in to it. We get it, we’re in college, smoke a doobie or whatever but it’s all a little too hippie for me. And how about that parking situation? Limited space at a high price to encourage other forms of transportation. When it rains 340 days a year, the bus system is unpredictable and you live just a little to far to walk but too close to deal with trying to find parking for 8 minutes that’s only three blocks closer to where you started, you should probably consider a parking structure of some sort. Oh wait, that would be so “ungreen.” Please. I found this old article from The Commentator about parking structure plans. Interesting to read. 

Oh. And nobody likes country music here. 

I think it’s also the reaction I get from people when I tell them I’m from Medford. “Oh, you’re from Medford? What a hick-town.” The same condescending reaction I imply to people who are still there. 

You must realize of course, my perceptions are all speculations. The thoughts in my head are probably being a bit over analytical and melodramatic. Most people could probably care less, but I’ll always remember those who diss my hometown, because it’s a personal diss. 

When I’m in Medford, I play up the revered, sophisticated, literary, college lifestyle and when I’m in Eugene I blast my country music and wear Navy sweatshirts and Marine Corps shorts and shirts. Pretty counter intuitive. It’s like the aura of the last city I was in remains in me and I feel compelled to express it to my new surroundings. In the red county, I bring some blue and in the blue county I bring some red. 

Maybe I’m a purple person. 

I’ve always been fascinated by ethnic origins. The 2010 U.S. Census found that 72.4% of Americans identify as white, but that gives us zero insight into their ethnic origins, whereas other groups like American Indian, Asian and Pacific Islander have clear ethnic associations. In this ‘Merican melting pot in which we live, in many cases, white is just white: you’re American. I wanted to delve into this matter just a little bit and surveyed some of my friends (all but two identify as white). Obviously this was a small group of people but it would be interesting to extend this question to a broader group of people in order to see some patterns and gain insight into people with similar ethnic origins.

I hate these two words. 

Calendar.

Relevant. 

I always transpose the a’s and e’s. When will I learn? I know there are a few others that I have a hard time with… 

Commitment and Adderall always confuse me with the double letters. Two t’s? Two rr’s? 

Thought I’d share.

I thought this was hilarious. It’s like when you buy a star. 

But the proceeds actually go to a worthy cause. Or according to some, maybe they don’t. I’m not sure how I feel about charitable causes. I think it’s awesome there are people out there who want to dedicate their lives to better the lives and living conditions of others or improve the environment I am just baffled at how many there are. Are they all legitimate? Which one is the most worthy? 

There are a ton out there. Just being on a college campus for example, students are approached by organizations like Greenpeace, PIRGs and a variety of other interest groups looking to carry on their work through donations. 

First of all, I am a college student; the little money I have I use very selfishly (for the necessities of course). Second, not to sound like an ignorant, heartless beeotch, but I honestly don’t care. I mean really, it’s hard for anyone to care when some hippy stops you on your way to class asking to you donate your beer money. But I tend to get that mentality that “my one contribution won’t matter,” just like those people who don’t think their one vote could influence an election. And as such, if fifty people with this thought suddenly decided to donate or vote, they could make a difference together. The problem is you can’t always rely on other people to make that same decision. Or maybe you rely too much on other people to make that decision like the whole bystander effect and figure that if you don’t donate or vote, somebody else surely will.

When I was in elementary school my parents sponsored a little girl in Haiti. I remember her photo well. Dark skin, shy, scared or confused face, with think braids and a pretty blue dress our donations helped buy her. I’m not sure what made my parents decide to sponsor her, I think it was my mom’s idea. My dad, who has done  international work in places like Indonesia and the Middle East has since discredited some organizations because he felt like they were misusing their money. Of course, this doesn’t apply to all organizations. But it is important for people to do their research about how organizations they support allocate their funds. But how do you ever really know?

Then there’s this whole Kony thing, which I refuse to watch (I’ll get into trendy, viral, hypey stuff later). Among the millions of comments it spawned I saw one that claimed the organization in charge was hording money and blah, blah, blah. To which another person responded by saying the CEO only makes like $80,000 a year, or something like that. That’s decent money but certainly a fraction of what many CEOs make. Regardless, it’s important for people to realize that just because these organizations ask for money doesn’t mean it can ALL go to the cause. Non-profits function like any other business and they must have some money to perpetuate their cause and retain full-time salaried employees whose passion exceeds their desire for monetary gains. 

Next time somebody with clip board asks me if I want to save the whales do I tell him no? I’m sure the whales are an essential part of the underwater ecosystem and are cool to watch and what not but I am just not interested. And how about the commercials? The ASPCA ones with Sarah McLachlan? Or the ones with the starving children in any given country in Africa? Thanks for making me feel bad. But the truth is 100 times out of 100 I will never pick up the phone to make a contribution. Part of it is a convenience thing: I don’t want to get my wallet and call this place, part of it is that I don’t want to give you my money and part of it is that I don’t really care. The phrase “For as little as ___ cents a day you can help ________,” has lost all meaning to me. I don’t mean to sound anti-humanitarian in anyway, but how is a 20-year-old white girl who grew up middle-class in Medford, Oregon supposed to give a rip? Bravo to the men and women who are out there doing good for the world but maybe it’s time to approach this dilemma in a new way…

Queue social media. Case in point: Kony. I’m sure there are other organizations out there who have already taken this approach or are ready to embrace this approach. Despite all of the controversy Invisible Children has sparked with Kony 2012, people are talking and among these people they have found some who are willing to support their cause, even if others are bashing it. 

If you’re trying to reach out to a generation with the purchasing power of the country of Ethiopia stop asking them for money and ask them to spread the word…via social media.

This was for a class and it’s technically “finished,” but I want to build off of some of the ideas in here. I think I can develop it a little bit better and come up with something really cool. I like the essence of it.