Woodstock...G rated

So I went to celebrate the Festival of Colors at my local Hindu temple. While everyone, myself included, go and take copious pictures of colored individuals, I thought I'd take this opportunity to bring some pictures of the characters at the festival.



This young man made the unfortunate error of talking loudly enough for me to hear whilst I was eating. My favorite thing he said, "This is like Woodstock!!!"

Really?

Has this young man ever been to Woodstock?

Obviously he has.

This guy is just cool and smart cause he's got science goggles!


Guh, this couple was just so ridiculously in love it was...ridiculous.


(sorry this is sideways) What I loved most about this guy is that he claimed to have 25 bags of chalk...and I believed him! Holy Cow! How was he going to use it all! I just had three bags...


This guy was my favorite!!! If you look closely, he carefully painted from his chin to forehead a rainbow of colors with chalk! <3

Easter Bunny?

With the way this festival goes down...it's not woodstock...but I wouldn't call it Temple Atmosphere either...Hence why I love this oxymoron of a sign!

I came here last year for the festival and the thing is...this stuff wasn't here before. This leads me to believe that they are doing very well for putting this festival on. Very well indeed. Way to be amazing Hindu temple!

I don't really know what these animals are called D: But they were enjoying the festival as well. They prefer orange chalk.

The last and best thing I'll be sharing with you is the food. The red stuff tasted like chili and I do love me some spinach! Oh it was yummy! And I've had Indian food. It's very spicy and weird. But luckily I'm in Utah where they believe in dumbing down all the spices for our little baby Americanized mouths :D And boy was it delicious!

Friday Thoughts part- 7

As I am prone to do, I apply everyday occurrences to my values in the gospel and such. A game where the point is to kill people is no exception. For my assassin's game, I thought I'd apply the game to my future career in what I believe will be politics. Politics is known for it's backstabbing, deceit, and general lack of trust. At least, that is the impression I get from the politics that I read about in Robert Jordan, which I believe to be relatively accurate despite the fact that it's a fiction book. Also Machiavelli...

Anyways, I died last night and as such I wanted to make some observations on human nature. Foremost we must acknowledge the fact that this was a game. When you're playing a game, most people will resort to unsavory tactics and the other players of the game will allow this to happen cause they don't want to be a stick in the mud. Truthfully I would feel very sticky and muddy if I called someone out on their ways of playing the game when, oh, it doesn't really matter!

Well, in contrast to this, I tried to do exactly the opposite. Can one win a game of deceit and killing on good merit alone?!? I never lied (you can't use half truths either, cause some still consider those lies) and I never betrayed a person (just killed them?). I made it a point not to make any alliance with anyone just so that I would not betray them in the end. I also did not depend on any other person. That's a sad existence...not being able to depend on anyone. But I thought it better than having to betray my friends in the end.

Applying this to politics, you have to be very good at word play. I think politics will be different because there are people you can rely on and not betray in the end. But that will only be because your purposes just happen to align with theirs. People will lie and manipulate you in order to meet their ends. They will give you false information that leads you to actions of ruination and defamation.

So what do I suggest for the person seeking to win a game of assassins or politics? Perseverance (i.e. patience), reliance only on yourself, believing that you never have all of the facts, and careful decision making. I didn't take my time in killing my targets, got antsy, and died because of it. I thought I knew people's characters well enough to depend upon them and died because of it.

But like I like to remember, it's only a game.

As to politics, I think you will always have to base your decisions while never having all the facts. It's a delicate dance of policy and making the optimal choice. If you make decisions based on the fact that you can only trust yourself, you won't get very far. But I feel that if you prepare for people to fail you will probably do better than putting all your dependency on them.

So there you have it. I'm overly cynical and lacking in trust. No! In fact I'm horribly optimistic. While these are rules I live by, I love to be a paradox. I'll still find myself trusting others, jumping the gun, and relying on others as well. You just have to find a healthy medium. Plus every person is a different piece with different levels of skill and trustability.

Hence, as I like to remember, it's all a game.

Friday thoughts- part 6

Naps. Love 'em or hate 'em. Ok...so most people love them...or...'em. But I just don't like them. Ok...so I'll digress, I really do enjoy the naps that come from when I'm reading a book on the couch and I fall asleep to it because then I start dreaming about the book! And that's always fun. Otherwise I usually just wake up tired and unmotivated. Sunday naps are always good though...so I suppose I medium-like naps.

I'm afraid that I will die if I put in both earbuds right now. Not really in the sense that my soul will cease to sojourn on this Earth but that I will lose at my assassins game. But then I keep thinking that THIS will happen. Then I remember that I jog in an indoor track and I'm slightly appeased...but I could still lose at my assassins game if I jog with my earbud's and my killer finds me! Man...this game causes me to have far too many ridiculous ideas.

Speaking of ideas, I've been having the weirdest nightmares for the past four days. I kinda blame it, once again, on the stress of the game. But what does my entire high school volleyball team have to do with the assassin's game? I don't even talk to any of them anymore! Anyways, they were there to haunt my dreams...and it was weird waking up from it.

One of my life goals is to be called as the Temple Organist. Anytime I go to the temple and they are playing the dulcet tones of the hymns, I just want to be the one playing them! Then I always giggle when they miss a note or something...but I don't know if that's approprate...to be laughing at someone in the Temple; it being a place of peace and love.

Update with the assassin's game since I've mentioned it twice: I'm still alive, there are 30 people left, and I lost my pin on Tuesday only to be regained today. So I might have to go 'kill' someone tonight.

Another thing that naps do to me is that they make me horribly scatter-brained. Hence my random thoughts for today's post. :)

Friday Thoughts-Part 5

Update: I am the proud owner of that number 1 choice painting I was telling you about. It is gorgeous! Now I just have to decide if I'll be a rebel and stick a nail in my wall...

What's on my mind? Well, to be completely honest, it's my current employment status. I have a great desire to leave the scene of my Catering career and invest in something closer to my major. But to be even more honest, it's like ripping out a part of my heart and throwing it to the dogs. Catering is comforting, while at the same time, it's fallen from grace. The first two years were the glory days. Catering was less like work and more like an escape from the woes of school to spend time with people who are interesting and great friends. But after a string of imagined abuses on my part, I'm afraid it's time for a change. I wanted to last my whole college career there though. I wanted to prove to myself that I could take the monotony that would come with sticking to one job. I wanted to prove so much but I don't feel that I did.

However, I did learn a lot. I learned how to carry three plates and look good doing it. I learned a lot on how to make a dinner go well and how to plan events (it made my last birthday a smashing success I must say). I learned I'm more like my Father than I ever thought I was (good thing) and that I am a force to be reckoned with! I learned that I have some very odd ideas on what looks nice for decoration and what doesn't. I can carry 5 blue crates of 20 plate covers each. I learned that no matter what you do for them, some people just can't be appeased. I have no fear when I get behind the wheel of a huge truck (or any car smaller than it). I now have some idea how much effort it takes to make a syndicated comic strip. I have been known to go into "Captain Mode" and every time I do, it makes me smile.

In the end, I'm not going to let Catering be a bad ending. It's a good place to work. I will always look back on it with fond memories. As to my future plans I'm currently looking for a job that either deals with econ or is clerical. I've always wanted to be a secretary. Plus I LOVE libraries and they have clerical work GALORE.

But know this! I will always have Captain hands.

Friday Thoughts- part 4

Oh! It's Friday! I was reading my various other blogs and realized I had one to write myself! Yay!

But I don't have anything particularly deep to talk about...I know! I am going to show you a purchase I'll be making soon! I have just enough extra money to make the purchase and I consider it my March present to me! That and splurging. I saw this art on display two weeks ago and fell deeply in love with them that I just had to have one. The artist has yet to contact me back, so I don't know which one I'll get, but I can't wait!

This was my 4th pick. Why? Because it embodies feminism, I think. It is titled "Why are you only looking at my leaves?" he he he. Also the yellow is a very nice color, needless to say.
My first pick. "Maybe this one will last forever" I chose this as my first because trees that are purple are my favorite. We had them all over my middle school and I adore them! They would also turn into cherry blossoms and with me loving Japan, they just become even better trees than before! Plus this picture seems to me as if you are looking up into the sky through the trees; one of my favorite activities. Gorgeous!
My third pick. "The price of survival" I just like it. I remember when I was standing there looking at it that I liked the contrast of yellow and green even though it isn't contrast at all :D

My second pick would not load D: So I suppose you don't get to see it. It's called "Do you become most beautiful when you're about to die? I do." I just love the poetry of it! I don't love that I am stuck in this font now and can't change it. That'll teach ME to copy and paste!

Anyways, like I said, while these aren't really deep thoughts, it is what I wanted to share. Fall is indeed the best season...too bad it's over and not coming for a long, long time. No worries. Snow compensates for that! :D

Sweet Smiles not Sweet Enough

Ok, I need to vent.

WHY!?! It doesn' t make sense to me. All my life I have been all smiles to hide my true intents. The thing is, I like to think I am especially so in my ward. That, and I like to believe that people believe me to be sincere when I'm happy. I suppose I do look mischevious...and I've actually worked on making my smile look more puckish. Gah. I just thought I was so much more better at this being machiavellian thing.

Let me explain. In my ward we started an assassins game. Each member of the group has an assignment to 'kill' another member in the group. You 'kill' each other by clipping each other with a clothespin. It started Monday and goes until there is one final victor.

How am I doing so far? I have avoided one assassination attempt actually. I have also had 5 failed attempts to assassinate by two targets (soon to be explained).

note: names have been changed/dropped in case anyone in the ward is reading this. That's right, I know you're looking for any advantage to assassinate me!

The attempt to kill me was this. I was in my room when my roommate Dora told me the 'Brute Squad' was at our door. (The brute squad was formed one week ago by some random guys in the Elms. This was after we had all been given our assignments.) I immediately thought "Guys in our ward set up the Brute Squad through people in the Elms in order to win the assassin's game!!!" Armed with my clothespin, I went in the front room to face my foes. Was I being paranoid? Could the guys in my ward be that dastardly!? You'd like to THINK so WOULDN'T you!

We chatted for a bit. I expressed my incredulity that the brute squad even existed. They claimed that was why they were there, to prove that they really did! But I knew better. JUST as he was claiming this, the one on the left reaches out to clip me with a clothespin! There was a struggle, my piano was knocked over, BUT I WAS VICTORIOUS!!! I clipped him before he did me! (if you know who your assassin is, you can do that and it kills them instead of them killing you!) Unfortunately that little rule I just told you in the parenthesis wasn't made up until after the action. It was actually made up BECAUSE of the action. So now I know who my killer is, who I'm supposed to kill, and the 5 times I've tried to kill either of them tonight failed miserably.

So why the rant? I was told by my target's roommates that rumors are going around the ward not to trust me in any shape or form! Is this some twisted way of trying to compliment me and my mischievous ways!? I suppose it just means everyone thinks I'll be abnormally good at this game...wait a second...this can be an oober advantage...why should I see it as so? Let's just say that fear is one of my favorite tools. OH! This is going to be a fun game. No worries. I'll keep you updated :) Hopefully I'll be the last assassin standing!!!