How to Weed out the Good Ones

If you’re looking for a good friend, there are a few simple tricks to finding one.  You need trust in the person, you need to like them, and last but not least, you need to get along with them. Some friends are temporary, and some are here for the long run.  Finding a best friend, you need to make sure that this is the friend that isn’t going to leave when things get tough. And just remember, as the American Proverb says, “Fooled once shame on you, fooled twice shame on me.” 
Being able to trust in a person is very hard. Being able to trust someone is ever harder.  Some people find this easier than others, but you have to have faith in them. You have to know that they are going to stick by your side, and they are going to stick up for you. You need to test their friendship, start with little things like sharing something. Take turns driving places, taking care of the bill, and just have fun with this “friend”. Next, you need to start sharing small secrets, and they need to share back.  You will slowly feel trust building up and just remember to hardly ever put all your trust in someone. They have to earn that trust. Putting all of your marbles on the table is for when this person proves to you that they have your best intentions in mind and that they are going to act on that no matter what. Hopefully when you find that friend you’re willing to take a chance on, they will be highly enjoyable. 
Learning to like someone and live with their flaws, like a friend having OCD can be difficult. Having a friend that chomps, has other bad habits’, or is just annoying is also a difficulty that you have to live with and figure out how to deal with.  If they have a relaxed personality, it’s a safe bet that you can be up front with the friend. Tell them that it’s disgusting to chomp food, tell them that they need to change how they act, to a point; you don’t want them to completely change, because they got you as a friend from acting a certain way! In certain situations, you should tip-toe around the subject if you think the friend will react a bit harsher. If the comment is somewhat unimportant, then why risk upsetting your friend? Sometimes suffering through the pain of having a friend clean up after you, is well worth the agony of always having a clean apartment!  
Last but not least, when creating a great friendship, you need to get along with the person. You should be friends at this point, and also trusting them completely with your valuables, if they are going to be let into your life and around your house. Compatibility is a big part of trust, because it shows who is similar to you and who you should treat a bit differently. To find out if you’re compatible, try going to the movies together. If you don’t have fun, try something interactive, like going bowling or to lounge to hang out. In the end,  if that doesn’t work, then try going to a dinner together, whether in a group, or just on a friend date. Within all of these activities, if you have a blast, then you have most likely found your future roommate, or a future close friend. Still have your guard up a bit just to make sure that your friend is sincere and you will be on track to gaining a new friend.
When investing in a friend, just remember to be cautious. Always be open to a new friend, but remember to follow the steps. An unknown author once said, ““Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.” Always remember this because when you find one of the special ones, you won’t want to ever leave them, and you will always carry a part of them. Always have a small guard up when beginning any friendship, but also remember to let it down once in a while. Also, look at yourself to see if you’re as compatible as the person you’re looking for. Look at your own habits and see if they’re ones that others would like to be annoyed of. Always think of your friends as family, and consider the as important as yourself.   

Chivalry at Its Finest

               You love your mother. Wherever she is at the moment, whatever she is doing, you love her- no matter what. You have that same love for all the members of your family. This type of love is one of benevolence. Selflessness is often when one cares for others much more than themselves. Along with loving your mother, you would do anything for her. Would you automatically choose yourself over her? Or would you choose her over yourself?

            Altruism, also known as selflessness is defined on Wikipedia as, “a concern for the welfare of others”. Most people are capable of such a deep level of love and care, a level of want and need for the other to turn out as great as possible in everything they do. Having a care for someone so intensely, more than your own is what a selfless person has. At a certain point, they don’t even care what happens to themselves, they care about what happens to their loved ones. Altruism is one of the least malicious actions, where everything, in that moment, is for the better.

            We learned of altruism in the 19^th century, and to this day it is used in many instances. It is mainly looked at with psychologists’, ethologists’, as well as evolutionary biologists’. When it was first discovered though, it was looked at in more of a philosophical and ethical light. “While ideas about altruism from one field can have an impact on the other fields, the different methods and focuses of these fields lead to different perspectives on altruism.”

            There are many different viewpoints on altruism. There are scientific views, as well as religious views, and even different animal habits having to do with the subject.  One of the scientific views has to do with “how the brain works”. Two neuroscientists, or “the study of the anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and pharmacology of the nervous system”, did a study on how the brain reacts to different items using magnetic resonance imagining (also known as MRI’s).

Jorge Moll and Jordan Grafman found that simple rewards and donations lit up the part of the brain that responds to food and sex. They also found that a different brain circuit lit up when they discussed donations and generously helping others, and this circuit is known as the subgenual cortex/septal region. This region is referred to when looking at social situations, as well as bonding and attachment. Thus, the experiment suggested that altruism is not considered a moral suppressant for basic selfish urges, but more-so a basic hard-wire to the brain and pleasurable to the human race.

Religious views have to do with most of the religions that are practiced daily, Christianity, Judaism, Sikhism, Sufism, Jainism, as well as one of the main viewpoints being Buddhism. Wikipedia states, “Love and compassion are components of all forms of Buddhism, and both are focused on all beings equally: the wish that all beings be happy (love) and the wish that all beings be free from suffering (compassion).”

Sites used: wikipedia, dictionary.reference.com

Moving On... Again

    When I was a little girl, I moved to St. Louis, Missouri. At the young age of one, my world was changed. From then on, I realized that this “moving thing” was going to be a big part of my life. I spent 6 ½ years in St. Louis until I moved back to California, where my original home was. For most people, moving is a crazy thing. It takes hard work; it takes courage to be able to meet new people, as well as the strength to leave your loved ones. Yet, not moving also takes courage to be able to say no and not rippling the waters, to be able to see the same people and face them without running away, as well as dealing with everything face on.
    Moving is an act that is so special and can also change your life; whether for the good or the bad, it’s your choice. Wikipedia says, “Relocation, also known as moving is the process of vacating a fixed location (such as a residence or business) and settling in a different one.” My dad, Steve Runnels, who now works for a drug discovery company in Kirkland, hasn’t always lived in his current city. For his work, he’s lived in five states, as well as Singapore and Israel. When he’s not moving, he’s travelling for the companies he’s worked for. My dad has made four of those moves with his family. Whether it’s with two young boys, or three kids, my mom has always been supportive and positive about all of the moving.
As Houston Magazine says in the August 1988 edition, “Last September, Runnels, Gamma Biologicals’ ambitious, 39-year-old president of export, visited seven countries in three weeks trying to expand his company’s presence in the hotly contested Pacific Basin.”  Roseanne Clark, the author of this piece then goes on to say, “During a six-week period in April and May, he juggled Montreal, Toronto, Puerto Rico, Mexico City, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Tokyo, and Seoul.”
            Moving can create a lot of problems if you’re going on without support, it can be physically exhausting as well as becoming one of the most positive experiences of your life. Myself, I have lived in four states, visited over twenty, and do not plan on stopping any time soon. Having gone through three of the moves with family, I understand all of the frustration in moving.
Sometimes the moves are too hard on people and they choose an easy way out, or they decide that they are just going to stay in one state their whole lives. That is completely understandable- why mess up such a great life with hassle and chaos. Some people love living in that small town, growing up and marrying their high school sweetheart and never regretting a single day. For some of us though, the hustle and bustle of moving, the “never looking back” feeling and the anxiousness changes lives. Living wherever you please, recreating yourself in each place (as long as you’re still you at the end of the day), and meeting new friends is the life that was meant for us.
            Of course you then get into marriage and having to eventually settle down- unless you’re a flight attendant. Yet, most people are not living with planes as friends, a new city each night, or temporary clients. When settling down, it’s a choice you have to make to decide whether you want the life of constant circulation or if you want to have a family and stay in one state, at least for a while. Also, having children makes it more complicated to pick up and leave. “Military Brats” have lived the life of constant disorder. You get used to meeting new friends and packing up and going to new places.          
            Sometimes moving is not a choice. Circumstances can affect your current situations and that will then change your life. Whether you’re moving states, countries, or continents, there will most likely be others in your situation. And now, as I’m looking back at the last year, I see myself moving from Southern California to Washington. Now that I have experienced my moves thus far, I realize that it’s something I’m passionate about and that I will have to get used to this chaos if I’m going to continue. Moving is something that I believe everyone should experience at least once, but frustrations can be hard during certain times.

Moving On

             When I was a little girl, I moved to St. Louis, Missouri. At the young age of one year, my world was changed. From then on, I realized that this “moving thing” was going to be a big part of my life. I spent 6 ½ years in St. Louis until I moved back to California, where my original home was. For most people, moving is a crazy thing. It takes hard work; it takes courage to be able to meet new people, as well as the strength to leave your loved ones.

            Moving is an act that is so special and can also change your life; whether for the good or the bad, it’s your choice. Wikipedia says, “Relocation, also known as moving is the process of vacating a fixed location (such as a residence or business) and settling in a different one.” My dad, Steve Runnels, who now works for a drug discovery company in Kirkland, hasn’t always lived in his current city. For his work, he’s lived in five states, as well as Singapore and Israel. When he’s not moving, he’s travelling for the companies he’s worked for. My dad has made four of those moves with his family. Whether it’s with two young boys, or three kids, my mom has always been supportive and positive about all of the moving.  

As Houston Magazine says in the August 1988 edition, “Last September, Runnels, Gamma Biologicals’ ambitious, 39-year-old president of export, visited seven countries in three weeks trying to expand his company’s presence in the hotly contested Pacific Basin.”  Roseanne Clark, the author of this piece then goes on to say, “During a six-week period in April and May, he juggled Montreal, Toronto, Puerto Rico, Mexico City, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Tokyo, and Seoul.”

            Moving can create a lot of problems if you’re going on without support, it can be physically exhausting as well as becoming one of the most positive experiences of your life. Myself, I have lived in four states, visited over twenty, and do not plan on stopping any time soon. Having gone through three of the moves with family, I understand all of the frustration in moving.

Sometimes the moves are too hard on people and they choose an easy way out, or they decide that they are just going to stay in one state their whole lives. That is completely understandable- why mess up such a great life with hassle and chaos. Some people love living in that small town, growing up and marrying their high school sweetheart and never regretting a single day. For some of us though, the hustle and bustle of moving, the “never looking back” feeling and the anxiousness changes lives. Living wherever you please, recreating yourself in each place (as long as you’re still you at the end of the day), and meeting new friends is the life that was meant for us.

            Of course you then get into marriage and having to eventually settle down- unless you’re a flight attendant. Yet, most people are not living with planes as friends, a new city each night, or temporary clients. When settling down, it’s a choice you have to make to decide whether you want the life of constant circulation or if you want to have a family and stay in one state, at least for a while. Also, having children makes it more complicated to pick up and leave. “Military Brats” have lived the life of constant disorder. You get used to meeting new friends and packing up and going to new places.           

            Sometimes moving is not a choice. Circumstances can affect your current situations and that will then change your life. Whether you’re moving states, countries, or continents, there will most likely be others in your situation. And now, as I’m looking back at the last year, I see myself moving from Southern California to Washington. Now that I have experienced my moves thus far, I realize that it’s something I’m passionate about and that I will have to get used to this chaos if I’m going to continue. Moving is something that I believe everyone should experience at least once, but frustrations can be hard during certain times.

Marshall Mathers: The real Experience

     Marshall Bruce Mathers the third, is a very misunderstood man. Marshall, also known as "Eminem" has had a very successful rapping career. He has also had many troubles, everything from being poor to assault charges, from jail to having a many many court dates. He also has had drug addictions take over his life- hence why he left the scene a few different times for rehabs. As of now he states that he is sober, and his most recent album is titled relapse, then recovery. Marshall has created a lot of problems for himself, and has been to hell and back.

     Eminem started his life on October 17, 1972 in St. Joseph, Missouri. His parents are named Deborah R. Nelson Mathers-Briggs and Marshall Bruce Mathers, Jr. His mother was 15 when she had him and his dad bounced out when he was very young. Growing up he was thrown between cities until his mother finally settled down in Michigan. He was 12 by that time and was always switching schools and meeting new people- all while following his love of rap. At the age of 14, he named himself "M&M".

      With rapping and rappers being predominantely African American, Marshall had a hard time fitting in. He did many different rap battles against other students in his school and other bordering schools. He was not accepted as a rapper and he had to fight that much harder to make it. He joined a group and they called themselves "Bassmint Productions" and eventually changed their name to "Soul Intent". In 1995 they released their first hit called "Fuckin' Backstabber". In this time, he was also a freshman in high school and he eventually dropped out. Before he quit, he failed freshman year 3 times because he never attended and he also was failing his classes. When he dropped out, he was 17 years old. Eminem's closest uncle commited suicide in 1991 and it devastated him. Ronnie shot himself in the head and this incident is mentioned in many of Eminem's songs. 

     After Marshall's release of infinite he tried to commit suicide. His drug and alcohol problem began around then as well. From there his problems only continued to get worse. A little after that, "The Slim Shady EP was released on cassette, vinyl, and CD."  This is where 'Slim Shady' began. As soon as Slim began to write more music,  he started discussing marital problems, death, poverty, as well as drugs and alcohol.  "After being signed to Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records in 1998, Eminem released his first major studio album, The Slim Shady LP, heavily based on the production by Dr. Dre, one year later in 1999. Billboard praised the album as "light years ahead of the material he had been writing beforehand". It went on to be one of the most popular albums of 1999, going triple platinum by the end of the year."

  

     From this point on, Marshall has had many custody battles, as well as battles with drugs and alcohol. He has been cleaning up his act, going to rehab and trying to make a life worth living. The song courtesy of VEVO, When I'm Gone, is one of Eminem's most famous and most influential songs to this day. With 13 Grammy's, and being voted "Best Rapper Alive" as well as "Best Rapper Ever", Marshall Mathers has left his mark. While there are no signs of him stopping yet, The Slim Shady rapper will hopefully one day go down in history as more than just another rapper who has a drug problem.




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eminem
http://www.vevo.com/watch/eminem/when-im-gone/USUV70502343?source=ap

my article that i was rewriting is :
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/months-321542-homes-sale.html

I can't finish the post or access anything besides for this page because my router is not letting me right now!

Where to Buy Your Dream Home

     When getting down to the basics of buying a house, you need to factor many different issues into your decision. One main problem: Dove Canyon, or Coto de Caza, California. When looking to find a home, you will realize that these cities are neighboring each other and they are both luxurious and phenomenal.
     Next, you have to rule out the statistics and decide where you like the best. In this case, Coto wins a few of the stats, but then dove comes in with a snappy takeover. In Coto, "134 residences listed in brokers' MLS system with 24 new deals opening in the past 30 days." while in Dove, "23 residences listed in brokers' MLS system with 5 new deals opening in the past 30 days", states JONATHAN LANSNER of the Orange County Register. 
     On the plus side, Dove Canyon's Market time is almost a whole month less than Coto's is. Forclosures and short sales are about the same in both of these communities. The market has been struggling and this proves that regardless of the community, the county is being affected. 

Jonathon states that, "Homes for sale in Coto De Caza represent 1.3% of Orange County inventory -- and 1.1% of all the distressed homes listed for sale in Orange County." This is a shocking fact and doesn't seem like too large of a number. But in hindsight, this community is "Coto de Caza contains commercial endeavors, Lodge at Coto de Caza, The Coto de Caza Golf and Racquet Club, & The Coto de Caza General Store.", courtesy of Wikipedia.
      In Dove Canyon, the homes represent .2% in Orange County inventory, and .2%of all the distressed homes listed. Dove Canyon however has a shopping center, trails for hikers as well as horseback riders, and it has the golf club, pool and tennis courts. This community is beautiful and has all of the necessities of finding a great home. Another thing about Dove Canyon is that all of the homes are single-residence homes, and many are families, so whoever lives there will have companions.
      "Cities with highest level of distressed properties among their listings? Lake Forest was tops -- 59.0% -- followed by Santa Ana at 58.5% of listings and Anaheim at 58.3% of listings.  Fewest? Seal Beach was tops -- 4.1% -- followed by Corona Del Mar at 5.0% of listings and Newport Coast at 6.7% of listings."
   All in all, Coto de Caza and Dove Canyon are two amazing places to buy your dream home and anyone would be lucky to be able to afford a house, to make a living there. When living there, your house turns into your home, and your life is that much more extravagant, whether due to finances or just because you feel richer that you have such an amazing life experience of having your dream.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/months-321542-homes-sale.html