Karaoke

Last night I did karaoke for the first time (in public, that is).  It was a nice little jaunt outside of my comfort zone, though that may come as a surprise to some of you, since you only see the witty, charming, affable side of me.  Singing is not one of my strengths, nor is performance of any kind, especially when I'm the center of attention.  But I think I was able to tough it out because it was a group of people that I've gotten to know pretty well and that I feel pretty comfortable around.  I sang "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" with my friend Logan.  Turns out that one isn't really in my range, but there's not much you can do once you've started.  It was a lot of fun, and I had a few ideas for songs that I didn't get to do because of time.  But it's something I think I'd like to do again.  We should do it for New Year's!  Along with Just Dance.  I also added it to my list of dates to go on.  In the future, though, I'm going to make sure I find a song that's in my range before I go.

Stars!

I try really hard not to read too many of these random things that people post on facebook because it can waste a lot of time.  However, I really like stars and nature and pretty things, and this video is all of those things.  It's just a short three minute video.

Enjoy!

New Page: Books

I've just put up a new page like the Movies page, but for books.  There are more details on the page, but it's basically the same idea.  I've got some favorites, as well as a list of books I'd like to read.  As always, I welcome comments and suggestions.

New Pages

I've just added a couple pages to the site.  They should appear at the top of the page beneath the blog title.  One is date ideas, including both dates I have done and dates I would like to do.  May they inspire you in a moment of need (especially you, brothers, since you should be planning more dates than the girls).  The other page contains a list of favorite movies as well as movies I'd like to see.  I enjoy quality movies, so maybe next time you think "what should I watch?" my list can help you along, or maybe give you ideas you may not have thought of.
Have fun with them!  If you have questions or suggestions for anything, let me know.  I like to hear your ideas too.

App: Circa News

Being up-to-date and informed about current events is a great feeling.  It makes you feel knowledgeable and confident when talking with others.  And I think it's important to be aware of what's going on in the world.  However, keeping up with the news can be intimidating.  There's so much of it to wade through.  Then you have to worry about the bias of the source.  To really understand an issue, you often need to read several sources.  And that seems to be enough to dissuade a lot of people.  It seems so hard they don't even try.  Well if that sounds like you, I may be able to help.

My Arabic TA, who was also my TA over the summer, introduced me to an app called Circa.  Circa pulls together news from a number of sources and synthesizes it into bite-sized chunks.  So I open up the app and read the headlines (you can customize what kinds of news you want to see), and if something sounds interesting I open it up to read the little explanation.  If I'm still interested, I can scroll down and read past news about the same thing, and it will also suggest other related articles.  I can also "follow" a story, and my phone will give me a notification whenever something is added to that story.  Circa recently added a feature which has become a favorite of mine: the Daily Brief.  I pick what time I want to get it every day (I get mine at 7 am), and it lists the biggest news stories of the past day.  Even if I just scroll through the headlines, I feel a lot more informed about what's going on.

Here is a link to the Google Play page: Circa News

TED Talk on Being Happy

I was introduced to this TED Talk by my TA here in Jordan.  It's a really good one.  He talks about how we often think of things backwards; we think that success leads to happiness.  In his research and experience he has found that happiness leads to success.  It's really interesting, so if you get a few minutes go ahead and watch it.

Procrastination

Over the summer my Arabic TA told me about a really great article on procrastination.  Of course, I procrastinated reading it until today.  But I finally did, and it's really good.  It's very enlightening to have someone explain so well what goes on in my head when I'm procrastinating.  It's also presented in a really fun and creative way, which makes it easy to understand and remember.  I think there are one or two cuss words, so be warned.  The article is definitely worth reading, though.  So when you're putting off doing your homework, or anything else, take a moment to read this for some inspiration to get out of the procrastination rut.

Blog: Wait But Why
The article is two parts.  Read the first one, and there's a link on that page to the second one.