Let's get Re-Aquainted.

I am aware that I haven't posted in ages. I have not blogged since before Christmas, since I got a new laptop, since I got obsessed with the Hunger Games (but that is another matter). I apologise. I had long-term writer's block.

Most things are still the same- same blog, same me, same writing style...but it is not unnatural for someone to change over the course of almost seven months (Gosh, has it been this long?).

This is likely to be a short post, as I just wanted to let you know that I will try and post regularly again (I might even post again today if I get any inspiration).
And thank you to everyone for not un-following me because I have been inactive for so long :)

Cari

You say obsession like it's a bad thing...

There is a quote that says this but I am currently unable to post photographs on my blog.

But anyhow, let me give you an example:

A couple of years ago, I became obsessed with a skipping show on TV.  It left me with skipping-itus, and I would skip whenever I got the chance. I was extremely disappointed to find that the only skipping rope I possessed was too long. So I begged for a new one and made skipping ropes out of belts tied together. But a few weeks later, the obsession faded. Not completely. I still skip now, not constantly, though. And I have been left with a number of tricks that I still try to attempt when I have the rope out.

That is probably quite a good obsession- skipping is healthy, and it didn't get into the way of anything, I just did it in my spare time. There are many other obsessions like that. 

I consider myself quite well rounded, so I like to concentrate on more than one thing, but I am very open (the personality trait) so I do enjoy change.
Obsession can take over people's lives if they get out of hand, which is what I am trying to steer away from in this post. I'll admit that there are unhealthy and just blatantly bad habits and obsessions that people have, which explains why people often view obsession as a bad thing.
But that is a stereotype because there are ones that don't take up all of your time and are healthy. 

So here's my view: Obsessions allow people to do what they are passionate about (for a while, anyway). There are bad obsessions but there are many good ones too, which give people something to do, and more importantly, something to enjoy.
I understand that obsession can be very bad and "evolve into worse things" as Tiana said but I have a positive view on obsessions which is different to a lot of people's opinions so I wanted to share my views. 

Cari xxx

Rose Wellingtons

If you read my description, you'll see that one of my interests is photography.
I went to the park today and took some photos- here they are:



Here are the rose wellies :-)





It took ages to get this one- the bird kept moving!















I think that this picture conveys survival in a way, because the bird appears to be searching for food amongst the leaves. The many leaves show how hard it is to find food in order to survive. I shows hope too, because the tail feathers are up high. I think that especially as the leaves are a bit frosty, which symbolizes Winter, (the season of hardship in survival), which I think makes this photo more effective.

I know, the leaf in the middle is blurred- but I like it that way

 













Often, people don't see what is right before them. I took this photo to express that. The leaf is blurred to show that you sometimes can't see the obvious. The ones behind signify less obvious things, but you can see them clearly.

There isn't really a focus in this picture- just the depth















This picture has depth clearly shown in it- the trees getting "smaller" in the distance creates this effect. This one also has the feeling of being hidden- at the bottom of the photo, there are some holly leaves, as if you are behind a bush.

One of my favourites-
Through the trees......
















This photo creates a sense of mystery, hiding, almost secret agent rushing behind trees in a quest to go unnoticed. There is a bird that you can only just see in front, as if you can just about see what is going on. The aim was to create a mysterious photo that can be intepreted in many ways...
These were the best photos I took. I had a lot of fun taking them and I hope you enjoyed the photos!
Wait- I have made a decision. I'm going to start doing photo logs like this one. Not all the time. I'll still write things most of the time. But I like expressing my thoughts through photography.
Cari x

Anticipation

Hi!
I thought that anticipation would be an appropriate thing to blog about, seeing as it's Christmas in...9 days! Everyone is anticipating Christmas for various reasons, like spending time with family, seeing beautiful decorations light up shops and resturaunts, and presents :-) (giving and receiving). I have found that the build-up to something is as exciting as the event itself, because you feel this sense of anticipation, excitement and almost suspense.

You may be familiar with this advert...

I am going to write a story to show how I feel at the moment:

Ellie pushed her duvet off her and sprinted downstairs, where her crismon advent calendar awaited her. Without hesitating, she ripped open her door with an elaborate number 17 on it. Today, her treat was a detailed chocolate sleigh, laden with presents. She paused for a moment, looking at the intricate design, and then gulped it down. Only eight more days after today!, she thought excitedly, her wide, jade-coloured eyes shining with an almost wild glow. She grabbed a box of Cheerio's and drowned the remaining contents with milk in her favourite bowl. They had been consumed by Ellie within two minutes. She tiptoed out of the kitchen into the living room where the family's lavishly decorated Christmas tree stood proudly. Ellie was in a trance for a few minutes, gazing at the different ornaments, but was disturbed shortly by what sounded like a parade but what was probably her siblings. 

I'm like Ellie at the moment. A lot like Ellie. I am anticipating Christmas like a dog waiting for a bone to be thrown for them. Or like my brother at his birthday party, waiting for the animals to be shown (it was an animal party...).








Me in Jordan- on a much-anticipated trip!







Cari, who is becoming increasingly excited for Christmas!

So much more behind it...

Before I start, thank you to everyone who commented on my Intellectual Property blog, becuase you all had really positive things to say about it. I value everyone's opinion.

Now down to the post.
The name and idea has been inspired by quite a few things. First of all, I did a sushi-making course today and loved it (read on, this is relevant). And at first I thought, the sushi is delicious. And then, I thought, Is it really all about the sushi? Isn't it also learning about Japanese culture? There was so much more to it than just enjoying the (very enjoyable) sushi.
The second thing was a conversation that I happened to overhear on the Tube. Two women were presumably talking about someone they knew doing a public poetry reading but they hated saying things in public. They were doing it to overcome this. And they said something like: "He speaks really fast, but especially when you're reading poetry, you have to kind of read slow because you need time to think about what's behind the line, if you know what I mean."
That's hit the nail right on the head. Exactly what I wanted to express.


It's strange to consider this- when you appear happy, everyone thinks that you have everything going for you and your life is perfect. Ashamedly, I have thought that. But now it falls into place, because there is so much  more to being happy than it seems. I have never really thought of it that way, but it's true. Looking back on happy times as I often do, I realize that the setting had a slight imperfection that I didn't notice, and maybe I had a stomach ache that I didn't notice at the time- Why? I had decided to look past that. I was too busy being happy.

No-one knows everything, as everyone knows. But people think that they are superior by knowing more facts than others. People are not being wise by saying they know a lot, because no-one knows a lot compared to all the facts there are to find out. Yes, some know more than others, but the wisest people are the ones who realize they don't know everything and accept that. And the people who can come up with quotes like these.

Well, I never thought of it like this but, looking ahead is more important. Of course, reflecting to learn from your mistakes is a good idea, but you can only wait for tommorrow, you can't go back to yesterday. This quote speaks for itself. But I do love this saying.

The next one a lot of people are familiar with, but I want to explain it anyway.

This saying conveys this: make the best of a bad situation (or should I say, seemingly bad). It's a quote that keeps you looking on the bright side- Why? Lemonade is a well-liked drink. Lemons are sour and to most people taste horrible on their own, add some sugar and some positive views, and you have lemonade. And the people who do this enjoy the "lemonade" too.

Thank you for joining me through this thought-provoking journey (at least for me), and I hope you liked my intepretations of these quotes.

Cari x

Intellectual Property

Do you think that stealing ideas is as bad as stealing physical objects?

Well, I have always thought that the thought behind stealing is worse than the fact that something is stolen. So, this got me thinking- what about stealing thoughts?

Take illegal downloading. Somebody works hard to write a song, and finally manages to put it on iTunes to earn something for their work. Then, somebody comes along, thinks "I don't want to pay for that song," and illegally copies it and downloads it for free (I don't know much about illegal downloads mostly because I have never done it before, but I am using it as an example). They are basically stealing somebody's intellectual property (i.e. their song). This, in my opinion, is worse than the fact that they have actually "stolen" the song. They've stolen the thought behind it.

It's really the same as if you come up with a great idea, and discuss it with someone then they go and tell everybody and claim the idea as their own. Even worse, they may accuse you of copying them! That's intellectual property being stolen.

Stealing intellectual property is different to stealing an object. Most physical objects are replaceable, but thoughts? You can think them again but you can't take them back. And as for the thief... the only "revenge" that you can take on them is the fact that you know that you came up with it, and they know that they copied it. I would also consider copying a form of stealing. It's the same as stealing intellectual property.

Cari, who hates it when people steal her ideas and claim it as their own*

*Disclaimer: any reference to real persons is purely coincidental :-)

Happy Birthday

This post it dedicated to my little brother, who turned four today.

Where do I begin? There are so many positive things I have to say about my brother. He is so clever, extroverted, bubbly, active and full of fun. He enriches my life, brightening things up even at the darkest of times. He is caring, thoughtful, lovable, cuddly... I could go on. His liveliness triggers mine, his ability to always look on the bright side inspires my views. He fills my heart with joy when he runs around hysterically, too excited to describe in words. "Happy Birthday to me!" He chants wildly, his eyes brimming with eagerness. All the things that make him "him" merge to create a strong, happy young character- who brings joy to everybody. He is always onto something new and he's eager to learn about the world around him. He is hilarious, and his sometimes unintentionally funny comments and views of the world result in hysterics from the entire family. He is friendly and kind to everybody, and has every trait that I could possibly want from a brother and more. Every day he comes up with new tricks that make me burst out laughing, and every day my love for him grows.
Happy Birthday, you are truly loved xxx

Cari xxx

Inspirational, Aspirational

I have just been watching the news, and an inspiring story has alerted me.
Monique Van der Vorst is just beyond insprirational. At thirteen, her left leg was paralysed when an operation on her foot went wrong. Three years ago, she was in a cycle crash, and her right leg was paralysed too. While she was paralysed, she trained for the Paralympics and won not one, but two silver medals in the Paralymics (cycling). One day, she started to feel a slight tingling in her legs one day while at Physiotherapy. Soon after, she  could walk again, and she is now training for the Olympics (she is now cycling properly again).

I saw this on the news yesterday, and this story is just so unbelievable. Monique Van der Vorst is such an amazing, determined person and that people like her are the ones who make a difference (people who have had hard times but still stay strong and don't let it get into their way of success). It's amazing that she even hand- cycled after being paralysed, but that she entered the Paralymics and won two Silver medals is incredible, and now when she has recovered, she is training for the Olympics. Wow. She is unbelievable.


A photo of Monique winning a Silver medal at the Paralympics, looking ecstatic.



The wonders of the human body will never cease to amaze me, and I wish all the best for Monique.

Cari.

Perception

People perceive aspects of life in different ways. You can look at a rainy day as a miserable happening or an opportunity to do something fun indoors. That is a basic way that people can perceive things in different ways. I would like to write a pair of similar stories, just to convey the contrast:

Lily was, well, not an optimist, to say the least. Everyday she found fault with life and expressed it in a rather unpleasant way. Her grumbles and moans at things that most people would find exciting and interesting meant that she was widely disliked. She had an inability to see the glass half-full. It was a shame, really, because when she was younger she was rather charismatic- she charmed everyone she met. But now she had changed. She found a problem with everything, including when she got excellent results in school- she thought of it as "sympathy marks."

Mollie found a light at the end of every tunnel, however dark, dank or long the tunnel was. Today was a day like every other- she glanced out of the curtain, to see the ash clouds drip rain onto the foggy world. But Mollie didn't mind, in fact, she planned to write a story, which did not require pleasant weather. She lifted her hand off her maths homework book, revealing the meticulous rows of sums that were probably all correct, complete with a logical explanation for each calculation. She heaved a sigh of pleasure while she mentally planned an interesting, philosophical story. She began to type out this story, and she realised how much delight she found in writing- and this did not need any weather type.

Can you see how Lily's strangely pessimistic views on life are affecting her and how people judge her (she is widely disliked)? And how Mollie is benefitting from her overall positive thoughts? Seemingly small things like how you intepret the weather are a huge reflection on you. This is not only how you perceive the world, but how others perceive you. If you perceive with positive thoughts, they are most likely to perceive you with positive thoughts.

Cari x

If only life was a video tape...you could watch it, rewind it and do things again, and fast forward it to a better time.

You do things that you regret, you do things that you look back on and say "I could have done that better." Authors do it when the get a book published. Or you are correcting mistakes and find a careless mistake that the answer was obvious to. Everyone makes these mistakes, all the time. Note I didn't say blogs, because those can be deleted or edited.
When I was nine, I got a short story published in a book. At that moment, I was ecstatic. But now, when I read it againl I think "I should have used that word, not that," or "That sentence is so strange, I wish I hadn't put it in." At least it isn't something I regret, and I still get a wonderfully warm feeling of pride when I see my name imprinted on the crisp white pages.
Enough about me, there are much more serious versions of this. Crime is an interesting one, so I'm going to explore that. If a random person on the street leaps out at a girl and kills her for no reason, they will probably regret it later on, especially if they are jailed. But if somebody has done something terrible to them or that affects them, chances are that he either dosen't regret and feels justified in murder, or he takes a lot longer to regret it. Lets say someone that is reasonably well-off shoplifts and gets found out. It's not the same as if somebody gets caught stealing bread if they have no food. The person who has no food will not want to have done anything differently- after all, he was trying to survive. But if the person who shoplifted for no particular reason gets caught, he will regret it later on. And probably end up paying.

Cari xxx

BS (for those of you who don't know, blog script): I should really post a story on my blog.

She won't tell me anything! Secretive, huh?

This post is not about not telling people anything, it's about secretiveness. Which is sort of not telling people anything. Not always. Sorry I just accidentally published it, but it doesn't matter. Anyway, I remember when I used to be secretive... I never posted any pictures, I never really said my true emotions- but now I do. And you were probably sitting at your computer screen saying "I wonder what Cari looks like" if you don't know me. But now I am a lot more open- plus I've revealed myself.

Another picture of me! Why not- I'm not so secretive anymore...

Sometimes, people trigger your curiosity by being secretive. They whisper and you see them, and you wonder "what are they whispering about? Is is about me? Is it about her? Are they discussing an exclusive event? Are they gossiping or spreading rumours?" I could go on. Millions of questions surge into your head all at once, so many that you have an "overload" like a light bulb and don't say anything. A light bulb also goes out when there is too much power. But I've already previously blogged about light bulbs so I will try and stop now.

I guess, sometimes I am secretive. I don't want people to know some things. I could post a huge secret and even some of my closest friends would be shocked. But I won't- I'm still a bit secretive. Then again, I never wanted to post pictures of myself at first...

Cari (if there are any words which should have capital letters but don't, my keyboard isn't being as responsive as usual. Sorry).

In the Long Run/ Missing out

As I have already explained, me smiling!

Sorry about the title, it does display a certain amount of indecisiveness. But back to business. I am posting this because I am meant to be at a party, but as I have exams coming up very soon (as in this Wednesday soon) I can't go. And you can see how I'm missing out. I walked home with everyone else for about half of the way, though, so at least I got to join in a bit. That's where the long run comes in. I would have loved to go, but if I stay at home and revise, it will be more beneficial in the long run. Or the short run, as all the exams are over in February. So,this is what I can do...think ahead (yep, the long run again) and know that I am doing work for my exams and also think that there'll be other parties, or carry on sniffling for quite a long time. I mean, there will be loads of other parties but I get one shot at this exam. As I am feeling quite gloomy and sad, I will put a photo of me smiling! Hopefully that will give me something to grin about again (smiling is very contagious. It could even be classified a disease that comes and goes too quickly, that everyone wants to get).

Cari- I'm sorry that this was a bit strange, but it's what I felt like posting- A real life situation that everyone can relate to.

In case you were wondering....



This is what I look like! :-)
I just felt like adding a face to my blog.







 

There are so many paths in life...

I could use a map.

Oh, and, er, which one do I take?

I know that sounds strange, but it's true, everyone would benefit from a map telling you exactly what to do.
There is a map, but it is split into peices. All the people who care about you and guide you have a peice. some peices are bigger than others. They all give you their peices (sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly), until you have the whole map. Sometimes, without realizing, you have a peice as well. Or a few.

A strange metaphor, but I believe that it's true.
Or think of it this way......
When you are born, you enter a large, confusing forest. Your aim is to get out of the forest. Along your life, you encounter many different routes. Sometimes, you just have to guess which one to take, sometimes you make logical guesses. Sometimes you ignore logic, and that can either get you into a good or bad situation. You also find many other people along the way. They can either help you or put you off your path. The people who get out live the rest of their lives happily and with a sense of acheivement. Those who are overwhelmed by this maze of a forest, and believe they will never get out, die in the forest, never having sensed acheivement before- they never know when they are on the right path. Those who have confidence they will get out do, unless they boast this and take advantage of their confidence.

This map/forest idea bounced into my head and has relentlessly taken up my thoughts, so I  decided to blog about it- not just that, but I like the idea anyway.

Hope you liked my post!- Cari.

You can find hope anywhere.

I have recently been feeling very hopeful. This koala speaks for me here- look into his eyes. I can just see the hope and innocence in his eyes- I hope you can as well because I find this photo striking. It is very, very cute, and speaks a thousand words. I have been looking and looking at it and...it is so abundant in hope.

I believe that hope can be found anywhere- In a tough situation, in light, in a koala's eyes, anywhere. This is the aim of the koala- to show that light can be found at the end of even the darkest, dankest tunnnel. It's the sort of picture that makes you tilt your head, I don't know why. Stare at the photo for a minute and you'll know what I mean.

On top of all that, it is an amazing photograph and I have no idea how the photographer captured so much emotion in it.

Cari.