Rozeta's Ramblings

diabolize intrans. v. to make diabolical or devilish

fustian adj. pompous; bombastic

philatelist n. a person who collects postage stamps

doggo adv. in hiding

Every semester towards the end, I always start to slip in my studies. The coming prospect of not being in school for a couple of weeks is just too exciting that I forget that there is still much work to be done. I also am starting to feel burnt out from school and work. I wish I could take a semester off, but I don’t want to have to push back my graduation date further into the future. I start to freak out and procrastinate all my work. I know it’s really bad to admit this, but I feel like I need to put it out there.

I know almost every college student goes through this, but sometimes I can’t help but feel alone in this feeling. I think that school should offer anti-stress seminars for students to feel with these feelings, and maybe we would all do better and have focus that the semester’s end.

Lately, there has been an influx of shows and movies based on fairy tales; Once Upon A Time, Grimm, and Neverland are just a few. These shows put different spins on the classics, and I find them so much more interesting than the trend of vampires and werewolves. The whole obsession with vampires and werewolves have become so annoying that it is so refreshing to see the entertainment industry going back to the classic fairy tales.

The only exposure that most people have to fairy tales are the bedtime stories and Disney movies that they heard or watched as children. The original tales did not always end happily, which many people do not know. For example, the original ending to The Little Mermaid was that the mermaid killed herself to save her Prince, while he lived happily ever after with another woman. These new revamped versions of fairy tales put a twist of the classics that do not completely sugarcoat the stories, because they are solely meant for children; these new versions are a good way for adults to once again become engrossed in fairytales.

Another reason why I’m so excited about these new version is that they do not completely draw the line between good and evil. The evil queen is not 100% evil, and neither is Snow White. This idea draws me in because it makes them more relatable to real people because no person is simply good or evil, except maybe the Dali Lama.

Black Friday is always a reminder that I shouldn’t work in retail; the crowds, the lines, and the aggressive shopping are some reasons that made me want to quit my job. Luckily, I didn’t have to open, so I avoided most of the crowds, but I still had to come in at 3 AM. When I got to work, some of the girls that opened were already on their lunch breaks, and I saw how exhausted they already were. I was just wishing that my 3AM to 12 PM shift wouldn’t be too bad.

For the first part of my shift, I didn’t even get to see who else was working because I was swamped and stuck at the register. It was my designated area to be in and there were so many people making purchases for the “free with any $65 purchase” tote that I had no time to greet the rest of my coworkers.

When we started to slow down, which was after my first break and two hours into my shift, I went around the store to see where else I could help. I got to my favorite section, PINK, and I found out one of my raver friends was working here! It was the first time we ever ran into each other at work! We caught up for a bit when she was on her break, and whilst I was straightening up the register area. 

A little bit after my lunch, which was around 7 AM, I finally got to see one of my old friends from middle school, who was also recently hired. It was super fun to see people that I was already familiar with to be added to the team because it just helped everything flow smoother. 

Black Friday turned out to be better than I anticipated, and I even wished there were a few more customers during our slow times. But working this Black Friday makes me realize that I might not want to be in retail this time next year. Although it is a job that comes very easy to me, I don’t like having to deal with crazy customers. Some ladies that came in after we ran out of totes were getting so mad, and I just don’t like dealing with all that unnecessary conflict. Thankfully, managers were there to help diffuse the situations.

oratorio n. musical composition for solo voices, chorus and orchestra, usually with a Biblical theme

precepts n. rules establishing standards of conduct

luxuriant adj. growing thickly and strongly; lush

usurp v. take (somebody’s power, right, position) wrongfully or by force

On Facebook, one of my cousins, Laila, who is a very liberal and open individual, posted a image criticizing Christianity.

The image above can be seen as a joke to some, but as a Catholic, it was very offensive. She did receive many comments saying how offensive and hurtful it was, and she took it down. 

When I was at lunch with another cousin, Asmara, last night, we had brought up the picture. My other cousin expressed to me how offended she was when she read this. She said that no matter how the other cousin was raised (Laila was raised In Saudi Arabia as a Muslim, but since then adopted Agnosticism), she had no right to criticize what others believe. 

I didn’t think that it was a big deal at first, because Laila has the right to express however she feels, but I do think that it was very rude. Knowing Laila, she didn’t think about how much crap she would get because of posting it, but it was still rude of her.

I know that Laila doesn’t really hate religion, but sometimes she pushes things too far, and this is one of those times.

When I logged onto tumblr today, I freaked out. All of the images were replaced with grey boxes that had “censored” in the middle. I quickly realized that it was because tumblr was trying to show people how much the new laws that Congress is trying to pass will affect them. The Protect-IP act and the Stop Anti Piracy Act may have started out of good intentions, but have great flaws that will harm all users of the internet. These acts would betray Internet freedom and establish a censorship system similar to those of Iran and China. 

When I had read this, I was totally shocked. Although the acts are intended to stop intellectual theft, they infringe on the rights of everyone that uses the internet. America is supposed to be the land of the free, but the government is trying to impose restrictions on what we look for on the internet, which is so wrong.

If these laws are passed, who knows what’s next; these laws would just open the door to even stricter censorship in other types of media, including books, TV, and magazines. These types of media are already somewhat censored, even though they have the right not to be because of artistic license. The internet is probably the last media medium that is not censored, and censoring it would be one of the worst things to happen against civil liberties in the 21st century.

resplendence adj. attractive and impressive through being richly colorful or sumptuous

profundity n.  deep insight; great depth of knowledge or thought