Rachel Fox

reflect upon the semester

2006-11-20T15:14:00.000-08:00

This semester has gone fairly well. The anxiety I had starting out has diminished and I am feeling settled in. It was hard at first to manage school, my work, and house. I also was not sure with being out of school for so long if I would do well in my classes. Now that we are well into the semester I am finally feeling more confident about being able to finish college and get decent grades. I still haven't declared a major, but I still have more time for that. This semester has been about challenging myself, meeting new people, and maybe starting to think about what I could handle doing for the next forty years.

Issue 4

2006-11-02T16:37:00.000-08:00

I am in support of Issue 4 in this election. The smokeless view is the only one that makes sense. Bar and restaurant owners should be able to have the option of whether they will allow smoking or not. It would ban smoking in many public places with the exception of were adults are allowed to indulge a little such as bars. It would still be up to the owner of that particular bar or restaurant to decide. The idea of serving fines of $2500 for one smoker in your establishment seems ridiculous to me. We are not allowed to commit suicide or to physically harm ourselves and now they want completely ban smoking. It just seems strange to force weird laws on people. Yes, I do understand second hand smoke is bad for people. I get it. But, non-smokers are not the only people with rights. Smoking has already prohibited in many places. I think if issue 4 passes then their will probably be more owners that prohibit smoking from their facilities and that is fine with me, but they should not be legally forced to make that decision. Also, if you have been to many large nite clubs and other concert venues you know that lots of them have no re-entrance policy. That would mean smokers would not be able to step outside to have a cigarette like backers for issue 5 suggest. It could create many security problems causing more serious harm to their patron. Honestly, I don’t know what else about issue 5 is except for the fact that it should really be up to the owners. There are many family restaurants and upscale restaurants that serve alcohol and do not allow smoking so there should be some that do. The business owner knows there customers better than politicians do. It should be in their hands what kind of establishment they wish to operate. Laws should not force them to decide.

Description of Art

2006-10-28T07:21:00.000-07:00

I picked this painting because I really like the dark ambience about it. I love Van Gogh’s large almost neurotic brush strokes. His quickened pace unmethodically paint the night sky. The darkness is broken by the reflection of the city lights on the rippling water. A couple embraces hand to hand, walking along the river. Romance is in full swing, the sky illuminated. Stars seem replaced by brighter burning orbs, floating effortlessly overhead. It’s a well known piece of art, probably a little easy to picture.

http://www.essentialart.com/acatalog/VvG_Starlight_Over_The_Rhone.html

I would never

2006-10-18T15:07:00.000-07:00

I would never drink tequilla again. I used to have a thing for Patron. That was until in Ft. Lauderdale I drank my self completely stupid on Patron. It was at this really cool club and I was visiting my friend who had just moved down there. I fell down the stairs on the way out. To make matters worse the cab driver kicked us out of the cab when I got sick. Luckily, my friend got us back to her house, where I spent the next 20 hours in her bathroom. After I came to from a tequilla coma I decided it would be best if tequilla and myself called it quits. I have been a dedicated vodka girl ever since.

Responding to: Today’s horror movies have nothing on the scares of yesterday

2006-10-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

I read the article on horror films. I have always loved scary movies. The make-up and monsters are the best part to me. One of my favorites has to be Hellraiser. The part where they put fish hooks in the guy and the chains tear his flesh off was so brutal. I loved the way Frank looked without skin. The article is right about there being so many bad horror movie remakes today. The remake of psycho couldn’t even compare to the original eeriness of the Ed Gein based thriller. The same might be said about the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which was also based partly on Ed Gein’s grotesque crimes. The original movie had a scene in the woods, where you can’t really see but you can hear the roaring chainsaw. It was a very scary and effective scene.

Yesterday was the future of the day before

2006-10-16T15:11:00.000-07:00

I might be the only person to not understand this. I guess it could mean until yesterday it was the future from the previous day. I guess that would be Saturday. I never really thought about the past future before. I guess Saturday I had no idea that on Sunday some weird light changing guy at work would tell me and a cashier that from the top of the ladder he could see down our shirts. As he was leaving he pointed at his eyes and then at us, like I'll be watching you. Weird creepy men must have been in my past future.

My Pet Peeve

2006-09-27T15:08:00.000-07:00

My pet peeve is dirty ashtrays filled with ciggerettes. It makes me feel sick to my stomach. Dirty ashtrays started to bother me more after waitressing and bartending. I can't stand to see more than two butts in there at once. I will freak out and have to dump it, no matter where I am. Someone's house, a party, even bars and resturants, makes no difference it drives me crazy. My friend laughs at me all the time for running around his house emptying ashtrays. I have no idea why this bothers me so much. All I know is when I see someone putting a ciggerette out on top of a ciggerette it makes me want to hurl. On campus those sand ashtrays are so disgusting. I won't even think about putting my smoke out in there. YUCK. I have to put it out on the ground and then throw it in the trash.

The Color Red

2006-09-25T15:09:00.001-07:00

When I think about the color red I feel anger, passion and attention. Red makes me think of anger because thats what shade my face becomes when I am mad. Red makes me think of passion because it's a color often associated with love and lust. Red makes me think of attention because it grabs you and makes you look. Red is a bold color that mostly conveys to me the word strong. You don't wear red if your not looking to be noticed. It's flashy and in your face.

The Color Red

2006-09-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

The worst job i have ever had

2006-09-20T15:25:00.000-07:00

I would have to say the worst job I have ever had was working the front door and coat check of a nite club. Might not sound so horrible except it was in the winter. I would be standing right inside of an open door all night freezing. At first it wasn't so bad until my cheap boss told me I was not allowed to bring an electric heater anymore. As if thats really what would make the electric bill so high. When the whole time they ran four or five huge lasers projectors. I quit after about two months after getting an awful cold. I blame the arctic temperatures. Besides the tips were pretty lousy. After that I decided I would only work jobs that were indoors during the winter.

I hate to admit it

2006-09-18T15:11:00.000-07:00

I hate to admit it but my boyfriend is usually right. Just don't tell him I said that. I am an aries so when we argue I will just keep going until I win. It doesn't matter if I know I am wrong. Stubborness runs in my family. We will all convince you we're right or at least wear you down until you give up. The arguements with my boyfriend usually aren't serious. Just a little bickering about which way is the quickest route to the grocery store, or who is going to get the last beer out of the fridge. Whatever it is we love to disagree.

How a fortune cookie predicts my fall semester

2006-09-13T15:11:00.000-07:00

Fortune- Adapt to circumstances in order to make progress

I can see how this is very true. Starting school has been a really big change for me. I am still trying to adapt to many things about attending the University of Akron. I haven't had homework for four years, not to mention the long hours I am in class. All of this is added to supervising a department at Jo-ann's and recently starting my own freelance business. I just bought my first home and it's a huge construction project. These last few weeks have really worn me out. It takes time to get used to everything being so hectic. I do believe once I'm settled in things will become easier. My lucky numbers in this fortune are 34, 22, 12, 4, 27, 9. Twenty-seven is my birthday so I am taking this to mean I will and I can adapt to my new circumstances to make progress.

Colorless green ideas sleep furiously

2006-09-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

Colorless green ideas sleep furiously in my head. Passing through my brain at the speed of a new york subway. Surrounding me with views of the world around me. I began to think about the time we climbed the country club fence. We ran over the green to reach the pool at the clubhouse. The air was hot and sticky that night. The calm blue water calling to us as we approached. We jumped like children into the crisp cool wetness. The heat in the air seem to disapate. The moon lit night was listening in on our laughter. We thought we had found a genuine jewel in our smalltown that night. My backyard was just a stones throw away. He walked my back home through my woods. The way is face was illuminated that evening is the way I choose to remember him.

The Right Kind of Fear Keeps Us from Doing Wrong

2006-09-06T15:28:00.000-07:00

Rachel Fox
English composition I
MW 6:05

Fear is one of the most intense feelings and responses of human emotion. For that reason fear is often instilled in us to keep us from doing wrong. Our society with its Judeo-Christian values is built on fear of consequences that we face as a result of our actions. Throughout the span of civilization there have always been guidelines for the way we live our lives. Those guidelines, laws or rules have produced fear by displaying the dismal outcome of punishments. These fears are relied on to keep conformity in our communities. Without the concern of punishment for our actions there would be chaos and turmoil. We are all controlled by fear though even if we are not always aware of it. Even my own actions can be heavily influenced by fear. It often makes me refrain from choices that could negatively impact my future. Fear can be a good way to help reduce unwanted behaviors.
The idea that fear keeps us from doing wrong is something I have long noticed. Judeo-Christian religion has the fear of being condemned in an afterlife. The Ten Commandments and the Old Testament persuades many people to live their life by the book. We are extremely vulnerable to this powerful belief system because it is human nature to want to believe. Using fear as suggestion to abide by laws and ideals can be very effective. The idea is the same when it comes to our government. They implement laws and punishments to keep people from breaking everyday laws or to the extreme extent of anarchy. The goal of our government is to extend the traditional values based upon religious morals to keep society blanketed by a belief system that controls us by fear. Without this fear our laws and leaders would be playing an ongoing game of musical chairs.

From my own life I can see many ways fear makes an impression on my judgment calls. One of my personal fears is losing my license again. I received a DUI the summer after graduating high school. It was extremely embarrassing. The judge felt he needed to make an example of me. I received one of the harsher punishments under the old law. I had to pay more than two thousand dollars in fines, received community service and three days in county jail. Another outcome of this was losing my driving privileges for three years until I turned of legal drinking age. Trust me those three years did not seem to pass quickly. After a few trips with groceries on the bus and constantly having to ask my friends for rides I promised myself I would never receive even a single speeding ticket again. Fear did not stop my actions that time around. Acquiring the true knowledge of the consequences has burrowed this fear deeply into my decisions about drinking and driving from that point on.
The right kind of fear can be good because choices often come with consequences. The more fear we have of these consequences the less likely we are to do the behavior. Without the thought of repercussions drilled into our heads most people would not obey laws. Fear is designed to give us moral and ethical insight into our close family structures and the larger society. From our birth to our death our fears may grow or shrink; but on some level we are guided through our lives by some kind of fear. By acknowledging the way the right kind of fear keeps us from doing wrong we can better shape our own lives and the lives of each other.