10 Amazing DIY's That'll Make Life Better

Yeah, it's been forever. But I have 10 amazing DIY's for you, and hopefully you'll forgive me.

Here we go.


1. Milk Jug Sandwich Keeper

Upcycle a milk jug into a handy sandwich keeper!


2. Duct Tape Bookmark

Make this super easy bookmark to keep your place in that captivating novel you can't put down. Actually, go ahead and make more!


3. Crocheted Sea Creatures

If you're crafty and love a good challenge, try these adorable crochet sea creatures! For more gorgeous crochet projects, check out this link.

4. Carry-All Laptop Bag

Carry your iPad, tablet, or laptop with you everywhere you go, without the hassle of tangled wires and pens and pencils falling everywhere.

5. Woven Chain Bracelet

Make this classy, metallic, but colorful bracelet and wear it, too!

6. Travel Pillow

This adorable DIY pillow will lull you to sleep whenever you're traveling. Plus, adjust the template to your comfort. Perfect for all ages!

7. Earbud Organizer

We all know the struggle of having tangled earbuds or trying to cram them into a pocket. Well, this easy case will solve those problems. Say hello to tangle-free music.

8. Gold Tube Bracelets

Made with just two basic components, these bracelets will up your accessory game.

9. Letter Bookends

Create these personalized bookends to brighten up your bookshelf!

10. Candy Jars

Basically all you need for this is spray paint, some old jars, and wooden knobs. You can really use these jars for anything, and they'll look nice on a counter top while still being functional.

Happy Crafting!

NOTE: Picture credit goes to the website linked for each DIY.

The Extrovert's Guide To Introverts

The idea for this post did not spring from a specific occurrence, but rather multiple events since I was really little kid that brought me to the conclusion that some people maybe just need a bit of guidance. Just a little bit.


So here's a list of do's and don'ts to put you on the right track to understanding and fostering friendships with introverts.

DO'S

• If you think we're feeling sad/upset, ask us how we're doing. We'll probably respond, "Fine." Proceed to give us a hug and tell us everything will be alright. (Note: If you are the cause of our "anguish", then apologize first! Duh...)
• Invite us to parties and other events. Even if we don't come, we'll feel included.
• If you like something we're wearing, or maybe the way we did something differently, compliment it. You'll be on our good side, and it'll boost our self-esteem.
• Introduce us to all your friends. We're too shy to do that on our own.
• Come and talk to us! Most of us are really interesting if you give us a chance. The quietest people have the loudest minds...

DON'TS

• If we are reading a book, we clearly do not want to talk to you. Don't ask us what we're reading and then proceed to spoil the ending. It's rude.
• Not all babies are extroverts. Don't touch them with dirty hands, and don't make scary faces and loud noises at them. They will not always like it.
• Don't comment on something we wore or did just because it's not something you would have worn or done. We're probably trying really hard to "fit in", and you're making it harder.
• Don't assume things when we snap at you or grumble at you. We're probably just having a bad day. Leave us alone. Or, even better, say, "Okay, I get it," smile, and walk away.
• Don't decide not to invite us to things just because you think it's not "our thing". We feel super left out, paranoid, and like everyone is hanging out without us.
• Don't judge us. And don't even bother arguing about whether we are actually introverts, just shy, or passive-aggressive. We won't respond to you.
• Don't jump to conclusions about us. We're all different and unique. We're not antisocial. We're just a little on the shy side.

But most of all, just be nice to us. We can be really supportive and loyal if we feel like it. Be patient, and we'll be your friends. Oh, yeah. And everybody loves to talk about themselves. So ask questions, and we'll probably open up to you in no time.

YAY! Now using your new-found knowledge, go make some new friends! 

How To Get Into College

How do I get into my dream school without taking a dozen AP's and being the president of eight clubs? That's quite a common question asked by young people today. But what if there was a way you could get into a better college than all your friends but still live life to the fullest?

I've been loving this book by Cal Newport, called How To Be A High School Superstar. It explains "a revolutionary plan to get into college by standing out (without burning out)".

Check it out here:
http://calnewport.com/books/high-school-superstar/

The book tells the stories of multiple students with average grades but not-so-average personalities.

Paraphrased from How To Be A High School Superstar:

          Let's use the example of Kara. In 2004, Kara visited a college counselor at an elite Bay Area private high school. The counselor flipped through a file containing Kara's details, and concern flashed across her face. "So, how are your grades going to be this semester?" the counselor asked.
          "Not as good as I hoped, probably some B's," Kara answered.
         Glancing down at the list of schools where Kara wanted to apply, the counselor asked, "Stanford has a ten percent acceptance rate. Do you know what that means?"
          Hesitatingly, Kara ventured, "One in ten get in?"
          "No. It means nine in ten get rejected. What makes you think you're better than nine other people?" Before Kara could respond, the counselor said pleadingly, "Kara, Stanford doesn't take students with B's."
          Kara's best friend Elizabeth was quite the opposite. She took so many AP's she might have broken the state record, and she even dropped a class because she got a B on the first quiz, and that decreased her chances of an A as a final grade. She also stayed away from classes that required creativity or natural ability, only caring about classes where she could attain an A by just raw effort.
          But Kara stayed true to herself, and when it came time to apply, she scraped together enough money to apply to twenty-one schools, as her dad refused to pay for that many schools.
          "I was freaked out that I wasn't going to get in anywhere," she recalls.
          But she did get in. In fact, she got into twenty out of twenty-one schools she applied to, including MIT, Caltech, Columbia, Cornell, Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, and, of course, Stanford.
     How did Kara shatter the unshakable confidence of the regular stressed-out students who thought stress is the only way to stand out? She was a "relaxed superstar".

          Relaxed superstars are students who live relaxed and happy lives. The topic of college admissions doesn't dominate their lives, which gives them more time to do things that will actually matter in the application process. Cal Newport notes, "Perhaps the most striking trait of these students is their happiness. Spending time with them, I have been astonished by how much they seemed to enjoy their lives."

Moral of the story: Do what makes you happy. Be genuinely interesting. Don't shut down your inner voice. And when it comes time to apply, you'll breeze through the admissions process like a superstar.

Realizations We Can't Help But Ponder

This time I'm going to do something different. Rather than write a paragraph, I decided to add some humor to your day. Anyway, enough about me, here's what I really meant to write about.

Steven Wright, is a famous ​scientist/comic who once said: " I woke up one morning, and all of my stuff ​had been stolen and replaced by exact duplicates." ​Here are some of his tweets, collected from various sources.

1 - I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.

2 - Borrow money from pessimists -- they don't expect it back.

3 - Half the people you know are below average.

4 - 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

5 - A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good.

6 - A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

7 - If you want the rainbow, you have got to put up with the rain.

8 - All those who believe in psychokinesis, raise my hand.

9 - The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

10 - I almost had a psychic girlfriend... But she left me before we met.

11 - OK, so what's the speed of dark?

12 - How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink?

13 - If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.

14 - Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

15 - When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

16 - Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy.

17 - Hard work pays off in the future; laziness pays off now.

18 - I intend to live forever... So far, so good.

19 - Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

20 - What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

21 - My mechanic told me, "I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder."

22 - Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?

23 - If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.

24 - A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.

25 - Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

26 - The hardness of the butter is ​ inversely ​ proportional to the softness of the bread.

27 - To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.

28 - The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.

29 - The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up.

30 - The colder the x-ray table, the more of your body is required to be on it.

31 - Everyone has a photographic memory; some just don't have film.

32 - If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

33 - If your car could travel at the speed of light, would your headlights work?

Is It Just Me?

I don't know how to say this, so I guess I'll just say it. I'm crazy. Like, seriously. I am weird. But I'm sure there are a few things we have in common...

April 8, 2015

Everything Weird

100 Just Because Way

Yes, Seriously 12345

Riya Kalra

1213 Why Does This Happen Street

Please, Stop 10203

Dear Everything Weird,

          There are a few issues I would like to address here. This first one has been going on for quite a while, actually. My hair does not always look good. Actually, it rarely ever looks good. But sometimes I wash my hair. And do you know when my hair looks the best? Right. Before. I. Wash. It. You have no idea how this drives me crazier than I already am. It makes me want to yank my hair out (pun intended). Okay. And then there's the problem with dreams. People always say a dream is what you're thinking about right before you sleep, or it's your future or something. I beg to differ. My dreams are the craziest. There is no possible way that my dreams have anything at all  to do with my day or what thoughts go through my head. Please fix this. ASAP. And lastly, the internationally recognized problems with siblings. Mine absolutely refuses to do anything. Until I start doing it! Then he pushes me off the chair, piano stool, tree, cliff, wherever I am, and then guess what? He doesn't do anything. Seriously? How about when he actually does something? Like watching shows no one has ever heard of on his iPad? Or playing the piano? Or just plain old shrieking his head off? Well, then I better have soundproof walls and noise-cancelling headphones to tune him out. Please fix these problems, which ail quite a large population.

Your frustrated friend,

Riya


PS - I still love my little brother! I mean, who can say no to that face? But let's not forget the moments where he is the most ANNOYING person on Earth! Just keep that in mind.



Note: This letter says April 8, because that's when I actually wrote it. I edited it and added all these notes on April 9. Just saying. 

Why Writing Blog Posts Is So Hard

My blog is a place for me to express my ideas and create a corner of the Internet that just screams "me".  And whenever I have an idea, I sit down at my laptop and start typing. But sometimes it is just so impossible to come up with ideas...

I'm not the kind of person who can come up with ideas when they need them. I don't find ideas — they come to me. And then sometimes those ideas go on vacation. For a really, really long time. They feel no pity for me, lying around, racking my brain for ideas. But they just refuse to return. Eventually, they trickle back into my head, and I start trying to choose between them. I realize how horrible these ideas are. They didn't deserve a vacation! But I have to choose one, so I do. And I write. And write. And write. Okay, so that idea wasn't so bad after all. But wait... ugh. Now I have to write a title. Google: Blog Title Generator. "Enter 3 words (preferably nouns) that your blog post is about." Well, how about "ideas", "books", "inspiration". 

Here are your titles: 

1. Why We Love Ideas (And You Should, Too!) 
2. What Will Books Be Like In 100 Years? 
3. 15 Best Blogs To Follow About Inspiration 
4. 10 Signs You Should Invest In Ideas 
5. 14 Common Misconceptions About Books

Yeah..no. 

Why we love ideas? Hey, we do not love ideas. At all.  What will books be like in 100 years? Um, holograms? I dunno... 15 blogs to follow? Well, that's okay, I guess. But where am I going to find fifteen  blogs solely about inspiration? And who has that kind of time, anyway? Okay....why would I INVEST in ideas? Misconceptions about books...they are written by people who have actual ideas?

AARGH! There they go again. No more ideas.

Well, my rant is over. This is why I don't write so often anymore. No more ideas. Zero. Zilch. Zip. Nada. 

Ciao for now!

— Riya

Picture source: serc.carleton.edu

The Impending Takeover of the Universe

Firstly, I apologize for not writing in, like, forever. I was selected from my school for the Alameda County Science Fair, and I also happen to be on one of the debate teams from the South Bay Debate League selected for the Nationals. So, I've been trying to keep up with all that work, and my blog was left neglected. Well, here's yet another vocab paragraph I hope you'll find amusing.

          NEWS FLASH: A terrible calamity has come to pass. We are now officially immersed in a sea of annoying siblings! Completely sane siblings are growing extremely sparse and in some cities, are extinct! Mentally capable older siblings and parents have tried, but they foundered in the whining, screaming, and wailing of their children. They wish they could simply throw them out like the refuse the children turn any house they visit into. These relentless maniacs will not desist from sucking your very soul out of your body. Soon, they will preside over the universe, and we will be superceded by monsters less than half our age. And these horrible creatures won't even have to try. They will be perfectly sedentary as the rest of us unfortunate souls scurry around in fear, doing their bidding.

Happy Birthday, Abraham Lincoln! (Plus 10+ Interesting Facts about him)

The one and only Abraham Lincoln was born today, February 12. So, to celebrate, I decided to scavenge for interesting facts and quotes. Here's what I found...

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 - April 15, 1865)

Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?

If you look for the bad in people
expecting to find it, you surely will.

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed
is more important than any other one thing.

You cannot escape the responsibility
of tomorrow by evading it today.

In the end, it's not the years in your life that count.
It's the life in your years.

Interesting Facts about Honest Abe: 

1. He hated being called Abe. Apparently, he preferred being called by his last name.
2. He was the only president to have a patent: Lincoln invented a device to free steamboats that ran aground.
3. He practiced law without a degree. Lincoln had about 18 months of formal schooling.
4. He wanted women to have the vote in 1836. The future president was a suffragette before it became fashionable.
5. He was a big animal lover, but he wouldn't hunt or fish. If he were alive today, Lincoln would be running an animal shelter.
6. He really was a wrestler. Lincoln was documented as taking part in wrestling bouts. We don’t think he wore a mask or had a manager.
7. He didn't have a middle name. Lincoln went through his life with two names.
8. Lincoln loved to eat oysters.
9. Lincoln’s cat ate at the White House dinner table.
10.  Lincoln’s mother was killed by poisoned milk.

And the creepiest fact of all:

Lincoln, one week before his death, had a dream of someone crying in the White House, when he found the room; he looked in and asked who had passed away. The man in the room said the President. When he looked in the coffin it was his own face he saw.

The Amazing Power of Photoshop

Wow...It's been some time since I last blogged. Almost a week! Recently, I have been attending a summer camp at Ohlone For Kids, and one of my classes concerns Photoshop. I know that Photoshop is a powerful tool. But exactly how powerful is it? Watch this video if you think all pizzas are beautiful. (Trust me.)

What else should I write about? I'm exhausted, so I'll go to sleep. I know it's only six. Too bad. Actually, maybe I won't go to sleep. I'll come back when inspiration strikes. Ciao for now! - Riya

What people post on social networking sites

Social networking sites are supposed to help people connect, right? But for some reason, I always see posts about 

• People that died and will come back to haunt/kill you if you don't reshare   
• A sad story or picture; if you don't reshare, you are apparently "cruel"

First of all, someone's personality cannot be determined by what they reshare. There are just so many reasons why a person would share or not. It could have nothing to do with them at all. I don't understand the point of posts like those. Spooky stories are just plain silly when you put them that way. I receive a lot of spam too, by email. It's annoying. 

Well, I don't have anything else to say. But I do have some news. Good news: I'm going camping tomorrow! Bad news: I have less time to study for my finals since they're next week. I could have had a whole Memorial Day weekend. 

No problem. I can totally do this! (I'm actually not so sure.) 

¡Adiós amigos! 

Riya