Hello everyone! So work is starting to catch up, and I’m thinking of dropping this blog. Although I have had so much fun reading cool current events, I prioritize spending time with my son, and I think dropping this blog is something I need to do in order to spend more time with him. I hope all you beautiful people continue to spread positivity in all that you do, and have a fantastic rest of your life!

Literally was just on my YouTube feed and watched a video on some guy cooking a plant based burger for Bill Gates. And now scrolling through my blog feed, I see theguywhogames211’s blog: Our Diet:Meat vs Plants. What a coincidence! His blog post however was a response to “How this “Meat Patch” is helping us make the change to plant-based diets” by paulosbourne23, so I guess I’ll be responding to both of their posts. Both these posts talk about how the people of the world are shifting towards a more plant-based diet. In paulosbourne23’s post, the innovative “meat patch” is discussed. The meat patch is a patch you put on your skin that tricks you into thinking you’re eating meat via smell. Although this invention is quite interesting, I find the other innovation, the Impossible Burger, to be more fascinating. And I’m kind of biased because it’s everywhere in LA and it’s actually SO G O O D. And also cause the youtube video I watched was about the Impossible Burger too. At the end of his post, Paulos mentions that if this food industry keeps advancing, people and the environment will become more and more healthy. This I completely agree with, and I believe that we are starting to reach that point. In the youtube video I watched, the youtuber gave impossible burgers to a bunch of his nieces (without telling them the burger was plant based). They all loved it, and were surprised as heck when he told them that the burger had no meat, and that it was plant based. Just the fact that the KIDS enjoyed eating a plant-based burger shows how much it tastes like real meat. This goes to show how far plant-based meat technology has gone. It also seems that both the guywhogames211 and paulosbourne23 agree that if the plant-based product tastes close enough to actual meat, they are all for it. Well I have good news, because the impossible burger is pretty darn close. The company doesn’t only care about the taste, but creates the burger so that it grills like real meat, and looks like real meat. In the youtube video, the youtuber goes into the Impossible Burger headquarters, where they show how they add sunflower oil and other plant based oils to make the burger juicy when cooking, like real meat. The only downside right now is the cost. Impossible “meat” is more expensive than regular meat, which makes sense. The demand isn’t very high, so naturally it costs more. However if more people start to hop on the impossible meat bandwagon, I could see how the impossible meat could get cheaper, and eventually reach the point where it’s cheaper than actual meat. According to the youtube video I watched, Bill Gates also has hope for the future of plant-based meat as well. He says that the agricultural industry creates more carbon emissions than cars, boats, etc. combined. If people were to slowly move to plant-based diets, global warming would be slowed significantly. I’m excited to see how the average American’s diet will change over the next 10 years. Hopefully they’ll become more earth-friendly! In the meantime, I’m going to the grocery store to get some impossible meat to prank my son with. See y’all next week!

I’m not much of a tech person, but seeing news about Sprint and T-Mobile merging caught my attention. My parents had me using Verizon when I got my first iphone, and then eventually when I started working at the restaurant and got a semi-stable paycheck, I switched over to t-mobile, which I’m glad I did because they started doing T-mobile tuesdays and hey, who would ever say no to free rewards! I remember when Pokemon Go first came out, T-mobile tuesdays offered free data for a year when using Pokemon Go, how cool is that. This is a little sidetrack, but I went ahead and went on reddit to search up the best T-Mobile Tuesday deals/offers. A lot of people talked about the free socks, hats, t-shirts, and the discounted movie tickets (deals brought ticket prices as low as $2). And one time, they even offered tinder gold for just $1!!! Of course I wasn’t too excited for that one, but I know a bunch of my friends were. For me, I remember bringing my son to the movies once with a discounted T-Mobile Tuesdays movie ticket, which was pretty nice. We watched The Good Dinosaur, and wouldn’t recommend it honestly unless you’re going with a young child. 

Anyways I’ve done some research about the merge between the two largest phone service providers and the consequences it has for consumers like me. And thanks to me you guys can be blessed with a succinct summary of all the important points. HERE WE GO. So first off, why did the companies merge? Now you may be wondering what the benefits are of the two companies merging. One of these benefits is the expansion of the 5G cellular network, which will offer better service to Sprint and T-Mobile customers nationwide. For those of you who don’t know, 5G is the “better” and “faster” version of 4G, which I’m sure most of you have seen on the top left-hand corner of your screens while experiencing bad connection. However, there are of course downsides to the merge. According to one of the articles I read, the merge will decrease the large cellular service companies to three (AT&T and Verizon being the other two), which decreases competition. This decrease in competition will lead to a decrease in incentives to create better and more innovative service. Just a quick side note, I am a very non-techy person so reading about phone service companies is very out of my comfort zone. If you’re still reading, thank you! Now some of you, like me, are wondering most about how it will effect the monthly phone bills. Lucky for us, T-Mobile promised that phone bills will remain constant for the next three years. But reading further into the article, it says that people are skeptical, as the company will probably have to increase prices in order to make profit. Also another thing to note is that our unlimited plans may be affected (noooooooooo how dare they). All-in-all, it seems that the customers of both T-Mobile and Sprint will be okay. I just hope that they keep T-Mobile Tuesdays. Again, thanks for reading if you got this far! This blog post might have been a little information heavy but it was super fun for me to learn so much about phone service companies! See y’all next week!

Hello everyone! It’s ya gorl, chickengorl, BACK at it again with another BLOG! (Sorry I’ve been watching way too many youtube videos lately and their intros are really getting to me). Despite the upbeat and totally enthusiastic blog introduction, this post is going to cover a more serious and grim topic. Anyways, I saw Nickie Parsons blog post “Thoughts on News: ICE Raids in NY” and thought found their response very intriguing and relevant to me. So many things they talked about I resonate with, especially having immigrant parents. Nickie’s family came from Germany several years ago, while my dad immigrated from Italy and my mom from Japan. For those of you who don’t already know, the ICE stands for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Due to the policies that Trump has set in place during his presidency, this agency, under the department of homeland security, has been especially active. ICE raids have been a hot topic on the news in the past, but have died down. However, ICE raids have been showing up again in the news recently due to the tragic raid that happened in New York: a man was shot in the face. That’s right, in the face. Just let this sink in. An officer trying to detain an alleged immigrant shot their suspect in the face. This makes me sick and realize how much of a bubble I live in. Similar to Nickie, I grew up with immigrant parents, and could only imagine the sheer horror and confusion that I would have gone through if we were taken away or forced to leave. Or even worse, if my parents were harmed wrongfully by the ICE, or any other homeland security agency. 

Nickie also bravely stated her decision to go to her first protest (congratulations Nickie, so proud of you girl!), and that got me thinking: I should attend my first protest too. I did some quick googling and found ICE protests in the LA area, as well as a twitter group created just for anti-ICE sentiment. Reading through the twitter posts and retweets, I was shocked to see the amount of destruction, death, and havoc that the ICE has inflicted towards families not just in LA, but around the country. It also brings light to the extremely diverse set of ethnic groups who are being targeted and affected by ICE. I can’t help but feel such sadness and empathy towards them. Although it looks like there aren’t any ICE protests in the area, I will be sure to keep my eyes on the lookout and join the protestors, just like Nickie has. 

As for my son and his future, I hope that a president like Trump is never elected. The fact that Trump is going through the process of becoming impeached makes me feel more hopeful. If a majority of people don’t agree with Trump and want him out, then it should be similar, if not better in the future. If you got this far, thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts. See you all next week!

Hello fellow bloggers! Of course, being someone who lives under a rock, I only recently learned of the tragedy that is the coronavirus. Thanks to the help of the frequent blogs about the coronavirus last week, I was able to understand the urgency and _tragedy_ of this issue. In hopes to learn more, I decided to do my own research on the Coronavirus, and was able to learn a few cool things. First off, I should describe how viruses work for those of you who may not know. A virus is very basic microbe, so basic that scientists still debate whether or not they count as living creatures. In order to survive, they need a host organism in order to propagate and spread itself. It does this by injecting its DNA or RNA into the host, and having the hosts’ DNA and RNA replicating/expressing tools to express the virus’ DNA/RNA. This ends up creating virus parts inside the cell, which is then put together like a factory and at one point, it bursts the cell from the inside and the viruses spread. With this in mind, it is easy to understand why viruses are so easy to transmit, and how a deadly virus like the coronavirus became such a big deal so quickly. 

According to several articles I read, the coronavirus began in Wuhan China, and originated from an animal host, most likely bats. The disease spread quickly throughout Wuhan and the rest of China, and has unfortunately reached a handful of other countries as well. On top of this, there have been over 200 confirmed deaths, and it hasn’t even been two weeks since the epidemic began! Countries like the US, Italy, and the Philippines are even going to the extent of barring entry of travelers from China. However, the most alarming thing to me about this whole issue has been the outbreak of anti-Chinese sentiment, and a global case of xenophobia towards the Chinese. I see posts all over social media talking about the Western gaze, and how Americans are feeling the need to impose their “cleanliness” and “sophistication” on other countries. In Japan, hashtags like #ChineseDon’tComeTo Japan have been trending. Being half Japanese, this makes me especially sad. I know that the Japanese people are so kind and welcoming, and hearing that a hurtful hashtag like that has been trending makes me understand how desperate they are to stay healthy. 

Because I interact with so many people at work, and just working somewhere where food is served, I’m going to be especially concerned if a case of the coronavirus emerges in southern California. Just today, I heard that a case of the coronavirus has appeared in the northern California, and that makes me nervous. If I could guess, I bet a case would appear in LA within a week. Additionally as a mother, I need to be sure my son knows how to protect himself from things like this. At home, I’ve been telling him to wash his hands before he eats, and to make sure he uses soap (knowing my son and his insanitary habits, I wouldn’t be surprised if he caught the virus). And for a few quick tips for anyone out there to protect yourself from the virus, stay away from people who are sniffly/coughing, wash your hands with soap, and wear a facemask (if you’re feeling extra). See you all next week!

Hello, it’s Sarah, back at it again with another blog response! Been coming home super late for my restaurant job, and I’ve had to help my son with math homework he’s been struggling on. Life’s rough. Anyway, glad that I could squeeze in some time to upload my weekly blog response. This week, I will be responding to Sage Midnight’s Fashion and Nepotism. This post brought me back down memory lane, and led me to a time in high school where I used to care so much about fashion, and the clothes I wore. Being wasian (half Japanese half Italian) and rejected by both halves of my ethnicity, I’ve always had a desperation to fit in. My high-school hormones just made things worse. Although Sage’s post doesn’t cover petty high-school clotheswear tips and tricks, reading about the professional world of fashion definitely piqued my interest. It makes me feel silly thinking I could have been a model after having pictures taken for my school newspaper in a section called: Outfit of the week! Although I feel like if instagram was a thing back then, I could pass off as an instagram model. Speaking of instagram models, I saw a video on YouTube where these instagram influencers and runway models discussed about their similarities and differences. What annoyed me a bunch was the seemingly fake personalities that the instagram influencers had. They would preach one thing, but their actions did not follow. In other words, they talked the talk, but could not walk the walk (haha runway joke get it?? Ok. Guess moms can make dad jokes too). It annoyed me how they could create such huge fan bases through lies and deception (claiming they don’t use photoshop when they clearly do), just so they can gain followers and popularity. For example, one of the girls in the video said she supported natural body image, while also saying that she photoshops her posts to make herself look better.  Anyways, the important part of Sage’s post is to comment on the superb performance of model Gigi Hadid in the Paris Fashion Week that occurred this past week. Before reading this, I had no idea who Gigi Hadid is, so I live under a rock according to Sage, but I digress. Paris Fashion Week is one of the largest runway shows, and is where designers are able to display their collections for the season. The significance of Gigi Hadid in Paris Fashion Week was her walk, and acknowledgement of her nepotism. I think that this is something we can all learn from. If a well renowned celebrity can step off her high horse, humble herself and admit to her privilege, then we as “normal people” can definitely do the same. As for me, I come from a middle-class family who made enough where we didn’t have to worry about where our next meal came from, and now currently work a restaurant job and partially depend on money from the government to support myself and my son, so I’d hope to be in a position to practice that sort of humbleness some day.

Hello beautiful people! This week, I will be blogging about a very hot topic: vaping. Recently, vaping has been popularized, and marketed as a “healthy replacement” for regular old-fashioned cigarettes. Although I’m not as into this topic/issue as my friends whose kids are teenagers, I do have a seven year old son who is growing up in this culture and generation, so I still feel a responsibility to understand vaping. 

From what I’ve been researching, I’ve come to understand that vaping started becoming popular in around 2015, as cigarettes began to hit its decline. It also doesn’t surprise me that teens and young adults make up most of the audience for e-cigarettes. They make you feel “cool” and relaxed, and that’s all teens are looking for. I remember when I was in high school, I did whatever I could to fit in and be “cool”. On top of this, my identity crisis as a wasian made things even worse. Naturally, I tried to wear clothes in line with the latest trends, and to watch the shows that everyone else watched. In the same way, I’m sure that vaping is used simply as a means to fit in. Anyways, back to what I’ve been researching. Surprisingly enough, companies are moving on from vaping products, and recommending other nicotine mediums that are even more risk free. This is because studies have insufficient evidence that vaping is effective, and won’t produce other grave side-effects.

For example, one of my best friend’s little sister has a friend who has a friend who went viral on the internet because of a vaping related incident (how sad :’c). In her instagram post, she (Claire) details her life threatening incidence as a e-cigarette, juul, vape, wax/oil cartridge user. She tells a story of how she had a high fever for three weeks, and after being hospitalized, she found out that her lungs were completely inflamed and that her lung tissue was heavily damaged. She firmly states that her experience was not worth the use of “something as stupid as a nicotine device”, and warns people to stay away from these things. She says, “Just because you can’t feel it doesn’t mean it’s not happening. You don’t understand regret until your doctors are staring you in the face telling you they don’t know if they can save your life, knowing in your head that you willingly brought it upon yourself despite countless warnings to stop”. From Claire’s post, it’s clear that incidences like hers aren’t common, and I’m predicting a slow downfall of nicotine devices as more and more cases like this rise in social media. Feels an awful lot similar to the downfall of the cigarette. I guess this is comforting to hear as a mother of a seven year old. When my son Jeremiah reaches middle school or high school, I’m hoping that the influence of nicotine devices aren’t as strong as they are today. So in conclusion, no matter how safe you think vaping is, please rethink and consider the harm you are doing to your body, and think of Claire’s story!

Hello theguywhogames211! I was scrolling through my feed and your post in particular caught my eye. As a mother of a 7 year old boy, I am mostly ambivalent towards video games, so seeing how video games could save lives caught my attention in particular. My first reaction after reading your post was wow, the parents of Aiden Jackson must be in such disbelief that their son’s life was saved through a video game. I wonder if the parents tried to get in touch with the Dia Lathora, the other gamer. If it were my son in this situation, I feel like I would try to get in contact with the person on the other side and buy them dinner or something at the very least. However, I can’t help but think about a situation where an individual falsely assumes a gamer on the other end is undergoing a life threatening situation and calls the police. 

I really love your explanation on how video games keep people connected. This reminds me of how I used to have a pen-pal in Japan when I used to go to Japanese school. Our means of communication were the infrequent monthly letters we would send each other. I can see how video games are a great way to not only build friendships, but create them as well! But for my son, I’m hesitant for him to create relationships through the internet though. For example, if he meets a predator online, how am I supposed to protect him? I remember I read an article a friend showed me where a child’s innocence and gullibility was taken advantage of by an online predator, and he was even able to find the child’s location and meet up with him in real life. Some real nightmare fuel! But on the other hand, I had a friend in highschool who met a med school student through a video game, and kept in touch with him until he got into college! Luckily enough he decided to pursue med school and was able to get advice from his friend he met online! 

Not that I’m against video games, but I would rather have my son playing outside where I can see him. Not to forget the fact that it’s more healthy for him to be moving around outside too. But, I don’t want to be the mean “not cool” mom who doesn’t let their child play video games at all, so would you have any game recommendations for seven year olds to play? Possibly ones where they can play with only people they know in real life? Any help would be great! 

P.S. I let my son play 30 minutes of video games on weekends and my son Jeremiah thanks you! He’s now playing this game called bloons tdm (or something like that) with his friends. Maybe when he’s older, I’ll let him play the other more interactive games like the ones you mentioned (League of Legends and Rainbow Six Siege).

Hello all! Hope everyone who is reading this has been having a fantastic week. This is the first week in my endeavors to catch up with current events. I’ve been scrolling through social media and couldn’t help but notice all the posts on instagram and facebook in attempts to raise awareness for the fires happening down in Australia. For a period of time, half of the stories on my instagram feed have been Australia-wildfire related things. A few months ago, I brought my son to the zoo, and it was awesome for me to see his face light up as he saw the animals from his story books in real life for the first time. One of his favorite animals was the kangaroo. He said that the pouch on the mother kangaroos looked funny, and that he wanted to try fitting inside. Kids are so silly. Anyways, the fires on Kangaroo Island have caused the deaths of over one billion animals so far. According to an article I read on BBC, a reporter saw charred koala and kangaroo carcasses as they drove along the areas where the fire struck. The cuteness of the animals that are being inflicted doesn’t help either. As a mother, I feel both an obligation to protect my son from hearing the harshness and disaster found in the real world, but also a responsibility  to protect his innocence and have him learn on his own as he grows older (On a side note, I remember hearing in church when I was younger that large fires indicate the end of the world, so maybe that’s happening?).

Update: I started typing this blog post a few days ago and today, my son came back from school asking about the Australian wildfires. He said that the teacher told them about the animals being harmed in the fires, and that he even saw pictures of the big fires and hurt animals. I felt that this was a perfect segue for me to talk about the fire with him, and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of his new favorite animal. Overall he was calm, and I was surprised at how well he took it. In my research, I found that a fun way to donate and help the cause is through World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), where you can “adopt a kangaroo”. This is a $55 donation, in which you get a kangaroo plush, and kangaroo photo, an adoption certificate, species card, and two reusable gift bags. I decided to purchase this with my son, as I felt that this would be fun for Jeremiah, and a way for him to contribute to a cause he and I both cared about. He keeps asking when the package is going to come and it’s honestly so cute. If you’re reading this and just want to donate money, there are organizations like the Australian Red Cross, First Nations Communities, Foundations for Rural & Regional Renewal, and many more! Just do some research yourself and you’ll find so much stuff. Thanks for reading, and have a great rest of the week!