I was on the phone today with someone who was questioning my knowledge on different California fats. I then thought about a past blog I wrote on interesting facts about different states. I thought I would add some more states for my next blog. Here we go…
New York:
May Have Known:
-Empire State, Albany, Hudson River, Big Apple, Hudson River, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, New York Stoke Exchange, Broadway
May Not Have Known:
-The first American chess tournament was held in New York in 1843
-The Big Apple is a term coined by musicians meaning to play the big time.
-Joseph C. Gayetty of New York City invented toilet paper in 1857.
-New York was the first state to require license plates on cars.
Hawii:
May Have Known:
-Big Island, Exotic flowers, Beaches, Palm Trees, Volcanoes, Hula Dancing, Surfing, Pineapples, Tropics
May Not Have Known:
-Hawaii is the only state that grows coffee.
-Iolani Palace is the only royal palace in the United States.
-The state of Hawaii consists of eight main islands: Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe and the Big Island of Hawaii
-Under-sea volcanoes that erupted thousands of years ago formed the islands of Hawaii.
-Hawaii has the most diverse population of any state.
South Carolina:
May Have Known:
-Old Plantations, Fort Sumter National Monument, Charleston, Hilton Head resorts, Peaches, sandy beaches
May Not Have Known:
-The state dance of South Carolina is the Shag!
-The first battle of the Civil War took place at Fort Sumter
-The salamander was given the honor of official state amphibian
-South Carolina entered the Union on May 23, 1788 and became the 8th state.
Iowa:
May Have Known:
-Corn, Hawkeye State, Amish, agricultural state, Herbert Hoover, Des Moines
May Not Have Known:
-Strawberry Point is the home of the world's largest strawberry.
-Dubuque is the state's oldest city.
-Wright County has the highest percentage of grade-A topsoil in the nation.
-Born Marion Robert Morrison in Winterset, John Wayne was the son of a pharmacist and grew up to become one of Hollywood's most popular movie stars
-Iowa is the only state name that starts with two vowels.
50states.com
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Can Your State Be Formed By Your Hand?
I was in a policy meeting last week when my boss asked me where I was going on vacation. Being from Wisconsin the first thing you think to do is put your hand and form it into the shape of Wisconsin. Then you point to where you live. I soon realized that this might look very funny being that I work in California. My boss got it right away because he too is from the Midwest. Everyone else in the meeting just looked at me funny. I then tried to make Upper Michigan out of my other hand. The problem is then you don’t have a hand to point. So my boss then came over and he made the UP out of his hand so I could point. I wont lie I got a couple "thats cool" from people. I proceeded to point out Madison, Milwaukee, and RiverFalls. Moral of the story Wisconsin is the best state to make with your hand.
It is funny to think about some of the big things that used to bother you and then you move to another state and those things go away. If anyone knows me they know I get bite a lot by all kinds of bugs. It doesn’t rain in Cali for most of the year so bugs don’t really come out. I know my friends here would say I am crazy but they also have never been to the Midwest in the summer. This whole summer I had maybe 2 bites on me from camping. I go to midwest for 4 days; I come back with 20+ bites. So Wisco might be able to make a state out of a hand but Cali has fewer bugs.
Its a wash...haha
It is funny to think about some of the big things that used to bother you and then you move to another state and those things go away. If anyone knows me they know I get bite a lot by all kinds of bugs. It doesn’t rain in Cali for most of the year so bugs don’t really come out. I know my friends here would say I am crazy but they also have never been to the Midwest in the summer. This whole summer I had maybe 2 bites on me from camping. I go to midwest for 4 days; I come back with 20+ bites. So Wisco might be able to make a state out of a hand but Cali has fewer bugs.
Its a wash...haha
Monday, August 2, 2010
Little Changes vs Big Changes
My random thought process today:
In 2008 my new year’s resolution was to read at least 30 min a day for 4-5 days a week. Growing up I was more into playing sports and the thought of picking up a book and reading it for fun was out of the question. It was only when I hit high school that I started to read books for fun. My mom had introduced me to a couple of authors who wrote mystery novels and from there I started reading other things. So in 2008 or the year I like to call my “transition year” I was able to read because I had just finished college and didn’t have a job and was living at home. Reading was easy and I had time to do it.
Then I moved to California and 2009 was seriously a blur to me and somehow today it is Aug 2010 and I have realized I have not been reading as much as I would like. I could cop out and say it’s because I am busy with work and my “social life” but I realize I am the only one to blame. I read a blog that really got me thinking. I am a little mad because I closed this guy’s blog out without following him so I might never find him again, but that being said…he talked about how life is all about choices. My first thought: well yeah I have heard that one before but I kept reading. He explained how he woke up one day and realized his life is not where he wanted it to be.
Most people have point in their life where they are either bored, unhappy, and or feel they need something more in their life. His first thought (like most people) was to make a drastic change so he did. After the new wore off of that change he found himself still feeling the same emotions as before. When he sat down he realized maybe he just needed to make a couple small changes. Here is where I started to really get curious. Most people would try to figure out what they were unhappy about and change it. He didn’t take that path. (I will admit this might work for some, might not work for others). What he did was try to find small things that make him happy and focus more on those things. He started to run more, go to church more, found more groups to belong to that interested him etc.
I then started to also think more about this, I do read now but I read different things, in the morning I read the newspaper and I definitely read more blogs now. I also have been playing the piano for months now on a regular basis so I read music. I am doing those small things that make me happy. I will always like to read but right now my interests have changed slightly and I am sure they will change again soon.
Moral of the story: maybe sometimes we don’t need big changes to improve things in our life; maybe sometimes it’s just the little changes that matter.
In 2008 my new year’s resolution was to read at least 30 min a day for 4-5 days a week. Growing up I was more into playing sports and the thought of picking up a book and reading it for fun was out of the question. It was only when I hit high school that I started to read books for fun. My mom had introduced me to a couple of authors who wrote mystery novels and from there I started reading other things. So in 2008 or the year I like to call my “transition year” I was able to read because I had just finished college and didn’t have a job and was living at home. Reading was easy and I had time to do it.
Then I moved to California and 2009 was seriously a blur to me and somehow today it is Aug 2010 and I have realized I have not been reading as much as I would like. I could cop out and say it’s because I am busy with work and my “social life” but I realize I am the only one to blame. I read a blog that really got me thinking. I am a little mad because I closed this guy’s blog out without following him so I might never find him again, but that being said…he talked about how life is all about choices. My first thought: well yeah I have heard that one before but I kept reading. He explained how he woke up one day and realized his life is not where he wanted it to be.
Most people have point in their life where they are either bored, unhappy, and or feel they need something more in their life. His first thought (like most people) was to make a drastic change so he did. After the new wore off of that change he found himself still feeling the same emotions as before. When he sat down he realized maybe he just needed to make a couple small changes. Here is where I started to really get curious. Most people would try to figure out what they were unhappy about and change it. He didn’t take that path. (I will admit this might work for some, might not work for others). What he did was try to find small things that make him happy and focus more on those things. He started to run more, go to church more, found more groups to belong to that interested him etc.
I then started to also think more about this, I do read now but I read different things, in the morning I read the newspaper and I definitely read more blogs now. I also have been playing the piano for months now on a regular basis so I read music. I am doing those small things that make me happy. I will always like to read but right now my interests have changed slightly and I am sure they will change again soon.
Moral of the story: maybe sometimes we don’t need big changes to improve things in our life; maybe sometimes it’s just the little changes that matter.
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