Better World Part 3

Spread the Love Foundation ~

We all have things lying around the house that we have but don't need. Maybe you have some old pans or utensils sitting in the back of your cupboard. These little things may mean nothing to you but have you ever thought that someone people don't even have things like that because they simply just cannot afford it. Spread the Love Foundation works to get people to find these unnecessary items in their house and get them to donate it. We will then distribute it to people who are in need of these specific items.

I am very passionate about my organization and what we plan to do because I am grateful for my privileged life and just want to give back and help those who need it. I was fortunate enough to grow up with more than enough. More than enough pots and pans, more than enough pens and crayons, and definitely more than enough clothes. I have so many school supplies from when I was in elementary and middle school that I have no use for anymore. If there was a foundation that would collect them and give them to someone who wanted it, I feel like that would be so great since it would be a waste if I just threw them away.

This organization is unique from others because it doesn't just focus on one thing. You see food, clothes, shoes drives etc.. but there are no organizations that focus on things that you don't really think about. There's stuff lying around the house that people don't want anymore but are still usable and there needs to be a place that collects this stuff to distribute to others.

Anima Mundi Development Partners should support this organization because some of the main issues in the world today is people's lack of compassion for others. With this organization around people will see that they don't have to throw away the stuff they don't want and they will start thinking about other people and want to help out more often. When you know you're making a difference in someone else's life it makes you feel better.

Better World

First Step to Making a Better World 

In the world we live in today, I believe one of the biggest issues is that most people are selfish and only care about what is going on in their own lives. Although it is not on the news, we know that there are many people suffering in the world; children starving, people living on the streets, etc. I'm not saying that everyone should give up everything they have to help these people out but if people cared just a little and made a small effort every once in a while, the world would be a much better place, with compassion.

To start off, I find it that some days I don't have anything to do and I just sit at home and watch TV. If I would just go outside and find a way to help someone, maybe volunteer my free time it would be nice. Now I'm not trying to make up excuses for myself but if I had a more consistent schedule I would probably have done this. I believe that people should think this way and just try to see what they could do to maybe make a difference in someone's life. I love the idea that everyone wants to help and feed the homeless on Christmas, but why not try to do something like that throughout the year instead of just one day out of the year. It would probably mean a lot more to them than for yourself. Also, little things that you don't even think or care about. Instead of leaving them around the house and never touching it or throwing it away, maybe you could go and donate it. Maybe once a year my family will go and clean out our closets. The clothes we get rid of are not worn out, maybe they just don't fit or are not trendy anymore. These things that we don't want, other children would love. Just like chapter 1 in the blue sweater, something that could mean nothing to you could mean a whole lot more to someone else.

So everyone should really just start thinking about others a little more.

Random Blog Post

Malibu Wine Safari

I recently went to the Malibu Wine Safari in Malibu to do wine tasting since Napa is too far.

First off, you have to buy your tickets online. If it is a special/ important day, you should order them early since they do sell out. I got tickets for Friday at 10am in March. At first I thought 10am was WAY to early for wine tasting but I actually feel like it's the perfect time. The weather was perfect because it was a little chilly, but when you start tasting the wine it gets a little hotter and the sun also starts to come out.

We took a huge safari cruiser that fit around 30 people and first stopped at the animals. Here we got to feed donkeys, horses, llamas and bison. (They really love taking selfies).


   

It was $65 for this whole part including two parts of wine tasting. The first part was three white wines and the second part was three red wines. All six wines were very good and very sweet. It wasn't too hard and they give you seconds if you want more of a certain one.

 

They included these little snacks with the red wines as well. We were able to see the whole vineyard which was really nice.

I also paid an extra $30 to see and feed Stanley the giraffe. 



The whole tour lasted about an hour and a half to two hours. Overall it was very fun and if you don't want to see Stanley, the wine tasting part was worth the $65. I'm not sure if I would pay $30 for Stanley again but I obviously had to instagram this last picture since I did pay $30 for it. :)

Genius of Money Post 3

An Interview with Charles Terry

Charles Terry left his teaching job to become the Executive Director of The Door, a youth center. It frustrated him that in such a wealthy place like New York, they were never able to raise enough money. He loved helping these kids with such huge problems, but when given the support and opportunities, they were actually very talented and creative. Terry helped the Door find a new home after their 14-year lease ran out. They were able to accomplish an $18 million facility project having started with zero money and zero assets. This is kind of like an example of the magic around money.

I'm really glad I decided to read Charles Terry's interview. I used to think that most people were just trying to be philanthropist to get a good name for themselves but I feel like Charles Terry really cares about helping others. Even after he finished working with The Door he went on and became The Director of Philanthropy at Rockefeller. Overall, Charles Terry, really cared about helping others, especially the children at The Door and it's great to see how much people love helping others.

Genius of Money Post 2

Chapter 4

This chapter is called "Consuming Identity," where Bloom talks about himself as a consumer. According to this advertising imperative, "It is now the business of advertising to manufacture customers in the comfort of their own homes," it is basically saying we are what we buy. He also talks about advertising and how they used propaganda, which was like a form of "brainwashing." Bloom said that the most recent trend of advertising is storytelling and I agree with that. I believe that storytelling is a great way to grab the consumer's attention and to make them emotional as well. For example, there was a Budweiser ad about not drinking and driving where it told a story about a guy who grew up with and did everything with his dog. One day he leaves his dog at home to go out drinking with some friends and doesn't come home. Turns out he decided to stay over at a friends house to be safe. The dog was sad and waited for one night, but if the guy drove and didn't make it home, the dog would have waited forever for his best friend to come home. I feel like this is what Bloom meant about story telling as advertising because this really hits your emotions.


Everybody deals with transactions daily. In the world of consumerism when it comes to transaction is important to be active and not passive. The issue is to be able to understand who you really are and differrentiate it from what strategyst of the marketing industry wants you to be. Your real image against the image that television and other media give to you.
Consumerism and marketing selling strategy boosted in 1955 after world war II when telivision and big multinationals conquired the market.
However there has been an evolution in marketing strategies to be aware of.
Once, back in the 1920 photographs were used because they were more reliable than animation. Right now the most effective strategy to be consumer friendly and appear genuine is storytelling.
Be aware to what is your real story what is the story told by the marketers 

Genius of Money

Chapter 15 

Chapter 15 is about two differing views of money in America. Alexander Hamilton had a view that all things physical could be monetized such as labor, natural resources, and commodities. Emerson is an American transcendentalist who believed that even though American culture has changed throughout the years, "the quest for a moral understanding of money, its purposes and its effects on the human condition, remains." This chapter also talks about Hoffman's ideas of how money, in America, is such a strong force that it could be a religious force.

This chapter was very confusing and hard to interpret. After rereading it a couple times I am still not exactly sure what it was trying to say. I know that there are suppose to be two different views of money in America but there were so many names and I'm still not sure about the different views. This chapter was very boring and hard to understand, especially compared to chapter 8 that I read.

Genius of Money

Chapter 8 

 In this chapter, Bloom uses Georges de la Tour’s painting “The Payment of Taxes” to frame a discussion about, you guessed it, taxes. Bloom reads far more into paintings than I ever have or likely will – I have taken absolutely no art history courses in my life, and the extent of my interest in art is that I will go to a gallery or museum and have thoughts that follow the lines of: “That looks nice” or “Why is this even a thing?” The point of this is that Bloom posits that de La Tour’s use of shadows and light, or as he calls it, chiaroscuro, are meant to be representative of the action in the scene itself, the payment of taxes. Taxes are a necessary evil for the payer, and a bright spot in the day of the collector. I’m sure that this is what de La Tour’s intention was, simply because it seems reasonable and I lack the knowledge base to refute Bloom’s claims. 

After hearing Professor Hansen say that we were all going to hate this assignment I was pretty unmotivated to do the reading. But when it came time to actually read it, the writing style is pretty easy and it's not hard to understand (especially compared to chapter 15). Although I am not a fan of art and had no interest, what so ever, in the painting I was somewhat interested in hearing about his interpretation. In general, I hate learning about art so much because teachers always make you interpret it and tell you if you are right or wrong. But we wouldn't know what the true interpretation is unless we asked the actual painter. So how do teachers even know that they are right? 

Random- Foodie Post

Holly's Foods

Hi there, I'm Holly.
I am a huge foodie who loves to eat delicious foods and take pretty pictures of them.

I always take pictures of my food and post them on my social media pages (instagram and twitter).
I decided that it would be nice to show you guys some of the "instagram worthy" food places around the area and tell you a little about them and my experience there.

California Donuts

This donut shop is extremely Instagram worthy. I honestly don't think they are that delicious, but they are very cute! They're open 24/7 so when you're craving donuts, you can head over here. They are about $2 for a specialty donut and is mostly over hyped. They have green tea, panda(cookies and cream), blueberry with cinnamon toast crunch, strawberry, lucky charms, and fruity pebbles are all worth a try! They're pretty much just regular round donuts with different icing, toppings, and decorations.

Factory Tea Bar 

I'm a dessert person and I have to say that, hands down, FTB's milo brick toast is my all time favorite. It comes with a good amount of ice cream so you don't have to pay extra for it (like other places). Their prices are reasonable for their portions I've also had their honey milk green tea and it was pretty good. The atmosphere is very chill. Come here and study or just chill with friends. It's kinda dark though and they have very comfy couches. 

Milk Bar

I am a huge rice crispy fan so I fell in love with the fruity pebble rice crispy. Not a huge fan of their ice cream/ flavors but it's great for the Instagram. All together I felt like this was WAY too sweet for me. I felt so sick and fat after I finished this. I also tried the green thai tea, which I have never had anywhere else before. They give you a cute little bottle with the Milk Bar sticker on it so I guess that was cool. The tea was too thick and milky for me. Overall, good for the IG but will probably not be back.

Komodo Cafe 

Lastly, I want to give you guys an actual food place, rather than dessert. Komodo Cafe is this small hipster restaurant that specializes in fusion tacos. Although, I'm not a huge fan of their tacos I am, in fact, a fan of their Nasi Goreng (Indonesian fried rice). It's extremely flavorful and has a special texture to it that's different from regular rice. There's still so many things that I have yet to try from here. I will definitely be back.

Growing a Farmer pt 2

I think that I am going to say that I did sort of enjoy this book. Kurt Timmermeister had a very interesting life and it was nice reading about how "yolo" he was with buying the land and becoming a farmer. It was interesting to read about the bad luck he got like when the poor lamb lost its eyes from the crows. That kind of stuff was just interesting to me (even though I cringed), because I never thought of things like that actually happening.

Overall the book was an easy read. It was hard to get past the chapters about slaughtering and killing the animals. I could almost picture the poor things in my head when I read it. I really appreciate the way he organized his book. How each chapter was about something interesting about the farm and had an interesting title. In the end, Kurt seemed satisfied with what he had accomplished about his farm and how he can serve people good food. It makes me food good reading this because, like I said I wanted to start my own business, Kurt makes the impossible seem possible. If you didn't know how the story was going to go, right off the bat you would assume that Kurt would fail. But in the end, he actually did it so hopefully with a good start for me I will be able to do that too.

Arcasia

The Guide of "things to do" in the City of Arcadia 

Heard of the famous City of Arcadia and always wanted to visit, but never quite knew what there was to do? Arcadia is this lovely city, located in the San Gabriel Valley. With large, beautiful homes laid out on each block, this city could also be known as the “Asian Beverly Hills.” This city may seem like an average residential area, however, there are so many more things to do than you could ever think. Here, I have created a list of things to do and see in this lovely city for anyone wanting to visit. From places to go and things to eat, I will show you all the places you need to cover in a visit to the wonderful city of Arcadia.

With a 60% Asian population, Arcadia can sometimes be referred to as Arcasia (a mix of Arcadia and Asia). Arcadia has been named as one of the "Best Places to Raise your Kids: 2010" by Bloomberg Businessweek. Just this year, 3 students from Arcadia High School scored a perfect 2400 on their SAT scores.

If you're interested in moving here, or just coming to visit, take a look at my list for some recommendations on things and places to check out!

Santa Anita Race Track 

Image: Courtesy of santaanita.com

If you're a fan of gambling and horse races or just big events in general you definitively need to visit the Santa Anita Race Track. During the winter and spring, the Santa Anita Race track offers some of the most prominent racing events. The race track holds a number of well known races, including the Santa Anita Derby, the Santa Anita Handicap and the Breeders' Cup. Aside from horse racing and gambling, the racetrack holds other interesting events as well.

Image: Courtesy of Chasinghiromi.com

If you ever been to Asia than you probably know about the night markets that are there; and if you haven't than you need to go to the 626 Night Market to get a feel of it. The 626 Night Market is the largest Asian themed night market in the United States. With hundreds of food vendors, games, merchandise and even music and entertainment attraction this event is great for anyone. Just by attending  you will even get the chance of trying crazy, exotic foods that you would probably wouldn't be able to find anywhere else.

 

 

 Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden 

Image: Courtesy of lacounty.org

 A lovely place to visit listed by Trip Advisor is The Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden. The 127-acre historical site located in the heart of Arcadia includes a botanical garden. The gardens include Native American, Rancho Period, and late 19th century treasures ("Plants Collections").  Along with hosting activities and events, the Arboretum also hold concerts and tours that cater to every audience. With an admissions fee, you have access to all of their 10 different gardens, their various plant and biographical collections and more. There have been 232 different species of birds sighted at the Arboretum and there are always peacocks walking around every since the late 1800's when Lucky Baldwin introduced them to the city.  The Arboretum is a beautiful place to take photos and even host weddings and other special occasions.

Admission: 
 Adults: $9.00
Students with ID and seniors age 62 and older: $6.00
Children Ages 5-12: $4.00
Children under 5: free

Din Tai Fung Dumpling House 

Image: Courtesy of Holly Vuong

In 1958, Din Tai Fung was founded in Taipei, Taiwan and in 1972, it finally transitioned into a restaurant specializing in soup dumplings and noodles (Din Tai Fung USA). The restaurant became very popular and when they finally opened in Arcadia, California people were coming from all over the states to try it. This is a must, if you happen to be in the area or even if you are driving by. According to Forbes, Din Tai Fung serves "the world's greatest dumplings." The restaurant draws such a large swarm of people that they even opened another location right behind the original and are currently building the third Din Tai Fung restaurant in Arcadia's Westfield Santa Anita mall. The most famous item on their menu would be the Pork XiaoLongBao. It is basically a dumpling with soup on the inside.

Image: Courtesy of Tumblr.com

AU 79 

Lastly, don't forget to stop by AU 79 for a quick drink. AU 79 is one of Arcadia's many boba shops.  From fruity drinks, to creamy milk teas, to bitter traditional teas, they have every type to quench your thirst or satisfy any cravings. You can even add on any toppings like boba, lychee jelly, aloe or pudding and many more. Whats different about AU 79 is that they have PINK boba! I'm not aware of any other tea shops with pink boba. So definitely stop by to grab a drink. It's Instagram worthy ;)

Work Cited

"Best Places to Raise Your Kids: 2010." Bloomberg. Web. 9 Feb. 2016. <http://www.bloomberg.com>.

Din Tai Fung USA. Web. 10 Feb. 2016. <http://dintaifungusa.com/>.

"The History of Santa Anita Park." Santa Anita. Web. 9 Feb. 2016. <http://www.santaanita.com>.

"Population Demographics for Arcadia, California in 2016 and 2015." Suburban Stats. 2016. Web. 10 Feb. 2016. <https://suburbanstats.org>.

"Plants Collections." The Arboretum. Web. 10 Feb. 2016. <http://www.arboretum.org/>.

"The Top 10 Things to Do in Arcadia." Trip Advisor. Web. 10 Feb. 2016. <http://www.tripadvisor.com>.

Growing a Farmer Review

 I'm still deciding whether I like this book or not. I do enjoy how it is an easy read and it's great that he makes a book about farming not as dry as you would expect. What I found interesting about his story is how he had his own restaurant and was not even able to eat his own food. This makes me question how many other restaurant owners are like that. I wonder if McDonald's franchise owners are willing to eat their own food after knowing how everything is cooked etc.
Timmermeister took a huge risk randomly buying that 4 acre plot of land and not really knowing what he wanted to do with it. It did take him a couple months to finally seal the deal but I feel like it was a pretty impulsive decision. As he wanted to learn more about farming to be able to eat his own food, it surprises me how he does things so impulsively and then later learns how to use them. For example buying the tractor even though his little farm didn't really need one, but he kind of just wanted it because he "wanted to be taken seriously." When he said "Farmers have tractors, right?" I thought that was pretty funny. Also, buying the sheep and not even knowing how to raise it and being surprised that the sheep lived.

I like how his writing style is such an easy read and he's really funny at the same time. It really helps since I have no interest in farms at all.