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The Great Pretender

Arlene Tan


Last Updated: 11/21/2009

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Gender: Female
Status: Single
Age: 22
Sign: Libra

City: San Diego
State: California
Country: US
Signup Date: 11/11/2006

Blog Archive
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Tuesday, October 27, 2009 

Current mood:  blah
Category: Food and Restaurants
"I have been ordering veggie whoppers at BK for a few years, most of the time they get it wrong. The last time i ordered it they gave me a meat patty in a box, how wrong is that?! I always get them to fix it, and sometimes it's a dollar cheaper then a reg. whopper. Taco Bell will also replace the meat on the tacos with beans, but watch out for that extra charge."

Found this quote online when I was looking at this secret menu article. I lawled.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009 

Current mood:  blah
Category: Food and Restaurants
"I have been ordering veggie whoppers at BK for a few years, most of the time they get it wrong. The last time i ordered it they gave me a meat patty in a box, how wrong is that?! I always get them to fix it, and sometimes it's a dollar cheaper then a reg. whopper. Taco Bell will also replace the meat on the tacos with beans, but watch out for that extra charge."

Found this quote online when I was looking at this secret menu article. I lawled.
Monday, July 06, 2009 

Current mood:  determined

Running (Jogging)

"That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So, I ran to the end of the road, and when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd just run across Greenbow County. And I figured since I run this far, maybe I'd just run across the great state of Alabama. And that's what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason, I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going. When I got to another ocean, I figured since I've gone this far, I might as well just turn back, keep right on going. When I got tired, I slept. When I got hungry, I ate. When I had to go, you know, I went. My mama always said you got to put the past behind you before you can move on. And I think that's what my running was all about. I had run for three years, two months, 14 days, and 16 hours."
That's from the movie Forrest Gump, when Forrest (played by Tom Hanks) runs in scene after scene after scene. The idea symbolized, among other things, the beginning of the running craze that spread across the country in the 1970s. Since then, running has captured the attention of millions of Americans. Thousands of road races and marathons occur each year, and running is the sixth most popular exercise in the United States. But you don't need to run marathons, or run continuously for three-plus years like Forrest, to gain the benefits of running. Thirty minutes a day will do! In this article, I will tell you what all the fuss is about. I'll review the history of running, how to get started, what to wear, proper posture, where to run, the risks of running, and one or two more quotes from Forrest.

What is running?

Here's the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of running: to go steadily by springing steps so that both feet leave the ground for an instant in each step. That's the key: both feet are in the air at once. During walking, one foot is always on the ground. Jogging is running slowly, and sprinting is running fast. I'll discuss both jogging and running in this article.

What's the history of running?

Human beings started walking and running some 4-6 million years ago when we evolved and rose from all fours. Ten thousand years ago, hunter-gatherers like the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico, ran 15-75 miles a day on the hunt. But it was Pheidippides (490 BC), an ancient "day-runner," who put running on the map. Pheidippides is purported to have run 149 miles to carry the news of the Persian landing at Marathon to Sparta in order to enlist help for the battle. Scholars believe the story of Pheidippides may be a myth (if the Athenians wanted to send an urgent message to Athens, there was no reason why they could not have sent a messenger on horseback), yet the myth had legs (no pun intended) and was the genesis of the modern marathon. It was the first running of the marathon (26 miles 385 yard) in the modern Olympic Games of 1896 in Athens that commemorated Pheidippides' historic run. Throughout the latter part of the 19th century, track and field, including running, took a prominent place in the field of sport. By the late 1800s, children in school were competing in running races. In the 20th century, it was the famous black sprinter Jesse Owens who, in the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany, shattered Hitler's dream of proving the superiority of the Aryan race by winning gold medals in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, and the 400-meter relay. More American were spectators of running than they were participants during the era of Jesse Owens, but that has changed in the past 35 years. Runners like George Sheehan, Bill Rodgers, Jeff Galloway, Alberto Salazar, and Grete Waitz (winner of nine NYC marathons from 1978-1988 and inspiration to all women to get out there and run!) promoted running through their athletic success, and now running is solidly a popular activity for exercise as well as for sport.


~

"I can't help myself, I said I would continue my regimen of running tomorrow but... I want to do it today. So i'll be back later, i'm going jogging, then i'm going to learn "Rainbow Connection" on my guitar. Late!" 

Currently listening:
The Fame
By Lady Gaga
Release date: 2008-10-28
Sunday, July 05, 2009 

Current mood:  artistic
Take a little time to watch this, guaranteed to life your spirits. Sung by my own favorite artist of all time. If having favorite musicians was like having friends, I would have to say Jason Mraz is my best friend. He is the only "childhood friend" I have stayed in contact/grew up with through the years.


Currently listening:
Jason Mraz: Influences
By Jason Mraz
Saturday, July 04, 2009 

Current mood:Sappy
In an attempt to see if I could cry by reading some sad stuff on the net, I googled "things that make people cry."

I found a few results here and there but the first thing that caught my eye that I found was the following list. I only read the first one so far but I was immediately sold, I think these things would make both men and women cry. I'll let you know if I busted a tear after reading the list, I just feel in the mood for a good cry. In any case, something interesting that you could read with me right?

[Honorable Mentions That I Found Online Include] "Playing Rockband without Blinking" "Breast Reductions" "A Good Solid Kick To The Testicles" "After Their Team Wins" Aside from the prosaic jokes involving men crying, really... What makes us as humans cry. I will quietly sate my curiosity, see if I can cry, then fall asleep to a sappy movie. Just because I can. ;-)

[Things That Have at Least ONCE Made Me Cry at least a tear FOR SURE] Armageddon (yeah the movie, Bruce Willis reminds me so much of my Grandfather *my fatherly figure who is a mans man* so seeing him die at the end and watching the world just continue on hit me hard. Sappy Romances, the actors need to be able to really convey the emotion though. Feeling hopeless or getting emotionally hurt. Physical pain if its bad enough and no one is helping me at all. Mean things that are said that I know for a FACT are not true or are unfair judgments. Oh oh oh! Going to Disneyland WITHOUT my baby sister and seeing the amazing parade with all the Disney princesses that she loves made me cry once. Seeing someone sincerely cry. Onions. Seeing someone feel hopeless. Seeing someone go through something painful that I went through. lol nevermind, I think this is just starting to be a list of things that make me sad, I don't cry that often which is why i'm doing all this research to see if a list of sad thoughts and ideas could make me cry.

1. "Getting an invite to the wedding of the girl you've quietly loved for years."
Jambo
2. "When Richard Todd quietly says he has some letters to write and walks through the gates at RAF Scampton in The Dambusters."
Tom, Bristol
3. "My son decided to arrive early, and the midwife was an hour away. I ran home from work to deliver my son while my three-year-old daughter watched happily from the foot of the bed: 'Are you going to catch the baby, Daddy?' she remarked. I cried tears of joy for the remarkable gift of life. Every man should be there for the birth of his children."
Jose M Feliciano, St Cloud, FL
4. "Having my son jump on me and knee me right in the family jewels. Guaranteed to bring a tear to any man's eye."
Adam, Northampton
5. "My recent vasectomy did the trick - don't let anyone ever tell you it does not hurt."
Steve, Humberside
6-7. "The poppies falling in silence from the roof of the Albert Hall at the Festival of Remembrance is one which gets me: the sheer waste of life. On a different note, the cry of 'Freedom!' coming from Braveheart as he is disembowelled also makes me cry - it's hilarious."
Andrew, Bristol, UK
8-10. "Rocket launches, the first 15 minutes of Saving Private Ryan, Beethoven's Ninth with volume loud enough for my ears to handle... these are a few memorable tear-jerkers for me."
Ajay, Boston, US
Welsh fans at the Millennium Statium
Welsh voices raised in unison
11. "Male voice choirs do it for me every time. It reminds me of my proud Welsh grandfather."
David R, Pontivy, France
12-14. "Nothing makes me cry. I do have on-going problems with dust at weddings, funerals and during weepie films though."
Tony Croft, Leeds
15-17. "Football, proud dads, Battle of Britain; it doesn't matter. A bloke with a mote-choked eye is more effective than a plate of oysters in my experience. Don't try faking it, though. We always know."
Jane, London
18. "Being told by the girl that you love that she wants you dead."
Josh, Derby, UK
19. "There is only one time when it is excusable for a man to cry; when his faithful hound sacrifices itself to save his master. Truly heartbreaking."
Andrew, Edinburgh
20. When kids are forced to grow up too fast... the saddest thing."
A Man, Earth
21. "They shut my local pub *sob*."
Andrew, Banbury
22. "Visiting the battlefields in Normandy and the graves of soldiers who were only boys had me and my husband weeping."
Lyn, Milton Keynes
23. "Watched a local primary school sports day recently - to see all of the children trying their best brought a lump to my throat. Very, very dusty."
Lance, Felixstowe
2008 Grand National
Equine effort
24. "The sound of horses galloping does it to me. Whether it's the start of the Grand National or watching the horsemen charge during Return Of The King, it makes me well up every time. I put it down to Peter O'Sullivan's brilliant and emotional commentary from when I first started watching racing."
Jamie, London, UK
25. "When Russia beat Spain in the final of the European basketball championship in the last second on my late mothers birthday. Emir Kusturica's film Dom Za Vesanje (Time of the Gypsies)." These are very Eastern European phenomena."
Mikhail Vasilievich Zamdayev, London
26. "The video to Hurt by Johnny Cash, it only seems to make men cry, the harder the man the more it gets to them."
Tim, Merseyside
27. "I reckon men cry at odd times because they withhold the tears at more obvious times - it has to leak out some time but social conditioning frequently hinders this. This possibly explains why I often feel like crying when I'm reading some children's books aloud to our two; Floss and The Secret Garden can raise a few."
Matt O, Forest Row
28. "Saying goodbye to my mum, for the last time, when the crematorium groundsman and I scattered her ashes."
Alex R, UK
29-31. "My partner shed tears of relief when our daughter was born at 28 weeks, tears of grief when we realised she would be disabled and tears of anger when she was bullied at school."
Beth, Bangor UK
32. "I cried last Tuesday when I realised I had to give up a relationship that just wasn't working and couldn't be put right for all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world. But Harry Dean Stanton's monologue to Nastassja Kinski does it for me every time. I must stop watching Paris, Texas."
Jan, Mid Sussex
33. "Dedication to the Fallen during the Festival of Remembrance: 'They shall not grow old as we who are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.'
Gets me every time."
Brian, Oxford
Kelly Holmes
Kelly Holmes at the 2004 Olympics
34. "My wife thinks I'm heartless because I didn't cry when we got married, I didn't cry when my children were born, and I haven't cried when my relatives passed. However, seeing great sporting achievement take place, especially athletics track events, sometimes bring a proud tear to my eye. Kelly Holmes doing the double got me, fantastic stuff."
Iwan, Sedbergh, UK
35-36. "Seeing my mum cry is an automatic cry. But for some reason, when I see OTHER men cry it really makes me want to blame the hay fever."
Lee, London
37. "My friend cried at a movie starring the former wrestler The Rock. He claimed it was too hot... we no longer speak."
Neil Vallelly, Coleraine, N Ireland
38. "Pictures of the Earth from space seem to make me well up, it just seems to have a profound effect on me that I'm unable to sum up with words."
Ash Amed, Oxford
39. "The strangest thing that has ever set me off was listening to the radio and hearing Concorde land for the very last time. I don't even like planes but it made me blub."
Dave, Leicester
40-42. "The last time I cried would have been at a mate's wedding. He got emotional during the speeches and that was it for me. Also anything of people showing extreme bravery, especially to save others brings a tear to the eye. Oh and 65,000 people singing the Welsh national anthem at the Millennium Stadium."
Alex, Carmarthenshire
42. "The last page of Winnie the Pooh, as Christopher Robin explains about school - does it every time, without fail. Oh, and when Bambi's mum dies."
Mike, Addlestone
43. "When I'm going on a long trip and know I won't see my mum, dad or sisters for a couple of months, then the goodbye always gets me. Nonetheless, I feel fine five minutes later."
Conúil, Belfast
44. "My other half has a very severe upper lip. Ex-Air Force, he's coped with close relation funerals and major family feuds, despite me falling apart. But he wept buckets whilst watching Sophie's Choice."
Sundae, Crewe
45-47. "When my adopted son spontaneously called me Dad. When I realised that a friend was safe after thinking he could not have survived an incident. Sometimes when I'm looking at my wife and she doesn't realise it."
Richard, Cloudcuckooland
John Kennedy Jnr salutes his father's coffin
A son showing respect
48. "The film of JFK's toddler son saluting his father's passing coffin does it for me every time."
Peter, Belfast
49. "Watching my son get married. I'm not even going to go to my daughter's, I'd be incapable for weeks before and after."
Dave Cross, Malvern, Worcs
50. "Just yesterday. I met my youngest's boyfriend for the first time and realised I'd lost my little girl. I managed to get home before I blubbed. Oh no, I'm doing it again now whilst I'm writing this."
Zorba Eisenhower, Seldom, Wilts
51. "My boyfriend cried when we finally got together, saying 'it's not often men like me get what we long for' - such a sweet thing to say. Unfortunately, seven years later he claims he was acting."
Rebecca, Leics
52. "Spitfires, Concorde and the roar of a Merlin or Deltic engine will always start me off. Such power and such grace.
Graeme, Edinburgh
53. "Listening to Belgian firemen play Last Post at the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres. Played every night since soon after the end of World War I. Stopped only during the German occupation in WWII and started again as soon as they left."
Roger, Norwich, UK
54-55. "Since first becoming a dad almost five years ago, I cry at anything that even vaguely shows either suffering and loss or any noble characteristic such as bravery or valour. It doesn't seem to matter if it's Doctor Who or a serious, real-life event. I even cried watching Finding Nemo."
Kit Barker, Sheffield, UK
Air drop of rememberance poppies
Falling poppies
56. "What always gets me is the veterans on Remembrance Sunday. In their wheelchairs, shaking with old age and still making it to give respect to their old mates. After having lived a compromised life for 80 years or so (for some of them) with the trauma of the memories and nightmares that don't go away, now that is sacrifice."
Mat, UK
57. "Kindness to children."
Aasim, Durham, US
58. "I cried at the birth of both my children. They are now teenagers, they presented me with the most wonderful handmade Father's Day card, filled with poems, quotes of mine and endless praise and thanks for the guidance and advice I have given them. I wept openly, it was the best Father's Day present ever. I showed the card to my parents and it had the same effect. I am a security officer on the outside, but a big old softie at heart."
Steven, Shrewsbury
59. "Christmas productions at my son's primary school - something about the slightly out-of-key sound of children's voices when singing carols always makes me well up. And adds to that Christmas sparkle."
Dave, Newstead Village, UK
60. "Flying - the thin air and free G&Ts make people more emotional. I blubbed like a baby in business class watching Gloria and Mumbo shake it out in Happy Feet."
Stuart, San Francisco
61. "After visiting my grandfather's grave in Hermanville-sur-Mer War Cemetery, France for the first time in August 2005 with my father, I noticed that his headstone didn't have any personal message engraved. I asked my father in all innocence why this was so. He promptly burst into tears, saying that the British government charged families in the 1940s for this service, and his newly widowed mother with two young children couldn't afford it. I promised him there and then that I would arrange it for him. Finally in December 2007, I received pictures from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission showing that it had at last been done. I got the pictures printed and rushed them to him as he lay in hospital. He finally saw them on 5 December, 2007, and gave my mother the thumbs up. The next day, he succumbed to secondary cancer. That gets me every time."
Dave Eastoe, Framfield, UK
62-64. "The Paralympics - EVERY time. That and watching Muhammad Ali lighting the flame in Atlanta. It must be genetic, as my Dad turns into a sodden mess at the 'trunk holding through bars' scene in Dumbo."
Will, Oxford
65. "RSPCA adverts - tear-jerking, guilt-inducing, wallet-grabbing, phone-dialling brilliance."
Wotski, London
66. "Any film that shows some inner spirit and where they show pride does it for me. Biggest culprit is Cool Runnings at the end. Have to look out the window so nobody seems me shed a tear. That or grab a pillow off my fiancee and hide my face in shame."
Daniel, London
67. "Bagpipes. And they make the hairs on my neck stand up too."
Paul, Bathgate
68. "The one song I can never listen to on my iPod when I am away from my wife: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack. Guaranteed to reduce me to jelly."
Tobias, London, UK
69. "Realising the entire universe is interconnected in mind-boggling ways."
Majid, Richmond, US
70. "Three words started my hubby off crying - welcome home sir. This was said to him by one of the police escorts he had from Gatwick airport to the McIndoe Burns Unit after being flown home. He had been severely burned in an explosion and had been med-evaced to the UK. He had been temporarily blinded by the blast and he said the man's voice was so caring he just cried."
Olwen Roach, Hartlepool, England
71. "Welsh male voice choirs bring a lump to my throat, also barber shop singers. Fortunately, you don't hear either much at the work place."
Barry, Croydon, England
72. "Ayrton Senna dying. I think that's allowed."
Andy C, UK
73-75. "Singing Abide With Me at the FA Cup Final - after 27 years, we were back and I couldn't quite believe that we were there. That and when Glenn Miller dies in the Glenn Miller story. Oh, and I must admit to a few gulps of pride when the kids do something special."
Steve E, Warrington
Flowergirls
It's not just the mother of the bride who wells up at weddings
76. "My grandad was old and frail but wouldn't have missed his grandson's (my) wedding for the world. He made it to the ceremony despite his ill health. After the main ceremony, I went down for hug (and kiss) from my grandad. Despite talking myself into not bawling like a baby, I just couldn't control my tears. My cousin who was wielding the video-camera made sure he captured all of it on camera for posterity. My hard-man act fell like a pack of cards and I haven't been able to restore it, at least with my wife."
Ramesh, London
77. "I cried at the weekend as I wrote my 12th anniversary card to my wife. I realised how important she has been to me, how much I appreciate her and how grateful I am she puts up with me. A mixture of gratitude and guilt then."
W John Bond, Leicester, UK
78. "Visiting the Imperial Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery in Oosterbeek, The Netherlands, and seeing the rows of headstones marking the graves of those who died in Operation Market Garden during WW2 is a highly emotional experience, and one's vision can get a bit watery at the thought of so many young lives wasted."
Patrick, Lincoln
79. "How can crying at your wedding not make the top 10? I married the girl of my dreams three weeks ago, shed a tear when she walked down the aisle the proceeded to cry all the way through my grooms speech. I am not ashamed one bit."
Nick Teige, Ashby-de-la-Zouch
80. "I got caught out listening to Radio 1's essential mix just the other day - momentous, inspiring stuff just set me off (and I was in public but with shades). Also, I find it hard to watch Remembrance Sunday without getting emotional. The enormity of all the pain and suffering can get to you. It always feels better after and figure it's a natural reaction for the body to have. I say you're not a man unless you DO manage a cry."
Rene, London
Currently watching:
The Notebook (New Line Platinum Series)
Release date: 2005-02-08
Thursday, July 02, 2009 

Current mood:  okay
Category: Life
So yeah, lets get right down to it. I feel like I've been hiding from the world. I don't know what I'm afraid of. I cling to my family and stay home with them most of the time I guess because I know they will always be there unlike past significant others and friends that I have had. I always feel like I have never been truly valued by anyone (even family sometimes) constantly feeling so alone and just self-cast away from society and peers, but when I try to make friends it seems like it always bombs, or it starts out O.K. then I eventually stop talking to them either because I get to wrapped up in my next project or because I don't know what to talk about. I don't know what it is in me that makes it hard for me to be social, sometimes I wonder if this is just a phase or if i'm doomed to being this way for the rest of my life. I wonder, does anyone care to know me? Sometimes I just want to chat with someone, I know its supposed to be as easy as picking up the phone or e-mailing/messaging someone, I think its social anxiety, any one who reads this ADVICE PLEASE! 
Currently listening:
Five Score and Seven Years Ago
By Relient K
Release date: 2007-03-06
Wednesday, July 01, 2009 



Well. Get him cleaned up and see what happens.

Sunday, November 02, 2008 

Current mood:  annoyed
This is an excerpt from a message I sent to a friend, and I guess this part really struck a chord that is still ringing in my mind because it is bugging the living daylights out of me since I now know the problem and really don't know what to do about it I guess.

"Honestly I feel like my life has hit a real stagnant point, like I'm riding a stationary bike - I basically feel like I'm going no where. I feel like I'm just waiting for time to pass and that is not always a good feeling, its quite depressing actually but I'm staying optimistic, I wish I could be like everyone else sometimes and just entertain myself with little things like hobbies, television, or video games, but for some reason that all seems way too petty and not worth my time anymore which I guess sounds stupid or arrogant, which is also sad because it makes it hard to relate with other people and laugh at the mainstream life. My stream is kind of lonely right now, its kind of up in some desolate area like the mountains, even somewhat enjoying the solitude of it and not having to watch this cartoon or play this new game but it is also kind of boring of course but what can I do if I don't really take pleasure in these things anymore. I think its because mainly my interests lay in getting a place and getting out of job corps and going back to college. I guess its not so stupid when I know I just simply have greater things in my mind but its distressing when I am so preoccupied with worrying about things I can't help right now and I can't enjoy some of the simpler things on my plate. Its like being hungry for nothing at all. I don't know, I'm lost at this point and don't know what else to say. Sorry to have vented or ranted a little, I guess your question really trigger all that."
Currently listening:
We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things
By Jason Mraz
Release date: 2008-05-13
Saturday, July 12, 2008 

Current mood:  energetic
Category: Music
Well.... I know that only one person has known me long enough to be able to understand and say that I can always find a song for exactly how I feel at any given time, and that is Jason Allen Dewey.... BUT...
For anyone else who is out of the know (and has been asking me for details) I barely got out of a 6 month relationship last month right before summer break...

This song I saw on the Disney Channel, and I actually listened to the lyrics and was like WHOA! That is exactly how I feel about this past relationship, its funny because the song made me feel happy and sad at the same time, I'm old now but I really can relate to this song, it sounds good too, anyway.... Just wanted to post the song...

Lyrics for:  7 Things
From the album:  7 Things
Songwriters:  Armato, Antonina, Cyrus, Miley Ray, James, Tim
Label:  Hollywood Records



I probably shouldn't say this
But at times I get so scared
When I think about the previous
Relationship we shared

It was awesome but we lost it
It's not possible for me not to care
And now we're standing in the rain
But nothing's ever gonna change
Until you hear, my dear

The 7 things I hate about you!
The 7 things I hate about you, oh you
You're vain, your games, you're insecure
You love me, you like her
You make me laugh, you make me cry
I don't know which side to buy

Your friends, they're jerks
When you act like them, just know it hurts
I wanna be with the one I know
And the 7th thing I hate the most that you do
You make me love you

It's awkward and silent
As I wait for you to say
What I need to hear now
Your sincere apology

When you mean it, I'll believe it
If you text it, I'll delete it
Let's be clear
Oh, I'm not coming back
You're taking 7 steps here

The 7 things I hate about you!
You're vain, your games, you're insecure
You love me, you like her
You make me laugh, you make me cry
I don't know which side to buy

Your friends, they're jerks
When you act like them, just know it hurts
I wanna be with the one I know
And the 7th thing I hate the most that you do
You make me love you

And compared to all the great things
That would take too long to write
I probably should mention the 7 that I like

The 7 things I like about you!
Your hair, your eyes, your old Levi's
When we kiss I'm hypnotized
You make me laugh, you make me cry
But I guess that's both I'll have to buy

Your hands in mine
When we're intertwined, everything's alright
I wanna be with the one I know
And the 7th thing I like most that you do
You make me love you, you do




 
Currently listening:
Breakout
By Miley Cyrus
Release date: 2008-07-22
Sunday, May 18, 2008 

Current mood:  cantankerous
Category: Life
I thought i'd express a widespread feeling of "the times" with a single picture.