While watching the Jimmy Kimmel clip I found it kind of funny because he had started out saying that Starbucks now has released their most expensive drink which is 7$. He then says that they are asking coffee drinkers to drink from 2 cups to determine which one is the 7$ coffee. Just know that they did not put the 7$ coffee in either cup it’s just simple coffee for both.

The people then start drinking the coffee to determine which is which, and this is what I find hilarious. All of them except for one had thought that one of the cups was the more expensive one. Whether it be cup A or cup B they all thought it was one or the other. Their reasoning for it is because it was much more stronger and smoother or that it was a very rich flavor. These were all of the responses that they had to the coffee. Until the very last guy came up he tasted both of them and said their exactly the same. I had started laughing because 1 out of 5 or 6 participants had got it right. They are both the same. This definitely did surprise me and the reason is because I feel like people would like to sound more like a know it all I guess you could say. They want to look good and show they know which one is which. The other people are just ones who like to fit in/ blend and try to know it all, but when it came down to the last guy he instantly knew that they were the same. I would not pay 7$ for a coffee that is outrageous but some people are like that. I can make my own at home with very little time.

The one topic that William Van Dusen Wishard talked about was how a new stage of technology to replace humans is coming in the near future. The reason I liked reading about this one topic so much was because I feel very similar to this feeling as well. No matter what position I’m in I always see something new that can be replacing people. For example, let’s take self checkout, many people always tend to go to this in stores because it’s quick and easier then going through a cash register, there’s less interaction, and your able to go at your own speed. I see a lot of people every time I’m in a store going to the self checkout and there are more of the self checkouts then people working at a cash register.

Another example would be an airplane or car. An airplane has auto pilot, a system that takes control of the air plane for the captain. Seeing this in action might sound scary but it does actually keep the plane on track for the destination it is set to go to until the pilot comes back from the bathroom or wherever they go. I’m sure if technology does develop any further that this auto pilot will become a system where there is no pilot needed at all. A new technology device that has come up to date is cars. A lot of cars nowadays are now known as electric cars meaning that they don’t run on gas but rather rechargeable electric batteries. For example, take a look at a Tesla, one of the newest cars out to date and one of the best inventions ever made. A Tesla is a full electric car with keyless entry, push to start engine buttons, built in tablets, luxury interior and best of all, auto drive. This car alone just shows how advanced technology can get. If this car is able to have a giant tablet on their dashboard along with many other features & auto drive, then hover cars are a possibility.

I do have a feeling that many people who work in assembly lines will be replaced with robots soon enough. The reason being is because America keeps advancing every day. There are so many smart people out there who are able to come up with these ideas and build what they want. If they wanted to build robots to replace humans they could. I’m pretty sure people have already. Take amazon as another example. Instead of amazon delivering it by hand they are inventing a robot drone to start delivering these packages which is insane. How would a drone be able to do that? I don’t understand at all. If you look at drones that people have they are so small so how would a drone be able to carry certain size packages. I do feel like a lot of people are more then capable of replacing humans with robots no doubt about it. America’s technology is rapidly advancing and we are all witnesses to it.

All I can say about this chapter is damn. This women gave up her whole life for 1 month to see what it’s like for welfare recipients and single mothers will survive in the low wage work force. She worked a number ours amount of jobs and struggled almost every single day. She met lots of people who also had it very bad and were living with people who they no longer wished to live with. She had trouble find jobs for a long time. She filled out 20 applications and none of them had accepted her until she got one job 4 days after applying for jobs. This wasn’t her only job. She ended up working 3 jobs all together and this is the life she has now. Going to one job, going back to her 500$ rent apartment to shower & get ready for the next which keeps repeating. She is struggling hard. Not to mention she needs money for food, gas, laundry, and the rent she has to pay at the end of the month. She is definitely one tough cookie for putting up with all of that.

Personally I don’t feel like I would even remotely try to do this. I would be miserable. Living by myself no one to talk to, not eating enough basically starving, putting up with jobs and people that don’t care about me and just being tired through it all. There would be no rest at all. If I had to live with that and it came down to working numerous jobs then I would have to do it. Just to survive. Living would be a pain in the a** but it would have to work out. Nowadays even with minimum wage and working 3 jobs you’re not even able to pay a months rent. Rents are so expensive now it’s insane unless you find a friend to rent a room with. I give this mom major props for changing her lifestyle and giving it everything she had to try and meet the end expectations that she wanted to. Congratulations.

I would not like to work at a McDonald’s for several reasons. Let’s start with reason number 1. They treat you like crap. I have heard & learned that doing fast food is not a good job. The supervisors & managers don’t treat you respectfully whatsoever unless you make friends with them. Personally I’m not one to suck up to someone just so they can like me I like being who I am and if you don’t like it then oh well. Even working retail you don’t get respect at all and it’s so annoying to find a job where everyone treats you like crap. Some people take longer breaks and have you cover for them but when you want to take a longer break you’re not able to do it. Which isn’t right. Or you get called in early from your break. Let say another thing. Working weekends? I understand that with retail and fast food you should be able to work weekends because that’s what the requirements are but what I don’t understand is why they call you in every single weekend. I would like a break simply put. I wouldn’t mind coming in every other weekend because then I can have some time to myself and just relax, but if they are making me work constantly non stop for 6 days a week 8 hours a day why would I want to do that? I wouldn’t. I don’t like doing the same thing over and over again working constantly getting yelled at or mistreated not getting treated equally. It irks me. Fast food companies need to change policies and need to work something out to help not benefit them hut their employees also. I feel like a lot of fast food workers are miserable with their job because it’s a routine. So if companies were to implement something to help their workers out maybe they wouldn’t mind working their. Changing their routines doing something new etc. Fast food is someplace you don’t want to work at.

With fast food and the wages they pay and how bad it is, the economy keeps dying. What I mean by economy is the people who eat fast food. What I mean by dying is people getting obese. Let me explain. Let’s start with the low paying wages. Low paying wages in fast food restaurants is kind of BS in my opinion. I feel like fast food workers should get their 15$ they ask for. Especially since all the named company’s (McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, KFC, Taco Bell etc.) make enough to pay their workers. these are some for what top companies who make fortunes on their businesses and they don’t have an extra couple dollars to pay their workers? Come on now, that’s BS. These workers work their ass off to get people their food, try to get their order right and in a fashionably manor. They also have to deal with customers who always have a problem with something and have to restrain themselves from saying anything back. They really do work hard and a lot of people have families to support so they try to work a double job and this is more then likely their double job so that they can provide for their family.

Next, let’s talk about how bad the economy is falling due to this fast food. Aside from the low wage pay, fast food is nutritionally bad for you. I know I just got done ranting about how the workers don’t make enough but they have to find a job somewhere and pay their bills so this is not their fault for making the food. As said before, the food is bad for you. A lot of people eat there for breakfast lunch and dinner because it’s quick, easy and tasty. I admit the food at places like these are pretty good but it’s something I can’t eat all the time 24/7. I get disgusted just trying to eat the same place once a day for two days. I can’t even really eat left overs because I don’t like the taste a second time I have to have a newly cooked meal. If I had to say I would eat out 3 times a week, which to me is pretty reasonable. I don’t understand how people can eat out all the time and be okay with it. Many people are obese due to over eating or eating fast food. It’s not a good diet at all and I don’t recommend it. I would recommend people watch super size me 1 and 2. It shows a man who is seen eating McDonald’s 24/7 for breakfast, lunch and dinner even as a snack sometimes for a month. He test himself to see how much he can eat, how much weight he gains and much more. I don’t know how people can do it, it poisons your body. Please understand that I do say it’s okay to eat fast food once in a while but not every day for life.

I believe that fast food employees should get the 15$ minimum wage. A lot of customers have fits and have some issues and complain over the littlest things. Some employees work more then 8 hours just to provide for their family. If the minimum wage was raised to 15$ they wouldn’t have to work long hours, sweating, putting in hard work for people to eat. There are a lot of people who go to fast food chains and the employees are cooking on a grill so it’s hard sweat. It doesn’t hurt to raise the pay for fast food chains. It would encourage workers to actually come to work maybe enjoy their jobs and be happy with the pay they get. Instead of coming to work with a 13$ pay and a 400$ paycheck. Working at fast food really isn’t worth it unless you are just looking for a temporary job.

I’m not all too sure what corporate brands connect with me. I use a lot of brands and go to different places all the time so it’s hard to really figure out which ones connect with me. If I had to choose one, I guess a car brand or phone brand would connect with me. The reason being is because a car is used to get to places. You need transportation to see the world or go out and meet with people. To see your family you need a car. A car brand would be something that is meaningful in people’s lives.

I also say a phone brand is important because people need to communicate. If you look all around you, people always have cellular devices in their hands or next to their ears, using their headphones to talk or playing games. Everyone used cell phones regardless of the brands. It’s a way to communicate with family, friends, loved ones, businesses etc. that’s why I would say a phone brand is important to people. Phones have a way to show how long you have been on your phone. I know that iPhone has an app to show how long you’ve been on your phone and how much time you’ve spent on certain apps.

Many people use cars and use cellphone almost for the same reason. To communicate, get to places, see family make reservations etc. These two would be the brands that connect with all of us.

I honestly do remember of a time where I purchased something just to fit in. I believe a lot of people did this just recently and it’s kind of ridiculous. The item I bought to fit in was the Popeyes chicken sandwich. I believe everyone bought this. It was a world sensation and everyone kept fighting over it. I believe even some people were killed which is insane because it’s just a piece of food. The reason I wanted to try it is because everyone says it’s amazing and so good. So I took the liberty of trying it. They had the chicken sandwiches for a limited time only at first and I wasn’t able to get it at all because they were all sold out. Then they ended up bringing them back to stay and I eventually got one. I bought the sandwich and went home for what is supposed to be the best chicken sandwich around. I finally bit into it and I’m not going to lie, it was pretty bomb.

I wouldn’t say it’s the best chicken sandwich over all of them but it is in the top 5. Number 1 goes to Chic-Fil-A. The item didn’t really convey a membership to anything just some disagreements that people preferred Popeyes over Chic-Fil-A. That’s okay because everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I would just simply have to disagree. This purchase didn’t really end up satisfying me because of the hassle I had to go through to get it but it was overall a good sandwich. Just not the best chicken sandwich in the world.

Conducting an experiment like Stanley Milgrams would be something I would never do. Personally to me I find it in humane to try and do something that he did. Doing an electric chair is different from doing this because the people on death row actually did something horrible. The “teachers” that participated in the experiment are sick for even thinking that it’s okay to shock someone just because they get an answer in correct. This test shows that if Americans are given the go ahead and that if it’s okay by someone higher then them then it’s just okay to do it. It should never be okay to shock someone and torture them. I would never shock someone myself I don’t like the idea of knowing that I might end someone’s life or hurt them. That’s just not the person I am even if someone says it’s okay.

If I were to shock someone I would have a limit for sure. I feel like the limit for me would be seeing if their in pain or not after the first shock. Most people tend to tell you to stop after the first shock and that is where I would stop. I don’t like seeing anyone get hurt or be in pain because I know that pain is never a good feeling. When it comes to being shocked, a lot can happen. Your brain can be messed with and it’s crazy to just even see someone put in that spot. I think the situation with Hitler telling Nazis to kill others is different. The reason being is because they were at war and that’s all you could really do when you’re at war. You’re fighting for your country and in need of different stuff. Obviously Hitler wanted world domination and to be way more powerful then other countries which is why he did what he did. I wouldn’t be able to say if I would kill for him because I wasn’t there I wasn’t put in someone’s situation who had fought in war. So I would never be able to say if I would or wouldn’t.

Some objects that are important to my sense of self would have to be letters that my grandpa had wrote to me, my ring, my phone, the two music boxes I have, and my masquerade masks. The things I listed are only some of the things I can think of. I’m sure there are more but these are the ones that really popped into my head.

The reason why I listed the letters is because I really looked up to my grandpa. He was loving and caring never judged anyone or mistreated anyone. My grandpa was my father and I spent a lot of time with him going to plays, baseball games and school trips. Those letters are some of the only things I have left of him and they remind me of him so that’s why they are important my self. I also put my two music boxes because one of which my grandpa bought for me when we went to see The Phantom of the Opera. As I said before going to plays with him was one of my favorite things to do and I fell in love with that play, including the movie as well. This also reminds me of him so that is another reason why it’s important to me and why I love it so much. My other music box my mother got me last year for Christmas. It plays a song that my mom would sing to me when I was kid. The song reminds me of my childhood and how much fun I had as a kid.

My ring is important to me because it’s my boyfriends sign of his love for me. He promised me he’ll never stop loving me and will always be with me no matter what goes on. He is my other half and the person I go to for everything if I ever need anything or need to cry to he’s there. He’s my rock and I will forever cherish the ring he got me. The masquerade masks is something important to me just because it is. I’ve always had a bond with them for some reason I’m not really sure why, I don’t remember who bought them but if I had to guess my grandpa did. I think that the mask are beautiful and show a meaning for each one.

My phone is something I can live without but can’t at the same time. I need my phone to keep in contact with my family or loved ones. Even for jobs I need my phone. Phones are something everyone needs and I would say is important to them. They would have no way of contacting anyone so that’s why it’s important to me.

The items that really synthesize with my identity would be my letters and music box from my grandpa. My grandpa shaped me into the person I am today. He showed me never to be rude to anyone, to always show love and be nice. He was everything to me and I will forever cherish my time with him, I will always love him. These are things that made me and I will never let go of them.

Brands and the self: I’m not really sure what brands are more closely connected to my sense of self. If I had to say Apple and converse would be the most connected. I wear converse daily and are my go to shoes to wear. Apple would be another close one because I use Apple products like their phones or other electronic devices including their headphones. I used to not like vans at all, I hated them up until recently. My boyfriends mom got me a pair for Christmas and I actually really liked them. I wouldn’t say that I like the brand but I do tolerate it somewhat now thanks to her.