The last blog

I really did not expect to enjoy this class. I have always been much more interested in math and science. I took the class to get my literature requirement out of the way. But, this class was an amazing experience. I can’t say I enjoyed everything we read, but I learned something from every story and book. I really liked doing the blogging, and it was there that I learned to question beliefs, people and assumptions I had always taken for granted. Going to this class was fun. Like Dr. Sexson said, we were like a family. Like a family, this class was a place I felt safe expressing my opinions, but also like a family, this class encouraged to learn, achieve and question life. I definitely believe I developed more ability and confidence in my writing ability. I am no longer intimidated by the classics, and I am looking forward to reading novels I would not have considered picking up before I took this class. Thank you Professor Sexson for sharing your love of life and literature with us.

my paper

Molly Hughes

Mr. Sexton

21 April 2010

The Effect Quick Decisions Have on Our Lives

According to the Webster On-line Dictionary, the definition of a decision is the act of making your mind up about something. The definition of a reaction, according to the same source is a bodily reaction to a stimulus.

Whenever a person acts, they make a conscious choice or decision. What happens as a result of this decision is their responsibility. An easy way to explain this is when a person acts or makes a decision, they are like a puppeteer, when they react they are the puppet.

Sometimes we have to make decisions quickly, other times, our decisions are made after careful thought. Neither way is perfect all of the time. Many times, decisions that are made quickly have life altering consequences.

During this semester we have read many stories whose characters made quick decisions which dramatically affected their lives. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Conner, the grandmother’s spur of the moment idea to visit a plantation she remembered from her childhood gets the family lost, and ultimately murdered. Dmitry and Anna’s decision to have an affair in Joyce Carol Oates’ story, “The Lady with the Pet Dog” certainly changed the course of their lives. Lott’s wife absolutely made a bad decision when she looked back on Sodom, and was turned into a pillar of salt. Even as far back as 43 B.C., Icarus’ rash decision to ignore his father’s warning and fly to close to the sun cost him his life. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, Connie’s decision to stay home from a barbeque, and talk to Arnold Friend through her screen door probably led to her murder. Anyone who made the foolish decision to have anything to do with Smitty in “The Pied Piper of Tucson,” by Don Moser probably lived, or died, regretting their decision. Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood both made decisions which had a huge, but much different, outcomes. One thing the characters in these stories all had in common is that their lives were affected in a major way by chance, or decisions they made.

Quick decisions have definitely affected my life. My birth, following my biological parents’ probable quick decision to have sex, was definitely a life altering decision for everyone concerned. I hope they gave careful thought to the decision to give me up for adoption. It was a great for me personally, but I think the decision would have been easier for them to live with if it had been well thought out.

A spur of the moment decision I made in high school changed how much I trust people. It was a warm spring evening several years ago, and I decided to go for a car ride with a guy I knew, but not well. The experience didn’t end well, and I am amazed at how that quick decision has affected my life and relationships since then.

Some of the most turbulent events in our history have happened by chance, or through a quick decision someone made. If Rosa Parks had not decided to stay in her seat in that Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955, the civil rights movement might not have happened, or at least not when, or the way it did. Her decision that day changed the world we live in. Martin Luther King Jr. might not have been as big a part of the civil rights movement as he was, if his chance to be involved had not presented itself that first evening of the boycott (Dove). President Bush’s decision to invade Iraq looking for weapons of mass destruction has changed our world and the lives of millions of people forever. Even Tiger Woods might now regret the quick decisions he made because they certainly have had a huge affect on his family, his finances, and seemingly, his ability to play golf.

Of all the talents we are born with, and those we can learn, I think the ability to make an informed and educated decision is the best way to give individuals the confidence and the ability to have control over their lives There will certainly be times when we need to make decisions from the gut, as well as times that even a well-thought out decision doesn’t work out. However, I would much rather live with a thought-out bad decision than make a foolish decision in haste.

Work Cited:

“decision.” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2010. 8 Apr. 2010 http://www.merriam-webster.com.

Dove, Rita . "Rosa Parks Her simple act of protest galvanized America's civil rights revolution." Time 12 Jun 1999: n. page. Web. 15 Apr 2010.

“reaction.” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2010. 8 Apr. 2010 http://www.merriam-webster.com.

Clark, M. B., and A. G. Clark. Retellngs A Thematic Literature Anthology. 1st Edition. New York, NY: McGrqw-Hill, 2004. Print.

thesis

Many of the stories I read in this class dealt with decisions people made in an instant. “Where Are You Going, Where have you Been?” by Joyce Carol, and “The Pied Piper of Tucson” by Don Moser are two stories that decisions made by characters impacted their lives in ways they could not have imagined. In my project, I plan to explore the impact of decisions made by the characters in these stories, relate some of my own experiences, and also explore how split second decisions have impacted the world we know today.

I had a really hard time finishing this book. At times I really disliked it and had a difficult time getting through it. I love reading books that I connect with, but I really couldn’t seem to identify with many of the issues examined in the book particularly the subject of atheism and religion. I guess it is my self-absorbed state or the fact that I don’t consider this issue relevant enough to me to wrestle with it. However, there were times when the story was enthralling, particularly in the first few sections of the book. Maybe I didn’t give the book a fair chance because the sheer size of it intimidated me. Just getting through it was a huge project. It took absolute concentration for me with no interruptions (which is somewhat difficult to find on campus) for me to get through the reading every night. The quantity of complicated issues, the language and the amount of characters Tolstoy took on in this book required my total and absolute concentration every time I sat down to read. If I had read the book when I didn’t have so many other demands on my time I think I would have gotten into it and enjoyed it a lot more. Listening to part of the book on tape really worked for me though. I did think Tolstoy’s character development was pretty amazing. Some of the characters I hated, some I really admired. FatherZosima was one character I loved. He was truly the kind of person everyone, believer or not, should strive to be like.

The last argument I remember hearing between a man and a woman was last weekend when I was at my aunt and uncle’s house. My uncle is 100% Italian with a hot temper, and my aunt is pure Irish with red hair and a disposition to match. My aunt was angry because my uncle was home all day watching sports and hadn’t even done his own dishes while she was out taking care of her ill parents. Their argument quickly escalated. My uncle couldn’t understand why my aunt was mad. She said if he loved her he should have wanted to do the dishes. He didn’t understand why he would ever want to do the dishes. He said he would do them right then, but that didn’t make the situation any better. My aunt brought up many other times when he had done other thoughtless things. It was like they were speaking a different language. He started laughing at her which really made her mad. She was pretty convinced that he didn’t love her, and he just thought she was acting crazy. She was still arguing with him as he left the house.

I have heard about the book, “Men are from Mars. Women are from Venus,” but I’ve never paid much attention before to how much difference there really is in men & women’s thought processes. During the argument I observed, my aunt was much more concerned about how my uncle was making her feel. My uncle was focused on the dishes themselves. They either were not listening to each other, or they really didn’t get what each other was saying. The more my uncle did not get what my aunt was saying, the more past events my aunt brought up. I have never been married or in a long-term relationship, but communication must be a real challenge.

If I could create a perfect world for everyone on the planet through the suffering of just one single child, I am not sure I would be strong enough to make decision that would be best for the majority of people in the world.. Every day millions of children suffer from everything from disease to abuse and starvation. I think that the right thing to do would be to reduce the suffering of millions of people’s at the expense of just one child. However, if I had to live everyday knowing that there was a child suffering to ensure my happiness, I don’t think I would be truly happy. It would be horribly difficult to be responsible for the suffering of even just one child.

Living in the world we do, I don’t think there is anyone who really knows what it would be like to live in a utopia. I would rather live in a world full of conflicts than thrive off of another’s life. If we lived in a world without any problems, how do people form any individuality? I believe we form our personality and develop strengths and weaknesses from the way we handle conflict and deal with problems. If no one had a bad day, was in a bad mood, or did something that they later regretted, wouldn’t everyone be the same? I just cannot imagine how happiness could exist in a society like that. I cannot even comprehend what a utopian society would be like, however I am sure I would not want to live in a society that thrives off the suffering of a child.

My Worst Day

I actually remember eagerly anticipating that the day I now remember as my worst day ever. I was planning on taking my drivers test, finally. I took drivers training at the normal age of fifteen. However, after completing the course and having my instructor tell me that he thought I needed a tremendous amount of supervised driving before I would be ready for the driving test, I let my let my learner’s permit lapse. I actually didn’t even apply for a license until the summer before I went to college. But, the day finally came when I was ready. I took the driving test and passed. I was finally ready for the rest of my life. Then, my Mom told me that my Grandad had unexpectedly died that morning. No one in my immediate family had ever died, and it was devastating. My Grandad was such a huge part of my childhood. He was a bigger than life person and I loved him a lot. At his funeral there were so many people there that they didn’t fit in the church. His death was a shock and really horrible, but what made it worse is that my Grandma died a little each day after until less than two months later, she joined my Grandad. I feel like I lost both of them on that day which was the worst day of my life.

favorite book as a child

FAVORITE BOOK

My favorite all-time book is not just one book, it is a whole series of books by Janet Evanovich. These books are not memorable because of any specific words of wisdom I read in them, although they are very humorous and entertaining. However, that is not why they are so memorable to me. I grew up having books read to me, my home was always full of books, but I never really had a love of reading. I read what was required in school so I could get good grades, but I would never voluntarily pick up a book to read in my free time. About the time I was in middle school, my mom started reading books by Janet Evanovich. I would hear her laughing in bed as she read her way through the series. One day I picked up the first book in the series. From that point, I was hooked. After I finished the series, I went on to authors who wrote similar books. Then, I started reading anything I could find. Reading those Janet Evanovich books enabled me to see I had a love of reading and books which I know will continue throughout my life.

The Brothers Karamazov

The Brothers Karamazov

This book wasn’t a favorite of mine. A dysfunctional family, evil and moral people, religious issues, great twists, and a love triangle should have been the basis of a really enjoyable book. However, the length and details Fyodor Dostoevsky used made it somewhat confusing and a real chore for me to read. I am used to reading long books and usually don’t get bogged down in the middle, but this book tested my resolve to finish it. I found it difficult to find enough totally quiet time to concentrate on this book in the time allowed. After some confusion in the beginning keeping the characters straight, one of the things I did really enjoy was the character development.

Karamazov is a very selfish and needy man who seeks acceptance from everyone. He is an actor and will play the fool to get attention. The sons have completely different personalities, A couple are sensualists who get involved with other characters who seem to hurt them more than help. The women in this book are very strong and seem to be temptresses who never seem to know what they want, but won’t let any of the men go.

The main problem I had with the book is that it starts out very slow and it took my total concentration to understand most of what was written. By spring break, I was only half finished with the book. I was pretty panicky, so I bought the book on tape, and I am so glad I did. I enjoyed the book more hearing the rest read by a reader who was Russian.

is it better to travel to places or read about them

Is it better to travel to places or read about them?

When I first read this question, I thought there could only be one answer. Of course it is better to visit a place in person than just read about it. Surely the experiences I’ve had in the places I have visited would not have been as vivid if had only read about them.

I probably would have visited Mexico last year without ever reading about it, but I don’t think the experience would have been as memorable if I had not read about it before I left. I know I wouldn’t have taken a side trip to Xcaret if I hadn’t read about it being a great example of the Mayan civilization. I would hate to never have had the experience of summer trips to my family’s cabin. Reading about picking huckleberries on a mountains so steep you had to hold onto the bushes to be able to stand up while keeping a watch out for bears who feel the mountain and its huckleberries belong exclusively to them would not be the same as actually being there. However, part of the charm of the cabin is knowing its history, looking at pictures of long gone relatives, and reading what they wrote about their experiences building the cabin almost 100 years ago. Reading about places gives a person the ability to visit anywhere your imagination takes you. If I had to give up traveling or reading about, travel, I would have to give up traveling. I agree with Dr. Seuss who said, “The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more place you’ll go.

sonnet

Molly Hughes

How do I say what I want you to hear

To understand the words I do not speak

With help, and support, you always appear

As ally, and light in my crazy week

You smile, and you listen to all my woes

Put up with my moods, myself and my mess

What is it about you, I can just guess

I can’t quite write it in what I compose

But with your goodness, you do have a flaw

Dog hairs that get on my clothes and my floor

Speeding through life , I am always in awe

The love you give and your face at the door.

My dog, you’re the one who is always there

An ear for my voice, a story to share

found poem on back of laundry detergent

3-in-one

directions for use

top-loading washer

start washer

add laundry sheet

add clothes

front-loading washer

add laundry sheet

add clothes

regular load

one laundry sheet

extra large load

two laundry sheets

purex complete

3-in-one

detergent

softener

anti-static

one powerful sheet

from washer

to dryer

Found poem

Girl Scouts

Delicious, Thin Mints

Customer Service

Open here

Encourage Courage, Confidence & Character

Calories: 160

Encourage Financial skills, Money Management, & Teamwork

Nutrition Facts: Wheat, Milk, Soy

Girl Scout Cookies

Female Archetypes

Venus of Willendorf

Goddess Kali

Goddess Sophia

Triple Goddess

Notes for Feb 26

Araby he is blinded by love

Big part of us in and under the surface is the id, ego, and super ego. Id- is the primal needs, ego- is what we see socially, and the super ego is the devil vs angel. The immediate needs.

The collective unconscious- dreams of things that aren't in your life, but in others

Theory-( a dream, fantasy, literature)

people hero, well defined, divided adventures 22 stages, good hero bad hero

Forms of a hero-scape goat-persons who's death is for the sin of the community. Outcast- banished from social group. Devil- evil, exchange for soul.

Archetypes hero good bad, scape goat, devil, wise old man, trickster, individualist, doppelganger

female archetype- element transform positive negative. venus of willendorf- naked obese woman earth mother, negative smother mother goddess callie, necklace of skulls apron of hands, temptress- seduce protagonist, sophia muse inspiration

white goddess

three aspects of women 1 maiden 2 mother 3 crone

cathedral

“Cathedral”

By:

Raymond Carver

In this short story, the author is not looking forward to a visit by a blind friend of his wife. He has preconceived notions about how blind people act, and he does not want one in his house. His wife and Robert, the blind man had been friends since she was a young girl. They had kept in contact by sending each other tapes about what was going on in their lives. The author doesn’t understand the friendship her wife and Robert have had. As the story begins the Robert’s wife has just died. The author has no empathy for the man, but strangely does for his dead wife because she had to live with a blind husband. The author feels somewhat left out as his wife and Robert visit. Later, Robert and the author smoke dope together and visit. Robert has an amazing ability to connect with other people and he does with the author showing him what it is like to be blind, strangely opening the author’s eyes.

lady with the pet dog 2

“The Lady with the Pet Dog”

By:

Joyce Carol Oates

I didn’t like this version quite as much as Chekhov’s. I am not totally sure why. Oates’ work seems so dark. This story had much more character development especially with Anna, but I didn’t like her as much as I did in Chekhov’s story. I got impatient with her and the feelings she had about herself. This story revealed much more about Anna’s husband. I felt sympathy for him throughout the story. I liked the lesson Dmitry learned in the first story about love more than I did what Anna learned about her self in Oate’s story.

Lady with the pet dog

“The Lady with the Pet Dog”

By

Anton Chekhov

Even though this story was written well over 200 years ago, the theme is the same as many books today. The story seems timeless. I liked this story much better than “Araby”. Even with Dmitry’s dislike of his wife and his feeling of superiority towards women in the beginning, I felt empathy for him and Anna.
There was an honesty of feelings between Anna and Dmitry even while they were engaged in an affair with each other. At the end of the story Dmitry understands true love when he looks at himself in the mirror and sees how old and grey he had become, and he marvels that even when Anna sees him as a man, growing older, she still loves him.

“Araby” by James Joyce

“Araby” is a story of a young boy who is just discovering a world outside of the house he lives in with his aunt and uncle and the playtime he has with his friend Mangan. Joyce’s story is full of descriptive language (“The space of sky above us was the color of ever-changing violet and towards it the lamps of the street lifted their feeble lanterns”) and metaphors (“The other houses of the street, conscious of decent lives within them gazed at one another with brown imperturbable faces”). The author has a first crush on his friend Mangan’s sister. She knows nothing about the crush, but he imagines and thinks about her constantly. When he finally talks to her, she tells him about a splendid bazaar called Araby. She tells him she can’t go, and he promises to get her a souvenir. He does go, but gets there very late when the bazaar is closing. He sees nothing splendid about the bazaar, especially when a young girl reluctantly asks him if he needs help, when it is obvious she would rather be flirting with the boys she is near. He leaves disillusioned with the bazaar, his crush and his life.

Despite the abundance of descriptive language in this story, it never really pulled me in. It seemed like an accurate portrayal of the times, but it was pretty dark and depressing.

archetype women

I googled and my first picture that came up was venus. Aphrodite Archetype

notes for Feb 24

Do blogs on Brothers Karamazov

cathedral-not aware gifted January 6 (12th night) revelation that something else is going on in the world

Fininide(pulses)-in millions, but limited. "killing time," answer art, song gives you the highest moment of your time.

Prefer Joyce's version better because it is the same language

"gazing into the darkness....eyes burned with anguish and anger", similar to Oedipus

yellow brown represent deterioration, violet is spiritual

Archetype good vs evil

negative female-earth mother, devouring, temptress

positive female-platonic ideal sophia

notes for Feb 22

Blogs are more important than quizzes, Part 2 of the Brothers Karamazov should be finished.

Similarities between Don Quixote and Demitry, and Hamlet and Ivan.

Mr. Sexton loves Russian Literature the best.

In the BK women who have faith-posed a tough question how to pacify a woman who is grieving over her dead son. Further in the book the monk tells her to go to her husband because the child is looking down at them and how hurt he'd be if he saw a broken family.

3 and 7 are big literature numbers

One professor stated that women can not handle The Brothers Karamazov

Alyosha even has violence in him, would want the general to die because he let his dogs kill the child before the mother.

book confronts issues people do not want to face.

read Araby 547, Lady with the pet dog 437 449, cathedral 465

epiphany- sudden realization, flash of initiation recollection

Have you ever tried to tell a blind person what it's like to see?

"pay attention" Henry James, be someone who nothing is lost on

Similes

Similes

There were many intriguing similes in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” Two that stood out were:

“His khaki trousers reached just to his hip bones and his stomach hung over them like a sack of meal swaying under his shirt.”

“He was busy catching fleas on himself and biting each one carefully between his teeth as if it were a delicacy.”

Both of these descriptions conjured images of disgust in my mind when I read them. This must be the concept of "grotesque" that Mr. Sexton was talking about. When I first read the story, these small details did not immediately jump out at me. Instead, the story had a way portraying a dark, gray theme throughout. I suppose that this dark theme was in part due to the descriptive details such as the similes all combined into the story. Overall, all of these details had a major impact on how I viewed the story. The first simile is very vivid and actually disgusting. When I read it, I can't help but picture a man and the image of his stomach swaying back and forth. Likewise, the second simile also brings up images of dirty things. One usually pictures a delicacy as something unique and great; a food that is delicious. But after reading this simile, I can picture the monkey picking fleas and eating them carefully. I'm a very visual person, so so I can't help but picture a close-up view of the monkey's teeth biting the fleas. Overall, can see why Flannery O'Connor's writing is described as grotesque. It contains many odd and dark elements, yet is clearly effective at portraying that gloomy mood.

“A Good Man Is Hard To Find”

“A Good Man Is Hard To Find”

This story was unsettling and intense. It certainly made me think twice about driving down a deserted country road. One of the reasons this story was so spooky is that scenario was very believable. I have read this story before and I’ve always remembered it. The author was great at setting the scene and drawing the reader in. There was tons of foreshadowing in this story as well. The reader always knows something bad is going to happen. None of the characters in the story are likeable, and the reader doesn’t get emotionally involved with them. Examples of foreshadowing include the mention of the misfit at the beginning, when the grandmother is all dressed up just in case she might die on the edge of the road, when they see the cemetery with the six graves, and when the misfit’s car is compared to a hearse. Reading the story made me believe that there must be many other people in the world like the misfit that we just pass by them every day not thinking twice about them.

Icarus Painting

Icarus Painting

This painting doesn’t seem to represent the story of Icarus very well. I would have expected a painting of this story to show two winged figures of Icarus and his father flying between the sun and the sea as Icarus’ wings were melting. This painting was a landscape where everyone and everything is doing their own thing. There was a man plowing and another looking at the sky. There were ships in the harbor and farm animals grazing. There was a small figure who looked like he was diving or swimming in the sea. No one seemed upset or alarmed at the sight of someone losing their life as they plunged into the sea. It reminded me of when I have been upset at something and have thought that it is strange that as my life is falling apart, the world goes on, and no one seems to notice.

stories

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010

stories

We talked about the brothers Karamoz and everyone complained how boring it
is. He told us how the attention span of the average human is 70 seconds the
length of a commercial.

We talked about stories and their morals

In order to have a story you have to have a conflict, without a moral there

is no story. It is the experience not the teaching of the lesson that makes it a good and lasting story.

.“Lot’s wife” is a truly gruesome story from the bible about how God sent some angels to Lot’s house. The men of the town came to Lot’s house and insisted that Lot bring the angels out so that the men of the town could rape them. Lot is upset with the crowd for wanting to rape the angels and offers the crowd his virgin daughters if they would leave the angels alone. The angels blind the crowd. Lot and his family leave the city, but his wife makes the mistake of looking over her shoulder as she leaves and is turned into a piller of salt. The daughters both seduce their father so that his blood line does not end. The both have sons from that incestuous relationship with their father.

Daedalus and Icarus

In the Story of Daedalus and Icarus, Daedalus was an inventor and he and his son were imprisoned in Crete which he hated. He built a set of wings for himself and his son to fly out. He had a premonition that his son would not make it. He cautioned him not

to fly too close to the sea or too close to the sun because he had used wax to hold the wings together. Of course Icarus, being like all kids everywhere did not listen to his father, flew too close to the sun. The sun melted the wax in his wings and Icarus fell into the sea. In the second part of the story Daedalus’s sister sent her clever son to be an apprentice with his uncle, Daedalus. Daedalus was jealous of the talent that Perdix had and arranged an accident to kill Perdix. Minerva saved Perdix and turned him into a ground loving bird.

Another very old and violent with a tale.

Groundhogs Day

Assignment on Groundhog Day

Wake up at 6am and record your day

February 2

7:30 Alarm went off. I looked at my clock

7:45 I kicked off my comforter, and climbed down the loft

I rushed to bathroom with towel, hair dryer and shower tote. I brushed my teeth, went to shower, shampooed, conditioned my hair, shaved, and used body wash

8:10 Back in room Roommate is still asleep I tell her the time, look for clothes n deodorant, tried on three shirts, and two pair of pants, threw the rest on the floor

8:26 Finished curling my hair, sprayed it with hair spray, put on makeup including eye shadow, liner, blush and lip gloss

8:30 Grab socks, shoes, pack books for web design class, grab gum, keys, Ipod and phone, put on coat, perfume and go downstairs where I fill water bottle with ice and water

8:40 Eat yogurt and string cheese

8:47 Walk outside and wait for roommate We walk past Pike to art building I talk with mom on phone about Groundhog day She said he saw his shadow

8:55 I sit on the third isle, six chairs in Check clock every five minutes. Very boring lecture on cascading style sheets. Make plans with my partner to meet at seven to work on lab. I’m about to fall asleep.

9:48 Two minutes till I get out, then no class till twelve

9:50 Walk outside with Sam, then lose him after a block. Walk back to sorority

10:05 Go up to my room and watch an episode of bones. Take a short nap.

Went downstairs and eat lunch with sisters and house boys. It’s homemade pizza’s.

11:30 Get ready for my Math class, grab book, notebook, calculator, ipod and purse

11:50 Walk with Lotte and Jamie to next class go in sit where Ican find a seat.

12:25 We are going through old notes and learning new ways to teach kids how to do distribution. Get out gum and offer it around.

12:50 Class is done I have one hour and twenty minutes till next class

1:00 Just sitting in the dining room nothing to do for an hour.

1:50 Get ready for writing class Check to make sure i have all my papers go to computer print off what I was missing. Walk to class listening to “my cowboy”.

2:10-3:25 Listen to professor talk about different cultures, writing center, and projects.

3:40 Get a call from a sister. She wants to go to walMart. Ii go upstairs unpack my bag look for money, grab different shoes, and we walk to her car. Get in drive to walMart look at candy then hair products, make up, go to the movies, go to check out. I bought chocolate and a ruler.

4:50 Head to sally’s to get hair scissors and a comb. We look at all the round brushes and curing irons

5:25 Head back to the house. We go upstairs, she cuts my bangs. Dinner is ready. Eat chicken, pasta, asparagus and garlic bread. Go upstairs type more of the journal. Just waiting for seven so I can get the web lab done. Invited to go bowling in the sub Can’t go, Get a call from lee to go get pizza can’t. Kristen comes up and offers to drive to billings on friday.

5:53 Do homework for Wednesday. watch bones with my sorority sisters

7:30 Clean my room it’s horribly messy

8:00 Play on my computer Facebook, videos, math homework.

9:00 Get ready for bed

This was just an ordinary day. I just wrote what I did. I didn’t write about my feelings, what things looked like, how I felt, what I could smell and what I could see. How I looked at things during the day totally depended on my mood. When I was rushed, I didn’t have time to really enjoy things like breakfast. When I was relaxed at lunch the food tasted better and I had time to really listen to what people were saying. Doing this made me realize what a busy world we live in. Billions of people running around doing their thing, seeing, smelling, and hearing maybe similar things, but all looking at them a little bit different.

Cinderella

Cinderella

I definitely like the Disney version of Cinderella the best. It is the one I grew up on. To me it is the classic. I actually like that it is shorter with less details than the Grim or Chinese version. Every little girl when she hears it or reads it can pretend that she is Cinderella. Her imagination will fill in the details that are missing in this milder and shorter version of the original. There is nothing in it to frighten anyone. i

Since I am a fan of the Disney version, I am positive Cinderella and the prince lived happily ever after.

However, as an alternative ending…

Shortly after the wedding the prince came to realize that although Cinderella was beautiful to look at and she did have those dainty little feet, she also had some weird habits like talking to animals and sitting in the ashes. She had dismissed all of the palace servants and spent her days doing nothing but cleaning and singing. She had very little time for the prince and he started getting annoyed with her. He finally had to check her into a sanitarium when he walked into the castle and found her singing to the rats and trying to turn a pumpkin into a coach. Luckily, Cinderella’s step sisters were right there to console the prince, and they lived happily ever after.

Earliest Memory

Earliest Memory

My earliest memory is when I was about two or three. I was riding in a car going to an amusement park. I was feeling sick. I was on my mom’s lap. She had a silk sweater on and it smelled like mold. I threw up on her. I later found out I was allergic to mold.

Dreams

Dreams

The dream that still haunts me is about a wolf. As a very small child, my Mom read Little Red Riding Hood to me many times. It was a kind of modern version that my mom liked much better than I did. The one picture I will never forget is after the wolf eats grandma and he is sitting in the rocking chair. He pats his big fat stomach and says, “I’m wicked, so wicked!” Wolf dreams have haunted me to this day. It is always the same. I am walking down the hall and meet a wolf standing up on two legs. He is the wolf from my book. He is holding a lever. He looks at me and pulls the lever and then I would fall into a hole. I would always wake up screaming and have to sleep in my parent’s room because the wolf would be sleeping in my bed.

listening

LISTENING

I was sitting in the dining room. My sisters were around me. Two girls were talking about a party they went to last weekend. It wasn’t a good experience for one of them. I didn’t know that. One sister was on the phone talking to her mom. She was talking about one of her classes, and how she was worried about her grades. Two girls were eating popcorn and laughing about an episode of Big Bang Theory they had just seen. One sister was talking quietly to her boyfriend. I couldn’t hear that conversation at all. Eve, the house mother was asking one sister if her day had gotten any better. I didn’t know she was even having a bad day. I realized by sitting there quietly listening to my friends how much I didn’t know about them, and how much I learned by just listening.

pick-up lines

Most pick-up lines don’t work, but with enough charm and the right words, a guy can usually wine a girl over.

Kiss me if I'm wrong, but don't I know you?

Are you stalking me? Because that would be super."

Do you mind if I stare at you up close instead of from across the room?

Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?

Hey, I just realized this, but you look alot like my next girlfriend.

I hope you know CPR, because you take my breath away.

SMOOTH TALKER

SMOOTH TALKER

“Smooth Talker” was based on the story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”. As with any movie based on a book or story, there were differences. There was much more detail and conversation in the movie. Connie had a father in the movie which wasn’t mentioned in the book. In the movie, Arnold signs an eight instead of an X in the first sees Connie. Arnold’s car in the movie is just how I pictured it in the book. In the movie, when Connie leaves with Arnold, Ellie stays behind which didn’t happen in the book. At the end of the movie, the only thing Connie lost was her virginity. In the book, the reader doesn’t even know if Connie lives.

I did not like the ending in the movie. There was so much tension when Arnold Friend was standing in the door, and then two minutes later she is dancing with her sister. I thought the movie could have done a better job at the end leaving with a little more suspense like the book did.

lyrics

To me, George Thorogood – “Who Do You Love” lyrics are about loving a dangerous man. Both stories had a dangerous man whose relationship with a girl or girls didn’t end well.

The lyrics of “It’s All over Now Baby Blue” has to do with how quickly things change and how you should grab what you want when you can. This is certainly what both Smitty and Arnold try to do. Maybe it is also what the kids want to do to. It seems sad to me.