Twitter

Something that gets on my nerves is when some people automatically judge Twitter (the website, www.twitter.com). They think it's stupid that all you do is write what they are doing every second of the day. For some people, that is true, but what a lot of people don't know is that Twitter is an extremely useful tool for communication and connections for all kinds of things. Companies use this website to inform the world about things that are going on or new offers and such. TV shows post things about their new episodes. Other websites post updates and links and updates as well. It's more than just annoying people with updates (or, Tweets, as it's said) with what you're doing. It's a tool. I personally use Twitter and I follow vloggers (video bloggers) from Youtube, and other major people from the site. It's useful to know when their new videos or up. I guess I just wish some people would give Twitter a chance to see how useful it can really be.

"I sit and wait, does an angel contemplate my fate? And do they know the places where we go when we're grey and old? Cause I've been told that salvation lets their wings unfold. So when I'm lying in bed, thoughts running through my head, and I feel the love is dead, I'm loving angels instead."
-Angels by David Archuleta

Lyrics really are poetry. Which, yes, is obvious. But it's interesting when people don't really ever think of it that way. Some rhyme, some don't, but all it really is is poetry. Sometimes beautiful and thoughtful, like the song lyrics I just posted. I'm listening to that song right now, so I decided to just write the first line of it. It's a very pretty song. All his songs are great.

Project

I started a new art project today. It's a pretty large piece so far... The portraits are going okay, but I'm having trouble with one of them. It's at a weird angle. I'm gridding it, so the proportions are pretty much correct, but there's no life in the faces yet. I'm hoping when I start coloring them that that life will be there. Now it's just lines coming together to make a face. I haven't done anything traditional in so long. This will be good practice. Usually when I work on something traditional, I do a little and go back to it later. When I look over it later on I can see everything that looks incorrect and I go back and fix it. I really want to do a good job on this. This piece means a lot.

I visited my old art teacher today and told her I'm starting a project on my own. She said I could go back any time if I needed any help. I might, I'm not sure yet.

Pleasant

I guess the only down side to having a room downstairs is I get freaked out to open it at night. I don't know, I just don't think it's a good idea. I'd love to do that, though. All the windows upstairs are open 24/7, no joke. It feels really nice up there. I have my window open now, and I'm enjoying it while I can. It faces the street side, so I watch the cars go by. It's pleasant. I like having the window open when I draw, it's a nice atmosphere to work in. I have a lot of studying to do today, but I think I might get some drawing in. The way the sun peaks through the trees onto the grass is so pretty. We have really large trees in the front yard. When you walk out the door onto the sidewalk and look up, you'll see that two of the trees make a giant canopy over your head. That's kind of like the street Dublin over in Parker. When the trees have their leaves, the entire street has an entire canopy of green. Although, it doesn't look as pretty in the winter when all the trees are bare... but we're not talking about that, haha.

Finally

Well, it took me all day, but I finally got my short story written. It took me hours of sitting and looking at a blank screen to figure out what I wanted to write. Finally, I just wrote down a single sentence and somehow I based an entire short story around it. It seemed to work out. It's interesting, half the stuff in there I didn't plan at all. It just sort of flowed out of my head. I think that's really cool in writing. But, anyway, I think it turned out good. I'm pretty sure it's got all the components of a short story... I had a friend read it, and she liked it. That was encouraging. We'll see what happens, though, I guess...

I haven't left the house all day. What a bummer.

Mac vs PC

Last night I was having an argument (a funny one) with my friend about Mac vs PC. It was was silly, us coming back with little come backs that don't really even matter. This was pretty late too, so we couldn't think too well. It's such an on-going joke, this Mac vs PC thing. Personally, I own a Mac, but I have no problems with PC. I grew up using one and used them through school, too, so I don't really not like them like some. Sure, PC may have things I don't prefer, but I am fine with them. There's such a large population of people that strongly appose using Macs or even owning anything from Apple. I understand that they have reasons towards why they dislike Macs, but sometimes they are down right ridiculous. Once I asked my friend who owns the PC his serious thoughts of why he prefers PC over Mac and he said it was merely the price of them, and had no other problems. I wondered if that is why others don't prefer them. And I admit that, too. It's true that they're really expensive. But, there's a reason they are. Not that you can't find a good computer for a cheaper price, because you can. I don't know, I guess my point is just because it is too expensive shouldn't mean you base your entire opinion on the product. That's like saying a really expensive car sucks. No, it doesn't. It's expensive for a reason.

The whole reason I even have a Mac is not just because I can. I have it because, as said, I am an artist, and Macs basically run the art world. It's fantastic working on this operating system, with this fantastic display. It's for my career. I worked on PC's before in the past, and they were fine, too, but I've come to the conclusion that Mac, in my opinion, is better for art.

Art

With music being one of my things, art is as well. Yeah, I'm an artist. That's what I want to do. I'm not sure what in art, but something. Most of the art I do is digital, meaning I draw on the computer itself, or I do work in photoshop with my photography. It's really fun because you learn something new everytime you work on something; new ways to do things, new techniques, etc. It takes a lot of time, too, just like traditional art. I don't just do digital work, though, I still do traditional. I did an oil painting over the summer, and it turned out okay. I am not much of a painter, though. It takes a lot of time and technique. Frankly, I'm just not that great at it. But, I also do a lot of things in colored pencils. I am decent at that. Just as it is with painting, there's a lot more layering involved with using colored pencils than one would think. I was in AP art last year in school, so I've done my share of art projects. My favorite ones are sitting up on a shelf in my room. You know, when thinking about why I do art, I can't really exactly say. Some people say it helps them express themselves or it is therapeutic or something, but I don't see that being a reason for me. I just do it because. Just because. I like to do it, yes, but I can't say there's any other deep, profound reason. I've basically just been drawing since before I could write a sentence. I can still remembering sitting at the kitchen table with some crayons as a kid, just drawing for hours. I suppose I still do that now, but with different mediums. In regards to mediums, I haven't really just drawn in a while with a basic pencil in my sketchbook. I think I should. I mean, we all need practice. Isn't that what the purpose of this blog is? To practice writing? A sketchbook to an artist is a blog to a writer. Or something like that. You get the general idea. It makes sense in my head, at least.

Music

When I get a new song in my iTunes, I have a tendency to listen to it repeatedly. For hours. Even a few days. And in that few days time, the song has at least 100 plays. After a while, I don't really register that the song is playing and it's just more background noise now. However, somehow the beat and and lyrics of the song gets embedded into my brain and the next time I listen to it, I know the song completely. All the lyrics, every articulation of the words, and everything. Sometimes I surprise myself how I do that. That happened over the summer, actually, with a whole album. One of my favorite artists, Owl City, came out with its new album titled Ocean Eyes. I was so excited I played the entire album on repeat for weeks. But even after a few days, I knew every word to every song, even though it had been just such a short time. One of my other friends is similar, knowing every word to every song a few days or so after the album was released. I guess if I really like something, you will definitely know because I'll play it on repeat. However, it can ultimately lead to me getting completely sick of the album or song, but it's usually not too bad. I have other music I can listen to. So when I get tired of the other music, I got back to the music I played on repeat. That just reinforces how much I like the music even more.

I just like music, I guess. I play it, too. I was in orchestra for 6 years, 6th grade through 12th grade. I played the violin, and not to be conceded or anything, but I am good at it. I always did very well in orchestra. I am not sure why, but I just have a knack for it. Perhaps another reason was I practiced a lot, but I still had a natural talent for it. I also had many years of piano lessons, starting in elementary school. I still play decently well now, but I have not had lessons in years. I would absolutely love to have lessons again. Music is just one of my things.

Happy Autumn

Happy first day of Autumn! And, wow, the weather today is fantastic. I absolutely love it! Autumn is my absolute favorite season, and it looks like this year the weather is going to cooperate and actually be Autumn weather, unlike some years in the past where it's still been scorching hot. You never know what the seasons are going to be like here. Anyway, the entire feel of Autumn makes me so happy. The wind, the colors of the leaves, the cool weather, the pumpkins, the warm colors, the scarves, the jackets, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and everything else. It reminds me of so many fond past times of this time of year. I can remember when I was a kid going to the park on an extremely windy day. I was on the swings and all the leaves on the trees were falling at a rapid pace around me. That moment made me really love the fall season. There are so many other memories to think of, too. Also in the fall season, my mom decorates the kitchen table with fall themed items, like mini squashes and pumpkins. Oh, and pumpkins! I look forward to picking one out and carving it into anything. I'm so relaxed during this season. I hope it's like that this year.

Oldies

Me and a friend were discussing our taste in oldies music such as Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, and The Beatles. We spent hours talking about the different songs, comparing and contrasting them, and even showing each other songs we didn't have from those artists. We discussed how Sinatra is one of the greatest singers that shaped a lot of music today, such as the singer Michael Buble. Buble is a modern day Sinatra and does covers of almost all of his songs. It's very well done. He sounds just like Sinatra. Yet, my friend pointed out that nothing can replace the real Sinatra. Bobby Darin has one of my favorite songs of all time, Beyond the Sea. It is relaxing and reminds me of when I was younger when I used to listen to it. And, then, of course, there's the classic Beatles. They shaped rock. Some people have strong opinions against the band, having many reason why they don't like them. I, however, love them and their influence on the music world as well. Their songs are used in so many things such as commercials and movies. They even made a movie based on their songs called Across the Universe. They are just so good. That's my opinion, though. All and all, me and my friend enjoyed discussing these oldies. We're about the only ones in our friend group that appreciate and like this music. It's great to have someone to talk about this stuff with.

Hot Air Balloon

Haha, okay, so I didn't get to go down to Austin, but it's 100% sure that it's happening another weekend. But yeah, when I was still here around Plano, I was driving home and I looked up and saw all these hot air balloons right above me. They were really low, I could almost see the people in the little brown basket. They're so incredible! One of my favorite things is hot air balloons. They come in so many different shapes and sizes. From what I can remember, I saw a Remax balloon and a red one. I don't remember what the other ones looked like. I am sure they had some sort of pattern, most do. Or a theme. My best friend and I were talking about how they make them in different shapes, too, and we were wondering how they do that. All this talk about hot air balloons reminds me of a morning about 5 or 6 years ago, at least, at a breakfast that takes place every year in the backyard of a friend's. It's a large gathering that always takes place the weekend of the balloon fest. Every year new additions are added to the party. The house that it takes place at is a very large, beautiful estate with a vast backyard with a pool, volleyball court, and a stretching field. Some years, we're lucky enough to see hot air balloons lift off from that field, or close by. That breakfast 5 or 6 years ago, that happened. As a little kid, I was ecstatic to see a real hot air balloon right in front of me. The people setting it up for take off were nice enough to get closer as the balloon was being filled with helium. It was GIGANTIC inside! I had never seen anything like it! I was so enthralled at that young age. Since then, I've had such a fascination of them. When I think back at that experience, I feel so nostalgic and a sense of wanting to relive it. Maybe someday I'll get a ride in one and experience it for real.

"Let's spend the afternoon in a cold hot air balloon." Hot Air Balloon by Owl City

Road Trip

Tomorrow I'm going to venture down to UT Austin to visit a few people. It's going to be fun! I like how it's only a 3 1/2 hour drive, too, not too terrible. I'm bring one of my friends, too, so it is like a mini road trip for the weekend. I went on another road trip over the summer down to the Houston area to visit a friend. First ever road trip with out parents. It was a blast! We went to the beach, too, because Galveston was only about 30-40 minutes from where my friend lived. When I went on that road trip, I really got a sense of growing up and being more independent. Well, I'm not saying that other things haven't done that, but this was one of them. So, Saturday it will be sort of similar. I can't wait to see my friends down at UT. It's such a huge campus, though. I hope I don't get lost. I'll have a friend with me, though. Also, I'll see what it's like at a real university. I really don't know what it is like, so this will be cool. I'm excited!

Nothing to Something

I don't know what to write about today. So I suppose I am just going to take up space and ramble about how I don't know what to talk about. What is there to talk about anyway? I don't know. Really, I don't. Perhaps this talking about not knowing what to talk about will get me an idea to write about something, not nothing. Not nothing. Is that a double negative? Wait.. I don't know. Is it? I don't know. My friend is sitting next to me backing up her english papers on a flash drive due to the fear of her computer possibly crashing. She's laughing at me now as I write this pointless entry. Or, perhaps it's not pointless, since I am still technically writing, right? And that's the goal of this blog; to just get us writing on a daily basis. It's not bad, I guess. Well, hey, would you look at that. Me talking about nothing turned into something. Oh, and back to talking about the grammar thing... I am very concerned with grammar on the Internet and everywhere. Honestly, does it look like you are educated when you write like this?

"hey guys how r u all this blog is so cool."

No, it doesn't. Try it like this:

"Hey, guys. How are you all? This blog is so cool."

See? Way better.

Relax

Referring to one of my last entries discussing how technology has led to information being instant and fast, it made me sort of think about how that can make people impatient. If information is presented so promptly, that would be an easy way for us to be impatient for, for example, a text message response. If there is not a response from someone within 5 minutes, some people get angry and impatient. I have to admit that I am guilty of doing that at times. But, with being able to get info so quick, perhaps we don't realize how impatient we really get. Sometimes I hate how fast information travels on the internet, making it overwhelming because there is a sense of rushing. It sometimes makes me think someone is yelling at me, "No, you have to reply RIGHT NOW, quick! They are waiting!" It is sometimes so much, silly I know. It makes me just want to sit there and calm down, relax, and take a breath. Taking my time is something I've had to learn. I, like technology of communication, sometimes am too quick to do things, and it comes out sloppy. I have learned to just relax and take my time. I wonder if that analogy made any sense.

News

Yesterday was Jay Leno's season premier and guess who was a guest? Yeah. Kanye West. In my opinion, he shouldn't have even deserved to be on the season premier of Jay Leno. His interview was awful, too. His answers were whishy-washy and he repeated himself a lot. When he spoke, he sounded so pathetic that I could no longer watch. Jay Leno asked him a question that stopped him in his tracks, causing the longest moment of silence I have ever heard on the show. The question Kanye was asked as, "What would your mother think of what you've done?", referring to what he did to Taylor. He seriously sat there for a whole 3 minutes in silence. I don't want to feel bad for the guy. What he did was ridiculous. Even Obama said he didn't like this guy. It was just released that Kanye is on a suicide watch. I am not sure if that is serious or just a rumor, could just be for attention. Or real. I don't know. It is just weird that something like that would be issues right after the happenings on Sunday night. Overall, this whole situation is just ridiculous. I know the world won't move on from it for a long time. Some people say this is like the "Chris beat Rhianna" thing, causing an uproar. Celebrities sometimes just have bad judgment at times. Well. Everyone does. I guess we all make mistakes.

Fast Information

It sure is crazy how fast information can travel these days. I noticed it last night when I was on facebook and all of the sudden a few of my friends had the same basic status's discussing something that happened on the MTV Music awards that were going on at that time. It was almost instant. What had happened on the MTV Music awards was something ridiculous, and leave it to Kanye West to be the cause of it. Taylor Swift had won an award, and as she was on stage accepting it and saying her speech, she was rudely interrupted by Kanye West. He took the mic from her (she was in mid-sentence, too) and very briefly congratulated Taylor, but then went on to exclaim that Beyonce had the best video and basically says she should have won. By this time, Taylor is speechless, standing there not know what to do. I felt so bad for her. And for Beyonce, she sat there in shock, not knowing what to say, either. Kanye West has to be one of the most inconsiderate and conceded people I have ever seen in the music industry. Honestly, who does that? Poor Taylor was so grateful for her award, and Kanye had to come and ruin it. Does that make him feel cool? Does he think Beyonce will back him up? Yeah, right. Bad move, Kanye (though I'm sure it's not the first time). Anyway, back to what I was saying -- within minutes of this happening, facebook was filled with status's of my friends speaking out about their strong dislike of Kanye, as well as on Twitter. Even a Youtube video had been posted of the event, a mere few minutes after. Technology is so beneficial in this aspect. This is so useful in terms of news for around the world as well. Last night's events was just an example.

Assignment: Pg. 102-103; "A Writing Exercise"

A Writing Exercise: Once you have read the three stories, write your reaction to them off the top of your head, spending at least ten minutes on each. For each story, note any personal experience affecting your response as well as one or more questions that you have about the story even after you have finished reading it.

The Use of Force: What a peculiar story. It was interesting how fast the doctor's attitude and emotions changed as he got more angry at the little girl. At first, he was intrigued, describing her striking features and what she looks like, even admiring her. He did not have a mad attitude about her at all until she started struggling with him, making his job harder to do. I can't say I know what I would do if I were the child because I would be young and not understand what is going on anyways. Yet, that girl did. She so desperately wanted to keep the secret of her sick tonsils, but why? Children had already been dying from other diseases. That sort of gives me a bad feeling. A personal experience that could go along with this is just doctor visits in general, I suppose. I always remembered hating them when I was young, but not exactly understanding why I ever went. I did not throw a tantrum as this girl did, though. Why was she trying to hide her tonsils? Did she want something bad to happen to her? Perhaps if we knew more of a back story it could help us understand her motive.

A Visit of Charity: Okay, I thought the last story was peculiar... This one was, too, but more just bizarre. It was sort of creepy, too. I felt like something bad was going to happen to the campfire girl. I knew from when the Old Ladies' Home was described that something was not right. The two old ladies the campfire girl visited fought the entire time she was there, making the girl scared. The old lady in the bed was constantly disagreeing and screaming at the other old lady, giving the story an odd tone. The campfire girl also brought a plant. I wonder if the plant had any meaning, or if it was a symbol of some kind? It was mentioned more than once, so maybe it was. I was even more creeped out at the very end when the other old lady not in the bed caught a hold of the girl asking for a penny. It just scared the little girl, and me, even more. I was imagining this place was a sort of scary place that draws in people to do test on them or something... I don't know. I don't have a personal experience that can contribute to this story at all. Too bizarre... "A visit of charity" is an ironic title.

Sleepy: Reading this story made me extremely sleepy. The way it described her wanting sleep so bad and how she imagined she would be sleeping, getting herself into trouble. I feel bad for the girl, she's only 13. I mean, I think it's bad when I get five hours of sleep a night, but she's getting zero. It reminded me of Cinderella, getting all the orders, but ten times worse, adding a baby in there. The death of her father does not help the situation at all, making her life even worse. The girl finally decides that the baby is the source of her problems, the baby is the enemy, even though it is so innocent and doesn't know any better. So, my question is, besides the master and mistress, who is the antagonist? The girl or the baby? Could there have been another way to deal with the problem of the baby? I was not exactly surprised that the girl went to lengths of actually taking the baby's life, but it was still terrible. It makes for such a sad, sad ending. I definitely don't have a personal that will affect my response for this story. I think it is all agreed that it is just terrible, personal experience or not. Honestly, I'd hope there is not a personal experience tied to this story at all. That could not be good...

Some people...

A major, major pet peeve of mine is when some people have the habit of always trying to be better or outshine everyone. They make everything a competition! Why? I can't stand talking to those sort of people because I know no matter what I say they will think it invalid and try to be better than me. For instance, the other day I said, "Man, I played video games for 5 hours today..." And then someone replied to that saying, "Psh, that's nothing, I played video games for 11 hours today!" Honestly, I don't think that makes them any cooler. Really, now. 11 hours sort of makes you seem like a person with no life, doesn't it? Not exactly something to be proud of. It made me laugh, but at the same time, peeved me because they had to be better. Who cares? Just do what you like and stop trying to be cooler than everyone. Most of the time it just makes you look sort of... annoying? I don't know. Not everything in life is a competition. Also, it wouldn't hurt if those people listened to what other people had to say once in a while instead of just exclaiming all of their accomplishments. I have a friend that talks constantly about herself, and when you try to contribute to the conversation, or try to fit in something about yourself, she ignores it and just continues talking about herself. I don't enjoy having conversations where I feel like I have to use a megaphone just to be heard, or having a conversation where I feel completely inferior because they are trying to be better than you. I guess there are just some people like that...

"I know the world's a broken bone, but melt your headaches, call it home." Northern Downpour by Panic At The Disco

[Side note: Second book assignment will be in tomorrow's blog.]

Assignment: Pg. 114; "A Writing Exercise"

A Writing Exercise: To become more aware of how settings may function in a short story, write a description of a setting you associate with someone you know. Choose are particular room, building, or landscape in which you have seen that person. In your description, use details of the setting to reveal something about his or her life.

In this place, there is a lot of commotion. It is a very colorful place. There is a main building that leads to a large setting of picnic tables outside where many different kinds of people of all ages congregate showing off gear, accomplishments, and equipment. The picnic tables are under a canopy of concrete, causing a strong wind to run through the place. The tables are simple, made out of wood. There is nothing fancy about the tables. But, what is rest on top of the tables is what the place is about. The picnic tables are not what is important about this place. What is important are the many different sorts of fields you see when you look out over everything. They are massive, stretching far, filled with trodden on grass. In the fields, there are barrels, obstacles, barricades, shields, or trees, all coated with old and new colors. The items in the fields are scattered around, usually making some sort of pattern. The commotion comes from these fields. It is filled with loud noises, many of them being yelling voices of directions and help. There is also a forest, thick with trees, and also many forts and tall wooden walls with peek holes. There is a a strength in the air around here, everyone having a purpose and meaning. There is also pain. Injuries are no uncommon in this place, especially in one of the many fields. When the wind blows, it affects the place. Knowing how to work around the wind is a skill needed to be here. When the day is over, everyone heads back to the rough parking lot, a lot of it in the grass as well. It is quite large, fitting many cars. It is nice, though; well kept.

Many memories come from this place. This is a very important place for my best friend. He Paintballs. This was a description of the Paintball field he goes to. The feeling of the place represents his personality, as well as the fact that he plays the sport.

Nightmare

Speaking of dreams, I had bad dream after bad dream last night. It was awful... I might as well not have slept last night at all because it was that bad. Again, it still makes me wonder why I did. It involved bad things happening to people. I'm not a violent person and I didn't watch anything violent, so I don't get why that would happen. I guess that's just what a nightmare is. Except I had two or three of them back to back. I woke up and tried to get the images out of my head right away. I averted my thinking as much as possible. Due to the nightmares, I was quite sluggish and weak today. I could barely concentrate. I really hope I get better sleep tonight and no nightmares.

"You would not believe your eyes if ten million fireflies lit up the world as I feel asleep." Fireflies by Owl City

Procrastination?

Today it has been decided, by me, that I am going to be more productive. So far it's working. I've been studying and doing homework since around 11:30, and it's still going strong. I really hate idling time away. Wasted time is so useless. What can you gain from it? I feel a lot better about myself when I am productive. Aside from studying a lot, I am going to start a new art project, for personal reasons. That way, when I am finished studying, I can work on that if I want, making it fill a gap of where I could be wasting time. But I won't be, because I will be working on the project. I guess this being productive plan is also helping a lot with my procrastination. And, boy, do I have a problem with that one. I have my mind so made up when I think to myself, "Oh, I'll do it later. I will." Yeah, and I never end up doing it until the last minute. Wasting time, procrastination, and idleness will be resolved.

"Procrastinators Unite! ...Tomorrow." -Anonymous

Dreamer

Dreams can be really interesting. Last night, I had a dream that I had my Macbook on the counter and I spilled water all over it. I freaked out and frantically tried mopping all the water off of it with a towel. This has to be more of a nightmare, because I am extremely careful with my Macbook when I'm awake. Funny thing is, yesterday I was sitting in the family room with it and a cup of water got knocked over on the floor next to me. I thought that was really bizarre having a dream similar just the night before. I'm glad it didn't actually spill on it. I would have been petrified. It makes me wonder about dreams. What do they really mean? Are they at times warnings? Do they portray what your subconscious is worrying about? I dunno, I find them fascinating. It's amazing how the brain can do that while you're asleep. And then there's those dreams where you feel completely content and everything feels right in it, and you don't want it to end. Those irk me because sometimes it's about something I desperately want to happen, and it does happen in the dream. It makes me sigh in anger when I wake up. That's not to say all dreams are bad, of course. Some are really fantastic and detailed. It could give you ideas and insight. Although, if you're dreaming it, doesn't that mean it's already in your head? It's like this one time I dreamed of a person I had never seen before in my life. When I told my best friend that, he noted that I must have seen them before if they were in my dream. Does that have to be true? Does something have to have been perceived before it can be dreamed that night? I have so many questions.

These questions about why we have the dreams leads me to think about why certain things happened in them. For instance, why did I have a dream with one specific person I haven't really spoken to in years? Is it an indication that I should start talking to them?

Do dreams mean anything at all? I don't know.

Labor Day

Happy Labor day! I'm rather enjoying the day off from school. Although, that doesn't mean I haven't been doing school work. I started reading The Poe Shadow and I have to say it's not half bad so far. I'm about 6 or 7 chapters in. I like how the book dove right into the story in the first 2 chapters. That keeps me interested in the book. I'm interested to see what's going to happen. It's so true how one thing can consume your entire life, distracting you from what perhaps should be more important. Although, he's passionate about finding out more about Poe. A strange subject, in my opinion. I feel bad for Hattie, she so wanted to get engaged on that night that Clark saw Poe's funeral. I'm glad they eventually did get engaged, yet soon after Clark was distracted with Poe once again. It's not hard to tell that that is going to be one of the main conflicts in the story.

Assignment: Pg. 87; "A Writing Exercise"

A Writing Exercise: Write a weighted comparison essay that develops a claim about Williams's poem by bringing up Wordsworth's The Solitary Reaper or Kooser's Four Secretaries.

A claim that I can make from reading The Singing is that singing can make people feel certain ways and have an affect on them. The man speaking in the poem tells us that he saw a young man that was "black speaking black," and he could not really understand him. However, when he realized the black man was singing or as he said, "shouted-sang," he understood what he meant. The black man then expressed to him that he was "not a nice person." The sentence sung to the other man affected him. Perhaps if the black man was not singing he would not have been so affected by the sentence. Just like the singing affected the man in The Singing, the man in the poem Four Secretaries describes the secretaries around him to be singing, affecting him in a different way. If the secretaries were not being described as singing, they might perhaps be less interesting and have no importance to the man observing them. Singing affected both men in the poems in different ways.

Success

I had such a great day today! I saw one of my friends that is in town for the weekend. He goes to West Point up in New York. When we saw him he was wearing the camo Army uniform. It was so cool! I'm so proud of him. He had an air to him that seemed so grown up. It's starting to really dawn on me how everyone is growing up, going on to more mature things. Real life and all. I'm excited, but at the same time, terrified. It is great that my friend knows what he wants to do with life; that's why he's at West Point. I do not exactly know, but I know I will. I want to be really successful. Successful in what? Anything I want, whether that means getting through school or a career I take on. Just successful. I see success in my friend. He's a role model in a way.

"One day our generation is gonna rule the population." - Waiting On The World To Change by John Mayer

Life

I have to say, I am quite happy with the way life is going right now. It's going quite smoothly, the friendship with my best friend was rekindled, and school is great. I love all of my classes. All of them are so interesting. I feel like I'm learning things instead of just making the grades. I rather like my schedule, too. It's relaxing only having two classes a day. I'd recommend that to anyone; it gives you just enough school for the day. I realize it's only been two weeks of school, but in these last two weeks I've really grasped the feeling of what it's like in college, and I love it. I know it will not always seem like this, but right now it's great. Life going smoothly for me has been rare, so I am pleased that it is going smoothly now. Now, going back to the friendship that's been rekindled. That is like the cherry on top of a sunday; It ties everything together, making it even better.

I like writing about times when I'm happy. However, I've noticed that when I am upset, it seems like I have so much more inspiration to write, making it come out better. I guess it comes down to fact as to whether it is worth getting upset just to write. Or, it comes down to becoming a better writer to be able to write at-will. Perhaps this class will help me with that. I can see this blog helping a lot more already. I hope.

"Today's not the same as every day, it's far from ordinary." - I Did It For You by David Cook

Assignment: Pg. 1627; #2

#2: Compare Counterparts and Like a Winding Sheet, arguing whether the authors have or have not prepared us for the endings.

In Counterparts, there was a lot to understand and take in. There were some hidden meanings and parallelism as well. I understand that Farrington had a bad day at work, getting yelled at and getting into trouble with his superiors and all, along with losing an arm wrestling match, but I don't really see how it set up the ending of the story. I did not expect what happened to be the actual ending. Beating his son is a possibility, yes, as to get all his anger of his life out, but in regards to everything else happening in the story before, I do not think the author prepared us for that ending. However, in Like a Winding Sheet, I think the author efficiently prepared us for the ending. Johnson thinks to himself more than once about wanting to punch someone in the face due to anger, but wouldn't because they were a woman. Once that was said, I feared right away for his wife. Johnson's anger had been kindling throughout the whole story, and I could see how it was all come out on his wife in the end. The author did not make the hints discrete, as I thought the other of Counterparts did. It was clear as day. In regards to both the endings of the stories in general, they were just sad.

Worry

Losing someone is never easy. Sometimes you don't know why, so you go through all the possible reasons through your head, eventually coming back to the first possible reason you thought of, creating a circle of justifying thoughts. You try to push it to the back of your mind, but it's still there, lingering in the dark. It drives you crazy. Months go by and you are still wondering why you lost that person. Finally, they talk. You're ecstatic. You carefully choose what words to say to them because who knows when will be the next time you speak. You find out the reason they lost touch with you and it is not your fault at all. It was them. They had issues. It was nothing to do with you. Then, that circle of justifying thoughts stops. You are torn between happiness and grief. You just spent the last couple of months beating yourself up for potential mistakes of what could have happened. It was wasted time, wasted thought. Then, incredibly, you feel selfish. Were you trying to make it all about you? Something you did? Perhaps there should have been thoughts as to what they were experiencing. Now you feel bad. It happens. But, wait, you are happy they are talking to you. Now you're torn even more. You're feeling more emotional than you should. Worry about them now. The worry about you is over.

"Every moment of your life is a chance to get it right." -Monotov's Private Opera by Third Eye Blind




Rant over.