dizzy

that picture I put up makes me dizzy

it was the only picture on my roomate's computer that wasn't of her though.

My Memoir

is my extremely depressing life story.  I enjoyed writing it.  I want to publish a memoir and illustrate a series of childrens' books.  WATCH ME.

warning: this story is emo. if you don't like it, shut up.

listening to: Aiden

I hope my roomate likes songs about razorblades.  She's talking about farting on her phone right now.  

This is not very professional maybe I shouldn't post this.

Midterm response to writing

I like writing.

I like this class.

I think this is the only class I'm passing.

I've really enjoyed the writings we've done in this class.

I LOVED writing my memoir cuz I've always wanted to get a start on the memoir I want to get published later in life-this was my start!  I just got up and wrote it, and I enjoyed it.

I like creating something out of nothing that no one else can create.

I also liked the dialogue excercise.  That was fun. And it gave me an excuse for snooping on someone's conversation!! Haha.  

I least liked writing the Converse Sneakers piece cuz it really doesnt mean much to me.  I don't really have an object that means anything, so I thought of those sneakers, but they're really not that important to me.  

Other than that, I've enjoyed all the revising and improving too  That definitely helps!!!!

I hope we have more fun writing.

Another thing: partner work is no fun..grrr.

and it hurts when you stub your toe.

I don't know what the heck that picture is.  It was on my roomate's computer so I put it on here.  Hopefully she'll enjoy that bear using a urinal picture I saved in her file...

Midterm response to Writing

The Year of Magical Thinking

This book was extremely depressing.

I LIKED IT.

When I first read it, I was in a depressed mood, so I wasn't exactly excited about reading a book about death.  It isn't exactly a fun, light-hearted subject.

However, I wouldn't want to read a fun, light-hearted book.  That would be no fun.

This one was troubled.

I liked how Joan Didion talked about letting go.  How it took her a long time.  It really hit me.  It just clicked.  This book, unlike most others we read in class, made me want to keep reading, so I did.  I read the book in 2 days.  I could have read it in one if I had the time.  It was that good.  It was just enjoyable.  I like hearing about other peoples' battles. This managed that in a great way.

One thing though: all her complaining did get a little bit annoying, I'm not gonna lie...

"The Ashes of August"

This sounds like a really slacker thing to say, but I'm gonna say it anyway....first off, this story was really long, which did not get me really excited. Second, it was about fires.  That's not very exciting.  I can't say that I liked it.  There wasn't a massive amount of action or anything.  To me, it was just boring.  That's all I really have to say.  It was not the most horrible thing to read, but still it was not fun.  It was just kind of a collection about fire stuff.  Next story??

Why I missed class/read my dialogue story

My alarm clock didn't go off. I was really mad cuz I missed last week's class cuz I was sick. Either way, I did the homework. You might find this story quite entertaining...
First off, I love the title...



Scene kids on a bus

10/12/08
ass. #5




We were on bus route 30 heading downtown, when we ran into two scene
guys sitting next to eachother at the back of the bus. It was 5:30 at night, on a
Thursday, and we thought that this would be the perfect setting for listening in
on a convo...so that's exactly what we did, and this is what we came up with.
Aiden was a short flippy-black-haired boy, about 18, just like everyone
else on the bus, except for the grandma in the front. James was also flippy-
haired, only his hair was a dusty brown shade, with some blonde highlights
streaking through it and coal-rimmed eyeliner lining his light blue eyes,
something I noticed immediatlely. They had been talking already when I
boarded the bus, so I caught them in the middle of whatever convo they
happenned to be in. One thing was for sure, I had major crushes on both of
these guys, and I had to listen in. Aiden flipped his staight black bangs toward
James, and stangely put his hand on his lap.
"I just got my hair done, James." The other boy turned his glazing blue
eyes toward Aiden and examined the flippy black bangs covering one coal-
rimmed eye.
"Oh, thats cool man." He quickly changed the subject, not seeming at all
interested in what Aiden had to say about his new hairdo.
"You going to that Chiodos show on Saturday?" Aiden nodded over at his
friend as he annoyingly dug through the tight body-hugging black jeans that
looked to be his uniform. I was eying this kid up, I'm not going to lie.
"Yeah, man. I need a cig." He continued to dig through his pockets,
scrunching closer to James as he went through them, but there was not a cig to
be found. James looked confused. "I don't have any on me." Geeze, I wish I
had some. I would happily share with these two boys, there's no doubt.
Suddenly Aiden turned away from his pants and said something that made me
quite angry.
"Look at that hot girl." It wasn't me-I wish! But the next sentence eased
my anger. "She looks like a dude." James popped a piece of gum to ease his
oral fixation. Maybe it was that new nicotine gum, I hear it comes in good
flavors, fruity ones. I pause for a minute to ponder what kind of fruit he would l
ike. Strawberries...I think. The two boys continued to discuss the pretty, cherry-
looking blonde girl a few rows ahead of me, sitting with her mother, it appeared.
She appeared to be younger than all of us, but that didn't seem to bother Aiden.
"Dude, she's hot as fuck."
"She'd never go for you man, she's into preps."
I glanced over at the girl, and noticed the abercrombie and fitch sweatshirt she
proudly wore, her california tan, her heavy makeup. Ick. Why the hell would
these guys go for a chick like that?
After apparently deciding this girl would not be at all interested in him, Aiden
went back to his search for some squares.
"I really need a cig, buddy, like now..."
James just nodded. He was too busy looking at the girl ahead to pay any
attention.
"Right on."
Um, ok, whatever. Now how did that make sense? I continued to listen in,
hoping something more interesting would come up besides girls and cigarettes.
That's right, these were college guys. I shouldn't expect much.
"I want to get layed tonite!" Aiden screeched, a little too loudly, as he
finished digging through his pockets for like, the fifth time since I'd been on the
bus. Oh, geeze. What great guys...Why was I crushing on them again?
The next sentence suprised me, but not too much.
" I know some guys I could hook you up with."
Aiden suddenly seemed interested and turned around, his black fringe sweeping
across those eyes...
"Are they hot?"
Oh-my-gosh.
James nodded. "I know some chicks too, they're pretty hot."
Ok, this was typical college talk. I wondered how the hell I would ever find a
relationship when hooking up appeared to be all these guys cared about.
Aiden shoved another piece of gum in his mouth and nawed on it quickly.
"Yeah, but they're pretty preppy, man."
So were they or weren't they into preppy chicks? By now, I had no idea.
"I'm getting my septum pierced tomorrow...one of the girls is coming with
me, her name is Jessica," James flung his bangs out of his eyes, and I caught a
glimspe of his smeared eyeliner. Hot.
"Is she hot, bro?" Aiden teased his hair with his hand.
"She's pretty fiesty. I'm tappin that tonite."
Ewww. Pigs. Whore. I was not happy about where this convo was going. I
wanted to move towards the front of the bus and listen in on that granny's
convo..did she get off yet? Was she even talking? Either way, for some reason
I decided to stay. I wanted to know where this was going.
For some reason, Aiden didn't seem at all interested. He continued to go
through his pockets, it was getting me annoyed. "Why are you getting your
septum pierced, I thought you were sticking with just gages."
James snagged a piece of Aiden's gum, and recieved a dirty look from his friend,
who quickly turned and shoved the package back into his pocket. James quickly
got back to the convo.
"No, I really want my septum pierced.."
That would be cute on him, I thought. It would mesh with the rest of his
piercings.
Suddenly, my daydreaming came to an end. Aiden stood up and pulled up the
tight black jeans. "Ok whatever, dude. This is my stop." Darn. It was over.
These were the hottest people I'd ever seen on a bus! I didn't want it to end.
"What the fuck?" James said, but Aiden ignored him and jumped off.
James sat in silence, and flipped his hair one last time, before it was my turn to
leave...
I hope to board that bus again...maybe they'll be on it...

"My father always said" and "Fittings"

The reading yesterday, "Fittings," had a great deal of impact on me. I really related to the character and the situation, it all seemed so real, because I have dealt with the same thing myself. My grandmother is almost 90 years old and has struggled with alzheimers for the past few years. I could really relate w/what was going on with the main character (who in my case is very similar to my mom, she is the daughter taking care of her mother, he is the son taking care of his in the story) because very similar experiences have happenned to me. My grandmother doesn't know who we are, frequent random flashbacks always occur. I was thinking about saving this story for my mom to read it, she might cry it was so realistic. If anyone has dealt with an experience like this one, they could definitely relate.
The other story was pretty good too, although I couldn't really relate to it myself, the story seemed quite real. I liked how the narrorator went back to Reindheim when she grew up and was able to compare the experience she had when her father took her there as a child to the experience she had when she went alone growing up...it makes me want an experience like that myself.

CAT

I find this cat's facial expression oddly entertaining.

Dumpling

Alright, so for Wednesday's class we were supposed to read a story called "Dumpling." I read it, of course, and I actually enjoyed it. The first reason why I like it? Well, it was short. Second, it was understandable, and third, it was actually quite good. It was cute, and it had a purpose. It was basically about a little Filipino girl who helps her mother cook, and is quite proud of this cooking, until she gets made fun of by kids in her class. Then, she doesn't want to help (or eat) the traditional Filipino foods of her culture anymore. At the end of the story, I felt sorry for her mom. She seems sad, she doesn't even acknowledge her daughter when she comes in to eat dinner. It would be nice if the ending wasn't such as cliffhanger so that we knew what happenned between mother and daughet. Maybe they should write a "Dumpling 2!" haha. It might actually be good though. I finished writing my paper, and I did it early, so I got it done. Here it is. How does it compare to your opinion of Dumpling? Also, I want to know if I did a good job of discussing scene, summary, and reflection in my piece. thanks!!



Dumpling-Analyzed
While paging through a story, there are elements we fail to notice at first glance. However, the second time around, there are key elements we never saw beforehand that seem to pop out like crazy, now that the piece has been analyzed.
In "Dumpling," a short story by Angela M. Balcita, there are a variety of elements the reader fails to realize. That is, of course, until he goes back.
The situation in "Dumpling" is of a young Filipino girl who's mother wants her to learn the art of cooking in order to avoid getting tan in the summer. The story however, is something different. Many Filipino girls learn to cook, however in this piece, what happens (the story) is the following:
the girl (who is referred to as "anak") lives in a primarily white community, and although she is proud of what's accomplished during her mother's cooking lessons, she ends up being disapointed dealing with the racism her classmates dish out. At the beginning of the story, she is interested in learning new things, and in helping her mother cook the native foods of the homeland. However, once challenges are faced (aka other students pick on her for the dumpling she was so proud of making,) she is no longer interested in helping her mother make the traditional "chink" food that is picked on by her classmates. She doesn't want to eat this any more, and her mother is hurt, telling Anak she can eat elsewhere if she is not interested in these pleasures of home. The story ends at what seems like a cliffhanger. She goes outside, and there it stops. The reader is not sure what happens between Anak and her mother. Do they make up? Does Anak continue to make traditional Filipino meals, or does she give in to the teasing of her classmates and let go of the culture that holds her family together? Unfortunately, no one knows for sure, and this is the one thing that I disliked about this story. I enjoyed it through and through, but with a cliffhanger ending, it either needs a second chapter to finish it off-or an actual ending. I am sure many other readers would agree.
Besides just the story itself, there are other aspects that add quite a bit to "Dumpling." The first, and foremost, I believe, aspect that adds to this piece would have to be scene. There are a variety of scenes throughout the piece, all of which involve the narrorator, Anak, and her mother. The beginning is a perfect example. The reader can visualize a small, plump filipino woman when the mother character says, "Oh you know, like twenty minute. 'Til is puffy and sticky." What I particularily enjoyed about all of the scenes in the piece was the chance to get to know the characters better, particular the mother, who I ended up feeling bad for at the end of the story, when her daughter would no longer help her with her favorite hobby, traditional Filipino cooking. I really did feel sad. It reminded me of times I have abandoned my parents, and what I felt like afterward-never anything good. The scenes in this piece bring those feelings to life.
While I don't particularily find summary as effective as scene, it can be quite detailing. At the beginning as well, there is a great example of summary when the narrorator describes what summerhood in the neighborhood was like. This helps the reader create a visual picture of what it was like to live and play and small-town America, especially being a Filipino in small-town America. It adds detail to the story, much like scene does, however it does not allow one to get to know the characters the same way scene does. Scene helps you see into their minds, helps you envision them as real people because you are hearing them talking. Summary just describes them and their lifestyle, and that can help too-to me however, it's just not the same. That's what I liked about this piece-it had the perfect mix of scene and summary, so it wasn't just one or the other. It gave the piece variation, spread it out, and overall, made it much more interesting for the reader.
Where there is scene and summary, there is also reflection. This is an asset that is harder to find, and is the one most likely missed the first time going through a piece. There are so many pieces of reflection sprinkled throughout, as a matter of fact, that it's hard to find them now! One example would be where the narrorator said her mother squinted with intensity. That's something she remembers, something that evokes emotion, that's reflection.
Together, all of these emphasize the author's point. They all emerge to tell one story, and it's an important one. What I got out of it, at least now that I am older and understand that others' opinions don't matter as much, is that family is more important than anything else. You should embrace your culture and your family, because they will always be there. Those kids in class? They'll disappear faster than snow melting when the sun comes out. Overall, I'll have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the piece. I am not quite sure that this was the point, however for what I got out of it, it was an enjoyable piece that made me remember the imortance of where I come from-and that this is something that should never be forgotten, no matter what the other kids say.