Day in the Life

Early morning:
Wake up. Run tap. Brush teeth.
Pull on clothes, pop seams.
Look at clock. 6:45. Good, I'm early, I can take some time to find my bracelet.
Look at clock. 7:15. I'm late. 
Mom is yelling.
Get in car.

School:
Look at clock. 8:30. Will this day end already?
Talk to friends.
Sit through the worst class of the day.
Look at clock. 12:24. Well, that was an unproductive tutorial... 
Struggle to stay awake during lecture. *"this is the class that doesn't end..."*
Final bell rings.

After School:
Eat something unhealthy.
Go to Fat Camp if applicable. (Wind Ensemble for those unfamiliar)
Listen to music and surf internet.
Fight with mom.

Evening:
Look at clock. 5:30. Well, I guess I'll start my homework at 6:30.
Look at clock. 6:35. Because I started late, maybe I should begin around 7.
Look at clock. 7:30. I'd better rush and finish my mountain of homework.
Begin climbing the mountain that is my homework.
Look at clock. 8:30. Wow, I'm just going to give up. This is too much.
Look at clock. 9:30. Forget it, I'm just going to do my homework at tutorial.
Listen to music that I'm ashamed to like.
Wait until 11 to take a shower because I just HAVE to finish the rest of the album.
Listen to music after shower.
Fall asleep.
Still didn't finish the album...



*sung to Never Ending Song from Lamb Chop*

Writing Center

     The Writing Center is not for me. I felt pressure, more than anything, to write quickly. I felt like some tyrant was staring down my back as I wrote, scrutinizing every single mistake. As my fingers clicked the keys, I became overly aware of every single error, and I would promptly erase it. Apparently I don't have stage fright, but I do have a fear of writing in front of people. I think that they're judging me for daring to do something as blasphemous as spell a word wrong. It makes me really nervous, and I couldn't help but feel anxiety. My heart was lurching out of my chest the entire time. The creaky plastic chair burned my skin. I was sitting on thumbtacks the entire time. It wasn't a "first time jitters" thing either. I simply don't like to have someone else watch me type.  I don't think that it was my Writing Fellow's fault, I just didn't enjoy the experience.
      At the Writing Center I did get some pointers, but I didn't find it very helpful. I know that the Writing Fellows can't write my paper for me, but I think that I could probably accomplish more by myself. I didn't feel as if I got much out of it. All that they could do for me is proofread, but I could get a friend to do that. I can understand why some people would like the Writing Center, but I didn't find it any more helpful than sitting and proofreading with a friend.

Reading Log:
Tues: LOTF 30 mins
Wed: LOTF 30 mins
Thurs: LOTF 30 mins

Sat: LOTF 30 mins

Reading/Working Times

11-18
Literary Analysis
30 mins

11-19
LOTF
30 mins

11-20
LOTF
45 mins

11-21
Literary Analysis
45 mins

Free Post

     Who exactly is that girl with the black hair?  Her unseeing eye stares at me as I try to convince myself that she cannot see me. Of course she can't see me. I should know, I created her. Her eerily familiar  dress is tattered from wear, but it somehow retains a pure white color. Her face is cracked like glass. Beneath what remains of her pale blue visage are the rotors of a machine, orbiting around some sort of golden orb. She misses half of her arm, and most of her back. I take a quick glance at her legs. Her robotic skeleton is showing from the cracks there as well. That one blind eye stares at me, unrelenting. I look away. The grotesque, mangled hand of hers is reaching toward mine. I flinch. I wonder who summoned her here. The fingers are bent at awkward angles. Some sort of awful membrane droops off of her robotic fingers like a spider web.
     Why does she act like she knows me? What remains of her mouth is moving, like she is trying to tell me something important. That strange, red web has taken over the corner of her mouth too. I know that it will shock me if I touch her metallic skeleton. I have no choice. I reach to grab her hand, and her skin is so cold that it burns me. I jump at the sharp pain that I feel in my palm. She dissolves on contact, and the pieces that were once her body flow into me. The only evidence that she was ever there is the burn mark on my hand. Who exactly is that girl with the black hair?

Prompt: What changes have you experienced in your reading/writing this year?

     I have noticed that I can read books with more difficult language and complex writing style than before. I also have had a great increase in my understanding of profound themes and symbolism. I used to be able to notice that a symbol existed, but I would have no idea as to how I could interpret it. I trust myself more and allow myself to interpret things however they seem to be. More often than usual, I am with the general consensus. My vocabulary has increased significantly. I can also break apart unfamiliar words and figure out their definitions that way. Even though I still binge-read, I have become slightly better at slowing down and reading things in bits and pieces, rather than all at once. I think that this strategy also helps me with my reading comprehension.
    My writing has been stagnant. My style hasn't changed much, but I have noticed some things about my writing. I tend to zone out when I'm writing something. I don't pay much attention to what I'm doing half the time, and somehow I manage to avoid making too many mistakes. My brain glazes over, and I can find myself writing pages of thoughts without ever remembering what I've just typed. On a more personal note, I want to mention that I am nearing my first anniversary of journaling. I started last year in December in an old notebook that I found (how cliché), and I haven't stopped. The entries are sometimes long, sometimes short, and I tend to write about how I'm feeling or whatever is bothering me at the time. I will admit that I'm more inclined to journal when I'm unhappy, but c'est la vie.

Reading Times:
Sun: LOTF
45 mins

Tues: LOTF
45 mins

Thurs:
Burned, Ellen Hopkins
20 mins

Sat: Short Story
20 mins

Free Post

I'm running out of interesting things to write about. I am simply existing at the moment. I don't have anything worth writing about in my life. My stress has leveled out, my family is messed up as ever, and I don't have any real friend drama to speak of. I'm going to spend the rest of the post writing about nothing. I don't think that I'm particularly happy nor sad. I'm zen. If I were of any less interest, I would just drop dead from the monotony.

Instead of rambling on about the boring-ness of my life, you can enjoy my list of things that I'm NOT doing.

1. I'm not going to stress about my future.
2. I'm not going to think negative thoughts.
3. I'm not going to do anything stupid enough to ruin my reputation.
4. I'm not going to do exactly what other people tell me to do.
5. I'm not going to regret my decisions.
6. I'm not going to pretend that something didn't happen.
7. I'm not going to try to change myself.
8. I'm not going to get mad at myself for being human.
9. I'm not going to bite my nails anymore.
10. I'm not going to continue writing this list.

Deserted Island

I don't think that we would have survived for a week on a deserted island. We would spend so much time talking, arguing, and despairing that we would never get anything done. In real life, most of us would panic and stop functioning. The few of us that would actually be in any shape to save ourselves would be a number too small to sustain us all, and we would all die.

None of us are survival experts, and unless we are well versed in the ecology of the island, it would be very difficult to know which plants are safe to eat. If we somehow manage to get past the food situation and find a water source, we probably would die of exposure- none of us have ever lived in the wilderness for any long period of time. If we still managed to survive, we would have to find a way to make decisions in a timely manner. We would also need some sort of shelter and blankets to stay warm. Honestly, our class would die of starvation, poisoning, dehydration, or exposure in a few days.

Mon:
Burned, Ellen Hopkins
30 mins

Wed:
Lit analysis
30 mins

Thurs:
LOTF
45 mins

Sun:
Burned, Ellen Hopkins
30 mins

Literary Analysis

     I want to get my head together about my literary analysis. Of course I have reached my obligatory writer's block. This time, I know what I want to write about, but I am not sure how to get it into words. I am stuck at the thought-to-word barrier. Things like this make me want to be able to project my ideas into a recording device without having to find words for it.
     It will be pretty easy once I find the words, but I have been having a lot of trouble with getting my thoughts down on paper. I have some sort of huge roadblock in my brain that blocks the transition. I imagine it to be like the annoying line of ducks that resides in my neighborhood. They always try to cross the road at the most inconvenient times. Likewise, I don't seem to have any problem with my writing when there's no due date creeping around, but as soon as I have something due, I might as well speak Chinese. I don't know why this happens to me, but if you don't mind, I'll spend the next hour or so trying to figure out how to write a coherent sentence.

Reading Log

Wed: Peermark

30 mins

Thurs:

Lit Anaylsis

30 mins 

Sun:

Life of Pi, Yann Martel

45 mins

Personal Questions

What do I expect to gain from this book?
What inspires me to write?
What genres of books do I like?
In which ways can I improve my writing?

Mon: The Lord of the Rings JRR Tolkien 15 mins
Friday: Crank Ellen Hopkins  45 mins
Sun: Siddhartha Herman Hesse 1 hour

Reading Response

     Out of the three stories that I read, "The Minister's Black Veil" seemed the most promising. Obviously, the veil is a metaphor for the "veil" that everyone wears when talking to everyone else. I think that I can find something a bit more introspective than that. It would warrant a careful read through, but I think that I can draw the theme that people's curiosity both terrifies and excites them. 

     "Sucker"can also make a good literary analysis. I think that I can find a deeper meaning to the story, particularly in the way that the main character is the antagonist. I can also put in a theme about watching what you say. It won't be extraordinarily difficult to pull a few themes. 

     The hardest of the three will be "The Sniper". To put it bluntly, I'm much too dull to understand the deeper meaning within the story. I would rather spend my time trying to connect the elements and theme instead of gleaning the story for some sort of understanding. 

Sun: The Fault in our Stars John Green

3h

Sad Post

Just to forewarn you guys, my post this week will not be particularly uplifting.

    About a year ago, I got a call from my grandpa for the first time in five years. I was pretty excited because I knew that he had sobered up for the time being. As we all know, random phone calls are not good. We also know that hindsight is 20-20. I didn't think much of the call at first until I'd gotten the news. He told my mother and I that he had stage IV colon cancer and that he'd be getting an operation done to remove it. I was not happy about this, but I got to see him the next weekend. When I saw him, he looked like a skeleton. I could even see the indentations in his temples. We took pictures and talked to the rest of his family for the rest of the day. He went in for the operation, and everything went as well as it could have.
     He disappeared again from my life, and that was fine as I don't like to be burdened with the helplessness of watching someone deteriorate. I got another call. He said that the cancer had spread all over his body and into his liver. I was pretty upset, but I had seen it coming. By now, I know that when he leaves, nothing good ever happens. I would like to say that I'm deeply afflicted, but it doesn't affect me the way that it should. I should be crying and listening to Adele right about now, but it doesn't seem appropriate. I won't lie and say that I'm not saddened, but I feel removed from the situation. He was never particularly close to me, and I was too young to really have a close relationship with him when he was around me. I'm okay though. It won't be easy, but it will be the same as it always is once he's gone. The only difference is that I won't have a phone call to dread.

I didn't mean to make anyone sad, but I needed to get that out somehow. I promise to make the next free-post more "butterflies n' sunshine". Maybe I'll write about Ms. Penny.

Reading

Tues: Siddhartha 30 mins

         Herman Hesse

Wed: Siddhartha 30 mins

          Herman Hesse

Fri: Insurgent 30 mins

       Veronica Roth

Sat: Insurgent 1 hour

       Veronica Roth

Melissa Giovanna Evans

Melissa is a schizophrenic 16 year old living in Connecticut. She is in a mental institution and has vivid and persistent hallucinations. She has completely hallucinated her best friend, but she is convinced that the girl (Isabella) is real. 

Introduction: We learn that Melissa is in an institution, but we don't know why. She doesn't believe that she needs to be there.

Rising Action: Melissa is called in by her therapist and goes to talk about Isabella for the umpteenth time. 

Climax: She realizes that Isabella isn't real.

Falling Action: Melissa is miserable and grieves her nonexistent friend.

Conclusion: She finally finds closure when she agrees to talk to a girl not too much unlike her.

Note Trends

     I am perfectly aware of the fact that this has to be one of the most petty observations that you will read, but I digress... I don't like any of the characters in any of the stories. They all are extremely annoying in their own special ways. Da-Duh was xenophobic, and she never failed to jump to the conclusion that her granddaughter was lying about the technology in New York. Sammy impulsively quit his job after the girls in bikinis were kicked out of the grocery store. The angel was, simply put, a jerk for *almost* helping the needy. Maybe I am just in a bad mood today, but most of the characters weren't the kind that I'd take kindly to.
   On a less personal note, I also noticed that many of the characters were extraordinarily self-righteous.  The men in the barber shop in "Dry September" were all unwavering in their opinions on what Will Mays did. None of them seemed to want to come to a mutual conclusion. They were doomed to argue from the start. In "A&P", Sammy seemed to hate everyone. He didn't like the housewives at the store and referred to them as "sheep" and "swine". The same can be said for Da-Duh as she tried to prove that Barbados was better than New York.


Reading Times:

Wed: Fellowship of the Ring J R Tolkien
30 mins

Thurs: Dry September
30 mins


Sun: Siddhartha Herman Hesse
1 h

Comment Book

Disregard this post. I've made this to keep track of comments.

08-19
Bailey S.
Jacob

08-28
Jacob
Bailey S.

09-08
Bailey L.
John

09-26
Emelia
Deven

10-03
Bailey L.
Madison R.

Falling Asleep

    Two years of these cold cement walls, painted a rather disgusting shade of green. It's so cold in here. It's always cold in here. I've never liked the cold. The concrete makes me feel uncomfortable. People make me feel uncomfortable. I don't care how long that I stay here. I will never feel okay next to the other girls. Giggling and crying and giggling and crying. It makes me sick. I'm not supposed to think about this. Miss Janie says that I shouldn't. What does she know with her stupid clipboard? "How do you feel?" and "Are you feeling ok?" I wish that she would leave me alone.

     When I watch that heart shaped pen scratch her paper, I can't help but roll my eyes. She thinks that I don't notice the "little improvement" red banner on my chart. No one thinks that I notice anything around here. I hate her. I hate this whole facility. No one ever seems to get better. Old girls check out, unimproved as ever, and new girls check in. Everyone leaves except for me. I don't need to be here with all of these lunatics. I can't sleep while listening to their screams and sobs in the middle of  the night. I want to go home. I want to go back to Eliza. I don't care what they say about her. I know that she is there. 

Reading Response: Da-Duh

     The entire time that I was reading about Da-Duh, I couldn't figure out whether to despise or to actually like her. Her character is described as a frail-looking old woman that is actually very rambunctious, but she just acts like a jerk. She was much too competitive for my liking, and she seemed harsh. She sort of freaks me out. I didn't really like her character at all, and even in the end, I didn't really feel anything when I learned about her death.

     Da-Duh's xenophobia was amazing to me. Not being completely up to date on civil rights in America is one thing, but she didn't even know about ubiquitous technology in the 1930's. She was in disbelief every time her granddaughter told her about each innovation, and I don't understand why she never ceased to be shocked. It's also weird that she wanted to compete with her granddaughter to see who had the better homeland. She struck me as strange to have that little knowledge as to what was happening outside of Barbados.



Reading:

Mon:
Harrison Bergeron
25 mins

Thurs:
To Memoriam: Da-duh
30 mins

Sat:
Crank (Ellen Hopkins)
45 mins

Sun:
A&P
30 mins

E-Book

I can think of one word to describe my feelings about this ebook. Troublesome. I didn't want to reveal my literacy narrative to my own classmates, never mind the whole world. The entire idea is terrifying to me, but I would be lying if I said that I wouldn't feel a small sense of accomplishment once it's published. I usually change the names of people anyway, so going back to change the names of people will not be an issue for me. It is always nice to proofread, but I tend to do my best editing right after I hit "submit".

I don't have the most creative ideas as to what kinds of media that we should use for the ebook. I think that it would be interesting to create shaped texts and to illustrate pictures. We could also use different fonts and colors to strengthen the meaning and individuality of each story. Maybe we could provide necessary background information before each piece. I want to see the final results of this assignment, but I will admit that the idea of having my personal writing publicized makes me uncomfortable.

Response to the Situation in Syria

I know that someone else in the class responded to the situation in Syria, but I wanted to give my own opinions. I think that America really needs to step out of Syria. Civil wars should be handled domestically with no external assistance. Considering the fact that America seems to have a terrible track record with removing leaders and replacing them with presidents (think Egypt and Libya), we should probably spend the money we use overseas for something a bit more productive at home.

When the topic of chemical weapons come up, things become much more complicated. It is inhumane to use chemical weapons against civilians, but America does not have to be everyone's "knight in shining armor". This situation will eventually sort itself out without American intervention, and all we are doing by butting in, is making even more enemies. How many times do we have to try to replace dictators with presidents before we realize that this system is not working?


Mon:
Essay 30 mins

Wed:
Essay 45 mins

Thurs:
Essay 45 mins

Fri:
Crank Ellen Hopkins 30 mins

You're Fired!

Bob was an average guy, and his emerging beer gut trembled as he sat. He looked forlornly at the young assistant, remembering his own youthful optimism. Such warm feelings seemed impossible today. Mildred walked over, reeking of stale coffee and cheap perfume and handed Bob a chart. His heart sank.

     "Morning Bob," she mumbled with a nod. 

     "Hi Mildred," he replied nervously.

     "You're being replaced," she said, looking at the red marks on his portfolio.

     "Why?"he said, choking back a squeak. 

     "You are lazy and no longer an asset to this company," she sneered.

     "I can change my ways," he stammered. 

     "We have a corporate policy of no second chances. I hope that you understand," Mildred snapped, clearly annoyed. 

     "I need this job. I have two kids and a goldfish," Bob begged, tears welling up. 

     "Seek employment elsewhere," she said as Bob caught a particularly unpleasant whiff of her breath. "I suggest that you remove yourself from the premises."

     "I don't know what to do now!" he said, nose running and and tears streaming. "I've worked so hard to get to my position."

     "Mr. Bob, you no longer are a fry-cook at this McD'Arnolds."

Literacy Narrative Update

     I think that I've finally reached a roadblock. I churned out my first draft in about an hour and a half, but I'm stuck. Really stuck. If I add to the first draft, it usually sounds a bit choppy, as if two different people wrote it. I don't know why this happens to me, but if I ever add anything to writing, it never sounds the same as the original. Even when I remove and reorder phrases, it sounds different. It's not subtle either. I unintentionally change my style drastically, and when I do anything to fix a paper, it reflects.

     This happens every time that I write a paper. It's hard to recapture a state of mind. My thought process usually goes something like this:
     Hmm, I should probably get around to revising that paper. Yikes! That transition could be better. What to do? What to do? I know, I'll rephrase it like this. Wait, that doesn't sound right... What about replacing that sentence? Man! This is frustrating. What if I go to something else? I can't fix this either. What am I going to do? I have to revise my paper. It's due soon. I can't come back to it. I have to do something. I can't sit here freaking out like this. BUT I CAN'T FIX IT. I KNOW I CAN'T. Forget it. I'll do my math homework.

Hopefully I will be able to say something different about this paper next week.

Reading Log:

Mon: 30 mins, Crank, Ellen Hopkins

Tuesday: 45 mins, The Odyssey, Homer

Saturday: 1 hour, Crank, Ellen Hopkins

"This is Water" Response

     It's a little bit too easy to fall into the "default setting". I have no interest in familiarizing myself with the minutia of complete strangers' lives.   It would take too much time out of my day to brainstorm potential reasons why a person does what they do, and it's not practical to think that way. It is true that some people have legitimate reasons to do annoying things, but I still don't believe that I will ever be truly able to accept that the person across from me in the restaurant is not some drooling invalid.
     I have an egocentric view of the world because I only, truly, have to worry about self-gratification. I know that that is a very selfish way of going about my life, but if I tried to help out every charity case that I found, I wouldn't have time to blink. I probably wouldn't chew out the woman in the checkout line for bringing her screaming child to the grocery, but I still think that I have the right to be annoyed. I can't afford to spend the time to think that maybe her husband stayed at work late, and she had no choice but to bring the kid there. When similar situations occur 20-30 times a day, I have trouble finding empathy. I know that this opinion is very unpopular, and I more or less missed the meaning of the whole speech, but I feel as if I have responded honestly.

Reading Response

How do authors evoke conflicting feelings about characters?

     It's simpler to create one dimensional characters that are either ultimately lovable or repulsive. Odysseus is neither. I don't hate his character, but he isn't amazingly likable. He seems to take advantage of the hospitality of his hosts. He always asks for a crew and food, but for one reason or another, they end up dead and starving. It's more than a little bit annoying that he seems to take gifts for granted, but I do realize that it's culturally accepted.

     However, Odysseus does have some likable qualities about him. He's quite devoted to getting home and will stop at nothing to get there. Odysseus is one of the most resilient characters that I've ever seen. He does not completely freak out every time that something goes wrong. When he was stuck in the sea for days, he floated calmly as the current took him. I don't know if I would do that myself. I appreciate his skill in strategizing, as his plans are ingenious. He isn't the most lovable character in the world, but Odysseus is an interesting person. I look forward to finishing the book.

Tuesday 30 mins

The Odyssey, Homer

Wednesday 30 mins

The Odyssey

Thursday 30 mins

Crank, Ellen Hopkins

Sunday 45 mins

Crank

Locker Hall Humiliation

      Earlier this week, I was in a predicament in the middle school downstairs locker hall. I decided to take a shortcut on the way to PE, and it did not end well. A younger student opened the door and went in, and I thought that I had enough room to slip in without touching the door. BIG MISTAKE!! The door shut on me, and I was trapped between the pole and the door. I was worried that my gym teacher wouldn't believe my story, and tried to dislodge myself from the door. I grew more and more desperate as time passed.

     I was so worried that I wouldn't make it to class on time. I struggled against the door, but it was to no avail. I considered yelling, but no one would hear me. It was too close to the final bell. Finally, a sixth-grader walked by and saw my predicament. After a short judgmental stare, he emancipated me from the hall. I ran to class and barely made it on time. All I could think was that things like that only happen to me.

Reading Response

How would I react if this story was my reality?

     I am reading The Odyssey by Homer. If I were Odysseus, I am not sure how I'd handle his trials myself. If I were the one on Calypso's Isle, I think that I might have mentally shut down after being stuck for too long. I would have a difficult time bringing myself to build a raft to bring myself home, knowing that it would probably be a difficult journey. I would despair when Poseidon destroyed my raft and potentially give up all hope of ever coming home. While it is an interesting and challenging read, I may not have survived the life of Odysseus.
      On the other hand, I may have survived and thrived. I surprise myself sometimes by the way that I can stay calm. I don't think that I would have cried every night. I would probably plot my escape off of Calypso's Isle. It would be difficult to muster the courage to travel by sea as a person despised by Poseidon, but I might be able to do it with a strong surge of hope. After the raft falls apart, I believe that my strength would definitely be tested. I'm not sure if I would be able to float at sea for days. I can't be sure what I would do in such a dire situation. Would I abandon hope or fight that much harder to get home?


Reading Log:

Monday: 30 mins
The Odyssey

Wednesday: 30 mins
The Odyssey

Thursday: 45 mins
The Odyssey

Sunday: 30 mins
The Odyssey

English Expectations

Hi I'm Sienna. I have a dog, and I love to ride horses. I'm excited for English this year because I actually like the books that we will be reading, but I'm nervous that I won't be able to keep up with the workload. The fact that we won't have to do Wordly Wise exercises makes me feel better, but I'm still worried about keeping up with this blog and my reading log. I also hope to make good grades in this class. I know that this is short, but I don't have much else to say. I hope that I have a great year!

Reading Log 8/19

Wed: 45 mins

The Odyssey

     Homer

Thurs: 30 mins

The Odyssey

     Homer

Sat: 1 hour

The Odyssey

     Homer

Sun: 45 mins

The Odyssey

     Homer

The Knife of Never Letting Go

The Knife of Never Letting Go was probably one of my least favorite school reading books. It was very unrealistic, and the never-ending prose was more than a little bit annoying. I actually liked the overall story, but it falls at the first hurdle when it comes to realism. It’s highly unlikely that two teenagers could effectively outrun an entire army on horseback. It also strikes me as odd that a crazy priest is much better at tracking children than the actual soldiers. I also can’t seem to wrap my mind around the fact that the army ran ahead in front of the people that they were trying to catch, knowing that not only would they be going to Haven but that Todd and Viola would arrive at the exact time that the entire army is outside of the city.

The story actually happened to be very engaging, but I had a hard time emotionally connecting to the characters. I couldn’t bother to feel sympathy for Todd when he was ill while looking for Viola because it was obvious to me that starvation, exhaustion, and exposure would eventually make him sick.  The death of Manchee, while sad, gave me little pause, and I read it with a straight face. It was not a terrible book, but I felt like it was utterly forgettable.