My last entry for this class

Wow, I can't believe I am at the last entry for this class. The time sure has flown by. I remember when this was just a blogging assignment for another class, and I decided to continue with it for this class. I am so glad I did. With each entry I put in, my thoughts became more organized, and I got a better reflection on how to deal with my problems. I even used it to get ideas for different stories to tell. The most prominent one is the idea for a epic poem where an evil dictator rules over a land inhabited by demigods. Everyone around me thought the style was similar to James Cameron's Avatar. I kind of agree with them. This is especially seen in the earliest blogs. My goal for those was to get an overall story arc within the six entries that were required. I feel that I didn't quite get there, but I had a good start. I discontinued with those entries because I became involved with telling of my everyday living, as well as reflect on the readings for the week.
The readings were a great thing to have because of how much I learned in how to do a journal. I wish we had read entries out of Anne Frank's diary. I have seen the play, but it just would be nice to read what she had going on in her daily life. The best readings were Franz Kafka and John Steinbeck. These styles seemed more relaxed than others.
My goal now is to continue telling of what happened to me, as well as getting the stories I have in my head onto the computer screen. Something that has happened to me was preparing my finals for other classes, and finding a lot of good material to expand on. The best is a story about a night hike from hell, complete with blood and guts. The story is called Natural Scares Inc., and it is going to rock.

Fernando Pessoa, a man of disquiet

Fernando Pessoa is the most interesting writer I have ever read. In the excerpt of his book, The Book of Disquiet, there's a character who seems a little too philosophical for just an assistant book keeper. His philosophical ideas make the reader stop and think about how much the world really is like. He mentions in part 133, that all fighting seems to be just a blind force that is "like murdering with either a knife or murdering with a dagger." You know that the problem is big, but just how big, nobody can tell. In section 263, he had the most interesting topic about Tedium, where your soul is in a kind of void. This is so how my life is right now. My body is in this kind of slump with my soul being out without me. I know it's called Senioritis, but it still feels weird.
He also seems alone most of the time. I guess that if you are alone with your thoughts, then strange thoughts can come about. This made me draw back to when I was working for the summer at my mother's flooring business. There was one week that I really became alone, with no one around to be with. I spent time working on repricing some of our products. This was followed by a lot of HULU.com, YouTube, and reading a lot. The situation was that our estimator had to be out of town for the week, which means that there was no money coming into the place. There were some days where I felt I should just have the store closed until he came back. But I persisted, and found that things got better as soon as he returned.

Mother's Day

Well this Mother's Day was just great. I have never seen my mother be so happy. I unfortunately did not give her any cards or gifts this year. I did not even make her a breakfast of blackened bacon, crusty toast, a droplet of orange juice, and enough eggs to feed a small army. The one nice thing I did do was wish her a "Happy Mother's Day!" That is all she really is looking for. I did get a gift, but it is just a book that I am passing on to my sister, who is a mother. The book is one that I have been reading a little at a time. It's an anthology collection of Irma Bombeck stories. I know in her household she could use a good laugh.
So before I had a chance to give my gift to my sister, I went with my mother and father to a tea place called "Lovejoy's." It is a tea shop and antique store across the street. It was a lovely time. They had little sandwiches, fruit, salad, and petite fours. All with sparkling water infused with pomegranates.
After the lunch, it was time to see the nephews. William was really excited about a special gift all for him, a portable ball pit with a small tunnel to get in and out of. The setup of this structure is like that of a tent, with poles to hold everything in place. The only difference is that there is a flap in the back for the tunnel. Inside the ball pit is where the balls go. He was so excited, he did not even wait for it to be erected. He charged inside as soon as the package was opened. To him, this was the coolest thing to have. He was having so much fun, that his brother Jake wanted to come in. But William would not allow it. The only person allowed inside was his Uncle Ron. So, as soon as dinner became ready, the ball pit moved into the other room. After dinner, Mom, Dad, and I went back home. I'm sure to get something for my mother for next year.

Psychological Headache with Finals

Over this past week, I have been felling very stressed because of all of my finals. I was so stressed by two of them, I started having headaches. The only way to cure them was to actually write. I began writing, and a couple of days later, the stress was relieved by finishing one of the finals. I guess there was a sense of failure, combined with a writer's block, that made me so crazy. So let it be known that the only cure for what ails you is just figure out what is stressing you out and deal with it. I know I have at least one more big final that I have to get through, but if I just write it out, everything will be fine.

Kamau Brathwaite is "Jamaican me crazy"

Kamau's journal excerpt and his poetry offer us a similar writing style, that of a poet who does not stop on the poetry page. His poems offer the reader a native view of how rough it must be in Jamaica. In "Calypso," there is a tension between the field boss and his workers. But the workers get that tension off with a little Calypso music and dancing. "Stone" is about what happens when you try to fight the management. His journal, framed around the time his wife is about to die, is similar to his poetry because of the repetitive pattern of words, phrases in either small or large type, and the sense that almost no narration is taking place. There is a narrative, but only at the beginning and end of each entry. Everything else is just a lot of prose lamenting the future loss of his wife. Why he does not tell his wife that she is going to die, I have no notion of it. I know if my wife was going to die, I would tell her about it. The only clear thing about this situation is he is very sad about what is going to happen to him. This is especially felt when he sees his house flooding with mud as a foreshadowing to his wife's illness.

Letter to God

Dear God,
I have been troubled by something. I am in the stage in my life known as "Senioritis." This means that I do not know what to do with the rest of my life. I do want to do acting, but I missed that opportunity to audition because of my studies. My parents want me to gain some real world experience. This seems a polite way of saying that I must get my fat ass out of the house, and go to work. They seem to push the whole Episcopal church idea, along with Americorps. I decided to apply for Americorps, and now I am in their system. The next step is to apply for one of their listings. I'll get my mother's help for that.
Another thing bothering me is the finals for two of my classes. They require me to write at least fifteen pages of "textbook" material. Essentially I will be writing chapters, or theological studies of specific subjects. The thing that does scare me is trying to find my voice in all of the requirements. The best thing I can hope for is to do my best, and pray that there will be no filler.
In your son Jesus' Name, Amen.

vampires vs. werewolves

Last week in class a discussion was brought up about vampires, and their sex appeal. I thought to myself that vampires were not sexy at all. The just happen to be young because they feed on young blood. If a vampire were to not feed for awhile, then they might get a little old. Case in point, look at "Dracula." He became young when he fed on the blood of Johnathan Harker. On the contrary, a werewolf is quite a better beast for sex appeal. He does not have to stay out all night drinking blood. The only time he goes out at night is when there is a full moon. So, we already have a better person for sex appeal because he never has to worry about trying to stay young.
Another thing about last week was about vampire stories. I think I might bring in my vampire story, just to see if anyone likes it. I remember doing it for the "Writers on Writing" class, the week Dodie Bellamy was coming. The story was just a secret attack on her work because I wanted a little more blood sucking, and a little less cock sucking.

Rebuilding Together Peninsula

Sorry if I have not been posting anything for a while, but I've been busy, and procrastination has got me in its clutches. So anyway, on Saturday April 27th, I participated in Rebuilding Together Peninsula. This is a great program because you help out on someone's house. You help them mostly with construction needs. I myself was painting, lugging around garbage, and setting up the food/ check-in tables. It was a lot of work, but I had fun. I even ran into an old high school chum of mine whom I acted with. He sure grew tall. After the work came the fun. At Oracle park, all of the 8,000 volunteers had a terrific barbecue, catered by "Armadillo Willie's." The activities included the dinner, musical entertainment, a bounce house for the kids, and massage for the parents. The massage was a little rough at some parts. My mother, who also helped run the house site, got a rough massage experience herself. She described it was like an attack from one of the Lions members who she is not on good terms with. The masseuse was moving her hands to the music, which is something you try to avoid in a massage. I was laughing in agreement with her the entire time we went back to the car. I was laughing because I had the same massuse. So, we went back home and liked our wouds from that awful expirience of a massage.