Where I Want to Be in 10 Years

Although a lot of my friends and people who ive talked to have figured out exactly what they want to do I am still undecided career wise. I do know that in ten years I want to be out of school, settled down, and married with a stable, comfortable job. As for my career choice I am a little unsure of a job that would be good for me. My dad has a job as an engineer and says that he thinks I would be good as an engineer because I am a good problem solver and I take notice of things. I am strong in math and science and not so much english and history but my dad works all the time, even on vacation, and seems to be stressed out when it comes to work. Im not sure all the stress and late nights seems like something i would want to do. Also my dad has to give presentations a lot and Im not much of a public speaker... Im sort of shy. I have also thought about something in the medical field which doesnt involve blood so for a long time I considered being a pharmacist but from what ive heard that job can get very boring and bland. Believe me, i have put lots of thought into what I want to do when i get older... I have considered things from being a lawyer to a vertrenarian and i just have come across a job which will seem to fit me.... Im going to continue to look though.... I just know that I really enjoy helping people so maybe that will be a driving force for my search for my dream job.

Love this....

Numbers
Mary Cornish

I like the generosity of numbers.
The way, for example,
they are willing to count
anything or anyone:
two pickles, one door to the room,
eight dancers dressed as swans.

I like the domesticity of addition--
add two cups of milk and stir--
the sense of plenty: six plums
on the ground, three more
falling from the tree.

And multiplication's school
of fish times fish,
whose silver bodies breed
beneath the shadow
of a boat.

Even subtraction is never loss,
just addition somewhere else:
five sparrows take away two,
the two in someone else's
garden now.

There's an amplitude to long division,
as it opens Chinese take-out
box by paper box,
inside every folded cookie
a new fortune.

And I never fail to be surprised
by the gift of an odd remainder,
footloose at the end:
forty-seven divided by eleven equals four,
with three remaining.

Three boys beyond their mothers' call,
two Italians off to the sea,
one sock that isn't anywhere you look.



I really like this poem... sorta humerous.. and it was poem number 8 on the poetry 180 website and 8 is my lucky number... must be meant to be.

"Let Kids Rule the School"

The beginning of this passage talks about how school plans out student's day down to the minute and frowns upon social interaction at times... I agree with the stance which the writer takes on how that is a detriment to our psychological development. It seems as though schools are so concerned with trying to jam as much information into our brains as possible that they forget about a large aspect of our futures... cooperation. If we cant somehow connect social interaction with learning and if social interaction is frowned upon in the learning environment then how are educators helping us learn to cooperate and work well with others? The Independent Project's methods and the results which came from the experiment have made me realize a few things. For one, it has made me realize that the reason school is so unenjoyable (I think I just made that word up) is because teachers simply throw information at us on transparencies or (my favorite) powerpoints... After presenting us with the information on the powerpoint or transparency the teacher simply reads word for word exactly what it says on the screen... How do they expect to maintain a teenagers attention? How do they expect us to be excited about learning when it is just simply looking at words on a screen all day five days a week? Giving students freedom to learn on their own, with guidance from teachers, is how students really grasp the concepts in front of them... I understand that teachers have a curriculum which they must follow but this curriculum is almost preventing students from truly learning. It is not specifically the facts which we learn that make us intelligent but rather the connections we make with those facts and the deeper thinking that comes with making those connections. Being able to look at the bigger picture and work with other students and seeing their opinions and interpretations of information will give students a variety of ways to look at things... I myself can understand this... often times when im discussing with a friend something about school and they tell me their opinion i find myself thinking "wow i never thought of it that way".... i feel as though interaction with other students engages me in even further critical thinking.

Interesting Facts!

1. Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.
2. A zebra is white with black stripes.
3. A quarter has 119 grooves in its edge; a dime has one less groove.
4. About 1 in 12 African Americans has sickle cell trait.
5. Recycling one glass jar saves enough energy to watch tv for 3 hours.
6. All polar bears are left handed.
7. The world's youngest parents were 8 and 9 and lived in China in 1910.
8. Most lipstick contains fish scales.
9. The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee.
10.The elephant is the only mammal that can't jump.

Angela's Ashes Chapter 10

The McCourt family has to move upstairs to get away from the cold and wet apartment they were living in... Frank steals lemonade from outside of a pub and exaggerates and decorates the story to his brothers to make himself sound cool. He proceeds to steal more food and drink from the wealthier families of the town which feeds him and his brothers. Having no fire fank tries going door to door and begging for coal but after recieving no help he just steals gasoline from his wealthier neighbors.

Angela comes down with an illness and becomes feverish. Grandma ends up calling the doctor (after guards come to their door asking why the boys havent been at school) and the doctor diagnoses Angela with pnemonia and she is rushed to the hospital. While Angela is at the hospital she sends the boys with their aunt aggie. While their uncle is nice to the boys Aggie beats and yells at the boys constantly. Fed up with this Frank sends a letter to Malachy in England telling him that Angela is in the hospital. After hearing this news Malachy returns home and the boys stay with him until Angela returns home from the hospital. Malachy then returns to England and a refusal to send his paychecks forces Angela to beg outside of churches for money and food which really upsets Frank.

It is heartbreaking to have a final image of Angela begging in front of a church for food for her family. Angela who has struggled so much to keep her family alive and fed. It is obvious how deeply she cares for her children.. It is amazing to me that she can continue to put up with Malachy's selfish ways. It is almost like he is just a nusence anymore... He is no help to the family.. rather a detriment and Angela never sees him anymore now that he is in England.. I will give Malachy credit though for coming home to take care of the boys while his mother was in the hospital but it is the least he can do.

Angela's Ashes Chapter 9

Because of the multiple deaths in her family and the struggle she has with supporting the children in her family, Angela descides to stop having children which annoys Malachy because during that time birth control was not comonly used.. The families on the street which Angela lives keep getting richer because their husbands are going off to England to find work. After Angela, herself, threatens to go to England to find work Malachy goes to England and promises to send home the money he earns.. However, Angela sees all of the families on her street recieving money and she has yet to recieve any from Malachy.

Desperate for money one of Angela's friends sujects that she goes to the dispensary to recieve aid but Angela does not like the idea because she feels it is one step above giving up her children to an orphanage and begging on the streets.

Frank gets a really bad eye infection and Angela takes him to the doctor and Frank is diagnosed with a really bad case of conjunctivitis and is sent to the hospital. After returning home from the hospital Frank comes to the realization that his father has become an uncontrollable drunk and spends all the money he makes in bars. Stressed with financial problems and recieving no help from Malachy, Angela resorts to the Dispensary for help.

It is heartbreaking to see a man's son come to the realization of how screwed up his father is... I feel so badly for Frank and the rest of his family because it seems as though they keep putting their trust and dependance on Malachy but Malachy never provides for them. It seems as though Angela should just take the initiative herself and provide for her family because it is the only way she can know for sure that her family will be provided for outside of recieving dole or aid from the dispensary.

Very Interesting Quote

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a
fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that
it is stupid."


I found this quote on my sister's blog and I really liked it... Ive always wondered where to find such good quotes! After reading this quote it just hit me how true it is.... it put a smile on my face to read this! Good find Lindsey!

Love this Poem.... "A Dog's Life"

A Dog's Life

by Daniel Groves

A stay of execution: one last day,
your day, old Everydog, then, as they say,
or as we say (a new trick to avoid
finalities implicit in destroyed),
you have to be put down, orput to sleep—
the very dog who, once, would fight to keep
from putting down, despite our shouts, a shoe
until he gnawed it to the sole, and who
would sit up, through our sleepless nights, to bark
away some menace looming in the dark.

Can you pick up the sense of all this talk?
Or do you still just listen for a walk,
or else, the ultimate reward, a car?—
My God, tomorrow's ride . . . Well, here we are,
right now. You stare at me and wag your tail.
I stare back, dog-like, big and dumb. Words fail.
No more commands, ignore my monologue,
go wander off. Good dog. You're a good dog.
And you could never master, anyway,
the execution, as it were, of Stay

I am very fond of animals especially dogs so I found this poem very interesting... In many ways it makes me think of my old dog Benji... :)

Angela's Ashes Chapter 8

The time now comes for Frank's confirmation into the Catholic Church. Directly following his confirmation service Frank gets sick and gets a very bad nosebleed. It was this nosebleed which prevented him from getting his collection which the kids recieve after being confirmed. A few days after his nosebleed incident the doctor visits Frank at home and diagnoses him with typhoid fever. Because of the seriousness of his condition Frank has to stay in the hospital. While in the hospital Frank drifts in and out of conciousness and is near death. During his time in the hospital Frank meets a girl named Patricia. They become friends and she introduces Shakespeare to Frank. Just as he begins reading it Frank falls in love with the melodious writing of Shakespeare. Two days later, a janitor in the hospital informs Frank that Patricia has died.

After Frank somewhat returns to health and comes home he is disappointed to hear that because he missed so much of the fifth grade he will have to retake it instead of moving onto sixth grade. Frank struggles at school because he has a hard time getting around due to his limited ability to walk.

Later in the chapter seems to be descriptions. First the descriptions are of Frank's feelings about his dad. He dislikes it when Malachy drinks his dole money, but he loves his mornings alone with his father, when they read the paper and talk; he loves the stories his father tells. The rest of the chapter talks about the horrid living conditions in which the McCourt family lives.

The last part of this chapter leaves a lasting impression in my head and both answers some lingering questions in my mind and also disturbs me at the same time.. It is now understandable all these sicknesses that occur in the McCourt family because of the unhealthy living conditions. However, it disturbs me that Angela, whom I have had great respect for, would let her house become so filthy and disgusting. On a more positive note, this typhoid fever seems to have maybe brought out the nicer sweeter side of Frank. :)

Spellbound

Spellbound is a very entertaining movie which uses a variety of different characters. Specifically Harry and Ashley could be seen as almost opposites, even though Harry is much differet than all the characters in Spellbound. Harry is a hyperactive outgoing boy who doesnt seem to get very emotional. In his individual interview he would be asked a question or in the middle of explaining something and just randomly make reference to the microphone about his head (which is probably not supposed to be pointed out) and asks if it is edible. Whenever he would go up to the microphone and begin spelling his assigned word he would make these faces or say his whole thought process out loud to the whole audience. Harry was deffinately an entertaining character used as comical relief in the film. Ashley on the other hand, is a quiet, happy, emotional, little girl. During her interview she made a few religious references and did not stop smiling the whole time. Whenever she was called up to spell her word however, she looked as though she had seen a ghost or like she was about to cry... Every time she would get a word right a huge look of relief would come across her face which is not unusal normally unless compared to Harry. When Ashley got out on the word ecclesiastical she could hardly be filmed because she was just surrounding by her family who was trying to comfort her and stop her crying.

Even More Fun Facts!

1. If you stretch a standard slinky out flat it measures 87 feet long.
2. The human eye blinks an average of 4,200,000 times a year.
3. Moisture, not air, causes super glue to dry.
4. One out of three employees who received a promotion use a coffee mug with the company logo on it.
5. 70% of dust in your home consists of shed human skin.

Angela's Ashes Chapter 7

Because Malachy Sr. continues to drink away the dole money which the family recieves his sons including Micheal refuse to talk to him on the weekends because he is always drunk.

Frank has a friend Mickey who's siblings die frequently due to consumption. Mickey asks Frank and Billy Campbell to pray that Mickey’s sick sister will not die until September, so that Mickey can get a week off from school. Mickey promises them that if they pray for his sister he will invite both Frank and Billy to the funeral where there will be lots of food. Mickey's wish comes true and his sister dies in September however he doesnt invite Frank or Billy to the funeral. Angered by this Frank is pleases to find out that Mickey soon after dies because of consumption as well.

Frank's grandma convinces Frank to help Unlce Pat with delivering newspapers. However, Uncle Pat mistreats him by making him run about in the rain and paying him poorly. The fact that Frank has gotten a job greatly pleases Angela.

Angela has a baby and names it Alphonsus which is not a name that Frank likes. The baby almost dies by choking on a dry piece of milk however, Angela's neighboor friend Bridey saves the baby. Frank's grandpa sends money for the new baby. Angela sends Malachy Sr. to cash the check but tells Frank and Malachy Jr. to be sure Malachy Sr. actually cashes the check instead of spending it at the pub. Despite their tagging along, Malachy Sr. still ends up spending his money at the pub. Because of this Frank is forced to steal fish and chips for dinner.

Malachy's continued drinking problem has imposed many uneeded obstacles for the McCourt family. To think that if he hadnt spent all that money on drinking and getting drunk then the family would have much more money to spend on food and shoes and clothing. The fact that Frank is pleased when his friend Mickey dies is very disturbing... This does not seem to be the sweet boy earlier in the book... I hope this mean mailicious surface wears off and his real self begins to show later in the book.

Fun Facts!

1. A person who is born and lives at sea level will develop a slightly smaller lung capacity than a person who spends their life at a high altitude.
2. 28% of Africa is wilderness.
3. The penguin is the only bird who can swim, but not fly.
4. More money is spent on gardening than any other hobby.
5. You can't tickle yourself.




More to come! :)

Angela's Ashes Chapter 6

Frank moves up a grade and is now in fourth grade which is taught by Mr. O'Neill. One of the kids in Frank's class who seems to be a teachers pet is Fitan. Frank describes Fitan as a dandified do-gooder. Fitan is said to go to church every day with his mother. Frank and Paddy (a classmate of Franks) do not want to be associtated with this "feminine" man however Fitan invites the two over to his house and uses food as incentive. When Paddy and Frank go to Fitan's house they are supplied with sandwiches and other treats however, Paddy and Frank become worried when Fitan goes with them to the bathroom and says he enjoys looking at them.

Fitan invites the two over again for lunch but this time when they come over Fitan just sits and eats a sandwich angrily in front of them. Because they are hungry Paddy and Frank skip class to go steal apples and milk from a nearby farm. Because they are gone for so long, the next time Frank saw Angela she was with a guard and had said she had been worried sick about him.

The whole situation with Fitan seems to be very odd and random... However it does do some character developing for Frank and Paddy.. It seems as though Frank is more concerned about status rather than being nice to everyone including the weird kid. Frank's decisions continue to disappoint me and I feel terribly for Frank's mother because she is so naiive to his poor decision making.. It is upsetting.

Angela's Ashes Chapter 5

McCourt takes note of his families lack of communitcation because his grandmother doesn’t speak to his mother, his mother doesn’t talk to her siblings, his father doesn’t talk to Angela’s family, and no one talks to his uncle’s wife. However, Angela seems to have intimate and frequent talks with her neighbor Bridey Hannon.

Angela and Malachy end up having to get false teeth due to their excessive smoking. Malachy Jr. puts the fake teeth in his mouth and ends up getting sent to the hospital. While the family is in the hospital the doctor notes Frank's breathing with his mouth open and the doctor insists that Frank get his tonsils removed.

Angela tells Frank that he should take Irish dance lessons. Frank attends his first class and feels stupid for even trying. Because of this he continues to skip his dance classes and spend the money on sweets or goes to the movie instead. Whenever he returns home he just makes up a dance and performs it to his family. However, Malachy finally confronts him when the dance teacher sends Malachy a letter asking where his sone has been.

The disfunctions and misfortunes of the family continue to heap into a large pile. The lack of communication in the family disturbs me because I can't imagine going a day without talking to a certain person in my family let a lone hardly ever speaking to them. Another misfortune plaques the McCourt family which is somewhat a humerous one... Who would have thought of all things that Malachy Jr. would have to be rushed to the hospital for getting dentures stuck in his mouth... Something disappointing to me is the fact that Frank is continuing to make bad decisions... It seems as though there is a good boy deep down inside of him.