Famous Last Words: A Changing Schedule

So this week was a change in my schedule completely. Most of this was due to the Ice Storm that made us miss school for most of this week but my schedule varied tremendously. At the start of the week I was so focused on my two tests that were Monday and supposed to be Tuesday. However once class got cancelled for Tuesday, I started to work on this class slightly. I then did some more studying for my cancelled test that was rescheduled for Thursday but then it got cancelled as well which made me do more of this class on Thursday. I then finished the rest of this class on Sunday, but now that my test is scheduled for this next Tuesday, I probably won't be able to look at this class again until Tuesday night which puts me back. This all just shows how things don't always go to plan but we have to adjust. This is why I like to build cushion room for my schedule by knocking out as much work as I can early. Next week I'm going to have to make some adjustments as well but after that I should be able to get back to my normal schedule.

In terms of my other classes, I feel that I have been pretty proactive and getting ahead which I enjoy. I do feel I have slacked on my DAT preparation however due to these tests. Next week I want to get a better grip on this for myself. I also slacked on working out which I didn't like because this is normally my way of relaxing and taking time away from school, as well as I feel it betters me in a health manner. I want to start waking up earlier to make sure I don't let this slide aside.

I want to get back into running more so I found this image on Pexels.

Reading Notes: Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art, Part C

Ardhanari's Secret

This week I did the third part of the video extra credit reading. Although I didn't really take much from this on how I could create my own story, it did give me one possible thing that I thought about trying to approach in a story for my project involving dogs. As the video talks about the different God's and how people view them, I thought what if I had a story that involved a Dog talking about his own form of God's. I was thinking about a Dog talking about his master being like a worker for his Dog God but then splitting the God into three aspects. I was thinking it could be into a Survival, Love, and Sacrifice. I was thinking the Dog could talk about how these are the different style of God's but they tie into each other. I was thinking it could even be a example story where the dog gives examples of each of his God's work. This is a very strange concept and could be difficult to write, but I thought it could be fun in the sense of trying to create a story of belief based off an animal telling stories.As the video even talks about how beliefs apply to political aspects I was thinking about having a code of a Dog. This could even be a Ten Commandment type idea. 

In terms of the video itself, I found that it did a good job describing each of the God's and what they do and represent. I find it hard to keep some of these people straight so it was nice to have detailed descriptions. Overall, this is a very abstract idea but it could possibly be done if I don't think about any other ideas for a fun Dog themed story. This could be a good opening topic for my portfolio, but then again it doesn't necessarily fit in with my other stories. 

This is a Dog being an Angel, which I felt describe my idea for a new story. I found this image on Flickr.

Learning Challenge: Reviewing My Schedule

Since I have tried a few different strategies with the way that I have approached this class, I am writing about how I'm going to change my approach from what I initially decided for my schedule. Initially I said that I would separate the work between Monday and Wednesday, but I have decided that this hasn't been what I normally do. Most of the time I try to do as much as I can on Monday being sure to at least get both readings and the Story out of the way. I think that with the way I've tried to do my work in the this class it should be Monday: Do as much as you can until your tired but at least do those three mentioned earlier. Tuesday: Finish all of the week's work and do all the extra credit you can. Sunday: Finish whatever work is left.

I think that this is the best for me because it clears up most of my schedule plus I can get on a roll with my work. Once I'm in the zone I can keep things fresh for my writing and then get them going. The Sunday is for a comfort zone if I need to get this class done but also it allows me to start thinking about everything I need to do the next day. Overall, I think this should be my main schedule unless there is something that makes me have to adapt.

Overall, I'm trying to get this class finished early and by pushing myself to get all of the extra credit done now, I'm setting myself up to be done with this class by week 09.

This is a picture of a symbol for moving time which I feel applies. I found it on Pixabay.

Growth Mindset: Sharing With a Friend

For this week's Growth Mindset challenge I had a conversation with my room mate Carter. He is normally a pretty motivated person so I shared the idea with him and asked for his approach on different things. He said that he had never heard of the exact idea of Carol Dweck's approach but he had heard other inspirational things. One thing that he felt was more important was making sure that at an early age kids realize that things always get harder. He felt that kids should be challenged more because college and real life always are difficult so if we have people inspired to work hard at an early age it transfers on. He also felt that today's older students should be required to do more outside work as in research. He felt that sometimes things are always laid out perfectly how to learn something but he felt that someone looking things up and learning how to apply something was the best for learning. He said at his high school and stuff no one ever challenged him to do this so he felt unprepared for this in college but this also made him keep wanting to learn. Overall, I liked talking to him because he had such "Work hard" mindset that he felt anyone could do anything even if difficult but they can't always be walked through things.

This image symbolizes the struggle that Carter talked about. I found it on Pixabay.

WIkipedia Trail: From Dog Fighting to Hugh Jackman

Dog Fighting

Even though it is a gruesome activity, I decided to start my trail here this week since I wrote a story about two dogs fighting this week. The story I wrote wasn't about the sport of having people fight dogs, but it came to mind when thinking about a topic for this. One thing I found terrible to read was that even if the dog doesn't die in its fight, most owners especially in gangs kill the dog through different means. One thing I enjoyed learning was that this is a felony in all states and it is also illegal to provide for this sport in anyway so that means you don't have to fight the dogs just to get penalized. I almost think that it should be more than a Felony but that is my opinion. I learned that the sport can be traced back to the 1750's in America but became most popular after the Civil War. I'm proud of the ASPCA for trying to contain this terrible event.

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

The ASPCA is a non-profit organization that try to protect animals from harm. It has been working since 1866 and its headquarters is located in New York City. I found it interesting that the ASPCA had false allegations against the Ringling Bros. which lead to a lawsuit in which they had to pay the circus. Overall I think this is a good organization and I think that they do great work.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

When I was a kid I remember going to this circus and having a blast. I learned that the circus has been going for 146 years which I found pretty interesting.  Although I haven't seen the movie yet, I had heard of The Greatest Showman which due to this reading I learned is about P.T Barnum and just came out this last year. One fun fact I learned on reading about the Circus was that in 2017 a Siberian Tiger named suzy had escaped in Florida. I can't imagine what I would do if I saw a wild tiger! 

Hugh Jackman

Hugh Jackman is one of my favorite actors but I learned that he plays P.T. Barnum in The Greatest Showman. I really enjoy the Wolverine character that he plays for it was a movie series that I started watching as a kid. I learned that he is 49 years old which is crazy for all of the action roles he plays in. I also learned that he is from Australia. I also learned that he is involved in charity work and even uses Twitter for it to see from fans where he should donate. I also learned that he was given the opportunity to be James Bond at one point. 

This is an image of Hugh Jackman from Wikimedia Commons.

Google Timer Tech Tip

This week I decided to give the Google Timer another try, as I did use it a couple times last year and wrote a tech tip about it for Mythology Folklore. This time when I used the Google timer I used it to study for a test this week. In my Neuro class I used it to help time myself in writing these possible essay questions. I felt this made sure that I will actually know how to respond and hopefully it will give me more time to think about questions I might not know. I also used it for studying some sections for my DAT test. It is a great way to simply give yourself a heads up on how productive you are being with your work and that is why I like to use it.

Week 6 Story: No Clear Winner

No Clear Winner

“You two get to come inside today since it is so snowy and cold,” said Penny and Buddy’s owner.

 The two were normally outside dogs since they were slightly on the larger size and were both very playful. Penny and Buddy were best friends who loved to do everything together. Even though they were best friends the two also were very competitive with each other. They couldn’t play fetch without the game turning into a race to see who could get the ball first. They couldn’t play tug-of-war without a clear winner. Most certainly, they could not wrestle without a clear winner as well.

Buddy and Penny fighting on a normal day. I found this image on Wikimedia Commons.

By getting to come inside, the dogs really didn’t know how to just sit there and behave. Penny would try to jump on the couch which would make her owner mad. Buddy would try to chew on a shoe which upset the owner as well. After trying to be good dogs for a while in the living room, it wasn’t before too long that Buddy decided he would pester Penny. He decided to playfully bite her as he did before most of the times the two would wrestle, so Penny knew what was going on. She then decided to claw at him in return to approve that she wanted to wrestle as well.

As one can imagine it wasn’t too long before the dogs began running around the living room tackling, biting, and clawing at each other. There owner kept telling them to stop but didn’t sound as serious as he did earlier when he got onto them. This meant that the two kept going until Penny tackled Buddy into the sharp part of the chimney. As Buddy was struck with pain, he showed no sign of weakness, and instead became very mad as he growled and barked while he simultaneously lunged at Penny and bit harder than usual.

Immediately, the two were no longer just having a friendly competition, but instead this became a true fight between them. They were growling, biting, and clawing with all of their might causing a huge scene in the living room to which upset their owner. As their owner grew upset, for he was tired of having to deal with the two misbehaving dogs, he decided to grab his newspaper from the coffee table.  

WHACK! WHACK! Before either dog knew it, they were struck with the newspaper so hard that they both forgot what they were doing in the first place. The owner grabbed buddy by the collar, who was on top of Penny, and dragged him to the washroom. He then came back for Penny who was trying to find a place to hide before she too was being yanked by the collar. He put Penny in the guest bathroom before she could even try to resist.

Then loudly he yelled “SINCE NEITHER OF YOU CAN BEHAVE OR PLAY NICE, BOTH OF YOU WILL BE LOCKED UP FOR THE REST OF THE DAY!”

It was then that both dogs started whimpering to come out which lasted the rest of the day. Although neither dog would admit it, they both realized that they can go a bit too far with their competitions, and on this day there was no clear winner.

Author's Note:

This story is based on The Contest from Mahabharata in which Bhima and Duryodhana are competing with each other. The way they are competing in this story is through a fight that really wasn't too serious at first. However, as the two continue fighting they both begin to become more prideful and the mock fight turns into a real one. As the two are now fighting with anger involved, a third challenger, Arjuna, enters the fight. Arjuna is clearly a better warrior than the other two and with his bow and arrow he ends up completely dominating the two for a victory. In my story, I wanted to make a more playful, modern version of a playful fight turning serious. In my story, Penny and Buddy represent Bhima and Duryodhana. I had the two be friends because I felt this added a more personal connection with the two wanting to win especially when they got too aggressive and the playful wrestling turned into an actual fight. Instead of having a third warrior enter the fight, I decided that it would have the dog's owner be the person who ultimately wins the fight between the dogs, as did Arjuna between the other two warriors. I felt that this was a good way to show that sometimes we can get too serious in out play with others, and there is someone else who can always ultimately beat you in whatever competition it is.

Bibliography:

The Contest from Mahabharata, Epic of the Bharatas, by Romesh C. Dutt (1898).

Reading Notes: Mahabharata, Part B

PDE Mahabharata: The Story of Nalayani

Although I found this story to be very bizarre and unsatisfying to read, I also had what I believe to be a good idea for recreating this story. I think that I could tell this story using a dog instead of people but my version will vary quite a bit from the original because I don't want to include the husband or desire for sex like this story did. Instead I was thinking about having two dogs: 1 being very adventurous and the other being a homebody. I was going to have them be best friends but the adventurous one wants to run away together while the other refuses. As the one leaves I was going have the dog pray for a new best friend to which he receives a bunch of cats. I think this could be a fun story to write and this is just the idea that went through my head but what I would like to try to do in terms of masking the reading is also use the exactness of the words in the praying. I think that as a writer this was a clever way to develop the story as well as show the emotion of the wife. By having her repeat the words it shows how bad she lusted for a new husband. 

I imagine this to be the group of cats that come in my story idea. I found this on Wikimedia Commons.

In terms of just writing style that I would like to pick up from this story, I think I could be better of relaying who is interacting in my speech. I like how this story shows the action through conversation yet it is in third person most of the time rather than dialogue. I think this allows less detail, but it is direct and indicates who is doing what. Sometimes in my writing I feel I don't convey who is doing what very well so I need to start more with pronouns like this story does in the second to last paragraph.

Bibliography:

The Story of Nalayani (link above) from  Notes of a Study of the Preliminary Chapters of the Mahabharata by V. Venkatachellam Iyer (1922), but I have adapted the passage to read like a story. In the original book, it is presented as a mixture of story and analysis.

Reading Notes: Mahabharata, Part A

PDE Mahabharata: The Contest

Because I have been wanting to write a good action story, I chose this part from the reading. What I enjoyed about this story was the lead up to the climax. As the action is described between the mock fight you can feel a build up which I think is important in action stories like this. You can see the excitement being described through the dialogue and setting, but the action and tone is what truly builds the story towards the climax. I think the way that this is done is by setting the importance of things through actions like the father whispering and the people praising the two. I think that this sets the tone of glory for the winner which makes the two serious, and then as Arjuna comes in the detail changes slightly. In this change of detail you start to hit the climax where you realize that he is the ultimate warrior for the contest. I think that the details for this is the describing of his actions in a confident manner being direct. One aspect that I think I could take away from this is the directness in my writing. I think I could sell the importance of characters and actions by being more direct and confident in the words I choose. Another thing that I liked was the random word plays like him using a few alliterations and some reoccurring sounds. I think this is a good way to describe events of importance. 

In terms of what I could take away in creating my own story, I was thinking about having two dogs wrestle playfully but it turning serious as one gets mad. I'm not sure if I would want to bring in another character, but if I did, I was thinking of maybe having it be the owner of the dogs showing power he had as a human. I like this idea for a story because I can finally get a full action scene described in my writing.

This is an image of two dogs playing together which I found on Wikimedia Commons.

Bibliography:

The contest (link above) from Mahabharata, Epic of the Bharatas, by Romesh C. Dutt (1898).