Monday, June 29, 2015
An Assessment of Sorts...
6/29/15
Hi Friends,
This post falls under assignment time. I'll see if I can't fit in some sarcasm to keep it funny, but no promises.
So, as part of English class this summer, one of the things we were assigned this past week was to post a 'Get to know you' kind of question. Read the responses, and then also respond to all the other questions that were posted. Then, peruse all the answers and analyze and get a feel for the type of audience you are writing to. Here goes.
My first observation is that everyone seems to be direct, but not oversharing. I suspect this is due to the fact this is an online course and there isn't the same level of connection with our fellow classmates since we don't share classroom time every week.
Just based on the responses I've read, I would guess that most all of my fellow online students come from varying degrees of a similar background. Most if not all are probably from this area of the country, or lived somewhere quite like it. Most probably grew up in a family somewhere in the spectrum of middle class. Sure, this is a bit of a generalization, but there didn't seem to be any answers that struck me as coming from someone with a radically different perspective on the world. It's also entirely possible I missed some of those answers. So, what are you gonna do?
I don't think I would say anything surprised me, at least, not in the jaw dropping, gone viral on YouTube kind of way. But, I have to say I think that when posed a deeper kind of question, like, "What's one thing you would change in the world" this group all provided rather insightful answers, and most also elaborated on those particular answers as well. Usually in a way that said a lot about the person answering the question.
I like having a good grasp, well, I hope it's a good grasp, on the audience I'm writing to. This kind of knowledge can free a writer from worrying too much about whether or not their readers will understand an analogy or get a certain kind of reference. It leaves you free to focus on just creating something worth reading.
Have a good one folks,
D
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Finally, a cat picture..
6/28/15
I said there might be the occasional cat picture, well today I deliver on that friends. How's your Sunday going? Well, I hope.
Since there will be a cat picture today, let's talk about cats. I love them. Not in a crazy lady breaking down on the Internet kind of love, but in a, part of me wants to pull over, get out of my car, and cuddle that cute cat that I just drove by in that yard kind of love.
I've had my cat for 11-12 years now, and as cats go, he's one of the best. He's calm, he's the right amount of affectionate, and he has a mustache. He does have a lot of fur though. A lot. He is terrified of plastic bags though. He had a very traumatizing experience with one as a much younger cat. Imagine if you will, a curious cat investigating this odd bag like thing after his people have just come home. Everything's fine, it makes a kinda nice sound when you step on it, and boom!! Suddenly, it's got you around the neck. You take off running but it's too strong and you can't get it to let go.
What that might have looked like from a human's perspective is a cat getting his head stuck in the handle portion of your average plastic grocery bag and then freaking out on an epic scale. Have you every tried to catch a cat running at near full speed thru your house? Let's just say it's a challenge. I finally managed to catch him and free him from his evil oppressor, but just the sound of plastic bags to this day makes him jumpy.
He doesn't like to be picked up and held, but if you sit down and have an inviting looking lap, he'll curl up and purr for hours if you let him.
All of this to say, that while not quite the same as a good friend, a good pet is a close second. And mine is one of the best.
D
I said there might be the occasional cat picture, well today I deliver on that friends. How's your Sunday going? Well, I hope.
Since there will be a cat picture today, let's talk about cats. I love them. Not in a crazy lady breaking down on the Internet kind of love, but in a, part of me wants to pull over, get out of my car, and cuddle that cute cat that I just drove by in that yard kind of love.
I've had my cat for 11-12 years now, and as cats go, he's one of the best. He's calm, he's the right amount of affectionate, and he has a mustache. He does have a lot of fur though. A lot. He is terrified of plastic bags though. He had a very traumatizing experience with one as a much younger cat. Imagine if you will, a curious cat investigating this odd bag like thing after his people have just come home. Everything's fine, it makes a kinda nice sound when you step on it, and boom!! Suddenly, it's got you around the neck. You take off running but it's too strong and you can't get it to let go.
What that might have looked like from a human's perspective is a cat getting his head stuck in the handle portion of your average plastic grocery bag and then freaking out on an epic scale. Have you every tried to catch a cat running at near full speed thru your house? Let's just say it's a challenge. I finally managed to catch him and free him from his evil oppressor, but just the sound of plastic bags to this day makes him jumpy.
He doesn't like to be picked up and held, but if you sit down and have an inviting looking lap, he'll curl up and purr for hours if you let him.
All of this to say, that while not quite the same as a good friend, a good pet is a close second. And mine is one of the best.
D
Saturday, June 27, 2015
I don't have a title for this entry...
6/27/15
Hey Friends and fellow summer Students,
How are you? I hope you're good. Enjoying your Saturday afternoon I hope. Me I'm good, just typing away as I wait to go to work tonight. I don't really have any special thoughts for this entry, so just chalk this one up to, it's assigned and I have to do it.
You know what sounds like a ton of fun, slip 'n' slides. I don't mean the kind you would go and buy at Walmart or your closest toy store, but a full blown, this might be a bad idea, who put this kids toy on steroids, adult slip 'n' slide. If you peruse the internet you'll see what I mean. If you don't know, then imagine a several feet wide piece of heavy duty plastic, laid down over at least a thin layer of foam padding, or ground that's free of any rocks poking up into the plastic. This is laid down on an incline of some sort, the steeper the better, some might say, and culminating in a brief ramp at the very end with which to launch you into the air, and land in a large body of water or an adequately sized pool at the very least.
Doesn't that take you back to when you were a kid? I know it does for me. As I was describing this I was reminded of one of things I've always wanted to do in a pool. Have a playground quality swing set right at the edge of a large pool. It would be the Reese's peanut butter cup of summer fun. Just imagine working the swing up to point where you are cresting at about as high as you can get it. You know the point. That point when as a kid you begin to wonder if it would wrap all the way around if you could make the swing go higher and higher. It's at that point, that it would be perfect to swinging out over a pool, and just be able to bail out of the swing for an epic splash. As a kid, I could have spent all day doing something like that. Just doing it over and over until you get to point where you are so tired, but you don't know that you're tired until you sit down and stop for just a moment, and then wake up hours later because your body insisted it was time to stop.
I haven't had a chance to do either of these things yet in my life. God willing I'll make this happen one day. It certainly sounds better than going to work.
D
Hey Friends and fellow summer Students,
How are you? I hope you're good. Enjoying your Saturday afternoon I hope. Me I'm good, just typing away as I wait to go to work tonight. I don't really have any special thoughts for this entry, so just chalk this one up to, it's assigned and I have to do it.
You know what sounds like a ton of fun, slip 'n' slides. I don't mean the kind you would go and buy at Walmart or your closest toy store, but a full blown, this might be a bad idea, who put this kids toy on steroids, adult slip 'n' slide. If you peruse the internet you'll see what I mean. If you don't know, then imagine a several feet wide piece of heavy duty plastic, laid down over at least a thin layer of foam padding, or ground that's free of any rocks poking up into the plastic. This is laid down on an incline of some sort, the steeper the better, some might say, and culminating in a brief ramp at the very end with which to launch you into the air, and land in a large body of water or an adequately sized pool at the very least.
Doesn't that take you back to when you were a kid? I know it does for me. As I was describing this I was reminded of one of things I've always wanted to do in a pool. Have a playground quality swing set right at the edge of a large pool. It would be the Reese's peanut butter cup of summer fun. Just imagine working the swing up to point where you are cresting at about as high as you can get it. You know the point. That point when as a kid you begin to wonder if it would wrap all the way around if you could make the swing go higher and higher. It's at that point, that it would be perfect to swinging out over a pool, and just be able to bail out of the swing for an epic splash. As a kid, I could have spent all day doing something like that. Just doing it over and over until you get to point where you are so tired, but you don't know that you're tired until you sit down and stop for just a moment, and then wake up hours later because your body insisted it was time to stop.
I haven't had a chance to do either of these things yet in my life. God willing I'll make this happen one day. It certainly sounds better than going to work.
D
Thursday, June 25, 2015
My (Apollo) Creed!
6/25/15
Hey Friends, it's freewriting time again, here we go.
So, I've just spent maybe 30-40 minutes trying to articulate what my personal creed might be. If you are really curious just check my previous post. Now, while I've stated some things that are definitely true about myself, and the way I've always approached life, it was just plain ugh. By that, I mean I don't do well defining myself. Does anyone? I would have been much more comfortable just writing and making snide, sarcastic/funny comments in parenthesis as I go along. (like the title of this post, get it, Apollo, Creed. No I don't care if you don't think it's funny. What do you mean you haven't seen Rocky? Go find Rocky's 1-4, watch them, then come back and finish this. You'll thank me.)
Well, that was a nice side tangent. The joys of freewriting. Banana! Look at this power I wield!! But back to the matter at hand. I think I could have told you about the creed of 2-3 other people that I really know in the time I spent this evening trying to put down just a few concepts or ideas about what I could call my creed. I think I just scratched the surface. That's probably a good thing. Tonight was just the preamble, if you will. To entertain a construction metaphor, we've laid a foundation and we've gotten a wall or two framed. Ooohhh, metaphors, so shiny.
I realize that I've spoken of cat pictures, and as of yet, no cat pics. They will be there. Don't you fret.
In the meantime, that's all the time for this exercise friends. Have a great night, day, or whatever time in between this may find you.
And that's the ten minute mark. I do have to say, this whole freewriting thing is kind of fun. It's a bit freeing to not have to completely structure what you are saying since the goal is to keep writing for the whole ten minutes, or whatever you set your timer for.
Thanks for reading,
David
Hey Friends, it's freewriting time again, here we go.
So, I've just spent maybe 30-40 minutes trying to articulate what my personal creed might be. If you are really curious just check my previous post. Now, while I've stated some things that are definitely true about myself, and the way I've always approached life, it was just plain ugh. By that, I mean I don't do well defining myself. Does anyone? I would have been much more comfortable just writing and making snide, sarcastic/funny comments in parenthesis as I go along. (like the title of this post, get it, Apollo, Creed. No I don't care if you don't think it's funny. What do you mean you haven't seen Rocky? Go find Rocky's 1-4, watch them, then come back and finish this. You'll thank me.)
Well, that was a nice side tangent. The joys of freewriting. Banana! Look at this power I wield!! But back to the matter at hand. I think I could have told you about the creed of 2-3 other people that I really know in the time I spent this evening trying to put down just a few concepts or ideas about what I could call my creed. I think I just scratched the surface. That's probably a good thing. Tonight was just the preamble, if you will. To entertain a construction metaphor, we've laid a foundation and we've gotten a wall or two framed. Ooohhh, metaphors, so shiny.
I realize that I've spoken of cat pictures, and as of yet, no cat pics. They will be there. Don't you fret.
In the meantime, that's all the time for this exercise friends. Have a great night, day, or whatever time in between this may find you.
And that's the ten minute mark. I do have to say, this whole freewriting thing is kind of fun. It's a bit freeing to not have to completely structure what you are saying since the goal is to keep writing for the whole ten minutes, or whatever you set your timer for.
Thanks for reading,
David
What's in a Creed?
I've never considered what my creed might be before, but since I've been assigned to write a brief summation about it, here goes.
The first would be that I use my sense of humor to keep a sense of perspective about things, good, bad, indifferent, there is almost always something funny about whatever you're going through at the moment. It might just take some time and distance. I think if you can find a way to laugh during the difficult times in life it can keep it from being too overwhelming.
Kindness, reliability, trustworthiness are all things I have always valued, even when I've failed to live up to my own standards.
I don't like using the word 'promise', if I say I will do something or be somewhere. That's what I'll do.
I tend to believe the best in people even though that sometimes lends itself to misjudging their character or motives.
This seems like a good start, more on this later.
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Not so Random Thoughts (an exercise in freewriting).
Hi Friends and fellow students,
What you are about to witness is an exercise called freewriting. The goal is to write for time, don't edit, don't judge what you are typing or writing on the page, just write. So for this assignment I'm going to use one of the 'I Believe' statements from the post I just finished, and go for ten minutes, whether it ends up looking like a cohesive thought or not. Are you ready? I'm not. You should go get a snack and then come back. I'll wait, I don't mind. Are you back? I hope so. This seems fun, let's see what happens.
Here we go in 3, 2,...
I believe wherever you are right now, it's temporary. It seems like such a simple concept really. Yet change catches us all off guard, all the time if you think about. How many people do you know that didn't see something big coming along? They thought they were in the job they'd retire from and then boom, let go, downsized, fired. They then had to come to terms with life not going according to plan. Did it turn out better? Did it turn out worse? Just remember, it's temporary. I don't have the time to quote book, chapter and verse of the Bible to you right now, but there is a simple perfect verse to sum up this concept. "It came to pass." Simple concept right? It's kind of mind blowing if you think about. It didn't come to stay, it came to pass. I'm borrowing this observation from a comedian I once heard remark on this subject. I want to say his name was Mark Lowry, but I could be wrong. It means enjoy it while it lasts, it means keep going if everything around you is burning to the ground. If you still draw breath, keep going forward damn it!!! I hope that wasn't too many exclamation points, but if you need the motivation right now I want to make that point exceptionally clear. KEEP GOING! Enjoy what's around you. And if life is good, you know really good. Keep Going. Things change, and if we don't keep going we can miss what's next. I know, I've been there. I was married once before. I stopped moving forward. Everything stagnated. There was no direction, no goal for my life. Just work, play, repeat. When everything 'hit the fan' as like to refer to it, it was a shock, I was numb, it was unbelievable, I didn't know how or when things would be better, or if they could be better. I have good friends though. I have an amazing family.
AND time...
332 words in ten minutes.
My apologies for the abrupt ending. I hope you enjoyed it though. If not I'm sure you'll find a better post to read soon.
I Believe...I'm late with this post.
I believe I'm making this post a day late.
I believe in God.
I believe I have very high standards for myself.
I believe I don't hit those standards far too often.
I believe my cat is adorable.
I believe I have been blessed immensely in my life.
I believe peanut butter is amazing.
I believe I'm kind.
I believe I can be a jerk.
I believe what you say to yourself, about yourself, is more important than what other people say to you.
I believe what people say about you when you're not there is none of your business.
I believe in preparation.
I believe I have an awesome family.
I believe I will make a great dad one day.
I believe in self-reliance.
I believe God speaks to us in more ways than we realize.
I believe in your potential, even if you don't.
I believe pizza should be a food group.
I believe winter is the best season of the year.
I believe the best is yet to come.
I believe that wherever you are right now, it's temporary.
I believe Dominos is better than Pizza Hut.
I believe I have time for one more belief statement.
I believe my wife is incredibly gorgeous.
I believe in God.
I believe I have very high standards for myself.
I believe I don't hit those standards far too often.
I believe my cat is adorable.
I believe I have been blessed immensely in my life.
I believe peanut butter is amazing.
I believe I'm kind.
I believe I can be a jerk.
I believe what you say to yourself, about yourself, is more important than what other people say to you.
I believe what people say about you when you're not there is none of your business.
I believe in preparation.
I believe I have an awesome family.
I believe I will make a great dad one day.
I believe in self-reliance.
I believe God speaks to us in more ways than we realize.
I believe in your potential, even if you don't.
I believe pizza should be a food group.
I believe winter is the best season of the year.
I believe the best is yet to come.
I believe that wherever you are right now, it's temporary.
I believe Dominos is better than Pizza Hut.
I believe I have time for one more belief statement.
I believe my wife is incredibly gorgeous.
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Personality, writing, and maybe a cat picture.
Hi, I'm Dave, welcome to my blog. I'm glad you're here, even if it is just part of an assignment. This blog is more of a journal as part of an English class I'm taking, I certainly don't think of myself as a blogger, but I'll do my best to keep it interesting, or at least provide pictures of my cat being adorable. After all, that's what the Internet is for, right?
So, one of the things I'm to do this week is to use the results of a Jung Typology test, and look at how that compares/contrasts with my perceptions of myself as a student and a writer. The results? I am an ESTP. Which is Extrovert, Sensing, Thinking, Perceiving, heavy on the Thinking.
My first impression upon reading up on the common ESTP type, dead on. Let's see.
Likes writing shorter pieces? Check.
Struggles with lengthy independent writing? Check.
May put off getting started? (Am I working on this the morning of the day this is due?) Check.
Not to be overlooked, is how accurate this describes my attitudes towards learning as a student. If the information presented is clearly practical or important for the course, or life in general. No problem, I'll absorb it, remember it, share it with friends whether they are interested in my new found knowledge or not. Is it just filler, or boring, or just not relevant to why I'm in that class? I check out.
Now, while it's true that I procrastinate, especially on things like homework assignments. I have found that this isn't necessarily a bad thing. To be sure, there is the stress of having things happen last minute that can complicate finishing an assignment, which wouldn't be an issue if someone (me) had just started working on it a few days ago. I have managed to harness my procrastination to a degree though. The lack of time to finish a given assignment from not starting earlier, provides a little added focus that helps to tune out the distractions that might otherwise pull me from working on it in the first place.
So the question is, "Will this new insight help me be a better student or writer?". For now, I don't know. It can't hurt, that's for sure.
So, one of the things I'm to do this week is to use the results of a Jung Typology test, and look at how that compares/contrasts with my perceptions of myself as a student and a writer. The results? I am an ESTP. Which is Extrovert, Sensing, Thinking, Perceiving, heavy on the Thinking.
My first impression upon reading up on the common ESTP type, dead on. Let's see.
Likes writing shorter pieces? Check.
Struggles with lengthy independent writing? Check.
May put off getting started? (Am I working on this the morning of the day this is due?) Check.
Not to be overlooked, is how accurate this describes my attitudes towards learning as a student. If the information presented is clearly practical or important for the course, or life in general. No problem, I'll absorb it, remember it, share it with friends whether they are interested in my new found knowledge or not. Is it just filler, or boring, or just not relevant to why I'm in that class? I check out.
Now, while it's true that I procrastinate, especially on things like homework assignments. I have found that this isn't necessarily a bad thing. To be sure, there is the stress of having things happen last minute that can complicate finishing an assignment, which wouldn't be an issue if someone (me) had just started working on it a few days ago. I have managed to harness my procrastination to a degree though. The lack of time to finish a given assignment from not starting earlier, provides a little added focus that helps to tune out the distractions that might otherwise pull me from working on it in the first place.
So the question is, "Will this new insight help me be a better student or writer?". For now, I don't know. It can't hurt, that's for sure.
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