Finally

I found myself sitting down to read at night time, after I got all my homework done, after I worked out, or after I worked. I read a little if I had time to after my day was finally coming to an end and if I wasn't too tired. I usually read in my bed right before I was about to go to sleep. I can only read when its completely silent unless Im really into the book, I can ocasinally read with my TV on. I sometimes would check my phone if I was at a boring part in the book. I would just put it down by the time I got to the end of the page and look at my phone, go on facebook or twitter, text everyone back that I'm texting.  I usually don't talk to anyone about the book I'm reading because no one in my family really reads books for fun. My sister does because she's in this class as well so sometimes I talk to her about the book I'm reading like Dear John.. We both read that book and loved it. We talked about that book a lot. That is probably the only book that we've ever really talked about in depth because we liked it so much. Other books I have read I would let my sister read them but she would never end up finishing them so we didn't ever really talk about the others. I love reading books in the summer. That's when I have the most free time to do as I want so it will be a lot easier to read books. Right now it's kind of tough because I have school to focus on and work and my after school activities. I have so much going on its harder so find time but in the summer I absolutely love reading. When I read in the summer I usually read by my pool in California or at the beach, it's so relaxing and honestly sounds so amazing right now. Actually this past summer on my flight to Cali I read a whole book on the plane. It kept me distracted for the time. Then in my time in Cali I read two other books. It's nice to read when I have nothing else to do. Its very enjoyable.

Currently

Currently I'm rereading the book Dear John. It's probably one of my favorite books, I will never get sick of that book. It's so sad but so good. I love it.

My favorite quotes

All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out. Anton Chekhov

Judge Francie

In second period today, we had a guest speaker come in and talk. She was in criminal law. Currently she is a judge, but previously she was a prosecutor. I'm so fascinated by everything she had told us. She was a bada$$, not gonna lie. I'd love to be like her and I'm extremely fascinated by that type of law. I kinda am thinking I want to go to law school.

“I’m not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything” is an ideal example of the childish and disheartened diction of Salinger. Don't use a long quotation as the subject of a sentence.
http://hogsmogblog1.blogspot.com/

"One of those little English jobs that can do around two hundred miles an hour," destroy any last vestige of formality, further developing the aura of simply telling a story to a friend.DOnt use a long quotation as the subject of the sentence
http://ascrapofparchment.blogspot.com/

The Mezzanine, written by Nicholson Baker is elegant, elevated, and also scholarly in the verbs being used. This excerpt was not extremely musical. It was also literal in denotation, as while reading it. Throughout the excerpt Barker used excellent verbs and description to explain all of the sentences.-Let's Start! Written in past tense

Baker describes as the escalator as "They were the free standing kind: a pair of integral signs swooping upward between the two floors they served without struts or piers to bear any intermediate weight" -TheyCallMeFreshMoney Too long of a quotation

Dear John

Seriously has the most depressing ending ever in the book

The Mezzanine claim

Nicholson Baker's diction in The Mezzanine is evocative and straightforward. His slightly elevated words are refined, almost business like. Baker describes the escalators as "a pair of integral signs." His use of words expresses a dignified suggestiveness within the tone.

Sentences

In Stardust, Neil Gaiman uses a familar language, a picturesque tone and meloduous sound to the reader.

 Max Brooks, the author from the book World War Z, talks in a more blunt and common tone.

This book takes place in the 1800's so naturally the diction and language is more formal and musical.

Style Mapping

Annie Proulx, Cormac McCarthy, and Paolo Bacigalupui all have their own way of expressing themselves with their diction. Annie Proulx writes with a figurative but a familiar tone. She expresses her words with mostly common words, however; she is extremely descriptive in her works. "Gleaming with sweat" from the excerpt "The Mud Below" is a simple yet intriguing description. Cormac McCarthy writes with a completely different style compared to Annie Proulx. McCarthy expresses his words in a literal, poetic way. "Now comes days of begging, days of theft" is a line from Blood Meridian. His style in this excerpt shows his lyrcial ways of using words. Paolo Bacigalupui has a similar writing tone as Annie Proulx. He wrties figuratively with a touch of suggestiveness. His diction is more blunt rather than Proulx and has a little more edgineess to his words. "The staples pinged about the cramped metal passage like coins offered to the Scavenge God" is a line from his award winning book the Ship Breaker. In this short line, he shows his extrodinary writing style.

Sentences of the Week

"Go ahead and try and tear me down, I will be rising from the ground like a skyscraper..."

"Did you forget..that I was even alive?"

"Somewhere we went wrong.."

God will put me through nothing that I can't handle...

Quarterly

I find myself drawn to the more lovey dovey books...For some reason I love reading about some amazing love story which I don't really know why because personally I don't believe it truly exists... For example, I loved the book Dear John... Which ended completely different than what the movie did.. I prefer the book. I think it was better even though it had a more trajic ending. Other books I like reading are ones with a good story. I like reading about people that have been through a lot and have had it hard and reading about them overcoming obstacles through their life. I'm not a big fan of books that end sadly however I like to read about someones struggle. I enjoy reading but it is sometimes tough to find the time to sit down and read. I have a lot going on right now with my other six classes and school, then my family and volunteering and student government. But I do my best to fit it in. I just stared reading this book that I think will be good its about a young man that just hopes to live another day when he finds a clipper ship that was involved with the hurricane. He has to figure out if he wants to strip the boat of all that its worth or save the beautiful girl, only survivor, that could possibly lead him to a better life.

Monday...

This has been the worst week of my life... Monday, my sister Emerald got into a car wreck on her way home from school..She ended up at the hospital for three days and had to get metal plates put into her arm.. A guy.. I won't say any names but he did an illegal U turn right in front of her without any warning.. She was going 45 when he pulled out in front of her and she quickly tried to downshift and stop but it was too late and slammed in his car and shattered her wrist and broke a bone in her arm.. I didn't find out until one of my friends called me asking if she was okay but I was clueless I didn't even know what she was talking about.. I was so scared.. Todays my first day back at school and I'm just so tired. I've been at the hospital since Monday. We finally got her home last night. The scary thing was I was supposed to be in the car with her but I forgot my ipod so I told her she could leave and I'd get a ride from a friend.. So she left.. But what would have happened if I was in the car... Would I have been alright or in the hospital right next to her. I feel bad I wasn't with her because she was alone.. Maybe if I would have made her wait for me instead..things would be different.. It never woulda happened.. Emerald would be fine and she would be able to pole vault.. like today. But no she isn't going to be able to pole vault for at least four months. I feel so terrible. I hate to say it or..even write it but I wish it could have been me instead of her I don't need my arm like she does.. She's a strong girl though I know she will get through this all. But you never really realize how much you care and love someone until something bad happens to them. My sister is my one best friend for life.

German Shepherd pup

I have two German Shepherds...They may not look like this anymore but they once did. Hans and Bruna are their names.. They're my babies. Bruna has a spunky, crazy attitude and Hans acts as the house's protector with his calm, serious attitude.

Truth

Honesty is extremely important to me. It's sooooooo important to me and just recently I found out two of the closest people to me have been lying and hiding somethings from me for a pretty long time. I wasn't upset of to what they did.. I was heartbroken that they felt they couldn't tell me because they thought I would look down upon them. Like what kind of a friend am I? If they feel the need to keep pretty big things from me..I don't understand it at all.. I just feel betrayed almost.. But I know they feel bad for hiding it and they have both apologized numerous times.. It might take some time but I'm know I'll forgive them eventually.

Honesty really is the best policy...

Dear John

The story starts out with John being a sergeant in the military, he joined to straighten out his life, he was a young troubled kid who needed some discipline. A couple years after joining, he decided to come home to visit his father who has some sort of disease, autism or some sort of obsessive compulsive disorder. While he was on leave, he returned home to check up on his father and see how he was doing. Then he met Savannah. Savannah made Johns hear melt, he fell in love with her within just two weeks of being home. His short summer romance gave him so much hard ache when he had to return to his base. John would be gone for a year, he anticipated when he would be able to see Savannahs face again. Savannah wrote him everyday until he returned home for good. Then, devastation struck the heart of the country. The 9/11 attacks on the US left John with a huge decision to either fight for his country or marry Savannah. Contemplating as what to do, this decision would affect his love for forever. All of his team members wanted to re-enlist. John joined, he felt like he needed to serve his country and fight for what he believes in. Savannah was left in ruins. She has to idea what to do and she doesn't know if she can wait any longer for him. Her heart had already been aching with pain from the last time that he left her, he would be gone for another year. This is as far as I have gotten in the book so far. It's definitely sad.

My home

This is Newport Beach, California... Sadly this is where I used to live. well it's not sad it's just sad that I moved here from there....kinda depressing.. We still own a house out there but we only are out there in the summers. Don't ask me why we moved here..I couldn't tell you or at least couldn't give you a good reason. Ha. well I miss it there tons.. but thankfully I go there every summer to visit all my family that lives there. I was just there visiting some of my friends and family a couple months ago before school started back up. It's such a different world there than here.. It's so weird! And my friends were telling me that I got an accent which I don't understand because I'm pretty sure people in Indiana don't have accents.. But I mean I guess we do.. It's whatever.. But yeah I went out there by myself this past summer and just stayed with my grandparents because my family was busy traveling everywhere this summer for one of my sibilings. It was weird because my sister usually always goes with me and it was my first time flying by myself. It was definitely an experiance.. I was with my cousins a lot who are only like 7 and 5.. They are able to speak fluently three different languages already..French, English, and Serbian. They are in the process of learning Spanish too. I wish I could do that! hah but that's a joke. If schools really want kids to learn multiple languages they should start at a young age.. By the time we get to highschool it's too late.. it will never come natural to us. My uncle is from Serbia and he wanted them to be bi-langual which is understandable. It's a European thing. But when I was babysitting them a lot of time it was annoying because I would be talking to the younger one and she mixes her languages. In one senctence she speaks will consist of all three languages so I had to have Una the older one translate a lot of the time what Dara was saying. But it was really fun. I can't wait until next summer. I think I want to go to college there but I'm not posittive yet...

Sentences of the Month

“I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.”
― Marilyn Monroe

  

“I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”
― Marilyn Monroe

  

“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”
― Marilyn Monroe

 

These sentences are my absolute favorite. I love Marilyn Monroe, she was quite interesting and I like the way she thought about life even though her life ended in trajedy. But anyways, these are my three winners of the month.

Ketchup?

Why has ketchup stayed the same and mustard come in dozen varieties?

John Rock's Error

John Rock was the one that invented birth control. Malcom wrote an article on John and about how he created it and the error he made. This has nothing to do with me being on or interested in becoming on birth control. I just found this article fascinating. I found it extremely ironic because John was actually catholic...and aren't Catholics against all types of contrception of any type of bitrh control? Well interesting enough birth control is a natural contraception. Many catholics were still against it and hated John and his work even though it was technically natural.

What the Dog Saw

Malcom Gladwell has been a staff writer for the The New Yorker since 1996 and this book of his is a collection of his greatest hits. It's pretty interesting he writes about all types of things such as hair dye, why catch up is the only condement that is the same since from when it was first invented

Sentences of the Week

1. The hardest thing is to take less when you can get more. -Kin Hubbard
2. When you become senile, you won't know it.-Bill Cosby
3. I love to go to Washington - if only to be near my money. -Bob Hope
   
   
   
   

My claim

Color- Vivid, bright, graceful, colorful
Use of space- Tranquil
Setting- Unusual, crowded, glamorous, gleaming, adventurous
Medium- Smooth, clear

The color of the picture is extrememly vivid and colorful. The picture automatically catches your eye because of how bright it is. The setting is unusual because of the usage of space which is almost tranquil. There is so much to look at when looking at the picture. It seems adventurous and gamorous. The medium is so clear that you can see every little detail in the painting.

Painting

Sara Teasdale

The princess has her lovers,
A score of knights has she,
And each can sing a madrigal,
And praise her gracefully.

But Love that is so bitter
Hath put within her heart
A longing for the scornful knight
Who silent stands apart.

And tho' the others praise and plead,
She maketh no reply,
Yet for a single word from him,
I ween that she would die.

Quotes of the Week

“I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.”
― Marilyn Monroe

 

This is so true...If you can't handle me at my worst..then you don't deserve me at my best.

 

“I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”
― Marilyn Monroe

 

I love Marilyn Monroe..She has some of my favorite quotes.

 

“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”
― Marilyn Monroe,

 

I'd rather be having fun and crazy then be dull and boring.

Hardships

Why is it that the people that have been through the most are the happiest ones? You think it would be the opposite. You would think that people who have had it the hardest would be angry and unhappy. Not saying some aren't but many are the exact opposite. On the other hand, many of the wealthy ones that have it all are lonely drunks? It doesn't make sense to me. I have met an older lady who is one of my grandma friends who has probably had the hardest life that I know of. She's the sweetest lady I have ever met and she's happy as far as I can see. I mean I'm sure she's lonely but she doesn't let that affect her whole life. She's around 75 I believe. When she was born her parents took her to an orphanage and just left her there. She grew up with the nuns and when she turned eighteen her mom came because she wanted her back.. The only reason her parents wanted her was so she could work and pay her parents the little money she earned for herself. She obviously didn't want to go with her parents that just wanted to use her.. Two weeks before her parents came she met this man that was "courting" her.. She didn't know him really at all..but she decided to runaway and get married to him because it was the only way that she wouldn't have to go live with her parents. The man she married wasn't the best guy either which she realized after the fact what she did. She never loved him and she spent the rest of her life with him. On top of that he didn't treat her real well. He beat her and was very controlling. She wasn't aloud to have any friends and they had one daughter who ended up becoming extremely sick in her early 30's. She died quickly after she got sick and the worst part is that Mary, the lady's husband woudn't let her see her daughter before she passed. I can't imagine... And then a few years later he ended up dying. The only two family members she had. She may not have loved him but he was all she had. Now she's all alone, doesn't have much but she's the sweetest most caring lady in the world. It blows my mind. That's all I have to say..

Sentences of the Week

"Love is much like a wild rose, beautiful and calm, but willing to draw blood in its defense"

I think this pretty much speaks for itself. Something that can be so amazing but can also feel like the worst thing.

"What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?" Erica E. Hirsch
No one would strive in this world if there was no failure.

"You'll never know how strong you are............ Until being strong is the ONLY choice you have!"

I love this one because it's so true. The strongest people are the ones that have been through the most.

Last night

Last night was the worst night of my life. I haven't felt so sick I think ever. I missed school Thursday and Friday unwillingly. I wanted to come to school today but I was up all night throwing up. I didn't fall asleep till about 6 am. Through the whole thing though my mom was right by my side helping me through it all. She's so amazing. I love her so much. I don't know what I would do without her and the book I'm currently reading just breaks my heart because I can't imagine going through what the girl in the book is going through.

Sentences of the Week

"She is a friend of mine....The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order." -Toni Morrison 

I found this quote in the book I'm reading. It's about love and friendship. I don't know. I really just love it.

"Depressing business, heartbreak, no picnic no matter how you look at it. But never fear, you can cure yourself if you feel like it. Follow these handy instructions." -Cynthia Heimel

Heartbreak is curable no matter how bad it is you can fix it. You just have to find the power within yourself to actually fix it.

"Anything worth doing well is worth doing slowly." -Gypsy Rose Lee

I believe good things take time. Nothing great will come out of quick time. Patience is a big key to many things in life.

If anyone is wondering why I keep blogging about boys is because of this specific one in my life. Were extremely close like I like him a lot but I don't want a boyfriend. And he is trying to ruin our friendship because all of a sudden he has some "Feelings" for me.. Like. NO. STOP. Why can't guys and girls be just friends..? I don't understand. At all.

Heartbreak?

Also, I don't understand why people waste their time in highschool on relationships? All they do is cause heartache. Highschool is about having FUN! Not about falling in love and meeting the one person you're going to be with for the rest of your life. This is what I don't think girls understand. They expect too much out of boys in high school and they blind themselves from reality. If girls would focus on school as much as they do on their relationships, every girl would have straight A's.

Boyzz

The book I'm currently reading... Cures for heartbreak is not only about learning how to deal with the death of her mother.. but she meets this guy who is a total jerk. It just reminded me of my personal experiences. Like I don't understand boys? Why are they so indecisve and annoying. They can never make up their minds and they don't ever leave you alone.

Sentences of the Week

"It seems to me that our three basic needs, for food and security and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the others." -M.F.K. Fisher

This sentence to me is very true. I don't know I just loved it. In order for me to be happy I with one thing, I need to have the others.

"I began then to think of time as having a shape, something you could see. like a series of liquid transparencies, one laid on top of another. You don't look back along time but down through it, like water. Sometimes this comes to the surface, sometimes that, sometimes nothing. Nothing goes away." -Margaret Atwood

I think she is talking about how we have all these memories from time and that we look through them. Sometimes we remember these memories and sometimes we don't but they never go away.

"That is the fearful part of having been near death. One knows how easy it is to die. The barriers that are up for everybody else are down for you, and you've only to slip through." -Katherine Mansfield

When a person has had a near death experiance, they know what it is like to almost die so you know how it feels but everybody else doesn't so they have those barriers up.

Cures for Heartbreak

This book is about a girl's mom getting diagnosed with cancer and dying twelve days after she was diagnosed. Her mom was her best friend, she did everything with her. She even states before her mother passes "If she dies, I'll die." She explains how scared she was even as she was a little girl when her mom didn't have cancer, she'd be scared for her mother's life. This story reminds me of my own personal life. I know how it feels to be scared to death that you don't know if your mom will be okay. My mom doesn't have cancer, but she has many chronic problems. She was in a car wreck when I was a little girl that ultimately changed her life forever. The memory of being told she was in a serious wreck as a little girl was probably one of the worst days of my life. I feel like I can understand how the girl in the story feels towards her mother.