Whewwww

i must admit i was a little nervous about this quiz, cause it had been so long since i read the book, but it wasn't as bad as i thought i answered alot of the questions opinionated but with what goes with that part of the question. And again this semester has drawn to an end and what do every student hate the most besides tests are final exams, yes there will be alot of studying this weekend considering i only have two days of classes next week and they all will be crucial and tense, cause i want to do well on my exams, i dont feel as though i been slacking off but you know i have to put together everything i learned, but my plate is going to be full, not only do i have to dig deep and study for three finals but i have three kids, yeah this is going to be interesting. Cant wait to see what type of essay topic i will have for this book, luckily this was an interesting book, i think i am going to read the next one.

The Kite Runner

1. Topics in the Kite Runner

• The women weren't allowed to be seen in without a scarf covering their faces, not allowed to speak in loud voices, nor make eye contact.
• There were several betrayals amongst Amir and Baba. Amir betrayed Hasaan by lying on him, driving him out of there home, and destroying a forty year relationship between Baba and Ali. Baba betrayed Ali by sleeping with his wife and conceived a child.
• There were at least three sets of brothers being mentioned, the brothers that killed Ali parents when he was a child, since Baba's father adopted Ali and they grew up together they were sort of like brothers, although Ali was considered the servant, but the servants' son, Hasaan grew up with Amir and they spent alot of time together, they could have been percieved as brothers in the beginning, but in the end they ended of being blood brothers.
• The hidden guilt was more of a burden on Ali and he couldn't find the tone to tell no one what he had witnessed happen to Hasaan. He realized once someone knew of what he had been hiding in him for so long, was now considered open guilt, it was up to him to make it better again by abiding by Rahim Kahn's death wish.
• The Redemption for Ali came after learning Hasaan was his brother and he had a son in Kabul, he must go and get him and bring him back to safety, to someone whom will care for him, that was the least he could do after all Hasaan has went through for him.
• The Exodus/Journey when Baba and Amir had to leave discreetly for freedom and safety after the Russian soldiers invaded Kabul. They had to ride in the back of trucks, sleep in basements for a week due to transportation mishaps, and finally travel in fuel trucks.
• The Father & Sons patriachal society consists of honor and pride, they could talk freely about women, only a suitor was suitable for marrying their daughter and the honorable thing was to send the father and ask for their daughter's hand in marriage.
• The Hazara were beneath the Pashtun in the class distinction.

2. Style

• The parallelism or resemblance was vividly clear after Baba's funeral and the mourners were speaking of how good Baba had been to them in the many years, and Amir realized he had been defined by Baba and the marks he had left on people lives. Hasaan had some resemblance with his son, the looks, the slingshot traits, and trustworthy.
• The character foils could have been Amir and Soraya (one taught their servants how to read and write while the other read to them or mock them of words they didnt know), Amir and Hasaan (one took the friendship for granted while the other would give his life), and Baba and the General (one had to much pride to receive government assistance while the other one willlingly accepted the funds and kept his family on on welfare, one of them seek work in the US where the other one never held a job in the US in hopes that Afghanistan one day be restored.)
• In Foreshadowing, Amir knew his father didn't have long to live but he wanted his father to be apart of a very importand special day for him so he relied on his father to ask for Soraya's hand in marriage.
• Amir had the flashback towards the end of the novel in San Francisco when he purchased a kite and tried to enlighten Sohrab on how his father use to enjoy being a kite runner, but Amir took more pleasure out of it than Sorhab.
• The negative aspects out-weighed the positives. The negative ones were sad and could have been prevented throughout conversations like the betrayals that have taken place, and Sohrab almost commiting suicide.The positive ones were during happy occasions like the wedding and publishing his first novel, and living in a better condition than Kabul had become.

3. Settings

• In the winter, Kabul had a kite flying tournament
• Eid, three days of celebration after the holy month of Ramadan
• five daily prayers, the mullah believed azam, calling for faithful to unroll their rugs and bow their heads west in prayer

4. Five minor characters and their role

• Karim, a people smuggler
• Aziz, a fuel truck driver
• Mr. Fayyaz, hotel manager
• Farid, a driver when Amir returned to Pakistan
• Farzana, Hasaan's wife

yadda yadda

its me again, i think this paper will probably not be as bad when i get started. i like when the other students come to me for help that really makes me feel as though i am not lost and at least they have some confidence in my work and will ask for advice. i dont mind it makes me work harder though cause if i dont understand something when its the same problem that others come and ask of me i look it up and try to help them out to the best of my ability, but now we are drawing so close to the end of the semester, which is pretty excited cause you get to meet new professors and the assignments are almost the same just little more difficult so the longer you decide to stay in college you have to learn to be diversified and patient. i would like to thank all my professor for helping me see the better me, the work i thought i couldnt do as well as the patience to deal with it. thank you all.

uggghhh

well its has been a while and the ending of this semester is beginning to be a challenge, i would have never guess that so many professors in different assignments like to request essays. writing has never been one of my strongest subjects but i have been doing quite a bit and my professor tells me that my creative writing has picked up, i guess i am very hard on myself when it comes to something that puts my self esteem into play. like for instance, i dont think i am good at writing, words begin to flow and before i know it i have written more than what i thought i would have. the most challenging out of these is now the research paper, because its going to take alot of time and my kids will be spending alot of time with me in the library, they think it will be educational for them, in which it will, but actually its so they can keep busy while i am trying to gather as many notes and books as possible, so i can go back to my place of serenity and work in peace.

End of Semester and "oh my...."

I knew college wasnt going to be easy street, but i know now exactly what the saying means by "pick your own poison." You would think its better to choose your own road of life, so that you wouldnt have to blame someone else for the torture. What i mean by that is, when it comes to choosing how many classes to take, who would have ever thought that they all would give such demanding work at the same time as if you dont have time for your normal life. Okay maybe you're still wondering what am I talking about, during spring semester I had four classes and it didnt seem so bad, but hasnt that all changed in the fall. I only have three classes, and each class is overpowering of writings. I can admit that its one of my weakest subjects, but in order to have a passing grade, i must read and write on a specific topic. It doesnt seem like thats such a bad thing especially when you are on the outside looking in. This semester ends in less than four weeks and i have at least three chapter books to read and write from five to seven pages per book. The holidays are coming up and i dont feel like this will be an enjoyable one. No one likes to take the time they get off and do work, but i must look at the bright side and say its almost over, and be thankful that i pass these classes.

Exam anxiety

its rainy very hard outside, and i think it may be that way for the rest of the day. one of those days where i just would like to stay at home and do nothing. some people avoid school and think that the rain is a good excuse not to get out. well for me, i am totally opposite, i hate making up work and i just feel like school dont last forever. besides i have a major test that i would really like to have at least two more days to study for. if i tell you about it like saying its only twenty terms to know and only one group of sentences to write a paragraph on, you probably be like thats not bad. well that's the short version of it, the long version would be this. there are sixty terms but i only need to know twenty and there are four different categories of five to six questions to create an essay and i only need to really understand one, but the catch is, i dont know which ones, out of the terms or the essay questions, the professor will choose. but even if i got two more days to study i will still be in the same boat i'm in now, uneasy, i just dont want to take this kind of exam.

Friends or Not Friends

I use to have a best friend until they became someone I truly despise. What I mean by that is, the things we did in high school, should be left there, and the things we got into hanging out together, before the kids, should be left alone now that we are grown. I recently got married so of course my new best friend automatically became my husband, since he is someone i can trust and tell all my secrets to, and not have to worry about hearing them again. Well a couple of years has passed and our best friend relationship has been going down hill, i dont like it when your female friend becomes insanely jealous to the point where they downgrade to misery loves company. Meaning if their life is going so well with the people they decide to add to it, then they would rather call and ponder on some horrific event from the other person past. Just to make a statement to say, i wonder do you think like me, or is your life as miserable as mine, but using a totally diffent episode. It use to be a time when you see one, you see the other but now the friendship has boiled down to, if i see you or hear from you then okay, but if not then there will be no sleep lost.
My only question would be, if you have been friends for so long and gotten to know each other from day to night, why is it so easy to throw away almost two decades? But again I am not in mourning because I have a new best friend, that loves me the same if not more than i love him, so who needs the additional drama.

Comparison and Contrast Essay

Football vs. Basketball

The entertainment of sporting events bring fans far and wide. Some fans support their teams by wearing jerseys, hats, or holding up poster board signs with encouragement to root their favorite player. Other fans get very outrageous and recruit more fans to go topless and paint their torso one color and engrave a letter to spell out their team’s name or they may even spray paint their head and faces two different colors. The main sporting events to be discussed are football and basketball and their similarities as well as differences.
Football is a very physical sport. Women are not allowed to play, because some may fear they are not tough enough, although there are some women stronger than men. For athletes, it is a must to stay in shape, the gym and practice becomes second nature. In other parts of the world, football may be considered rugby or soccer. The players are very motivated with adrenaline flowing that when they run out on the playing field, they are disoriented by the crowd, the noise, and each other, they have to be guided back to reality before the game begins by coaches. Their uniforms, which is normally of two colors, include helmets, numbered jersey, jockeys, and cleats. Football is an outdoor sport, so according to the weather the players quickly adapt. They play on green turf labeled with white lines corresponded by numbers, representing yardage, counting by tens from each end meeting at the fifty line marked from each goal line. There are many rules and to ensure that they are enforced, referees are in place. The designated team scores at the end of the goal line with an oval shaped ball. The point system consists of six points when a touchdown is made with one additional point for the team to either punt through the goal or run into their end zone. There is also three points when punted through the goal, if a touchdown is unsuccessful prior to the fourth down.
Basketball is the opposite, this is not a physical sport and unnecessary contact will get you ejected from the game. Women are allowed to participate in this sport, women against women only. Athletic ability is required to endure practice as well as your opposing opponents. This event is largely known around the world as basketball. The player’s uniforms consist of sleeveless shirts, knee hi shorts, and mid or hi top basketball shoes. This is an indoor event, played on a court with hoops on each end for scoring with the round ball. Instead of running out on the basketball court, they exit from between the bleachers amongst the rowdy crowds. The point system consists of three numbers: three, two, and one. The basketball court is marked off to distinguish which point was awarded. The length of each game is dependent on the quarters played. There are four quarters per play with fifteen minutes intervals in football. All periods of regulation play in basketball are twelve minutes. Both events are capable of overtime. The team that scores and prevent their opponent from scoring wins when the allocated time elapse.
In conclusion, as with the many sporting events, basketball and football has been known to maintain the youth of the crowd as well as the players. The entertaining of cheerleaders, dance team, the band, or even the players. There is always some kind of significant encounter to capture the mind and embrace an individual’s past life when they were younger.

Teens gone bad....

I was watching the news this morning and yes, again another cruel act of teen violence. I wonder what be going through kids' mind when they think of such dreadful acts to react upon when it comes to their peers. It couldn't be possible that they would think for one moment, maybe, what if this situation turns out and I am on the worse end of the stick, or maybe since their so-called friend dont know he's about to be a victim, that maybe more than one person can get in on this cruel intention. I feel very sorry for the family that has to stop whatever they are doing and be by his side, receiving prayers from strangers is always nice, but not in a situation like this. What do you think of when the sixteen year old got beaten to death by a gang, when all he was doing was walking to school, wrong place, wrong time, doesnt suffice, especially if this is how he has been getting to school on a daily basis. Then you have this young teen days after his fifteen birthday to have 2/3 of his body burned due to a video game. What is this world coming too.

2nd Essay comments

The example essay to me was the hardest cause it was difficult for me to come up with a topic and then when i came up with the topic i had to think about different examples, it probably was hard cause i am just not very confident in writing and when i do scramble to put something down on paper to me i think that was a great effort but when i received the comments, they helped and but made it more difficult cause i had to think of more to add or change my thoughts, that took me a very long time to come up with. For the next 1101 class i suggest to take the time and get a tutor if you're the type of person that have a problem with writing, cause having ideas and placing them on paper is just not good enough, you have to provide good sentence formats and use words properly as well as punctuations.

I think i have put forth good efforts in posting, some days i just didnt have anything to say but i put forth the effort and at least wrote about something even if it was a paragraph long. I think if I was given a topic to write, i could have elaborated, and used my time to concentrate on blogging more.

Blogging.....

who would have thought blogging could be so difficult? it's not that its hard, but i have to think of something to say but it's actually kind of hard because i have alot of thoughts going on in my life but i dont care to share my personal life experiences with strangers, so i am forced to think of something else to blog about which isn't as easy as it seems. I wonder am I the only one in this class having these types of issues. When we have to write essays, I'm not crazy about the subjects i pick but when i think i did good, lately it has turned for the worse, and i dont know how a tutor can help considering its my thoughts and I have gone as far into details as i possibly could, but i am trying to keep a positive attitude.

Note to Self

it has been a very long weekend and sometimes i get caught up in not wanting to do anything but rest so i think forward and be like okay maybe i can miss out on this studying time and it wont do any harm, that was the wrong thing to do it always best to take advantage of the time you have rather than repeat a class or tasking knowing that you could have taken your time and been more responsible, for instance if you look at the time you go to school for one semester, its normally only three months, i am sure that is something that can be handle quite easily if you're not a lazy person, just think about the reason you chose to go to college in the first place and the money you have spent on books and tuition. Next semester try not to take as many classes and you won't feel so overwhelmed when it comes to the difficult classes not to mention the demanding teachers.

Example Essay - Fast Food can't win over Home Cooking

Fast Food can’t win over Home Cooking

It hunts you like a bad dream and it’s not fearful at all; in fact you look forward to
the smell, taste, and the satisfactory of your stomach. Food may be the only solution you
have in your life’s agenda that’s very fulfilling in ways of making you feel happy when you’re sad, and to give you an energy booster to help you concentrate. You may try some alternatives to diverse your mind in a different direction, but no matter where you are or what you’re doing you will always be reminded that you may need something as small as a candy bar or something like a full course meal. Your body is very cooperative because it lets you dictate when and where you want to decide to satisfy the urge. Most people know in today’s world the type of work schedules they have and time may not always be in your favor to make a run to the nearest coffee shop or restaurant, that’s why most businesses have supplied refrigerators and microwaves in their break rooms. In these situations it’s very convient to bring leftovers or microwave dinners from home, but if you have a job that allocates you enough time to leave and pick something up from a fast food restaurant then you risk your chances of losing your parking space or not making it back on time to eat your meal.
It’s the end of your work day and you may not feel like preparing a meal so in these situations fast food would be okay, but after a hard day’s work there’s nothing compared to a good home cooked meal that has been marinating. You have prepared a chicken with your favorite seasonings along with sliced onions, celery, and carrots in chicken broth, you place it in the oven, along with that you will have rice with gravy, string beans and rolls. A home cooked meal is better to have than fast food because you are in control of the calories you eat. There are some instances where you will be able to order low calorie meal such salads with only lettuce, tomatoes, and carrots with light dressing or tuna sandwich plain (no mayonnaise) ,with crackers (no salt), to drink water is always great.
When it comes to feeding the family, home cooking has the bigger advantage. Take the time to average up how often you feed your family fast food, how much you have ordered, and price it. Then you figure out when you go to the grocery store and only concentrate on what you will be cooking for one day, compare that price to what had paid at the fast food restaurant, and notice that you will come out cheaper, even if you purchased the same meal that the fast food restaurant provided. The biggest advantage comes when it’s time to eat again, instead of going back to the restaurant you still have food prepared at home.
In conclusion the positives include less expensive, don’t have to wait on anyone to get dressed, less noise and able to hear each other’s conversation, the buffet is laid out in front of you where you don’t have to leave your seat or receive the wrong order. The only negative I can come up with would be who’s doing the dishes.

Rainy Day

Another wet, muggy, dense day. I have very little to no motivation to do anything when its all cloudy outside not only does it seems sad but there is alot of gloom going on in my life while it rain in spurts on and off. I feel sorry for the kids that had to stand in the rain this morning and await the bus, apparently my kids wanted the same gratification they received last week when it was raining, i drove up to the bus stop and thought well maybe they could wait in the vehicle until the bus arrived and then i thought, well the school is just around the corner wouldnt it be faster if i just dropped them off, but to my kids surprise when they came back into the house to inform me that it was rainy, to their surprise it stop. I thought what a relief cause i have to get dressed myself, eat breakfast, and hurry off to school. I try to arrive to school early enough to find a closer parking spot and it never fails, I get lucky. I await in my vehicle listening to the jokes on the radio, trying to get my mind prepared for these two exams I have, if only I had more time to study, would I really use it, probably, but I would have felt more comfortable about my history exam if only my teacher (who assigns us chapters daily to read) would take the time and back brief over the chapter we read instead of going on to something totally different thats not in the book. Just if he was a little more understanding, I understand we are in college and its up to the students to learn more on their own, but we also have lives outside of college. On top of this agony thats bothering me about my exam, its raining.

Essay Challenges

The greatest challenge I had in creating my essay was the adequate development, I understand that when you are talking about a life experience everyone goes through different challenges so it was good when there wasn't a designated length for the essay. But the problem came when it was time to initiate the paper and I couldnt decide on whether to take the long route and have detail after detail or have a short form of the paper, it wasnt to get done quickly I was mainly confused at where I should start and how much should I have to say.
I enjoyed reading other blogs, some caught my attention and there was no problem for me to comment on them right away and then there were others that seem to be quite a challenge and I really didn't know what to say, but I commented anyway. When I read the comments to my blogs they helped me to understand where I needed to add more to my paper so that it could be better understood.

Irresponsible

Why do some parents allow their kids to attend school, knowing that they are showing signs of sickness before leaving home? Some kids have cried wolf for so long that when it actually happens no one believes them, but you have got to know your kids when they are pretending and when they just want attention. There are some parents who are in situations where they cannot afford to call into work, maybe because they have used to many days on themselves or simply because of no other responsible adult to care for their child. But when you send your kids off to school like that you have to realize how many other kids you are contaminating and the family households that are ruined. Save yourself and your kids the sacrifice of you receiving a phone call from the school to stop in the middle of your day to come and pick up your child due to illness when you knew the situation from the beginning. A child cannot be productive in school if they are sick and they are preventing themselves and others due to the time a teacher has to take and tend to your child.

Overwhelmed

Sometimes I feel as though my life is full of tasks. Of course they are apart of my life, but i can feel overwhelmed. I have three kids at home (ages: 12, 11 and 8) and they are self proficient but every now and then I have to remind them of what I said needs to be done rather than what they want to be doing. I feel like a single parent although I am married, my husband is deployed and I have been out of the military over a year now and I chose to go to school because I didnt want to be sitting around the house being bored, but now I dont think that would have been a bad idea. I feel overwhelm at times because my day starts at 5:30am and doesn't end until 11:00pm or 12:00am, once I get everyone off to school my day starts and sometimes I don't really feel like going but I go cause its only three days a week and plus I have already spent money on tuition and books. Some days its just to easy to say I dont have to do this but then I have to realize why I took the time out to initiate taking college classes in the first place. I dont have a problem with school except for the classes that I need, there is alot of reading and studying but when I get home about 3:00pm I have to get dinner started, pick up my kids from after school activities, help with homework, supervise chores, get prepared for the next day, serve dinner, bath time, and before you know its time for bed; at least for the kids. In between all those tasks I have to try to swing in a little time for myself to read, but I cannot get all that done cause I am so tired and sleepy. The next day may be the same except for a little exception of lawn care once a week. That's why some days if you see me and I seem quiet its because I am always thinking of what my life is like, its going to take time and I am being patient, overwhelmed but patient.

Descriptive - First Day on the Job

Ravane Williams
Mrs. S. Aiken
English 1101 – Descriptive
September 3, 2009

First Day on the Job

First Day on the Job consists of receiving uniforms, work schedules, tour of the
job, work techniques, meeting employees, greeting customers, impressing your boss, and
building confidence. Your first day can be quite overwhelming, you have many thoughts going through your head and wondering are you going to meet the standards. You arrive ten minutes early to take care of last minute details, your jitters are really acting up now but you are quickly calmed when you realize that the first day doesn’t seem as bad until after the tour of your workplace and some work techniques that will be required. You have meet your fellow co-workers, some are friendly and willing to share the workload and as for others, they are possessive of their positions and may have fear of a new person coming in taking over their job and doing better than them. Your biggest challenge is when it comes to serving the customer, you are a quiet, timid, and shy person but you will overcome all those after a couple of days on the job. All customers approach isn’t the same, there will be some who can detect your nervousness and ask are you new and there will be other observers who know and will give you a hard time anyway. You want to impress your boss or supervisor by showing you are a fast learner, you have good confidence, and most importantly you love your job.

Expectations of English 1101

My expectations of this class, of course not to break out in a full sprint but not baby-steps either. I want to be able to read, write compositions correctly, and learn how to digest what I learned and not just go through the motions. I think this class will be of great interest, this will be a lifetime tool, no matter what career any of us choose.