Reflect on your final project. Why did you choose it and what do you think you learned from the process of creating it?
I chose to write a short story for my final project. To me, it seemed the easiest and most fun to write. I had a lot of ideas I wanted to type out from my previous story assignment, so it worked out. I did have trouble getting everything to fit together though. Most of my story was a ton of different jumbled parts that just leaked into each other. There wasn't much of a unified story at first. There was no ending and the beginning was quite slow and dull. But I got some friends to read through it and give me some ideas and I eventually got my final project turned in and ready to be graded. I think I was pretty successful with my final project and I hope that I get a great grade.
June 2nd, 2010 - Jail! - (journal #50)
Write about someone you would love to see put in jail.
I think it would be interesting to see someone really famous and well known throughout the entire world was sentenced to a year or so in jail. Let's say... Obama. That's something that everybody would want to know about. I mean, how would that happen? Maybe he stole something important from the white house. The news headlines would be like "OBAMA IN JAIL!" And it would be the talk of the world. Somebody would probably make a joke about it too.
June 1st, 2010 - Dislike - (journal #49)
Write about a task, job or chore you dislike.
I've never been too fond of making my bed. Really, what's the point? I spend lets say a minute or so picking up sheets on the ground and pillows that may have been a little tilted and then I just go on with my day. Does anybody even see my bed? Why should I even have to if it's still the same bed before and after I clean it?
Also, I really hate having to clean up all my old school work. I literally have a stack of school papers that I started in the fourth grade. I really don't know where to put this stuff. By the end of every year, I have a garbage bag's full of old work that I'll probably never care about again. As of now, I just stuff the junk under my bed. But that won't do eventually.
May 28th, 2010 - Respect - (journal #48)
Of all the people you know, who is the person you respect most of all? Why? What has the person done to earn your respect?
Several people I know really deserve some more respect. They're smart and nice, but maybe not so strong. There's one specific person I know, who I'm not going to say the name of, that gets pummeled around every once in a while for being themselves. Now that's insane. But what really gets my attention is that they just shrug it off and get on with their lives. This person knows that those jerks won't get anywhere in life by bullying him. What should be known is that this happens almost every time I see this person and yet they're still standing strong. They might make a joke and then just walk away. I don't do that, and I think it's a good skill to practice. Maybe it's just me, but I think that deserves my respect.
May 26th, 2010 - Use These Words - (journal #47)
Use all of the following words in a story: plastic bottle, baseball, dirty handkerchief, crumpled note, unhinged door.
"Hmm," thought Arthur. "My pocket is full of junk!" There was a plastic bottle wedged into the surprisingly large opening in his pants. "My goodness, is this a dirty handkerchief?" Beside the handkerchief was a baseball and next to that was a crumpled note with something written on it. "Unhinged door," he read. "What?" Perhaps he was packing. Well packing his pockets that is. Arthur was quite satisfied with the items in his pocket and went on with his day.
May 24th, 2010 - Story telling reflection - (journal #46)
Reflect on your digital storytelling project.
I liked this project. It wasn't too long and it was fun to make. The fact that we were restricted in time in our story made it a little easier to keep it short and simple. My final product was exactly how I wanted it. The music, voice and pictures all ended on the same note an the tone in the pictures was great. I did not, however, enjoy writing up a storyboard. I generally like to see how the project goes as I make it. Because this project was only around one minute long, I didn't feel the need for one. I knew what I was going to do, I didn't need to reassure myself on paper. I was a little nervous as to how my video would compare to other's, but I think it was pretty good overall. I'd say that I've learned a little more into short story telling. I'm not exactly used to being so limited in pictures and script.
May 20th, 2010 - Free Write - (journal #45)
Cough syrup does not help. I woke up in the morning feeling pretty bummed out and my throat was a little sore. I just did the normal thing and I had a little medicine to help. Well... I thought it would help. It didn't at all. I drank some and it literally burned my mouth. I could feel it crawling lower and lower down my throat and it was horrible. You see, it wasn't so bad at first, but I suddenly exploded in coughs and pain. Even now, a few hours later, my throat still stings with every breath. My springtime allergies did not help a bit. I had a clogged up nose and my eyes were watery. Bleh, the next few days are not going to be pleasant.
May 19th, 2010 - 12 Things to Buy - (journal #44)
List 12 things you can buy with your last 20,000 won.
1. Lunch
2. A subway ticket to a friend
3. Batteries
4. A shirt
5. Pants
6. Poster
7. An apple
8. 20,000 won worth of tic-tacs
9. A yoyo
10. Music
11. Movie ticket
12. A video game
May 17th, 2010 - Zebra's Stripes - (journal #43)
"Yipes," said the zebra. "I've lost my stripes." Continue the paragraph, using as many words as you possibly can that rhymes with yipes.
"Yipes," said the zebra. "I've lost my stripes." And then it looked at the pipes. "Oh," exclaimed the zebra. "Look at those lovely pipes!" There surely weren't very many types. Perhaps it's just the crazy hypes. "Now back to my stripes," said the talking zebra. "Where have they gone, were they taken by the kites?" This zebra was sure that something was wrong. All he could think about were his stripes, the pipes, the hype, and those evil kites.
May 13th, 2010 - DW words - (journal #42)
There are only three words in the english dictionary that start with dw:
- Dwell
- Dwindle
- Dwarf
Write a paragraph that incorporates all three of these dw words.
As the little girls conscious dwindled away into nothingness but her dreams, she fell asleep. She looked around and saw snow and a cottage hidden away between the trees. She approached the cozy little cottage and slowly opened the door. Inside, there were a few trinkets chattering and a little light flashing. Walking around the empty home, Charlotte sat down in a plump little chair by the clock. Something got up and started to move about the house.
Dwelling Deep within the cottage was a dwarf. Not tall, quite wide, and had a mountainous beard. His hair was dark and his eyes were large. He wore patched up blue trousers and had a plaid shirt under. He said 'hi' and went on his way. He picked up his axe and plopped it away. Charlotte followed the dwarf not knowing what to do. Perhaps he was magical, she thought. And then she had another thought of fairies and dragons and then she woke up. "What a good dream," she thought.
May 11th, 2010 - Wordle!
6+1 Essay
May 11th, 2010 - Things worth Saving - (journal #41)
List 10-15 things worth saving and then choose one to write about.
1. Money
2. The House
3. Friends
4. Family
5. Halloween Candy
6. Computer
7. Snowboard 8. A good pencil
9. Backpack
10. Clothes
Have you ever had a really good pencil? Mechanical or not. One that writes well, looks nice, and is just a joy to hold in your hand? Whenever I get one that I just can't write without, I lose it within days. I'm not really sure how that happens, because it's something that I wouldn't dare to lose. Then I lose it right away. I always try my best to think of where I might've misplaced it or where I might've gone wrong. It never works. Never. And that really sucks too. I have to find another pencil or borrow one for every class. And that's just annoying to others and myself. I need a caged box or something to put that pencil in, it's ridiculous how many pencils I lose throughout the year. I don't even know why I buy them now.
May 10th, 2010 - Backseat Cab - (journal #40)
Take two people who dislike each other and stick them in the backseat of a cab. What happens?
The two rivals rushed and puffed their ways down the stairwell and ended up reaching for the cab. They were both going to the airport. Joe, the shorter one, was going to China, and Danny, the still short but dumber, was going to Hawaii. Never did these two think they would end up in the same cab out of the city. The two fought for the car at first but it all ended up with both of them being pushed in. They pushed and tugged and yelled until the cab driver got fed up and just plainly kicked them out. Right onto the 114 Boulevard five miles from the airport. Being nowhere near a cab, the two started walking. One of them went faster and the other caught up. And then that one went a little bit faster and was caught up to by the other. This kept going on and the two were racing to the airport until both just started yelling horrific remarks at the other persons choice of a vacation destination.
May 3rd, 2010 - Free Write - (journal #39)
Did you know that a long time ago in the Americas and part of Europe, they used to wear cotton clothing that still had cotton seeds in them? Nobody thought or bothered to take out the seeds as they weren't a too big of a problem. I'm actually lying, but it's still cool that they take every single seed out of cotton just to make your shirt. It actually takes so long to do it that they made a machine like that in order to do it faster. Well something along the lines of that happened, maybe it was some other cloth. Either way, this machine is a great idea.
May 6th, 2010 - Uplifting Experience - (journal #38)
Recall an uplifting experience and write about it.
Every year I go out with some friends and go snowboarding. Skiing for some. And every time I go snowboarding, my spirits just rise up and dance. I love it. There's nothing better to spend the day doing than snowboarding. Sadly, I can only go once every year due to lack of planning and such, but it's always amazing. The fresh cold air flows right by me as I whisk down the mountain. Most of my time is spent going down the mountain more times than I can count. It's fun every single time I go down, even if it's the same track. I do really hope I can go again this year. Maybe even twice this time.
May 3rd, 2010 - Hiding from Someone - (journal #37)
Write about a time you hid from someone. Or a time you disguised who you really were.
When I was really young. Around four or five years old, I was given a very exotic kind of mask. With tons of little details and very bright with hundreds of different colors. It had feathers and a lot of little decorations covering every spot of it. I thought it it was really cool and I decided to wear it around town. Basically, everywhere I went for a few weeks, I wore that mask. People were confused and had no clue who I was. I thought I was ghost or something spooky like that. I actually didn't even notice that I was wearing it until somebody pointed it out. It was like I was somebody else for an entire month and my pre-school buddies thought I was a new kid the first time they saw me wear it.
April 29th, 2010 - Standing for my Beliefs - (journal #36)
Is there a cause you care about a lot? How far would you go to stand up for what you believe?
There's always been one thing that I've always understood perfectly and yet also didn't understand at all. That would be the general idea of self-loathing. It sucks. For everybody really. I know several people that tend to say that they 'hate their life' or that they 'wish they weren't born' or something stupid along the lines of that. I understand that things may be rough for them. It makes me angry, it makes them even more depressed, and it's also a bit tedious to listen to. What bothers me more is that people allow themselves and others to do this. It's extremely frustrating. Sure, it's great that they're expressing their feelings, but they continue to do it. They complain about the same thing everyday. People should care about what people like this do. Not because it's bothersome, but because everybody should care and help.
April 28th, 2010 - Scrubbed Floor - (journal #35)
Write from the point of view of a freshly scrubbed floor.
Over the past few years, I've never been cleaned or washed or even wiped up with a kitchen towel. I've been collecting dust over my checkered body for so so long. The mold was growing bigger and bigger and I had juice in between all my cracks. But today was different, there was somebody different in the house. I've never seen this person before, but I think it's my owners mother. Or maybe it was somebody else. Either way though, she came in and saw me and then froze in horror. I was so dirty she said! Insulting, but true. Even a stubborn floor like me would agree that I was filthy. She started with a wet mob and started getting the big spots of dirt. It felt so refreshing to have all that gunk off of me. Then with a sponge, she started scrubbing the smaller cracks edges and little areas. Within minutes, I was sparkly clean and I felt great. Being cleaned was an amazing feeling and now I feel ten times lighter. Maybe this is what it feels like to get a 'hair cut' as those humans call it.
April 26th, 2010 - Telling things about her - (journal #34)
You can tell a lot about a person by what he or she says. Here are some things Grandma Dorothy always says: "You can never be too dressed up." "A woman should never ask a man to dance." "He is quite a snappy dresser." Based on these sentences, imagine what king of person Grandma Dorothy is. Write a paragraph describing her. Feel free to use any or all of her quotations.
Grandma Dorothy is an old fashioned person. She is formal and probably loves to dress up in exquisite and fanciful clothes. She speaks with words that you would not regularly hear today like 'snappy.' She believes that a man is supposed to take charge and that, "you can never be too dressed up." Her morals are older and are not of our time. She is most likely pretty strict and keeps doing things in an older way with older standards. Not bad though, it's how she was raised.
April 22nd, 2010 - Soap Opera - (journal #33)
Pick a character from a day time soap opera. Put him or her in a stranded commuter train. Write about what he or she is feeling or thinking at that moment.
Inside the creaking subway train were several dozen people. Some young, some old, some just plain odd, and there was also that one special somebody on the train. Nobody noticed of course, he should've been somewhere off in hollywood or something at the time, so it was probably a costume. There were recent reports in the news about a man that started screaming randomly on the subway. He was tall, not young, and had a mustache. It was one of those large, curly mustaches that made being noticed inevitable. He just got up and started yelling into peoples faces. Strange and scary, but also a little funny. The only thing that old mustached man could think of was, "I have my own limo, why am I on a subway train?"
April 20th, 2010 - Commercial Reflection - (journal #32)
Reflect on the group work portion of your commercial project. How did you measure up? Do you believe that you contributed to the group as much as others? What was your role? Did you learn anything new about yourself and how you work in groups during this project?
I feel that my group members, Eric and Justin, and I worked well and equally. Maybe not to the full end product that we were hoping for, but we each did as much work as the other. We each acted and edited and took part in the making and decisions. My role was to act and help edit and put together the final product. But we all did that. Personally, as I said before, I believe that the movie could've been a little more polished. I feel that we could've added in some more parts describing our product, which was in turn, a little confusing. The one thing I hate about group work is finishing touches and extra work that needs to be done. It always feels like there's more work than there should be when I'm in a group.
April 20th, 2010 - Voice of a Rope - (journal #31)
Write in the voice of a rope about to snap. At least one paragraph 5-8 sentences.
All I could think was "OH SNAP! OH SNAP! I'M GOING TO BREAK!" There was no way I could even think about breaking in half! No, I'll be fine, I'm sure of it. But wait, I'm starting to stretch apart and I'm getting thinner and thinner--I'm going to die! What sane person would do something like this? Why would somebody harm an innocent rope, why oh why is this happening? My legs are tearing apart and my hands can't hold on any longer! Please stop, no more, I can't take this!
April 15th, 2010 - Free Write - (journal #30)
I think it should be known that painting is really boring. I love arts and crafts and paper mache and sculpting stuff with clay. Just know that I suck at painting. It's all great fun until I have to paint things. When I dab some paint onto my canvas, it turns into a monstrous creature or something that resembles dirt. Paint, for me, never turns smooth or dries well. Why can't we all just have something like colored paintils (pencil)? That'd make everything so much easier.
April 15th, 2010 - Bonding - (journal #29)
Write about a moment when you and another person bonded.
When I was in 6th grade, going to 7th, I went camping with a friend. I went with a friend and his dad to an island known as Orkila and stayed there for two weeks. Yep, we spent two weeks out there. It was awesome. There was a giant lake within the island that we camped right next to. We didn't use a tent though, there was conveniently a gazebo kind of thing there for us to use. Every day there was ton of fun and tons of things to do. During the middle of the trip we hiked up to the top of a small mountain and stayed there for a few days. You could see everything from there, even our little camp site. I learned how to skip a rock and roe a [tiny] canoe. We went again last year and it was just as amazing as the first time.
April 15th, 2010 - Free Write - (journal #28)
When I hear somebody talk about Seattle, I always chuckle a little inside. Of course, I used to live there a few years ago. It was a little sad when I moved out of where I'd lived all my life, but I got used to Korea. I mean there's all the new sites, the new language, the new friends and home. There's a ton of stuff to do here that's really new to me. Personally, I still suck at korean. Over the past four years, I've been living 45 minutes away from my school and at least 30 minutes from anybody I know. And that's really different from what I used to live with. I used to live in a house right next to my school. Well now I'm just babbling on. Just know that my life has really changed since I moved to korea; more for the better than worse.
April 8th, 2010 - Mayonnaise song - (journal #27)
Write a four-line song or poem about mayonnaise.
Oh mayonnaise, oh mayonnaise!
It's really all the craze!
I can't wait to have some,
For it's really yum.
April 7th, 2010 - International dogs - (journal #26)
A person's choice of a dog is said to express something about his or her personality. Choose five individuals whose names are well-known internationally. What king of dog would you choose for each. Why? Explain.
Einstein - Golden Retriever - I'd say that Einstein would have a golden retriever, it's pretty smart if I think about it. Well in my mind they are.
Obama - Dalmatian - Obama with a dalmatian at his side would be great. I think I've actually heard he owns a dalmatian, so even better! Obama stands out from the crowd like a dalmatian. I mean, he's the president of the US.
Michael Jackson - Poodle - Michael Jackson with a poodle. I'd love to see how he'd style the hair of it. Maybe give it a glove, teach it to moonwalk.
Kim Jung Il - Bulldog - It's an obvious one, and a perfect match. If I think of his pet, it's a bulldog. No doubt about it, you can see the resemblance a little too.
George bush - Beagle - Bush with his happy peppy beagle would be awesome to see.
April 7th, 2010 - Short Story reflection - (journal #25)
Reflect on the process of writing a short story. What did you enjoy about it? What was difficult? How would you approach it differently if you did it again?
Writing my short story was fun and a bit irritating. It was awesome putting all my ideas into a story, and I loved how it really formed it self. What I really had trouble doing was trying to think of an ending that wrapped everything together. I tried one thing that ended the story too quickly, then one that just dragged everything on forever. I got some friends to read over my story and they gave me tons of ideas, they enjoyed the story as well. In the end, I just mixed those two endings together. This mainly happened because I wrote the story as I was thinking of ideas, so I typed myself into a dead end a few times. If I were to really try and write another story, I'd really want to think about it's plot. That does sound really obvious, but if you read stories written by someone else in this class, there are obvious flaws in all of them. Some climax's are too boring and short, and others are way to long and drag down the story. Some don't develop characters enough and others just don't do anything interesting. Overall though, it was great to write and see my short story pop up.
March 30th, 2010 - Free write - (journal #24)
White cookies and cream chocolate is the best chocolate. Hands down winner. There is nothing better than this chocolate, but I've never been able to find some in korea. But what you, and basically just about everybody, need to know is that this chocolate has the most amazing crunch and scent. It's not too bitter and not too sweet, just right smack in the middle. You should get some the next time you find it when shopping.
March 30th, 2010 - Man to the moon? - (journal #23)
People often say, "If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to..." Complete the sentence five different ways.
If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to send them to mars.
If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to control the weather.
If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to write a five page story.
If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to control time.
If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to sell more yoyos so that I could get one.
March 29th, 2010 - Onomatopoetic words - (journal #22)
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Those two ringing sounds just kept on echoing in my ears like a dripping faucet. It was like hearing that splash over and over again through the night. Except this time, I couldn't turn it off. It was the dead of night, around two, and I couldn't sleep a wink. That infuriating clock! It just wouldn't shut up! I wanted to destroy it and smash it and kick it until it went boom. At least let me hear something else! A crick from a cricket would've been pleasant by now. How about a yawn or two hiccups? Please?
March 19th, 2010 - Free Write - (journal #21)
Ever played the game called 'Candyland'? It's a game where you try to get to the end of the board, and the board and everything on it is candy. The characters are candy and the mountains are candy. Can you imagine if this were real? That would be cool, eh? There would be mountains of chocolate and giant ice cream hills everywhere. It'd be the best for that little kid that never got sweets!
March 18th, 2010 - Ice in veins - (journal #20)
Free write for 3 minutes on this cliche "ice running through her veins."
If 'ice is running through your veins', it probably means that you're just stunned and struck. Maybe anxious with a bit of fear that keeps you uneasy. When you experience this, you'd know what it felt like. Like a snake had just bit you and its venom is flowing right through your body, like you're paralyzed. It makes you wonder what can make you so unbelievably stupefied. Maybe you just lost your job or you've met with a mugger. Either way, you don't want to be there. It's never truly good to have this feeling.
March 16th, 2010 - Rainy day - (journal #19)
List 10 things that you usually do on a rainy day. Pick on from your list and free write for 5 minutes.
1. Sleep
2. Call someone
3. Play around on the computer
4. Play a game with my brother
5. Watch tv
6. Play around with random stuff (ie: rubik's cube)
7. Think about what to do on that day 8. Go out with an umbrella
9. Lye down and think
10. Talk with someone
I'm not sure what anybody else thinks about this, but I think rainy days are quite soothing. Sunny days are nice too. I mean, you're not really TRAPPED inside or anything. Get an umbrella or just get wet, do you really need to care that much? Walk around, splish in the puddles, or just go to a store or something
.
. It's refreshing at least. I live near a giant park that's pretty empty most of the time. There's this giant crater in the ground near the entrance and it always fills to the brim with water. Actually, once when I went there after the rain, I didn't notice that giant hole in the ground and walked right into it. And Splash! It was at least waist deep and pretty long so I got soaked. Apparently, the crater once held a giant boulder that got removed or maybe it was just dug out. Cool either way.
March 11th, 2010 - Character Profile - (journal #18)
Write a 150-word profile of someone named "Margaret Mallory" or one of the characters for your short story.
Born in the bizarre land of Cantaloupe, Margaret Mallory was queen. She is 37 and a half years old and is the sole owner of Mallory Co. She is not greedy, but instead incredibly independent. She will tend to stay hidden in her little castle giving out orders through her very large megaphone. She absolutely loves to lye down in her comfy bed and eat her Mallory puffs. The Mallory family is powerful and quite lonely, and they will always love the very comforting feeling given by a cat. She does nothing during the day and everything at night. Truthfully, she is an owl and yet, she is queen.
March 11th, 2010 - Description, Stone - (journal #17)
Describe a person in detail who does not leave a stone unturned.
Little Sally always drank her milk and tidied her little bed. She was very little and never very brittle. Her room was never dirty and she always made sure. There was never a bed unchecked or toy un-winded, she would look and look and look all day, just as if she were looking through hay. She would never leave a single toy on the floor and always looked the check more. There was no unturned stone and she knew where everything was. Sally's room was very clean.
March 8th, 2010 - Rhyme paragraph - (journal #16)
Write a rhyme paragraph. Each sentence must begin and end with the words that rhyme with each other.
Ex: Spring is a wonderful thing. Flowers start to sprout with the help of rain showers.
There was once a pear that was very fair. It was very calm and was never bit. When that pear was ripe for the picking, out came the wolf named Ben. Ben wasn't too keen and surely didn't live in a pen. He was rough and tough and when he won he would always scream "Wee!" Old Ben snatched that pear and wiped off its mold. Down his mouth the pear was thrown. Oh that poor fruit, if only if the wolf would let go.
Over the horizon lies the gargantuan chicken. And below holds the humble villager who continues to care for his crops. His squash and his beans are his prized possessions. If only if he had known of the chicken, but no no no! There was a chicken above him! The massive size of this chicken was enough to swallow the sun whole! Slowly the sky darkened as the farmer continued to toil. That poor man would never see his crops again...
March 4th, 2010 - No Electricity? - (journal #14)
Electricity is recent discovery. Think of 12 things to do when there is no power.
1. Learn to cook using a cookbook
2. Go out
3. Read a book
4. Sleep
5. Go shopping
6. Buy a goat
7. Play with your pet
8. Build something out of cardboard
9. Draw
10. Talk to a friend
11. Imagine things
12. Kick a can
March 1st, 2010 - Elderly Cartoons! - (journal #13)
What king of cartoon show might appeal to the overage 65 audience? Imagine the show. Then, in 100 words or less, describe the show and its main character.
Everything black and grey, old Harold strolled down the street. Not in his rusty shoes, but in his 1970 pinto. He'd shove those young whippersnappers out of his way with ease. With his trusty pinto, he'd keep rolling along the country side. Bowling over those young ones, nobody would get in his way. You see, in the good days, the pinto was marvelous, it was the automobile of its time! Rolling and strolling, Harold is the man and his show is the bomb.
February 26th, 2010 - Eight Sentences - (journal #12)
Write an eight sentence paragraph on a topic of your choice. Make sure that you vary the length of each sentence.
Every day old Tim went to the market and bought himself some ripe tomatoes. He absolutely loved those juicy red balls and everything made of them. His shoes were made of tomatoes and his hat was made of tomatoes. Once every week Tim would polish his tomato shoes in his tomato juice. It made those shoes sparkly clean. However, weeks into his tomato life and his tomato diet, Tim began to notice that all his tomatoes were dying! It was horrible, there was a stench and he couldn't take it. It brought in all the dogs and burned Tim's eyes. Tim abandoned his house with a single tear.
February 18th, 2010 - Words in a story - (journal #11)
Use the following words in a story: little boy, torn page, market, cart
In the market the little boy tries to sneak some cereal into the cart. Little did he know that what he grabbed was instead a torn page of his baseball hero's diary. It's strange how that paper even got there; why was it there at all? Later on in little Timmy's life, he began to wonder what he'd do with that scrap. Perhaps he'd sell it for money or frame it on the wall. It was from his hero after all. In the end, when he had finished thinking over his options, little Timmy was richer than he could imagine.
February 12th, 2010 - Free Write - (journal #10)
Every few years we find a little bit of powder on our lawns or maybe a frozen river nearby. There was always a little snow, but never enough to really play around in. On that day I just couldn't believe how I couldn't even look out the windows without seeing mountains of powdery white snow. I could barely see the street outside and my hand would've been buried if I put my hand out the windows. That was a pretty fun day, even the giant river close by froze enough to walk on. I can't wait until this happens again!
February 12th, 2010 - Smelling Feelings - (journal #9)
Describe what you feel right now using your sense of smell. If you feel frustrated, write about what your frustration smells like. Use vivid words. Don't skimp on adjectives.
The fragrance of a small, yet pleasant tangerine surrounds me. A peeled little fruit gives off the most wonderful of scents. That great smell of freshly squeezed or naturally born can bring joy to even the tiniest child. Perhaps it's not the outer skin that looks and smells great, but inside, the small ball of orange is key. What I feel is that of the scent of a tangerine.
February 10th 2010 - Cat Attack! - (journal #8)
Write about a cat attacking something, but don't use the words hiss, scratch or pounce.
The innocent mouse lies there munching on its treat, unaware of the sneaky cats slow movement forward. The cat is hidden is the shadows and is ready to jump and the mouse continues to eat. Quietly coming closer, the cat takes a swing at the mouse with its paw! Unable to dodge the beast in time, the mouse is thrown to the side and dearly injured. Paralyzed by the initial hit, the mouse is down.
February 8th, 2010 - Fatima - (journal #7)
Fatima is a very spoiled teenage girl. Show that she is spoiled, by describing what happens when she doesn't get a car for her birthday.
The moment the words drop that her present was a stuffed giraffe, Fatima froze. She froze not because she was afraid but because she was so shocked to see that she didn't get that super mega awesome car she wanted. It looked as if her brain had just stopped completely, like her entire world didn't make sense anymore! It was insane to her how she didn't get her mega awesome car, she knew that she had to have it. Suddenly screaming and waving her arms like a lunatic she nearly exploded in anger, her parents were now in shock themselves. How had their little girl turned like this?! She was literally shouting her parents down into a corner, it was just crazy!
February 1st, 2010 - (journal #6)
Choose one from the following list:
-Describe your bedroom the way you want it to be.
-Describe a storm. This could be a thunderstorm, a snow storm, a hurricane, a tornado, a hail storm, a rain storm, or any type of storm.
As you look around you see absolutely nothing, it's a blank slate. Maybe you'll see the glimpse of a shadow every once in a while, but you're trapped! You feel dozens of little flakes fall and flow onto you, but you have no clue where you are. Soon you realize that you're in the middle of a giant storm! The cold is enough to get your mouth dry in seconds and all there is for miles to see is powder on the ground. And in the sky is a mountains worth of snow--endlessly falling! Trying to take one little step, you pull up your leg and find it impossibly hard to keep moving forward. It's the middle of the day and you can't see things five feet away--the snow is falling everywhere!
February 3rd, 2010 - Silly is... - (journal #5)
Silly is a middle-aged man who combs his remaining limp strands of hair into an elaborate swirl over his bald spot, gluing them in place with hair spray and hoping no one will notice.
Silly is a golden retriever who slinks sheepishly off the sofa whenever his owner comes home, hoping-despite the piles of hair all over the cushion that she won't notice he's been sleeping there.
What else is silly? Give three more examples.
Silly is a cow kicking away at everything whenever it hears even the smallest of sounds, breaking a tiny twig and you'll see two giant hooves coming your way--even the cows jolly owner would get a kick out of their day!
Silly is going to the wrong place at the wrong time and yet still being completely oblivious to everything around you--I mean, look around you, the things you see should be different, you're not at the right place!
Silly is kicking a bucket away in boredom only to find a vicious cat underneath, it'd pounce on you in a second--but maybe you wouldn't be bored anymore. (it happened to me!)
February 1st, 2010 - Write What You See - Strange Photograph
What is your interpretation of this photograph? Turn it upside down and sideways fordifferent views. What is it? What could it mean? How and where was it taken?
Normally, with the photograph right-side-up, I see a person with huge glasses over their nose. The curly hair is on the top of its pointy head and its mouth is open pretty wide. The top part of it is a head and the bottom a body. It's probably made of wire like a wire sculpture or glue layered on top of each other.
Discuss this image with at least three other people. Then summarize their interpretations of the image.
Christine/Soyoon: She thought is looked like a man, like me, but with a giant beard instead of part of their body showing.
Eric: He though it looked like an angry face with giant sunglasses.
Rachel: A ghost taped by an invisible man/ghost whisperer. The ghost is running away from the man, afraid.
Imagine that the image is a symbol of some kind. What could it symbolize?
I think the figure is trying to advertise giant sunglasses! Or maybe they want people to get some curly hair. It'd be awesome either way. Maybe the sunglasses are linked to activeness and going out.
Imagine that this is a newly discovered animal. Describe it.
As an animal it'd be a new species of worm in my eyes! If you look at it for a second, it has a bending body going into the ground. The worm is probably poking out its head with its big sunglasses to see something. Perhaps the weather's nice there!
February 1st, 2010 - Write What You See - Onion
Describe an onion to someone who has never seen or tasted one.
An onion is like a peel-able plant. It's round and about the size of an orange, and is white with a tinge of green and gray (and sometimes purple). On the onion is a skin that you can peel that's striped with dozens of little lines. Peeling it gives you a crunchy sound while all the sides easily slide off. Eating the onion is pretty different, it's often chopped up into smaller pieces and tastes like almost nothing. When it's cooked it's transparent white and adds depth to your food, nobody really eats it raw. When chopping up an onion, you'll find yourself starting to break into tears. Maybe it's just me, but you'll know when you see an onion.
February 1st, 2010 - (journal #4)
Close your eyes briefly. Think of one object that's in the room and focus on it without opening your eyes, recall as much detail as you can about it. After three minutes or so, open your eyes and write about that object without looking at it. (This exercise was done in class and timed.)
It's a blue backpack with some black on it
it has something that starts with a B on it that's in gold
there are around four pockets on it, one's open
There's something in that open pocket like a textbook or binder
There are some laces around the front holding it together
it has columbia on it in white on the front of it
The handles and clippings and sides of it are black
the front of it is mostly blue
January 30th, 2010 - Free Writing - (journal #3)
Last night I had the worst time trying to hang my little white board on the wall--mostly because I didn't want to use a nail. Just so you know, this white board wasn't too big or heavy. It's wasn't the lightest either though, tape didn't cut it. I had some really strong tape to hold the white board up for around an hour and the white board fell off. The tape stuck to the wall, the white board did not. Well, later on I found some really sticky and really tiny pads that I used to hold the white board up. They're like tiny magnets for anything, I should really get more of them!
January 25th, 2010 - Write What You see - #1
1.List and Poem
green
leaf
water
dew
vine
root
wet
rain
fresh
dry
spring
summer
forest
tree
plants
ferns
bugs
insects
dirt
soil
sunshine
growth
weather
bark
wood
fresh
Fresh Spring drowns the leafs,
Water and dew fall upon the ferns,
The sunshine is soon to come
The dew over the forest,
Always fresh and wet,
Moisture is in the air.
2.Compare/Contrast
Compare
Contrast
Both are about plants
One is in black and white, the other isn't
both show something in nature in their normal places
In one the entire tree is shown and only a leaf of a plant is shown in the other
both show the ground
one shows autumn, the other doesn't show any season
leafs on tree are orange-ish, the other is unknown
dew/water is only in one picture
(Picture of an autumn tree)
3.Close up
(of apple tree)
Everybody knows about an apple tree, but have never actually tasted an apple directly from one. It's really cool to feel a fresh and smooth apple, you can really think of how juicy it'll be with every bite. Take a little nibble and you'll get a wonderful, yet soft, crunching sound. The wonderful fruity scent of an apple will just brighten up your day! (Or maybe keep the doctor away)
4.Quote - "A man's life is like a drop of dew on a leaf." - Socrates
I think that Socrates meant that you don't know how a man's life came to be, as you can never be sure where the dew comes from. Or even how a man started or turned into what it is now, anything could affect a drop of dew.
January 25th, 2010 - Dot - (journal #2)
Write a paragraph about a girl named Dot, but use no letters with (i,j)
On the planet of Strawberry, the person named Dot was once an adventurous person. She loved her house and could endure any task. She's now, however, a worker at Candyland. Candyland was once a place of fun, but the place went down after the recent changes to the economy. Dot was demoted to the lower place of a chef and has therefor been very busy recently. She's recently begun to ponder what she'll do next--she's been stuck at Candyland for a while. Perhaps one day she'll be able to get a better place to stay and maybe a great place to work too.
January 25th, 2010 - Twenty things that annoy me - (journal #1)
- List 20 things that annoy you. Pick one to write about.
1. When you wake up to find that you fell off your bed.
2. Annoying people in general
3. Stalkers
4. When somebody keeps babbling on about something I have no clue about
5. When somebody shows off in your face
6. My alarm clock
7. People that don't know when to stop
8. Liars
9. When I run out of something I need
10. Wanting to wake up early but not doing it the next morning
11. When somebody drags me along somewhere
12. Not knowing what's happening
13. Being distracted while something important happens
14. When people talk about one thing over and over and over and over
15. When you can't remember something
16. When I forget something at home
17. When I lose something
18. When you need to use something that's right there, but you can't
19. When I wake up tired
20. When something breaks when you need to use it
When You're Distracted
Don't you just absolutely hate it when you were trying to hear something important and somebody just happens to distract you? Last week I was told to get something important for a friend but I didn't exactly hear what it was. As soon as he finished talking about it, somebody else just budded in and interrupted. By the time he finished talking, the first person had gone away and I never figured out what it was that I needed to get! In the end I let him down, it really sucked.
January 25th, 2010 - Creative Definition - (homework)
What does the word creative mean? (dict. defs)
1. Having the quality or power of creating
2. Resulting from originality of thought, expression, etc; imaginative
3. originative; productive
4. Using or creating exaggerated or skewed data, information, etc.
How many definitions are there?
- There are four definitions of the word creative in this dictionary.
Do the definitions match what you believe creative means?
- In my head, the word creative means to be imaginative using only your own personality as a background. My definition is pretty close to the second dictionary one.
In your own words, write a def. for creative
-To be imaginative using only your own personality as a background for creation
When you are angry, you feel strong dislike or impatience about something. More »
You use that to refer back to an idea or situation expressed in a previous sentence or sentences. More »
Andrew's Page! :)
(newer stuff on top)June 7th, 2010 - Final Project - (journal #51)
Reflect on your final project. Why did you choose it and what do you think you learned from the process of creating it?
I chose to write a short story for my final project. To me, it seemed the easiest and most fun to write. I had a lot of ideas I wanted to type out from my previous story assignment, so it worked out. I did have trouble getting everything to fit together though. Most of my story was a ton of different jumbled parts that just leaked into each other. There wasn't much of a unified story at first. There was no ending and the beginning was quite slow and dull. But I got some friends to read through it and give me some ideas and I eventually got my final project turned in and ready to be graded. I think I was pretty successful with my final project and I hope that I get a great grade.
June 2nd, 2010 - Jail! - (journal #50)
Write about someone you would love to see put in jail.
I think it would be interesting to see someone really famous and well known throughout the entire world was sentenced to a year or so in jail. Let's say... Obama. That's something that everybody would want to know about. I mean, how would that happen? Maybe he stole something important from the white house. The news headlines would be like "OBAMA IN JAIL!" And it would be the talk of the world. Somebody would probably make a joke about it too.
June 1st, 2010 - Dislike - (journal #49)
Write about a task, job or chore you dislike.
I've never been too fond of making my bed. Really, what's the point? I spend lets say a minute or so picking up sheets on the ground and pillows that may have been a little tilted and then I just go on with my day. Does anybody even see my bed? Why should I even have to if it's still the same bed before and after I clean it?
Also, I really hate having to clean up all my old school work. I literally have a stack of school papers that I started in the fourth grade. I really don't know where to put this stuff. By the end of every year, I have a garbage bag's full of old work that I'll probably never care about again. As of now, I just stuff the junk under my bed. But that won't do eventually.
May 28th, 2010 - Respect - (journal #48)
Of all the people you know, who is the person you respect most of all? Why? What has the person done to earn your respect?
Several people I know really deserve some more respect. They're smart and nice, but maybe not so strong. There's one specific person I know, who I'm not going to say the name of, that gets pummeled around every once in a while for being themselves. Now that's insane. But what really gets my attention is that they just shrug it off and get on with their lives. This person knows that those jerks won't get anywhere in life by bullying him. What should be known is that this happens almost every time I see this person and yet they're still standing strong. They might make a joke and then just walk away. I don't do that, and I think it's a good skill to practice. Maybe it's just me, but I think that deserves my respect.
May 26th, 2010 - Use These Words - (journal #47)
Use all of the following words in a story: plastic bottle, baseball, dirty handkerchief, crumpled note, unhinged door.
"Hmm," thought Arthur. "My pocket is full of junk!" There was a plastic bottle wedged into the surprisingly large opening in his pants. "My goodness, is this a dirty handkerchief?" Beside the handkerchief was a baseball and next to that was a crumpled note with something written on it. "Unhinged door," he read. "What?" Perhaps he was packing. Well packing his pockets that is. Arthur was quite satisfied with the items in his pocket and went on with his day.
May 24th, 2010 - Story telling reflection - (journal #46)
Reflect on your digital storytelling project.
I liked this project. It wasn't too long and it was fun to make. The fact that we were restricted in time in our story made it a little easier to keep it short and simple. My final product was exactly how I wanted it. The music, voice and pictures all ended on the same note an the tone in the pictures was great. I did not, however, enjoy writing up a storyboard. I generally like to see how the project goes as I make it. Because this project was only around one minute long, I didn't feel the need for one. I knew what I was going to do, I didn't need to reassure myself on paper. I was a little nervous as to how my video would compare to other's, but I think it was pretty good overall. I'd say that I've learned a little more into short story telling. I'm not exactly used to being so limited in pictures and script.
May 20th, 2010 - Free Write - (journal #45)
Cough syrup does not help. I woke up in the morning feeling pretty bummed out and my throat was a little sore. I just did the normal thing and I had a little medicine to help. Well... I thought it would help. It didn't at all. I drank some and it literally burned my mouth. I could feel it crawling lower and lower down my throat and it was horrible. You see, it wasn't so bad at first, but I suddenly exploded in coughs and pain. Even now, a few hours later, my throat still stings with every breath. My springtime allergies did not help a bit. I had a clogged up nose and my eyes were watery. Bleh, the next few days are not going to be pleasant.
May 19th, 2010 - 12 Things to Buy - (journal #44)
List 12 things you can buy with your last 20,000 won.
1. Lunch
2. A subway ticket to a friend
3. Batteries
4. A shirt
5. Pants
6. Poster
7. An apple
8. 20,000 won worth of tic-tacs
9. A yoyo
10. Music
11. Movie ticket
12. A video game
May 17th, 2010 - Zebra's Stripes - (journal #43)
"Yipes," said the zebra. "I've lost my stripes." Continue the paragraph, using as many words as you possibly can that rhymes with yipes.
"Yipes," said the zebra. "I've lost my stripes." And then it looked at the pipes. "Oh," exclaimed the zebra. "Look at those lovely pipes!" There surely weren't very many types. Perhaps it's just the crazy hypes. "Now back to my stripes," said the talking zebra. "Where have they gone, were they taken by the kites?" This zebra was sure that something was wrong. All he could think about were his stripes, the pipes, the hype, and those evil kites.
May 13th, 2010 - DW words - (journal #42)
There are only three words in the english dictionary that start with dw:
- Dwell
- Dwindle
- Dwarf
Write a paragraph that incorporates all three of these dw words.
As the little girls conscious dwindled away into nothingness but her dreams, she fell asleep. She looked around and saw snow and a cottage hidden away between the trees. She approached the cozy little cottage and slowly opened the door. Inside, there were a few trinkets chattering and a little light flashing. Walking around the empty home, Charlotte sat down in a plump little chair by the clock. Something got up and started to move about the house.
Dwelling Deep within the cottage was a dwarf. Not tall, quite wide, and had a mountainous beard. His hair was dark and his eyes were large. He wore patched up blue trousers and had a plaid shirt under. He said 'hi' and went on his way. He picked up his axe and plopped it away. Charlotte followed the dwarf not knowing what to do. Perhaps he was magical, she thought. And then she had another thought of fairies and dragons and then she woke up. "What a good dream," she thought.
May 11th, 2010 - Wordle!
6+1
Essay
May 11th, 2010 - Things worth Saving - (journal #41)
List 10-15 things worth saving and then choose one to write about.
1. Money
2. The House
3. Friends
4. Family
5. Halloween Candy
6. Computer
7. Snowboard
8. A good pencil
9. Backpack
10. Clothes
Have you ever had a really good pencil? Mechanical or not. One that writes well, looks nice, and is just a joy to hold in your hand? Whenever I get one that I just can't write without, I lose it within days. I'm not really sure how that happens, because it's something that I wouldn't dare to lose. Then I lose it right away. I always try my best to think of where I might've misplaced it or where I might've gone wrong. It never works. Never. And that really sucks too. I have to find another pencil or borrow one for every class. And that's just annoying to others and myself. I need a caged box or something to put that pencil in, it's ridiculous how many pencils I lose throughout the year. I don't even know why I buy them now.
May 10th, 2010 - Backseat Cab - (journal #40)
Take two people who dislike each other and stick them in the backseat of a cab. What happens?
The two rivals rushed and puffed their ways down the stairwell and ended up reaching for the cab. They were both going to the airport. Joe, the shorter one, was going to China, and Danny, the still short but dumber, was going to Hawaii. Never did these two think they would end up in the same cab out of the city. The two fought for the car at first but it all ended up with both of them being pushed in. They pushed and tugged and yelled until the cab driver got fed up and just plainly kicked them out. Right onto the 114 Boulevard five miles from the airport. Being nowhere near a cab, the two started walking. One of them went faster and the other caught up. And then that one went a little bit faster and was caught up to by the other. This kept going on and the two were racing to the airport until both just started yelling horrific remarks at the other persons choice of a vacation destination.
May 3rd, 2010 - Free Write - (journal #39)
Did you know that a long time ago in the Americas and part of Europe, they used to wear cotton clothing that still had cotton seeds in them? Nobody thought or bothered to take out the seeds as they weren't a too big of a problem. I'm actually lying, but it's still cool that they take every single seed out of cotton just to make your shirt. It actually takes so long to do it that they made a machine like that in order to do it faster. Well something along the lines of that happened, maybe it was some other cloth. Either way, this machine is a great idea.
May 6th, 2010 - Uplifting Experience - (journal #38)
Recall an uplifting experience and write about it.
Every year I go out with some friends and go snowboarding. Skiing for some. And every time I go snowboarding, my spirits just rise up and dance. I love it. There's nothing better to spend the day doing than snowboarding. Sadly, I can only go once every year due to lack of planning and such, but it's always amazing. The fresh cold air flows right by me as I whisk down the mountain. Most of my time is spent going down the mountain more times than I can count. It's fun every single time I go down, even if it's the same track. I do really hope I can go again this year. Maybe even twice this time.
May 3rd, 2010 - Hiding from Someone - (journal #37)
Write about a time you hid from someone. Or a time you disguised who you really were.
When I was really young. Around four or five years old, I was given a very exotic kind of mask. With tons of little details and very bright with hundreds of different colors. It had feathers and a lot of little decorations covering every spot of it. I thought it it was really cool and I decided to wear it around town. Basically, everywhere I went for a few weeks, I wore that mask. People were confused and had no clue who I was. I thought I was ghost or something spooky like that. I actually didn't even notice that I was wearing it until somebody pointed it out. It was like I was somebody else for an entire month and my pre-school buddies thought I was a new kid the first time they saw me wear it.
April 29th, 2010 - Standing for my Beliefs - (journal #36)
Is there a cause you care about a lot? How far would you go to stand up for what you believe?
There's always been one thing that I've always understood perfectly and yet also didn't understand at all. That would be the general idea of self-loathing. It sucks. For everybody really. I know several people that tend to say that they 'hate their life' or that they 'wish they weren't born' or something stupid along the lines of that. I understand that things may be rough for them. It makes me angry, it makes them even more depressed, and it's also a bit tedious to listen to. What bothers me more is that people allow themselves and others to do this. It's extremely frustrating. Sure, it's great that they're expressing their feelings, but they continue to do it. They complain about the same thing everyday. People should care about what people like this do. Not because it's bothersome, but because everybody should care and help.
April 28th, 2010 - Scrubbed Floor - (journal #35)
Write from the point of view of a freshly scrubbed floor.
Over the past few years, I've never been cleaned or washed or even wiped up with a kitchen towel. I've been collecting dust over my checkered body for so so long. The mold was growing bigger and bigger and I had juice in between all my cracks. But today was different, there was somebody different in the house. I've never seen this person before, but I think it's my owners mother. Or maybe it was somebody else. Either way though, she came in and saw me and then froze in horror. I was so dirty she said! Insulting, but true. Even a stubborn floor like me would agree that I was filthy. She started with a wet mob and started getting the big spots of dirt. It felt so refreshing to have all that gunk off of me. Then with a sponge, she started scrubbing the smaller cracks edges and little areas. Within minutes, I was sparkly clean and I felt great. Being cleaned was an amazing feeling and now I feel ten times lighter. Maybe this is what it feels like to get a 'hair cut' as those humans call it.
April 26th, 2010 - Telling things about her - (journal #34)
You can tell a lot about a person by what he or she says. Here are some things Grandma Dorothy always says: "You can never be too dressed up." "A woman should never ask a man to dance." "He is quite a snappy dresser." Based on these sentences, imagine what king of person Grandma Dorothy is. Write a paragraph describing her. Feel free to use any or all of her quotations.
Grandma Dorothy is an old fashioned person. She is formal and probably loves to dress up in exquisite and fanciful clothes. She speaks with words that you would not regularly hear today like 'snappy.' She believes that a man is supposed to take charge and that, "you can never be too dressed up." Her morals are older and are not of our time. She is most likely pretty strict and keeps doing things in an older way with older standards. Not bad though, it's how she was raised.
April 22nd, 2010 - Soap Opera - (journal #33)
Pick a character from a day time soap opera. Put him or her in a stranded commuter train. Write about what he or she is feeling or thinking at that moment.
Inside the creaking subway train were several dozen people. Some young, some old, some just plain odd, and there was also that one special somebody on the train. Nobody noticed of course, he should've been somewhere off in hollywood or something at the time, so it was probably a costume. There were recent reports in the news about a man that started screaming randomly on the subway. He was tall, not young, and had a mustache. It was one of those large, curly mustaches that made being noticed inevitable. He just got up and started yelling into peoples faces. Strange and scary, but also a little funny. The only thing that old mustached man could think of was, "I have my own limo, why am I on a subway train?"
April 20th, 2010 - Commercial Reflection - (journal #32)
Reflect on the group work portion of your commercial project. How did you measure up? Do you believe that you contributed to the group as much as others? What was your role? Did you learn anything new about yourself and how you work in groups during this project?
I feel that my group members, Eric and Justin, and I worked well and equally. Maybe not to the full end product that we were hoping for, but we each did as much work as the other. We each acted and edited and took part in the making and decisions. My role was to act and help edit and put together the final product. But we all did that. Personally, as I said before, I believe that the movie could've been a little more polished. I feel that we could've added in some more parts describing our product, which was in turn, a little confusing. The one thing I hate about group work is finishing touches and extra work that needs to be done. It always feels like there's more work than there should be when I'm in a group.
April 20th, 2010 - Voice of a Rope - (journal #31)
Write in the voice of a rope about to snap. At least one paragraph 5-8 sentences.
All I could think was "OH SNAP! OH SNAP! I'M GOING TO BREAK!" There was no way I could even think about breaking in half! No, I'll be fine, I'm sure of it. But wait, I'm starting to stretch apart and I'm getting thinner and thinner--I'm going to die! What sane person would do something like this? Why would somebody harm an innocent rope, why oh why is this happening? My legs are tearing apart and my hands can't hold on any longer! Please stop, no more, I can't take this!
April 15th, 2010 - Free Write - (journal #30)
I think it should be known that painting is really boring. I love arts and crafts and paper mache and sculpting stuff with clay. Just know that I suck at painting. It's all great fun until I have to paint things. When I dab some paint onto my canvas, it turns into a monstrous creature or something that resembles dirt. Paint, for me, never turns smooth or dries well. Why can't we all just have something like colored paintils (pencil)? That'd make everything so much easier.
April 15th, 2010 - Bonding - (journal #29)
Write about a moment when you and another person bonded.
When I was in 6th grade, going to 7th, I went camping with a friend. I went with a friend and his dad to an island known as Orkila and stayed there for two weeks. Yep, we spent two weeks out there. It was awesome. There was a giant lake within the island that we camped right next to. We didn't use a tent though, there was conveniently a gazebo kind of thing there for us to use. Every day there was ton of fun and tons of things to do. During the middle of the trip we hiked up to the top of a small mountain and stayed there for a few days. You could see everything from there, even our little camp site. I learned how to skip a rock and roe a [tiny] canoe. We went again last year and it was just as amazing as the first time.
April 15th, 2010 - Free Write - (journal #28)
When I hear somebody talk about Seattle, I always chuckle a little inside. Of course, I used to live there a few years ago. It was a little sad when I moved out of where I'd lived all my life, but I got used to Korea. I mean there's all the new sites, the new language, the new friends and home. There's a ton of stuff to do here that's really new to me. Personally, I still suck at korean. Over the past four years, I've been living 45 minutes away from my school and at least 30 minutes from anybody I know. And that's really different from what I used to live with. I used to live in a house right next to my school. Well now I'm just babbling on. Just know that my life has really changed since I moved to korea; more for the better than worse.
April 8th, 2010 - Mayonnaise song - (journal #27)
Write a four-line song or poem about mayonnaise.
Oh mayonnaise, oh mayonnaise!
It's really all the craze!
I can't wait to have some,
For it's really yum.
April 7th, 2010 - International dogs - (journal #26)
A person's choice of a dog is said to express something about his or her personality. Choose five individuals whose names are well-known internationally. What king of dog would you choose for each. Why? Explain.
Einstein - Golden Retriever - I'd say that Einstein would have a golden retriever, it's pretty smart if I think about it. Well in my mind they are.
Obama - Dalmatian - Obama with a dalmatian at his side would be great. I think I've actually heard he owns a dalmatian, so even better! Obama stands out from the crowd like a dalmatian. I mean, he's the president of the US.
Michael Jackson - Poodle - Michael Jackson with a poodle. I'd love to see how he'd style the hair of it. Maybe give it a glove, teach it to moonwalk.
Kim Jung Il - Bulldog - It's an obvious one, and a perfect match. If I think of his pet, it's a bulldog. No doubt about it, you can see the resemblance a little too.
George bush - Beagle - Bush with his happy peppy beagle would be awesome to see.
April 7th, 2010 - Short Story reflection - (journal #25)
Reflect on the process of writing a short story. What did you enjoy about it? What was difficult? How would you approach it differently if you did it again?
Writing my short story was fun and a bit irritating. It was awesome putting all my ideas into a story, and I loved how it really formed it self. What I really had trouble doing was trying to think of an ending that wrapped everything together. I tried one thing that ended the story too quickly, then one that just dragged everything on forever. I got some friends to read over my story and they gave me tons of ideas, they enjoyed the story as well. In the end, I just mixed those two endings together. This mainly happened because I wrote the story as I was thinking of ideas, so I typed myself into a dead end a few times. If I were to really try and write another story, I'd really want to think about it's plot. That does sound really obvious, but if you read stories written by someone else in this class, there are obvious flaws in all of them. Some climax's are too boring and short, and others are way to long and drag down the story. Some don't develop characters enough and others just don't do anything interesting. Overall though, it was great to write and see my short story pop up.
March 30th, 2010 - Free write - (journal #24)
White cookies and cream chocolate is the best chocolate. Hands down winner. There is nothing better than this chocolate, but I've never been able to find some in korea. But what you, and basically just about everybody, need to know is that this chocolate has the most amazing crunch and scent. It's not too bitter and not too sweet, just right smack in the middle. You should get some the next time you find it when shopping.
March 30th, 2010 - Man to the moon? - (journal #23)
People often say, "If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to..." Complete the sentence five different ways.
If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to send them to mars.
If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to control the weather.
If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to write a five page story.
If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to control time.
If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to sell more yoyos so that I could get one.
March 29th, 2010 - Onomatopoetic words - (journal #22)
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Those two ringing sounds just kept on echoing in my ears like a dripping faucet. It was like hearing that splash over and over again through the night. Except this time, I couldn't turn it off. It was the dead of night, around two, and I couldn't sleep a wink. That infuriating clock! It just wouldn't shut up! I wanted to destroy it and smash it and kick it until it went boom. At least let me hear something else! A crick from a cricket would've been pleasant by now. How about a yawn or two hiccups? Please?
March 19th, 2010 - Free Write - (journal #21)
Ever played the game called 'Candyland'? It's a game where you try to get to the end of the board, and the board and everything on it is candy. The characters are candy and the mountains are candy. Can you imagine if this were real? That would be cool, eh? There would be mountains of chocolate and giant ice cream hills everywhere. It'd be the best for that little kid that never got sweets!
March 18th, 2010 - Ice in veins - (journal #20)
Free write for 3 minutes on this cliche "ice running through her veins."
If 'ice is running through your veins', it probably means that you're just stunned and struck. Maybe anxious with a bit of fear that keeps you uneasy. When you experience this, you'd know what it felt like. Like a snake had just bit you and its venom is flowing right through your body, like you're paralyzed. It makes you wonder what can make you so unbelievably stupefied. Maybe you just lost your job or you've met with a mugger. Either way, you don't want to be there. It's never truly good to have this feeling.
March 16th, 2010 - Rainy day - (journal #19)
List 10 things that you usually do on a rainy day. Pick on from your list and free write for 5 minutes.
1. Sleep
2. Call someone
3. Play around on the computer
4. Play a game with my brother
5. Watch tv
6. Play around with random stuff (ie: rubik's cube)
7. Think about what to do on that day
8. Go out with an umbrella
9. Lye down and think
10. Talk with someone
I'm not sure what anybody else thinks about this, but I think rainy days are quite soothing. Sunny days are nice too. I mean, you're not really TRAPPED inside or anything. Get an umbrella or just get wet, do you really need to care that much? Walk around, splish in the puddles, or just go to a store or something
.
. It's refreshing at least. I live near a giant park that's pretty empty most of the time. There's this giant crater in the ground near the entrance and it always fills to the brim with water. Actually, once when I went there after the rain, I didn't notice that giant hole in the ground and walked right into it. And Splash! It was at least waist deep and pretty long so I got soaked. Apparently, the crater once held a giant boulder that got removed or maybe it was just dug out. Cool either way.
March 11th, 2010 - Character Profile - (journal #18)
Write a 150-word profile of someone named "Margaret Mallory" or one of the characters for your short story.
Born in the bizarre land of Cantaloupe, Margaret Mallory was queen. She is 37 and a half years old and is the sole owner of Mallory Co. She is not greedy, but instead incredibly independent. She will tend to stay hidden in her little castle giving out orders through her very large megaphone. She absolutely loves to lye down in her comfy bed and eat her Mallory puffs. The Mallory family is powerful and quite lonely, and they will always love the very comforting feeling given by a cat. She does nothing during the day and everything at night. Truthfully, she is an owl and yet, she is queen.
March 11th, 2010 - Description, Stone - (journal #17)
Describe a person in detail who does not leave a stone unturned.
Little Sally always drank her milk and tidied her little bed. She was very little and never very brittle. Her room was never dirty and she always made sure. There was never a bed unchecked or toy un-winded, she would look and look and look all day, just as if she were looking through hay. She would never leave a single toy on the floor and always looked the check more. There was no unturned stone and she knew where everything was. Sally's room was very clean.
March 8th, 2010 - Rhyme paragraph - (journal #16)
Write a rhyme paragraph. Each sentence must begin and end with the words that rhyme with each other.
Ex: Spring is a wonderful thing. Flowers start to sprout with the help of rain showers.
There was once a pear that was very fair. It was very calm and was never bit. When that pear was ripe for the picking, out came the wolf named Ben. Ben wasn't too keen and surely didn't live in a pen. He was rough and tough and when he won he would always scream "Wee!" Old Ben snatched that pear and wiped off its mold. Down his mouth the pear was thrown. Oh that poor fruit, if only if the wolf would let go.
March 7th, 2010 - Comic
March 4th, 2010 - Free Write - (journal #15)
Over the horizon lies the gargantuan chicken. And below holds the humble villager who continues to care for his crops. His squash and his beans are his prized possessions. If only if he had known of the chicken, but no no no! There was a chicken above him! The massive size of this chicken was enough to swallow the sun whole! Slowly the sky darkened as the farmer continued to toil. That poor man would never see his crops again...
March 4th, 2010 - No Electricity? - (journal #14)
Electricity is recent discovery. Think of 12 things to do when there is no power.
1. Learn to cook using a cookbook
2. Go out
3. Read a book
4. Sleep
5. Go shopping
6. Buy a goat
7. Play with your pet
8. Build something out of cardboard
9. Draw
10. Talk to a friend
11. Imagine things
12. Kick a can
March 1st, 2010 - Elderly Cartoons! - (journal #13)
What king of cartoon show might appeal to the overage 65 audience? Imagine the show. Then, in 100 words or less, describe the show and its main character.
Everything black and grey, old Harold strolled down the street. Not in his rusty shoes, but in his 1970 pinto. He'd shove those young whippersnappers out of his way with ease. With his trusty pinto, he'd keep rolling along the country side. Bowling over those young ones, nobody would get in his way. You see, in the good days, the pinto was marvelous, it was the automobile of its time! Rolling and strolling, Harold is the man and his show is the bomb.
February 26th, 2010 - Eight Sentences - (journal #12)
Write an eight sentence paragraph on a topic of your choice. Make sure that you vary the length of each sentence.
Every day old Tim went to the market and bought himself some ripe tomatoes. He absolutely loved those juicy red balls and everything made of them. His shoes were made of tomatoes and his hat was made of tomatoes. Once every week Tim would polish his tomato shoes in his tomato juice. It made those shoes sparkly clean. However, weeks into his tomato life and his tomato diet, Tim began to notice that all his tomatoes were dying! It was horrible, there was a stench and he couldn't take it. It brought in all the dogs and burned Tim's eyes. Tim abandoned his house with a single tear.
February 18th, 2010 - Words in a story - (journal #11)
Use the following words in a story: little boy, torn page, market, cart
In the market the little boy tries to sneak some cereal into the cart. Little did he know that what he grabbed was instead a torn page of his baseball hero's diary. It's strange how that paper even got there; why was it there at all? Later on in little Timmy's life, he began to wonder what he'd do with that scrap. Perhaps he'd sell it for money or frame it on the wall. It was from his hero after all. In the end, when he had finished thinking over his options, little Timmy was richer than he could imagine.
February 12th, 2010 - Free Write - (journal #10)
Every few years we find a little bit of powder on our lawns or maybe a frozen river nearby. There was always a little snow, but never enough to really play around in. On that day I just couldn't believe how I couldn't even look out the windows without seeing mountains of powdery white snow. I could barely see the street outside and my hand would've been buried if I put my hand out the windows. That was a pretty fun day, even the giant river close by froze enough to walk on. I can't wait until this happens again!
February 12th, 2010 - Smelling Feelings - (journal #9)
Describe what you feel right now using your sense of smell. If you feel frustrated, write about what your frustration smells like. Use vivid words. Don't skimp on adjectives.
The fragrance of a small, yet pleasant tangerine surrounds me. A peeled little fruit gives off the most wonderful of scents. That great smell of freshly squeezed or naturally born can bring joy to even the tiniest child. Perhaps it's not the outer skin that looks and smells great, but inside, the small ball of orange is key. What I feel is that of the scent of a tangerine.
February 10th 2010 - Cat Attack! - (journal #8)
Write about a cat attacking something, but don't use the words hiss, scratch or pounce.
The innocent mouse lies there munching on its treat, unaware of the sneaky cats slow movement forward. The cat is hidden is the shadows and is ready to jump and the mouse continues to eat. Quietly coming closer, the cat takes a swing at the mouse with its paw! Unable to dodge the beast in time, the mouse is thrown to the side and dearly injured. Paralyzed by the initial hit, the mouse is down.
February 8th, 2010 - Fatima - (journal #7)
Fatima is a very spoiled teenage girl. Show that she is spoiled, by describing what happens when she doesn't get a car for her birthday.
The moment the words drop that her present was a stuffed giraffe, Fatima froze. She froze not because she was afraid but because she was so shocked to see that she didn't get that super mega awesome car she wanted. It looked as if her brain had just stopped completely, like her entire world didn't make sense anymore! It was insane to her how she didn't get her mega awesome car, she knew that she had to have it. Suddenly screaming and waving her arms like a lunatic she nearly exploded in anger, her parents were now in shock themselves. How had their little girl turned like this?! She was literally shouting her parents down into a corner, it was just crazy!
February 1st, 2010 - (journal #6)
Choose one from the following list:
-Describe your bedroom the way you want it to be.
-Describe a storm. This could be a thunderstorm, a snow storm, a hurricane, a tornado, a hail storm, a rain storm, or any type of storm.
As you look around you see absolutely nothing, it's a blank slate. Maybe you'll see the glimpse of a shadow every once in a while, but you're trapped! You feel dozens of little flakes fall and flow onto you, but you have no clue where you are. Soon you realize that you're in the middle of a giant storm! The cold is enough to get your mouth dry in seconds and all there is for miles to see is powder on the ground. And in the sky is a mountains worth of snow--endlessly falling! Trying to take one little step, you pull up your leg and find it impossibly hard to keep moving forward. It's the middle of the day and you can't see things five feet away--the snow is falling everywhere!
February 3rd, 2010 - Silly is... - (journal #5)
Silly is a middle-aged man who combs his remaining limp strands of hair into an elaborate swirl over his bald spot, gluing them in place with hair spray and hoping no one will notice.
Silly is a golden retriever who slinks sheepishly off the sofa whenever his owner comes home, hoping-despite the piles of hair all over the cushion that she won't notice he's been sleeping there.
What else is silly? Give three more examples.
Silly is a cow kicking away at everything whenever it hears even the smallest of sounds, breaking a tiny twig and you'll see two giant hooves coming your way--even the cows jolly owner would get a kick out of their day!
Silly is going to the wrong place at the wrong time and yet still being completely oblivious to everything around you--I mean, look around you, the things you see should be different, you're not at the right place!
Silly is kicking a bucket away in boredom only to find a vicious cat underneath, it'd pounce on you in a second--but maybe you wouldn't be bored anymore. (it happened to me!)
February 1st, 2010 - Write What You See - Strange Photograph
What is your interpretation of this photograph? Turn it upside down and sideways for different views. What is it? What could it mean? How and where was it taken?
Normally, with the photograph right-side-up, I see a person with huge glasses over their nose. The curly hair is on the top of its pointy head and its mouth is open pretty wide. The top part of it is a head and the bottom a body. It's probably made of wire like a wire sculpture or glue layered on top of each other.
Discuss this image with at least three other people. Then summarize their interpretations of the image.
Christine/Soyoon: She thought is looked like a man, like me, but with a giant beard instead of part of their body showing.
Eric: He though it looked like an angry face with giant sunglasses.
Rachel: A ghost taped by an invisible man/ghost whisperer. The ghost is running away from the man, afraid.
Imagine that the image is a symbol of some kind. What could it symbolize?
I think the figure is trying to advertise giant sunglasses! Or maybe they want people to get some curly hair. It'd be awesome either way. Maybe the sunglasses are linked to activeness and going out.
Imagine that this is a newly discovered animal. Describe it.
As an animal it'd be a new species of worm in my eyes! If you look at it for a second, it has a bending body going into the ground. The worm is probably poking out its head with its big sunglasses to see something. Perhaps the weather's nice there!
February 1st, 2010 - Write What You See - Onion
Describe an onion to someone who has never seen or tasted one.
An onion is like a peel-able plant. It's round and about the size of an orange, and is white with a tinge of green and gray (and sometimes purple). On the onion is a skin that you can peel that's striped with dozens of little lines. Peeling it gives you a crunchy sound while all the sides easily slide off. Eating the onion is pretty different, it's often chopped up into smaller pieces and tastes like almost nothing. When it's cooked it's transparent white and adds depth to your food, nobody really eats it raw. When chopping up an onion, you'll find yourself starting to break into tears. Maybe it's just me, but you'll know when you see an onion.
February 1st, 2010 - (journal #4)
Close your eyes briefly. Think of one object that's in the room and focus on it without opening your eyes, recall as much detail as you can about it. After three minutes or so, open your eyes and write about that object without looking at it. (This exercise was done in class and timed.)
It's a blue backpack with some black on it
it has something that starts with a B on it that's in gold
there are around four pockets on it, one's open
There's something in that open pocket like a textbook or binder
There are some laces around the front holding it together
it has columbia on it in white on the front of it
The handles and clippings and sides of it are black
the front of it is mostly blue
January 30th, 2010 - Free Writing - (journal #3)
Last night I had the worst time trying to hang my little white board on the wall--mostly because I didn't want to use a nail. Just so you know, this white board wasn't too big or heavy. It's wasn't the lightest either though, tape didn't cut it. I had some really strong tape to hold the white board up for around an hour and the white board fell off. The tape stuck to the wall, the white board did not. Well, later on I found some really sticky and really tiny pads that I used to hold the white board up. They're like tiny magnets for anything, I should really get more of them!
January 25th, 2010 - Write What You see - #1
1. List and Poem
green
leaf
water
dew
vine
root
wet
rain
fresh
dry
spring
summer
forest
tree
plants
ferns
bugs
insects
dirt
soil
sunshine
growth
weather
bark
wood
fresh
Fresh Spring drowns the leafs,
Water and dew fall upon the ferns,
The sunshine is soon to come
The dew over the forest,
Always fresh and wet,
Moisture is in the air.
2. Compare/Contrast
3. Close up
(of apple tree)
Everybody knows about an apple tree, but have never actually tasted an apple directly from one. It's really cool to feel a fresh and smooth apple, you can really think of how juicy it'll be with every bite. Take a little nibble and you'll get a wonderful, yet soft, crunching sound. The wonderful fruity scent of an apple will just brighten up your day! (Or maybe keep the doctor away)
4. Quote - "A man's life is like a drop of dew on a leaf." - Socrates
I think that Socrates meant that you don't know how a man's life came to be, as you can never be sure where the dew comes from. Or even how a man started or turned into what it is now, anything could affect a drop of dew.
January 25th, 2010 - Dot - (journal #2)
Write a paragraph about a girl named Dot, but use no letters with (i,j)
On the planet of Strawberry, the person named Dot was once an adventurous person. She loved her house and could endure any task. She's now, however, a worker at Candyland. Candyland was once a place of fun, but the place went down after the recent changes to the economy. Dot was demoted to the lower place of a chef and has therefor been very busy recently. She's recently begun to ponder what she'll do next--she's been stuck at Candyland for a while. Perhaps one day she'll be able to get a better place to stay and maybe a great place to work too.
January 25th, 2010 - Twenty things that annoy me - (journal #1)
- List 20 things that annoy you. Pick one to write about.
1. When you wake up to find that you fell off your bed.
2. Annoying people in general
3. Stalkers
4. When somebody keeps babbling on about something I have no clue about
5. When somebody shows off in your face
6. My alarm clock
7. People that don't know when to stop
8. Liars
9. When I run out of something I need
10. Wanting to wake up early but not doing it the next morning
11. When somebody drags me along somewhere
12. Not knowing what's happening
13. Being distracted while something important happens
14. When people talk about one thing over and over and over and over
15. When you can't remember something
16. When I forget something at home
17. When I lose something
18. When you need to use something that's right there, but you can't
19. When I wake up tired
20. When something breaks when you need to use it
When You're Distracted
Don't you just absolutely hate it when you were trying to hear something important and somebody just happens to distract you? Last week I was told to get something important for a friend but I didn't exactly hear what it was. As soon as he finished talking about it, somebody else just budded in and interrupted. By the time he finished talking, the first person had gone away and I never figured out what it was that I needed to get! In the end I let him down, it really sucked.
January 25th, 2010 - Creative Definition - (homework)
What does the word creative mean? (dict. defs)
1. Having the quality or power of creating
2. Resulting from originality of thought, expression, etc; imaginative
3. originative; productive
4. Using or creating exaggerated or skewed data, information, etc.
How many definitions are there?
- There are four definitions of the word creative in this dictionary.
Do the definitions match what you believe creative means?
- In my head, the word creative means to be imaginative using only your own personality as a background. My definition is pretty close to the second dictionary one.
In your own words, write a def. for creative
-To be imaginative using only your own personality as a background for creation
When you are angry, you feel strong dislike or impatience about something. More »
You use that to refer back to an idea or situation expressed in a previous sentence or sentences. More »