The Demon Data Sheet

Normally I would not have any problem with or even complain about a data sheet.  I am not one of those complainers, "Oh my God, I was up all night working no my data sheet."  Nor am I Jillian or Thomas whose data sheets are usually somewhere around thirty pages.  Mine have never hit the twenties, but somehow I manage.  Yeah, usually I just do my data sheet, turn it in, and get it back.  As opposed to deliberate over it, complain about it, do some of it, complain about it to some more people, do some more, turn it in, complain, get it back, and then complain.  I mean, yeah I guess there might be a gripe or two, but nothing serious.  However, this time things have changed, things are different with this one.  A data sheet over winter break? You have got to be kidding me.  I will admit, I was pissed, still am.  I will do it though.  I will have to.  However, it is the biggest nuisance I have in my life right now, which I suppose is actually a good thing.  This data sheet will drastically reduce my time that I would much rather put into other things, like: sleeping, eating, gaming, going to Lifetime, loafing around, enjoying the holiday festivities, spending time with my girlfriend who is home from college that I do not get to see a lot, hanging out with my friends, peace of mind, and just everyday activities that will have to be cut down.  I could choose to not do it I suppose and wait until the week break is over.  But that will not happen of course, that would serve as an even worse situation than the one I am in now.  Someway or another, I am sure that I will survive this cruel and unusual punishment.

The "Like" Factor

It has come to my attention that several people in the class of AP English 12 have come to say the word "like" quite frequently in discussion.  I now notice it every time someone talks, almost as if I was looking for someone to use the word.  A couple days ago I made a tally as to how many times people in the class say like (Even Ms. Serensky), the grand total came out as roughly 56, and that day the discussion only lasted for half a period.  Then when I talked I tried to take note of how many times I said "like," and I will admit it proved as a more difficult task than I thought not to use the word.  However, I do not necessarily believe that one cannot use the word "like" at all, but it remains the frequency as to which one uses the word which proves as a nuisance.  Since some people in the class say it far more than others (This I have noted, one person said like 24 times in the day I tallied which was almost half of what the class as a whole said) I have wondered if the saying of "like" is infectious.  If one person, or a couple people, say "like" far more than some of the other people in the class do, then will the other people start to say it more as well?  Well, I could not really note this since I would have to have started at the beginning of AP English of junior year in order to produce exact results.  However, I believe that correlation can be made.  I must say that I am very surprised that so many people in AP English 12 say "like" a multitude of times throughout the discussion.  I personally believe that it makes for a weaker argument, speech, or talk in general and I am going to try to stop saying it as much as I have. 

State of Mind

I found myself in a tight situation.  I was sweating, unsure of what to do.  Time was running out and the bomb threatened to blow up the entire building.  I woke up.  The clock read six-forty A.M.  Only a dream I thought.  Except it reflected last nights reading.  I took Chief Bromdens place.  I jumped into the shower trying to remember the dream before it slippled from the vastness of my half-concious state of mind.  Wierd, I thought.  But then again I remembered that I had read last nights reading right before bed, the freshness of it still in mind mind as I went off to sleep.  The end of the book rattled me a bit.  I did not quite expect for it to turn out the way that it did.  It had nothing to do with the fact that Billy died, or the Big Nurse, or even the party.  The dream must have reflected my unsettled thoughts on McMurphy's death.  I admit I resented Bromden for killing McMurphy but I understand the motive behind it.  He wanted to free McMurphy from the life of a vegetable and  thwart the nurses' final attempt in regaining her power.  Yes, that part made sense; but why then, did it still bother me?  It must have had to do with tthe way he thrashed around before he died, and the emptiness of everything after his life departed from his body.  It did not seem right to me that they could give him a labotomy for his behavioral problems.  The prisons take care of that.  But then again, he must have known what he was in for when he attempted to kill the Big Nurse.  Still, it felt unsettling.  However, I dismissed it largely pushing it to the back of my mind, surprsied that the end of the book affected me so much.  I turned of the water and got out of the shower, letting it linger in my mind for a little longer, until my complete state of conciousness took over my drowsy state of mind.

That One Guy

I personally thought that the sub we had in class on Friday proved especially odd.  I walked into the room and the lights were on, and I did not at all like this change in scenery.  I did not like his mannerisms either: the way he walked, carried himself, spoke, you could tell he was kind of cocky (I guess I am just a hard person to please as well).  When Alex and Thomas said that he resembled Dwight from "The Office" he responded, "Oh, I get that a lot," and then preceded to quote the office.  However, I do not really think that being compared to Dwight serves as much of a compliment.  Similarly, I heard that he also asked the other class the definition of situational irony.  This especially surprised me.  I cannot really believe that he has gone through college and high school without knowing basic literary knowledge.  Although I guess this does not surprise me that much, for when he subbed Spanish for a little bit I heard that he remarked, "Oh, calculus? I was never very good at that.  I had to take it several times in college."  It also annoyed me that during the discussion, he talked more than everyone else.  Asking people to explain the most basic things and interrupting the discussion after each person talked.  The way he acted as if he had read the book held as somewhat of a nuisance as well, but really he had only read a chapter or two in words class.  Similarly, I heard he proved as an inefficient teacher in that class as well.  I do not really know what prompted this person to want to sub classes, but I do hope that he does not ever hold a teaching position based on what I have seen from him so far.

Yum Bacon

Today I went home and I ate a pound of bacon.  You might be asking what at all this has to do with English class.  Well, they do not really share a common relation, except for the way I analyzed the bacon, incorporating AP English  into my life.  First I attempted how to figure out how to open the package, opening the plastic part proved a lot harder than I thought.  I then realized that I should just cut it open with a knife, clearly indirectly characterizing my keen wit and creative genius, or my simple brutality, of course.  Also, I think most can agree that bacon, serves as a man's food (just kidding but not really only sort of?) and therefore acts a synecdoche for manliness.  Therefore that indirectly characterizes my actions of cooking bacon as manly, thus making me more of a man.  Similarly, I cooked the bacon to perfection, even Rory agreed, which creates ethos for my outstanding abilities as a culinary force in the kitchen.  Also, as I was getting rid of the grease I burned myself, letting off a string of vulgar obscenities.  My mom asked me if I was ok.  All I could think of was, wow pathos (sympathy) and no I am in a lot of pain.  Later, as I headed back from the gym I realized that it had not proved the best idea to eat a pound of bacon and then immediately go workout.  This serves to indirectly characterize my rash judgment, which I found myself contemplating and regretting on my way home.  But, do I regret it? No, not at all.  My arteries might, but I feel fine now, and bacon tastes so good.  Too good to give up.

I Disagree

Most of the times in class discussions, I find that many people talk aimlessly just for the sake of talking, just to get those discussion points.  I mean lets be honest, we have all done it, myself included.  Sometimes I walk out of the room at the end of the period and think, wow what happened today in that class? I feel almost as if some discussions end up having no point at all.  Everyone just tries to get their two-cents in.  Every couple times a class someone will bring up a really good point, or someone will ask a question (I know this has happened to me) and the next person to talk will completely ignore them just to say something off topic, something that seems a little pointless to what someone had just talked about, only to get those discussion points in.  Sometimes when I feel as though this has happened excessively, or just for my own entertainment, I will randomly look at everyone in the class and think about who I want to argue with on that given day.  Usually the people who get talked more get picked more, or those who I hold a secret grudge against (just kidding).  But there really exists no pattern as to which how I choose people. Sometimes I just find so much entertainment in arguing with others and watching that stunned look on their faces.  Sometimes I will even get loud and boisterous for effect as well.  I am actually surprised more people do not do this, even now that some people have known that I have done this arguing thing for a while.  I urge people to give arguing a try, as it would make for a much more entertaining class.  (Also, as if one could not tell, the fact that I tend to argue a lot holds as the main theme of my blog)

Bobbie Jo "Rambo" Serensky

Alex Kreger and I had a casual chat about last nights homework, the information on healthcare, the author and insanity, commenting (jokingly of course) that after an in class essay we should have at least gotten a break from the grueling and tedius amount of homework we do each night.  Finally, I said that's it, I'm pissed that we had to do this, and it was past my bedtime so it makes sense that I was acting in a higly unreasonable manner.  I told him that I would confront Ms. Serensky tomorrow and that I would bring a trident in to class that we would (as Carolyn might say) have an epic duel.  I am not serious about this, and I did not bring in a trident, and only brought in the paper I worked on.  However, I caught myself wondering how this might go down.  Alex mentioned that Ms. Serensky of course has a gun under her desk or something and would just pull it out and shoot me and go on teaching like nothing happened.  Although, I thought that she would accept my challenge to duel, I'm sure she would not want to sit there while someone threatend her with a trident in her face.  The duel would commence on her terms, after school in the junior lot, she would show up on a horse in a suit of armor, an uzi in one hand and a battle-axe in the other with two double barrel shotguns on her back. And I would only have my trident.  She would get of her horse and I would find myself ducking behind cars as she shot at me.  Luckily, I cannot see Ms. Serensky as that good of  a shot (no offense) and we would duel, trident to battle-axe.  Eventually, my trident would snap and I would fall to the ground.  She stands over me, flourishing her axe, and after cutting off my arms and legs, she lectures me about English, for two hours and forces me to write an essay (somehow, maybe ill put the pen in my mouth), and then she kills me (battle axe to the head).  For whatever reason, I just cannot see myself winning against her, or killing her in general, she actually has a fairly kind heart (no sarcasm, I swear), and if I killed her I would never hear anymore "Dear diary" entries.  I do not really know why I thought about this, but it did entertain me.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

I never gave Kanye West much thought.  I never thought much for his music, which more often than not included vulgar lyrics and poor rhymes. I never thought, at all that he could make a good album.  However, "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," proves his genius as a lyrical masterpiece.  From the intricate rhymes to the metaphorical lyrics, West speaks deeply about his own life and troubles, his own thoughts, his own two cents.  I always thought of West as ignorant, however now I realize that he just does not (in polite terms) care at all about what, other people famous or not, think about him.  Every song holds such depth that it has taken me over ten times just to listen to one of them to grasp what he really aims to say.  On the song "Devil In A New Dress" West preaches "We love Jesus, but you done and learned a lot from Satan."  The song primarily focuses on young men and women and their greedy intentions towards one another.  However, the deeper meaning in the song brings up his past events and past relationships, and how certain girls he knew wronged him, and then went on to mess up their own lives.  However, he then goes on to balance out his tone of remorse and regret in that of one of complacency.  He subtly states how good things have come into his life, that it's easier than he at first thought to replace the things he once lost in his life.  Similarly, many of West's song's speak of his feelings towards popular appeal, past events in his life, and prior judgments that many have made against him.  West's album deserves a listen, whether you enjoy rap or not, whether you enjoy Kanye or not (I know I didn't, not before this at least).  So, before you go out and judge something you have not experienced, pay Kanye West a little visit.

Zhang-Mi "Long Rice" Kreger

Zhang-Mi Kreger, or "Long Rice Kreger", enters the world in 2025, right after the marriage of Alex Kreger and Jillian Ertel.  Alex, graduates from Princeton University top of his class, with every single honor possible.  He then starts a medical practice with, "The Thomas Donley."  They both specialize in brain surgery. Jillian Ertel, the mother of Long Rice Kreger, graduates from the University of Michigan with a law degree.  However, she does not work, and in fact she did not even have to go to college, she married Alex.  She put her Asian influence on their child, who grows up with deep resentment of the name Long Rice.  He remains a problem child, first stealing cookies from the cookie jar, then robbing kids of their lunch money, and then getting into some illegal and underage substances.  However, he remains a genius child and goes to college at age 16, already in YZ Calculus, which is like 26 or some letters from AB Calculus.  As a matter of fact they had to invent new math classes for him.  However, despite his parents wishes he does not go into a career with math and becomes a chef at five star hotel in Las Vegas.  As a matter of fact he resents the very existence of his parents.  After all, they gave him the name Long Rice, who wouldn't hate that?  That's much worse than Gogol Ganguli, at least Gogol was actually named after someone.  Sadly, his mother dies, in the Chinese Civil War of 2050, she went back to fight for the home country.  Long Rice then realizes his connections with his Chinese heritage.  He goes back to his dad, and together with Thomas Donley they invent a machine that can bring people back to life. They successfully manage to revive Jillian and patent their machine which sells for trillions of dollars.  They then buy Hawaii from the United States and live in happiness with great weather, dozens of servants, champagne and caviar (like all the expensive stuff that rich people really like), and a machine that can revive them forever.  The end.  Now, this is just my take on what I think might possibly happen in a couple of years, or if Alex and Jillian ever had a child, or maybe it stands as a completely far-fetched story that in all probability would never happen.  Either way, my point remains that if Alex and Jillian ever had a child, it would share many similarities with Gogol Ganguli.  Clearly Jillian's Asian cultural influence would have an effect over the child, most likely in the version of a name.  The child would most likely resent its culture just like Gogol did for no reason (this could be disputed).  However, as Jillian and Alex stand as very intellectual individuals (Alex as a national-merit semi finalist), they would place many great expectations on the child.  The child, just like Gogol would revert to a state of independence and long for something to make him different (like how Gogol went in architecture, and Long Rice went into the culinary arts).  Similarly, the pressure might cause their child to rebel in his or her teenage years and become a delinquent.  Also, as they married young they will expect their child to follow in their footsteps, pressuring he/ she (whom I will now call Alex Jr.) to find a spouse.  This also parallels how Gogol's parents felt a certain way about relationships, however they shunned the practice of conventional dating.  I believe that just like Gogol,  Alex Jr. will face cultural and family pressures, causing him to embark on the process of self-discovery.  Just like Gogol, he will reflect, through a symbol like the "Overcoat," and understand that he cannot escape his past and will just have to take life as it comes.  (Disclaimer: this was not meant to bash Alex and Jillian in any way, and I'm sure that if they had a child it would be the smartest and most wonderful child anyone could ever ask for, no really.  I just thought that somehow, if Alex and Jillian had a child it had the potential to parallel Gogol in a few ways, maybe more so than anyone else, of course this is just my opinion.)

Self-Made, That's an Understatement

I disagree with my past thoughts on Gogol Ganguli.  I should not have ever held him in such a critical light.  After all how else would he gain wisdom if not from trial and error and life's experiences.  I believe Ms. Serensky had a good point when called out the many who too rashly judged Gogol, myself included.  The truth holds that Gogol remains a simple man, with a simple nature.  I judged Gogol for not doing as I would have done, or how I felt most others had done in many situations that surrounded him.  In the case with Moushumi, I would have bluntly asked if I could do anything in the relationship to better serve her needs.  I also would want to know, for instance, if my girlfriend or spouse no longer felt any love for me.  From that point on I would attempt to work out any problems, or if it came down to it, leave the relationship.  But, then again, that serves as to how I would work things out.  I hate having something on my mind that eats away at my thoughts.  I believe it stands as one of the worst ways to feel, a feeling that burrows away in the back of my head like a parasite, only one that taints my thoughts and burdens my feelings.  But, then again that just pertains to my personal beliefs on the matter.  Each person remains different, with different opinions and different thoughts.  Self-made? That's an understatement. One cannot change their past, their actions, the things they have experienced, or their self-worth.  One cannot judge Gogol for things they have or have not experienced.  Gogol has his own life to live, and he stands as his own person.  How can one say whether what he does, or does not do proves wrong or right?

Thoughts on Jhumpa Lahiri

I feel as though this book greatly parallels Jhumpa Lahiri's life in several ways, possibly alluding to events in her life.  Both the Ganguli's and Jhumpa share an Indian background and moved to America from another continent.  In this way Jhumpa shares her perspectives of America through Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli.  Similarly, I feel as though Gogol represents some the experiences, mistakes, and misfortunes in her life.  Gogol's deviant nature displayed toawrds his parents and his smoking pot, might have possibly remained actions that Lahiri also partook in as a youth.  Similarly, Gogol's multiple relationships might have roots within Lahiri's own personal experiences, of which she pulls from.  Also, quite possibly she might have based Moushumi off of herslef, as they both grew up in England, later moving to America.  I believe that Lahiri draws from life experiences, which serves as to why the events in her book prove so vivid and descriptive.  Which, also serves as to why the narrator allows the reader to draw in their own personal perspective to create a variety of feelings and tones throughout the story.  Clearly, Lahiri posses grerat skill as a writer, I believe that wiritng allows for an outlet for her to convey her interesting and diverse life experiences from.

Thursdays Class Discussion 11/11 on Thoughts About Moushumi

I believe that the aspect of whether one felt sympathy for Moushumi in yesterdays discussion proved quite interesting.  However, I disagree with whoever possibly feels sympathy for Moushumi.  I can understand how one might at first feel sympathetic, as Moushumi herself feels "a bit guilty for all these months of studying, aware that...she has ignored Nikhil perhaps more than necessary" (246).  However, as I brought up yesterday, the subtle diction "more than necessary" creates a vile and sneaky tone.  Clearly, if one shares a bond with another through marriage, it should not serve as necessary to avoid them at all.  Although Gogol remains partly to blame, his avoidance of Moushumi's attachment to their relationship does not serve as grounds for Moushumi to cheat on or sneak away from Gogol.  If anything, Moushumi should have spoken to Gogol about her qualms with the relationship.  The fact that she feels as though she needs so much personal time indirectly characterizes problems with the relationship, and that her expectations with the relationship prove unlike what she had envisioned.  Overall, I would have some margin of sympathy for Moushumi, had she approached Gogol in a reasonable manner over her issues with him and the relationship.