Goodbye GELC

So after a long and hectic semester, here I am writing my last blog entry for English 106. Since it is my last blog entry for this semester, I feel it would be appropriate for me to “evaluate” (this word has been haunting me ever since I had to complete those long and boring evaluations for each of the courses that we took) this entire semester. Initially, Purdue scared me. I still remember my first day at Purdue. Coming from a small private school in the Middle-East to a school which is as reputed, renowned and big as Purdue was no joke. But now, when I look back to my first day, I feel like all the worries turned out to be a waste of time and unnecessary. The reason why this school scared me before (the fact that it is SO big) has transformed into the reason behind me loving this school! Living on a campus that is as big as Purdue has greatly appreciated my communication and understanding skills. I have matured into a person that is more open to different cultures and mindsets. No longer do I scorn at someone when they have views, morals or ideals that are different to mine. Instead, I strive to understand the scenario from their point of view and try to justify their thinking in some way or another. Going further, I would like to go ahead and say that the English 106 course has greatly benefitted me and has not only helped me sharpen my writing skills but it has also got me into the habit of blogging. I am actually contemplating on having a personal blog where I voice my opinion on the day-to-day happenings that take place throughout this world. Work on that should hopefully commence this winter break J Last but not the least, I would like to thank Mr. Reimer for being such a great mentor. He not only tolerated us being our sleepy and dead selves (read: it was at 8:30 am), he also worked towards bringing us out of our shells and making us feel more comfortable in class. Hope all of you have a great winter break and good luck on your finals!

NFL and NBA Seasons

This season of NFL football has been a very odd season in that teams that have usually have successful seasons are not doing too well and teams that usually have unsuccessful records are doing better than usual. One of the biggest examples of this is the Indianapolis Colts who are currently 0-12. I think that since they lost Peyton Manning, the Colts have not been able to pull themselves together and have a successful season. I am a New England Patriots fan and I was happy to see them play and defeat the Colts today. On the other hand, the Green Bay Packers are undefeated with a record of 12-0. They just beat the Ney York Giants earlier today in a very close game. Mason Crosby, the kicker for the Packers, had to make the game winning field goal to secure the win for Green Bay. I really hope that the Packers do not have a perfect season because I really do not like them, and I actually think that the San Francisco 49ers is one of the few teams that can beat them in the regular season. There are other teams like the Oakland Raiders, the Detroit Lions, and the Houston Texans who are near the top of their divisions. I think that this year of football is going to be an abnormal year as many teams that will probably go to the playoffs will be going for the first time for a while. In other news, the NBA lockout is finally over and the season should be getting back on schedule during Christmas season. This year’s basketball season should also be a good one as there are many teams with new faces and many teams with star players. No matter what happens during the seasons I am sure that the playoffs and Finals/Super Bowl will be better than usual because of all of the upsets and controversies that have happened during the offseason in basketball and during the season in football.

Scared of Winters?

As my screen name suggests, before coming to Purdue, I was truly afraid of facing the winters that head towards West Lafayette on a yearly basis. Now I know it is far too early to state an opinion but I do not think that the cold isn’t un-bearable. In spite of the fact that I have either a 7:30 or an 8:30 class everyday of the week, I feel like with proper winter clothing, you could actually walk through the winters with ease. My biggest worry was waking up. It tends to be extremely difficult to get out of your warm and cozy blanket when your surroundings and exteriors are so cold. However, because of having the luxuries of an indoor heating system and an alarm clock with a snooze option, I got my way around that problem as well. Although, I have to admit that I had some luck on my side too! All my classes on the first day of snow were somehow, magically cancelled for one reason or another. Hence I had the liberty of cuddling up under my blanket and sip on some hot French Vanilla Mocha while the others we forced to bear the cold and walk to all their classes. If I got bored, I would just stand near my window and observe little humans (Keep in mind that I live on the eighth floor, hence everything and everyone seems little) being all bundled up and ready to face the winter! What took me by shock was how often people tend to fall or slip when it snows. A good 7 to 8 people tripped in half an hour. Even though I laughed as they fell, I felt extremely sorry for them as Finals were soon approaching and it sucks to give an exam with a broken arm or leg. Moreover, deep inside, I knew I was next! I hope it doesn’t get too bad in the coming few days so we have a smooth finals week. It would be awful if we had to make our way through piles of snow in order to get to our exams!

Last blog

I've found this class to be very interesting. I had some idea about the way different cultures have to adjust to interact as a group and function as well as possible, but this class really helped broaden my thought process on those matters. I am very excited to take what we've learned in this class and apply it to many aspects of my future. In the new future I plan to use the skills and knowledge learned in this class and apply it to group work with international students as well as American students who were raised with a different background than me. Its very important to understand how each member works and understand that their work ethic may not be the same as mine. The same goes for any team projects that I may encounter if I have a career with an international business. Other uses for the skills learned in this class are travel abroad programs. All of the speakers have gotten me very excited to dive into more international experiences. I want to travel across Europe, parts of Africa, and South East Asia. For study abroad experience I would like to go to Germany or Italy. Germany is a "hot spot" for engineering, while Italy has a very rich culture and great food. This has been one of my most enjoyable classes because it has focused on things I am interested in, which is international experience and knowledge. I will walk away from this class with a better understanding of the way in which different cultures interact and work together. The main topic I learned most about is how dominant images of a culture affect its people. The dominant images can be good or bad, either way they influence the thought process of the culture they are connected to.

Final Blog Post

I am definitely studying abroad after this. This class has given me ideas on how to approach other cultures countries when we go. I also gained a good group of friends that I will know be able hang out with and get help with for engineering in the future.

We should have the study aboard people come over. They can tell us the deadlines and what we need to do to get on the right track. I wish that what we did learn about other cultures would be more interactive. Like they could bring a dish from what part of the world they were talking about.

After wanting the study abroad people to have talked to us I would also have liked more LC events. They’re were only a couple outside of the study times and I would have liked to had some more events not jus parties, like go to the corn maze when it was around or go paintballing. These other events would have helped us bond more.

Being Back At Purdue

I went back home during the Thanksgiving break and got to spend time with family. I really didn’t have enough time to spend with friends because I was only at home for 4 days. I left Tuesday afternoon because I had to stay here at Purdue until 4:30 pm to take a math quiz that was inconveniently scheduled to stress students out. Anyways, going home was nice and it was good to see family again. Thanksgiving was nice as I pretty much stayed home on Thursday and watched some movies and ate really good home cooked meals. Friday was pretty hectic as I went to a mall nearby at midnight only to find out that Best Buy and pretty much all the stores I wanted to go to all had ridiculously long lines. I ended up going back home and waking up somewhat early to go to Costco and an outlet mall that was about an hour and a half away. I bought a lot of clothes for winter and I think that I should be prepared for the terrible stories of the extreme cold. Leaving home to fly back to Purdue was a bittersweet moment as I definitely already miss my family and home, but I know that I am returning to see friends. I think that these next few weeks left of the semester are going to be very stressful, not only from the finals in three weeks, but also from the final projects we have to do for English class and Engineering 131. I only have two finals to take during finals week (CHM 115 and MA 162) and those two will be a pain to study for but I know that once it is over, I will be able to go back home and hang out with my friends back home, as well as family.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today marks the end of our much needed thanksgiving break. While most people decided to get out of campus during the span of this little break, my friend and I chose to stay back and catch up on the innumerable hours of sleep that we missed because of being overloaded with homework, projects and exams. My break started a lot earlier than most because all my classes on Tuesday were cancelled for one reason or another. Now, I was told by my roommate that the campus gets pretty quiet during Thanksgiving Break, but the definition of “quiet” only became clear when I woke up the following day (Wednesday). I have always had this habit of looking out the window as soon as I wake up. Normally I am greeted by a bustling campus with at least 15-20 students walking on a given street. However, on Wednesday, I was greeted with an empty First Street. I could not spot a single soul in the gaze of my eyes. Soon enough I started to wonder whether it was stupid of me to decide to stay back on campus. Since there was nothing I could do about that anyways, I decided to make the most out of my time on campus. I went on long walks along with a couple of friends that decided to stay back as well. These walks made me feel extremely special because since the campus was so empty, I felt like the Purdue campus was a little world by itself, created just for me and my friends. We could sing as loudly as we wanted or act as crazy as we wanted. On Thanksgiving Day, Earhart hall had organized a Thanksgiving dinner for all of the students that decided to stay back. Going to this dinner helped me gain a better understanding of what importance Thanksgiving holds in American culture. Later, my friends and I decided to indulge in some retail therapy, courtesy the Black Friday sales. Needless to say, it did get pretty ugly in most stores. Shoe boxes thrown all over the store floor was a common sight. Now that the break has finally come to an end, I feel like my decision to stay back actually did end up working in my favor. Not only did I get a chance to catch up on my missed hours of sleep, I also got to shop, eat some great food, and catch up on all the recent movie releases!

Week 14

It It’s a little late, but I figured, since I’m up I might as well be productive.

Why might engineering solutions that work in the West, not work in Africa?

I’m not well read on Africa, but I also think that is the heart of the problem regarding Western solutions to problems in Africa. Those implementing potential solutions in Africa may not have a full scope of the problems in Africa. If the only research we do is from afar, via secondary sources, ect., then we are not getting a first hand look at the Whole issue. When addressing issues in places that are not home to us then it is vital to find sources that are in the heart of the problem or it can not fully be understood.

Africa has so much wealth. Why is it not utilized?

Again, I’m not fully aware of all the issues concerning Africa, and it varies from country to country within Africa. Infrastructure is scarce which is an obvious and necessary foundation to complete utilization of recourses.

What is the danger in generalizing an entire continent like Africa? Why do I think it happens so often?

The danger in making such generalizations is that there are many smaller factions that make up the continent. Issues and success vary from country to country just as our problems here vary from state to state. I think because it does not seem to directly affect us we find it easy to disregard the details that make up the continent as a whole. Doing this is dangerous because when we do attempt at addressing issues within the continent, we are clueless. The lack of detailed knowledge will almost always result in failure in any large scale problem.

Black Friday!

This coming Friday, many of us will probably go shopping at some places during the best time of the year to shop: Black Friday. This traditional (informal) holiday is when all of the big name stores reduce the prices of their items tremendously for the Friday directly after Thanksgiving. I will be going back home for Thanksgiving and I will also definitely be sure to go to a Best Buy and buy a lot of things. I have recently looked at their website and checked out their Black Friday ads and there are many unbelievable deals that they are offering. In terms of movies, there are many new release Blu-Ray movies that are only going to be $10, while the DVD editions will be even cheaper. Many newer released CD’s will range anywhere from $4 to $10 and full TV seasons will cost anywhere from $15 to $30. Particularly, I am looking to buy a 42’ Sharp LCD TV for only $200. I might also buy the Blu-Ray movies for Die Hard ($8), Scarface ($12), and Pulp Fiction ($7). I am probably going to go shopping at some stores either at 12:00 midnight or I will just wake up really early around 5:30 in the morning and go to the stores then. I think a lot of people will also buy some winter clothes especially now that it is starting to get colder. I think Sports Authority or Sports Chalet will be the best places to go buy clothes for the winter. So, this Thanksgiving break, it will be nice for some of us to go back home (many for the first time since the semester started) and spend some time with our families, but I know that after dinner on Thursday night I will get in the mindset of waking up early and buying all the things that I need (and mostly want) the following day.

Fail? What fail?

“There is no substitute for hard work.” As I see a poster of this quote by Thomas Edison hanging on the backdrop of my study table, I am forced to think of whether it actually stands true to its meaning. Recently, we all had to go through hell (aka EXAMS), for us mere mortals at least. Before they arrived, I had set my mind on one thing- that I will put in every bit of effort that I possibly can because if the input is strong, chances are that the rewards will be great. Among all the courses that I am taking this semester, Calculus is, hands down, my most difficult course. So, going with logic, I decided that it would make most sense if I started off with Calculus and then worked my way up the other subjects. Going through all the chapters one by one and taking a note of every little detail while clarifying my doubts took me a total of 5 days. I was math-saturated to the core. In fact, many of my friends confirmed the fact that I was approaching the stage of being titled clinically insane. Nonetheless, I was satisfied with all the effort that I put in. I kept telling myself that I have done my part by putting in all the hard work. I couldn’t care less about the result because I was so content with all of the calculus that I had learnt. As I confidently opened my exam paper, I was greeted with shock. In simpler terms, the questions got the better of me. They were not like the questions that came in the past exam papers. Nevertheless, I somehow managed to maintain a smile after coming out of the exam. The fact that I completely bombed the paper didn’t seem to have any effect on me. At the end of the day, what mattered to me was that I gave it my best shot. I feel that in college, failure will knock our doors every now and then. So whenever it does, keep this quote in mind: “You cannot tailor make your situation in life, but you can tailor make your attitudes to fit those situations.”

Restruant Review - Ahoz

Ahoz

Chauncey Hill

This week I went to Ahoz on Chauncey hill. It is a small Japanese sushi bar squashed in between the Hookah and DQ. It has the best sushi that I have had in West Lafayette. The sushi also comes fairly cheap at only around $7 per plate. It also provides free tea, which is really good, as it gets colder. A big problem it faces is for those who are less adventurous. Its non-sushi items are not particularly good. The bento boxes in particular were not good at all. This leaves with pretty much sushi items to deal with. If you are not a fan of sushi I do not recommend it. If you are feeling adventurous it is a good places to stop. It is prompt and you can get in and out with little wait. It also does not have a line, which puts it ahead of some of the other Sushi places around campus. All in all I would give it 3 out of 5 stars for good sushi but not much else.

Sleep or Minecraft?

Over Thanksgiving, I have many things to do besides catching up on sleep. One of the most important things I must do is work on my team’s project presentation for ENGR 131. I will need to go over our past milestones and fix them. I will also try to get some sweet Minecraft-playing time in. Just last night I spent 7 hours playing Minecraft. I have now constructed my first fortress; it’s nothing fancy, just enough to protect me once I turn off Peaceful Mode. My fortress is constructed directly over a mine a built which doubled as a base of operations up until now. At the beginning of the game, I just decided to dig straight down as long as I could, and when I hit bedrock, I began to expand outward, eventually excavating a large area. Previously, my only means of returning to the surface was by killing myself in a lava flow I had found, and getting back down safely proved since the drop was probably the equivalent distance of a kilometer. To remedy the latter issue, I dug a trough from nearby water and let it flow down the shaft. I would then safely ride the waterfall down. I still had to kill myself to get back to the surface, so as soon as I had the resources and time available, I removed the waterfall and installed a ladder. This made things much easier. My next goals will be to begin farming and collecting animals in a pen. I also hope to set up a mine cart track that will take me down to my mine from inside my fortress. I also hope to soon construct weapons and armor so I can begin to actively seek out and kill the malevolent mobs. Anyways, I hope to begin some of this stuff during Thanksgiving break. And who knows, I might get some sleep?

Week 14

Why might engineering solutions that work in the West, not work in Africa?

We have to recognize the Africa has a different culture. Things that we do and utilize for the betterment of life might be social or cultural taboos. They are also not provided with the same choices as we are. They might think that we are forcing things on them whether it might help them or not.

Africa has so much wealth (mineral ores, petroleum, arable land). Why is it not utilized?

They might be unaware of its existence. Minerals are held deep underground and more often then not it will take modern technology to use it. Even if they did know were it is the may not have the start up resources to use it. Sights were resources might be sights that are not meant to be disturbed.

What is the danger in generalizing an entire continent, like Africa? Why do you think it happens so often?

Africa is a continent made up many different countries. Many of those countries can also be split into different regions. Many languages and dialects separate Africa. It is also a place of many different cultures. This cultures have clashed many times over the years and may hold grudges.

Almost Thanksgiving Break

In about a week and a half from now we will officially be on Thanksgiving break. For many students, this will probably be the time to catch up with school work or just get more sleep at night. I am very excited because this will be the first time that I go back home since I arrived here at Purdue. This semester has actually seemed like it has gone by pretty quickly but there have been times (especially during exam weeks) when the days felt really long. I have to leave for the airport next Tuesday night and catch a red eye flight, but I think that the flight won’t be too bad because I will be gaining three hours of time when I get back home. I think that many people will enjoy this break whether they go back home or not. The people that go home will obviously get to spend some time with family and friends. But staying here at Purdue may not be so bad either because some students can probably wake up early and go shopping on Black Friday with friends. I know that I will probably buy some things for the dorm room on Black Friday. My roommate exchanged rooms with someone who was a friend so now a good friend of mine is rooming with me. So we are probably going to buy a futon, a TV, and some carpet. I also definitely need to buy more clothes for the colder weather because I have worn some of my thickest clothes on some cold days here and I was still pretty cold. I will also bring back my stereo and guitar from back home when I get back to Purdue that way I have something fun to do on my spare time. This Thanksgiving break should be a good time for everyone as we all can look forward to spending some time with friends or family.

WK 13 International Studies

I have always been excited about studying abroad. I would really like to go to the Philippines to study, and if that's at all possible I will, but as of now, that is not an available option. Of the options available to engineering students I would like to study in Australia, Germany, or Italy. I know little about the academic opportunities in these places. I’m most interested in the adventure in Australia, the history in Germany, and many things in Italy. I think that is my top choice. Italy is full of astounding architecture, phenomenal food, a colorful history, and numerous amounts of festivities and traditions. In any of these places I plan to stay a full semester. Unfortunately these have little to do with my personal and professional goals. The benefits of studying in these places are gaining global experience and making connections with people from all over. My personal goals are to return to the Philippines for an undetermined amount of time. I want to go back to the area I was born in and help to rebuild the city into a more sustainable community. Out of the places I have shown interest in studying in, I think Italy or Germany would be the best choices. I chose these two because of how accessible the rest of Europe is. Germany has a strong engineering field and Italy has a strong sense of culture that is important to understand. To achieve these goals, I will continue to work hard in all my classes, research other options, and be confident in the choices I make when it comes to my future. The choices I make even in my early years of college will affect the opportunities available to me down the line, so it is important that I think about all of the possibilities that could come from my choices now.

Digital Archive: Michael Jackson

For my group’s Digital Archive project, we plan to gather information of the pop-icon of the past half-century, Michael Jackson. But because there is a lot of mystery surrounding his later years, as well as controversy surrounding him that can’t be verified as fact, we are going to focus our archive of the early years of Michael Jackson’s life. This archive will likely be about his early performing years in “The Jackson Five”, and how his relationships with others, such as his father Joe Jackson, shaped his life and later career. We may take about some of the rumors surrounding his life, but since they can’t be verified, we will emphasize that this information is not fact, but speculation and rumors. We may even go beyond Michael Jackson’s years in “The Jackson Five” up to when he became a solo artist and was really popular in the 1980’s. As most people know, this is the era of the Pepsi commercial incident, where, during filming for a Pepsi commercial, Michael Jackson’s hair was set on fire by fireworks, and he sustained enough injury to warrant the need for pain medication. He became addicted to this pain medication, thus being a major factor in the shaping of the rest of his life. One of the speculations we may cover in our archive is the report, from Michael himself, that Joe Jackson beat him as a boy. Joe denied these allegations. Medical professionals believe that the alleged abuse could be a likely cause to the skin condition Michael Jackson developed later in life, which turned spots of his skin a lighter color. This led him to undergo a procedure to turn all of his skin white, which was the color of the pigmentation. This action would forever change the face of Michael Jackson.

Week 13: Australia

Out of all the presentations we have had this semester, the place I want to go to the most is Australia. I would want to go to Australia because I recall hearing that Australia is rich in natural resources, which is leading to a large economic boom. This will especially mean a high demand for engineers. Since I plan on becoming an aerospace engineer, I would probably work for a private Australian aerospace company, or for a foreign office of a company such as Boeing. I would probably want to stay in Australia for 5 to 10 years. This would give me enough time to get to know my coworkers and become friends with many of them. In order to achieve this goal, I will need to look at the study abroad programs that Purdue offers and utilize this resource. Once I graduate, I will apply to aerospace companies in Australia, or U.S. companies with offices in Australia.

My Technology Integration plan

Today we talked about bringing technology to a poor a relatively undeveloped country. Here is my plan on what would be a good way to go about that.

1) Build one small building in a town that serves as the technological hub for that town/ region.

2) The caretakers of the building should try and engage the local community in liking the new technology.

3) Provide ways for those people who like the new technology to acquire some of there on.

4) Ounce most of the community starts to begin using the new technology the technology hub can become more of a community center.

This idea is a slow idea. It would be something of a 5 to 15 year plan. It would be more focus on engaging the locals instead of trying to force it on them. It would try to focus more on the younger age groups because they are generally more flexible when it comes to technology. This would take a while but would generally cost very low. The building itself would be the most class. It would not have to be to modern, but would need to include new technology. I also think it would be a good idea for it to serve as a community center as well. The biggest part would be the directors who take care of the new technology hubs. They would have to be nice and chatty enough to engage the local community while still being business and technological savvy enough to run the center.

Dorm Floor Pranks

Ever since the second or third week of the semester, some people on my dorm floor (including myself) have been participating in somewhat of a prank war. It all just started as we got to know each other better and we usually prank each other in friendly spirit, never doing anything to cause physical pain or extensive property damage to someone. It used to be primarily between myself and a friend named Andrew, but others like Devon and Hui have joined in. We all usually get Andrew the most and our pranks towards him are a lot more intense, or worse, than what he can come up with. I think I started the war by putting already rotten bananas in Andrew’s freezer. The bananas stayed in his fridge for five days until he found them and they were completely black (and smelled horrible) when he found them. He got me back by putting toothpaste all over the door handle to my room which was very unpleasant because I was running late for class. As the weeks progressed, we thought of small pranks but the major ones progressively got more intense. Hui has fish oil (for some reason) and he decided to put it all over Andrew’s toothbrush one day. Andrew later found out when he brushed his teeth and almost vomited from the horrible smell. Andrew usually gets Hui back by going into his room and locking him out or by loading inappropriate videos on Hui’s laptop when he isn’t in the room. The final prank that was pulled on Andrew involved Devon and I getting into Andrew’s room (via his roommate) when he wasn’t in there. We got Andrew’s mattress (but left the blankets, pillows, etc. there) and took it all the way down the hall to the garbage room where we hid it behind the door. When Andrew got back from class that day and saw that his mattress was missing he freaked out and got extremely mad. He chased Devon and me around until we were forced to tell him where the matress was. Since then, we have unofficially ended the prank war, although we pull small pranks every once in a while.

Reality Hits You...Sooner or later.

Today is Eid-Ul-Adha. It marks the beginning of a new year in the Islamic calendar and the ending of Hajj which is basically Islamic pilgrimage. Coming from a country in the Middle East, today was a big day for me. This time, last year, I was busy helping mom with all the family reunion parties and cleaning my room just so that the guests who visited us got the picture of me being the “not so notorious, trouble-free” girl. However, this year, the story was a little different. Keeping aside the fact that it was not even half as bustling as a regular Eid day back home, I actually got a realization of how important family is. Since breakfast is a major event on Eid days, I decided to wake up slightly earlier than usual and get to the Earhart dining court for breakfast. Since my friends hit the bed pretty late the previous night, I decided it was best to let them sleep. So there I was, sitting at some random booth, munching on my hash browns and thinking of how different my life had become! Soon enough, tears made their way into my eyes; not because I was not with my family (even though I wish I was!) but because I had taken my family for granted for so long! I always knew that they were there to cheer me up when I was down. They never let me down, never said my decisions (good or bad) were wrong. In short, I could always count on them for always being there for me. Festivals are usually responsible for getting the entire family together and they usually end up strengthening the bond between two family members. Today, I may not have been with my family, physically, but the realization that I got gifted with today was far more important for me. Being in college, there will be times when we wish to go back to our loved ones but we don’t get to do that very often. So instead of moaning about not being where you want to be, take some time to think of what those people and more importantly, those relationships mean to you. It truly improves your ability to appreciate those around you! :)

Resources in Latin America

Limited resources tend to influence energy policy through lobbyists from companies who wish to use the resources for profit. Usually governments are concerned with what companies want because they provide large percentages of tax revenue. Lobbyist from these companies will try to sway politicians into passing energy policies that will benefit the company rather than the country. Sometimes, limited resources of greater necessity are taken over by the government. This happened in Venezuela when Chavez had his government socialize the country’s oil industry. Greatly impoverished nations don’t usually benefit from the presence of limited natural resources because when these resources are utilized, they tend to be too expensive for the poor to afford. Therefore, the company (which is usually foreign) gets rich off of the resources while local populations remain poor.

Some issues I see in implementing technology in rural Latin America is conflict between local culture and the ideals of the companies/governments that are trying to use the technology in the region. Rural Latin America is also very remote, which means getting the technology to the final destination would be very difficult and dangerous.

I Strongly Dislike ENGR 131

This past week was really hard for me. I have been running really low on restful sleep, and I have been busy working on miserable amounts of homework. Right now, the worst is Engineering 131. Last week I had to stay up until 1 a.m. at Harrison working with my team on our Milestone 3 the night before it was due. And it was not like we had really procrastinated; we had already met twice that week. We spent both of those meetings revising parts of our first two milestones so we could actually start our third and get a good grade on it. So that night I got less than 5 hours of sleep, because I did not get to bed until after 2 and I had to get up at 7. This weekend has not been much better for me because I have had to spend most of my time working on my community project for English. The reason I appear to have put it off until the last minute is because of Engineering 131. Yes, all blame can be traced back to Engineering 131, however, I will admit I am partially to blame because, looking back; there were times when I had free time and selfishly used it as such. So, I have only gotten about 6 hours of sleep both Friday and Saturday nights, and I am starting to get a headache from the lack of sleep and from sitting in front of my laptop all day. I cannot wait until Thanksgiving break, when I can actually get some sleep. This upcoming week I have to complete my CCCD assignment, Milestone 4, Homework 11, and study for a test, and that is just from Engineering 131! I fear what next semester is going to be like. I am sure next semester will make this one seem like a cake walk.

Trapped

Yesterday was an off day for me. I had to wake up and do yard work I was voluntold to do. A requirement for Crew is that you have to do 3 "volunteer" rent-a-rowers to earn $65 each, hence being voluntold. For these you go to a meeting spot at about 7:30 in the morning, get assigned a job and go out and work for whoever has ordered a rower. I was assigned to a couple who are both Purdue faculty. They had us do some yard work, trimming, raking, ect. It was a nice day, they fed us, and tipped us so that was not too bad of an experience. It was really nice to get off campus. I didn't realize until this morning how nice it felt to be off campus for a while. I had a strange feeling yesterday after being done with the work and returning to the boat house, but I went to sleep that night with ever pinpointing that strange feeling. This morning I woke up and knew exactly what it was. I feel trapped. I feel trapped on campus. Last year I was living on my own, had a car, and could go wherever I pleased provided that I have the gas money. I hate feeling confined to one spot. Even this summer while I was working at summer camp I felt trapped. So on my weekends off I would run. The decision was usually made just before curfew at midnight. I walked the mile and a half to my car, laundry and other travel supplies in hand. Jumped in my car and drove the hour and a half to Indianapolis where old family friends live. They have been in my life since my parents got me from the PHilippines, so they are like a second family. I just walk in and sleep there whenever I please.

I loved it at camp and I love it here at Purdue, but somedays I have the insatiable desire to get away. Just take a little break from my reality. Hopefully I find an escape or the feeling passes with a little bit of time.

Let's do the Bow-Meow!

So I love college for what it is. Be it the amazing people I meet on a daily basis or the extensive amount of work that we are expected to do. I feel like these are the things that will mould us into the wise adults that we would (hopefully) become in the future. However, if there was one thing that I could change about college, it would be the “no pets allowed in dorms” rule. I was fortunate enough to have at least one pet throughout every stage of my childhood. Hence, coming to college and living without one is turning out to be extremely difficult. As of now, I have four cats (Dobbs, Persie, Oreo and Kaka) and a dog (Mojo) back home. Contrary to what people might think, they are all very friendly towards each other and I feel like my little puppy is slowly starting to get some cat-like characteristics! So now that I have successfully digressed from my topic and started ranting about my pets (like I always end up doing), I would like to go back and highlight as to why pets are so important in our lives. Most people take them for granted and never take note of how much of a difference they actually make in our lives. In my case, my pets have taught me some of life’s most important lessons. By watching my cat take care of her baby kittens, I learnt the true meaning of responsibility. By watching my dog just be himself, I understood the true meaning of loyalty. Witnessing my baby kittens slowly make their way towards becoming fully grown cats helped me understand the true meaning of independence. Seeing my dog tear up when I am hurt or depressed helped me comprehend the true meaning of empathy. And the list goes on… As a matter of fact, studies have shown that people with pets tend to live longer that those without pets. Why you ask? Well, it is pretty simple; people with pets around them are happier humans and happier humans live longer than depressed ones. So go find a pet and GET HAPPY! J

Halloween Weekend

My Halloween weekend so far (Friday and Saturday) was also not too special. I did go see the Rocky Horror Picture Show play on Friday night and it was a very unique experience overall. My friend was one of the main characters in the play and I would say that he did a great job acting. He did have some really funny scenes where he had to dress up in only underwear and pretend to “get it on” with a guy. After the play, we got Subway and walked back to the dorms where we watched a few episodes of South Park and both Harold and Kumar movies. Saturday was a pretty fun day because my Resident Assistant organized people from our floor to play basketball at the recreation center. We played for about an hour and a half and our game was so competitive that people were fouling and falling every few minutes. Aside from the competitive aspect of the game, we all had a lot of fun just socializing outside of the dorm floor and going out as a group. On Saturday night I ended up doing some homework and then doing laundry at midnight. While doing laundry with a bunch of friends, we found the best way to pass time in the laundry room. Since we were pretty much the only ones down in the laundry room, we decided to play catch with a mini-football that a friend had. Even though this idea may seem childish or kind of weird, it was a lot of fun causing some mayhem down in the laundry room. After laundry, a bunch of friends and I watched some horror movies until 5:00 in the morning. We watched both Cabin Fever movies and the first Descent movie. The movies were pretty good for horror movies nowadays and they provided a lot of blood and gore to keep us watching.

Anthropology and It's Effects on Cultural Interactions

Case One – There are many cases, even in the English language, where one word can have more than one meaning. I think that Mr. Nolan’s friend should have caught on that the farmer was telling him the right information and he should have probably asked the farmer where the city of Tunis. The mix up of words is usually common for people speaking the same language, but from different cultural perspectives.

Case Two – I understand Grayzel’s view of making the system more efficient, but I think it is easy for aid workers to tend to forget about or sometimes disregard the traditional aspects of the native people. Even though they are trying to help, the planners should take the natives’ beliefs and values into consideration when creating a new plan.

Case Three – It is very interesting how the steel axe has changed almost everything about the Yir Yoront’s social roles. I feel that the axe has allowed for the societal roles of the Aboriginal group to become more equalized and balanced, while also improving their methods of survival.

My Halloween Night.... Not so Scary

It has been many years since I have gotten to go Trick-or-Treating, but I still enjoy Halloween. I didn’t get a costume this year, and I probably won’t go to one of the parties because I will be busy working on ENGR 131 homework, but I think I will still have a fun Halloween. In the past, I would watch the old Halloween movies, the ones with Michael Myers, while I waited for Trick-or-Treaters to come by for candy. This year, I will probably stay in my room working on homework and enjoying the new, Halloween episode of How I Met Your Mother. If anyone follows the show, this episode is going to be legen- wait for it….. –dary. Ted is finally going to meet the Slutty Pumpkin, a character that was first mentioned seven seasons ago when the show was first introduced. The Slutty Pumpkin is going to be played by Katie Holmes, and is referred to as “the Slutty Pumpkin” because she wears a pumpkin costume that is carved in certain areas that make the costume “slutty.” Anyways, for big-time fans of the show, like me, this will be a pretty exciting Halloween. Also, if you don’t watch How I Met Your Mother, I highly suggest it. It is one of the best television sitcoms ever created. It is a thousand times better than Two and a Half Men, if you are familiar with other sitcoms from CBS. If I find myself with nothing else to do Monday night, I will probably try to find one of those old Halloween movies on the internet and watch it. One last thing I will do on Halloween, since it is the last day of the month, is shave in preparation for No-Shave-November. I want to start with a clean face so I can gauge how much facial hair I can grow in a month, since this will be the first year I will be participating.

Development Anthropology

Case Study One:

I don’t think it is too unusual to encounter a culture that has the same word for two different things. This occurs overwhelmingly in the English language. However, I completely understand the display of frustration on the part of the friend and the farmer.

Case Study Two:

It makes sense to me that the USAID planners would encounter problems with the indigenous population’s beliefs. That is a factor that many don’t take into consideration when trying to “help” a foreign people. Aid workers tend to have a closed mindset as they try to accomplish THEIR goals, and don’t take the wishes of the natives into consideration.

Case Study Three:

I find it interesting that the introduction of a new type of old tool into a culture could influence that culture so drastically. It’s amazing to think that a culture’s economy, class system, and foreign relationships could all be based on a tool that many people rarely use today in the U.S.

Rocky Horror Picture show SUCKS

I know I was said I was going to talk about another restaurant this week but I recently ran into something this week that I need to get out. I saw Rocky Horror Picture Show at the PMU. It was the worst piece of crap I have seen in all my years on this earth. It started out weird and confusing for me, having never seen it, and devolved into the most perverted, most incomprehensible, and stupidest piece of shit that I have ever seen being made into film. I went with a group of friends where some had seen it. They all assured me that it was weird but the didn’t convey on what kind of atrocity it was on. One member of the group left before seeing it, and I envy her. I wish I could wash out the memory of this film. I left half way in and that much is still to much for me. I can’t say it enough, if someone invites you to see Rocky Horror Picture Show, turn around and sprint the other way. It is like those mean kids who told you to watch Two Girls one Cup, a film famed for its atrocity and disgustingness unmatched by any other video. I can’t say this enough, “DON’T GO SEE ROCKY HORROR PITCTURE FILM.”

Week 11 Case Study Responses

Case Study One Response

Even though I know this is made up, I can’t see anybody being as rude as your friend If I had repeated something and got the same answer I would understand he is not understanding it the same way as you and try to explain it to him a different way. I would say something along the lines of “The city, where this [Name of Company] is located.” If my friend had started jumping up and down, I would have slapped him in the back of the head.

Case Study Two Response

Although I understand where Grayzel is coming from, I would agree with the planners coming up with the idea for more efficient herding. I would view that belief system as obstacle and an x-factor in planning. It should be talking into consideration but not necessarily taking as the basis. The basis should be the most efficient way of herding.

Case Study Three Response

Although this is a interesting case, the missionaries could not be known this would. This was not necessary a bad thing, because it equalized the society more in its roles.

Dorm Life

I did not know a single person when I arrived here at Purdue for the first time. Aside from attending Boiler Gold Rush, I knew that I would have to make friends on my dorm floor, especially since I would be spending the next year with them. At first I was very nervous and hesitant to move in because people seemed like they already knew each other when I moved in. However, when I arrived on my dorm floor, I was immediately greeted by fellow dorm neighbors and asked if I needed any help. It was not long before I got to know most people on my dorm floor. As the weeks went by, I grew closer to the people on the floor and I even found out that I had classes with some of them. Our Resident Assistant is an extremely friendly person and he organizes weekly events, from floor dinners to intramural sports. I would say that my participation in these activities and interaction with my fellow floor neighbors has contributed immensely to my dorm living experience.

Now, I am close friends with a good majority of the people on my floor and I am comfortable just being on my floor. I now usually always leave my door open and wander around to other rooms to take a break or watch TV. I usually play the football video game Madden in my friend Andrew’s room whenever I need to unwind or just have fun. Every week, there is always someone in Andrew’s room either playing video games or watching TV. Recently, a bunch of people crowd into his room on Wednesday nights to watch new episodes of South Park. It is very easy to feel “at home” on my dorm floor because there is always something fun going on which allows me to keep my sanity whenever I need to take a study break or just need to relax.

Wk 10 Identity

This chapter on identity was very intriguing to me. I feel that as college students defining our identity is a big challenge we face throughout these years. The topic I found most interesting in this chapter was Identity Security. I will try to only speak for myself because identity is a self discovery. This section discussed the different ways in which individuals find security in identity as a group and how that varies. Instead of restating all of the section I will define my identity security.

As I have stated in other blog posts, I was adopted from the Philippines and raised in suburban Indiana by a white family in a predominately white community. I define my personal identity as something different than my outward identity. Personal identity meaning how I view myself. If I were to give someone groups that I identify myself with they would be followers of Christ, ethnically Filipino, upper middle class, and a Purdue engineering student. There was a solid period of time throughout the last couple of years that defining certain aspects of my identity were very difficult, and sometimes still are. Growing up its easy to see that the white family with the little Asian girl in the super market adopted her. There was a pretty memorable moment last year while I was living on my own that my parents came to visit. We went grocery shopping and while we were there they went up to the deli counter with me trailing behind. My parents told the worker what they wanted while I was just wandering back and forth looking at everything. The worker turned to address me and said, “I’ll be with you in a moment after I help these customers.” Obviously my response was, “I’m with them.” Internally, that was a life shaking moment.

Its hard to firmly identify myself as a Filipino because I don’t know the traditions, i don’t know the mannerisms, the language, and whatever other aspects may be crucial to defining oneself as such. At the same time I obviously can’t tell people that I’m white when they so bluntly ask, “what are you”? Over much internal debate I’ve decided my conflicting feelings about self definition and identity come from feeling inferior to other Filipinos. I have it worked up in my head that I am not “Filipino enough” to classify myself as such.

For the most part I am a very confident person and secure in who I am. Things like racial and ethnic definition, which seems like it should be so clear, are the hardest for me to wrestle with. For these reasons identity security is a very interesting topic of discussion.

Food Critic

I was bored this weekend and though of what it would be like to work for the exponent. If I did work for the exponent I would be a food critic. Its not that I have taken a fancy cooking course or am planning to be a chef, I just grew up around food. Both of my parents cook extensively and a few things have rubbed of on me. They have broadened my horizon in food with the ever-present saying, “Don’t knock it till you try it.” So here is my first restaurant critic.

Oishi

13 East State Street, West Lafayette, IN

(765) 743-3838 ‎

Oishi has the best Asian food I have had since arriving on campus. We have all heard of the mythical second menu at Asian restaurants, only known to those who can speak fluent Mandarin. If there is such a thing, then that is Oishi’s menu. While coming to campus I have explored some of the different ethnic inspired restaurants. This is one of the few places that stay as true as it can to that of its homeland. Although it has more exotic food (to some) like a very traditional duck while other more Americanized dishes like Orange Chicken are there to not scare of some of the lest broadened places. My dad always said, “The best Chinese food is were the Asians go.” This is the place, I being the only non- Asian at the time. The only complaint I have is the wait. On like most restaurants around the campus this is a sit down meal that you have to wait longer then 20 minutes for. When I did get my food it was defiantly worth the wait.

Please help me, GELC!

I am using Global Engineering Cultures and Practice Learning Community for the community project in Engl 106. In order to complete my PSA video, I will need some pictures of activities that our learning community has sponsored. The pictures should exemplify the friendships we have formed in the GELC, and show how much fun it is to be in the learning community. I was hoping somebody reading this will have some pictures that you could copy to me so I can make my PSA authentic to the GELC. Also, I will be making a brochure and website about GELC and I was hoping you could provide some suggestions as to what you would like to see in a media that is advertising our learning community. Perhaps you have an issue with the learning community that you would like me to address, or you think you have a unique reason for being in the learning community. I will be happy to hear whatever you have to say, so don’t feel like your input is not worth my time, it is. Don’t get me wrong, I am not being lazy by trying to get you to do my project for me; I was just hoping to get alternative perspectives from other members of the learning community before I make these advertisements that represent us. I have my own ideas and perspective of the learning community, but I know that I am just one person of over 30 in the learning community and that I can’t possibly know what everyone thinks about the Global Engineering Learning Community. So, if you have any suggestions or have some pictures of GELC activities, please leave a comment and let me know. If you do have a picture, I will let you know how to send it to me.

Thanks,

Slim

"Positive" Prejudice

One thing in the reading that I found interesting, but already knew about, is the fact that even if a prejudice seems like a positive one, it is still negative because it can offend some people. I found this topic interesting because the author provided reasons and examples in the form of hypothetical situations to explain why this is the case. For instance, the prejudice that whites are better off in society than other groups, therefore no white people need any special financial assistance. I had never thought of this scenario when thinking of “positive” stereotypes. Another example in the text was about how Jews are very helpful to one another. In the scenario, a man, who is not a Jew, gets a flat tire while traveling and nobody stops to help him fix it. Then, remembering advice he heard from his grandmother, he puts on a kippa, a head covering that Jewish males wear; and soon, a group of Orthodox Jews stop to help him. This example seems to portray a positive prejudice that Jews are very helpful, however it is also stating that Jews only help other Jews, which makes this prejudice extremely harmful.

Community - Strong and Weak

I think that a community is a group of people that have a common trait or interest that brings them together. Communities can come in all types of forms such as: online gaming communities, residence hall/floor communities, sports communities, and even national organizations. The strength of the community is strongly dependent on the size and interaction within the community, although non-interaction with members if the community does not exclude anyone from it. For example, people that live in a large city are all part of that community, yet it is highly unlikely that each person knows and interacts with all members of the city. However, in smaller communities where members interact more often, such as this Global Engineering Learning Community, are usually more meaningful to its members. The reason for this is because members of the community feel like they know each other on a more personal level, even if they do not know the other members in “real life.” For example, a small online-only community of people can also be very strong because people who might be shy in person can express themselves online without having to worry about some of the physical consequences that occur in real life.

Communities that thrive and have success/stability are ones that interact to address situations and solve problems. Conflicting opinions are more likely to occur in larger communities that are not interaction-based. In order to address these issues communities usually have open discussions or ways for it members to express their opinions in how to solve the problem. In most communities there is a leader or organizer that is usually the representative or spokesperson for the group that has more “say” in the decisions made. The communities that are unhappy are unsuccessful are mainly the ones that do not interact or come together to fix a common problem.

Structures

This article focuses on medieval weapons, specifically catapults. There were two catapult designs presented here, the trebuchet and the torsion mangonel. Each were heavy machines used mostly in Europe. Prior to the trebuchet’s domination, the torsion model was common. The efficiency and accuracy achieved by the trebuchet catapult caused the torsion model to become obsolete. The article described further why the trebuchet was the dominant model. In physics my junior year, we were given a fairly “choose as you wish” project that we had to construct or demonstrate something that we could explain some section of our physics book. I built a working model of a trebuchet. The project was a blast and once I cleaned up all the kinks, the catapult was accurate and consistent.

First defining a structure in this connection is necessary. The war machines described in the article can be considered structures and infrastructure makes up the foundation of a city. Conflict can arise within a city or nation, but it can also be found within a city or nation. When building war machine structures the group must decide what its specific tasks are. To determine that the group must understand the opponents infrastructure and its weak points. By understanding these weak points, a group can build the most efficient war structure to conquer the opposing group, thus solving the conflict with a victory. The relationship between structures and infrastructure is all relative to the needs of the individual structures. An engineer must understand the needs and tasks a certain structure is to preform to design something that is actually useful. Without that information, the structure has no purpose and is therefore not beneficial to those the structure was designed for. In the case that conflict arises within a nation, infrastructure can have a lot to do with that. Solid infrastructure will always thrive over the more poorly constructed regions of an area. Moral of the story, solid infrastructure will be beneficial in the long run and make physical conflict a more difficult way to approach issues that arise between two parties.

Ancient Middle East Structures

1. 1. The article shows how different types of trebuchets and mangonels were used to accomplish various tasks. These ancient designs and structures show how civil engineers in today’s society design certain structures that fit a specific need.

2. 2. The ancient Middle East structures that I am familiar with are:

- The pyramids of Egypt: the pyramids were built as tombs for the pharaohs of Egypt and they have probably survived for so long due to the materials it is made out of and its shape.

- The Dome of the Rock – this structure was made in the 7^th century and is located at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It is a sacred structure to both Muslims and Jews because the Muslims believed it is the place where Muhammad ascended into heaven, while Jews believe it the location where Abraham was going to sacrifice his son Isaac to God. I am not sure how it has survived for so long, but I know that it has been refurbished several times.

3. 3. Grand structures in ancient cultures were often built in order to honor someone or something. The structures were built with so much passion and precision because the cultures building the structure believed that they were building the structure for a very important person or event. Buildings also developed into defense structures from war and extreme weather.

MyPurdue

Coming from a school which only had 22 students in its graduating class, Purdue was a huge jump for me. The fact that I did not “know” all the students in my classes, let alone Purdue, perturbed me. Unlike most other students here at Purdue, I went to a small private school in the Middle East. It was a norm for people to know the names and at least a 100-word set of information about every other student in the school. Coming to Purdue, I knew that such a thing could only remain as an un-attainable dream. Initially, I couldn’t make up my mind on whether deciding to go to a big school was a good decision or not. But now, I can confidently say that choosing a big school was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Every day I meet new people, be it on a bus or while having lunch. I remember some better than the others. This could be the result of either one of the two:

1) I see them at regular time intervals

2) They said/did something that caught my attention or in other words, left a lasting mark in my mind.

Living on a campus with a lot of people, I feel, results in increased learning. Purdue houses students from all walks of life. As I communicate with each one of these boilermakers, I get connected to the world that they come from. So far, I have interacted with students from all the countries that my mind could think of (and even of some which I never knew existed!). Purdue is more or less like a cultural melting pot, enriched with precious, great minds, from all over the world that are set to make change. So this week, let us all make that extra effort to get to know as many people as we can. Let us try to comprehend their world, life and culture. Let us work towards having deeper, more meaningful talks. I feel like doing this would help us become better “Global Engineers”.

Communities

My definition of a community is a group of people that have something in common with each other that brings them together, whether it is physically or through some sort of medium. Interaction amongst the members should occur, but isn’t a requirement to be a part of the community, because there are many communities in which some members never interact or meet. For instance, a person who is a resident of a town means he or she is a member of a community; however, there is a slim chance that any particular resident knows every single other resident. Likewise, there may be a resident that doesn’t interact with any other members of the community, yet he or she is still a resident and member of the community because that particular individual has something in common with the other members, local residency. The larger the community, the more likely issues will arise amongst its members due to the greater variety in personal opinions and behaviors. In a community, such as a town or city, issues over taxes, utilities, infrastructure maintenance, and emergency services, among others, may arise. To deal with these issues, town and city hall meetings are usually open to the community to allow the public to voice their concerns and provide their input into the conversation. Residential communities usually try to attract new residents by lowering taxes, providing a sense of security, or with perks such as a booming economy and recreational attractions. Towns and cities benefit from a larger community membership in the form of a higher tax income which will support an improved infrastructure and better emergency and community services. However, with increased membership comes the risk of “bad apples” making things difficult for the other members of the community. This is another issue that communities have to deal with.

Structural Engineering in Ancient Conflicts

1. The article focused on how the various designs and structures of trebuchets and mangonels affected their efficiency and purpose. This closely parallels how civil engineers design the structures of buildings and bridges to reflect a specific purpose and to maximize energy efficiency.

2. Some ancient Middle Eastern structures that I am familiar with are:

The pyramids of Egypt- They were built as tombs for the pharaohs of Egypt and were often modeled after celestial phenomena, such as constellations. The largest have survived weathering due to their massive size, while the smaller ones have succumbed to the elements.

The Sphinx- I believe it was built to honor a pharaoh. I don’t know how it has managed to survive for so long because it doesn’t seem like it would handle weathering very well.

3. Nations often develop their greatest technologies under the threat of conflict. War has long been a struggle between the technologies of the opposing sides. When one side develops a new weapon, the other must develop an innovative defense for that weapon. In most cases, these defenses are structures, such as castles. Therefore, technologies to build stronger, safer buildings were developed.

Medieval Middle East Structure

1. A civil engineer is just a engineer who designs large structures taking into consideration the physics and other outside influences that will effect the structure. Their job is to make the structures last as long as possible. The trebuchets and mangonel are just a different type of structure.

2. My impressions of the Middle East are big sweeping buildings. Buildings that would be in Aladdin or Lawrence of Arabia. I know very little outside of what I have seen in movies and history books.

3. Like in medieval Europe, the man with most money had much bigger houses then those without money. It is much the same relationship with a westerns castle as it is in the medieval Middle East. Both cultures had the rich in big houses, while the poor either lived in the houses to serve them or lived in small huts. The only diffrence is in the style of the different houses.

First Chapter of my Book

This is the first chapter of my book. Please leave comments on it.

Prelude

There I am at a great summer program that will land me at a great college. I spend with my newly met friend how is also attending. I live up that last of my increasingly short carefree childhood before I take on life’s adventure. There is something reserved about my new friend. Almost as if she is watching and calculating us, fingering the small iron key on her necklaces. The key, bent in one are but straightened out and hid over do not bother me for we are all teens and we are acquired and must be reserved and calculating to make in to the mysteries of college and beyond.

Chapter 1 – The Chance

“I will Study and get ready, and perhaps my chance will come”
- by Abraham Lincoln

Here I am, Michael Stultus Animus, I exit my plane at Washington DC. Their I am everything I on is on the duffel bag at my side or on the one box at the college I will go to next week.

I walk the streets of our capital until I reach the cheap motel my parents got me until I leave for my new life. I then am forced by boredom to walk the streets. I desperately search to find something I can grasp onto that is familiar to me. I stop at the woods one of the small state parks that dot the capital, or so I see on my map. It reminds of the small forest that surrounds Houston.

As I head into the woods for some time to myself when a scream shatters the cool evening air. I another thing familiar, the girl I meet on the summer program, Sarah. It stoned me that she would be out in the woods, since she was from New York City. More stunning was the 7 foot; pig faced; bald headed; evil eyed; muscle bound; … Well you get the picture that was attacking her. She was fighting valiantly but ineffectively with her petite 5 foot 2 inches body.

I hear over her yelling the sound of the man deep voice saying, ”Just calm down … “ grunting from a good hit he pauses to swing back and backhand her to the ground.

“We just want to ask you some questions.” He resumed, huffing with the exertion of the scuffle.

Without sparring a second more to think, my tall but lanky 6 foot body shot out toward him. Even though 160 pounds doesn’t sound like a lot pack behind it the testosterone pumping male teenage body and it does damage. I slammed him into the tree knocking him up, hopefully, for a while.

Not so much as stopping for a thank you Sarah scrambled to her feet and shot through the woods, like a bat out of hell. Brian kicking in, hoping for a thank you (or a kiss) sprinted right behind her. Although with her adrenaline pumping like a life or death fight can only get it, pulled her away from me.

She burst back into the city and quickly wound her way through the crowed streets.. As she pulled around a corner into a uncrowded alley, I feared I would lose her. I leapt around the corner to ram street into a wall of meat.

Being flung back, I see a flash of light as the man punches me sending me sprawling on the ground were my head throbs horribly. I look around groggily and see Sarah on the ground behind the man how had just assaulted me. After attempting to struggling to my feet and failing I fall back and let the darkness fade in.

Through the haze I hear the voice of the mysterious man before say, “Take him too, the little bugger broke my noise”. Smiling at least doing something I faded into unconsciousness.