WINTER BREAK

Winter break went by too fast. Over break I spent a lot of quality time with my family, which is always nice. It was also nice to relax and sleep in. I nanny for a family and I still babysat for them over break so I had the chance to make money and to spend it on christmas gifts. I had a really enjoyable Chirstmas this year, I loved all my gifts. I recieved a new jacket, clothes, a new purse, money, gift cards! Over break I had my first indoor lacrosse game of the year. I havent picked up my lacrosse stick but I still did pretty well and so did my team. I wish there would have been snow on Christmas, I was sorta dissapointed but the snow is coming now so i'm happy about that!

Shrek

Shrek deviates from other fairytales because the princess, Fiona, isn't your typical princess. Fiona is strong and brave. Shrek is a big ogre and most princes are tall thin and hansome

Lightswitch

There are nights when I am so tired I can't even get up to turn off the lightswitch. Why does it have to be such a hard task to get up out of your comfy bed and turn off the light. I wish it was right next to my bed. I know I sound lazy but everytime I fall asleep and wake back and realize I never turned out the light it just makes my sleepiness go away. When I get up out of bed and get cold from uncovering the covers it awakens me and  it's hard to go back to sleep. I think I'm going to invest in the light where you can just clap and it goes on and off. My sleep would never be interupted and life would be so much easier!

Excercise 2

In the introduction to "They Say / I Say": The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein provide templates designed to enhance your writing, and help you write a well written paper. Specifically, Graff and Brirkenstein argue that the types of writing templates they offer you an alternative to the way you write your papers. As the authors themselves put it, "Working with these templates can give you an immediate sense of how to engage in the kinds of critical thinking you are required to do at the college level and in the vocational and public spheres beyond." Although some people believe that they can't show their creative side if they use templates, Graff and Birkenstein insist that once you begin to feel comfortable with the templates in this book, you will be able to improvise creatively on them to fit new situations and purposes and find others in their reading.

I agree. In my view, the types of templates that the authors recommend seem like they can really improve your wrinting. For instance, I did excercise one, and just from the basic outline it made my paragraph sound better then if I didn't use the template. In addition, it helped me think of better ideas to support my main idea. Some might object, of course, on the grounds that it can be considered plagarism. Yet I would argue that it's  not plagarism it's a basic structure that everyone uses. It's not like your copying word from word, adn if you are you would have to cite where you got your information from. Overall, then, I believe that the templates will work and that Graff and Birkenstein's views are correct -an important point to make given.

They say, I say

1) You may well ask: "Why direct action? Why sit ins, marches, and so forth? Isn't negotiation a better path?" The purpose of our direct action program is to create a situation so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation. Martin is saying that you need to use direct action frist before they even talk about negotiating.

2) It is unfortunate that the demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, it is even more uinfortunate that the city's white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative. He is saying yes it's sad that we have to do these demonstrations in your city, but maybe if you gave the African-Americans more rights this wouldn't even be happening.

3) You speak of our activity in Birmingham as extremem. At first I was rather disappointed that fellow clergymen would see my nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist. In the beginning he was disappointed, but then he thought about it and he is in the middle. He wants to be nice, but also he has so much anger and hatred built up inside. So he doesn't really care what they think.

4) If you were to see them slap and kick old Negro mean and young boys; if you were to observe them, as they did on two occasions, refuse to give us food becasue we wanted to sing our grace together. I cannot join you in your praise of the Birmingham police department. Basically, he doesn't like the police department, and what they do to African-Americans.

Lowering the drinking age

Everyone likes to enjoy every once in a while, so why not make the drinking age 18?  People that are under the age of 21 get caught for underage drinking everday, if the age was lowered there would be less people being charged. There a more important things for worry about like murder and rape. If you are old enough to fight for your country you should be old enough to drink a beer.

Thank god for chairs

I sit in the library in a hard, old, wooden chair. Right now if I could choose a chair to sit in, it would be a big recliner chair where I could just lay back and type this paper. If you really think about it, life wouldnt be the same without chairs. Everyone would have to stand around all the time with aching knees and legs with no choice but to sit on the floor. In school everyone would have to just sit on the floor, no matter how dirty it is. We should all be thankful for the little things in life, like chairs. Without them we would be even more uncomfortable then sitting in this hard wooden chair. At least it has back support. On the floor you would have no support whatsoever. Thank god for chairs!