famous last words: back on track

After a long week of being sick, I am finally getting back into the swing of things. I thought that I had the stomach flu, but I ended up actually having an intestinal bacteria that gave me flu0like symptoms. I think the worst part, besides having to be wheeled into the doctor's office to get bags of fluid pumped into me, was not being able to take anything for pain or fever. I have a 102 fever and was in constant pain that was not allowing me to sleep for almost 2 days. It was miserable. I finally started to gain some energy back on Thursday of this week and I am hoping it keeps climbing. I still have not had enough energy to workout which is not fun because I love to work out.

I am doing as much extra credit tonight as I can in order to get myself ahead again. I really want to finish this course early so I am not stressed beyond what I need to be during those final weeks of the semester when professors all assign final projects/assignments. If I keep on top of all the extra credit and regular assignments, I think it is still in reach.

On another note, tonight I got to host a kick-off event for homecoming week that was very successful! I am on the Class of 2018 Council and our event was Glow Wild and it keeps getting better and better each year. I got to be the photographer for the night which is always my favorite job because I get to bring new people together and also capture long friendships in the moment. On top of that, there was AMAZING food like corn dogs, funnel cake fries, nachos, oreo churros, and more that I wish I could've tried without getting full.

This is a picture that was taken on my camera after cleaning up our event. In the picture is the OU Class Council.

tech tip: browser bookmarks

Surprisingly, I have not been using bookmarks much until this year. I am not quite sure how I didn't use them. I sometimes would favorite websites, but I rarely returned to them. I have not used bookmark folders yet and just spent time using that to organize some of my random bookmarks. I did not even realize it, but I do have my bookmarks on a toolbar. I am not sure how that happened, but it's there and I now know and can actually utilize it. I am going to try and use my new folders to keep my future bookmarks more organized as I feel it will be more beneficial to me.

week 9 story: the foolish iguana

Once upon a time, there was an iguana and a turtle that bumped into each other by a pond. They apologized and ended up becoming friends. The two made it a ritual to go and fish together at the same pond every single day.

Time after time, the iguana would complain about how slow the turtle was moving. Each time, the turtle tried to explain that it is physically impossible to move as fast at the iguana can. Still, the iguana would continue on. He tried to give the turtle tips and even tried to push the turtle once. No matter what, he did not believe that it was impossible for the turtle to move quicker.

As the days passed, the turtle grew irritated with the iguana's constant remarks and he started to plan ways to get the iguana out of his daily routine. He felt so bad as the iguana would talk to him about how he had no friends, but he just could not take it anymore. He needed the best possible plan to get rid of the iguana in a polite way.

After getting a headache over all of the brainstorming, the turtle ended up visiting his father for advice. The father thought that it would be perfect for him to be the reasoning for the turtle to part from the iguana. They sat and brainstormed plan after plan until one seemed to be decent.

The day finally came that they planned to get rid of the iguana and the grandfather set out on his route to the pond. Once the iguana and turtle got to the pond, the father slowly crept in demanding that this pond was only for turtles and that the iguana must leave or he will be cursed. The iguana scurried off before the father could say another word.

(Photo by WikiMedia.)

Author's Note:
The original story started out with the iguana and turtle being good friends that always go fishing together. The iguana invited the turtle to go to a different pond that he knew of. When the owner of the pond came out, the iguana got away, but the turtle did not. The owner took the turtle and tied him up. The turtle went to look for his friend and, when he found him, he found out that the old man wants him to marry his daughter. The iguana wanted to marry his daughter and took the turtle's spot. But, when the old man came back, he tried to hit him and he ran off. He came across his turtle friend again and he was listening to his grandfather rubbing two bamboo pipes together from a tree above. The iguana went up out of curiosity and got injured. 

I changed it and just made it a bit more simple as I felt many of the details in the original were not bringing the story together. I also took out the whole marriage part and changed the turtle against the iguana in the end.

Filipino Tales. Filipino Popular Tales: The Iguana and the Turtle by Dean S. Fansler.

reading notes: the iguana and the turtle, part b

This story started out with the iguana and turtle being good friends that always go fishing together. The iguana invited the turtle to go to a different pond that he knew of. When the owner of the pond came out, the iguana got away, but the turtle did not. The owner took the turtle and tied him up. The turtle went to look for his friend and, when he found him, he found out that the old man wants him to marry his daughter. The iguana wanted to marry his daughter and took the turtle's spot. But, when the old man came back, he tried to hit him and he ran off. He came across his turtle friend again and he was listening to his grandfather rubbing two bamboo pipes together from a tree above. The iguana went up out of curiosity and got injured. 

The moral of this story is that one that believes foolishly will get injured. I honestly was very confused as to how anything in this story made sense. I felt as though it was sporadic and didn't flow well. This may be because it is such a short story and they tried to fit in main components without much room for explanation. 

I honestly do not think that I will use this for my story because it did not appeal to me as much as the first story I read. I find it interesting how, because of what I have been through and how I was raised, this story just didn't catch my attention. 

(Photo by WikiMedia.)

Filipino Tales. Filipino Popular Tales: The Iguana and the Turtle by Dean S. Fansler.

reading notes: the monkey and the crocodile, part a

This week, I decided to read out of the Jamaica Anansi Stories unit. I chose this unit because I am still not 100% better from being sick last week and these are short stories. I am hoping that I will be able to really focus in on details without expending too much extra energy.

This story is titled The Money and the Crocodile. It starts with a monkey wanting to get to the other side of a river. He tricks a crocodile into giving him a ride to the other side, and the crocodile says that he will pay. Later on, the monkey comes across a crocodile playing dead by a bush with fruits he wants. The crocodile springs up and grabs the monkey, but again the monkey comes up with a witty response. He says that he is the king's cook and that the crocodile with be killed the moment he decides to kill the monkey because the king needs him. The crocodile apologizes and asks for food from the monkey. The monkey tells him to have all that he wants and watches from afar as the crocodile itches and itches from the food. 

The moral of this story was to use your own judgment and not to rely on the council of others for it's the father of destruction and ruin.

I could see myself using this same moral and maybe changing the scene in some way. I thought that the monkey was going to eventually get caught, but he didn't. Maybe I could make it so that the monkey gets caught. I also could further exaggerate the story by making both scenarios happen to the same crocodile to really show that this crocodile was not using his judgement. 

Overall, I feel there are many different ways that I can change up this story and it would be a great one to use for my next story.

(Photo from PixaBay.)

Filipino Tales: The Monkey and the Crocodile by Dean S. Fansler.