Most of the reading we had done in class were very interesting. this one on the other hand wasn't the greatest. I decided that my response to the reading was a good one to use because I didn't totally agree with the writing itself. I wanted to make sure i didn't come across as someone who agrees with everything.


Of the four stories my favorite was “Shooting Dad”. I had a feeling that the story was going to be about someone accidentally shooting their father. As I read on into the story I realized it was not anything close to what I had imagined. The story reminded me of trying to relate with my dad with things that I didn't not fully appreciate myself. All of the stories had different good things about each of them. Champion of The World had incredible detail. While it was talking about how everyone was so into listening to the match. One part that stood out was when they said “babies slid to the floor as women stood up and men leaned toward the radio”. This part really let you know how intense things were getting. Then next story from Tan was not as intriguing to me. It seem to be a little dry.

This journal writing was originally for me. i just went on a ramble about things that were going on. I don't really remember what the topic was but i chose to just write what was burning in my heart.it was near the end of the semester and all i could really think of at the time was getting though my classes and doing a good job.

What is there to write about I think I’m going to look into the compare and contrast essay a little. I can’t remember how we did the ones we did before. I hope this is an easy essay to get through. There is only a few weeks of class left and I am doing so well I just have to get through a few more weeks. Can I really finish this quarter with all a’s. It would be nice to finally do really WELL IN SCHOOL. Just have to make it this last stretch and I’ll be good. I know I can make it and can hit the goals I want to hit. My iPad is going to die and it is kinda a bummer I should have remembered to bring my charger to keep it alive. There is only 30 seconds left on the timer which means writing time is almost done. I wanna be good at writing but I hate being forced to put things down.

So someone talk to us about space. It was an interesting topic to talk about. My short journal writing I chose to use due to all the thoughts I had on the topic. To take a step back and really think of all the possibilities that could be out there. To imagine at some point we could travel or meet someone from a distant planet.

I think space is a very interesting topic. There is so much undiscovered area out there. How can it be that out of all the planets out there ours is the only one to have living things on it? Why after all these years of life has no one every found someone or something else out there. Imagine if it was like in the movies, where rather than your best friend moving to a different state they moved to a different planet. What would life be like then how would we communicate from one planet to the next. Would we develop a way to quickly travel there? Would it still be as simple as to pick up a phone a call someone on mars? I have no Idea how I got this edit tool on the side. Interesting though did not know that was possible. Well never mind on that I made it go away. Off topic from space I spent some money I didn’t really have to buy something I hope will help me with my schooling. 

Every child’s upbringing is different; my life was also very individualized.  My father was in the Navy and my mom stayed at home as much as she could. I rarely ever saw my dad, as he was always out at sea. I try to recall how things were and I can’t remember a lot from when I was young. I remember growing up in Hawaii but a lot of it has been forgotten. I moved from Hawaii to Michigan and it was a drastic change. Shortly after moving my parents split up. I rarely saw my father. Everything that I needed came from my mom. She would work long hours and late nights just to make sure she my brothers and I had everything needed to get through. The relationship between my role model and Brad Manning’s’ was very different.
               Brad had a very physical relationship with his father. He talks about how his dad was never emotional available. His father only seemed to every care if it can to something like sports. His dad never seemed to want to talk to him about anything but sports. He talked about how often he would arm wrestle with his dad. His dad always gave him the option to say when to start the match. Giving him this option, I feel, only put brad down more than just out right beating him. By allowing brad to feel like he had an advantage to the match only to beat him probably just knocked him down further emotionally. Everything between Brad and his father seem to be a competition. My childhood on the other hand was much different. My mom never tried to arm wrestle with me. It may have been that she knew me being a growing teenage boy she had no shot of winning. My mom was always emotional available for me. She allowed me to talk to her about anything I needed to talk to her about. I never recall her ever talking about sports scores or what happen the night before during the football game.  Just as I got older so did Brad. He went off to college and his relationship with his father stayed the same. One week while he was home on break his father decided just like any other time they had to arm wrestle. His dad did everything the same, even offered for him to say when to start the match. This match ended much different than any other match had ended in the past. Brad finally beat his father. Rather than being happy Brad was almost worried. He had always seen his dad as this strong person with strong arms and a strong attitude. This win did not seem to be a victory right away. Brad seemed disappointed thinking that change was not a good thing. He was prepared to lose just as he had done every time before. Unlike brad I came home and visited from college and nothing had really changed. My mom was still there to talk to. She asked how everything was and how I enjoyed the college life. She seem to be extremely happy to see me. Many things changed after going away to college and then coming back home. My mom seemed to look at me a different way. It was not necessarily a bad thing. She still saw me as her little baby but the relationship change from me being a child to me being an adult. Our conversations seem to be more “grown up” than anything else. I remember as a kid in school it was all about how my friends were, what video game I was constantly playing or what time to be home. These conversations changed into what I was eating, what my plans were for a job or what drunken mistake I made.
              Brad saw a change in his father and it took time; I also saw a change in my father. Without my father really being around much due to the navy and the divorce I really did not know what to expect from a father figure. I did know how to act or what to say. It took nearly 22 years but my dad had reached a point he decided to try and step in. It was a shock for me, just like it was for brad, but mine was a much different feeling than his. Brad seemed worried about what may be going on and assumed that the change was for the worst. When my dad made the decision to step in I was much happier than you would think. It never crossed my mind that something could have been wrong. He went from not talking to me to choosing to try and spend time with me. He started to get me into some of the things he was into. Although I love everything my mom had done for me I saw the things that I missed out of those 22 years with him not being around. I finally had someone to talk to about girls, cars, and guns.  Also as hard as my mom tried it was easier to talk to dad about video games. 
                Just how Brad’s upbringing and mine were different I’m sure yours was also just as different. Brad and I have some similarities but we also had our differences. Brad may not have felt as if his life was ideal or the best he absolutely wanted. Although my life may not seem like the perfect image of ideal I feel like it was ideal for me. The ideal family does not come from how many pets you have. It does not come from have a mom and a dad. Also it defiantly does not come from who wins an arm wrestling match. The ideal family is the one you surround yourself with. An ideal family is what you make it. I didn't have my dad around but that didn't change how I felt about the way I was raised. I would not trade how things happened. I don’t look at other families wishing that’s how I had it. I made myself and ideal family and love every moment of it.       

This was one of the hardest pieces for me to write. i put a lot of work into it due to struggling with detail. i feel as if i really came along in my writing and brought all the detail i wanted to get in. i was able to see if i really put in the work it showed in my paper.



As I strolled through downtown I found myself walking into a restaurant. I walked in with the hope of applying for a job, due to being unemployed for a few months before this moment. I don’t know what I was thinking, I was not even close to dressed for the occasion. My jeans were dirty and had many holes in them. The shirt I was wearing smelt like it had not been washed in days, in reality it was probably a lot longer than that. The door opened in front of me I realized the lighting was very dim. Thinking to myself this may come to my advantage I continued my way down the stairs to pick up an application. Still being nervous about my appearance I decided when I asked for an application I would tell them it was for my “friend”. I walked up to the desk, Unknown to me they lady at the desk said “Oh are you here for open interviews?” I was at a loss for words. I didn’t know what to say but I was desperate for a job, without thinking, I said “yes”. These were the moments leading up to one of the most interesting and fun jobs I have ever had.
                My day, as most people would call, starts around the time most people leave work. The time is 4:30 in the afternoon as I walk into work. The water is glistening into my eyes as I stand behind the bar. Getting ready for a shift is one of the most frustrating things about this job. With no time to waste you quickly look around. The first thing needing to get done is making a list of everything that is needed to hopefully make it through the night. You will need to quickly grab bottle after bottle seeing what is almost gone and what you will need more of.  You will then turn to the cooler and start counting the empty spaces where bottle beers should be. While in the cooler you need to make sure your checking how much fruit is left and if you’re going to need to cut more. Also checking your bottles of wine. The next step will show the importance of making sure you have everything you need. Take the list, which has now become a short story, find you way to the other side of the restaurant and make your way to the cooler. The trek to the cooler is not a short one. Once you make it to the top of the twenty- three stairs and realize you may need climbing equipment due to how steep they are. After making it down the stair you will head to the other side or the restaurant again. As you stand in front of the large, shiny metal door with you list in hand you will need to strongly pull the handle. This will turn into a daily workout as the door likes to fight back. The cold breeze of the door will blast you in the face giving the feeling of being in the harshest winter. Quickly grab everything on your list spending the least amount of time you possibly can. You will need to make sure not to forget anything so you will not have to make the trip again. Down the hallway you will see a small hinged door. Luckily you are able to load everything you need onto this mini elevator. Once you have collected everything shut the elevator door and push the up button. The elevator will hum loudly. The elevator will meet you back at the top at which point unload as fast as you can.

Finally your area is stocked and ready for the night. Now bartending requires a lot of focus. You will need to keep track of not only the customers at the bar but also the drinks your fellow coworkers need. Knowing where everything is makes the day go by much smoother. It is very important to make sure all the drinks you make are the same way you made them the prior nights. Your guest will expect something particular when ordering. If you start making thinks a different way the satisfaction level will drop greatly. Not only are drinks important but so is the other needs of the guest. Your guest not only wants a nice drink but they are looking for many other things from you as a bartender. People expect to have a “therapist”. They want to have someone to talk to while they are there. People will tell you about their problems and what had happened that week. Your goal is not to fix all the problems they have but rather lend an ear. While your guests’ talk to you just make sure to make them feel as though you are interested in what they have to say. In all reality they really just want someone to vent to. You will not always have the opportunity to chat but most people will understand. Once the dinner rush starts and your bar fills up faster than you could ever imagine your mind will have to be clear. People will be yelling left and right trying to get drinks. Always make sure you are being attentive and your night will seem like it ended as quick as it started. 
                Many people look at bar-tending as being a job that dose not seem super difficult. I have learned from the years as a bartender that it really takes the right mentality to achieve the highest level of competency. Sure you can jump behind a bar and pour liquid into a container but to keep people coming back. There is a lot to learn and many things you will have to learn as time goes on but hopefully these pointers will help reach the goal sooner than later. Personally I still have many things to learn. I enjoy every moment of the job so far. The stocking at the beginning is stressful and sometimes dealing with drunks can be a headache. If you ever find yourself with the opportunity to give it a try my recommendation is to absolutely take it.

Part of me choosing this piece was how detailed her writing was. I really wanted to work on bringing more detail into my personal writing. I feel as if her writing greatly helped me with mine. understanding all the different ways to use it on the simplest things showed how easy i can be if you put your mind to it.






I read the essay How to Make a Snow-Cone by Julie Melby. The essay started off with a weird twist. The very first sentence was “First don’t kill anyone” (298). It never crossed my mind that a snow-cone was something you would have to worry about killing someone with. Was it the stress of building a perfect snow-cone which would make you want to kill someone? This was the first though that went through my head. As I continued on in my reading I realized it was describing the things that could go wrong in making a snow-cone. She went on to describe all the little things that went into the snow-cone. I like that it was brought up that not all flavors were equal. She took something as basic as making a snow-cone and really went into depth. There were many descriptive words, which allowed me as a read to vividly imagination what was going on. There was a passage about half way through the essay that talked about how to handle when the snow-cone came out not so perfect. I really enjoy the idea of taking something so simple and describing it in such detail. Although I feel this may be a struggle for me. Choosing the process analysis essay for my final paper, I believe, will significantly help me. This essay will push me to find and use those descriptive words I have not become accustom to using…….yet. 

This blog is an introduction to my experience through this class. Writing has always been something I have struggled with and this class really was a worry of mine. This class has helped me grow so much as a writer. Also I have more of an interest in reading than I had before. Grabbing a book is defiantly not at the top of my list of things to do. I don’t dread reading like I had done before. I glad I have made the push though this class and had gotten everything done. So many times I have failed and tried but still failed. Finally I have gotten to a point where I can say I have finally accomplished something. I have put myself one step closer to finishing college. I am confident that in my future classes I won’t have such an issue with my writing. My teacher was great at helping myself and I feel everyone in my class improve their English skills. His creative approach to allowing the class to bring topics into to class was a great way to involve everyone into the class. For my next quarter in school I’m doing my next level English. Had I not learned so much this quarter I would be very concerned about how I would do in my next class. There have been a lot of writing I have completed in the last 15 weeks. The things I have chosen to share I believe really bring out the best in what I have learned thus far. I hope everything I have put in here you enjoy reading as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Although my writing is not perfect, dose anyone ever really reach that point. I have many things I know I can improve on but it is a work in process. I’m no longer worried about have to write I’m just ready to write more and improve as time goes on.