Youtube Tech Tip: A Personal Tour of the University of Oklahoma

Week 8 (Reading Diary): Review Week

Half way through the first quarter, I did not realize that we did not have to comment on all of the stories. We just had to comment on our favorites. For Diary notes, I usually write down why I liked the story and what was unique about it. Sometimes I compare the story to more familiar fairy tales or other readings I have done. I try to stay consistent with my Reading Diary format and style each time. I like consistency and it helps me stay more organized. I try to write at least 100-150 words for each diary note for each story. I may start doing my diary posts as notes instead of short segments. I think that may help me see the similarities and differences between each story. I also will try taking notes while I am reading the story instead of reading all of it and then writing something at the end.

Google Doc Dictionary Tech Tip

 

My word is indeterminate. I chose this word because I sometimes get it mixed up by spelling it indeterminant. It is kind of tricky because I pronounce the word like "indeterminant."

Week 3 (Storytelling): The Beggar Businessman

I check my watch. It reads 9:15am. I am waiting at Starbucks for my grande caffe mocha. I told the workers precisely how I wanted it: no sugar, no whipped cream, extra dry, with half skim and half full milk, no two percent milk, and two shots of caramel syrup, but mix the syrup with the milk before adding it to the coffee. Can you believe these college students can’t get a simple order right? Don’t they know there are actually people with real jobs?

Finally, the barista boy calls out, “Grande caffe mocha for John!” I walk up to the counter for my drink. Then, as I was reaching for my drink, I could have sworn the barista boy say, “For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?”

I give the barista a confused look. “What did you say to me, boy?”

“Enjoy your coffee, sir,” smiles the barista boy.

I eye him and give him one last look, then walk out. I don’t have time for this.

If you do not know me, whom you really should, my name is John Hagag. I am the president of Specci Inc. Ever heard of the term "multimillionaire"? I’m a multibillionaire. My company is worth six billion dollars. On top of being filthy rich, I was also born with handsome looks. I have been on the cover of hundreds of magazines from Gentlemen’s Quarterly to Time Magazine. I have won People magazine’s most handsome businessman for three years straight. You could call me the King of New York City.

So, I am about to walk into my office building, when a mischievous teenager suddenly rolls by on his skateboard and snatches my wallet right out of my back pocket.

I yell, “SECURITY! That PUNK has my wallet! SECURITY!”

However, they are too slow. Even my grandmother in a wheelchair moves faster than these oafs. I start chasing the kid. This punk has skills on his board. I can give him that. He swiftly dodges the massive crowds of people. After six blocks, he makes a right turn into a deserted alley.

“There you are, kid. Stop with the games and give me back my wallet. I’m reporting you to the police.”

“You are very wrong, sir. I am not a kid. I am a genie.”

Then the skater transforms into the barista boy from this morning. I am speechless. He changes again. This time, he changes to me. I am astonished. My eyes bulge out of their eye sockets. Finally, the security guards catch up to us. They push me, yes, me onto the ground and handcuff me.

“Get off of me! Don’t you know who I am! I am John Hagag! The John Hagag!”

I look down at my reflection in the muddy puddles on the ground. That’s not me, but it is me. I look completely different. My shiny black hair is now a dirty brown color. My nose looks like it was broken at one point, my face is dirty and sagging. There are deep wrinkles on my forehead and bags under my tired eyes.

“Let him go,” says the genie. “He is not a problem anymore. I have my wallet back.”


They take off the handcuffs and leave me on the ground. As they are walking away, the genie gives me a smirk and winks at me. How can this be? What happened to my life? I walk out on to the streets and try to convince passers by, “I am John Hagag! I am the president of Specci. I am People’s magazine most handsome businessman! Please, a genie stole my identity! You must believe me.” I continue this for a week and no one believes me.

Discouraged, I sit on the corner of Main and 2^nd. A little nine-year-old girl stands in front of me and hands me spare change. My stomach cries in pain. When was the last time I ate? I accept it. I continue to sit on that corner and more pedestrians offer me their pennies and dimes. Someone hands me five dollars; tears of joy gush out of my eyes. Five dollars have never felt so valuable. After a month of begging on the streets, I look in the reflection of the shopping window. I look pathetic. My torn and ragged clothes hang on my frail body. My face has sunken more. My eyes look empty and lost.

I start to cry. In that instant, I decide that I can no longer beg. I need to make a change in my life. I go to a public library to start a resume. I buy some decent clothes from the Salvation Army and clean up myself as much as I can. I assume the name James Schultz. After that, I apply to many jobs. Most of them reject me. However, a Starbucks manager takes pity on me and she gives me a job. I start training immediately. Most of my coworkers are much younger than me. They gawk at me like I am a circus freak. The hours are long and customers are very demanding, though I cannot and will not give up because I do not want to go back to the streets. After weeks of hard work, my coworkers begin to accept me and I am promoted to manager after only six months. We laugh and make jokes with each other. Life is great.

One day, a familiar face walks in. It is me, the-John-Hagag me. The genie looks at me and he comes towards me.

“Hello…” he looks at my badge, “…James.”

“Hello,” I respond.

“How have you been? It has been a long time.”

“Times have been rough, but I am still happy and well. Thank you.”

“That is good. I see that you have learned your lesson. Are you ready to return to your old life?”

“No, I cannot. I cannot leave these people. They need me.”

“Do not worry. They will be fine.”

Right then, instead of standing behind the counter, I am in front of it. I look into a mirror hanging on the wall. I am back to my original self. I look over the counter. The barista gives me a wink and hands me a coffee.

“There you go, sir. Have a nice day.”

I look at him and give him a smile. “Thank you, you too.” I walk out of with the biggest smile on my face.

 (Businessman Drinking Coffee Outside Office Building 

by Smart Creatives; source: Visual Photos)

Author's Note - My story is based off of The Beggar King from the Jewish Fairy Tales unit. I chose this story because I really liked the original plot and the meaning behind the story. In the beginning, the main character is an arrogant and narcissistic king without a care for anyone other than himself. After meeting a powerful genie, the king is removed from his throne and he becomes a poor beggar living on the streets of the kingdom he once ruled. After begging in the streets for many months, the king decides to remake himself into a respectable person. He learns to serve others before serving himself. This life-changing event makes him more humble and appreciative of the people around him. Because of this, the genie allows him to return to his original body. Strangely, the king did not originally want to come back because he did not want to abandon the people that needed him. However, the genie convinces him and the king comes back with a completely new attitude and mindset. I did a modern take on this story while trying to stay true to the original characters. Instead of a king, I chose my main character to be a powerful businessman in New York. I kept the genie in the story because it added an interesting touch.

Book: Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends

Author: Gertrude Landa

Year Published: 1919

Web Source: Project Gutenberg

Week 7 (Essay): Writitng and Proofreading Strategies

 (Someone Writing BY anyaberkut; source:Thinkstock)

Through out my college career, I have not had to write as much until this class. However, in high school, I had to write a lot. I learned a few tips and tricks along the way.


For choosing a topic, a good tip is to choose a semi-general topic. Then research the topic a bit to find something to focus on more. I have found this tip particularly helpful. For me, I am very indecisive and sometimes I want to write about everything so it is difficult for me to focus on just one topic. Another thing is to not be afraid to edit or revise the topic. I have learned that my initial topic will most likely be different from the topic of my final draft.


For brainstorming, I do a few different tricks. Sometimes I will do a web bubble with the topic in the center small details or notes branching out from the topic. Other times, I will do an outline with topics I want to discuss and the order I want to discuss them. This method really helps organize a proper formatting and organization with my essays. The final method that I like to use and use the most out of the prior three is to just start writing about the topic and do not worry too much about the punctuation or the grammar. Once I am done with that, I will go through each paragraph looking for grammatical errors, awkward wording, unimportant context, etc.  I find this tip most helpful because I can see what topics I need to expand on and which ones I can leave out. I like to use this method the most because I have less chance of writer’s block when I just write and not worry too much about the small details.  

Week 7 (Storytelling): White Man vs Snake

(Young Rattle Snake Under a Rock)

One day, I was minding my own business when all of a sudden, a huge rock fell upon me.  I tugged and slithered, but I could not move because of this rock. Therefore, I patiently waited. I laid my head to the ground and felt footsteps coming. These footsteps were large and shook the ground with each stomp. All of a sudden, the ground stopped shaking. The rock was lifted from my body and I was free again. I looked at my savior. He was a large white man. He had very large round eyes, a large protruding nose, and his most noticeable features were his large ears sticking out of his head. He also had very pale skin. It was so pale that someone would wonder what he was doing in the middle of the Amazonian jungle.

Nonetheless, he was my savior. I slithered up to his foot to thank him, but then he kicked me to that very same rock he lifted from my body and said, “Stop! Do not bite me, you wretched being!”

I waited to regain my composure. Then I hissed at him, “You imbecile, you kicked back whilst I was going to thank you. Now I want to bite you.”

The white man with the large round ears said, “Stop, let us first speak to wise people.”

We came to a hyena. The white man asked the hyena, “Is it right that Snake should want to bite me, when I helped her as she lay under a stone and could not rise?"

The hyena responded, “If you were bitten, what would it matter?"

Delighted, the hyena and I laughed. Then I began to slither to him so that I could bite him.

The white man cried again, “Stop, let us first speak to wise people so that we may know if it is right.”

Then we found a jackal. The white man came up to the jackal and asked, "Is it right for Snake to want to bite me, when I lifted up the stone which lay upon her?"

The jackal replied, "I do not believe that Snake could be covered by a stone so she could not rise unless I saw it with my two eyes. Therefore, let us go to the place where the incident happened.”

We returned to the place where the rock trapped me and where the white man kicked me. The jackal told me to lie down so that the white man could cover me with the rock. I followed and the man covered me with the stone.

The jackal said, “Now, try to escaped.”

I tried to move, but to no avail. After that, the white man moved towards me to lift the rock again. However, the jackal told him,  “Stop, do not lift the stone unless you want her to bite you.”

I cannot believe I was tricked! The white man and jackal both laughed hysterically and left me under that stone. Ever since then, I have a great distaste for humans.

Author's Note - The original storyline comes from The White Man and the Snake in the South African Folktales Unit. The main difference from my story and the original is that my story is from the perspective of the snake. In the original story, it is written in 3^rd person. Another difference between my story and the original is that the snake does not have a specific reason for wanting to bite the man. Therefore, I added gave her a reason. I did that because I wanted to add character and a bit of sympathy for he snake. Other than that, the plots between the original and mine are pretty much the same.

Book: South African Fairy Tales

Author: James Honey

Year Published: 1910

Web Source: Google Books

Week 7 (Reading Diary): South African Unit

 South African Unit

Dance for Water I could not tell if the rabbit was the protagonist or antagonist. At first, I did not like him because he reminded me of high schoolers who were "too cool" to do anything, but they would use the rewards of other people. Then when the group of animals decided that they wanted to kill the rabbit, I felt sorry for him because I did not want him to die. However, the rabbit was able to escape. It is a bit of a confusing story, but nonetheless, interesting.

Jackal and Monkey This had an unexpected ending. Maybe it's because I grew up with American stories and fairy tales where there is always a happy ending. I cannot believe the jackal would be so sly and evil as to leave the monkey in the noose.

The White Man and Snake After reading a lot of stories from this unit, I could see where the story was going to go about half through the reading. I still enjoyed this one a lot. I found it a bit humorous.

The Judgement of Baboon This was hilarious. I like how it kind of explained why each animal or element did not like the other. It is a bit out there since wood, fire, and water cannot "speak" as it mentions in the story. Nonetheless, it was an interesting story.