Thursday, February 14, 2008
My Observation! Blog 10
I can see it now; Meg and me cruising in her Cobalt, with the windows rolled down and the smell of her Macintosh Apple air freshener in the air. Her car is absolutely adorable. The color seems to fit her personality very well; the blue is a very bubbly blue, just like her. It makes me see blue in a different light. I have always thought that blue was drab and boring and now I see how it shimmers in the light, even when it's really gloomy outside. Her car is just a two door, so it is fairly small, but still an eye catcher. When I see her car it makes me think of the summer and how much fun she must have driving it. Her car has me pondering why I chose the car I did instead. Her car would make more sense since it would definately get more gas mileage and still would give the wow factor. I recently noticed that on the back of her car there are four big tail lights. They are a very bright red, almost like the Macintosh Apple air freshener. They really stand out to me. I wonder why I had not noticed them until the second time I had gone to observe it. Her car is still really new so it makes me wonder if it still has a hint of new car smell. That is one of my favorite smells. It is so fresh and smells like it had just rained on a hot summer evening. My grandparents always have a new car, so it kind of reminds me of them. I just cannot get over how bright the blue is. It feels undescribable to me. It's a mixture of a deep blue sky with a hint of midnight blue. It makes the perfect combination like mixture for chocolate cupcakes (my favorite). I noticed today that her car was parked right up to the building as if to say, " I am the boss." I wonder if she arrived early today because I could never snag such a great parking spot. How early would you have to get here to get a great parking job, maybe I should try getting here earlier. I bet her car does amazing in this horrible winter slush. Her tires probably glide right through it with ease. I wish it was that way with my car, mine is terrible in this weather. After observing her car, it makes me think a little more about the potential to this little blue car.
My Observation
Sitting on the edge of 231 is a sign. This sign isn't like most. It's a life like horse trailer suspended in the air. It almost looks real from the side. If you move in front of it or behind it you can realize that it's a fake. The trailer is to thin to be real. It's painted like a real trailer with a south western design of red and white displayed across it's sides. The pattern is almost geometrical with different sizes and angles of four sided figures. It reminds me of the horse trailer we have at home.
When I look at the horse trailer suspended in the air it brings me back to the times me and my family shared. All the times we spent together going to different horse camps in the middle of the summer. I can just smell the camp fire and the horses. Looking at the trailer sends me back into time. The time when there were no worries and everything was just a game. I wish that I still lived in those years. Although I'm not old by any means, there's nothing like child hood memories. My sisters and I would all tell scary stories before we went to bed. We usually ended up scaring ourselves and not being able to go bed. Every noise we heard from frogs, to branches breaking in the woods sent us running to our parents even though we all knew there was nothing really there.
When I look at the horse trailer suspended in the air it brings me back to the times me and my family shared. All the times we spent together going to different horse camps in the middle of the summer. I can just smell the camp fire and the horses. Looking at the trailer sends me back into time. The time when there were no worries and everything was just a game. I wish that I still lived in those years. Although I'm not old by any means, there's nothing like child hood memories. My sisters and I would all tell scary stories before we went to bed. We usually ended up scaring ourselves and not being able to go bed. Every noise we heard from frogs, to branches breaking in the woods sent us running to our parents even though we all knew there was nothing really there.
observation of John Deere
Observation is something we do everyday, however, most people probably don’t take the time to “really see” what they are looking at. We had observation time in class and we had to go out in the freezing cold and observe any object we wanted. As I stood outside watching rings of smoke form from my breath, I listened to my surrounding sounds. The only things I could hear were the sounds of cars in the distance on the highway and the wind blowing. Then when I looked around I found the object I didn’t know I was looking for. What caught my eye was the John Deere sign located right outside the front doors of Ivy Tech.
I believe it to be a pretty tall sign, but that also could be because I am pretty short and everything is big to me. The smooth poles of the sign are a green metal that hold up the actual sign. A yellow profile of a deer is the main and most important part of the sign. The deer appears to be running or jumping with its front legs up in the air. Mr. Brewer asked me how many antlers the deer had, and I have no idea; I guess I didn’t look that closely. To be honest, I wasn’t right next to the sign, and I was too cold to get closer. Behind the yellow deer there is a gray background. That is the only thing on the sign that isn’t green or yellow. The rest of the sign is green. At the bottom of the sign are the words Wright Implement Company. I have no idea what that means. Is Wright the name of the person who owns the business? Does the word Implement imply that more than just John Deere tractors are sold there? The sign is really an advertisement. I don’t believe that the sign can be seen from the road though. I think the sign is pretty big, but I don’t think it is big enough to be seen over the distance to the main road.
The only other thing located next to the sign is some bushes. The bushes are brown and not very attractive at all because of the cold and bitter weather. The wind alone is enough to knock them over. The sign however does not say John Deere Tractors. The sign is popular enough that people don’t have to be told what the sign implicates, they just already know.
Even though the John Deere sign isn’t that interesting to talk about, I know that the next time I see one of those signs I will take an extra second to appreciate it.
The Air Conditioner
It is almost unheard of these days to not own an air conditioner to cool your house. But there are a rare few out there. Air conditioners have been a round for a long time. Today they are becoming cheaper and more environmental friendly. So who wouldn’t want one?
You might know what the air conditioner is but you probably don’t know how it actually works. Usually you will see a square or circle unit sitting up on some kind of pad. What is the pad for? The pad it sits on is the unit can sit level and not sink in the mud. As you look closer from the top; you will see a big fan through a grill looking thing. This is to draw the hot air from the coil that surrounds the entire unit. The coil consists of copper pipes running through these little aluminum fins. The coil is surrounding this black cylinder that sits in the middle on the bottom. This is called the compressor; it all starts here. A compressor is more or less like a pump. It has to different size copper pipes running out of it. The compressor pumps a gas called refrigerant through these two pipes which go inside. Each pipe takes the refrigerant in a different direction.
From the outside unit these copper lines bring refrigerant to an inside coil also known as a furnace. The gas changes into a liquid before entering the inside coil. This is where you get your cold air from.
You might know what the air conditioner is but you probably don’t know how it actually works. Usually you will see a square or circle unit sitting up on some kind of pad. What is the pad for? The pad it sits on is the unit can sit level and not sink in the mud. As you look closer from the top; you will see a big fan through a grill looking thing. This is to draw the hot air from the coil that surrounds the entire unit. The coil consists of copper pipes running through these little aluminum fins. The coil is surrounding this black cylinder that sits in the middle on the bottom. This is called the compressor; it all starts here. A compressor is more or less like a pump. It has to different size copper pipes running out of it. The compressor pumps a gas called refrigerant through these two pipes which go inside. Each pipe takes the refrigerant in a different direction.
From the outside unit these copper lines bring refrigerant to an inside coil also known as a furnace. The gas changes into a liquid before entering the inside coil. This is where you get your cold air from.
2. Observations
The request was made on a frigid Tuesday morning. Step out the doors to focus on an object. For one minute. No other instruction was given. I grabbed my coat and descended down the hall I immediately began to grumble. As I walked out the door the winter wind hit my face and all of my thoughts were instantly frozen. I scrambled to find an object of interest to catch my eye. My choice had been to go to the back of the building which at first I thought limited my vision. I was in the middle of nowhere looking at the interstate and snow covered fields. I walked around the side of the building and looked in the sky and was surprised to see a billboard looking like a camper. This was no ordinary billboard though. It was not a rectangular shape with a picture. It was actually shaped like the camper. That was my initial observation. We retreated back into the warmth of the classroom to discuss our findings. I listened to others describe their objects and found that another classmate had picked the same sign I had and was intrigued to find that the she had noted it was a horse trailer when I had thought it was a camper. We were instructed then to go again for one minute to observe details about our object. I grabbed my coat and went with a better attitude this time because I was curious to see if it was a horse trailer. In my observation the second time, I took a mental note the sign was of a horse trailer. It seemed life size. It was partially covered in snow. I believed it to be an advertisement for a store. It was positioned for any driver traveling on Interstate 74 to see. I believed it to be a good idea for advertisement. Rather than a sign stating the name of a business and listing the products they sold this imagine automatically tells the potential customer what the store is all about. I began to have questions about the marketing technique. Did the sign have a phone number and address of a store on it? I was not familiar with many businesses in this area. Was it lighted so when travelers came through at night they would see, or was it not lighted since the store hours were probably during the day. The sign was meant for travelers on the interstate, however, I was the unintended viewer, standing in the winter elements with my intense gaze at an object in the sky too far away to see many details. I did notice the windows in the trailer. Were they for ventilation purposes, or so the horse could be able to see as he went down the road?
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Roy Hoffman's essay blog 2
We read a very interesting essay in our books about keeping a journal. I personally don't have a journal but i think am going to start writing in one. The writer was a very insightful man and these are the things from the essay that really stirred feelings in me that i wanted to share.
The essay that we worked on in our books was a very interesting and thoughtful essay. We used the double entry process on it, but the way I like to work is to read the whole thing and then take notes on it. The essay was about how everyone should try to keep a journal, diary or notebook with them so that they can write down how they feel or what they see at any given time.
When reading this essay the first word that popped out at me was the word notebook. The writer said he started carrying around a notebook when he and his friend started a trip to Alaska. My first thought was, what kind of notebook was it. But then I started thinking about how he started journaling so late in life. I was always told that I should keep a diary or a journal of some sort, but I could never get into it. I guess you just need the right experience to want to write out your thoughts and feelings.
So I continued on with my reading and I found a phrase that really popped out at me, the younger me. The writer was talking about looking back through his notebooks and seeing a different person then he was today, and I can relate to that. I have been out of high school for 3 years, which to some isn’t a long time; but amazingly, it is in terms of maturity and experience. No, I am not saying that I know everything now. There is no way to know everything and i wouldn't want to know everything. But i have been through a lot in the last three years that has totally put a different focus on things and i don't think like i used to. I am not as easy-going as i used to be. It is amazing how much you can change in a short amount of time.
The writer kept going on about writing out all of your experiences. He kept stressing that you should write down how you feel about pretty much everything, but i have never really been able to do that but i will try to do it every now and then. I know that it is a good way to look back and remember how you used to feel about a certain event that is now fuzzy.
There was something that the writer put in the essay that really stuck out to me. He wrote, and i quote, “honesty wilts when a parent, teacher, or a friend looms up in your imagination to discourage you from putting your true thoughts on the page.” i have personally found this to be true. That is the thing that gets in my way when i write. I always hear a voice telling me not to write this or that. When you learn to control that inner voice and to find a place where you wont be distracted; this will help anyone become a better writer.
By keeping notebooks is the last phrase that struck my mind at the end of this reading. The writer continues on and tells us to write like no one is going to look at what we wrote. He tells us that notebooks will help link us to the past if we ever look through them one rainy, cold day. I agree. I have looked at letters i have written or saved and i remember that exact day. How i felt reading the letter, or the private jokes my friends and i shared. Writing will keep your memories down so you don't forget and it will also help you in your writing process. It helps you to loosen up and just express yourself.
The essay that we worked on in our books was a very interesting and thoughtful essay. We used the double entry process on it, but the way I like to work is to read the whole thing and then take notes on it. The essay was about how everyone should try to keep a journal, diary or notebook with them so that they can write down how they feel or what they see at any given time.
When reading this essay the first word that popped out at me was the word notebook. The writer said he started carrying around a notebook when he and his friend started a trip to Alaska. My first thought was, what kind of notebook was it. But then I started thinking about how he started journaling so late in life. I was always told that I should keep a diary or a journal of some sort, but I could never get into it. I guess you just need the right experience to want to write out your thoughts and feelings.
So I continued on with my reading and I found a phrase that really popped out at me, the younger me. The writer was talking about looking back through his notebooks and seeing a different person then he was today, and I can relate to that. I have been out of high school for 3 years, which to some isn’t a long time; but amazingly, it is in terms of maturity and experience. No, I am not saying that I know everything now. There is no way to know everything and i wouldn't want to know everything. But i have been through a lot in the last three years that has totally put a different focus on things and i don't think like i used to. I am not as easy-going as i used to be. It is amazing how much you can change in a short amount of time.
The writer kept going on about writing out all of your experiences. He kept stressing that you should write down how you feel about pretty much everything, but i have never really been able to do that but i will try to do it every now and then. I know that it is a good way to look back and remember how you used to feel about a certain event that is now fuzzy.
There was something that the writer put in the essay that really stuck out to me. He wrote, and i quote, “honesty wilts when a parent, teacher, or a friend looms up in your imagination to discourage you from putting your true thoughts on the page.” i have personally found this to be true. That is the thing that gets in my way when i write. I always hear a voice telling me not to write this or that. When you learn to control that inner voice and to find a place where you wont be distracted; this will help anyone become a better writer.
By keeping notebooks is the last phrase that struck my mind at the end of this reading. The writer continues on and tells us to write like no one is going to look at what we wrote. He tells us that notebooks will help link us to the past if we ever look through them one rainy, cold day. I agree. I have looked at letters i have written or saved and i remember that exact day. How i felt reading the letter, or the private jokes my friends and i shared. Writing will keep your memories down so you don't forget and it will also help you in your writing process. It helps you to loosen up and just express yourself.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
My opinion of Roy Hoffman's Journal: Blog 4
I personally have never even thought of keeping a journal. Writing isn't something that I really like to do in my free time. When ever I do write it's usually because I have to for school. Keeping a journal wouldn't be the best way for me to be reminded of things that I've done in the past. Pictures and my mind help me retain the memories that I find important to me. I feel like if I don't remember the incident right off of the top of my head then it obviously wasn't that great of a memory anyway. I may not remember the minor details of past memories but I know the bulk of it and what they mean to me. I'm not saying that keeping a journal is dumb, it's just not something I ever see myself doing.
I think that Roy Hoffman started keeping a journal a little later than most people. He started this his freshman year of college. That would make him about eighteen years old. From what I have observed it seems like most people start to keep journals at young ages, not in their late teenage years. I suppose that it's never too late to do anything, unless you're dead. It's a good way for him to remind him self that he was once young. His journals remind him of the faintest details of his life ranging from a girl he had a crush on to students riding by the library on squeaky bicycles.
I don't totally agree with Hoffman's idea that every college student should keep a journal or diary. Some students don't have tome to keep a journal. I know that I barely have time for the necessities of life like working, going to school, and trying to find time to study. I do think that in the long run keeping a journal will make you a better writer. If I did keep a journal I would be able to write my true thoughts and feelings down with out being embarrassed like I would be if I told someone in person.
In my opinion Hofman kept a journal because he enjoyed to do so. Writing in his journal was something that he did as a leisure activity. If you like to write and read about your memories and things from the past then keeping a journal would be a good idea. A journal would also provide information about your life that could be passed down generation to generation. The journal would speak for you when you couldn't.
I think that Roy Hoffman started keeping a journal a little later than most people. He started this his freshman year of college. That would make him about eighteen years old. From what I have observed it seems like most people start to keep journals at young ages, not in their late teenage years. I suppose that it's never too late to do anything, unless you're dead. It's a good way for him to remind him self that he was once young. His journals remind him of the faintest details of his life ranging from a girl he had a crush on to students riding by the library on squeaky bicycles.
I don't totally agree with Hoffman's idea that every college student should keep a journal or diary. Some students don't have tome to keep a journal. I know that I barely have time for the necessities of life like working, going to school, and trying to find time to study. I do think that in the long run keeping a journal will make you a better writer. If I did keep a journal I would be able to write my true thoughts and feelings down with out being embarrassed like I would be if I told someone in person.
In my opinion Hofman kept a journal because he enjoyed to do so. Writing in his journal was something that he did as a leisure activity. If you like to write and read about your memories and things from the past then keeping a journal would be a good idea. A journal would also provide information about your life that could be passed down generation to generation. The journal would speak for you when you couldn't.
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