End of the semester

After months of mental and physical anguish I am relieved to have squirmed my way to the finish line of this semester. I don't know how massive the celebration will be for today's victory but I can just see it all now. :) yea... 8) oh yeah.

But what will become of me next year? who knows?! who cares?! I'm not coming back here, and even though i'll miss it ... i'll keep going. That's just the way it has always been. Go somewhere new ... and then move on to something newer.

Now I can work more on this little sleeping problem I have; hopefully that'll be gone by in a few weeks. Then i can get to work and everything is just fine and dandy. Even if it isn't though ... I'll still have something to write about.

Virginia tech

Since the murder spree at Virginia Tech, many colleagues of mine have been asking questions such as: “How would you feel if you were one of the students affected … like your roommate is gone forever or your friend from down the hall was in the shooting?” or “What about if the guy that committed the murder was your roommate?”

Well I want to look at this situation from a different point of view. How would you imagine you would feel or act if you had found out that the child you had raised had just killed a bunch of innocent people at college? Would you feel even worse if you were the one who pushed them into going into college? If you added any stress at all to the guy’s situation … would you feel the slightest bit responsible?

Now there are a bunch of stories about things people noticed that could have prevented the situation if it were addressed early on. Everyone feels guilty for the actions of one. Since the most common thing to do would be to try to cast blame upon someone… do we suggest that it is everyone’s fault… or no one at all?

Death penalty survey: my reply

Ms. Hira W. Mughal wrote:


Hello everyone I am doing my Theology Research Paper and i needed a
favor answer a couple questions for me please. Thanks so much Hira

1. Would you allow the death penalty? Yes or No.

1. yes

2. If you answered yes read these two amendments and tell me do you
believe they are wrong? Yes or No and Why?

2. I believe the first one is right because it is after a due process of the law so if everything is done within the extent of the law, in the perfect scenario, the people who are wrongfully accused because practically diminutive. In the other amendment, cruel and unusual punishment is not defined and therefore leaves a major threat possible because of the possibility of misinterpretation which could lead further into abuse of the law.

The fourteenth amendment states that:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to
the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the
State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which
shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United
States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or
property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its
jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.


The eighth amendment states that:
“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed,
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

3. If you answered Yes is there any reason why you think this way?

3. I think this way because I feel that humans tend to abuse weaknesses therefore creating scenarios that repeat the tragedies that existed in our past in an endless cycle. For example, the fact, that cruel and unusual punishment is not defined, leaves death sentencing to be considered the cruelest legally admissible punishment. But many would consider that the crueler punishment would be to allow the convict to carry a long sentence where he most likely will have to possibly submit to a life of humiliation (through the high percentages of inmate rape) or of fighting (inmate assault).

4. If you were told "If anyone sheds the blood of man, by man shall his
blood be shed; For in the image of God has man been made." What do you
think this means and would change your mind for having the death
penalty then?

4. The quote just shows even more support for the death penalty and I feel that the death penalty should remain where it's at right now.

Racial Conflict

It seems like everywhere I turn, nowadays, its one racial problem after another. Turned on the television, that season 11 of South Park is stirring up controversy. Surfing the internet, too many people saying the n-word (not to mention the popularity of the amazing racist). I can’t even walk into the common area of my dorm without having to here some heated argument involving racist issues. If this all isn’t just a major coincidence I’d call it an omen.

If world war three were to happen in the near future, it wouldn’t be between the great nations of the world, it would be between the races of the world. Everyone wants the supremacy. All I know is that I’m not fighting for it because I’m apathetic to the issue of race. Why does it even matter?

I could remember being a child in elementary school, but neither then nor today could I even tell you what race my class mates belonged to… because who cares? I mean besides the whole cultural cooking days and little events like that, where we tried new food, we had little to no understanding of the concept of race. But now that we “grew up” it’s all just a big problem. It’s time to grow down now people.

Black people do this, White people do that, Asians do the third thing, etc. etc. etc. It’s redundant, it’s ridiculous. Why does it matter where your ancestors came from? … You’ve evolved far enough from that tree already and are developing roots somewhere else. Why do people even argue what race Jesus was? ... If he was any race does that make them closer to god then all the other races? … Does that make them better, more powerful, more favorable in the eyes of god?

Happy Music

My last three journal entries are a series of complaints and grievances. So now that I got that off my chest I want to talk about something positive. I've been listening to some old school music and I got to say... I feel happier.

WHAM!'s "Wake Me Up Before You GO-GO" has had everyone in earshot of me either wince in pain or submit to pure befuddlement. I don't want to tell how many times I've listen to Boy George and the Culture Club sing Karma Chameleon on my MP3 Player but Just the sound of it makes me want to dance like a fool in the rain.

Speaking of rain, Even though I enjoy winter, I'm actually glad that we are approaching the summer. I LOVE THUNDERSTORMS. If you’ve ever seen that movie “without a paddle” you could easily imagine that I’d live in that tree with those hairy women in that forest. While puppies and small children cry and hide from the horrid sounds, I’m happily dancing in torrential downpours to the music of the sky.

I think its astounding how music can evoke feelings and emotions.

Decisions... Decisions

Well, I've been thinking about my life lately and I feel like I made the wrong decision. I don't feel like I have the discipline necessary for college. Like some people may read that and think “Whoa… college kids aren’t disciplined in the first place” but I’ve become so stubborn … I have trouble pushing myself to do things. I didn’t want to go to college in the first place (well not directly to college I did know I was going to end up here eventually). I guess I’m too easily influenced.

I was all set to go into the Air Force straight out of high school. St. John's was just a last minute decision. No body wanted me to go to the military and my best friend’s mom is the assistant dean here so I made came here. So it feels like I’m only here because I knew someone, even though I had the grades and the SAT scores to get into a lot of colleges. And even with that out of the question I still just wanted something different to say at the high school reunions. I’m not even majoring in something I’m interested in… I’m only doing it because it’s supposed to make me money once I’m done. No I don’t value material possessions or monetary standings but I know other people do and I’ll have to support a family someday … too bad love doesn’t pay bills.

What the hell can I do? I mean … I already chose not to come back here next year. But I have no exit strategy. It’s either go to a different college or go to the military. I’m not going back home. And I don’t really know any ways to just instantly become rich like these people who just randomly quit college on a whim and start up IBM and Starbucks. I have some great movie/novel ideas but you need to know people in the business.

Eh, you live and you learn. I already know the moral of this story, now I’m just predetermined to live it.

Learning Environment

Okay there has been a certain something that’s been bugging me for a long time. A really long time. I could remember sitting in some of my high school classes and thinking to myself… wow this is really annoying. Now I find myself in my Computer Information Systems class thinking the same exact thing. This so called “ghettoness.”

Don’t get me wrong, I was raised in all the wrong places … so I “get ghetto” when the situation calls for it. But this is my time! I paid the cost for this education; not to relive high school. It never fails though! I mean when I was in high school, I switch from normal classes to honors level courses to try to escape people that like to “act ghetto.” That didn’t work but I stuck with it anyway. Now I’m paying thousands of dollars to go to this university and I have to sit in class and listen to some girl talking a bunch of crap to a nice teacher whenever she can’t get a question right. Luckily the guy can barely even hear her saying anything but the fact of the matter is there are times and places for that kind of behavior. And an afternoon in Sullivan hall is not one of those.

What’s worse? It’s fueled by other students. I mean, even though most of the class is laughing at her, she thinks that everyone is on her side and she adores the attention. This in itself makes the situation more difficult, because when people feed off the attention, it makes it hard to coerce them to acting properly without lowering yourself to their own level. COUNTLESS AMOUNTS OF TIMES I just wanted to take my laptop and throw it at her and scream and act out until she stopped. But doing so would go against my own moral standing (I would never intentionally cause harm to a female) and would escalate the situation further than it would if we just let her rant. So I just deal with it. Go to my dorm and slap walls. End of story.

Sleeping disorder or disorganized?

Ok so lately I've tried cutting back on over obligating myself with a bunch of stuff to do. The Thing is ... I still don't get enough sleep! I lay there in bed, get bored with just laying in the dark, walk around the suite, and scream randomly... and yet once 3am rolls around, I'm ready for bed. THEN (if that isn't bad enough) my classes are morning classes. If my economics teacher took attendance then I’d probably be dead by now. But seeing as I have the tendency to answer a large portion of the questions he asks the class... my absence is pretty obvious.

I'm east coast born with a west coast sleeping schedule. So maybe my next best move is to go to school in California or something. I don't know what to do. I refuse to go to get that checked out because... If they say I have a something wrong ... I have this "thing" against prescribed medicine. But what can I do to fix it? I have no expertise in holistic medicine. Does anyone out there have this problem? IS THERE A HOLISTIC DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE!?!

Here's a good random quote kind of relating to this topic "College is partying, studying, and sleeping ... but you only have time for two of those" Maybe my combination is wrong :|

The Lives we Denied

The college experience could be considered one of the greatest times a person may ever spend. That’s why over eighteen-thousand different people are currently attending St. John’s University today. But what other choices, for post-high school life exists, beyond St. John's University? After speaking with several of my peers, most of whom gave me wise-cracking replies, I have compiled a short list of things that St. John’s students could possibly be doing if they weren’t here, based upon a short survey that was given to a test group of about fourty people. On this list are, mostly, names of other universities, the military, the labor force, and jail. I have chosen to omit attending other four-year universities to discuss alternatives; I have also chosen to omit jail because the American penitentiary system is an extensive topic and the people surveyed who had given this answer were, just joking around… hopefully.

The United States military consists of five branches: the Army, the Marines, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Coast Guard. Each of which has their own standards for qualification; the Marines require the highest physical standards and the Air Force require the highest academic standards. But in the presence of other, less life-threatening choices why would anyone choose to go to the military? For some the answer to this question may be, to earn money for college or to see the world. From my own personal experience, I just wanted to get away some of the people in my family. No matter what the reason, getting in isn’t as easy as signing and initialing that first piece of paper.

When you first go speak to a recruiter you will be given the chance to ask questions or present concerns about joining the military. Most times the recruiter will have no problem with answering these questions and concerns, which most likely have all stemmed from those military horror stories you hear once in awhile from disgruntled soldiers. While the recruiter answers your question he/she will most likely be assessing your physique and mental capacity. If you’re convinced, then you’ll be asked to take a test called the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery). Depending on your score, you will be given either a list of jobs that you qualify for or a chance to retake the test. Then, after a varying waiting period, you will go to MEPS (military entrance processing station) and you will receive a physical like you’ve never received before. If after all of this, you still qualify to join the military, you will be given a card that allows you to enter military bases and, in some cases, shop at the stores on these bases. Even with all the signatures and tests, it is only on the day that you step off the bus for your first day of training that you are obligated to stay with this decision. I know this for a fact because I went through the entire process.

If you don’t qualify, or don’t want to risk life then the next option would be to enter the labor force. There are literally thousands of jobs in the world today. Jobs can be found anywhere. You could be doing anything from manual labor, to clerical work, to owning your own business. However, since this is a post-high school scenario, you probably won’t qualify for all of these. But when compare to the military, the search is harder but the application process is a lot easier.

Finding an employer that will hire you can be compared to finding a needle in a haystack if you are not qualified. With a high school diploma you may not have the skills that would be considered as marketable as the skills of others with higher degrees. Even if you do, some employers won’t even take more than a glance at your application. Luckily these applications usually aren’t more than four pages long and, in some cases, can be substituted by a pre-made resume. If you “look good on paper” then the employer will invite you to an interview. Even though people may think that, seeing as it is difficult to even get an interview, they may already have the job, this isn’t the case. During this interview you have to do whatever it takes to convince the interviewer that you are the best qualified for this position. If you lie, however, you may get the job initially but if your lie is uncovered then you risk termination of employment… then you have to start all over again but this time it’ll be harder to get an interview because employers pass this information to other employers.

Your own needs and goals placed you in St. John's; not in the military, not in the full-time work force, not in technical school, and, more importantly, not in jail. We’re here and we already went through our own application process. The difference is our application actually took longer then the two other applications combined. That's because it all started on our first day of high school.

Report Draft #2

The college experience could be considered one of the greatest times a person may ever spend. That’s why over eighteen-thousand different people are currently attending St. John’s University today. But what exists beyond St. John's University? After speaking with several of my peers, most of whom gave me wise-cracking replies, I have compiled a short list of things that St. John’s students could possibly be doing if they weren’t here. On this list are, mostly, names of other universities, the military, the labor force, and jail. I have chosen to omit attending other four-year universities to discuss alternatives; I have also chosen to omit jail because the American penitentiary system is an extensive topic and the people surveyed who had given this answer were, just joking around… hopefully.

The United States military consists of five branches: the Army, the Marines, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Coast Guard. Each of which has their own standards for qualification; the Marines require the highest physical standards and the Air Force require the highest academic standards. But in the presence of other, less life-threatening choices why would anyone choose to go to the military? For some the answer to this question may be, to earn money for college or to see the world. From my own personal experience, I just wanted to get away some of the people in my family. No matter what the reason, getting in isn’t as easy as signing and initialing that first piece of paper.

When you first go speak to a recruiter you will be given the chance to ask questions or present concerns about joining the military. Most times the recruiter will have no problem with answering these questions and concerns, which most likely have all stemmed from those military horror stories you hear once in awhile from disgruntled soldiers. While the recruiter answers your question he/she will most likely be assessing your physique and mental capacity. If you’re convinced, then you’ll be asked to take a test called the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery). Depending on your score, you will be given either a list of jobs that you qualify for or a chance to retake the test. Then, after a varying waiting period, you will go to MEPS (military entrance processing station) and you will receive a physical like you’ve never received before. If after all of this, you still qualify to join the military, you will be given a card that allows you to enter military bases and, in some cases, shop at the stores on these bases. Even with all the signatures and tests, it is only on the day that you step off the bus for your first day of training that you are obligated to stay with this decision.

If you don’t qualify, or don’t want to risk life then the next option would be to enter the labor force. There are literally thousands of jobs in the world today. Jobs can be found anywhere. You could be doing anything from manual labor, to clerical work, to owning your own business. However, since this is a post-high school scenario, you probably won’t qualify for all of these. But when compare to the military, the search is harder but the application process is a lot easier.

Finding an employer that will hire you can be compared to finding a needle in a haystack if you are not qualified. With a high school diploma you may not have the skills that would be considered as marketable as the skills of others with higher degrees. Even if you do, some employers won’t even take more than a glance at your application. Luckily these applications usually aren’t more than four pages long and, in some cases, can be substituted by a pre-made resume. If you “look good on paper” then the employer will invite you to an interview. Even though people may think that, seeing as it is difficult to even get an interview, they may already have the job, this isn’t the case. During this interview you have to do whatever it takes to convince the interviewer that you are the best qualified for this position. If you lie, however, you may get the job initially but if your lie is uncovered then you risk termination of employment… then you have to start all over again but this time it’ll be harder to get an interview because employers pass this information to other employers.

Whether you could go straight into the work force or you go into the armed forces is determined by your own abilities and qualifications. Even though, if you live on campus, you may become detached from the outside world, there is life beyond St. John's University. But we’re here and we already went through our own application process. The difference is our application actually took longer then the two other applications combined. And it all started on our first year of high school.

I don't know

Tubal Ligation, otherwise known as getting your tubes tied, is a form of female sterilization. The possibility of the conception being prevented, after this procedure is done, is ninety-nine point five percent. Even with the rare conception, the child usually develops in an area such as the fallopian tubes which could result in death to the mother but usually concludes with the death of the fetus. So with the odds against them, some people would consider themselves lucky if they were born before the decision was made to have this procedure done. My only sister would happen to be one of the “lucky ones” who escaped this fate. But then again… she’s my older sister.

When I first discovered that I had defeated the odds I didn’t know how to take it. In one hand I could be considered a miracle in the science world. However, if you look at life with the glass half empty, I shouldn’t be here at all and my existence a burden to which a loving mother would never admit. Even with this possibility one could not help but to ponder other questions such as the underlying purpose to my arrival on this planet. Am I supposed to be some sort of message from a higher being? Through a brief analysis of my life, many of my acquaintances have been coming to the conclusion that this must be true.

Born to a high school drop-out with five sons and a daughter; all of whom are incapable of rising above various circumstances, such as learning disabilities and language barriers; I have served as an aid to ensuring the survival of our family since the age of eleven. Although it may seem to be just a tall tale, I provided the basic mathematical knowledge necessary to prevent my mother from being swindled out of here meager earnings. As I grew older and more aggressive, my role has shifted to keeping people, who would gladly take advantage of her generosity, far away.

Nevertheless, I do not even believe in the existence of a higher being so I find it implausible that my purpose is to help an extremely generous woman to rise up against the chances that nature had given her. Instead I believe that my circumstance is a demonstration of primal instincts being implemented in modern society. Mammals care for their kin, as has been the example by nature, and adapt to their environment to ensure their survival. I, as a mammal, have adapted to both, my psychological and physical, environment and I am merely looking after those who ensured my survival as an infant. But this doesn’t explain the fact that, out of a point five percent chance of being conceived and a five percent chance of actually being able to develop as a fetus, I still made it.

The very existence of our universe can’t even be explained, so how am I to explain the existence of myself? World renowned physicist Stephen Hawking, an atheist, once stated something to the effect of “The very likelihood of our universe even existing is extremely small; had gravity turned out to be a little bit stronger then everything would be compacted into a ball of matter, had it turned out to be a little weaker then it would be nothing but atoms floating away from each other; so one would see that the help of a higher being of a sort would be an explanation of our existence, based on scientific observation, however, all that I can say is that “I do not know”.” I don’t know.

Something to inspire me.

Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,
but that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

-Nelson Mandela

What A Trip.

I was in my "History of Western Economics" class friday mornig when I decided that, instead of not going to class on wednesday like I had originally planned, I would to Binghamton to visit my mom for her birthday a few days earlier. I had a couple reasons for doing so:

First, even though I could afford to miss class, I never cut class in highschool so why start now?
Second, I know that if I stood here I'd either end up being bored or going out and "doing what college kids do" which I quit recently.
Third, I wanted to take care of some business
and ,Honestly, I just missed my mommy.

So as I got ready to finish the next couple of class one of my buddies from orientation came by my dorm, with perfect timing since I knew that I would need a ride to the train station. He agreed to give me a ride to the closest station after my classes. :(. I stopped to see if the bookstore was open for a little last minute gift shopping but it closes at 4 on fridays and I get out at 4:30. Then, I returned to a verbal message that James could not take me because he had to go meet his girlfriend somewhere. Crushed twice, I plopped on my bed.

Noticing my situation, my suitemate reminded me that there would be a shuttle bus at 8pm that coul take me straight to the bus station in Manhattan. I slapped a wall with excitement and checked online for possible departure times. :-\ 11pm... which meant I would get there at 2:45am. I decided I'd still go. I procrastinated for a while before I packed my stuff and went to eat. I stopped at the campus convenience store to search for anything I could label as a gift. I considered buying a cake but purchased 4 12-can cases of coca~cola(tm) instead.

I searched my room for anything else I would need to survive a weekend away although I knew from past experience I would definitely miss some detail. I exchanged goodbyes with my suitemates, noting that they were obviously distressed(I am a major source of weekend entertainment). I dragged my huge suitcase to the shuttle, and somehow managed to fit it in an adjacent seat. I hoped the bus would not get crowded or else me and the huge bag would have to find another way to get upstate. A group of good looking Trinidadian girls got on the bus, looked at me, giggled, and talked amongst one another in their native language as the found their seats a couple rows behind mine. This produced a smirk across my face and I started to think more optomistically about the trip ahead.

Realizing the crucial element that I had forgotten for my trip was headphones I drifted in and out of a nap. I arrived at the bus station simultaneously as the 9 o' clock bus was leaving (which I hadn't even considered catching seeing as I had no prior knowledge of this scheduled departure). I sat down on those extremely uncomfortable "pidgeon chairs" and stared into infinity as I waited for the 11 o' clock. A mexican man came up to me asking "este coche vas a middletown?" I shrugged and walked away to ask the dispatcher. He comfirmed that it was going to middletown and I relayed the answer to the man, who thanked me and sat back in a regular chair. I considered moving to one of the regular chairs seeing as one of my butt cheeks had went numb, but I realized it would be a violation of the man's personal space, according to man law, and this was my usual spot anyway.

An argument erupted between one of the passengers and the dispatcher over bus schedules. The one line that rang through the floor: "I've been waiting here for 15 fucking minutes and I need to get home -- I don't care if this bus isn't going to [I believe she said spring valley] I'm going on it and it's getting to take me there." I couldn't stop myself from laughing because I had been waiting for an hour and a half already and the ladies voice was high pitched and nasally, which added to the hilarity. The mexican man looked at me and shrugged. I also noticed that people were charging their phones in various outlets around the terminal.

Finally, my bus was ready to go. It was a free ride since my uncle works for the company so I was happy about that. I sat in the back and opened up my laptop thinking about either writing or playing a card game. I played card games and noticed that the girl behind me had her headphones blaring loud enough to be heard from a 4 row radius around her. Since no one complained neither verbally nor with body language i decided to play "The girl from Ipanema" (a song that is commonly heard during cliche elevator scenes in various movies) on a low volume. After the song i played another soothing song -- Donnell Jones' "where I wanna be" then I turned off the laptop.

The bus started moving and the gorgeous girl got more annoying. As if her headphones weren't enough she started talking on her cell phone at the highest volum possible. The bus driver did not address the problem so I figured I'd just deal with it and try to get to sleep. I could feel the dream about to wash over my mind... but the bus had stopped. The driver announced that the bus had broken down and another one was enroute to our location. Great.

The second bus arrived pretty quickly and i didn't even have to carry the huge bag over to it. I sat in a similar seat as the orignal bus but so did that inconsiderate siren. Eventually I drifted into sleep. I awoke when we had reached middletown and the mexican man gave a goodbye nod to me. I took his seat in the back row because I know that theseating arrangement is designed for optimum comfort if you were to lay down ... possibly as a precaution for passengers who may fall ill or unconsious during the ride. I started to try and go back to sleep when i noticed the bus wasn't moving. >:(.

The snow was so deep that we could not make a regular turn to get back onto the road. Instead the bus driver had to back up to an area with a little more friction and hit that accelerator. We made it onto the road and were homeward bound once again. Now I couldn't sleep because the music and cellphone was louder than ever and now we had the possibility of being stuck. We reached a steep hill that I could see would obviously be a problem. The engine's hum and the fact that, even though the driver had the pedal to the floor, we were moving at about 5 miles per hour had me on the edge of my chair. We reached the top of this hill a half hour after we had reached it's base. The snow was THICK to say the least.

We reached what looked like a giant snow covered field and I wondered how the driver even knew there was a road there. I played around with the notion that our bus could stop working in this field which was a high possibility. Also a possibility was that we could lose all telecommunication capability seeing as we were far from major cities and reception was close to impossible to get out here. The idea of being stranded made me reach into my pocket. I got stabbed --it gave me some ideas for anti-pick pocket pants security. I played around with the knife nervously [both possessing the knife and playing with it when im nervous when I travel are habits that i developed a long time ago). I began stretching too, just in case I head to hunt for food or climb a tree. Okay, I'm crazy ... big whoop.

Aside from the terrible driving conditions, this snow covered field was beautiful. Trees bordering us silently. The moon shining down upon us. I felt isolated from the world in this giant beast of vehicle. I could imagine if the bus where just a lone animal. It's wheels grasping at the snow ahead of it all the while letting out its low pitched solemn song. XD.

I woke up when we reached Binghamton and all I could think was "FREE AT LAST. FREE AT LAST. THANK GOD ALMIGHTY. WE ARE FREE AT LAST!" I walked a mile home and when I reached the door I finally looked down at my watch. That bus ride had been 3 hours longer than it was scheduled to be.

All this to surprise my mom for her birthday. And she thought I had forgotten. :)

love ya momz

Hello, My Name Is...

To most of the people with whom I associate my name is Jello. That in and of itself is an interesting story that I probably will never tell you.

Legally, However, I was give the name Albert Alejandro Correa.

The literal translation would be Bright Nobility + to defend man + belt. Yep that's right ... my last name is Spanish for belt... laugh it up -- don't worry I laughed at it too.

Albert is my fathers name, so i hate it. Correa is my mother's last name from her father. My Grandfather doesn't speak a lick of English but he's a cool guy with over 13 kids and he looks like a dark skinned leprechaun... so he kinda always puts a smile on my face while he goes off speaking his gibberish. Alejandro ... My mom just kinda threw that name in there because it "flowed good with the first and last name", and I admit she does have an uncanny ability to slap a couple random words together and make it sound like they belong in the same sentence.

Now hears the hard part about the name. Being that I am of Puerto rican descent, I usually find myself being introduced as ARBOR at family events. And on the other side of the spectrum my last name, for some reason, is always pronounced "Carrera" by people who speak English as a first language. Sure it's a nice car but it's not my name. Not only that but seeing as English has become my first language... I no longer pronounce it the Spanish way which is INFURIATING to relatives and Spanish speaking folk. Often times, If I pronounce it the way I automatically pronounce it now, I am barraged with a fury of rapid-fire Spanish attack words that would make any individual, other than myself, curl into a fetal position and succumb natures will. My middle name always just lurks in the shadows and doesn't really get mispronounced so me and Alejandro see eye to eye.

"you're my best-good friend"-- Alejandro

SURVEY SAYS...

One question that caught my attention from Dr. Marsh's survey was something like "Are you on youtube?" or something to that effect.

I wasn't sure if the question was asking if I had a youtube account or if i was featured in any youtube broadcasts. But the answer to both would be yes anyway because I satisfy both criteria.

I believe I only appeared in one youtube clip but I wouldn't be surprised nor would I care if there is documented footage of me floating around. I am who I am and that is who I will always be. So if you look up the words "Kevin vo jello tuch" you will probably find a short clip that one of my suitemates made in honor of our first movie night. We went to see the movie "Borat: Cultural teachings to make benefit glorious country of Kazakhstan[sic]" and the clip shows me in a series of photographs (it was made using PowerPoint) performing a typical movie cliche mostly found in films that depict new york city where the actor stands as the camera spins around him as to give a glimpse of how small the actor/actress is compared to the world of towering buildings that surrounds him/her. Accompanying this cliche is music from the movie and a surprise ending.

I do also have a youtube account but I'm not an active poster at this time.

A Bad Habit

I've done alot of things in my life both good and bad in nature. I've overcome many obstacles, some for the sake of survival and others merely as a way of improving myself as a person. Even with all the knowledge and experience I have gained over the years, I am still plagued with faults in my routine. Or Bad habits to put it simply.

Yeah, wether it's biting your nails or leaving the seat up we all have to fac it at some point that we all do things that others don't like. For me it's alittle different. I do the things that annoy me but I usually am able to hide it from others. If i want to that is.

Okay maybe you're wondering what I'm talking about. So look at the time I wrote this ... that's my example. Its about 3am in the morning and I'm typing this blog for a class that begins at 9. Your body needs at least 8 hours of sleep and thats already 2 that I just missed out on if I want to get to class ... not counting if I want to get there on time. Subtract another hour for showering and getting ready. 5 hours sleep... however much time it takes me to finish other assignments that I've neglected. I'd give myself about 4 hours of sleep. Why? because I do what I've noticed to be the next big thing, over obligated myself.

I wouldn't be surprised if scientist somehow turned this into another mental disorder (like how shyness became social anxiety (this is a discussion for a later time however)). Yep... I got it. Over exhaustion complicated by a severe case of obligatory social contracting(No, im not a hypochandriac).

Don't get me confused, I play the role of alpha-male in my group so it's not like I'm taking orders from a bunch of people and working beyond my limits to fulfill them. Nope. Actually if there were someone ordering me around I'd probably be the most lethargic with respect to that "commander" if I saw no awarding outcome to following those orders.

But to get back to my original point, this is a bad habit that annoys me. I tell people I'm cooking... no one eats until I make it. I can't let 10 people go hungry because im tired, so why don't I start cooking BEFORE 12am? because I told this person that I would go to this place and this other person i would help them with that ... all without realizing that I would need time for myself.

But hey ... being stood up on plans always just opens up my schedule. And, well I'm not going to make any generalized statements as to not offend, but some people are best known for standing up more than some famous comedians. Get it ... eh forget it :)

My Final DNY paper

My suitemates and their friends realy liked this paper so I figured I'd share it with you guys. It is copy and pasted from MSword so please excuse any irregularities with the format. Oh and about any errors you may find ... I started writing this paper an hour before it was due (its a bad habit but I always put myself in those sort of positions)... typing 5 pages in an hour leaves no room for peer-editing. The numbers represent footnotes, the paper was written in MLA format and, Yes, this is a true story. Enjoy.

Albert Correa

Dejan Trickovic

Discover NY 12:20pm

December 4, 2005

My trip to Avenue Q

In a mystical class known only as Discover New York at St. John’s University, students are required to go to a Broadway play at the expense of the school. This is my story of the said assignment.

So before I even decided to go to the play I decided to look at the storylines of several different plays and narrowed the selection down to two different plays; Drumstruck[1] or Avenue Q. The decision was hard because I liked the idea of being involved in a Broadway play in Drumstruck but I also had an emphatic point of view on the story that was given from my Google search of Avenue Q. I flipped a coin to decide and it came out for Drumstruck… so I chose Avenue Q instead because I don’t trust money.

After weeks of anticipation the day finally arrived to go watch the big play. Unlike everyone else who went to these plays, I decided to go alone. It was around five in the afternoon and I decided to walk to the gym to have a short work out session with my roommate before the play. I stopped at the campus convenience store to get a protein shake for the work out and green tea for the trip; one of the worst tasting green tea drinks that I had ever wasted my money on. After a brief work out I decided to go sign in for the trip so I left my work out gloves to my roommate and I walked to the university center. I signed in and waited outside for a long time, disgruntled about the green tea still. Then from out of no where, one of the people from my suite that I had had little contact with up until that point signs in and comes outside, offering me a soggy burrito. I declined the burrito but I began to think more positively about going to the show since I had a familiar face with me. Then after a brief conversation he informed me that there were going to be puppets in the show.

“PUPPETS!?!” I was infuriated. The internet had failed to inform me of the puppets. So my pessimism about the night returned quickly, strengthened by the fact that I had testosterone and adrenaline running through me because of the workout and also by the fact that I had been waiting for such a long time to go to this show. Once we started going toward the bus my attitude switched and I decided to be apathetic towards the situation and just have as much fun as I possibly can given this “kiddy ass show.”

So me and the stranger I lived with got on the bus along with his two female friends. They sat directly in front of me and they smelled of “girl pretty,” which is a combination of artificial fruits that come from a can of spray. I pulled at their hair trying to extract fruits to rid my mouth of the taste of that bitter green tea. They moved away from me, possibly because of my failure to get any fruits. I turned to watch as the most beautiful city on this planet glided around us at a moderately slow pace, in comparison to the driving I was used to back home.

The traffic congested once we reached the best parts but I was hoping that it would. I told James, the stranger from my room, that I was about to wave at random people on the streets of New York from the bus. He didn’t think it would work at first since the windows were tinted but I explained to him that since the source of light was behind me people on the outside would probably see my figure if they could not see me in full. He evaluated this information and decided to join me like a real friend should support their comrades, even if we had not established friendship yet. At first no one waved back so James considered flipping them off instead but I decided to be ambitious and work until I got the results I desired. Finally we got our first wave from a man standing next to a cop, which was crowded because our bus was blocking the walkway. Everyone on the bus cheered for our first wave because he had become entertainment for the bus. My arm tired but this boost of confidence kept it waving. A total of four people waved but it had me feeling positive as we exited the bus. We got our tickets and I noticed that the line had already started forming… and it was LONG! I grabbed James and pulled him into the front of the line despite his protests. He tried to tell me that it was an inconvenience for the other people in line and we were running the risk of being caught and suffering unknown consequences. I checked to see that he wasn’t under the influence of drugs or alcohol when he told me this and I used the powers of peer pressure and philosophy on him, explaining that his idea of flipping off people would have been a greater inconvenience to someone especially if they were already having a bad day.

The people we jumped in front of didn’t mind because they, most likely, passive personalities. We walked up several flights of stairs and received a playbill from an awkward woman who directed us to our seats. We waited for the show to start for a while but we had entertainment because someone was causing a ruckus. I sat next to a Dominican girl and James sat next to me. I looked down at the stage from our high seats and I thought “How am I supposed to see these damn hand puppets if I’m so high up?” I flipped through the playbill to see who was in the show…Then the lights went out.

Avenue Q proved to be the contrary to my misconception of the show. The main character, Princeton came out with his human attached and he was a full sized “monster.” He came out talking about something I was interested in; life after college. It scared me a little at first because it showed him as being inept to the world and unable to do much with the degree he had earned. Then the landlord came out and I realized the show wasn’t just about puppets with problems but about the trials and tribulations faced by different types of people who are forced, by mere circumstance, to live in the same Brooklyn street.

Even though there is no actual Avenue Q[2] ; the satirical look at the life of a child star[3] after he returns to a normal lifestyle, the struggles of a person fresh out of college, and the mishaps of neighbors along with the various other sub-plots involved with the play is a fantastic depiction of New York City. There are so many stories going on in lives outside of ourselves that we fail to realize because we are stuck in our own bodies experiencing our own problems.

As to not disclose the intellectual property of the writers of this play I can only say that Avenue Q’s humorous look at truths that exist in our lives that we refuse to admit to will have u laughing your lungs out and thinking once you can get the oxygen back to your brain. The songs tell these truths with lines such as “The internet is for porn,” “It sucks to be me,” and “[George Bush] IS ONLY FOR NOW!” Avenue Q also goes as far as to refer to a philosophy that explains that the purpose of the misfortune of others is to make us feel better about our own inadequacies.

Anyone considering going to this show should not hesitate. Even with our seats the show was a great experience for me and I can’t wait to see it again someday. Being that I am the person usually making jokes it is hard for me to find time to laugh myself but Avenue Q gave me that chance even if it was mandatory. My thoughts as I left the show were “So this is the reason why some shows make it to Broadway.” He only things I would warn against this movie is that first, it is not for children, and second, when you go home singing the songs they sing… no one will know what your talking about and might be offended or confused.

">[1] Drumstruck is a Broadway musical in which the audiences are seated in front of a set of drums and are asked to play along with the show at certain times.
[2] In it’s place is Quinton Road
[3] Gary Coleman

Before you start.

To the Readers,

Hello and welcome to my blog. Although I have created this page as an assignment for an English course at Saint John's University, I am not willing to skimp on any of the details of my personal life nor will I hold back any sort of language if I feel that it is necessary. So as a warning I will let you know that what you read beyond this post may shock you, entertain you, disgust you, and agree/disagree with you. That is just a warning.

If you are not willing to go on beyond this point with my blogs, then all I can say to you is to take care and I wish you the best of luck in all your endeavors.

The same applies if you choose to stay and read on, just with one last message.
Welcome to my world... Enjoy what you can.