The Death of Ivan Ilych

         I've been reading a short story called, "The Death of Ivan Ilych", and it tells about a man who always strives to have the perfect life.  Everything has to be "just so" in order for him to be happy. He made his way up in society, he married, he had children, and although everything seemed flawless on the outside, it wasn't in reality.  He worked hard, he always fought with his wife, and he wasn't that attentive towards his children.  His life went "how he wanted" until he got sick.
         He had an agonizing pain in his side and a strange taste in his mouth.  It wasn't a normal sickness, the doctors couldn't figure out what to do.  He went from one specialist or doctor to the next. Ivan was angry because he didn't know what was going on; they wouldn't answer his questions! Was it a serious illness?  He soon came to find out that.. it is.  He might die. He can't accept this reality.
        Slowly, Ivan realized that his death was hanging over him, and now it was just a waiting game.  Everyone was treating him like nothing was wrong, and he hated them for it.  His illness got worse, and soon, he was stuck in bed screaming in pain for weeks.  He always knew death was a possibility, but people never realize that it can happen to anyone, including themselves. He only has one friend, the servant, because he is the only one who understands his situation and pities him. Eventually, Ivan Illych comes to accept his fate. He dies happily, realizing now that his family will be better off without him.
        This whole story not only made me sad, but it really opened my eyes.  It is completely true that people deny death when it comes around to them.  No one thinks that they themselves can die.  Or even their friends. Sure, you'll die eventually, and you hear about death all the time.  However, every person has a part of themselves that can't believe that that would happen to them.  I am very aware of death.  I know it happens, to every one, anywhere, any time.  But I try not to comprehend that it could happen to me anywhere, any time. "The Death of Ivan Ilych" however, made me think about it.

The Lady in the Cafe

            The painting is of a cafe.  Only the back left-hand corner of the room is shown.  To the left of the corner is a wall-sized window.  All you can see out of the window is one big, dark building with three windows on the top half of what you can see and a column of long cement blocks next to two more windows on the boton half of what you can see. A pot sits on the window sill with medium length plant leaves that stretch out like the plume of a hat. To the right of the corner is a white wall made brighter by the light shining in from the window. Two tables are placed against the left wall.  Each table has two chairs, one on the two sides perpendicular to the window wall.  On the table closest to the viewer is a small, white, circular doily with various condiments on it.  A lonely lady sits  at the table to the back, wearing a dark, knee length, halter top, low cut dress.  Beneath the table, you can see her two feet, side by side, wearing blat flats.  Her pale arms lie on the table, her fingers fidgeting.  Her head is tilted slightly to the left, from the viewers perspective, with her hair parted in the middle, with bangs, and it is slightly above shoulder length, curving in towards her face.  Her dark eyes don't reveal much, and her lips make no smile.  She just sits and waits.  In front of her lies a tea cup on what looks to be either a doily or a dish to go with her cup.  The overall feel is lonely, abandoned, and forlorn.  Perhaps she was stood up.

The Election 2012

          I'm scared. With absolutely no power over the situation after you've voted, you just have to sit back and watch and wait.  It's like watching a sports game and cheering for who you want to win.  Visuals can be very misleading because even though it may look like one of the parties "wins" a state, only the big cities are what really matter because they have the largest populations.  I don't really understand the whole electoral college situation, but I just know that I'm nervous.  I hope everything works out; it's ridiculously close.

Procedure Analysis Writing

How to Brush your Teeth

Cleanliness is a very important part of human life.  You need to make sure that you are always clean because that is one way to make sure you maintain a healthy existence.  Brushing your teeth is only one part of being clean, but it is a definite necessity.  Having bad breath is a social "no no", which most people want to avoid. Who wants to talk to someone, or be near someone who is breathing smelly air?  Make sure you brush your teeth!  You will no longer have that problem!  Keeping gum around is another way to make sure your breath stays pleasant.  Why else do you want to brush your teeth?  Have you ever kissed someone? Do you have a current boyfriend or girlfriend? You never know when you can be kissed! If your teeth are clean, shiny, and white and your breath smells good, your kiss will be that much more enjoyable! Who wants a kiss where you taste the last meal they ate?  Or a kiss tasting overwhelming like morning breath? No one!  Brushing your teeth will make sure your mouth is healthy, your social life stays in tact (in that area anyway), and your kisses are more enjoyable! Don't hold your breath, feel comfortable breathing around people!  Brushing your teeth will make your life much easier and more enjoyable in many different aspects.

How do I brush my teeth?  First, you need to find your way into your bathroom. Walking into the bathroom seems like an easy task, and thankfully, most of the time it is.  Step one, open the door.  Step two, walk through the door.  Step three, close the door behind you for privacy, if you wish.  There, that was easy.  However, some tips I have for you are to look where you walk so that you don't run into anything, and be sure to turn on the light if it is not already on.  You are now well on your way to brushing your teeth.

After you find your toothbrush, turn the water on by either rotating the knob clockwise, pulling the handle towards you, placing hands under faucet if it's motion censored, or many other different ways depending on what type of faucet you have.  Place your toothbrush under the water in order to wet your toothbrush.  This step is important so that you get some water in your mouth as well as the toothpaste, which brings me to my next step!

Open the toothpaste by twisting off the lid, pushing up the cap, or a different way depending on your toothpaste preference and slowly squeeze until there is a pea-sized dollop of minty paste on your brush.  Raise your arm that is holding the toothbrush with the toothpaste on it up to your mouth, and gently begin to brush in circles over your teeth.  It is important not to go roughly from side to side because it tears at your gums and isn't healthy.

"Brush your teeth round and round," my mother always used to sing to me.  She sang while my dad and I did the "tooth brushing dance", which consisted of a spastic father daughter pajama dance with no real dance moves.  It was wonderful.  After you think about something important or reminisce about the past while softly gliding the bristles over your teeth, you do the final "brush summary".  Hopefully, by now you have brushed the front of your teeth, the backs of your teeth, the tops/bottoms of your teeth, and pretty much every single showing part of your tooth that you can reach!  As one of your final steps, you quickly do a once over of all the spots you just did in order to make sure you didn't miss anything. (Side Note! Involving your tongue in the teeth brushing process is important because a lot of the "bad breath problem" is because of your tongue!)

Spit out the foaming minty bubbles into the sink, and turn on the water so that it washes it down the drain.  Sip some faucet water, if you know it is clean and drinkable, and swish it around in your mouth for a final rinse.  Run water over your toothbrush until there are no more bubbles on it, and place it back where you found it.  Make sure there are no suds around your mouth or on your clothes, and exit the bathroom.  You have successfully brushed your teeth! Good job!

Blog Process

Why make a blog?  To share our ideas and writing.
Point of making one?  For writing workshop class.

How to make a blog:
1. Make a gmail account
2. Go to blogger.com
3. On the home page, click on new blog
4. Create title and url
5. Add other users or bloggers
6. Collect others' urls and add them
7. Create and publish first post

(According to Mr. K. Yim)

Day 1

Day 1 of my blog! Still figuring things out :)