In A Dream Or Nightmare

That one night,
I remember it well.
Tossing and turning,
Unable to wake up.
There was a constant ticking,
As if a clock was rushing the time I spent.
That ticking turned to a heartbeat,
Footsteps were heard throughout.
However, nothing was seen;
I heard voices, paranoia.
Crashing, booming, screaching of sounds.
Those sounds turned to pictures,
the pictures turned to people.
What's going on?
In my room again,
I woke up.

Thalassophobia

Thalassophobia, fear of the ocean, is a common issue that most people go through. It is understandable how the eerie, deep, dark water can cause wonders and worries of what can be in that water. However, for Santiago, these fears are no match for him. Since he was ever a young boy, the old man had always been in love with the ocean. "He always thought of the sea as la mar which is what people call her in Spanish when they love her"(29). Though sometimes “she” is unfair to him, by disallowing him to catch the fish he needs or making fishing even harder, Santiago forever calls the sea la mar. "Sometimes those who love her say bad things of her but they are always said as though she were a woman...They spoke of her as a contestant or a place or even enemy. But the old man always thought of her as feminine and as something that gave or whitheld great favours..."(30)

As a young boy, Santiago fell in love with the sea and Ernest Hemmingway describes that love very clearly. From his first trip on the water until the days of the present still going out on his boat, the old man never complains or talks poorly of the ocean. In every scene in the story, the author metaphorically explains how the old man is affected by the ocean. For example, on some days the ocean would be fairly serene and peaceful with a gentle rise and fall of the waves, or on others the weather would seem threatening and unfortunate for fishing. These different types of days on the ocean really played a role in Santiago’s life. Because of the vivid descriptions from the writer, the reader can really understand the hardships the weather could cause or even some hope for the old man. Ernest Hemmingway does a lot of describing to help clarify these feelings.

The author explains the sky, the salty water and the comments that the old man makes so concretely, that you could almost feel the same way as Santiago because the setting really affects the actions taken and the events that occur. An example of this happening would be a time when the weather was so bland and hot, and the old man would just talk to himself because there would be a silence surrounding him since it was a hot, sunny day and the ocean was so calm that his boat barely moved. From these portrayals that the ocean was so boring, the reader could almost feel as bored and visualize how the old man must seem so miserable.

Another way Ernest Hemmingway has described the setting and it has affected the story is when Santiago goes to catches the fierce fish. Like when he reels in the marlin, the author announces the waves crashing and the sun at its point in the sky. At one point he describes how it’s hot and the sweat drips from the old man’s face. With these descriptions, it is easy to visualize the scene and understand what is going on.

The ocean can be such a rough place but at the same time calm and relaxing. And by reading a book about times on an ocean during many different weather conditions, a reader can experience these times too. The setting is so important to a story that there would be no interest or really plot without it. Thus, because of the vivid descriptions from the author, it is possible that those with the fear can still be frightened from the ocean. However, since there were a few scenes where the ocean seemed so tranquil and enjoyable, there could be a chance that those people can realize the ocean isn’t as upsetting as it seems.

Third Quater Outside Reading Book Review

Total Constant Order by Crissa-Jean Chappell. Harper Collins Publishers, October 2007. Genre: Realistic Fiction

Fin, 15 year old freshman girl, has been forced into the life of living with divorced parents. After being moved from the town in Vermont where she had grown up, to southern Florida, her parents have decided to separate. With all these hard changes, Fin has developed obsessive compulsive disorder, a genetic disorder known as OCD. This problem of hers causes Fin to have voices in her head making her listen, count objects, and perform rituals to make sure she's "safe" from harm. While at her new school, Frances as she was born named, is sort of an outcast and has trouble making new friends. However, a secret pen pal she meets in the bathroom, named Thayer becomes her new mate. The two are both troubled from life and rely on each other for friendship and moral support.

"Plenty of kids, OCD or not, will...find the exploration of disorder and identity thought-provoking." ALA Book list

Fin goes to therapy since her mom has noticed her drastic changes in mood and activities. There, she is diagnosed with her disorder and her therapist teaches her to cope and eventually being able to cut out her rituals from her life. While seeing her therapist, Fin admits the troubles she and her mother have and comes to find out that her mother was the one who passed down OCD. Since the two living together brings out a lot of stress in the house, Fin goes to hang out with Thayer quite often where he gets her to smoke pot since he is a troubled kid himself. The two friends eventually grow to like each other.

""And how did you feel about that?" she asked.
"Stupid. I mean, what a waste of time. Why can't art mean different things to different people? It's like asking us to see the world the same way, which is impossible.""


This book was alright to me. It helped me understand more how people with OCD live a harder life and can relate to feeling how much of an outcast they feel. Also I liked how Chappell really got to the bare details of how much anxiety they have. Personally, I don't think I could ever live like those people. Meaning having the constant obsession of making sure everything is right in your mind. Though, I'm sure those people wouldn't like it either and it's just a thing they have to live with and get through. I also liked how the author really developed Fin in the book since she had to suffer through such changes in such short time.

Train Ride Robbery

It was time to start our long journey. A clamor could be heard but it was only from the sounds of the wheels and gears starting to turn on the underbelly of the train. There were a lot of noises coming from people finding their seats and running after young ones. No one noticed them but me.
Two men with a furtive look to them were walking down the hallway of the train. One was tall and seemed gaunt while the other was short and stout. Each man eyed the cabins of the train as they walked by each passing glass door. They seemed suspicious and made me keep my eyes on them. As they walked, they looked like they were planning a collusion with serious countenances. My attention focused on the two men for quite sometime until a loud guttural made me jump and realize that I’d been staring. One of the conductors on the train was standing above me as I had managed to peak around the corner of the door to our cabin.
“Tickets please.” The man in uniform asked. I handed him my ticket and my mothers since she was already asleep for the long ride.
We were on our way to New York City where my grandmother would be waiting for us to arrive. Train was the only choice we had from our small town of Mooresboro since our car was so old it wouldn’t be able to handle the long ride north. The train ride would be about 4 hours until we arrived in New York, so my mother and I planned on sleeping for some of it.
The conductor took our tickets and punched two holes to mark our two way ride and then continued down the train. After he left I curved my head back around the door to see if the two men were still there but they were out of sight. I shrugged and decided not to bother. I sat back down and opened the book my mom had been reading. However, as much as I tried to concentrate on the book I couldn’t keep my attention. My mind kept buzzing with what those two men could have been looking for or wanted. I checked my watch. We had only been riding for 14 minutes so I decided to take a walk along the train. I left a note for my mother telling her I had left that way she wouldn’t think something awful happened to me while she had been sleeping. I promised that I would be back in an hour or so.
Since the men had gone up the train towards the engine, I decided to go that way too. Walking by all the doors, I passed many different types of people. Some small families with little children playing in their parents laps, others like old men just sitting reading newspapers. I had just reached the car where lunch was being served and people were enjoying their meals, and I scanned the room for anyone that looked like the two men or anything that could give me an inkling of why they were so suspicious. And then I saw him. The shorter of the two was creeping up to a woman with her seat turned away from him. I stood behind a planter nearby that way he wouldn’t see me watching. Her purse was on the back of her chair. As the woman went to take a bite of her food, thus making her back separate from the chair, the man grabbed her bag without her even noticing. I looked around the rest of the cart and no one else seemed to notice that he had just robbed that benevolent looking woman.
I looked back at him from where I was and he was just casually walking out of the room. I was about to tell the woman that a man had just stolen her purse but I decided to keep following him and see if he committed more acts of avarice. I kept my distance behind him so as not to give away my detective acts. The chubby man scanned the other cabins like before. He came to a halt at a particular one. He looked side to side to make sure no one had been following him. I jumped into the closest room before he saw me. I came out when I thought he hadn’t noticed. He had gone into the cabin and had been rummaging around someone’s things since the owner or owners weren’t inside. I glanced through the glass window door. He was taking the goods deftly and with swift legerdemain.
He came out of the cabin with his hands full of stolen goods. I hid again and the stout man ran down the train. I followed him again and this time he met up with his partner in crime who also had his hands full of things that definitely wasn’t his. I had to tell someone about this. I watched for awhile more to see where they were putting the goods and I noticed them put them in an empty cabin.
I started walking my way back to where my mother was so I could think about how I could tell someone about the two kleptomaniacs. I was almost to our room when I heard someone yell, “All my things are missing!” An old woman was coming out of her room and looking for a conductor. The same one that punched my ticket came over.
“What seems to be the problem miss?” The worker asked.
“Someone has stolen all my things!” The old lady yelled.
“Do you know anything about this?” I was asked by the man in uniform.
“I do! I saw two men steal things from other people.” I explained to the two adults about how I saw the two thieves go into cabins and take what isn’t theirs.
After describing the two men we decided to find them and catch the two men. Luckily we found the thieves in the act. When we caught them, they told us how they were planning on taking the goods to a shelter where they would give out the goods to those who were less needy. We concurred that they were fibbing and put the conductor in charge of punishing them.
“Save your lies.” The conductor said somewhat deriding him. He made them give back all that wasn’t theirs and they were sentenced to lock down in one of the first cabins until we arrived in New York.
The old lady thanked me for being suppliant and very altruistic. I said it was no big deal but realized what I had done was something I would never think of doing back home. I walked back to my cabin to find my mother still sleeping. Only an hour left and we’d be at grandmas.

Second Quarter Outside Reading Book Review

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Back Bay, 2004. Genre: Fiction

This story takes place in a small town where 14 year old, Susie, gets murdered by her creepy neighbor, Mr. Harvey. Throughout the book, Susie lives in "her heaven" where she can live the life she wanted but can visit and see the lives of her family, friends, and the rest of the world. Her father alongside his wife and their friend who is a detective try to figure out the mysterious murder of their daughter and who and how they committed it. As the book goes on, you learn about the struggles of losing a loved one, the strengths it takes to solve a crime, and how life can go on even after a hardship interrupts your life.

"Deeply affecting...A keenly observed portrait of familial love and how it endures and changes over time." -Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times (Outside Back Cover)

Alice Sebold portrays Susie as your average teenage girl but adds more curiosity and love to life itself though hers was ended at such a young age. Her killer, Mr. Harvey is also a pedifile and a murderer. As Susie walks home from school, he catches her on her way and commits his horrific acts. Susie lives in what seems to be her heaven after she dies and can live alongside the people living on Earth.
From the books perspective, first person, you can view the thoughts and eyes of Susie and the horrible and confusing time she lived and the life after she died.

“These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence: the connections - sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at great cost, but often magnificent - that happened after I was gone. And I began to see things in a way that let me hold the world without me in it. The events that my death wrought were merely the bones of a body that would become whole at some unpredictable time in the future. The price of what I came to see as this miraculous body had been my life.” (p. 320)

I think The Lovely Bones is one of my new favorite book yet. Though there were some dry and dragged on parts, it is still one of the best books I've read and would recommend it to anyone. However, most of the book is sort of girly since its from a teenage girls point of view so it gives off the vibe of a girly highschooler. I also really enjoyed Alice Sebold's way of describing the scenes so vividly and dramatically but also realisticly. I liked this because these things really happen so she wanted more people to realize how awful rape and murder really are.

First Quarter Outside Reading Book Review

First Quarter Outside Reading Book Review

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling. Scholastic Inc., 2000. Genre: Fiction-Fantasy

Harry Potter, the boy who lived, as he’s known in the mystical world, is living through his past along with trying to survive in the present. While living at the Hogwarts School, Harry was chosen illegally out of the students who volunteered to participate in a life-risking event. In this game, Harry Potter muse endure tasks such as dragon fighting along with being a part in the life as a teenager. While battling his biggest enemy Voldemort, Harry has to manage trying to keep a good relationship with his friends and classmates along with finding himself and surviving.

“This is the pivotal fourth novel in the seven part tale of Harry Potter's training as a wizard and his coming of age. Harry wants to get away from the pernicious Dursleys and go to the International Quidditch Cup with Hermione, Ron, and the Weasleys. He wants to dream about Cho Chang, his crush (and maybe do more than dream). He wants to find out about the mysterious event that's supposed to take place at the Hogwarts this year, an event involving two other rival schools of magic, and a competition that hasn't happened in a hundred years. He wants to be a normal, fourteen year old wizard. Unfortunately for Harry Potter, he's not normal - even by wizarding standards.” (The book jacket) “And in his case, different can be deadly”.
“The details are as ingenious and original as ever.... Rowling plants the red herrings, the artful clues and tricky surprises that disarm the most attentive audience.” (Publisher’s Weekly)

J.K. Rowling really wrote the descriptions and details about the setting and characters very well. From the visions through Harry’s eyes and the great imagery about the “Goblet” games, she precisely allowed you to imagine as if you were there.Like other books of the adventures of Harry Potter and like his life, the author brings you along to the fantasy world with witches and wizards where you will never know what to expect on the next page.

“Breathing hard and fast, Harry looked around him. Not one of the witches and wizards in the room (and there was at least two hundred of them) was looking at him. Not one of them seemed to notice that a fourteen year-old boy had just dropped from the ceiling into their midst. Harry turned to the wizard next to him on the bench and uttered a loud cry of surprised that reverberated around the silent room.” (585)

I love reading the Harry Potter series. The story is always unexpecting and adventurous and J.K. Rowling always knows how to keep me reading. I have previously read the three books that were written before the Goblet of Fire and also watched the movies on numerous occasions. For the most part, I think the author is brilliant in her writing and coming up with such a great and suspenseful group of books. Once I finish the series, I wouldn’t doubt that I would reread them again someday.

The Music Leads to A Pass

In my opinion, I believe that people today don’t value simple moments or even objects as much as they should. With that in mind, simple moments like the feeling of hot water running down your body when you turn on the shower, are not praised and noticed as much as a store bought item like your favorite necklace or bag. This has been upraised when I came to the thought of not having either of those things, what life would be like, and realized, people today truly don’t value those little moments that can make our lives happier, better, and memorable as it comes by.

The ball rolled in front of my body as I was sprinting down the field. Quickly and with ease, I cradled the ball and started dribbling down the field. Looking for an open teammate, I dodged the opponent before they knew I went by them.
Finally I saw one of my girls in her orange and black jersey calling “Ball! Ball!” Pivoting slightly just to get my aim just right, I pulled the ball back with my stick, stepped, and slapped the ball diagonally across the field hockey field. Luckily, I made the perfect pass and kept running. The ball was moving quickly down the field. I noticed my teammate was in need of a support and I cut to the ball making myself as an option. I was so close to the goal and just feet away from the pass. The ball came back to me and without thinking, passed it back and the ball flew into the goal. The final point went up on the scoreboard. We won! The tigers swarmed us around the goal jumping with excitement. Eventually we calmed down and shook hands, congratulating our defenders of their great effort but the feeling inside us was still boiling with exhilaration. Nothing could replace that feeling of accomplishment and strength of putting that ball in the net.

It was close to ten o’clock by the time my eyes finally opened and I was awake. My feet touched the floor before my body could react to waking up. In maybe, a quarter of a second, I had my slippers and sweatshirt on running downstairs yelling, “It’s Christmas!” Dashing down the stairs, I missed nearly half of the steps but kept my balance.
I remembered what I had asked for and hoped it was in one of those boxes. I saw it hiding under the tree. Ripping the paper off, I knew what it was instantly. My new Ipod. It glistened in its square case; I hoped it would since it hadn’t been touched yet. I broke the band that was keeping it together as I undid the box to release the Ipod from its holder. Ignoring the other presents waiting to have the same feeling of being opened, I sat in the corner just praising the silver object. The screen reflected my wide eyes just before I pushed the button to turn it on. The 30 GB, silver and white, never before touched Ipod came to life as the screen lit up with the push of the play button. It was all mine now and ready to be put to use.

I adore both my Ipod and that feeling I still remember of winning. Mostly in different ways but there are a lot of similarities of how much I love both. My Ipod keeps me sane and makes me move just by playing every type of music you can think of. When my feelings get in my way, I turn it on and my mind is back to the way it should be. That feeling of winning is similar because when I’m on the verge of breaking down and the sensation of losing comes over me, the last winning goal makes me forget about all of those harsh feelings. In my opinion, I do think I could live without my music player, but life just would not be the same without the art of music in my ears and the same with that winning accomplishment. I don’t think life would ever be the same without the works of luck and skill when it comes to winning however; I value the fact that I have that. Also, I try my hardest whenever I can to keep that winning feeling in mind during games and even practice.
Even though there is the chance of breaking or losing my Ipod, or losing a game, I still value both of these things since there isn’t much that can match to the feelings two give me.