Advice for Future Students

The most important advice that I can give for Professor Croker’s students is to not procrastinate! As long as you give yourself enough time to do assignments, you will be good and pass the class. Yes, it’s a lot of essays and a lot of reading, but they’re fun to do. This is coming from a guy who hadn’t even opened the pages of a book since Jr. High. The reading is interesting and it is full of shocking facts that will keep you reading until you finish. As for the essays, they aren’t long, three pages may seem like a lot to some people, but you will get them done in less than two hours. The topics are fun topics that don’t really require you looking up stuff, except for the research paper. A lot of the essays are more like story-telling, so you know you won’t run into writer’s block as long as you choose a subject that won’t get you stuck. One thing that I cannot stress enough is DO NOT PROCRASTINATE ON THE RESEARCH PAPER!!!! You won’t get it done if you leave it until the last minute and, if you do, it won’t be as good as it would have if you would’ve given yourself enough time. My advice is simply don’t procrastinate. Get your stuff done on time and I guarantee you will pass this class.  

Looking Back

In the beginning of the semester, I thought blogging was going to be just another boring class assignment that I didn’t look forward to doing. After doing the first blog, however, I found it interesting to read other people’s blogs and comment on them so I then looked at the future assignments in order to see if the rest were going to be just as interesting. To my amazement, they were. I not only enjoyed writing mine, but I also enjoyed reading my fellow classmate’s blogs. I don’t think I will keep my blog going only because I doubt that I will have topics to write about. If I do, however, they will most likely be about how life is after taking English 101 or maybe car related stuff. I hope some of my classmates will keep their blogs going so I can look at their blogs and see how they’re doing. My final words to my classmates are to have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year filled with many blessings and hope you all enjoy your holidays with your loved ones. Hope to see you guys again soon.

One of the Best Times I’ve Ever Had

One of the best times I’ve had recently was this past Thanksgiving. I spend it at my girlfriend’s house, with her family and our son. I already knew who was going to be there and that we were going to say our thank yous just like we did last year, but I didn’t know what I was going to say. As the night came upon us, the turkey was ready and Sheila’s brother and I had to go get the tables from their backyard. We set up the tables and chair in Sheila’s living room as Sheila, her mom, aunt, and cousin were all serving us the plates. Once everything was set up and ready to eat, we all sat down and got ready to say what we were going to say. Her mom started off with a prayer for all of us, and then one of her aunts said what she was thankful for. Next was her brother, then her, then her cousin, aunts, uncle, sister, and it was finally my turn. Since I didn’t know what to say, I said the first thing that came to my head which was that I was thankful for not only my son’s health, but all of our health. By all of our health I meant everybody that was present and even my family, who were back home having their dinner with my mom’s friend. After saying I was thankful for our health, my eyes started to get watery because of what I was going to say next. I tried to stop the tears from coming out but I couldn’t so I started to cry as I said that one of the things I was most thankful for was Sheila’s parents. I was thankful for them accepting me as part of their family, they treated me like one of their own and it made me feel loved.

I Would Be Nowhere Without These People

              My dad has always been there for me when I have needed him the most. Whether it is about soccer, relationships, or school, I can talk to him about almost anything. He is my role model. Since I was born, my dad worked in the same place up until recently. The company changed name over time but it was most recently known as Solar World. Seeing as to how he was there for 20 years before it went out of business, it showed how much of a hard worker he was. He worked whenever he was told to work, even on holidays. Even after going out of business, my dad isn’t just sitting at home doing nothing while he gets unemployment. Even though he does get unemployment, he has been going to school so he won’t just be home. He has always told me he wants me to be a professional and graduate from a university, just like my older sister recently did. If he would just be at home not doing anything, I would do the same thing but he wants the best for his kids so he does what’s best for him so we can follow in his footsteps.

            Another important person in my life is my girlfriend, Sheila. Without her, I would just go to school then back home to doing nothing at all, maybe just playing video games all day long. As soon as I got with her, my life started changing for the better. Before, all I did was go to school, go home to do homework, then watch TV or play PlayStation all day long until it was time to go back to sleep and do the same thing all over again the next day. After, however, I still went to school and did homework, but I no longer sat to watch TV. I started going outside and getting more active, living a healthier lifestyle. She encourages me to eat healthy and I stay fit, not only for my own good, but also for her enjoyment. A big change came to me when we found out Sheila was pregnant. This also changed me for the better. I knew I was going to be my son’s role model.

            The last important person is Christopher Giovanni, my son. There are many reasons why my little homie is important to me but the biggest one is that he is the reason why I am still in school today. I never saw myself going to college, let alone to a university, but when Chris was born, I decided I had to go to college in order for me to get a good career and get my son anything he asked for, just like my dad did for me. Now, I find myself in my third year of college, getting ready to go to California State University, Channel Islands, where I plan to major in either Business or English so I can get a career which I enjoy. I hope to be happy with my career in order to make baby Chris happy in life.

HTC Evo V

The HTC Evo V, previously known as the Evo 3D on Sprint, is perhaps one of the two best cell phones on the Virgin Mobile prepaid network, with the other being the iPhone. I have owned the phone since August and have had time to get to know it in order to be able to review it. Although many might say the iPhone is better, it also costs twice the Evo’s price. The Evo is $250 and the iPhone is $450 for the 4s and 16 GB memory and $350 for the 4 with 8 GB of memory. With the price being so much more for the iPhone, the Evo V is sure to be a favorite for those who have Virgin Mobile. The main feature is the 3D feature. The Evo V can take pictures and record and watch videos in 3D. Also, if you pay an extra monthly fee of $15, it is a mobile hotspot, meaning you can share your internet connection with any Wi-Fi capable device. It also has a front-facing camera. Like any other android device, you have the Play Store, previously known as the Android Market. The Play store is used to get games or applications. Even though some cost money, there are many apps and games that are completely free. There are games for people of many ages and apps for almost anything that you can think of.  One other big feature that the Evo has and that the iPhone doesn’t is that the Evo runs on Sprint’s 4G network and the iPhone runs on the 3G network. This means that the Evo browses on the internet faster than the iPhone does. Don’t get me wrong, the iPhone is a great phone, but if you don’t want to waste too much money, the Evo is the way to go. It costs less and it even has some features that the iPhone doesn’t.

No More Fast Food?

Reading the book Fast Food Nation has completely changed my view of Fast Food. Before reading it, I never even thought about who made the food or what was in it, but now I do. When I first learned that we were going to have to read a book aside from our textbook, I thought it would be just another boring book and that I would hate reading it. That, however, wasn't the case at all. No matter how disgusted I was, I found myself reading and reading, page after page and learning more information about where the food we eat on the streets actually comes from. Before this class, I would get hungry when I wasn't home and stop by a McDonald's or Burger King that was near without even giving it some thought. When I learned what was actually in it, however, I stopped being so quick to get my Big Mac. Now, after reading the whole book, I think twice, but I still do eat fast food. It is just so hard to resist with at least one fast food restaurant almost anywhere you go. I do, however, prefer a home made meal over one that was made with cow.

My Semester So Far

Last week's blog we were supposed to do 5 lies and 1 truth and I accidentaly did it backwards. I posted 5 truths and 1 lie but I'll give the answer to the lie. The lie was that I have a Mustang, everything else was true. I love Mustangs, I have a son, etc. Anywho, my semester so far is going by pretty good, and fast. I think all of my classes are easy, but that's because I actually pay attention and get my work done. The only class I have a hard time with is History of the U.S only because the professor does pure powerpoints and basically reads off of them. We don't do any activities or other stuff like that which will help us understand the material better. Other than that, all my other classes are simple and I have an easy time doing the assignments and don't hesitate with any of the material given. Another complaint, however, is my Introduction to Logic teacher. Don't get me wrong, he's a funny guy and he knows what he's talking about, but he's always getting to class 10 minutes late and takes roll until the end of class, which makes us leave 10 minutes late. I would understand if he was on time and we had a lot of things to cover, but that isn't the case. He is always late and we leave late because he couldn't make it on time. What keeps me going through this are a few people in my life. Those people are my sister, parents, girlfriend, and, most importantly, my son. My sister has succeeded in her studies and is a proud UCSB graduate. I, along with my parents, want to be just like her. I want to get a good-paying career, not a “job”, but a career that I wouldn't mind doing for the rest of my life. The reason I want this is for my girlfriend, Sheila, and my son, Christopher Giovanni. I need to succeed in my studies in order for them to have the life that many can only dream of.