Observation

I chose to do my observation outside the St. Thomas University library. I decided to do my observation there because i know it is a very popular destination for most students during and in between classes.
When i got to the library, i decided to sit outside on the very uncomfortable metal chairs. i wanted to blend in and not look like a crazy stalker who was checking everyone out. I wanted to sit outside because i knew that is where many students sit while they wait for their friends or classes to begin. today i was lucky, there were a number of individuals sitting outside going about their normal activities.
I was completely objective in my observation. i sat outside and watched people do what they naturally do. i wanted to watch people in their natural state and let them feel as if i was not there at all.
I was a little old fashioned in my record keeping. i brought with me everything i carry with me at school. the resources were limited, but i was able to use them effectively. I stuck with the old pen and paper routine. Old school, but very effective. the only problem is that it gets hard to write down multiple thoughts. i start writing one, then i forget the other.
i wrote down everything that i focused on. Whether it be the pair of girls having a conversation a table away from me, or the elderly lady smoking a cigarette behind me, or even the constant noise of the fountain in the (pool? lake? pond?) outside the library. Even the constant airplane noise from the airport less than a mile away was on my mind. both the girls seemed to be wearing the same outfit almost. they both had jeans, white belts and white tops. the only difference was one of the girls had a simple white t-shirt on while the other had a white button up shirt. i could not hear their conversation, nor did i want to. Whatever it was though had them giggling every couple minutes.
My observation was limited due to the fact that most people were not doing much. The girls were simply having a normal conversation and no one else was doing much. seeing how my time was limited, i had to choose whether to focus on one subject intently, or multiple subjects minimally. i chose the route of the multiple things minimally. i tried to get a little bit of everything instead of overloading on one subject. I did feel like i did a good job of capturing an essence of where i was.

Question?

Double Question: Do you wear a jacket to school or eat breakfast before you leave?

Wrong Choice Question: Do you put water, orange juice or Gatorade on your cereal?

Fuzzy-Word Question: Do kids watch television a lot?

Cover the World Question: Is baseball doing a good job on the steroid problem?

Jargon Question: When you play golf, do you generally hook, slice, top the ball, or hit it fat?

Kitchen Sink Question: What do you think about the direction the Florida Marlins baseball team is going? Do you agree with their philosophy of spending small amounts of money on no name players? Should they go after a big name veteran this off season? If you were in control, what would you do differently?

Dream Question: If you won the lottery, what would you do?

Leading Question: Why do you think that the Miami Hurricanes are going to have a very successful season next year?

Hearsay Question: Do you think the Seminole fans are scared that the University of Miami is going to be a force to reckon with next year?

Fallout Question:
· Do you go to the movies?
· If yes, are they comedic?
· If yes, do you avoid comedies?

Where Did You Grow Up?

Where Did You Grow Up?

Where did you grow up is a question that is different for everyone. Two people could have grown up on the same block, but their experiences and memories could drastically change their personal opinion on where they grew up. Recently, I was lucky enough to have the privilege to interview someone that grew up outside of the country. D09 grew up in Haiti, but not the Haiti that we have come to know from the news. She was born and raised high up in the mountains in the center of Haiti. Her neighborhood was not the average and normal neighborhood in Haiti. While all the bloodshed and poverty was going on, her quiet and peaceful neighborhood was kept on the outside. Her neighborhood was full of doctors and engineers. It was peaceful and well protected from the outside communities.
D09 has very fond memories of her child life and where she grew up. She attended all girl catholic schools that were very, very strict, but had absolutely amazing academic standards. For fun she would spend time outside in her yard writing poetry, reading books and drawing. Her favorite activity however, was doing math problems. She loved to do math. Math was one subject in school that she excelled at and loved to solve problems of all shapes and sizes.
She came to America to save her life. There were problems in her country and anyone who was well educated had to flee to spare their life. Luckily she got out alive. She attended Miami Dade College, The University of Miami, but decided that St. Thomas University was the school that suited her best. She is studying Communication and is in the process of receiving a Professional Writing Certificate. Her ultimate goal is to start a production, publishing and design company. She loves to be creative and put her designs on paper. Since she was 18 she has been designing magazine covers, and this is what has fueled her desire to continue in this direction. She wants to design the covers for magazines and all types of books.
Interviewing D09 was truly a pleasure and I loved every minute of it. Every word that came from her mouth was very articulate and intelligent. You can tell from just spending 5 minutes with her that she is going to make it very far in life. She is driven and has her goals set. There is nothing that is going to get in her way. I wish her the best of luck and hope that all her goals and dreams come true.

Finally getting the hang of being a blogger

I have known what I want to write my paper on ever since we were introduced to the idea of writing this paper. Everyday it goes and comes. I cannot seem to find a firm grasp on exactly what I want this paper to be. it drives me crazy. everyday i find some way to make little changes, which i understand is not bad, but it is not the way i like to do things. I like to know what i am doing and go full blast and get it done. Here is my summary from my proposal, tell me what you think!

I am finding it very hard to find the right words to explain just exactly what I want to do in this paper. Everyday my idea gets clearer and clearer, but it is still not quite there. Every day it evolves into something bigger and better. Basically I want to research and examine why fans bail on their teams during the rough times. I want to find out why owners of teams bail on their fans during the rough times. My biggest question is why fans and owners cannot work together to achieve the ultimate goal, which is victory. I am going to use sports talk radio and interviews of people that are very close to sports as my main forms of information. One of the ways I want to express my findings is through a newspaper article once my paper is complete. I know it sounds like I am very biased, and that is not true. I have been on both sides of this situation. I completely understand the rationalization from both sides. I just want to find out why these problems cannot be resolved in constructive and useful ways.

My Nelson Reaction

Every teacher wants to feel that they will make a tremendous impact on the students academic career. Many teachers feel that if they teach the right way, they will reach out to every student and impose their teaching style on that student. They have a way that they do things and they expect students to follow and comply with their on ways. Research papers are one assignment that will more likely than not fail in a teachers eyes. Most of the time the topic is given to the student. It is a topic that they could care less about. Like why Jim Rice deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. They will be disinterested in the topic and therefore simply go online, find information, and spew it back on the paper. There is no rhythm to the paper, nothing that connects the reader to the paper.