Kicking the Habit

So posting to this blog has been difficult for me, what with all the stuff I've had going on with my other classes and work and everything. But as for my sleep, I'll try to catch you up on what's been going on.
For the last week, my sleep habits were slightly more erratic than last week, as I had a lot of homework and papers and quizzes and last minute exams to cram for. This cramming brings to light another bad habit - procrastination. I've found that trying to get rid of this habit has brought a many other bad habits of mine to light...funny how that works. I was doing my best to get to bed on time, however often I could. A suggestion I was given in class - getting up at the same time every day and finding out when your body naturally needs to go to sleep - has been rolling around in my skull for a while, and I would love to try that...but I think I'll have to do that come summer time...it'll be easier to focus on it. Right now I wake up about 6:20 every morning during the week to get to work in the morning or to class...I've been staying at my house and have to commute....its just easier in the evenings (the dorm idea was kinda stupid). Come the weekend, I'm out til 1 or 2 and wake up whenever I need to, which is usually 10 or 12, which also makes up for lost sleep during the week.
I've been trying to get myself into little habits before I go to bed, like reading a bit before I want to go to sleep, etc. I think I can improve and have slightly...but this is gonna take a while, and at the end of the school year is probably not the best time to do it. I really think I'll continue to do this in the summer though.

Kicking the Habit

Throughout this week, it has been very hard to get more sleep. I was successful in going to bed earlier Monday night and avoiding too much t.v. and other distractions, but because of my change in sleep habits among other stresses during the day, I was rewarded by a migraine the next day. I guess I have to make changes a bit more gradual, as drastic change in my life tends to stress my body out. I have begun the habit of getting my worries out in a more organized manner, which helps me out a bit. However, I do still stress out a bit over things like tests the next day, etc. Which brings me to another bad habit I have - procrastinating studying til the last minute. I find myself cramming until late, not helping my goal to get more sleep. Although it doesn't seem like much, I think I might be making some small improvements...it just takes time I suppose. I'll keep trying.

Prewriting - Cover Letter

When writing and drafting my cover letter - specifically the three specified sections - I want to convey my point accurately, in a concise and sincere manner, of what grade I would like in this english class. My audience is my professor, so I can't be informal or anything. I need to present my arguments for my grade effectively.

Kicking the Habit

So far, I haven't done too well in getting more sleep. In fact, I seem to have been getting less sleep. Over the weekend, I was out til about 1 am each night, and managed to wake myself up really early. This may have happened due to the many nightmares I have been having over the past couple weeks. I almost expect one every night. Another goal, then, is to research ways to possibly lessen the amount of nightmares I have - if it is possible to control the random neural firings that occur in my brain... My journal might help get things off my mind, including scary stuff.

Losing the Habit: Get More Sleep

It has always been hard for me to fall asleep. I take sometimes half-an-hour to an hour to finally sleep. I think this is due to the many things I think about before I sleep, and I tend to sleep with the t.v. on. (I'm a scaredy-cat). I wake up during the night every night, at least once. Lately however, its many times a night, and I get nightmares often. I need sleep! To kick this habit, I need to make a few changes. First of all, no t.v. That only adds to the distractions I have when going to bed. Second, I want to make a habit of writing a in a journal all of the things that are bothering me before I get into bed. I want to go to sleep at a regular time every night, and wake up at a similar time every day. Hopefully, with all of these changes, I'll be able to get more sleep.

Entertainment Review (UNM blog)

In reviewing the film 300 for the UNM blog, I had to keep the UNM students in mind as I gave both the good and the bad points of the movie. I enjoyed the movie for the most part myself, and many others have as well, so my goal was to overall portray it in a good light, but convey parts I felt were unsatisfactory as well.

How To Buy an mp3 Player

How To Buy An Mp3 Player

So you’ve finally decided to take the plunge, get out of the dark ages, and get yourself one of those new-fangled mp3 players. You’re sick of the 3000 cds gathering dust on the cd tower your grandma bought you for Christmas oh so long ago, and you want the easy organization and no-skip guarantee that comes with an mp3 player. Well, where to start? The first player that comes to mind is most likely the iPod, due to the overwhelmingly popular tv commercials that you’ve seen millions of times, and you’re probably tempted to just skip the research and go buy it. But is the iPod your best option, or even your only option? Of course not! There are tons of different mp3 players out there, many of which will suit your needs nicely. So, what exactly are your needs then? Well here are some questions to ask yourself before running to Best Buy. Do you use your music during athletic activity, such as listening to it when you jog? Do you need small size in order to carry it when you travel? Do you have a TON of music that needs a home? Are aesthetics important to you? Many mp3 players offer not only music storage, but video and picture storage as well. Do you really NEED these? In general, there are three main types of mp3 players – hard drive, micro hard drive, and flash based mp3 players. Don’t get discouraged! This fancy tech jargon is not as cryptic as it seems. The hard drive based mp3 players translate to MEMORY. You can get a lot of storage space with these, and they tend to be more user-friendly. They are the ideal buddy for someone working in an office all day that needs a lot of music for the 9 to 5. These players have moving parts inside, and can get damaged very easily, which may not be ideal for you joggers out there. The flash based mp3 players do not have moving parts inside, which is ideal for gym rats, but tend to have less memory. However, many support memory cards, so if you have memory cards for other devices you use, this may be a good buy. Finally, the micro hard-drive mp3 players are a mix between the hard-drive and flash-based players. They are much smaller and lighter and offer a good amount of storage space, but do have moving parts. That wasn’t so bad, was it? You’ve decided which type of mp3 player suits you best, and you feel confident about your mp3 know-how. Now you may go shopping. Keep in mind what price you feel comfortable paying, and the features you feel are a must. Don’t let the fancy two-tone iPod commercials sway you – you now have the power to see past the funny dancers, and get that mp3 player that really suits you. Popular hard-drive based mp3’s include the Creative Zen, Dell DJ, Rio Carbon, RCA Lyra Jukebox RD2840, and Rio Nitrus, to name a few, and popular flash-based players include the iRiver iFP series, NOMAD MuVo, and Rio Forge Sport. Don't forget the iPod and the Shuffle (how could you?), hard-drive based and flash-based, respectively. Good luck!

How-To Paper

Finding a subject for the research paper was pretty tough for me, as I had no idea what I could write about that would be interesting to UNM students. I started to think about technology, which is a necessity to students, and finally I decided upon mp3 players. Most people just go for the iPod, as it is advertised so much and widely heard of. However, there are so many types and brands of mp3 players that will suite individuals better than the iPod, as I discovered through my research. I wanted to give UNM students a basis of information on mp3 players, and I wanted to give examples of mp3 players as well. I learned a lot, and I hope my audience did too.

The Lowdown on Commas

Using Commas Correctly

In my writing, I have noticed that I constantly overuse commas. I tend to write as I would speak, interjecting pauses as I do in speech. However, this doesn’t always work in writing. There are specific rules for using commas, and if you’re in doubt whether to use a comma, consider the following.

Are the clauses you plan to join together both independent? Then use a comma and add a conjunction between the two clauses.

Example:
Some of my friends are going to Europe this summer, but I am planning a trip to Mexico. I am not only planning a trip to Mexico, but I am also planning a trip to Egypt.

When the first clause of a sentence is dependent, you also need a comma.

Example:
Because I could not stop for death, he kindly stopped for me.

Are you creating a list of objects in your sentence? If so, use commas after every object. However, there is some discretion as to whether a comma should come before the last item in a list. It is best to ask your instructor what his or her preference is on this matter.

Example:
The manager met with her office staff, departmental heads, and technical advisers.

Commas are also necessary when writing a date or a location in a sentence, and must ALWAYS go after the year when writing a date, and the state when writing a geographic location.

Example:

Sherry Smith was born January 16, 1983, in Memphis, Tennessee 38118, and achieved national prominence on her 20th birthday.
She will hold a meeting at Collin County Community College on May 15, 2004, in Room G238 to discuss the role of technology in elementary schools.

Clarification of a subject is needed in sentences sometimes. When the information you give is helpful but not necessary, surround it with commas. If the information is crucial, do not use commas.

Example:
Collin Creek Mall, which was built in 1980, has enjoyed nearly two decades of prosperous growth. (Unnecessary)
The suburban mall that has enjoyed the most prosperous growth in Texas is Collin Creek. (Necessary)

Overall, the best way to determine whether you need a comma (when not listing items in a sentence) is to see if the information you are about to put in commas is necessary to the sentence. Can you take that part of the sentence out with it still making sense? If so, that removable clause belongs in commas. Switch the clauses or questionable parts of the sentence around. Does it still make sense? If so, once again use commas. The trick is to become familiar with the rules so that using them becomes a subconscious process. Once you learn the rules, you then have the option of breaking them, as many prominent authors tend to do. However, that is a whole different subject to tackle another time. Good luck!


Work Cited

A Brief, No-Nonsense Guide to Comma Usage. 21 March 2007. Collin County
Community College. 26 March 2007. http://iws.ccccd.edu/jmiller/A%20Brief_%20No-Nonsense%20Guide%20to%20Comma%20Usage.htm/

"How-To" Buddy Edit

Suggestions:
[1] Just added a comma…
[2] Maybe break this up too for more clarity.
[3] Replace with progress?
[4] Loses
[5] Remove this.
[6] Things
[7] Maybe add an “an” here.
[8] Add.
[9] Points

Overall, awesome paper. Each piece of advice you present are all things I think readers could honestly take to heart.


HOW TO WRITE FICTION
When I first began my fiction writing mentorship with Laura Carlson, she told me, “Learn all the rules, so that you can break them.” This was, and still is, extremely important advice, because writing fiction is an intimate process, and authors should therefore be allowed the freedom to explore their stories without the over-opposition of rules. However, when a good author breaks a rule or standard they do so consciously and with decided effect, not simply because they are unaware or don’t care. Keeping this in mind, [1] the following hints on how to write good fiction should be taken as guidelines that factor heavily into the writing process, but with understanding, guidelines that can be broken. [2]

1. One of the most famous and often over-drilled rules of writing fiction, is “Show, don’t tell!” While I was still in mentorship, this phrase was so often written across my work so as to appear in my dreams. Despite my rebelliousness against the “show don’t tell” rule however, any author, including myself, must understand the virtues it embodies.
Fiction readers want to be entertained. It is much more interesting to show them how your character is considered the runt of the football team, rather than to tell them in an expository tone. Writers who have done a lot of background research and planning for their stories need to be especially careful of this, as they tend to enter into long speeches about all the background information that the reader does not necessarily need to know, and certainly does not want to hear in authorial voice.
2. Write to a purpose. “Everything that happens in your story should result in something else happening.” It is very important to decide what you want to show or accomplish with a story, chapter, paragraph, or even sentence. As in all genres, everything should be progressing [3] the reader’s mind towards your goals, and the fulfillment of the plot.
3. “An engaging story…usually balances characters or situations that are familiar to the reader with enough new information to pique curiosity…” Reader’s need to be able to relate on some level to the characters and the situations they face. It is important to expose the humanity of your main characters for this reason, if they are extraordinary in other ways. However, if a fictional piece is just a boring ordinary day not serving to further character development, the reader losses [4] interest. Keep in mind, [5] that many readers read as some form of escape or relaxation. They want to read and learn about things that have striking resemblances to their life and yet thing [6] that they have not and probably will never experience first hand.
4. “Become intimately acquainted with your characters.” Many serious authors practice this point to such [7] extreme as to appear almost crazy. Authors invest so much into their main characters that they feel they really do know the person as one might know his best friend. This, [8] of course, makes for very believable and interesting characters, and dramatically enhances the story. Be careful that your main character does not just become the eyes through which the reader is seeing the action. They want to know who he/she is, and why they are in these situations.

These are some of the major point [9] addressed by most writing instructors and coaches, and certainly do not guarantee great fiction, but can serve to spark some thought about your own piece. Remember that rules can and should be broken, but in order to do so skillfully, you must know the rules original purpose.

-Will McMullen

Restaurant Review - Final

My boyfriend’s family has a tradition to keep the family close. On Wednesday of each week, one person chooses a restaurant at which the family will eat dinner. I have been graciously assimilated into this family tradition, and have found myself many a week worrying where to take the group that they will all enjoy. Reading the Alibi one morning, I came across a small, yet praising description of Bumble Bee’s Baja Grill. I was relieved to have a suggestion for my turn, and that evening I led us to the Californian/Mexican grill.

Upon entering the restaurant, we were all taken aback by the décor – colorful piñatas hanging from the ceiling and other bright decorations everywhere – a total fiesta. We all took turns ordering our dinners from their enticing menu, which includes salads, quesadillas, nachos, giant burritos and fresh tacos. It offers many ways to prepare the burritos and tacos, many meats to choose from. I don’t eat meat, so I went with the Veggie-Especial Burrito, one of many vegetarian-friendly dishes. Our drink choices included fountain sodas as well as bottled Mexican sodas, which led me to pick out a bottle of Jarritos. Those of legal age can also enjoy a selection of beer and wine. We all loved the tortilla chips, made fresh, as well as the selection of salsas (I recommend the smoky tomato).

The meal itself was great, and the colorful and casual atmosphere made it even better. Without emptying my wallet, Bumble Bee’s made this family night a success. Access the menu yourself at http://www.bumblebeesbajagrill.com.

Metadiscourse

In creating this blog, my goals are to effectively use prewriting here to structure what I am going to write, in stating my audience and my goals. I anticipate the audience of this blog to be my peers in my English class as well as my professor.
Prewriting, or metadiscourse, is an important part of the writing process. By using such techniques as freewriting and mindmapping, I can more easily organize what I want to write. This blog will be my metadiscourse throughout my semester in Eng 220.