Reading Notes: Babbitt - Jataka Tales, Part A

This week I decided to read some stories retold for children. I thought this was a great idea because I enjoyed the children stories while in Mythology and Folklore. Also, the stories contain lots of animals which I love!

I absolutely love the story of the monkey and the crocodile. It reminds me of a story I read last semester in Mythology and Folklore about an animal offering to give another animal a ride and it ending up being a trick. In this story, the crocodile's mom requested a monkey heart to eat. Her son thought of how he could possible get it without being able to climb and the monkey not being able to swim. He eventually decides that he will trick the monkey by telling him there is lots of fresh fruit on the other side of the bank and that he would be willing to give him a ride there. Halfway through, the crocodile dives down and comes up while the monkey was on his back. He told the monkey his plan and the monkey played him right back and told him that he left his heart in the tree so he would have to take him back to get it. Foolishly, the crocodile listened and the monkey went to the top of the tree where he stayed. 
The monkey moved away from that tree so he could live in peace without having to worry about the crocodile. But, of course, the crocodile found him further down the river. Where he was now, there was a rock path to a little island full of fruit that the monkey was able to hop to. The crocodile watched him make his way to the island and waited until nighttime where he planned to attack. As night came around, the crocodile slowly crept to a rock and laid perfectly still on it. The monkey immediately stopped once he got to that rock and called out to it pretending the rock normally answers. Fooled once again, the crocodile answered and the monkey acted trapped and told the crocodile to open his mouth as wide as possible so he could just jump in. The monkey knew that crocodiles close their eyes when they open their mouths wide and he jumped onto his head as soon as they closed. 
The monkey made it safe to his tree yet again and the crocodile said he would leave him alone even though the monkey knows better than to believe him.

(Image by Karen Arnold.)

Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt.

Famous Last Words: Spring Break

This Spring Break was very nice. I got to go home to Houston for a few days and then fly to Colorado with some friends for a few days. I definitely planned to get a lot done over the break and absolutely none of that happened. I actually was okay with it since I told my friend I would drive with her from Colorado since she lives there and drove it home. I was all set and excited to get things done to make the 10 hour car ride a little productive...until I opened my laptop. My laptop was on 7%. I asked every gas station if the sold little outlets that I can plug a laptop charger into and all of them said no. I even sat in a gas station for 20 minutes on a stop to see how much I could get my laptop to charge -- nothing! It ended up being an awful ride because I was so anxious the whole time. I got home around 7:30pm and then had a meeting from 9pm-10:30pm, and here I am now.

This whole senioritis thing is SO REAL. Other than 10 hours of hardcore stressing, spring break was amazing!

(Photo from Trover).

Learning Challenge: Time Challenge

Currently, I have been cramming A LOT for this course. I have been forgetting assignments until last minute as I haven't been placing my work for this course into a specific time slot in my calendar. I try to get everything day and I really have not been going off of a schedule. It is definitely not working very well for me and is a bit stressful. I always forget about the project and writing my story because I get so tired and lose all of my creative energy. 

I think I am going to try doing my reading A on Monday, reading B on Tuesday, and story on Thursday so I have some rest time. I also am aiming to do blog comments on Tuesday, project feedback on Wednesday, and my project early on Friday. This will leave me enough time to get my extra credit done Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday. 

I am 100% going to try my best to do all of the extra credit from here on out in order to finish a little early.

(Photo from Flickr.)

Growth Mindset: Motto

This week, I chose to make a motto graphic. I love this motto and had such a great time making it into a fun graphic! I may even use this as my laptop and phone background!

Tech Tip: Text to Voice

This week, I decided to add the Text to Voice widget to my browser. I am a HUGE fan of audio books, so I figured this would be great to try out. One thing I dislike about it is that I still am a Safari user, but I don't mind. I think I should make the switch over to Chrome anyway! I have always had it on my laptop, but only use it for widgets that require it such as this one.

Reading Notes: Krishna Comes - Episodes 11 to 20

I found episode 11 to be very interesting. Growing up with a Christian mom and Jewish dad, my view of the creator of the earth is someone that would give up their life for us and that wants the best from us. Brahma on the other hand finds is humorous that Krishna is sharing food with those below him. I thought it was great that Krishna noticed that he was being tricked and decided to play right back by turning himself into the missing cows and friends. I find it amazing that his body could withstand this for a whole year. I also found it interesting that it was "just a few moments" to the gods, which was equivalent to a year for normal humans. I think that I could retell this story and make everyone that was stolen come back with anger. Instead of trying to get them back, Krishna simply replaced them with himself. I think this could easily have happened and would be a great way to change up the story a bit. Maybe even Krishna could feel some sort of physical pain from living as so many for so long. 

(Photo from Flickr.)

Reading Notes: Krishna Comes - An Introduction

This week, I am excited to try out some videos as my reading. I am watching Krishna Comes.

In the introduction, I was a little confused at the beginning who the enemies were that were trying to keep Krishna from being born and then from growing up. I thought it was amazing that, even though such enemies were always after him, he continues to help those in need and stay close to his loved ones. I was shocked that no one else knew that he was not a part of their world. I was a little confused by this, but I think the other readings will clarify.

In Episode 1 - Kamsa, we learn that Krishna was the birth of the Pandavas. We also learn that the king, Kamsa, is one of the evil figures and he is told that his cousin's 8th child will slay him. I find it so interesting that no one even would have taken a second thought at having 8 children. I was shocked when Kamsa thought about killing his own cousin right then and there. Instead, he let them live and put them in prison. I am not sure which would be worse -- going to prison for something out of your control or being killed. Either way, their lives were taken from them. I can't imagine the cruelty of all that Kamsa did to his own cousin. He killed every single child they birthed right in front of them in horrific ways. I'm not sure why they continued having children after seeing the first one smashed against the prison wall.

I think that I may retell this story and have the cousin forced to birth until her eighth child. In my opinion, this would make more sense then someone giving birth and watching each child get murdered by someone of the same blood.

(Photo from WikiMedia)

Week 8: Comments and Feedback

Overall, I feel like that quality of the comments that I have received have been amazing. I really appreciate all of the feedback and the fact that many provide solutions and suggestions to help me improve my writing. I think that those comments are the most useful to me since they point out something I can do better and get me on the way to making the change.

I feel as though my quality of feedback has been good, but not great. I need to focus more on really providing feedback on the writing instead of just pointing out all of the bits I thought were amazing. So many people in this course are so very talented, so I struggle with finding mistakes of any sort. I think I could be more useful by providing suggestions. 

I definitely feel like I am getting to know people through comments. I am happy with my introduction post and think that it allows people the opportunity to know me a little better. I do wish that we could reply back and forth through comments like FaceBook or something.

(cheezburger)

I chose this picture because I really appreciate the feedback I get. It helps me see how my writing can improve through little adjustments along the way. Without feedback, it's sometimes hard to know where to start with improvement. Just having a simple suggestion gets my wheels turning on what I can tweak.

Week 8: Reading and Writing

Overall, I think that the reading assignments have been going really well for me. Some of the Ramayana readings definitely were a little harder to dissect than other, but overall I am really enjoying the readings. As far as my writing goes, I feel as though I could use some improvement. I always ready other people's stories and they seem so creative and flow very well. I always have issues making my stories flow. Since I have only read Ramayana, this is my favorite. Within the series of readings, I think that my favorites are the time in between Sita being kidnapped and saved. I definitely think that my notes have been helping with my writings. I write mini summaries and key points that stand out to me for each story and then elaborate on my favorites that I think may turn into my own story. I really enjoy listening to the readings so far and hope to do so far the remainder of the semester. 

As far as my project goes, it is definitely a work in progress. I can't quite tell if I am happy with it yet as I feel like it needs one more story first since I am a little behind. I am definitely glad I chose to do a portfolio this semester. 

I think that my biggest accomplishment in my writing for this class is the time it has taken me to complete each writing I do. Last semester in Mythology and Folklore, I would write about 500-600 words of a story and then decide I didn't like where it was heading and would start completely over. I usually did that at least once, maybe twice, per story. This added so much time and it really didn't make the writings any better. This semester, I have been trying my best to just go with the flow and do a bit more organizing in my head before getting to work. 

(Photo from WikiMedia).

This is my favorite image because it shows Rama's beautiful blue color. I also love all of the jewels and details on the picture. It really reminds me of the last half of the semester I spent learning more and more about Ramayana.

Looking forward, I hope to do my readings and notes all in the same sitting. There were a few times where I took a long break in between and kind of forgot where I left off and I had to do some backtracking. Other than that, I am just excited to see what else I get to read! 

Learning Challenge: Yesterday You Said Tomorrow

I love this quote. I think that this along with the other tips I have learned through extra credit assignments will get me through my busy week. I just have to think of my future self anytime I feel my motivation going. I need to remember that it is one going to get harder to get the assignment done and that's it's better now than putting it off.

(Photo from Flickr.)

Tech Tip: Word Count

I decided to try the word count tech tip out for this time. I chose that one because I use it for so many classes and always copy and paster my work into word. I feel like this will save me just a tiny bit of time. I sometimes have trouble going over the word count and sometimes am under. I am awful at guess how long my papers are, so this is definitely necessary for me.

Famous Last Words: Prepare for the Week

This upcoming week is going to be a very busy one. I have long lab on Monday, a chemistry 2 exam on Thursday, and my family comes into town on Friday. This in addition to a big portion of my capstone paper due on the following Tuesday, I am a bit stressed. In an effort to prepare for the week, I tried my best to be productive over the weekend besides Friday night. On Friday night, I relaxed with friends and just let out all of my stress since I know I won't have much time to hang out over this next week and half or so. 

I am a little nervous that I won't finish all of my assignments for this class with the mixture of big and small tasks I have to do all week long. For that reason, I tried to write out a mock schedule for the week. I am hoping I can stick with it because there is not more wiggle room to rearrange things.

Since I am worried about finishing my assignments for the week, I am trying to get done as much extra credit right now in order to even out any things that I do miss. I was about to call it quits for the night, but seeing my schedule definitely motivated me.

My goal for the upcoming week it to drink a lot of water and still try to work out 3 times. I feel like I put those things on the back burner when I need them the most. I made some checkboxes in my planner for both of those goals so I can stay on track.

I am hoping that this new way of approaching a busy week helps decrease some stress and keep me on track. There is nothing more stressful to me than having to turn in work that isn't my best because I didn't have enough time left for the assignment. 

(Photo from Flickr.)

Week 7 Story: Victory at Last

It was a rainy afternoon in Norman, Oklahoma, and there was yelling that could be heard throughout the library. 

"No, Jimmy! I am done with you!" Yelled a small, but powerful college woman named Jane as she stormed away with her arm linked to another man's. 

Jimmy broke down in tears right outside of The Bookmark. He didn't know what he had done. All he knew was that he loved Jane with all his heart and he did not every want to live life without her.

After recomposing himself, Jimmy headed home to cry in peace. As he laid on his bed watching Netflix, he scrolled through Instagram hoping that something would make him forget about everything.

"You're kidding!" He yelled as he came across his own post of him photoshopped with another girl. He was sharing with anger as he knew that man must have hacked his account just to steal Jane away from him.

Jane wouldn't answer any of Jimmy's calls, so he went straight to the new man who goes by Joe.

Jimmy called Joe to a battle to see who really loves Jane the most.

With confidence, Joe brought up the messages between him and Jimmy and asked Jane if she would agree to hosting a campus-wide event to prove that he is the one for her.

Jane agreed and the date was set.

A week passed by and it was finally, "Who loves Jane more," day. Jimmy put on his nicest clothes and headed to the library for the big showdown. 

Question after question and statement after statement, Jane's eyes slowly drifted away from Joe and over to Jimmy. She was starting to wonder whether or not Jimmy was telling the truth about being hacked.

At he intermission, Jane called her computer science friend and asked him to dig deeper and see if he could trace where the Instagram post came from. 

As the final round was coming to a close, Jane's phone rang and she put a pause on the game to go answer. It was her computer science friend.

"Jane...you messed up. Jimmy loves you so much and you know he would never do anything like this to you. I will send you documentation ASAP proving that he was indeed hacked...BY JOE." The computer science friend explained before hanging up.

Jane broke down in tears and roasted Joe in front of everyone and then gave Jimmy a public apology.

After that, Jimmy and Jane lived happily ever after and she never doubted his loyalty again.

(Photo from PixaBay.)

Author's note:
In my story, I basically just took the relationship between Rama and Sita and twisted it in every way, shape, and form. I made Rama and Sita college students and made the female in the relationship one that was no where near as loyal as Sita was to Rama. I did not even know where this story was going as I wrote it and it ended up way far from anywhere I imagined it going. 
In the actual story series of Rayamana, Rama is in love with Sita. Sita is later kidnapped while Rama is on a mission. As time passed, she never once betrayed Rama and refused to listen to the powerful, evil king who stole her away and offered her a luxurious life with him.

Rayamana, Part D. Sources used: M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder.

Reading Notes: Ramayana, Part D2

In Battle of Rama and Ravana, Shakra sent down his car and charioteer from the heavens named Matali and Rama went to get it. Ravana unleashed a rakshasa weapon that poured flamed over Rama, but Rama responded with a Garuda weapon. This unleashed golden arrows that changed into birds and devoured all of the rakshasa arrows. Rama then wounded Ravana so bad that his charioteer turned away from the field of battle. Rama was told to worship the sun and did so before turning back to Ravana once he was ready once again. Rama chopped off heads, but new ones would appear. He did not think he could take his life away.

In Ravana's death, Rama shot an arrow which took off one of Ravana's 10 heads  and it immediately appeared again. So, Rama unleashed the flaming weapon Brahma had created to protect him and it struck Ravana. Ravana roared in pain and fell to the ground dead. The heavens celebrated and flowers showered the plain of victory. Vibhishana then burned the body of his fallen brother and performed funeral rites before he was proclaimed the king of Lanka.

In Sita and Rama, Rama now turned his focus to finding his beloved Sita. He found her by the Ashoka tree still being guarded by the rakshasas. Rama asked for Sita to come to him clean and bathed, so she did. I am not sure why, but Rama requested that she also come to him by foot.

(Photo from WikiMedia).

Although so much happened in the stories following, I do not think I want to write my story over them. I am going to focus on the process leading to getting Sita rather than after because I feel as though both have so much too them, but I would have like to see the fight where Rama defeated Ravana go a little differently. I am hoping to drag out a few more details and see what I can come up with! 

Rayamana, Part D. Sources used: M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder.