Nervous Conditions and the Class

     Over break I read chapters six and seven of Nervous Conditions. There was a lot that happened in those chapters, and I even saw some of the three plot points that were discussed on the first page of the book.  We have seen a lot of Nyasha's rebellion in the previous chapters but not Tambu's mom and Maiguru's entrapment and Tambu and Lusia's escape.  I also came up with a prediction that the mission changes people.  I thought of this because when Tambu came back to the homestead for Christmas she said it was so much dirtier, but was that just because she was used to a better living condition.  Another person who changed attitudes was Babamukuru.  When he left the mission he was very tense and upset, but when he came to the homestead he was really happy.
     I like what we did in class today that had to do with Nervous Conditions.  I like having open-ended discussions, and I don't think that they are really challenging especially for our talkative class.  Another reason I like the discussions is that I like to know what my classmates are thinking about certain parts of the book, and what they find confusing.  Also, at times my peers bring up really good discussions and interpretations that are in the book.  I wish we would do this more often, because I really feel that all of us benefit from it! 
Nervous Conditions: Sunday 2/26/12: 160 minutes; 46 pages 

Mardi Gras Break

      I had a fun and busy Mardi Gras break! On Friday, me and my cousin Anna checked out early and drove to my house in Orlando, Florida.  We spent a couple of days there the water park where we stay at, and went to Downtown Disney to shop.  We could only stay for Saturday and Sunday, because on Monday we had to come back and cheer for a girls basketball game.  Unfortunately they lost, but the boys played on Tuesday and they won!
     On Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I had to go to drivers ed.  It was from 8 to 4 and was really long.  I had some friends that I did it with and met some friends there.  On Friday night, the boys basketball team played again, but we lost which was really sad.  Saturday was our last day of drivers ed and now I have to drive for 8 hours then I can get my permit.  It was a really busy week this week, but I also had a lot of fun!

Nervous Conditions and Research Paper

     I have been really busy with English this week.  With reading Nervous Conditions and the research paper, I have not had much time to do outside reading.  I have started to like Nervous Conditions.  We finally found out how Nhamo died, which was really sad.  I am also starting to see some instances of the three plot points that were addressed, especially talking about Nyasha's rebellion.  
     Yesterday I looked at my peer marks on Turn It In for my research paper.  I feel like it helped some, but I also felt confused after reading them.  Two of my people gave me good critiques, then another person told me the opposite of what they told me to do.  I followed what ideas that the two people gave me, which I think my paper better.  I hope that my paper is right, and hope to get some more good critiques tomorrow during class. 


Outside Reading:
Nervous Conditions: 2 hours (45 pages)
A Stolen Life; 30 minutes  (10 pages) 

Saturday with Friends

     Today I went and had a fun day with my friends, Mary Michael, Anna Lee, Margaret, Logan, and Isabella Miller.  We really wanted to go see the movie The Vow, so that is what we did.  We all met a Perkins Rowe, and went and ate lunch at La Madeline.  It was really crowded, so we ate really fast so someone could eat at our table.  After that, we went to go get some candy at CVS next door.  Then we went to go see the movie.
     For people who haven't seen the preview for The Vow, basically the movie was about this married couple, Paige and Leo, who got in a car accident, and Paige looses her memory for the four years that they have been together.  They had try and start over on life, to try to make Paige remember.  It was really cool because the movie was based on a real life couple that it actually happened to.  It was really good, and it made me cry a couple times.  I had a great day with my friends today, and hope we can do something like that again soon! 

Pinterest

This year a new social network site has been introduced to us called Pinterest.  Pintrest is a site that lets you have boards that you can pin things from any website on.  It is mostly used by girls.  You can have a board for anything, including food, workout routines, quotes, holiday ideas, clothing, and our life in the future.  

Pinterest is my new obsession, but it is also been very helpful.  I have found a lot of things to make for parties, or finding new clothes for spring and summer.  I also can see what my friends post, and what they like.  My favorite boards of mine are my fashion board and my people I admire board.  I hope Pinterst isn't just a fad, and I hope it stays around for a while. 

Outside Reading/ NC/ Paper

Outside Reading: 20 minutes
Nervous Conditions: 40 minutes
Paper: 2 hours 
TOTAL: 180 minutes
       I have worked a lot this week with English.  The new book that we are reading, Nervous Conditions, seems like a good book, but the first chapter was kind of confusing.  I think I just need to get used to the language they use in parts, and usually the first chapter in every book is kind of slow.  I read a little bit for outside reading.  I'm almost finished with my book, "A Stolen Life."  The part where I am at is where she has two children now, and they are letting her out of the house to go to the store, only if she is in a disguise.  It is really good, but really sad.
      The thing that I have spent the most time on this week is my research paper.  I am finally finished with my rough draft.  I think it is very good, and well explained.  During the middle of my research, I started to get really nervous because I thought it was not going to be a full four pages, and I didn't have enough research.  Through the end through it all worked out.  I think it is going to be a good paper!