Katykins Weblog

Most of my poetry has been rather void of imagery and scenery, focusing more on emotions and actions. Recently I’ve been playing around more with poetry, and trying to see if I’m capable of writing poems that are full of descriptions. The following is a prose poem that I wrote a couple days ago.

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Scowering paths untraveled under leafy canopies that shade treasures below, her eyes search wildly for the small brown heads of the hidden delicacies. She creeps softly, watching footsteps that crush the green foliagewhile clutching the handle of her pale as if it were a child, waiting to be filled to the brim with nourishment. Her eyes sharpen as she shrieks, feeling the soft quiver of excitement flowing down her arms, extending into each precise pluck of the leathery morrells a top the cool giving earth.

The poem is inspired from an experience from childhood. My family owns about 80 acres, most of which is forest. My family used to pick morrells, which are pretty hard to find, being brown in color they blend in to the forest quite well.

I am not sure how well written this poem is. I almost think that I used too much descriptions, but that maybe because I’m not used to them a lot. I hope that they work in the style of the poem. I am hoping that it flows well, but it is always so hard to judge your own work. I think that I am going to work shop this poem this week. Everyone in my poetry class is very talented, and the feed back is always very good. If it passes by them I’ll know that I did a good job. If not, I am sure that they will give me advice on how to make it better.

If anybody on line would like to give me advice or comments, that would also be appreciated. If you have the time, let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading.

Why time sure does fly. There is less than a month left of class, and so much work that needs to be done. Studio presentations of our class blogs are coming up quick, and we meet again face to face on Monday to discuss the finer details. I think that I have done alright maintaining my blog, and creating a variety of topics to blog on.

I think that this is been good learning process for me. I’ve learned more about time management from finding the time to blog nearly everyday. I’ve also learned when the best time for me to reflect is, which is usually late at night, or between work and classes.

I have also gained some more perspective on just how much dwelling on course work  helps me to retain the information that is discussed in each class. It is easier to forget about lectures and ideas than I had ever realized. This proved to be true whenever I tried to blog about course work two days after the course was held. It was hard to remember just exactly was said, and I do not have that bad of a memory. This blog had acted as a sort of on line note-book, letting me keep my thoughts and reflections all in one place. Instead of sifting through folders and notebooks, while deciphering my sloppy handwriting, I can easily read my thoughts on authors and poetry through a click of a button.

I have completed my term paper for Physical Science. The topic had to be on the future for a type of alternative energy in Minnesota. I chose wind power because it is the first one that came to mind. When I went to college at the University of Minnesota Morris, there was a wind turbine on campus. It is a pretty big wind turbine, over 350 feet tall, powering over half of the campus.

I learned a lot while doing the research for the paper. I hadn’t realized that the state had made mandates that force some businessed to use some sort of alternative resource. Also, businesses that do use wind power get tax breaks. It seems like a pretty go idea to go ahead and use wind power. Not only is it obviously a lot better for the environment, but it is can also be cheaper than coal or nuclear power. This is because the state offers tax credits in order to lower the cost of wind power.

Wind power has also been good for Minnesota’s economy, creating jobs all over the state for builders. More and more turbines are being built each year. This is also good for farmers. The state is willing to pay farmers for partial use of their land, which amounts to a few thousand dollars for each turbine. This means more money for the farmers, and they can still farm there land due to the relatively small diameters of wind turbines.

It’s amazing how much you can learn by just doing a little research.

I participated in Student Achievement day on the 16th. My writing poetry 2 class did two sessions for the day called “Poets Corner”. It went alright, but we didn’t get as big of a turn out as we would have liked. That was partly due to the fact that Poet’ Corner wasn’t advertised. For Student Achievement Day, the campus gives out guides with each presentation going on, and the times for each session. They forgot to put us in the guide, so not a lot of people knew we were doing anything.

It was still fun, and it was my first actual poetry reading. My professor is encouraging all of us that went and read some work to put it in our resumes. Seeing as how this is my first reading, it will also be the start of my resume, which is kind if exciting. I think that it would be pretty neat to keep on attending readings. I enjoy reading poetry, and would rather like to build myself a resume.

Speaking of poetry reading I have another one coming up soon. My work was accepted by the Rivers Meet, so I am going to get my work published as well as be invited to read my work. I think that it is coming up this month, so I need to be sure to take that off from work. It seems that there have been a lot of events going on in the arts department lately. It’s nice to take part in the on campus community for a change.

Thank God that I remembered to submit my essay topic today for my American Literature class. I nearly forgot, which would have been bad. Good thing that I put some thought into the topic for my essay before hand. I am choosing to write about the “Lost Generation” theme in the two works “Babylon Revisited“, and “The Sun Also Rises”. I am going to be discussing how each character does or does not fall under this particular category. Also, I will discuss the implications of the theme.

I think that this will not be a very hard essay to do. I have a fairly good understanding of the theme, but will probably do a little bit more research in order to write a strong paper. The “Lost Generation” refers to the generation after the first world war. These people had lived in a time before the war where the economy was great, and people believed in the American ideals. After the war, people began to see things in a different light. The characters in both works are a good example of this. They are disillusioned, and seem to be wandering around the world. isolated from one another in terms of thoughts and emotions.

We discussed a few different section’s from the book “Deepening Fiction” in my writing fiction class today. One of the sections we discussed was “Writer’s Block”. The sections was gave a good insight on what writer’s block is, and where it can come from.

Writer’s Block can come from either external or internal forces. The external forces include but are not limited to:

• Too much work
• Family problems
• Busy schedule

Some of the internal sources may be:

• Self doubt
• lack of skill
• lack of motivation

I enjoyed reading this section because I often lack motivation to write. This doesn’t necessarily mean that I am not cut out for writing. It many be since there is a lot going on in my life I can not find the time or energy to think of good stories.

One other concept that I found note-worthy yet kind of confusing is the difference beweens writer’s block and the typical struggling with writing. Writer’s block stems from some of the sources that I listed above. Writer’s struggles is just that struggling with writing a work. It could be that a writer is frustrated with the work, can keep on track, or just needs a break. Sometimes a writer should take a break from writing for a week or two if it is not going anywhere. This does not fall under the category of writer’s block.

We discussed this issue of distinguishing between the two in class today. My professor says that it does not matter that much, as long as you recognize that you do need a break.

We discussed “The Zoo Story” by Robert Lowell in class yesterday. It turns out that I was close to the target by thinking the theme was human isolation and separation of humanity.

The great issues going on in the play psychological and psychological violence.

Both characters have gone though some sort of psychological violence. When meeting Peter at the park, Jerry’s motive is to communicate with the rest of the world, and he does this through his own death. In order to get to this fate, he accosts Peter with all sorts of stories, which eventually leads to physically pushing him off the park bench, and his own intentional death.

The park bench is a major symbol in the play. For Peter, it is his the only satisfaction that he is getting in his daily life. Jerry sees this, and tries to make a point by showing that he deserves a satisfying life as much as Peter does. By taking over the bench, he makes an assertion that he is as worthy as Peter.

The title can also be seen as a sort of symbol. The apartment building that Jerry lives in can be seen as a sort of zoo, with the tenants living in their individual cages, being isolated from each other. This makes a statement about society today, which is full of individuals living in their own “cages”. Although people come in contact with many people in their day to day lives, they do not engage in meaningful relationships with most of them.

I think that this is a great play, that touches on subject matter that is true for today’s society, and yet not talked a great deal about. I would recommend this play as a great read.

Exam 4 was today, and I am feeling pretty good about the outcome. The grades aren’t posted yet, but I certainly expect a better outcome than the last exam. At least a B, i hope.

I am feeling more confident in my capabilities in science. It’s kind of funny, since this is the last science class that I will ever have to take and there is only a month left in the semester. My main problem has been taking the time to study. Thinking about this now it seems so trivial. After taking the time to study last night and actually learning the topics, I am kicking myself for not studying more before. It is such a simple notion, and yet when faced with it I find it hard to get in gear.

I know that if I would have studied I would have been capable of getting an A. However, I am sure that this is true for a lot of students, so this all isn’t really that important. Taking the time to reflect though, it seems all to easy.

So after studying I took the online portion of the test and scored a B, the second highest score that I’ve earned on the online portion thus far. Hurray!

If things work well I’ll score a B for my over all grade in the class, then I’ll be finished with my generals. It’s going to be such a big weight lifted from my shoulders. No more courses that don’t relate to my interests in the least bit! No more subjects that I am totally inept at (science)!

I finished reading “The Zoo Story” by Edward Albee, which we will discuss in American Literature in tomorrows class. It was a very entertaining story, probably one of the most entertaining that we’ve read all semester. It is actually a play, and has two characters, Jerry and Peter. Peter is a middle aged man who sits at a park bench every Sunday. On this particular Sunday, he meets Peter, a rather goofy man who accosts him with stories of his life and daily adventures. It is clear that there is something seriously wrong with Jerry, but we also discover that there is something wrong with Peter, as well as man king in general.

Tomorrows lecture should clarify all the themes and motives that I am pondering. I am thinking that the theme might have to do with he moral decay of society, of maybe something about isolation and loss of self. I am not sure yet what genre this play belongs to.

I am stressed out for my exam tomorrow. I do not know a lot about science, and the class is getting harder and harder with each week, not to mention that the term paper is due on Friday! All this craziness has taken my focus away from blogging. Hopefully by next week I’ll be back on track.

Life is getting so hectic lately. Work has now scheduled me almost 30 hours this week when I’ve told them that my maximum availability is 20 hours. Classes are getting harder, homework is piling up, and I think that I may loose my mind.

I am lucky though. I don’t have to work as much as some folks do. I have a loving fiance that gives me mental strength. I have the mental capacity to do the work that has been put in front of me, it’s just that sometimes I want to crawl into bed and wait until summer arrives.