Journal Writing

This past week I started a new college program, Pre-Health. It is a program that is offered for students who are looking into taking a health science program and are not sure what area they would like to enter. I myself am taking it because I applied and could not get into my first choice, practical nursing, and taking pre-health knocks off some of the courses I need to take when I do get in. Many of the students are looking at becoming nurses and paramedics , but we do have members who wish to becoming massage therapists, veterinary assistants, and one or two lab assistants.

In my math for life sciences course the teacher asked us to write a math journal. She told us this is for her own use so that she is able to get a better idea of where we are as a new class. This first math class is designed so that she is able to adjust it to match where we are as a class so that no one is left behind because it is to advanced. By the end of the term we all will be at the level we need to be in order to pass the exam and do well in what ever we plan on going into later.

I found the writing of this single journal entry about my history and comfort level with math fairly easy. Along with this blog I also write in a personal journal, and write for a few other things as well. The act of journal writing has become part of my day to day life and I find it to be very helpful and calming. Having a journal helps me to organize my thoughts and keep a record of this I would like to remember.

I started journal writing as most young people do, it was part of my school work. When I graduated from school it was something that a moved away from. I only came back to it later after I had a accident and was left immobile for about three months because I had broken bones in my feet and was told to stay off them. In that time I rediscovered the love that I had for journaling and I have kept it up since then.

As  a hobby I find journaling to be very easy and practical. Yes, journals you find in some stores can be expensive, but there is nothing saying you need to buy them. All you really need to use is what you find most comfortable. Some people like to use fancy journals with nice paper and write with fancy pens. Other like to use cheap school type note books and what ever writing tool they have on hand. A growing number are writing journals on computers. Some in the form of blogs, others simply save the entries in a passworded file folder on there hard drive. When I ever I talk to people about journaling I always like to end off saying that journaling is about nothing more then doing it. The how and way do not matter as much as the simple act of doing it.        

Cyborg

cy·borg

   [sahy-bawrg]  Show IPA

–noun

a person whose physiological functioning is aided by or dependent upon a mechanical or electronic device.

    I often find myself thinking about the nature of where people end and technology starts. I myself rely heavily on my laptop for writing and a great many other things I do every day. Now few people would say that this in some way makes me a cyborg, but allow me to go farther into other devices that are used every day that could make people cyborgs.

    Recently my Grandfather was fitted for a pair of hearing aids. He still could hear, but not very well and the hearing aids allow him to hear as well as most people. He could live without hearing aids. People who can not hear live full lives, as do people who can not see. But for those who do use hearing aids, or glasses have their lives improved and the life they have relys on the use of those devices. Clearer examples of this is people who are missing limbs and are fitted with replacements, people who have pacemakers or mechanical valves placed into their hearts The technology in these devices is the example of what a cyborg is.

Anyone who has any thoughts on this subject, I would love to hear peoples thoughts.    

Snow

     The past few days we have gotten a great deal of snow where I live. The that live in my area have all been very happy because there have been 4 snow days in the last week alone.
     This also has effected the college exams. My friends who are still in the college program I started last year, but decided was not for me, have told me they should have done exams last week. They are now looking at needing to do 6 exams in 2 days just so they can them done before Christmas break.
     I have been having the great joy of keeping the drive way clear. We have a long drive way and 2 sections off of it for us to park the 4 cars that we have on the property. So far I have gone through over 40 liters of gas in the   walk behind snow blower.

     I find it very interesting how our views on things change as we age. When we are in public school a snow day is like a gift from the heavens. When we get to college having a snow day is not so joyous. You realize that you will need to make up the missed class time with extra work and self study.

     I have a friend, Aztek, who is very happy about all of the snow. He says that the powder is going to make for great skiing. My reply to him when he says things like this is, "feel free to come and help me shovel out". You see he lives in an apartment. The most he may need to deal with after a snow storm is cleaning off is car. Also, even if the roads are bad he walk to the store to get food. I on the other hand most drive every where. So I most always be sure to keep the drive way clear and a car cleaned off so that I do not get trapped in a emergency.

    One thing I do love about the snow, even if it is cold and heavy and nasty, is that it means a white Christmas. My wonderful girlfriend Biohazard loves the snow and is very excited that we will be able to play in the 3 or 4 feet of it that we have in the yard now. So when she comes home from school in a few days for the holiday she is going to be very happy. In the great wide world of things if snow makes the women I love happy, then I guess it is ok and worth a bit of shoveling and snow blowing in my face.   

Cooking

     I have been home alone for about a week. I love my family very much, but I do find that I enjoy to have the house to myself every so often. When I am alone I am able to watch the shows that I want to, and eat the foods that I enjoy, but rarely get to have because other people in my family do not like them.
     Many people do not think that I am much of a cook. The truth is that I enjoy making food very much. I just do not share the same tastes as most people.
     When I make myself lunch when I am alone I tend to make pasta with cream sauce. My sister calls it my junk sauce. She calls it that because I put just about everything in it. I put in bacon bits, shrimp, mushrooms, and anything else that I like that is in the fridge. Over the bast few months I have put in sausage, and once I even put in a ton of olives because there was not much else.
     Most of what I make myself fallows that same pattern. I basically just all my favorite things into some kind of base.

Grandparents

I have spent the last few days moving my grandfather from his apartment into a seniors home so that he could be closer to my grandmother. My grandfather has recently lost his licence. We was walking to see her everyday, but with winter coming that was getting harder.

I have a good relationship  with my granddad.  I am named after him and I feel lucky that I am able to see him as often as I do. Since he no longer drives and I have been driving him home most days. It has allowed me to get to know him much better then I ever thought I could. When you are young you form an image of your grandparents as some kind of fantasy person. They are so much older and are so different from anyone else in your life that they are really beyond what a child's mind can understand. Then as we age many of us move away from family altogether. Then the few times we do see them it is for some kind of holiday or event. Very few of us are able to really spend the every day time it takes to truly get to know their grandparents as "people".
I am one of the lucky ones. I have been able to get to both of my father's parents, and my mother's mother very well. They have lived with in 15 minutes drive of me my whole life. Sadly my mother's father died shortly before I was born. But from the stories that have been told to me I hope that I have been able to form a correct image of my grandfather in my mind. I really do count my self blessed by the fact I can say I have been able to get you know my grandparents as well as I have. You can never see your parents or yourself better then through the eyes of your grandparents. Their knowledge and wisdom allows them to see things in a way that no other person in the world could see. They have not only watched you go, but they watch your parents grow as well.