Least Favorite Place

being "suck in the middle" yup. it sucks, its like wtf do you except me to do right now...oooo and especially when Im not at all to do with the situation, kind of specifically then.

ok actual placces...being lost

physically

emotionally

mentally

in a conversation

intellcetually...

sleepily (...)

Omg I remember now, the worst place to be ever!!! is on the greyhound bus between San Bernardino and my hometown(though I'm sure it gets waaay sketchier as Vegas gets closer) I went on it, actually from fullerton during spring break after I visited my BFF who goes there. It was just so horrible and depressing even though nothing actually happened to me(physically that is, emotionally it definitely did). the smell, combined with the torential downpour and crazy winds that shook the bus, my ipod was dead so i ended up pretending to listen(so no one would bother me) to probably 4, meth addicts(they said so out loud and everything) talk about their lives. One lady in particular was just so pathetic it was heartbreaking. I had never felt anything like that, I just wanted out. When i finally got to my stop, whiched ended up being over an hour longer because of weather conditions. I got to the car. got in, looked at my mom said, dont worry theres nothing wrong, but can I just cry? and I did, as I am now recounting it. it was really a put yourself in check experience. Im just so grateful to have people who love me enough that they would never allow me to get so low or be so unloved.

Favorite Place

hmm, thats an interesting question with really no real answer on my part, it really depends on who I'm with, how much stuff I have to do/worrying about. I love cities, exploring, going to museums and galleries and getting the feel of the place, esp ones with good public transit San Francisco, London, Paris have been my favorites I've been to so far the latter two have sooo much culture and architecture and charm and on and on. San Francisco has an amazing vibe, i love BART and exploring the different neighborhoods(my sister went to school/lived their for 5 years so i've been a fair amount of time. Theres also this park up on California that my sister and I would just go and swing, I like swings...

Alt. Persona Critique Day 2

I think my favorite alternate persona today was Andrew's animal rights activist. I like that he had the balls to stand in front of a store and be so outspoken especially as it isn't a cause he's for. The best part was going to the meat aisle and displaying his sign until he got kicked out, nice Andrew, niiiice. I'm not going to name names for my least favorite critique I'm just going to make a point. because i didn't know while there were actual good presentations I thought that the point of the assignment was to do something where you actually learned something not just play dress up. Though I also may have taken a too serious take on the assignment but all I know is I learned...a lot. I wanted to pay justice to real life victims so I researched as much as I could. Yes I didn't do showy "look at me" things but with my personal it would have been far too inappropriate. I'm not at all saying everyone should have been super serious, but I think there should have been at least a learning experience from each. There. I've ranted. But finishing up I really actually did think the majority of the overall projects were well thought out.

Alternate Persona

Name: Jenny, Age: 23 - In third year of recovery from left hemisphere stroke

My Experience:

Initial Diagnosis and Symptoms

• a stroke of the left hemisphere of the brain which controls motor function and affected the right side of my body. It was caused from an infection that spread to my heart after having a root canal 3 years ago.
• 
• “hemiplegia” which is complete paralysis of the right side of the body.
• short-term memory loss, and asphasia with the symptoms of trouble saying words and remembering numbers, telling time and knowing left from right.
  
  

Therapy since and Present Symptoms

• Legs: My first priority was learning how to walk again by teaching my brain to use my leg muscles, I went from wheelchair bound, to walking crutches, to full leg braces(yes like Forrest Gump) to where I am now with low-key ankle braces which help me keep my balance and help prevent foot spazams.
• Arm: has not been as successful. I have numbness my fingers and minimal movement and some feeling in my shoulder which basically means I can shrug. I can move my arm with my left and hold small things (about a pound or 2) against my chest, it’s basically like a tool that I opporate with my left hand. The doctors say I have approximately 5% use of my arm and hope that with continued therapy I might reach up to 25% in my lifetime
• Motor Skills and effects: my verbal skills are much improved(My speech now waivers between relatively normal and kind of like I can’t hear myself which happens when it becomes hard for me to swallow.) I still have some problems with word reqcognition and math in general, I have about the same amount of cognitive disability as someone with moderate dixlexia. I also often have trouble focusing and confusion occurs when short term memory loss occurs.
  
  

Name: Jenny Age:19 - trying to gain perspective

My Experience:

Why I chose this “persona”

• It is a very real threat that can happen to anyone.
• It is a change in one’s persona and way of life that can’t be taken off.
• I wanted to try to gain some perspective of someone I’ve known my entire life but have always been afraid to ask (my cousin’s husband, Mike who had a stroke at the age of 23 and had/has the same symptoms only his has taken 20 years of therapy to get to where he is.

Where I Got My Research:

• From my cousin Mike, a stroke victim himself, he explained basically everything from point A to B about his experience
• My mother and my cousin(Mike's wife): their memories from his event
• Internet research of the types, causes, symptoms, long and short term effects of strokes
• Videos documenting stroke rehabilitation

How I “became” someone living with the effects of a Stroke

• I used a mixture of tape and ace-wrap on my hand and wrist Friday and Saturday to achieve the stiff hand and fingers. On Sunday I switched to a wrist cuff covered by a fingerless glove.
• I also made a “brace" for my leg which made it difficult to bend my ankle
• I also made use of my knee brace that I use for my opposite leg to make walking even more constricted (Note: I did not use this element on my second day as the added stress on my left leg ending up causing a lot of pain for my other leg.)
• I also ate about 30 halls cough drops each day to make it more difficult to talk in my normal voice.
• I placed a weight around my left ankle to create unbalance (because muscle becomes uneven when paralysis occurs)
• I tied string to my arm and attached it around my waist so I was unable to raise my arm more than approximately 30 degree without the assistance of my left arm.

Challenges/Adjustments

Annoyances:

• Showering - not so fun anymore and I seem to always wash one side of my head more extensively than the other
• Tying shoes, the first show isn’t a huge problem because you can use your feet, the second...teeth were involved
• 
• Wallets/dealing with money: I only bought one thing during my 48 hours but the cashier was obviously annoyed
• Turning book pages

Simply a pain in the ass:

• Typing on the computer
• Opening jars
• 
  
• Sweeping
• Washing dishes
• texting
• buttoning pants
• Finding the opening of those produce bags as the grocery store
• Doing anything at a grocery store
• Knives
• 
• 
• 
  
  
  

Things I could not figure out:

• Ponytails.
• Bras.
• Can Openers.
• 
  
  
• ponytail!
  

Physical/Emotional Reactions:

Emotional

• The "is it offessive?" question: I had a lot of trouble with this one myself and almost didn't do it because of it I had a number of serious talks with my mom but when I finally bucked up the courage to call my cousin and ask and he gave me his permission I was ok...
• until the night of my first day when I called my mom sobbing about how unfair life is to some people...

Physical

• After the 48 hours were up, it felt extremely strange using my arm again
• numbness in right hand: Which was actually my plan from the wrist brace I wore but I quickly learned that after about an hour my hand was purple so I would loosen brace and put my hand in a vertical position to make blood flow better. Aside from sleeping it was the only time I intentionally broke character

What I'v realized:

• That I have had at some point in my life similar symptoms as to the one's I took on, but having them all together, for life, takes so much strength.
• The amount of time that you have to give up is really shocking, I made dinner the first night, just pasta and vegetables, it normally takes me about 30 minutes but instead it literally took over 2 hours.
• We can adjust, although it started with a lot of slip ups in the arm category, as the time went on I got used to it and even now I randomly feel guilty when I use my right arm.
• If it would have been my non-dominant hand it would have been a whoooole different story, I can't even imagine, I was clumsy enough as it was with my dominant hand.
• It really has humbled me. I'm really grateful for a body that works.

The Social Networking of today

Reflect critically on the theme of alternate identity and personal space in an age of social networking profiles, digital environments, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc

Interesting topic, its very easy to be a different person on "social networking" sites, i think probably judge my facebook friends most on how they present their profile pictures.

There's the:

• camera in the Mirror shot showing off their alluring allure.
• the heavy make up and lots of hair and boobs/ lots of muscles for guys
• theres the ones that are allllways group shots so if you are trying to find your long lost friend from elementry school, it makes things difficult
• theres the modeled, photoshop effected ones
• the looking away from the camera one
• the ones that aren't pictures of even humans...like video game people and such
• there are the ones that change theyre pictures multiple times each week
• the look at me im somewhere cool/im well traveled ones
• the bf/gf kissing ones, yup we get it, youre together...your relationship status/ you have told me so, dont have to show me your whole relationship though...
• the look i have a red cup in my hand and im at a party, im awesome one
• the pre-going out posed pictures
• etc etc etc

i've been a victim of a number of these, its interesting though to think of the opinions people get of you in just seconds based on photos.

not free yet, not evennn close.

Shit.Shit.Shit.Shit.Shit.Shit.Shit.Shit.Shit.Shit.

this is going to be the worst weekend/next week ever. seriously. and If i wasn't freaked out about my workload already I just made it a shit ton worse today. fuck.

ok ill give you a little taster of "dead" week for me (which i get why they call it that because I will literally be deceased by if not its end then by the following wednesday.

friday: arthistory meet up, Boxing, Duke 4pm. (do all that shit for next week)

saturday: art history reading/2pg assignment due (do all that shit for next week), polynesian dance performance at 7 for review and for my friend, need to have my slides prepared for

sunday (do all that shit for next week), read the fall of the house of usher a million times

monday: 7pg english research paper due at midnight

tuesday aka the day from hell, literally. personal space presentation, art history group project presentation, French Oral final(yay, speaking french is only the worst think I do in french, well that and understanding when people fluent in french test me in their super fast talk. and considering the due date for my essay the night before. My second passtime...yay...great timing.

wednesday: 2 english thesis statement paragraphs due on our reading, english paper peer review, english final review, french final review

thursday: help Darcy with her personal space project which I was thinking afterwards sucks because I don't get to see anyone's projects :( why did i switch that person why?, have to read my research paper out loud to my teacher and the smartest f-ing english students ever in honors section

friday: study ass off for french final

saturday: french final, while I simultaneously miss the french final (french open women's final)

sunday:

monday: 6 pager due at 5

tuesday

wednesday

Alt. Persona Critique Day 1

I really enjoyed the alternated persona's today because of the diversity of the subject matter,

I think my favorite was Andrea's time as a fraternity brother. Even though it was a pretty standard idea I really liked her documentation of her experience and the dialogue she included with her fellow frat brothers. I liked that she learned a number of different games from the "brothers" and got some really good dialogue from life on the inside. She dressed the part, spoke the part and even learned the mighty ways of the game of volleyball(though I'm, sure if she weren't a girl they would not have helped her. I've been to many frat parties, with many of the same games that Andrea demonstrated, but I'm glad I got to see a frat from a different side(even if still a pretty skewed side) though I feel like I would be pro at that hammer game b/c I do similar things all the time with my tennis racket.

My least favorite would probably be either Katie's, Erika or Edwardo's; Katie's because it didn;t seem like she did much more than wear a vest, Erika's because it has basically been done before(and better) and Edwardo's because he didn't apply his persona to real life in his presentation. but really they were all very good. I can't wait to see the rest!