Losing more family

Death is a curious thing. We tend to want to hate it, crush it, spit on it and turn it away; we don't like it, especially when it takes someone we love or it hurts those we love. Many of you know I lost my father. It was on Valentine's day last year, forever marking that (for some, overrated) holiday. It was hard, and it lead me to write the book I'm writing. He was the first of his siblings to die. He was the fourth of six. The eldest is eighty-two or eighty-three.

This morning, on my way in, I received a call that my father's brother, the second oldest, had passed away in the early morning hours in Colombia. He died a year and almost 7 months after my father, leaving the rest to wonder who's next, a sentiment that my aunt expressed to me when I spoke with her this afternoon. Two down, four to go. What a sad concept for those of us left behind to comprehend. My uncle leaves behind a wife of over fifty years and eight adult children; the youngest is four months younger than I am. One of them, the youngest girl, just had her second son a week ago. Some are born while others die. It's the cycle of life.

So today was a sad day for me. It brought back the flurry of emotions and the weight and darkness that came when my father died. It cemented my mortality and that of those I love even more.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Last night, my husband and I went to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I had been dying to see it since it came out, but circumstances prevented our being able to see it upon release. We finally got the chance yesterday. Now, I have read the last two books of the Harry Potter series, and I have to admit that reading the book actually made the movie somewhat disappointing. It was still spectacular, and I sat at the edge of my seat waiting for scenes I knew would come with the same anticipation as if I were watching it for the first time (which, technically I was - I was watching the Hollywood portrayal for the first time). But the book was better. When I got home, I immediately took the book out and reread the ending because of course, the movie omitted many scenes from the book and changed other details.

Overall, the movie was good though. We laughed, we cringed, I turned my head away from some wicked scenes (like when the girl gets cursed with the necklace! It seriously made me think Exorcist!). It had all the elements of suspense, drama, romance, and comedy you could want in a movie; it's just that the book had more. I want to re-read the last book for the 3rd time and I wonder what the directors will choose to keep and omit from that one. The wait for the last movies will be excruciating, that's for sure.

1 More Rule for Blogs - Write in English!

I was reading through the blogs and felt I needed to clarify something: please write your posts in English. I mean, it IS an English class that you're in, so everything should be in English. If you've done a post in Spanish or any other language that's not English, please go back and re-write it in English. Otherwise, I won't be able to give you credit for it.

Sunday's Quote of the Day

I really like this quote by Bill Cosby, so I am going to post it here so it doesn't disappear from our minds:

"In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure."

This is very true in anything you do in life, not just school. I know many of you don't like writing, or think you're not good at it, etc., when in reality it just takes some hard work, believing in yourself (and a little bit of pixie dust - oops wrong program!). In all seriousness, this quote is marvelous. There's also another quote that I've been applying to my own writing. This one is by Esmeralda Santiago and it applies to writing directly:

"Inspiration is fickle; what you need is perspiration."

So, grab those deodorants and towels and start sweating!

My Summer

Since you're all posting about your summers, I thought I'd post, too. This summer was the first summer I've been off since I was 17. I was anticipating it fully and was excited about all the possibilities it would bring, especially since it meant being able to spend more time with my two-year-old son.

It started out engaging enough. I took a four-day memoir writing workshop with author Esmeralda Santiago (author of When I Was Puerto-Rican, The Turkish Lover, and others) and read her first book When I was Puerto-Rican. This served as the push I needed to really get my writing going, and I ended devoting nap times (a good 3 hours most days!) to writing. During my son's wake times, we'd go to the park, the pool, the zoo, or any other outdoor activity - when it wasn't raining of course. This is the most sun I've received in many MANY years. It felt good getting all that vitamin D.

In between the week-to-week duties, we took a few mini trips to Satellite Beach, Disney (have I mentioned that I love anything Disney?!) and even got to go on our first Disney Cruise - a 4-day magical sea adventure. I could live on that ship (if I didn't have to pay for it). I also got to practice some photography, do a couple scrapbook pages, and planned my son's 2nd birthday party - Go Diego Go themed - or as he says it, "Go Guy."

It was a wonderful summer and I bonded much with my little man. The down side of that is that going back to school (aka daycare for him) has been very rough, much more than any of anticipated. But such is life.

1st Blog Assignment - ALL Classes

Well, the first week of the new semester is well under way, and I thought I'd post here the first "Blog Assignment" as well as some extra info about the blog. This will be true for all my classes, which means that all of you should have your blogs set up and emailed to me by Sunday. You can go through your Blackboard account, or go to http://www.blogger.com, and click "Create Your Account." Once you have your account, log in to Blackboard and then using the course email, send me an email with your Blog URL in the message. The URL will be found on the top of the screen, where you would type in a web address, and it will be in the following format: http://yourblogname.blogspot.com (replace "yourblogname" with your actual blog name). The easiest thing to do is to copy and paste the URL. Once I receive the blogs, I will link them to the main blog (this one), and you will be able to view and comment on your classmates' blogs.

As for the first blog assignment, blog about something you did this summer. We'll start off slow, so it can just be a few sentences, but you're welcome to blog a few paragraphs if you'd like!

Welcome to Fall 2010-1!

New semesters are always full of anticipation, nerves, and imagining the possibilities. New years, too, provide the same sense of beginning. This fall, it's both a new semester and a new academic year; everything is possible, so reach for it!

I'm looking forward to this semester and this academic year. The sense of newness it brings excites me, and I hope that together, we make the most and best of this semester. As you make your way through your classes, whether it's your first semester or your last, enjoy it and think about all that you can, and will, accomplish!

Happy new academic year!