Write Where I Started…

I believe that writing a proposal for Essay 3 will help us get a head start on researching for paper. It is also a great way to outline what the paper will be all about. There appears to be great value in doing a proposal, simply because it provides us with a point of reference. What we write down in the proposal will guide us through our Research Essay. It may also make the task of organizing our paragraphs much easier. As far as future writing projects are concerned, I believe writing a proposal would be helpful then as well. It seems to be an effective method to work with. I am not sure if I will be writing as extensively in future classes, as I am in this one. However it is quite possible, perhaps for an assignment in a 300 or 400 level English class.

So our third paper is a Research Paper. I don’t think I am going to do a happy dance, but I am not in tears either. Actually I think I am going to enjoy this particular paper.  I am finally getting into the groove of this class and I am determined to have a little fun with this assignment.

First of all, there are so many topics that interest me. I just don’t know where to begin. Somehow I have to narrow my choices down to something that will make an interesting paper. Or better still, a paper that won’t put readers to sleep.

So what do I do about this dilemma?  Should I write about something scholarly like the “Changing the scope of secondary education in America,” or something environmentally friendly like, “How to go green in 90 days or less?”

Oh boy! So many topics and so little time.

Maybe the “6 Steps to Identifying Issues” might shed some light on this subject for me. Step #1 is “Draw on your personal experience.” Okay, I enjoy making the cyber world a prettier place (in other words, I’m a web designer).  Step #2 is “Identify what is open to dispute.” Dispute is definitely apart of the cyber world. I guess I can incorporate that into my paper. Step #3 is “Resist binary thinking.” Huh??  Just kidding, I can be objective when necessary. Step #4 is “Build on and extend the ideas of others.” Hmm…this might be something I really sink my teeth into. Step #5 is “Read to discover a writer’s frame.” Okay, the brain cells are really getting a workout now. Step #6 is “Consider the constraints of the situation.” My middle name is constraint (well, actually its Renee, but that name doesn’t exactly fit in with this subject).

So there you have it. 6 Steps to identifying Issues. Wow! All this talk about identifying issues has helped me to come up with a topic. I am going to write about the cyber world. Something exciting in the cyber world – like blogs. Not just any blogs, but beautiful designed blogs. That’s right I am going to write about websites designed by people like me. Web designers who want to make the Internet a more beautiful place.

I will examine the Picassos of the Internet landscape. Some of the questions I will attempt to answer are, “Do visually appealing websites garner more hits?  Are visitors more inclined to frequent beautifully designed websites?  What are some current design trends in web design? Are beautiful websites totally functional? I will develop more questions as I move along.

The main thing I want to do now is work on my proposal and also start the research process. I plan to use textbooks and online resources to support my thesis, which at this point is still a work in progress. Off the top of my head, my topic sentence as question is “Is the Internet turning into a Work of Art?”  The audience I plan to speak to is — surprise! Web designers of course.

But then again, that may change. Until I form my thesis, I won’t firmly commit to anything just yet.

I have to confess that I have been practicing the writing process according to what I have read in our textbook. The examples given are excellent guides to follow. More importantly, I really like the fact that things are broken down into sections. For example, there is a lot of information on how to write a synthesis and a summary. I have tried to incorporate some of that information into my writing. So far it has made the writing process easier. 

And speaking of the writing process…

My writing process is fairly simple. It’s not at all like the detailed essays in our textbook. One specific thing I have noticed about my writing is that elements of my personality will generally find a way into it, especially if I am writing about something that is important or personal. I am finding that is a hard habit to break.  I am also finding that sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. Still I think above all else, Eng 112, has already helped me to write with alot more objectivity. What I have learned so far has also helped me to write in a more structured manner.  Now if I can just get that darn synthesis down, I will be doing the happy dance in the middle of downtown Main Street.

Now that school is back in session, my TV watching time has diminished dramatically.  The only thing I truly leave my calendar open for is – yep, you guessed it, the one and only ER.  But as far as movies go, I am a big fan of Sci-Fi flicks. Two of my favorites remain “Enemy of the State” and “The Mummy Returns.” Actually anything with Will Smith or Brendan Fraser will always be on my “must watch” list.  Now with that being said, I had the weirdest thing happen to me at work on Tuesday.  It was a scene right out of a movie. Batman to be exact – the Christian Bale version of course.  I swear that man puts the “F” in Fine.

Ahem, anyway, this past Tuesday I was sitting in my cube working in the antiquated “thing” known as Microsoft Publisher. It was about 5:50 p.m., and the sun had already gone down. I was in the middle of editing a document for one of our consultants, when, out of the blue I heard a loud shriek. Then, I hear someone say, “It’s the bat!” Right after that I turned around, expecting to see Christian Bale I suppose, and instead saw a small winged creature fly right by me.  Well, as you might have guessed, it’s wasn’t my man Bale. It was, however, a real live bat.

That’s right a bat! In our building!! Flying around!!! Just a few inches away from me!!!!

What in the Sam Hill!!!!!!

So office my finally gone batty. I’m not surprised, simply because I happen to work with some offbeat people. There’s a few androids (really nice androids, but androids nontheless) a couple of mad hatters, and sevearl dollar store fashionistas. All of that is okay, but I draw the line at working alongside a bat.

Something has to be done about this. Next week I am going to tell my boss that it’s either me or the bat. One of us has to go.

Wait a minute! I better rethink this. If that wayward bat knows HTML or JavaScript, “and” if it will work for stale food, that sneaky little night creature may have a decent shot of replacing me. 

Stay tuned. The story will continue. Same bat channel. Same bat time.

I really enjoyed reading our instructor’s synthesis story, and the Justin Timberlake tie-in was so great. 

All week I have been trying to think of an synthesis example to write about on this week’s blog entry and it’s been alot harder than I thought it would be.  Then, out of the blue, yesterday at work, I figured it out.  If it had been a snake it would have bit me right in the foot.  And what do you know?  It was, ahem I mean is just that — a baby rattlesnake to be exact.   

A little while ago I was told that one of my co-workers had a wild encounter with a baby rattlesnake near the ravine behind our office complex. (I swear California is like a bad episode of Animals Gone Wild sometimes). Anyway, my co-worker, whom I say refer to as Madame X, is the cool, calm, allways in control type, so to hear that she was frazzled by a baby snake was a surprise to everybody in the office.

So how does synthesis figure in this story? Well, my co-worker, a.k.a. Madame X, is a real stickler for organization. She likes to have everything done a certain way and at a certain time, or from what I understand, she will transform into a human version of a Pokemon. 

Now this is where I enter the picture. On Monday, Madame X and I were invited to a business luncheon.  It was my turn to drive but I really didn’t want to.  My reason –I had just landed back in town on Sunday from a week long trip to Dallas and I was operating on about four hours of sleep.

So after remembering that Madame X was still spastic about her baby snake encounter, I happily reminded her as we headed out the door to the luncheon, that my car was parked a long way from the door, it was also on empty and we would have to stop at the gas station first, and lastly I told her it was parked right near the ravine — the same ravine where her baby snake makes its home. 

And just as I expected, Madame X offered to drive to the restaurant.  She probably made the impromptu offer because (a) she didn’t want to walk the long walk to my car, or (b) she thought we might be late for the luncheon if we stopped for gas first, or (c) she didn’t want to go anywhere near that ravine. 

 My money is on c.  What do you think? 

This week has been the most hectic for me so far. The final draft, traveling to Dallas, and blogging. Oh yeah, and another week without a new ER episode. I had so many problems this week first with my computer access and also few unexpected issues with my PDF form. I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come. Good luck to everybody and I hope we make it through this journey with our heads still on straight. The next essay is going to be a doozy and I can’t wait to get a jump on it next week. For now, I have to head to the Dallas airport and hope that my plane isn’t delayed this weekend.