Famous Last Words Week 10: The Final Post

Final post count on my blog, screenshot taken by me. 

This famous last words will be my 84th and most likely final post, as doing the declaration will put me over the 410 points I need to earn my A. I made the most posts in Week 2, I wrote a total of ten blog posts that week. According to Blogger, I also have 91 published comments on all of my posts. I lost track long ago of how many comments I have left on other peoples profiles. It means a lot that so many people took the time to read my writing and take the time to leave a positive comment or try and help me with some constructive criticism. I hope you guys and gals have enjoyed reading and writing along with me this semester, because I have enjoyed working on this class with all of you. To those who haven't finished yet, good luck with the remainder of this class. To everyone, including those who have finished, I want to say good luck with the rest of this semester. Especially to all of the other petroleum engineers in the class, we need a bit of extra luck with the way the economy it is right now.

My final piece of storytelling in this class was The Tiger and the King. This is probably the story which is closest to a traditional Indian story and style of writing that I have done, you guys and gals can check it out in my portfolio. This is the fourth story I have added to my portfolio. I'm very happy with how it turned out.

As far as other classes are concerned, I am currently in the break between spring break and my next round of midterm testing. It made it a good time to finish up this class, so I can focus on all the other homework assignments, projects, lab reports, and midterm tests I have. Hopefully the rest of the semester goes smoothly.
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Famous Last Words: Week 7

I read The Five Tall Sons of Pandu by Richard Wilson for my chosen version of the Mahabharata this week. I liked the fact that the story did not focus on Gods or magical weapons. The characters had fantastic abilities, but they did not distract me from the character development and plot. Especially when compared to the public domain edition of the Mahabharata. This version felt more like a character drama and adventure story than the Public Domain Edition, and I enjoyed these differences.

The Pandavas, from Wikipedia

This week I also added another story to the portfolio, Baka's Cave. I chose to write this story because I wanted to branch out and try a new style of writing. The darker and tenser style of this story was a challenge for me personally. I had never written anything like it before. Most of my writing is more cheery and upbeat, especially in this class where the stories seem to be more cheery and upbeat to me. But I am ultimately happy with how the story turned out, so I added it to the portfolio. I hope you guys enjoy reading it.

My writing this week was also a different style for me. I tried to change the ending of the battle between Arjuna and Karna so that Arjuna lost, and the Pandavas lost the war following the battle. I felt like Arjuna not giving Karna respite was a low moment just as when Rama killed Sugriva's brother in an ambush.

This semester most of my other major related classes have felt like chores in a lot of ways. The weekly routine of homework and studying has really been grinding me down. However, now that the first round of tests have ended I'm feeling more motivated to do what it takes to finish out the semester strong.

Week 5: Famous Last Words

Today brings me to the end of another week of reading and writing in this class. I began reading the Mahabharata Public Domain Edition this week. I don't like it as much as the Ramayana so far, there are too many characters and subplots to keep track of. Also, I can't decide whether it is a story about politics or mystical things like Gods and magic. However, I am only halfway through. I will be finishing the Mahabharata this following week, and perhaps my opinion will change and the story reaches its climax.

I have also added another weekly story to my portfolio this week. I finished my final edits on The Forest, and it was time to move on. I added It Ain't Easy Being Me, a story in which Hanuman airs his grievances with Rama, Sita, and Sugriva. I decided to add one of my more humorous stories to my portfolio this week. One of the great parts about doing the portfolio project is that I can write many smaller stories. This means I can have many more plots, characters, and themes. It also means that I can write whatever I am in the mood to, which makes it easier for me to write. Expect some edits to It Ain't easy Being Me soon, and then it will be on to another story after that.

As far as other classes are concerned, I am in the "eye of the storm" so to speak of my first round of testing in my major related classes. One down, three more to go. I think it has gone well so far, and I hope it only gets better from here.

Image from David Battrick

Thanks for reading the Mahabharata and writing your stories along with me this week, keep checking for more work from me soon.

Andrew

Famous Last Words: Week 4

This week has been an interesting one. My regular classes are all currently building up to their first tests, which is of course very stressful for me. I don't know if this is a universal experience, but I sometimes feel that it is impossible to start studying very early for a test, even if I know that the test will require a lot of studying, because I don't have everything I need to study. I also took the Graduate Management Admissions Test, or the GMAT, for the first time this week. I made the score I needed, but plan on taking it again in the hopes of getting a more competitive score. I'm hopeful I can make it into the EMBA program right here at the good ol' University of Oklahoma.

As far as this class is concerned, I'm doing most of the work this week today (Sunday) due to a number of other important engagements I had this week. It has been pleasant in someways to spend my Sunday afternoon reading and writing, I think it is a nice break from some of my other classes where I have homework assignments that are designed to make you struggle in thought. In this class I can just sit down at my desk and start working. My storytelling this week was again more humorous in tone than serious. I think I like this style of writing more because it is more relaxing and fun both to write and read, at least in my humble opinion. The only thing about this class that has put me in a bad mood today is editing my first portfolio study, where I made an embarrassing amount of errors. Luckily I'm not trying to be a writer someday. At least, that's what I think so far.  

The desk I do all my work for this class at. Taken by myself. 

Famous Last Words: Week 3

This week I finished reading the Public Domain Edition of the Ramayana. I thought the story was interesting, but the actions of Rama and Sita at the end confused me. The story lost my interest in the very end, which I think is a shame. I am also halfway done with the first half of Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie Shedlock. I am enjoying these collection of stories. There is no large overarching plot that I have noticed, but most of the stories are about the various lives that Buddha has lived. In these lives, Buddha always seems to be learning or teaching a lesson unique to his position in that life, sometimes both.  

Buddha, from Fractal Enlightenment

I had a fun time writing my storytelling this week. It was more humorous than my week two storytelling. Less morality tale, and more unique take on the possible attitude of one of the characters who is often saving the day in the Ramayana. From what I have experienced so far in this class and others, I like writing about funny things instead of serious things when I am not doing technical writing like lab reports.  

This week I also decided to switch from the storybook to the portfolio assignment. I think I'm going to prefer working on perfecting all of my weekly writing instead of spending creative energy on a broader story over a new topic. The portfolio assignment fits more with my perfectionist attitude. 

My other classes this week have been long and boring for the most part. Petroleum Engineering is still in that first part of the semester where they just review old topics. I have covered very little new material this semester, and I'm disappointed by that fact.

Thanks for reading and writing along with me this week guys, I am looking forward to the rest of the semester. 

Famous Last Words: Week 2

For my reading this week I read the first half (Part A and B) of the Public Domain Edition of the Ramayana. Check it out here. I thought the story was interesting, but I found it hard to read initially. It took me a while to learn how to read the prevalent style of writing, it also didn't help that some of the stories had different authors, and therefore different writing styles. Still, I enjoyed reading it all the while. I look forward to wrapping it up in Week 3.

For my extra credit reading this week I read Part A of Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie Shedlock. Here is the link. I liked these more than the Ramayana, I found the stories easier to follow. I also liked how many of the characters were plants and animals. For example, when Buddha was born as a tree, I knew that he would be strong and patient. It made the themes and points of the stories stand alone from the characters, much like the Parables in the Bible. I think that it also helped that I am more familiar with the story of Buddha than the story of Rama. I look forward to continuing reading this as the semester continues.

In this class I would have to say SusieBookworm wrote easily the most unique story I saw this week. Updates from Exile  covers the story of Rama and his exile in the forest through a series of Facebook posts.

The first post in Updates from Exile

As far as other classes are concerned, this was the first real week of school. Homework was assigned, quizzes were taken, and test dates are already looming. My lab for the semester also started, and that is sure to take up a good portion of my time this coming semester.

Thanks for reading guys, keep checking for more work soon.

Famous Last Words: Week 1

This week was just an introduction week for the class, so I don't have as much to talk about as I'm sure I will in the coming semester. I feel my best writing in the past week has been my storytelling. While my classmates and I have spent a lot of time writing posts about ourselves, such as the introduction post, I believe that reading someones creative writing gives a larger insight into their personality. I enjoyed writing my own story, it has been a long time since I have done any creative writing. I also like how many of the stories I have read used the same inspiration as me ( the Tom Gauld map), it allowed me to see how different people used the same image to come up with wildly different stories. Speaking of the Tom Gauld map, I also liked how we were given a starting point for the assignment, finding a jumping off point is the hardest part of writing for me. Hopefully the amount of writing in this class will have a positive effect on my writing skills.

Outside of this class, I have enjoyed the beginning of my other classes. I have taken classes with many of my professors previously, so it is nice to be back in a familiar classroom environment. This semester is sure to be hard, but I am hopeful it turns out well. I have also enjoyed being back on campus, and seeing my roommates and friends again.

Sarkeys Energy Center, my main class building. Picture courtesy of the Integrated Core Characterization Center

I am excited for this class to continue, I am hoping that I have the opportunity to learn a lot about a culture that I don't know much about. I am also looking forward to getting to know some of my classmates, through reading and commenting on their work, and them doing the same to mine.

Thanks for reading.