Monday, May 4, 2009

Pass or Fail: Gasparo's Final Grade

When I first began signing up for classes, I had no idea what I was gonna take or where I what direction I wanted to go in. So I signed up for the basics, paying no mind to who my professors were. I expected Paul to be some grumpy, monotoned old man who would teach us when and when not to use a comma and all that boring mumbo jumbo.

I turned out to be wrong. Mr. G. is a young, knowledgeable, humorous professor who taught me a lot more than the "boring mumbo jumbo". His class taught me how to use rhetorical appeals to persuade people to believe, listen, or do what I tell them, whether its on paper or in actual life. I found the most valuable class to be the first class, where we had to interview another student. Yes Nick, Sal and I started a relationship and I hope we make it too. Thank you, Paul. Oh, yeah your invited to our wedding. Back to a more serious note, Paul's class taught me a lot of things all the way across the board. The biggest lesson that his class taught me is no matter how hard the work may seem it's all worth it in the end. Paul's class has given me confidence not only academically, but in my over all view of myself as a person. The only problems I faced in Paul's class were problems I created for myself, such as waiting till the day before a paper was due to do the paper.

This article is short and sweet, but there is only so much I can say about how much I learned from Paul and how awesome my time was in his class. All in all Paul's class challenging, but I look forward to having him again as a professor.

Extra Credit 1: X-Men Origins

Ok first off, I just want to say how incredible Hugh Jackman looked in the movie. Can we all say “Yummy”? Wolverine can tear my clothes off anytime.

Reality check; minus Hugh’s amazing body, the movie was still really good and is definitely worth going to see. The movie is an action packed film and an all around great movie. The story line is easy to follow, even if you have never read the comics or seen any of the previous movies or shows. I had a little trouble remembering who was who, but I have always been impressed by Marvel Universe’s films and how well they replicate the comics, even though they are extremely predictable. X-Men Origins: Wolverine was nothing short of my expectations.

The beginning caught me off guard, set in an 17th or 18th century time frame, my initial reaction was “Woa. Wait. What?” I had no clue Logan or Victor was that old. I love reading about history, wars and all that jazz. I thought it was cool how the showed all the major American wars. You could tell the Logan was the good brother who had his powers under control and Victor, well not so much; which made the rest of the movie predictable.

When Kayla asked the man on the bridge to move, you knew right then that she was a mutant. I wasn’t exactly sure if she was evil yet, but I was hoping she wasn’t. When she actually dies it explains why Wolverine is filled with a sort of sadness in all the films and shows. I had no clue, yeah he is filled with rage but now I know it’s not because he is a beast. It is because he lost Kayla twice, both times in completely different scenarios.

Despite the predictability the movie was a good film and I would recommend it to anyone. It’s a combination of action, betrayal, love and the supernatural. Nothing gets better than that.

The Originial: No Title

Between the land and the sea there are the roads that we travel to get where we need to go, where we want to go, to take us on the adventure to find ourselves and though the ride is rough at times, sometimes it lead us to our heart’s desire.

The first rays of the rising sun gently woke me from my restless sleep in a dark, cold motel room. I brought myself up and prepared to get back on the road. As I was checking out with the desk clerk he said “The cost of turning your back could be more than you can bare. The past can’t be undone, but time always reveals the bitter taste of loosing everything you held close. Unless you can find forgiveness in your heart.” I looked at him as if he had just seen into my heart, but it was too late to turn back. I watched the old motel fading in my rear view and all I could think of was the desk clerk’s words.

Many hours and miles passed and the radio seemed to play the same sad love song over and over again. Yet the scenery was a glorious sight. I couldn’t fight the urge to make stops along the way to admire the beauty Mother Nature has laid before us. It was the first time I had ever noticed how beautiful and wonderful the world that surrounded us was. The many shades of green that painted the forests along the horizon, the way that the lakes reflected the sky making it impossible to tell where the earth ended and the sky began, the birds chirping welcoming the dawn, the calf struggling to its feet right after birth. I was amazed by what I had seen it reminded me of how I blissful I wanted my wedding day to be. It opened my eyes to a whole new perspective on life and love, the way I wanted to present myself.

As I was coming through a small town I passed a cemetery where the town had gathered to lay three sons down to rest. They were soldiers in the United States Army. Once again I was disheartened. But to see those three young men laid in the ground survived by their parents, their grandparents, their wives, and children made me think. What if that was me burying my loved one. Right then and there everything sunk in. The beauty of life was short lived but miraculous, if living was a permanent state it wouldn’t be as wonderful or as precious to us and we wouldn’t see the world around us the way I did that day.

The desk clerk was right; it wasn’t too late to turn back. I hurried back to the shore. As I passed each of my stopping places I became more and more eager. Soon I could smell the salt in the air, I could feel the warmth of the sun as it set, and the sand under my feet. The chairs, the flowers, and the altar they were still there and the man I loved was right there waiting. I told him of everything I had seen on my car ride and that I hoped one day we could take our first steps of our lives’ journey together but not today. The next day we got in the car and we traveled from one coast to the next.

Seven weeks after our supposed to be wedding day, he boarded a plane that took him overseas to the middle of a hell fire. He was there fighting for his country and fighting to come home to me for five and a half months. But fate was cruel; he died two over seas one week before he was to return to me, two weeks before our rescheduled wedding day. In my mind he will always be that beautiful face that made me laugh under the starry skies in Texas , on the beaches of California , in the mid afternoon rain in Florida, and underneath the neon signs in Tennesee.

That drive changed my life and my entire perspective on life and love and all aspects of it. I lost the one I loved more than life its self, but would he have been as beautiful to me if he was immortal. Between the land and the sea there are the roads that we travel to get where we need to go, where we want to go, to take us on the adventure to who we are and though the ride is rough at times sometimes it lead us to our heart’s desire. That is what he taught me. Our paths split for now but he will always be with me on my journey

A Crossroad to Our Heart's Desire



Between the land and the sea, there are the roads that we travel to get where we need to go, where we want to go, and then there are the roads that take us on the ride of our life; a journey of self discovery. Though the ride is rough at times; it always leads us to our heart’s desire.

The first rays of the morning sun gently woke me from a restless sleep in a cold, dark motel room. I sluggishly pulled myself out of the stiff bed, gathered my belongings and readied myself for the journey ahead. As I was checking out with the desk clerk, I saw his dark eyes fill with tears as these poetic words flowed from his lips “The cost of turning your back is always much more than we can bare. The past can never be undone, but time always reveals the bitter taste of loosing everything that you held so close.” I looked into the old man’s eyes, smiled then turned away. As I walked out the door I muttered under my breath “We eventually loose everything we hold dear.”

I watched the old motel fade away in a cloud of dust out of my rear view mirror. Many hours and miles passed by and I was staring out the window through the teardrops. The scenery surrounding me tempted me with the promise of a smile. I gave in at various points along the way. Stopping to admire the many shades of green that painted the forest along the horizon, the way that the lakes reflected the skies; making it impossible to tell where the earth ended and the sky began, the birds chirping welcoming the morning, the calf struggling to its feet after birth. After witnessing these marvelous acts of nature; it left me light hearted. I began to feel the bliss that I had so much desired to feel as I walked down the aisle.

As I was coming through a small town; I pulled off at a cemetery where the town had gathered to lay three American soldiers to rest. I looked around at all the tears in the faces of the wives, children, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who survived these young men. As the men’s former comrades fired their rifles; a chill went down my spine and everything I had witnessed that day sunk in. I asked myself what if that was me bury him? Then I realized the beauty of life is short lived but nothing short of a miracle. If life was a permanent state; it would not be as wonderful as precious to us and we would never truly see the beauty in the things that I had seen.

All I could hear were the desk clerk’s words as I hurried back to the shore. As I passed each of my stopping places I became more eager. Soon I could smell the salt in the air and the warmth of the sun as it set. Finally, I could feel the sand beneath my feet as I ran down the beach to find the chairs, the ribbons, the flowers and the alter; they were all still there and the man that I loved was right there waiting. I told him of my every step and thought from the past day and a half, as we walked down the beach under the stars and the moon; he never looked so wonderful and I never loved him more. “I want more than anything to take the first steps of our life’s journey together, but today is not that day” these were my last words to him before we feel asleep in each others embrace beneath the midnight sky. The following day we began a journey from one coast to another.

Seven weeks later, he boarded a plane that took him overseas to the middle of a hell fire. He fought for his country, to better a society and to come home to me for five and a half months, but the roads that he chose lead to his heart’s desire; to die with honor and live forever. He will always live through our memories. In my mind he will always be the beautiful face that made me laugh on the beaches of California, the starry skies in Texas, underneath the neon signs in Tennessee and in the mid afternoon rain in Florida.

That drive changed my life and my entire perspective on life and love and all aspects of it. I lost the one I loved more than life itself, but would he have been so beautiful to me if he was immortal. Between the land and the sea, there are the roads that we travel to get where we need to go, where we want to go, and then there are the roads that take us on the ride of our life; a journey of self discovery. Though the ride is rough at times; it always leads us to our heart’s desire. That is what he taught me. Our paths have split for now, but he will be with me with every step I take along my journey.