I give thanks for... (LAST BLOG!)

I give thanks for so many things but I specially give thanks to God for finally ending this semester. I have never been so excited about a Christmas break to come. This year has been exhausting, stressful and nothing like I expected it to be. Until now 11^th grade has been the best year ever and I thought 12^th grade would top it but so far it hasn’t reached half of the awesomeness of 11^th grade. I see the eleventh graders everyday and I look at them invidious, wishing I was in 11^th grade again. This year has been very irksome. I’ve never had the worried of "needing to get BETTER grades to raise the percentage of a class" nor have I ever been (not even close) in ‘’probatiria’’ and this year I almost did, but thank god I didn’t. I give thanks because even thought it hasn’t been the best semester, especially academically, I can say I am relished because it has taught me so much and I am grateful for it. It was a year of learning, changes, maturing and meeting new and more affable people. This year made me realize that I can’t wait to get to college unlike last summer, before starting this semester, I was ambivalent of starting school because I didn’t want to be close to graduation. But yes, I may be no ready and a bit nervous for this novelty but I am curious to see what’s next, is time for a change and to explore something new, to start a new life, a life as an adult.

Merry Christmas!

Attention all men... (Analysis Paragraph)

One possible explanation for infertility in most men can be found in the habit of sitting laptops in their laps or on their legs, and the use on wi-fi on these. Studies show that the heat the laptop produces and the position of the legs egregious and can lead to higher temperatures in men’s genitalia.  High temperatures in the scrotum can cause damage the sperm and mitigate (lessen) the ability to fertilize. As for the wi-fi use on computers, is being said that the electromagnetic radiation that emits can also cause frightful damage to the sperm. So not only men have to worry about where they sit their laptops but about using wi-fi connection? To allay men’s worries researchers have concluded that the best way to elude the problem computer cases and to keep a cool temperature on men’s genitalia is to sit the laptop on the table. If is needed for the laptop to be sited on the lap the best recommendation is to keep the legs spread. As for the wi-fi, the only recommendation is to be conscientious and to, well, not use it.

My first dog pt. 2 (free topic)

This ‘’getting a new dog’’ thing was getting more complicated. Convincing my mother to let me have a dog wasn’t easy, now I had to incite her to take me all the way to Hatillo to get it. I had no idea how was I going to do this but I had 3-4 weeks to think about it and to convince her. Just in case she said no I kept looking for more dogs closer to the area we live but couldn’t find anything. All I found was even farer than Hatillo. I gave up, I couldn’t find any other better way to convince her so I just went to my mom room and without her even looking at me I just let it out: ‘’the dog is in Hatillo, when can we go get it’’.  I felt my stomach drop; her eyes were immediately on me as if what I just said insulted her. Then she just said ‘’what?’’. Great, now I had to say it again. I repeated what I just said and then she said ‘’why Hatillo? Could it be a closer area? I can’t go this week’’. I could believe it she said yes! I was so relieved I explained how we had to wait till the dog was ready to leave his mom and we planned a date to go get it after that time. The day came and I was so anxious to get there. On the way to the owner’s house we got lost a few times, this made the excursion even longer than what we expected. But finally when we got there, the owner was very nice we talked for a while and then he took us to the puppies. I had to choose between all of the puppies and I couldn’t decide but my brother helped and we finally got her. When I got home I put her on a box and was supposed to enter my house without anyone noticing what I just brought but just with the look on our faces everyone else guessed and immediately started arguing. I flippantly ignored them; they were starting to sound irritable, I was just happy I finally had my dog, my dog with no name.

I thought that after getting the dog everything was going to be easy, I was wrong. It took me 3 weeks to find a name and I decided to call her summer. Summer was like having the ‘’Marley and me’’ dog. She destroyed everything, pooped and peed everywhere. Even though I tried to train her she never learned. She then had worms we had to treat that. Few months later, still convalescent after the worms, she got ticks which I think was the most horrible experience I’ve had, ever. The experience of having a dog of my own was not like I thought it was, it was a struggle, like I’ve never had before and to add the stress of school. It got to a point that I was regretting that I got this dog. After 11 stressful months everything was worth it. She learned how to go ‘’pipi’’ and ‘’caca’’ outside and when I said so. She behaved and didn’t eat everything she found. Although she still breaks the sox’s and napkins or papers on the floor but nothing else. Summer is currently two and a half years old and I can now say that even though 2009 was probably the worst year ever because of Summer I don’t regret anything and I love my dog, I can’t imagine my life without her.

Marine Vertebrates (Example Paragraph)

In eight months I’m to go to college to study marine biology and I want to work with two classes of marine vertebrates (animal that have internal skeleton). The 7 main classes of vertebrates are Agnatha, Amphibia, Aves, Chondrichthyes, Mammalia, Osteichthyes and Reptilia.  some of this are very abstruse but I will concentrate on working with Mammalia and Reptilia vertebrates. Mammalia vertebrates are not other than marine Mammals, these are animals that have hair or fur, blubber, and have warm blood. Mammals use lungs to breathe air, bear live young (don’t lay eggs to hatch) and produce milk through mammary glands. Common examples of marine mammals include manatees, colossal whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, walruses and even polar bears. Reptilia vertebrates are not other than marine reptiles and their physiognomy is very different from mammals. These have very strong, dry skin and sometimes covered with scales. Reptiles are cold-blooded or ectothermic (control body temperature through external means), they use lungs to breathe and have tough skin without feathers or hair. Sea turtles and not typical animals like sea snakes, saltwater crocodile and marine iguana are some examples of marine reptiles.

http://www.marinebio.org/ is a very intructive website where you can learn more about these animals :)

My first dog

Even before I was born there were dogs in my house so basically I was used to being around dogs and having pets. This meant that I didn't take care of any of them because, of course, I was a kid so it was my parent’s job to do it. But it wasn't until summer of 2009, when I turned 15, that I decided that I wanted a dog. Not just another dog in the house, but MY dog. I consulted this with my mom and even tried to lobby her but she said she was going to end up taking care of the pet, so in other words it was a strict no. Also no one else wanted another dog in the house. This frustrated me because I really wanted a dog but I was nonchalant, I wasn't going to let anyone or anything hamper my hopes. I started looking for dogs online and I made sure that everyone in my house noticed that I was determined and that I really wanted a new pet. I was starting to exasperate everyone because all I talked about was my new pet; where would he sleep, at what hours will it eat, who would give food and take care of it when I’m not home and may more things. I don't even remember how I ended up convincing my mother, all I know it wasn't facile but one day she said "no one wants a pet here so start thinking on what you going to do", in other words she finally said yes! Now nothing was stopping me. I kept looking for dogs energized, every hours of the day, I made calls, arrange meetings to get the new dog but then canceled (this happened more than 20 times). It was like this for almost a month until I finally found it. There was only 2 problems; the owner lived in Hatillo, I live in San Juan so this meant a 3hour long drive and I had to wait 3-4 more weeks until the puppy was old enough to leave its mom. This was a problem because first I didn't think my mom would take me to Hatillo and second in 4 weeks school started. This meant no time to neither train nor take care of the puppy the first month which is the most important. It seemed as if everything I have put so much effort and determination to get was just slipping away...


To be continue...

(Part 2 will be posted November 28)

Light Painting (Process Paragraph)

Have you ever seen a photo like the one above and asked yourself how can you do that? Light painting may seem difficult but is actually pretty simple. Before you get started you will need the following things: a light source, a camera that allows you to extend the shutter (most modern digital cameras and all DSLR allows you to adjust it) and, of course, the dark. You can also use a tripod but if you don't have one don't worry and make sure you have a capacious SD memory card.
First, there are two ways you can do it, you can ether set your camera on M (manual) or A (aperture-priority auto). If you set it on M, change the command dial to Bulb F6.3, this allows you to have the shutter open for as long as you want. For this you will need a remote shutter, just press the bottom to open the shutter and then press it again whenever you want to close it. If you don't have the shutter remote you can do it on the A mode. This way you just have to move the command dial to adjust the duration you want the shutter to be open and all you have to do is click the bottom for the shutter to open and wait until it closes. Since you don't have the remote shutter you can also set the self timer to ether 10 or 2 seconds so that you have time to get to the proximity spot. Second, set the camera on top of anything that keeps it steady and make sure the camera doesn't move. If you have a tripod it will be appropriate and it will work perfectly. Third for the light source you can use a flash light or a small LED light if you’re a tyro. Another thing you can do, to be more creative, is use color papers or color cellophane on the light source, this way you can get color on your light painting. Fourth make sure you are in a dark place, dark as a chamber, this way the light source will pop out more on the photo. And finally, have fun! Now you are ready to start painting with light and just to warn you; it’s addictive.

Untill The Very End. (free topic)

I remember that day perfectly, I was so young but I remember it like it was yesterday, it was the day I fell in love, obsessed maybe?   It was a magical day and ever since that day everything changed, ever since that day I call myself a muggle. Yes, it was the day I went to see the first Harry Potter movie in theaters.

Harry Potter has been with me more than half of my life. Even thought is fantasy I can say is didactic in some way. 10 years, 7 books, 9 movies. J.K. Rowling is definitely brilliant and I am forever grateful for allowing her books to be brought to life in the big screen. We, who have love Harry Potter, are called the Harry Potter generation. I have read all the book, I've seen all the movies, I own all the movies; twice, since I've seen them so much that they are all scratched and worn out even though I cherish them so much.  But In summer 2010 was more than just screen and pages for me; it was a momentous event in my life. I was going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Island of Adventure in Orlando Florida and God was I excited! When I was finally thereat and I walked through that entrance I was in shock, speechless, paralyzed. I just walked in and stood there for minutes admiring everything at once. It was fantastic! Specially the enormity of Hogwarts (the castle). Everything was so real it was unreal; it was like being in the movies. If I ever loved Harry Potter it was nothing compared on how much I loved it now at that moment. But that year it was the beginning of the end.

November of 2010 was a milestone; it was when the first part of the last movie of Harry Potter was going to be released. I was there the day it came out, first hour, I could not wait any longer after going to the Wizarding World. And this year everything ended. "It all ends 7.15" July 15, saddest day of my life. I didn't know how I felt; I was so excited for watching the movie but at the same time I didn't want it to end, therefore I didn't want that day to come. But J.K. Rowling said ”No story lives unless someone wants to listen. The stories we love best do live in us forever. So, whether you come back page by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.” and I realized it wasn't over. The story, like she said, lives in us forever.    

LET ME IN vs. (the Original) LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (compare and contrast paragraph)

WARNING: Spoilers for Let Me In and Let the Right One In.

If you have seen the original film ‘’Let The Right One In’’ and its remake ‘’Let Me In’’ you may have noticed that both films are very similar. However, even though the remake did a pretty good job on keeping it loyal to its original, both films are strikingly different in many ways. First, the most noticeable difference in both films is the languages and setting. The American remake, Let Me In, is set in March 1983 in Los Alamos, New Mexico while its original, Let The Right One In, is Swedish and is set in the Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg in 1982. Second, the opening of both films and the different scenes. Let Me In starts in the middle of the story. It opens when the father of Abby(the vampire girl) is already in the hospital after self injuring himself with acid. In the original this scene doesn’t appear until the middle of the movie and instead, it opens with Oskar(the boy)  looking through his window to find out that he has new neighbors arriving; Eli(the vampire girl),which he finds her peculiar,  accompanied by her father and are moving to the vacant apartment next to his. In addition, another different scene it's the scene in which the father messes up a kill and capitulates and drastically disfigures himself before being taken to the hospital. In Let Me In the father was in the back of the car of a student, hiding and waiting for student to get inside the car to kill him and bring blood to his daughter. But everything goes wrong when the student gets asked for a ride from one of his friend. The father waits until the boy that was driving stops at a gas station and gets off, he then attacks the passenger, steals the car and sprints. He crashes and has to disfigure himself before the police arrives. However, in Let The Right One In, the father goes to the school and hangs a boy upside-down in the locker room but then realizes he’s not alone in the school and the boys friends are looking for him and hear him screaming in the locker room which was locked. The boy’s friends are trying to open the door; the father has no way out and has no other option than to balk and disfigure himself before the police arrives. Third, the missing scenes. In Let Me In the scene of the cats didn’t appear. In Let The Right One In, after Eli attacks a woman and leaves her alive, the woman later gets attacked by a horde of cats and is taken to the hospital. And forth and final, the difference in the graphic and violence. The remake was way more graphic than it’s original. This was seen in Abby’s transformation into a vampire, the fathers face after self injured and the attacks of Abby when she gets desperately hungry for blood. Overall both movies may have some differences but were great. Is very common for remakes to just not be as good as its original but this is definitely not the case.

Oil spill effects on Marine Life (Cause and Effect Paragraph)

Oil spills can threaten marine life in ways that most people are unaware of. First, marine animals that ingest oil can get poisoned. Some of these creatures die but others can get their digestive system and organs affected because of the ingestion of oil. This can affect the food chain because if bigger animals eat smaller animals that are poisoned this bigger animals get poisoned as well, because like it says, it’s a chain. Second, it destroys the habitat many organisms, from the minutest organisms to the biggest. This not only happens inshore but also offshore because the oil eventually ends up in the coast covering rocks and algae. And third it affects the reproduction of animals and hypothetically speaking, it affecting humans as well. Oil is pernicious to eggs of fishes, sea turtles, mollusks and many other creatures. This has an immense impact in the fishery because if it reduces species such as salmons, crabs, octopus, shrimps, tuna fish and many more that are used for human food.

This are some of the many detrimental effects oils spill has on marine life and when this happens is a situation that needs to be taken to action immediately. It is not certain of the duration of the effects from oils spills but it is certain that it will affect for many years to come, not only the marine life but to humans as well.

Dialogue with a Dead Person

I loved my great grandfather with all my heart. When I lost him it was the worst experience I’ve been trough. If I could talk to a dead person it would definitely be him. Since I was so young I never had the chance to tell him how much I loved him and how grateful I am for all the things he’s done for me and  for all the memories I have with him, which are the happiest moments in my life.

 



Kelvin: abuelo I’m so happy to see you!
 
Abuelo: "avemaria purisima" you are so grown up! I barely even recognize you!... Well I’ve been dead for like what? 5 years?
 
Kelvin: almost 6.
 
Abuelo: oh, long time! You look so much like your mother, and niño what happened? Too poor to go to the barber?

Kelvin: abuelo. I haven’t been to the barber since November of the year before you died.
 
Abuelo: hay santo! Well don’t you think is time to go to one?
 
Kelvin: no I like it this way, I look better!
 
Abuelo: Muchachito de dios!
 
Kelvin: oh abuelo, the other day I was in the mood for some of the odd mixtures of foods that you would always make like that plate of fried eggs with fries and ketchup. I remember it was so good!
 
Abuelo: ho yes!  That you and your brother would always eat half of my plate! But I was prepared. What you little suckers didn’t know is that all the time I would only put less than half of what I made in the plate so that when you where gone I could eat the rest.

Kelvin: I couldn’t help it your food was inevitable! You know lately I’ve been thinking a lot about my childhood.

Abuelo: what about it?

Kelvin: well I miss it, I think about all those great times I had. Like, I just remembered that Christmas all of you covered me and Kevin’s eyes and took us to the back of the house and I was so excited to see.  When you finally uncovered my eyes there was a double swing just for us that where you sit was like a mini-plane. That swing was phenomenal!  Well at least that’s what I thought at that moment.

Abuelo: oh I remember that, I was up all night with your uncle building that. I’m glad you like it. Though the look on your faces was priceless when we uncovered your eyes.

Kelvin: my childhood was the best thanks to you! You would always bring home broken stuff that you would find on the street and improvise with it. You would never discard anything; sometimes you would fix it or just take pieces out of it to make something else for us. Also you would always sneak candy when my mom wouldn’t let u, you would always let me help you when you were working, which meant to be fixing something. You were, I mean, you are to me, the best grandfather someone could ever had, you’re not comparable to anyone!

Abuelo: oh you’re lying. I’m not that good

Kelvin: what? You are the best!  You would always furnish us for a great time. And your house had the coolest things someone could ever found.

Abuelo:  it was kind of a mess..

Kelvin: well yea, not the typical house but I loved it!

Abuelo: thank you. Kelvin I’m sorry but it’s time for me to go. I wish I could stay longer.

Kelvin: Is ok but before you go I just wanted to let you know how grateful I am of having you in my life. I never had the chance to tell you this since when you were in the hospital I wasn’t allowed to enter because I was too young and I was told you would recover but that never happened. That was the hardest thing I’ve ever been trough, I felt destroyed. But today thanks to you and that experience I learned to appreciate and love as much I can every person in my life. Because I never know when I might to lose them.  You remind me of this quote I once heard: ‘"We were meant to lose people we love. How else would we know how important they were?" because I can honestly say that this is what happened to me. I don’t think I have enough words to express how grateful I am for having you in my life. I miss you so much! But I know one day we’ll me again. I love you abuelo!

Abuelo: I love you too.

the swing.

How would your life be in another era?

Do you imagine yourself growing up in a different era? Today the technology, living standards and the way we live have changed drastically compared to the 60s. In America this was a time of revolution. Also It was a time of war and important moments in history such as the assassination of president John F. Kennedy, the first man to walk on the moon and great men such as Martin Luther King with the famous speech "I Have A Dream". But during all this moments in history other very important changes were occurring; basically the 60s was a time of social change. Growing up in the in this decade as a teen would have been one the best times. The 60s was the time of freedom, the decade of a great music and the time for the young to express themselves.

Your Favorite Song

Is really hard to chose a "favorite song" when I like so many songs and artists. But if i think about the most influential artist in my life it would be The Beatles and the first song I ever heard from them, All You Need Is Love. I love this song so much, it reminds me of all the most important people in my life. Also it always makes me smile and cheers me up whenever Im feeling down, angry or stressed.
The message in the song is pretty clear "all you need is love" but it also goes beyond that. It talks about how theres nothing impossible, that we can do anything and everything we want. But if you can do it so does everybody else, so that doesn't make you any better or special than others. Is just love what really matters, what really makes us special. This song is Telling us to accept and love ourselves and all the people in our life and to forget about the rest. Because like I said before, whats really important is love; love is all we need.

How would my life be if i was a girl?

How would your life be as the opposite sex? Is hard to think about since we all grown being only one sex. Usually the answer to this question, from ether gender, is not being those characteristics they would change or that they don't like about their opposite sex. As for me, I wouldn't be the typical girl who's very emotional, superficial and that is desperate for boys attention.

How much power does the mdia have on us?

Media
-tv commercials
- adds
-Radio
-artists/actors/models
-Influences 

-teens

-Sex
-drugs
-alcohol
-"perfect body"
-"be cool"
- how we need to look or be

Intro:
The media has enough power to influence teenagers through tv commercial to have sex.

Body:
-TV commercials
-teen behavior
-Sex

Who am I?

I wish I could write more than three paragraphs but I guess this will have to be it. My name is Kelvin Santana I’m 17 years old and I'm from San Juan Puerto Rico. I live with my mother, grandmother, aunt, uncle, cousin and brother; not a pretty normal lifestyle but I couldn't imagine living without all of them, the most important people in my life. I entered to University Gardens High School in ninth grade scared and really not wanting to, but it was definitely one of the best decisions I've ever made and now I’m currently in my senior year.

I’m a very happy person I love to laugh and make people laugh. Even though sometimes I could be a little careless and selfish to other people, which is something I'm trying to change, I try to always be in my best humor. I like hanging out with my friends, going to the beach, playing volleyball and to always have a good time. I’m very creative, I love arts & crafts and photography, I'm not a professional but I do it as a hobby to get my mind distracted sometimes. I always wanted to learn how to play the piano I know a little bit but one of my goals is to learn how to play it well.

When I was a kid I loved animals and I would say that I wanted to be a veterinarian when I grow up. Today I still think the same way, I love nature and animals and my dream is to study marine biology or anything related to the help of animals. I would also love to work in a marine animal rehabilitation center to have the chance to work and help rescuing endangered species or stranded marine mammals and sea turtles.