Me he salvado!

I am saved!  Saved that is, by the wonderful tools in the Audacity audio editing software I use for recording oral projects for school. I'm taking intermediate level classes now, Spanish 211 and 212, and pronunciation and comprehension is a big part of it. So we have to record ourselves reading passages. In this case, it was a poem by Bessy Reyna called Mientras tú.

Poema Mientras Tú de Bessy Reyna

Mientras tú
llega a la casa,
abres una cerveza,
observas la televisión
mintras tú
te acomodas en tu sillón de siempre
comentas lo duro que se pasa en la oficina
ocultas la veces que le propusiste a la
secretaria una cita
las veces que con tus compañeros en el café
piropeaste a las mujeres
mientras tú
decides a cuál bar irás hoy
o te sumerges en el comercial y esperas la cena
ella
trata de olvidarse de los piropos de mal gusto
que soportó camino al trabajo
de las proposiciones del jefe y los clientes
ella
trata de preparar la cena
arreglar la casa
sonreír a los niños
y pretender que tus escapadas
son un juego pasajero
que tus caprichos son un juego pasajero
y que a pesar de todo ella es una
Señora feliz.

What saved me was the fact that in Audacity, I can easily edit the recording.  As I read it, if I stumbled I just repeated the messed up part correctly, and continued on. Then at the end, I went through it and just cut out the parts that were bad, leaving me with a good recording. That's not to say it's excellent by any stretch. my pronunciation leaves a lot to be desired still. but I'm getting there. I imagine were I taking a traditional class, actually having to speak daily, I'd have better pronunciation.

Things and Stuff

We cleaned out the closet this weekend. I'd already done a fair bit, going through my own clothes and pulling out anything I don't wear, or is too big/way-too-small for me, but I have been trying to get Jason to do the same. he resists it, because of all the money that's in the clothes we buy him, but I keep trying to tell him to not think about it. We already spent the money, it's being wasted whether we give the clothes new homes or whether it sits in the closet unused. He was grumpy though, which makes for not-so-fun times. I think he's happier now though, especially since we can actually hang all of our clothes in the closet again. We can get dressed somewhere other than the laundry room!

That bench on the short wall in this picture is where my half of the three bags had been sitting for months as I waited for him to get in gear and go through clothes himself. It's actually empty no. We could, feasibly, use it to have people over to eat! Not that most people want to eat our crazy low-carb diet. We got rid of our heavy down-like comforter and the duvet too, plus some blankets and shams and stuff. So much stuff collecting dust in our tiny home. Yay us!

Spring 2009 Classes

HUMN 102
Classical Foundations

A study of aspects of the ancient Greco-Roman world (such as myth and religion, war and conquest, government and politics, social organization, and leisure activities) through examination of the words and actions of the protagonists. Original sources of history, philosophy, poetry, and drama are consulted. Focus is on individuals who contributed to the shaping of classical civilization. Students may receive credit for only one of the following courses: CLAS 100 or HUMN 102.


HUMN 351
Myth and Culture

A presentation of reflections on the interrelations of myth, religion, and culture in which myths are evaluated as embodiments of ethnic and universal ideas. Religion is analyzed within American and non-American cultures. Ideas and symbols from mythology that provide background for literature, music, and art are introduced.


WRTG 388
Advanced Grammar and Style

(Formerly ENGL 384. Fulfills the general education requirement in communications.) Prerequisite: WRTG 101/101X or ENGL 101/101X. An examination of the basic units of grammatical description, the nature of grammatical categories and structures and the reasons for creating and using them, and the application of grammatical concepts to written style. Students may receive credit for only one of the following: ENGL 384 or WRTG 388.

Driving me crazy ...

That's what the process of trying to register for classes this semester is doing, it's driving me crazy.

Apparently, we never paid PTC for the transcripts to be sent to UMUC. So they of course never sent them, and I never noticed. So I'm missing all that coursework from my degree evaluation. So they want me to take Writing 101 again. Writing 101. I'm a freaking English major! (Not that it shows in my blog posting, where I use really awful grammar and can't always spell, but that's irrelevant!)

Computers. Grr.

So I've got to decide if I'm going to try to repair stupid Outlook on my computer, or not worry about it and go back to Thunderbird. I've already had to switch back to IE, since my work and school websites won't work properly in Firefox .. but it's okay, cos IE has finally put in tabbed browsing.

Speaking of school ... I apparently can't get financial aid anymore because the school accepted every freaking credit they could, even ones that have nothing to do with my program, so i've got too many credits. *mutters8

Things I Hate.

Ow.

I hate headaches. I have the worst headache. I've had it for like .. 36 hours now. It keeps going away and coming back ... it started yesterday as a dull aching kinda headache, all over my head, and by the time I went to bed it was beginning to centralize. I woke up with what felt like a spike piercing my left eye .. and it's been that way ever since. Meh.

I hate headaches.

In other news, I also hate my music appreciation class, and the guy who's filling in for the DM that quit in October. He doesn't seem to understand exactly how our jobs actually work. You would imagine he might have a clue. But isn't that always the way .. the people in management don't really have a freaking clue?

You Rule.

I got my grade for my essay today. I have to admit, I don't think I did as much work on the essay as I could have. I sort of wrote it half-assed and without a whole lot of planning.

I got a 194/200. That's a 97. That's an A. On a paper I really didn't try at.

I think most of all, his comments made me feel good.

I really admire the “scholarship” of this essay. The work you did with the editorial commentary really clarifies and strengthens your position. Your ability to synthesize that information into textual analysis of the particular story shows an extremely high level of reading comprehension and analytic / critical thinking skill. Well done.

That was part of the comments in the middle of the paper. This following bit was his comments at the end.

Dear Tania,
Usually, when someone says “I saved the best for last,” it is often empty rhetoric; however, here’s a case for the verity of that statement. Your essay did arrive last, and it WAS worth the wait. Thank you, thank you!
This essay shows such a high level of both reading and writing (including structure, format, documentation, and editing) skill that it is just simply remarkable.
What is even more gratifying is the plainly wonderful scholarship that went into it. Thank you. I can’t remember a more pleasurable read in student essays. You rule. cm

Now, the informal way the professor talks to us is a little weird for me, but I think it's his way of trying to encourage us. But what got to me is how impressed he seemed to be with what I didn't consider my best work.

NaBloPoMo Day 1.

And I'm actually remembering to post.

You'd think that wouldn't actually be a difficult thing for me to do. But I tend to get distracted .. if the time between now and my last posts is any indication.

I've been trying to get schoolwork done so that I have time available for NaNoWriMo - which at the current moment is up to 1111 words. I have three classes right now .. World Lit, which doesn't have a lot right now except for weekly discussions and reading. Music Appreciation, which really is taking up a lot more time than I think it should. And Intro to Sociology, which only has one more major project/paper and I can relax with it.

I don't have a lot else at this moment to talk about.