Winter Blog

Paige’s spectacular Winter break blog!!!

Day one: I went to swim practice in the morning and then slept for a very long time in the afternoon. Then I help my mom clean the house for Christmas because we host it at our house for my family. Then things got tense between everyone and so I left my house to hang out with my friends from swimming. We went shopping and it was fun!

Day two: It was the day before Christmas ever. I was with my friends again after practice. We ate lunch and went the shops at West end. I was really tired because I hadn’t taken a nap. Then my family and I went to see Sherlock Holmes at the move theater and then we went out to dinner. I fell asleep on the way there. We went to dinner at Meritage in St Paul. The food was amazing but I didn’t really care for the atmosphere.

Day three: Christmas Eve. My grandparents came into town around 10; we went to OPH for a breakfast/lunch without my parents. It was fun and I ran into a lot of people that I know. Then we came home and got ready for church. We went to church an hour early in order to get a pew in the church and sat there listening to the choir for a while. After service we went home and talked while my mom finished dinner. Then we ate a big dinner which included salad, roast beef, spaetzle, celery root and potato mash, and asparagus. It was delicious. After that we all washed dishes together, got the cookies out, and gathered in the family room for presents. I got a lot of really cool stuff from my family including 100 dollars from my grandparents, a CD from my aunt, a shirt from my sister and pjs from my brother. It was fun. We went to bed late.

Day five: Christmas Day. Santa came! He brought me a lot of really cool stuff including an iPhone, Hunter rain boots, teeth whitening kit, hot chocolate, root beer, itunes money, a pillow, an ornament, and a kinect for xbox. I didn’t like the kinect at first but now i think its really funny. I accidently broke my mom’s iMac that morning trying to help my grandpa unload some pictures from his camera. I got an SD card stuck in the CD drive and then i got a piece of paper stuck in it trying to get it out. I felt really bad and my mom was mad so that made things seem a little less better than I did before. My grandpa probably felt worse than I did. My family just hung out all day and then at a big German lunch together. My cousins came over and we had a good time.

Day six: Back to swimming and hanging out with friends. I also went to make some returns with my dad and take my mom’s computer to the Apple store to fix it. That ended up turning out ok, and I saw a lot of people from my school while I was there. At night I hung out with my friends while we figured out how to work our new phones. It was very low key. I also watched some quality TV during this time.

Day Seven: Practice twice on this day, but I got to leave early from the second one so it was kind of nice. I slept most of the day and the rest I think I just spent at home. Sleeping and reading and playing games. My family played kinect together that night. It was really fun until my brother had a fit and stormed off into his room.

Day Eight: It was the same as before. Swim practice was hard and I had to sleep a lot after that again. I was really sick of swimming at this point in time. That night ii went out to dinner with some friends and tried sushi. It was ok tasting but i didn’t love it. From there we went back to my house and invited a couple more people over. We played kinect the whole night with my brother. Everyone had a good time except on guy who way just being grumpy and annoying. We were all mad at him.

Day nine: Swimming again. Then I hung out with some friends. We went out to dinner for a friends birthday at Yum. It was really good,. I had some mac and cheese that was very cheesy. Everyone was excited to see each other and we talked for a long time. Then we went to my friends house where we stayed for a while. Then I met up with some other friends and we went to Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It was scaring but i guess i liked it. Then i sat in my friends cart and we complained about college a lot even though i already know where i am going to school next year.  Then we went home and i slept for a while before swimming the next day.

Day Ten: I went to swim practice this morning. Then I got ready to go to lunch with some friends to celebrate another birthday. I had a good time at this place and we caught up on life. Then we ditched the boys and went to go and see new Years Eve. I really liked but it also made me feel very single and sad at the same time. I also new that it would make new years not as fun as i wanted it to be. After that i went home and fell asleep super early because i was really tired.

Day Eleven: New Years Eve. I didnt really do anything until night when i went to a friends house. We hung out and i ate a really nasty spring roll. Then I went to a real party. It qwas fun at first but then got boring. New years was ok this year.

Day Twelve: I speant most of this day in North Minneapolis doing a service project. It was eye opening but also exhausting. I was glad to get home to work on homework and read.

Day Thirteen: I spent this day sleeping and doing homework. At night my family and I went to sky zone. It was fun but a really hard work out at the same time.

Culminating Poem

Red faces and wet bodies
Suits and caps packed in a circle
No one lets go
Tearful exchanges and fearful changes
All because you said you're leaving
Devastation, dread, devotion
All for you
Final gatherings and moments
So much want to make it all special
Hurried memories and reminiscing
Hope and plans for the future
Excitement for next year and the coming months
I guess it won't be so bad


For this poem I used the show don't tell technique because I thought the vivid imagrey would be more suiting to the emotions I felt at the time rather than just stating them. I think this is partially because I was feeling so many different things that it's hard to use just one word to describe it. I also used some rhyming on the 4th line, and alliteration on the 6th. I thought that the alliteration would add some sort of melancholy and emphasis to the words listed seen as the only time that I put any emotion explicitly into words.

Creating Poetry from a Free Write

Free Write:
If I could be one animal I think I might chose to be a giraffe. I'd want to live in a place where some humans did, so that I could surprise them by poking my head through the window when they're eating or reading. I think a lot of people like giraffes and it wouldn't hurt to be popular like that. Does the giraffe have any real predators? I don't remember seeing anything about that on "Planet Earth" or national geographic. Maybe the lion or hyena? Being tall might get old after a while, but it'd definitely be better than being a dung beadle. I bet being a giraffe gets lonely sometimes. There don't seem to be that many more giraffes in the world, but how would I know? Only observing them on TV or at the zoo has probably lead to an inaccurate depiction of what a giraffe's life is really like.

Poem #1
Does the giraffe have any real predators?
I don't remember seeing anything
about that on "Planet Earth" or National Geographic.
Maybe the lion or hyena?

 Being tall might get old after a while,
but it'd definitely be better
 than being a dung beadle.

I bet being a giraffe gets lonely sometimes.
There don't seem to be that many more
giraffes in the world, but how would I know?
Only observing them on TV
or at the zoo has probably lead me
to an inaccurate depiction
 of what a giraffe's life is really like.

Poem #2
If I could be one animal
I think
I might chose to be a giraffe.
I'd want to live in a place where some humans did,
 so that I could surprise them
 by poking my head through the window
when they're eating or reading.
I think
 a lot of people like giraffes
and it wouldn't hurt to be popular like that.

Article Turned Poem

"Unleashing the Scientist in the Student"
The students were gathered around
a red-backed salamander deep in the woods
on Staten Island. A shiny black squiggle,
 it was jumping around in the cupped hands of their teacher,
Aimee Kemp, who was determined to show them
 how she could tell it was a male.
New York City used to be salamander central,
but while the red-backed salamander still thrives under rocks and logs,
other species have disappeared.


Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/08/nyregion/salamander-study-enlists-new-york-city-seventh-graders.html?ref=earth

Poetic Qualities

Is there a tune more happy
than a daughter’s windchime laugh?  
A silence more crushing
than her rolling tear?  
Is there a breeze more cooling
than a son’s slumbered sigh?  
A thought more awesome
than the question that he asks?  
And is there a truer joy
when I am the clown? 
Shame when I accuse and rage? 
Peace when I pull up the sheet?  
Pride when I strike the flint? 
I made these kids
and I make these kids.  
And they make me.

10 Reasons to Love Chocolate

First,
It'll become your best friend.
Or an addiction.
Either way it's not bad.

Second,
It a universal symbol for love
If you don't love chocolate, do you love?

Third,
The chef prides in it's knowledge of it
It must be important.

Fourth,
It's ancient all the way to the Mayans
Appreciate history.

Fifth,
Bites melt in your mouth,
no need to chew.

Sixth,
Those who don't enjoy it
face being ostracized
when anyone discovers their secret.

Seventh
It's powerful enough to bring
a smile to the saddest person one could find.

Eighth
It is loved by people of all
Ages, races, countries, religions, genders, classes.
Universal.

Ninth
There is always a new way to enjoy it
Spicy or mild
Perfumed or plain
Crunchy or smooth
Melted or hard
On things or in things.
Versatility.

Tenth
Delicious.
Plain and simple.

Morning

Sitting at the kitchen counter,
In my robe.
Scones cooling on the counter.
Looking out the window as the sun rises
Trees and bushes in the yard
line the creek flowing to the right,
ducks scattered on the banks. The grass wet with dew.
Everything growing lighter and shining with the sun.
I am warmed by this and the oolong in my mug.
Comics on the counter as I sip slowly.
Thinking of all the things to be done,
but mostly thinking that they can wait.