Hey, it's me again. I know I don't post very many blogs, and I figured maybe it was time. I'm in Chandler, Arizona at the moment, watching my nephew for most of the summer. I'll be coming back to Albuquerque at the end of July. It is about 2:00 AM on Wednesday, and I got here around 7:00 PM this last Monday. I'm sure most of my friends think it's crazy that I would go some place even hotter than New Mexico, especially during the summer. It was over a hundred degrees when I got off the plane in Phoenix, but hey, I was actually getting cold on that plane!
I suppose I should do an introduction to my brother's little family here in Chandler. Brian is my oldest brother - he moved out here in 2004. At first, he came to see us in Albuquerque about four times a year (usually around Easter, Independence Day, Balloon Fiesta, and Christmas), but I know it won't be as frequent since he started a family. Valissa is my sister-in-law, and she's pretty awesome. She has four sisters and two nieces - I'd list their names, but I don't think I'd spell them right. Lashelle, one of the sisters, was watching the baby before I came, and then it switched to Valissa's mom at some point. One of the reasons Brian and Valissa asked me to watch the baby is because Valissa is hoping her mom will have more motivation to find a job. (They were paying her the same pay I'm getting now, and they were pretty sure she wasn't looking that hard for a job because she enjoyed watching him so much.) Anyways, Valissa's mom lives right down the street so I can call her any time I'm having a hard time with the baby. And finally, about the baby: he was born February second of this year, and his name is David Brayden Hanks. Valissa wanted to name him that because she had a brother named David who died. (I think he was around twenty years old, and he had cancer, but I'm not entirely sure.) Valissa really wants a girl, but she says she's glad their first baby was a boy. She also says that if the next baby is a girl, they won't have another one.
Yesterday was my first day ever taking care of a baby. Yes, I have babysat before, but all the kids I watched were at least three years old. I changed a diaper for the first time yesterday, and that part was not nearly as bad as I would have thought, especially because my nephew likes having his diaper changed. I don't know why, but it makes him happy. I'd have to say that feeding him, putting him to sleep, and keeping him entertained was much harder. He gets hungry and tired at the same time, which makes him cranky. He doesn't let you put him down for very long without getting upset so I had to keep holding him while I made a bottle for him, and when he got tired, he wouldn't let me put him down either. He would actually fall asleep in my arms, and as soon as I put him down, he'd wake up and cry to be held, lol. Because of this, I just let him sleep on me a few times. Also, my arms are extremely sore from carrying him all day.
Brian takes Valissa to the bus in the morning, and then he comes home to finish getting ready. He leaves at about 8:00 AM, and then he gets home at around 4:30 PM. During that time yesterday, I fed David twice, changed his diaper four times, and let him take five naps. I told Brian and Valissa that it feels like he's living five days in one day, and it's exhausting. I have no idea what people do when they have twins. I hope that never happens to me. Anywho, after Brian got home yesterday, we went to a buffalo wing place (I don't remember the name), and then we went shopping. Besides getting paid, I get to eat whatever food I want and play all of Brian's games, which are many. I didn't get to play games while watching David, of course, but I did get to watch most of a movie while he took a really long nap. When we got home around 7:30 or so, Brian and I played Rock Band (I got to play the drums - it was awesome), and then I got to play My French Coach on Brian's DS. I'm really excited to try out My Spanish Coach and My Japanese Coach next since I've been taking French for four years now and am almost fluent, but I know close to nothing about Spanish or Japanese. (I wish they had My German Coach because I've only been taking that for a year and a half, and I need to find some way to keep up with my German.)
Well, that's pretty much all I've got for now. I hope to type up more blogs this summer - we'll see if I have time. Besides watching David, I might get a part-time job at night while I'm here, and I have an online class to keep me busy. I already think I miss my friends and family back in Albuquerque, but I keep reminding myself that most of my friends are going to be away this summer anyway. I'll leave my two or three readers with that. Auf wiedersehen...adieu...farewell.
-Anjuli
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Year 2008 Review
This year has been quite an adventure. I have been at the University of New Mexico for three semesters now, and every semester is different from the next. I'm currently a Sophomore majoring in Languages, and I love every minute of it. Last spring I took French, German, Psychology, Physics, and Survey of Mathematics. At the time, I also got a job at Super Suppers working 15 hours while going to school for 16 hours, which was pretty hard for me. My job was tons of fun, though, because I got to work with food, and everybody who works there went to high school with me so we all knew each other pretty well.
Last summer was pretty eventful. I took French and English, I crashed my car, I went to my first baseball game of my own accord, I discovered I can fit in a dryer, and I went to Arizona for my brother's wedding.
This past semester I took German, Philosophy, Piano, Yoga, Bowling, and two French classes, but I only worked at Super Suppers on the weekends. I moved out of my mom's house in August just before school started, and I now live in a house with three music majors (fun stuff) who all go to the University of New Mexico as well. On the weekends, I stay at my mom's house on the other side of town because my job is over there, and I like the Singles Ward better than the one by the University. Living on my own has been an interesting experience. My roommates are never home (again, they're music majors) so I spend a lot of time alone with the two cats.
One time, I had to break into the house through the kitchen window because I forgot my keys, nobody was home, and I really needed the bathroom. (Also, the landlords that live next door weren't home.) The kitchen window is five feet up, but it's the only one that's ever left open. I had to stack a chair on top of two tables to get in, but I felt a small sense of accomplishment afterwords.
The landlords are the grandparents of one of my roommates (Laura), and they are really sweet people. Laura's grandma always brings us raspberries from their yard and pizza from Costco. I ride my bike to school (about 1.5 miles) every day because, as I already mentioned, I crashed my car at the beginning of last summer. Besides the cold, I really like riding my bike better than I ever liked driving. (I actually hate driving.) That's basically it for this year, however, I do expect many more exciting changes for next year.
Super Suppers is not doing very well, and I have lost my job as a result. I'll be looking for a new job so I can stay with my roommates, but we'll see what happens. I've already registered for classes, and I'll be starting next week. I'm taking French, German, Latin, Piano, Modern World Languages, and Living World Religions. The one thing I'm most excited about for year 2009, though, is that I'm going to be an Aunt in February.
Last summer was pretty eventful. I took French and English, I crashed my car, I went to my first baseball game of my own accord, I discovered I can fit in a dryer, and I went to Arizona for my brother's wedding.
This past semester I took German, Philosophy, Piano, Yoga, Bowling, and two French classes, but I only worked at Super Suppers on the weekends. I moved out of my mom's house in August just before school started, and I now live in a house with three music majors (fun stuff) who all go to the University of New Mexico as well. On the weekends, I stay at my mom's house on the other side of town because my job is over there, and I like the Singles Ward better than the one by the University. Living on my own has been an interesting experience. My roommates are never home (again, they're music majors) so I spend a lot of time alone with the two cats.
One time, I had to break into the house through the kitchen window because I forgot my keys, nobody was home, and I really needed the bathroom. (Also, the landlords that live next door weren't home.) The kitchen window is five feet up, but it's the only one that's ever left open. I had to stack a chair on top of two tables to get in, but I felt a small sense of accomplishment afterwords.
The landlords are the grandparents of one of my roommates (Laura), and they are really sweet people. Laura's grandma always brings us raspberries from their yard and pizza from Costco. I ride my bike to school (about 1.5 miles) every day because, as I already mentioned, I crashed my car at the beginning of last summer. Besides the cold, I really like riding my bike better than I ever liked driving. (I actually hate driving.) That's basically it for this year, however, I do expect many more exciting changes for next year.
Super Suppers is not doing very well, and I have lost my job as a result. I'll be looking for a new job so I can stay with my roommates, but we'll see what happens. I've already registered for classes, and I'll be starting next week. I'm taking French, German, Latin, Piano, Modern World Languages, and Living World Religions. The one thing I'm most excited about for year 2009, though, is that I'm going to be an Aunt in February.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Elkinds vs. Sedaris
I don't feel like typing up anything intelligent or profound at the moment, mostly because that brain power needs to be put to better use. (I should be typing up the final draft of an English paper.) Also, nobody is going to read this anyways. I just wanted to get out my feelings about the rainbow people and bilingual education. When I say rainbow people, I'm talking about homosexuals, but I'm doing so with racism in mind. I have grown tired of the constant comparison of the two; orientation preference and race should not be compared. Whether our sexual tendencies are our choices or not, they can always be fought. Race is not a feeling and therefore cannot be fought. If people want to support homosexuality, they need to stop using race as a comparison. Going further, homophobics cannot be compared with racists. I think the issue is much more complicated than that. This is the first part of my complaints...against Sedaris. I had to read a short story by him for my English class. The story is a nonfiction one titled "I Like Guys," which honestly caught my attention before I knew I would later be required to read it. I have to say, I was disappointed. I wanted something deeper.
And what about bilingual education? Well, I feel that it is only fair to offer education in English as a second language for anybody who is looking for it. I guess my complaint about bilingual education is that some people are not interested. I do not feel too passionate about this just yet because I feel way too biased. I love languages, it's what I do. Other people might not feel the same way, and they don't care about practicality as much as their heritage. I wish I could see it from their point of view, but my "heritage" is practical. I can easily go the rest of my life without learning a second language. That is a luxury that I don't care for, but given the evidence of a growing number of monolinguals in the United States, others actually do care. Many of my fellow Americans have taken advantage of the fact that there is no need for them to learn a second language. These people are just people, and I believe they could have been born in a different country and grown up wanting the same thing...in a totally different way. I guess it just saddens me to know that there are actually a good number of people that would prefer to remain monolingual. Well, that's my ranting and raving of the day...maybe even of the month or year. (This is honestly not common for me, and I guess I just wanted to type out my feelings, which makes this a real blog, right?) Oh, I almost forgot...this second half is a response to another short story I had to read by Elkinds. He describes how I feel, but it's very one-sided. I really wanted the other side. Sheesh, I don't know if I'll ever be satisfied with what I read.
And what about bilingual education? Well, I feel that it is only fair to offer education in English as a second language for anybody who is looking for it. I guess my complaint about bilingual education is that some people are not interested. I do not feel too passionate about this just yet because I feel way too biased. I love languages, it's what I do. Other people might not feel the same way, and they don't care about practicality as much as their heritage. I wish I could see it from their point of view, but my "heritage" is practical. I can easily go the rest of my life without learning a second language. That is a luxury that I don't care for, but given the evidence of a growing number of monolinguals in the United States, others actually do care. Many of my fellow Americans have taken advantage of the fact that there is no need for them to learn a second language. These people are just people, and I believe they could have been born in a different country and grown up wanting the same thing...in a totally different way. I guess it just saddens me to know that there are actually a good number of people that would prefer to remain monolingual. Well, that's my ranting and raving of the day...maybe even of the month or year. (This is honestly not common for me, and I guess I just wanted to type out my feelings, which makes this a real blog, right?) Oh, I almost forgot...this second half is a response to another short story I had to read by Elkinds. He describes how I feel, but it's very one-sided. I really wanted the other side. Sheesh, I don't know if I'll ever be satisfied with what I read.
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