Weblog 3

I believe that it does not matter what children read, only that they are reading. In this day of the internet, video games and other technologies, I think it is important that children read a book once in a while.  While Harold Bloom does not seem to think that the importance of a child merely picking up a book is enough, I do.

 I do not agree with Harold Bloom’s claim that reading J.K. Rowling’s books only prepares children for reading Stephen King. Rowling’s series of Harry Potter books has opened the world of reading to a new generation of children. The number of pages in each of the Harry Potter books does not discourage them because they are excited to step into another world. Children anxiously awaited the new release of each of the books and I for one think that alone is a great achievement.

Harry Potter encourages children to use their imaginations and embrace the world of literature. In the grim world of today’s time, I do not see anything wrong with embracing another magical world. Children grow up to fast, but Harry Potter allows everyone both young and old to remember what it is like to just go along with something and believe. A

fter happily immersing themselves in a novel, children could be more likely to pick up books such as “Jungle Book” and not be overwhelmed. I think that sometimes it is important to just read for enjoyment. You do not always have to read for the literary value.

 I believe that Harold Bloom is mistaken in his article. People can read Harry Potter and subsequently pick up one of the literary greats such as Shakespeare.

Writing Reflection 1

I drive.  I drive fast.  I drive slowly.  I drive to remember.  I drive to think.   I drive to reflect on my life.  I drive to forget.  I drive to leave.  I drive to return.  I drive to escape.  I drive when I am happy.  I drive when I am sad.  I drive when I am angry.  I drive with music.  I drive in silence.  I drive alone.  I drive with company.  I drive to work.  I drive home.  I drive in traffic.  I drive on the open road.  I drive on the highway.  I drive on country roads.  I drive in daylight.  I drive in moonlight.  I drive in sunlight.  I drive in rain.  I drive because it gives me a means for exploring the world.  I drive to make the world a smaller place.  I drive to avoid the world.  I drive because it can be dangerous.  I drive to give me time to dream.  I drive to accept the reality of the world.  I drive because it makes me smile.  I drive to tame my inner demons.  I drive to wonder.  I drive because it gives me a choice in a world full of lack of choices.  I drive because it makes me happy. I drive to get from one place to another.  When it comes down to it, I drive.

 

Weblog 2 Friend or Foe

I think everybody has experienced a time when they misjudged someone. Usually this is when you looked upon someone badly and later learned that they were a good person. My experience was the exact opposite of the norm.

About six or seven years ago I terribly misjudged someone. There was a person named Steven in my life that I believed to be my friend. We seemed to get along great. We had a lot in common and enjoyed hanging out together. At that point in time, I considered Steven by best friend.

Steven needed a place to live and since Steven was my “best friend” I asked him to move into my house and become my roommate. After a few months of living together, I realized my prior judgment of Steven as a good friend was appallingly wrong.

Steven settled into my house like it was his own. In theory that sounded great. However, Steven became overly comfortable. He began to run up the satellite television bill. Steven would stay up late after I went to bed and would order numerous pay-per-view movies every week. When the bill arrived it was for over $500!

I confronted Steven with the bill and he said “Yeah, I ordered some movies.” I told him that he would have to pay for them. When he told me that he wouldn’t pay for his bill, I realized that he was using me. I immediately told him that he would have to find a new place to live. I could not have someone in my house that I could not completely trust.

Unfortunately, Steven and I stopped being friends on that memorable day. It made me very sad to know that someone that I considered my best friend and had let into my life used me. I learned that sometimes things aren’t as they seem.

Weblog 1

Have you ever been grocery shopping at the Wal-Mart and dreaded going into the frozen food section because it is so cold? Or, the ice cream is calling your name and you don’t want anything else but you don’t look forward to opening the freezer because you know you will be instantaneously covered in goose-bumps? In part, you can thank me for those feelings. I am an HVAC service technician and I spend a majority of my hours at work laboring at Wal-Mart making sure that all those freezers will be adequately cold.

So, for me, choosing the name of my weblog has been relatively simple. You can just call me “Cool Cliff.” I am going to school to make myself better at my occupation, so I think it is only appropriate that my weblog reflect my desire to better myself. I hope to become a Journeyman and eventually a Master in HVAC. I love diagnosing problems and figuring out what I need to do to fix them. I get a complete high when I can repair something that has stumped other people. I have chosen to push myself to excel. So right now I am Cool Cliff. One day I hope to upgrade myself to Cold Cliff.

Cool Cliff does not only represent my professional persona. I do not want anyone to think work is my entire life. I work to live; I do not live to work.

Cool Cliff is a great way to describe my personal likes as well. I absolutely love the cold weather. I dread the coming of the summer and anxiously await the arrival of winter every year. The mountains are my favorite place on earth to vacation and I would gladly move to the top of a mountain if I could. So just remember to grab a sweatshirt and come on aboard Cool Cliff’s blog. I hope you enjoy it.

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