Eye-Opener: Memo

HELP: Tell Me a Story!

Hello SHU community and Beyond... I need everybody's help (students, professors, doctors, etc. ALL ages, it doesn't matter)... most of you know that I'm a graduate student studying Chidlren's Folklore... I have a project to do and it involves collecting stories...

My project is not due until Dec. 2008 and right now I'm just doing pre-liminary research... Here's how YOU can help... "STORIES" is a pretty BROAD term, and I'm trying to narrow my focus and find an angle...

I'm trying to narrow my focus by asking you to share a childhood story that's so memorable to you... the stories I collect here will hopefully give me a focus and an angle to PREPARE this fall when I start officially collecting them in a methodical manner with proper documentation etc.... I won't use your stories other than to get a "feeling" and if I do use your story, I'll send you an individual email asking for permission (you can refuse or accept- no hard feelings)...

I talked to one of my advisers, and she reminded me that "stories" is broad and to make things complicated a child's sense of story is even vague (depending on the age and other exposures/factors- a child might associate jokes, riddles, fairy tales etc. as stories-- the other tricky thing is that I'm asking YOU [people of all AGES] with different backgrounds/concepts/perspective to SHARE with me... I'll never know what I'll find unless I ask ... so PLEASE PARTICIPATE (you can ask all my teachers: St. Matthias, Arch. John Carroll HS, SHU, USU, that I have good academic integrity so I won't abuse the information you share with me)

so If you're interested in participating just comment on this entry and tell me your story in the comment section (pass the word and tell everybody you know, who'd like to participate)...

here are some guidelines:

1. Think back when you were 10 years old (or close to that age), Tell me a story (it doesn't matter what genre- I'm being vague here on purpose because I'm trying to find out something) that you remember telling your peers? What story(s) was popular in your group? What did you tell each other? I'm looking for Personal stories not Private stories and REMEMBER to SHOW a lot (with details) instead of to TELL.

Thanks for participating and helping me! Once my focus is narrowed and I find an angle, I would know how to analyze whatever data I get; and I would have a better idea on how to approach this project this Fall, so thanks in advance!

Cooking, citizenship, and chillin' at fastfood eateries...

last week I cooked my first beef steak...

first I had to somewhat defrost the meat... so I ran hot water on it (is this sanitary?)...once the meat was somewhat malleable/bendable, I marinated it somewhat... I sprinkled an estimated pinch of salt and pepper on both sides...then I think I used a teaspoon of lemon juice to spread on one side (repeated for the other side)... I just let all (salt,pepper, lemon juice) settle/marinate the meat (for at least 20 minutes)...

while those ingredients was flavoring the meat, I prepared the pan...I prewarmed the pan for a minute on high...then lowered it to medium and spread 2 tablespoon of olive oil... 20 minutes past, and I place the meat in the pan to fry it... it sizzled and the oil leapt/splattered creating a halo around the pan (grease stains?-- this is why the stove gets dirty [now i understand])...sometimes I felt the pin-prickly feeling of oil stinging me...it's like the bites of fire-ants (but milder?)...

I kept flipping one side to make sure both sides are nice and brown (bloody stuff started to exudes from the meat- heat causing the meat to clean itself?)... I fried both sides for five minutes to be sure (the good thing is that I didn't burn it-- sure some of the edges were charred, but it was still delicious)... once the supposed frying time ended, I lowered the heat and poked the meat... no liquidy stuff was coming out (good sign that it's cooked) and then I cut it in half to see the insides, it wasn't pink/reddish (another good sign)...

I served this along with rice-roni's Cheddar and broccoli flavored rice (which wasn't that difficult and daunting to cook- just add water, butter, rice-roni and BOIL- once it reached its boiling point, lower the heat and let it "simmer")... I was full in the end... I ate the left overs for dinner the next day...

A couple of days after cooking this beef steak, I experimented with canned tuna and eggs...

I sliced half an onion (I learned that in order to prolong the life of the onion, one must slice it and put it in the freezer) and a Roma tomato... I spread one teaspoon of olive oil on the pan (I didn't want the same oil splatter- plus the tuna is pretty much cook so I figure little oil is needed)...

I put everything together and the last thing i added was the scrambled egg... I think I might have overcooked everything in the end because the tuna was a little dry (overcooking is better than undercooking especially when it comes to raw eggs)... everything is still edible and delicious for me (just add a little ketchup)... I ate this with white rice (I recently discovered a working rice cooker in my apartment, hiding in one of those cabinets in the kitchen [my first flatmate left it and I'm glad he did!])...my next cooking project will be SPAGHETTI (coming soon!)...

A couple of days ago on July 2nd (2008), my parents and brother became American citizens (I became one before 2006)... I wasn't able to attend the ceremony because I'm in Logan, UT teaching... I called them and they just received the card I sent them... I watched the fireworks on July 3rd with my thai friends and for July 4th, I just stayed in my apartment dorm and chillaxed (watched tv, graded two papers, caught up with scrapbooking etc.- very laid-back)...

So far this summer, I've been balancing between cooking and eating out: cooking my own food, and either eating at the university cafeteria or eating at local eateries (fastfood chain or not)...in the passed couple of days, I frequented Taco Time and Subway...

Taco Time
McDonalds has its Burger King and Taco Bell has its TACO TIME...Taco Time claimed that they used fresh ingredients and they probably do... BUT eveything gets lost when cooking is approached in an assembly-line fashion... I tried their new Pork Quesidilla served with a scoop of rice and beans with tortilla chips and green sauce (verde chili)... the tortilla and chips' supposed crispyness was on the verge of being overly toasted... in the end, I still preferred Henriquez Mexican and Salvadorian Grill (cooked just right and cheaper!)...

Subway
I tried the Foot-long special for $5 and it was good... I ate the first half for lunch and the other half for dinner... Overall a good bargain, and it filled me up... I had the roasted chicken breast on Monterey Cheese loaf with spinach, pickles, tomatoes and honey mustard sauce... this was also approached in assemmbly-line fashion but somehow it worked for a sandwich-type meal... for dessert, I walked over to Juniper's and had the Caramel Pecan Icecream (it was okay, it wasn't like the Gelati's I would have in Philadelphia, but still acceptable)...

YUMMY!

Tagalog Test for a Native-born

Why did a person, who was born in the Philippines and grew up there for 9 years, take the Tagalog language proficiency test at BYU (Provo)?

the person I'm talking about is Me (if that wasn't obvious)... most of you know that I'm trying to complete a master's program in Folklore (in the hopes of supplimenting my BA in creative writing [English])... one of the requirements in a Master of Arts (MA) degree is proficiency in TWO languages...

Originally, I planned on brushing up on my Spanish and making this count for my second language... last semester, I reviewed and took the Spanish placement test and I passed the Spanish 1010 level, which meant that I had three more levels to complete before I'm considered proficient (SP 1020, 2010, 2020?)... in an ideal world where I have more time (more than two years), this task can be easily accomplished...

HOWEVER in the REAL world where I teach two classes and take two classes in my program, I gain opportunities and lose some. I'm building up my CV-resume and picking up skills with the teaching and at the same time I'm not able to focus time in studying Spanish... the few down times/break I have is just that, few and rare- I still have to be SANE. So during these few breaks, I do what sane people do: take a break!

I reached a point where I had no problems accepting a Master of Science (MS) instead of a MA (I figure that after I complete my program and I have more time, I can continue practicing Spanish and maybe there's a test out there I can take to show proficiency and I can show this "certificate" to my future employer) But my colleagues still kept saying that MA is better (favored) because of the language requirement (another skill)...

I was about to just settle for the MS when one of my friend/colleagues (who went on a mission in the Philippines and spoke/studied Tagalog) suggested: "Why don't you take the test for Tagalog?" BYU in Provo was offering this test (Tagalog as a subgenre of Spanish)... and he gave me the website to find out more information...

Can I do this? I thought to myself... I went to the website. It was clear that BYU students who spoke Tagalog was exempt from taking this exam. But I'm a USU student, and reading between the lines, there is a chance for me because the website states that other institutions may have a different policy for language profiiciency...

with hope, I went to the director for the graduate program for the English Department here at USU to clarify this idea... The issue of "NATIVE SPEAKER" came up. I asked him how USU defines "native speakers"...

my rational: yes I was born in the Philippines, and I grew up there for 9 years, the highest formal education I received in the Philippines is 2nd grade... after that I went to the U.S. from 3rd grade to the present, I've had an American education... in both situations whether speaking Tagalog or English, listening/writing/reading Tagalog or English, I still struggle, I still miss the nuances in both language (eventually I get it but it doesn't come easily)...

...here's where the situation gets knotty (for my case specifically), during the meeting with the director we tried to figure out which test I should take... if Tagalog is considred my native language, then that means technically I can take some sort of TOEFL test... if English is considred my native language then I can take the Tagalog test... here's where it gets tricky, the director pointed out the discriminatory nature of testing a native on the procifiency of his native language, he brought up a good point: if a Tagalog speaking person is being tested on Tagalog, then why aren't Americans tested on English to show that they're proficient in it?...

Here's another factor in my case, I'm a graduate instructor (GI), and one of the requirements for being a GI is being proficient in English; if I weren't then the English Department wouldn't have hired me. The director pointed out that taking the English proficiency test would be pointless because I already surpassed this requirement when I was hired ... at the end of that meeting, we sort of settled on the idea that I'm BILINGUAL... right now the director is writing a letter to the dean of graduate studies about my case...

I wonder if the bilingual factor was considered in the clause "proficiency in two languages"... if I don't take Spanish, if I passed the Tagalog or English test, would I still get the coveted MA?

Weeks passed...

I haven't heard from the director (I'll email him next month) but I still took the Tagalog test last Saturday June 28 with my friend (I took it because the testing site is in Provo [2 hours from Logan at least] and I don't have a car, and it was only $30-- it's an investment- if this is succesfull then I save TIME and I get an MA instead of a MS, and if it's not, then it's ONLY $30)

I still have to REVIEW my Tagalog... it was sort of fun, I just listened to most of my Tagalog music cds, and I read this humorous/satiric Tagalog with English book about culture of and problems in the Philippines called "Bakit Baligtad magbasa ng libro ang Pilipino?" by Bob Ong (Why do Filipinos read books backward [upside-down]?)... I sort of wanted to do more, for example, read Tagalog news and watch Filipino TV on-line, do some chatting with my missionary friend who spoke Tagalog... but I waited until the week of the test to get SERIOUS about this test (I couldn't believe that I was going to take the test)...

I listened to Tagalog music when I woke up, while I graded, while I read, while I cooked etc.... then I read Ong's book everyday at least 20-30 pages a day (getting through this book was difficult but it helped me with vocab and grammar- while reading this book, I found it easier to read it when I read it outloud or in whispers...

on the day of the test, I woke up at 4:30 am, my friend with his family, and I left Logan at 6:30 am... we were supposed to be at the testing site 20 minutes before 9... we arrived 3 minutes before 9... the test was scantron- multiple choice, listening, and reading comprehension...

I thought the grammar's difficulty was okay... it was a bit tricky because I got confused between formal and informal... then when I started to overanalyze it too much, I ended up second-guessing my answer/instinct... I followed the old/ sometimes irrational adage "If it sounds right, then it's correct"... sometimes I whispered the phrases so I could hear it (it's amazing how audio can make meaning clearer)...

the listening was okay... there were funny moments especially when the questions and answer choices were sort of absurd that they're funny... the test takers laughed (they undertood and caught the absurdity)... once again, the only time I had difficulty was when I overanalyzed-- sometimes rather than paying attention and listening to the dialogues, I'd make up my own dialogue and finish the dialogue OR sometimes I'd construct the dialogue based on the choices of answers the test provided... Luckily I stopped this habit and focused (hopefully not too late)...

the reading comprehension part was the most difficult... I had to translate 12 passages, each passage got longer and the vocabularies got bigger (the nice thing was that the passages dealt with some cultural aspects of the Philippines: values, religion, weather, foodways, literature, history, etc.- nice cultural review)... the annoying thing was that it took FOREVER translating the passages, and they'd only ask three questions or so--)

a good test-taker would just look at the question and look for "key phrases"- I didn't feel comfortable doing this because it's been a while since I took a formal test on Tagalog... so I translated sentence by sentence-- the advantage of doing this is that the information is retained longer in my brain, and I feel more confident in answering the questions and if I'm not then I know where to find the information in the passage...

translating was fun... when the passage was short, i translated it to the best of my ability following English grammar rules... but the longer and more complicated the passages became, I forgot about the grammar and I focused on the idea (somehow the translation started looking like choppy poetry)... I started taking shortcuts (using letters to designate names, or Mars and Venus symbols for gender, slang, etc.)...

I finished the test 20 minutes before time was up (11:45)- I decided to re-check the grammar section... If I pass, I hope this could replace the language requirement for my program so I could receive a MA instead of a MS...

Project Prettification complete

yes, hopefully I would only have less than a year before graduating... but this idea didn't stop me from SPRUCING up the apartment I live in...

during my first year here at Logan, Utah... I was too busy learning my way around (learning the bus system/schedule, exploring different stuff/stores/institutions etc. downtown)-- my apartment was a place where I slept (and occassionally a place to socialize when dining/chatting with flatmates)... I did everything outside my apartment (the winter season was an exception)... I did most of my homework in the library or in a cafe downtown, I did teaching stuff in my office in Ray B West Building, I watched tv in my friend's house, I ate in the cafeteria or downtown...etc.

the summer season is helping to bring a change to this routine... sometimes I just don't want to go out because I want to sleep in (or it's too hot)... I'm eating more inside the apartment instead of relying on the cafeteria for food (Cooking plays a role)...also trying to save money...

most of the non-perishable stuff I bought to beautify the apartment came to a total cost of only $60... and most of them are second-hand from thrift stores (D.I and Somebody's Attic), you'll be amazed at the treasures you'll find in these places...

tv- I found a 20" tv in "Somebody's Attic" for only $15 (You have five days to test out the tv, if it doesn't work you have to return it within the designated five days-- luckily the tv works so I don't have to return it)... the only drawback to this tv is the broken VCR attached to it...even though there's no tape inside, it keeps rewinding itself... it's annoying at first sounding like a broken metronome, but eventually you get used to it...the remote is not consistent but still works occassionally(wait 5 minutes before pressing the buttons again)...in addition, I bought a cable antenna ($7) so I can watch local news, tv shows, and get access to some cable channels (like USA, MTV etc.)...

SEGA- Forget Playstation 3 or Nintendo's Wii... I went old-school and both a Sega Genesis game consul ($20)... I missed the FLAT 2-D images and simple linear plots of its games (it's another form of entertainment- a nice break from reading 20-30 pages scholarly journals, jargon-filled textbooks, grading, teaching, etc.-- to unclutter the brain)....

the apartment has off-white cinderblock walls, mauve/fading purplish/reddish carpet worn and blackened in some parts through wear and effects of time, gray couch and arm chair with scratched dark wooden base... I didn't go too far with buying couch covers with matching carpet at the center of the living room instead I spent $10 on a large abstract painting and two couch pillows:

art- the colors of the abstract painting caught my attention when I first saw this in "Somebody's Attic"... at first I didn't really care if it was a good abstract painting... the colors were enough to brighten up the living room and put color in a drabby room... it contained both primary and secondary colors (mostly red)... it's 3X4, the more I look at it, the more intriguing the shapes become... sometimes the shapes are blocky, sometimes it's like a lava lamp with organic/flowing shapes... the negative area sometimes pops out sometimes it sinks... something about it reminds me of Miro or a color-field painter's work... it's less than 5 pounds and I used one of those "super sticky" things to hang it... I hang it 2 days ago, and it's still hanging (I hope the "sticky thing" holds it- I fear the day it would fall on somebody's head while he/she is lounging on the couch)...

I was going to buy a rug for $15 but decided not to (it cost too much plus it didn't match)...Instead I bought two couch pillows from "D.I."... One is striped (subdued tomatoe red and yellowish/olive green) another is a solid olive green with a satin finish...instead of having a christmas feeling to it, it has more of a 60s vibe to it...nonetheless they serve their function well- they put color on a drabby gray couch

Other accents around the living room area and kitchen are plants and various birdhouses. I actually got the plants last summer, and they've grown...I just moved them in the living room because my room is crowded plus, they get better sunlight there... the only logic I used in choosing the birdhouses deals with number... while I was at "D.I."... I was looking for knick-knacks to fill the corners and other empty spaces... I decided to have a unifying theme to hold all of them together...I found lots of interesting looking bird houses on the shelf (ranging from $0.75 to $2.00)...

lastly, a natural accesory to have in the kitchen is food- the table is decorated by banana/orange/onion... cereal/instant oatmeal boxes, bread, honey, etc... I also inherited red fabric placematas from my old flatmate...

the entertainment, decorations, and food actually make the place livable, like somebody actually lives there: ME!