Erin

Drinking Coffee Elsewhere

2008-04-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

Chapter: Doris is Coming

Packer fills the pages of the book with so many metaphors, similes, and vivid story telling techniques that it makes the reader feel like they are actually in the story. She starts off the chapter describing that the "speeding Buicks and Fords on Montgomery Road sounded like an ocean". As a reader, I'm actually able to hear the roaring of those cars in my head. Later in the chapter, where Doris and her family walk to Stutz's, Packer describes a chill that goes through Doris, "as if she didn't have a coat on at all". I can feel that chill!

She uses a variety of ways to describe the characters in the chapter. Instead of generically listing what Reverend Sykes looks like, she instead says, "Girls who spend most of the service wondering whether Reverend Sykes conked his hair or if it was naturally wavy" and "He could look thirty or forty or fifty, depending on how he smiled and for whom".

Packer incorporates quotes that really help develop the story, especially the passion in the church scene. As the reader, I feel like I'm actually at the church, listening to the sermon by the Reverend and sitting next to people "on their feet" in the pews shouting, "Preach it, Brother!".

After reading the chapter, I feel like I know Doris. Packer enables me to feel like I go to school, church, and Stutz's with Doris, and that I personally know Livia.

My favorite line in the whole chapter came at the end. "The sky had just turned her favorite shade of barely lit blue, the kind that came to windows when you couldn't get back to sleep but couldn't quite pry yourself awake."

Word of the Week #7

2008-03-12T21:23:00.000-07:00

Word:
brusque

Original Context:
Critics have questioned Bolton's brusque style and whether he could be an effective public servant who could help bring reform to the U.N. (breitbart.com)

Definition:
Rudely abrupt, unfriendly.

New Context:
He could not believe how brusque the girl was after he asked her out on a date.

Mystery Character

2008-03-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

Answering to a name not given to her at birth, she is most desired for the preferred hair color of blonde. Her voluptuous figure earned her a cover on Playboy in 1953, the first issue to be exact. She was a Hollywood starlet, who when not working, was said to wear nothing but a bathrobe. She screamed sex appeal which she not only shared with millions of fans, but the 3 men who were married to her throughout the years., Among those were a hall of fame baseball player, and an iconic author. She is considered one of the greatest movie stars of all time yet her time was cut tragically short. The last time her lisp, breathless voice was publicly and widely heard was a serenade at Madison Square Garden, however, most women prefer her take that diamonds are girl's best friend.

Word of the Week #4

2008-02-20T19:30:00.000-08:00

Ausforming

Original Context: Ausformed parts have superior mechanical properties

Definition: Steel formed into desired shapes within controlled ranges of temperature and time

New Sentence: The structure was not sound due to the lack of ausformation in it's foundation.

Word of the Week #3

2008-02-20T13:49:00.000-08:00

Dissent

Original Context: Not every case has a dissent. It is your job to figure out whether there is one or not.

Definition (for the context): A justice's refusal to concur with the opinion of a majority, as a on a higher court.

New Sentence: After reviewing the intimate details of the case, I did not find a dissent for the ultimate ruling of Nicholson v. McClatchy (1986)

Word of the Week #2

2008-02-20T11:58:00.000-08:00

Malapropism

Old Context: In the course of conversation, a friend used the word malapropism. He said, "My mom told me that I continually demonstrate malapropism.

Definition of Malapropism: an act or habit of misusing words ridiculously , esp. by the confusion of words that are similar in sound

New Context: Malapropism from an English teacher is disappointing.

Telling Details

2008-02-13T20:35:00.000-08:00

A little girl lost with her platinum hair extensions parted neatly down the middle, woven intricately and tight. Oversized silver rings on every finger, not one of value, but they match the the heavy cuff clasped around her left wrist. An unbecoming bra dripping gunmetal sequins with matching bottoms. They reflect the light and flicker illuminatingly. Black fishnet stockings that form miniature diamonds run down her leg and are tucked into knee-high velour stiletto boots. Body is untoned but freshly bronzed. Sculpted abs have strategically been painted on, darker shadows in all the right places, at all the right angles.

She moves her weathered hands down her hips and creeps lethargically across the embellished stage. Bleeding awkwardness. Trying so hard. Trying so hard to revert back to a time when she loved herself. A lackluster effort because, as everyone can see, she is nothing short of petrified. Amber eyes that are beautifully pained. Outlined in black in an effort to camouflage the hollowness where focus and drive used to penetrate through.

An Amazing Piece of Writing

2008-02-05T09:08:00.000-08:00

"Porcelain Fists" by Ingrid Michaelson

Follow your heart he said

Your heart will take you there

Swallow your pride he said

For pride is anything but rare

So I walked into your eyes without a raincoat on

And in the salty sea, I find you're all but gone

Take my hand, you're treading water

I feel I am slipping away from underneath my toes

Nobody knows

Where is it she goes?

Looked in the bathroom stall

Your back against the wall

Cold tiles beneath your fall

Your body broke your fall

Spitting into your own reflection glazing back

Inside your porcelain fists, your palms being to crack.

To me, this song is raw emotion. I can actually taste "the salty sea" of tears Michaelson sings of, and I get shivers from the "cold tiles" beneath my knees. I love these lyrics because the imagery used allows me to close my eyes and disappear into the world they create.

These three versus take me back to September 2007 when I ended my relationship with my boyfriend of 2 and a half years. This was one of the emotional times in my life not only because of that, but other difficult obstacles I was facing in my life. It was a weak and depressing time for me. Michaelson refers to weakness and disparity as porcelain fists, and as she sings, mine did "begin to crack".

I feel like Michaelson does a phenomenal job at encompassing what it feels like to give up on something or someone. These lyrics are tragically beautiful, vividly stimulating and simply special.

New Word

2008-01-30T18:35:00.000-08:00

The word I found is ascribed. I came across this word in my textbook for History 155. The book is titled, Twentienth-Century World History and is written by William J. Duiker. According to dictionary.com, the definition of ascribe is "to credit or assign, as to a cause or source; attribute; impute".

New sentence: I ascribed the dinner I cooked for my boyfriend to the creations of Emeril Lagasse.

Me <3

2008-01-29T11:15:00.000-08:00

I am almost 24, and I'm hoping to be graduated by the age of 25. I am a Public Relations major that has bounced between San Diego State and San Jose State. I am finally content with staying in the Bay Area, my home, and finishing at SJSU. After college I hope to work in corporate PR at either Apple or Cisco.

During my time bringing in a hearty income, I want to develop my own business. I aim to have a successful clothing boutique in downtown Los Gatos by the time I am 30. I currently work at Nordstrom, and know that a lot of my daily tasks will help me with my future career as a trendy business owner.