Famous Last Words: Let's Get Back on Track

In my previous week's Famous Last Words post, I did a lot of venting. This week, I'm creating a plan for next week, in hopes that things will finally go back to normal for me.

Monday I'll finally have a cell phone again.  It's crazy how much we rely on those things, not only for communication, but entertainment as well.  Not having a phone for the past week and a half has been somewhat nice, but also pretty stressful.  I've felt very out of the loop with friends and family, and I'm also worried I missed some important calls or texts, but I don't think there's any way for me to find out. I'll be glad to be back in the loop, and be reachable by the "general public" again.

I also hope to get back into my regular routine this coming week. Last week was crazy because in addition to not having my phone, my best friend also had her baby! It was a moment of excitement and overwhelming happiness, but that mid-week trip to Tulsa definitely threw me off my game. Now that Piper is finally here, and I was lucky enough to get to go meet her, this week I can concentrate on school, and getting back into the normal swing of things.

Although I got a late start today, I'm trying to prepare for next week by reading for all of my classes, doing some extra credit for this class, and doing some household chores (boo), like laundry and dishes. It's weird going from such a hectic two weeks to a relatively calm and somewhat boring upcoming week, but boring is good, at least for now. I had fun getting to see my friends and family, but for this week, the less excitement the better.  Now back to work!

Andrea and Piper, immediately after birth! Photo courtesy of the Sawyers family.

Cheers.

Tech Tip: Creating Graphics

This week's tech tip is my favorite so far - creating graphics with https://www.canva.com/.

All you have to do is click the link, sign up, and follow the incredibly easy step-by-step instructions to create a graphic.  They've got tons of things to choose from, including: invitations, thank you cards, blog headers (could be useful if you're doing a storybook for your project), and many more!

I chose to make a simple graphic with a quote from my favorite TV character of all time. Enjoy!

Perhaps Omar Little of The Wire's most famous quote. Made using canva

Feedback Focus

After reading about and experimenting with the three different techniques of staying focused while reading stories, I was surprised to find that I was already employing one! Each week, when I read through my chosen story, I take notes by hand after reading something that catches my attention.  After I've read through all of the stories, I go back and look at my notes, think about which I liked the best, and then go reread my favorite stories and take additional notes.  I take notes both on what elements of the story I liked, and techniques for writing the story that I may end up using.  Sometimes an idea comes to me quickly, other times I have to really ponder how to approach the story.  I find that physically writing down my notes helps me stay focused, instead of worrying about typos and copying/pasting/deleting.

I did find that reading the story aloud at a slow pace helped me stay focused.  I think this would be a good technique to incorporate when I read and take notes, either the first or second time I read a story. (I will have to try both!) I wish I had someone to read the story aloud to, but luckily my cats are pretty good listeners (usually).

I didn't find the timer technique of much use, but I may give it another try when I read my stories this week, especially since I've started my portfolio project, and thus have more of an idea what I'm looking for in each story.

An etching from my favorite story I read, "Why the Dog and Cat are Enemies" by R. Wilhelm. 

Story: Ra Turns to Social Media for Help

Author's Note: I did something very different this week.... a social media based story! This "story" is based off of the Ancient Egypt reading The Secret Name of Ra from Egyptian Myth and Legend from Donald Mackenzie, 1907.  In this story, the ancient Egyptian sun god, Ra, has many divine powers which stem from his secret name that he holds in his heart. Isis, a goddess who wants to harness Ra's name's power, uses Ra's saliva to create an invisible serpent that stings Ra. The sting confuses Ra, and causes him great pain, but he has no idea what caused it.  He calls upon his "children" to advise him on what it may be and what to do, but the only person to offer up a solution is Isis.  In return, Isis wants to know Ra's secret name; at first Ra is reluctant, and even laughs at the idea, but soon the pain overwhelms him, and he reveals his name to her.  Surprisingly, Isis follows through and cures Ra after being given his secret name, but now she has the divine power, which she passes on to her son.

Isis asking yahoo answers for some assistance before she executes her plot

Ra is also seeking some help for an unrelated problem; Isis cleverly using a fake account to answer.

Ra is the sun god of Ancient Egypt, hence the profile picture. Ya can't rely on yahoo answers for everything, Ra.

Now Ra is asking facebook when he should really be going to the doctor. Other commenters are his godly children.

Hope it was worth it, Ra.

Sources:
Isis' profile picture: Wikipedia
Ra's Yahoo Answers picture: Mr. Sun by carlitos on OpenClipArt
Ra's Facebook profile picture: Wikipedia
Hathor's profile picture: Wikipedia
Bastet's profile picture: Wikipedia
All images were created using simitator.com

Reading Notes: Egyptian Myth and Legend Part B

The Two Brothers, Parts 1-4 from Egyptian Myth and Legend, Donald Mackenzie, 1907.

This story is broken into 4 parts, and try as I might, I couldn't pick just one to write about.  The problem with that is so much happens in this story, that writing about the entire thing would probably be pretty difficult without resulting to summarizing.  If I end up writing about this story, I think I would choose to summarize it in Haikus, my favorite type of poetry.  Haikus are a great way to express emotional events in a concise manner, and I feel like that would be appropriate for this story.  I think it would be appropriate to write a haiku or two for each main character for each part of the story.  It would add another dramatic element to an already dramatic story, but also give the reader an idea of what main events took place in the story.

Tomb of Nefermaat I and his wife Itet depicting oxen helping plow a field and what could possibly be two brothers?! Courtesy of Wikipedia

The Tale of King Rhampsinitus

This story was very interesting, especially the ending.  Quite a few ridiculous things happen to the main character, so I think an appropriate way to reflect on them would be in diary entries.  We are given a glimpse of how the main character feels about performing some of these outlandish deeds, but I think it would be fun to explore his deeper emotions and inner thoughts about the situations he kept finding himself in.

Another option for this story would be to write it from the perspective of the mother of the two sons. She didn't play a huge role in this story, but the small part she did have stuck out to me quite a bit.  I would probably write this in first person as the mother.  I'm sure she would have a lot to say about her children's crazy antics, but an opportunity to write about her raw emotions after she lost one of her sons would be an interesting approach too.

Reading Notes: Egyptian Myth and Legend Part A

The first half of my reading was from Egyptian Myth and Legend from Donald Mackenzie, 1907.

Worshipping Osiris, Isis, and Horus. Unknown Author from the Wikimedia Commons

The Death of Osiris and The Journey of Isis

In The Death of Osiris, Osiris - the king of Egypt - is murdered by his brother Set.  For this story,  I think I'd like to rework it into a murder being solved by a detective or forensic anthropologist.  In The Journey of Isis, Set cuts Osiris' body into many pieces, one of which is swallowed by a fish.  I think it would be really interesting to have the detective look at the injuries, determine the cause and the murder weapon, and also hunt to uncover the lost body part that the fish swallowed.

Another idea for these stories would be to turn some of the events into a game show.  In The Death of Osiris, Set brings a special coffin to a party, and challenges people to get inside and see if they are a perfect fit - that could be one of the games.  Another contest could be recovering the pieces of Osiris' body after Set chops him into 14 pieces.  This could be written like a scavenger hunt, and clues and/or riddles could be given along the way to help locate the pieces.  Each body part could be hidden in a famous Egyptian landmark or place of significance.

The Secret Name of Ra

This story of trickery by Isis could be told in the form of fake Facebook status updates.  There are two main characters in this story, but a few others make appearances, which would be good for a Facebook style format in my opinion.  Isis' posts would be more cryptic, and Ra's posts would eventually turn into asking his facebook friends for help.  I would probably use a decent amount of hashtagging and slang in this type of post.