Famous Last Words - Week 13

I am writing this post on monday because the rest of my week is going to be pretty hectic. My grandmother unexpectedly passed away yesterday. I will be leaving tomorrow after class because I don't have class on Wednesdays. The funeral is set for Thursday morning. Friday morning I leave to go to Austin for my cousin's wedding, which is friday night.
This may get a little sentimental.
It is so scary to think about how quickly things can change. One day - everything is fine. The next day - everything you knew has changed. It really puts things in perspective. We need to make the most out of each day we're given. We need to think of each day as a gift versus a privilege.

I am feeling a little stressed out because I have to get all my school work done before I go.
I have more school work in this class right now than my other's so that's what I have been focusing on today. However, I do have a test tomorrow so after I write this post I am going to switch subjects.

My parents came down for the Baylor game this past weekend and that was a lot of fun. I love when my parents come down. They love Norman, they think the little town feel is so cute. It is a little town compared to where I live.

Since this technically isn't the end of my week, that's really all I can say for now.
Till next time....

In honor of my favorite season and my favorite holiday coming up.

RSS Widget Tech Tip

This week I added a RSS Widget to the sidebar on my blog. This is one of those things that I never thought about having until I got it. It allows people to subscribe to my blog and keep updated with my posts. They could see my posts as easily as emails. This is actually a pretty cool idea. If you find someone's blog that really interests you, you can easily see all their posts. Aside from that, you can subscribe to as many blogs as you want. I hope more people in our class do this tech tip.

Storytelling: Matsya Kingdom - Week 13

The final casting list was about to come out. Students lined up outside the theater with high hopes of scoring the part of their dreams. The teacher came out with the list and walked up to the bulletin board; the students crowded closer and closer and tension grew. She pinned the list to the board and quickly moved out of the way.

Final Casting List

Matsya Kingdom

In order of appearance:

Brahmin .......... Yudhishthira

Virata's cook .......... Bhima 

Sudeshna's personal maid .......... Draupadi

Cattle supervisor .......... Sahadeva

Horse supervisor .......... Nakula

Eunuch .......... Arjuna

Synopsis of Scenes:

The acts take place in the Matsya Kingdom where King Virata rules. This is where the Pandavas choose to spend their thirteenth year of exile. They take on these parts to aid in their disguise. 

Everyone was content with their parts, it had been just what they auditioned for. Except for Arjuna. Arjuna read his part and stormed down the hallway. How dare the theater teacher force him to succumb to the part of the eunuch. The eunuch lives with the women of the court as a music and dance teacher. This seemed like the result of some curse. 

Yudhishthira was exceptionally happy with his part. In his real life, he had never been very good at dice and chess. The brahmin was an expert at dice and chess. Yudhishthira got to be whoever he wanted in the alternative reality that was the theater. That is why Yudhishthira loved the theater so much. He had always been the star, everyone looked up to him. 

Draupadi was excited to be the token woman in this act. She knew Yudhishthira, Bhima, Sahadeva, Nakula, and Arjuna all liked her and she milked it in every way that she could. 

Sahadeva was the youngest of the group and therefore felt the need to prove himself.

Nakula was Sahadeva's close friend. Nakula only joined theater because Sahadeva did. 

Lastly, Bhima proved to have unmatchable talent in everything he does. He was very confident in his part of the play and everyone else was confident in him.

All of the actors will come together Saturday night to create a one of a kind play that would portray an important aspect of Indian Culture.

Google Images

Author's note:

I decided to base my story off of The Pandavas move into the Matsya kingdom. My story takes place in a theater setting. The Pandava brothers and Draupadi are the actors and the parts they play are the parts they take to disguise themselves while in exile. I tried to describe each character in my story parallel to who they are in the original story. 

Buck, William (1973). Mahabharata

Reading Diary B - Week 13

-Vyasa sees many bad omens about the upcoming battle
-Bhishma becomes the commander of Duryodhana's army
-Karna refuses to fight


-Drupada had been praying to Shiva for a child
-He wanted a son but got a daughter named Skihandini
-Sikhandini asked a yaksha to make her into a man

-Sanjaya tells the story of the battle to Dhritarashtra
-Bhishma is killed with arrows but is able to choose his time of death

-Duryodhana makes Drona in charge
-Arjuna's friend, prince Uttara is killed and Arjuna is distraught
-Arjuna kills Jayadratha by beheading him

-Drona kills Druapda
-Dhristadyumna kills Drona in the forest

-Karna challenges Arjuna to a battle
-Arjuna kills Karna
-Shalya is killed by Yudhishtira

-Duryodhana is badly wounded
-The Pandavas come to the lake to end it with Duryodhana

Reading Diary A - Week 13

-Yudhishthira sends his brothers on by one into the forest to fetch water
-When they didn't return, he went into the forest and found their bodies
-The brothers are revived by Yama when Yudhishthira answers questions proposed as a test

-The Pandavas decide to spend their 13th year of exile in the Matsya kingdom
-Yudhishthira becomes a brahmin with expertise in dice and chess
-Bhima becomes a cook
-Draupadi becomes a maid
-Sahadeva tends to cattle
-Arjuna becomes a eunuch
-Nakula tends to horses

-Indra wants to armor and earring that Karna has worn since birth
-Indra comes to Karna in disguise but he sees through it
-Indra ends up giving Karna an infallible dart

-Kichaka is killed by Bhima when he tries to attack Draupadi

-Susharman and Duryodhana plan a cattle raid
-Arjuna defeats them all by using a weapon to make them all fall asleep

-Sanjaya comes to see the Pandavas

-Karna says he can defeat the Pandavas single-handedly

-Duryodhana and Yudhishthira go to see Krishna
-"When Krishna awakes, he sees Arjuna first and offers him a choice: he can take Krishna as his ally, or he can have all the soldiers of Krishna's army. Arjuna chooses Krishna as his ally, giving the soldiers to Duryodhana"

-Krishna pleads with Karna to join the Pandavas but Karna refuses

Famous Last Words - Week 12

This week is finally coming to a close and I couldn't be happier. Although this week hasn't been that busy, it seemed long. I had a presentation over gangs and a test on tuesday. However, after that I was finished for the week so I can't really complain.
I register for next semester this week so that's weird. I can't believe I'm registering for my last senior year semester. Time flies so fast.

This class is still going pretty good. I found myself in a tight spot getting my storybook revisions done last week. This week I need to write a story. I hope to have it finished before the weekend. I find it hard sometimes to completely start from scratch with stories; to have to use my own creativity versus a book. Although I do like it better.

My family is coming down to norman this weekend so I'm excited for that. They always come down for the Baylor game. Bentley fractured his tail this past week so we've been dealing with that. I have no idea how it happened. His little tail is shaved and he won't leave it alone. Poor little guy has to wear a cone on his head.

That's all I can think of for this week!
Till next time....

This week I am constantly listening to the song 'Drinking Class' by Lee Brice. I'm obsessed. 

Google Images

Announcements Tech Tip

This week I figured out that you can subscribe to emails for class announcements. This is king to be EXTREMELY helpful. I did not know you could do this. Too often, I miss announcements because I figure all the important information would be sent in a email. Then I check the announcement page and I've missed something important. Now, I only have to worry about checking my email. I wish I had known about this freshman year.

Reading Diary B - Week 12

-Arjuna turns down Urvashi so she curses him

-Indra teaches Arjuna the use of divine weapons

-Bhima tells the story of Mankanak

-Yudhishthira tells the story of Rishyashringa

-The Pandavas go to Mount Kailasa

-Manibhadra- lord of yaks has

-Vaishravana- treasure lord

-Arjuna rejoins his brothers on earth

-12th year of exile - the Pandavas go to Dhritarashtra's kingdom

-Chitraratha traps Duryodhana but the Pandavas rescue him

-Jayadratha- husband of Duhsala and brother-in-law of Duryodhana

-Jayadratha tries to kidnap Draupadi but the Pandavas catch him. They end up releasing him.

-Krishna and Vyasa go to visit the Pandavas in the woods

-Vyasa tells the story of Savitri at Draupadi's request

Reading Diary A - Week 12

-Pandavas arrive to the poker match
-Yudhishthira stakes himself, his brothers, and Draupadi
-Duryodhana tries to publicly humiliate Draupadi
-Draupadi makes a wish that all the brother's and herself are freed and it's granted
-The panadvas lose again and have to move into exile

-Arjuna meets his father Indra in the forest

-Nala- king of Nishada
-Damayanti- daughter of Vidarbha
-Damayanti chose to marry Nala, but the eveil spirit Kali vowed to ruin their happiness

-Pushkara- Nala's brother
-Kali made Pushkara challenge Nala to a game of dice
-Nala lost everything to Pushkara
-Nala decided to leave Damayanti
-Damayanti kept looking for Nala
-She finally went to her father and he promised to search for Nala

-Karkotaka bit Nala, turning him into an ugly person
-Nala became King Rituparna's charioteer

-Parnada found Nala and went to tell Damayanti
-Damayanti sent her maid to find Nala and Nala returned to Damayanti

Famous Last Words - Week 11

I cannot believe this weekend is already Halloween. Next thing we know, it'll be Christmas and then Spring Break and then we'll be done. This school year is flying by. And this year is scarier than all the past years because I have to enter to real world after this. I'm too young to be a grown-up, right?

This class is going pretty good. Nothing new really...i've been doing okay keeping up and my storybook is going in the right direction.
I added a little more to my plate when I signed up for an 8-week online class: Conflict Resolution. I think I mentioned that in my previous Famous Last Words post. It doesn't seem like it's going to be too much more work though, which is nice. Plus I like online classes. It gives you more freedom to run on your own schedule. However, you are more accountable for getting your stuff done. You aren't going to class every week and there is no one reminding you you have something due at a certain time.
The rest of my classes are going good. I had a test and a quiz yesterday. I think they went okay. Knock on wood.

I went home last weekend and thank God I did. My parents surprised me with a new car! It's an early graduation present because my old car wasn't running so well anymore. I'm absolutely obsessed with it. I try and think of errands to run just as an excuse to drive it.

I am still not sure what I am going to do this weekend for Halloween. Honestly, I am not the biggest fan of Halloween. I don't understand it. I like Christmas and Thanksgiving. However, I usually do something anyway.
One thing I know I want to do this weekend is see Gone Girl. I have been begging my boyfriend to go with me and this weekend i'm going with or without him.

That's all that I can think of for now
Till next time.....

Google Images

Weather Widget Tech Tip

This week I put a weather gadget in my blog! I like it there, it makes it a little different. Slash I am always looking at the weather forecast on my phone (I am dying for a storm) and now I can look at the weather and do my Indian Epics homework at the same time!
Very neat little trick.
Everyone else should get one.

Storytelling: A Bedtime Story - Week 11

"Time for bed little one."
She defiantly shook her head. She was at that age where bedtime and eating her vegetables were the worst things in her small world.
"Come on. I will tell you a bedtime story."
After much consideration she grabbed her pink stuffed bunny and sleepily walked towards her bed. Success.
She climbed into bed and I pulled the sheets up to her little chin. I sat on the edge of her bed and stroked her forehead. He eyes were heavy but he she was trying so hard to stay awake.

She had heard this story plenty times before but it never ceased to amaze her.

"Okay here we go. Once upon a time there was a king who lived in a far away land. He loved his wife very much and he would often dream about her when he wasn't with her. He knew his wife always wanted a little girl of her own. He loved her so much that he decided to give her her wish."

"Like me?"

" Like you. So one day, he asked the stork to bring his wife a baby girl. The stork said yes because delivering babies was his job. He picked out the sweetest little baby he could find."

"Did a stork carry me to you daddy?"

"Yes Emma. The stork wrapped the baby up in a blanket and started on his way. As he was crossing the ocean, he got distracted by a fish jumping in the water and he dropped the baby!"

"Then what daddy?!"

"Close your eyes Emma. Good. The baby fell from the air and dropped right into the mouth of a big fish! The baby was so small that she slipped right to his tummy. She lived there until one day a fisherman caught the fish. He found the little girl and decided to raise her as his own. He named her Satyavati."

Her little head fell to the side. She was finally asleep.

I kissed her on the forehead and quietly made my way to the door.

"Do they live happily ever after daddy?" She whispered.

"Yes Emma. They live happily ever after."

Google Images

Authors Note:
I did my story based on the story of the king of Chedi and his attempt at sending his semen to his wife. I thought it would be fun to tell this story as a bedtime story. Therefore, I had to make it very kid friendly. I changed the hawk to a stork and the semen to a baby. I was using the old wise tale that storks carried babies wrapped in blankets.

Reading Diary B: In Disguise - Week 11

Duryodhana and Duhshasana plan a fire trap to kill the Pandavas. However, they get word of it and escape - leaving 6 corpses behind making everyone think they have died.

They move to a new village.
Vyasa arrives and says he is going to take the brothers to Draupadi (the daughter of king Drupada)
Arjuna is the only one able to win king Drupada's test. Therefore, he gets to marry the daughter. The brothers always share so they all end up marrying Draupadi.

The Pandavas build the city of Indraprastha
Arjuna falls in love with Subhadra and they marry

Agni- fire god
Arjuna and Krishna hold off Indra while Agni burns the forest to eat. He rewards them.
Arjuna protects Maya, architect of the gods, from the fire. In return, he builds the Pandavas a palace.

Duryodhana challenges Yudhishthira to a game of dice and he accepts.

Reading Diary A: Bucks' Mahabharata - Week 11

This week we started Buck's Mahabharata.

The story begins with an Invocation to Narayana (Vishnu.)

Vyasa- composer
Ganesha- scribe
Saraswati- goddess of words and writing

Sauti says Vyasa composed the Mahabharata in his mind and then asked the elephant-headed god Ganesha to wrote down what Vyasa said.

Vishnu proposed that the gods churn the ocean to obtain amrita (nectar of immortality)
Many things came up:
Lakshmi the goddess of good fortune and Vishnu's heavenly consort; Rambha (the first apsara) Airavata (Indra's vehicle), and the wish-giving cow.

Parikshit- had a curse put on him when he killed a serpent 
He went into hiding to avoid getting killed but the naga prince found a killed him.

Parikshit's son planned to avenge his father's death. Therefore, the prince went to heaven to seek refuge. 

Vyasa asks Vaishampayana to recite the story of the Mahabharata.

Ganga and Shantanu (reincarnated king) fall in love.
Thye have children and Ganga throws each child into the Ganges river and Shantanu never questioned until the eighth child. He begs her to let the eighth child lives, he is named Bhishma.

Vyasa- child of Satyavati and Parashara's child
King Shantanu marries Satuavati later on
Vichitravirya- son of Shantanu and Satyavati
Bhishma obtains three wives for Vichitravirya: Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika
Dhirtarashtra - son of Ambika and Vyasa 
Pandu - son of Ambalika and Vyasa
Vidura - son of a maidservant and Vyasa.

Kunti obtained the gift to summon a god and have a son with them whenever she pleases.
Pandu is cursed so the next time he makes loves, he dies so he goes away.
Therefore, Dhritarashtra becomes king.
Duryodhana- son of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari.

Yudhishthira- son of Kunti and Yama 
Bhima- son of Vayu and Kunti
Arjuna- son of Indra and Kunti 
Makula and Sahadeva- sons of Madri and Ashwins (twin gods)

Pandu dies when he makes love to Kunti.
They have five sons: the Pandavas.

Ashwatthaman- son of Kripi and Drona
Drona became the Pandava's teacher
Arjuna (Pandava) is the only one able to pass Drona's test
Arjuna goes and captures King Drapudi at Dona's request
Karna matches Marjuna's skills but is not from a royal family.

Famous Last Words - Week 10

I cannot believe we are more than half way through the semester. Time is just flying by. The second half of the semester is hard cause you're on the dow hill. You know you're heading towards summer and the closer you get, the harder it is to focus.
Can we just talk about the fact that next weekend is Halloween? I can't wrap my head around that. October felt like a lifetime away and now we're sailing through it. Pretty soon we're going to wake up and it's going to be spring break.

Midterm grades came out recently and they all looked pretty decent so that's good.
I just started another online class: Conflict Resolution; it's an 8-week class. It doesn't seem like it'll be too hard so that's good. I'm doing whatever I can to get all my hours done. Annoyingly enough, I only have electives left. Looking back, I should have spread them out a little more.

This class is going good. I like writing my storybook, it's been fun. I also enjoy reading others. I like that it is one of our weekly assignments to read other's storybooks. It has been helpful in giving me good ideas for my own storybook! There are some really really good storybooks being written in this class!

I'm going to go home this weekend. My boyfriend is playing in a golf tournament in Texas so i'm going to go to that. I love watching him do what he loves so i'm excited.
I'm trying to think of something to say about my dog (partly because I talk about him in all of my posts/ partly because i'm looking for another excuse to post a picture of him) but i'm running out of things! Go figure. He's good, as always. He had a tummy ache last week so we spent some time at the vet but all is good now. Dogs sure are expensive though.

That's all I can think of for this week.
Till next time.....

Personal Photo 2014

Twitter List Tech Tip

This week I learned how to make lists on Twitter. I have had a Twitter since high school and never kew about this. It's a very cool way to keep track of certain people of groups. There are certain people I follow on Twitter whose tweets I am more interested in seeing than others. Now I can keep them separately and see those tweets without having to scroll through my entire time line. This is very cool and I am definitely going to make a list that includes my closest friends, boyfriend, and family.

Also - I think I might add OU Parking to a list because they tell you where all the available spots are on campus. Now I don't have to search their profile every time I need to see.

Storytelling: The Fight - Week 10

The fight was about to begin. The rumble of voices filled the arena. Since this was not an official World Wrestling Council fight, the safety measures were low. The competition was being held to decipher who: between the Peterson brothers and the Johnson family - was going to be able to continue in the world of WWC. They had been enemies for a long time and they had finally come head to head. They had agreed that the winner would continue to climb the ladder while the loser would quite wrestling forever.

Aron Peterson and his four brothers: Yale, Brad, Nate, and Sam knew that if they did not win this fight it was the going to be the end of their career all together. They would do whatever it took to win.

Yale was against it all. He believed that an out of ring was not the way to solve the bigger problem. Yale advocated peace and understanding. He unsuccessfully tried to persuade the others that there was room for everyone in the ring.

The Petersons had one secret weapon on their side - Krishna. Krishna is a world-wide worshiped wrestler. He was almighty in the ring. He could not participate in the fight but he was there to give instruction.

The mother of the Peterson brothers walked into the area filled with worry. She didn't support this unofficial fight but she had to be their for her sons. She had never agreed with the violence that took place in the ring. Her sons were her whole life and she was constantly concerned for their safety. She decided to make one last effort at stopping the - what she believed was immorality. She went to an old family friend, Kyle, who happened who be part of the Johnson family. After much persuasion, Kyle agreed to only fight one of the five sons: Aron. That was the best he could do.

She went back to her seat to watch the madness unfold.

With an hour left until he fight, the Petersons practiced their technique vigorously. On the other side of the area, the Johnsons did the same. Deception was the Johnsons biggest weapon. They did not know the meaning of fairness. Nor were they interested in giving into favor to the Peterson brothers. The Petersons, holding a greater moral conscience, had a more fair approach. However, both were willing to go to whatever extent to win.

There were no rules, no regulations - anything goes.

With that, the fight began.

Wrestling ring: Google Images

Authors Note:
I wrote my story based on the battle that takes place between the Pandavas and Duryodhana with his entourage. I made the story take place in a modern time wrestling match. I replaced the characters names to go along with the time (except for Krishna -  because that would be a cool wrestling name.) I tried to portray the characters thoughts and feelings as they were portrayed in the actual reading.

• Narayan, R. K. (1978). The Mahabharata.

Reading Diary B: The Battle - Week 10

Yudhishthira makes one last plea for peace.

Krishna- a deity (greatly worshipped) in Hindu tradition.

Duryodhana plans to take Krishna captive.
He rejects Krishna's plea for peace.
He soon realizes it would be impossible to take Krishna prisoner.

Karna makes a promise to Kunti that he will only attack Arjuna in the battle, instead of all her sons.

The war begins.

Dhrishtadyumna is the supreme commander of Yudhishthira's troops.
Bhishma is the supreme commander of Duryodhnana's troops.

Krishna begins to attack Bhishma after he wounded him. But Arjuna stops him.
Arjuna shoots Bhishma from behind, killing him.

Drona is killed by Dhrishtadyumna.
Bhima kills Duryodhnana's brother, Duhshasana.
Arjuna kills Karna in a moment of weakness.
Sahadeva kills Duryodhnana's uncle, Shakuni.
Bhima kills Duryodhana.

The battle is now over.

The Pandavas go to Hastinapura. Everyone is stricken with grief from their loses.
They perform rituals for the dead.
Yudhishthira agrees to become king after much convincing.

Gandhari and Kunti die in a forest fire.
Krishna is mistakenly killed by a hunter.

The Pandavas all end up dying except for Yudhishthira who eventually departs for heaven in his bodily form.

Arjuna's grandson grows up to be king and continue the Pandava legacy.

Reading Diary A : In Disguise- Week 10

Duryodhana decides to make a royal camp near the Pandavas.
They send a gandharva. The gandharvas take Duryodhana captive but the Pandavas let him go.

Nakula drinks from a lake and dies because he ignores the lake's request.
Sahadeva, Arjuna, and Bhima meet the same fate.
Yudhishthira, however, meets the lake's request.
The other brothers come alive again.

After 12 years of exile, the bothers spend 13 years in disguise.
Yudhishthira is the king's companion
Bhima is a cook
Nakula is a stable boy
Sahadeva is a cowherd 
Arjuna becomes Brihannala and lives as a eunuch in the women's quarters
Draupadi is Sairandhri (the hairdresser of Virata's queen.)

Draupadi is raped by one of the king's generals.

Duryodhana and his entourage plan to attack the king and steal his cattle.
The king's son finds out and take Arjuna to drive the chariot.
He panics and Arjuna ends up fighting alone. 

With thanks, the king gives his daughter (Uttara) to Arjuna's son (Abhimanyu) for marriage.

Satyaki - Krishna's charioter
Satyaki proposes war against Duryodhana.

The Pandavas try for peace. 
Vidura tries to convince Dhritarashtra to make Yudhishthria his heir. 
However, he cannot resist Duryodhana's will.

Vyasa tries to tell Dhritarashtra that this war will be their end. 

LOLCAT Tech Tip

This week I learned about the LOLCAT website. I think this is the best Tech Tip yet. I'm obsessed. I probably won't have a need for it but I am going to make them and send them to my mom. This is the one I just made:

http://cheezburger.com