Free Post

     I had my first gymnastics meet today, Saturday October 26th. But technically it wasn't a "real gymnastics meet" considering there was only one judge when there is usually about two to four judges. Also because we didn't really compete against anyone but ourselves. We call this gymnastics meet a Mock Meet. Mock meets are really important because they help my teammates and I learn and realize where we are physically and mentally in gymnastics. Also it helps us prepare for competition season by getting us in a more meet like atmosphere. Which is completely different from repeating routines and skills over and over in front of just your coach. Also I really enjoyed this mock meet in particular because our girls upper level team got new warm ups this year; they were really comfortable.
     Also, I am really excited about this upcoming week. I can't wait to dress up for Homecoming week based on the different themes and see everyone else's clothes/ costumes. Also this week I get to get back in the gym and work on the skills i need to improve on or messed up at my Mock Meet.

Reading Times

Read & Annotate Short Stories: 45 minutes
WHAP Textbook: 30 minutes
Juvie Three: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour & 45 minutes

Reading Response(s)

I chose to read and annotate Sucker, Araby and The Sniper. 

I thought Sucker was a really interesting short story considering the theme and narration. It was told in first person limited. The story was told from Pete’s perspective as a reflection or flashback of why him and Sucker don’t have the same relationship anymore. I thought the theme was “you never know what you have until its gone.” Pete started to miss the old relationship and very little amount of fun times he had with Sucker after Sucker broke away from him.

Araby was a little more challenging for me to understand but I eventually got it. What stood out the most in Araby was the way the author used vivid language to describe ordinary things; he made those things seem like something new. For example he wrote, “The space of the sky above us was the colour of ever-changing violet and towards it the lamps of the streets lifted their feeble lanterns.” This sentence only stated that the Sun was setting and the streetlights were beginning to come on.

My favorite out of all the three was The Sniper. I really enjoyed the overall plot of this story and how the author included a lot of specific descriptions on every move the sniper or another character made. The descriptions provided helped me to visualize the actual story as if it was happening right in front of you. What surprised me the most in this short story was the ending, the sniper killed his brother. The death of someone he knew was kind of foreshadowed when the author wrote, “When the sniper reached the laneway of the street level, he felt a sudden curiosity as to the identity of the enemy sniper whom he had killed. He decided that he was a good shot, whoever he was. He wondered did he know him.” 

Reading Post

Reading Times:
October 8th: Siddhartha: 207-313
October 11th: Siddhartha: 314- 353
October 12th: Siddhartha: 354- 370
Total Time & Pages: 125 minutes & 163 pages

Working Time(s):
October 12th- Short Story Draft- 45 minutes

Personal Questions:
-What kind of new books can I explore?
-How do authors use descriptive language to affect readers?
-What is loyalty?
-How do authors create realistic settings?

Reading Log

September 30th- October 3rd Siddhartha: 30-206 pages (176 pages)- 1 hour & 50 minutes
October 3rd & 4th: Short Story Draft: 45 minutes