Blog #9 My Ideal Vacation

Blog #9 – Ideal Vacation

The mountains are massive and very intimidating. When others want to escape the snow and cold, I want to embrace it and run with it. A log cabin somewhere up north with a fire place, a bar just beyond the kitchen, and no television or cell phones, just land lines in case of an emergency. The activities include: skiing, snowboarding, snow man building, Snowmobiling, Sledding, and many more. Just to be around friends having a blast would be my ideal vacation. After spending all day bundled up outside, we would make merry at night with story telling as we sip hot chocolate in front of the fire place and talk about past memories, I am amongst friends and my loving partner. Were all wearing sweaters and scarves trying to get warm from being outside all day. We laugh, we cry (from laughing so hard), we get into depth with our conversations, and just sit and talk.

Later we play board games while enjoying our concoctions of rum and soda, and cocktails. As we play these games we all bond and enjoy each others company with continuous laughter and jokes. Then as the fire dies down we would plan out who sleeps where. Some on the floor with there pillow and sleeping bag, others on couches and beds. No matter where we all sleep, we are all together, safe and warm. Until the next day, where our activities start all over again.  

Research Findings Blog #7

For my research topic I wrote about becoming a social worker. Below are my results and findings of becoming a social worker.

First off social workers help people overcome problems and make their lives better. They might work with people who are homeless, sick, or having family problems. One of the ways social workers help is by finding resources for people. They might focus on child abuse, poverty, violence, and other problems. Many social workers give counseling. They talk to people about their lives and help them to understand and solve their problems and to make plans for their future.

I never knew that there were three different kinds of social work. They are Child, family, and school social workers, Medical and public health social workers, and Mental health and substance abuse social workers. Also the education background is highly infinite. Social workers must go to a 4-year college. Many social workers also need additional schooling to get the jobs they want. Some people stay in school longer to earn a doctorate degree. In college, social workers learn different ways to help people.  Before they can get a job, social workers need a license, certification, or registration.

The pay ranges from the different departments that you could work in. These are the top five departments that are in the most demand for up coming social workers to choose from, as well as the pay range.  

       Popular Employers        Salary Range

US Department of Health and Human Services   $26,527 - $32,600

Child and Family Service                $28,028 - $34,590

The Children's Aid Society            $30,500 - $43,909

Department of Human Services                $30,500 - $43,909

Catholic Charities             $25,650 - $38,235

I was completely unaware that you could receive benefits for being a social worker. The benefits include:

                Medical: 81%                    Dental: 65%

                Vision: 46%                        None: 18%

Demands for social workers; are growing with a constant increase of 16% from now to the year 2018. From 2000 to the present day there are 64% of social workers working in the United States. I hope to be able to continue my education and become a social worker as soon as possible. By fall of 2011, I hope to have my social worker tech certificate and plan on attending U of M College.

Bittersweet Blog #6

The first snow fall that occurred just days ago was petrifying and beautiful at the same time. I absolutely hate driving in the snow. If it were up to me I would rather pay for someone to drive me around. I am very frightful of the roads and ice. Although it would be very comforting to have to go anywhere during the winter, we all have things to attended to in life. With this past snow fall, I left an hour early to make it to class that is just twenty min. away. Since I took my time driving upon the fresh fallen snow, I made it to class in about forty-five min. this tension that I feel when driving in winter I suppose began when I was in a car accident last winter.



Before





My car was a 2000 Chrysler LHS. It was such an amazing car that I bought only a month before. The salesman got me at heated leather seats, moon roof, killer stereo system, very luxury back seat and a huge trunk. I was in love with my brand new car (new to me). Then as my luck would have it, I was driving down my back road, which happens to be a dirt road, lost control on a patch of black ice and ended up in a ditch. I flipped my car landing on the roof and having to climb out of the car through a back window.



After



That happened to be my last day driving that car. Fresh fallen snow can be so bittersweet to me. It is so beautiful and yet every time I have to drive in the snow I get a bit fearful. I just love to be able to watch out the window at the snow falling and I love to be able to walk outside with my coat, gloves and hat walking on the snow and listening to it crunch beneath my feet.

Blog #5

Burr… The fall season I fear, is becoming more and colder. With every passing night I feel the cold weather taking hold. Now there is frost on the wind shields on the morning when going to start your car, and you can see your breath escaping from your mouth with every exhale. I knew for certain that the season would be changing and yet, I had no idea that it would be this soon. It feels just like yesterday that I was wearing shorts and swimming in our pool, and now I have to pick which sweatshirt I will wear the next morning.

Ahh the simple things in life. I know that many of us take for granted the weather changes, but for some reason take a huge sigh of disbelief whenever there is a change in season. I just can’t believe that time has been flying so fast lately. I wish sometimes time could just slow down a bit, just enough time for more family gatherings and time being spent with friends. Although fall may be coming to an end I know that with it follows more holidays and memories to be made.

I wish all of you a happy thanksgiving! I hope that you will go and be with your loved ones and enjoy your time with them as I do with mine. I truly am blessed and would have no idea how to make it through without the ones I love and adore. Don’t forget to give thanks for family and friends and your health. Ti’s the season to give thanks for everything around you! I hope those of you who travel a safe and most memorable trip!

Post #4

Social Worker:

http://www.helpstartshere.org/Assets/Images/socialWorkImageDisc.jpg

I plan on becoming a social worker. I have to decide on what field exactly, I just know I want to make a difference. Many of you know (English 102 classes) that I am very with held and inaudible, and yet, I can open up and talk with others on a more personal level. I have done volunteer work out in Ferndale, helping with kids and families. I enjoyed that very much. In my paper I want to explore what it is like to go through what a social worker has to go through on a daily basis. My research paper will discuss how kids are affected by social services and whether or not it makes a positive or negative experience in their lives. That will be my main focus seeing as how I have not yet made a decision on what field I would like to make my career.

You see so many negative aspects on how social workers allow there kids to “fall through the cracks!” I just want to be able to help out in any field I plan on making my career. I want my research to be able to show that statistics behind how many cases are actually solved and to depict the lives that have in deed been saved. Although, many cases due get neglected and end up being tossed aside, I want to be able to be one of the ones that actually have something to show for at the end of everyday. I just want to gain more knowledge on the subject for myself by providing as much information as I possibly can on my future career.

Fall

Orange, red, brown, and yellow are my favorite colors of this season. Fall comes with numerous effects both good and bad. It brings the color of change that most people are afraid of. Fall also brings the rain, and cold tremors of the up coming season. However, it brings the voluminous colors of the leaves and family gatherings. Driving down the road, specially the dirt roads, I love to just watch the leaves fall from the trees to the earth. The already fallen leaves make a blanket around the base of the trees. Walking is what I love most about this season. To be able to walk through a park and listen to the crunching of the leaves beneath my feet is a sound of tranquil and harmony.

Strolling outside of my house (which is about ten acres), I like to take pictures of the changing weather trying to capture every little bit of passionate color I find. Fall brings Halloween which in turn brings children ‘trick-or-treating’ frantically pacing up and down the streets to find the house with the loot of candy. I love taking my nephew ‘trick-or-treating’ and listening to the other kids laugh and take pleasure in the season. When Halloween ends, the season is still changing. When the leaves are almost at a stand still, and the grassy lawns are covered with the leaves of the past season, thanksgiving is next to being celebrated. The houses fill with the smells of turkey, gravy, and biscuits. You gather around a table and give thanks for what you have hand in hand, while wishing the strangest of strangers a happy and warm holiday.

To me, fall brings this and many more emotions at heart. Aside of the holidays, I mostly enjoy the leaves changing colors and watching yet another season end, while welcoming a new upcoming season with new occurrences to celebrate life.

*picture used from sample pictures on my laptop*

Movie Review: Crank

Stacy Garcia

English Composition 102-28

Wed. 22, 2010

Crank

High Voltage

          Crank is considered an action flick movie. The movie has car chases, drugs and fighting. The movie starts out with depicting a comic book by having the main character Jason Statham played as Chelios falls out of a helicopter. He is then rushed to a hospital where he has an artificial heart put in him. A guy by the name of Johnny Vang who is part of an Asian gang watches and takes Jason’s real heart by placing it into a cooler. Vang then takes Chelios heart to his boss who in return wants to destroy it. After waking up from a three month comma, Chelios then escapes the hospital realizing then that there is a battery attached to him.

After a gun fight Chelios learns the whereabouts of Vang. Chelios calls his doctor friend to find out about his battery pack. Doc Miles played by Dwight Yoakam, informs Chelios that his battery pack is what’s keeping him alive and that if the battery were to die, Chelios would have sixty minutes before his artificial heart would stop working.Doc also stated that he needs adrenaline  to keep the heat pumping.  Just then Chelios stole a car and stopped to ask a Mexican gang where he could find the social club where Vang would be at. The Mexicans challenges him to a street race. Chelios agrees and then crashes his car breaking the battery pack. Knowing that he has to keep his heart from stopping he asks the Mexicans to hook up car cables to their car and hook them to him. After getting his heart pumping up to speed he then runs to the club to find Vang.

When Chelios finds Vang, Vang notices him and flees from the club. Chelios finds a stripper named Ria who knows where he can find Vang. While talking to Ria, he notices eve, his long time girlfriend, who is also a stripper at that same club. The same Mexican gang members show up to the club and start a fight with Chelios. Guns are pulled out and the shooting begins. A mobster by the name of el huron wants him dead and Chelios has no reason why. By the time Chelios escapes the club, he runs outside and finds himself being beaten by night sticks from the cops. Chelios is about to faint until a cop starts to use a stun gun on him giving Chelios the adrenaline he needs to fight back.

Chelios and eve escape once again and comes across some porn stars going on strike about not being paid enough. They start to gather around his car yelling, Chelios gets out of his car and starts to run leaving eve in the back of the car. Chelios ends up at a horse track where he finds Vang. The running begins between Chelios and Vang. Chelios starts to slow down due to his heart losing power. He calls the doctor asking him what else he can do besides using high voltage to charge it. The doctor responds by saying rubbing his skin on another person’s body would produce friction, which would then charge his heart again.

Chelios starts rubbing himself against an old lady who finds him repulsive and starts to smack him. Eve shows up to the race track and asks him what he is doing. After explaining his situation to eve he then comes up with an idea. He takes eve to the field that the race track is on and starts having sex with eve in front of the audience. After a while of that, Chelios heart is fully charged. Chelios finds Vang, who is cheering him on along with the audience, and starts after him again leaving eve behind once more.

It’s a movie that kind of takes a while to get to the plot. Although it may take a while its action packed and full of chaos. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who is into action and drama movies. The sequel Crank 2 is not good at all. So don’t rent that one, you will be highly disappointed.

To watch trailer click on link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2koYVqwzT4

Citations
Video: "Crank HIGH VOLTAGE - trailer." YouTube. Web. 27 Sep 2010. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2koYVqwzT4>.

Image: "Crank Poster." Geek on Flim. Web. 27 Sep 2010. <http://geekonfilm.wordpress.com/2009/09/08/out-now-crank-high-voltage/>.

Texting While Driving

            I feel as though texting while driving just needs to end. No matter how excellent of a driver you may assume you are. At a split second you could cause an accident, killing you or someone else. I’m not saying I have NEVER texted while driving, because I would be telling bold face lie. It wasn’t until a friend of mine, Mitch, was texting while driving and ran off the road striking a tree, breaking both of his ankles.

            It was a huge alarm to all of us, because my friends and I use to do it a great deal. Mitch’s mother called us when she arrived to the hospital asking us to come up and see him. When we walked into his room, he was covered in cuts and bruises. At first no one said anything for what seemed to be forever. Finally, Mitch broke the silence by trying to make a joke out of it stating, “So, I guess I should of texted you all saying I was coming to the hospital.” We smiled, as we all gave him a hug. Mitch talked about what he was texting that was so important. He was sending all of us a text letting us know when he was going to be home so we could all hang out.

            All Mitch got to type was “Hey Gu.” His text was supposed to say “Hey Guys.” As he was explaining his story, the doctor walked in notifying that both of his legs were going to end up in casts. It truly was an eye opener for all of us. Since then we all take a great deal in not texting while driving. We all wait until we get to where we are going. We were all so grateful that it didn’t end worse for our friend Mitch.