My experience began at the beginning of first semester in the class design fundamentals. For this class we did not get to pick where we wanted to volunteer, we were told where to go, and when to do it. It seemed simple enough, go to the organization for two hours every other week and help elementry school kids with their math and reading homework. What I didn't know is that getting to the organization would be the most difficult part.

My only option of transportation was the city bus, and being a freshman from a town of less than 4,000 people, I did not have a ton of experience in doing this. I left an hour early (just in case) for my organization, and jumped on the 16 bus headed towards St. Paul. I looked at one of the bus maps, and asked a few people if they knew where I should get off, but nobody knew; it was starting to come down to a guessing game. I decided to stay on the bus untl the last stop, ( It took right around one hour to reach this destination ) which in the end payed off. The bus driver must have noticed that I looked confused and lost, so she asked me where I was trying to go. I told her Jackson St. Village, and luckily she knew where this was. She directed me to another bus stop and told me to get on the 68 headed north. I had no idea I was going to have to transfer buses, but right now I had another problem, finding the next bus stop in downtown St. Paul, a place I had never been before. I eventually found it, just in time to see the 68 pulling away. Now I had to wait another 15 minutes for the next bus to come. Finally the bus came and I got on, but I still had no idea where to get off. Once again, it came down to a guessing game. I rode this bus for right around a half an hour when finally some things started to look familiar. I finally had made it to the right place after about 2 hours of traveling!

I walked inside to find one lonely kid sitting at a table. I found the leader of the organization, and she admitted that she didn't think I was going to show up. I told her what had happened, which she understood, because she too rode the bus. She then told me that I could go and help the kid with his math. His name was Marcus and he was working on some addition problems. By some addition problems I mean two, he had two problems left. He was already pretty good at math so he answered them quickly and then left. Now it was just me in an empty room. I waited for about ten minutes but nobody showed, eventually Ms. Z (organization leader) thanked me for coming and told me I could leave. I felt frustrated that I was leaving already especially because I had to ride the bus for 2 hours to get there, but I left anyway.

At first I admit that I hated this whole process of riding th bus forever to volunteer for a little bit of time, but eventually that all changed. Instead of dreading the bus ride, I started to look forward to it. Even though I was on the bus for such a long time it gave me time to catch up on other things, like homework....or maybe more importantly, sleep. However, most important of all I started a realationship with the children. Every week you would help the same kids with there homework and you could begin to understand who they were, instead of just helping them. This is the main reason why I decided to stay at Jackson St. Village for this semester too.

I still had to ride the bus for about ninty minutes to get there, but this didn't bother me at all anymore. What was different about this semester was that I felt more at home. It was easier for me to interact with the kids and help them because I felt more comfortable. The children knew who I was and I knew who they were it makes things so much easier.

Towards the end of the semester a few of the kids realized that I was pretty nice, so they started to try to take advantage of me, by making me do there homework for them. Eventually I learned how to make them do it themselves with some encouragement, and some bribery. Such as, "if you do all these problems we can play a board game after!"

Like a lot of other things you start out not wanting to do it, but in the end you are very happy you did. Even though this volunteering was a requiremnt for class I think it will encourage me to volunteer again in the future, with less skeptisism.

I guess what I am trying to say is Thank - you Ozayr for continuing the volunteering requirement from last semester. It makes your students more rounded and most of all appreciate what they themselves have already. I would surely hope that you continue this requirement in the future, even if other students complain.

The cover should have a color scheme according to your topic, along with graphics or shapes that also pertain to your issue. When you using a color scheme, graphics, or shapes...be sure not to go overboard. All of these things should attract the attention the reader to the title...or spark the interest of the reader to want to look at the paper.

I have drawn up a few sketched outlines. None of these designs are final, but I think that I have started off on the right foot.

I used a cool color, color scheme and circular or rounded shapes. Both of which reminded me of water, because our development goal is water sustainability.

Good-

Better-

Best-

Did that catch your attention?

To me good presentation styles are ones that catch your attention right off the bat and keep it. In doing this you have to use things that are flashy! If you use drab uncool colors your presentation will seem uninteresting, mostly because it is just flat out boring to look at.

However one of my team members brings up a very valid point that although it must be flashy, it can't be toooo flashy. If the document is too flasy it will only take away from the rest of the document. The viewer may pay attention to the decoration instead of the facts they are reading.

The best type of presentation style document to me would be a mostly white paper filled with text, but possibly a line of color on both the top or the bottom....or either side. This will bring the readers attention inwards towards the text, thus capturing the goal of having the reader concentrate most on what you have written.

When you seperate people by being successful or unsuccessful by the type of car they drive...or how big of a house they live in, you have to ask what is "successful" really?

To me being "successful" is not determined by the amount of money you earn, but by what you do in life and if at the end of your life you get into heaven.

I know it sounds cheesey but it is truly what I believe.

If you determine "success" by the amount of money you make....you would consider somebody who has a ton of money, nice cars, and a huge house pretty darn successful. Then again that guy could be a crack dealer.....I don't remember growing up to respect and idolize dealers of crack cocaine.

To be successful you could have absolutely no money to your name. If you volunteer, be courteous, and help out your fellow man I think that you are just as successful as everybody else. Not only do you have to do these things you also have to be happy with what you are doing. You can't go through your life hating your job or everything else that you do. I think what I am trying to say is that you have to be successful in your own mind as well as in the eyes of others.

I'm not saying that you can't have a ton of money but also be very successful, kind, and totally awesome.......
Brett Favre is a living example!

There’s no grass there for a reason….it wasn’t intended to be watered like crazy to get a few strands of grass. If I was getting all the money I needed, wanted, had to have, I think that I would want to be stationed in Tenesseeish possibly Kentuckyish mostly because it is warm enough so I don’t have to deal with -800 degree weather like I do here, but also because it is wet enough so I wouldn’t have to water it 45 times day.

The numbers in the last two sentence make it sound like I’m exaggerating but I am definitely not. I would then purchase around 400 sheep and keep them around the golf course, this of course would cut down on amount of fuel I have to use for lawn mowers. It would also give it kind of an Irish Links course which is totally awesome…especially for a golf course in Tennesseeish/Kentuckyish. I will write more later….as for now I am very tired.

If only everybody dressed up as bears, what isn't funny about a guy in a bear suit?

Songs that make me want to say that I gave 15 cents a day.............

Everything's Not Lost - Coldplay
Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
An Oak Tree Stands Beside A Linden - I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody's Business
Undeniable - Matt Kearney
Bulletproof Weeks - Matt Nathanson
Apologize - OneRepublic
If I Was President - Wyclef Jean

The other day I was sitting down in the cafeteria and there was an empty tray sitting on the table, with nobody around it. Obviously somebody was too lazy to put their own tray into the cleaning rack. Are you kidding me? You walk past the cleaning rack on your way to the door for crying out loud. You had enouh energy to carry the tray when it was full of food but now when it is empty you couln't possibly pick it up.
Another thing, I was waiting at the bus stop the other day next to a lady who was eating a cookie and around the cookie was a napkin. When she finished the cookie she walked over to the trash can to throw the napkin away. When I say throw away, I mean she literally threw the napkin...which went no where near the opening for the bin. She then watched the napkin fall to the ground, turned around and walked away. You have to be joking...you aren't lazy enough to walk over to the trash can...but if you miss on the first try then you don't care about our environment anymore..screw it.
I guess what I am trying to say in this blog is that many people on this planet just annoy the hell out of me. They need to realize that Earth was not just made for them, there are other people around them, so maybe just maybe they should start living that way.

It was designed to give your muscles a jolt of energy in order to lift for longer and more often. Without using some type of energy source workouts begin to feel sluggish, much like how cities can feel drab. Without energy cities are just plain boring. If you think of exciting cities in America, like Las Vegas, New York, or Chicago they all of exciting things to see or do, whether it be flashing lights or interesting buildings. Without these things cities seem plain dull, just like lifting without N.O. Explode.