youtube

i have recently become obsessed with youtube. you can type in any word in the search box and find a video that is relevent. when i am having a bad day or am in a gloomy mood, i tend to go to youtube and watch funny videos. kind of a loser thing to do, but the littlest things make me laugh. you find everything from people falling down, babies laughing, and just funniest home videos.

obviously i have no life. ha butt hey at least i'm a happy person!

hmmmwhat else,

when i'm bored, i go on perezhilton.com. this is probably the trashiest site ever. it's pretty much this fat man whose job is to blog about anything you can think of.. mainly about famous people. he takes pictures from the papparazzi and makes stupid litty witty comments about them. along with this, he gives reviews about various movies and tv shows, depending on their ratings. that's pretty much it. go see for yourself if you'd like

tralala

soo it is the week before finals, and i am definetly not as stressed out as everyone else is. the past three weeks, i had to write two 10 page papers, present a speech, and another presentation for sociology. im so happy that i sprawled my work over time, because i don't have everything mushed together in these last two weeks. the only thing i have left to do is take a comm final next tuesday. havnt started studying yet...

anywhoo i am soooo ready for christmas break. the evening after my finally on tuesday, i am going to california with my friend alessandra. i got a free ticket from american airlines and it allows me to go anywhere in the continental US so of course i decided to go the farthest away. i've never been there before, so i am quite excitied. i've only seen california through television shows and movies.

as corny as i am, i really want to see a famous person. i don't know why, haha but im fascinated with their fabulous works and am a movie lover.

alessandra and her family somehow got free tickets to the tiger woods gold tournament at sherwood country club, so i'm stoked...i don't lnow anything about golf..but i'm sure the experience of being around well-known golfers and celebrities will  be incredible. 

plans for winter break

I WANT WINTER BREAKKKKK

 ahhhhhhhhh

these last two weeks are seriously torture. although i only have one exam that i need to study for, i have various presentations and papers to do. christmas break is really the main motivation to get everything done.

i just want the 16th to come, because that is the day of my only exam, and that afternoon i get to go to california for the first time ever, because i got a free plane ticket. thank you american airlines. i'm gonna be staying for a week, until the 23rd, so hopefully i will be able to get all of my holiday shopping done.

apart from that, i will be returning for christmas, and thennnnnn go to chile to visit my family! i havnt been to chile in about three years...i miss it so much. and on top of that, it's summertime over there so i can come back nice and tan for 2nd semester.

i just cant wait for the time to relax and rest my brain from all this work.

i will definetly miss college and my friends over here, but i'm ready for some "me" and "family" time

twilight

so last year, a bunch of my friends became obsessed with the twilight book series. i promised that i would not get into the whole craze and wouldn't touch the book. little did i know that over the summer i would actually buy the book and get hooked. im not really a big reader, but that book definetly kept my attention. it was so good that iw ould read it really slowly..i still havnt finished the first one just because i havnt had time! kind of a bummer, considering that the movie is already out and i am dying to see it. i am promising myself that i wont see it until i read the book though. we will see how patient i am...

christmas music

i have recently become obsessed with christmas music. even before thanksgiving, i tuned into 97.1 (the typical maryland christmas station) and listened/sang along to christmas music. everytime i listen to christmas music, i get that tingly sensation in my belly. i think about snow, beautiful christmas lights, carriage rides next to central park in new york city, snowmen, presents, and mistletoe.

sounds kind of nerdy, but i dont know, that's just how i feel.

christmas is definetly my favorite holiday. the season just feels nice. and sometimes i find myself walking outside and just taking in a deep breath because the crisp air just feels so nice.

the only letdown of christmas is when its over. i feel that after oyu open your presents, its like okay, well that was it. haha until next year!

i have no idea what to get my family. have to start thinking about that

Missed blogs over Thanksgiving

So thanksgiving break honestly went by sooo extremely fast. i was bombarded with work to do days before we got let out, and stressed myself out way too much. i do have to acknowledge the fact that i am so grateful for some of my teacher's consideration: in that, two of my classes did not happen on the wednesday before thanksgiving..i was quite the happy girl.

on tuesday, i got a chance to reunite with my family, after about a week (haa, since i went home to do laundry). it was the first time that my brother, sister, and i were home at the same time...so my parents were pretty happy about having the whole family together. we all ate dinner, gossiped about the latest news in eachothers lives, and simply enjoyed eachothers company. that wednesday, i got a chance to reunite with my old friends from high school...after school in high school, we would always go to california tortilla to get chips and quesp and this smoothie place called robeks so we could mingle and talk about life...so for our reunion, we did the same and went to our typical. its good to know that every time we get back together its as if we have never been apart.

that night, i went out with my sister to a restaurant called clydes...very night place, except extremely expensive, with upper class people spending all their money on pricey wine and other alcoholic beverages. i had a great time just people watching the different types of people that were around.  Unfortunately, i had a minor awkward experience running into my ex boyfriend...soo that was pretty interesting slash a tad bit uncomfortable. 

Thursday was the big day of thanksgiving. i absolutely loooooove thanksgiving, althought i'm not gonna lie, the day is pretty brutal. i tend to not eat breakfast or lunch just so that i can save my appetite for the big meal that we have around 6 oclock in the evening. so my mouth was watering profusely as i smelled the turkey and all the other goods baking throughout the day. it was killer. my cousins from pennsilvania came to celebrate thanksgiving with us, so that was fun getting to catchup with everything sincei hadnt seen them in a while. 

i had about three full plates of thanksgiving dinner, which contributed to my inability to walk anywhere the rest of the night. i honestly have never eating that much, ever. 

i think i was about the only individual who did not go to the mall on black friday...im kind of happy though, cause heard a crazy story that some worker at walmart got trampled when they opened the doors and died! geezzzzz i dont understand people's obsessions with getting things early.

im looking forward to christmastime, alot. 

homework

i have a lotttttttt to do, and i am procrastinating way too much.

i have a communications paper due on tuesday that i have not started. it has to be seven pages (not that 7 pages is long...because it really isnt)..but it's just a difficult assignment because i do not really understand what is being taught in class. i ask questions but it doesnt seem to click. i also have a sociology exam on tuesday before thanksgiving which i have not started studying for yet.

i have noticed that i do work really well under pressure though. the last paper i had to write was also seven pages and i wrote it the night before at midnight and still managed to get an 89! this doesnt work all the time, but heyy i guess God was on my side on that one.

anywhooooooo i have a sweet tooth right now. i want a piece of chocolate.

wahooo another christmas commercial!

uhhhh i dont really know what else to write. i'm excited to go home for thanksgiving. i'm not far from home at all, but it will be so nice to just be in my house and not have to worry about something being due the next day. i  miss being with all my family 

my big fat greek weddin

so here i am, in my room watching my big fat greek wedding on tbs. this is one of my all time favorite movies.

i can find some relations to my family, purely because my family is loud and obnoxious when we are all together. on top of that, everytime i see tula's father in the movie, i just think about my dad. not only do they look alike, but they have the same mannerisms. my dad is super foreign and i love him for it.

watching this movie is making me hungry. they keep eating all this greek food with different kinds of meats and sauces. yumm.

i'd love to go to greece one day. i just love europe in general. it's so much cooler than america, mainly because everyone over there is so laid back. i feel that americans are too uptight, they plan way too much and don't "go with the flow" or live in the moment.

maybe i'll do a study abroad in greece or something...who knows.

christmas is comingg

so i have realized that i am extremely excited for christmastime. i know its not even thanksgiving yet, but recently there have been massive amounts of commercials that include christmastrees and christmas music. everytime i hear part of a christmas song or bells or something like that, i get a little tingly sensation in my belly. i just love the season. i love wintertime and the crisp air outside. i'm fan of christmas shopping and finding presents for my loved ones.

obviously i'm hyped.

i'm thinking that over winter break, i'll try to see if i can go to new york for a few days just because i absolutely love the city with all the lights. once you're there, it just feels good.

now i have to start thinking about what i am going to ask for christmas. honestly, i have everything that i need. i don't want anything in particular...it's so much harder to think about waht i want just because i'm pretty much over all the materialistic things.

i gotta start brainstorming...for myself, and for my family.

i've noticed that my father is quite difficult to shop for.

tim gunn

sooooo the famous tim gunn, who is from the show project runway, came to maryland to do an hour long lecture about fashion in the working industry...

my friend perri and i are obsessed with the show, so of course we showed up at stamp union two hours before the lecture started to make sure we would get seats next to the podium.

as a fasion statement/to joke around, we purposely work any time of mismatched clothing so we could get attention from him. i was the fool sitting in the fourth row wearing a mexican sombrero and blocking everybody's view.

anywhoo, tim gunn is a lovely man. he spoke without any papers or notecards..all from memory. it was extremely impressive. along with that, his voice is just simply soothing to the ear!.at the end of the lecture

everybody bombarded and surrounded him.

perri and i managed to talk to him and get the convo on camera, so we have our little tim gunn adventure documented.

on saturday i went to annapolis with my two best friends to go get some crabs. much love to annapolis...it's beautiful, very picturesque and the naval academy students are not bad either!

thanksgiving break

i dont think you realize how excited i am for thanksgiving break. it has only been a little over two months of school, but it seems like it's been so much longer! on top of that, i feel that i havnt had a break in regards to work. i constantly have papers, tests, and exams due to my communication major and typical freshman requirements. not that im complaining or anything...i'm just kind of stressed. i am extremely jealous that other colleges and universitys have a fall break. i think it would be nice if maryland had one. although i absolutely love the fact that our winter break is about a month long.

im excited to get to be with my family and eat everything in sight. along with this, my best friend alessandra is gonna spend thanksgiving with me because she can't go back to california over break, so that makes me happy :)

the food network

so i have recently become obsessed with the food network. mainly because one of my best friend here doesnt have a tv in her room, so during her free time, she bombards my room and turns on the same channel every time.

i have never really watched shows on the food network, but lately, i have been enjoying them. its crazy to see how many different types of cuisines and delicacies there are in the world. i get to see the world's most famous restaurants with the weirdest themes. 

in one show, they talked about this place in philly called Cereality, which was a restaurant that only served cereal! they make different concoctions with any type of cereal or nut. i would love to go there...cereal is probably one of my favorite foods.

the only bad thing about watching the food network is that i always watch on an empty stomach. so instead of being content while watching tv, i am distracted by my grumby stomach and watery mouth, wishing i could be eating what the chefs are making on the tv :)

circus

so today i went to the circus du solei or however you spell it. and wow, it was just amazing! i never heard of this type of circus until i saw the movie knocked up. and i'm sure the shows that they have in vegas and new york are so much more incredible than ones they show in virginia...but seriously, i was very veryy impressed. so pretty much, i got there not really knowing what to expect. as we drove into the parking lot, i saw huge tents that were blue and yellow. i felt like a little kid...i had butterflies in my stomach. the last time i went to the circus was the 5th grade or so.

anyways, my roomie and i walked inside the tents and right there were stands full of circus du solei merchandise. they had various masks, sweatshirts, mugs, umbrellas...anything you can think of. most of the stuff was pretty tacky, and wayyyy overpriced. on top of that, there were food stands, selling legitamite plates. the paninis looked delcious, and my mouth watered when i looked at the salmon salad. next to the food stand was an open bar, selling nice wine which was poured into a cheap plastic cup. i never realized how fancy these types of shows can be. as i looked around, all i saw were older white couples, who looked as if they were well off. i should have figured this circus would be full of these types of people, considering that the ticket was $125. (i dont think i would ever pay that much for a ticket...but hey, it was an invitation, so i got it for free :)

now for the circus part. the theme had to do with some sort of asian territory. the acts did not have much speaking...they mostly consisted of incredible acrobatic stunts. one of the acts that amazed me the most were these three girls who were all double jointed. they could bend their bodies in ways that aren't right. everytime i saw them hunch over and do certain stands or flips and stuff, i would get a tingly feeling in my stomach. it looked like they were going to break in half!

another stunt which amazed me was one in which this man balanced on an extremely high stack of chairs. he was so muscular...it was kind of gross.

there were other stunts that were pretty ridiculous as well, but i cant really describe them. you had to be there

anyways, all in all, those performers make it seem so easy. i can't imagine how much practice they had...

sociology

i am currently sitting next to stephanie strommer. we have every single class together. every single one.

we are waiting for sociology to begin, and are quite bitter. we don't really get anything done in this class. the teacher spends half of the time talking about what we will be doing in class and then spends the rest of the class lecturing about things that don't even have to do with what we've read. it makes me mad because i spend about an hour and a half reading each chapter and dont talk about any of the information i am learning in class.

apart from that, when the teacher has to tell us someting, she typically sends the message in an email. however, i dont recieve these emails until 12 at night...and frankly, sometimes i want to go to bed early! this is ridiculous. i think i'm just in a bad mood today or something, i dont know. 

One long blog

I have had a pretty hectic week. Not only was this week Halloween week, but it was also a week filled with insane amounts of work. I had a math exam, english paper, and comm speech to do. The english paper wasnt that bad...considering the fact that i enjoy the class and don't mind writing papers about issues that i care about. The math test and comm speech on the other hand are two completely different stories. Math is definetly not my subject. I don't have fun doing it. and if you don't understand one part, then you most likely won't understand future equations because everything builds up and is related to eachother. comm on the other hand is more fun. i love to talk and communicate with people. however, i am not a huge fan of public speaking. for some reason, when i get in front of people and speak, my legs shake and i studder with my words haha. so for this speech, i had to prepare like whoaa because the speech had to last seven minutes. seven minutes does not seem like a very long time, but when its you who has to have something to say every moment, it gets pretty intense!

i managed to finish up all my work by halloween, so halloween night was pretty much the greatest feeling, knowing that i didnt have loads of work to do.

halloween itself was extremely fun. i got to go out and have a great time with my good group of friends. i dressed up as a gypsy/arab dancer thing...using pieces of clothing that i bought and a coin sarong thing that i bought in spain. many people believe that halloween only lasts one night, but not in college park! i dressed up three times. the second time i was a cereal box...special k to be precise. and the third day i dressed up as Eve from adam and eve. that costume was made in 5 minutes.

okaaaaay so now the whack part of my weekend comes into place:

last thursday, i got a call from my doctor telling me that my blood test tested positive for mono. this weekend, on halloween night, one of my good guy friends decided to give me a "bear" hug in which he squeezed me extremely hard and picked me up. He put huge amounts of pressure onto my abdominal area and caused me to be in pain. so what does this have to do with anything? wellll when you have mono, your liver and spleen tend to swell as a reaction to the virus. so pretty much, my friend could have ruptured my spleen...

anyways, the next day, i began having serious stomach pains and pains on my side...it was unbearable. i couldnt stand up and it hurt me to breath...this resulted in me going to the hospital.

i had to get a sonogram in order to check my spleen and liver. my spleen is fine. however, my liver is extremely tender and swollen. apart from that, my doctor made me get and xray for my ribcage because he thought one was broken due to the "bear" hug. who knew that a simple hug could do so much to the body? anyways, my ribs are fine, thank god. butttttt i was told that i have to stay in bed for a couple of days and try to avoid movement. so therefore, i am here in my bed laying down, writing one long blog so i dont have to do three of them.

in conclusion, i have realized three things. one, i hate math. two, i'm good at making last minute halloween costumes, and three, everyone has to be careful when they recieve hugs from friends.

love,

romi.

cvs

i have come to realize that cvs is probably one of my favorite places ever. they have anything you can imagine: food, clothes, makeup, medicine, candy, and soo much more. cvs has become my second home. if i am bored, i walk around cvs. if i'm hungry, i buy something from cvs. if i need entertainment, i go to cvs, pick up some magazines and read them in the store.

it's practical, i mean i don't have to spend money to be entertained so how awesome is that?

either way, i appreciate that store. it is so convenient.

this is the most random blog ever, but it was just something that i thought of two seconds ago. hahahaha

bye. 

alone

so my roomie and my neighbor, who happens to be my best friend decided to go home this weekend. so this is the first time i have actually been completely alone at college with no friends! hahah, i mean i do have friends here but they are more like aquaintences, so i dont typically see them as much as "my people"

it's weird that the room is so quiet...it's kind of nice though because i can actually get some work done and not be completely distracted from random comments that my friends like to make. i'm very excited for them to come back though. it feels like i havnt seen them in forever. 

workload

sooo it's the week of halloween and i have SOOOSOSOOO much work due! this is kind of ridiculous.

i am not fan of all my classes having projects, tests, and papers all due around the same time. i guess i work well under pressure though so i shouldnt really be complaining. but either way, it's halloween! comon, hahaha

i still have to modify a few things on my english paper, study for a math test that i am definetly not prepared for, and i have to write and outline and a speech for my comm class. geez laweez. i guess it's my fault for leaving everything last minute. anywhoooo i am currently watching mtv...the hills to be exact. i havnt seen this show in forever.

i forgot how trashy reality television can be. and on top of that, it's not even reality. the people on this show are horrible actors. totally staged. i'm not impressed

doctors

i skipped my classes on friday to go back to potomac because i had to go to a doctors appointment. i have totally forgotten how much i hate going to the doctors. the doctors office is almost as bad as going to the dentist. they always give the same questionare, and i always answer the same as i did last time. on top of that, the physicals are just plain awkward, considering that i got a different doctor than my usual one, so i did not feel as comfortable. along with this, i am not fan of blood. any with my luck, i had to to get my blood drawn. blahh.

they told me i have low blood pressure when i'm standing and sitting down, so i have to go to a cardiologist and get my heart checked out or something.. booooo

vegas

so my best friend alessandra is going to vegas sometime in november to go see her boyfriend. lucky me, i have a free american airlines ticket that i need to use by november 29th. so i will be going with her! i have never been to the west coast. i'm kind of nervous though, i have heard that the people over there are uptight and just plain out crazy with all their partying. so hectic.

i am very excited though, and i know i will be taking ridiculous amounts of pictures, considerin that i'm the biggest papparazzi ha

high school

so today i went back to my high school and helped out with their open house. it was awesome to see all my old teachers and tell the about my life and transitioning to umd. along with gossiping about the latest news in our lives, i pretty much praised all my high school teachers. being at college, i realize how much they helped me and am so appreciative of their guidance in order to prepare me for college. now that i'm here, i really do feel grateful for all that my high school teachers have done for me. i feel so ready for the academics that are in front of me, and know that because of them, i will succeed. 

tired

i am extremely tired at the moment. i went home today and got a chance to hangout with my family again and do laundry. i didnt bring any of my books back home htough, just because of pure laziness and the need for procrastinationsince i've been working hard for my classes.

these next two weeks are going to be crucial. i have a socy exam on thursday, and have to start writing my english paper and speech for my comm class. i need to "pick up my game" and get some work done. 

ummmm, i got my second A in college last week! i'm on a roll. i feel that i'm doing a lot better than how i did in high school.

i love college. 

sick

so i've been feeling pretty sick lately. i've been getting the worst headaches lately when i wake up and in the middle of the day. kind of weird because i normally don't get headaches. i've also been pretty nasily and stuffy. i dont know if its allergies or me still trying to get over the cold i had the first few weeks of school. either way, i'm going to the doctor this friday to get checked out and see if they can get me antibiotics or something. its weird to think that now that i'm in college, i'm learning to take care of myself  and not have my mom around all the time to help me when i'm not feeling too great.

fights

so i witnessed my first real fight this weekend. extremely intense. i was walking with my two best friends one night and saw these two random guys arguing over something i couldnt really understand. all of a sudden one of the guys starts punching the other, causing him to fall to the ground. then, the guy who was beating the other one up moved his leg back and kicked him right in the head! the guy on the ground was knocked unconsious immediately. luckily there was a cop around the corner and arrested the whacko who kicked the guy.

Rhetorical Analysis 2

The Article that I chose to analyze correlates to child labor, the topic for my second paper. This document was taken from the EBSCO HOST Database from the University of Maryland Library Research Port. 

Article: US Child Labor Violations in the Retail and Service Industires: Findings From a National Survey of Working Adolescents.

Authors: Rauscher, Kimberly

                   Runyan, Carol W.

                   Schulman, Michael D.

                   Bowling, J. Michael

When reading the first few paragraphs of the document, I noted that this article immediately used all three rhetorical appeals: ethos, pathos, and logos. In general, the article involves the research and practice of individuals who went to go look at the working conditions of children in the labor workforce. Because of the fact that the article uses research, the article uses the logos appeal to attract it's readers. Logos appeals use factual data and statistics. The article therefore mentions various percentages of the numbers of children who work past the latest hours allowed on a school night, along with the percentage of how many researchers reported work permit violations. Using this type of appeal is effective, in that, the authors have informed opinions and evidence that come from the scientific research of experts and authorities. The knowledge of the topic captivates the audience and convinces them that the information is significant.

The second appeal used in this article is the ethos appeal. The ethos appeal gives extensive credibility to the author as well. The authors have developed their ethos in this article by being extremely formal. In that, remarkable vocabulary is used when explaining the demography of adolescents in various age groups that are employed. The authors also manage to bold certain words in order to emphasize the importance and embed the idea in the audience's mind. Writing in this manner allows the intended audience to truly believe what the authors are saying. It allows them to respect what the writer has to say and take it into consideration.

Lastly, the pathos appeal is also used. The pathos appeal uses vivid language and descriptions in order to evoke an emotional response from the audience. In this article, the writers explain the hazardous conditions that children in the work force have to work in. The article states the children work too many hours which lead them to a deprivation of a decent education. Along with this, the document emphasizes that the injuries acquired in their work accounts for the death in adolescents. This information given makes the audience sympathetic towards the child labor issue. It convinces the reader that change has to happen and there must be a resolution to the problem.

As a result of the reading, I have determined that the intended audience of this piece are those who regulate working conditions and those who make laws involving child labor and children's rights. 

 

high school reunion

so my two best friends from high school came to visit me this weekend. colleen took a bus down here from fordham in new york, and madeleine flew down from miami of ohio. i cannot explain how happy i was. i am having the time of my life meeting new people, but it's so great to have a chance to catch up and reunite with your best friends from high school. what i love about our reunions is that it's as if we continued where we left off, as if we were never separated in the first place. i showed colleen and madeleine around campus and they loved it. they thought the mall was beautiful and that maryland was just so green and spirited (with the amount of people who was outside enjoying the fabulous day).

i took them to the shwayze concert with me, so they got to enjoy a good concert as well. 

on top of that, we took soooo many pictures. it's really ridiculous how much memory was used in the camera card haha. anywhoo, i was pretty sad when they left this morning to go back to school, but i know that now i can look forward to our next reunion and think about how much fun we had at this one :D

shwayze concert

the other concert i attended this weekend was the shwayze concert at santa fe. you all probably think that i am obsessed with concerts or something...but its just the fact that i work for them and get free tickets, so why not take advantage and use them? plus i can get any of my friends in for free sometimes.

anyways, back to shwayze. first of all, i have no idea who shwayze is. i found out that i knew exactly one song from him, but i definetly did not connect his music and his face. anywho, everybody has made such a big deal that he was coming to a tiny bar in college park, so i decided to go. 

when i got there, santa fe was packed. people were all sweaty and buying drinks for themselves/squishing eachother to be closest to the stage.

shwayze finally came on and i managed to make my way up to the front next to the stage. not only did he come sing right in front of me, but he grabbed my hand while i was taking a video and i caught it on camera! hahaha a big deal for some people but i was kind of neutral.

all in all, good music, and a good night. 

concerts

This weekend, i was able to attend two incredible concerts at santa fe cafe. on friday, a band called the mahoney brothers played as a beatles cover band/tribute. the concert started at about eleven and was a sold out show. the band members came on stage wearing dark blue suits, and wigs that suited each character. Ringo, George, John, and Paul came alive again right in front of me. although their costumes were very exaggerated, in that their hair did not look real at all and they had pounds of makeup on, they did a good job of "trying" to be the band. they even bobbed their heads and had the same guitar movements as the beatles used to do when they would perform.

the crowd seemed to enjoy them completely. loud cheers were heard, along with the audience singing along to every song that they played. it was nice to take some time to hear some excellent oldies music from such a significant band. i wish i would have witnessed their time of fame because i definitly would have been considered a "groupie." it was a great night. the only unfortunate thing is that i have not been able to get "we all live in a yellow submarine" out of my head since friday.

Beyonce American Express Commercial

The advertisers for the commercial in which Beyonce Knowles promotes the American Express Card uses both the ethos and pathos appeal. Considering the fact that the maker of this advertisement chose Beyonce as a spokesperson for their product, the ethos appeal is used.  In that, this appeal gives credibility to the person making the argument.  The ethos appeal is ethical. It allows individuals to to believe the people whom they most respect. Because Beyonce is a well known singer, individuals tend to "follow" their favorite celebrities whom they admire. Using Beyonce in particular as a spokesperson for the commercial is valid; her many fans therefore are most likely to get an American Express card just to be more like her. Along with this, Beyonce is known for her beauty and "down to earth" personality in this commercial, making the product more attractive. This leads us into the other appeal being used in the commercial.

The pathos appeal is also used in this commercial. This emotional appeal means persuading by appealing to the reader's sentiments. In the media, Beyonce is depicted as being those celebrities who seems to only care about her money and glamour. However, the commercial views another side of her. Beyonce is shown as an extremely busy woman who has no time for herself. Her tone in the commercial sounds gentle and concerning, due to her constantly trying to find a break from the chaos in her life and time to buy the boomerang for her nephew. Therefore, the commercial allows the audience to sympathize the fact that she does not really have a "normal" life. Due to this, another intended audience apart from Beyonce's fans are the typical people who devote their lives to their careers and do not have time to shop for themselves or other people. 

The overall argument seems to be an argument which convinces busy individuals to use American Express when shopping online in their hectic lives. This claim is implied at the end of the commercial when Beyonce is finally able to purchase the boomerang for her nephew. This positioning of the claim is not very significant though; this is mainly because the American Express card is not explained enough. There is only one short sentence in which a background voice asks the audience if they use a card they trust. However, this does not emphasize the importance of why American Express is better than other versions of credit cards to use to shop online. Although Beyonce does states that she does not have  time to waste, or time to worry (which is why she is a "card member"), the advertiser could have further highlighted the significance of the card.  

home

my thursday at home was excellent. i had a wonderful dinner...steak and mashed potatoes. yum

i also got to go to montgomery mall and buy some new clothes. wooopp

uhhhh i don't really know what to talk about right now. 

i am extremely tired..didnt get much sleep last night. i have so much homework to do, and i have to study for a math test later. i hate math, it's my worst subject.

my neighbor and i had lunch at plato's diner today. it was delicious. i reccomend the salmon souvlaki salad hahaha so if any of you go there, get that.

my roomie went home for the weekend so i have the room all to myself. although i like my "quiet" time, it's kind of lonely! so i'm excited for when she'll be home.

ummmmmmmmmm. thats all i got haha

home

so i decided that i'm gonna go home this thursday. my dad's gonna pick me up around 2:30 and i'll have the oppurtunity to have dinner with my family and get a longgg nice bath. the only person who knows that i'm coming home is my dad...so it's pretty much a surprise for my mom, sister, and nanny.

maybe this time i will actually do my own laundry now that i have learned!

other than that, i'm expecting to get some homework done, so maybe i won't have too much to do over the weekend.

i'm excited to get a home cooked meal. other than that, the fact that i'll be sleeping in my own bed will be really nice.

it'll be weird to be away from the college atmosphere, but at least my roomie is gonna be a block away from my house bc she lives in my neighborhood and is coming home as well!

wahooo. ha

money

soo as obvious as it is, i am a college student. aka, i have no money. as i wrote before, i recently got a job selling tickets for concerts that are held on route one...i don't get paid  very well, so that type of money is used as "pocket money" and is spent rather quickly. 

the other money i spend comes from my parents. i am so grateful that they take the time to work everyday in order to provide a happy life for their three children. as i've been in college, i've tried to cut down on my spendings. everything here is so expensive. i spend about 20 dollars on food each day (whether it be at the diner or at an outside food place). on top of that, the terp bucks go so fast, due to the fact that i buy convenient things at the union shop and convenient store in north campus. 

i miss summertime when i could make real money.

first exam

i just posted a blog a second ago, but i have something else to write about, so why not do it right away? i had my first college "exam" today. it was for my sociology class, where i learn how individuals in society interact with eachother and the world they live in. i was pretty nervous while studying for it, considering that i had no idea what type of format it would be. anywho, i studied with a group of people last night, and again in another group during our break in between classes. i felt prepared. 

i took the test and realized that it was really not that bad. i think i've had harder tests in high school.  

job

so my neighbor ale and i got a job this weekend. we have to sell about 150 tickets for the red hot chili peppers cover band concert at santa fe this weekend. each ticket is $12. today we sold about 5o in an hour...pretty good. i have no idea how much we are getting paid though. either way, i am a college student that is broke half the time, so a little money seems pretty nice right now. not sure if any of you are fan of the red hot chili peppers, but you should definetly check them out. they play rock/alternative music that can chill you out if you're in those blah moods when you over-analyze everything that has been happening in your life.

bitter

i am bitter. this weekend, i woke up and had no voice for some reason. no, i did not go out or anything..haha i just woke up mute. weird. anywho, i guess that no voice aspect was the genesis of my cold. because this past week i had massive headaches, which later changed to a sore throat, and now, a sinus thing. gross. i hate being sick in college...mainly because my mother is not here to check up on me and make me tea/ feed me etc. hhaha and on top of that, i have not been getting sleep because i've had ridiculous cough attacks throughout the night. i feel bad for my rooomie. 

ummmmmmm. it is cold. i hate this rainy weather...i lost my umbrella somewhere in my room and cannot find it.

good stuff

So i finally learned how to do laundry! 

Uhh I don't really know what to write about. I'm home at the moment. I decided to come back just so i could get some homework done, and it's not really working. my parents are super distracting, coming in every minute, asking if i'm doing okay. apart from that, my dad is listening to really loud techno music because he's trying to be cool....so i can't hear myself think or get math done. blahhh.

the game this weekend was pretty fun. i still don't know half of the cheers, but i'm slowly learning, and am moving my arms around pretending like i know what i'm doing.

 

yesterday was a bitter day for me though...my neighbor and i weren't hungry for dinner until about 8....and with our luck, we go to the diner and it's closed. so we decided to see if adele's was open...but it was closed too. we had to walk all the way to route one from centreville. whomp. 

draft of narrative in class

For my paper, I will tell the story about my working experience during my junior year of high school. i worked at a store called toys etc in potomac maryland. my brother was the one who first started working there, and when he left for college, he told his manager that i would replace his position as a sales associate. aka i was pretty much forced to work there.
junior year in general is hard. you have to keep your grades up because those are the ones that really "count," and you're in the middle of deciding where you should start looking to go to college...

not finished!

Laundry

So i'm assuming all of you know how to do your laundry. And i'm going to be completely honest...i still don't know how to do it. you see, i was born in chile, and ever since i was little, i had a "nanny" (aka a babysitter who was also our housekeeper) and she ended up moving with us when we came to america. anywho, my nanny, who is pretty much my second mother, has always done my laundry. no, i am not spoiled, but everytime i had something dirty back at home, she would beat me to it and wash it immediately.

when i told my nanny i was going to maryland, she was excited, and told me that over the summer, she was going to teach me to wash my clothes. so, summer passed by, and i procrastinated...she continued washing my dirty clothes. soon, it was the day before move-in, and i still didnt know how to do laundry.

a week after move-in day, i found myself to be in trouble. i had sweaty clothes from the gym and clothes that i wore to class that needed to be washed. what to do? well, my roomie didnt know how to do laundry, and my neighbors didnt either. so pretty much i was screwed.

so what did i do? i called home. my mom came to the rescue. on the second saturday after move in day, she came to pick me up and take me home so i could do laundry. i got home, and once again, my nanny beat me to the laundry. 

when i got back to my dorm, she later called me and told me that the reason she didnt teach me was so that i'd have to go home and visit more often :)

First Look Fair

so after english class today, ersin, steph and i decided to go check out the first look fair. it pretty much dominated half of the mall, and was covered with colorful balloons, and tons of tables set up with various clubs and organizations that you can sign up for. it was super chaotic, with lots of people walking around and so many things being given away. when we first got there, we all spinned this wheel that belonged to a hair salon. i won a half price on a shampoo and haircut, and ersin won a completely free haircut. haa he would. anyways, they kept giving away free notebooks, so i totally took advantage of those. i kept going in circles, receiving the notebooks and putting them into my bag. i have five now. ha, so now i dont have to spend money or hassle around notebooks that i bought from cvs, all the way back to my dorm in centreville.

apart from all the freebees i got, i signed up for the surf club. no, i do not know how to surf, and i have no sense of balance whatsoever. so that'll be a good old time. im also thinking about joining a sorority next semester...we'll see what happens. as long as i dont join one where there are girls who are obsessed with themselves, then i'm good. 

randomest post ever.

So i'm not really sure what to write about so i am just going to say what's on my mind:

1. i am really hating this weather. i dislike misty rain...if it's gonna rain, rain hard. ha. 2. i just had the most delicious sandwich from bagel palace...so if you're hungry and want something tasty i definetly reccomend getting something from that place. 3. i am sooo tired...i went to bed late last night and got up at 9 to go to english. 4. i'm going to salisbury tonight to go surprise a friend for her birthday...should be fun. 5. i'm just realizing how much i love water..hahah i have killed about 3 full cases all by myself since i've been here. 6. i miss my bed back at home.. 7. i missed the vmas, whompp...supposidley britney spears came back and was fabulous. 8. i love pop music. for some reason i'm listening to hanson at the moment. remember mmmbop? yeah, i was definetly a hanson groupie..even though they looked like girls. 9. i finally was able to buy the engagements with rhetoric book, wahoooo 10. i love the italia soccer team. not only are all the players beautiful (and have perfect hair that could be on a pantene pro-v commercial), but watching them play is just fantastic. 11. i feel like the biggest nerd because i pretty much did all my homework for the weekend on monday, aka i have nothing to do. 12. i cant go to the gym today bc of salisbury..bummer. 13. my parents dropped off winter coats today, and a backpack...so hopefully now my right shoulder won't be dead anymore from carrying my books in a shoulder bag. 14. i have recently been reading the twilight book series..good stuff, i approve. weird though, cause normally i'm not into fantasy and vampire stuff. 15. my feet hurt. 16. my roomie fell asleep on my bed? haha weird. 17. i need to clean my room. 18. i still don't know how to do laundry (aka my parents took clothes with them back home and are bringing it back on sunday yaay 19. my ring tone for my cell phone is starting to annoy me. 20. lalalalalalalala im bored.

No freshman 15 for me! ha

Sooo, before i came to college, every single person told me to watch how much i eat and drink because the first year of college, everybody tends to gain the dreaded freshman 15. i've been at school now for about two weeks and think that the freshman 15 really isnt affecting me yet. i'm still trying to figure out my eating schedule, considering that almost every day i start classes at 9:30 and im not done til 1:45, so i've pretty much been skipping lunch time orrrrr eating a really late lunch. i've been pretty healthy lately, having lots of salads with chicken, drinking massive amounts of water, and taking the stairs (not elevator) to my floor at centreville. not only do i get exercise by going to the gym every day, but with my luck, my english 101 class is allllllll the way at the other side of campus. so its definetly a "waker upper" every monday morning.

i tried out that smoothie place at the gym today. pretty good stuff in there if you ask me. everything is super fruity and exotic. not to mention the good selection of little wraps and sandwiches. i'm a fan.

i've also noticed that i have become a big tea drinker. no, i am not a grandmother, buttt tea seems to chill me out for some reason. if i drink it before i go to bed it lets me fall asleep quicker (my dorm is always sooo hottt that its hard to fall aleep).  so pretty much in this blog i have made myself sound like a nerdy health freak. i'm really not though. i love junk food, haha i;m just trying to be good and come home normal and not a blob full of beer. haaaaa

bye

First Blog

So i've pretty much decided that i love public school. i have been to an all girl's catholic school since the 6th grade and feel as if i did not really have a real high school experience. first, there were no boys, second, we had to ask our OWN date to prom, and third, there were no football games. now that i'm at maryland, i feel so happy that i can meet different groups of people (including guys haa). i have the oppurtunity to mingle with diverse people and be exposed to various activities that i could not be part of in high school. although maryland is a huge change from what i'm used to, (considering that i only had about 15 girls in each of my classes last year), i am having the time of my life. i feel that my high school definetly prepared me for the work that needs to be done in college and believe that i will gain a great education thanks to this institution. 

along with the whole, me being happy about the school, i am also feeling great about my dorm. although the walls feel like a prison because they are only cinderblock, my roomie (who happens to be my best friend since i was two) and i have found to decorate our room in a way that feels like home. it's kind of a bummer that our tv has only one channel though, and that channel can be used for good old nintendo 64. so if anyone knows how to fix tvs or wants to simply play a game of mariokart, you are more than welcome to haha. 

i havea good amount of reading to do today, blahh. so i guess i'll write in this later? haa thanks for reading my first blog. its kind of awkward, but its something!