Remedial Chaos Theory

Assignment 6d.

 My Alternate Timeline:

Settlers Green Public School had assemblies once a month to honour student achievements. I sat with the other third graders on the cold gym floor. I knew I would be receiving a certificate. I patiently waited as Mr. Black, the school’s principal, called out the names of students who were awarded a certificate. The certificates were handed out by grade. The first grade students got their certificates at the beginning, then the second grade students, lastly the third grade students.

                            

As I waited patiently for my certificate I noticed the fine details of the gym floor. The red, blue, and green markings on the glossy floor peeked out from under my crossed legs. I looked back and saw mom sitting with the other parents on the wooden benches, at the far wall of the gym. Mom smiled and waved at me. About 10 minutes later Mr. Black had moved on to the second grade students. The second graders ran up to the front of the gym with excitement as Mr. Black called out their names.

                                       

The Wait:

1.  As I played with the white laces on my black runners I noticed a shiny metal object peering out from under my left shoe. I had found a dime. As I pulled the dime from under my shoe it scratched the gym floor and made a small screech.

2. Mr. Black continued to call out names of the second grade students. Sweat formed in the palm of my right hand as I held onto the dime. I opened my hand and looked at the dime. While waiting for my certificate I spun the dime on the gym floor. The dime slowly stopped spinning and landed on heads. A few seconds later Mr. Black called out my name. I lifted the dime, heads side up, with my thumb and index finger and placed it in my pocket. I stood up off the gym floor and began to walk up to the front.

3. I looked back at mom and waved. For a second the ground under my feet felt soft. I looked down frantically as I fell on a purple sweater that lay flat on the gym floor. I had slipped in front of everyone. The girl whose sweater I slipped on apologized. Embarrassed and shaken up I picked myself up off the gym floor and walked up to receive my certificate.

Mr. Black:

“You took a nasty fall Anas…are you okay”, asked Mr. Black

“Yeah, I think so” I replied.

My right elbow throbbed as Mr. Black handed me my certificate. I smiled at the on looking students so my accident wouldn’t seem like such a big deal. What if the dime I fidgeted with had landed on tails? Maybe if the dime landed on tails an alternate timeline would have been created. I may not have slipped in front of all those kids. What if.

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Do you think an alternate timeline could exist!? Tell me what you think!

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Be Yourself!

Assignment 5c.

1. Episode Breakdown:

So last night’s episode “Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps” revealed some heavy stuff about the characters. Britta conducted a survey/test to discover the psychology of her friends. Each member of the study completed the survey. Britta fed the scantron cards through the scanner to learn more about her friends’ inner workings. The survey results revealed that only one member of the study group was sane. What!!?? Who could it be?

2. Why Abed = Insane:

• I found it interesting that the directors of the show chose Abed as the character that would be portrayed sane. I came up with a theory. Abed openly watches Cougar Town, is addicted to pretty much all forms of TV, has an awkward sense of humour, can see people in stop-motion, and is extremely creative.

• Think back to season 2 episode 2 “Accounting for Lawyers”. The ending scene of “Accounting for Lawyers” showed Abed playing a joke on Troy by pretending to have found his way into a cartoon world. The things I previously listed make Abed seem more insane than sane.

                         

3. Abed’s Honesty makes him Sane:

During “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas”, Abed told the group that he sees them in stop-motion. He doesn’t try to hide it or ignore it. Abed’s honesty towards his friends and towards life make him the sane one out of the group.

                          

4. What the episode taught me?

Some episodes of Community are just plain entertainment (like the paintball one). “Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps” taught me something. Being yourself keeps you happy, sane, motivated, and confident. Shirley tries so hard to enforce her religious opinions on the study group. Jeff keeps his emotions masked. But Abed is the exact opposite. He screams when his favourite shows have been put on mid season watch, he records everything he sees on camera. Abed accepts and is comfortable with the type of person he has become.

5. The Take-Away:

You might think that I elaborated over nothing. You might be right. I learned something important so I felt like talking about it. It may sound crazy but by creating this post I followed what I talked about. I shared how I felt about a TV show. I wasn’t afraid that people wouldn’t see “Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps” the same way as me.

6. Final Thoughts  

Be yourself. You will feel better being who you want to be rather than being someone people want you to be. Every single day I set goals for myself. I set daily goals, monthly goals, and yearly goals. I write them down and remember them. This post has helped me set another goal; being myself through my blog. We all want to be the best possible versions of ourselves we get university degrees, fancy cars, big homes, and expensive clothes. But isn’t the best possible version of you the real you?

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Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas!

Assignment 4c.

Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas has to be one of the best episodes on Community. The episode uses a unique stop motion animation style. It looks at Abed’s emotional side. Have you ever been scarred? — maybe you’ve lost a loved one or maybe you’ve seen your grandpa’s wrinkly butt. Community’s Abed Nadir has many moments where he appears to be bothered by hidden emotions; like in this episode (Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas).

Check out the intro!

 What Goes Down:

Abed starts to see his world in stop motion animation. For everything to go back to normal he needs to find the meaning of Christmas. Abed loses sight of reality because he remembers what Christmas used to be like when he was younger. The loss of that Christmas triggers his stop motion delusion. Abed’s interesting and unique personality shows through this episode.

 My Thoughts:

• I found myself relating to this episode quite a bit. Growing up I always got to spend time with my grandparents during summer. After they passed away summer vacation became different. I still went to Florida to see my uncles and cousins but something always felt different. I could no longer go fishing with my grandpa and I could no longer try grandma’s desserts.

• Grandma made a different dessert almost every day. She seemed so happy baking cupcakes, brownies, and coconut squares. I look forward to the warmth of Florida every summer but without my grandparents it seems less special each year. I can relate to Abed. Thankfully, I don’t see in stop motion during summer break.

• I try to look past not having my grandparents to spend time with and instead I enjoy my big family that I get to see every year. This episode reminded of something important. Things get better.

“Things Get Better!”

• Maybe you can’t relate directly to me or Abed. Just remember things get better as time passes. Going through an illness, divorce, or losing a loved one is difficult but you will learn and become a stronger person. In Abed’s case it takes one episode for him to find his way out of a stop-motion filled fantasy world. It might take you longer but things get better.

Did you like the episode? What did it mean to you?

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Why Watch Community?

Assignment 3b.

Community has to be one of the greatest shows. The End. Okay, maybe that first bit wasn’t as convincing as I had hoped for it to be. Why should you watch Community? There are so many shows on TV that you could give your time and attention to.

 

<> Unique: 

Let me start by saying Community. Community reminds me of the very first guy who ever wore pink. People laughed and thought pink shirts were a fad. But you have to admit because of his courage guys do wear pink, especially in the summer. Like that pink shirt, Community isn’t a fad.

Back to my point, Community rocks! Everything about the show is fresh; the story, the characters, and the humour. Community is relaxing and entertaining; it isn’t a high octane over-the-top sci-fi show that leaves you with cliff-hangers at the end of each episode.

The limited cliff hangers that make their way into the show are more about characters and relationships. A few things that I really like about Community are the short episodes. Watching Community feels like a break. Even though the episodes are short I still found myself being attached to characters and wanting to know more about them. Each episode packs in just enough laughs, surprises, and wow moments to keep me hooked.

Take a break watch a clip!

<>  Skeptic then Fan:

When I first began to watch Community I didn’t have much to say about it. At first I found myself being skeptical about the future of the show. I thought Community was like any other show on TV. I couldn’t have been more wrong. A few episodes into the first season I noticed myself really liking the characters and their distinct personalities. The characters functioned well together. For a protective mom-like character like, Shirley, a loose insensitive character like Pierce comes in to lighten the mood.

The Study Group!

Annie, a proper young woman acts differently from Britta, a rowdy care-free character. The whole study-group idea and setting may seem boring and repetitive at first but I can assure you the best moments happen during the study sessions. Without giving too much away during the second season of Community, Señor Chang, tries hard to get into the study group. Subtle yet ongoing conflicts like this keep the show fresh and keep me guessing.

<> The Verdict:

Why watch Community:

• Smart and engaging humour
• Interesting and evolving characters
• Relaxing to watch
• Keeps you hooked

Tell me what you think ! Are you going to watch Community if you don’t already? =)

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Señor Chang

Assignment 2c.

In elementary school I hated taking required language courses. I always did terrible. I hated sitting through French class. My teacher would place a scratchy old cassette in an old tape player and the class would have to listen to sentences in French. The worst part was having to repeat those sentences back in French.

1. Avoiding the Teacher

I remember sitting at the back in French class so I would go unnoticed by my teacher. Amidst all the kids participating and shouting out answers the teacher never noticed me repeating the same few French words and sentences that I knew, until of course later in the year when I started failing quizzes. Hey 6/10 is pretty much a failing mark in grade school.

2. Spanish 101 = Better

Everything boring in real life seems fun on TV. Señor Chang teaches Spanish 101 on Community. Mr. Chang teaches students Introductory Spanish. For those of you who watch the amazing show, you know that language classes can be fun.

As I watch Community I wonder why I didn’t have a scrawny, outrageous, and entertaining Asian teacher like Chang. Señor Chang would have made an amazing teacher. Señor Chang’s jokes and laid back style makes him awesome. Even if the study group finds Señor Chang annoying he entertains me. Try to remember your worst class or teacher and recall the horrible memories

Now take the magic eraser built into your imagination:

1. Wipe your mean teacher away from the front of the classroom.

2. Place Señor Chang in front of the room.

3. It worked! I don’t know about you but I just got through some of my unresolved issues.

4. Class just got better!

3. Changes

It gets better. To all the kids in grade school, to all of you who can only pick one elective, I tell you it gets better. As you progress in life you get to make more of your own choices, choices that you are happy with.

Final Thoughts:

I believe that learning should be relaxing and engaging. For me, French class was stressful. I couldn’t learn under the pressure of my teacher constantly picking on me. I would struggle remembering phrases and sentences and then choke in front of the whole class. French homework was dull, write sentences, conjugate verbs, or recite phrases. Control your learning. We all have to sit through required courses. Do yourself a favour and try to have fun.

What were your worst classes? Comment and take a look at my previous post too!

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Work

Assignment 1d.

Monday Morning

Monday morning is the worst thing. I don’t wish it upon anyone. I get out of bed hunched over with my shirt twisted around my body and my pyjamas wedged between my thighs. I take a moment to straighten out my night wear and get comfortable.

 

Abed Nadir

and

Troy Barnes.

I manage to walk to the washroom with my eyes closed. I do my early morning business in the dark; don’t judge me. It takes me a good minute to reacquaint myself with the light. My face scrunches up as I lift my right eye lid open just a little to let in a tiny flash of light. Why do Monday mornings suck so much?

Why Monday Mornings Suck…

For me, because I know I will have to see a few teachers and students whose company I don’t enjoy at all. After five hours of class I get a 1 hour lunch. On my way home I think about all the homework I will have to do.

It doesn’t make sense, after a full day of work at school I will have to do more work at home. Parents come home from work and pull out their work laptops or receive messages on their blackberries from bosses.

Relax!

Our chaotic lives need a break, a moment for us to appreciate the little things that surround us; chatter at the dinner table, funny family moments, and the predictable news. I understand that things need to get done but I think some parts of the day should be free of work. Keep your smart phones away from the dinner table.

The constant text messaging, web surfing, and email gets in the way of important family time. Trust me it helps.

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Let Go.

So if a smart phone is bombarding your pocket with short vibrations set the profile to silent and put your phone away. And for a moment embrace free time. Breathe, don’t worry about your boss or your homework just enjoy dinner.

The Take-Away…

So now that we have tackled dinner let’s talk about Monday mornings. What do we need to have awesome Monday mornings? I think everyone needs to look at the morning show going on in their lives. Go ahead you can think that I have gone nuts but think about it for a moment.

Troy and Abed from Community seem so happy with their morning show. Maybe our lives already have that morning show but we choose to ignore it. We might be forced to ignore the good things that go on in the morning because of our hectic one-shoe-barely-on style schedule. You need to find the time–even a few seconds.

As a child when I got ready for school on a Monday morning in the winter, Mom had a morning show to watch. Mom would watch me struggle to slide on my fluffy snow pants, jacket, boots, mittens, hat, and scarf. Mom would watch me get ready to experience a new week and she would be watching with a smile. Look at your surroundings this Monday morning and you might find a really awesome morning show going on, waiting for your attention.

Find the time, even a few seconds.

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