the end

So this is the final blog post for this class. Now I don't know if we had to blog, but I felt it appropriate to end the semester with the way we started it - blogging. For any of those who have read my blog, aside from myself (if any of you do exist that is) this is just a little bit of advice. If you like knowing what you're going to get out a class by the end of the 15th week then never take a class with Dvorak. If you do, expect the unexpected, in  a good way that is. I had this idea of what the class would be, and it turned out to be completely different from the end result. Expect to work as long as possible and be completely consumed by everything that has to do with MMR&W. But also expect this, to learn a lot. Although you may not think that your research is significant, from what I've seen so far from last week's presentations, is that everyone enjoyed their project and knows a lot about it, which makes sense. But still, Dvorak does what he does for a reason and that reason benefits you in the long run. For many of us this is their last class that will have culminated with graduations, for others one semester closer to being free.
The class was stressful, fun through the ups and downs of deadlines and excessive amounts of caffeine. Now the end has greeted us all, and who knows if I keep up with blogging, maybe a different blog, of how to manage appropriate amounts of coffee at peak times of stress due to overwhelming classes. :)

stereotypes

I guess I was wrong when I said that I'd blog more often in NY than in Miami, however it wasn't intentional; if I had a laptop or if the city were less expensive then I would have frequented an Internet cafe somewhere near me so that I could blog. Also if parks had Wi-Fi, I would have most definitely blogged at least twice in one day, but...that didn't happen so. Whenever I was out and about in the city, my brain was just soaking it all up, the sights, the smells (good and bad), the temperature and my racing thoughts traveling through my mind as fast as the train. One thing I did notice, once I would get home tired, but content after being out all day was that I didn't see as many Hispanic/Latinas in any of the financial districts that I would wander through. The only time I would see my fellow ethnic race was in the subway stations. Women of Dominican, Puerto Rican, Mexican, Colombian descent. And these women of all ages were dressed appropriately in regards to the weather. The one thing I did notice was that the women that I did see in these business/financial areas were the ones dressed more fashionably geared rather than climate appropriate. I guess it made sense since at this particular moment I was by Bryant Park, however these women seemed to sacrifice warmth for style.
Thanksgiving was the one day where I saw an extreme stereotype being fulfilled right before my eyes. While on my way to see my family I was in the subway waiting for the train, and a Mexican family (I know they were Mexican because of the Spanish accent) were waiting for the train to take them to the parade so that they could sell cotton candy.

I'll just leave that image there so that whoever (if there is anyone that does read my blog) reads this will interpret it as they wish.

home sweet home

I arrived to me beloved hometown of Manhattan. The change in temperature was so inviting and the change was much needed in my life. Too much heat does me no good. As my hands started to stiffen with the brisk cold wind beating against my face, I couldn't help but notice my immediate dissection of how women dress, especially here considering the brisk temperature. Although this trip isn't one of pleasure, I can't help but thank this city, that I adore, for making me appreciate the beauty in all it's chaos. My progress will have taken a bit of a back seat for personal reasons, but that doesn't mean that I will completely shove my project to the depths of my mind. I can immediately see certain trends in regards to appearance and attire. Who knows, maybe wandering into a quaint little cafe will spark a new finding, some different opinion, theory that I wouldn't have stumbled upon while under the scorching sun in Miami. Although I must say I'm a bit proud with the progress of my project: I have MM#1 done, MM#2 waiting for feedback, the survey transcriptions in process, interviews almost done; just need to code them. I MUST work on the ARP which needs a lot of weeding out from the content once inserted past weeks. Knowing the way I am, and how I function while in NY, most likely is that my blog will be filled up more than in Miami. Tons of things to do, bands I'm going to see, great food to be consumed and a lot of quality time with family. Who knows maybe being here, will give a little touch of NY magic to my project and overall...my life!
I'll see you soon BlogSpot

men vs women

After transcribing all the of the three interviews, I found myself lost - yes lost. It wasn't what I expected at all, for one of them at least. I had different expectations of what I would get from my respondents, but now that I have all of them done, I can see the foggy haze slowly form in front of my eyes. Maybe from staring at the screen too much, and getting really close to it, to make sure that I had typed down everything the respondents said.
Note to self (and everyone with a BlackBerry) don't use your phone to record the interview! Had I an appropriate device to record the interviews, I'm pretty sure the interview transcriptions would've been done the day after, or even that same night. Maybe not, but the process would've been that much easier. Main reason: every time I pause the interview my phone stops and says there is an error loading it - great! so every time I need to go back and make sure I heard the right thing...I have to start all over again (yes!!) So I pretty much had to listen to the interviews more than five times in order to get everything done. But enough of me complaining, life is about learning lessons and I definitely learned mine.
Unsatisfied rant aside, I feel as if I got the interviews mixed up, because some of the answers were not what I was expecting from the specific respondent at the time. However, I must give credit to my fellow XX (females) beings, the most successful interview was with a woman. The total interview lasted 15 minutes. Yes! 15!! 5 of which were spent, introducing my project and a little bit about my background and such, and the other remaining 10, was the actual recorded interview. Once I transcribed the interview, I saw the caliber of the answers that she gave me. They were straight to the point, answered everything mentioned in my questions and were quality answers too, for that matter. So therefore my conclusion to this part of the never ending process, that is MMRW, is that women won in this round - let's see how well men do with my observations and surveys (not to separate us) :]

my own perception

I don't know if this semester long project has heightened my Hispanic stereotype, but this weekend while out with friends and talking about casual things, the topic of hair arose (yes hair) and I found myself defending my opinion that long hair isn't always prettier - I noticed myself becoming defensive, while backing up my opinion that everyone has long hair thus my reason for keeping it at a medium/short length. I then went on to say, that I myself don't want to give in to the 'typical stereotypes' of Hispanic/Latinas: long hair, hips, short, curvy... I was telling my friends how I try as much as possible to defy all of those stereotypes. [This is me being very candid, virally] Now that I realize this correlation between the two, it goes further than my hair... I've said time and again that I think that a slimmer body is more elegant therefore more beautiful - also going against my own genes and own physical attributes. It became so much more clear this weekend of how much I allow my life to be consumed by constant battles against 'physical' perceptions. I need to read beyond the lines of the sources that I've used for my research project and apply the powerful, headstrong voices of proud Hispanic women all around.

checklist in full effect

After the workshops we had in class this week, I feel (a bit) at ease with my project - I know that doesn't really sound right, especially after my very spontaneous reaction to the deadlines that follow for the upcoming weeks. My survey was approved and sent out. I have one more interview to conduct November 9, now all I have to do is finish transcribing the other interviews. Thursdays' class was extremely insightful, since I sort of related the process of it to that of writing it "recipe" style - we need to make it as straight forward as possible, so that anyone that reads our ARP (Academic Research Paper) can easily read it, follow the directions and do one themselves. At the moment my ARP has a lot of content, but now that I have a structure to follow it will all hopefully be easier to edit. The last interview, is one I'm proud to have since it comes from one of the sources I used for this research - hopefully she likes it as much I enjoyed her piece :)

mixing bowl

After both 'workshop' sessions this week, everything is slowly but surely coming together - even if its at a slow pace. The traces of the final project are slowly becoming visible. Still very stressed but bits and pieces are coming into place, although scattered I can see the light at the end of tunnel (barely) but very anxious to see how and when I will see the final 'masterpiece' done!

deep exhale---

Right when I thought that the path to the finish line, that is week 15, would be all downhill from now - I get a very pleasant reality check courtesy of Dvorak ( as usual).. survey questions! Of course I figured this would be an easy task to complete - 10 minutes tops, but oh no of course, his classes are never what they seem to be - he's quite deceiving! I'm sure this is an intentional approach to get students lured into taking this class over another. Anyway.... as I was proven wrong on Tuesday by the amount of time my small group of 3 took to help/assist/edit one of my fellow classmates survey questions - I now need to rethink what the main goal is for these survey questions. Not only did these surveys leave me discouraged, but my first interview (which was conducted today) also left me discouraged, disappointed - blank, with a big question mark lurking over my head and the many scrambling thoughts, as I left unaware of my bearings.
Now prior to the interview - I thought, this is what is going to give my project the "substance", as Dvorak says, but I'm not too sure substance is what I got, rather than a lot of confusion.
First of all, the interview went extremely well, I got to my location on time, had a few minutes to chat - explain what the project entailed and then state the process of the interview and how my respondent would be of help.
I recorded it, so all I took notes of was: his body language, facial expressions and my overall interpretation of his knowledge.
Sadly, I feel that his relationship with my mother (co-workers) affected his answers - maybe he didn't want to offend me or her. Plus, him already knowing that I am Hispanic, I feel made him think through his answers before saying them. I am more than positive that this will happen with other interviewees - which makes me a bit apprehensive as to the supposed "substance" that I should be getting from these interviews.
I need to make sure that I have just as much substance from my text based information as well as from the interviews. (sigh -very deep sigh).

A wiser me by week 15

After reading Cindy Moore's chapter 10 on "Finding the Voices of Others..." I've realized just how vital this blog really is, and it is no wonder that Dvorak has made us try to keep it in use every week. This blog is essentially our own journal, a place where we can type up any ideas, thoughts or changes we've had with our project and even so, to share it with others. The most vital aspect of this chapter for me in particular would have to be the part of making sure that your voice isn't lost in the process. Yes, it will most likely change and develop into something more mature but it is exactly what should happen, since after all, this is a project that we have and essentially will be working on for quite a while. I myself have already noticed the value in jotting down notes on the margins of the pages from the books or articles I have read. However, I can see the extreme importance in writing down your own thoughts on a separate sheet while and after you've read given article.
I've been doing good so far in keeping track of my thoughts, just a little bit more tweaking and I should be up to par with Moore's advice.

No more social life till who knows when -!!-

As I have punished myself (with good reason) to no longer be allowed to go out over these next few weekends, I'm glad I've done it. We've reached the half way mark and it's time to be professional young adults. I've been sent an angel in the form of a library staff! and really, thank God for her. She has provided me with an endless amount of information, and just like Dvorak said .."you're going to reach a point, when you're going sit back and say, 'I have too much information.'" I'm not going to be so bold and say that I have an excessive amount of information to use, but I'd rather have too much than too little. Seeing as how I'm still waiting for two of my most vital sources to come in the mail, I'll use this as an opportunity to read as much as possible and separate good from not as valuable.Thanks to the constant reminder in my brain provided by Wendy Bishop, I have organized every single area of my work space, room and even the kitchen - which now looks like a little bit of a picture perfect Whole Foods store.
Who knew that one of my university courses would seep its way into my personal life.
Now to get on with the interviews!

Law Breezeway Observation

Thursday 11:30 am, and I'm spending the remaining 30 minutes of my class being a bit of a creep with my fellow classmate. 

Our assignment - take notes and observe... as I've noticed recently because of this class, that words and their meanings can be vague. I mean there are things in the law cafe that I could dissect to the smallest degree, but for the sake of just 'observing' I stayed around the normal level.

First thing I noticed, 3 Hispanic women are working in the cafe, and just as easily as I noticed them, I noticed just how organized and clean the cafe was. The majority of the labels of coffee and teas were facing the display window. The tables were clean, as was the floor. There isn't any music on, just the faint noise emitted from the coffeemaker, the refrigerator (I suppose).

A table/kiosk advertising tips and other marvelous information on "How to pass the Bar" run by two female students.

An elderly man, has sat outside of the caf, directly in front of us...and seems to be doing the same thing we are, observing.

The tvs in the caf are off, overall it is very quiet. There is a fan outside blowing in the direction of the majority of the tables, although today it doesn't seem to be necessary. 1 guy is standing by the fan checking his phone, wasting time, trying to appear as though he's busy. I later realize... he was waiting for his friend who had entered a while before and had ordered a 'colada'. There is the ever so large sign of Summer in Spain.

There are about 2 groups of people, one consisting of four guys and the other of girls. They are eating and talking, I highly doubt they are talking about school by the evidence of happiness across their faces. As I have been taking notes of what is going on on the outside, I have forgotten about the women working in the caf and all the conversations they've had with various customers.

One young man, very enthusiastically has took over the wind emission from the fan.. he had just come from running ( I'm pretty sure). Another young female has entered dressed out of a fitness magazine, decked out in fitness attire...except that her makeup and excessive amount of jewelry doesn't really go hand in hand with what she's trying to portray.... yet again who am I to say that she doesn't in fact workout with all those accessories.

The only female I've seen with short hair...a pixie cut to be exact.

At this point I notice this one guy sitting alone, who seems to be genuinely distraught or stressed, maybe both. He's sitting alone, checking his phone - maybe girlfriend problems.... maybe something more serious - hopefully not.

All in all, not that many people are using their cell phones, which surprises me and gives me comfort that society is not destroyed entirely. I don't think the age group has anything to do with it, considering that the majority of the people here are 5-8 years older than me. But maybe its the genuine intention to value the intimate connections only human contact and interaction can provide.

2 guys come in, and instantly grab my attention because they're talking about nutrients in one of the guys' energy drink - as they leave he says "... it make me hungry" don't think he diet is going to work if he continues drinking it.

The majority of the people that have enteredd the cafe have only used one of the two doors. 

The smokers seemed to have been ostrasized from the rest of the breezeway. The "Pass the Bar" table has gotten more attention and traffic from people - both male and female. And overall equal ration of male:female. Alot of the guys here are dressed in polos.

I draw my attention back inside my current premise, and notice that there is only one other girl eating at a table alone. Most of the people that are standing outside are male... most of them in their "dominant" male position.

I drew up this theory...the women are dressed very well, I can only assume that is in attempts to find a significant other, since they are indeed in their mid/late twenties...looking for an older, mature, stable male partner, for their future aspirations (just a thought).

Overall, the bags here seem to range in the large sized bags and small suitcase back bags.

12:00 everyone is going to class or library. One final observation, most people prefer to sit outside even if it is hot, again maybe an attempt to preserve friendship, and thus social networking.

15 lenses

15 brains scrambling with introspective ideas, theories, observations and empty thoughts.
Intuitive beings observing with their ears, others with microscopic eyes noticing the smallest words.
Categories being formed by scrutinizing eyes.
1 fish being watched by 30 other eyes, 15 others being watched by 2 eyes.
Psychological examining- athletic speculation.
15 lenses looking through an "observer of beautiful forms".

weekend plan: research, research and probably some more research

As I continue to work on my now approaching annotated bibliography, I find myself with 8 tabs open, none of which give me any background information on one of the most vital authors for my research project.
I guess now is a good time to really acknowledge that quote that so many of us ignore:
be careful what you wish for...
And yes I've had my warning, and although I have very little information pertaining to this particular author, it isn't stopping me from really understanding the value of research in order to put together a quality research project. Thus my journey begins... I'm not exactly sure where, but I know it has started and that it's time to really go the extra mile.
I got what I wished for.... something that would push my limits and force me to go beyond what I've been accustomed to.

light bulb (!)

After an interesting week of practice interviews and methods and tips on how we should conduct them, I had an epiphany and decided to completely discard my research proposal and come up with a new one. Although it may seem a bit foolish in doing so considering I already had feedback on my previous one, yet I still felt compelled to embark on something that would really push me out of my comfort zone.... seeing as how my project had already been pretty much done for me, as proven by ProQuest. I saw the other proposals and how my fellow classmates were really excited and eager to start and start stacking up the information and immediately knew that if I wanted to be as passionate as they were on their topics that I would need to change mine asap!
I have just concluded my second proposal.....I'm hoping I get a better response to this one with useful feedback (it always is, but more this time around :] ) and that -cross my fingers- I come up with a project that leaves me content with the work I've done.

Palm Spring North....Florida...not California, Google!

Our second mock interview this week was based around the research we could come up with about our respondents hometown. I found basic information online abouth the small town of Palm Spring North (Florida), such as resident age, income, occupations and surrounding schools. As I was reading about this town my immediate impression was that this small town was like a Pleasantville type of town, where you would find a sweet little girl with two cute ponytails skipping down the sidewalk with a balloon in hand.... But as "Jennifer" told me that this is just a residential community, where previous generations grew up and have continued on their families upbringing there as well. Her mother grew up there and later moved down the block, where "Jennifer" grew up. She now lives in Davie with her family but recalls growing up with a sense of unity due to the small community where everyone knew everybody else. She appreciated (when living there) the fact that she had two surrounding larger metropolitan cities to the North and South of where she lived. She contributes her sense of security in her childhood to growing up in PSN (Palm Spring North). Although she said that as my first misconception of her town, that it isn't a Pleasantville type of living. A crime occured in this small town about 18 years ago, when she was in elementary school. A residential shooting occurred not to far from her elementary school, where helicopters had to land in her school's field in order to take the victim to the hospital. She says that it has changed, the houses are further away from each other, but that the general sense of the town has remained - the same daily commute out of the town for work and schools.

quick interview practice

During today's class we did a mock interview of what we need to apply and subtract from our interviewing skills. I interviewed a fellow classmate, a female, giving me her answers to her literacy background. Like myself she is a bilingual speaking student. During the interview I found out that between the two of us; she had not read any books in Spanish. Now I don't know if this has to do with me attending a high school in Costa Rica and being required to read books in Spanish for class or just that I had a genuine interest in reading the translated book in English to see if the meaning changed a bit (which for me it did). I asked her what it was like to be bilingual at home, she answered saying that she spoke 80% of spanish at home and that the only time she spoke english entirely was in class, but even so she still employed her spanglish if she was unable to get her point across. On a tangent, I myself mostly speak english at home even though I am fluent in both english and spanish. the reason I do so is to help my mother familiarize herself with english all day every day, because even though she has lived in the United States for over 35 years she stills has a pretty thick accent.
One thing from the interview that i found extremely interesting was that she mentioned that her brother who is older than her only speaks English, he never found the need to further his spanish literacy and knowledge. Whereas she, learned Spanish first and used it until the age of 5 when she first attended school. She then mentioned that all she spoke from that age on until 6th grade (approximately 13) was English even though she was in a school with mostly bilingual speaking students such as herself. It was after that age that she started to speak entirely with spanish as a way to form a bond with her fellow classmates and friends.
To be continued I guess....

really....?

So after this week's class, I have to be completely honest - I was extremely discouraged! Every thing I looked up came in as exactly how I wanted to do my research as. But after talking to Benson today, he quickly put me at ease by saying - hey, you know it's not like we're all going to come up with groundbreaking research-. And then I breathed again... it can be daunting to find out that your idea has already been researched on, but like Dr.Dvorak said, you need to look at those previous topics that were done and really study them and see what worked out for one or the other, what they lacked or missed and what I can incorporate from those into my own  research.
Hopefully as the semester comes along I come across things that weren't mentioned in a previous research document.

axe commercial

This is a bit of just a comment on what's on TV and what our society has become.

I just saw an AXE commercial, with Jamie Pressley talking about how guys can get their balls clean. Obviously if relating the two... AXE is after all, a shower gel for guys... oh but of course the sexual innuendos that abound in the media...the screen then lowers to show her cleaning.....none other than....a soccer ball, she hands them over to the girl who asked "how can guys get clean balls"....she holds them in her hands (of course, she's in awe)...then a guy appears and says, what about my ball sack....and he's holding a bag of soccer balls. 

enough said, I'm sure.

struggle with religion and youth

Can a young adult such as myself and those around me on campus truly lead a life, a religious life and be a part of the pop culture that en wraps them, and either ignore temptations or succumb to them...?
Why is it that when so many young adults reach that higher education level (college, university) religion seems to be completely forgotten or has just taken a back seat to everything else that consumes our time - or whatever is more amusing and time gratifying..?
How do we balance the two without falling to stereotypes?
????
???
??
?

doubtful

As the hours slowly drift from me, I find myself still not at ease with my original idea/proposal. At first I noticed myself extremely excited to embark on such an academic journey - a puppy with a new toy. But was almost instantly brought down to earth with the realization that one: this is just one course, of the many that make up my college career, and two: that time is of the essence, and realistically, as much as I'd want to delve into this topic like a true journalist, I must snip that fantasy in the bud and shrink my idea down to size that can fit my required task. Hopefully my proposal is just as enticing as I thought it was, possibly still is.

First Blog

Hello to all,
This is my first post of the MultiModal Research & Writing course for the semester of fall 2010.