Tis the Season©
Tis the season for the flu,
Everyone around you going achoo,
Tis the season for political correctness,
for you are forced to say happy holidays instead of Christmas
Tis the season for greed,
for people to complain about gifts when there are people in need.
Tis the season for lights,
and also for Christmas and new year drunken fights.
Tis the season for giving expecting to receive
and when you don't receive you think you have been deceived
Tis the season of endings
but with every end their is new beginnings
Tis the season for insincerity
since everyone is faking love and putting a false reality
Tis the season of love,
but no one truly remembers the love from above.
TIS THE SEASON!!!!!!!!!!!
Cursedangel
12/6/2008
Hello everyone and welcome back to another blog post. It has been soooo busy between the holidays and different family members being sick. I personally have not been feeling well for over two weeks which is part of why i have not blogged. Anyway a reminder to all Berkeley college students that the passwords will be changing for security reasons. For more information pay attention to the log on screen of Blackboard or the notification that pops up on the screen upon log in. The Blackboard password will take effect December 22nd after the system is downed for maintenance.
Hope every one's Thanksgiving was great and that they have gotten their Christmas and holiday shopping done. As we prepare for the ending of the year both Calender and the Fall Semester I want to reflect a little not so much on the semester but on the year. This year has been a very trying and challenging year for me and my family. This was my first year back in school after a two year hiatus and had not only deal with that but i had to deal with welcoming a new baby and all the medical issues that the pregnancy brought. Here an aside I want to thank all the mothers out there and women in general as you guys have the ability to do and tolerate so much physically, mentally and emotionally. After watching my wife bring two children into the world i have an even greater respect for women and my mother as well. All the things i have been through this year would have normally brought me to a breaking point. Believe me i had reached that point multiple times this year but because of the love and support of my friends and family i was able to pull through.
The poem i wrote at the beginning of this blog sums up what i believe the holiday season has become. More people than not give money and time to charitable organizations during this time of year. My only question is what is the driving motive behind it? Most people are just doing it because this is the season of "giving" and it is the right thing to do. Some of the others, which is a small percentage, do it all year long and to those people I offer you congrats and applause. This season is so full of people being fake and putting on an act it is suffocating. Most of these people are only nice during this time of the year and come January 1st is back to their real selves. The holidays, mainly Christmas, has lost the real meaning and luster. It is such a frustrating thing to see and it even occurs in my family. My in laws put on such a show i don't know why none of them have won an Oscar or tony award. It absolutely astonishing that people show up and i can cut the tension with a knife. I also see it as i walk through the streets and i feel that if people were more genuine in their sincerity we would be in a better place as a society.
Enough of my ranting hope every one's Fall semester was great and I wish all of you good luck on your finals this coming week. I know i have my own work cut out for me and i only have two days to do it and that is not a whole lot of time.
Now it is time for the Rebecca and Jose corner. Both Rebecca and Jose have gone to the doctor over the past month and here are their updated stats. Rebecca is now 47 lbs and 31 inches in height. Jose is 14 lbs and 24 inches in height and is quickly catching up to his older sister. Rebecca continues to increase her vocabulary and is now safely over the 50 word minimum. Jose continues to show that he wants to get up and chase his sister, it is going to be mayhem when he is able to. Anyway that is all for now and i will see you guys later.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
A Time for Change
Good evening and welcome back to the blog. Sorry for the long pause between posts but as most of you know last week was midterm week, so I was busy studying for them. I still have one more to go and that will be on Tuesday. So far I have only received one grade and that was for my Fundamentals of IT class which was an 81. I am not completely happy with the grade but figuring I missed the class the week before I will take it. I hope all of you did well on your midterms and if you haven't gotten your grade yet I hope it will be what you wanted.
On to some historic news, as we all know November 4Th was election day and it was one of the most historic days in American history. As we know our President Elect is Barak Obama and he is the first black president in US history. Now I don't want to just focus on his skin color but just on the fact that it was a minority period is an awesome thing. I told everyone leading up to this election that it was going to be historic in more ways then one. This election was going to define who now has the voice in America to change things, whether it is the youths or still the baby boomers. I believe a lot of my generation was annoyed at the older generation for voting in Bush not once but twice and ushering 8 years of bad decision making. My generation could not understand why someone was voted in a second time after the first time was so bad. It was also my generation that lost a lot of friends and family to the war in Iraq, and everyone in the United States could say we needed to go into Iraq, which is fine, but did anyone know how to get out?
November 4Th was the day for my generation to stand up and push for change. Although our percentage of the electorate stayed the same, 17%, more voters in the 18-25 range came out and voted. Of course just the youth alone would not be enough to get Obama in and that is where the 60% of the White vote comes into play. This election shows that the youth do have a say in politics and that we can and do follow politics. It also proved that negative campaign ads will no longer effect the vote as it has in the past. In fact researchers showed that the negative ads hurt the candidate that was pushing most of them and this election it was McCain.
Our generation is not only too smart for negative ads but we also are very good at doing our own research and can filter out useless information. The way we are able to do that is through the marvelous use of computers and the Internet. Since we had to grow up and have a lot of information thrown at us we had to learn to process information quickly and figure out what is fact from fiction. Since this election showed everyone that the youth can make a difference, politicians will now have to figure out how to reach us. That is another reason why Obama won because he used all the mediums that the youth uses such as, text-messaging, facebook, myspace and emails. He campaigned not only in person but also in areas where the youth would be greatly involved such as the Internet. I now believe with the success of this election Republicans are going to have a hard time trying to figure out how to reach the youth. I must tip my hat to McCain for running a great race and thank him for continuing to serve his country in any forms he chooses. He gave an awesome concession speech and I only wished his supporters were less sophomoric in thought and did not boo when he mentioned Obama's name.
Now it is time for the Rebecca and Jose corner. Rebecca is teething again so she has not been feeling well this past week. She is getting two more bottom teeth and soon steak will be in her menu. Jose continues to grow and grow. He is a bottomless pit when it comes to formula and is almost as tall as his older sister. If he keeps this up he will end up being taller than her soon. Now they are getting ready for one of the busiest times of the year with Thanksgiving, my office party and Christmas right around the corner. Anyway that is all for now and I hope everyone will have a great second half to the Fall semester. Reminder registration is ongoing so if you haven't registered do so now.
On to some historic news, as we all know November 4Th was election day and it was one of the most historic days in American history. As we know our President Elect is Barak Obama and he is the first black president in US history. Now I don't want to just focus on his skin color but just on the fact that it was a minority period is an awesome thing. I told everyone leading up to this election that it was going to be historic in more ways then one. This election was going to define who now has the voice in America to change things, whether it is the youths or still the baby boomers. I believe a lot of my generation was annoyed at the older generation for voting in Bush not once but twice and ushering 8 years of bad decision making. My generation could not understand why someone was voted in a second time after the first time was so bad. It was also my generation that lost a lot of friends and family to the war in Iraq, and everyone in the United States could say we needed to go into Iraq, which is fine, but did anyone know how to get out?
November 4Th was the day for my generation to stand up and push for change. Although our percentage of the electorate stayed the same, 17%, more voters in the 18-25 range came out and voted. Of course just the youth alone would not be enough to get Obama in and that is where the 60% of the White vote comes into play. This election shows that the youth do have a say in politics and that we can and do follow politics. It also proved that negative campaign ads will no longer effect the vote as it has in the past. In fact researchers showed that the negative ads hurt the candidate that was pushing most of them and this election it was McCain.
Our generation is not only too smart for negative ads but we also are very good at doing our own research and can filter out useless information. The way we are able to do that is through the marvelous use of computers and the Internet. Since we had to grow up and have a lot of information thrown at us we had to learn to process information quickly and figure out what is fact from fiction. Since this election showed everyone that the youth can make a difference, politicians will now have to figure out how to reach us. That is another reason why Obama won because he used all the mediums that the youth uses such as, text-messaging, facebook, myspace and emails. He campaigned not only in person but also in areas where the youth would be greatly involved such as the Internet. I now believe with the success of this election Republicans are going to have a hard time trying to figure out how to reach the youth. I must tip my hat to McCain for running a great race and thank him for continuing to serve his country in any forms he chooses. He gave an awesome concession speech and I only wished his supporters were less sophomoric in thought and did not boo when he mentioned Obama's name.
Now it is time for the Rebecca and Jose corner. Rebecca is teething again so she has not been feeling well this past week. She is getting two more bottom teeth and soon steak will be in her menu. Jose continues to grow and grow. He is a bottomless pit when it comes to formula and is almost as tall as his older sister. If he keeps this up he will end up being taller than her soon. Now they are getting ready for one of the busiest times of the year with Thanksgiving, my office party and Christmas right around the corner. Anyway that is all for now and I hope everyone will have a great second half to the Fall semester. Reminder registration is ongoing so if you haven't registered do so now.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Halloween and the real trick or treat
Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog. Hope every one's fall semester is going well. Just a reminder that registration for the Winter is now in progress. Register now to lock in the best classes and best times. This is important especially for Primetime students since class selection is slim pickings. I must apologize because of an emergency at another bookstore I could not do the interview with the manager. I am hoping to get in touch with him and if anything maybe do the interview over the phone.
As you can see by the title of the blog Halloween is among us again and it signifies the official start to the holiday season because before you know it its Thanksgiving. Halloween is a holiday that i have not personally celebrated nor dressed up for since before i was in HS. It was at the beginning of HS that i realized that i had out-grown the whole trick or treat thing and i guess it is because i am not a big candy fan. All in all i think it has helped me keep my teeth nice and healthy. I think part of it is because the whole concept of Halloween has been lost on America. The history and the truth behind Halloween is but a distant memory and very few people even know the history. Lucky for all of you i do know the history and i feel it is my obligation to shine some light onto the dark holiday.
Halloween comes from All Hallows Eve which basically was the celebration of the Saints in the catholic religion. Prior to Catholicism it was a pagan holiday celebrating the dead. Now I take no religious stance on the matter since i personally do not care about the religious ramifications of it. I personally think that if you want to celebrate it go ahead. My wife is taking our children trick or treating in one of the biggest extortion gigs in my family. Reason why i say that is both of my kids are cute, you have seen the pictures, and they are going to rake in the candy. The funny thing is my daughter is 17 months and there is no way she is having sugar. My son is 3 months and um no teeth and same reason for my daughter, no sugar. So who do you think is going to eat all of that candy? My wife and probably me just to get rid of the stuff. I personally do not see the point of trick or treating with someone under the age of 5. There is absolutely no point and i think its just the parents way to get some free candy. I also think it is an excuse for the parent to dress up like a fool and use their kids as a crutch. I think its a great holiday for the kids and love to see my son dress up in a surgeon onesie. To all the parents out there though stop it, there is no reason to get dressed up with your kids its just plain scary and frightening. I won't even go into adult Halloween parties in clubs that is for another blog that is not on an educational site. So to all the kids out there have fun and to all the adults grow up.
On to something of educational importance, my classes are going well so far and I am learning a lot. I already have lined up the interviews for November and I will probably release the possible candidates on Saturday. Speaking of candidates and debates my World Cultures class on Saturday is going to be a very tense and interesting class. People may not even need to drink coffee before class because the debate we are going to have will get adrenaline pumping quickly and often. This week we are going to debate whether men are naturally more superior to women? Now I am not going to release my views on this until next blog but I would love to here your points of view so comment often. This invitation is also extended to all the faculty at the GMT campus that I know read my blog but show me know love. Personally i think they should at least comment once on at least some of the bloggers posts, just to show some appreciation for the advertisement of the school. Then again that is just my point of view on things.
Now it is time for the Rebecca and Jose corners. As you already heard Jose will be a surgeon for Halloween and Rebecca will be a princess (like she needs to dress up for that, she's always daddy's princess). She continues to extend her vocabulary and now says Wow and Popeye (the cartoon not the chicken place). I cannot wait to see what else she comes up with as practices and when she gets her Christmas present from daddy that should help. I am planning to get her Baby Einstein. Anyway that is all for now and good luck to many on the midterms.
As you can see by the title of the blog Halloween is among us again and it signifies the official start to the holiday season because before you know it its Thanksgiving. Halloween is a holiday that i have not personally celebrated nor dressed up for since before i was in HS. It was at the beginning of HS that i realized that i had out-grown the whole trick or treat thing and i guess it is because i am not a big candy fan. All in all i think it has helped me keep my teeth nice and healthy. I think part of it is because the whole concept of Halloween has been lost on America. The history and the truth behind Halloween is but a distant memory and very few people even know the history. Lucky for all of you i do know the history and i feel it is my obligation to shine some light onto the dark holiday.
Halloween comes from All Hallows Eve which basically was the celebration of the Saints in the catholic religion. Prior to Catholicism it was a pagan holiday celebrating the dead. Now I take no religious stance on the matter since i personally do not care about the religious ramifications of it. I personally think that if you want to celebrate it go ahead. My wife is taking our children trick or treating in one of the biggest extortion gigs in my family. Reason why i say that is both of my kids are cute, you have seen the pictures, and they are going to rake in the candy. The funny thing is my daughter is 17 months and there is no way she is having sugar. My son is 3 months and um no teeth and same reason for my daughter, no sugar. So who do you think is going to eat all of that candy? My wife and probably me just to get rid of the stuff. I personally do not see the point of trick or treating with someone under the age of 5. There is absolutely no point and i think its just the parents way to get some free candy. I also think it is an excuse for the parent to dress up like a fool and use their kids as a crutch. I think its a great holiday for the kids and love to see my son dress up in a surgeon onesie. To all the parents out there though stop it, there is no reason to get dressed up with your kids its just plain scary and frightening. I won't even go into adult Halloween parties in clubs that is for another blog that is not on an educational site. So to all the kids out there have fun and to all the adults grow up.
On to something of educational importance, my classes are going well so far and I am learning a lot. I already have lined up the interviews for November and I will probably release the possible candidates on Saturday. Speaking of candidates and debates my World Cultures class on Saturday is going to be a very tense and interesting class. People may not even need to drink coffee before class because the debate we are going to have will get adrenaline pumping quickly and often. This week we are going to debate whether men are naturally more superior to women? Now I am not going to release my views on this until next blog but I would love to here your points of view so comment often. This invitation is also extended to all the faculty at the GMT campus that I know read my blog but show me know love. Personally i think they should at least comment once on at least some of the bloggers posts, just to show some appreciation for the advertisement of the school. Then again that is just my point of view on things.
Now it is time for the Rebecca and Jose corners. As you already heard Jose will be a surgeon for Halloween and Rebecca will be a princess (like she needs to dress up for that, she's always daddy's princess). She continues to extend her vocabulary and now says Wow and Popeye (the cartoon not the chicken place). I cannot wait to see what else she comes up with as practices and when she gets her Christmas present from daddy that should help. I am planning to get her Baby Einstein. Anyway that is all for now and good luck to many on the midterms.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Hand Cuffed Primetime Students
Hello everyone and welcome back to another edition of my blog. A reminder to all students that registration is now going on for Winter 2009. Register early in order to get the classes you want and also to allow you time to clear with financial aid and student accounts. This is a great lead in for the main topic of discussion for the blog.
As mentioned in the title I and a lot of my fellow Primetimers feel handcuffed. I personally know that Primetime is a relatively new program but it has been around long enough to not have these issues. The biggest issue I find with being a Primetime student is class schedules. When trying to do my schedule for the Winter I had a very difficult time in choosing what classes I was able to take. I am only available to take classes M-W and Fri-Sat but the selection of classes for the Winter were meager at best. Now many will say that the reason being is not a lot of students take classes during the Winter semester. That maybe true but even the class selections for the Fall and Spring were not easy either. I personally know that a lot of students do take the Winter but not the Summer.
The problem lies in the variety of classes and the location of the classes given. For example I would love to take the Network Security Class next semester but it is only given on Saturday and only in the Garret Mountain Campus. Now normally I wouldn't mind making the trek but the school shuttle that normally runs during the Weekday does not run on weekends. So there in lies another problem in that you offer Saturday classes at Garret Mountain but do not necessarily provide transportation for those students that don't drive. Next semester has very little CIS classes being given and some of us in the Network class have taken it upon ourselves to email the Dean of Computer Science to see if they could add the Networking 1 class. The other thing that may need to be looked at is how the classes for the Information Systems Management degree is done. There is no Networking classes that are mandatory for a degree that is essentially a computer degree. Information Systems Management is managing information in the workplace and that should definitely entail servers and communication between servers. I am personally taking Fundamentals of IT on my own not because it was in my degree curriculum.
This is not to say that Primetime at Berkeley is negative. The financial aid office and student accounts office are great and helpful people. That department should be expanded and have its own floor by itself in order to cater to all the Primetime students that Berkeley has. The Primetime program continues to grow and the need for more flexible and availability of classes is needed to cater to the growth of the program. The professors we have for the Primetime are real world professionals that can bring a lot of experience to the classroom. My only hope for the future of the Primetime department and program is that classes will be more available in all campuses and at multiple times.
My classes so far this semester has been nothing short of enlightening. I love my World Cultures class and I am definitely learning how to view different cultures with a new light. I have learned a lot about Networking in my Fundamentals of IT class that I know will help me when my company moves into the new building. In Marketing I am learning ways to not only promote my own personal business but also businesses of friends of mine.
Now it is time for the Rebecca and Jose corner. Both of my little ones continue to grow and mature. Rebecca alone has learned 4 new words this week Barney, food, box and shoe which brings her total to about 31 words. Jose has been fussing lately and it may be that he is either teething or going through a growth spurt. The one good thing is that when daddy gets home he is all smiles and that makes me feel good. Anyway that is all for now, I know I promised you a blog on the bookstore and you will have it next week as I have set an appointment with the guy for 5:15pm on Monday. Hope you guys have a great weekend and don't forget to register.
As mentioned in the title I and a lot of my fellow Primetimers feel handcuffed. I personally know that Primetime is a relatively new program but it has been around long enough to not have these issues. The biggest issue I find with being a Primetime student is class schedules. When trying to do my schedule for the Winter I had a very difficult time in choosing what classes I was able to take. I am only available to take classes M-W and Fri-Sat but the selection of classes for the Winter were meager at best. Now many will say that the reason being is not a lot of students take classes during the Winter semester. That maybe true but even the class selections for the Fall and Spring were not easy either. I personally know that a lot of students do take the Winter but not the Summer.
The problem lies in the variety of classes and the location of the classes given. For example I would love to take the Network Security Class next semester but it is only given on Saturday and only in the Garret Mountain Campus. Now normally I wouldn't mind making the trek but the school shuttle that normally runs during the Weekday does not run on weekends. So there in lies another problem in that you offer Saturday classes at Garret Mountain but do not necessarily provide transportation for those students that don't drive. Next semester has very little CIS classes being given and some of us in the Network class have taken it upon ourselves to email the Dean of Computer Science to see if they could add the Networking 1 class. The other thing that may need to be looked at is how the classes for the Information Systems Management degree is done. There is no Networking classes that are mandatory for a degree that is essentially a computer degree. Information Systems Management is managing information in the workplace and that should definitely entail servers and communication between servers. I am personally taking Fundamentals of IT on my own not because it was in my degree curriculum.
This is not to say that Primetime at Berkeley is negative. The financial aid office and student accounts office are great and helpful people. That department should be expanded and have its own floor by itself in order to cater to all the Primetime students that Berkeley has. The Primetime program continues to grow and the need for more flexible and availability of classes is needed to cater to the growth of the program. The professors we have for the Primetime are real world professionals that can bring a lot of experience to the classroom. My only hope for the future of the Primetime department and program is that classes will be more available in all campuses and at multiple times.
My classes so far this semester has been nothing short of enlightening. I love my World Cultures class and I am definitely learning how to view different cultures with a new light. I have learned a lot about Networking in my Fundamentals of IT class that I know will help me when my company moves into the new building. In Marketing I am learning ways to not only promote my own personal business but also businesses of friends of mine.
Now it is time for the Rebecca and Jose corner. Both of my little ones continue to grow and mature. Rebecca alone has learned 4 new words this week Barney, food, box and shoe which brings her total to about 31 words. Jose has been fussing lately and it may be that he is either teething or going through a growth spurt. The one good thing is that when daddy gets home he is all smiles and that makes me feel good. Anyway that is all for now, I know I promised you a blog on the bookstore and you will have it next week as I have set an appointment with the guy for 5:15pm on Monday. Hope you guys have a great weekend and don't forget to register.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Columbus Day
Hello everyone and Happy Columbus day!!! Hope all of you enjoyed your day off from classes and that your taking this time to do homework or spend time with family. It was a great weekend starting with Professor's Montlack's poetry reading. Not to be bias but Professor Montlack was the best poet to perform aside from my sister and that last part is biased. It started with some open mic poetry and most of the poets sounded really sexually frustrated or deprived. Then came the first feature and she sounded like every other poet I know. It is the same type of poetry that everyone writes including rhyme scheme and kinda "hippie" feeling. Then came some more bad open mic and the came Professor Montlack. His poetry not only did not follow traditional writing it was actually humorous. The other thing is that his poetry was based a lot on real life experiences and feelings, and allowed the listener to relate. I am a poet as well and despite the fact that I do follow rhyming patterns my poetry is based on real life experiences and feelings. The actual truth was in the pudding because there were other English professors there and I think they died a little inside.
Anyway enough about poetry a lot has been learned this week in all my classes. I got a break by not having any class on Wednesday due to Yom Kippur. Saturday's World Culture class was a deep lesson in culture. We first discussed the reading for homework which was about the self. It was a confusing but enlightening piece when you actually figure it out. The piece was written by George Mead in the 1930's and discusses the self and how the self is separate from the body. If you want to break it down in the simplest form it is basically the discussion of the personality and the way people communicate. We also discussed the culture of poverty from the views of an individualist and a materialist. The first was the individualist Oscar Wilde which took the approach that it is the passing of the individual values that lead to the continuation of poverty. That since the kids of poor areas don't have ample role models or good role models. Since all the poor children see is crime and bad values that they pass it on to their children and the cycle continues.
The materialist was William Wilson who looked at when ghettos first appeared which was right after World War 2. He focused predominantly around the Chicago area and his book "When Work Disappears" discusses his point of view. Wilson stated that since the loss of jobs in the steel industry a trickle down effect occurred. People began to leave and those that were left were people who didn't have money nor resources to move. The solution for him was to create resources such as welfare to help them out. Now it is my personal belief that both of these guys were correct in there thoughts. I think a combination of both is to blame for poverty and why it continues today. States have taken up the call to provide services but it is still up to the individual to take advantage of the options available. I think the biggest issue in today's society is that today's youth has become very unmotivated and lazy. They are quicker to take the shortest and easiest way to success or wealth. I know many kids that are in gangs and not really focusing on school and other means of education. The biggest issue is that a lot of the role models they look up to do not push education or any gives back to their community. There are only a handful that give back and it is not enough. What is your take on the culture of poverty and who do you think is to blame?
It is now time for the Rebecca and Jose corner. Rebecca has now added Banana, Isaac and Barb to her vocabulary. She continues to help around the house and loves to help mommy dust. She is still very watchful over her brother and wants to hold him but she is still not quite there to holding him. Jose continues to grow and is possibly teething which is pretty early and he will be three months on Thursday. Stay tuned for the next blog where I interview the staff of the new and improve bookstore and student center.
Anyway enough about poetry a lot has been learned this week in all my classes. I got a break by not having any class on Wednesday due to Yom Kippur. Saturday's World Culture class was a deep lesson in culture. We first discussed the reading for homework which was about the self. It was a confusing but enlightening piece when you actually figure it out. The piece was written by George Mead in the 1930's and discusses the self and how the self is separate from the body. If you want to break it down in the simplest form it is basically the discussion of the personality and the way people communicate. We also discussed the culture of poverty from the views of an individualist and a materialist. The first was the individualist Oscar Wilde which took the approach that it is the passing of the individual values that lead to the continuation of poverty. That since the kids of poor areas don't have ample role models or good role models. Since all the poor children see is crime and bad values that they pass it on to their children and the cycle continues.
The materialist was William Wilson who looked at when ghettos first appeared which was right after World War 2. He focused predominantly around the Chicago area and his book "When Work Disappears" discusses his point of view. Wilson stated that since the loss of jobs in the steel industry a trickle down effect occurred. People began to leave and those that were left were people who didn't have money nor resources to move. The solution for him was to create resources such as welfare to help them out. Now it is my personal belief that both of these guys were correct in there thoughts. I think a combination of both is to blame for poverty and why it continues today. States have taken up the call to provide services but it is still up to the individual to take advantage of the options available. I think the biggest issue in today's society is that today's youth has become very unmotivated and lazy. They are quicker to take the shortest and easiest way to success or wealth. I know many kids that are in gangs and not really focusing on school and other means of education. The biggest issue is that a lot of the role models they look up to do not push education or any gives back to their community. There are only a handful that give back and it is not enough. What is your take on the culture of poverty and who do you think is to blame?
It is now time for the Rebecca and Jose corner. Rebecca has now added Banana, Isaac and Barb to her vocabulary. She continues to help around the house and loves to help mommy dust. She is still very watchful over her brother and wants to hold him but she is still not quite there to holding him. Jose continues to grow and is possibly teething which is pretty early and he will be three months on Thursday. Stay tuned for the next blog where I interview the staff of the new and improve bookstore and student center.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Conversation with Professor Michael Montlack
Good evening everyone and welcome back to my blog. Week one is complete and it is on to week 2. This week started off with Hot 97 coming to kick off the new Student Center in the midtown campus. There were games, give aways and food and next week I will be down there to see how students like the center and also to talk about the new bookstore. Students seem to enjoy the center and this was evident when I went down there today some students were playing the Wii on the flat screen TV.
Classes are going well so far and i have already come up with a preliminary schedule for next semester. Registration for the Winter will begin soon so pay attention to your emails as well as my blog for when registration begins. The Fall is normally when things start to come to a close but Berkeley continues to bring in the new stuff. Along with a new Student Center and bookstore the Berkeley Website has undergone a massive make over. It is now more attractive and easier to navigate as well and has the bloggers front and center on the home page. To continue with the trend of adding new stuff not only will I be adding interviews with faculty but I am starting a Word on the Street segment where i will actually interview other Berkeley Students. I am hoping that this will bring more of the whole Berkeley experience to prospective students or new students.
Continuing with my interviews with faculty this week I interviewed Professor Montlack. I know professor Montlack because I had him for Oral Communication and he is a professor that is well educated and will improve your speeches and presentations. Without further ado i present my interview with Professor Michael Montlack.
Isaac Salles- Good evening Professor Montlack and thank you for your time. I would like to start off by asking, What department do you work for and what classes do you normally teach.
Michael Montlack- I work for the English department and I teach Oral Communication, English Composition 1,2,3 and Literature.
IS- What is your educational background?
MM-I have a BA, MA and MFA (Masters in Fine Arts) all in creative writing and literature. I got my BA from Hofstra University, my MA from San Francisco State University and my MFA from the New School in New York City.
IS- How long have you been at Berkeley College?
MM- I have been with Berkeley for 10 years.
IS-One of your classes that you teach is Oral Communication. When I was a student of yours one of your assignments is to advertise our favorite product. Advertise briefly on why students should either take Oral Communication or any of the other classes that you teach.
MM-Oral Communication helps to give students a comfortable environment in order to gain confidence in the speaking and presenting for future professional situations.
IS-You have a poetry reading this Friday and its from your own work. What is the name of the book that you will be reading from?
MM-This Friday's reading is from my new poetry book entitled Girls,Girls,Girls (All Poems about women and girls).
IS-How many other books or collections of your personal works do you have?
MM-I have three books:
Girls,Girls,Girls (Poetry)
Cover Charge (Poetry)
Upcoming book- "My Diva" (Essay Anthology)
The book Cover Charge can currently be bought by following the link http://www.gertrudepress.org/backissues/chap2007/michael.html. "My Diva" will be in bookstores in March 2009.
IS-Why do you like poetry?
MM-I like poetry for its music, power and its ability to transform experience into meaning.
IS-In all your years have you learned anything from your students and if you have, what is the most memorable?
MM-I have learned from my students about the power of hard work. An example of this is one of my International Students who started at Berkeley College with an Associates degree. He got an internship at the United Nations and graduated Berkeley College with a Bachelors. The student then went on to achieve two masters degrees.
IS-Is there anything you want to add to either encourage students to come to Berkeley College or to take your classes?
MM-One of the best things about teaching at Berkeley College is having small classes. This allows me to get to know my students and for my students to get to know me. This is very unusual for many colleges and it is what Berkeley students seem to enjoy the most. I invite all students, even though they are business majors, to approach their writing and literature classes seriously because they will help make them better students, professionals and communicators in general. Literature is also a great way to learn about the world, history, psychology and the art of writing.
IS-Since I was a former students one of our projects was doing an interview where we were the applicant and you were the interviewer. How would you say I did as the interviewer?
MM- I think you did great. I am glad to see one of my students conducting himself professionally.
I would like to thank Professor Montlack for his time and if you wish to attend his reading this Friday here is the information:
Please come hear me read
from my new poetry chapbook
Girls, Girls, Girls
this Friday, October 10, at 6 pm.
At the Cornelia Street Cafe
PINK PONY WEST SERIES
in the West Village:
29 Cornelia Street.
($7 gets you entrance, a drink and poetry.)
How to get to the Cornelia Street Café
The Cornelia Street Café � 29 Cornelia Street, NYC 10014 � 212-989-9319
By Subway
A, C, E, B, D, F & V TRAINS
* Get on the south end of the train.
* Take the train to the West 4th Street stop.
* Exit at West 3rd Street.
* Walk one block north to 4th Street.
* Make an acute left onto Cornelia Street.
1 & 9 TRAINS
* Take the train to the Sheridan Square stop.
* Walk 21/2 blocks east on West 4th Street.
* Make a right onto Cornelia Street.
I hope to be there and hopefully you will come and support one of our best professors at Berkeley.
Now it is time for the Rebecca and Jose corner. Rebecca did one of the most funniest things today. Jose woke up from one of his many naps and started to fuss. Rebecca got his pacifier and actually told him to open his mouth by going "AAAH" but did it so loud that it startled little Jose. I think he actually wanted to retreat back into his nap. That is all for now and I will see you in the future.
Classes are going well so far and i have already come up with a preliminary schedule for next semester. Registration for the Winter will begin soon so pay attention to your emails as well as my blog for when registration begins. The Fall is normally when things start to come to a close but Berkeley continues to bring in the new stuff. Along with a new Student Center and bookstore the Berkeley Website has undergone a massive make over. It is now more attractive and easier to navigate as well and has the bloggers front and center on the home page. To continue with the trend of adding new stuff not only will I be adding interviews with faculty but I am starting a Word on the Street segment where i will actually interview other Berkeley Students. I am hoping that this will bring more of the whole Berkeley experience to prospective students or new students.
Continuing with my interviews with faculty this week I interviewed Professor Montlack. I know professor Montlack because I had him for Oral Communication and he is a professor that is well educated and will improve your speeches and presentations. Without further ado i present my interview with Professor Michael Montlack.
Isaac Salles- Good evening Professor Montlack and thank you for your time. I would like to start off by asking, What department do you work for and what classes do you normally teach.
Michael Montlack- I work for the English department and I teach Oral Communication, English Composition 1,2,3 and Literature.
IS- What is your educational background?
MM-I have a BA, MA and MFA (Masters in Fine Arts) all in creative writing and literature. I got my BA from Hofstra University, my MA from San Francisco State University and my MFA from the New School in New York City.
IS- How long have you been at Berkeley College?
MM- I have been with Berkeley for 10 years.
IS-One of your classes that you teach is Oral Communication. When I was a student of yours one of your assignments is to advertise our favorite product. Advertise briefly on why students should either take Oral Communication or any of the other classes that you teach.
MM-Oral Communication helps to give students a comfortable environment in order to gain confidence in the speaking and presenting for future professional situations.
IS-You have a poetry reading this Friday and its from your own work. What is the name of the book that you will be reading from?
MM-This Friday's reading is from my new poetry book entitled Girls,Girls,Girls (All Poems about women and girls).
IS-How many other books or collections of your personal works do you have?
MM-I have three books:
The book Cover Charge can currently be bought by following the link http://www.gertrudepress.org/backissues/chap2007/michael.html. "My Diva" will be in bookstores in March 2009.
IS-Why do you like poetry?
MM-I like poetry for its music, power and its ability to transform experience into meaning.
IS-In all your years have you learned anything from your students and if you have, what is the most memorable?
MM-I have learned from my students about the power of hard work. An example of this is one of my International Students who started at Berkeley College with an Associates degree. He got an internship at the United Nations and graduated Berkeley College with a Bachelors. The student then went on to achieve two masters degrees.
IS-Is there anything you want to add to either encourage students to come to Berkeley College or to take your classes?
MM-One of the best things about teaching at Berkeley College is having small classes. This allows me to get to know my students and for my students to get to know me. This is very unusual for many colleges and it is what Berkeley students seem to enjoy the most. I invite all students, even though they are business majors, to approach their writing and literature classes seriously because they will help make them better students, professionals and communicators in general. Literature is also a great way to learn about the world, history, psychology and the art of writing.
IS-Since I was a former students one of our projects was doing an interview where we were the applicant and you were the interviewer. How would you say I did as the interviewer?
MM- I think you did great. I am glad to see one of my students conducting himself professionally.
I would like to thank Professor Montlack for his time and if you wish to attend his reading this Friday here is the information:
Please come hear me read
from my new poetry chapbook
Girls, Girls, Girls
this Friday, October 10, at 6 pm.
At the Cornelia Street Cafe
PINK PONY WEST SERIES
in the West Village:
29 Cornelia Street.
($7 gets you entrance, a drink and poetry.)
How to get to the Cornelia Street Café
The Cornelia Street Café � 29 Cornelia Street, NYC 10014 � 212-989-9319
By Subway
A, C, E, B, D, F & V TRAINS
* Get on the south end of the train.
* Take the train to the West 4th Street stop.
* Exit at West 3rd Street.
* Walk one block north to 4th Street.
* Make an acute left onto Cornelia Street.
1 & 9 TRAINS
* Take the train to the Sheridan Square stop.
* Walk 21/2 blocks east on West 4th Street.
* Make a right onto Cornelia Street.
I hope to be there and hopefully you will come and support one of our best professors at Berkeley.
Now it is time for the Rebecca and Jose corner. Rebecca did one of the most funniest things today. Jose woke up from one of his many naps and started to fuss. Rebecca got his pacifier and actually told him to open his mouth by going "AAAH" but did it so loud that it startled little Jose. I think he actually wanted to retreat back into his nap. That is all for now and I will see you in the future.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
An Interview with Ms. Carol Covino, A.V.P. of Enrollment
Hello everyone and welcome back to school for the Fall Semester. I hope every one's first week of classes went well, and I hope textbook costs are not hurting your pocket. My first week went well and it looks like I am going to have my hands full with the work load so I may have to rethink my scheduling breakdown for homework and assignments. Fundamentals of IT this past week gave me some new lingo to throw around at my job especially with our new building coming along. In marketing i learned some basic ideas of marketing which is going to help me with my business as well as my partners. I already came up with some marketing ideas for them and I hope that some of them will work.
Accounting 104 was a class that I was expecting to breeze through and it now seems that this may be a challenge. This version of Accounting 2 is a lot different than the one I took in LaGuardia. Just this week I learned something new that I didn't learn in LaGuardia. We never did the Cost Volume approach to accounting. That method is not seen by the public and is only used for managerial decisions. It takes into account Fixed costs and Break points in both dollars and units. The break point is the minimum needed to be sold in order to have a profit of zero. World Cultures looks like it will be a mixture of anthropology and philosophy. That will probably the class where I will be getting most of my questions to ask you guys.
Now for the first time ever is the beginning of my Interview with Faculty and Professors. What better way to start than by interviewing Ms. Carol Covino who is the boss of the Berkeley Bloggers.
Isaac Salles- Good afternoon Ms. Covino, I would like to start off by asking, "what is your official title and what does that entail?"
Carol Covino- I am the Associate Vice President of Enrollment and I oversee the Admissions Offices for the Paramus and Woodbridge Campuses. I am also oversee the Berkeley Bloggers.
I.S.-What is your educational background?
C.C.-I originally graduated from Berkeley College in 1980 and I am currently an Online Student at Berkeley.
I.S.-How long have you been with Berkeley College?
C.C.- I have been with Berkeley College for 17 years.
I.S.-Do you have any advice for new students, current students or prospective students?
C.C.-4. For current of new students there is no reason why anyone should fail at Berkeley. There are so many support systems in place whether it is personal counseling, Academic Support Center and so many people to reach out to. To prospective students I urge you to visit the campus and make sure you feel comfortable at the campuses. Students tend to pick colleges by name instead of trying to see what type of services that really fit them. Berkeley college provides the atmosphere of a small school and offers the best services.
I.S.-Do you enjoy running the Berkeley Bloggers?
C.C.-I love all my Bloggers. We are actually still looking for bloggers especially from Newark, Westchester and Woodbridge Campuses. All you have to do is submit and email with a sample blog. Students don't realize that the college does actively read the blogs. If a complaint is posted the college reacts almost instantaneously to rectify the problem. We are one of the few schools that move when the student body speaks.
I.S.-I have to agree with that and I am sure the hiring of our new Athletic Director came from us wanting more athletics through out the campuses. Why did you pick your current profession?
C.C.-I started out by presenting to schools for Berkeley since I loved Berkeley so much as a student. I started out as a High School representative for Berkeley and then moved up into the position.
I.S.-What would you like to see improve at Berkeley to make it more attractive to prospective students?
C.C.-A semester system could be a change since many people don’t quite understand the quarter system. As we attract more traditional students a semester system may be more beneficial in the long run.
I.S.-Any other closing remarks?
C.C.-One of the things we worry about at Berkeley is that when students have issues they don’t necessarily get led to the right people. Some colleges are not very proactive, but we are and an example is when the college reacts to a blog. If a student needs assistance be vocal and ask around, you will be led to the right person.
I would like to thank Ms. Covino for her time. If you would like to be a Berkeley Blogger just email a sample blog to cja@BerkeleyCollege.edu. It is a paid position and it is a great way to voice your opinions and thoughts, and if i can do it with my busy schedule so can you!
Now it is time for the Rebecca and Jose corner. They both continue to grow into individuals. Jose is very talkative especially on topics such as economics and politics. He is an Obama fan and somewhat approves of the $700 billion dollar bailout. Rebecca continues to expand her vocabulary, and now says hot,ouch and hi. She is beginning to learn social cues and continues to love and protect her baby brother. That's all for now and stay tuned as I explore the new revamped bookstore and other topics.
Accounting 104 was a class that I was expecting to breeze through and it now seems that this may be a challenge. This version of Accounting 2 is a lot different than the one I took in LaGuardia. Just this week I learned something new that I didn't learn in LaGuardia. We never did the Cost Volume approach to accounting. That method is not seen by the public and is only used for managerial decisions. It takes into account Fixed costs and Break points in both dollars and units. The break point is the minimum needed to be sold in order to have a profit of zero. World Cultures looks like it will be a mixture of anthropology and philosophy. That will probably the class where I will be getting most of my questions to ask you guys.
Now for the first time ever is the beginning of my Interview with Faculty and Professors. What better way to start than by interviewing Ms. Carol Covino who is the boss of the Berkeley Bloggers.
Isaac Salles- Good afternoon Ms. Covino, I would like to start off by asking, "what is your official title and what does that entail?"
Carol Covino- I am the Associate Vice President of Enrollment and I oversee the Admissions Offices for the Paramus and Woodbridge Campuses. I am also oversee the Berkeley Bloggers.
I.S.-What is your educational background?
C.C.-I originally graduated from Berkeley College in 1980 and I am currently an Online Student at Berkeley.
I.S.-How long have you been with Berkeley College?
C.C.- I have been with Berkeley College for 17 years.
I.S.-Do you have any advice for new students, current students or prospective students?
C.C.-4. For current of new students there is no reason why anyone should fail at Berkeley. There are so many support systems in place whether it is personal counseling, Academic Support Center and so many people to reach out to. To prospective students I urge you to visit the campus and make sure you feel comfortable at the campuses. Students tend to pick colleges by name instead of trying to see what type of services that really fit them. Berkeley college provides the atmosphere of a small school and offers the best services.
I.S.-Do you enjoy running the Berkeley Bloggers?
C.C.-I love all my Bloggers. We are actually still looking for bloggers especially from Newark, Westchester and Woodbridge Campuses. All you have to do is submit and email with a sample blog. Students don't realize that the college does actively read the blogs. If a complaint is posted the college reacts almost instantaneously to rectify the problem. We are one of the few schools that move when the student body speaks.
I.S.-I have to agree with that and I am sure the hiring of our new Athletic Director came from us wanting more athletics through out the campuses. Why did you pick your current profession?
C.C.-I started out by presenting to schools for Berkeley since I loved Berkeley so much as a student. I started out as a High School representative for Berkeley and then moved up into the position.
I.S.-What would you like to see improve at Berkeley to make it more attractive to prospective students?
C.C.-A semester system could be a change since many people don’t quite understand the quarter system. As we attract more traditional students a semester system may be more beneficial in the long run.
I.S.-Any other closing remarks?
C.C.-One of the things we worry about at Berkeley is that when students have issues they don’t necessarily get led to the right people. Some colleges are not very proactive, but we are and an example is when the college reacts to a blog. If a student needs assistance be vocal and ask around, you will be led to the right person.
I would like to thank Ms. Covino for her time. If you would like to be a Berkeley Blogger just email a sample blog to cja@BerkeleyCollege.edu. It is a paid position and it is a great way to voice your opinions and thoughts, and if i can do it with my busy schedule so can you!
Now it is time for the Rebecca and Jose corner. They both continue to grow into individuals. Jose is very talkative especially on topics such as economics and politics. He is an Obama fan and somewhat approves of the $700 billion dollar bailout. Rebecca continues to expand her vocabulary, and now says hot,ouch and hi. She is beginning to learn social cues and continues to love and protect her baby brother. That's all for now and stay tuned as I explore the new revamped bookstore and other topics.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)