Topic Brainstorm

I started out in the Project Ideas Index. The Weapons of the Gods suggestion was the first to catch my eye. My mind immediately went to a weapons store walk through, which had apparently already been done. I'm sure I would have no problem making making my project unique though, so it's still a possibility.

The next suggested topic that inspired an idea was the Loving Couples one. I think it would be neat to research the couples in these epics and make a spoof dating profile site. Maybe joint facebook or instagram accounts? I'm not 100% sure what I would do, but I think some fun could be had with that topic.

Of course I couldn't see the word "Food" listed and not check it out. Unfortunately, only one of the two listed projects linked was still up, but the Indian Scrapbook project looked to really well done (and made me hungry!) Using my project as an excuse to eat indian food would not be a terrible idea. Maybe I could attempt to recreate dishes specifically mentioned in the stories a la Binging with Babish.

Finally, I think focusing on reincarnation could be a good back up if one of these other three don't work out. It's such a broad topic with so many possible applications in fiction writing that it's a solid choice for any style of writing.

There was a project I remembered seeing when I took Myth and Folklore that was a Choose Your Own Adventure design. I think that would be a fun idea to explore too! Here it is

Via Flickr

Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

1. The Foolish, Timid Rabbit, Ellen C. Babbitt

• Synopsis
• The rabbit awakens from a nap and thinks "what would happen to me if the earth began to fall apart?"
• At that point, a coconut falls behind him
• He assumes that the noise from the coconut is the earth cracking
• He begins to run, telling another rabbit he passes that the earth is falling apart
• The second rabbit begins to run with him
• The second rabbit then tells a third rabbit and so on and so forth
• A large group of many different animals all begin running together
• The group meets the lion king at the base of a mountain
• The lions asks what's going on
• When the original Rabbit reveals that he thinks the earth is falling apart, the lion takes him back to his nap spot to investigate
• The earth was found to be very much intact, but there was a coconut found on the ground...
• Possibilities
• What if the earth really was falling apart???
• What if instead of running, it was a gossip ring?
• Area 51???

3. The Cunning Crane and the Crab, W. H. D. Rouse

• Synopsis
• There were many fish in a pond that began drying up in the summer
• A crane offered to take them to a nearby pond that was cool and spring fed
• The fish sent their old, one-eyed friend to see if the Crane could be trusted
• After taking the old fish to the lake, then bringing him back to tell all of the others about it, he began taking the fish one by one to the lake
• except they never make it to the lake, he eats them
• The last one to go is a crab, who holds onto the cranes neck with his claws rather than riding in his mouth
• When the crane tries to eat him, he snips his head off
• Possibilities
• What if the crane is true to his word
• Vegan Crane?
• Fish are friends, not food

Found on Etsy via Google Images

8. Goblin City, W. H. D. Rouse

• Synopsis
• There was a ship wreck off the coast of the Goblins' island
• When the men was ashore, the she-goblins use their powers to make it look like the island is inhabited
• The men agree to marry the women, thinking they're humans
• One man wakes up while his wife is down at the prison eating her previous husband and realizes what she is
• The next day he tells his friends what he saw
• not everyone believed him
• There was a nearby fairy that hated the goblins
• She sent her pegasus to rescue the men
• Those who believed were flown off the island and back home
• The non-believers were eaten that night
• Possibilities
• Back story: Why does the fairy hate the goblins?
• Perspective
• Either the goblins or the men
• How do the male goblins feel about this?
• Epic Boss Battle when the men are escaping

Week 2 Reading Overview

To start off this semester, I think I'll be sticking to the public domain option for Ramayana. The layout for that mirrors how things were organized when I took the Myth and Folklore class and will decrease the amount of effort needed to get "back in the swing of things" so to speak. Plus, that's one less book I'll have to buy. I'm already in three science courses, and the class materials are NOT cheap.

The two comics I read through were Hanuman to the Rescue: Hanuman Brings the Sanjeevani and Hanuman: The Epitome of Devotion and Courage

These two in particular caught my eye because I recognized Hanuman's name from the video embedded in the overview page

As it turns out, the two stories were actually connected! I of course managed to read them out of order, but it was an enjoyable surprise nonetheless.

When I moved on to the video section, Ancient Technology - Atlantis and India caught my eye right away because I love the idea of  Atlantis. Next I clicked on Hindu Creation Stories to learn about Hinduisms particular take on the creation of the world. I'm a fan of the idea that the truth lies in the middle of all of the world's religious teachings. The more data you have, the more accurate your average should be.

This of course led to Harry Potter Meets Hindu Mythology being auto played next, which I had to stick around for because, well, it's Harry Potter!

The monkey god Hanuman, who is so muscular and defined in nearly all of his visual representations that it makes me uncomfy
(via Good Free Photos)

Time Strategies: Scheduling Self-Care

This time around, I decided to focus on Oliver Burkeman's "Why Time Management is Ruining our Lives". In summary, the concept of efficiency and time management started as a way to exploit workers and has been progressively inching towards critical mass over the last two decades. It is important for us all to remember that you can't run at 110% for extended periods of time. Burnout is real, and can have cascading consequences to every portion of your life. I personally will be using this advice to not feel guilty about making sure to work some "me time" into my busy schedule over the course of the semester.

Via Flickr

Applying Blogger Technology to Other Classes

After double checking my settings, it looks like I still had everything squared away from my Myth and Folklore class. The one tool listed that I've had the most use out of outside of these classes is the word count tool. It comes in super handy when you'd least expect it. If you haven't set it up already I would highly recommend it! It's super useful for online homework assignments that don't have a word counter built into the submission window.

Via Flickr

Thoughts on the New Assignments

As a returning student, there's not too much that I have a true first impression on. I am very intrigued by the new options Laura has added for extra credit though! The Microfictions in particular caught my attention as I routinely struggle to meet minimum word counts on all of my assignments, regardless of the class or topic. I'm excited to try it out in the hopes that it can help expand my creativity without the pressure of a word count!

Via Pixabay

Growing My Growth Mindset

Growth mindset seems be a very useful tool in college careers. I know I personally suffered from the results having the type of childhood critiqued by Carol Dweck in her first video. Growing up, I easily aced all of my classes very little effort. This has taught me to fear failure, avoid challenges, and to not valued learning purely for the sake of learning as much as I should. Having failed two classes in my undergraduate career thus far, I believe that focusing on a “not yet” frame of mind will help me to not only complete my studies, but succeed in life overall. Not to mention keep me sane. This semester I am excited to explore the mantra/motto option for growth mindset extra credit. I’m always looking for cute quotes to put on the dry erase board on my fridge. Here’s to a semester of “not yet”!

Adorable Growth Mindset Kitty has an important message (Source)

A (Re)Introduction to Me!

Hi everyone! My name is Jessica Handwerk and I am a Junior Biochemistry major here at OU. Fun fact: I took the Mythology and Folklore class in the Fall of 2018. I loved it so much I came back for round two! Given that I already wrote a whole bunch about who I am in my "An Introduction to Me" post from last time, I figured I would use this post as a sort of update on my life since then. Go ahead and click on the post title if you want to see the original (there's lots of cute dog pictures!) Feel free to take a look around the rest of the blog while you're there too!

Where I've Been (Present Becomes Past):

The biggest update since last fall is that over the summer my parents finally decided to adopt a dog! After I move halfway across the country of course. Sable is a two and a half (ish) year old German Shepherd/Cattle Dog Mix (we think) from a rescue in Georgia. They picked her up as a stray, so no one is 100% sure of her age or breed. She's not a fan of water, and subsequently baths, but will do just about anything for a piece of string cheese! I had a lot of adventures with this goofball over winter break. She's a HUGE fan of puppuccinos from Starbucks! I have WAY too many pictures/videos of her though, so maybe I'll do a photo dump on a separate post. She is featured in my Favorite Place post though!

Where I Am (Tomorrow Has Arrived):

This semester I am only taking 13 hours. That includes: this class, Physical Chemistry 1 and its lab, Intro to Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology. I am still a member of Alpha Sigma Kappa and I was elected to the executive board this semester as the VP of Finance (aka treasurer). If you are a female or non-binary individual in a STEM major, come check us out! The movie night on January 22nd is open to everyone, regardless of interest in the organization. We've rented out Meacham for a showing of Ferris Bueller's Day Off at 6pm. If you're free that night, come hang out! The theatre seats about 350 people and we'd like for it to not look completely empty, even if you're only there for the show. Popcorn is included (while supplies last)!

Shameless plug for my sorority. Hope to see you there! (Personal Photo)

I am happily living in an apartment this year after spending the last two in the dorms and residential colleges. My parents also let me drive the family car out west in August! I've gotta say, it's crazy how having a "real" apartment and a vehicle this year has made such a difference in my overall happiness and mental health. I'm also working part time as a Community Assistant at Traditions West! Yay adulting!

I also had my 21st birthday over winter break, which was... interesting. I tried to buy a bottle of wine from Walmart when I got back and the lady thought my ID was a fake? I don't know who designed the new Maryland drivers licenses, but I don't blame her for doubting it. They look really weird. She let me get the wine anyways, which is a little concerning, but also not my problem.

Where I'm Going (The Future Looms Ahead):

I've hit the point in my college career where the next stage of life seems to be right around the corner. I'm not ready to be a real adult! I need to be focusing on getting an internship, I guess? I've decided to shift away from my forensic toxicology dreams and am currently leaning more towards something involving environmental sustainability. That may change again before I'm done, but I guess we'll see.

Storybook Favorites

1) Karma, Sarah Bentz

I  chose to check out this particular project because I absolutely LOVE the tv show The Good Place. C'mon season 4! Get on Netflix already! I think the introduction did a good job of introducing the concepts and inspirations behind the project. I also found it very interesting and fun that Sarah embedded the trailer for the show in her homepage for those that hadn't seen it. My one critique is that the author's notes were MAJOR spoiler alerts for the show!

2) Looney Tunes Goes to India

This project explores the adaptation of four indian tales into the playful set up of Bugs Bunny and crew. The charming, witty banter brought some lightheartedness to what I imagine were originally pretty dark tales. The homepage gives little synopsis of the stories available. I fell that it would have been better had the synopsis and/or the pictures been hyperlinks the the stories they represented. The original author has since removed their blog, so I have no way of knowing who they are.

3) Voldemort's Reincarnation, Urvi

The Harry Potter spin immediately caught my attention for this particular project. The introduction did a really good job of explaining how the stories from class were going to be tied into her telling of the popular story line. I thought it was a neat twist to focus on reincarnation! Using the Patil twins to narrate was also a great choice and helped in keeping the story authentic and more realistic. Having also briefly skimmed the author's blog page, it seems that Urvi actually grew up with a lot of the stories covered in this class, which is super cool!

For all of the projects above, I do wonder about copyrights with the images used, but they all work beautifully with the stories being told.

Stories are just portals to other worlds (Pixabay)

My Favorite Place: An Obsession

My favorite place at this exact moment (because it's constantly changing) is Taco Bell!!! I've been vegetarian for about a year and a half now, and their (relatively) new vegetarian menu is freaking amazing! It also had to replace Sonic for my midnight snack runs because I'm apparently allergic to something in their cooking oil? I'm not sure what. All I know is that it makes my throat itchy, which is bad. Anyways, I would highly recommend trying the Black Bean Crunchwrap if you haven't had a chance yet.

My Addiction: Taco Bell's Black Bean Crunchwrap
Image courtesy of TacoBell.com

It is, unfortunately, not recommended that you share with animals. Much to the dismay of my dog, who could smell it from the backseat.
(Personal Photo)

Test Post

testing, testing, TESTING!!!

Okay, I'm good now :)