Week 9 Famous Last Words

I'm writing this post later that usual, but that just gives me more time to reflect on my week. Last week was pretty chill! It was the week after midterms, so most of my classes didn't have any heavy assignments. My midterms went very well! I made an A+ on both molecular lab and colloquium midterms which made my week! Therefore, I decided that I can give myself a break and relax. And relax I did! I watched a new show with one of my good friends, and I also spent a lot of time carving pumpkins. The pumpkin carvings came out awesome! We watched a scary movie (The Vatican) while carving pumpkins which probably wasn't the best idea to be scared and handle knives. It's okay though because we survived!

Pumpkin carvings of a skeleton, Tinkerbell, a heart, and Haunter (Pokemon). Personal Photo.

On another note, my younger brother's birthday is this coming Wednesday (Oct. 28th), and his birthday gift finally arrived at my house. I ordered him a new Asus Zenfone 2 with a black case. Erik desperately needs a functioning phone so I'm hoping he'll like his new gift.

Moveover, work went well this past weekend, except I'm still upset that no one notified me that I had off on Friday. Friday afternoon I showed up to work as usual just to see that I wasn't even scheduled for that day! Did anyone tell me? NOPE! I worked for 5 hours until I went to check tomorrow's shift and saw that I was supposed to be off. I had so much homework to do that I could've finished with my lab group. Instead, I went to work. I should have been aware of my schedule, but my boss never sent the message out and there is no way for us to check online. Lesson learned.

Overall, I had a nice week with family and friends. Weeks like these remind me of why all my sacrifices will be worth it in the end.

Week 9 Tech Tip: Postergen.com

This will be my last tech tip for quote makers which is sad because I've enjoyed making posters for quotes. For this week's quotemaker, I used PosterGen. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan. I had to indent each word so that the quote would fit onto the poster and nowhere on the website did it specify that requirement. Also, instead of automatically updating the poster as I edit, I have to click generate each time. This wouldn't be too bad, except that it takes a while to load. That could by my internet though. What I did like about PosterGen was the different types of fonts. There were several unique fonts that other quote makers don't have. Overall, I made the following poster:

Personal Poster created at PosterGen.

 I chose this quote because my best memories are of the times when I have laughed the hardest. For those of you who don't know, Charlie Chaplin was an comedy genius back in the day. He made a valid point. At one point in the day, we should have a good laugh. Don't we deserve it?

Week 9 Reading Feedback: Nivedita's Krishna

I was really worried about reading Nivedita's Krishna because there were no detailed reading guides for a reference in case I didn't understand a chapter. Surprisingly, I read the chapters just fine! I wouldn't call it the most interesting book in the world, but it definitely went straight to the point. I read about Krishna's birth, which caught my attention, and his adventures as a young boy. From Nivedita's book, I learned more than I thought about Krishna. He was portrayed as a powerful child god that played and joked around all the time. I wonder if the concept of optimism is popular in Indian culture because that what was Krishna reminded me of. He was a happy boy even when he faced the worst situations. Do you know what I did when I was twelve years old? I played with my stuffed animals and read countless Calvin and Hobbes comics (not ashamed of this at all). Then we have Krishna who defeated two demons as a baby and killed his uncle when he was twelve. Thanks for making the rest of us look bad, Krishna! Moreover, I recommend Nivedita's book to anyone who wants a quick read about Krisha's life. It's an easy read with short chapters. The chapters are available online which makes them more accessible. You can find the chapters here.

Calvin and Hobbes is another great read. Just saying.

My favorite comic book characters: Calvin and Hobbes. Source.

Week 9 Growth Mindset

One of the growth mindset challenges is to find a challenge in each class and relate them to one another. I'd figure this would be a great way to organize my problems and find a solution to each of them. Let's start with this class.

Epics of India: My greatest challenge in this class is to find the time to complete the weekly assignments. This class comes with a lot of busy work, and busy work requires time. Each week there are at least 6 assignments. If you include the extra credit then there are 13 assignments. I can't complain about the extra credit though. In fact, I'm extremely grateful that there is extra credit!

Chemistry of Beer: This is another online class I had to take to complete my chemistry minor. I had my final last week! I'm officially done with the class and completed my chem minor. I enjoyed the format of this class because we had lecture just once a week, which usually ended early, along with weekly online quizzes and discussions. No exams. My challenge with this class was that I kept forgetting about it. We had so little assignments to do each week that sometimes I forgot I was even enrolled in the class.

Pathogenic Microbiology: This class is so much fun! I love learning about pathogenic microorganisms and how to combat each disease. However, my greatest challenge of this class are the exams. Every single exam is scheduled on a Monday. This wouldn't be so bad if I didn't work over the weekend. For the past two exams, I started studying Sunday after I was off work, but by that times it's so late in the night that I don't want to study.

Colloquium - Modern Protest Movements: Colloquium is another class I struggle with because we have to read all the time. I'll admit that I neglect this class because I try getting by with reading one chapter instead of the four chapters that were assigned. However, this class only has 20 students, and we each have to discuss key points from the chapter in front of the class. Not only that but our exams are all in-class essays. That means I really need to know what I've read to do well on the exams and to gain discussion points. If I had to choose just one challenge, it would be speaking in front of the class. Every student sounds so smart and logical when they speak, but when I speak, I feel insecure and stupid. It's pretty embarrassing...

Molecular and Physiology of Microorganisms Lab: This class sucks the life out of me! I know I've already written about my struggles in this class in every post, but that's because I spent so much time on it. It is the most difficult lab that I have taken by far. I believe the class average on the quizzes is a 17%. Oh and don't you dare write in pencil for any assignment because pencil work gives you a 0. My professor hates pencil. Ink only. The lack of format of communication made lab a headache. You're given the goal of an experiment, then it is up to you and your lab group to figure out a protocol and method. There is no laboratory manual and only minimal guidance. With that being said, my lab group and I struggled. We had no idea what we were doing which reflected on our lab reports. We failed our first quiz and first notebook check. It was a disaster. The greatest challenge in this class is communication. I need to communicate with my professor and with my lab group. Without them, I'm lost.


For the first four classes listed, my biggest challenge is time. I need to prioritize my time to fit every class's need. I'm done with chemistry of beer, so I just need to manage my time for colloquium, patho and epics. I started working ahead in this class which gives me leeway. I could start taking off work the Sundays before my patho exam to give me time to study or at least begin studying a week early. For colloquium, I have to work on my self confidence and not be afraid of what everyone will think of me. I've already improved in lab. My lab group and I meet at least three times a week to work on our lab reports together, and we try to obtain clarification from our professor and TA.

Overall, I just need time.

Running out of time. Source.

Week 9 Storytelling: He's Coming

"What are we supposed to do," Devaki asked as she held her newborn baby close to her chest. "I can't bear to lose another child. My heart can't take it. Please, we have to do something."

Vasudeva paced back and forth in the prison cell, frantically thinking of ways to save his newborn son. "My Devaki, please remain calm. He won't hurt you or our baby," whispered Vasudeva. "I need time to think. I will save our son."

Devaki kissed her son's head with tears streaming down her face. This was their eight child. As told in the prophecy, the eight son of Devaki and Vasudeva will kill King Kansa in the boy's twelfth year of life. Kansa swore to protect his power to the kingdom. The moment he heard about his fate, Kansa locked up his sister and best friend in the prison cell to kill every newborn that they produced.

All of the sudden, Vasudeva spoke, "Wait, I have an idea. We will smuggle the boy out of prison! I befriended one of the prison guards. He will surely help me! We just have to hide the boy and-"

"You're taking my baby away from me?!" cried Devaki. "No! No! I won't have it! No one is ripping my child out of my arms this time! I won't be apart from my son!" She held her son so tightly that he began to cry.

"Devaki, please calm down. You're hurting the boy!" Vasudeva rushed to his frazzled wife's side to loosen her grip on the baby. "My love, don't you see? This is the only way. Your brother will kill our son if we don't send him away. Listen, my dear, I know of a nice couple out in the country that will raise our boy to be a strong and proud man. It's his only chance of survival."

Devaki looked into her husband's eyes. He always had a strong character and a stern soul, but even out of desperation, she could see the tears reaching the brim of his eyes. Devaki knew that her husband was right. There was no other way. Vasudeva quickly made the arrangements to smuggle the baby out of the prison with the help of his friend. The night progressed, and it was time for the guard to take the baby to the village.

As her final good-bye, Devaki looked down at her baby boy, kissed his forehead, and whispered, "My sweet son, please don't ever think that I have abandoned you. You are the light of my life, and I will find you one day. My heart will guide me to you." She hugged him one last time. "I love you, my dear Krishna." Vasudeva kissed his son and sent him off. The couple held each other as they saw their eight child disappear from their life.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps were coming down the dungeon stairs. The couple knew too well whose footsteps those belonged to... They could hear the footsteps approaching closer to their prison cell. The couple's heart pounded in their chest as their fear consumed them. Then silence. The gated door creaked open. A cold, emotionless voice echoed in the cell, "Where is he..."

The prison where Devaki and Vasudeva were held captive. Source.

Author's Note: King Kansa swore to kill every newborn child that belonged to his sister Devaki and Vasudeva. When the eight child was born, he glowed with several shining arms that held symbols that represented the god Vishnu. Devaki then realized that her son was the reincarnation of Vishnu, protector of the universe. In order to save their child, the couple sent their baby away to be raised by foster parents that herded cows.
       I thought Krishna's birth was very interesting. It reminded me of the plot from the Prince of Egypt (DreamWorks movie) of how the pharaoh demanded his army to kill every newborn that would destroy him. I decided to write about the emotional perspective of a couple losing their child. They been through this seven times, but I can't imagine that it would get any easier...

Bibliography: Cradle Tales of Hinduism by Nivedita (1907) 

Week 9 Reading Diary B: Krishna

Krishna is now twelve years old. He returns to Mathura, the kingdom ruled by King Kansa, with his brother. Upon entering the kingdom, there were several assassination attempts by King Kansa. One of those attempts included releasing an angry elephant to destroy Krishna, but the boy slain the elephant. After defeating all of his enemies, Krishna killed King Kansa as predicted by the prophecy. Instead of becoming king himself, King Ugrasena (the father of Kansa), became king while Krishna became a prince.

Later, Krishna runs into the Pandavas when they were competing for Draupadi's hand in marriage. Krishna befriends Arjuna, one of the Pandavas. Arjuna and Krishna became such great friends that they even fought in the battle of Kurukshetra together as Arjuna's charioteer.

 An interesting point about Krishna was that he had eight wives known as the Ashtabharya. The Ashtabharya include his first wife Rukmini, Satyabhama, Jambavati, Kalindi, Mitravinda, Nagnajiti, Bhadra and Lakshmana. That's way too many wives with such complicated names that I probably will never remember.

Overall, what I learned about Krishna is that he's portrayed as a playful boy with super human powers. He can destroy everything and anyone. So far as I read, he has only used his powers for good. Everyone who meets Krishna admires him as a leader and praise him. He is known a protector of the universe from great evil.

Krishna battling the elephant. Source.

Week 9 Reading Diary A: Krishna by Nivedita

Kansa was the king of Mathura. He had a sister named Devaki and a best friend named Vasudeva. He played matchmaker and brought them together in a marriage. Then a voice from heaven told Kansa that the couple's 8th child will kill Kansa. So Kansa threw the couple in a prison and killed each baby when their were born. The 7th child, Bolarama, was hid secretly so that he wouldn't die. The 8th child was born with shining 4 arms that held symbols (battle-trumpet, discus, mace, and lotus) that represented the god Vishnu. The extra arms disappeared, and it was clear that the baby was a reincarnation of Vishnu sent to destroy King Kansa. In order to protect the new born Krishna, they sent the baby to be raised by foster parents Nanda and Yasoda in another city. In exchange, Nanda gave the couple a baby girl. Kansa knew that the prophecy said that a boy would be the death of him. Realizing that he was tricked, Kansa killed the baby girl and sent out his army to kill every newborn child in his kingdom.

Back in the other city, baby Krishna killed Putana, a demoness, by sucking the life out of her during breast-feeding. He also destroyed the tornado demon Trinavarta. When Krishna grew to be 8 years old, he was reunited with his brother Bolarama to be a cow herder near the forests.

One day in the forest, Krishna battles a hundred-headed serpent of Lake Kaliya, but to Krishna, it was just a game he was playing with a serpent. As the serpent snapped at Krishna and had the intention to kill him, Krishna felt like he was in no real danger. Unlike Krishna, his friends died by the snakes poison. It's okay though because when Krishna cried, his tears brought them back to life. In the end, Krishna defeated the snake.

Another day, Krishna told the village it'd be cool to offer praise to the mountain and the cows that protected them and given them food. The god Indra was jealous that the village wasn't offering their sacrifices and praise to him! So Indra made it rain for days. In order to protect his people, Krishna ordered everyone to pack their belongings and their cows (can't forget the cows) and to come under the mountain for protection of the rain. Krishna lifted the mountain with a single finger for shelter for his people. He kept holding the mountain high up in the sky until Indra exhausted his powers to make it rain.

Young Krishna battling the serpent. Source.