Fort Worth Zoo Excursion

Yesterday, I took a trip to the Fort Worth Zoo. Besides just enjoying the animals, I related my adventure back to our class by observing different people laughing. Here's a picture of one of the funniest things I observed while there:

It must be aggravating sometimes to be a parent of a young child. This man, pictured on the left, just wanted to enjoy the day with his son by taking him to the zoo. But as you can see, the kid cared far more about the binoculars than the rhinos. He didn't understand the concept that one had to pay to use them. And against his dad's wishes, the kid continued to crawl all over it instead of looking at the rhinos. The other people at the exhibit were really enjoying this. Everyone was watching, and the bigger scene the dad and son made, the funnier it got. The laughter was contagious. And even though, the dad was pretty upset, it allowed for the rest of us to have a pretty good time.

It was a fun day. I got to take a break from my studying and still learn a little bit more about humor. Even made the long walk across the zoo to see this little guy. Go Frogs!

Unrestrained Laughter - Instance 2

Most days when I get home from class, the first thing I do is sift through a couple of Twitter accounts that tweet some of the funniest Vines. The other day I came across one of the strangest ones I have ever seen. This odd Vine was of a man dancing in a field while dressed in a Panda costume. The man then proceeds to run with a group of cows. This Vine was only about five seconds, and it kept looping and looping. I kid you not, this was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. I could not stop laughing. Here's a picture:

The main reason I was laughing so hard was because of how weird it was. It was so incongruous. The still frame was just of a field, and what ensued when I clicked on it, was the last thing that I expected to see. I first was laughing at the video, and then I began to laugh at myself for laughing at something so weird. It was a pretty good ab workout.

I'm sure after clicking on it, most of you think that I am crazy. I'm telling you, it takes a very advanced sense of humor to understand it. It will either be the funniest thing you have ever seen or the stupidest thing. And although it might have been a little strange, it helped pick me up. I wasn't having the best day, and the video just put me in a better mood. Since then, I have been looking it up and watching it at random times of the day just to put a smile on my face. It truly is the little things that you enjoy the most.

Negative Humor

I have always been an adamant believer that cameramen at sporting events events are cruel people. There are so many die hard fans out there. People who put their hearts and souls in to supporting their teams. And it can be pretty disappointing when your team loses. Some may be shocked. Others may cry. But no matter what one's response, I feel that there is always a cameraman there prepared to exploit one's emotions on national TV.

A fine example of this occurred in late March during the NCAA Tournament. As you all know, March Madness is a huge deal to quite a lot of people. Everyone has extremely high aspirations, and there is quite a bit of pressure and large expectations on those teams viewed to be some of the best. So when Villanova, a one-seed, fell to North Carolina State 71-68 in the third round of the tournament, there were some pretty upset fans. And as soon as the game had concluded, the national broadcast focused in on one of Villanova's band members who continued to play her piccolo as tears rolled down her face. I have included a picture of the incident below.

I immediately felt bad for the girl and knew this wouldn't be the last I would see of her due to how the Internet works. Twitter instantly blew up. There were so many people mocking her and photoshopping parodies of it. It was quite sad. I believe that many people don't stop to think that that is an actual person they are making fun of. They think of something funny and just run with it. A senior that was just upset her team had lost will probably never live this down. The Internet spreads negative humor like wildfire, and before you know, the whole nation is laughing at you.

Unrestrained Laughter - Instance 1

About a moth ago, my roommate and I were sitting in our living room, watching TV when we both suddenly broke out into a fit of unrestrained laughter. To understand my story, one needs to be familiar with Tish Simmond's "in my mums car" Vine. For those of you who are unfamiliar, here is a link to the Vine. Just a little background, Tish's Vine, in which she pretends to drive her mom's car and then proceeds to be kicked out, has gone viral. It has been shared, emailed, revined, and retweeted time and time again. It has also lead to the creation of numerous parodies that too have become famous. I honestly would be surprised if anyone that has even just a minimal social media presence hasn't seen it. This leads me back to my story.

My roommate cannot stand this Vine. He thinks it is stupid, annoying, and far overused. He gets aggravated anytime he comes across it. To be honest, I can't even remember what we were watching or what even happened. All I know is something sad appeared on the screen, and you can imagine my shock when my roommate opened his mouth and said "awww....." in, I guarantee you, the exact same voice as Tish! The room fell silent. He slowly turned his head to see if I had noticed. To his embarrassment, I was already staring at him with a smirk. We immediately both fell to the floor laughing and pretty much crying. I couldn't breathe, and my stomach began to hurt.

If anyone else had been in the room who didn't have the background knowledge of my roommate's utter hatred for that Vine, he/she would probably have thought that we were crazy. I don't even know if my description of the events here makes sense to you all. All I know is that it was hilarious. What made it so funny was its incongruity. Since my roommate had avidly displayed his discontent with the Vine to me and was always bad-mouthing it, his response was completely unexpected. And although it might have been a little embarrassing for him at first, I believe the incident has done nothing but made us better friends.

Conversation Partner - Meeting 6

Vanessa and I's most recent conversation was a rather emotional one, and that was because it will probably be our last. The semester is quickly coming to a close, and Vanessa is just about ready to graduate from the IEP. We met one last time at our usual spot on the benches outside the Rec, and instead of making it a depressing goodbye, we chose to keep the conversation positive. The topic of our talk was the future, where we both were going from here.

Get this, the girl that can already speak three different languages is about to go off and learn her fourth. Her fourth language! After graduation, Vanessa plans on attending Southwestern and studying Spanish. Vanessa has been told that learning Spanish isn't nearly as difficult as English, so she is pretty excited, claiming that she is done with the confusing aspects of English grammar! Ha! Upon mastering Spanish, Vanessa plans to finally return to her homeland of Haiti and go to school to become a judge. She should have no issue finding a job due to her heavy schooling and high linguistic skills. Vanessa says that she plans on returning to the US eventually. She has really come to enjoy her stay in Fort Worth.

I am so grateful for this Conversation Partner experience. Dr. Williams forced me to do something I would have never done on my own, going out and meeting a complete stranger like this, but I have gained so much from it. I learned a lot about another culture and made a great friend. I am sad that Vanessa is leaving TCU, but am happy to know of the bright future she has ahead of her. Although we won't see each other again for awhile, we plan on staying in touch via text. Once again, I am so thankful for this amazing opportunity and now know who I will be calling if I ever get into trouble in Haiti!

Learning Experiences - Part 3

Finals exams are finally approaching, and I wanted to take this time to look back and reflect upon my learning experiences in the classroom thus far during this spring semester at TCU. I will divide my reflections by particular course and present them in the order in which I attend each class during the week.

We have done quite a bit of reading in this final block of Literature and Civilizations II. We read about John Hughes's vacation, Nora Ephron talked to us about breasts, and Dave Barry gave us some dating advice. We also read A River Runs Through It, which is the story of how Norman Maclean strengthens his relationships with his family and God through fly fishing on the Blackfoot River. I also did my final presentation video on A River Runs Through It. I talked about how technology is ruining our lives. As I prepare to write my final essay for this class, I look back at all of the useful knowledge I have gained. This hasn't been like any other class that focuses on one subject. This class has taught me about life. It has allowed me to gain a greater understanding of this thing everyone goes through. I got to make new friends, even a few from different countries. And I laughed quite a bit along the way. It has been an awesome semester in Lit and Civ II.

In Financial Management, we wrapped up the semester by talking about financial decisions: how to make the decisions and the risk that goes with them. We discussed how the capital market system works, where businesses go to borrow money. We also learned about the profession of investment banking and all it entails. Finally, we ended with a brief overview of international finance. I have learned a lot in Financial Management. The knowledge I gained here will be the foundation that helps me succeed in all my future finance classes.

We spent the last few weeks in Organizational Management discussing decision-making strategies, leadership styles, power and politics in the workplace, and organizational culture. We also wrapped up our group project of assisting people in need and presented it to the class. This course has given me the tools that I can use in my future job to be an effective employee/manager.

The eighth and final year of managing our sensor company has come to an end. We spent the last month in Foundations in Business writing an Annual Report for our stockholders as well as preparing a presentation for our Board of Directors that discusses how our company has preformed over the past eight years. Our goal was to be rehired as the management team. This class has given me a great hands-on experience of what it is like to run an actual company.

The final block of Business Law covered the topics of agency and employment law. We discussed employment discrimination as well as intellectual property. The information learned in this course will allow me to run my future business in line with the law. I now will also be able to effectively defend myself in the workforce.

This semester has been a great one. I have learned so much that will benefit me in life. And as this term comes to a close, I look forward to the next.

Conversation Partner - Meeting 5

Last Friday, the IEP threw a Conversation Partner Social. This was basically an end of the year celebration where all of the conversation partners got together to hang out. The IEP students each brought food from their home country, so it was interesting to try some different stuff. There were also a number of games being played. But most importantly, this was a great opportunity for Vanessa and I to have our fifth meeting.

To be honest, when Vanessa originally invited me to the social, I was a little bit nervous about going, but it turned out to be loads of fun. I met Vanessa there, and we got to catch up on each other's week while eating a couple of slices of pizza. I got to meet some more of her friends and more importantly, Vanessa's brother and sister. From our long conversations about her siblings, I felt like I already knew them, but it was nice to put faces to her descriptions. I was surprised at how different Vanessa is from her sister, Barbie. Vanessa is quite shy and extremely laid back. On the other hand, Barbie is extremely outgoing. They seem to have a strong relationship though. 

Even though Vanessa and I didn't have as in-depth of a conversation as we usually do during our other meetings, I feel like this was our best one yet. It didn't feel like an obligation that I needed to check off my list. It was truly two friends just hanging out. Together, we took part in quite a large game of spoons. And although neither of us won, it was a great bonding experience. It was nice to have a day where I could just relax and enjoy time with my friend. 

Learning Experiences - Part 2

The second round of exams has come and gone, and I wanted to take this time to look back and reflect upon my learning experiences in the classroom thus far during this spring semester at TCU. I will divide my reflections by particular course and present them in the order in which I attend each class during the week.

Since I last wrote, we have done quite a bit in Literature and Civilizations II. We read a play entitled The Importance of Being Ernest. The protagonist of the story is Jack Worthing, a prominent figure in Hertfordshire. In order to get away and escape his responsibilities, Jack made up a brother named Ernest that he goes and visits in London. In reality, Jack travels to London frequently and pretends to be Ernest so that he can do as he pleases. The story revolves around his love for Gwendolen and his realizing of the importance of his true identity. Next, as a class, we tried to decide on which movie was the all-time greatest comedy film. To do this, we split up into groups and each gave a presentation on the movie that we chose. Anchorman was the overwhelming favorite. Finally, we read a self-help booked called The Comic Toolbox. As its title implies, it supplied us with a number of tools on how to be funny. This class is helping me gain a greater insight into the aspects of life as well as learn what and why things are humorous.

In Financial Management, we have learned how to manage our current assets through the use of short-term financing. We also discussed the time value of money and how a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow due to the possibility of reinvesting at discount rates. Finally, we covered the cost of capital. We talked about the effects one type of financing has on the others. And in order to make a company's cost of financing the cheapest as possible, there needs to be a balance between debt, preferred stock, and common stock financing. All of this information is going to help me succeed in my career path.

The next block of Organizational Management included the topics of communication, groups and teams, and conflict and negotiations. We learned different strategies in order to be more effective in all three areas. Also, we had the opportunity to interview a diverse other in our workplace. This allowed me to gain a greater understanding of how different people feel in their jobs. This class is truly helping me become a better manager.

In Foundations in Business, we continue to work on our group project of managing our sensor company. We do work in all departments: R&D, Marketing, Production, Finance, HR, and TQM. This class really helps people understand how all areas of a business collaborate in order to become profitable.

The second part of Business Law was all about contracts. We learned how to write a contract, what all needs to be in them, and what to watch out for. We also talked about how to enforce contracts and the remedies due if a contract is breached. Business Law is helping me understand the legal side of every business.

The knowledge I am gaining here is setting me up for future successes. I will write you all again after my third round of tests.

Conversation Partner - Meeting 4

Once again, Vanessa and I met in the Rec for our scheduled conversation last Friday. We sat and talked on the benches outside of the volleyball gym. One of Vanessa's friends from Saudi Arabia was there waiting for her ride, and it was interesting to meet her. 

Our conversation began in the same way all of the others had. We got caught up on the events that had transpired in each other's lives since we last met. Vanessa was enjoying the new material they had just started learning in class, and I showed her some of the pictures I had taken from TCU's Spring Game. Since her favorite color is purple, as is mine, she really liked the new uniforms. Vanessa found the new frog-print that is embedded in them rather interesting.

It is quite amazing how our conversations just take off. We don't come to the meetings with a set agenda of items to talk about. Most often, a random statement turns into a thirty minute conversation. This time, it was food. It was 2:00 when we met, and I still had not eaten that day. I complained of being hungry, which led to an in depth discussion of our eating habits. 

Vanessa loves to cook, especially Chinese food. She is constantly consuming fruits, and we had a good laugh over her complaining how American mangos aren't actually mangos. The way she described the mangos from her country really got me craving one. She could not believe my eating routine. I do not ever eat breakfast and usually have my two meals each day at approximately 3:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. She criticized me on how bad that was for my body, but it's like the only free time I have. And if that wasn't bad enough, I told her about what I actually consume. I never go to the grocery store, and I never cook. I eat fast-food for practically every meal. My oven has been turned on once this semester... Vanessa's jaw dropped to the floor. She was amazed. She also gave me some advice on easy things I could pick up and prepare myself, but I said that it just wasn't worth my time. The eat whatever you can whenever you can American way just didn't make sense to Vanessa. It is just another huge cultural difference between our two countries. She would rather take time out of her day to take care of her body, and I don't care what or even if I eat as long as I get complete my obligations. Who's to say whose routine is better? Hers. It's definitely hers...

Before we concluded our meeting, Vanessa invited me to the IEP's Conversation Partner Social this upcoming Friday. They will have games set up as well as different foods from all over the world. This will be a great opportunity to spend more time with Vanessa as well as meet more of her friends. Who knows, maybe this will be my first step in improving my nutrition. I look forward to it, and will let you all know how it goes.

 

Conversation Partner - Meeting 3

Vanessa and I scheduled our next conversation for Friday, April 10. The morning of, I text her and asked where it would be the most convenient for her to meet. She responded with the TCU Recreation Center, which I found rather odd. It turns out though that the IEP classes are held in the Rec. I had no idea that there were even classrooms in there. That shows you how much I know about my own school...

I knew Vanessa had requested to meet Friday this week rather than our normal Wednesday because she had midterms Tuesday through Thursday. With that in mind, I kicked off our conversation by asking how her exams went. She thought she had done well even though she was still struggling with some grammar aspects of English. And it turns out that the IEP students had spent their entire Friday on a field trip to one of the local animal museums. The trip was a reward for all of the hard work the students had put in so far this semester as well as a much-needed break from their studies. It would be nice if we could do something like that. Anyway, Vanessa was eager to talk about their adventure, so needless to say, the majority of our conversation centered around animals.

Vanessa loves dogs. Growing up in Haiti, she was the owner of six dogs. The animal she hates is snakes. She was shocked to hear that my roommate keeps a snake as a pet. We talked about how creepy it is and the horrifying way in which you have to feed it. She was adamant that there was no way that she could fall asleep with a snake in her house. I told her that I didn't mind very much due to the fact that it was caged. Having been stung while asleep in my bed, one of my biggest fears is scorpions. Vanessa too is not a fan.

We concluded our meeting talking about each other's weekend plans. Vanessa was unaware of the TCU Spring Game that was to take place that night. I invited her to come, but she said that she planned on staying in and watching movies. Not too bad of an evening. Vanessa and I are becoming better and better friends with each and every meeting. I look forward to continually learning more about her as well as her culture.

Conversation Partner - Meeting 2

I text Vanessa Monday morning and asked her if she was available to meet again Wednesday for lunch. She replied that she was and asked where we should go. I suggested the Potbelly on University. To my surprise, Vanessa didn't know what Potbelly was. She had eaten at Dutch's, Pizza Snob, and McAlister's, but never Potbelly. In an odd way, I was a little excited to be able to show a non-native something new in America. At this point, you might be asking yourself, "Potbelly?..." To which I will respond, "Yes, Potbelly... I know it's not the Statue of Liberty. But hey, at least it's something." Alright, back to the story.

We met in front of the library so that we could walk over together. And almost immediately, I was able to pick up on another piece of Haitian culture. We were standing on the sidewalk waiting to cross University, and as soon as the light turned red, I began to walk. I turned around to find that Vanessa hadn't moved. She said that she was waiting for the car to actually stop before crossing. Vanessa explained that unlike in America, drivers in Haiti usually don't stop at red lights unless they see a cop. Dangerous, but you usually get to places quicker. She then informed me that she had never learned to drive. She always has someone else take her where she needs to go. I found this interesting. I could not imagine having to rely on someone else every time I wanted to go somewhere, but maybe it's just another cultural difference between our two countries.

Our lunch began with a little small talk. We talked about how each other's Spring Break went. Vanessa mentioned that she was really enjoying this warm weather, especially compared to the winter mix that had just hit prior to our first meeting. We discussed how she was performing in her studies. The IEP students fit two semesters into our normal one semester, so she had just begun taking a whole set of new courses. She said that she was doing well, even though she hates grammar. Vanessa doesn't like how some English words can sound the same but mean different things. She was also adamant that English had been the most difficult language she had learned thus far. Being a native speaker, I guess I never realized how hard it is to master.

Having just attended the TCU baseball game the night before, I asked Vanessa if she liked baseball. She replied with a firm no, citing that it was slow and boring. Her favorite sport is futbol, or soccer as us Americans are familiar with. The difference between our two nations sparked a conversation about American football. Vanessa said she enjoyed watching how loud the students are at TCU games but doesn't quite understand why we call it football since the players rarely use their feet. A valid point. Haiti: 1. USA: 0.  Vanessa also likes volleyball and basketball.

Compared to our first meeting, today was so much more laid back. It was apparent that the newfound familiarity we had with each other really eased the tension. We truly were just talking. Before we departed, Vanessa invited me to take part in the IEP's sand volleyball tournament Friday afternoon, so I look forward to that. I will let you all know how it goes!

Conversation Partner - Meeting 1

Community engagement is one of the primary course components of my Literature & Civilizations II class. In order to accomplish this and thus gain significant insight into our local surroundings, we each were paired with an international student studying in TCU's Intensive English Program. They would be our Conversation Partners for the semester.

About a month or so into class, I was informed that my Conversation Partner would be Vanessa Simon. She was a native citizen of Haiti. A couple of weeks before Spring Break, I reached out and contacted Vanessa to set up our first meeting. We ended up meeting that Friday in Rees-Jones Hall. I was pretty nervous before our conversation. It is always a little nerve-racking meeting new people but even more so meeting someone with such a different background than yourself. As our conversation began, I could tell Vanessa was just as, if not more, nervous than I was. I hadn't even thought about how weird this must have been for her. She had all of the same feelings that I did, plus she was in a totally different country! To ease the tension, I cracked a joke about how awkward this was, which resulted in a chuckle from Vanessa. I believe the fact that we were both anxious proved to each of us that we actually weren't that different from each other. This wasn't going to be as bad as we first envisioned, and it turned out to be a great conversation.

Just as anyone else would when meeting new people, we got to know each other. As I already mentioned, Vanessa was born in Haiti. At 27, she is the eldest of three children with a younger brother and sister. It actually turns out that Vanessa's sister was Conversation Partners with one of my good friends last semester. Vanessa's native language is Creole, but she also learned French in high school. She informed me that it was necessary to be able to speak both because they are each an official language of Haiti. Upon graduation from high school, Vanessa decided that she wanted to become a judge. Apparently though, most of the successful judges in Haiti can speak English, so she set out to learn. Because of the lack of quality English-teaching schools in Haiti, Vanessa's parents shipped her off to America.

Her first destination point was Maine. Unfortunately for Vanessa, but fortunate for our newfound friendship, she hated it. She was miserable during her stay because of three reasons. First off, she was extremely homesick. Second, the weather was awful. Haiti is known for being hot all of the time, so a place that was always cold and wet wasn't a good fit. Lastly, English is known as being one of the hardest languages to learn. So if one already doesn't like where they are, struggling in school can't help.

Luckily, Vanessa has an uncle that lives in Fort Worth. He informed her parents of TCU's IEP program and thought that it would be a great fit for her. So after just one year in Maine, she transferred to TCU. An added bonus, both of her siblings came along also. Vanessa seems to be liking it here, and she is on track to graduate this May.

I truly enjoyed getting to know Vanessa. And although we only had enough time to just get acquainted, I look forward to our next meeting when we can discuss other topics.    

Learning Experiences - Part 1

The first round of exams has come and gone, and I wanted to take this time to look back and reflect upon my learning experiences in the classroom thus far during this spring semester at TCU. I will divide my reflections by particular course and present them in the order in which I attend each class during the week.

We kicked off the semester in Literature & Civilizations II by trying to figure out just what we should actually be learning in the course. What is literature? What is civilization? The class set out to find answers to these questions by interviewing our peers. We came to the conclusion that these two terms are extremely ambiguous and that their true definitions depend on how each individual person perceives them. The major focus of our class revolves around humor, so our next assignment was to define humor and laughter. We discovered similar results. Both are ambiguous. To help achieve a greater understanding, we read a few chapters from a philosophy of humor entitled Comic Relief. We discussed the three major theories of humor: Superiority, Incongruity, and Relief. We also studied the multiple aspects of humor and laughter, all the while applying what we had learned to the dissection of a number of funny online videos. The knowledge that I have gained through the first third of this course has allowed me to obtain a greater understanding as to what and why different things are humorous.  

The first couple of weeks in Financial Management was spent overviewing the various duties a financial manager performs as well as a brief review of accounting. A financial manager must have a good understanding of accounting because the job is centered around the language of financial statements. We then learned how to analyze businesses by taking a number of financial accounts and computing ratios. These ratios were then compared to industry averages. Next, we learned how to forecast. If one can predict how many units of inventory will be sold during they year, he then can easily produce a production schedule as well as a pro forma income statement, statement of cash flows, and balance sheet. Finally, we learned how to use leverage. It turns out that the more debt a company uses to acquire its assets, the more profitable it can become. Unfortunately though, a high use of leverage comes with a high level of risk. Since I am a finance major and plan on pursuing a career in finance upon graduation, this information will obviously assist me in my future endeavors.

The main objective of Organizational Management is clearly to help students become better managers. We began the semester by discussing diversity in the workplace. Although it leads to dissatisfied workers, the increase in productivity is amazing. Next, we talked about individual differences and attitudes and how to manage different types of people. Our last topic was motivation. By being able to figure out what our workers want, we can better manage them. The information obtained in this class has allowed me to become a better leader.

Foundations in Business is interesting. The best way I can describe it is to say that it is all of my business classes combined into one. We spent the first two weeks refining our business writing and interviewing skills. The remainder of the class has been centered around our semester-long simulation. We were divided into teams and assigned the job of managing all of the major departments of a sensor manufacturing company for eight years. This class has not only helped me improve upon my collaboration skills but also allowed me to combine the number of talents I have acquired through my studies in Neeley to achieve one common goal, maximizing the value of our company. The understanding of some subjects has allowed me to achieve greater success in others, thus producing synergy.

The first block of Business Law has covered the three different types of law: common, statutory, and administrative. After learning where all the different legal rules come from, we discussed the number of different ways a dispute can be resolved. Next, we were introduced to torts, which are basically just wrongdoings. Finally, our last lecture revolved around the Constitution. This class isn't a pre-law class. It isn't trying to prepare us to become lawyers. Instead, it is centered around the business environment. We are learning how to legally run and defend our future companies.

It turns out that I actually am learning beneficial things here. TCU is really preparing me for life. Seems like that $50K a year tuition will turn out to be worth it.

Defining Humor and Laughter

I interviewed three students outside of our class and asked them the following questions:

     1. What is humor?
     2. What is laughter?
     3. What makes people laugh?

Here are their responses:

Defining Literature and Civilization

I interviewed three students outside of our class that each had different TCU backgrounds and asked them the following questions:

     1. What is literature?
     2. What is civilization?
     3. What should we be learning in a course entitled "Literature and Civilization?"

Here are their responses:

Shelly (Lit and Civ II Alumna)

Liz (Honors Student)

Cy (Transfer Student)