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.