Final Reflection

1.) Of the many pieces of work that I have written in the class, the stories of Rico and his friends are the ones that I think I will look back on. Starting on the first day we created our blog I know I had something special with Rico Sanchez. The story got good on the first day with the origin story of Rico and got better as Riley, Daniel, and I slowly added to his story arc. It was nice to see him develop into a deep and relate-able charter that I knew my readers could relate too. Some of my most memorable stories of Rico is when he robbed a bank, took a cruise with Jason Seagull, and his short time as a cop. I immensely enjoyed the time spent writing these stories and hope to build off of them in the future.

2.) During the course of this class I have read a lot of interesting material on and off my classmates blogs. Some of the most memorable stories my classmates have written are Rip Eric by Daniel Johns and Halloween Night by Riley Brown. These pieces were my favorite because they seemed the most original and stood out among the other more orthodox story lines that my other classmates were writing. Outside of this class I read several books by Kurt Vonnegut including Slaughterhouse Five, Breakfast of Champions, and Cat's Cradle. These books opened up another world of reading to me and offered a new look on the world through a satirical analysis.

3.) Originally I was against creating a blog, but I grew to like writing different post and publishing them. After completing this class, I do not think I would have as much fun without this blog. I originally came up with the name DawgWithABlog because of the Disney Show Dog with A Blog and was inspired to come up with a better name, and I think I accomplished that. People that I think will want to read this are people with the same kind of humor that I have and who can enjoy stupid, but funny story lines that make not sense. These are the type of people that I appeal to and are my target audience. Although, I enjoyed my time posting to this blog during class I figure that I will not continue to do so down the road. I do not plan on having a lot of spare time, so Rico will have to take the back seat for a couple of months. Maybe during the summer I can revisit this topic and once again cherish my readers with wonderful stories of awesome people.

4.) Journalizing was another part of this class that I enjoyed. Even though I did not complete every assignment in my journal, I had a lot of fun doing the stuff that I did. Most of the pages that are filled in this journal are of torn out pages from older books, that create new and different stories. I found this to be very enjoyable and could do this anytime even when I did not fell like writing. It was also very easy to fill up pages this way, which is a plus. I will most likely not continue to journalize in the future because it felt more like work than a piece of creative thought. However, if I ever decide to write in a journal I would most likely wrtie about my daily life and the events that take place.

5.) If There is an Answer, He Will Find it There- The day came when Rico was no longer accepted as one of the fellow tribe members. To old and too wise for these school boys to play around with, Rico knew it was time to go. So he left his family behind in Africa and started a new life in another part of Africa. Here he would look for answer to life interments questions. Contemplating for days question that dealt with physics and time travel. Rico found himself unbound to the space time continuum. HE could travel hack and forth through time by trotting at super sonic speeds.

6.) I wasn’t always like this though. I come from glorious giraffe beginnings. I was born and raised a safari man. From an early age I sought out the answers to life. I considered myself a student of Socrates, a book being written by the passages of time and read by the all-knowing lizard people. Nothing is meant to live forever though. After my stent as a philosopher I decided to become a cop. I joined the force. I thought it was my way out, my saving grace. Mom and Pop were proud. I’d never felt such joy in my giraffe legs before this moment. After I joined the force I was partnered with Owl Pichino. He was a real owl, always sticking to the books and busting my marbles, but dang was he a HOOT. After a night of patrol, me and Pichino head over to the bar, it was a real Boston joint, lots of jersey guys. After a few too many drinks Pichino opened up to me. He was in the war. I’m not sure, but during that conversation I could have sworn I saw a tear in his eye. I looked at him and he looked at me, after that it was an unspoken friendship, even though owls and giraffes are sworn enemies.
7.) Looking into the future, I do not plan on doing much creative writing. From writing creatively in this class I have found a way to express my imagination and it has been freeing. It has also been nice to write about something that is not purely academic, because I do so much of that in Creative Writing. 
8.) Keep on keeping on

Ben out

Christmas Gift Haiku

Who you gonna call

Santa, because he is cool

He knows how to dance

The holidays man

What a time to be alive

Christmas and Kwanzaa

Candy canes are good

Striped with white and red lines

Mysterious things

The jingle bells ring

A ding-aling along ding

that is how they go

Snow is on the ground

I think I need a jacket

Man is it cold now

Revision #3

Rico Sanchez: Punting the Sweet Fantastic

                I walk up to Carl and ask for drugs. He says no. I say yes. I pull a knife on that bean bag and neck swoop his cripple legs out from under him. I put the knife to his neck, just close enough to make his spots bleed. His eyes are bulging, he is afraid, but I don’t stop. I need those drugs Carl. Carl died. I still need drugs though. My name is Rico Sanchez and I am a giraffe. This is my story.

                I wasn’t always like this though. I come from glorious giraffe beginnings. I was born and raised a safari man. From an early age I sought out the answers to life. I considered myself a student of Socrates, a book being written by the passages of time and read by the all-knowing lizard people. Nothing is meant to live forever though. After my stent as a philosopher I decided to become a cop. I joined the force. I thought it was my way out, my saving grace. Mom and Pop were proud. I’d never felt such joy in my giraffe legs before this moment. After I joined the force I was partnered with Owl Pichino. He was a real owl, always sticking to the books and busting my marbles, but dang was he a HOOT. After a night of patrol, me and Pichino head over to the bar, it was a real Boston joint, lots of jersey guys. After a few too many drinks Pichino opened up to me. He was in the war. I’m not sure, but during that conversation I could have sworn I saw a tear in his eye. I looked at him and he looked at me, after that it was an unspoken friendship, even though owls and giraffes are sworn enemies.

        For once in my life I was happy, but just like everything I had to go and screw it up.  The first time saw her I knew I had to have her. She was a real fox. Literally, but she was sworn to another man. Her name was Foxy Pichino. Forces inside me battled each other, my heart of hearts wanted to be loyal to Owl, but my second heart, or giraffe heart, lured me to Foxy. We had an affair. The guilt was unbearable, my prison was my shame. My love for Foxy consumed me and I went through some dark times. Peter Parker Spiderman 3 darkness does not compare. I tried to hang myself, but my neck was just too dang long. Eventually, I decided the only way out of this prison was to kill Owl, my partner, my friend, my brother.

One fateful night I finally couldn’t handle the guilt any longer. I planned to do it while we were on patrol in the south side. I was going to frame it to look like a thug raccoon killed Owl. I drove up to the spot and led him like a lamb to slaughter. I didn’t have the marbles to kill him to his face, so I closed my eyes and started swinging my neck. With a tear rolling down my neck I slapped Owl into oncoming traffic and he died. I guess that why they called him the night owl.

 Ironically, as I got out of one prison I entered another. They booked me, two life sentences back to back. Luckily, no one in the judicial system knew how to jail a giraffe. I was out in three years, but during my time in the slammer I learned valuable skills. This is when my life took a turn for the worse.

End of Girafft One

Revision

Rico Sanchez: Punting the Sweet Fantastic

                I walk up to Carl and ask for drugs. He says no. I say yes. I pull a knife on that bean bag and neck swoop his cripple legs out from under him. I put the knife to his neck, just close enough to make his spots bleed. His eyes are bulging, he is afraid, but I don’t stop. I need those drugs Carl. Carl died. I still need drugs though. My name is Rico Sanchez and I am a giraffe. This is my story.

                I wasn’t always like this though. I come from glorious giraffe beginnings. I was born and raised a safari man. From an early age I sought out the answers to life. I considered myself a student of Socrates, a book being written by the passages of time and read by the all-knowing lizard people. Nothing is meant to live forever though. After my stent as a philosopher I decided to become a cop. I joined the force. I thought it was my way out, my saving grace. Mom and Pop were proud. I’d never felt such joy in my giraffe legs before this moment. After I joined the force I was partnered with Owl Pichino. He was a real owl, always sticking to the books and busting my marbles, but dang was he a HOOT. After a night of patrol, me and Pichino head over to the bar, it was a real Boston joint, lots of jersey guys. After a few too many drinks Pichino opened up to me. He was in the war. I’m not sure, but during that conversation I could have sworn I saw a tear in his eye. I looked at him and he looked at me, after that it was an unspoken friendship, even though owls and giraffes are sworn enemies.

        For once in my life I was happy, but just like everything I had to go and screw it up.  The first time saw her I knew I had to have her. She was a real fox. Literally, but she was sworn to another man. Her name was Foxy Pichino. Forces inside me battled each other, my heart of hearts wanted to be loyal to Owl, but my second heart, or giraffe heart, lured me to Foxy. We had an affair. The guilt was unbearable, my prison was my shame. My love for Foxy consumed me and I went through some dark times. Peter Parker Spiderman 3 darkness does not compare. I tried to hang myself, but my neck was just too dang long. Eventually, I decided the only way out of this prison was to kill Owl, my partner, my friend, my brother.

One fateful night I finally couldn’t handle the guilt any longer. I planned to do it while we were on patrol in the south side. I was going to frame it to look like a thug raccoon killed Owl. I drove up to the spot and led him like a lamb to slaughter. I didn’t have the marbles to kill him to his face, so I closed my eyes and started swinging my neck. With a tear rolling down my neck I slapped Owl into oncoming traffic and he died. I guess that why they called him the night owl.

 Ironically, as I got out of one prison I entered another. They booked me, two life sentences back to back. Luckily, no one in the judicial system knew how to jail a giraffe. I was out in three years, but during my time in the slammer I learned valuable skills. These skills rocketed me forward in my career as a businessman. I delved into the world of business and it changed me for the better. I took my negotiating skills from prison and translated them to the real world. I was a master negotiator and quickly rose through the ranks of car salesmanship. I had found my calling. It was cars. It was my playground of fun and lead me to a happier life. In my new life, business and numbers had replaced drugs and I found myself no longer tempted by the sweet sweet smell of crack cacaine. My new drugs were sales. This is how I lived the rest of my a and it was great. I found a wife settled down, and have been living off the commission of my car sales for 20 years now.

Revision #2

The end is near. Some would say its Christmas time, Rico would disagree. One study has shown that food is good for you, Rico would disagree. Rico is a food critic and is on his way to the top. Ever since he was first introduced into the food culture, he was blown away. From an early age Rico was one of the best chefs in his chef class. He shined like no star before him. Making dishes no one had seen before, such as the dinner plate, lunch plate, and breakfast plate. His teacher started to notices Rico's raw talent and saw something special in him. They began one on one lesson and soon the student became the master. Not long after learning how to cook, Rico was the best in the biz. No longer confined to his old cooking class, Rico left home in search of better and tastier food. He looked far and wide, but alas Rico could not find a place to settle down. For the rest of his years Rico traveled was a nomad. He traveled with the animals and lived off the land. Cooking insane dishes and fixing up meals for the other animals. He was loved wherever he went and more importantly, he made mad dishes. 

Rico had finally found his niche. He was home. From then on, he honed his cooking skills until he was the best in the world. At this time he decided how he compared to the other competition, he went to Las Vegas and competed in Iron Chef. He worked his way though the competition and eventually made it to the finale competition. The only people left were him and Guy Fiere. The two best chefs in the world. It was a cook off that would set the tone for the rest of Rico's life. Guy Fiere won and Rico was destroyed. Rico fell into depression and drugs and that is that.

Revision

The end is near. Some would say its Christmas time, Rico would disagree. One study has shown that food is good for you, Rico would disagree. Rico is a food critic and is on his way to the top. Ever since he was first introduced into the food culture, he was blown away. From an early age Rico was one of the best chefs in his chef class. He shined like no star before him. Making dishes no one had seen before, such as the dinner plate, lunch plate, and breakfast plate. His teacher started to notices Rico's raw talent and saw something special in him. They began one on one lesson and soon the student became the master. Not long after learning how to cook, Rico was the best in the biz. No longer confined to his old cooking class, Rico left home in search of better and tastier food. He looked far and wide, but alas Rico could not find a place to settle down. For the rest of his years Rico traveled was a nomad. He traveled with the animals and lived off the land. Cooking insane dishes and fixing up meals for the other animals. He was loved wherever he went and more importantly, he made mad dishes. 

Rico had finally found his niche. He was home. From then on, he honed his cooking skills until he was the best in the world. At this time he decided how he compared to the other competition, he went to Las Vegas and competed in Iron Chef. He worked his way though the competition and eventually made it to the finale competition. The only people left were him and Guy Fiere. The two best chefs in the world. It was a cook off that would set the tone for the rest of Rico's life. Guy Fiere won and Rico was destroyed. Rico fell into depression and drugs and that is that. Or was it.

After his dreams were crushed Rico was never the same again. His food no longer tasted good and people complained that it tasted like sadness. That was because Rico was sad. Never before had Rico felt sadness quite like this. This was a new level of sadness. Rico would not get over this any time soon. Guy had changed him for better or worse and it definitely was not better. While in this rut of sadness Rico got really fat. He fell in love with food and ate a lot of chocolate. Some say Rico should have died from his food consumption, others praised him for his efforts. Either way, Rico became so overweight he passed out and has been hibernating for the past 20 years. Many people have gone looking for him, but none have yet to find him.

Revision #1

The day came when Rico was no longer accepted as one of his fellow tribe members. To old and too wise for these school boys to play around with, Rico knew it was time to go. So he left his family behind in Africa and started his new life in another part of Africa. Here he would be free to pursue his passions and look for an answer to life’s innermost questions. Contemplating for days questions that deal with time, space, and the final frontier. Rico found himself unbound to the space time continuum. He could travel back and forth through time by trotting at supersonic speeds. This allowed Rico to finally take some time off and get back to the real stuff. With all of this time on his hands he did not know what to do with himself. He realized that he was unique and needed to use his time travel abilities in a way to help others. So, he formed a plan. Rico traveled so far back in time that he was walking with dinosaurs, it had always been a dream of his to see a velociraptor.  Although, he did not know it at the time, those dinosaurs are not good friends. He still tried his hardest and after time he had talked his way into a herd of these animals. At last Rico was one with his kind. He roamed the earth, doing as he pleased with his dinosaur brethren at his side. It seemed Rico was finally happy, it nothing last forever. One day as he was chowing on some leaves, he looked up at the sky, and to his horror, he saw a giant meteor. Right then he knew it was time to leave this time, but he knew he was abandoning all of his fellow dinosaurs. With a heavy heart, he went back home and never looked back. Some say Rico is an animal for what he did, they would be right. He is a giraffe.

Revision #1

The day came when Rico was no longer accepted as one of his fellow tribe members. To old and too wise for these school boys to play around with, Rico knew it was time to go. So he left his family behind in Africa and started his new life in another part of Africa. Here he would be free to pursue his passions and look for an answer to life’s innermost questions. Contemplating for days questions that deal with time, space, and the final frontier. Rico found himself unbound to the space time continuum. He could travel back and forth through time by trotting at supersonic speeds. This allowed Rico to finally take some time off and get back to the real stuff. With all of this time on his hands he did not know what to do with himself. He realized that he was unique and needed to use his time travel abilities in a way to help others. So, he formed a plan. Rico traveled so far back in time that he was walking with dinosaurs, it had always been a dream of his to see a velociraptor.  Although, he did not know it at the time, those dinosaurs are not good friends. He still tried his hardest and after time he had talked his way into a herd of these animals. At last Rico was one with his kind. He roamed the earth, doing as he pleased with his dinosaur brethren at his side. It seemed Rico was finally happy, it nothing last forever. One day as he was chowing on some leaves, he looked up at the sky, and to his horror, he saw a giant meteor. Right then he knew it was time to leave this time, but he knew he was abandoning all of his fellow dinosaurs. With a heavy heart, he went back home and never looked back. Some say Rico is an animal for what he did, they would be right. He is a giraffe.
Once Rico got home he was never the same, people treated him as a king, but he knew he did not deserve the attention. Rico got it in his head that he was a loser and as a loser he could not be a ruler. He left home for the second and last time in his life. Knowing that when he left he would never come back. He left a note to his village and left. Rico was bound for freedom, bound for the US of A. He was going to make it big time on the local comedy circuit. He knew he was funny but man was this guy good. He started a local clubs and became a usual, just like old Seinfield, except better. Rico was the best and still is today. Some say he is still telling jokes today in the deepest parts of New York City.

Rico Sanchez: The Food is Served

The end is near. Some would say its Christmas time, Rico would disagree. One study has shown that food is good for you, Rico would disagree. Rico is a food critic and is on his way to the top. Ever since he was first introduced into the food culture, he was blown away. From an early age Rico was one of the best chefs in his chef class. He shined like no star before him. Making dishes no one had seen before, such as the dinner plate, lunch plate, and breakfast plate. His teacher started to notices Rico's raw talent and saw something special in him. They began one on one lesson and soon the student became the master. Not long after learning how to cook, Rico was the best in the biz. No longer confined to his old cooking class, Rico left home in search of better and tastier food. He looked far and wide, but alas Rico could not find a place to settle down. For the rest of his years Rico traveled was a nomad. He traveled with the animals and lived off the land. Cooking insane dishes and fixing up meals for the other animals. He was loved wherever he went and more importantly, he made mad dishes. 

Rico had finally found his niche. He was home. From then on, he honed his cooking skills until he was the best in the world. At this time he decided how he compared to the other competition, he went to Las Vegas and competed in Iron Chef. He worked his way though the competition and eventually made it to the finale competition. The only people left were him and Guy Fiere. The two best chefs in the world. It was a cook off that would set the tone for the rest of Rico's life. Guy Fiere won and Rico was destroyed. Rico fell into depression and drugs and that is that.

Look at this photograph, every time it makes me laugh.

This is
me and my pals
having a good time
on an MSU field trip
throwing care to the wind
and taking a picture with clowns
This is having fun on a day off
and talking a quality picture.
This a couple of clowns

This is
me bonding
with some of my pals
and a few strangers.
This is me preparing for the future
and getting ever closer to college.