Famous Last Words: Week 1

(image Information: Annie and I studying earlier in
the break for the PCAT; a personal photo from December
2014)

Although the Spring semester hasn't technically started, I have been busy. This break, starting with the week after finals, I bought a PCAT book from Kaplan in order to prepare for my PCAT (Pharmacy College Admission Test). I spent the the entire break studying, and then on January 7th I took the PCAT. After four hours I finished the test and got my preliminary test results. The results gave me a composite percentile ranking in the 94th percentile, so I was very happy about that; Since then, I have spent most of my time trying to get ahead for this class so that I don't feel overwhelmed once my lecture classes start. I am very appreciative that I get to take this class and spend time reading things that I will have an interest in.

While I have been hard at work this break, I have also had time to have some great experiences and spend time with family. I went to my mom’s mom’s house (she lives in Lone Oak, Texas) with my younger brother and sister and we spent a couple days out there just playing games and spending time together. Then, my dad, sister, and brother went up to Tulsa to be with my dad’s family. That is where we were for Christmas and everything there was great; we usually spend Christmas up there so it was nothing out of the ordinary for me. Then, after Christmas my dad took me on a trip to Washington so we could see the Winter Classic. We spent about a week out there and saw all kinds of cool museums and things. I was sad when we had to leave, but I was ready to come home. When we got back to Flower Mound, I packed up all my things and headed back for Norman, so I could finish preparing for the PCAT.

This break was great, but I wish I could have spent a little more time with some of my friends in Flower Mound and seen a couple more basketball games there.

UnTextbook plan

(Image Information: A cover to one of the many
translations to Ovid's Metamorphoses; Source:
PaperBackSwap)

Week 2: Ovid I

For weeks two and three, I will read both weeks about Classical Greece. I was hoping to get to read and learn more about many Greek myths.

Week 3: Ovid II

My only disappointment about reading the second part of the Metamorphoses is that I won't get to read part III next week.

Week 4: Ancient Egypt

Following up with Ovid, I am interested to read more myths from a different culture.

Week 5: Tales of Bidpai

Since I am pretty impartial either way, I will choose my second week to be about India. While these are more fables than myths, I am still looking forward to them.

Week 6: Japanese Mythology

Week 7: Brer Rabbit

Week 8: ---

Week 9: Alaska (Judson)

Week 10: Tejas Stories

Week 11: Canterbury Tales

Week 12: Celtic Tales

Week 13: Dante's Inferno

Week 14: Grimm (Ashliman)

3 Storybook Favorites

Just going down the line of storybooks to look over, I stopped first at Cupid on Trial. It didn’t seem like anything super flashy, but was interesting enough for me to click on it. Then, looking through the introduction I thought the idea of Cupid being on trial, Judge Judy style, and using witnesses (i.e. Psyche, Cupid, Jupiter, and Venus) was a very interesting way to tell the stories that relate to Cupid. The layout of the actual storybook was good enough to get the job done and the side bar on the left gave you shortcuts to different “stories” from the witnesses.

Next, scrolling a little further down I came across Planet of the Cats. I thoroughly enjoy anything to do with cats, so this quickly caught my attention. Even if the layout of the page looked bad, I would still have read through the storybook, but the layout of the page actually looked very cool and inviting. The backstory is entertaining and a good segue to talk about the Book of Lyras and all of the ancient myths it contains. A for all of the work on the layout, but A++ for the inclusion of cats.

Finally, looking for one more storybook I scrolled down for a while until I found Greek Game Show. Another original idea of incorporating some mythological knowledge into a game show. Because I personally enjoy watching game shows and participating in trivia every now and then, this storybook appealed to me in a way it may not to others. The layout is not as nice as the Planet of the Cats, but is still good and makes it easy to navigate the entire storybook.

All three of these storybooks were very cool and different from one another. Obviously my favorite is the Planet of the Cats.

(Image Information: image on the front page of
Planet of the Cats; Lion Emblem Noble, by:
Lockheart23; Source: DeviantArt)

Introduction: Me sort of...

• My name is Stoffel Strange
• I was born in Arlington, Texas, on November 11, 1993
• I am a junior at OU
• I am majoring in Biochemistry
• I do research on the south campus for Dr. Charles Rice
• I volunteer at Norman Regional Hospital every Wednesday night from six to nine P.M.
• I played basketball in high school and still enjoy playing at the huff in my spare time
• I have two cats (pictured below) named Velma and Annie; they are both about ten months old
• I like to sit around with my cats and watch netflix. Even though I’ve seen every episode a million times, I still cannot get enough of The Office
• After graduation, I plan to attend pharmacy school but I haven't decided where yet
  
  

  

  (Image Information: Velma (black and white fatty) is
  squishing Annie (orange) while she tries to relax in
  her favorite chair; personal photo from January 2015)

  
  

I don't really like to talk about myself so I'm just going to filibuster the rest of this blog post by telling you that while I'm writing this I'm watching college basketball. Connecticut is playing against Cincinnati in Connecticut. Neither team is ranked in the AP Top 25, but both teams have enough quality and seniority on their team to make it to the dance in March. Actually, the game just ended and Connecticut won 62-56. Their senior star Ryan Boatright had 18 points and 8 assists. Now I'm turning on Kentucky (the number one team in the nation) at Texas A&M and Texas A&M is actually winning. After Alex Robinson just scored he put the Aggies up 28-17 but there is still a lot of time left (5:15 in the first half). Im excited later today to watch the New England Patriots play the Baltimore Ravens. I don’t really care for either team but I enjoy watching most sports in general. This is now 300 words long. yay!

Week 1 Storytelling: (Not) Belling the Cat

In a house upon a hill lived many mice. The mice had lived there for years, enjoying all the milk and cheese they could handle, until one day a cat came to live in the house. The cat, growing weary of travelling and scavenging for food thought maybe she could find a new start in the house upon the hill.

Upon entering the house the cat found a kitchen filled with enough milk to last the cat a lifetime. Next to the milk were a couple mice enjoying a chunk of aged cheddar. The cat, as if she were shot out of a cannon, pounced on the unsuspecting mice and ate them in a single gulp. She then continued into the living room where she ate five more before devouring another five in the bedroom. 

(Image Information: A Cat in the Kitchen;
a personal photo from June 2014)

By nightfall, the mice were beginning to worry that this new cat may completely annihilate them. Realizing they did not have another second to waste, the remaining mice gathered to discuss what should be done about their new enemy.

“Maybe we should find a new home by the sea or in a city,” one mouse suggested. “Maybe the cat is lonely and actually only wants a friend,” another voice considered. Finally, one bright young mouse suggested they simply put a belled-collar on the cat. The young cat said if the cat wore a bell, then they would always be able to hear the cat coming.

Murmurs turned to shouts, and the once hush crowd grew louder and louder. As the noise grew, so did their confidence. Unfortunately, they grew too confident and the cat, napping after his meal, overheard them.

The cat crept from the bedroom to where the meeting of the mice was taking place. Taking the unprepared mice by surprise, the cat proceeded to eat every last mouse in the house upon the hill.

Author's Note

This story is based on Aesop's fable, "Belling the Cat". In the story, the mice need to find a way to save themselves from the cat, so a young mouse suggests they put a bell on the cat so that they will always be able to hear the cat when it is near. Then, an older mouse applauds the younger's idea but asks, "Who will bell the cat?". The moral of this fable is, "It is one thing to say that something should be done, but quite a different matter to do it".

Bibliography

"Belling the Cat" from Aesop for Children, by anonymous, with pictures by Milo Winter (1919) Web Source: The Project Gutenberg

Home (Favorite Place)

My favorite place to be is at home.

(Image information: personal photo Early Morning
Shenanigans with Velma; photo from November 2014)