This time of the month is very hectic and confusing especially with the snow and ice on the ground. Since i have a job and actually have money to buy people gifts this year i have to go out and wait on all the lines to find gifts fro people and it is not that easy. Although i have a license i do not have a car to get from place to place and back again. I hope this year i get a car for Christmas it is the only thing i want and need. I have a feeling i wont be getting that this year because times are tough for everyone in this economy this year and i understand completely so i won't be mad if i dont get one.

These last two weeks have been extremely long starting last week with Thanksgiving. having to run from two different houses for two different dinners. Black Friday was ling being that i was up all night in order to get my girlfriends gift. then i had work from 5-9. Then this week i have been bombarded with work and having to help my family decorate for the holidays. now today i have to help decorate again and help my great aunt with her work =. hopefully work on friday will be easy and i can end the week nicely.

     This weekend was really interesting and was annoying all at the same time. Starting the weekend off i had work Friday night. I work at Jimmy Max from 5 to either 9,10, or 11 depending on the night and whose turn it is to get off first. Although i dread going to work every week its something i have to do to show my parents that i am responsible and to have my own pocket money to use and to take my girlfriend out. It also pays good i get paid $5 and hour plus i get tips so i walk out making $50+.
     While at work i had already made plans with my girlfriend for Saturday. We were going to the movies to see the new Hunger Games movie "Catching Fire." All night i thought about how nice it would be for the two of us to go out. The next day at around 8:30 we went to the theater to get seats and the place was packed. The movie was amazing and i would defiantly go see it again. the first one was good but this one was 10 times better then it. i just did not like the way it ended leaving u at suspense especially because you would have to wait almost a whole year for the next one to come out.
     The next day was not so great i was waken up really early to go with my family to some of the Christmas fairs and to walk around with them. I was excited because later that day was the Giants games one of the biggest games of the year which they had to win. I rushed home and turned the game on at 4:25 and sat there with my girlfriend and family in hope the Giants would win. As the game drew to a close the Giants had tied the game with under 2 minutes remaining. Unfortunately the Giants did not win a lost by 3 points in the last 4 seconds of the game which ruined my night.    

     This year has been completely different from my past 3 years in High School. This year I have experienced a lot of changes in my life not only in school but out do school as well. Also this year I have began to look into colleges and see what career I want to do for the rest of my life. I am not use to any of this it is hard to comprehend it all because this year is happening so fast it's already almost half way over.
     Outside of school my life has changed as well. I finally reached my goal and got my license, something I have been working on since the end of last year, when I started drivers ed. My next step is getting my car and I will be set and accomplished my goals. Also another big change is I met my girlfriend Corrine, which really changed my life and she helps me keep my mind straight and focused on what I have to do. Also she has helped me change my personality from someone who was constantly grumpy to someone who cracks a smile everyone once and a while.
     Overall this year a has been a big reality check on what is to come in the following years in my life.  I feel I am maturing faster and better with my head straight and held high as I am ready to move on into college. Nothing I'm life is easy and there will be ups and downs but I must keep my mind focuses and do what I have to do in order to become successful in college and my career. It just seems really scary that in a less then a year I'll be in college and looking for a job to begin the hardest part of my life.

     In my final months of High School i want to learn things that will actually help me when i get into college and when i graduate and begin my life. Right now all we learn is knowledge that we would need in order to pass a regent at the end of the year. We don't learn how to cash a check or fill out a bank slip or even how to find a decent job and understand the true value of money in the world today. We get these classes that are useless to us and pass them but when we go out into the world they mean absolutely nothing to anyone.

     When i get to college i know the work load is going to be a lot heavier and a lot harder. The classes there will actually help me in life and get me some where someday. The knowledge i will acquire will actually mean something to someone one day and it will get me a job and i can live my life how i want to live. High School is meaningless when you come to think of it we gain pointless knowledge that won't get us anywhere in life except pass a test that is also meaningless. 

     The only class that will actually help me in life is Ms Vendra's Statistics and finance class. This class will teach me how to balance a check book or looking into buying a house or a car. This class will also come in handed in college when i take a statistics class there and already know how to do most of the problems and topics. Unfortunately i only take this class for one year and will not have enough time to learn it all i wish i had it for all four years of my High School career or at least classes like it.

        I work best two different ways based on the Harvard researcher. One way I learn best is Logical which involves using numbers and number sequencing to fully understand certain topics. When it comes to certain subjects like math, and science I learn better when I use logical thinking. Since in those subject numbers are the most important things to understand. I like having all the information in front of me and I have to read it to find my answers. I find it much easier to understand something when it’s in a chart in front of me.

     The other way I learn is Interpersonal which means I like working in groups. I only like working in small groups not in groups more than 3 because then I feel the others will get distracted. When working in small groups I can ask others for help if I get stuck so I could use the others to keep me on track. Sometimes I myself can get distracted and need others help to keep me focused.

The first research assignment I can remember having to do was an assignment on Global warming. I did the project in middle school at IS 75 while I was on the Robotics Team. I believe I was in 7^th grade when I did this project. I cannot remember if I did any research projects in elementary school it is too far back too remember. I remember that most people were not truly informed about global warming and that daily the world is being seriously affected by this phenomenon.

      This project was not selected by my group we were given the topic by the league and had to research the topic as part of the contest. Our teacher and many other teachers helped us gain knowledge on the topic as we learned a lot more then we had ever known. Our librarian had helped us by given us a chance to use the school library to do research. She showed us how to use the internet, databases and new articles to research our topic.

     I enjoyed doing that project because behind the research project we had to create Lego robotics to perform tasks that could represent a real life object to counter and make a change to the problem is the world. So this research project was somewhat hands on and experimental. That year my team would go on to the state championship and come in 3^rd place. The judging was based not only on the robotics but a big part was the research project. The research weighted heavily on the scoring so our research had to be really good.

Blog 1

     The last time I did a research project was last year in my Us History Class last year with Ms Mangiero. This assignment was for a contest to win a free trip to Italy. I have to compare the Library of Congress to the San Marco Library and how they connect to the birth of America and the Italian Renaissance. It had to be an informational essay so I had to use various forms of information and use different databases to gather this info. I had explored many different website some not being in English but in Italian.

     While writing this essay I felt confident when I wrote it because I knew what I was writing about. The directions were fully explained we had to write a research essay about The San Marco Library and The Library of Congress the Italian Renaissance and the Birth of America. The topic however was not selected by me or my teacher. The topic was chosen by the Foundation running the contest for the free Italy trip. Although I did not know much about the topic I had to do a lot of research to be able to understand what I was writing.

    

     I thought writing this essay was extremely interesting to learn about another time in history and how it relates to how America was born. The essay was not hard to write it was just a lot of research since I had a broad perspective of the topic so it was a little challenging but in the end I ended up winning the contest but I did not take the opportunity to go away to Italy.