Stories and stuff

DISCLAIMER: I'm not held accountable of any mistakes this post may contain. I just woke up.

It seems that years have passed since the last time I've posted something. It is not that I didn't want to - I'm always looking forward to writing something interesting - but I simply did not find the inspiration I've talked about previously. This lack of inspiration, accompanied with low sugar in my body and the mixed feelings about ending the career and not ending it at the same time created in me a feeling of undecisiveness for pretty much everything; it goes from the clothes I'm going to wear on the day to the final version I want to upload of the short story.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi bodies!

This post is just for you to know which are (in my opinion) the best tools to work with as regards the short story, which pages I've used, the other pages I've found related to it, and, of course, to shamelessly promote my group's story.

Calameo: When I first heard of it, I thought this would be a platform in which we would be able to write the story, make artwork for it and publish it. When I used it, I found out it was only for publishing and reading. It is very simple to upload and share, but the virtual kindle is not too comfortable to read, and since we have to get premium in order to allow other users to download, well...

Canva: Excellent platform, very friendly user and in three steps you have a cover artwork for your book. Choose the colour, the picture and the font for your title and there you go. www.canva.com

Booksie: Easier to write than Calameo, but harder for uploading pictures. Since I'd already uploaded the story to calameo, it seemed pointless to me to place the pictures of the story on a server to publish it to make it look nicer and appealing... no. Here's the other version of the story without the pictures. Short and sweet.

Storybird: "Storybird doesn't offer personal uploads. Our particular niche is inspiring people with gorgeous illustrations and focusing them on unlocking the stories hidden in the art. We've found this to be a tremendously exciting way to inspire the most reluctant writers and readers. If you're looking to use your own art, take a peek at services like Mixbook, Tikatok, and Shutterfly. Bookmaking service Blurb is also worth checking. They may be more suitable for the project you have in mind."

Storybird was very clear with its description. I couldn't have said it better. Anyway, Tikatok.com is not free, Shutterfly.com and Mixbook.com are only for artwork, Bookmaking service of Blurb is a pain in the ass because everything has to be in pdf format and with the same dimensions (but if you want to give it a try anyway, Zamza.com is an excellent site to convert .docx to .pdf) and finally, Lulu.com gets your book published (also in pdf) but it's not free to read. If you want to read it, you have to buy it. So I retired it ofc.


Those are pretty much the tools and the recommendations that I have for all of you who have not yet published the story. Have a nice day.

Your life would benefit from reading our story. And probably also sleeping and exercise, but you do you. Go ahead and read it:
https://www.booksie.com/525145-groomed
https://es.calameo.com/read/00534369750914aae352f

Inspiration

Hello everyone.

This I'm writing right now comes out of the blue. It is about how inspiration is born in one's mind (well, my mind actually) and, to whoever reads this, I'd like to know their stories and what they have to share.

WHAT IS INSPIRATION?

If I have to look up for the definition, inspiration comes from outside of ourselves. It comes from the Latin word "inspirare" and suggests that something "breathes life into" us. If I have to look up for a picture of inspiration I'm one hundred percent sure I am going to find someone staring at the horizon with a random description in a fancy font.

As I thought, I googled "where does inspiration come from" and this was one of the first results. I can see the future, yay.

But if I have to talk about myself and how I get inspired, things are kind of different from what the definition tells us; or at least I see it that way.

Anyway...

I have always been an avid reader of novels of almost every genre; even though I have certain preferencies as regards genres, everything that can feed my vocabulary is more than welcome to my bookshelf.

As an opposite to what I have mentioned above, I am not a writer, but what is curious to me is that it is not because I don't want, or because I don't like it; it is because I never get the inspiration I need.
Countless times have I had stories in my head, based on pretty much everything. I imagine it, dream and daydream about it, prepare it, set the paper and the pen up and then... nothing. It is as if an imaginary wall blocked everything I have thought of and prevented me from writing it. As a matter of fact, I've had to come back several times to this post in order to, kind of, force my inspiration to write it.
What is curious to me is that there are certain times at which I get inspired, but it is when I get sad. But not sad in the "I am not in the mood" way. When I say sad I mean it.
I wrote my short story when I was in second year (the one that we are supposed to hand in in third) and it really helped me to go over the situation. In that story I could mix a topic that was really interesting for me at that time, combined with a protagonist that reflects a version of me that I'd never like to become and a setting that helped with the wordplay. I showed it to a lot of people and they told me they liked it (maybe they were trying not to hurt my feelings or maybe they really liked it) but what was more important for me was the feeling of accomplishing a goal, mixed with a little bit of pride for the first written piece of mine that I really liked.

I also wrote some (lame) poems when I was in secondary school, the ones that reflect self - despise mixed with bullying Red Bull, Coke, Fulbitos and and incredible ability to leave everything important aside to start writing.

It is curious how I had to hit rock bottom in order to be able to do something that I really like. Maybe I'm afraid, maybe I'm anxious and want to finish a 30.000+ word story without having written the first one (exactly the same as when I post). The fact is, as I'm writing this, the idea of the story I have had in my mind for a long time goes  from one wall of the brain to the other.
As with my guitar, which I can't play if I don't feel like, I think writing for pleasure can never be forced too.

Ironic that I've written this for pleasure, tho.
Have a nice weekend.

Reading

Disclaimer

Please use caution before reading this lame post. Please do not use any products which contain caffeine or any stimulants before reading this.
If you have panophobia, you shouldn't be reading this
Have a nice wednesday

Hello, this is my reading story. No pictures today because this was written entirely on my phone. No regrets

AGE 4 ---------- So the first book I remember reading was one called "Ami" I can't remember the plot, the author or even the protagonist's name (Ami was an alien, but the protagonist was a kid) but I surely remember the effect it produced on me; it was the first book ever to generate emotions within me  (And I don't even remember what those emotions were)

AGE 6 ----------- When I turned six, my dad's friend gave me Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as a present (I had previously read HP 3 and 4). From that moment on I became a disgusting Harry Potter fan, taking the books with me everywhere I went

AGE 12 ----------My orange lime tree was lent to me by an aunt and strongly recommended by my mom. It was an excellently written autobiography, told as if it was a tale. But I have to admit that it didn't create in me that feeling of tenderness everyone talked about. I guess it must be because I'm not a father tho.

AGE 13 ---------- One hundred years of solitude; I was told not to read it because it was for adults and I wouldn't understand it. Now THAT is what I call a piece of advice, because it helped me to foster my imagination (and curiosity, obviously) to get this book and understand it
PS: I actually had to read it twice

AGE 14: --------- Attila, the Scourge of God. Thisone was lent to me by a literature teacher, and with this book I learned how fascinating history can be if told in the right way. It is about the story of the leader of the Huns, Attila, and the journey of a young writer who has to face him... and bla bla.

AGE 15--------- With the release of Harry Potter 6 in 2010 I broke my own record by reading 600+ pages in two days (caffeine overdose effects aside)

AGE 16----------- My literature teacher from 2n year took me and the other bunch of savage misfits (my classmates) to a beautiful journey through compulsory literature for secondary school. He inroduced the stories in a way that forced you to read the book because you couldn't handle curiosity. That's how I discovered The Divine Comedy, which generated in me sme kind of love/hate/love because two of the three parts were excellent and the last one was boring as heaven (bad pun, but literally it was very boring)

AGE 19--------- This short story called Body and Soul by John Wyndham was one of the most mindblowing stories I've ever read and I strongly reccomend it to anyone, regardless of their favourite genre

AGE 20--------- There were other books (a lot) which I had to read at the prof; this gave me mixed feelings because they were books which I would have enjoyed if I hadn't been forced to read them: this made me hate and love the book at the same time.

Eg: Dracula, The Hobbit

Normal Tuesday

So basically I was going to add a new gadget today. It is called AdSense and it gives you the opportunity to monetize your blog. It is as simple as getting paid for being visited; and according to my calculations, if I had added it when I first created the blog, and based on the number of views I've received up to date, I would have earned the enormous sum of 4.14 dollars. Pretty neat IMO.

But censorship striked once again and my editor (??????) was banned for no reason. So goodbye to the illusion of earning 0.01 dollars per visit

Anyway, the real post begins below this line

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello there. Since the topic for this week was "free topic" I've decided to tell you what my next projects will be. I can imagine your faces - oh my god, what is he going to do now?- eager to know what my intentions are for these holidays; well, suffer no more, because here they are.

• FL Studio 12: It is basically a software (which costed me a lot to crack) to create music. I tend to listen to calm beats - hip hop beats, and stuff - if I am stressed because it helps me to slow down and relax. It is pretty hard to master, and I am just a beginner, but I hope I will get the hang of it and create better content, content that will make me feel... good. I hope.
• Adobe Character Animator: This is a very interesting software that is intended to be used for the creation of fancy, animated characters. I got the idea from One Minute Physics' videos (which are VERY detailed, interesting and well explained) and I wanted to try it on my own. Good lessons are paid, and looooooong lessons are free, so I guess I will have to do it the hard way, once again. 

Finally, this video is an example of what my holidays (or so called holidays, since I still have to go to work) are going to look like. It is a recording of my PC doing the stuff mentioned above

PS: I am not really sure, but I think the real post is shorter than the introduction

PS2: If you read the whole thing and watched the whole video, I owe you a chocolate

"...eager to know what my intentions are..." I wonder who the hell would care about something like that, and I also wonder when did my level of self-esteem grow up.

Anyway, have a nice last week. Cya

SLA

DISCLAIMER

You're about to witness the apotheosis of Blogger editing. By watching past this point you accept that I cannot be legally prosecuted for any injury that may occur, due to hardcore blogspot addiction. Once you realize that Blogger is flawless in every aspect, doing anything but writing will seem pointless.

No, I wasn't paid by blogger to write that introduction

Everyone has his/her own way of learning. A different pace, different strategies, different everything. And when it comes to talk about my process of learning English, it gets confusing. Not because English is confusing; how I got to learn it is what puzzles me.

People say that if you start from the beginning, stories get way easier to tell. Not my case, but here we go.

I remember learning my first words in English when I was three. I was watching Tom and Jerry with my parents and when the chapter ended, the words "The end" appeared on the screen, and I asked them "The end" means "el fin"? They said yes, and there wasn't much more to say.

I realized later (way later) that I was able to get the meaning of those words without anyone explaining me. Was it logic? Was it subconscious  learning? I'll never know.

Then, some years later, a famous card game, based on a TV series, appeared in Argentina. The original card deck was in English, and I used to play with my cousins, but they couldn't get a single word, so I sat and translated, dictionary in hand, card by card (of course, I conveniently twisted the meaning of the words in order to win). This was when I was eight.

Two years later, music and videogames were the trend in my 2x2 cubicle called room, and everything was in English. Not because my parents intendedly got me stuff in English, but because it seemed more original to me. At this time, I wasn't fully conscious that I could understand pretty much everything within simple structures in these games or songs without having anything but colours in English at school. So I assumed everyone would learn just like me.

Then, the messenger era started. My sister had added a guy in Sweden, "Alexander Johannson" and used to talk to him. He was eleven, and so was I, and since my sister didn't know a single word in English, I had to sit and write to him what she wanted to say.

And finally, what paved the road to the teachers training college - along with music and videogames - was Omegle. This site -not advisable for everyone - is a videocalling site where you can talk to anyone in the world, as long as you have a webcam. I found myself talking in English with people in India, Switzerland, Romania, and many other countries. It was a great experience, and I still keep some friends from those times.

So why am I writing this?

First, because I have a working keyboard. Second, because I am not used to be proud of myself, but this is the exception; I never dealt with any topic at school that wasn't present simple or loose vocabulary, and still, I was able to start this career. Third, and I really hope this doesn't sound arrogant, but I think, looking back at my process, that I was luckily able to really acquire the language, since no one taught me until I got in the prof and I was able to handle it properly.

Hey there

It's been quite a while since the last time I posted a reflection... or basically anything on my blog. So I am going to share something that may be useful for someone... or no one. It's about how I study.
Short and sweet, I can't start studying, let's say, the week before the exam because I am not used to do it in that way. It never worked for me; actually, the only time I took several days to study, I failed miserably. So, for most of the exams, I study the day before, or even the same day, if the amount of topics allows me to do so.
There are also other things that play a vital role in my preparation pre-exam, listed below

• Pepsi: because one can never have his caffeine level too high... right?
• Music: essential. The louder, the better (seriously, it helps me concentrate)
• Chips: basically anything to eat, but if it is something salad, better
• Bubbl.us: This is a page in which I brainstorm pretty much everything of what my summaries are going to be about. It is a great page, though the previous interface was far more user-friendly, but it is still good.
• Games: If I overdose with texts, It all gets mixed up in my head. I tend to mix up terms, authors, dates, facts, etc. So I need to distract myself like... every hour. It helps me not to overstress with what I am studying. This is crucial for my final exams, because I do get nervous, even though I don't look like, and if I don't put my head somewhere else in between the studying process, I get yellow in the face. Seriously. Ask anyone who has seen me before Culture III final exam.

Finally, this is an example of what you may hear when studying with me.

That's it. Have a nice Sunday

Happiness

It's been a long time since I posted something.
So, some weeks ago I found this app, called "History Calendar" which attracted me a lot, since I love history; I repeatedly smashed the download button until I got it in my phone. When I went into the settings, I found that they were looking for some help with the Spanish translation, and I offered myself saying "why not?" I mean, I didn't have anything to lose.
The following day I received an e-mail saying that my help was needed and... short long story, here's the result:

The last picture describes pretty much how I felt after reading that, so... that's it. Enjoy your week.

Why the counter? Because it makes me feel special. It is not that I actually enjoy seeing it rolling up, it is simply because no one else has it (for now). This gives me a feeling of uniqueness, even though the fact of the matter is that, at the core of my existence, I’m really... exactly like everybody else. But that fact scares me so I put the visit counter to make myself feel like I really am a special snowflake.

That’s it, I’ve gotten my bi-weekly existential crisis out of the way. 

Have a nice weekend!

Reflect... page 35

Hi again, I was not very inspired for this one, so don't judge me if it's not well. Also, i hit my pinky toe against a piece of furniture. It is not relevant for the activity but it sure is for my current mood. 

See you today!

Schema building	The students are presented a map of a city they know: Ingeniero Maschwitz. They have to point out the places that they know, such as markets, restaurants, squares, etc.
Controlled practice	The teacher starts acting as a “guide” of the city showing the students where those buildings are but using prepositions. The kids then will write some sentences with these examples
Authentic listening or reading practice	In this step, the students will have to listen to an audio of two friends in the city speaking about what they have in their to-do lists. Both of them will talk about where they have to go and explain where those places are.
Focus on linguistic elements	In this step, the students will focus only on the prepositions (always with the map as a reminder) and fill in the gaps with the correspondent preposition
Provide freer practice	The students can select those places they would like to visit and exchange opinions with their classmates. If the classmates don’t know where they are, the student can explain it with prepositions
Introduce pedagogical task	Tour guide. The students will be divided in four groups, and each group will be assigned a zone of the city. They will have to explain what can we find in their zone, if there are hospitals, restaurants, parks, etc. and how to find them using prepositions.

Reflect... page 31

So, the idea was to take two pedagogical tasks and elaborate them in terms of macrofunctions and microfunctions.
A nice and friendly piece of advice to all of you... Don't ever do this at 5 AM.

See ya

PD: For some reason, the lines of the chart do not appear in this blog theme. I had a mind struggle deciding between an awesome theme or the lines of a chart... and yes, I do have these kind of mind struggles.

Tasks	Macrofunctions	Microfunctions	Grammar
Treasure hunt: In this activity, the kids  have to look for hidden clues in the classroom and in the playground. These clues will lead them to the treasure	Interpersonal -Teamwork	Understanding prepositions (The following clue is behind a big rock)	In, on, under, next to, behind, between.
Talk about yourself: the typical beginning-of-the-year activity. The idea is that you introduce yourself to your classmates so they get to know you	Interpersonal - Socializing	Fluency, lack of inhibition	Expressions: My name is... I am... I live in.... I come from....

So... I found myself bored on Sunday and decided to check my PC folders... to see what was there to delete, in order to make some space. I found this image (which was saved, say, three years ago) and I knew this was my opportunity. I saved it because I knew it would be of a use someday so... here it is.

Have a nice Sunday and happy workers day!

Welcome!

Hi everyone, this is my first post and... it feels weird. I guess I'll get used to it as time passes by.
I really want our blogs to help us understand the language, discover new facts and interesting stuff, and also help us with the subject as well.
Whenever you want to come to this site, feel free to do so.
Best wishes.