Autobiography

Wake forest is an in between town. It used to be a small town, but it has grown exponentially in the last ten years. Most of the people who have moved to Wake Forest in these last few years are like me, from the North. Even though this area seems to be systematically losing its southern heritage, there are still a few people who were born and raised here who hold on to it. At school there would be trucks in the parking lot that were jacked up and had giant tires. They would have the confederate flag on them somewhere. Everyone who drove these trucks was members of FFA. However, most people did not actively participate in FFA. There were a few who went to the competitions, but most were only around to go to the meetings, which always had free pizza. Unless it was fall, then people would get into the state fair free on school days. I haven’t seen strong southern influence in the community that I live in. Even people who were born here don’t seem overwhelmingly southern.

rough draft

Southern writing presents themes that are part of southern tradition. A tradition that generally involves a strong sense of religion and family and even one for the rebel cause stemming from the civil war. Mason’s story “Drawing Names” uses the ideas of southern family, whereas, Horwitz, in the chapter “Dying for Dixie,” discusses southern pride by way of the civil war. Although both of these authors present a different aspect of southern culture, they both present the idea that in recent generations this culture is fading.
Stereotypical southern family and comfort usually refers to a large family sitting down to a nice, big, home cooked meal. This meal would include such things as biscuits, gravy, and fried foods, and they would always thank the lord before eating. Mason, in his story “Drawing Names”, presents these themes, which tells the reader that this is a southern family. He starts by creating a large family; there are sixteen people, spanning four generations, at this Christmas dinner. By including so many people, the author is creating this stereotypical large southern family. To further the image, the reader is informed of the mother’s habit of making too much food. At the beginning of the story, Carolyn and he mother discuss baked ham, and her mother gives away the fact that they frequently eat it fried. On top of it all, Carolyn makes a comment about the prayer that is said before the meal, thus incorporating many important southern themes.
Even though Mason applies these themes to his story, he includes further details that imply that the, once prominent southern traditions, are now fading. Although he presents this a large, spanning family, he includes details to show that this family dynamic is diminishing. Even though the parents have had a hard life, they managed to stay together. Staying together is the traditional thing. Because of that tradition, it upsets her father when Carolyn’s marriage fails. It is also because of this tradition that Iris goes out of her way to make everything in her marriage appear like it is well. In reality, she is in the process of getting a divorce and puts extra strain on herself trying to hide it.
Not only are the failing marriages a sign that the southern tradition is changing, but also the fact that the youngest sister, Laura Jean, is living with a man that she is not married to. The family has a big problem with this even though Jim, the man she is living with, is nice to the family. He attempts to win over their affections by bringing them bourbon and boiled custard. This only further agitated the family because it was not proper; the mother was slightly against drinking.
Pappy was the oldest member at the Christmas dinner. At one point, he told the family that in the old days the men would eat first, then the children, and finally the women. The family obviously doesn’t do that anymore as the all sit down together for dinner. Carolyn also noticed that the family no longer asked Pappy to say the prayer for the meal anymore showing a separation from the older generation.
Horwitz presents the south from a different angle; he emphasizes southern pride that stems from the civil war. In the chapter “Dying for Dixie” from the book Confederates in the Attic, he presents the issue over flying the rebel flag. Once the symbol of the southern confederacy, it is now hung on the back of a truck because they matched. Michael Westerman was killed for flying the flag and was treated like a war hero. His justification for flying the flag was that he had grown up with it and it was just something he had. He welded a pole on to his truck because the flag matched his truck. He had no real concern about the civil war or what the south fought for. It was just a flag he got when he was a small child.

autobiography

I was not born in the south, and it's been debated on whether or not I'm truely a northerner. I was born and grew up in Delaware. Now that I live in the south, I say that I am a northern. I moved to Wake Forest when I was fourteen. There was been some bits of the southern culture that I have seen and others that I have managed to avoid. I have seen the religous aspect of southern live. I have friends who go to church every sunday morning and have a big dinner afterwards. None of them really have a big familys, but some still have several generations living in the same area. Because i moved to an area where many other northerners were coming to, I see a more northern influenced society then true southern. I am used to hearing a light southern accent, but I don't normal hear a heavy southern acent. I probably couldn't understand one if I did. I feel bad, but sometimes i still laugh at a few of the words that my friends say.

Response

I liked the drawing names story. It appealed to different southern ideals then the first two chapters that i read. In the first two chapters, they mainly focused on southern pride and how it relates to the confederatcy. In Drawing Names, it appealed more to the southern family traditions. Here, it is a large family who still meets at the parent's house for chirstmas dinner. There are four generations and the mother still makes too much food. In the story, because the family didin't have enough money, they had to make a different tradition, drawing names. The mother, used to the tradition of everyone buying something for everyone else, still doesn't like the new tradition. The large family is a big issue; it hurt her father when her marriage fell apart. Her sister put extra stress on herself to appear that her marriage was working when it wasn't. The emphasis that the family put on not divorcing was a southern theme. In this story, the author appealed to the southern ideals without talking about the rebel cause.

Event 2- lecture

On Tuesday March 17, 2008, I went to a lecture in Carroll Hall about the economy and emerging economies around the world. This lecture was titled “Is it time for a new world order?” and the professor was exploring the economies of today and how that might affect our economies tomorrow. The professor proposed the idea created by a pair of economists that minor economic countries like Brazil and China were going to grow and become major influences, which would upset how business is done. They suggested that we are experiencing a hegemonic shift. Hegemony provides the necessary infrastructure for economies, absorbs shock, and stabilizes. The proposition is that the economic turmoil now is a result of a hegemonic shift and that after the transition lesser economies will gain strength to dominate. However, the professor does not feel that there is an evidence of a hegemonic shift, and it is not time for a new world order.
This is important part of university life because this is when many people begin to become aware of economics and politics. Here the professor is telling those who are listening to him that they should examine facts before they believe them. Information such as this helps to shape students view on world issues and affects how we will react to it. Also it is enlightening us on issues that will be important to us in the future. By presenting this argument, he introduced us to important concepts like hegemony. I did not know what that was before listening to this lecture.

Confederates in the Attic

Is confederates in the attic real? I did not grow up in the south so the whole idea of reenacting and celebrating a war is strange to me. Even living in the south for almost five years, I still have yet to experience that tradition. Other than the fact that the war has been over for about one hundred and fifty years, I don’t understand why someone how has been to war, been shot up, and hates war still feels that the civil war is not over. I can understand that most of the war was fought on southern soil and that makes it a bit closer to home, but Gettysburg happened in Pennsylvania and people up north don’t reenact it.
I feel like the article put a great deal of emphasis on the civil war being about slavery when it initially wasn’t. It seems odd to me that someone who knows a bit about the civil war does not mention that at all. With all the emphasis on slavery, it seemed ironic to me that in Virginia they tried to celebrate Lee’s and Jackson’s birthday with Martin Luther King’s birthday.
There is also one part that confuses me. There is a sentence when the minister is preaching and mentions that he never learned about black heroes and calls Booker T. Washington the peanut man. I don’t know if he is using that as an example for not being taught about it or not, because they are not the same people. Either way it was interesting to me to see how interested people can be with their personal past and how where they live affects that.

Observation #

Watching the interactions between the students in the union and the employees of alpine at two in the afternoon was similar to the other observations. Instead of people coming in large numbers at one time, people were coming in a few at a time but steadily over the course of the hour. Although people had books and computers out they did not seem to be doing much work. Several computers had facebook open. Many of the chairs were turned to face the television was on and playing the NCAA tournament. The union, to my surprise, was much emptier during this time of day then any of the others, yet there were more people passing through. No one was paying any attention to the Alpine employees and the general noise in the room was loud enough to drown them out. I could not hear them, and I was sitting close. The people in alpine worked diligently and since there was constantly someone to serve they did not have time to laugh or joke around. The line moved fast enough that no one left without getting food or looking agitated. Most of the people in the room were socializing with friends and were oblivious to what the alpine workers were doing or saying.

Observation 2

Mid morning, around ten o’clock a.m., is different than later at night. The union is much emptier and the people who are in it seem to be here by themselves rather than in groups. The televisions are turned on but the sound is either extremely low or muted all together. The people who are talking seem to be talking in a quieter voice. In the morning people either quietly sit or stand in line to get a bagel and coffee, whereas the people at night were slightly more energetic and rowdy. The people who work at alpine in the mornings are different from the people who work at night. They are faster and even though the line is longer than at night people seem to move through it pretty quick. From time to time, if the line is not moving fast enough a person will give an exasperated expression, sigh, and leave. This usually only happens when it gets closer to the next hour. The employees at alpine are not laughing or joking around; they are being serious and are working diligently. The biggest rush of people came in after nine fifty and cleared out soon after ten. The people sitting in the union seem to be more focused on working then at night and whatever sounds come from alpine do not seem to disturb them. The only thing that can clearly be heard over the general sound in the room is the workers repeating the phrase “can I help the next person” and even this is ignored by anyone trying to work.

Observation 1

I observed the effect of the alpine workers on the people studying in the union at nine o’clock at night. The workers were not singing or joking; they were different people than you normally see during the day. People, who I assume were friends of the workers, were standing nearby talking to the employees slowing things down slightly, but no one seemed to mind much. No one got upset about how fast or slow the employees were making food. Since the workers were not singing or being loud, everyone who wasn’t in line and waiting to get food paid no attention to the people working at alpine. The workers effect on the people was minimal, if there was any at all, especially because American Idol was playing on the television across the room. A crowd of people gathered to watch Anoop Desai sing and then quickly left. The demeanor in the room was generally pretty positive. Everyone was sitting with a friend laughing, joking, and talking. All of them with books out but not actually studying. Almost everyone had either food or a drink from alpine, and most of the drinks were coffee. The room is anything but quiet; there is a general din from the television, from many small groups of people talking, and from the noises coming from the workers making sandwiches. The workers only ask questions pertaining to making a sandwich and have nothing more to say to whomever they are serving. The people who are working on school work are not bothered by what the workers do, and they most likely cannot hear them over the overwhelming sounds of the television and people’s voices.

New hypothesis

The student union is a popular place for students to meet and study as well as socialize. Inside of the union is an Alpine Bagel Café where many students go to grab a quick bite to eat between classes and to grab a snack before study sessions. Often I go to Alpine to get something to eat quickly. The workers are usually very efficient, and even when there is a long line, they can manage to serve the people at the end of the line in about ten minutes. When it is not overwhelmingly busy for them, the workers can be heard laughing and joking and even singing behind the counter.
Once when I went to get something to eat, the guy who was making my sandwich told me that I looked sad and needed to smile. Because I often see the people who work at Alpine laughing and joking around, even with their superiors, I am led to think that even though they are working they are determined to have a good time. I hypothesize that when it is busy they will be more serious about taking orders and making sandwiches, but when business is slower, they will goof off and joke around, while getting other necessary work done.
The reason I want to study the people who work at Alpine is because they seem to have fun in a situation that could potentially be stressful. If they are able to be relaxed in that sort of situation, then it could be beneficial. College campuses are notoriously stressful places, and if people have ways to deal with stress, it could be beneficial to the campus as a whole.

update

The microculture that I plan on studying is the choral community on campus, specifically the Carolina Choir. This group willingly takes a class four days a week, which serves as their practice time, with minimal compensation. Before they can even enroll in this class, they must audition and demonstrate adequate skills to be beneficial to the group. As a whole, Carolina Choir is more than half women. A friend of mine is a member of the Carolina Choir and devotes his time this art. Several times during the semester they perform concerts for the students and public. The fact that these people have a working knowledge for music as well as intrinsic skill interests me.

Taken from what I already know about people in Carolina choir, the multitudes of time that need to be put into this class through the practicing during class time and concerts performed in the students free time, I expect the Carolina Choir to be people who are not only skilled but also extremely dedicated. This dedication would make them more inclined to putting in extra effort in another area of study. From this, I hypothesize that Carolina Choir members are dedicated to another area of study, which they commonly discuss. Their dedication would be determined by the amount and how they talk about their other subjects.

My purpose for studying the Carolina Choir would be to determine any positive effects from their devotion to music. The way the members discuss their other subjects, compared to choir, would determine their dedication to these other subjects. If they do put in the same effort, their dedication can be beneficial to the rest of campus. Not only would the music bring culture to campus but also their work ethic can also have a positive effect on the people around them.

The microculture that I plan on studying is the choral community on campus, specifically the Carolina Choir. This group, once proving their proficiency at singing, willingly takes a class four days a week, which serves as their practice time, with minimal compensation. Before they can even enroll in this class, they must audition and demonstrate adequate skills to be beneficial to the group. As a whole, Carolina Choir is more than half women. A friend of mine is a member of the Carolina Choir and devotes his time this art. The fact that these people have a working knowledge for music as well as intrinsic skill interests me.
Taken from what I already know about people in Carolina choir, the multitudes of time that need to be put into this class through the practicing during class time and concerts performed in the students free time, I hypothesize that the people who make up the Carolina Choir are not only skilled but also extremely dedicated. While they are together, I would expect them to talk about how they should work on and improve their skill and to use jargon associated with the musical community, such as scales, notes, and musical pieces. I would also expect them to have another area of study that they are deeply devoted to studying, like music, which they would talk about with other members of the group.
My purpose for studying the Carolina Choir would be to determine any positive effects from their devotion to music. I would see if there was a link in the effort that they put into their art and their other studies by the way and how much they talk about them. If they do put in the same effort, their dedication can be beneficial to the rest of campus. Not only would the music bring culture to campus but also their work ethic can also have a positive effect on the people around them.

Observation #2 Disruption

The space I previously observed was the pit outside of the union on a Friday morning. To disrupt this I would act in a manner that would be out of character and would unnerve people. In my attempt to make people feel uncomfortable, I would walk by the tables of people I do not know and talk to them. Including more personal gestures would also be necessary while talking to these people, like putting your hand on their shoulders or other acts that are usually reserved for people who are acquainted. Along with the acts to make these people feel uncomfortable, I would also talk to them in a way that would easily annoy them. So I would strike up a conversation about completely frivolous and absurd topics, and I would say them in an overly loud voice, laughing abruptly as needed. I would do this to multiple groups to interrupt the entire space not just a small section of it.

Observation #1

The pit on Friday mornings is a very calm place. After people rush out of class to grab alpine and disappear, everyone who is left sits in the fresh air, usually not alone. Anyone who is sitting alone is working. There are no loud noises to break the sounds of the wind blowing between the buildings; there is a quiet din of voices, none coherent. Every now and then the serenity is broken by a laugh or a quick yelp as someone’s breakfast attempts to fly away in the wind. Unless a friend is spotted moving by the union, people rarely talk outside of their own tables, unless you need a chair. Moving through the tables, everyone tries to avoid bumping into or touching other people; if there is not enough space between the tables, people walk around. As it gets later in the morning, tour groups start wandering through; the conversation for at least one table, at some point, mentions the tour groups.

I haven't been feeling too well lately. Because of this, I have been less productive lately, so i have been watching movies. What better thing to do when you feel sick but to lay around and watch movies. And of course I was excited when the movie i got on amozon, which wasn't supposed to be shipped until monday or tuesday, arrived monday afternoon. It is a great movie; one of my favorite french movies, Bon Voyage. Its a world war 2 movie that has a crazy plot line and it has Gerard Depardieu in it. He is in all french movies.

Now i have to make up all the work I put off. I have a presentation due on maybe tuesday maybe thursday(that is as definative a date as i will get) and I am going to be gone all weekend. My aunt is getting remarried and I am supposed to take pictures for her wedding. It will be a very hastily put together wedding seeing as they have only been engaged for a month and they lived in separate states (6 hours apart) until about last week...the week before? I'm not quite sure, but she is happy that's all that matters.

I know I am not the coolest person in the world and that is okay with me. I like to think that I have more fun then the average person, so it all balances out. Unfortunately, I think today I hit a new level in my own special brand of dork. I have a big accounting test on monday that i have been procrastinating studying for by playing scrabble on facebook. I know; I am amazing. To make myself feel better about it, I am going to sell out my friends, because they play with me. We have been playing epic games all afternoon, which we are all in more than one game.

The only problem is that none of us are really very good at scrabble. In one game alone, the word cunt is used twice. It is okay though; they are connected to each other (I'm not really sure if that justifies it, but I am going to say it does.). If playing scrabble doesn't make us lame, my friend and I and anxiously awaiting the new episode of general college; it's a great show. I don't usually watch dramas or television at all, but i watch this. When there is nothing on, I always check the unc channel hoping it will be on.

I cannot deny the fact that i have long surpassed the age when I could act stupid and immature on a daily basis. Now all of my decisions have to be rational and fully thought through. It's kind of sad when chil-like whimsy is looked down on. A few of my friends even give me a what the hell look when I come up with stupid, but fun, things to do. However I am lucky to have other friends who share in my desire to give in to our childhood desires.

Last night for instance, three of us were sitting around going through old pictures and talking about people we used to know and things we used to do in high school. In the process we came across some pictures of last semester when we played on this tire swing that is in a church yard across from our dorm. Of course it is midnight and we should be doing the work we procrastinated all day, but instead we decided to get dressed and run across the street to play on the tire swing. We stayed out there on the swing for about 45 minutes acting stupid, taking stupid pictures, and sings songs from the across the universe soundtrack and the new kayne cd. we are just that cool. We decided to go back after three cop cars drove by and one sped down one of the side streets next to us a few minutes after a couple other cars sped down it. Our rational decision making skills came back and we decided that we didn't want to be around if anything went to, especially because we think we might have been treaspassing. Who knows?

I have an econ test on monday, and I have yet to study. I should have started a few days ago, but the papers that I put off, I had to write. Once I got done with those, I just felt like I needed a break. I probably did not, but I'm lazy so it happened. And of course, the UNC duke game on wednesday killed my productivity. The game was amazing, and of course, my firends and I rushed Franklin Street. It is one of those freshman experiences that you just cannot pass up. It also enabled me to procrastinate that much more.

Franklin street was halarious, though. Everyone was lighting fires and jumping them. I jumped a couple; my friends were a little nervous about it, until they did it. Jumping the tiny fires is not a very strenuous feat but i did it. It was halarious; some guy tried to jump the fire backwards and fell in. He didn't get hurt but it was pretty fun to laugh at. And, the first fire almost caught my friend's shirt on fire; we were even that close to it.

Event #1- performance at memorial hall

Last friday i attended the Performance for Peace: A Diary of Darfur featuring Emmanuel Jal. It consisted of several performances from on campus groups to tell the heart breaking stories of the people caught in the tragedy in Darfur. The event showcased Erot, Inversions Modern Dance company, Zankiliwa, and the Lorelies. After the lead up events, Emmanuel Jal came on stage and told a general then a more in depth version of his story. He told funny stories of moments in his life before the conflict and after a woman named Emma saved him, but they were followed by the tragedy that he encountered. He concluded his story by informing the audience that he is giving up two meals a day and using the money he is saving to buy bricks for a school he is building in Sudan.

Events like this one are very important to the culture on the UNC campus. We are one of the most devoted to projects that can help benifit our community and the enitre world. By coming to UNC Emmanuel Jal most likely made his story known to more people who will take an active interest in working to aid those who need it. The audience is the heart of this performance because he is telling us his story so we can help him make a difference. Performances like this not only help to make us aware of gobal events, but also the cultural differences between all of us. The way he enunciated his words was unique to the way we speak as well as the way he danced to the song that he performed for us. Events of this nature are what we need to help those who need it. I think that UNC should sponsor more events like this.

I wouldn't say that I'm not productive on a normal basis; I'm just not overly motivated about everything. But for some odd reason, yesterday I felt the need to be less productive and slept for almost 12 hours. That's about 2 or 3 times longer than I normally sleep. Today, though, I am motivated to do everything. Unfortunately, it's friday and I have only one class; the motivation was wasted in productive school things. However, my room is amazingly clean. I did all of my laundry, not just clothes but towels and sheets too. I took out the recycle that I was hoping my roommate's boyfriend would take out for the past week and I did dishes. Now, I am updating and backing up all of my music. If it wasn't friday maybe I would do homework; I will tell myself that at least. I am also planning to play tennis and eat dinner in the next 3 hours before i go to seen the guy who used to be a youth soldier at memorial. Maybe if I'm lucky, I can be this productive again tomorrow, seeing as i have had about 3 days worth of sleep, and actually get work done. Fingers crossed.

I hope my computer doesn't crash before I get to back everything up. now that i said that it will. I know it.

I, like almost every one else on campus avidly sign up for and eagerly check my inbox to see if I was lucky enough to get basketball tickets. Unfortunately for me, I am not usually a lucky person. However, bad luck struck my friend who was lucky enough to get tickets; he had class. Even though I felt bad that he was missing it, I was fully prepared to help him out and take them off his hands. Especially for this game. My family lives in Maryland; I have grown up cheering for Maryland. I was 12 and intently watched Maryland win the National Championship. Until I came to UNC, Maryland was my team.
Now I have to support my school, the one that gave me riser seats to watch the game in. I was great. Since we killed them, it was my turn to call my dad and report the final score like he had done to me when the football team lost to Maryland. Except, I didn't attempt to imitate the Maryland turtle that he once saw on a commercial and roar like a lion.
And they broke 100, so i can get free bo's tomorrow before 12; assuming I can get there and have no class. Hope for snow.
Maryland can still be my team just not when they are playing UNC.

the duhks

Last Saturday I spent the night in Raleigh after one of the greatest concerts I have ever been too, The Duhks. I hadn't heard of them until last semester when my friends from Ashville were going on and on about this folk band. My one friend had seen them open for another band and got their cd. I heard it, fell in love, and they are amazing in concert.
The lead singer is phenomenal; her and her brother, who is the drumer, are French Canadian. So one of their songs is completely in french(a language I much admire... but kind of fail at). They have a fiddle player. I will be the first to admit that I'm not overly excited about fiddles; they have a good sound and are like basses to me, essential but not a main sound. But no, the fiddler was amazing, she could make such amazing sounds come out of her instrument. It makes me want to play the fiddle(almost). The banjo player was halarious to watch; he had crazy, curly hair and glasses and bounced around alot.
sometimes at concerts, especially small ones like the berkley cafe, they can ramp up the sound so it just loud and overbearing(kind of how it was for the band that opened for the duhks). But not for the duhks, their sound is just so pure and the lyrics deep. Its amazing; I'm in awe. I suggest that anyone that like music, real music, listen to them, especially their fast-paced world cd(that one's my favorite right now).

All year i thought that I got really lucky. I live on north campus; last semester i could roll out of bed and be in my nine o clock class in 10 minutes. If I was hungry then i could be at Lenoir in 4 minutes. But this semester I have business 100. So i have to get myself up and dress for my eight o clock class by 7:30 or else I'm late. I figured out today that not only is it a 20-30 minute walk up and down the giant hill but also it is six flights of stairs up from the parking lot I cut through. I learned this today when i had to walk down there at 5:30 in the misty/rain wonderland. i thought about using my friend's bike but i'm pretty sure i'm too lazy to ride it back up the hill. i think i might figure out the bus system; i fail at buses.

i will apologizes for the lack of caps in the last half of my post, because about half way through my computer started acting weird. now every time i hit shift my internet goes back a page. this is annoying ... and slightly unsettling.

folk belief

Eating ginger to cure motion sickness

This was the first inauguration that I have ever watched. Obama is now the 44th president of the united states. It is pretty cool to think that I voted in a monumental election such as this.
Obama's speech was very powerful; he uses words in a way that he appeals to everyone. His voice fills the air. He did stumble on the actual oath, but that kinda thing happens. The priest stumbled too trying to get it straitened out.
The woman who was reciting the poem was professional... but she sounded machine-like. Though I did really enjoy the reverend's speech. He likes rhythms. "when yella will be mella, when the red man can get ahead man."
I did think that they drew it out a bit. I realize that it is nice to have Obama walk Bush out of the White House, but I don't want to watch 20 minutes of it.

I have decided that I have an immense joy for procrastination. Unfortunately it never ends amazingly. I think i told myself once that I was going to try to get better at this, but I have managed to put off working for the greater part of three days. long weekends are nice. I have noticed that when I am attempting to not work then television shows that I am sick of seem more entertaining. My iTunes shuffle seems to give me all the songs I want to hear. Even people I have no care to see, I am willing to have lunch with. In my process of not doing things today I planned to go to the mall, but the car had a dead battery. After fruitless attempts to jump it, my friend and I resigned to wondering in the bookstore on franklin street. And hey, since we were out, we decided to just go ahead and get dinner. That was almost a productive decision. At least this weekend i had probably the least amount of work that i will have all semester. It would be stupid not to take advantage of that, right?