Ghost Town, The Final Countdown, Spring Semester, Driving School, Thanks

Final work for classes

Walking on the West Campus today, was like walking in a ghost town. Usually, by the afternoon city college is packed with crowds of students walking on opposite directions. Today, it was just me alone in my principles, still I wouldn't of mind having some human contact on my walk. It wasn't until I arrived at library that I realized everyone was here. The beauty of finals.

Spring semester is coming up soon, would say shortly except the fact that Winter Break is very long. I'm looking into 16 units right now, which is pretty intense. I am taking a two more English classes, English 226 (American Literature) and English 222 (Survey of British Literature). I am so eager to begin learning more about Literature; I find it completely fascinating. And of course reading makes your writing improve, so I'll be getting a headstart on reading my English textbooks over break. 

Schedule for Spring

Last weekend, my co-worker took me out on my third driving lesson. My driving is "coming along great," I read this in my student file. Yes, I looked myself up... I just had to. Basically, I'm doing pretty well, I mean I always was a very observant passenger.  Mastering this, will only make me more responsible as an adult. 

If any of you guys are older drivers looking for a place to take lessons, definitely check out Steve Morris Defensive Driving School. Call us @ (805) 965-7979. Our office hours are from Monday-Friday 10am- 5pm (if you wanna call when I'm there I work on Tuesday 1-5pm, Thursday 1-5pm, and Friday 10am- 1:30pm). http://www.stevemorrisdrivingschool.com/

This Animal

I hope you guys have a great Thanksgiving. Remember to be thankful for what you have and who's in your life not just on that day, but everyday. I am grateful for my family, friends, co-workers, and those of you who I will meet next year or next week or possibly tomorrow. I'm also thankful for your interest in my blog. I work hard to bring some real experiences to these posts to make them less boring. Every story, in each blog is 100% the truth. This is my life as Kiki.

-KIKI REYES

P.S:

I covered some Paramore on my Uke. https://soundcloud.com/kikisrey/monster-paramore-cover-kiki

Creative Juices, Iration, Job Interview Fail, Intro to Driving School,Cal States

Don't you just love that moment when you can finally feel things falling into their rightful place? Despite that I've lost some sleep over the weekend, because my friends and I enriched our souls with an all night movie night, everything is running smoothly. Time management is the key to success, but I have also learned that a little procrastination sparks inspiration . So its okay to be a little disorganized at times if it gets your creative juices flowing.

My sister just brought us tickets to see our favorite reggae band, Iration... Rebelution is a plus too. The great part about going to this concert is that not only do we get to hear one of our favorite bands, we also get to help fund for the Rockshop Academy. It's music academy for kids interested in starting rock bands and such. I think tickets are still available, so get them before they sell out! (on the right Iration and Rebelution poster, on the left my friend Syd and I, I'm wearing my Iration hat!)

I remember the last time they were in town, they had a concert at the Velvet Jones over the summer. I was unable to go because I had a job interview that day at LUSH Cosmetics. My friends went without me and a week later I received a phone call that I didn't get the job. I was disappointed, but I realize it was for the best because:
1. It was a group interview and I always seem to mess those up.
2. I came off as awkward and shy, during my interview, which is kind of the opposite of who I actually am. I mean I can't force being outgoing it just happens around people I'm comfortable with and clearly my fellow interviewees were pretty intimidating.
3. I wasn't really feeling it, just wasn't where I saw myself working. There was this girl in my group interview who was very peppy and confident. I hope she got the job, she seemed more suitable for it than I did.

So now I work at a driving school, and I don't have a license. It doesn't make sense, that's why I like it! Accept for the fact that I have make DMV appointments for people younger than me. I mean I do have my permit so at least I'm not starting from the bottom. Sitting in that desk awaiting our clients calls is where I do most of my thinking, but sometimes I loose my train of thought because the phone rings.

I had a brief break while I was at work and I remembered that the Cal State applications were open on October 1st. So I went on CSU Mentor and started my applications and I submitted them this weekend. I applied to the following Cal States:
San Francisco State (kinda my first choice)
Cal Poly Pomona
Cal State Channel Islands
Cal State Northridge
Somona State
I hope to transfer Fall 2014! Pray for me to get accepted to any of these!
(Me on my visit to San Francisco earlier this year on the right)

If you see me around school don't be afraid to approach me and say hi :)

-KIKI REYES

Adjusting, Positive thinking, The Coquette by Hannah Foster, History Repeats itself

I confess I'm still trying to adjust to this heavy schedule and hectic workload. Its insane how people manage to take 18 units and work two jobs, when I over here with only 13 units and one job (Picture on the left: my dog visiting me at work I'm holding up a Steve Morris Defensive Driving School Card). Seriously, those people are gifted. I feel like my two years of community college are equivalent to two extra years of my high school senior year, specifically the excitement of events going on, but as well as the difficult courses I am enrolled in. I am not the person to give up and receive a bad grade on anything, so if a professor ever disagrees with my work I get really upset. Some people just let it go, but I take it to heart. I am a perfectionist I want people to like my work, so it gets a bit frustrating. Sometimes I have to remind myself to take it one step at a time and that everything is going to work out fine. And eventually it does.

So I stay positive for myself and for others; I mean I basically go to school on a beach! Don't people go to beaches to relax? SBCC is probably the most relaxing community college a person could go to right? Honestly, I love school the classes are so interesting that I don't find a single subject boring, I meet a new person every day, but the only thing is that it gets challenging very quickly. I'm sure everyone can relate to this. (This is literally the beach across from SBCC, and those two dots are my friends, Leah and Billy swimming).

Something I found interesting this week was a book I read in my American Literature class, The Coquette by Hannah Foster (On the Right picture of the novel).I know books and American Literature typical English Major haha. I liked this book so much I am trying to incorporate it into my short story for Creative Writing. I'm handling two subjects at once by one, studying for my midterm and two, writing my short story. Its genius, its like that idiomatic expression, "killing two birds with a stone"! Come to think of it, why did they associate the idea of completing two tasks at the same time to killing birds? That's kind of strange when you think about it. So basically the story is about a woman named Eliza Wharton, who in the beginning of the story looses her fiancé which results to her moving in with friends. Eliza writes to her best friend Lucy about her stay at the Richman's house and for advice on two admirers that begin fighting for her love. You could relate this conflict to many novels nowadays, but this is in my opinion, where that conflict originated. You have to read the rest to find out what happens.

I'll give you a preview of my short story:
                                               
                                              History Repeats Itself
                                                     by: Kiki Reyes

I.It was a stupid research paper our history professor assigned us that made me come back home to Hartford, Connecticut. I hadn't been home in almost a year and now I had to faced about hundred miles of driving, an estimated hour and half. Of course it started raining during my morning drive that's something I always despised about going home, but this time looking above at the uninviting dull skies and the curious empty roads made me feel more uneasy than usual. At that moment I decided  to shift my thoughts into focusing on the paper. The assignment was to get a better sense of our ancestors and when they migrated to the Americas. I began to think about the stories my grandparents would tell my younger brother, Daniel and I. They briefly mentioned the Hartford Circus Fire in the 1940s, apparently they were late to the circus that day. I remembered my grandma got teary so we had to change the subject. Even though we were on a different topic, I could see her grey eyes staring blanking, possibly re-following the flames annexing the circus tent echoing of swallowed tragic screams. It had nothing to do with my family's history at all, but that was the only story I could remember.

I hope you like it so far, its very suspenseful.

-KIKI REYES