What I would write in my diary if I were David?

As I have mentioned in previous posts, David is a poor boy with a miserable life.  If I were David, my diary would be about a life story of a different David.  With that said, I mean I would create a new character who also called David for my diary.  Everyday, I would first write about what happens in real life and then I would tell a story of a new David.  This new David would have what I don't have in my reality.  In my daily world, I don't have enough food to eat and I have to do all the house chores without gaining back mother's love.  My "new David" would be able to have a lot of good food everyday.  He would be loved by a good mom and she will take good care of him.  I don't have any friend. My David would have a lot of friends and would be admired by everyone because of his certain talents.  Everything I would write in my diary is to contrast my real world with my imaginations and my wishes.  I do that because I think that in every situation we all do deserve to have our hope even in the worst situation.  I look at ours to strive to work hard to successfully overcome the hardships we are facing with.  David, too, deserves to have a happy life with love and everything else that all the kids in this world have.  By doing so, David would at least have something interesting to do at the end of the day to comfort his hurted soul. 

From Dangerous Home to Safe House

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/magazine/24lives-t.html?_r=2&ref=magazine

Summary:  Liz Welch is the manager of a shelter for many abused women and children.  She herself was abused by her agressive and violent husband and she left him to set up a new life.  She rescued a woman named Tara and her 4-month son which were abused by the husband.  She help Tara to strengthen herself and live independently without Tara's husband.  Tara finally earned a degree and got a good job to support for herself and her son.
Personal response:  It's really sad that in this real world today there are so many people abused by many cruel people such as Liz and Tara.  But the thing is we learn from the past and learn how to wake ourselves up.  We have to believe that everyone has the same chance and the same right.  Thus, this world will be better if we are all aware of that truth.
Vocabulary:  Restraining order(n): the order/sentence of the court justice.
The restraining order makes Tara's life become better.

Washington state minimum wage to increase to $8.67

Seattle Times -http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2013174400_minimumwage16.html

A. Summary:
The state of Washington officially announced that the State's minimum wage will increase by 12 cents to $8.67 on January 1st.  The decision came after a 3-week debate between the state attorney general and the authors that ties the minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index in 1998.  Because of the inflation, the state wage didn't go up last year, but it is growing now but at a slow rate.  When asked, Attorney General Rob McKenna said there is no way to increase the minimum wage if the the price index increases to less than the level the current wage is based upon.  Labor & Industries spokeswoman Kim Contris said that the state raises the rate "based on how we believe a court would interpret the law."  But it has to be careful because the court could overturn the decision. That will impact several lowest-paid workers.  The tie of the wage to inflation doesn't lower the wage.  That means the minimum wage stays flat if the price index falls.
B.  Personal response:
This article is really important to the citizens of Washington because it tells them the truth of how their wages are conducted and how and when does the Washington minimum wage increase.  It has an important impact on Washington citizens' lives.  Personally, I think that is a really good news for Washington people that their minimum wage is gonna increase.  They will be paid more and have a better life.  As an international student in Washington, somehow it will indirectly benefit to my education.
C.  Vocabulary:
Index (n): a number or ratio (a value on a scale of measurement) derived from a series of observed facts; can reveal relative changes as a function of time.
E.g:  The minimum wage is tied to the Cosumer Price Index.
Harmonize (v): bring (several things) into consonance or relate harmoniously.
E.g:  I can harmonize my goal with my ability.
Implement (v):  pursue to a conclusion or bring to a successful issue.
E.g:  They think they can implement the laws by doing so.

My favorite character

My favorite character in the book i'm reading is David which is the main character.  He is abused by his mom and mostly does the housework.  So at first, he is shy and quiet.  He doesn't have much social interaction from family and people around. But after the trial that sentences that he has the right to stay in a foster home, his life changes significantly as well as his characters.  He becomes more dynamic and outgoing.  But somehow, the obsession of being abused in the past still invisibly dominates his thoughts.  So far from what I have read, he hasn't done anything for me to really admire him.  But he's a brave young man with a lot of nerve.  I chose this character because his life and his characters are very interesting for me to figure out.  The more I read this book, the more I find out that there is something in this character that interests me so much.  I don't think his life story is similar to mine.  I would definately want to be his friend.  I feel sympathy for him and his past.  I agree with the decision of him to say in front of the trial that he wants to live in a foster home. That is a really good choice of him.  The story of David's life is really depressed so I wish there would have been some changes in his life. 

Week 3 News - What a difference a day makes: The City's Attorneys new guidelines aims to protect immigrants from unjust deportation

Asian Weekly - http://www.nwasianweekly.com/2010/10/what-a-difference-a-day-makes-the-city-attorney%e2%80%99s-new-guidelines-aims-to-protect-immigrants-from-unjust-deportation/

A. Summary: 
This past May, the City Attorney's office revealed the policy to protect noncitizen immigrants from getting deportation.  Basically, the policy requests the court to penalize noncitizen immigrants who make misdemeanor the maximum of 364 days in jail instead of 365 days.  The main goal of this policy is to avoid the situation when a noncitizen immigrant gets deportation because of staying in jail for more than 365 days.  In other words, this policy make an equality in treating between US citizens and noncitizen immigrants. Many of noncitizen immigrants don't know the severe consequences of getting the 365-day-in-jail penalty can bring to them more troubles than what they know.  There are some criticals about this new policy.  Critics say that this policy might shield noncitizen immigrants from the U.S immgration laws or this policy might indirectly help noncitizen immigrants to against the U.S immigration laws.
B. Personal response:
This article really makes me think about the U.S foundation which are freedom and equality.  Positively, this policy shows how the U.S equally treats people no matter they are U.S citizens or noncitizen immigrants.  But beside the positive side, this policy still somehow against the U.S immigration laws.  So I think the U.S have to carefully think and decide whether to apply this policy or deny it.  It could be good and bad at the same time.
C. Vocabulary:
Prosecuting attorney (n): a government official who conducts criminal prosecutions on behalf of the state.
E.g: The prosecuting attorneys should know both two sides of the policy before it is introduced.
Misdemeanor (n): a crime less serious than a felony.
E.g: She was convicted because of her misdemeanor.
Sentence (v): pronounce a sentence on (somebody) in a court of law.
E.g: The court sentenced a criminal 2 year penalty.

Setting of The Lost Boy

I'm reading the book called The Lost Boy written by Dave Pelzer. The book story is based on a true story of a child never get his family's love during his childhood.  The names of some main characters was changed to protect their privacy.  The main characters I've read so far are David Pelzer - the boy was abused by his mom, Roerva Pelzer, Ms. Gold, aunt Mary and Mrs. Cantaze.  At the beginning of the book, David described himself sitting on top of his hands at the bottom of the stairs in the garage where is normally lived. It was Winter 1970 in Daly City, California.  I've never slept in a garage and don't know how hard it is to be sleeping in such a place like it.  Pretty much at the beginning of the book, the author tells us about the setting of the setting of it.  David is hungry and shivering at the moment the author starts describing David's situation.  He says that David's Prisoner of the Mother.  By saying that, I can really tell how his situation is.  He wakes up from sleeping on an old army cot and immediately performs the morning chores. He's really miserable.  The cover of the book says that David is a child called It. So there is one more thing I could guess is that he's not receiving love. The author capitalizes the words: Mother, House. The House is also put in the apostrophe.  When the words are written unusually in a sentence.  Then we could know that there's something wrong with the things the author is talking about. By capitalizing these words, and  by describing the situation of David at the very beginning of the book, I somehow got the idea that David is in not a very good family.

Week 2 News - Questions linger about West Seattle matriarch who killed family members

Asian Weekly - http://www.nwasianweekly.com/2010/09/questions-linger-about-west-seattle-matriarch-who-killed-family-members/

A. Summary: 
Before the tragedy happened, Saroeun Phan was known as a very kind, gentle person who helped the community keeping the traditional values by her contributions and took good care of her family. Saroeun had been through so many difficulties in her life and ended up with a perfect family.  But the pressure of the issues around her somehow made her become a very different person from who she really was. Recently, she became quiet. She changed her routines such as wearing white clothes and just talking to people who wear white. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia. According to the Asian Weekly, on Sep. 23, Phan came downstairs in white, and suddendly shot her family members. Some of them try to escaped, but she also came out to shoot. She killed 2 granddaughters and her son-in-law. She seriously wounded her daughter and finally shot herself. Nobody really understands what made she do that? What was her motivation? The government is getting into this and will come to a conclusion later. But meanwhile, it's still a controversial matter.
B. Personal response:
Personally, I think there was something wrong with this woman's action. That means it wasn't her when she did that. Because she had struggled with a mental illness or there was something that forced her to do that. To be generous, we don't judge for what she did, but we have to understand why she did that and sympathize with her situation and mistake. It's helpful for me to understand that caring family members is very important for us. By doing so we can really help them when they are dealing with problems and together make everyone in family stay happy. Generally, it makes a wake-up call for so many people who haven't cared much about their family.
C. Vocabulary:
Grimace (v): contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional state
E.g: He grimaced when he saw the amount of homework that he had to do for weekend.
Schizophrenia (n): any of several psychotic disorders characterized by distortions of reality and disturbances of thought and language and withdrawal from social contact
E.g: She was diagnosed with Schizophrenia.
Matriarch (n): a female head of a family or tribe
E.g: As a matriarch of the family, she has to be responsible for everything.

What about me and my world?

Hi guys,
So it's a pleasure for me to introduce myself to you guys. So I'll go by Joe from now on. I'm from Vietnam and it's definately different from here for sure. So far, I like it here in Seattle and of course Seattle Central Community College. Yay!! Honestly, I'm not an interested person as well as not having a good personality( Shame on me :(. For the first time talking to me, people would think I tend to be a bored person and not really friendly. But actually, the closer you are to me, the more you figure it out that I'm friendly and open-minded. I'm also out-going. I love swimming and tracking. I'm not an athletic person but I do exercise for losing weight :) This is my second time to be in the States. Last year, I was a foreign exchange student in Martinsville High School, Indinana which is in the Midwest. It was a great and wonderful year for me to go out, explore things, live independently from family and of course to get better in English. I loved studying US History, Government, Maths and Physics. I loved it in the little town called Martinsville where I was staying in. A place where I've had a chance to see America and Americans locally through going to school, chattering with the locals on the street and of course my lovely host family. Everybody was so nice and did help me get through the school year successfully. And for sure, Indiana is different from here Washington in many aspects of culture, education, weather,... Wow, that's why the U.S called a Melting Pot. I wanna be an electrical engineer so I'm on my way to pursue my dream here in the US. So my first priority is to gain as much English as I can to successfully communicate with teachers and friends in American college. I like watching academic news so that I can keep track on what's going on educational trends and how they are gonna affect my education. There are some websites that I usually get on to read and watch news, information in English such as Wikipedia and Youtube. So, I think I'm just gonna show you guys some pictures of mine to make an end for my introduction. Sorry, I cannot think of anything else to type :).

                This is me when I was in a play called You can't take it with you. I love theather by the way.
        

                                   Me, my aunt, and my host parents in Chicago Millennium Park.

                                This is my host family and Meka dog. She's also a family member.

My school prom

                                                            Me and NYC