Week 15 Writing Post

* What did you like best about the writing for this class? What would you like to see more of?

•  I LOVED the storytelling assignments. It was a fun way to make sure we read and give us an opportunity to show our creativity. As for what I would like to see more of, i'm not sure. I also really liked the Famous Last Words because it let me tell about my life and what has been going on each week. Maybe a few more personal post type assignments would be nice in replacement of others or for bonus points. 

* Did you choose the Storybook or the Portfolio? Are you happy with your choice? What information should I emphasize to next semester's students when they make that choice?

•  I chose the Storybook and i'm glad I did. A lot of my storytelling assignments often ended with little room for further expansion, so the Storybook allowed me to write new stories that all related to my reading but left lots of room for my own twists and changes. I don't know that you need to emphasize anything. Your explanations of the assignments were easy to understand and going into my choice of Storybook or Portfolio I felt well-informed and able to make a decision.

* Do you have suggestions for the commenting process: suggestions about commenting on blog posts? suggestions about comments on Storybooks/Portfolios?

• No, I like how the commenting process is structured.  

* What kinds of comments did you find most useful as you working on your Storybook/Portfolio?

•  Comments that pointed out things I did well/right as well as things I could/should change. It is nice to be told what you're doing right so that I can stay on that track and continue to do well. 

* Do you think this class helped you to improve your writing?

•  Absolutely! The comments and revisions have been a HUGE help. 

* What kind of writing do you see yourself doing in your future career? Will writing be important in that career?

•  I have always enjoyed writing stories and poetry so I think I will continue to do that. Writing helps me work things out that i'm thinking about and allows me to express my creativity. Writing will be important in my career as a social worker because we have to document EVERYTHING. We have to write reports, keep track of records, write grants, etc. so being able to write efficiently and well is important. Thankfully, handwriting does not have to be done well because computers are awesome, so writing matters but HANDwriting does not.

* As you look back on your writing this semester, what advice do you have for students who will be getting started next semester?

•  GET STARTED EARLY!!!!!!!! Get as much done as you can so that you have a head-start on your work because it takes a while to get into a good rhythm for completing assignments and you don't want to get really behind in the beginning while you're trying to figure out when/how you're going to do your assignments each week. 

Week 14 Famous Last Words

If I had to describe this week in three words they would be: Cold, Busy, and Happy. It's been a good week full of fun, but it has definitely been jam-packed with stuff I have had/have to do. 

Monday was wonderful because it was a SNOW DAY! I woke up to big fluffy flakes floating gently to the ground. I love snow. It's so beautiful and exciting! Maybe I feel this way because I grew up in Texas where it doesn't really snow; at most, ice falls in sheets and covers the ground making travel and fun in the snow nearly impossible. Plus, in my entire life of living in Texas I only had a "white Christmas" once even though I dreamed about it every year while Christmas music played in my head. So, when I opened my front door and saw the snow I squealed and took a bunch of pictures. I spent the day at home with my boyfriend and roommate working on homework, drinking cocoa, and relaxing by the roaring fire. It was absolutely wonderful and really served to put me in the holiday spirit. I have to admit, for the first time ever, I put my Christmas decorations up early. Judge me if you want, but I love love love the entire Christmas season. Everyone just seems to try harder to be nicer and the overall feel of everything is more cheery. Plus, I am a big fan of scarves so cold weather is perfect for me because otherwise I get too hot to wear them. 

BooBoo Kitty Layin by the Fire 

Me and my Roommate, Amber, Watching the Snow Fall

Lily LOVES the Snow!

I got all Bundled up to go out into the Snow 

Tuesday I was at my practicum site for 9 hours getting supplies together for Calm Waters' big holiday event on Wednesday called Creating New Traditions. It is an event that is open to the public and is geared toward families who are about to enter their first holiday season without a loved one. The adults have a guest speaker who talks about the difficulties of going through the holidays after the loss of someone close to them and the children get to go into a group with other kids their age and learn about having the holidays without that person while also doing lots of fun crafts. It's much less intense than our normal grief groups and focuses on teaching families that they don't have to try to do things the way they did before their person died. Things are different, and that may mean different holiday activities which is okay. I'm really excited for this event, but preparing for it was hectic to say the least.

Here's a little more information about Creating New Traditions from The Calm Waters Website

Today,Wednesday, started off kind of crazy because my cat fell in the toilet (I know, what a dork right?) causing me to be late to my first class. Thankfully, my professor is super awesome. I've had her 3 different times for three different classes and she is always my favorite. Anyway, I have class 8:30-4:20 (plus a huge social work research methods presentation that's been stressing me out for weeks) and immediately afterward my fellow social work student Michelle and I have to immediately head to OKC so we can help set up for the event and work it. It's going to be a long, but wonderful evening to follow a lovely day.  

Thursday will be my rest day. I don't have class or practicum so I will be spending the day working on projects that will be due soon as well as planning a little get-together for the last week of class. I'm going to hold a dinner, drinks, and crafts event at my apartment for my friends and I to hang out, eat, drink (responsibly of course), and do Christmas/Holiday-themed crafts while listening to Christmas music and playing some fun games. I think it will be lots of fun!

Christmas Tree Ornament by Kris de Curtis

Found on Wikimedia Commons

Friday I have practicum 8;30-12:30 and afterward will get on the road and drive home to Texas for a friend from high school's wedding. I'm very excited for her, but not looking forward to helping Mom with the catering.

Enough of that, I've blathered on long enough. I hope y'all had a great week and I hope your next is absolutely fantastic! Stay positive and warm!

OH ALSO, quick afterthought: I make wreaths! Each one is specialized and individualized to be whatever you want it to be! Plus, I just learned how to put lights (that use a battery pack) in the wreaths! So, if you want one, just message me here and I will give you my email so we can talk about what you want. I usually only charge $10 per wreath, unless you want a larger size or some specific costly addition.

Here are some examples of wreaths i've made this year

Collage created using Pic Monkey

Week 14 Storytelling: The 3 Encounters

The Three Encounters 

Sydney had always been exceptional. They day she was born it was as if the sun shone brighter, the flowers stood taller, and everyone near felt an overwhelming sense of calm and joy. She was so full of life and had an incredible thirst for knowledge. She would spend hours reading before going outside just to swing under the sun’s rays. As a child she talked often about having discussions with the sun, the trees, or even the creek not far from her house. As she grew, she began acquiring human friends. Everywhere she went, Sydney made a new friend ad everyone she talked to could not help but smile and love her. She was a staple in the community as she spent a lot of her free time volunteering at various agencies in her town.

Girl, Child, Kid Smiling by Shaunaleianderson

Found on Pixabay

In high school she continued to excel; she made As in all of her classes, was captain of the student volunteer club, played Belle in her school’s production of “Beauty and the Beast”, was co-captain of the debate team, and held the position of vice president of the student council. She was well-known and liked by not only her teachers, but her peers and she seemed to carry with her an everlasting sunshine. Light just seemed to emanate from all around her, spreading happiness and positivity to anyone near. Though she was highly involved and motivated, she was not seen as strange or different. In fact, Sydney was every bit the normal, albeit more well-behaved than most, teenager. However, Sydney’s sense of normalcy would quickly be changed. On a field trip to a ginormous new art museum, Sydney became profoundly impacted by three artistic encounters.

Kimbell Art Museum

Found on Wikipedia

The first occurred not long into the class’s tour of the museum. They were walking through the Ancient Greece exhibit and was astounded by the detail that had been put into the marble statues that filled the hall. She walked slowly, admiring the fabric on the statues and the authenticity of their bodies. One statue caught her eye. She wasn’t particularly attracted to it, but found she was inexplicably drawn over to a statue of an incredibly thin man lying on his side. He looked ill and Sydney began to feel uncomfortable. She had experienced minor sickness before (colds, allergies, etc.) but had never seen such a sickly form. She tried to look away, but the statue began to move! The man shook and shuddered as he turned to look at her with his cold, marble eyes. “I’ve been sick for so long now. Please end my suffering! Oh what a wretched fate! Please, help me!” he said, reaching out for her with one skeletal hand. Sydney screamed and jumped back drawing immediate attention from the fellow students and her teacher. “Are you okay?” her teacher asked. Sydney looked around; had no one else seen what happened? “I’m fine,” she replied, “I just found a spider on my sleeve.” The teacher sighed and patted her shoulder before the tour guide began speaking again and the group headed off to the Indian Contemporary exhibit.

Abel Dying by Jean-Baptiste Stouf

Found on Wikimedia Commons

Sydney felt odd, but soon her smile returned as she passed by dozens of beautiful paintings. She loved how full of color and life they were! Each painting was so bright and vibrant, but much like the previous exhibit one painting stood out. It was of an old man with hair white as the marble statues she’d just seen. She inched closer and closer to the painting. Something about the man seemed so familiar. Had she seen the painting before? Maybe on the internet? She peered into the old man’s eyes; they seemed so sad, so lack-luster. She’d seen eyes like that before, on her grandfather. Looking into that old man’s eyes was like looking into a shell of a once great man. She reminisced but not for long because suddenly the painting began to speak! In a soft, frail voice the old man said, “You are so young, so beautiful! Life has been good to you, but just wait. You too will grow old and weak. You will no longer be able to do the things you once loved. Old age, what a wretched fate!” Sydney stood there shocked, her eyes wide and her mouth agape. She didn’t know how long she stood there before her friend came over to get her, but it felt like an eternity. “Man, that old man is right! I don’t want to grow old? Why can’t I live ALL of my days in peace and happiness?” Sydney wondered to herself as her class moved on to the Old West exhibit featuring the largest collection of original black and white/sepia photographs in the country.

Little Old Man by Tyrislow

Found on DeviantArt

Sydney enjoyed exploring the exhibit. She could imagine what life was like in the Wild West and loved seeing the clothes from the time-period, but towards the end of the exhibit the art took a turn for the macabre. Behind a maroon velvet curtain, in a mostly dark room hung tons of photographs. Most showed families, standing unsmiling as they waited for their picture to be taken. Some showed children and family pets, but the ones that really got the group's attention were the death photographs. The guide explained that back then it was common practice to photograph the bodies of the deceased because for many of them it was the only picture of that person that existed. The pictures were strange, discomforting and the students fell silent as they were led through the long, dark hallway that housed the death photos. Sadness overcame Sydney as she stared at a photo that reminded her of her grandfather. The man lay on a bed of sorts with his hands crossed and eyes closed. Apart from his frail appearance, he looked relatively peaceful... that is, until he snapped up. He hollered and tore at his hair, "I wasn't ready! I had so much left to do! Why has death taken me so early? Oh what a wretched fate!" With that proclamation, the man fell back into his original position. Sydney was shaken, but more angry than anything.

Unidentified Man, Postmortem

Found on Flickr

He's right! Why does death take us when we are not ready? Why should we have to spend our lives in fear of sickness, old age, or death? It's not fair! There must be a way to deliver humanity from the evil of decay! Sydney tried to focus on the art, but for the rest of the day all she could think about was how cruel fate was. By the time she stepped off of the bus at home, Sydney  had become determined to find a way to change humanity's fate. She would seek knowledge of how to live a life worthy of freedom from the three evils she'd witnessed that day. 

Author's Note:
I read the unit about the Life of Buddha this week and really liked the idea of the three encounters changing his view on life and spurring him on to seek enlightenment. I wanted to keep writing! I enjoyed writing this story so much, but did not want it to be too long. I changed quite a few things, but think it is still pretty easy to see how it relates to the original. 

Week 14 Essay: Learning about the Buddha

Reading Unit Homepage
The Life of Buddha

Buddha Meditating

found on Wikipedia

This week I chose to read the Life of Buddha reading unit. I thought it would be interesting as I’ve always liked learning about other religions and therefore about religious figures. This story of how Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha was broken up nicely so it did not feel tiring to read or boring due to staring at nothing but blocks of text. I enjoyed reading it not only because it had a nice layout, but because it was an easy read and had interesting content. My favorite parts of this reading unit were the three profound encounters that Siddhartha experienced (seeing an old man, a sick man, and a dead man) because it does not seem like seeing those things would have a big impact on someone. We see old people and sick people all the time. Plus most people are aware of and have accepted that death is an unavoidable and often uncontrollable part of life. The idea that a man would see those things and be so upset that he is forced to go on a journey to seek enlightenment seems almost ludicrous in current times. However, I love the idea that someone would desperately seek a way to not only find enlightenment for himself, but to free humanity from old age, death, illness, etc. So many people now are solely focused on themselves that I just always enjoy stories of people doing good by others. I also liked the story of the tree of knowledge and how the Buddha’s light kept him safe in the face of true evil. I’m a big believer in energy and its effect on our lives. I like to think that if you put out positive energy, you will receive it as well. There weren’t any stories I truly disliked, as they were all part of one big story. As such, I think this unit is really well worked out and does not need any other notes or aids to be understood. It also fits in nicely with the readings we’ve been doing so far as it relates closely to the Ramayana through the ways gods are involved in the lives of humans, the characters involved (Rama’s son is mentioned), and through the themes present. Overall, I think this reading unit was a great choice and that it does not need any real changes. 

Reading Diary: Week 14- The Life of Buddha

Reading Unit Homepage
The Life of Buddha 

Part A

• Maya's Dream
• Queen Maya dreams that a great white elephant descends from the heavens into her womb where its arrival is celebrated by many gods. She wakes up and has the king summon a group of brahmans to interpret the dream. They are ecstatic to learn the queen's child will be the new buddha!
• Birth of Siddhartha
• The queen wanders through the beautiful gardens and woods near the palace where she gives birth very easily to a baby boy whom they name Siddhartha.
• Asita's Prediction
• Asita visits the king to let him know that he heard from a divine voice that the king would bear a son who would have the true knowledge and save everyone from the torment of rebirth. Asita notices that the child has the marks of omnipotence and states that the child's tiny body barely differs from that of a god. Asita cries because he is old and knows he will die and therefore miss out on Siddhartha's great life.
• Siddhartha at the Temple
• After the child's birth the kingdom flourished and prospered, but Queen Maya died only 7 days after the birth. Maya's sister, Mahaprajapati, is left in charge of the child. She tries to adorn him with jewels, but they do not look right. She is told by a goddess living in he garden to take the jewels off because if the Earth were made of gold, one ray of light from the child, would dull it. 
• Siddhartha is taken to the temple of the Gods where all of the statues of the gods came to life and fell to their knees at the feet of the child before shouting his praises.
• Siddhartha's First Meditation
• Visvamitra takes Siddhartha as his student but soon realized there was nothing he could teach the boy. Siddhartha left, heading into the country towards another village. He stopped to rest and watch some peasants who were working in the field. As he sat, his mind wandered and he became lost in meditation. Then, 5 hermits saw him and exclaimed that he must be a god! They ran to the king to declare how blessed the son was. The son meditated for a long time, and the shadows of the trees around him lengthened and moved. However, the shadow of his tree remained the same. The king wept with joy at the sight of his son in meditation for he was truly a sight to be seen. 
• First Encounter
• Siddhartha has an irresistible urge to leave the palace so he took off on a gold chariot. Soon he came upon a desolate old man with sad eyes. He wondered why the man looked the way he did and the chariot replied that old age ruins beauty and vigor while causing men to lose their memory. The prince is terrified and asks if he too will grow old to which the chariot replies yes and the prince freaks out and returns home with the fear of old age in his heart. 
• Two more Encounters
• Next Siddhartha comes upon a very sick man and asks what is going on with him. The charioteer answers that sickness has made the man weak and ill. The prince trembled in fear and returned to the palace. The charioteer tells the king what happened and the king flips out and punishes the man who was supposed to clear the streets. He ordered that all the cripples, ill people, and old people be driven from the city so Siddhartha wouldn't see them. The gods don't like this so they made a corpse and four men to carry it who were all crying. Only Siddhartha could see them and he asks the charioteer what is happening. Siddhartha learns what death is.
• The Fair Maidens and Gopa's Dream
• Siddhartha's friend Udayin gathers a throng of beautiful women to dance in the garden and captivate the prince but they were all awkward, quiet, and timid because they were intimidated by his majestic splendor. He gives them a pep-talk and hey kick it into gear. They try everything to seduce and excite the prince but to no avail as he was thinking about death. He asks why he should partake in their beauty when he knows that everyone gets old and dies. Everyone retires to bed feeling down, little sleep was achieved that night.
• Gopa (Siddhartha's wife I think) has a dream that all sorts of awful things happen around her naked self and she runs to her husband asking for guidance. He soothes her fears saying that the things she saw were all good signs!
• The Great Truths
• Siddhartha goes out to the country to meditate. He meets a monk who is actually a god and is inspired. He decides to leave the palace and become a monk. He goes to his father the king and asks him to support his wish to leave. The king cries and pleads with him not to make such a huge decision at such a young age. Siddhartha says that if the king can promise him that life will not end in death, sickness will not ruin his health, age will not ruin his youth, and misfortune will not destroy his prosperity then he will stay. The king exclaims that his son is asking too much! In frustration and with tears in his eyes, he returns to his part of the palace. He sees his wife and her companions singing, dancing, and laughing but does not care. They all go to sleep and the prince declares that they are all dead because all of their spark seemed to be gone. With that he leaves and grabs a horse to get outta there. 

Part B

• Siddhartha Leaves
• Siddhartha boards his father's horse Kanthaka and in the quiet of the night they silently slip away.
• Siddhartha the Hermit
• Siddhartha gives his jewels and horse to Chandaka before telling him to take them back to the palace and thanking the horse. Chandaka pleads with him to not leave behind everything. Siddhartha then took his sword and threw it into the sky where the gods caught it. He also switched clothes with Chandaka, giving him his beautiful robe. Then he set off for the hermitage and Chandaka left to take everything back to Kapilavastu. 
• Gopa and Suddhodana Grieve
• Gopa and Suddhodana awake to discover Siddhartha has left. They are struck with grief and can no longer take pleasure in anything. the horse returned to the stables but was so saddened that he died. 
• Arata Kalama
• Siddhartha reaches the hermitage of Arata Kalama and soon the hermit asks him to teach alongside him for Siddhartha knows the law as well as he does. Siddhartha questions if he is on the right path. Surely Arata's doctrine is right and his followers will go to heaven, but when they die humanity will still be subject to old age an death. These men will live a life of suffering, grow old, and die just like any others and the world will continue to fear death and do everything they can to be reborn in a positive life. Siddhartha informs Arata that he will not teach his disciples and that he is going to leave. He then sets out for the country of Magadha where he stayed on the slope of a mountain and meditated. 
• Siddhartha and King Vimbasara
• Siddhartha enters the city of Rajagriha where he is spotted by King Vimbasara who was confused why a god of sorts was begging on the street. He ordered that Siddhartha be followed so he could know where he was dwelling. The next day the king traveled to the hero's retreat. He asks him many questions about his quest and finally proclaimed that when the hero was enlightened he should come teach the king his ways. Then he left and went to visit Rudraka, son of Rama but learned that his teachings knew nothing of the law just as Arata's so he traveled on followed by 5 of Rudraka's disciples. 
• Siddhartha Deserted by his First Disciples
• Siddhartha came to a beautiful area where he became so enthralled in meditating that he stopped breathing and fainted. The gods saw this and freaked out. Was he dead?! Maya saw what had happened and cried before spreading flowers over her son before he spoke to her. He told her not to worry for he would soon attain supreme knowledge. 
• For 6 years he stayed there, but true knowledge did not come to him so he left and came to a village called Uruvilva where he spent many long hours in meditation. Soon the women of the village began bringing him food which he ate happily. He gained weight and became healthy once more. Things were going well, but because he had not attained true knowledge yet his disciples left him and called him a madman and a fool.
• The Tree of Knowledge
• Siddhartha took the clothes off a dead man and washed them with help from the gods. He then fell asleep and had 5 dreams. 
• He was lying in a large bed which was the whole earth with his head on the Himalaya, his right hand on the W. sea, his left on the E. sea, and his feet on the S. sea.
• A reed grew out of his navel and up into the sky
• Worms crawled up his legs, completely covering them
• Birds made of gold were flying toward him from every direction
• He was at the foot of a mountain of filth and excrement which he climbed all the way to the summit before ascending, unaffected. 
• He woke up and knew that today was the day he would learn the true knowledge and become a Buddha. He went into the village to beg and received some delicious milk in a golden bowl. He bathed and ate before throwing the bowl into the river. If the bowl went upstream it meant that today he would become a Buddha, if it went downstream today was not the day. It went upstream.
• As night fell, Siddhartha walked toward the tree of knowledge. As he approached, he saw Svastika, the reaper who gave him 8 handfuls of grass in exchange for being taught true knowledge later. Siddhartha lay the grass down under the tree like a carpet before sitting down, facing the east, and saying that no matter what he would not move until he attained supreme knowledge. He crossed his legs and sat straight, preparing to wait as long as it would take.
• Mara's Defeat
• The light from Siddhartha's body reached everywhere, even the underworld, where Mara the evil one reigned. Mara's army tried to assure him that they would annihilate the soon-to-be Buddha. He called them fools and told them to leave Siddhartha alone. Mara would take care of it himself. He set out to attack, but wanted to scare the hero first. He made rain fall down with great violence but Siddhartha remained unmoved. Then he hurled blazing rocks at the hero but before they could hit him the rocks turned into flowers and fell softly to the ground. Mara then commanded his army to fire arrows at the hero, but they too turned into flowers. The army attacked, but Siddhartha's light acted as a shield and no harm came to him. The soldiers fled in fear. Mara was pissed. Why should he be defeated? He has been kind and generous to his people and they would bear witness to that. Who had Siddhartha been kind and generous to? Who would witness for him? Then, the Earth itself spoke to Mara, bearing witness to Siddhartha's generosity. Mara wept because he had been defeated.
• Siddhartha Becomes the Buddha 
• Siddhartha comes to realize that ignorance lies at the root of death, old age, suffering, and despair. He comes to the conclusion that leading a life of holiness leads to stifled desire, and we cease to endure birth and suffering.
• In the morning he became a Buddha and was revered by all. 

Week 13 Famous Last Words

This week has been pretty good. Here is a list of the adventures I went on and things I did that made me happy this week:

• I drove to Texas Wednesday evening for an appointment with True Results Thursday morning where I was told that my progress is exceptional and i'm doing really well! The doctor and I discussed my eating habits and my concerns that my portions were too big before deciding to bump my saline in my lapband up just a little bit. She injected .4 ccs of saline into my band which brings me up to a total of 5 ccs (the band holds 11 total). I'm feeling great and motivated to keep up with my progress.  

Before surgery, 267 lbs/ size 24

Last month, 210 lbs/size 16

Today, 206 lbs/size 16 

• While in Texas I got to see my Naala!! Naala is my mom's chinese crested powderpuff. She is absolutely amazing, hilarious, and awkward. I love that dog so much!!!! Plus, now she is finally fluffy again! 

How freaking cute is this dog? Seriously. Adorable. 

What a begger: Naala scoping my bacon

• I took a comprehensive exam in my generalist practice social work class and made a 98! Woo! 
• I decorated my apartment for Christmas. Well, I started decorating. My boyfriend, roommate, and myself all decorated the living room and put up/decorated the big tree that goes in there. I still need to put up my small tree that goes in my bedroom as well as the outdoor decorations. Then, I will continue to accumulate and put up decorations from now until Christmas. I'm also working on wreaths for my roommate, my friend, and my roommate's grandmother (who is super awesome and I love her!). I like making wreaths and it's super easy!

This pretty much sums up how I feel about Christmas

Mom on Christmas Day 2013

• I finished my volunteer training for Valir Hospice which means I will be allowed to begin volunteering and doing extended care for their patients next week! I'm so excited!
• Today i'm getting my nails done with my roommate. We are getting Christmas colors! While we do that, the dog will be just a few doors down from us getting groomed. Boy does she need it! Lily just got done with her second heat, which was awful for everyone involved and unlike her first one had a really gross side effect: she began to emit the most AWFUL smell. Her whole body stinks and so does all of my roommates bedding as well as the dog's crate. It's seriously gross and i'm so glad she is getting her cleaned up because I feel bad not petting the pup or letting her in my lap, but dang! I cannot handle that stench!

Christmas Dog!

Found on Tumblr

Week 13 Essay: First Reading Experience

Reading has always been a huge part of my life. My mom loves to read and thankfully instilled that love in me when I was young. We did not have much when I was little, but she always made sure there were things for me to read. Back then we lived with my great aunt, Barbara, who also loved to read as well as travel. She would read to me, tell me stories of her travels all over the world, or have me read to her. I loved every minute of it and it didn't take long for Mom and Aunt Bar to notice that I had a huge appetite for learning and reading. I was always asking questions, fiddling with things, exploring, and telling my mom new things I learned. Both Mom and Aunt Bar were very supportive and nurtured my fascination, but Mom was very busy. She was a single mom with 2 kids working 2 jobs, so she did not have as much free time to spend with me reading as she would have liked. Aunt Barbara stepped in and after mom initially taught me how to read, Bar would help me further my reading skills and knowledge in any subject I wanted. So, as my brain and my vocabulary grew, I began requesting different types of reading material. At 5 I received my first medical book. It was a medical terminology book, and I was ecstatic. Soon, I was reading scholarly articles about the origins of headaches, anatomy books, articles about medical technology and advances, encyclopedias, books about animals, books about Egypt, original writings of popular fairy tales, and books about science in general. I enjoyed fiction and fun stories, but gravitated towards non-fiction writings that helped me learn more about myself and the world around me. One of my first memories is of me asking my mom a bunch of questions about symptoms she may have because i was convinced she had some super rare disorder. Turns out I was on the right track because I was looking at an obsessive-compulsive disorder (I don't remember which one exactly) and Mom has generalized anxiety disorder (as do I) which is closely related. Overall, reading became a huge part of my life and was something I both enjoyed and excelled in. It was also a great way to connect with my mom who did not have much of a childhood herself and as such does not really know how to play or engage in activities involving the imagination. It brought us closer together and became a source of pride for her, especially in 2nd grade when I was placed into a 5th grade reading class because I was being disruptive due to boredom in my class. After all, in 2nd grade I was already reading young adult novels.

Girl Reading a Book

Uploaded by bf5man and found on Open Clipart

I love reading.

Side note: My love for reading made me really connect with Belle from Beauty and the Beast, which is why the only princess that I ever dressed up as (until college) was Belle.

Week 13 Storytelling: The Legend of the Waterfall

Khasi Ghost Stories

The Legend of the Waterfall 

Once there was a woman Ka Likai, average in most ways, but set apart by the series of terrible events that defined her life and continue to precede her name long after her death. Her story begins in a modest home where she lived happily with her husband and was eagerly awaiting the arrival of her first child. The happy couple filled was filled with excitement and their love grew just as quickly as their baby did. They fell more in love every day and were genuinely pleased with their lives. Sure, they weren’t rich, but they were happy and they were about to receive the greatest gift of all.

Finally the day came and Ka Likai went into labor. She held herself well, not panicking and continuing to walk around the house while focusing on her breathing and rubbing her belly. Her husband followed closely behind, one hand on her shoulder the other holding her hand. He stayed by her side for the entire 8 hours of labor as her contractions increased in frequency and strength. He watched his wife’s pain grow but was incredibly proud of how strong she was and how lucky he was to have her. She delivered a beautiful baby girl and he helped her clean their new child up. The new parents cried together and held the baby tight. Neither had ever been happier and everything seemed to be going so incredibly well. 

Unfortunately, this happiness was short-lived. 2 months after the birth of their daughter, tragedy struck and the husband grew very ill. He fought, but was simply not able to overcome the illness and died leaving his wife and daughter behind. Ka Likai struggled greatly to stay strong for her daughter under the crippling sadness of losing her husband. She got a second job and worked long hours day and night with her baby swaddled on her back but it wasn’t enough. She could not support them. 

Ka Likai spent many hours clutching her daughter and crying. How was she going to get through this? After lots of contemplation, she finally came to the conclusion that she would have to marry again. She did not want to, but she would do anything to make sure her daughter is okay. She found a husband and they were married, but it wasn’t long before she came to realize that he was a cruel and jealous man. He treated her with contempt, but most of his anger was directed at her daughter. He hated how Ka Likai paid so much attention to her daughter and so little to him. His jealousy was all-consuming and he vowed to change his situation.

He quit working, forcing Ka Likai to work even more and giving him plenty of time to stay home with his step-daughter. Ka Likai thought this would be a perfect opportunity to bond, and hoped it would diffuse some of the tension between her husband and daughter. However, his time spent with the young girl was spent bullying and abusing her. Each day his abuse got worse until one day he found out that the only reason his wife married him was to take care of her daughter. He was furious and decided that abusing the girl simply wasn’t enough to get back at his foolish wife. 

So, he called the girl into the kitchen and stabbed her repeatedly, killing her viciously before chopping her up and cooking the pieces. When his wife came home, he had the table set and he greeted her at the door with a smile and a hug. Ka Likai had no idea what had gotten into him, but liked the change in his attitude. She was briefly concerned when her daughter didn’t come bounding up to the door, but he told her that he had sent her to a friend’s house so they could have some time alone. She accepted his answer and sat down. Together they ate and the meal seemed to be going really well until it came to the end and she reached into the dessert basket and felt something strange. “What’s this?” she wondered aloud as she pulled out the mystery object from the basket. 

To her horror it was her daughter’s severed hand! She screamed and demanded to know what was going on. Her husband broke down and confessed everything. Ka Likai’s eyes grew wide with horror and she screamed before bawling into her hands. She was beside herself with grief and proceeded to run out the front door, her husband chasing after behind her. She ran, tears streaming down her face, to the edge of the great waterfall. She never stopped, never slowed down, and shot off the edge. She fell fast and landed with a great slap followed by silence. 

She was gone, but her legend endured. It is said that even today if you stand near the falls and listen really carefully you can still hear her agonizing cries and moans. No one has forgotten Ka Likai and her story serves as a cautionary tale for women contemplating remarrying. 

Author's Note:

I chose this story over the others in the Khasi Folktales unit because it was a cool and creepy story behind the naming of a natural feature. It kept with last week's theme of messed up stories. Plus, I thought it was interesting that people use this tale as a way to discourage widows from remarrying. It definitely highlights cultural differences between the Khasi and my own western values and such. Also, I love ghost tales. I am a big fan of ghost adventures and other ghost shows or stories and have been on multiple ghost-hunting adventures of my own with my family and friends. This week's storytelling reflects my macabre interests and fascination with circumstances and cultural practices surrounding death. It is a little long, but I was just having a lot of fun writing it. I'm hoping I broke it up enough to keep it from seeming long or from boring readers. 

Here's a link to the original story: The Leap of Ka Likai

Image Information:

1. Waterfall at Pua’a Ka’a State Wayside Park

Photo by Kan, found on Kan Walk Will Travel

2. Baby, Child, Daughter, Family, Girl, Happy

Public domain, found on Pixabay

3. Mourning of the Angel

Photo by Phospheros, found on Flickr

4. Esposas de Matrimonio

Uploaded by Hohum, found on Wikipedia

5. People, Knife, Stabbing, Stab, Kill, Murder, Man

Public domain, found on Pixabay

6. Skin

Photo by SplitShire, found on Pixabay

Week 13 Reading Diary: Khasi Folktales

Reading Unit Homepage
Khasi Folktales

• Hunting the Stag Lapalang
• There was once a studly stag who was well-known throughout the land. He was beautiful, but one day he was hunted down. When his mom found out she rushed around the countryside looking for her dead son. Her cries were the saddest, loudest cries of all time and they were so full of anguish and misery that the Khasis were impressed. They decided to mourn their dead like she mourned hers. 
• The Goddesses Ka Ngot and Ka Iam
• Twin sisters climb a mountain where they decided to race each other across the woody plains of Sylhet. Ka Ngot was timid, but Ka Iam was fearless. She boasted and teased her sister before the race, then the sisters transformed into two rivers and started their race. 
• Ka Ngot searched for smooth, easy places and moved slowly through long circuits. When she reached the end, she turned to look for her sister and the Khasis living on the hill-tops began calling her a silver necklace (which that part of the river is still called today).
• Ka Iam rushed straight for the end, but found that her chosen path was very difficult to travel. As a result, she lost to her sister which was humiliating because of all the crap-talking she did before ht race. Hoping to conceal her defeat from the rest of the world, she divided herself into 5 streams and entered the plains that way to join her sister. 
• Ever since, Ka Ngot has been seen as the better of the twins and is usually given sacrifices before people cross her. 
• U Biskurom
• U Biskurom was a heavenly being sent to  Earth to teach men how to make and use tools. He taught them the value of metals and how to make tools from smelted iron. They were slow learners but U Biskurom was patient. The men saw that he was much better and faster than they were at finishing his work so they demanded that he do impossible work and when he failed they would become angry and abusive. One day they made a clay person and told U Biskurom to make it come to life, but when he told them he did not know how, they beat him and threatened to throw him in prison if he did not bring it to life. U Biskurom said that if they wanted him to do it, they had to let him go back to heaven to learn how. Mankind let him go and strung him up on a kite to get him to heaven. If the gods wouldn't let him return to earth, he could write his knowledge and send it along the string. The gods did not want him going back to the abusive human A-holes so U Biskurom wrote on the kite and sent it down, but no human could decipher it. The humans were angry so they sent a huge shout to heaven. U Biskurom laughed and made some blood rain down from heaven. The humans thought he was killed by their shout.
• Because of their rudeness, lack of gratitude, and pride mankind has remained very ignorant and it takes a lot of work to gain knowledge. 
• The Stag and the Snail
• A stag is talking about how fast it is and a snail gets pissed.  Speed isn't the only important virtue of an animal! She made fun of them, pointing out how sweaty  they were and how cool and dry her skin was. The other animals were mad and saw themselves as superior so the snail challenged the stag to a long race. He accepted and the snail went home to ask her family to help her. They decided to hide along the path of the race and they dispersed. The next day the animals all gathered and laughed at the idea of the snail winning. The snail took off her shell and got ready to race. As soon as the signal was given, she ran into the grass and was no longer visible while the stag skipped towards the mountains. After a while the stag looked back and stopped, figuring the snail would have given up, and called out for him. From near his feet, he heard, "I am here, I am here" and there was the snail! This set the stag racing again and again he stopped and called for the snail who answered from right under his nose. When he reached the end, he was panting and laid down to rest because he was too weak to continue. The snail won and the stag was so upset that he fell to the ground and spit out his gallbladder. The stag still has no gallbladder as a constant reminder of his failure. 
• The Leap of Ka Likai
• This was the story of a waterfall. There was a woman named Ka Likai who who was married and had a baby, but her husband died. She couldn't support herself and her baby so she married again but the new husband was a selfish and brutal man. He was jealous of ho much attention Ka gave to the child and when he found out she married him to be able to support the child, he grew to hate her. He quit working, forcing Ka to work and while she was gone he would bully and abuse the child. One day while Ka was gone for a long time, the husband killed the child and planned to do worse to his wife when she returned. He chopped up the child and cooked it  before serving her to the mom. After dinner, the mom reached into a basket looking for betel and found one of her murdered daughter's hands. She freaked and asked what happened. The man told her everything and she was so distraught that she threw herself over the edge of the waterfall. Every since, it has been called the Leap of Ka Likai and it is said you can hear her anguished moans  and wives contemplating remarrying are discouraged and told to remember Ka Likai. 
• What caused the Shadows on the Moon
• Family of deities: a mother and her 4 children (3 daughters, 1 son)- Water, Fire, Sun, and Moon
• The youngest, Moon & Sun, were equal to each other but more beautiful and than the elders.
• When the moon grew up he developed wayward tendencies: he came and went as he pleased without talking to his mother and he was falling in with the wrong crowd. Sometimes he'd be gone for days at a time with no one knowing where he is. He gave over to pleasures and "wild pursuits" and one day he and his friends went to the nether regions and spent lots of time with goblins. After a while, he went home and when he got home he was dazzled by his sister Sun because he'd gotten so used to seeing only ugly companions. His sister tried to greet him, but he ran past and demanded that his mom give him his sister's hand in marriage. He was dismissed by his mother and when Sun found out what he'd done she stomped up to him, grabbed a pan of hot ash, and threw it in his face. The ashes scarred him, creating the shadows on the moon. 
• What makes the Lightning
• Long ago, when animals and men mingled: men had great festivals all the time and animals used to attend them. A huge feast was planned by the animals and the thunder god. At the feast, the lynx arrived with a glorious silver sword. The thunder god asked to borrow it and when he did he wielded it wildly and pounded his drum violently. It was so loud and bright that the animals were scared and they fled to the jungle to hide. In the confusion, the thunder god leapt into the sky, taking the sword with him. He is seen today dancing with the sword and hitting his drum. People call these thunder and lightning. 
• How the Tiger got his Strength
• In the beginning, all of the animals were created and sent to live in the jungle. However, they kept getting in each other's way and squabbling. So, the gods came together to decide which animals would get which qualities that way they could live in harmony. After this all of the humans and animals were summoned to receive their gifts. 
• Man was given beauty and wisdom and the tiger received craftiness and the ability to walk silently. 
• When the man returned home his mother sent him back to the gods to ask for physical strength so that man would truly be superior to animals. The man went back but it was late and he was told to return the next day and they would give him strength. 
• When the man was talking to the gods, a tiger happened to stroll upon their gathering and overheard them discussing the gift of strength. He was determined to have it for himself so the next morning before the gods had convened, the tiger went to their home and sent a messenger to receive the gift. The gods bestowed the gift of strength 12X more than what he had before because they thought they were giving it to men. 
• Later that day the man set out to meet with the gods, but on the way the tiger challenged him to a fight and boasted about receiving the "12 strengths." The tiger leapt at the man, but he dodged and ran towards the home of the gods. He told them what happened, and the gods were angry but they did not know how to take back the gift.
• They felt bad for the man so they gave him a bow and arrow and taught him how to shoot and kill the tiger. Thus, the tiger was given strength and the man was given skill. 

Week 12 Famous Last Words

This week I want to use my Famous Last Words assignment to talk about someone who has come into my life and opened so many doors for me. Her name is Rita Ulman and she is my field instructor for my practicum at Calm Waters. She is a MSW (Masters of Social Work) who works at Valir Hospice and she is such an incredibly essential resource for me. She has such a wealth of knowledge and is so willing to share her stories, experiences, lessons, resources, contacts, and love of helping people. She has done so much and is truly committed to making sure I have any and all opportunities to learn about what I want to learn about. She wants me to experience as many aspects of social work as possible and that is exactly what I wanted from my practicum. She teaches in a perfect way for me to learn and gives great feedback when I ask about my performance at Calm Waters and Valir. We met this week and talked about so many things that i'm going to get to do this semester and next. She is going to try and hook me up with some other social workers so I can shadow them and see what sort of things they do in their daily work. She also is letting me volunteer with Valir Hospice. I will get to go on-call and do extended care for people who are actively dying as well as sit with clients/patients who need someone's company, someone to talk to, help with daily activities, etc. I'm going to get to see the PACE program in OKC as well as observe a psycho-social assessment with another social worker from Valir. Another learning opportunity she is going to let me take advantage of is her role in Valir's audits, finances, and statistics.

Rita is exactly what I needed in a practicum instructor. She wears so many hats and is perfectly okay with my true NEED to learn. I am a dedicated person and I have a real passion for social work. I want to learn all about it: practices, roles of social work, resources, different kinds of social work, about the populations I could be serving, specific needs of different populations, cultural differences, etc. I love learning, I mean during the summer I watch at least one documentary a day to keep my mind sharp and stimulated by new learning. Rita is just as fired up about social work as I am and she has been doing it for many years. I love that she is still dedicated to her work. She is not only a great practicum instructor, but a wonderful person. I really enjoy being around her because she just fills the room with charisma, wisdom, and positivity.


She helps inspire me to stay positive, so i'm hoping to spread that positivity to y'all. Have a great weekend and Boomer Sooner!

Good Things Come with a Positive Vibe by Danny Foo 

Found on Flickr

Week 12 Essay: Reading Unit Assessment

                For this week’s reading I chose the Bengal Folktales unit because I wanted to continue with the fairy tale theme that I started with last week. Plus, I had never previously heard of or had experience with any tales that come from Bengal. I really enjoyed this week’s reading because yes, it was fairy tale/folktale stories but they were strange and dark. They featured themes of violent justice, selfishness, betrayal, jealousy, revenge, death, and ghosts. It was a fun change and a perfect follow up to the week of Halloween! Plus, I’m into dark tales that teach lessons. I've read all of the Grimm’s Fairy Tales and absolutely loved them! These reminded me of those fairy tales because of their macabre form of justice and the gory and/or violent deeds of men who are influenced by a sin or an evil of sorts. The only thing that bothered me about this week’s readings was that there were multiple stories featuring ghosts that all had very similar plots/story lines. It felt a little tiring to read multiple stories that were all about the same thing. I would suggest getting rid of “The Ghostly Wife” if you can find another Bengal folktale to replace it in the unit. It is the least interesting of the 3 stories featuring ghosts, manipulation, and impersonation. Ghosts in these tales do interest me though because they seem to be bound and determined to get a new chance at life. They yearn to be alive again, which unlike a lot of western fairy tales, suggests that they are conscious of their death and are intelligent spirits. We have a lot of haunting stories where the ghosts are essentially on a loop, replaying parts of their life or death over and over again. When they do actively haunt a person it’s usually because they don’t understand why they are in their house or something and they feel like the person is intruding on their lives. They want them out just like I would want some stranger out of my house. These ghosts though realize they are dead and decide to take on the life of someone else at the cost of that actual person’s livelihood. Anyway, “The Ghostly Wife” is a relatively boring story in comparison to “The Ghostly Brahman” and “The Ghost who was Afraid of Being Bagged.” The other two have plot twists that I did not expect, but really enjoyed. I also wasn't a fan of “The Story of a Brahmadaitya” but that was probably because it was a really long story that was in the middle of a bunch of shorter stories. The shorter stories were more fun to read because they were short enough to not get boring or monotonous. I felt like reading that story was a bit of a trek in comparison to all of the other stories.

Medieval Ghost by Gallowglass

Found on Wikimedia Commons

Overall, I really enjoyed this unit and plan to keep the print-outs I made of it to read them again. You picked some really awesome stories. 

Storyteling Week 12: The Boy with Seven Mothers

Oh hey! Hi! So, today I’m going to tell you a little story…
Actually, it’s a pretty big story. In fact, it’s my story.

Myself and my wife 

My name is Raj and I am the king of Bengaldan. I live a wonderful life in a golden palace with my seven mothers, my beautiful queen Reina, and our twin sons. We are truly blessed, but for such a big family living such a lavish life, my story is not all glitter and gold. In fact, let’s just start from the beginning, the time in my life most similar to how it is now, a time before I existed.
30 years ago in this very same palace there lived a king and his seven lovely queens. They spent much time laughing but behind those glistening eyes and toothy smiles sat heartache because you see, all seven of the queens were unable to conceive. They tried and tried, but not one of the wives became pregnant. The king became frustrated and finally sought out the help of an old medicine man. The man told my father of a tree deep in the woods where seven magic mangoes hung. He said that if my father himself went and retrieved those mangoes then gave them to his wives, they would produce children. The king felt like it was a bit of a long-shot, but was willing to try just about anything. He left immediately and soon returned with the mangoes which his wives all bit into eagerly, hoping desperately for the old man’s words to be true.

Sure enough it wasn't long afterward that all of the queens discovered they were with child! The king could not believe his luck! So many years of trying and heartbreak and finally he was not going to have one, but SEVEN children! He thanked the gods and for weeks his giddiness filled the castle, spilling over into the streets and infecting the citizens with his excitement and joy. Things really seemed to be going great until one day my father was out hunting and he came across the most beautiful young maiden he’d ever seen. She was stunning and he could not take his eyes off of her. He brought her home with him and they were wed. She was immediately accepted into the family even though the extra attention she garnered did create some envy within the other queens. They were jealous of his affection for her, but they grew to dislike her even more and could not pinpoint why. Something just wasn't right.

It wasn't long after their marriage that the king fell completely underneath his new bride’s spell. He loved her so much and would do anything for her… literally. He was at her every beckon call. He worshiped the ground she walked on and did not hide that he loved her more than all of the other brides.

She was his Lakshmi, his Goddess of Love

One day while lavishing her with affection the newest queen asked of the king, “Do you truly love me? More than the others?”

“Of course my queen, more than any other woman in the universe! My love for you is ever-growing!”

“If that is true,” she said, “Then prove it! Blind all of them and have them destroyed! If you truly love me more, then take me as your one true queen.”

The king was conflicted, but ultimately just as blind as his wives would be. He agreed and the other wives were grabbed and thrown down into the cellar where their eyes were ripped out of their heads and their shaking bodies thrown back onto the ground. They awaited their executioner, but when he came, he could not go through with it. He was merciful, and he hid them away. He kept them safe and alive, but they lived a miserable existence. Eventually, he had to cut their rations because hiding them was proving costly. They began to starve, their minds growing mad with desperation.

The seven queens were all blinded, their eyes removed. 

Then one day, the oldest wife gave birth to her child, a son. She looked at him almost lovingly at first, but then decided they should kill the infant and eat him or face starvation. The other queens agreed and each took their portion of the child and ate it all up, each that is except for the youngest queen who set her portion aside and curled up by herself. Soon after the second wife had her child and it too was consumed like the first. This pattern continued until the only queen left to give birth was the youngest. Her labor was long and difficult, but when the baby arrived the queen was beside herself with joy. She immediately loved the child and could not bear the thought of killing him. So, when the other queens demanded she share her meal, she gave her all of her left over portions. They were not fooled though and she had to explain that she wished to nurse and raise the child. Surprisingly, the other queens were excited and all seven raised the child as their own.

She couldn't imagine harming her newborn baby

I grew up and through some strange happenings (a demon consuming the entire palace staff) I became the king’s only real servant. I took care of everything and protected him; I knew he was my father even if he didn't. When the townsfolk came to him scared and upset, speaking of a demon who came at night and gobbled them up, I immediately knew it was the queen and I revealed her for a fake, slaying her like the demon she is and winning a place in the palace for myself and my mothers. Things just seemed to fall into place after that, and we've never looked back.

Author’s Note:
I really liked this story because it reminded me of the old Grimm’s fairy tales. It was grim and dark. I liked the strange, macabre notion of queens eating their own children to survive because it was SO DIFFERENT to what we’d been reading. I obviously don’t like the idea of eating children, but the weird story appealed to me. I wrote it from first and third person which I hope doesn't make it hard to understand. I just wanted to revisit this strange story which you can read on Laura Gibbs' blog.

Image Information:

1. Marriage of H.H Sri Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV and Rana Prathap Kumari of Kathiawar

By: Raja Ravi Varma, found on Wikipedia

2. Mango, posted by Sarangib

Found on Pixabay

3. Goddess Lakshmi by Raja Ravi Varma

Found on Wikimedia Commons

4. Eye Scream Scoop by Sarah

Found on Flickr

5. Foot by Inspiredimages

Found on Pixabay

Week 12 Reading Diary: Folktales of Bengal

Reading Unit Homepage
Folktales of Bengal

Part A: Chapters 1-8
*= Stories I found particularly interesting and wanted to mark for possible use as storytelling for the week

• **The Evil Eye of Sani (Ch. 1-3)
• Sani (aka Saturn), god of bad luck and Lakshmi, the goddess of good luck were arguing over who was ranked higher than whom. They decided to let a human decide, one who was wise and just. The human they chose was a rich man named Sribatsa who knew he could not come out right and choose one over the other for fear of their wrath. Instead, he let the gods infer from his actions who was ranked higher. He had 2 stools: 1 gold, 1 silver and he asked Lakshmi to sit on the gold and Sani to sit on the silver. Sani got pissed b/c obviously Sribatsa thought Lakshmi was higher than him and declared that he would "cast [his] eye on [Sribatsa] for three years." Lakshmi told Sribatsa not to fear, that she would befriend him, and then the gods and goddesses left. 
• Sribatsa went to his wife (Chintamani) and told her that he was leaving so that he could protect her from Sani's evil eye. She refused to let him leave without her and so the pair stashed their valuables in the mattress and left. They invoked Lakshmi and asked that she take care of their home and property while they hid in exile. She agreed. So, Sribatsa and Chintamani took off, carrying the mattress, It was not long before they came to a river where a ferryman sat. They asked to be taken across and he agreed, but would have to take them 1 at a time. First, he took the mattress, but when he got halfway, a huge wind carried the mattress, canoe, and ferryman away. Then, the stream also disappeared, giving way to nothing but firm ground. It had to be the evil eye of Sani. 
• With no money, the couple headed into a nearby wood-cutting town and joined them as two new woodcutters. Sribatsa began cutting wood, but unlike the other woodcutters, he only cut precious wood (ex. Sandalwood) that sold for more at market. His wife went on to spin thread, and like her husband, she spun less thread but higher quality and made more money. This made the other villagers jealous. Then, Sribatsa's wife invited the villagers over for a feast that she cooked. The food was so wonderful that when the men went home they reprimanded their wives for not being able to cook as well as Chintamani. This made the women hate her even more! 
• One day while bathing along the river-side, Chintamani bumped into a boat causing it to row off into the water. This boat had previously been unmovable by anyone in the village and as such, the men thought she had a special power and they kidnapped her! The women of the village saw this happen, but did not stop them as they were too filled with envy and hate. Sribatsa was pissed when he found out what happened and he resolved to follow the river until he found his wife. He searched and searched before climbing into a tree for the night. 
• The next day he saw a Kapila-cow (a cow which doesn't give birth to calves, but produces milk at any time). He milked the cow and drank to his heart's content before noticing that the cow dung was a bright yellow.. in fact.. it' was gold! Pure gold! While the poo was soft, he wrote his name on it and then let it harden into a brick in the sun. Day in and day out the cow came and supplied him with milk and Sribatsa decided to wait there for the boat that took his wife. In the meantime he would collect the golden bricks deposited by the cow. 
• While this was going on, Chintamani was scared that her beauty might insight the worst in her captors so she prayed to Lakshmi to make her ugly so that the men would not touch her. Lakshmi heard her prayer and she was quickly turned into a diseased and vile carcass. She was covered in hideous, stinky sores and when the men found her they threw her into the cargo hold where they would only occasionally give her rice and water. She was miserable, but at least she was chaste. 
• The boatmen came upon Sribatsa and his gold. They seized it all, took him prisoner, and threw him below with his wife. They immediately recognized each other, but decided not to speak for their safety, choosing instead to communicate through signs and gestures. 
• One day Sribatsa beat the boatmen at dice one too many times and they tossed him overboard. Chintamani somehow knew to throw a pillow into the water which Sribatsa used to float down the stream to a garden where he grabbed hold of a tree and spent the night. The garden was owned by an old widow who was amazed when she woke up because with his arrival came the rebirth of her garden into a stunning spectacle. The woman went to find the cause of this change, she went for a walk in the garden and found Sribatsa who she brought into her cottage. While he rested, she ran to the king to tell him that she could once again be his chief flower-supplier. She then recommended Sribatsa to the king who promptly appointed him to toll-gatherer at the river. He then used his position to detain the boat and the boatmen were charged with theft. The king came down to see the gold and Chintamani was rescued. At hearing what had happened the king was astonished. He took them into his palace and entertained them for days. The evil eye of Sani was over and once again the couple could once again prosper. 
• *****The Boy whom Seven Mothers Suckled (Ch. 4-5)
• Once there was a king with 7 barren queens. 1 day a medicine man tells him of a tree that has 7 magic mangoes on it. If the king himself will go pick those mangoes and give them to his wives then they shall all have children. He did such and sure enough all 7 became pregnant.
• Then, he meets a gorgeous young woman in the forest whom he brings home and marries. This woman turns out to be a Rakshasi (demon) who the king becomes so infatuated with that he obeys her every wish. One day, she tells him that if he truly loves her he will blind his other wives and order them to be killed. He obeys and the wives have their eyes ripped out. However, the man who was supposed to kill them was merciful and instead hid them away. 
• After some time the first wive gave birth to her child. The queens were starving, blind, and scared. They decided to kill and eat the child. Each queen got her portion and ate it except the youngest who set hers aside. The same thing happened as each of the next 5 wives gave birth until the only one left was the youngest. She had her baby, but did not wish to kill it. When the other queens demanded she share, she gave them her portions of the children that had been killed before. However, the pieces were not fresh and the queens caught on. The youngest pleaded with them, explaining that she wanted to nurse the baby and raise it. Surprisingly, the other queens were stoked and they all decided to help suckle the baby. So, the did and they raised the healthiest, strongest, most hardy boy ever! 
• In the meantime, the demon wife was attempting to fill her bottomless pit of a stomach by eating the royal family; all of the servants and attendants at the palace; all of the kings horses, elephants, and cattle; and every other human in the palace until only herself and her royal consort were left. Then, she went into the city and began eating it's citizens. 
• The king was left with no one to attend to him and so the boy who'd been raised by the 7 blind queens offered his services.  He protected the king from the demon wife who would otherwise gobble him up. The queen then had to get crafty. She told the boy she was sick with something only a special melon could cure and sent him to her mother with a letter which instructed her to eat him upon arrival. The boy ran to the other side of the ocean where the Rakshasis lived and shouted "Granny! Granny! Come save your daughter; she is dangerously ill." An old Rakshasi arrived in response and gave the boy the melon. He however said he was tired and asked if he could stay and rest for one day. The old woman obliged and they went together to the woman's home where a bird was hanging in a cage. The boy asked about it and the woman revealed that it held the soul of his mother. If the bird were to die, so would his mother. 
• The next morning he grabbed the melon and the cage and headed home to a surprised demon mother. He gave her the melon, but kept the cage hidden. Soon, peasants from the city and surrounding villages began complaining to the king that a huge evil bird was coming every night from the palace and eating more and more villagers. The king was perplexed, but the boy said that he knew of the bird and would be happy to kill it so long as the queen were to stand by the king when he did it. The king agreed and summoned the queen who fainted when the boy revealed the bird. The boy then told the king that in order to show him who was eating the people, he would tear off the bird's limbs and the limbs of the man-eater would fall off as well. The boy then tore off one of the bird's legs and simultaneously one of the queen's legs fell off. Then, the boy squeezed the bird's throat and as the life left it's body, the queen died. 
• The boy then told his story to the king who was elated to find out his wives were alive. He had them brought to the palace at once and miraculously their sight was restored. The boy became the heir to the throne and the reunited family lived happily ever after. 
• The Origin of Opium (Ch. 6-8)
• There once was a Rishi who spent all day, from sun-up to sun-down performing religious rites/rituals and meditating before retiring to a hut that he made on the side of the Ganges. He was isolated except for a mouse who lived in the hut and ate his dinner crumbs. The 2 got along so one day the Rishi gave the mouse the power of speech. The mouse then asked him to turn him into a cat so he may escape the cat that hunts for him every day. Then, he wants to be a dog because dogs chase him, so the Rishi obliges. Then, he wishes to be turned into an ape because he envies the lives of larger animals. When summer came, the ape asked to be turned into a boar because they seemed happy splashing around in the river all day. The Rishi was so kind and turned him into a boar, but only 3 days later did the boar return, fearing his life after almost being killed by the king who was hunting boar. He wished to be an elephant and his wish was granted. Soon the elephant was captured, taken to the royal stables, and tamed. The king rode the elephant to the Ganges to bathe. The king and queen looked so happy together and the elephant saw how much the king loved the queen and tried to pamper her in every way he could. The elephant then went to the Rishi and asked to be turned into a queen. The Rishi asked how he could possibly do that, instead he turned the elephant into a beautiful maiden who he named Postomani (the poppy-seed lady). They lived together and one day while the Rishi was gone, a stranger came knocking on the door. He asked for something to drink and she obliged before setting out a cot for him. The man turned out to be a king and he asked her which caste she was from. She was unsure, and tried to offer him fruit, but he was relentless. She made up that her father was a king who'd been eaten by a tiger and her mother died just after giving birth to her. The king made love to her and they got married. She was so happy that she danced around, skipping and twirling, but she wasn't paying attention and she fell into a well and died. The Rishi told the king not to grieve because the woman was no princess, she was a mouse who had been changed many times until she became your queen. He was sad however, and decided to use her body to create poppies who would then be used to make opium that could be smoked or eaten to give the person one quality of each of the animals that Postomani had been. 

Part B: Chapters 9- 17

• The Ghost-Brahman
• There was once a poor Brahman who wanted to get married but couldn't afford the bride price so he begged for money until he could and got himself a wife. However, when the Brahman and his wife went home to where the Brahman's mother waited, the man admitted he couldn't support them all so he left. Not long after, a ghost took the form of the Brahman and went into the house and live in the house as if he was the owner. Everyone thought he was the Brahman and when the real one came home, he was said to be a fake and forced from his home. The Brahman went to the king with his plight and the king said he would try the case, but he could not tell them apart. Day in and day out the Brahman would leave crying until a cowboy king saw him and summoned him to see what was wrong. The Brahman explained and the cowboy king said he could solve the scuffle. The case came to the king who said that the real Brahman was the one who could fit into a small container. The ghost fell for it and entered the container which was then thrown into the sea and the Brahman received his home, wife, and mom back. 
• The Ghostly Wife
• There was a Brahman, his wife, and his mom all in a house. One day the wife went for a walk and bumped into a ghost who got pissed and grabbed her by the throat, carried her up into a tree, and shoved her into a hole. The ghost then took the shape of the wife and entered the house. The mother began noticing lots of differences between the wife she saw and the wife she knew. Then, one day she saw the ghost stretch it's arm quite far, something the real wife obviously couldn't do. The mom told the Brahman and they both began watching the ghost much more closely. One day the mom observed the ghost heating a stove using her foot instead of fuel. An exorcist was sent for and he got her to admit she was a ghost before she was sent away and the real wife was rescued almost dead from the hole in the tree. 
• The Story of a Brahmadaitya (Ch. 11-12)
• This story was incredibly boring and as such does not deserve to be written about and will not be used in further writing. 
• The Origins of Rubies (Ch. 13-14)
• An old king died leaving behind his 4 sons and queen. The queen loved her sons.... too long didn't finish reading. Got bored. 
• The Ghost who was Afraid of being Bagged
• Barer and his wife live together unhappily because all she does is complain about being hungry. She shamed her husband for not being able to provide for her began to hate himself and her so he left, vowing to not return until he was rich. He went village to village before stopping to rest for the night under a tree. Under this tree there was a ghost who threatened to destroy the barber. The barber remains brave and says he has captured many ghosts and will do the same to this one. The barber pulled out a bag and the ghost became terrified, begging the man to not bag him up. The barber agreed to leave him be if the ghost were to bring him 1,000 gold mohurs and raise him a granary with a house where he can grow rice to support his family. The ghost agreed and was doing the man's bidding until his uncle told him not to fear the man. Surely the barber couldn't catch the ghost! The uncle ghost and the nephew ghost then went to the barber who put a looking class in the bag and fooled the ghost into thinking he had/could capture(d) him. 
• The Bald Wife 
• A man had 2 wives, the younger of which was his favorite b/c she had 2 tufts of hair on her head whereas the older had only 1. The wives lived together but hated each other because the younger treated the older like crap, making her do all the housework and not giving her much to eat. One day, the older was removing lice from the younger one's hair when one single hair fell out. This set off the younger one who tore out the single tuft of the older one's hair in rage. The now bald wife banished herself to the forest where she met a woman who was just as miserable as she was. The woman instructed the wife to go to a nearby tank and plunge into the water once before returning to her. The woman did and when she got out of the water she had long jet black hair that came down to her ankles. She was filled with joy and gratitude. The woman instructed her to then go into her hut and retrieve a woven basket inside which was filled with gold, pearls, and all other jewels. She told her to take the basket home. Then, a bull gave her shells and if she shakes them anything will be hers.  The younger wife got jealous of the older wife's beauty. The young woman did everything the older one did, but instead of dunking once, she dunked twice and since she was disobedient, she came out bald and ugly. She went back and was reduced to the older queen's maid-servant for the king now loved her more and the two lived happily together.