Blogger 16

The Blogs

            I’ve never blogged until I took English 101 with Ms. Croker. The way I see blogs are like little entries of thoughts of anything you would like to type about. From restaurants you’ve eaten at to the things you did that day.  It’s whatever you want to speak about via Internet, like a little diary. Since I started blogging I feel that my typing and writing skills have improved a little bit because of the weekly entries and reading other fellow peers blogs.

            I would have to say that I didn’t enjoy blogging at first. But, once I was forced to make weekly entries I started to get use to it. At times I felt like spilling my guts out.  I’ve been talking to a few friends and they say they blog almost everyday. They go on certain websites to type away about anything and everything. Some people even get paid to be a professional blogger. It’s true I’ve met a few pro bloggers when I was in the Navy. They came to our unit and got to take a tour around base and got a flight in a helicopter.

            Reading my peers new blogs every week was enjoyable. I could see some people actually opened up in their blogs. Some included laughter and sadness that’s what I enjoyed as well the vivid emotions shared.  To my fellow classmates thank you for everything you’ve shared through out the semester. I feel that reading and doing the different types of blogs that were assigned each week it helped me in some ways with my combat PTSD. So, I say again thank you for everybody’s support. I wish everybody the best of luck though their journey of life and maybe someday we will cross paths again.

A Dog's Life

A Dog’s Life

            One of my favorite moments in life was when I took my new dog Nikkō to the beach for the very first time. Nikkō is a six-month-old brown and white colored boxer. The brown and white colors indicate that he is a “fawn” breed boxer. Nikkō had never been to beach until last Saturday.  As a new puppy ready to explore what’s beyond our house and a gated yard, we drove to Point Magu in hope that Nikkō would react calm to the beautiful warm sunny afternoon on a sandy beach with crashing waves.

            Upon arriving to the beach, Nikkō seemed memorized by the white color sand. Sniffing the sand with his wet nose made the sand stick to it like he was in a scene as, Al Pacino in “Scarface”.  After a little jog from the sand to water, Nikkō again was star stroked by the noise and cold waves hitting his paws. He didn’t know whether to jump in the water headfirst or run back to the car. But like his owner, Nikkō didn’t mind the feeling of the cold foamy water skimming his paws for the first time. He had acted as if it was his 100^th time ever being at the beach.

            After a few hours of running up, down, and through the water I felt so proud of my little puppy growing up to love the ocean.  My mind was put to ease to know that I adopted a beach loving dog that would forever be remembered. 

Life is Precious. "So Others May Live"

Blog Week 14

            The first person that comes to mind is my wonderful girlfriend Cynthia Flores, who I always wake up to every morning. With the annoying alarm clock going off Monday through Friday at 4:15am exactly, she gets up with me makes coffee and prepares my lunch for work. She’s the reason why I strive for the best on everything I put my mind to. From work to college she motivates me to put in 110% everyday. Through thick and thin we always make everything work. I hope to soon marry her, have kids, and grow old with her.

            When I was in second grade I met a kid named Angelo. From the first time we spoke to each other we always hung out at lunch, recess, and detention we formed a bond like blood brothers would. He has a funny egg shaped head with brown shaved hair. When it came to getting into trouble we were always the ones to blame, even when it wasn’t our faults. But when time went by we started to look back at life and we laugh at the silly things we did growing up. Without Angelo I think I would’ve ended up in jail or killed. Even through all the crazy events with Angelo, he still had a wise mind that I think he learned from his father. It’s been about 18 years now that I’ve known this man who now has a family of his own and lives in Texas. We still talk via the Internet or phones. I don’t think Angelo and I will never stop being brothers.

            Last but not least a fellow Sailor that died serving his country. I would like to keep his name anonymous due to security reasons and for the respect of his family. This wasn’t just any ordinary man this was my junior helicopter crewman. We flew several missions in Iraq, saving lives and completing any task given to us. This man changed my life forever. One night while flying in pitch darkness on a call to rescue a fellow soldier who was faulty injured from gun shot wounds. We flew for about an hour trying to find their location. But no luck and with time running short we started to run low on fuel. Our helicopter Commander made the choice to return to base and had a second helicopter take over while we flew back to refuel. On the way back to base we had a major engine malfunction causing us to spin out control, with both gunner side doors open the Sailor was thrown from the helicopter on impact. Causing him to shoot out the door killing him instantly. He leaves behind a little girl and his lovely wife. That’s when I knew my days of flying were too much. From this I learned that life is so precious and I should make every minute count. I knew this second crash was the one that broke the last straw on the camels back.

Hybrid College Course

Aaron Noriega

Ms. Croker

ENG. 101

16APR13

Hybrid College Course

            Taking a “hybrid” course at Oxnard College can make life of a student easier or it could make a student drop or fail the course. A hybrid course at Oxnard College is a unique way to take a class or course via the internet and a one day a week in class portion with a the teacher. The course syllabi is conducted into half online via Desire2Learn (D2L); where work is turn in over the Internet and the other half is a once a week, two and half hour in class with a teacher.

            By taking this type of class during your college path it can be beneficial with somebody that has a full-time job and would like to take multiple courses in one semester. By doing so the student either has the choice to take more courses or will spend less time on campus and doing homework or other assignments more independently at home, work, or anywhere that has a internet connection to upload files.

            A bad situation that can happen to a student taking a hybrid class is that the once a week in class teacher time is just not enough time to obtain or learn the course objectives to graduate the class with a satisfactory grade. Also taking the online version of a class can be difficult at times when computers or Internet is not available to turn in your homework. Homework at times can seem overwhelming at times if you wait to the last minute to turn in your work online.

            This semester I’ve been taking two classes Math11 and English 101. Math I go on Tuesday and Thursday at 7pm to 9:15pm. For English I go on Wednesday at 6pm till 8:15pm and take the hybrid class due to work schedule.    

Blog Wk 12

Aaron Noriega

Ms. Croker

English 101

09APR13

“The Meaning of Mad Cow”

Where to begin with “Fast Food Nation”, well it makes me really wonder what is in my meals that I eat. Nobody really knows, except the ranchers and meat packers. But, I still don’t think I’m going to eat fast food. It hasn’t killed me yet. So, why stop now? However I did learn how the corporate high ups would do whatever it takes to get to the top. They don’t care who gets hurts or what they destroy on the way up.  Schlosser did come up with an original idea for his book. He talked about some gruesome stuff that goes on behind doors. Also how big corporations hide illegal immigrants to work for them. And they didn’t care one bit about them about.

I’m glad to have read “FFN” it was really unique and it’s been a while since I read something like this. Thank you to everybody for sharing their thoughts as well. But I’m still going to eat meat!

This School Year

Blog Entry #11

            To answer last weeks blog about five lies and one truth, the true answer is number four. I do own a dog that I just adopted recently from the Camarillo Animal Shelter. His name is Nikkō (Japanese for “The Sun or Sunshine”) a full breed boxer, almost six months old, and loves digging.

            It’s about three quarters into the semester and I feel pretty good about the progress I’ve made. Right now I’m taking Math 11 and English 101. I was in Math 14 but couldn’t remember the simple stuff.  It’s been about eight years since I graduated high school and that was the last time I was in any type of schooling system. Besides the military, which was a whole different type of schooling. The military trained me how to how to save lives and survive in the worst conditions and scenarios known to man.

            I’m feeling confident that I will finish the school year out with higher expectations than when I started. Not bad for being out of school for eight years. I developed a nice rhythm with having to balance school and a full-time career. But, I do have to admit that choosing English 101 as a hybrid class does but have its pros and cons. I don’t like that you only get about a good two and half hours of in-class teacher time. I didn’t know what or how the hybrid classed worked, but I do now. I chose the hybrid version due to work and my Naval Reserves. I’m extremely proud of myself with all the pressure from my work and the military, that I’ve managed to make it this far.

            When it’s all said and done and I have the little tiny piece of paper that reads: “Aaron Noriega - Certified Quality Engineer.” That’s when I know all my hard work finally paid off. Making it through rigorous training and deployments from the military was one thing but, college is just another stepping stone in my next thing in life.

The Truth Will Set You Free

The Truth Will Set You Free

1. I served six active years in the US Air Force.
2. I won C.I.F. in water polo in high school.
3. I’ve never been wake boarding.
4. I don’t own a dog.
5. I don’t drink any alcoholic beverages. 
6. I eat butter on a stick.