Reflection 5

I was not at school this week and wasn't able to be in class for 20% time. Fortunately, I found time to exercise and stretch. On tuesday, I went for a run and was able to run for 2.5 miles in 35 minutes. It was a nice run and afterwards I sat outside and stretched. On thursday, my dad and I went for a run together. We went to a nearby mountain. The first mile had a high incline and was difficult to run without stopping. I stopped but continued to lunge up the hill. My dad on the other hand is a huge motivation to me because he did not stop once. He has trained for years and built up stamina. We ran 4.2 miles in 56 minutes. We plan to this run once a week. For next week, I plan on using the websites I discovered to exercise and try to run even longer! Having a partner to exercise with is a good motivation and also helpful to keep you on track.

Reflection

This Week I was able to learn a lot about setting up a performance and the things that go into it.  There is a lot of time that needs to be spent practicing and preparing to take full advantage of the publicity that you can get from the performance.  One great way that I found to practice was to go to open mike nights to get some practice in front of an audience.  I have recently been in contact with several venues to set dates.

Reflection 4

I found a great website that has a variety of useful information. It caught my attention that they have post-surgery goals. They include goals to reach from the first month after surgery, to the eighth month. In the months 6-7, they have a "Return to Practice Phase" which has strengthening exercise for the knee. I had knee surgery last year and recovery was a challenge. My knee is a challenge for me when I play soccer or run. I am working to build back my leg muscles and make them stronger. Strengthening my legs would help prevent another knee injury. I focus on gradually regaining my strength not only to be able to run but to give my body a stronger foundation. I am looking into a gym membership, hopefully I can join one. For now, online websites are great sources for targeted knee exercises on flexibility, agility, cardio and strength. I completed my goals for this week! I worked on my college application and got to get a 30 minute run this week. For this week, I am going to run for 40 minutes and submit my application.
Great Website for ACL exercises!:
http://emoryhealthcare.org/acl-program/return-to-play/months-6-7-return-to-practice-phase/strength/lunge-walks-with-abduction.html

Reflection 4

This week I started working with Unity but when i got in class I realised that the school's website filters won't let me get on unity's website to look at tutorials and documentation. There was another engine that's seemed easy to use and similar to unity. It was unreal engine 4 and it wasn't blocked in school. At home downloaded it and tried some beginner tutorials and it seems ok so that's what I will be using. I can use c# and c++ to work there so my knowledge won't go to waste. Unreal engine has better visuals than unity so I can make my demo/simulation even better looking.

Reflection 4

This week I made some nice improvements on my way to dunking a basketball. My legs have been sore all week, a good sign that my workouts have been doing their job. As for the workout itself, I have added and subtracted certain exercises based on how well I believe they are working. The goal here is to have the best, most rigorous exercises to challenge me and make my legs stronger. I got outside Sunday to record myself attempting to dunk and a standing vertical leap as a comparison for previous weeks, I also made a slight change, in which I changed basketball hoops due to the fact that my driveway hoop was dangerous to try and dunk on because of the garage close by, All in all I have been making great progress and I feel like I will be able to finally dunk in the coming 5-10 weeks.

Reflection 4

This week, I progressed a lot by watching JustinGuitar's videos. I am now on video 16 of his beginner's course. There are many videos in his playlist, and I thought that I would go through them a lot faster, but I am having a pretty hard time with finger placement. We have finished most of the chords and now I am on A minor. This is similar to the E chord, but it's still a very unnatural position for my fingers. I've realized that having longer fingers is hindering the process a bit, as my pointer and middle finger sort of jumble around each other. This is why I've not really progressed to much past the first minor chord, A. I plan to keep on working on making finger placement a bit more natural for me, but it takes a lot of practice. I did not find enough time to have my mom teach me a bit of what she knows, but hopefully I will find time next week. Overall, progress has been made.

reflection 4

This week I continued with my pull-ups, squats, planks, and calf raises. I have started to run 3 miles now with no problems. The stretches have helped with my ankle and to warm up my muscles. I also wear an ankle brace to keep my ankle comfortable. I continue to read Runners World posts to stay informed and find new ways to keep running interesting. Eventually, I want to follow their Beginners 10k Plan. It is a five day plan that involves different mileage each day to help prepare for a 10k. I want to reach the 4 mile mark before I begin this procedure. I have also researched breathing tips, other (more interesting) diet plans so my taste buds don't get bored, and the myths and misunderstandings of muscle cramps. I feel like I am getting somewhere with my goal and in terms of diet and exercise, a lot healthier.

Reflection #4

This week wasn't as successful as I thought it would be. I just practiced the first song I learned over and over again. I was trying to play it without having to use my note sheets or watch a video on how to play it, but it was more difficult than I imagined it would be. This song only has one part that plays over and over again throughout the song but it involves both my hands playing at a fast pace. Eventually, my hands cramped up from playing so much and I decided to take a break. I found the next song I wanted to play. This song is "When I Was Your Man" by Bruno Mars. It has various parts unlike the other song, but it's slightly easier to play. So far I learned the notes of the intro, but I haven't gotten to play it on the piano yet.

Reflection (4th)

I tried combining practice of texture and form to make a complete and balanced image. Pictured below is the object which I attempted. It is a simple palm tree that was set on a white background freeing up space for creativity. I began my version at the bottom extending a line for the surface it stands on. I continued at the trunk-like piece, encountering difficulties bending the lines. Although, I found that smaller strokes helped the issue. I continued drawing the branches, and these compositions were also lines. On the right, I faced issues making the lines stay curved downwards. The “skeleton” of my work complete, I switched my mode to texturing, focusing on background parts and the branches. Initially, I retraced the curves of the trunk-like piece. Darkening the lines, it resembled contour-hatching methodology. The branches were the unique piece, and I scumbled their leaves using an ovalish mannerism. These were angled downward in relation to lines. The leaves looked closer together when their ovalish shapes were darkened. Bigger ovals made the leaves look much thicker and as if there were other leaves behind all the branches. The coconuts were scumbled tightly and filled in completely. Cross-hatching and stippling made the major background sections. I stippled the ground and kept my dots small and close. Cross-hatching worked for the sky in the background. I found that setting up a background is a useful purpose for these. It creates contrasts - a viewer can distinguish the object if the background strokes are dark and the images light, or vice versa. In summation, I found ways to use the things I am learning, and will continue researching with perspective.

Reflection 4

This week I decided to make spaghetti in a shrimp Alfredo sauce.  The first thing to do prepare the shrimp. To do this, first wash the shrimp and peel of the shell. Then take a knife and cut a slit within the inside curve and remove the black vein inside. Rewash them. Fill a pot with enough water to cover shrimp and boil over medium - high heat. When water begins boiling, add in the shrimp and allow to cook for 10 minutes on a lower heat setting with a cover on the pot. While the shrimp cooks, add water, salt, and 2 capfuls of oil into another pot and let boil over medium low heat. Add in the spaghetti when the water begins to boil (make sure to fully submerged it into the water and stir it so that it is not mushy). It will be fully cooked when the center is soft, but not mushy (so for approximately 11 minutes). Drain the spaghetti and then the shrimp.
Then, take a frying pan and pour in a capful of oil and some butter into it (make sure it evenly coats pan). Add spaghetti, shrimp, Alfredo sauce, basil and onions (optional) and mix until evenly distributed. Let cook for about 3 minutes and serve.

Reflection 4

This week marked the fourth of my journey for a more fit lifestyle.  Three times I visited the gym this week, and doing so proved quite difficult.  My shoulder is still giving me trouble, but it has certainly improved.  I focused on exercises that would not aggravate it, so the workouts were still successful.  However, I am unable to do movements that target chest and my shoulder itself, because it causes pain.  I just need to give it some more time, and hopefully it will heal.  When that will be, I have no idea, but hopefully quite soon.

Reflection 4

This week the problems with the course continued. However, I am planning to send out an email to codecademy soon. In the meantime, I picked up the language of JavaScript. JavaScript is a very useful language to learn and is great for making websites and video games. I have already started the course and have enjoyed it so far. There are also relationships between the two coding languages here as well. I have also seen that designing a website is an option on codecademy as well and may give this a shot. Overall a good week.

Reflection 4

My fourth week of learning HTML/CSS was mainly a review. I didn't learn anything new other than how to change the font size and style to words on a webpage. Other than that, I spent the rest of my time making sure I remembered everything I learned up until now, and so far I am feeling confident in my abilities in making basic features on webpages.

Reflection 4

This week I spent doing even more duolingo. I am doing pretty good in the lessons, and now I am about one fourth done with the Italian course. Also, on the side, I am trying to familiarize myself with numbers, which are pretty easy because of both the similarities to Spanish and the simple modular-like format.  
I am trying to use the language as much as I can in order to both learn more of it and to retain what I already know. Duolingo says that it is important to practice the language everyday, so that is exactly what I do.

Reflection

This week I succeeded in releasing my first two singles entitled  "Close Your Eyes" and "If I had the Chance".  I have also been able to grow to over 100 followers in my twitter page and am still working on my web sigh.  I found that It can be very frustrating to find performance venues and that I will have to learn a lot more about marketing and publicity.  I plan to preform at Van-goes Ear Cafe some time soon and that should give me a lot of good publicity.  I will need to get in contact with director of music at the cafe to make sure that they will have the time for me.

Reflection 3

This week I continued on working on my guitar skills. My fingers are still not used to playing just yet. Due to a bit of a busy week, I was only able to play for a few scattered hours during the weekend.  I started to listen to acoustic music during my studying time which has helped me become familiar with strumming patterns. When I did have the opportunity to pick up the guitar I used the video,
"Beginner Guitar Lesson Stage 1: The D Chord, Super Easy First Guitar Chord! (BC-111)" by JustinGuitar on YouTube. I usually flip between different videos and YouTube channels, but after much trial and error I found that I like JustinGuitar's videos a lot more than others. I practiced doing the D chord, and am planning to continue using his videos. I am on the tenth video out of 72 in his beginner's playlist, and am hoping that I will be able to continue on and finish most of the videos. I want to move on to the Intermediate playlist, by the end of the second week of November. I have also learned just recently that my mom is actually pretty capable at guitar (but hasn't really picked it up in almost a decade), so when she has a day off I am hoping that she will be able to pass on some of the knowledge that she has. 

Reflection 3

This week I continued on my journey to dunk a basketball. I continue to change my workouts according to what works and what does not. I recorded myself attempting to dunk as a comparison point for the future. This week I added a standing jump to my recorded videos. This will make it easier to measure how high I am jumping.

Saverio Second and Third Reflection

In this second and third week of my crocheting adventure, I have started to get my hands on the materials which I will need in order to get closer to my goal of learning to crochet. I was surprised to learn how many sizes the hooks come in. It is absolutely necessary to have so many sizes as there are many sizes of yarn. tune in next week to find out how I fare when I try my hand at the actual skill of crochet.

Reflection 3

This week, I decided to move away from breakfast foods and decided to make cheesy macaroni. The first thing you need to do is take a pot and fill it half way with water (add less water if there are less people) and set on the stove to boil. After 1 to 3 minutes have passed, add in 2 capfuls of oil and 2 1/2 tablespoons of salt, then let boil. When the water has started to boil, add in the macaroni and let cook for about 5 minutes. When times is up, add in a tablespoon of butter and stir until it had completely dissolved into the macaroni. Then add desired amount of cheese/ cheese sauce and continue to stir until evenly distributed. Season it with your preference and taste to see if yummy (if not, keep seasoning!). Let cook on low heat an serve.

Reflection 3

This week I read an article on Runners World that discussed how weight training helps to improve your running. I started to do 3 sets of 10 pull-ups at the gym and worked out my chest, did concentrated curls, curls, and leg extensions. I continued running this week at the same distance and I plan on increasing my mileage to about 3 miles this week. I took my cycling class 3 times this week and it has helped make a difference in my running because I do not get tired as fast as I did my first week of training.

I have decided to start my healthy diet so I have been substituting tea for coffee, which was rough the first few days, but I actually started to like it. It's a lot lighter than coffee and I don't feel a rush of fatigue after I drink it, like I normally would with coffee. I have been eating a lot of healthier foods in the last week, such as salads, sweet potatoes, quinoa, spinach, beans, and chicken. Eating vegetables has given me more energy and I do not feel as sluggish on my runs. All of these factors in my diet have contributed to improving my running.

I have continued with my squats and planks throughout the week and I have found more tips on diet, stretches, and how to find comfortable running sneakers on Runners World. I also have been using an app called Runtastic, which has been helpful in documenting my time and mileage. I cannot wait to see my improvements in time and to achieve my goal of reaching a 10k!

Reflection 3

This week, I had a lot of problems with my computer. When I logged onto codecademy.com, the lesson simply would not load. However, I did not let this set me down. I used my 20 time to look for a book on the ruby coding language. When searching for a book, it seemed that a beginners guide would be practical. I found a couple of titles online, including Beginning Ruby by Peter Cooper. Although books are a great way to learn, I concluded that practice on codecademy would be the optimal way to learn the language. Instead of wasting my time even more, I decided to start to learn the popular language python. I was intrigued by this language because of the capabilities it contained. Corporations like Youtube and dropbox have used this powerful language to make their websites. When I started, I realized it was very similar to ruby. It used the simple command of print and puts as well. I overall am pleased that I did not waste my time despite difficulties. I look to resume progress next week.

Reflection 3
I have been working on my flexibility. When I stretch, I hold my body in a comfortable position and gradually push the stretch. I try to not over flex. I hold the stretch for at least 30 seconds. I focus on my breathing. It is important to breathe steadily and relax your body when doing these stretches. Sometimes I hold my breathe during straining workouts so really want to improve my breathing. This week I will go for an 45- 50 minute run. I am going to pace myself. Since i'm setting my goals for this week, I want to work on a college application. I hope I am  motivated by this post.

Reflection #3

This week I learned my first song, but I used a method different from the one I was already using. Before I was using the sheet music to play songs by writing the letters of the notes on the sheet music, but I lost my patience and decided to learn it in a different way. I followed an account on YouTube that has easy instructions on how to play popular songs. It made it extremely easy to follow and it's a lot faster than reading sheet music. I think I am going to be using this account to learn all of my songs. Next week my goal is to be able to play a song without looking at the video.

Reflection (3rd)

My next step was to put texture in practice. I tried sketching the standard cube and put different textures on different sides. As seen below, three of the sides are visible which is where I put cross hatching, hatching, and contour hatching. I scumbled and stippled for the shadow parts in the background. I found that practice had revealed many significant themes for sketching. I realized how holding the pencil can impact pressure. Darker and closer lines make the textures stronger. These were in each method including the stippling and scumbling. Therefore, I could apply these in any drawings, any of these, for textures. The contour hatching was my challenge, using a non-rounded shape. I am going to continue practicing different forms and applying textures. Which shape would be easiest to try continuing?

Reflection 3

I would love to be able to report something substantial in my journey to learn Italian, but that would be a lie. I am continuing to use duolingo to help me learn Italian. Really, I am just going through the exercises in order to learn. I am still at a beginner's level, but I realize that I am beginning to understand more and more of what my dad and grandparents say in Italian. Also, the words that they speak, that once sounded very foreign and very quickly spoken by them, now seem to slowing down and I find myself making out words instead of very long sounds.

Reflection 3

Matthew Diaz

This week, I was able to get to the gym three times.  I was going to go again yesterday but I had a project to work on.  Over the past week my shoulder has improved, yet is not at 100%.  I did some exercises with it with minimal pain, but had to use lighter weights than usual.  In the meantime, I have focused most of my workouts on my legs, since I am not quite where I need in regards to my shoulder.  I have spoken with personal trainers at the gym I go to about the best course of action, and they have guided me in the right direction to a quick and full recovery.  By next week, it should be back to normal and I will be able to get back on track.

Reflection 3

This week i decided to move away from making a programs with my c# knowledge and make more of a simulation using a game engine. My prefered game engine is Unity 5, so that is what i'm going to use. With c# i can make physic simulations and other scripts necessary for a game such as basic movement. What i am planning to do is make a small environment with physics and shaders, that you can move around in. I have worked in unity before so i'm not a complete stranger to it, but I needed a refresher. I wasn't able to do much in class this week as the school has the unity website blocked and i couldn't read any documentation of tutorials. I hope I can make a nice working and good looking tech demo like simulation and have it show my new skills in c#.

Reflection 3

This week was a relatively productive week since i began to learn how to incorporate some CSS styling into a webpage. I learned how to change the color and size of certain things like text, headers, footers, and the background. I also learned some new elements and tags like line breaks, citations, abbreviations and quotations. In addition to learning CSS from my book, I've done 14% of the HTML course at www.codeacademy.com. All in all I am enjoying learning about HTML and CSS so far.

Reflection 2

This week I continued on my journey towards dunking a basketball on a 10 foot hoop. To begin the week, I did a good leg workout on Monday and again on Thursday. Over the weekend I did another leg workout and some sprints at a local park. The workouts this week were a little longer then last week because I have added some new exercises. I also plan to work on getting my grip stronger so I can palm a basketball. This will make it easier to dunk. Overall it was a successful week of workouts and I plan to test my vertical as a comparison in the next couple of days.

Reflection 2

For week 2, I persisted in my venture towards mastery in the Ruby coding language. Already I am familiar with common commands and inputs of the software. With this week, I have learned commands such as elsif and true and false statements. For elsif, it is used when the commands if, else, and end are used. These commands are primarily used for displaying text based on if the statement is true. For example, one prompt may read, "if 2>1 print 'I am being printed because 2>1'". Else is used if the prompt is different. It may read, "else print 'I am being printed because 2 is not >1'". Elsif makes it possible to not have to use both of these commands and saves a lot of time. I am happy with my progression and hope that next week is filled with more surprises and accomplishments!

Reflection #2

This week I focused mainly on reading music sheets. I tried to find piano sheets for popular songs that I enjoy and listen to the daily. This consisted mostly of One Direction and Adele. The problem was that most of these songs were very difficult to play, and I am definitely not on that level yet. I decided I would save these songs for later when I am able to play them. For now I'm going to play basic starter piano songs like "Mary had a little lamb" and "twinkle, twinkle". To practice reading the music I printed out the sheets and wrote the letters of the notes under the notes. I also wrote the letters on the keys of my piano so that it would be easier to match them. I practiced doing this many time over and over again until I was able to play it without even looking at the sheet. Overall I feel pretty accomplished for playing my first few songs, but I'm going to need a lot more practice to be able to play the more complicated pop songs of One Direction.

Reflection (2nd)

Continuing, I researched different ways to sketch with textures. These were hatching, cross hatching, scumbling, contour hatching, and stippling, in order below. The “hatchings” are mostly lines, scumbling is a circle cluster, and stippling is a group with tiny dots spaced and together. These form basics for sketching. Therefore, I could use some of these methods in sketches. Sometimes, human hair is contour-hatched or grass hatched for textures. I would apply these in any upcoming projects. As my week was focused on doing research, I am arranging for sketching and using these later. I am going to continue with pieces that show these techniques. Do you have any other techniques?  

Reflection 2

This week in my 20 % time project I made a huge step twirls learning how to code c#. This week I finished my first full tutorial on the basics of c#. Even though it was just the basics I think it taught me a lot about the language. The  fundamentals are the most important part of learning anything and I have accomplished that. The last things I learned in my tutorial we're loops, for loops, and while loops. These are extremely important when making games or programs because they repeat things under certain conditions. The next step step in my journey is to learn and get used to Microsoft visual studio. That is going to be the tool I  use to make my program. Visual studio has many tutorials made by microsoft themselves so finding help won't be hard.  I hope Visual Studio will give me a place to further my abilities and to help me learn at a much faster rate.

Reflection 2

This week, I decided to make pancakes for breakfast. The ingredients that I used make this were butter, canola oil, eggs, pancake mix, and water. To make this, you will first need to take a cast iron skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Afterwards, add a fourth cup of pancake mix, depending on how many pancakes you want; egg, and water into a bowl. Lower heat and grease the now hot skillet with butter and add in the batter. Cook until the edges dry, then flip and cook on golden brown. Enjoy!

Reflection 2

     This week I was unable to run as much as I would have liked to because I was sick. I drank a lot of tea and rested so today I felt good enough to run. I started off on my run today and about a mile and a half in I tripped over the sidewalk and injured my ankle. I walked it off and tried to do a light jog, but to avoid further injury I walked the rest of the way home.
     My mom has been coaching/training me on my runs and diet to prepare me for my 10k. She has been a long distance runner since she was 7 years old and her advice has been essential to my running journey. She told me to ice and elevate my ankle, which helped to ease the pain, and I plan on running tomorrow to continue with my 10k preparation.
     I did go to my cycling classes this week to keep up with my progress. Cycling helps with my endurance because I am constantly moving, going at different paces, and strengthening different muscles in my legs for the period of an hour.
    I also am working on strengthening my core and body so I have been doing pull ups, planks and side planks, and weight training. I usually do concentrated curls, curls, chest, leg press, leg extensions, and abs. I plan on continuing my progress and continuing with my runs this week.

Reflection Week Two

This week, I got a little closer to my 20% goal. After trying to memorize one certain note, I realized that I can't just dive in and try to memorize the chords, without really finding out what I'm working with. After strumming on the guitar a bit and trying to memorize one note at a time, it didn't really seem like it was sounding how it was supposed to sound (in reference to videos on YouTube). I realized, that the guitar wasn't even tuned. I downloaded an app called Guitar Tuner Free, and I used that to tune it up a bit. I'm exactly sure if I did it right, but according to the app, it's as close it can be to being tuned. It took a great deal of time, as in order to tune it I had to know where to place my fingers. So, I had to look up finger placements before strumming, which was pretty hard seeing as I barely know how to play. I think this exercise did help me a lot, because in the process of tuning it I began to apply the little that I knew about finger placements for notes on the guitar. Overall, I see an improvement, but I have a long way to go before I can really play the guitar.

Reflection 2

This week was my 2nd week I spent trying to tackle the Italian language. There's only so much that I could say about what I did and how much progress I made. I made substantial progress in speaking and reading/writing. Whereas I feel that I am still a little lacking in the area of understanding the words spoken by Italian speakers in their native conversational speed.

I am by no means, however, good at speaking Italian. Quite frankly, I'm bad, horrible, actually. I might compare to a pre-schooler in Italy, but the important thing is that I am making progress.

Reflection 2

This week, I continued my journey in learning to code HTML and built off of what I learned last week. This week I learned how to add some more elements and tags such as ordered and unordered lists, tables, titles, images, and links to a webpage. In addition to reading the coding book I own, I started a online course specifically for HTML at www.codeacademy.com in order to get extra practice. So far I'm happy with the way things are moving along and I hope to start learning CSS in the coming week.

Reflection 2

This week I was able to research things related to running. I came upon workouts that I can do after running. They are strengthening exercises. I went to my high school this morning to run the gravel with my dad. I did five laps with out stopping and didn't use my knee brace. My knee was bothering me but I know that is normal. An important part of being able to run is having the muscle to carry your body. If my legs are week, my knees will not have support. I will use these exercises I recently discovered from now on. I wasn't trying to over work myself or run at a certain time. It took me 34 minutes 24 seconds.
Lap 1- 6 min. 59 sec.; Lap 2- 6 min. 50 sec.; Lap 3- 7min. 06 sec; Lap 4- 7 min. 19 sec.;
Lap 5- 6 min. 03 sec.
The last lap took me about six minutes. In order to run all five laps in under thirty minutes, each lap would have to be ran in less than 6 minutes each. For the next few weeks I am going to run for 45 minutes then an hour. I am going to record my times but these runs are going to be to build my endurance and stamina.

The websites I can refer to for the workouts I found:

http://www.runnersworld.com/video/strong-and-fast-part-1

http://www.runnersworld.com/workouts/get-stronger-to-run-faster/strong-fast

Reflection 2

This week was my second in my journey for improved strength and fitness.  I only got to the gym twice this week however.  I have been having rotator cuff issues, which makes things like bench pressing and virtually every other upper body exercise painful.  I am going to have to rest it for a bit, and if it does not get better I may need to see a physical therapist about the issue.  In the meantime, I will do whatever workouts I can do that will further the injury.  Even though, my week was not as productive as I would have liked, I have in fact made strength gains since starting this mission.  Once I feel better, these will come at an even faster rate.

Reflection 1

     Since announcing my Proposal, I have ran three times. My first run was on September 19th and I ran 2.15 miles in 22 minutes. After my first run, I felt really nauseous due to my diet that day. I went to the movies a few hours earlier and ate too much popcorn. I know in order to be a better runner and maintain my health I have to research meal plans to keep me fit for this activity. I came across a website called "Runners World" and they had very helpful tips and videos on ways to strengthen your body and prepare for long distance running.
     My second run was on September 24th. I ran 2.31 miles in 22 minutes and 45 seconds. In order to get some protein and muscle recovery, I drank a Muscle Milk right after my run. This time around, I felt more prepared and at ease while I was running. I did not feel sick afterwards and I think it was because I started to eat lighter and drink more water.
     My third run was today-- October 4th. I ran 2.29 miles in 22 minutes and 19 seconds. I know I am going to have to start running more frequently to maintain my progress. I have decided to run 5-6 days a week and will increase my mileage after 3 weeks of getting used to 2.30 miles and feel like I can handle more. I have been going to my hour-long cycling classes between runs (about 3 classes a week) in order to help with my endurance. Tomorrow, I plan on running after school around the same mileage as I have been doing my last two runs-- hopefully, my time will shed a few seconds.
    

Saverio First Reflection

My first week tangling with the monstrous task of learning to crochet has been an adventure of the best degree. I have enjoyed it thoroughly. I put 20% of my time into learning about crocheting's history, as I believe that everything is more enjoyable if I know how it came into being. I have also, as per Mrs. Roy's suggestion, familiarized myself with the necessary materials. This coming week I look forward to starting the process of learning and developing the skills I need to begin crocheting.

-Saverio    

Reflection 1

For my 20 time project, I decided to learn the language of Italian. I have to admit, there were times during this week that I felt that I was getting in over my head. I mean, a whole language! I've been speaking English for over 10 years and I still don't get it all, in fact, sometimes I even get lost in conversations. This commitment will surely test both my learning abilities and concentration.

One thing that I fear is mixing up Italian with Spanish, because of the vast similarities of the two languages. Nonetheless,  I feel as though I had made pretty decent progress over just this one week. I speak at a very basic level and I am able to have short conversations with my dad. The fact that I have learned this much Italian, in just one week, the equivalent of, I would say, a good 5 solid years of classroom-taught Spanish (numbers, short phrases, etc.), really makes me question the education system.

This upcoming week, I hope to improve on my success and learn even more.
  

Reflection 1

This week on my 20% time project I began learning the basics of coding. The most import part of learning any language is learning the syntax. The syntax is the pic tuition and grammar of coding. It included semi colons at the end of of a line and where to place parentheses and brackets. If you don't have the proper syntax then the code will not run. I also learned the basics of C#. This included arrays, string, booleans, integers, and lists. I also found a few interactive websites to  help me along. Doing this project will help me learn valuable skills and get a good job. That is just the very basis of what will be learning. It might be difficult at first but i know that if I can put my mind to it I can learn it easily.

Reflection #1

The first week of learning to play piano was not as productive as I thought it would be. So far all I have done is learn how to read sheet music. I haven't gotten the chance to actually play the piano because I haven't learned enough to match the notes to the keys on the boards. Also, it takes me a while to match letters to the notes on the sheet music. Once I get better at matching letters to the notes then I will be able to move on to playing music. I was looking for sheet music for popular songs but they are a lot more complicated than I thought they would. I think for now I'm going to find beginners songs just to practice playing the notes. Then, eventually, I'll move into the more complicated popular songs.

Reflection 1

At the beginning of this project, I learned ways to teach myself how to cook, such as the steps it takes and the process to get from beginner to moderate chef; like buying cookbooks and then learning the terminology.

During my time in class, I searched up some cookbooks to buy and looked over some recipes people have made on blogs and such. 

Today though, I decided to use some of the newly acquired knowledge I gained and put it to the test. I decided that I would make some Instant Ramen noodles as my brunch, since I woke up late. Instant Ramen noodles come in a block form and don't take long to prepare, seeing as the name is indeed Instant Ramen. 

The first step in preparing this dish is to getting a cast iron skillet, filling it it up about three-fourths of the way with water, and setting it on the stove above medium to low heat. Wait a couple of minutes to allow for the water to boil before opening the package of ramen. After about two to three minutes, place the ramen into the skillet and allow to soften. Once this is reached, take a fork and separate the noodles so they are no longer in block form, and allow to cook for one minute. After time has passed, add seasoning, whether it be the packet provided in the package, or your own. I chose to add the seasoning provided, along with some garlic powder and paprika, which gave it a sort of reddish hue. After thoroughly cooked, place onto a clean plate and enjoy!

Reflection 1

This week I began my journey in learning how to code HTML, CSS and Javascript in order to build a website. I started out by beginning to read a HTML/CSS book that I own. Even though I have never tried to learn any coding language before, I began to understand basic concepts and how to insert things like paragraphs, headings, and links.

Along with learning how to add these basic aspects of a page, I also began to learn about the layout and functions that a page can have. Although it may not seem like much for now, I am pleased with my progress for the first week of my research.

Reflection 1

This week I started on my goal to be able to dunk a basketball on a 10 foot hoop. Most of my work done this week was researching on how to increase my vertical leap. I have a good idea of what my training will be, and I have just started doing it over this weekend. I have jumped rope, gone to the gym for a leg workout and practiced my jumping form in my backyard. I plan to video tape myself trying to dunk soon as a comparison for later on.

Reflection 1

This week I began my strength training journey.  Over the course of the week I was able to get to the gym 4 times on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.  Two of these days I went during co-curricular, while the other two I went after school.  I would have liked to have gone a couple more times, but it is tough balancing this with soccer practice after school and homework that I have to do.  As for the actual workouts themselves, I trained chest and triceps twice, legs once, and back and biceps once.  It was a very successful week, as I hit a new personal best in the squat.  Hopefully, these milestones will continue throughout the entirety of the journey.

(1st) Reflection

For the first week of sketching, I attempted sketching a dog’s face and its body shape. I had to use various websites. The format of http://www.wedrawanimals.com/how-to-draw-a-dog/ was easy to follow and showed me the process starting with the head using lines. It was interesting to me since I never draw starting downwards. The different sequence can help me. For instance, I could put a focus on the dog’s proportions.

The next site focused on detailing. By studying (http://drawsketch.about.com/od/learntodrawanimals/ss/drawdog.htm#step5), I was learning how smaller lines can contribute to sketches. The artist looked at the picture and saw how it was built of sections. The face was of lines, triangles, and ovals. I realized the artist views the object for its pieces for any sketching. It is not about the entirety. 

These were the things that I observed and will apply for sketching in different subjects because the main idea will be consistent. All drawings contain basic structures. In my attempts, I tried looking at the screen while drawing and the shapes lacked any neatness. I could try taking mental pictures for sketching. Reflecting has me thinking of steps to carry on. I am going to continue learning techniques. My learning is the practice. I am seeking to lessen the challenge by practicing it. Which type of sketch do want to see? Suggestions considered!

Reflection Week One

This week, I was able to get a little closer to my 20% goal. For the first time in a couple years I picked up my guitar again and began to strum a couple times just to get used to the feeling of having it in my hand. I then began to look up tutorials and began learning where to place my fingers when strumming certain notes on the guitar. I decided to dedicate myself to mastering one note at a time, so I practiced strumming only the note B on the 2nd fret. I also found an app called Yousician, that has been noted as a fun and easy way to learn the guitar. Basically, it plays a song and shows you the notes and you strum in time with the music. It keeps track of your progress so you can see whether or not you are improving. Although I do not think I am capable enough to use the app yet (as I only really know how to strum one note so far), it will be useful for further use and I will document my results weekly.

Reflection Week 1

This week jump started my path towards the vast black hole of the coding language. I started with a Ruby coding course from the website codecademy. Because of my unfamiliarity with code, ruby was the most appealing software. Ruby is famous for its simplistic properties ranging from its commands to its approach to new learners. After learning Ruby, it can open up doors to other more complex languages such as html and javascript. Excited to begin, I cruised through the basic commands such as put and print which display the code. As I progressed through the course, I was taught how to create a basic calculator by inputting variables and mathematical symbols. The importance of this lesson was that it revealed to me how amazing code can be and the potential it has for me to create something great. Moving on, I learned some more basic commands and prompts such as .upcase and how to set a variable. This is where I currently stand in my adventure towards the mastery of Ruby. I am pleased with what I have accomplished and am excited for week 2.

Reflection One

I dedicated this week to working on setting up the social media and website for my record label, Renaissance Music.  I have finished creating the twitter page @rennissancemus1  but have not completed the website yet.  I  have gotten in contact with a few of my contacts in the industry and lined up their help.  I got in contact with an artist Aliza Pearl and spoke with her about filling out her EP with a few more songs and re-releasing it.  We plan on being in the studio some time next month. In the mean time I plan to release my own single which is already recorded next Friday so look for that. 

Reflection 1

This week was important because I had two games that we needed to win. After school I either had practice or games. My exercise would be included in those activities. In practice, we start by stretching and then aerobic stretches. We won one game and lost the other. My body was exhausted by the end of the week. This week was mentally strengthening because we wanted to move on to county tournaments. Therefore, there was no fooling around at practice and as an individual you set a focus on the goal. The goal was to win against Roselle Catholic but we lost and we continue to become better. I was not able to run the gravel track this week but I plan to next week. My plan is to go to my high school during the week and run five laps and record my time. I will also record the time it took for every lap. I will write down my times and decide what the average time per lap is. I am not looking for a certain time. I will just run at the pace my body is able to endure. I plan to use extra time during practice to stretch and see the school athletic training about my knee. I try to ice my knee after practice because it tends to be sore. Although this week did not include running aside from soccer, I was able to wake up earlier in the morning and have time to eat a bowl of oatmeal and drink some tea. Eating breakfast at a leisurely pace in the morning has never been a custom for me but it has shown to do some good. I have time to eat and digest a healthy meal in order to go through a school day not feeling fatigued. I am also going to sleep before eleven and making sure my homework is done after school. These time management skills are going to become a regular habit. I can now allow myself to manage my free time. For example, after eating breakfast I can go on a walk or run. I am looking forward to this because in the past it has proven to be a great jump-start to any day.

Proposal

My 20 Time Project is going to be Starting a record label.

My final product/goal/accomplishment will be to release at least two albums one for me and one for another artist.  If I should fail at this goal, I will still be able to give a presentation on why I failed and what I learned and could have done differently.

What do I need to know about my topic to be successful? (Now research these items and staple them to this handout.)

I will need to know about: How to promote music, How to produce music, How to record music, and how to distribute music.

What will be easy about this project?

It will be easy to write, record, and distribute the music because I already have systems things in place to do these things.

What will be difficult about this project?

The most difficult part about this project will be promoting music because while I have systems in place for this, I am not as experienced and skilled in this field.

Will most of this project be in class or outside of class?

This project will be about 50/50 in class and out of class.  In class I will be spending most of the time doing “business” work (i.e. networking people that I need to network with, Budgeting, planning, distributing, and promoting) and out of class I will be spending most of my time doing creative work (i.e. Composing, Recording, and Producing) along with any other business work that I won’t be able to do in class.

If outside, what will I do during the class 20 Time?

Networking people that I need to network with, Budgeting, planning, distributing, and promoting.

I happen to already be affiliated with a company for Distributing and Promotion.  I also have a lot of recording experience.

Saverio 20% time proposal

        Crocheting is the process of creating fabric by interlocking loops of yarn, thread, or strands of other materials with a crochet hook. It is used to create many very beautiful textiles. But, more than allowing idle hands to be tied up, it provides an interesting outlet for the mind.

        Crocheting, if one is proficient enough at it, can be as much a form of meditation as prayer and as therapeutic as talk therapy. And, if allowed to use my 20% time in class to work on this, I intend to use my talk at the end of the semester to inform the class how to use it as one.

Proposal

For my 20 Time Project, I am going to do a strength training journey.  This is something that I am passionate about so I know I can be successful.  My goal during this journey will be to bench press 155 pounds.  Of course, this is not the only exercise I will be doing, but it incorporates almost every muscle group.  As a result, it serves as a great benchmark for how I am progressing.  In order to be successful, knowing proper form will be crucial.  Mine is a little shaky, so I need to fix that.  I also need to find a workout plan that works for me.  This routine will allow me to be as successful as I can.  This project will be a challenge, especially when it comes to eating right.  In order to increase my strength, I must eat healthy.  My diet is not the best so it will be a tough transition.  However, going to the gym itself will be quite simple.  I enjoy doing so, so I will not have motivation issues.  Most of this project will be done outside of class in the gym.  However, during class I will be researching different exercises and techniques to help me get better.

Proposal

My 20 Time Project is going to be to learn a coding software such as ruby, c++ and/or javascript. My final product/goal/accomplishment will be to understand the basis of the coding language and to create some sort of final product out of my newfound knowledge such as a website or a small game. To understand not memorize the basic coding commands. For example, in the coding software Ruby, it is imperative to understand what each command represents. In Ruby, print essentially prints the command, hence the name. That basic command is the basis for a much larger language. If the basis is understood, the process of learning will be much easier. In my opinion, the easy part of this project will be the learning process. Instructions to learn code is littered on the internet, with many companies providing free ways to learn code. After I get the hang of it, code should be a breeze. The difficult part of this project for me is to keep my temper in check. If something does not go my way when learning the software, I may flip out and get frustrated, stalling me from accomplishing the test at hand. Another problem will be time and time management. I will have to slot in time during my already crowded schedule. The time will be mostly in class for after school I am booked with after school activities.

Proposal

My 20 Time project is going to be to learn HTML5 coding language in order to build a website. Along with learning HTML I’ll need to learn some CSS and Javascript as well in order to build a functioning website that is aesthetically pleasing and has unique features.. The good thing about learning how to code is that there are a lot of good, free resources available on the web and I don’t need anything other than a computer. That being said, most of my project will be done in class but if needed, I will work on it at home. One thing I feel will be difficult is that i will be learning from scratch. My ultimate goal is to build a functioning website.

-Francisco

Proposal

Proposal

My 20 Time Project is bettering myself in sketching. I am aiming to draw different pieces of art by using techniques. These may include proper methods of recreating human features or tree-trunks. I do not aim to work on this in collaboration with anyone although I anticipate searching for online assistance. These can be how-to videos or written-out steps. My work could be viewed by my family or others for art must be extended. It is not relevant for the artist alone. It is a worthwhile skill. Illustration is a method which I would like to learn how to do. The products would be the drawings. I would only be using pencils and paper. The color would be given by colored pencils of any store. I would intend for making five illustrations at least. These would take at least a week or two to do. Learning, sketching, coloring and drawing is how my times would be split and organized.

20 Time

https://drive.google.com/a/ucvts.tec.nj.us/file/d/0B0JKimfn8p0CU3owbXMtekN0V1U/view?usp=sharing

Andrea's Proposal

Playing the Keyboard

My final product/goal/accomplishment will be to play at least 3 popular/well known songs on my keyboard. A few years ago my parents gave me a keyboard for Christmas and I never got the chance or had the motivation to learn how to use it, until now.

What I need to know about my topic to be successful is how to read sheet music and how to identify the notes on a keyboard. In the music class i took in middle school we learned the very basics of reading music sheets, but since I haven't practiced in about a year I don’t really remember any of it.

The easiest part of this project will be finding sheet music of popular songs. If you go online and google “sheet music” along with the title of the song you can find almost anything.

The difficult parts of this project will be learning how to read sheet music and then transferring those notes into the keys on my keyboard to make music.

Most of this project will be done outside of class because I can’t bring my keyboard into school to practice. During the 20 time I will probably be teaching myself how to read sheet music. I will also be looking for sheet music for popular songs that most of the people in my class will recognize.