About Mandy

Mandy On Being Mandy

Sometimes my students would look at me and wonder if I'm really their teacher

--Mandy Calvert

Mandy is probably the one of the few people in the United States I can see "eye-to-eye." She is about 5 feet 4 inches, slim, and rosy around the cheeks. Her oval shaped head would be cascaded by a stream of blond hair with one side abnormally wavy, while the other was fine and straight. This probably due to the many transitional phases--long, short, straight, curly, feathered. And when she smiled, you could always see her perfect set of teeth under her pink lips--though stained with a light shade of yellow . The dense lashes above her eyes would crinkle amusement so plain that it was impossible to miss her radiance. Her eyes were painted with the color of the Caribbean sea, and would emit a sparkle of clarity every time the sun shone on her face. Small feet. Straight posture. She is 29 years old, but she does not look her skin still blooms of youth--absent of the wrinkles of aging and a compliment to her vibrant personality. When she talks, her voice sometimes runs a pitch higher, sounding like a child, pre-puberty, which adds to my perplexity that she is approaching her thirties. But, the dark ring below her eyes tells a tale of maturity as well. Her hands were soft and delicate, a credit to her kind and nurturing character. The clean, polished ring on her fourth finger, still untarnished, marks a fresh marriage and a life journey that has only begun.      

,,,,,Chameleeeeooon Response by David Grann

David Grann's article The Chameleon is a bittersweet story about the intricate life of Frederic Bourdin, a con artist, who adopts so many identities he ironically cons himself in the process. Aside from the bizarre content itseld, I find this piece interesting and well developed as Grann employs a journalistic inverted pyramid style of writing with artistic essences. The begins with a summary of a recent event on Bourdin, kind of a journalistic lede, and continues to dissect his life through accounts and interviews, leading to rich dialogues and perspectives. This, as a result, makes the story particularly effective in engaging with readers. Grann is sure to include some abstract notions in his writing as a fine contrast to how monotonous journalistic style can sound. In one of his descriptions, he writes: For once, he seemed unmistakably an adult, with a faint five-o’clock shadow.  

A feature I particularly like about this piece is the evident 'I' that Grann employs. The author sometimes makes himself known, though not disruptively, to readers. This gives a sense of existence that tells people that the story is being narrated from someone's voice, which might generate some intimacy? (I'm still researching on this haha!)
The repetition of Nicholas' is used extensively in the writing that it creates a confusion among readers, in which the readers, after some time, are confuse who is the main character of story anymore.

As an added emphasis on the "chameleon" idea. Grann uses repetition(anaphora) when it comes to the names Bourdin adopts in his cons.

As Bourdin came to inhabit the life of Nicholas, he was struck by what he considered to be uncanny similarities between them. Nicholas had been reported missing on Bourdin’s birthday. Both came from poor, broken families; Nicholas had almost no relationship with his father, who for a long time didn’t know that Nicholas was his son. Nicholas was a sweet, lonely, combustible kid who craved attention and was often in trouble at school. 

Rosemary Mahoney's "from Whoredom to Kimmage" Response

The one thing I find delightful is Mahoney's attention to non-verbal gestures, signs, and body movements, which the author coats with emotions and personal reflections.

She listened with her mouth open and her head tilted to one side, as though hearing the miracle of speech for the first time "But I thought you knew these people." she said.

This is also a great combination with the colorful dialogues the author puts in her piece. Dialogues, which gives a sense of intimacy, together with the non-verbal gestures effectively convey the emotions of the characters, and thus makes them more lively. I also admire how she adds contrast into her scenes such as the young couple coming out of a basement restaurant (pg.382).

"The woman's movement, so graceful, that it was like watching a ballet or a dance occurring underwater."

While the actual scene was a lady throwing fits at her companion, Mahoney's perspective is the complete opposite of the actual aggressive nature.This provokes thought in readers that nothing is always as it seems and may hold a different perspective.

Gary Smith's "Birth of a Nation" Response

Gray Smith's Birth of a Nation is a excellent piece that tells a tale of a boy who is trying to break loose form the repetitive cycle of monotony while trying to avoid being the victim. It is not only a profile of Takes Enemy and his journey but also a profile of the Indian community as well .The one thing I find delightful about this piece was the rich context Smith provides to readers. Realizing that the conflict spurs not only from the individual but also from the community, he is able to zoom in and out in a sociological perspective by focusing not only on Takes Enemy's but the people in his community as well. He focuses on their festivals and traditions, which adds insight to Takes Enemy's double-consciousness--pursuing success and preserving heritage. Smith's elaboration on past and future during the initial bus scene creates a mixed-up tone as he places questions such as Weeping. Did you hear it? or But Takes Enemy -- he would be the one who escaped. wouldn't he? These line make reader's question as to whether Takes Enemy would end up in the alcoholic short-lived spiral that looms over his teammates. It also serves as a good foreshadowing of the events that follow.

Night Trucks Response

Kent Meyers' Night Trucks is a coming-of-age story, which is told through the author's experience of selling cattle. One of the admirable aspects of this piece is the author's intelligent writing style in descriptions.

Shadows of crooked branches slid over the wall above my bed, over the ceiling, over my sleeping brothers, over the model cars and airplanes we had built and placed on our shelves, over the chifforobe where we each had a drawer to store thing. (pg 124)

In this sentence, readers are not only given a description of the scene through the use of a shadow, but the repetition of the word 'over' also gives a moving image of a shadow elongating its reach. Aside from that, I think Meyers does a good job addressing conflicts and contrast in this piece, which creates a unity between reader and writer. 

There was always a feeling of loss in selling. At the same time we knew it was necessary, like so many other necessary things. (pg 126)

Not everyone knows how cattle selling is done, but feelings of excitement/sadness in giving away things that one has spent a considerable amount of time for other gains is a universal feeling when transitioning into adulthood. This relatable conflict, additionally, creates intimacy with readers as well.   

Classmate/APE Response: The Death of Fleeting Curiosity

First thing that struck me? Well, it has to be how both authors give a vivid picture of their surroundings but successfully include some abstract notions as well. The imaginative style that Woolf employs to describe rooks and Prater's description of the hallway, captures the interest of the reader, curious to know more.  This works especially well in building a suspense, which is particularly effective in Braden's piece of hide-n-seek. In addition, both authors were able to give perspective to their characters in their writing. This not only gives us different layers to explore but also multiple angles to interpret the piece.

"Whatever the scenario, he seemed to always know exactly how long to stay out of view and when specifically to make a noise, such as a knock on a wall, as not to fully give away his location but provide us with a proper hint" (Prater, pg 2)

"The moth having righted himself now lay most decently and uncomplainingly composed. O yes, he seemed to say, death is stronger than I am." (Woolf, pg. 268)

Dear Blue Swallow

How I envy this blue swallow that perches on my balcony. She chirps the same song every day. A song about how nature provides for her, how she never has to worry about tomorrow. Her friends—blue, red, brown—flock around her to sing in harmony, and they depart home before sunset, only to repeat again tomorrow. But, how I pity this swallow. She will never taste disappointment, and the joys of success. She will never know her true friends in absence of discord. Dear blue swallow, you will never know what today really means until you worry about tomorrow.