Blog Entry #2: Mans Very Best Friend

Gracie, (Golden Retriever

Arya, (German Shepherd)

    Growing up I can't remember a family moment that didn't involve our family dog.  In many peoples opinions, having a family dog is considered a necessary addition.  In the Carr family, it was the perfect addition, and we adopted Gracie when she was 9 months old.  Being a young child and having a puppy brought into the picture has many benefits.  The children are now able to be apart of the training and discipline of the dog, and they get to grow up together.  My father always made a point of including me and my siblings in the care, training and quality of life required with a dog.

    When I separated from the Marine Corps my mind was already made up in regards to the type of dog I wanted.  For many years  Marines have worked closely with German Shepherds and they have become known throughout the world as the smartest, most reliable, loyal and loving dogs.  This is the type of dog that has a high level of intelligence, energy, and attention needs.  Arya now serves me every day as my emotional support dog, and we are the best of friends.

      Everyone knows that dogs are mans best friend, but I want to know about your best friends.  One of my favorite things is to see pictures of peoples dogs and get to know them, so please feel free to post any pictures and such about your best friends.

Blog Entry#1: Blogging for dumbies.

     When I began blogging there was a looming doubt that I would see it as a viable tool in my education.  As time went on I began to see that this was a unique opportunity for me to express myself in more of a creative way.  Depending on the type of blog you are writing, they can vary with flexibility and personality.  There has been a change of heart in regards to blogs and I encourage anyone to try it at least once.

         The blogging community is extremely vast.  Ranging from sports, economics, politics, education, science or whatever you want it to be.  I believe this is a large part that attracts many people to the idea of blogging, and PostSecret shows that perfectly.  This blog is strictly anonymous artist submitting their secrets for the world to see.  The audience is primarily comprised of a world wide group of artists drawn to the anonymity and truth.

          Growing up myself and my sibling developed a love and passion or the musical arts.  I played the trumpet, snare, and drum set.  Like many others a creative outlet is always a necessity for people who are musically inclined.  GORRILLA VS. BEAR is one of the few musical artist driven blogs that speaks my language.  It offers a unique view into raw music with a sort of dark underground feeling to it.  I encourage you to look into a few of the songs listed!

          Bloggers seeking more of an anti partisan political blog should visit AMERICAblog, where their slogan reads, "A great nation deserves the truth".  Who doesn't want the raw, honest truth?  This blog delivers both of those and then some with current up to date political events.  In my opinion this blog is for more veteran bloggers who are not intimidated by large amounts of information.

           
 

Mic Check: Round two

My name is Bryce. I am a twenty three year old Marine Corps veteran and a freshman at GCC. I have a girlfriend named Samantha and we have two dogs named Arya (German Shepherd) and Taylor (Pit bull). I consider myself an outdoors-man. Born and raised here in Glendale, Az, I grew up with two brothers (Ryan & Colton), and one sister (Erin). Hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, shooting, four wheeling, and a cabin in the woods sums up my hobbies. It would be wrong of me to not mention my adoration for PC/console video games. Mechanical engineering is my desired career field, working for Raytheon or a D.O.D contracted company. My inspiration for that specific degree lies in my history with missiles and missile systems. While I was in the Marine Corps I spent my time becoming extremely proficient with these missile systems, and it quickly grew into a passion. Raytheon makes and manufactures these multi-million dollar machines and I want in on the next generation of missiles and missile systems.

Entry #11: This is the end.

Well my friends, we have reached the end of our blogging, and I couldn't be more pleased with the experience.  I like blogging as a creative outlet that allowed myself and my peers to be expressive on a different and unlikely plane.  At the beginning of the semester there was a lot of worry and doubt that I would like using a blog.  As it turns out, I really did enjoy it and even went as far as introducing it to my family and friends.  Unfortunately there was a period of lack luster posting and I missed a few blogs (booo).  Aside from that I took the blogging experience seriously because it intriguing me and I was eager to learn something new.  For English 101 specifically I think blogging is a great idea.  Most students at this point in their college careers have had little to no experience writing creatively.  Everyone follows the same MLA format and every paper is exactly the same as the last.  Being able to freely express your opinion, feelings, emotions or thoughts among like minded peers in invaluable.  Using this as a tool within your course curriculum is A) thinking outside of the box, B) breaking the traditional school stigma, and C) providing students with a new creative outlet.  As for me, it provided all three of these things and then some.  Thank you for being apart of this learning experience with me. Cheers.

 

Entry #6: Jeep Life

     So this past Friday at 10 P.M. I get a call from my favorite uncle asking me if I want to go on a day trip to Jerome.  Obviously I am in immediate agreement and we begin to talk about the off road trails we want to travel on.  The alarm starts blaring at 6:30 in the morning and I welcome the day with a hearty yawn.  Before I know it I have my tools, provisions, medical kit and boots packed up ready to go.  We head out in his jeep through the back way into Jerome, around Mt. Mingus.  In the middle of our trip we run into a group of five jeeps that belong to a club.  They want to take us the back back way into town.  It was twenty-two miles of gorgeous country and difficult trails.  As stated on Trails.com, this trail is not for the feint of heart.  Over all there were no mind shattering cliff drops or insane hill climbs but the rock climbing was outstanding.  Once you come down the back side of the mountain, the rest of the road is nice and smooth with a gorgeous view of the Prescott valley.  For any off road lovers like myself, I would highly suggest this trail to you.

Entry #5: Disconnected

     We all love the movie Wall-e, but in reality it serves as a warning to our current day youth.  As the years go on we are designing and innovating new pieces of technology that make every aspect of our lives easier.  If we continue down this route, I predict it will look fairly similar to this scene from Wall-e.  Now it's not all doom and gloom in our future.  The scientific advancements alone have made our lives more comfortable and safer than ever before.  In the clip you get an in depth look at how the people of that time were living.  Everyone was "connected" to what ever source of media they chose.  They didn't even have to navigate to their destinations; instead they sat in lazy boy hover chairs and had robot road side food services.  In my opinion that is not a life that I want my kids or grand kids to be living.  When Wall-e is trying to get past the large lady in red he accidentally interrupts her call, rendering her free from her distractions.  What she sees leaves her in shock for a moment.  "...wow this is the world that I am missing out on every day?!".  It happens to us every day.  My advice to you is don't let the world pass you by while you're staring at your screens.

Entry #4: A Weekend in the Woods.

      Every year since I can remember my family has been making trips to Hawley Lake, Arizona every Labor Day Weekend.  It was a fun and exciting part of my year, that me, my siblings and my cousins looked forward to anxiously.  We spent endless hours on the lake wrangling the biggest and toughest trout we had seen.  Every part of the extended family was responsible to cook breakfast and dinner at least once in the weekend, so we were always eating good.  After I joined the Marine's there weren't any trips like the ones we had as kids.  Personally I didn't see the cabin for over five years.  Until this year, when my grandmother passed away at sixty-eight, we had not had a family trip.  The over all purpose of the weekend was to bury the ashes of my grandmother, her parents and her brother.  Aside from that, the weekend was filled with nothing but fun and laughter.  My three year old nephew was attached to my hip the whole time along with my ten month old German Shepherd.  Me, Kyler and Arya spent most of our time exploring the forests and enjoying the beautiful weather.  The loss of loved ones is always hard, but time heals all wounds. Now enjoy this beautiful picture of my dog.