Week 13: Famous Last Words

Well, this weekend has been great so far! OUIS had a Date Auction this weekend for our Philanthrophy, Baal Dhan, and we raised over $1200! It turned out to be a success and I couldn't be more relieved and happy. I worked all day Saturday and Sunday and came home tonight ready to tackle my homework... but it turns out that we don't have school tomorrow! Woohoo. That gives me one extra day to procrastinate. Haha. This snow day really makes me happy though because I have no classes Tuesday and this means that I get a 4 day weekend. Super pumped for that.

This coming week is going to be extremely busy. I have my last training for my Internship, 3 meetings, and a bunch of driving from Norman to OKC. I also have to keep up with my classes and start packing for Thanksgiving Break. I'm so excited to leave for Florida next Monday! I haven't seen my mom in over 2 months and I miss her like crazy. I think it'll be the perfect break from Norman and school.

Grades are starting to stress me out though and I hope that I can bring them up to par asap. Not much time left till this semester ends and I know I can't fall behind now. Hopefully everything works out though! Keeping my fingers crossed. :)

Snow on OU's Campus!

(Image information: City-Data)

Week 13: Reading Diary B

Buck's Mahabharata

Reading Notes: Pages 247-305

Notes and Thoughts:

• Amba's story seems irrelevant 
• Sikhandini's story is interesting and i'm glad that he managed to trade genders with Sthuna... but the curse that is placed on Sthuna for helping Sikhandini, is sad. I guess sink Sikhandini is going to war though, there's more likely a risk of him dying and Sthuni being able to convert back to a male
• I am very confused as to why Arjuna teams up with Sikhandin to kill Bhishma, but then is so great to Bhishma when Bhishma is attacked and dying? He brings him water and makes him a pillow... WHY?! He was the one that injured/killed Bhishma.... It doesn't make sense
• Kind of funny how Jayadratha's own curse backfires on him. He literally makes his own head explode. Haha. What a dummy. 
• I wish Buck had told the elephant Ashwatthaman story more clearly. It's actually very clever and funny
• I had no idea that Krishna stopped Ashwatthaman's weapon from working though. That's interesting. 
• Sanjaya feels sorrow for Duryodhana and helps him conceal himself in the lake. I hope the people that Sanjaya tells about where Duryodhana is concealed are on his side. Slightly confused with so many character names and people constantly switching sides.

Week 13: Reading Diary A

Buck's Mahabharata
Reading Notes: Pages 191-246
Notes and Thoughts:

• Glad Yama is able to revive his four brothers who suck at listening to directions
• Lots of characters in Virata's court. It'll be difficult to keep track of all those names
• I don't understand the point of Karna and Indra... So what happens at the end? Does Indra get the jewelry he wants? What does Karna do with the infallible throwing dart?
• I can't believe that Draupadi is assaulted. Her life just seems so miserable and sad to me. I feel like so many people have tried to harm her. 
• It's weird how Buck replaces Arjuna's son Abhimanyu as Uttara's husband? I don't really know how I feel about that. 
• I like how Krishna gives Arjuna the choice of either having Krishna as his ally or taking Krishna's entire army. That's a difficult choice but I think having Krishna as an ally would be a lot smarter than having Krishna's army. Krishna probably has so many connections. 
• I wish Arjuna and Duryodhana listened to Krishna and just claimed peace instead of fighting. 

Week 12: Reading Diary B

Buck's Mahabharata
Reading Notes: Pages 139-189
Notes and Thoughts:

• I don't think it's Arjuna's fault that he doesn't like Urvashi. For her to curse him because he doesn't love her back seems dumb. Indra helps Arjuna use that curse to his advantage though, which is good.
• I also don't remember even reading Mankanaka's story in Narayan's Mahabharata. Either I really was not paying attention or this version is A LOT clearer and easier to understand
• Rishyashringa and Shanta's story is cute and sweet. I'm glad that Shanta doesn't just leave him after she makes him fall for her and come all the way to city and bring rain. 
• Arjuna is returned back to Earth. That's always good
• In this version of the Mahabharata, the Pandavas aren't the ones that end up rescuing Duryodhana? Wow. That's a huge change.
• Jayadratha seems like a minor and pointless character... but a good one to spin a weekly story form
• Savitri and Satyavan's tale is also very interesting and deep. I applaud her for her devotion to her husband and the untiring hope she had so he could live more than one year with her. I would definitely do the same if I fell in love with a man that I knew only had one year left to live.

Week 12: Reading Diary A

Buck's Mahabharata
Reading Notes: Pages 93-138
Notes and Thoughts:

• Yudhishthira is seriously an idiot for gambling not only his worldly possessions, but also his brothers and HIMSELF. I'm not against gambling when you're betting like $10-20... but when you start getting addicted and bet important things like your possessions and PEOPLE. That's taking it WAY too far. 
• I'm glad that Krishna came through and saved Draupadi from embarrassment. She had every right to hit Duhshasana
• Arjuna goes to heaven once he enters exile?
• Glad Damyavanti was smart enough to spot out the real Nala from all the fakes
• I know that Nala ditches Damyavanti for her own good. But I don't understand why guys don't understand that if a girl is willing to stand by your side through even the ROUGHEST of times, then she should not be driven or pushed away. Instead, Nala should have thanked her and been glad to have company in that dark forest.
• Damyavanti would not have been kidnapped or hurt if Nala had just taken her with him.. I'm glad that she goes home to her father though and that he agrees to help her find Nala
• It's weird how the knowledge of gambling is what causes Kali to leave Nala's body. Interesting. 
• Even though Nala now knows the science of gambling, I still feel like it's dumb for him to gamble everything. I guess it's difference since right now he has nothing to lose and everything to gain
• Lol @ Yudhishthira for learning the science of gambling now

Week 11: Famous Last Words

This past week, I think that my favorite piece of writing was my story about Sita in my Storybook. I'm going to be honest, I'm extremely glad that I kept up with my points and assignments so I don't have to write another story. I'm not saying that I hated writing those stories or doing the Storybook project, they're just super time consuming. Writing a StoryBook story usually takes me at least an hour to two hours... and that's not even counting the revisions and stuff.

It's so weird to think that this class is coming to an end already. I can't believe we only have a month left of this semester. It's been a really rough semester and i'm beyond excited to be done with it and move on to new classes and new things. I enrolled for my classes next semester and I'm convinced that next semester will be hell. I'm taking Biochemical Methods, Eco & Path, Molecular Bio, and possibly Physiology as my main classes. I also enrolled in what I hope are a couple of blow-offs, like Yoga, Modern World Music, and Medical Ethics. Next semester will be tough, but I think i'm ready to take it all on. Hopefully I learned my lesson from this semester and have better work ethic next semester.

I'm crazy excited to go home for Thanksgiving Break. I have a countdown on my phone that reminds me how close I am and how I just need to power through the next couple of weeks. It'll be really nice to spend Thanksgiving in Florida with my family and get away from Norman. Sometimes you just get sick of seeing the same people and going through the same motions every single day. I think Florida will be the perfect break. It'll allow me to come back rejuvenated and ready to dominate the end of my semester. 

Besides that, not much happened this week. Oh, I did spend 75% of my weekend at OU's Medical School with my friend Serena! It really helped me clear my head. I enjoyed hearing all her stories about Med School and looking at her notes and just studying with her. Walking around her Mod and meeting all these awesome Medical School students made me so excited to be here doing the same thing one day. It was also a nice change of scenery. Studying in the same 3 places in Norman everyday gets boring. It felt good to be surrounded by students who were so passionate and dedicated to their studies. It really gave me a reality check and helped me realize my priorities.

I aspire to be studying here as a Medical School student one day.

(Image Information: News9)

Week 11 Storytelling: Goodbye Khandava Forest

Agni was SO fed up with everything. This forest had been tempting him for months! Every morning he woke up and could smell the soft clean scent of the pine trees and the deep dark fragrance of the oaks. He could see the luscious leaves and the tough giant trunks. He wanted to eat them, eat them ALL, every single one of those trees in that forest. 

There was just one GIANT problem: Indra. Every single time Agni set out on a mission to burn even ONE of those trees, Indra used his storm powers and rained all over Agni's parade. Agni just couldn't seem to catch a break and he was getting extremely frustrated. There were so many other forests in the state, why couldn't Indra just let Agni have this tiny little forest? And it's not like Agni wasn't leaving any good things behind... A nice healthy fire was needed once in a while. It would replenish the soil, kill off some animals that were weighing down the food chain, and just clear the ecosystem a little bit. Indra was stubborn though and enjoyed raining down on Agni's plans. Indra wanted to show Agni that he was far more powerful than Agni would ever be. He wanted Agni to know that rain would always triumph over fire. 

One day, Agni had a brilliant idea. People all over town always talked about how kind and helpful Arjuna and Krishna were. Surely they could help Agni attain Khandava Forest. That's all Agni wanted. He knew after he ate that forest, his mind would be at ease for years to come and he could then focus more on doing his job as the King of Fire.

He approached Krishna and Arjuna and explained his problem. To his surprise, they were actually extremely understanding. They told him they were happy to help and had actually always wanted to mess with Indra. This would be their break from their busy lives. Agni is beyond delighted and offers Arjuna and Krishna a reward if the job is properly done and Agni gets what he wants. 

Later that night, while everyone was fast asleep. Krishna and Arjuna gave Agni the go-ahead and told him to get started on burning Khandava. Not soon after Agni started burning the forest down, Indra smelled and felt the smoke around him and rose from his slumber. HOW DARE AGNI TRY TO GO BEHIND HIS BACK AND TAKE KHANDAVA WHEN INDRA HAD SPECIFICALLY SAID NO! Indra, beyond upset, rushed down from the sky ready with his monstrous rain clouds and giant thunderbolt. Arjuna and Krishna knew this was coming and were ready to distract Indra. Arjuna used his super fast speed and great aim to disperse the rain clouds all over the state, far far away from Khandava. While Krishna used his energy and power and shattered the giant thunderbolt right out of Indra's hands. Indra was now powerless; without his thunderbolt and clouds, he was nothing. Defeated Indra watched as Agni happily ate the entire Khandava forest. 

After Agni was satisfied, he called Krishna and Arjuna over and presented Arjuna, the bow Gandiva, and Krishna, his iron discus. Krishna and Arjuna happily welcome the presents and leave satisfied knowing that they helped someone in need and also got to teach Indra a lesson. There is always a line between being cocky and being confident. Hopefully Indra now knew where he stood and would never forget that helpless moment where he had no power. 

Agni fulfilling his desires of eating Khandava Forest

(Image Information: Image retrieved from Tech Times)

Author's Note: This story was based off of Buck's Mahabharata, specifically, Reading Guide B. As I was skimming through the reading guide, this small little story stuck out to me. It made me happy to think that Krishna and Arjuna took time out to help Agni with his problem. I left out the part where Agni shows up to Krishna and Arjuna as a "woodsman with gold skin and dressed in black rags, his mouth smeared with butter." I wasn't sure if that line was a metaphor for something or if Agni actually did show up with gold skin and an oily mouth? It didn't really make much sense to me, so I left it out. I added a lot of personification to Agni's character but also tried to stay within the plot. 

Bibliography: Buck, William (1973). Mahabharata.