A Funny Thing...

Life is weird. Full of mysteries. They say a man is never lost, he just doesn't know where he's headed yet. But I feel lost. I know what I want, yet, I can't seem to get any closer to it. I try and try but no luck. I don't want to be stuck here till I grow old. Just the thought of it is scary. We have to go against those who doubt us, show them what we're made of. Stick it to the man and show him he was wrong. That we really could do it and are successful at it. But until that point is reached, well, life is miserable. Find that motivation, that drive required to complete your goal. Always fight back. Never give up. Follow that dream. Your life will be complete. You'll feel satisfied with the success you've made for yourself. In the end, all the hardships will pay off.

WOW

My life sorta seems to be en route to what i want it to be like...AWESOME!!!!

completey shocking!!!

despite all the momentum leading into this game, the US lost to Costa Rica 3-0. soccer is a weird and wonderful sport. gotta love it! :D

Yeah!!

My Blues did it. They might've been eliminated by Barcelona but they still managed to win the FA Cup. Great job. What a way to end the season. Go Blues!!!!

"if you're standing in a corner with a red scarf 'round your neck, Chelsea boys will come and get you and we'll break your fuckin' neck"

Barça Wins The UEFA Champions Cup

so, Barcelona won the champions cup. congrats to them. good game Manchester United but it wasn't good enough. better luck next year.

Why?

Why them? It isn't fair. I feel this vague empty space in my stomach and can't do anything about it. Why? That's the question everyone asks. Why them? Why them? Was it that they had finally fulfilled their mission on earth and it was their time to go? Why them? It's the question everyone wants to know the answer to. Rest in Peace Jorge and Martin, we'll meet up soon. We'll all be together again in no time. Just wait patiently and make sure god has a place for us in heaven.

1 Year Since...

...my best friend Jorge died in that horrible car accident. It's been one year since I received that phone call from Bert telling me that Jesus, Jorge, Erik, Omar, and Martin had gotten in a car crash and that Jorge had passed, Martin was in the ICU at Desert Regional, and Erik had been taken to Loma Linda. One year, wow, time passes by so quick. One Year....

WOW!!

this past saturday was the last day of class. i'm gonna miss that class. it was pretty fun and i actually learned something! but on the other hand, i don't have to wake up early on saturdays anymore!! but oh well, maybe i'll see some of you guys around school! take care everyone. i will most likely continue to use this blog so yea.

Also...

I'm really pissed at the fact that Barcelona beat Chelsea. I'm a barca fan also but Chelsea's my first team so I wanted them to win. Oh well, I'm sure Manchester United will destroy them!!

....

ah, she's driving me crazy! i hope all this is worth the trouble. i'm sure it will be but i don't wanna go through a big disappointment.

Sick

Je déteste être malade. I HATE BEING SICK!!! I've been sick for 5 days now. It's too harsh for my sickness to be a flu, but too weak to be pneumonia. My throat is really irritated and I can barely speak. Hopefully I will heal up by Saturday. Because of me being sick, my trip to LA for spring break sucked!! And to top it all off, I worked Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday sick! It sucked. I had headaches, and constant coughing. I really want this to be over now....

Completely Shocked

so i was watching soccer and Bolivia who is placed last in the CONMEBOL world cup qualifiers beats the #2 Argentina 6-1. the last time Argentina lost by that many goals was like in 1958 to the Czech Republic. i thought it might be an April fools thing but guess not.

Finally...

after messing around with blogger and HTML codes for about an hour, i figured out how to put a music playlist on my profile...oh yeah, and i don't work till friday so yeah, finally i get to relax...now, this playlist is on random play...there's a little bit of everything....rock, hip hop, and some '80s music...it's on random play so it all depends on if you get lucky and a song you like comes up...enjoy!!!

took me a while, but here it is....definition/persuasive essay

Capital Punishment: Fair or Unfair?

"Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.” This is found in the Old Testament on Genesis 9:6. It is the first commandment of the Bible that has a common legal character. According to this quote, one who murders destroys the “image of God” in a fellow man and therefore commits an indirect attack on God himself. This is the religious view of the death penalty. But what is the death penalty? Who gets to decide if it’s right or wrong? The death penalty should be avoided at all costs. It is unfair and it really isn’t punishing a person. Some countries have abolished the death penalty as they see it unfair. Killing a convict is just doing him a favor. He won’t pay for his crime at all. There is also the convict’s family. What about them? Before convicting someone to the death penalty, think of their families. The death penalty is unfair and should be avoided at all costs.
Many people might ask themselves what is the death penalty and why is it applied? Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the lawful imposition of death as punishment for a capital crime. The word “capital” comes from the Latin “capitalis” which means “regarding the head”. Because of this, a capital crime was originally punished by cutting the head of the convict. To this day, the death penalty is applied in four of the most populous countries in the world, such as People’s Republic of China, India, United States, and Indonesia. The death penalty is usually practiced when a criminal is convicted of murder, espionage, or treason. In some countries, rape, adultery and incest are also punished by the death penalty. In China, human trafficking and serious corruption are punished by death as well.
Some countries have abolished the death penalty as they consider it unfair punishment. Venezuela abolished the death penalty in 1863, San Marino in 1865, and Portugal in 1867. The United Kingdom abolished it in 1998. France abolished it in 1981, Canada in 1976 and Australia in 1985. Here in the United States, some states have banned the death penalty. Michigan was the first state to do so in 1846. Currently, 15 states and the District of Columbia ban capital punishment.
Is it right to use the death penalty as punishment? There are some pros and cons to this. Some see it as immoral while others see it as only encouraging violence. Some feel that allowing the government the power of life and death is wrong. Only God, they feel, should have this power, since, as Catholic sister Camille D’Arienzo said, “…all life, not only innocent life, is sacred.” One the most recent arguments is that the death penalty is poorly administered and mainly affects both minorities and the poor since often they cannot afford legal help. Sergeant Dutta states “Killing a criminal will prevent him from committing another crime- but so will putting him behind bars forever”. This is the opinion of those against the death penalty. Those in favor of the death penalty also have something to say. Those in favor say that capital punishment is a just and appropriate punishment for those who commit the most heinous of crimes. It ensures that the murderer will not kill again and provides closure to the family and friends of the victim. Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe columnist, says that the death penalty “sends a powerful moral message.” He says that the message is “that the life he took was so precious, and the crime he committed so horrific, that he forfeits his own right to remain alive.” No matter what those in favor of the death penalty say, it isn’t the solution. Death penalty is applied to “scare” those who are thinking of committing a crime and yet crimes still occur. If criminals were scared of the death penalty, there wouldn’t be any murders occurring and yet they still are. While some argue that killing a murderer brings “comfort” to the family and friends of the victim but what about the murderer’s family? Most likely the victim’s family will say that they do not wish anyone the pain they are going through for losing their beloved one. Yet, they agree on killing the murderer. What will his family feel? Won’t they feel the same as the family of the victim? What happened to the victim’s family not wishing their pain on anyone else? For surely the murderer’s family will suffer just like the victim’s family. Like my mother says “para una madre, no hay un hijo malo”, which means “for a mother, there isn’t a bad son.” The murderer’s family will suffer just as bad as the victim’s family. This is a very controversial topic and will continue to be controversial maybe until man ceases to exist.
By killing a criminal, he will not pay for his crime at all. You’ll be doing him a favor. If he is put in prison for life, he will have all the time in the world to think about what he did. If he raped someone, it will most likely be “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” Other convicts will probably rape him and make him really pay for his crime. Most likely he will be picked on by others and will hate prison making him regret his decision of committing that crime and truly will be sorry. By killing him, he will experience none of these situations and it will not solve anything. It might ignite even more violence. The convict’s friends might take retaliation on the families of officers or on the officers themselves. It will end up being worse than just putting him in jail. In jail he will have a chance to rehabilitate and change for the good or just dig himself into a deeper hole. That’s his choice. The best thing we can do as a people is to give them that chance and it is up to them if they will take it or leave it.
The death penalty has been a controversial issue for ages. Some are with it and some are against it. The death penalty is unfair and unjust. A criminal will not suffer if he is put to death. He will not experience any of the pain of being in prison and will not learn his lesson. By killing him, he will avoid the horror of prison immediately. The death of this criminal could also spark more violence and hate. Those seeking revenge for their fallen friend might go on a killing spree and God knows what will happen. The death penalty has been an unjust punishment and will continue to be so until it is completely abolished. It seems impossible for now, but maybe one day, just maybe, the world will come to their senses and get rid of capital punishment.

Final Draft for process essay

Francisco Magana Jr
Joel Murphy
English 51
14 March 2009


Quick and Easy
Who ever said making money was easy? It takes work. There is the old fashioned way of making money by getting a job, or doing illegal things, which will get you in trouble. If you need fast and easy money, there’s many ways to do that legally. One way, is by mowing lawns. Of course, if you plan on mowing lawns, make sure you have a lawn mower. You have to be good at mowing lawns or else you will do a bad job and people will want their money back. Try to have lower rates and be competitive with the neighborhood gardeners, clean up all the grass clippings, have a place to dump the grass clippings, and do not dump it on someone else’s trash. Mowing lawns could a source from which quick and easy money can be made.
One has to be good at mowing to start earning some cash. Find out what type of grass that will be cut. Certain grasses require to be cut at different lengths. Winter Season grasses, such as fescue, rye or bluegrass, should be cut from 2.5 inches to 3.5 inches. Warm Season grasses such as crabgrass, goose grass, and foxtails, require cutting from .5 inches to 1 inch because they can tolerate lower cuts. There are certain techniques to mowing lawns. The mowing patterns should be varied. Mowing in the same pattern time after time causes soil compaction and wear patterns. A varied mowing pattern also can prevent continuous scalping of high spots and uneven mowing where sharp turns occur. Leaving some grass clippings on the soil would be a good idea. Grass clippings return a valuable source of nutrients back to the soil. Research shows that up to 1/4 of a lawn's nitrogen requirements can be provided by recycling grass clippings. The clippings should be fine enough to disappear into the turf.
Next, think of how much to charge. Charging lower than other gardeners will give you better chances of people hiring you to cut their grass. Find out how much those gardeners charge and figure out how much would be fair for the costumers, charge a lower rate, but make sure you leave a good profit for yourself. For small yards, the price should be about $15, medium yards at about $20, and large yards for $25. With these prices, costumers will be asking for your services.
Finally, clean up is an important part of the job. Grass clippings can be used to fertilize the soil, but some people don’t want them on their lawn. Of course not all the grass clippings are used. Throw the rest away in the trash but not the neighbor’s trash. The grass clippings can also be used to fertilize other plants but beware. Do not use grass that has been treated with herbicides as a garden fertilizer because it is no longer an organic source. Plus, the herbicide may harm your garden's plants.Getting rid of grass clippings can be a problem unless you are prepared. If you have compostable wheelie bin collection in your area, commonly know as the brown bin, take advantage of this to dispose of the lawn clippings. Of course, this is limited in volume, so the average country-garden lawn owner could fill this many times over in one mowing session. Many people will put the grass in their standard wheelie bin, but this is to be avoided. Sending clippings to landfill is an expensive and sinful waste of landfill space.
Mowing lawns is a quick way of making money. By mowing 10 lawns a day you will have very good profit. It is easy to do and most importantly, it is legal! Mowing lawns won’t get you into prison like other things. Once you start mowing lawns, it might start you on your way to owning your own landscaping company. Have fun with it and think of ways to use the money you make. Don’t invest into the stock market though, or you will be back where you started!

Kickin Back

Today I went over to my friend's house and played some NFL Blitz. It was pretty cool. It was my first time playing and I kicked ass. I beat my friend's cousin who is supposed to be super good at it. I scored a touchdown with 7 secs to play and beat him 31-30. It was tight. I was supposed to get a book today for college but I wasn't home so I missed it. The DHL delivery guy just left me a note instead of leaving it in the front door or something. Oh well, I still don't really need my books anyways.

Super Bowl

So, the super bowl was pretty intense. It was full of emotions. Specially when the Cardinals were winning. I'm watching the game and Steelers are up 20-7, so I decided to stop watching it as I thought it was a decided game already. 20 minutes later I check so I can see the awards ceremony and to my surprise, the Cardinals are up by 3. They ended up losing anyways, thanks to a great Steelers drive led by Roethlisberger. Sucks for the Cards but yay for me, as I wanted them to lose. I am a big Eagles and Patriots fans. The Cards eliminated the Eagles, so it was only fair that they lost too. No school tomorrow so I have to wait to see what comes up. I doubt that I'll be going out tomorrow. I got school tuesday so no way.

Best Weekend Ever

January 24th and 25th were the best days of my life. Some friends and I planned a trip to the city of angels, Los Angeles. So, two of my friends decided to go to LA a couple hours early so my friend Mario and myself had to drive all the way out there. We left at around 6pm and got there at 8pm. We arrived at the Comfort Inn located on Eastern Avenue in Bell Gardens. The hotel room was pretty tight and it only cost us $27. So we get there and take a shower and take off to Gypsy Cafe. It is a Hookah bar located in West Hollywood. Just the feel of the place is awesome. The music is super loud and you just get in the mood. I met the best waitress ever. She was hot too ;) ha ha. So we kick it there for about 2 hours and then we went back to the hotel room. Whatever happened at the hotel, stays at the hotel :) ha ha. The next day we went to eat at the IHOP located in South Gate, I believe. After IHOP, we went to Beverly Hills to check out all the shops. It was pretty cool. Then, to end off the day, we went to Santa Monica beach. It is extremely beautiful there. It was my first time visiting LA. It was also the first time I went to the beach. Neither disappointed. Both met all my expectations. It was the best time of my life and I don't know if I'm gonna be able to top this weekend...I might, but not anytime soon, that's for sure.

First Day at COD

The first day at COD wasn't as bad as I thought I'd be. The people are chill, and a lot of people smoke ha ha. I won't feel so alone smoking now. French class is super tight. The teacher is really cool and there's this girl that is super cool so I need to talk to her more so we can be good friends. I dropped Trigonometry because it was really boring and I knew all that stuff already anyways. I'm aiming for a certificate in Nursing Assistant and the road to that certificate has begun. Let's see how school unfolds and see what the future holds for me.