Reading Diary B Week 14

The festival was my favorite part of this weeks reading.

• Yudhishthira announces there will be a festival 
• There was food and gifts for everyone who came 
• Yudhishthira meets a mongoose at the festival
• The mongoose has a pretty golden color
• The mongoose got this color from rolling in the grains that a poor family had offered to Yama
• Yama disguises himself as a hungry traveler
• The entire coat of the mongoose turned gold from generosity 
• His goal was to become completely gold
•  Yudhishthira thanks the mongoose for visiting
• He sends him off with food and red silk to give his wife

Reading Diary A Week 14

I thought Duryodhana was an interesting character in this weeks reading.

• He is the oldest of 100 sons
• His parents are named King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gandhari
• He was disqualified to be able to take over the throne
•  He made the waters of the lake impenetrable using powers of illusion
• Yudhishthira thinks he should fight one of the Pandavas
• Their is a fight between him and Bhima
• Bhima smashes is thighs
• He finally did this after promising to after a long time

Reading Diary B Week 13

I found the death of Drona to be very interesting

• In battle Drona kills Drupada
• Drupada is his enemy
• Drona cannot handle that his son dies and he weeps
• He does not know this but his son is not actually dead
• Instead, it is an elephant with his sons name instead
• Drona puts down his weapons to mourn
• Dhristadyumna, the son of Drupada, beheads Drona
•  Arjuna is very sad that Drona died
• Drona's son wants revenge and has a very big weapon
• His son's weapon falls when commanded to

Reading Diary A Week 13

I found King Virata to be interesting in this portion of the reading.

• Pandavas spent a year in his court
• Was married to Queen Sudeshna
• Father of Prince Uttara and Princess Uttarā, who married Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna
• Ruler of Matsya kingdom
• Bhima becomes his cook
• Sahadeva impresses Virata by being able to predict an eclipse
• He agrees to put Sahadeva in charge of tending the cattle

Famous Last Words Week 12

This has been a very long and busy week for me.  This is because I have had many homework assignments due for all of my classes.  I have a paper due for every single class soon and then finals will begin around the corner! I am very thankful for Thursday to be my last day of classes every week.  Having a three day weekend really helps.  I look forward to being able to have fun and relax this weekend.  My parents are even coming in town for Dad's weekend.  My aunt and uncle are coming with them as well for the Baylor game.  I personally do not want to go to the Baylor game because it is going to be freezing cold.  I will probably watch it from my house or inside a restaurant.  I am very excited to catch up and be able to spend time with my family on Saturday.  It is nice having parents who will come visit me so I do not have to go home as often.  For this last month, I have been working very hard to look for internships this summer in Washington D.C.  I am very excited for what my future holds.  It is such a nice feeling to figure out a passion and then act on it.  I am a little nervous to be on my own but I know I will be fine.  Time really has flown by recently.  I am very in shock how fast this semester has gone by.  It is such a bittersweet feeling knowing it will be coming to an end soon.  I do look forward to starting over with my classes next semester. Winter break will be a nice break from school but I will miss my friends so much!   

Washington DC Skyline. Nabna

Storytelling Week 12 Chris and Molly

Their once was a CEO named Chris.  Chris was a very successful man who worked his way up the company he started working for when he was only 21 years old.  Chris attended many fundraising Galas with other big CEOs like himself.  At the Winter Gala, he was seated at a table with other CEOs and their dates.  Chris sadly did not bring a date to this event so he felt very awkward.  He noticed a beautiful young women across the table.  He was upset that she was clearly already taken.  Everyone began introducing themselves to one another.  He sighed in relief when a man named Mark introduced the beautiful young women Molly, as his daughter.  Molly was the most charming lady he had ever seen.  After dinner was served, Chris asked Molly to dance.  They had a wonderful night and Chris was immediately hooked.  He knew he had to have Molly as his girlfriend.  When the night ended, he got her number and asked her on a date for next week.  They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.  Little did Chris know, many other men swooned over Molly.  This was going to have a to be a competition because he was not the only one asking her on dates. Molly gave every man a chance and went on dates with all of them.  After a couple months, the men made her choose.  This was a very hard choice.  Deep down, Molly knew what her heart wanted her to do.  She then made the decision to date Chris and leave the rest behind.  One of the men who Molly dated was particularly unhappy and wanted revenge.  His name was Eric and he would not let this go.  He vowed to ruin Chris and Molly's life together.  Five years later, Chris and Molly were happily married.  Out of nowhere, Eric showed up to their house and knocked the door down.  He took out a knife and charged towards the couple.  Chris then quickly took a pan and knocked Eric upside the head.  Then, Molly dialed 911 and told the cops to come immediately.  The cops sped over and arrested Eric.  The couple then lived happily ever after undisturbed.  

Source: Wikipedia. Gala Etiquette

Authors Note:
I did the storytelling post different than all my others.  I changed the names of the original characters, the setting, and the time period.  Nala and Damayanti's names were changed to Chris and Molly.  Vidarbha and Kali's names were changed to Mark and Eric.  I made Chris and Mark a CEO because in Buck's version they were kings.  I wanted to retell the story in a more modern thing because I thought it would be a lot more relateable and fun.  I also added a creepy plot twist  to the end. 

Bibliography:
Buck, William (1973). Mahabharata.

Reading Diary B Week 12

I thought Jayadratha was very interesting in this section of the book.

• Jayadratha was the husband of Duhsala
• He is also the brother-in-law of Duryodhana
• He sees Draupadi in the forest
• He grabs her and carries her off in his chariot
• The Pandavas then run after them and catch them
• Yudhishthira asks Draupadi for permission to spare Jayadratha's life
• Draupadi agrees and they let Jayadratha go unharmed 
• He is very lucky that he got away with this