The Phenomenology of error

In this reading Joseph Williams does make some valid points, even though at times it was hard to follow what he was saying. On pages 155-158 he discussed what makes an error, or better yet who determines what an error is? Or what errors are more important than others. This indirectly ties into what we go over in class about electronic mediums. Errors in texts are often overlooked, things are abbreviated and punctuation in some cases is completly forgotten about. I believe that he's shocked that only certain things are caught while writing a story or an essay. He states that many writers do mess up but it slips by because some people almost weigh errors based on importance. The smaller gramatical and wrong word usage sometimes slip by writers and editors and make it into books while other things are watched much more strictly. I also noticed that he seems more or less mad that people who call themselves gramarians are making grammatical errors that you wouldnt expect from someone in their position. Near the end of the reading he sums it up by basically saying that errors are inevitable but people arent going back and correcting them as they should, he is trying to get a movement and have people care about grammar.

writer? yes or no? (BG)

I don’t consider myself to be a writer because I don’t write every day. I don’t hate writing, its just something I choose not to do in my free time. The only time I really write is for class assignments or for homework. I don’t write poems or books, not even a journal. I think to be considered a writer you would write every day, in your free time, not because you were told but because you want to. Because you have a passion for it. I enjoy writing assignments, but I don’t like to sit down and try to think of something all on my own and then spend all my free time thinking about it. To be a writer seems like it takes a lot of time and dedication, and I don’t think I have either to put into something I don’t like to do unless I am assigned the piece. Writing is cool and everything I just don’t think that its something that I would want to make a career out of. That’s another factor I think that gooses into being writing, making a career out of it. It’s not something I want to do for the rest of my life. I don’t know for sure, but i consider myself to not be a writer.

Do I consider myself a writer?

In my opionion I do not consider myself a writer because if i really was a true writer I would actually enjoy it. When I have to write something whether it is a paper, taking notes, filling out something, i apsolutely dread it. I hate using a writing utencel and writing something, anything. Thoughts do not come to my mind very easily which makes whatever I have to write a difficult task. I am always jealous though of every one elses writing work. I feel that I am a horrible writer jsut because of the way thoughts come into my mind. I have to litereally sit there and think of what to write for a long time before i actually start a paper. It is very time consuming. Even though i do not consider myself a writer, I do in fact wish I was writer. I always wanted to write books or poems when I was a little kid but obviously that dream went out the window due to my horrible writing skills. It's alright though. I do try my best when i write though. It justtakes me ten times longer then everyone else to write a paper. As long as it gets done and it gets done right is all I am really worried about. I hope to some day consider myself to be a writer.

Am I A Writer>?

I do not consider myself that much of a writer considering I do not enjoy writing papers much. I write what I must, and that is probably what contributes to my mediocrity in that area. I DO KNOW THIS MUST CHANGE! I am no good with grammar and structure unless I work on the paper for a long time. This morning I was finishing my draft for essay number one and I got writers block about 5 times and started thinking about other things. I do enjoy reading other peoples writing though! If I had to categorize myself I would call myself a “jotter” (if that’s even a word). Since I can remember I’ve been making lists. Lists for school, things I wanted, things I collected, even friends and boys ha ha. I had notebooks and legal pads that basically were inventories of my life. Pokémon cards were on lists, neopets had a list, heck just about everything had a list! I also wrote a children’s story over the course of 3 years that is still incomplete. I have 15 pages so far but after got writers block. Ideas come to my mind but I have a hard time getting them onto paper. That is my biggest issue in writing and why I do not consider myself to be one.

Am I a writer?

In some cases you have to consider yourself a writer because whether you like it or not you use writing and or the writing process generally everyday. If you take it by a different definition as i do then no i dont. I dont like to write and i feel that in order to really consider yourself a writer you have to enjoy what your'e doing. When i write my words dont always flow together and often times i get stuck and become frustrated and usually i either set down what im doing or give it up all together. When i think of people who are considered writers i think of people that love to write. I feel like a writer should be able to sit down and express themselves on a piece of paper and have it come together without to much revising, even though i know revising is a critical part in the writing process. When i sit down to write a paper i never am doing it just to do it. Usually when i write its for school or in a formal matter. Writing has to be something that you enjoy doing to consider yourself a writer and im not one of those people.

AmIAWriter?

I do not consider myself a writer. Not in the slightest bit. I don't know why I have never had any kind of passion for it, I just don't enjoy it. There are many things that I would rather be doing instead. To me, a writer is someone that writes with a purpose. People that spend time throughout their days expressing their emotions through journals, diaries, and blogs are writers. There are many other forms such as news reporting and song writing but I would never be interested in that. I feel that to consider myself a writer, I would do it on my free time. The only times that I have ever written anything were during school. I had many different writing assignments throughout my high school and middle school years and I have enjoyed writing some of them. For example, I enjoy writing persuasive research essays and sometimes poems, but I would never do it by choice. This blog is something that I don't mind doing, however, I don't have a blog of my own because I don't like publishing my life online. Maybe once I am completely out of school, I will change my views on writing, but until then it is just a chore.

Am I a writer?

I do not consider myself a writer. I only write whenever I have something assigned to me. I do not do journals or any of those kind of things. I also have trouble making things sound sophisticated and professional like many writers do in their books. I could never write something the length of a book with only my ideas and not being able to quote any other person. I feel like to be a writer you have to enjoy it and want to sit and write like all the time. I do not hate writing I just do not have the urge to constantly write whenever I do not have to. To be a writer I think you have to be awesome at reading and comprehending. I am a great reader, but however I am not so great at comprehending big words or articles that are boring. I think that being a great reader helps to be a writer because you can use your reading and comprehension skills to write better and I do not really have all of those. To be a writer you also need great grammar skills and my grammar skills are lacking. I am also really bad at making things flow sometimes and making everything make sense together. All of these skills are needed to be a writer and I do not have these. I also have trouble starting my paper like how do I begin this? what do I need to include in this paper? I tend to constantly have writters block. This is probably not one of my stronger posts because I really struggled with what to say and how to fit the word count.

writer or not?

I would have to say that I do not consider myself a writer. This conclusion came about mainly because I don't ever write. The only time I do write anything is when I have to because of a school assignment. When I do have to write I'm not a bad writer depending on what the prompt is. I am fairly good at creative writings and stuff like that but when it comes to research papers and summaries and more serious types of writing I'm not very good. I just focus on getting those types of papers over with and sometimes my organization is off and I tend to ramble. I would also say that I'm not a writer because I'm not entirely sure what really defines being a "writer". If it's someone who can write when necessary I guess I am somewhat of a writer. If it's someone who actually spends free time writing books and stories and stuff then I am not. When I was a lot younger I probably would've considered myself a writer because I loved writing little poems and songs and even little short stories. As i grew older and writing these things became something I had to do, I lost interest and stopped. I didn't like that I had to do it for school and I was definitely not going to let something that was now considered work take up my free time. So I guess to answer the question, it depends on what your definition of a writer is. In my opinion of what a writer is, I am not one.

Am I a Writer?

I would consider myself a writer. I do enjoy writing all sorts of things; short stories, poems, and journals for example. I think all it takes to be considered a writer is writing of course, and the enjoyment of writing. While sometimes the process can be less than enjoyable, I've always loved that sort of struggle, trying to find the right way to say something, or even what to say in the first place.

Mostly though I consider myself a writer through the medium of music. I do love to write with words, but I write a lot more music. There are things you just can't use words for. You can describe a feeling with as many words as you know, but the best way to make someone else actually feel it is with music. When you can't sleep at night because you've got too many thoughts bouncing around and you get up to write (words or music) I think that makes you a writer.

Do you consider your self a writer ?

I believe that in some cases I feel I am a writer and in some I don't. Being a writer is a complicated thing. Believe me when I go to write a paper I never get anything done in the first writing , I have to do at least two rough drafts before I can submit a paper. When you look at it that is some of the main steps in the writing process that most writers follow or use. But using those writing techniques does not automatically make you a writer. Being a writer I believe takes many years of experiance in the wrinting field in which I do not have. When I have a paper with a subject that I really love and can really get into, I can write and write and go on about it and have my paper become a nice essay. But on the other hand if it is a subject that I am not familiar with and have a hard time understanding it I will not write as well. I guess the point I am trying to make is that when you get into writing is when you have a wonderful subject you know, love and understand. Just like when writers write a story they usually relate it to a family problem or issues they deal with in their life , or just of what they are thinking in their head like a cartoon about their life. A writer would never write about something they hated unless the had to stress a point in an arguement. I think that being a writer is a hard process and is hard to do but if you truly love writing and you could write about anything then I say go for it, but for me on the other hand it's not that simple.

Am I A Writer?

I personally do not consider myself a writer. I really dislike writing. I refuse to write things with a pencil and paper first. If I have to write with a pencil and paper it’s like punishment to me. Most people are at least a little bit comfortable writing with pencil and paper, not me. I would be content if I never had to write another paper again. When I have to write it’s like my paper is going in circles because I can get my thoughts out in a straight path. It’s actually kind of pathetic how much I suck at writing. You would think a person who went through 12 years of schooling should at least be able to write a simple paper. I obviously should have gone to a better school with some teachers who did a better job at teaching writing techniques. Or maybe I should’ve gone to school more often and practiced writing more often. When it comes down to it I will write a paper when I have to it will not be the best and it will not be the worst but it will be done and turned in like it’s the best paper in the world. So I personally do not consider myself a writer but I will let you be the judge throughout this class and in the end you can decide if you believe I am a writer or not through your eyes.

Am I A Writer?

To be honest I really do not consider myself a writer. For me writing is a hard thing for me to do and I try to avoid doing it as much as possible. Writing essays and papers is a weak spot for me because I find it hard for me to write a strong and well constructed paper. The whole idea of using proper sentence structure, coming up with a thesis and coming up with ig words to use is really what I struggle on. Sometimes it is just really hard for me to come up with ideas for a paper so i sit there forever trying to write a paper when it shouldn't really even take that much time to do it. There are times that I do enjoy writing but only when it is on a topic that I like or am interested in, otherwise I find it hard to write a good paper and I usually get bored with writing the paper and tend to wanderoff and do other things. I think to be a writer you have to like doing it and have to be some what decent at doing it. Writing is my least favorite thing to do for school work and I would rather do any other activity besides it just because it takes a lot of time and thought.

Am I a writer?

No, I wouldn't call myself a writer. The word "writer" has a certain connotation. To me- it describes someone who writes often, has had some discipline and has others read what they've written. I like to write, sometimes I even enjoy reading what I write but there's no way I write often enough. I would call myself other things like "journal keeper" or "facebook updater" but I'm not a traditional writer (yet). This winter my friend and I wanted to write down stories from the summer before last. We had all of these great memories and stories. We tried to compile a book but every time we tried to sit down and just write we became distracted or frustrated because every thing we wrote didn't sound right. Needless to say, the project was never finished. My dad is a writer; he writes songs and short stories he's even written a couple books. I know he didn't use to write as much as he does now when he was my age so maybe when I'm older and have something to actually write about then I'll be more productive. In all honesty I think I just need more practice. I need to write more. As things stand of right now though I'm not a writer.

Writer or Not??

Do I consider myself a writer? That's a good question. Well, it all depends on the subject. When it comes to things I know, or have alot of things to say about yes I am a writer. I can write about my views on almost any subject but as far as research papers are concerned, I am not such a good writer. Don't get me wrong, I love to write. Actually writing is one of my strong points. When I was little I used to write poetry and mini stories. It was very entertaining to see what I could come up with off the top of my head. At one point and time I wanted to write a novel about two siblings who were very close until one day a fire tragically took the life of my character Carlishas' little brother Amir. She started having dreams about him and was going through a depressing mental state afterwards. I wrote this in the 7th grade but never finished it. I also wrote a poem about a crush of mine named Trenton. It was about his eyes and the poem had alot of imagery and similes in it. My grandmother loved the poem so much that she wanted me to get it published, but I never got around to it. When I was in the 5th grade I used to get teased about my dark skin complextion and I wrote a poem called"Shades of Black". When my teacher read it, she made me read it for the black history program at my school. At first I thought it was embarrasing until I got a standing ovation when I perform it onstage. I was thrilled to see how my writing affecting these other elementary students. ;I thought that maybe my writing had given the other darker skinned kids some appreciation of their skin color. So am I a writer? You decide. Lmao!!!

Am I A Writer?

When I think of a "writer" I think of someone that has maybe published a book, or writes poetry or writes for magazines. I always picture someone who is a writer to actually be a good writer. I feel like that is why I never actually thought about the question, "Am I a writer?" With this question proposed...

I honestly do consider myself a writer. I like to write and I enjoy writing. I don't however like when I have to write. Writing papers for classes always stresses me out. I don't think I'm the best writer, but I like expressing myself through writing.

Anytime I had to write a poem for a class I’ve always enjoyed that, maybe because there is more freedom with writing poetry, for the most part. I think that writing is a way for you to get your emotions out and then be able to recall them because they are documented.

I find it really hard to actually get into the subjects I'm writing about when I write papers. I find that my thoughts always seem unorganized and that doesn't make me feel good. So, writing papers for school I do not like.

Overall, I do consider myself a writer.

Me A Writer? Hah!

Do I consider myself a writer? In some instances I might consider myself a writer. I don't write for fun ever! I only write when I am asked to and I believe writers write because they have an aspiring motivation to write. I myself have never had that motivation to just sit down and write a book, article, short story, etc. But, I definitely have had some instances where I've gone on and on about a topic. I don't know why this happens but it does and I can't control because I get in a zone where nothing can stop me. I don't honestly think I can be classified into a field of writing because I don't like writing to terribly much. If I were ever considered a writer I would be very happy because that would mean someone actually would have liked what I wrote before or what I have yet to write. I really don't think I can take this question seriously seeing as how the most I've ever written was probably ten pages maximum and I was forced to write it for a grade so I had no other choice. I think I'm just like every other blogger blogging, we have written because of school or for scholarships.

not a writer

I do not consider myself a writer at all. I am bad with epressing things, putting them in order and I am also horible with gramer. Writing stresses me out because in high school there was always so many corrections needed to be made. I am one of the worst spellers you will ever meet. I am not good either with commas, collion marks, excerdearay. Writing is not a strong subject of mine. It has never come natural to me, it is hard for me to get it to all flow together. I tend to wonder off of my topic and venture to another when its not needed. I do not use adavanced words either. I try to make things to the best of my ablitiy. Normally I have other check my papers over and over again for help and comments, to try to make it up to standards for my teacher.

I tend not to like writing either because i hate reading. When writing my paper I have to keep going back to re read what i wrote and try to make corrections that i never really see till i get my paper back then i see my mistakes. I also am bad at peir editing i feel bad because it is hard for me to see what they did wrong in their papers, when i cant even see it in my own. Once i finish a paper i do feel acomplish but sometimes get stressed out about weather its good enough or not.

Friday September 17th

I don't really consider myself a writer because the only type of significant writing i've ever done is as a student. In school since basically kindergarten i've been forced to write essays, short responses, poems etc. As a student I am writing all the time, it's the typical way of submitting any assignment in school. But all those assignments are simply things which I wrote for a grade. Writing for a grade means you write about whatever your teacher tells you and you sometimes just say whatever you think will get you a good grade. Also, in school you write the exact way that teacher tells you too. I think to actually be a writer you write freely about what interests you and the way you want to do it. As a student I never really am given assignments with such freedom, and usually writing is a chore rather than something I enjoy to do. I would never just sit down and write about my day, or the book I just read, or current events, just to pass the time, so I am only a writer when I have to be.

Friday Blog

I personally do not really consider myself a writer, in my past writing classes if I had the opportunity to finish a project other than just doing an essay I normally chose to do that. For example, in my senior year we could; write a response to the readings, draw a detailed picture, or create a short film retelling what you were assigned to read. I normally chose the picture, I honestly am not sure if I am just not a writer or just plain lazy. In the past I used to struggle with getting my ideas flowing throughout a paper so just to avoid having that problem I just chose whatever I had to not to write. I think that whether or not I decide to write was all based on whether or not I enjoyed the topic given. I think that my writing abilities all depend on what I am given to write about. As silly as it seems, whenever I had free range to write on anything I wanted I struggled just due to the fact I could not think of a topic in which my ideas would flow from. I came from a school with a very strict English teacher, who I felt was just ridiculous with the way he decided to grade our work, I blame a lot of my unwillingness to write on him. The teacher just simply discouraged me from writing because of fear my grades would simply drop.

Am I a Writer?

I don't consider myself to be a writer. The reason is that I don't like to write and any chance I get to not write, I take. Now I know not all writers enjoy writing but I believe they all do enjoy writing to some extent. To be a writer you have to somewhat enjoy it because if you didnt then there would be no point in you writing. It would be pretty redundant if you wrote as a job but hated to do it; there would be absoultly no point. That would almost be like a surgeon saying "Oh, I absoultly hate the sight of blood". I have never liked writing as far back as I can remember, which would probably be about the 4th or 5th grade. I honestly think my disliking started when schools put learning cursive in the cirriculum. I find it funny now that they made such a big deal back then about learning it and your going to use it all through out high school and so on but the minute we left elementary school we never used it again. I guess it also depends on someones definition of a writer. My personal definition is someone who writes for money or does it in their free time. Merriam-Webster has writer listed as "one who writes". If we were to go by that standard then I suppose everyone in the entire world is a writer but who knows, maybe everyone is a writer.

Am I a Writer?

When I look at myself, I don't really see a writer. I don't see myself as a writer for many different reasons. The first reason is when I think about a writer I think of someone who has published and sold their works. I do not see an average person writing a paper for school as a writer. I also see a writer as someone who got a degree in writing and knows all the procedures of writing. I myself am not a writer because I haven't ever published a work or sold a work. I have only written because I had to for a class grade not for enjoyment or money.

But, in a way it all depends on how you interpret the question. If your not looking at a writer as a a professional writer than yes I do see myself as just a writer. In a way I do see myself as a writer because I do write sometimes in my life. The writings are usually for school purposes but you could define it as writing. I also could define myself as a writer because i do use all the parts of writing, such as topic sentences, capitalization, punctuation and things of that sort. So, judging on the way you interpret the question could define me as a writer or not.

Am I A Writer? (Kevin)

I don't really consider myself a writer. A writer too me is someone who writes somewhat often and someone who actually enjoys writing. In my opinion writing is not something I do for fun or enjoy, its more something I do because I have too. Take this class for instance, I took this class because I had to, I was required too. Not saying I completely hate the class though, its actually one of my favorites this semester. As for the part of enjoying writing, I don't completely hate it. If the topic I'm writing about is something I like or feel strongly about then I could write for a while. Its still not something I would want to do all the time, thats why I'm glad we have only a few papers to write instead of one every week or so like I thought we were going to have to do. That is another reason why I don't consider myself a writer. A writer wouldn't mind having to write a paper every week or two, it would be an assignment they enjoy, the same way I enjoy doing architecture work. I don't really have an interest at all for writing, which is why I don't consider myself a writer.

Greg Knapp-Not a Writer

I do not consider myself to be a writer. A writer to me is someone who professional has published work or someone who writes whenever they feel like it. I have always thought that people who write books are very intelligent because of the words that they use so I have never even attempted to write stories. I would also say a musician can be a writer. A writer to me is someone who has a lot of thoughts in their head and the only way to get them out is by putting them into words. I do not do any of these. The only time that I have ever written is for school or when I had to do it for something like a scholarship. Not once have I ever sat down and wrote my thoughts down or just wrote with no purpose or reason. I have never found the need to do so. Whenever I get angry or sad I talk to family or friends about my feelings or concerns in my life. I find it much easier to avoid writing than to actually sit down and do it. Writing to me has always been more painful than pleasurable.

items sold

The item i chose was the "Photograph of Heather Hibbard"

1) The person that bought the item was a woman named Kim from St. Paul, Minnesota. I think that the type of person to buy this item would be very into art and photography. I think that the person buying it would have to be into photography to be able to appreciate the picture angle and lighting and have a real understanding of it. The person who bought it had a collection of black and white photographs which makes since because the person would have to have the right place to put it in their home where it would look good.

2) I think that the item sold because it's actually a pretty good picture. It wasn't just some random shot, it was staged and he obviously knew what he was doing when he took it. It also has really interesting lighting. I think a main reason it was sold, along with all of his items, is because there was a story attached to it. I think that especially with art, the value goes up when you know the story behind it and the person who created it.

allmylifeforsale.com items

Chrissy, Keven, Todd, Greg...

Our group picked a Pez Dispensers..

a) we can infer from the purchase that this person could possibly be an older person who is a collector. The product itself doesn't look very new so that led us to the assumption the pez itself was not purchased to eat... so a collector.It could of had some kind of meaning to it.
b) we believe that the age of this product, and the condition that it is in (the fact that it is still in a wrapper) influenced the buyer to purchase it..

things sold

Kenny V, Laura D, Tiffany J, Kyle B, Aarin F

Item- Snowboard Boots

We think the person who bought this is a snowboarder, and likes outdoor sports. This person also looks to buy things cheaper than they would normally cost.
These could have sold because the person figured this would be a good way to get good shoes at a cheap price, and didn't mind buying them used.

37 spoons

A.) Some people we believed that may have bought the bag of 37 spoons were Chefs, artist, a parent for their little children, a young person moving into an apartment, someone who likes to play spoons, and someone who needed spoons.

B.) The buyer may have purchased the spoons because they were cheap, convienent, and you need spoons to eat.

Our group included: Robin Kline, Katie Allison, Erin Harding, Kaitlyn Knapik and Kelsey Haruska

fryer

By : Beth Gonos, Melanie Gilliland, Ellie dudding, Kaitie price, Amanda Lane.

A) Somebody who comes across as eccentric ! Someone who misses her child hood and when she ate the lunch it brought back memories.

B) We think it is about the mystery of whats inside and just the thrill of wishing of what could be inside of it .

Freyer's Site ( Gabby, Julie, Drew, Ben)

Perhaps a collector of currency or collectable coins purchased the fake 25 dollar bills. If that person was unaware that 25 dollar bills were fake, they could have baught them thinking maybe they werent issued anymore like the 2 dollar bills (laughs). Or maybe someone who collects conterfeit money for study purposes or to aid in the detection of fake money like an official of some sort. It was hand made so I would expect that this would attract the buyers in some way. HAND MADE always sounds better!

John Freyer, All My Life For Sale

When I read this essay by John Freyer I first thought of him as somewhat of a hoarder, reminding me of the show on TLC. This show features people who can’t let go of possessions even trash and let it all build up in their homes. While Freyer doesn’t seem to keep onto trash, he still admits to having a lot of useless items. I agree with Freyer that possessions could show a lot about a person’s personality. This reminded me of another show, MTV’s Room Raiders in which people went into the rooms of 3 strangers and then without meeting the strangers decided which they would like to date of all the three, based soley on their possessions they saw in the room, and the condition of the room in general. I think that show also agreed a lot with Freyer ‘s belief in possessions and the personality of people who own them. About Freyer’s project of selling all his items, it is something that I would never want to do. I own so many things that even though I don’t use them all the time they still have memories which I associate the items with and make them hard to let go of. When I was little and my parents would have garage sales they would also use it as a way for me to get rid of some of my own clutter. I always had to pick a few items to sell. It was the hardest thing to do and I never wanted to part with any of my toys. But I believe Freyer’s message is that even though many items we own are associated with good memories, the items themselves aren’t needed to keep those memories. The title alone shows this, he is selling his "life" but really it is just a bunch of useless items. These items however do represent a big part of his life, and aren't just things. But Freyer is able to sell the things which are his whole life because other people may actually enjoy the items and get a better use of them. Freyer is also very lucky to have been able to travel all over the country following his possessions.

All my life for sale

After reading "all my life for sale" I felt a feeling of dejan vu. I could actually relate to this story because my mom likes to keep everything we ever get or anything anyone else ever gets in our family. I mean we have a garage sale every year but she still likes to keep most of everything. Her reason behind this is that if we throw something away or sell something we might regret it because we might need it in the future sometime for some random thing. She is also all about saving money also so keeping everything will prevent us from buying the same thing twice. Back to the story, I thought it was really cool how John Freyer would sell all his stuff and go place to place meeting new people. I would love to do that and meet the people who like the stuff you like, wanting to buy your stuff. In my opinion this guy is pretty inspiring. He went from running out of money and keeping everything he owns ever to becoming a guy who sells his stuff for money and then going on to traveling around the country to sell his items to people and meeting them in person. I thought it was sweet how he got to see the kind of people buying his stuff and maybe even see how they will use the stuff he sells. I think that would be very interesting. I really did like this story but I will never ever keep everything i own. I like to have things cleaned and organized with only necessities.

All MY Life FOr SaLe

When I started reading this passage, I thought it was sort of weird how Freyer never threw away anything. It was very questionable as to why someone would keep anything that was broken, or of no value in their home. I personally have never been a packrat, and found it useless to keep things that are not needed in my home. The more I read his story, I thought about some of the things that I thrown away and the stories behind those items. Freyer's story made me appreciate the things that I have, and made me womder where are some of the things I had thrown away years ago. It would be interesting to know where they ended up. I totally understand why he wanted to sell those items via "dot-com". That was a brilliant idea of him, but he took it to the extreme when he traveled to the new owners of his things. This I deemed as useless because I felt that the money that he could have used to move to New York, he spent on traveling to his see his old posessions. In the end it opened his eyes. Instead of running from his packrat lifestyle his journey made him realize that it was useless to move to New York just because things had got difficult for him. He realized that he should finish doing amd stay grounded in Iowa to finish his graduate study. Now that I think about it, his journey was not as useless as I first thought because this was a lesson learned and it prevented him from making a mistake that he would have later regretted.

ALL MY STUFF!

THIS IS A PRETTY INTERESTING READ.AFTER READING IT REALY MADE ME THINK FOR THE FIRST TIME WHY IVE HUNG ON TO ALL THE ITEMS THAT I HAVE OVER THE YEARS.IVE LIVED ON MY OWN FOR NINE YEARS NOW ,AND THE AMOUNT OF STUFF IVE ACUMALATED OVER THOSE NINE YEARS REALY SAYS ALOT ABOUT WHO I AM AND WHERE I CAME FROM.UNTIL NOW I HAVE NEVER REALY THOUGHT ABOUT WHY IVE HUNG ON TO ANY OF THOSE PATICULAR ITEMS,BUT WETHER THEY POSESS ANY VALUE I COULDNT REALY SEE MYSELF LETTING THEM GO.A LONG TIME AGO SOMEONE REALY CLOSE TO ME SAID "LIFE IS ALL ABOUT EXPERIENCES, MONEY AND PEOPLE COME AND GO BUT THE ONLY THING THAT REMAINS ARE THE MEMORIES".JUST TWO DAYS AGO I STOPPED BY MY PARENTS HOUSE FOR A VISIT,IT WAS A DEFINATE BLAST FROM MY PAST.AS WE WENT THROUGH OLD PHOTOS AND OLD BELONGINGS OF MINE, IT REMINDED ME OF ALOT OF THE STUFF FROM MY PAST THAT I HAD FORGOTEN ABOUT.THEY SHOWED ME THINGS THAT I THOUGHT WERE LONG GONE.THINGS THAT,AT THE TIME I COULD OF CARED LESS ABOUT BUT TODAY IM REAL GLAD THAT THEY HUNG ON TO THEM.THINGS THAT WERE THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF WHO I AM TODAY.

All My Life for Sale (Kevin)

When I first read what "All My Life for Sale" was about, my first reaction was that this guy must be and idiot. Who would sell all their stuff? But after I started reading I got more interested in the story and how he actually went about selling all his stuff. It started out with a few things, then it ended up being most of his possessions. Looking at this in a personal way, I could never imagine doing what he did. Thinking about it I realized I'm one of the kinds of people that don't like to throw things out, hoping that someday you'll find a use for it. I envy John Freyer in a way, he has gotten past material possessions and just focused on what he needs and not all the extra "stuff." Using eBay was probably the easiest way he could of gone about it at first, that way he was compensated for all of his things. This way he doesn't feel like he's really loosing something, but getting something in return. One of my favorite things about this story is how he actually traveled around to the people he sold his items too and saw how his items were being used and displayed. This man spent almost all of his money, going into his emergency money, just to keep his trip going before he decided not to continue anymore. I don't really know why he actually took all of the trips, but to me it seems like a soul searching experience to me. He ended up deciding he wanted to stay in Iowa. He in a way used this experience to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. As you can probably tell I'm not exactly sure what I'm trying to say, I'm sort of all over the place. To sum it all up, I envy this guy, he did one of the most unselfish things I have ever heard of. This story by John Freyer is, in simple words, cool to me. I don't really know what else to say about it. I have read it over and over again and still don't know how to explain it, other than its cool.

All My Life For Sale

After reading some of "All My Life For Sale" I started to think about all the possesions that one person can accumulate over an extended period of time. The short story really made me think about the stuff i had in the past. Most items from when i was a kid for the most part have been passed down the family or eventually ended up being sold to someone else that needed it. You really forget the true value in something after you dont use it for a period of time. People subconciously keep things and can never understand why they did or what uses the object may have till know. When I look at alot of the belonging i have now it makes me think about the true reason that i keep them. Most of my things hold some value whether a memory or just something i couldn't get rid of. In the reading i couldn't believe that he was actually going to try to sell as many belongings as he did. I feel that if I was to do something just as John did and sell all my things I would feel like i would be moving on and forgetting about everything that i used to associate with. In a way he started a new chapter in his life, he wiped the slate clean and im sure he will eventually repeat the process of being a "pack rat".

AllMyLifeforSale

All My Life for Sale was a very interesting read. As a fashion major who is interested in the arts, I understand how he linked our possessions to our personalities. I see my closet of clothes as a representation of who I am. When I see other people, my first opinions about their personalities are usually based off of the type of clothing they are wearing. The way that people present themselves shows a lot about them. Their interests in music, activities, and careers are just a few of the things that can be pulled out of clothing. There are so many different aspects in clothing alone that tell us all about each other. Our possessions do the same thing. We possess items that matter to us, especially in today's economy. For example, dietary habits, movie preferences, and even hobbies can be distinguished by looking around a home. Therefore, I believe that John Freyer's thesis statement was absolutely correct.
Not only did the reading get me thinking about what assumptions can be made about others, but it also brought my attention to how little possessions are worth. I admire the way that Freyer changed his entire outlook on his travel after September 11th. Prior to the attacks, he cared more about selling the objects. In pictures he made them look appealing so people would want to buy them. Although he was making good money, the value of the bonds he made with people started to out way his profits. Later he began "caring more about the people who invited" him which made his experiences even more purposeful.
All in all, the friendships we make and the people we touch matter more, in this life, than material possessions and financial earnings. I enjoyed the reading.

Stuff of All Kinds

While reading "All My Life for Sale" I received many different meanings. At first I thought that John was just a pack rat but as I kept on reading I started to understand him. I can sympathize with him when he says that every time you look at an item of your own you see the memories associated with it. A few years ago my house had a huge flood in the basement and I had to go through all my old stuff to throw away. As I went through my stuff, I noticed how many memories come back to you when you see certain items. I thought it was cool how John sold all of his stuff and then went and visited the new owners. I feel that through this whole process John learned many lessons. He learned that when things get tough you shouldn't just move on and leave everything behind, you should "man up" and take the challenge head on. I also think he learned that "things" aren't the whole memory; people are the key to memories.

When listening to "A place for my stuff," I began to think about my stuff in different ways. I never thought about my house as a place to keep my stuff. I always thought about my house as a home and place to sleep. Once Carlin began to joke around about it a little bit it opened my mind to the idea. One of the ideas that he brought to my attention was when he said when we go somewhere with our stuff we are actually making a smaller version of our house. I had never thought about that but since he brought that to my attention I now will always think of vacation differently. I agree with him when he talked about going different places on a vacation and only taking the stuff absolutely needed. I agree with him on this because every year my family goes to Florida and we take little trips, and I always end up taking way to many things that are unneeded. The final idea that I agreed with him on was that when you take your stuff with you you feel more at home. I've noticed this plenty already by just being at college. I've noticed that having your stuff gives you a sense of home and comfort. Overall, this comedy was very funny but at the same time it gave you a different perspective.

Stuff.

Before I read All My Life for Sale by John Freyer I'd already made a few assumptions. At first I assumed it was going to be a narrative by another modern Thoreau swept up by simplicity.I assumed he sold his possessions to find inner peace and freedom from worldly goods but as it turns out he sold his stuff (at first) just to make some money to leave Iowa. I mean I would sell all my stuff to leave Iowa too. This surprised me. As his project grew out of hand he acquired things truly valuable in life- like friends. I guess I wasn't entirely too far from the Thoreau theory.
This story paired with the audio clip of George Carlin's bit on stuff has really prompted me to question the value of my own possessions- Am I in some way held back by my stuff? Yeah, I am. My computer broke (like broke, broke) the day before classes started. I cried when I found out it couldn't be fixed. I was so overwhelmed by being in a new place, without friends, and now without my computer (meaning harder time checking my email, facebook, and just distracting myself). I went a week without my computer and it was hard. I even had access to other computers and it was still hard. I worry when my phone dies. I always have my ipod, cell phone and a book on me at all times. I'm addicted to my things but I wouldn't say I'm an anomaly. I would say a majority of people in Kent, Ohio have a cell phone and that they keep it with them at all times. I would also say a large number of those people check their facebooks once a day. I'm really glad I read this article because, though I probably won't sell all of my stuff, I recognize that I probably need to detach myself from a few things. I think it would be healthy to limit my facebook time and leave my cell phone at home more. I should probably question whether I need the things I buy and maybe I will sell a few things.

All My Life For Sale

Normaly reading for me is a pain, I can not sit down and focus because much of what I have to read does not intrest me or keep my attention. But "All My Life For Sale" did I liked the concept of it. I have never heard of anyone selling all there life pocesions. He remined me of pack rat, when I picture his appartment I think of my grandparents house. My grandma Insits she needs too keep everything and that everything has a used, or will at some point.

I liked that he wanted to know where all his stuff was going to, and how it was being used. It intrested me, I have not ever sold anything on ebay but my parents have. I think its so intresting how it can be sold to anywhere. I can not believe he just picked up and left to go to the places where people have bought stuff of his. I could never see myself being that kind of person. His whole goal was to leave and return to Ney York, but while he was away for so long and spent all his money he relized he really did not want to move back, but yet stay at his current place of residence.

I could never see myself selling all that I had. I would miss all my cloths and personal belongings. I think its funny how he went to visit someone who bought his salt shaker, I mean come on its a little salt shaker. I do not understand also if he didnt have very much money how could he travel to all these places to visit all the people? I liked at the end some of the clips from the people who bouhght his stuff, for instance the guy who bought his last winter jacket, and how he felt bad cause it was one of the coldest winters there. It is amazing what some people will do, selling all that you own is a crazy idea but this it is 2010 and anything is posible now a days.

All my life for Sale

I thought that "All my life for Sale" was a really interesting personal essay and I really enjoyed reading it. It just wasn't one of those boring class assignments you usually get assigned, due to the fact that it was something completely different and was something that I have never read before. I have never heard of someone selling all of the items that they own on an online website. In today's world people are using the internet to sell items way more than they used to. When I was younger the internet wasn't a huge thing and more people would have garage sales to get rid of unwanted items. Today you see more people going on such sights as Ebay or Craigs list to sell items faster and easier because they don't want to take the time out to have a garage sale. I mean who wouldn't want to do that? Its a faster and easier method than throwing together a garage sale and taking all the time out of your day to have it. For me I tend to keep a lot of older stuff around the house because it reminds me of my childhood or important times in my life and I would never get rid of it. I think its a good idea to keep certain items as you grow up because it serves as a memory that you can keep and tell anyone you want about it or pass it down to your kids in the future. One thing I couldn't imagine doing is being like Freyer and selling all of my belongings as he did and then going to almost every buyers house to visit. That really would take a lot of time to do and I wouldn't want to take the time out of my life and money doing that. I do give a lot of credit to him for following through with what Freyer started and not giving up on it.

Good work/search function

Blog posts look very good so far - more engaged and thoughtful than last week. Nice job. I'll be adding more comments tomorrow.

As it stands, there is still no way to search the blog to find specific posts, authors, and keywords. It's extraordinarily annoying, I know...I'm working on it.

ALL MY LIFE FOR SALE

In reading “All my life for sale” I read about a man who seemed to be pack rat and have lots and of random items and it reminded me about my self in a way. I have tons of junk that I never even look at half the time. It was interesting how his decision to move to New York and sell all of his possesions turned into a project that allowed him to experience so much. I found it shocking that he was visiting people who had baught his items. He went to maine to see a salt shaker for goodness sakes.
The main idea that I took out of the essay was that throught out this project/ process he discovered what he really wanted to do was stay grounded and continue his life in Iowa City. He assumed that the fast pace and culture in New York would be more plentiful than elsewhere, but then discovered there is excitement and opportunity and some fast pace people and events all over the country. This project opened his eyes, mind, and routine lifestlye to many new things through his travel and online conversations with customers and friends.
I also thought it was interesting how he had a history of each item and people who baught the items also composed their own breif histories. Pretty cool. I plan on moving back to New York after I graduate from school and going there for further education so I wonder if I will have a simular experience with all of my junk.

Convergences (All My Life For Sale)

After reading All My Life For Sale, the first thing that came to my mind was how a person deals with their problems. In the story, John says that every time something didn't go his way he would just pack up and leave. People deal with their problems in various different ways. Whether it is screaming into a pillow, or it is running away from the problem all together. I can relate this story to my life in a very personal way. My dad passed away in July of this summer. That is something very hard to deal with when it was so unexpected. It is one problem that you never want to deal with, but in some way you have to.

My dad was not the healthiest man. He ate whatever he wanted and didn't care about the dietary value. He always said that it doesn't matter what you eat because it all mixes together anyway. One day I was sitting at home just thinking of all the things that he used to say and one thought crossed my mind that I knew was worth remembering. Instead of dwelling on the bad, I thought that I would use my dad as an inspiration. I decided to use my knowledge and good to help the younger generation. After contacting the local summer camp and talking to the advisors, I became a speaker at our local summer camp talking about healthy eating. I would have never thought that something so tragic as losing a parent could be turned to good use. I am glad that I chose this as a way to deal with my problems. Even though the hurt is still not gone, this small accomplishment makes things a little bit easier.

Convergences and " A place for my stuff "

All my life for sale was pretty interesting. I found out I kind of do what he did in the beginnig and keep all this stuff that I don't need anymore, the only difference in our stories is that he sold his stuff and I didn't. I thought John Freyer's name for his own catalog was very interesting. When Freyer had listed all of the names he had tried to call his online catalog I was shocked that none of them were available. But that's the kind of problem we run into everytime we try to make a password for something and we think it can't be taken already but unfortunatly it is. The rest of this story I kind of didn't understand and had trouble with it. I didn't know if he was selling all of his stuff to go back to New York or if was just sorting through his stuff so that he could sell and get some money out of his past ?

A place for my stuff was very funny. What he said about people and their stuff is so true. When he had said that " A house is just a big place to keep all your stuff with a roof on top. " Which is really really true. George was talking in his video all about people's belongings and he was talking about how when people go out to like a friends house or say to a hotel, they always end up bringing way more stuff then they actually needed. Which in fact alot of people end up doing just that, and I have to say I am guilty in being one of those many people in bringing more stuff then I actually needed. I have no idea what makes people think you need all this stuff and you go and have a fun time where ever you are at and come home and have never used half the stuff you had originally brought . I think the main message that George Carlin was trying to tell everybody was that it is wonderful that you have alot of nice things and belongings but you do not have to consumed by your stuff and feel like you can't leave it.

week two-all my life for sale

As I read this weeks assignment I first thought about the ideas that were shared on the first page about how you can gather impressions about people from the things they buy, the clothes they wear, and what their bedrooms look like. I began to think how judgemental we are as a society how we tend to judge people by what they are wearing, how large their house is, what kind of car they drive, etc. instead of looking at their personality based on those traits. I could not imagine being John Freyer and just one day deciding to sell all of my personal possessions, especially my cell phone, laptop, and iPod in particular. To be able to sell some of his favorite things like his t-shirt would be incredibly hard for me. Those sort of "favorite items" would be the things that I would stuff into the trunk of my car. When I read the part about him stuffing everything in the trunk of his civic, the first thing I thought of was how small a civic is first of all and the second thing being how on earth is he going to make a living off of what he could possibly fit in the back of his car. I do relate with him on how he holds onto things. I always keep things and think oh I can use this later, but never actually do. Probably the reason why there is a narrow pathway to my bed, because of how I hate to throw things away. As he was talking about his website with all the names he was trying to use I began to wonder, what does this website look like? So I stopped my reading and went to his website. I could not believe all of the random things he sold on there and that people actually bought. I wish he told more of a story about where his items came from and the history he had with his items like he expected his buyers to share updates. I could not believe the second he shared that he would like to know updates on his items that people left his website, like what do you plan on doing with the items that you cannot share updates? The idea of driving around the country to visit his objects like his salt shaker was amusing to me. I do not think if I sold my things at a garage sale that I would actually go drive around to visit them, especially a salt shaker. However reading about all the places he slept at made me think also about the video of a place for my stuff about how awkward and the not so "at home" feeling you have when staying at someone elses house or a complete stranger in his case.

I found the video "A place for my stuff" to be very humorous and quite true with the points he made. With staying at someone else's house I think the also not "at home" feeling comes from not just not having a place for your things but also the feeling of the things in this house or place you are staying at are not your things and this is not your home. When I go on trips I not only have trouble with taking only a few things of mine but which things do I take? I find myself wanting to take all of my clothes instead of the only needed amount for the days I will be gone.

I liked this weeks reading a lot more than last weeks reading. I felt like this weeks reading was more entertaining and enjoyable than just an introduction of the book.

All Of My Life For Sale

John Freyer's story about selling all his stuff on ebay was very eye-opening. It really made me think about all the random things that I've collected over the years and keep away in my closet or laying around my room, and how unimportant they really are. When I was first reading the story all I could think about was how crazy he was for selling all of his stuff and how I could never do that. Once I really got into the story i realized how I was thinking so superficially. This story is one that forces people to stop and think about our world and how materialistic and superficial we have all become. There is so much more to life than our random little possessions that we cared about for a week and now keep in our basements. It might seem so un-rational to just sell all of your stuff like that but the experience he went through, the trips he took, and memories he made are all things that he will remember forever, he won't remember that toaster he sold. I really liked how he went and visited the people he sold his items to that just makes the whole process a lot more interesting and worth it. He gave up a lot but gained so much more.

I think that George Carlin has a similar viewpoint as Freyer in his "A Place for My Stuff" segment. He sees people's possession's as "stuff" nothing more nothing less. Everything tangible in our lives has a relationship to our "stuff". Everything is either our stuff, or it stores our stuff, or it is used to get our stuff, move it around, present it in some way, even our house is just a place to hold all of our stuff. I agree with his theory for the most part I never really thought about it like that it definitely makes you think. I think that Freyer eventually thought of his possessions as nothing more than just stuff and that helped him to be able to get rid of it and focus on the real things in life.

All My Life For Sale (BG)

I was excited to sit down and read "All My Life For Sale" by John Freyer. As I read the story, i found myself relating a lot to the text. I've also held on to a lot of things, not everything but I know the feeling. I found it interesting how I could picture his home in my head, and how he set aside everything in his life to go and visit his things he sold. I found it kinda cool that he traveled to different places he's never been to before, but now he had the chance to because a piece of him, sort to speak, was there. I think that in a way he let that part of him go, but not really. He just made more room to discover new parts about himself. He seems like through this experience and through his website, he discovered that he will probably never settle down and has learned to look forward to the future. After reading this, I've also learned to look forward to the future even if Ive had a bad day, theres gonna be a few of those every now and again, but in the end you will probably have more good days than bad. something else I've learned is that you need to learn to make room to discover new things about yourself. Don't be afraid to make new friendships and travel to new places. I also had a thought about how technology played a big part in John's adventure. without technology there would be no internet, and no internet means no website. No website means none of John's things would have been sold, and then John wouldn't have had the chance to travel to new places and make new friends. I guess this shows how big of a part technology plays a part in our daily lives. Even looking at Facebook, most of us use Facebook to stay in touch with friends, family, old teachers, new friends exc. everyday. This allows you to stay in touch easily while having the chance to make new relationships. I would hope that everyone would take part in this opportunity like John did, and make the future a more friendly and open up more opportunities, if that happened, i cant wait to see what the future holds.

All My Life For Sale (Blog Week 3)

"All My Life For Sale" was a really interesting story to read. I can't totally relate to everything he did but, it was such an eye opening story. The fact that he kept odd's and end's of things was really cool because I have kept things like that before, not like everything but I know what he is getting at, "one man's trash is another man's gold." I still have all my football cards that I collected over right years ago with my brother's. They just mean something sentimental to me, I guess if you never have kept something like that then you might not understand what it's like. When he started talking about how he wanted to sell the things I do not know what it's like to sell odd's and end's of things but I have sold a couple items in my time but nothing really that meant anything to me. I've always wondered how my iPod, I sold a couple years ago, is doing. Does it work still or is it even being used? So maybe I could find the person I sold it to and ask how it is doing or if he sold it to someone else. Thing I may never know. When he talked about how he never really settled down and stayed in once place, I feel like that is how I'm going to be one day. I'll never want to stay in the same apartment, house, or dorm for more then one year. Things I will eventually find out, in good time.

Greg Knapp-Stuff

The story "All My Life For Sale" by John Freyer was a very interesting passage. I have witnessed houses that have owners just like John; people who are too afraid to get rid of stuff or who keep stuff just because they feel the need to. So when he was describing his home, I was able to easily picture it in my head. I have never read a story quite like Johns. He broke the awkward barrier many times throughout his trips to all of his buyers. He put aside everything he had to do in his life to visit these random buyers of his random stuff. I thought that was an astonishing concept. For some odd reason he wanted to keep a tab on all of his stuff. He wanted to know what his stuff was up to and where it was. I don't think that he ever really let it go. He kept that emotional tie to his old things by taking these road trips and going to see them. He treated his things like a loved possession. I also think that he used this as an excuse to go out and see the world. I think he wanted to meet new people and see new things. But instead of going to the bar or on vacation, he visited his old stuff.

I found that George Carlin's "A Place for my Stuff" put things into a different perspective than what most people see. He took a home and made into a storage facility. Most people view their home as a shelter, a safe haven, a trophy etc. George totally flips that and says “it’s a place for all my stuff with a roof over it”. He has a very intelligent point with this. A house does indeed store all of the stuff that you own or have purchased. So isn’t it just a place for all your stuff? Some may see this as being ignorant to the fact of actually having a home. But like George said, “If we didn’t have all this stuff then we could just walk around all day”. People all attach to things differently and however you chose to hold on to something is your choice. I for one will love what can love me back and sell what I do not care for anymore.

Convergences - allmylifeforsale.com

The latest reading I found quite interesting. The idea of allmylifeforsale.com was almost inspiring. I think that it's so brave for a person to be willing to give up all the currently have and know, even if the only reason he is doing it is to be able to escape his town. I love how the story completely did a 360 as I was reading it, it began with a man who was just starting this website in order to get rid of all the junk in his small apartment and it turned into this amazing journey where he meets his buyers and visit all the things that he at first felt that he could not bear to separate from.

I personally believe that society is judged by what you wear and what you own. A neighborhood filled with large houses, with well landscaped lawns, and an escalade outfront would appear to be a safer neighborhood then a rundown house with an old beater parked on the road. The nicest person in the world could live in the rundown house, but I would never know that because judging the looks of the outside of the house, and what car they own I would be too afraid to approach the door. It's the same with school, "clicks" are formed mainly on looks, and you look like what you wear. The jocks had the jerseys, the snobby girls wore the designer purses and holister shirts, the nerds had the glasses and the tucked in walmart brands and on. Personally my school never really followed the standards of society but these things exist and I see them everyday, you are judged on what you own. The reading really made me stop, think, and analyze how society works... if I didn't have the things I did would I be where I am now?

Covergences-EBay

I honestly was not expecting "All my Life for Sale" by John Freyer to be that interesting. I was taken by surprise that by simply putting items on EBay could change someones life that drastically. He began by just posting items for sale on EBay to get rid of his clutter. Throughout the process, he got the idea of starting friendships with each person he had done business with; go to visit each one. He started another website on temporama.com. This website was a way to post daily updates on where he was, and who he was coming to visit next. John's outlook was changed immensely after September 11th, when he happened to be in New York during the tragedy. He decided to return to Iowa and try again. He quoted, "All too often in my life I had just picked up and left when things got difficult or overwhelming, and started over somewhere else." I really enjoyed the fact that just through the internet John created such meaningful relationships. This shows that Internet can be a great thing. It not only allows you to gain information but to form relationships that may last a life time. If you use it in the correct way like John did, it might impact your life as well. Without technology, John's idea would not have even been executed; and who knows what he would be doing now. Technology is becoming a huge part of the world today. However, if everyone uses it in the way that John did, I will look forward to the future.