Review: Keep Pushing

Today, on our class announcements page, I saw a growth mindset cat that gave the message that you have to keep pushing despite all the setbacks that come along the way.

I felt like that resonated with me so strongly because that is how I feel right now.

This week, I have a bunch of homework to complete and I just have to continue to push myself and work my way through all my homework.

Yup, life is tough, but I definitely am tough too! I'll get through it!!

Source: (Google Images)

Famous Last Words: Behind, Yet Not Behind

Week 5 has been very off. I don't remember what was going on (now that a new week is here, and it's time to focus on it); all I know that I didn't everything done that I had intended to.

Things are going pretty okay with all of my classes, actually. I feel like I'm on top of it, yet I'm behind. I'm doing well in three out of seven classes. I have a couple of classes that I direly need to get an A in, and I am trying very hard to get my grades up in those classes. Other than that, I feel like I'm doing fine in my classes. And I think that taking my breaks as planned is really helping me with productivity. At the end of my homework session, I do feel like I've gotten something done, rather than feeling like I've wasted my time.

My plan for this week in this class is to get through work through Week 11. I know I'm only working on Week 5's work currently, but if I work diligently, I do believe that I can get done with it all. There's a great rhythm to this class, and once I have the rhythm down, it becomes so much easier to do the work.

In my other classes, I'm trying to stay ahead as much as I can. Sometimes it can be difficult when there are so many other things going on. In order to keep up with homework, I need to be getting up early in the morning, but that is so much of a struggle in my life, it's crazy. Just this morning, I said I would get up at six to do homework, but I actually rolled out of bed at seven. I guess I have have to take a shot at it tomorrow. I'm sure I can do it tomorrow!

My plan for this week for my job is to finish a couple of different projects. I need to start playing salesman at our old paint stock still sitting in our store, taking up unnecessary space. And I also need to try to do something about all of our shelving. Maybe I'll just constant mention taking it for scrap metal. I know for sure that all of us are getting sick and tired of seeing it and taking up a bunch of needed space. The third thing to get rid of is the timbers from crane mats. I need to find construction companies that will buy all of it. It's crazy how business is so risky and unpredictable that it can put a business into a cash crunch anytime.

My motto for this week.

Source: (Google Images)

Wikipedia Trail: From Trivikrama To Guru Granth Sahib

Since I wrote about Trivikrama not too long ago, and I don't remember the story of Trivikrama exactly, I looked it up, therefore creating the start of my Wikipedia Trail.

When I put in "Trivikrama" as my search terms, it actually took me to the page of Vamana, but Lord Vishnu's Trivikrama is defined on the page as well.

On Vamana's page, I saw a link for Lord Vishnu's Kalki's avatar, and that is His avatar for this yuga, so I went to that page. From there, I learned that a yuga is equal to ten thousand years. No wonder I haven't heard of Lord Vishnu's current birth yet!

From the Kalki page, I went to the page of the current yuga, Kali Yuga. It was said by Lord Krishna that this yuga will be full of hardships for people with virtues and values. Boy do I believe that!

From the Kalki page, I went to the page of Guru Granth Sahib. The Guru Granth Sahib is the holy book of Sikhism.

This is a picture of the cover of the Guru Granth Sahib.

Source: (Wikipedia)

Learning Challenge: Pomodoro Re-Created

Starting in Week 5, I came up with another way to use the Pomodoro technique. I basically recreated the Pomodoro technique.

I have an Excel workbook in which each tab has each week's work in it. Each list of work is organized by due date.

I decided that after every three assignments, I would take a five minute break. Every fourth break would be a fifteen minute break. I used this technique of mine just yesterday while doing homework, and it worked quite well.

Here's a portion of this week's homework list, along with the breaks listed. This method is working quite effectively for me. Feel free to try it, if you wish!

Source: (My Computer)

Growth Mindset: Growth In My Other Classes

The biggest challenge in any of my classes is to actually read the assigned readings. In classes that interest me, this is less of a problem. Not that I'm not doing well, but it's that sometimes it's hard to do the assignment without actually knowing the material. I skim the pages of the assignment, but that doesn't always work.

I am dually enrolled, and I have seven classes altogether. It can be hard sometimes to balance all the work, plus having a part-time job.

Since the end of the semester is still ten weeks away, I can't really say if I've grown or not. All I know is to the work the best of my ability, and results will follow.

"Do your best and Let God do the rest." I live by the quote, and it is one of the best life lessons I've received.

Source: (Google Images)

Tech Tip: Searching Pinterest

Pinterest is one of the best creations out there. It has tons and tons of ideas for everything. It is very easy to use in regards to searching for things.

The only downside to searching Pinterest is that you can't put in too many words. When you put in too many words, it'll give a bunch of irrelevant pins. For example, if you put the word "the" in the search box, it'll find pins that contain the word "the" within them. Be specific in what you want to search for, and it'll give you the greatest ideas in the world.

Searching is really easy, too. All you have to do is put in the search terms in the search box and hit enter and bam, you'll get all the pins in the world.

See the search box? Use it to search for all the ideas in the world.

Source: (My Computer)

Reading Notes: Pattanaik's Seven Secrets, Part D: Trivikrama

For each week's extra credit reading, I have been doing Pattanaik's Seven Secrets of the Hindu Calendar Art. Somewhere down the road, I have not been completely paying attention, and I think I may have repeated one part. But I will pay attention after this.

This week's extra credit reading consisted of Part D of Pattanaik's Seven Secrets, which is Lord Vishnu's form of Trivikrama.

Trivikrama is the form of Lord Vishnu in which He covered the three world, svarga (heaven), prithvi (earth), and paataala (hell), in three steps.

Click here for a reading guide for Pattanaik's Seven Secrets of the Hindu Calendar Art.

Lord Vishnu's Trivikrama avatar

Source: (Google Images)

Week 5 Story: Ganeshotsav Preparations

It is the time of year again when the Ganeshotsav is to begin in a few days, and it is the job of Tapu Sena to prepare for the festival: to decorate the mandap and to think of and prepare for the program.

Tapu Sena is very excited because they have already begun the preparations for the festival. They have prepared the budget and consulted with Bhidebhai to make sure the budget is good and to make sure they can begin the preparations on time.

After getting Bhidebhai's permission, Tapu Sena calls the mandap company and gathers a list of all the materials they will need to complete the decorations. The mandap company arrives, and Tapu Sena supervises them as to where and how the mandap needs to be built. After they leave, Tapu Sena gets all the materials from Abdulbhai's shop and begins cutting, coloring, gluing, and taping their decorations.

The kids are so busy in what they are doing that they even forget to each their meals. They have Abdulbhai bring them snacks and water as needed.

Each year, the theme of the mandap is a suspense to all the members of the society. No matter how much the members ask, the kids do not tell them the theme.

The day is finally here to open the curtain and reveal the theme of the Ganeshotsav mandap. Everyone has brought the murti of Ganpatibappa, and the kids take it inside the mandap to fix. As they are inside, Tapu comes outside, and Bhidebhai asks him, "Tapu, parda kab khologe bhai? Ab aur intezaar nahi hota." ("Tapu, when will you open the curtain. I can't wait anymore.")

The society members agree, "Haan, beta." ("Yes, dear.")

Tapu responds, "Bas, do minute, Bhideuncle." ("Just a couple of minutes, Bhideuncle.")

As soon as he finishes saying that, Sonu, Pinku, Goli, and Gogi come out and Sonu says to Tapu, "Tapu, hogaya. Aap sab taiyaar hai?" ("Tapu, it's done. Is everyone ready?")

Everyone responds, "Haan, haan. Kholo, kholo, jaldi kholo!" ("Yes, yes. Open it, open it, open it fast!")

As soon as the curtain opens, the society members are pleasantly shocked at what they were seeing. The decoration consisted of the Draupadi's cheerharan and Lord Krishna saving her, in the background of the city today. There was also a board that had a message about respecting women because we would be nowhere without them. All the society members are so happy with the thought of the kids.

All the members of the society are talking about how well the kids have decorated and the message they send to the world. Mehtasaab agrees and says about the message, "Aurat ke haalat sach much aisa hi hai, Tapu Sena. Aurat ek behen hoti hai, beti hoti hai, phir ek patni banti hai, phir bahu banti hai. Aur patni aur bahu banne ke baad maa banti hai. Uske baad bhi woh khatamb nahi hoti hai. Woh hamesha balidaan deti hai, lekin hum log kya dete hai aurat ko? Jis aurat ki hame puja karni chahiye, sammaan dena chahiye, hum log uska cheerharan karte hai. Hum uske garima ke saath khilwaad karte hai. Sharam aani chahiye unko jo aurat ki izzat nahi karte. Kya baat hai, Tapu Sena, kya baat hai." ("The condition of women is like so exactly, Tapu Sena. A woman is a sister, a daughter, then a wife, then a daughter-in-law. And then, she becomes a mother. But even then, her roles are not finished. She always sacrifices for her family, but what do we give her? The woman that we should be worshipping, we strip her of her grace? We play with her dignity? The people who don't respect women should be seriously ashamed. Very well done, Tapu Sena, very well done!")

Everyone applauds for Tapu Sena, and they respond, "Thank you, thank you!"

In this way, Tapu Sena did a fantastic job of decorating for Ganeshotsav.

***Author's Note: This story came from the cheerharan of Draupadi. It is one of my favorite stories from the Mahabharata. It is a shame of what happened in the hall where Draupadi was being stripped, but it sends a very powerful message to everyone. The thought of the kids to portray such an event and to send such a message is very praise-worthy for the kids. Sad part is that this still happens today in the form of rape. And what's even worse is that rapists don't feel any kind of shame when they should.***

Click here for a reading guide to R. K. Narayan's Mahabharata.

Tapu Sena's decoration including Draupadi's cheerharan on the right.

Source: (Youtube)

Reading Notes: Narayan's Mahabharata, Part B

Chapter 5 is titled "Uncle's Gift" and is about Shakuni's (Kauravas' maternal uncle) gift to the Kauravas. He tells Duryodhana that he will help kill the Pandavas.

Chapter 6 is titled "City of Splendor" and is about how the Pandavas turned the Khandavaprastha into Indraprastha. In the previous chapter, Lord Krishna came and took the Pandavas out of Hastinapura and took them to a desert called Khandavaprastha. He told them that this is the place where can live peacefully. The Pandavas used the help of many people and built a city on Khandavasprastha and named it Indraprastha. But nonetheless, the Kauravas were not happy about this, and continued to harass them.

Chapter 7 is called "Stakes Unmatched" and is about the gambling match that took place between the Kauravas and the Pandavas. It was in this chapter that Shakuni played by deceit and won each gamble and stake that put out by Yudhisthira. It was in this chapter also when the cheerharan of Draupadi took place, and the Pandavas couldn't do a thing about it.

Chapter 8 is titled "Wanderings" and is about the time when the Pandavas were living in the forest. This chapter describes the life of the Pandavas during their time in the forest. They had to live in the forest because Yudhisthira staked Indraprastha in the gambling match and lost it.

I would write a story about the time when Tapu Sena had themed one Ganeshotsav around the respect of women and included the story of Draupadi's cheerharan in it.

Click here for a reading guide to R. K. Narayan's Mahabharata.

Draupadi being stripped of her dignity, Lord Krishna saving her, and the Pandavas watching in helplessness.

Source: (Google Images)

Reading Notes: Narayan's Mahabharata, Part A

Chapter 1 is titled "The Eighth Baby" and is about the birth of the eighth child of King Shantanu. This chapter is an introduction to all the characters and the very, very beginning of the war of the Mahabharata.

Chapter 2 is titled "Enter--The Players" and is about the Pandavas and how they came to be. This chapter introduces the readers to the Pandavas and their births. It also introduces the Kauravas and gives a brief background as to who Karna (charioteer's son, but really royalty).

Chapter 3 is titled "House of Joy--and Ashes" and is about how the enmity started between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. King Dhritarashta (father of the Kauravas) named Yudhisthira the heir apparent of Hastinapur. Duryodhana, being the eldest Kaurava, should have been named heir apparent, so as a result of Yudhisthira being named heir apparent, the Kauravas started hating the Pandavas, and the enmity began there.

Chapter 4 is titled "Bride for Five" and is about Draupadi and her swayamvara. The Pandavas attend Draupadi's swayamvara, and Arjuna wins her swayamvara and marries her. But when she is brought to the Pandavas house, without looking at what they brought, the Pandavas' mother asks them to share what they have brought. In this way, she became the wife to all five brothers.

I would write about how the members of Gokuldham Society share each other's happiness and sorrows.

Click here for a reading guide to R. K. Narayan's Mahabharata.

The Pandavas bring Draupadi home, and their mother, Kunti, asks them to share what they have brought.

Source: (Google Images)