Blog Post #6

Something that really stuck out to me while listening to “Sucked Into the Tunnels Beneath Las Vegas” was the people that reside within the storm drains. One of the first things mentioned about the people is “I’ve even met people down in the drains that are cool one day and then you come back the next day and it’s not cool all of a sudden.” The idea of this makes you wonder what will happen when they make their first real encounter with people within the tunnels? It is said that these people have not seen Matt, the man giving the “tour” through the tunnels, since the last Thanksgiving when he left them dinner on their beds. These two people really struck my attention. They have the act of swiping money from machines down pact. They know all the ways around, they know the best ways to do it and the best ways not to. Due to the fact that they live in the storm drains- having a bed, shower and their whole lives within that drain- they must make money and a living somehow. This is their career. Although, the one who speaks of all the ways to succeed in his “job,” he is addicted to meth. Is this the reason why he is living in the storm drains in the first place? Does he waste all of his money to get high? He mentions that he is trying to cut back, but isn’t that something that is said by all addicts? Even some people who casually drink state, “I’m never drinking again.” Is he stuck in this storm tunnel for the rest of his life? Although we will never find out exactly what happened with these men, it makes you think about their futures and if their habits will ever change or if this is sadly the lifestyle they have created for themselves for the rest of their lives.

Blog Post #5

After watching myself give my speech, I feel like I didn't do as badly as I thought I did in my own head. I know for a fact I went over on time and I definitely got caught up in my words a couple times; but, I feel like my delivery was better than I expected. I feel like I got my main points across in a way that was efficient and could give my audience a view on The Study to show what and how I will be researching. Although, I feel as if I didn’t get out everything that I wanted and needed to say. I also got thrown off on my slide cues on my notecards and forgot to change slides at one point in time. This made me get flustered on the inside but I feel as if I played it off better than how I truly felt. I’m actually very glad I had questions at the end because I felt like I could show my knowledge better. My overall critique of myself is that in the future I definitely need to spend a little more time working on my timing and getting everything under control and in the correct time frame. I need to reword some things so that I get all my points across at once. I also need to breathe, and slow down so I can get my thoughts under control while I am speaking. Even though I have a time limit I need to be able to get everything out and all my points across.