Memoirs-course 1-week 3

FIRST: Choose a selfie from your phone. (You won’t need to submit the picture. If you don’t take selfies, now is your chance to experiment. If you don’t have a smart phone, use any other digital camera, or the camera on your computer.) Examining the selfie, describe the following elements, in 400-600 words or so:

• the specific location in which the photo was taken, and why

• your attire in the photo, and why

• one detail in the photo that stands out as unique or remarkable (and why you find it so)

• at least one element about the environment that could not be deduced from evidence in the photo, for example, smells, sounds, activity in the next room, etc.

• your mood at the time the photo was taken, and why

• the person who was physically closest to you in the photograph (Keep in mind this may not necessarily be someone visible in the photograph.)

Writing from the level of the frame (again, you can think of this as the level of the voiceover or quasi-omniscient narrator), describe your mood, or what was likely the case, based on past habits and routine behaviors. Think about how you move between the details you do remember and those you don’t.

Then, writing from the level of the story, as if the events captured by the photo are unfolding in real time, repeat the exercise using a photograph of you taken by someone else. This photo should be completely unrelated to the selfie except, of course, that you are the subject of each.

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First 

I am currently at the border with USA from the Mexico side. I was driving a truck to United States of America. The purpose of my trip was to lend it to my father. He needs a truck for moving around produce that he boughts and then send it to his clients at Austin, Texas.  I was happy that I was travelling alone, being married with children does not allow the solitude I was used to. I came singing all the way from Monterrey until the border. In the picture my truck is right behind me. A small truck a Ford F-450 from 2022.  The trailer of the truck is dirty form the outside but clean at the inside. The exact place where I am is Plaza Sendero Reynosa. 

At that moment I was tired I had to wake up early to arrive to US. I was going to use the international bridge that is only used for commercial transportation. Reynosa, Tamaulipas and Pharr, Texas are neighbor cities, but share a horrible hot weather. A dry hotness. A term that I have coined to myself is it smells like sun. When everything is so dry and there is not water around, I really believe that hot can be smell. 

My father was crossing the bridge from US into Mexico, so he could guide me and help me from his van. A special day in which I learn to be able to cross a commercial truck into US. The image was taken by myself using my phone. 

Then

Mayra takes the professional Nikon Camera. A Z50 a mirrorless camera, she unfold it from the special bag and starts taking pictures of Leonardo blowing the candles.  My father has his grandchild on his left arm while using the right hand for putting the candles in the cake. I am next to both of them. My child at the center of the action and of both of us. He used to that. He likes to be the center of attention. He has been since the day he was born. 

Leonardo is seated at the stone bar of the kitchen. It is his third birthday. My mom is next to my wife Mayra. Mom is able to see the pictures because of the screen the camera has. She is watching how Mayra is taking pictures and making suggestions. We all are around the birthday baby, who is becoming into a toddler. 

Memoirs-Course 1 -week 2

 Write a narrative describing an activity that you do regularly which incorporates at least ten steps—something you perform preferably every day, but at least several times a week. With attention to voice, imbue the writing with a sense of character and personality. Pay attention to the way you transition from one step to the next. Connect each step in a unique way that is not merely repetitive like “first I do this, then I do that.” Instead, think about cause and effect. Explain the rationale for each step and why it follows the one before it. You are only allowed to use the words “next” or “and then” twice total.

Title -House chore

I slide open the door leading to my backyard. Stepping outside, the clothesline is directly in front of me. Summer in Mexico is fierce; the hot sun sears my skin within seconds. My wife washes clothes every morning around 10 am, so they're usually dry by noon and ready to be collected.

Once the door is open, I can see how much laundry needs to be taken down. I use an orange plastic laundry basket (not a tray) from Home Depot to transport the dry clothes. I typically start with smaller items like panties, socks, shorts, bras, and undershirts. These clothes don't require clothespins, making them easier and faster to remove. I hold all the small items in my right hand against my chest for easy transfer to the basket.

For larger items like t-shirts and jeans, I take a more deliberate approach. First, I check if the clothes are dry by touch. If they're dry or hot enough, I use my right hand to grab the left clothespin, while my left hand holds the clothes to prevent them from falling. Then, I grab the right clothespin with my right hand and transfer the item to the orange laundry basket.

The basket is standard sized, so the jeans quickly fill it up due to their size. Once the basket is full, I take it inside the house. Then, I grab a laundry basket and proceed to remove the remaining dry clothes from the line.