Excerpt from Mary Shelley's book - Frankenstein

This excerpt appeared in the scene where Victor realized that the victim that he had been claimed to murder was, Henry Clerval, his best friend.

Why did I not die? More miserable than man ever was before, why did I not sink into forgetfulness and rest? Death snatches away many blooming children, the only hopes of their doting parents: how many brides and youthful lovers have been one day in the bloom of health and hope, and the next a prey for worms and the decay of the tomb! Of what materials was I made, that I could thus resist so many shocks, which, like the turning of the wheel, continually renewed the torture?

Vocab:

interment - burial, entombment, inhumation, sepulture

affright - To arouse fear in; terrify

doom - (n.) Fate, especially a tragic or ruinous one. (v.) To destine to an unhappy end.

a turnkey - (old-fashioned) a jailer

assize - a session of a court

Baby Minds

Key developmental windows in young children:

1. Social Attachment (0 - 18 months):

**Without positive social experiences during babies first eighteen months, the ability to develop secure, trusting relationships becomes much less likely. 

2. Motor Skills (prenatal - 4 years):

3. Speech and Vocabulary (0 - 3 years):

**The more language baby hears, the larger his vocabulary will be throughout his childhood. It is language spoken directly to a child during this language learning period that is most effective in building strong circuitry to support vocabulary growth and proficient language skills. 

4. Math and Logic (1 - 4 years):

**Stacking blocks and knocking them down, stringing wooden beads onto a piece of yarn, or counting a row of raisins before eating them one by one are all experiences that help a child become a skilled mathematical and logical thinker. 

5. Music (3 - 12 years):

** Some researchers suspect that the optimal window for learning to play an instruments begins to close around then to twelve years. 

Baby earthquake in Redlands

Yesterday was the first time in my life to experience an earthquake. You think that I was frighten by it but just the reverse was true. I felt a little excited. You cannot blame me for this because I came from a country that is free from natural disaster. 

It happened in the morning of July 29, 2008. Philyra and I were in the bedroom. She was having her morning nap and I was surfing net. I felt a sudden movement. It was like someone using a digging machine to excavate the foundation of the building. Then, I heard my housemate shouting at my door, "Meier, earthquake!" I had a very clear mind at that moment. I held Philyra up, opened the door, and ran out of the building with my housemate. We were safe. 

Secret of life...

Suddenly I have an impulse want to quote some sentences from the book that I currently read -- "One Minute For Myself" by Spencer Johnson.

"I don't like it when other people feel I don't live up to their expectations of me. So I avoid setting myself up with rigid expectations and comparing me to what I think ought to be. When I am disappointed in myself, it is usually because I didn't get what I demanded of me."

"Now I simply appreciate what happens instead of comparing to what I think ought to happen. I've learned that my personal pain comes from the difference between what is happening and what I think ought to be happening."

"So if I let go of what I think is missing from the fantasy and appreciate what is already good about the reality, I'll be happier."