Rob Flemming

Karel F. Suarez
Composition #4
Draft #3
November 27, 2009.

Rob Flemming

Rob Flemming is the protagonist of Nick Hornby’s bestseller, High Fidelity. Rob is a peculiar person, who sometimes doesn’t know what he wants or what he feels. He is the owner of a record store, and his life is ruled by music. He regrets not finishing school, and that causes his insecurity. He never had a good relationship with his parents, friends or girlfriends because he never put effort into those relationships. Throughout the book we learn about Rob’s relationship with his parents, Rob’s feelings of frustration about quitting school, and Rob’s love life.

Nick Hornby shows us that Rob’s relationship with his parents was never Rob’s priority. First of all, the reader can understand from chapter eleven that Rob’s relationship with his parents is not close, and he doesn’t know his parents at all. When Rob went to his parents’ house, he was expecting to find his boring and predictable parents, but what he found was the opposite - new and interesting parents. They were having fun with neighbors, going to the movies, and also had bought a VCR. In fact Rob was surprised because everything changed. From this, we could infer that he never made the effort to know his parents and to become close to them. Another example of Rob’s relationship with his parents that the author of High Fidelity shows us is in chapter 25. When Laura’s father dies, Rob started to think about how he would feel if his parents died. And what Rob thought is that he will, “hardly feel a thing,” because he has grown distant to his parents. This tells the readers that Rob doesn’t have a close relationship with his parent because he wanted it that way. Finally, we learn about Rob’s relationship with his parents from Rob’s mom’s call in chapter two. In this call they talk about Rob’s love life and how she is worried about his relationships which are like a vicious circle because he meets a girl, they move in together, and she leaves him. After they spoke, Rob said, “Anything bad that has happened to me in the last couple of decades has ended up like this, with mom visible or audibly upset.” Rob felt that his mother never supported him and she never was an understanding mother, however his mother was worried about him and she was only trying to help him. Rob never made the effort to get to know his parents or to have a close relationship with them.

Another part of Rob that Nick Hornby shows us, is Rob’s feelings of frustration about quitting school. Nick Hornby introduces this idea to us for the first time in the chapter where Rob talked about Charlie Nicholson. In this chapter Rob quit school because Charlie broke up with him. After that, not only did he make the decision to open a record store, but he also wasn’t happy with that decision because he was frustrated and he felt that he would be there for all his life. We can see this in page 26 where Rob said, “I am stuck in this pose, this shop-managing pose, forever, because of a few short weeks in 1979 when I went a bit [crazy] for a while.” From this we could infer that Rob is not happy with the decisions that he made. In chapter 21 we could see another example of Rob’s frustration about quitting school. When Rob went to Charlie’s house he envied all of Charlie’s friends because they had better clothes than him, they lived in a better neighborhood, and they had a profession. Rob said “ I want their opinions, I want their money, I want their clothes, I want their ability to talk about dogs’ names without any hint of embarrassment. I want to go back to 1979 and start all over again.” And he also said “The difference between these people and me is that they finished college and I didn’t.” Rob felt that they had all those things because they finished school and he did not have those things because he did not have a profession. This quote makes the readers think that Rob feels regrets for quitting school and he is frustrated because of that.

Also, we saw that Rob’s love life never was the best. First of all, Rob’s first girlfriend, Alison Ashworth, replaced Rob with another person from the same neighborhood, Kevin Bannister, but in a humiliating way. When Rob went to the park to meet with Alison, he saw that she was kissing Kevin. Rob felt angry and he didn’t know what to do, how to act, or where to go. He almost cried. That was the first time that someone had broken his heart and the first time that he had experimented rejection because Alison not only hooked up with Rob without his consent, but she also left Rob without letting him know. Secondly, Charlie Nicholson was Rob’s fourth girlfriend. She was beautiful, exotic, and dramatic, which made Rob feel intimidated and insecure. After two years of being together regardless of the effort that he put into the relationship, Charlie replaced Rob with a classmate from her design program named Marco. Rob was depressed and without thinking, he quit school and this caused him to feel more insecure about himself than before. Finally, Rob’s last girlfriend was Laura. They met when Rob was working as a D.J. in Groucho Club. After some time they moved in together. The relationship was stable at the beginning, but later on, the relationship became monotonous and boring. Rob cheated on Laura when she was pregnant, and Laura consequently decided to have an abortion. Laura replaced Rob with Ian, the neighbor from upstairs. Rob was unsure of how he was feeling. He had mixed emotions about his break up, he felt freedom from not being with Laura, but at the same time missed her. He was trying to pretend that the break up did not affect him but it did affect him. Rob’s romantic relationships were always bad and they always ended up with Rob being cheated on and abandoned.

Rob Flemming was a person full of insecurities. He always had bad relationships with his parents and girlfriends. Even though he was an adult he still had to grow up.

Letter to the Mayor of New York City

Karel Suarez
Composition # 3 Draft #3
November 04, 2009

Letter to the Mayor of New York City

Dear Mayor Bloomberg:

Did you know that the municipal shelter system is currently running out of beds for homeless single men and women? This year the number of homeless people increased eleven percent in relation to the previous years. I understand that you have received a large piece of land and that you are looking for the best way to use the spot. I believe that building a shelter is the best way to give the spot a good use because it will increase jobs, improve homeless people’s education, and you could provide basic necessities for homeless people.

Building a homeless shelter is good for New York City because it will increase jobs. First of all, a homeless shelter can provide an opportunity for construction workers. In order to build the shelter we will need to hire different workers. We need carpenters, engineers, plumbers, electricians and painters. Currently the unemployment rate is very high. Hiring people to build the shelter is going to lower unemployment. Secondly, there are some homeless who need help from social workers. After finishing school, social workers will have a chance to find employment working in the shelter. Finally, building a homeless shelter will help to give a chance for doctors and nurses to work. Homeless people need medical attention, so doctors and nurses can get jobs. Building a homeless shelter is going to provide jobs to many different kinds of workers.

Building a homeless shelter could be helpful for homeless people’s education. To begin with, it is an incontrovertible fact that twenty percent of homeless people are illiterate in New York City. Sometimes homeless people are reluctant to learn how to read and write, but they need to be taught how to do this because it is going to give them a better chance to get a job. The homeless people could access those skills in shelters through study programs like reading groups. This is going to be beneficial to the city because homeless people could get better jobs. Additionally, a homeless shelter could encourage homeless people to improve their job skills. They could learn manual labor like carpentry or sewing and start their own business and earn some money. Finally, building a homeless shelter could be helpful to homeless because homeless could get a financial education. Homeless people sometimes feel that the financial system defeated them, in the shelter they could learn how to manage their money and this way they could be able to save money and make good investments.

Finally, if you build a shelter you could take care of homeless people’s basic necessities. Shelters provide food for homeless. Many times homeless do not have anything to eat and they do not have good nutrition. If you build a shelter they could have food like meat, fruits, and vegetables for free and they would get the required amount of calories, proteins, vitamins, and minerals per day. Shelters also provide clothes. Homeless people do not have a lot of clothes to change every day, that is why most of the time they are dirty and odorous. Many people who need more space in their closet and don’t need extra clothes are able to free up space by giving to shelters, so that the shelter can give homeless clean clothes that are suitable to the climate of the season. Also, with the shelter you could lessen the number of homeless people that are sleeping on the streets. Many shelters that currently exist do not have enough space for everyone who wants to sleep there, that is why they have to sleep on the streets. If you build a new homeless shelter, homeless people could have a comfortable place to pass the night.

For all the points I mentioned above, I believe, that building a shelter would be the best option. I think it would help many people and will also help society by reducing problems that could eventually appear. Also, building a homeless shelter is something that people will consider when they are voting in the elections.

Sincerely.

Karel Suarez.

My Biography

Karel F. Suarez
Composition # 2 Draft #3
November 04, 2009.

My Biography

My name is Karel Fabiola Suarez De Ugarte. I am the only daughter of Sylvia Margarita Alcira De Ugarte Lazcano. I was born in Cochabamba Bolivia on May 24, 1982. Cochabamba is the heart of Bolivia. It is Bolivia's third largest city. It is located in a valley surrounded by the Andes mountain range. The climate is considered the most comfortable in all of Bolivia, with warm and sunny days and cool nights. Cochabamba has many places to get to know. One of these places is the “El Cristo de la Concordia” statue. It is the world's tallest statue of Christ. It surpasses the more famous statue in Rio de Janeiro by a few meters. The statue towers over Cochabamba, with its outstretched arms in a welcoming embrace and is located at the top of the huge San Pedro hill, which overlooks Cochabamba about 265 meters above the city.

The name of the neighborhood where I grew up is called Cala – Cala. Cala – Cala is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Cochabamba. It is a residential area. The avenues have gardens running through the middle of them acting as islands separating one direction of traffic from the other. Each garden has palm trees and flowers. Each avenue is connected to another avenue by plazas. The majority of the plazas have fountains that have their own unique design. They are surrounded by trees and flowers that make my neighborhood a beautiful place. The streets are never crowded and life is peaceful because you do not hear a lot of noise from cars or people. The houses are big and beautiful; each house has a different shape and color depending on the owners taste, this makes the neighborhood less monotonous. Generally all houses have a front garden and backyard that is surrounded by high walls, which give you privacy. There are private guards on some streets that protect the homes from thieves because they are always on the lookout to see who they will rob next.

My family lived in that neighborhood all their lives. My family is big. My grandparents had five children, one son and four daughters. My mom is the second of the daughters. I am the first granddaughter and the oldest niece. I have eleven cousins. Despite the fact that everyone works in my family, we see each other a lot during the week. We have the tradition of eating lunch together and spending Sundays together; this tradition keeps us together. The same tradition is kept on birthdays, holidays such as Christmas, New years, Mother’s day, or Father’s day. We always celebrate holidays together. For example, in birthdays, the celebration starts from the morning. Everyone meets at my grandparents’ home to eat breakfast together, and for lunch my grandmother prepares the favorite dish of the birthday person and makes the cake. We spend the whole afternoon together talking, listening to music, or watching movies.

I went to a private school named Maryknoll. It is a Catholic school near my house. The teachers were extremely strict. They did not allow the students to talk in class. If we broke the rules we would get punished. They would punished us by making us sweep the school floors. They would also make us leave the class and stand in the middle of school for one hour until the next class started, so that everyone in the school saw that we misbehaved. Despite the rigid rules, I liked my school because the teachers taught me values and good study habits. But when I was in tenth grade, I decided to change to Issac Attie school because Maryknoll did not have a senior trip. The tradition of schools in my country is to make a graduation trip in the last year of school so that everyone will have something to remember with other classmates. At this school, I attended eleven and twelve grade. For my senior trip I went to Mexico. I had the opportunity to visit the Federal District, Acapulco, Taxco, and Cuernavaca. It was an unforgettable trip because it was the first time I saw the ocean and I had a lot of fun with my classmates playing with waves on the beach. I enjoyed the view of the pyramids of Mexico, of the exotic food, the hotel in Acapulco, and of my trips to Cuernava.

When I finished high school, I started to study medicine in San Simon University (the public university in Cochabamba.) San Simon is known in all of South America because it has the best medical school. For this reason I had classmates from other countries near Bolivia. I had the opportunity to travel with my friends from Peru to Cusco, a beautiful city with a lot of history. I studied at San Simon for four years. After wards I went to a private university named Universidad Central, and I studied Physical Therapy and Kinesiology for five years. In 2006 I finished my studies and started to work.

In my free time I worked as volunteer in Viedma Hospital (the public hospital in Cochabamba) with an organization called “Movimiento Sonrisa” which has a figurative meaning; working for a smile. We had many volunteers working in each section in the hospital. I was in charge of the burned children section, and I had five people working with me. Everyday we went to the hospital to help the children to eat, to play with them, and to teach them to read and write because many of them had to be in the hospital many years and they could not go to school.

We also worked by organizing events to raise money to pay for hospital bills, medicine, and medical exams for patients in the hospital who could not pay. In 2002 I traveled to Ornskoldsvik, Sweden with my organization as an exchange student. This was posible thanks to people who found out about our organization and funded us. We were invited by the government to stay for three months. During our stay we were able to meet with many people and organizations to tell them what we did as volunteers. By doing this we were able to get grants to construct a shelter for family members of the patient. Seventy percent of the children in the hospital came from distant villages and that is why it was difficult for their parents to visit them every day. Many parents decided to abandon them and many decided to stay with them at the hospital during their entire stay there. The parents generally slept outside in the gardens because they did not have money to pay for a hotel. The “Movimiento Sonrisa” shelter’s objective is to give parents a comfortable and safe place where they could stay while their children were in the hospital.

In 2003 I met my husband. He is from the United States of America. I met him when he was in vacation in Cochabamba. At the end of the year we traveled together to Asuncion, Paraguay and Brazil to see the Iguazu waterfalls. We were engaged for four years. During that time we traveled to many places within my country because he was interested to travel around Bolivia. In August 2007 I got married. In 2008 my husband had to go back to the U.S. to finish school; this is why I came to the U.S. I arrived in March 2009 and started to study English in LaGuardia Community College and in June, I entered the CLIP program where I am currently studying because I want to improve my English in order to validate the physical therapy and kinesiology title I already have.

The Most Influential People in My Life

Karel F. Suarez
Composition #1 Draft #3
November 04, 2009.

The Most Influential People in My Life

Many times a lot of people have something to teach and something to say to you. Even if you do not want to hear it, people always have something to say. I learned to listen to what people told me and to choose between good and bad advice. While growing up, I collected all of the teachings and advice I heard. I believe that the best things people learn almost always come from the important people in that person’s life.

My mother is one of the people that influenced my life. One way, that she became influential was by always setting a good example to follow. My mom was nineteen years old when I was born. When I was still a baby, my mom got divorced, this is why she assumed the double role: one of father and the other of mother. In Bolivia, generally when a couple has a baby, the mother stays the first years with the baby and the dad is the one who works to satisfy the economic necessities of the family; however this was not the case in my experience. My mom worked as the general manager of a phone company in Bolivia, and one of her major responsibilities was to supervise different sites. She had to travel for three month periods, two times a year to different cities of my country. It was very hard for my mom because I was still a baby and she had to leave me with my grandparents. My mom’s experience influenced me by teaching me that if for some reason of life, I would be in the same position as my mom when she had me, I would be able to succeed alone like she did, no matter what. The second way that my mother was influential in my life was by always giving me the best advice. My mom always told me that I have to treat people the same way that I wanted to be treated. Following that advice was very useful to me. When I was in college I had a classmate from Chile who was not good in anatomy and she always asked me to help her with her dissections. Despite the fact that I did not have free time, I would help her because one day I would need someone’s help and I would like to find it. When we finished the year she passed the class and as a thank you she took me to Chile and paid for all my expenses. I felt happy for her success with her grades, and grateful for the opportunity that she gave me to visit Chile.

My grandfather is the second influential person in my life. He taught me that there are three important things in life. The first important thing is God. When I was child, my grandfather always took a verse from the Bible and made it interesting by reciting it like a story. After that, he would explain the meaning to me if I did not understand. He took me to the church every Sunday. Sometimes I did not want to listen or go to church because I thought it was boring, but now I know there is a supreme being watching me that guides, supports, and protects me. This knowledge influences my personality and my behavior because I am fearful of God and I try to be a correct person. The second important thing that he taught me was the meaning of family. He always put an emphasis that everyone should be together at lunch time, church, and holidays because it was important to share time together. Thanks to the emphasis my grandfather put on being together my family is close-knit and we can find support on one another. The third thing he taught me was the importance of respecting and being proud of my country. My grandfather traveled once a month to different provinces of my city. When he arrived from his trips he would tell me about the places he saw, all full of history and scenery with different climates and nature. Everything he taught me about the country helped me see the marvelous things that Bolivia has to offer and makes me feel proud of being Bolivian.

Finally, but still very important, my uncle was another influential person in my life. He taught me that you had to be perseverant in order to reach your objectives. When my uncle was studying in the university, there were many political problems in the country between the president and the militaries, the militaries took control and enforced martial law. For that reason the university had to close. The government started to go after the political leaders of the university. My uncle was the president of the student association of the university and that is why they went after him. He had to spend almost one year in hiding by traveling from city to city. Despite the hard times, he continued to fight. My uncle organized secret meetings from the government and motivated people to fight for the cause of reopening the university. After a year, his struggle gave fruits and he achieved his objective because the university reopened. He continued his studies and finished his career in architecture. The second thing that I learned through his example was honesty. He taught me that it is good to be honest. In 1992, my uncle was elected prefect of my city. Many people took advantage of high political positions to become rich. But despite the many bribes offers given to my uncle, he never accepted them because he did not want to tarnish his name. Thanks to his correct form of acting when he was prefect, my city remembers him in a caring way and it is said that in his term as prefect there was no corruption. All these things make my uncle a person that I admire and through his life experiences I have learned the importance of being honest in the way I act, loyal, and perseverant.

The best things I have ever learned came from the important people in my life. There were times when I would have rather not listened to what people had to say to me, but now I am grateful and I realize that all were important.

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra Interview

Miguel de Cervantes' s life was a mistery, many parts of his story are missed. This is why if I had the opportunity to interview Miguel de Cervantes, I would ask him this:

1. Nobody knows anything about your childhood; can you tell me how it was?

2. When Josefina’s father forbade you to see her, why didn't you do anything?

3. What happened when you were captured by pirates?

4. Did you see your daughter Isabel again?

5. How did you die?

Top-Five Favorite Songs.

Song #1 -- Civil War.

Artist -- Guns and Roses.

Year -- 1990.

Genre -- This band fuses punk rock, blues rock, heavy metal, and classic rock and roll.

Memorable lyrics -- My hands are tied, the billions shift from side to side and the wars go on with brainwashed pride for the love of God and our human rights and all these things are swept aside by bloody hands time can't deny and are washed away by your genocide and history hides the lies of our civil wars.

Memory association -- I loved to hear the song “Civil War” when I was sad. I would lye on my bed with the lights off, while singing loud, this would make me feel better.

Blurb -- In my point of view, this song is a good protest song against civil war.


Song #2 -- Don’t cry.

Artist -- Guns and Roses.

Year -- 1991.

Genre -- This band fuses punk rock, blues rock, heavy metal, and classic rock and roll.

Memorable lyrics -- Give me a whisper and give me a sigh, give me a kiss before you tell me good bye, don't you take it so hard now and please don't take it so bad, I'll still be thinking of you and the times we had...baby.

Memory association -- When I hear this song I remember my friend Manuel, he was my best friend when I was 13 years old. We used to listen to “don’t cry” in his living room while doing homework. I had a really nice time with my friend Manuel but sadly he had to move to another city. I never saw Manuel again but I have this song to remember him.

Blurb -- "Don't Cry" is the perfect song for someone with a broken heart.


Song #3 -- Don’t speak.

Artist -- No Doubt.

Year -- 1995.

Genre -- Rock.

Memorable lyrics -- It's all ending I gotta stop pretending who we are. You and me I can see us dying, are we?

Memory association -- When I listen to this song I remember my friend Camila. One day she was really sad because her boy friend left her and she went to my house. We talked all night long and she started to cry when this song began to play.

Blurb -- "Don't speak" is a sad song and it is a good way to tell someone how you feel.


Song #4 -- Heaven.

Artist -- Brian Adams.

Year -- 1984.

Genre -- Rock.

Memorable lyrics – I've been waiting for so long for something to arrive for love to come along, now our dreams are coming true through the good times and the bad, I'll be standing there by you.

Memory association -- When I hear the Brian Adams version of this song, I remember when I was planning my wedding because I used this song for my engagement party invitations.

When I hear this song in the DJ Sammy techno version, I remember my trip to Sweden, when I was skiing down the mountain in Örnsköldsvik.

Blurb -- I think that this song is very good for love.


Song #5 -- In the end.

Artist -- Linkin Park.

Year -- 2000.

Genre -- Linkin Pak combined alternative metal, nu metal, rap rock sounds with influences and elements from hip hop, alternative rock, and electronica.

Memorable lyrics -- I've put my trust in you pushed as far as I can go for all this there’s only one thing you should know… I tried so hard and got so far but in the end It doesn’t even matter.

Memory association -- I liked to listen to this song when I would ride with my friends. We would go out in my car with no specific destination and I would put the volume on high.

Blurb -- This song has a good rock beat.

45 Personal Questions

Forty-five Personal Questions

1. Would you rather be rich and have no free time or struggle with money but have loads of free time?

I would prefer to have free time so I think I would have to struggle with money.

2. If you were a boss, would your rather be liked or feared?
If I were a boss, I would rather to be liked.

3. Do you prefer to dress nicely or comfortably?
I prefer to dress comfortably and nice at the same time.

4.Who is the most influential person in your life?
The most influential person in my life is my mother.

5.What is your pet peeve?
I think I don’t have one.

6.What do you get excited about?
I really get excited about trips.

7. What's the last thing you laughed really hard over?
The last thing that made me laugh was a funny movie.

8.Could you live without your cell phone for one week? One month?
Yes, I could live without a cell fhone for even a longer period of time.

9. What woke you up this morning?
The thought that I had to make lunch this morning woke me up.

10. Do you use myspace or facebook?
I use facebook.

11. If you could take one friend on vacation with you, who would it be?
I would take my friend Sabina on vacation with me.

12. Are you scared of spiders, cockroaches, or snakes?
Yes, I am scared of those creatures.

13. Could you go a month without cursing?
Yes, I could.

14. Have you ever been bullied by anyone?
No, I have never been bullied.

15.Do you prefer a wild night on the town or a quiet evening at home?
I prefer a quiet evening at home.

16. If you could move somewhere else, would you?
Yes, I would move to Europe if I could.

17.How many true friends do you have?
I have three true friends.

18.What is something you really want right now?
I really want to see my family in Bolivia.

19.Are you a forgiving person?
Sometimes I am a forgiving person.

20.Have you ever thought you were going to marry someone?
Yes, I thought I was going to marry someone.

21.Who was the last person to make you smile?
The last person that made me smile was my husband.

22. Do you miss anyone?
Yes, I miss my family.

23. Is it more important to be honest or kind?
Both are important.

24. Are you a bad or a good influence?
I am a good influence.

25. Is there anyone you want to visit you?
Yes, my mother.

26. What is something your friends make fun of you for?
My friends never made fun of me.

27. Is there something about yourself that you would change if you could?
I would like to have more will power.

28. In one word describe yourself.
Happy.

29. Is there anyone you wish could “see you now?”
Yes, I would like my mom to see me now.

30.What is your dream job?
My dream job is to work as a physical therapist.

31.Have you ever been accused of something you didn’t do?
Yes, I have been accused of something that I didn't do.

32.What is your favorite movie?
My favorite movie is Harry Potter.

33.Who is your favorite celebrity?
My favorite celebrity is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

34.Brittany Spears: yes or no?
No.

35. Michael Jackson: yes or no?
Yes.

36.Tom Cruise: yes or no?
Yes.

37. Madonna: yes or no?
Yes.

38. What is your favorite song?
I don't have a favorite song, I have many.

39. What is your favorite book?
My favorite book is " Juventud en extasis" By Carlos Cuauhtemoc Sanchez.

40. What is your favorite leisure activity?
My favorite leisure activity is to be on facebook.

41. Do you like change?
Sometimes I like change.

42. Are you a control freak?
No, I am not A control freak.

43. What is advice you would give to a friend who wanted to move to NYC?
I would tell them, " New York City is a busy place. Don't forget to leave time for yourself."

44. What is the happiest moment you’ve had in the last year?
The happiest moment I have had in the last year was when I arrived to New York and saw my husband.

45. What is one piece of advice you have learned in the past year that you will/would share with your children?
Never do something that you would not like someone to do to you.