Word #10

vivacious

1 Ohio school, 4 bullied teens dead by own hand (article from Yahoo! News)

"Sladjana Vidovic, whose family had moved to northeast Ohio from Bosnia when she was a little girl, was pretty, vivacious and charming."

lively; animated; gay; adjective

After having a few conversations with Andrea, I learned that she gets especially vivacious with her hands when she talks.

Word #9

egregious

South Bay college student finds FBI tracker (news report from ABC 7 News)

"'Is it that you can just put it on any person's car and I would argue that is obviously an egregious violation of everybody's constitutional rights and should be challenged,' said Afifi's attorney Zahra Billoo."

extraordinary in some bad way; glaring; flagrant; adjective

It was not a surprise that the basketball player got ejected from the game for committing such an egregious foul.

Word #8

balk

Apple Readies Verizon iPhone (article from Wall Street Journal)

"Verizon, in those earlier discussions, balked at Apple's requirement that Verizon not allow its retail partners to sell the phone, people familiar with the discussion said at the time."

to stop, as at an obstacle, and refuse to proceed or to do something specified; verb

Johnny balked at the service's monthly fee after learning it will be raised by 50% at the end of the year.

Word #7

quell

China remains uncompromising in response to Nobel (article from Yahoo! News)

"Getting China wrong could prove troublesome as the U.S. and other powers try to quell terrorism, halt nuclear proliferation, revive growth that is flagging in much of the West and deal with other global troubles."

to suppress; put an end to; extinguish; verb

The school administration needs to find a way to quell the gang-related fights that have been happening since school started.

Word #6

trenchant

Peruvian Writer Wins Nobel Prize (article from Wall Street Journal)

"The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, announcing the 10 million kronor ($1.5 million) award in Stockholm Thursday, praised the writer 'for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt and defeat.'"

vigorous; effective; energetic; adjective

Bobby's message was so trenchant that it moved millions of people to donate to the cause.

Mystery Character

I am an African-American male who is approximately 6’2”.

I look like I have not aged much over the past 25 years.

Over the course of my profession, my hairstyle and facial hair have been pretty consistent.

I used to wear baggy clothes with flashy colors and a baseball cap, but my attire is now more professional with nice suits.

I am also known to have big ears.

Word #5

grotesque

Venice Mayor Mocks Billboard Critics (article from Yahoo! News)

"'They come to this iconic city with an image of it in their mind's eye and instead they see its famous views grotesquely defaced,' it said."

odd or unnatural in shape, appearance, or character; fantastically ugly or absurd; bizarre; adjective

I could not stop staring at the grotesque statue when I walked by.

Word #4

destitute

3 Steps Toward a Better Financial Future (article by Redbook from Yahoo! Shine)

"Nearly half of women suffer from what's called 'bag-lady syndrome' — a none-too-PC term for the fear of finding yourself suddenly destitute, especially in old age."

lacking possessions and resources; adjective

I admit that I am now destitute after realizing I am no longer receiving paychecks since I lost my job.

Lead Exercise #1

A) Earthquake

No injuries or damages were reported from the small 2.2 earthquake that shook Alum Rock Falls Road in Santa Clara this morning.


B) Highway Closed

Highway 9 was closed for nearly nine hours after several trees have fallen overnight because of the stormy weather yesterday.

In My Humble Opinion

In my humble opinion, the sentence given to Paris Hilton on her cocaine possession was unfair.

She admitted in court that she lied to the officer about the purse not being hers and was also charged for the possession.

Part of the deal was that if Hilton breaks any law other than a minor traffic violation, then she will face jail time.

I can guarantee that if she, and probably will, does break a law, she will not have to serve the complete jail time, if at all.

Even though the judge says that Hilton was treated like any ordinary citizen, I find that hard to believe.

Many celebrities seem to always get away with the law, one way or another.

Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, for instance, appear to constantly run into the law, but they just get a slap on the wrist.

For instance, a "strict" judge gave Lohan a sentence of 90 days to serve in jail, but she did not even come close to it.

It drives me even crazier knowing that girls, for who knows why, look up to these celebrities.

If they are supposed to be role models, then they need to stop causing trouble and actually get punished for breaking the law.

The example they give to young girls is that they can get away with pretty much anything as long as they look pretty, have money, and have the star power.

Word Count: 238

Word #3

suss

What Not to Say When Pulled Over by a Cop (article by Jennifer Waters from Yahoo! Finance)

"Cops are trained to note the human characteristics of lying, including twitching and looking to the left, and they know the right questions to ask to suss out the truth."

to investigate or figure out; verb

The little girl was determined to suss out what happened to her lost doll.

My Favorite Writing

The following is an excerpt from a memoir entitled "Lucky" by Alice Sebold on page 103, which was published in 1999.


He was smiling as he approached. He recognized me. It was a stroll in the park to him; he had met an acquaintance on the street.

I knew him but I could not make myself speak. I needed all my energy to focus on believing I was not under his control again.

"Hey, girl," he said. "Don't I know you from somewhere?" He smirked at me, remembering.

I did not respond. I looked directly at him. Knew his face had been the face over me in the tunnel. Knew I had kissed those lips, stared into those eyes, smelled the crushed-berry smell on his skin.

I was too afraid to yell out. There was a cop behind me but I could not scream: "That's the man who raped me!" That happens in the movies. I put one foot in front of the other. I heard him laughing behind me. But I was still walking.

I own all three of Sebold's books, which is rare for me since I am not much of a reader. Although "Lucky" is a memoir, "The Lovely Bones" and "The Almost Moon" are both fiction.

For "Lucky," I am just amazed by the fact that she was able to pour out such details and show the world what happened to her.

As for the other two books, Sebold has such an imagination and a way of writing. It exemplifies that she has the ability to write, even when it is non-fiction.

Her books always start with words and content that captures me, rather than a slow introduction. The contents are rather bit disturbing, but it makes me not want to put the book down.

Along with strong content, Sebold also makes her writing very descriptive.

While reading "Lucky," it is hard not to imagine myself being there with her as she goes on her journey of being a rape victim.

After reading all three books fairly quickly, I realized that here are two key elements in order for them to live up to my standards.

First, the writing has to enable the reader to visualize what is written on paper.

Also, the content needs to be able to make the reader not want to put the piece down because they are too intrigued to do so.

And that is exactly the experience that Sebold gives me with her writing.

Word #2

surreptitious

A Strong Password Isn't the Strongest Security (article by Randall Stross from The New York Times)

"Here's one threat to keep you awake at night: Keylogging software, which is deposited on a PC by a virus, records all keystrokes — including the strongest passwords you can concoct — then sends it surreptitiously to a remote location."

obtained, done, made, etc., by stealth; secret or unauthorized; clandestine; adjective

After I noticed a couple of surreptitious transactions on my credit card statement, I realized that my card was stolen from last night's event.

Word #1

indelible

Drawn Into His Web (article by Robert Greskovic from Wall Street Journal)

"It sounds softer and more restful in character, but its creation will likely be just as fascinating to ponder as Mr. Orrico's standing, indelible ink efforts."

that cannot be removed, washed away, or erased; adjective

The memories of my late grandmother are indelible, regardless of how long ago it has been since she passed away.

All About Me

My name is Carmen Shiu.

I am currently attending San Jose State University to major in public relations.

For the past three years, I attended Chabot College and earned an associate degree in social and behavioral science.

When I was in junior high school, I developed an interest in learning about upcoming music artists and also enjoyed promoting them by making Web sites.

In high school, I decided to enroll into the journalism class and I was able to become the entertainment editor for the school newspaper.

I then realized that I enjoyed writing reviews and letting the world know about various music artists.

Based on my experience in high school, I knew I wanted to do journalism in college as well.

At Chabot, I was the entertainment editor for three semesters and became actively involved with the newspaper.

Eventually, I learned that I can actually get paid and make what I love to do as a career.

I took a career and education planning class at Chabot and one of the assignments was to interview someone who had the career I wanted to pursue.

One of the music artists I was working with at the time was Paula DeAnda.

That led me to being able to do a phone interview with the vice president of public relations of RCA Music Group, Sarah Weinstein.

After talking to her, I became positive that public relations is the career for me.

It may sound stressful and hard work, but this is what really sparks my interest.

Word Count: 254