User:Fredyg

=Freshman Seminar=

Always Wanted To Schedule

 * Topic

< >
 * I want to buy a car and make it run well enough to endure the punishment of daily driving, if i can't buy myself a car, I will fix up an 89 Honda civic that is lying around my uncles house

<> I will research more about engines, diesel vs gas vs hybrid, how have engines changed since '89 etc. I will use magazines as well as other books in the library"


 * week 1- I'll be looking around for a car and negotiating prices 


 * week 2- Find an affordable car that can I fix up and maintain on a college students budget


 * week 3- Begin to work on the car, fix any engine problems


 * week 4- continue work on the engine


 * week 5- engine work


 * week 6- fix any body damages


 * week 7- continue on body


 * week 8- detail it and if I have any money left over add stereo and other parts.

Midterm Assignment 1: Taste & Aesthetics
The piece I didn’t like at all was the chairs he did almost at the beginning of the exhibit. The “untitled” piece by Roy McMaking seemed to have no composition and wasn’t very interesting at all. he had a large two sided concrete bench, a filing box and behind it looked as if someone had misplaced a lawn chair. When inspected closer, you find out that the chair is hard and has a copper look to it. It’s a chair that fools the eyes of the people walking by. I thought that this exhibit wasn’t as funny as it was made to be.when I got home, I went online and looked at his other works, he is a very skilled craftsman that does chairs and other furniture. I found that most of his works his works are untitled bit they are all very creative, at least compared to the sculpture at the park. He has an amazing wooden toilet that he did, and it changed my mind about the way he did the lawn chair. Upon closer inspection I compared his work to the furniture he did and found out that it was quite amazing that he could create a lawn chair perfectly from bronze. Even though the bench and filing box are still pretty bland for me, I came to admire his craftsmanship for the chair.

Midterm Assignment 2: Manipulation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6krr40mdHM trojan pig commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsfNXj9s-iY  herbal essence orgasmic experience

Midterm Assignment 3: Always Wanted To Progress Report (100 words or so)
So far i haven't been successful in acquiring a car. I've set up a couple of appointments, each of which were really frustrating and stressful to deal with. A lot of people lie or think they can get away with selling you a car that needs work by making it seem that it runs really well. My next step will be checking out small dealerships or police auctions. Hopefully i'll be able to find a car soon since the rain is picking up.

Final Presentation

 * Topic (10%)

< > my final topic was trying to purchase a used car.


 * Research (20%)

<>


 * 1) Internet site: Used car information - How to buy, check, maintain, sell a used car - illustrated guide. Web. 04 Dec. 2009. .


 * 2) Book: Sclar, Deanna. Buying a car for dummies. Foster City, CA: IDG Books, 1998. Print.
 * 3) Scholarly Journal: couldn't find an "expert" journal on how to buy used cars.
 * 4) Other (interview, TV show,etc): Rodriguez, Marcos E. "Used cars." Personal interview. 16 Nov. 2009.


 * Your accomplishment (20%)

<> I was pretty close to obtaining a car but for one reason or another, things didn't work out the way I would've wanted them to. Many owners let me down or gave me misleading information about the car. On several occasions I caught the owner lying and ended up leaving before i could test drive the car or even continuing to look at it. Other cars looked amazing but the owners were unwilling to drop the price in order for it to fit better into my budget. All in all, I am still waiting for the right car, one that will last me a couple of years, that is reliable and cheap to maintain.


 * Project Review (50%)
 * 1)What went well

Many things went well, I learned a lot about cars and how easy it is for people to rip you off if you aren't careful. I have also learned the importance of patience, if you're not, then you can get into something you might regret (i.e. purchasing a car that is cosmetically fine but has serious engine problems. I also test drove a lot of neat cars so i had a great time doing this project as well.
 * 2)What went poorly

Along with the good, many things went horribly wrong. Most of my bad experiences came from people that posted ads on Craigslist.org. A lot of them lied about the so-called "condition" of the car. Although i didn't buy into any of them, it still annoyed me that I wasted my time and my cousins, (since he knows a lot about cars I took him along with me).
 * 3)Future strategies

I plan to continue looking for a car no matter what, I feel like I'm doing everything right in regards to not getting ripped off. Although, i know i could be a little less picky.

Self-Assessment
Throughout this class, I feel like I've grown a lot. I've learned how to do a timeline and stick to it (well, most of the time). Due to this class i feel a little bit more responsible and learned a little more about being better at time management. In high school I would wait until the last minute to work on all my assignments, but due to the length of this project it would've been impossible to do it last minute. I also learned many things in this class such as the hip-hop things and how to think critically. I'm glad i took this class not only to learn how to manage my time better, i had a great time with the people there and learned a lot from you.