Writing Portfolio

Parent Agenda


1. Explain what we will be doing.
2. Log on to www.wix.com/dkpale8/portfolio
2. Go through each category, and reading the essay's accordingly.
3. Ask questions.

Questions
1. Did you enjoy my portfolio? Suggestions?
2. What did you like about my presentation?
3. What could I have improved on to make my presentation better?

KC3 Final

The traffic congestion in Hawaii is getting worse each year. With an average commute time of 26.1 minutes per day (“Average Commute Time Hawaii” wolframalpha.com, WolframAlpha, n.d. web.), we are ranked 11^th in the nation on longest commute time list. These problems are only going to get worse if we don’t act now. That’s why we need a solution such as the Straddling Bus.

The Straddling Bus is a cross between a train and a bus. It rides along tracks on the sides of the road, while being suspended over traffic. Due to its ability to arch over traffic, it is not affected by it.  One problem that this creates though, is that it requires vehicles over 13 feet high to merge into the lanes that the Bus is not above. The Straddling Bus is able to hold a maximum of 1,200 passengers at once, taking a lot of drivers off of the roads. This gigantic bus might be good road wise, but scenery wise, it will take away from the natural beauty of this paradise. Causing Hawaii to seem more “city like.”

Many other traffic solutions have been proposed, one of the main ones being the rail transit system. Unlike the 4.34 billion dollar cost of the transit system, the Straddling Bus only costs a mere 74.5 million for one unit and 25 miles of track. Beside the major cost difference, the Straddling Bus is able to travel on smaller roads unlike the transit that has to stay near main highway areas. Last, the transit can only drop off passengers at a limited amount of stations due to the high station costs. Whereas the Straddling Bus can to stop at its many stops, as a result of low bus stop costs.

            With todays shift to clean energy, the Straddling Bus is completely electric. Getting power either from solar panels, or overhead charging lines at bus stops. This “zero emission” alternative to gas guzzling vehicles will save approximately 860 tons of gas each year. With this gas, 2,620 less tons of carbon emissions are ending up in our atmosphere. Hopefully slowing global warming drastically.

            With 30% traffic reduction, taking 1,200 drivers off of the roads in one bus. Relatively cheap building prices, as compared to the 4 billion of the rail transit system. Last is its clean electric energy use that doesn’t produce any toxic emissions. The Straddling Bus is the right choice to relieve traffic problems.

KC3 Essay Draft

The traffic congestion in Hawaii is getting worse each year. With an average commute time of 26 minutes per day, we are ranked 11^th in the nation on longest commute time list. These problems are only going to get worse if we don’t act now. That’s why we need a solution such as the Straddling Bus.

The Straddling Bus is a cross between a train and a bus. It rides along tracks on the sides of the road, while being suspended over traffic. Due to its ability to arch over traffic, it is not affected by it.  One problem that this creates though, is that it requires vehicles over 13 feet high to merge into the lanes that the Bus is not above. The Straddling Bus is able to hold a maximum of 1,200 passengers at once, taking a lot of drivers off of the roads. This gigantic bus might be good road wise, but scenery wise, it will take away from the natural beauty of this paradise. Causing Hawaii to seem more “city like.”

Many other traffic solutions have been proposed, one of the main ones being the rail transit system. Unlike the 4.34 billion dollar cost of the transit system, the Straddling Bus only costs a mere 74.5 million for one unit and 25 miles of track. Beside the major cost difference, the Straddling Bus is able to travel on smaller roads unlike the transit that has to stay near main highway areas. Last, the transit can only drop off passengers at a limited amount of stations due to the high station costs. Whereas the Straddling Bus is able to stop at its many stops, as a result of  low bus stop costs.

            With todays shift to clean energy, the Straddling Bus is completely electric. Getting power either from solar panels, or overhead charging lines at bus stops. This “zero emission” alternative to gas guzzling vehicles will save approximately 860 tons of gas each year. With this gas, 2,620 less tons of carbon emissions are ending up in our atmosphere. Hopefully slowing global warming drastically.

            With 30% traffic reduction, taking 1,200 drivers off of the roads in one bus. Relatively cheap building prices, as compared to the 4 billion of the rail transit system. Last is its clean electric energy use that doesn’t produce any toxic emissions. The Straddling Bus is the right choice, to relieve traffic problems.

Querencia Essay Draft

            Work, work, and more work, each day at school we’re assigned more and more. These one-hour classes are filled with knowledgeable information that just latches itself to every last bit of me. By the time school is over, the last thing that I want to do is homework. By then, I just want to “cruz” in my room… my querencia.

The school bell rang and I rushed out of the welcoming door, and watched kids race home. The warm sunlight landed gently on my skin, while the cool breeze played with my hair. I quickly walked to the silver Honda pilot where my mom was waiting for me. It was the “Norm”, “hi, how was your day?”, “Fine” I exhaustedly replied. Today I cut it short and immediately got into the car so that we could begin our journey home.

Before entering my room I could already smell a bit of AXE body spray. I opened the door and saw my things left exactly as I left them. My TV on the right, bed in the middle, and desk on the left. My Internet TV is white backed with a glowing “Sony” emblem on the front. This TV reminds me of the late nights viewing huge pictures on Facebook with my friends. A simple wooden frame with a khaki mattress atop lies in the center of my room. The useful couch/bed allows for much needed space adjustments in my, homey, cramped room. My small sepia brown desk cluttered with random items, the messiest but most memorable part of the room. This desk has everything from my black mid sized tower PC, to old essays about evaporation. It even has old project parts such a three-millimeter LED’s from my homemade flashlight. It houses my tools, blue piggy bank, and miscellaneous screws.

The one place I can “cruz” my room… my querencia.

Roots and Recipes Draft

That night, my whole family went to Tutu’s house for dinner. Everyone gathered at the table and eagerly waited for it. Tantalizing aromas, wide eyes, and hyper children; we all wanted some. Beep! Beep! Beep! That could only mean one thing…the Mozetti was ready.

Ever since I can remember, I was brought up with Mozetti. This one of a kind dish was birthed in the early 1940’s at the beginning of World War II by my great-aunt, and then was given to my great-grandmother. No one really knows what gave my great-aunt her inspiration, but now it’s a family tradition. While I was interviewing my “Tutu” (grandmother), she told me a lot about life back then. She said “Back then, we had to turn off all the lights at night. The only lights that were allowed were little blue lights on the cars.” “Why” I asked, “Because! The Japanese bombers! They would fly so low, we could feel the vibrations from them!”

            I read the ingredients: one package of chow fun noodles, a half pound of ground pork, one pound of ground beef, one can of tomato soup, one can of tomato sauce, one can of cream corn, and slices of American cheese. As I got more into detail on process I realized the hard work it required. “You have to boil, drain, cook, mix, stir, and cook again?!” I overwhelmingly asked. “Yup, it’s easy” she calmly replied. “First” she said, “we need to boil the chow-fun noodles, then drain them”. Next she explained to cook the ground pork until it was no longer pink, then to add in the ground beef and cook for 15 minutes. Then, we had to mix tomato sauce, tomato soup and cream corn in a bowl. This was the messiest step, and personally my favorite. After that, we drained the oil from the meats, and combined red slurry with the meats to make symphony of colors. We dropped the noodles in, layered it with a thick layer of cheese, and then baked it. This part was boring; we had to wait 30 minutes while the Mozetti got to relax in a 350 ° oven. When it came out, I nearly fell  as an invisible wall of smell hit me. “All the hard work paid off” I thought to myself as the cheese poured down my throat.

            All of this hard work has allowed me to see how dedicated my grandmother is, and how fortunate we are to have a recipe that has been passed for four generations.

Roots and Recipes - Mozetti

I chose to interview my grandmother on a food called "Mozetti". This recipe originated from my great grandmother during World War II, and has been passed down through the generations. I picked this food because it always brought back so many fond family memories spending time together at my grandparents house as a young child. Now days, we hardly ever eat "Mozetti", but just the thought of it makes my mouth water, so I thought that this project would be a great opportunity to bring back a family tradition.