Tuesday, January 29, 2008

The “Green Collar” Workers
I am relating to the article in “Greening the Economy” under Memphis blogs and the topic “Crossroads: Economics and Cities.” This article was published on November 16, 2007 and written by Rachael. In this article Rachael describes that a new kind of workers, called “green collar” workers, change the economy. These workers work in different fields than we all know from daily life, for instance, they work in fields such as “energy-efficient buildings, renewable power, bio-fuel development and repairing energy-efficient cars. I am really interested in these topics because in high-school I had a class which was a mix between chemistry and geology and in this class we discussed and used a lot of these topics in real life. For instance, we raised money and build a solar-energy system for our high-school by ourselves and the help of one engineer. We talked a lot about the topics that I mentioned before but we also did a lot of hands-on exercises. This class was a great experience for me and I raised a lot of knowledge and interest for the “greening” of the economy. Furthermore, I found out ways that could handle the challenge of the globalization, such as increasing air pollution and global warming. In my view, every high-school student should take this class because the society of today requires a basic knowledge of these topics.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Michael Gaerthoeffner
January 28, 2008
Wendy Sumner Winter
English 1020 – 046

Protecting our Environment
I read this article about Dave Ulrich who protects the great Lakes ecosystems. In my opinion it is very important for us as consumers and citizens of the planet earth to act right now, otherwise there will be not much of our earth left for our children. I think the same way than Ulrich; we have to protect our environment and be careful with our resources. This protecting of our environment starts locally. Everybody is able to do something; even small things help to reach the goal to protect our ecosystem. Today I had a discussion with my room mate. He never turns the light and the air conditioner in his restroom off. This really bothers me because I think that this is a waste of recourses. So I told him my reservations that I have and to turn these things off and he replied that nobody would do that. I answered that just because many people commit crimes he does not have to commit crimes, just because everybody does something that is no reason to do it, too. Than he said that it would not help if just one person turns these things off and I said that somebody has to start with doing the right thing and to influence other people to do the right things, too. The sad fact is that my room mate was probably right with his statement that nobody would turn off these things, just because we are lazy. Finally, he said that we have a room scholarship so we do not have to pay for the electricity, so why would it bother me. I replied that the fact that we do not have to pay for the electricity is no reason as well to not turn the things off because it is still a waste of electricity. What happens if everybody would do that? Our children would not have an earth anymore because some scientists prognosticate that in 2050 there will be no natural resources anymore. So guys, be smart – do not waste our resources!!!

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Michael Gaerthoeffner
English 1020 – 046
Wendy Sumner-Winter
January 22, 2008

Nutrition
As I mentioned in my personal blog I am a student-athlete and a scholarship recipient. I play tennis at the University of Memphis as number two or three out of nine players in the line up. As an athlete my nutrition is a very important part in my life and affects not only my performance on the court but also in the class room. I choose this topic for the essay for today because I had to throw up this morning so I think that it is a very current topic.
I already had to make really bad experiences with my nutrition in the past. During the last semester, we, the tennis team, have been to Jacksonville, Florida, to play one of these fall tournaments. I reached the final and I had to fight really hard and play my best tennis to win the rounds before. The final should start at 12pm but because some other matches that took place before my match took longer than expected, I played only when it was 2pm. I did not know when I would have to go on the court so I chose not to eat lunch before the match because I thougth that I would not be able to digest my food before the match starts. That was a big mistake. Furthermore, it was very hot and humid in Jacksonville, and due to the fact that I am from Germany I was not used to play three straight days in those climate situations. Besides, I underestimated that I have to drink a lot more water than in Germany. All these issues caused me to dehydrate and cramp during the final which I could not finish because my entire body started cramping so I had to be brought to the hospital by an ambulance. Moreover, I could not get the flight back to Memphis and my coach had to stay with me, whereas I threw up two straight days in the hospital. This unlovely experience made me aware of the fact that nutrition is a very important issue for me.
Well, this morning I came back from doing weights, from 7 - 8.40 pm, and I had just 5 minutes to eat serials, drink an orange juice and a protein shake. The lack of time forced me to rush so I just ate as fast as I could but that caused my stomache to react and I had to throw up. I did not want to be late in class because my new English professor layed special emphasize in her syllabus/manifesto that it is very important to her that we are on time. At this point, I want to apologize for being two minutes late and interrupt the lesson but I could not make it earlier.
In order to solve my nutrition problem, I wrote my mother an email and asked her what I should do about my nutrition because I know that as a student-athlete this morning will not be the last time in my life that there will be a lack of time. I asked my mother because her job is to manage and inform other people about nutrition so I thought that she could help me to figure out a solution. She answered my mail immidiatly and told me that I have to chew a lot more, that I should eat more meals during the entire day and that I should take more time during my meals if it is possible.
I hope that her wise advises will help me to master the tough and extensive schedule of a student-athlete at the University of Memphis. Finally, I want to ask you as my class mates what you think about this topic. Do you have any advices for me, for instance, how I can better handle the stress and the lack of time. Did you hear about similar cases and do you perhaps know any solution for my problems? The advices of my mother will help me to avoid throwing up when I have enough time to eat and to improve my overall nutrition but there is still the problem with the lack of time. Please let me know if you can help me to improve my situation because I do not want to end up in the hospital again. All in all, I want to finish this essay with the advice for the entire class to take nutrtition serious. I had to make bad experiences I do not want you to make the same or similar mistakes. One out of every eighth person in the United States died because of an issue which was related to wrong nutrition. Take it serious!!!

Words: 792

Monday, January 21, 2008

Michael Gaerthoeffner
English 1020 - 046
Wendy Sumner-Winter
January 21, 2008

Manifesto

First of all, I have to say that I am from Germany and if a person goes to High-School in Germany there is no way that one does not hear about Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and their “Communist Manifesto.” In High-School, we talked a lot about these German Communists and their ideas in history and economic classes. When I read the term “The Communist Manifesto” on the blogspot site, the first thing I thought about was Marx and his unbelievable influential ideas and caused by the fact that Marx, Engels and myself are all from Germany I was interested in their Manifesto. But that we speak the same language is not the only thing that connects me with these important figueres of the world history. When I was 13 or 14 years old I talked the first time to my father about the ideas of Marx because I was really interested in this topic. I thougth that there must be one possiblity to avoid poverty and famines in this world, and, in my view, Marx had the right basic approach. In nowadays, we have a two class society, on the one hand the really poor people and on the other the rich. Marx idea of communism would create a classless society where nobody had to die because he had nothing to eat. Everbody has the same; I thought this is the right way one can stop poverty and famines. I can identify myself with the idea of communism but I would not describe myself as a communist because when I got older I figured out that communism would never work in this world. In a world where greed, anger, capitalism, and “survival of the fittest” rules there will never be Communism. From my point of view, the basci idea of Communism is the best politicial system which was ever invented but it is not realizable because the human race does not fit into the Communist thought; everybody has an unlimited desire of satisfying our desires – everone wants to have more and more. There were a lot of examples in history, and even today, for communist countries but Communism never worked. In Communist societies coruption, poverty and famine were and are big problems which is the opposit effect that Marx and Engels inteded.
As well as Marx and Engels, I have a goal and a prupose of what I do, which is studying here in the United States. I am studying in the United States to get a degree in international business with a GPA of at least 3.75. But I do not only want to improve my academic knowledge about business, I also want to improve in tennis. I want to become a professional tennis player after my graduation from the University of Memphis. In America, I have perfect opportunities to practice as hard and as much as I want to which would not be possible in Germany, wheather time wise nor would my parents have the money to pay for that. My plan for the future is to improve so much in tennis so I will be able to compete on the tennis tour and become a successful tennis player. I also want to get to know a lot of important people during my college career who are able to sponsore me after my graduation. If I will not improve enough to make my way on the professional tour, I still have a college degree and intend to work as a manager in a company which sells sports, especially tennis equipment. So even if I am not able to become a professional tennis player, I still have a future because I will have a degree which is the great thing about being a student-athlete in the United States. Moreover, I will meet so many people who can help me to get a good job or support me in my career and I get to know a totally different culture. The culture in America is so diverse and interesting, as well as the history, and I think this diversity and the daily life as a student-athlete will help me to form my personality and grow as a person. Finally, I make new friends in the United States not only in the entire tennis community of college tennis but also at the University of Memphis and in the city Memphis itself.