Friday

Yes, I realize that this wasn't composed on Friday. I was at band practice and stayed at the school til the football game, then performed for the pregame show and the half-time show. So basically, I was at school Friday from 7:30 AM til 11 PM. Fun, right? Some days I feel like I live at the school. Even today I was at school from 8 AM  til 4:30 PM so I tried my best to get this done.

So my personality test said that I am

• moderately expressed introvert
• slightly expressed sensing personality
• slightly expressed thinking personality
• moderately expressed judging personality

and I'm not quite sure what all that means. I know what the words mean, just not how close I truly am to their definition. The test also says that I am an "Inspector". I believe that I have to agree with their definition:

"Whether at home or at work, Inspectors are extraordinarily persevering and dutiful, particularly when it comes to keeping an eye on the people and products they are responsible for. In their quiet way, Inspectors see to it that rules are followed, laws are respected, and standards are upheld . . . they are often misjudged as being hard-hearted, or as having ice in their veins, for people fail to see their good intentions and their vulnerability to criticism. Also, because Inspectors usually make their inspections without much flourish or fanfare, the dedication they bring to their work can go unnoticed and unappreciated. "

 There are other points that are also correct. The text mentions that Inspectors are typically in a community group such as Girl Scouting, which I have been a part of since kindergarten. This test seems to be pretty accurate and I'd like to see how the rest of my class compares to their results.

Currently

Master & Commander by Patrick O'Brian:
This week: 150 pages

Sentences of the Week:

1. "If you really must beat the measure, sir, let me entreat you to do so in time, and not half a beat ahead." - Jack Aubrey to Stephen Maturin. 
I like this quote because it is about music and how Maturin cannot keep time. It reminds me of some of the band students.

2. "If you had not gone a-caterwauling you might have been aboard your own sloop, in an officerlike manner. God strike me down, but it is a pretty state of affairs when a young fellow prefers the company of Italian fiddlers and eunuchs to taking possession of his own first command." - Captain Harte
This quote is funny because Captain Harte disses Jack Aubrey

3. "Or by the echoing repetition of 'shall suffer death'." This quote also includes the rest of the page, but that's too long and boring. Basically, the rules of the ship are being read to the passengers and each law is punishable by death. Each sentence is followed by "Shall suffer death." This amuses me. =P

And thus the Title has been uttered

Oh, do I love it when I reach the point in a story when the title is mentioned. In Chapter Four of Master and Commander, Jack Aubrey is talking to Dr. Stephen Maturin when he mentions the book's title. Stephen poses the hypothetical situation to Jack asking if the master of the ship, which is a naval ranking, could order Stephen to be flogged. Jack is totally bewildered by this question because naval ranking comes naturally to him. He then realizes what Stephen is asking and then says, "My dear sir, I believe you have been led astray by the words master and master and commander . . . The first is subordinate to the second." The book title is mentioned and partially explained! 

And after I started reading more of the book since my last post, the book finally started to explain some of the sea terminology! Some of the terms are explained when Dr. Stephen Maturin and William Mowett, the master's mate, climb to what I imagine to be similar to a crow's nest. I have inferred that Stephen is afraid of heights. I got this conclusion because Stephen seemed to be asking a lot of questions about the sails and dimensions of the sails, yards, and halyards. He was definitely asking these questions because he was curious and wanted to learn since he has never served aboard a man-of-war, but I also believe that the underlying reason was due to the fact that Stephen is afraid of heights and wanted Mowett to keep talking in order to distract him from his fear. 

As I read farther into the book, I grow more accustomed to the writing style. This book is becoming easier to understand. The book is also becoming less dull ever since the first sea battle started brewing. The book is very descriptive about how the sailors practice shooting the four-pounder cannons as opposed to the thirty-two-pounder cannons, the cleaning of the cannons and the explosiveness of the cannon. The pages leading up to the initial attack on the Dorthe Engekbrechtsdatter is also descriptive. The battle sections help make this book worth reading.

Beginning thoughts about Master & Commander

I decided to read Master & Commander by Patrick O'Brian as my first book for etymology. I began reading it while sitting on a fishing boat in the middle of Lake Saint Clair. I caught four giant fish while reading the book, so Master & Commander must be a good luck charm or a fish favorite? You should make note of that and take Master & Commander along with you next time you go fishing!

I picked up Master & Commander because I really enjoyed the movie adaptation. So far, the storyline is not similar to the movie and the syntax is difficult to comprehend. The book uses sailing terminology and should include a glossary. Luckily, there is a diagram of the ship labeling the various masts and names for each mast and sail. There are words such as purser, sloop, bosun, long-tackle, quarter-cock, litany and dog-pawl.

I also cannot keep straight from whose perspective I am reading. As far as I can tell, the story is typically from Captain Jack (not Sparrow, sorry Pirates fans) Aubrey's point of view but sometimes it seems to switch to Dr. Stephen Maturin's view point. There are fancy plus signs dividing up the chapters and the point of view seems to switch at these intervals. A majority of the time, I need to reread sections to understand what was just read.

  

Master & Commander takes place on land and sea during the Napoleonic era, Aubrey recently becomes the captain of the HMS Sophie and then hires his new found friend Dr. Maturin to become the ship's surgeon and intelligence officer. I am currently reading chapter three and there does not seem to be anything else that is tremendously relevant at this point in the story. I shall continue to read this book at least until the first sea-battle occurs!