final

In the beginning of blogging i didn't really get any feedback but as it went on i started to get more and more comments. i really liked this comment by Sahar,
"Devon, your hilarious! Haha,btw,thats hella sweet of you! He seems,or sounds like a cool guy;based on what you said here, and all the stories you tell us!"

comments like this make it so i want to blog more and it re-insures me that my writing isn't boring, because someone can take the time of day and motivate me. Another comment was from Mr. Sutherland and he said,

"This explains a lot about you.It's great that you're getting so much writing mileage out of your family's stories. I really think you'll thank yourself someday for getting all this stuff down on "paper," so to speak.Technical thing: paragraphs, paragraphs, paragraphs! Ask me for help with it before you post if you want, but I gotta see people's posts broken down into paragraphs or I'm going to lose my mind..."
Feed back helped me grow over the semester because before I would never no if my writing was exciting or boring because i never got feed back but now that i get feed back it helps me understand, and write better. hopefully next year in English or in any other class my writing will be more exciting and better than i started this year because of all the feed back i got, i can use it to revise my writing. feed back not only helps me in my writing it also motivates how i right because if you say that it is boring or isn't good that will make me want to push myself harder to write better, but if it is good it still will make me feel good and i will keep doing the same as I've been doing for this past year. Getting good comments is nice because if i get bad comments I'm not going to want to post any more blogs knowing that it will be bad again, because i don't want people looking at a bad post, so again getting good comments motivates me. also because you feel good about yourself and makes you want to write more because you know that your good at it., and you can show it off. so again hopefully i can use good feed back as an advantage and keep up the good work for next years english or the whole school year.

My all time favorite post this year was one that i recently wrote about, which is about my house. It caught on fire and just left us in tears. this blog is called, " A Bitter Sweet Home Sweet Home." http://devon-sherak2009.blogspot.com/2010/05/bitter-sweet-home-sweet-home.html. This is my favorite because this shows how much I've really progressed and that I'm not scared to talk about certain issues like I've said before, "Normally i don't really talk about certain struggles that i have made it through." Back in the beginning I've noticed that it is very easy for me beat around the bush and ignore certain topics. But as far as now goes, i love it, personal experiences always catch your readers attention and they stay interested. Once i reread this, i could honestly say that it brought me into tears because it felt so real to me. I titled it A bitter Sweet Home Sweet Home because i felt that that grasped the whole concept of the story. Even though my house caught on fire, my grandparents took us in, But then at the same time that isn't home. Being there is a little nervracting and for most of us in your family we just don't want to be a burden. For me to come out and be openly honest with something so personal is very huge for me. Because in the beginning it was oh so hard. Ive found it that now i am on top of the world and i can write, Blog or,make a poem about anything. There are so many different types and styles of writing. Why not find one that suits you ya know?

Usually as i write, i just think about a certain thing, and just blog. But once i read something, or in class when we have a quick write, i like to just write and try not to stop. I guess you can say that that is my cure for writers block. Just keep on writing and dont think about what your writing, because the more you think the more block you get in your head.When i read things from Mr. Sutherland, he makes me want to proof read my work and he makes it so i can motivate myself better. I mean call me weird, but when i read Mr Sutherland blogs it makes me in a way find who i really am. Because just reading his outlook on things and he just doesn't care on what people think, he just strives and keeps going. Another thing is, is that once i read other things it really expands my train of thought and pushes me to think harder and deeper then i normally would. for instance, Becoming the president. Who in there right mind would think of that? My first post was "The New and Improved President" Which was about what i would do during my presidency. And from there it led me to think about the war. i then titled my next blog, "The War". And this was about how many troops Obama was sending to the war, which was about 30,000! in this i wrote about my feelings on him and said, "Barack Obama is known to the historical..because he's the first black president, but why doesn't he be known for the brilliant man that stopped such a long war. " This just explained why make violence? Why not be known for the one who ended it all? But in conclusion writing is key, and from one idea comes the next. And even though the year is coming to and end, i will continue to blog about my brilliant ideas.. and hopefully i will be as good as Mr. Sutherland one of these days!

Monthly Review !!

In the compilation of stories and poetry, Chicken Soup For The Teenage Soul, Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and Kimberly Kirberger, write a series of short stories about average teen life and the problems they go through. The purpose? the whole point of this is to show people that going through your teen stages arnt always easy. . . .there are times where you get imbarrassed like, the short story, "The Dance" which is about a boy that really liked this girl. He had built up alot of confidence then asked her to the dance in front of the whole school, and she said no with alot of attitude and just laughed! He felt like the up most crap. Another story is, is about regret, and back in high school a boy named tom really liked this girl and always flirted, but never really thought she had feelings for him. A couple years later after high school ended, she had popped up and one of her good friends said that she had just gotten over tom. And he was shocked and could not beleive that he had a chance but passed it up. Everyone makes dumb choices growing up and no one is perfect. I feel that the author's purpose was to make different senarios about other peoples desisions so that people can relate in any way shape or form. For me, i read this book for the benefit of me. It's always nice to hear about real stories from people that experiance some of the same things that i have gone through. The funny thing is, is that when i read it really makes me laugh because i can just imagine me being in the exact situation. The author did acheive the goal of writting this book for people because its just simply easy to relate to.


This book is intended for a teenage audiance due to its content and the most obvious one, the title. In this book there is around 50 stories all about the casual life of the average teen. I would mostly recamend this book to girls ages 13-whatever age, because as girls go through life and they start to get over, they tend to have selfasteam issues and this book will help them get through the hardest part and know that they arnt the only ones that have embarrassing moments or getting dumped, or even losing a really good friend. In this book there are poems such as: "somebody should have taught him" , and "tough love". Which are about two totally different subjects but yet you can relate so much to. This quote is my favorite;
There are three types of women:
1. The ones that go unnoticed.2. The ones that catch the eye but are soon forgotten. 3. The ones that you notice, but you don't know why, almost mysterious in a way, and those are the ones you never forget, never.

I related so much to this because to me it's not about being popular, or being loud and wanting the spotlight, it's more of the real vs. the fake in you. People usually want the sexy fake boobs and not whats on the inside, just for the outside. No one really tries to know the "geeky" people because of "how weird they are" but they are the one that stand by you and dont use you for the money and have some respect for themselves. Some girls dont reolize that but i did once i read this because in reality that makes sooo much sence. I feel that everyone can have some use to this book, no matter what. Another thing is, is that some of the situations make you appriciate how lucky you have things.




Just like every book, Chicken Soup has it's weaknesses as well. Well, to me at least. Even though i said previously taht i can learn from this book, i feel that it would be ten times better if at the end of every story they have a list or something to show you how to get over the situation. Like lets just say getting over being dumped. . not easy! There is a short story called, " why me" which is about a girl committing suicide over a boy that dumped her and she didnt know how to handle it at all. And for me, reading this would tell me flat out dont do what she did, but at the same time there is no words just saying well, what she could have done was see a counsler, talk to a close friend, or even try in keep herself busy for a while.I guess i could say that there is no advice. i mean, not everyone is the same i just really think that they might as well have additional information when they already have tragic stories. Another weakness would be that usually when you read something you tend to get interested and want to know more and more. . but in chicken soup it is just very quick short stories so basicly they just get to the point and on to the next story. It sort of makes me mad because my all time favorite poem "somebody should have taught him" it's very short but filled with so much drama and detail, and i feel like that little amount of information could be made into a whole intire book. But now thinking about it i think that they do that just to keep your attention and make you read more stories thinkning that they will be more interesting as the previous ones that you have read.

But in the end this book is very good and i would remcamend it to everybody. and i want to continue to keep reading this series and hopefully i will find some stories that are better then the ones that i have perviously read. There are pros and cons in every book and to me you can never have anything perfect. it just makes everything more interesting and makes you analyze the book even more!

A Bitter Sweet Home Sweet Home.

As some of you may know. . something very unfortunate happened to my home. about 3 weeks ago i came home for lunch, and i left at 12:50ish and around 1 oclock a fire had started. . .the only people home was my little brother David, my dog Reicko, and my eldest brother Michael.

from Davids story, he said that he had been eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and reicko was sitting with him in the kitchen begging for it.then all of a sudden he smelt smoke. So he ran outside saw that there was smoke coming outside of the window and then ran down stairs to wake up michael. thats left reicko. . .soo as scared as they were. .david got reicko out and saved that dogs life!!! 10 minutes went by and the fire department finally came.Might i add that n that whole 10 minutes my house could have been to crisp! but it wasnt fortunitly. the firemen got into the house and made a huge hole in the sealing and hit all the walls to make holes so that the fire was done for good.

Its weird for me because of the fact that i had just left to go to fourth period. . and nobody called me. . . .hours and hours went by and i still didnt know anything. once the day ended i went to my boyfriend dylan's house like the usual and hung out there for a while and decided to give my parents a call. . .ring, ring, ring, ring, and there was no answer i trieed 7 times .. . .i called my dad, but there was no answer, so i called my other brother Zachie. . .he had told me that, " dont orry but something serious had happened. . .and he said none of my stuff was ruined but our house caught on fire!" my mouth dropped and told dylan we have to go. . . i wasnt sure on what to expect or how to feel. . .soo i just had MAJOR butterflies!

As we drove my i saw neighbors and more neighbors helping my family throw wood and ashes out the FRONT window! my house was thrashed and then i reolised how precious something like that really really is. i started crying and i wasnt catchng my breath dylan was scared because he didnt really know how to calm me down! I mean my house did get burnt.

we eventually went back and all my stuff as there because my bedroom door was shut. but the living room dinning room kitchen laundry room and even parents room was wrecked! the down stairs didnt get hit, thank god!

We found out what caused the fire which is a power strip so the insurance company will be fileing some case and for now on ima unplug everything!!! you never know what can or will happen! So,for the mean time my grandma and grandpa thankfully took me and my family in and id going to help us get on our feet! lets just hope it doesnt take us until i graduate!!!! hahaha

Lit Circle. . . .

Somebody Should Have Taught Him

"I went to a birthday partybut I remember what you said.You told me not to drink at all,so I had a Sprite instead.I felt proud of myself,the way you said I would,that i didn't chose to drink and drive,though some friends said I should.I knew I made a healthy choice andyour advice to me was rightas the party finally endedand the kids drove out of sight.I got into my own car,sure to get home in one piece,never knowing what was coming,something I expected least.Now I'm lying on the pavement.I can hear the policeman say,"The kid that caused this wreck was drunk."His voice seems far away.My own blood is all around me,as I try hard not to cry.I can hear the paramedic say,"This girl is going to die."I'm sure the guy had no idea,while he was flying high,because he chose to drink and drivethat I would have to die.So why do people do it,knowing that it ruins lives?But now the pain is cutting melike a hundred stabbing knives.Tell my sister not to be afraid,Tell Daddy to be brave,and when I go to heaven to put "Daddy's Girl" on my grave.Someone should have taught himthat it's wrong to drink and drive.Maybe if his mom and dad had,I'd still be alive.My breath is getting shorter,I'm getting really scared.These are my final moments,and I'm so unprepared.I wish that you could hold me, Mom,as I lie here and die.I wish that I could sayI love you and good-bye."

Retold by Jane Watkins

I chose this porem because out of the whole intire book this poem stood out to me. As i was reading i just wanted to cry. the words are so touching and just catch your eye. just as i was reading it i just thought about how the girl tried to do something good but then something bad happened to her. usually when people go to parties and there are already ppl drinking and stuff, friends always want you to have a good time just as they are and they pressure you to drink not even thinking about the consequinces.

" the kid that caused this wreck was drunk."

I personally think that when someone drinks and drives, that it suppper selfish. Just imagine that your driving with your family and all of a sudden a car just runs the red light not knowing. . .and they kill every single one of you. . . . . SELFISH , SELFISH, SELFISH! what huirts the most is is that when people drink they are a completly total different person and they dont reolize what they can or shouldn't do.

As i read the poem i couldnt stop thinking about how sad the family is and how proud of that girl they are of her. All she did was pay attention to what her parents said and did the right thing.

MEMORiiES..

how cute...i huge tongue licking att over dylans face...hahhah reikOoo

Hella random but hella cool...who else could take a picture like that..lol

Me and Nads ( Nadia ) at PROMM

me and my dill pickle At the Monster jam...hella funn.. but loud!!

i would recamend it definitly!

Oh, Joey

This lovley lady is joey!!! did i say LOVELY i ment CRAZY most awesome SPUNKY and most certainly FUNNIEST person on this earth!! I met her over spring break. she is my boyfriends step sister. Joey lives in Las Vegas...with her man Kevin and baby Aiden! This girl has 13 tattoos...and going to get plenty more most likly. So ive decided that when i want to go and get my first one i am going to call her up and have her take me.lol i havent told her yet but joey if your reading...thats my plan in a year or soo..so i hope you approve hhhaaahah.Her nationality is mexican, she speaks spanish but cannot purnounce the alphabet in spanish.. hahahhaaa. who can??? l0l Sunday was the first dayy in alameda, and her last was on sunday the 11th. But between those days much much happened.

when she first arriVed i have to admit i was kind of nervous, only because i really didnt want her to hate me and want to kill or (poison) me hahaa...she came to dylan's house and knocked on the door and said hi to him and then i interduced myself and we connected!! thank god! lol For the most part she could go out to the clubs,bars,and San Francisco beach at 12 in the morning!!! But when she was home i would always weezLe my wayy in her room and we would just laugh and gossip and really get to know eachother... Alot of drama went on but even though it was in the wayy we found a way to laugh and make a joke out of everything....

Partying is her Love!!

One of the things that i love about her is is that she loves to party and have a good time. it can be monday, tuesday,wednsday,thursday,or any other day of the week and she is out to parrrrr taayyyy...lol she isnt one of those girls who are a home-body and sits on the couch and watches paint dry.... that would piss her off! lol but really as soon as im turning 21 VEGASSS HERE I COME .. and joey the clubs we goo!!!!!

Saturday came and i had made a hair appointment for me joey and Dylan's (boyfriend) mom, Ana to get "String Bling" as i like to call it. But really its called hair stencles and the hair dresser gets stran and ties it at the top of my roots and its a shinny string! the appointment was at NINE in the morning!!! holllllyyyyy molly! but we went and i got pink ones added to my silver ones, Ana got gold ones and Joey got black.

Sunday came rolling around and Joey was leaving.... :( her flight was at 4 and i really didnt want her to leave! i was starting to really get to know her and she was leaving..but eventually she had to go back!! so she left and i was really sad!!! i wanted Joey! but she will be back soon! hopefully!

but all in all she is just soo fabulous!

prom 3/13/10

This Saturday was the junior prom. Finally no more stressing and just ready to have a good time. In January i ordered my dress, not knowing how long it would take to get here? but February passed and prom was coming up...and still no dress to be seen. i was hella stressed so one week before prom i ordered a new one from a familiar website and i got it in 2 DAYSS!!! but there was one thing wrong..which was that i needed it to be majorly tailored at the bottom. Luckily my auntie Cilla knows about that stuff. so i took it to her and she hooked it up. Day before prom, boy oh boy was I a mess I needed to find someone to do my hair and get my nails and toes done.But that day went and got my nails done and i had my grandma make an appointment for me for my hair. PROM DAYY... i got my hair curled with this thing called string BLINGG and looked very nice. Once i got completely ready i went to my boyfriends house, then mine, then grandma's, then other grandmas, to take pictures. three o'clock rolled around and it was time to go to the school and take the professional pictures. as soon as my boyfriend and came to the school the line was soooooooooo long! oh my god!! it took forever but it was worth it!
we got to the hornet at eightishh.. and when i walked in no one was even danCing and it idnt even look fun at all and to be honest i was getting very irrataterd. about fifteen minutes later people started dancing alittle more so i just said shoot f&*$ it i paid 140$ for this so i might as well make the best of it. I swear to you whoever is reading this, that every single song was old and not even able to dance to. For instance: drop it like it's hot, ms. officer, lollipop.ugh! but i still danced. at the end of the night i was pretty pissed off because of the fact that i paid so much to have a bad time??? well whatever hopefully next year at my senior prom it will be more fun and BETTER SONGS!

Difficult Decision

Awhile ago i found out that my little brother David was starting to smoke weed. At the top of my head i just kept thinking, " why is he doing this, he's only an eighth grader"! Alot of his friends seem to be a bad influence. The way they talk the way they dress and they just dont have any manners. I'm not saying that my brother is any better then they are, it's just that i know that he has the potential to be the total opposite.
Time after time, thought after thought, i just didnt know how to put it to my parents that david was messing up. My parents are already stressing enough about his school and work and how to provide for us. I guess i just didnt want them to look down on David. Looking at him i felt bad because we are close and i thought that the bond between us would fall apart and become hate.
But sooner or later i couldnt stand seeing him leave all the time and just knowing what he's doing. I ended up calling my mom asside into the kitchen and i said "umm....Mom... i dont want you to be mad, but i found out that David is starting to smoke." But i dont want you to tell him that i said anything because he will be very bmad at me." And she seemed upset, but at the same time pissed out of her mind! I thought to myself it's either i just allow him to go around and do it... or i just protect him from getting into the habbit.
To make a long story short, it ended up with a happy ending... my mom talked with David and he agreed not to do it. But if he wanted to he would ahve to talk with my parents first!
Another time, about 3 years ago, i had a phone, a very nice phone might i add, and I was on a family plan with my mom, dad, brother Mike, And David. There was only enough room for five people. So my little brother Zach was out of luck. He hadnt had a phone yet, but on the other hand i had had my phone for about 4 years already. I remember just hearing Zach in the next room complaining about how he hasnt had a phone and the house phone wasnt cutting it. i remember just thinking weather or not i should give up my phone or not. He was starting to get older and hanging out was very hard for him to do with no phone to keep in contact with his friends. I started to feel bad because i know that it would horrible if i didnt have a phone. I could just imagine how much it must suck to not have your own personal phone. He was always my favorite little brother and i felt really really bad. So that being said... i took it into my hands and decided to just give up my phone and let Zach have it. So basicly ever since then, i havent had a phone!

My Buddy Ed

He calls himself Edward Legacy Jr. ??? i like to call him Ed. He doesn't have a home, and he is an alcoholic/druggie, or was. His life growing up wasn't the best.But on the flip side, he is full of laughter, always thinks on the brighter side, and has these brilliant ideas. He likes to think of himself as an "INVENTOR". since he has all the time in the world to do whatever, he chooses to think, think....and think.Your probably wondering why i am writting about him. Well, its because he inspires me in a weird way. The way he thinks is beyond others imagination and out of the box. Seeing him walking down the street you would NEVER even guess how he really is inside. He doesn't really care about what people think of him. Love him or hate him he's still Ed.

Yesterday i was thinking about the way he goes about things and how much he loves to draw. When he thinks about something he turns it into a picture and puts details to match it perfectly. this really shows he how much a mind can expand.

its weird to me, someone with so much talent with so little money. this world is messed up! his appearance maybe bad, but that doesn't mean that hes not intelligent like Albert Einstein or any other genius. The situation that hes in may not be the best, but that shouldn't be held against him. I wish that other people could just give him a chance and see what i see in him, which is a real intelligent man named Ed!

Final

In what way(s) have you surprised yourself this semester on your blog? Have you tried topics you didn't think you'd write about? Approached a familiar topic from an unfamiliar angle? Discovered more "depth" to a topic than you first thought was possible? Explain

I have surprised myself a lot with blogging. At first i really had no patience for writing, i tried to beat around the bush, and just as long as it gets down in any way shape or form i was satisfied. at the beginning of blogging i just talked about personal experiences. For the past couple of blogs i talked about subjects that i didn't ever think i would even think about. like Being the president, before writing i did something that i normally wouldn't do which is think about what i want to write and get into detail about it. i thought about how much i don't understand politics and i mentioned that i would just keep it short and simple without confusing people. i thought about the poverty that the world has, and how i want to fix it! even though i was just imagining i still got really into what i was saying. That's a first! Another was the war! This particular subject made me really mad because i thought about it. how can Obama say that he doesnt want the war? And he wanst to bring the troops home? I just feel that he shouldnt bite what he cant chew. Alot of people voted for him because of the fact that he metioned that repetably. But anyways when i first heard about it all i thought was that he was a hipricret. coming from one thought to many is big for me.

Blogging has made me want to start writting on my own, because i can discover the "depth" in a subject. i reolize now that all you have to do is think about what your going to write and once you do its easy enough to write about.

Where do you get your ideas for blog post topics? What inspires you to write?

From some of my blog posts I usually just get my thoughts and ideas from personal experiances. Normally i dont really talk about certain struggles that i have made it through. such as; "My hero....Zachie; and my biggest regret. Just because those are things that have really changed me as a person and made me who i am to this day. And sometimes people dont reolize how deep this means to me. it has taught me not to let my guard down but at the same time life is unpredictable and you only live once. In the begining of the year it was sometimes hard to write about something that someone wants me to talk about. But now, i can write about anything just as long as i put some thought into it. Other posts like the new and improved president' the war, and prom are an example of just fun and random topics. But still i like to talk about stuff like that. i have ALOT to say and I want my oppinions to count to. i feel that i have good things to say but its easier for me to write them down rather then say them. Now thinking about it ifeel that Mr. Sutherland has inspired me to think in a different way then i ever would. which makes my life way way easier. He is so opened minded with the world which has led me to think about all the problems in a different way.I wouldnt ever take a picture and think that it would mean various things. I never thought about the war and what Obama is doing, and how we really have no say in it.For my future topics i hope to be able to expand my mind even more and find the real meaning of whatever it is.

How do you like having a blog? How has blogging changed the way you write, the way you think, or the way you think about writing?

Having a blog is great. For one, it has helped me with writters block because i just let my thoughts out with no hesitation and i just think that no matter how it sounds i can always go back and add small details that i may have left out. Nobody writes perfect! there's always room for improvement. I wasnt sure on how i should write. if i had to be proper or if i could just say whatever came to my head. All these different questions running through my head like: what if i get a bad grade on it? what if it isnt in the right formula? will i get this done on time? And, the worst one, what do i write about? The way i thought in the begining of blogging i would say was just very closed minded. Thats what i think caused me major writters block. I never took a step back to think about the deeper meaning of what i was writting about, because no matter what there is more then one meaning to everything in life. Reading my peers' blogs make me want to compete with them. it may sound weird but thats how it is. I see how good their ideas are and it makes me strive to try in make a better idea, or make a point that no one has made yet. teh outcome that this has made on me is tramendous, writting is so easy to me, im starting to love it. It takes all my frustration and stress away from me. i learned also that, you dont always have to write about something boring..you can write about whatever floats your boat. Which includes; personal experiances, my outlook on things, and my future. Writting is now a regular thing that i do. Not because i have to just because i want to. Last but not least, i have recently got into poetry because i thought about what different types of fun writting there is.

.

groups

what are some things you'd like to get out of writting more collaboratively with peers? well for me i want to be able to write at the top of my heard without getting writters block. And hopefully being around other people they may have different tecniques on how write more efficiently.

What are somethings you's be willing to contribute to a writting group?i could work on taking my time and reading my work over and others.Another is, if someone needs help i can help them and give them corrections. not to forget, the blogs i will comment them and give my peers feed back that will be useful to them. And for any traditional help that they need i will be happy enough and willing to help them.

Is it more important to work with people that have the same topic as you? or your friends? i think that working with your friends is more important because it wont be awakward, and your can really say what you want about their writting. but as far as the same topic goes, people feel more pressure because someones work may be better or they may point out better ideas about that topic then you do...

What are some rules for the groups? well some rules should be; keep the socializing down, and make sure everyone helps out everyone

REiCK000

My dogie reicko is a rottweiler. yea, he's a beast as you can see. But there is more to him then a mean looking face. really deep deep deep down he is a freakin baby! he sits on my lap all the time to protect me and cries alot. But on the flip side, he can be a bit of a pest! he grawls all the time and NEVER shuts up! you think hes going to bite you but really hes just talking to you in his own language.




Pretty much he is a ladies man!! he loves them amp;s">b!@#$&s! one of his favorites is a golden brown lab named Maddie! if someone mentions her name his tail rises and he begins to cry, then runs to the window and looks for her.the other booty call is a labadoodle (poodle/lab) named Pepper, she doesnt looks that good but i guess looks arnt everything. l0l.

i could just remember when we first got him. his body was very small but his head and paws were so HUGE! he was a funny one might i add. very calm,but at times a wild banana! there was this one time where my mom was mopping and i was playing with him and he ran into the kitchen and flew into the laundry room. i went to go and look for him and he hit his head on the door! omg! it was the funniest thing ever! and just looking at the look on his face was hilarious! he looked as if he had no idea what happened! awwww...pooor poooorrr dog! i will never for get that day

we taught him how to shut the doors and to sit pretty. (which is when he sits up on his but) also he knows how to give us left and right paw.

But for now he is still a clauts. falls down the stairs hits his head on the edge of the tables and even talks in his own language. he's really one of a kind!