I have our dear Katy to thank for this narrative today!
I am trying for the first time to write my narrative by dictating the text. I had no idea that Windows 7 had this capability, and I was very pleased when I went online to discover this wonderful feature of my operating system! And it was completely free. It has taken me a while to learn how to craft this message. And it will take a while for Windows to get used to my voice and its patterns, but it is worth it because I have always wanted to master voice to text technologies on my computer like I have done on my cell phone. I probably do not have a very good microphone because so far this text has taken a long time to dictate correctly. But it is good practice for me because my computer will get used to my voice as try to dictate long hot dog narratives.
I wish I had taken the time to do this when I first started teaching online, especially when I was providing feedback on students’ essays all the time. That would have given my fingers a bit of a break!
So here goes my first narrative. Monkeys. I don’t like monkeys. They are pretty gross and in Bali, they are everywhere. When I was on the cliffs trying to capture my own beautiful sunset of Uluwatu, a monkey decided to climb my backpack and try to settle on my head. Yes, I did freak out. Unfortunately, the edge of the cliff was about 6 feet from where I was, so my ability to freak out was tempered by the reality that freaking out was really not a good idea. Before entering the area, tourists were warned that monkeys in the area enjoyed taking items such as sunglasses and cell phones so we needed to keep those items secured. I had my eye out for monkeys but this one surprise me pretty well.
After my initial freak out session, and after taking photographs of brides and grooms at this location, I decided to turn my lens on one of the monkeys as he looked toward the sunset in the same way my other subjects did. This is my favorite of my monkey shots. The monkey seems peaceful and not scary, but make no mistake, he will take all your belongings and try to hurl you over a cliff if he gets a chance. Ha ha.
I used the dictation app to type in a lot of my mother's journal which was written in pen and ink in 1929. Hard to read the words sometimes and the computer got it wrong many a time with humorous results! They are really in the wild, these monkeys!
Adrenaline rush for sure! and terror I should imagine. I am petrified of monkeys or rather baboons. They can be very vicious! As soon as I have a few hours to myself I want to go through your whole Bali series.
Fabulous capture with said monkey outlined against the sea with the light just glinting on him. Gotta be a fav. And such fab detail.
I'm in total agreement about the monkeys. They can get really aggressive, and are quick and strong. Glad you didn't lose anything to them! Nice shot of this little terror.
He does look peaceful rather than scary in this image, but I believe your story! and I am inspired by your use of voice to text technology. My husband uses it ALL the time and my sore hands are begging me to try.
August 8th, 2015
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Fabulous capture with said monkey outlined against the sea with the light just glinting on him. Gotta be a fav. And such fab detail.