There is Good News

I can be a part-time student next semester!!! I can get a jump star on my job search instead of spending this semester or even the summer after I graduate doing it. I did a little victory dance after I found out.

This week is crazier than I expected. I have a final project for the audio section of my Multimedia Production Skills course (we all know how I feel about that one) on Friday and a ton of stuff on my social schedule. But Friday at 2pm I'll be packing to head home for the weekend! Terence and I are going to NJ to celebrate Halloween this year. We're planning on going to Six Flags for Freight Fest! Hopefully the weather is good.

I'm in love with John Mayer's new song "Who Says." It's so therapeutic so I'm sharing some therapy with you.

Photoblog/Designblog Advice?

I just spend a good portion of my day looking through alternate blogger templates for my photoblog or a possible place to put some of my designs online. Epic fail. Does anyone have any advice?

Here it is . . . the rant

I think I have done a fair job of not completely ranting on this blog. Most of it is mindless updates that probably a very small percentage of the internet community cares about, but for me it's therapeutic. So here is a rare but much needed therapeutic rant.

I have come to find what kind of professors I like and respect and which ones I don't. This semester I am confronted with one I love and some that I could do without. At the University, I have had a fair amount of adjuncts, which is totally fine, respectable even. They are working in the field simultaneously and I think might even have some better insights on the field (in this case Journalism) and how it effects us students today. Some of them are young. This isn't true of all of them, but some. I had a web professor who was amazing. She was young, working for a web design firm and DEFINITELY knew her stuff. I learned a lot from her and am actually looking into some web design classes for next semester. Amazing. Now I have a professor who on day one spent the majority of the class on the don'ts. Don't be late to my class. Don't hand assignments in late. I'm older than I look. My class is harder than you think. 30 seconds matters, seriously, don't be late to my class. Okay, I get it. Having obtained almost a complete college degree, I would hope that I'm not dumb enough to be late, turn in an assignment late and disrespect a professor in the first week, but apparently some professors feel that it still needs to be said.

I thought back to some professors that I love and realized that on day one, they handed out the syllabus, asked for questions and dived right into the course work. Let me fall in love with your class and want to hand in the assignments on time, arrive on time, and respect you before you tell me not to. I'm over 21 and not an idiot. Having been late to my share of classes, I get that it doesn't roll well with the professors, which is enough for me to attempt not to do it.

Here's the kicker. On the second class the professor was a half an hour late. The allotted time for professors to be late is 15 minutes for adjuncts and 20 minutes for full time faculty. Being a sincere person, I usually give all professors 20 minutes because we live in a city. If you miss a metro or a shuttle bus even you're going to be at least 20 minutes late. 30 minutes though? We didn't even get anything productive done with the remaining 40 minutes. We rushed through a program that by the end no one understood but everyone was frustrated.

This, as frustrating as it is, makes me respect the other professors more. One of my friends told me that life happens and some professors just refuse to acknowledge that sometimes it happens badly and to them, to everyone. Don't preach to me about being late and then waste 30 minutes of my time waiting for you. 30 seconds matters. Life happens. Own up to it. In the next class after the tardiness, she had the nerve to stop her sentence and scowl at every person (all 2 of them) who walked in after 8:30am. After that she would forget what she was talking about and hesitate getting back to what she was talking about. That is more of a disruption to my learning experience than them actually being late. Why? Because it's 8:30 in the morning and life happens. People WILL be late. Even the professors tardiness I can excuse, but not the continual lecture even after she herself was late.

Let's all move on and learn what we're here to learn. Which for the record is not how to effectively make someone cry by scowling at them.

After thoughts

I haven't written in a while. A lot has been happening I just haven't known how to put it in words.

I find myself in front of T's television watching Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Not a game I particularly care about but I get my personal computer time.

I am well on my way to finishing my Christmas shopping by Halloween. I'm on a massive hunt for dark green wrapping paper. I am done with the major gifts though which is satisfying. Now it's time to hit the books.

I move to the audio section of my Multimedia Production Skills class this week which I'm nervous about. It's like starting a new class again. I hear the professor is intense, but not if you do the work in a timely manner. I am "finished" my web site for the web section. It's due Tuesday morning but I just have a few things to tweak before then (http://eagle1.american.edu/~nk2168a/index.html).

I'm also getting to see Hilary and Mike from my Europe trip this week! A much needed reunion. We just have to find a good place to meet downtown. Suggestions?

Terence and I might also try and catch a Nationals game this week, I think it's their last week. Trying to get in all the fun outdoor activities before it gets a little colder.

I haven't been doing well about uploading my photos to my photo blog in a timely manner, but rest assured, I did take a lot of good ones this weekend. Today, in an effort to up my mood, Terence and I went to the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens (http://www.nvrpa.org/parks/meadowlark/) which are only four miles from him. It was beautiful.

I think we're going to try and find a drive in movie theater. That would be a cool experience. I found this web site (http://www.thedctraveler.com/drive-in-movies/) with a list of some "local" theaters, most are at least an hour away though. Maybe there are some in New Jersey?

I am going to make a conscious effort to keep up with this and stay up to date. We'll see how that goes.

Have a good week.

NK

Another Link for Thought

http://www.marcandangel.com/2009/07/13/50-questions-that-will-free-your-mind/

50 Questions that Will Free Your Mind:

1. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
2. Which is worse, failing or never trying?
3. If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?
4. When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
5. What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?
6. If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?
7. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?
8. If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?
9. To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
10. Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?
11. You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire. They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend. The criticism is distasteful and unjustified. What do you do?
12. If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?
13. Would you break the law to save a loved one?
14. Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?
15. What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
16. How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?
17. What one thing have you not done that you really want to do? What’s holding you back?
18. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?
19. If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?
20. Do you push the elevator button more than once? Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?
21. Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?
22. Why are you, you?
23. Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?
24. Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you?
25. What are you most grateful for?
26. Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?
27. Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
28. Has your greatest fear ever come true?
29. Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset? Does it really matter now?
30. What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special?
31. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
32. If not now, then when?
33. If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?
34. Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?
35. Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?
36. Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?
37. If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?
38. Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing?
39. Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before?
40. When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?
41. If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?
42. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous?
43. What is the difference between being alive and truly living?
44. When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right?
45. If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?
46. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?
47. When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?
48. What do you love? Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love?
49. In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday? What about the day before that? Or the day before that?
50. Decisions are being made right now. The question is: Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?

Linked from http://www.marcandangel.com/

First Day of Classes

I always get nervous on the first day of the semester. This year I am digging my heels in more than ever. Senior year brings a lot of questions unanswered. I always know what I'll be doing the following year in some form. This time around I have no idea. Staying in DC? Maybe. Working? Hopefully.

Or maybe I'll just escape here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/realestate/09deal1.html?_r=3

Anyone have $25 million to spare? We'll call that plan B.

I saw this on the TODAY show this morning, Time's 50 Best Websites of 2009. Worth looking at:

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1918031_1918016,00.html

More after my first dance class in college tonight after work.

Happy Monday.

Tuesday Schmooze-day

After I leave work my week will become infinitely more exciting. Terence's friends from Florida are flying into town tomorrow and we have tonight to prepare. I'm also going to make a really nice dinner. I went out to eat last night and just made pasta on Sunday so I'm excited to make an exciting meal. My lunches have become more and more blahh. I'll have to work on that before classes start, IN UNDER 2 WEEKS! (AHHh!) Where did the summer go? I feel like I didn't tackle even half of the things that were once on my to-do list (like update my portfolio).

I am excited for classes to start, although I'm trying not to be. The last couple of semesters I got excited I was sorely disappointed.

I have been listening to my iPod a lot. I realized that listening to my entire collection of music straight through on shuffle is, well, IMPOSSIBLE. I always get in the mood for a different song or accidentally reset it so I'm just enjoying whatever portion of the shuffle I can at work. Right now it's Eric Clapton. There's nothing like rocking out at work. You realize a lot of things about your music collection . . . like how much Dave Matthews and country music you have in your music library.

Speaking of work, we're finally done the magazine. I use the term done hesitantly but we are supposed to get a proof of the magazine any day now. I've moved on to work on posters and t-shirts for events for the fall already so still busy.

More later!

Here's hoping the end of the week is as fun as I think it will be!