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    • Archive for November, 2009

    The Monster inside us all


    2009 - 11.29

    Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
    Posted in Art, Journal, MCAD, Networking, Socializing, Uncategorized | No Comments »

    Just finished Season 2 of Dexter this evening. I know I’m a little behind the times and just trying to catch up with this amazing show. But wow, what a ride. If you haven’t seen this show, get on Netflix and watch it all…right now. I’m actually a little grateful that the 3rd season isn’t on play instantly because if it was I’d start it and not get anything done… This way I have to wait until I get the next disk. For those who haven’t seen it, I’m not going to spoil anything, suffice to say that the characters in this show are amazing, the plot is intense and the show never stops giving you little twists along the way.

    Plus, it makes you think about the monsters inside all of us. Sure, not everyone is a serial killer in their free time, but we all make mistakes, do bad things, hurt people we love and keep secrets when we are afraid to face the truth. It’s interesting to think about how there’s a good and bad side to everyone. I have personally been facing a lot of my monsters lately and it certainly isn’t a pretty thing. Ultimately, I’m working on being more honest with myself and the people I care about, learning how to trust again and remembering the value of owning up to mistakes and seeking forgiveness in due time. With any luck, the new visual journal I’ve started will help with this process while also easing me back into the habit of making art.

    I’ve just realized that there are two weeks of classes left. Two more weeks to wrap up projects before I’m off to work on my own. Time to prep for my new job, get back into old hobbies, earn some extra money and spend time with people I’ve been neglecting. I’ve gotten so wrapped up in my own issues lately that I forgot the people that were most important to me.

    Time for bed, just wanted to reflect on some thoughts swimming through my head. Goodnight everyone

    A Sunny Black Friday


    2009 - 11.27

    Tags:
    Posted in Art, Journal, MCAD, Socializing | No Comments »

    It’s the end of November and it’s freaking gorgeous out…am I the only one who thinks this is abnormal and a little disconcerting? It’s Minnesota, snow is expected well before now. Lakes should be frozen over and kids should be having snowball fights right about now. I’m going to stop rambling about this now before someone tries to hurt me though…

    Thanksgiving was wonderful yesterday. Gathered with my aunt Diane’s family and enjoyed a wonderful dinner made almost entirely by my cousin Kori. She did an awesome job, the turkey was absolutely perfect. I’m making myself hungry again just thinking about the amazing food… Of course we had the typical conversations touching on all the subjects to avoid at a family gathering, politics, news, sports etc. I think we made it out without talking about religion which made me happy. The holidays this year are going to be rather quiet I think. Usually we get together at my uncle Tom’s house where his wife makes the most amazing dinner and we do a small gift exchange, catch up and enjoy seeing the great grand-kids run around. The economy is getting to everyone though and family gatherings are expensive and stressful. I think the most we’ll do this year is do dinner someplace, that way the stress isn’t all on one person and no one is expected to bring gifts. Personally, I hate how holidays have focused so much on gift giving and less on time spent together.

    This year, any gifts I give (with some exceptions) will probably be handmade in someway or another. I’ve got some ideas floating around in my head and am really looking forward to taking the time to get back into art. This year has been very artless for me. I’m hoping to change that once this semester is over and I have a month off, then just an externship next semester. No classes, no homework and a work environment that with any luck won’t suck the life out of me. I need art again, I miss it and crave it. Starting with an art journal, I need to get in the habit again.

    Nothing terribly new to report I guess…hopefully this week I’ll get a start on that art journal and can throw something at you then. Maybe I’ll find some answers too.

    Google Analytics and more


    2009 - 11.19

    Posted in MCAD, Media, Networking, Socializing, Tech | 4 Comments »

    Time for a quick blog update!

    I just want to share my amusement with Google Analytics. I just set it up on this website about a week ago and have been thoroughly enjoying seeing the data roll in. Thank you all for following my links on Twitter and/or Facebook, randomly googling me or looking me up from the link I have written in on my old business cards (I promise I’ll get new ones soon >.<) GA is exciting and a little creepy to be honest…I mean, I’m seeing hits from states where I don’t know anyone from, finding my blog. Common people, who are you? leave a comment, say hi, I don’t bite! Granted the average time spent on my site is about 2.5 minutes…and that’s alright, I don’t have much of interest up here yet…it’d just be fun to know who’s looking.

    who are you people? don't be shy, say hi!

    who are you people? don't be shy, say hi!

    On another note, I have some wonderful exciting news to share with my vast number of readers…*cough sarcasm* I got an externship lined up for the Spring Semester with EatonGolden. Yay *happy dance* My final step in the process of graduating is soon upon me and I’m so excited to take on this challenge. Working with John Golden in my Psychology of Social Interaction I got to learn more about usability and web functionality. So when my class got to tour their office I was terribly excited when I got to have a chat with John and Emily about what I was looking for in an externship and they said they wanted to bring me on. I couldn’t be happier. It’s going to be a lot of work but I’m all about it.

    Last night I took part in a Women Helping Women networking group meeting at the Medina Entertainment center. The keynote speaker was Dave Meyer of Bizzyweb and he spoke about Social Media use for personal and small business use. I had a lot to add to the conversation and very much enjoyed learning some of his professional strategy suggestions. Might even end up doing some freelance work for him soon. It was great to finally have the opportunity to go to the group that I’ve been helping Melissa get going. She’s done such a great job putting this group together and I think it will do a world of good for the women who get involved. I can’t wait to see it grow.

    Tomorrow night I think I’m going to catch the Bella Koshka show at The Whole on the U of M campus, haven’t found anyone to go with yet but I’ll manage. Should be good times all around. Perhaps I’ll get to catch up with Hilary (the violinist of Bella Koshka). Can’t wait to get that project going, but more to come on that later I think.

    That’s all for now, time for some Project Runway!

    Geek Girls Unite!


    2009 - 11.09

    Tags: , , , , , ,
    Posted in Internship, MCAD, Media, Networking, Tech | No Comments »

    My Marketing Concepts class was invaded by two wonderful ladies, Nancy Lyons and Meghan Wilker, who are behind Geek Girls Guide (the blog) and Clockwork (the Media Strategists). I’ve been Twitter stalking Nancy for a few weeks since the MIMA summit and it was wonderful to get to meet her in person and learn more about their thoughts on Marketing and women taking charge with techie things that they usually leave to their nerdy guy friends. It really got me thinking about how I myself will let my nerds do the dirty work for me when I know I’m smart enough to learn how to do it myself, all I have to do is ask them to show me. I love my nerds, they’re the best, but why leave all the fun to them? I’m always taking pride in the fact that I’m a versatile artist, but why stop at visual arts? I’ve got a lot to learn and I’m quite behind, but I have to start somewhere.

    On the un-tech side of things, I’ve been having fun experimenting with sending people snail mail notes to thank them for things, or to just say hi. It’s been fun seeing the reactions, people clearly love getting mail from friends, it’s something different than bills and they’re so personal. I may have terrible handwriting but who really cares? Not many people take the time to sit down and write notes anymore, it’s all email, facebook, twitter and text messaging. I’m not saying that any of those things are bad, but I think we’ve lost touch with the more human forms of communication. I’ve even started using my personal Scorpio wax seal I bought last year, something different that people never see anymore. Now I just have to go out and buy a ton of stamps…I don’t think grandma will be too happy with me when she notices I’ve cleaned her out of stamps…oops…>.<

    Well, I suppose I should stop avoiding the work that needs to get done tonight. I’m giving a presentation tomorrow at my internship about Social Media and how the Real Estate Agents can use it to enhance their business. My fear is that they might think it’s the magic bullet and that simply setting it up will open the flood gates of Leads. I’m hoping to impress upon them that they get out of Social Media exactly what they put into it. Starting slow, not biting off more than you can chew is the best way to maintain your online presence, building yourself up one tactic at a time before moving on to others. It’s really fun and exciting and I hope they get a lot of value out of what I have to offer.

    Another year wiser


    2009 - 11.07

    Tags: , , , ,
    Posted in Blogging | No Comments »

    It’s official, I’m another year older as of this past Monday, November 2. Reflecting on what this past year has meant is pretty daunting.  I’ve grown so much as an individual, coming closer to realizing who I am and where I’m going. I’ve gotten to meet so many wonderful people and find myself just over a semester away from getting that marvelous piece of paper that will open countless doors for me. 23 years old, with the rest of my life to look forward to. I wonder what’s next, what new challenges, what new people and what new adventures I have around the corner.

    On another note, I really need to get better about blogging more consistently with more interesting topics of conversation. I’m not too worried yet because I don’t have any readers…at least I don’t think I do…       >.>    <.<

    I guess blogging is still a strange concept to me, it feels entirely too much like the days of old with Livejournal and all the wonderful memories attached to that. I should start reading more blogs to understand what is “good blogging” and what is not so good. People think that being young and mildly tech savvy means you automatically know everything about everything but there is always something to learn, always something uncomfortable about a technology. Everyone is a beginner at some point.

    That’s all for now. More to come soon as I get all this stuff figured out.