We're creating our own language here at Penn State.
Then again, people in groups together for any significant period of time do. Does anybody outside of Penn State understand the significance of "BS Breakfast"? Probably not: they'd take it for what it sounds like. Which was, of course, the intent. (BS here stands for "brainstorming," for those not in the know.)
"Language" may be an overstatement, but it's at least a code. You're "in" if you know what we're talking about.
I'm part of a lot of these communities with their own codes: Penn State TLT groupie (joke!) is just one of them. And acronyms are just part of these codes.
One community with a ton of community-made acronyms that I'm part of is BPAL enthusiasts (keep in mind, with the following links, that their aesthetic is quite dark--don't be shocked). Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab is a Los Angeles-based outfit that creates perfume oils, and it has its own parlance. GC (general catalog), LE (limited edition), CD (Carnaval Diabolique) and the like are pretty common to see in discussions on the topic, as is BPTP (Black Phoenix Trading Post, their sister company, which produces all their non-perfume oil goods).
Other communities of a sort are more based on quotes or references. The video Shannon posted yesterday contains a bunch of these. Whether or not you notice them depends on where you spend your time online. One of the first clips is a re-creation of the Numa Numa guy. There's also "first!" (warning: expletives, immaturity), commonly seen in comments. See also: Internet Commenter Business Meeting (same warning applies, only way more so. plus offensiveness. plus . . . oh, nevermind--it's from College Humor, so you should expect as much), which is basically what would happen if a meeting was run like virtually any popular open forum online.
And, of course, if you haven't yet been hit by a Rick Roll, you haven't been online long enough, and you certainly haven't been taking a look all the way through my links. But that may be just as well, really.
Internet Memes (warning: too many warnings than I can list) attempts to collate all these references. It doesn't hit all of them, but it hits the highlights quite well.
And there's certainly some mocking of that communal language of references. An editorial in the New York Times today, Lord of the Memes, tells us that to be on the cutting edge, we need to be "not only an early adopter, but an early discarder." We should go through these products, services and references before anyone else and then get sick of them and dismiss them with disdain should anyone else bring them up. The article ends with "remember, cultural epochs come and go, but one-upsmanship is forever."
I didn't discover that editorial on my own. In a rare reverse-crossover reference--real life to online rather than the other way around--someone told me about it at lunch and I looked at it on my iPhone when the conversation waned. There's some irony there, believe me.
But this is connectivity. Or the cost of connectivity. Or the advantage of connectivity.
The point is, that too is part of your cultural education. So choose your influences wisely--they will become your references, and part of your language. Maybe I should be a bit more selective in mine. ;)
Friday, August 08, 2008
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Serendipity and complications
Amit Gupta wrote about social serendipity today, and it feels like we've got a landslide of that going on here at Penn State, though much closer to home than his examples (he's the guy behind Photojojo, for those not familiar).
As my follow list on Twitter grows, I'm finding more and more amazing, knowledgeable people out there who "get it," in the words of one of those folks, who it just so happens I got to meet for lunch today.
And the give-and-take of that community, online and off, has been amazing. You end up tapping into the collective knowledge of a ton of experts, as long as you're willing to wait for an answer.
This has happened to me before, in other forums and communities, but this is as close to home as it's come. And while it's really cool to have connections wherever you might need them--an online shout-out for info about Buffalo a couple months ago turned up online friends that I didn't know were out there, for example--having them right in your backyard is amazing.
I mean, hey. Impromptu lunches are a possibility, even.
But it does cost attention. Design for Emotion and Flow describes this really well in the second paragraph of the article. The rest is no less important, but it's unrelated to my point here.
There's a point of balance that I think most of us are still trying to find in this newfound community:
Some of this, no one has talked about at much length. But I'm feeling it out there. And it's something we all have to work through. Personally, I worked out some of this by dividing my Twitter presence into personal and professional. Folks I meet at conferences may get one or the other depending on the context.
Some folks have made parts of this problem quite plain: Shannon posted two videos to explain why she might "unfollow" someone on Twitter. Other bits of this are way more unspoken.
It's exciting to me that these new modes of being create new problems, bizarrely enough. It means we're progressing, expanding. Perhaps not in a geologic time sense, but significant nonetheless.
I'm looking forward to solving these problems for myself and seeing what they mean on the grander scale, especially as re-localization becomes a trend.
As my follow list on Twitter grows, I'm finding more and more amazing, knowledgeable people out there who "get it," in the words of one of those folks, who it just so happens I got to meet for lunch today.
And the give-and-take of that community, online and off, has been amazing. You end up tapping into the collective knowledge of a ton of experts, as long as you're willing to wait for an answer.
This has happened to me before, in other forums and communities, but this is as close to home as it's come. And while it's really cool to have connections wherever you might need them--an online shout-out for info about Buffalo a couple months ago turned up online friends that I didn't know were out there, for example--having them right in your backyard is amazing.
I mean, hey. Impromptu lunches are a possibility, even.
But it does cost attention. Design for Emotion and Flow describes this really well in the second paragraph of the article. The rest is no less important, but it's unrelated to my point here.
There's a point of balance that I think most of us are still trying to find in this newfound community:
- how to give and take equally to one's network;
- how to enjoy oneself and others evenly;
- how to find a sympathetic ear to vent without alienating others;
- where "no invitation [is] required" and crashing the party;
- expansion of connections and input overload;
- "value" of contribution and "just being yourself."
Some of this, no one has talked about at much length. But I'm feeling it out there. And it's something we all have to work through. Personally, I worked out some of this by dividing my Twitter presence into personal and professional. Folks I meet at conferences may get one or the other depending on the context.
Some folks have made parts of this problem quite plain: Shannon posted two videos to explain why she might "unfollow" someone on Twitter. Other bits of this are way more unspoken.
It's exciting to me that these new modes of being create new problems, bizarrely enough. It means we're progressing, expanding. Perhaps not in a geologic time sense, but significant nonetheless.
I'm looking forward to solving these problems for myself and seeing what they mean on the grander scale, especially as re-localization becomes a trend.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Usability in admissions
So as of yesterday, I've been approved to move forward with some usability testing on our online application for admission. As an excellent bonus, I'll be allowed to waive the application fee of the students who help us by letting them observe them.
Our Directors Planning Team, which collectively makes most of the important decisions in the office (which I'm a member of), was somewhat characteristically interested in the details. Who are we testing? Just students who visit? Out-of-state students? Students in the different regions of Pennsylvania? Those who visit our Community Recruitment Centers? I took it a step farther to make it clear that breadth isn't necessarily our aim considering our resources for the project--as of yet, I have no further funding approved--by suggesting transfers and international students. Further than that, we should look at adult students. But if I intend to test 5 - 10 students, there's no way we'll hit all these populations. How do we balance my funding, resources, support, and time? Not to mention equipment and travel, possibly?
The easy answer is: we don't. Keeping it simple and keeping it close to home (so to speak) keeps it feasible. And we'll get plenty of useful feedback just with that, potentially more than we can change in the time we have. If I get the funding and time I need, though, the equation changes completely.
This morning (during the Spend a Summer Day admissions presentation, I'll admit, with the caveat that I've seen it five times now) I started mulling over my own questions about the project, which in some ways I find more important. What should we ask on a pre- or post-survey? Do we really strip this down to make it fast and easy and not have either? Do I want to publish/speak on this topic and thus slow us down with the IRB process? (No, probably not. What we do now falls under process-improvement and hasn't required one thus far.)
Should I contact my Usability Engineering instructor from last semester and see if he knows a student who might be interested in helping with this very important research? Do we want to try to include someone with accessibility issues to make the point that we need to work on that end of things? (One rule of usability testing is not to go in with an agenda, so I probably shouldn't pursue this.)
The questions go on and on.
In the end, we'll probably end up on the end of a stripped-down version, because doing that way gets it done. Getting ambitious may mean it doesn't happen, and I'd hate for that to occur. We need to know what real students do rather than continuing to make suppositions.
Our Directors Planning Team, which collectively makes most of the important decisions in the office (which I'm a member of), was somewhat characteristically interested in the details. Who are we testing? Just students who visit? Out-of-state students? Students in the different regions of Pennsylvania? Those who visit our Community Recruitment Centers? I took it a step farther to make it clear that breadth isn't necessarily our aim considering our resources for the project--as of yet, I have no further funding approved--by suggesting transfers and international students. Further than that, we should look at adult students. But if I intend to test 5 - 10 students, there's no way we'll hit all these populations. How do we balance my funding, resources, support, and time? Not to mention equipment and travel, possibly?
The easy answer is: we don't. Keeping it simple and keeping it close to home (so to speak) keeps it feasible. And we'll get plenty of useful feedback just with that, potentially more than we can change in the time we have. If I get the funding and time I need, though, the equation changes completely.
This morning (during the Spend a Summer Day admissions presentation, I'll admit, with the caveat that I've seen it five times now) I started mulling over my own questions about the project, which in some ways I find more important. What should we ask on a pre- or post-survey? Do we really strip this down to make it fast and easy and not have either? Do I want to publish/speak on this topic and thus slow us down with the IRB process? (No, probably not. What we do now falls under process-improvement and hasn't required one thus far.)
Should I contact my Usability Engineering instructor from last semester and see if he knows a student who might be interested in helping with this very important research? Do we want to try to include someone with accessibility issues to make the point that we need to work on that end of things? (One rule of usability testing is not to go in with an agenda, so I probably shouldn't pursue this.)
The questions go on and on.
In the end, we'll probably end up on the end of a stripped-down version, because doing that way gets it done. Getting ambitious may mean it doesn't happen, and I'd hate for that to occur. We need to know what real students do rather than continuing to make suppositions.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Facebook and recruiting, initial thoughts
Wish I had more time to address this today, but this one will have to be quick. Keep in mind most of this is supposition.
Sometime during their search, I bet students looking at colleges and universities are likely to tap into Facebook. While this is still theory, it's supported by others such as James Howell, in his entry a few days ago.
Unfortunately, right now I don't expect that Penn State Admissions will be headed in that direction just yet, despite the presentation I made this past spring at our Penn State Admissions conference. The basic gist of that presentation was a suggestion to use Facebook Pages rather than Groups or Profiles for an "official" presence there. The "fan of" dynamic is just easier to deal with. That aside.
So for those students who choose to take a quick peek via Facebook into the ins and outs of a university, they'll probably breeze through the groups, maybe take a look at some interesting people.
If I were to give some advice to that student, it would be: don't judge us by a quick run-through, by our more popular groups, or even by our more active students on Facebook, necessarily. Take a moment to search for faculty. Look through staff like advisers, if you can find them. Look through the clubs and organizations with an official presence there. And better yet, contact people. Ask the question you've been wanting to of that student leader, that professor whose department you're interested in, especially if they've been active recently.
The head of the Undergraduate Writing Center, Jon Olson, resisted getting onto Facebook for years. The peer tutors he works with created a "Get Jon Olson on Facebook" (or some such title) group. He finally relented recently and has been posting enthusiastically since: status, photos, even video.
It's a hurdle for faculty sometimes, but I think most of them find that it's super easy (and maybe even fun). But it does present some interesting quandaries: do I provide advising for the student that contacts me on Facebook, or do I refer her/him to email? That sort of thing. And while they all make their own decisions on that end, I would hope they would at least answer you. So reach out.
Social networks are for interacting, after all.
Sometime during their search, I bet students looking at colleges and universities are likely to tap into Facebook. While this is still theory, it's supported by others such as James Howell, in his entry a few days ago.
Unfortunately, right now I don't expect that Penn State Admissions will be headed in that direction just yet, despite the presentation I made this past spring at our Penn State Admissions conference. The basic gist of that presentation was a suggestion to use Facebook Pages rather than Groups or Profiles for an "official" presence there. The "fan of" dynamic is just easier to deal with. That aside.
So for those students who choose to take a quick peek via Facebook into the ins and outs of a university, they'll probably breeze through the groups, maybe take a look at some interesting people.
If I were to give some advice to that student, it would be: don't judge us by a quick run-through, by our more popular groups, or even by our more active students on Facebook, necessarily. Take a moment to search for faculty. Look through staff like advisers, if you can find them. Look through the clubs and organizations with an official presence there. And better yet, contact people. Ask the question you've been wanting to of that student leader, that professor whose department you're interested in, especially if they've been active recently.
The head of the Undergraduate Writing Center, Jon Olson, resisted getting onto Facebook for years. The peer tutors he works with created a "Get Jon Olson on Facebook" (or some such title) group. He finally relented recently and has been posting enthusiastically since: status, photos, even video.
It's a hurdle for faculty sometimes, but I think most of them find that it's super easy (and maybe even fun). But it does present some interesting quandaries: do I provide advising for the student that contacts me on Facebook, or do I refer her/him to email? That sort of thing. And while they all make their own decisions on that end, I would hope they would at least answer you. So reach out.
Social networks are for interacting, after all.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Geology and tech: the end is the beginning is the end
I think I prefaced over this last weekend that I wasn't going to have a theme with this entry in mind.
I started college as a geology major. Somewhat obviously, I didn't stick with it, but it's still a great interest of mine.
Some of you know and some of you don't that I have an MFA in Creative Writing. So a lot of my so-called "personal" reading is actually keeping up on that end of things for me.
And to combine both interests, I recently read Threshold, by Caitlin R. Kiernan. It's very much in a genre I used to write--a pseudo-magical realism, if magical realism in literature could be divorced from its Latin American roots (which it can't be, really). It starts out gritty, modern, and then wanders gently into science, myth, urban legend, and a particular superstitious nature you find in the south.
But my main point in addressing the experience of reading this book was the following passage, voiced by our narrator, Chance, who was in college as a geology major at the time:
I'm learning to read in a larger sense than I've ever read so far. And to some extent this was an evolution: I did, after all, start on email quite awhile ago, then moved to forums, then Livejournal, then Blogger, then Facebook/MySpace, then Twitter, and Google Reader and the big feeds (Slashdot, BoingBoing, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, etc) got stuck in there somewhere too (and I may be skipping steps, of course: on the multimedia end, Flickr and YouTube are two examples, but I'm talking about text here, in the main).
But in terms of an educated and informed community that I can have face-to-face contact with and shares my academic/work interests, this is a first (which might be, I might add, because my college/grad work had little to do with technology). Not just casual friends giving updates on their lives, but I get a touch of friendliness and personality alongside the theory.
So I get these fantastic ideas as well as the context surrounding them: the problems that were faced to prompt them to come up with these ideas. It's good stuff.
But larger than that, and for a longer period of time, I've been learning to read people and their interaction with technology; learning to read the evolution of society due to technology's influence; learning to read how technology is changing our minds and changing our spaces.
I'm reading the future. I've already learned to read the past.
So between geology and tech, I feel like I've got the span of things.1 And while this current tech iteration is more minute than an atom in a drop in a bucket in terms of geologic time, it's monumental for us living in it.
And I get to read it. And better yet, write some of it.
[1]Oroboros.
I started college as a geology major. Somewhat obviously, I didn't stick with it, but it's still a great interest of mine.
Some of you know and some of you don't that I have an MFA in Creative Writing. So a lot of my so-called "personal" reading is actually keeping up on that end of things for me.
And to combine both interests, I recently read Threshold, by Caitlin R. Kiernan. It's very much in a genre I used to write--a pseudo-magical realism, if magical realism in literature could be divorced from its Latin American roots (which it can't be, really). It starts out gritty, modern, and then wanders gently into science, myth, urban legend, and a particular superstitious nature you find in the south.
But my main point in addressing the experience of reading this book was the following passage, voiced by our narrator, Chance, who was in college as a geology major at the time:
It's this urge that drives me, strangely enough, in my current work as well."Can you think of anything else I could do with my life that could ever possibly be half this splendid, half this important? I'm learning to read, Deke, and not just the handful of things men have been around long enough to write down. The history of the whole damned planet is written in rocks, just lying there waiting for us to learn how to read the words." - p. 177
I'm learning to read in a larger sense than I've ever read so far. And to some extent this was an evolution: I did, after all, start on email quite awhile ago, then moved to forums, then Livejournal, then Blogger, then Facebook/MySpace, then Twitter, and Google Reader and the big feeds (Slashdot, BoingBoing, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, etc) got stuck in there somewhere too (and I may be skipping steps, of course: on the multimedia end, Flickr and YouTube are two examples, but I'm talking about text here, in the main).
But in terms of an educated and informed community that I can have face-to-face contact with and shares my academic/work interests, this is a first (which might be, I might add, because my college/grad work had little to do with technology). Not just casual friends giving updates on their lives, but I get a touch of friendliness and personality alongside the theory.
So I get these fantastic ideas as well as the context surrounding them: the problems that were faced to prompt them to come up with these ideas. It's good stuff.
But larger than that, and for a longer period of time, I've been learning to read people and their interaction with technology; learning to read the evolution of society due to technology's influence; learning to read how technology is changing our minds and changing our spaces.
I'm reading the future. I've already learned to read the past.
So between geology and tech, I feel like I've got the span of things.1 And while this current tech iteration is more minute than an atom in a drop in a bucket in terms of geologic time, it's monumental for us living in it.
And I get to read it. And better yet, write some of it.
[1]Oroboros.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Spend a Summer Day notes
Writing my first post-a-day blog post in August on my iPhone during gaps in a Spend a Summer Day.
SASD, as we know it and love it for short, is a day-long open house event held at all Penn State campuses. At Penn State University Park, due simply to demand, it's held on six days: every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday spanning two weeks, usually bridging July and August.
August 1st, incidentally, is also the day our new application for admission goes live. Given that and the fact that EVERYONE in the office helps during SASD (our Executive Director was running between the HUB and Schwab Auditorium on Monday trying to fix a problem), to say this time of year is stressful is an understatment.
I've been staffing our table at the information fair during the event pretty regularly so far, and I've noted a difference in style between me and some of my colleagues. Some colleagues push our brochures, despite all the information in a few of them being available online.
If I can make a generalization, these tend to be the older admissions folks who are more used to using the brochures. Others offer options: you could grab this AP brochure to see what credit you'd get for what score on which test, or you can look it up on our website. (for my own commentary, why waste the paper and cost us the money for four scores they could easily look up?)
I've also found that when I offer my AIM handle to students I'm talking to, they get super-enthusiastic. And even their parents start telling me I'm the last word in customer service: above and beyond and all that.
So while this doesn't affect the larger conversation of the newest modes of electronic communication, it does tell me that some folks are picking them up no problem (students, to generalize), some folks are slowly picking them up or recognizing their value (parents), and some folks will print out webpages if the brochure is discontinued (the non-technologically-savvy).
But the thing is, we have to serve them all. Penn State is committed to serving the Commonwealth, and any one of the above could either become a student here or at least interface with the University in some way.
So how do we serve all, even those not comfortable with technology?
I think the idea of engaging the early adopters is a good one (apologies that I don't remember who suggested it right now), and certainly paves the way to spreading the word in a grassroots fashion.
Something else I'd like to explore further, perhaps in a later post, is how technology can help us realize cost savings and green initiatives without leaving anyone behind, especially considering the widespread nature of Penn State's mission.
SASD, as we know it and love it for short, is a day-long open house event held at all Penn State campuses. At Penn State University Park, due simply to demand, it's held on six days: every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday spanning two weeks, usually bridging July and August.
August 1st, incidentally, is also the day our new application for admission goes live. Given that and the fact that EVERYONE in the office helps during SASD (our Executive Director was running between the HUB and Schwab Auditorium on Monday trying to fix a problem), to say this time of year is stressful is an understatment.
I've been staffing our table at the information fair during the event pretty regularly so far, and I've noted a difference in style between me and some of my colleagues. Some colleagues push our brochures, despite all the information in a few of them being available online.
If I can make a generalization, these tend to be the older admissions folks who are more used to using the brochures. Others offer options: you could grab this AP brochure to see what credit you'd get for what score on which test, or you can look it up on our website. (for my own commentary, why waste the paper and cost us the money for four scores they could easily look up?)
I've also found that when I offer my AIM handle to students I'm talking to, they get super-enthusiastic. And even their parents start telling me I'm the last word in customer service: above and beyond and all that.
So while this doesn't affect the larger conversation of the newest modes of electronic communication, it does tell me that some folks are picking them up no problem (students, to generalize), some folks are slowly picking them up or recognizing their value (parents), and some folks will print out webpages if the brochure is discontinued (the non-technologically-savvy).
But the thing is, we have to serve them all. Penn State is committed to serving the Commonwealth, and any one of the above could either become a student here or at least interface with the University in some way.
So how do we serve all, even those not comfortable with technology?
I think the idea of engaging the early adopters is a good one (apologies that I don't remember who suggested it right now), and certainly paves the way to spreading the word in a grassroots fashion.
Something else I'd like to explore further, perhaps in a later post, is how technology can help us realize cost savings and green initiatives without leaving anyone behind, especially considering the widespread nature of Penn State's mission.
Meta on the level.
You may have cycled back here to find a flood of new posts. More than usual, anyway.
Most of it is explained here, but the gist of it is that a colleague put us up to the challenge of writing a post per weekday in August and I'm giving it a whirl.
I set up Ubiquitous Connectivity to be the primary place those posts will go, but I also decided to copy/paste them over here.
So yes, these are very much theory/work-related, but I figured the folks over here would appreciate them, so I'll save you the trouble of checking both blogs.
Most of it is explained here, but the gist of it is that a colleague put us up to the challenge of writing a post per weekday in August and I'm giving it a whirl.
I set up Ubiquitous Connectivity to be the primary place those posts will go, but I also decided to copy/paste them over here.
So yes, these are very much theory/work-related, but I figured the folks over here would appreciate them, so I'll save you the trouble of checking both blogs.
August challenge
Taking up Cole's challenge of a post a day for August, according to the rules outlined there. Me and Daniel and Shannon so far, as far as I've seen.
Love to say more on the matter, but I've got a meeting in a second here. One thing to share before I go: I'm reading Clay Shirky's Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing without Organizations and also was fed a video of Shirky talking about his book by someone in my network (the section about flash mobs is especially engaging: "nothing says dictatorship like arresting people eating ice cream," for example).
And the commentary I'd like to add is that this is, to some extent, what we're doing. Someone has an idea, puts the call out there to see if anyone's interested, and people throw their hats into the ring, cooperatively arranging taxonomies (er, folksonomies, really) to tag and aggregate content, resulting in a pool of information and new ideas being created.
It's what I've seen in action growing slowly over a year, accelerated by the TLT Symposium and Twitter, sparked further by TweetMeets and BS Breakfasts and Bookclub, and burst into full flame (as far as I can tell) in Learning Design Summer Camp here at Penn State. And I'm convinced that this is the way to do it.
But it's happening this way (or similarly, at least) elsewhere: EduWeb happened recently, and people were Tweeting and videostreaming (alternate) and liveblogging sessions, and it was almost as good as being there, minus a significant amount of in-person networking and fun. But it can be done. I've been caught up in this plus Jeffrey Veen's idea of an audience ombudsman for conferences and trying to figure out how this works in purely-online communities.
And it really goes back to the idea of an alpha user, I think. But the thing is that we've got a bunch of them here at Penn State.
More to develop on this idea. But it will have to hold: I've got a meeting for our campus tour podcast project coming up.
Love to say more on the matter, but I've got a meeting in a second here. One thing to share before I go: I'm reading Clay Shirky's Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing without Organizations and also was fed a video of Shirky talking about his book by someone in my network (the section about flash mobs is especially engaging: "nothing says dictatorship like arresting people eating ice cream," for example).
And the commentary I'd like to add is that this is, to some extent, what we're doing. Someone has an idea, puts the call out there to see if anyone's interested, and people throw their hats into the ring, cooperatively arranging taxonomies (er, folksonomies, really) to tag and aggregate content, resulting in a pool of information and new ideas being created.
It's what I've seen in action growing slowly over a year, accelerated by the TLT Symposium and Twitter, sparked further by TweetMeets and BS Breakfasts and Bookclub, and burst into full flame (as far as I can tell) in Learning Design Summer Camp here at Penn State. And I'm convinced that this is the way to do it.
But it's happening this way (or similarly, at least) elsewhere: EduWeb happened recently, and people were Tweeting and videostreaming (alternate) and liveblogging sessions, and it was almost as good as being there, minus a significant amount of in-person networking and fun. But it can be done. I've been caught up in this plus Jeffrey Veen's idea of an audience ombudsman for conferences and trying to figure out how this works in purely-online communities.
And it really goes back to the idea of an alpha user, I think. But the thing is that we've got a bunch of them here at Penn State.
More to develop on this idea. But it will have to hold: I've got a meeting for our campus tour podcast project coming up.
Monday, July 07, 2008
4th fun
Though tentative plans made got shoved aside, the 4th was a remarkably fun time. We made giant bubbles, grilled veggies and tofu and chicken and burgers, hiked out to a field for the fireworks (a bit late, but hey), made up some new drinks with what we had on hand, tested new scents out (some of us, anyway: BPAL, of course), had our own little fireworks display and light show, and generally had a good day of it.
The next couple days were filled with the crunching of photos, yoga, and there was a game in there somewhere as well. Photos from the 4th here, and the Wisconsin visit here (Lady of the Lake tour alone here).
And I realized today I haven't touched WoW since, like, Thursday. Even to check the Auction House. Bit of a rarity, though no huge deal or anything. I'd say people are probably wondering where I am, but then again, I've been out a lot lately, though usually for trips or conferences. Which is mostly over for the season, I think. And now the press to Spend a Summer Day.
The continuing limbo . . . well, continues. Thus the name.
Got more RAM into my computer and it's behaving well, finally, which is a very good thing. Exciting times in the onthelevel household.
Arts Fest is this week. Took a couple days off for that, so I'll have at least two short weeks in a row. Going to do pirate day properly this year, sounds like. So that should be fun.
Recently re-read The Long Tail, now moving on to Everything is Miscellaneous. Just my professional reading list is out of control, let alone my personal. I should really tackle the ones I have out from the library before the ones I own, though. Tough to prioritize, though, due to things like the Brainstorming Bookclub getting shoved in there. Don't get me wrong: great idea and it'll be fantastic. But it does mess up the order of my list a bit.
Too much to do, too little time. But isn't that always the case?
The next couple days were filled with the crunching of photos, yoga, and there was a game in there somewhere as well. Photos from the 4th here, and the Wisconsin visit here (Lady of the Lake tour alone here).
And I realized today I haven't touched WoW since, like, Thursday. Even to check the Auction House. Bit of a rarity, though no huge deal or anything. I'd say people are probably wondering where I am, but then again, I've been out a lot lately, though usually for trips or conferences. Which is mostly over for the season, I think. And now the press to Spend a Summer Day.
The continuing limbo . . . well, continues. Thus the name.
Got more RAM into my computer and it's behaving well, finally, which is a very good thing. Exciting times in the onthelevel household.
Arts Fest is this week. Took a couple days off for that, so I'll have at least two short weeks in a row. Going to do pirate day properly this year, sounds like. So that should be fun.
Recently re-read The Long Tail, now moving on to Everything is Miscellaneous. Just my professional reading list is out of control, let alone my personal. I should really tackle the ones I have out from the library before the ones I own, though. Tough to prioritize, though, due to things like the Brainstorming Bookclub getting shoved in there. Don't get me wrong: great idea and it'll be fantastic. But it does mess up the order of my list a bit.
Too much to do, too little time. But isn't that always the case?
Sunday, June 22, 2008
conference season
Long time no update: apologies. We're well into conference season, which is always a whirlwind, plus I've had other trips here and there to throw into the mix as well. Oh, and moving.
As always, Twitter's the best way to keep track of me: check out the running commentary on the right.
So in advance of moving, I whipped back to Wisconsin for a brief visit. I have many photos, audio, and fond memories of that quick trip, as well as some fantastic curtains. Long story. I intend to get to crunching and uploading those photos soon, hopefully.
Then there was the moving, which went about as well as a move can. Surprisingly well. There was an issue with my bed and the size of our generously-lent van, but other than that, I really can't complain. And complaining's what I do best when it comes to moving. I kid. I do know how to go about it, after so many moves in my past and such, but it's never fun.
There was one quick symposium which opened the run of conferences: the TLT Symposium, which was simply amazing. The community really came together and evolved online for this one, which was a fantastic experience. I really can't say enough about how relationships were created and strengthened and we continued to help and inform each other even afterwards.
Memorial Day got stuck in here somewhere, during which I ran from one event to another (three in all) and got terribly sunburned. Good times, though.
We started conference season proper with the Penn State Undergraduate Admissions Spring Conference, during which we traveled between Penn State DuBois and Penn State Altoona. Great to see both campuses. The one session I thought I was doing there turned into three--all went well enough, I think, and I hope I spread some of the social networking word in the original. I don't think it's news to any of them--at least I hope not--but I hope it provided some practical advice for starting/managing one.
A few weeks later was the Penn State Web Conference, which was potentially game-changing. More, perhaps, on that later. But there were excellent sessions by Steve Krug demonstrating the need for usability testing in our own backyard, by Mark Greenfield showing the hows and whys of social networking, and many others.
After that was a quick trip to Buffalo and one to the Hershey area. Both excellent visits. Yesterday was Dax's birthday party which, as always, was a trip and a half and left us all sleeping quite well. Dax likes to hold his birthday at a park, and there's always fun mucking about on the playground equipment, with gymnastics and jumping around and fake parkour and generally wearing ourselves out. Because that's what Daxes do, and we're obviously obliged to help on his birthday.
Today--in about an hour, in fact--I'm leaving for another conference, this one for all the admissions counselors and high school counselors that deal with the college search process in Pennsylvania. It'll be good to connect with folks I haven't seen in awhile--and heck, even those I haven't seen since our Spring Conference.
There's been talk about other trips: Hershey again for the usual monthly event, as well as other trips to visit the spa and Hersheypark. Possibly a visit to H. and K. in the fall, which is a longer endeavor. But I'm loath to schedule things right now: I'm experiencing a kind of limbo which I'll clarify later, but is making things difficult right now.
So that's the current state of things. More later.
As always, Twitter's the best way to keep track of me: check out the running commentary on the right.
So in advance of moving, I whipped back to Wisconsin for a brief visit. I have many photos, audio, and fond memories of that quick trip, as well as some fantastic curtains. Long story. I intend to get to crunching and uploading those photos soon, hopefully.
Then there was the moving, which went about as well as a move can. Surprisingly well. There was an issue with my bed and the size of our generously-lent van, but other than that, I really can't complain. And complaining's what I do best when it comes to moving. I kid. I do know how to go about it, after so many moves in my past and such, but it's never fun.
There was one quick symposium which opened the run of conferences: the TLT Symposium, which was simply amazing. The community really came together and evolved online for this one, which was a fantastic experience. I really can't say enough about how relationships were created and strengthened and we continued to help and inform each other even afterwards.
Memorial Day got stuck in here somewhere, during which I ran from one event to another (three in all) and got terribly sunburned. Good times, though.
We started conference season proper with the Penn State Undergraduate Admissions Spring Conference, during which we traveled between Penn State DuBois and Penn State Altoona. Great to see both campuses. The one session I thought I was doing there turned into three--all went well enough, I think, and I hope I spread some of the social networking word in the original. I don't think it's news to any of them--at least I hope not--but I hope it provided some practical advice for starting/managing one.
A few weeks later was the Penn State Web Conference, which was potentially game-changing. More, perhaps, on that later. But there were excellent sessions by Steve Krug demonstrating the need for usability testing in our own backyard, by Mark Greenfield showing the hows and whys of social networking, and many others.
After that was a quick trip to Buffalo and one to the Hershey area. Both excellent visits. Yesterday was Dax's birthday party which, as always, was a trip and a half and left us all sleeping quite well. Dax likes to hold his birthday at a park, and there's always fun mucking about on the playground equipment, with gymnastics and jumping around and fake parkour and generally wearing ourselves out. Because that's what Daxes do, and we're obviously obliged to help on his birthday.
Today--in about an hour, in fact--I'm leaving for another conference, this one for all the admissions counselors and high school counselors that deal with the college search process in Pennsylvania. It'll be good to connect with folks I haven't seen in awhile--and heck, even those I haven't seen since our Spring Conference.
There's been talk about other trips: Hershey again for the usual monthly event, as well as other trips to visit the spa and Hersheypark. Possibly a visit to H. and K. in the fall, which is a longer endeavor. But I'm loath to schedule things right now: I'm experiencing a kind of limbo which I'll clarify later, but is making things difficult right now.
So that's the current state of things. More later.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
update for the update-impaired
Here's a bit more complete an update:
Health-wise, my allergist has figured out that I have what basically amounts to a chronic sinus infection. Three rounds of seriously stupid antibiotics and anti-inflammatories and expectorants and nasal sprays planned: if these don't work, they're talking surgery. In a lot of ways I don't expect them to, since the first one did not (though did improve matters for a time) and this round seems to be making things worse, not better. Tea with honey is my friend currently.
Work-wise, my patience is running on the thin side. Stress-wise, I'm rather through the roof, since I'm also taking a class this semester and it's consuming a large portion of the time I'd otherwise get to unwind during.
Personally, despite all this, I'm doing okay. I'm starting to make plans to move at the end of May, though whether that's local or away from the area is still up in the air. It's about time I had my own space. Part of what makes J such a great roommate is that we stay out of each other's way well, generally, but that has started to degrade over time and is no longer fully the case, enough so that I'm ready to be done. We're still good friends, nothing's changed on that end--it's just time.
To that end, I'm eyeing all my belongings, readying for a purge. Though there's a lot I don't want to lose, just put away so I don't have to move it two or three times, potentially (one or two local moves, then a longer one).
A lot of things are coming to a head in the next three months or less. I'm just hoping against hope that the timing all works out well.
Health-wise, my allergist has figured out that I have what basically amounts to a chronic sinus infection. Three rounds of seriously stupid antibiotics and anti-inflammatories and expectorants and nasal sprays planned: if these don't work, they're talking surgery. In a lot of ways I don't expect them to, since the first one did not (though did improve matters for a time) and this round seems to be making things worse, not better. Tea with honey is my friend currently.
Work-wise, my patience is running on the thin side. Stress-wise, I'm rather through the roof, since I'm also taking a class this semester and it's consuming a large portion of the time I'd otherwise get to unwind during.
Personally, despite all this, I'm doing okay. I'm starting to make plans to move at the end of May, though whether that's local or away from the area is still up in the air. It's about time I had my own space. Part of what makes J such a great roommate is that we stay out of each other's way well, generally, but that has started to degrade over time and is no longer fully the case, enough so that I'm ready to be done. We're still good friends, nothing's changed on that end--it's just time.
To that end, I'm eyeing all my belongings, readying for a purge. Though there's a lot I don't want to lose, just put away so I don't have to move it two or three times, potentially (one or two local moves, then a longer one).
A lot of things are coming to a head in the next three months or less. I'm just hoping against hope that the timing all works out well.
non-update update
I know, I know: I've been terrible about updating the blog part of this blog. Micro-blogging, though, I can manage pretty darn regularly: round-about once a day. Check the Twitter feed on the right of the blog (the original, not the LJ feed-type-thing) if you really want updates. Warning: they're really, really mundane most of the time.
Monday, December 31, 2007
year in review 2007
As is tradition, my year in review. Hang tight, this'll get long. I'm also doing this really quickly, so it's not terribly edited, just to warn you.
January
Started off with a bang since I worked New Year's Eve at the club job. Fell on a Sunday, after all. Took a few photos.
Pink had crept back into my wardrobe by this point. That's notable for some reason, trust me.
At work, we started planning and eventually got permission to do the site redesign, which was desperately needed. Despite that project, I still had days entirely booked with meetings.
It was a month of busy, as per normal, and enjoying squash, and appreciating that I knew how to drive in snow. Also started yoga twice a week rather than once during this semester. Oh, and there was a birthday and associated celebration.
February
Thankful for my warm down coat. Got a ton of songs (that I seriously dislike) from the club job stuck in my head throughout the month. I eventually made a mix CD of those I could tolerate and those I couldn't, hoping to rid them all from my brain-pan. It worked, eventually.
This month at work we got the weirdest inquiry letter I've ever seen, which became a short running joke: short because the source was so bloody uncomfortable. Obviously a mentally disturbed individual reaching out, but it was so uncomfortable you couldn't help but laugh about it. My grandboss brought it to me while I was in the office of another colleague who has since left the office.
Some choice lines we would spout at each other as we passed in the hallways:
"Conditions are not good."
"I will need fed because I eat and am active."
"I have a felony but it should be removed."
"I do not like female/male integration."
Or our summary, which boiled down to: "I need food."
We also had a call asking if the football coach had any sway in admissions decisions, who was very insistent and kept calling back to try different angles. It seemed to be the month for weird at work.
Developments in yoga: starting to love inverted poses, appreciating Pigeon pose.
March
Grandboss left the office. Sad, sad day. This caused a ton of upset at work, and with me in general. He was absolutely the person I most looked forward to seeing every day.
As a horrible up side, I got a promotion possibly/probably in part due to his leaving. His brother (who also works in the office), also a bit of a cut-up, asked if he needed to address me as Assistant Director all the time now. I told him nothing had changed except actually getting recognition of the things I was doing already. :P
Before my grandboss actually left the office but after the position was posted (because I went for a position, it wasn't just an automatic promotion-type-thing), I went into his office and asked him "do you think I'm qualified for this?" and he laughed at me. Made me feel oddly better.
Found one of the houses I lived in when I lived in Denmark via the satellite view of Google Maps. Also found the church Dad was baptized in. Signed up for Twitter. Ha.
April
80 degrees to snow. Inches of it on Easter, which I took pictures of coming down. Weird weather this month.
Moved offices and had incredible trouble with the new office's desk (which was eventually replaced, thankfully). Had to trot out suits even more often due to even more important meetings: scored a subtle coral-pinstriped one that looks pretty cool, if I do say so myself. Meetings and more meetings and training.
Experimented with beet casseroles. Played with a new hairdo: a French twist kind of thing.
Got the scanned version of my aunt's album from L (thank you!) and uploaded it to flickr.
Attended the Teaching and Learning with Technology Symposium, which was generally excellent.
Events at Virginia Tech caused a bunch of conversation at work.
Kept having to take days off at work or lose them, having bumped into the limit of stored vacation days.
My cell phone battery life continued to die, which caused some problems (though much of that was in February).
May
I think this month could best be summed up as OMG WTF BBQ WORK. The last cram of work on the redesign was just overwhelming. I had a ton of codewrangling this month for the redesign and launch of one of our mini-sites: the one for Spend a Summer Day (SASD, as I more commonly refer to it).
The Big Ten Admissions Conference that we hosted happened this month. A few photos here. Quickly thereafter, our Penn State Admissions conference: a few photos of that here.
Listened to a lot of jazz this month as we wrapped up the launch of the redesign, which happened the morning of the second day of the latter conference.
Got new glasses: from pretty severe black secretary glasses to a pair that are a bit more cat eye-shaped, with filigree-type stuff on the edges. I've gotten a ton of compliments on them. :)
Still doing decant circles for the scent community I'm part of this month: I do quit that somewhere along the way, though, and regain the time I dedicated to it, thankfully.
Stormed a lot at the end of this month and the beginning of the next.
June
Penn State Web Conference was excellent this month: some pictures.
There were also a ton of caterpillars out, which of course I took pictures of. Oh, and there was a birthday party in here somewhere.
Started reading a bit more, which was a nice return. Experimented with cooking wilted greens, which ended up really well.
The big event was the visit to Seattle. The conference was incredible there: easily the best I've attended. I'll be looking for it again this coming year, though I don't think it will be in Seattle again (nor could I attend it there again, I don't think, just given how tight budgets are becoming).
Once that was over, hit vacation, staying with college friends in Seattle. Very easy to slip back into old rhythms, though of course things were different: a pair of them had a little girl, for one thing. Played tourist throughout Seattle both alone and with said friends, though easily started eyeing it from the point of view of moving there someday. Both the Ballard and Fremont neighborhoods started looking extremely appealing, though it's far more likely I'd be in the suburbs somewhere, depending on where I got a job, of course. If I eventually moved there, which is still obviously extremely theoretical.
The other big event was the first Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab East Coast Will-Call (this is the scent/perfume community I may have mentioned once or twice) in Hershey. I had also met up with a couple of folks from that community (I say community in the broadest sense of the word, really) in Seattle, who were awesome. But the ECWC at the end of this month was a fantastic event, with people dressing up in the theme and all. These started monthly after this point and I've only missed one so far.
July
Got some awesome shots of the 4th of the July fireworks.
Took a couple days off in July for my birthday and Arts Fest/People's Choice. Good times, though mildly sunburnt. Got a new lens for my DSLR, which I'm still adoring (and using more frequently than the kit lens, I might add).
Got contacted about a company that wanted to use a picture of mine in a documentary.
I think this is the month the replacement for me (writer/editor position) started, and she came on board really quickly. Not a whole lot of training time needed there: she picked things up quickly, and blew through projects quickly, which was awesome and very much needed. The balance of having to manage two people started becoming a bit precarious in here somewhere, though, given that I had my own projects as well.
Concluded the month with another BPAL ECWC, where again, I took some pictures. Oh, and Spend a Summer Day (SASD) started, which were just exhausting.
August
SASD continued. Just no time to do anything in here: too wiped out. Also did a bunch of web application revisions for the College of Arts and Architecture.
Stardust came out, and I went to see it far too many times, which still wasn't enough.
Went to Hersheypark mid-month with a couple friends: definitely an enjoyable time.
Finished the month with yet another awesome ECWC.
September
Kicked off with a great Labor Day eve Sunday night crowd. Got totally backlogged on photo-taking--not all I took that night are up since I've just had more important photos (to me) to crunch and upload than that.
Fall Conference for us, Student Aid, and the Registrar. I took some pictures, but haven't messed with them yet. Had to do double work somewhere in here when revising visit emails. Irritating, but welcome to work. Then again, made headway on various very cool projects as well, so I shouldn't complain.
"Talk Like a Pirate Day" passed again with little fanfare, unfortunately. Though the Libraries did a pirate-themed open house, which was cool.
Finally gave in to the iPhone temptation after the price dropped and my old phone just wouldn't hold a charge.
Ended the month, once again, with a great ECWC, one during which I dragged along S to get our nails done beforehand.
October
Started with Cirque du Soleil with L, which was an excellent performance/experience.
Had a touch of asthma problems this month: a rarity. Resolved in the next month somewhere.
Finally figured out that the noise made during rainstorms right near my head was because the roof hadn't been entirely sealed. They got it fixed, finally.
The HighEdWebDev conference happened this month. Good sessions, good people.
One more very cool ECWC: pirate-themed this time. Dax and S both came with, which was very neat.
Wrapped up with Halloween at the club job, which I only have one shot up of as of yet. Started getting stressed about finishing things before the Hawaii trip in November.
November
Cut my hair back by about seven inches in preparation for being in the water a lot in Hawaii (which didn't really happen, but that's beside the point).
Completely undid a corner of my room so they could fix the water damage while I was away. And by fix, I mean paint over, but whatever.
The Hawaii trip was a mixed bag: mom is doing far worse than I'd thought, but then again, I was in Hawaii. What right did I have to complain? And it was a great experience: I learned to surf, went on a bus tour on one island and a helicopter tour on the other, etc, etc. But seeing mom liked that made me keenly aware of my own health and future. And, of course, concern for her, some of which I'm working on, but we'll see how that plays out.
Still working on the photos from that trip. I'm only about halfway through, but had enough to take with me to show people during the holidays.
When I got back, had to re-do that corner of my room, including taking my bed out of the bathroom, where I'd wedged it for the interim. Changed my comforter cover in the process, from a green to a deep red. I like it; might be changing the sheets and pillow cover to match in the near future.
The rest of November was a scramble to catch up again, pretty much. My maternal uncle was put in the hospital near the end of it, which was another big concern for awhile. Thankfully, all turned out all right. Oh, and yet another ECWC, as per normal.
December
Ended the CSA experience, unfortunately. Still trying to figure out how to replace it.
Divided up my Twitter presences into personal and professional: a necessity after awhile, really. I kind of regret leaving some personal stuff on the supposedly professional version, but not much to be done about it.
Underwent a few all-day meetings of one stripe or another. Again. Major work drama happened this month, drama that I'd rather forget about, frankly. One outcome, though, is the new great staff member leaving--not because of drama. Drama just ensued. There may be major changes on the horizon, and I'm not entirely convinced this is a good thing for me. But it should be an improvement for the office as a whole, and I did volunteer it. We'll see.
Started trying to figure out how to afford a class next semester. Still in that process, to some extent, though I'm signed up and ready to go.
Got a couple pictures from Seattle published in a travel guide. Got a Wii. Left for Wisconsin.
Long visit in the Midwest: saw Dad, B, my paternal uncle (not the one who was in the hospital), and a few friends: H and H, actually. One from my sorority and one from college (yes, those are different. it's complicated). Missed C, though, which I was sad about.
Dad and I sat down and went through my aunt's album to fill in the details, inasmuch as he could remember.
Had a great French-themed Christmas dinner with B's family, as well as our usual Danish-tinged Christmas Eve dinner. I still love fliskesteg. I should really learn how to do it myself.
Did some tech help with Dad's new laptop and GPS unit. Hopefully, got him set up for the marine maps he wanted. (Let me know if you have problems, okay Dad?)
Got some fantastic presents, including new shoes and suits, many of which were very much needed. I felt very much spoiled once I got home and started unloading the car, which was pretty well packed. True, some of it was my own purchases since they've got better shopping out there, but still.
And now, back and trying to catch up again, as well as trying to integrate everything. Space is very much at a premium and I need to get things out of the hallway. To do that, though, I need to make some space. It's a Tetris challenge: I used to be very good at this, back when I worked for the Symphony, but I haven't needed to do so for a decently long time. I'll make it work, though, somehow.
My only regret for December is missing this month's ECWC, but it just couldn't be managed. Can't be two places at once yet, unfortunately. Hopefully they'll invent that soon. Ha.
January
Started off with a bang since I worked New Year's Eve at the club job. Fell on a Sunday, after all. Took a few photos.
Pink had crept back into my wardrobe by this point. That's notable for some reason, trust me.
At work, we started planning and eventually got permission to do the site redesign, which was desperately needed. Despite that project, I still had days entirely booked with meetings.
It was a month of busy, as per normal, and enjoying squash, and appreciating that I knew how to drive in snow. Also started yoga twice a week rather than once during this semester. Oh, and there was a birthday and associated celebration.
February
Thankful for my warm down coat. Got a ton of songs (that I seriously dislike) from the club job stuck in my head throughout the month. I eventually made a mix CD of those I could tolerate and those I couldn't, hoping to rid them all from my brain-pan. It worked, eventually.
This month at work we got the weirdest inquiry letter I've ever seen, which became a short running joke: short because the source was so bloody uncomfortable. Obviously a mentally disturbed individual reaching out, but it was so uncomfortable you couldn't help but laugh about it. My grandboss brought it to me while I was in the office of another colleague who has since left the office.
Some choice lines we would spout at each other as we passed in the hallways:
"Conditions are not good."
"I will need fed because I eat and am active."
"I have a felony but it should be removed."
"I do not like female/male integration."
Or our summary, which boiled down to: "I need food."
We also had a call asking if the football coach had any sway in admissions decisions, who was very insistent and kept calling back to try different angles. It seemed to be the month for weird at work.
Developments in yoga: starting to love inverted poses, appreciating Pigeon pose.
March
Grandboss left the office. Sad, sad day. This caused a ton of upset at work, and with me in general. He was absolutely the person I most looked forward to seeing every day.
As a horrible up side, I got a promotion possibly/probably in part due to his leaving. His brother (who also works in the office), also a bit of a cut-up, asked if he needed to address me as Assistant Director all the time now. I told him nothing had changed except actually getting recognition of the things I was doing already. :P
Before my grandboss actually left the office but after the position was posted (because I went for a position, it wasn't just an automatic promotion-type-thing), I went into his office and asked him "do you think I'm qualified for this?" and he laughed at me. Made me feel oddly better.
Found one of the houses I lived in when I lived in Denmark via the satellite view of Google Maps. Also found the church Dad was baptized in. Signed up for Twitter. Ha.
April
80 degrees to snow. Inches of it on Easter, which I took pictures of coming down. Weird weather this month.
Moved offices and had incredible trouble with the new office's desk (which was eventually replaced, thankfully). Had to trot out suits even more often due to even more important meetings: scored a subtle coral-pinstriped one that looks pretty cool, if I do say so myself. Meetings and more meetings and training.
Experimented with beet casseroles. Played with a new hairdo: a French twist kind of thing.
Got the scanned version of my aunt's album from L (thank you!) and uploaded it to flickr.
Attended the Teaching and Learning with Technology Symposium, which was generally excellent.
Events at Virginia Tech caused a bunch of conversation at work.
Kept having to take days off at work or lose them, having bumped into the limit of stored vacation days.
My cell phone battery life continued to die, which caused some problems (though much of that was in February).
May
I think this month could best be summed up as OMG WTF BBQ WORK. The last cram of work on the redesign was just overwhelming. I had a ton of codewrangling this month for the redesign and launch of one of our mini-sites: the one for Spend a Summer Day (SASD, as I more commonly refer to it).
The Big Ten Admissions Conference that we hosted happened this month. A few photos here. Quickly thereafter, our Penn State Admissions conference: a few photos of that here.
Listened to a lot of jazz this month as we wrapped up the launch of the redesign, which happened the morning of the second day of the latter conference.
Got new glasses: from pretty severe black secretary glasses to a pair that are a bit more cat eye-shaped, with filigree-type stuff on the edges. I've gotten a ton of compliments on them. :)
Still doing decant circles for the scent community I'm part of this month: I do quit that somewhere along the way, though, and regain the time I dedicated to it, thankfully.
Stormed a lot at the end of this month and the beginning of the next.
June
Penn State Web Conference was excellent this month: some pictures.
There were also a ton of caterpillars out, which of course I took pictures of. Oh, and there was a birthday party in here somewhere.
Started reading a bit more, which was a nice return. Experimented with cooking wilted greens, which ended up really well.
The big event was the visit to Seattle. The conference was incredible there: easily the best I've attended. I'll be looking for it again this coming year, though I don't think it will be in Seattle again (nor could I attend it there again, I don't think, just given how tight budgets are becoming).
Once that was over, hit vacation, staying with college friends in Seattle. Very easy to slip back into old rhythms, though of course things were different: a pair of them had a little girl, for one thing. Played tourist throughout Seattle both alone and with said friends, though easily started eyeing it from the point of view of moving there someday. Both the Ballard and Fremont neighborhoods started looking extremely appealing, though it's far more likely I'd be in the suburbs somewhere, depending on where I got a job, of course. If I eventually moved there, which is still obviously extremely theoretical.
The other big event was the first Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab East Coast Will-Call (this is the scent/perfume community I may have mentioned once or twice) in Hershey. I had also met up with a couple of folks from that community (I say community in the broadest sense of the word, really) in Seattle, who were awesome. But the ECWC at the end of this month was a fantastic event, with people dressing up in the theme and all. These started monthly after this point and I've only missed one so far.
July
Got some awesome shots of the 4th of the July fireworks.
Took a couple days off in July for my birthday and Arts Fest/People's Choice. Good times, though mildly sunburnt. Got a new lens for my DSLR, which I'm still adoring (and using more frequently than the kit lens, I might add).
Got contacted about a company that wanted to use a picture of mine in a documentary.
I think this is the month the replacement for me (writer/editor position) started, and she came on board really quickly. Not a whole lot of training time needed there: she picked things up quickly, and blew through projects quickly, which was awesome and very much needed. The balance of having to manage two people started becoming a bit precarious in here somewhere, though, given that I had my own projects as well.
Concluded the month with another BPAL ECWC, where again, I took some pictures. Oh, and Spend a Summer Day (SASD) started, which were just exhausting.
August
SASD continued. Just no time to do anything in here: too wiped out. Also did a bunch of web application revisions for the College of Arts and Architecture.
Stardust came out, and I went to see it far too many times, which still wasn't enough.
Went to Hersheypark mid-month with a couple friends: definitely an enjoyable time.
Finished the month with yet another awesome ECWC.
September
Kicked off with a great Labor Day eve Sunday night crowd. Got totally backlogged on photo-taking--not all I took that night are up since I've just had more important photos (to me) to crunch and upload than that.
Fall Conference for us, Student Aid, and the Registrar. I took some pictures, but haven't messed with them yet. Had to do double work somewhere in here when revising visit emails. Irritating, but welcome to work. Then again, made headway on various very cool projects as well, so I shouldn't complain.
"Talk Like a Pirate Day" passed again with little fanfare, unfortunately. Though the Libraries did a pirate-themed open house, which was cool.
Finally gave in to the iPhone temptation after the price dropped and my old phone just wouldn't hold a charge.
Ended the month, once again, with a great ECWC, one during which I dragged along S to get our nails done beforehand.
October
Started with Cirque du Soleil with L, which was an excellent performance/experience.
Had a touch of asthma problems this month: a rarity. Resolved in the next month somewhere.
Finally figured out that the noise made during rainstorms right near my head was because the roof hadn't been entirely sealed. They got it fixed, finally.
The HighEdWebDev conference happened this month. Good sessions, good people.
One more very cool ECWC: pirate-themed this time. Dax and S both came with, which was very neat.
Wrapped up with Halloween at the club job, which I only have one shot up of as of yet. Started getting stressed about finishing things before the Hawaii trip in November.
November
Cut my hair back by about seven inches in preparation for being in the water a lot in Hawaii (which didn't really happen, but that's beside the point).
Completely undid a corner of my room so they could fix the water damage while I was away. And by fix, I mean paint over, but whatever.
The Hawaii trip was a mixed bag: mom is doing far worse than I'd thought, but then again, I was in Hawaii. What right did I have to complain? And it was a great experience: I learned to surf, went on a bus tour on one island and a helicopter tour on the other, etc, etc. But seeing mom liked that made me keenly aware of my own health and future. And, of course, concern for her, some of which I'm working on, but we'll see how that plays out.
Still working on the photos from that trip. I'm only about halfway through, but had enough to take with me to show people during the holidays.
When I got back, had to re-do that corner of my room, including taking my bed out of the bathroom, where I'd wedged it for the interim. Changed my comforter cover in the process, from a green to a deep red. I like it; might be changing the sheets and pillow cover to match in the near future.
The rest of November was a scramble to catch up again, pretty much. My maternal uncle was put in the hospital near the end of it, which was another big concern for awhile. Thankfully, all turned out all right. Oh, and yet another ECWC, as per normal.
December
Ended the CSA experience, unfortunately. Still trying to figure out how to replace it.
Divided up my Twitter presences into personal and professional: a necessity after awhile, really. I kind of regret leaving some personal stuff on the supposedly professional version, but not much to be done about it.
Underwent a few all-day meetings of one stripe or another. Again. Major work drama happened this month, drama that I'd rather forget about, frankly. One outcome, though, is the new great staff member leaving--not because of drama. Drama just ensued. There may be major changes on the horizon, and I'm not entirely convinced this is a good thing for me. But it should be an improvement for the office as a whole, and I did volunteer it. We'll see.
Started trying to figure out how to afford a class next semester. Still in that process, to some extent, though I'm signed up and ready to go.
Got a couple pictures from Seattle published in a travel guide. Got a Wii. Left for Wisconsin.
Long visit in the Midwest: saw Dad, B, my paternal uncle (not the one who was in the hospital), and a few friends: H and H, actually. One from my sorority and one from college (yes, those are different. it's complicated). Missed C, though, which I was sad about.
Dad and I sat down and went through my aunt's album to fill in the details, inasmuch as he could remember.
Had a great French-themed Christmas dinner with B's family, as well as our usual Danish-tinged Christmas Eve dinner. I still love fliskesteg. I should really learn how to do it myself.
Did some tech help with Dad's new laptop and GPS unit. Hopefully, got him set up for the marine maps he wanted. (Let me know if you have problems, okay Dad?)
Got some fantastic presents, including new shoes and suits, many of which were very much needed. I felt very much spoiled once I got home and started unloading the car, which was pretty well packed. True, some of it was my own purchases since they've got better shopping out there, but still.
And now, back and trying to catch up again, as well as trying to integrate everything. Space is very much at a premium and I need to get things out of the hallway. To do that, though, I need to make some space. It's a Tetris challenge: I used to be very good at this, back when I worked for the Symphony, but I haven't needed to do so for a decently long time. I'll make it work, though, somehow.
My only regret for December is missing this month's ECWC, but it just couldn't be managed. Can't be two places at once yet, unfortunately. Hopefully they'll invent that soon. Ha.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
my mother's current state/Hawaii
I'm still processing the trip.
My colleagues have done really well with asking me extra-specific questions like "what was your favorite part?" and "did you go swimming?" But they probably remember that I have a possibly bad habit of being perfectly honest when they ask me social questions: those questions that mostly just fill space like "how are you?" or "how are you feeling?" if you've been sick.
"Well, you know, Bob, it feels like I've been gargling razor blades and salt, but other than that I'm great!" (I don't have a colleague named Bob, nor do I think I've ever felt like that: this was purely for illustrative comedic value.)
My answer to a general question like "how was the trip?" would probably be something like "a bit of a mixed bag, actually. Some great parts and some not-so-great parts." And they'd probably ask further, which would result in a conversation about my mother and how she's doing. Which is to say, not well.
She has Parkinson's, and various other problems, which really add up (if not grow exponentially). And there are some very basic things that we're just diametrically opposed on. Not having seen her for years amplified these greatly. Some of them were minor differences of opinion: she'd continuously buy two Snickers bars in case we were hungry. To me, a Snickers is not a snack, it's a dessert. I started packing nuts instead. She mused one day around lunchtime that "a burger sounds really good." I threw up my hands (even though I was driving at the time) and said "we're in Hawaii! No!"
The health problems, though, and the very basic things she can't do anymore, well: there are very few things that invoke abject terror in me anymore. I left most of those things in childhood, including a fear of bugs and spiders, a fear of heights, and a fear of the dark when I was very young. Seeing my mother in this condition--and thus, myself in a similar situation forty years down the line--did it for me.
I could go so far as to call this a phobia, because there's no real grounding for it. Lots of people have Parkinson's, lots of older folks have trouble getting around. It will probably happen to me as well, if I don't die early. But the totally unreasonable, fight-or-flight instinct in my brain is left screaming at me that I'd rather die early than have that happen. That if I ever get to the point that I need someone to open a water bottle for me, I need to just shove off and leave the world to the younger and fitter.
Totally unreasonable, as I said. But watching my mother struggle to stand multiple times a day was heartbreaking. She used to be taller than me. She's now 5'2". We requested a wheelchair every time through an airport. Just. Heartbreaking.
That aside (and it's a big thing to put aside), I had some great times there. L asked me what my favorite place there was, and I couldn't answer that. The whole place is great--though far too warm for my tastes--but it's the stuff I did that I loved.
I went surfing for the first time--and did actually get up on the board, I might add, because people keep asking. I went on a helicopter tour of Maui, and a bus tour of Oahu that was really quite excellent (reminder to self: write a letter to the tour company about how good guide/driver--nicknamed "Cousin Good-Looking," by the by--was). Lit incense in a Buddhist temple. Found some beautiful, locally handmade crafts. Toured behind-the-scenes at a jewelry factory specializing in rare corals and pearls. Woke to the sound of waves crashing every morning and went out on the balcony of both hotels to watch dawn break. Drove the approximately 620 curves over 59 bridges (46 of them one-lane-only) across the north shore of Maui. Hiked around the rainforest on that side, getting totally bugbitten.
Did not get a tan.
On the up side, that means I didn't get burned, either, and that's a real danger with me.
Now that I'm back, though, still processing. The experience gave me one of those "this means something" kind of feelings, and I'd find it hard to shake, even if I wanted to. But I don't, because it means a happier, healthier me if follow through on it. More on that later.
Also still processing photos. It's a bit of a slog just because there are so many of them. But I'll get through them all. What I've got so far (mostly of the various plane rides, though a couple sneak peeks from hotel balconies) is up here. Stay tuned for the rest.
My colleagues have done really well with asking me extra-specific questions like "what was your favorite part?" and "did you go swimming?" But they probably remember that I have a possibly bad habit of being perfectly honest when they ask me social questions: those questions that mostly just fill space like "how are you?" or "how are you feeling?" if you've been sick.
"Well, you know, Bob, it feels like I've been gargling razor blades and salt, but other than that I'm great!" (I don't have a colleague named Bob, nor do I think I've ever felt like that: this was purely for illustrative comedic value.)
My answer to a general question like "how was the trip?" would probably be something like "a bit of a mixed bag, actually. Some great parts and some not-so-great parts." And they'd probably ask further, which would result in a conversation about my mother and how she's doing. Which is to say, not well.
She has Parkinson's, and various other problems, which really add up (if not grow exponentially). And there are some very basic things that we're just diametrically opposed on. Not having seen her for years amplified these greatly. Some of them were minor differences of opinion: she'd continuously buy two Snickers bars in case we were hungry. To me, a Snickers is not a snack, it's a dessert. I started packing nuts instead. She mused one day around lunchtime that "a burger sounds really good." I threw up my hands (even though I was driving at the time) and said "we're in Hawaii! No!"
The health problems, though, and the very basic things she can't do anymore, well: there are very few things that invoke abject terror in me anymore. I left most of those things in childhood, including a fear of bugs and spiders, a fear of heights, and a fear of the dark when I was very young. Seeing my mother in this condition--and thus, myself in a similar situation forty years down the line--did it for me.
I could go so far as to call this a phobia, because there's no real grounding for it. Lots of people have Parkinson's, lots of older folks have trouble getting around. It will probably happen to me as well, if I don't die early. But the totally unreasonable, fight-or-flight instinct in my brain is left screaming at me that I'd rather die early than have that happen. That if I ever get to the point that I need someone to open a water bottle for me, I need to just shove off and leave the world to the younger and fitter.
Totally unreasonable, as I said. But watching my mother struggle to stand multiple times a day was heartbreaking. She used to be taller than me. She's now 5'2". We requested a wheelchair every time through an airport. Just. Heartbreaking.
That aside (and it's a big thing to put aside), I had some great times there. L asked me what my favorite place there was, and I couldn't answer that. The whole place is great--though far too warm for my tastes--but it's the stuff I did that I loved.
I went surfing for the first time--and did actually get up on the board, I might add, because people keep asking. I went on a helicopter tour of Maui, and a bus tour of Oahu that was really quite excellent (reminder to self: write a letter to the tour company about how good guide/driver--nicknamed "Cousin Good-Looking," by the by--was). Lit incense in a Buddhist temple. Found some beautiful, locally handmade crafts. Toured behind-the-scenes at a jewelry factory specializing in rare corals and pearls. Woke to the sound of waves crashing every morning and went out on the balcony of both hotels to watch dawn break. Drove the approximately 620 curves over 59 bridges (46 of them one-lane-only) across the north shore of Maui. Hiked around the rainforest on that side, getting totally bugbitten.
Did not get a tan.
On the up side, that means I didn't get burned, either, and that's a real danger with me.
Now that I'm back, though, still processing. The experience gave me one of those "this means something" kind of feelings, and I'd find it hard to shake, even if I wanted to. But I don't, because it means a happier, healthier me if follow through on it. More on that later.
Also still processing photos. It's a bit of a slog just because there are so many of them. But I'll get through them all. What I've got so far (mostly of the various plane rides, though a couple sneak peeks from hotel balconies) is up here. Stay tuned for the rest.
Friday, October 12, 2007
drainage
Today, morning greeted me clear and cold, far more like fall than the rest of the weather we've been having lately. The sky was gorgeous, clear sun shining into the landscape with a backdrop of storm clouds that undoubtedly dumped on us overnight--which I, mercifully, did not hear.
If you remember me complaining about not being able to sleep due to the noise of the rain, well, we found out the cause when the paint in the corner of my room closest that noise started bubbling, and the paint on the metal rib of the stud in the corner created a gap from the rest of the wall. I called it into the management, and they found that the contractors hadn't finished sealing the roof. Let me reiterate: they left part of the roof completely unsealed. Therefore, the noise I heard was the rush of water being funneled between the roof and the drainspout and down the wall next to my head.
We've been there two years, and yeah, I could've spoken up earlier, but you'd think they'd have noticed the washed-out spot? But then again, that happens in lots of places where it seems to be sealed just fine: I'm of the opinion that they really screwed up the drainage plan for this place.
In any case. It's fixed, the noise no longer happens, but in order for them to repair the damage in the wall, I'd have to completely dismantle most of my bedroom and move it out of my room. Erg.
Then again, maybe there's an opportunity for them to do that while I'm away. This upcoming trip is too soon: I leave Sunday, return Wednesday. Conference time: headed to Rochester for it. The following one's a possibility, though. Though I'm still not confident in it happening, even though I've got ticket confirmations and such.
Unfortunately, there are a few fires to put out at work before I leave, so I should get to those. Like now.
If you remember me complaining about not being able to sleep due to the noise of the rain, well, we found out the cause when the paint in the corner of my room closest that noise started bubbling, and the paint on the metal rib of the stud in the corner created a gap from the rest of the wall. I called it into the management, and they found that the contractors hadn't finished sealing the roof. Let me reiterate: they left part of the roof completely unsealed. Therefore, the noise I heard was the rush of water being funneled between the roof and the drainspout and down the wall next to my head.
We've been there two years, and yeah, I could've spoken up earlier, but you'd think they'd have noticed the washed-out spot? But then again, that happens in lots of places where it seems to be sealed just fine: I'm of the opinion that they really screwed up the drainage plan for this place.
In any case. It's fixed, the noise no longer happens, but in order for them to repair the damage in the wall, I'd have to completely dismantle most of my bedroom and move it out of my room. Erg.
Then again, maybe there's an opportunity for them to do that while I'm away. This upcoming trip is too soon: I leave Sunday, return Wednesday. Conference time: headed to Rochester for it. The following one's a possibility, though. Though I'm still not confident in it happening, even though I've got ticket confirmations and such.
Unfortunately, there are a few fires to put out at work before I leave, so I should get to those. Like now.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
culture
If I haven't mentioned it (and I haven't), I caught Cirque du Soleil last week when they performed locally. And when I say locally, I mean across-the-street-from-my-office locally.
I'm only now getting a chance to listen to the CD version, which is mostly awesome, though it drops into easy listening territory every once in awhile. The show was similarly good-with-one-caveat: fantastic show, few quibbles there, but the venue really wasn't a good one for them. Seating arrangements were weird, with whole fields of seats left empty, seemingly on purpose, and those seated on the floor itself I hear didn't even get a good view because they were below the stage.
I went with L, and we both thoroughly enjoyed it, despite L forgetting his glasses and me my inhaler when I was having asthma troubles. Just a seasonal deal, kicked in by my allergies: nothing to worry about, but still annoying. Happens every two or three years, but I just up the dosage on my maintenance meds and it usually goes away.
On our way out, a man walking in front of us said to the woman he was walking next to: "There's our culture for the month." L and I were rather aghast.
In a couple weeks I'm heading to a conference in Rochester, and the night I return I'm planning to try to catch Elie Wiesel, hopefully with S. This is all dependent upon getting tickets, which I'll find out early next week. If you're not familiar, I'll quote Wikipedia's first few sentences: Wiesel is a "American-Jewish novelist, political activist, Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of over 40 books, the best known of which is Night, a memoir that describes his experiences during the Holocaust and his imprisonment in several concentration camps."
I enjoy being in a place with access to educational/cultural events.
And with that, I've got to run. I need to finish putting together some CDs and folded paper cases (I love those things) and possibly run to the store before we get on our way to our game tonight, and we need to beat the release of football traffic after the Iowa game around 5:30 (thanks for the heads-up, L).
I'm only now getting a chance to listen to the CD version, which is mostly awesome, though it drops into easy listening territory every once in awhile. The show was similarly good-with-one-caveat: fantastic show, few quibbles there, but the venue really wasn't a good one for them. Seating arrangements were weird, with whole fields of seats left empty, seemingly on purpose, and those seated on the floor itself I hear didn't even get a good view because they were below the stage.
I went with L, and we both thoroughly enjoyed it, despite L forgetting his glasses and me my inhaler when I was having asthma troubles. Just a seasonal deal, kicked in by my allergies: nothing to worry about, but still annoying. Happens every two or three years, but I just up the dosage on my maintenance meds and it usually goes away.
On our way out, a man walking in front of us said to the woman he was walking next to: "There's our culture for the month." L and I were rather aghast.
In a couple weeks I'm heading to a conference in Rochester, and the night I return I'm planning to try to catch Elie Wiesel, hopefully with S. This is all dependent upon getting tickets, which I'll find out early next week. If you're not familiar, I'll quote Wikipedia's first few sentences: Wiesel is a "American-Jewish novelist, political activist, Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of over 40 books, the best known of which is Night, a memoir that describes his experiences during the Holocaust and his imprisonment in several concentration camps."
I enjoy being in a place with access to educational/cultural events.
And with that, I've got to run. I need to finish putting together some CDs and folded paper cases (I love those things) and possibly run to the store before we get on our way to our game tonight, and we need to beat the release of football traffic after the Iowa game around 5:30 (thanks for the heads-up, L).
Friday, September 21, 2007
too busy to blog
As a good (online) friend of mine recently stated (hope you don't mind the paraphrase, B): the ironic bit about blogs is that when you've got the stuff going on to blog about, you don't have time to blog about it.
And so it is over here. Keeping myself busy with three yoga classes a week, for starters. And just in the near-ish future, my usual (monthly) trip to Hershey, then HighEdWebDev (a conference which I thoroughly enjoy) in October, then a supposedly-booked-but-I'll-believe-it-when-I-land-there trip to Hawaii in November.
And with that statement, I've got to run. S just came to drop off CSA veggies and invited me over (after a two-hour-long conversation, but that's normal for us).
And so it is over here. Keeping myself busy with three yoga classes a week, for starters. And just in the near-ish future, my usual (monthly) trip to Hershey, then HighEdWebDev (a conference which I thoroughly enjoy) in October, then a supposedly-booked-but-I'll-believe-it-when-I-land-there trip to Hawaii in November.
And with that statement, I've got to run. S just came to drop off CSA veggies and invited me over (after a two-hour-long conversation, but that's normal for us).
Monday, August 20, 2007
photos and Stardust
Finally finished with the Seattle photos. As a bonus, I also finished with my Fourth of July photos (see how far behind I am?). I'm for the most part extraordinarily satisfied with them, which is somewhat unusual for me.
If you haven't seen Stardust yet, go do so. Highly recommended. I'm seeing it again tomorrow night.
If you haven't seen Stardust yet, go do so. Highly recommended. I'm seeing it again tomorrow night.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
yoga, summers, water, mountains, Seattle, work. in (not-so) brief.
I headed out of yoga last night, chatting with S. all the way, after she kindly waited while I talked to our teacher for a bit. She's refreshing: we should talk more, hang out more, but neither of us seem to be able to find the time.
The first bits of a thunderstorm were letting loose: I offered to drive her over to her car, parked about a block away, but she declined since she likes having the walk after yoga. Wish I could think like that, but for me, it's all I can do to get there on time. Stupid work getting in the way of my yoga. ;)
While driving home, I watched the rain evaporate off the blacktop as mist from the heat of the day, and when safely ensconced at home, enjoyed the thunder accompaniment. I love summer thunderstorms. It's foggy this morning, and cool, following the storm. I'm enjoying it very much.
There's a summer dish I've been craving since Monday that Dad used to make every once in awhile: a (from memory) really simple cucumber-and-vinegar dish. I meant to call and ask him about it on Monday, but got sidetracked with mom and planning for a trip we've just scheduled for November. Very exciting stuff, but I'm not going to trust that it's real until I'm on the plane. It's that surreal.
The Google (ha) isn't helping me with the recipe either: all of them have either mayo and sour cream, and I don't remember that at all. Dad, check me on this: it's just thinly sliced cucumber in white vinegar with sugar stirred in, right? And then chilled? Is it that simple, or is my memory just failing me?
Summers are always more than a bit nuts for me: you'd think it would be our down time here in Admissions, but it's not. It's cleanup time for some things, plus Spend a Summer Day prep and the six days themselves, plus the new web app going up each year.
That said, I wish I could get some time away to go see the boats my Dad's captaining these days. Take the new Black Point tour, perhaps. That's one thing this area is lacking: I love the mountains, but the lack of large bodies of water is something I miss pretty regularly. We've got streams, occasional rivers, but no convenient ponds or lakes. But maybe I just got spoiled with that big pond at the last place mom and I lived in Woodstock, then the Mississippi in St. Paul, then of course Lake Geneva.
Water's calming, stilling. The soft grandeur of the mountains here have a similar effect, but it's entirely different in feel. Seattle's were much more imposing, but distant. But their water was much more immediate. The Sound, Lake Washington, Lake Union, Green Lake: I saw almost every one of these regularly while I was there, most of them daily. They're spoiled with water and mountains.
I really need to make a fuller entry and notes about my visit there: I've just been so pushed for time lately, and I keep pushing off commitments, which is a problem. I'm not even finished with crunching the photos from the trip. But I took 3,700 shots, so that's kind of understandable. What I've put up so far you can see here. Oh, and Dad? Check out the Ballard and Nordic Heritage Museum sets. Ballard was originally settled by Scandinavian immigrants, so they have events like "Tivoli Viking Days" (I'm not making this up), and they have an actual, honest-to-goodness and still owned by the family Danish bakery and a bunch of Scandinavian foodstuff grocers, plus a bunch of retirement homes that are named for the groups they were either founded by, or primarily serve--all Scandinavian-based names. And you'll see some familiar items in the museum set. ;)
It's really as if Seattle was making a serious play for my attention: the seafood was exquisite, the sushi was the best I've ever had in my life, plus all this Danish heritage stuff? Sold. Y'know? That's another thing I've missed here: there's a lot of Dutch, a lot of German, a lot of miscellaneous Eastern European, in terms of original settlers, but not much Scandinavian stuff at all. Minor complaints, it might sound, but for someone who wants to keep connected to that community, keep the language I learned in good speaking shape, that's a powerful lack. And a powerful selling point for a place that has it.
Now, I'm not going anywhere for a year at least (I'm in a lease, if nothing else), but I have given it some thought, though not anywhere approaching serious, "how would I do this"-type thought. I've got time enough for that. But even aside from all the college friends who moved out there, I also know a couple that recently moved out there from Madison, so I should have all the practical advice on how to do it right and well if I should need it.
And I have friends there. Not only the college clan, but folks I'd known before only online, who I met when I went and spent two pretty full days with and became almost immediate fast friends. They're some of the most immediately awesome people I've ever met. You know how you start liking people more the more you get to know them? Not these folks. Right off the bat, they were far too cool to be true. But enough raving about them. The point is that making new friends is one of the most scary parts about moving. With Seattle, at least, it wouldn't be as much of a concern for me.
Done raving about Seattle. Dax and L. keep teasing me that everything's better in Seattle, since I keep naming things that are. I've had to chastise them that no, not everything is (I can name a couple things off the top of my head that are distinctly better here: traffic being a big one), it's just that the things I remember best and thus talk about are.
Back to the here and now. I smell like peaches this morning, due to my peachy BPAL Chaos Theory I got last year at this time. I'm really glad I put it on this morning. I tossed on my off-white cardigan, and the danger of leaving cardigans in my office for when I need them is that they start to smell like my office. But that's been the case with every office building I've ever known: they have a building smell, and after all day in it, that building smell will cling. But maybe I just have a sensitive nose.
Yesterday was a day-long meeting about this year's budget proposal. Let me repeat: Day. Long. Meeting. Wasn't as painful as I thought it would be, though. Though I drank far more coffee than I usually do (the usual amount being zero).
I was also by far the youngest one there. I noted it and thought it was weird, but I don't think anyone else noticed. Except for at lunch, where I had mentioned yoga, and then everyone at my table leapt in to describe their various back problems, sciatica, neck injuries, etc. One guy's back had seized and he had collapsed while walking up his block, just laying there until some stranger helped him. Carried him to his truck, drove him to his house, deposited him in his bed. When he still couldn't move, he eventually called 911. Bizarre. Makes me none too keen to get older. ;) But I guess that's a good reason to be starting yoga before I need it for physical therapy or some such.
I'm debating going to classes three times a week rather than my current two. I love it, it makes me feel awesome and I can tell I'm making progress. I'm still amazed at a few things I can do that I certainly wouldn't have been able to before starting (or when I was in that down time before I picked it back up again). It's just a time issue. As is everything, it seems.
Speaking of which, I should really get to it.
The first bits of a thunderstorm were letting loose: I offered to drive her over to her car, parked about a block away, but she declined since she likes having the walk after yoga. Wish I could think like that, but for me, it's all I can do to get there on time. Stupid work getting in the way of my yoga. ;)
While driving home, I watched the rain evaporate off the blacktop as mist from the heat of the day, and when safely ensconced at home, enjoyed the thunder accompaniment. I love summer thunderstorms. It's foggy this morning, and cool, following the storm. I'm enjoying it very much.
There's a summer dish I've been craving since Monday that Dad used to make every once in awhile: a (from memory) really simple cucumber-and-vinegar dish. I meant to call and ask him about it on Monday, but got sidetracked with mom and planning for a trip we've just scheduled for November. Very exciting stuff, but I'm not going to trust that it's real until I'm on the plane. It's that surreal.
The Google (ha) isn't helping me with the recipe either: all of them have either mayo and sour cream, and I don't remember that at all. Dad, check me on this: it's just thinly sliced cucumber in white vinegar with sugar stirred in, right? And then chilled? Is it that simple, or is my memory just failing me?
Summers are always more than a bit nuts for me: you'd think it would be our down time here in Admissions, but it's not. It's cleanup time for some things, plus Spend a Summer Day prep and the six days themselves, plus the new web app going up each year.
That said, I wish I could get some time away to go see the boats my Dad's captaining these days. Take the new Black Point tour, perhaps. That's one thing this area is lacking: I love the mountains, but the lack of large bodies of water is something I miss pretty regularly. We've got streams, occasional rivers, but no convenient ponds or lakes. But maybe I just got spoiled with that big pond at the last place mom and I lived in Woodstock, then the Mississippi in St. Paul, then of course Lake Geneva.
Water's calming, stilling. The soft grandeur of the mountains here have a similar effect, but it's entirely different in feel. Seattle's were much more imposing, but distant. But their water was much more immediate. The Sound, Lake Washington, Lake Union, Green Lake: I saw almost every one of these regularly while I was there, most of them daily. They're spoiled with water and mountains.
I really need to make a fuller entry and notes about my visit there: I've just been so pushed for time lately, and I keep pushing off commitments, which is a problem. I'm not even finished with crunching the photos from the trip. But I took 3,700 shots, so that's kind of understandable. What I've put up so far you can see here. Oh, and Dad? Check out the Ballard and Nordic Heritage Museum sets. Ballard was originally settled by Scandinavian immigrants, so they have events like "Tivoli Viking Days" (I'm not making this up), and they have an actual, honest-to-goodness and still owned by the family Danish bakery and a bunch of Scandinavian foodstuff grocers, plus a bunch of retirement homes that are named for the groups they were either founded by, or primarily serve--all Scandinavian-based names. And you'll see some familiar items in the museum set. ;)
It's really as if Seattle was making a serious play for my attention: the seafood was exquisite, the sushi was the best I've ever had in my life, plus all this Danish heritage stuff? Sold. Y'know? That's another thing I've missed here: there's a lot of Dutch, a lot of German, a lot of miscellaneous Eastern European, in terms of original settlers, but not much Scandinavian stuff at all. Minor complaints, it might sound, but for someone who wants to keep connected to that community, keep the language I learned in good speaking shape, that's a powerful lack. And a powerful selling point for a place that has it.
Now, I'm not going anywhere for a year at least (I'm in a lease, if nothing else), but I have given it some thought, though not anywhere approaching serious, "how would I do this"-type thought. I've got time enough for that. But even aside from all the college friends who moved out there, I also know a couple that recently moved out there from Madison, so I should have all the practical advice on how to do it right and well if I should need it.
And I have friends there. Not only the college clan, but folks I'd known before only online, who I met when I went and spent two pretty full days with and became almost immediate fast friends. They're some of the most immediately awesome people I've ever met. You know how you start liking people more the more you get to know them? Not these folks. Right off the bat, they were far too cool to be true. But enough raving about them. The point is that making new friends is one of the most scary parts about moving. With Seattle, at least, it wouldn't be as much of a concern for me.
Done raving about Seattle. Dax and L. keep teasing me that everything's better in Seattle, since I keep naming things that are. I've had to chastise them that no, not everything is (I can name a couple things off the top of my head that are distinctly better here: traffic being a big one), it's just that the things I remember best and thus talk about are.
Back to the here and now. I smell like peaches this morning, due to my peachy BPAL Chaos Theory I got last year at this time. I'm really glad I put it on this morning. I tossed on my off-white cardigan, and the danger of leaving cardigans in my office for when I need them is that they start to smell like my office. But that's been the case with every office building I've ever known: they have a building smell, and after all day in it, that building smell will cling. But maybe I just have a sensitive nose.
Yesterday was a day-long meeting about this year's budget proposal. Let me repeat: Day. Long. Meeting. Wasn't as painful as I thought it would be, though. Though I drank far more coffee than I usually do (the usual amount being zero).
I was also by far the youngest one there. I noted it and thought it was weird, but I don't think anyone else noticed. Except for at lunch, where I had mentioned yoga, and then everyone at my table leapt in to describe their various back problems, sciatica, neck injuries, etc. One guy's back had seized and he had collapsed while walking up his block, just laying there until some stranger helped him. Carried him to his truck, drove him to his house, deposited him in his bed. When he still couldn't move, he eventually called 911. Bizarre. Makes me none too keen to get older. ;) But I guess that's a good reason to be starting yoga before I need it for physical therapy or some such.
I'm debating going to classes three times a week rather than my current two. I love it, it makes me feel awesome and I can tell I'm making progress. I'm still amazed at a few things I can do that I certainly wouldn't have been able to before starting (or when I was in that down time before I picked it back up again). It's just a time issue. As is everything, it seems.
Speaking of which, I should really get to it.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
not famous, but getting there
So I was contacted by the representative of a production group in New York: they want to use one of my flickr photos in a documentary.
The show is called "Dead Art," and focuses on the art of cemeteries. (This is the same company that produced "Cannibalism: Extreme Survival," on an amusing note.) The episode the shot will be in is about New Orleans. They want the shot because it captures Metairie, Greenwood, and St. Patrick's cemeteries from above.
Done deal. Papers signed, going to get a copy when it's been completed.
The show is called "Dead Art," and focuses on the art of cemeteries. (This is the same company that produced "Cannibalism: Extreme Survival," on an amusing note.) The episode the shot will be in is about New Orleans. They want the shot because it captures Metairie, Greenwood, and St. Patrick's cemeteries from above.
Done deal. Papers signed, going to get a copy when it's been completed.
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