Category Archives: passion

Online Learning and Important Lifeskills

Posted in aspirations, passion, writing by

(credit)

As some of you probably already know from random announcements, Facebook or whatever, I’m starting an online Library Science degree just about… right now. Apparently I forgot to mention it to my mom, who is not on Facebook and I guess can no longer read my mind.

If this all sounds dry and school assignment-like, it is. But I think it’s good information to share anyway.
While I’m just starting up taking classes again, the first graded classes since 2007, there are a lot of different personal skills that I have to have or acquire to be a successful student. A lot of these skills aren’t my strongest ones but I’m determined to use this Masters Degree to make them much stronger.
Time Management

I’m awesome at time management on paper. I can make great lists and schedules. I even get excited about making them. However putting them to use is another issue (this is another reason why I never ended up running in the Color Run. I walked, sure. But I couldn’t get myself to the gym enough to work up my running endurance. So I ran for about a minute. More on this later!). I just can’t get myself in the game enough to consistently be on top of everything I need to be on top of. This can be solved by sticking to a set schedule and hopefully the resistance will melt away. I plan to have certain hours blocked into my schedule as class and homework time. And I will stick to those because otherwise procrastinating will make it really difficult in the long run.

Organization

I like to think I can be organized. I’m easily overwhelmed but when I put things on paper I can sort it all out rather well. I think taking online classes will actually improve my organization skills because I’ll be organized in that one aspect, keeping notes in separate notebooks, tracking tasks and assignments in a calendar (or maybe even two) and regularly checking e-mails and discussion messages. And responding. I don’t have an issue with already checking them. This rolls over to real life though, in many different ways. At my current job I have to be organized. I need to keep track of money and customers’ problems and people I need to get back to. At home organization helps you from losing things, it keeps the overall energy of a room flowing better and it makes people feel more calm in general.

Discipline.

When I was a freshman at MCLA I took a writing class where the professor told us to set a time every single day, the same time that is, to write. And you might sit there for days on end getting a line or two out but eventually the words will come. Inspiration will show up. You train your brain to think in certain ways when you are doing certain things. So planning in certain times for class work, or writing novels actually helps you to be more inspired. It’s like Nike says, just do it. Discipline comes from within. It comes from that place where your mind overrides your emotions and you fight through the resistance. You need discipline to change any habit, to improve yourself in any way. Part of my plan of attack involves aromatherapy. I bought Badger Balm’s Focus Balm which is Citrus and Ginger scented. I plan on having it around/ on me when I am writing or doing school work and at no other times. Eventually the scent will get me in that mood to do work. I’m excited about this little experiment.

Teamwork is another huge aspect of online learning. Projects are assigned to teams where you have to work with people online who you’ve never met before and may never meet in person. All of the life skills I mentioned above are necessary, but there are other ones likes patience and acceptance and negotiability that come in handy when working with other people also. You need to be willing to see others’ points of view, willing to work just as hard or harder than everyone else and to respond to everyone promptly so the project doesn’t fall behind. Many people don’t like the idea of teamwork because they think it really means that they have to do all the work if they need to get the grade they want. I think it’s important to trust your team mates and communicate effectively to make sure you all have the same goals in mind. Teams exist everywhere in life, not just in distance learning. They’re part of most peoples’ every day life whether it’s through their job responsibilities or outside groups or projects or just trying to manage a house hold and a family.

There are a few things I learned recently about working in teams, especially when it comes to school work and online learning. Dr. Ken Haycock spoke at a presentation specifically about teamwork related to distance learning and the real world. He illustrated different types of teams including permanent and temporary. Permanent teams are made up of groups such as children’s librarians where their careers or job positions make it so they will be part of this group for a long period of time. Temporary groups address a specific issue or problem that needs to be solved. Teams for distance learning are temporary groups because they are assembled for a small period of time to accomplish a specific project goal.

Dr. Haycock says there are five dysfunctions of working in groups. The five dysfunctions are: absence of team, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidable of accountability and inattention to results.

These dysfunctions can be avoided with:
*clear expectations within the group,
* addressed roles and responsibilities to create accountability
* picking a team leader who will work to keep the group in order and who will also assign tasks
* ground rules (such as arrive on time, be prepared, etc.) that will help teams work together smoothly

Enid Erwin suggestion that the benefit of working in teams is it allows students to apply experience from teams to real life situations (specifically in jobs, organization and committees). Being on time, helping out others, showing up to be a part of something and collaborating are all skills that can are necessary to work on problems in work environments.

Overall I’m looking forward to accepting these new and necessary challenges to help me to succeed with my Masters in Library Science. I have quite a road ahead of me but I’m excited to finally start the journey.

Every Word I Say

Posted in hanson, love, music, passion by

I promise to return to less music slash Hanson related blog posts next week, but I Just wanted to let you know that I wrote a Guest Groupie post over on the Good Groupie. It’s my attempt to put to feelings to words, or as The Good Groupie says in the post,  I describe “ that single moment when you stand in front of the stage and feel the musical high and you understand yourself perfectly through verse ” You can read the post here: Every Word I Say

 

<3

Wanderlust: Tulsa

Posted in hanson, love, melanie kristy, moments like movies, music, passion, travel, wanderlust by

Over the weekend I went to Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was for a festival of sorts, what we named a convention that was really a weekend of stuff put on by the band Hanson in honor of their 20 years as a band. At the beginning of the show they played (actually the second of two shows — they had to do two shows on Sunday night because so many people RSVP’d for the event) a video from their audition to play at Mayfest twenty years ago. Isaac was 11, Taylor was 9 and Zac was 6. It was precious.


If you’ve never been to Tulsa, it’s a small city in Oklahoma. The first time I landed there, I was shocked to see there were only five (!!) tall buildings in downtown. This is very unlike cities I’ve been to before, mostly on the northern east coast, even the small ones.




There are cute little stores and restaurants, really pretty houses and art on buildings. I ate fried pickles, breakfast for dinner and drank ice chai tea lattes. I even found a coffee place with tangerine kombucha. We rented bikes and reenacted music videos and blared music in the middle of the street at 11:30pm while we waited for a train to pass.





It was one of those weekends that was exactly what I needed. Even if I couldn’t put it all into words that makes sense just know that I returned home feeling inspired and full of music and love.



ps You can read the Good Groupie’s reaction to our weekend at her post here, where you can also see a video of part of the street dancing three of our friends did in attempts to reenact the Thinking About Something video they were in.
That’s something I was reminded of this weekend as we drove around Tulsa, listening to music we all have in common and the stuff we don’t – it’s so much fun to share a musical moment with someone, knowing you both have a connection to a song. – The Good Groupie.

Beautiful Things

Posted in music, passion, video by

I still buy CDs sometimes. And sometimes I’ll stand in Best Buy looking for something new but not sure of what I want. So I’ll just buy something on a whim. I’ll buy something I’ve never seen before or heard of. The other day I bought The Anthony Green album Beautiful Things purely because of the title of the cd. I’m not regretting this purchase.

 

Charm Bracelet of Memories

Posted in love, melanie kristy, moments like movies, music, passion by

They dont know what it's like to love one band, one silly piece of music so much that it hurts - Almost Famous

I’m always trying to put into words the way I feel about my favorite band. I saw them twice this past week end and it was amazing, as always, maybe even more amazing than usual. I met up with lots of friends and used up $70 worth of gas in two days (it was worth it!) and took a million pictures.

If my life and my love for a certain band were a charm bracelet of occurrences it would look something like this:

When you’re twelve you discover the meaning of life, or at least how it applies to your twelve year old self. It’s from an album, a fandom and lots of songs that are fun to dance to/ kind of silly/ or everything you needed to hear in lyric form.

You begin to actually finish novels. What used to be strings of scenes and characters falling in love over and over starts to become something more real.

You’re fifteen you’re an extra in a college movie. The cute guy recognises the pendant around your neck and tells you he was in their music video.

The album that was released in 2004 smells like a dark room, it looks like the faint red light inside a dark room from all the times you developed film in there while playing the album on repeat.

Your friend’s mom accidentally becomes e-mail buddies with the keyboardist’s father in law. A meet and greet is set up and you’re set, after six years, to shake hands and share a picture.

They are playing at Mayfest in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where they live. You go to Houston with a friend and drive up to Tulsa for an amazing weekend, live music and a really bad sunburn (newsflash: Oklahoma in May is a lot warmer and sunnier than Massachusetts in May). There is also the very first Members Only Event: the screening of their documentary.

You get a ride with a fan club member from Sonoma County to LA. Sleep on the street. See two of their shows in one night (acoustic and then electric).

Somehow you acquire all of their phone numbers. You never use them, but they stay in your phone contacts for a while.

Shirley Temples become the signature drink of the Boston shows. You sit in the balcony every time and enjoy the show from above where you can both see and hear.

Outside the venue you’re by the beach hanging around waiting for appearances. All of a sudden the drummer is right there playing with an air soft gun. He’s running around cars, dodging people and shooting at one of the tech guys. Instead he hits your friend in the chest.

You start buying tickets for friends so you won’t go alone to shows. It’s fun but not the same. You count the connections you’ve made in the past on your hands. Maybe this is growing up, you think.

There are lots of members only events you aren’t invited to because you aren’t a member anymore.

And then there’s this year. Twenty-six hardly looks any different than the years before. You may be older, you may be more mature, but a string of songs live can bring you back far enough to remember everything you were about and everything you’ve lost and miss about yourself.

How To Start a Blog (Or, How to Stop Being Over-whelmed and Get Things Done)

Posted in answers, blogging, how to, passion by


(weheartit)

So, I overwhelm myself very often. There are things I wish I had accomplished that I should have started five years ago. I look back on this and get frustrated. Then I make a list of all the things I want to do or have done or be in the process of doing and… I get overwhelmed. There’s so much to do! Some of these things are SO hard! They require discipline. They require consistency. I feel like I don’t even know what these words mean.

If you can empathize with anything I’ve said up there, or if you’re just looking to stop fearing (!!) the blog world so you can start your own, this is the place to be.

1. Make a list of what it is you want to do. This is more for if you want to do more than just create a blog. This is in case you want to lose a hundred pounds, write an entire novel, create a successful blog and start training for a 5k.

2. Separate each goal and write out steps that you think you need to take in order to achieve this goal.
To start a blog:
* Need a name
* Choose a client. I use WordPress. You can also use Blogger or Tumblr or whatever else you choose
* Think about what you might want to write about. This doesn’t have to be a definite thing, you can figure it out as you go along. Or you can narrow it down right this minute.
*Write entries. What kinds of entries are you going to have?
* Publish entries. Decide if you’re going to publish on a consistent basis. Try to do that.
* Advertise somehow. I publish my blog posts on Twitter and Facebook.
* Comment on blogs so that bloggers can become familiar with you and your url.

3. Are you overwhelmed yet? I sort of am, an I’ve already done most of those steps. So once you’ve figured out what you think you need to do, at least the basics, get started.

4. Think: What is it that I can do TODAY. And do that today. (Write a blog post? E-mail a blogger whose posts you enjoy? Ask for some guest posts?)

5. Think: What is it that I can do TOMORROW. And the NEXT DAY. And do those things.

6. Don’t give up if the progress is slow. (Only give up if you decide that you hate what you’re doing. Though it’s okay to hate your blog every once in a while. If, over all, you love it, then don’t give up. Keep on writing.)

Remember: Blogging (and probably anything else you want to do) is hard work. You have to be willing to do the hard work, whether or not you really want to. If you get bored, find more ways to spice things up. In a year, you’ll be proud of yourself for publishing your 200th blog post.

7. Something else to keep you going: write about it. Blog about your blogging experiences, write in a blog about how you are learning to lose weight, make candy, eat your weight in cheese, etc. It’s nice to be held accountable somewhere, even if it’s just via Facebook statuses.

What do you do to get things done?

In Search of Magic

Posted in aspirations, fiction, love, movies, passion by

I am in a search for magic. Not the Wiccan Goddess kind and not the kind that involves waving around a want while saying, “Expecto patronum” but the magic that is infused in every ounce of life. The magic that makes life feel like fiction and scenes from movies. The sort of magic where life feels like it needs a soundtrack and it probably already has one, even if you haven’t made the mix tape.

I want to use Melanie Kristy as a venue for such magic. I want to share everything I see and do. And I want input.

Instead of making this post about what is magical to me, I will refrain from making lists, because I’m still searching. In the past I feel like spending money and eating out attributed to making life feel magical. I’ve baked pretty cupcakes and those were damn magical in their own ways. But no, I want to know what you find in life that makes you feel like life is a story.

What makes you want to photograph the emotions you are feeling?
Can’t think of anything? Drive to the nearest ocean, close your eyes and smell the salt water. Then dive in. Come back and tell me about magic.

And, in turn, I will do the same.

The Unread Book Shelf

Posted in fiction, love, passion by

In a lot of ways I am a “book collector”. I buy books cheap or use Borders coupon. I know when certain authors are releasing books and I have to have them right away. I see books used and scoop them up, knowing I plan to read them at some point, some day. And so this is my collection.

The shelves of unread books I should probably get around to sometime. And I keep on reading, but somehow the collection grows. In only shrinks when I decided I probably won’t ever read that book, then it gets moved to a pile to be given back somewhere. I hope that some day I’ll finish these books, I’ll be on top of my “to be read” pile, at least of the ones that I own (I know the real to be read pile is never ending) but for now I am content with watching them on a bookshelf where they are endlessly full of potential.

When I go over someone’s house, one of the things I absolutely love to do is read the titles on their bookshelf. What’s on your bookshelf? (To be read, or not…)

Moments Like Movies: My Francesca Lia Block Weekend.

Posted in aspirations, blogging, fiction, love, passion, writing by

“Writing and reading has always been a huge escape for me. One of the things I want to convey to my reader is that. I want to provide them that same escape.” This is what I tell nine girls and Francesca Lia Block. We are going around a circle talking about either, the one message we’d like to convey through our writing, or why we write. This is why I write.

“I can tell from reading your piece that you got a lot of pleasure out of writing it. You had fun, and you definitely convey that to the reader.” This is coming from Francesca Lia Block herself, the goddess whose writing I’ve worshiped and studied since high school. She is the woman who has taught me the most through her words. Through her I’ve met some of my closest (albeit not physically close) friends. And here she is, commenting on my own working.

Francesca sits on the edge of the chair with her legs crossed. She looks like she’s ready to take flight, yet at the same time she appears comfortable and grounded. It’s the beginning of summer in New England and she wears a black leather jacket indoors. Later she comments that she must be cold blooded since the rest of us are in t-shirts. Her boots are tall, pleather and shiny over black jeans. When she reads the piece I’ve submitted to be work-shopped, she laughs out loud often. I am so pleased by this reaction that I can’t help but grinning.

She says my story is charming. Later a few other girls comment on things that I’ve mentioned in the story. Vegan Love Cakes are appreciated by the vegan girl. The dream my main character has about floating on a cheese danish makes another girl realize that is also her dream. We laugh around a table covered in oreo brownies, lemon meringue cookies, and veggies with hummus.

When I first saw on Facebook that Francesca Lia Block would be making a rare appearance in Boston, I knew I would have to go. I rearranged a few work things and decided that I would be there for everything possible. Then to learn that Francesca was offering a workshop! As a writer, this is more exciting that word can even express. I compared it to meeting Hanson, but if you don’t understand that, then maybe my words aren’t enough. It’s almost better than meeting Hanson. I have feedback about my writing from my favourite author. This is who I am. This is what I want to do.

The day before the workshop, Ari and I took the T into Cambridge. We found the Cambridge Public Library, a library so beautiful I got chills, and went to find the Main Lecture Hall. The guy at the desk teased me when I asked if he could tell me where it was. “Yes, I can.” Was his response. “Will you please tell me?” I smiled. Yes. He would.

We took the elevator in the wrong direction before redirecting ourselves and making it to L2. We ducked inside fifteen minutes late. We missed the actual reading, but Francesca was answering questions. For an hour she told us about her writing process and her upcoming books. She asked who we thought should be cast in the Weetzie Bat movie. She answered questions about writing, gave advice on life.

After she signed books in the hallway. Fifty some-odd girls lined up. I bought Ari a book and we waited in line, getting closer and closer. I snuck a picture. I grinned a lot and was unable to stand still. When it was finally my turn, I excitedly hold her I would be at her workshop. I forgot to introduce myself. She smiled opened the book to see where my name was written (on a post-in someone passed out earlier). I forgot to ask for a picture with her and seconds later it was Ari’s turn. We left with signed books, on our way to meet Shaylin for delicious sandwiches. I saw earrings in a jewelry store that were ladybugs and I had to have them.

Sunday I am on my own all day. My mom worries about me wandering the streets of Jamaica Plain by myself. As if it wasn’t one o’clock in the afternoon. I am excited and nervous. I don’t want to be disappointed. A book signing is one this, but this is different. This is real life weaving its way into my dreams. This is my dream unfolding in ways I never imagined. This is my fiction and my creations blending with the fictional world of Francesca Lia Block.

Sometimes it’s hard to imagine people as real people who eat and live and sleep in beds like you do. When you’re little you are unsettled by seeing your teachers outside of the school environment. When you’re sitting ten feet from your favourite author, hearing her talk about something you wrote, it feels like it isn’t happening at all. It feels like those moments in life when you think to yourself, this moment feels like a movie.

After the workshop part we take the time to go over basic elements. Francesca suggests ways to make characters sympathetic. She tries to offer more specific suggestions for our work. She turns to offer to sign something for me but catches herself, “Oh, you had signed something yesterday.” So instead I ask for a picture. I hand off my iPhone wishing I had brought something more professional (also wishing I owned something much more professional that was also digital). The picture is as surreal as the afternoon has been.

When I leave she hugs me and tells me to keep writing. I return to the streets with a refreshed sense of self. My senses seem a little sharper. I am more aware. This feeling is one I want to remember and this moment I want to take with me.