Famous Last Words, Time to Get Real

This week has been a busy one to say the least. I am finally finished with one of my classes and can start to focus more on this one. I know I have been lacking when it comes to doing assignments for this class. I missed my goal of finishing early but life happens. After some math and figuring out what was possible to achieve in this class. I have come to the conclusion that it is still possible to pull an A this semester. As my title say, it is time to get real. Now that things have started to calm down a bit at work and with other school work I can focus more on completing all of the assignments and possibly starting to get ahead. I just need to put more time aside to accomplish this and I could possibly start winter break early, for school that is.

I did start to get more responsibility at work and more freedom to do things my way. As a graphic designer that is big. That means my work is actually appealing to someone and they want more of it. Maybe being nominated in the top 3 of logos submitted to the regional marketing and public relations competition didn't hurt. Top 3 out of hundreds of submissions, even the people in my office did not think I would place. I find out what I got next Saturday. This has lighted a fire in me that I did choose the right career path and strengthened the passion I have for graphic design, photography, marketing and public relations. Because of this I know I need to keep learning new methods and faster techniques to help my career move further, can't stay part-time forever. So between school and work I have learned a lot and know what I need to do. Moving forward hopefully these goals are accomplished.

Image created with Cheezburger

Learning Challenge: Learn about sleep.

Learning Challenge: Learn about sleep.

I know I am not alone when I say I wish I had more sleep. After reading the article a few things started to make sense. I am a nightowl, always have been. Also I get up really early in the morning for work. Without any kind of external cues I would probably sleep well into the afternoon. This did confirm that my natural circadian rhythm is delayed. I did learn how I could start to improve it by possibly taking melatonin supplements early in the evening to get the sleepiness to kick in at an earlier time. I might invest in doing that so I can possibly get more sleep and not have to crash on the weekends.

Yes, Your Sleep Schedule Is Making You Sick Article Link

Image provided by: Pixabay

Growth Mindset, Always Learning

going through my day to day activities a phrase is always going off in my head, "if you're not learning, you're dying." I learned this from a classmate in a photoshop class. He was 75 and working towards another degree. It has always stuck with me and I take it to heart while doing my best to learn something new daily. It could be a new technique in graphic design, a different lighting set up for photography or learning about the mythology of Russia. You can never know everything but knowledge is power and it makes you open your eyes to the world more.

Image provided by: PixaBay

Typing Test Tech Tip

I am not a fan of a lot of these tests honestly. Sure, they tell you how well you can copy text but other than that I would rather stick to what you know and improve that way. The sites KeyHero and TypingTest have the same functions. It would be nicer to have an option to type when hearing the words in audio instead of just copying the text that is provided. I know I type a lot faster when I am writing something from my own mind compared to that.

Image provided by: PixaBay

"Week 9 Review"

Week 9 Review

As a fan of cats, the image for the Growth Mindset post with the cat caught my attention. After reading through the post it stuck with me a lot more. Curiosity is what fuels discovery, improvement, etc. My cat also does the same thing with my phone as the one in the photo was doing so that was an added plus.

English: The future belongs to the curious. Growth Mindset Blog

The image is from cheezburger.

Reading Notes: Japanese Fairy Tales (Ozaki) Part A

The writing in the first 3 stories of the unit was done well. It kept me engaged in the story and made me want to continue through to the end. The first story gave a feeling of excitement when the centipede was coming down the mountain and there was only one arrow left. The second story gave great descriptions of visuals and had a perfect ending to a tragic start, a lot of depth. The third made you really think about life, the reflection was amazing. I am looking forward to Part B and I am going to use some of these influences in my upcoming stories.

 Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki (1908). Part A

Rodtico21, 3 March 2013

Reading Notes: West African Folktales Part B

Reading Notes: West African Folktales Part A

Reading Part B was a delightful change of stories from Part A. These stories focused more on the animals than just Anansi. A lot of the stories were humorous or tried to give a life lesson. The writing style was still the same though. You could visualize the animals going through the tasks in each story and felt for them if something did happen.

West African Folktales by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair, with drawings by Cecilia Sinclair (1917). Part B

Max Pixel Source

Reading Notes: West African Folktales Part A

Reading Notes: West African Folktales Part A

The collection of stories for Anansi seem to follow a similar trend revolving around food for the most part. Anansi is always looking at how to get everything for himself and in the end seems to always lose. These stories so far have been humorous seeing something put so much effort into the tricks, lies and deceit to gain an advantage to only fail in the end. If Anansi had a little more patience and actually thought things through a little more carefully he could have been a lot worse of a threat than he was.

West African Folktales by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair, with drawings by Cecilia Sinclair (1917). Part A

Image by Philipp Ruch, Dec. 17, 2013 Source Pixabay