Friday 1 March 2013

Oh the finality...

Can you believe that this is where we part ways? This is my last blog posting. Ever. Okay, well, maybe not ever - but for a while. Though I enjoyed writing in this blog, I just can't see myself keeping it up on a regular basis. Maybe if something really cool or hilarious happens in the near future, I will blog about it... but until then, I am leaving my bloggety blog behind.

So what should I talk about in my final blog posting? What a whole lot of pressure. Hmmm. How about:
  1. Our ICT movie
  2. My Present Lack of Time Management Skills
  3. Etsy.com
  4. A super sappy, emotional, and profound reflection on learning...           

OUR ICT MOVIE
As promised, I will be embedding my group's ICT movie in this blog post:


I actually feel a little bad about how we forced Mirissa into the main role (and by main role, I mean really the only role) in the movie... when she wasn't even in class to defend herself... Talk about a one-woman show. Oh well, she was an absolute star. I am really happy with the finished product ("Time Crunch"), since the editing was super high quality, considering it was done by some amateurs on a laptop. However, this fact only reinforces my desire to purchase a MacBook (the movie was edited using iMovie).
TIME OUT! 

AN IDEA: 
First, some context. My dad is guilting me into going on a trip to Mississippi with him over spring break. There are several reasons why I don't want to go (more of which will come to me during the trip, I'm sure): 
  1. I'm 21
  2. It's during spring break
  3. My stepmother is coming 
  4. We are going to Mississippi
  5. The trip's purpose is to visit my 75 year old great aunt (who I hardly know)
  6. We are driving. Yes, actually. Two days there and two days back. On the road. With my dad. And his wife. Who likes to talk. A lot. 
Okay, now here is where the IDEA part comes in: Since, if I agree to go on this trip, there are several factors which impede my ability to have a fabulous spring break - I will, therefore, give conditional agreement. I will sacrifice nine days of my freedom (and, quite possibly, my sanity) in exchange for half a MacBook. That will be bought in Mississippi. This way, we both get what we want. It's a pretty stellar deal, so I can definitely see this working in my favor. 

MY PRESENT LACK OF TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS
Generally, I am a fairly organized person. I get my work done as soon as it is assigned, because I don't see a point in letting it pile up over the weeks (since I am still going to have to do it anyways) so that when the due dates hit, I will lose my mind. Presently, however, I am losing my mind, since I let all my work pile up over the weeks... Hmm... So how am I dealing with this? Well, I feel that the best thing to do in a situation like this, really, is to put all my efforts into doing anything but my school work. Tonight, I am going to The Keg for appetizers, and then to Morgan's house for a little soiree. Tomorrow, I have volunteered to lead the Big Brothers and Sisters sleepover party. Saturday, I have volunteered to work (at my job, which is at Mum's Restaurant at the golf course). This leaves me with Sunday (before Monday, when the big sh*tstorm hits)... when I will most likely watch Dateline, play with my cats, and wash my walls in an attempt to avoid facing my impending doom. I definitely think that, at this point, this is the winning strategy. 

ETSY.COM
I have no money. I have no time. What I do have, however, is an addiction to online shopping. It started with eBay. Then Amazon. Now Etsy. And it is all Mirissa's fault. Etsy.com is a wonderful little website where lazy and unmotivated people (like me) can browse, and then purchase several useful, wonderful, and beautiful little items (shirts, shoes, phone cases, hair pins, etc.) that have been made and advertised by active, motivated people. The other night I spent an hour browsing  iPhone cases (I still don't have one), only to have the fruits of my labour carelessly snatched from me by PayPal. Stupid PayPal. Apparently, my living address has to match the address Mastercard has on file for me. I have no idea what address Mastercard has on file for me right now, since I have lived in four different houses in the past year (I'm not kidding). SO I completely wasted an hour of my life. BUT the point of this blurb was not to spread negativity. It was to describe what an excellent little website Etsy is. So check it out.

A SUPER SAPPY, EMOTIONAL, AND PROFOUND REFLECTION ON LEARNING
I'm not big on long goodbyes, so I think I will try to keep this short and to the point (said no English Major ever).... But really. I'll try. ICT was my favorite course this semester. This is really surprising to me, since I came into it being really intimidated by technology. But as the course progressed, I became familiar with a ton of resources, some of which I had known of before, and most of which I had not. I came to see technology as more of a friend, rather than a foe. I actually found myself enjoying class assignments. Not only does technology provide faster, more efficient ways of doing things, it also lets its user customize everything he/she does. I can't think of anything I did in this class that did not allow me to be creative, and to inject a little bit of myself into it. I really like my ePortfolio and website, since, as I said before, not only are they functional, but they are visually appealing and reflective of my interests and personality. These two tasks were probably my favorite of the course. However, I also enjoyed making a little digital story, making a movie, and learning how to use Prezis and Google docs. Everything we did in ICT was relevant, and meaningful. I also liked that the structure of the course wasn't rigid - if Mike came across interesting things, he would take time out of the tech tasks to share them with us, which was very helpful. There are so many resources I gained from the course because of this. A list:

  • Slideshare
  • Wallwisher
  • iTalk
  • SonicPics
  • Creative Commons
  • Symbaloo
  • Blogger
  • Weebly
  • Wordle
  • Archive
  • Diigo
  • Animoto
  • Audacity
  • Photostory
  • Storybird
  • Blabberize
  • Xtranormal
  • Boredshorts
  • Faceswapper
  • Poll Everywhere

This space up there, where I put my list... well, it looked a little bare, so I thought I better throw a cat pic in, for the sake of aesthetics. Yes, this is actually my cat. Yes, he is hanging from the top of a door. Yes, he did get there all on his own. Yes, I did have to rescue him.

And finally, the blog experience. I was quite hesitant to take on this experience, not because I don't like to write, but because I don't know if other people really care about what I have to write. I also find it difficult to write and reflect on a weekly basis (though I know I should) - and not just in a blog. I have tried to keep a journal three times this year (January-present), and have failed miserably. I just have a hard time getting myself to sit down and write. However, when I do finally do assume typing position, I find that I enjoy posting in my blog. I feel like I take sort of a stream-of-consciousness approach, and its sort of refreshing to get everything I am thinking out into words. I can't guarantee that I will keep posting in this blog after today, especially on a regular basis, but I have a funny little feeling that I will... maybe not next week, but someday. 

Until then, you will just have to recycle my old blog posts if you need a fix.