Life Changer

Last Saturday, I took part in a volunteering event called Touched Twice at a local church with a few fraternity brothers.

Each of us went into the event not knowing what to expect.  We all knew that we signed up to be guides to lead people around this event for poor/homeless people and families.  After our training we all were nervous about doing this.  We didn't know what to expect or if we were comfortable talking with and leading around complete strangers.

I was paired up with a very nice gentleman named Frank.  At first it was awkward trying to start conversations with him because I had no idea what to talk to him about.  Over the course of the clinic as we waited for a haircut, massage, chiropractor, a meal, and the food/clothing pantry I got to have a few deep conversations with him.

He is a veteran, serving in the Marines and the Army, but never deployed.  He got caught up in drugs and alcohol and that got him in trouble to the point that he is currently on probation for a few more months.  He lives in a single room apartment and attends Alcoholics Anonymous.

With all these things that would get the average person down, he is one of the happiest guys that I have ever met.  Over lunch, I was talking with him about his faith (as we were suggested to, but also because I was curious) and he said that he had been a Christian for his entire life, but he hadn't come to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior until later in his life.  He said that he knows that even though some things in his life he screwed he feels blessed that he is able to wake up each morning and that he has what he has.  He said that the hardest time he has had in life is dealing with his addictions and the demons that surround him as he tries to not drink or do drugs.  He said that the Holy Spirit fills him and leads him away from the situations where demons dwell.

I was inspired that a man that has been affected so much and that has so little is tons happier than most people.  He lives each day to its fullest and is trying to get back to Memphis, TN to get back to his family once his probation is over.  I felt a little ashamed that I complain about so much stuff when I have so much more than Frank does.

I am so happy that I went to do this service opportunity.  While I only may have talked with one guy for the duration of the event, while most of my fraternity brothers dealt with 3-4 individuals/families, I am glad that I could talk with Frank and hear how the hardships in his life may have gotten him down, but that his faith in God is strong enough to make him happy to live everyday and not be afraid to be friendly to everyone.  Anyone Frank interacted with was friendly and very polite and by name (as everyone wore name tags.

The clinic was called Touched Twice because the people were supposed to be touched physically to fit their everyday needs such as food and pampering, but also Spiritually through prayer.  Frankly, I felt that talking with Frank lifted my spirituality a little more and gave me a better outlook on life.  I think that people should try to get involved in something like this because it helps you get outside of your comfort zone and it also lets you appreciate what you have.

Have a great day!

Friday: Work/Gaming

It is finally Friday once again, which mean that I will attempt to explain a story in pictures.  Today I have three pictures and my goodness, I have no idea what I will do with them..

Yesterday, as I posted I had an interview and I don't know how it went.  I mean the decision could go either way at this point because it started out pretty bad, but I think I may have convinced the gentleman interviewing me that I am qualified for the internship.  I don't like not being able to plan out my summer now, because without a job I will be attempting to get free-lance jobs, but with a job I will have virtually no free time outside of weekends.  It will be tough not having as much time to hang out with friends and play video games, but I can't do that at work..

Nevertheless, I'll make it.  Speaking of video games, a staple of hanging out with the fraternity I'm is has become playing old Nintendo 64 games.  Like the classic machine tends to do, it is a little finicky when trying to play any game.  It is almost nostalgic when you encounter this scene.

Yeah, that always felt good..and not like a creeper at the airport kind of good..

Gross..

Have a great weekend!

Blogging: The Slump

I am not happy with how my posts have been going the past few weeks.  While it is nice that I am still getting the posts up everyday, I don't know if I am forgoing quality.  I mean, I really like that I have a place that I can post whatever I want, however I want, when I want, but I just haven't been into it recently.  It could be that I've been busy and I feel that I have to cram everything in, but I know that I'll be able to get past this slump soon.

Today, my focus is not on school (sort of) or really this post unfortunately, but a phone interview that I have at 1:30p CDT.  The results from this interview will determine what I do this summer.  If I get the job then my posts here may dwindle to less or be later in the day as I would be leaving for work at 5am and not getting home until 6 or 7pm.  On the other hand, if I don't get this job I am going to repaint and reorganize my room as well as contacting a few local businesses if they would like websites done or redone.  I don't plan on being too lazy regardless.

The way I feel is depicted in this picture rather well.  I am sitting in a wheelchair with no control of the chair in the slightest and I must sit and wait to see which direction someone pushes my chair.  Until then, I shall remain where I am and focus on the here and now.

Have a great day!

Remixed Songs

A while back I made a post about Thomas the Tank Engine's intro song mixing with songs.  Last night I revisited that post and went on youtube to see if there were anymore, and sadly there weren't.  Luckily though, the related videos that were by it were pretty good.  This first one is a mix of Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like Its Hot" with Kirby's Gourmet Race theme.  The first half is good, the second half is pretty lame.

From there I found that like Guile's theme, the intro song to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air pretty much goes with everything as well.  I found that it goes pretty well with the Lost Forest Theme from Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time..

as well as the theme from the first level of Super Mario 64: Bob-Omb Battlefield.

From there I found that Eminem's "Without Me" fits into the same song pretty well as well.

Just something to thing about.

Have a great day!

Nyan: The Return

It has been far too long!  I finally found and was sent some really amusing Nyan Cat stuff.  While they aren't videos, they all are pretty sweet.  As I am typing this I am listening to 3 different versions of Nyan Cat (8-bit, Metal, and the 14 minute extended version).  I don't know what kind of drug is in the sound of the song but it certainly acts like an anti depressant to me.  I am in such a good mood now!  I mean it is a cat in a poptart that poops rainbows, how could it not make you happy?

Now I admit that while it seems like an addiction that I have to Nyan Cat, it really is just more that I am highly amused at how viral it still is.  It does make me happy to hear the song and see the video, but I am not to the point where I am buying scarves with Nyan Cat on them (nor do I want them).  Nevertheless, I could see myself buying something like this though...

Come on, a "Yes We Nyan" shirt is pretty funny.  Recently, someone sent me a picture of a Nyan Cat meme.  It is pretty simple, but it is fantastically awesome.  It is almost like an origin story of Nyan Cat.

The ironic part behind all this is that I am mildly allergic to cats.  I mean, I don't hate cats because of this, but I try to avoid them because having itchy eyes sucks a lot.  Nevertheless, I can have Nyan Cat as it is a hypoallergenic cat.  Heck, Nyan Cat even makes a good greeting card.

While this could be one of the last Nyan Cat posts for quite some time as its viral ability has dropped substantially, I just want everyone to..

Have a great day!

2 Weeks (Basically)

Today was my second-to-last monday of classes for this semester.  By next Thursday, finals will have begun and I will be moving onto my final year of college (pending Grad school).  It still is unreal that time has flown so fast, but I am really looking forward to a break from school.  I only have one project, one paper, and a couple assignments left until I start studying my butt off for finals.

I have the goal to have a 3.4 GPA when I graduate so I can graduate with honors.  I am right on the cusp of it, but I have to kick it into high gear to make it possible.  There is a chance that a 3.4 is unattainable, but we can see what will happen.

For now, my focus is on a phone interview with TransUnion on Thursday afternoon in hopes that I can get an internship over the summer, and getting my work done as usual.

Over this last weekend I relaxed as much as possible after the stress from the Wall of Prejudice that was really successful.  We raised $600+ to go to the Elimination of Prejudice on the day of the event alone and we will be following up with a discussion soon to have the sensitive conversations that need to happen.

Last night, a couple brothers and I were relaxing in the suite celebrating a successful event and our 4 awards from this year by watching a rather silly Beauty and the Beast parody video.  It may be offensive to some so please watch at your own risk.

It is nice to relax after a stressful event and I really have noticed that the group of men that are in Pi Lambda Phi are growing together so strongly as we overcome the issues that are thrown at us.  This weekend we celebrate the semester and then we begin looking forward to recruitment stronger than ever before (not that recruitment ever stops).

Have a great day!

Play on Words

Today is Carroll's Spring Fling where many students spend the day having tons of fun.  The definition of fun does come in the eyes of the beholder however.  Some people see fun as participating in the games, inflatables, and events of the day, while others decide to party from wake up til pass out.  What makes today more dangerous is that it is also 4/20 which is essentially National Drug Use day.  In no way do I condone this, but of course it seems that poor choices may make this day dangerous.

Nevertheless, police with drug-sniffing dogs will be around campus today so I feel plenty safe.  Plus people aren't that dumb right?

I will be volunteering with setting up and supervising inflatables today which will be interesting to see where they go.  After that I will be headed to another Brewers game (2nd this week) and then sleeping a ton.   I am up for one of my busiest weekends ever and because of that weekend starting now, today's post will only be pictures and this text block.  Sorry.

Have a fun, safe, and great weekend!

Today Is The Day

Today we tear down the Wall of Prejudice and I am excited to see what comes about from all of this.  I think that we can raise awareness greatly as well as a decent amount of money for the Elimination of Prejudice organization.  It is supposed to rain today, which is not the ideal conditions, but I think it is almost a fitting weather situation for tearing down a wall full of painful hurtful words.

If you would like to donate to the Elimination of Prejudice, but are unable to attend the tearing down of the wall, you can follow this link to donate.

http://www.eliminateprejudice.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=487373&lis=0&kntae487373=98E344AA1CB34E9180814A53F3136653

Have a great day!

We Started A Fire

Yesterday, Pi Lambda Phi at Carroll University dealt with one of the biggest PR ongoings that no one even expected.  We are currently taking part in an event called Wall of Prejudice in which we have built a wall and encouraged people to write on the wall words that were harmful, hurtful, or prejudiced against them regardless of vulgarity.  In one day, the wall had 75 unique terms written on it of ranging vulgarities.

The Waukesha community was outraged by this wall and one Carroll student sent a picture and an email to a commonly controversial radio announcer in Milwaukee WTMJ.  His opinion, including the opinions of many community members (including my old boss) can be found here.

http://www.620wtmj.com/podcasts/talk/charliesykes/147792895.html (Part 1 -- 12:12 Start)
http://www.620wtmj.com/podcasts/talk/charliesykes/147793035.html (Part 2 -- Through 12:40)

Listening to these people makes me sick.  They are assuming with none of the fact straight.  They took the words of an ignorant person and took it as fact without consulting someone else.  They talked with the Dean of Students, who did pretty well in addressing the issue, but that wasn't accepted by Sykes at all.

Around noon, we had a meeting where we found out that FOX 6 (Milwaukee) had cameras outside and wanted to interview us about the wall.  As a group, we went out discussed the wall and the purpose and they were supportive of our cause.  Later that afternoon, we found out that despite the administration of Carroll supporting the students 100%, the Waukesha Police Department suggested we move the wall back in the same area (as it is private property and they can't force it to move to my knowledge).

We have since moved the wall, but the campus is split between supportive and disgusted.  Some people are being very unaccepting of it while others are.  Nevertheless, our goal and the goal of The Elimination of Prejudice Organization has been met.  We have created a place where words have been placed and sensitive conversations have been allowed to happen.  FOX 6 did very well in explaining our goals and reasons, which hopefully change the minds of some people.

http://fox6now.com/2012/04/17/wall-of-prejudice-creating-buzz-on-carroll-university-campus/#ooid=Y2bmloNDqesiCZzn8XRQRbJI94AhQgq0

Nevertheless, we are pushing through with the event and hope that people get beyond the words and actually see the meaning behind the wall.

We will have to see what the day brings!

Have a great day!

The Future

On Sunday, I began my list of things that I learned in college.  The list is a little cynical at times, but most of the things came as a realization that I didn't quite understand before college.

During Pi Lambda Phi's brotherhood interviews, to better get to know the new members and active brothers, there is a question about your favorite quote.  Generally, I don't have one, but I think I have a selection.  It is not a stereotypical inspirational quote or a quote from a movie, but it is actually a Bible verse.  I found this verse later in my freshman year when I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life and if I was living my life the way I wanted.  The verse is Jeremiah 29:11.

When I read this for the first time, I felt like a burden was lifted off of my shoulders.  I knew that God was there for me when I needed him before, but this was probably the biggest impactful verses that I have read.  One simple sentence was all it took to bring me out of the confusion and worry of what will become of my life.

Monday was my 2-year dating anniversary with my girlfriend and I am so glad that she is part of the plan that I have for my life.  I am working into a career that I love to do and could spend countless hours on.  I felt like I was in a dark place before and now I can step out and live everyday that any blessing or perils in life are just part of the plan.

I am not afraid to say that I fully can put my faith in God and that a single verse from the Bible can provide me comfort.

Have a great day!

Alarm Apps

I am running on 4 hours of sleep today, but surprisingly I am just as functional as every other day.  I may be running on a buzz from coffee, but it may start to suck around 2pm when I am working and the only thing I want to do is sleep.  Sleep may seem like a make or break thing, but I think that more people suffer from oversleeping than under-sleeping.

I don't understand how people find it ok to go to bed at a reasonable time (generally before midnight) and feel ok just sleeping until 2pm.  I feel that I've wasted a day when I wake up at 11pm, and waking up later isn't much better.

I admit that I have to wake up at 7am for my classes, which can be pretty draining, and that I tend to push the snooze button at least 2-3 times in the morning.  9GAG this morning posted an app concept that could get people moving, but I have a different take on it.

I think instead of charging real money for people to hit the snooze alarm have it be almost like a social media outlet.  Everytime you hit the snooze button, you have to "pay" a rate for the number of minutes you want to snooze or for the number of times you've hit snooze.  You could connect this to friends and see who the lazier friend is or who invests in their sleep the most.

I think this would be a neat free app, but I lack the ability to design apps (I think).

Have a great day!

I Need A Better Name Than FriRandomFestivalian Day

As the title suggests I need a better title name because it isn't catchy.  I'll take any silly or creative suggestions that anyone has, but I am not counting on getting any.  This morning started out pretty rough where I did not want to get out of bed and I did not want to go to class.  Nevertheless, I got out of bed and went to class because I generally enjoy the content of the class.

I get to class and get my stuff out and started listening in on other people's conversations and one of the conversations make me think this instantly.

She was complaining about a group presentation that was supposed to last 20 minutes.  I could pull off a 20 minute presentation about most topics with a days notice and still not be freaking out as much as she was.  It still isn't the worst conversation that I've heard about.  Yesterday my girlfriend was telling me about a couple girls that were talking about going to bars in Milwaukee and making out with the first guy they see in the bars..  Since when is that socially acceptable?

Regardless, I'm done with class now and I am feeling a little better than yesterday, well at least I was until I saw this Pixar sequel poster.

Luckily that is a parody or that could be one of the darker Disney movies.

In all seriousness though, I am really enjoying school as it winds down.  I have less homework to do, there is less to do in general, but I feel like I am wasting my time when I don't get to do anything all day.  I realize that I should be working on my design project a little more for my photoshop class, but that will probably happen on Monday and Tuesday.

It is the strangest feeling realizing that I have spent the last 16 years of my life in school and in a year, school will essentially be over.  I mean there is a chance that I will end up going to grad school, but I don't know for what yet.  Nevertheless, I am still better off than the average college student.

While I have no clue exactly what I am doing after graduation, I have a general idea of goals for it.  The reality of the goals though will have to be gauged, but that is something I can deal with later.  I get to live in on-campus apartments next year so it will be pretty sweet.  The plan is to not get a meal plan and cook for myself and try to prepare myself for the cold slap of reality of living away from home.  I have hopes that I can pull it off and I have hopes that I can start eating healthier than the food they have here.  I long for the days of not eating processed, fried foods that cause gut rot.

Stupid calories need to go die in a fire.  I am to the point in school where I am at the cusp of I don't want to leave and get me out of here.  Nevertheless, I like how my college career has been going and I don't think I would try to change a thing.  I don't think I would go back and CTRL + Z life because everything has been a learning experience.

Maybe at some point in the future I will create a post of things I learned in college, in fact, I will probably try to start making that list soon.

Have a great weekend!

It's Official

Today I went ahead and got the domain pxrandomness.com!  Now you can get to the site via www.pxrandomness.com or pxrandomness.blogspot.com (which will redirect you still).  I am really happy that I can officially have my own domain on the internet.  It is nice to have my own niche and I hope that I can attract more people to the site with a regular domain now.

This week seems like it is going pretty well for me, to an extent.  I bought my first domain name, I finished Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, which is now my second favorite Zelda game (slightly behind Ocarina of Time), and I have basically had no homework.  The only downside to this week is the fact that I am mildly sick and because of this it is really difficult to focus on anything.

I'm glad I'm not throwing up or have mono, but I would rather be healthy again.  You really don't appreciate your health until you don't have it, and frankly I feel that way 100%.  For now, I just have to suck it up and get through my last class for the day and then I can try to rest and get better.

For now, enjoy this video of Memes In Real Life (IRL).  Most people know what they mean because Memes have gone viral, but I still really enjoy some good meme humor.

Have a great day!

I Really Enjoyed The 90s

I was born in 1990 and I have come to the realization that I have the ability to feel old now.  Starting in a few years, kids born in the year 2000 and on will be entering college and I will be 28 years old.  It is strange enough to me to hear that kids were born in the mid 2000s.  You always expect to her 19xx for a birth date, but how do you feel when in 4 years millennials will be driving.

Everyday I am noticing how big of a difference there is between the kids born and growing up in the 90s compared to the ones that are born in the 2000s.  Those born in the 2000s are technologically savy (to an extent) and seem to have a strong feeling of entitlement.  They expect their internet to run fast, they expect to have a cell phone so they can text or call their friends, and they seem to have lost their imagination.

I am not saying that I have been analyzing children, because frankly they annoy the heck out of me.  I don't get how they can like the shows on classically kid's stations (Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Disney, etc.).

I know I have posted something like this before, but looking back I really had a fun childhood.  I went outside and played football, hide and seek, and rode bikes with my neighbors.  We played until dinner and occasionally after.  We watched TV and it was good.  Looking back, some of the shows I liked are really dumb (Rugrats got really disappointing), but nevertheless, you can talk with anyone around your age and they will agree that Legends of the Hidden Temple was a fantastic gameshow that should never have gotten taken off the air, that Tomagatchis were fun and that they were disappointed when the battery died, or that you would willingly wake up by 7am on a saturday to watch One Saturday Morning on ABC.

Life was good back then.  Now you get to wake up late and check Facebook for a not so exciting statuses or watch the news for the gloom of the world.  Oh well, soon enough the kids of the 90s will be in charge of the companies that produced the wonders of the 90s and maybe they'll make a comeback.

For now, enjoy the reminiscence.

Have a great day!

The Titanic

Today is the 100th anniversary of when the Titanic launched onto its final journey.  I am not as much of a Titanic enthusiast as it seems many people are, but I do acknowledge that this was a big deal.  A luxury cruise liner, one of the largest built, was driven into an iceberg by a visually impaired captain.

I have seen most of the 1997 Titanic movie, but I have not sat through all of it in one sitting (I think).  I will probably end up seeing it before it leaves theaters soon, but I really like the newest "trailer" for the Titanic in Real 3D.

I mean throw me a bone here!  I am a guy and I like seeing things blow up, Storm Troopers, and J.J. Abrams lens flares (though i never realized that he used them that much until now).  Nevertheless, I will probably be a good boyfriend and go to see Titanic because I was asked to go.

I was told a while back that there is a Titanic 2 movie that has zombies in it, but I haven't quite gotten to see anything about zombies in it.  The setting for it though is 100 years after the Titanic sank on a Titanic replica traveling from New York to where the Titanic (original) launched.  It only got 1.8/10 on IMDb so I don't intend on watching it, but it does exist.

Have a great day!

Mine Fortress Craft 2

Well Easter break has ended and I am back at school now for my last month of school.  I get to pick where I live next year tomorrow and my hopes are high that I get picked for a supervisor spot for my work-study, but I dunno when I find that out.

Nothing says welcome back to school like having a sore throat and it being windy outside.   While it may look bad now, I have hopes that the rest of the semester, while busy, will be really fun.

I have no idea how to incorporate that story into this video, but I don't care because it is awesome.

I know it's a lame post, but lay off I'm not feeling 100%

Have a great day!

Good Friday In A Nutshell

A member of our church sings this at the end of our Good Friday Tenebrae service (a service that starts in light, proceeds through the crucifixion story as lights are turned off through the story.  You enter in light and leave in darkness as the tomb is closed).  It is a very emotionally stirring song and there is some graphic content in the video, so please be warned.

Have a great weekend!

Easter: A Rock Opera

As a few of you know I am a Christian and part of the Christian calendar is Holy Week, the week to revere the most impactful part of Christianity where everyone's sins are taken away by the death of Jesus.  Now, I am not trying to start a religious debate or religious commentary  beyond what I just said.  Everyone is entitled to what they believe and this is what my religious belief is.

Aside from that outburst though, I really do like the Easter season (the non-commercial Easter season).  The weather is generally wonderful, some of the best hymns are sung during church, and everyone seems to be in a rather good mood.  It is one of the only times in the year that people will wake up at 5am for church and be happy and smiling at 6am.  Most of the time the church smells like Easter Lilies (or at least until the sermon is over) and that either makes me a little happier or have itchy eyes depending on how much pollen is in the air.

Today is Maundy Thursday, which is the night that Christians observe The Last Supper (which is the basis for Communion).  Our church does a living last supper skit where they reenact The Last Supper in modern attire and explain how each disciple came to follow Jesus.

This entire week has been Holy Week starting on Sunday where Jesus rode into Jerusalem and has greeted with people waving palms and singing Hosannas to Him.  This clip is from the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar (2000) movie (a remake of the original Broadway production).  I watch this movie every year before Easter because it tells the story pretty well and it has some catch songs.

In Jesus Christ Superstar, I am envious of the voice of Caiaphas.  I am so close to actually being able to sing as low as he can.  With some voice training I could probably pull if off, but I don't have the time to actually take it during school.  In the sequence of the movie, this scene actually comes right before the Hosanna song seen above.

As I have been watching clips, I started watching more of the 1973 version of JCS and I don't always care for the singing more, but I really like how it is set in a location that looks similar to the landscape they would be in, but with all the modernization mingled with realism (if that makes sense at all).  I mean, Judas is being chased by tanks before he finds the Sanhedrin and has a flyby by planes in one song alone.

I like this Judas better than the 2000 version, because he has a less whiny voice and he is more convincing.  I also like the funky 70s style music compared to the updated style in the 2000.  I also like the voices of the 2 Sanhedrin because they are fitting for the roles well.

If you want to watch either of the movies, I believe they are both on YouTube for rental for about $2-3 dollars, or if you are a pirate you can probably find it, but I don't condone it.

Have a great day!

The Saga Continues

Today in my photoshop/illustrator class, we talked with the marketing director for the Americas from Siemens.  He had an hour and a half marketing powerpoint, gave us a basic idea of what he wanted us to do and then left, leaving everyone pretty confused.

Beyond the confusion though, his explanation of what larger companies want from an employee is someone who fills the requirements of more than just a designer.  They want someone who can create the java picture bars, create the graphics and be able to write a full article for a magazine.

In essence, that chart that I had yesterday is only an unemployment ideal where many people have jobs for one company.  For larger companies, they are only worried about getting as few workers to do the most work as possible.  Thanks for trying to help the US economy compared to the personal economy.

I digress though, mostly because Siemens is a German company that hardly cares about stimulating the US economy.  So this leaves me confused about what we have to design and having to learn about Computer Automated Manufacturing (CAM).  I do not have to learn much, but the tricky part is designing for yet another person that doesn't care about what the graphics are, but this time we have to market a product to a marketer who is also a mechanical engineer.

Nevertheless, I will figure something out.  Luckily, I get to go home for Easter Break later today so I am pretty happy.  On that note, because of Friday being Good Friday, I will most likely not have a post, but we will see.  I may end up making a special edition post on Saturday with the Easter eggs that we usually dye on Friday.

Have a great day!

The Designers Guild

Believe it or not, you cannot make a good design with just one person.  A team of graphic designers work really well together and form a pretty good team.  A website designer needs photographers and graphic designers to design some of the web content.  I found an interesting Venn diagram of the designers scheme of balance (for lack of a better way to explain it).

If you are having troubles reading it you can right-click it and open it in a new tab (it should open the source image).  So in this image, there general concepts that go into any design setup.  The six categories on the outside are the overheading terms for the different departments in a design firm.  Layout Editor (Design), Back-End and Front-End Programmers (User Interface), Graphic Designers (Visual Communication), Management (Communication), Journalism (Data Journalism), and IT (Information).

In theory, a design company could run off of this diagram, and frankly, if I had the resources available, I would probably attempt to make this a business model, with some tweaking.

So currently I find myself falling into four or five of the six departments in this diagram from my studied majors and minors.  Without really knowing it, I have set myself up to hit almost, if not everything in this chart.  My major (Graphic Communication: Web Design) would fall into the top three on the chart (user interface, design, and visual communication).  My minors (IT and Communication) could fall into the Information and Communication departments.

My schedule layout has provided me the setup to be useful to any company and I hope that this will come to fruition one day.  As it is, according to this chart, I find myself being the strongest in the general area of Design and primarily the blue circle.  My weakest, but not abysmally so, department is Data Journalism.  I have some of the abilities within the facts nearby, but I do not quite have that Journalism background too much (beyond a radio show, which isn't much of journalism).

I really like this chart and how it shows that graphic design isn't just an awkward art variant, but that it is essentially teamwork at its core with the final goal of a visualization of a common goal from many departments.

Have a great day!

Social Media

Before I started this post, I went onto Twitter and read through some tweets from friends, organizations, and whatnot and I realized that I really don't care for Twitter.  The only reason I got it is for a class project, but now I'm wondering what it's real use is.

I used to use Twitter to complain, and as I say that I realize how stupid that is.  Frankly, no one cares about what you complain about and by complaining online you do come off as needy and attention-craving.  For quite some time now, I wanted to post a status on Facebook calling out people who complain and say that the world does not need to know their problems.

The only bad part about that is that I make myself a hypocrite.  I am complaining about people complaining, and therefore I am complaining about myself complaining about others.

Getting past the mild misuse of the rage comic face, there is no good way to deal with the "problems" of society.  First World Problems are not just a set of memes, but they are by-far an element that could lead to social change.  The problem is that everyone, including myself, is so caught up on themselves and the people around them that it is hard to not complain when life sucks.

In an attempt to find some First World Problems, I noticed that a ton of the posts are really just the stereotyped rich person comments/jokes, so I tried to find ones that were a little more middle class first world problems.

I am just as susceptible to this First World tomfoolery, but is it really what our society has turned into?  Is every moment of everyday just another reason to find something to complain about?  Has social media like Facebook and Twitter created an environment that creates the breeding grounds for complaining?

I am in the process of not complaining as much on social media, save a few satirical complaining, but I challenge anyone who reads this to take a look at their posts on whatever social media they prefer.  Try to see if you need to address what you day and to see if your problems need to be the worlds problems or not.

Have a great day!