Archive for the 'Life in General' Category

January 25, 2011 | "Whoa whoa I gotta go...back to schoooool...again",5th Semester,Human Relations,Life in General,Mentors,Prescott College,School Daze,Spring 2011,The 4-1-1 on Me,Volunteer Management

Well, it was a nice break, but it went by so fast! During the break between fall and spring semesters, we moved into a new place downtown. A townhouse. 2 bd loft with 2.5 baths. Feels like we’re still getting settled. We get excited over the little things: washer and dryer inside the house (it was in an outside shed in the house we left), a dishwasher (I haven’t used one since I left home at 25!), a bathtub worthy of a bath. LOL. Then there’s the stuff that irks: our front doorbell doesn’t work, but the one at the kitchen door does, the kitchen sink drips, you have to hold down the lever on all three toilets to get them to flush, the toilet in the half bath likes to occasionally refill itself, the toilet in my office sounds like it’s still settling, the floor in the master bedroom creaks—horribly—in a certain spot, the shower head in the master bath spouts water…*sigh*. I’m gonna quit bitchin’ now. I know it’s gonna be fixed as soon as we turn in that check-in list. I guess this is what happens when you decide to rent.

Anyhow, spring semester starts today and I’m only taking two classes. Recently, I decided to push back my graduation date to December. I would’ve been done in spring 2012, graduating in May. Instead, I’ll be done in September and the ceremony will be in December. I’m officially a senior now with a 3.75 GPA. That’s the best I’ve done in school. Ever. LOL. This semester, I’ll be taking Human Relations with the wonderful Chantal Sheehan, Exec Dir. of New Global Citizens, as my mentor. And Volunteer Management with Shoshana Ross, Volunteer Coordinator at Free Arts AZ. I’m pretty stoked to work with Chantal again (she mentored my Financial Mgmt class last year), and I think it’s cool I’m going to be working with someone from an organization that I volunteer for on occasion.

While I’m learning so much from working one-on-one with mentors, the hardest part about this program (other than going back to school after so many years and working full-time) is actually finding mentors. I’m a shy person by nature and asking complete strangers to mentor me has been daunting, to say the least. Not too long after starting school a couple of years ago, I joined the local Young Nonprofit Professionals Network. I submitted an ad for a mentor on their website. What I didn’t know at the time is that that ad appears in the newsletter they send out every month. I’ve been lucky enough to get a few bites from that ad. I actually found my very first mentor when I went to college orientation. It’s very time-consuming on the behalf of the mentor and the honorarium fee is small, but I’m so grateful for their willingness to share their knowledge. I’m hoping all my mentors will be able to make it to my graduation next year. It would be great to see their faces among the crowd.

What’s a little scary is that I realized I didn’t have a plan when it comes to this degree. The ultimate goal is to run my own nonprofit. I was going to graduate, find a job with a nonprofit, work there for a few years and then open my organization. Lisa, my supervisor/friend, and I went to lunch a couple of days ago and she asked me a lot of tough questions. To my embarrassment, a lot of my responses were “I don’t know.” I’m a pantser when it comes to my writing and I think-–stupidly–I had that same mentality about my plan for the future. I have this goal that I want to reach and what I want to do, but have no clue what steps to take to get there.

My thinking was “With this degree, I’ll have a little more knowledge” and then it went from that to “Well, if I can just get these two particular classes under my belt, then I’ll start looking.” Truly, I’m just afraid of leaving my job. I’ve been there for 3 years and there’s a security there. A comfort zone. But it’s not what I want to do with the rest of my life. If I wanted a career in records management, maybe, but that’s not how it’s gonna happen. And Lisa plans on leaving as well, and, really, the job wouldn’t be the same without her.

So, now I have a plan. For the first time since I jumped into school with both feet, I have a plan. It scares the shit out of me because it means leaving my job by the end of the year, if not before. I just have to keep in mind that the end result will be worth it.

Technorati Tags: Chantal Sheehan, New Global Citizens, Shoshana Ross, Young Nonprofit Professionals Network

December 31, 2010 | Life in General,Movie Queue,The 4-1-1 on Me

Here are the movies I saw during the year 2010:

DAYBREAKERS – interesting take on the whole vampire thing.

NINE – Fergie. Wow. And Daniel Day-Lewis wasn’t too bad, either.

LEAP YEAR – I heart Amy Adams. I always get her and Isla Fisher mixed up.

BOOK OF ELI – So, did you think Denzel was blind throughout the whole movie or that God let him “see” until his journey was over?

DISTRICT 13: ULTIMATUM – The stunts and the fighting are pretty awesome. It also introduces the sport known as parkour

PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF – I so want to be a demi-goddess.

THE WOLFMAN – Anthony Hopkins always makes for a good bad guy.

ONG BAK 2 – The fight scenes in this movie are siiiiiiiick. Tony Jaa is f***kin’ amazing.

VALENTINE’S DAY – Liked the interconnectivity of the characters, but thought Taylor Swift sucked.

GREEN ZONE – Matt Damon makes a very good action star, but I was kind of expecting more.

CLASH OF THE TITANS – Blood of Hades = Kracken’s and gigantic scorpions. Sweet!

THE LAST SONG – Miley Cyrus didn’t do too bad. And her love interest was quite the hottie.

KICK-ASS – Great movie. Funny how an 11-yr-old girl–and her father–were doing all the ass kicking.

THE LOSERS – Chris Evans is H-O-T!

THE BACK-UP PLAN – Really good to see Alex O’Loughlin in a leading man role. Loved him in MOONLIGHT.

IRON MAN 2 – The film melting was the highlight of my experience

LETTERS TO JULIET - Once again I was reminded why I need to visit Italy

ROBIN HOOD – *blowing raspberry*

PRINCE OF PERSIA: SANDS OF TIME- Jake Gyllenhaal looked pretty hot.

SEX AND THE CITY 2 – I could’ve done without hearing Liza Minelli’s version of “Single Ladies.” I liked the outfits (but SJP has man hands!) and Abudabi is a beautiful country that I’d never visit.

JUST WRIGHT – Common is actually a very good-lookin’ guy. And Paula Patton is so pretty!

THE A-TEAM – Bradley Cooper has got the bluest eyes!

THE KILLERS – Ashton Kutcher makes a good action hero.

JONAH HEX – I like the last name. This movie was shades of THE CROW. I still miss you, Brandon.

KNIGHT AND DAY – Low-key version of his MISSION IMPOSSIBLE movies.

THE BOUNTY HUNTER – Gerard Butler. RRRRRR! I love how his accent comes through.

THE LAST AIRBENDER – The kid was cute. And I like the idea of kids having the ability to manipulate the four elements.

TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE – Still Team Jacob

DESPICABLE ME – “It’s so fluffy!

SALT – Angelina Jolie does really well when she’s kickin’ people asses. She should stick to these types of movies.

INCEPTION – You know a movie is good when you’re talking about it afterwards. So, what was your take of the ending–real or dreaming?

THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE

CHARLIE ST. CLOUD – sad, but good. And wow, David Franco looks just like his older brother, James.

THE EXPENDABLES – Everyone looked so old. Except for Jason.

SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD – I so want to be part of a band called Sex Ba-Bomb.

THE AMERICAN – quiet, intense, film. Not a lot of dialogue on George Clooney‘s part. And wow, he actually looksp retty good for his age.

MACHETE – Danny Trejo has been in 189 films. This is his first lead role. Wasn’t too bad.

EASY A – It’s amazing how one little rumor can get totally out of hand. Also, I would love to have a father like Stanley Tucci and a teacher like Thomas Hayden Church.

LET ME IN – We saw the original version (Swedish w/ subtitles) and liked it the best. Although it was fun comparing scenes.

LIFE AS WE KNOW IT – Josh Duhamel. Abs. That’s all I remember seeing. Oh, and he’s great with kids.

MAO’S LAST DANCER – Beautiful, beautiful movie. Go see this if you’re a fan of dance movies, specifically ballet.

RED – OMG, I so love Mary-Louise Parker. She was funny as hell in this movie. And Bruce Willis looked great, too.

DUE DATE – Spitting in the dog’s face? Unacceptable, Mr. Robert Downey, Jr. Masturbating dog? Totally unnecessary. Didn’t need to see that.

FASTER - Wow, is Billy Bob Thornton lookin’ old! But Dwayne Johnson sure looked good! Even though he didn’t say much. He let that cannon of a handgun do all the talkin’. LOL

MEGAMIND – Yes, I actually got Babendude to see this with me. Not as funny as DESPICABLE ME, but there were funny parts.

THE WARRIOR’S WAY – The way this movie was made was interesting. Babendude and I are big martial arts fans, so we’ll see just about anything.

CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER – Love Ben Barnes and his dark eyes. Watching this series makes me want to read the books all over again. And I SO want to see Aslan’s country, beyond the massive, magical waves.

TRON: LEGACY – Those motorcycles were so cool. And I liked how they were able to make Jeff Bridges look young. Very cool.

UNSTOPPABLE – Never a dull moment.

TANGLED – I heart Zachary Levi. This was just like watching CHUCK. But the animated version, of course.

What about you? Did you see any of these? Which ones did you see that weren’t on the list?

Technorati Tags: DAYBREAKERS, NINE, Fergie, Daniel Day-Lewis, LEAP YEAR, Amy Adams, Isla Fisher, BOOK OF ELI, DISTRICT 13: ULTIMATUM, parkour, PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF, THE WOLFMAN, Anthony Hopkins, ONG BAK 2, Tony Jaa, VALENTINE’S DAY, Taylor Swift, GREEN ZONE, Matt Damon, CLASH OF THE TITANS, THE LAST SONG, Miley Cyrus, KICK-ASS, THE LOSERS, Chris Evans, THE BACK-UP PLAN, Alex O’Loughlin, MOONLIGHT, IRON MAN 2, LETTERS TO JULIET, ROBIN HOOD, PRINCE OF PERSIA: SANDS OF TIME, Jake Gyllenhaal, SEX AND THE CITY 2, Single Ladies, JUST WRIGHT, Common, Paula Patton, THE A-TEAM, Bradley Cooper, THE KILLERS, Ashton Kutcher, JONAH HEX, THE CROW, KNIGHT AND DAY, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, THE BOUNTY HUNTER, Gerard Butler, THE LAST AIRBENDER, TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE, DESPICABLE ME, SALT, Angelina Jolie, INCEPTION, THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE, CHARLIE ST. CLOUD, David Franco, THE EXPENDABLES, THE AMERICAN, George Clooney, MACHETE, Danny Trejo, EASY A, Stanley Tucci, Thomas Hayden Church, LET ME IN, LIFE AS WE KNOW IT, Josh Duhamel, MAO’S LAST DANCER, RED, Mary-Louise Parker, Bruce Willis, DUE DATE, Robert Downey, Jr, FASTER, Billy Bob Thornton, Dwayne Johnson, MEGAMIND, THE WARRIOR’S WAY, CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER, Ben Barnes, TRON: LEGACY, Jeff Bridges, UNSTOPPABLE, TANGLED, Zachary Levi, CHUCK

December 22, 2010 | "Whoa whoa I gotta go...back to schoooool...again",3rd Semester,Fall 2010,Fundraising,Intro to Fiction Writing,Life in General,Mentors,Prescott College,Rio Salado,School Daze,The 4-1-1 on Me

I turned in my last assignment of the semester just today and wait with bated breath for my grade. Introduction to Fiction Writing was a challenge and I knew it would be going in. Short stories are not my forte and in this case, practice definitely makes perfect. The completed short story had to be 3,000 words.

Mine turned out to be 3,800.

I did the best I could, people!

As part of the class, we had to keep a journal. For part of the last assignment, I had to reflect on what I’d learned based on the things I’d written in the journal. Here’s a snippet:

I went into this course knowing that short stories were not my forte; I always want to keep going, to add more. I thought it would be a tad easier because I was building on previously written material—the Prologue from Book One of my YA series. Despite having a little bit of a head start, it wasn’t as easy as I’d thought it would be. The biggest difficulty, and something I mentioned in the midterm reflection, was the disruption of my normal writing process. I knew what I wanted the story to be about, but it wasn’t coming together. I didn’t have my usual normal flow, my thoughts were becoming blocked, and I was afraid that the story wouldn’t be cohesive…

The short story is called “A New Beginning” and it’s a prequel to the DA series. Once I get that website up and running and move forward with the graphic novel route, I’ll be sure to post the story. Thank you, Mrs. Nancy Ullinskey for the challenge, the encouragement and the times you wished you could give me more than the maximum points. Taking this class was proof enough that I should really do my best to take more creative writing classes.

Unlike the online writing course at Rio Salado, my Fundraising and Resource Development class was mentored. Meaning, I actually had someone in the field teaching me about, well, fundraising. At the end of the course, we have to submit a mentor evaluation. I’ve had nothing but good things to say about all the mentors I’ve had so far and Maureen was no exception:

Out of all the courses I’ve taken thus far, I feel that this course was one of the most important to learn. I researched and profiled individual donors, corporations and foundations; outlined a proposal; created a membership plan, a fundraising plan for an event, and a fundraising page for my organization’s website. I also wrote many letters (annual, committee, acknowledgment, letter of intent, membership campaign, etc). At the beginning of this course, my future nonprofit was going to be a writing center for teens. By completion, my future nonprofit is now going to be for writers of all ages. Due to the variety of different assignments, the ideas for my organization became more defined and helped me to see which direction I wanted to take.

By giving me visual examples from the nonprofit my mentor works for, I was able to see the inner workings of her organization and specifically, her department. These examples became a guide for my assignments and I found it immensely helpful. Working with Maureen was a great learning experience and all the information I’ve gleaned will be invaluable when I open my own nonprofit.

I received an A in the class.

Thank you Maureen Baker, for taking time out of your schedule to be my mentor and for sharing your expertise. It really was a great experience and I hope to work with you again sometime. If any of you live–or plan to visit–the Phoenix area, be sure to check out the Musical Instrument Museum (where Maureen is the Manager of Individual Gifts), where you can check out 190,000 square feet of musical instruments from all over the world.

I get a nice long break until Jan 27th, when the spring session starts up. After we move into our new place next month, I’m going to enjoy reading all those books in TBR pile.

Technorati Tags: Introduction to Fiction Writing, Maureen Baker, Musical Instrument Museum

November 24, 2010 | Creative Soulery,How coolio is THAT?,Life in General,The 4-1-1 on Me

One of the many things I love about being a creative soul is meeting another creative soul (this happens so rarely, I’ve decided to create a new category). Babendude and I went to dinner at a place that is quickly becoming a favorite: BLISS/REBAR We saw it on a news segment one day about a month ago and went down the same day. We’ve been there about 4 or 5 times now. This time around, we got to know our waiter, Bryan, a little bit more.

Turns out he’s a writer like me.

And he’s releasing a new piece next month, Section 1138: The Adventures of the Parallels. Isn’t it cool? Agent Apple Tree looks fierce, doesn’t she? For all you comic book fans out there, be sure to get over there and get in on the ground floor. And support a fellow creative soul while you’re at it.

I’d been sitting on the fence for a while now about what route I should take for publishing the DA series.

After talking with Bryan and checking out the site for his upcoming comic book, I think I’m leaning towards the graphic novel genre. I think it would be kinda cool to see Draven in Technicolor. It would mean a lot of re-writing of the first two books. And it’s possible that I could eek it back out to 6 from 4. If I made the novels small enough.

It would also mean of lot research, more writing classes (Gah! Like the ones I’m taking now aren’t enough), and some trial and error (more trials, very light on the errors, please). Talking to Bryan about his work and writing in general, I was so envious. He has one job, works 25 hrs a week…and spends most of his time writing!

I WANT THAT LIFE! Can I put that on my Christmas list?

I wish, wish, wish, I could do that but the only way I could is if I played the lottery. And I don’t. Even when it gets ridiculously high.

But I digress.

Meeting and talking with another Creative is like getting a hot poker in the butt. I get a little more jazzed, a little more stoked, a little more…inspired. And that’s always a good thing. At least to me, anyway.

But it also let’s me know that I’m on the right track when it comes to that degree I’m working towards and that I really need to start making more creative connections.

I seriously need to get out more.

Technorati Tags: BLISS/REBAR, Section 1138: The Adventures of the Parallels

November 12, 2010 | Follow Fridays,Life in General,The 4-1-1 on Me

It’s Follow Friday, ya’ll!

This week’s question: What’s your book budget?

Funny question. I don’t really have a book budget. I read the Harlequin Blaze adult romance series and they come out with 6 new books every month. I don’t buy all 6, but close to it. They’re pretty cheap, only $4.99, and with my BN Preferred Reader’s Card, it’s 10% off of that, so…Needless to say, I’ve never gone over $100 in one sitting. But I probably get up to that a month, depending on what other books are coming out from my other fav authors or catches my eye.

To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host [Parajunkee.com] and anyone else you want to follow on the list
2. Follow the Featured Blogger – http://insanehussein.com/blog/
3. Grab the button up there and place it in your post.
4. Answer the question (cuz it’s always nice to know a little sumpin’-sumpin’ about the people stalking following me).
5. If you’re new to the Follow Friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Technorati Tags: Harlequin Blaze, Parajunkee.com