Autumn

Yay!  Fall has finally come to Florida!!

I can actually turn off my air conditioner and open the windows.  I can walk to the bus stop without being drenched in sweat by the time I get there.  I realize that I live in Florida and the head is inevitable, but it stays hot for so long!!  And all too soon it will be getting hot again.  So, for now, I'm going to enjoy this reprieve!

Homepage

I'm talking a class called Internet Communications this semester. I've really been enjoying it, especially because the professor really emphasizes actual web design. For the class, we have two projects that require us to create web pages.

For our first project, we had to design and write all the code for a personal website. Using HTML and CSS coding and doing my own image editing in Photoshop, I created a five page website. I would have preferred to feature other things besides "Hobbies" and "Travel" but those were required by my professor. Still, I'm proud of my site.

Check it out:
http://plaza.ufl.edu/ekeegstr/mmc3260/index.html

Stuck inside

It looks like such a beautiful day, but I'm stuck inside at a job that I really, really don't like.

As I've mentioned before, I have a new job this semester for my graduate assistantship. I'm now working in the Visual Resource Center. It really isn't that bad of a job. I'm just frustrated with it because I don't want to be working here and I wasn't given a choice. The school told me I could not longer work at the museum and I now had to work here.

The problem is there isn't much for me to do. In fact, most of my time is spent doing my work for classes. I've done some work for the VRC while there, but not much. I just feel like I'm wasting my time and I could be doing something so much more productive and useful if I was still working at the museum.

Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do except make the best of it. Of course, writing all that above isn't really making the best of it. In fact, I didn't intend to write all that when I started out. Oops.

Well, I'm going to make the best of it. So, here I will sit, listening to some music, doing my reading for my 16th century lit class and looking out the window. *sigh* I wish I could be outside. It really does look nice. The sun is shining and there is a breeze which keeps tossing about the branches on the trees outside my window. Just two more hours and then I leave. Maybe I'll take a long walk after I get off, just so I can be outside. I really hate being stuck inside, especially when I have such big windows that show me how nice it is outside.

The drought is over

After a long dry spell, I'm back. It wasn't my fault, really. I blame it on an evil, irregular, extremely busy summer schedule and my temporary lack of wireless internet.

That's all over now. As for the first reason, school has now started and my schedule is back into a normal pattern. Also, I no longer work at the museum (a whole other, long story), so my work hours stay within their normal bounds. The second reason was a simple re-installation of my wireless router software, which took me weeks to get around to because of the first reason. But now that all has been resolved.

I'm back in class now that the fall semester has started up. Thankfully, everything worked out just as I planned, so my life is a lot less stressful these days. I actually have freetime on the weekends now. That's a big deal for me. I haven't had weekend freetime in almost a year. Ok, that's exaggerating a little, but still, it has been awhile.

Just a brief status report: I'm in my final semester of my Museum Studies M.A. Due to my prior diligence in fulfilling my degree requirements, I'm taking two elective courses and a thesis course. My electives are a class in 16th century literature and a journalism class called "Internet Communication." I'm designing websites for class and reading interesting literature!! This is so cool. When I'm not doing that I'm writing, rewriting and rerewriting my thesis. More on that later.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

In honor of this auspicious holiday, I have gone on a search to discovery my true Pirate identity. According to these wise sages, my piratical identity is:

Mad Bess Kidd

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

More please!

Last night Bo and I rented I Am Legend, starring Will Smith. I've heard good things about the movie and I know the book it is based off of is supposed to be quite good, but I found the movie to be a bit of disappointment. There were so many interesting ideas hinted at in the movie, but there was no follow through on these ideas. The basic idea behind the movie was only sparsely sketched out and much was left to speculation. Not that I mind speculating about what is going on in a movie, I just think too much was left out.

The movie felt like it was very short and over too quickly. When it was over, I understood that there was a virus, where the virus came from and that this virus killed almost everyone. But I was left wondering why specific people were immune and did all the people who survive have immunity or were some just lucky? Why was New York City considered "ground zero" of the infection? Why was finding a cure Neville's responsibility when another scientist was the one who invented the virus? At least, I think that opening bit indicated that the "cancer cure virus" was the one that caused all the problems.

I just think the film could have done a much better job of probing the depths of this story. It felt more like the series premier of a new TV show rather than a full-length movie! Despite that, I think Will Smith did a very good job in this movie and the sets for the abandoned New York City were very impressive.

Remembering college

I graduated from a very liberal liberal arts college: Oberlin College in Ohio. Sometimes I forget how crazy it was going to Oberlin. Those memories blur into the fond recollections that everyone has about college: late nights of studying and partying, close friends, new ideas, uncomfortable dorm experiences, and various other typical college experiences. However, mixed in with all of that is something so uniquely Oberlin that sometimes I forget other people haven't had the same college experiences. Most people haven't eaten at a vegan co-op, haven't negotiated their way through complex discussions of racism, sexism and sustainable practices while just sitting around in the lounge after class, haven't forgotten to flip the shower sign to Women only and be joined by the guy that lives down the hall, haven't been paid to use the bathroom in a specific building that is a living machine. They certainly aren't familiar with the phrase "If its yellow, let it mellow" and they most definitely don't understand why Harkies dressed as pirates were terrorizing the campus.

I talk about these experiences with my friends and co-works when we are sitting around sharing funny stories from our past and many times I get incredulous stares and hesitant laughter. I never hear people say "Oh yea! I did something like that!" Instead I hear things like:

"You mean, you took a shower with 3 other people and some of them were guys?"

"Wait, you guys all lived together, cleaned your own dorm and cooked all your own food?"

"So, you not only had co-ed dorms and co-ed halls, but co-ed rooms?"


Yes, we did. And I loved it and I think I'm a better person because of it.

Then again, maybe I am just a little weird because in many ways Oberlin is a little weird. Of course, that's why I loved Oberlin and I wouldn't change a second of my time there.

This nostalgia was trigged by a New York Time article about sustainable practices implemented by students at Oberlin. What really made me think about all this was the fact that this article considers what these students are doing as new, unique and innovative. The fact is, Obies do this stuff everyday. And they don't think of it as new and different. They think of it as normal.