Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Viral Marketing


So I've been talking a whole lot about this obnoxious campaigns class that has been taking up a ton of my time (not to mention that fact that it's made me ridiculously far behind in my other classes and I've even missed assignments...). Well, here is a little YouTube video that we created for some viral marketing. It's just a teeny-tiny part of the campaign, but I thought it would be fun for you to see what I've been working on lately.

Oh, and for those of you who don't know me in "real life," I'm the moron at the very end. Enjoy!

its about the simple things in life...

I have been one giant ball of stress this past week, and yesterday was exceptionally awful. My Campaigns class is proving to be a ton of work, and I've been doing an average of 10 hours of homework each week lately. I was dreaming about it last night and suddenly woke up at 3:45am freaking out about a little mistake I made. Cue the exhaustion.

Anyway, Joanna over at Smitten (one of my beloved Glamour blogs) wants everyone to stop and think about their 5 Simple Pleasures, and I think that now would be a good time for me take a moment to breathe and think about what makes me calm.

My 5 Simple Pleasures
1. Snuggling on the couch with a big blankie and watching a movie
2. Going for a walk
3. A nice, long, hot shower
4. Spooning!
5. Drinking a yummy chai tea latte

What are some of your simple pleasures?

Thursday, October 22, 2009

breaking blogging rules

I know this probably falls under the category of things you aren't supposed to blog about because it can come back to bite you, but I need to get this off my chest.

I have this professor who I absolutely can not stand. We're creating a campaign for a competition that has been organized by a group outside of the school. Sounds like a ton of work but a great learning experience, right? Well, sort of.

A ton of work? Oh, yes. Am I learning anything? No, unless you count learning how to be stressed out and angry all the time. She hasn't lectured us a single time, led us in the completely wrong direction for our project (which meant tons of backtracking and extra work), and misses class more than any of us! She's a hypocrite and never has anything nice to say.

Oh, and her misleading us almost meant a lot of money out of our own pockets. I'm a poor college kid, I need all the money I have. I don't need to be throwing it away for no good reason.

Yesterday's class was no better. I spent hours beforehand working with my classmates on a video. We come to class, and she bitches about everything. If she had come to class on Monday, she would have known all the work we've been doing. Then she starts to nit-pick our work to pieces.

"I'm just your tour guide. I'm not going to spoon-feed you." This is just code for "I will not be responsible for any of the major mistakes I've made. I will not lecture or teach you." How crap is that? What am I paying her to do?

When I get angry, I'm not the very best at hiding it. In class Wednesday, she was talking to another student and I was playing with the detailing on the bottom of my shirt. She instantly freaked out and yelled at me for texting. Quite offended, I said, "No, actually, I'm just playing with my shirt. Don't you think I know better, especially in a class of nine students?" She didn't like that.

Prior to this incident, I had been speaking up about my differing opinion about how we had created some of our ads. She wanted to cut something that I thought was quite important. Eventually, we came to a compromise, but not before she said, "Olivia, you can argue with me all day if you want, but this is how it's going to be!"

I'm paying for this education and dammit, I want it to be a good one.

She sent me a very short email yesterday asking to meet with me, no excuses. I guess this has happened with another student in the class, and he told me that she's going to pull me into her office and one by one, tell me every little thing she thinks I'm doing wrong.

I'm going to have to take some Zanax or something before the meeting because I'm worried that all the stuff I've said now will come out. I know better than to ruin my grade over behaving badly, but I just want to scream in her face and tell her that I think she's an awful professor.

Any tips for how to hold it together in a stressful and angering situation???

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Luck is...

That's What Je Said has found her perfect job, but it was quite the journey for her. Along the way, her roomie gave her some advice: "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." What an amazing thing to say. I might have to write this up and hang in on my wall as my own personal mantra. I'm always so busy being scared about what's going to happen once I graduate and whether I have any chance of finding a job, and somehow this little phrase is super comforting.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

crafts and photographs

After taking photos of a recent little project, I noticed some nice summer photos that hadn't made their way off of my camera yet! The weather is already starting to get chilly here and I'm about ready to start wearing my mittens. These pics however, were taken back when the sun was warm and I was wearing flip flops!

This is an old, abandoned building near the railroad tracks in my town. I loved the red against the faded yellow. Very pretty!

Ah, the train tracks.
I just love the sound of the train tumbling on by...

My kitty with a very inappropriate plaything - an empty beer can. *sigh*

My project! This very large, very boring white wall has been driving me nutty lately so I needed a quick and cheap fix for it: I hung some string and used wooden clothes pins to attach photos I'd taken and edited to look kinda funky. Hard to see here, but it only cost me $5!

Lastly, a painting I had made months ago but never shared. It was super easy but made me feel like quite the shnazzy artist!

Oh, and want to hear something completely nuts? I just read this article on Digg about a guy who was pre-approved for a credit card... with a 79.9% APR!!! Okay, I think that's crossing the line into screwing people who are desperate. Not cool.

Well, that's all folks. I really should be working on my math homework but blogging and hot cider sounding much more appealing! :)


Monday, October 12, 2009

texting is a no-no

Warning, this video is a little graphic. I swear though, you'll think twice before texting and driving ever again.



This video was made to show to 18 year olds in Britain to shock them into understanding why such behavior is so dangerous.

Friday, October 9, 2009

i HEART lists

Blog Goggles and Glamour are both making lists... and we know how much I love those! So I've decided that I'm going to copycat them both and make two lists of my own!

My Makeover-My-Life List
1. No more unproductive fights. They are a waste of energy and don't solve anything. So I am telling myself not to fight unless I am going to be a big girl and try to solve whatever issue is at hand.

2. Clean. I can't focus on anything (namely homework) if my surroundings are a pit. Now I will do my very best to keep things tidy-ish all the time so that it doesn't look like a bomb exploded in my apartment most of the time. And that means I have to start doing the dishes more frequently.

3. Stop procrastinating. Okay, I will admit that this one is a little bit unrealistic, but I wanted to put it on the list anyway. I will try my best to stop procrastinating. Example: tonight, I had an assignment due at midnight for an online class. I got out of work at 9:30 and still had 2/3 of the chapter to read. Yeah, not my proudest moment. I wrote my response about what I had read. Ugh.

4. Eat better and exercise - for the health benefits. Ignoring the rant I went on a few posts ago, I need to be healthy. Example: for lunch today, I went to Arby's and had not one but two ham melts and an order of curly fries... and I washed it down with a Mountain Dew. Oh my gawd, this is not good. Not good at all. Also, still convincing the BF to go halvesies on an exercise bike.

5. Have a cute winter wardrobe. Winter is blah, and I really don't like bundling up. However, I know that it is possible to still look cute, even with eight layers on. So I am determined to look good and therefore feel good this winter!

My Big Dreams List
1. Travel to interesting places. Top on my list: India, Japan, China, and Italy.

2. Graduate from college! I am almost there and I swear I will finish and hopefully still have my sanity in tact!

3. Be comfortable in my career. I know this isn't something that will happen immediately, and I understand that it may be awhile until I find something that works well for me. I am, however, determined to find something that fits me just right!

4. Buy a house! I am addicted to House Hunters and Hidden Potential, so I daydream about about buying a home all the time. The Boyfriend and I are always talking about our dream home with an awesome master suite and a movie theater room and a hot tub. Someday!

5. Publish a book. I love writing, and it would be an awesome accomplishment if I could work on something long enough to actually create a book that others would enjoy.