Final
Mood:  happy
Final


Reflecting about the final is almost like a big sigh of relief. With all my finds completed and only the captions to revise, I felt very content. There are many commons themes within my finds. Young motherhood, spontaneity, and career choices seem to be the main ones with an appreciation of nature mixed in. The finds that I choose all had important meanings to me. In some it was the bluntly obvious and in others it may have been the event or the attitudes displayed. After picking my finds, I took some time to arrange them. Maybe even more time than it took to pick them. The end result seemed to be a chronological order as the events have occurred in my life, or in the case of the songs, I put them in where I thought they meant the most in my life at that time. Sometimes it may have been something I wanted to stress in my life at that time. The Colorado picture was a definite pick. It was the beginning of my adulthood. It reminds me of freedom and the journey to find oneself. Nature is the original beauty. It is soothing and peaceful. Alluringly it invites you to come inside. It surrounds you and encourages self discovery. This picture literally shows a scene that I find awesome, but the trip itself introduced me to the power of nature and the connection that it has with one's soul. Imprints of this trip will stay seared into my mind and spirit forever.
The other pictures such my daughters and my x-ray school graduation are equally important to me and were an unquestionable pick. Although they are very different from the Colorado trip they are equally important to my life and growth. Dramatic and permanent changes take place in a woman's world when entering into the dimension of motherhood. Challenges beyond the imagination begin a permanent transformation. For me these things served as a portal. Allowing me to see things differently, more clearly and acted as a catalyst to make me become a better person. All of the images in my finds encouraged me to grow tremendously from the experience. Some finds also influenced positive growth in those around me, like the road trip I took with my daughters.
The other finds are a variety of information, the Nike Ad is somewhat of an old but rediscovered bit of information. After maturity allowed me to see my past with more clarity, I realized that ?Just Do It? was an integral part of my philosophy. All of the significant accomplishments in my life were done by use of this philosophy. All my obstacles and insecurities were overcome by just doing it. The Achievement card is another piece of information in my finds. It serves as inspiration. It has deeper meaning than just that but it reminds me that nothing is beyond reach if you reach beyond yourself.
Other information in my finds include the MRI-land cartoon and the La Roche article. These directly relate to my situation at hand, so they are therefore at the end of my finds. I worked very hard to further my career into the specialty area Magnetic Resonance Imaging which I now find amazingly like the cartoon. Not exactly what I had envisioned it to be. Which bring me to LaRoche and the article. This article not only represents me as a student here at LaRoche but it also ironically circles everything around to the beginning. Matching the nature scene in Colorado with the flower on the article I choose. The spring topic of my article also appropriately ties in with my reality right now, a time for growth or regeneration in my career and personal life. More change than I had anticipated were on the horizon. This is demonstrated in my diary entries. Although each of these finds reflects very different things, they also represent things that are the same. Transformational events. Some are big and some are small, but they all mold and contour someone's life. I have enjoyed the process of these assignments. Not only do I have a whole new respect for captions and pictures, but I have learned alot about myself as I reflected on my finds.

Finds 6
Mood:  don't ask
Finds 6

Reflecting back on this week's find had been hard. I feel rushed, stressed out and overwhelmed. I attempted to by pass my past technical difficulties of scanner problems with a new route of disposable camera and CD. Well, that kind of worked. I was able to put the pictures on easier. But I have some unknown red artifact on almost all of my pictures. Who knows why, the employees at the 1 hr photo didn't even mention it to me. I also ran out of disk space when I tryed to upload my finds. Well, I initally thought that I could just decline buying more because, for whatever reason (temporary insanity I guess), I thought that I could still post just not upload images. Well, after going through the process of attaching my link and writing my reflection, I was denied whenever I tryed to post. But better yet, it did not save my reflection of anything. So, to make a long story short, I must be a jinx. Technical difficulties have continued to plagued me. But Finds 6 is posted.

Finds 5
Mood:  incredulous
Now Playing: Finds 5

Project: These finds will support my theory of "Just do it!" These songs speak of living this theroy in all aspects of live. The lyrics speak of learning life as you go and flipping a coin to decide where to go. The songs are indicative of freedom and independance by throwing caution to the wind and just doing it.

Finds 5 #1: John Michael Montgomery Lyrics
Life's A Dance Lyrics

(Allen Shamblin/Steve Seskin)

When I was fourteen I was falling fast
For a blue eyed girl in my homeroom class
Trying to find the courage to ask her out
Was like trying to get oil from a waterspout
What she would have said I can't say
I never did ask and she moved away
But I learned something from my blue eyed girl
Sink or swim you gotta give it a whirl

Life's a dance you learn as you go
Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow
Don't worry about what you don't know
Life's a dance you learn as you go

The longer I live the more I believe
You do have to give if you wanna recieve
There's a time to listen, a time to talk
And you might have to crawl even after you walk
Had sure things blow up in my face
Seen the longshot, win the race
Been knocked down by the slamming door
Picked myself up and came back for more

Life's a dance you learn as you go
Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow
Don't worry about what you don't know
Life's a dance you learn as you go

Life's a dance you learn as you go
Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow
Don't worry about what you don't know
Life's a dance you learn as you go
Life's a dance you learn as you go
Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow
Don't worry about what you don't know
Life's a dance you learn as you go

Life's a dance
Life's a dance
Life's a dance
Take a chance on love
Life's a dance
You learn as you go


Caption: This song has been a favorite of mine since I heard it. I think the part that caught my attention is the chorus, ?Life's a dance you learn as you go
Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow
Don't worry about what you don't know
Life's a dance you learn as you go
Life's a dance you learn as you go
Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow
Don't worry about what you don't know
Life's a dance you learn as you go.? I think this is so true. So many people do worry about what they don?t know and as a result, they let fear control how they live their lives. This song supports the theory of just going after things without hesitation. I was also captivated by the lines, ?The longer I live the more I believe
You do have to give if you wanna recieve
There's a time to listen, a time to talk
And you might have to crawl even after you walk
Had sure things blow up in my face
Seen the longshot, win the race
Been knocked down by the slamming door
Picked myself up and came back for more.? Going with the flow and spontaneous living is the central theme. To me, this struck very close to home. I appreciate all types of music for all different reasons, but this song is a favorite because of the lyrics.




Finds 5, #2: Jo Dee Messina Lyrics
Heads Carolina, Tails California Lyrics

(Tim Nichols/Mark D. Sanders)

Baby, what do you say we just get lost?
Leave this one horse townlike two rebels without a cause.
I got people in Boston.
Ain't your daddy still in Des Moines?
We can pack up tomorrow.
Tonight, let's flip a coin

Heads, Carolina Tails, California.
Somewhere greener, somewhere warmer.
Up in the mountains, down by the ocean.
Where? It don't matter, as long as we're goin'
Somewhere together. I've got a quarter.
Heads, Carolina Tails, California.

We can load what we own in the back of a U-haul van.
Couple modern day Moses', searchin for the promised land.
We can go four hundred miles before we stop for gas.
We can drive for a day, and then we'll take a look at the map.

Heads, Carolina Tails, California.
Somewhere greener, somewhere warmer.
Up in the mountains, down by the ocean.
Where? It don't matter, as long as we're goin'
Somewhere together. I've got a quarter.
Heads, Carolina Tails, California.

We're gonna get outta here if we gotta ride a Greyhound bus.
Boy, we're bound to outrun the bad luck that's tailin' us

Heads, Carolina Tails, California.
Somewhere greener, somewhere warmer.
Up in the mountains, down by the ocean.
Where? It don't matter, as long as we're goin'
Somewhere together. I've got a quarter.
Heads, Carolina Tails, California.

O---oh, California! Carolina! California!


Caption: This is a typical feel good song. It talks mainly about taking an unexpected road trip. Just getting up and deciding to take off without a particular destination in mind. They talk about flipping a coin to decide their destination. Some of the best trips that I have taken in my life where totally spontaneous, similar to what the lyrics speak of in this song. Doing things that we enjoy are very important to living a satisfying life. Even more satisfying, is ?Just Doing It? when it comes to enjoyable things in our life as well as mundane things.

Reflection: Looking back on this finds entry I am frustrated. The actually process of finding my finds and writing my captions were very easy. I truly apprectiate music of all kinds, so this assignment was seemingly easy for me. But once again the computer and I collided. I attempted to post my finds through the photo album builder, even after the warning from April, because it seemed to be going smoothly. But....I ended up losing my entries. Part of it was my fault because I did not have anything saved but nonetheless, it was still very frustrating. I walked away from it and came back later, which helped to clear my mind.

Mid-term
Mood:  spacey
Midterm Finds
Reflecting about the mid-term finds seem to be much easier than reflecting on my original finds. Things are becoming clearer as we progress. The mid-term allows us a chance to clarify our thoughts and filter through our projections. While beginning my midterm, I found it relatively easy to picking my finds. There are many commons themes within my finds. Young motherhood, spontaneity, and career choices seem to be the main ones with an appreciation of nature mixed in. The finds that I choose all had important meanings to me. In some it was the bluntly obvious and in others it may have been the event or the attitudes displayed. After picking my finds, I took some time to arrange them. Maybe even more time than it took to pick them. The end result seemed to be a chronological order as the events have occurred in my life. I picked them based on their importance in my life. Also equally important was what I wanted to say about my life.
The Colorado picture was a definite pick. It was the beginning of my adulthood. It reminds me of freedom and the journey to find oneself. Nature is the original beauty. It is soothing and peaceful. Alluringly it invites you to come inside. It surrounds you and encourages self discovery. This picture literally shows a scene that I find awesome, but the trip itself introduced me to the power of nature and the connection that it has with one's soul. Imprints of this trip will stay seared into my mind and spirit forever.
The other pictures such my daughters and my x-ray school graduation are equally important to me and were an unquestionable pick. Although they are very different from the Colorado trip they are equally important to my life and growth. Dramatic and permanent changes take place in a woman's world when entering into the dimension of motherhood. Challenges beyond the imagination begin a permanent transformation. For me these things served as a portal. Allowing me to see things differently, more clearly and acted as a catalyst to make me become a better person. All of the images in my finds encouraged me to grow tremendously from the experience. Some finds also influenced positive growth in those around me, like the road trip I took with my daughters.
The other finds are a variety of information, the Nike Ad is somewhat of an old but rediscovered bit of information. After maturity allowed me to see my past with more clarity, I realized that ?Just Do It? was an integral part of my philosophy. All of the significant accomplishments in my life were done by use of this philosophy. All my obstacles and insecurities were overcome by just doing it. The Achievement card is another piece of information in my finds. It serves as inspiration. It has deeper meaning than just that but it reminds me that nothing is beyond reach if you reach beyond yourself.
Other information in my finds include the MRI-land cartoon and the La Roche article. These directly relate to my situation at hand, so they are therefore at the end of my finds. I worked very hard to further my career into the specialty area Magnetic Resonance Imaging which I now find amazingly like the cartoon. Not exactly what I had envisioned it to be. Which bring me to LaRoche and the article. This article not only represents me as a student here at LaRoche but it also ironically circles everything around to the beginning. Matching the nature scene in Colorado with the flower on the article I choose. The spring topic of my article also appropriately ties in with my reality right now, a time for growth or regeneration in my career and personal life. Although each of these finds reflects very different things, they also represent things that are the same. Transformational events. Some are big and some are small, but they all mold and contour someone's life.

finds 4
Mood:  accident prone

finds 4
I am taking this time to reflect of my finds entry before I am completely finished. I am already frustrated at the technology aspect of this assignment. I found most of my finds entries relatively easy with the exception of one. I decided that I would go ahead and post what I had and then come back and add the other one when I found it. I had scanned almost everything into my picture file whenever something happened. I am still not sure what. I was attempting to scan my birth announcement (that I had forgotten I had) in whenever the scanner froze. I am not sure if I was trying to make it do something that was to much for it or not. Because the announcement was a small newspaper clipping, I tryed to have the scanner crop the image small so that you would be able to read the text, that is when the computer stopped. I was first given and error message that allowed me the option to try again. The second try also failed and then the computer completely froze and I had to end the task. Now whenever I try to open the scanner, I recieve a message that says the computer no longer has the software available to open the scanner file??? Something else must also be wrong because the images already in my picture file will not upload either. I restarted the computer once, which did not seem to help. So, I tryed to contact my boyfriend (who knows much more about this computer than me) but he is unavailable. So, I guess that I am going to walk away from this machine for a while......I hope I don't have to title my next find "Temporarily Out of Order Due to Technical Difficulties"

finds 3
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: finds 3
finds 3
When reflecting back on these finds I am very pleased. It is getting progressivly easier in gathering finds. I did struggle initally, but all week I would think about things I might like to include. Instead of stressing about gathering everything on Sunday evening, I though about in small intervals all week and jotted ideas down or surfed the net or my stuff to find what I thought of. I had some inital ideas from last Mondays class, like the poems written by my daughters. But other things just came as I went. I was initally a little worried because I am not very good at keep things. I tend to feel clutter by to many things. If I don't use something in a few months, I would just rather get rid of it than have it clutter up my space. But, the few things that I did keep, like the poems, were stored in a neat little frame. I was a little disappointed in the quality of the upload to the blog but I think the general idea is displayed. The nike "just do it" logo was found after some research on the net. I have a favorite shirt that I wear with it on but, it is pretty worn. The MRI comic was found just this week. I was actually pondering who to included my job in my finds. My job is a big part of my life. I worked hard to get to the position that I am in today, and for the most part, I enjoy my job. I thought the comic did a wonderful job at portraying some wonderful irony that I myself have thought about. The concert tickets was put into my finds as a last minute thought, but pertant enough to have survived years in my jewlery box. All things considered this weeks finds were very enjoyable. It is not so much of a struggle to navigate through the blog or in scanning the images or in gathering the finds.

Reflection on finds 2
finds 2
After composing my second set of finds I feel a little better than after the first. I am still somewhat frustrated with the technical aspect. I feel much more confident when posting my pictures, but I am still not satisfied with the quality. As far as compiling my finds. I found it somewhat of an annoyance to dig boxes out of the attic to retrive pictures, but it was challenging choosing which ones would represent me. I am not a great photographer, so most of my pictures are very basic snapshots. Although, I do prefer simple shots rather than posed professional pictures. Another analogy with my life, I suppose. Anyhow, all the pictures that I chose were simple and even flawed. I did run into some problems with photos from the finds one overlapping into the "important events" category. I only chose five pictures, but I felt very confident that the shots I choose represented me best. Composing this finds made me look back on who I am and how I got there. There is a very theraputic effect to reflecting on one's past. The photographs that I have choosen, best describe me as the real person that I am. A girl coming from a strong, loving home choosing to do things a little differently(sometimes completly backward!). She gains valuable assets and experiences along the way to come out okay in the end. I hope that doesn't sound too corny because I think it fits.

reflection on finds 1
Mood:  not sure
Topic: reflection 1
finds 1
When reflecting on the experience of creating my blog, I am overwhelmed with many different emotions. The process of taking pictures for my blog, was intially exciting. I thought it would be fun to capture on film important influences withing and surrounding my environment. After a hectic week mixed with rainy weather, I turned to a different approach. Instead of creating all my images new and neatly packaged on a disk, I began to mix and match the old with the new. I took some new pictures on a borrowed digital camera and compiled the rest from old photos. It took some time and deliberating to decide which ones should be used. Althoug the process of deciding was kinda fun, because they were all my world and what I wanted to share about me. I settled on the ones that showed the things most important to me and the ones of my physical surroundings. Getting the pictures all in one place proved to be a little frustrating. Some pictures were very old and had poor quality. I found myself spending time trying to impove the quality. After what seemed like a long time, I was able to get my choosen pictures neatly on a disk. I am not the most computer savy person, so I was looking forward to creating the blog together in class. But circumstances decided to keep me from class. I took it in stride telling myself, that's okay, I can follow directions on a computer how hard can it be? Well, let's just say, the birth of my blog was long and painful. When I first attempted to create my blog, I ran into trouble downloading my pictures. All the treadious work that I had done perfecting the quality of my pictures was for not. The polishing touches I had put on my images only caused distortion and enlargment when displayed on the blog screen. So, I went back to work trying to undo the changes that I had made. Sometimes, I had to start over from scratch and re-scan my pictures. I was also unsure on my comments of the pictures. I was confusing my reflection with the description of the picture. I am still not sure if I put enough information in my captions. But that was my first clue that I may have done something wrong. I got thinking, where do I post my reflections? I went ahead and finished what I had begun, just in case I was correct, and e-mail April to ask for guidance. My suspicion was correct and I completed posted my pictures in the wrong area. So, once again I began playing with my pictures. After finding the correct area to post my pictures, I once again ran into problems. Some of my pictures would just not upload. Several times I got errors. Eventually, I had to re-scan two pictures and post them without any changes. They look smaller than the others on the screen but I could not figure out how to make them any better and still be able to upload them. This was very frustrating to me. I thought about totally eliminating them from my finds, but I thought they were too important. Finally, I was able to get them onto the blog side with some polishes but not onto the photo album builder side. I still don't understand and merely settled for what is posted. Working with the online environment is what has been most frustrating to me. The process of selecting the pictures was very enjoyable. Composing the captions for the pictures was also fun. I struggled somewhat with how much or how little to say. I settled for what I think is a happy medium....hopefully.