*MMMmMmMM The Sense of Smelllllll*

The other day, I was having coffee with a friend. The definitive, delicious aroma of the drink made me sit back and think about my life thus far, I realize how many memories are tied into scent….

I have countless childood memories, both happy and sad. I find that certain smells give me flashbacks quite often. The smell of Lilacs reminds me of summers I spent outside in my front yard (near our lilac tree) playing games with my little sister…Chlorine reminds me of our pool and how many countless hours my sisters and I would spend in it. Every once and a while someone will be wearing a specific after shave that reminds me of my father and how he smelled just after he showered and before he left for work when he said goodbye to me for the day.

There are plenty of smells I love and plenty I hate…

One’s I Love
*The smell in the air right after it rains
*Fresh popped popcorn at a movie theater
*Coffee on a cold winter day
*Certain men’s cologne
*A freshly cut ice area
*Soap in the shower after a hard day at work
*Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies
*New tennis balls
*Towels right out of the dryer
*My 1st boyfriend

One’s I Hate
*The smell in the bathroom after someone poops
*Spoiled milk
*Construction in humid heat
*Throw Up
*Body Odor
*Antiques (they smell musty and moldy yuck)
*Gin (toooo strong for my nostrils)
*Citrus floor cleaner, or the smell of orange stuck on my hands after I peel one
*Wet Dog
*Cabbage cooking (smells like burnt rubber)
*Icy Hot (too many sports injuries related to this nasty smell)
*Fish (which is incredibly ironic that I work at a seafood restaurant)

One thing is for sure, of all my senses, Smell defiantly gives me the most memories, both enjoyable, and dreaded!

$$$ TIME IS MONEY $$$

TIME IS MONEY…I have heard that phrase so many times in life, but today it became clear to me just how true that is…For one of the million assignments I have to do in the next few weeks, I have to create a campaign for the elections in France. Being that I am a perfectionist and like to create stuff, I figured a nice visual would aid in my campaign speech (which must be all in French! Egh)…

So I headed down to the local Kinko’s to make a few copies for a poster…little did I know I would be charged by the MINUTE to use a computer!! I can’t believe it. Then because I was rushing to save my money, I kept screwing up the copies, accidentally printing them on the wrong printer, in black & white instead of color, or cutting off half the picture…I not only wasted time fixing my errors, I wasted money re-printing the pictures. I am convinced they set it up to be confusing so they can rip me off for more money…that or I am completely computer illiterate, but I am pretty sure it’s a scam.
Sticking on the subject of spending money on a non-existent item (like time)…I also do not understand who ever told cell phone companies they could own AIR SPACE? How can you charge for air…I have never and will never be okay with that concept. Are they going to start charging for breathing pretty soon??? I better start saving up….

college life vs real life......hmm..

Three more hectic/crazy/chaotic weeks and its all over!!!..for a few months at least.....I have always loved summer break, but this year will be appreciated more than ever. I am very good at keeping up with my schoolwork and working forty hours a week on top of that, but lately it is certainly catching up to me. It seems like every week I do my work and as soon as a I feel I am near catching up, I get five more assignments. I am both frustrated and aggravated by this. I feel like I can never catch up, and I don’t like the thought of falling behind. I like to push and challenge myself, but I know that when school is over it will be a great sigh of relief.

Sleeping in, enjoying the sun and making some money will be my top enjoyments and priorities this summer….in that order ;). I cannot wait to not have any assignments due and to be able to pick up a book/ magazine and just read it for FUN…Also I cannot stand this horrendous weather we are having!? April is supposed to be nice and warm and almost summer. It seems like we are going to jump right from winter to summer this year…and I have never anticipated pulling out the shorts and tank tops like now!! Lately I have been thinking I should have gone to a 2-year school so I could be done now. But when I sit back and re-evaluate I know sticking it through will pay off. These next two years should fly by, and then I get the pleasure of living in the “real” world with real bills and a real job...yikes…that’s scary.

*Pet Peeves*

I feel the need to vent my frustrations of several pet peeves that people can easily fix, yet chose to annoy me with instead. I tend to be passive aggressive, so I am sure most of the time people have no idea they are driving me nuts, but the following are three things the that really irritate me :

*Long Nails on Men-I can’t stand when guys don’t trim their nails…it takes less than two minutes to clip them up. Nice hands are so refreshing to see, yet a lot of guys just let ‘em grow…this holds truth to toenails as well, it is so unattractive if they are haven’t been clipped (YUCK)….

*Sloppiness- I have come to the realization I may have an obsessive-compulsive problem with cleaning and organizing things. I have all my clothing color coordinated and all my movies alphabetized. I don’t expect this degree of organization from other people, but I do not, and will never understand how people can just throw things all over the floor in random piles. It takes maybe four seconds longer to fold up a shirt and put it in the right place, or to neatly place something on a counter instead of throwing crap everywhere…

*Laziness- I have found everywhere I work; there are a handful of annoyingly lazy people. They sit there and spend all their time complaining about what they have to do, instead of just gettttting it done. I hate that. It takes twice as long, and only further irritates you when you spend so much time and effort trying to find a way out of doing a task. You are getting paid for working…so work…
This is just a quick list of things that are very easily fixed; yet tend to be very prominent in the people I get stuck around!!!!

*Paper Four...A Possible Career*

This week our assignment for our final “paper” was to create a public relations event that would promote the product of another student in class. I was very excited to hear about this and I immediately had an idea.

I found a student that had “women’s clothing” because that is a product. I am very familiar with. I was planning to do a runway show for whatever product my “client”/student had selected. I lucked out big time because my partner selected bras from Victoria’s Secret.

I knew this would be my favorite assignment for this class because I want to do this as my career hopefully. I spent hours upon hours searching for actual contact numbers and addresses, putting together a guest list, and detailing out the promotional event. Although I began to frustrate myself greatly, I could not tear myself away from the project. I spent 12 hours at my desk putting everything together, only taking a break for class.

I have the attention span of an eight year old and I can neverrrrr sit still, the fact that I actually managed to keep myself focused and interested for so long on one thing is shocking and exciting for me. I am really happy with the outcome of this project. I am confident that this is what I really want to do and this assignment was key in convincing me I have selected the right career field …only two more years before real life begins!

**Sarcasm**

After reading the short excerpt “Just Do It” by Augusten Burroughs, I am both amused and impressed. I myself tend to be extremely sarcastic by nature…yet I have never been able to master the art of sarcasm in writing. It seems to be a great characteristic to posses to have the talent to incorporate and be so cynical and sardonic on paper.

I am huge fan of movies, and I have found that I somehow developed a small obsession with buying DVD’s off of amazon.com…Unfortunately with my busy schedule I haven’t been able to watch many movies lately. Burroughs was the creator of the recent box-office hit “Running With Scissors”. It is on the top of my list of movies to see, and after reading the article I am more intrigued to see the film.

Burroughs talks about how he looks up to his friend, an undertaker. It is so interesting to me because I have always aspired to have a career in advertising and marketing. Because of my interest and desire to be in the P.R./ communications field, it is both strange and comical to me that a highly paid, successful advertising agent would find a “janitor like” job to be superior.
Burroughs also explained how, in his line of business, that he must manipulate people into “parting with their money” and doing them a disservice. I never really thought about advertising in that kind of negative light. Burroughs seems to be a talented and very comical person, so I look forward now much more than before to seeing “Running With Scissors”…

*Education vs Frustration*

Manhattanville has many pros and cons. I often find myself calculating its cons and wondering whether it is where I want to be. I do enjoy the education I receive, and I believe it is wonderful to have smaller classes where the professors get to know their students. In general the staff is excellent and take time to help students whenever needed, yet there are many things that frustrate me tremendously about the school.

My most recent frustration stems from the lack of plowing in the student parking lots. I returned from spring break only to get stuck in a completely untouched parking lot. I spent an hour and a half trying to dig myself out of my parking space, was late to work and ruined the transmission in my car! My car was weak and barely functioning so I could not park in the snow filled parking lot. After circling the campus, I could find no cleared space to park my car, and put it in a fire lane (the only cleared area)…I was then given a double ticket which resulted in a 70 dollar fine…Then just two days after I got stuck and strained the engine struggling to get out of my spot, my car’s electrical system broke, as well as my transmission L… The tuition for this school is so high, and they can’t come up with the money to pay someone to plow the lots?

The list of cons are seemingly endless, from our closet size rooms, the no-guest policy at all our parties, and food which seems to be the same day after day….I have to at times sit and wonder why I chose Manhattanville!? I just have to keep in mind that the education is most important and all the little frustrations wil

pay off…

Newspapers- Should they abandon Inverted Pyramid Style Stories?!

Critics have accused newspapers as abandoning the inverted pyramid for of news casting. It is unfair to compare a newspaper with the television or radio. Anyone could argue that the television and radio relays news faster. Both are sent through airwaves and can be listened or watched at any time. The newspaper is more limited to options. It can only be published once a day (unless it is an online newspaper source). People speak much faster than the can read, so it is clear why it would seem like a television or a radio would be able to form stories into an inverted pyramid better, it takes less time and usually less words. People speak differently than they read, and you need more descriptive words and clearer sentences when you are reading, so naturally a newspaper story will have to approach a story slightly different than a television show or a radio station would.
I do agree with the argument that television does get the news faster, that is because there is news on the TV 24 hours a day. But with technology now, you can use a newspaper source just as often and it is usually up to the minute on its information as well. I think the argument that newspapers are not fast enough to deliver inverted pyramid stories (and that they should stick to detailed features) is an obsolete argument thanks to today’s online technologies and the ability to produce news at any time and it is readily accessible to anyone with an internet connection. Newspapers should stick with the inverted pyramid stories, for most readers attention spans will not keep them interested for a paper full of "features".

*Why are we so intrigued by Celebrity News!?*

The question was presented in a heated class discussion, why are we so interested in celebrity news? I think there are countless answers. The American society places higher general interest in Celebrities than on most political figures. Most Americans couldn’t name four senators, or give a clear definition of political parties and their viewpoints, but I am willing to bet that any American could name at least twenty celebrities and knows quite a bit about each of them.

I am not 100% sure why we put so much importance on the events of these peoples lives. It could be because we live relatively boring, and live seemingly insignificant lives in comparison. We can’t break the law and get away with it. Most of us cannot afford to own 4 or 5 luxury cars, or mansions across the world. It is intriguing to see when someone can do and afford those things, so people will undeniably stay tuned to see what new car the rich and famous are driving, or where the hot vacation spot is. We love to pretend that we could someday drive that car or afford that vacation.

Celebrities have a “surreal” life. People, although it is said to say, love to see others fail. It gives us a feeling of accomplishment to see that even a celebrity isn’t perfect. If you see Britney Spears have a public melt-down, although it is disturbing, it is almost comforting to some to see that even 150 million dollars, and the world at your fingertips, will not buy you happiness. Through their failures, it allows people to connect. Everyone has experienced failure, and to see such a successful person fail, allows an ordinary person refreshment to know even the best fall down, and it can encourage him or her to get back up and try again. There is no definite answer as to why people love to hear about Celebrity news, but I know that I am guilty just as much as the next person of reading into it each week. I love to know who is dating whom, and what everyone is wearing. It is relaxing and allows a little break in the hectic workday.

*The Importance of Grammar*

The author of our textbook makes it clear that grammar is an essential part, and probably one of the most important aspects in writing. Although I was never a big fan of learning grammar, and I have always found it somewhat of a challenge to conform to rules, I do see that grammar extremely important in writing, as well as speech.

People often are under the misconception that grammar is a useless and an unimportant part of writing that teachers just want to drill into your head to fill up class time. Thankfully most of those people do not get hired at any prominent news sources and do not get promoted to positions of power in society (with the exception of the president, who seemed to slip under the radar of all voters).

I have come to realize that grammar is a very key point in all forms of verbal and written communication. It sets a standard for judgment. When people cannot manage to use proper grammar and speech, they can easily come off as ignorant or uneducated. Audiences do not have a large attention span and are very critical of speakers and writers. If a writer cannot get something as simple as grammar correct, it will likely set off a warning signal to reader. If the writer can’t even use proper grammar, they may not be intelligent enough to write a factual, accurate piece.

I know that grammar is certainly not my strongest skill, but in realizing its importance in the career field I want to pursue, I know I will need to keep trying to improve my use of grammar within my writing.

*Changing the Meaning of Style*

The chapter I finished reading on “Style and the Stylebook” in my writing for the media class was not only informative, but rather entertaining for me. As I read through the chapter and all of the rules to writing I had never before been aware of, I began to question to my own personal style.

I knew editors and companies required very specific requirements as far as grammar in writing is concerned, but I had no idea they were so specific on a word-to-word basis. Even the way I phrased word-to-word could be incorrect according to the stylebook! As I am typing this blog, my newfound knowledge of these rules is making me second-guess each and every word that I type. I can’t imagine the stress a reporter may go through; in addition to accuracy, clarity, and deadlines they must also worry about the style and conforming to the company’s principles.

Although I feel that the stylebook can be restricting and pose a challenge when writing, I understand the need for it. Audiences are extremely critical, and hard to please. If a source allows a piece to be published that offends people by something as simple as a word, or terminology, they are likely to abandon that source and chose another to read from. As far as writing for the mass media, writers have to realize that they are reaching a broad range of people. Having guidelines is very helpful and can prevent complications and misunderstandings. So while the concept of the stylebook can seem at times unbearably time consuming, it is clear to me that it is more of a tool than a constraint. I look forward to using the stylebook in and out of the class to improve my writing.

"Which websites do you visit regularly? Why?"

For my spring semester college course "writing for the media", we are required each week to write blogs based on prompts given to us by our teacher aka "the editor". From this weeks' selections, I chose one that was rather interesting, "what websites do you visit regularly? why?"
Immediately, "E! Online", Myspace, and Facebook popped into my head. I have formed some sort of crazy addiction to these websites. I cannot think of the last time I went a day without checking these sites. Even on days when I am unbelievably pressed for time, I somehow manage to squeeze in a few minutes to check each site.

My day almost always starts with me rolling out of bed, turning on my computer, and checking to see if I have any new myspace messages, comments or friend requests. I don't tend to spend a lot of time on the site, but I check it periodically through the day (almost like a bad, repetitious habit). Next I hop over to my facebook page, where I check to see who has written on my wall, sent me a message or poked me. Once I have checked my two main web pages, I switch over to a few others. I always check my "mville" email to see if any teachers have emailed me, or if there are any upcoming campus events. Each day I also sign onto my online banking to make sure all my accounts are correct and up to date. Once I have done all that (which takes about 5-10 minutes max.) I go to "E! Online" my favorite spot.

The E! Channel is probably my biggest obsession, and my favorite thing to watch when I have some down time. By creating a website, it allowed me to tune in at anytime and read up on my celebrity gossip. I have a strong interest in the entertainment world, being that I plan to have a career in that field. Although I do visit other websites, the primary ones are Myspace.com, Facebook.com, and E! online that keep me hooked everyday!

*FiRsT BLoG FoR mY nEw CLaSs!*

Starting up my second semester of my sophomore year in College, I have a pretty clear view of my future career aspirations. I spent last year adjusting to college life and, as reflected in my grades, I suffered slightly from the change from high school level work into college. I spent the summer prioritizing my goals so I would exceed in class for the remainder of college. I cut down on partying significantly and decided not to work more than 35 hours a week. I became focused mainly on getting all my work completed to the best of my ability. Last semester I certainly fulfilled my goals, and I attained a 3.9 for my semester GPA.

I have always had a huge interest in the Media as a whole. I knew from a very young age that I would like to move to New York City, and that I wanted to find some outlet into the media industry. Now that I am in college I realize that if I am not in front of the cameras modeling or acting, I can still be actively involved in that world. Public Relations is a field of Media Studies that I am extremely interested in pursuing. I would like to take as many courses as I can while I am in school that will enhance my knowledge of the business aspect of the media. Last year I took a few courses in Marketing and Management that will be of use in the future. However, I feel as though the Intro to Communications and the Writing for the Media classes I have taken and am taking this year will be much more useful to me in the future.

The Public Relations field offers such a wide variety of potential jobs, and I would like to make myself as knowledgeable and versatile as possible. By taking the Writing for the Media course I know it will help my writing skills and enhance my understanding and awareness of the rules of written and published media. I am very excited to take this course and I can't wait to learn more about the media.