ary's.blog

Environmental Outing #5

This semester I went to my first NFL game ever!

Not only was it my first NFL game, but it was also to see the Dolphins, my team, play against my boyfriend’s life-long team, the Buffalo Bills.  I was a bit apprehensive going into the day because I was going to be surrounded by Bills fans all day!  I’d be cheering for the Dolphins sitting next to a devoted Bills fan, being his girlfriend.  Complex situation if you ask me.  Not only were all his friends from New York coming down to see the game and tailgate with my boyfriend, but his mother and brother were also coming down to see the game.

We arrived to tailgate at 10 a.m., and the game was not set to start until 1 p.m.  I spent the morning meeting people and sometimes standing awkwardly next to my boyfriend as he chatted with his friends from home.  I had fun meeting the friends and mostly spent time with his mother.  Anyway, most of the fans jokingly booed at me since I was dressed in orange and green, representing the Dolphins.

When 12:30 p.m. came around, we started walking into the Pro-Player Stadium.  I yelled and cheered the whole game, drank plenty of beer, and finally rubbed the Dolphins’ win in my boyfriend’s face, which was quite funny.  He definitely threw a bit of a tizzy.  The game was tons of fun, and after the game, we went back out out to the parking lot and kept hanging out until about 5:30 p.m.  I can say I got the full experience out of going to my first NFL game, AND my team won!  I can’t even say that being surrounded by fellow Dolphins’ fans would have made it better because the fact that instead I was surrounded by tons of moping Bills’ fans, which made me laugh in glee inside.  Nice football-filled day!

Environmental Outing #4

This was my visit to the art gallery.  Honestly, in previous years, I have been to much cuter, friendlier, and more diverse galleries.  This one mostly specialized in custom framing and on selling original lithographs.  The H&S Art Corporation Gallery intrigued me when I walked by because of these cool lithograph pieces of art in all different colors, shapes and sizes.  It was a very colorful store-front window.  So, I stepped in from the cold to check out the gallery and spent a few minutes moving from one to another.  My favorite pieces of art were paper-mache shoes in bright crazy colors set on black frames.

The part that threw me off and made the whole experience actually quite unpleasant was meeting the owner.  I asked him if this was the only store they owned, meaning if it was a chain or just one.  He responded telling me that if this wasn’t enough to go somewhere else.  I found him to be very rude, and he pretty much ruined it for me.  However, the frames, lithographs, and paintings were very enchanting.  The outing was interesting to say the least.

Environmental Outing #3

I had never seen a movie by myself before.  I thought I’d just never really had to or wanted to, but I did.  Tons of times had passed when I wanted to go see a certain movie at the movie theater and just because no one else wanted to see it, I made myself wait until it came out at Blockbuster.  It’s a shame, really.  I should have gone so many times by myself, but I just thought I’d feel awkward sitting by myself in a completely dark room and tons of friends sitting around me.  So for this assignment, I went to see Bolt in 3-D alone.

I don’t know which made me feel weirder, that I was going to the movies by myself or that it was to see a kids’ movie in 3-D (which I was looking forward to immensely).  Anyway, I showed up at Muvico about five minutes before the movie, so I wouldn’t have any time to dawdle aimlessly.  I skipped the popcorn and soda since I already had a Snickers bar in my purse and went straight to theater 23.  I found a seat by myself in the second to last row in the back, where I usually like to sit.  The previews were already on, and a few minutes later, the movie began.

I enjoyed every minute of it, probably even more than I would have with someone sitting next to me.  I laughed and cried (yes, cried).  I think I might have even snorted a couple of times, but it didn’t really matter of course because no one I knew was there.  The experience was great, and I will gladly be doing this again the next time no one wants to go see a silly kids movie with me!

Reflective Essay

I am a Public Relations major, and realizing I had to take some Advertising, I was a bit apprehensive.  It’s not really my expertise, although I do acknowledge that Public Relations and Advertising go hand-in-hand.  Anyway, what I actually achieved through Creative Concepts was more than I expected.  I have never considered myself creative, and honestly still don’t.  However, this class MORE than helped.  It opened my mind, helped me “think outside the box”, and made me realize that I do have a creative side; it just needs to be explored.

As soon as Professor Cal walked in the class and greeted us with her energetic smile, I knew this class would be more than a simple read-the-book, complete-your-assignments, and go-home kind of class.  The syllabus itself was more interesting than any other I’d encountered in my four years at FIU.  “Environmental outings” was the first section that caught my attention.  What?  I had to visit places outside of class?  For what!  Interviews, presentations, and a JOURNAL?  Okay, so I thought I was in way over my head.  There was way much more creativity on a single piece of paper than I had even bargained for, but I kept an open mind and listened.

Professor Cal took an interest in learning our names and had us write them out on a paper to keep as name tags during class until she learned them, which didn’t take her very long either.  The class was a very personal experience.  Each day in class, I grew creatively.  There were three in-class assignments that stood out to me, which I liked (other than the main projects).

The first set of assignments I remember doing was to pick out ads (excluding beauty and liquor) that we liked and didn’t like.  Next, we were supposed to explain the headline, tag line, and body of the message.  Automatically, doing these exercises made me feel more comfortable speaking to the class as a group of friends learning with and from each other.  For one specific one, the ad we didn’t like, I had to pair up with another student Phil.  With his witty humor and easygoing personality, he wasn’t hard to work with, and we easily came up with an alternative ad for our client Rembrandt.

The next set of assignments was brainstorming.  One day, Professor Cal walked in with a green pool floating tube and told us to come up with ONE HUNDRED different uses for the tube.  I didn’t expect to be able to, which I didn’t because my hand couldn’t write fast enough, but the words and ideas just flowed onto the paper:  teleportation device, telephone, rainbow arc, hula hoop, etc.  Hearing others’ ideas was interesting as well.

Lastly, the class had to write a short story (paragraph or so) using a completely random set of words.  I actually loved how my story, The Suicidal Banana, turned out.  I was able to work with Cedric on it, and although our ideas completely clashed, he was a great partner!  Those three set of assignments definitely contributed most to expanding my creativity in this class.

During most of the second half of the semester, my classmates and I discussed our Creative Interviews on who we thought was an expert in the creative field and our Very Creative Person Presentations.  The second half I probably only continued to grow in my creative side through my journal entries but appreciated all the knowledge I was gaining listening to others’ presentations and researching creative people myself.  I enjoyed interviewing someone, decided on the fact that this is probably something I will further explore in the future.

All in all, the professor and my classmates were a complete joy to meet and become familiar with.  Hopefully, most of us can keep in touch in the future and possibly continue to network as well.  This is the most real and useful class I have had.  Thanks to everyone for contributing to a semester SUPER well spent!

Supplementary Article #7

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/shiba-inu-puppy-cam

Starting with JennyCam, which I think we watched something about in class (maybe not), “life, online” TV has blown up.  I don’t know if people don’t have enough going on in their own lives that they have to sit on their computers all day and watch OTHER people make coffee, brush their teeth, sleep, kiss, eat, etc.  Or what!  Anyway, the most recent Big Hit has been the puppy cam.  I hadn’t watched it before but had heard about it on the news.  Like I said in a previous article, I love animals.  So, I was curious and decided to look up the infamous puppy cam.

Here is an introductory article, in case you have no clue what I am talking about:  http://www.people.com/people/article/0„20240125,00.html

Okay, these babies are adorable!  I still wouldn’t be able to sit for a long period of time and watch this, probably just because I find it hard to sit still at all, but with over 20,000 viewers daily, these puppies are stars.  On the live stream website, you can find recorded clips, pictures, and detailed information on the Shiba Inu family.  If you have some free time on your hands, go on the website and check them out.  Even if you don’t like animals, I’m sure you will fall in love with the growing puppies and want to come back for more.

Supplementary Article #6

Along with everyone else on planet Earth, I have thought about the “End of the World” and when it will come.  Many drunken nights have passed during which, at some point or another, my friends and I have sat outside, stared up at the sky, and wondered how the world will end.  A meteor?  A war?  Some prophetic religious catastrophe?  And the topic of 2012 has come up a few times as well.  I had never actually researched the idea, and for some reason, I decided to.  I guess I’m a little masochistic because, honestly, the idea of it alone frightens me and makes me feel just a bit insignificant.

So I found an entire website (http://endworld2012.com/) devoted to the theories people have about why the world will end in the year 2012.  The theories are based on the fact that the Long Count Calendar of the Ancient Mayans ends on the date December 21, 2012.  Then, I read some of the actual causes believed by end-of-the-world-2012 believers.  Armageddon, biological warfare, asteroid impact and nuclear devastation seemed among the most common and believable.  Others were alien contact (???), planetary inferno combustion, and government initiated extermination.

Some of this information, if researched further than the simple blurbs written on this website, is scary to think about.  Furthermore, I went a little further and googled “2012 end of world” and found out that there were about 489,000 entries!  Ah, that makes me just a tiny bit sad!!  Not like any of the past theories about when the world will end have come true, but this seems to be the most popular one to date.  Think about it.  Or not.

Supplementary Article #5 (mis-numbered one of them!!)

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/05/ap/strange/main4650184.shtml

Being the obsessed animal-lover that I am, this article struck me close to home!

“Strange news” is one of my favorite types of news to read.  I ran across this article as I was browsing today.  A woman, owner of an 11- or 12-year-old collie mix, allegedly left her dog outside overnight in single-digit-degree freezing-cold weather!  The dog weighs in at over 120 pounds.  The authorities claim that this might be the only reason the poor dog Jiffy survived being stuck frozen to the sidewalk all night long.  They suppose Jiffy was insulated by all his layers of fat.  The owner was then arrested Thursday morning for neglecting her pup.  She now defends herself saying she tried to bring him in, and after failing to do so, just checked on him every few hours.  Poor baby!!  I think she should definitely be arrested and is a totally irresponsible pet owner.  Luckily for the dog, he was “morbidly obese,” as classified by the Sheboygan County Humane Society!