The Working Poor and the Cycle of Poverty
I think you should discover a little more about poverty in America by reading my other blog:
http://cycleofpoverty.wordpress.com/
The faces, aspects, issues, controversies, and arguments surrounding the working poor in America.
Technology Discrimination in the Classroom
I mentioned in my last post about earbuds that I didn’t even have an ipod (or an mp3 player, or any sort of portable music device, unless you count my hunky 17 inch screen laptop as a portable music device). This reminds me of how just last week, one of my professors made me a little angry.
I don’t have an ipod mostly because I can’t afford it. I also have no need for it really; I don’t go running, enjoy observing the world between classes instead of hiding in my head with music, and like singing to myself rather than listening to the pros 
My communications professor asked the class to bring in our ipods/mp3 players for a class activity. We were discovering through trying to explain our music our high and low context culture tendencies. She wanted us to listen to each others music to help explain it, yada yada. The activity was dumb anyway and she had to prompt and lead us through the discussion at the end because it was so lame, but that’s a different story. I told her that I didn’t have an ipod so I couldn’t really do the full activity, but I could obviously discuss my music. She sighed and did a little eye roll to take some time to think how to handle delinquents like me. She told me the point of the activity and with another sigh said it would alright if I didn’t have an ipod.
Excuse me, but I am a little peeved how annoyed she got that I didn’t have the (expensive) tools to participate in her excersize. Can she fund my mp3 player initiative? I just thought she had no basis to be put off that I didn’t have the right device. Granted, she didn’t make it that big of a deal, but just the outset of expectations that she had, and singling me out to confess to her why I couldn’t participate fully. Sorry I am a poor college student.
Discovery: My professors are lame. Okay fine, real discovery: Don’t automatically expect everyone to be on the same playing field.
Earbuds
I have been annoyed for a long time about ear buds. I didn’t think my ears were that small, but when my earbuds keep falling out and it hurts to wear them stuffed in my ears for a couple minutes, so I decided that the earbud companies were out to get me. Then I searched online and found numerous pleas on forums, mostly from loving husbands looking for little earbuds for their wives. How cute. And how helpful! I found a lengthy discussion of the comfort of different brands, the rejection of over the head and “all the way in the ear” kinds.
So here is what he decided on. Looks good to me! Maybe I’ll invest in some. Maybe I should actually get an ipod first…
Little earbuds: Discovered!
Google Latitude Launch
This is too big to ignore. I mean, really. Now instead of relying on facebook to fulfill my busybody tendencies to track the lives, thoughts, and moods of my friends and barely acquainted with individuals in my life, I can now know their exact global position?!? Thank goodness. I was wondering what I would do if one day someone tweeted “I feel like hanging out, but I can’t call people to tell them where I am. Find me…Go!” I would have to stealthily locate them on Google’s Latitude. (On my laptop, mind you, since I don’t have one of those snazzy new phone devices).
All kidding aside, this article on CNN makes a good point.
For example, a girlfriend could use it to see if her boyfriend has arrived at a restaurant and, if not, how far away he is.
Duh! This would be helpful if I was meeting my boyfriend at a restaurant. Instead of inquiring or looking about for him, I could check his global position on Latitude. (“Perfect! He seems to be…let’s see….oh! Walking in right now. Glad I had Latitude.”) Sorry, I guess I couldn’t put kidding aside.
It’s also a creepily perfect way for Google to expand and track not only where we travel on the information highway, but now everywhere in real life!
And of course money is involved, too: Google hopes its mapping technology will lead to location-based advertising revenue.
I, for one, am happy that there is now no way Google (or my boyfriend) can’t find me. I feel safe, watched over. Please excuse me now while I go make sure that boyfriend of mine is at work where he’s supposed to be. Heh heh.
Traumatized much?
In an interesting turn in my IMS course in discussing virtual rape, we got in a conversation about traumatic experiences created by a fantasy world. My professor asked what movies or other “in-mind” experiences were we traumatized by?
People mentioned A Clockwork Orange, Pyscho, Chuckie, books and art shows, Batman’s Joker, and many more. I can’t even mention my own tramatic movie experience that makes me scared of certain shapes of chairs… (think flying bikes, Reece’s Pieces and Steven Spielberg)
So, in keeping the the “results of discoveries” theme of this blog, I want to know what YOU were traumatized by?
Cinderella Fairytale in Les Miserables
Focusing on not the main character of a story and rather a supporting role in a play, I see Cosette from Les Miserables (with the play plot, not the book) as a type or Cinderella fairy tale. Her father leaves her mother, and then her mom is forced to send Cosette away because she can’t care for her. Cosette ends up staying with the Thenardiers, a rowdy, corrupt, dirty family that owns a bar and makes Cosette do all the cleaning and dirty work; making them her step-family in relation to Cinderella. Cosette sings and dreams of her mother; and a “castle on a cloud,” just like the typical Cinderella tends to have a very active imagination.
Her fairy-godmother could be seen as Jean Valjean, who is the main character in Les Mis. He knew and cared for Cosette’s mother, and when she died, Jean Valjean vows to find and care for Cosette. So he provides a way out of the abusive life for Cosette. Her prince charming comes in the character of Marius, who is an aristocrat that joined the revolution (this story takes place in France during their revolution). He is able to finally completely lift Cosette out of the life her mother lived and she was headed toward living, and provide riches, happiness, and yes, even love.
There are so many other tidbits in Les Mis that can parallel or represent aspects of Cinderella, such as the Thenardiers’ daughter Eponine (Cosettes’ “step-sister”?), who is in love with Marius and jealous of Cosette.
Cosette is in the perfect typical Cinderella place of being helpless, jaded, naive, and of course beautiful just as her mother. Her prince is not only an idealist and passionate about his role in the revolition, but a very rich, society-man. Ta-da, another Cinderella stroy!
Digital Rhetoric Bio: making an argument that you even want to know about me.
Let’s being with the basics. I am a junior here at Miami, I am a strategic communications major, and want to do event planning after college. I am a student manager at King Café. I was born right here in Oxford while my dad was working on his philosophy degree. My family now lives in Cleveland.
As I am earning degrees in things I am care about in, my academic interests include mainly communications and interactive media studies (my pending minor). Specifically, I am interested in organization communication, public relations, and social media (Web 2.0). I am also interested in gerontology, but I am finding there just isn’t time in my schedule to learn about everything I want to. My strengths as a student definitely revolve around my eagerness to learn as much as I can while I am here at Miami, putting my best effort forth to link my classes to each other and my life and apply what I learn. My weakness stems from my strength, as I tend to overload with coursework, regular work “get paid” work, clubs, and volunteer efforts. My weakness as a student is sometimes putting things I am more passionate about before coursework and grades.
My prior writing experience most significantly deals with public relations and journalism. I have taken a class on news reporting and written numerous press releases for my PR class. I have also created direct mail plans, strategic plans, and media kits for both real and pseudo clients. I have done an organizational culture analysis comparing and contrasting two event centers, and research papers on everything from how to market Twizzlers in Luxembourg to Israelite warfare practices in Deuteronomy, chapter 20. I also try to keep up a couple blogs for my classes and for myself, as blogging experience seems to be a huge positive in the new job world.
Digital Technology is still slightly new to me, although I can work with Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Final Cut Pro, and am well versed in Microsoft Office. I am still learning HTML and CSS, and have created two websites so far (still very much in progress, both hosted by Miami). One of the websites is in the works to be an online resume, so this letter many be tweaked and inserted as the “About Me” section. As mentioned above, I am very into social media and spend lots of time on blogs, Twitter, Stumbleupon, Digg, Delicious, and other similar sites. I don’t have much experience, if any, with design and art, other than what I have taught myself. Design and design programs have been necessary to use for both my PR and IMS courses, so I have limited use of Fireworks and Publisher, just from working with them on my own.
I am still considering my focal topic for the course, but the first thing that came to mind was the “circle of poverty,” a concept I am interested in from personal experience through volunteer efforts and other mission or educational trips. A literary work that backs up my thoughts and surrounds this topic is “The Working Poor: Invisible in America,” by David K. Shipler.
Getting my money back! Hopefully.
I have started quite a collection of college textbooks at home, either because the darn bookstore won’t buy them back, or my exams end too late for me to even try to get some cash back (at an abysmal percentage of what I paid orginially anyways).
Plan of action: Sell them back online! My first stop was ebay. Never having bought or sold items on ebay, I hoped I could figure this process out on my own and be successful at selling them for as much money as I could. I got myself all signed up and was ready to price when I became slightly distressed. This will be obvious to frequent ebay users, but once you post a listing to ebay, there is a max of 10 days to sell the product and a minimum bid of 99 cents. So does this mean someone could want the book, wait 10 days, pay the minimum, and jip me off even worse than the bookstores at Miami? Don’t think so! I couldn’t find a way to extend the selling deadline indefinitely and wanted my books to stay on as long as it took to get them sold, so I nixed the online auction route.
I remembered actually buying one of my textbooks this semester from Amazon, and frequently buy leisure reading books from them, so I checked out their “seller” options. I was a little disapointed about the commission that they take, but the overall deal I thought was better than ebay. I got to pick my price after comparing what others sellers had priced identical books at, and my listings will stay on until I take them off. Plus they automatically add $3.99 for shipping, instead of ebay’s confusing shipping options. All 9 books are now listed successfully (picture me trudging down the stairs with nine college textbooks in hand, also gripping glass of apple juice. What can I say, I like a challenge).
Anyone have comments or suggestions about ebay vs Amazon, in regards to selling textbooks? They would be much appreciated!
Can’t…stop… : Stumbleupon
Christmas break has led me to further exploring of the wonders of the internet, mostly Web 2.0 applications that I didn’t have the time to explore during the school year. I am assuming I am experiencing the same phenomenon as many Stumble users, especially after (ironically) “stumbling upon” the graph below.
It’s a good thing I didn’t start this craze during school, or else I would be getting nothing done. Even over break, I could be finishing my t-shirt quilt, organizing the truckloads of notes and other junk I hauled back from school, et cetera.
On the other hand, I really am running across a lot of interesting things, and find myself using my “ShareThis” button to my sister and boyfriend frequently. (Who knows if they are sick of my discoveries yet). My Delicious site is also exponentially growing. I’m storing up lots of information on ways to travel cheaply (hopefully soon in the future), tips on savings and DIYs, and random tidbits that I love to know to keep conversations going.
Conclusion: Stumble should come with a “use sparingly” warning. When it IS used, be prepared for hours to fly by, but to come away with laughs and lots of new ideas for conversation starters.
(Graph courtesy of Brian Shaler, who seems like a pretty awesome guy from his website)
New Car!
My Dad, being the “teach a man to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime” kinda guy invited Evan (the boyfriend) and I along to buy a car. Since all the family cars (minus mine) are over ten years old, Dad was worried about having reliable vehicles to get to work with.
The most important lesson probably came from actions BEFORE we even headed out. If I learned one thing from my major in public relations, it’s that before tackling any problem, the most important step is to research. And research Dad did, to the point where Mom accused him of being obsessed. Obsession to one woman is apparently simply intense to focus to another man.
During the research, Dad knew exactly what he wanted, such as features, miles per gallon potential, etc. He also laid down a strict budget and stuck to it. He also knew all the options, fees, and anything the dealer might throw at him in the negotiating process.
The Approach: Should I blame this on the fact that Evan and Dad are men, or just good buyers? Either way, most of the car ride to the dealership was spent discussing the salesman as the “enemy,” and buying the car as a battle to win. Personally, I choose to approach negotiations and any conversation in a positive light, with mutual influence and friendly communication. Perhaps this is naive. Or perhaps Evan is currently obsessed with Sun Tzu’s The Art of Warfare. Regardless, we approached the Pontiac dealership with swords drawn, game faces on, knowledge of exactly what we wanted, and information on what they had to offer us. As Mr. Tzu would say:
Know your enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated. When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself, you are sure to be defeated in every battle.
After three test drives, fights with the trunk compartments, and attempts to differentiate a sun roof from a moon roof, we decided on the Pontiac Vibe.
To recap: How to Buy a Car with the Olingers…
Research
Know Thyself, and Know Thine Enemy, and approach it as a battle
Set budget
Test Drive just to see how fast it really goes
Not many other negotiating tactics are necasaary if research is done and our
price is set. ta da- car!
