Life and the Case of the Drafty Dorm Room

     In life, so I've been told, doors open and close.

     Sometimes doors open when a new opportunity arises and they close once that window has past.

     But in our case, our door keeps opening and closing either as a result of our dorm being really drafty or that  it's haunted.

     And, apparently, a girl did kill herself in our building once, so it might really be haunted. But I think I'll wait another month before I research that further.

     But it is a little surreal when you can see the metaphorical doors opening and closing in your life.
  
     Closed door: Stat teacher doesn't speak English.

     Open door: Free stat tutoring.

     Open door: Skit try-outs extended.

     Closed door: Going over to Theta and contemplating whether or not to tryout until you realize that it's 9 and try-outs were over at 8:30.

     Open door: I'm the group leader for my J2000 final project and we get to design a PR campaign, which is something I've never done before.

     To be completely honest, I am both terrified and thrilled to be doing something new for a final project which is worth a big chunk of my grade in that class. Although it would be easy to just pitch a story or do a photo essay, I really think this is going to be a great opportunity to learn how to do something new. And maybe somebody in my group will realize that Strat Comm is their life's calling while working on the project. The possibilities are endless and I would love to hear some feedback from my group members either via e-mail or the Facebook group I created for our project. That would be a hint to go do that now if you are reading my blog instead telling me what you think of our topic ; )

     I also found a new and exciting opportunity on a flyer I saw while walking to class last week and now I'm going to be helping out at Cedar Creek Therapeutic Riding Center for the next eight weeks. Not only to get some quality barn time in (I walked into the barn and it smelled like heaven: leather, saddle soap, grass hay and horse), but I also get a chance to help people do something that I love: riding horses. The program has been around for 22 years and they have never turned down a client. And now I get to help out. I couldn't be more excited to be a part of it.

    Doors are opening all around us this fall, and I've really got to figure that door to our dorm.

  





  

An Ode to Twitter

At first I was skeptical about Twitter, just as I was skeptical about Facebook in the beginning.

140 characters to express your thoughts? You’ve got to be kidding me.

But it works and Twitter is quickly becoming my newest way to connect to the world outside of Columbia, Missouri.

I don’t just use Twitter to update my followers on the random, inconsequential things that happen in my  life (10:06 Aug 18^th: "Don't Stop Believing" just came up on my pandora playlist. I love Pandora.), I use it to keep up on the news.

You see, those little Twitter status updates are like leads and teasers for upcoming events and breaking news. I found out the Ted Kennedy and Michael Jackson passed away by Tweets from CNN.com. I also found out that one can watch 60 Minutes online from a Tweet posted by 60 Minutes. I also stay up to date with major happenings from my home state by following several Oregon news sources.

As nerdy as I am (or “intellectual” as my dad puts it), I tweet about great articles that I’ve read, so that my followers will possibly read them and appreciate them as much as I do.

I also follow Taylor Swift and John Mayer, which makes me feel like we are *almost* friends. Twitter is a great marketing tool in this aspect. By following celebrities, you see their updates and feel like they are talking to you. It also gives celebs the chance to beg for your vote (this is aimed at you, @taylorswift13) for awards at various award shows. To be honest, I did vote for you because of Twitter and the fact that your songs are basically the soundtrack of my life. Seriously.

Twitter is a great way to stay connected and get immediate updates on important global events (like Presidential speeches and The Bachelorette finale), as well the occasional #musicmonday or #followfriday post. And just like FB, you can moderate who follows you and who can see your Tweets. Snazzy, huh?

Well, Blogosphere, I’ve got to head to a journalism class to discuss the Twitterverse.

Happy Tweeting!