August 23, 2013 by Stephanie

Friday Filter Film: “Jobs”

We recently watched the new film Jobs.

Jobs (2013) Poster

Ashton Kutcher stars in this motion picture depicting the late Steve Jobs and how Apple began.

The company I went with have mixed reviews about this movie.

I am always fascinated to see the history of things and how timelines evolve. So in that retrospect, this was great. You were able to see how Jobs built this company from his parent’s garage.

The downside was that you got to see how he built the company.

I was not aware of Steve Jobs life apart from being a great innovator in our time.

This movie showed how big of a sleazebag he was. From bailing on his closest friends who helped him with the start up to being a dead beat dad; he was just a big jerk.

But besides not liking him as a person, this was a good movie. I felt the acting was good, (Tom disagreed with me). They did a phenomenal job casting. The staging and costume design was fun to see the progression of the decades.

They stuck to the truth even if it was awful to learn how awful he was as a person. You have to give him credit for changing our world one electronic device at a time. He did push people to invent the unknown and push their limits to create something unimaginable. I would agree with him on his theory that Apple electronics should speak to the person’s heart and be an extension of themselves. If you think about how each of us try to personalize our personal devices, he had that spot on. I may just not agree with all of his business methods, but at the same time I know I am not cut out for real business and the cut-throat tactics. I feel that highlighting the corporate shark aspect and his confidence in his product was the main focus of the film.

There did lack some connectivity in some of the transitions. Sometimes it was hard to follow the timeline and understand where we were and how we jumped to whatever scene. Tom didn’t like the fact that it didn’t show the timeline up until the present. They did just kind of stop the storyline in my opinion, but it was already a long enough movie so it had to end sometime.

Do I think that this may get some award buzz, probably. Like I said, film quality isn’t so bad. It is undoubtedly, in my humble opinion, Ashton’s best role.

Would I ever want to watch this again? Nope.

Anyone else see this movie and have opinions?

Friday Filters offer a review that are my own opinions and are not influenced by anything other than my love for entertainment and art.

August 22, 2013 by Stephanie

You can take the girl out of Residence Life

August is the time that colleges come alive in anticipation of students returning to campus.

Here was my freshmen floor community.

I think this was the first night we were all there, but certainly not the last. We had hallway parties pretty regularly, which shaped my housing reference for years to come. 3rd floor Hosey was really the best. Some of us will be reuniting soon for a wedding!

Since 2003, I have had an active role in students moving into residence halls, whether that was my own move in Fall of 2003 or being the staff since 2004 who checked people into those rooms.

It’s hard to shake that Housing identity, so this past month has been painfully difficult realizing that I was not part of this excitement anymore. So when the opportunity for our office to volunteer for APSU’s Welcome Wagon on Freshmen Move-In arose, I quickly signed up for a morning shift.

It really was a sad attempt to still have ties to my housing roots, but I digress. I had fun in my neon shirt anyway walking up and down stairs all morning. It was a great way to connect with other faculty/staff and welcome new students and their families to campus.

In my transition out of housing, here are some observations that I have made.

1. I took my flexible housing schedule for granted. I could choose my own hours and generally was more free during the day, but a lot of that had to do with being on call. I could go home any time to check on Grace because it was just a few minutes walk from my office. There is no way now to just go home to check on her, since it is a 20 minute commute. Now I have to be at the office during open hours (8-4:30 like clockwork), and if I need to have some time off during the day to run errands, I either do it on my one hour lunch break or get approved to leave early. This has been an awkward adjustment to say the least, but the upside is that I never have to deal with a duty phone or late night meetings. The latest I have been at work or done work period is 4:30. Sweet.

2. I thought I did really good job balancing things when I was in housing. haha I was a mess compared to how my schedule is now. My routines actually resemble routines and are consistent! I had no idea what I was missing with my at home balance and weekend freedoms.

3. I ACTUALLY like commuting. This was the thing I was dreading the most after living on campus for the last decade and having a walking commute no more than 5 minutes. I hate driving, but I find myself really enjoying the time I have before and after work to myself. Part of that has to be because it is really the only time I have completely by myself, so I love just being in my own element. It gives me time to get ready for work and drink my coffee as I listen to the best radio station. Sometimes I find myself leaving the house a little early so I can sit in my car before heading in to catch a couple extra minutes with Q108. Then heading home, it’s so nice to decompress the day before I come home to Tom. I can just unwind a bit. I have also used this time to make phone calls to stay in touch with friends and family. I will say though, I am much more aware of gas prices…

4. Housing people take their departmental resources for granted-ok I will just say that I did instead of making a blanket statement. I miss my big budgets for programming and incentives. I also miss the man power of staff. Being an auxiliary unit has it’s perks that I wish I had taken more advantage of while I had them. You think housing people wear a lot of hats? Try being in an office with 5 people serving all of campus. I knew so little back then, not that Iknow more now, my eyes are just being forced open a little wider.

5. On the flip side though, because I am in an office with only 5 people there are more opportunities to be plugged in many roles. In my short 3 months here, I have seen more of the university than I did in my three years at Iowa State (and I was even on a bunch of campus wide committees at ISU). Because we are a small staff, we all have to pitch in on the big stuff. And let’s be honest, I also see more of the university because I have to leave my building every day. Although, it was nice to not worry about weather while in housing, I missed out on a lot of day to day things by just walking to and from my car every day, or having lunch in the courtyard. My staff use to make fun of me because I didn’t know where most academic buildings were. I can say confidently that I can pretty much master an APSU campus map right now. So I encourage any housing professional to take some time on just normal days to walk around and see the sights of campus, and make it a routine thing to do instead of only when there is big programming. I get to see the beauty of the campus, but also see where the pulse is by actively walking through campus each day. APSU is seriously one of the most beautiful campuses I have been on; maybe another reason I love exploring it everyday. These are all spots on my way into my office.

Seriously, this campus was made for me with all of its swings. Each morning I am tempted to be late by taking a few moments to sit here.

There are a bunch of fountains and art around to look at.

Another pretty swing in a little garden!

6. Lastly, because you come from housing, people automatically think you LOVE planning events. I was voluntold to be on our party planning committee because “she[meaning me] likes doing that stuff.” (Party planning is not what it is called for real; that’s just my name for events.) Let’s get real, just because I have done a lot of event planning, doesn’t mean that I like it. But this is an assumption of every housing person ever. I mean it’s just one big pizza party right?

Even though I was voluntold for the party planning, I asked to be in charge of our office bulletin board. (Another assumption is that we are all creative, which is an assumption I am ok with.) I loved doing bulletin boards and door decs! Actually love is an understatement…So I hopped on the chance to do the one big board we have outside of our office.

It was fun to back in housing for the morning and it helped me close some doors that I had been leaving ajar for who knows why.

I cannot believe that it has been 10 years since my dad dropped me off at Hosey Hall before marching band camp started at UCM.

Here are some more Throwback Thursday pictures from my freshmen year of college!

I have never been an experimenter with my hair, but I think every woman goes through a right of passage by stripping their locks with chemicals. I chose the the perm since I never did during elementary school. We had a night of hairdos on the floor. I remember there were so many chemicals in that bathroom between my perm and everyone’s else’s dye jobs.

These were the first gals that I met at college. They lived across the hall and were in band with me so we all moved in prior to most of campus. We also joined an honors fraternity together that year. Love these ladies!

This was my freshman year roommate who was one of my closest friends through out middle and high school. And we were two of like 6 people from our high school that went to UCM that year, so it was nice to know someone. So many more memories were made that first year at Central! I spent about an hour tonight looking through my old albums and just laughing at some of the things we got ourselves into. She just had her first baby, and I couldn’t be happier for her and her expanding family!

College is a great time in a person’s life. You are able to learn so much if you take advantage of the opportunities that come your way. I am just excited that every day I still get to be a part of those opportunities for someone else. I have the best job!

August 21, 2013 by Stephanie

Kiss-a-Bull

Linked up at Focus on Family with lovingasoldier.com

Tom and I have decided that we are going to adopt another dog soon. And the crowd goes wild! Wahhhh!

Ok. In all seriousness, this process got real last week when we put in an application. We were beyond excited to set up a meet and greet with this new dog who was seriously perfect.

Then we promptly got denied as parents.

Nothing like a swift kick to the rear end…

Fortunately, it was nothing we as individuals did or our references said. It was all about a matter of a breed ban.

Grrrrr.

Because we live on base, we are restricted to owning certain approved dogs. And to be fair, this shelter was only looking out for the best interest of this dog when they denied us, and I cannot blame them. But, that doesn’t mean it hurt any less.

Also to be fair, Tom and I were not trying to cheat the system and knowingly get a dog that we can’t have. This particular dog was listed as a mixed breed initially to be later listed it as a “pit bull” mix once more information was discovered about the pup’s pasts.

So here I am standing loud and proud on my soap box.

I am vehemently against breed bans of any kind. I truly believe that any dog is a product of it’s environment. You can train a dog to be mean, and you can train a dog to be nice.

It all takes time and patience. And sometimes, more time and patience.

Many people believe that pit bulls will turn on you without provocation. This is a sorely mistaken myth. They are no different than any other dog. People forget that these are all animals and their instinct is to protect themselves. So more often than not they are put on the defensive off the bat because of how people react when they see them.

People think they are mean dogs and are popular fighting dogs. Well a lot of this has to do with the fact that this breed is very intelligent and easy to train. So they can take commands, even if they aren’t the best idea. Just because they are easy to train, doesn’t mean everyone who owns them is a good trainer or has good intentions. (It’s just like parenting human children…we don’t all end up the same.)

Grace is a boxer, but often gets mistaken as a pit bull. I don’t know how many times I have had to calm her down because some stranger started screaming in her face or tried to go after her too quickly. Seriously, people yell at my dog when she is on a leash by my side. And Grace doesn’t bark, yet these people go after her. (Don’t get me started at how drunk college students reacted to her on campus…) Dogs just rely on instinct and following cues that they have been taught. Because I have taught Grace well (at least I assume), I can get her to calm down in a matter of seconds, or she just looks at me and knows everything is ok.

It is so sad to hear that people will not give this breed [pit bulls] a chance. I hate that good people can’t take these sweet pups in because we happen to live in an area that believes in enacting these bans.

Pitties are extremely loyal dogs and generally love children. They do have a lot of energy and are playful, which can be destructive if not handled appropriately, which is the same for many high energy breeds. So you need to know your dog. Sounds like brain surgery huh?

I think people should do research about dogs before they decide to adopt. There are different temperaments that will fit different lifestyles. I know that Grace needs a lot of activity, which is why we plan to get her exercise every day whether that’s joining me on my runs or Tom taking her to the dog park. If we couldn’t do this in our life style, we shouldn’t have agreed to take on this responsibility. They need love and attention, and if done so dogs are wonderful additions to any person’s life.

I don’t know how I would have gotten through Tom’s deployment without Grace. I still cuddle with her more at night than I do with Tom…It just breaks my heart that there are so many pit bulls that remain in shelters (or worse) because of these restrictions and cannot become companions to many well-deserved families.

Here are some websites that do such a better job than I ever could making things understand-a-bull.

http://www.bulladelphia.org/default.aspx

http://www.nashvillepittie.org/

~ Rescue, Advocacy, and Adoption ~

Someday when Tom and I have our dream farm, we know that we are going to do all we reasonably can to save or sponsor pit bulls and also senior dogs (another group of dogs neglected).

But for now we are limited, so our search for Grace’s new sister/brother continues.

And I leave you with a picture of my sometimes mis-understood girl.

We have walked by this park every day on our walks/runs and only recently did we find out that they were water sprinklers! What? Now we stop by to run though them and get a little drink every chance we can!

We adopted Grace from a shelter, and I will only get future dogs from shelters. There are just so many wonderful pets waiting for their furrever home, that I could never bring myself to go to a breeder. We each have our own pet stories, so I don’t judge those who do go the breeder route as long as you love your pets! There are upsides to both scenarios, you just pick your cup of tea. I think it takes a special person to genuinely decide to have a pet and love and care for another being no matter which way they come into your lives. As long as you love your pet after making sure it is the right fit for your lifestyle and do what’s necessary to keep them healthy and happy, I support any adoption!

So you don’t get off that easy, here are some more pictures of the best decision we have made to date!

If you look closely, you can see the typical Grace spit bubble. She is a slobbery girl…

Stay tuned for our adoption adventures. We hope there is more soon to tell!

August 19, 2013 by Stephanie

Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall

I am still feeling a little woozy and under the weather, so it will be pretty simple tonight. I have some meatier things on the docket for later this week, and I have lots of upcoming crafts to share!

I have had this mirror since my freshmen year of college, so ten years ago. It has made it through over 15 moves across the years, and it had the scars to prove it. There were random paint and scratches all over it.

So needless to say, it needed some updating or we would need to part ways. I chose the former.

I got felt from Hobby Lobby and buttons that I already had. You need more felt than you realize. I ended up having to go back for more. I think I ended up with around 30 sheets total.

You need two sizes of circles. The smaller circles you do not need as many. It is a 6:1 ratio (6 large circles for every 1 small circle).

Luckily, my hubster was really helpful and cut most of the circles! He is a super good craft husband.

First thing for the “petals,” fold a large circle in half.

Then you fold it into an ‘S’ shape.

Then you glue 6 of these triangles onto a little circle. It will look like a pie chart. This is the view from the back.

Then you just fluff the petals up. You can leave it like this.

Or you can jazz it up by hot gluing a button or jewel of some kind to the middle.

This took a long time to make all of these. We spent a few nights working on this project. I also messed up a tray table with the felt and hot glue, so be careful what surface you make them on.

Once you make all the flowers, you just glue them to the mirror. You will need more than you think because they squish together. I thought I was done several times, only to find that we needed to cut more circles. Hubster to the rescue!

We may regret choosing this color, because I am not sure how the felt will hold up to dirt, dog hair, and dust. But for now it is super pretty! And hey, we are into the second decade of this bad boy, so I think we can afford another mirror.

August 16, 2013 by Stephanie

Friday Filter: Book “Think Twice”

I have had this book on my shelf for a few years. I found it in a clearance bin years ago, but never have actually read it. That is how a lot of the books I own came to be mine. I love giving books a chance by their covers!

Think Twice (Rosato and Associates Series #13)

I am glad I finally opened it up I was suckered in on the first page. Scottoline does a fantastic job getting you invested early on in this page turner.

This is a story about identical twins who have no similarities past their looks. Or do they? Bennie and Alice lead very different lives, and one could say it is a classic good vs. evil tale.

Until Bennie is buried alive at the hands of Alice, who attempts to take over Bennie’s cushion life.

Scottoline describes what each sister goes through during the “switch.” It is gut-wrenching to read through the harrowing details that Bennie goes through in order to fight for her life, but also Alice fighting for hers (even if she is the antagonist).

I won’t give too much more because I don’t want to give away the story. It is an interesting read that makes you think about what you would do if you were put into a life or death situation. Fighting for your life, would you want to have your revenge? Would you, a seemingly good person, become evil to save your own hide? Do you think there can be evil in a good person, and good in an evil person? —I love books that make you relate it to real life and your own actions. I always am up for a good pondering.

And what is it about our circumstances that pushes us down these paths? The book subtly talks about nature vs. nurture since these women were separated at birth and were raised very differently. There are parts that elude to jealousy for Bennie having a better life than Alice.

I think it is also interesting to think about the impact that we have on those around us. Most characters in the story did not realize that Alice was impersonating Bennie. I have not had extensive time with twins, but I feel that there are some personality quirks that people should catch on to! Even an ex-boyfriend of Bennie’s didn’t know that Alice was a phoney! Are we in a day and age, that we are really that surface level with those around us? I’m not sure if that was what Scottoline’s intentions were when writing this, but this was the biggest take away for me. It made me really examine what my relationships were like and if I was ok with the perceived status or not. I really try to make genuine relationships, but I also know that there are many that I hold at bay due to circumstances. Intriguing. ..

Also I learned not to keep a Rolodex of your passwords. Haha just kidding, I already knew this.

I will ruin one part for you. The dog does live. I cried when I thought he had died, and then cried again at the end when they revealed he had been saved. Sweet goodness.

Some quick observations about the book:

It is part of a series, which I didn’t realize until I was done with the book. So obviously the book can stand alone, but after looking at some reviews the series may be a good investment! Think Twice is the last book in the series, but it is set up easily for a follow up.

When I say it is a fast paced read, I mean it. There is not a chapter that is more than 3 pages long so it goes very quick. This makes it easy to pick up whenever and get a little nibble if you only have a short amount of time, which was great for my lunch breaks. But that can also get you in trouble at night because I kept telling myself, “Oh I can read another 2 page chapter.” And then 15 chapters later I was still up reading. I finished this book in less than a week.

It follows several characters. Each chapter changes perspectives between Benny, Alice, and Mary. I like this aspect because you get to see both twins and their thoughts, but also Mary who’s perspective really give you a 360 view of the story.

I am going to put Scottoline and the Rosato series on my list of books to hit up. Her last book out “Don’t Go” is about an Army family, so that may be interesting. Inadvertently, I spent about an hour on her website checking out the books and reviews. Exciting!

Sidenote, I just showed my to read list to Tom, and he asked if that was all the books that I have read. Hahaha silly kid. I wouldn’t even know where to begin for that list.

Friday Filters offer a review that are my own opinions and are not influenced by anything other than my love for entertainment and art.