Short blog post this week. I have so much to do! GoGameFace has consumed a lot of my time. Our new site will be launching in about a month, make sure to go check-out our current placeholder site! It looks great:
The author, me and friends will be out and about visiting cities to throw "GoGameFace" parties at local popular bars. As of now we will be visiting:
New York City
Bethlehem/Lehigh Valley
Philadelphia
Boston
Chicago
Pittsburgh
Cleveland
Cincinnati
San Diego
Orange County/Los Angeles
San Francisco
Other Possible Cities: Phoenix, Dallas, Detroit, Denver
So Excited! More information, including venues, to follow in later posts.
New writing application - not sure if I want to push my writing up on a website yet or not...I am still content with a word doc.
For fun and time-wasting (it most definitely wastes your time) here is the falling sand game: http://chir.ag/stuff/sand/
On a personal note (and really, it's MY blog so it's all pretty much a personal note): I fully intend to run a 5k before the move to Istanbul. Maybe October? I am currently regularly running 2 miles! Very exciting for me. Though it takes me about 24 minutes to run 2 miles, so hopefully I can try and get faster and eventually run 3.1 miles under 30 minutes.
GoGameFace! I have been an extremely busy girl as of late because of GoGameFace work. I am so excited about this project and it looks like we are getting some book tour/GameFace parties mapped out so I should have more info in the coming weeks. Facebook! As I have written in previous posts, I become easily distracted by Facebook. The most recent application that has me fascinated and gave me quite a bit of laughs is the "Flair Button" app. There is one button that I just love, "Strange women laying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."
Also, I added the GoGameFace flair button!! Go add it to your profile. Um, seriously go now. :)
Instant Messenger Madness!! I am looking for a PC chat client (instant messenger) because I am so sick of AIM crashing on me or preventing me from IMing people. I will see someone online and think "I can't wait to tell them about that cool movie I just saw." I click on the person's name in an attempt to begin the chatting ritual and "DENIED." Literally it just refuses to open the window. I can look at their profile and invite them to a have a "proper" chat in a chat room but I can't just casually IM them. So Lame.
Elance! (www.elance.com) After reading the book that has pretty much changed my life for the better, (or at least so far it has) "4-Hour Work Week," I started looking into things that would create efficiencies in my life. One of them was Elance. If you ever needed research done on the cosmetics industry or need a temporary worker with strong writing experience this is the place to go. It is all about outsourcing and having personally used this site I have to say I love it. I had posted a project for $50 total to find out the cosmetics industry including big manufacturs, industry trends, online presence, ingredients, etc. I got back about 20 pages of very insightful research in approximately 5 days. I have added a little Elance button on my right rail if you want to check it out.
Here is an excellent and very funny (like laugh out loud type of funny) by the fabulous writer/author AJ Jacobs about outsourcing in Esquire/Smart Money section: http://ur.lc/33 Kawaiinot by Meghan Murphy Meghan is a great illustrator with killer wit to match. If you have an opportunity definitely go check out her sites. Her personal site is http://www.murphypop.com/
For more kawaiinot comics like the one posted below (so funny, right?) go to: http://www.kawaiinot.com As stated on her about/FAQ page, "Kawaii Not is a four panel webcomic, typically featuring cute versions of everyday objects doing and saying some crazy stuff. Hopefully it's funny. Or maybe you're just dead inside."
In closing - Dimitri "the stud" To finish up this post I leave you with something truly spectacular. I am not sure if this is real or fake, but it is absolutely funny and I have met some "interesting guys" before with Egos the size of Texas so I feel like this guy could be completely serious. It is posted on fellow blogger's, The Sherman Foundation's site. Hit play, sit back, and question humanity.http://ur.lc/2d Also my Dimitri confirmed it wasn't him. Whew. haha
Plans have changed, but only slightly. Instead of leaving at the end of August for Istanbul, I will instead be leaving at the end of October for a November TEFL course. I am going to be working in marketing/promotions for my Aunt's new business venture that includes a book tour in September. More information to follow in later postings and hopefully some of you will be able to attend one of the events!
In my search for some interesting applications to assist in promotions and event planning I ran across:
This seems to be a pretty good site for adding and finding events nearby even in international locations. I will be posting some dates and locations for the book tour route over the next couple of months.
Other applications that continue to hold my attention:
1.
There is fantastic art displayed here and also it's pretty easy to work with the drawing tools. Needless to say, I wasn't constructing anything even half as good as some of the displayed work, but fun and time consuming nonetheless.
2. As a friend stated when I mentioned this new application, "the names of these applications are getting to be more and more ridiculous." Though I kinda agree I still really like this new application quite a lot. Xoopit finds and shares pictures, videos and files buried in your inbox. I discovered some old JROTC pictures that I totally forgot about. The video I posted of the banned Skyy video was shared quite a bit via Xoopit.
3.
Facebook...totally sucks me in. I login and then it's, "oh, Stacey changed her profile pic." Next thing you know I am browsing through wedding pictures of some girl who lives in Texas that I have never met. I find myself thinking "nice flowers." Caption reads "Aren't they cute together?" and I find myself slowly shaking my head, "yes they are." Ridiculous.
4. Though not a social media tool, I have been using the URL compressor quite a bit this week...pretty handy. Take a look at these "before" and "after" celebrity TMZ images that held my attention for way too long via the "compressed URL:" http://ur.lc/2b
Bad news was received in the form of an email. The Lehigh professor helping me with the Fulbright decided, after looking over everything that I would have a difficult time being able to win the scholarship. My pursuit of a business degree and work experience in advertising didn't exactly hail me as the most likely of candidates, but I feel so passionate about working and "giving back" to the world right now I figured it would be enough. Apparently not. I will find another way or the European Union may just be ruled out for a while at least.
In other news - I have continued my soziety.com interactions. There are a limited number of Americans who speak English on the site so I usually am bombarded with people wanting to chat via Skype. Currently I am chatting with Miguel from Seville, Spain the most often. He works as a financial controller, is 36, likes long walks on the beach...just kidding.
I am starting to consistently talk/IM via Skype with the same people and my only fear is that I may run out of things to say. They want to hear the English words for familiarity and I can't just spit out random sentences because that's not really helpful. Yet, there is only so much of "how are you," "what is your favorite color," "it's Friday night in (European/Asian country insert here) so why are you on Skype learning English and not out having fun?"
I may be delaying my move to Turkey because of an opportunity (to be discussed later as it develops) that may take place during the month of September.
I am continuing to read my grammar books and need to crack open my "Younger Learners" book just in case little ones are in my teaching future. Also, I fully intend to practice my guitar more often than I have been. No more excuses. (I say this more to push myself than as an interesting sentence for the readers).
The Turkey soccer game is coming up soon for the Eurocup and I fully intend to watch! Hopefully some of you will as well.
Some funny items listed below:
One very funny comment I saw on the Facebook SpeedDate application that I had mentioned on Twitter and Plurk - Please read the the 4th comment: http://ur.lc/1r
I just found out about this fun site: http://www.soziety.com where you can practice a variety of different languages via Skype. I just registered and plan to try it out when I gain the courage to practice my Spanish. Go ahead and click on the logo and check it out!
After browsing around for a little bit I ended up chatting with someone from Argentina named Diego. He was really friendly and spoke English pretty well. i think he thought I was lying to him, but truly he did a pretty good job. There was just one point where I think he was displeased that I was asking too much about the "command form" of a verb. "No need to worry about stupid things like these" were his exact words. Yet, it was followed by "don't worry about making mistakes or anything, you are doing really well." So, the sting of being called-out for an obsession with verbs diminished and my pride has remained unscathed. We are chatting again tomorrow early evening and I am actually excited!
I found out about this great site via another super informative site that I must give credit to: Spainexpat.com.
Also, I am getting really into the need to up my karma points in Plurk. There is a regular "chat" type demeanor within this application that I am really quite fond of. Though some would say it is a twin of "Twitter," I feel like I use the two applications very differently. Twitter is much more about stalking and reading up on interesting news and random stories. Plurk seems to be about responses and philosophical queries. I heart them both!
Though my Fulbright essay revisions are complete and I feel good about that, I still feel pangs of guilt at any one time for not doing one of many other things. Practicing Spanish, practicing Turkish, practicing English grammar, organizing my mementos, reading up on teaching English, blog writing, ebaying, emailing, plurking, twittering, etc. There is always something I can be doing in preparation for my move and I am not very good about just relaxing and letting go.
Also, with the influx of emails from prospective companies (that normally I would be super interested in) emailing me, I have a constant state of "is changing my current career path the best choice?" I absolutely think it is only because I think I will come back stronger and better than I was before. I feel really good about the impending move and know that though it will be a challenge and very tiring and frustrating at times, that it will forever change me in the best of ways.
First of all - following someecards on Twitter has revolutionized my life. I know I will laugh everytime I look at their tweets even though I may be swirling in a daze of pessimism.
Will I ever get married, am I making a mistake doing A, B, and C? Click to Twitter and the post reads " I'm torn between Burger King's desire for me to see Indiana Jones and Burger King's desire for me to see Iron Man," "It's time we all accepted the Gay Pride Parade isn't much gayer than any other parade" or " My agonizingly trivial Twitter updates only confirm the bone-chilling hollowness of my existence," and I cannot help but laugh aloud, even if someecards doubts me. (http://www.someecards.com) In other news - my laptop was out of commission for less than 48 hours because of Dell's awesome service. Thankfully Dimitri and I were smart in our purchase and got the 3-yr warranty that just hooked me up with quick parts delivery and at-home service. Having to chat with the serviceman about foreclosures, cicadas, and the weather was just an added bonus. I felt naked and alone with my laptop displaying grid-like marks and black lines, and I am starting to think I just might be a tad too addicted to the Internet. I say oh well and keep browsing.
My laptop not working deflated my motivation for revising my Fulbright essays. The feedback I received requires quite a bit of work. Whereas I had written about concrete examples of implementing social media into TEFL, it has been requested that I express more passion and interest in Spain as a country. I do have the passion, I just haven't written an essay in a few years and it's more obvious than I would like it to be. I am in the midst of planning going away get-togethers for the end of summer in preparation for the big move in August. In the meantime there are essays to write, grammar to learn, Spanish to study, cats to cuddle-with....you get the gist.
It's been a few days since my last post - but I have been busy so stop nagging peeps. Also, my laptop is "sick" right now. I instant messaged with SLCg_Robert_168499 and he informed me that within 2-5 days the parts should be available and then the service guy will arrive and solve all of my laptop issues.
Exciting news is that I am testing a new part-time role as an online English tutor. I figure it will help provide a basis of what I can expect on "the next big move" as I now calling it. I have literally moved at least every two years since my first year of high school. I am intrigued to see where I end up living for 3 years. It may just never happen. I never really saw myself as restless - but maybe I just refuse to acknowledge it.
As stated in my Twitter posts; I am practicing Spanish on a daily basis with a little Turkey mixed in to break it up. Oh, and Ebay and application writing for the Fulbright. My life is so "living-on-the-edge-like" isn't it? Yet, with all of my Nintendo DS Spanish game, Rosetta Stone and Audiobook Spanish on my iTouch, I still feel like I am lacking at proficiency. Sometimes in my dreamland (or after a few glasses of wine) I envision that I am proficient. I believe I will get better, it's just taking a while and I feel the time constraint of my language assessment closing in on me.
I had some interesting news stories and such to post, but they will have to wait till I get my laptop back in working condition!
I have issues with waiting. I completely admit that. I just want to have my essay with edits and comments back from the professor. It has been approximately 24 hours. Yeah, I know, I can be pretty ridiculous.
I cannot wait to start teaching. I need to practice my Turkish but have been spending a lot of time working on Spanish for the language assessment portion of the Fulbright. I really hope I am ready for the assessment.
Twitter has now become part of "my routine." Awake. Talk to the cat about how "dry food is just as acceptable as can food." Also that she is "only getting cans every other day." Realize I am talking to my cat and it's time to go interact with people. Sit down at computer and "interact with people" via Twitter. Drink coffee and check email then check eBay. That is the AM portion of my day. When Twitter doesn't work it really throws me off...so for any Twitter admins out there - just realize you hold a lot of power and can truly create a destructive morning.
So, instead of another long-winded post that is filled with text and lacks in images, I have decided to present a few videos from a really great site, Vimeo: http://www.vimeo.com/ The third one has nothing whatsoever to do with social media or TEFL but I felt a need to post it anyway.
I must start off with a nod to a story that captured my interest and can be deemed as relevant to my blog (all things come back to MY blog right? Well they should).
A news story from the Chicago Tribune by Eric Zorn (http://ur.lc/1b) discussing McCain's pronunciation error of the Iran leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad included a link to one of my favorite sites Forvo (http://www.forvo.com/). In daily conversations I haven't found myself ever saying "Ahmadinejad," so my attempt to try and say it was much worse than McCain's. I then engage my Mom about it briefly and she says it perfectly, just like the native speaker from Forvo. Okay, so maybe McCain and I need to brush-up on "world leader's names and pronunciation." A fun game for the whole family.
Also I found the challenge posed on the WikiProjectEduTech page on Wikipedia to be interesting! The challenge/goal is "that representatives of the EduTech community work on any one of the many lamentably poor articles in their field, and get them up to at least Good article status, ideally Featured article status, within the next sixty days." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_EduTech) The lamentably poor articles being those related to incorporating technology into education.
I have finally finished (hoooray) my first draft of my proposal and purpose statement for the Fulbright to the Lehigh professor helping me through the process! I know there will be many, many, many more rewrites before I submit the application, but I am still excitedabout at getting through the first write-up!
In other news and possible future goal: How long would it take to gain 25,000 followers like Scobleizer on Twitter? Apparently around 12,000 updates... http://twitter.com/Scobleizer
I have encountered a very minor, but annoying, dilemma: there really isn't any offline material for someone pursuing a teaching career within the EFL field. More specifically, someone who has an interest in utilizing Web 2.0 capabilities within their teaching practice. I know it may seem ridiculous to desire to read a book about these two elements when I can find the material online, but I figured there might be a great book with consolidated information that I could use as constant companion in my new adventure.
I have gone to a couple of larger bookstores to attempt to find the "all encompassing" book but haven't been successful. I realize that most EFL/ESL books center around teaching to students in which English is the primary language. I know that I could learn some important and essential tips and tricks on teaching by reading these books, but I am looking for a read that places the emphasis on being in a location where English is primarily a second language.
I did some perusing on Amazon and found, Teaching English Abroad, 7th (Teaching English Abroad) (Paperback) from 2005. (Amazon listing: http://ur.lc/14) Could be interesting, but is it the only one of it's kind? What about a book referencing social media outlets, etc? Maybe this one instead TEFL Questions and Answers (Paperback)(http://ur.lc/17).
I have been reading How To Teach English (Book with DVD) (How S.) (Paperback):http://ur.lc/16. It has been pretty fascinating to read about aspects of teaching that I never would have considered previously. Such as a general layout of a classroom and the social impact that it can represent.
Thankfully there are lots of great online resources that have helped me formulate some good ideas not only for when I begin to teach but also for my Fulbright application.
I had spent the majority of the last few days writing by hand (almost a foreign idea to me nowadays) my proposal and personal statement. Last night around 11PM I started to type-up my rough drafts. Organization is lacking within my paper so now I need to motivate myself to complete that...
Some cool applications/sites that I have seen on the web that would be relevant for TEFL: *Forvo - A pronunciation guide in different languages by native speakers (http://forvo.com/) *Heads up English - a website with English lesson plans and articles (http://www.headsupenglish.com) *Twitter - always deserves a mention. Great social networking (http://twitter.com)
I have been wanting to start a blog for a while but never felt I had anything worthwhile to say...I now realize that I want to collect my thoughts and feelings for personal gain as well.
I am about to embark on a really amazing experience (at least I hope it will be amazing).
My story (in very short form): I had graduated from college with a business degree in marketing and communications and have spent the last three years working within the interactive marketing and advertising sector. I have had the opportunity to work in publishing as an intern in NYC to pharmaceutical advertising in Philadelphia. In order to move away from sounding like a resume/CV lets just say that I had some good and bad experiences. I have personally experience "the Devil Wears Prada" type of boss and have felt caged by the three cube walls that I began to view as a second home. At the same time I have been challenged and had the thrill of working through some complicated material or project successfully. I always struggled tremendously with accounting and finance in college but somehow managed to do quite well when faced with required budgeting tasks.
About a year ago my boyfriend was able to get a relocation opportunity to the south of Spain through his employment to start this summer. We started to consider what we should in terms of my career, blah blah. Countless (and I meant countless because I am definitely one of those people who go over-the-top in terms of planning and preparation) conversations later we had decided to possibly get married. Then we decided maybe not...time was limited and it was stressful enough moving to a foreign country. Also, I wouldn't be able to work over in Spain. If I did choose to get my certification for TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) there was no guarantee that I would get a job and a work permit as a non-EU. (I will discuss all of my research on this subject in a later post).
Finally it all came to a halt as he needed to go over there early and I am not sure how it will all play out. I have decided that after endless research about the best opportunities for teachers in EFL/ESL that I will go to Eastern Europe. Istanbul, Turkey specifically. I have a friend (who has been ridiculously helpful) teaching there now and think this might be the best option.
Also, I am applying to the Fulbright program for a teaching assistantship in Spain for the 2009-2010 school year. (More to come in later posts on this as well)
So that is my first blog. My last year of decision-making and stress all wrapped up in a few paragraphs. Regardless, I am so excited about what the future holds.
Well that wasn't really all that hard. Maybe I am self-absorbed and like writing about myself. :) That couldn't be it...
