I started an account over there, because it's better for the photos and other forms of non-writing posts I seem to enjoy. You can find me at s-brooks.tumblr.com
But I'm not totally leaving here.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Quote of the day
Today one of my sisters posted this to my Facebook wall because she said it reminded her of me:
"Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money."
- Jules Renard
It is good to know that even when I graduate and I'm starving because I can't find a job, I can tell people I'm a writer, and suddenly I gain some street cred. Cheers!
"Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money."
- Jules Renard
It is good to know that even when I graduate and I'm starving because I can't find a job, I can tell people I'm a writer, and suddenly I gain some street cred. Cheers!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
So cliche
Yesterday, I took another wandering trip with my camera and my bike. Though I didn't end up photographing any of the places on my mental list, I did take some neat, albeit cliche photos of flowers and such.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Remnants
One day last week, I found myself with some time to kill between classes, and nothing to accomplish because all of my major school work is done. Tired of hanging out on campus, I decided to aimlessly wander through the city with my camera, one of my favourite things to do when I have some free time. While in the area of Menominee Park, I noticed this sign.
Years ago, there used to be a hospital across the street from the park(the same hospital in which I was born, back in '86), which has since been turned into some sort of nursing home/apartment hybrid, I do believe. Being the nerd that I am, I just had to stop and snap a photo. It was interesting to see this sign, as that hospital relocated across town something like 10 years ago. Yet the sign still remains, broken and falling apart, much like the cement in the former parking lot it directs you to.
Almost there...
This past Thursday, I went down to Milwaukee to see a concert and spend some time with a friend that I haven't seen in quite some time. It was grey, gloomy and rainy most of the time we were down there, but while we were eating dinner, a rainbow appeared. She dragged me away from my food so I could step outside and see it too. And since I nearly always have a camera on me, I took a picture. Cheers!
Only one more week of school, then I finally have some time to myself! Life is good.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Oh distraction!
Right now, I'm supposed to be working on a very important essay due Thursday. Instead, I'm sitting at my favourite coffee shop drinking a large cup of peanut butter crunch coffee and surfing the internet. Yay distraction!
For whatever reason, it's nearly impossible for me to write at home, so I came to the coffee shop to work on my essay about what was the Pioneer Inn in Oshkosh. In my interpretive and persuasive writing (aka: editorials, reviews and investigative reporting) class, we're working on a class project about what to do with the waterfront in that city, with each of us choosing a different site. I chose the Pioneer because my mom worked there years ago, so I got to hear all of her stories about how wonderful it was, and the fact that it used to be so high-class and wonderful, and now it's just a vacant pile of nothing is pretty fascinating to me. I have all of my research done, and it is a story I'm excited to tell, but I'm in the middle of a major case of writer's block.
Normally, writing at this coffee shop comes very easy. There's just something about the atmosphere that puts me in the mood to write. Actually, I suppose it's working right now, but just not for the writing I NEED to do. Instead I'm wasting time with my piles of notes cluttering the table, with all of my highlited phrases taunting me while I write in my blog about how distracted I am and how I really need to stop procrastinating. I wrote a few words, but it's so hard to force myself to write papers when I'm just not feeling it. Grrrrr. Good thing there are only 2-1/2 weeks left in the semester.
I also take comfort in the fact that next year, I only need electives. And not that many of them either. Only taking classes that I want to take makes the paper writing/endless readings/sitting in class/studying so much easier. I have a good feeling about this fifth year of college. Not being super-burdened with school also is allowing me to take on more at the paper. Next semester, I'm still the copy chief and writer for every section except sports, but I also get to take on the additional role of assistant news editor. I get to write the police blotter column, which is by far the most read of anything in the A-T. Yay!
It's always these last few weeks when I'm constantly writing papers for political science classes, articles for the A-T and journalism classes and everything in between that force me to rethink my brilliant idea to become a writer when I grow up. Then the semester ends, and I develop amnesia about how much I've hated writing in the past few weeks. And I still want to be a writer when I grow up.
For whatever reason, it's nearly impossible for me to write at home, so I came to the coffee shop to work on my essay about what was the Pioneer Inn in Oshkosh. In my interpretive and persuasive writing (aka: editorials, reviews and investigative reporting) class, we're working on a class project about what to do with the waterfront in that city, with each of us choosing a different site. I chose the Pioneer because my mom worked there years ago, so I got to hear all of her stories about how wonderful it was, and the fact that it used to be so high-class and wonderful, and now it's just a vacant pile of nothing is pretty fascinating to me. I have all of my research done, and it is a story I'm excited to tell, but I'm in the middle of a major case of writer's block.
Normally, writing at this coffee shop comes very easy. There's just something about the atmosphere that puts me in the mood to write. Actually, I suppose it's working right now, but just not for the writing I NEED to do. Instead I'm wasting time with my piles of notes cluttering the table, with all of my highlited phrases taunting me while I write in my blog about how distracted I am and how I really need to stop procrastinating. I wrote a few words, but it's so hard to force myself to write papers when I'm just not feeling it. Grrrrr. Good thing there are only 2-1/2 weeks left in the semester.
I also take comfort in the fact that next year, I only need electives. And not that many of them either. Only taking classes that I want to take makes the paper writing/endless readings/sitting in class/studying so much easier. I have a good feeling about this fifth year of college. Not being super-burdened with school also is allowing me to take on more at the paper. Next semester, I'm still the copy chief and writer for every section except sports, but I also get to take on the additional role of assistant news editor. I get to write the police blotter column, which is by far the most read of anything in the A-T. Yay!
It's always these last few weeks when I'm constantly writing papers for political science classes, articles for the A-T and journalism classes and everything in between that force me to rethink my brilliant idea to become a writer when I grow up. Then the semester ends, and I develop amnesia about how much I've hated writing in the past few weeks. And I still want to be a writer when I grow up.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
A summer job, complete with coffee mug!
Maybe my pursuit of journalism as a career choice isn't quite so useless. You see, I somehow managed to score a summer job writing for a real paper that is not university-affiliated.
A few weeks back, I had to participate in mock interviews for a class I'm taking. Twice a year, the journalism program sets up these fake interviews presumably so we college students know how to write a resume, wear a business suit and appear competent when we graduate and look for that real job. Though the jobs are fake, the interviewers are really in charge of hiring for various companies in the area.
One of my interviews was for a small weekly in Kaukauna. Apparently my energy and excitement about journalism made me look like a good potential employee, because he offered me a summer job.
The other day, I went down to the office and met the rest of the staff and discussed details. Apparently I'm going to be writing mostly features, and probably cover a few town hall meetings. Since the paper is a small one, the staff does a lot more than they would at a bigger daily. This means I'll probably get some experience in photography and layout, which would definately be beneficial to learn.
Plus, there's pay! It's not enough to quit my main job over, but most journalism internships and summer jobs are unpaid, especially in this economy, so I'm really just happy to get anything. They also gave me my very own travel coffee mug with the company logo! Score!
After this experience, I think I may actually be ready to graduate college next year. Perhaps I will actually end up using my degree(s) after all. Cheers!
A few weeks back, I had to participate in mock interviews for a class I'm taking. Twice a year, the journalism program sets up these fake interviews presumably so we college students know how to write a resume, wear a business suit and appear competent when we graduate and look for that real job. Though the jobs are fake, the interviewers are really in charge of hiring for various companies in the area.
One of my interviews was for a small weekly in Kaukauna. Apparently my energy and excitement about journalism made me look like a good potential employee, because he offered me a summer job.
The other day, I went down to the office and met the rest of the staff and discussed details. Apparently I'm going to be writing mostly features, and probably cover a few town hall meetings. Since the paper is a small one, the staff does a lot more than they would at a bigger daily. This means I'll probably get some experience in photography and layout, which would definately be beneficial to learn.
Plus, there's pay! It's not enough to quit my main job over, but most journalism internships and summer jobs are unpaid, especially in this economy, so I'm really just happy to get anything. They also gave me my very own travel coffee mug with the company logo! Score!
After this experience, I think I may actually be ready to graduate college next year. Perhaps I will actually end up using my degree(s) after all. Cheers!
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