2011 Highlights

Ah, another over. I'm pretty happy with it. I feel like I stuck to my New Year's resolution and took charge of my life. I didn't just sit and watch it. I made things happen for myself, and I might have had a little bit of luck on my side :-)

• Surviving the Chicago Snowpocalypse
• Realizing I chose the right major
• I went to the men's and women's Big East tournaments which included a spontaneous Mary Poppin's show
• I watched our women's team go to the Sweet 16 which included real Philly Cheesesteak and visiting the liberty bell. Oh, and getting on ESPN for 3 seconds
• Planning a large scale comedy show at DePaul and bringing DJ Hood Internet for FEST's after-party
• Learning to grill
• Interning at StyleChicago.com
• Going to San Francisco
• Turning 21
• Coming on board as a RedEye blogger
• Getting my job as a web developer for Student Involvement
• I got rid of a fair amount of clutter :-)
• Being healthy and happy =)

 

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33 out of 1000

For Christmas I received the book 1000 Places to see Before you Die. My dad had received it a few years ago for Christmas, but I hadn't looked at it. It's an interesting book and reminded me that I still have a lot to see in the world. But then I reminded myself that I'm only 21 and was pretty proud that I had been to 33 places in the book. However, I don't quite agree with the book. Some of the "places" were more like events. I've been to Munich, but the book specifically noted Oktoberfest, so I didn't count that one. I've been to Disneyland but not Disneyworld. I have been to Orlando though and went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter instead of Disney World.
I calculated that I've been to 3.3% of the book. Here they are:

• London
• Bruge, Belgium
• Cathedrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg
• Paris
• the Grand Casino, Monte Carlo (ok, well I've been outside so that basically, counts right? Have a photo to prove it)
• Residenz Heinz Winkler, Chiemsee, Bavaria, Germany
• Capri, Italy
• Pompeii, Compania, Italy
• Sorrento
• Rome
• Vatican City
• Forence
• Basilica of St. Francis Assisi, Umbria, Italy
• Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Leon
• La Sagrada Familia-Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
• Cadaques & Figures-Catalonia Spain
• Hollywood, CA
• Pacific Coast highway, CA
• San Diego Zoo
• Cable Car ride in San Francisco
• Art Institute, Chicago
• Freedom Trail, Boston, MA
• New York City
• "Philly Food"--this is not a place, but a collection of foods/restaurants in Philadelphia. I've been to Philly & have had cheesesteak so I'm counting it
• Independence National Historical Park-Philadelphia, PA
• Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Salt Lake City, Utah
• National Mall & its Monuments-Washington D.C.
• Smithsonian Museum-DC
• Grand Teton National Park
• Jackson Hole-Jackson, WY
• Yellowstone National Park
• Niagara Falls

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Productive break

Today I conquered something  on my winter break to-do list: cook with a new spice.

We have a marvelous spice rack in my apt, but some of them haven't been used/ I had never heard of them. This pas weekend when I was visiting a friend in KC I got a recipe for chicken using fennel.

Turns out I knew what fennel was, I just didn't know it was called that. I always referred to it as those seedy things in Italian sausage. So I added fennel, lemon pepper, and a bit of salt to cut up chicken in a frying pan.

The result: yum. I forgot to take pics but I am excited I have a new easy and quick recipe!

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What is Interactive Media??

Now that it's the holiday season and I've seen (& will see) many family members. It's that time of the year where I have to remind people of my major: Interactive Media. As a tour guide I state my major almost daily. For basically 4 years (I declared my major when I applied in 2009 so I've known this is what I've wanted for some time), I've had to explain what "Interactive Media" is numerous times.
The first year, it was a logical guess because I was figuring it out. From DePaul pamphlets and the CDM website it was the major if you wanted to go into web design. According to their website, Interactive Media...

Prepares students for the expanding field of interaction design and its application to multimedia and web development. It provides students with skills and expertise for designing and producing web applications, interactive presentations and user interfaces for computer applications and a variety of consumer devices.

By the end of my freshman year and my sophomore year I declared IM the "mutt" of CDM. It was a hodgepodge of everything in CDM: a film class, a Ruby on Rails class, some design classes, some ActionScripting classes, a game design class. I was convinced CDM didn't even know what it was.
Now I define Interactive Media with a better term: "The salad of CDM." By taking a little bit of everything it gives me a well-rounded technology degree. Although I'm not taking C++, C# or Java (IM is DEFINITELY NOT Computer Science, and is exactly what I wanted. I did not want to go into Computer Science) I feel I have a wide background of knowledge that can only help me when I enter the job field.
Speaking of jobs… since September I've had to turn down 3 job opportunities. I already have a job I love and I am still a student. I have a lot on my plate, but I consider this a good problem and I hope I have it when I graduate :-)

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