Catching Up

I feel like it has been forever since I really sat down and wrote a blog post, but I don't have a lot of time. This is shaping up to be a very busy week. Both college classes are kicking a bit into overdrive with projects and assignments. In my Instructional Design class, we were just given our second project, which is due at the very end of the semester. My group is focusing on a dynamic website for the Learning and Technologies department. We have to do a full design document and we have to deliver a prototype. Our group will be meeting weekly to get this project completed, and I think I was elected one of the co-project leaders. In my other class (New Technologies), I have my first draft of my paper due on Sunday night for peer review. It's not ultimately due until the end of the semester, but we're doing it in stages so we can all collaborate on our final projects.

Work has been hectic too, so with the additional work of school, bringing work home isn't really much of an option. Today, I made final edits to some online work that one of our contractors is designing for us. I should be finished with those edits tomorrow afternoon. I also recorded some scratch audio to go with the courses to time the animations properly. I wanted a break from that, so I spent some time cleaning up the company's Wiki, which our group maintains. It's not being used much right now, but we hope it will grow into an information sharing vehicle for our stores. I cleared off some old pages that were outdated. Finally, I ran some reports at the request of one of our department managers and our director. I built one of the reports before leaving for the night and sent it to the department manager by email so she can review it tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, we're also seeing a demonstration by our vendor for an upgrade to our Learning Management System. I expect this demo to take most of the day. Hopefully it won't put me to sleep. If I'm in a meeting (especially a long one) where I just sit and watch or listen and I'm not actively contributing, I tend to get sleepy. :)

Mom called me last week to ask what Jeff wanted for Christmas. She's been doing gift cards the last several years because it's easier for us all to go get what we want. I had to keep at Jeff all weekend to see what he wanted, and I finally had to level the ultimate threat. If he didn't come up with something by Monday night, Mom was going to buy him underwear and socks. Tighty-whities and tube socks, no less. Needless to say, he came up with something. :-) I had no trouble telling her what I wanted. I can always think of something I'd like to have. I consider that a service to anyone who wants to buy me a gift. But I'm generally thrilled with whatever I get.

I've discovered something quite interesting: Second Life. It has gotten a lot of media attention and it's even being used for educational purposes. In Second Life, you can design your own character and build your own alternative life. If you are normally conservative in your everyday life, you can use your Second Life to be hedonistic and wild. You can dance all night in Second Life and never get tired or have sore feet. Second Life is a totally immersive multimedia experience with music, ambient sounds, and gorgeous imagery. One of my class assignments was to go to certain places in Second Life and record my impressions. The first place (or SLURL, as it is known in Second Life) was a gorgeous art sanctuary with cherry blossom trees, rustic bridges spanning bubbling streams, castles, and artwork everywhere. At first, Second Life is a sensory overload. You're exhausted after just a few minutes; it's just too much, especially with the 3-D perspective. Eventually, you get used to it. I've found Second Life fascinating and I find myself checking in every night. I've met some friends there and we hang out and talk. There are no strings attached and no games to play -- you can be completely yourself, because you're as anonymous as you want to be. You can have relationships with people in Second Life. I've spoken with people who were happily married in their real life, but carrying on with total heedlessness with anyone who has a sexy avatar in Second Life.

This weekend, Jeff and I will be hunkering down with papers. Next weekend, I should have more time to devote to Francie's website, since the early draft would have already been submitted for review. Last weekend, I didn't leave the house except to go do my early voting and run Pearlie May through the car wash.

On a final note (I have to get back to homework), I have outstanding news. Cristy and her family are coming home for Thanksgiving!!! It has been so long since I've seen Cristy, so it will be sheer delight to play catch-up and see her kids again. I haven't met Abigail yet, and Zach and Hannah were much younger when I last saw them. We may go out to Mary and Jesse's place in Sunset for fun and games. They will be leaving on 11/23. I am relieved of turkey duty this year and I don't have to cook nearly as much, so I'll have more time for fun when I'm off work that week.

I hope everyone has a great week! :-)