Presentation and DIstribution

Reflection and critical thinking:

I was very happy with my end product, although I wish I had messed around more with Premier pro to include some other editing effects in my video project. I believe the video footage I got as a whole was pretty solid, and I really thought about the music I wanted to incorporate, which I thought was a success. It flowed well with the piece. I believe the images I collected were a strong part of my finished piece as well. I wish I had gotten some more footage regarding specific information I thought would have been useful to incorporate in the project. I also wish my ending was a bit more impactful. The important lesson I learnt was that before shooting, to really go through the question you want to ask and really look at the whole picture so that when editing you have numerous choices to make the product a masterpiece.

Audience Response:

I was pleased with the audience response that I received for my project. As soon as I decided on doing my project on AIESEC, I knew I wanted it to have an inspirational feel to it. I believe thats how the audience felt with their responses. I definitely that that I communicated my thoughts and ideas well with my project and was very satisfied with the comments I got from the audience. Even the small 'picky ones' as one mentioned about my map in the background. I thought that, we responses as such, I could make my project even more better. The ending was a discussion that arose while discussing my project, and I do agree with what criticism I received.

Distribution:

I am thinking about making this video available to a different audience. This project, about an international organization, could be utilized as a promotional video for the organization.

Post Production

Logging Shots: SO I have quite an amount of footage for this porject. I interviewed couple of people who are of importance to my video. I am not sure if I will be using all of the footage that I have, but its good cause I can work with more. I always have an idea in my head of what I want to accomplish/communicate. SO thus I have captured video that contains the materials that I need. Hopefully I will be conveying an overall view of what AIESEC and why the people in AIESEC believe in it.

Reshoots: As this is obvious, this project can be mostly dependent on other people or not if one decides to focus more on oneself in the project. Initially I intended to focus alot of my project on me, but as I worked though this from time, I realized that I can produce a better piece by focusing on other people. SInce I made that choice, I depended on people to give good answers, or talk about something sensible that would make my video interesting/work. AS I have gotten a lot of footage, I am happy with what I have, but would have been happier if I got some more shots with better responses.

Reflection: So editing is the fun part, but choosing what material to use can be tedious. I plan on going through all the video clips that I have, just to make sure that my idea in my head is concrete. I want to give a general introduction about AIESEC and then bring in the different members and convey their wonderful experiences through some images as well. So with this guideline, I will choose the necessary clips.

Improvisation: My ideas are definitely flowing. I did create a brief paper edit, with the sequences of the shots according to my guideline story. I can see the different images I can throw in my piece, I can definitely add a few more clips in between.

Rehearsal: So the biggest achievement from my last project to this one, is the way I captured my footage. I got them in a way where the audio was pretty clear, which makes the video much better to follow. I have added a few images in between my project and of course clips. I really like the transitions and how I edited all the clips and images. I think they fit well together. I am using premier pro instead of I-movie this time. I was hoping for a huge improvement in the quality of my project, but there is definitely an improvement, just not as much as I wanted to. Premier does take a while to get used to, but all together I am happy so far.

This I believe Rough.

Editing vs Shooting

Both aspects are extremely vital for a video project. I would definitely say that I enjoy editing more than shooting, as that is when most of my ideas flow and you can work with your video clips in whatever way you want. You can manipulate the clips you have taken, especially the ones that haven't come out that great. It is understood that shooting and editing goes hand in hand. Adding effects, adding some music and graphics definitely appeals to me.

Production Stage

Interview questions: MY video piece is going to be detail oriented. I am going to have people talk alot, and yes I have questions that will elicit informative and detailed responses. I have gotten a few clips, and people have responded well so far.

Shot- List: So far I have some shots I took at a conference. People talking about what they think about AIESEC. I pln to get more interview shots, more images, more action shots and location shots. I will mix these together to produce a well ordered video project.

Style+Elements: My style to to capture to joy, the excitement and also humor. I plan on doing the same with more inspiring clips, because I believe AIESEC is a great organization with numerous opportunities, so having an inspirational feel to it will be ideal. So far my plan is being implemented slowly. I plan to use most of the audio that I recorded, since that is very important to my piece. I plan to use different audio and will assemble it accordingly with the corresponding video clips.

Composition+Form: I have a lot of shooting to do, but so far from the clips that I have captured, I have a good feel to what and how I will be using them in the end product. In terms of whether it will convey my message, I believe the clips so far definitely are in relation to that. Or else I would have never gotten these clips in the first place.

Reflection: SO far I have a good feel to it. I just have to do more shooting and then comes the editing and putting together my piece. I really want my end product to be a good quality video. That is my goal.

Improvisation: I have actually stumbled on the whole topic as a whole few times already. I finally decided to do my piece on the members of AIESEC. I always discover new things as I go, while working on something. Especially while shooting clips, I think of different questions and different ways of capturing the video. Its all a process and sicne I am in teh initial stages, I believe more of this will take place later as well.

Pre-Production Plan

Personal: I think this whole module is very personal, as it is based on 'This is believe' statement. My video is definitely going to be very personal as well. I am going to focus on an international organization called AIESEC. I am it the organization and very passionate about being a member. I will focus alot on me and the different members involved in it. I will try to capture the essence of the organization, why the different members are in it, why they believe AIESEC is a great organization and more. More importantly, AIESEC, the world's largest student organization is the international platform for young people to discover and develop their potential so as to have a positive impact in society. I want to portray these different aspects of this organization. Experiences of the members of AIESEC abroad and the impact they have made in society and the impact they have had in their own life.

Working Statement/Hypothesis: There is so much to this organization and so much that the members do in it. I will try to incorporate AIESEC's mission and what the members do locally, nationally and internationally. AIESEC is a global organization. SO the organization is very diverse. One of its other purposes to to create global awareness. So in my whole project, I will try to focus on the members, what they do in teh organization, what the organization has done for them, their experiences, what they do on campus and how the organization's mission is accomplished. I will combine all of the above aspects together and try to produce an overall/inspiring video that sums up what the members believe in and what they accomplish.

Research: I will talk to many members of the organization. I plan on having a video that comprises of some members of the organization. I aim to have them talk about their experiences and about AIESEC.

Anxieties: I really hope the audience won't feel like I am trying to sell the organization's brand. Well making a video about the organization and showing it to an audience is obviously spreading the name. SO I guess that is inevitable, but I want the audience to realize that this is something that I am very passionate. I want to portray my belief that AIESEC is the best organization and I want them to understand why that is, and be able to have them appreciate the organization.

Content: Members of AIESEC including myself. Some other pictures related to AIESEC.

Audience: My audience will be everyone. It could be a naudience who might be interested in the organization, people who might be interested in the things this organization does.

Style: Like always I have a fun/energetic feel to my videos. I kind of what to do the same, but I also want to have an inspiring feel to it. I plan to work on editing and putting more time into making the video.

100 words

BY brainstorming ideas with myself and with my peers, I have decided to make a video about the holidays, specifically Christmas. WHy people love and cherish christmas, what is the significance of christmas to the different people that I am going to interview. Interview non-christians who still celebrate christmas and focus on why they love christmas, a festival out of their religion. I want to touch on the religious aspects of christmas, the family aspects. I also want to incorporate the excitement of the holiday and the preparation that goes into it.

Dreaming phase..

By looking at my '100 questions' journal entry and my 'This I believe' essay, I can relate them to a certain extent. Most of the questions I asked were related to my future, and aspects in my present life that will lead to my future goals/vision and some other random and past related questions. My essay was about friendship which I highly consider a major part of my life. MY 100 questions focused more on what I want in life and what I believe in. Uncertain questions that I want to answer eventually.

So for my project, I don;t think I would want to focus it on friendship, even though my essay in based on that. I feel that doing a final project about friendship will be too generic and cheesy and cliche. As I have mentioned in some of my writings before, the main principle that I stand by in terms of living life, is by anticipating the excitement that is gonna occur in my life. Whether it be thanksgiving break, or traveling somewhere during winter break, coming back to college, doing an internship, these are all events that I look forward to and thus the anticipation of the events to take place makes me feel alive. That is what motivates me. I want to focus on something that I truly believe is of importance to me, something that I am passionate about, or a video of different people who are passionate about something. This sounds vague I know. I am thinking of creating a video that involves other people and myself, with a similar interest. Maybe about student organizations?? Or holidays?? world issues??

Research??

I believe there are differences in doing research and in general the whole production of the end product for a video project and a research paper. At-least to me. When working on a research paper, you familiarize yourself with the topic and do extensive research on the respective topic in terms of understanding it, providing facts about the topic and presenting factual validity. Stating the facts or arguments are easy as anyone would know, but the validity is where the weight lays most on. Researching can vary from using the internet, books etc., In a video project, the notion of validity/truth depends. In depends on what kind of video it is. If its a project about interviewing people, it becomes relative and we tend to depend on the people to validate the facts and convince the audience. With any other video piece, we have to produce something that is visually effective that convinces the audience. To me, doing research on a video project usually takes place in my head. I create a storyboard in my own head and outline what I want to do. Later I implement my plan by getting footage and editing it, hoping that it will be a success to the audience. I always have the audience in mind.

This I believe..

There are many valuable things in life, but I truly believe that friendship is one of the most important. Human interaction is necessary for human survival, and developed friendships are essential for one to be a well rounded being. There are different types of friendships. Different categories that a person recognizes the friend as. An acquaintance is one of the different types. An acquaintance is someone that you know only from the exterior, at a basic level. This could generate a deeper friendship, but some acquaintances stay as they are. You don't share much or interact much on a regular basis. But this kind of friendship can still be pure.

I also believe that your significant other is your friend, at least to me. This is another type of friendship. Some may argue with this, but I believe this is true. To be intimate with someone, and share a deeper relationship with someone- one shares everything, opens up to the person and is a friend first, then a lover. Next type of friendship is a true friend or a best friend. This is the type that you can count on your life for. Someone that will always be there for you, no matter what. Someone that you share your darkest secrets, say anything to and feel comfortable. This is the type of friend that will be there for you through pain and joy.An old rule of thumb is that a true friend is someone you can call after months or even years and speak as if not a day had passed. That is true friendship. A true friend will always stand by you and show his/her support. I truly believe from the bottom of my heart that true friends are hard to find and the most important to hang on to, if found. This might be a cliche belief but it the strongest belief that I have. The rewards are great having true friends, whether it be 10 true friends or 1. They are irreplaceable. This is what I believe.

5-10 beliefs

1. I believe that the world needs peace.
2. Everything happens for a reason
3. I believe that its always the unexpected that takes place.
~ I believe that is true(for the most part at least) because it happens to me. Maybe its just in my head, but it always seems that the unexpected always takes place. I guess from this statement, what I am really trying to express is never expect too much out of something. Be confident but not over-confident.
4. Cricket is better than baseball
~ I grew up in India, so I grew up watching cricket and was not really exposed to baseball. Now that I am in the US, watching baseball is fun, but I always tend to compare it with cricket, the different aspects related to the sports, the similarities and how cricket excels in techniques, the skills required for the game, the way the sport is played etc. So I have always been a huge fan of cricket and always will be and nothing would make me change my belief as this is something that I have developed from a young age.
5. People need to be more open-minded
6. I have faith in God, and i don't believe that god exists unless proven. I believe in Unitarian Universalism.

Everything in an argument.

A Boston Red Sox Cap: Some who love baseball and the red sox would take a lot of pride in owning a red sex cap. But my argument is- I don't care. Haha! I would own one, but not because I am a fan of the team or anything.

A Livestrong bracelet: People where it to show their support for the cancer victims.

A belated birthday Card: I have happened to send people belated birthday cards and have received some as well. I think its just as special as sending one on their birthday. Shows that they do/did remember the person's birthday.

A nutrition label: Gives the person who is buying or consuming all the information of what it contains and the percentages.

A rolex watch: Implies that the person is freaking rich/wealthy.

A health warning on a package of cigarettes: I find this a huge contradiction. People already know that smoking is a health hazard, I highly doubt that people see this warning and decide to quit.

Presentation and distribution.

Reflection+ Critical Thinking: With my end product, I was pretty happy with what I had accomplished. I believe that some of my biggest strengths were that I got some creative shots that I incorporated in my project. I am happy with the approach that I took in interviewing my interviewees (a casual, more friendly outtake). My biggest weakness would be the quality of the sound, although I did try editing it with a program called audacity- i still wasn't happy with it. I also wish I got better shots at the store with better lighting and quality. I think the biggest lesson is to start on the project as soon as possible, since projects like this-we are depending on people and its not easy to coordinate the time between the both.
The biggest pleasure of being a video author is the amount of fun you have. I find it very interesting and honestly I don't even find a project like this a homework assignment. Playing around with the equipment and different softwares while editing is also a pleasure to do since you get to learn things on your own.

Audience Response: I definitely feel that I conveyed my ideas to the audience. With my piece I wanted the audience to relate to the characters, especially the owner that I focused on. I was very happy with the audience reactions, their comments and even their constructive criticism. One mentioned that it was inspirational, seeing how a person right out of college started a business like this. That is exactly what I wanted to portray, although I do wish I got better clips of questions relating more about her business planning. Some mentioned that my camera angles weren't that great, so I definitely will keep that in mind for my next project. Altogether I was really happy with the responses I got from the crowd.

Distribution: I am not sure if I want to reach a wider audience with my piece. I don't really care, i guess.

purchases I made..

Recently I purchased a prince tennis racquet. I did see the advertisements for the product on TV. I do not know how much of an effect it had on me further in my decision to purchase the product as I had already made my decision. I can say that the advertisement did resonate with my personal aesthetic and gave me a confirmation of why this was the best product out there for me. The advertisement talked about the advanced performance enhanced technology that the prince racquets have incorporated, along with inspiring clips of tennis stars. So I would say that the advertisement did target their market well.

Art of Real

Art of Real: Rough cuts

Shooting vs Editing

I find both very fun and interesting aspects of the project. In order to edit, obviously video footage is necessary. SO I have to say that editing is dependent on the footage I get. I have captured some footage that I want to include in my project, but still need a lot more. Usually I begin editing after I get all my clips. I just feel more organized that way.

Post Production

So I am still kind of in the production stage, as I still haven't interviewed my interviewee. I have set up many questions that I am going to be asking, and the planning is going pretty well. I sort of have an idea of how I want my whole project to look like. I have contacted the person and soon I will be getting some fresh footage hopefully. I want my project to portray my interviewee's success and his business strategies. His journey of how the business was set up and his fears/concerns. How can I capture that in video? I know Ican have oral histories, but this is something I still need to think about and get some suggestions in class.

Form and Content

Well, i am focusing on a young entrepreneur and his/her business concept and success. SO far I don't have a lot of information, but I am planning on getting some detailed content, getting some footage that represents the ideas I am trying to portray. Have footage that balances her business/work life and her personal life. I believe that form makes a great piece of art that highlights all the characteristics in the story.

Production Stage

Need more info about my interviewee, so will post later...

10 interviewing questions..

Theme: Personal life

1. So where were you born?
2. How was your childhood?
3. Share one memory that you cherish the most?
4. Why did you decide to go to U of I?
5. How was it adapting to the American culture?
6. What is the most important thing to you in life?
7. Tell me something weird about yourself?
8. How do you perceive Indians in America?
9. What is your biggest goal in life?
10. What is the one question you liked the least out of this interview?

Project Pre-Production

Personal: I am a young aspiring entrepreneur and always been interested in the corporate business world. I have come across 2 successful business concepts here in Champaign. One is the new popular 'Howbowda bagle' store on green street and the other is 'cakes on walnut' in downtown champaign. These 2 businesses were recently opened and have seen much success. Both of the owners are young entrepreneurs out of college who started the business. I find that very interesting and am eager to learn more about their success and the process they went through.

Research: I have chosen this project cause I can relate to this immensely. There is so much I can learn and get out of them, if I can manage to get a hold of them. I want to learn about their business procedures, the whole process, their balance between their work and personal life. I will produce questions regarding to these aspects and hopefully create a successful project.

Anxieties: I am not sure how I will get footage that will tell us their stories in a non- oral history kind of way. Time conflicts are definitely a worry to me. I wonder how their time and my time will coincide. I am not sure if they will be willing to discuss their whole business process and strategies.

Characters: I want to include both the owners of the businesses I am focusing on (obviously). Their employees, random people and ask what they think of the stores.

Structure: I will try to provide lots of visual footage of the characters, music that will entice the audience more. Focus on topics that will flow with an order. Let my characters speak, tell their stories. I will ask questions pertaining to what they are talking about.

Hampe Advice...

Have an idea before beginning the project; begin with an idea, end with an audience. Pre-Production plans are vital for a documentary. Static and oral histories are boring, it's not as enticing as capturing footage. Capture as much footage as you can. Let the people speak, let them tell their stories, let them get excited.

Talking points..

There are several topics covered in this excerpt that I found very interesting and that would generate a dialogue between people. A dialogue including different views and opinions on the respective topics.

1. When the author talks about people questioning his photographs and asks him what kind of camera he uses is interesting. He says that the camera doesn't really matter but its the images or the people in it that sparks the interest. I find that intriguing as I believe at times a good camera does make a huge difference.

2. Whether documentaries provide more of an insight than plain interviewing or pictures or reading?

Thoughts on the new module

~ interview a person I dont know.
~ interview topics I want to learn and get to know.
~ Pick something that occurs in my daly life
~ I want my project to be unique

Subjectivity and Objectivity

Documents, videos, photographs and documentaries are definitely subjective. Subjectivity is based on specific, personal views and opinions while objectivity is the opposite. Objectivity is something that is truthful everywhere independent of personal feelings. Although its all an approximation to a certain extent.

A conversation...

The other day some of my friends and I were talking/discussing about the problems in North Korea. Yeah- the whole conversation was heated to be honest. We were talking about the country's horrible human rights and the way the men, the women and the children from North Korea are suffering from economic and political freedom. With respect to this writing assignment- there wasn't really anything new I learnt about the subject, but rather I was exposed to different views about the subject. There is vital information one acquires from reading, but the different perspectives one gets from a conversation and the arguments or discussions is so valuable I think.

Talking about North Korea, one of my friends pointed out that we live in an era known as generation Y where it is defined by technological advances, online media and social networking mediums. As true as that is, one mentioned that with all the advances mankind has made, our generations lacks the activism that past generations excelled in. I thought this was very interesting.

Manifesto video

Reflections on the Manifesto exercise

Going along with my thought process in figuring out what to do for this project, the first thing I told myself was that this project should be focused on something that affects my life, affects other people's lives. From there, ideas were flowing through my head and suddenly I was narrowing down from the many options I already created in my head to just a few. 

As mentioned above, my topic was definitely an inspiration from my life, from my surroundings. I wanted to focus on something that occurs in people's lives constantly. I would like to ask the audience whether my project was a success.

Central motifs from the documentary

From the documentary, one of the main motifs that I observed was obviously the train as the means of transportation which also portrayed the immense poverty in India. The fact that majority of the lower middle class citizens of India use the train as their only means of transportation even with the intense surroundings and circumstances is mind boggling. Living in India for almost 10 years, India has opened my eyes to the extreme poverty. But I believe that the lower middle class ranks higher than the upper or middle class citizens in terms of population. And this documentary was directed more at the lower class citizens of India

Other secondary motifs I observed were some buildings and the crazy traffic as well. 

Inspiration Box

Some of my inspirations:

1. My friends, my family, my culture, my work and clubs I am committed to.

Some of the movies I want to see:

1. Earth

2. Outsourcing

3. Tropic Thunder

4. Choke

5. Nine queens

Some of the books I want to read: From Beirut to Jerusalem, Choke, Freakonomics

Continued....10 amusing things.

Sept 21st: 

1. Beads on my neck, 2. Cereal but no milk, 3. Babel movie that I saw with my friends for the 3rd time, 4. A broken toilet, 5. Food from flattop, 6. green grass, 7. The undergrad library crowded with people, 8. Flyers on the ground, 9. A friend I ran into, 10. A muffin from espresso royale.

Sept 20th:

1. My alarm clock, 2. My job's binder that I had to look into, 3. My laptop, 4. A rabbit on the street, 5. New members of AIESEC that we recruited, 6. The slideshow of our presentation, 6. Pizza and pop, 7. A burrito from Qdoba, 8. a keg we had to bring 4 flights upstairs, 9. Huge speakers my friend had, 10. Random drunk person.

Sept 19th:

1. The trash can filled with trash, 2. The dishes all clean and spotless, 3. My friend's dog, 4. Dog poop, 5. Car freshener, 6. My car manual that was in my room and not in the car, 7. Friendship bands that I had saved from when I was in India, 8. Intense people arguing at the AIESEC recruitment deliberations, 9. Cake that my friend baked, 10. the clock that read 2AM.

Sept 18th:

1. My CD case, 2. A spoon for eating my cereal, 3. Mail in my mailbox that I hadn't checked in a long time, 4. a lamp, 5. My Math 347 text book, 6. Hot coffee, 7. A guy wearing crocks, 8. A girl with a big slurpy cup from 7-eleven, 9. My phone's sim card, 10. My hoody. 

Sept 17th:

1. Scissors that I used to open a box, 2. Waffles for breakfast, 3. My econ 202 textbook that I was studying for an exam, 4. a very old apple computer at the CPM office, 5. a spider web, 6. Yummy empanadas, 7. Pizza that my friend got instead of empanadas, 8. a cop who pulled over a car filled with more than 8 people (LOL! they were probably drunk too.), 9. My math TA walking on green street, 10. Home sweet home.

My manifesto

I find inspiration through the excitement that this world brings to my life. I find inspiration through people and the surroundings in my life. My work will be directly based on my inspirations and my principles and values. My work will always be sincere and genuine. I strive to create something better than average, as in- I try the best I can to produce something creative. For my goals to be achieved, I find motivation and inspiration with the normal things in life that affects one unknowingly. My work will portray hard work and dedication. I am always open to criticism and suggestions. I will make videos by creatively utilizing the resources I have, and help other with their creative process.

Video upload

Presenting my project!

Presenting in front of an audience is always a little nerve racking. It's the fear of failing or not keeping up to the expectations, I am definitely my worst critic. But on the other hand, if I am pleased with my work then I get a little excited. As mentioned before the risks are not keeping up to the expectations and the biggest one is not being proud of myself after the presentation is done. 

I would definitely like to have honest criticism or comments from the audience with respect to what they thought about the work. I would also want to learn about the positive elements they got from the presentation

Rituals of Preparation

The information from the excerpt by Twyla Tharp makes so much sense to me. My conscious mind had never thought about the creative process, the rituals one does subconsciously before a task, but now after reading the arctile, I couldn't agree more with what she has to say. My biggest fears about the exercise are doing it wrong/not doing what I was asked to do and my project being average. The latter is more of a battle with myself, rather than wanting attention. I like to accomplish tasks in the best way I can, I want them to be great, in a way- extraordinary. I want to have the feeling within myself that I have done the best job I could have possibly done. 

The internet as a whole would be the biggest distraction from the creative process in my life. Since most of my home work is on the internet, and practically everything is done through the internet- I am found being on my laptop a lot. So to procrastinate, surfing through the internet, venturing through different sites, checking email every 5 mins takes up a whole lot of unnecessary time of mine. 

Giving up the internet as a whole for a week wouldn't quite be the smartest thing to do as my life does depend on it in terms of school, work etc., But giving up checking facebook, orkut could save some of my precious time to be more productive and efficient. I don't think it would be unbearable, as I believe in myself that I could do it and as I mentioned above- it would do a great deal for me to be more productive. So thats what's in it for me.  

Daily Rituals

Honestly whenever I heard or thought of the term 'ritual' I always had the sense that it was related more towards something religious. Until this class it never occurred to me that anything, say- our daily habits, tiny aspects of ourselves can be considered to be our rituals. It kind of makes sense to me now.

Some rituals that I can think of right off the bat that I do are;

~ Will post the rest soon. :)

Mccloud's Reading

Distinguishing between the two realms that mccloud is talking about can be somewhat confusing. Atleast that's how I felt when I read his excerpt. I definitely thought it was very deep and gave me a better understanding of how I view the world in terms of my senses. 

::hot inviting websites::

The top websites that I frequently visit have to be facebook.com, deviantart.com, yahoo.com, timesofindia.com and orkut.com. I would say the purpose of the websites attract me to them initially. Obviously if there's no reason for me to be on the above mentioned websites, I wouldn't be there and those wouldn't be the websites that I visit the most. Then comes the functionality and the design that are two vital aspects that attract me to the websites. The above websites are easy to access, user friendly and the designs are very attractive thus creating a whole package for internet surfers.

Zoe and Bios

Truly I would say that I venture towards both Zoe and Bios views of life. There are times when my life is just spontaneous, without much detail but at the same time lots of excitement. On the other hand my heart leans towards the views of bios. I consider myself a perfectionist at times, so I like detail and specific meaning and purpose to something that happens. Not that the Zoe point of view has no meaning or purpose, but I need things to be explained at times, I need to know the details thus I lean towards the Bios point of view.

Creative DNA

11) How do you begin your day?

~ As mentioned before, I don't really have fixed daily routines. I think the beauty of spontaneity works wonders for me. On a normal day in my life, I get up to the loud buzzing sound of my alarm clock. Usually I snooze for the next 10-15 mins, but after that I find myself in the showers. This is where I begin thinking of my day, things I need to do and plan everything in my head. This is followed by a wonderful breakfast where my thought process continues. This is how my day usually begins.

23) When confronted with superior intelligence or talent, how do you respond?

~ In all honesty, people with superior intelligence or talent inspires me. They give a push to my motivation, I feel a tingling sensation in my stomach cause they make me want to be like them, makes me want to be better. I listen to what they have to say and I observe a lot, trying to pick their brains or incorporate some aspects in my life.

26) When you work, do you love the process or the result?

~ I consider myself to be very competitive, so I believe the process and the result are equally important to succeed in your work. I love the process cause I want the result to be the best, so the anticipation of the result makes me want to perfect the process. The process and the result goes hand in hand, if you don't work on the process, you can't expect much out of the result.

29) What is your greatest fear?

~ My greatest fear would be death. My fear is not extreme, I guess it's more of my curiosity of what happens after death, the fear that I don't have no answers. I believe if one fears death excessively they won't be able to enjoy life which is not the case with me. The fact that I do not know what happens to someone after they die, scares me. This comes to my views on heaven. I would want to believe that people go to heaven but I have no proof of it so I only have faith in it and no belief. Thus I fear of what might happen after death. The process of dying is scary to me as well.

33) What is your greatest dream?

~ My greatest dream is to be successful. To make myself proud and my family proud. Success could come in terms of wealth, fame or health. If I feel that I am successful and happy, then that's when I will truly know that I am successful

10 amusing things...

Sept 16th:

1. My sleepy face in the mirror when I woke up, 2. hot cup of tea, 3. my suit that I wore to the business career fair, 4. Lots of booths, 5. the pool at ARC, 6. The interview questions as I was on the interview panel for AIESEC, 7. lots of interviewees, 8. a burrito bowl from Qdoba, 9. A dvd, 10. people drinking at firehaus.

Sept 15th:

1. Check-in computer at Mckinley health centre, 2. My doctor, 3. quarters that I used to put in the meters when I parked my car (parking is more expensive than chicago here.. jeez!!), 4. socks, 5. lots of students dressed up professionally for the business career fair, 6. Deloitte booth at the fair, 7. rocks and dirt, 8. a muffin from Espresso Royale, 9. a squirrel trapped in the staircase of my apartment building, 10. a motorcycle.

Sept 14th:

1. My unwashed clothes lying in the laundry basket from the past 2 weeks, 2. Detergent for my dirty clothes, 3. My friend's camera that I borrowed to work on the video project, 4. Hair gel, 5. tennis racquet that I played with, 6. my friend's wilson tennis kit (I want one), 7. protein shake that I made myself, 8. new ear phones, 9. lotion, 10. Irish spring bar soap

Sept 13th:

1. The first thing I say today was the clock as I woke up late (I was upset), 2. A bagel with cream cheese, 3. My friend who was hung over from last night, 4. bottle of water, 5. My close friend who is here visiting from Holland, 6. Cool art work at a Thai restaurant, 7. the pool at IMPE, 8. The lifeguard that I pissed off when I dived into the pool with no diving signs (that I didn't see), 9. Yummy Indian food from Bombay Grill, 10. My friend's X-box. 

Sept 12th:

1. My pillows without the pillow cases as they were being washed, 2. My messy room, 3. a bird fly by outside my window, 4. a motorcycle, 5. A father and his son walking together, 6. My calculus graded quiz (I didn't do so bad), 7. A girl's disappointed face when she found out she got a score of 1 out of 20 (LOL! she was funny), 8. Lots of kleenex as my allergies got worse, 9. The amazing Seibel Center building, 10. Cup of pop that I got at the cafe at Seibel. 

Sept 11th:

1. Lotion, 2. pigeons minding their own business, 3. My I-home to charge my I-pod, 4. My next door neighbors, 5. An email from a old friend from India, 6. Red hot chewing gum, 7. My friend's tapestries from India at her apartment, 8. My flip flops all soaked from the rain tonight, 9. City of God dvd, 10. My TV. 

Sept 10th:

1. Chapstick, as my lips were dry, 2. My roommate's new laptop, 3. beer cans outside our apartment building, 4. My advisor, 5. paper plates, 6. my wristband, 7. noting things down in my I-book, 8. A burrito from Taco bell, 10. big cup filled with pepsi

Sept 9th:

1. My nail clipper, 2. My laptop screen playing an episode of 'friends', 3. A nectarine, 4. leaves from trees on the ground, 5. A projector used at the info night for AIESEC (student organization), 6. My fellow good looking AIESEC'ers in suits, 7. My friend's gleaming face at his 21st birthday party, 8. Ice cream cake from Coldstone (HEAVEN!!!), 9. My friend's Canon camera, 10. My tooth brush. 

Sept 8th:

1. My roommate making coffee, 2. The fancy coffee maker he used to make it, 3. Hour sofa at my apartment, 4. A girl in a random balcony smoking a cigarette, 5. A dog with his/her walker, 6. The Union, 7. New pledges of Phi Chi Theta, 8. A friend I last saw 2 years ago, 9. dog poop on the side walk, 10. My Ipod playing Beirut.

Sept 7th:

1. Sun rays that filled my room this sunday morning, 2. Penicillin pills for my Strep Throat, 3. several text messages from friends on my cell phone, 4. Pages from "Creativity DNA" by Twyla Tharp that I read for this class, 5. My pillow when I took a nap, 6. a big flat screen tv as my friends and I got ready to watch the first episode of Entourage's 5th season, 7. my friend Vishal's disappointing face as he found the episode just ordinary and nothing special (his words), 8. dairy queen's caramel sundae, 9. a girl walking with her bike that had a flat tire at about 10:20PM, 10. a BMW convertible parked a few spaces from my car.

Sept 6th:

1. The beautiful view of downtown Chicago from my sister's condo, 2. myself in the mirror, 3. my gorgeous sister making me pancakes, 4. freshly squeezed orange juice, 5. the front door security guy, 6. good ol' State Street, 7. ever tall sears tower, 8. the vast corn fields on my drive back to chambana, 9. water leaking stains on our apartment building, 10. the unwashed dishes pilled up from about a week in my kitchen.

Sept 5th:

1. The killers poster in my bedroom, 2. Kleenex as I had a running nose (my stupid allergies), 3. honey bunches of oat cereal as I tasted the crunchiness in my mouth, 4. My Russian calculus professor in class explaining vectors in his thick russian accent, 5. a random person sleeping in class, 6. my new Phi Chi Theta pen, 7. My friend's Ipod connector for the car that didn't work making me furious, 8. the star lit sky at night while I was driving to Chicago, 9. the happiest bride and groom at their wedding ceremony, 10. 4-5 drunk mexican dads dancing on the dance floor at the ceremony which made my night (LOL!).

Sept 4th:

I am an hour late with this post. Nonetheless, here is my list of the 10 most spectacular things I saw today out of the countless objects, images and living things we are surrounded by. 

~the pouring rain

~the dirt on my car

~my math quiz paper

~posters at the union

~hookah 

~my stunning suit

~strawberries fresh from Meijer's

~my black macbook

~men's health magazine

~my roommate's In Touch magazine. LOL!.. He loves gossip.

"I walk into a White room"

~ I will have to be honest, when it comes to working on something, I procrastinate 98% of the time. If its an assignment for a class, and I am not that excited about it- you can count on me either daydreaming, watching tv, sleeping, chatting with friends on the phone or on the computer, checking facebook, eating or something else other than beginning the assignment. Oh! and spacing out is my favorite. If its something that I am really pumped on doing or if its an assignment that appeals to me, then I will procrastinate less but I will still procrastinate. I would definitely like to work on this, but at the same time I believe that procrastinating a tiny bit can work in your favor as it allows you to clear your mind and get focused. 

~ I have no fixed daily routines. I live my life as it comes, so to speak. I do plan and list down the things I want to get accomplished, but sometimes I don't go by the plan and it works out just fine for me.  So to answer the question, my daily routines vary. I wake up when I have to, if I don't have anything to do in the morning I will sleep in. This daily lifestyle works perfectly now that I am in college but when it needs to be changed the necessary changes will definitely be made. A summary of a normal day in my life would follow like this: I'll wake up at around 8AM and eat breakfast. I believe breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I Take a shower and let my thinking process set loose. This is when I schedule a list in my mind of the things I need to do. Go to classes, the gym, sometimes I take a nap and sometimes I just hang out with friends. If I have a meeting with any organizations I am involved in, I go to that and some days I play volleyball or tennis. In the night, I usually work on homework and study. Bed time varies as well. There are times when I am in bed at 10PM and sometimes at 3AM. 

~I have always believed that some people are born with exceptional talents and gifts. With that said, I strongly believe that everybody has their own "touch of god" talents in one way or the other towards something. Although hard work, dedication and time will make them more better and proficient in their respective talent.

100 questions that I asked myself..

1. What do I want to do in life?
2. What are my goals and aspirations?
3. Where do I see myself in 5 years?
4. Where do I see myself in 10 years?
5. How successful will I be?
6. Will I be married before the age of 30?
7. How many children do I want?
8. How will I contribute to the society/community?
9. What are the most important things in my life?
10. Who do I consider my best friends?
11. Do I have enemies?
12. Will I ever travel to all 7 continents?
13. When will I go back to India?
14. What is my favorite subject?
15. What will I get out of the Art 250 class?
16. Who do I admire the most?
17. Who is my inspiration?
18. What inspires me in life?
19. What keeps me motivated and dedicated?
20. What do I want to do with an economics major?
21. Will I do something related to my major after college?
22. What is my favorite color?
23. What is the next exciting thing that will happen in my life?
24. What would be the one country I would want to do to?
25. How have my parents been an influence in my life?
26. How have my sisters been an influence in my life?
27. Doing high school in India, how do I find education here in the US?
28. Do I like it better here in America or in India?
29. What was the best part about living in India?
30. Will I ever go back to live in India?
31. Will I ever live somewhere else other than America or India after college?
32. What made me decide to go to college here in the US?
33. Why did I choose to apply at University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign?
34. If not UIUC, where would I want to go to college?
35. Do I like summer or winter the most?
36. Why am I allergic to cats?
37. Why am I allergic to dust and the heat?
38. What is my favorite book?
39. What is my favorite movie?
40. Why am I more of a night person than a morning person?
41. Do I like tea the best or coffee?
42. Why am I sleepy right now? lol!
43. Why do I prefer microsoft XP over microsoft vista?
44. What will make me a better human being?
45. I am not religious, why so?
46. Why do I like chicken and beef but not pork?
47. Why do I like short hair on girls?
48. Why do I like blue and black together?
49. Why have I changed my mind so many times when it comes to my major?
50. Why do I like madison, WI but not milwaukee, WI?
51. If the olympics comes to chicago in 2016, how will I be a part of it?
52. Would I want to travel alot for work?
53. Why do I like pressing buttons so much?
54. Why do I not like cologne?
55. Why is there so much poverty in India?
56. How will I contribute to the sufferings in the world?
57. Why do I lie sometimes and not feel guilty, but other times do?
58. Why do I like corky movies?
59. Will I make my parents proud?
60. Will I make myself proud?
61. Will I do good in this class?
62. Who will I vote for? Obama or Mccain?
63. How can I work on my impatience?
64. Which is my favorite sister out of my 4 sisters?
65. Why am I am stuck right now with these questions?
66. How are these questions relevant to this class?
67. How will my 1 year experience as an architecture major play out for this class?
68. How much of computer knowledge would I require for this class?
69. Why am I afraid of heights?
70. What can I overcome my fear of heights?
71. What will I miss the most about U of I after college?
72. Will I go to graduate school?
73. Where would I want to go?
74. Am I going to graduate on time?
75. What is my dream car?
76. How many of my friends will I stay in touch in the long run?
77. Will I get really drunk on my 21st birthday?
78. Will I ever climb Mt.Everest?
79. Am I good friend to my friends?
80. Am I good brother?
81. Am I a good uncle to my nephew?
82. How can I be more productive?
83. How can I be more efficient?
84. Who can I rely on the most?
85. Do I have trust issues?
86. Do my parents know everything about me?
87. Will I give a speech at my sister's wedding?
88. What does my life entail in the near future?
89. How has growing up in India enriched my life?
90. Do I care about the world?
91. if drafted and sent to the war, would I be ok with it? or pretty upset?
92. What do I think about the war in Iraq?
93. How can I contribute if there is another natural disaster in the US?
94. What makes me so special?
95. Do i like my name?
96. Does it bother me that most of the people cannot pronounce my name?
97. Do I prefer the Wii or playstation?
98. When will I own either one? or both?
99. Am I happy now that I am almost done with this assignment?
100. What do I think of George Bush? LOL!
     

COMMON THEMES: I live my life by anticipating the excitement that's going to occur in my life. I always ask myself, what's the next exciting thing thats going to happen in my life?? whether it be going back to college, or me turning 21 in december- those are all events that I look forward to and in the meantime I live my life day by day with the feeling that my life entails something exciting all the time..I am not sure if this is good or bad, but it works for me. So most of my questions are directed towards the future, the uncertainties and a lot about my personal interests including my friends and family.

Definition of literacy in my words.....

Literacy is the ability for a person to read and write, and be educated and aware of the society they live in.