I’m Excited!!

I’m happily writing this blog entry from the Charlotte Airport! As my iMedia adventure comes to an end I am now finding myself not only juggling school, but also the job hunt! I am flying to Syracuse tonight to interview at the University for a web position in the communications school. I warned my classmates that I will probably be dead tired on Wednesday though because I am doing this entire trip in a 24 hour period!

Okay so iMedia! It is crazy to think that in two weeks it is all over! TWO WEEKS! WHAT?! I like to think that I am on the down slope when it comes to my projects, but I am trying not to get to0 cocky and let things get away from me. My CAPSTONE is coming along great! I cannot wait to make it live for the public to see! My ‘Late Afternoon Without Jimmy Fallon’ project is live and ready for review! There are still some video tweaks to make and audio to clean up but to have a full working product live is a massive weight off of my shoulders! I finally decided on a project for my application development class and now it is just a matter of creating it and troubleshooting it in the next 15 days!

It is a little scary to know that the next two weeks will determine a lot for me! I could have a job in the next two weeks! I could be moving to New York, or moving to Ohio….I could be moving somewhere I haven’t even thought of yet! I’m doing my best to not get ahead of myself and simple roll with the punches but it is hard not to let your mind wander to ‘what if’ land and imagine life after iMedia. Jobs aside, what I am most looking forward to is having a life that doesn’t revolve around my computer. I am looking forward to having the option to call it a day at 5 or 6pm. I’m looking forward to having the ability to sleep in on a Saturday and not feel like I lost valuable study time! Most of all I am just looking forward to life after iMedia. Don’t get me wrong, I love iMedia! I love what it has taught me, where it has taken me, the friendships I have made and the memories I have. Coming to Elon iMedia was no doubt one of the top 5 best decisions of my life! But most of all, I am looking forward to the life iMedia has given me the ability to have! I’m really anxious to see what I can do with this degree and push my limits with whatever job I end up with! I am excited to teach others what I have learned and sing my praises about iMedia! Simply put….I’m excited!

The Bipolar Arguments My Brain Has With Itself

WOW! I have not been keeping up with this! School has definately gotten the best of me lately and if the past 48 hours didn’t add to the crazy I don’t know what will!

I wear many hats in life…one of them is my running hat. I started in high school and even though I took some time off I still love it. I do my best thinking while running, plus it gives me about an hour break from my computer. When I ran cross country in high school a few of the more elite runners on my team told me they prefer to run up steep hills than go down hill. I thought they were ridiculous! I always hated hills in high school, especially when my coach would find the steepest hill in town and make us run drills on it until we thought our legs were going to fall off. Now, living in North Carolina there are not many hills to run up (physically that is), and  I actually kinda miss them. There is something very rewarding about starting at the bottom of a massive hill, and slowly pushing your way to the top of it. That pain you get in your legs about half way through and your brain starts having a bipolar argument with itself on if you should stop and keep going. Your chest is literally pounding and you can’t breath and part of you just wants to die. But you keep pushing…for me it usually involved putting my head down and watching the road…taking one step after another until I was at the top…you keep going because you know you will get to the top and when you get there it will all be worth it. Graduate school has been almost exactly like running up those hills in high school. I can’t tell you how many times my brain has had bipolar arguments with itself. My body tried to tell my brain to stop, but my brain just tells my soar eyes to knock it off, go take out your contact put on your glasses, and keep working. Several times a week my brain and body would have arguments at 7am after only four hours of sleep with the classic debate of should I get out of bed…but then my alarm clock across the room forces me to. Sure I have probably done permanent damage to my retinas and I have ruined my posture from sitting at a computer all day, I have gotten stress acne and I might be borderline albino due to lack of sun! But it’s worth it…this massive hill of graduate school is worth it.

We are so close to being done with school that I get excited just thinking about it. I realized earlier in the week that exactly one year ago my mind was having another bipolar argument with itself on whether I should give up a job and come to Elon for graduate school. Eventually  with the strong nudge of a few family and friends I decided to come. Now here we are one year later, one month of school to go, and my mind is having another bipolar argument on what I am going to do next. I’m excited about having some what of life again outside of iMedia. Don’t get me wrong I love what I am doing and learning…but I am looking forward to taking off a Friday night and not feeling guilty because I have a pile of work to do. I am looking forward to taking a day to sit at the lake and my only worry being what time are we going to go skiing. But for me it’s all about the decisions we make, and how we choose to play those decisions in our favor. Sure I could have taken the easy route, the one that didn’t involve the massive hill, the easy way out so to speak…but here I am, half way up that ridiculous hill. Almost there!  I’m still not sure what life after iMedia has in store for me and I think that is what stresses me out the most, but I keep reminding myself not to stress over the unknown factor. Just keep climbing, keep working and it will all fall into place.

So I wouldn’t say that we are on the down slope of graduate school just yet…but we are close. I am almost to the top of the steep side…at that point where my legs want to kill me and my mind is cursing at itself because of the insanity I am putting it through. At that point where my heart is pounding out of my chest and my brain is once again having a bipolar argument with itself on what to do next. But for now it’s just one foot in front of the other…almost to the top!

And We’re Back!!

Spring break is officially over, but it didn’t seem like much of a break to me! I feel like I worked non-stop on everything from CAPSTONE, to final class assignments, research, consulting work, work around the house for my parents, and of course making time to catch up with a few long lost friends while back in the valley. I even stayed home and extra day and drove back on Tuesday just so I could get more work done. But of course, I wasn’t even in North Carolina for even two hours before I ended up back in the labs working. Seven weeks seems like a decent amount of time…but we all know too well that they are going to fly by and this entire experience will be over very very soon.

In the category known as my CAPSTONE project I feel like I have been able to accomplish a lot and I am way ahead of the ball. The website is basically completed, just several small changes to add, design and complete plus adding and editing the content as needed. Right now my biggest challenge is transfering the website from my localhost to the organizations main server, without disrupting the current website. I think I know how to handle that one, but I am going to wait and double check with a few teachers before I jump.

I’m really getting my first taste at video editing right now, which makes me so excited. I have always wanted to test my limits when it comes to creating videos and this semester is giving me the opportunity. I have my final digital storytelling project, promotional pieces for the iMedia Exhibition in May, and our branding and marketing piece for our ConvergeSouth class. It is a little intimidating to have so many projects based in a world I am not very familiar with, but like I have said all along, “If I knew it all, I wouldn’t be here.” I could have gotten out of a few of these projects, or not made my final storytelling project such a massive undertaking, but I think at this stage of the game all of us wanted to challenge ourselves and push our limits. I know I know web development, and I like to think that my design skills have increased by a million..but video is still something I have only skimmed the surface of and I want to keep going and see what I am capable of creating in this area as well.

I know for me, I am planning my social events over a month in advance, because  I know any weekend I want to have or even a night out, I will need to plan out a few days in advance. I am still pursing almost every job lead I come across, and I am hearing back from a few which is really exciting! The idea of not knowing where I will be going just yet is a little intimidating, but I have faith something will work out…until them, in traditional ‘Audra Macri Fashion’…I’m gonna go code something.

Half Way Through The Half Way Point

WOW! I have been slacking with my blog posts lately..obviously iMedia it taking over! Spring Break starts this Friday which marks the halfway point of our second and final semester. In about 9 weeks we graduate and are shoved out into the real world with a larger than average amount of knowledge about media, technology, social media trends, coding, production, management, and just the media/technology world in general. It is both scary, happy, rewarding, confusing and one of the most exciting moments in my life.  When my mom visited this past weekend she said, “The next 10 weeks are going to be big decision moments.”, and she is right..a lot is going to happen in the next ten weeks. But I make it a point not to focus on the ‘What If’s’ in life and just focus on what is happening now.

School has been crazy like always…but I am happy to say that I am very comfortable with where all of my projects stand! What is great is that I have had wonderful opportunities this semester to do more than just code a website. This week alone I am in the middle of filming three different projects. First, for Multimedia Storytelling my partner Anna and I are creating a parody based off the Jimmy Fallon show. Our ultimate goal is to get a tweet, have our project on the show, or get jobs at the show. We have recruited a few classmates to help us out so we made it a point for ourselves and our recruits to get all of our filming done before break, because we know it is going to be crazy in April.

My second project is a group project we are creating in my Conference class. We will be attending the Converge South Conference in April, but as part of this class we are creating a new branding and identity campaign for the iMedia program. I am the project manager for media production, but right now it is an all hands on deck project, trying to collect as much footage as we can. The goal is to launch only a few weeks after break so there is a lot going into this project really fast.

Finally, every year iMedia hosts and exhibition the night before graduation. It is the job of the class to plan everything from locations, to invites, to promos etc etc etc. I am working with the video team on this project to create a teaser video as well as videos to play on the large screens in the halls during the exhibition. We were just pitched the ‘theme’ of the exhibition yesterday and after some quick brainstorming we have a great idea to promote the showcase. One group has decided to take several headshots of everyone in the class tomorrow which will be used in the print, promo and other pieces of the exhibition. So, since everyone is together, we decided to film everyone as well to collect the footage we will need for the videos we are creating.

WHEW!! Along with all of that I have the usual class work, my CAPSTONE Project, a few freelancing projects, consulting work, applying for jobs and trying to squeeze in a few hours of sleep a night! It’s still crazy to think in 9 short weeks this will all be over! It seems like I just got here and now I have to prepare myself to leave. I’m anxious, excited, nervous, happy, sad, and just a little stressed…but I couldn’t ask for more!

Work Hard, Stay Humble…

…this was something I came across while taking a Pinterest break this week and it kinda stuck with me. I think in this profession, this industry, whatever we are doing..it is important to stay humble…to realize you are never at the top of your game and there is always something you can do. I think sometimes I often forget that though and get lost in the madness that is iMedia. As always, it has been another crazy week here at iMedia. I am now finding that my “Hey, Audra Things You Should Look Into/Learn” list is much much longer than my  homework list. There are so many languages I am trying to touch on, styles of design and programming, readings and updates, finishing my portfolio and resume…I could go on forever. Just this weekend alone I started learning Ruby on Rails, finished a rough round of my website and posted it, and I am working on finishing up my resume. It is both exciting, stressful, overwhelming, and one of the most fufilling moments of my life.

It is impossible to believe that we are almost there…okay I know I still have a ton of things to do…but in three short months I will have braved the storm and be well on my way. I am finding myself feeling how I did last year when I was getting ready to graduate from undergrad. What am I going to be doing in a few months? Where will I be? Who will be there? What will I be doing? It’s a crazy and yet exciting moment in life…not knowing what is next.

The Half Way Marker! Second Semester!

I have been meaning to post for a few days, and yet the crazy of the spring semester keeps pushing this priority to the end of my list. We are back in full swing here, settling into our classes and buckling ourselves in for the crazy ride known as..spring semester. From my undergrad experience, I know spring can be the worse, especially once the weather is nicer and we hit the final stretch. Our “fake break” was definitely a tease because I am finding it a little tricky to get back into the swing of things.

This semester is going to be a crazy one, in more ways than I can even wrap my mind around. Fall semester was just a warm up compared to what is to come. We have our course loads, plus working on our CAPSTONE Projects, our personal portfolios, searching and applying for jobs, preparing for graduation, trying to figure out what to do after graduation…all within a small window of time and attempting to have some sort of life outside of the four walls of Powell…and maintaining a a relatively normal sleep schedule. I’m really excited about my courses, even though they are a little outside of my comfort zone. I decided to take all production classes, rather than all theory, or mixing it up. As much as I love learning, I prefer to sit behind my computer and sink my teeth into a project rather than reading about it, then write a paper. In a sense I lucked out, and in a sense I didn’t. All of my classes are Monday, Wednesday, Friday..which is great for freeing up my Tuesdays and Thursdays..but of course my “class nights” are a little intimidating because the work piles up fast. I have been enjoying having my Tuesdays and Thursdays to code and design..I think it will work out great once I really start to sink my teeth into my CAPSTONE Project…but I am making sure to enjoy it while it last…it’s only a matter of time before that luxury is gone.

It’s crazy to think that in a few short months it will be all over…bring it on!

Day 22: The Moment We Have All Been Working Towards!

Today was it! Presentation day! The past 9 days seem like a total blur…I couldn’t tell you what happened when, what I ate for dinner most days, or come to think of it what day of the week it was. Through blood sweat and tears…okay well maybe I’m being dramatic…through long nights and lots of coffee we have worked and sacrificed to get this project done.  We still have a lot of tweaking to do with it…’i’s’ to dot and ‘t’s’ to cross..but when you think about the fact that last week we had an idea and a blank template, and now we have an almost complete website…I would say we have come a long way!

I got to Powell bright and early to make sure there weren’t any loose ends to tie up and that the server was up and running. That was my biggest concern because of all of the problems we have had with it. Luckily everything was running well and there was no need to panic or stress. The entire team got together and just hung out before the presentations. It was pretty obvious that the weight of the world was no longer on us and we could sit back and relax for a little bit. I was so excited to see everyone’s work. I have seen little bits and parts while working on Powell but to see the completed projects was great. Everyone was so excited and proud to show off their hard work. I felt like a proud mom in some sense. I was extremely excited that after presentations, a local business owner who works in web development sought me out to tell me he was impressed with my work and that he didn’t even know how to do some of the things I was able to do with the website. That made me really happy and excited to know I did a pretty good job with this project considering it was my first time working in WordPress and that we built it in 9 days. There are still several things to be done to the site, but I am so happy to be through the woods!

There are several things with this winter fly-in experience that were completely beyond my expectations. The first was how relaxed and comfortable I was in the entire situation. When I travel I usually get horrible anxiety, which is probably one reason I don’t like to travel a lot. But even before we left for the trip I was at complete ease and felt comfortable with my teammates, the environment we were going to, and the organization we were working with. Yes, it was completely out of my comfort zone in terms of what I am use to, but I was surprised how relaxed I was the entire time. I was also surprised with the small amount of direction we were given by Codece. Usually a client guides you towards something or gives you something to aim for, however with Codece it was different. They had their few requirements or wishes for the website, but there was very little art direction or specifics given to us. In a way I enjoyed this because it gave us all the chance to flex our creative muscles and really see what we could do when given an opportunity like this. Finally, the one thing that surprised me was how much we bonded as team. I knew we would all be able to work together well, but I feel like I really formed some true friendships through this experience. People who I use to only say ‘hello’ to in passing I am now seeking out to have full conversations with. We talk about having monthly family dinners and just hanging out when we have the time during spring semester. We all experienced something together that not a lot of people can say they went through and that really is something special to bond over.

Watching The BSC game in Spanish..in Costa Rica!

It is tough to say what expectations were met with this project, because I went into the entire thing with an open mind and trying not to expect anything. I didn’t want to expect something, then not get it, then get travel anxiety like usual. I think with a project like this it  is important to keep an open mind. One thing I can say for sure is that I expected no drama with our group and I am so happy that we didn’t have any. When I first saw the list, I knew I had a laid back group and was so thankful for that. Sure, there were a few times where we got on each others nerves, or due to lack of sleep we probably just wanted to snap, but we never had any harsh drama or reasons to be mad at each other. Another thing I expected was to be working with passionate, and excited clients. They didn’t give us much direction in terms of design or content, but you can tell just after minutes of talking to them that they were excited over the fact that we were there and about to give then a whole new way to connect with the world.  Seeing how passionate they were made me more excited to work on this project and produce the best product I would in order to please the client.  I guess if I have to list three thing, I also expected to be outside of my comfort zone, and I prepared myself for that. I knew food would be a little different, I knew the life style would have a few changes, and I knew I would barely understand the language. I think mentally preparing myself for that, rather than going in thinking everything would be a breeze really helped me out. I knew to expect the unexpected and to keep an open mind. In the end I think that is all anyone can really try to do in these situations.

I think our overall project met the clients needs exactly. We have been able to create a beautiful website that allows them to connect with so many more people now and education others about their mission as well as collect donations in order to continue reaching their goals. If I had more time I would definitely go back and correct some of the shortcuts I made with WordPress just to make sure that it was functioning at it’s highest level. I think we also took a few shortcuts in terms of design and that is something all of us would like to improve on if given the chance.

Overall, I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. Over the past three weeks I have had many firsts including my first plane ride, my first time in Central America, the first time I slept for less that 4 hours for 9 days straight plus so much more. In traditional Audra fashion, this experience is definitely on my top 5 list!

Day 21: The Most Stressful Day of Them All

I won’t lie…I almost cracked today. Last night the server crashed around 1:30 and when I got up around 6am it was still down. I ended up getting in touch with our IT contact several times but got no answers. Finally it came back up around 11:00 but it soon crashed again around 2:00 when we went to practice our presentation. I tried to merge our project to another server as a backup but was unsuccessful. Luckily the server came back up and I haven’t had any troubles with it since then. We ended up making quick screen capture videos of the website to use as our backup in case the server crashes on us tomorrow when we go to present our project. Once all of that madness was settled it was time to make a few more tweaks to the website in order to make it presentable tomorrow. There are still several changes that need to be made before the site can go live, but it is at a good place where we can present it…we are just going to avoid the flaws. We were given a rule than none of us could leave until the project was completed. Luckily, all of us had a few odds and ends of things to work on. Nita, Renee and I went to dinner to layout the presentation and we had a brief team meeting before the night was over. Although, we all  ‘cracked’ from lack of sleep around 9pm and decided to make up an interpretive dance to our motion graphic piece…just in case that were to fail tomorrow to.

It feels weird not being in the labs at 2am. I really have no idea what to do with myself. There are still several things that need to be tweaked and worked with, but for now it is time to rest up and get ready for tomorrows presentations.

Day 20: Just Keep Swimming!

Today was in a sense, our last push to the finish! It is Tuesday, and final presentations are on Thursday. In order to avoid pulling all nighters and killing ourselves tomorrow, we have really been joining together over the past 24 hours to get this project done..or as close to done as we can. Server errors really held up production last night and this morning, but we were soon on track again and working out all of the final odds and ends of the website and media. As of now, the website is basically set in stone and it is only a matter of reproducing it in spanish, adding a few media updates, and tweeking little areas here and there. There are no more major changes to be made, however, I am still running into a few issues with the navigation bar, so the majority of my day tomorrow will be spent trying to solve all of these issues. Now that this project is coming to a close it is safe to say I have learned a lot, been able to troubleshoot a ton of problems and work through almost everything design issue that has been thrown my way…but then again it is also safe to say I am ready for a break. These 18 hours days are starting to get to me.

I think when preparing for a project like this there is only so much preparation you can do…and even then you have to expect the unexpected. We had no idea who our client really way or what they would want before we arrived in Costa Rica. While some groups had the luxury of talking to their clients, and nailing down design ideas before they even left for Christmas, we had to produce all of our work in a two week time period. I knew WordPress would play a major roll in this project and I tried to make myself as familiar as I could with it…however I had no idea that I would be taking on a job of this size or level of difficulty until last week when we started programming the website. I had no idea I would be essentially building a website, from scratch and have to incorporate the functionalities of a CMS…I also had no idea that there would be do many errors and so much research that would be required on my part in order to allow for certain elements to work properly. I think my work schedule in the fall and my natural work ethic is what has prepared me the most. I’m willing to get up at 6am to get here as early as possible and then work until almost 2AM every night. I have even given up my natural routine of going on my night runs as a break because there is simply too much work to do in order to meet the deadlines. It is tough to say what other preparations would have been nice to have before going on this journey known as the iMedia Winter Fly-In. In a perfect world, we would have had better communication with our client before we even left for break in December…we would of had designs laid out…ideas of media and production schedules…as well as graphics, After Effects pieces and more. But unfortunately that is not the case…and in a professional setting that will almost never be the case as well. It I learned anything during my ‘professsional’ career in Wheeling…it’s that clients usually want results fast…they don’t understand the time and effort and is needed in order to produce a great piece. In a professional setting I know there will be times where someone wants a piece of media and they want it now…or better yet..yesterday. Being in this line of work makes you realize that fast isn’t fast enough and that there is no such thing as perfect. We have definately had to cut a few corners and eliminate a few components of the project in order to meet our deadline, but I am still proud of the work we are producing and how much we are all coming together as a team in order to produce this wonderful piece.

Almost there! One more day of work then presentations!

Day 18: Almost There!

I decided to take today as a chill day and get my head back on straight. After pulling several long nights in Powell, it was time to get a little sleep just so I could focus on the crazy week ahead. Right now, I am back in Powell prepared for another long night, but the Codece server is acting up so my work in on hold until further notice. Luckily we are right on schedule. The website is coming together nicely and are almost completely done with the English website. We have been holding off on creating the Spanish version, until the English was just the way we wanted it. I have a few more components to add and edit and then we will start reproducing the new website. I’m really excited about how the website is coming together. We are now able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Think about it, one week ago we were just getting back from Costa Rica…now here we are well no our way to having a completed project. It has been no easy task, but well worth it.

I love that throughout this entire project my team is still a team. We all still get along, we have had virtually no drama and we are all still willing to work hard to complete the project. My schedule has definitely been a little different than other members of the team. We are all working hard, but I have been pulling some early mornings and extremely late nights in order to complete certain elements of the website as well as improve other areas. I have found that I can work through a basic task list pretty quickly, but when we meet and review the website there are always several more changes that need to be made. Some edits only take a few minutes, others require a lot of research and trial and error before they are solved. I think my team appreciates the fact that I am so dedicated to working through all of the problems we have had with the website, and that I am willing to work into the night and get up early in order to make these changes happen. Now that we are coming to the end of the project, I have been asking to have daily checks of the website so the team can evaluate what changes have been made, and have input as to what other changes need made. This will help us stay on our game in developing the best product we can.

I haven’t had any contact with Codece because I have been in my programming bubble. I do not think they have seen anything we have designed or created yet so it is tough to tell how we have made a difference to the client as of now, but I am hoping that it will make all the difference soon. Through this website we are giving Codece the opportunity and ability to connect with the entire world, to share their mission and create awareness. They have never had this opportunity before so to I am excited for them to see the final product and see the public’s reaction to it and Codece as a group.

Only 4 more days until presentations..which means even fewer days until the project needs completed. As soon as this server is back up and running, I will be back to work on the website.