life as a communication specialist

3 weeks done. 5 weeks to go. Like expected, I continue to move at lightening speed to finish projects accurately and in time. No time to catch any breaths. But I am learning.

I have battled the Quark monster more than once and it no longer wins every match. Occassionally I take the win and walk away with something usable.

I was able to sit in on a meeting with a outside designer which rocked! I was pretty stressed and tired so I'm not sure how I appeared but the meeting went well. My brain even functioned during most of it. [side note: I've been dealing with some brain malfunctioning recently.]

I've been building and packaging images for laymen and designers alike to use. Also working on some very basic supplemental material for their Leaders Live Evangelism event. I wish I could do some more serious design work for them but supplemental is still something. Right?

I am updating the Web site whenever called upon. Sometimes dipping into the dynamic pool of php. I'm not changing the water at all-- just what is inside the water right now. I'm working on learning php though. I also field questions that come through our webhelp email address. Those are fun. ;)

Summer of Marsha

2 days back at Stonecroft. AHHHHH! jk, but it can seem overwhelming. Learn Quark, learn php, figure out their database structure, mess with quark, want to throw up on quark, update site, update site, update site, did I mention update the gosh darn site? Oh wait-- I don't have the right admin access to update the site. Pause.....

But I know after this work things should settle down some. And I can put on my resume about three different times-- ADAPTS TO NEW SETTINGS UNDER HIGH PRESSURE SITUATIONS. Thank you. More later this week.

Blog University freshman year

Wow! I can't tell you how much I am learning from some amazing blogs out there. My design abilities are starting to shoot through the roof. My Web knowledge is slowly beginning to bud little leaves. It is almost overwhelming what I can learn. Here are two I'm frequenting right now:

http://www.blog.spoongraphics.co.uk
http://tutsplus.com

Making Every Minute Count

6 days until another move. I am trying to make every minute count since my future is uncertain (to everyone but God). Hitting several niece's softball games this week and a birthday party this weekend. And packing... oh lovely, glorious stuffing of the car. But I really want this next two months to once again be about learning how to take care of myself. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I am not unable to live on my own--- what I mean is--- prioritizing myself and focusing on God. Not collapsing because I have gave, gave, gave when God wanted me to listen, listen, listen.

Learning on the job

As many communication problems as I have, I am proud to announce that I am not the worst. Has our society always been like this? Holding strict opinions for how they want something done but never adequately expressing their instructions. Yet another learning experience at API: customers. Interpretation is 75% of the Web Services Department's job. This simply highlights the value of someone being able to connect with people immediately and smooch as much as necessary to keep the process smooth.

I've also realized how crucial forgiveness is with any job. Someone will probably hurt your feelings but you can't hide in a box. You must continue working and eventually interacting with that person. While Christians are instructed to forgive because of Jesus's/God's example but I think that it can apply to everyone. Learning how to let things roll off your back is harder than learning how to become bitter. But securing this ability as young in your career as possible is invaluable.

I also think I've learned more in this last year through Google then four years of college. Is it the university's fault? No probably not. But for me, college wasn't about securing an elite job, it was about people and experiences. More on this later.