The Power of Advertisement

I think my most favorite comment that may be made by anyone is, “I’m not affected by advertisement.” It is almost impossible to go through a day without being bombarded with advertisements, in newspapers-TV-billboards-on buses- clothing- cars- trains- or even when you check the weather. I wanted to share a personal story of what advertising did to me recently.

My fiancé and I decided we wanted to adopt a second dog. So, we did what any normal person would do… we searched online. J After a rigorous process with the adoption agencies we will soon be welcoming our new little puppy to our home. However, that is not were our dog story ends.

When a person goes online to conduct a simple search such as pet finding, there is craigslist, online newspapers, petfinder.com, eBay even!! We had all these searches at our finger tips. I got back online to find a picture of our new puppy only to.. of course have to sift through hundreds of other ads. That’s where I found the ad that got to me, “Urgent-will die tomorrow at 10am.” It was ad, like many others, letting you know that if this dog does not receive a home offer soon he will be euthanized… aka destroyed.

So this week we will be welcoming two new dogs to our home, yay! I cannot say I’m mad that I was sucked in by this advertisement for they did not lie to me about the situation. Most of the ads we are sucked into never actually do lie. My fiancé doesn’t seem as pleased with me, but we’ll work through it I’m sure.

It just goes to show how much advertisement really can affect our lives. I’m sure many of us have conducted those research papers examining the affects of ads focused on the female body, alcohol intake, or on clothing brands. However, do we really stop and notice how many ads are thrown in our face, and with what extreme tactics that are used?? I mean, for the most part I’m not moved by ads. I’m very content with my foster puppy wearing his Petsmart leash, while he chews on my Steve Madden shoes… really, barely any affect at all.

To Stay or Go, which is Best we may never Know

"I swear there's more than just corn"

Every time I admit that I wish to move back to Indiana everyone assumes it is because I do not like living in Washington D.C. The truth is I love living in both areas, I just prefer living in one over the other. I have a feeling many people toss and toil over where they should move, raise a family, find a career, and buy a house. Everyone wants good school districts and great prices. The problem is we can never be sure of which area will have the best opportunities for the individual family.

I am a huge believer in the use of T charts where you are able to compare the pros and cons of items. The biggest concern now is the no-brainer economic situation. As a big fan of Suzie Orman, I trust when she says it will probably be a good 5 years before we are resting comfortably on top of a stable market again. This means if I want to buy a house in the next three years, I should find a location with a bit more stable housing market. This might be hard to find, but I can tell Indy is doing a lot better than D.C.

The economy sadly factors in for many pieces of my T chart. My next concern is finding a good job- a place that I can honestly say is my career. Sure, I have aspirations of someday working for some amazing company that not only provides services for the community also gives back to the community. Right now, I need to find a location that does have openings for someone like me: a fresh student soon to be out of graduate school. D.C. is mostly looking for people with experience, Indiana was named number one place for graduates to find a job. I guess that 2-0 Indy.

Ok, so I have a house and job. What about starting a family? I guess that means I should get married first if I care to be traditional (which I personally do). I have a fantastic fiancé and am very excited about our wedding- but that means there are two of us in the picture not just me anymore. I fear the hardest part about moving, is making sure it’s the right choice for everyone. Luckily my family is still small, but we both hope we will make a few additions sometime in the future. I was very excited to hear he was just as interested as moving to Indy as I am. However, now he needs to find a job as well. If he can’t find a job- the entire planning system above collapses and a new plan needs to be developed. For now, we’ll work of off hope that he can find a job. After all he is young and still fairly fresh from school too.

I guess I should admit that we are actually a family of three already, me, my fiancé, and are baby Labrador Belle. I think as long as we have a back yard our little pooch will be just peachy. So if Belle has some little ones to play with in the future, those little ones will be in need of a school. I don’t want just any school, I want a good school! I cannot speak for the entire state of Indiana, but the northern part of central Indiana has a bunch of pretty amazing schools to choose from. So, we will hopefully find jobs in the city, buy a house with a yard in the north, and bunker down with some kids as a… let’s say next 10 year plan.

Will this in the end be the best option? What if I could have been offered a job in D.C. just two years later, providing me with the necessary income to buy a nice place in Western Arlington? We never know the best choice. Indiana has always been a home to me, so it’s really more like returning. For my fiancé it’s a whole new world. Wish us luck, and I’ll do the same for you while trying to figure out the next steps of your life.

Indiana might not sound very exciting to many- but I learned about the area and understand it can be quite enjoyable. Don’t be so quick to turn down a job in a place like say… Ohio. You might be surprised of what kind of life style you can have. I can’t afford a nice home in D.C., but I can in Indy. I can afford a cool apartment in a nice neighborhood with plenty of services offered here and maybe that is what exactly what someone else is looking for.

Rainy Days

Everyone has that moment in their life when they just want to run away from it all- stay in the covers, maybe reading a fun story or watching mindless daytime television. Today I walked out of my apartment towards work without an umbrella only to make it to the office with my hair rearranged by the rain and wind. I felt envious of those carrying an umbrella, even though it’s my fault for not grabbing one. I tried escaping in my “fun” book while I patiently waited bus ride after metro ride on my daily journey, only to get to the part in the story where the main character is trying to run away and hide. Ugh.

I don’t really have anything to run away and hide from (unless you want to count the pressures of paying bills, finishing final exams, and dealing with personal problems like a fractured toe). But we all always have something that isn’t quite right in life- some issue we need to deal with. Isn’t that suppose to be what keeps life so interesting?

I am not sure if I have a deeper point other than the desire to ramble and complain especially about my high strung puppy who desperately wants to go puddle jumping. I believe it’s important to give your puppy outside running time, but beware of raining days- they go stir crazy so easily its frightening (because there will be no puddle jumping if I can help it). I love puddle jumping too, but it’s a lot easier to towel dry myself off. Apparently my puppy, Belle, has an acute fear of the blow dryer that sends her into depression and shock at the groomers- bath time takes about 3 hours (thank god there isn’t a time charge added to the price).

Regardless of the rain, my cranky puppy, and throbbing foot, life isn’t so bad. I guess there is just something about darker days that make you think you should be tired-sad- and under the covers.

How could this possibly relate this topic to the next generation or technology? It doesn’t. Unless… we say no matter how much our world changes- our emotions will always follow a similar pattern. Learn from it, live with it, and remember the rain helps our world grow. Especially during a time when we find ourselves more easily depressed we really do have to keep finding the greener grass as being in our yard- and just remember, rain will help with that :)

Battle with Bill: Money and Utopia

Bill requested my opinion about his latest blog entry- and so I provided it. He did not seem very pleased with my response, but got excited at the prospect of a rebuttal. So here we go, feel free to read his blog entry first: the link is on the right hand side :)

I suppose I should start by saying, money is not the root of all evil. Human behavior traits like greed and selfishness are the roots to all evil. I will definitely agree that money can bring happiness in the forms of a full stomach, a well cared for child, and no stress over having to pay bills.

Even though money is not evenly distributed among people by any means I do not think people with extra have any obligation to put a dollar bill in your hand… Bill… if you are standing on the side of the road begging! The average annual income for Americans is around $40-50,000 according the U.S. Census Bureau, just to spread a little light on what the average American makes. I would then go on to ask for those making that do you feel you need more money, and what income range would be constituted as rich?

My next question is for you Bill: do you believe in socialism? Because then we can just force anyone who has an extra dollar to give it back so the pennies can be divided out and given to everyone else. That way nobody can be called an evil swine flu for not sharing their hard earned money. That would make it very easy. Of course, hard working people would lose their motivation to work, difficult but necessary fields requiring many years of studying would see a huge decrease is willing participants, and all this would lead to the a slow crumbling of American industries.

Not to be too hard on Bill, I think it is always important to recognize and thank those who do help. In fact, the nature of American culture is to be very giving and supportive of our neighbors. We have the highest rate of volunteerism, and donate more money than any other country (granted, the US is criticized because it’s a smaller percentage of the GDP as compared to other countries).

To add a plug, I think the less socialized we stay the more of our own money we get to keep and thus we are more inclined to give. Right now a serious concern for many non-profit organizations that rely on generous donations is that the rate of giving is dropping dramatically in this economic crisis.

As far as the Utopia is concerned, you basically just described old tribal traditions (I can’t remember which exactly) minus the big business hub of course. Plus, a world without mp3 players, flushable toilets, and electricity?? Are you nuts??? I enjoy being a metro girl so count me out, but feel free to keep on dreaming- we all need to once in awhile.

How Facebook has changed our Relationship Status

I was enjoying a quiet afternoon browsing the Internet like every other hard working employee when I came across this comic. Do feel free to check out others similar in humor and creativity at http://www.xkcd.com/



I will always remember the first time I had a relationship status on Facebook- or I should say, the first time that status informed all of my “friends” that I was no longer in a relationship. I am sure half of us thrive on the attention we receive when that little print changes and all the questions coming flooding in, especially when you are noticed by that guy you didn’t actually recall ever meeting but thought he had a cute profile picture (or girl, whatever).

For the other half, we dread changing that status because it will inform approximately 300-1000 random people after being posted as “news,” when all you really want is to crawl under your covers-tail between your legs- with a pint of Bailey’s ice cream. So why do we even put the status up? Simple, it is because that first half are dating the second half. I will always remember the first fight I had with my boyfriend was over me clicking –YES, which would indicate to his entire friend list and mine that we were an officially exclusive couple. And why can’t you click no? Because that would suggest you have insecurities about your fresh new relationship!


Therefore, the brilliant people at Facebook provided the “its complicated” button (and those people truly are brilliant… look how hooked we all are). Frankly, until you are picking out your wedding hall (and even then there could be some skepticism in this day and age) all relationships are fairly complicated. The sad part is, after writing that sentence I immediately remembered a married guy asking me out with the explanation that he has an open relationship with his wife. What happened to finding our penguin?

Has sex become more important than finding that other person to love, support, and share life with? Remember how scary it gets when things happen like the economy crashes, you lose your job, or we go to war? Only the mama's boys get to run home crying. The rest of us are stuck relying on each other. I don't know about you, but I'm really not that comfortable running to my "it's complicated" guy after a really embarrassing day of failure occurs.

I should respectfully put in a note for those who are trying to find their penguin but seem to be spending more nights with Baileys. If the other person went running, it's because they are a mama's boy.

The Graduate's Dilemma

My generation has entered a fantastic time where it is considered common to enter college.  I realize numbers are still staggering as many still do not complete high school- but improvements are being made every year (and lets keep that up, Obama supporters).  Many college go-er's are considered fortunate to continue on into graduate studies where they are able to pursue personal interests and make new discoveries (because it really is an honor to go three days without sleeping or showering to finish that 20 page paper on whatever fun research project you may have).  

            Just as I was nestling down in the comfort of the unchanging safe world of academia away from the terrors of financial difficulties rapping society, here comes along the argument that graduate studies are ruining the youth.  WHAT?? You mean to tell me they are taking advantage of me as I complete complicated research in the name of my professor?  Thank you to the Dean’s of glory … we pretty much saw that one coming before we even applied.  But wait, that’s not all. There is now a full fledged debate as to whether graduate studies is just a big waste of time and money for students, how the professors are handling it, and if my females could please stand up and get represented finally.

            So, here for your viewing are the articles that were sent to me via my fellow graduates, in order to ponder away at the possible implications.   You have the angry professor perspective NY Times: Mark Taylor, who demand a restructuring phase of higher education because the current system fails to truly support students.  Then you have the professor who looks at the endless capabilities provided to students through research opportunities and course options, FemaleScienceProfessor Blog.  

As a graduate student, I realize there is still one more perspective to explore.  As I started to think about it all, I found myself realizing we are standing in the middle grounds of it all.  The funny thing is I find myself saying yes to all of the above.  Yes, it’s going to cost me my right arm and a piece of my lung to even attend.  Yes, I will probably spend a lot of time conducting meaningless research that will end up as a stack of papers that I keep telling myself I need to sort through when spring cleaning comes around.  Yes, I will also have the opportunity to design my own research to filter out what I am interested in from what I am not.   And yes I will be overworked and under paid.  Wasn’t that all explained in the contract at the beginning when I signed the piece of paper accepting my spot in the program?  Perhaps it wasn’t highlighted anywhere but I am pretty sure we were all aware. 

 

The bottom line is I have no idea what I want to do.  Perhaps raking up $80,000 in loans isn’t the most efficient way to spend my time, but it could never be considered a complete waste.  Graduate students are constantly meeting new people and new ideas from inside the comfort of their sweat shirts.  Perhaps some programs could be providing a better introduction into the changing economy and social trends, but for the most part I am confident when I say students are very aware of what they are getting themselves into.  It’s an option- no option is a guarantee, but they are all an opportunity to experience a change (good or bad).

If these professors really want to help the students out, a claim being made by both sides of the argument, then I suggest starting by laying down the facts from the beginning.  No more sugar donuts and magical worlds of discovering world peace, rather lets crack open the nuts and admit our hypothesis might be wrong.  We will always have our Disney Movies to cuddle up with at the end of the day to help us dream happy through the nights.  America, my home and where all my personal experience derives from, was built on hard work and will continue to thrive on hard work.  I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and make a few mistakes, how about you?

PS:      Maybe it would be a good idea to pay more attention the innovation enthusiasts.

Introduction: From script to Text

I suppose they consider me to be a part of the "next generation." You know!  Those who have a facebook account, a touch screen phone, check twitter, manipulate HTML code and speak l337 or leet speak (... or not).  Either way, it seems the next generation has decided to run our main communication wires through blogs.  I therefore suppose it's time I create (or come back rather) to blogging.  Ok FINE, I'll admit I had the livejournal account when I was a little girl- age 13 with my first personal computer.  It's kind of nice really, I was sucked into the world of nerds by socializing with "uber nerds" only to have it turn back around and make me "cool."  

Nice job to all those who stuck through the merciless jokes opting to  enjoy what makes you happy.  Well, you aren't all out of the dark just yet but with each new blog and pirated piece of information we are one step closer to restructuring our daily interactivity.  Now that I've unleashed the nerd in me, I suppose I could give recognition to what I plan my blog to be all about. 

Absolutely everything and nothing at the exact same time! Sound familiar?  Probably, since many blogs resemble this structure (Insert general shout-out to all successful blogs with a target interest).    Sadly mine will probably still have a similar layout of which I’m currently making fun of, however, I will try to gear my blog in the direction of exploring technology and my generation’s progress, script to text *wink*.  Seeing as I am a part of this generation, I can assume my daily life counts as participant research.  Either  way it should be some good reading- per my opinion of course ;)