A new low for length between blog posts. This is pathetic. I'm officially the worst. blogger. ever.
Truth is, I spend so much time banging away at the computer for work (we launched a new Drupal Web site in July, and I've been messing with that, oh, forever. Most recently incorporating an intranet for internal users) that I am pretty much over it by the time it comes to anything else.
What's been going on, other than computers? Not much, BUT...
I did go to the Salesforce conference in San Francisco in November. Amazing trip, both personally and professionally. I was able to meet up with my aunt and uncle which was a blast - lots of amazing food, a performance of Wicked, and a really appreciated mini family reunion. The Salesforce conference itself signified a looong road ahead of more Web wrangling. This time trying to integrate our relationship management system (Salesforce) with an eCommerce element that has yet to be chosen and the Drupal site. Oof. Equally as disturbing - J and I watched Up in the Air in the theater a month or so ago and the whole sequence where they crash the corporate conference was eerily reminiscent of the San Fran conference. Those conferences are ridiculous.
Christmas and New Year were awesome. Lots of amazing food and really nice times with everyone. Added some new ornaments to the collection and about 33 more strings of lights. Our living room was pretty reminiscent of Vegas. Which was delightful. Coming to find out I'm not really strong on restraint when it comes to home decor. Had great visits with long-lost, out-of-town friends. Ahem, Dustin.
The weather sucks. No, really. I'm so ready for spring and a bachelorette weekend to the beach for umbrella drinks and excessive sunning that I can't stand it. Damn you, Puxatawney Phil. Which reminds me of a good one I heard recently. "They should re-release Groundhog Day and call it Groundhog Day 2."
Wedding planning continues. I'm having way too much fun on ETSY.
There's lots more, but this is a good start for now, no? Zero to... one in three months. I'll work on improving. No promises, but perhaps this will get me kick started again.
I have a great deal of faith in faith; if you believe something strongly enough, it becomes true for you. I would like to believe [...] that there's life after death -- because if there isn't, why are we here? I don't believe that just flesh and bones can contain from the point of view of physics this very real recorded energy inside of us. Whether it's true or not, we need to believe it.
...Said Swayze in his June 2009 interview with Barbara Walters - the first one he ever gave after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
He was facing the cancer that kills four out of five people who are diagnosed with the disease within a year. He was skinnier than I have ever seen him on T.V. or in the movies - frail and jaundiced looking. Terrifying. And terrifyingly familiar.
Every time someone notable is diagnosed with the cancer that killed my dad, I can't help compulsively following the story.
Randy Pausch - the college professor who wrote The Last Lecture, becoming a YouTube and Oprah phenomenon before passing away this summer. Whose book my friend has loaned but which I have yet gotten the guts to read.
There's also this guy on the radio, former journalist Leroy Sievers (had to look him up to remember his name) who I used to listen to talk about cancer in my car in DC and cry on my way to painting class in Alexandria.
And now, Swayze. Star of two of my absolute favorite movies as a kid - Dirty Dancing and Ghost. And of two of J's favorite movies - Point Break and Roadhouse (har har). There's something cathartic about reliving stories like my dad's over and over again. Feeling the punch in the gut and the subsequent lost of wind to the lungs of hearing another person to have pancreatic cancer. Watching the news and RSS feeds for any news of the person's condition to hear how they're battling with the disease. Grieving all over again when the inevitable news of their death makes the papers.
And for me, casually asking the scientists and grant writers at the institute if they're ever going to do work on pancreatic cancer. There was a grant apparently, but it didn't go through. I guess that's part of it - telling your story over and over again in the hopes that someday it will all make sense, then seeking out others like you who are going through the same scenario. And watching. And waiting. And wondering if this will be the person who triumphs over the disease.
According to the American Cancer Society, for all stages of pancreatic cancer combined, the one-year relative survival rate is 20 percent, and the five-year rate is four percent. And if Patrick Swayze can't make it, things don't look so good for less visible patients.
What a downer. Something happened today, though. A group of Clearview Cancer Institute volunteers toured the institute came to tour. During my time with them, I learned that all of the group members are either cancer survivors or caretakers of those with cancer. And they are touring the institute learning what work we're doing here in the laboratory is on it's way to their clinic. This made me feel good - and also interested in looking into volunteering at CCI. More on that as I find out.
In lieu of favors at our wedding, J and I will be making a donation to the American Cancer Society for our loved ones lost, my dad and his grandmother who died of brain cancer a few years ago. A friend walked for my dad over the summer in a Relay for Life in Ohio and sent photos of his luminaries along the track. Things like these help; and talking, and following the stories of others. If you ever want to hear about my dad sometime, ask me. I'll gladly tell you all about him. Or tell me about your story. Something about the telling and re-telling helps us process, I think.
I want to have a co-ed Patrick Swayze movie-viewing party to honor the life of another who should be celebrated for his living accomplishments more than the grace with with he faced death.
I seem to be leaving you in the lurch all the time lately, don't I? I really do feel guilty on one level. But on another, a neglected blog means a busy and full real life. So yeah. That's a good thing. What have I been up to...
View from a deck at the event space.
Lots of tours and layout and web at work. Lots of plotting and scheming outside of work for this little event we have coming up in May. Got quite an impressive amount of work done this week on that front.
Ordered a wedding dress
Picked a venue (um, gorgeous?!)
Ordered bridesmaid dresses (Aqua on super sale at J.Crew. I am trying to be a good, recession-conscious, bargain savvy friend...) The J.Crew customer service rep informed me via email how nice "my girls" are to work with and how great my friends are. I couldn't agree more, Veronica. But hearing someone else appreciate them in the way I do makes me feel even better.
Made an appointment for deposits on the food, photographer and venue.
I am so looking forward to this low-key, understated (gorgeous, fun) observation of the start of our marriage and most of all recognizing this huge event in our lives with our nearest and dearest: Veronica's "best friends ever" and family from all over. And family friends.
We start "how-to-handle-your money-now-that-you're-attached-forever-and-ever classes" early next month and pastoral counseling sessions start in December. Is it strange that I'm looking forward to this? I guess these are so attractive to me because I really feel like we're entering into this with eyes open, and minds open. Ready to not just love each other unconditionally and eat lots o' good food, but aware and ready for the real world stuff. The paying off grad school loans and saving for retirement stuff.
Can't remember who - whether it was mom, dad or both, who always said something to the effect of, "money can't buy you happiness, but a lack of it can make you miserable." I want us to be real happy, like comfortable in our lives happy. And I have faith that this will come together for us. With lots of work at it.
Hrm. Aside from financial rants, other interesting things -
Headed to San Francisco in November! I booked airline tickets yesterday and will be spending some time out West. Half with the fam and the rest at a Dreamforce conference. Exciting.
Also, my friend Michelle started a blog! She's too cute and I loved her inaugural post about creative uses for leftovers. Totally keeping an eye out on her for posts like this... extremely useful. She's an entertaining writer, too. Check her out!
Still totally enjoying Glee. For those who haven't watched yet, please do. I am aware that I have a fixation with anything dance and/or musical-related and that not everyone dies over SYTYCD like I do. I can honestly say that this show will be a perfect Wednesday night pick-me-up for anyone. Musically inclined or no. Campy and hilarious. And current/relevant. Quality viewing.
Heading to the Monte Sano art fair this weekend. I love it up there (even more now... :) and the art show is always a blast. It's become one of the first signs of fall here, probably because it's a bit cooler up on the mountain... delightful.
So, blog, again - I apologize for the abandonment. But as you can see, I've been a busy lady. I think less frequent, more action-packed posts are acceptable. And they are going to have to work for a while. This is a fun hobby. Not another job duty. Thankfully.
SoSo stands for Social South - the Deep South’s Social Media Conference. It’s your chance to hear nationally recognized social media professionals at an affordable and easy-to-get-to location.
Their tagline is "Deep Fried Social Media", which cracks me up. The conference is next Friday and Saturday, so I'll be roadtripping to Birmingham for the weekend.
Other good things about the conference?
It's close - Birmingham. And I get to reunite with (and crash with) my good friend, fellow blogger AND Auburn classmate, Katie!
My Style & Design in Public Relations messages teacher and social media mentor, Robert French will be presenting. This will be the first time I've seen him since college as well!
Tracks include:
Social Media Tools – You’ve probably heard that you have to be on Facebook or Twitter, but has anyone told you why? This track explores not only the why, but the rest of the tools out there.
Social Media Communications – Talking to your clients though social media using traditional media language won’t work. Track 2 explores why and how to change your message.
Social Media Strategy – Learning the tools of the trade and the new language is just the first step, without a strategy neither have much of an effect. Track 3 explores how to tie the two together into something effective.
Social Media Case Studies – Are you a business in the Southeast that is seeing results from social media? We want to hear your story – apply here to present it at Social South.
Looking forward to learning how to wrangle all of the social media outlets we use at work into one cohesive message that will drive traffic to our Web site. Also looking forward to seeing old friends. Social media is a funny thing for me because I've been neck deep in these applications since I was a sophomore in college, but that doesn't necessarily make me the best manager for outreach and business uses. I think that a meeting or two on the topic will help me reign all of these outreach efforts in to form something more functional.
My mom has her masters degree in counseling. As in, secondary school-age kid counseling. She's an education manager now, but she still has these pesky guidance counselor tendencies, and being the child of this made me the subject of lots of life goal related experiments...
Which brings me to life goals. Mom has never been the type to push my brother and I in any particular direction (we weren't expected to be virtuosos at the piano/violin/viola/fluglehorn/all of the above at age 2 1/2. Nor were we coached into oblivion at soccer/tennis/racketball practice. But mom did like for us to have goals. Not set in stone "I-WILL-be-a-hedge-fund-manager-making-six-figures-by-thirty" goals, but nice things that we'd like to achieve in our lives.
So, here's the card that mom had me create a long time ago and rediscovered during her kitchen remodel. I wish I'd dated it, because I can't recall exactly how old I was when I made this list. Judging by my handwriting, the fact that the pen was pink and my spelling... I was somewhere in the neighborhood of 10-12 years old. Classic.
For everyone's enjoyment, here's my quarter century check-in on my 11-year-old self's life goals. Let's see how I'm doing, shall we?I will answer them in the order in which they were originally penned (wonder if this was a prioritized list... it would be pretty darn random if it were.)
Speak Japanese: Negatory. I do remember dribs and drabs of my college level French. Heck I even conjugate french verbs in my head from time to time if I get bored. And I DO know how to order "two beers" in at least six different languages. Perhaps if I learn how to do that in Japanese I could partially claim this goal. (Nice! "Beer Please" in 26 languages?!) Japanese? Check.Bee-ru ip-pon ku-da-sai?
Be a better dancer: Awwww, this one is really sweet! At some point in my life, I reached for the stars, see?! Since this was written at age 11 - and I started dancing at age five and stopped at age 18 after high school (and Ann's Studio of Dance) graduation - I can fairly say that, yes, I believe I did become a better dancer! And while I was always more of a "let's stick her in the back because... she's tall" kind of a dancer, I do think I improved over the years. And while I may not be prima ballerina material, all of that dancing did make me a much better dancer at parties (woot!) and improved my overall posture and carriage, this was quite a good expenditure of so much of my time as a kid. Dancing? Check.
Be come (sic) an author of books: So, I might not have become an author, but my writing (and *ahem* spelling) skills sure have improved over the years! A couple of hardass English teachers in high school and Journalism 1100 at Auburn certainly did whip me into shape here. My first story as a volunteer for The Auburn Plainsman even made the front cover! One day I might even buckle down and attempt a novel... I'll get back to you on that part of this goal, but.... Writer? Check.
Learn more about geogaphry (sic): Again with the spelling! At least I improved upon that. Hmmm... geography improvement, hey? Well, I've been a lot of new places since age 11. I've visited Europe and hit many more states. I've become more and more aware where global places of interest are by following the news... and following the news is a good citizen thing to do, right? So. While it could use continued improvment, I have definitely learned more about "geogaphry". Geography? Check.
Get my bedroom painted: We didn't "paint" my bedroom, we did better. I somehow convinced my parents to put up a giant, full wall width mural of a deserted island beach on my bedroom wall. I managed to (a) get my mom on board with my rather out there decor scheme and (b) get my dad to actually put that puppy up on my wall. There were a lot of expletives coming from my bedroom that weekend. I'm obviously still using those persuasive skills I used to get what I wanted in a new field - PR! Perfect career choice for my skill set, I think! And, I still do enjoy design and again, can't wait to get my bedroom painted... in a house I own. I'm so tired of white rental house walls! Painting? Not exactly. But what I got was something much more involved and AWESOME. Bedroom? Check.
Have my own little garden: As in, not part of my mom's massive garden... hel-lo! And lo and behold - I DO have my own little garden! It's a rental house garden, i.e. all in pots and hanging baskets, but it's gorgeous, in full bloom this summer and I completed it myself! Nice one, Sollid. Garden? Check.
Be an "A" (scribbled out "B") student: BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. So, who wants to bet that my mom was looking over my shoulder on this one and encouraged me to reach even further for the stars? "Hmm, that's great Mel, but don't you think you could probably make all A's? We don't want you selling yourself short, now. This is a goal list, after all." So, thanks mom, for making me botch a goal. How's a B-and-a-half student? Half A's, half B's the occasional C in an Algebra course? I came out all right didn't I?! Geez. Decent student? Check. I'm giving myself this one. Argue with me. Dare ya.
Make two new friends: I've made WAY more than two new friends, but this is still one of my favorite things to do. I made all new friends when I moved away to D.C. and had to or totally forefeit a social life. I continued to make more new friends when I moved back to Huntsville as a part of the workforce and wanted to meet other young professionals (I hate that term, I need to coin a new, less yuppie-sounding one) like me. Thank God for friends, they make being a grownup bearable! Friends? Check.
Thanks, mom, for finding this note card. And for making me write it in the first place. I really like the person I was back then - in all of her spastic, nerdy, do-goody glory. And I especially like that, by reading back, I am coming to realize that I am still in a nutshell my 11-year-old self. Because she was pretty awesome.
Of all of the cool things I've seen go on at work since I started last June, I think this is my favorite. Conceptualizing science into art competition was an amazing one, thought up by our Educational Outreach department. We bought the winner ($1,000 prize, for those interested in participating next year...) and get to keep her piece at HudsonAlpha. The other five finalists will have their pieces for sale during the exhibition.
From our site:
The HudsonAlpha DNA Day Art Competition was created to highlight the natural connections that exist between the scientific and artistic fields. Artists from across Alabama were invited to submit works inspired by the human genome and its relationship to health and disease. Kimberly Hart, a Huntsville artist and educator at Greengate School, created the winning submission, Code Cracked. Hart noted that the inspiration for Code Cracked was from a newspaper article describing the sequencing and interpretation of an individual’s DNA:
“The article said in the next few years everyone will be able to decipher his or her own DNA and we will be able to have a complete record of the traits we have inherited from our parents. We will all have ‘a genetic mirror’ of ourselves. That phrase made me think about my own genetic traits and how they shadow me like a reflection.”
Finalists include Gary Anderson, for Teamwork; Gail Bryant, for Life Grows Where the River Flows; Jamie Stautert, for Pieces of Life, John "Jahni" Moore, for The Grand Symbol; and Mark Blevins, for Dominoes.
Come check them out for yourself! Hart’s work - as well as those of the finalists - will be available for viewing during DNA Day activities on April 24. Artwork will be displayed at the institute as part of the DNA Day Art Exhibition until May 29.
Displayed are some highlights - check out the rest of the photos in our Facebook gallery!
Among other things for work, I have been tasked with analyzing the major social media outlets and recommending which of them I feel would be a good fit for our organization, and at what level of participation.
Between Facebook, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, Digg, countless Ning communities, Twitter and the countless other outlets out there, I've come to a couple of major realizations:
In order to remain current in social media you have to be one of two things (1) young, with time on your hands and the confidence to play with each new wave or (2) an early adopter.
Becoming an effective early adopter of every. trend. out. there. requires time. Lots and lots of time. Like, full time.
While I am a devotee of social media (thanks initially to Robert French and a little class called Style and Design in Public Relations Messages), I do get overwhelmed. This is not my full time job. This is one aspect of a much larger job - and as the designated "social media girl" I am the only one officially charting these waters at the office for the organization.
Questions I'll work on - and pass along here - as I find answers:
What new media outlets are the best for organizations? Specifically, non-profit, science heavy organizations? It seems to me a lot of social media (Twitter, online communities and others) are best utilized by individuals unoficially tied to an org.
How much time out of my work day should I spend on these outlets? On which should I concentrate most of that time?
Other than reading Mashable and Twitter... and about 500 marcom pro's blogs religiously, is there a good, consistent way to stay current with the latest technologies?
Staying current is key, and I am aware of this - but I also want to tailor these outlets to work for me (as an individual) and more importantly, for my organization. Any ideas or suggestions for a new approach? I'm overwhelmed!
3. We never get drunk at parties and get photographed holding beer bottles in suggestive positions. We wish we still did that. But we don't. (See pictures of Beer Country in Denver.)
Funny, while I'm slightly irked about the fogies overrunning Facebook, I am envious that they (aside from the occasional, unphotographed, indescresion) have outgrown this phase. I have not.
Enjoy!
And, if you have some pointers for me about the former, please help!
There's not really much reason for this post other than to show off one of my favorite places in DC - Sidney Harman Hall, home of DC's Shakespeare Theatre Company.
It's gorgeous. And I'm going to attempt to make a stop there during my upcoming visit to see The Twelfth Night. In a semi-related thought... I have so many favorite places in big cities for various reasons - great entertainment, amazing architecture or interiors, good memories. I get nostalgic and make plans to revisit, but as far as some of the beautiful places go, I'm pretty amazingly lucky with my own place of employment - it's an inspiration in its own right. And my house, while modest, is adorable now as well with my lit up tree and increasingly fun decor.
Life here is pretty nice, too... Trying to learn to cool my heels and enjoy where I am while casually planning for the future.
The past was fun. The present is fun. The future will be amazing. All in all, I can't complain.
So, this morning was the big press conference for my involuntary (kidding... sort of) volunteer PR gig at Santaland.
Now, this is not my first crack at media relations. My first crack at media relations was a failed media day attempt at my job that actually pays. So, naturally, when I was approached to wrangle local media to meet with Santa and find out more about the exciting new additions to the event in 2008, I was a bit hesitant. I mean, really - convince the people that won't come tour a brand spanking new, hi-tech genomic research facility that has the potential to employ hundreds of local residents that they need to chat it up with Santa and write about it?!
But, as I am tied to the museum who puts on Santafest both emotionally and relationally - and because I realize that I am not quite a seasoned PR pro yet, and that any experience could benefit my PR repertoire, I said yes.
And so ensued the emailing and emailing and emailing... and calling and calling. And the dropping off of battery-operated christmas light-lit wreaths with "Santa's Magic 3-D Glasses" so that reporters could get a taste of what the big event would be like, pre-conference.
And the brushing off. And the vague answers of "we might send someone by... when was that again" and "I don't usually cover that sort of thing". And I prepared for another no-show event like the one I have already repressed.
Happily, people did come! This was the most attended press conference they have had to date, apparently.
So it was a win-win for everyone involved. I made some additional media contacts, healed some old media-related wounds and gained a lot of experience in press conference organizing. And Santa-rama got radio, t.v. and print news attendance - and (yay!) a confirmed story in tomorrow's paper.
My takeaways from the event:
For "fun-filled community events for the whole family" like this one, overload on the cute. Message the events as an opportunity to meet (insert VIP here - Santa, the Easter Bunny, Ben Franklin?!) and ask questions.
Local media in a small- to medium-sized town will cover a kid hugging a life sized gingerbread cookie character with local community leaders looking on, smiling, before they will cover actual news.
People love their local radio personalities. If you can get your sponsoring radio station to send their jocks out, people will come.
Always. Have. Food. I'm not sure if this actually attracted people, but I did slide in my (multiple) invitations that there would be food. I'm betting it did. That would help sell it for me...
Press kits might actually still have some benefit. I hand delivered those Christmas-ey wreaths and information and people really seemed to like them.
I have a very low tolerance for cute.
I am so happy the weekend is here.
So, that was that! Mission accomplished! My volunteer gig has readied me to get back on that media event bicycle in my own place of employment. I just need to make sure I can get my new friend Santa to come to work next time we have the next one. A person in a penguin suit wouldn't hurt, either...
So, I joined the group called Ask Phil on PROpenMic - Robert's latest brainchild and was exceedingly pleased to receive this insightful response from Phil Gomes, Senior Vice President at Edelman Digital (!).
I credit Robert indirectly (and sometimes directly) with much of my post-college success - particularly with respect to web technologies: social media, web design and its components. His crash course in these disciplines alone wasn't enough to make me an expert at all things web. What it did do was give me the confidence to dabble in web design (using OSWD and InDesign) enough to create some pretty impressive results.
I'm not sure it was his intended goal, but the most important thing I learned in Robert's class was not one specific skill (though the crash course in a broad variety of things did really help me later on), but instead was to be confident enough to try these technologies on for size and see what they could do for me.
How exciting to have a communication with a seasoned pro like Gomes so casually! That's another thing I love about Robert's philosophy - another confidence thing, I think - he's always putting the big dogs of PR in contact with the students and fledgling professionals. Amazing.
