Job Hunt and Game Polish

Looking for a job is hard. Although I have been spending countless hours with my eyes glued to my computer screen in hopes that I may find a job opening in a field I will enjoy, it hasn't stopped me in my search. With graduation coming up I need to have some idea of what I am going to do to pay my student loans. In the meantime, I continue on with my class work and honing some photography skills.

Along side that there is obviously still FireFight. This game is scheduled to be finished some time in May. So hold tight! Below is a picture of our new level select screen. We are really excited to work on polishing the game and making it the best that it can be with our given time frame.

Not Necessarily To Be Taken Literally

"Not Necessarily To Be Taken Literally". This was the name of my latest photography assignment. And I sure had fun with it! My professor assigned me 22 things to take photos of ranging from my biggest fear to something I don't understand. The best part of this crazy list was, you guessed it, they didn't need to be taken literally. This allowed me to stretch my imagination and really push the boundaries of my own creativity.

Bellow are just a few of my favorites that I took for this project. Enjoy!

"Your best friend"

There's something about these games that has really stuck with my throughout my life. They are something solid I can always turn to and rely on. Although they are not literally a friend of mine, I think are pretty dang close for being inanimate objects. I know that I can turn to this simple game when I'm feeling down and it will brighten my mood. In some ways Pokemon is as real to me as you or I.

"A fleeting moment"

I can't think of anything more fleeting than the last few moments of a leaf's life in the fall season. As a side note, the sky in this photo isn't edited. We had some amazing coloration in the sky that afternoon and I just had to capture it. (Nature is freakin' cool!)

"Something timeless"

 Classic books. The value and culture locked within the pages of these masterpieces will forever remain a wonder and pleasure to read. Reading is one of my favorites hobbies and reading a classic piece is always a thrill.

"Your favorite place"

My favorite place has to be the outdoors. There is so much peace and tranquility you can find stepping out into nature. The fresh air is such a relief in contrast with my stuffy dorm room.

"Somewhere you've never been"

This photo was actually taken at an arts festival. The gondola represents Venice of course, someplace I've never been. I would actually love to see Europe. It's one of my dreams for the future.  



In no way an I a professional photographer but I feel like with each new assignment I am gaining a little bit more skill. I already feel like I have a good grasp on composition and lighting. I want to keep pushing myself to get better at this. Next semester (my last semester of college) I will be taking a photo editing class. Hopefully this will help with the quality of my photos. Who knows, maybe I can even find a career in it if I'm lucky!

Surviving Class Registration

It's that time of year again (no not Christmas)! Class registration is one of the most frustrating and hernia-inducing things about college (at least from my own experience). Not only do you have to battle your friends and classmates for a spot in that particular class that is only offered spring semester but you also have to fight the rush on the registration site. That means staying up until midnight sitting on that site, refreshing the page every 2 minutes waiting to be able to press that "register for sections" button.

The key to this is to get a good nights sleep the night before if you do not stay up until midnght on a regular basis (like myself). Eating well is also important. A dinner with lots of carbs, like rice and pasta, will give your body an extra boost of energy to help you reach your midnight goal. Fruits are great to snack on while you wait as well. Around 10:30 - 11, you might find yourself getting a bit hungry, bananas and apples are great, healthy foods that will help you power through.

(Here are some more good examples --> Energy Foods)

Being a senior, class registration is very important. This is your last chance to fill up your schedule with classes required to graduate. One of two magical things are about to happen to you. Either A) you're going to have loads of open electives left and are going to enjoy your relaxing (yet productive) last semester of college or B) you're going to be stuck taking all those classes you've been putting off because they didn't seem like any fun.

To avoid a stressful and packed last semester, a good plan is to space your least-liked classes throughout each semester of your college career. Another strategy is to get them out of the way as soon as you can. I've seen it done either way. The choice is up to you. 

Backtracking for a moment, once you pick your classes you then have to meet with your adviser. That is, if you have trained in the arts of bounty hunting and can successfully track down another human being. Of course I'm only kidding, but it can be a bit of a pain. More often than not, if your schedule does not match up with this particular person who holds the key to your registration success then you're stuck waiting in line for hours on end. 

I tend to be on my game about these things. I will literally ask to be let out of class early just so I can meet up with my adviser during these times (class registration is really important to me). There is this cool thing my school recently implemented (that sadly, not many students take advantage of) where you can register for office hours online. It seems to be working fairly well (especially since I scheduled an appointment the day after we were told our class registration date). 

After successfully meeting with your adviser, checking off what classes you've already taken and which ones would be in your best interest for the future, all you have to do is wait for you class' scheduled registration day then you're set (granted none of the classes you wanted filled before you could register for it). Seniors have to do an extra step. Seniors get to fill out a little form entitled "intent to graduate". Apparently this needs to be filled out in order for you to graduate.

I can't believe it took this one simple form for it to finally hit me. I've seen it on the website before and I have always said to myself "oh I don't have to worry about that, that's for seniors"...well it's finally my turn. It finally hit me that I'm going to graduate. All of this hard work and dedication is coming down to this one thing: my "intent to graduate." Yes I DO intend on graduating! This is a very exciting time for me and I worked hard to get here.

It will be worth it in the end I'd say. The degree I'll be handed is a Bachelors of Arts. So I have a really great feeling I'll be able to have a decent upper hand when it comes to getting a job in any type of creative field. I was worried at first that I wouldn't find a job once I was out of college but now that the end is drawing closer I am not as scared. 

All of the work I have done throughout my college career has only helped solidify my good work ethic which I can bring to any job setting. I can do anything!