"Since we last spoke, you have become infinitely more interesting....or is that just your iPhone?" (Via Twitter)

Well, its been a long time! I hope you all missed me, but in all honesty I haven't had time to miss you. My last post was in August of last year, and so much has happened since then. Times change, friends and technologies evolve, but school never ends! Still, my times at Chattanooga State helped me navigate through the halls of even higher learning, and I am now a Senior at UTC. And here it is, summer of '09 and I am back to my beloved Chattanooga State Augusta R. Kolwyck library, working with some of the most talented and entertaining people in the world!

This is going to be a great summer, full of new adventures and stories. I am still addicted to all things Twitter, Facebook and txting, with the new perspectives time brings.

Since we last spoke I have deleted my Myspace (why did that take me so long?) written an article for the UTC Echo on Twitter (http://bit.ly/kTLC9) and worked for the UTC Fine Arts Center/Theater sewing costumes for two semesters of incredible plays and musicals, including Little Shop of Horrors, Recent Tragic Events, Enemy of the People and PEACE by Aristophanes, an adaptation of a classic Greek comedy.

Working in the theater was a great look into a different facet of literature, one that is not only read but vocally and physically expressed. I still enjoy settling down with a good book or three, but the cultural and interactive aspects of theater have enriched my outlook. Working in the quiet and sunny sewing gallery at UTC, sewing anything from victorian-esque Russian woolen morning dresses, to a sock-puppet "Joyce Carol Oates" to silvery pink metallic snakeskin doo-wop dresses kept my hands busy and my mind free to ponder.

Nobody can deny that this last year, these last semesters have been times of extreme change and impact on everyone. November of last year, and the events leading up to the election of our President were exciting times at UTC, demonstrations, campaigning and finally the real feeling of celebration (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxWjZZ5tkx4) on campus, both election and inauguration days. I really felt grateful to be student then, as history was made and dedicated in my own life and the life of my country.

Finals weeks were another great part of my school year, the UTC library keeps it's doors open for 24 hours during finals weeks, as crowds of students packed up their notes, books and red bulls and headed to the library for crunch time. I spent many great nights with my friends, quizzing each other on Shakespeare quotes, slapping together last minute art projects, pooling our change for a huge pepperoni pizza and wasting a lot of time on Facebook.

With finals finally (lol) over and my books sold back to the store so I could pay my parking tickets, my summer stretches out before me. I am working for Convergys here in Chattanooga, on the DirecTV project, changing the world one subscription to HBO at a time, but I really wanted to come back here, to where I am typing this now, my beloved Chatt State Library.

You will hear from me again soon! Less rambling next time I promise :)

so glad to be back....
Hana Grace

The Razzle-Dazzle Resume

Writing a resume as a student is vastly different from writing one at the end of a college career, when you stand “ready” to face the world diploma in hand. During college most students are attempting to find jobs and volunteer work to use as underpinning for their education, pursuing experience over reimbursement, and contacts and connections over status.

If you plan to be a kindergarten teacher but work in a daycare is shredding your nerves and leaving you drained and moody rather than fulfilled and enriched it would be a good idea to change paths and approach something more fulfilling and personally enjoyable.

Job loyalty to a specific place for several years in a row because of the excellent interaction is common, but it is important to continue to branch out, partly to fill that resume, but also to make sure that the end goal coincides with something we can be happy and fulfilled doing. My first job out of high school was working at a NACA camp (National Association of Christian Athletes) I worked both in the counseling, event planning and foodservice and was able to work directly with thousands of young people. Since my eventual goal was to teach this was a great opportunity, the only problem was I stayed with it for too long. Three years in fact! At the end of last summer I found myself face first in a seventy-five gallon steam vat scrubbing out the remains of dinner’s spaghetti sauce and found myself wondering what on earth does this have to do with teaching? Sure, perseverance had a lot to do with it, but I think I persevered. Three years of spaghetti every Monday is the NACA definition of perseverance!

This summer I am working at a job that combines every element of what I am going to be doing after graduation. I will never forget the first week working here in the library, I was already deep into inventory and back in the stacks a student (my age) came to me with a question. I followed her to her computer and explained what she needed to know, and walked back to work. Inside however my feet never touched the ground, and at the end of the day I felt like I had really accomplished something beyond feeding hundreds of kids a spaghetti dinner, because I had taught someone something they hadn’t known before, something they could use every day. And I knew, more than ever before that this was what I was meant to do.

Another important element I have learned here this summer is how education is changing because of the internet, social networking, Web 2.0 and the increasing wealth of internet books, articles and databases. Working in technical services the second part of this summer I have been able to explore how the ever changing resources on the web can be channeled and harnessed into a unique individual learning experience.

So, when finding jobs to conquer, committees to head and volunteer work to help keep your faith in mankind alive keep in mind the slots of your resume, especially while still in college. The most important slot of all to remember in college is the “Objective” slot; this slot is what the potential employer is going to look at first, and where they are going to see what you want to do with your life.

When I was in high school all the juniors were given a green and gold tassel, as a sign of something to look forward to. These tassels hung in cars as we drove to and from school, football games and study groups. They dangled from our lamps when we burnt the midnight oil on research papers and (ick) trigonometry. They were a symbol of the day when we would move our “official” tassels from one side of those cheesy hats to the other and step out into adulthood. Now that I am in college my “Objective” slot on my resume is my tassel, and I know the day when my resume, complete with my bachelors degree (hey, maybe even a masters) emblazoned across the education section hits the desks of every potential employer will be one of the proudest days of my life!

In the meantime, continue to do what you love, and love it enough that you keep working towards that end goal. Sites like Monster.com and Jobsearch.about.com have valuable tips in creating a well rounded resume, and GoogleDocs has several great resume templates to work with. I am currently creating one on there right now; perhaps I will share it with all of you!
Some important things to remember:

· If you post links to websites such as Myspace.com or a blogging site (Blogspot, Xanga, Twitter) be sure to scan your content through an employers eyes. Remove any slightly less than tasteful photos or slightly cruel “satire” from your blogs. These sites can be very useful for networking, showing a working list of where you have worked and what educational goals you have. Remember, one out of turn sentence or racy photo could ruin chances. If you don’t include these websites make sure they are set to private to ensure your anonymity when your employer checks your background.

· Always have someone you trust read your resume before you send it out. After spending as much time with it as you are sure to have done you may be too close to it to see any mistakes. A spelling or grammatical error could go a long way toward ruining your prospects.

· Keep it up to date! Don’t reuse the same tired resume you have been toting around since freshman year, or since you just graduated. Keep numbers, addresses and references current, and try to make it a goal to add something new every quarter.

· Don’t just send in hard copies! Sites such as Monster.com and Chattanoogahasjobs.com are wonderful resources for prospective employers. Don’t overlook the vast resources the internet offers you!

· Put your personal stamp on your resume. Don’t go overboard but try to project who and what you are into your words. This resume will probably be a basis for your interview, so have a smooth flow with your achievements not lumped into one spot, but spread evenly through the whole document.

Good luck!

Hana Grace

Blog in a Bottle

If you throw a rock out into an ocean or lake you will probably never see it again, but the ripples it makes are visible for a few moments. When I began blogging I thought that it would be like that, a momentary ripple and then the words would be swallowed up by the massive “waters” of the internet. Instead, I received a pretty broad reaction. Complete strangers read my blogs and shared kind thoughts and reactions, and much needed criticism. I started to wonder, was this how a writer felt? Was this a tiny taste of the pie I was working for?

Today, I have five “full” blogs, one each on MySpace, Facebook, and Xanga, this very one I am working on now, and another BlogSpot blog, Starshinethousand.blogspot.com. I also have three “Micro” blogs, a Twitter I update from my phone on day to day life and a library Twitter that I update for this blog, then my QuillPill that I started because of this blog. A long and somewhat ragged list, longer than I had earlier thought! Still, I keep most of them constantly updated, along with reading subscriptions from other people’s blogs.

I know many of my friends that also keep up this constantly reeling list of blogs, some with the added task of Photoblogging and Musicblogging.

Why do we feel the need to throw so many “rocks”? And to throw them into so many ponds at the same time, until the ponds are more like puddles? This has to do some with the themes I explored when researching Twitter, themes of voyeurism, fame and exposure. Writers have been publishing under pseudonyms for years. I am currently reading a book called Behind a Mask, the Unpublished Works of Louisa May Alcott. Before Louisa became famous for Little Women and Little Men she wrote scintillating mysteries for dime magazines, the literary equivalent of modern day tabloids. Because of her sex and status as a writer she published under various romantic pseudonyms such as A.M. Barnard.

The web-blogger can also easily hold this enviable status, and write freely on any subject, from steamy gossip to political barbs, to cozy collections of recipes and reminisces.

Scholastically, a blog is a wonderful tool for any student. As an English major I find it is a great vehicle for posting short stories, and inspirational snippets for my fellow writers. I also find myself doing an updated “chain letter” and doing periodical catch ups for my farther away friends. Artists and musicians can utilize it to spread their work, computer programmers and web designers can use it like a huge online business card, and communications majors can hone their job skills for potential job offers. A blog can be like a living resume, a place to learn and grow an art, or simply a place to shamelessly emote, regardless of who sees it.
This blog is a great example of this tool. I am not a web designer, I haven’t created some fabulous Web 2.0 social networking site, nor do I know all there is to know about the origins of these sites, but through research and hands on work I am slowly learning more and more about a new era that I am a part of, and that will be forever valuable to me someday as a teacher.

So, more than a rock thrown into the massive “waters” of the internet, a blog can be a message in a bottle. Sometimes it may return at your feet, full of responses and applause, and sometimes you may never see it again, but by simply putting it out there you have stirred up a few ripples.

Hey, MySpace or Yours?

When I was a kid I was always looking for my spot. When I was young it was a tent made out of blankets, which hung around my bunk bed, complete with a handy flashlight so I could still read The Poky Little Puppy. As I grew older it was a tree house, a miniature Indian wigwam built out of small pine trees, my own Coleman pup-tent and finally my first car. Each of these places was all my own, my own sanctuary with either a secret password, a strong knot to bar intruders or a shiny new key.

This desire for a place uniquely our own is a longing that the creators of MySpace understand. They have carefully created a place that parallels this hideout, while including networking, music, blogs, photography, and lucrative ads. They have created a site worth a reported six billion dollars(http://tinyurl.com/6j3vmh).

From a scholastic viewpoint, I have found MySpace to be a valuable tool. Winter of ’07 I took my first Creative Writing class with Professor Bill Teem here at Chattanooga State. After completing each writing assignment and revising it in class workshops, I would post the story on my MySpace blog. (http://tinyurl.com/6djpap) There I would get even more feedback from my MySpace friends. The next semester I took the Advanced Creative Writing course. In this class I was able to share some of my older, improved stories with new friends.

MySpace has also proven to be a great form of communication. In several classes I have taken, my classmates and I communicated through MySpace when we were working on a class project. Sometimes we did this because E-learn was working slowly, but more often it was because we knew the other person was going to check their MySpace, and the message would have no chance of going unread.

Another benefit I especially enjoy with my MySpace is keeping in touch with my older friends. One of the goals I first set in college was to make at least one friend in each class I took, and to keep in touch with that person. Though some of them have graduated, moved or simply changed completely from the time I knew them, MySpace is a friendly medium for us to keep in touch and share about where we are and how our lives are going.

The “arts” section of MySpace is also immensely helpful. As small local bands (http://tinyurl.com/6f3mos) have their own music on their site and they can include show information and news with hopes for the “big break”. These sites are just as important as the written arts that set a pattern in this community. Some of my friends who are incredible amateur photographers (myspace.com/av8tqr) artists, (myspace.com/sourgasm) and playwrights (http://tinyurl.com/6e57ld) can broadcast their work to the masses or just to their friends. Either way, there is so much rich talent ready to be stumbled upon.

In every spot you claim as your space there can be some trouble and sticky situations. I got into trouble for reading past bedtime in my bunk-bed tent, and fell out of my tree house numerous times. I stumbled into a nest of wasps while building my wigwam, almost got sprayed by a skunk in my pup tent, and wrecked my first car.
I have had some bad times on MySpace as well, friends stab each other in the back, ex’s causing drama, and the flood of spam, often pornographic could be disconcerting. However in any situation we adapt. We learn to live and learn to block the unfriendly, filter the mail and make something great out of a simple networking site. We make it a space uniquely our own, a place to blissfully waste hours, and a place to carve a niche for our talent.

MySpace. Where’s yours?