last class.

It hasn't sunk in yet that yesterday was my last undergraduate college class. And it really did end on a good note. I saw many things yesterday that I had never seen before -- what a great way to end my college career! The guerilla marketing had to be one of my favorites. For half of a second, I thought a real gorilla had walked in the room. I would have never had the guts to do that, and I applaud you, Evan, for thinking entirely outside the box.

I thought my typography presentation was fairly dull compared to others, but I personally learned something from my research which I guess was partially the goal. I have always been interested in typography but never really had the chance in New Media to explore it on a deep level. I learned a lot about how much of an impact it can have on a brand and how simple text can cause a lot of influence.

Graduating is a little bittersweet for me. It feels like I've been waiting for ever to finally be done with school, but now that it's here, I am having mixed emotions. I was disapointed to hear about some of the cool classes the New Media department may be offering in the future because I know I won't be able to take them -- at least not during this level of education. I think some exposure to the real world will be nice, as will getting married and all that other grown-up stuff. But who knows, I may be back here someday. I love learning and that is one thing I have surely accomplished as a new media student ... in more ways than I expected.

New Media Buzzzzzin'

Monday's class was by far my favorite all semester. Not only was it interesting to take our idea of promoting New Media on our bodies to the next level by presenting it to Dean Hook, but I really enjoyed the group discussion about the ideas that stemmed from our marketing proposal.

I think the idea of turning New Media promotion into a course is genius. First of all, our program doesn't currently offer any sort of advertising course. In the position I was offered after graduation, I will be using New Media to advertise (or promote) the brand I am representing. I think many of us will be using our degree to promote something, but at the very least, we definitely need to know how to advertise ourselves. Second, this class would be free advertisement for the program. If each semester, students were asked to come up with a new campaign for the New Media program, the school would have fresh ideas at least twice a year at no cost to them. The course would serve a double cause and really give students a chance to get their feet wet in a real campaign that could actually be used by the school. Since Seeing-Sideways has become an official elective, maybe the school has a N485 position to fill ... :-)

Bravery

I really took to heart what Beth said about bravery in class yesterday. If we have an idea or strong belief and do nothing with it, then it is wasted. We have to be willing to "change our status quo" for our convictions. I applied this to my faith and asked myself, "Are you really willing to alter your entire life for this?" Up until this point, I've given bits and pieces for what I believe but haven't really let if effect everything. This has really come into play with my job search. I have felt a strong calling for a long time to work in some sort of ministry. I want to give my 8-5 to something I believe in with my whole heart. I want to give my day to serving the Lord, loving others and sharing the truth with them. So why have I been actively pursuing careers in New Media? Why can't I use my *creative* gift in a ministry? And why have I even considered for settling for less than I am passionate about?

Pill Bottle Bomb

*This is not original - I did not make the bomb.

reflecting

It is hard to believe that the semester is finally winding down. The next few months will bring a lot of change to my life and the anticipation is a little scary at times. Full-time student to full-time employee. Single young woman to a wife. Financially depended to financially independent. Looking back, this semester of 24 credit hours and wedding planning wasn't quite as tough as I thought it would be. The Lord has given me a lot of peace these past few months, and I know that it was entirely Him empowering me to succeed.

I have taken a lot more from this Seeing-Sideways class than I expected, as well. I went into the class thinking that if I participated and came up with some *creative* projects, then I would get an A and be one step closer to graduation. In actuality, I haven't participated in the classroom setting nor been as *creative* (whatever that really means) as I had planned, but I have gotten to spend some time with myself that I might not have otherwise. With the fear of failure removed (hopefully), I have been able to get to know myself a little bit more. I have left class early on a few occasions to just be with me. And it's sad to say, that some weeks that was the only time I was ever really alone. And it felt so good. Everyone (my fiance, family, friends, co-workers) thought I was inaccessible due to being in class for 3 hours, so no one even thought to get in touch of me. I was able to convince myself not to do any other work since I normally wouldn't have that chunk of time anyway. It has been refreshing to say the least - and indescribable in so many ways.

no title

i'm so tired.

International Gallery

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend a very unique gallery. College Park Church hosted an international missions festival and highlighted aspects from 9 different countries around the world. Nicaragua, Ukraine, Kenya, Spain, Cambodia, Liberia, Brazil, China, and the Caspian Region each had their own room to display different things unique to their culture, including artwork, food, textiles, photographs, and music. I volunteered in the Cambodian room and helped serve a traditional Cambodian meal -- curried chicken with fish sauce. Let's just say that my taste buds were "enlightened" to say the least. I had never experienced fish sauce before!

Each room also educated us on the severe need for support in each of these countries. I had no idea of the tragic killing fields that occurred in Cambodia in 1979 ... a third of their population was brutally murdered by their own natives. Our room gave a unique, interactive perspective on this to the people who walked through. Each person was asked to take either a black or white stone when they entered. A third of the stones were black and two thirds were white. Halfway through their walk through the Cambodian gallery, the lights were turned off to get their attention. The leader informed the crowd that if they were carrying a black stone, they had been killed. If they were carrying a white stone, someone they knew had been killed. There was no alternative.

I felt really fortunate to converse with our church's missionaries in each of these regions during the exhibition. These individuals are fearless for the Lord. They are dedicating their entire lives (giving up the things and people that are important to them here) to love on and teach others about God. They have a fire and passion for something they believe with every ounce of their beings. Inspirational.

what the BLEEP do we know?

I will start by saying that I do think the film was creative and original. I liked the combination of animation, visual effects, and "expert" testimonials inserted throughout the story. However, that is where my enjoyment of the film ended. I respect the thought process behind the film and can even see why it may be intriguing. Quantum physics is trendy. Instead of answering to our creator, the One who gave us life, let's make our own rules. Let's make our own reality where there is no right or wrong. Except for religion and believing the truths of the Bible, of course ... that's wrong.

I have debated for hours over this blog post and can't bring myself to spend anymore time on. This film evoked a lot of emotion in me, including anger and offense. I am sure you can sense that from my sarcasm above. But in the end, this movie makes me thankful. I am blessed to know the truth. I know why I am here, and I know my purpose. I was created to serve the Holy God that created me and to love every other person on this earth the way that He loves me. He knew way before He made me (and everyone else) that my nature was not like His and that I would continuously fall short of the perfect, pure goodness that is in His presence. Unlike anything else that has ever happened in the history of time, God took on the human form, walked the earth, died a horrible death, and was resurrected. He made this sacrifice so that the people He created could be with Him one day, despite the fact that we offend Him over and over again. He has more power than we could ever comprehend, but He still loved us enough the die so that we could be with Him. He doesn't need you or me to be part of His plan, but we desperately need Him. I am in awe of everything about our Lord and not only am called to live for Him, I truly want to.

Bliss

This week, a friend could tell that I was struggling with something and simply offered that she would pray for me. I believe that she did, and I believe that her prayers contributed to the peace that God gave me over my worry.

I would like to offer my prayers to anyone in the class. You can leave them as a comment (anonymous if you want) or you can email them to me -- mariannewingo@yahoo.com. I promise I won't say a word to you or anyone else about the prayer requests, and I promise you that I actually will pray. It's been my experience that it's comforting to know someone else is talking to the Lord on your behalf. :-)

Sense of Honesty

If I could create a 7th sense for people to encompass, it would be a sense of honesty. I think it would be really awesome for a reaction to occur within or on the human body that would signal the presence of a mis-truth. Possibly the fingers or toes would turn red or get hot when you or someone else is lying to you. If we could all sense when something was false, our lives would function around what is true.

pumpkin pie

Can you "taste" this just by looking at the picture?

Virtual Thunderstorm -- Sound Illusion

autumn is a feeling

sight illusion

are they twirling left or right?

christianity taught by an athiest

the smell that destroyed my dessert

I made the best ice-cream sundae ever tonight ... ice cream AND yogurt, bananas, gluten-free granola, a granola cookie, sugar-free caramel syrup, and cool-whip on top! Food, especially sweet food, makes me very happy, and I had been looking forward to this sundae all day. I had put a lot of thought into the toppings. I would have taken a picture of my sundae (it was beautiful), but I got so excited after it was finished that I ate it before remembering our assignment. At least I ate most of it. I was specifically trying to satisfy my taste buds when my dog decided to interrupt by providing another sense with overwhelming disgust. Simba, my white fluffy Maltese (yes, I'm one of those) looks harmless. But he has the power to clear a room. And not only did he clear me from the room, he ruined any chance of enjoyment for the rest of that sundae. It is amazing that one extremely positive sense can be destroyed by the negative interference of another sense. Although I knew that my sundae tasted good, after Simba's issue my nose told me not to put anything in my body that was in the same room as the offense. As if odor was contaminating or something.

"What if God had an answering machine?"

This what if inspired me to head on over to the wonderful world of Google. Although this is extremely cheesy (I did NOT write it), I thought it was funny. The end is the best, for sure!

Thank you for calling My Father's House.

Please select one of the following four options:
Press 1 for requests.
Press 2 for thanksgiving.
Press 3 for complaints.
Press 4 for all other inquiries.

If you'd like to speak with Gabriel, press 1.
For Michael, press 2.
For any other angel, press 3."
"If you'd like King David to sing a psalm for you, press 6."
"To find out if your relative is here, enter his/her date of death and listen for the list that follows."
"For reservations at My Father's House, press the letters J-o-h-n followed by the number 3-1-6."
"Answers to nagging questions about the age of the earth and where Noah's ark is, wait until you get here!"
"Our computers show that you have called once today already. Please hang up immediately." "This office is closed for the weekend. Please call again Monday."
End of message.

You only need to ring once and God hears you. Because of Jesus, you never get a busy signal. God takes each call and knows each caller personally.

Emergency Phone Numbers:
When in sorrow, call John 14.
When men fail you, call Psalm 27.
If you want to be fruitful, call John 15.
When you have sinned, call Psalm 51.
When you worry, call Matthew 6:19-34.
When you are in danger, call Psalm 91.
When God seems far away, call Psalm 139.
When your faith needs stirring, call Hebrews 11.
When you are lonely and fearful, call Psalm 23.
When you grow bitter and critical, call 1 Cor. 13.
For Paul's secret to happiness, call Col. 3:12-17.
For idea of Christianity, call 1 Cor. 5:15-19.
When you feel down and out, call Romans 8:31-39.
When you want peace and rest, call Matt. 11:25-30.
When the world seems bigger than God, call Psalm 90.
When you want Christian assurance, call Romans 8:1-30.
When you leave home for labor or travel, call Psalm 121.
When your prayers grow narrow or selfish, call Psalm 67.
For a great invention/opportunity, call Isaiah 55.
When you want courage for a task, call Joshua 1.
How to get along with fellowmen, call Romans 12.
When you think of investments/returns, call Mark 10.
If you are depressed, call Psalm 27.
If your pocketbook is empty, call Psalm 37.
If you're loosing confidence in people, call 1 Cor. 13.
If people seem unkind, call John 15.
If discouraged about your work, call Psalm 126.
If you find the world growing small and yourself great, call Psalm 19.

Emergency numbers may be dialed direct. No operator assistance is necessary.

Chris Gardner

This morning, I had to opportunity to see Chris Gardner, the inspiration for the movie The Pursuit of Happyness. He was a guest speaker at ExactTarget's Connections Conference. Mr. Gardner gave a very inspirational talk and really demonstrated the power of never giving up. For those of you who have seen the movie, I'm sure you will agree that it is an awesome story. It really doesn't do Mr. Gardner justice, though. I was expecting him to talk to the audience about how he went from being homeless to a multi-millionaire. However, he spent the majority of his time talking about his love for his son and the challenges of being a single parent. Mr. Gardner was determined to break the chain of missing fathers in his family. He also gave the audience a glimpse into the real lives of homeless people. I had no idea that over 12% of people that live on the streets have full-time jobs. They go to work every day but still cannot afford a place to live. Stereotypically, these people are judged as lazy or down on their luck. Many of these people are not lazy at all! Life has thrown them a few curve balls, and they have simply ended up in an unfortunate circumstance. Mr. Gardner really made me think about how quickly anyone's life could change. This time next year, I could be homeless. Or the homeless man that lives under the bridge next to my apartment could find an amazing job and be making millions next year. We have no idea the way our lives will go. I can't honestly say that I envy our homeless community, but I often think that I could better serve God if I didn't have all this "stuff" in my apartment to distract. I admire Mr. Gardner for putting more emphasis on his son than his "stuff." I don't think all of our stuff will matter much or be remembered after our lives on earth are over. God could care less about our tangible items, but He cares a lot about our hearts.

Target

I took Beth's Target ad during class yesterday and went to Target. I spent 2 hours and 23 minutes there and bought nothing. I walked each aisle, and observed, and thought. I've never done anything like that before. And, I didn't come back to class. I've never done that before either.

What if I missed class?

Sorry for missing you all on Monday. I had a nagging little cold. If I had avoided getting you all sick, I probably would have grossed you out with my sniffling and coughing. I probably should have gone to the doctor on this one. However, I’m extremely stubborn and only go to the doctor if I’m bleeding at the head … which ironically happened about a month ago, but that is beside the point.


I’ve been looking forward to the “what if” assignment since the first day of class. I admit, I was one of those kids who constantly asked their parents these annoying questions. Maybe that is why my mom suggested the quiet game so often.



What if I was a boy?
What if I am dead and don't know it?
What if I dropped out of college in my last semester?
What if a rode a moose to campus tomorrow?
What if I shaved my head?
What if no one voted in the November election as a protest?
What if I was in a coma for 10 years?
What if my fiance went into a coma?
What if Oprah murdered Sarah Palin?
What if today was the last day that earth existed?

What if I found out someone I love was a spy from another planet?
What if all the art in the world completely disappeared?
What if our skin was translucent?
What if a world war started today?
What if you knew the day you were going to die?
What if people were incapable of lying?
What if cheese was made from pee instead of milk?
What if every flower in the world died?
What if I had a stalker?
What if I became a stalker?

What if Jesus walked the earth today?
What if music was illegal?
What if China blew up?
What if 9/11 was a conspiracy?
What if we could fly?
What if we are all part of a movie like The Truman Show?
What if facebook was deleted?
What if all of the continents were one big land mass?
What if reality is just an illusion?
What if eating animals were illegal?

What if Dr. Phil and Oprah were sleeping together?
What if people covered their butts when they farted just like they cover their mouths when they burp?
What if high school was the highest level of education?
What if we all made the same salary?
What if the U.S hadn't won the Revolutionary War?
What if you could erase one thing from your past?
What if you could ask God one question?
What if we loved each other the way God loves us?
What if I never find a job after graduation?
What if Walmart goes out of business?

What if we walked on our hands instead of our feet?
What if Osama Bin Laden found a cure for cancer?
What if dogs could talk to us?
What if dogs and cats cross-bred?
What if the sun never went down again?
What if IUPUI added more parking lots?
What if Microsoft went bankrupt?
What if I got arrested?
What if no one was homeless?
What if the Colts decided to leave Indianapolis?

Giving a little *time*

She told us to "do something with time," and that was it. Can you get any broader? Although this assignment has caused me to suffer from a few slight headaches and maybe even a little loss of sleep, it has really pushed my thinking. Time means something different to everyone. I have decided to create a mini-documentary of sorts, posing random people with the question of what they would do if they knew this was the last 24 hours of time they had on earth? I know this sort of thing has been done, but I think the more important aspect is the follow up question that I want to ask them. Why aren't you doing these things? What are you waiting for? My sole intention may be a selfish one. Maybe if I can understand the hesitations of others, I will understand my own better. Therefore, I don't have something tangible to present to the class at this point, but I will in the weeks to come. I want to make this meaningful, and I want to present it in a way that makes us all think.

In this mean time, I decided I needed to stop being so organized and stingy with my own time. My time, just like most aspects of my life, is very organized. I can pretty much tell you on any given day what exactly I will be doing at any given time. You should see my calendar. It's actually kind of sick. I am taking 24 credit hours this semester, and I think I have convinced myself that a neat and tidy schedule will keep me from going insane. I am beginning to wonder the schedule in itself is a cause more mild insanity. But that's a different story.

My faith in Christ is constantly convicting me to give back to others. I truly believe that everything I have is from Him and could be taken away from me at any moment. Since I have really earned nor deserve nothing, I feel pushed to share what I have with others. I need to confess; however, that even my giving is scheduled. It is a high priority in my life, and I would rarely chose to do anything else over my set-aside time to help others or further my understanding of my own faith, but this time is pre-determined time none the less. I rarely jump at a spontaneous opportunity to love on others, something that has been eating at me for a while now.

My fiance, Todd has developed a really awesome friendship with a man named Flandera. He lives under the bridge a block away from my apartment. If Todd and I talk about it ahead of time, I will sometimes cook a larger portion of dinner to share with Flandera, and sometimes I even go with Todd to talk to him in the evenings. But only if I've allowed time for it in my schedule. Most evenings, Todd just jumps up out of no where and says he is going to go talk to Flandera. And I usually stay home and work on homework. That is my homework time, not my volunteer time. I want to live like Jesus, but Jesus on a schedule. I highly doubt the son of God kept a little calendar to organize his life. He lived by love. Why is it that I can only spend time with my homeless neighbor when I designate it ahead of time. That's crap, and I'm honestly embarrassed to write about it.

Tonight, my homework will wait. I've got about 3 hours of symbolic logic blocked out that is just going to have fit in somewhere else. I'm going to go with Todd and get to know my neighbor a little better. I'm am almost positive I could learn more from him than I could from this 20 pound text book on symbols that I can't understand. And frankly, he's worth it. He is worth every second.

wimp.

I definitely wimped out with my first assignment. Stupid egg. As one of my fellow student's said, it wasn't about the egg as an object. It was about the idea of the egg. The egg certainly inspired "ideas" for me, but instead of running with those ideas, I took the easy way out when my creative thinking scared me. If I hit a barrier with my ideas this week, I want to find a detour instead of completely turning around.

Day in the life of an EGGS-treme IU fan

Ah, football season has returned. This is by far my favorite time of year to be a sports fan, and I love a good tailgate and crazy crowd of friends and family to watch the game with. Of course I have my favorite teams, but if the food and company is right, I will watch any football game!

I quickly discovered that the egg that has been sharing a roof with me for the last two weeks, is an EGGS-treme football fan. He doesn't just enjoy the sport, he partakes in a somewhat religious loyalty to the Indiana University athletic program. This worked out fine for our co-existence in my small apartment because I am a fan as well. However, when the first IU game day approached this past Saturday, the once quiet and polite young egg completely came out of his shell! I observed the diligent fan throughout the day and these were some of my discoveries.

8:00 am: Rise and shine. Unlike many of his friends who pre-partied the night before, this egg got a good night's sleep. He did not want to feel the least bit "scrambled" on the day of the big game.

8:30 am: Coffee and a full breakfast. He needed his energy.

9:00 am: The egg refilled his coffee and then spent the remainder of the morning hogging my computer, reading up on game-day predictions.

11:00 am: The egg asked me to paint him. At first I laughed because throughout the majority of his visit with me, the egg didn't seem to care in the slightest that he was completely nude. Apparently the rules change on game day, and the egg desired a big, red IU symbol to be painted on his chest.

noon: Let the tailgate begin! Of course, wanting to keep a clear head, the egg remained sober. I did seem him bong a beer with the guys, though. He mostly engaged in conversation with anyone that could stand up long enough to discuss starting line-ups or key football plays with him. As the afternoon progessed, the egg's energy hit an all time high, and he began to get more and more excited for his first opportunity to see IU play this year.

6:00 pm: With one hour and counting until kickoff, the egg headed to the stadium. I felt bad for the guy; most of his friends had passed out hours ago and didn't even notice his exit. He didn't care though. As he trudged across the Bloomington campus, his focus was on IU Memorial Stadium alone.

6:30 pm: I can't really report on the egg anymore at this point. He bought a solo ticket and didn't want to watch the game with anyone, including me! I was a little offended but tried to understand.

11:00 pm: The egg finally returns to me! He was fairly talkative; providing me with several highlights from the game. He then informed our still partying group that he was off to bed and would see us in the morning. And that was that.

I had to lovingly laugh at my little egg yesterday. I mean, come on, its INDIANA football. It's fun to be a fan, but to put in bluntly, we suck. I was impressed with the egg's dedication to the team, and he didn't seem to care one bit that it was Big 10 football and that his team will be lucky to win half their games this season. I doubt IU has many devoted fans like my little roommate, and I have to say, that his loyalty inspired me.

Dipping ... (cont.)

See Friday, August 29 ---


I can appreciate this Chinese proverb and can see why each element is a building block for the end result of "triumph." The word that pops out at me among them all, though, is balance. What a difficult thing to truly achieve! If I were to spend time trying to figure out exactly how to balance my life better, then my life would not be balanced all. I'd be so concerned with figuring out how to balance that I wouldn't be able to actually do the balancing. And is balance really even what it takes to achieve this "trimumph?"

"Bible" Dipping

I found this assignment title very fitting and timed perfectly. I've come to believe that God works that way. Beth, I promise to also "dip" from our book, but I also feel very compelled to "dip" from the sermon this week at College Park Church. It is exactly what we talked about in class, and I can honestly say I have never been more proud to be a member of my church. Our pastor, Mark Vroegop gave specific examples as to why living by religeous rules can do a lot more harm than good. He abosolutely affirmed why I can (and will) succeed in this class and still absolutely hold tightly to my core beliefs. I won't ramble on about why this hit home for me, but I want to share some of the key elements that I found to be very applicable to our class.

- - - - - -

Why Man-Made Rules Don't Work
1. You are complete in Christ
2. It is all about don'ts that never last
3. It is man-made
4. It looks spiritual but really isn't
5. It doesn't alter who you really are

Pastor Mark compared legalism (living by the rules) to alcoholism with this quote:
"Legalism is a more dangerous disease than alcoholism because it doesn’t look like one. Alcohol makes men fail; legalism helps them succeed in the world. Alcoholism makes men depend on the bottle; legalism makes them self-sufficient, depending on no one. Alcoholism destroys moral resolve; legalism gives it strength. Alcoholics don’t feel welcome in church; legalists love to hear their morality extolled in church."

- - - - - -

If anyone is intrigued even in the slightest by this, I dare you to check out the rest of the manuscript from the sermon or listen to the audio version. It really stirred something in me and just might do the same for you.

http://www.yourchurch.com/sermon/why-man-made-rules-dont-work/

Dipping...

I opened my Seeing Sideways book (if you could call it that, maybe a mega-book) and flipped to what I assume to be a Chinese proverb ...

The Five Stategic Arts:

The situation gives rise to measurments

Measurments give rise to estimates

Estimates give rise to analysis

Analysis gives rise to balancing

Balance gives rise to triumph

-Sun Tzu

More to come after I "ponder" this for a while.

Brain Overload

My mind felt like it was going to explode after our first Seeing-Sideways class. I was filled with thoughts about how I could utilize this class to expand my creative thinking over the course of this semester. I want to try things that I would normally make excuses not to try. As I stated in my personal introduction during class, I usually live by the rules. My life is very organized, and for the most part, I like it that way.

Beth told us in class that we will be doing an excersize that examines what moves us to be the way we are. This excited me because the thing that moves me is what has probably caused my extreme organization, but I think has the power to move me in a completely different direction also. My faith in the Lord is what moves me. I will proudly say that I'm a Christian. And I will follow that with, Christianity is not my religion. I think religion has been turned into an excuse to judge others and excuse our own problems. My faith is the core of who I am, not just a Sunday thing, and I don't think it should be defined by rules. My conviction to live and love the way that Christ did on earth should be the only thing that dictates my thoughts and provides my personal boundaries.

I want this course to help me break some of my own rules ... rules that I established to keep myself comfortable. A lot of the "rules" I live by have nothing to do with my faith in Christ, and so I want to step outside my comfort zone and get a little crazy. In my opinion, Jesus was the most radical person in history, and He didn't live by any of society's norms and rules. He was different. I want to be different. I want this class to push me, and I want to take every opportunity possible throughout this semester (and hopefully further) to embrace the ideas of others and to listen to my own inner crazy little passionate self.

Hello!

Test ... 1 - 2 -3 !