Comments for July 16

This week I commented on Michelle’s Blog

Week 4

And Atuggle’s blog

Vacation Memories

Topic of the Week- July 16

My favorite vacation of all time would have to be my family trip to San Diego, California and Seattle Washington last summer. When my brother and I were younger we would pick a trip to go on every year. My Dad’s job allows him to travel a lot so we get to piggy back on his business trips and he schedules days off so he can spend time with us. Unfortunately as we got older our schedules conflicted, either someone had camp at this time or was in a sports tournament this summer etc. So we hadn’t taken a family trip in a long time. Last summer was the last summer my brother would have before he started his college career so we decided as a family that we would take a trip together before us kids grew up indefinitely. I had never been to the Western part of the US so naturally I wanted to go to California, luckily Seattle was an added part of the excursion (thanks to my Dad’s job). In San Diego my mother and I did a lot of shopping and sight seeing! There are some great malls that are completely outdoors! They also have the largest Forever 21 I have ever been in! (The jewelry section was a big as a regular Forever 21!!) Needless to say I was in heaven! We also took a Seal Bus tour which a bus that can drive around and work as a boat as well! It was great we got to hear a lot about the city’s history and go out onto the water where we got be up close and personal with sea lion and seals (Yes there is a difference). I also learned that the Navy has a program in the San Diego bay that works with Dolphins to train to be used in counter terrorism if anything should happen by sea! We weren’t able to get too close but just seeing the trainers and the dolphins from a far was good for me. My Dad being the Navy Seal buff as he is, took my brother on lots of tours and visits to the different ships that were docked in San Diego. While we where there the ship that brought the soldiers who completed the mission of locating Bin Laden was in port and it was really cool to be able to see the ship that was part of a major accomplishment in our Nations History. My favorite part of San Diego was going to the Zoo of course! I made my family trek all around the zoo just so I could see every animal and each enclosure. They actually had a really good time and we laughed basically the whole trip!

In Seattle, I was expecting gloomy skies and for it to be raining all the time. That was the opposite of what it was like! There is so much vegetation and green all around. The city itself is full of life and bustling with so many diverse people. We of course went to the famous public market and watched the fish being flung across the market. We even order some to be delivered to our house so that we could enjoy our trip a little longer at home. Seattle had lots of great food! We got to catch a few Mariners game and even the Stadium had excellent food! You can buy chocolate covered strawberries and all types fries from garlic to parmesan! It almost made me want to be a Mariners fan.

I made a lot of great memories with my family on this trip and I know I will always remember it. So much

happened that I could write it all down! I can’t wait for our next family trip!

Here are some pictures from my trip: Chocolate covered strawberries at mariners stadium, Mariners Stadium, my brother (Alex) at a Naval shooting range, Seattle from the car ride into the city and The Public Market

Topic of the Week- July 9th

Some communities are fining for doing it (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-05-15/texting-while-walking-illegal/54979480/1), while others are banning it(http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/05/texting-while-walking-banned-in-new-jersey-town/). What are they fining and banning? Texting while walking.

We’ve all seen it, and if I had to guess, I’d say the majority of us have done it as well. What many of us don’t realize is that it is dangerous. People have been so caught up in their phone and texting they have walked into other people, fallen into fountains and even died. Watch this story from CBS News:  http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500202_162-7265096.html

What are your thoughts? Have you been guilty of this? What are your thoughts about fining those caught texting & walking? What about banning it all together? Is banning it the answer? What public relations tactics can be used to alert the public of this problem?

Honestly, I am totally guilty of texting while walking. But thankfully I have never walked into a ditch or wall (because I am totally terrified of doing it so I make a point to look round me). I think banning or fining people because they are texting and walking is a little over kill. How can you determine if someone is actually texting versus checking there Facebook? There is no way to regulate it. And if a cop tried to give me a ticket because I wanted to post a photo to Instagram I would be more than angry. The fact of the matter is that people have the right to do what they want, even if that means they want to do stupid things. In my opinion it would be a waste of time for our judicial system. People die every day doing the dumbest things (just watch A 1,000 ways to die on Spike Tv and you’ll understand).  As far as the PR goes, I would try to take it in another direction other than banning texting while walking. I would go for a campaign that tried to promote awareness. Be aware of your surroundings or you could end up in a ditch. I would also try to add some humor to it, because to me I think it is slightly funny (but sad at the same time). Major corporations can use humor in a serious topic and make it work really well. Check out the Allstate Mayhem commercials, they are hilarious but are about serious topics. What do you guys think? 

BTW here’s my favorite Allstate Mayhem commercial 

Topic of the Week – July 2

Ragan’s PR Daily recently gave a list of 12 Productive ways to deal with difficult people. Working in public relations (or any field for that matter), you will find yourself working with difficult people – whether it’s co-workers or clients. After reading Ragan’s list, what would you add to it? Have you found yourself using any of the 12 ways Ragan suggests? If so, which ones?

After reading the 12 productive ways to deal with difficult people, I can really relate to the 12 rules or ways. I work for the University Programing Board in the Office of Student Activities as the Vice President of Membership and I frequently use these methods to handle members. Because I work with over 50 college kids all from different back grounds and ages I encounter lots of different problems whether they are member conflicts or having to talk to members about their participation in events. While I was reading Ragan’s list I found that I use all of the ways described almost on daily basis at work. The most important way I use is to observe their strengths. Not everyone works in the same ways, it is my job as their membership coordiantor to be able to recognize their strengths and weaknesses and to implement jobs for them to do based on that. 

While working in the PR field or any other job that deals with people I feel as though we shouldn’t look at difficult people in a negative light. everyone is different and in order to be good at what we do, we should be able to distinguish each and every one of those differences and handle them accordingly without getting frustrated. 

Topic of the Week June 25

Cell phone technology has changed tremendously over the years. When they were first introduced, all they could do was make a simple phone call. Now they do so much more. They allow us to text, play games, check weather reports, and now even talk to us. With them we are constantly connected. With smartphones, users are able to keep up with their friends on Facebook & Twitter, as well as the latest news.

How up to date are you with cell phone technology? What type of phone do you have? Do you check your social media accounts on your phone? Do you use your phone to check news, etc.? How often do you check these things (daily, hourly, minute by minute)? What are the pros and cons of having these things at our fingertips?

I would say that I am pretty up to date with todays cell phone technology. Now I may not have all of it but I am aware of it and I can operate the phone with ease. Personally, I have an iPhone 4GS, and yes I have Siri do a lot of things for me.  I use my phone to check e-mail, view and post on Facebook, Tweet, and play games. I also use it for news alerts, I check for weather updates, and score reports for my favorite teams.  Those are some of the non-essential things I use my phone for. The major reason I depend on my phone so much is that it basically holds my life together. I have my calendar and alerts/reminders all synced into my phone, I have all of my contacts saved onto my phone, and my phone even acts as an alarm to wake me up in the morning. Oh and I use it to make phone calls too. Depending on how bored or how busy I am I will check my phone hourly or sometimes every couple of hours, but it gets turned off promptly at midnight almost every night because I hate being woken up to a pointless Facebook notification.  As with everything in this life there are pros and cons to being so connected to an inanimate object.  The major con is if I were to misplace my phone, I basically have misplaced my entire life. I wont have contacts; no calendar events to remember or alerts to even wake up. I don’t think I even have to elaborate on how awful that experience would be.  Another con is, the fact that this kind of technology is taking away from the searching for answers. We’ve become so accustomed to just “Google it” rather than actually try and learn something.  Eventually, humanity will be just how the Pixar movie “Wall-E”, portrayed it. Everyone will relay on machines and technology for every little thing in our world. However, there are some pros involved with having this technology. One pro is that every piece of information I should ever need is located at my fingertips. It really is the ultimate tool in being organized. Another pro is how endless the possibilities are with phones like these. If scientists are able to develop such high tech products to the public imagine what they are working on behind the scenes.  I think that if we monitor ourselves we can effectively transition into a world of high tech products without losing the reasons as to why being human is great in the first place.

 

What do you guys think? 

Topic of the Week 7/18/11

Movies entertain us, they make us think, they make us cry, they even make us laugh. What movies are on your top 10 list? Why those films? What is it about them that makes them unforgettable? Was it the storyline that captivated you or a particular actor in the film?

Have you seen any movies this summer (“Harry Potter,” “Bad Teacher,” “Zookeeper”)? Please give a short review of any movie you’ve seen this summer (on the big screen or on dvd). What made the film great in your opinion, or on the flipside, what made it a flop in your opinion?

Let me start off by saying that my taste in movies ranges in variety. I love everything, and I don’t have a particular favorite genre. But I do pay attention to certain directors

1.Kill Bill Vol. 1- This movie is the reason I started paying attention to films. After watching this I discovered that films can go beyond the typical. You can do anything with film just like you can with books. I also love Quentin Tarantino as a director. He has a dark sense of humor which I throughly enjoy.

2. Fox and the Hound – I love disney movies and this is my all time favorite! I am 20 years old and I still cry my eyes out every time I watch this tear jerker. It’s just too precious.

3. Dawn of the Dead (original and remake)- I love zombie movies and I feel like George A. Romero and Zack Snyder did an excellent job in making these films.

4. Pans Labyrinth- This was another life changing movie for me. I love how visually beautiful this film is and I speak spanish so this movie to me was great! I also love the director, Guerillimo De Toro.

5. The Sandlot- this movie was such a big part of my child hood! my brother and I would watch this movie over and over again. I can still recite all the lines.

6. All the Harry Potter films- Oh yeah I’m a Harry Potter nerd and proud of it! Of course I read all the books and have seen all the movies, so these films have shaped my life for the past ten years.

7. The Hangover- this is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen!

8. Pulp Fiction- Can you tell Tarantino is my fav? this is a cult classic film that I can and do watch over and over again. At first it is a little confusing but once you watch it the whole way thru you get what is going on.

9. Inception- I thought this movie was so original and so well done! from the actors to the wardrobe to the way the director filmed it. I also am obsessed with leo.

10. Blood Diamond- I don’t know why but I am in love with this movie but I am! I could watch it for days!

 

I recently saw Horrible Bosses and it was one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in quiet a while. I love how nasty Jennifer Aniston was and how Kevin Spacey was a complete jerk! I thought the plot was great and there are unexpected twists which is great. It also made me realize how old I am getting because I was attracted to all the male leads and two years ago I would have never thought they were attractive haha.

Comments for Topic of the week 7/11/11

I commented on Erica Garnders blog https://ericagardner.wordpress.com/2011/07/13/who-is-your-role-model-and-why-do-you-look-up-to-this-person/#comment-3

and Koutni’s http://kourtnilee.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/t-o-w-3/#comment-19

Topic of the Week 7/11/11

Who is your role model and why do you look up to this person?

First can I say it’s 7-11-11 cool date haha

My role model would have to be my mother. She is literally super woman! Growing up my Dad had job that required him to travel a lot so my mom basically had to take care of us all by herself and she did an fantastic job. She is my best friend and I can talk to her about anything. But she can still be a mom and raise me the way a good mother should. She’s even a good mother to my friends and my brothers friends who sometimes don’t always have the best mothers. besides being the best mother in the world, she also is one the most honest and kind people I have ever known. If I could become half the women she is I would be in a good place.

Topic of the Week July 5th

 

Do you believe the media plays a specific role in how someone feels about themselves physically? Should we believe what the media tells us? Why or why not?

From a public relations standpoint, what would you suggest to be done regarding how the media portrays the physical self?

-I fell that the media does have a big role in how people feel about themselves, especially in young girls. We should not always believe what the media tells us becuse most media outlets are geared to only sell their products and not concerned about how it makes us feel.

-From a PR standpoint I would suggest starting in the fashion industry. It is one of the most influential industries in the world and if we could get them to embrace a healthier look then the other industries will follow along.

Topic of the week

I think technology is a wonderful thing. It allows us to accomplish such great things. It also makes life easier. But I feel like technology has dulled man kind. We so eagerly hide behind our smart phones, laptops and social media accounts that we forget what it is like to actually have contact with the other members of our society. Now instead of actually picking up the phone to tell a relative happy birthday we simply send a text. I am not trying to condescending for I am guilty of this too, but honestly humans have lost what what makes us human and it is sad. We have made so many giant leaps in technology that we are forgetting the basics. So I hope that when I am my grandparents age that I still will be able to have a real conversation with my children and grandchildren instead of reading a text message about their day.