Developing Usable Experiences

First Impressions

September 5th, 2007 10:59 pm —  121 views

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Oh boy. You can tell by how late this post is that it was a long day for me. I’m going to have to figure out how to get some dinner in my belly on Wednesdays. With class from 4:00 to 5:30, then a class from 6:00 to 9:00, there is little time to eat some dinner. It’s a problem to solve. I’ll figure it out.

Work continues to be as aggressive as always. Many projects, looming deadlines, technical and design decisions galore. So many great projects going on. But alas, new and interesting projects are on my horizon in the academic world. I’m realizing that I’m not overly interested in making a name for myself in academic circles. Given my career I don’t really have time for it. Granted, if I wasn’t satisfied with the work I do it would be a different matter. I’m looking to leverage what I can from the university and apply it to the real-world situations I face every day.

So anyway, I figured I’d capture some of my first impressions from today. I’m taking two classes this semester. “Computer Supported Cooperation Work” and “Interface and Interactive Design”. I had the first class for both today. The first one was held in a room that pretty much sucks. The tables and chairs are almost always arranged in a square which doesn’t lend itself to a lecture format. Getting people to move them around is a hassle. The professor is respected in the field and I’m looking forward to learning from him. The majority of the grade comes from a group project. I understand the prof will be establishing the groups which is iffy.

The other class (yes, 3 hours long) is going to be very interesting. It is creative and artistic which pretty much means anything goes. I tend to work well in situations like that but whether that is true here remains to be seen. For the last half hour we tried to come up with a way to lay out skills and interests with the goal of establishing groups for the main project (yes, another group project class). This is pretty difficult as you don’t really know anybody and first impressions can’t always be trusted. That said, I’m trying to be more passive about things but I tend to be pretty forward and outgoing in social situations where I don’t know anybody, so this is a challenge for me. Overall I’m feeling pretty optimistic about the class as a whole. The professor is hard to read but seems to be very engaged in the subject and that is a good sign as far as I’m concerned.

I got home about 9:45, hungry with a headache. W. was crashed out but woke up enough to listen to me rant about my day, bless her. She went to bed awhile ago and I watched some television. Some bourbon on ice and mindless shows; I’m about ready to crash myself.

Groups projects, tons of reading, writing, sketching, and research. This semester promises to be engaging, time-consuming, and intellectually stimulating. I’m ready and willing. Here we go.

Image: This picture was taken this summer while touring the campus with my brother-in-law and his fiance. Yes, I’m being lazy and could have downloaded pictures I took today but I just don’t have it in me.

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3 Comments 

Comments

3 Responses to “First Impressions”

  1. Dawn on September 6th, 2007 7:39 am

    where is this on campus? (the picture I mean!)

  2. Spike on September 8th, 2007 10:30 am

    There is corridor through a building into the garden area near the law school. I think those buildings are off of South University (if that’s the road that West Hall is on). The law school building and lawn area are really cool with impressive architecture and stone work. I saw a wedding reception or something being held in that area over the summer.

  3. mom on September 13th, 2007 4:07 pm

    why the heck you aren’t home yet? your peanut butter spoon has been sitting on the counter for 5 minutes. did you go off with those other kindergartners? if you get your new school clothes dirty, you’ll buy the next set. you better be home for dinner…we’re having angel food cake.

    revisiting some of the wonderful years of my life.

    Spike’s mom

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