Kristina Nulik

I recently read an advanced copy of Geek Parenting by Stephen H. Segal and Valya Dudycz Lupescu and chose to write a review for the Wichita Public Library, where I am an Assistant Librarian. Geek Parenting initially grabbed my attention because it had “geek” in the title and it’s subtitle mentioned Jor-El, Maleficent, and the McFly’s so, of course, I had to investigate. Sweeping declaration: I am not a parent. I’m also not a parent-to-be. The thought of having kids right now is met instantly with all of my no’s and curling up in a ball until the scary thoughts go away. I wish I were exaggerating. Actually, I don’t; I’m okay with this. So, this book intrigued me out of curiosity and my wanting to know just what these two authors consider “geeky” and who exactly they are mentioning. I had in mind a few preconceived notions about who should be in this book and I was not disappointed. Doctor Who, Neil Gaiman works, Mary Poppins, The Princess Bride, Buffy, and more of my favorites were included in this compendium of short lessons focusing on one character, family, set of parents, or siblings.

Just reading their introduction, I could already tell I was going to like the book. “What better way to draw parenting wisdom than by dipping into the creative continuum that encourages humanity to dream big, reach for the stars, and imagine societies of peace and equality?” (page 10). It’s magical, really. This isn’t a self-help book in the sense that it doesn’t offer “how’s”; it offers perspective, insight, and “why’s” as gleaned from various television series, movies, and books. These lessons give a brief synopsis of a situation and how it was handled by the characters. As I read the intro and further into the book, I felt like my own terrified view of parenting is warranted, but not necessary. Using the perspectives offered gave comfort, encouragement, and the feeling that parenting is not as scary and isolating as I’ve always imagined. Plus, they call librarians the “guardians of knowledge,“ which is perfect, all the while referencing Giles and Buffy–I can’t think of a better description for librarians and Giles is Super Librarian.

Now, I’ve been gushing, and this book is definitely gush-worthy. However, it has it’s faults. A few of the lessons seemed unnecessary, either because they weren’t fully explained or because the idea trying to be conveyed didn’t sync up with the example given. They seemed contrived and thrown in there to cover all the geek bases. The lessons I found most noteworthy were those with more details. I wish that Charlie Bucket and Grandpa Joe and Frodo and Bilbo got a longer, more fleshed out lesson instead of a quick summary and one-line observation. It decreases the value of the wisdom available to grasp from those stories and loses sincerity. And Mickey Smith just had a confusing time.

Taking English 210 Business, Professional, and Technical Writing has given me a chance to remember how to conduct myself in a typically formal, professional atmosphere. There were several helpful assignments that I am glad I got to complete and this blog has been my favorite. I’ve never blogged before this summer. I’ve written short stories (terribly) and I’ve written several academic papers (not as terribly, sometimes), but blogging seems to be a mix of thoughts, facts, and opinions--at least for me. I didn’t think I would like this very much or that it would go well but I can say that I am extremely content with how this blogging thing has turned out. It’s become a journal that I can have fun with by adding videos, pictures, and gifs to. In this class, I’ve found these blog assignments the most helpful. Each topic to discuss within the post has encouraged me to do research into the subject and become better acquainted with the components of writing in a professional, business environment. Not only were the topics targeting certain professional writing requirements, but also unique situations that I could eventually find myself in, so I’m glad I’ve pondered them, like I’d imagine the Scarecrow of Oz would.

My mom is a Wizard of Oz fanatic. Growing up, she used to take me to every showing in Wichita so I got my fill of Oz and those ruby slippers. I remember judging each show based on how well they portrayed the twister that swept Dorothy to Oz. The best one had a projector screen as the background of the stage that displayed an image of a tornado with sound effects. The Scarecrow taught me not to underestimate your own brain.

Because this is my last semester at Wichita State, and probably as a student, I am going to be searching for jobs or internships in the publishing industry, or perhaps marketing or advertising, and it’s an interesting feeling. I know I’ll be using what I’ve learned from this class in applying for jobs and within whichever position I get. I don’t know where I’ll end up or where I want to end up so I’ll just be wondering around like Alice during her time in Wonderland for a little while.

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to." "I don't much care where –" "Then it doesn't matter which way you go.”  ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

It’s like this is the end of book one of my own life series and I’m not the author, I’m the reader.

“My course is set for an uncharted sea.” ― Dante Alighieri

To: Dr. DeFrain

I know it’s probably cliche but it’s Whitman and Robin Williams and iconic so I’ll just leave it here for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdXhWS7lLvs

I was also looking at superhero things: http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/05/the-100-best-comic-book-characters.html?a=1

(Captain America is #7 out of 100)

Sometimes people tend to lose sight of the fact that employees, though they be at a lower rank than them, are there to learn from. When people interact with others in a different way from you, they can be helpful in getting opinions and observations. Employees could see things that someone who works in a higher position would miss, which is simply what tends to happen in these kinds of situations. It’s the idea that those who only look at a forest for what it is and don’t see the trees; or those who sit upon a mountain top all day stop seeing or being a part of life down below where more is happening.

It’s also a problem when a person’s boss refuses to listen to them when they’ve got ideas to contribute. The frustration that comes with it is not unlike Cassandra, a seer cursed so that no one believes the truth she speaks. Or Bartok the bat in Anastasia—Rasputin never listened to him when he mentioned things would only end in tears, and then they did.

Confronting one’s boss can be intimidating. They have the power to reject or accept ideas or whether or not your employment will be continued with them. Yet, if the way in which you phrase your confrontation is diplomatic and respectful, proposing your ideas and pointing out the fact that fellow employees would like to do this as well could get through to your boss. Being in charge is difficult and it can make people want to only listen to themselves, perhaps because it has worked out well that way in the past. Remembering that everyone is human, makes mistakes, has opinions, and thoughts, might make it easier to see your boss’s side of things so that when you communicate to them that you’d really like to throw some of your own ideas out there, you would do this in a way that lets them know you appreciate what they’re doing and that you only want to help add to their ideas with a different perspective.

Bartok is one of the best minions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZraIH1Hux0

If I were writing a recommendation report for an audience that doesn’t know me, I would use the indirect approach, focusing on logic. This type of report can be used by companies to gather an opinion about a product or method after research or testing has been done.

The director at my library decided he wanted to get self-checkout stations. Now, the concept was completely bonkers to us circulation staff. There are usually three of us up there, there’s one floor level, and it’s a fairly small library. People rarely have to wait too long to get their books checked out or ask questions. But, we have learned that these stations come in handy during the summer reading program. It’s our busiest time and having extra places for people to checkout their books has been helpful. I believe the director asked around at a couple other libraries and did some research on companies that produced these before deciding what to get. He then had to create a report and a proposal to the Library Board Committee to request funds in order to purchase the self-checkout. However, the Library Board knows the director. If it had been me writing the report, I would have approached it in a way that showed the benefits and cost of this self-checkout so the board would have facts and evidence for them to make a decision on whether or not this would be a good addition to our library. I would leave my opinion out because they don’t know me and whether or not I have the knowledge and experience for them to believe I would have an influential opinion.

Let’s talk about qualifications summaries. These are a little blurb about how awesome you are and the specific things you’re great at doing or being. Typically, this would be tailored to the specific job being applied for to show that you are relevant to the company. Professional experience is always a plus even though it goes along the lines of “you have to have a job to get a job” and seems more daunting than if you had a plethora of knowledge and know-how already. I like Oscar Wilde’s thought when he said “Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first and the lesson afterward.” There are some things people can’t learn simply by reading about them and taking tests; they have to learn hands-on.

Sometimes, though, reading books provides a way to be in someone else’s shoes and experience how they would handle certain situations. Protagonists start out one way and, if it’s a typical story, they develop. With fantasy, the main character goes on a journey or quest, learns a lesson or two along the way, and they eventually change. Usually, it’s for the better but if it’s Little Bao in Boxers by Gene Luen Yang, that’s not the case. You see a courageous, righteous, nationalistic character descend into borderline cruelty and abandonment of fundamental human morals. Basically, don’t be like him when you leave a job. But also, read Yang because he’s a cool cat.

I think skills and lessons learned, even from part-time jobs, can be relevant because they add to who you are as an employee and a person. When I applied to work at the library, I had never worked in one before and the only knowledge I had was from going to libraries all the time as a patron. I had worked at Panera before that and I learned how to be in a position of leadership and work independently. This was something my future employers liked. No, making coffee beverages and grabbing bagels weren’t talents they were seeking but an interpretation of what I learned from my time at Panera could be used at the library.

Your resume is a reflection of you and your professional history. Writing one is an art form in and of itself. It requires an equal amount of pride and humility communicated in a way that is eloquent and professional while giving a summary of your experience and what you have learned throughout being part of the working class. After an education and experience in a career you’ve chosen to pursue, the process of adding to an already created resume is fairly simple. Writing a resume that has to be general enough to show your skills and experience without a specified career is a little more difficult. Have you analyzed more from what you acquired through each job you’ve had to determine the relevance regarding future jobs? Where would you fit into the certain jobs you’re applying for? How would you be a good addition to the companies?

The textbook, Business Communication Essentials, lists three different types of resumes: chronological, functional, and combination. The chronological resume is composed of mainly work experience and should be used by those who have been working in their chosen profession for longer than most fresh out of college students. The functional resume is for those who have picked up skills that could apply to many different types of jobs if interpreted in such a way. The book seems to point toward this one only if you are desperate and not afraid to look shady. The combination resume is what would most likely work best for new graduates. It mixes skills with work experience so you can show that you know how to carry yourself in a professional environment. When looking for jobs without knowing exactly what you want, the combination resume can help adapt your experience and skills in many different ways.

As a kid (and adult), I watched a lot of Disney movies. I still have almost all of them memorized. One of my favorites was A Goofy Movie featuring Goofy and his son, Max. All Max wants throughout the whole movie is to catch the eye of the beautiful Roxanne and win her over, and he goes to extreme lengths to do so. The first of them is taking the stage at a school pep assembly and lip-syncing to a popular musician character’s song, “Stand Out”. It’s all the irony that a high school angst-ridden youth would typically come up with, yet, the song lyrics also have a relevant message to job searching, especially after an extended period of time without any leads. Don’t settle, be an individual, and do what it takes to get those employers to notice you, within reason.

If you feel like getting this stuck in your head, here you go:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HcqCFva-Gc

Works Cited

Knees knocking, limbs sturdy as a jellyfish, heart beating so fast and hard you are wondering if it will fly out of your chest, or if people can actually see your pulse thumping. That was me when I had to speak in front of people. My voice trembled and nothing seemed better than the thought of a house landing on me or an alien invasion just so I could get out of being on display in front of those staring, soul-sucking peers. I took a Speaking in Business class a semester or two ago. It was my choice; I thought I’d try the old “face my fears” method. I will say it kind of worked. Either I stopped caring about what people thought or I just stopped caring in general.

I would not have been able to get through any of the speeches I had to give without my trusty notes. That’s how I got really adept at reading words in motion. My hands would be twitching and shaking so much I had to get used to following the words wherever they went. Nervousness aside, even those that are incredibly comfortable speaking in front of a crowd need a couple notes to keep them following an outline and guide the audience. It usually goes: tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them. It’s a formula that helps speakers and audiences through a number of events such as conferences and public forums.

I know from experience that when a speaker isn’t using notes, they tend to go off on tangents. This would happen frequently when I went to church. My pastor was a great speaker, very passionate and knowledgeable, but I knew that it would be about two hours before we finally got out of church because he would get off topic so many times I felt like setting the joke of a handout he called “notes” on fire. As I would look around me, I could see the vacancy in so many church members’ eyes as they were probably going over grocery lists or plans after church or just wondering when they could finally leave. And no one wants that when they’re up there sharing what they believe is important to their audience. Speakers want everyone to be able to follow along. Take Glengarry Glen Ross, for example. In the movie, Blake (Alec Baldwin) gives a motivational speech about their trade and the realities they face with it. Granted, there is mention by the other characters that his lecture is on the abusive side, but he uses speech-giving devices such as props and notes—notes that his audience can see as well, so, even better. These components keep Blake on track when he starts going off about how much everyone in that office fails at life. Also, notice he’s mixing emotional and logical appeal and he closes his speech on the subject of closing—pure poetry. It makes my little English Lit heart happy.  So, I believe in keeping at least a note card with bullet points to stay on track. Or an audience member designated to pull you off stage.

I’m sure most people have seen or at least glimpsed the commercials from the ASPCA or UNICEF. At least, until they quickly change the channel or mute the TV because, if they have a heart, it breaks into tiny pieces. Most commercials informing an audience about negative news, especially having to do with societal or environmental issues, will approach the topic by appealing to emotions. This is a tactic used daily by a range of people, from personal relationships to business ones. Inspirational speech givers like Martin Luther King, Jr. or Abraham Lincoln, or military leaders such as Napoleon or Robert the Bruce, have used emotion to elicit nationalism, unity, equality, motivation, and the like. 

 Emotional appeals have a time and place. Let’s just get it out in the open: they are manipulative. They are a device used to get people to care. While they leave it optional to each member of the audience, these appeals are readily available, easily accessible, and always have a target. Coca-Cola ads, for instance: they’re great at including all of the emotion promising happiness when you open a bottle of their product, but barely any logical appeal. If logic was actually applied to products like that, there’d be a lot of businesses going under.

I find that emotion and logic complement each other. Even though we as humans tend to choose emotion over logic sometimes, when we weigh them together and let them balance out, our choices tend to be more sound. Emotional appeals can be used to draw in an audience, to get them invested, and then swoop in with more realistic ideas to keep them thinking after everything has been said. As our book states, emotional appeals “put your audience in a certain frame of mind and help people accept your message” (Bovée 227). Logic is like steak; we need it to live. But, emotion is the marinade that adds more zest and flavor to life. At the grocery store, I have a hard time saying no to dark chocolate. I don’t need it, it’s not on my list, I know I’ll end up eating the whole bar and then be sad the next day because past me took it all. Yet, it will bring me joy, at least for a brief time. It was money I consider well-spent; Remus Lupin swears by it. Plus, dark chocolate is good for hearts.

De-emphasizing bad news can have a positive effect on your audience. It puts them at ease so that stress levels are kept at bay. It makes it possible to process the negative information without casting too much blame. Finding scapegoats is tempting but playing hot potato with that blame doesn’t improve the situation or fix the problem. If it’s someone’s fault, they should be made aware but then allowed to move on and start brainstorming.

Because I love fairy tales, I of course watched the movie, Into the Woods. Yes, I would much rather have experienced the Broadway version, but sometimes settling is placating. At one point, the main characters are together in, well, the woods and trying to find out who is to blame for the unfortunate circumstances that took place earlier in the movie. It’s entertaining to watch and listen to. If everyone sang about whose fault something really is, it might become the equivalent to de-emphasizing bad news. But, someone has to be the witch and seize back some semblance of control.

“Minimize the space or time devoted to the bad news—without trivializing it or withholding important information” (Bovée 198). Minimizing bad news can be taken too far. If it’s glossed over so much that it starts to sound inconsequential, no one will feel motivated to correct anything. I remember seeing performance charts on the employee board at Panera and specific stats that were down were highlighted, usually in red like the blood of angry men. Sometimes there was a neon sticky note that had encouraging words like “really??”, “is this truly the best we can do?”, or my favorite, “it’s like you guys aren’t even trying”. That last one may or may not have been in my head. The result of posting how we as a restaurant were doing daily or weekly while making sure everyone fully comprehended that there were areas to improve ensured that employees had goals to achieve and how close, or far, they were from doing so. Bad news doesn’t always have to be presented negatively. If we face it as fact, then we accept it and take steps toward resolving problems.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ELFOyzvgPg  (This is a great team-work inspiring piece on handling bad news)

Works Cited

Bovée, Courtland L., and John V. Thill. Business Communication Essentials. 6th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2014. Print.

Impressions are an essential part of life: first impressions, second impressions, or any kind of imprint a person or thing left on you to make you remember them. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is just one example of this happenstance.

So often, a patron will come in and ask me if I know the title or author of a book about something like a girl travels by train as an orphan, or they can’t even give me that; it will just be a book where the main character makes a journey. Sometimes, the library is magical but we do not possess the power to dig deep into brains and reach the moment they read that book with the girl and the train. If so, we’d be in a lab or the CIA. Or, they’ll ask the same type of vague question because they read this book years ago and want to read it again but don’t remember any specific details—just that it was really good and they enjoyed it. That is an impression. That book, even though the patron can’t remember the actual reason they liked it, was memorable. I also know that I would go insane if I couldn’t remember the title, author, or hint of the plot if I wanted to read that story again. That’s like trying to find an ivory-colored button in a barrel of off-white buttons.

This also applies to writing a recommendation letter for a past employee whom you know did a wonderful job but you can’t remember any specific details about their duties or examples of when they stood out. Now, sometimes, generalizing and vagueness can be pulled off, but probably not here. Don’t despair. In this case, honesty might be a key player. It was polite of the employee to inform you they’ll be using you as a reference. In fact, our book states to “always ask for permission before using someone as a reference” and that “if you haven’t had contact with the person for some time, use the opening [of the permission letter] to trigger the reader’s memory of the relationship you had, the dates of association, and any special events or accomplishments that might bring a clear and favorable picture of you to mind” (Bovée 168).

Having them refresh your memory on what some of their daily tasks were shouldn’t be offensive. Everyone has busy lives and when people are no longer part of them, it is more difficult to remember specifics. Like the impressionable but forgotten books, you just need one spark to figure out what to look for. If they want a well-written letter that makes them shine, they’ll give you as much help as they can.

Each of us has our own voice or style of writing, perspective, sense of humor, or way of communicating information. There are times when we can be completely ourselves, like on Facebook, Twitter, or other media that is only used for interacting with certain people or groups in a community-based setting. Then there are times when we have to conduct ourselves in a way that is not overly expressive of our individuality. Or, in other words, do not include jokes only you would understand or make obscure references. Your wit is appreciated but only if it doesn’t leave people perplexed enough to miss the message entirely. I think Warren Buffett, quoted in our textbook, words it succinctly. “’To succeed, I don’t need to be Shakespeare; I must, though, have a sincere desire to inform’” (Bovée 166).

When composing business messages, there is a layout, or formula, to follow to keep confusion to a minimum. Chapter Three in our textbook outlines the “three-step writing process” for business messages. Chapter Four goes into more detail within this process but “plan, write, and complete” are the basic steps. Within the “writing” step is actually when you will be able to exercise a little more creativity. While you are “adapting your approach to your audience” and using the “you-attitude”, people also want to feel like your message is coming from you. (Bovée)

Your audience wants to feel that you are invested and that what you are trying to convey to them is that you believe in what you are selling, whether it’s abstract or concrete. The public responds to a message that subtly tells them this is not what something as removed as a robot came up with; this is something people just like them created for them, to bring them peace, happiness, understanding, comfort, information, or anything they think they need or maybe don’t even know they need until it’s presented to them. In business messages, authenticity is the heart. It’s the crux. Being professional and appropriate are essential but without adding just a hint of personality, people will find it harder to resonate with your message. You are representing your company and who they are. So be creative; be yourself. Conduct yourself in an articulate but friendly way that allows you to carry yourself proudly without feeling strung up on an anchor pole like a scarecrow.

Works Cited

According to our textbook, “arranging your carefully chosen words in effective sentences is the next step in creating successful messages” (Bovée 89). It is my opinion that rules can be changed but those changes should be made known to the general public. However, with grammar, spelling, and mechanics, the rules have been more like guidelines in many cases; I won’t even start on the “’i’ before ‘e’” rule that isn’t really a rule. Meanings of words are always changing. There is now a trend with turning nouns into verbs. I found myself saying “flintstone-ing it” in reference to the Hannah Barbara cartoon describing how my car’s acceleration is so slow I’d have better luck manually moving it along. And I’ve been reading a really fun book titled Authorisms by Paul Dickson in which he goes through a number of words first coined or employed by authors ranging from Chaucer and Shakespeare to William Gibson and Dan Brown. The book illustrates how influential authors have been throughout the centuries and how they still play a role in the innovation of language.

With today’s technology, language has changed significantly within this century alone. There is the “internet speak” that we have adopted using acronyms such as LOL, TTYL, or BAE (which I recently learned stands for ‘before anyone else’ because I live in a cave with Sméagol). We also shorten words like “obvious” to “obvi” or “totally” becomes “totes”. It’s a fast paced world and people are taking so much information in that lengthy text is saved for print or certain websites, not social media. Blogs are a form of social media that have a little more leniency on how long or short a post can be but I think the basic rules of grammar, spelling, and mechanics still apply. Sentence fragments have, at times, become accepted, especially in dialogue but simple, compound, and compound-complex sentences are formulas to follow to communicate to a large number of people. This shouldn’t stint creativity; it should help creativity be expressed in a way that more people can understand and appreciate.

Works Cited:

Dickson, Paul. Authorisms: Words Wrought by Writers. First ed. New York: Bloomsbury, 2014. Print.

My public presence on social media is not exactly an impressive one. The social media I use are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but the ones I enjoy using most of all are Pinterest and Goodreads. Because I am friends with my mother and other older family members and friends, I tend to filter what I post on Facebook and what I am tagged in because I really do not want to offend anyone. To me, social media is a fun way to keep in contact with people that I do not get to see on a regular basis so the last thing I want is to get on anyone’s bad side. Facebook and Twitter are also my tools for keeping up to date on entertainment news such as movies, books, and music. I also follow a lot of authors, publishers, magazines, websites, and actors on both of them. Twitter is definitely my “less filtered” site where I post more of my actual thoughts but, once again, I still do not like posting anything I believe would be potentially offensive; it just isn’t my cup of tea.

What I think could be an improvement on my part is perhaps promoting more books and giving my review or opinion on them, simply because this will, hopefully, be part of my career. Right now, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are not where I have put a majority of professional focus on but I’ve also debated on whether or not that is completely necessary. As a rule of thumb, as long as I am not posting anything my mother would be abhorred by, it is acceptable.

Hello, I’m Kristina. I’m an English major with a Creative Writing minor and a Senior. This will actually be my last semester at Wichita State. I plan to use my degree in the publishing industry and hopefully get to read books for a living. I really enjoy fairytale retellings, most fantasy novels, and I’ve recently gotten into graphic novels. I finished the third book in the Raven Boys series by Maggie Stiefvater, which is phenomenal; her language alone is breathtaking. I currently am a Circulation Librarian at the Andover Public library. I started working there two years ago. Before then, I had a bit of a problem restraining myself from taking home what some would consider “too many” books from other libraries I frequented. Since working at the library, my will power has disappeared. I am notorious for checking out above the limit of fifty books and would come home with stacks reaching above my head while everyone looked at me and shook their heads in dismay. I love libraries. I love what they have to offer: knowledge, insight, perspective. I love that just about everything you could possibly want to know or any kind of world you could want to escape to is right there at your fingertips, and all for free. One of my favorite movies is Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and a significant reason for that is because of the library Beast gives Belle. Books floor to ceiling around the entire room, my heart would have burst if I were her. This is also why one day I plan to take a trip with the goal of seeing as many beautiful libraries as I possibly can. The only downside would be that I will not be able to check any books out and take them home with me, but it would be worth it. The following link is a website with destinations I will keep in mind when I can finally make this happen. 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/harpercollins/16-libraries-you-have-to-see-before-you-die-9npd?sub=2576962_1584874#.twZWx2aw4