Naomi’s Introduction

Hello, I’m Naomi, 20 years old and a junior at City Tech. My major is Graphic Arts & Advertising. I’m an Aries and my favorite color is orange. I have a dog named Garnett, who will be 2 years old next month.IMG_2488 I am the youngest of two, my brother is 26. I’m Mexican, although a lot of people say I don’t look Mexican, they say i can pass being Puerto Rican or Dominican. This summer I went to Mexico for my cousin’s wedding. My career goal would be doing something I love doing but also something that pays well.

As a reader, I think my weakness would be that when I read out loud, I read too fast. Instead of stopping for commas, periods, question marks etc I just keep reading staright through as if the whole page was one sentence. The reason I think I do this is because I feel as though if I were to read slower, I make more mistakes. My strengths as a reader would be that I’m able to understand what I’m reading the first time through. My weakness as a writer would be coming up with ideas as to what to write. Sometimes when I do know what to write about I don’t know how to start or how to close. My favorite kind of reading is crime novels, like mob books. My favorite book is called The Sicilian by Mario Puzo, the same author of The Godfather. The only knowledge I have on Utopias is what I learned when I read the Gift Giver and the reason why I am taking this course is because its required for my major.

Who am I?

  I’m a nineteen year old brunette with brown eyes. Five feet tall and I weigh 114 pounds. I’m the oldest of three siblings, plus the only female.  I love looking at the sky so you can easily guess my favorite color. I enjoy reading and writing but my favorite thing to do is paint, I like the mess of it. The freedom the paintbrush allows me to have. I’m not going to lie, I’m horrible at it but I just love the feeling. It’s why I changed my mind from studying architecture. When I think of it using rulers and triangles, it seems like a nightmare.
  My name is Cristina Nolivos, I’m a student majoring in Art and Advertising Design and this semester is the second half of my second year here in college. Last summer I was able to go and visit the beautiful, Niagara Falls in Canada which was AMAZING

Photograph I took of the falls

Photograph I took of the falls

and I do hope that I go again. By the end of summer I was lucky enough to get my first official job at a Physical Therapy office as a front office assistant. It was a bit tricky getting used since I started the same week my classes start but I’m proud to say that I managed.
  In high school was a really big fan of teenage romance novels mostly dealing with supernatural and fantasy characters such as ghost, fairies, vampires and all that jazz. In my senior year I began reading more non-fiction novels  such as A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard. Another book I read was The Help which is one of my favorite books and I was super glad that Emma Stone was casted in the movie. I do like to read, especially if the piece that I’m reading has my interest. If I find something boring and uninteresting it will take me a few tries to pay attention and get into what I’m reading.
  English is one of the very few subjects that I am good at, I believe it’s because I like writing. I like to convert my thoughts into words on a paper or a screen in this matter. I think that my weakness is having to write something I do not have an interest in, having to do that is something I wish I was able to avoid. I do know a little bit about utopias and dystopias, I find them both to be a little disturbing and not something I would want to live through. They’re complete opposites, a utopia being a perfect world where I imagine everyone having an obsessive compulsive disorder. Dystopia I see as a gray world, where authority takes advantage of the power they have and enslaves everyone they believe they have power over.
  I do know a thing or two about computers, I’m not completely clueless when it comes to technology. I’m the type of person that can fix what I need to fix on my computer but when it comes to other people’s computers and tablets I lose my mind and I have no idea what I’m doing. This is my first time using Open Lab and I think I can get the hang of it after a few tries. I do expect lot of writing in this class I just hope that after a few weeks I won’t feel forced into writing, I’m a much better writer when I do it willingly and freely. I’m taking this class to complete the number of credits I need but I don’t see this class as a drag and hopefully my opinion of it doesn’t change. 

Introductions

IMG_0359My Name is Denise, I’m a Liberal Arts major and this is my last semester at City Tech. I’m currently taking five classes plus a lab and working. This is my first time taking morning classes and all I can say is wow! Morning professors  are really different from evening professors. This will be my last semester taking morning/day classes. I plan on finishing my under grad with a BSN and a BA in psychology. I also want to either minor in or get a second degree in either biology or chemistry. I like reading. I love to go out dance, socialize and meet new people. I actually love to read, I love all genres. I think my strength is that when I enjoy a book I read it really fast. The last Harry Potter book was over a thousand pages and I finished it in one single day. My weaknesses as a writer are that I don’t like to write and grammar isn’t one of my strong suits at all. I just don’t like to write, not one of my favorite things to do. I don’t like reading things I’m forced to read and have no interest in at all. That’s when it takes me forever to read things and I tend to not pay attention to details and just read it to get it over with. My background in technology is basically just using the computer to write papers, go on social media and play games. When I think about Utopias the only thing that pops into my mind is the move stepford wives. The only thing I know about utopias are everyone is perfect and there is no individuality. Dystopias are the opposite of utopias, and science fiction is long story short, anything is possible! I’m taking this course because I need it to graduate and I expect to unfortunately write and read a lot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A little bit about Professor Belli :)

As promised, I’ll introduce myself here as well. So … I’m Professor Belli … hi!

That's me, last winter break, in front of a big ol' rubber ducky (part of an art installation for a big festival) in Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia!

That’s me, last winter break, in front of a big ol’ rubber ducky (part of an art installation for a big festival) in Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia!

I did my doctoral work at The Graduate Center, CUNY, and my current research interests are in utopian studies, happiness studies/positive psychology, composition and rhetoric, digital humanities, American studies, and the scholarship of teaching and learning (feel free to ask me what any of these areas are!).

I played ice hockey in college (right wing), and have played the violin since I was two years old (and currently play in the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra). I love Thai food (the spicier the better!), kale, & tzatziki as well as watching old sitcoms from the 70s and 80s (some of my favorites are Maude, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, Soap, All in the Family, The Golden Girls, The Facts of Life, & Family Ties)!

This summer I spent a few weeks wandering Scotland, and it was absolutely wonderful! I even visited Loch Ness, but didn’t get to see Nellie, the infamous Loch Ness monster …

I look forward your reading your Introductions and getting to know you, first virtually and then in person, as the semester progresses 🙂

Introductions; How to Add Images to Posts

“Introduction” Posts (HW for Th 2/6)
In order to start exploring the site, getting comfortable with posting/adding media (blogging), practicing reflective writing, and getting to know one another, please make sure to create an initial post that introduces yourself to the class.

*This Introductory Post is due no later than the night before our next class on Th 2/6, but I encourage you make this initial post as soon as possible to become comfortable with OpenLab and to give others a chance to learn a bit about you).

Content of Posts
Tell us a bit about yourself … what are your interests, hobbies, desires? Your year/major at City Tech? Career goals? What you did over summer break? What you plan to do this semester/winter? Share some photos of you (you can either pull a photo from the web if you have one up there, upload one from your computer, or … you can even take one with photoshop right now!) and your family, friends, neighborhood, etc.

At the end of your post, please address (in at least a paragraph) the following questions (not necessarily in this order):

  • What your strengths/weaknesses as a reader & writer in general?
  • What do you enjoy/dislike most about reading & writing (in general)? What is your favorite type of reading to do?
  • What is your background with using technology (it’s OK if you don’t have any!)?
  • What do you know about utopias, dystopias, science fiction?  Don’t do any research for this … just state what you think it is, prior to entering the course.
  • Why are you taking this course (it’s OK to say that it is required for your degree)? What are your expectations for this course (what you think you will learn and what you hope you will learn)? Any questions?

Categorizing/Commenting on Posts
Don’t forget to categorize your post as “Introductions” (and uncheck “Uncategorized” if it is checked already by default). If you forget to do so before you “publish” you post, you can go back and edit/update it after the fact.

I am about to make an Introductory post about myself (if I’m asking you to share some of your personality/background with the class, it’s only fair that I do the same!), so you can get to know me a bit better as well and also so you get a sense of what this type of post might look like/include.  Browse through everyone’s posts (if you choose the “Introductions” category for the right side of the homepage, you will be taken to all of these posts) and drop comments to get some conversation going!


Images

*Here’s a quick tutorial about how to do add images:

1.  When you decide you want to add an image to a post, click either on the button with the camera/music notes and the words “Add Media” that is on the top left of the editing box. Remember that your image will show up within the post wherever your cursor is when you click “Add Image.” So if you want to insert the image in the middle of your post, make sure to put it there.

2.  If you are choosing a file from your computer, you can then browse for it (the same you would if you were uploading an attachment to an e-mail) by clicking “Upload Files” (if you add to the Media Library first, you can also select your image from there).

3.  Once you find the image you want, click “Select.”

4.  You can then edit the image (e.g., to rotate it) … make sure to click “save” after editing it.

5. You should re-title the image to make it easier to manage/find later on (ex: Jill Belli, Introduction Photo). If you wish, you can also add a “description” and “caption.”

5.  At the bottom of the screen you can change the “alignment” and “size” of the image.

6.  Don’t forget to click “Insert into Post” (NOT “Save Changes”) at the bottom.  If you don’t click “Insert into Post,” the image won’t show up in your post when you publish it (it will just be added to our site’s “Media Library” … more on that later in the semester).

7.  You can always click “Preview” before you click “Publish” to see what the post will like like after the images are added. Make sure, however, once you are satisfied with your post, to click “Publish” (you can also click “Save Draft” to continue to work on the post later, but no one else will be able to view the post–and I won’t be able to give you credit for it–until you hit “Publish”).

*Remember, if you don’t like something (either the post or the image), even after it is published, you can go back and change it (just click “Edit” and work away).  That’s the nice thing about blogs … you can keep revising 🙂