I was recently introduced to the blog of Randy Murray by dot-comrade Aaron Mahnke. From what I’ve picked up, Randy has come to the freelance writing game after years in the corporate race. As one who schemes often on how to better my writing as well as promote my writing services more freely, being introduced to First Today, Then Tomorrow has been a nice treat.
On Fridays, Randy throws up a little writing assignment for his readers. I’ve only done one (and yes, it’s two weeks behind) but it was a fun little task. Last night as I lay in bed, I pecked away at my iPad to see if I could handle the assignment. The assignment was to “write a complete fabrication of your educational background,” and turned out to be a bit more tricky than I originally anticipated.
Feel free to read my short entry below, check out the other entries or even take a moment to write one of your own in the comments section here (or at Randy’s) – it’s actually kind of cathartic.
It’s a common thought that being the youngest comes with many perks. Freedom from many of the rules your siblings might have been held accountable too, ease of access into certain groups due to previous admission of said siblings and even the opportunity to garner the most family attention as they all know you are the last in the lineage. This however, in my opinion, is an oft-abused misconception. As the youngest of four I would offer that life isn’t exactly handed to you on a silver platter for just bringing up the rear. Especially when the three oldest are successful in each of their respective fields.
I can’t pinpoint exactly whether it was the lack of adherence on my parents’ part to their own ruleset or the extremely high standards set before me that aided me in my journey to my current residential status. If I were on the outside today, I would be in my second year of law school and on my way to prosecuting idiots like myself but instead I spend my days polishing my skills through outdated textbooks just to have a chance to defend my actions in a court of law. Shame on me.
While it won’t be as quickly as my parents’ had hoped, I’ll get it right one of these days.
If you’re not into telling lies, maybe today’s assignment of Writing a Classified Ad is more up you’re alley.
If you’re not following the Pictory showcases, you’re missing out. Laura Brunow Miner has done a fantastic job (now 20 times over) of taking a theme and curating user-submitted photos around it. Each one is top notch.
A few months ago as I was browsing the site, I noticed that she was taking submissions for an upcoming showcase called, Everything’s Bigger in Texas. While I wouldn’t consider myself a photographer, I’ve taken a few shots here and there of the state that I reside in.
One that’s always stuck out in my mind came from a night of goofing off in South Padre a few years back when I was really just playing around with my camera. I was down there doing some work but sadly the family couldn’t make it for the trip. Instead of just sitting in my room watching TV, I grabbed my camera and just drove around town at dusk seeing what I could come up with. I ended up with several that I liked but none really more than the following:
It was a nice surprise to get an email today from Laura saying that my shot had been picked for the showcase. As I was able to dive in and see the rest of the images included, I can readily admit there are some great shots and great photographers – kudos to all who participated, I have much to learn of your shutter-related techniques! Also props to Mr. Tim Van Damme for his nice work on the editorial design.
Proud to have been a part of the team that spent the last three months putting this coat drive together. In only our third year of doing so, we collected over 1400 coats from the community and distributed almost 1300 of them in a two hour span this past Sunday. The coat count doesn’t even include the kids clothing, blankets, hats and gloves that we also provided to try and help keep those in need warm this year.
A big thank you to everyone who participated in this work, especially to those who gave. Plenty of amazing stories to tell. Stories of parents who needed coats for their children but chose to bring their old ones to donate that were too small for their kids. Stories of people who traveled from cities all around to participate after seeing it on our website or remembering from years past. Stories of adults who used to attend our church when they were children and now realize that maybe they should be providing that opportunity for their kids as well.
Lives were touched and hopefully seeds were planted.
Although it took a lot of hard work and time spent, I’d bet that almost any group of people can put something like this together in their own neighborhood. A little sweat equity can keep the overhead low and you just never know how many people can be affected.
Swiss graphic design firm Pixelfarm produced these fun little illustrations that should please most fans of The Office. Now if they could help get the writing on the show back up to season 3 levels I’d be really happy. Click through to their website to see the entire cast.
