Improv class has been more difficult than I expected. I thought that the moment I understood the rules, all I'd have to do is practice and be okay at it.. at least good enough to crudely apply the rules to whatever scenes I have to put on. What I didn't anticipate was that some of the exercises have me act the opposite way of how I usually act. For example, one of the rules (or best practices, to use some business jargon) is to always agree with your scene partner so that the story can continue. It wouldn't be funny if one person said one thing and the next person just completely negated the first statement. While trying to practice this rule, I realized that I disagree with people more often than I thought I did. As a generally positive (at least from my own perspective) person, this realization has caused me to become more aware of how what I saw affects the options others have when replying.
Another noticeable change after just a couple of classes is the change in my desire to hold questions and information to myself. I'm typically one who spends a lot of time thinking of the perfect question or the right thing to say. While it seems like I've pretty much embodied the over-used piece of advice "look before you leap," such a personality doesn't always work in the fast-paced world of advertising. Being able to react more quickly to situations and to just throw out idea after idea is also an advantage. With a class like improv, I think I'll be able to learn to step out of my comfort zone and speak up more often.
Lastly, I'm feeling much more natural when in front of people. I've been performing on stage since I was little, but theater/acting/talking in front of people has always felt more intimate than dancing. And then coming up with lines right on the spot makes it almost seem as if I have an audience that's judging a conversation I'm trying to have with someone I don't know. Very intimidating.
Overall, it's been a very positive experience so far. I'm looking forward performing next month!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Materialism
Somehow the cell phone companies have taught us that it's okay to throw away phones after two years of use. It was different when the phones were cheap with very few features. Getting a new phone every couple of years meant the difference between a monochromatic and a colored screen.
But now phones are all about how many features can we stuff into them. And people look forward to the two year anniversary of their contract signing because that means swapping one expensive phone for another equally expensive phone. Or some don't even wait until their contracts end and just drop the $100+ to cancel. Are the new features really worth it?
I upgraded from a pay as you go flip phone to an iPhone a year ago. Best decision ever. But I'm really hoping this phone will last longer than two years because that upgrade made a serious dent in my wallet. I have yet to find another phone that will radically change the marketplace after the iPhone.
Though... that new Google phone looks damn good.
But now phones are all about how many features can we stuff into them. And people look forward to the two year anniversary of their contract signing because that means swapping one expensive phone for another equally expensive phone. Or some don't even wait until their contracts end and just drop the $100+ to cancel. Are the new features really worth it?
I upgraded from a pay as you go flip phone to an iPhone a year ago. Best decision ever. But I'm really hoping this phone will last longer than two years because that upgrade made a serious dent in my wallet. I have yet to find another phone that will radically change the marketplace after the iPhone.
Though... that new Google phone looks damn good.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Resolutions
I can't believe it's already 2010. I remember thinking 2000 would never arrive. But I'm ready to tackle this new year.
I've also never been one to make New Year's resolutions. I feel less pressured to succeed when I simply just constantly seek to improve myself. I have several goals that I would like to complete, but I've never held myself to a time period of a year, nor do I usually wait until January 1st before starting a goal.
I'm pretty excited about my three recent goals. One of the main reasons I moved into the city was to meet new people and continue to overcome my desire to stay within my comfort zone. Several of the ideas I had to fulfill this goal was to take improv classes, cooking classes, walk-in art classes; to join Toastmasters; and/or to volunteer. I'm happy to say that I went through New York Cares orientation last month, and I start improv classes at the end of January.
Improv classes have always been on my list of fun ways to improve myself. Not only will I be laughing and entertaining people, I'll be gaining some presentation skills that others have often told me I need to develop. I've taken a presentation class, and while I learned a lot, I don't think a second similar class will help me as much. So my choices were either to participate with Toastmasters or sign up for improv classes. I opted for the more fun one and the one that I could deceive myself into thinking it's not entirely a way to improve my workplace skills.
A third goal that I've been meaning to complete since moving into my new apartment was to paint my temporary wall. I've been telling myself to wait for winter when there'll most certainly be a weekend where I won't want to leave my apartment. This opportunity arrived today. I got up this morning and decided to spend the last day of my "winter break" constructing a mural.
The wall didn't turn out quite as I had planned it, but I'm pleased with the outcome and will be able to live with it for the next two years or so. And it's nice being able to check something off my list of things I want to do.
The Plan (plotted out using Photoshop)
The Result
Now I'm off to continue enjoying the new year.
I've also never been one to make New Year's resolutions. I feel less pressured to succeed when I simply just constantly seek to improve myself. I have several goals that I would like to complete, but I've never held myself to a time period of a year, nor do I usually wait until January 1st before starting a goal.
I'm pretty excited about my three recent goals. One of the main reasons I moved into the city was to meet new people and continue to overcome my desire to stay within my comfort zone. Several of the ideas I had to fulfill this goal was to take improv classes, cooking classes, walk-in art classes; to join Toastmasters; and/or to volunteer. I'm happy to say that I went through New York Cares orientation last month, and I start improv classes at the end of January.
Improv classes have always been on my list of fun ways to improve myself. Not only will I be laughing and entertaining people, I'll be gaining some presentation skills that others have often told me I need to develop. I've taken a presentation class, and while I learned a lot, I don't think a second similar class will help me as much. So my choices were either to participate with Toastmasters or sign up for improv classes. I opted for the more fun one and the one that I could deceive myself into thinking it's not entirely a way to improve my workplace skills.
A third goal that I've been meaning to complete since moving into my new apartment was to paint my temporary wall. I've been telling myself to wait for winter when there'll most certainly be a weekend where I won't want to leave my apartment. This opportunity arrived today. I got up this morning and decided to spend the last day of my "winter break" constructing a mural.
The wall didn't turn out quite as I had planned it, but I'm pleased with the outcome and will be able to live with it for the next two years or so. And it's nice being able to check something off my list of things I want to do.
The Plan (plotted out using Photoshop)
The Result
Now I'm off to continue enjoying the new year.
Monday, December 14, 2009
New Hobby? Perhaps!
I bought myself an early Christmas present thinking that I'd take up photography. It's been a while since my digital artwork days. Drawing takes more time than I have available to dedicate towards it. So I thought photography would be an viable substitute.
And thus.. my Tumblr (http://sshu.tumblr.com/)! I'm still not sure why the thought of photography inspired me to sign up for Tumblr, but here we are. I'm thinking I'll periodically post my best photos. Hopefully it'll be a log that allows me to see progression in the years to come as I learn what all of these manual settings mean, composition, lighting, and all of that fun stuff. I've never taken a photography class so this is going to be a trial and error experiment. Perhaps I'll even post new lessons as I find them online. So far the Nikon Learn & Explore iPhone app has been a great starting point.
And here is my first Tumblr post.
Redundant to have it here too, but I really love the lights my roommate and I put up. I thought I'd share it to get everyone more into the holiday mood.
More to come.
And thus.. my Tumblr (http://sshu.tumblr.com/)! I'm still not sure why the thought of photography inspired me to sign up for Tumblr, but here we are. I'm thinking I'll periodically post my best photos. Hopefully it'll be a log that allows me to see progression in the years to come as I learn what all of these manual settings mean, composition, lighting, and all of that fun stuff. I've never taken a photography class so this is going to be a trial and error experiment. Perhaps I'll even post new lessons as I find them online. So far the Nikon Learn & Explore iPhone app has been a great starting point.
And here is my first Tumblr post.
Redundant to have it here too, but I really love the lights my roommate and I put up. I thought I'd share it to get everyone more into the holiday mood.
More to come.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Confidence is Key
Being a successful expert is half about knowing the material you're supposed to be an expert at and half about coming off as an expert. Every expert has moments where he doesn't know the material, but that doesn't make him any less of an expert.
The above lesson is a paraphrased version of two pieces of advice I received today. It's also a very difficult lesson for me to learn. There are definitely times when I'm certain I know my material and can easily answer any questions asked. I don't complain about those.
But I stumble when I'm not confident enough about the extent of my knowledge on a particular subject matter. This could mean anything, from something I barely glanced at to something I extensively researched. When I'm not confident, it's much more difficult for me to sound like an expert. And when I hear myself faltering, I can't help but stumble and stammer after every question asked. It becomes almost a self-fulfilling prophecy. The expectation that I will come off as a fool actually causes me to eventually come off as a fool.
The solution, logically, is to convince myself that I'm actually quite knowledgeable and will do fine in the spotlight. Of course this is always easier said than done. How often do people try and fail at convincing themselves of certain opinions? And then there's also the danger of succeeding too much and ending up with narcissism. I don't think narcissism is a problem for me, but that could also be the pride talking.
Yet I know it's possible to complete. I know this because I'm often the subject of my own psychological experiments. I have already tried to convince myself of several things, and in each case, by pretending to be something I thought I wasn't, I ended up being just what I wanted to be. For example, I used to believe I couldn't tell stories. But after telling myself to pretend to be a good story teller and fool the crowd into thinking I can actually tell stories, I ended up as a better storyteller than when I first started. The pretending actually made me better at something I wanted to improve.
At least there's still hope yet. I have plenty of time to pretend as if I'm good at something. I'll talk with a more authoritative voice. I won't shy away from eye contact. And from all this pretending, I'm hoping I'll actually turn into an expert, or at least fulfill the appearance half of coming off as an expert.
The above lesson is a paraphrased version of two pieces of advice I received today. It's also a very difficult lesson for me to learn. There are definitely times when I'm certain I know my material and can easily answer any questions asked. I don't complain about those.
But I stumble when I'm not confident enough about the extent of my knowledge on a particular subject matter. This could mean anything, from something I barely glanced at to something I extensively researched. When I'm not confident, it's much more difficult for me to sound like an expert. And when I hear myself faltering, I can't help but stumble and stammer after every question asked. It becomes almost a self-fulfilling prophecy. The expectation that I will come off as a fool actually causes me to eventually come off as a fool.
The solution, logically, is to convince myself that I'm actually quite knowledgeable and will do fine in the spotlight. Of course this is always easier said than done. How often do people try and fail at convincing themselves of certain opinions? And then there's also the danger of succeeding too much and ending up with narcissism. I don't think narcissism is a problem for me, but that could also be the pride talking.
Yet I know it's possible to complete. I know this because I'm often the subject of my own psychological experiments. I have already tried to convince myself of several things, and in each case, by pretending to be something I thought I wasn't, I ended up being just what I wanted to be. For example, I used to believe I couldn't tell stories. But after telling myself to pretend to be a good story teller and fool the crowd into thinking I can actually tell stories, I ended up as a better storyteller than when I first started. The pretending actually made me better at something I wanted to improve.
At least there's still hope yet. I have plenty of time to pretend as if I'm good at something. I'll talk with a more authoritative voice. I won't shy away from eye contact. And from all this pretending, I'm hoping I'll actually turn into an expert, or at least fulfill the appearance half of coming off as an expert.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Voila! I turn crap into prettier crap.
No one will ever say a New Yorker has no ability turning garbage into art.
NYC filled Times Square with lawn chairs. A whole bunch of fatasses broke said lawn chairs. Pioneering artist ties lawn chairs together with cable ties and calls it art.
Amazing.
NYC filled Times Square with lawn chairs. A whole bunch of fatasses broke said lawn chairs. Pioneering artist ties lawn chairs together with cable ties and calls it art.
Amazing.
Friday, June 19, 2009
The Great Wall
The latest news is that I'm getting the keys to my new apartment today! Very excite.
It's a one bedroom, but my roommate and I are converting it to a two. Which means we went out and leased a wall. Did you know you could lease walls? Like people come in, construct a wall, and then take it down when you no longer want it anymore. This is still a novel idea for me.
This opens up a huge range of possibilities. Such as ditching the standard door and installing saloon doors for dramatic entrances every time. Or installing four walls for a small square room in the middle of the living room. Or requesting a garage door and playing Indiana Jones or Ali Baba every time you want to enter and exit the room.
Multiple people warned me of the impracticalities of straying from the standard wall/standard door combo, though, so I went with the boring and mundane choice. But that still allows me the option of decorating my wall. I haven't yet decided what I want to do with it. Wall decals seem all the rage, but I'm having trouble accepting the option of paying money for something I can paint myself. Perhaps I'll Tom Sawyer it and have a wall painting party and have people finger paint abstract pieces.
Any ideas?
It's a one bedroom, but my roommate and I are converting it to a two. Which means we went out and leased a wall. Did you know you could lease walls? Like people come in, construct a wall, and then take it down when you no longer want it anymore. This is still a novel idea for me.
This opens up a huge range of possibilities. Such as ditching the standard door and installing saloon doors for dramatic entrances every time. Or installing four walls for a small square room in the middle of the living room. Or requesting a garage door and playing Indiana Jones or Ali Baba every time you want to enter and exit the room.
Multiple people warned me of the impracticalities of straying from the standard wall/standard door combo, though, so I went with the boring and mundane choice. But that still allows me the option of decorating my wall. I haven't yet decided what I want to do with it. Wall decals seem all the rage, but I'm having trouble accepting the option of paying money for something I can paint myself. Perhaps I'll Tom Sawyer it and have a wall painting party and have people finger paint abstract pieces.
Any ideas?
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