A new year, a new semester
It's 2012 and I didn't even do a "year-round-up" post. How sad.
I had a weird thought about international phones over break, though. Specifically regarding what I would do if I ever travelled internationally. I know that O2 is a big proponent overseas and if I ever went to London or Bristol or something--dreams of mine--would I have to switch to someone like them to keep my iPhone working? The thought occurred to me as I travelled to Phoenix to visit my friend Russ and the constant on/off of my phone when on the plane has me going on and on in my head about why you have to turn you phone off... but that's neither here nor there.
And now the school year has started and my life is back on track to being "insanely all over the place," which I don't mind too much. It keeps me busy, keeps me driven, and keeps me on a schedule. Of course, the added stress of 12 credits (three 300-level courses and a grad course), 18-20 hours of work for the OSL, GVTV, and Comic Book Club is there, but it all means that I'm doing something. All of the time.
One cool thing, I can say, is that this semester I don't hate any of my classes. Truly. I have a real interest in each class, which means I probably should kick some serious habits of putting off my homework all of the time because I actually do want to learn something.
Now onto something more... life altering: I graduate in December of this year. As in: I'll be done with my Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, which means I'll be getting a real job (or something that will pay for my life outside of student loans). Talk about something that is, obviously, scary and utterly exciting. Hell, in the last month, I've had two job offers on the phone, a friend of mine asking me about an internship/future job, and have gotten business cards from a handful of people who are generally interested in talking about jobs once I graduate. It's ridiculously overwhelming.
The reason for my anxiety being that despite knowing everything I already know, I have no choice but to expect that college is where my learning will end and that I will definitely need to learn more before I graduate. It's incredibly intimidating. Despite that, I am taking two courses this semester that will most definitely broaden my horizons on C, Ruby, and Lisp--something I consider a step in the right direction.
sigh It's only the first week of the semester, and there's already "a lot" on my plate. So, I've decided (just now) that I will, in the words of 1939 Britain (and Rupert Grint, I guess), "Keep Calm And Carry On."
I know it's not WWII, but it works.
Meanwhile, there are a thousand things going on
Christmas crackers. I have been busy. Not much more to say than that.
I've gotten into the habit of creating what I call "Forever lists" via Wunderlist and it's helped me more than I can say. I typically start my week with 10-12 items, build up to 18-25 (depending on the week) and narrow the list down to 5-8 by the end of the week. It's pretty damn nice, to say the least. The beauty of it is that I can use Wunderlist across every device I have.
And now I'm, for some crazy reason, running for GVTV president at the end of the semester (aka a week and a day from today). So that's on my plate. Basically, I just want to clean the organization up and make things work... better. We'll see.
On the side, I'm writing a screenplay for a full length movie. It's a weird concept and I keep getting lines of dialog or small conversations and I keep jotting them down in Evernote in hopes that one day--maybe over break--I'll be able to piece together the vague plot I have and stick the dialog I have in there and make it all work. I'm aiming for like 100-120 page. le sigh
All in all, though, things are pretty much fantastic so I really can't complain.
Plus I'm going to Arizona at the end of December. So there's that awesomeness.
Until next time.
Who I am, How I Do Things | September 2011
My name is Mike Rapin. I'm twenty-two years old, living in Allendale, Michigan. I attend Grand Valley State University and am in the (final) process of gaining a degree in Computer Science with a minor in Information Technology.
I currently work part-time for GVSU's Office of Student Life as their Student Technology Manager and am a freelance web developer. I am also the Web Design intern for West Michigan's PBS/NPR affiliate, WGVU. For free/cheap, I assist my friends and/or anyone who comes to me with computer issues.
I am the president of the Comic Book Club of Grand Valley and the New Media Director of GVSU's student-run television station, GVTV. Both are elected positions I have held for over two school semesters.
I run and co-own a website, DestroyTheCyb.org!, that posts reviews of comic books, movies, and music. As co-owner, I have been in charge of editing, advertisement, designing, and maintaining the site and it's content as well as hiring and keeping in contact with writers. As a site, we have been featured as small press at the San Diego Comic Convention.
I have written two television shows for GVTV, Jeff & Mike Write A Comic Book and mat42dr, as well as a handful of sketches for the GVTV sketch-show Randomish!. I have directed a sketch on Randomish! ("Joe is sad"), starred in four episodes of Jeff & Mike, and have directed seven episode of mat42dr--with plans to direct nine of the eleven (possibly twelve) episodes that remain.
As a writer, I have participated in NaNoWriMo, Script Frenzy, 52-52, and have written my own zine. I am currently working on a new issue of my zine that should be released sometime this month.
I read comics like a fiend. Marvel and Image, for the most part--any X-Men, Invincible, Walking Dead.
I am an strong user of social media websites, particularly Twitter (@mikerapin), Tumblr (tumblr.mikerapin), foursquare, instagram, reddit, and facebook (mikerapin). I am most easily reached on Twitter.
I am a Mac user, and I currently run 10.7.1 Lion on my black Macbook (circa 2008). As a web developer, I use Coda and the OS X Terminal for any and all programming. Image editing is normally done by me in Adobe Photoshop CS5.5. I manage the music I have through iTunes, with Bowtie as an assistant. I use Dropbox on a daily basis, and the official Twitter application as well. I check my e-mail through Sparrow and launch application with Alfred. For writing (zine/non-scripts), I use the Mac OS X application TextEdit (in plain-text mode), and Celtx for scripts.
I own an iPhone 4 running the iOS 5 beta 7. I update the twittersphere using Tweetbot, check into foursquare with the official foursquare app (occasionally EightBit or Forecast), post to Tumblr with the official Tumblr app, IM others with the imo.im app, chat Facebook friends with the official Messenger app, and post what I'm listening to using TweetMusic and/or soundtracking. I use CarTunes to listen to music when driving, manage files with Dropbox, edit scripts with Celtx, read books with iBooks, check my bills with Pageonce, stream music through 8tracks/DropTunes/Audiogalaxy, picture myself using Everyday, receive periodic notifications with Prowl and Boxcar, edit and take pictures with Camera+ and Instagram, take notes with PlainText, control my computer with HippoRemote LITE and MochaVNC, and manage my calendar with Week Cal. Occassionally, I play DropZap 2 and Words With Friends.
I can be contacted through e-mail at rapin.michael@gmail.com.
Anonymity and Reputation
There was an interesting discussion in one of my CIS classes this morning regarding anonymity on the web and it brought up some heated debate. I've gauged that half or more of my class is familiar/have been on 4chan and/or are users of Reddit. To a point, this is good to hear as they're avid internet users who probably hold some of the same values as I do regarding the web, coding, everything that 4chan/Reddit can instill on a person.
Strangely, though, there was a debate on anonymity. More specific, this debate was on anonymity being the same as cowardice.
Zine Fest — Really quick
Just a few words about the Chicago Zine Fest I kind of went to but didn't:
- Chicago is awesome. I can't get over it. I spent two and a half days there and thoroughly enjoyed myself.
- Zinesters are the most interesting bunch of people you could ever meet.
- I managed to give out 12/30 of my zines to people I doubt I will ever see again, and I'm almost jumping with joy because of that. And I managed to do that without making it to the actual zine fest on Saturday, but instead to the awesome after party.
- There were five more people than I expected (expectation: 0) who walked dogs for a living and had a serious passion for it.
- Kuma's Corner is totally worth an hour and a half wait.
- Getting lost in Chicago strengthen's your knowledge of the public transportation system.
- Google Maps lies to you and smiles about it.
- Sometimes, bars play Adult Swim TV shows (read: Robot Chicken) on their big screens which means they get a better tip.
- Amanda Stevenson and I have no sense of direction... ever.
Zine Fest and some procrastination
C2E2 was last weekend. It was pretty fantastic. I'm just being lethargic about writing a post on DestroyTheCyb.org! about it. I may get around to it this afternoon when I have some free time.
My good friend Amanda Stevenson performed some magic and got my zine printed at a super discounted price for this upcoming weekend--The Chicago Zine Fest. I have yet to staple the 30ish copies, but they're sitting in a pile in my bedroom staring at me. I'm starting to realize that all of the emotion and angst I put into that little booklet is now in print and maybe, just maybe, someone is going to read it. It's a bit intimidating.
Thought Lightning: Communication
I had a long phone conversation yesterday with someone and I made it clear to them how I communicate and the order of priority:
- Text Message
- IM
- Phone
- In person
All of this had me thinking about how I communicate and how I prioritize things. I'm so much more likely to communicate in a digital medium only because I can time my words and phrasing and I'm less likely to screw up how I say something.
Truly, I am a child of the digital age.
Some current projects I’m involved with
I'm in the middle of quite a bit right now, it seems. Random things, including school work, scripts, websites, and all sorts of stuff. This is just a random list of what I can think of.
The Study Club
The Study Club is a short film currently in the process of being made, penned by myself and Ben Perry. We're casting actors now, and filming begins on April 1st until the third. It's looking to be about 8-10 minutes long and will be shot almost entirely on 16mm film. Ben and I are in the middle of the fourth draft of the script, and we're hoping that the fifth draft will be the final, shooting draft.
Once the film is done and everything, it will be shown at GVSU, then may go off onto a short-film circuit. I'm not 100% sure... I'll have to check my facts on that.
Thought Lightning: Mini-Naps
Sometimes I think that taking quick 5-10 minute naps are all my body needs to complete a REM cycle and put me back on track. I'll be exhausted and after a very quick snooze, it's as if my whole body is restored.
This happens on the bus a lot... Maybe there's a correlation.
Thought Lightning: Apathy
I had a discussion today with some co-workers about how I work. I admitted that unless I am really excited about an idea or assignment, I don't want to do it. Supposedly it's a strength and a weakness in me. For some reason I see it as more of my own apathy towards non-thinking work. I could name five things I don't like to do and they're all monotonous tasks that require no thinking.
My own apathy comes from my need to think. I can't figure out if that's a flaw or not.
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Categories
@MikeRapin
- I forgot that movie goers are total ass clowns. 0 minutes ago
- Ohhhh yes. So excited. (@ Celebration! Cinema for Chronicle (2012/ I) w/ 5 others) http://t.co/fqigSl9d 1 hour ago
- Off to see Chronicle with Kelly. 2 hours ago
- Fleshed out the first two episodes of Mesmerize with @adam_c_duke. I'm so pumped for this show. 5 hours ago
- Thanks to the new coat rack at @theoaklandhouse, it looks like Loki is looking out our windo @ The Oakland House http://t.co/ONJLRbHU 1 day ago
