Homepage Redesign

My headfirst dive into web design began in high school, with a custom Myspace layout and a primitive "blog" at Xanga. After transferring to Temple University and taking our required Computer and Information Science (CIS) course, I created my first homepage. But as I am looking forward to graduation, I realize that Temple won't continue to host my webpage on their servers, and honestly I'm not even sure if they will let me use my @temple.edu e-mail address anymore, but that's another topic...

With this in mind, I purchased the domain name amypospiech.com and a hosting package, but then the question in my mind was, "what the heck do I put up there?" It was actually quite intimidating at first - with no limits on what I could do creatively or technically, I spent a few months just sketching ideas and keeping notes of things I liked on other portfolio sites and personal pages, as well as business sites and blogs. I then scrapped it all, came up with a totally original theme, added in some signature Amy style and at long last came up with this:

I designed the theme around my favorite (abandoned) building in Philadelphia, the Divine Lorraine Hotel. It was built as an apartment complex in the late 19th century in a French Renaissance style, transformed into a hotel in 1948 under Father Divine and the Peace Mission Movement, and closed in 1999 when it was sold to developers (and subsequently re-sold for a hefty profit, but nothing to show for it yet). You can read about it here.

Knowing me, I will probably change this a few times a year (ha, ha) because after looking at something for too long, I get the crazy urge to go back and redo it all again. However, if anyone has suggestions for improvements, I'm all ears!

Finally Out of North Philly - my angry post about getting robbed

For anyone who has ever experienced a loss, for those that know the neighborhoods of Philadelphia, for anyone who cares about my personal life.

I recently relocated from Temple University area to Manayunk, Philadelphia. There were a few reasons for this move, none of them being "North Philly sucks" or anything of that nature. I actually enjoyed my time at Temple, and while I have a year left before graduation, I never thought I was unhappy living in a nice apartment off Broad Street. We had plenty of space, I had two great roommates, and the walk to campus was convenient and nice. I did have some qualms with parking, not wanting to go out after dark (ha), and occasionally worrying about safety issues... but I was always reassured by the vicinity of our Temple police and the neighborhood watch guy, Tom. We had a drunk driver plough into our street once, but nothing really bad ever happened on our block. So when people would call it the "ghetto" and be hesitant to visit me, I would just shake my head and reply, "It's really not that bad."

HOWEVER, just a few weeks before I was set to leave the area for good, with mixed emotions of sadness and excitement, our apartment was robbed. My one roommate had moved out, the other at work, and I was in New Jersey for a graduation party. I'm just glad no one was there when they cut the screens on our windows, broke through the safety bars, and took any and all valuable electronic equipment from our home. Ashley and I lost three laptops, two mp3 players, a digital camera, a graphics tablet, and an internet router that evening. It's creepy to think that they may have been watching us.

Seriously? We are college students, so it's not like we have a lot to begin with, and these things that make up our lives were hard-earned and PERSONAL items. The value I assign to my own laptop far exceeded its $600 resale value, because of photos (thank goodness all my abroad photos are online already), music, programs, and personalization I had in place over the year I had owned it. My mp3 player was not only a music-playing device, but my inspiration to work out, with a fully-loaded exercise playlist. I had started on a workout binge as weather was getting nicer, and ran the track two blocks from our apartment regularly before the break-in. For the two weeks after that I did not even want to be around North Philly. So I lost and mp3 player but also my MO to go out and get exercise. My digital camera was not only a few-hundred-dollar-picture-capturing device, but weeks worth of memories, including some great shots of my new boyfriend and I and a picture with a friend who had come up from Virginia for the Penn relays. Money just can't replace that kind of thing.

So as much as I enjoyed my few years in North Philly, it came to a sour end because of the ill-will of some little hoodlums who fit through a back kitchen window and never learned to respect other people's personal property. Cowards. You just counteract any good that people like Tom and Temple police and university professionals and MYSELF try to bring to this town. I won't be coming back any time soon, and I hope you make lots of money reselling my digital camera that I have the charger for, and the graphics tablet that you forgot the graphic pen for. Good luck in life suckers.

On a happy note, I started my internship full-time, and am now enjoying the scenery of a much friendlier Manayunk. I hope everyone is having a great summer, especially the FUNemployed. Take care!

Throwing an Awesome Bachelorette Party, among other things.

Just in case you were wondering, "What have you been up to lately?"

Note: If you need help planning YOUR bachelorette party in the tri-state area, please get in touch by e-mail!

Tiff's face is being consumed by my centerpiece, Erika is trying to peek at what she's writing, and Sharon cracks up in the middle of my original "Beauty Name Game" before the bachelorette outing in Philly.

I haven't posted in about two weeks which is a while considering my recent activities which are giving me lots of material to write about. Planning and implementing a girl's night out before Crystal's wedding, then of course Crystal's wedding, working tirelessly on an RSVP page for the IBA's annual dinner, and a reunion with one of my Theta sisters in Philly and a sweet new discovery of Sabrina's Cafe on Callowhill Street (I'm probably the last to know, cause this place was packed). Not to mention class and work work, and even a few creative pursuits around the house.

Oh, and the discovery that my life calling is definitely in the event planning industry.

So there's my 50-second update. More specific entries will follow at some point, but for now back to my current calling... bed!

Update: started a blog for event planning. Just playing around with a different personality online is fun, but I'm not doing anything serious for now. You can check it out at SheebaStar.wordpress.com, and maybe one day I'll post on there about how I got my new nickname ;-)

I've Matured (as a web designer)

Maybe I haven't, but my blog has definitely grown up over the past year+ that I've been blogging. Check out this blast from the past layout that I created back in the day, before the current one:

Let me know what you think of the updated look!

pollcode.com

What do you think of the new layout?

Great! It was time for a change. It's nice. Less pink is a good thing. I don't see the difference. The old one was nice enough. I liked the old one better. Molto bello! It's alright. Very slick, modern looking. Prettyyyy.

 

Tagged in a Meme! 5 Things

I got tagged in a meme by Sasha of Yankee in a New World, a resource for people living or traveling in Europe, targeted specifically to Americans who want to stay connected with home.

This is just for fun and has little to do with travel. Here are the Five Things Meme questions:

What are 5 things you were doing ten years ago?

1. Studying in unit 6B at SBUES (South Brunswick Upper Elementary School) with Mr. Miller as my homeroom teacher.
2. Dating a boy for 2 weeks, my longest relationship to that point.
3. Hanging out with Mashaal Ahmed, Shweta Desai, Christina Amatto, Crystal Stepp, and a bunch of other now-distant friends.
4. Being a smartie pants in math class.
5. Looking forward to the next bomb scare so we could all get out of class early and go to Pierre's Italian Deli. This was pre-9/11 and post-Columbine.

What are 5 Things on your to do list for today?

1. Work on my Technology in Marketing paper that's due Tuesday. I need to come up with an ethical issue in marketing that involves technology (such as privacy issues, security issues, etc) that is not terribly dry or boring to write about.
2. Figure out a killer outfit for tonight's Heinously Atrocious Christmas Sweater Party.
3. Update Facebook photos - people are bugging me and I'm only up to September.
4. Eat dinner.
5. Go to bed at a normal hour so I can be productive tomorrow.

What are your 5 Favorite Snacks?

1. Avacoado in any form - guacamole with tortilla chips, sliced on a salad, etc.
2. Cheese. Especially the Cracker Barrel cheddar sticks, but any kind I can get my hands on will do.
3. Smartfood white cheddar popcorn.
4. Almond Joy, when I'm in the mood for chocolate. Or Andes chocolate around the holidays.
5. Dried cranberries. They're good for you (especially if they're "no sugar added" and easy to pack for on-the-go snacking.

What would you do if you were a Millionaire?

1. Like Sasha, I'd love to pay off my student loans first.
2. Buy an apartment so I wouldn't have to rent anymore. NYC would be nice, if a million dollars would even cover it.
3. Invest some so I'd have an income with the interest.
4. Go on a shopping spree.
5. Buy a hybrid car.

Where are 5 places you have lived?

1. My parent's house
2. Several college dorms
3. A sorority house / mansion on the side of a mountain
4. An apartment in Philadelphia
5. In Second Life

• And bonus: An apartment in Rome, Italy

Midterm

I'm already halfway through the first summer session (thank goodness I only decided to take one course and not four this summer)! We had our midterm today for Intro to Risk Management and Insurance. I think I did pretty well, considering I had pink eye and missed two out of four days last week. It really set me back but thankfully the midterm was all about concepts. My friend Ryan called me the "Concept Queen" once. I get concepts. Anyway we'll see what happens with this semester... by the way, last semester ended up with all A's. Maybe I should have done less studying abroad, haha.

Merry Christmoose!

Such a nice two days with the family... and one more celebration tomorrow.

Plus, this morning I got a laptop!!! About time I joined the ranks of mobile individuals. Even my two grandmothers have laptops already, teehee. Actually it's about time laptops caught up with me; this thing is awesome and I'm so happy I'll be able to bring it with me to Italy so I won't have to worry about finding a computer on campus all the time.

My prayers go out to those who are out fighting to protect our country so that we can enjoy this wonderful holiday in peace. Bobby, I love you and hope you are staying cool in Iraq! Hope everyone else's holiday was as merry as mine :-)

Break It Off

Done with finals... good results so far :-)

Planning a holiday dinner party for this Friday.

Finishing up my internship.

Getting excited for ROME! (3 weeks!!!)

Things Done

• Readings for Advertising, as usual / Checklist for Advertising group due Friday - Ohhh, double dipper! Finished the last quiz before break with another 97 :-) Also finished our project, which took 11 hours one day in the Tech Center - AH! But now all that is left is our presentation, this Monday, which will be a cakewalk compared to the rest of this semester.
• Speech homework - prepare Speech of Persuasion - Oh man, I love when I don't go through and update for a while. Not only did I finish the speech of Persuasion, I also did the Proposition of Fact speech before break, and the Policy speech tonight, Tonsillitis and all. Which makes me semi-officially done with speech class for the semester!
• CIS project - dun dun dun dun, dun dun dun DUN! As in, DONE with that portion, now I have to finish my blog entries by next week and then we have a final, including take-home essays.
• Get curtains for my room and downstairs - I think I can officially take this off the "To Do" list now because I have blinds now and already found a subleaser who will be taking over my house in a few weeks anyway. Definitely not worried about curtains at this point.
• Make appointment with dermatologist - Yeah, not going to happen. Skin, heal. It's like I'm talking to a dog.

Things Done

• Computer configuration assignment for CIS - And learned something about hardware. Might even build my own computer one day, if I'm feeling ambitious.
• Meet with CIS group - Thursday Oct 11 - Accomplished something, plus wrote my part of the outline, and the introduction. Still to do: Prepare debate and wiki.
• Erin's going away party - Met some of her fabulous friends who came from all over the country to see her off!
• Return Verizon phone to store only after getting a third replacement device because the second one was so screwed up. Unfortunately none of my ringtones or custom T9 words or any other settings like that transfered :-(
• Blog assignment on intellectual property for CIS - FINALLY did this, along with one other blog and two comments on other students' blogs, which means I still have 3 blogs and 3 comments left for the semester haha.
• Get curtains for my room and downstairs - Kinda done, but still a wip because one of the shades didn't fit so we have to go back to Home Depot, and I would still like some valences. But since I'll be leaving the country in just over a *month* I might leave it for later. Maybe my sub-leaser will get sick of living with dusty blinds and take care of it.

Not to mention vast amounts of updates to all my websites! *g*

Ah yes... Updates

Things from my "To Do" list on the right side of the screen that I've actually done in the past week.

• "Accounting chapter 5 this week" - Not only that, but it would seem that we have just finished chapter 7, and have a midterm this Thursday!
• "Pay / dispute my first parking ticket of the semester" - Not only that, but I have gotten another one for parking so impossibly close to the curb that it makes it difficult for one to "turn onto the highway" as the officer so kindly noted. Sure, 15th street is quite the intersection...
• "Get magenta ink for HP Photosmart printer" - Strategically found a spot to pick it up at a CompUSA in Mt Laurel after my internship dinner meeting in the eponymous town last week. Online ordering for in-store pickup, sweet!
• "Drop off book for return at post office in the SAC" - And even got the confirmation of my reimbursement from Amazon, unfortunately not for the original costs to ship it here.
• "Speech homework" - Although this elusive topic will stay posted along with "Random Italian homework," I did manage to present a kick-ass informative speech last week, and had to sit through 3 more hours of them tonight.
• "Readings for Advertising - next quiz Friday on chapters 4-8" - Ah yes, and I got a 92, because it was weighted, or else it would have been an 86. Not half bad considering I was enjoying some sweet Mojitos that Thursday night with Greek Steve and Dems.
• "Schedule a lunch with my mentee Meghan" - A compromise, actually, in that we had brunch / coffee. It was nice to finally meet her but I don't know when we'll be able to meet again. Speaking of mentors, I haven't been keeping in touch with mine although I am going to see Erin on Friday for her going away party before she runs off to Hong Kong! Crazy girl.
• "Return blank VHS to Rite Aid" - Along with the blank DVD-RWs that I didn't need to dub my speech tape after all. Yes, I dubbed it and all by myself! But no I will not post it until the embarrassment of hearing myself speak wears off.

And furthermore...

I completed my Visa application for Rome! What a hassle. I had to get a new passport photo taken, get my actual passport, an Express mail envelope which no-they-don't-sell-at-the-campus-post-office so I had to go all the way to the (truly ghetto, slightly unnerving) north Philly post office branch and the darn thing cost like 16 bucks! Luckily I knew where the post office was because of the time I escorted Anna there on foot, and luckily I have my car because I would NEVER want to do that again. I think the two parking tickets this semester were worth it just for that, haha.

Oh yeah and, the weekend... Michael came up for [his] 3-day Columbus Day weekend. We went to my homecoming game (we won!), South Street, the Gym Class Heroes concert, a club party at the YMCA, the art museum, and Pat's & Geno's. I feel like a real Philly kid :-)