Applying to Full Sail University in Orlando
I’m simply not going to easily find a job in Shelby where I currently live. I would have to move to Charlotte to find a decent job in my profession and that also requires money. This is a dilemma that most people face.
For around the past 10 years it’s gotten much harder to find an Information Technology job. Nearly everyone has tried to get into the industry. I’ve taught myself everything I know and I’m very talented at what I do. Though obviously talent is not frequently a trait that employers search for.
Information Technology can be a rewarding profession if you have the right opportunities. Recently I worked for Emerson Climate Technologies (with several titles, two of which were IT Technician and the main one being LAN Administrator). I’ve also worked for an ISP (internet provider) as a network administrator and a fast growing company in Gastonia under the name Championship Networks.
As long as I can remember I was “creative”. I started drawing at a young age, excelled in reading and wanted to be a writer in junior high. Every object, word, action, objective thought takes place mainly in the right side of my brain. I have a very strong imagination and dream what seems like very well thought out plots when I sleep.
Online IQ tests aren’t a very good indication of intelligence, nor is an IQ test of any kind regardless of what the test designers will tell you, but in the past I’ve always scored around 145 on IQ tests. That’s not really an achievement in itself, but I know that it’s higher than a lot of people would score. A lot of people have told me that I have ADD. Their is always a large amount of information passing through my brain and it can be confusing at times. I see everything in intricate detail.
A lot of people have an objective and work it out with one solution or have a few solutions in mind. I have an objective and pick it apart in my mind, thinking of every possible scenario of occurrence which at times is quite irritating, because it can make finding a quick and simple solution for a problem aggravating.
The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning.
Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others.
If you’re left brained, you are likely good at math and logic.
Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet.The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility.
Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way.
If you’re right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art.
Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.
When I was 14 and in 9th grade I was adamant about buying a guitar. Soon after I was lucky enough to borrow an acoustic from a church friend. Three months later I was playing gospel music with four other people during church. Some time after I started playing with another group of church members in a full band.
Twelve years later I own two electric guitars and an electric acoustic. For years I wrote lyrics and kept them in a folder. I’m not sure how many songs that I had written, but I think their were at least one hundred.
In graduated high school four months early. In October of 2000 I started college at the Academy of Design in Tampa Bay majoring in Computer Animation, which seemed like the natural thing for me to do. After a year I realized the program wasn’t what I wanted. The Computer Animation program was designed so that you only began to animate near the end of your four year bachelors program.
Basics of several applications were taught such as Photoshop, After Effects, 3D Studio Max, Maya and Flash. Later on I delved deeper into these applications and taught myself more about Photoshop, 3D Studio Max, Maya, Flash, After Effects and later started working frequently with Adobe Premiere.
Dancing With Stars by ~realityx on deviantART
Also as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to be a part of the entertainment industry. To this day my eyes light up when I see a production. I’ve seen more movies that I will ever attempt to count and I can name more actors and actresses and the films they have appeared in than anyone I’ve ever met. For several years I had a NetFlix account and at one time I remember realizing that I had rated over one thousand movies.
When I was 14 I got into music and taught myself to play guitar, drums and bass. Within 3 months I was playing small shows at churches and eventually played a gig at a coffee shop called Legal Grounds with a rock band. Everything I learned was by ear and I’ve never taken any music classes yet. Though I would like to.
So I’m creative. Left brained people, in my experience seem to see a problem and one or maybe a few solutions. I see a problem and a million answers, possibilities and why a thousand solutions might not work. I am easily able to use both parts of my brain if I want to. The problem is that anything requiring the other side of my brain is painfully boring for me.
For the past 6 years I have been working in the information technology profession. The industry is not always secure and location is very important. It is very competitive. The main problem with the industry is the number of people that have gotten into it in the last 10 years. It’s too easy to get certifications and anyone with a bit of drive can get through four years of college.
I have several certifications (CompTIA A+, Network Administration and Certiport IC3 which is a very basic certification I received by testing out of Intro to Computers). It’s really not enough, because the person that reads your resume is looking mainly for a degree. Although if they are in Information Technology themselves, they may look for more and feel that knowledge and experience is more valuable. That doesn’t happen very often so you can’t easily rely on that.
I contacted Full Sail and filled out the FAFSA to see what kind of financial aid I can receive. Loans are a must at this point because I don’t have any savings right now and will have to get about $70,000 in student loans to pay the tuition and living expenses for the 21 months that I’m in college (for a bachelors degree).
21 months may seem like a short time for a bachelors, but the program is fast paced. At times you may have classes in the afternoon and very early in the morning (1:00am for example). The curriculum packs four years into 21 months.
Hopefully I will acquire a job working for a small or if I am lucky, a large film studio. I hope to work as a camera operator, but I also enjoy video editing (or special effects) and photography. Their are plenty of things I already have the expertise to do very well.
I’m not getting any younger. The way I see it is if you haven’t done it by 30, you will never do it. That is not necessarily true, but it’s pretty accurate for most people.
“Those little sauce packets”, Dropzone.com Story
I got a kick out of this story on DropZone.com posted by NickDG.
Oh, those little sauce packets . . .
I can never see or even think of those without remembering a time a group of us lived on them for a day and a half.
We were at the old Ramona DZ when the phone rang late in the afternoon. There was a Jeep Safari going on out in the desert on the other side of the mountains and, “Could we send over some parachutists to jump in?”
Spur of the moment demos are never a good idea and this one would be no exception.
We’d already cut loose the FJC class until tomorrow as it was too windy and cloudy. We had a good IFR rated pilot although the front door C-206 had a very stripped down panal and didn’t have all the gizmos one needs for flight into clouds. But the low ceiling was still somewhat broken and we were all wearing parachutes so what the hell, we departed. We got above the clouds easily enough and headed west. There was a small abandoned airstrip about twenty miles from where the Jeeps are and we’d get rides and meet the airplane back there.
Once past the mountains and into the desert it was severe clear. We found the Jeeps and five of us jumped, landed all right, got big cheers, and then drank and drove around in the Jeeps for awhile. We got a ride to the airstrip and the pilot said the WX was looking iffy but we’d go take a look and try to find a hole. We’d packed after the demo, and although it was beginning to get dark we planned on jumping back into the DZ.
We took off and climbed out over the mountains heading west. About ten minutes into the flight one of the jumpers announced he had to pee really badly. We looked around but there wasn’t a suitable vessel onboard and you can’t pee in leather Frappe Hat because they leak. (Don’t ask how I know that). He said he’d just pee out the door but the pilot said no as it would get all over the side of the airplane and also blow back through the door.
He held it for a while but he was really hurting. He then said he’d climb out on the strut and pee and everyone thought that was an okay idea. So he unzipped his jumpsuit and dug out his dong and climbed out on the jump step. We were all laughing our asses off as he was trying to turn sideways away from the door and looking to find some clean airflow.
I was just thinking how shitty it would be if he fell off, and he did, right then. I stuck my head out and just caught sight of him disappearing into the clouds. We all then just looked at each other in disbelief with big wide eyeballs. It was almost dark now and there were big mountains below us. Holy shit!
The pilot keyed his mic right away and called SoCal Approach. “Ah, Approach; we just had a parachutist accidentally depart the aircraft.” I could only hear one side of the conversation but it was a real corker. “Yes, he was wearing a parachute.” Pause. “No, we are en-route.” Longer pause. “No, we didn’t see him open.” Really long pause. And then he gave our position as best he could.