Movie Review Monday: American Beauty

Welcome to another awesome edition of Movie Review Monday!

This week's movie is the 1999 classic, American Beauty, starring Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening.

The story revolves around the Burnham family, who all are having struggles their own struggles with their identity and it focuses on the midlife crisis of the patriarch, Lester, played by Spacey. He is disillusioned with his job, distanced from his wife and daughter, and overall feeling like he has lost his passion for life in general.

Spacey carries most of this movie, but the supporting cast is very strong and helps lift the film even higher. Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper, Thora Birch, and Mena Suvari all give wonderful performances. The consistency of storylines for everyone is where they are with who they are and who they want to be. Some of them repress who they are, some of them pretend to be something they're not, and others have found freedom in the confidence gained by being yourself and not caring what others think. We witness Lester's journey through finding himself, which causes dramatic changes in his life and in those around him. Where before he suffered under the tyranny of the ordinary and routine, he begins to break free of these shackles and explore what it is he wants, rather than others.

This movie is a darkly dramatic one, with great character work and nuanced performances. It won several of the major awards when it came out and I can understand why. It's an emotional movie that makes you think but is also fun and cathartic at the same time. We can all relate to someone (or everyone) in the movie and it can stand the test of time (besides the use of pagers and VHS tapes.)

I highly recommend you check out American Beauty, which you can find streaming right now on Netflix.

Thanks for stopping by!

What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 04/03/15

It's Friday and that means it's time for another wrap up of my weekly geek outs!

This week has been full of "adulting" moments for me, so I thought I'd share some thoughts on them.

• Cars!

I recently swapped my car I've had been leasing for the past three years for a new lease (just a newer model of the car I had before). The payments will be less, I'll have more insurance for less money, and my maintenance is covered for two years. It seemed like a good deal to me and the car has been running great so far. I don't need much when it comes to cars and I am admittedly aloof when it comes to them. I don't know much but as long as it runs well, I'm set. I just make sure to take it in for routine maintenance when I'm supposed to and everything is fine. I hope to get at least a hybrid, if not an electric car, for my next vehicle but we'll see where we're at then with infrastructure for electric.

• Money!

I've been trying to be conscious of my spending and work off a budget for these past several months now that I have a steady, predictable income with my job. It's been working pretty well thankfully! I don't feel like I'm depriving myself I just scrutinize if I really need certain things and make sure I'm saving money as much as I can. I try to use up the goods I have so I don't have to buy more and just make smart choices with my money. It's felt good to be responsible and I know as I continue to foster these skills, I will only get better as my life gets more complex and complicated.

• Retirement!

This is something I've been thinking about since I started this job almost a year ago. My employer makes contributions once you are working for a year, so since that date is on the horizon, I've been giving it some thought. I haven't started a retirement account yet since I felt like I needed the money now and it was hard to think about myself 40 years from now benefiting from the actions I'm taking now. I chatted with a friend about retirement accounts and what it all means which nudged me further on this. Definitely ask the financial whiz in your life or just someone else in your life in that has gone through the process and they'll be able to help you out if this is something your thinking about. It definitely feels very adult to even be considering retirement accounts but it is important to do for your lifelong wellbeing.

Thanks for stopping by!

What is the Value of National Student Affairs Conferences?

ACPA

Conference Registration = $600 (less if done earlier, $450 for early bird)

ACPA Membership = $93-149 (2013-14 Membership Rates from ACPA)

NASPA

Conference Registration = $480 (less if done earlier, $430 for early bird)

NASPA Membership = $75-242

Hotel = $200/night (average for Tampa, higher for New Orleans)

Airfare = $200-700 (depends on several variables)

Total (average, estimated) = $1,900 cost per conference + food, parking, taxis, and misc. items

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I'll be honest, I thought this would be a lot higher. While it could be a tad higher depending on individual variables, and food could also be a huge expense, I envisioned costs being much higher (and they most likely will be especially for ACPA in Montreal next year). With that being said, a lot of folks are not going to be able to just drop this sort of money on a conference without any sort of assistance. Many of us are going to have our own homes and families to keep afloat and a national student affairs conference (which has had dwindling returns and value in my opinion) just will not make the cut when there are plenty of cheaper (or free) and better professional development options out there. This goes too for the webinars I've seen out there for student affairs folks. Why are they so expensive? Is it assumed multiple people are sitting in on one registration? Isn't it just someone doing a presentation virtually? It seems absurd to me that it needs to cost professionals hundreds of dollars for at times just an hour presentation.

I'm very grateful to be able to have had the support of my institution to go to a national conference. This is a rarity though (especially to have most everything covered) and not to be assumed to be available to most folks. I presented at ACPA and appear to be one of a few in my Student Life office going to any conferences this year. I'm not competing for this funding with anyone so I haven't had to valiantly prove why I deserve to go.

I think what this high cost results in is an insular, privileged, select group of people that can afford conferences or are lucky enough to have their institution support them. This ends up with us having the usual suspects at conferences and leaving a lot of other amazing professionals out of the inner circles. It comes across as clique-y and oft-putting for people from the outside. What these conferences always do best is bring people together but it isn't doing too well at that if it is the same cohort of people coming together all the time. We need more voices included in these discussions. This will add value and return on investment for sessions, committees, and the entire experience when there is more diversity of perspective from different institutions and people from different backgrounds.

I've been wanting to capture my thoughts on this for a while now. I gave it a fair amount of consideration before posting and I appreciate any insight from others who may have planned conferences or just have something to share. I think this is a valid discourse to have so I felt it important to put forth my thoughts here. We need to do better to bring people in for these opportunities to move our profession forward. It seems like we all could really use it.

Thanks for stopping by and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Book Review: Steal Like an Artist

"If we’re free from the burden of trying to be completely original, we can stop trying to make something out of nothing, and we can embrace influence instead of running away from it."

I remember hearing about this book at some point. It got stuck in my head as something I knew I wanted to read at some point but just never got around to. I finally blew through this book and I am very glad I made time for it.

This 2012 book by Austin Kleon explores the traditional concepts about what we think creativity is and how we are creative and seeks to break them down. Kleon challenges conventional notions and builds up his own view on how we maximize our own unique creativity and stop preventing ourselves from creating. His liberating manifesto that nothing is original helps the reader break free of the oppressive mindset that we have to reinvent the wheel in order to be a creative. All we have to do is put our own spin on what is already out in the world and that makes something valuable and creative.

Kleon's style of writing is brief, engaging, and transformative so it is right up my alley. I was able to breeze through this book with some powerful takeaways in the matter of a few nights. I feel like I could have easily read through it in a day if I was commuting or had a few more hours free in a day to plug in with this book. I appreciate when books can be concise since it allows for the message to come through so much clearer for me when there isn't massive amounts of what ends up feeling like filler. Just because a book is longer doesn't make it better, but that's just me.

If you're looking to get inspired to be more creative or just want a great book to get motivated by for your current endeavors, I encourage you to check this book out. It's a quick but powerful read with some great perspectives on how to be a better creative.

Steal Like An Artist is available at all of your favorite book retailers which you can find at the book's official webpage.

Thanks for stopping by!

Movie Review Monday: Big Fish

Welcome to another awesome edition of Movie Review Monday!

This week's movie is the 2003 Tim Burton film, Big Fish.

The premise of the movie entails a journalist (Billy Crudup) exploring the larger than life stories of his dying father (Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney) to try the truth behind the fantastical tales he told.

I've had this movie in my queue for some time before I finally sat down to watch it (on the encouragement of several different people). I'd remembered hearing about it and knowing about it but I'd never really given it serious consideration to check out for whatever reason. I'm very glad I finally sat down and devoted time to it. It's a wonderfully beautiful and heartfelt movie that definitely succeeded in getting me teary eyed at the right moments. This movie has a similar tone and premise as another film I reviewed recently, Beginners.

The film explores the idea that we should all strive to live a big life, because we won't grow if we're kept contained in a small pond. The way the movie showcases the fantastical stories told to emphasize this point is the lure of the film. We all tell stories in our own way, maybe glossing over some details and exaggerating others. Big Fish takes this concept and runs with it to great success. The movie also is done in pure Tim Burton style, a bit quirky, fantastical, and many saturated, bright colors.

If you're looking for a heartfelt comedic drama to watch, I highly recommend Big Fish.

You can watch it streaming right now on Netflix.

Thanks for stopping by!

What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 03/27/15

Another week has gone by so you know what that means! My Week in Geek!

Here is what's going on in my world:

• iPhone 6

I just got my new iPhone 6 last weekend and I've been loving the bigger screen, Touch ID, and setting up Apple Pay (not sure if many stores around here use it or not yet though). I had my previous iPhone 5 for a good while and it had starting acting quirky lately, as it always seems to go, so I was glad to trade it towards something new. I'm an Apple person through and through so I love seeing all the new gadgets and tools they come out with. Not sure if I'm sold on the Apple Watch yet but I've had nothing but positive experiences with all my Apple hardware (MacBook Pro, iMac, iPads).

• Untappd

Something I've been playing with on my new phone is the free app, Untappd. It is a social app that collects the different craft beers you drink, where you drink them, and pulls together recommendations for other beers you might like. So you can see what your friends are drinking and what they thought of them and connect over good beer! It's a great interface and I've been using it for about a week now and I really enjoy it. I've gotten really into ciders lately as well as trying a lot of the cool local breweries here in Maine so I wanted something to keep track of them and recommend more stuff I might like to try. If you're a fan of good beer, you owe it to yourself to check this app out!

• Evernote Scannable

Another app I've been using for a bit but just haven't gotten around to mentioning is the newest tool from Evernote called Scannable. As the name implies, you can download this free app on your smartphone and take pictures to scan in receipts, business cards, documents, all into your Evernote (and elsewhere). It is really easy to use and works perfectly from my experience. I love Evernote and use it very often to keep track of ideas, notes from books, or now, all of the aforementioned stuff you can pull in from Scannable. I scanned a bunch of business cards I had laying around and now I can access the contact information from all of my devices. It's awesome and takes me one step closer to a paperless life.

Thanks for stopping by!

Figuring Out What is Truly Important

* This posted was originally featured on The Student Affairs Collective.

My decision to move to Maine last year to continue being close to my partner was a simple one, but it has had major implications for our lives together. 

I've talked about my job search story before, so I won't go to much into that part of my journey. The choice to move up to my home state and be close to my partner was an intentional one on my part. I picked up and moved (after having also moved a short distance for graduate school just two years before) leaving behind a lot of things I enjoyed about being in the Mid-Atlantic region. Delaware was where I grew up and could envision my self settling down in the future. Nevertheless, I couldn't see myself being happy being far away from my partner (someone I see myself spending the rest of my life with). I wanted to be able to help her feel supported in a stressful time in her life as she began graduate school. It was also a nice chance to live in my home state for the first time (I've visited often but never lived here) and be closer to my extended family than I've ever been before.

My decision making during my own anxiety ridden job search felt easier when I gave serious thought to what I truly wanted and what was important to me. My relationship trumped all other things since even if everything else was going wrong, I'd have my partner to support me and spend time with. While there are times we both wish we were back in New Jersey, we're glad to be here in Maine together exploring a new area and meeting new people. We've been able to spend a lot quality time together and become closer than ever before. Our relationship would have been strained if we ended up hours apart and I'm very grateful to have the opportunity to support her and continued to strengthen our bond.

As we all move forward in our lives and careers, I encourage you all to give mindful consideration to what you really want. Family, region, significant others, functional area, or any other reasons are all valid as long as they're your own reasons, not someone else's or what you think you're "supposed" to be doing. Do what you want and do whatever is best for you. I did, and I would never have chosen differently.

How Board Games Helped Me Make New Friends

Making friends as an adult is tough. When you're in college, you're in an environment that lends itself to connections. It's easier to meet people your age who share your interests. As an adult working full-time, I've had to make more of a concerted effort to connect with people. I have made friends at work, but it is different to meet people completely outside of any context you have like work or class.

I've mingled in some social meetup groups in my community recently and have made some awesome friends in the process. When we hang out, we typically have game nights where we play different card or board games together as a social activity for our small group. It's been a fun way to help get to know each other and just have fun outside our normal routines. While I was not one to play a lot when I was younger, board games have helped me solidify my first adult friendships, and I'm eternally grateful for that.

Some of the games that my friends and I play have been Cards Against Humanity (a common favorite), We Didn't Playtest This At All, Geek Battle, Man Bites Dog, and various others as well as just other random card games that some of us know of that we use a regular deck of playing cards for. It's been a lot of fun to discover new games like these since board games are experiencing a bit of a Renaissance now it feels like. Games like these just help us put down our phones and interact with each other through a simple and fun activity. Some of the games are mindless fun, others are competition based. A bit of friendly competition though is never a bad thing!

I highly recommend exploring this world of board games with your friends, if they're old or new, you can find a fun game to engage with. There are so many different types now that you can definitely find something you'll enjoy.

Thanks for stopping by!

Movie Review Monday: Groundhog Day

Welcome to another awesome edition of Movie Review Monday!

This week's movie is the 1993 classic, Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray and written and directed by the late, great Harold Ramis.

I had seen and heard a lot about this movie over the years but I have never sat down and watched the movie in its entirety. I'm glad I could enjoy it finally, as it is a simple movie with a simple message that I think we can all appreciate.

The premise is simple its implementation. We don't get any reason why but nevertheless, Bill Murray's character, Phil, is forced to relive the same day over and over again, which creates a cavalcade of humorous scenarios that he plays out since he'll just wake up with no ramifications. The movie hinges on Murray, and he masterfully carries the film. The premise of reliving the same day over and over again also acknowledges the dark side of this, as Phil continually tries to kill himself to end the perpetual nightmare.

The movie succeeds near the end as Phil begins to do the most good he can for others in a single day. Only when he maximizes the experience for others rather than himself, does the cycle end. Phil begins the movie as a disillusioned, egotistical, and rude character, but ends it as someone who is changed for the better. The moral of the whole story being to encourage us as the viewer to live each day to the fullest and do good for others.

While the premise has become common fodder for storytelling nowadays, this film popularized the concept and is constantly referred to as a benchmark. It earns its place as a classic comedy that will surely stand the test of time.

You can check out Groundhog Day streaming right now on Netflix.

Thanks for stopping by!

What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 03/20/15

Greetings! Here's what's going on in my world this week:

• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

This new Netflix original series stars Ellie Kemper, who you may know from The Office or Bridesmaids, as Kimmy Schmidt. She emerges into the world after spending the past 15 years inside of an underground bunker. It's a clear homage to Blast From the Past but it is done in its own original way and with Tina Fey at the helm, it has her great smart comedic chops to support it. The sense of humor is very similar to Fey's 30 Rock if you need a specific comparison. The show has been getting a lot of positive buzz online and I've been enjoying watching it with my partner. Chalk this one up as another hit for Netflix!

• Community RETURNS!

I'm so excited to see the return of Community on Yahoo Screen. Season six promises to be even weirder than before and it's great that Yahoo is giving such creative control to creator Dan Harmon. The first two episodes premiered this past week and they were both fantastic. I'm eager to see this constantly evolving show grow once more. If you haven't seen any of the previous seasons, they're all available on Hulu.

• Agent Carter & Agents of SHIELD

I finished the first season of Agent Carter recently and have been riding along with SHIELD since it has come back to air and I must say that I've been enjoying these Marvel TV shows. Agent Carter was especially well done, giving some long overdue attention to the fan favorite character. She was a multidimensional ass-kicking woman on television and I think we can all get behind that. SHIELD is also telling an interesting narrative this season. The Inhumans is an interesting inclusion and has let the show finally embrace its super-powered roots. I have faith that it will continue to maintain this current quality as it goes on.

Thanks for stopping by!