Being a Dabbler:

Dabbling


I call it Dabbling, Tinkering, but it is mainly how I came up saying 

"I am a Jack-of-all-Trades…" 

I know how to do anything, if I set my mind on it…  I have remodeled my whole house from skills I gained in my BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts)… yeah, from being an Artist.  I will give you an instance.  Plumbing, ha! I learned how to make a Silver ring in my Jewelry Class where we sweated silver pieces together with flux, solder, and a torch… Plumbing is sweating copper pipes with flux and solder.  Tile a bathroom, ha!  Sculpture class combined with Ceramics… Taking previously learned knowledge and twisting it to fit another need.




The same thing comes up with being a Graphic Designer.  Graphic design, I know animation…  How hard is Graphic Design?  I had art & design classes, I know Photoshop, I taught myself Illustrator… Graphic design, done.  I know that statement just seemed that Graphic Design is below me, but I really love Graphic Design doing it.  I am very proud of the things that I can do with it.  Just proving being a Dabbler isn't bad.  I pick up so many things get pretty good at them and move onto the next "THING"…  Now I wasn't always great at Illustrator, I had to teach it...

  

Dabbling in ILLUSTRATOR


Before teaching, I was only pure Adobe Photoshop user, and never ventured to anything else…  Why should I… Adobe Illustrator was for purposes I never truly needed.  When I can to Olathe, I had to teach Illustrator the first year in the e-Communication Department. Now that was a huge venture…  I knew Vectors/Vertices from 3D animation. I kept telling myself I know 3D, 2D is just one less D, it should be easier. Right…  I/it was horrible; I ran to another teacher every few hours/minutes for help.  Over time I did get better at it, but had numerous failures along the way… 


With teaching students it is just not giving a project and telling them to get to work.  Students do a lot more than that, the as I say, "adventure clicking."  They will press every button and every key along the way, and about 5% of the time knows how to get back.  The other 95% of the time they get lost in the clicks, meaning they get backed into a corner with no where to go.  That is when I get the Hand in the air… I have to figure out how to get back to point "A" without knowing if how many clicks it took them to get to point "Z".  It would take me an entire class period for one issue.  I would get stumped if a student got into the Outline View instead of the Preview View… If you don't know what I am talking about, open an Illustrator File, press ⌘Y…


I can now fix a student issue across the room without even looking at the computer.  




To get good at any computer program it just takes a whole lot of practice and knowledge of the program.  The main thing that you have to keep in mind is being patient, and never be afraid to start a project over.  With teaching Illustrator you need to mainly become a master problem solver, and I think that goes for teaching any computer program to a mob of teenagers.


I tell students once you learn the Pen Tool in Illustrator you will understand the entire program.  That is for the most part true…  I say for the most part because with the endeavors of learning the uses of this single tool, you will end up going through every other tool available.  




With mastering Illustrator, I have designed a few logos and a few books, all of the e-Communication paper goods (brochures, bookmarks, programs, posters, business cards, etc.) and an onslaught of other ONW (Olathe Northwest) things… 

Being a Dabbler is always good… The only bad thing about being a dabbler is that you are not necessarily outstanding in any particular area. Thus...

"I am a Jack-of-all-Trades… Master of none"

I feel that I can always get better at everything that I dabble in, which everyone can always learn and improve.

Time to go Dabble in something… 

Extroverted Introvert:

I always tell my students about that I am an Extrovert, and that I used to be an Introvert.  Students…  if you are reading this is why.  I started in life with a rather large speech impediment, Rs were Ws… and many other oddities.  I just remember Rs were the big one.  I had speech Therapy from the age of I don't know until the age of 12ish.  People never understood me when I talked so naturally "I didn't".  I was teased at times, and would rather do my own thing. I had a few close friends but that was it. 4th grade had a few awful memories that came about my speech impediment.  One was my 4th grade science/biology teacher where we had to write a speech about and animal, I think.  All i know is that I wrote about the Nimble Squirrel, yes I know I already talked about them once.  I had the best research that I have ever had on this subject, I learned a lot.  It came down to me giving my speech.  Before this I have never really noticed that I didn't mind getting in front of people, but after this I did.  I got up proud of my speech and gave it, I knew my subject!!! I knew it well!!!  When I got done my teacher…  asked "Why did you give a speech about SCHOOLs?" "and why are you talking about Fwying Schools"  I choose not to ever talk in his class again.

I actually think I stopped caring about most of my school work after that point. I admit it!!!

A teacher can make or break your scholarly achievements… 

I didn't give a speech until much later, and I will tell you the back ground.  My brother was killed by a drunk-driver when I was in 8th grade and he was a Senior.  Zing, I know… I am sure I will get into this more for later blogs.  But my brother was the 100% extrovert, and after that point in my life I made it a point to change.  I became the class-clown the jokester, and from there I started talking more and more… I put myself into situations where it made me uncomfortable, and slowly made it where I can talk in front of anyone or group that I come across. I ran for student council, no not class president.  My friend was running for that, and he already signed up.  So instead of splitting the votes of all our friends, I ran for Vice-President, I got it too.  He got President.  That is one small speech to my high school class.  Uncomfortable…  Yes!

I took it a couple steps further that year.  I had to give a speech in my Senior English class, fail… I wasn't ready, I gave blood about 30 minutes before.  Whatever excuse I can make up, but I did get pasty, pale, and nearly passed out. My teacher let me do my speech the next week, without the class there.  I told her the entire background of my speech therapy and of my 4th grade teacher (I got a sympathy vote).  

Being in Student Council, I had the choice to give a speech for graduation.  I had 3 minutes to fill at my graduation, about the Senior Gift.  Yes I know exciting, but I did the best research that I have ever did on the subject.  I practiced 20-100 times…  My English teacher helped me practice it over and over.  I had 3 minutes to fill at my graduation.  The first graduating class from my high school and I spoke at the Graduation.  Boom!  The one that said "Squirrel" and people heard "School," and so I got up proud of my speech and gave it, I knew my subject!!! I knew it well!!! 

Still to this day, If I have to get in the front of large groups I seriously have to do an Inner-peptalk.  A "here we go" personal speech…  

That is why I am now an extrovert, because of my 4th Grade teacher to prove that he was a/an… (enter in own favorite word to describe him) and because of my brother, someone that I still look up to and still try to make proud.  I changed my personality type, and who I am, because I said I could. 

Personality Of...

  As a teacher I always get to assign all these fun things to my students.  I teach animation but in those times that I assign something totally different are the times that I get to have the most fun.  Today for instance I assigned a Myers-Briggs Personality Test.  The thing that was interesting was seeing the personality types in my classroom.  One of the major battles of personalities is Introvert or Extrovert.  I knew personality type would be more abundant in one than the other, E or I.  

Who will win…  

Considering what I teach, Computer Animation, where all my students always look at my like I am a ranting crazy lunatic when I talk out loud, yell across the room, and just make a complete spectacle just to prove a point.  They would rather poke around on a computer, than ever see the sun… I really wasn't too surprised when 19 of the 22 were Introverts.  Just need wait and see what the other categories are more dominant in the classroom.  I feel, haha, I am a thinker…  I think that many are more J's than P's, but I may be completely wrong.  Let's get onto me...

This is me… An ENTP

Which this I feel is pretty dead-on for who I am…  Reading the other attached images, uh…  somewhat.  I just have to keep in mind when things don't quite match up I have a few other tendencies. Like I am only 12% Feeling and 11% Perceiving.  

But the famous people that are ENTPs are ones that I like watching, i.e. Walt Disney. 

Thoughts on my personality.  I find that I am often quick witted on many subjects, quick to find a solution, and then move on to the next subject.  That is also my down fall, I drift in groups, I will come up with many ideas that I feel are pretty good at the beginning, and after I get my thoughts out there for the group to consider I will sit there and space off.  Missing most of the rest of the groups conversation and often have 20 other ideas from something that has no pertinence to what the group if talking about.  

Basically 6˚ of separation in Netterville's mind… 

When one says squirrel, I think that for about one second, move to trees, to flying squirrel, to "hahah, Big Buck Bunny," to Blender (animation program), to haha…  Oh crud, we are still meeting… are we on the same subject or have they moved one.  Ok good same subject… What's for lunch?, mmmmm, pie...

Now I have only told one person my thought process.  That is my wife… (love you, honey) I have told her a few times when I space off, what I think of, and the entire flow of thought.  It was one of those days she saw me spacing off, and she asked "what are you thinking about"…  so told her exactly what I was thinking. She was rather surprised how much ground I cover within a short period of time, but saw the connections between each thought.  

Let me get back, now working alone this is a great attribute, but in groups not so much.  From what I found out this normal for an ENTP, dabbling, rambling, ahhh, resourceful… The inventor…  But that is the conflict of an "ENTP" the "E" we love being social.