*dies*

So I'm tired of blogging about identity. After this week is over, we'll see if I even have one left.

This week is insane. Just... insane.
Four papers due in one week: one four-page, one five-page, one eight-page, one eight-to-twelve-page (trust me, it'll be eight). And of course I've had barely any time to work on them yet because I've been busy just trying to keep up with normal homework and assignments.
So far I've got one paper done (the four-page), one book read, and three papers still to go. Are we sure college is really about learning and not just about testing the limits of the human brain's endurance? Because really. This is just not nice.

We'll see if I even want to be a writer anymore after this is over. You know, if I still have fingers and no carpal tunnel.

/rant

Still here

Bloggy blog blog... does this count as a post?

Kerri's brain exploded. Sorry.

So I’m looking for the Degree Requirements for the MFA Creative Writing graduate program at Mason. Let’s see how we do that. It’s pretty straightforward. One of the tabs on the header of the main pages says, “Graduate Programs”. Click. There’s a sidebar on the right of the Graduate Programs page that lists all of them, including the one I’m looking for: Creative Writing. Click. Sidebar to the left: Degree Requirements. Click. And done.

Getting back to the English department’s main page is a little tricky unless I use the magical “back” button. Otherwise my only link options that I can see are links to the Creative Writing program main page, and a link to the College of Humanities and Social Sciences page. Then again, hitting “back” a few times solves that problem pretty easily.

Redesign suggestions? A link would be nice.

I'm a little bad-moody today if you couldn't already tell.

I say, "Hmm..." to Amazon's Kindle

Perhaps it's just me, but Kindle 2 does not look nearly as comfortable to hold as Kindle 1. I have a Kindle 1, and personally, I like the thickness of it. The way it slants down on one side, it's very easy to hold in your hand. This new version of the Kindle is so flat, it looks like it would be much less comfortable to hold in one hand.

I mean, it's definitely that little bit more portable, and longer battery life, more storage, and more color levels are definitely a good thing, but as far as the actual physical design of the new Kindle, I'm not a big fan.

A Good Website is Hard to Find

A good website is hard to find... but I think I've found one!
I regularly read Susan Senator's blog. She's a mother of three boys -- one with autism -- and has written a book called Making Peace With Autism. Reading her book is how I ended up finding her blog, and now it's one of the ones I read every day.

Anyway, when thinking of design ideas for my website, hers is one of the ones I find myself thinking back to. It's got a nice layout, straightforward color scheme, and a good list of categories. As a writer and a blogger myself, her website is a good example of the kind of thing I'd like to do with my own website.

I like the fact that the header remains the same throughout the site, and that there's room on the sidebar on the left for different specific links (her blog has a chronological posting list, her articles section has tags on the themes of her articles). It's a very no-nonsense sort of website, not cluttered up with unnecessary information, and everything has its proper place. I like that sense of organization.

Another website I'm a big fan of is author Neil Gaiman's website. (Noticing the writer-blog theme?) Again, his website has a basic header-and-navigation-at-the-top layout, subtle colors, all the right information. His website has a little bit more of a design/color scheme, which I like but I'm not sure I'd be able to pull off at this point. Still, it's good to dream, I suppose.

Where Do We Go From Here?

I’m working on developing my website because right now it’s honestly quite boring. As of now, it’s just a space for me to post examples of my writing: papers and assignments I’ve done for classes, and one short story that I wrote last year. Really, there needs to be a lot more content on there. At the moment, my ideas for added content are lists of helpful links and communities, a page showing off some of my photography (just ‘cause it’s pretty), and – if I can format it properly – a blog embedded onto the homepage for updates and things. If I can manage it, I’d like to split the site off into two different sections: personal and professional. By personal, I mean more along the lines of my photography, a blog just about me (sort of like this blog), things like that. The professional side would be basically what my website now – an assortment of papers displaying my awesome writing ability. As a professional website, the only things I can put up there now are examples of my writing. If I do start getting published or something eventually, then I can add more content up there, but for right now, it’s just a record of some of the work that I’ve done.

My audience, or as far I as can guess, will be anyone who I give my business card to who has enough time to go take a look at my website. Other than that, I’m not sure anyone else knows it exists at the moment. I’m still in the process of figuring out who the readers of my website would be. I’m too used to blogging – thinking in terms of my website, which is much more static, is a difficult shift for me.

I want to make some changes to the design of my website. At the moment it’s pretty simple, but it’s boring-simple, not aesthetically-pleasing-simple. Things I need to work on? A good, subtle color scheme – pleasing to the eye but not completely boring. Better site navigation system with headers and sidebars. Adding all of the little technical details – copyrights, last update dates, my name.

One of the things I’d really like to add is a list of links that are helpful to me, and that would probably be helpful to other writers or people who share my other interests. Right now my site is pretty self-contained – I don’t think there are any links to the outside web anywhere, except for crediting sources on papers.

Actually making all of these changes will be the real challenge. I’m in the process of learning CSS, so that will help. I’d love to be able to use Dreamweaver, but I really can’t afford it right now, so hopefully CSS will do the trick until I have some actual money. I don’t really need anything fancy, just something that looks good and navigates smoothly. Good luck, me.

I need a Teach Yourself CSS CD

You know those Teach Yourself (insert language here) CDs that teach you how to say, "Which way is the train station?" and "How much is this newspaper?" and all that? I need one for CSS, plzkthx. I learned HTML a long time ago, and it's taken over the programming language portion of my brain. There is no room for CSS. My brain is getting old. *trudges off in search of CSS sites*