Category: How to

Do-It-Yourself Fail

November 26th, 2011 · · How to, National Blog Posting Month '11 10 comments - Tags:

Martha Stewart had this fun and easy looking craft on her site. You basically just adhere lace to tiles and then spray paint. I had visions of making these beautiful coasters for a few people on my Christmas list.


I need a new vision. It was super tricky! If you wait too long for the paint to dry, you end up pulling off the paint when you remove the lace. Too soon and it’s blotchy!

Brandi used die cut stencils and they worked out a lot better.


Question: What is your favorite handmade gift to make?

How to Make a Satin Bow [video]

November 12th, 2011 · · How to, National Blog Posting Month '11, videos 10 comments - Tags: , ,

One of my first paying jobs in high school was gift wrapping at a china and silverware store. It was there that I learned how to make pretty and professional looking satin bows to top off presents. It takes less than 5 minutes and looks impressive! I made you a video demonstrating how.


Youtube


Question: Have you started on your Christmas shopping yet?

How I Censor Myself Online

July 19th, 2011 · · Big Brothers & Big Sisters of America, How to, pursuit of happiness 38 comments - Tags:

We have a natural right to make use of our pens
as of our tongue, at our peril, risk and hazard.
 
- Voltaire

It took me some learning from college days, to really consider who might come across what I publish by way of Facebook, Twitter, or any other online public forum. I’m still learning. For instance, something I didn’t consider til a year or so ago, is that comments you leave on blogs are searchable. I now have a mental checklist of questions I go through before I publish, comment, upload, tweet, or record.

  1. How would I feel if my little from Big Brothers & Big Sisters found this? Am I setting a good example? How’s my language? And I’m not just talking about swearing, am I demeaning myself or anyone? Am I contradicting anything I’ve tried to teach her?

  2. Sometimes I’m most inspired when I’m angry at someone. How would I feel if the person who inspired a post were to read the post? Is it something I’ve discussed with them in person? Is the focus on my journey or am I merely airing dirty laundry? Are they identifiable? How would they feel if they read it?

  3. Am I violating anyone’s privacy? I’m a pretty candid person, but many of the people in my life are more private. Am I disclosing anything about them that they would not like to be disclosed? If I’m confused or if it’s not clear, I ask them simply, “May I post this [photo/post/conversation]?”

  4. How would I feel if an employer or coworker found the posting? This is the obvious one that still gets people in trouble. Am I divulging confidential information? Am I complaining about a coworker? Am I airing grievances online instead of speaking to those directly involved?


    5. Questions: How do you censor yourself? What would you add to this checklist?

How Not to be an Asshole on Facebook

February 21st, 2011 · · How to, lists 20 comments - Tags:

I absolutely love Facebook. Facebook has made it easier for me to keep in contact with my friends who are no longer living in the same city as me. Facebook has led to a reunion of sorts between me and my long lost sister of 16 years. Facebook helps me remember birthdays! Facebook is a wonderful tool and I will never be one of those silly people who goes on full Facebook hiatuses. That all said, I do try to abide by code of ethics when using Facebook. Let me share with you my personal code of Facebook ethics.


How Not to be an Asshole on Facebook


photo credit

  1. Don’t air dirty laundry. I’ve seen both guys and gals outing their current partners as lying cheats. I’ve seen feuding friends publicize their brawls on newsfeeds. Most of these feuds end up being resolved offline, and later I’ve found embarrassed participants remove evidence of drama. The thing is, it’s already a bit late. Airing out drama online will sear impressions of both you and the people you’ve outed to your audience and the impressions will not be good. I find it good practice not to be logged into Facebook when you’re blindingly angry.
  2. Respect people’s requests for photo removals. Listen, unless you’ve taken flawless photos every time and have the thickest skin, you know what it’s like to have an unflattering photo of you on the internet that you did not upload. Have empathy. If someone is insecure about a photo of him or her that you’ve uploaded, respect his or her wishes and remove the photo. Don’t just untag it.
  3. If you know a photo of a friend is a bad photo, don’t bother uploading it. Jumping off the previous rule, if you already know that the photo of your friend, Sensitive Susan drooling in her sleep on the road trip to Padre is a bad photo, don’t upload it! If you happen to be sitting next to her sporting the best hair day ever, don’t be a tool, use the crop tool.
  4. Don’t be that person who brings everyone down with incessant depressing “woe is me” statuses. Do you know the 5 to 1 rule (PDF file of academic research article)? The 5 to 1 rule is a popular rule in pop psychology right now, asserting that negative interactions have a bigger impact on us psychologically compared to good interactions. Studies show that 5 good interactions is psychologically equivalent to 1 bad interaction. Use this rule when publishing Facebook statuses. Your Facebook audience is not your group therapy session.
  5. Don’t upload photos with illegal happenings in your foreground or background. Here’s looking at you, recreational drug users.
  6. Unless you’re in the business, don’t upload photos of yourself in your underwear.
  7. Don’t forget that people can see your Facebook life. If I were to summarize all these rules into one neat and tidy Golden Rule, it is this: People can see you.


Question: What can you add to this list?

10 Ways I Cultivated a Sense of Wonder this Year

December 4th, 2010 · · How to, pursuit of happiness, Reverb10 11 comments - Tags: ,

I’ve signed up for #Reverb10, a project where bloggers are sent a daily prompt in December aimed towards nurturing a reflection of 2010 and positive manifestations for 2011. Curious and want to join? Click on the badge below.

December 4: Wonder

How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year


10 Ways I Cultivated a Sense of Wonder this Year

  1. Since June 2005, I’ve consciously done something new once a week.
  2. I maintain lasting friendships with children.
  3. I maintain lasting friendships with people at least a generation older than me.
  4. I read up on new subjects. I read my first marketing books this year. Fascinating!
  5. I share jokes.
  6. I tried new recipes with ingredients I’ve never cooked with before.
  7. I carry a camera and notebook around. Ready to capture thoughts and possible blog fodder.
  8. I keep a blog.
  9. Signed up for Sketchbook Project 2011, despite having no drawing talent.

    10. 10. I remember that time is limited.

How Not to Hit On Asian Women

October 12th, 2010 · · How to, Monday Writing Prompt, the single life 32 comments - Tags: , ,

This week’s writing prompt is social etiquette. There is one social gaffe that is, sadly, near and dear to my heart: approaching Asian women in the bar scene. The Asian fetish nursed by men for decades now in the US has led to some disastrous come ons. The fetish doesn’t bother me. Everyone has a type. I will say though, that you and I will have a less miserable night if you don’t make it obvious you have a broad attraction to a minority demographic. In that interest, let me share a few tips on how not to approach Asian women without appearing ignorant and being offensive.


How Not to Hit on Asian Women


photo credit

  1. Do not greet us in a random Asian language. Most times you’ll pick the wrong language and even if you get it right, it’s a turn off how presumptuous you are. If you would like to show us your Asian vocabulary, how about smoothly asking us what our ethnicity is first?

  2. Does “Ching Chong Chang” even mean anything in any language? Don’t do that. Don’t make fun of us. I don’t care what Mr. E, the Pickup Artist says.

  3. Do not mention everyone in your life who is Asian. We do not care if your brother’s girlfriend is Chinese or Korean. We do not care if you know someone from Bangkok. There are no brownie points for knowing one of our “kind.”

  4. Do not call us Lisa Ling or Lucy Liu or Miss [insert Asian last name here].

  5. If you ask for our name and we give it to you, do not act surprised and ask us what our “real” name is. (Yes, Jerkface, my name IS Linda. Sorry to not fulfill your stereotypical expectations.)

  6. Do not assume we’re not from here. Some of us were born here, you know? Asking us when we came over to the States is NOT a good opening line.


Question: What is the funniest pick up line you’ve heard?

VEDA – August 28, 2010: How to Never Miss a High Five

August 29th, 2010 · · How to, VEDA, videos 5 comments - Tags: , , ,

The title pretty much says it all. Today’s VEDA vlog is a how to video. How to Never Miss a High Five


Youtube Link


Question: Any tips in life you would like to share?

VEDA – August 15, 2010: How to Treat Hangovers

August 15th, 2010 · · How to, VEDA, videos 8 comments - Tags: , ,

Hello, friends. Today’s VEDA topic is hangovers. Because I’m tired of watching myself and in case you are too, I had 4 other faces help me out. Brittany, Deesh, and Bing let me tape them in their home last night. And Neville from Nevblog.com (Great blog! Email me for my favorite blog posts, projects, and stories from him. I have a whole slew of them.) contributed a clip.


Youtube Link


Question: How do you treat hangovers?

VEDA – August 11, 2010: How to Make a Pop Up Greeting Card

August 11th, 2010 · · How to, VEDA, videos 5 comments - Tags: , , ,

How’s this for a random skill: how to make pop up cards! I know how to make 3 different kinds (cake, heart, frog). I show you how to make the frog in today’s VEDA vlog. Enjoy and we’re almost half way done with the week! 3 cheers!



Youtube link


Question: Do you ever make your own greeting cards?

Three Questions to Ask Yourself before Asking for a Favor

January 25th, 2010 · · How to 10 comments - Tags:

I saw this tweet from Ryan today and it reminded me of an interaction I had with someone in my life this weekend. This prompted me to share my list of three questions to ask yourself before you ask someone a favor.

How close are you to your friend?

I use the term friend to mean whomever you are asking a favor of. Hopefully you should know better than to rely on an enemy.

If I’m asking a favor of Mary Ellen or another super close friend, I wouldn’t feel out of line if I just jumped right into it and asked for the favor. We are close enough to stay in communication routinely so I hope that she understands that her friendship is valuable to me and I do not see her as just an end to my means. If you’re not close to this friend and haven’t talked to them in a while, please approach with more care and tact. Realize that you’ve neglected this relationship for whatever reason and to not at the very least inquire about his or her life is off putting.

Did you ask for a favor the last time you talked to your friend?

There is someone in my life right now who texted me this weekend. Before even reading her text I knew she needed something and groaned. I think I even put off opening her text message. I came to this accurate prediction because she has developed a consistent pattern of only speaking to me when she needed something. I cannot remember the last time we hung out and caught up on each other’s lives that was not initiated by me. I ended up texting back an avoidance of her favor. It worked out that I was honestly busy and am working both my jobs this week. However, I doubt I’d honor her favor even if I did have the time.

There’s an analogy in Stephen R. Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People that I think is pertinent. View your relationships with people as individual bank accounts. Have you made deposits in the relationships? Cashing in a favor is withdrawing from your bank account. Doing a favor or being a friend is equivalent to depositing. Is your relationship account balanced? Are you overdrawn? Ask yourself this before making your request.

Are you abreast more or less with your friend’s life?

Do you know what’s going on with your friend’s life? Do you know how his work/personal/extracurricular life is going? What did he do over the weekend? If you haven’t the slightest clue what he’s up to in the last 6 months, you probably have no business trying to cash in a favor. Again, if this person has no idea what’s going on with you and the first thing you do is ask if he or she can fix your router or debug your website’s php code, more than likely, you’re watering some of his resentment.


Question: How do you handle feeling used?