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“I moved here from Albania when I was 7. It was hard moving here because you had to learn the language - and when you don’t dress or look the part - well, kids were mean. My mom would always dress me in yellow shoes and skirts and put my hair up into a ponytail - and kids didn’t dress like that for school here.”
My IA Story:
I was studying Marketing at University of Alberta when I decided to go on a limb and take a coop posting as a Web Publisher in the neighbouring province of Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan, being the heart of the great white north, offered the prospect of adventure... and besides, it was only 4 months, right?
At the time I had a fascination with media, which was why I was taking marketing, and I thought this job would be a good chance to learn more about the internet. One of the questions in my job interview was "what search engine would you use to research something on the internet?" I scored big points with my answer of "Google" - back then google was still a bit of an insiders secret.
Time went on & I began to enjoy my stay in Saskatchewan. The lack of spectacle (in the Guy Debord sense) meant that people found ways to make their own fun. My 4 month work term eventually became 12 months. I took delight in riding polar bears to and from work every day... that's how we do things up here in Canada when our cars don't start.
Not that the job was that great really. There were two things in particular that characterized the work for me... First, it took forever to upload a simple text page to the public server, leaving me with frequent periods of 5 minutes at a time staring at a blank screen. Second, our job was simply to get the content up there, nevermind presenting it in a way that it could be understood. Neither of these were particularly great for my sanity - both of them frustrated me beyond dimension. I started scribbling little notes by my desk with things like "computers do not understand facial expressions."
One day I walked into my boss' office to find a sleek looking book on her desk. "Oh, what's this?" I asked. It was a paperback, a mostly black cover with red and white text. The synopsis of the book started on the front, and dropped off unexpectedly, continuing on the back. At once I had a feeling about this book - you might even call it love at first sight. The boss hadn't read it yet, (and I don't really think she intended to) so she lent it to me. This was Richard Saul Wurman's 'Information Anxiety 2.'
I took the book home to my basement suite and devoured it. Suddenly, all of my problems and frustrations had been articulated. They had words. I was not alone. I remember going for a walk afterwards, and feeling that the whole world had changed around me. I now knew what I needed to do for a living.
Time went on, and I learned more about information architecture and experience design through my netscape browser in my little basement suite in the north. I soaked up everything I could about the discipline then, which wasn't much really.
Eventually I returned to the University of Alberta, and changed my degree to Management Information Systems - the closest thing I could find that matched my understanding of what Information Architecture was at that point.
At school I rubbed shoulders with Comp Sci students who were fascinated with logical structures of programming, but had no interest whatsoever in this pesky thing called a "user." I attended classes with business students, who were really more interested in their own career ladders than in making things better for anyone.
I quietly finished my degree, still believing I was the only person in the country that had a vague understanding of what Information Architecture was, and why it mattered. The time came to look for a "real" job... and I lost it.
I had been going to all the different IT meetups and dinners, doing all the networking you are supposed to do, but still: "Information Architecture?"
"Oh yeah, we have a very advanced server / client architecture set up for our clients. Very effecient, enables server-sides scripting..."
Like I said, one day I lost it. I got so mad that there was such a large Information Technology community in the city, yet no one seemed to have any idea that people would eventally use the products they were developing, or cared to think about how to make things best for them. Like any upright citizen in a democratized country, I decided to hold the powers that be accountable.
I went downtown and walked into the office of every IT consulting company I knew of. The receptionists could cleary sense my repressed, yet polite rage when I came in.
"Hi. My name is Adam. I'm doing some ah.... Career Research. Can I talk to your Information Architect?" I asked with tight lips and a fixed stare.
"Oh, you mean our Technical Architect? Sure, I'll just see if he's available..."
And so on. I don't have to tell you how the rest of this day went. I spent the whole day talking to people who had no idea what I was talking about. Information Architects were apparently as elusive as the Canadian Sasquatch.
Finally at the end of it all, someone at one of the consulting agencies knew someone who knew someone. His contact had just started a small startup in town, and he could put me in touch. At long last I would be able to meet a real, live Information Architect instead of just reading about them. They did exist, and there was one in my city. Walking the same streets I did.
We sat down, and immediately it was clear that I had a bit of a ways to go before actually getting into the field. Yet he offered a small freelance contract to me: a content inventory. Needless to say I spent days on it, doing the best I could. And I did a pretty good job with it. Still, his company was a brand new startup, and it was pretty critical for them to have staff that could hit the ground running at that point.
Back to the cold, hard streets for me, but at least now there was hope: Information Architecture was real. Information Architects were out there.
Fast forward 10 years or so, and today I am working as a Senior Information Architect with the Office of the Chief Information Officer in the Province of British Columbia. Like most Information Architects, the path to get here was definitely not a straight one. If anything I had to do a lot of bush-whacking actually. But I love what I do.
I've done time working in Database Development, Project Management, Business Analysis, User Experience Design, and am now learning about Enterprise Information Architecture, working towards establishing a cross government metadata registry or ontology. I'll also be speaking at the Information Architecture Summit in New Orleans this year, spreading the gospel of metadata.
And while I refer to the Polar Bear book (and its children) more often than 'Information Anxiety 2' these days, I'm still designing for the common goal: a digital world that we can understand, navigate, and use.
Thanks for reading my IA Story folks, keep up the good fight!
@AdamUngstad
@instagram_JKT48 : [STORY] From jkt48achan: t.co/NYXOBbrnyy (via Twitter twitter.com/instagram_JKT48/status/1063507647834415105)
Our Story:
I met Michael 6 years ago at a party which I made myself comfortable by sitting next to him when it was GRUB time. We didn't xchange numbers until maybe almost 2 months later when he showed up at my hall, then we went to eat at iHOP with some friends.
He was dating someone & I was too. We soon became quick friends when we realized we liked the same music and liked doing alot of the same things. Him & his guys would come to my apartment to get away from everyday life and lay down some rhymes.
After about a year of me asking him to go with me like 3 times (yes me) and he denied I gave up and wanted to move on. Even though I had the deepest crush for my current New Best friend.
Well, one day to my surprised he had addressed me saying that one day he was going to marry me. I said "don't play with my emotions" ( oh by now we had both been out of our relationship for like 7 months and have been single). Anyways, he had been telling all his friends that he decided to marry me.
So to my surprise we made it official to start dating on Sept. 30, 2005 and were married on March 12, 2006.
We are BESTEST BESTEST FRIENDS, and are happy we both were before we decided on marriage because it's so important to have that.
THE START.. to our lives.
Blog story here: neonfog.blogspot.com/2009/12/mixed-media-monday-bedtime-s...
Submission to Mixed Media Monday, altered to look more nighttime and creepy.
As the eternal saying goes, “it was a match made in heaven.” The union of Stephen and Jenn Redmond at the opulent Wedgewood Wedding & Banquet Center on the property of the San Ramon Golf Club in San Ramon, California was a most glorious and transformative day for mates and family of the exultant couple.
We got to the site right at the end of Good Light. By the time the tent was up & the site was organized, it was gone. The only light left for Picture Summer was the one created for ghost stories. As you can tell, they weren't loved by the entire family.
16:31 Picture Summer
Brief History of the Apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe
The well authenticated story of the five apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary is briefly related here:
1st Apparition: At dawn on December 9, 1531, Juan Diego, an Indian convert, was going to Tlatelolco to attend catechism class and hear the Mass. As he was passing Tepeyac Hill, he saw a brilliant light on the summit and heard the strains of celestial music. Filled with wonder, he stopped. Then he heard a feminine voice asking him to ascend. When he reached the top he saw the Blessed Virgin Mary standing in the midst of a glorious light, in heavenly splendor. The beauty of her youthful countenance and her look of loving kindness filled Juan Diego with unspeakable happiness as he listened to the words which she spoke to him in his native language. She told him she was the perfect and eternal Virgin Mary, Mother of the true God, and made known to him her desire that a shrine be built there where she could demonstrate her love, her compassion and her protection. "For I am your merciful Mother", she said, "to you and to all mankind who love me and trust in me and invoke my help. Therefore, go to the dwelling of the Bishop in Mexico City and say that the Virgin Mary sent you to make known to him her great desire."
2nd Apparition: The Bishop was reluctant to believe Juan Diego's story. Juan returned to Tepeyac Hill where he found the Blessed Virgin waiting for him, and told her of his failure. She bade him return to the Bishop the next day and repeat her wishes.
3rd Apparition: The Bishop then requested that the Lady give him a sign. Juan reported that evening and she promised to grant his petition on the following morning. But Juan was prevented from coming because of a sudden and severe illness of his uncle, Juan Bernardino.
4th Apparition: Two days later, on December 12, as he was going to the Church at Tlatelolco in order to bring a priest to his dying uncle, Juan Diego was stopped by the Lady, who had come down from Tepeyac Hill to meet him in the road. She listened quietly to Juan's excuse for not having kept his appointment with her the day before. When he had finished speaking she said, "It is well, littlest and dearest of my sons, but now listen to me. Do not let anything afflict you and be not afraid of illness or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Are you not in the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else you need? Do not fear for your uncle for he is not going to die. Be assured... he is already well."
Having heard these words, Juan Diego rejoiced and asked for the sign he was to take to the Bishop. He was told to climb to the top of the hill where she had spoken to him on three previous occasions. She said he would find many flowers blooming there which he was to cut and bring to her. Juan Diego did as he was told though he knew no flowers had ever bloomed before on the stony summit. He discovered a marvelous garden of dew-fresh blossoms which he cut as she had asked. Placing them in his rough cloak, or tilma, he brought the flowers to the Lady who rearranged them and told him to take them to the Bishop; that this was the sign to persuade him to carry out her wishes.
Cuando vi la escena me recordó una de mis pelis favoritas.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3khTntOxX-k
My Blog: blog
Brownsville Cemetery, Vermont.
Rhoda Pilsbury Story was the wife of Solomon Wait Perkins - who was a son of Josiah Perkins and Alice Burke (my 3rd great grandparents). He was brother to Edward Homer Perkins, my 2nd great grandfather.
Rhoda Pilsbury was born in 1818 in Windsor, Vermont and died in 1883. Her father was Asa Story and her mother was Rhoda Pilsbury (or Pillsbury).
Solomon and Rhoda Perkins had three children - Anna (b. about 1850), Estella Emugene (b. about 1845) and Willie Story Perkins (b. about 1854). I know nothing about the children.
Every Thursday a church in Portland has free noon-time concerts featuring pianists, guitarists, etc. that my family sometimes ventures to for an afternoon out. This past Thursday, the violin players echoed the halls and this woman walked in, set her bag down, and continued to watch the performance. This hit me strangely, because when I first saw this woman I flashed back to a photograph I took on March 26th, 2009.
This was the same woman, on the same street, at the same church watching the show, before she would ride her blue bicycle away that I had previously photographed her next to. This is the same person, who two years ago, I connected to for the moments I pointed my camera at her from a distance, now going about her ways, spending her day the way that I had previously seen.
I never really understood (understanding being that It never hit me in this sense before) how much photography is a journey. Who you photograph, will live their live, day by day, getting by like the rest of the human beings in this world, fighting daily struggles and smiling daily smiles, growing so slowly but so fast and two years later, here she was.
The book I'm currently reading is World War Z, it's about zombies so maybe not the best bedtime story!
L-R: Ed Pinker (Talfryn), Lewis Goody (Gus)
Photography credit: Copyright: Foteini Christofilopoulou
Read Across America is not just a celebration for schools, it's a nationwide celebration that touches every community. From daycare centers to libraries and recreation centers, everyone is joining in on the fun!
At one daycare, our littlest learners are spent the day exploring the pages of their favorite books and discovering new stories to share with their friends.
Meanwhile, at a local library, families gathered to participate in a special story time, reading challenges, and games. Libraries have been decorated with colorful banners and posters, inviting readers of all ages to come in and explore the endless possibilities of reading.
And over at the recreation center, kids are taking a break from sports and games to join in on the fun. The center has set up reading corners, book swaps, and encouraging kids to explore new stories and have fun while doing it.
No matter where you go in our community today, the joy of reading is in the air. As we celebrate Read Across America, we're reminded of the power of books to inspire, educate, and connect us all. So let's pick up a book, share a story, and celebrate the magic of reading together!
Photography Craig McClure
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