AT LEAST 100 words about putting on my boots

What Happens: I always have my boots lined up horizontally with the couch before I put them on, as this is the last task before leaving the house. I always sit on the same couch, in the same place to put them on.  I do one complete foot at a time, and always fold the back of my jeans so they will fit inside the boot. When I put the boot on my foot initially, I cross one leg over the other and place the boot on the end of my foot. My feet are then on tippy toes inside the shoe when it hits the floor, I fold the back of my jeans, and then hold them in place while slipping my foot completely into the shoe. Then I zip up the sides, and pull my laces tight. My laces then need to be un-tightened, which in turn makes me annoyed that I have already tightened them, nonetheless I do the same tightening every time I put my boots on! When the action is completed, I slam my foot down on the floor to signal to myself that one is down. When both are done, I slam them both down on the ground and stand up. I feel constrained when putting my boots on because I tend to have many layers on which makes bending more difficult.  I tend to let out a little puff of air when the task is complete as I feel I can breathe easier. 

Sounds: Surrounding noises I can hear are the clock ticking, the fridge door opening and closing, the front door opening, keys jingling, and more often than not, the cat meowing. The couch makes a sound when I sit down, and move my body around on it. The sound of my foot slipping into place is a very satisfying full sound. The fumbling of my jeans and the leather follows next, and then quickly followed by a quick zip.  Pulling my laces through the holes can also be heard, and my own whinging is often accompanying this task also. The puff of air I release when I am finished and the slamming of my feet on the vinyl are satisfying sounds of a job well done.

Smell:  Generally the only smell that is around is food. Burnt toast smell frequents my nostrils when I am putting my boots on, as often I am late and forget to focus on one task at a time, resulting in forgetting to pop my toast.

Taste: I can ALWAYS taste peanut butter and toothpaste because brushing my teeth is always a fast task in the morning, and never gets the peanut butter taste out of my mouth completely. 

Sight: Objects in my lounge surround me. My coffee table, remotes, books, kitchen, socks, and the fake wooden vinyl are all prominent in my vision. My brown leather boots, and brown laces have my focus, and I notice the tiny brown stiches that run all over the boots in particular places. When my fingers run over them, a pattern of texture is felt, which contrasts with the smooth leather. My socks and jeans also play a large part in my sight when putting my boots on. I also notice the clumps of cat fur, and bits on the floor, which reminds me I need to vacuum. 

Touch: I feel the ridges of the material on my couch; my feet are flat on the floor, knees at a ninety-degree angle. I always feel my hair before I begin, when I put it behind both my ears. I then bend at the waist, and pick up my left boot with my right hand, and touch the tongue of the boot with my fingers. The leather is soft and strong all at once. My weight shifts and I feel the inside of the boot with my left toes, then I feel the rough texture of my jeans, and the release of tension as my feet slip into place inside my boot. Then the hard strings of my laces are felt with my fingers, and tension released as I pull the laces through the holes. I slam my foot down on the ground when I have put my boot on. When I have completed the other foot in the same fashion as the first, I slam both feet down on the ground and feel the vibrations up my legs, which gets me up and moving. 

Emotion / Other: When I am putting my boots on, I am almost always late, and feeling anxious as I am making my partner wait.  I feel constrained, because I have lots of layers on, so when I am bending over, I am forcing all my clothes onto my tummy and feeling tense. My mind is thinking about the day, about where my keys might be, and is excited about getting to the city as that means coffee! 

Surprises:  I bang my feet down on the ground!

I’m always annoyed /late when I put my boots on

I pull my laces tight every time even when I know that I need to loosen them again to tighten from the bottom.

 The above shows my boots in details and where they sit waiting for me to put them on in the mornings. I wear them almost everyday and they are extremely familiar.

 This image portrays the constriction I feel when I put them on. I am very tense and putting a lot of pressure on my middle section which makes breathing harder than usual.

 This image shows part of the activity that has me feeling guilty for being late, and making Sam "late" for work, annoyed that he is making me feel guilty, and incredibly rushed. Trying to tie my laces in a big hurry, while feeling constricted, and annoyed! All of these elements come together when I am tying my laces. Again the overexposure is to put focus on how intense that part of the activity is.

 This image is showing the final part of my boot putting on activity which is the slamming of my feet on the floor when I have put my boots on. When I complete one foot, I slam it down. Then the next foot, and finally, both feet together. Also it means I get to stand up and I can breathe easier and am ready to leave.

AT LEAST 100 words about checking the mail

What Happens: I am always a little excited when preparing to check the mail, as there might be something fun in there addressed to me. I look initially at the gap between the lid and the bottom of the box, because if we have mail it usually pokes out this hole, but the majority of the time the gap is empty and I have to investigate further. The next step is to look in the slit, and if still inconclusive, then I have to check the mail by putting my hand into the box. When checking the box, I am a little too short to look directly into the gap, so I always put all my weight on my right leg and go up on my tippie-toes to look in through the gap. Then I use a little hole in the bottom of the box as an indication of whether we have mail or not. To see this properly I wink, by closing my left eye.  If there is no mail, no touch is required. 

Sounds: Sounds can be divided into related and unrelated to the mailbox checking. Unrelated noises I hear are birds chirping, car motors and the rubbing of rubber against the asphalt. Dogs barking, grass moving in the wind and a plane overhead. The sound of wind is also present, although temporary depending on the weather.  Describing the sound of wind is tough, but my interpretation would be a whooshing sound in your ears that blocks other sounds from being heard clearly. Noises associated with the mailbox are the metal grinding against metal when opening the box, and the newspaper ripping sound when I pull the mail out the front way through the slot.

Smells: I smell grass and dirt, and sometimes petrol from car exhausts. The inside of the mailbox has a dirty, musty smell, and the somewhat inky smell of the magazines that make up the majority of the mail. The inky smell reminds me of when I worked in a printing business and smelt a lot of ink.

Taste: Taste and smell are related, so the dominant taste would be an inky nostalgic taste. 

Sight: When looking at the letterbox I see the reflective shiny burgundy metal, and also the wood the mailbox stands on. Many flax bushes and trees surround the letterbox, and also a large rock on the ground in front of it. There is rust on much of the letterbox, and I notice the coating on the metal peeling off in some parts. Sight is the first sense I use to determine whether we have mail. I use sight for the initial check, when I see the shiny metal, and sometimes the newspaper or magazines poking out the tops.  When I am unsure if there is mail, I go on my right tippie-toes, and close my left eye to search the insides of the box with my vision. I use a little hole at the bottom of the letterbox to determine whether we have mail for sure. Less light is allowed into the box if we do not have mail which results in mild disappointment. 

Touch:  Touch is only used when I have checked using sight, and the mailbox inside is too dark. If dark, I know something is blocking the hole in the bottom and I need to clear the box.  I put my hand into the box and scrap along the bottom of the cold metal until I can grasp the papery contents.

Emotion / Other

Excitement accompanies all mail checks as I am hoping for a nice surprise, which will make me happy. Disappointment follows close behind when the mailbox is empty, particularly when I am expecting something.

Surprises:

I go up on tippie-toes to check the box.

I wink to see into the box.

I use the light coming through the bottom of the metal to judge whether I have received any mail.

 I think the checking the mail series of images is my favourite. This picture portrays what my mailbox looks like, and how run down it is. The white text is again emotion related, and the font was chosen to be similar to what would be on letters. Green was chosen as the dominant colour as there is so much outdoor greenery around when checking.

  I love this image. the circle - over saturated is representing the tension that goes on my tippie-toes when I check the mail.

 The hole in the bottom of my letterbox which I use to determine whether I have received any mail.

AT LEAST 100 Words about Selecting and Applying Lipstick

What happens: When selecting a lipstick, I stand on both feet with my weight on my left hip. My right hand moves through the lipsticks, which I have lined up on my table next to my makeup box. I select the lipstick by picking one up and tilting it horizontally, while removing the lid with my left hand. No matter what, I twist the lipstick at the base with my right hand, while my left holds the top of the stick until the colour is clearly visible. Generally at this point I realise the colour is not the one I want, and I click the lid back on vertically with my left hand, and drop the stick back in the pile. The process begins again. When the correct colour is selected I swipe the lipstick across only my bottom lip three times. Following this I rub my lips together five times, quickly pout, and then smack my lips. The lid is replaced, and the lipstick is dropped back into the pile. 

Sounds: Surrounding me is the whirring sound of my fan heater, birds chirping, and the iron hissing as my partner irons his shirt. My hand grasps the pile of lipsticks, and makes a fumble sound of plastic on plastic as they bang together. Next is the popping sound of the lid as I pull it off. Then the sound of plastic scraping metal, followed by a pop of the lid as it closes. The lipstick then cracks together with all the other lipsticks as I drop it into the pile. 

Smells: DKNY Pure is the most overwhelming smell, as I spray my neck with it before I start with my lipstick choice. The smell of my shampoo and conditioner and the dusty air of the fan heater also fill my nostrils. Further smells are the smell of my laundry powder, and my daily moisturiser. 

Taste: When I apply it, there is a definite taste, which I can only describe as thick and a little like plastic. Given my perfume is still filling my nostrils, it is a mixture of this and the plastic taste of the lipstick. Given that putting lipstick on is almost the last thing I do when I am getting ready, I also taste peanut butter and (when I’m good) toothpaste. 

Sight: Lipstick is generally put on in front of a mirror, and because of this, has many possibilities for objects I can see.  My own reflection is most obvious.  My untidy make-up table is next, the other side of the room through the mirror, and all surrounding objects in my vision field. The dust on my mirror is something that normally goes unnoticed, but the layer is extremely thick and makes me feel a range of emotions just realising it’s there. When I see the lipstick I can see the shiny smooth dark surface of the packaging, and the silver metal when opened. Red, pink, and variations of similar colours fill my vision when the lid of the lipstick is off. Following this I see my face in the mirror, watching my lips, and the change of colour as the lipstick is applied. The last thing I see before I leave the mirror is my smile. 

Touch: When I am struggling to grasp the lipsticks on my table I feel a lot of smooth plastic sticks between my fingers and the rough yet soft texture of a towel, which lies underneath. My finger goes to the base of the lipstick and twists, I notice the bottom of the lipstick has ridges which are normally unnoticed. The matt feel on the lipstick on my lips is next, followed by the grainy texture of the product. When replacing the lid, I feel tension between the lid and base of the lipstick for a split second until the lid clicks on and the base and lid become one object again. 

Emotion / Other: Wearing lipstick improves my self-confidence and self esteem. Different emotions are felt, depending on what colour is chosen. ‘Ruby Red’ gives me a sense of excitement, as I know a social gathering is coming up, but also a sense of insecurity as the lipstick is so obvious when applied, and portraying my makeup in an obvious way is not normally my style. The insecurity comes from thinking others might think I am vain, or look silly with such a bold colour on my lips. Pink makes me feel happy, fun, and again confident. The everyday lipstick “Faux” is my most preferred colour and produces a sense of normalcy and makes me feel like I’m ready for the day. 

Surprises:

Each colour gives me a different feeling.
I move my lips against each other five times, and then pout and pop my lips every time I put it on.
I don’t put lipstick on my top lip.
It is very rare that I choose the correct colour I am after first time. At least 2-3 lipstick pick-ups are normal.

I chose this bad-boy above because it really highlights where my lipsticks live. The choice of pink relates to the girlish act of putting on lipstick, and one of my lipstick is similar to this colour. The font is slightly hard to read, but chosen as it reflects the font of the MAC brand, and all but one of my current lipsticks are that brand.

 

 This image represents my weird habit of being silly when selecting my lipsticks. I NEVER look at the name before I pick up a lipstick, and tend to have at least 2 tries before I get the colour I intend to wear. The white text represents emotions I feel.

 This image reflects all the emotions I feel when I notice how covered in dust my mirror is. I separated the positive feelings from the negative ones. The negative ones are related to me wanting to get spray&wipe and clean the mirror immediately, wanting to take action, feeling naughty that I let it get that dirty and gross, and the positive ones are all related to that fact that it baffles me that I never notice it!

The above is showing the different emotions that I feel when I put different colours on. The splitting of the faces also is an interpretation of the reflection of the mirror.

At least

So In my auto-ethnography research I have found out many surprising insights to basic activities I do on a daily basis. The most interesting of these I find are in the emotions. Although I have described many details and an almost step-by-step process of what each of these tasks are like for me in particular, how I am feeling when doing each task is not an area normally explored. For this reason, I found the emotions associated with the tasks fascinating.

I have a lot of writing, and it is not particularly poetic, but I feel to truly gain an understanding of how the task is done specifically by me, a step-by-step kind of description is necessary.

Tuesday I got home with just enough light to take my pictures outside. I think the checking the mail element of my activites is my favourite one, as I realised so many surprising quirks I have when performing this task.

Below are options for final images for the presentation...

233

So after the lecture this morning I am going to re-do some research and some more explorations and see where they take me. I have been having trouble with career identity as a topic using the database. But I want to keep my options open. I am going to walk around and perhaps sit in a cafe where people do working meetings. Lets see what happens....

Focus

I have just realised that a lot of what my focus is on with my self-ethnography is how I am feeling when I do each activity. Perhaps I should use the emotions as an image for each, and another interesting body movement (e.g. the wink when I check the mail) as another...

206 Research - Vintage Inspired Webpages

I found this link today regarding vintage webpages and realised perhaps I don't like the traditional vintage design...The only one I like from that is this one...

I like the yellow stripes.

here are some examples of websites I like...

Love the scalloped circle title, and the bottom banner thing

Fancy - like the title, and the pastel colours

Although these have cute elements, the pages themselves are very clean and modern looking. I have also looked at all my blogs that I follow and most of them are very light background color -it anything. The focus is on the contents.

So polka dots, pastels, stripes are all things I like. I'm unsure whether this kind of thing should be a portfolio site - or just a website - as portfolio sites should I feel be kept quite basic and the focus on the work...hhmm

Still trying to decide on my brand. I really want to use "KarlytheRedhead" as I think its unique and fun, and if I was a fashion Designer for example it would be ideal - but others comments have me thinking it might be too unprofessional sounding. I just dont want to be like everyone else and have "Karly Designs" or something super generic....

Exploration #41

I have also been taking photos as part of exploration #41, which I love, and think this will be one I do on the go through the whole term. So far I have collected things these things that look like faces.

In the Wharewaka

This is my favourite - a thing next to the harbour for Im guessing ropes from boats...

Exploration #37

My last exploration this week was "Time Observation" - this required me to sit somewhere and come up with several ways of documenting the passing time.

I chose sitting by the checkouts in a supermarket, which was very interesting, and to be honest there was so many things to use as my own personal time passage clock. There is a lot of activity in a supermarket. I am hoping this will help me further later as this is also a place of work for many different cultures.

I enjoyed this emploration more than the last as it was not so repetitive.

Exploration #14

So over the weekend I did two of the explorations in the textbook and both were interesting.  The first one I did was #14 Make a sound map. I sat in a public place for an hour and documented sounds I heard, what time it was, and where the sounds came from in relations to where I was.

I found that a lot of the sounds were the same, and a few were constant (music coming from cafe behind me) I started at 4pm which was I think an interesting time, as it was a beautiful day, and it was quite busy. As the sun disappeared behind the buildings, people were less and less frequent.

Heres a few pics of what my scribbles look like! I realised quite quickly that it would have to be time, and then a list of all the things, and I could draw a map when no new sounds presented themselves. There was a lot of repeats, which I included each time, but it did make things exciting for me when I had a new sound!

100 words drafts....

So I started writing my words for my three self-ethnography activites. As always, I have far too much to say! Putting on Lipstick is 869 - and checking the mail is 693. I have yet to do putting on my boots, but I suspect a similar outcome! I will have to do some major editing before I can submit the real deal on here! ...I am procrastinating hoping I will have a wonderful idea of how to present my images for this project as right now I have ZERO ideas. I blame that all our examples were clips. Yeah, that makes me feel better ;) In any case, I can't believe that I am surprised by some of my daily tasks. I really thought that wasn't going to happen.

further auto-activites

HUH! Look how much stuff I got from doing each thing only twice! I want to leave the specific recording for now and wait until each situation happens for real in my routine over the next couple days and think about them in detail then, I have so much already that I'm sure as always I will be over the word count!

 

 So far, the best things I have found out which was surprising was that when I choose my lipstick, I almost always have to pick up and open at least 2 lipsticks to select the colour that I want. AND I rub my top and bottom lip together 5 times and then do a small pout and pop my mouth open when I'm done. Why 5 times I wonder - feels normal - but I bet it wont for most people.

 My weird thing about the mail so far is that I always go up on my right tippeetoes (how is that spelt I wonder) when I check as I'm a bit short to look directly in. AND I use the light in the letterbox to determine whether I should feel with my hand (again, too short) there is a little hole in the bottom of the letterbox which I wasnt really aware of, but I use the light coming through the bottom of that to determine whether there is any point in me putting my hand in. Most of the time I don't touch the letterbox when i'm checking it. Unless theres a magazine subscription waiting for me of course!

Putting on my boots is a strange one. It is the same everyday, and I do everything the same each time, but I never really thought about what that routine was. The thing I found strange is I always pull my laces tight after getting my foot in, even though I know I have to tighten them from the start, and will have to loosen the laces again to do this.  What a time suck!

My three activites

So I have started this project with my three activites (although everytime I do something else, like locking the door, or the dishes, or anything I think OH WHAT ABOUT THIS? but no! Keep on track Karly).

I thought I would take initial videos on my iphone to get a few details and as a way to get started.

SO the first activity I recorded the sounds of me selecting and putting on lipstick. The visuals of the lipstick is also in the iphone clip - but not my visuals. I realised there is MANY sounds that I hadnt really thought about. Apart from clicking the lids of the lipstick back on which I expected, there are many others I can hear.

The next video was not so successful as I thought I had put my iphone in a good place to see myself putting my boots on - but turns out it was slightly to the right and the video is just of my cat.

Already the process is interesting - although I am nervous about how to my my images look good!
1 step at a time....

Ethonography Culture Research

In begining the researching properly (until now I have been doing random searches when I get a spare moment, and glancing at the types of results are shown) there is a shortage of any results (using eHRAF) regarding "Career Identity" but "Working  Identity" is a different story, so that is interesting in itself.

There is a difference between working and career for a lot of cultures.

Onwards!

Confused

Even though there is no blogging element for this paper - I feel better blogging as it helps me feel on track!

Unfortunately that is something I really do not feel in regards to this project! I finally selected my specific idea around the "working" option of the words. Now tomorrow I need to research and finalise which observations I will do.

I still am I little puzzled as to how the explorations from our textbook can be related back to our cross-cultural investigated topics, and also, how we are supposed to observe the cross cultural research if we are not allowed to do our own culture? The only think I can think is perhaps a restaurant where we can see into the kitchen (wagamama comes to mind) but this has still be influenced by our culture, and may not link through to my research...

so the word of the day is a tad overwhelmed, and confused!

At least I got some other things finalised which have taken the pressure off a little so I can research properly during some of tomorrow and then hopefully get my observational research done over the weekend.

Blogging to keep my thoughts on track

I have thought about things I can do for my 3 auto-ethnography everyday tasks this evening and I think I have finalised them down to

Selecting and putting on Lipstick
Checking the Mailbox
and putting on my boots

now tomorrow I need to do some everyday tasks and then think of super amazingly creative ways to display these tasks in my presentation...hmmm

206 Proposal Project One

Final draft of the proposal document I will submit tomorrow - I heard back from Ian later this evening which was great and put a lot of my questions at ease so I am feeling better about the whole thing, and back to being excited as this is such an interesting paper.  I hope there isn't too many words - it looks deceiving in this interesting format, but it is around half a page in a portrait word doc :)

Draft Proposal Time

For the moment I am working on something like this... Given I am not entirely sure of what content to include..or how formal my writing needs to be I am going to tweak it depending on feedback...if possible... ;)

Even though it is double work and I am overwhelmed with tasks currently, I feel like also doing a proposal for my crazy idea, just to make sure I have the right thing in case I don't hear back. I guess this'll teach us to leave our classes early without getting started as we need to make sure we have all the information if there is only a day to do things and not enough time for coordinators to reply to questions. We'll see how I go with whether I do the other one as well. I really do want to create a website in this paper, but it may be that the realistic website creation can come later..confused.

Stuck

I am stuck with this. I need to hear back from someone about whether doing my own portfolio creation is a viable option for this...I also feel like there is about 101 things I am supposed to be doing for all my papers right now and this one being the most important as it is due tomorrow!

I want to start researching, but I don't want it all to be a waste because it might turn out that my grade would be rubbish if I choose something easy like creating a portfolio website for myself.

I do feel like there is a gap there. When I did my initial visual task, I noticed there was a LOT of Idol stuff, and not a lot about designing - that it obviously because I haven't set one up, but there is still a gap there which is not painting the complete picture of me as I want it to.

If who we are represented on the internet is supposed to be a correct representation of who we are in real life then I need to fill that gap with a website. Also I feel like its something that might be possible for me. I don't have any skill in this area and learning some basic code for a website, and going through the experience is going to be hugely beneficial for me.

In order to start I think I might have to propose a portfolio webpage for myself as this might be my only option to learn about it in a paper, and If I don't start this proposal now I'm going to go crazy with stress as leaving it to the last minute is definitely not my style! ;)

Experimental Design Ideas

After the lecture today I have been thinking about ideas I could use for my 3 everyday tasks. I want it to be something that has interesting familiarities, but still be common. I have one so far that I think will be a good one which is putting on lipstick. There is so many interesting ideas related to it, and sounds and smells and how it makes you feel, and the texture of some of the lipsticks are incredibly different as well so hhhmmmmm

Now I need two more...

Proposal

I am a little confused regarding the proposal that is due tomorrow. I'm not sure whether to choose something 'outrageous' like we discussed in class, or to choose something that will actually be helpful for me, like making a website for my portfolio.

I want to learn some useful stuff from this course and be able to apply it to real life, so I think I might be leaning towards the portfolio option - although I am unsure whether I am going to be able to pull something like this off as I want to stay away from coding!

I suspect that a proposal saying I want a portfolio website on hot glue won't go down very well....
and it was kind of sprung on us (apart from being in the course outline) there wasn't any reference to the project until yesterday in class so I only have today and tomorrow to finalise and research what I will do.  My time management has been completely turned upside down!;)

Design Ethnography

OK! So straight into project one, I feel like it makes me clearer if I blog about the steps we are required to do, so I know I'm on track.

Step One: My domain of everyday life is WORKING. I am specifically looking at career Identity and the interesting way people categorise humans based on their occupation, and how this can in turn effect who the person believes they can be.

I am nervous that having to choose cross-cultural examples might be a little challenging here, as I am really more interested in cross-occupational examples instead, but hopefully I can tie the two together.

Step Two:

Search the eHRAF Collection of Ethnography database (check website for link) for two cross-cultural accounts of this domain of everyday life.
Your examples can be related to any people, places, activities, objects and/or values, but they must come from cultures other than your own and they must be related to how words are used in that context. 

This is where I'm at now, I need to research and find some information...

In terms of choosing two experiments from the textbook, I have chosen Exploration 14# as one I'd like to do, and I am still looking for another one to link back.

So I need to get my A into G!
 

Task Two

As a follow on from watching the Live in Public movie I couldn't help but think that the comment WWIII - War with machines is absolutely inevitable. My idea for something for the future, taking into account all of the current technology, would be almost a complete flip, and to start preparing people for living their life's without technology. It could go right back to the beginning, like growing your own vege's for if we lost power and all things like that we might have to revert back to surviving with minimal resources. 

Other than that I am finding thinking of something technology wise that would sound outrageous these days...

Back to school

I have almost had all of my first classes and everything is very interesting and I am only slightly intimidated or nervous about what is expected!;)

As a random task for Identity and the Internet paper we were asked to make a visual of our current Identity on the Internet. I chose to use the particular attributes of online presence, and usage. So below is what I have created. The size of the circles is how prominent the site/s are on the internet, and the colour relates to my usage.

It was extremely interesting to research myself as I found A LOT of things I didn't think would be there (including one site that had my details free to the world, which I promptly deleted!). I realise I might need to change some text as the light green and white aren't working so well, but I love this palette. OOH and I also used the gradient tool to make the bar along the edge which I haven't done before - which may be obvious! ;)

Sam's 30th Invitation Ideas

Sam is turning 30 this year, and I am working on a few ideas...

This is my favourite so far - just looks the most professional...

A completely different direction...

These last two aren't great, just quick plays...

Hmmm

I've been thinking of switching my blog around. I am unsure of whether my papers will need tabs next semester, but for now I'll be design, and school work seperated...