MouthyGirl.com

Writers, Designers, Artists and other Creative Minds, Help

I’ve always considered myself creative, heh. I’m starting to realize my creativity beyond words is pretty slim. Sad for me but I’m hoping to learn it. As a result of the desire but sheer lack of ability, I’ve gotten my hands on the Creative Suite from Adobe and I’ve been playing in Photoshop in weeks past because I already had that program. I’m very excited about the tools I have laid out before me.

Shiny and new, fresh from the box these programs are beckoning for my mouse to click and brush, and play inside them. But…I have a lot of hesitation in this. You see, I have respect for the arts, which is giving me this whole feeling of intimidation. Ha, that’s funny – me intimidated. LMAO. Oh but, I am. Big bad scary design software. BOO!

When the lauded programs finished installing my eyes went as big as saucers as the inside me (you know that “Fun” that Dave & Buster’s talks about? it’s real) screamed, “Open it lady! Let’s PLAAAAAAY!” I am chicken though, not sure of what to do first. I like to jump in feet first in most cases and in most programs I have a little bit of knowledge, a touch at least. For these, I have none.

If you were mentioned in the title of this post, I need your help. I really like to learn from those who do, and would love it if you could share a tip or two, three or even a bunch. I’m a newbie begging for education and you’re the one with all the know how and tricks and all that cool shit I see on these here interwebs.

You know who you are. I will praise you, link to you, anything you want me to do, if you will share a jewel, just lay it on me. One good turn deserves another, I’m a firm believer in that. So, if you’re feeling generous or know of some great tutorials you can link me to, I’m all ears.

For the writers, I welcome anything you’d like to share, this site is open to guest bloggers at any time, want to expose your work to a new audience? MouthyGirl readers love flavor. Would you like to sound off about something you don’t think your readers will respond to on your blog? MouthyGirl.com could be the place that your new voice finds it’s clarity. All I ask is that you don’t censor yourself. We’re all grown ups here.

Did you know you’re awesome?

Tags: Adobe Creative, artist, artists, blogger, cook, creative minds, design tips, designer, developer, education, sharing, tips, tutorials, writer

In Dire Need of Good News

I am a news junkie, but I must say I have to search and search for some happy headlines. They are few and far between. While some say there are glimmers of hope, I am seeing more and more despair. I’m having a hard time finding that silver lining, and the pit I feel in my stomach is getting bigger.

For example, in California the state is facing a huge budget deficit after voters rejected $6 billion in funding measures (i.e. tax increases). Arnold is making the “tough decisions” on what to cut, and the cuts are affecting primarily the poor. He is planning to eliminate the CalWorks and Healthy Families programs, which provide cash aid, employment services and health services to the state’s poor. Overnight, California would go from one of the most generous states to one of least generous in aiding the poor. Sure, it would save the state about billion dollars this year, but the result would be hundred of thousands of poor people left out on their ass with nowhere to turn. That is just plain cold and callous to me.

It isn’t like the poor in California have much opportunity, either. In some counties, unemployment is around 25%. It is in the double digits in just about every other county. It’s not like the poor are going to be able to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and make a go of it.

It isn’t just California, though. Currently, 47 states face budget shortfalls. Most of them are making cuts to health care and education to fill the gaps. This means, though, that there are more job losses, which is turning the recession into a bigger one. The really sad thing is, the more job losses there are, the more demand there is for social services like public healthcare. Unfortunately, many desperate people will be turned away the one and only time in their lives they need help the most.

I’m starting to understand what the Great Depression felt like, and why they called it that. It wasn’t just about the economy. It was the feeling, too. That feeling is here today. For those of us out of work, the prospect of finding another job is slim. Once the unemployment runs out, there is nowhere to turn except to the charity of neighbors and friends. Those of us who manage to keep our jobs, are living in fear of losing them with the understanding there might not be another to replace it. We put up with more from our employers and work harder for less money.

It’s starting to feel bleak. We all need a little good news. We need a silver lining.

Tags: budget shortage, CalWorks, economy, education, friend, friends, Great Depression, Healthy Families, job, money, news, recession, silver lining, socialism

Going to College During a Recession

With the economy in bad shape and people out of work there are more and more people turning to the internet to find something to do there to make a living. For some, this is a successful endeavor with minimal overhead. For others this just isn’t going to work. Let’s face it, we’re not all cut out to do marketing, blogging, or make videos, some of us are best at the jobs available and needed in the real world.

For those of us that do well in a real world setting, being unemployed during a recession can be devastating or it can be an opportunity. What better time to earn a degree than now? If you do a little research you’ll see what kind of jobs will be around in the future, at least as long as your career might last, and obtain a degree in something enduring while the economy picks itself back up and begins to function normally again.

You can obtain a college education and devote time and energy to learning a new, enduring career field instead of sitting at home collecting unemployment scanning the job listings for what you used to do. This is the perfect time to discover the careers that will be around for the next 100 years and keep from trying to find a job that may not have as many slots to fill because of new technology and the evolution of how the world does business.

If you’re unemployed, or even if you’re not and you think you want a career change, the first thing you should do is fill out and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Then you should start researching schools in your area and degree programs to find out which school will have the program of study that you will want to follow. Once you’ve picked a few schools that you’re seriously considering attending, log back into your Financial Aid application and ad those schools to where you want your financial aid information sent.

The next step is to apply for admission to the colleges you are considering. You can typically call the school admissions office and get information, sometimes you can get onto the school’s website and have them send you an information packet that gives you more information about their school and typically includes a catalog of classes and degree plans.

Until recently I’ve thought for a long time that web design is what I wanted to do with my time and energy, and a degree, now I’m not so sure. I find I’m a bit more interested in the creative side of things, the writing that you see and not so much the back end creation of a website. I’ve set MouthyGirl up and been running it problem free long enough that I think this is the extent of web construction knowledge I’ll need, at least for the time being.

I’m 30 now and realizing my time is short on this earth, I want to do something fulfilling. I’ve more research to do, but so do you if you want to go back to school.

So what do you think, is this a good time to go back to school? Are you interested in gonig back to school? What would you major in if given the opportunity?

Tags: attendance, blog, blogs, college during recession, economy, education, energy, followers, going to school during recession, job, news, recession, technology, unemployed, want