Thing 4 of the 23 Things course is all about communicating visually. The task is to download an app on your mobile, either PhotoFunia, Quik or Ripl, experiment with the various editing features and then share the resulting image or video on social media. As I’m a little behind with my blogging, MA work AND Things, I’m going to mash them all together in this post.
Since my phone is old and cracked and full of pictures of my cat hanging upside down from the furniture, I very rarely use apps. Fortunately, I found the PhotoFunia app to be extremely easy and fun to use. Although I was initially drawn to the naffer effects – such is my taste – plenty of the effects looked modern and professional, producing the kind of image that would be perfect on my library’s Facebook page, especially during the Friday afternoon anything-vaguely-bookish-goes slot. I’m now planning to incorporate the app into an upcoming teen book club meeting. While playing around with an app may seem like a minor thing, it is another little step beyond my comfort zone.
And now for the excuses…
It’s been over a month since I returned from the Study School for my distance learning MA. Back then, I thought I’d be preparing to write my first assignment by now. I’m not. In fact, I’ve barely finished the first unit. I have reasons though. Legit reasons. PhotoFunia knows the score. Let the power of PhotoFunia compel you!
1. I needed the *right* time to start
I got back on a Thursday night. I needed the weekend to decompress, to recharge my introvert battery under a duvet of cats and books. Monday was the day to start. Mondays are symbolic, after all. But Monday is a work day. And I’m always tired on a Monday. Maybe I should wait until October? October is very symbolic.
2. Work sucked
For various reasons, I had a pretty shitty month at work. I was, to paraphrase Sookie St. James, smad. Would a bad working environment spur me on to study? Would I rise above the library politics and Elle Woods the hell out of this law degree?! Well, no. I would put my module book on the table in front of me and watch as the cats took turns to sit on it.
3. I wanted to see my boyfriend
My boyfriend, who in this (labelled for reuse) image is played by Billy Boyd and the wing of a large bird, lives in Oxford. I live in Stoke. These two places are not close together, geographically or spiritually. Because he keeps me in Nerds and hair-related compliments, I tend to travel down to Oxford fairly regularly. This is lovely, obviously, and vastly increases my chances of bumping into Philip Pullman and weeping on his shoulder and/or shaking him down for Book of Dust spoilers. It is also time consuming and although I always think I’m going to study on the coach, I never actually do.
4. I got a UTI
OH, THE PAIN. PLEASE LET ME STAY HERE, THE LADIES TOILETS IN MARKS AND SPENCER, FOREVER. This was my first UTI. There was no celebration. There was, however, a solid 10 days of wooziness, back pain and drinking my own weight in water.
5. My cat broke the internet
My cat likes to chew through one wire or another roughly every four to six weeks. It’s her thing.
Okay. They’re not the best reasons. Or excuses. I don’t have a child or a third cat to look after. But I do have the internet now! And it’s October! And I have been studying. Sitting down, without distraction, and getting on with it, even if only for a few hours, has made me less afraid of the whole thing. Reading through the module has given me a better sense of where this course is going, the shape of things to come. Besides, my excuses – and I’m sure I’ll have many more in the future – largely fall in the Fear of Failure category. I don’t need a photo modified fortune cookie to tell me that.