Happily Ever Afterworld

In the article, "Microserfs" we witnessed Dan trying to pain a picture of an afterworld. In hopes of finding what others think he asks ten colleagues but not one can offer up their own image. This quest led me to think of ideas of an afterworld myself.

I like to think of life after death as a good thing but, who wouldn't? If each and everyone of us thought that what happened after you passed was going to be horrible we would waste our lives away trying to stay alive. Our lives would become a never ending search for the fountain of youth. I find it natural to assume an afterlife will be nice. Most humans find comfort in thinking that "This Life on Earth" is one book in a series and the second, entilted "Afterlife," is better. Besides preparing ourselves for the inevitable, the idea of an afterlife helps us get through the death of a loved one. No one wants to believe that grandma Anne or uncle Jack is going to burn in the pits of Hell.

So we lead ourselves to believe in a world outside ours. What is difficult is painting a picture of this afterworld. For the sake of me not knowing what it is really like to live after dying I will only offer my suggestions as to what I would like to experience. As far as weather on planet Afterearth, sunshine and blue skies. There is something about the sun that makes us all warm inside and smiley outside. Personally, I just love to feel the sun's rays on my skin. The terrain will be very untouched, without the infrastructure and industrialization. All that jazz the environmentalists rant on about that is ruining our planet should not do damage to the afterworld. The inhabitants? Dead but still very much alive, kind people who have found themselves without air in their lungs and blood flowing through their veins. A bit of a Pleasantville for those who have taken destiny up on its date offer.

I put a bit of a grim spin on my description of the people but what is important to neither Dan's search nor my picture is not who will be in the afterworld but rather what I imagine it to be. Everyone can paint their own image but no one will get their Kodak moment until they close the book that is "Life as We Know It."

Interview with an Entreprenuer

It was the beginning to a very cold spring break when I wen to visit my aunt Diane who owns and operates her own hair salon. I pulled up to her tiny building and was greeted by an oversized cutout of a large, green cactus. Their small window in front had been filled with shamrocks and green lights for the upcoming St. Patrick's Day. Fighting the chilly March wind, I made my way through the door to hear my aunt's voice coming from the sinks a few feet away. She has never been the quiet type and has that gossipy, girl-talk mentality that I am sure she contributes to being in a salon for days of end so, to hear her shouting that she would be right there was nothing out of the ordinary.

My aunt, Diana Pelissier, is the sole-proprietor of her salon known as the Hair Saloon which is located on Fort Street in Lincoln Park, Michigan. Business seems well now but I wanted to know how it all got started. For starters, I wondered where she had attended school. It turns out that in 1980 there was a beauty school known as Virginia Farrell in Lincoln Park and that is where she perfected her tricks of the trade. Fresh out of beauty school, the young beautician found work in what she jokingly called "fast-food" salons like BoRics and Fantastic Sams. She admitted that it was working in these fast paced, hectic environments that made her want to open her own place. Diane simply sighed and said, "I knew that I could do it better." Her mission to prove she could do just that had only begun.

After some time looking she ran across a local dentist office that had been abandoned for years and decided that it would soon be her salon. They removed the boards from the windows and doors merely scratching the of what needed to be done. I had to know how long it took them to to a rundown building into a place people would even consider to be a beauty shop and she shook her head, "Oh, about six months but it felt so much longer." The renovations took the some time but, they finally opened their doors to the public in Semptember of 1994.

Before we got much further I had always wondered how she got the name of her salon. When I ask, the only woman sitting in the shop's waiting area said she had been wondering the same thing for year. With an audience now, she laughed and said that it was originally going to be the Chop Shop. She was going to have hot rods and fifties decor but, it did not seem as inviting to women so she had to do somet more thinking. Then her mom had mentioned how cute it would be to call it the Hair Saloon and it would solve the dilemma of being more for men or women. The name is also the reason behind that oversized cactus cutout in front. The name gave the place a Southwestern feel and so the seemingly out-of-place plant began to fit right in. One negative of the name is that recently men have begun to wander off the streets in hopes of a drink after a long day's work. She chuckles, "I may have gone into the wrong business."

Now that she has been up and running for sixteen years she had a lot to say when I asked her about costs. She began ranting about the prices of products, "I used to be able to buy a hair coloring for $2.50 but in the last four years that price has doubled. It doesn't seem like much to buy coloring for $5 but purchase 15 at a time and the story gets nasty." Not only are there products but bills to pay. Diane has a higher electic bill than she does gas and she blames it on "all those curlers, straighteners, dryers, and employees that can't umplug something when they are done using it." There is also a cost to stay up to date.

Hair is a trend and it changes so I wondered how she kept up with the ever changing world of hair. She said that she would love to take another class but they're too expensive so she has been studying up on magazines. My aunt enjoys going to hair shows but she cannot get over how ridiculous some of the styles are, "The styles they have are not practical. I don't know a single person who wants their hair straight up on top of their head. I am better off learning something for everyone, not showy models."

Finally I wanted to know how difficult it was to become a boss. She looked around and said, "The biggest challenge for anyone running a business is keeping everyone happy, if your workers aren't happy they will quit, if your customers aren't happy they don't come back, and if you aren't happy you might as well not come into work." I started to realize that she treated her business like a family and her advice furter painted that picture for me. Her daughters both work for her and, every employee she has is much like a friend but she admit that it only makes things tougher. A beauty shop is a place that can be very tight-knit and so her advice was, "Learn to say no. If you want to be a boss you need to act like one and keeping your respect is important so if you can learn one word as an entrepreneur let it be no."

I left the salon that day with a bit more insight into the hair business. From starting a business to sustaining it there is a journey for any entrepreneur. My aunt's story is one that is not quite ready for the press as she expects to remain in business for some time but it offers a tiny picture of success.

Profiling My Facebook Friends

ISMs PowerPoint

Google Makes Waves

So I was recently exposed to a prototype from Google known as Google Wave. My composition teacher had us use it as a means of communicating, almost like a conference. It was something similar to chatting but yet still very inventive.

Some of the advantages to using Google Wave were the live action feature, the ability to edit, and the number of participants. The live action aspect allowed you to watch what each person was typing as they typed it, the waves are in real-time. The ability to edit was something really new. If someone in any part of the wave misspelled something or needed some assistance in filling in the blanks Google Wave let you do just that. You were able to make changes to any message that someone had sent. Finally, although it isn't the coolest thing ever, you could invite a lot of people to your wave. This seems ideal for anyone looking for large amounts of feedback. For being a beta version the program seemed very well put together and has some real potential.

As for the assignment at hand, times got a little tough. The wave seemed simple enough but getting everyone involved was another story. Also you weren't notified if you had wave messages awaiting you and that meant the possibility of waiting days for a reply. All in all, when we were in class and had access to computers to log on at the same time it got interesting. Watching everyone's responses pop up was fun and what was more fun was watching how often we deleted what we wrote to write something completely different. It was pretty fun when the whole group got involved.

Doublespeak: Handicapping Our Language

So often we find ourselves using words that are overly complicated but it is all in hopes of being "politically correct." There are so many words out there that mean the same thing but one is offensive while the other means and says the same thing in a kinder way...

One example is tree hugger being a derogatory term for an environmentalist. Both of these describe people who care a great deal about our habitat but one is deemed offensive. Tree hugger is insensitive to the people who want nothing more than to protect their home. The image of a human being showing undying affection for plants and tiny animals can be outrageous in the sense that these are not a bunch of crazed folks but rather kind, caring nature die hards. They have respect for their planet and we show respect by calling them by the appropriate name, environmentalists.

Another, far more touchy subject is the word retard. Most of us have been known to call our buddies out on making "stupid" mistakes and poked fun at them-name calling is a natural tendency. For some reason though we have learned when it is okay to say certain things. Any person with morals would not walk up to someone who was retarded and call them a retard! In fact, most people would not even speak of them as being retarded and instead we say they are mentally challenged or even handicapped. These imply similar things, the person is unable to grasp certain concepts or perform all tasks because they have below average mental capacities but it is really just a matter of keeping everyone happy.

While we are on the subject of human handicaps let's not forget about restrictions on height. We hear it a lot more recently, midget is the incorrect term for someone who is below average in height (vertically impaired) and that they prefer to be called little people. Again, this is about keeping others happy. In hopes of not offending someone who may be a little person, we don't dare to call them a midget.

People generally say exactly what they want to say, they just find words that sound much nicer to do so.

Homework: Harmful or Helpful?

So I am a college student, to say the least, I have a ton of homework each and every night. I carry around pounds of books, notebooks, pens, and pencils in attempt to get all of it done! When teachers assign homework they typically spout the same lines, that it is for 'our benefit' but how do they determine what will be beneficial for us?



I'm am not a teacher and so I don't have that answer but I can imagine trying to come up with that "magic amount." Of course they want you to read what is required for the next class session and yeah, there are some questions you should be able to answer but what about those teachers with time tables? We will see that we should spend two-three hours for each hour of class time studying... What?


Ignorance is bliss? Not when it comes time to study for a class! I am sitting in my room staring at page after page just looking for the meaningful material. Someone might ask, "what are you studying?" If your answer is "just two-three hours worth of material." then you are not having much luck. Do not fret though, I am there! College has this sort of mysterious-side. Am I supposed to know something that I don't? Eek!



Nothing is worse than when your homework is to study! There are not set guidelines for cramming knowledge into your head but remember, you should never be hurt by homework. If your vision is blurring from the subscript-sized text you're supposed to be reviewing or your hand feels like it could break off at any moment from note taking, it may be time to stop! Homework is never supposed to cause you any harm but it often can, be it emotional stress or the physical explosion of your head! If ever homework becomes harmful, help yourself to a break. Coming back to an open book can often times be refreshing for your mind- Don't burn yourself!




NOTE: WHEN YOU TAKE A BREAK BE SURE TO COME BACK! I UNDERSTAND THAT A BREAK SOMETIMES TAKES LONGER THAN EXPECTED BUT BE SURE TO ALWAYS FINISH YOUR HOMEWORK.