This is perhaps the toughest assignment for me — I hate talking about myself. Here is my visual:
Most of my visuals seem to always include a dog by my side. This is a rare one that does not. Although I have not been an animal lover while growing up, I now cannot imagine my life without a furry one. Here is a link to where you can find more of my visuals, including ones with the furry friends: https://www.instagram.com/tapiatanova/ which brings us to the current affairs of life digital.
The nature of my profession demands a hefty presence in the digital realm. Here is my lazy way of accounting for most of it: http://bit.ly/1X3utw7. I try to do upkeep as best as I can. IFTTT has been indispensable in that respect. Even with that, I always feel I am way behind and I am always self-conscious that I am not generous enough in sharing. Outside of work, I divide my digital time mostly between Feedly, Instagram, and Etsy where I attempt to run an art shop. I am also greatly addicted to YouTube channel for “The Voice” — the guilty pleasure I don’t admit to readily so don’t tell anyone.
I am Russian but also American (well, Alaskan, although now living in Oregon with a crazy amount of other Alaska exports) — the in-betweener on all accounts. I did professional sports, I studied English, I waited tables, I was a wilderness guide, I DJed, I did art, I was a nanny, I did design (graphic and the web), I taught, I sold jewelry, I raised a dog from scratch, I worked a dream job for a non-profit, and built porches somewhere there, I started and quit many things — again, the in-betweener.
However, that in-betweenness opened up a door into my current profession — Instructional Designer. And the more I think of Instructional Design the more I am sure that this is one of the few professions that thrive on in-betweenness. You have to be a little bit between everything: teacher, student, geek, designer, coder, life coach, cheerleader, writer, optimist (especially!), a pessimist (for troubleshooting), dreamer (for the possibilities), resilient (as in Bulldog– don’t let go of that rope called Discussion Forum), artist (as in creative thinking), Ninja (as hidden in the background), Bela Karolyi (you can do it!), but most importantly — curious (as in “what if” that drives progress). Passionate? I realize this is somewhat idealistic view. Truthfully, more often than anything you have to be just a salesman/woman — get that buy-in. (This is supposed to be a ramble, right?) And if I were to ramble along, I would say flexible and be prepared to change your mind on an hourly basis.
I love the profession I am in because of the in-betweenness. I love the fact that so far I was able to use all of my life experiences to do my job. It is not a profession for anyone who wants to go deep into just one thing (not meant to discourage anyone). You have to be a generalist.
Right. Passion for the profession — check. Onward to the protests! Animal cruelty. The beasties cannot organize or speak for themselves. Humans can. I am going to put a period there.
Sorry, this is turning out to be a rather linear progression, but such is life. The lists? What makes the life going. “To do” lists is my thing. This is what my every night looks like–making a list for the morning…
- Make coffee
- Walk the dog
- Check the email
- Drive to work (there should be a separate post about that experience. BTW, I hate people who do not use turn signals or go 10 miles under speed limit)
- Update WordPress
- Troubleshoot troubleshoot troubleshoot
- Learn
- Teach
- Design ( 7 to 9 could be in different order)
- Check Google and Adobe Connect feeds
- Drive back home (experience road rage)
- Run with the dog
- Eat
- Read/Netflix
- Walk the dog again
- Sleep
And this is what weekend list looks like:
- Sleep till you cannot sleep anymore
- Eat
- Put the laundry in
- Grab your dog and drive for a day hike
- Do not think about work
- Read/Draw
- Eat
- Walk the dog again
- Sleep
This is me and my life at the moment in a nutshell. Signing off. The punctuation used was according to Russian rules of grammar. Do not hate me for this.
I expected a great yawp from you and I wasn’t disappointed!
I’m intrigued by the notion of in-betweenness. It seems to fit right in (so to speak) with both the idea of technology providing new means for interconnectedness/cultural multiplicity and questions of technological determinism…not to mention the implicit notions of the value (or not) of being a generalist that Heidi alluded to in her Yawp. I wonder if the intensity of the feeling of in-betweenness isn’t a function of intelligence? And where does technology fit as both a lever for opening up the gaps/spaces of our in-betweenness and as a salve for healing the cracks of the same?
Very nice description of our profession of which I completely agree. I think it is because of the variety of skills you need/use, behavior of instructors/students you work with, and instructors from various disciplines, education background and technology skill that it something that I look forward to. And of course, working with others who are way more talented and smart then me!
Wonderful to meet you! I love your description of what it means to be an instructional designer. I am an instructional design librarian (just as it sounds, it is part instructional designer and part librarian) so I completely related to this. (Being an academic librarian, at least as it is at UAA, requires one to be a generalist, an in-betweener, in much the same way as being an instructional designer does.)
What compelled you to move to Oregon? Do you consider it a permanent move?
Hi D’Arcy (great name btw!),
I have lived in Alaska for a very long time (like over 20 years) before deciding to try and live somewhere else. It was a very simple reason — to experience living in a different environment before it is too late, meaning you are too old and complacent 🙂 Oregon appealed because I can see Alaska from here 🙂 and I am positive I will be back in the future. AK is my home.