imagine a different world of grilled cheese.

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People my age are spoiled. We have information at our fingertips and have grown up without knowing anything different. Who was the main actor who played in the movie The Wizard? IMDB.com has it in a second. Who was the 23rd president? Wikipedia has that answer. We don’t need a library, we can travel to our nearest computer and obtain the answer to any question in just a matter of moments.

Not only are people spoiled because of the Internet but also because of photography. If you didn’t know, cameras weren’t always digital, people did use film at one point. My mom still continues to use it to this day. And they also had darkrooms as well where each person had to process the film. Not one-hour pharmacies that can do it for you. And well, color wasn’t always there either. Read the rest of this entry »

I know, I know, the video is no longer available, but not much I can do now! Please though, keep reading…
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Each weekday I drive 60 miles to and from work. I am doing my part to speed up global warming! However, that isn’t the point. The point is, I am quickly racking up the miles on my leased Nissan Altima. Who knows how many miles I am allotted a month or even a year?! I don’t. I just know that right at this moment I have 17,177 miles. I have put 17,177 miles on my car since mid-May, 2007.

Every 3,000 miles you are supposed to get an oil change and although I may not follow that rule all the time, I know it. A little less often you should have your car inspected. Nissan is very good with reminding me when I need maintenance by sending me notices that seem to arrive every week. Sometimes I wonder how they keep track! Read the rest of this entry »

I love this blog.

Well, that isn’t a problem, is it? I don’t think so.

My true/real problem is that only a handful of people read this blog on a regular basis. Most only read when I tell them to, or if they read something about it in my AIM away message, or so I believe. (No offense to anyone, I don’t expect you to be reading this 24/7, you have to have a life even if I don’t!) I am in a predicament, how do I get my name out there? How do I make this place more than just another boring blog on the web? I am not talking about my voice, I have already covered that multiple times. I am simply talking about exposure.

My dad has asked me on multiple occasions how do you find blogs? Can you simply type in blogs and find them that way? My answer to him: they are just out there, all over the place. You just find them. Great answer, I know. However, in this case, while I try and find other blogs to read and market imagine a different world to the masses, that answer won’t work. SEO and Google all count how many inward links you have and right now, I am not looking too good. If the number isn’t 0, it is darn close. No one, outside my group of friends, even knows this place exist. The big picture doesn’t even have a mark for me or this blog.

Back to my father for a moment. He is a member of COSE and many Chamber of Commerce. He goes to events and talks to other people. He exchanges business cards. He makes contacts. He networks.

When I go to such events, most of the time with my father, I keep to myself. I may ask my dad a question here or there but that is it. I am shy, always have been, especially around people I do not know. I do not exchange business cards, nor do I make any contacts. I do not network.

I need to change that. Now.

The Internet is not much different than the outside world. You make contacts in the real world. Same online. You network outside. Same with the inside. The Internet and the outside world, well, they are basically one in the same.

I need to network. Online.

I need to find other blogs, other blogs that I find interesting. I need to start reading these blogs on a regular basis and then, eventually, comment on the stories that I have read. I cannot be shy nor can I be hesitant. This is the Internet, what is there to be shy about? The Internet is a shy person’s fantasy. No face to face interaction, or voices…just text on a computer screen.

If I want this blog to grow and “take off,” I need to dive in, head first. When you comment on other people’s blogs, they are more apt to read and comment on yours. I need to pop out of my bubble expand my universe. I need to get out and I am not talking about my house.

Will you follow me as I embark out into the real world of bloggin’? Will help me make something of this place?

Let’s go.

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The first step most everyone takes after college is to look for a job, some, maybe most, start even before graduation day. Students try to understand where and what their future is. They try and take all of their college years, all of that learning and growing and figure out where it will lead them. What type of job will I have? Will I even find a job? So many questions, so much pressure, so little time.

I experienced all this almost two years ago. The search, the interviews, everything. I even took on a “fun” job until I found a “big-boy” job. In December, 2007, I found that job. I finally had my first “real” job that actually dealt with my major, Digital Design. I had a future planned out, or so I thought.

My “fun” job was [and still is] cashier at the Nordstrom Cafe, a job I first had way back before I even left for college. At that point, it was a summer job, then an an interim job, and now, well now I don’t know what it is now.

My future at my current employer is unknown. Is the writing on the wall or is it just the economy? The Cleveland office has only gotten smaller as I have been there. It isn’t growing, it is shrinking. Even in other offices, people are being laid off or just leaving on their own. I am the Webmaster. I am the e-Media department. I am the IT department. At first, I found that cool because I realized I could surf the web without anyone finding out, like had happened at a previous co-op job. Then I realized I am already as high as I can be, no advancement, no nothing, just random raises…er, I mean, raise. I really do not hope to one day own the business, I know nothing about publishing and it only slightly interests me. Plus my daily siestas in the afternoon are not really company endorsed and only occur out of boredom.

This brings me back to that fun job, the non-big-boy one. The one I returned to only so I could make money as I found that real job I was supposed to be searching for. I enjoy cooking and have been in the food business on multiple occasions. (Malley’s anyone?) And oh yeah, did I ever mention that I want to open up my own restaurant?

I love everything about Nordstrom and have never had a problem in all the years that I have been. The people are great and the company is top notch. Learning from the best, which I consider Nordstrom, is never a bad idea. They focus on the customer and the employee, as I hope to do one day in the future when I own my own business/restaurant. Sure, I didn’t go to business, or culinary school but how many people actually user their degrees? There is just one more question I have, ”Can I make a living out of it?” That is something that can be figured out with a talk and time, or so I hope. This one-time summer job now may turn into a career changer.

It is hard to leave your first true, real job. It is hard to even think about leaving. After a year plus you begin to make friendships and relationships with the people around you. You get to know people and enjoy spending time with them, even if they are 20 years older than you and consider you part of the texting while driving generation. I didn’t think that I would be leaving my first job after just a year plus, but I also didn’t think I would be there forever. It is like your first relationship, you hope that is the one but deep down you know it really can’t and won’t be.

I feel as though as I have rewound time and have just graduated college. Once again I am trying to figure out my life and my future. What do I want? What don’t I want? Do I want to use my degree and stay in the design field or do I want to follow a dream that may or may not pan out? These are very similar questions I once asked myself only two years ago. Questions that I believed I answered. Now, I know you don’t have the answers because even I don’t. They are just questions I will need to ponder as my days go on.

There is just one big positive that needs pointing out. I am in a better place than I was after college. Instead of hunting down one job in a sea of unknown and rejection, I now have two jobs that I can’t choose between. I would say I am in a better position than 99% of America, especially with the state of today’s economy.

If you have visited within the past couple days, you have probably noticed the brand spanking new design. Sure I recently changed it, but in my opinion, it was too blah, too boring. It did not have enough of me. I simply took an already created design and went with it, never adding any of my own little touches. However, with this design, although I started with an out of the box solution, I have been tweaking it to make it better, to make it mine.

The footer says “personalized by Sanford Kearns” not only because I will be adding my own flavor with words, but also with design. One new touch I am excited about is the FlickrRSS located at the top of the page, underneath the title. These images are the 9 most recent photos from my A Photo A Day project, which is now officially over a year old. I will be uploading new photos very soon, making sure that those 9 images change much more often.

Other design changes will be coming soon, as I continue to make this design match the words it showcases. I still need to find my voice, but I believe I will always be searching for that, as I grow up and mature. I have been wondering what to focus on when I write, but maybe I can take everyone on a journey of life, through my eyes. You see what I see. You experience what I experience. Sounds like a plan…but who knows?! Maybe I will just change the focus of this blog to France!

Not really, but hopefully you understand. This blog has always been a smorgasbord of ideas and it will continue to be that. I just hope that in the process, you keep reading and enjoying. And don’t forget, feel free to leave your two cents below, in the comments section. I would love to hear what you have to say.