What’s that you say? This can’t be true? Well, just step up and tell me: what language is burning a hole in your mind?

English

If you’re learning English, this means one of two things: 1. You want to be just like everybody else, or 2. you want to be an individual. However, for the price you have paid me, I can’t quite get a strong enough sense for either.

French

Ah, the language of love. If you’re learning French, it tells me you have a strong desire to get closer to a certain somebody you’ve got a class with.

Chinese

Chinese? Well, this tells me you very enthusiastically want to go into the business world and that you enjoy a good challenge. May you have great luck in all your travels.

Japanese

You enjoy watching cartoons and listening to pop music from other countries. Additionally, you have few friends and read back to front.

German

You either really, really love Rammstein or you live in Europe.

Czech

You’re me.

Spanish

If you are learning Spanish, you probably live in the (increasingly less) southern United States and can’t seem to find a job anywhere that doesn’t require one to be bilingual.

Italian

You have a thing for some hot, gay fashion designer from Europe and really want to speak with him, or you have a crush on some hot, (likely) gay therapist from Santa Fe who goes to the Buddhist center with you on occasion (Catherine).

Finnish

It tells me you want to learn Finnish (Why? I don’t know).

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1. Learn a Language: Rosetta Stone and Berlitz Reviewed For those unfamiliar with the requirements of learning a second...

I judged these two systems on five qualities: ease of use, presentation, usefulness, feedback, and price. Who will win? Hit the jump to find out.

First up was Rosetta Stone, as I got it for Christmas a couple years back (Spanish version) and never bothered to even open it, as I would much prefer to learn Czech. It was pretty enough. Overall, I give the outside appearance about a 3/5. Once I got into the program, though, I changed my mind: 2/5. This software is not exactly beautiful. Next came usability. The interface was easy enough to get the hang of, and after getting over the kind-of obnoxious and pervasive narration, I really got into the learning bit of it.

Throughout the program, I found myself getting very positive feedback from the program. I felt really encouraged to keep going with all the right choices and half-decent pronunciation, if I do say so myself.

Overall, the program is pretty good. I ended up learning quite a bit more Spanish than I intended and spent a lot more time than intended as well. It was highly positive throughout the entire program, and though I still didn’t do much (only spent about a half-hour before I called it a day) I would probably give it another try.

Next, I decided to try Berlitz. I ordered the German version a few weeks ago to try out since it was only about 40 dollars – a lot cheaper than Rosetta Stone.

Anyways, opening up the package, it contained two programs: Previously blogged Before You Know It flash cards (a favorite of mine) and their own language learning software. I tried out their software.

The appearance of this software? Well, it looks old, outdated. I thought Rosetta Stone was tacky, but my goodness. 1980 called. It was also confusing. I wasn’t sure where I was in the program, or where I was supposed to be.

Once I figured it out, the learning began. Berlitz is considerably faster-paced than Rosetta Stone. I felt like my mind was really, really working. Some of the positive feedback was missing, but I still felt that I learned a lot.

Between Berlitz and Rosetta Stone, I pick the latter, personally. Although it’s considerably more expensive, it was also more effective. However, I’ll probably hold off on buying anymore language learning software until one of them does Czech, as I have little desire to continue with either Spanish or German.

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1. What Your Language Says About You Hello, stranger. Welcome to Monsieur Hoppal’s telling tent, where I...

1. What do you regret?

I have only one regret of 2008: leaving my boyfriend for that tumultuous, violent week in September. I wish I had convinced him in another way to get better and recover than to leave him.

I try not to carry regrets with me, as they are a heavier burden to bare than lead or iron. Also, there is no point to regretting that which is out of your control, such as the past. All I can influence is the future and the present, and therefore, I must not focus on the past longer than is necessary to learn from my mistakes.

My god. What an awesome, deep insight, eh?

2. Knowing what you know, what will you do differently?

In addition to finding other ways to resolve conflicts through talking and effective communication, I will probably start attending classes after that hell month of November/December. Also, I’ll try to do my part more effectively, leaving little to stress out the people in my life, as I realize when they’re stressed, so am I. Also, I’ll pay my credit card off in full every month, as interest really is nasty when it kicks in.

I also learned that medication is pretty necessary to living a productive and healthy life as a bipolar individual. After flipping out more than a few times, I’m now learning what I have to do to keep myself level headed. Among those things is exercise, which, though it pains me to say it, is pretty rewarding when you do it regularly. It’s just actually getting to that point that sucks.

3. What did you achieve?

I graduated from high school and enrolled in college. I got my first loan and credit card (yikes). I made it a year with my boyfriend, and now almost a year and a half. I achieved two B grades my first semester of college. Regardless of how well I should have done, raising a grade by 72 points in two weeks is mighty amazing (9 to an 81). Also, I found an excellent place to live on my own. I started two blogs and kept them running (kind of), so that’s been a new experience as well.

I moved out of my parents’ house about a year ago (a few days over a year, actually). As such, I’ve learned a lot, especially about how to share an environment with people who don’t have to love you. It’s been incredibly stressful and frustrating at times, but it’s highly rewarding to know that I am capable of being a civil, mature, and reasonable human being.

4. What do you plan to do over the next year?

To learn Czech and French, achieve 36 credit hours (all As of course), possibly move to Dallas, Houston, or Denver, drink more water and eat healthier, as well as getting into shape, to quit smoking, and to start a business/start freelancing.

I plan to take more steps to improve my quality of life. I don’t plan to spend forever as a victim of circumstance. I want to build up good, productive surroundings with friendly companions who are watching for my best interests. So far, I think I’ve done pretty well to start doing this when I moved in with our current roommates.

Also, I plan to spend more time doing things I want to do like writing. I plan to stay in college, but I would also like to build my career options to a higher level than that at which they reside now.

5. How is your outlook for 2009?

I have a very positive outlook for 2009. 2008 seemed to be an everything-getting-gradually-worse year, so I believe things will get better now, as everybody’s trying to change the way their lives work. Also, I have very positive expectations for Barack Obama.

I’d like if everybody else who reads this would answer these questions, as well.

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1. 7 Best Blogging Tools of 2008 Blogging is a difficult job only mastered by some of...

A friend of mine introduced a new idea into my head: maybe the cork that’s stopping the flow is actually something within my life. Maybe some external locus is damming the river, and it needs to be realized or removed before the creativity will work again.

This idea seemed wild to me. I have a wonderful boyfriend, wonderful animals and roommates (yes, I did group them together for a reason)… A generally wonderful life. So I sat down to brainstorm what could possibly be wrong with my brain. Within minutes, I had a list of over 100 things I wasn’t enjoying, but was rather tolerating.

Most of the items for easy to fix, like the dirtiness of the bathroom and the fact that nobody but myself and Pete does dishes around here. Easily fixed – call a house meeting. But some of the things I came up with were harder to solve, like my sleeping hours. I’m suffering sleeping on a regular schedule because it’s normal and “right,” but my mind and body really seem to want to be insomniacs right now. Additionally, I don’t wish to be on medication to treat my bipolar disorder, but I keep taking it, because that’s what you’re supposed to do. Really, I don’t want to be in college at all either.

Amazingly, when I realized all these problems, I felt a surge of energy, as if the log in the river had finally turned and everything was free to flow again. I felt productive. I realized that things in my life need to change and that I need to get counseling for it, and soon, for I may be missing out on enjoying my life.

If you’re suffering a mental block, I recommend making a list of things you don’t enjoy in your life – that you’re tolerating. In fact, I challenge you: take fifteen minutes to write down everything in your life that does not bring you joy. So how about you, readers? What are you tolerating?

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7. Tumblr

Not necessarily a tool, Tumblr is a webapp which allows quick posting of media in many forms, with little writing required. A big bonus that helped me was the fact that it seems a lot less daunting at first glance than, say, the text areas on a WordPress blog. Tumblr is free and worth a quick look if you need to try something new to help free you from your rut.

6. Second|Brain

Readers of Senua’s past may remember my post about Second|Brain. For those of you who don’t remember, Secondbrain is a free webapp which appeared on the scene in mid-2008. It hosts all sorts of online content from delicious bookmarks to diggs. It’s a great way to get your thoughts organized all in one place.

5. Jott

Jott is a service which allows you to blog directly from your phone through an e-mail middle-man. Additionally, it’s a great way to keep track of post ideas and things which pop into one’s head in the middle of the day with no WiFi or notebooks available.

4. Google Trends

For anybody looking to boost their blog’s traffic numbers, viral posts can be a great way to accomplish exactly that. Unfortunately, finding the right keywords is a challenge, which is where Trends comes in handy. Providing a summary of the most popular keywords of any specific day, Google Trends is an excellent tool for sparking topics which can be used to compete for search engine traffic.

3. EverNote

Free desktop application and browser extension EverNote is a free, cross-platform answer to Microsoft Office’s OneNote. Allowing both online and offline access, EverNote just barely beat Google Notebook for this position. A handy place to capture your ideas, EverNote can help you organize your thoughts and create article pools through its web clipper browser extension.

2. Google Alerts

Google app Alerts sends email updates about popular topics in whichever fields you select. An excellent way to monitor news in your niche, Alerts will let you know what’s happening in the world without having to travel around every blog you read, making the process even faster than skimming RSS feeds.

1. Windows Live Writer

Free, Windows-only application Windows Live Writer is a blogging tool which allows offline posting and editing of articles on a blog from a number of platforms, including WordPress, Blogger, and MovableType. Additionally, it provides advanced features such as a search through local and online drafts, making searching for and closing unfinished post ideas a breeze. Windows Live Writer is the best tool I’ve found so far for blogging and is also the best WYSIWYG blog editor I know of. It truly deserves its place as number one on the countdown.

Whether you incorporate one or all of these tools into your blogging process, I guarantee you will find advantages which allow you to be a much more productive blogger than you would be without them. So how about you? What tools do you use to help you blog more productively?

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1. 5 Questions for the “Me” of 2008 A list of questions I ask myself every year. 1....

So I haven’t written anything since, like, September, so I decided to put at least something up here: what I’ve been doing with my time and locations you can find my writing if you’ve got a hankerin’ for the Michael.

As some of you know, I recently broke up and got back together with Pete. That’s a long ass story and it was harsh and not very fun, and so I don’t think I’ll go into great detail unless anybody asks me… Yeah, I thought so.

Since, I moved out of the apartment and into a house. Pete and I currently live in a household of eight. It’s been interesting, but I wrote about that on a Hub.

One of my roommates, Idalia, and I were talking about making money online and I told her I haven’t made much (a whopping $4.85 through Adsense since March and nothing through Amazon’s affiliate links). She started talking about some survey sites, Associated Content, and eHow. She sparked my interest and I’ve now been writing on those sites for nearly a month. I still haven’t made much, but I can see the earnings starting to snowball already.

So I present to you four places to find my work online other than Senua:

My profile on Associated Content — A little bit of everything

My profile on eHow — How tos

My profile on HubPages — A bit of everything as well

My profile on GroundReport — Strictly news

I know a lot of these sites have a bad reputation for having low-quality content, but I guarantee I put as much care into those articles as I do here.

I plan to begin updating Senua again soon, maybe even today if I can’t find other things to do, so keep checking back and you’ll see a few new articles springing up over the next week or so, until I finally get back into my old writing schedule.

Thanks,

Michael

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Hunting for another job, I failed to apply with Frontier, a restaurant across the street from my campus, due to time constraints. I finally settled on Vector Marketing, who had been advertising a position in my college’s newspaper, The Daily Lobo, since the beginning of the year.

My initial contact was not too terrible. I called over my break between architecture and psychology. A very cheerful-sounding girl greeted me in the standard way, gave me [not particularly helpful] details about the job, and scheduled a time for an interview. From the phone call, I learned it was customer service with no telemarketing, door-to-door, or canvassing. “Okay, so I’ll be selling products in the office,” I thought, naively. My call took place on Thursday and my interview was scheduled for yesterday, Monday.

I was excited, to say the least. When Pete got home, I told him everything I knew: it was working for Vector Marketing, from which I could gain experience in sales and advertising, etc. He said, “I’ve heard about that,” and left it at that. Friday, my mother called me and I told her the same. She responded sounding a little bit upset: “Don’t put any money down up front for anything, and be careful. I’ve heard people get screwed by them a lot.”

Oh boy. I did my research the following day. The job was going to be selling knives for Cutco Cutlery. While there is no door-to-door or telemarketing, you do go around to peoples’ houses for “appointments” and then pester them at the end for recommendations. While we have bought something through this, a Rainbow vacuum cleaner, I was not entirely sure I desire such a position.

Monday finally rolled around and I went to my 2:30 interview as expected. When I arrived, I was given an application and placed in a room with about twenty other people, most of them college students. I went through the first interview with two other people, Joe and Brittany, a nice black girl from Missouri, who had just moved to Albuquerque about a month ago. It was a short interview with a woman named Patti: “What are you good at? What are you wanting to do? What do you like to do on your free time?” She said it was mostly geared towards gauging our personalities and figuring out if she’d like to work with us.

All three of us passed the interview and returned to the lobby to wait… and wait. And wait some more. For an hour, to be exact, until everybody had been interview. The rest of the day proceeded first with a demonstration of the knives we would be selling, and then with a second interview, which I underwent again with Brittany and also with Britney.

At the end, I was offered the position. However, the cost of the knife set to show off to potential buyers costs $145 I don’t have and requires travel, which would ideally be by car, which I also lack.

I leave with this, readers: I’m not going to my scheduled training. I plan to call tomorrow and turn down the job offer, because of lack of resources, and also because I’m afraid of being scammed. Am I too picky?

Yesterday I emailed a CEO of a web design company about a position…

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Believing life is generally good and enjoyable and that people can do anything they want with a little effort and motivation, I’ve compiled a list of things you’re already doing completely right, and how to expand them to create an environment of good energy.

1. Reading improves your mind

The advice many budding writers receive is to read — a lot. The best way to learn to write is to read works others have written. I say read not just to improve your writing, but to improve your mind. Read everything for which you have time. Reading gives new ideas to consider, new questions to answer, refreshing outlooks on old advice and considerations.

The best way to improve your life through reading is to question everything. Learn to read like a good researcher. Analyze everything you come across and ask questions, finding answers to them. Find ways to apply what you’ve read to your own life, and use that as a springboard into elevated enjoyment of life.

2. Writing helps you learn about yourself

Another way to make your life more fun is to keep a journal. Write about what you read that day, keeping track of thoughts to which you may want to return your attention one day when there is nothing else to do. Practice writing whenever you have the time and the energy.

Improve your life through writing by using what you’ve written to learn about yourself. Think about what you’ve written that day. Keep track of how you felt while writing, and consider why you may have felt that way. If you come across a pattern of negativity, try to diagnose what may have caused it and brainstorm ways to improve the situation.

3. Criticism is not always bad

Learning to take criticism well is one of the most important skills I have picked up on my journey so far. When somebody criticizes another constructively, it improves the work of the person in the future and provides a springboard into better things.

There are two sides to this. First, learn to accept criticism. Then, learn how to dish it. Learn what to look for in somebody’s work that needs improvement, and then figure out ways to reveal this information in a positive manner.

Using the two-way street of criticism is one of the best ways to improve your life, because it improves other skills as well.

4. Talking with others expands horizons

Sharing thoughts with another and hearing new ideas, applying them to your own life, and questioning beliefs is another great way to improve your life. If you’re conservative, speak with a liberal, and ask why they feel how they feel. Question that by providing evidence that you are right, and when you are presented with ideas different to your own, question everything and contemplate whether your “factual opinions” are really correct.

The best way to use this for improvement is to ensure neither party is taking offense, and learn to converse in a constructive manner, rather than fighting on controversial issues. Taking new beliefs into consideration will make you an overall more pleasant person; not only have you learned to convey and accept opinions, but you’ve also learned what other opinions are out there and can support your own claims in the future.

5. Networking generates happiness

When you make friends, you gain a sense of solidarity which can combat feelings of emptiness and loneliness you may have in the future. When you have somebody to whom you may speak about personal tragedy, you are less prone to rash and negative behavior, for the sake of keeping your friends safe.

A way to apply this to your life is to ensure you build positive networks. I’m not condoning making friends with thieves and murderers. Rather, find those who share common interests and build bonds that can last for life, in order to be sure you’re on the right path. Sharing a common goal is one of the best ways to build a positive bond.

6. Sleep allows you to learn

Sleeping lets your memory form, which is a large part of learning. Additionally, it prevents the negative cognitive effects of deprivation, gives your mind time to rest itself, helps prevent immune system problems, and much, much more.

The only way to improve your life through sleep is to be sure you are getting enough sleep for yourself, which I’ve heard can vary from six hours to twelve hours per day. If you do not feel well-rested or have trouble staying awake during the day, check with a doctor to make sure you’re not suffering from any of a number of disorders and that you’re actually getting enough rest for yourself.

7. Introspection breeds progress

Thinking about life on your own time and generally letting your mind wander is one of the best methods of discovering new ideas. The most innovative minds of our race have come upon their theories by letting their minds wander while asking, “What if…?” Get your alone time and just think. Find a nice silent place to let your mind free of the bondage of bills, work, and even political correctness and let yourself stumble onto new and crazy ideas. While they may not always be ingenious, chances are they will at least give you more enjoyment from your alone time.

You’re most likely already doing this on long trips to work and in line at the grocery store. Now all you need to do is make sure you follow thoughts through. Don’t dismiss them on the basis of stupidity or being impossible or irrational. Let the “What if…?” come through and change the way you think about everything.

8. Eating breakfast leads to health and wellness

This has been around for a while now. We generally don’t have time to eat breakfast. Try to rearrange your schedule and get to bed a few minutes early to give yourself enough time to enjoy a light meal in the mornings. It increases your cognitive ability, reduces stress, and studies even show people who eat breakfast tend to be healthier and more satisfied with life.

The only way to go about this is to do it. Enjoy your breakfast and understand the benefits of certain foods. Be sure to have as pleasant a meal as possible.

9. Having a hobby improves quality of life

Studies show people who have hobbies tend to recover from major surgery more quickly than those who do not. Having a hobby is very simple. Whether you prefer to collect stamps, publish a blog, trade baseball cards, or even build beer bottle pyramids, find something which you may learn and improve upon over the years and that will motivate you to achieve and give a sense of accomplishment.

Go about doing this by finding something you enjoy and becoming better at it. Pick something productive and challenging, but nothing that you won’t enjoy for a long time to come. It’s the only way to go about choosing a good hobby.

10. Having goals helps productivity

Finally on our list is having goals. Similar to having hobbies, goals help people to achieve things they wouldn’t have done otherwise. If you want to buy a house someday, you have a goal, and you’ve likely broken it down into steps of accomplishment.

Make your goals simple yet thoroughly stated, challenging to accomplish so that you will grow, and easy to plan. Design a schedule, breaking the goal into steps, until you’ve finally found a nice ladder you may begin climbing today. It will improve your quality of life by giving you a sense of accomplishment, a place toward which to head when you have free time, and a reason to keep getting up in the mornings.

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1. Boost Productivity By Removing “Tolerance” I’ve been suffering a recent (and prolonged) block of creativity,...

While this can be applied to many instances and areas of our choices and lives, I feel the first part applies especially to education. Specifically, class participation, which I feel becomes both exponentially more difficult the further you take education and exponentially more important, paying dividends in the long run.

A friend of mine, Emily, spent the last two days organizing her time so that she could finish a Latin assignment. She ultimately finished it, proudly taking it to class with her this morning. When she got there, nobody else in her, albeit very small (six students), had finished their assignment, so her professor shortened it.

While it hurts her to have put so much energy into something that was ultimately not completely used, she feels a sense of accomplishment knowing she can do it. I am very proud of her for finishing such a long assignment and for realizing right off the bat how far working hard will take her.

When it comes to finals week and Emily needs an extra point or two to make a higher letter grade, should she continue this outstanding performance, I am willing to bet her professor will push it based on her performance.

Why participate?

Class participation is important for a number of reasons.

That extra push

In a class of 600 students, if your professor knows your name, it can be a good sign, because it could mean you’ve been one of the outstanding, dedicated students for which your professors come to work.

If your professor knows you as a hard-working student, chances are you can get the extra push for a higher grade, which could pay dividends in your GPA. Additionally, should you decide to take another class with that professor, but your dream schedule depends on one filled class, the chances of you being able to card-in with a signature increase incredibly. If he or she knows you’re a good student, he or she will most likely approve you.

Letters of Recommendation

Remember, in a class of 600 students, it’s hard to get the professor’s attention, let alone any time outside of class. If you need a letter of recommendation and they know you more personally, they’re more likely to write one, rather than just print out a generic one, replacing your name and signing theirs at the bottom. The more genuine a letter of recommendation is, the better. It could mean the difference between a scholarship and a rejection, or grad school and settling for a bachelor’s.

For the common good

Sometimes classes are based on participation grades. In this case, most people are probably eager to participate. However, in a regular class, there are people who want to speak up, but don’t want to go first. They may need some encouragement by proxy of another student’s discussion to break the barrier of shyness. In this case, you’ve benefited another student, or more than one. However, you’ve also benefited your professor.

Professors teach their subject, more often than not, because they love their subject. They enjoy what they do. They come to class just because they love their subject so much they want to share it with the world. They’re human, too, though, so think of it this way: If you were excited about something, but nobody else was, how would you feel? Discouraged, to say the least, right?

Professors can be discouraged, as well. They want to know what they’ve taught has sparked some interest and sunk in. They need that to come to class every day without losing morale. Remember what I said earlier. If you help them, they’ll help you.

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When we moved into urbanization and the industrial revolution, however, suicide rates increased as we moved into a world of anomie, where everybody is around so many people, and yet is so isolated in their own bubbles, they lack the tight networks that once fueled our world.

Thus, I implore: be an altruist.

Why?

The power of altruism is infinite and its benefits are countless. Giving away extra cash to somebody in need benefits you by proxy of feeling positive for doing a good deed, and, of course, the karmic benefits. Additionally, sharing secrets of your craft could lead to professional recommendations (”Boy, boss, this guy really knows what he’s talking about!”) and finding new team members for your next big project or making connections that could help you find a new job should your current position ever close.

Who benefits?

Benefits vary by both the act of kindness and the person to whom something, whether tangible or intangible, has been given. For an altruistic action, everybody can benefit. Donating money to a scholarship fund will provide a starving college student (like myself — hint hint) with enough money to not have to work for a while, which will lead to a much less stressful academic experience. In addition, your name will most likely be attached to the scholarship, or at least part of it, depending on your contribution, which could lead to more hits to your website, friends, thank you cards, etc. When you do something nice for the community, everybody gets something out of it, including yourself.

How can I be an altruist?

I believe everybody is an altruist at heart, which leads me to say most of what you already do, from tithing at church to giving the homeless a few quarters and a bag of chips, is benefiting somebody else. If you want to benefit your community, there are many things you may do, depending on the size of your town:
1. Donate your time. Volunteer at a soup kitchen or animal shelter.

2. Use your money. If somebody asks for a quarter at the bus stop, why not give it to them, as long as you can still find a way home?

3. Share your attention. Every office and classroom has a person who’s isolated from the group. Even though there is a small chance they are hermited by choice, for the most part, people seek company, but are sometimes too shy to go out there and make new friends. Why not ask them how they are on any particular day, offer a lunch date, and compliment their shoes? It will only take a few minutes, and chances are, you’ll brighten their day.
4. Reveal your secrets to success. Ask about writing a guest post for your favorite blog (It’s Senua, right? I knew it). Tell everybody how you managed to graduate summa cum laude and get into Harvard Law.

Or even better, share your ideas and thoughts about altruism in the comments.

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