Monty's Blog

Final Touches

2011-05-11T17:48:00.000-07:00

The final pieces are now in place, and it definitely adds some interesting stuff to the project. Adding these last pieces also introduced me to a few firsts for myself. The audio clip which I created a link to is also my firty youtube upload. It's definitely fun to learn things like this and get a chance to do these things for a school project.

I've learned so much about this topic and over the semester I've met some really great people that have helped me so much. Hopefully these people can keep in touch with me as time passes and someday see my finished project. I never knew so many were genuinely interested in dream analysis, and I myself have developed a new perspective on the topic.

While the project has been a lot of work, the people I've met and the connections I've made with them, as well as the knowledge I've gained will be invaluable in the long run.

Tackling The Beast

2011-05-08T23:08:00.000-07:00

After a handful of strenuous hours, the core of the project finally came together. It's hard to believe the semester is over in all honesty. Now it seems like it all came together seemlessly, with every previous piece of work finding its place in the final product.

When glancing over the text it looks like there was no way it was an entire semester worth of work, but as I look at each part of it and all the smaller details I can relate to earlier in the year when I worked on each of them.

A few little things still need to be done to polish it up completely, but the hard part is out of the way, the rest is just fun editing. It may not look like much, but I'm proud of what I have on the page, the massive amounts of research paid off.

Hocus. Pocus. Focus...

2011-05-05T11:02:00.000-07:00

The end of the semester is a week away, and it seems that perhaps I procrastinated just a little too much. While all I have left is still just the main story, I'm finding it to become more difficult to focus now that finals are coming up.

The weekend is ahead of me, though, and that should provide all the time I need to write everything and get it finished up. It will definitely be a relief to have this project finished and see all of my work hopefully pay off.

I should also have a recorded interview from one or two of the people I spoke with earlier. They should be able to give me just what I'm looking for and I'm excited to see what they have to say.

Double Check

2011-05-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

Just when I thought I had it all figured out, I decided to check the class requirements again to make sure I don't forget anything. Sure enough, there were a few little things I had left out in my side bar, which by the way, I once again edited.

Hyperlinks seemed to be the big thing I had left out, but those were easy to add and were actually quite fun to find and play around with. With all of the links being put into the sidebar I can officially move on to writing to main project.

I think I've said that in about three of my posts, but really there are a lot of little things I've noticed along the way that I forgot to do. I swear though, this time is for real.

Edit, Revise, Repeat...

2011-04-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

For me, I have reached the hardest, yet most fun part. With my sidebar around 95% complete, the last little bits of editing are becoming quite a pain. The same goes for my main story, but on a much smaller level. Being as I have just started to write my main story, the revisions are minimal because I'm not looking for the smallest details yet.

With that being said, I do enjoy the challenges of trying to perfect my writing on this project. It helps make me a better writer and journalist while keeping it entertaining. There is clearly a lot more ahead of me than I was saying before, but I think if I can get drafts competed for each section of my story I will have plenty of time to stress over editing it in the future.

Filling up the page

2011-04-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

My homepage is actually starting to look like some of the others from previous classes! After adding my sidebar, heading, and sub-headings there is actually a good deal of material on there already. It looks like I'm really getting down to having nothing left but the main story, and I have a feeling I can handle that now.

I'll need to get a little more information and quotes from my sources so that I can fine-tune some of my writing, but this shouldn't be a problem. It's exciting to see this come together, really, and I can't wait to see what it will look like when I'm finished.

The semester is coming to an end faster than I really expected, and while I may not be there yet, it seems like horror stories didn't really apply to me. Whew!

Coming Together

2011-04-19T11:25:00.000-07:00

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for this project. While the main story is probably the most demanding piece, it's really all I have left. There are some other small tasks and a few edits I need to make on other things, but for the most part this thing is really coming together.

Interviews keep coming in and my sidebar came together nicely. I'm sure I'll have to make some revisions as it was only a rough draft, but I feel good with where it is right now. I've structured how I want the main story to play out, and if it all goes as planned then it should really come out alright.

They found me!

2011-04-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

Manhattan, Lawrence, Topeka, Kansas City, St. Louis, even Denver, and still no one had time or the desire to speak with me about dreams. Strangely enough, as soon as I had just hung up the phone to try another day, I received a call from a psychologist who not only was interested in dreams, but was working on becoming a psychoanalyst specifically for dreams.

After this interview, it seemed like all the others just fell together later that day. Better yet, I have more on the way, and the people are trying to get a hold of me now. I guess after you call ever psychologist and clinic in all of the closest cities your name gets out there.

Regardless of the hassle, I'm glad I have a couple of the sources I do now. They will be incredibly helpful along the way, and they have shown a firm interest in continuing to give me their input. Now it's time to take on the bigger portions of the project. Bring it!

Piece by piece...

2011-04-04T22:05:00.000-07:00

Slowly but surely I can see this thing coming together. I know it's nowhere even close to being finished because at this point in time my homepage is still blank. However, the little things are slowly getting completed, which I hope will result in the bigger things coming together as well.

Each activity I've completed has opened a new door for material to write about...I can't believe I used to think dreams would be a hard topic to find information on. Resources of all different kinds are presenting themselves now, and I can honestly say I'm beginning to feel ready to take on the larger portion of this project.

That being said, not everything is just falling into my lap. I still haven't been able to even speak to a psychologist or psychiatrist to set up an expert interview. There's still time, but it's definitely running out on me. If I have to wait much longer just for an interview, I may have to speak to one as a patient instead.

Getting Started

2011-03-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

I'm a little proud, but at the same time a little embarrassed to say that I have officially taken my first step towards completing this beast of a project. It's the end of March, and here I am making my first blog post...yay for me.

I already know that finding a psychologist or psychiatrist isn't that hard to do. There are a handful in Manhattan, and plenty of others around the area. Getting an interview with one of these people, however, isn't that easy. These professionals seem to always be busy with patients, and taking an interview doesn't make them any money. So, it's looking like getting expert interviews and information will be a pretty big struggle.

On the bright side, I've come to really enjoy the topic I picked, and I've developed a pretty big interest for dream analysis. I think that's probably the most important thing with this project because it keeps me motivated to learn more. It turns out that analyzing dreams is a bigger topic than I originally gave it credit for, and right now for me that's a really good thing.