lovely pens and ink
delightful stationery
mailed through the post
Author: Carl Setzer
A blogger blogging from just north of Seattle.
Droplets on a Leaf
after the rain
a quick glimpse down
captures magic
I caught sight of this leaf while walking back to my car. I captured this photo with my Samsung S9. Quite impressive for a rather obsolete camera, at this point.
Today’s Word Of The Day Haiku: Sad
do you know I’m sad?
walking alone on concrete
tears hidden by rain
This is my contribution to today’s Word of the Day Challenge: Sad. Fitting, I guess, for a rainy, gloomy day in Seattle. Many days like today’s hosted sadness. Lately, though, even in the midst of the pandemic, I feel calmness, tranquility.
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Walking in the Sunlight
walking in sunlight
onwards towards dusk and nightfall
the echo of dreams
January 26, 2021
upon the path
moments of life in motion
through winter air
A Moment Of Blue Sky
blue sky peeking throughswallowed quickly by the clouds
whispers of springtime
Saw a moment of blue sky above the trees. I actually wore my sunglasses briefly on today’s walk. Seattle’s winter has reclaimed the sky, though. Yet, rest assured, spring approaches.
At The End Of A Long Day
Mondays are pretty long for me. First, two of my classes tend to have 4, 5, or 6 projects due. And then I have a “class” from 6-8 pm, taking two hours out. There is value in the lectures, of course (else I would just skip and work), but I feel like I’m butting up against the “last minute” every week. I’m a little bit ahead today, which feels good. I actually got a little bit of what’s due tomorrow done. So, yay me!
My preferred state is to be at least a week ahead. Since two of my courses didn’t open until the first day of the quarter, and the third one opened up a day in advance, I hit the ground running, so to speak. And it’s felt like I’m squeaking by every week.
In reality, I am creeping ahead, slowly but surely. I just worry that one illness, or losing a day because of no power (yay Seattle winters!) will break everything. In the end, I guess I just work my way through everything. Do my best, learn every day, and drag myself forward.
Onwards!
January Flowers
in the light of dawn
this bitter bite of winter
balancing with grace
The winter air has a substantive bite. Our weather reports hinted at snow, January marching into February. Yet, even in this time of cold, of darkness, flowers grace life with reminders that spring approaches.
Some Key Tools I Recommend
I’ve been pretty successful at my coursework, and I attribute that to a few key tools. Here are the 4 I use every day, and would deeply struggle without.
- Evernote: this is my note tool, and so much more. I add articles I’ve read, reading notes, lecture notes, and I can scan handwritten notes which are able to be searched (for the most part). It is also my journal and where I brainstorm/mindmap for projects and other workflows.
- Todoist: Organizes my task list. Since I have more on my plate than just school, I use Todoist to input everything I need to get done. I have mine synchronized to my Google calendar, so I can have it all in one view. Assigning times to tasks is really important for me so that they become done.
- Acrobat Reader, Adobe Creative Cloud Student Edition: I use various Creative Cloud apps regularly including Photoshop, InDesign, and PremierPro. I also work some in Illustrator. Reader, though, is the thing I use the most. I mark up articles, presentations, and the like. I expect I would find a cheaper alternative if all I was doing was work in Reader, but as I use the whole suite, it’s a handy product.
- Grammarly: I love this grammar and spelling checker. It has upped my game as a writer, which is rather important in this student thing.
- Quizlet: I use this to create flashcards. Great for reviewing content before a quiz, or to review content for any reason. It’s also nice that I have this on my phone and iPad. Makes reviewing while I’m out and about (which isn’t very much right now) easy. Or if I want to chill out on the couch.
Anyway, those are the main tools I’m using right now. I find these critical to my current life. What digital tools are part of your daily work? Whether you’re a student or not, I’m curious to know.
About the featured image: Photo by Andrew Neel from Pexels
Sunday Morning
cold winter rain
early morning darkness
I shiver, alive