Hixson Blog #9 - 

     Spring Break and back again - so much has happened since my last blog. This Sunday, our Hixson group covered two major requirements set out in our syllabus:  the digital story telling project and lesson plans. Before meeting with Silas, I believe nearly everyone from class met to finalize the acting scenes set out in our movie. Sebastian and the other writers have done a great job making a workable script and Easten has done fabulous work in putting everything together. I had a lot of fun filming a scene where I got to be a henchman. With the exception of the karate chop from Jame Bond/Dane that sent me spiraling to the ground, filming was finished without a hitch. I believe we're now moving to the editing portion so hopefully we're getting close to a finished product.

    The latter half of the day was devoted to working with Silas on our lesson plans. If i'm not mistaken, I will need to have five completed before the end of the semester. One will come from my in-class lesson plan (I present next Wednesday fyi ), two will come from what I've done so far, and i'll have to scrounge two other ones up from somewhere. We focused on building a practical and workable lesson plan. One thing I learned to do was to have a grid style layout and include time estimates. It's always good to have backup plan in case I go too short on time. I can't imagine I'll have a day lecturing where I talk too much, but then again I've been known to ramble. The semester's end is within sight and its time to get everything in order to finish strong and have a solid foundation to work off of for next fall.

Hixson Blog #8 - 

     Tonight we had the etiquette dinner at the Memorial Union. It was, in my opinion, one of the best Hixson events we've had to date. We started off with a brief mix and mingle before being seated. I never really heard the ladies name (Artie???), but she had so many tips and suggestions. I was surprised something as seemingly insignificant as a dinner interview could be towards displaying to prospective employers attributes about myself. I've had a few formal dinners in my life, but never anything amounting to this level. 

    We learned about silverware placement, situational faux pas, mild mannerisms, and about presenting a strong and confident appearance to a host/employer. I've always been taught no alcohol at any work-related or formal event. I never knew how to set my silverware and where to begin. Can you believe it's most appropriate to chew at least 9 times on every single bite? Grab with the right hand and pass with the left - make sure to pass left to right though. Don't rip off the tops of any sugar packet or creamer, set your coffee cup in a specific place if you want coffee. Don't have your desert fork in the correct position? Well, then no desert for you. 

     There were so many things tonight which have been greatly beneficial to me. Some people feel a dinner interview is a time to relax and feel more confident. While the confidence part remains, your level of concentration and etiquette should be as much as you can give if you find yourself in this situation. I know now that before I go on any dinner interview with a potential boss I will review some of the things I learned tonight.