In it together

It’s on the road again for me today. I am off to meet one of our funders face-to-face at an event in Brooklyn. I’ll be taking the train, and by the time you read this I’ll probably already be back in Rome, fighting the good fight.

Fortunately for me, being in development means that you become aware of opportunities that others may not know about. In this particular case,  the trip was made possible by a travel allocation from one of the event partners. As an early bird, I got the proverbial worm, and the travel was covered by a stipend.

This particular event is to celebrate the ReLaunch of the NYS Media Arts Map, an interactive tool that brings projects around the state together in one place. The map helps our organizations collaborate and helps others who are looking for a particular niche service find someone who can provide it.

This sort of collaborative effort and innovation is less the exception than the rule in the arts world. Ideas can come from everywhere and anywhere, especially from others, and networking can be a springboard for theses efforts. Next week I’ll be taking another trip, this time to Cleveland, to check out some theater operations at Playhouse Square in the interest of bringing world-class entertainment and arts capabilities to Rome. Everywhere I go, especially when it concerns the arts or theaters, is an eye-opener for me. There is so much to learn.

Once the information gathering (or at least this particular portion of it, as we are always gathering) is finished, it will be time to put it to work. While I love the act of gathering information, the most fun can often be found in adapting it and changing it to fit the needs in our community. It’s so easy to return from these trips energized when I should be exhausted, simply because the subject matter and possibilities are thoroughly inspiring. I often think that there is no greater endeavor than that of sharing the world with others, giving them new experiences, hopes and ideas.

Finding the resources to make it work is what I am tasked with at the Capitol. As a 501 (c) (3) charitable not-for-profit, we depend heavily on the generosity and vision of others to make the things we do possible. To those who have joined us on our journey here at home, and made the improvements, ideas and changes possible, you have my sincere thanks. Together, we are helping to bring out city into a new age of arts, culture and innovation.

Curing information overload

I read someplace once that you can’t organize clutter. I’m pretty convinced that that’s true; the idea that something becomes clutter at all, I’ve decided, means that it wasn’t important enough to me in the first place to warrant care and special treatment. Granted, some of the items around my house and office would appear to be clutter at first glance, but some of them just haven’t made it to the designated place that holds their mates. This is much the case with things such as books and craft supplies, and once they find their family, clutter they are not.

One thing I have noticed, however, is that I am drawn to reading materials like fruit flies to a decaying banana. I pick it up everywhere I go, take it with me for the information or tips it may provide, and add it to a pile “To Read.” Eventually. Maybe never, if I were honest with myself. My home and office are swimming with materials that may hold the key to productivity, success, and cozy domesticity. But these items, picked up with this potential improvement in mind, are clogging my life.

Of course, part of the cure is to set guidelines for what to keep and what not to keep, getting rid of items that don’t meet the guidelines. This has worked pretty well so far. I actually parted with an entire bag of articles torn from magazines, without looking at them, while cleaning out the room that will eventually become my sewing room. I was pretty proud of myself.

Oddly enough, I didn’t grasp the flip side of the coin until I was at the store the other day. I walked by the ubiquitous free publication rack, and glanced over at it to see if there were any revelations waiting for me. Surprisingly (especially for those who know me well), my brain suddenly asserted itself clear as a bell. “Let’s not pick that up,” it said. “At least not until you’ve got everything else organized to the point where you’ll have time to read it.” Another part of my brain realized that, by that time, this particular issue of said publication would be long gone. But somehow, that was ok. Potentially missing worthwhile information was ok. Maybe more than ok. Maybe good or great.

There was a time when the world used to bring us information in a manageable way. We’d interact with one person at a time. We’d have a single newspaper delivered to our door, or pick it up on our way to work. We’d write letters and make phone calls. We’d receive telegrams if the information was urgent, and sometimes even if it wasn’t. We discussed things over coffee, tea and little sandwiches, or big sandwiches. Or no sandwiches. And somehow, we managed to carve out worthwhile lives.

But these days, information comes at us from all angles, all outlets. It finds us in our homes, on our computers, in the mail, on our cellular phones. We have become veritable slaves to information. With the accessibility to this information comes the nagging obligation to do something with it: put it to good use, be able to speak intelligently about it with others, share it with friends to be perceived as clever or insightful. Not surprisingly, my recent realization that I didn’t have to plug into it if I didn’t want to thrilled me to the core. I could almost feel my body and mind relaxing in response.

I am not completely free of these obligations, but I am working on managing them in a healthy way. Hopefully, letting go of this informational clutter will free up a little open space in my life and mind to pursue the things that are really important.

Thinking outside of the inbox

Like many of you, I’ve had more work than I can jump over these past few weeks. Between several special events, loads of correspondence, phone calls, meetings, and the implementation of a new ticketing system, I am in the work zone more than I’m out of it.

It’s so easy for things to pile up in modern society. Information, demands, and tasks come at us from all angles: phone, voicemail, email, text, fax, paper, and the web, among others. Though the physical “In box” is certainly not obsolete, the number of virtual inboxes in our lives has increased nearly exponentially. So what’s a Pollyanna to do?

Of late I’ve become a productivity scholar. There are a wealth of resources out there to improve time management and our ability to get things done. Though I know many types of personalities would rather just dive and and tear through their tasks, I like to organize my thoughts and tasks and approach them systematically. My research, and my experience have led me to several truths:

1. If I don’t feel that I have all the information that I need in one place, or at least the sources for that material in one place, then I am prone to unproductive inertia.

2. If I don’t make sure that everything that I need to do makes its way into a system of organization that I can trust, I’m much less likely to stay organized.

3. General to-do lists don’t work for me, because they are not specific or task-centric enough. If I focus on the very next thing that I have to do, and frame it as though I am delegating it to a brand-new coworker, I am much more likely to feel like it is a manageable and logical next action.

4. I like coming in early to work, before the office opens, to take care of the things that I enjoy the least. It sets the stage for productivity, helps me get through less desirable tasks, and gives me a sense of accomplishment that carries through my remaining workday.

5. If I don’t review the status of projects and activities on a regular basis, they don’t get done, efficiently or at all.

Don’t worry, dear reader, I’m not perfect just yet; I’m still a work in progress. The system that I’ve designed to handle these tasks and their larger projects (which includes paper, a tickler file, Evernote, Nozbe, email and an online calendar) may seem complicated to some, but its manna from heaven when it comes to getting through my to-do list. If you’re feeling stuck, do a little reading and try putting to use ideas that seem logical to you. It’s always a process, but as Karen Lamb says in one of my favorite quotes, a year from now you will wish you had started today.

Traveling light

I finally broke down and bought a smartphone this past week. For those of you who are reading this in print and don’t live vicariously through the latest gadgets, a smartphone is essentially a cell phone that can do many of the things that a computer does, and features applications (known as apps) to help manage various parts of your life. For those of you who have one, I have to say that I am happy to join your ranks.

After extensive searching, and the serendipitous arrival of a great deal, I found myself with a phone that can surf the web, sync my computer files and email, take photos, watch videos, act as a GPS device, and yes, even call and text people. Art and I bought the phone to replace our land line, and I can say that I haven’t yet seen any significant inconvenience arise from the switch.

Since I have begun getting acclimated to the Android platform’s new and different atmosphere, there are some things that I have found to truly be a help. Previously I was constantly surrounded by little slips of paper with important (to me, anyway) information on them; I can use an app to help me consolidate all of my lists in one place. If I am out shopping, there is a barcode scanner app that I can use to see if there are any coupons out in cyberspace, or if I can find a better list elsewhere. Exercise has always been a waterloo of mine, but between my WeightWatchers Mobile app and various exercising apps, I have exercised more this week that I can remember in any single week previously. I am still learning the ropes, but the possibilities seem pretty vast.

Alas, it doesn’t make me a perfectly capable and relaxed person; I am still typing this on my laptop while eating a frozen dinner and listening to music that I had been trying to fit in for weeks. And no matter how fast a typist I am (or Swypist, should I ever learn that text-entry method), it would still be difficult to type my entire column into WordPress without losing my mind in the process. There are certainly some things that it can’t do, but most of them are activities that would be much more convenient on a different device, or (gasp) face-to-face. I haven’t yet figured out how to make it accomplish my to-do list while I am sleeping, but having all of my information in one place does help me to accomplish a lot more on my own.

You don’t need a technology upgrade to accomplish that particular end—there are many applications for desktops and laptops that can help, and even a small notebook that you can carry with you is a logical alternative. You may find that it helps to have all of your information consolidated and on hand (maybe even literally) when you need it most.

Fine art and popcorn

Saturday I spent a few hours enjoying an art form whose uniqueness was much of what brought me to Rome. The Capitol was showing The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), a movie starring Lon Chaney in the title role and whose magic, when coupled with organ accompaniment, is something that you have to feel to believe.

Lon Chaney as Quasimodo, the Hunchback of Notre Dame

When I attended my first silent movie in January 2005, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Home from college, I had heard from my parents (who were, by then, Capitol devotees) that the films had no soundtrack of their own. They were accompanied by an organist, and the dialog was expressed via the titles between images. The idea piqued my curiosity.

That first show was “A History of the Movies,” an amalgam of very early short clips progressing through longer clips and “shorts” until they reached feature film length. Flies doing acrobatic tricks with balls of paper, animated cartoons, early color and motion tests, a “censored” women doing an exotic (and for the time, risque) dance, a serial chapter, a western feature. The organ, which sounded different than a church organ and held a series of sound effects within its pipe ranks, had me hooked, and I signed up to volunteer with the maintenance of such a unique instrument that very night.

Some people think of silent movies as “old, black and white dinosaurs” that should be left to rot in their cans or be transferred (usually badly) to DVD (often with an equally low-quality score). The movement to digitize films, only to dispose of the original source medium, is akin to replacing the paintings at the Louvre with flatscreen monitors. Those of that opinion underestimate the experience of letting live, period-accurate music guide you through the emotions of a film. Within minutes you become wrapped up in the story line and characters. Film, a far more distinct medium than many people appreciate, provides interest and depth through the layers of its physical makeup and the artistry of filmmakers who birthed the new art form and made it their life’s work to perfect it.

Taking in these new experiences can truly broaden one’s knowledge of the world around them. Art and attend and expose ourselves to a variety of art forms to expand our experience and equip ourselves to “speak intelligently” (his term) about the subject; judgment without exposure is something I’ll never understand. Sometimes moving out of our comfort zone to try something new can be a revelation, if you open your mind to the opportunity.

My information diet

I had always thought that one of the wondrous things about our modern culture was the wealth of information that is at our disposal daily via the vast and varied internet. When I was first becoming accustomed to looking for information on the web in high school, I had daydreamed about the possibilities in “wouldn’t it be great” fashion, and have steadily been more and more in awe as my dreams have come to life, science-fiction style.

This morning, however, after opening my email after a two-day absence and finding over 200 emails, and opening my RSS reader after a hiatus of a mere few weeks to find over 1,300 new posts, I decided to go on a diet. Not a physical diet, mind you. An information diet.

When it comes to information and learning new things, I have always been like a kid in a candy store. Ever a book and magazine junkie, I would pick up publications on any topic, often squirreling them away in the off chance that I might have time to further pursue topics that, at the time, weren’t part of my everyday life. I rarely went through them to weed them out. In fact, I rarely looked at them a second time at all.

With the advent of the internet, and its subsequent email lists, blogs, and “news right to my inbox,” I thought I was in heaven. Inane yet irresistible services like StumbleUpon could take me to sites for things I never heard of, like dragon-boat racing or directions on how to make an Indian tandoor out of a metal garbage can. I was regalled with information about MLA vs. APA citation, sites containing examples of all sorts of potential office documents from various sources, blogs where funny photos, badly made cakes, and pictures of kittens with humorous captions vied for my attention. Everything that I had ever wanted to do had a newsletter, listserv, website or blog devoted to it; often more than one.

This morning, however, I had a change of heart. I was working from home, attempting to organize my work so that I could accomplish everything I needed to accomplish this week. But I couldn’t focus. Every few minutes another message would pop up from an email list that I had previously subscribed to in the hopes that it would help me pursue some skill or hobby that would enrich my life. I felt compelled to squirrel each message away into a read-me folder, or at least glance over the content. The information that I thought was helping me to be a better and more productive person was actually stifling me.

Prior to the internet age, I had been able to access information on my own terms, seeking out a manageable amount of printed information according to my interests. Now I was being accosted with a monster of my own making. The dreaded information monster.

After giving the situation some thought, I realized that dealing with the glut of information was much like trying to lose weight. Making better choices was key. If I could tweak a few things about the way I access information, lessen my access to the information that might “tempt” me, and reward myself now and then, I will be fine.

With that line of thinking in mind, I was able to unsubscribe from many of the newsletters that I was unable to read due to time constraints, and make a plan for keeping the ones that I routinely found valuable. I also deleted all of the past “read-me” messages that I had been holding onto without looking back; they merely made me feel guilty when I wasn’t able to read them in a timely fashion. The process also involved coming up with guidelines so that the issue would be easier to deal with in the future.

In all honesty, I am finding that I don’t miss anything that I’ve deleted. I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to know that tomorrow my inbox will have significantly fewer messages to accost me. There is also a good chance that, with the burden of assimilating new information lifted, I can spend quality time planning what types of projects I will take on next, without feeling obligated to try every new thing that comes along.

Flattery will get you everywhere

I opened my Facebook this morning to find that a good friend of mine had won an award from another blogger for his blog. He definitely deserves the kudos; his blog, “Give me the Good Old Days!” is a lot of fun and has some great visual elements. He is an avid photographer, and his blog reflects his artistic eye and fun views on old hollywood and other topics.

As a requirement of the award, he was asked to pick some other bloggers that he thought were worth reading. I clicked Louie’s link to offer my congratulations. I noticed he had tagged me, but I was having a particularly dense day, so I was rather surprised to find that he had picked my blog as one of those that were worth a look.

After grinning like a fool, I started to realize that if he recommended my blog, he must have been reading it. It may seem odd to you, dear reader, that I would blanche at the assumption. There is a reason that I am a column writer and blogger and not a stage actor; I work best when I can’t feel the eyes of others upon me. Not that I don’t appreciate you all; I can honestly say that the reason I haven’t stopped writing is because I know, abstractly, that some of you enjoy this column very much, and have told me so. But for some reason, seeing my name, essentially in lights, with its accompanying link, out there in blogland…well, it made me break out in a bit of a cold sweat.

In the period immediately following my progression from happy-for-you to sheepish grin to omigosh, a few funny things happened. First off, I got over it. The freak-out passed, as it always does, and I started to feel really good. Louie, a person that I admire very much, had picked my blog as one that he liked. And maybe, just maybe, others would click on it and like it too.

There is something about praise from others, especially those that you respect, that makes you feel like you can, and should, meet and exceed the expectations of your praiser. I could feel my creative brain sitting up a little straighter, mentally sharpening my pencils and clearing my cognitive desk. Anything worth doing is worth doing well, I reminded myself–why wouldn’t I want to do the best I can, whether people are reading or not? I’d better get started!

Many of us are unknowingly respected and revered by others, and it opens for us the rare opportunity to make someone else feel good and rise to the occasion when we can pay some of that respect and esteem back (or forward!).  If you are in the position to praise others, don’t keep it to yourself. And Louie, if you’re reading, feel free to have a chuckle on my behalf.

What’s old is new

New technology doesn’t often enter the Pierce house. That’s not to say that we don’t have plenty to keep us busy and entertained; we have lots of old technology, from an Edison player and several thousand 78s to BetaMax and LaserDisc players. The most recent addition was a very basic DVD player, acquired (seemingly) well after everyone else jumped on the bandwagon. Most of our entertainments could be had through these older means. And really, if we were at a loss, we have a library full of books and several board games.

Recently, however, a friend delivered to us a belated Christmas gift; an all-region DVD player. The term, I found out soon enough, means that it can play DVDs from all over the world. Apparently, most DVD players can only play those discs that are formatted for one region. I had never heard of such a thing, but it made sense.

Though I like to keep up on some technologies, I am not what one would call an “early adopter,” and Art even less so. The novelty seemed superfluous at first. How many DVDs in our collection really fall under other regions? After a time, Art remembered some that he hadn’t been able to play previously, and in testing them we found that they played just fine on the new machine.

Perhaps even more miraculous were the capabilities added by a USB port in the front of the system. Most of the movies that we watch were released before 1970, and television quality, aside from Turner Classic Movies, was often crummy at best. With that port, archives of public domain movies could be loaded onto a USB “thumb” drive and played via our DVD player. Instead of waiting for grainy, low-quality prints of decent movies to show up on one of our cable channels, we could upload those movies and play them on our television.

The combination of these things truly seem space-age to me. The idea that, with a storage device the size of a thumb (and not even that large a thumb), we can peruse a vast catalog of public domain movies and transfer them to our home television makes me feel like a kid in a candy store. Though 35mm, movie theater movies will always be my first entertainment love, this new freedom of choice runs a close second. And the idea that we also have the option to update our Netflix subscription to stream any program from their catalog directly to our TV makes me feel like I’m living in a science fiction novel.

Though I still feel that some technology is better off dead and buried (at least the bad behavior that it seems to encourage is), the idea that this new technology can help us to better enjoy artifacts of America’s history is an interesting dual benefit. At this rate, it should be able to butter my popcorn by 2015.

New dog, new tricks

I’ve been in my job as development coordinator at the Capitol about three and a half years now, and along with the goodwill that comes of giving much of my energy and waking hours for a cause that I care about, there had also come a bit of weariness. Running the Capitol with Art is a bit like being the owner of a small business. The rewards are many, but the work can be exhausting and sometimes thankless. There comes a time when the volume of work is such that it can’t be handled by two full-time staff.

Fortunately for us–and with the help of our corps of dedicated volunteers, enthusiastic patrons and thoughtful donors–the Capitol did well enough this year to facilitate the hire of a new staff member. In looking over the tasks that we accomplish from day to day, we were able to determine the tasks that could be done by a new person that would best serve the organization and its constituents, and take some of the then-overwhelming burden of work off of our shoulders.

We couldn’t have found a better candidate than Jack, the young man that we ended up hiring. His background in theater management, stage tech, classic film repertoire, and customer service, in addition to his youthful enthusiasm and love of the facility, made him stand out. After being approved by our board of directors last month, and settling into a new apartment over the weekend, Jack started with us this past Monday.

The joyful side-effect of our new hire is the amount that I’ve already learned from him. This is a refreshing development, in part because, through his own initiative and body of knowledge, we have worked with him on several occasions over the years when he volunteered his time to help us with various programs, and I had already benefitted from our collaborations. As a 30-something who tries to stay up on new technology and best practices in our industry, it’s always pleasant to me to welcome someone into the fold whom I can learn from, and whose skills can complement those that we already possess as a staff.

In the two days that I have worked with him, he has given me a feel for how our website operates (the words “black box” come to mind when I think of my previous knowledge, or rather lack thereof, in that area), offered a wealth of new ideas for programs and marketing, and helped reintroduce me to the importance of gregariousness during outreach and tabling events. As a young professional, he doesn’t seem concerned about the hours he will need to put in to make things work, a fortunate understanding as there is plenty of work yet to do. And, perhaps more importantly, he is well aware that the benefits associated with a job at the Capitol do not always reflect in our bank accounts, but are just as worthwhile if a person believes in our mission and what our facility can accomplish with a little elbow grease and a lot of dedication.

We exist in an era where younger workers are entering the workforce every day. As with any generation, the most motivated among them have a wealth of knowledge, enthusiasm, and dedication to offer to employers that are open to learning from them. Great things can happen if we create an environment where we can all learn from, and support, each other in our quest to do our work efficiently and effectively. If you get the opportunity to worker closely with others–of any age–I hope you will keep your mind open to the opportunities that it can present. As former president Harry Truman once said, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”

Why I Vote

Ever since I was old enough to vote, I have always considered election day to be a patriotic holiday. I know many people dread it like the plague, but my grandmother, who was omnipresent as a worker at the polling places in my hometown for over 50 years, instilled in me the pride that comes with exercising my right to express myself with my vote.

I remember this feeling as I sit at home tonight. Since I turned 18, I have voted in every election in the district that I was registered in, even taking the 5-hour roundtrip drive to home and back from college during a year where I had forgotten to apply for my absentee ballot in time. I’ve voted in small elections and large elections, and on budgets and other propositions. I even endured the ribbing when my grandmother accurately guessed that I was one of four people in my hometown to vote for Ralph Nader for president in 2000; I had interviewed him for my college newspaper, and thought he had the best ideas of the candidates that I had heard. Voting, I’ve always asserted, is one of the best parts of being an American citizen.

I stopped by Gansevoort School as I walked home from work with my husband, and was honestly excited about the new ballots. (Since I am not registered as a Republican or Democrat, I wasn’t able to vote in the September primaries.) It felt as though I was part of history; the way that we vote hasn’t changed significantly in my lifetime, and may not again for many years. The excitement may have been lost on others, but it made me feel special just the same.

The magic of voting for me doesn’t have a lot to do with our party system; I rarely vote along party lines. Much of the enthusiasm that I have for voting comes from finding out as much as I can about the candidates and selecting those who align the most accurately with my values as an individual. The process, for me, is much like hiring an employee (technically, all public servants are supposed to be working for us anyway, so it’s not that much of a stretch).

Having visited and met many of our elected representatives through my job and during advocacy activities, I’ve gotten a feel for the way our system of government works, and I try to put that knowledge to work when choosing a representative. As irritating as the mud-slinging advertisements are, I try to weed through them to determine how much is truth, how much is fiction, and how much is endorsed by the candidate. Life is far too short to be mean and to bad-mouth people. Unless the points are made maturely and relevantly, they are just white noise to me. If those that I’ve talked to are any indication, negative ads seem to reflect worse on the sender than on the candidate that they are attacking.

Part of the pride that we can take in voting as responsible citizens can be taken from our efforts and ability to educate ourselves, and separate the fact from the fiction. There is plenty of time to arm yourself with information before the next election, to follow where your representatives stand on the issues and how they vote. Many of them are good people who seek to serve the areas that they represent in the most effective and efficient way possible—if they aren’t, your scrutiny is all the more important to keep them accountable.

When you can, take the time to express your views to the representatives that are serving you. While voting on election day is a great way to express your opinion, often engaging with your representatives can help make your views known to them. Representatives like to hear from their constituents when the communication is done respectfully, and you may find that meeting them in person gives you a better idea of what they stand for than watching them on television, reading about them in the newspaper or (heaven forbid) “learning” about them through a disingenuous election-time campaign flyer from an opponent.

If you took the time to exercise your right to vote, thank you. If you didn’t, I hope you’ll consider it the next time around. No matter which candidates win, we all win in the long run.