What I Learned From J-School

J-School meaning journalism, of course.

Something I totally never, EVER thought I would take from this program would be the more tech-y aspect of journalism. I was the absolute worst with computer stuff, and I didn't even know I could create a folder on my desktop until I came into this program.

When I looked at the program courses, I was baffled as to why we were learning about audio/video production, InDesign/Photoshop stuff and making websites. I was like, nope, I don't think I will ever need this, nor will I actually enjoy it! I dreaded these classes and was scared I would screw it all up.

And now?

I have my own website, www.hotandefficient.com, and I make fitness videos and demonstrative photos to accompany posts. Jeez, this foot in my mouth tastes great :D This website may very well have remained as a little blog with no followers if I didn't have these certain courses while at Sheridan.

I'm extremely grateful to have learned about designing website and magazine layouts, HTML coding, how to use WordPress and how to shoot and edit good quality videos. Without learning this in school, I don't know how I could have put together my website, and my fitness videos and photos would probably be really low quality. Also, I'm currently writing my eBook for Hot & Efficient, which I could never put together without learning InDesign and photoshop skills.

Learning how to freelance was also inspiring. This is exactly what I want to do and now I know how to tackle it, how to get my name out there, how to do the taxes/invoicing for it, etc. Learning about the importance of social media outlets and how to use them correctly is also helping me right now, and will continue to help me succeed.

The best part about this program would be the faculty and the students. I've never met a student or a teacher in this program that I didn't like. I learned something valuable from every teacher here, even if the course itself didn't float my boat. Every student has been kind, helpful and inspiring - and there are some students here that I never actually talked with, but even from a distance, I could learn something. Whether it was some girl's new hairstyle or outfit that gave me style ideas, or someone that had a really cool presentation with excellent speaking skills, or someone asking an intriguing question or making a point in class that I never thought of before - I learned something.

And Alison, since you're probably the only one reading this blog, I just wanted to say THANK YOU! The magazine aspect of journalism is where my interest is truly at. You've taught me amazing things about the magazine industry, and you totally had faith that I would get the Oxygen internship! You've helped me improve my magazine feature writing skills, you've taught us about good blog writing and SEO skills which I apply to my website to help it grow, you have a great sense of humour which makes your classes more interesting, and I never felt the need to skip your classes. It's also cool to see a teacher who's into health and fitness, despite hating broccoli. I can't thank you enough for everything that I learned from your classes. Good luck with everything, I wish you (and all the faculty members who don't read this blog) the best.

Hotel room? Ha, I'll take the whole brand.

Over the next three years, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide expects to have so much money they may consider adding an entirely new luxury brand to their family. This would be their tenth brand.

(Some of us can't even afford a luxury hotel room, let alone an entire hotel! But back to the story...)

Company executives said during an investor and analyst day (in Dubai) that they would rather just purchase a brand than start from scratch.

But there is a challenge, said CEO Frits van Paasschen in a statement. That would be finding a brand for sale.

“It’s not clear that there's a lot that are sort of fluidly traded and open for buying,” he said. “It's been that reason largely, more than anything else, that's prevented us from doing anything in the last seven or eight years."

Not Just Blowing Hot Air

Expand your menu and impress customers with smoke-flavored foods without purchasing a separate smoker oven.

Cleveland Range has released the ConvoSmoker, a built-in smoker box filled with flavored briquettes, for their electric Convotherm Combi ovens. How does this work? A low-watt heating element below the smoker box is designed to make the briquettes smolder and infuse the food with flavor.

The company says it is suited for overnight smoking, provides faster cooking times and can use steam in smoking recipes, without flavour transfers after the cleaning cycle. 

The ConvoSmoker is designed for fish, beef, pork, poultry, cheese and vegetables, and is able to do both hot and cold smoking.

D'oh! (nut)

Have you noticed lately that fancy cupcakes are no longer all the rage? They used to be super popular last year, but are now being replaced by doughnuts.

Doughnuts are now on six per cent of all fine-dining menus, a 100 per cent increase in four years, according to a Restaurant News article.
“People are always looking for anything that is tasty, that is sweet, that is not a cupcake,” said Tom Henneman in a statement, co-owner of Federal Donuts, a wildly popular fried chicken and doughnut shop in Philadelphia.

At Henneman's shop, some doughnut flavours include cherry almond, French toast, strawberry-lavendar and chocolate peanut butter. It looks like Tim Horton's will have to step up its game!