Sunday, September 7, 2008

Two Things Challenge: Music / Note

Music : Choir in the Washington National Cathedral
(Click image to enlarge)

This week's Two Things Challenge was a bit unusual: Music / Note. (Of course, I'm the one who picks 'em, so I have no one to blame for the weirdness and/or difficulty of weekly challenges but me.) For Music, I chose this picture of the choir in Washington National Cathedral. At the time I took the picture, I was going for a dramatic, soaring angle of the flying buttresses, but what I ended up with was a darkly mysterious view of the choir area between the transept and the apse. Choral music plays a significant role at the cathedral, both as a national church for all people and as a sanctuary of worship in the liturgical tradition of the Episcopal Church. In addition to weekly participation in church services, the choir also has a seasonal performance schedule. Check it out here.

Note : Scribblings and bibblings on a client's résumé

For Note, I chose an eye-level view of notes I made on a client's résumé the other evening. Contrary to popular notion, as an editor and writer, I don't use a red pen to mark my changes or make notes on a document. I generally go with anything but. In this case, it's a turquoise blue fountain pen!

Just a note about this resume format, in case anyone is looking closely and in another stab at shameless self-promotion, I offer two résumé formats: a chronological format and a skills-accomplishments format. The former is the one most of us are familiar with and lists your professional experience based on each job you've had in the last 15 years and a description of your responsibilities within that job. The latter format uses keywords and phrases to emphasize your skills and accomplishments and only lists your employers, job titles, and dates later in the résumé.

This particular format works well for people who have either stayed with the same company for more than 15 years and have only worked for two or three organizations or for someone who has had a variety of jobs that, when listed chronologically, don't really come together in a comprehensive manner to tell an employer what you have to offer as an employee. I have clients who have had great success with both formats!

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 09/08

14 comments:

Virginia said...

Oh yea, it's Sunday and I am checking out all my favorite blogs and BAM! Two Things Challenge. This week my excuse is.... I took some photos at my friend's recording studio and they didn't turn out.
That said I love the cathedral shot. I have always wanted to go inside. Now I have.
PS Old teacher habits die hard. I want that turquoise fountain pen.

Maya said...

Great ideas! That first photo is really nice. I love the colors and angle.

Maya said...

OH, and I like bleeding all over a page when I edit. I guess I'm just crueler than you!

Lucky Dip Lisa said...

Fantastic! Love your music entry especially! Good on ya giving your business a plug! You have to make the most of all opportunities.

Janet Kincaid said...

VJ: You should post some anyway! Sometimes it's the less-than-perfect pictures that are the best!


Maya: Thanks! As for red ink, I'm not philosophically opposed to it or anything. I think, when I started as an editor, the pens they offered were not smooth writers, so I switched to green pens. That became my signature color. Now, I just use any color but red simply to be a contrarian! (It's the little things you have to do in D.C. to set yourself apart from all the other lemmings!)

Bev said...

Beautiful photo of the Cathedral, as always, and interesting to see your notes and find out a bit more what you do.

Carlos Lorenzo said...

I like the angle. It's a beautiful place too.

Maya said...

I actually love other colors of pens (especially green), but when making edits, I like red. Maybe because it stands out? Maybe because I'm getting back at my teachers from way back when? Hard to say...

Janet Kincaid said...

Bev: Thanks! When I'm not snapping pics, I'm penning prose-filled tomes of laborious exploits and abilities!


Carlos: Thank you. Washington National Cathedral is a beautiful space, as you've noted.


Maya: I've heard other people say that, too! Now you've had me wondering about all of my color pens, so I went through them and found that of the red pens I have, only two are even remotely good red. As in robust, bloody red. The others either have too much orange or don't write darkly enough or leave gloppies on the paper (that's a word. Gloppies. You know what it means, right?) Obviously I need to upgrade and improve my red selections!

Rob said...

Love the Cathedral. Heck, I'm a sucker for cathedrals with their architectural elements nearly to excess. No, I'm not Catholic, nor am I overly religious, but I sense so much hope and reverence in them. The ingenuity of those who built them. I guess this stems from so many years working in a souless cubicle farm.

I must admit, I still like the red pen. The engineer I work for usually writes notes on my plans in black, the same color as the plotted plan. hard for my old eyes to pick out these monochromatic notes.

you've inspired me. Tomorrow I will raid the office supply closet and throw out all black pens, keeping all the colored ones. I hope we have this turquois color.

Janet Kincaid said...

Rob: I enjoy the grandeur of cathedrals, too. To me, the represent a level of sacrifice and devotion rarely seen in other parts of society.

As for your Red Pen Revolution, I think you should have t-shirts and banners made: End the Tyranny of Monochromatic Notations Now! and Aging Eyes for Readable Edits! Now there's a movement I can get behind!

Maya said...

I'm with ya! No more black pens. Only pretty colors of all kinds. I mainly like the red for edits because the color stands out against the black type.

Greyhound Girl said...

Love the national cathedral shot. and what a clever idea.

Janet Kincaid said...

Maya: Okay, I think we need to get some t-shirts made, don't you?


Professor: Thanks! You should join in. I think this week's challenge is Old / Fashion.