Messi’s Debut

What did you do on Friday night? Personally, I was glued to the television watching Leo's debut with Inter Miami. Although he didn't start the match, the buzz surrounding his debut was intense. At one point, the average ticket price was $440 and over 23,000 fans attended the game - the highest attendance ever at the Inter Miami stadium. Additionally, over 12.5 million viewers watched the match on AppleTV. 

When Leo began warming up during halftime, the stadium erupted with excitement. When he finally entered the game, it was as if the team had just won. Fans went wild! Messi was subbed in when the match was tied 1-1, and we all knew that he would do something magical. Whether it was his precise passing or his lightning-fast speed, Messi always delivers. 

In the 94th minute, Messi was fouled just outside the box. As long-time fans know, Messi is deadly with his free kicks. He confidently placed the ball, took three steps back, and then bam! The ball landed in the back of the net, with the opposing goalie having no chance at saving it. In that moment of jubilation, we were reminded that even though Messi is nearing the end of his football career, his magical moments will live on in the hearts of football fans everywhere. 

Did you happen to catch the match? If not, you can see it below.

Magia pura desde cualquier ángulo 🪄 pic.twitter.com/USvlhMFGVU

— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) July 22, 2023

World Cup 2023

Are you following the World Cup? I've noticed that the women's competition isn't getting the same amount of attention as the men's did last year. It's often said that people are not interested in women's sports, but I disagree. The truth is that women's sports are not given the same coverage or hype as men's sports.

I am curious about the factors that are taken into account when choosing host nations for the competition. The biggest issue currently is the airtime. The games are aired at inconvenient times such as 1 am EST, 3 am EST, 6 am EST or 9 pm EST. It's challenging to watch a 9 pm match until half-time on a weekday. Who wants to stay up late and be tired the next day? While I agree with giving hosting duties to different countries, it has been a struggle.

I believe viewership should not be the only factor considered when deciding whether to televise women's sports or make them more accessible. If women's sports are given equal hype and airtime, I am confident that viewership will increase. What do you think? Have you been following the World Cup? If so, how did you hear about it? Was it through a TV commercial, radio, or social media?

Messi (The GOAT)

I considered writing about various topics, but I decided to focus on Lionel Messi. I'm not sure if everyone enjoys football, but tonight at 8:25pm on AppleTV, Messi will be officially introduced as an Inter Miami player. Did I need to sign up for the MLS Season Pass? Nope. But did I sign up? Absolutely. Since that is the only way to witness greatness. 

To provide some context, Messi and Ronaldo have been rivals for a long time. Fans from both sides often have disdain for each other, as is common in sports. Although Messi has won the most Ballon D'ors, which are voted on, Ronaldo's fans have claimed that the trophies don't matter. However, Messi has also won the most Golden Boot, which is awarded to the player who scores the most goals in a season. 

But the one trophy that Messi has finally won, which has silenced Ronaldo's fans, is the World Cup. He achieved this feat with his Argentina team in December 2022. Now, the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) debate is settled, and Messi is on top. To enjoy his road to retirement, Messi has decided to join the MLS, specifically Inter Miami. His focus now is on family, having won every imaginable trophy in football. 

Let's welcome the greatest football player of all time, in my opinion, to the United States.

Social Media in a Professional Setting, Taboo?

This blog is inspired by a discussion topic posted by our professor which asked, What differences do you see between designing for social media use in classroom uses/spaces vs professional uses/spaces vs personal uses/spaces? What similarities carry across contexts. Even though I didn't participate in the conversation, I wanted to share my experience of suggesting that our IDs become part of a community that could aid in resource sharing and professional development.

During my time as a classroom teacher, I always believed in collaborating with my colleagues. We shared resources and had discussions on how to cater to our students' learning needs. These conversations led to collaborative efforts with other educators and involvement from our leadership team. Our main objective was to ensure that our students received the best possible learning experience, which would enable them to apply the knowledge gained. However, after transitioning to the world of instructional design, I noticed a lack of collaboration. It seemed as though individuals were hesitant to reach out and share resources, even if they were working on similar projects.

I once asked my manager if my colleagues and I could join an instructional design community on Facebook. However, my request was met with disapproval as my manager believed that true professionals don't waste time on social media and should instead focus on creating content to improve work issues. This response caused a shift in my mindset and work habits. Whenever I was tasked with a project, I would create resources from scratch if I couldn't find them within the organization. This approach was time-consuming, but I believed it was necessary to build in extra time into the project plan. Unfortunately, this mentality caused burnout and affected my work-life balance, leading to mental struggles. As a result, I eventually left that job.

Many older individuals believe that social media should only be used personally and not for professional purposes. However, this is not entirely accurate. Through the community I have built in this class over the past 9 weeks, I have gained a lot of knowledge and experience. I wish more people were open to this kind of opportunity. In my Intro to Instruction Systems class, I learned that conducting research within and outside of the organization for materials prior to creating anything from scratch is considered best practice.

I'm Back!

I wondered how I would be affected by taking an entire week off from blogging; honestly, it was easier than I thought. This could be because I was away and having fun. I wanted so badly to take some time. Whatever the reason is, I am glad to be back.

Last week my girls and I traveled to Port St. Lucie, FL, to visit family for the holiday. Things were off to a great start. The girls got to meet cousins they'd never met before and catch up with the ones they had. On Thursday, things got crazy because the baby works up with a fever. We had no idea the source of the fever, so we just did the typical Tylenol and Motrin. But little did we know urgent care was on the horizon. We visited they tested for one thing; the result was negative, so we were sent home.

We traveled back home on Saturday with the baby still sick, and he was then admitted to our Pediatric ER for two days. Diagnosis? She was bitten by a microorganism (they don't know which) that caused a viral infection and a severe case of the viral exanthem. Nothing can prepare you for a sick baby. But my girl was barely hanging on as her body was fighting off fevers as high as 105 degrees, so I wanted to trade places with her at that moment. 

Fast forward to today, one week and one day after her ordeal began. She is back to tearing the house up. We are back taking our daily walks/sprints, as she doesn't know what walking means, haha. I'm so glad she is back to her usual self. I finally got my first whole night of sleep since last week, Tuesday, Wednesday night of this week.

How did you guys spend your time away? Share in the comments :).

Did Somebody Say Vacation?

 

I hope you all have an amazing respite week. I'm on vacation in Florida with the babies. 

Twitter in Shambles!

Have you been following the discourse on Twitter's reading limits? I've been keeping up with it myself.

Have you experienced any reading limits? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Some of my followers have expressed frustration and even joined a social media site called Truth Social. To be honest, I didn't even know that site existed until now. It seems that many people are facing backlash for joining it, possibly because it was created by DT. In any case, this is some fresh news. Please feel free to share your thoughts.