On...a week finally ending

Monday: Critique of portfolio (you know, the one I would take w/ me on job interviews
Tuesday: SEGD materials finalization, to be sent Wednesday
Wednesday: Submit ADAI file, Apply to University for graduate acceptance
Thursday: SUBMIT GRAD APPLICATION to art & Design...
Friday: .........catch up on homework that I never got to during the week.

*whew*
good thing there's a LOST party tonight....


In case you're curious
That video is the
"Everything you need to know about lost in 8min 15seconds"
its pretty great.

On chocolate waffles and John Edwards

Last night
we had chocolate waffles...
on VeloNews during 'cross season
there are always articles titled:
"chocolate, waffles, and 'cross"
Now...I always read it as "chocolate waffles"
and thought...wow, i bet that'd be good.

(ours didn't look quite like that, but they could have!!!!)
I finally experienced chocolate waffles last night...
Thanks Kris


------------

in other news

John Edwards is dropping out of the race today
*siiigh*
"John Edwards to quit, seeks pledges from rivals
Former Sen. John Edwards will quit the Democratic race for president today, sources tell CNN. He called rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to ask both to make poverty a top issue, an aide said. "

Time Magazine wrote an article on
"Why Edwards Never Caught On"

I think its a pretty well written article...
And to be honest, it makes me a tad nervous
for who our next president might end up being.


good effort John




-------------

also

true story.

On old motorcycles

The NSU Motorcycle of 1901

The first NSU motorcycle rolled out of a sewing machine factory turned bicycle factory turned motorcycle factory, in 1901. The NSW factory was in Neckarsulm Germany. The 1901 model used a motor made by the Swiss company called Zedal. It was a 234 cc engine which put out 1.75 horse power, and had a top speed of 48 km/hr, or 31 mph. It had a bicycle type frame, which made sense since it was made in a bicycle factory. In bicycle fashion, it has a chain and freewheel, and a bicycle brake on the front wheel. NSR went on to make motorcycles, sidecars, and tracked motorcycles for the German army in WWII.



Drawing by Motorcycles of the 20th Century.

On heat in the apartment, aaand grad school

yep. you can read
our apartment is 55degrees.
55. degrees.

*shrugs* we don't want to pay more for our electric bill (maria and I split it).
august: $30ish
sept: $35ish
oct, nov: $30ish...
dec: $55!!
Jan: $55!!!!
apparently there's a "winter rate"
so even with us hardly Ever using our heat......hmph.
....so we're going and getting muchos plastic for windows
and...continuing the routine of...pushups and sit ups every half hour.
But really, ....
we've got multiple blankets, a foot budy, and...
who needs feeling in fingers, anyway?? Really!?

....my nose is cold.

Have I ever told you about how the water out of our faucet...
if used to 'defrost' a chicken/meat of any kind...
it is SO hot that it literally starts COOKING the meat...
yeah, browning it.
not even kidding.



-------------------------

in other news:

I think I'm 99% in to grad school
which I technically have Until may to apply to

but if I want an assistantship and any financial help...
FEB. 1ST!!!!
yeah...like....one week from now.
I believe whole heartedly,
especially with a not-so-busy weekend
that I can get it done.
The reality of it is ...a bit daunting, though.
When I have to reflect on Why i'm Really doing this?

Do you know what I came up with?
-Lisa suggested i should

(and lisa, mind you...is the one helping me enter in the SEGD student competition, she won this one in 2003: "Wayfinding Design Course Prototype Society of Environmental Graphic Design (SEGD), 2003; $5000.00 awarded for the development of course curriculum in wayfinding (Roger Baer, co-investigator).)
aaand THIS is where she featured my FemBash project
-I'm terrified of the real world, so school seems like a safe bet
-its comfortable
-my Folds Family is leaning in the direction of also staying in Iowa

However this is an opportunity that has been
literally placed in my hands.
My values and beliefs lie in the idea that most everything has a purpose
or can be given a purpose (this is how I'm such an optimist)
and that it is often best to roll with what you're given
and not take it for granted.
So, even though this isn't something I would have ever imagined
me doing at this point in my life,
I feel that passing it up would be an ungrateful act.
I am interested...
talented...
and motivated
in this area of study
so here I go...???
and I can only hope that it is a key step in someday
....designing a corporate bike storefront or
outdoorsy store identity
...or... or something.
Or...in living in my shanty/airstream down by the river...
with some cool signage out in front of 'er.

ALSO
as a side note
the whole
"get back in the car kids!" story
came from this lady:

hi paula.

On MLK day

Arkansans Celebrate King, Lee On Same Day....

""They're both heroes. Their birthdays come the same week and you know the government likes to have holidays at the start of the week," spokesman Rex Nelson said then. "

arkansas, you're special.


....
and after a bit of research



i think i belong here.

.
.
wait...
maybe not. haha.

On one week worth of class

One week in.
and a class that I'm in...of 7 people...
a hand picked group of 7 people
and Today already we present to the Dean of the college of design
pretty neat
but it meant that the 7 of us have had to put together a proposal
I only posted a few slides...but its actually 46 slides long...

I think a lot of people wonder "what's so hard about graphic design"
I mean, don't we just sit around and come up with ideas and draw pretty pictures?
Yeah, sure, that's a lot of it...
but we've also got to sell those ideas
negotiate a budget
earn the client's trust
research our client
put together proposals such as the above
(would your presentation to your class look half that good?)
and all in an insanely quick turn-around time...

and that's just one 2-credit class.

....one more semester...one more.

i dropped volleyball... haha. awesome.

On my Happiness list

everyone else was doing it
so I thought I'd hop on board
I made my happiness list
While making it...
I thought...
"what are things I always do"
"what are things I never do"
I really hope to add to the list as days go by
should make for a great adventure

It did make me really think about the song Heavenly Day....
I have a very distinct association with that song....
in fact... I posted about it even
Probably one of my favorite posts...
And looking back...
more than Half of the things on my happiness list
happened on that One day.
That's a really special feeling...




In other news...
I gave my uncle the link to my blog so he could see my camping pictures
and he really enjoyed the last post I did....
He responded in an e-mail and ...I think i'd like to share because it ...
it was really pretty insightful

"That transcendence stuff....reminds me of a song I heard, "Hold on tight to your dreams." Fate has a way of altering dreams for some of us. Perhaps this is a purely male thing, or a Gatz thing, or a middle-class striving for equality thing. Can't quite figure it out, but I keep working on it. I feel like a new me is emerging...one less driven to achieve and more excited about exploration. I hope the new one will eclipse the old. But gravity is a hard thing to overcome. After nearly 29 years of trying to climb an imaginary ladder, all I have learned is that I don't know how high one needs to climb, but the only real reason for gaining altitude is to gain some idea of where you want to go next...to see above all the clutter. So, my time with the kids is waning and there are some adventures we need to pursue. In the meantime, I have some sled pulling to do myself while avoiding holes in the ice...but I need to set out and have more FUN with family and friends. "

....something to think about
certainly something to think about.





P.S.
i cut my hair, for those of you who don't know.
just fyi...

On a new semester

It starts tomorrow
a new semester
not just a new semester
the Final semester of undergrad
(barring any...missed credits in there somewhere)

Its a bit strange to think of all the changes that have occured
and the differences between a freshman year and a senior year.
I'm finding myself busy with submitting work for competitions
such as the ADAI one
to SEGD competition
and even work to ID magazine

I've nearly completed a new portfolio website







But with everything wrapping up this way
I just cant for the life of me help but wonder what this semester will bring
what new challenges will arise

I think more than anything this semester
I want to focus on ... figuring out what it is I want, and reaching for it
School revolves so much around...
assigning things and putting deadlines on and saying
"this is what you are going to learn"
and I allow for this to transcend into other areas of my life, which is a bit scary.

And as I think a bit more, I realize that
I allow this transcendence by making excuses
...granted, these excuses have kept me rather safe
errr......but rather stuck, too..
they've served me well.
and they're certainly familiar
I never jump out of my comfort zones because I assume
that there is....
a lack of time
that i should be working (no resting, no lazy!)
that i won't be understood
that its too hard
it takes too much energy
But bringing these things into light really shakes their foundation
it clears my sight a bit
and I think that in reality, its my imagination limiting me
The excuses of.... of....
well "no one can have it all, anyway"
"i have to, they want me to"
and "i cannot let them down"

So...in the end.
This semester, I'm going to do more of what I want to do
and a little less of what i'm told to do
(sorry mom, I know that's against the "do as you're told" motto"

On Being Back!

Well folks
I survived

snowshoeing across only half frozen lakes in the boundary waters

pulling 60 pound sleds - that...tip over

bush-whacking with those sleds


falling through ice

...this was all...very difficult:

moving tents at 1am because the ice below us was cracking
building a quinsy




tripods in the snow...anyone?

living with 8 [no-longer] strangers for a full week
sleeping in 0 degree weather
dreams about hanging with sharon osborne (spelling?)

building campfires on ice




building a kitchen — out of snow!


Bos peeing outside of our tent

me peeing ....away from the tent, but in the snow...
upper camp attacking lower camp with snowballs

building a snowman

eating more candy bars in one week than I have in a year


cold cold cold toes
eagen...our fearless leader...falling


trench foot
pretending there were brown bears out there...

*singing* Alice the camel has...10 humps...
cross country skiing


ice climbing





long drives in a 12 paassenger van
getting unstuck from the snow in a 12 passenger van


hotelling with those same 8 strangers


dairy queen closing at 8 and not 9
making it to dq on time the Next day

Tobie's restaurant ....that has 3 parts to it...like freakin...disney land
losing my license
forgetting my phone
walking my sled home after it all


most of all
missing the Folds Family and crew

made me sing this song in my head a Lot

except during the
"starring out at endless fields of green"
it was.... endless lakes of...snow.
There are miles of trees like I've never seen"

:)

I'll post pictures when Betsy (from the trip)
gets an album up on facebook and I can link from there
:)
It'll help explain a lot more!