Final Project

Alright, I haven't blogged in forever because I don't know if I can only do so for class. What follows are the pictures for my final project but I may have to post them twice more because there may be a specific way I'm supposed to blog about them. This project was 'Place'.

The place I did my project on Occupy Pittsburgh. I chose this place because whenever I go there I feel like I've gone back in time to the 1930's and I'm in the middle of a hobo jungle. Obviously, that is not their cause or why they are there but every time I go I feel as though I am apart of history. The Great Depression was always my favorite era of history to study and I have written countless papers on it. And even though I may not be actually a part of that time in history I am a part of history because whether this movement accomplishes anything or whether it turns out to be just a trend of this decade, it is something historical and I will always have these pictures to show I was there and I was important some how.

This was their communal clothesline. I wouldn't love this picture as much as I do if I hadn't shown the edges of the negatives while I was printing it. I also love the contrast.

I suppose there are a lot of reasons why a shopping cart should be there but I didn't ask anyone. I like this photo because of the tents, which or completely iconic of the Occupy movement now. I also like how it tilts.

The way this one is so gritty and heavily contrasted it just sort of gives you a depressing or negative vibe. You throw any glimmer of childhood into that vibe and you get this great feel that really reminds me of the Depression. With anything going on in history it's important to think about where children play into it and how it will effect the next generation. The idea that kids lived here was really interesting to me.

This was the community library. I loved the fact that they had one. It's not something you expect to see in the middle of a park. I appreciate that these people are educated.

This man was so friendly and invited me to come sit with me while he told me everything he thought. He seemed lonely though. Every time someone got up to go somewhere else he would almost beg them to stay. He was a vet and people kept yelling mean things at him from their cars like, "Get a job!"

This was outside of someone's tent. I thought it fit my Great Depression theme perfectly. I also like the effect of the water next to it. I have no idea how that happened or if it's even water for that matter.

I wish I caught what the last note said. I just loved the way they looked on the fence with all the lines and how the contrast seems to vanish the farther you get from the center.

I printed the text backwards by accident but I feel it was a happy accident. After all, I'm not trying represent the Occupy Movement; I'm just trying to make my photos seem old and important. Someday they will be. I think you can see that in this photo.

This is the same shopping cart photo only it isn't crooked anymore and the imagine is a lot crisper. I honestly like the first one better because this one doesn't seem old. It definitely looks like it is from this time period. However, the crooked and faded picture could be viewed as flawed for the very reasons I like it so I decided to put up both to cater to both opinions.

This is the community library from a distance. In this you can see  the prayer banners over head. I have the same ones in my room. You can also see the tarp that keeps it safe from the elements. They care about their library. I have so much respect for that,

Portrait Photograpy

Our new assignment for photo class was portraits. My scanner broke before I could add my favorite picture of Kelcey but people seemed to like these ones a lot too.

This is Kevin, being silly. This was before we went to Stacey's photo shoot (we were actually waiting for Stacey). I didn't fully develop it properly because I always get afraid that I'll leave it in the magic water for too long and make it too dark.

Here's Kevin again! I love it because it actually was developed properly. I left it in the magic water for just the right amount of time :)

Plus it's just funny.

This is the one everyone seemed to like best because it's creepy. It doesn't have a bad setting either and it was left in the magic water for an okay amount of time. I'm happy.

Assignment

Alright! If you haven't read my blog before and you're doing so now because your my classmate, I just want to let you know that this is my preexisting blog that I've had for a few months. I just didn't want anybody to get confused. Anyway, people who do normally read this, I know I already posted these pictures last time but, as I said, it's a part of our assignment is to write something to go with them. And also to name them which is something I never do but I will for a grade. This one above here is to be called, "Man with Satchel"! I think it holds the tone quite nicely. I took it because I needed more motion photos for class and I loved his satchel. It seemed like it was from the 1930's, really cool. If I were a business man I'd be too awesome for a brief case too. Because it's in black and white, now it's not just the brief case that seems old. The whole thing could be from the 30's now. I think that's why people like it.

This one shall be known as "Flower Boxes"! I love tilting when I take pictures. I really enjoy the look of things receding into the vanishing point diagonally. I feel it's really interesting and causes a great depth of field. I also liked it because this was a parking garage, which to me does not scream 'floral'. Nothing about a city really makes me think of any kind of nature at all so whenever I see misplaced plants that is exactly what I think; misplaced and the contrast is interesting to me.

This one is just called "Ian". That's right, you guys now get to see what he looks like after I talked about him so much. This is the first picture I developed and printed and I was so happy when it turned out. I was pretty much squealing so this photo and I have a unique relationship. I took it for the depth of field, with the blurred traffic behind him and the foreground only existing in the right corner. I knew how to do the rule of thirds before I knew it was called that. I just figured everything is more fascinating if it's not head on. If you put it somewhere less expected, it will obviously be more worthy of attention, depending on the subject matter.

"Metal". These were in a tea store Ian was applying to work at and they seemed neat to me. The whole tea room had a cool vibe but I didn't know if it was too dark to take a picture with  out a shutter speed that would require a tri-pod so I only took the one. All the same, I'm pretty pleased with it.

"Grate". I have a tendency for taking pictures of feet. These are mine, for the record. I don't know if I just really like shoes (quite likely) or if I just have a high respect for the things feet allow us to do. When I was in the Palace Temples in Bangkok I always put the gold leaf of Buddha's feet to bring me safe travels.

I'm not the biggest fan of having to describe my work because I like when something has an air of mystery to it. I like when people have to ask me questions about something. That's also why I don't often name my photos unless it's something like "IMG452". Everybody's different.

Wonderfully Flustered

Alright, so excellent news!!!! Firstly, I had a waffle for breakfast. Secondly, I was way behind the rest of my photography class because my film kept being the wrong kind, impossible to find and buy or it kept going threw the camera wrong, not to mention that week I was sick. Everyone already had a ton of prints and I hadn't even developed any film yet. I was so flustered and scared even though Chris said he wouldn't fail me because I'm trying so hard. All the same, it's not cool to turn in nothing time and time again. So, I used some of the film my parents sent me (which turns out to be the only time I used the right film and they just happened to get it in a store that doesn't exist where I live) and I had Chris watch me put it in the camera. Then I went and took a million pictures and I thought Chris could help me develop them but it was a critic day. That means that all the kids that have prints (everyone but me) gets to have their pictures complimented by the rest of the class all day. I thought he could help me after class develop my pictures but he went straight home so I developed them all by myself! I did have a few break downs (I cried in the dark room like 3 times because I couldn't open the film canister, than I couldn't roll the film on the reel [it took me 20 minutes to do]) and I thought that there wouldn't be any pictures on the film because I couldn't get the dark room door to close all the way. HOWEVER!!! THERE WERE MANY A PICTURES TO BEHOLD! I also met a very nice woman who pressured me into also learning how to print today. I wasn't even planning on getting that far! But I became almost fully proficient in printing! I printed 8 pictures and I did more than half of that all by myself because she had to go somewhere. And they all turned out! One of them was a smidge blurry but none of them were under or over exposed! I went to photo class at 1 and left the photo lab at 7. That's 6 hours! That's a shift at my old job! And it flew by! I still can't believe it was that long, it didn't feel like it. Do you know what this means!? It means I chose the right career! It means I can do this and my job will fly by like I'm not even working! I can be a glorious photographer! And love it! And never regret it! The world is my oyster! Also, it was a photography class assignment to create a blog but I clearly already have one so as long as I figure out how to upload pictures here, my home work is done!

Health!

After all of last post happened it was finally Monday and the school nurse was in! Still too weak to walk, I had Julian take me in a wheelchair to the UPMC. The streets here happen to be horrifying from that angle if you're wondering and almost being launched out of your chair by a curb with the knowledge that you would not be able to get up on your own is NOT GROOVY! But we get there and the doctor is baffled by me and can't figure out what I have. He called me back when my urine got back and there was nothing wrong with it. He called me when my blood was back and there was NOTHING WRONG WITH IT! And by that time I also had the hives so I was like screw it, I'm at my limit. It's Wednesday, it's Rosh Hashanah, I am getting better today. The nurse said if I had an I.V. for a little bit I'd be strong enough to take care of myself and get down to get my own food without almost blacking out. With that, I'd be able to get better from everything else with time so I went to the hospital by a cab the nurse had a voucher for and I had this cool driver from Ethiopia. He thought I was Muslim because I had my Rosh Hashanah babushka on and than when he told me he was from Ethiopia he was like, "do you even know where that is?" "Africa," I declared. After he saw his snideness had no effect on my shield of good humor he gave up. After having that I.V. for a little while I was feeling a lot better and I used the other cab voucher to get back and guess what? Another cool driver who happens to be a photographer and a graphic designer! We discussed my future and he was just uber chill. I was able to walk all the way to Dominos when I got back and I bought a thank you pizza for the people who helped me get food when I was too week to get it myself. I than proceeded to hang out with Ian and Kevin until one in the morning. I went back to my room feeling spunky and refreshed! I took a much needed shower and now, Thursday  I am doing my laundry and cleaning my room and than it's off to CVS to fill my prescriptions and get the nurse flowers. I have already, get this, FED MYSELF! I have a long day ahead of me though. While sick though, I did find a bunch of movies from my childhood on Netflix. Care-bears were so much cooler back then, I admit.

BLAH!

So... Not the best weekend ever. I lazed about on Friday, didn't really do much of anything. With that in mind i would have loved to have done something Saturday. I had breakfast with Kevin, Ian, Stacey and Kelcey and then went to check my mail. They didn't seem to want to do anything more with me so I was a little bummed but it seemed like they already had plans. I decided to make a nap my plans and I was actually really looking forward to that nap when I ran into another friend of mine who seemed to want to hang out. But like I said, I really wanted that nap and I tried to drop (not very subtle) hints that he should stop following me but I eventually had to tell him to go so I feel all bad. But I had a lovely nap. I actually fell asleep while Skype-ing my boy friend and I woke up and called him back and asked when I fell asleep. He told me two and a half hours ago which I thought was so funny except, well, Ian and Kevin did want to hang out with me after all. In fact, the wanted me to go to hookah with them and I've really been wanting to go because I used to go to hookah all the time back home. They called me to invite me and I slept threw it and I'm still pretty miffed. I guess it's a good thing that I missed it though because as it happens I came down with a fever that night. It was definitely in the top ten worst nights of sleep I've weathered (nothing beats the time I had water in Thailand). I kept having delusions that I was being attacked by spiders so I kept kicking and thrashing to kill them but they kept coming back!!! This delusion was probably brought on by the giant spider who lives outside my window. I had to watch him eat a bug the other day and it was mentally scarring. Now it's sunday and guess what? I'm not better! I went to go check my mail this morning and my vision went black and I couldn't see and the spots didn't go awhile for awhile and when you feel like you're going to faint nothing freaks you out quite like the elevators here. When I finally got to my floor I had to sit in my hallway for like five minutes to steady myself. Now I'm too afraid to leave bed. When I'm inactive I feel just fine, in fact I feel full of energy and ready to do a bunch of stuff. I still feel really hot and fever-y but I feel okay besides that. Props go out to my roomy though. Last night when I couldn't move she took my student I.D. to the cafe and used one of my meal exchanges to bring me back food that I was too weak to get myself. I'm so grateful. I'm just really BORED.

History of my day

History of my day:
1. I should do my history proposal
2. I will take a nap
3. I should do my history proposal
4. I will do my chores
5. I should do my history proposal
6. I will make Ian's cat collage
7. I should do my history proposal
8. I will deliver Ian's cat collage
9. I should do my history proposal
10. I will hang out with Ian, Kevin and Julian
11. I should do my history proposal
12. I will watch movies with Kevin and Alanna
13. I should do my history proposal
14. I will go on Skype
15. I should do my history proposal
16. I will take a shower
17. I should do my history proposal
18. I will make Katya's bear collage
19. I should do my history proposal
20. I will go to the Cafe
21. I should do my history proposal
22. I will go on my blog and write this list
I feel like there's something I need to do....

In Business

My animal collage business is up and running! So far I have designed a moose collage, a cat collage, a pig collage, a bear collage and a red panda collage and in doing so I have earned $6.05 and a twizzler. This may not seem like much but it's 2 Venoms or one Subway sandwich. Speaking of which, I'm pretty sure I got the Subway job. The owner seemed pretty much ready to hire me but they're family owned so he says he has to ask his wife first. It would be great to be making money but no one really ever WANTS to work, you know what I mean? For example, I should be writing my history proposal right now but... there's always tomorrow lol. Kevin and Ian are officially my besties now. I have been abducted two days in a row and both times it was them that wanted me to stay and both times they were sad to see me go plus also plus also, I am now in Kevin's Facebook profile picture which automatically means we're chums. It surprises me how well I seem to be doing lately. It doesn't feel like my life, I feel like I'm as much of the audience as my family is; just watching from the outside to see what will happen next. I don't get very homesick and I've been on Skype a lot less. I do still think of my boyfriend constantly and wish that I could Skype him as much as I used to but I would honestly rather hang out with people than depress myself by talking about how much we miss each other. I don't know if talking to him less is a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand, if I talk to him less I will be less dependent, it will mean that I need him less, it will give me more time to really give this place a chance, it will mean I'm eating up less off his high school experience and it will make me less homesick. On the other hand, I don't want to grow apart, I like Skype-ing him, he's my only real connection to home because no one else Skype-s me anymore and I don't want him to feel replaced. I don't think he does though and I don't really worry about it much. I think we'll get threw this easily because I can't see anyone else any more. I can notice that someone is attractive but even if they're Leonardo DiCaprio there is no part of me that wants to be with them. I just don't see people that way any more and it doesn't mean I'm not keeping an open mind, I just don't and I've told him that and he says the same thing happened to him. We never fight for real. We'll honestly breeze threw this; I thought it would be a lot harder than it is. My family is sending me a care package and it's gonna be so beautiful. They sent me the books I miss and poptarts, equipment for my black and white film class, supplies for my collage making business and just sunshine and sparkles! I'm happy! Whenever I talk to my mom or even think about my mom it's like I'm still living with her. It doesn't feel like I'm not at all. I can obviously see that I physically moved all around me but on the inside I don't feel like I moved and it's great! It really keeps me from being homesick. Oh! I discovered the beauty of the Cafe! It has smoothies! Made to order smoothies! And now that I've told you... I think I need one lol.

Reality

It occurred to me after I wrote it that my last post actually didn't catch you up at all. Here is a nice list that will do the job better:
1. Stacey's roommate moved back in
2. Stacey in I hang all the time
3. My roommate's boyfriend was up and we have an agreement that on such an occasion she is entitled to an empty room over night so I slept over at Alanna's and Katie's and we watched Scott Pilgrim with Kevin
4. I applied at Subway. Fingers crossed.
5. I went to the Carnegie Museum of Art today. It was lovely, I would love to go back but it's only free if it's a school trip and I don't know if my Arts and Human Experience professor would send us there more than once. Maybe someday I'll get to see the Natural History Museum.
6. After Stacey's adventure with me to Oakland I went back and I really like it there. It feels more like a real life city whereas downtown where I live I think is meant to impress tourists but real people live in Oakland.
7. I found a Five Guys. I love them! So I nomed a fantastic burger and talked to my mommy and she might send me some photo stuff and maybe even poptarts!
8. I am a strong, independent, responsible woman who knows exactly what she's doing and she's doing it very well! Although she should probably start keeping track of how much she spends on books!
9. I figured our Flex Dollars (a school thingy they offer that you can use to buy stuff) and guess what? You can use them at Starbucks! So Kevin and I had the best hot chocolate ever! Also, you can use them in the cafe so sometimes now, when the mood strikes me, I strut on up to the Cafe and grab me a late night pop (that's what they call soda here, it's so silly) because the Cafe doesn't close until midnight or in between meals, unlike the cafeteria with it's wonky hours of service.
10. I found my bank and used an ATM and it was... convenient to learn to say the least.
11. I think you're caught up.

Creative Flow

May I start by saying that I have gone into business for myself! I am graphically creating collages of people favorite animal for a dollar (I'll raise it to two dollars once I'm well known). I've already made 2 and I've got another 2 customers on hold! That's four dollars! I can buy a Venom and still have a dollar left! I'm an artist! Now, second of all and more importantly I should like to discuss bed sheets. In college the character of a room and the person living within is defined by the bed sheets. My first roommate has a city scape with a wolf blanket, my second roommate has a lovely red tapestry. Now, I have a charming orange animal blanket with elephants and donkeys and doves and a very fluffy brown blanky but my bed sheets... My mother purchased me these pretentious, crisp, white bed sheets. She is a minimalist and looks very good in plain white herself BUT I AM AN ARTIST! MY BED SHEETS MUST HOLLER THE EXCELLENCE OF MY ARTISTIC FLOW! So I says to meself... perhaps I could customize them but oh no, my mum would hate that. That would be destroying them to her BUT THEN I SAYS TO MESELF! I says this, "Wait a moment, I'm an adult. These are the bed sheets of an adult. She has no twin bed and she shant be wanting them back! These are truly mine! The bed sheets of a grown up! And if I wanted to paint Monet's Water Lilies upon them to do so would affect only me and I have the right to." You see, it still hasn't fully registered to me that I'm an adult living on my own without parents. Sometimes I have to remind myself but these beautiful moments of clarity come at random intervals and I feel the most remarkable freedom. This was such a moment. So, I designed a wonderful swirl elephant on one side of my pillow case (in honor of my mother who loves elephants and inspired this moment of freedom) and on the other side I painted many swirls, peace signs, the earth, my hand print, my foot and a whole zoo of my favorite animals! Now, I bet you're wondering about my bed sheets. My favorite movie of all time is Peter Pan. The original cartoon by Disney has a special place in my heart and the book was fantastic BUT what I speak of is the live action film in 2003. That movie inspires me to tears every time I see it, I am not even kidding. I would marry that movie. I wish I were the movie photographer for that movie more than I wish to breath my next breath. I love every quote of that movie, every hollywood mistake. So, I watched it thoroughly, paint marker in hand, and wrote in a flowing cursive script all of my favorite quotes in chronological order upon my bed sheets. The end result is stunning! I am so happy and I know there is a chance my mum will read this and be most displeased with my choices to be impure but I love her and I believe, in the end, she's kind of inspired at the idea of having an artistic daughter. Something about it must, at the very least, spark her interest. You don't have to be an artist to appreciate one. I love you mom. Now if you'll excuse me, I have paint all over my face and I can't remember if I've gone to the bathroom at all today lol

Desperation Inventions

1. I used hot bath water to make tea
2. I invented honey mustard sause in the cafeteria
3. I used my oscillating to dry my clothes that can't go in the dryer (I'm currently quite proud of this system)
4. I made a band-aid out of tape and cotton ball
5. I cleaned a wound on my foot with hand sanitizer... I think that's ok

It's Gotta Get Bad Before It Gets Good

Yesterday was my 2 month anniversary (tuna-versary) so I skipped my last period class to come home, dry off from the rain, take a nap while watching movies on my laptop like it's a TV and then Skype my beautiful man. Now, before you hate me for skipping that class I actually dropped it today so it really doesn't matter. I don't need it for my major or to be a full time student, it's my only 3 hour class, it makes me have class until 6:30 on Thursdays which makes me miss every meal on Thursdays and it was just a bunch of field trips to places I didn't want to go soooooo by by class. The guy who runs the photography club told me the best thing a fellow photo major could do was drop it; who am I to argue with my superiors? After we skyped Stacey and I took the bus to Oakland to check out the Cathedral of Learning which is like Hogwarts on the inside. I love walking around other schools when I don't go there; I get this feeling of doing something sneaky and wrong but also knowing I can never be found out. I bet The Doctor feels that way always. It's starting to be Autumn outside and it's lovely. I used my blanket last night and I slept with my pillows on the wrong side of the bed so I can face by window. It was lovely. Anyway, after Oakland we went to the Gamer floor to see Ian and Kevin and we met some awesome folks like Ian 2 and Alanna and Katie (Who loves Pokemon!!! Yay!!!) and we watched video games, listened to soundtracks and told funny stories. Great night, I came home and fell asleep in my clothes. Then today, the beginning of the weekend I was trying to get a bunch of stuff done. I almost got a room change but it didn't work out, I did drop that class, I checked out this tutor session but eh, I didn't really need it I just thought it might be good to see it in case I ever do. Then Kevin and I got together to go on a photo adventure. I need to fill up a real of Black and White for my Black and White Photography class (we're starting dark room stuff) so we got some film, tried for ten minutes to open my camera, then once all set got started. I love my photos though, they are like my babies and I need to know that they'll come out and be ok which film doesn't guarantee so I took my digital too and took photos with both. Kevin took a lot too and showed me some cool stuff I didn't know. I'm so excited to develop! He's like my bff now and get this! Him and his girlfriend ARE EXACTLY LIKE ME AND MY BOYFRIEND! He started telling me about them and I was like holy cow dude, I am astounded. I feel like I should give him my boyfriend's Skype and they can be pals lol. Now, I'm in my warm home uploading my pictures to Facebook and Kevin better be doing the same because I loved his pictures of me. He's a boss.

Dizzy

I wasn't able to eat all day so I over ate tonight and now I'm mad dizzy. Anyway, my Arts and Human Experience Class is fantastic, I can honestly say this. My teacher (professor?), who is at least in his 30's, always has a new song in his head. I had Party Rock in my head for a week and now I have Super Bass because of him. Grrrrr. But, really interesting class. It's like a history of art class except we go on museum adventures and judge things. Black and White Photography could be cool, or really expensive. Whatever comes first hahaha. Yesterday I tried to make a few new friends with Stacey but they didn't top the ones from my last post. Kevin (what did I say I'd call him? Tex?) is like top of my bestie list but yesterday I met a Mister Julian and a Miss Jackie, nice people but not as fun. I now have higher expeditions but they are cool and my first day here I would have gone bananas over them lol. Today, Ian and I went to the comic book store I've been eyeing and I FOUND A DOCTOR WHO COMIC! I didn't know there was such a thing, I of course purchased it. I went in my SuperJew shirt so I was the toast of the town. I was asked why I was wearing my underpants under my pants lol. My beautiful friend back home gave me her Netflix info so I get to see Skins U.K. again. I love that show! I wonder what other glorious things I can find on there? Anyway, I'm still ecstatic about my new social life. I'm going to make Kevin and Ian go on a photo adventure with me later. Lalalalalalalalala

FINALLY!

Ok, I finally have fun stuff to post. I made four friends today! It's about time because I think I bruised my but from sitting so much so then I brought my laptop in bed and bruised my elbow from propping myself up that way for so long. It got so bad I was solving 25 by 25 nonograms and making post apocalyptic super heroins in Photoshop. So I was getting really bored with life, yeah? THEN!!!! I'm heading to lunch in the elevator and this girl gets on one floor below mine and she sees I'm heading to the third floor. She asks, "Are you going to the cafeteria?" and I respond with "Yeah." She asks, "Are you going to eat by yourself?" and I reply a shameful "Yeah." She then asks me if she may join me and I'm like absolutely! So we talk at lunch and her troubles ARE my troubles. She had trouble with her roommate so she now lives in a double room by herself, she has been having trouble making friends and like myself she has been getting a little desperate (aint no shame in that.) So she has been randomly approaching, sitting with, talking to and attacking strangers. Philosophy= when people don't fall in your lap you must jump in theirs. It was fantastic, we talked forever. She lives on the writer's floor which was my second choice and I live on the culture floor which was her second choice. She texts me to join her for dinner which I accidentally sleep threw so I text back, "I'm sorry, what are you doing now? I want an energy drink, wanna join?" So when we go to my favorite vending machine which has Venom we decide that we should throw ourselves on some more people in Thayer Hall (dorm building connected to ours by a sky bridge). Unfortunately the card keys that work to open the hall doors in our building don't work in Thayer so we have to wait for people to come threw and open doors. On the gamer floor we get lucky and we get in but we circle it four times before we have the courage to talk to anyone. It is then that we meet Ian. He is mad chill and invites us to go to Station Square which has a fountain light show. I LOVED IT! I like wanna go every night. While we're there his friends Kevin and Kevin meet up with him. The first Kevin is a little quieter but cool. I shall refer to him as Sevin, because I can. The second one is AMAZING! New best friend! I haven't used my actual personality in so long and I totally came out of my shell again and went back to being fun, silly, retarded me. He is Jewish, like me. He knows who Doctor Tran is. He is a cinematographer and claims to hate photographers but I'm like "We invented you!" and he's like "NO! WE CAME FROM HORSES!" But he takes mad pictures and he's a Canon and I told them I needed Hookah friends and they were like sure sure. I made them laugh a lot, I was really comfortable and in my element. And I don't think I'm sitting here being like "Oh, yeah we totally hit it off!" when in all actuality they hated me. I definitely think at least Jewish Kevin (who I will refer to as Tex because I can) had a good time with me and would not mind hanging out again. Next time though I plan to be dressed. I thought I was just going out for a Venom so I was in my Pajamas and I was icky so next time I will be awesome and I will make friends and it will rock. The End. By Me.

Long Weekend

Mckinley went away to D.C.. I didn't realize she was gone until a day later so I felt like a dunce. Because of Labor Day I have 4 days off, tomorrow is day 4. It's been pretty boring; I think I may have actually damaged my bum by sitting for so long. I think the extent of my moving, besides a few chores, has been rolling out of bed to sit at my desk. Now, don't think that means I haven't gotten anything done! I went to CVS and refilled my prescription (girly stuff), I go down for the occasional meal but I really should eat more. I'm allowed 2 meals a day but I tend to go down for one so I gotta stop that but their hours are weird so it's hard. I'm never hungry at breakfast time and they close too early for me to make it for dinner so I'm there for lunch. Anyway, I also did all my laundry (but my colors ran so now all my tie dye has more pink lol thank goodness I'm a hippie) and did a worksheet and I spent 6 hours making a picture of me and my boyfriend. The first 4 hours were me drawing it, the next 2 were scanning it in and finishing them in Photoshop. I love Photoshop, that is my favorite medium. I am a beast at graphic art when I get properly inspired (when I'm watching movies, movies inspire me in two seconds flat). I also hacked my boyfriends Facebook and put all his font in "Pirate" mode and once he realized it and put it back I sent it all upside down. Oh!! And then he was I.M.ing someone and I kept closing the chat box and I was on Skype with him at the time and saw him getting confused and frustrated and I asked, "Hey, does your chat box ever randomly close?" and he was like "Yeah!! That was just happening, it's not just me?" and I busted out laughing and he was like "Oh, you're mean!" I've watched a lot of School Rumble but after awhile when it stops being about Tenma and Harima and starts being about all these dumb secondary characters it's just a lot less awesome. I forced my boyfriend to watch Hercules, I watched Treasure Planet and some Doctor Who. It's the funniest thing; while they were having a hurricane back home I started season 4 of Doctor Who and I have a super nerdy Doctor Who fan at home who has seen everything and I called her freaking out. "ROSE! SHE WAS THERE, SHE WASN'T IN HER RESPECTIVE PARALLEL UNIVERSE!!?" and she was like, "I'm in the middle of a hurricane and you want me to set that aside to show fake enthusiasm for a decade old spoiler? Let me give that a go. Ah! Rose! What could this mean!?"  I got into some new music. You see, now that I live in a dorm my "Music Sharing" thing on Itunes picks up all these other accounts and I found the folder of this music snob I met and guess what? Apparently I am a music snob too because I loved everything in there and had a lot of it already. I used to just think I was alternative, or just a hippie. I don't like thinking of myself as a snob. Oh, and I opened my mailbox all by myself twice! That's a big deal because I always had a problem with combinations. I didn't use my locker threw 4 years of high school. One of my text books came in and i discovered I share my mailbox with someone named Abigail. I almost took her birthday card which is why I had to open the mailbox successfully twice. It's been really hot but since Mckinley isn't here Sara and I each have our own fans! Normally we have to try and make two fans work for 3 people and we all suffer. Of course, we're still suffering but in a more proactive way. I'm like obsessed with showering now. I'm not sure about my classes yet which is why I haven't talked about them. It's too soon to tell if they're awful but, of course, I am nervous. Some of them want me to buy things I don't have money for, some of them want me to walk to galleries and things that I don't know how to locate and on top of it all I've been having so much trouble focusing on anything outside of my dorm. What's an education besides an obstacle in my path and a pebble in my shoe? I know I need it and don't worry, I'll get it but I wont like it lol. I just want to take pictures, do I really need 4 more years of schooling for that? I'm sure I'm already exemplary. My high school photography teacher loved me and gave me awards and exhibits and opportunities and things because I was so good and then I got into Photoshop and everyone was impressed. I know I'm good and I'm not being vain because that is the only compliment you will ever hear me give myself. I suck at everything else, I hate my personality and appearance and maybe saying I'm not vain is also giving myself a compliment but than that's it. Those are the only two things I'll let myself have lol. I think I'll minor in graphic design or something so I can Photoshop. Maybe advertising? We'll see, or those of you who keep reading this will.

Huge, Poorly Written Update

cant focus on reading my assigned text book soooooo

first of all i just got obsessed with school rumble, its so cute, it makes me feel better about college

second of all i found a comic book store, i don't know if im cool enough to go in lol

third of all i love my boyfriend but i totally make him sad and i miss him and want to believe i’m worth loving but that’s hard for me

fourth of all i had a huge sandwich that you can only get in pittsburgh and they put fries and coleslaw in your sandwich and i got it with a nice chica on my floor

fifth of all i really wanna photoshop right now

sixth of all my french teacher is apparently gonna write me, it'll be cool

seventh of all i need a job so im going to go to all the recruitments which are convenient

eighth of all im already a little over whelmed

ninth of all im hungry

tenth of all i think my roomies are growing on me maybe

eleventh of all im unsure of my major and what ill do for my double major or minor to make myself more marketable but also choosing something i love

twelvth of all i miss taking pictures

thirteenth of all im going to get fat, too much free food

fourteenth of all i need to do laundry

fifteenth of all i need to take out the trash

sixteenth of all i want winter to come

seventeenth of all i want money

eighteenth of all books cost money

ninteenth of all im hungry

twentieth of all im using my school bag

twenty first of all we got the printer working

twenty second of all i like writing

twenty third of all i love art, i miss it, im sad im comprimising it

twenty fourth of all i love movies

twenty fifth of all im hungry. there. you’re all caught up

Irene

They're having a tropical storm back home so they have no power. That means I can't Skype anyone today. I suppose that's a good thing. I've been glued to my computer screen. I missed the hypnotist last night and I'm actually a little upset about it. Mckinley says it was a lot of fun and not fake at all. My best friend says I'm not giving living here a real try and my nana says I'm being unhappy on purpose, which I'm not. I'm actually not even unhappy. I just don't find the activities all that interesting. I'm not all that home sick and I know that when classes start I'll be a lot more occupied and happy and I'll join a club or maybe two and I'll try out the gym. I guess the real issue is I'm waiting for things to happen and in the mean time I don't feel like doing anything. But if I don't feel like it, why should I do something I know wont make me happy? If I'm happy on my computer then why shouldn't I be on it? I see that as making the best of things. I think I might have to transfer after this year to somewhere closer to home but I don't know if that's the right choice either. I don't know if I like not living alone, nothing against my roommates. They're really nice. I'm just not sure about anything.

My Numerology (According to the Internet)

Yesterday was hard for me. I started really missing my boyfriend so I Skype-d him thinking he would make me feel better but instead I just really depressed him and then I felt bad so I tried to text someone who would cheer me up but they were all asleep. And it didn't help that my roommates were so chipper and happy to be here while I was sulking. So now I am diverting myself by looking up interesting things and numerology fascinates me sooooooooooo.....

Oddly enough every single one of my numbers was 5. My destiny number, my personality number and my soul number were the same.

Destiny: People with 5 as their destiny number add to people's sense of liberation. They advance progress and are multi talented. They have to face numerous changes. They are diplomatic and tactful. They depend on intuition more than reasoned thought. They are mentally very active. They travel frequently and enjoy freedom. Their eloquence makes them very persuasive and influential. They are interested in studies. They deeply want to master complex subjects. They make friends easily and have enormous flexibility of character.

Personality: Persons with 5 as their personality number love freedom. They are intellectuals and may be creative but can't manage money well. They may overindulge in intoxicants, sex or other temporary mood lifters. They can't do routine work and hate to go into details. They love traveling and also like change and adventure. They love socializing. They are pragmatic, strong and energetic. They are versatile and astute. They are functional, resourceful and decisive. They are reckless, irritable and bad tempered. They are unreliable, skeptical and speculative.

Soul: People having 5 as their soul urge love, independence and variations in life. They are intellectuals. They love to travel and are adventurous. Travel normally brings good fortune and advancement in life. They can't go deep into a job. They don't value time at all. They have strong sexual urge. They are creative but poor at finance. They like socializing. They are anxious and restless because they have too much surplus energy.

This is all true of me! It's really scary! Although I like to think I can't be summed up in three paragraphs. But do you know what this means? It means we can chose the personality of our children based on what we name them! Of course, it would take a lot of calculation and the exact day they are born also affects their numerology so it would have to be very last minute calculation but if you were willing to put in the effort you could customize your spawn! I don't know if I feel man should have that kind of power but apparently we do and that is pretty bananas.

Song of the Day

Bryan Adams- I Will Always Return

obvious reasons :-(

Mckinley

So my second roommate moved in tonight and we all went to subway which made me miss my boyfriend eternally. But she is very nice, much more outspoken but she is a mormon and I don't quite know what that means sooooooooooooo I'm going to keep being me and I just wont smoke anything around her. Noooooow I should like to Skype my beautiful boyfriend and I typed beautiful subconsciously. That is how awesome he is. And my CAPS LOCK IS ACTING UP!

Moving In Day

Today is the day everyone moves in (including my second roommate, tonight [we shall go out for dinner, all three of us]). Unfortunately, today is also the day I wanted to get a lot done. I needed to run some paper work over to the financial department, get my identification card, get my meal sticker, try the cafeteria I'll be eating at for the next four years and all sorts of other important things. However, because everyone is moving in it is impossible to get an elevator and if one actually does land on your floor by some miracle of fate it tends to have 200 people and a moving cart in it already. These moving carts take around as much space as six people could fill. Now, I'm not implying laziness. I could very well take the stairs but the thing is... I LIVE ON THE SIXTEENTH FLOOR!!!! All the same I have managed to get a lot done, all except for eating because the cafeteria is closed for another hour so I'm just going to sit here and grumble to myself now... razlefrazle

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

The scariest thunder storm ever happened last night (Sara's first night here, of course). It was mostly horrifying because it was immensely loud and every time we heard it start to leave and thunder somewhere else, out of nowhere IT WOULD COME BACK!!! We'd be like, "I think it's gone, it sounds very far off" and then ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAR!!!!!!!!!!!! IMA THUNDER NOISE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not only that but my boyfriend Skype-d me with no shirt on so she thinks he popped up naked, my best friend who thought I had my ear phones in hollered "I LIKE HER, SHE'S SWEET" and she had to meet me yesterday. If she doesn't want to leave yet I would be colossally surprised because I now feel like everything around us is trying to scare her including my loved ones lol. Oh, and here is a glorious bit of information. My parents figured out Skype. Would you like to know what my mother used it for? To tell me my floor is a mess and my closet is open. She is nagging me from hundreds of miles away! But, it's always good to maintain a sense of normalcy (which is why the closet shall stay open and the floor shall remain untidy).

City

Sara and I went out exploring the city (after I jabbered at her for 6 hours about my personal life [she is not as conservative as I feared]) and we discovered a lot of useful things. There are a hundred CVS stores, I found where all my classes are, I discovered a bunch of food places (including Subway!!!!! EAT FRESH!!!!!!) photo repair shops and other such convenient locations. We went out for Chinese food and unfortunately I was wearing my panda dress so I felt like a huuuuuuuuuge racist. We came home and have been online skype-ing our loved ones ever since. She has met my parents, my best friend and my boyfriend already. She's very sweet and she certainly has been putting up with me, a very remarkable skill. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have nothing to do and nothing I must stop typing to attend to.

Doctor Who... and Sara Continued

Sara moved in and even though I was a complete stranger to her on my birthday she bought me two movies, Coraline and Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist which are two movies I love! Don't think she's a psychic though, she checked my Facebook to see what I like. She's very sweet. She put up with me Skype-ing my boyfriend for an hour and already had to listen to me finish up my episode of Doctor Who which brings me to a glorious subject!
The wonderful world of Doctor Who! It is the best show in the entire galaxy and any galaxies around it. If you haven't seen it you should. I have had people swear to me that they wouldn't like it and been hooked. I am heavily immersed and almost done with season 3 (of the new ones) and I can't even figure out what happens next because I don't want to pay for my videos so I go to iwatchdoctorwho.com and I am only allowed to watch one megavideo a day without paying. So then I have to find a whole different website with lesser quality that will let me watch another video and it is hard so I hate when an episode is to be continued. I suppose kids in Britain have to wait a week to find out what happens but still..... harumph!

Sara

My roommate is moving in as we speak. Her boyfriend came up with her because she's lucky and I'm not. She seems very sweet but she didn't bring very much. I guess I had more because I told her what we already brought. I had the mini fridge so she bought the TV. I bought the shower curtain so she brought the decorations. Her family seems nice... I can't really get to know her until she's less busy so I will have to write again later. She definitely doesn't strike me as a fellow hippie but I didn't think she would be and I can certainly deal with that. My other roommate comes tomorrow morning.

Reasons

Some reasons why I'm writing this awful thing. One) For those of you back home who miss me I thought it would help to be kept in the loop, to know how I'm doing and what I'm doing. It also makes it so I don't have to tell each of you individually over and over again how I'm doing and what I'm doing. Two) I'm going to be a photojournalist. Now I know very well how to be a photographer, in fact I'm quite accomplished at it but I need help being a journalist; being a writer. I love to write but my writing isn't very good. It needs a lot of work and this is practice. Three) I'm a bit lonely. Telling my computer about my day helps, as pathetic as that sounds. Four) I'm getting accustomed to a new laptop but since I started this blog I am liking it more and more. I used to be a PC and I don't think I like being a Mac but I'm getting used to it now. Now I must conclude so that I may start talking about something more interesting.

Question

This is just a random question I feel the need to ask. What happens if Pinnocchio says "My nose will now grow!"?

Anyway, Good Morning! I fixed my fan!!! It wouldn't turn on no matter what I did and none of the buttons had words on them so I was just randomly pushing them all to try and find on. At one point it stayed on for 2 minutes and then turned off and wouldn't turn back on. So I thought it was the outlet. I ran around my room and plugged it into every outlet I could find but still nothing so I simply went to bed very hot and sad. When I woke up I read the instructions, discovered which one was the power button even though I had already hit every single button around 200 times. The instructions pointed out the On button and, as I'm sure you can imagine, pushing it still did me no good. At this point I was getting angry and ready to throw it out the window. I took the plug out of the outlet and put it back in upside down, or should I say right side up because it finally turned on!!! Of course, now I'm terrified of turning it off because I don't want to go through this again so it's been on for 24 hours now.... and it's a beautiful thing....

Song of the Day

I always loved choosing a song of the day whether it was on twitter, Facebook or just on my phone. Whether or not I was capable of remembering everyday to choose one is a different story but whenever I remember I will surely post what it is.
Today's Song of the Day is by Bruce Cockburn. It is called "Wondering Where the Lions are" and it has been my favorite song since I discovered it. At the restaurant I worked at back home they would always play the Sirius XM 70's radio so we always ended up hearing the same songs over and over again throughout the week but curiously I only heard "Wondering Where the Lions are" once in my entire stay there and that one listen was enough to persuade me to snatch it on itunes.
In the mornings now in my dorm I always seem to wake up too early and henceforth I am very unhappy to be unable to fall back asleep but I play this song and I feel much better, lighter than air and beautifully free in my own place.
Not for long, though. I have a roommate moving in today while I'm in orientation. She seems very nice. We've been texting and I got a call from her once. She seems like she might be a little shy but very sweet and willing to help those around her. She offered to buy any dorm stuff I haven't and even asked me what I wanted to by birthday even though I'm still a stranger to her! Both of my roommates have been planning online to re-celebrate my recent birthday (August 11th). I've never heard of anything sweeter!

Pets

In a perfect world where anything was possible what would you do? There are a million and 6 answers and then some for every individual person because it is human nature to alway be dissatisfied and hope for more. For this reason I believe the meaning of life is to always be progressing. It worries me sometimes that the world's progress is declining and therefore whatever higher power there is may very well drive us into extinction soon. But that is not what I'm writing about now.
I would like to put into documentation the animals I would have as pets in a perfect world. Of course, in this perfect world I live on a mountain in Tuscany in a yurt. That's just one scenario, however. In a parallel perfect world I am a gypsy, in another I am a Native American, in another I am a cat. As I said, a million and 6 to the power of infinity number of wishes would still not satisfy any human. But in the first scenario I would have a few pigs, probably teacup. I only have names for two of them; Mu and Pumba. I would have a goat named Jolly and a goose named Jok. Maybe a few goats actually. I would wish for a red panda but it doesn't make sense for one to be on a mountain top in Italy so I believe that belongs in another perfect world. I have tried to organize all the perfect worlds before but since there is always something new to wish for I can't even do that.

Potatos

The word (or words, rather) for potato in French is (are) "Pomme de Terre". It means, literally, apple of the earth and I feel this is the best way to describe them. Nothing could be more organic than une pomme de terre. No matter which way you cook them they are like eating something Mother Nature herself handed to you. All my mother ate while she was pregnant with me were carbohydrates so I am particularly inclined to bread, rice and potatoes. It seems I was born to be a peasant or a vagabond but if you can be happy on something I ask you, why deny yourself? What have you done so wrong that you don't deserve simple happinesses? A potato is just that; a simple happiness, a small accomplishment, an exemplary vegetable carved and forged by the earthen G-ds. In the Princess Academy, a glorious story by Shannon Hale, Britta describes a childhood game in which she would pretend to be very poor and she would dig up vegetables from the garden and eat them as fast as she could before they were ready as if she were starving, her hands covered in dirt. In Austenland, another book by the fantastic Shannon Hale, Jane describes the relief of the deep, cold, mineral taste or well water. Her elaborate way of describing every little detail in a deeply human and relatable way with endless metaphors and similes make it so that I can almost taste what she's talking about. These little wonders of nature dazzle me every time.

3 Beds

Since I've been alone in a 3 person room for the past 2 days I have climbed on every surface, jumped on every bed and sat in every drawer. Despite how simple these things may seem I find myself rushing back here as soon as I'm released. The reason is simple; IT'S MINE! For less then 24 hours now this entire space belongs to me!!!!! And although I am highly uncomfortable even leaving the door unlocked when I use the bathroom there is something that feels very special about being able to safely do so.
Other, more permanent little things bring me joy as well such resting my phone on the outlet that is charging it or leaving my closet open or pulling a Doctor Pepper out of my mini fridge and sipping it while watching Pride and Prejudice and eating licorice. Deciding which parts of orientation I wish to attend tomorrow or if I would rather just stay home (HOME) and wait for my first roommate to arrive. Running around the city to see if I could buy an ethernet cable or get my hall key fixed or test my mailbox combination and doing all of it alone in the sunshine! Well, if anything, it almost makes me feel my age but I doubt I'll ever surpass 7 in my mind. 18 just seems a ridiculous number. It means Peter Pan wont come for you, you can't join the Kids Next Door, you can't have Fairly Odd Parents and you can't ride the Polar Express  :-(

Pride and Prejudice

Following in the footsteps of many writers before me (including my favorite, Shannon Hale, whom I have loved since  before the Goose Girl had any sequels) I would like to commemorate Jane Austen. I have had many a fond experience with her. It's not many a child who can say they bunked class to hide in the library and read her work. I wont lie, I bunked class many times after that for less amiable reasons but I bunked my very first time to hide in a corner and read Pride and Prejudice. They used to let you read in the library during lunch in Middle School but I guess High School is not supposed to encourage learning and so you had to be a sneak about it. In Middle School I spent every lunch in the library. I called my librarian "Goddess" and in return she would let me go back to class late with a note excusing me. But I am getting off topic.
I have recently found a new reason to love Jane Austen; the movie version of Pride and Prejudice. Now I'm not implying I haven't seen it before now but my feelings towards it are reborn. For clarity, I am talking about the Keira Knightley version.
I don't remember packing it for college but there it was, in one of my boxes while unpacking. I have, since then, watched it 4 times. My new reason for loving it is this: when I was hopelessly alone in a new place with no one there to talk to and no one I knew around, I knew the characters in this movie. They were the only people I knew here and so my mind keeps begging to run away with them and I unhealthily oblige. Now, if you'll excuse me I must go do so once more before bed.

I still have a lot of energy tonight so I feel I should write more things. Here are topics I would love to cover:
The true definition and hidden meanings of LOL
My first day moving in and the doctors trip that followed
Being alone in a three person room
Twizzlers
The glory of Skype
beautiful, wonderful internet
Pride and Prejudice
Shannon Hale
Newbury Comics
Pandora

This list will definitely expand over time but these are things I would loooooove to blog about. They just seem like things people would blog about, huh?

Tea

Firstly, I should like to bestow all credit I may receive (if any) for this crappy first blog to a blog called To All My Fans. A daughter of my mother's best friend writes it and she inspired me to write one. She blogged  about seeing my mom and it made my mummy think she was a celebrity. It included pictures of our home which I had been regretting not taking pictures of myself. She simply made her blog about things she liked, colors she enjoyed, pictures she found, items she appreciated. It's fairly beautiful.
Secondly, I made tea using the hot water facet in my tub.

In the Beginning

Alright, this is my first attempt at a blog and I don't expect it to be anything wonderful or popular. I think I may just being doing it so I have a new way of venting or bragging when there is no one there to hear me. You see, I've just started college very far away from home. I know that the only person I have to blame for leaving is myself. I wanted to go far away and have a dorm and freedom and a new start. As an only child, you always dream of someday having roommates. Well, I'm here before my roommates by a day or two... or three. I am always happy and feeling free and fresh in the morning but nights are very sad. I confess that I wanted to go away because there was nothing good left for me at home. Nothing had ever panned out for me socially there. Of course, that is, until the year I was leaving. That is when I accumulated the best friend the world has ever known (she walked to my house in flip flops, in winter, at night because I was sad about high school drama) and the man of my dreams who I am ridiculously committed to. Now, I am very much regretting coming here but only at night. In the morning I am happy just to Skype them. So that is the ever-long starter story and I pray the rest of my posts will be much more amusing.