Labor of Love

Labor of Love (Andrew Peterson cover)

This is my friend Melinda. 

This is her pretty self. 

Enjoy.

I sincerely hope all of your Christmas' were wonderful and blessed. I'm in Tennessee as I write this, visiting family. I get to sleep with a golden retriever tonight. If that's not exciting, I don't know what is. 

Okay, Melinda, I've seriously listened to this song about 6 times now. Goodness, you should just sing for the rest of your life. I'm sure no one would mind. 

Because of break, I have been watching manya episode online. Now, time and time again everyone and their mother has been all up in everyone's business about Doctor Who. Frankly, I'm terrified of the series. It's HUGE and a maassssive undertaking and largely fandomed. Do any of you watch it?

Because starting Doctor Who intimidates me to the point of curling up in a corner, I took on a newer series, Up All Night. An easy eleven episodes. And it's SO good. Will Arnett (Arrested Development) is awesome. You should watch it.

I've been doing some Parks and Rec, too. Such a good cast.

Also, Bachelor starts in a few days. Can I get a shameful, "Yeaahhh!?!" I have no Bachelor buddy this season. Please be there for me, guys. We can hate all the same people. :]

What shows are you watching right now? 

I need to get back into the swing of things. Time off makes me funky. And gives me headaches. Why is that even a thing?

My blogs are boring. :[

Blog redeeming pretty pictures!

xxx

All Mustaches Go to Heaven

(Edit: This post was written a week ago. I haven't posted it because I was too lazy to draw an angel with mustache wings. I have since finished school and turned 21. More about those two things in the next few days. Anyway, continue.)

I just finished my first class in Chicago. Luckily, the first one to finish was the one in which the teacher very much disliked me for reasons I am not aware of. I managed to get a 'B' which is fine by me. You see, he didn't give us a grade... not one single grade until the day of the final project, today. So, he tells you your grade and you can basically do nothing but smile and be content. So I was.

He really didn't like me. The really annoying thing was that I was literally going out of my way to be nice to him and a good student as soon as I was receiving bad vibes from him. My style is different from his, that's for sure... but I never did an assignment incorrectly or strayed from the guidelines. From what I can gather, I feel as though he took my lighthearted ideas as not taking the assignment seriously. He was literally skeptical about each and every one of my ideas. The class, however, always had my back. Although today, the last critique, he said, "You have good ideas. Your execution is just overly simplified." GOOD IDEAS?! Stop it. Stop that.

Can I tell you what it says under artists statement on my portfolio?
"I believe design should be classy, clean, and effective." 


Sure, it's my comfort zone. But I feel as though your comfort zone is also what brands you as an artist. I'm not anti-expanding your abilities and horizons as an artist, but blah. I'm starting to finally find my groove, and let me tell you... it has nothing to do with translating anything tangible into a sketch on paper.

He proceeded to ask me how graphic design was going for me, as if my lack of ability to achieve the kind of drawings he wanted had a direct correlation for my ability to render projects on the computer. I told him it was going fantastically, promised to always carry a sketchbook, took my 'B' and told him to have a lovely Christmas.

(Just between you and me, I think the man is a compulsive liar.)

But I'm over it. Because the CLASS is over. So it's done done done.

The difference between a science class and a class in the arts is that in science, you're graded for what you know. It art, your grade comes from another person's opinion of a bunch of little pieces of who are are.

With that being said, I did end up kind of taking the last project a little too lightly. I drew a bunch of angels, gave them mustache wings, and wrote a two page story titled "All Mustaches Go to Heaven." It's a quality piece of fiction dealing with a little girl and her daddy's mustache during no shave November.

Lexie wanted me to draw myself as a superhero. Here you go, Lex. HERE YOU GO. (Ps. This wasn't part of what I turned in. That was hand drawn over many hours. This was pieced together in two minutes. Guys, I took the project at least somewhat seriously, gosh!)


You must admit, it is kind of clever.

It's definitely December

I finally switched over to the new Blogger template. I still need a few days to adjust. Hmm. Anyway, this year has already been the most Christmas filled year I have had ever in my life. Largely in part due to two things: my roomie, and Chicago.

This weekend was amazing. With everyone around me on the quarter system and not in school right now, I have the disadvantage of managing a "not in school" social life and an "in school" schedule. Therefore, I haven't been home in days, my room is a mess, I have no groceries, and I should have done laundry a week ago. HOWEVER, this was one of my favorite weekends in Chicago thus far.

Reasons:

1. Chicago has this thing called the Holiday train, where they take a normal el train decorate it inside and out with as much Chrstmas as possible. The seats, the outside, the lights, the music, the ads... Christmas. Everything. It's the most magical commute you will ever experience. Santa is even on it.

The seats may have been my favorite part.

Polar Express? Perhaps.

Even the awful jokes were magically endearing.

2. Then we went to the Zoo because during Christmas they have it lit up like crazy and Christmified to the max. The picture up top is of that. Plus, I had never even been to this zoo yet, so it was especially exciting. We all literally felt five. Which brings me to...

3. My friends are just as nerdy as I am. It's not strange geeking out at the most randomly simple things, because chances are one of them is geeking out more than I. And they're Nerdfighters. And we talked about Maureen Johnson and John Green and took pictures by puppy sized elephants. And we all had fancy cameras and all stopped at random times to take pictures. So you weren't "that one person whose camera is better than everyone else's and takes random artsy pictures." 

ALSO, it was getting to the point where we were all figuring out how similar our introverted nerdy similarities were that I asked one simple question. "Okay, so how did you start on the internet. I mean, what brought you to it. What was your first obsession."

In unison everyone said, "Neopets."

Done.

Puppy-sized Elephants

4. We went to this HUGE HUGE craft fair. And it was packed. But it was packed with awesomeness. Oh, and Jeananne and I wore antlers the entire day. At one point a woman on the street called us Donner and Blitzen. We're Don and Blitz.

5. Our apartment is crazy full of DIY Christmas crafts.

6. Christmas Christmas Christmas.

Okay, Lex... I got your request loud and clear and it's coming soon. I need to write like six more blogs this year because I wanted to have more than last year.

Happy Christmas, Harry!

Happy Christmas, Ron!

Why I Didn't Go Into Advertising

I love marketing, advertising, public relations and the like. I can talk about this stuff for a long time and goodness knows I have opinions.

But today, this happened:

The ever obvious Black Friday/ Rebecca Black's "Friday" connection. It's awful, it's obnoxious, and it's just annoying at best. It's already causing a scene on the internet. People have opinions, more bad than good. More dislike's than like's. When I first realized what this video was, I cringed... probably like half of America.

But, guys... mission accomplished. Everyone will now know about Kohl's Black Friday sale. It doesn't matter how much you hate the ad. You now know all about it.

It's funny to me the entitlement people feel when they share their opinion of disgust, when Kohl's is loving every second of it. It's getting people to talk, it's getting views, etc. Kind of like Rebecca Black herself, she was famous for being awful, but she was still famous. And she's now producing on a major record label.

Advertising is about getting it out there, regardless of how awful it is... as bad as that sounds. It's a tricky business with a ton of underhanded methods and secrets. Kohl's isn't stupid, folks. They're kind of brilliant.

It's fascinating to me, but it's sneaky. And I don't want my career to involve selling people things my whole life.

& that's what I think. Sorry that I write about boring things sometimes.

Staring

So, I’m on my way to Minnesota riding the Megabus for the first time. I had low expectations, but so far I am surprisingly pleased.

I think I’ve mastered the window stare. You know, when you can see someone’s reflection in the window thereby giving you a prime people watching cover? And then if they see you, they won’t be able to tell if you’re watching them or just staring out the window in pensive thought.

Anyway, all the passengers are way more friendly and way less sketchy than I thought. We stopped on the UW campus and picked up like 15 students. I’ve exchanged a few words with a couple of passengers, but nothing close to sustained conversation.

However, a few rows in front of me is a boy who is a freshman in college and a sweet woman I’m guessing in her late sixties. They have been in conversation since the moment they sat down. This boy has this extraordinary ability to converse. To be able to converse with a total stranger from an entirely different generation for five straight hours is amazing. Not to mention being able to carry a conversation and ALSO not be crazy narcissistic.

About three hours into the trip they exchanged names.

And then phone numbers.

It’s funny how different observing this is than how it would be if this woman was around his age. But she’s not. She’s a sweet lady with all her kids grown up and moved away.  She’s not a 19 year old girl he wants to ask on a date.

I think the fact that they exchanged phone numbers is the cutest thing of all.

But I don’t think I could do this. I don’t think I could make connections with all these different people I meet on public transportation knowing that I’d never see them again. I can’t handle that. I hold on to too much. I let everyone I connect with take a little piece of me, and I don’t forget about them.

Do you ever think about that? How that certain people you see/talk to/observe you will never run into again? I think about this too often. It’s such a depressing thought. Luckily, as it is with much of the human memory, it’s usually fleeting.

I think he’s caught me watching them in the window.

Maybe I need to work on that, after all.




Does anyone watch PanAm? Let's talk about it. :]
Oh! Links - One for cheap clothes and one for cheap coffee. What's better?!

You Live and You Learn

I know you learn new things every day, but I feel like I've been learning at an exceptionally fast pace recently. Involuntarily and voluntarily. Academically and culturally. I've been pushing myself an insane amount, because being behind is one of my least favorite things in the world. I hate HATE missing things, opportunities, people, events. The right side of my brain has slowly been engulfing my life. Everything is design. The things I do to procrastinate have to do with design.

I'm officially "Linkedin." I have become a "prospect" in the Graphic Design playground, "Dribbble." And I've stuck my foot in a variety of things I am still completely unprepared and way too amateur for. #exhausting

The other things I learn and attempt to keep up on are all about culture. Last fall in Minnesota I was intoduced to Toms. I told my friend who lived in Chicago about them, and she said everyone in Chicago had them. They were old news. So now I'm in Chicago, and I think about this all the time. I wonder whether or not the popular Jeffery Campbell shoes that have five inch thick heels will be popular outside of the city.  I wonder if Hunter rainboots are common outside of the city, because by golly everyone has them here. I start to forget that in other cities, saying, "I'm vegan" will get you blank stares and questions and not a, "Yeah, me too."

But I miss cheap thrift stores.
I miss $.99 Arizona tea.
I miss no tax on clothing.
I miss fall in Wisconsin.

And I still think my favorite place to be in anywhere in the middle of nowhere.

Other than that, everything is still wonderful. I can just see flaws more clearly now and think more realistically about what it's like to live in the city.

Now, one final thing. One of, if not the best night thus far here was spent at a screening of Like Crazy at the Chicago International Film Festival. Not only had I been excited to see this movie ever since last winter when it won at Sundance, but I was able to see it with the actors and director. It was so surreal and wonderful. I got to ask the very last question, and Anton Yelchin (that funny Russian boy from Star Trek... :] ) looked me straight in the eyes as he answered. So lovely. I think these are the only pictures I've taken so far, since my phone camera died.

Not to mention the film is phenomenal.  Pheeenooomenal.

Men.

Dear Man Who Hates To Shop,

I love you. You're so willing to be helped. You take my opinion like it's fact. You talk to me like we're friends, and you take suggestions like candy and compliments like winning the lottery. You make me smile, you brighten my day, and I absolutely love picking out outfits for you. Thank you.

Come to my store, let me help you.



Dear Man Who Hates To Shop,

Don't come shopping with me. I will probably be in the store longer than you want me to, which is not at all. I know you're not happy waiting outside, but darling, sometimes a girl has got to shop. You're frustrating because I really want to please you, but your strut into a mall feels as though it should be accompanied by the Funeral March.

Stay at home, I cannot please you. 


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


Yesterday, the first customer I said hi to looked at me with this huge sympathetic smile and said, "I hate shopping." This is something that happens a lot, and I absolutely love it. But this man just made me smile so much. He told me what he was looking for, so we talked about it for a little while. Within 60 seconds of knowing me, he looked at me and said, "I'm sorry, but are you a drawer or a painter?" Confused, I nodded and told him I was majoring in Graphic Design. He said, "Yeah. I got that vibe!"

I felt like he knew me, in a non-creepy way.

In the dressing room, I had him try a few things ("I hate trying on, so I'm only going in there once!") and we found an outfit that he fell in love with. Oh, the strange things that feel rewarding. I spent the whole night in the dressing room, and it's officially my favorite place to work. It's messy as crap, but if I give an opinion, they will take it. It's so cute.

When we were learning about selling to men, my supervisor said, "What if you were in the dressing room, came out in a pair of pants and a guy said "Oh those look fantastic on you!" One girl said, "I would buy them in every single color." So true.


It works like a charm. Like a charm!

Selling to men is not something I've ever had to think about. But it's really interesting how different it is than selling to women. If you say, "This is our most popular fit." to a man, he will say okay,buy it in three colors, and not come back for six months. If you say, "This is our most popular fit." A woman will probably say okay, stare at in for a few minutes, try it on for a few more minutes, not like the stitching on the back pocket, and go back to the floor for round two.



Today is beautiful.
I like the smell of dead leaves.

xx