HelenFEAR

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-08-17T14:13:00.000-07:00

My bed!

My dresser!

My bookshelf and other nice things!

My gift from Alison!

My gift from Peter!

Caturday

2008-08-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

Missy approves of my new mattress.

Leia does not approve of her new headgear.

Getting ready

2008-08-12T13:24:00.000-07:00

In light of Recent Events, I've been trying to be as busy as humanly possible with different pre-moving tasks. These include but are not limited to:
1. Touching up and cleaning my dresser and bedside table. They were somewhat grubby and the paint was chipped when I got them from the thrift store -- I couldn't tell if the paint was yellow from age, or just yellow. But now they are beautiful and shiny and CLEAN, and ready to be weighed down with my clothes.

2. De-rusting my headboard and bedframe. My house has a room we call "The Dreaded:" it's so junky/dirty/bug-filled that we dread going in there. We mainly use this as a storage room, but it's also where the previous house owners left all the crap they didn't want to keep: big ugly cabinet thing, big ugly tool table thing, BEAUTIFUL FULL SIZED BED FRAME AND HEADBOARD! They're a little rusty, but I'm super excited to have saved a good $100ish. De-rusting was surprisingly satisfying -- we have something called naval jelly (as in the navy, not as in your belly button) that is pink and gooey and magical, and REALLY WORKS.

3. Swapping Santogold tracks on AIM with MattMorgan. I don't have a cute picture for this because I don't know how to do screenshots on a PC. But check out my favorite one here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzKaqAR9Zjo

4. Deciding what to do with the vanity. This vanity came with my dresser (I had to buy mirror + dresser + bedside table + vanity as a set), and I don't think it's going to fit in my room in Raleigh (or in Durham). It's so beautiful, and would be a great desk to use during the summer for my computer, buuuuuuut I'm thinking I might sell it on Craigslist and make some cash. I hate getting so attached to inanimate objects!

Three birthdays

2008-08-12T10:33:00.001-07:00

This year, I was lucky enough to celebrate my 20th birthday THREE times: once with my family in England, once with my family in North Carolina, and once with my friends in NC. So does this mean I've really just turned 60?
I don't know.
But I DO know that three birthdays means three cakes:

Hedgehog in England.

20 in NC. This was really late at night, sorry about the less than impressive photography.

My mom also made me this ^^^^^^^^ note how good the kerning is!

AND my fabulous friends made & iced this mouse cake, complete with swoopy hair like John Edwards. Thanks Maggie/Laura/Alison!!

Aaaaaaand, because of the mass amount of cake in our house, this is what my meals have consisted of:

Okay, just kidding. That was just a snack....or...eight snacks...

What I will miss (a photostory)

2008-08-05T09:46:00.001-07:00

I'm finally HOOOOOOOME after seven hours of a tiny baby kicking my seat, having my koala taken out of my backpack and laughed at by security, and being sniffed by a drug beagle in Chicago. It's so great to be home; I've really missed my family/air conditioning/bed/friends/life in America in general. However, I'm going to miss a lot of things about England, and leaving is always kind of hard because I never know how long it's going to be before I go back.
So here's a list of what I will miss the most:

1. My family (from top left: Grandma, Granddad, Simon, Adrian). I've gotten to know them all a lot better this summer, and I'm sad to have to leave.

2. My co-workers. These guys (Dermot, Andy, and Ade) were so funny/strange. I really enjoyed working with them; they helped me immensely with printing and photoshopping, but I enjoyed laughing and joking with them most of all.

3. My beautiful desk (and Nick). I was so glad that this experience turned out to be really great, since I pretty much just randomly chose Starfish (and they randomly chose me). These people could have been anyone; I'm so lucky my internship turned out so well. (Please note the highly color-coded and organized finder window on my screen).

4. The bathroom at work. Luxorious. Hand-towels warmed up on radiator. Complementary tampons on the counter. Need I say more?

5. Working at Grazia. My first waitressing job also proved to be a great experience -- I loved my coworkers and the atmosphere there. I did not love disgruntled customers, but at least I did get some good tips and some great free beer.

6. Walking past beautiful sights on a daily basis. I love walking around State because it is FLAT (compared with all the hills in Shrewsbury) and I see all my friends, but nothing compares to some of the architecture around Shrewsbury. Shrews has a lot of Tudor houses as it's a really old town. The top photo is of the Quarry, a really nice park with lots of flowers and ducks. The second photo is of the High St that I walked through to get to work.

7. Milly. Laura let me ride her Connemara mare, Milly, while I was in England, which was so fun. We rode all around Haughmond Hill and along lots of the bridlepaths in the area. Milly was great -- not without some silliness, but she was very brave and used to pretty much everything we encountered (except maybe bikes).

8. Jas, Mickey, and Deborah. Here is Milly's pasturemate Jas sniffing terrier Mickey, held by my aunt Deborah. I really enjoyed staying with Deborah this summer; we got to know each other so much better than our past 2-3 week visits had allowed. She's one of the funniest people I've ever met, so I'm very pleased she's part of my family!

I hope the cows get at LEAST 25% of the profits

2008-08-02T02:30:00.001-07:00

So last night I went to the cinema and saw WallE, which was adorable and environmentally-friendly (my two favorite things). We went to the CINE-WORLD, which basically looks like all American cinemas: awesome starry carpet, popcorn stands, and lots of happy movie-goers. However, Shrewsbury's cinema had a large BEN AND JERRYS stand, which I have NEVER seen in an American cinema! I was really tempted to have some Phish Food or similar, but the prices? OH MY GOODNESS.
I try to avoid going to Ben and Jerry's at home because it's so expensive, except on special occasions (like I Have Just Been To The Gym And Now Deserve A Pint of Phish Food).
And to me, "expensive" means $2.50 for a tiny cup of ice cream.
BUT HERE, it's 3.10pounds for a tiny cup!
Meaning $6.20 for a tiny cup!
Meaning you could get TWO of these for the same price:

RIDICULOUS. Mr. Ben and Mr. Jerry are making BANK. I certainly hope they're giving a fair share to the cows.

They always need explanations.

2008-07-29T13:25:00.003-07:00

I'm totally re-reading this when I get home.

I MISS THIS

2008-07-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

1 day until I have to be finished with Fruit of the Loom stuff [and then reprint and respraymount everything]

2 days until I have to be finished with "how to diagnose lameness in horses"' poster for Dechra [OHGAWDSOLITTLETIME]

3 days until going away festivities [cake, champagne, and chinese food]

4 days until I have to pack [dear lord, please make sure my beautiful bedspread fits in my suitcase]

5 days until I ride Milly & have cake party [but not at the same time]

6 days until I fly back home [there better be tiny tvs on the backs of the seats this time]

7 days until my 20th birthday [NO LONGER A TEEN WTF]

....

16 days until we move in [red door here we come!]

20 days until clayton comes back [:) :) :)]

21 days until the first night of production [there is no one else i would rather panic with than these people]

22 days until we start the side ponytail revolution. and oh yeah, go back to school! [because I MISS LEARNING, and i miss my precious routine]

From the vault

2008-07-25T05:58:00.000-07:00

I found these blackmail-worthy photos on my disk on key, and decided it was high time they were introduced to the internet.

I don't even think this was Halloween. Please note my brother's facial expression.

With Joanna/Lucy/Florence in their garden with the "Wendy House." Why is my hair in such a high bun??

Mom and Peter in our old house with our Easter Tree.

Peter, Simon, me, and Justin, posing with weapons in Gma&Gdad's old garden. 1994ish.

At the first show I took Blaze to. I love how the sky contrasts with his orange neck. I think I was juuuust 13?

BFFs Lauren, Jessica and I at our fourth grade graduation. I believe Tubthumping by Chumbawumba was our favorite song at the time.

Mom, Peter and I after a dance recital. I guess I have always been cursed with volumeless hair.

With Henry, the largest/best cat ever.

Mom and Peter with Ranger Rick centrefold.

My lovely grandparents at Abbey Court.

DO WANT PLZ

2008-07-25T05:51:00.000-07:00

courtesy dooce.com
do you do photo credits on blogs?

Screenshot rainbow: Brighton

2008-07-21T06:05:00.000-07:00

Did anyone else used to read Ranger Rick? I was a big Ranger Rick/wildlife fan as a child, and I used to love the section where they took really close macros of ordinary objects (zippers, velcro, fly wings, spider eyes) and you had to guess which object was which.
This is kind of the same thing, except with colors. Brighton had so many different vibrant colors that I wanted to focus on. Here you can look at Brighton's BRIGHTness, without the distraction of my face or Dave's face. Great!

[KEY: Red = painting in gallery on the pier, orange = mural in Churchill Square, yellow = paint pots in Julie's gallery, green = field with poppies on the downs, blue = sky above the Royal Pavilion, purple = my new dress (£5 HECK YES!), brown = stones on the beach, gray = dave's jacket, black = my old purse, white = sheep's wool, still on sheep]

***please excuse the different colored screenshots, i couldn't make them EXACTLY the same size :( :(***

Brighton trip: by the numbers

2008-07-21T05:47:00.000-07:00

4: trains taken from Shrewsbury to Brighton
58 mins: total amount of time spent standing up on train from Crewe to Euston because previous train was cancelled -- meaning everyone from the last train got on MY train
30 mins: total amount of time an african family (seated) spent singing tribal songs next to me (standing)
50: amount of times i checked my purse for presence of cell phone, wallet, keys, camera, return train tickets, and jelly babies
£1.70: cost to take bus from Dave's house in Rottingdean to downtown Brighton (10ish minute ride)
[£2.70: cost to take bus from Rottingdean to Eastbourne to visit Joanna/Lucy/Florence (1hr ride) WHAT WHAT WHAT]
3: stencils made at Julie's studio: unicorn, cloud, hearts
£4: cost of my VERY FIRST FISH AND CHIPS dining experience
500: approx number of seagulls on the beach
2: celebs(ish) that i met, despite my unawareness of their celeb status: chris ellison and alison lapper
1: cheese pouch on alison lapper's wheelchair for clover the dog to lick
2: new kinds of beer that i (bravely) sampled
2: times i got spray paint on my head (green then yellow) before venturing out in public
5: minutes i spent stranded on the sidewalk when bus broke down (while trying to get to the train station on time)
1: number of banksy graffitis sighted
2: number of banksy graffitis in brighton -- we didn't see the other one near the pier :(

Love is noise

2008-07-17T15:37:00.000-07:00

June 2008 playlist: http://www.seeqpod.net/search/?plid=0098b809eb

Continuation

2008-07-16T08:02:00.000-07:00

Information that may or may not be new to you

2008-07-08T06:34:00.001-07:00

I have always wondered what the difference between a "spot" and a "process" color is.
Sure, I listened when Scott and Meredith would tell us about how we could only have two or three spot colors, but I always kind of tuned out after that.
Yellow, black, red, white, GO.
Well, I know now.
Somehow, while working on Shrewsbury Bakehouse designs, I neglected to change "spot" to "process" in that drop down menu when you double-click the swatch (I say "neglect" and not "forget," because I didn't actually KNOW, so how could I FORGET?). So, when I went to print, an hour before the client was coming, none of my text or vector images showed up.
And you know what that means for me: PANIC TIME.
Eventually, I had to delete all my spot colors and replace them with process colors -- time consuming, frustrating, embarrassing, LIFE-CHANGING.
I hate making mistakes, especially ones that complicate my life, but at one good thing about being wrong is that you never make the same mistake again. At least, not in theory.
So.
Here is my happy little swatch palette, with an EASY WAY to tell which is a process (GOOD ANGEL) color and which is a spot (SPAWNED BY THE DEVIL) color. The spot colors have a SPOT on the bottom right hand corner, and the process colors just have a white triangle.
Seriously, these Adobe people are GENIUSES!

You're talking but you don't say anything

2008-07-04T02:16:00.000-07:00

Things I am excited about:
1. coming home.
2. maybe going to brighton.
3. getting my "fringe" cut tomorrow. for a pound.
4. finishing with deskwizard and la locums.
5. riding milly.
6. working tonight. friday = big tip night.
7. sleeping in on saturday. and maybe even sunday.
8. wearing my new jeans.
9. painting, decorating, and purchasing things for the condo.
10. GOING TO IKEA! AND GETTING A NEW BEDSPREAD!

Things I am not excited about:
1. coming home.
2. loading the dishwasher.
3. spending money.
4. wearing my same old black outfit to work. i can't justify spending money just to look cute(r) at work, but i want to!

10:4. Not bad, not bad.

Exercise in color AKA timewaster

2008-07-02T02:50:00.000-07:00

The way it should be.
And the way I would make it.

I have a small friend on the end of my bed

2008-06-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

This is Mickey.
Mickey is a small black and brown terrier who likes to sleep on my bed.
He also enjoys licking toes, chewing things, chasing rabbits, and going for long walks in the park.
And the best thing about Mickey?
He doesn't bite people in the face.

Evolution?

2008-06-24T02:02:00.001-07:00

In order of oldest to newest, here are some of my trials (and errors) of the new DESKWIZARD logo. I was told to make it more "tech-y" (goodbye Arial Rounded MT Bold), but I'm still struggling a little with what makes something more "tech-y." And I'm still searching for the perfect background color. The client wants brown, but I don't think that screams "tech" either...

This day could not have been any more British if we had tried

2008-06-22T10:24:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, my aunt, grandma and I went to the West Midlands show (with free tickets, because Starfish does their advertising). The West Mid show is kind of like our state fair, but a bit more animal-based. They have some carnival rides for children, but it's more for showing your creatures in different classes. It rained the whole day, and was so cold you could see your breath, but we still managed to have a nice time. Since we had free tickets, we were able to splash out on food, and I had a delicious curry, a hot chocolate, and an ice cream with a flake afterwards.

We saw:
1. Joe, the 1700kg (3700lb) cow, as well as lots of other nice cows. The farmers were all busy brushing and shampooing them, even blow-drying their tails to make them extra poofy. I really don't like cows -- they're so large and looming and don't really respect your personal space -- but the farmers all did a nice job of keeping them under control. I wish my aunt could've stood by Joe (the cow in the top photo) to give some perspective, but a) she would probably have been eaten and b) she is very small so it would probably distort your cow conceptions even more.

2. Pigs and sheep. The sheep in Wales and the Midlands have been affected by some horrible Blue Tongue disease recently, so it was "very exciting" that they made it to the show.

3. Lots and lots of horses. They had so many horse classes here -- from the big heavy draft horses to the mini Shetlands. All of them were immaculately turned out, clean and braided, despite the awful weather. They didn't have as many jumping classes as we had hoped, but there were still lots of different classes to see. Since it was so wet and windy, a lot of the ponies were spooking and jumping around -- this is always much more entertaining (except when you're on them!).

4. My boss. In one of the food tents we ran into my boss, Alison, her husband Tony (who works the floor below us) and her son James. This was really strange as it was a case of seeing someone in an entirely different context than you're usually used to seeing them in. Obviously the West Mid show is a wonderful place for one and all.

5. So many doggehs. From dachsunds doing dog agility courses to terriers in yellow anoraks (complete with hood) to lurchers in tents, it seemed like EVERYONE brought their soggy doggy to the show.

"Do you have Doritos in America, too?"

2008-06-17T04:46:00.000-07:00

So I've been pretty slack about updating this summer, mainly because I've been too busy (read: lazy) and my internet connection is never super strong. Anyway, it's weird to think that a few weeks ago I was still in North Carolina, cruising around Raleigh and Durham and going about my daily routine.

NOW I'm in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, and my life is kind of a nice mix of things that are the same as America and things that are very different. And since we all know I can only write in lists, and not cohesive paragraphs, here we go:

SIMILARITIES.
1. KFC. As in, "to get to work, turn left at the KFC." Yes. There is KFC in other lands. But it's EXPENSIVE!! £9.99 for a bucket of chicken and fries? As in, $20? I don't think so. My family was horrified when I told them that in America you can get a little pot of mashed potatoes with gravy for $1. Fast food mashed potatoes really grossed them out -- as it does me, actually.

2. Underage delinquancy. Although it's really (really times infinity) great that the drinking age is 18 here, it means that the age of kids drinking starts even earlier. It's not uncommon for kids of 11, 12, 13 to be sneaking liquor in the Quarry park, and older students are known for selling cigarettes to younger kids for a big profit. However, the penalties are not nearly as strict -- the kid would just have the alcohol/cigarettes taken off him, not written up or arrested or anything -- which is quite different from home!

3. Rihanna. The British love Rihanna. Seriously. "Please don't stop the music" is getting really big here, especially in the clubs. And the "Superman" song is pretty big, too, except no one does the Superman dance (that Jamie and Alison perfected on Facebook video)....they just dance NORMALLY. So. strange.

DIFFERENCES.
1. Radio Six. Radio Six is probably the best radio station of all time -- it's as popular at G105, but plays really good music. Every day they'll play Radiohead, Elbow, Duffy, the Go! team, and MGMT. And today they played WHITESNAKE. I know that sometimes we get Radiohead on 88.1WKNC, but not on anything as mainstream as this.

2. Names of things. I know this is kind of a given British cliche, but I've been having trouble with the different names for things at the restaurant where I waitress. What I would call "beef filet" (filay) is beef fillet (filllit). And knowing the names of beer and wine is throwing me, too...If someone has a strong accent, and they ask for "uhbottleamagners," I have no idea what that means (a. bottle. of. magners = a kind of beer). So that's been an interesting learning curve. And other random words have been throwing me too -- if a guy says a girl is "fit," that means she's hot (even if she's not physically fit, although I guess the two often go together). It's even better if she's "well fit" (REALLY hot). And instead of the "WHATSUP" that I have difficulty responding to at home (I'd rather say "I'm fine thanks" than "not much, brotha!"), everyone here says "You'alright?" or "Y'alrighhh?" You must respond "Yeah,yo'allrighhh?" You cannot just say "I'm fine, thanks" as that is just not cool.

3. Paper sizes. Warning: if you are not design-inclined, this section may bore you. Over here, the paper sizes are generally taller and skinnier than US paper, although I think their system makes more sense:
Start with an A3 piece of paper (that's a bit taller and thinner than a tabloid size).
Fold A3 in half to make A4.
Fold A4 in half to make A5.
Fold A5 in half to make A6.
Fold A6 in half to make A7.
And so on.
To me, this makes much more sense, except that everything's metric over here...so someone'll say, oh, make that 105 by 148, and I think WHAT? picas? inches? PLEASE CLARIFY. (they actually mean millimeters.)

Okay, so that's pretty much all for now. Hopefully more will follow, internet-dependent.

We call her Princess Leia

2008-05-23T15:31:00.000-07:00

I made this blog look a little prettier, hoping that if it looked nicer, I would feel like writing more.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand go.

BY THE NUMBERS: summer so far

2008-05-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

School's been out for exactly 14 days, I'm now sleeping approximately 9 hrs/night, I'm getting sick of hearing Miley Cyrus played 209384023948 times a day.
Here are some other numerical representations of my summer so far:

7 -- days until I leave for England!
13 -- degrees in Celsius it is in England right now. That's about 55F. WHAAAAAAAT.
4 -- number of apartments/houses that I looked at yesterday (number of apts that were a waste of time/gas/breaths/hope -- 2).
2 -- number of raccoons located on roof at Grant Cottages, according to the Animal Control man, at least.
0 -- amount of exacto knife lacerations I've suffered since the beginning of May.
2 -- puddles of accidental rubber cement spills on kitchen table. SO FUN TO PEEL OFF, let me tell you.
18 -- hours of classes that I PASSED this semester. Never. Again.
1 -- number of Technician-related nightmares I've had this month :)
3 -- number of staffers present in the office yesterday. so strange to see it so quiet and empty!
17 -- times I've played Ratatat's remix of Kanye's GetEmHigh

Favorites

2008-04-14T23:07:00.001-07:00

This series is my favorite -- I like that it's fairly simple (even at this small scale) but still decorative. The "b" looks a little like a "p," though -- I need to work on that...

Leftovers

2008-04-14T23:05:00.000-07:00

Some scrap friends that didn't make it to a real piece of tracing paper, but still worth uploading (maybe).

Hand-drawn type, inspired by Art Nouveau (2)

2008-04-14T23:03:00.001-07:00

This is my second attempt -- I did a series of four letters within the same style to figure out how ascenders/descenders/counters/etc would respond to my chosen styles.

Hand-drawn type, inspired by Art Nouveau

2008-04-14T22:59:00.001-07:00

These are my first attempts at drawing Art Nouveau-inspired type. I tried to experiment with many different styles before choosing a specific direction.

just really quickly

2008-03-06T15:33:00.001-08:00

Can we talk about how Leni Riefenstahl's real name was HELEN?
Yeah.
That's right.
A deceased Nazi propagandist.
Just another reason why my name was best suited to the early 1900s.

5 noteworthy songs

2008-03-06T10:19:00.000-08:00

If you are as bored as I am over here on spring break, here are five songs you should listen to:
Don't stop the music -- Rihanna Don't laugh. It's really catchy, okay?! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsRWpK4pf90
Gamble everything for love -- Ben Lee I forgot how much I like Ben Lee...his simple songs are really fun and easy to sing along to. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nyKT2mEPng
Chop me up -- Justin Timberlake ThreeSixMafia AND JT? Seriously, you can't get any better. The best part is when you can clap along at the end. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlTBwNY92pQ
King's crossing -- Elliott Smith Just a slight change of tone from the last song. Fast forward to the first minute. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlTBwNY92pQ
Deceptacon -- Le Tigre Thanks to Alison for introducing me to Le Tigre. Thanks to YouTube for introducing us to this ridiculous video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU1CDSP7FRk
Okay there we go that's all.

5 very important things that happened in the past week

2008-03-05T15:55:00.000-08:00

1. Two days ago, a cat peed on my curtain. Today, a cat threw up on my rug. WHAT IS IT WITH THE CAT HATRED TOWARDS ME? Also, the "cat" is either Missy or Leia. Not some random feral beast. Just fyi.

2. Today I bought lovely $6.99 pink stripey pajama bottoms at Old Navy. Now I don't have to wear my raggedy tartan ones at the office (so professional, right?), or just wear my underwear around the room. The pjs drag on the floor a little bit, and look kind of like pajamas for 6 year olds (is that why they were on sale?), but whatever.

3. I started reading In Cold Blood (thanks Maggie) last night. I've never really been into reading for fun, since middle and high school beat reading. all. the. damn. time into me. Reading For Fun turned into Reading To Pass This Class or maybe Skimming And Reading the Sparknotes so I could get on to my other homework. So this is a nice change.

4. My mom's large truck and I are getting along swimmingly. Today I drove it around Durham and Hillsborough without supervision, and did not run into any mailboxes/trees/small creatures/large creatures.

5. The Subaru is officially dead :( Either we could put thousands of dollars towards fixing his 175,000 mi. engine, or we could put thousands of dollars towards buying a new car. Guess which one we're going to choose.

All things go, all things go.

2008-02-13T19:23:00.000-08:00

(I'm starting to actually like Sufjan Stevens)

Some good things about today:

1. I DONT HAVE TO WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2. I went to the gym. And watched the news. And listened to ATC's "Around the world" for some 8th grade nostalgia.
3. I had a fairly good crit today in studio. I was actually proud of my work, which means way more to me than any of Scott's comments (no offense, buddy).
4. Today in Imaging we got to search for YouTube videos....that had framing/transitioning things we should use in our own videos. So, yeah, there was a point. But how great is it that I take a CLASS where I can upload Mad TV's "Can I have your number" sketch and IT IS ACTUALLY USEFUL SLASH PERTINENT TO OUR TOPIC???
5. My cousin Joel friended me. Okay so that was actually yesterday, but whatever.
6. I successfully filmed, saved, and uploaded a video on my own personal camera. Meaning that I have Technological Skillz. Meaning that I don't have to check out a camera with the masses. Meaning that I don't have to drive my invisible car to Target to spend $15 on cassettes.
7. There's a post prompt on the GD Hist Vista thing that I actually WANT to write about.
8. Alison has a new Glamour. And it's really great. Did you know that condoms are only 82% effective?! I DID NOT.
9. Jamie showed me a sick new shortcut to get rid of counters in Illustrator. Do you guys realize how much TIME and ENERGY and BRAINPOWER this will save me?!?! This is the shortcut of all shortcuts, I'm telling you.

Some bad things about today:

1. My rain boots are officially not waterproof. On my way to the post office today, my feet (AND ENVELOPE CONTAINING BEAUTIFUL COVER LETTER/CD/RESUME) got soaked. My beautiful boots are kind of unnecessary...I may as well have trekked along Hillsborough St in socks.
2. I'm procrastinating to the extreme.
3. I have a GD hist quiz tomorrow, and I really don't want to study.

confession

2008-02-01T21:45:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I have a confession to make.

I have maybe only ever changed two or three lightbulbs in my entire life (scandalous, right?)....partly because I'm a baby wimp who's terrified of being shocked, and partly because I have tall friends (thanks Ana).

Anyway, my crappy $9.99 stand-y lightbulb has been on the verge of death for a while, as has the lampshade bit -- it's now completely cracked, btw. For the past week, I've had to twist the light bulb JUST SO and speak to it in a loving voice before it would turn on, but not tonight. Oh no. While tweaking and whispering to it, it kind of imploded? It made a low, growly, vomiting noise (I KID YOU NOT), and flashed blue, and then went out. I have seen lightbulbs flash blue and then go dark, but I've never heard that noise before. When I took the lightbulb out, a horrible burned smell came out of the socket thing. On the silver ring bit of the lightbulb (good thing i know the anatomy of a lightbulb so well) there's a large burned out portion. WEIRD.

So tell me, lightbulb-changers of the world, is that what usually happens? Or was this some kind of freak blackout experienced only by me?

JUST REALLY FAST BECAUSE IM IN TYPOGRAPHY

2008-01-22T08:58:00.000-08:00

The best thing about getting things wrong is when you finally figure them out.

Apparently my golden rectangle was "all wrong," with weird proportions, or something? I know. Yeah. This is the most upsetting thing to ever happen to anyone.

BUT NOW I REDID IT, after much clenching of fists and panicky placement of guides, AND IT'S RIGHT. AND GOLDEN.

Getting it right after having it ohsobadlywrong makes me feel far more accomplished than getting it right in the first place. I mean, um, I totally meant to mess up the first time so I could learn this valuable life lesson.

this past week -- by the numbers

2008-01-19T11:17:00.000-08:00

0 - number of times we (on the nights I've worked) have missed deadline this semester. hooray!

3 - number of ideas I currently have for my death penalty mailer.

1 - number of ideas I am SUPPOSED TO HAVE for my death penalty mailer. and I don't know which one to do! Help me?
a) twenty mugshots tiled in background, with one mugshot circled as the innocent offender, with red type over top saying "Q: Which one doesn't belong? A: One in twenty inmates on death row is innocent."
b) a map of the United States with 901 red dots concentrated in the South (representing 901 executions in the South since 1976) forming the Southern states WITH NO LINES
c) nice type saying "each red character on this page represents the number of innocents on death row" -- 6 out of 220 characters will be red, scaled up from 1 in 20 inmates are innocent

6 - number of emails I just sent in a 10 minute period about design staff stuff

3 - NUMBER OF DAYS OUR WEEKEND IS THANKS TO MLK!!

600 - number of words I have to write about some designer's website. How many words do I have now? 0.

$5.50 - cost of sesame chicken purchased last night at Beansprout, even though the menu said $7.15. SCORE.

3 - inches of snow we are supposed to get tonight. Somehow I doubt that.

5 - number of words accidentally ommitted from typography book, from carelessness and/or printer error. I'm going to go ahead and blame the printer for this one.

3 - number of study abroad options I have right now: Prague (PLEASE SANTIAGO PLEASE!), London School of Communications, or somewhere undecided in France. Saying "I have this many options" makes me sound really fancy and knowledgeable; really I just don't know what to decide.

9 - hours of sleep I got last night. In my Durham bed. With my snuggly sheets. With no metal bar on side of bed.

$8 - how much my mom spent on a Bend It Like Beckham DVD for me (!!!). No this is not because no one likes this movie anymore.

$2.79 - price I paid for a wonderful toothbrush that has all of its bristles, is not splayed, and is purple.

lack of energy, lack of good post

2008-01-14T22:21:00.000-08:00

SUMMARY OF MY NIGHT IN VERY FEW WORDS:

I forgot to take photos for imaging.
I forgot to take photos of my type book and studio book for portfolio ie summer internship ie basis for career ie WHOLE FUTURE.

We made deadline.
We almost missed it.
We got really stressed.
Okay, I got really stressed. WHICH IS AGAINST MY NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION!

Science & Tech looks AWESOME.
Sports looks dumb. Again.

My hair is greasy.
I want to paint my nails. I also want to go to bed. Dilemma.

Laura bought me dinner.
It was delicious.
It was McDonalds.

I have to read two chapters for Equine Science.
I LOVE THAT CLASS.

It's 1:25 a.m.
I'm still at work.

Quick apologies and resolutions

2008-01-12T09:55:00.000-08:00

So Alison just made me feel guilty for neglecting my blog (IM SORRY I REALLY DO LOVE YOU STILL), so I'm going to quickly apologize to Internetland for my recent absence. I had this thing called a BREAK FROM SCHOOL, which was marvelous. I slept a lot, blogged a little, and ate a lot of nice food. I also had my wisdom teeth out, which could merit many blog posts, but I think I've talked about it enough now, so I'll stop.

Except for this one thing: CourtneyJ got her w'teeth out when I did, except now she has this bone poking out of her socket. GROSS. She says there's searing pain etc etc and that she read a forum about how the "bone will just work itself out." That is disgusting. I really, really hope this doesn't happen to me, and I really, really hope it somehow painlessly works itself out of CourtneyJ's gum.

Okay, I'm no good at segues/segways, so I'm just going to list some of my resolutions here. In a year (when I am Cool and 20 and a Junior) I'm going to look back at this list and reflect on how many I will have stuck to (HA):
1. Freak out less. I freak out a lot. Namely in studio and at work. I tend to freak out when I have a "designer's block" (compare to writer's block), am running out of time, or the printer/plotter won't work. Freaking out and/or swearing and/or crying profously does not remedy said problems, so this year I should just not freak out as much. Freaking out takes more time than figuring out a rational solution to a problem, I have learned. Yes I am aware that I am incredibly wise.

2. Exercise more. This is probably on EVERYONE'S list of resolutions, but whatever. I really do need to. Even if I go to the gym three times this semester, I will have gone to the gym more than I did last semester. And how pathetic is that? And now we have the nice new gym addition with fancy machines and tvs and everyone that I have met at NC State in one room, I really have no excuse. Except for the whole working-three-nights and taking-18-hours thing.

3. Do something I enjoy once a week. Really, truly enjoy. And this shouldn't be food related....like "eat entire chocolate cake by self once a week." I mean something like hang out with friends when I should be studio-ing, going to the letterpress with Alison, or skip my office hours to take a nap. (Those enjoyable things make me sound like a huge slacker. Crap.)

4. Be nicer. This is pretty vague, but sometimes I get worried that I'm not a nice person. But I have a lot of friends (although not as many as Maggie's 590something on facebook), so maybe I'm wrong. Or maybe they're just friends with me because I'm so funny/gorgeous/insert flattering adjective here. Also, I need to be nicer to the WORLD (not just my studio- and work-mates) -- ie, I need to do Service Raleigh again this spring. This may or may not have anything to do with boosting my resume.

5. Buy a car. This will happen. 2008 is the year. Yes.

Right now I'm listening to Sara Bareilles' Love Song, and you should listen to it too because it's good. I heard it this morning on VH1 Top 20, which I hadn't watched since I was 13. It was so nice and relaxing to watch it while reading...it was like having a visual G105. Fabulous.

No name

2007-12-22T15:34:00.000-08:00

Today I went to Beggars & Choosers in Pittsboro with my mom, which was really great. Anyone who lives in the triangle area should go there ASAP. B&C is in downtown Pittsboro, which is like a smaller version of Hillsborough or a larger version of Stars Hollow. I bought this book "In The City and On the Farm." It's full of Stories To Read like "A Good Grocery Boy" and "Fun on the Farm." It's like DickandJane level, but with BillyandMary instead. It's superb. The illustrations are amazingly 50s, and I can't wait to trace/xerox them for some project. They use some kind of TimesNewRoman-y font that they also used in my kindergarten letterbooks -- seriously, they haven't changed fonts since 1954?

I also bought several neckerchiefs (sp?) and some Christmas presents for my bro. It was nice to be in a different place (ie, not Durham or Rals) for an afternoon, even though we ran into all my bro's Durhamite pals there, which was awkward and funny. In the Bargain Basement I found a beautiful quilted shiny yellow couch that was long and plush and comfy. I thought about buying it for a (maybe) apartment for (maybe) next year. Then I saw that it was $475. Bye bye, dream couch.

The Good and the Bad

2007-12-19T19:13:00.000-08:00

In life there are Good Things and Bad Things, right? Right. So, here's a list of some Good and some Bad things that have happened to me recently (since you know I love lists so much).

GOOD:
1. I passed Art History!!! Most of you have heard me whine about the potentiality of failing it multiple times, so I'm really proud that I passed with a 79.5 on the final exam. I want to tell my mom, but she still thinks I'm high-school-straightA-Helen, so she probably wouldn't be as ecstatic as I am.
2. I ate bison for the first time at Alison's last night. And it was delicious.
3. I got boots! Beautiful, suede, brown, scrunchy boots. I'm a little concerned because I have a lot of black/gray pants -- if I wear them with brown boots, that's a fashion faux-pas, right? Whatever.

BAD:
1. Upcoming Wisdom Teeth removal. Tonight T$$$ told me about how he got sick from Percoset, had his "nasal cavity pierced," and had the taste of blood in his mouth for a while. Ew. Ew.
2. I'm spending too much money. And I still don't know what to get for my brother for Christmas. Aaaah.
3. Leia has another Gross Open Wound. Leia is my little cat that had this Open Wound that would NOT GO AWAY, so we had to put a sad huge cone collar on her. It healed, but now she has another Gross Open Wound. Poor baby! I hope she doesn't have to have another huge collar over Christmas....because she knows what Christmas is, of course...

I forgot about My Mathematical Mind

2007-12-17T13:37:00.000-08:00

And about Spoon in general, for some reason. But now I'm obsessed again. Break has been great so far -- Since I have my laptop and Big Huge MacPro at home, I'm transferring my laptop music to my naked MacPro itunes. So I did 50 Cent through Elliot Smith, then got bored and decided to go backwards from YeahYeahYeahs through Ratatat. So I guess I have E-R still to go? Or something.

Okay this has been officially the most boring and pointless blog post ever. However, everyone needs to listen to Spoon. Yes, you. Go. Right now. Do it.

Xmas spiwit****

2007-12-16T12:06:00.000-08:00

****This little girl we used to know had a pony called "Spirit," but had some kind of lazy "r" so she called him "Spiwit." Now, every time someone in my family says the word "spirit" they pronounce it as "spiwit." I'm so glad we do.

The power just came back on, so I felt the need to blog. Even though we were decorating the tree/house with Christmas decorations, and I had no need for electronics at that particular time, I admit I panicked a little. Plus the whole we-need-heat-and-just-bought-a-crapload-of-groceries thing was running through my mind. I kept having flashbacks to 6th grade when we had that big ice storm and our power went out for a WEEK AND A HALF, even though most of our neighbors had power (wtf). We boiled potatoes and soup in water over our fire, and all bunked down in our living room. Yeah. That was fun for about 26 hours.

ANYWAY it's back on now, so HEY INTERNETZ. I love you. I missed you. I felt so lost without you. Oh, and at the top of the page look at a really great photo of our cement snail, aptly named Snaily, with some antlers to get you all in the Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa spiwit.

Embarrassing Moment #475858

2007-12-14T10:35:00.000-08:00

Oh God, oh God. I just had a really awkward moment in Francesca's, a coffee shop in Durham. So here I am trying to write on the Typography blog (okay, fine, Facebook), and get some Neko Case going, but I didn't quite have my headphones plugged in all the way, so Neko Case comes blasting out of my tiny laptop, and ALL THESE GROWNUPS STARE AND FROWN. The worst part was that I had Neko up on both YouTube AND Myspace (thinking only one would work), but BOTH came blasting out, obviously not in sync. So. Embarrassing. I'm sorry, everyone. Sorry that I disturbed your artsy Durham peace. I guess that's what Raleigh Bitches do. So here I am, shamefully blogging and trying not to make eye contact with anyone here. Sigh. At least it's Winter Break!

Why can't I write in anything but lists?

2007-12-08T23:47:00.000-08:00

This has got to be a helenfear record -- another blog within twenty minutes of the first one. WAAAOW.
TOP FIVES OF 2007, in no particular order:

TOP FIVE SONGS
1. Bucky Done Gun - M.I.A.
2. Seventeen Years - Ratatat
3. My doorbell - White Stripes
4. Satellite (remix courtesy Rob) - Guster
5. Stronger - Kanye West

Also, my favorite person this year: Saja Hindi, no doubt.

TOP FIVE WINTER GARMENTS
1. brown boots
2. turtlenecks
3. scarves, lightweight or fuzzy
4. pins from Vaguely Reminiscent in d-town
5. Alison's yellow jacket

TOP FIVE MISC DISCOVERIES OF 2007
1. a "segway" (ie, segwaying into one discussion topic from another) is actually spelled S-E-G-U-E
2. it is always N.C. State. Not NC State.
3. Art history is The Worst Class Ever
4. That hill in front of Tompkins/Winston/Caldwell is killer.
5. Saying "yes" to "delete all color information" is ALWAYS a bad idea.

TOP FIVE COLORS
1. C, M, Y together
2. Light green
3. Black. Or is that not technically a color? I don't know. Good job Fundamentals.
4. Ice blue and sea green
5. 5-5-15-0

TOP FIVE PLACES TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME
1. Lily's pizza
2. Laura and Steph's apartment
3. 323 Witherspoon
4. Third Place
5. STUDIO!

TOP FIVE BEVERAGES
1. Peppermint Mocha - Starbuck's
2. Raspberry Mocah (iced) - Global Village
3. Michelob Ultra - from my favorite coworkers and friends
4. 79 cent coffee/hot choc mix - Bragaw c-store
5. Orange Fanta - Witherspoon vending machine

TOP FIVE THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO NEXT SEMESTER
1. Not focusing (HA!) solely on the camera in studio
2. Designing and working with Laura P.
3. Taking Intro to Equine Mngmt!
4. Wearing Christmas boots
5. THE OLYMPICS. I love the Olympics! The world is so united for a short time. I just love it.

What I've learned

2007-12-08T23:16:00.000-08:00

Dear darling blog,

Sorry I've neglected you for a while. I've been busy not sleeping and printing everything I have ever designed. So since the semester's almost over, and I can't sleep, I thought I'd document what I've learned these past few months:

1. How to plot something. The plotter is a long, thin, shiny black machine that is sometimes a friend and mostly a foe. Printing on it requires the changing of many settings so that the plotter understands what it has to do. Sometimes it will get confused and will print your concept map and chop it HORIZONTALLY instead of VERTICALLY and will spit out TEN FEET of paper behind it. Not that that happened to me two nights ago or anything.

2. How to bandage effectively. I was pretty confident in my equine bandaging abilities, but until Alison sliced her finger open with an exacto knife the other day, I didn't know about my human medical care. I think I'm a little bit sick for enjoying it, but Alison would have passed out in the architecture bathroom if I hadn't been there with my purple bag of first aid stuff.

3. The difference between registration black and flat black. Yes, I learned this with an alt-box drama in Technician this summer, but the bs-color-1 printing some of my book's spreads in flat black and some in registration black was a nice reminder.

4. Everything about a camera (except how to actually take photos). After focusing on this object in all three design courses, I can safely tell you everything you want to know about parts of the camera, social rules for posing, developing vs. uploading, and camera accessories. However, we learned NOTHING about photography in Imaging, which I find slightly ironic (insert Alanis lyrics here).

5. How amazing M.I.A. is. I think I played "Jimmy" for three hours straight one day. I think everyone at my table made fun of me. I think Maggie made up sick hand moves for "Paper Planes." I think putting bonus M.I.A. tracks on Transfer is the best. I think I love M.I.A.

6. That a baby turkey is actually a "poult." And that making an infographic about turkeys is surprisingly fun.

7. There's another solar system out there. And the sun is called Cancri 55. Or something.

8. How to barbecue a pig in time for kickoff. And that "geocaching" is a really neat treasure hunt for grown-ups.
And that Science & Tech has made me a more interesting and knowledgeable human being.

9. How amazing YouTube is. After your second all-nighter, you tend to run out of music to listen to. Solution? YouTube everything you want to hear but don't own. Suggestions? Faded (SoulDecision), Larger than life (BSB), Check up on it (Beyonce), Gangster Paradise (Coolio).

10. How much I love everyone in my studio. I'm really glad I got to know more people in studio...I made some new friends that I didn't think I would ever care to talk to. I'm glad that I made an effort, especially in these last few weeks.

Optimism?

2007-11-26T12:30:00.000-08:00

Earlier, I was really angry about being jerked back to Raleigh and back to reality. Away from my 12+ hrs of sleep, away from my kitties, away from delicious food, away from my beautiful car. But. I'm here now, and I guess there are some good things here. So, in an attempt to be positive about school/life, here are nine things I was excited to come back to (I named them all "My ______" like Scrubs episodes):

1. My consistent water pressure. My water pressure in my Durham shower is weak, but here I can actually rinse all the shampoo out of my hair.

2. My Mac. My home PC moans and groans and tries to shut down whenever I open AIM, the interwebz or similar. I think it's so full of music and high school English papers that it's diseased somehow. Also, my laptop doesn't get the internet at home because my mom FORGOT the password for our wireless "LDEAR" system. NICE.

3. My roommate She made cookies, cleaned the kitchen and brought back Glamour. And she's just kind of great in general.

4. My knowledge map Today I did one outline drawering in Illustratorof my brother developing a photograph. ONE. It's going slowly, but I like this map about a million times more than my first studio map.

5. My job designing + friends + bojangles' runs + monie$$ + office hours where i do nothing = my job right now

6. My clothes Over thanksgiving break, I brought home ONE shirt and TWO pairs of pants. Dumb dumb dumb. It's nice to be back to having options.

7. My knowledge of missing links Meredith just told us all about missing links; too bad I KNOW MISSING LINKS VERY WELL ALREADY! Hey, 12:59. Hey, missing links. Yep, I forgot about you. CRAP.

8. My gmail Today I received several emails with me/LauraW/Alison/Maggie animated as dancing elves, which pretty much made my morning.

9. My routine I'm such a freak, but I really LIKE having a routine of having to do this and that in whatever order. I like structure. I hate change. Now I'm back in my little structured world, which is kind of like an invisible security blanket. I know that in 45 minutes I will trek to the office, hit up the budget office for some colored paper, draw out the front page, go to the budget meeting, split pages, eat dinner, design, design, send pages, go home, watchy trashy TV with Alison and go to sleep.

It's nice to be back. Sort of.

Hello, internetz

2007-11-22T14:37:00.001-08:00

Maybe this is silly, but I generally just think of my blog as only read by Nosila, Magattacksyou, and maybe Alisontheinternet. I keep forgetting that this blog can be read by EVERYONE who has internet access AROUND THE WORLD. Maybe THAT'S silly...maybe Nosila and Magattacksyou ARE the only readers I have.
Anyway. Since I am theoretically speaking to everyone on the webz, here are sites you should check out if you're bored over Thanksgiving (They've greatly improved my break, so I just wanted to share the love):

1. Justice's D.A.N.C.E, a great song with a greater video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=fo_QVq2lGMs

2. Postsecret finally updated! Sometimes they don't, which is really frustrating. I count on you changing every Sunday morning, PS, and you keep letting me down: http://www.postsecret.com

3. Some scathing fashion criticism that my darling roommate shared with me: http://gofugyourself.typepad.com/

4. I love old Penguin book covers -- the designs are so simple, yet there's something really captivating about them. I found this site last week during Art History; click on a thumbnail to look through all the covers: http://www.lifeclever.com/flickr-find-the-beautiful-nostalgia-of-penguin-books/

5. Another internet gem I found during Art History. This magazine (GOOD) has this section called "Transparency," which is a collection of really nicely done infographics about world issues. I love information design, and I used this website as inspiration for our last Science & Tech page: http://www.goodmagazine.com/section/Transparency
(The Solar Power infographic is my fav)

6. I'm generally too poor to buy lots of magazines, so I like to read this http://www.nylonmag.com online instead. Their design AND content are cool. BALLLLER.

7. Only the best show on TV these days: http://www.mtv.com/ontv/dyn/the_hills/series.jhtml Are you on team Lauren or team Heidi, internet friend?

8. Another great infographic HAHAHAHA: http://www.funnelinc.com/funl_tattoff_detail.html

Okay, that's enough finds for one day, I think. And, Thanksgiving dinner's ready. Mmmmmm.
****AAAAH SORRY I CANT GET THE LINKS TO WORK*****

2007-11-21T21:15:00.000-08:00

Okay, here are my top ten reasons why Thanksgiving is a great holiday:
1. Yesterday I slept from 11:00 p.m. to 2:35 p.m. and even had some dreams! I don't dream very much anymore since I'm so tired all the time, so it was a nice change.
2. Tonight my mom and I made chocolate sauce (for ice cream). And didn't argue! at all!
3. On Tuesday night my mom and I went to a Thai restaurant and I got some yummy pad thai. She then told me that the car "smelled like alcohol." And asked "if I drank," to which I replied "um, no, not today." AAAAAAHHH!
4. I stole some great tunes from my bro, including: Justice, Ratatat, The Knife, Jose Gonzalez, and more Broken Social Scene.
5. I have time to sit down and read. Today I read "Best of Brochure Design 6," which was the closest to book design I could find. I wish I'd checked out more books before the break.
6. My kitties suddenly don't hate me anymore, which is nice. Except one of them threw up last night (EW).
7. My brother's chinchillas are cute and soft and fun to pet. I especially like Lyle, who only has three legs.
8. I rode Blaze today; it was really fun and he didn't misbehave. I hate riding in the winter because it's so cold and the wind always numbs your face, but that didn't happen since it was like 70 degrees today. Thanks, Global Warming!
9. I can drive and blast my music and sing as loudly as I want. I love my ipod and listening to music on my computer(s), but I can never sing out loud without looking/sounding insane. Also, the sick bass in my car drowns out my singing voice.
10. Hopefully I'll hang out with Ana/Sophia and Lauren later this week. It's weird to switch from seeing them every day in high school to only seeing them on holidays...But this way we've all kind of accumulated a lot of stories to share.

A close call

2007-11-17T13:57:00.000-08:00

So for my "experience book" in studio (make a book! about your experience! with a camera! oh okay), I wrote an essay about this internship I did in Durham when I was a senior in high school. For the internship, I got to take photos of the American Tobacco District with a really nice camera and design a brochure using the photos. So my studio prof suggested going back to the ATD and taking similar photos to use for THIS project. Simple enough, right? Go back to dtown, take some pics, hang out.

Well.

I get to the American Tobacco District (it's like a big courtyard complete with waterfalls, bridges, a watertower, and businesses/restaurants/bars on either side) and start taking photos near the Mellow Mushroom. As I'm walking around snapping photos of this big overhanging, I hear "HEY YOUNG LADY!," so I turn around and see this large Middle Eastern security guard striding towards me. The conversation:
Security Guard: "What exactly do you think you're doing, young lady?"
Helen: "Um...taking some photos for a project."
SG: "Photos are forbidden here. You have to leave, now."
H: "Look, it's for a class! I'm a design student at NC State, and I'm trying to do a project based on an experience I had while interning at McKinney when I was in high school" [point to where the agency is]
SG: "I'm sorry, but photos are not allowed. Come with me."
So, panic stricken, I follow this guy inside the Crowe building, thinking he's going to chop me up into little pieces or something.
H: "But I don't understand. Why aren't photos allowed? Why exactly?" (sounding like a petulant six year old)
SG: "Well, after 9/11, they started to get a lot stricter. You know, since you look like a terrorist and all."
H: "Ha...ha."
So we go inside and talk to "Merv" at "The Desk." After I re-explain how I just want to do this for a design class, and no I CANT come back because i LIVE in RALEIGH and DONT have a car, Merv tells me to talk to the "folks at Management" on Monday. Whenever I talk to grown-ups that I don't know, I tend to get stressed, so I started to get all choked and sputtering and started to cry.
H: "But look! My professor is the only one who will see my photos! I'm not selling them!"
Merv: "I'm sorry. I can't make an exception for you. You have to leave now."
H: "Well, I'm sorry you can't give me a good reason. Thanks for nothing."
So I walk away and am almost at the parking deck when I hear "HEY MISSY!" It's the security guard again
SG: "Hey. I'm going to go take a walk. Be discreet, and be quick. When I come back, I don't want to see you."
H: "Yes sir. Thank you sir!"
YESSSSSSSSSSSS. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. I didn't take as many photos as I would have liked, but still. Thanks, nice blue dress. Thanks, ability to cry all the damn time. Thanks, sympathetic security guard!

By the Numbers

2007-11-15T12:47:00.000-08:00

So since I'm such a Technician sports fan (ha), I've decided to do a BY THE NUMBERS of my life in the month of November:

25 - number of minutes left in Art History

69 - number of points i earned on the last Art History test, mainly because a) i have a lot of studio work, so i didn't study much b) i have a job, so i didn't study much c) i didn't know we were supposed to know all that architecture stuff, so i didn't study it

115 - highest grade on said test, and amount of points i feel like i DESERVE. i mean really. i try, right? im a good person, right? WHY DOESNT THIS EQUAL A GOOD GRADE??

3 - number of approximate dollops of shampoo i have left. this is a problem. why exactly do i always end up with more conditioner than shampoo?

35 - cost (US$) of amazing brown suede scrunchy boots that i really, really want: DONT BUY THE 6.5s PLEASE! http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=/qid=/ref=br_1_br_1_13/601-9816556-9530512?ie=UTF8&node=370189011&frombrowse=1&index=tgt-mf-mv&field-browse=370189011&rank=%2Bdaterank&asin=B000VAQ1OI&rh=&page=5

5 - number of days left until Thanksgiving Break!

21129083129 - number of hours (approx.) that I will sleep over Thanksgiving Break

0 - number of turkeys my family will eat over Thanksgiving Break. hopefully we will order Indian food like we did last year instead.

8 - number of hours before i GET PAID, since I didn't get paid last time. I AM SO PUMPED!

4 - number of Gilmore Girls episodes I watched (season 2!) last night, since I refused to do anything for Typography. i really feel like it was time well spent...i had forgotten how many great the pre-Yale episodes were.

75 - approx. number of goldfish I ate while watching said Gilmore Girls episodes.

7 - number of scarves that i own and am excited about wearing this winter. for a minute i thought that was a lot of scarves, but then thought about how many maggie has, and then realized i was wrong.

18 - hours a day (approx.) i think I am online. like seriously. it's getting kind of out of control. last night, alison and i were sitting 3 feet apart in the room and were talking online. i think it felt so normal because we talk online in studio all the time, so why not when we are in the room? who needs real communication skills? not us. nope.

so much dancing

2007-10-26T23:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm just going to go ahead and say that this blog entry will be one of those LOOK HOW FUN MY LIFE IS kind of posts, so sorry. Just a warning; but you should keep reading anyway.

So today was kind of a normal Friday, full of normal studio stuff (except that there was steam coming out of one of the pipes in studio and I thought we were going to die because we thought it was poisonous gas and we kept yelling WE NEED A GROWN-UP and then meredith came and turned a dial and everything was okay).

Then I watched TV and Maggie called and we talked about production and boys and D.C. and all the normal stuff. It was weird and quiet last night to not have the Normal Thursday Crew up there. I miss Maggie and Saja (and I guess Tyler and Josh? maybe).

THEN we went to Moe's and got chips and salsa mmmm, and I stole a drink for Alison because she's too nice to steal soda like I do. What a wimp. If it's clear soda (ie, Sprite) in a water cup, it's not stealing. If it's dark soda (ie, Coke) in a water cup, then it IS.

THEN we went to see Brent Dunnen/Avett Bros/Guster....We got there kind of at a perfect time, because we found REALLY AWESOME SEATS on the wing so we were kind of just right of the stage and were in the front of the balcony. Cams, Jamie, Alison, Lauren and I kept waving to Laura/Lesley/Emilia/Laura's brother/other Greensboro kids on the floor which was fun. OH HEY I SEE YOUR FACE ALL THE TIME BUT LET'S SCREAM AND WAVE AND BE REALLY EXCITED TO SEE EACH OTHER IN THIS COLISEUM YEAH OKAY. We also saw Alison Harman sitting behind stage and we hollered and waved at her, AND I saw Rob Fisher, Michele and Matt Walton right next to the stage, which was really exciting for about a minute. Phew. So many Technician people.

The Avett Bros were really good -- I think they're a lot better live than on their CDs. And so we all sort of danced and admired their sweatiness/amazingness.
AND
THEN
Guster came on and I have to admit: I'd never listened to Guster before, which I'm kind of ashamed of, considering I'm kind of an indie music snob (except for my love of gangsta rap). But they were amazing. We went crazy and jumped up and down and danced like we've never danced before (no, that's not a cliche, that's the truth). It was really hot, but Guster was SO GOOD and they ROCKED OUT so WE rocked out and went crazy too. I haven't really enjoyed a concert like that since I last saw Jump Little Children before they broke up....In high school I was all about some concerts, but no concerts I've been to lately have made me feel the way Guster made me feel. I think we were also so stressed from the week that we needed to let go and JUST DANCE, which we did, and afterwards we all felt so relaxed and so happy, which is pretty rare for my little friend group.

THEN we walked in the rain to Harris Teeter, bought some Orangina and donuts, and sat amongst the pumpkins in the Harris Teeter foyer. On the way, we were so amped from Guster that we were all YEAH LET'S CELEBRATE LIFE AND HOW GOOD THE RAIN FEELS ON MY SKIN. On the way back, however, the rain was harder and colder than before, and then a car splashed Alison and I (intentionally? oh yes). So ugh. But it was all worth it, just for Guster. And now it's 2:40 and Alison and I are sitting here trying to identify the Guster song that I really really loved.

Alright. Sorry. My next post won't be so long. But this is all really important and fascinating info, as you all know.

OH AND TOMORROW'S THE BASH!!!!!!!!!!

What? What?

2007-10-24T17:59:00.000-07:00

OKAY SO one day Maggie and I were talking about blogs, but I always thought that my life was not worth reading about.
So why a blog? Why now?****
WELL. It seems like EVERYONE has a blog these days.

Kelly Helder.

Maggie Luckadoo.

That's right. EVERYONE.

I later realized that my life is full of terribly awkward events that I can record here, so that's what this blog will be for.

A small example:
On Monday Jamie and Sidney and I were talking by the 3rd floor rotunda, and I decided that I wanted a drink, so I trotted off downstairs. Staircase #1, no problem. On the first floor of Brooks, I skipped (yes, skipped) past the faculty mailroom and said HI to our graphic design dean Santiago. Staircase #2, problem: half waving at Santiago, half skipping, I slipped down the entire staircase, flailing and trying to grab onto the handrail. Santiago yelled after me "Oh my gosh! Are you alright!" in his accent while i just sat in shame.
I'm going to go ahead and blame those damn steps. I don't CARE that they're historic. I don't CARE that it's cool that you can see where our design predecessors walked. IT'S JUST PLAIN DANGEROUS.
When I got back to class, I tried to quietly tell Steph, but I ended up laughing so hard that everyone in my studio overheard. Yeah. Great. Instead of finding out on their own how awkward I am, now they ALL KNOW. Thanks, Brooks. Thanks, NC State, for keeping the historical architecture around. Thanks a lot.

**** Special thanks to Maggers for helping me catch some simple spelling mistakes. You all know how I'm no good with the words.