Saturday consisted of...

1) Cleaning for about three hours. (the apartment looks great!)

2) Grocery shopping and seeing Val for about five seconds.

3) Putting Christmas decorations up and baking cookies.

And that's where things went downhill.

Observe:



It started innocent enough...I wanted to make nice holiday cookies, so I started with the cute little Santa hats (since the only colors we had were pink, purple, green, and white)...But then I started making little emoticon faces and when Laura started in on them it just snowballed into WTF and Hitler. I don't know. It gave Laura and me a good 5-10 minutes of laughter. And that's all that matters in the end, right?

Thanksgiving

The basic theme of my Thanksgiving holiday was this:

Maturity isn't necessary when you're with family.

Here's a nice, normal picture of everybody before the feast:


Okay, so this was staged...but my relatives do like wine a lot.


My 5 year old cousin Brenna took this picture. Aidan looks THRILLED!


My brother's a dork. I'm so proud!


Brenna singing "Life is a Highway".


Mi madre y mi hermano. Awww...


Joel is also a playground, apparently.


My mom's totally mature. No, really!


Mmmm Santa hat...


7:00?? Leftover time!


I don't know, he looked a little freaky in this picture so I posted it..



So I don't have a whole lot else to add to what these pictures already say. It was a great day, and I'm really happy to have so much of my family so close.

and another thing!

Because someone pointed out the lack of sketches on my blog earlier...Here's one I started a while ago of Nami and Angus (his hair isn't naturally pink, obviously). They dance and they're awesome. This picture isn't completely done, but oh well...I probably won't work on it anymore. So here you go!

just sharing.

Some random stuff that makes me smile:

"Smile for the Camera" by bri-chan


Origami Animation.




And my latest from the Threadless collection:
Muzzak Homage



.

road rage!

Anyone who knows me well knows I'm pretty laid back and it takes a lot to get me angry. It seems the only time I get TRULY fed up is when I'm driving...which, I realize, is probably the worst place for that to happen. I confess I do get a bit of the road rage. I yell and criticize people's driving, I have honked my horn on a few occasions...but all of my rage remains within my own car.

Today was the first day I actually wanted to get out of my car and smack someone upside the head.

Here's the story:
I'm driving up Meridian in the right hand lane, cruising at my normal speed. I notice that up ahead, there's one of the dreaded IndyGo buses that nobody wants to get stuck behind. So, as I approach a traffic light with a line of cars in the left lane, the light turns green and I end up passing them. I then got into the left lane in front of this red car that had previously been leading (as if this were a race). The next light turns red, and I stop like any normal person would do. Now get this: the red car gets into the left TURN lane, and WHILE THE LIGHT IS STILL RED, gets in front of me. This girl, because I could see by then that it was some blonde chick, is hanging out in the middle of the intersection just so she could get in front of me. Needless to say, when the light turned green, she cut in front of me and drove off. I honked my horn for about five seconds. Oh, and here's the fun part...not ONE block past that light, she puts on her left turn signal, sits there--blocking me and the rest of the traffic behind me--and waits for oncoming traffic to stop before turning into some empty parking lot. Apparently she couldn't wait one car length to get to there. Apparently four seconds was WAY too long for someone of her obvious importance to waste obeying traffic laws.

People who think they own the road really get to me.

Arg!



Okay, I'm better.



.

jim jimmy jim jim

Jim Halpert from The Office is adorable in a mischievous kind of way. The character is written so well, I honestly believe there could be a Jim out there somewhere (in fact, a friend of mine claims to know a guy who acts exactly like that). I sort of feel bad for John Krasinski, who plays Jim...It's hard to tell where John ends and where Jim begins. Do I fancy John, or just the character of Jim? How alike are they? It's hard to believe someone who can pull off that character so well isn't pulling from their own personality. I mean, just look at these faces:



I think what I like about the character is he's so approachable. He's the kind of guy I could see myself joking around with. I would love to be Pam to someone else's Jim. That relationship is the most adorable thing ever. Come on, now!

Who could say no to this face????

hahaha...I'm such a dork.


:P


-

uuuuuhhhhhhhh.....

Thanksgiving is next week...There are only about four weeks left of school...It's almost 2008...and I graduate in May.

Wow.

ick!

That's what today's weather was like. Ick! Cloudy, rainy, gloomy, and sinus-headache-inducing. That didn't make our 5 hour meeting today very pleasant for me. At least it was a productive meeting. Jon was kind enough to meet me for a quick lunch before I had to run back to work. Friends always make days like this better. I ended up hanging out with Colin and Laura at their coworker(and my new client)'s house to watch Dancing With the Stars.

I'm going to see the tour when it comes to Indy in January. I guess it's a bit of a birthday present. I'll be going with my mom and cousin, which will make it more fun.

Aaaaand that's all I have for now.



-

the cycle continues

See, I told you it'd pass by today. In the grand tradition of an up for every down in my life, today turned out to be infinitely better than yesterday. First off, I was complimented on how I looked today. Then two of my best friends called and we met for lunch, I was very productive at work, and Laura and I went to Borders and I found three of the most awesome design reference books. Not a bad turnaround, I'd say.

another rant (sorry)

You know, sometimes it irritates me how the smallest, stupidest thing can just throw you off and ruin your day. For me, that small, stupid thing was having "How much for the pudding, fatty?!" yelled at me by some assholes in a truck when I was on campus.

A big part of me is saying that those guys were just being extremely immature and whatever they said doesn't matter because, in the grand scheme of things, people who do things like that aren't likely to amount to anything.

But there's still this small part of me that's stung, and irritated at myself for letting something so stupid get to me. Who would make the effort to stick their head out of a moving car in downtown Indianapolis to yell something like that at somebody who was minding their own business? And of course it had to happen right before I left. So I had this whole car ride to Zionsville to dwell on it. I haven't been made fun of, to my face, since middle school. I'm 21 years old. These kinds of things aren't supposed to happen in college (which reinforces my opinion that those guys are immature assholes). I know I'm overweight, people.

Then this whole stung/insulted train of thought started to veer off into "why haven't I had a boyfriend yet" territory and that's where my day went downhill (not to mention I was on my way to a dentist appointment, which never helps brighten anybody's day). I am literally the only person that I know who has never had a boyfriend. I have never had any guy tell me they like me. Nobody's shown an interest. And I know it feels like I'm exaggerating, lamenting, generally feeling sorry for myself, but it's absolutely true.

I'd like to believe the reason for this is because they're intimidated by me. Because a young woman who knows who she is, what she wants, where she is, and for the most part where she's going, can be intimidating to men. I would absolutely love to believe that. But the thing is, appearance matters to guys my age. Hell, it matters to everybody. And I'm not, by society's definition, beautiful.

I know I've got the potential to be beautiful. I know I've got the kind of laid-back personality guys would love in a girlfriend. I know I've got the talent and the drive to go far and be happy. I know I'm a good person. Which makes this whole situation all the more frustrating.

I shouldn't be hung up on something yelled out of a passing truck by some idiot. I shouldn't be feeling sorry for myself. This irritation will pass by tomorrow, I know.

But for now I turn to Alanis Morissette for a quick emo moment:

I can feel so unsexy for someone so beautiful
So unloved for someone so fine
I can feel so boring for someone so interesting
So ignorant for someone of sound mind



On a brighter note: the dentist was happy with the lack of stain on my teeth this time.

That's worth celebrating, yeah?




-

semi-feminist rant ahead.

Now, I love my job for the most part...but there are these little moments that I can't help but be bugged by. The main staff consists of seven guys and three girls. Not a big deal, since that's pretty much the ratio I got used to in school...but there are times when it's obvious the guys consider themselves more important. And the impression I get is that it isn't always intentional, but I'm becoming more and more aware of how much information is passed between all of the guys in the office but somehow it fails to reach either Kelly or me.

That puts us at a disadvantage when we go to meetings like the one we had this morning to discuss the games that we have coming up and share ideas. I hadn't even heard of half the games we discussed and ended up just sitting there and listening through most of it. This one game that I did know about was a flower-themed game. I spent some time coming up with sketches and ideas for games that could be pitched to florists (because I was ASKED to). I came up with something similar to one on orisinal.com...it was an e-card sort of thing where you could create your own bouquets of flowers and send them, along with a personalized message, to a friend. Simple, sweet, and--yes---feminine. It's the sort of thing I've done in the past and would do again, along with other women I know who would just like to brighten up somebody's day. I was actually looking forward to doing it.

Come to find out today, the guys at the meeting on Wednesday (that I missed because I was sick) all agreed that they "didn't get it" and pretty much brushed it aside. The boss even went so far as to try and turn it into some sort of dating game, where you try getting a girl to date you by giving her flowers. Or something like that. And on top of that? They gave that game, along with about 8-10 others, to the other illustrator to draw up some concept sketches for the meeting today. Of all of the games James had to do, he neglected to even TRY tackling the flower one, saying something along the lines of "Yeah, I didn't even know what to do with that one".

Through my conversations with Kelly over the past few weeks, I've started taking a closer look at the dynamics of this office. It's true that the women are left out on a lot of information. It's true that our opinion, even if offered, is rarely heard. And it's starting to irritate me a little.

I showed two of the guys the Orisinal site a while ago because of all of the interesting games they had on there. Granted, the look is very soft and almost ethereal...these aren't COMPETE COMPETE COMPETE games...these are relaxing, enjoyable games. You know the only comment I really got from Jim was? "Well, you can tell it was done by a girl, that's all I'm saying." Like it was a bad thing? What the hell? That's the sort of comment that's making me wonder if, possibly, I'm not getting the more prominent games to illustrate because they're afraid I'll make the graphics look too "girly". And the fact that I have that small anxiety in the back of my head is irritating to me as well.

These guys need to pull their heads out of their asses and realize they have three more coworkers that are just as able to provide valuable feedback and produce quality work.




(oh, not to mention the fact that these guys are the same ones that ditched me in the office about a month ago without even considering inviting me along)

the grass is greener...

I was thinking several days ago that the colors this fall seem to be a little lackluster compared to past years. Which kind of made me sad, because this is my favorite time of year. I love the wind, the colors, and finally being able to wear long jeans and jackets and not burn up. But the lack of vibrant color was kind of disappointing me.

Lo and behold, on my way into Zionsville yesterday, the trees lining Ford Road are practically BURSTING with bright oranges and reds and yellows. Gorgeous!! Those colors against the blue sky? Perfect!

That just reinforces my theory that Zionsville is in its own little bubble. I swear, anytime there's bad weather coming straight for the area--there can be a long line of red on the radar--and somehow it'll miss Zionsville. And one time, when I still lived in Zionsville, I was driving to work and there was a fog warning. It was hardly foggy, though, until I got outside of the city limits. Then it was like a wall of fog. Weird, that's all I'm saying.

Next update will be on the Colts game (which I went to :D)!

portrait and 21 things

self portrait




"21 Things I Want In A Lover"

Do you derive joy when someone else succeeds?
Do you not play dirty when engaged in competition?
Do you have a big intellectual capacity but know
That it alone does not equate wisdom?
Do you see everything as an illusion?
But enjoy it even though you are not of it?
Are you both masculine and feminine? politically aware?
And don't believe in capital punishment?

These are 21 things that I want in a lover.
Not necessarily needs but qualities that I prefer.

Do you derive joy from diving in and seeing that
Loving someone can actually feel like freedom? are you funny?
la self-deprecating? like adventure? and have many formed opinions?

These are 21 things that I want in a lover.
Not necessarily needs but qualities that I prefer.
I figure I can describe it since I have a choice in the matter.
These are 21 things I choose to choose in a lover.

I'm in no hurry I could wait forever.
I'm in no rush cuz I like being solo.
There are no worries and certainly no pressure in the meantime
I'll live like there's no tomorrow.

Are you uninhibited in bed? more than three times a week?
Up for being experimental? are you athletic?
Are you thriving in a job that helps your brother? are you not addicted?
...curious and communicative...

-Alanis Morissette




Yeah, that about wraps it up...

Tessa

Here's Tessa Morin. She's awesome and she knows it. This is her backstory (if you care) :

Tessa is the daughter of Rousseau and Douglass Morin. Now, Douglass happens to be the Queen of Aden--a title that was restored to her right after the country declared sovereignty from Cruos and shortly before her marriage to Rous. Once Tessa's older brother, Oliver, passed up the opportunity to inherit the crown, she became next in line for the throne. So she's a princess, in nearly every sense of the word. She's used to getting her way either through skillful persuasion or outright force. But her father, being a stickler for discipline, never allowed her to become a complete spoiled brat. Like all four of his children, Tessa has had a healthy dose of respect instilled in her from a young age. So while she can prove difficult, unquestionably stubborn, and driven almost to a fault, she possesses a determination and intensity that will come in handy once she takes the throne and picks up where her mother left off in re-building their country. But in the time before she starts changing the world, she's just enjoying being a young woman.


And there you have it.

bleagh.

I've been sick for the past three days. It hasn't been pleasant, and I haven't been productive. This only happens about twice a year...Far enough apart that I forget what it feels like to be sick. I remember now, and I'm tired of it.

I just hope I get better before Sunday...because I'm going to the Colts vs. Patriots game and it would be SO much more enjoyable if my nose wasn't running 150 mph and I wasn't coughing up a lung.