who fails at updating?

I do!

Goodness gracious. Life has pretty much made a 180 in the past couple of months. I have a job with RCI, working in the call center, which is something I never pictured myself doing. Luckily the company treats its employees well, I've got tons of great free vacation opportunities, great benefits, and lots of incentives. The people are great, the work isn't too bad, and I feel comfortable there.

The main benefit of working there, though, is the ability to really concentrate my creative energy on the comic that Laura and I have started. We're hoping to have our first set of pages uploaded early February!

I'll have some doodles I made on my materials over the past four weeks of training to show off...It always works out that some of my favorite drawings are done on the margins of notebooks or on scrap paper rather than my sketchbook. Ah well! Those will come soon.


How the heck has everyone else been? I'm ready for 2009!

how cool.

Witnessing history in the making...Wow! What an exciting night.

happy halloween!

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Mreow!
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(facebook's graffiti application is addicting)

eunoia

An article about this book, Eunoia by Christian Bök, was linked on today's Shoebox Blog. This guy wrote a book with five chapters, using one vowel for each chapter. I had a hard time imagining a chapter of a book that used one vowel making sense, but after reading some excerpts I'm just impressed. What an interesting premise for a book! And the lines are all so lyrical. I'm in complete awe of anybody who can spin words like this...

A:

Hassan can, at a handclap, call a vassal at hand and ask that all staff plan a bacchanal - a gala ball that has what pagan charm small galas lack. Hassan claps, and (tah-dah) an Arab lass at a swank spa can draw a man's bath and wash a man's back, as Arab lads fawn and hang, athwart an altar, amaranth garlands as fragrant as attar - a balm that calms all angst.

E:

When she remembers Greece, her seceded demesne, she feels wretched, left here, bereft, her needs never met. She needs rest; nevertheless, her demented fevers render her sleepless (her sleeplessness enfeebles her). She needs help; nevertheless her stressed nerves render her cheerless (her cheerlessness enfetters her).

I:

Hiking in British districts, I picnic in virgin firths, grinning in mirth with misfit whims, smiling if I find birch twigs, smirking if I find mint sprigs. Midspring brings with it singing birds, six kinds, (finch, siskin, ibis, tit, pipit, swift), whistling shrill chirps, trilling chirr chirr in high pitch.

O:

Dons who work for proctors or provosts do not fob off school to work on crosswords, nor do dons go off to dorm rooms to loll on cots. Dons go crosstown to look for bookshops known to stock lots of top-notch goods: cookbooks, workbooks - room on room of how-to-books for jocks (how to jog, how to box), books on pro sports: golf or polo.

U:

Gulls churr: ululu, ululu. Ducks cluck. Bulls plus bucks run thru buckbrush; thus dun burrs clutch fur tufts. Ursus cubs plus Lupus pups hunt skunks. Curs skulk (such mutts lurk: ruff, ruff). Gnus munch kudzu. Lush shrubs bud; thus church nuns pluck uncut mums.



I love stuff like this! Very creative.

(my favorite vowel excerpt is E...)

eek

In honor of rapidly approaching Halloween, I bring you the Alien Bride! bum bum BUM!



take me to your leader.

tra la la

My first crayon doodle in months...I miss it.

blast from the past!

My mom's been going through a purging phase since she started re-decorating her room. One of the things she came across was a portfolio FULL of all my high school art projects. Normally I cringe just thinking about my past work, but there were a few gems in the pile that I ended up taking home with me. My mom kept some things to frame and put up, so I took pictures of everything to have for myself.

So without further ado, a journey through my high school art experience (this is the only time I'm sharing past work...my sketchbooks are definitely off-limits lol)!

Here are the ubiquitous five minute gesture drawings...



And of course a study in draping fabric...



I think the assignment was "metamorphosis" for this one...?



I got a lot of crap for this next one, and not without reason. I was going for magnolia seed pod and I ended up pulling a Georgia O'Keeffe. It was completely accidental! And embarrassing. So I'm sharing it.



This assignment required me to draw the same piece of driftwood nine different times, from different angles, on different surfaces, with different tools.



Okay, that's enough for drawing...Let's see the results of my first ever painting class! First, some lilies.



And of course a (sad) self portrait. That necklace I'm wearing in the picture was one of my favorite pieces of jewelry...It had a tiny purple rose and my name on a grain of rice. And then it broke.



Can I just say I prefer just about any other medium to painting? I need more control! Anyway, here is a massively random still life. This one was my second favorite piece from this class...



And finally, the only piece that will eventually make it onto one of my walls...I'm guessing the assignment was to paint a food item or something. At the time, I didn't think much about this painting, but now the more I look at it the more quirky and fun it seems. I give you The Three Ding Dongs.




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And as a special bonus, a blast from the distant past, I present a castle I drew in 5th grade for a class project...




As embarrassing as sharing past work can be, it IS fun to see how far I've come and how everything has evolved.

woosh

It was like instantaneous autumn! I left my apartment yesterday and the world was as it has been...and upon returning I find leaves covering half the parking lot and trees that had seemingly turned yellow and orange in a matter of hours! Maybe I just wasn't as observant as I thought when leaving...It just caught me off guard.

Another thing that caught me off guard? Seeing a bicyclist face-plant on the sidewalk in front of Wal-Mart on 86th street two days ago. He was right next to me as I was driving, and for no apparent reason his bike decided it was going to flip over and he ended up head-first on the pavement. It scared the bejeezus out of me. Thankfully, he got up and got back on his bike...so I'm inclined to believe he's okay. Ouch!

And speaking of "ouch", I was also witness to the making of roadkill. A squirrel ran out across the street as the car in front of me was approaching. It looked like the squirrel would make it, but I guess it forgot something on the other side of the road, because it turned around right in front of the car. What I saw next was something akin to a little rodent helicopter spinning out from the back tire then landing back on the road. Nothing gorey, just a little rodent helicopter. It was sad, but apparently I'm a sick individual because I couldn't help laughing. That's the first time I've ever seen anything run over in my life, and it turned out to be more comical than anything. I still felt bad for it!

"PGH"

As in "popular girl hair"...my term for hair that looks flawless and effortless and the kind of hair I've wanted since I was young. Obviously it doesn't come without effort, but I think this is the first haircut/style I've gotten where I've been completely happy with the outcome. Here's a little before and after...



We'll see if I can re-create this look on my own...I certainly hope so.


In other news, I'm becoming increasingly concerned about (and annoyed with) my upstairs neighbor. Not only do they seem to consistently pace around their apartment at the exact time I try to go to sleep (which varies from midnight to 1, sometimes later), but I've noticed an increase in what sounds like rough-housing in the past several nights. I'll hear and feel stampeding and massive thuds, as if somebody's fallen to the floor. When I have my door and window open, I'll hear muffled yelling every once in a while...at one point in time (at 2 in the morning last night), I heard glass shatter. I don't want to stick my nose into anybody else's business but it is a little concerning, especially considering around this time last year I was unfortunate enough to hear an altercation outside my last apartment that resulted in somebody shooting themself.

In other OTHER news, I broke down and bought the complete first season of Pushing Daisies, which has easily become my favorite scripted television show. I'm a sucker for anything quirky, artistic, fairy-tale, funny, and fast-paced. And this show has it all! This is the first show I've ever bought on DVD, and I've already watched all nine episodes...and I want to watch them again. Whatever holds me over until the first week of October!




And finally, even though I don't care about awards shows in general, I was fortunate enough to turn on the Emmy's in time to see the brilliance that is Josh Groban and TV theme show medleys...Enjoy!

three weddings

I attended my third and last wedding of the summer about a week ago. The first two being my cousin's, then a childhood friend's. This last one probably had the most impact for me because I grew up with Ashley and even though we haven't been as close in recent years, she's always been and will always be a big part of my life. She and Sarah are the people I think of when I hear the phrase "the older you get, the more you need people who knew you when you were young" (name that song!). Of course, I'm still young...but there's a nice sisterly bond there that's lasted for 22 years through ups and downs.



The wedding was simple and fun. Which is really how weddings should be, in my opinion. It was extra interesting because the groom (Francis) is from Nigeria, and his family had the most beautiful clothes. Gorgeous fabrics and bright colors. For the reception, Ashley and Francis changed into special outfits made from fabric imported from Nigeria (shown above). Beautiful!

I think it's amazing how different weddings can be. Granted, before this summer, the last wedding I'd been to was my cousin Allison's wedding almost ten years ago...so these past three are really the only ones that are fresh in my memory. But you'd think with something as common as marriage, everything would start to feel the same after a while. So far (luckily), that hasn't been my experience. Jared and Jen had been dating for ten years before they got married, so everybody seemed to know each other already...it was comfortable, fun, and tastefully elegant. Andy and Courtney's wedding was massively opulent...I didn't get to stay for the dancing, but it was great to see some friends from high school. It was a bit of sensory overload with the five foot sculpted ice vase, hundreds of red roses and strawberries everywhere, picture slideshow projected on one wall, lights and candles, and just about everything you'd expect to see in a celebrity wedding. Ashley and Francis kept things simple and to-the-point, just focusing on family and friends, music and fun.

I'm not saying any wedding was better than the others, it was just interesting to see how much variety there was...I've never thought about what I want my own wedding to be like, and honestly I still have a hard time picturing myself getting married at this point in my life. All I know is I want it to be fun!


Okay, girly wedding talk done.

TTMMLOL

Things that make me laugh out loud.









(It doesn't take much)

2D is not dead!

A new Disney princess movie...in 2D! Set in New Orleans...There's concept art in the Character Design blog linked on the right, and it looks lovely!




I'm such a sucker for anything Disney and princess....

random ABCs

Okay, I lied...no sketches this time, just a collection of random words in alphabetical order. I found them on this site. A lot of them were just words that made me laugh and think "there's actually a word for that?".

Adamitism : nakedness for religious reasons

Bacillicide : killer of berries

Chasmophile : lover of nooks and crannies

Dysteleology : study of purposeless organs

Ecdysiast : striptease performer

Floromancy : belief that flowers have feelings

Gamomania : obsession with issuing odd marriage proposals

Hadeharia : constant use of the word "hell"

Irenology : study of peace

Jettatura : the evil eye

Kit : a small pocket violin

Lollop : to bound about wildly

Myristivorous : feeding upon nutmegs

Neolatry : worship of novelty

Oikology : science of housekeeping

Pogonaisis : excessive growth of beard

Quagswag : to shake to and fro

Resofincular : resembling a wire hanger

Saponify : to convert into soap

Tichorrhine : woolly rhinoceros

Utricide : one who stabs an inflated skin vessel instead of killing someone

Voltigeur : lightly armed skirmisher

Wheeple : to whistle feebly

Xenodocheionology : love of hotels

Yakow : animal crossbred from male yak and a domestic cow

Zoocephalic : animal-headed


It would be an interesting challenge to use each of these words in a sentence, I think.

that's more like it

I've been on a roll for the past week and everything in my life is receiving a little make-over, including this blog. I just need a change every once in a while...if I could afford it, I'd probably be going to get my hair cut and colored because it's getting to that time of year. I've started making a conscious effort to walk at least a mile every day and eat healthier. I'd love to just go shopping and get an entirely new wardrobe. I want new music, more artwork for my apartment, and a new job and people to work with.

I finally feel like I'm going forward and getting out of this rut, and that's the best feeling in the world. I have a job interview tomorrow, so here's to a step in the right direction!


Sketches will come next, I think.

easily amused

I got distracted by some random video clips on the Comcast site...I have no other explanation.

stop playing clock games!

My alarm went off at nine this morning, just like I'd set it to last night. What was unusual about this morning was how incredibly tired I was when it went off. Granted, I fell asleep just after one in the morning, so perhaps my body needed more sleep than it had gotten...But when I kept drifting back into solid sleep over the next two hours, I had to snap myself out of it and get out of bed because there was no way I was sleeping in past eleven. Not when I have schoolwork to finish up!

So I got dressed and plopped down in front of the computer to start on my Digital and Noir Culture class for the day...The first item on my list for that class was watching Pulp Fiction. I'll get back to that later...the real point of this story is the fact that 45 minutes into the movie I happen to glance at the clock and see that it only read 10:00. I looked at the other clock, and it said the same. I looked at my phone. 10:00 in the a.m. I paused the movie and went in to look at my bedside clock.

12:03?

Awesome. I somehow, and it's still a complete mystery to me, but I SOMEHOW managed to reset my clock ahead two hours and three minutes. And in the process I robbed myself of two hours of restful sleep.

I was just baffled, but fully awake...so I laughed it off and went back to the movie.

I'm surprised I liked Pulp Fiction as much as I did. It was interesting, I actually laughed out loud in some areas, and it's something I'll definitely want to watch again.

I'm so behind the curve when it comes to movies...Go me!

mini therapy session

The past couple of months have been far from ideal. At the root of it all is this struggle to motivate myself, which honestly gets harder the longer this rut goes on. The only difference between this rut and previous ruts is that it's actually keeping me from making a living. So it needs to end, and I think I'm taking steps to get past it.

I'm not an extremely religious person anymore. I've been to two weddings this summer and that's the most I've been inside a church for months (maybe even years). I don't necessarily believe all of the teachings of the christian church, but what I do take from it is a sense of comfort. Comfort in the people who attend my church, who've seen me grow and despite my absence always make an effort to know how I'm doing when they see me. Comfort in the feeling of just walking into my church. That one is hard to explain, because I feel the same way any time I go to visit the Synod office (Lutheran church head office) where I used to work. It isn't just familiarity that comforts me, but every time I'm in either of those places I feel warm and unconditionally welcome. The people there are genuinely happy to see me.

Another thing that has always brought me comfort is this belief that if you step back, let things take their course, everything will eventually fall into place. It's happened several times that I can remember in my life. I've gone through this process: Unfortunate/inconvenient event happens, I lose focus, I stress out, I have a little breakdown, and soon after I'm presented with a newer (usually better) opportunity. It's happened so many times to me, on a much smaller scale, that I can't help but believe there is something or someone that is in control and looking out for me.

There's a hymn I've turned to in the past that pretty much sums up that belief. I have a couple versions of it on my iTunes, and I was listening this morning when both versions came up back-to-back. This is just the first verse, but it most closely encapsulates the way I choose to believe.

Be still, my soul...the Lord is on your side.
 Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
 leave to your God to order and provide;
 in every change God faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul...your best, your heavenly friend
 through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

The above drawing was really just something for myself, because I haven't just drawn for myself in a long time.

pure evil?

All right, I may be going to hell for this, but I couldn't help myself. This was one of those situations where I wish I had my camera with me, or an opportunity to take a photograph, because it was one of those moments in life that I will remember forever.

Laura and I were walking around Clay Terrace and decided we wanted to get some ice cream, so we step into Cold Stone and we're standing behind this guy holding a baby and his (presumably) wife. Now, the guy was actually very attractive...but the baby. Oh my god, the baby. There really aren't words for how scary this baby looked.

So I made a little sketch.

I swear, every time I looked at the baby I started laughing. And every time I started laughing, Laura started. We managed to cover it up enough so that (hopefully) the couple didn't realize we were laughing at their baby. The line was painfully long too...so this baby was staring at me for a good 10-15 minutes. It was the greatest exercise in self-restraint I've experienced in a while.

I'm a little scared

Models are frightening.

Actual picture from an agency's webpage....




I wonder what she's thinking....

the internet is an amazing thing.

I'm pretty sure everybody's Googled their name or somebody else's name at some point in time. I, for one, have found that there is another Lauren Smith working as a graphic designer in California...he's a middle-aged man, though. But anyway, I decided to try Googling my dad's name the other night after talking to him on the phone. Granted, with a name like Steve Smith it's hard to narrow any search results down to find information on my dad in particular...but I was rewarded with my perseverance by this:



That, my friends, is a car that was modeled and skinned by someone on this forum to specifically look like my dad's race car. I have pictures of myself with that car when I was about 5-6 years old. I just thought it was a really neat find...I couldn't find any video of races on youtube, but oh well. I still think this is cool.

Kung Fu Panda!

This is what it took to kick me out of my blogging lull.

I've seen Kung Fu Panda twice in two days and I have a feeling I could watch it again tomorrow, and the next day. There are really only a handful of movies that share that quality for me. The Incredibles, The Producers, Singin' in the Rain...and others. Okay, honestly, I probably couldn't watch all of those every single day, but you get my point.

Kung Fu Panda has it all...beautiful scenery, awesome character design, brilliant animation, exciting cinematography, simple endearing storyline, and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. Of course it's not very hard to make me laugh, but everyone else seemed to be laughing at the same parts with me, so there!

Some of the things that struck me the most were pretty subtle...stuff like the animation of Oogway, the old turtle. He doesn't just stand perfectly still, he has the slightest tremble in his head and hands when he's talking...that sort of unsteadiness that comes from old age. I just haven't seen that little detail incorporated in any other elderly 3D animated characters before. Not only that, but anytime there's a moment where a character doesn't say anything, but you can tell exactly what progression their emotions are taking, I'm just floored. That's masterful animation right there.

And since seeing stills from the movie, and the official website, I've been in love with the scenery. I want to find an image of just the backgrounds used in the movie, because they're gorgeous. The colors! I wish I could see places in real life that had colors like that.

I'm gushing, I can't help it. I expected this movie to be entertaining, but I didn't expect it to be THIS entertaining. I know some people will probably be very critical of the movie, but oh well. Who cares if the storyline isn't completely groundbreaking? Its beauty is in its simplicity.










See?

the First!

Me drawing Eva...I'm going to do more videos like this to upload to YouTube. Because I can and it's kind of fun to watch myself draw. There are a few times when I'm watching and I think "I don't remember doing that..".






I've been trying not to fall into the habit of being lazy for the past week. I'll be honest, it's nice to not have anything to do...but if I don't have anything to do, then it feels like I don't do anything. And I like to go to bed feeling like I've accomplished something that day.

It's a weird sort of lull. I haven't been unemployed since I was a junior in high school. I'm not saying I'm a workaholic, but basically between work and school I've had something to get up and do almost everyday from then until now. So it is strange for me.

Luckily, it doesn't look like that'll be the case much longer. I'm driving down to Bloomington on Wednesday to meet with Studio Cypher about some contract work over the summer. So here's hoping that leads to bigger and better things!

both ends of the spectrum

I can officially say that the last few months have been the most busy of my life. I've been scrambling to get my Capstone project finished and presentable, juggling other classes and work, moving, settling, and countless other little things.

On the happy end of the spectrum is my Capstone presentation. I don't think it could have gone better, honestly. I was happy with the turnout, I was happy with my finished pages and interactive flash display, I was happy that both my parents got to see what I've been working on for the past four months, and I was happy that my project got such a good reaction from everyone who took the time to see it.
After almost a week of either little sleep or extremely restless sleep at someone else's house, it was great to finally be able to relax in my own apartment on my new couches and just do NOTHING. My dad stayed overnight and we spent Saturday together...I basically didn't even turn my computer on over the weekend.
Having finished something so huge (well, finished as far as school is concerned..), I really feel like I could take on the world. Here was a project that, from the start, was very close to my heart. It was the start of something that Laura and I have been thinking about doing for years. Now it's pretty hard to stop. I'm on a roll.


And then Monday hit!


I woke up to a voicemail from my coworker asking to send him the things I'd been working on and making some comment about not being sure what I wanted to do with my personal stuff. And that confused me a little....until I checked my work email and found a message saying that the past week had been my last at Sticky Matters. It was dated Wednesday, which was the day that I was called and told that everybody would be working from home on Wednesday because they weren't sure about the situation with the office building (since our primary investor had run into trouble). Now...maybe I'm being a little paranoid and/or bitter, but to me it seemed like that phone call was a way to keep ME out of the office the day they decided to lay me off. I don't know, I'll ask Kelly to see if anyone else was asked to stay home that day.

Anyway...One small blessing in that was the fact that I didn't have internet access in the house I was staying at, so I didn't get that email before Capstones. Because if I had known that I was laid off before Capstones, that night would have turned out MUCH differently.

So there's that.



This situation is still FAR from ideal, but I don't know...I have this feeling that this is one of those big bumps that I've got to get over before finding something better.

If there's one thing that life has taught me so far, it's that things work themselves out if you just trust in yourself and keep an eye out for opportunities.


And that's my last three months or so in a nutshell.

one more thing.

Note the caption under the website title "Good Game for Your Whole Family".




If you make it so that the cannibals outweigh the missionaries, then the missionaries get "eaten" (meaning they turn into what looks like a steak".



What. the. hell.

mmmmmmore doodles

and then i KICK


Bored Fairy...

(direct quote from myself...it was a weird night.)

Jasper

He's about an inch high...

Juniper (duh)

She's been hanging around since about December and I haven't come any closer to finishing her...so I'll just post what I have so far.

have you ever...

Ever been driving and listening to your iPod/CD/whatever when a song comes on that matches the mood of the day and the scene so perfectly it feels like you're in a movie? You know those scenes in movies with montages of characters driving places or going about their lives? I had that happen the other day while I was on my way to work (it was rainy and gloomy). The song "Best I Ever Had (Gray Sky Morning)" by Vertical Horizon came on, and I felt like I was in some sort of emo montage from a romantic comedy, at the point in the movie when the main couple has had their big fight and they're both in their separate places feeling sorry for themselves.. Of course, my life is NOTHING like a romantic comedy, but the mood and the music just happened to fit perfectly.

Another thing I really enjoy is when a song you're listening to happens to match up exactly with the click-click of your turn signal. I discovered John Mayer's "Stop This Train" syncs with my turn signal clicking exactly. That's always fun.

Let's see, what else...

I always have to laugh when I see people jogging on the sidewalk that look like they don't normally jog. Because they just kind of look like they're running from something.


In other news, I found out I don't get the keys to my new apartment until April 1st, and I have until the 7th to move out of my current one. So that gives me roughly an extra week to get stuff together. It's looking like this move will go smoother than the past couple. I really do hope that's the case, because I don't need more to stress about right now.

I had a dream last night that I went to check out my new apartment, just do a walk-through and visit it before I moved in. The apartment complex looked nothing like the one I live in (which usually happens in dreams), first of all. There were so many hallways leading in all different directions and ending in odd places. The walls were painted deep, bright blues, and there were random signs all over the place.

I got outside (because I'm actually transferring to the OTHER building that makes up the apartment complex) and tried to find my way to the other building. But there was this tall fence and pretty tall grass between the buildings for some reason. And the only way around the fence was through these huge bleachers full of people on the other side, apparently watching a concert of some sort (I think there were fireworks..even though it was the middle of the day). Once I got through that and finally into the other building, there was another series of confusing hallways...the apartment doors were numbered in completely illogical ways.

It felt like I was going around in circles trying to find apartment 235...until I came to this giant open room with what looked like four or five sunken floor areas that were numbered. One of them was occupied by this girl who was clipping her toenails, I think. She had really greasy hair and her clothes were all a mess...her little square area was cluttered with a bunch of crap. And guess what? The sunken area right next to hers was labeled 235. As if that was going to be my apartment. This little area in a big open room, no walls, no privacy. I believe I said something along the lines of "oh, hell no" in my dream and stormed off to the office to see if I could get a different place...something along the lines of a REAL apartment. So, I ended the dream stressed about finding a way to get everything straightened out in the short week I had left.


I laugh about it now, but if something like that happened I'd have to cry.

The crazy blue walls WERE kind of cool, though.

awesome.

So the previously mentioned box of 64 crayons had 8 colors that were "Kids' Choice Colors: By Kids - About Kids". I think this photo says it all. Click to enlarge if you can't read the color names...

Upside and downside.

I just can't get enough of crayons lately for some reason...Here are some of my new doodles. The first few are from Macaroni Grill, which I didn't keep...the last is from Thuper Thursday (aka after-class dinner with John, Jon, and Laura at Friday's)! So now I have two crayon doodles for my collection...










In other news, I decided that instead of just waiting to go to restaurants that had kids menus and crayons, I would stop by Target and buy my own. Did you know that a pack of 8 crayons is only $ .79? I think that's awesome. But alas...I opted for the 64 pack with the sharpener in the back, even though I'll probably only use select colors. Hey, $3 well spent in my mind.

But as happy as new art supplies (even though they be but crayons) make me, my good mood was somewhat dampened by the discovery of my passenger side mirror cracked and loose after somebody apparently hit it with something (I'm assuming a car). I swear, my car must have some sort of HIT ME aura, because this is the second time something like this has happened to it. I still have yet to get my cracked bumper fixed from some anonymous (presumably snowplow) collision last year. So now I have a cracked, loose side mirror, a cracked bumper, and the driver's door handle doesn't work from the outside. I've only had this car for about a year and a half...how ridiculous is that? I'm hoping that's it for my "bad things come in threes" and we can be done shelling out money to fix stupid things.


More photos to come soon.

doodlin'!

I've decided that every time I go to a place that has kids menus and crayons, I'm going to doodle something. It doesn't have to be a masterpiece, but I'll do something. Because there's just something about crayons and kids menus that bring out fun little things like these:





(okay so it's not crayon, oh well...)

mesmerizing.

I saw a video like this a few years back, but stumbled on it again. I could watch this sort of thing for hours.





Beautiful, dynamic art!

things're lookin' good

Got positive feedback on my first two penciled pages of my capstone project, as well as two more pages thumbnailed and ready to pencil. Stuff seems to finally be falling into place.


I took the evening to sketch whatever came to mind.





I needed that...now back to work!

this week's random pictures.

And I really do mean random...


Parking Lot LOVE




Nan, you're a window shopper.




EPIC icicle (that word never looks right when you type it...)



I imagine I will...at some point in the future...(this is the same place that produced the fortune "A nice cake is waiting for you"...i'm noticing a trend)




Cup-shaped ice with straw!




Another view!


It looks kinda sad now...




That concludes this week's random pictures. Tune in next week!

i feel DIRTY

This quiz is JUNK!





That is one of my absolute LEAST favorite fonts in the history of fonts...

And that description? Totally not me.

I had a hard time choosing any of the answers to the questions, since none of them really applied to me.

So that's my excuse for getting this result.



I have to go shower for like two hours now....

faces of IT131

So I was waiting a few hours after class and ended up in the 24 hour lab in the IT building, in the prime location for some people watching/sketching. There were some interesting faces in the crowd..



One of the guys got up and left before I could finish him. Ah well...I'll have to start doing this more often.

MADLIBS!

You don't need to go out drinking for a good time. No no. All you need to do is stay in with creative people and do Madlibs for an hour and you've got yourself inside jokes for life. And possibly a hernia...

Here are just a few of the stories Jon, Laura, and I came up with. I laughed so much I almost cried.

Description of the Lovely Group That I Am In

We are having a perfectly fluffy time this evening in the mysterious home of Jon*. The rooms are decorated pointedly with many stylish kitties that must have cost at least $42. The guests are all mind-numbing conversationalists and are all squarely dressed. Lou has been entertaining us by telling us about the time she showed her hairy cow to Laura, who mistook it for an early American pocket. The refreshments are fleshy, and the idea of serving hot and transparent hors d'oeuvres showed imagination. Visiting here is always an odorous experience.

Fable #1

Once upon a time, a chockful guide expert named Jon felt a smelly pain. He sent for a rough surgeon who looked at his decorative stomach and said, "Holy shit!" Then he muttered drunkenly "I see your trouble. The squirrel on your dapper stomach is overlapping the sock next to your kidney." The surgeon absolutely took him to the barbequed operating room of the hospital. there he made an unnecessary incision reaching from the patient's duck to his button. "Oh snap!" said the surgeon. "That takes care of that constricted nostril." With that, he began sewing up the incision. However, on the tenth stitch the patient sneezed and almost pulled the baked potato out of the frame, but the surgeon took one final stitch and saved the truck. MORAL: A hook in time saves nine.


Advice to Prospective Parents

Congratulations to all of you cleansing mothers and fishy fathers. You are about to give birth to a broccoli. Remember, a happy child comes from a happy crimp. The arrival of your ping-pong will cause many sparse changes in your life. You'll probably have to get up at 4 am to give the little manwhore its bottle of yellow milk and change his or her broads. Later when he or she is 3.14 years old and able to walk, you'll hear the patter of little breadsticks around the house. And in no time, your child will be talking frankly, and calling you his or her "llama", and saying things like, "Teh fuck?!" right to your face. It's no wonder they are called little bundles of foot.

My Dream Girl

The girl of my dreams has horrible lime green hair scented like apples. Her eyes are like two periwinkle pools of orange juice. And her lips remind me of wavy huevos. Her skin is as smooth and lovely as a hard scene, and she has a figure like Lou. When she enters a room, people always stare at her and say "Goddamnit**! What a cool woman!" Her sense of humor is always hungry, and people marvel at her stuttering vocabulary. In my dreams I see her wearing a drunk dress and a diamond mustache in her hair. I would gladly give up all my rattles for one evening with this fergalicious female. Her name is Laura.

My Dream Man

My "dream man" should, first of all, be very thirsty and unholy. He should have a physique like Michael Jackson, a profile like Simon Amstell, and the intelligence of an antelope. He must be polite and always remember to prance my documentary, to tip his squid, and to take my gizzards when crossing the street. He should move ridiculously, should have a peachy voice, and should always dress finely. I would also like him to be a clammy dancer and when we're alone he should whisper rampant nothings in my eyelid and hold my rocky stoner. I know a marshmellowy man like this is hard to find. In fact, the only one I can think of is Jon.

"Secret" Letter From an Admirer

Dear Miss Laura,
You may not recall my porkchop, but I met you at the braided cocktail party given by our sugar-coated friend, Lou. We had a juicy talk about funky sheep, and I was impressed by your flaming conversation and your grasp of the captivating situation. Also, I was very much attracted by your empty eyes, your wrinkled little chin, and your curly teeth. If you'll pardon me for seeming dead, I was fascinated by your swollen walk and by your wrong figure. I hope I made an annoying impression and that we can get together for a nice Saturn next week.
Angrily yours,
Jon

Proper Care of the Scalp (this was the last one we did, and by far the most wrong. you have been warned)

Don't neglect your scalp! Even though you don't know it, your scalp may be kinky. This can cause your hair to turn flushed and plump. A cross-eyed scalp is due to over activity on the part of the fetish gland and to excessive production of the optometrists normally present in the skin. For a healthy scalp, wash your head morbidly every night in homosexual water and then take a hot slinky shampoo. Then massage your fiddler for five minutes with a sharp windmill. If you suffer from dastardly hair, soak your beast regularly in a sunscreen of vinegar. Good luck!







*we were actually NOT in Jon's home. This story lies.

**alternate word provided by Laura: "Fuckpumpkins!"

so far, so good

Post #50!

This is the best I've done with a blog this far. I even took the time to personalize it a bit more. I'm no web design expert, but it's always nice to see something like this work. Anyway!

It's become a tradition now for Laura, Jon, and me to go out to dinner on Thursdays after class. This Thursday we had some more people join us (including another John, a Colin, and a Jay). Hopefully this continues, because it really is a fun time.

First, the weird faces:

I'd suggest taking a closer look at this one...


Because I wasn't in the group picture making a weird face. I tend to favor the cross-eyed look. Oh, and that's Jon's hand. He was a ninja and snuck them in at the last minute.

Now, general goofiness:

John rocking his alien look.


Colin saying something REALLY important!


what's THAT?!


Nantucket Nectars Orange Mango is the BEST. John looks unimpressed, though.


Rockin' out with the salt and pepper shakers. Jay contemplates this...


aaaaaaaaaahhhCHICKEN SAUCE!


Laura, Jon and I ended up going to dinner on Friday night as well, since it was payday and it was Friday...and what better way to celebrate the coming of the weekend than a nice evening among friends? We went to Applebee's for their awesome fiesta wrappers, or whatever they're called. A good time was had by all.

Oh! And Jon drew a squid. With a bowtie.