Day fifty-nine.

This evening I went to hear David Bacon speak on the subject of "Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants."

It was really interesting to hear him talk about this, especially since immigration raids & enforcement acts are sweeping all over the country. I always learn something coming out of these lectures--they can be eye-opening and sometimes very saddening. In one of his photos, little old ladies were holding signs and marching for workers' rights. One of my favorite signs read, "we are not aliens; we are from the same planet."

David Bacon is a journalist, author, photographer, and labor organizer for workers' unions, and he is based out of Berkley, CA. Bacon's books explore the human side of globalization, 'exposing the many ways it uproots people in Latin America and Asia, driving them to migrate.' Some of these books include: The Children of NAFTA, Communities Without Borders, Living Under the Trees, and Illegal People.

OH, and today is the last day for being able to utilize my handicap parking privileges. It was convenient while it lasted!

Day fifty-eight.

More bits & pieces of a collage.

Ah, Oregon. I want to visit.

Day fify-seven.

February 26, 2011

Went to see Broke-ology at the Purple Masque Theatre.

Day fifty-six.

We played a good German game of "6 Nimmt" tonight, and Brooke was the winner.

Day fifty-five.

Yesterday, 57° F. Today, a blizzard.
My class ended late tonight. While walking back to my car I was swept away by a snowdrift tornado. The roads were slick and scary, but I made it home safely.

Day fifty-four.

Indy likes to perch herself on people while they're trying to study. I may look stressed in this picture. I had an art history exam today, which went better than expected!

Fyi, I also wore sweat pants to class for the first time in my life.

Day fifty-three.

It's a...

tree!
The bark makes interesting designs--you can make your own picture out of the shapes.
12 AM, there's my photo for the day.

Day fifty-two.

In 2-D design we're working on a mixed media collage--perhaps one of my favorite things to do. Like a little mouse, I save scraps of paper, teabag tags, receipts, wrappers, and other goodies people would normally think of as garbage. So many colors & textures--these things can be re-used for other purposes.

(just the beginning)

Day fifty-one.

brother-sister love

My friends Brooke & Bobby planned Bobby's surprise visit to Manhattan. It was a success!
Today we met at Bluestem, and I meant to take a picture, but I got side-tracked. So, I drove to their house later on to take my photo for the day. Ah, I love them.

Day fifty.

Day 5-0! My astronaut friend, Lance, helped me with astronomy homework over the phone.

Day forty-nine.

February 18, 2011

It was a work weekend.

Friday night we took the van across the dam.

Day forty-eight.

Today I sat through eight hours of Mandt training, required for where I work. It was long, but it included some good bits of information. Tomorrow we'll be going over physical restraint techniques.

There are also some jelly beans up there. It's been years since I've had them, but I like to eat them one at a time and guess the flavor. My favorite is sour cherry. There are some weird ones in the pack, though--I've never met anyone who enjoys chocolate pudding & buttered popcorn.

On a different note, I've been disheartened from seeing and hearing all of this news on state and national budget cuts. National service programs, non-profit organizations, art & music--so many things near and dear to my heart are on the line. I really dislike this division between political parties, and feel it only adds to the mess. There is a left side and a right side, similar to our brains. Each side works differently, but both can be very effective.

While we may be more left or right-brain dominant, the two sides must work together. the end. I've had "Building Healthy Communication" on my mind.

Day forty-seven.

The weather was beautiful again today, so I took Caesar for a walk (or he took me for a walk, to be more correct.) I can see people have pulled out their shorts and sandals--it's supposed to be another warm day tomorrow!

Day forty-six.

In Drawing 1 we practiced perspective sketches outside Bluemont. The weather seemed to be perfect for this, so it was a nice opportunity. One of the downsides, though, is having students drive by and make ridiculous comments like, "It's a flash mob!" or (this one made me lol), "Do you want to draw my friend naked?"

I realize many passerbys must've giggled at the idea of drawing for a class. You would think it's more fun than work--but it does take some patience and practice to sketch a scene for hours.

I like it.

Day forty-five.

Chocolate knows how to make people happy. I ate loads of it today, and now I feel like a balloon. But that's okay! I know cocoa can be somewhat good for you (when consumed in moderation, of course), and it's Valentine's day.

My friend Isabel surprised me with a rose & some organic chocolate in my Astronomy class..what a dear.

Day forty-four.

At one point today I'm sure the weather was in the 60's. It was so nice, I walked outside with my parents for a bit. I wanted to fly a kite, or play some frisbee.
A beautiful forecast for the week:

Sunday night dinner was delicious spaghetti.

I also listened to news on the radio about Mubarak's stepping down in Egypt. Hearing the protestors chanting in massive celebration gave me the goosebumps. I can see this being made into a great movie.

Day forty-three.

Friends are like gems.

Day forty-two.

Friday, February 11, 2011

A Black & White Affair

-photo taken by Brian-

Day forty-one.

I consulted with a Best Buy guy, and he said that since my camera won't come on, and the lens doesn't retract, it must be a motherboard issue (shucks). It would cost much more to have the camera sent in/looked at/fixed than it would to just purchase a new one. So, there was no hesitation in buying a new camera. It's very similar to my old one, just a newer model. Nothing fancy, or expensive, which is nice. This one does have a super cool fish-eye setting.

I've had too much fun taking distorted wide-angle pictures.
Schoko mac! The perks of having family in Germany--my aunt sends us goodies, like nutella.

Day forty.

The bakery science club holds a bakesale every Wednesday. Last week's was cancelled due to weather, so I was especially excited about today. Super yummy te amo cookies!

On a sadder note: my camera broke moments after taking this picture. Day forty of my picture journey! I'm not sure why, but it won't turn on. No, it's not the battery. I may be purchasing a new one very soon!

Day thirty-nine.

Today I saw a student trudging through the snow with crutches and a boot cast. I felt sorry for that guy, and really grateful that I'm not hobbling along in his position any more.

I hate complaining about the snow, and the cold, and winter--but I'm over it! We're all ready for Spring.

Day thirty-eight.

This evening I walked with Caesar up the street to Warner Park.
It was really frigid outside, so he enjoyed it more than I did.
I made him pose for this one.

Day thirty-seven.

February 6, 2011

About a year or more ago my mom placed an orchid plant by a window in my room. The plant bloomed nicely for a while, but faded away over time. I thought it was at its end- until recently. The buds have re-bloomed, and my mom tells me how amazed she is to see them open up again. Orchids can be sensitive and they need the right blend of sunlight, water, and heat to survive. This one by my window seems to want to reach through the glass for the light.
Light is so important to life and there are numerous examples & metaphors to go along with this.

Light travels very fast.
Light helps us perceive color.
Light is essential in art to help contrast & bring out certain objects in a composition.
Light creates energy.
Light gives us a dose of Vit-D.
Light makes people happier.
Light fills the darkness.

Day thirty-six.

Never let go of hope.

The weather turned weird today. It rained a little and made it into the 40's.
I also learned some disappointing news & realized how life can be very hard and painful.

Day thirty-five.

My first Salsarita's experience:

We enjoyed some caso.

Day thirty-four.

Lately I've been dreaming of geometric shapes & complimentary colors.

Today I worked on this assigment for 2-D design: The goal is to make the monochoromatic and grayscales disappear.

Day thirty-three.

My photo-stitched picture of the day. Despite below freezing temps, the sun was shining, which was nice.


Lately I've been paying more attention to the words people use. In one of my classes I scribble down words that come out of my professor's mouth which I don't hear on a regular basis. Some recent examples: foist, flanking, fishery, striations, unmodulated. The thesaurus is my good friend..

Sometimes commonly used words can be tricky--like 'cancel', for example. The word takes many forms: canceled, cancelled, cancellation, canceler, canceller. Does it have one or two L's?
Answers.com says: In both UK and US English, the most common spelling is cancelled, with two L's, although some people (and spell check programs) still favor the one-L spelling.
Apparently, US dictionaries list it both ways, and either is correct usage.

Fun fact of the day.

Day thirty-two.

Classes were canceled again due to this colossal-sized snow storm that's making its way through the Midwest. I'm curious about how conditions will look tomorrow. In any case, I'm super glad we still have electricity.

Katie invited me to go bowling with some of her friends. We played 3 games, one of them throwing left-handed. It was nice to get out of the house.