Slacking, I know

Well here’s an update from the world’s most fabulous procrastinator: I leave in 3 days, and I haven’t packed anything, =O

I need to pack a month’s worth of stuff into my small car. And figure out how to pay the tuition, pay my rent, feed myself, and be able to gas up and go from North Long Beach to LA for the first 2 weeks of my internship. *_*

I have been getting distracted by every little thing these days. You would think that since I am looking forward to this and it’s not actual classes I’m heading off to, I would be on top of it. Yeah… Not so much. I’m not sure how my brain works…

Great news though! Mountain Dew Pitch Black is back!! I have been waiting for years for this triumphant return. I am a huge Mountain Dew fan and try every new flavor that comes out, but none have tickled my fancy like Pitch Black.

OMG!!

=%= Well onward ho. =%=

I entered a photo contest on hiddencupcakes.com, a blog from a fellow Etsy seller. The theme is “Pedal Pusher,” which totally coincides with my new love of bikes. Here is my entry:

Ferret Ride

It made Semi Finalist Day 1! I borrowed the roommate’s ferret to make this happen. He/she (I can never tell) was a super awesome model.

But alas, onto my next challenge: attempting to see everyone I know before I go away for a solid month. Oh and packing. It’s quite difficult with my work schedule, but I’ll make it happen.

To the beach, and step on it!

Thirst-busters: Dirty marketing tricks

79 cent Thirst-busters from Circle K… are evil. Every day I feel like I should drink less soda, drink more water, and then I am distracted by the cheapness of these 32 ounce and 44 ounce drinks that are the best deal possible. A gallon of water is 78 cents, how can you choose a gallon of water over 32 ounces of Mountain Dew with cherry, lime, raspberry flavoring added AND extra caffeine? Exactly, it’s just too good to be true. Not even mentioning that the Circle K is across the street from me, closer than the nearest Starbucks or grocery store. Once upon a time I worked for a fast food restaurant that always wanted us to “up-size” the value meals for the customer. I felt this practice was shady and contributing the obesity of America, so I never felt comfortable “up-size selling.” I realize now that it is just doing business and trying to maximize profit. The placement of candy bars at 2/$1 at the check out stands in supermarkets is another example of this practice; getting the most money out of people while attempting to make us all fat. At least Target places some healthy snacks up at the check stand, a little more socially health conscious as well as attempting to squeeze that extra $1.59 sale out of the customer. But of course, the true decision lies with the consumer. Most of them are stupid and fall for all these little marketing tricks, though, making it easy for companies to make profits off of us while making us fat. I of course have just admitted that I too, despite knowing exactly what they are doing, fall for these tricks, because I love Mountain Dew, and I love getting it for less than a dollar even more.

The Culprit

I am 5 work days away from leaving for California. They made the mistake of scheduling my last day as closing, (muah ha ha, I won’t be doing much of anything that night…) But that’s what they get for attempting to cheat me out of my last 2 vacation days. Also by not giving me time off for educational reasons. How is that I am sitting here blogging instead of preparing for my adventure? I don’t know, because I have to leave for work in 40 minutes and it seems pointless to invest in a real project and then have to leave in the middle of it anyway. So far I sold my TV, TV stand, old Macbook, and some photo paper to get money for the trip, not bad.

Still for sale: Mini decorative box

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110689631999&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

And of course photos on Etsy.

My next action plan is to find some new craft items to make and sell. Anyone have any ideas?

Adventure

Here we are, embarking on an adventure. What adventure is this? This is the adventure of me, a college student, attempting to fund my summer internship. What I mean by this is, well I have to pay my rent here at home, and pay the rent in LA, where I’m interning. I also have to maintain all of my regular bills, as well as pay my share of the utilities in this other apartment; one I will be sharing with 2 girls I have yet to meet. It will be my dorm room experience I never got! So while not working my regular job and working for free in another state, I will be surviving on nothing but savings and whatever I can make doing odd jobs and such while I’m there. Food, gas, and fun will no longer be such simple commodities. The most important part of this summer is that unlike last summer that I spent just working my regular job and being broke, this is going to be a summer of learning. Hands on experience for working in a small theatre organization and learning how to run an arts organization. I want to find my passion and grow it. Another important factor, living in LA! My favorite city, well except maybe NYC. It’s a toss up.

So here is where this adventure begins, selling all my stuff to pay for this. I have a terrible habit of being a pack rat. Not to the extreme, but I have realized that I will save all kinds of things, just because I think I might need it again at some point. But the fact is, it just takes up space, and I may never need it again. However, when I do find that I needed something, I am always glad I kept it. Enough is enough, though. I need money and I don’t need all this junk. Logic would tell me that I don’t need 2 computers anymore, DVD’s that I don’t watch anymore, random tchotchkes that serve no purpose, etc. Time to minimize the number of things I have to move every time I move, (every year since age 21 pretty much). I want to learn to survive on less. So here I am, forcing myself to survive without luxuries.

If you would like to help my college fund, here are links to things that are on sale:

DVD’s

Old nonworking Macbook

Photo prints: http://www.etsy.com/shop/UnraveledSweaters

Behind Bars

Jerome, AZ

Treeez

Jerome Tree

Update

Portfolio is updated in the Artist’s Packet Page. Just some pictures I’ve taken for the joy of capturing the world. Enjoy!

More photos to follow. ^_^

Reflection

What did I learn this semester?

No, this isn't what I did all semester!

Well, I tried to stop procrastinating, but it seems that it still overcame me. I have no ability to concentrate until it is the absolute last minute. I read in Real Simple magazine that it is part of our brain’s process to avoid doing things that are the least desirable. So how do we conquer this urge to put off daunting tasks until the last minute? One day maybe I’ll find the answer.

What else… Hmm.. Well I realized that I am still working too much. Or maybe not even too much, I just need a less stressful position. I realize that even though I am used to the stress of my job, and I am used to working backwards hours, and I am used to turn-around shifts (leaving at 12:00 am and coming back at 8:00 am), maybe it is still detrimental to my personal health (mental and physical), school work, and future. I just keep telling myself to stick it out for 1 more year and I can leave after graduation to bigger and better things. Maybe after I spend my summer away from that place that sucks my soul out I will look for something more career oriented. The question is, how to pay big girl bills on student wages? I mean, it might be a problem if you can spend a whole night at a bar after work bitching about your job.

I learned that there are more opportunities out there then we think. Some of them are just waiting to be made.

I learned that I probably can conquer the world, but maybe I should conquer my bad habits first.

Life is a journey and we should enjoy the ride.

I leave you with a few pictures to enjoy.

A tree in my friend's apartment complex

Fire breather from Angelica Gallery

Me Gusta

Untitled by Jenny Fontana

April Art Review

During the month of April I attended 2 art shows. One was Sticker Phiends IV at Cartel Coffee Lab in Tempe. This show was showcasing the adhesive arts of many profound street artists and graffiti writers such as Obey, Mad One, and a long list of others. This was the first show if its kind that I have attended. I had never taken the concept of graffiti or street art very seriously until recently. I have a new found appreciation for the effort that goes into the craft. The actual show itself was, well, crowded and louder than I would have usually enjoyed. A small coffee shop packed with kids distributing their personal stickers and flyers, a DJ spinning all night long; a quick walk around to view what was on the walls and I was on my way. Huge crowds are not my forte since I have aged past the point of legal drinking. I still enjoyed the show very much, as I am always down to enjoy art and discover new artists and mediums.

The second was the grand opening of the Angelica Gallery in Phoenix. This is a beautiful gallery placed in an older home, complete with low awnings that I almost had to duck under in my heals (ha!). Angelica Gallery was formerly a traveling gallery that has now found its permanent home. The opening featured live music and fire dancing/breathing as well the main selling point, the display and sale of original Salvador Dali’s. If only I had $15k to throw down. The first painting I viewed was canvas called “2 of Hearts” by an artist named Priscilla. This painting featured dark colors and two lovers nose to nose with the female in a red dress. I was drawn to this painting because of the colors, the texture, and the overall theme: love. It shows a more sensual side by using the dark colors that I found very intriguing. The second and third painting I reviewed were by Sharon Weiser. Her still life oil on canvas called “Cucumber Stack #2” was basically tasty looking. The painting is incredibly detailed with olives garnishing the side. I’m usually not much for still lifes, but when they feature food there is something about them that I love, maybe because they make me hungry. The second one was called “Beauty in a Glass” and featured sea shells and other ocean gems floating in space, or water, with life like detail that glistened. This piece was absolutely beautiful. I have a love for the ocean and nautical themes so I was naturally drawn to this piece. The attention to detail was also very eye-catching, besides the subject matter.

Angelica Gallery