Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Study Abroad
So I would love probably more than anything to study abroad somewhere in Europe. For the most part financial aide covers the same as going to school here, but the only thing holding me back is airfare. I don't have $400 lying around plus whatever expenses i would have while i'm there. They should make a program for students that is all inclusive so everyone has a chance to see the world before all the responsibilites of careers and adulthood hold them back.
Bad housing...
So Stony Brook is clearly overcrowded and under-housed. I had no idea how reapplying for housing since this was my first year here. I missed my deposit date AND my "housing appointment" - i had no idea that this even exhisted. So now in order to MAYBE somehow get housing next year. Since freshman are guaranteed housing, the uppder classmen can easily get dicked out of living here at all at one misstep. This is truly unfair since the freshman class is typically cut in half by the next year due to dropouts and transfers. Something should be done to be more fair for people who actually need housing and plan on staying.
Walmart Pays Up.
So walmart has owned up to their fuck-up and paid $2 million in New York to improve safety in their stores. I hope they have to pay more than that in the long run. I've seen how they let people in on black friday in 2007, they open the doors and everybody runs. Its amazing that only one person was killed.
So walmart has owned up to their fuck-up and paid $2 million in New York to improve safety in their stores. I hope they have to pay more than that in the long run. I've seen how they let people in on black friday in 2007, they open the doors and everybody runs. Its amazing that only one person was killed.
Some kid thought he was cool.
So some kid thought he was doing a cool trick... didn't turn out that way. Epic failure. I could kill so much time on these sites.
Cinco De Mayo
Cinco De Mayo was yesterday. I spent it working on videos, blogs, papers, and lacking sleep. It was actually my roomates birthday. She spent her day with her mom and uncle, typical dinner and a movie type spiel. She then spent the night making out with her alcohol reeking girlfriend. No problem there. hah.
This summer
So this summer starts officially after your last final, and mine is tuesday May 19th at 9:30am. Directly after that I will finish emptying my dorm room, load up my boyfriend's truck and spend the day at his house unpacking dorm junk and repacking stuff to leave that night for North Carolina. We'll most likely leave at about 11pm in order to miss traffic. The drive will take approximately 11 hours with about 4-5 stops for bathroom, gas, and food breaks. Coming with us is our good friend and his girlfriend. Once down there hopefully I will be there for the birth of my new baby sister, Samantha. My mom is due any day now. The rest of my two weeks down there will consist of sleeping, beaching, and pool side sun-bathing. No cares. No responsibility. Just sunshine and family.
La, la la la, la la la.
My all time favorite song.
Hey darling, I hope you're good tonight
And I know you don't feel right when I'm leaving
Yeah, I want it but no, I don't need it
Tell me something sweet to get me by
'Cause I can't come back home 'til they're singin'
La, la la la, la la la
'Til everyone is singin'
If you can wait 'til I get home
Then I swear to you that we can make this last
(La la la)
If you can wait 'til I get home
Then I swear come tomorrow, this will all be in our past
It might be for the best
Hey sweetie, I need you here tonight
And I know that you don't wanna be leaving
Yeah, you want it but I can't help it
I just feel complete when you're by my side
But I know you can't come home 'til they're singin'
La, la la la, la la la
'Til everyone is singin'
La, la la la, la la la
If you can wait 'til I get home
Then I swear to you that we can make this last
(La la la)
If you can wait 'til I get home
Then I swear come tomorrow, this will all be in our past
It might be for the best
You know you can't give me what I need
And even though you mean so much to me
I can wait through everything
Is this really happening?
I swear I'll never be happy again
And don't you dare say we can just be friends
I'm not some boy that you can sway
We knew it'd happen eventually
La, la la la, la la la
Now everybody's singin'
La, la la la, la la la
Now everybody's singin'
(If you can wait 'til I get home)
La, la la la, la la la
Now everybody's singin'
(Then I swear we can make this last)
La, la la la, la la la
Now everybody's singin'
If you can wait 'til I get home
Then I swear we can make this last
Cell phones
So i've developed the bad habit of texting everything i want to say to people rather than just calling them. I pay an extra $10 a month just so i can text to my hearts content (which is never) I can't even think of what i need to say to people anymore when i do talk on the phone. I've become visually dependent on seeing my text to arrange my thoughts so the next thought comes to me clearly. This is most likely an unhealthy thing.
Half the time i don't even text anymore, i just go on facebook and talk or message people there. I don't know if this is worse or better, all i know is technology is become more and more of a necessity than a luxery.
Half the time i don't even text anymore, i just go on facebook and talk or message people there. I don't know if this is worse or better, all i know is technology is become more and more of a necessity than a luxery.
Grad school
So i have a year left of college and i still havent decided what the hell to do once i'm out of here. I've seriously contemplated grad school but this is giving me doubts:
A recession is typically a good time for graduate schools. Their application pool goes up because people see them as safe shelter from the storm. The scariest part of a down economy is the idea of having no income. Of course, graduate school does not solve for that. But graduate school does solve the second most scary thing about a bad economy: lack of a learning curve.
The more desperate you are for a job, the more likely you are to take a job that doesn’t teach you what you want to learn. And then you get to that job and you think, “Grad school could solve this problem.” But in fact, grad school creates larger, and more insurmountable problems. And some the problems you’re trying to solve with grad school might not be problems at all.
1. Grad school pointlessly delays adulthood.
The best thing you can do for yourself is take time to figure out who you are and where you fit in the world. No one teaches you that in school. You need to do it yourself. Grad school is a way to delay this process, rather than move you forward, according to Thomas Benton of the Chronicle of Higher Education. So instead of dodging tough questions by going back to school, try being lost. It’s normal, and honest, and you will end up with more self-knowledge and less debt than your grad-school counterparts, and in many cases, you will be similarly qualified for your next big job.
2. PhD programs are pyramid schemes
It’s very hard to get a job teaching at a university. And if you are not going to teach, why are you getting a degree? You don’t need a piece of paper to show that you are learning. Go read books after work. Because look: In the arts, you would have a better chance of surviving the Titanic than getting a tenure-track position; and once you adjust for IQ, education, and working hours, post-PhD science jobs are among the most low-paying jobs you could get.
(Skipped 3-5 since they are inapplicable)
6. Going to grad school is like going into the military.
Applications to the military increase in a bad economy in a disturbingly similar way that applications to graduate school do. For the most part, both alternatives are bad. They limit your future in ways you can’t even imagine, and they are not likely to open the kind of doors you really want. Military is the terrible escape hatch for poor kids, and grad school is the terrible escape hatch for rich kids.
7. Most jobs are better than they seem: You can learn from any job.
When I worked on a French chicken farm, I thought I’d learn French, but I didn’t, because I was so foreign to the French farm family that they couldn’t talk to me. However I did learn a lot of other things, like how to bargain to get the best job in the chicken coop, and how to get out of killing the bunnies. You don’t need to be learning the perfect thing in your job. You just need to be learning. Don’t tell yourself you need a job that gives your life meaning. Jobs don’t do that; doesn’t that make you feel better? Suddenly being in the workplace doesn’t seem so bad.
8. Graduate school forces you to overinvest: It’s too high risk.
In a world where people did not change careers, grad school made sense. Today, grad school is antiquated. You invest three to six extra years in school in order to get your dream career. But the problem is that not only are the old dream careers deteriorating, but even if you have a dream career, it won’t last. You’ll want to change because you can. Because that’s normal for today’s workplace. People who are in their twenties today will change careers about four times in their life. Which means that grad school is a steep investment for such a short period of time. The grad school model needs to change to adapt to the new workplace. Until then. Stay away.
A recession is typically a good time for graduate schools. Their application pool goes up because people see them as safe shelter from the storm. The scariest part of a down economy is the idea of having no income. Of course, graduate school does not solve for that. But graduate school does solve the second most scary thing about a bad economy: lack of a learning curve.
The more desperate you are for a job, the more likely you are to take a job that doesn’t teach you what you want to learn. And then you get to that job and you think, “Grad school could solve this problem.” But in fact, grad school creates larger, and more insurmountable problems. And some the problems you’re trying to solve with grad school might not be problems at all.
1. Grad school pointlessly delays adulthood.
The best thing you can do for yourself is take time to figure out who you are and where you fit in the world. No one teaches you that in school. You need to do it yourself. Grad school is a way to delay this process, rather than move you forward, according to Thomas Benton of the Chronicle of Higher Education. So instead of dodging tough questions by going back to school, try being lost. It’s normal, and honest, and you will end up with more self-knowledge and less debt than your grad-school counterparts, and in many cases, you will be similarly qualified for your next big job.
2. PhD programs are pyramid schemes
It’s very hard to get a job teaching at a university. And if you are not going to teach, why are you getting a degree? You don’t need a piece of paper to show that you are learning. Go read books after work. Because look: In the arts, you would have a better chance of surviving the Titanic than getting a tenure-track position; and once you adjust for IQ, education, and working hours, post-PhD science jobs are among the most low-paying jobs you could get.
(Skipped 3-5 since they are inapplicable)
6. Going to grad school is like going into the military.
Applications to the military increase in a bad economy in a disturbingly similar way that applications to graduate school do. For the most part, both alternatives are bad. They limit your future in ways you can’t even imagine, and they are not likely to open the kind of doors you really want. Military is the terrible escape hatch for poor kids, and grad school is the terrible escape hatch for rich kids.
7. Most jobs are better than they seem: You can learn from any job.
When I worked on a French chicken farm, I thought I’d learn French, but I didn’t, because I was so foreign to the French farm family that they couldn’t talk to me. However I did learn a lot of other things, like how to bargain to get the best job in the chicken coop, and how to get out of killing the bunnies. You don’t need to be learning the perfect thing in your job. You just need to be learning. Don’t tell yourself you need a job that gives your life meaning. Jobs don’t do that; doesn’t that make you feel better? Suddenly being in the workplace doesn’t seem so bad.
8. Graduate school forces you to overinvest: It’s too high risk.
In a world where people did not change careers, grad school made sense. Today, grad school is antiquated. You invest three to six extra years in school in order to get your dream career. But the problem is that not only are the old dream careers deteriorating, but even if you have a dream career, it won’t last. You’ll want to change because you can. Because that’s normal for today’s workplace. People who are in their twenties today will change careers about four times in their life. Which means that grad school is a steep investment for such a short period of time. The grad school model needs to change to adapt to the new workplace. Until then. Stay away.
Brooklyn sights
I don't know why but this statue is still empty of water. Its really pretty, too pretty to be sitting isolated on the median-like island that looks like no one uses anymore.
Roots
I would love to know more about what my grandfather did in his lifetime, maybe one day with enough persistence I can get my dad to break down those barriers. There's just something about Italians, or even cops for that matter, and their value of secrecy and privacy. Their background makes it very hard to trust anyone with any sort of information, and this makes me sort of sad because myself and my brother lose out in the process.
Not truly knowing anything about your roots makes you feel disconnected to your present.
Not truly knowing anything about your roots makes you feel disconnected to your present.
Into the Woods
These are some pictures from the independent study project I am working on. They're mostly research. Some of them are actual pictures in my model.
New wave musical?
Are the magical genre of musicals on the stage being taking over by a genre of musical movies? I'm sure the movie version of Mamma Mia! made more money than the broadway version. Other movies such as Across the Universe, Chicago, and Moulin Rogue are also huge hits.
I dunno I like anything musical, movie or on the stage.
I dunno I like anything musical, movie or on the stage.
Retail
Not Always Right
So i work in retail, I have in the same place for about three and a half years now. Its a little shithole called Stop & Shop where the customer is always fucking right. Not. Not even close. I've done it all at that store, was head cashier, customer service, and health and beauty care. So one can only bitch so much about their crappy low-paying job, so this website has compiled a set of stories updated daily of others working in customer service hell. Highly reccomended.
So i work in retail, I have in the same place for about three and a half years now. Its a little shithole called Stop & Shop where the customer is always fucking right. Not. Not even close. I've done it all at that store, was head cashier, customer service, and health and beauty care. So one can only bitch so much about their crappy low-paying job, so this website has compiled a set of stories updated daily of others working in customer service hell. Highly reccomended.
So there seems to be a trend in music nowadays that no one has any original content anymore. People are remaking and remastiering music of genres new and old. As much as I like this video (and this band for that matter) I wish other stars didn't steal from others so often! Its one thing to be inspired by another person's work and and another to copy it completely. It's ruining the creativity of the world when famous artists participate in this.
So there seems to be a trend in music nowadays that no one has any original content anymore. People are remaking and remastiering music of genres new and old. As much as I like this video (and this band for that matter) I wish other stars didn't steal from others so often! Its one thing to be inspired by another person's work and and another to copy it completely. It's ruining the creativity of the world when famous artists participate in this.
Ancient Egyptian Porn
Hah the video speaks for itself. This was in the Brooklyn Museum in the Ancient Egyptian exhibit, no joke.
BQE
This is my drive into brooklyn in full, over the BQE (for the first time ever, sadly) Please ignore what my boyfriend and I are talking about, I have a potty mouth =D
MMORPG
For those of you who don't know, an MMORPG is a Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. Examples of this would be World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, Everquest, Vanguard, etc. I know this because my boyfriend and his friends are massively addicted to said game genre. Throw in the Xbox on top of them and they'd never leave the house. What is the appeal of these highly addicting games? I think it's because communication with people who tend to be a bit eccentric is easie, taking off the pressures and social anxiety that many people tend to go through.
I too sadly have taken part in these games on occasion, mostly because when you're broke and stuck at home, you might as well lose yourself in a digital world and make the time go by.
I too sadly have taken part in these games on occasion, mostly because when you're broke and stuck at home, you might as well lose yourself in a digital world and make the time go by.
Summer 2008
This coaster was the biggest and best adrenaline rush of my life. It is Nitro from Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, and we managed to get in the front row. It was so fast that it pulled the tears from my eyes! I think thrill rides that boost your adrenaline are the best and healthiest form of stress relief that is out there, I highly reccomend it!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Museums
So i spend my saturday in a different way... i went to the Brooklyn Museum for my Ancient Egypt class. After driving around for about an hour and a half looking for parking, i was left with only about an hour inside before i had to rush home for work. I ended up being an hour and a half late anyway due to idiots rubber-necking on the BQE. In order to save myself some time i had the ingenius idea of making quick videos of the exhibit so when i had more time i could review them at my own pace. Here are a few of them.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Globe Trekker
"Having a very limited exposure to public space and public activity I gained a thirst for ‘what it might be’ in the big cities of the world. Watching these specials on PBS of the cities of Europe I questioned my response to specific agendas within: why are
people there?"
Reading this in Professor's City Semiotic reading, i immediately knew what show he was speaking of, Globe Trekker. I also watched this show because i had a thirst for the outside world. I grew up in the rural coast of North Carolina, in a neighborhood devoid of other kids. TV was my education and my escape, and Globe Trekker was one of my shows on my late-night insomniac tv repertoire. I would see all of these beautiful cities, and even third-world countries appear to be more interesting than the place i felt trapped in. As i've gotten older and more wisened, i feel as though i am still trapped, though i escaped the barren south; trapped in responsibility and obligations, rather than just location. I miss when a TV show could make me forget where i was.
people there?"
Reading this in Professor's City Semiotic reading, i immediately knew what show he was speaking of, Globe Trekker. I also watched this show because i had a thirst for the outside world. I grew up in the rural coast of North Carolina, in a neighborhood devoid of other kids. TV was my education and my escape, and Globe Trekker was one of my shows on my late-night insomniac tv repertoire. I would see all of these beautiful cities, and even third-world countries appear to be more interesting than the place i felt trapped in. As i've gotten older and more wisened, i feel as though i am still trapped, though i escaped the barren south; trapped in responsibility and obligations, rather than just location. I miss when a TV show could make me forget where i was.
Hailey
Hailey is the very first dog that i can call my own. I've had childhood pets such as my dad's dog Kelli but they always had that extra loyalty towards my parents before myself. Hailey my boyfriend Justin and I bought a little under a year after i moved to NY. She's our baby and she sort of symbolizes my indepence and is the first sort of being i have total responsibility over.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Financial screwing students
I am pretty sick and tired of collges milking me of my money and maybe even my future... I got an email from TAP (NY state financial aide) saying that i am elligible again next school year for about $1500 a semester. I got this email this year as well but the school "de-certified" me since i am technically a dependent student on an out-of-state parent. I swear if they grant me the TAP again at the beginning of the semester and then take it away again half way through so that I owe money again I am going to print this email (which says no where that my eligibility is in the hands of the school, if the NY government says i get it then i should get it!) and raise hell in the bursar's office until they fix it or give me more money. The TAP money is NY state grant money, so thats less debt that I would have to start paying back when i graduate. Seriously this financial system is so fucking corrupted that they are robbing the college generation blind and then when we come into power of the country we're all in fucking debt and there will be an even worse economic crisis than there is now but the assholes in charge want instant gratification so it the future must not matter! ...OK, rant over. lol
Sunday, April 26, 2009
R.I.P.
So it's 5:20 in the morning and I can't sleep. I have a lot of random nuisance-like problems lately, such as tons of homework, finals, sickness, money (lack-there-of) and wildfires threatening my family's homes back in SC.
But the very worst of all this week, to paramount all of these relatively minor issues, is the very sad loss of my Grandmother Lillian. I managed to surmount the courage to visit her before she passed on Thursday night and the image is still burned into my brain. She was surrounded by family, fighting for breath and for her life. Her emphysema was complicated by an infection, which was brought on by a compromise in her immune system from her rheumatoid arthritis medication. It pretty much rendered her lungs all but useless, and it was such irreparable damage that she signed a d.n.r. and was made comfortable until her passing at 6 am in the morning days later.
R.I.P. Grandma Lil
Monday, April 20, 2009
Susan Boyle Sensation
Susan Boyle
So I love musicals and i love people beating first impressions and stereotypes. This woman has proven people wrong internationally that it doesn't matter WHAT anyone looks like, you can be beautiful and talented reguardless. This woman sings "I Dreamed a Dream" better than the woman from the original London cast of Les Miserables. It just goes to show that people shouldn't judge others on face value and first impressions.
So I love musicals and i love people beating first impressions and stereotypes. This woman has proven people wrong internationally that it doesn't matter WHAT anyone looks like, you can be beautiful and talented reguardless. This woman sings "I Dreamed a Dream" better than the woman from the original London cast of Les Miserables. It just goes to show that people shouldn't judge others on face value and first impressions.
Weekend of Hell
So my mother's baby shower was this Saturday in South Carolina. I drove with two of my aunts and my cousin over FIFTEEN HOURS down there on friday and FIFTEEN HOURS back on sunday. The drive was only supposed to take twelve. It was an eventful weekend full of ridiculous family drama and selfishness. My mom is currently 8 months pregnant, tired, and emotional. My Aunt proceeded in first surprising my mom that we were there and then was more concerned about shopping the entire day and a half we were there. After the actual shower, which was spend by them smoking cigarettes outside and behaving in a "cliquey" manner in front of my mother's friends and family-in-law. They sat through the first half of the opening of baby gifts, which was their own gifts, and then proceeded to hover outside for the rest of the party until cake time. After cake they left in a rush to go shopping and did not see or speak to my mom until the next morning when we left. Nothing like using your sister's pregnancy as an excuse to get out of town for two days just to go shopping, and yet continuing to cry "poverty" when it came to gas money. They currently aren't speaking, and i was trapped in the middle of all this conflict. Gotta love family!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Getting Older
So yesterday was my boyfriend's 22nd birthday. It's funny that i'm actually older than him by six months to the exact day. My birthday is Sept. 24th and his is March 24th. We've been together for almost 5 years, it will be in July. I moved up to NY to live with him and to find better work and school situations than what I had in NC. Yesterday was hell because I had class from 10 am to 6 pm, then went to dinner from there and to the movies after that for his birthday. From 10 pm to 6 am I was doing homework. At least he enjoyed his birthday.
On a side-note, don't go and watch "Knowing", the new Nicholas Cage movie. It starts off with a good premise and is pretty suspenseful but the ending was downright laughable!
On a side-note, don't go and watch "Knowing", the new Nicholas Cage movie. It starts off with a good premise and is pretty suspenseful but the ending was downright laughable!
Longing
I would love to know more about what my grandfather did in his lifetime, maybe one day with enough persistence I can get my dad to break down those barriers. There's just something about Italians, or even cops for that matter, and their value of secrecy and privacy. Their background makes it very hard to trust anyone with any sort of information, and this makes me sort of sad because myself and my brother lose out in the process.
My Family
My immediate family consists of my mom & dad, who split when i was twelve (rather abruptly). I have two brothers currently, a 34 year-old half-brother from my father and a 17 year-old brother from my parents. I also have a soon-to-be half sister from my mom who just recently remarried. The black dog is my childhood lab/chow mix who's about 11 now and feeling her age. The brown dog is my puppy with my boyfriend who is about twoish, adorable but afraid of EVERYTHING!
Hm?
I don't understand why Facebook keeps changing their format. Twitter's purpose is basically a status update feed for you to see what your friends are up to. Facebook has taken this concept over and is making it one huge feed now. Every time they change it I see lots of people posting protesting the changes, but they use it anyway. Its just a tool for everyone to be nosy and see what people are doing. Now if someone has a crush on a person, they just obsessively read their facebook instead of actually talking to them and finding out what is inside their heads. I too can be guilty of this, but at least i'm aware of this issue.
Agony
So I think i need to sue my orthopedist. I have tendonitis in my left wrist, which makes it very painful to write (since i am left handed) as well as open bottles and lift heavy things. Being a theater major and having to work in the shop is very difficult to do with this, especially since i hate saying "hey, i can't do that because of blah blah..". So in order to expedite my recovery I was given a cortisol shot two months ago. In the last two weeks the area where i got the shot has turned red and purple, the skin is very dry and sensitive. I go back to the doctor and he tells me that I had a rare reaction to the cortisol which de-pigmentates the skin on my wrist and also dissolved the fat in that area. I cannot expose this spot to the sun now at all because there is no pigment in my wrist to protect me from it, also it is very thin and delicate, making it very easy to scratch or cut open. So not only do i have these side effects to deal with but the shot was rendered ineffective, making it impossible to get one again. I did physical therapy once before and it help with the pain but only slightly. If the anti-inflamitory he gave me does not help it looks like my only option left is to get surgery, most likely this summer. Luckily the injury was declared work-related so i don't have to pay for any of the medical bills and i can go on disability, but i shouldn't have to! FML
Video Project Pt. 3
Here's the latest one; i've taken the old song off and put up some garage band music in the background. It's not quite finished, I still need to either do a voiceover, but i'd rather do a little video narrative in the beginning, explaining what I'm trying to get across with this video.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Video #1
So currently the project I have been developing is a video/slide show using my comics to narrarate my family history in a more visual form. Heres the first rough version I created.
Family History Progression
So I tried to find out from my dad about my Italian grandfather, but anytime I ask about his past, all I get is "I don't remember". It is very frustrating, not knowing an entire half of your history while you're actually willing to find it out. All I do know is that he is from Bari, Italy and he died when my dad was around 15/17 years old. I don't think he learned very much English, and he lived in Brooklyn, where my dad was born. Since my dad was born in 1945 I can make an educated assumption that he came "off the boat" around 5 years prior to that, maybe longer. I also know from my mom that my grandfather was much older than my dad, and my dad is the youngest of 4 siblings, two of which i did not even know existed until recently. My dad is a very secluded man and can be sort of spiteful, so these family members are pretty much on a "do not mention" understanding. I would love to know more about what my grandfather did in his lifetime, maybe one day with enough persistence I can get my dad to break down those barriers. There's just something about Italians, or even cops for that matter, and their value of secrecy and privacy. Their background makes it very hard to trust anyone with any sort of information, and this makes me sort of sad because myself and my brother lose out in the process.
More comic slides
I didn't have enough slides to make a visual story, so i made a few more, now that i know how to use comic life properly. Only problem is that i can't make anymore because the trial version expired! There are so many open source programs out there, it'd be nice if there were a comic life-ish one.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Orpheus & Eurydice
so here is the latest project for THR 216, a comic book using family photos with the theme of the underworld and the story of Orpheus. I ran sorta dry on parallels to my own life but this is what i came up with.
Italia
So i am 50% Italian from my father's side, so i've always felt some sort of connection to the ancient architecture. Besides the photos of my grandfather & step-grandmother, most of the pictures are recent and of my immediate family. We're a pretty independent family so we're not as close as most families, but regardless they're mine and i wouldn't trade them for the world.
My family consists of my mom & dad, who split when i was twelve (rather abruptly). I have two brothers currently, a 34 year-old half-brother from my father and a 17 year-old brother from my parents. I also have a soon-to-be half sister from my mom who just recently remarried. The black dog is my childhood lab/chow mix who's about 11 now and feeling her age. The brown dog is my puppy with my boyfriend who is about twoish, adorable but afraid of EVERYTHING!
catching up to do
sooo i'm really really far behind on this, so i'm just going to put together a series of events and projects that i've been working on....
since the beginning of the semester i have been sick with some ridiculous plague of a sinus infection. It went away and came back three times, but finally after getting a doctor that gave a crap and some steroids to amp up the antibiotics, i'm feeling better than i have all month. Being sick made me very tired, and as a result, very lazy. It amazes me that in 2009 i could have some sort of mutant and yet simple sinus infection that knocks me on my ass so hard it's still hard for me to breathe when i lay down.
Professor Baldwin's class moves at such a pace that it makes my head spin. We go through so many intense concepts of society along with the newest artistic & creative softwares that the hardest part of the class is keeping everything straight. So this post is the first in this series of me busting my ass trying to catch up and get a real grasp on in what way i am supposed to be thinking/working.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Fed Up!
So finally after three days of patiently waiting for the internet to come back in my dorm (Sanger, in Tabler Quad) i have reluctantly given up and i am currently sitting with my now pretty much useless laptop (90% of the time) catching up on everything i have fallen behind on. The school's ITS people are blaming this limited (three building) internet outage on students using wireless routers in their room, somehow this is supposedly cutting out all of the internet in half of my quad. I personally feel that they are full of shit. These outages started back at finals time last semester and have recommenced in the second week of the new semester. I highly doubt that the campus-wide rampant use of wireless routers from kids who can't live without their xbox live is causing only three buildings to lose their connectivity. It sounds like bullshit in it's entirety.
It is freezing cold at night so i am not about to walk 15 minutes across campus to a sinc site in order to complete my homework; are we not paying money from our housing fees that pays for this service? And yet we are quite often deprived of this service and all we get are excuses. What can we do to stop other students from using wireless on their routers (if that really is the culprit)???? Go door to door and ask nicely for them to turn them off? As if they would admit to having them in the first place. I am very frustrated and disappointed with the school because it seems as though all that is being done to fix the issue are excuses in answer to the complaints.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Family
Unless i have been given a particular subject to write about, i usually just end up finding something to complain about and going from there. In this case we have been assigned to create a narrative using old family pictures in order to explore these pieces of our lives.
The photo above is a piece of what i am working on. It is the oldest photo i have, and it is of my Dad and his sister Ro. He was born in 1945 and he looks about 6-7 years old here so this picture was most likely taken in the early 50's. My Dad is the type of guy who is not good at making lasting connections with other people. Most of his side of the family is either deceased or disowned, including the Aunt pictured above. He was the youngest of two sisters and another brother, all of which i haven't seen since infancy. He doesn't really have old family photos since my Aunt got them all when their mother passed away about 17 years ago. His father was an immigrant from Bari, Italy and passed away when my dad was a teenager. My Dad is pretty secretive and doesn't like discussing his past a whole lot, his attitude is "why the hell do you need to know?" So, all these little bits and pieces of information i do have i hold on to, mostly because it feels like there is an entire half of my family and my history that i am missing.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Illness
It is days like today where i wish we could use the internet to go to class in place of walking twenty minutes in the rain/snow/slush when you're sick with a fever that decides to break as soon as you sit down in your first class of the day. I've done online classes, and since there is apparently less effort in taking a class on your computer, the online professor feels the need to make you do massive quantities of work to compensate. Either way getting sick in the first week of a new semester is just bad. It consumes my every thought, seeing as though a running nose and a throbbing head combined are impossible distractions to ignore.
On top of feeling like a walking corpse due to the adverse effects of flu medication, I had to walk over what were once sidewalks and streets that had been turned into a raging river. It would be so much easier to just do a virtual lecture via iChat or some equivalent on crappy days, that way the school doesn't have to cancel classes on on especially bad days, and students don't have to suffer the torment of wet weather on not-bad-enough days. It wouldn't cost any extra money seeing as how iChat is free, and it would be no more extra effort to arrange than speed-walking through the wind and pouring rain. Any flaws in this suggestion?
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Day two
So things aren't looking too great right now. My classes are fine but my boyfriend has been really sick since saturday. He had a fever of 104 yesterday and almost went to the hospital, but hes somewhat better now. I felt tired all day and now I have a headache that won't go away and my body feels sorta cold and achey. It would be just my luck to get seriously ill in the first week of new classes.
Besides that for my media class i've downloaded some of the software and created a flickr account as well as a second life account, but currently they're just sitting there since i have no idea what to do with them. After i finish writing this i'm going to look up old family pictures for class tomorrow morning. Luckily my dad is a computer nerd and scanned all of our old photos years ago.
Monday, January 26, 2009
back at SB
So i'm very new to this whole blogging world, i'll more than likely use this as an outlet to bitch and complain about the stressfully boring life that i have. I live on campus at SUNY Stony Brook on Long Island, NY. I'm originally from NC but i've lived in NY and have been supporting myself for over three years now. I'm putting myself through college via student loans and grants while working part time at a grocery store. I'm now a first semester senior finally after transferring colleges twice; doing so has put me about a year behind where i'd like to be.
Today was my first day back to class for my spring '09 semester, and this blog is for creative/thinking purposes for my Introduction to Visual Interpretation class, taught by Professor Phillip Baldwin. The class really grabbed my interest since a lot of the software we will be exploring is mac-related and i just got a new macbook for christmas and have no idea how to maximize my use of it. Sooo we'll see where this narrative takes me throughout the semester.
-Ashley
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