visually interesting architecture

Today I am creating/uploading the web version of the UB Post...I am the Web Editor for the newspaper and this is my second issue. It is going much more smoothly than the last issue! But, there is a big section (to be seen tomorrow on newstands!) about the new student center. And my piece for sunday is on the comparison/contrast between the Univ of Michigan ann arbor campus and the Univ of Baltimore campus...I have to say that the new student center is nice. It is really cool inside, and many mornings before I go to work (at the Career Center on the 3rd floor of the new SC) I do my reading for classes. I actually took some of the photos in the newspaper this issue too and have now found some more images I can use for my comp. If you haven't had a chance to see the new building, spend some time in one of the lounges. I must say, it is nice and I am glad to have a place to go when not in classes.

It is also interesting how different the architecture of the new building is SOOOO different from everything else around it. It kind of sticks out like a sore thumb. Although Mount Vernon seems to have an older architecture, new buildings are cropping up around the neighborhood and they seem so out of place. Here is an example of another location in Mt. Vernon that is architecturally different. Enjoy.

crap day

Today is totally random. I don't even know if this is the right place to put all my feelings about life, but I feel completely overwhelmed by all of the things going on in my life...school, home, work, social life (if there is such a thing!), etc. I work 20 hours as a GA in the career center and have 4 different projects I am working on. Then two classes and two labs for the one class and two projects for this class...PLUS, I am the web editor for the newspaper and have to get out the online issue by Wed morning. CRAP. When am I going to get it all done? I called my sister who finished her master's degree last year and she said she felt exactly the same way when she was in school. And that surprisingly, it DOES all get done. I am feeling like I am balancing all these balls and at any moment, someone is going to tell me I shouldn't be. Like, how can I possibly do well at all these things when there are so many things? Wouldn't it be better to do one thing really well? I am having a moment today and hope it will pass. Because I have 12 more weeks of this sh*t. Does anyone else feel this way? I hope Tuesday is better.

man at the bus stop

Today on my way into campus, I saw something at the bus stop that made me stop and stare. I saw a man at the bus stop, wearing wrinkled clothing, worn down shoes, a thin jacket, and a wool cap. It wasn't him standing there that made me stop and stare. What made me stop and look closer at him was the book that he had in his hand. It was called "Beginner's Guide to STOCKS" with the word stocks in all caps. That's what drew my attention. So, I noticed the man first, and sized him up based on his outward appearance. And then had to reassess my assumptions of him and his life based on the book he was reading. I caught myself making a judgement of someone else and I thought to myself, 'wow. how often do i judge others based on what they are wearing?' It was odd because I was judging 'a book by its cover'. I wondered to myself, what have people thought about me on days where I don't care so much about what I am wearing, or just hurry out the door in a sweatshirt and baseball cap? It's crazy to me that I have to always think about how I am presenting myself to others, but I do. People make assumptions all the time about how you look, how you dress, how you sound, etc. and it was one of those moments this morning, where I caught myself doing it.

compare/contrast

My item for compare/contrast is a portion of the poem called
Funeral Blues by W. H. Auden (from "Four Weddings and a Funeral")
Specifically, the part of the poem I like the best, is the part that starts with "He was my North, my South, my East, my West..."
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Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crêpe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

description Show&Tell

My desription show and tell is a bottle of smartwater (electrolyte enhanced water) by glaceau. I LOVE THIS STUFF! It is really refreshing and no sugar, unlike Gatorade....its great after a long run....I tried to scan the bottle and it didn't work, so I drew it instead! Enjoy.
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no water purifies better
no water hydrates faster

you hold in your hand a bottle of vapor distilled, electrolyte
enhanced water. once you remove the cap and tilt the bottle into
"drinking position," water will begin to flow through your body,
purifying and rapidly rehydrating you. if you find the idea of being
purer and moister disturbing, please place the bottle back where you
found it and continue on your dirty, arid way.

oil on canvas reflection

After reading the excerpt from last week's reading, "Oil on Canvas", I had an interesting reflection. I have a painting hanging on my wall above my dining room table that has been in my family for years. I don't really recall when it showed up. I just know that it hung over my family's stereo console. You know the ones...with the 8-track, radio AND turntable all in one?!? Well, when I moved to Baltimore in August, my dad told me he was going to throw it out, and for some reason, I decided I wanted to keep it. I guess because as a child I loved it, but partly because it was the one peice of art we owned. It is old, and the scene is very Victorian, with one man and 4 women, gathered in a huge ballroom and playing chess. I have had two people ask me about the painting. One was in December. My friend Stacey's boyfriend Tom asked me "So, what's the story with this painting?" I was a little shocked, since there really was no story, that I could think of, just that I liked it and saved it from the trash. He mentioned it didn't really go with anything in my apartment, so that's why he thought there was some great story attached to why I owned it, AND chose to hang it in my place! The second person to ask me about the painting was my neighbor and friend Lynn. I repeated the story of Tom and his questions about the painting's story. She actually asked me what I liked about it. At that moment, I saw the painting completely differently. I started noticing the detail, the staircase in the background, the painting hung along the walls of the staircase, and the more we looked at it, the more we observed. I can honestly say, that it felt like a brand new painting...a museum piece I wanted to get to know. And we spent at least 10 minutes looking at the painting and talking about it. I then remembered that there was a figurine that was similar to the painting, sitting on a lace doily on top of the console. Now I wonder where that went...and if my dad has since gotten rid of it. It might sit nicely on the shelf below the painting.

welcome :)

welcome to my first blog entry...