So I finished my last day of my undergraduate college career. I graduate on June 14th, 2009. I took photos of my announcements and other things that aren't included in this post, I will put them on here sooner or later.

Anyway, here is the story of the past few weeks of my life outside of the classroom. I have no idea how I fit most of this in with working on my final projects, but it happened. I also need to take photographs of my finish projects because they're pretty amazing.












(  76 photographs in total. Much larger photos behind the cut. enjoy.  )

I have quite the update!

Well, the weekend before last, Jeff and I went to my parents house and we cooked dinner. My dad was in his first marathon (yay!) and he said it went pretty well. We made some spaghetti and asparagus and other random things that I can't really remember anymore, but hey, at least the photographs are there to jog my memory! I remember we bought some 90 point wine and it was really good! I usually am not a big fan of wine but this was really sweet and fruity, I guess that's why most people didn't like it but me. Oh well! Jeff went in the spa and I was going to as well, but I got extremely hungry. >D I also took some photographs of several old photos that we have in our curio, one of those I'm sharing with you all is of my grandmother and my mom.





( Photos from the parents house! )

Again part of last week. Nicole, Lily, Claire, Melanie, Xi and I went to Burgers and Brew and snagged some lunch. I documented this visit quite heavily with my laptop as we played with the PhotoBooth. I'll have to upload those pictures separately because there are SO many of them. People thought we were crazy. Even the waiters began to join in on our photo session. I was entertained! After eating, Nicole, Lily, Xi and I went back to the quad. Nicole and I sat down and enjoyed the weather.. then it was time for class!





( Mmm... food and fun. )

This is my pillow case project for my silk screening class. We used photo emulsion to create our designs on duralar, then applied the colors with pigment. The idea was to get texture while using an original hand made design. I rather like how they turned out!




( More of the silkscreened pillow cases!.. )

Oh yes! Gale gave Melanie, Claire and I these little Crate and Barrel 2 plates for doing the website on macular degeneration. I got the one that says "Mmmm!" She gave us these because we're always going out to eat together. She is the best professor! (Check out her GREEN office!)





This project was called "All About Me" for my Marketing Design class. We basically had to cover this box with typography on the outside and reveal something about ourselves on the inside. It took me around, oh, six hours to design the pattern on the outside and apply type to it. Yes, that's right, all of that pattern is made up of TYPOGRAPHY. *dies* It was quite the challenge. Then on the inside is a fan-like display, so that when you look at it from one side you see my technological geeky side, and the other you see my girly feminine side. I also decided to include a bag of Stacy's Pita Chips. Everyone seemed to get a kick out of that.. Oh! And this past Sunday Jeff and I went with Jason, Brea and Weeks to see the new Wolverine movie. Random addition to this paragraph, but I enjoyed it.




( Lots of photos of my project.. check it out! :D )

Here are some shots of everyone's projects (Gale thought it would be a good idea for us to organize them.. T_T!)

( Read more... )
After critique, Nicole, Lily, Melanie, Ali, Xi and I decided to treat ourselves with some SUSHI! Ali is Melanie's roommate, who should really be a design student as well. Mmm.. sushi. So wonderful. Lots of photos because I am starting to get too lazy to write anymore. And of course, pictures of Toby. <3






( Something clever here.. )

Oh yeah.. and I've been sketching a bit lately and increasing my Pokemon collection. T_T Bad, I know. I know. Here are some sketches and other things..

( Read more... )

Oh yeah! I got this today. ^^


Now I'm watching the Blackhawks game! Game 4 of the series. Wish them luck! :D The score is 1-1 and it's going to OVERTIME! We need every good thought we can get. :P

Just an update from the past week. :3

Sunday
The morning was rather hectic. I was still getting over the flu, but I wanted to get out and at least enjoy the weekend after being too sick for Picnic Day or the 100 year Coca Cola event. Jeff and I woke up around the same time and decided to clean the entire house and get everything ready for the boat. We filled up the smaller raft (no Molecule this time) and connected the boat and organized towels, etc. Weeks came by, then Jason (no Brea either. ;_;), after that Greg and Theresa were here. :3 Steve and Mona didn't come along but were supposed to meet us out at the dock.



Weeks and Jason started out wake boarding, which was fine with me because the water was rather cold in the beginning. That gave Theresa and I enough time to get all warm and happy before our rafting adventures.

( Wake boarding and rafting fun. )

We spent most of the time zooming across the lake on the east side, then we went towards where the islands are. The water is still a bit too low for our usual island to be accessible, but we were able to get to one of the connecting areas. I love the purple flowers. And for some reason people love to make formations on the beach..



( Exploring along the beach.. random photographs. )



( More photographs of the day... )

After this we decided to just enjoy the lake and cruise around, other people took turns driving and going to different beaches. I was having a little too much fun to bother jumping on the boat and grabbing my camera. At least I have the memories. Fortunately I did grab it when we got off the boat and back onto land.




( Photographs of the trees and stone.. )



Next week..



Jessica, Christy, Melodie and Weeks came by on Saturday and we had a little BBQ type event with just about every food you can imagine. It was a lot of fun, we haven't had Christy and Jessica over in forever. They told me they're celebrating their two and a half year anniversary next week, I forgot that it's been that long! We're planning a camping trip for sometime in June, which will be great seeing as how I'll have a lot of free time after graduation, before I start interning/working. (Then graduate school!)

OH yes, for those Chicago Blackhawk Fans - HELL YES. 5-1 WIN against Calgary. I can't believe it, no, wait, I CAN. That was wonderful. I bet we can keep it up in Calgary, but if not, game seven is at home. Mm'hm.

( Saturday filled with fun and randomness.. )

Today is kind of just a rest day, and catching up on homework and projects. Melanie e-mailed me about getting t-shirts for our Design Is {} campaign. I'm really excited about that, and starting the photo emulsion for silk screening! My presentation in critique for my Marimekko / Peter Maxx design went quite well. What I was trying to convey was definitely well received by the critique. So I'm happy about that. I'm going to stretch it onto wooden bars and hang it, so I'll have photos of it later.



( Growth of the plants, and more things.. )


Oh.. and a lady bug landed on the basil. Do they like to eat it, or will they just eat the aphids?




This entry was going to address the (very creepy) people from 10 years ago that have been viewing my journal but I've decided to dedicate it to things that are actually significant.

I posted my Pokemon collection in pkmncollectors! Check it out if you'd like.

Click!

I was at this small print shop in Folsom ( More Than A Mailbox. http://www.mtambox.com/ ) having one of my 22"x36" posters printed for one of my message campaign projects. I usually have projects printed here because they do such a good job, they really pay attention to quality, and make sure that the job comes out correct the first time - as compared to printing two or three times at the temporary buildings on campus.

Kim, one of the owners, was talking with me as my project was being sent to the printer. She asked me how Davis was and how my classes were going, just mostly small talk, but sincere. She told me about how her son was currently working on his senior project and other than that he's been having a good time. A few minutes passed, and I asked her if she knew what his senior project was.

She said, "He is working on engineering a device that aids in rehabilitating dogs that cannot walk. Sort of like a doggie wheelchair."

I stopped. "What? Are you.. are you serious?"

That is the SAME project that I am designing a marketing campaign for through my independent study biomedical engineering and design fusion program!

My partner and I are designing a logo, brochure, packaging material and a display for this medical device. I couldn't BELIEVE IT! We just met with the team last week, so I was still a little fuzzy with names and faces, but she pointed out his photo on one of the walls and I instantly knew who he was!

I had to keep myself from hyperventilating with excitement. (I guess you can say I am easily excited by news like this!) I told her about my ideas for the campaign and how my partner and I were very excited to select this device to design for! I can't believe what a small world it is. I wonder if we'll able to think bigger with our designs now that we have a definite hook up for printing!

Happy Birthday to zon!

Finally you are 21! ... Why do I feel like that should have been years ago?

After a long day of silk screen printing, I came back to Folsom and spent some time with all of the dogs. Previously I took Lily out for an excursion at Jeff's and this time it was Toby's turn. We went to the vacant (yet extremely beautiful) field next to Jeff's work. We played fetch and ran around within the grass. It was so wonderful to see him jumping like a small bunny through the flowers, see him express his joyful personality and experience freedom from the leash.

He's such a little sweet joker.

Jeff and I decided to start a small garden, just our own experiment. Two years ago we planted several plants and flowers around the house, and our most proud accomplishment is the yellow rose plant next to the front door.

It's exciting to sneak outside in the early morning and check on the herbs and tomatoes, just to see if we can tell how much they have grown.

I want to start making a log of the tomato plants, they're growing so fast! We were going to plant rosemary (seeing as how we always use that and basil) but it grows wild everywhere around here. Usually if we are in need, we both grab a pair of scissors and sneak around to the wetlands just across the street and snip a few sprigs. It was the best when we were making a pork roast and snuck out there with Melody. She thought we were crazy I'm sure, but she enjoyed it! I can't believe how many herbs are growing all around us, hopefully we can just have a gigantic garden one day. Oh, and Toby was exploring around the garden and stopped just by the water. His reflection was so heroic and mysterious I had to capture it!




We were being playful and went to Sol Azteca, one of our most favorite secret Mexican restaurants. It's located near Big Dip, another hidden treasure in Folsom that not very many people frequent. The food is consistently amazing, and I just love being able to go there and have amazing food while relaxing. Just typing about it is starting to make my stomach growl. I wanted to explore the textures that seem to be overlooked in our everyday experiences. I loved the natural glow of the basket and the condensation on each of the glasses.




At Granite Bay they were celebrating Nowrūz, the Iranian New Year, and we met up with several of Mona's friends and their families. A few people came out with us on the boat, and we were able to go out on the Molecule for the first time in a while. It was really nice sharing that experience with Mona, we had a really enjoyable time. I'm glad that she enjoyed it, I was rather nervous that she wouldn't. Steve was driving and we were able to try out many different areas to hold on, clinging for dear life in new ways as it went faster. Let's go again! Jeff has his usual photo face - meaning he's either talking or beginning to talk, mwahaha.



I'm looking forward to having some more boating time this weekend. This Saturday is the 100 year anniversary for Coca Cola, as well as the 100 year anniversary for UC Davis as well as Picnic Day. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to make it. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to participate in the Trashion Show. Jessica in my silk screening class asked me if I would model some of her clothes for her, but I promised my mom that I would go to the anniversary party at Coca Cola. I'm looking forward to seeing the photographs from the show. Here are some photographs of some of my experimental pieces for my textiles portfolio. Also the last photograph is a 32" x 32" marimekko inspired print. I've already picked out the colors: easter powder blue, gentle pale violet, pepto pink, chick yellow and orange cicle. I'm rather excited, it's interesting creating things in different mediums. I'm glad that I stuck with this course even though I encountered some trouble early on. Each stencil with the portfolio experiments was hand drawn and hand cut by myself.



I was also able to spend some time with my mom after screen printing, we went out to lunch and shopped just a bit. We went to this amazing place called Original Pete's and I experienced some of the most amazing food that I have ever had. We rarely get to have lunch together, because she and I are both so busy, but every moment that we do get to spend with one another is a moment that I enjoy. I'm always looking forward to seeing her happy, feeling confident and feeling in her element. I hope that we can do that again soon.



There's a life update. Just going to end this with a few images from my sketchbook. The Art Science Fusion program is going rather well. I'm in a marketing group with Melanie and we're working with the bio medical engineering students, helping them promote different medical devices that they have designed. Our group created a physical therapy wheelchair device for medium sized dogs.

Happy Easter.

On to procrastinating on my Marimekko research..




( More Easter Adventures Here... )

Been working pretty hard lately. I have to make two books, one video, three flash sites, an online flash portfolio and create marketing items for the art science fusion project. Whew. I thought I'd just post some small updates so far, these are just a few pages from one of the books:




I've never really worked with the grid system before, my professor let me borrow a few books to get inspiration from. I think I'll try to find more websites about grids and other design methods.. hmm.. Anyway, enjoy!

Alex, one of my fellow students, made a video about our wall exhibition project.

The very first 8 seconds are of me presenting my project (though you can just see my hands and one of my presentations XD), the "Move Me!" post it is also one of my pattern sections for an interactive area.



I think he did an AMAZING job! He made the class seem so much more interesting and fun than it really was. When we were all watching the video in class, everyone was like, "I WANT TO BE IN THIS CLASS!"

Anyway, enjoy.

Finally playing more with my tripod. I suppose it's good that a class can finally force me back into using my photography equipment! I was taking photographs in a series to show the way clouds transform and change across the sky, and as people were sparking lighters around me I was inspired to play with light. The white lights are done with the flash-light on my phone, and the multicolored lights are from a few flowers that we light and set in the pool. [ Going to be posting more photography stuff because phantom42 & zonhave been inspiring me! ]

On to the exploration:















( More playing with light, spelling names and words. )

Okay, just a few more outside of the cut..




Anyway, this is my first time exploring this, so I know everything isn't perfect - but I had a lot of fun! I hope I can do it again tonight, except I doubt I'll be able to gracefully walk across the waterfall in the rain. But, we'll see how everything turns out. I want to explore getting the light to reflect across the water.. I was thinking about tossing those waterproof multicolored light flowers across the pool to a few people and make a pattern. We also have a larger sphere that is more like a water disco ball that I want to play with.

So now we're watching hockey. Blackhawks versus the Kings. Argh, Toews scored early on of course and I'm all for giving Niemi ice time, but I just want us to beat the Kings. Just once, come on. We can absolutely defeat the Flames and the Stars, but we have trouble against the Kings? C'mon guys! You can do it. :D Toews, how about another hat trick? Just kidding. I want to see some Versteeg and Kane goals in this game! And how about some action from Eager? 2nd period is coming up. :3

For Design 155A {Form, Pattern & Surface} basically we were slaves for design in making this project. Most of the actual mounting onto the wall was captured with video, which I may upload at a later time.. but for now these are photos from the process.





From the bottom corner of the wall. ^ .. the rest below are production..




My group had to cut straws.


But we were rather fast so then it went to triangles..












slave driver. ;_;

I've been drawing quite a few hockey logos for people lately to just hang up on the wall or something. It started with Jeff's Blackhawks logo which is amazing but is now heavily taped to the wall in his office, and then a drawing of Sasha. On Sunday I quickly sketched up a Sharks logo for Melody and a Sabres logo for AJ.




For the Sabres logo I didn't really have any colors available to me so I just made due with some random markers I found and a colored pencil. XD


( Bigger.. well, a little bit bigger. )

This has been one of the best days, not for any particular reason.

Just the mere feeling of joy, acceptance and relaxation all during chaos and confusion.

Now to just be lulled to sleep by the sounds of slumber from those around me.

Whoever thought that it would come this way?

Listening to Esteban, cuddled by two of my most precious canine loves, writing a term paper on Horta and Gaudi no less!

I don't want this moment to end.