Crazy People

I decided today that everyone is crazy sometimes. Some are just crazy more often than others.

Life is Good.

Look for the good in your life and you will find it.

It's true.

Scattered Thoughts...

It's crazy that it is 2011! This is going to be a great year. But before I elaborate on that- I think 2010 deserves a little credit as it was very good to me. Major events including: turning 22, finishing my junior year of college, getting an internship at the worlds top interiors firm, painting my room, meeting a super sweet guy, learning that kissing isn't to be feared but enjoyed, moving in with some of the best roommates that I could have ever gotten, reuniting with good friends in Logan, going on a great adventure to Seattle, doing well in school, spending time with family over Christmas and working at Gensler over the break. I am pretty darn blessed.Christmas was wonderful. I got to spend a lot of time with Caleb and his family, as well as time with mine. Scott and Mindy & crew are living at home with mom and dad right now. It was so fun to spend time with them. I love those kids! They are such a blessing. Ashton is getting so big, and makes it very clear that Lisa is his #1 favorite auntie and that he is way to cool for me. It's ok, he will grow out of it, at least that's what I tell myself. Noah is still a lady-killer. His big brown eyes and olive skin get me every time. He made the cutest wise man I have ever seen in any Nativity. Avery is... Avery. That girl is going to give us all a run for our money. She is a firecracker, or maybe a pipe-bomb. She is talking all the time now, and for a 2&1/2 year old her language skills are remarkable. She is very intelligent, cute, and stubborn. She is also very sweet. One morning I was on my way to work and I had high heels on and she just looked at me and said "Aimee- you look beautiful!". I miss that girl.

I am super excited that I got a camera for Christmas. Now, hopefully, I will be able to get pictures of all of the fun stuff I do. (One of my new years resolutions is to do fun stuff...)

As for 2011, there are a lot of things coming up! I am excited to be graduating college! I am also scared. I cried a little on my way into Logan a few days ago knowing that this was my last semester in this special place (tender, I know). It has been such a great time in my life. I am not yet ready to accept that my time here is quickly coming to a close. I have met so many people that have changed my life. I have had so many experiences and opportunities that I would have never had anywhere else. I have grown so much, and learned so much about myself. I have gotten a great education and have been counselled by remarkable teachers that I have grown to respect, admire, and love. I have been so blessed. Logan is great. I can already feel it changing though, I am already feeling the loss of a great time. Logan is no longer mine. Utah State is soon to be a part of my past, a memory, and something I bring up in conversation after saying something like "When I was in college...". Past tense. This is surprisingly heart breaking to me. I love this place. I've got four more months here and I am going to live it up!

However- I am so excited for the future. There is so much to experience and enjoy. I am so grateful for the possible opportunities coming up in the next six months. Who knows where I will end up?! I am looking forward to turning a new leaf- "It's gunna be big".

Update: Fender

So- I have been slaving away in the studio for the last couple weeks working on my senior project. As some of you know- this has been one rough go-round. But, I think that the finished product has turned out pretty sweet! [Although I am far from finished..] Here is a little preview:

Above is the reception area for the in-house health clinic. It's essentially a place where employees can go for non-emergency and preventative health treatments. The concept behind my design creates a 'back-stage' experience. The exposed beams and painted brick give an industrial vibe. The art is composed of hundreds of band stickers and graffiti reminiscent of clubs or bars. However, the furnishings are very nice, making sure that the experience in the hip waiting area is comfortable. We want rock-star treatment even when we are sick.

Above is the employee cafeteria. It doesn't look like your standard cafeteria- I realize- but it isn't supposed to. This is a lunch break room for musicians. The sofas are my favorite! They are classic Louis III in form, but they are covered completely in RUBBER! See Here: http://www.sixinch.be/site/#/1/13/19/.Amazing. This makes them completely washable, water-proof, and stain repellent (except to mustard... the only known thing that will stain rubber. And now you know another random {and for the most part useless} fact).

Before you gasp in horror at this image- hear me out: In the design program [a set of required spaces and needs determined by the client] they asked for a meditation space 'free of distraction'. They suggested natural elements such as water or plants. I didn't feel that either of those more Zen-like elements really identified with my client. So I decided to do light therapy! In order to really grasp my vision look here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TahH7B_aUZc

The idea is to be enveloped in light that is synchronized to music. I think any Fender yuppie would enjoy this more than raked sand.

My Favorite: October

Unfortunately October has now ended. For those of you who know me- you already know how much I love the month of October.It's my favorite. Primarily for 4 reasons:

1- It's truly fall in October. The leaves are the most majestic shades of mustard, burnt orange, brown and burgundy. It's a feast for the eyes. Never do I take so much pleasure at staring at the ground as I walk across campus as I do in the fall. Occasionally I will see a unique leaf and stop and pick it up. The other day I hit a streak and the next thing I know I've got myself a little bouquet of leaves as I walk in to class. Yes- I did get strange looks. No- I didn't care.

2- Pumpkins! Anything really from the squash family. They are beautiful- especially with candles. The smell of the burning pumpkin on Halloween makes me 6 years old every time.

3- I just love the word October. (Betcha didn't think I could get nerdy-er after the leaf bouquet, did you? Wrong.) It's beautiful. I have probably written it, signed it, drawn it out five hundred times. Still love it. I wish my birthday was in October. I guess my state's birthday will have to do.

4- Halloween of course! Some of my best memories are from Halloween. Candy, costumes, friends, carving pumpkins, movies, haunted houses. What could be better?? Nightmare Before Christmas was the first movie I ever purchased. I love it.

This October treated me well. School was pretty decent- the craziness came in November this time. I went on a date with my friend Jon and our friends Courtney and Danny. We went and saw the dance production of Thriller. It was awesome! There are some very talented people in this world, and dancing is one of the most enjoyable talents to me. I wish I had more skills.

For Halloween I was able to go to SLC with Dave

and visit family. Scott and Mindy came up with the kids. They came to see Emily in a play down at BYU, but we got to spend all day Saturday with them. We went to the Copper Mines in West Jordan and then hung out all day before trick-or-treating. Ashton and Noah were astronauts and Avery was an owl. The cutes owl ever seen. Mindy made Avery's costume. I can't wait to make little costumes. I was going to go to a costume party with Lisa, but Dave and I decided to head back early.

Well, now it's November. Also a great month. School has overtaken my life and there is no moderation or balance anymore. Design school is a beast sometimes. I love design school, but it can be unreasonable. I have been on campus until 4, 5, or 6 in the morning for the last two weeks almost every night. I And no- I did not procrastinate and bring this upon myself. There are times when I am very envious of all the other majors where testing is the primary form of proving intelligence or learning ability. Turning in tangible forms of my creative ability is gratifying at times yes, but much more time consuming than prepping for a multiple choice exam. I equally long for and dread the day I graduate from design school. I don't know what I want from the real world yet. Or rather- I'm not yet sure how I will most happily contribute to it.

Sleepless in Seattle

Lisa, myself and four other girl friends went on a little adventure last weekend to wilds of Washington. That's a lie. We went into the forest once, but how we got there is quite the story! In June we found really cheap tickets to Seattle. None of us had ever been there and timing was perfect- fall break for me, and UEA for the four who are teachers. We decided to seize the day and take a much needed vacation. With a hip condo we found for a really good price in Belltown, a neighborhood in downtown Seattle, we began our urban getaway.

Our first day we went to Pikes Place Market, a beautiful farmers/craft market just a block above the piers. It was a dream- a mixture of small book stores, flower shops, local farmers, artists, fishermen, cafes. The cuisine was divine! Holding back was difficult, so we didn't. We were on vacation after all. We journeyed to Pikes Place everyday, it never got old. We bought produce one night and a huge salmon fillet and cooked dinner from home one night even.

We did almost everything that we could think of while we were there; the SAM Seattle Art Museum (loved), the Space Needle (not worth $18, but cool), the Underground City tour (amazing), shopping, the International District (rated with one star for a reason), we went sailing (worth every penny. I would do that again in a heart beat- and a warmer jacket), took the ferry to Bainebridge Island (stories to follow), we went and saw the salmon gates and the Locks (pretty interesting), the Seattle Temple (gorgeous), the Olympic Sculpture Park (super neat, a relaxing walk and experience), visited the campus of University

of Washington (to die for), the EMP Experience Music Project (didn't go inside, but the outside was cool), and even caught a few minutes at a Turkish Festival. The great thing was that we did most of this without a car. The public transportation system there was fantastic, and free within the areas that we were. There was so much to do downtown. I will admit- when we did get a car and were able to make our way to the freeway system and out of the city I was blown away by the beauty of the suburbs. There was so much green, water and harbors everywhere. The architecture was amazing as well- with the most concentrated amount of Victorian Romanesque building in the world. At any given time you could see either some body of water, some enchanted green park, or the distant mountain ranges that were dwarfed by Mt. Rainier or Mt. St. Helen's. That is my only regret of our trip- I wish we could have to the Mountains. They were positively majestic.

Which reminds me- our adventure to the Grand Forest of Bainebridge! On Saturday, we decided to take a break from the city hullaballoo and jumped on the ferry to Bainebridge Island. We were much disappointed when we got there though- due partly to the fact that our first two encounters were with severely intoxicated women. It wasn't as touristy as we had imagined- one main street with small shops filled with items that were far too pricey for our budgets- not to mention for the most part hideous. We had set aside about four hours there, and there was nothing to do- until we met our Turkish friend (I can't recall his name). He owned a rug shop- full of beautiful Turkish rugs that I drooled incessantly over. He was the kindest of fellows- and he was so kind as to force his only employee (a thirty-something gentleman by the name of Johnathan) to 'take us to the forest!'. We didn't feel threatened or creeped out by them, so we piled in Johnathan's

dusty blue late nineties Volvo station wagon. There were four crammed in the back seat- two on the front, plus jolly Johnathan. He was so kind telling us about the local activities, where to buy the 'most fantastic textiles' and various things produced on the island. It was a very picturesque Island- massive trees, over grown vines and wild black berry bushes enveloping the hills. The small homes were prime post-card material. As he pulled off the road and let us out of the vehicle to go into the forest- he promised to come back in an hour. Talk about showing faith in a stranger! But I will forever be grateful for our that kind Turkish man and Johnathan. I have never seen such a beautiful place- God's creations in pure and natural glory. It was so peaceful, the air cool, clean and crisp. I-like my father- was infatuated with all of the various plants, especially the mushrooms. They were fascinating. Needless to say- Johnathan was there in an hour- picked us up and took us back to a small cafe called the Pegasus. We said our goodbyes and got some of the best hot chocolate I have ever had.

All in all- Our vacation was excellent. I am definitely interested in spending more time there in my future, or even living there for a while. It wasn't a relaxing trip- but a very inspiring, busy, fun, adventure filled one. Not to mention- a delicious one. All I have to say is Bavarian cream doughnuts, gourmet burgers with french onion soup, felafel and baklava, salmon chowder in bread bowls, fresh fruit, butternut squash soup with English pesto crumpets, pastries, and gelato. I'd write more about the food- but... you'd just have to be there to understand.

The Future is for Discovering...

I rode Davids bike in the rain today. It was cold on my face and hands. The weather is changing here. It smells like fall finally. That sweet spicy smell that is so unique that its more of a feeling than an actual smell. Especially with the rain. The leaves are starting to change too. It is beautiful. I love campus when the leaves are all over the ground. I feel more scholarly when I have to crunch through leaves on the way to class. Maybe because there aren't very many leafy trees in Las Vegas. It just seems so movie-like to me still, even though this is my fifth year here. That is a crazy thought. How life has changed over the last five. How much is it going to change in the next five? I feel that life is flying by, that I am aging. I feel responsibility and maturity creeping up on me. I feel the need to make decisions. Big decisions. I feel the significance, the weight, of what I need to do. A constant knot in my neck reminds me that I am an adult now, or very soon will be. My education has been an adventure. There are so many things that I have learned, technically speaking. I can't deny that I have acquired more knowledge in the last five years at the University. Yet, I feel more than ever, so unintelligent. Perhaps it's because of my major. I wish I read more books while attending the university. I think that I have had to read maybe five books for school. How sad is that? As a student of design- there is much more observing required and more hands-on experience required for our field. I just wish that I could say that when leaving with my degree that I learned about many things. But I can't. I learned how to do my possible future profession. Why is that not enough for me? Divine discontent? Is that even good? Or am I being ungrateful? I need to read more books. After graduation, I am hoping to start learning other things. But not only learning about things, but experiencing them. Or at least learning from experience. I look forward to the future, there is so much to be done. And I have a lot I want to do yet. Maybe I will make a 'Bucket List' as my next post...