not a good schedule

So I've got two classes on Monday, one on Tuesday afternoon and then again on Friday morning. This is not a good schedule because after the two Monday classes, I want to do my homework for them because I'm in the zone toward the end of class, but have to wait until sometime on Tuesday, but then I have homework for that class too. Then having a class on Friday morning just screws up everything, mostly because it's morning.
But it's too late to change my schedule now so I will just have to figure out a way to get into a zone between working on Wednesday and Thursday. What makes this difficult is boys. My friend Alex always wants me to go out to this Mexican place for beer between classes. Of course I say yes, because one, beer, and two, Alex is a cute guy (but only wants one thing from me, which is ok sometimes)

Currently, my neighbor, who I have seen around since before I moved into this new apartment, has started talking to me. I've always thought he was super hot, but thought he didn't speak English and my Spanish isn't that great…turns out, he does speak English, just not very well, and like me with Spanish, doesn't speak it too often because he's afraid to say the wrong word. I don't mind it though, I understand even if he does say the wrong word.
So, Sunday afternoon I'm drawing the yellow brick road on my sidewalk and he comes over and I say in Spanish "Do you know this movie?" (Sabes este pelicular?) And he looks at me and smiles, but doesn't say anything right away, so I think, "Did I say that right? Yes, I said it right" Then he says, in English, "No, I don't think so." I was surprised because he was speaking English, but anyway, I continued and told him it was The Wizard of Oz. After that we started talking about everything, he in English mostly, and I in Spanish a little. Then he left to go to the store and brought back a six pack of Pacifico and gave it to me. I said "Oh thanks!" and took one and handed him the carton but he said, "No, is all for you. I remember you say you like." I thought, "Wow, that's so cool. All he's gotta do now is bring me food and he's in."
He said he is working in Waco during the week (I was wondering where he was, I just figured he had a girlfriend and was staying with her) but would I like to go have some dinner with him on Saturday when he gets back. Of course I said yes, because one, food and two, he's super hot.

Now, you tell me, with all that, how am I supposed to concentrate on my homework?

follow the yellow brick road to my door, please :)

in a sea of screaming teens

Tuesday, before class, I went to the mall to visit this shoe store on which I'm doing my rebranding project, Aldo Shoes. While I was there, I decided to visit some other well-known stores and take pictures of the "vibe" and "feel" and "theme" of their stores so I could get a good idea of what I wanted to do for my store. Outside the Louis Vuitton store, a security guard stopped me and said, "Ma'am, gonna have to ask you to stop photographing. You need permission from the mall management."
Well, first, I did not know that, and second, DON'T CALL ME MA'AM! What's wrong with, "Excuse me, Miss."??

So I go into my store and ask for the manager so I can get permission to take pictures of the products for my project, except there's no manager there and I'm asked to come back on Thursday after 1.

Now comes Thursday, my day to practice getting up "early" for my Friday morning class. I rolled out of bed about 7:30 and sat like a bored zombie on my couch, hugging a cup of coffee. I got a few ideas written down about my Philosophical Perspectives on Food class project, took a shower, arranged my face and hair, cooked some eggs and then it was barely 10 am. This morning business is too long and not very exciting. Then I farted around on the interwebs for a bit then left to go to school to put together a slide show.
Ok, so about 2 o'clock I head over the the mall to see the manager. I pull into the parking lot area where I always park because it's never crowded -- except for some reason today it was. Inside I notice a lot, I mean A LOT of teenagers cruising around. I know it's summer, but it's still unusual for this many teens to be at any mall on any given day. Then I notice the majority of them are all crowed up along the second floor, a line wrapping around the upstairs walkway. And they all start screaming at once. Startled, of course, I look up and they are all ogling and taking pictures in one particular direction.
Wow, is there a celebrity shopping here today? That's not unusual, it's Dallas, but how would all these kids know so quick if there was? Well, there was a celebrity here today. Two in fact, if you consider them celebrities, which I don't: Kendall and Kylie Jenner have a new line of clothing at the PacSun sportswear store and were there passing out canvas shopping bags and signing autographs. Every time someone exited the store, kids started screaming again and dude, I had to get outta there.

If you're wondering "Who the hell are Kendall and Kylie?" you're not alone.

S.F.W.I.F

S.F.W.I.F is my new abbreviation substitute for T.G.I.F and who can guess what it stands for?

Ok, I can tell you've given up. 

It means "so fuckin' what it's Friday" in homage to my new Friday morning class.

The class is Media Business Law and it starts at 8 on a Friday morning.

The problem with this is not the material, although I do find law boring, it is not the teacher, he is a delightful individual and I told him so on a note I handed in on the contact sheet we had to fill out. You see, the problem is it's MORNING! Morning goes against all that is natural to me. Anything before 10 am is too early for me. Anyone I used to work with in Amarillo knows this, why can't Dallas understand it? The only good thing about the whole ordeal is there are no people in the class that are "Happy Morning" people. Everyone is pretty chill and I appreciate that because I didn't have to punch anyone in the face today.

me in class

On with the rest of the day. Since it was ruined already, I decided to visit my "wonderful" financial advisor. She informed me that the school is disbursing the refunds in a new way now and will not be going to my bank account which I have set up as a direct deposit. So now I have to set up a new account at a new bank and then transfer the money to my bank to pay my damn bills. FML…why did they do this? Also, the requirements for loans have changed and I just can't wait to tell my parents about this and keep my fingers crossed that I still qualify for a loan so I can pay my living expenses and continue to go to school….THE WHOLE REASON I MOVED TO DALLAS!!!

Now, I go to complete my homework for Monday's class and the student and faculty drive is down and who know when it will be up again. Shit! That is where my homework is. If it's not fixed by Monday I'm screwed because I didn't save it to my flash drive. Ok, so I guess I will go look for the books I need for my new Media Business Law class. They are over $90 a piece at the school bookstore so of course I laughed and said, "Fuck that" and left to HalfPrice Books down the road. I found my books for about $24 for the both of them. I don't think there were another copies, so I don't know what my classmates are gonna do. We have three chapters to read for the quiz next week.

I have an essay due in my Philosophical Perspectives in Food class. The instructions were to "articulate as clearly as possible what you think about the importance of food in human culture." I went with something I know: The ol' Municipal Court Food Days!

Here is my essay, tell me what you think.

Consider the Office Potluck Luncheon

An office potluck luncheon is proof that the right food is critical to the culture of the people in the office and the dynamics of its personnel. Just across the United States alone, any company these days is comprised of people ranging in age and ethnicity. This, of course makes for an interesting food day because who else except those from North Dakota and Minnesota would get excited about seeing something called “Tater Tot Hot Dish” on the sign up sheet posted in the break room or even know what it is? Nobody in a California office would acknowledge the maritime delights of “French Fried Jimmy Crabs” unless they had just moved from Maryland.  Who in Utah would salivate over the thought of a bowl of Louisiana’s best crawfish soup? And how many cube mates in Maine would delight in the anticipation of a taste of red chilequiles from Sedona, Arizona? The anticipation of knowing a special day celebrated with food is the most talked about event all week. Sure someone may mention the actual business at hand and there may even be some talk about last nights’ sporting event or a TV show, but nothing beats arguing about who makes the best cheeseball and how the pea salad made by the lady in accounting just melts across your tongue.

Historically, food was hunted and gathered and was simply a vehicle for gaining nutrition. These days, that’s okay if all you want to do is make a turd, but food should be prepared in a way that is to be shared and remembered. In a gathering such as the office potluck, presenting specialty dishes and hand-me-down recipes stimulate the senses: “That looks delicious”, “That smells heavenly”, “The texture is so creamy”, “Listen to that crackle”, “This tastes like dirt”.

Talking about food is a good starting point at breaking down barriers and allows people to connect in order to promote further conversation. Groups become exposed to multiple viewpoints no matter the subject and this allows for more productive problem solving once lunch is over. The food we eat has a way of bringing us together and in the case of the office culture it can even help build a team. The office potluck brings everyone together in the same way an old-fashioned dinner brought families to the table: communication. When people are sifting through green bean casserole, rhubarb pie, a six-inch grinder and a pot of three-alarm chili, questions about the ingredients and where to get them awaits answers. While picking through the choices of pasta salads, inquiries on whose recipe is best and can copies be generated and distributed are asked; because when on any other day would someone from the file room think to talk to someone from the distribution department or who would suspect that the second shift security guard makes the best chili outside of Texas?

Dishes brought to the office potluck represent the different cultures that make up the people in any one certain place, which, of course, represents all of us.

Pick a market, any market

This class I have on Tuesdays is called "Dynamics of Media and Mass Communications". We apparently are going to learn how to appeal to consumers by using different programs such as TV, radio, magazines and what not to integrate a brand campaign.

Uh-huh.

Well anyway, my first assignment was to analyze some YouTube videos, specifically the last Super Bowl commercials. The rubric we had to follow included choosing a best and worst ad, supporting our point of views with facts and examples about the target audience and the product and also being able to use proper grammar in our memo form paper.

Here is mine, tell me what you think:

Week Two Homework: Super Bowl Critique

            An assignment to watch YouTube videos sounded exciting at first, but to get into the head of the target audience was challenging to me, in fact, figuring out who was the target audience was challenging to me as well. It’s a good thing I like a challenge.

            In watching the commercials for the 2014 Super Bowl, I felt the best was Bud Light’s “Up for whatever” series of ads that tied everything together with the whole commercial showing at the conclusion of the game. At first we are shown a number of 30 second spots which somehow appeals to and yet seems to slightly pique the interest of young men ages 21 to about 31 by showing celebrities like Don Cheadle with a llama and Arnold Schwarzenegger in a ping pong outfit. So, throughout the whole sporting event, when a piece of the ad is shown, viewers are wondering, “What the heck?” At the end when all the segments are put together after Ian, a young, single guy and a prime example of Bud Lights target audience, is offered a Bud Light then led in a genius unscripted romp through the night, the message is clear: If you drink our beer, cool stuff like this could happen to you. The execution is unorthodox and memorable, just like an unexpected night of partying might become and that definitely strikes a chord with the target.

            The worst for me was Maserati in their “Now we strike” ad. While most Maserati vehicles cost well over one hundred thousand dollars, the car advertised here is their more “affordable” model. Still, the product appeals to those who can afford it or aspire to one day obtain one: the young and rich and I do not feel this commercial hit the mark at all.  First of all, the ad starts out as if we should all be saving the Earth from something, but blathers on like we’re coming upon an apocalypse, then a revved up engine precedes Maserati’s new offering and the tag line is “Now we strike.” Huh? I think the young and rich audience are left wondering “Strike what? Who’s striking? What are they striking?” The whole ordeal is fluff and only memorable in the way of waiting to get to work the next day so you can ask

co-workers, “What the hell was that all about?”

            

All day Mondays

I'm excited about my Philosophical Perspectives class because the focus is on food: the history and how it affects our society. 
There are 3 graphic design students (including me), 1 film student, 1 photography student and the rest of the class (about 15 others) are all culinary students. I've had this teacher before, Mrs. Uhlmeyer, for Art History, so I'm familiar with what she expects.
My friend Crystal is in the class and never had the pleasure of this teacher's tutelage, and she appeared a little frightened with all the verbiage being thrown about, so I patted her hand and said, "Don't worry, I help you."
The lectures seem to serve as a point of inspiration to spark ideas for our papers and projects we'll have due. Of course I like listening to history lectures anyway. I could watch the History channel all day.

Now, in my only design class I have this quarter, Corporate Identity, I'm nervous about redesigning a company's identity.  This website, Rebrand.com has some really good examples of what we'll be doing. We had to pick a company from a list given to us. I chose Aldo Shoes.
I know nothing about fashion or being fashion forward, so I'm definitely not a customer. But we have our assignment, questions to answer, a process to go through in order to be able to come up with ideas for our redesign. So far, I've realized that their current logo, which is just type based, is outdated. So I'm going to try to come up with a symbol based logo. My teacher thinks this is a good idea, too. I have had this teacher before, Mr. Abraham, and he's pretty good at assisting in ideas and design.
I'm still worried that I won't be able to either come up with a good idea or that I still don't possess the skills necessary to make my idea come to fruition.

On a fun note, I got a kiss on the cheek today from a boy I like and I think another guy I like gave me a flirtatious compliment. I sat at a table where he was, and a bunch of other people were at the next table looking at something on a laptop. So when I sat, I realized I might be in his way, so I turned and said, "oops,  am I in your line of sight" and he said, "Nah, and even if you were, it's ok." *Blush*

It started on a Thursday...

My summer break started with a huge bang on a Thursday.
First, I had my final class and presented my Happy Hippy Market designs. Class was over before our usual 8:00 break, so I went home to chill until everyone else got out of their classes. About 10pm I got a call to say "hey we're all over here at Sherlocks Pub!" So off I went to enjoy some beers, tunes and laughs with some classmates. We cheered about classes being over because we were all pretty exhausted about the whole thing.
About 2am, we got asked to leave, I guess the bar was closing, and nobody was ready to stop partying yet. In the parking lot, one girl said, "hey, I've got 3 bottles of wine in my car, oh, but I don't have a corkscrew." Since we were in the same class where we designed the wine labels, I also had 3 bottles of wine in my car and announced that to everyone, then included the fact that I did have a corkscrew! So someone said, "Let's go to Vicki's house!" and I said, "Yeah, let's go to Vicki's house!"
Now, it's about 2:30 in the morning and I got about 4 cars following me into my apartment complex parking lot. Everyone parks, gets out, starts talking really loud, laughing, one guy is peeing on the brick wall, then everyone stumbles into my apartment. Within no time, someone has put on music from my computer, we've opened 2 bottles and started spreading the joy of drinking some more. Before I know it, some people are making out in my bathroom, someone has passed out in my bed and Michael Jackson's Thriller is playing it's 5am and I feel woozy myself.
I lay down in my bed, not minding the guy who is already there and quietly slip into a black silence. A little later, a stream of sunlight is burning through my eyelid because apparently sometime during the 4 hours I've passed out fully clothed, someone moved my curtain to get to a blanket on the floor. There's an arm around me and I lay there for a second or two while everything starts coming back into focus and I start to remember who is in my bed. It's cool though, I know him and he's ok, but I roll over and look at him and say, "Dude, where are your pants?" "Oh yeah," he laughs. "I took them off so I could sleep." I assure you nothing happened with us since we both passed out with our clothes on, and anyway I know his girlfriend and I wouldn't do that to her, even in my condition.
We find the energy to get out of bed and I lurch my way into the bathroom and grab the ibuprofen in an attempt to quell the pounding in my head. I go to the kitchen and drink a whole glass of water with my pills, then look around and notice all the bodies draped around my living room. They all start coming to life, grabbing their heads, rubbing their eyes, looking around and wondering what happened. I set the bottle of pills on the table in an attempt to offer them as "breakfast".
The place was a mess: bottles and glasses everywhere, feathers from my boas, clothes, potato chips on the floor and various other empty snack packages. But, no wine was spilled!
Everyone left with their own hangovers and I drove to work with mine. Luckily I only worked 5 hours and was able to retreat back home and sleep…alone this time.
And so, that is how my summer break started.