Just a micro blog just to say that yesterday was a historic day that I will always remember.
I tried to watch as much as possible while being at work, but I'm glad I got to catch the swearing in ceremony of our new President Obama!
I'm so excited about this new change in America, as most of you probably are!
I can't wait to see what's going to come....
(and yes, I also really wanted to have a blog with this title, thanks current)
...I'm back, hasn't been too long. Hope you found all 75 bands by now or made a good Pollock painting on your computer...
I have to admit, for the first time in awhile, I actually have a job that I love going to everyday and I just had to share what that is.
I am actually doing something that involves my degree (or degree I'm working on rather)....
This past November I was hired at the Maralyn Wilson Gallery and since then, I have been given a higher position and a new raise, woo hoo! But what does my job entail you ask? Well, I guess you can say that I am a Gallery Assistant to the Owner (i.e Maralyn Wilson), who is a spunky lady in her 60's who would probably be the coolest grandmother on the planet.
She has been in the art business for over 35 years, which is great knowledge to learn from. Her passion is art and she is also an artist herself and works with encaustic type pieces with wax. It has also inspired me to start working on my "artist" side with a few ideas on projects of my own.
I basically help her run the 5,000 square foot gallery, work with the artists that we have showing, and help organize upcoming artist shows and events which is my favorite part so far. I am in the process of organizing a show on February 13th which I will probably post pictures and write about later. I love working with the local artists and having their work shown in the gallery, because believe it or not, people ARE still looking for great art to have in their home or place of business. I'm happy to report that selling art is not dead!
One major part of the business is framing. That I am still learning. However, we work exclusively with the Art Museum, which I am really proud of and practice conservation framing, which is defined as "...only high quality materials designed to protect paper artwork and special techniques above and beyond ordinary framing to help preserve the artwork. In conservation framing, no materials or techniques are used that cannot be reversed, leaving the artwork undamaged and in its original form." (Thank you Decor Magazine 1997.)
We are a small company, so I am a great multitasker in my job. Not only do I work with the artists and help organize the events, I am also in charge of our marketing, and oh yes, the customers on a daily basis.
So yes, with school and now this new adventure, needless to say I am pretty busy these days but I do love it and look forward to what's to come.
Join our mailing list on our website (that I will probably be helping adding new things to) and join our facebook group and keep in touch with everything that we are doing!
Ok, so I'm not one to believe in "resolutions" per say, I think that if you want to start something or change something about yourself then you should just do it and not wait till New Years Eve when the ball drops to get things going....however, one thing that I wanted to start doing more of this year is keeping up with this blog about this life of mine, weither you find it interesting or boring...it's up to you to decide...
The inspiration that struck me was reading my fellow grade school friend Jessica's blog, and talked about the good techniques of being a blogger:
*Keep it shorter, more likely to write more often (i.e the "micro" blog...)
*Write about things you're passionate about
*Make it fun
*Change it up to keep you and your readers interested.
Thanks Jess for the tips, I feel inspired and not as....err...overwhelmed? with keeping this blog updated as my other friends do on a regular basis...
On that note, here are a few topics that I will probably write about in this new year of 2009...
-My new job which I love! (interesting details in another "micro" blog soon)
-Anything I learn that is somewhat interesting in my last few semesters in college...
-Probably more food porn, because I think it's really starting to become a passion of mine
-Twilight...ha, just kidding...(or am I?)
-New finds in music, a long time passion of myself and Eak's
-oh and Lila, of course
...and who knows what else, that's what keeps it interesting :)
So stay tuned....until then, have some free entertainment, if you haven't seen it already, try to find 75 bands in this picture
I have... (with the help of Eak and another friend who is in radio for God sakes, are you kidding me? I'm not that good)
...or make your own Jackson Pollock, so fun...
'till then :)
Well Winter isn't officially here, but it is December and we have definitely had some blustery chilly days here in Birmingham.
Ok, so I have always lived in a great safe neighborhood, and never worried about anything happening....well Eakin and I truly got the real taste of living "in Birmingham" and in the Crestwood neighborhood....Friday, as I was gone from 11-4 helping my mother with making our items for the Avondale Craft show Saturday, I came home to a destroyed house that was ransacked and broken into. When I arrived home, I noticed that our front porch chairs had been moved in an unusual way, so I had looked to see if the front door window had been broken and it wasn't. So I turned the knob and it was still locked. I turned my key and walked inside to every single drawer, cabinet, closet that had been throughly searched through. My heart went through the roof. I immediately called 911 and told them what happened, then called Eakin who luckily wasn't too far away, then of course my mother who I just left. Luckily, Lila was with me, so she was not at home.
The police came in about 10 min, as I was sitting on the front porch nervous as all hell. As this police officer (who had braces by the way, weird) came to the house I told him what I came into. Soon Eakin arrived and my mother arrived. I was a basketcase since this had never happened to me before. As we looked around the tore up house, we started to notice what was gone. As soon as the brace face cop was taking the report, his scanner went off of another robbery next door at our neighbors as well. Her house wasn't ransacked like ours, but her laptop was gone too, and he went through the front window that was gated and had two big dogs!
Eakin normally always takes his laptop to work with him, but for the past two days, he had not and his $3000 laptop for work was gone. Along with an about $800 Canon professional camera that he had borrowed from a co-worker to take pictures of all the stores that was sitting on our coffee table. It was overwhelming to notice what was all gone, since everything was not in it's place. However, with it obviously being one man, he could not get our 47 inch TV and Xbox. His laptop was sitting by his checkbook and that was still there surprisingly. He had gone through every single room in the house and in Eakin's office was his uncle's shotgun, which was also gone....along with the bullets....So the big things were the laptop, camera, and shotgun....if my laptop was here, then I wouldn't be typing this today! So at least we have one left! The good thing is that it was work property that was mostly taken, so Eakin of course will get another laptop, but that doesn't replace everything that was on the laptop.
In our living room, which has three big windows, two on the side have bars, the middle one has two horizontal bars and that is what he broke into. He broke it in pieces and seemed like he "lightly" placed it on my couch. We weren't able to get fingerprints till the next morning (thanks to connections, otherwise the brace face cop said it would be "5-7 days!" Thanks BPD!) and the CSI guy dusted and found nothing, because apparently he used socks on his hands. There were a few things that made us laugh, as we noticed that our big glass jug which had a lot of coins, was completely emptied. Even my change purse in my school bag was emptied! If there was a penny on the floor, then it was gone!
So we are in the process of fixing the window (has plexiglass right now) and getting an alarm system working (which is only half way done, and why I'm stuck at home right now). We have been basically prisioners in our own home until we know we are secured. With only plexi glass on the window for now, I do not feel comfortable leaving to do anything until the alarm system works. Although it is highly doubtful that he will come back (however he might get a buddy and come help him since he knows what we have now), it is just an uneasy feeling. And I will especially not leave Lila until that is done.
Even though nothing big and personal was taken of mine, it still feels terrible knowing that this guy knows every single thing in my home, even down to what underwear I wear! It makes me have a sick feeling in my stomach. I have never been personally violated like this in my life and I now know what it feels like and I would not wish this on anyone. Our neighbor has been living in her house for over 20 years and when we moved in, she said that in those many years, she had not had the first incident of any kind.
Crestwood is a great neighboorhood to live in, and even though we are on the "edge" of it, we thought we were safe. But I guess in today's world, and especially in this terrible time of economy, you can't be sure of that anymore. What would make a person be so desperate to do something like this? That is something that is hard to understand.
oh and one more thing that was missing......a sugar free red bull......guess he needed more energy to steal people's personal things...
Well, I'm finally back, I've had a few hiccups, as my laptop has been not working for about oh let's see....three months now! I had left it up to my computer geek boyfriend to take care of my precious laptop, and all it did was sit in his car. So after taking matters in my own hands, I sent it away to Dell to get fixed, and VIOLA! it came back in ONE DAY! That's all it took....stupid, stupid me....
Since those three months, a lot has happened....I am now just a full time student, which I have realized doesn't take all my "full time"....and now is not the greatest time to be looking for a little part time job either....Anyone looking for a cute brown eyed girl to hire??
Lila is growing and growing! She has really become a jewel to Eakin and I and if it wasn't for her, I'd probably go crazy being by myself most of the day. She has developed the greatest personality, and absoultely loves people, or any animal, even ones that are four times her size! She truly has balls of steel and is not afraid of anything, ha!
This semester has been going well, I'm getting antsy about it being done! With taking Indian Art and Buddhist Art this semester, I have truly learned so much that I could convert to Buddhism! My french has not greatly improved, as I have a blond hair/blue eyed sorority girl not much older then myself teaching, but at least I'm getting credit....
Well I am stuck at home today, so I thought I could write this and then start studying for my Buddhist art midterm on Wednesday....so off to writing one more blog, then studying Shakyamuni Buddha in his Mount Meru paradise and learning the four noble truths and the middle path to enlightenment....
Well, first, this is not a blog about Lila for once. Today's blog is about me announcing that I am finally (after only one semester of being out which seemed like a lifetime), I am finally going back to good 'ol UAB to graduate! I have a total of 18 hours to finish, and I think I would be really stupid if I did not. I will have 10 hours this semester, and 8 left to take in the spring to be officially done! And thanks to a hefty Pell Grant and a small loan, that will now be possible!
Most of my classes I have left to take are pretty much what I should have taken when I was in my freshman or sophomore year, so I think I will be alright to finish, although I am dreading taking my Art Studio classes which are required for my major. I can look at a piece of art and tell you all about it, however, please please don't make me actually draw and make one of my own. Maybe I'll take some probably terrible pictures of whatever I have to make and post it later for thoughts. If I'm brave enough...
So this semester my time will be filled with the following:
Art Studio 101-basically looking at negative space and drawing whatever the teacher says to draw...a stick figure maybe? I hope? I'd get an A at that!
French 102-required level to finish for my major in Art History....I have been really procrastinating about it, but hopefully with the help of my boyfriend who is quite fluent, I'll have some personal one on one tutoring....geez, did that just sound dirty? ha
Earth Science 101-I'm actually re-taking this class just to get a better grade then last time...wouldn't hurt...but I'm dreading sitting through this all over again, because learning about rocks and minerals are about as fun as watching paint dry...
Art History 478-Buddhist Art in Asia-This should be (I hope) an interesting class, I'm just glad I was able to throw in an Art History class, which I needed one more Asian credit to finish. It's not my consentration of my area in Renassiance and Baroque, but it will do. However, I do have a feeling I'm going to have some "hate" blogging about studying this later....
School starts on the 18th, and I'm so ready for a new routine of work and school again!
GO BLAZERS!
