Nostalgia

Today I got a tad nostalgic while going through my HD that’s been hanging out at my sister’s house while I’ve been abroad. I was doing a bit of graphic design work for a friend and it got me thinking about my empty Dribbble account (which is kinda like LinkedIn for Graphic Designers). So I wanted to post some of my old projects as well as newer ones. While going through my old class files from Kendall it brought back many memories. *Le sigh*

I even found some stuff from a workshop that the Kendall Photo Association organized with Tom Allen a few years ago. At which I produced the image below. I’m pretty proud of it.

After the trip down memory lane – I caught the graphic design bug again. I don’t have anything specific to do this week in MI while the rest of the world has actual jobs so I think that’s what I’m going to focus on. I have all these new goals for my creative future. I think after finally finishing this Master’s degree, I’m ready to be creative on a regular basis again. The trip down memory lane and a visit last week to Kendall while I was in Grand Rapids catching up with old friends really made me miss the creative environment. Academia is alright, but creative people are so much more fun to be around!
This doesn’t change my desire to work in a museum or gallery because those environments seem like a good balance between creativity and academia, but I think I’ve reached a point where I wouldn’t mind doing freelance photography or graphic design on the side just for kicks.

So there’s that. A little more serious than originally intended, but I’m OK with it; the situation seems to call for it. It feels like a new stage in my life is about to begin and for once I don’t mind the change so much.

Normally this is me:

Fin.

Missing the UK

Top 10 things I miss about the UK

Picture via The Telegraph – Go read their article!

1. Rugby – seriously the best sport ever to watch and to play. I need to figure out how to find matches to watch on the interwebs.

2. The Accents – the general populace over here in the States, just doesn’t sound as intelligent… being surrounded by such wonderful accents every day for a year and then going directly back to people sounding stupid even when they are discussing astrophysics is pretty jarring. I realize this is a strange controdiction because I still have an American accent.

3. Being a Novelty – Speaking of which – for some reason the Brits love American accents and Americans in general… I shall miss this being a conversation starter when out in public.

4. Public Transportation – The public transpo here in the States blows! Things are too spread out for it to be anywhere near convenient.

5. Brands/Shops/Designers – Cath Kidston has to be my favorite designer and now I can only find her stuff online or in super-mega big cities (maybe?). Also my new obsession with the shop White Stuff has be bummed because they don’t exist (to my knowledge) over here either.
6. Cider – Not apple cider, there isn’t a lot of that  in the UK but tons in MI, but the real (alcoholic) kind. The beer industry has a monopoly on the drinking in the States and cider is hard to come by. Good cider is especially hard to find. Cider on tap is more rare than Pandas in China.

7. £1/£2 Coins – Dollar bills and the rare $2 bill are really boring. I liked that the smallest bill was a fiver in the UK. Coins might be heavier, but they don’t seem to go walkies nearly as much as $1 bills.

8. BBC/ITV iPlayers – I shall miss catching up easily on my favorite BBC/ITV programmes.

9. Easy/Cheap Travel to Different Countries – Everything is so close together and smaller over there. You can go to 6 different countries in a weekend if you really wanted to – for less than $500 for traveling expenses.

10. Gregg’s Sausage Rolls – I don’t know why I become so obsessed with this specific type of sausage roll, but I will really miss them.

 

EVERYTHING MUST GO!

Hey UK Peoples -

You want stuff? I have stuff you can either have or buy from me. It’d be cool if you left a comment letting me know if you want something – prices listed next to items. There is more than this, but I didn’t feel like photographing all of it. Complete list at the end.

Mini Trash Bin £2

Mini Christmas Tree £2

Assortment of Sharpie Markers, Dry-Erase Markers and Day of the Week Dry-Erase magnets £1

2 x Fish Shape Ice Cube Tray
2x Bottle Ice Cube Tray  All 4 – £2

3 Tray Ikea Desk Organizer £3

3 Drawer Mini Organizer £2

Remington Hair Straightener £5

Tesco Hair Dryer £5

Food Scale with lid £1

Ikea Cupboard/drawer Organizers – Set of 6 (only 4 pictured) £2

Litchfield Self Inflating Camping Mat w/ carry bag and patch kit £10

Ikea Underbed Storage Bag/Box thing £2

File Box w/ hanging folders & manilla folders £2

Other Items not pictured:

1 x Medium Sauce Pan £2

1 x Small Sauce Pan £2

1 x Small Milk Pan £2

1 x Set of 2 Ikea Utensil Canisters £1

3 x Plates (1 ceramic, 2 plastic) £1

1 x Set of 4 plastic square bowls £1

1 x Baking tray – Free

1 x Roasting Pan – Free

1 x Large (Well Seasoned) Wok £1

2 x Small Square Plastic Storage boxes – Free

2 x Small Round Plastic Storage Containers – Free

Assorted Cutlery – Free

Assorted Cooking Utensils – Free

Assorted Mugs/travel mugs/drinking glasses – Free

Assorted Random Objects – Free

Leave a comment if you want to call dibs on anything. I can deliver to UoN Campus, Jubilee Campus, or Lenton/Notts City Center or you can pick up from Broadgate Park. Payment in cash please! All transactions are final (if you don’t want it after that – it is your problem ) Preferably all items will be picked up/dropped off by the 15th, but small items can be held until the 21st.

That is all.

Fin.

 

Mama I’m Coming Home

That’s right folks, I’m headed back to the States in a little more than a month. I still have a bunch of work to do on my dissertation but after that is all handed in – I will be leaving on a jet plane. I’m packing up myself and leaving London on 22 September for Helsinki, Finland (yep cheaper to fly to Finland than direct to the States) where I will spend the night and then at about 2pm Finland time, I’ll be on my way to Chicago, where I will arrive at about 3pm Chicago time on 23 September (That’s a Sunday).

To my friends/family in the States:

Mama, I’m Coming Home

Going to be in Mason for at least a week and then I’ll be packing my stuff and my kitty (unbelievably excited to see her!!) and heading back to South Florida. Feel free to message me on Facebook or leave me a comment to let me know who will be around and when so I can try to see as many people as possible while I’m in Michigan. I know it seems like a very short amount of time to spend with you all after being gone for so long, but I’ve got to get back to making money so I can pay my bills. I will, however, do everything in my power to come back to MI for Christmas.

To my friends in the UK:

Leaving on a Jet Plane

This has been the best year of my life thus far and I will miss you all dearly. If you are ever in South Florida please let me know so we can catch up! I’m going to come back someday, if only to visit. That’s a promise. I hope I can see most of you before I take off, though my hanging out time is limited, I will be here a whole week after dissertation hand in and leaving so that would be prime time to say goodbye. So please message me on Facebook or leave me a comment to let me know if you will be in Notts or want to meet up in London for tea/coffee/lunch (I’ll probably be there for a few hours before my 6pm flight on the 22nd).

Leaving is bitter sweet and I might cry a lot when it happens (she says while tearing up already) so be prepared for that when saying your goodbyes!

So before I completely ruin any chance of getting work done tonight due to puffy eyes…

Fin.

New Life Goals

Apparently, the fates have aligned and given me a new life goal that I didn’t ask for. My new mission in life has become to break everything made of glass or ceramic I come into contact with. I’ve broken 2 wine glasses (not while drinking) and 1 ceramic bowl in the last week and a half. I am now concerned for my tea mugs, Delft tile sitting on my desk, and anything someone else owns made of glass/ceramic.

In better news the most recent event of breaking a stemless wine glass in the middle of my bedroom floor gave me a shove to actually hoover (vacuuming for my American friends) my room and then I went all cleaning crazy and deep cleaned the bathroom as well. At this point I think I would do ANYTHING (like this blog post) to avoid working on my dissertation since it is this long and arduous thing looming over me.

For kicks here is what I looked like while cleaning with this really insane ‘natural’ cleaning agent – not sure natural cleaning products are suppose to be so hazardous for your breathing health, but the first time I used this one I almost died of asphyxiation. Enjoy!

Fin.

I want a new pair of TOMS

They are Giraffe print!!!!

I can in no way afford these at the moment so they will have to wait, but hopefully they will still be around in the actual fall so I can buy them when I have a job again.
Fin.

UK Adventures Chapter 2: Notts and Manchester

It’s Friday night and to prove how coolIam, I decided to write another blog post.

Nottingham:

Well after the harrowing journey back to Notts from London, Kate and I crashed out until 3pm. After waking, we decided to go on a quick walking tour of the city centre and grab some dinner. We arrived into town just in time for all the shops to shut, but I showed Kate the “sites” as it were, we ate some pub grub, and took her to the (somewhat disputed) oldest pub in the country, Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem for a pint. Being still knackered from our long journey the day before and a train to catch to Manchester the next morning, we had an early night.

Woke up the next day and realised that I had a package waiting for me at the post office, which I didn’t want to leave there for 2 weeks lest it end up being sent back, so I ran down the road only to discover the small package that I thought was coming, was actually a large, extremely heavy box that I couldn’t have possibly carried all the way home. I hopped on the bus outside and rode it back, but this was slower than I thought.

We left to catch our train about 15mins later than we meant to because of it, which meant that the slow traffic in town made us miss yet another train… it was becoming a pattern that neither of us enjoyed, though this time the new tickets were only £20 each and we only had to wait an hour for the next one. (Kate decided while we were in London waiting for the train, – that everytime she got stuck somewhere, she would draw a rat… this one is Ratbin Hood.)

Manchester:

Finally, making it to Manchester, where our very first CouchSurfing Host met us at the station. She showed us the best way to get to her house from the station and vice versa then we talked with her for a bit and she gave us a map of Manchester, told us a good place for lunch, and other stuff to check out.

We had lunch at Richmond Tea Rooms, which was super cute with its Alice in Wonderland themed interior. The sandwiches were pretty freaking amazing and the tea was really good! I had the Fig & Goats Cheese with Honey Sandwich and it was just the right amount of sweet with the creamy goats cheese and toasted bread… yum!

After that Kate and I decided to get lost trying to find the little shopping area that our Host suggested. By the time we finally found everything, most places were shutting up for the night. So we waited in the park to meet my Uni friend Luke for dinner/drinks. After Burritos for dinner Luke (a Manchester native) took us to Sinclair’s Oyster Bar where we proceeded to get a bit drunk.

After Oyster Bar he took us on a small adventure of some other places that I don’t remember the names to were there were more drinks, ending with Kate and I returning to our host’s house at about 1am (don’t worry we had prearranged coming in late with her) and having very little sleep before we had to be at the train station the next morning for our 6am train to Edinburgh, which we were determined not to miss!

Stay tuned for UK Adventures Chapter 3: Edinburgh, Scottish Highlands, and Glasgow where you will find out if we actually made it to the train station in time for this very early departure!

Fin.