Archaelogical Dig (Exploration #6)

"Archeology" is the study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artifacts and other physical remains... While this may normally mean human history from way back in time, this term can also describe analyzing artifacts from my childhood to study who I am today. 

I was looking through items from my room at my parents home and through the things I keep at my apartment currently to analyze and think about.

 

 I am unsure of where this box came from, but it was a gift for me and my younger sister when we were little. This Jewelry Making Kit came with many different types of strings and beads, most of which are not shown in this picture, and also this book. As my sister and I grew up we added many different types of beads, strings, and other craft items we thought could be useful, which are what are shown here. My sister and I didn't always get along when it came to the box because we were always unsure of its origins. I thought it belonged to me, Ashley thought it belonged to her. 

Both of these pictures are of necklaces that I have but never wear. Both are around more for sentimental value than for use. Picture 3. is a necklace from a "Best Friends" set. The other half of the set is with an old friend of mine from Colorado. While I don't see this friend very often we still keep in touch through texting and snapchat. Picture 4. Is a necklace from a different set, a "Big Sister/Little Sister" set. My little sister, the same sister I shared the jewelry making kit with, holds the other necklace to this set.

These lights were a gift from my "secret" god parents. While I have never received confirmation, I have always suspected that these "secret" god parents are my biological parents. My decided god parents were never really around when I grew up, and my parents always felt bad because of this. They've given me a couple of other gifts with the same label including a coffee maker and an angel snow globe.

While this book is actually newer, the story behind it and the story within the graphic novel are what can be considered an artifact of my youth. When I was allowed to start using the internet, youtube was my best friend. I got to listen to all my favorite songs and I started to watch these cute cartoons called animes. I was especially fond of this one called Mermaid Melody. The story was about one of the mermaid princesses of the seven seas and how she falls in love with a boy that loves her mermaid self but doesn't recognize her in her human form. She has to show him that she is the same girl without telling him or she'll turn into bubbles and the sea that she is supposed to protect will be without a princess.

These items all have had an impact on me. The Jewelry Making Kit was helpful when it came to bringing out my creative side. The necklaces are ways of remembering some of the loving and long lasting relationships I have had. The butterfly lights helped remind me that while there are people out there that may not care strongly for me, my family always has my back and they love me unconditionally and are always trying to make me happy. Mermaid Melody, well this and many other books, shows, ect. - all had an impact on my decision to go into English. The beauty made and the creativity used to create these things always fascinated me. I love the idea of seeing and helping people bring their creativity to life and that's why I want to be a part of the editing and publishing world.

Small Thoughts (Exploration #20)

A list of Small Thoughts that run through my head over the weekend.

'That wine smelled so yummy while cleaning it off the floor.'

'South Dakota wines? or maybe Wine-ing for Beginners?'

'Need to read: Mrs. Dalloway, Pepys, Swift... and... something I'm forgetting.'

'A cigarette sounds good, or maybe hot tubbing.'

'Oh, Angel, I miss you.'

'Can it just be Friday?!'

'A List for Animals in Literature.... mocking jays, dog mutts, monkey mutts, tracker jackers....'

'I can't decide if I love this video for the song or the dancing!'

'Oh, Olly Murs, I would dance with you tonight!'

'Sweet, I might finally get my money back from him.'

'How do I get page numbers into an indesign document...'

'I should really look at internships for the summer.'

'Alissa, I love you, but I don't have time for this.'

'There's a new Call of Duty game? How am I not aware of this? Right, I never have time for gaming.'

'Would she make me the god mother? Do I have a choice? What if I'm no good at it?'

'Ugh, I need to zumba. or kick box.'

I am the type of person who is always making lists. Things I need to do, things I need to buy, things I want to do, places I want to see, songs I want to download, books I want to read, even ideas for stories I want to write. Because of this, compiling this list was easy for me. I know I'm stressed but I didn't realize it affected my thoughts and actions as much as this. My thoughts are a mix between things I need to do and ways to keep relaxed from the pressures of doing these things.

It's a big circle. I get one thing done, I relax, I start working on another thing. The problem is my deadlines all are at the same time. Making lists is easy. Working through them - no problem. But, time management is not a strong suit of mine.

Looking at these lists, I remember thinking about them and it gets me thinking about them again. While these are small thoughts they have big meaning for me. Angel was my dog. She passed away a year ago and I miss her and cuddling with her when I was stressed. I used to go home to just relax with her. My sister's pregnant and the idea of being the god mother freaks me out. My own god mother wasn't there for me when I was growing up and we have a very harsh relationship now. Would it be like this with my new niece or nephew? Four of these thoughts are about class assignments, and while they seem easy in the list form, the fact of the matter is these are things I have been or was supposed to be working on all semester. It's just a reminder that I need to work on my time management.

Life moves on. While this list was acquired in three days, I can see myself working through many different aspects of my life and I am reminded that life is constantly in motion. I need to learn to be better at time management so that I can enjoy the good times instead of stressing about all the little things.

Someone Is Always Staring Exploration #41

Before Pixar came out with the Cars franchise I was the kid who imagined cars had personalities, in fact sometimes I still do it today. Unlike in the Cars films though, I saw the eyes through the headlights and not the windshield.

With this car I see a calm and collected face, but something a bit more stern and rough around the edges. It makes me think of a high position, if we want to give leader ranks to it, not exactly the head position but the person right below the leader, the guy who enforces all of the rules.

And with this car I can see a villain, with its wide eyes and almost threatening mouth. It has a menacing look to it. I could see it in a horror film being the car which randomly turns its headlights on and vrooms the engine despite no one being in the car. And there is just something about it that tells me it has a British accent, just because all villains are British right? 

Now hopefully this doesn't distract, or potentially creep, you out when you're out driving. We don't need anymore distractions when we're out driving, save it for when you're the passenger in the backseat of a car.

#1 Right Where You Are Sitting

1. I can smell my mom baking banana bread in the kitchen.
2. Jake, the Miniature Dachshund, is perched on the the shoulder of the couch to my right. He has his new armadillo toy and is laying on his favorite blanket.
3.There are approximately 16 different pictures of myself hung around the living room (I am an only child).
4. I can see 7 different pieces of art that my dad's mother created when she was alive.
5. The couch I am sitting on has tons of little raised bumps from cat and dog claws scraping across the patterns stitched on the fabric.
6.There is a tiny amount of dust on the TV stand that is visible from where I am sitting. It almost looks like someone drew a swirly pattern in it with their finger.
7. The cast iron legs of my mom's antique sowing machine have an interesting flower-like pattern on them (The artist must have been feeling pretty funky), They almost look like upside down tulips.
8. My dad is on a latter outside the front porch window. I believe that he cleaning leaves out of the rain gutters.
9.There is a single nail all by itself in the middle of the archway that separates the entry room from the dining room (It looks so lonely).
10. One of the three light bulbs in the living room ceiling fan is clear and the other two are cloudy white.

Exploration #15

Record everything you consume or everything you purchase in one day.

1 November 2014

Chai tea. Starting my day out right with a glass of tea. This crap is awesome. It's also my breakfast.

Chicken enchilada zucchini. It's obvious that I'm at home today, because I'm eating one of my mom's exotic recipes. The filling was delicious, but it tasted a little weird with the squash. I dug it out and ate the two separately. The textures just didn't feel right together.

Caramel coffee and milk. I wanted a caffeine boost to help me through the day. I spent it all editing the final draft of my friend's novel and my eyes were starting to glaze over.

Pot stickers. I LOVE POT STICKERS. Or "gyoza", as they're also called.

Probably 6 glasses of water. I had to use the toilet so many times. Seriously. At least three during one hour.

Two ham salad sandwiches. Contents: salad + croissants. Croissants are terrible for you. Ham salad's not that good either. But I'll be damned if I ever turn down one of my mother's delicious ham salad sandwiches... It's worth it to eat these every once in a while!

A can of ginger ale. This is the only type of soda I can stomach anymore. It's so yummy.

Small Thoughts

This is exploration #20 found on page 69 of our textbook.

After recording my thoughts this week, I realized that I am way more stressed than what I originally thought. For some reason, I usually don’t know how stressed I am until everything is back to being normal. But, by recording my thoughts, I can see how stressed I have been. I know the root of the stress – homework. Now, I need to figure out how to lessen the stress, without lessening my time working on homework. Suggestions? What do you do to lessen your own stress?

Monday:
I’m so tired. I really should not have stayed up so late.
Class isn’t for a while. I should take a nap.
I really should take a nap.
Seriously, I should get off my computer and get a little shut eye.
I guess not. Almost time for class. Maybe after class I’ll take a nap.
Nope. So much homework.
Work work work.

Tuesday:
Holy crap, work! I have so much to do this week. It’s insane.

I’m going to die.
This homework will get the best of me. And I’ll die.
Stress stress stress.
How does one handle stress?
No time for food, only time for homework.
I can’t do this.
No, don’t say that. I can do this.
No I can’t.
It might be really late at night, BUT I DID IT. Finished one project.
12 gazillion more projects to go.
Sleep is seriously underrated.

Wednesday:
I don’t want to get out of bed.
Must stay here forever.
Whose alarm is that, and why can’t they ever turn it off? Seriously, it goes off for at least 20 minutes every morning.

I was feeling good last night when I finished my project, what happened?
I want a Twinkie.

Thursday:
Yet again another day where there is no time for anything but homework.
I just want to go home.
And cry. I just want to cry.

Friday:
I just have to get through today.
I can do it.
But I still have so much homework due yet this weekend.
I can’t do it.
Help.
Help.
Help.

Exploration 49 Alternate

Several words that I find interesting and why:

Milieu- This is going to be the first of several that just sound good or are fun to say because they seem to delight the mouth; a sweetness of language perhaps.
Bazooka- Another fun word just to say.
Juxtaposition- I honestly have no idea what this word means but Professor Kaustav used it all the time and I always thought it was an interesting word.

On a more personal note the following words inspire me in many ways:

Champion- My father drilled this term and its lifestyle into my head for decades. I say lifestyle because he had said that Champion isn't just a title but a way of life in that, to be a Champion you must act and perform like one at all times, both on and off the ice.
Chaos-This word to me is the absolute of uncertainty because it doesn't mean anything because it has no good definition without using the word itself. It is also so fascinating because my imagination is filled with scenes of total chaos. (so i think...)
Serenity- This is my word for inner peace and tranquility that binds me to my relaxed state of mind.

#49 Found Words Alternate

“Collect words you find interesting.”

Aloof (adj.) not friendly or forthcoming

Autochthonous (adj.) indigenous

Decimate (v.) to kill, destroy, or remove one tenth of

Defenestrate (v.) the act of throwing someone or something out of a window

Effervescent (adj.) giving off bubbles; fizzy

Felicity (n.) intense happiness

Frippery (n.) showy or unnecessary ornament

Lugubrious (adj.) looking or sounding sad and dismal

Parallelogram (n.) a four-sided plane rectilinear figure with opposite sides parallel

Prestidigitation (n.) magic tricks performed as entertainment

Ragamuffin (n.) a person, typically a child, in ragged, dirty clothes

Sojourn (n.) a temporary stay

Splendiferous (adj.) splendid

Surreptitious (adj.) kept secret, especially because it would not be approved of

Sylph (n.) an imaginary spirit of the air

Zephyr (n.) a soft gentle breeze

Alternate #45

“Choose one specific aspect of your existence to document.”

I chose to document how many steps I take on a daily basis.

35 steps around my room in the morning

36 steps to the bathroom

23 steps back

67 more steps around my room

63 steps out to my car

143 steps from my car to my class in Beadle

214 steps to the TC

(There’s a stretch here where I was forced to converse and thus sadly lost count.)

757 steps from Beadle back to my car (the long way around)

68 steps back to my room

5 steps around my bedroom

41 steps downstairs and back to see if the bathroom was open (it wasn't)

58 steps roundtrip from my room to the bathroom

64 steps to my car again

193 steps to my class in Beadle

210 steps to my car again

60 steps into my house

8 more steps, then 25, then 50, then 76

Grand total: 4392+ steps

I did a little research and found that the average U.S. adult walks about 5,900 steps daily. It’s clear to me that I didn't get out enough that day.

Doodle Story - Inspired by exploration #27

It's been said that retention rate goes up in people who doodle at meetings, in class, etc. I am one of those students who doodle in class, especially in those morning classes that can be a struggle to pay attention in. The preoccupation keeps my mind awake, make it easier to find what day I wrote what notes and even remember the class as a whole, but lately I've been wondering if my subconscious has been creating symbols for a story with simple doodles. So I took a look at one of my recent sets of doodles to see what it would tell me.

So on a quick look it's clear that I'm inspired, on this particular morning, by Halloween and the stars. But a story can be seen from this I personally only get a rough outline from this particular set, but maybe it'll develop itself in later days.

I see story that involves a play in it, I see it with the string attached to the moon and the clock tells me that everything is in chaos leading up to this play. As for what is the exact cause of chaos I'm not sure yet, to draw from my past experience as someone who worked as production crew I would say that the actors are not ready by any means. The magic broom and shooting star tell me that maybe this play was written and directed by the high school drama teacher and they chose to create a mash-up of both Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth.

It's not much of a story right now, but in the future it might start to develop itself and turn into a short story about the real drama in the drama department.

Exploration #49 Alternate

Found Words

Collect words you find interesting.

Pickle. Abscond. Crumb. Sharp.

I like the way that these words feel when I say them. Especially "pickle". Words that have "p"s and "k"s in them are my favourites to say.

Serendipitous. Aphrodisiac. Defenestration.

The way that these words sound has always interested me. They're so different than other words. They have a pleasant flow to them. I'm glad that I don't hear them very much. The last one has a unique meaning-I was surprised when I learnt that it was a word!

Gadzookery. Paludal. Malarkey. Latria.

These words fall under the category "I CAN'T BELIEVE THESE ARE WORDS!" They're peculiar and fun to use when speaking to unsuspecting civilians.

Maggotorium.

I'm just happy that this word exists, though I'm a little disgusted at how many maggots are killed for sport on a daily basis. 'Twould be a rough life, to live as a maggot.

#49 Found Words: Alternate

Arcane - (adj.) obscure, secret, known only by a few. 

Bane - (n.) Cause of great distress or annoyance.

Consciousness - (n.) The state of being awake and aware of one's surroundings. 

Divine - (adj.) Of, from, or like God or a god.

Empathy - (n.) Sensitivity to another's feelings as if they were one's own.

Faith - (n.) Complete trust or confidence in someone or something. 

Guile - (n.) Sly or cunning intelligence.

Hubris - (n.) Excessive pride or self-confidence.

Illusion - (n.) A thing that is or is likely to be wrongly perceived or interpreted by the senses.


Juxtapose - (v.) Place or deal with close together for contrasting effect.

Karma - (n.) The sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.

Lucid - (adj.) Expressed clearly; easy to understand.

Multiverse - (n.) An infinite realm of being or potential being of which the universe is regarded as a part or instance.

Neuron - (n.) A specialized cell transmitting nerve impulses.

Omniscient - (adj.) Knowing everything.

Paradox - (n.) A statement or proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory.

Quintessence - (n.) The most perfect or typical example of quality or class.

Reincarnation - (n.) The rebirth of a soul in a new body.

Synchronicity - (n.) The simultaneous occurrence of events that appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection.

Transcendence - (n.) Existence or experience beyond the normal physical level.

Unify - (v.) Make or become united, uniform, or whole.

Visceral - (adj.) Relating to deep inward feelings rather than to the intellect.

Wrath - (n.) Extreme anger.

Xylem - (n.) The vascular tissue in plants that conducts water and dissolved nutrients upward from the root and also helps to form the woody element in the stem.

Yoga - (n.) A Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline, a part of which, including breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures, is widely practiced for health and relaxation.

Zenith - (n.) The highest point, culminating point.

Consumer

Exploration #15

"Record everything you consume or everything you purchase in one day/week."

October 25, 2014

Consumed:

1 16 oz. Chai from Mochavino

1 Totinos Hamburger Party Pizza

24 oz. Water

6 oz . Cranberry Grape Juice

17 oz. Pineapple Coconut Ice

8 Chicken Nuggets

6 oz. Chocolate Milk

Small bowl of Chocolate Cupcake Ice Cream

Ex 10

Document your observations of a single item in terms of top and bottom half: Left Foot Slipper.
I see the binding, which is a cross stitch that navigates the fore-foot, near the inner sole has come undone. This is the first and most obvious protrusion of the top half of the slipper. A lace hole or eye-lit has come off however the lace still runs through the middle so it can only travel the inch of space along the lace. I can tell that I have worn these slippers for a long period of time because there is a indentation where the heel would go in the bottom of the inner portion of the shoe. I double knot every shoe, this is no exception.
Looking at the bottom of the shoe, I recognize that I put a lot of my weight towards the fore-front of my feet because of the darkened wearing of the gel-like sole. I can also tell that I drag my feet occasionally because the very anterior lining by the heel is worn, although not as worn as the previously mentioned fore-front. I wear an "M12" indicated by the small circle at the center of the sole.  

Your Favorite Street

This is exploration #21 found on page 70 of our textbook.

Roads. They’re not always just a slab of concrete or packed in gravel. Roads can mean things to certain people. And, they can hold memories. My favorite road is the Pacific Coast Highway in California. It is the most beautiful place on Earth, and the memory of it makes me feel happiness and peace.

What does your favorite road mean to you?

Exploration #50

For this exploration I documented every smell that I encountered on my walk around the neighborhood. This exploration focuses on the collections I can observe based on my surroundings.
I moved into my neighborhood about a month ago and I had yet to walk throughout my new town. I ventured out with my family to a park that is five minutes away from my town home. The park overlooks a beautiful lake. The lake had a strong lake smell. Yes I know that is an broad description but the smell is to me a universal water scent. Again that is not very descriptive. What I am trying to say is that the lake smelled like fish and birds but not in a gross way....at this point I don't think I can sell you on coming out to the lake with me.
The trees smelled like maple. Maybe its because it is fall but I swear I could smell apples and pumpkins. Maybe other tenants were making early preparations for Thanksgiving. I love this time of year because it is still warm enough to enjoy the outdoors. While on my walk I encountered children playing with their puppies. It was a cute sight but when the dogs and kids worked up a sweat their was a mixture of wet dog and salt water.
After my walk I enjoyed being back home to the smell of Lavender that permeated throughout my home from my scentsy jar. Upon arriving to my home I realized that I needed to create a more fall-like ambiance so I sought out a cinnamon scent and with a pumpkin cupcake in hand I enjoyed the indoors.

Exploration #36

Capture the hidden life of inanimate objects you find out in the world. What do they do when there are no people around? Track their activities and social interactions. You may have to go undercover for this operation.

My old friend, Socrates, in his rightful place on my bookshelf.

Socrates has been decorating my shelf for a long time now. I found him in some store (I don't remember which) when I was perusing the clearance section with my mother. I remember remarking on how surprisingly soft he was. He's a bit of an odd knick-knack, and I admit I'm drawn to things like that. My mother presented him to me a week later as part of my Christmas present.

Normally, he's a very quite and still owl, so I didn't expect to learn much during my stake out. Little did I know the mischief he gets up to!

When seemingly unobserved, Socrates partakes in a variety of acts. He read what books he managed to open (those wings aren't very handy things to work with) and spent some time educating the rest of my knick-knacks. He asked many questions, which led to some very thought-provoking responses. When he wasn't attempting to obtain more knowledge, he entertained himself (and others) with rousing games of poker and black jack. I never took him for a card player-much less a gambler-so these two activities surprised me greatly.

He also drank all of my grape juice! What rotten luck! I very nearly blew my cover, but stayed silent for fear of causing an uproar. He did stain his lovely white feathers with a touch of purple. I suppose I can find justice in that.

#37 Time Observation

I have been sitting here in this very spot for around 37 book titles. That can be translated to about half a thermos of hot coffee or more precisely twelve strokes of the beard. Some people may say that it would be closer to four and a half commercial breaks that I've been sitting here. To those people, I say they are mistaken because it truly has been only one bad idea and a quick nap since I first sat down. If they had said I had been sitting for around two position changes on the couch, I might be more inclined to agree. I certainly have not been here for longer than two sneezes, but who can tell at this point. It feels like I've been here for several bathroom breaks...

Escape of the Pens - Exploration #36

I have begun to notice something peculiar about the items upon my desk. They are just small changes, but I can see a new angle of my lamp, the added tilt in on of my photographs, and the missing pen from my utensil box. I've begun to wonder if they are conspiring against me. Pens have been disappearing from my small box of writing utensils, and I've begun to wonder why. No one enters my room so it's obvious no one is taking them by force.

So I've begun to wonder, are the images of the people reflected in my photographs acting as eyes and ears to signal the red pens when the coast is clear to evacuate the premise? Maybe the lamp is lighting the pathway for those early mornings when the sun can't quite peak in through the blinds.

But then I caught them one day!

My schedule had deviated from it's normal routine due to a cancellation. I had opened up my door and felt a small crunch under my foot. My eyes glanced down and I moved my foot from the obstacle. Surprise, surprise! There was one of my red pens. I knew something had to be up when a 25 pack of red pens had reduced itself down to 5 under the course of a single semester.

My gaze wandered further up and I could see anxiousness from my black lamp. It quickly hobbled into it's previous position and turned away. Ha, like I couldn't hear that ruckus.

So as a tip to all of you, if you're missing pens and there is 0 probable cause for them to have gone missing the truth is they might be trying to runaway from you.

A Post About Weddings Because I Ran Out of Time

This week, I was going to do the exploration that required you to create a survey and then create an infograph based on the results of your survey. However, I found myself unable to do this because my uncle got married this weekend, and I was lucky enough to be a bridesmaid in the wedding.

Friday night was the rehearsal dinner. From the moment I got home until the time the dinner started, I  was busy. I ran around with my grandma buying a glue gun and glue sticks, flowers, wreaths, and anything else we could think to use as decorations. I helped babysit and preoccupy my three year old cousin, who had several meltdowns throughout the day (he had a tantrum and was put in time out, he missed part of his movie - we were over halfway through - and wanted to start it over, he had boogers on his nose from crying, we finished emptying bags of potatoes). I helped set up tables and decorations for the rehearsal dinner. At the end of the day, rehearsing for the wedding only took about 15 minutes, and having dinner and cleaning up after everyone at the end consumed the rest of my night.

Saturday, I was up at 6 to shower and meet the rest of the girls in the bridal party so that we could get our hair done. I sat in the salon and ate breakfast while I waited for my turn to get my hair curled by the assistant, who just happened to be the mother of someone I graduated from high school with. During the 30-45 minutes it took for me to get my hair curled, we talked about college roommates, her son, American Horror Story, how horribly I used to treat my hair, how much hair I actually have (answer, a lot), and DSU.

By the time my hair was (finally) curled, it was only 10 o'clock, but everyone was a bit frazzled because we had to be at the church by 11:30, and there were still four girls who had to have their hair styled (including me - the curling process was only part 1 of two parts we all had to go through for our hairstyles). While the others were panicking, I did my makeup at an empty station and then started looking up hair styles on my handy-dandy Hair Styles Pinterest board.

Once everyone had their hair done, we all piled into cars to go to the church. At the church, we were led into a room far enough away from the boys that we could wander around without worrying about Serena - the bride - being seen by Kyle - the groom.

The next couple of hours are sort of a blur. We got dressed, switched into our wedding shoes, and took pictures. So many pictures. And let me tell ya, there's only so long I can fake a smile before I start to feel like I'm grimacing at a camera. Pictures took at least three hours, and then we had to go shoot some footage for the wedding video, which (thankfully) only took about fifteen minutes. By the time we were done with pictures and videos, our bouquets were looking a little wilt-y, so we put them in water and headed back into our room to wait because it was almost time - it was just before three and the wedding was due to start in half an hour.

Kyle, Serena, &Logan just before pictures

Serena sat down in a folding chair to cool off, and had just rubbed at her nose when disaster and panic struck - her nose started to bleed. Looking back, I should have grabbed the box of Kleenex that was on the other side of the table, I really should have. But in that moment, all I could find it in me to do was shriek and stare in shock. Serena quickly held her hand under her nose to stop the blood from getting onto her dress, and her mother, Shala, and sisters, Sam and Stacy, rushed to offer her toilet paper and Kleenexes. With the help of the personal assistants and her Maids of Honor, Serena wiggled out of her dress and made a beeline for the bathroom. I found a hanger and hung the dress so it wouldn't wrinkle while I waited for them to come back into the room. Not five minutes later, Serena came back in, followed by Shala, Sam, and Stacy, and they helped her reapply her makeup - all while she needlessly apologized over and over again for crying.

After we'd all settled down and Serena looked gorgeous as ever, we made our way to the doors to wait for our entrance. Again, what happened next kind of slips my mind. I was just so focused on walking down the aisle without tripping over my dress, or walking too quickly. Vows were said, tears were shed, and before I knew it, we were getting on the bus for the reception.

Before we got to the reception, however, we stopped at the Outdoor Campus for more pictures - because we hadn't already taken at least 100, right?

I thought I could probably make it through the whole night without tripping. But I was wrong. As we were making our entrance into the reception, I totally somehow missed the fact that there was a giant step right in front of me, and as I was doing the Carlton, I felt myself step right onto thin air and for a second I thought to myself, this is it, this is how I die. Not really, but I did panic for a half second before my foot finally connected with the ground. The food was fantastic, Stacy made a cute slideshow with pictures of both Kyle and Serena growing up, including family photos (two of which I was in, but no big deal or anything (coughcough)), and I actually got up and danced like an idiot in front of a room full of strangers and my new family.

Bonus picture of my cousin cause he's a cutie    

If I could go back to Saturday, I totally would, except now my ankles are super swollen and when I woke up today my hair was a disaster. So maybe I'd cut those parts out.

Exploration #2: Experience Collection

For my blog post, I wanted to talk about my experience when I went to the play, Oliver. I work at ECCO and decided today that I wanted to take one of my people supported to the play. He is a huge fan of musicals and I knew he would enjoy it. I've never been to a DSU play so I was able to notice many new things. The first thing I saw was people. When I got there, the doors into the theater wasn't open yet so there was a huge line of people in the lobby of the playhouse. When the doors did open, I noticed some of the children that were playing orphans in the musical were standing by the doors holding out hats for donations. I found that sightly humorous and wondered if they made the kids do that on purpose. When I stepped into the theater, I realized that it was much bigger than I expected it to be. It was really nice and the set for the play was great! During the play, I noticed how well the actors knew there stuff because they were always on time with the music, they played their emotions to their character perfectly, and they knew where they were supposed to go during a scene change. Leaving the theater, I noticed everyone being in a happy and impressed mood after seeing the play.

Time Observation

The exploration I chose is located on page 103 in the book.- "Come up with several ways of documenting the passage of time based on where you are sitting."
The purpose of this exercise is think think creatively about what determines a certain time. A clock tells the exact time, yet universal actions can determine time as well.
I knew it was around five o'clock from where I was sitting based off the sounds I heard. My cat, Callie was eating from her bowl which is usually done around dinnertime. Outside my town home in the front I could hear cars pulling into their drive way one after another is succession. When I looked out my backyard I could see a young boy with his two puppies. Everyday he takes them out to play. Without sight I can tell that it is around five because everyday the boy plays with his dogs and loves to scream "Morgan!" at the top of his lungs...it often times reminds me that I need to wake up from my nap if I have accidentally fallen asleep.
When my phone chimes I know its around dinner time because my mother always offers to make me dinner.
I hadn't quite realized that without looking at a clock I could gauge about what time it is in the day. Constantly I hear outside cues that reiterate the time and it wasn't until I sat down to write this that I live in a routine that is dictated by the noises around me. If I did not hear the boy playing outside would I know that it is dinner time? Three clocks hang in my home and although they make a chiming noise of their own, outside noises are really what keep me in check.

#1 Right Where You Are Sitting

“Write ten things about where you are sitting right now that you hadn't noticed when you sat down.”

I’m sitting in my bedroom, where I've lived the past two months or so. I'm very familiar with the place by now, but when I started noticing new things about it I couldn't stop.

1. I think there’s dried glue in various places all over the walls of this room, it’s yellowed and thick and looks as if it’s dripped down in places. It’s not pretty.
2. There’s a crack in the ceiling leading from the closet right up to the light fixture.
3. The sunlight creeps all the way to my bed when the sun is high in the early afternoon. Usually I don’t get so much light.
4. The towel my roommate left here weeks ago is the pales green I've ever seen. It’s almost a washed out gray but not quite.
5. My floor ought to be vacuumed. I just found an earring on the floor; that shouldn't be vacuumed. There are also the tiny scraps from the edges of paper torn from a ringed notebook in the corner.
6. It faintly smells like something burned in the microwave.
7. I can hear my roommate’s computer purring in the next room.
8. I have incredibly tall baseboards. They’re like— let me measure— ten inches tall! Sheesh!
9. One of my sticky notes fell off the wall. It’s orange, and I think it has a grocery list on it.
10.  My smoke detector still doesn't light up. I even just put in new batteries. Why haven’t I stared at this thing since changing them? It’s definitely broken.

People Watching

This is exploration #22 and can be found on page 73 of our textbook.

Have you ever wondered what seating arrangements can reveal about people? For this exploration, I took the time to study just that. Here is what I found:

This is a “map” of the Trojan Center cafeteria area. You know, the Market Place, with all the booths and tables? This is an aerial view of the area. The left side is the wall of windows. The right side is all booths. The top is the entrance to the Spectrum Lounge, and the bottom is the entrance to the FOOD! The star shape in the upper left is where I was sitting. It represents me. Not because I’m a star, but because it’s a different symbol to show where I am! Circles represent females, and squares represent males. The different colors show what color of (as close as I could replicate) shirts the people were wearing. Got it? Good. Let’s analyze.

First, observations:

There were 11 females in the area, including me. There were two girls wearing the same color shirt, but they were not near each other. Most girls were grouped together. At my table, there was one other girl and also another girl at the next table over who was conversing with us. There was a group of four girls in the corner, and two girls more in the middle of the room. Only one girl was sitting alone, presumably working on homework. There was also a girl in the booths but was not alone and instead with her boyfriend.

There were nine men in the room. One guy was wearing the same color as me. Some other guys had similar or possibly same colored shirts, but not next to each other. All men were collected together in groups or at least one other person.

No distinct patterns have presented themselves. Or have they? From the look of this map, it looks like, when given the choice, people like to sit across from each other and not next to each other. Is this because it’s awkward to sit next to the other person, or they want to look at each other while talking and not have to turn their heads, or is it because they want to people watch in different directions? There could be a million different answers.

There is one pattern observed here that might seem stereotypical. At the corner I sat, everyone (except me) played video or card games, even while sitting there at the table. The people in the bottom left corner wore athletic clothing and were mostly cheerleaders, softball, basketball, and volleyball players. The people in the bottom right corner seemed to be louder than everyone else. And the people in the top right were quiet and sat in peace while eating and working on homework.

So, it can be said that our Trojan Center was pretty diverse but separated. Everyone seemed to sit in their respective corners. Where people sat in the room defined what the person does/likes. It’s not a stereotype, it’s an observation.

I say that we should break out of our corners! College is the only time we are able to meet so many different people with different backgrounds and learn who to better communicate. Communication is something that we can carry through our entire life. For any job, it’s a necessity. So, break out, and don’t let the Trojan Center fit these stereotypes.

Sound Map

Exploration #14

“Sit in a location for one hour. Document all the sounds you can hear and the times you heard them. Mark the approximate location of the sounds in relation to you.”

Location: My cousin’s dining room

Sounds:

9:34 PM -I can hear the faint sounds of the radio playing in the living room. One of the local oldies stations is on and at the moment the Hollies are on.

9:41 PM – I can hear Austin folding laundry in the living room.

9:53 PM – The radio has been turned off. There is silence in the living room.

9:55 PM – The Wii has been turned on. I can hear the chimes from the Wii program.

9:56 PM –The internet isn’t working so the Wii has been turned off and the radio is on again.

10:00 PM – The bird from the cuckoo clock just came out and chimed in the hour.

10:01 PM –Austin and Nathan are having a discussion about cooking eggs on a glass skillet. They both dislike the glass skillet and they both burned the eggs they cooked on the skillet.

10:02 PM –I hear my own voice as I enter the conversation.

10:05 PM – Now Austin and Nathan are discussing a lost bowl.

10:12 PM – The cuckoo clock in the living room is ticking.

10:14 PM – Nathan’s foot is tapping on the floor.

10:17 PM –Austin is shuffling through a sewing kit.

10:23 PM –Austin is winding the cuckoo clock.

10:25 PM –The floor creaked in the dining room.

10:26 PM –The chair that Nathan is sitting in creaked as he moved.

10:29 PM –I can hear scissors cutting through material.

10:33 PM –The fan is whirring above me.

Exploration #36: The Truth about Jane Dear

When my grandma was moved to a nursing home, Jane needed a new home. We agreed to be roommates and I just knew it would be great.  We'd known each other since I was little and I thought she was fabulous with her feathered hat and her Victorian style dress. And I was hoping she could teach me how to get my hair so curly!

It was great, at first. But, suddenly things changed. She never left the apartment and stood staring out the balcony door all the time.

 She got lazy and threw blankets and pillows everywhere. She refused to help clean.

She also started cutting up my jeans, telling me they were improper for a lady.

We came to the conclusion that this wasn't working anymore. We sat down one day to discuss a plan of action, I told her we needed a roommate agreement that we were both satisfied with or she'd have to go. Unfortunately for me, Jane is pretty persuasive. Our roommate agreement now reads:

I, Brittany , and I, Jane, do agree to be roommates for the rest of our lives to honor Brittany's Great Grandmother's request. While doing so, we agree that Brittany will do the house work, pay rent, and deal with any other requests of her roommate. Jane will be allowed to do as she wishes, with the exception of destroying her roommates clothing.

The Customer is Always Right

After seeing the movie Erasing David and seeing all the information that just Amazon had on him was amazing. In my eyes, it’s showing that they cared about what David was interested in and that they were organized because they kept records of the purchases he has made. 

Thinking of my own purchases on Amazon, and other sites that save similar data like Ebay or Netflix, places where I have bought things or used their services, it makes me feel secure knowing that that information is saved somewhere because if I’m ever needing that information then I know exactly who to contact. 

Thinking about these types of sites and the databases they create, I often compare it to how as a waitress I create similar databases. Throughout the week, I often see the same faces coming in and ordering the same things. Because these people come in so often we call them our “Regulars”. I keep a mental database of who they are, who they normally sit with and what they normally order.  

When my “regulars” come in and I go right to get their drinks, they feel special because I remembered them and what they like. This makes them feel welcomed and cared about as a customer. This idea has been going on for a long time in restaurants and other places of business because they want their customers to feel like they matter so that they will return and also so they will spread the word about the service they got with that business. Comparing this face to face action to how websites use their databases, I can understand why Amazon or Netflix would keep so much information about the users of their site. They want their users to feel welcomed and cared about as customers by making their site specifically reflect what that user wants.

These sites also go the extra mile by suggesting things that the customer might like based on other things they have bought or used through that site. I think this is really neat because as a user I love seeing what else is available when it comes to similar products to what I have just bought or seen. 

I don’t find a big problem with these sites having information about me as long as they are not abusing this information. By suggesting products that are similar to what I have already bought or used is not something that I would put under the category of abuse.