I Can't Even

Professor: "It's like a shotgun wedding!"
TA: "If that were the case that would mean you impregnated Mckenzie Wark."
Me: "Since we're using that analogy, I guess have cold feet!"

This is a real conversation that happened on Friday before class, and I'm convinced that day wasn't even real.

The day began with a test. Then it got weird. So I knew that I was supposed to interview an academic author (Wark, author of Hacker Manifest amongst other things) for a paper I'm writing in my IT and Society class. After I had put together questions,  I went to check them with my TA. After discussion them with him, I asked "so when is this interview taking place?" "2:15"
That's during class. My interview was supposed to be in front of the entire, 60 student class. Not only in front, but it was going to be the entire class.

Cool.

Also, I forgot to mention that I tweeted a quote of the author the previous night, and he somehow found it and retweeted. And then someone else retweeted my quote and the author retweeted that too. He didn't know that it was me that was supposed to be interviewing him though, he just knew that someone from RPI was.

So, nervously, we awaited for Wark to connect to skype. That's when my interview was compared to a shotgun wedding. He never connected. One of my TA's for the class had set it up, and wasn't able to contact him at all. Later, I tweeted at the academic and then this happened:

This was not my intention. However, oddly effective. 

This is why Friday wasn't real. 

April the 13th

[My entire life has been consumed with leading this CANstruction team at school, where we fund raise and then buy cans that we build a sculpture with, so that all of them are donated afterwards. I'm glad this years competition is over because it was far too much work, but I'm glad we were awarded a Structural Ingenuity award!]

Anyways.

The sun is out, and student drive to do work is not.

It's really hard to not take advantage of the weather here when it gets nice, because for the last 6 months the temperature has been below freezing. During that freeze, none of want to leave whatever building we may be in since that would require us to leave the (relative) comfort of the indoor and trek into the tundra that we call Troy, NY.

In the spirit of nice weather, I will be drinking ALL THE ICED COFFEE. Seriously, I have insane cravings for it as soon as its nice enough ti slip into my boat shoes.

I will also start exercising again. Like, I have been much too lazy because, once again no one likes to go running when the ground is covered in snow. But I finally went today and it was not as glorious as I was hoping it would be. Like, damn I am out of shape.

But afterwords I made these quinoa burrito bowls and those, were in fact, glorious. I recommend making them if you like... good food.

Now, as I sip on my iced coffee and listen to Fitz and the Tantrums for the umpteenth time, it's time to get back to work!

L'imagination prend le pouvoir

I still have two years of college after this one and I'm already fed up with the culture of college education.

Students are  dedicating copious amounts of money to get taught one thing and assigned another, and all we do is follow the direction of some old guy who knows more that we ever will. This isn't true in all cases, but for most, yeah this stereotype is all too real. Why do we painstakingly trudge through all of the papers and projects? Why has education become rationalized to the filled in bubbles on a multiple choice test? We need reality. We need experience. Instead we're being drug through years, and years, and more years of schooling and rarely there is a way around it.

Now, I really shouldn't be complaining; I have great professors who actually want to cater to interests that their students have. Some of the work I actually thoroughly enjoy, while the rest is carelessly rushed through. But for me this isn't about the content - there are so many options in this modern age of education that you can take a class on anything you find interesting. (Anyone want to take a class about Beyonce? Miley?)
It's about the quantity/quality of the work that irks me. It's the fact that we feel the need to prioritize schoolwork over social life, physical health, mental health, sleep, relationships, etc. Is this what I have to look forward to upon graduation too?

Maybe it's just this generation, but I want to go places. Not just in the form of travel (because lets face it I do love to travel) but also in life, make something of myself. Isn't that the dream? But this makes us sound naive. Yes, call us spoiled, because to be honest you're right. Since after the great depression families that "made it" really did make it. Rise of the middle class, babe. We definitely take it for granted.* It's very real and it's very different growing up contemporarily and experiencing the world that our parents did, not that many years before.

If we're the generation that is supposed to cure all of the worlds woes, let us. But whatever is going on right now is just teaching us what is wrong with the world; I guess we all need to teach each other how to fix it.

Power to the imagination.

This has been an unprecedented rant.

*shout out to all the parents out their that support your kid, because I know they don't get the credit they deserve. I'm going to make a point of appreciating what those people that created me are helping me with

The HOTTEST of messes

an example of my collage-ing

Last week was so disorienting.

It all started by the fact that one of my Monday classes was moved to Thursday and that one of my Tuesday classes were cancelled. That and I was running a fundraiser every day this week.
In general the front of my weeks are loaded; the most work is due in the first three days and then dwindle off until the weekend I have to pick it up again.

Wednesday our school hosts this huge career fair that is geared towards the engineering students, and a lot of them find jobs there. This year there were two companies that work in tandem with architects so I planned on seeing what they are all about.
Wednesday I was a mess. That morning I had gotten up early to print out resumes and put together portfolios to hand out. While I was doing that I noticed a bunch of paper cuts on my hands, mainly due to the fact that in studio we are making collages (this comes into play later). I was supposed to mail something that morning but had left it at home. Good start. I managed to finish my portfolios right as the fair started so I bundled up and headed over to it. When I arrive, I fail to notice that my gloves had opened some of the wounds on my hand and I was bleeding. I meet with the first company, talk, it seems to go well, I go to hand him my resume and portfolio and notice my finger has a substantial amount of blood on it. There are also blood spots on the backs of one of my copies of each document I brought. I hand this guy the clean documents. The other firm... lets just say I hope they thought it was coffee. Then hurriedly I go to my apartment, change, grab the package I needed to mail, and headed back to campus where I was supposed to be running a fundraiser for the past 20 minutes but clearly wasn't.
Thursday I was late for my first college class ever.
Friday it snowed a bunch and campus was closed until noon but NOPE our professor was like "yeah, no we're having class at 10."

Now its a three day weekend and there is three weeks until spring break and I just want to not have to wear a million layers and a hat and scarf and gloves every day.

Is that too much to ask?

So far, so good

February always creeps around, sooner than we all expect it to. It's hard to believe we're in our third week of school and that spring break is in a month, but you know what - so far so good. Even though I have a large course load I actually enjoy all of my classes. I'm taking Building System Environments (a course where we learn how to properly design the mechanical systems in buildings such as lighting, heating, cooling, etc.) Cities and Lands (where we learn about the history and theory of urban planning)  Information Technology and Society (that discusses the role of IT in society, I'm taking as part of my sociology minor) and Materials and Enclosures (where we learn how to create construction documents for facade construction).

All of that, and my studio course, which is going to be interesting. We're doing a study on a specific film (I have North By Northwest, a Hitchcock film) and recreating a building in the movie only from the shots we see. After perfecting that and doing a few other things we're going to design a building for a movie festival viewing at a site in Brooklyn. I highly recommend the movie, and don't be put off that it's over two hours long and from 1959. It's really entertaining.

But other than that, not much else has gone on. We had a snow day today which resulted in sledding fun and hot cocoa, and time to catch up on homework. Time to get back to work, just thought I'd procrastinate a little.

Winter Breaked

That was, like, a really. Long. Break.

This winter was the first year that I did not have to return to school before the new year to go on a training trip with the swim team to Puerto Rico. Instead, I enjoyed my time at home, and used it to get some things done.

Read
Happy City; Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design - Charles Montgomery
You Better Not Cry - Augusten Burroughs
LEED Practices, Certification, and Accreditation Handbook - Sam Kubba

Watched
Amelie, American Horror Story (TV), American Psycho, Ceremony, C.O.G., Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, A Girl Walks into a Bar, Lars and the Real Girl, Red 2, Someday this Pain Will be Useful for You, Submarine, Syrup, The Sixth Sense

Drank
Coffee, Red Wine, IPA's, Mojitos

Did
Redesigned my website, made a LinkedIn account, updated my resume and portfolio, became a LEED Green Associate, opened an eBay account to sell my unworn clothes, began applying for internships, swam at an Alumni swim meet for my high school, had a job interview, went out to eat (a lot), watched Seahawk games, became a personal shopper for a friend, went on some runs, sent some emails, and a bunch of other things that really aren't that important but enjoyable nonetheless.

Tomorrow marks the first day of classes for the spring semester and I don't want to count my eggs before they hatch, but I think it should be a good one. The Seahawks made it to the Superbowl and it'll be a really good game. I already have plans for spring break to go to Arizona and then to San Diego. A lot my friends who were in Italy last semester are back now, and it will be good to see them again. I just need to stay motivated and on task!

2014: The Year of the Internship

This is the year that I take risks. I'll need to contact a mass exodus of strangers, acquaintances, friends, etc. that I want to work for and need to sell myself. Networking is key. I need to put myself "out there" more often, step outside the comfort zone.
See an opportunity?
No chance in hell it will go to you?
Wrong.
Try.
Fail?
Move on.
Succeed?
Work it.

This is the year that I don't procrastinate. I'm going to make - and constantly refresh- a list of things I can be doing instead of: facebook, tumblr, watching tv shows, and making excuses for myself*.
Lists are key. They will be a constant reminder of things to achieve.

This is the year that I exercise for me. No longer am I bound to something else that controls my body. I want to run, I want to eat healthy, I want to drink more water, and I want amazing abs because I hate the fact that I can feel what my lack of routine has done to my body.

This is the year of self-improvement, the year I immerse myself in culture. The year I say yes more than no. The year I watch more movies and documentaries, read more articles, visit more museums and experience what the world has to offer.
The year of spontaneity.
The year of innovation.
The year of inspiration.
The year I wear more black.
The year I learn new skills.

The year I apply what the past 21 years has been building up.

*blogging is acceptable