BRIGHT-EYED, BUSHWICK-TAILED

"You're basically Dan Humphrey" 

- Says anyone who bases their knowledge of New York City off of Gossip Girl when I tell them I've moved to Brooklyn. 

So yeah. Rewind. 

Wednesday I flew Seatac to Newark, took an airport bus to Grand Central Station where I (poorly) hailed a cab to take me to my new apartment in Brooklyn. There was absolutely no way I was going to try and maneuver the 4-5-6 subway during rush hour with 2 suitcases, a large duffel, a backpack and an umbrella. 

"This is place is brand new" I thought to myself when my landlord took me around our new apartment. So new in fact, that the stairs that go to the lower level of the unit weren't even finished. So new that the floors (and inside of the microwave and basically everything else in the building) was covered in dust from all the construction that had to happen. A month ago this unit didn't even have walls. Impressive, really. So new that no one had made sure that the deadbolt actually worked (which it didn't) leaving me slightly mortified, alone, in this new place I'm calling home for the next 5 months. Without a bed or wifi, I pulled out a sweater to use as a pillow and a scarf for a blanket and laid down on the hardwood floor to try and get some sleep. 

Thursday I took a train upstate to my old apartment to get all my bedding.

Saturday the queen-sized-"never-flat"-air-mattress arrived and I slept so, so well. 

"Wait but I thought you already lived in New York" 

- Says anyone who doesn't realize New York is actually a very, very large state and not just a very well known city. 

I did. Upstate. No, that's not the same as Uptown. How far? A three hour drive. 

No, I didn't graduate yet. No, I didn't drop out either. 

I'll be here. 

But that starts next week. 

Since I've been here I went to a bar near the East Village for an RPI Alumni of NYC hockey game watching party, where I caught up with friends who are living and working in the city after graduation. After our team won the game which I did not watch, we went to bareburger for post drink burgers and shakes. But in my neighborhood I've found the most hipster salad bar restaurant, and a cute coffee shop. 

Today I went to Mood (the fabric store where Project Runway contests shop on the show) with my friend Taylor who lives in the city and knows the store like the back of her hand. It was also the place I had my first "celebrity" sighting and apparently I get really starstruck, so that's something to work on. While we were there, I saw Sonja Williams who was in Season 10, but is currently on All Stars. After making awkward eye contact with her I didn't want to embarrass myself further to ask for a photo, so I didn't. 

Tomorrow, I'm meeting a professor (that I had my third year, and TA'd for last semester) at his office in the Brooklyn Navy Yard for lunch. Outside of teaching he's working on these really cool 3-D puzzles that he calls Lock-Nesters. 

I also get to see Natalie at some point this week! 

I'm liking this adventure so far. 

"RESOLUTIONS"

I'm typically not one to set resolutions, but since I failed to create a 23 before 23 list like I usually do for my birthdays I decided maybe resolutions can't be that bad. Honestly, these are things I've been wanting to implement into my own life for a while now but this is a good time to put it down in writing!

Eat less meat - During finals week I watched a whole lot of TED talks that discussed the food industry, and one speaker made a case for being a "weekday vegetarian". I think this is along the same lines that I would approach my eating habits. I already seem to have cut red meat out of my diet (except for the occasional burger) and in general want to eat healthier. I don't think I could give up meat altogether. Because bacon.

Stay in shape - Ever since I stopped swimming competitively I never really noticed a change in my body, but now here we are almost 2 years later and I'm realizing a lot of differences. I had done a decent job at working out (especially over the summer where I was in spectacular running shape) but this past semester it all fell apart. I lost 5 pounds in muscle mass. My lats went from being one of the largest muscles on my body are now completely non-existent. Time to fix that!

Learn a new skill - In the design field that is. Not like a new software, but an interesting and applicable trade like pattern making shirts or textile design or something along that line. In general, I do what I need to do to succeed, but very little beyond that. If I really want to have a unique perspective in the design world I must have something that makes me stand out.

Run a half-marathon - I basically did this last summer, but I want to sign up for a race and actually complete it. It will give me motivation to maintain healthy eating and working out habits.

Read more - For myself. I have so many books lying around that I want to read. School burnt out the passion I once had for reading by forcing me to consume books to be tested on. I want to re-learn my love for reading. Any recommendations?

2014: YEAR IN REVIEW

This year was a whirlwind.

There were a lot of unknowns, a lot of firsts, and a lot of different zip codes. But overall it was an eventful and productive year.






The very first thing I did in 2014 was to strive to be the best I could be in the upcoming year... and to get an internship. I had a lot of ambiguous adjectives and verbs which seemed very motivational, but that's not new. They did however get me into a great mindset for the year to come. For me, 2013 was half-terrible and half-okay so I was ready to have a much better year, and I think I did. I started off strong by being productive in my first month mostly because my winter break was painfully long. I was able to revamp my resume, portfolio, and website, become LEED certified, and managed to read a bit and watch some movies. Did I ever mention I also got another tattoo?

February comes and goes far too quickly, and it was relatively uneventful. I had a snow day and a good feeling about my courses in the spring semester. I also complained about being a hot mess, but that just means I was busy and if you know me well enough you probably know I'm terrible at multi-tasking and have to finish one task before I can even think about starting another.

I honestly can't recall exactly what I experienced, but I had one of many 'awakanings' this year in March when I realized all that is wrong with the education system today. At this time every year I have a tendency to feel a bit wanderlust, but this past year I began to understand that it has more to do with learning from the immediate world with an educated perspective, rather than blindly following that of another.

In April the frosty winter weather was finally lifted and I was able to enjoy the sun for a change. It also marked the building of the annual CANstruction, which I run for the School of Architecture. It was a fantastic year for our team, winning several awards and eventually was runner-up for International Community Favorite Award. I also joined twitter at some point this past spring (mostly because I wanted to see what Maggie was saying about me on the one social media platform I wasn't on) but it also led to some interesting conversations with social theorists who I was supposed to interview for a class. This was also another 'awakening' of sorts, in which I realized at some level humans are really all the same. I also realized that there were no needs for inhibitions when it comes to interactions with people on social media.

Up until the end of May I was applying for summer internships - I just really needed to get a job in the field of architecture. After contacting over 50 firms, I literally fell into a position... in Colorado.
Thus begins my adventure.

June brought about a lot of new experiences. I was in a new state, working a job pertinent to my schooling, and doing adult stuff. Once I finally got used to the area and stopped getting lost all the time, I really felt like less of a stranger to the area. But of course, I was, so I explored as much as I could. I tried to hit as many landmarks and cities as possible on my weekends off. I had another 'awakening' after seeing an 80's cover band  in regards to the magnitude of change that I had experienced in such a short amount of change. I really urge everyone to break out of their comfort zones and go somewhere new and do something different, if only to have the experience of it all. I also realized so much of the way I approached the experience was with the knowledge of only being there for a short period of time. This, I regret. Mainly because my (only) co-worker and his wife were really awesome and even though I wanted to spend more time with them, I felt strange about it, knowing I would be leaving again shortly.
Completely unrelated, I wasted  time making my own iced coffee.

July was a roller coaster. I literally saved someones life in a swift water drowning accident and that is not something I will ever forget. I also got to see Shelby and Maggie a few weeks later and it was probably one of the best weekends of my summer. I still find it so amazing that as bloggers we found other people that we get along with so well, online and in real life. It made me really excited for Portland 2015! Hopefully my summer job will be located in the Pacific Northwest and I can attend the blogger meetup there.

The rest of the summer was me finishing up my job, driving from Colorado to Washington, and then almost immediately flying back to New York for school. My family did manage to get together all together for a brief second before we all went our separate ways again, but this is to be expected.

This past semester of school had one of the, if not the, hardest studio design course that is in our curriculum. Somehow I managed to go on several weekend trips. For a class I went to Boston (Cambridge to be specific) and fell in love with the area. I also went up to Toronto  for an art festival that one of my professors was showing an installation piece at. Both trips were not only really great breaks from the dreariness that is Troy, New York, but they were both really good learning experiences; seeing cities, the buildings, art, and everything else that comes with traveling. The last of my trips was an extended weekend in New York City which confirmed my infatuation with the city.

Thanksgiving (or should I say, Friendsgiving) came and went a little too quickly, but soon enough it was finals week and then I was back in Seattle. At some point I turned 22 but that's really not too exciting.




In 2014 I ate my first macaroon, drove 1500 miles by myself, worked in an architects office and bettered my cooking skills. I took more photographs, stayed productive, got a tweet published in Dwell magazine, and traveled a lot. I must say, in retrospect it was a pretty good year.

GIFT GUIDE

If you're anything like me you also haven't started Christmas shopping. I hope none of you are anything like me.

I'm mostly still trying to find something for my sister, but she's probably the most difficult person to buy for ever. (Closely followed by my Dad.) I've ran across a few things I think are pretty neat, but these mostly describe things I'd like.

This cheeky key


Literally everyone loves blankets


An ornament for the designer in your life


Mason Jar shot glasses... because why not?


A durable bag, I got this one recently and its been amazing (and surprisingly large)

Happy Holidays!

FRIENDSGIVING

This Thanksgiving marks my 4th away from home. My first two at college were spent at my friend Kendall's home, and last years was in New York City with another friend, Taylor. While all those have been fun, I'm tired of being felt sorry for and adopted by other peoples families. I'm also tired from all of the traveling I've already done in the past few months. That's why this year, I decided to hold my own "Friendsgiving."

Blogger buddies Natalie and Anastasia joined my friend Victoria and I in Upstate New York this holiday for some time of relaxation and great food. Wednesday before Thanksgiving we received about 8 inches of snow, making us stay inside and enjoy each others company. We began this fourth Thursday of November with homemade pumpkin cinnamon rolls  and apple cider mimosas while watching the Macy's day parade. Since I was actually at the parade last year I didn't feel overly inclined to watch it, so I mainly dealt with food preparation.

After we picked up Natalie from the train station we got cooking on dinner, in which our main dish was a baked acorn squash  that we stuffed with stuffing and topped with parmesan cheese. (It was ordinary seasoned stuffing mix that I added golden delicious apple, pecans, and dried cranberries to at the end. I put turkey sausage in the mix for the meat-eaters at the table as to not omit turkey from the meal.) We struggled through cutting some very large sweet potatoes, but it was so worth it after they were oven roasted with olive oil and cinnamon. Mashed potatoes were made in a slow cooker, just chopped up and left there for a while with garlic and a bit of water. Victoria prepared a version of cranberry sauce that was super easy and delicious, as well as some toasted bread with garlic and rosemary!

For dessert, we went with a traditional pumpkin pie, and some not-so-traditional chocolate glazed donuts. (For those of you who don't know, I purchased a donut pan a month ago and I do not regret it. Buy one and make donuts. Seriously.) All in all, it was a somewhat contemporary twist on a traditional Thanksgiving meal. More importantly, it was delicious, and shared amongst friends.

I hope everyone was able to enjoy the day(s) off from normal obligations to spend time with friends and family! 

TASTE OF THE FUTURE

So I'm moving to New York City.

Not like tomorrow, but January is pretty close as well. I applied and got into a program that the school of architecture offers which takes place in the city (on Wall Street, to be specific.) As the school year, and calendar year come to a close I should probably find a place to live but I'm not too concerned because I'm just really excited to not live in Upstate New York any longer. But I digress...

The photos I took in late October during an extended weekend to the city. After our design studio midterm, as a class we were required to attend a 'field trip' into the city that was more or less just an intensive architectural tour. We visited firms, iconic buildings and areas, and looked at large scale construction projects. I went down a day early for it and met up with Anastasia and Natalie for a fun filled day with some blogger buddies. We frolicked through central park, went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art -which I had wanted to do for a while now- and then grabbed a delicious meal at a hole-in-the-wall thai place in Hells Kitchen. Natalie had to leave, but Anastasia and I went to a funny little bacon themed bar and talked about life and stuff.

The next three days were a whirlwind of running around the city with my design professors, visiting offices like Grimshaw and SOM, and seeing the Lever House and Seagram Building. We went to the West side to see a Bjarke Ingles construction site and went to Long Island City to visit our structural engineering professor at his office. When we weren't all running around, I was hanging out with my friend Taylor who I went to high school with, but she now lives in the city as a recent NYU grad. One night we went to an underground comedy show in the village and got macaroons, and another morning we got an amazing brunch at an adorable restaurant called Penelope's. One of our days ended in Brooklyn, and that night we took the ferry south to the Brooklyn bridge.
As we travel on the water with the wind blowing, staring at the city skyline lighting up the night sky, I was so content with things. If I wasn't already infatuated with the city, I am now.

TORONTO // NUIT BLANCHE

As a senior in college, I have always been a firm believer in education. For the most part, I've spent so much of my life learning through the eyes of others; teachers, books, movies, and more. I'm not entirely sure what switch clicked lately, but I'm seriously questioning the education system - especially the path that I'm taking in architecture. Maybe it's the fact that I've worked in the field, or maybe it has to do with the recent discussions I've had with professors and students alike in relationship to the future of our field, but something has irked me as of late. What I really want to get at is: in a field that has everything to do with spatialization, we do very little actually exploring those spaces that are talked about to us on a daily basis. How much are we really able to apply to our own work if we lack a basic knowledge it what it really feels like to be within a designed space?

And maybe this is why I love to travel.

So, I traveled far north this past weekend to Toronto, Canada to see an art show called Nuit Blanche - an multitude of exhibits that take over the city for 12 hours, from 7 pm to 7 am. A professor I had last year and I'm still close with had a sponsored exhibit (the tentacle sculpture seen above) in it which was one of the main reasons for going and the other was two of my friends who graduated last year had also planned to go so I was able to see them for the weekend as well. Let me tell you, I loved Toronto. It was big, modern, clean, friendly and walkable. We ate some great food (yes, we went to the Loose Moose) and saw some amazing art installations. A lot of the exhibits were interactive, such as the doors seen above, which recorded the door that was walked through and collected the data in an info graphic which was almost a social study. Many played with light, like the Walk Among Worlds which was made up of thousands of inflatable globes. We also took a ride to the top of the tallest structure in north America, the CN Tower, which was absolutely surreal.

Overall I was absolutely exhausted, getting back to Syracuse at 5 am and getting up 3 hours later for my train ride back to Troy. I'm seriously asking for one of these for my birthday so I can start sleeping when I travel because I can't seem to do that.

This semester I only have two more trips planned but both are to New York City; one for a 3 day"field trip" for my design studio and another for an Alt-J concert in November. I'm ready for a weekend without travel.