| Div III Show! |
[Dec. 2nd, 2009|12:13 pm] |
I'm graduating!
The sculpture that I've been working on for several months as part of my Div III (the Hampshire-equivilent of my thesis) will be on display this Saturday and Sunday, Dec 5th - 6th in front of the library at Hampshire College.
I will also be giving a presentation of my Div III on Saturday, the 5th at 1pm in Franklin Patterson Hall on campus.
I'm not officially done until the 15th. My lovely friends at 24 mt. view circle (where the WF afterparty was hosted) will be throwing me a "bell-ringing" party the following Friday, the 18th. Details to follow.
ANNNDd I'm moving to NYC on the 19th!
I'd love for you guys to be able to see my sculpture or make it to the party. There's a Drum and Dance in Amherst this friday, the 4th, so it's the perfect opportunity to come up anyway! |
|
|
| Two years. |
[Oct. 23rd, 2009|11:19 am] |
What the fuck is up with this date?!
... I'm going to need some extra support this weekend. |
|
|
| Meet Rorschach... |
[Oct. 15th, 2009|10:33 pm] |
This is Rorschach Shacklebot. He's tiny and also the cutest boy ever. |
|
|
| Breif Update |
[Sep. 22nd, 2009|02:34 pm] |
I have a PTSD moment today - nothing serious, just got into a situation that made me a jumpy wreck for a bit.
Between the added stress of final semester div III (my final semester of undergrad. - and whoa is it stressful and freakin' busy!) and my two year approaching, I seem to be taking a step or two backward in my healing. It's completely understandable, and I think I'm still holding it together well enough, but nightmares have started to come back a few times a week and I've been getting a little more jumpy about fire and burns lately. I think it was a really good decision for me to stay on the Prozac through the end of this semester.
I think I'm doing well. Like I said, I've been exceptionally busy. I have my moments of Div III panic, and stress and complete overwhelmedness, but... apart from my somewhat annoying habit of being a complete over-achiever and wanting to do everything (I've gotten so much better at saying "no!") I think all that's to be expected. And one great thing about being so busy is that I get shit done. Because I HAVE to. The past week or two has been pretty much completely insane though (even for me, and that's saying something) and I think that I'm also really starting to feel the effects of either being surrounded by people or doing work. I haven't really had the opportunity to be alone AND do something for myself in at least a week.
And holy shit WF! I'm looking forward to it! I'll be taking picture at night again! That'll be my vacation. I'll try my best not to think about school and work, and I think I could use your help by not asking me what I'm doing for my div iii and how school is going. I'm happy to tell you, but I think having 4 days to not even think about it will be very healthy for me.
Love! And snuggles!
Oh... and due to anticipated cold and the fact that I love and miss snuggles: Anyone want to adopt a bluehairsar for their wildfire tent?! |
|
|
| Two years. |
[Sep. 15th, 2009|11:34 pm] |
My two year mark is on October 24th (on which everyone in the world scheduled events! Argh!). This is a big deal for me. I feel like I need to do something. I had a spark of an idea for a tattoo based on a print that a friend made for/about me before my burn. I've asked Sarah (Tiger) to do some sketches on it to see if we can get it to a place that I am happy with.
I am pretty broke right now. And partially because of that, and partially because I feel like I need something that's from or by all the people who really supported me and helped me through probably the two most difficult years of my life, I have something to ask of you: I am asking for donations. Any amount, whatever you can give, to help me get this. I want all of you to be a part of it. |
|
|
| You WISH you were this cool. |
[Aug. 13th, 2009|08:43 pm] |
My mom went to New Zealand for two weeks about a week before we went to Mexico (ya ya, I still owe you photos and stories...).
While in Mexico she gave me my NZ gifts - a gorgeous Maori necklace (which I'll probably be wearing the next time you see me) and these: Balancing Kiwis. They're individual wooden blocks. It's the best thing ever. My mom rocks house. The end.
|
|
|
| To Do |
[Aug. 8th, 2009|03:57 am] |
Because for some reason I can't sleep and my mind is racing. This is more for me than for you.
Immediately I need to...
Finish Physics chapters (two left, I think)
Study for Rescue Diver
Physics final project (either really detailed ray tracing for a yet-to-be-made sculpture or a powerpoint explaining what goes on in the internal reflection sculpture)
CLEAN ROOM! DECLUTTER! SELL AND THROW AWAY!
Sooooon...
Email about RCC job
Email about show at Smith
Email UMASS lighting professor
Div III funding (Div Frees, any tips?)
Find out if I'm allowed to sculpt on the library lawn
Schedule Div III meeting with John and Peter - Main questions: Is adding a lighting class to my schedule (including TAing a class already) totally insane? How's this ice thing gonna work?
Oh, and probably visit Boston.
Eventually...
Update Resume
Put together lighting portfolio
Apply for jobs
Rsearch working in francophone countries
...Was that all?
I'm going to look at the lighting classes at UMASS now. |
|
|
| Tonight Plus Update |
[Jul. 21st, 2009|09:58 pm] |
My giirrrllllffrrriieend is hanging out with her *other* girlfriend (by which I really mean summer fling) so I'm watching old musicals (Singing in the Rain and now Cabaret), eating popcorn, drinking wine, I was painting my nails, and now I'm knitting (a baby Protectosaur for said girlfriend). Pretty good night.
Friday morning I leave for 10 days in Mexico, followed by threeish days in LA.
I trained again at the new studio in Easthampton with Sarah today. It's great training with her, she kicks my butt, which is just what I need. I can solidly do about 3 minutes of routine. I'm working on making that more like 5 minutes. I'm working on a meat hook and hand-over-hand. I'm realizing that my inability to do a hand-over-hand is due to grip strength more than strength-strength, which is both reassuring and disheartening - my arm healed amazingly well, but I have minor grip strength damange (I have a really hard time opening jars now) So far I hadn't noticed it with silks, because I often use either both hands, or am positioned in such a way that I'm not relying on my grip. I'm conserned that I damaged my hand enough that I'll never get the grip strength that I need to do things like hand-over-hand.
I'm going to be getting my rescue diver certification in August, when I come back from Mexico. The rest of the month will be spent finishing up my physics independent study (only three more chapters! woot!), studying for rescue-diver, going to the arctic ocean, working on juggling, training, and updating my resume and portfolio and start applying for jobs.
I'm pretty happy with where I am right now. I miss Keegan and Allison a lot. I miss most of you guys a lot, too, but those two have really impacted my life lately. I don't know where I would be without Sarah and Phil, and Jay's been pretty great this summer, too.
Last night Sarah, Phil and I lit a candle in their backyard for Gabriel. Sarah and I sang "happy birthday" and then I sang my specical bday song (if you've had a birthday that I've known about, chances are you have or will sometime hear it from me.) I'm sorry that I couldn't be at his bday party, but I feel good about being able to celebrate in our own way. And I have the mosquito bites to show it.
Oh, and Jay took some really awesome photos of me on July 4th that she FINALLY posted, so go ahead and make comments about how awesome we are.
Whee! |
|
|
| I miss you. |
[Jul. 20th, 2009|11:21 am] |
|
Gabriel, you and everyone who's life you touched are in my thoughts today. |
|
|
| Holy Shit. |
[Jul. 14th, 2009|07:15 pm] |
A pickup truck just took out a power line two houses down from me. I heard the crash, saw the power lines drop a few feet, and the power went out all at once. The truck snapped the pole clear off, and it's sitting on the sidewalk two meter away from it's base. There are power lines drooping about three feet off the ground across the street.
Everyone is okay. The driver fell asleep at the wheel, but had airbags and seat belt, so apart from a few bumps and bruises, he's fine. I gave him a glass of ice tea (left over from WF, conveniently.)
We don't have power. And the fire department and police department were using my driveway to question the driver. One of the guys let me question him about the FD. |
|
|
| Nothin' Important, Just My Life |
[Jul. 14th, 2009|04:51 pm] |
Because I'm not quite ready to start my physics reading, and apparently I'm in the mood to spam your friends pages, I've decided to write about what I'm going to do next, life wise.
I got acupunked today, and while I was lying there with needles sticking out of my body, I got to thinking about plans and moneys and all of that grown up stuff that I need to start worrying about because I graduate from Hampshire in a semester.
I know exactly what I want to do with my life, but I have no idea on what specifically I'm doing next. It's a strange place to be.
To recap (or for those who are new friends of mine and don't know better): I go to a funky school with no grades, no exams, and a completely self-designed concentration (i.e. major). As far as I know, I will technically have a liberal arts degree, with a concentration in what I studies. I study light, in general. The two broader categories being lighting design (namely for theatre and dance) and physics. My "Div III," or the year long thesis-like project that each Hampshire student completes during their final year is on light based sculptures, where I am essentially artistically demonstrating the physical properties of light, such as reflection, refraction, total internal reflection, etc. I plan on doing the majority of my "sculptures" out of ice. Yes, I'm aware that I'm a little crazy. After I graduate, I want to pursue a career in lighting, which I've been doing professionally during my summers and occasionally during the school year for the past four years. I love lighting design, especially for dance/circus. (Nowadays you need an MFA in Lighting Design to make any sort of living doing it) I've also had a career goal of working for Cirque du Soleil or Cirque Eloize for quite some time now.
I also had the idea of teaching English in China for a year after graduating, just to take a break from EVERYTHING and see something else for a bit before I get back to life.
So. Options for when I graduate:
1. Go to China - possible issue with this is that programs are selective and mostly start in the fall, I will graduate in Dec/Jan. Also, my sister is getting married in Oct 2010, and if I'm in China that could be problematic. I can't so much miss my sister's wedding.
B. Grad school - good for bad economy! Though some schools like some time off between undergrad and grad AND again, the me graduating in Dec/Jan issue. Here's a list of schools I'm currently considering (stars are slightly prefered):
Yale** (ahh, scary! BUT my top choice - it's the BEST for lighting right now)
BU*
Carnegie Mellon
The George Washington University*
Purdue
U of Illinois
Tulane
Rutgers*
Cal Arts
Three. Pick a city, find a job, find an apt. Try to work as an electrician. Here's the list of cities that I'm looking at:
Staying here (ish - I love the valley, but I'm not sure I could sustain on just lighting here)
Boston
Providence
NYC
Las Vegas
LA
Bay Area
DC
Philly
Toronto
Montreal
Vancover
IV. Get an internship that'll help make me more hire-able to Cirque. Here are some possibilities:
Rosco (Stamford, CT) - top lighting gel and accessories manufacture. There's a good chance I could get this internship
People rigging company - met two different once that really liked me at the conference that I went to this Spring
HoBoy, that's a lot of options! Is it too early to start sending out resumes and cover letters to some of the jobs/internships, and just specifying when I graduate? I'm mildly concerned that I'll end up having to do a lot of this stuff DURING next year, when I'll be fighting with my Div III enough already! Gah. Life. Hey look, I'm almost a real person! This almost there stuff sucks, I can't wait to be completely on my own! ... Eeehhh... |
|
|
| And July 4th |
[Jul. 14th, 2009|01:50 pm] |
And NOW I've posted my photos from July 4th! Woo hoo!
|
|
|
| Wildfire Photos |
[Jul. 14th, 2009|08:00 am] |
I have finally posted my WF photos. The best of shots are on my personal flicker, and others can be found on the WF Flickr page. Feel free to use images, but please credit them to me. And if you want hi-res copies or originals or all photos of yourself, including the crappy ones, get in touch with meeee!
|
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Jul. 1st, 2009|04:14 pm] |
|
I am selling a few items that have been waiting for a new home to love them for ages. I thought I would give friends and family a first chance at them before I list them on Ebay. ( ... ) |
|
|
| Mosquitoes |
[Jun. 27th, 2009|08:56 am] |
The other night I was outside long enough to eat a bowl of ice cream. I got approximately 37 mosquito bites during that time, one of which was smack-dab in the middle of my right hand (my burned hand).
The bite has since swollen to a red welt around an inch and a half in diameter. It itches and it hurts. Fuck. |
|
|
| 15 Books |
[Jun. 15th, 2009|01:33 pm] |
My bestest Desiree tagged me for this on facebook, and as it's something that's important to me, I decided to comply. It would be lovely of you to do the same, because I'm genuinely interested.
In no more than 15 minutes, list the 15 most influential or unforgettable books to you. (I went over)
1. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
2. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
3. 1984 by George Orwell
4. Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
5. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
6. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
7. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
8. His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
9. Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
10. The BFG by Roald Dahl
11. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
12. Dracula by Bram Stoker
13. The Hobbit by Tolkien
14. Sofie's World by Jostein Gaarder
15.To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
16. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
17. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
18. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
19. Lamb by Christopher Moore
And a few books that I unforgettably hated or could not get through
20. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
21. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemmingway
22. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
And Finally, some of my most important children's/picture books
23. Hairy Maclary Series (my favourite is Scarface Claw) by Lynley Dodd
24. We're going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
25. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi and Ron Barrett
26. The Berenstein Bears by Stan and Jan Berenstain
27. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
28. The Mister Men Library by Roger Hargreaves
29. Beatrix Potter's Children's Series (Two Bad Mice was my favourite)
30. Winnie the Pooh Stories by A. A. Milne
31. The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
32. The Brother's Grimm Stories
33. Peter and Wendy by J.M. Barrie |
|
|
| Ow ow! |
[Jun. 8th, 2009|05:13 pm] |
Some good, some bad, and some badass.
I played with my whips today in an attempt to learn a few new things, and fine tune some details for teaching. I learned a kick-ass behind the back crack calls the Tasmanian-something-or-another. I whipped myself in the face. OW! I have a red welt that slashed from the left of my nose, down the bottom corner of my lip, and under my chin. I have a nice welt/broken-blood-vessels combo on my arm, too. Hot.
My aunt passed away Friday night. She had been battling cancer for quite a while and was recently given 3 - 4 months to live. She slipped into a coma Friday morning and pass at around 8pm. It was rather shocking, though probably for the best for her and my uncle. I'm not sure it's really sunk in for me, yet.
I have started Tradition Chinese Medicine treatment for asthma and depression. I got acu-punked on Tuesday: one of the points that she chose to do was on my right hand. It hurt *Significantly* more than any other point, and was the only point that had any residual pain or marks after the needle was removed. She wont be using points on my right hand anymore.
I'm meeting with a plastic surgeon on Thursday regarding my arm. I do not want any work done, but I do have a lot of questions. My GP recommended seeing a plastic surgeon because they deal with scars the most, and the doctor that I am seeing does burn reconstruction.
Silks rock my socks right off. There's a studio that just opened in Easthampton, so now I'll be able to continue my class at NECCA in brattleboro once a week and train on my own at the new studio, SHOW, at least once a week. Sarah and I are taking a sling private lesson (think silks and trapeze's love child), and I'm inquiring about taking a beg. trapeze, but using the sling rather than trap next session.
I found this video today - check out how totally amazingly HOLY SHIT my aerials instructor is!:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jv9uv40Wjk
Finally, I will be heading to Boston on Saturday for a friend's housewarming. I will probably stick around on Sunday, so if you would like some pre-WF-Sarah time, please schedule in advance. |
|
|
| Silks |
[May. 26th, 2009|09:06 pm] |
I went back to silks tonight for the first time in about two months. Phew! I'm going to type out the combo that we were working on in class here because 1. It rocks. 2) I'm betting a lot of you silk worms have never seen it before (or parts of it) and 3 - I can't find my silks notebook right now.
A few quick notes:
Hipkey - Opposite side invert
Dive drop - Opposite side invert, wrap loose leg, climb up. For drop, hold silk in front with one hand, slightly straddle, look at point in front and slightly above you.
Slack drop - Opposite side invert, put silk in armpit; hold self in place with (same side) hand, and pull a loop of tail threw with other hand. Keeping silk in armpit, hold silk with other hand, and let go with same-side hand.
Combo:
Crazy hipkey-thingy w/ fake footlock (more on this below).
From hipkey, bend bottom leg, and hold silk in one hand; slowly lower to opposite side invert (bottom leg will catch silk.
Wrap for dive drop, then do dive drop.
(after dive drop, invert again, and hook the leg that had been hooking before: i.e. for opposite side invert. I think you then have to unwrap your leg once by grabbing silk under leg with same side hand, and unwrapping with other hand- you could work in a cute lil back bend there though)
Slack drop
Crazy hipkey thingy!!!! (the really strange and new and exciting part):
From climb position, drop into the triangle that you would do to do a normal footlock. With free leg, create space in silk and loop over foot-lock-foot's heel by sorta stepping back. You can stand on this footlock, but it's really easy to get off, you just sorta point your foot and lift your leg forward slightly. (don't do this yet, but you'll need it for later)
Get free leg on other side of silk (same side as locked foot)
Reach up high, and hook your free knee as high as you can get it.
With same-side hand as footlock, grab fabric below the now-hooked knee (pull up slightly to make it easier to hold on with knee)
Release footlock by bring locked leg forward a bit.
Move used-to-be-foot-locked foot clockwise to unwrap silk, and then to the inside of silk (silk will be falling to the side of your hip)
Climb up slightly, straddle legs and slightly invert, then roll right into hipkey (the slight invert helps ensure that the tail falls on your back instead of by your hips, making a more stable hipkey)
Whoa!
Also, I was able to do pretty decent inverts today! I think I did have some sort of psychological block on them before, and somehow got over it today! It's really exciting. It better stay that way, too.
I got my bike back last weekend, too (My dad had stolen her from me because she was in the rain, and needed fixin'). If feels really good to ride her again. She used to be an old three-speed, but in the process of fixin', my dad accidentally broke the cable to connect the internal hub with the gear shift. And because she's so old, you can't get replacement parts. So now I have a fixed gear! And I have named her Anna-Jolisa. I got a helmet and saddle bag today so that I can really push to bike instead of drive whenever possible. I will pick up kitty litter and jasper-rats tomorrow using Jo.
Annnd I'm going to NYC on Thursday to meet up with my maman and go to a book show! Lots of free books! And meeting Neil Gaiman! Woo!
This summer is starting to shape into what could be really great. I really need that. Love you all. |
|
|
| Birthday |
[May. 11th, 2009|04:27 pm] |
My birthday is in a week. I will be divisible by 11. I want to do something silly and fun with people that I love. Right now bowling is an option. I will take activity suggestions and date suggestions (right now I'm thinking the 22nd or 23rd (Fri or Sat)of May. I will give out a real plan once I get feed back.
Go. |
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
frozenprncss's journal
