Autumn in New England...

Harkness Tower

This is a low quality video I took of a little walk about at Yale... This is a produced video about Harkness Tower and the Carillion in it... very cool...

Moving Log...

July 28
Packing... and packing and packing.
Thinking about the things I need and the things I don't. It is exhausting and I actually yelled at the last person to ask me; "So are you all packed?"  Because the answer is NO!!!!
I've got most of my books packed but I've still got art supplies and kitchen supplies and all of the little things that one doesn't think about every day... I've got clothes packed but I've still got more and I think I want to go back through my already packed boxes to try and pare down even more...

Books get shipped media mail via the post office.

Clothes and non-fragile things get shipped via Greyhound.

Fragile things... I'm still researching the problem... and I need to get the proper packing materials for it all anyway.

The relentless mantra cycles in my head

Aug 2
I've sent off 15 boxes via USPS and I'm sending off at least six to ten tonight via Greyhound shipping.  We have reached the "just throw it in the box" phase of packing.

Also the 'Just give it away' phase

also the 'how do I still have so much crap in my room!?' phase

I still need to aquire a box for my Kitchen Aid and for my antique mirror...

My classmate and I take the motherload to the bus station in five hours but I'm sure there will still be one or two more trips to various couriers in the next few days.

The plane taking me East leaves in approximately 150 hours.

Aaaaahhhh!!!

(Ok back to packing)

Convos with a 2 year old

Because my Idyllwild friends and family have been evacuated and maybe need something to make them smile... I give you the funniest series I've seen on YouTube in a long time... enjoy. Love you all!

Things that annoy me

In no particular order;
1. The phrase "hump-day"

2. Bookshelves organized by color... sure you can find the blue books, but where's the psychology section?  I'm sorry do you Read those books or are they just decorative?  Are you four?

3. "Clean" versions of albums.

Explicit; adj. 1.a Fully and clearly expressed, leaving nothing implied. b. Fully and clearly defined and formulated. 2. Forthright and unreserved in expression.

If it's art and if it's important then Fully and clearly express it!

4. People who call their pets their "children"

 I'm sorry... Just NO.

Standing on the Precipice

I'm at the point where all of the stuff I've got to pack and get rid of is making me anxious.  I need to call Amtrak, I am a heartbeat away from being rid of my beloved Honda... siff... I need to take picture frames off the wall, I need to take yet another load of things I don't need to the thrift store... I need one more extra large box so that I can send my chairs along to New Haven... And today... yes today is a day to get a lot of this done.  So last night I couldn't sleep... this morning I'm dragging my feet... despite the fact that once I'm past all of this I will feel better it's just hard to motivate.  Life on the other side is one big surreal notion right now... so here we are staring at cardboard boxes... come on self, go call Amtrak.  Go!

There are so many Monopoly boards on Craigslist. Now mine is one of them.

I'm trying to sell my Monopoly board... maybe I can make the Best of Craigslist... perhaps... go flag me "Best of" if you want to help.  

The allure of endless play, huddled around your coffee table learning about the joys of capitalism could be yours! You could win $15 by being the second prettiest girl in the room. You too could go to jail for being caught in the wrong neighborhood.

What should your avatar be? The boot? The Scotty Dog? Perhaps you feel you are best represented by the Dalek... oh wait I think this is a thimble. A thimble? Sure, you're a tailor working in the exciting world of realty and railroad barony; just pretend it's a Dalek.

Seriously though, I have a brand new (old and covered in dust) Monopoly game and now that I'm moving I realize that although it has been a dependable bit of Americana occupying the back of my closet, perhaps it would be better to find it a new home where someone will either play it or use it for deviant art.

Cash please, email to make pick up arrangements.
Thanks.

Sterling Library

My new University has some amazing facilities... this is one of the libraries.

It has cloisters, the check out desk is an altar and all of the windows feature authors and characters from books.

Not so shabby, eh?

Visit Middle Earth (A middle school project)

I found this tourist brochure in my keepsakes... I think I made this in 6th grade or so. I think past me would still get along with future me.

Please note joke; this was made many years after 1986, thus the buss pass is expired... you're hilarious younger self!

Fili and Kili are my favorites! 

"Elvish wine is highly potent and is so bad that if you took a single sip, and are not a elf, you will end up with hangover for days. Even though the smell is sweet and doesn't smell like alcohol it is bad for; Men, Women, humans, Hobbits, Goblins, infg, spiders and shouldn't be consumed in large quantities by dragons. Dragons that do so risk uncontrolled fire sneezing. Chances are that you won't be able to call for {help?}"

It was an amazing day. The sun was warm but the breeze was cool... perfect weather with minimal pollen... Still I was too sleepy to really go out and Carpe the Diem... so there was napping and movie watching and a few hours of reading, there was a little (but not enough) work paperwork. In the morning I worked in the costume shop. There's not really a point to this snapshot but I also wanted to put up the little video I took of my neighbor's dog, it will make you smile. Guaranteed. Ok have a lovely rest of your day. Much Love.

Blue Jean Hoarding

I read about fabric a lot. I read about the dye process and the work conditions that are involved with making clothes... It makes it hard to buy cheap clothes and harder to throw things away... thus my blue jean problem. I've been cleaning out my shop in anticipation of my move and I found my stack of blue jeans. Mostly jeans with holes that "I'll repair when I have time". I never have time. I pulled out my stack of blue jeans and realized that some of them have been waiting so long to be repaired that even if I were to fix them, they are mostly out of fashion at this point. I decided to re-purpose them instead of throwing them out.

I have been having a ridiculously good time working on this quilt... although the size you see right now is only 8 pair of cut up jeans. I have 20. Oh my.

A song for Mother's Day...

I know... it's a little dark. My mother did introduce me to the Muppets at a very early age.

New things I learned from watching Jurassic Park as an adult

When Jurassic Park came out I know I saw it multiple times. It was awesome... I loved the movie so much I couldn't see a reason to ever watch it on the small screen, so I haven't seen it since 1993 (maybe 1994). Re-watching this old favorite with a new perspective I learned a few things... for one I can now understand all of the Spanish at the beginning and gave myself a little pat on the back for that... but also;

1. Laura Dern's character is supposed to be the leading mind in Paleo-Botany, which I imagine would require a degree in science (probably a masters at least)... and yet her character has never heard of Chaos Theory. I understand that the authors felt it would be a good way to make Dr.Malcolm look smart, but really? I am merely a science enthusiast (who never took a science class in college) and I know a thing or two about chaos theory.  So... no I don't buy that bit.

2. This image... was perhaps a wee bit gratuitous. Also I think they were trying to make Goldblum "sexy" but I'm sorry it just didn't work. Something about the guy is just too 'smarmy'

3. Timmy.  Ugh.  First off; John Hammond is a total jerk for just dumping his grandkids on all of these unwitting adults (did he ask if they were cool with babysitting? No.) and the other is that Timmy is a whiny disaster who nearly got everybody around him killed because he was pretty much useless AND at the end when the Veloceraptor is trying to break into the control room, Lexi (his sister) is cracking into the computer system to get the door locks working while the adults are pushing against the door to keep it out and they can't quite reach the gun to shoot it... but Timmy's idea of helping is standing over his sister's shoulder and shouting "Hurry!  Faster!"
 Go grab the damn gun Timmy!

4. Even after 20 years this is still an awesome movie!

"It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique. It's not easy but if you accept your misfortune and handle it right, your perceived failure can become a catalyst for reinvention"

--Conan O'Brein @ the 2011 Dartmouth Commencement address

Birthday!

Happy Birthday Pop!  I still think you're the best!

I'm having a No day.  I might be having a No week.

I'm tired.  I'm tired of being tired.  I'm tired of people asking me for things.  I don't want to answer the stupid question of "how was your day?" because you know what, my day was all full of no.  My day was full of cranky.

It doesn't really matter what happened or if it was good or not, anything that bounced into me today was an irritant.  I at least understand that there are a lot of things around me that shouldn't cause me irritation but they do anyway.

I had ice cream for dinner.

I need to be left alone for a day or two.

Then, maybe I can move back into yes.

I dedicate this song to myself...

I've been putting together two giant shows at once.

 I'm so tired I hurt.

 I'm so tired I couldn't stay awake watching the dress rehearsal tonight.

 If there is a limit to my abilities I believe that designing and building/altering/renting/coordinating two period Tom Stoppard shows with a part time assistant is it. This all needs a shop with a shop manager, a hair designer, an assistant, a cutter and two or three stitchers MINIMUM... note to self, here is the line, let's not cross it again... two months without days off or the required amount of sleep is ill advised.

 Dear friends and family... I'll call you soon. April is going to be a month of spring cleaning and rest. Much Love.

A Schrodinger of a time

Sometimes I need to forgive myself for needing to sleep.  I would probably get more done if I managed to just give up when the day is spent.

"excessive punctuation"

I found an old fashion project I did with the imaginary client of Abercrombie & Fitch... at the time I don't think I was trying to be snarky but now I think perhaps my excessive quotes show how I really feel about it.

This is my favorite thumbnail featuring;

"The seasonally inappropriate mini skirt that A&F will still sell anyway"

and the 'Layered tank w/ "hand" stitching'

An Overheard (too inappropriate for the BFZ)

"Aw girl... I ain't messin' with his broke prison ass no mo'!"
--said 40-something woman pushing a shopping cart full of recyclables across the street.

Yes... the rehearsal hall is in the ghetto. Keepin' it classy.

Work...

Homebound

Dear Mom & Dad, The lens you got me for Christmas works Great!!! --I've just been bound to my house and to the theatre so the opportunity to play with it has been nearly nothing at all... February promises a small degree of freedom... more to come.

Love, AJ

Fallacy of youth

I always thought that Allison was being a little overly dramatic about this... but I must admit somehow I did think that eventually I would ease up on my obsession with music. I thought that somehow once my youth had passed that I would find myself stuck in a bubble of time and wouldn't be able to connect with anything new.
I find now that as I grow older it is either not true or that I had vastly underestimated "youth".  I still find I loose sleep because I'm making playlists, because I'm listening to new music, because I'm discovering old music I'd never heard before.

 -- Teenage me... aren't you glad you were wrong?
(yea, I guess... at least we don't get pimples anymore, right?)
-- um... let's not talk about that right now, here's some awesome music from the future.

still busy... here's some dogs...

Snap of SF

It was chilly in San Francisco today but the sun managed to make it beautiful. It made me think of cold mornings dusted with snow that gleam bright in a sunlight that seems to be made of ice.

Caprial's Desserts

I'd like to offer a quick endorsement for this book;

Caprial's recipes have butter and sugar and take the long way to make... but they are well written and never lead me astray. Just look at this cobbler;

It's like magic.

a crumb...

Not dead... just busy... Here's a pic of Dewalt begging for Goldfish...

February may be a better month for blogging.
Also in the mean time check out the new blog in the sidebar (anglobaptist). It's written by a new friend who is getting his Phd in ethnomusicology and liturgical studies.
Ok, be well!

Vacation

Weeks away from the bay...
 Christmas spent with family.
Almost snow, but not really.

 Short visits with good friends.
Coffee with Sarah.
New Year with Shaggy.

Sadness of loss not fully completed.
 Time spent in study.
Too much time spent in the car.

Time spent in museums.
Time spent walking on the beach.
Enough time spent away; feeling ready to face the pending craziness of January...

Forgiveness dear reader; I'm not feeling terribly verbose.
Happy New Year nonetheless.