Cold!

When I've checked the weather lately, I find myself thinking, "Oh, high 30s? That's not so bad."

Never, would I have thought that while living in California.

Of course, now Chicago is going to kick my ass with its freezing weather. My nephew is lucky he's cute enough to make me fly here.

I just hope I get back to NY in time to greet my Cali visitors for New Year's!

Mark can only do so much

This annoying cold is really deceptive, because just when I think I'm feeling better, it turns around and smacks me in the face. It's like the virus is laughing at me.

This morning, I woke up coughing and feeling like crap. So I tried to console myself by fantasizing about meeting Mark Ronson at karaoke, who then later invites me to his recording studio to coach me as a back-up singer, all Ray-Charles-movie style. (Without the heroin.)

And for a little while, I did feel better! I wasn't coughing anymore, so I finally was able to get out of bed. And then my nose started bleeding.

After I let that heal, I started working on finals again. Until my eyes started hurting and I started coughing again.

I think it's time to head out for some brandy and come back for a nap. Oh wait, I can't do that, because I have FIVE drawings to finish and FOUR essay questions to answer!

As an added note to my Tina Fey blog entry, I realize that all my exes would probably know who Tina Fey is, because they were all big nerds. And the nerds looove Tina Fey. What can I say? I love the cute nerds. Just look at Mark Ronson!

Who is Tina Fey?

Someone asked me this question, because he saw Tina Fey in the new American Express commercial. I explained, "She used to be the head writer of SNL (Saturday Night Live), and now she's the star of 30 Rock, which she also writes for."

I wasn't totally alarmed that he didn't know who Tina Fey was, because I know that not everyone cares for comedy television. But I came to a new realization:

I don't think I could date someone who doesn't know who Tina Fey is.

I thought about all my ex-boyfriends, and I think they would all know. In fact, I think they would be more upset than I would be, that someone didn't know who Tina Fey is. And I would venture to guess that they all harbor a crush on her.

Is that totally ridiculous and pompous of me? I mean, I think the only exception I'd make to this rule is if the guy had grown up in another country.

Her character on 30 Rock reminds me of my former life as the only girl among a crowd of wacky male characters at my old job. And I'd say that Tina Fey is one of my heroes, being an intelligent, successful woman in a male-dominated field, who manages to to be attractive in glasses and dark hair and not have to whore it up on tv. But I don't think that's why it would bother me that someone didn't know who she was.

I think awareness of Tina Fey actually points to a particular sense of humor that I enjoy, and I think that it would be sad to date someone who didn't share that with me.

There is some horrible hubbub about her show, 30 Rock, not lasting, and that would just make me sad, because it is one of the only well-written comedies left on television. (–and I'm not saying that just because I know one of the writers!) So if you haven't seen it, go watch it online now. (–Free! With fewer commercials!)

If you don't believe me, read all these A-graded reviews. But don't read too much before watching it, or it'll spoil all the great lines for ya.

Exciting cold updates, plus a new love

Apparently I am a blog spaz when I'm trapped at home with a cold.

Also, lots of people are sick. My roommate is sick. Also my cousin has bad cold. And the boy who I thought had forgotten about me –it turns out he was debilitated by a bad cold as well. So I guess that's kind of a good thing? Maybe? Or a lie to cover his ass? Who knows.

Anyway, I finally thought I was getting better, so I went out in the brief calm during this crazy storm of freezing rain, to go buy cough drops and a humidifier.

So I started doing schoolwork again, until my fingers started stiffening up and my dried-up eyes stung and my throat started bothering me with coughs again.

For my finals homework, I initially had one drawing partly done, only to discover that the top of the paper had wrinkled badly, so I had to START OVER AGAIN. Well, I think it's looking better now that I've started over, but I'm still not done.

I have 4.5 color drawings to finish and 4 essay questions to answer for Psych class!! In about two days!!! WHY do I have to have this cold now??? Mother of GOD. Meanwhile, my healthier classmates are gleefully dancing at the gay clubs again.

Poop.

On the upside, I may have discovered a new crush. I quite like the musician/producer, Mark Ronson, who is very age-appropriate, talented, successful, and boyish-brunette-cute, like I like 'em. Plus he produces some really fun singles. According to MySpace, he's based in New York??? Fun fact: his stepdad is Foreigner's guitarist, Mick Jones. (Thank you, Wikipedia.)

But he's touring in England right now, where he's racking up top-ten singles. Do you think he'd go see The Spice Girls with me?

Anyway, go download his new album, Version. It's got some Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, and jazz and hip hop all in there. Good times.

A first

I have not stepped outside of the house today. And I don't expect that will happen in the next, last hour of the day.

That is a travesty, given that I live in New York.

I even passed on invitations to shopping and partying today.

But I am also having a helluva time kicking this cold, and it is something like 24 degrees and probably raining outside. And I am behind on homework. And apparently manhole covers are bursting spontaneously in the street.

And so, in my feeble state, I amuse myself at home with the laundry, the internets, Thai food delivery, and Netflix. Enjoy this pop'n'lock video from my friend Aynne's blog.

Calgon, take me away!

BOOM!

New York Myth - Alligators in the Sewers
Originally uploaded by mariab3bx

Like I needed one more thing to worry about living in New York. This morning, I heard a loud "BOOM!" –so loud, I could feel it in my chest.

I looked out the window and couldn't tell what happened, except for some stunned pedestrians who were looking down the street.

Then I saw the emergency vehicles arrive. Then I noticed a firefighter remove a manhole cover from the street. I called 311 (the non-emergency New York line), and they didn't know what the explosion was about. So they connected me to the local precinct.

It turned out to just be a manhole cover that burst. He said it happens all the time, from pressure that builds up. And nobody was hurt or injured... this time.

All the time??? How is this okay? Also I don't know if I buy that pressure explanation.

There must be a better solution to those manhole covers! Someone could have died or been badly hurt if they were standing near that manhole cover!

Stay away from those manhole covers if you're walking around New York. Or be ready to run!

Five Things I've Learned Recently

1. Airborne is only semi-magical.

I nearly got through the whole semester without getting sick! –until this week.

And duh, having a cold made it impossible for me to pull off the weekly all-nighter. It was for my very last concept class, to finish my last homework assignment of the semester!

Luckily my teacher finally cut me some slack and let me go home to rest and turn in the homework later.


2. I shoulda just stayed in New York for the winter break.

I found out today, that I will have homework to do over my winter break. That means, I will have to carry my laptop, big crazy marker caddy, templates, french curves, and paper supplies with me to Chicago.

I better get a fucking awesome job when I graduate.


3. Radio City, here I come!

A classmate told me that our graduation will be at Radio City Music Hall! How wacky is that!? As if it won't already be wacky to graduate again, and tell people that I'm from the Class of '09!


4. There's a fraud in my class.

It has come to my attention, that one of my classmates has flagrantly ripped off almost every single "design" he's shown in class, based on existing kids' toys or collector toys.

It amazes me that the faculty has not noticed. But I just want to know why it's worth this guy's time to work his ass off on drawing these ripped-off designs. How will that ever work out when it's time to get a real job, when potential employers recognize the toys in his portfolio?

Almost everyone in my class knows about it now, but nobody wants to rat him out. But we suspect it will be a matter of time before the faculty catches on to his tricks.


5. KITT is back!

That's right, kids! NBC is bringing Knight Rider back! And they redesigned the car... into some kind of ugly rice-rockety Mustang:



On the upside, Will Arnett will be the voice of KITT! I just hope they keep that whooshing red light on the car. Otherwise the whole idea is unacceptable.

Conversations in Toy Design #2

I can't even keep track of all the funny stuff that happens with my classmates. It's pretty nonstop, but here a few of the goodies:

Annoying Girl Classmate: (to gay classmate #1) Hey, can I borrow your glue?
Cute gay Classmate #1: You know I'm gay, right?

I thought his response came out of nowhere! I mean, she's always asking to borrow stuff. I couldn't stop laughing about this.

But later, I discovered that the other girls had told him that maybe the annoying girl was clueless enough to not realize that he is gay, insinuating that maybe she was crushing on him. So then it made a little more sense. But it was still funny. Then later, I returned a pen to him:

Me: Thanks!
Gay Classmate #1: You're welcome... but is that all? Just, "Thanks?" How about a kiss? (turning his cheek toward me)
Me: I thought you were gay!

That one made the annoying girl laugh. –The annoying girl who probably doesn't quite realize that I find her as annoying as the rest of the class does.

Gay men looove me. Even the first time I was in college, they loved to act like they had crushes on me; it's really weird. Actually, I did go to prom with a gay friend. But that was more because there were no cute boys in my high school.

Speaking of which, did any of you see that recent Project Runway episode, where Christian was excited about meeting Tiki Barber's wife? He said, effusively, "I looooove Asians. I think Asian women are fierrrce."

***

On a Saturday class, I wore a nicer dress than usual:

Engaged Classmate: You look really nice today. Do you have a date or something?
Me: Heh, I wish I had a date. But no.
Teacher: You're not allowed to have dates in this program, hehe.
Youngest classmate: She's got a date with me. We're gonna have a candlelit dinner, take a long walk, with our toes in the sand...
Me: (laughing) Isn't that from a JT song?
Youngest classmate: A what?
Me: JT. Justin Timberlake.
Youngest classmate: Ohh. I'm not hip to all the new music. I guess I like to listen to the old stuff.

And by "old stuff", I'm guessing he's referring to stuff like Van Halen or Wham, as I've heard him sing in class. (Yes, he's straight.)

Me: Actually I'm going to see some friends who are visiting from California. They're married. Her husband took her to New York as a birthday gift.
Youngest classmate: You have married friends!?!?
Me: Uh, yeah... because I'm old. That's actually normal for me.

Ironically, actually very few of my friends are married. They're all taking their sweet time. I barely have one wedding to go to per year. I like to think it's that my friends are picky, or maybe not all that pressured to get married and have kids.

***

One rare day, when we had the afternoon off, some classmates and I went to an Anna Sui sample sale and tried on all kinds of fun clothes. They all bought stuff, but I didn't purchase anything! (There was one cute spring party dress, but I already have too many of those and not enough charming tea parties to wear them to.)

Anyway, we later went to a nice Korean restaurant for dinner, where one of them ordered plum wine for us all. But they all have very poor tolerance for liquor and subsequently got Asian flush —even the Columbian (gay) guy. (But I'm the weirdo who doesn't get Asian flush.)

Korean Girl: Wherre is the Hello Kitty? Hellooo Kitteeee?? Where is it?
Columbian Guy: What?
Korean Girl: Hello Kitty??? Where is she??
Me: Oh. Uhh.
Korean Girl: Where is Hello Kitty?
Me: I know what she's talking about now. Hahaha. Are you drunk already?
Columbian Guy: What?
Me: It's in my pants!
Korean Girl: When we were trying on clothes. I saw her Hello Kitty. On her butt.
Me: My underwear, okay!? I have Hello Kitty underwear. Yes. Thank you, drunk girl.
Columbian Guy: What was on [BFF classmate]'s underwear?
Me: I don't know! I wasn't looking!

***

My classmates are so sweet. I think they're all kind of rooting for me to meet a nice guy and hear about me going on dates. Alas, I have nothing to tell them. I don't know how they can think I have time to meet anyone. They know I'm in the same crazy program as them!

One day my cell phone rang toward the end of class, and I left the room to take the call (partly because my reception sucks at school –boo AT&T!). They heard me leave as I said, "Hey Sam!" Then I returned after the call ended.

Cute gay Classmate #1: So... how do you feel???
Me: Huh?
Cute gay Classmate #1: After talking to Sammm??
Me: Sam is my cousin! Come on.
Cute gay Classmate #1: Ohhh. You sounded so excited to hear from him.
Me: Well yeah, I like my cousins! And I hear from him like maybe 3 times out of the year. He always calls for a really odd reason.

This time, Sam asked me if I still knitted. As I grew confused by his line of questioning, I finally asked, "What are you getting at?" It turned out he wanted just a little bit of orange, red, or pink yarn so he could make some flies for fly fishing when I see him in Chicago for X'mas. Of course.

I guess I know some wacky people. And I'm related to some! It keeps life interesting.

That's all for now. Next time I'll blog about the discovery of a classmate gone WRONG, who we've all decided will probably get kicked out of the program once the faculty catches on to his shenanigans. Scandal!!!

That elusive thing called "Sleep"

The germs that have been giving my classmates and my roommate colds might have finally caught up to me. Could it be all that lack of sleep?

So I took an Airborne and went to bed early at 8pm.

But for whatever reason, I naturally woke up at 2am. So I went to get another Airborne and a glass of water... and promptly spilled it in my bedroom, partly on my bed. And when I went to get more water to drink, I nearly tripped in my oversized pajamas.

By the way, I have a 5-page paper to write, and an oral presentation about Asperger's Syndrome to give in Psych class tomorrow. But I was supposed to "sleep in" until 5am and THEN start that paper.

As I finished making a mess of myself, I also found my roommate getting up for a glass of water and Airborne! She is also feeling sick, but she was woken by, uhm, loud night noises from the neighbor through her wall.

I guess that makes our rooms more equal? I have the corner window room, so I don't share walls with neighbors, but it's smaller than my roommate's room. She only recently discovered the walls were thin, after this very active neighbor only moved maybe a week ago. She says the neighbor and his, uh, "guest" usually go on for like, an HOUR, and then they even TALK afterwards. Ew.

Ok, trying that sleep thing one more time...

PSA: Roofie Alert!

Last Saturday, my roommate went out as usual, this time for a friend's birthday. She met them at a club, where she had a couple drinks. My roommate has probably the highest tolerance for alcohol of anyone I know –despite her diminutive size. But this time, she was falling over after just a couple of drinks.

I wasn't there with her (as I am trapped at toy design school), but luckily our friend Dubbledubs was. Nobody else seemed to think anything fishy was going on, because they were probably all drunk and stupid already, but Dubs was concerned, especially when he saw her fall down and sit on the floor, struggling to get herself to stand back up. She later had difficulty even getting her coat on.

He helped her get home, but as they rode in the cab, he realized how unusual it was for her to lose her motor functions and act so sloppy so quickly, and as he got her home, he started to wonder, had she been roofied?

The next morning, my roommate had no recollection of the night before. She didn't feel hungover, and so we concluded that her drink must have been spiked with roofies when she wasn't looking. She says she usually does watch her drink, but Dubs did recall that this time, she did leave one of her drinks alone for awhile while she helped get drinks for the birthday friend.

I went to school, and told my classmates about this. Then one of my classmates said the same thing happened to her friend just the weekend before, in upstate New York. And if my classmate hadn't been there, nobody would have been alert enough to watch out for this friend, because the other folks were wasted anyway. And then another classmate (a guy! –gay) said it happened to him and a friend in the past too!

My roommate is incredibly lucky to have gotten home safely, because if Dubs hadn't been there, her other partier friends most likely wouldn't have noticed anything was weird and would have left her alone to fall victim to whoever spiked her drink! It's really scary to think about it.

Apparently this happens more often than you may realize! So watch your drinks when you're out! Always bring someone along who will watch out for ya, and watch out for friends who seem to be unusually disoriented.

Stop the Madness: Epilogue

So it turns out that the Dean's assistant didn't intentionally lie to us about class starting an hour early.

Of course he waited until the next day to explain that there was a miscommunication between him and the Dean. He actually apologized to our class about it, which was nice, because he knew that royally sucked for us.

So I will not hate him anymore. For now.

Stop the madness!

Today, at 12:45, my classmate called me to tell me that our 2pm class was actually moved to up 1pm. The Dean's assistant told her this at the last minute, and nobody in our class knew about this! So he asked her to notify everyone else!! —FIFTEEN minutes before class was to start!

We all called each other frantically, freaked out, hopped on subways/ grabbed cabs, ran to class in a flurry of sweat, in work-appropriate clothes, in 25-degree weather...

...only to discover that the Dean's assistant had intentionally LIED to us so we wouldn't be late, and the class didn't start until 2pm.

WTF. I officially hate him now.

Now it is 2:20am, and I am barely halfway through my homework that is due tomorrow.

Also, I have class from 9am-5pm on Saturday, and Sunday I have a little bit of sewing class.

I have homework up the ass, AND weekend classes! Why is this necessary???

And, the weirdo doorman told me that he was going to give me a hug before I leave for winter vacation. I really didn't know what to say to that. I think my inner violent side might come out if he actually tries to do that.

Then I found out later, that he said to my roommate, "I don't want to see you making out with anyone."

I mean, if we're paying extra to have doormen in the lobby, is it too much to ask that they just politely greet us, and then otherwise leave us alone?

I have to say, I don't like straight men very much right now. I find them to be abusive, tacky, rude, selfish, annoying little fuckers, and I've had about enough of it. And they're not even CUTE.

(Okay, there was one cute guy, but he turned out to be a jerk, and I subsequently unfriended him from my Facebook. Yes, Facebook has thrown me into unnecessary junior high-level drama.)

Maybe it's best that I'm usually trapped in a classroom full of women, gay men, and underaged, undateable guys.

I hope the date that might happen next week will make up for this.
I'm not keeping my hopes up.

And I miss my cousins and friends!!! And sleep!!! Booo hooooooo.

A Whole New World?

I had considered getting a tattoo several years ago, but I didn't think there was any design I'd like that much. But recently I saw one that I really liked! I'm thinking of getting it behind my ear. I think that's one of those handy tattoo spots that won't get too wrinkly when you get old. Also someday, maybe when I have grandkids, they can see how cool grandma is, every time they whisper a secret to me.

I told my classmate about the idea for the tattoo, because it seemed like something she'd like too (she already has a unicorn tattoo). And she loved the idea and wanted to get it done herself. Then she said, "Let's get friendship tattoos!" I think she was half-joking, but surprisingly, it appealed to me.

One thing that is dissuading me from it is that I have had never had anything done to my body –not even ear piercings or surgery. The most invasive thing I've had done is maybe a cavity filling or that stupid scar on my foot. I had thought that made me unusual for someone of my age... so if I get the tattoo, that little special thing would be gone.

But I wonder... if I get one, would that open up a whole new world of things for me to try? Like, would I finally get my ears pierced, so I'd finally be able to wear those hoop earrings or dangly ones I always wanted? Or maybe even consider a 2nd or 3rd tattoo?? Would I finally get lasik surgery? Would I start going to the gym? Would I want to go sky diving? Or smoke weed?

(Okay, let's not go crazy. I am not doing drugs or jumping out of a freaking plane.)

The other thing is, I wonder how'd my family would react. My parents are deceased, but I still have a really large, mostly conservative, extended family that I see every Christmas. My brothers would probably think I was just being wacky and maybe not care. But I think maybe the rest of the family might freak out slightly, because I don't think any of my cousins have tattoos, and also they perpetually see me as the baby of the family, even though I am over 30.

Huh. Maybe I do need to get a tattoo!

They probably already also see me as that wacky cousin who designs cool stuff and gets away with dressing like someone half her age. —Not that I really care all that much what they think. Besides, they might never see it, thanks to my luxuriously thick locks of long hair (thanks mom and dad!), which I never put up (unless I'm in all-nighter mode).

Maybe now I just have to decide if I can handle the pain. And maybe do a little exploration on the right color or design. I will for sure have a couple of stiff drinks before getting it done. —If I do it.

I think I will!

Project Toy Chest?

I heart Project Runway, especially now, because every week of Toy Design school feels like a Project Runway episode. They start w/ 16 contestants, and there are 15 students in my class. My concept teacher is like a cuter, nicer version of Michael Kors, and we have to crank out some kind of original toy concept every week based on a specific toy genre. On the day we present our design boards, our version of Michael Kors leads us through a class critique. And someone gets kicked out.

Just kidding! Nobody gets kicked off. But I bet we have all considered kicking ourselves out. (And there is one obnoxious student that we wish would get kicked out.) As the weeks have gone by, we've gotten to know each other's work really well, so by now we know each others' strengths and weaknesses, like you get to know the characters on Project Runway.

One classmate is a pro at girly toys and drawing sparkles and gems, and her palette veers toward 80s colors, like purple, teal, and pink. She's very in touch with her audience (She's the one who loves Hannah Montana). Another is a flawless marker-renderer, but her brand names tend to be misunderstood (unfortunately, English is not her first language).

One of the younger dorm guys comes up with really hilarious concepts, like a cow-tipping game. The 2nd oldest guy in class always draws amazing detail and veers toward creative play (where a child creates something new), like a marshmallow-headed, monster-making set. The youngest student has strong time management and consistently draws his beauty shots (the main, full-color glorious drawing of the toy) nice and large, but the teachers finally had to tell him to stop putting the same Mr. Bucket face on all his toys.

The super-stylish (gay) guy who sits next to me, draws richly-colored, gorgeous beauty shots but rarely has time for vignettes. One reclusive designer (perpetually seen in headphones) surprises us with funny and wacky designs sometimes, that are perhaps Asian-culture inspired or a bit more offbeat. And recently in presentations, she began wearing outfits that matched her toy! Like one week, she made this nerd doll, so she put on nerd glasses!

A mohawked guy, who looks like Bowser from Super Mario, also makes offbeat and original designs, but when they go as far as missing the mark of its audience, he maybe gets a little defensive about the critique. His oral presentations are really wacky and entertaining, but at times his delivery comes off a little bit facetious.

I think my strength is that I can fairly draw well, even if it's the night before, and that I don't let myself stress about it. My palette tends toward bright green, light blue, and orange, I think because I like happy, vivid colors that are okay for both genders. I can design logos quickly, and that I'm versatile at concepts for different styles and genres. I am good at styling for cute and funny, but maybe not as strong at details for older boys' toys. I always crank out the whole drawing the night before, because there is just too much going on the rest of the week. But I always make sure I get a good night's rest two nights before the presentation is due.

My weakness was that I used to leave the outlines until last, and sometimes I didn't even have time to outline. Also I never had time to plan out the layout well. I was happy just to get the whole drawing on the board in time for presentation. And my beauty shot was usually a bit small, because I was trying to leave room for all the other stuff. But now I do plan out the layout before I draw, and I start with the outline instead of color. And I started to draw the beauty shots really large. So I've listened to feedback and improved!

Some weeks ago, a classmate asked our concept teacher if our clinic (where they reviewed and advised us on all of our work so far) would be like American Idol. He said, "Ohh no, it's not like that, don't worry so much. We're really just trying to help you." --to which we sighed with relief. And then he said, "It's more like Weakest Link! Ahahaha! Just kidding!"

Um. Not so funny to the rest of us, Mr. Kors.

My heart goes out to the Project Runway contestants, because I don't know how they can design AND sew a well-fitted, cleanly-sewn outfit every week! When I saw this last episode where they all struggled to do the menswear in time, it reminded me of my class's last week of toy concept submissions.

Our last concept assignment for the semester was for the "Tween" genre. This is the 8-12 age range, where kids are growing a bit out of toys, but still are drawn to them. At this point, we were all so exhausted from 9 weeks of intense schoolwork, that we all struggled to come up with concepts. One student who worked as a part-time babysitter, pointed out that she just hated tweens anyway, because they're the most annoying kids to deal with!

When I tried to come up with concepts for tweens, I could only come up with horribly stupid, clichéd tween ideas, like cupcake-boxed lipgloss. It seemed like any secret-message-swapping concepts I thought of were no longer relevant, since kids all have cellphones now. My concept teacher was not impressed, and neither was I. He tried to guide me toward some Tween themes, like lunchtime and fortune-telling products, but I wasn't excited by any of it. I told him I'd get back to him with something better later.

The next day, in the middle of sewing class, as I chatted about earmuffs and winter hats with a classmate, I remembered that I had always wanted to design earmuffs with headphones built-in. So I emailed my teacher about it, and he loved the idea. I also suggested I'd design ones that were Daft Punk-inspired, for boys. I noted that they were an electronica band, just in case he didn't know. He replied, "Yes, I know who Daft Punk is." Whoops!! :)

But now that my teacher loved the idea so much, I had to live up to the expectation! By this week, the class was strained to the limit from all the work we have to do, and so by presentation time, I was one of maybe 3 students who fully completed our boards in time. (--Quite an improvement from my first week, when I didn't even have time to color the damned thing!) Each board needs a beauty shot, a logo, and smaller vignettes and text captions that show details of how the toy works. Most students were only able to complete a beauty shot and not much else. So I guess if this really were a tv show, I think I'd make it to the finals. :)

If I had to pick the students that would make the finals (other than me), I would pick:

• the guy who draws detail well and tends toward creative play
  (--who we've nicknamed the Wizard, Wise One, or Papa Smurf, because he does so well and yet is so humble about it. He's also a part-time Masseur and the one that people think is the oldest in the class.)
• The girly-toy designer
  (my bff in class, though I am not biased, really! I would hire her.)
• Mr. Bucket Head-face
  (the youngest one, from Staten Island, aka teacher's pet and is at FIT on a scholarship)

Or... maybe the reclusive headphone girl instead of Mr. Bucket Head. That would be a toss-up between consistency vs. originality.

Of course, I'm behind in my other classes. But so are a lot of my classmates. We all prioritize our concept class, because that's the stuff that goes into our final portfolio for eventually applying to our summer internship. And apparently we'll be redoing all of our concept boards anyway, during the 3-week intensive Winterim, after we come back from Winter break. I've heard from the senior class, that basically we will be living in that classroom, day and night during Winterim. I'm afraid. Very afraid.

Anyway, who do you like on the new season of Project Runway? I think my favorite right now is Kit. I really like Sweet P, as a person, and for putting up with crazy Elisa so well. Elisa is definitely kookoo, but at least she's somewhat interesting. I am curious to see what she comes up with, but I also wouldn't mind if she gets kicked off halfway through the season. Ricky's hat annoys me, and I think he should be booted next.

I don't think Chris is strong enough to get to through the season, but I am curious to see what kind of wackiness he comes up with, given his costuming background. Steven reminds me of Emmett from Season 2, because I think they're both really cute and tasteful, but their styles are probably too boring and conservative to win. Christian is the cocky young guy of course, but I do think his designs are fun, and it's apparent that he is skilled. I'm still sorting out Jillian, Kevin, and Jack, who all seem okay and consistent. I don't see their personalities coming out strongly yet. If I had to choose the final four now, I would pick Christian, Rami, Victorya, and Kit.

Okay, enough procrastinatin', I think I'm finally rested enough to finish my crazy weekend work!

Ridiculous.

There was a time when I thought people who ordered Venti soy peppermint white mochas at Starbucks were ridiculous. Add to that: people who put rollers in their hair, wear high heels most days, and wear long puffy coats.

I have now become that ridiculous person, and I'm okay with that.

Also, the doorman who floods me with ridiculous compliments... is becoming less funny and now just making things awkward for me. He asked me for my picture! He said he wants to put it on top of his TREE instead of a star, because that would make him happy. And he asks why I don't ever hang out to chat.

Today, he asked me what it was about him that made me always walk away. He said, "Is it the uniform? Is it cuz I'm Latino?" As I walked to the elevator, I said, "I'm busy! And are you calling me a racist now???"

If only I could find an acceptable boyfriend to make out with in the lobby.