Saturday, September 27, 2008

First Coast No More Homeless Pets

Jack, Roxy and I will be at Metropolitan Park on October 11th for Dogtoberfest. And yes we are going to dress her up in a costume. Just don't know what yet. I have created a website with First Coast No More Homeless Pets to help raise money to keep out furry friends alive. Please visit the web page to make a donation and forward it to all your friends who will contribute to the cause.

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We got the little shirt Roxy is wearing in this photo at Target last night for $1.42. Now that's a deal. This is the first time she has worn clothes and she did really well. Didn't even put up a fight. She's such a good little girl.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Need to Vent Before I Explode

Ok so remember the paper I did on David Carson. Well I got it back graded today and the teach completely desecrated it. I am so beyond pissed off right now. He gave me a B and said I was lucky I got that. I know, you are thinking oh wow a B, boo hoo. But I know when I deserve an A and this was an A paper. I think I am more pissed off about the comments he made and how he treated me when I questioned them.

Let me tell you a little about this class and what the assignment was. The name of the class is BASIC Design Theory and Methods and the assignment was to write a 300 word paper on an artist and have a minimum of 1 photo on the cover page and to site your sources.

Well I more than fullfilled the requirements with 4 photos on the cover and some funky typography that I thought fit with David Carson's style and what he is all about. These are the comments I received...

"If the images on the cover are examples of his work---never cover them up with fonts of any kind." ----Now remember David Carson is known for using all kinds of crazy fonts in all different kinds of way and he even covered photos (other peoples art) up with them. Teach said that I ruined the work of the best graphic designer. Now let me remind you that this is a BASIC design class. So I reminded him that art is in the eye of the beholder and that the type was to convey the artists style. Plus I have put font over other works before and had no problems. This isn't my first art class. After all I do have a degree in Fine Art.

"Please reference here and include samples of his work to spread out over more pages." ----- This he wrote at the bottom of my paper. First of all the instruction were to have a photo on the COVER PAGE! and second the Bibliography belongs on a page all on it's own behind the paper. NEVER on the same page as the paper. He tried to tell me that wasn't the case. Now I have had many many classes and I am sure he has to but never in my life has it been acceptable to put the bibliography on the same page.

"I would rather see David Carson."----This he was refereing to the photo of David Carson on the cover that the light fades into the background (see photo below.) Let me add that I had to print this in B&W so it was a little lighter than in color. But anyways this was the artwork of the photographer, that is his style.

"Include date, class, professor name."- Teach never gave these specific instruction at any time and in my experience at ITT Tech none of this was ever required. Sometime I put it on there, sometimes I don't. Never been penalized for it.
Notice, he didn't even comment about the actual content of the paper.

So I argue all these points with teach and all he could do was get an attitude with me and tell me I ruined David Carson's work and if I don't like it go to tell Mr. Hancher. Well that is exactly what I was going to do dude. I have never complained about a grade. But I know when I have been graded ujnfairly and I am not going to sit back and let him ruin my GPA. For all I know he will judge all of my work unfairly. BTW I am not the only one that had complaints about his grading. I even looked at a few other and thought they were graded poorly.

While I'm on a roll here, let me tell you about his teaching skills. They suck. Tonight we were supposed to have an assignment due as we walked into class. It was a room that we had to revamp in PS and add furniture and what not in. Like a good girl I had mine done. When I get to class almost everybody else was starting on theirs, so he decided that it would be due next week. Well that was fine, not everybody is advance as me. But then 2 hours in the class, teach has not taught a thing. He said he would start showing us Illustrator after we got back from out break at 8. He didn't even start until 9 and then he didn't even show us how to do anything. He just randomly clicked on some things and told us that Illustrator was much harder than PS and he wasn't that good at it. Ok dude don't waist my freaking time and money if you don't know how to teach something, don't teach it. Now from what I have heard, teach is supposed to be kind of great graphic artist that has done some great stuff and met some great people and drives this great car. Well I show me! Anywho, just because you are great at something, does not mean that you can teach it. Maybe that is is problem, he has seen such great things that he doesn't know how to grade on a BASIC level. Besides we are going to school for CADD not graphic design. This is just a class to get the concept of graphic design and to be able to use it to highlight our CADD drawings.

Thanks for listening to me rant and rave. Sorry it was so long. Please feel free to comment and if I am wrong about something please let me know.

Oh I almost forgot the Cover Page in question.

Word of the Day

Fantabulous

1. Sort of like "fabulous" but much more fabulous than the word "fabulous" can convey. Like supercalifragilisticexpialidocius but shorter and easier to spell.

While on a free trip to Italy I won a free titanium frame bicycle and the customs agent let me bring it on the plane for free. What a Fantabulous trip!

2. Fantabulous is an adjective meaning something is of the highest quality. It is a combination of fantastic and fabulous, which was commonly used in London in the 1960s and 70s to describe various aspects of pop culture and fashions. It was especially popular with Chelsea girls like Joanna Lumley. It is still in use in England today, but not as much as it used to be.

That new coat of yours looks absolutely fantabulous!


Just in case you didn't know what fantabulous meant! lol. Definition provided by Urban Dictionary.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Some Random Fun

Sunday Jack and I went to Chili's Sunday night in an attempt to save "us." While we were there I designed a pepper to help children with cancer. This is what I came up with (excuse the pic quality, it was taken with my cell.)

After dinner we went to see The Dark Knight. I finally go to see it and I thought it was pretty good. Well worth the wait.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

The Simply Exquisite Notecards

The moment you have all been waiting for. Hehe. Jane has received her prize for winning "Name That Invitation" and I'm happy to say that she loved them. Now I can show the rest of the world how fantabulous they really are.

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All of my blog followers (stalkers) will receive a special discount of 25% off!!!! That will make a set of 20 only $37.50. If you are not already a follower be sure to become one to receive this awesome discount! You can do so on the sidebar of this blog and it is completely free and you don't have to have a blog of your own.


xoxo.

Amanda

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

David Carson

I have to write a paper on an Graphic Artist for my design class. The professor suggested David Carson because he (the profesor) seems to be fascinated with typograhy. So I looked him up and found him to be intriguing and I wrote my paper on it. Plus I just had to after seeing he designed the album cover for Bush's Sixteen Stone. The assignment was to have a photo on the cover but of couse I couldn't just put one in the center and be all boring like that. I had to show off my skills in David Carson type fashion! lol. So this is what I came up with. Let me know what you think. The paper is due tomorrow.



You will not find Times New Roman and Arial fonts, as you will in this paper, in the works of David Carson. David Carson is known for his experimental fonts that appeared inverted, spread out, mixed, overlaid, blurred and even stuffed into inclined boxes. A professional surfer in the 1970’s and 1980’s, David first shocked the graphic design community in the 1990’s.
Carson started to experiment with graphic design in 1983 and by 1989 he had developed his own style using “dirty” type and non-mainstream photography, even being dubbed as “the father of grunge.” He went on to become the art director of Transworld Skateboarding and Beach Culture. But it was not until he launched Ray Gun, a magazine of international standards which had music and lifestyle as its subject, that he became well-known. In 1995, he started his own studio called David Carson Design in New York City and attracted major clients such as Pepsi, Ray Ban, Nike, Busweiser and Giorgio Armani. He also published his first book, End of Point. In 2000, Carson opened another studio in Charleston South Carolina. He also designed a special edition of Surfer Magazine and directed a TV comercial for UMPQUA Bank in Seattle, Washington.
David Carson is largely responsible for making the use of new school typography and photography based graphic design. He does not follow the “traditional” standard of the industry. His work appears scattered and saturated but manages to communicate both the idea and feeling behind the design.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Blog Stalking

So I had this fun idea to get more blog readers. lol. Here it is. Let me know what you think. And yes I know I am a super dork. hehe.

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Thursday, September 11, 2008

In Remembrance

Today marks the seventh anniversary of the attacks of 9/11/2001. I would like to take this time to remember all those who have lost their lives on that day, those who have lost their lives fighting for our country and those who have fought and are still fighting for our country. All of these people are heroes. They hold the standard as to what an American is.

I can not believe it has been 7 years. And as I hold back overwhelming tears, I remember that horrible day like it was yesterday. I was a senior in high school. The first attack happened when I was in gym class. And as I walked into my next class, Mr. Albertson's Photography 2, I was the first one in the class, I saw Mr. Albertson with a look of disbelief on his face watching the news. He explained to me what was happening before our eyes on live television. A few moments later the second attack occurred. And I watched it on television, like it was a movie. Only, it wasn't a movie it was a reality. A reality that would change so many lives forever, a reality that would unite America. Eventually we were ordered to turn off our televisions. I suppose the faculty feared that it would upset those who had family in the areas and those who had loved ones in the military. But to this day, I don't think that was right. We were all upset, whether the TV was on or not. We mine as well know what was happening to our country. But never the less we went on with the rest of the school day without information, without knowing. I remember driving home that day in awe as I listened to the radio discuss what had happened. It was a sad sad day.

So I ask everyone to remember that day, what they were doing and how they felt. And I invite you to share with me your thoughts and prayers for our fallen heroes as well as those who fight to make sure that it will never happen again.




God Bless America!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

It worked!

You may have noticed the totally random pic on the prevous post. I was just testing the mobile blogger doohickey. Well it worked! lol. I know, I know....HUGE DORK! oh, and thanks everyone for making suggestion on my hair color. Much love!

Help me decide!

Okay I'm doing this out of sheer boredom...lol. I need your help with my hair color. Blonde or brunette??? Here's some pics...





Blonde

Brunette

Okay so I realize that this isn't the best pic but I couldn't find any other ones of when I had brown hair. So let me know what ya think. Oh and I know I'm a huge dork. :)~

Don't forget to stalk me. Become a follower.

xoxo,

Amanda



Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Thanks!

Thanks everyone who sent me your My Coke Rewards Codes. Unfortunately, the awesome coke bottles are completely out-of-stock. Blah. I was watching several of them on eBay, BUUUT they are all going for waaay more than I want to spend. So o'well, there goes that. Maybe someone will be nice and get them for me as a surprise. (Wishful thinking though.) However, you can still send me your codes so I can be prepared for the next cool thing that comes along. Because I'm positive there will be something else I just have to have. lol.

Anywho, I finished Jane's note cards. They are in the mail. I hope she really likes them and I can't wait to show everyone. But I am going to wait till Jane gets a chance see them first. I know I'm bad, I'm making ya'll wait. hehe.

I start back to class today. I am very pleased with my schedule for this quarter. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Woo-hoo, no Friday or Sat classes. The classes I'm taking are Civil Drafting, Engineering Graphics II (which I just found out is with a professor that I wasn't to fond of in the past) and I have Basic Design Theory and Methods (which I hear is kinda like an Intro to PS kinda class, so I will totally ace that!) I just went through all my classes to see how many I have left and after this quarter I only have 4 classes left! Full time is 3 classes so I'm sure they will make me take 2 and 2 or 3 and 1 so that puts me graduating in May 2009! Maybe they will be nice and let me take 4 classes so I can graduate in March. I think I can handle it. Wish me luck! Oh, and the campus has moved from the west side to the southside so I am happy about that since I live on the southside. It is only a couple of miles away now. I road by there Sunday to check out exactly where it was so I wouldn't get lost on the first day and it looks much nicer.

Oh I almost forgot to tell ya'll. I got my laptop back on Friday. Yay. The hard drive failed so they replaced it. They told me it would be 2 1/2 weeks and they got it back to me in less than 2. Go Geek Squad. Now, I've been trying to get everything back to normal, all the programs and settings that I had. Oh what a task that is. But it's almost done. Does anyone have PS CS3? I've been using CS2 but since CS3 is out I might just get that since I have to load it again.

Well, I think that is it for today, I think. Don't forget to comment so I know you are blog stalking me! hehe.

xoxo,
Amanda

Thursday, September 4, 2008

PCOS AWARENESS MONTH

Don't you think it's funny how you hear about something that you rarely do and all of sudden it's everywhere? That's how it has been for me today. I logged onto myspace today and the first bulletin I read was about PCOS Awareness Month. I didn't even know there was a month for it. Then I hop on over to Jess Cumbie's blog because she is doing this "Day in the life of" type blog and low and behold she was discussing her battles with PCOS and how she found an awesome specialist. Just a few minutes ago I was looking at all her comments and was amazed of how many women have this.

This inspired me to tell my story. I too have PCOS. End of 2006, beginning of 2007 I was not having regular periods...in fact I wasn't having them at all. So of course I thought I was prego...but after a few tests that wasn't the case. So off to the doc I went. She told me that my insulin was high and that my glucose was normal and that she was diagnosing me with PCOS because that's what they diagnose people when they don't really know what is wrong. Excuse me??? Yeah, I was a little shocked. She gave me birth control to regulate my periods and put me on Metformin. Well, I then had some not so great side effects....going to the bathroom ALOT, if you know what I mean. And I def don't need help with that as it is. So I eventually stopped taking it. I have regular periods and no major symptoms of PCOS. The only thing is that my arms are broke out and I get more blemishes on my face now than I did in high school. But no major acne and nothing like alot of other women are going through. The only thing I worry about, is getting pregnant. Not that I want to be at this moment...but it would be nice to have a piece of mind that I can. Needless to say, after much internal debate I have decided to make an appt with the specialist and the earliest they could get me was on Oct 8th. I have been thinking about seeing another doc for awhile now but Jess gave me that push today, even if that wasn't her intentions. I will keep you updated on the appt when the time comes. Thanks for listening.

I'm Addicted to COKE!!!!

Coca-cola that is! hehe. If you know me, yo know that I am an avid coca-cola collector. But it has to be stuff for the kitchen or things like bottles and tins. And if you want to know something very very strange....I don't even drink coke. lol. But I love sprite. mmmmm. Soooo onto my most awesome discovery ever!!!! Which I am a little late on! haha. The Coca-cola Aluminum Bottle Collection: WE8. They are so awesome. They were made for the Olympics by Chinese artists. I love them!!! BUT the problem is they are sold out. I'm following a few auctions on eBay but some of them are at $170.00!!!! Wow, can't afford that. They were only $60 for the set to begin with. But there is another way to get them....all I need is 2000 my coke rewards points...Ehhh I only have 326. I have a few more to enter still but it's def not going to get me to 2000. Soooo if everyone gave me all their coke rewards points I will love everyone forever and ever. hehe. I know that there is someone right now about to throw away a coke bottle with the cap on. Code unused. ::GASP:: The codes are on all coke products, whether it is a 20oz, 2 liter, 12 pack....ALL OF THEM!!!! So send me your codes. You can keep the cap, I just want the code. lol. PAAAAALLLLLEASE! :)

Here's what they look like...


Beautiful I know....Codes please! Tell all your peeps to collect them for me too!

Love ya'll.

Amanda

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

It's official...

I got a B in Physics. I survived!!! (shouting to the roof tops, lol) Too bad I couldn't tell you much about what I learned. Although I have found myself showing off my new smarts in conversations. Did you know gravity is 9.8m/s squared? lol!

Anywho! I hope everybody had a good Labor Day. I had a fantabulous three day weekend. It was nice to NOT sit at home for a chance. I spent most of it at Ashley's. Of course we watched the Gator game! Which the Gators totally kicked butt. I don't even think Hawaii showed up. I'm super excited about football season. The year seems to go by so uneventful without football.

Yesterday Jack and I spent the day at Ashley's enjoying a cookout and the pool. I had a good time. When we got home, I got to watch the season premier of One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl. Two of my fave shows! Lol, yes I am one of those dorks who doesn't miss an episode. And tonight, 90210 premiers! I was a 90210 junkie back in the day. Never ever missed an episode in 10 years! lol. So of course I have to check out the new version. Hopefully, it is as good as the old.

I also wrapped up a couple of my halloween invites this weekend. I am totally in love with The Hocus Pocus. It's so whimsy. But if you like scary check out The Moore Manor. The ad is in the previous post. I also started working on Jane's note cards which I can't wait for her and everybody else to see!

I am so ready for another weekend...just wish they were all 3 days!

Until next time...

You know you love me.
XOXO
Amanda (haha, you thought I was going to say Gossip Girl!)

Monday, September 1, 2008

Halloween Special!

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