Day 194

Let me tell you about today, December 16, 2011


Today I explained to one of my good friends Mark C. about my rating system for girls.

Now, Let me tell you what this is not, it's not a sleazy hot girl scale. It's a great system for combining friends, possibly finding a girl friend, a future roommate, or just passing the time in the mall by rating people. first let me explain how this rating came to be. I needed a way to categorize my friends, and possible girl friends into separate times of hanging out so that I wasn't ditching my friends for some girl. So then what I have come up with is a two toned rating system. each person gets a letter either A, B, C, D, and F just like in school. they also get a number starting at one, and going through 10. ten being the high point.

So then let me show you how this works for my friends, I have several best friends, Suzanna, Steven, Mitch, Heather, Zach, and Kelcy. I give each new friend a number relating to how i think their personality is, and a letter on how well i think they will mix with me and the people i hangout with most.  For instance I have my friend Mark C, mark is a 9B. i could always bring him around my friends and there would be no awkwardness no matter what, but i doubt i would walk in and see him hanging in suz's apartment without me inviting him over. then there is the opposite side of the scale. I have a friend named Brittany. she's a great friend but she's like a 3F. My friends don't like her and she's not the kind of girl that keeps the conversation going, just fun to hang out with. so there's how it works when you rate friends. i try to only take people who are 5C's or above and introduce them to my friends and try to induct them.

now that same system can apply for girls that i want to date or be friends with. lets take an old Ex who would never read this because she hates my guts. BUT. At the time, she was rated a 8B here's what she looks like

8B

In this system the number is your level of attractiveness while your Letter is how compatible we are as a boyfriend/girlfriend. Now here are some more examples.

Kate Beckinsale

10F

Yes she is gorgeous but lets' be honest she's just a few years shy of being the same age as my mom. gross.  although the good thing about people who are a 7 through 10. and score low on the lettering scale.. . they make for great make out partners!! 

Sigmund 

1D

she is clearly a monster, although she is hilarious!!! so we have a better chance than kate and i do. Kinda sad now that i think about it.  

So there you have it, the rating system, i encourage you to go out and use it to your benefit, whether it's for matching friends up or for finding a date. anytime it's useful!!

Day 191

Let me tell you about today, December 13, 2011

school

School is going. i feel the pressure to graduate on time, yet i want to stay a student forever and see my friends everyday. the up coming semesters are going to be bitter sweet as i start to see all my friends move away and grow up. this semester was really challenging i bit off more than i could chew, yet i managed to pull out mostly A's. i had a class over contemporary art history, and the times when i went, which was once a week, were so informative i really enjoyed learning about all the past and current artists. i also had my first graphic design class, which was frustrating. we had three different teachers. it made for a real mess when it came to starting a project. needless to say i will be glad when i get my grade for that one. i was well earned. My final bible class was this semester. i copped out and took a course over money, and what the bible has to say about it. it was really informative. but an easy A in the end. I also had my first Illustration class. it was very hard. i found it hard to keep up with the fine artists such as alison treat and alex waldo. made my nights long, but in the end i have learned so much, Keely and I kinda spear headed a gallery opening for the illustration class. turned out great! my final class was a class over the adobe InDesign program. which even though i didn't get the highest grade in there i got a fairly decent profolio turn out. towards the end i found myself working with a lot of passion and learning a lot of new illustrator techniques. but finals are here and i have been done since monday.

friends

OMG i can not even express how great this semester has been with my friends. I have the best room mates in the world. Talon is a tall funny guy and is probably the loudest person you will ever meet. Sean has the best laugh and lets face it no one can shake their junk like him. Oh and mark... let me just say this, "Listen." but i have meet so many great people this semester and grew closer to a lot of my friends that i already had. Robbie and Keely, i can not begin to count the number of hours we have stayed up together and the number of bad accents i have heard from keely. Steven Suzanna, and Mitch always will be my besties!!! no matter what i know they have my best interest at heart and truly want to be there for me. It was nice enough to get to meet and become friends with all the incoming rushies. you guys rock! i grew a lot closer to my upper classmen friends this semester Kayleigh Taryn Melanie you guys are great! i mean it's like where would i be in life without you. Dead. i could go on and on about everylast detail but like i said this is a overview... ish.

family

I want to start of with the most important people in my life, my family. I finally get to see them this week. My flight leaves on saturday. it's been months since i've seen my family it really is just the perfect timing for me to see them. i will be spending the upcoming holiday with them catching up on the past four months and hanging out. My little brother Mak is now 18... it's still a shocker to me, i always pictured him as my little 13-year-old brother. but now he smokes, has a job, and more tattoos than i do. go figure. My mom, bless her heart! i can not wait to see her! call me a mama's boy I DON'T CARE! no one has been there like my mom has. hopefully i can convince her to speak in her southern accent the whole break. that would make my life the best. I will get to see my stepdad clarence this break too! i'm going to give him such a hard time, but at the same time i know my limits he will smack me down quickly. needless to say i am ready to once again have my family, it's hard being on my own. but i'm glad i had such great people in my life to teach me correctly. life isn't nearly as hard as it could be.
over view
It's been a while, but I have finished the semester with great grades and great memories. I've decided to blog my thoughts out, i tend to do that when i have a lot on my mind. I just usually don't post them.

arts

this semester i feel like i broaden my portfolio with a lot of work, did a lot of great work thanks to the helpful cirques from my classmates. i'll just give you an example of what i have been doing in each of my classes and personal side projects.
my photography, i did a couple shoots this semester but i would always like to do more.
this is Sarah U. she had this idea for a Vendetta shoot and it turned out quite sexy!

Next we have a shot of Lawson, he was my little brother in Kappa this rush year, he is a huge mumford and sons fan, so as a gift i did this shoot with him.

Next we have illustration which was a challenge, but i did do what i think is a great piece i used a technique called stippling. which is basically a lot of little dots. It was inspired by the late 70's moive Howard the Duck.

finally we get to InDesign, which is actually just illustrator and photoshop and getting them ready for print. this is an infographic i did over vikings, it turned out great. although this isn't the finished file..

i'm excited to continue to learn more about ART and the practice of it.

work

UGH this semester has been the worst when it comes to a job. i did some free lance work most of it ended on a good foot, one guy said he was going to sue me. never doing that again. I worked as a model, art teacher, telemarketer, food sever, and graphic design intern this semester and still never had a steady pay. how do i survive. GOD. MAGIC. WHO KNOWS!

Day 36

Let me tell you about today, June 5, 2011.

So, i haven't really had enough stuff to write about, until yesterday.
I yesterday i started my job for the summer. I'll be a proctor for the upward bound program and what the program does is give an educational opportunity to low income and first generation high school students. First I moved everything (again) into my college dorm room, and it's on the third floor, which means i had to make ten, count them ten! trips up and down the stairs to get my stuff moved in. but with all that said and done, i called it a night. early the next morning the students moved in. Yuck. they had all kinds of stuff, TV's, microwaves, skateboards, xboxs, and hello kitty toasters. all of which was moved in. but other than that the kids have been super active, they are always checking in and out going to play basketball, or hanging out, it's nice to see students that are separated from the internet and technology for a change.

i've been editing some photos from a recent shoot, which was nice. it's a good brake from the kiddos. here's what i have so far.

This is heather, she's a red head that falls down a lot and turns red when she laughs, AKA not gangster. so i changed her in this shoot!

This is conner, he plays every sport under the sun. poor conner i made him do laps till he broke up a good sweat. then i got several great shots finally getting to use the basic lights i got. classic!

The next few are of a girl named jacklyn, she's cool! her goals in life are to make all of her freckles connect so she can be tan... she's getting close. this one was taken with the sun behind her and I was trying to capture the "Golden Hour" look... worked pretty good.

On our stroll through the field to take these shots, i spotted this red rusted out truck, it was prefect! so i was like "get up there" and she did, great shot!

This last one is my favorite! several hours later i had her come over to my grandma's where we have this old shed. i broke out my lights and had a "high fasion" feel to the shots, really happy with the way they turned out!

other than that i'm just living with these kids. i'll keep you up dated.

Day 14

Let me tell you about today May 13, 2011.

Today was an exciting day for me! I got to shoot some people! With my camera is what I meant. I woke up early thinking I would start shooting around 10. That was a bad Idea..ish.. I felt great getting up I mean I had energy and stuff. So that’s not all that bad. I waited for Sam to tell me when she was ready to shoot. She text me right at ten like she said she would. “does 2-o-clock work for you?” poop. I had thought, I mean it worked for me; I was just up wit nothing to do, and nothing to read. Great. After twiddling my thumbs for two hours I headed up to the library to take back the harry potter book and get the next one, as well as check my facebook and see about more bookings. I was hoping the shot wouldn’t take long; I wanted to attend Tyler Geohagan’s graduation from OBU, which was at 6. Plenty of time I thought. So at like 1:40 Jacklyn, a girl whom I had been trying to get a hold of to see if could ride with to the graduation, came into the library. Asked me if I was ready to go. Completely taken off guard I shut my laptop and said yeah. Then the time had hit me. Turns out Tyler’s graduation wasn’t at 6 it was at 3. And I had booked up to that point with Sam, poop. So I missed Tyler’s Graduation, lame. I headed over to Sam’s smacking myself for being so forgetful. Tyler had told me Three I just simply forgot. I arrived at Sam’s right at 2. When I met her son, I was a little disappointed, I thought he would be younger, he is about to turn 2 if I’m not mistaken, I thought he was more like 5 months from the way I had heard him described. Either way I was still going to do the same shot. Jackson, the baby, had a different plan though. Sam and I tried to calm him down and get him to sit still, but it was no use. We took him outside to maybe at least get some of him smiling or something, but with the spotty clouds and him running away from me I just have a lot of out of focus and awkward shots, sorry Sam. But I still had Sam to take pictures of. So I went to an alley with a couple spots. And got this shot. After editing I brought out the eyes a bit more, used the spot healing brush to smooth the skin out, also cropped it vertical to add a visual thinness to her. Finally I added some tonal evenness with the colors.

Next I got this, same location and a bit more aggressive of a pose. Again not much editing to these, all one layer no fancy tricks, just bringing out the eyes, and spot brushing it. I did crop it so that her face was the center point not the body.

This final shot was a bit more. I debated with myself for a long time as to whether or not keep the blade of grass that is shown on the left. I thought it added some visual line that kept the viewer aware of the curve of her body, which normally I would take out, but with Sam it seemed to have worked this time. So I kept it. Then the magic of tones, and spot healing brush, had to remove some hair that was caught in the wind across her face but you can’t even tell. Thank you clone stamp tool.

And finally i’d like to introduce my new logo. If you look back at the photo’s they now have them in the bottom corner. Used two pretty good fonts one more well known than they other. Gil sans is used in the word “photography” a nice san serif . and Walbaum for the KB part. They worked exceedingly well together as far as I’m concerned. And that’s a wrap.

Word Count: 691

Day 13

Let me tell you about today May 12, 2011.

Today is better, maybe I’ve gotten used to the grey skies that have settled over the small town of Allen. Today I was grateful for them, when I awoke today I received a message from a friend. She needed help constructing a fence to keep chickens in. so I did just that, threw on my old jean a tee and a ball cap. Eyes half open I was ready to work. A little over an hour later me and a friend had built a pretty good fence, no chicken was getting out of there.. unless it flew out. After that I was treated to lunch at Dave’s the local diner. After that I headed back to my grandmothers to shower and actually get my day on the road. Hopped onto the Internet and got caught up with everything and everyone. While on the Internet I kinda did some work. I booked a double shoot for Friday, a shoot for Sunday, a shoot for Monday, and a shoot for Wednesday. Yeah I’ma beast. So I was really exicited. Maybe to excited I went and got a set of lights. We’ll see if that was a good idea come tomorrow and we’ll see if they are worth the small amount I had to spend on them. But now onto the rest of my day! I arrived back at my grandma at about three. Did some texting and t.v. watching. My grandma also treated me to Dave’s diner for dinner. I didn’t want to mention to her that I had already been there, she seemed very happy to take me. We were meeting some other members of my family that live in town, my uncle Harold, my uncle john, my aunt butchie, my grandmother and myself all went to eat. It was nice, heard all kinds of stories from when they were younger. The waitress was the same one I had earlier that day, however due to the change of clothes and a shower I don’t think she recognized me at all. We spoke some of my uncle jerry, who has cancer. He hasn’t been having the best week. He fell last night, busted his face up pretty bad, and he’s constantly on oxygen, breathing with incredible difficultly. Moving simply isn’t an option for him right now. He’s got a doctors appointment tomorrow. I hope they have good news because his kemo didn’t go so great the first time. After that we returned back to my grandmas, I just read. Read my thoughts away. And it worked, until I reached the last page that is. Goblet of fire, you are finished!

Word Count: 447

Day 12

Let me tell you about today May 11, 2011.

Today was mixed feelings kinda day, I was down. I don’t really know why but I have a good idea as to why. The weather was all a mess, which usually gets me down. But also it was a down time in my harry potter book. I’m currently reading the goblet of fire and it’s a great book; however, there is a time when harry feels alone. Every one thought he had placed his name in the goblet of fire and people were making fun of him wearing potter stinks badges. I know right, how original a teenage boy relates to a character that he is reading about. But it’s true. I do feel down and I did relate to how harry was feeling. Allen is such a strange place. In the morning you can hear the ruffling and coughing as the elderly people of the town wake up, watch the sun rise and read the paper. About an hour later you read the ready feet and engines of the school coming about. Then nothing. No sounds really come from the town until lunch when everyone heads to their respective places for lunch, some meet at the local diner, it seats about 40 and is full on any given day with the towns work force which consists of laborers who have grown up in the area and know the ins and outs of every person in the town, you hear waves of hellos as each person calls the next by first name. After lunch there is a small time of peace. At 3:00 doors burst open and kids fill the streets. Allen has virtually no crime and no traffic to speak of; most students walk to Main Street home or ride bikes with friends. It’s nice to see that kind of freedom among kids. Then at four the sounds of laughter and feet quiet as kids go inside for the night. More engines roar at 6 when most of the town can be found at the food center, a place to get tonight’s dinner, whether a family is making tacos or microwavable pizza’s you can get your supplies there. At eight-o-clock death falls over the town, not a single car on the road and no one in sight. There is a still that can only be found at a cemetery. Yet it’s only 8. The mundane practices of Allen get old quick; this exact same schedule of events happens everyday 6 to 8. Never skipping a beat. On this grey day I can’t do anything other than think, What are my friends doing? I hope they are having fun.

Word Count: 448

Day 11

Let me tell you about today May 10, 2011.

Today I had a bit of a thought. I wondered about certain things, and more than others I wondered what it would be like to live forever. What if my body didn’t break down? What if age was just a number? My head swirled with ways that this could happen. I thought of ways others had gone about trying to accomplish the same thing. Here is a break down of the ways I have come across thus far.

Holy Grail: an old story about a cup that empowered the owner eternal life when ever their lips touched the brim, sure sounds good; however, hasn’t been seen in 400 years and with a lack of a passport I don’t have time to head over to England and search for it. Next.

The Tuck Family: there is a book about a family that found a spring where the person who drank from it would be endowed with life forever staying young, not feeling pain, or the aches of disease. Not a bad pay off and the rumor of its placement is in the north eastern side of the united states, but it was rumored to be there around the 1900’s, back when trees were actually there. I doubt the spring is still there. Next.

Vampires: though I fit the role according to comments on all my pictures. I don’t know if I could do it, I don’t like the idea of staying out of the sun, I love the sun, and love fruit. Both are things vampires aren’t to keen on. That and I can’t seem to find one. They are sneaky. Next.

The Dark Lord: for a split second let’s pretend harry potter’s realm is real. Given all the dark acts I would have to comment I’m not sure I would even enjoy the life I would live. Everyone would hate me. That and I’m 19, still no letter from Hogwarts, I blame the wind from Oklahoma, no owl is flying through it. Next.

Then there is the practical way, with the advances in medical science. Lets pose a problem. I am sick. I am in need of a new kidney, with chances of finding a donor low. The doctors can only wait for so long as my kidneys are refusing to function for much longer. I pose a solution. Put me under. Take my kidneys out. But instead of trying a new set of kidneys where there are chances of tissue rejection and failure of function. Lets use modern science to solve the solution. There have been scientists working on a fluid that function much like our own blood. However it’s very complex there can’t be anything larger than 1/800 of an inch in the fluid as it would clog and collapse the arteries. Not to mention the levels of oxygen that need to be constant as they flow through the fluid. I know it’s several years away, but we are making advances in stem cell research that is going to inch this along the finish line. Once this fluid is developed one simply places the kidney extracted from the patient into the fluid and work openly on the kidney without worry of damaging the patient from such a long time under surgery. I know what you are thinking, not possible… but!
Alexis Carrol, the first American to win the Nobel prize in medicine, took a premature chicken egg and kept the it alive for 18 years in a state of frozen animation, not showing the breaking down of tissue, or aging that one would normally see. Let’s just say I’ve been thinking about this, will return to this topic later.

Word Count: 620