Lots of Schlepping

Well it’s been an interesting two days. Yesterday was orientation for the NYSRP which went well, though a little awkward as most “first day”s are, and it looks like I’ll be sharing studio space with some really cool people. After orientation I spent about 45 minutes walking in the rain, in a jacket I thought was waterproof, trying to find a subway stop that seemed to not exist. After I found the right subway I met my family at the Museum of natural History completely soaked freezing. It is one of the most incredible museums I’ve ever been to and I will definitely be going back.

Today we were supposed to meet at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. Unfortunately, I did not know that there are multiple SVA buildings all over Manhattan. My family dropped me off at the building on the far wast side of the island. I said goodbye to them since they were leaving to go back to Cincinnati, which was not an easy thing to do. Unfortunately, the building we were supposed to meet at is on the far east side of Manhattan. So, after a 30 minute bus ride I made it to the right building and I got my ID. After which we spent the rest of the day schlepping (aka walking) around Manhattan to the various SVA buildings, went to Sammy’s noodle shop, and ended at the SVA library with a couple studio-mates to read and relax. So at the end of the day, I miss my family already, though I am excited to be living semi on my own, and I am learning my way around the city one mistake at a time and loving every minute of it.

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Finally in NYC

Im finally in NYC after two days of driving with my family and everything we crammed in the back of the car. Most of my stuff is moved into my brothers apartment in Williamsburg and I spent my fist night here. We had some awesome pizza at Franny’s, and I got Earl Grey Tea ice cream from Van Leeuwen last night. We should be heading to brunch soon, not sure where though. We also drove over to DUMBO area yesterday where my school/studio will be and checked out the park near there. Dumbo is such a cool area with some sweet shops and restaurants. Im super pumped to be going to school over there. Orientation is tuesday and I can’t wait to move all of my stuff into my studio and meet my studio-mates. Ill probably be posting some pics of school and my studio on tuesday so check back then.
Peace

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Freshman Orientation

What a few couple of days it has been.

Freshman orientation had its ups and downs, mostly good. Anyway you look at it, though you can say it was an adventure.

Waking up after move-in to be at school the next day was something. I think we all were a bit sore, I know at least I was.  Breakfast helped. So did lunch. During the first day’s lunch we had a faculty slideshow of all the work our professors had been doing over the summer. I always enjoy seeing what my teachers are doing in the field, knowing that they too are practicing artists. There were some pieces that my drawing teacher from last semester did that I saw in a group show at the Weston last year. Of course, I did not pay attention to who the artist was, which is a bad habit I definitely need to break.

That evening I regrettably missed final friday, but I did make it out to the free Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s concert down at Fountain Square. It is always awesome standing six rows back center stage from one of your favorite bands for free. No complaints at all.

Day two of orientation was a little rough. I think both the incoming freshman and the ambassadors were getting to the end of a long string of days, plus we are all getting anxious for classes to start and to dive in the middle of things. However, things still went smooth and we made the best of it especially in the afternoon when we could get out of the lecture hall.

Saturday evening Katie and I took a group of Freshman out to Target for them to get some supplies. Target is my weak spot so thankfully I had just gotten some birthday money in the mail to help with that. When we were done shopping we decided it was too early to head back home, so the group headed up to Clifton to walk around. Katie apparently has regular status at Tea ‘N Bowl now and they were very happy to see her again so her bubble tea cravings can keep them in business.

All the freshman that I have met and talked to over these past few days have all seemed really great. I have high hopes for this class.  The three that we were with were pretty cool. Millie (or is it Milly? I haven’t seen her name written down so my apologies if I am getting it wrong) is running for the new position of class president. The class officer thing seems a bit rushed right now, but I really hope it will work out. However, I just going off of first impressions, but I believe she will do an amazing job. She is just the right person the program needs to put in the extra effort to get it going in the right direction.

Anyways, back to Clifton. We were just sitting down by some trees and amongst making new freshman friends we discovered another friend.

Yes. That is a praying mantis on Katie’s head.

Soon somebody suggested ice cream and we went one better and found a frozen yogurt place. I had a a mix between strawberry banana and kiwi, it was very delicious.

Today I just took a day to relax. Of course living next to a church means that I will never sleep in past nine o’clock on a Sunday. Thanks for ringing you bells for ten minutes straight. Turning sarcasm off: Can you do that on school days? I can always use another alarm clock.

Speaking of which, classes start tomorrow. I am ready to begin. However I need to get my bag packed. Instead of spending my precious last moments of summer vacation doing something productive I am burning some candles and sipping on an iced chai. I wonder why people always tell me my priorities are off.

Someone is playing an acoustic guitar music outside. Weird for my neighborhood but it is going with the atmosphere I want right now, so it is much appreciated.

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It’s Good to be Back

Move in day down.

Plus, I have all my stuff completely unpacked and walls are starting to be decorated.

Of course, I thought I was just going to be manning the front desk today, so why not wear a long sleeve shirt?

Why? Because I am going to spend the next ten hours moving people into their apartments.

I had a lot of fun, though. It was fantastic to see everyone again, really impressive turnout amongst the upperclassman.

The best part was getting to finally meet all the freshman officially as new members of our AAC community. It was really rewarding to see all the families that I had been giving tours to over the past year. The incoming class seems truly amazing. Yes, we spied on your canvases as we brought them up to your room. I am really impressed with the talent.

I got to talk to the families at the dinner tonight. All the students are really nice and I can tell they are excited to start on this grand adventure.

Orientation starts tomorrow. Let us just hope I won’t be too tired for it.

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One week and counting

Well, I have exactly one week to pack everything I can fit into my family’s car so they can take me to NYC. This semester I am participating in the New York Studio Residency Program that begins September 6th, and ends December 23rd. Here’s a link with all the info if you’re a sophomore interested in apply for next year http://nysr.aicad.org/. I will be living with my older brother and and his roommate in Brooklyn about 3.5 miles from where the NYSRP is located. Needless to say, I am extremely excited to be a working artist in NYC; and at the same time I am terrified. Although, it’s a good terrified I think. I can’t imagine someone not being a little daunted moving to a new city away from pretty much everyone and everything you’re so familiar with. And although there will be many things, friends, and family (which includes my boston terrier Indie who is the best dog ever) that I will miss I am so ready and excited to participate in this program. Living with my brother will without a doubt make things easier, and I have a few friends that also live there so it wont be all new faces. Anyway, wish me luck and Ill try to post on here as often as I can. Also, keep in mind I’ve never blogged before, so go easy on me.

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Enjoying Summer

It’s crazy, I can’t believe almost half of summer is over. I feel like I just got here! It’s been a much needed break and time of relaxation and spending time with family and friends, however, I know when I go back to school, it’s gonna hit me like a pound of bricks! I mean, I still haven’t been able to find a job so I literally have zero responsibilities, so going back to school and suddenly getting swamped is going to blow! I’m really excited to go back, working all of the freshman prep events has got me excited for the new incoming class and getting back to school!

All in all, I’m having a great summer and enjoying every minute of the free time. I feel like a kid again an it’s the greatest feeling in the world.

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Potential Apartment

So Lauren and Sarah went to look at possible apartments for me, Christina, and them to all room in next year. We think we found the place. We thought we’d have to be split up because all of the properties that they saw only allowed a maximum of 3 people in them. The last one they saw allowed 4! Woohoo! We went and spoke with the company that owns it, and after MOUNDS of paperwork, (and a lot more to do), I think we’re going to get approved. Here’s to hoping!

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A/C is For Wimps

Last week I stayed in the apartment for the first time, and it was really nice. I have to say, I love the place a lot more than originally anticipated. Surprisingly, though it’s smaller, a lot less nicer, and a lot more ghetto, I like it so much more! I think it’s because it has a sense of community. I can hear kids outside playing and music playing, and people outside yelling. Best part: THERE’S A TREE. And it’s right outside my window! I slept with the window open and could hear the tree blowing all night, and it was heaven. I feel a lot less like I’m in the city, like downtown, and more like I’m just in a more urban suburbia. I can’t really see any huge skyscrapers, and there’s a church outside my window that rings bells every hour like a grandfather clock, reminding me of home. It’s really nice. It feels home-y and I love it!
When I stayed there, I opted for no A/C. I saw it pointless to run the A/C for just myself and my guest staying with me for 2 days when everyone else who was in their respective hometowns for the summer would have to pick up their share of the utilities for it. So, we toughed it out, and it really wasn’t that bad, in fact I really appreciated the smell of outdoor wind filtering through the apartment and the occasional shouts and yells and banter from outside. It adds character.

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First Injury in the New Apartment

So when I visited Cincinnati last week to work in the admissions office for a day, I stayed in my new apartment for the first time. Boxes were everywhere, I haven’t unpacked at all, we just threw my bed on the floor and attempted to make our way through the maze of boxes and various other miscellaneous items that littered my floor and hoped to not step on anything too sharp.
Luckily, I didn’t step on anything, but worse. I woke up and went to head for a shower, and tripped, knocking the side of my foot into the corner of the wooden bulletin board laying on my floor. It KILLED. I sat on the floor, laughing that I just fell like an idiot by basically tripping on nothing, and wondered how bad my foot was cut. I thought it better be at least scratched with a little bit of blood so at least it’s cool with how bad it’s hurting and not just skinned. I picked my foot up and turned it to the side to see blood trickling down my entire foot, WAY worse than anticipated. And with that, it suddenly started hurting a lot more. I hopped up and on one foot hobbled to the bathroom to get to the tub. As I walked into the tub, I left bloody footprints all over the bottom of it, then looked back to see little bloody patches all over the bathroom floor where it was running down and dripping everywhere.
“Damnit! The carpet!” I thought, “My roommates are going to KILL me if I don’t freaking bleed out beforehand!”
I then attempted to rinse my foot in the tub as much as possible just to clean it out quickly as I hopped out of the tub, grabbed some toilet paper and started backtracking out of the bathroom to dab up the blood splotches on the carpet before it dried. As I got back to my room, I turned to go finish cleaning up my foot, to see an entirely new trail of blood splatters. I looked at my foot that I held up as I hopped around on one foot to see blood still running. Just my luck. I hopped back to the bathtub, sat there on the edge of the tub, of what looked like to be a murder scene with the amount of eerie bloody footprints everywhere, and tried to get my foot to stop bleeding. Eventually it stopped bleeding enough for me to get a bandaid on it and clean up the bloody macabre mess I made. All I have to say, is thank God for dark brown carpet.

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Summertime!

Wow, it’s been nice being out of school. I can’t believe I’m done with my freshman year. It felt like just half a year! I don’t feel comfortable calling myself a sophomore, I still feel like I should be a freshman! We’ve moved into our own place a block over from the school, and I’m really pleased with it, I go up and stay there from time to time when I visit Cincinnati to work for admissions, and it’s pretty nice, except I hate paying rent over the summer for essentially nothing while I live in Louisville. Either way, summer is working out swimmingly.

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