Sponge Bob Squarepants

Lately, I've been catching up on my Sponge Bob Squarepants cartoons, and I must admit, I love that yellow sponge. Some days, I just want to be like Sponge Bob--live a simple life, work at a job I love, catch jellyfishes with a butterfly net, and not really have any worries at all. My beau could be Patrick, but then he refuses to dumb himself down. Anyhow, if you haven't watched a Sponge Bob cartoon in a while, or ever, you should catch up. Even if it is a rerun.

Really, I've Been Busy

Okay, many of you know of my situation right now (which I won't mention or go into detail) and I'm sure the first thought that may come into your mind is that I don't have to get up early in the morning (which is true, but I also admit that I've become a night owl). BUT, really, I have been busy (I like to think that I'm planning for my future and setting myself to head in the right path).

Anyhow, aside from digging back into my thesis (which I often find so hard to get into the right mood to write in an academic tone), I've been researching and honing my artistic skills again. Before I became an adult, I really wanted to be an artist, but along the way to adulthood I've somehow managed to persuade myselft from entering that profession. But lately, I've just wanted to be happy and so I've decided that creating art (even if it is abstract or consists of doodles) makes me happy. Seriously, there's so much inspiration much around me and the possibilites are endless.

I'm retraining my eyes and brain to conceptualize things in many different ways. I've also been learning A LOT about vector art. Also, I found out there's a free software program on the internet called Inkscape, which is similar to Adobe Illustrator, but with less features. I've just been teaching myself and using tutorials on the internet to do cool things with these programs. There have been days where I feel like I'm just ramming my head into a brick wall (especially when the tutorials are not clear or I have no idea what the terms mean), and days where I really wonder if I will actually ever learn a simple trick in Inkscape, BUT it's all well worth the effort when I finally accomplish a tiny task.

The one last thing I will mention, but won't go into much detail, is that I'm also learning to silkscreen. This definately requires a lot of planning and an eye to see images and objects in tonal qualities. I don't know if that makes sense, but I'll post pictures of a finished project once I actually create something noteworthy.

Oh, Obama!

Today, I (along with a good friend) spent a good part of the day waiting in line to see Barack Obama speak. He came to the Target Center, and I was one of the 20,000 able to get a ticket. We arrived at the Target Center by 1 p.m., but it took at least fifteen minutes for us to walk to the "end of the line." Once in line, we saw that the line continued to grow and grow and grow. After two hours of standing in the cold, and losing all feeling in my fingers and toes, we finally entered the Target Center. We found seats up in the higher sections (think "nose bleed" seats), but the view was still wonderful. A little after 4 p.m., Barack Obama came out to speak. Now, I have not yet decided who I'm going to vote for, but I found Barack Obama to be very charismatic, hopeful, and somewhat endearing (I know he's a politician, but I really want to believe in all of his idealistic ideology). Anyhow, it was quite an experience, to say the least.