Something to Get Excited About

Today was my first day of school for Winter semester. I am only taking one class, it's a computer design class. Basically we are going to learn all the design software we are going to need to know to be graphic designers. I. Am. Stoked. Once I finally learn all the complicated software I can finally get a graphic design job and do something I actually care about and get all my ideas out where people can see them. I know this might surprise you but I'm not passionate about selling sporting goods online (which is what I'm currently doing). I also found out that we are going to get to do an art show in the HFAC gallery which I haven't done since my 2D class forever ago. I am very excited for that :) I like seeing my work up on the wall. Makes me feel accomplished somewhat. This semester is going to be a very good one :) 

China Doesn't Deserve All the Credit

Made in China. That's what's printed, etched, stickered, etc. onto almost EVERYTHING.

While I was peeling off the Made in China sticker off the inside of my Converse I realized something. China isn't as smart as everyone thinks. While everything may be made in China, it doesn't all originate there. Countries all over the world send their ideas and products to China to be manufactured. China has tons of people, which means cheap labor. That means thousands of Chinese people see millions of products and ideas from countries all over the world. They are exposed to ideas from the entire planet. China isn't the smartest or most advanced. They simply have the most resources. They see everyone's great ideas and products, manufacture them, and in turn they know how everything works. Sometimes they use that knowledge to expand on already created products or it leads to new products, but that doesn't make them smarter than all the other countries in the world. It just appears that way. Who woulda thought? Maybe China won't take over the world after all.

It's Surreal That I'm Starting to Love Surrealism

Pinterest is awesome. I have found some really cool artists on there. Yesterday, there were a couple of amazing photographers I found. Their style is really cool. One of them is Martin Stranka, and the other is Lissy Elle. They both do surreal photography. I am really NOT into surreal paintings, but for some reason I really like these photos. I guess I like it for the same reason I like Tim Burton. It's different.

Martin Stranka

Lissy Elle

Happy Early Birthday To Me!

Sooooo.......my 21st birthday is in 21 days. Funny huh lol. I got a bonus at work today so I used it as an excuse to buy myself an early birthday present. 

This baby!

That's right, it's the Nook Color. I have never been more excited to read in my entire life. The first book I downloaded is:

This is the summary:

A powerful, blazingly honest memoir: the story of an eleven-hundred-mile solo hike that broke down a young woman reeling from catastrophe “and built her back up again.

At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life: to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State “and to do it alone. She had no experience as a long-distance hiker, and the trail was little more than an idea, vague and outlandish and full of promise. But it was a promise of piecing back together a life that had come undone.

Strayed faces down rattlesnakes and black bears, intense heat and record snowfalls, and both the beauty and loneliness of the trail. Told with great suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild vividly captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.

Sounds cool to me. And apparently it is part of Oprah's Book Club. Faaaaancy. Now if it will finish downloading I can start reading it :) 

The Awesomeness of Things I Have Stumbled Across

Recently I have stumbled across some pretty cool things. 

Awesome thing number one:

Imagine Dragons

I found them when my friend invited me to the rooftop concert in Provo. I couldn't go cause I didn't feel well, but I looked them up online and they are AMAZING. I love them. I downloaded their more recent CD. It only has eight tracks but is still awesome. Check them out here. 

Awesome thing number two:

This watch

It is an iPod Nano that clips onto a watch band. I think this one deserves a FREAKING AWESOME!

And thirdly awesome is:

Iveta Abolina

Click on her name to check her out.

She is an amazing artist and I'm probably going to get her artwork as my new laptop skin. This one to be specific. 

But there are so many other cool ones I can't decide. But I really like that one. This is the kind of stuff I want to make when I am actually a graphic designer. 

Anyways, have fun looking at all this awesome stuff. More to come later.