H4LL0W33N.

21 days until Halloween. I changed my LAYOUT. Tis the season.

Fun Facts.

I'm taking a break from the visual for the evening and posting some facts.

1. I have a hard time with foreign showers aka any shower other than the one in my house. The knobs are so confusing. I stood in my friend's shower for ten minutes trying to figure out how to get it to work. In another friend's shower, their shower head was so powerful, I felt like I was showering under a machine gun. I just enjoy knowing what's going to happen when I shower.

2. I may or may not be adopted.

3. I hate the back of my hair and that is why it is forever tied back.

4. I like it when people give me bracelets. Not actual jewelry, I'm talking silly bands or friendship bracelets. If I receive a bracelet from a friend, I'll wear it until it falls apart.

5. Anyone looks tan next to me.

6. I have mild OCD.

7. I still get carded for Rated R movies at the movie theatre.

8. I hate using metal silverware. I don't want metal anything in or around my mouth.

9. THIS video most accurately describes my life.

10. I have a problem staying the night at people's houses, but I'm working on it.

11. I can't dance and my family makes fun of me for not having rhythm.

12. In 6th grade, I won the DARE essay contest. I read my paper in front of the school, I received a gold medal, and a shirt that went down to my shins. Drugs kill.

13. Acceptable pizza: cheese, pineapple, or pepperoni (preferably w/light sauce & well done). Unacceptable: everything else.

Spice Girls & U of M.

I, like many people, loved the Spice Girls growing up. I still enjoy them, but not like I did prior to their break up. I started a Spice Girls club; well two actually. The first one was for my siblings (we forced Brother Chan to be Ginger) and the second one was for my school friends. The school one was cool, but anyone that wanted to be Baby Spice was automatically kicked out because I was Baby Spice. One time we had a photo shoot at my cousin's. I don't remember how old I was here; I'm guessing between 11 and 13. I have temporary Spice Girls tattoos on my cheeks. Those shoes were the closest I could find to "platforms". This was also one of the first times I wore makeup because Janine wouldn't let me wear makeup until I was 16 (HAHA). I had straight across 90's bangs and notice my hair was long. EMBARRASSING.In unrelated Spice Girls news, the University of Michigan put on a frozen event just like Improv Everywhere's Frozen Grand Central event; except this one took place on The Diag. At exactly 1:03 pm to 1:08 pm, everyone froze in place. The faces of the people walking around that didn't know what was going on were priceless. One girl asked if it was real life (who is she? ME?) and another girl asked if it was a joke being pulled on her (is she dead?). I'll post videos once someone puts them up. I participated with Matt, Nate, & Proma. I think the reason I liked this so much was because of how spontaneous it was. Here were A TON of people gathered for the same cause; to break free of their routine to participate in this random event for the fun of it. That's what life is all about. Alex later picked me up and on the way home, I kept screaming things like, "STATE RULES!" and "MICHIGAN STATE!" out of the window while driving around the U of M campus. It's Michigan VS Michigan State game Saturday and both teams are undefeated. I think if Alex had stopped, my head would be served on a maize and blue platter because these Wolverines had their claws out and they were raring to go.

Richard & The Shark.

I had a flashback to sophomore year of college and I thought of this painting. I searched in the garage for AN HOUR trying to find it. This is, without a doubt, one of the best paintings I have ever done [not technically speaking because it's not very well painted and it's missing hands]. Figure 2 met on Wednesdays from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm and I hated every minute of it. I would take breaks every ten minutes, which involved lingering in the hall, or going to the cafeteria to purchase a drink that would take me an hour to finish. Thank GOD I had that class with Nikki DeSautelle. One day, we were painting Richard, and Erik added these fun props. When I first laid eyes on that shark, I knew it had to be a focal point. It was stuffed, its eyes did not look like that, and it did not have those teeth, but I saw OPPORTUNITY. Erik came up to me at one point and said, "You're gonna add eyelids, right?" OF COURSE, ERIK. Except once I painted Richard like this, I had no intention of adding them. After one of my extended breaks, I came back to find a few classmates and Erik crowded around my painting, laughing at it. Mission accomplished; great success.Another day in Figure 2, Nikki and I were talking about how excited we were for lunch because every wednesday, we would go to Domino's and buy three pizzas. It was HIGHLY unnecessary. We would never even finish one pizza each so I don't know why we did that, but whatever, we did. There was this guy in the class (let's call him JOHN) and he overheard us talking and basically invited himself to the pizza party. No, John, we don't want to have a pizza party with you. So we sat there all morning trying to think about how we could get out of this, but we had no options. We tried to draw a door on the wall with chalk like in Pan's Labyrinth; fail. Lunch arrived and I waited outside of the door and Nikki came out. Then we both just SNUCK AWAY LIKE NINJAS down the spiral staircase. I remember this so vividly because we were giggling the entire way down and not breathing so that when we reached the bottom, we almost passed out. John never caught us. Looking back, that was actually really mean, but back then I was a lot meaner than I am now. Kind of.

Miscellaneous Musings.

My friend, Kirby, posted THIS. Read and laugh!

I just watched Being John Malkovich. I think my mind is going to explode. I also think that this may be John Cusack's best role ever because he was a creep, intriguing and I was also mildly repulsed by him. It's a far cry from heart-throb Lloyd Dobler in Say Anything.

I'm currently reading The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. My friend, Micaela Ruiz, told me about it. There's one particular passage that I wanted to share:

"And then a scholar said, Speak of Talking. And he answered, saying: You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts; And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your lips, and sound is a diversion and a pastime. And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered. For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words may indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly. There are those among you who seek the talkative through fear of being alone. The silence of aloneness reveals to their eyes their naked selves and they would escape. And there are those who talk, and without knowledge of forethought reveal a truth which they themselves do not understand. And there are those who have the truth within them, but they tell it not in words."

I am melancholy. I think it's because it's my favorite time of year, but it doesn't feel like it. I'm trying to psych myself into it though.

My itunes is on shuffle and my favorite Christmas song just came on. It's Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee. I can tell you that with absolute certainty (you too, Matt Benyo! I don't know how I didn't remember that when we were discussing Christmas songs). Now it's onto the Jonas Brothers.

I just completed one of my most ambitious works to date and I will be posting it [eventually]. I am so excited to share it with everyone!

I am a HUGE Project Runway fan. It's the only TV show I watch religiously (I'm not a TV nut like SOMEONE I know *MB/NB*). I must say, I love Mondo! The last episode made me want to hug him! He's a very unique designer and he's quirky and wonderful. This is a tribute to Mondo, but I must say I was impressed with Valerie's words before she left. That was also a tearjerker. I don't cry as much as this seems; just saying. Final 3: Gretchen, April, & Mondo! CALLING IT!

Project Pat Day!

I'm going to bet that most of you don't know who Pat is. I didn't know until fairly recently. Pat is an andryognous character from SNL, but Matt Benyo and I (we did coordinating Pat posts so check his out for the back story) didn't find out that Pat was from SNL until after we watched the movie, It's Pat. The movie got horrible reviews, but I don't see how that's possible unless you lack a sense of humor. I could not stop laughing. I was wheezing at one point (Matt Benyo; confirm or deny this). I can't find any other clips except for this one with a Ween cameo. When Pat says, "What's a WEEN?" I laugh for a good 20 seconds. Point being, Pat's great.

"This Is An Adventure."

Here's my Bill Murray as Steve Zissou over on The Hallway Show. This is the first cut out I've done in ages. Twas kind of a challenge. I'm sad because I returned The Life Aquatic and I want to watch it NOW. It has slowly made its way into my top favorites, but it's okay that I don't have it. I'm jamming Lady Gaga. I'm listening to BOYS, BOYS, BOYS. It's my second favorite song by her. Side note; I went to Apple Charlie's today and I found that the anticipation leading up to it was more exciting than actually being there. I wonder if that's how it is with everything. It may also depend on who you do things with. Anyway, click the image for bigger action.

Bill Murray.

I've been working diligently on drawing Bill Murray; specifically as Steve Zissou. I wonder if I blacked out when I drew half of these. I don't know, but I worked on them for a long time yesterday. I like the pencil one the best followed swiftly by the first one and the pen shaded one. I also enjoy the little one with the suit at the bottom. I can't stop watching The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Why? Because it's awesome.

Party Squad.

The Hallway Show has been updated. This week's candidate is Bill Murray.

Brother Chan posted a HILARIOUS link like two weeks ago and for SOME REASON, I never noticed it. Well, do yourself a favor and look at it. Click HERE.

Here is a dragon I drew from a coaster at Sidetracks in Ypsilanti. They had great coke and chicken tenders. I think they have a wide variety of alcoholic beverages, but I don't drink those so I can't say for sure. The atmosphere is awesome too.

The Social Network.

I was going to do an October post, and I will, but instead of spending the evening at home, I went to the midnight showing of The Social Network. Should it have surprised me that the theatre* was sparsely filled with hipsters? Probably not. I enjoyed this movie. I actually like Jesse Eisenberg (the poor man's Michael Cera), but I really disliked Mark Zuckerburg. He was condescending & pretentious. You know within five minutes of the movie he's a jerk, but you get the full effect within fifteen because he's updating his LIVE JOURNAL and his username is "ZUCKONIT". WHAT? Is this real life? Also, he insulted his ex-girlfriend [that broke up with him because he was a total d bag to her within 3 minutes of the movie starting] via his live journal and you wonder why you only had a few friends, Mark. My Mark Zuckerburg dislike/rant aside, Jesse Eisenberg did an awesome job and I adore Andrew Garfield (Eduardo in the film; also in Doctor Parnassus). I just thought the movie weaved in and out of the past and present well and it was paced perfectly. My only regret is that Mark Zuckerburg is probably making money off of this movie and he doesn't deserve it because it's only making his ego bigger. I forgot, but the reason I may have been all about this movie is because prior to the start of the movie, everyone CLAPPED with the theme song and that is my favorite thing EVER because often times I go and no one claps, but this time EVERYONE CLAPPED. This doesn't make sense if you don't go to a MJR theatre.*1 pretentious point for spelling it "theatre" instead of "theater".

University of Michigan.

My goal is to have 100 followers by the end of the year. CAN IT BE DONE? Let's find out. If I can get to 100 followers, I'll do something. You can name it. Maybe I'll draw a small head of all of my followers. Leave a comment with suggestions.

Remember yesterdays post about Taris and The Horse Head? Well, TARIS SAW & READ THAT POST. At first I was mortified, and embarrassed is an understatement, but you know, it is what it is. I guess the reason I'm saying this is because you never know who's going to come across what you write on the internet so you should probably be mindful of what you say. I don't regret writing what I did (it wasn't bad; I just look like a creep), but I thought it was funny. WHAT ARE THE ODDS? No shame though; Taris is still great.

Last week, I went to Biology class with my dear friend, Matt Benyo, at the University of Michigan. It was interesting. I had never been in a lecture with so many people. At CCS, we had like 28 students TOPS, but not at U of M. I was nervous because we sat in basically the front row AND the teacher came over to ask if they already had 172 or something and apparently that doesn't ever happen (the teacher coming over I mean). I sat there and wrote things down and kind of doodled. I felt out of place. I felt like an impostor because I've been done with school for what feels like forever, but it also kind of made me miss being in a learning environment. I was feeling really good about the fire extinguisher that I started drawing, but then class ended and we left. On the right page, I found a bunch of great quotes. I hope they shed a little inspirational light on you as they have me. (Click to enlarge for fun details).

The Horse Head.

This is my last Real Steel post. One day, I drew some meeps. I also drew that lizard (which is actually a bearded dragon named DaVinci). However, what makes this ENTIRE sheet of paper, is that horse head. It was drawn by the one and only Taris Tyler. Taris is Hugh Jackman's stand in and if you go a few entries back to the Lady Gaga post, he's the first two photos. I had been drawing the meeps when I caught Taris watching me draw and I asked him if he could draw. In his adorable australian accent, he said he couldn't, but I assured him that everyone could. Finally he said the only thing he could draw was a horse head so he drew one. For "not being able to draw", I was impressed. I like the horse bangs best. After talking to him and seeing him draw, that's what really got me. He was SO CONFIDENT and confidence is one of the keys to my heart. Taris, I don't care that you're 14 years older than me, can we just hold hands and draw horse heads all day? I'll probably never see Taris again, and it's bittersweet, but the horse head lives on in my heart.

I'm Rusty.

When I started drawing on set, I hadn't drawn in at least a month. Shame on me, I know. These sketches are meh. I ended up drawing one of the robots in the movie, but I'm pretty sure if I post that, Dreamworks will sue me. Sidenote: There was this one extra named Judy and she looked like she could've been in Hocus Pocus and her hair looked like a toucan's. I should've drawn her, but I'm convinced she was a witch and I feel like if I had tried to draw her, she would've hexed me.

Guess Who's Back...BACK AGAIN.

Not Slim Shady; me. After a brief hiatus, I'm back. I need to begin with some sort of explosive introduction which is why I'm going to post this picture of Christian Barr. He hasn't updated his blog in awhile, but that's okay because who has?I worked on Real Steel which is a movie staring Hugh Jackman about Robot Boxing. Some people might think this is right up my alley; it's not. I have a penchant for robots, but not rock em' sock em' robots. I was an extra in this film and if you've never worked on a movie set with extras, I'm going to highly recommend that you don't. It's like being in a room full of phonies that want to be famous. They've been in HUNDREDS of movies and they know EVERYONE and EVERYTHING and they know that Hugh Jackman bought a house here in Michigan. News flash; he didn't. I did, however, have my miserable parents working with me and two friends (now bffls) Matt Benyo and Nathan Bou. Not everyone was bad though. I made a few friends on set and they were AWESOME. I was asked more times than I can count if I got my tattoo for the movie (are you kidding me?) and the hours were insane, but it was definitely an experience. It lasted for 11 days and we had to wear the same outfit for the 11 days and come hair and make up ready which meant dressing to the nines at 6 in the morning. Not fun. However, Real Steel will be coming to a theatre near you November 2011. Try to find me. I'm the one with the HAIR.

I will be updating with sketches from the movie set and what not. I also spent a few days out in Ann Arbor and one day I went to U of M. It was a biology class. I did some drawing in there and wrote a few notes. I will post that too. I am home now (UNFORTUNATELY) and I made a small to do list. I rearranged my bulletin board and made it presentable. Sometimes I like to capitalize on mundane activities:In the coming posts, I will talk about The Spice Girls, my problem with showers, halloween, and other fun things. If you feel like this entry was a let down, you need to look at that picture of Chris again. Stay excellent.

Custom Shoes: Joe A!

I'm going to get back to updating everyday on Monday September 27th. Mark your calendars and plan accordingly. I just finished up another pair of custom kicks for my dear friend Joe Alvillar. This was the first pair of Converse I've worked with and doing it on hi-tops was both a challenge and a blessing. I enjoyed the extra canvas room that other shoes don't provide, but working on top of the gesso (as opposed to just drawing on top of the leather Keds) was a challenge. These took me FOREVER (mostly because of the design alongside the lace holes). I also feel compelled to really design the tongues even though you don't see them. I'm sending these out to Joe today. I hope you love them, dude! If you're interested in your own pair of custom kicks, you know who to call (not the Ghostbusters). CLICK FOR DETAIL!

Paws Up, Teeth Out.

I saw Lady Gaga on Saturday 9/4 at The Palace. Shout out to Hugh Jackman for convincing Matt (he's the cutie in the bottom right picture) and I to do so. We were on the fence, but we finally decided to do it after Hugh's speech about Gaga's show. He said that there was a real passion at her show that you could feel and it was unlike any other concert he had been to. PLUS, we knew Taris was going (Taris is Hugh's stand in and I have a crush on Taris). So, we figured we'd go and run into Taris and all would be well. All was well because we DID run into Taris. We talked to him for a few and then I asked him if I could get a picture with him. I was so happy I didn't even care about the concert, but we made our way to our seats and I was impressed by how close we were having only bought our tickets a mere 4 hours before the show started. I like Lady Gaga, but Hugh was right; Lady Gaga was INCREDIBLE. You really CAN feel the passion behind her words and music. She plays her heart out. The thing I enjoyed most was how empowering she was as a person. She said you can be anything you want to be. How true that is. She's an exhibitionist and I couldn't get enough of her. If you're ever on the fence, GO.Also, I'll start updating in a few days. I miss you, friends! I'll return back to the blog once I'm finished with this movie thing (that I can't wait to tell you all about).

Cardboard.

Here are a few miscellaneous cardboard drawings I did with the great Blake Bradley. I like the circus people the best and the hand signs. It's too early to be up for work and I am all of a sudden overcome by the urge to watch The Life Aquatic.

Thoughts.

Pizza Papalis' thin crust pizza is top notch.
I can be kind of cheesy.
I received a letter from Ellyn Marmaduke and it made my week.
Snail mail is the best mail; I love it.
I like how shoes fit together so well in a box.
The Kids Are All Right was good.
I'm in awe of the way that hair grows in a spiral fashion on our heads.
I'm intrigued when I see which genes kids received from their parents.
The Camp Rock 2 songs are good (even though I only like 2 of them).
I really want to paint my nails sparkly, but I lack the nail polish to do so.
I dislike Gretchen on Project Runway.
True Blood only has 2 episodes left.
In the past 5 days, I've worked 62 hours on the movie Real Steel.
I met Miss USA while with Hugh because she's there for some reason.
Summer is almost over and I haven't had any sno-cones. WTF.

Art Graph.

I've been so busy. I'm working on the movie set for 12+ hours a day now. Yesterday we worked 15. Is this real life? My body aches and I'm trying to recover because Monday we start at 6:30 am which means I'm going to be dead. I've been sketching at work and I'll scan that soon. In the mean time, here is a graph that my friend Sean Vacca tagged me in. Any art student (or artist) can relate to it. I miss you all.

Custom Shoes: KEDS!

This is it. This is what I've been waiting to post and probably what you've been waiting to see. I've finished another pair of the custom shoes. These are for me though. I need to be a WALKING ADVERTISEMENT and that is what I intend to be with these. They took me at least 100 years. Actually, they've taken me a really long time, but it went much faster because I didn't have to gesso these and the markers dried less because of it. So, LEATHER IS THE WAY TO GO! Have fun trying to find all of the things I hid in these. My parents told me I did a great job. I guess that's all that matters. I used a ton of Ultra Fine Point Sharpies and a few Fine Point Sharpies. Click for details and enjoy! I won't be posting for a few days. I need to recuperate.

Frands Of Mine.

I'm almost finished with these shoes I'm working on. HOPEFULLY I'll have them done by tomorrow. In the mean time, I wanted to introduce you to two of my friends that are new to the blog world: Meredith Miotke and Max Majoros. Meredith has been posting sketchbook stuff (including some neat challenges) and I like her line weight. Max has been doing comics that are very HIM. Max is a funny guy and his style is really neat. It slightly reminds me of Daniel Clowes with a dash of my friend, Andy Gabrysiak. Check them both out though. They're great.

I'm going to do an ABC type of deal in the coming weeks so I need some things to draw. For each letter, I'm planning on filling two pages full of just random drawings of whatever gets thrown at me with that letter. So, I need things to draw for each letter. Any ideas and/or suggestions are well appreciated.

"Make It Work!"

Tim Gunn was chosen over on The Hallway Show and this is my version of the legend. I did a blind contour and then cut out textures/paper. I love Tim Gunn.

Three Pairs.

Shoe time, all the time. I'm working on a handful of shoes for a handful of friends and I'm watching Are You Afraid of the Dark while doing it. I'm on disc 2 episode 4 (I think). It's The Tale of the Thirteenth Floor. Right now I am taking a break and enjoying a conversation with Christian Barr and the episode that's currently on is my favorite (Midnight Madness) because Nosferatu makes a cameo.

Hello, Detroit!

Summer In The City - The Lovin' Spoonful.

Real DEAD.

I worked on the set of Real Steel thursday as an extra from 6 pm to 6 am. Jesus Christ. I thought movies were all fun and games. WRONG. It was a lot of work and a lot of pain. I had to wear heels THE ENTIRE TIME and I have blisters on each of my toes, but the biggest blister that comes in second place for the "Worst Blister I've Ever Had" award (first place goes to the California Yogurt Cap), is THIS ONE:In the beginning, I was in line for hair and make up and the make up girl just decided to walk down the line. I'm standing there with my sister and 2 friends (the guys waited in a different line) and the girl goes, "You look good except for this foundation smear." I start rubbing my face, "Oh? I have a smear?" and she goes, "Yeah right on your cheek!" and then my friend Jill goes, "That's her birth mark..." AWKWARD.

I got paired up with this arabic guy and he was a creep. My friends just stood there and laughed while I was beyond miz, but then Hugh Jackman saved me.

Today Janine was at work so I decided I was going to get the blender out and make some sno-cones. I put 12 cubes in the blender, turned it on, and then it smelled like burning appliances mixed with the Cedar Point rollercoaster, Disaster Transport, so I turned it off and then it wouldn't turn back on. Janine was right; the ice cubes broke the blender. THEN, I had this BRILLIANT idea, to put the ice cubes in a giant turkey baking bag (because we were out of zip-lock bags) and smash the bag on the ground like a caveman. Too bad after the second smashing, the bag busted open and the ice cubes flew all over the kitchen. No sno-cones YET AGAIN. MIZ!

JoBros In Cincinnati.

I went to see The Jonas Brothers. For those of you tuning in for the 1st time (or for those that aren't aware), the JBs are my guilty pleasure. I adore them. This was my 10th show. It was AMAZING. I went with my equally obsessed pal, Rhiannon.

PROS:
-3rd row tickets (and I was in seat 13 which is my lucky number).
-Free parking.
-Got to stand right at the stage and put our elbows on it (thanks Myles).
-I got the chills twice because the JBs are so incredible.
-JOE JONAS WALKED OVER TO ME, HELD MY HAND, LOOKED ME IN THE EYES, & SMILED.
-The confetti during Lovebug was one of the most magical things I've ever seen.
-Rhiannon and I were one of 12 girls right by the stage.
-When we got drinks out of a machine, it gave us 2 instead of 1.
-Night time noms.
-Making it home safe.

CONS:
-It was one million degrees (99) and humid. I've never sweat so much in my whole life and I can't believe Joe touched me because of how terrible I looked; legit. There were beads of sweat rolling down everyone's faces and legs.
-The security before we got in made Rhiannon take a camera back to the car.
-Wearing pants.
-Giant fire explosions during "Burnin' Up" made it HORRIBLY hot.
-Thinking it was a good idea to drive back exhausted.
-Almost killing us because of the aforementioned.
-Drinking a 5 Hour Energy.
-Driving an hour out of our way because we didn't think to check the GPS and instead just went where it told us to go. It actually wanted us to go to TN.
-We only had about $60 each.
-CAR TROUBLES.
-Not having enough money to do anything about it.

It's not an adventure without the ups and the downs. That's what I love about Jonas adventures though; they're both good and bad (and usually not very well planned). We decided to go to this show two days before the show. It was great though. Enjoy these photos. 1) Lovebug confetti scene. 2) Nick smiling at my polaroid.

Awesome Week.

Wanna know how I know this week is going to rule? Because today I'm going to see THE JONAS BROTHERS in Cincinnati FROM THE 3RD ROW (in seat 13), Tomorrow is Ramadan, Thursday I'm going to be an extra in the movie, REAL STEEL, from 6pm to 6 am aka vampire hours, and Friday it's Friday the 13th. Probably one of the best weeks ever. I'm getting ready now because I'm going to be heading out for the show soon. I know most of you think I'm joking; I'm not.

Clean Up.

Today was, legitimately, my last day of work. We moved all of our supplies to the storage room and really all I did was sweat and lift giant [heavy] boxes over my head while screaming, "I AM ALL THAT IS MAN." I probably have a hernia now. After that fiasco, we went back to the school and I was presented with two jugs of sno cone syrup and that was probably worth everything all summer. However, upon walking in the door and telling my parents how chipper I was because of the aforementioned, Janine crushed my dreams like the ice required for these delicious treats when she told me I was not allowed to use the blender because she thinks blending ice will break it. Now I am distraught and sno-coneless. Miz.

Mr. Roboto!

I made a robot cut out along with the kids. I chose SPACE BOT! I haven't done a cut out in a long time anyway so this is overdue. While I was helping Ethan, Oscar added the gold asteroid under the Robot's arm. I didn't realize it for a good half hour though. The silver paper was SO HARD to cut. I hated it. Under the little red door is the fuel gauge and heart and the glasses are for safety purposes only.

This Is IT.

Well, this board is from yesterday and we finished setting up our final gallery show. This is my wall full of the work the kids made. Today is my last day of work at Cranbrook and it is very bittersweet. I know I will be in tears by the end of the day. I am pretty sad. I just can't believe it's over. I've enjoyed myself immensely. I love(d) the kids and I've enjoyed teaching. I absolutely adore my coworkers and we've had so much fun and have so many inside jokes. I really wish it wasn't over.

Sad Men.

I wanna clear something up. It's not that I'm obsessed with Oscar, it's just that while the other kids switch classes, Oscar stays with me and works on comics all day so he is literally the only kid that I'm with the ENTIRE day. Granted, he'll go off to the office to hang out with Matt or he'll stop by Jill's (or hang out with Proma), but for the past couple of days, he's been consistently with me. We're buddies. So I just wanted to clear that up. Of course, this is probably bad because it means I'm getting attached and therefore means Friday I'M going to be like Niagara Falls.

I was working with watercolor when the kids were painting their self portraits and made these two portraits. I asked random kids what they thought these character's names would be and I got a few different answers. One of the kids said the man on the left would be into going to church, but this one girl, Paige, walked by and I said, "Hey Paige! What would this guy's name be?" When I said "name" I meant 'Jim' or 'Dan' BUT she stood there for a second and said, "The Crying Man" and I was like WHOA! YES! So that is his name. Perfect. Another girl, Meg, that sassed me asked me why my characters look so sad. I don't know MEG. Maybe I am sad. Maybe I'm sad that this job is ending. The kids always give me something to think about.

Whatever Wednesday.

Today it was whatever in every sense of the word. Oscar hijacked the board with MEEPS. He also made me an official Meep character. I cannot wait to show everyone what the kids have been doing this week. Pictures to come tomorrow!

Oscaroid.

I busted out the polaroid and took a picture of Oscar next to the french flag as well as the Dali quote that he wrote: "To be a good artist, you've got to be a little stupid."

The Meeps.

I tried to draw my own version of The Meeps (as inspired by Oscar), but mine don't look as cool as his. I settled on the little french man in the bottom right hand corner.

HOW IS IT AUGUST?!

I was hit by the realization that this year is almost over last night at 12:01. I said, "Sarah. It's August." I don't think this was a staggering conclusion for her, but for me, it was. I was dizzy! How is it that it will be 2011 in 5 months? Christmas in 4? and Halloween in 2? Is this real life? Where's my time machine? Miz.