Sorry, no posts for a while...

Basically, I have only 3 days of work off in the next 2 weeks and SO MUCH to do for finals. So I hope everyone has a Merry Christmahanaquanzika and a Happy New Year!! I hope to see everyone at when I'm home in 13 days!

Love, E

Miss me?

Hello Lovelies. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I got to head on over to Las Vegas and hang with my aunt and uncle that live there. I had a great time, mostly because I was nowhere near The Strip. That is just not my thing. Anyway, on my trip, I got to go to Zion National Park with my aunt. It was SO gorgeous! I have way too many images to post on here, so take a look at my photo album, on Facebook instead: click here.

So I am back to classes and everything is going well. I finally got some papers back from teachers and my Photo History teacher liked my redo midterm much better, so hopefully my overall grade in that class will get better. I start back at work for a marathon run before I head out on the 18th. Basically, I have either class, work or both every day except 2 days until I leave. Luckily, it's usually one or the other and the latest it lasts is 9 pm anyway.

Nothing strange to report yet... then again I only got back Monday night. I'll let you know if anything weird happens :) For now, it's time for me to get some homework done. See you NC people so very soon!!!

Field Trip Fun

Today I had a field trip. I cannot begin to tell you how young those words makes me sound. "Field Trip." lol 'Hi. I'm 6 years old and going on a field trip... no my mom didn't sign my permission slip.'

Anyway, my class went to the City Hall and looked at a couple of photography exhibits there. That building is so beautiful. There is gold leaf accents everywhere inside and out. I got a bunch of pictures inside, but not much outside. I will have to go back on my own and take some more pictures. It was a pretty good day.

gorgeous staircase inside City Hall

looking up into the dome

scale model of the City Hall

head that fell off a statue during the 1906 earthquake and was somehow found at Knots Berry Farm... seriously

replica of part of the Golden Gate Bridge

front side of the City Hall replica

heart art- the artist blurred it, not me

side of dome/window

dome

aww ;)

even the lights were gold :)

awesome details

pretty entrance. Luckily you can't see the metal detectors we walked through to get in.

top of staircase

there were faces everywhere.

So the funny part was walking home. First, I had a guy just about accidentally put his cigarette out on my leg as he passed. He was holding it in his hand down by his side and wasn't about to move out of the way of any other pedestrian in his way. Luckily, I move fast. Second, I had a lady (another person that didn't care about other people walking) ram me with her yoga mat as she passed me. Last, I saw a homeless man, with his dog, eating Starbucks ice cream. Can you blame the guy for having good taste? 

I'm a week out from heading to Vegas for turkey day (33 days to NC). I am trying to hang on. I really need someone to come see me soon (hint, hint, hint...). I'm getting anxious for the trip. I want it to happen NOW. Someone distracting me from my countdown would be great. A girl can hope and dream.

Well, I'm off to find something on Netflix to watch. Cross your fingers that my internet is fast enough to play it. Night lovelies.

The Dream Queen, at your service.

Well I have been quite the opposite of my last post, thank God. Luckily my sleepless nights only happened twice, and now I am on the other side of the spectrum sleeping really, really hard. The kind of sleep where I wake up with a wrinkly face, puffy eyes, and my hair completely covering my face. It's adorable, let me tell you. Luckily, after my (and everyone else's) hours have been cut, I got an extra day thrown in for work because someone was sick. All this work and school are kicking my butt and knocking me out. I love sleep mostly because of my crazy dreams. They get weirder as the moon gets fuller too. Which is exactly why I am confused about my overly-strange dreams lately. Oh well, free entertainment... who needs reality television?


Now that were are 10 days into November (12 days till Vegas & 39 to NC- yes I am still counting down), I have noticed Christmas decorations EVERYWHERE. They even started assembling a very large Christmas tree in Union Square Park.

Kinda dark, but the arm lifts have 2 guys and a huge stack of branches for this big tree

My life has been pretty boring these days. Same old thing... school, work, sleep, the occasional crazy person wandering in the streets of SF. The other night I saw a lady that had 3 inch thick thighs... she literally looked like she was walking on toothpicks. It was the creepiest thing ever. I wanted to offer her some of the snacks I had in my purse, but I don't think she would have understood me...

Ok a few more random pics:

Classy lady right here.

Thankful for large open floors for homework nights.

Turkey baskets held hostage with bubble wrap. I was surprised too...

Even though I had class and one day's worth of work from both jobs, I will be continuing with my remote office job this evening. I have a lot of homework for my full day off tomorrow. Night people.

Screw you, insomnia.

So I find myself awake, after midnight... which isn't too bad, I suppose. I just know that I am not in the least bit tired. I have been working on my online class and am almost done with it for this week. I have probably checked my phone 80 million times just to see if anyone had said anything to me the whole time I have been studying. Of course they haven't, I just checked it 5 seconds ago! Hhhhh.... If anyone is awake out there, please say hi. I know you all are probably either asleep or actually out on your Saturday night. Me? I did laundry and homework to fill up my fun-filled weekends. SO READY FOR A BREAK. I suck at new cities on my own. I should have dragged someone along with me. Or at least picked a closer city. Now I know.

I might be all hyped up because I had extra coffee this afternoon, which normally does nothing to me. I also went on a run this morning and walked to Fisherman's Wharf and back. It could be a natural high. What do you think?

I attempted to re-write my essay for the Photo History class, but got so annoyed that I just left my apartment. I think that all of these small annoyances I have had lately haven't helped with winning points with my roommate. She seems irritated every time I speak to her and she goes to take a nap pretty much every time I enter the room. I'm gone a lot for work and class now. I'm probably just paranoid. I definitely miss having my own room. Sharing that small space with another girl is HARD. I don't recommend it. 

Alright. I'll at least post some pictures from my walk today. I need a pick-me-up.

Sexy 'stache

They were working on painting this as I walked by.

One word: Yikes.

I needed a little indulgence to try and perk me up. So this was my dinner:

Top right & around: fresh mozz, brie, pomegranate seeds, chevre goat cheese, granny smith apple, aged blue, pepperoni, smoked gouda, garlic asiago bread, and garlic hummus in the center with some white wine on the side. :)

Well... I'm going to try and watch a movie that I have seen a million times to knock me out. Send a message if you want. I'll probably answer instantly. ;)

SF is on a Giants high

Pretty much everyone should know that the San Francisco Giants won the World Series this year. Man oh man, was this city going nuts when it all went down! I think it was good that they ended up winning it while they were playing in Texas at the Rangers' home stadium. I think if they were here when they won the series, things might have gotten out of control. It was great the night they won. Everyone in the city was hooting and hollering and honking the horns on their cars for hours on end. I decided that I needed to take advantage of the opportunity and go for a walk downtown. This is what I saw:

While I was recording this video, a homeless man came up and started singing to me and the man standing next to me, trying to get us to give him some money. It was a pretty funny addition to all of the other sounds that night. I'll include a few pictures of the Victory Parade crowd that was a couple of days later (this Tuesday). I wasn't able to make it to my class that day because the buses weren't running. You'll see why! It was a ton of fun and luckily the weather here has been SO warm! Summer days for sure.

This was the crowd leaving as I headed toward the main building of my school

The crowd... No class for me!

Hobart Building "Giants #1" in the windows

This right here is why I couldn't get to class. Just hanging out in the streets

Confetti Everywhere!

Me in the massive crowd

 

Me & The roomie

So that was the fun the Giants stirred up in the city. I'm glad I was here for it.  :)

Update on me now: I have been chugging along with school. I didn't get very good news on my Photo History midterm. Turns out the teacher expects us to have ESP and be able to read his mind on what he was looking for. Apparently he was surprised that everyone did horribly on it and went in to detail (AFTER the midterm of course) on what he wanted in it. Luckily, he's letting us redo it. I hate teachers like that and normally I can figure out early on how a teacher works, but we only recently started having to turn any assignments in. We've only had lectures before. So now I am 9 weeks in, just barely seeing what it is I have to do to get a good grade. Asshole. Oh well, such is life.

My other classes are fine though. I've begun working on my final project for my Photoshop class. My English class consists of writing papers... easy enough. And I did really well on my History of Film midterm. Apparently at least one of my teachers thinks I'm smart enough. Ready for this semester to be over for sure.

Work has been good and has kept me busy enough that I can't believe we're 5 days into November already. It's crazy!

I don't think that I had mentioned anything about looking into a Study Abroad program the school had for this summer or not. They're going to Italy, but in looking into the pricing of it, there's no way in hell it's going to happen. The school wants us to pay for the trip (which was fine and reasonable) AND the cost of an entire class. Total cost: way over $7,000. NOT including food and no financial aid can be applied to the course cost. So I decided, I will save up and take a "Yay I graduated" trip to Italy, or wherever, on my own... If anyone wants to start saving to go with me too, you're more than welcome. You have 3.5 years to go! :) So that was disappointing, but it's alright and I have a better plan I think.

I think that's about all that is going on in my world. I am looking forward to my trip to Vegas to see my Aunt and Uncle for Thanksgiving. I'm ready for a break for sure! And so the countdowns begin...

2 days until Daylight Savings Time ends... Fall back people.
18 days until my Thanksgiving Trip
44 Days until I go home for a LONG visit :)

Have a wonderful day! Off to class and work for the day.

There's No Place Like Home...

I am having the "I want to come home" blues. I definitely am ready for a vacation. 2 weeks into work and 8 weeks into school are making me so tired and ready for a vacation. I need a motivation boost, otherwise I'm not sure how I'll make it! I just counted though, and I have just 7.5 weeks to go...

I have had some interesting entertainment though. Today I saw a lady wearing a orange, leopard-print outfit with a cat in a stroller wearing a lobster costume. The cat was incredibly calm and seemed to actually enjoy being paraded around in a stroller. The lady was absolutely crazy and apparently hangs around my part of town. I get a picture of her, but she started to walk the other direction, so you can't clearly see her face.You get the idea though, I hope.

My roommate dubbed her "The Lady Gaga of San Francisco"

Let's see... what else? Oh I finally got my mid-term finished with my Photo History class. I don't have a grade yet, but the whole class liked my window picture the best (I posted that pic on here quite a few weeks ago when my building was being painted). I have one last midterm to take for my online class and then it's back to the normal grind.

Work has been good, but my feet still aren't used to standing for so long. I pulled a muscle helping my friend Jen move last night too. So standing today was painful right above my right butt-cheek. It was wonderful lol. I need more yoga apparently. Well anyway, it's late here and I still have a paper to write. Gotta love college living. Good night!!

Drizzly dayzzzz

So it has finally started raining here! Actually, it has been for the past two days. I am happy to see it, but I'm told that there is plenty more of this to come in the winter months. I'll just be happy enjoying it while I can.

School is chugging right along. I got an A on my Photoshop mid-term, but have to try and step it up a notch to get an A overall in the class (what can I say, I can't break my straight-A records I held in high school). I had a printed photo mid-term in my History of Photo class, but we ended up getting through everyone's photo critique but mine. I had to wait a whole week to get to that point and now I have to wait another week to see if mine is ok. It's just a bit annoying. I also found out in my English class that the really loud, annoying man is definitely no longer in class. My teacher was calling role and he was off the list! I think I can make it the rest of the semester pretty painlessly now. I hope anyway.

Work is going well too. I am pretty good on the register already (to their surprise, but not mine lol). The other night we had an event in our store. I guess it was supposed to be our grand opening or something. There were a lot of corporate people there looking down their noses at all of us. Meals on Wheels was catering, so it was a pretty big thing going on. I had fun working and it seemed to kind of unite all of the employees there too. It was a good thing for us. I still am trying to get used to standing for hours and hours at a time. I haven't done that since May, and now it's making me come home exhausted. I feel more comfortable being incredibly busy again, though. It makes me feel less useless.

When I ring people up, I am supposed ask if they want to get a membership card for Harry & David. Well I asked one woman when she was paying and she got very excited because the picture that was used on the card was a photograph she actually took. She said she had heard they were going to use it, but hadn't seen it anywhere. I told her I am going to school at AAU for photography and she told me that she graduated form AAU. She ended up giving me her email address and told me to keep in touch with her because the company she works for in SF has a lot of internship opportunities. She was really cool and it would be really awesome if something like that worked out for me. Cross your fingers! Either way, she was a really nice woman and it would be cool to just have someone to talk to that knows how this school and city work.

Sorry, no photos today. Life has gotten a bit crazy. I'll have some next time! Now it's time to get some homework done and get a cup of tea :)

Busy bee

Midterms are under way. I completed one for my Photoshop class on Friday and am fairly sure I did well. I will find out for sure on Friday this week. I have a midterm tomorrow as well, but there isn't a test involved. I had to take 4 photos and print them and include a few written paragraphs explaining what I was tying to accomplish with them. They have to relate to an early photographer or photographic process. Last midterm I have is my online class which is basically 20 questions instead of the normal 10 per class. Easy stuff. My English class doesn't even have one at all. So this means I am officially halfway though the semester and October is FLYING by! I love it!

I started my new job today as well. I work at Harry & David. It's pretty easy so far with a lot of the products I'm used to selling from the Proper Pot in NC. It's funny though, even though I told the ladies that work there that I am familiar with the products, they keep talking to me like I have no idea what I'm doing. Some are all much older than me and I think they assume that because I'm young, I have no experience. It just bugs me that they don't believe me when I say I understand. This one lady asked me if I had any retail experience. When I told her that the last store I worked in had gourmet products and I worked there for 4.5 years, I don't think she believed me. It's pretty funny. These women aren't even my superior. They are sales people just like me :)

Anyway, I've just been working, doing school, and getting annoyed with my building. Either the elevator is broken, the internet is down, or my heater won't work. Always something. Ahh the life of living in a dorm... can't say I love it. My roommate and I did decorate our lovely skeleton man last night. He's going drag for Halloween.

He is beautiful, don't you think? :)

Mini catch up

Hello friends!

Hmmm what have I been doing? Class is good. I have my first MIDTERM (woot woot!) tomorrow. This means I am halfway through the semester and ready to take a trip home and see some lovely people! Don't forget NC people, I will be there Dec. 18th- Jan 27th. So you better make some time for me! :) I'm not too worried about the midterms. 2 classes have tests, one doesn't even have one, and the other I have to submit photos for my midterm. Easy peasy.

Fleet week was fun. Got quite a few pics. Click here to see them. I got a lot of walking in and there were TONS of people.

I start the job on Monday and have to go shopping for some clothes. Luckily, it's easy stuff. Other than that I haven't been doing too much. Just hanging out. But yesterday, I got THE BEST care package ever from my good friend Sarah. Take a look!

I love care packages :)

Well time for some intense study time and sushi later this evening with my friend, Jeremiah. Sounds like a nice reward ! :)

Jobs, Jets, and Jubilation!

Hi All! I keep apologizing for how seldom I do these posts, so I'm just going to accept it. It may be a few times a week, it might only be once. Either way, you will be updated on me whenever I feel like it :)

I had some good shopping time this last weekend, even though I was trying to not buy a single item. Usually I am very terrible at shopping and being fashionable, so it's easy to walk away and still have money left in my bank account. I found an awesome pea coat though. What can I say? I left all my winter clothes in NC. I HAD to buy it! I also bought a dress. It was cute... and that's all I need to justify that purchase.

GOOD NEWS! I got a job. Tuesday I had an interview standing outside on the sidewalk of Starbucks. The seats were all taken, so we stood outside and talked. I will be starting the 18th at Harry & David. She said I would have gotten a higher position than Sales, but I am leaving for the holidays. This store is a temporary store open for the holidays (90 days), which will be easier to just have the job end than me trying to convince a store that they should keep me after I have over a month vacation. I'm also ok with sales just because right now I don't really want very much responsibility when work is concerned right now. I sound lazy, but school is way more important.

School... it's good. Unfortunately, besides my Photoshop class, I am pretty bored. I'm ready to be done with the core classes and get to the good stuff! Oh well, gotta do what you gotta do. More good news: (well, good news for me) the crazy, used to braided, loud man in my English class apparently got kicked out of school because he flipped out on some girl a few days ago. Class this week was the most pleasant it has ever been. I think I can make it through the rest of the semester without having the urge to want to shove a pen in my eye. I think.

Today was great for a lot of reasons. I did some yoga and went to the gym. I have begun working out at the school gym and it is helping me feel better. Lately, I have been incredibly tired and just not into doing a whole lot. I think that will be a nice energy booster. Also, this weekend is "Fleet Week" in SF, and the Blue Angles were practicing. I LOVED the sound of the jets flying over all afternoon. I reminded me of living by Luke Airforce Base in Phoenix. We used to park at the end of the runway and watch the jets fly right over us. Can't do that anymore, of course, but it was amazing. I also remember going up on our roof and watching the jets fly in formation. A few times we were up there when the jets broke the sound barrier. Loudest sound and feeling ever. It was so cool. Needless to say, it made me very happy today. Such a cool sound.

The Fleet week will be going full force this weekend, so I think I will head down and try to get some pictures of it all. Take a look at the site for it: http://www.fleetweek.us/

Well, after working on my Photoshop homework for over 4 hours, I need to go to bed. Otherwise, I am pretty sure my head will explode. Seriously.

Nighty-night and sleep tight!

Worst. Blogger. Ever.

Hello long lost readers. I suck at this sometimes. Well anyway... where have I been?

First, I went to a free concert in Golden Gate Park with Jen. Note the word 'free' in that sentence. Funny thing, though: we had to break in under a fence to get to it. Seriously. They said it was full and someone just picked up the fence and people started diving in under, us included. Well we go there kind of late and ended up only hearing the last part of the Plain White T's play and all of Sarah Bareilles. Jen found some friends from work and we ended up crashing on their blanket and hanging out while we listened to the music and people-watched (my favorite thing to do). There was a really hilarious lady on the next blanket over that was pretty smashed, giggly one second and about to pass out the next. This is her on the 'about to pass out' part of her roller coaster ride.

Poor, poor lady...

Here are a few pics from the day:

There were actually girls in bathing suits sunning in the park. So weird.

Green :)

Concert people

more concert people

Jen & Elliot

Little Elliot Man

Pizza Orgasmica- Yes, really.

 On my way to the park, I got to go through Japan Town for the first time. Nothing too crazy, but here's a pic:

Part of Japan Town

So the other day, I decided to go for a walk and hit up Trader Joe's. I have no idea what was wrong with me, because it hit over 100 degrees here. I'm retarded. I mean, I know I'm from Phoenix and all, but throw an ocean AND a bay right around temps THAT high and anyone is likely to want to pass out. Then I decided, like the smart girl I am, to take Jones Street all the way home, for the first time, ever. Look at this beast:

F U hill. F. U.

Sidewalks turn to stairs here.

So I have basically been working and school. BUT I DID GET A VIDEO OF THE ANNOYING MAN IN MY ENGLISH CLASS!! (can you tell I'm excited?) I've been trying to get a picture of him for weeks. So I decided a video would be best/quietest. Sad, though, he took out the braids. I had to be covert, so it isn't the best. I will try harder next week ;)

Last but not least, and my personal favorite... tonight I went to drop off my netflix and the mailbox was the perfect example of San Fransisco living.

... but only if your "doctor" says you can.

Night all!

Work work and more work

That's all I feel like I do lately. I've been working for my boss in NC remotely, which is actually a lot more complicated than I ever expected. Luckily, she hired someone in the office so I won't be so overwhelmed with that. I also have been having my homework build up on me. I think the biggest problem is my online class. It's a history of film class and I figured out that I have no interest really in learning that because it isn't photography. The concepts and types of film are a foreign language to me. Luckily I have been able to B.S. my way through so far. It isn't hard, it's just incredibly time-consuming. I think next semester I'll take a break from online classes and just stick to on-campus classes.

I have applied to a couple places for a part-time job. Hopefully something will come of that. If I have a set time I have to be somewhere for work, I think it will help with my A.D.D. I haven't been officially diagnosed or anything, it's just that my brain feels like a 4 year old child.  I'm not busy enough here and my mind is getting bored.

Ok... time for me to stop complaining, and stop distracting myself from homework. I have to enjoy tomorrow: free concert at Golden Gate Park (which I still haven't been to anyway) with people like Sarah Bareilles, Plain White T's, and Five for Fighting. Should be fun and the weather should be AWESOME!... like it has been the past few days (also has't helped with my homework/work A.D.D.). Talk more soon.

Let's Steal The Golden Gate Bridge!

Ok well it has been a very long time since I have posted anything (haha actually it's been like 2 days). Sorry, life got a bit busy and this is VERY long- sorry!! Let's see...

Monday: I went to San Rafael (north of SF) to help with a music video shoot. I basically was there to do the bitch work (pardon my French) with my friend, Jen. We were the "Production Assistants." A title that is way cooler than the work itself. Don't get me wrong, I had fun and got to meet a lot of really cool people. I also really liked seeing behind the scenes of these things. It's amazing to me how much work goes into something that will turn out to be like 3-4 minute video tops. I also ended up being an extra in a couple of scenes. It was pretty cool. Oh, and the singer for the music video is Megan Slankard. She really isn't my kind of music, but she was sweet and I had a lot of fun there. I'll have to let you know when the music video is all finished so you can see my face :) I also took a lot of photos (I only had my crappy camera, so the quality is very low) and will have to post them either here or on FB. Either way, here are a couple anyway:

The Golden Gate Bridge

View of SF from across the Bay

Megan Slankard singing her heart out

Pizza Pile!

The Band

New set-up

Behind the scenes

Me & Jen

Look! I'm an extra! Lol

When Jen and I were on our way back into SF, we had to cross the Golden Gate Bridge toll road. We though it was $5 and drove on up to the cash only line. Well, the toll was really $6. We were digging through her car, our purses, pockets, anywhere to find the last dollar in change. We were counting out pennies to get it. Well a car drove up in line behind us, and the very mean lady in the booth yelled, "You can't be holding up traffic like this!" She then threw the $5 bill inside the car and we drove off. What traffic? It was ONE car! And I don't get why she didn't keep the $5. Feel free to do this when trying to get through a toll road for free :)

Our water was shut off during the day. Luckily, they were nice enough to warn us the day before. Bad thing though, once the water was turned off, we had no hot water!

Tuesday: I woke up feeling like I was hit by a very large vehicle- probably a bus. Unfortunately, it wasn't due to any alcohol consumption, I was just beat. I had some work to get done and then had class that afternoon. I also forced myself to go on a run, but 2 seconds into it I was happy I went. Then I took a nap and felt MUCH better.

The water finally got hot around 11 that morning. Woo hoo!

Today: I had class again today, with the very loud/obnoxious man, but today he was very toned down and I couldn't figure out why. It was strange for him to be pretty much calm. I could actually bear having him there today. I did want to fall asleep in that class, though. I would love to see if I could just test out of that class. I'm so bored... very early high school level English which they claim is college Freshman level. Lies, all lies!

I went on a long walk today too. Trying to beef up ;)

Pic I took on part of my walk

City Livin'

Our water was turned off AGAIN today. I wish these people would quit this turning on and off the water. Luckily, it was hot when it came back on. I also got some ooVoo video chat in with my mom and grandma today. It was a surprise for my grandma. It was great to see her reaction to my face being on screen 3000 miles away. It was really cute: when the video got a little spotty, she said "I wonder if there is some bad weather between us." She's too funny.

I have been missing people VERY much. Can't wait to get some hugs in soon... That's all for tonight!