The Man Who Knew VERY LITTLE

Yesterday was my day off, or so I thought. I was, obviously, wrong. Flying in under the radar about forty-five minutes late, dodging in and out of rush hour traffic, I arrived just in time to catch the lines of people wanting to change their schedules. It was the first day of summer school at the college that I work for, which meant a steady work load.

Luckily, the mob of people wasn’t as “angry” compared to years past, excluding this one obnoxious fellow.

A tall, thin man, with ash brown hair came in looking for his room number. He had registered for classes the week before but did not pay. To my misfortune, he came in without anything. He simply gave his name and expected me to find all his information. It would have been nice had he not had the most generic Hispanic name in the world. Three minutes into my search, he called his wife and chatted away in Spanish about how I didn’t know anything. “YOU IDIOT I SPEAK SPANISH! I CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU’RE SAYING!” were my thoughts as he ignorantly became annoyed. Finding his name was like picking out a specific grain of sand; in my case one “Juan Whatever” out of a list of ninety people.What was worse was the fact that his shirt was unbuttoned and his chest was showing. As I was scrolling down the list, a pale piece of man boob was peeking at me. I wanted to die laughing, which slightly intensified his irritation. OH WELL…IF YOU WOULDN’T HAVE FLASHED ME I WOULD NOT HAVE SNICKERED! C’MON GUY YOU KNEW I WAS GOING TO LAUGH. I MEAN YOUR BOOB IS BASICALLY SLAPPING ME IN THE FACE! LOL

Such an odd day!

-Ari

Summer Summer Tra la la

I am too hyperactive for this summer down time!

With that said, I have decided to address this angst by blogging.

Let me give you a “run-down” of what all has happened in the past two days.

DAY 1 OF AVOIDING  COFFEE AND OTHER ADDICTIONS:

I…

woke up (three times…finally got up at 11:30), got banana icecream at marble slab (amy’s ice cream is better, I know), walked next door to buy three different shades of hair color, drove home, took a few pictures while waiting in traffic, prepared my books and journals for an outing at cafe, ate dinner, realized that LOST was on, spent 2 hrs watching lost, dyed my hair, got dressed again (it was 10:30), attempted to eat waffles, avoided coffee all day…SUCCESS! Slept at an unknown time.

DAY 2 OF AVOIDING COFFEE AND OTHER ADDICTIONS:

I…

Woke up before the alarm clock (six o’clock), got dressed, straightened hair, did 3 loads of laundry, ate cinnamon bread for breakfast, drove down to mother’s work for a visit, drove to post office, realized that I forgot documents (postponed the post office ordeal), drove home, watched “Mr. Hobbs takes a vacation,” ate eggs with onions, got grossed out by eggs AND onions, found color film in the fridge next to Lemon Lime Jones Soda, formed new addiction to Lemon Lime Jones Soda, ran a mile to break addiction, napped for an hour, ate a quick lunch, “fixed” eyebrows, got dressed for work, read a few chapters of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, couldn’t stop laughing, left for work early, stopped by cafe, ice coffee…FAIL (will start “no coffee” goal tomorrow), chatted with James about wild grass in his backyard.

THE END

I know, it was a pain reading all that. I need to figure out my passport issues so I can go home for a week or two. Summer is PERFECT for holga pictures, and medium format fun, JUST SAYING! Tee hee hee.

P.S. Crack down on kicking coffee addiction besides online shopping and daydreaming (apparently they aren’t working).

Have a SWELL day ladies and gents!

Love,

Ari

Block Review

Block Review, otherwise known as “DOOMSDAY,” came and went like a class 4 hurricane. After months of preparation, I’m glad that it’s finally over! I can’t say I’ll miss driving home at six in the morning, falling asleep at every light on the way, only to change and be back on campus two hours later for class. I don’t think I’ll miss splashing fixer on my face and breaking out the next day, or being stalked by the photobabies and other creepy muggers on campus. I’m pretty sure I won’t miss crawling out of bed during spring break while sick with the flu to shoot and be up at the lab. I REALLY won’t miss getting dressed in a hurry, forgetting my pants, and freaking out the neighbors as I strutted half way down the walkway in my skivvies.

I WILL miss the “SCARE REVOLUTION” that I started when sneaking up on Amanda, one late night, resulting in the loudest shriek I’ve ever heard in my entire life. I will definitely miss freaking out with Dawn when the heinous color processor decided to stop halfway through her print. It has been one LONG semester and I can’t wait til summer! One thing that I can walk away with is the fact that all our hard work that we put in was not in vain because WE MADE IT IN! Thumbs up night crew…you deserve it!

Love,

Ari

P.S. Waffles tonight?

Spring Breaks Me

Since I work for a college whose spring break is a week before all the other schools, I’ll have the entire week off next week. As much as this excites me, an overwhelming load of projects, projects, and more major projects puts a damper on my glorious parading. In between doing photo shoots and making these lame “color charts” for Color class, I’ve been searching for grad schools.

I definitely want to move to the east coast for a bit, oddly most of the schools that offer my degree are on that side.

HERE is my laundry list of possible choices:

Pratt Institute in Manhattan, New York

Maryland Institute College of Art and Design in Baltimore, Maryland (strongly considering this one)

Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia (eh…not my top pick)

Parsons the new school for design in New York

AND BACK-UP PLAN (if all else fails)  University of Texas in Austin, Texas

and so on and so on.

Definitely sad about the canceled trip to SxSW

OH well.

Toodles,

Ari

Online shopping

It’s usually on Friday afternoons that I do the most online shopping, especially at work. In between evaluating transcripts and answering random questions, I get up to date on current events and begin my “online retail therapy.” I find online shopping to be an addiction much like an addiction to cold medicine or some form of substance. It is the bright blue light that draws me in when I’m bored at work. Now, I’m not necessarily an impulse buyer. I can look at an object and be satisfied with just looking at it.

I made a list a new wish list and have begun my search for the following items:

Aside from purchasing the necessary photo supplies, I came across these things.

Epson Stylus R2880

C’mon you knew this was coming. Most of my life revolves around a photographic/artistic lifestyle. I need a new photo printer. This one runs around $800. I bet I can find it cheaper…it’s what I do on Fridays.

turntable

I’m not a DJ (although I probably would have the most wicked DJ name) but I need a new record player since my father gave away the two antique ones that my grandpa gave me. I really just want the old ones back but don’t have the heart to drive 13 hrs just to retrieve them. STILL they were antiques!

clear and turquoise umbrella

You know how much I love the rain! I just bought a black and white printed raincoat and want a new cute umbrella to go with it when I go puddle jumping. ( I know I’m such a big kid) This one is from Urbanoutfitters, which runs around $18.

Rene Burri

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY, MY LOVES!!!

Enjoy the online retail therapy!

Love,

Ari

things and events

Due to my sporadic schedule nowadays, I am prone and trained to wake up early. This morning, I slipped out of bed and drove to work only to find that I was an hour and a half early! The boss had changed the schedule and I had neglected to look at the new one placed in my box. To pass the time, I was sifting through my email and found a few things that caught my eye. I began making a list of things I want to buy and events I want to attend but might not because of my hectic life.

Things (part 1)

EWOK USB drive 1GB

This is probably the cutest thing I’ve seen  aside from my Dorthy red flats that I put on this morning. The down fall is that it’s only 1 GB but it is just too cute to pass up.

Marc Jacob Flats with Kitty design

Shoes are always on my mind! These run around $215

Events I want to attend

• Solomon’s Secret (thursdays) ok I missed the first one  but will catch the next one FOR SURE!
• Pancake Supper and Films Al Fresco (Sat, Feb. 7 5:00pm-8:00pm) something about pancakes and independent films just seems so cozy and fun

films:

• The Spider, The Mistress, and the Tangerine (Feb. 6-8 7pm)
• Tehran has no more pomegranates
• The Class

I wish my weekend schedule could free up a bit!!!

Ok, I guess I’d better work now.

Toodles,

Ari

Photo News: Polaroid makes a come back

This afternoon, I was just discussing with Lily, a fellow photographer, how sad it was that Polaroid decided to stop making film and how we loved certain aspects of traditional Photography, or “old school photography.” It was David Hickman’s, my professor of color class, remark that caused this nostalgia when he mentioned that “darkrooms are a dying tradition.” Everytime I hear this statement, I cry and a piece of me is chipped away at inside, but there is still hope. Although society might find darkroom processing to be quaint and photography a simple method of “pointing and shooting,” most serious photographers dismiss such heinous remarks and will defend the trade til the very end, hoping that the things of the past will make a comeback. Luckily, there is still hope for us yet!

Polaroid announced that they are making a new digital camera. This new digital camera prints instant pictures. Granted it takes about a minute for the picture to be printed but it still holds true to the grainy, off-colored film that Polaroid is famous for. The picture does not require shaking.

[MY THOUGHTS]

It’s not a Polaroid if you can’t shake it! Remember that song…shake it, shake it, like a Polaroid picture! It’s just not the same!

[END THOUGHTS]

The camera is classified as an instant printing digital camera. It comes out in March/April and runs about $200. Not bad, seeing as this could be the next hope for the Polaroid era.

Things are never as great as the original but it’s a small step in the right direction; a victory in my eyes. I mean who doesn’t like Polaroids?!

Cheers!

Love,

Ari

Luden’s Throat Drops and Great Films

Keeping up with one of my new year’s resolution to “blog regularly,” I report to you ,tonight, with a scratchy throat and the occasional insomnia. Right about now, when my throat feels like it’s rubbing sandpaper, do I really wish I would have heeded my mother’s sage advice to “bundle up and take a jacket.”

Two days ago, I decided to check the mail. I ran outside in socks in the 30 degree weather in short sleeves and pj pants. Later, the next day, I drove around town in the freezing temperature without my coat. It wasn’t that I had forgotten my layers of clothing, it’s just that I can’t seem to drive with heavy coats on because I feel like I can’t maneuver the steering wheel properly when weighted down. In a way, you could say I brought this upon myself with all the exposure to the cold winds. I woke up nauseated and with a wicked soreness in the throat. I took the day off, little did I know that I’d be spending it recuperating. Now, I’m not one who favors taking medicines, but I am a big fan of taking natural remedies. I’ve been drinking hot green tea with lemon and honey all day, while watching countless movies, dozing off here and there. The one thing  I enjoy about colds is Luden’s wild cherry throat drops. My first encounter with these delectable treats was at church at the wee age of six, when a dear friend of mine slipped one in my hand when she saw me struggling to suppress a wicked case of the coughs. I swear these things are better than most candies out there! While I’m at home, bundled up, finally taking my mom’s advice, I’ll be popping these occasionally. The only problem is that I can’t seem to kick this noxious feeling.

I’ve managed to catch up on some reading while I’m stuck at home. I’m reading two books at the moment: Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, and Steven D. Levitt’s Freakonomics. Two completely different subjects but equally entertaining. I finally finished watching “8 1/2,” Italian Filmmaker, Federico Fellini’s work of art. It is a complex, interesting, and lucid film about the chaos that an Italian director encounters when making a film. The time lapses between his fantasies and reality in the film are different but oddly seem to flow. It is definitely a classic film. I’m currently watching “Persepolis,” hoping that I’ll drift to sleep and get in a few hours of sleep before I have to wake up for work tomorrow morning. UGH!!! I’m really wishing I could fall asleep right now!

Here’s to Luden’s Cough Drops and Great Movies!

-Ari

Oh La La What’s Your Scent

It’s funny how a person’s scent can easily attract or repulse. A friend brought up an interesting point the other day when he stated how he chose a particular fragrance, not popular, because it fit his personality, because he wanted to make it his own. Sometimes we forget how powerful the senses can be. The sense of smell is one of the most powerful physical sense because it can fire the neurons in your brain that connect you to certain memories. One of the biggest problems that I have is how certain scents remind me of people in the past and present. For example, pomegranate reminds me of a past relationship solely because it was my fragrance of choice at the time. I still love the smell and flavor but remember that one particular moment in life when things were a little chaotic. Lemonade and raspberries remind me of hot summer afternoons at home. Cinnamon reminds me of my grandmother’s special tea. We can sometimes forget memories but rarely do we ever forget how something smelled. If something was rank, it will always be under that “grotesque” category. Same goes with sweet smells.

The other afternoon, I was helping a few students when a nice gentlemen came up to me to ask for advice. He was such a nice young man but he overbearingly smelled like he doused himself with too much cologne. I want to say he was wearing Axe, that popular men’s fragrance that always leaves me gagging. I don’t know what it is about Axe that I don’t particularly care for. Maybe, it’s the idea that I feel like I can taste the fragrance when I should only be getting soft whiffs  of it? Hmmm…maybe this is it, indeed. To make a long story short, I realized how important a person’s scent can be. It is the same with flowers and bees. Bees are attracted to the confectionery scent of pollen. Hey, if you think body odor is appealing, by all means go for it, just don’t wear it too close to where your neighbor can taste it.  The key point is that you should be “wearing your cologne/perfume” and not have it “wear you.” Your scent should not be so powerful that it greets your guests before you bid them “hello.”  It should complement and not distract. There is that argument that “a world of smell is different from one person to the next.” Where women have a sensitive sense of smell compared to men’s, which does make reason of why most women find that most men wear way too much cologne at times. Still it’s much debatable. Once again, the point is that when choosing a fragrance, choose wisely because that scent can follow you from years to come.

-Ari

Starting Off Right

I initially wrote this entry New Year’s Day when most people declare their resolutions, but on the eve of my most favorite holiday, I received shocking news that a friend of mine passed away. Flabbergasted from the whole ordeal, this entry was haphazardly left unpublished until now ⎯ a week later when work, school, and my social life have momentarily calmed down a bit.

Normally, I’m not one to discuss such resolutions but I figure since I’m always so busy planning the next 10 years, I might as well share a few of my plans for the coming year.

In the year 2009 I, Ari, will succeed in doing the following :

1. As always, walk in the path that God has ordained for me
2. travel more, which can be translated as “take the vacation you plan but never execute”
3. blog regularly
4. begin photographing/filming the documentary that I’ve planned since age 6
5. photograph more
6. design more
7. build a larger storage space for my accumulated books
8. stop dating guys that are incompatible with me
9. learn better German
10. sleep regularly

So there you have it, not much but definitely something to keep me busy  while I’m running around doing odd and great things this year.