What the deal?

Only nineteen days left until I’m flying the coop. I’ll be gone from May 20th until September 3rd, less than a week before fall classes. I still don’t think it’s hit me yet. Each day I’ll wake up and think as far as that night, who to call and what to cook for dinner. I’ve had quite a lapse in blogging as well. Since Philadelphia, I visited friends and a lot of art in New York, finished building a coffee table, had work in two campus galleries, and finished off the semester (with a spill, if you know what I mean). A good friend of mine got in a bicycling accident. He's doing OK. I've been visiting in the hospital. I’ve also managed to find a fine amount of work, despite leaving soon.

So, what the hell am I doing? I’m studying abroad for ten weeks, taking twelve credit hours worth of classes while visiting ten countries. The trip begins in London, England and ends in Istanbul, Turkey. After this I’ll be spending roughly a month in Romania, where my extended family resides. I’ll have my camera with me, always. If I haven’t asked for your address already, you should give it to me, now. Postcards.

 

Philadelphia

Last week was our spring break and though early March isn't quite warm like spring I had a fantastic time in Philadelphia. I volunteered at the Society for Photographic Education National Conference and met a lot of great people. We had somewhere around 150 volunteers total and although I only got to meet a portion of them, it was nice getting to know people who care so much about the medium. I also made some connections with professors. I'm already planning on going again next year, which will be in Atlanta. In Philly I slept at Apple Hostels, this place off of Market on Bank Street. I never stayed at a hostel before and didn't know what to expect. Everyone I met was nice and most were from out of the country, here to visit the east coast and returning shortly after. I also got to see Kristen and her boyfriend Jon, who moved there just last summer. I only stayed four nights but Philly already started feeling like home.

Mobile

First post from the phone. Apparently I can only send square images to the blog via this program, but oh well. I'll just have to get really good at visualizing things cropped. Despite it being a snow day, the news must go on. This proves rather lucky for the tomato plants I started growing in my office and keep forgetting to water. I think it's been four months since I started growing them from seed. Sadly I won't be there to see them make delicious fruit in the spring and summer, so if you're interested in one let me know.

emigrating

Moving has been a prominent part of my life since I was young. I seem to do it a lot yet. Last week I moved to the other side of town. Now I'm moving several towns away. I'll probably move again after summer. Do you know the difference between emigrating and immigrating? I've gotten empty sentiments from roommates when lately hauling things away. Do I call them old roommates now, though last week they didn't need the prefix? Well, whatever I guess.

I'm hopefully going to Philadelphia for spring break this year. I signed up to volunteer at the Society for Photographic Education. Eight hours of commitment and afterward I'm free to see all the lectures and meet some interesting people. It's quite the car ride. If anyone is headed in that direction, let me know.

My whole impetus for moving home is saving money. I'm due to travel in Europe this summer and my last stop is Romania. Oh man, the homeland. Among things, I have a brother to meet and a history to rebuild. Perhaps I'll even change my voicemail for when I'm gone. It would be something ridiculous, I'll promise.

A change of scenery can help one's thought process a lot. Sitting on top of the photo drying racks, I'm thinking about grad school. I've been musing the idea of going to a few schools and the kinds of stuff I'll do afterward. I've also been terribly anxious from school, work, and home. Historically this is the worst time of year for me and I think for once I need to change my attitude, especially if I'm gonna apply to schools. Kristen wrote about holding oneself accountable, especially for the things most important to you. I thought that was great. Well, my health is up there; time to ride a bike more than between classes. Being social is too; my house is not the best place for that, especially when there's no one around.

The Penrose Square

After reading a comic on my professor's door last Friday I decided to run with an idea for a drawing on my bedroom wall. This took up the majority of the day. I hadn't done a connect the dots game since sixth grade. I found a website that I could print a diagram from. These utilize math problems to advance the lines. Quadratic equations were as far as I wanted to go; I never got past trig in high school. Done in permanent marker and acrylic paint.











It's funny that this is an object drawn by completing a series of math problems yet no math can explain Oscar Reutersvard's Penrose Square.

Taz is trying to tell me to relax by laying on my arms as I try and write this paper. I left the photo lab late tonight. It's a little unsettling to return to a lifeless house after work, but then there's the cat. I imagine living on my own isn't too far along the road, at which point it's me and Taz. In certain ways, I'm living as though I have my own place this school year. Work and school have kept me incredibly busy. The time I would otherwise spend at home with roommates is spent visiting people and working on personal projects. I'd like to learn some French before this proposed bicycling trip across Europe next summer. I still need some basic gear so I don't die, or at the very least bonk out in the mountains. I also keep thinking about giving the trip some larger purpose than just traveling a ton, such as making a message about climate change and the environment. That doesn't mean I can't see a lot of stuff in the process. :)