Studio Project: Digitize a musical instrument. I have my own issues about this assignment but I am trying to put them behind me so that I can focus on the task at hand.

I learned more today than I have in a very long time. I spent most of the day in my living room, at music stores, at a coffee shop and the library researching. I learned about soundwaves and the science of sound, the history of the Moog(symthesizer), and about a vast array of instruments from the violin to the Tharamin. Here are a few cool videos:

The Musical Saw:


The Theremin:


Digital Guitar


and The Glass Armonica:



But I will leave you with this:


-Rubes

Chris Price

Damn this stuff is so great. I am 100% inspired right now.

CHRIS PRICE

here are a couple sneak peeks.

If you do nothing, nothing will happen.

The end of my first day without Facebook! I found myself reaching for my phone a couple of times but I am really glad I don't have it any more. It feels good knowing I am no longer a part of that world. I felt obligated to use it but I say, if I really want to stay in contact with someone, I will. I think my connections with people will be a little more meaningful because of it. AH! It feels good!

So! I have been toying with the idea of doing month-long projects. Like, one-a-day type things and writing about where these experiments take me. It could be things like, writing one letter a day for one month, or designing once poster a day for a month, or making something new every day for a month, or making a new recipe every day for one month...you get the idea. I was inspired by this project that I have been following for a long time called The Uniform Project (click on the link to go to the site). One girl per month wears the same dress for that entire month and takes a picture of herself wearing it. The girl then blogs a little about what it means to be a part of the project and her outfit that day. People donate money based on if they think the girl is doing a good job and all of the money she raises goes to the charity of the girl's choosing.

I wish I could be one of the girls in the project. I have been following it from the very beginning when Sheena, the founder, wore the same dress for an ENTIRE YEAR. Of course she had the most fabulous accessories but they were all donated, thrifted or designed from discarded shipping material/recyclables. I think that is just way cool. You all know how much I love using odd materials to make something cool (See: Utility Quilts). I really think I could do it too.

But I am not really established in anything just yet so I think I might have to wait my turn. Until then, I'll do my own Uniform Project. Except I'll call it something else. Something pretty sweet. I'll come up with it tomorrow and get started ASAP. Why? because this is the year to get shit done.

On a similar note my roommate, and me by consequence, are really into Dubstep remixes of pop songs lately.

Click here to listen to a shitty dubstep remix!!!

Trav says that this is the year that dubstep will die. I believe him. He called it. So anyway, we're sitting here in the office (our microscopic dining room, if you could call it that) listening to various shitty dubstep songs like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd7LDhvZqrc
this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-KoUlHG6fU&feature=related
and this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8e0MPlnoHM&feature=related

Then I saw this....


and this...


this...


and this...


- I leave you with babies dancing to dubstep.

Goodnight
-Rubes

New Year, New Projects

I wonder how many projects get started on New Years Day.  And I wonder how long they last.

This year is all about commitment and starting projects. Its all about being proactive.  And its all about being honest with myself. My dad told me that if he died tomorrow, and he had one piece of advice to give me, it was "to be honest with myself".  So here goes...

...I feel like I can bullshit myself sometimes.  I tell myself I am getting work done and that I am being productive and that I am living my life exactly how I want to be living it. I tell myself a lot of things. But am I listening to what I am saying? Am I truly being honest with myself? No. Not all of the time.  I can try a lot harder most of the time. I can push myself a lot further.  I need to hold myself accountable for my own actions and I plan on starting that now. On New Years Day.

Damnit. I just realized that technically, it is the second day of the year and not the first.  Well, at least I am being honest...


So! How do I recapture and live my 3-Dimensional life to its fullest?

Step 1: Get rid of Facebook.The first proactive thing that I did this year was to delete my facebook account.  Facebook makes whores of us all.  I hate that I care about things on facebook.  I hate that I have documented my life on facebook for the past 5.5 years. Wow. 5.5 years. That makes me a little bit sick. I rely too much on it and fear that I have forgotten how to communicate without it.  Facebook is stifling me and it is preventing me from existing in the 3-Dimensional world.  If I really want to "Be Here Now" I need to "Get Off Facebook Now."  So I did.  I feel pretty good about it. Perhaps I will regret it tomorrow.

We shall see. 

-Rubes

The Phantom Tollbooth

I have recently noticed a severe lack of literature in my life.  Prior to France, I always read a book, other than those for school, that I would be reading (albeit slowly).  During France, I was too busy writing, drawing, studying, and plus, books in English were hard to come by.  After France, my world was inundated with design and I had a lot to catch up on.  Needless to say, I can't remember the last book (of Fiction) that I read, cover to cover, since Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. 

Laughable, tragic, shocking, I know. 

This is why, as I close one volume of my life, I pick up a new book a new book and begin another.  In this volume, I will move out of Eugene and into a new apartment in Portland, I will get my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Product Design, I will read more, and I will write more.  

A new friend of mine recently told me, after I said I had nothing funny or interesting to write about since France, that indeed I did and that just because I wasn't in Europe doesn't mean interesting things aren't happening every day.  

Dangit. He was right. He IS right. 

The first chapter of this volume begins with a book. I have read this particular book more times than any other book and it happens to be one of my favorites. I recommend that every person read it in his or her lifetime.  It's not an epic classic, or a New York Times bestseller, but a young adult fiction book, with numbered chapters and sketches intertwined within its pages. This chapter begins with The Phantom Tollbooth.

I consider this book one of the most underrated books, ever.  Not many people have heard of it, or really understand the depth of it.  Norton Juster weaves in these little gems, these little pearls of wisdom and states them SO SIMPLY and in such a matter-of-fact way that it makes you lower the book and stare off into the wall for a few seconds going, "Of course..." Its brilliant and more people need to appreciate this book.

Which is why I invite you to read this book with me. In fact, I invite you, whomever you are, to read not only this book with me, but also the next and all subsequent books with me. I want to set a goal of reading one book a week for an entire year. That would be 52 books in 52 weeks...but I'm hesitant to bite off more than I can chew (WHICH I have been known to do...FREQUENTLY).  So instead, I will keep it a loose goal...

...I will try to read as many as I can in an entire year.  

I have already asked a few people that I feel have great taste in books, or that I feel have an interesting perspective on life, for book recommendations but I extend the invitation to anyone that reads this.  If you have a book that you feel should not go unread in anyone's lifetime, a book so strikingly important or well-written or incredible that you would like to recommend that I read this year, please, leave me a comment.  I am 100% open to suggestions.  

"Do you know where we are?" asked Milo.

"Certainly," he replied, "we're right here on this very spot.  Besides, being lost is never a matter of not knowing where you are; it's a matter of not knowing where are aren't--and I don't care at all about where I'm not."

Its fun reading old blogs.

I was just going back through and reading some of the stuff I wrote when I was in France.

I miss writing.

Maybe I should go back to France so that I can have funny blogs again.

-Rubes

Valemtimez Day!

While all you love birds were out romanticizing and canoodling together in dimly lit corners, listening to the soft sounds of indie bands and crooners, eating overpriced meals for two and bathing in the wafting scents of the roses and chocolates surrounding you, I was stuffing my face with soul food, dancing in my chair to the down home blues tunes from a man who sounded like Keb Mo', and drinking champagne with three of my good friends. I loved every minute of it.

Usually, and well, always, now that I think about it, I'm very impartial about Valentines Day. I could care less about all that floofy stuff. This Valentines Day was just an excuse to go out to dinner with my friends. We laughed and drank and danced and had our fair share of adventure, excitement and maybe even a little lovin'. I ended up having a really really great time that night. I realize that this Valentines Day was more of an excuse to pamper myself and think about how much I love my friends and go out and have a great night without thinking about stresses, homework and how much that beer just cost because damnit, its a holiday and Im going to celebrate it. Phew....I needed it.

It's week 7 which means I can smell spring break but its still too far away to touch.

I've decided to start posting funny/interesting/pertinent things at the end of each Blog. Here is something I found today that I think those of you who read this would enjoy....so...go and enjoy it, damnit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AyVh1_vWYQ&feature=channel_page

Happy Valemtimez Day
143
Ruby

Why, yes, they are real.

As a quick update:
In class yesterday we found out that our next two field trips have been canceled because of the economy. The first factory, the sheet metal factory, just doesn't have any work and they are closed for the time being. The second factory just downsized and changed management and can't have 45 college kids walking around the factory when they are reworking the way the factory is run. So that's the economic score.

Well, in other news, something kind of funny happened to me yesterday.

I went to the student union to meet up with Lindsay after I got some food. I sat down across from her and we started to do the crossword puzzle. That continued undisturbed for about 10/15 minutes. Then a group of football players sat down at the table attached to ours. A few more showed up and soon there was a small gathering right next to us. These guys were big black dudes and lindsay and I were little white girls just doing the crossword puzzle on a Tuesday. We exchanged glances, acknowledging the humor of the situation.

Now, I have a little bit of experience in the field of breasts. I can usually pick up on when people are talking about them and I'm pretty sure they were discussing the validity of mine. One guy said "find out for yourself" and they burst into laughter. After their chuckles subsided, one guy who we later found out was named T.Y., asked "where'd y'all eat lunch?" and from there conversation proceeded. We talked about what we did last weekend, the football team in the offseason, and where I worked. When I told them I worked at the Craft Center, they didn't believe that I knew how to build things. I told them I had recently built a stool and made a blown glass ornament. "J" asked if I could build him a new bed. "
"A new bed? Like, out of wood?
"Yeah. My old bedframe got a crack in it."
I kinda cocked my head to the side and said, "Well, gee,I don't know if I wanna know how you got a crack in your headboard..." *cue the laughter and clapping of the crowd of football players* and cosequentially *cue my crowning moment of glory*

This silly banter continued and they kept throwing out all sorts of comments about Grey Goose, turning their apartment into a bar, hanging out with Lindsay and I and other related subjects, all of which set of the "Pretty sure my dad would kill you if he heard you talking like that" alarm. Lindsay had to go to class and I decided to leave too. They got Lindsay's number. I figured we would never talk to one another but I guess I was wrong. "J" texted lindsay about 20 minutes later asking if they were going to hang out with her and her package deal(me) soon. I don't know what else was exchanged but lindsay did forward me this text:
"I don't know but my package deal's boobs are real, by the way."

I laughed hysterically. I know we probably will never hang out with those guys but it was a fun moment and I'm sure Lindsay and I will talk about when we're 55 year old winos reminiscing about our prime time.

Where is Superman when you need him?

It's been a while.

I am afraid of the economy. I am afraid of what is to come. I am afraid of what might happen if this stimulus package fails...who knows if it's going to pass or if it is even going to work. I'm not an economics major, I don't know whats up. But I do pay enough attention to know that things are getting very scary and messy and just plain fucked up.

And here I am, at the edge of the rest of my life, facing all of it. I see people my age losing jobs. I see people my age unable to find jobs. I see people my age staying in school for another 2 years because hey, it's not like they'd be able to find employment anyway, right? I almost feel like me having to have a 5th year of college is a bit of a blessing in disguise. At least I know that for the next two years I won't have to pay back any loans or brave the real adult world.

That's not to say I don't go unaffected. I'm still lashed with solemn headlines blaring from the New York Times website when I open my computer each day and every time I pass by a newsstand I shrink a little. I shrink in the same way I shrink when a homeless person asks me for money and I have to say (and mean) "Sorry man, I don't have any cash". I shrink because I see the pain and hardship, I see the storm in the distance, I see the impending doom biding its time and I feel like there is nothing I can do about it. I'm just a poor college student. I can't do anything. I'm living in my safe collegiate bubble full of loans and discounts. But lately, I can't help but feel like this economic crisis is really beginning to seep into my world....

...and then today, things really did get a little more real than just headlines on the paper.

I received an email from my Product Design professor that read:
No tour tomorrow. Meet in class and I'll fill you in on the economic conditions of our tour spots.
Cheers,
Kiersten

Reading that email and listening to President Obama's speech made me realize that shit is getting really real, folks. I don't know exactly what that e-mail is saying but I do know that my classes are now affected by it. And I do know that my degree may not be worth a whole lot when I graduate. And I do know that our country is in for one hell of a ride that I hope our new president can navigate.

Yet....I DO know that from where I stand, at the proverbial edge of the cliff, I can't let this cloud of darkness and depression consume me. Its my job, in this moment of zen, to take a deep breath, exhale and get ready to fight for the life I want, head on, with the tools I have at hand. Momma didn't raise no sissy woman and Poppa gave me too much pride to crumble.

Good Luck America!

RUSH

My life is go. Go. Go. Go. Going all the time.

Thats why I this morning, when I had a small break in my day, I laughed when I saw a guy wearing a "RUSH" T-shirt running through campus. I doubt he noticed the irony but I really really enjoyed that moment.

"Baby's First Election"

From France I was able to stand on the other side of America and look inward. Like watching animals at a zoo, I was a spectator observing my own life for a while. Imagine that for a minute. A giraffe gets let out of her small glass encased environment and walks around the zoo looking at everything she's missing and although there is so much to see, she keeps coming back to her old home just to see how things are going.

For me, this experience was one I am just now coming to terms with. I certainly explored the whole zoo while I was over there but I'm only just now realizing that I spent a lot of time looking back into my old environment. And I didn't necessarily like what I saw. But I didn't necessarily love walking around the zoo all day. It was a bit of a rude awakening and I feel like the year put a little chip on my shoulder. I think I might be a little too critical of my culture (aka Elitist). I met some german exchange students last night and I kept talking about how badly I wanted to move back to Europe to live and go to school and travel because I've tired of America.

But today I voted in my first election ever. And for the first time since I've been back in America (and maybe for the first time since after 9/11) I felt proud to be an American citizen. I got the same feeling after I sealed my ballot that I get when I watch fireworks. It gave me goosebumps and I think that being able to vote is the best thing about being American. I know you can vote in other countries...we are NOT the only democratic society on earth...but I just felt a connection to my homeland that had been lacking for a very long time.

I never thought that voting would be this big of a deal to me but it really is. I voted for President of the United States and my Mother on the same ballot! Voting CLEARLY has a real effect on my life and I don't think I can understand the people who say, "Well my vote doesn't really count" now, because it does. Maybe you feel like you are really helping make decisions or maybe it just makes you feel a little bit more attached to where you are. Regardless of what happens to this piece of paper after I drop it into the mailbox tomorrow, I feel like I did something important for myself today.

Thats all. Go vote. It's good for the soul.

I call this procrastination

WHY AM I DOING HOMEWORK ALL OF THE TIME?! DAMNIT!


MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOPPPP!!!!!!

Bonafide Art Student

This is what I did today:
First I woke up at 11:00 because Monday is my only day to actually sleep in and after the weekend I just had, I needed it. So I woke up, showered, ate a grapefruit and walked to class with my friend, Scott. While he went to some international accounting business hoohaa class, I strolled though the fall breeze, stepping on crunchy leaves and breathing the fresh, crisp air all the way to the fine arts studios where I had three hours of Metalsmithing. I soldered some copper together and did a bunch of sanding, handled torches and files and sketched out the utensils I will be making in our next class. I stayed late because I wanted to finish my soldering sample project that day. Then I walked back through that wonderful fall air until I bumped into some friends on the lawn. I got a sandwich with Braden and Andrew and then went back home. My day was not done...oh no.

I proceeded to my friend Karyn's house. She was going to lend me her digital camera for my Product Design project, due Thursday. I have to get it done now because I have so much work to do this week and this is a time consuming project. You see, as Product Design students, we must perform competitive product test and observe things in their natural environments. In this case, I was testing cars. The interior spaces of cars. So with Karyn's camera in hand, I drove my 1990 Acura to the nearest BMW dealership. I walked into the showroom, explained myself and took pictures of my backback inside of 5 different cars. The assignment was to photo document the interior space of a NEW car (ie: at a dealership) and where a student would store his/her bag during a commute. I thought, "hey, if I'm going to have to go look at cars, they might as well be hell of nice ones." The KIA dealership was across the street so I went over there and took 2 pictures. They were playing "Hot Stuff" in the showroom and it smelled like old candy so I bolted as soon as I was done snapping the last shot. Then I proceeded to the Dodge dealership because I wanted to sit inside some big. ass. trucks.
And I did! Out of all of the cars I went inside, the car with the best storage space for a student's backpack was the: 2008 Dodge 1 Ton MEGATON Diesel truck (read: MAN! I AM A MAN!!! MEAT AND FOOTBALL!!! MUD!!!)

Then, I was starving. So I went home, Claire and I ate a delicious meal of Salmon and sautéed Zuccinni. Then, I had to work on a wire sculpture but I really wanted to zone out to a movie...so I went to Lindsay's and did both! My hands are now raw and cut up but my giant jellyfish lamp for my 3D design class is nearly complete. (On a sidenote...chicken wire is VICIOUS...)

Now I am home...and I have to wake up for my BUSY day in about 6.5 hours.

I am not complaining in the slightest BTW...while you business majors and poli sci majors add things and write papers, I get to do art projects all day. I go to college!

May you dream in color tonight...
Love,
Ruby

THE QUESTION

Einstein said, "The important thing is to never stop questioning." which is a quote that I generally, strongly agree with...in most cases.

There are, however situations where questioning is either
a) A bad idea--I need not give examples, you get it
b) Only leads to more and more unanswerable questions thus driving you mad and preventing you to live your life--such as in philosophy
c) Could result in your death--"If I tell you I will have to kill you"
d) Very annoying--so annoying it could cause me to break something on your head.

Yes, I Ruby Sprengle, am being rather annoyed with this one simple question:
"So how was France?!"

When some people ask me the question I can sense the genuine interest in my response and will therefore return with a genuine response. Then when some people ask me that question, I sense a total lack of care. Its like, they feel obligated to ask me and I obligated to respond. I would appreciate a little creativity now and then.

This is why I have decided to start answering this question with much more unconventional responses. So the next time someone asks me how France was, I may respond as such:

"Oh, partly cloudy with wind gusts of up to 15 miles per hour"
or
"There were scattered Thunderstorms"
or maybe
"Slightly undercooked but still bursting with flavor"
"Delicious! I particularly enjoyed the hint of lime!"
"The scriptwriting was awful"
"I found the metaphors to be rather contrived"
"Really good. They've got an early 70's classic rock vibe mixed with a totally modern electro-synth undertone."
"A little too hops-y for my taste."
"An exquisite masterpiece of contemporary cinema. I can already smell the Oscar buzz."
or maybe just
"It needed salt."

So there you have it. I'm putting in my effort people. Let's get a little cooperation and jazz things up a bit. I'd really appreciate it.
Rubes

I'm BAA-aaack

And there are many stories to come. I just wanted to let all of you who read this know that now that I am back in America for some time, I wont be discontinuing the blog! I enjoy writing in here. Just because i'm not in Europe anymore doesn't mean my life is now boring. Quite the contrary. In fact, my year of Carmen SanDiego-ing around Europe may have possible...*GASP* ...broadened my horizons?!?...

Well, anyway, I have sooo much to catch up on. Since I last wrote in here, I have been/done:

Marrakech
Essaouira
Madrid
Berlin
Athens
Thessaloniki
Igoumenitsa
27 hours on a ferry across the Adriatic Sea
Venice
The Verona, Italy Holiday Inn
Italian Rent-A-Car
Lago di Garda
Paris
NY
Florida
The Bahamas
Turned 21 years old
had friends visit Florida
Had my sister visit florida
Crossed the country in my 1990 Acura Legend and lived to tell the tale
Put Power Steering fluid in my Brake Fluid reservoir
Paid for that mistake (on the cheaper end!!!)
Returned to Portland and
been thoroughly turned upside down.

The culture shock has not ended here, my friends and that is why I am pleased to introduce the new name for my Blog:

"Culture Shock Therapy"

Please tune in at later intervals for your daily,weekly, or whenever dose of entertainment and Ruby.

143

I got the Blues

So here I sit, in my empty echoing room, packing my suitcases and listening to the blues. Lyon feels my mindset right now. The weather is bluesy. It's a soggy shade of gray outside, like someone used photoshop on the world, fading all of the colors, likening it to an old photograph found at a yardsale. I can see the water droplets floating in the air. It's all very appropriate. I'm not, sad, per say, its all just bluesy.

I don't want to pack my suitcase. Almost all of my friends have gone. I've had to get ride of nearly half of my clothes. I gave away my cacti, which I loved like pets, by the way. I'm getting ready to leave this place, probably for good, in a couple days. I know Lyon and I have had our problems but that doesn't mean I'm happy to see it go. I had a pretty good set-up here. A great apartment, a tightly knit circle of friends growing closer and closer by the day, a great market with all of the fresh veggies, fruits, cheeses and meats you could want one minute from my front door, enough money to buy and eat that food, a great job and no other real obligations. I had this city smack in the palm of my hand. I'm not happy to leave but I'm not going to cry either. I just have the blues.

Further, its hard to be sad when I'm about to embark on the hugest roadtrip/adventure of my life (so far!). On Thursday, my dad and I are going to Morocco, then Madrid, then Berlin, then Greece, then Croatia, then Venice, then back to Florida. Then a mere 4 days of being back in the USA, it's off to the Bahamas I go. So, its hard to be truly sad when you're looking at something like that. I'm a lucky lucky girl.

And thats all I can really say. I'm not going to write some cliché sappy graduation blog. I can't really sum up my experience in a blog post. I made friend. I learned French. I made my mistakes and I learned my lessons. I discovered what I had been taking for granted. I grew a year wiser. I have some scars. I saw some of the world. I got a taste for real live train traveling. I gained 5 pounds. I learned how to play the ukulele. I took some amazing pictures. I got focused while simultaneously un-planning the next 5 years of my life. I'm sure I have changed in many ways but I can't really pin down what they are. I guess you'll have to be the judge of that.

See you soon,
Ruby

I'm D-O-N-E

I have been leaving most of my unfortunate escapades out of this blog. As in last week, for example....

I was walking to the Metro at 5:30 am with my friend Kate. We didn't want to pay for a taxi earlier so we slept for two and a half hours, woke up and walked to the metro. On the way, we were surrounded by 6 men on 3 motorcycles. They tried to grap us, touch us, lift up Kate's dress, etc and one of them was in my face, about to grab my boobs so I swung at him. then we started running. As we were running across the street, one of them chased me down and punched me in the head.

6 days later, when I finally had the nerve to go out again, I went out to dinner with a bunch of people. I was walking home alone at about 10PM which isn't that bad. I was in MY neighborhood and I knew the route and felt totally comfortable. I was 2 minutes from my front door when I heard fast footsteps. I looked over my shoulder and I saw a man run-walking at me. I started run-walking myself and I heard him speed up. I started running. Then HE started running. He chased me and kicked my ankles, trying to make me fall down. Luckily, I didn't and I just started running faster. I was at the bottom of this HUGE ( and I mean huge...it takes 2 minutes to walk up it at a slow and steady pace) staircase next to my house and I RAN UP THE ENTIRE THING. It took me 8 minutes to catch my breath but he didn't follow me far up the stairs.

Tonight, I was in NO WAY going home alone. My guy friend Morgan walked me to the taxi station closest to my area. Normally it costs about 5 Euros to get home. Well, I'm pretty sure the TAXI driver who drove me home was drunk. He got lost, sped AND took the LONG WAY HOME. I tried to pay him less but he looked like he was going to hit me so I sucked it up.

Basically, I can't leave my apartment and come home after 9:00PM without being nearly killed, attacked, or screwed.

GET ME OUT OF THIS CITY.

KID PIX

I just found out that in the future, I will be taking a class by the man who invented Kid Pix. YOU CANNOT UNDERSTAND HOW EPIC THIS IS FOR ME!!! For those of you not familiar, which would be most people over the age of about, lets say 28, Kid Pix is a bitmap computer game and drawing program. You could paint pictures, draw lines, fill in coloring book type pages, erase your creations by dropping little eraser bombs on the screen, make a world out of little pre-existing stamp people and there were sound effects. It was the best thing ever. If you are still confused, CLICK HERE . Scroll down a little bit to read about the cool things it could do! In short, I am pretty sure Kid Pix has had an astounding influence on who I have become as a person and what my ambitions are.

Oh oh oh....I can tell through the internet that you think I am over exaggerating. Well I assure you, I am not. Kid Pix is serious and I am about to tell you one of the most embarrassing moments of my short life. Let's go back to 2nd grade...*cue chimes and wavy screen special effects*

Every day of second grade in Mr. Winters' class, one student got to have 30 minutes of class time to themselves where they could do whatever they wanted on the computer. For me, this meant I got 30 glorious minutes of uninterrupted KID PIX time. The list of who got to use the computer went alphabetically. Being an S, it always felt like such a long time until my name was called! Anyway, finally, the glorious day came when it was my day to have the computer. I was so excited all day and was planning on using my 30 minutes during Math, because I hated math. Math was in the afternoon, just after lunch recess. I came in from recess feeling on top of the world..."Lunch, recess AND 30 minutes of KID PIX??!! THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!" I thought.

So I settle down for my 30 minutes of bliss, deviantly laughing at all of the poor souls learning how to divide while I got to paint, draw, erase things, make stamps, color fill pictures and make animations on Kid Pix. The one detail I chose to ignore was the inkling I had to tinkle, just as my time began. You see, your 30 minutes of computer time MEAN 30 minutes, no more, no less. You can't stop the timer to go to the bathroom; It just keeps onnnn going. Fifteen minutes in, realizing that my inkling was now turning into much more of a rushing need to urinate, I began to fidget and check the clock. I tried every method of holding it in but 4 minutes later, my tiny 7 year old bladder couldn't handle the stress. I peed my pants.

I may have been 7 but I was mature enough to realize that I would be absolutely ridiculous to sit there in my own pee for the remaining 11 minutes. Crying out of a) pure embarrassment and b) intense disappointment in myself for wasting 11 WHOLE minutes of Kid Pix time, I called for the teacher. I went to the main office and in about 40 minutes I was rescued with some fresh trousers. I learned many lessons that day, the most important one was to ALWAYS go to the bathroom BEFORE your 30 minutes of Kid Pix time starts....*fade out*

As you can see, Kid Pix really has made quite an impression on me. So you can understand how me, taking a class from the man who invented Kid Pix, is an enormous thing. Although I don't know if i will pass his class if I tell him that he made me pee my pants when I was 7 so, I'm opting to leave that detail out.


By the way, it was a pretty big deal for me to share this story with the world. It haunted me for years...so you better damn well appreciate it.

Stars

I miss nature. I miss vast expanses with no one to be seen for miles. I miss seeing the stars.
Its been so long since I've seen my old friends Orion, Big and Little Dipper, Milky Way, Venus, Jupiter, and all of the others who don't mind that I don't know their names. Its been so long since I've seen them smile at me, laughing and basking in each other's twinkles. I only see people now. People are much less interesting because I can't control what they do next and sometimes they bother you when you don't want to be bothered. The stars have never bothered anyone. They just do their thing in the sky and send you some love if you happen to take the time to look up. I don't think the stars like the city. Theres too much bothering and too few people taking the time to look up. I can't take street lights and neon signs for much longer. I miss the stars.

All of my friends are leaving and it's very anti-climactic. Its like this whole year was a big jungle adventure complete with sword fighting action! and high speed chases! and crazy animals! and boobie traps and enemies and romance and mysteries and waterfalls! And then one night after having just had a campfire jam session and dance party, we all wake up and the jungle is gone so we all decided to go home. Thats it. I was expecting a mushroom cloud announcing the end of something huge but instead the finish line just sort of came and everybody just sort of strolled over it and puttered away.

Well, I still have time left and I want a grand finale, goddamnit! I want fireworks and I want stars! Clearly the only option I have is to find a firework factory/store, break in, steal all of the fireworks and escape to the country side where I can run around barefoot in the grass lighting off fireworks.

Step one... http://www.au-chat-botte.fr/feux_artifice.php?rub=33

It just hit me...

OH HEEEELLLLLLL YEAH!