Wall Hangings: Glimpses of Eccentricity

That title might be a little bold. But as I was looking around the house this morning, it occurred to me that we have some weird things showcased on our walls.

It started out innocently enough. I just wanted to make the house seem more lived-in, but Sam and I (okay, mostly me) like some weird things. Also, the whiteness of the walls has caused me to compulsively cover them with anything and everything I can find. (In fact, I ran out of 3M poster hanging tape today. I even put it on my grocery list, although it's probably for the best right now.)

Anyway, as I started going around and actually looking at all the things I have taped together on the wall, it started to get a little strange. Sure, it started out normal, but the typical "crazy cat-lady"only started with one mild-mannered cat too. Before you know it, she's covered in scratches, she can't find her tv remote under the fur shed all over, and she's got seven cats that sleep in her bed while she's demoted to the couch, (not unlike the girl who lived in this house before us.)


Exhibit #1: The Normal Things
Not everything on my wall is weird. I have some very typical things. Like this nice clock, or this picture frame full of people that I love.

Exhibit #2: Nature Things
This isn't weird either, not by my standards anyway. My husband is a fisheries major and we do to do things outside! It's perfectly reasonable that we would have a scientific fish poster, a witty "Fisherman Lives Here" sign, and a sentimental paper cut of a great outdoor scene. 

Exhibit #3: Alphonse Mucha?
Here we start to digress from the previous theme. Yes, I am an artist, but I get that an Alphonse Mucha design study doesn't really fit the mood we set. Weird? Not necessarily, but perhaps it is a little out of place. 

Exhibit #4: Old Winking Man?!
Seriously?! Where did this guy even come from? Why did I agree to hang him on my wall right above my computer? Why is he looking so seductively at everyone?! 

Exhibit #5: Pandas. There are pandas everywhere.
This is perhaps the most disturbing trend because I didn't realize it until recently. Yes, I have a lot of panda things, I always have. But I really did leave a lot of things at home when I moved! I only have two panda wall hangings. 

But as I started looking and cleaning, I discovered my walls are not the only place the pandas are lurking. On my night stand, my panda necklace....

Under my craft desk, a panda trash can....

And in my closet!!! The horror!!!!

Okay, so maybe the stuff on my wall isn't that weird. But the title says "eccentric," not weird. And it is definitely eccentric. Plus, the winking guy is totally weird. And I do have a potentially unhealthy amount of panda things. (Actually, I'm pretty excited about having the cute little guys with me all the time.)

Until my next update on the status of my house, (or whatever catches my fancy next time I feel like writing) I hope my pandas brightened your day :) 

Home is where the Pandas are (No, I don't mean China.)

As usual, I'm pretty much the worst at keeping a regular journal, blog, or really anything of the sort. But until I get my professional life all figured out and now that our apartment is pretty much settled, I suppose I have a lot of free time on my hands.

So, this is for you guys who've been asking for updated apartment pictures. Aside from just unpacking and putting things away, we've been trying to get as much color as possible into the place. The carpet is tan and the walls are white, and at first glance, it just feels... bland. But I think we've done pretty well since our move-in on August 17th. Here's a sampling of our space.


Exhibit #1 - The Breakfast Nook (currently the puzzle table, but we eat food here too):
It may not look like much, but it has a big window and lots of natural light. The best way to wake up in the morning!

Exhibit #2 - The Kitchen:
If you are thinking to yourself, "Wow that's a lot of stuff and not very much counter," you would be correct. But at least we have all the appliances we need for modern convenience! Plus, the cabinets are pretty new, and Sam and I don't take up too much space anyway. I like to think its cozy.

Exhibit #3 - The Living Room (a.k.a. the Nerve Center):
This is where I spend pretty much all of my time during the day. There are a bunch of window doors around so we get a lot of light, and the tv/couch is here. If you notice to the right, my craft table is also located in this area with my computer. So more specifically, that corner is where I spend most of my time during the day, either job searching (Meh...) or crafting (Yay!).

 
Exhibit #4 - The Bathroom (or "Room with that orange counter):
Yeah. this one didn't change much. The counter is still orange, and the walls are still white. But we did add a shelf! And it's much cozier with a rug and a panda towel.

Exhibit #5 - The Bedroom:
This room is still the least colorful one in the house. But that's because the bookshelf in the room is white and I haven't put many things on the walls. I like to think that the absurdly colorful comforter makes up for it though.

Exhibit #6 - Panda Rug:
It really ties the room together.

Alrighty, well, that was fun. I hope you enjoyed your visit to our humble, but homey abode! Now my mom can stop complaining about not having enough pictures :)

Why I'm Going to Miss This (Part one)

It recently dawned on me. (I know. I make this is a statement that I make a lot.) In this particular instance, it's the beginning of several revelations I have had about the fact that pretty soon, I will be leaving this little home I've made for myself in Hillsdale, Michigan. That's pretty sad in some ways, and most people probably don't want to think about it yet since we are still in January, but I like to confront things early. We all know it's coming, so I suppose, with so many others in America whining about their worthless college experience and mounds of debt, this is just my way of trying to understand what really has transpired in my time here. Also, my sorority, Pi Beta Phi, recently picked up a new member class of 18 awesome young women. All but one of them are freshmen. This will be the last class to join any sorority on campus before I graduate in May. And now I feel old. Not just old, but nostalgic. It's kinda funny, because I spend a decent amount of time complaining about ALL the things. But really, the last four years have been good for me. So, this post is going to go with academics since it's the easiest to quantify, and also the least emotional thing I could talk about, when it comes to graduating and moving on with my life.

First, in every way, my high school did not give me any of these feelings. I absolutely couldn't wait to get out. Being a senior after a depressing summer and a hard junior year felt like an extra year of slavery tacked on to my servitude to a place that didn't particularly care much about me as long as I gave them great test scores, a lot of tuition money, and kept my angsty, rebellious opinions to myself. Which I did, mostly because it was helping me plot my escape.

College has been very different for me. A humbling experience in the way of hard work, if nothing else. I came in, after doing almost no work in high school and still managing to graduate as a valedictorian (something that seems less and less impressive each passing second, considering there were nine of us, and well, it was high school.) Nonetheless, I was convinced of my personal brilliance. I had never not gotten an A in a class before, but this was Hillsdale, and I knew my grades wouldn't be as good anyway. So I went about my business, putting slightly more than minimal effort into my schoolwork, just so long as I could keep my scholarships.

It worked for a little while. And then I had a wake-up call.
1) I took Bio 300 which was about 10000x harder than I thought it would be. Also, my interest in it was almost nonexistent. And I did not do well, even on my "just get a B" standard.
2) All these people around me excelled at school, learning things, working hard, being stressed, etc, and here I was. Just chilling. Swimming, working, but not really terribly concerned. Basically, I was slacking to the max, and I started feeling a little bored, and a little worthless.
3) My Dad threatened to make me pay more of my school if I didn't get better grades, which was even better motivation than any personal reason, especially at first.

Unsurprisingly, the next semester went extremely well for me. And once you have one good semester like that, it gets a little addictive. I like to excel at things, and I like to win, and getting really good grades sort of feels like "winning" at school, so I couldn't stop. (Yes, shallow, I know.)

Now, that's a long tangent, but it's really not the point. The point is, I have learned a lot. In the last two years especially, I have learned A LOT.

Once I started putting work into my education, I started feeling attached to it. Like I was actually doing something worthwhile with my time, not just with my artwork, but with my more intellectual pursuits here too. I also learned that I am not a very smart person. It took me two years to discover that hard work in school is a good thing. Most people had that figured out in middle school. (What can I say? I'm stubborn.)

Also, I have these people called professors who hand out information and challenges like it's their job! (Oh wait.) As I started paying attention, I started discovering so many things, about how to learn, how to think, how to be curious and present problems and solutions for yourself. I started grasping the idea of learning for personal growth and not for some letter or number on a paper. I liked thinking, and I liked discovering, and I liked learning. After I leave this place, I'm going to have to figure out how to do all of that on my own, which is kinda scary. But, at the same time, it's exciting, because being at Hillsdale, I learned how to learn, from friends and family just as much as professors.

So, basically. I'm going to miss all of that. I'm not going to talk about missing people, or memories like that now, because that will make me a little bit sad. And talking about learning and thinking and all of that is basically emotionless. Woo. Sorry I'm not sorry if you find this boring or wonder why I have to talk about school in my free time, while I'm putting off the 8,000 other projects I could be doing. Also, if you are reading this, I'll probably see you later, and have a nice day.