The end of the semester has come and gone, how great it feels to be without homework for the next three weeks. Since I have so much time to browse the interweb I have been enjoying more and more remixes, especially 'mash-ups' with Lady GaGa's "Just Dance". My current favorite is "Don't Stop/Just Dance"--a 'mash-up' between Lady GaGa and Journey.
The past week was very stressful and after a series of very frightening driving on ice adventures I almost had a nervous breakdown (thanks for clearing the roads and using large quantities of salt Michigan). Luckily all my projects were finished and turned in/presented, so much weight now lifted from my shoulders.
In another week Christmas will be over, but in the meantime I will attempt to enjoy as much as possible of what remains of the holiday season. At this point I will avoid any tie-ins with consumerism and how much we don't need yet more stuff in our lives. Christmas remains and exception in my book. Besides, we need to get our fix at some point during the year, right?
For all two people who actually know me and read my blog, thank you. It is nice to know that you are wasting 5 minutes of your day on me, rather than Facebook. For your reading I am eternally grateful.
Since it will be after Christmas when i post next I wish everyone a happy and safe holiday and please remember to buy lots on sale come December 26th! Enjoy!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
The First Snow/The Verge of....
I was ready to throw my phone right out the window of my 11th floor apartment. Would I have cared if my iPhone's screen had shattered into 500 pieces as it hit the pavement below? Probably not. You know it is bad when caring goes right out the window with your phone, breaking as it hits the street.
Today is Detroit's first real snowfall and I could care less. I used to get all excited to see white flakes accumulating into a world that became clean with with whiteness. This year I am cramming for finals, trying to order Christmas gifts and think about when I will have time to pack before I leave for Pennsylvania in six days. The first snow is lost on my, better luck next year I guess.
All the art and design in the world has no meaning when you are on the verge of a breakdown. Have you ever seen one of those films where the characters live in Architectural Digest houses, drive beautiful cars and wear only the finest clothing--yet their lives are not any more spectacular than yours and mine? No matter how many times I see these kinds of movies I still cannot grasp why if everything surrounding them is so perfect, can they still face the same problems a mere mortal does? Shouldn't having a Eames lounge chair in your living room protect you from all things bad in the world?
I haven't begun this post with intention of relating back to last week, but I think maybe it does simply because it seems to be a reoccurring theme in my life. Things of the world as just that... things. They bare no impact on our interaction with our families and friends; we can all experience the same feeling whether we live in a run-down apartment or a loft in SoHo. So do we buy things in hope of improving our interactions with others (fixing broken relationships and such)? The material world as I see it conflicts greatly with the world of interaction and intellect, why is this?
The snow is continuing to accumulate and I am continuing to ponder how to repair the un-repairable. Maybe if I only... well, that would just be silly, wouldn't it?
Today is Detroit's first real snowfall and I could care less. I used to get all excited to see white flakes accumulating into a world that became clean with with whiteness. This year I am cramming for finals, trying to order Christmas gifts and think about when I will have time to pack before I leave for Pennsylvania in six days. The first snow is lost on my, better luck next year I guess.
All the art and design in the world has no meaning when you are on the verge of a breakdown. Have you ever seen one of those films where the characters live in Architectural Digest houses, drive beautiful cars and wear only the finest clothing--yet their lives are not any more spectacular than yours and mine? No matter how many times I see these kinds of movies I still cannot grasp why if everything surrounding them is so perfect, can they still face the same problems a mere mortal does? Shouldn't having a Eames lounge chair in your living room protect you from all things bad in the world?
I haven't begun this post with intention of relating back to last week, but I think maybe it does simply because it seems to be a reoccurring theme in my life. Things of the world as just that... things. They bare no impact on our interaction with our families and friends; we can all experience the same feeling whether we live in a run-down apartment or a loft in SoHo. So do we buy things in hope of improving our interactions with others (fixing broken relationships and such)? The material world as I see it conflicts greatly with the world of interaction and intellect, why is this?
The snow is continuing to accumulate and I am continuing to ponder how to repair the un-repairable. Maybe if I only... well, that would just be silly, wouldn't it?
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Every Day A Little Death
"I am over things. I will not buy one more thing." These are the thoughts that go through my head every time I walk out of Target with something new. La Roux's latest album to blenders (I have bought two in the course of 6 months). Why do I keep buying?
Being the decedent of a long line of materialists I think I have a genetic problem with buying things. Whether it is yet another black sweater or accessories for my BMW I just buy things when they strike me. Over the past year I have identified this little habit of mine, in fact I think it was right after I bought those Bang & Olufsen headphones. So... Why do I buy? Is it to fill some emptiness in my life?
For some people I know it is all about 'buying happiness', though I am not foolish enough to try to do that. Whether it is power tools, German cars or cashmere scarves everyone has their consumerist vice. My vice got back and forth from clothing and accessories to parts for my car. I think I may have just about the entire BMW accessories catalog, roof rack to canvas seat covers. I buy new things because I start to feel stale when I live with the same things day in and day out. As consumers we are programed to have this urge to constantly acquire the latest and greatest. What if my iPhone could last 5, or even 10 (gasp!) years. Would I keep it for all that time? Absolutely not. There is a new one so I must have it because it is faster and has a built in Swiss army knife.
We are never satisfied and the consumer always hungers for the newest and fastest. Although some might tell you this is bad, I disagree. Yes, there are certainly negative side affects, like debt, but without it we would be our ancestors. Sitting new to a camp fire with our buffalo hide blanket drinking hot water out of a tin mug.
Fight it or make piece with it, but we are all stuck here together so we had might as well start buying.
The lady at Target smiled as I swiped my car to buy a new blender today. Then again, she is only a cog in the machine.
Being the decedent of a long line of materialists I think I have a genetic problem with buying things. Whether it is yet another black sweater or accessories for my BMW I just buy things when they strike me. Over the past year I have identified this little habit of mine, in fact I think it was right after I bought those Bang & Olufsen headphones. So... Why do I buy? Is it to fill some emptiness in my life?
For some people I know it is all about 'buying happiness', though I am not foolish enough to try to do that. Whether it is power tools, German cars or cashmere scarves everyone has their consumerist vice. My vice got back and forth from clothing and accessories to parts for my car. I think I may have just about the entire BMW accessories catalog, roof rack to canvas seat covers. I buy new things because I start to feel stale when I live with the same things day in and day out. As consumers we are programed to have this urge to constantly acquire the latest and greatest. What if my iPhone could last 5, or even 10 (gasp!) years. Would I keep it for all that time? Absolutely not. There is a new one so I must have it because it is faster and has a built in Swiss army knife.
We are never satisfied and the consumer always hungers for the newest and fastest. Although some might tell you this is bad, I disagree. Yes, there are certainly negative side affects, like debt, but without it we would be our ancestors. Sitting new to a camp fire with our buffalo hide blanket drinking hot water out of a tin mug.
Fight it or make piece with it, but we are all stuck here together so we had might as well start buying.
The lady at Target smiled as I swiped my car to buy a new blender today. Then again, she is only a cog in the machine.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
I Don't Get Around Much Anymore
I have made it through the dreads of Thanksgiving and only three more weeks until I finish up the semester. Now all I have to do is survive and pass all my classes.
I had been invited to join one of my friend's families for their annual dinner which was a very nice and home-like event. We all gathered around her dinner table, said grace, and them proceeded with what seemed to be all American Thanksgiving conversation. The topics ranged from colleges to my family and then to politics. Proving to be a very interesting conversation, especially after our hostess had started her second glass of wine, we talked about Sarah Palin's never ending gaffes and how that could be her biggest problem. Needless to say I think I regret ever having brought up the topic so I doubt that will be 'one the table' (so to speak) next time around.
As much as I thought I'd miss something being away from my family, I really don't feel like I did. I'm sure there were the required quips flying across the table and my grandmother wandering around try to find where my mother hid the silver this year. If everything goes as I am planning (not that it ever does) I will once again be present next year to see the mania and watch that grandma does re-chop the salad lettuce for the fifteenth time. I miss the idea and memories of it but I don't actually miss the activity. This was an experiment and now I know that life can still go on without a full-scale family festival.
Christmas shopping for me is not about spending hours strolling up and down the isles at Neiman's. Having worked in retail for enough time to know how bad Christmas is, I skip right to the computer and only buy last minute items in-store. Who really has all that time to spending buying swaters for their best friend, but deep down knowing that the blinking red nose (batteries not included) is a bit over the top.
December means the end of 2010 and I'll be pleased to see it go.
I had been invited to join one of my friend's families for their annual dinner which was a very nice and home-like event. We all gathered around her dinner table, said grace, and them proceeded with what seemed to be all American Thanksgiving conversation. The topics ranged from colleges to my family and then to politics. Proving to be a very interesting conversation, especially after our hostess had started her second glass of wine, we talked about Sarah Palin's never ending gaffes and how that could be her biggest problem. Needless to say I think I regret ever having brought up the topic so I doubt that will be 'one the table' (so to speak) next time around.
As much as I thought I'd miss something being away from my family, I really don't feel like I did. I'm sure there were the required quips flying across the table and my grandmother wandering around try to find where my mother hid the silver this year. If everything goes as I am planning (not that it ever does) I will once again be present next year to see the mania and watch that grandma does re-chop the salad lettuce for the fifteenth time. I miss the idea and memories of it but I don't actually miss the activity. This was an experiment and now I know that life can still go on without a full-scale family festival.
Christmas shopping for me is not about spending hours strolling up and down the isles at Neiman's. Having worked in retail for enough time to know how bad Christmas is, I skip right to the computer and only buy last minute items in-store. Who really has all that time to spending buying swaters for their best friend, but deep down knowing that the blinking red nose (batteries not included) is a bit over the top.
December means the end of 2010 and I'll be pleased to see it go.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Taking a few hits along the way
Lately life has dealt me some challenges, but I suppose everyone can say that. Here’s the thing--for the first time in my life I have lost all sense of direction. I am only holding on by the threads of my daily routine and the occasional social interaction. Changing directions with the Queen Mary is just about as hard as it seems--that is exactly what changing directions with my life is like. As I proceed with these changes, slowly integrating them in between the pages of my ‘normal’ routine I have come to see why the turtle beats the hare every time.
Knowing why I ended up exactly where I am now is almost scarier that not knowing why. My own fear, whether of being put into a box or becoming some stereotype, directed my path but no longer am I letting it take control. It is only through times of turbulent wind that we can see what really defines ourselves.
Soon Thanksgiving will be upon us, and this year I will not be home with my family. While I find this thought daunting, because we all know how much better the holidays are when shared with bickering family members, I know that this separation is only temporary. Who can really tell what another 365 days can bring us?
My point is this, realizing that I was wrong maybe the hardest pill to swallow but knowing I can change this is liberating. I have always been a person to want it ‘all’. I have had the material things and the personal relationships but yet I still yearned for that something more. It was then which I realized that I was not yet complete. Truth be told maybe I don’t really want it all--just a nice piece.
Lately life has dealt me some challenges, but I suppose everyone can say that. Here’s the thing--for the first time in my life I have lost all sense of direction. I am only holding on by the threads of my daily routine and the occasional social interaction. Changing directions with the Queen Mary is just about as hard as it seems--that is exactly what changing directions with my life is like. As I proceed with these changes, slowly integrating them in between the pages of my ‘normal’ routine I have come to see why the turtle beats the hare every time.
Knowing why I ended up exactly where I am now is almost scarier that not knowing why. My own fear, whether of being put into a box or becoming some stereotype, directed my path but no longer am I letting it take control. It is only through times of turbulent wind that we can see what really defines ourselves.
Soon Thanksgiving will be upon us, and this year I will not be home with my family. While I find this thought daunting, because we all know how much better the holidays are when shared with bickering family members, I know that this separation is only temporary. Who can really tell what another 365 days can bring us?
My point is this, realizing that I was wrong maybe the hardest pill to swallow but knowing I can change this is liberating. I have always been a person to want it ‘all’. I have had the material things and the personal relationships but yet I still yearned for that something more. It was then which I realized that I was not yet complete. Truth be told maybe I don’t really want it all--just a nice piece.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Always time for the work of art.
For those two people who do actually follow my blog I will be making some changes in the coming weeks.
1. I changed the header, it is time to get serious.
2. I will try to post more than once every fiscal quarter. Maybe a post a week? Let's start with that.
3. I am going to move away from posting art/photography. Instead I am going to move towards tell everyone about my journey through life. People seem to enjoy my stories so I am going to give that a whirl.
Well then I will be talking to to you again soon.
-W
1. I changed the header, it is time to get serious.
2. I will try to post more than once every fiscal quarter. Maybe a post a week? Let's start with that.
3. I am going to move away from posting art/photography. Instead I am going to move towards tell everyone about my journey through life. People seem to enjoy my stories so I am going to give that a whirl.
Well then I will be talking to to you again soon.
-W
Monday, June 21, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Valentine's Day
Happy Singles Awareness Day to everyone out there, don't worry, it'll all be over in 4 hours and 40 minutes--not that I'm counting.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
These Days by Nico
Well I've been out walking
I don't do that much talking these days
These days--
These days I seem to think a lot
About the things that I forgot to do
For you
And all the times I had the chance to
And I had a lover
It's so hard to risk another these days
These days--
Now if I seem to be afraid
To live the life I have made in song
Well it's just that I've been losing for so long
I'll keep on moving
Things are bound to be improving these days
One of these days--
These days I sit on corner stones
And count the time in quarter tones to ten, my friend
Don't confront me with my failures
I had not forgotten them
I don't do that much talking these days
These days--
These days I seem to think a lot
About the things that I forgot to do
For you
And all the times I had the chance to
And I had a lover
It's so hard to risk another these days
These days--
Now if I seem to be afraid
To live the life I have made in song
Well it's just that I've been losing for so long
I'll keep on moving
Things are bound to be improving these days
One of these days--
These days I sit on corner stones
And count the time in quarter tones to ten, my friend
Don't confront me with my failures
I had not forgotten them
Monday, February 8, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
down by the water
Calm is to be had by the water, that's where life happens. The people, places and events of our life can all be understood by water. It brings us serenity when nothing else can. Its purity cleanses us. Thank you water.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Petrol Mica
Lately I have become obsessed with this E39 540i/6 that a member of Bimmerforums has acquired. The car, although wrecked, has huge potential and will certainly be a gorgeous example when it is finished. I am way too excited over a car that isn't even mine....
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
23.1.2010
Welcome to my life. It is often crazy and a bit strange... but in the most wonderful of ways.
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