Thinking of You...

I miss you Neeka.

Coming Soon...

This weekend hopefully I can finally finish the two posts that I started on almost a month ago, then school work and an attempt to have a life got in the way. I'm really starting to hate this whole reading and writing major. Oh well, can't change it now.

Higher Education? ...Really...

School is getting in the way of my life and education.

Floating Thoughts

...sometimes I wonder if anybody wonders what I wonder.

no one wants to be mediocre

Portrait

My life is an adventure. I write my own story.

This thought inspired the theme of my self-portrait. Will post when it's done.

Mini Ninjas

This is the most beautiful game trailer I have ever seen. I want to make movies like this one day.

Poll Closed

Thanks to those of you who voted. I appreciate it, although I didn't get the response I was hoping. To those of you who commented and said don't strangers determine your thesis, write about what you want, that wasn't the point of this exercise. I'm not crazy enough to let people decide my future for me. I just wanted to hear peoples opinions on the different ideas or the reasoning behind why they chose a particular idea. I got none of that. But oh well. Thanks for your effort.

~blah~

I've been in a continuous daydream for the past few days and not getting anything accomplished. I've fallen behind in my school work and class attendance. Not a good way to start off the year.

Dare I?

Have you ever wanted something that you know you can never have? Not some trivial trinket, but something that would require major sacrifices and upset the lives of multiple people. I'm so torn.

Thesis:Complete::Wendi:Alumna

This past year, I have been having a small problem that may become a huge one soon if I don't make a decision soon. So what have I been so indecisive about that may make my world crumble if I don't bite the bullet soon? Only my thesis topic. The only guideline is that it must be a substantial paper of approximately twenty pages that demonstrates engagement with the leading edge of research on its topic. Oh, and I guess something philosophical since that is my major. I have a few ideas running around in my head, so you guys let me know which one you think is best. Ok here goes. Should I write on:

A. Constructing a Black Art World - this would be an attempt to construct a black art world in light of George Dickie's institutional theory of art and W.E.B. DuBois and Alain Locke's work in the arts in the early 20th century.

B. Can There Be a Black Aesthetic? - this would be an attempt to answer the question of is there a such thing as a black aesthetic, and if so, what constitutes it.

C. Authentic Individuality in Society's Sea of Sameness - this would be an existential look at what it means to be a self in society, partly introspective also.

D. Something art, architecture, or design related to possibly use as a writing sample for when I apply to grad school in one of those programs.

So that's the the choices right now. I'm not going to let you know which one I'm leaning towards because that may skew your opinion. BTW...The first two are papers previously written and that just need to be expanded upon and go in to greater detail with defense and refutation. Give me your opinion in the comments. Please and Thank You.

Out Peace

Dear Readers,

Please leave me some comments or something so I won't think I'm talking to my self on here. Although I probably am. The problem may be that I'm not writing about what you would like to talk about. If that is the problem, then drop me a line below and let me know what you want to read about. BTW...I removed the chat box because it hasn't been used in over a year but I will put it back up if anyone requests it.

Sincerely,

Joi the Artist

PS. Please don't let this post read 0 comments forever. That would be so painful. Thank you loyal fans.

I Just....

Want to make music. I wanna pluck some strings and stroke some keys and piece together my own melody. However, my electric is 1,000 miles away, my acoustic is out of commission for a little while (I'm out of strings, I would prefer nylon to steel anyway, the warm sound just does something to me) and I lack a keyboard. So if anyone out there is listening and would like to make a donation to my instrument fund anything will be greatly appreciated. I might also dedicate a song to you. I love music.

YAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!

I can finally get my PS3 because they finally dropped the price. I can get the new slim model for $299 or an 80GB fatty for the same price. Which one should I get? Oh woe is me.

Wendipedia

Have you ever been on Wikipedia looking one thing up and that a few minutes later you end up on something totally unrelated (it seems) through the serious of links you clicked. That's how my mind works. I could be in the middle of a conversation and then I blurt out some random thought I just had and then proceed to explain my thought pattern of how I got there. Usually it's quite funny, at least to me :-), but most people wonder how in the world did you connect that and that and that, only you Wendi. My mind works so fast, sometimes I miss things and I end up thinking how the hell did I get here and then I laugh at myself. I enjoy the fact that my mind works like this and can make zany connections from almost anything, I think it helps with my creativity. Anyway...

tuO ecaeP

i'm back at school

whoopeee :-|

Just go...

I want to be a nomad.

La La Land

I'm a dreamer. I always have been and I love that about myself. I've always seen my ability to use my imagination to explore new worlds as a kid or think up crazy plans for my future since I'm older as an asset. My dreams are what drive me and can lift me up when I'm having a bad day. I think about something crazy I've always wanted to do or re-read some crazy scheme I've written down. I love that. That's why if I could, I would be a kid forever and keep the fun in life. I think a lot of people forget how to have fun, especially when they get tied down by their jobs and other responsibilities. I never want to forget how to have fun.

I want my life to be an adventure and the adventures I want require some cash flow. To finance my fun I'm looking for a career that would be fun while providing me with some cash instead of just being a means to an end that I hate. I'm having a little trouble figuring out what type of career that could be. I want to be able to work with my hands and create stuff. I want to be able to go outside to enjoy the fresh air and not be stuck inside in 6x6 cubicle staring at a computer screen under harsh florescent lighting for 8+ hours a day. I want to wake up and be happy about going to work and not have to drag myself out of the bed for yet another mundane day at the office. And of course I want time to play, to have fun, to take off on an adventure and see the world, and be able to afford this fun.

Am I asking too much? It's not that I don't want to be a responsible adult and contribute to society. I just want my contribution to be something I enjoy doing and not something that I do only out of necessity because I need the paycheck to eat. Life is too short to work a job for 30 to 40 years and not enjoy it. So I'm trying to avoid that route and in doing so I've realized the path that I set myself up for isn't right for me. However, I haven't really figured out the perfect thing to do yet. For that, I think I need to keep dreaming and hopefully the perfect solution will come to me.

Peace

Jack of All Trades...

Master of none,
though offtimes better than master of one.

I'm beginning to think my varying interests that stretch across many disciplines which I once believed were a huge asset are now a hindrance. At this point in my life, I'm moving from one stage to the next and need to choose the path I will take for the remainder of my life. Having a variety of interests to pursue gives me a plethora options but it also can be quite overwhelming at times. I feel like if I don't make the right choice now then I won't be as happy as I could, will always think what if, or will eventually switch and have to start over. Self-inflicted pressure always seems to be my problem although I think I can handle it.

Also, another problem I see if that I feel like my skill set in any one area is not where it should be, particularly if it were my sole focus. If I'm drawing one day, taking photographs the next, writing after that, playing music the one after that, working on design projects the following day, tinkering with computers the next, and so on and so forth, then I feel like I'm spreading myself too thin. It's not an issue of time management, it's an issue of hours spent working in a particular area. If I'm dividing my time between too many areas, then I think I'm robbing myself of the opportunity to become great in any one of them. Which is my goal, to one day be great. Practice makes perfect and developing skills take time. My solution is to pick one area and make that my sole focus for a while and where on projects in other areas a lot less frequently. I will only read books and blogs on this topic so I don't waste time online, only buy tools in line with this discipline, only frequent forums in this discipline, etc. But which one to make my sole pursuit?

The Beginning of the End

I can't believe my senior year is so rapidly approaching. It seems like three years of college have gone by in the blink of an eye. I mean my brother graduated at the beginning of this month (May 8, 2009) and it's my turn exactly one year later (May 8, 2010). When I was a senior in high school this was an exciting time. I was finally going to get out on my own. But now it's downright scary. After high school I knew my step was college. But this time there's no definite answer and that's what scares me, sometimes to the point of a panic attack just thinking about graduating. I'm still excited about the idea of earning my degree, but then what? Should I go to grad school or should I go to work or should I do both and take a year off then go to grad school? But where will I find a job or what will I study are the second round of questions that come up. I find that I'm battling free spiritedness and practicality in trying to make my decision. I would love to just live at the beach, enjoy the waves, and make music and art. Who wouldn't. So I try to be practical, but I'm having trouble figuring out a career path that would make me happy and my first choice life a possible reality. I know my first job out of college doesn't have to be the one that I'll stick with forever, but I don't want to be miserable at a job and none of the options I come up with seem like they would make me happy. Which is why if I could stay at this stage in my life for a little while longer until I could figure some things out, that would be cool. But grad school isn't the answer because if I choose the wrong field that won't make me this any better. Plus, I think I want a break from school before I get burned out. So I have this summer to figure it out, then back to school, then the dreaded graduation. Oh well. Peace out.

Some Stuff I Would Like to do in the Near Future

I've gone M.I.A. once again, only because I've been writing elsewhere. Recently I've been doing a lot of thinking and writing on my phone when I'm in class or at work or whenever I have a spare minute. Usually it's a list or some random thoughts that I have of some things I want to do or learn or whatever. Here's a list of a few things that I feel fall under the area of self-improvement that I wrote while chilling in my art history class.

1. I want to create a book that contains pictures of all my art works and my thoughts on them to be saved for posterity. So maybe if anybody's ever interested in them, they'll have access to the artist's  thoughts long after I'm gone. This should also make me want to produce more work, I always want to do that.

2. I want a sketch diary for me to learn new techniques and see myself progress. You're never too advanced to learn and perfect new or old techniques :-). I also want to be able to critique myself. I would also use this to plan some works and themes to work on. I would see what influences me and develop my own style. Maybe I'll have an inspiration section in there too.

3. I want to start a reading journal where I keep my thoughts on books I've read and any questions I have about them. I really don't like to write in books but sometimes I have quick thoughts to jot down and I have nowhere to put them. Hopefully writing things down will help with my reading comprehension and ability to see connections between works I've read. Also, I'll be able to have a dialogue with myself for those books I revisit, I can see how my interpretation changes with age and experience. I'll probably keep an updated list of authors and books I want to read in there too.

4. I want to start a hair diary to chronicle my hair's journey. I want to start taking better care of my hair, so this will be a place where I keep a record of what does and doesn't work for me. Also, I want to try more hairstyles. Maybe I'll keep pictures in there so I remember how certain styles look.

5.  I want a more active lifestyle. I definitely want to pick up a martial art to stick with for the rest of my life. Not so much for the fighting aspect, but for the mental discipline. I'm fascinated with Asian culture, so I feel like this would be a good connection. Also, I want to start biking. I think it would be cool to bike around the city, even though some of my peers may find it geeky. I really want a recumbent bike. I want to be more fit.

This is it for now, but I'm sure more will be added. Hopefully, I'll get back to posting more often too. I'm also thinking of starting a new blog that will be on one specific topic instead of completely random like this one.

Life

I really love my life. All the ups and downs included. I have so much fun. :D

01202009

Talk about the hypest crowd. Standing in a diverse sea of people is amazing. You feed off each other's energy. You sway with each other. You all came to that same place at the same time for the same reason. And you know this so all differences are put aside for that moment. For that grand, historical moment. I will forever know that I was a part of history. I was on the National Mall with more than one million other people witnessing Barack Obama get sworn into office. That was truly an unforgettable experience.

I'm sure I surprised a lot of people by how excited I got on election night and as the inauguration approached, because I didn't really seem interested from their point of view. I surprised myself too. But you can't but get caught up in this wave of history making. Knowing that I took part in this is something that I will hold on to forever. I can hardly express how I feel about having the opportunity to be alive in this city at this particular moment in time. To be in the midst of that crowd and feel such unity, all you can do is HOPE that feeling just keeps spreading and CHANGE actually comes. Yes We Can!