Tuesday, July 31, 2007

VOTE FOR ELLE!

I just wrote the title for this post and laughed out loud. And then I realized I may be the only person who even recalls this random movie line.

Let me explain. It is from Legally Blonde. Stage: It is Elle's first trial representing fitness ("expert?") Brooke Taylor in a murder trial. Two of Elle's somewhat ditzy sorority sisters come to watch her trial. When they walk in, it goes a little something like this. First sorority girl: Elle, we came to see your trial and look! There's like a judge and everything... and jury people. Second sorority girl: VOTE FOR ELLE! Then they are immediately hushed by the judge.

The reason for the title is because I just entered a competition called Blog For A Year. At first I thought it was a great idea. Me being a new blogger, needing all the encouragement I can get. But, what I didn't take into account was the whole self-promotion thing. I used to think it would be so romantic to be a fine artist, until I thought of the whole self-promotion aspect of it. I could never stand in front of an audience and talk about myself and my work. I would die. I am an introvert. I am not saying there is anything wrong with it. I enjoy going to artist lectures a lot and wish I went to more. But, for me...wow. I am feeling a little panicky just writing about it.

So, what do I do? Enter a competition where I have to promote myself. So here is my attempt. Vote for Elle! I mean me. Thanks.

Monday, July 30, 2007

My 100 Things

I like reading other people's my 100 things. So, I decided to write my own. It was much harder than I thought it would be. A couple of my fav 100 lists Metalia and Not that you asked.

100 Things about me:

1. I love cheese. Even though I am lactose intolerant, I would much rather suffer the consequences than not eat it at all.

2. My favorite movie is Empire of the Sun.

3. The Pride and Prejudice mini-series from A&E runs a close second.

4. Subsequently, I have a crush on both Christian Bale and Colin Firth.

5. I have a Basset Hound.

6. She is 9 years old.

7. We have lived in two states and six different homes together.

8. I like a good cup of coffee in the morning.

9. But, I will settle for a bad cup. I really just need my coffee in the morning.

10. Speaking of mornings, I cannot get up straight away. Whoever invented the snooze button, I love you.

11. When I was in my early twenties, I watched the movie Reality Bites over and over again.

12. One of my favorite lines was said by Troy to Lelaina while trying to cheer her up after she was fired by taking her on a tour of all the places he had been fired from. -“You and me and 5 bucks.”

13. I still want life to be that simple.

14. I am a total sucker for certain movie scenes. Like in Beautiful Girls, when Andera says to Tommy: “You know there are fours words I need to hear before I go to sleep. Four little words. "Good night sweet girl." That's all it takes. I'm easy, I know, but a guy who can muster up those four words is a guy I want to stay with.” I love that shit.

15. And if you can’t tell, yes, I am a hopeless romantic.

16. I work as a graphic designer.

17. I like what I do.

18. I love books.

19. I really don’t think I have a favorite book. Some that are worth noting: The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, 84 Charing Cross Road, by Helene Hanff, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Path and anything by J.D. Salinger.

20. I was slightly obsessed with J.D. Salinger and Sylvia Plath as a teenager/early twenties.

21. As weird as it may sound, I wish I were a neat freak.

22. I am really really not.

23. Truthfully, I just wish I could afford/find a housekeeper.

24. Sometimes I don’t shower for an entire weekend.

25. I love getting pedicures.

26. I love all the colors of nail polish you get to choose from, I love reading really bad gossip magazines, I love everything about it.

27. I am a fan of some of Tim Burton’s work.

28. I wish I could just say I was a fan, but I never could make it thru Planet of the Apes.

29. I love his book Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories.

30. When I was in college some of these stories were made into animations and they were posted on shockwave.com (which doesn’t exist anymore). I watched them every day.

31. This is the first time I knew I wanted to make flash animation.

32. I let this dream go after some feeble attempts at trying.

33. I should really try again.

34. I just bought my first condo.

35. I have too many ideas of things I want to change to make it mine.

36. Feeling overwhelmed and excited all at the same time.

37. My dad is helping me with a lot of the remodeling work.

38. I have great parents.

39. I am 31 years old.

40. So far I haven’t figured out this decade.

41. I wish I took more pictures.

42. I am working on this.

43. My goal is to fill up my monthly quota on Flickr.

44. My favorite sitcom is The Office.

45. I have every episode on my ipod and sometimes listen to them at work to cheer me up if I am having a hard day.

46. Did I mention that I am a big music fan?

47. Listening, discovering new artists, going to shows.

48. I however cannot sing. At all.

49. For my birthday, my boss gave me The Twelve Terrors of Christmas by John Updike, drawings by Edward Gorey.

50. I dig Edward Gorey.

51. My boss is a good person.

52. I am lucky.

53. For many reasons. But, having a good boss is really great.

54. Wow, just passed the half way mark. This is a lot harder than I thought it would be.

55. My favorite holiday is Halloween.

56. I decorate and everything.

57. I am big into text messaging.

58. I prefer texting to talking on the phone.

59. The crappy cell phone reception at my new place is a huge drag now.

60. I can only see out of one eye at a time.

61. This was something I was born with. They both work. Just not simultaneously.

62. My new thing is energy drinks.

63. Even though I am not an athlete.

64. They are the best 3 o’clock pick me up.

65. One of my co-workers is an athlete.

66. She sometimes brings me new brands/flavors to try. She is very thoughtful like that.

67. I have great friends.

68. I love the smell of rain.

69. And the sound of ocean waves.

70. I once lived by the ocean.

71. I would like to again someday.

72. Oh, and did I mention that I think IKEA is one of the greatest places on earth?

73. One was recently built about 15 minutes from my new condo. Perfect timing for my remodel.

74. My style is contemporary and very simple.

75. I used to love to snowboard.

76. But, now I have one dead front tooth and hips that cause me a lot of pain.

77. At the time, I worked at a ski resort in Washington State.

78. I now live in Utah.

79. The mountains here are beautiful. I enjoy camping in them.

80. I also enjoy traveling.

81. But, I have never been outside of North America.

82. I would really like to.

83. Wow, this list is getting harder and harder to finish.

84. I have never had DVR. I would like to get it before the Fall shows begin.

85. And yes, I am already thinking about my Fall shows.

86. I watch too much television.

87. I have about four dishes that I can cook. And none of them require much talent.

88. I wish I would spend more time trying to learn to cook well.

89. My friends and I took a hip hop dance class once.

90. I took dance from age 3 to age 13. But, something must have happened from age 13 to age 30. No offense to us all, but we really sucked. I didn't care though, it was wicked fun.

91. Sometimes it is bad for me to spend too much time alone. I love napping. I don't feel guilty if no one is watching.

92. It is the same with shopping. I should always bring someone with me. Otherwise, I am libel to go a little crazy.

93. I like the way my bare feet feel in fresh cut grass.

94. I also like walking bare foot in the sand. (As long as it is not too hot)

95. 5 more to go. Will this list ever end?

96. I prefer steam rooms to saunas. They should be clean and scented with plenty of fresh towels.

97. I do like saunas though. Just not as much as steam rooms.

98. I wish I could have a massage once a week.

99. I would like to start doing yoga. I always feel so uncomfortable in those classes. I have to be one of the least flexible people in the world.

100. Yay, I have reached 100! This list took me two days to finish. Seriously.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

This week I am...

Reading:
Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik

Listening to:
Wilco, Sky Blue Sky
Amy Winehouse, Back to Black
Modest Mouse, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank

Watching:
Miss Potter

Friday, July 27, 2007

Good Night

For the past two months I have been sleeping on a futon in my living room while doing a little remodeling in my bedroom. The only plus to this situation was I could watch movies late at night and pretty much roll from my couch to my futon when I was tired. Yes, I am that lazy.

But, tonight... I have my bed back.



Ahhh...

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Batteries Not Included

I haven't been able to find my digital camera for a while. I am still mostly living out of boxes and have a storage unit filled with more. I figured I would not see my camera for a while. I sort of borrowed/sort of stole a camera to use. It ran out of batteries 2 days ago causing my posts to stop as what I wanted to write about needed visual aid. The camera I borrowed/stole has a battery pack that needed to be charged and seeing as I did not have the charger, I thought I better go on the hunt for my own camera.
I tore apart boxes and finally found it amongst some camping stuff. The only problem being, my cable to transfer the images to my computer was MIA. It has been missing for quite some time. I believe I lent it to someone at work and never got it back. I decided I needed to buy a new cable. The best place in my neighborhood after 6 to buy a cable? Walmart. I cannot describe how much I detest going to Walmart. It's beyond detest. The only time recently that I went to Walmart was for a friend's baby shower. I needed a place that sold bulk white onesies for a fun project that she could take home. (See Project.) They turned out really good so it was worth the pain of entering that place.



Well, I mustered up the courage and went to the Walmart and bought the needed cable. I came home and began to set up pictures to exhibit what I wanted to write about. And guess what?! MY camera was out of batteries.
Ironic.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Vintage-style

I took this picture with my camera phone. I love the way the low res/grainy/blurry nature makes it look old and vintagey.

Cover it up

Latest Secret Pleasure: Reading silly british novels.
I can't help it. I just adore them.
Latest read: Can You Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella. Just finished it at the pool. And while I shouldn't be, I did feel a tiny pang of embarassment. I was wishing I had downloaded these.

Monday, July 23, 2007

He introduced me to Final Fantasy...

Him: How do you view our relationship?
Me: ...
Him: Alright, finish battling the fiends and then you can tell me.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Sometimes the British just say it cooler...

Fav British Slang Words
Bugger off or Sodd off
Loo
Flat
Knickers
Bollocks
Rubbish
Wanker
Bender
Bloody
Fancy
Knob
On about
Pissed
Row
Telly
Full stop

Not So-Fav British Slang Words
Jumper
Pants- when referring to underpants, briefs or boxers

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Pet Peeve

I am grossed out by the white MAC keyboard I use at work. It is dirty. It is gross. And I really have no idea how to properly clean it. A person at work told me of an experiment someone did where they put their keyboard in the dishwasher. I just had to see this for myself.
Watch movie.
via Coudal Partners.

Still not sure about this one.

Friday, July 20, 2007

I don't belong here...

Have you seen the movie Office Space? One of my favs. Sadly, I think because I can often relate. Work this week has been too much like this movie. In a bad way, illustrating some of the worst moments, to the point where I was wondering if I would make it until Friday. But, I did. And while sitting here trying to de-stress and unwind, I found the perfect visual ending to this very bad week in the form of an amazing Flash movie. Thank you Laith Bahrani.
Watch movie.
via Dooce.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Blue Lake


Blue Lake
Originally uploaded by A Small Snapshot
Where I wish I was right now.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Trailer Trash

My new condo community stretches the wide gamut of people. There are families, cute couples beginning their lives together and old retired men in their panama hats and plaid shorts. But, there is also another part of the community that I hadn't quite accepted... The ghetto-factor part. Represented by the following members:

1) The condo that likes to display a couch in their back (area) by the beautiful creek.

2) The woman in the next building whose big, bleached blonde teased hair amazes me every time it fits in her weekend Audi TT. Why do I say "weekend"? Because her hair fits very nicely in the old moving truck she drives the rest of the week.

3) And then there is the next door neighbor whose last conversation with his daughters went something like this: (Yelling) "You need to watch where you are going! But, that damn bitch shouldn't have been driving so fast." Nice. Call women bitches to your seven year old.

So, my descriptions may have not fully explained my temporary disappointment to this new realized ghetto-factor. But, that is okay because I have embraced it and am now proudly displaying my own piece o' ghetto.

Sparkling Rain


SparklingRain
Originally uploaded by A Small Snapshot

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

And the remodeling begins...

About 2 months ago, I bought my first condo. Yikes. Big step.

I have grandiose ideas of remodeling. I knew it was going to be a lot of work and very hard - me not knowing really anything about working on homes combined with the fact that I am pretty lazy. I mean, I work hard - at work. But after 6pm, I am pretty proud of myself if I manage to do my dishes. So... as you can imagine, I am having a big reality check and realizing how much work this project is actually going to be.

First project: My bedroom. Here are a few pictures of my progress:



My paint color: Timothy Straw by Benjamin Moore. Thanks to Michelle Dunker from The Medici Company.

Beginnings of the floor:



Floor from IKEA.


Hiya

Hello.

First blog post. Ho hum.

Welcome to A Small Snapshot!

I am notorious for beginning journals that are only written in for a short period of time. This is the beginning of another one. I hope to keep writing. I am a big fan of reading blogs. I have been a closet blogger - wanting to write my own - using the fact that I didn't have home internet as my excuse. But, really it was more out of fear of not knowing what to write, worrying about my grammar skills and not being a real writer, etc.

This weekend I had internet hooked up in my new condo. I decided to just say what the heck and begin.

I am sure there will be days of staring at a blank computer screen, days of frustration, days of wanting to put this "journal" down. But I will never know until I try.

You can probably easily guess the meaning of the name "A Small Snapshot". A glimpse into my life, which I am hoping I can look back on and laugh, remembering all the good (and bad) times.

So, for now. Hello.