The time has come...

Today was my last day at the dealership, and I spent it sniffling between calls. Not out of sorrow, though that was implied by a couple smart mouthed coworkers, but because my body has thrown itself into sick mode. "Toyota service...sniff...how can I help you?...sniff."

When I was in college I had the perpetual habit of pushing myself through the semester until vacation came; at which point I would get sick, sleep excessively, and recover in time to spend a couple of days enjoying my vacation, then return to school to do it all again. I hope this is a habit I can break, because it sure makes time off less fun.

I am also moving back to Idyllwild, for now, so I can dedicate more time to finding a job in an artistic/archival/museum/anything to do with my degree job. I will be volunteering at the Idyllwild Area Museum and doing other normal Kelly things as well, but finding a good job is my main goal.

My departure from Toyota was met with several interesting reactions; many people asked "Do you really have to go?", one person asked "Can I go with you?", and I also received an offer to transfer to the advertising department as a designer. The last one I might have considered if I had any experience with graphic design, I hardly think photo shop counts though. However, when it comes down to it, it was an amicable separation; they know I need to pursue what I'm interested in, and I know that they will be fine without me. Good bye Toyota, I wish you the best of luck.

Happy Birthday Papa!!!

I dedicate this to you.

Sake Bomb!!!

Yup, it's true, I am officially 24 as of yesterday. I arrived at work to find my desk with balloons tied all over it. It's tradition to decorate the desk of whoever has a birthday so it wasn't really surprising. However, it is usually the job of either the person who closes or the person who opens to do the decorating. I was both of those people this week, so I was jokingly told to decorate my own desk. Luckily I didn't have to, Keziah told me a terrible lie about why she had to be at work early that morning and took care of it herself.


One of my coworkers even turned a balloon into a caricature of Chris for me.

After work I went for a hike at Torrey Pines and then we all went out for sushi.




Sake Bombs!!! They were way messier than I thought they'd be.


The sushi chef cut a beautiful tray of oranges and placed a candle in a lump of wasabi for me. All of this coupled with phone calls, blog posts, emails, and text messages from friends and family made 24 a very good birthday. Thank you to everyone.

City Life

While checking out the latest posts on the Wooster Collective blog, I found these pictures. I had to steal them, because the image is a little too creepy. Apparently there is an artist who takes discarded plastic bags, sculpts animals out of them, and ties them to subway grates; when the subway passes through the tunnel bellow the animal springs to life. I compare these images to Steven King's Pet Cemetary, weird.

Sea World

Meghan and Sherry took me to Sea World today. None of us had been there for at least ten years or so, and we had all forgotten how cheesy it could be. The music was especially so, I felt like Kenny G was playing out of every speaker. The animals made up for it though.


Check it out, finding Nemo. I'm pretty sure this is an intentional arrangement.




One side note, flamingos smell horrible.






My favorite thing? We saw three children on leashes. One child on a leash actually walked past us carrying his own handle, he made it pretty far before his dad found him and took the lead.




Finally, Meghan fell in love with a Clydesdale; sadly the yard in her condo is too small for a horse.

Back to the Belly Up

Last night I made it back to the Belly Up Tavern for the first time in 2008; Tristan Prettyman, a San Diego native, was playing there. The show was sold out, and for some reason it was an unusually tall crowd. Most of the time we go to the Belly Up Tavern we get there in time to snag a table or a stool on the side, but last night we got there in time to join the sea of people at the center of the venue. Now, I am five feet ten inches tall and don't often feel dwarfed, but last night it felt like everyone around us was six feet tall or taller; it was like being in a valley, only the mountains around me were people. I did manage to stick my camera above the crowd to get a couple shots of the show though, which look remarkably like the pictures from the other Belly Up shows I've been to. Basically the performers are the only changes; I don't think the Belly Up ever changes it's lighting or stage set up. It was a good show though; people really turned out to support the hometown girl.

Torrey Pines State Park

All day at work today I was feeling restless; I wanted to hike, or climb a rock, or do anything but be inside my florescent lit office talking about cars. I ended up going to the Torrey Pines State Park to do some hiking, and it was both energizing and therapeutic. The plant life there is very similar to that found in Idyllwild, and it brought me some comfort to be near such familiar flora and fauna.




At one point in my hike I came upon a geology class on a field trip. I laughed to myself as the professor did a double take at me passing by, as if I belonged in her class. I actually felt like I could have joined in with all the students, holding their notebooks and answering in unison "sandstone" when asked about the rock formations. I momentarily missed my own geology labs, then proceeded down the path on my own.





I ended my hike at sunset, when the park closes to the public anyways, and sat on the shore watching the sun sink below the horizon. This video sort of captures how beautiful it was, even though the cinematography is a little shaky due to my lack of a tripod. I love spring.

Grant Woods

'American Gothic'1930, has become one of the most famous American paintings in history; parodied almost as excessively as the Mona Lisa. It's painter, Grant Woods, is seldom recognized for his other works though. I recently read an article on 'American Gothic' on NPR's website. It compelled me to see what else Grant Wood had done in his lifetime; I feel like I discovered a whole new artist. One extra note on 'American Gothic', the picture bellow is of the models for the painting. Grant's sister, Nan, and the family dentist; it's interesting to see how Wood changed his sister's face to make it more like the dentists and make her age more ambiguous.

'American Gothic' was not Grant's first time painting a family member; his painting 'Woman with a Plant' 1929 is a portrait of his mother, inspired by 16th century Italian portraiture.

His painting 'Daughters of Revolution' 1932 also interests me; largely because of the unusual composition.

After his success with 'American Gothic' wood was commissioned to create a stained glass window for the Veteran's Memorial building in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

He did some landscapes; this is 'Young Corn' 1931.

His depictions of himself are interesting as well; apparently he felt like he was on display after 'AG' became such a success. This painting 'Return from Bohemia' 1935 is a pretty clear depiction of that.

This is 'Death on Ridge Road' 1935.

Finally, a sculpture that is a tribute to his home town; 'Corn Cob Chandelier'.