BEEN A WHILE… ANYWAYS…

Sooo lets just get it out… TINY HOUSE TAKES UP ALL OF MY TIME! But I have to say that I love it. It’s hard but it will be so worth it to see everything that I (and my classmates) have accomplished this semester.

For the most part all I have done these last few weeks is worked on tiny house, but there have been a few highlights. One, I dodged the Swine flu (I think). Two, President Eyring and Elder Ballard (and others of course) came to Utah State and spoke to us at regional Conference. They are so cute and the spirit felt was amazing… It’s ironic because, conference was held in the Spectrum (Utah State’s Basketball stadium) which is not known for its reverence, but you can’t deny that there was a strong spirit there. Three…

All weekend I helped set up the Interior Design Study Abroad Exhibit. It took a lot of hard work and a lot of time, but the end result was wonderful. It looked incredible and it was fun to show off all of our hard work over the summer. I’m not gonna lie though… it made me semi heart sick because I want to go back so bad. Someday I will. Last night was the reception, where all the Interior Design students were required to go and participate. It was fun to hear everyone’s reactions to our work. Not to sound prideful but, WE ARE AWESOME. There are some very talented people in my major.

Well its back to more late nights of tiny house floor plans, elevations and models. Stay tuned.

HOMECOMING

This weekend was homecoming for Utah State and it was a blast. To start things off how about showing a little bit of school spirit, and is there a better way to do so other than street painting? I don’t think so. I don’t know how they do it all the other colleges and universities, but for all you "non-aggs", street painting is where groups and clubs can sign up for a “plot” of street and then as a club you design a street “sign” to show off how awesome your club is and to show a little Aggie pride. Interior Design did amazing. We liked to call ours big blue Warhol, sort of reminiscent of Andy Warhol. Everyone who owns a mac or who has ever played with one is more than likely familiar with Warhol… you just may not know it. The little photo booth application where it takes four photos and changes the colors in each… you know what I’m getting at? That’s Warhol. So anyways we wanted to do something similar to Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe, so we took Big Blue, our Aggie mascot, and painted him in this manner. It turned out great. We had so much fun. People would walk by and you could totally tell they were impressed. Some of us were upset and mildly surprised when we didn’t win (lets face it people ours was the best, wink), but all in all the best part was being there together doing something that was fun, and representing something that we all genuinely love… our major (interior design) and our school, Utah State.

There were other great activities through out the week, free “Scottsdogs” on the quad, pillow fight at noon, homecoming dance, true aggie night on the “A” at midnight, but it all led up to one thing… HOMECOMING FOOTBALL GAME!!! The Aggies played the SUU Thunderbirds and what a show. It was my first Utah State football game (last years I was pretty lame), and it was amazing. Our boys played really well. They had a few mistakes, scared the crap out of us a few times, but each time we scored our points totaling to 54 the reaction was usually the same… hundreds of aggies, alumni, and community screaming and cheering on our boys and finally celebrating an awesome victory. I don’t care what anyone else says about the aggie football program… this was an awesome game. Way to go guys. What a way to spend a week. Good food, fun activities, great friends, 1 awesome location. Logan and Utah State… Where amAzing Happens!

AND SO IT BEGINS!!!

This is what we have been waiting for… TINY HOUSE officially starts today. This is where the stress happens. If I have a nervous breakdown (and I probably will at least once in my life) this is where it will occur. I can honestly say that I am super scared, but at the same time I am oh so excited. Its going to be a lot of long nights even a few all-nighters, maybe some cut fingers (I sure hope not though), and probably lots of tears, but when its all said and done it will be one of the best things I will have accomplished in my major. I’m looking forward to it. Stay tuned for all the sweat, blood, and tears (pun intended).

Withdrawals and Regrets

Do you ever sit there and think… “I could have done that so much better”? Well let me tell you, that it was I think as I look at my pictures from my trip abroad. Don’t get me wrong, I think I have some great pictures… but looking at them now I cant help but think, I could have done that so much better. Its true, I am having Europe withdrawals. They, and I’m not quite sure who they are but… they, said it would happen. Once you go there you will want to go back over and over again. I didn’t believe them. I thought once would be enough for me, but I don’t really think it is. I miss all the new sights and adventures. Europe was truly an amazing experience and I hope with all my heart that I get to have more.

Now comes the regret… Looking at my pictures I realized I wasted a lot of time. I had so much fun and at times it was hard with all the physical aspects such as the constant walking and the scorching heat, and the emotional aspects with not being able to do homework because of a broken computer, and feeling so frustrated because you wanted to prove yourself. But mostly looking back I realized that I didn’t take enough pictures. Once again there are some amazing ones but I wish I had taken far more. People have asked, “ if you could do it again would you change anything”? For the most part, no. I had the time of my life but if I could do it one more time and change two thing it would be that I would take more pictures and experience more things. For all of you who might be reading this I have some advice… Document life. Whether through photography, film, or even just writing things down (blogging even), make sure you document life. Whether its traveling to different countries like Scotland, England, Italy, France, or if its just a trip across the Utah/Idaho border with a few good friends, document. Even if its just a small get together with friends in your living room, or a grand even like your cousins wedding, document. Memories are too important to forget, and if you have small things to remind you… you never will. Someday I will go back, I am so determined, and I can promise the pictures will be never ending.

Experience new things and get involved. Lets face it, going to a different country, or starting college or a new school can be… well, foreign (pardon the pun). It can be a little scary at times, it can be beautiful, and exciting, and overwhelming, and so much more… but if you don’t experience new things, you will never appreciate it. I think that if you document life, experience new things, and get involved… there wont be that many withdrawal and regrets in life and you will have these wonderful memories to keep forever.

ALL DONE!

Ok... so I am officially done with study abroad homework and EVERYTHING!! Now its back to school. Technically I have been back at Utah State for three weeks now, but because I have been so busy I havent had a chance to set this up yet. This blog is mostly for myself, I guess, but it is also meant for friends and family... or those who care... to see the things that I am and will be working on this year. The stress of sophmore year in the interior design major, the bliss of exciting adventures with friends, and the success of getting further in my career as an interior designer.

This last few weeks have been eventful. Learning CAD and architectural graphics has been so fun. The others who have gone through sophmore year have said that it can be pure hell but I feel ok about so far. (Stay tuned to see if that changes, haha) Other classes have been hard to get into, because they have nothing to do with my major... but hey, you have to do what you have to do.

Besides classes I have had to finish up homework for Study abroad. To see the majority of it you can read my "Amazing Experience" blog at michellepaz88.blogspot.com... but this last weekend was been made up of getting patterns done, printed, mounted on foamcore and turned in. ALL DONE. Some of them look pretty cool, others not so much.

Just a few of my favorites

Well thats is pretty much an overview of that last few weeks. Stay tuned to see more of this years stress, bliss, and success.