Rambing Update

So there has been a serious epidemic in the singles branch...engagements. It's pretty messed up. Four couples are engaged and one couple got married on the DL, oh and one of the couples I didn't even know were dating. That's like half of our branch! I'm kind of glad I'll be moving in December/January because the dating pool is getting pretty shallow.
Phew.

My life has been pretty low key these days. I'm working at the Alumni and Development office at WashU as a student worker with the Law folks. I have been working on this scholarship audit which has been taking forever! I think I'm finally at a place where the gift officers can review the lists. After that I will start working on the fun stuff like the Law reunions with a fantastic lady named Julie. Oh it's also been really fun having Jordan working there too, sometimes we'll eat lunch together or get a drink upstairs. (And she always looks so cute in her dresses and "work" clothes.)

My roommate Matt got home last week from his summer semester in San Diego. It was really nice having him back, we talked and hung out at the pool several days in a row. He is such a sweet guy and awesome roommate! He's moving up to Chicago pretty soon because he finished the M.U.D. program so I'm kind of bummed about that.

This last Saturday morning I went on a tour of the Budweiser Factory with a couple people I know from church. It was awesome! Very cool facilities and interesting process. The tours they give are really well put together and official. They even have little trolleys that pick people up at the end of the tour and take them to the hospitality room back at the visitors center where you get 2 free beers! I of course opted for the soda. :)
We also went to the Soulard market after our tour. That is a fabulous market! I bought a pineapple, 2 nectarines, green beans, an onion, 3 bananas, 3 cobs of corn, and 4 limes all for under $10! Well the pineapple was gone by the next day. I had a very sore mouth. The only thing I have left is the corn, 2 limes, 1/2 of an onion. I should start going to the farmers markets Saturday mornings. It's so much fun and such a great deal. Jordan...want to go with me this weekend?

My 10 year high school reunion is in a few weeks. Initially I was thinking it might be fun to see some people so I thought I would make a trip home before school starts. But after looking at my bank account and prices of plane tickets coupled with the fact that I really don't care THAT much to relive the "glory" days of high school, I've opted to skip this one. Anyways I can do all of the facebook stalking I want and people that I want to stay in contact with, I do.
So that's that.

I'm also thinking about trying to find a job in New York after I graduate. I would really like to work in New York or DC so I would be closer to family. But I wouldn't mind working in LA, San Francisco, or even Chicago. I will pretty much go wherever I get a decent job. But I'm thinking New York and DC are definitely the top right now.

Oh yeah, I had two hair cuts this weekend. Yes, two. I will chronicle the experience in a separate blog post because the story is that awesome!

One more thing, I have CS5 now! I am officially a part of 2010 now!

Goodbye posters

These are some images that I put together of some guys in the Branch (church) for a going away wake that I "c0-threw." I printed 5 11x17 of each image and plastered them throughout the apartment.

I was talking to my little sister when I was making them and she wanted to see them. So here you go...

Scott just graduated medical school from SLU and is going to start a residency in Salt Lake to specialize in sleep medicine. (He was my home teacher for about 6ish months.)

Justin also recently graduated from the SLU medical school and is going to Boston for a one year general surgery residency. (He was my home teacher for 2 years.)

J.T. is a southern gentleman that is moving to Tennessee to help out his grandparents and go to school. (He was my home teacher for 1 month.)

And then...

To pick up...or actually another side track for tonight...

As I am laying on my bed typing this with only the light of the screen I look at my illuminated hands and begin to see how much texture my skin has. The single directional light is exaggerating the depth of the creases. The irregular fractures on my knuckles vary in distance from side to side. And the side of my thumb, that has a completely different texture, is more shallow and regular in pattern. The stripes from my thumb print fade as it moves further from the apex. I love that the veins on top of my hand are visible and bulge slightly from the otherwise flat surface. You can definitely tell that I have used my hands throughout my life. I would love to photograph this varying landscape that is my hand sometime.

I need to start using hand lotion regularly.

Something slightly more relevant: I am starting my new summer job tomorrow! Talk about a blessing from the Lord, this job (so far) is perfect. I'll let you know how it goes.

It's official...

The semester has ended and I have caught up on sleep.

I pushed really hard this semester and I am proud of what I was able to accomplish in studio. This is pretty much the first time that I can say that and truly feel it.

Of course I still have some loose ends that I keep dragging on and on. I still need to finish my Design Thinking book in the next two days and send it off to be printed. I need to prep and burn cd's of my cumulative studio work, cumulative Design Thinking work, and final studio diagrams and images for the school's Approach magazine. Oh crap I still have to go clean up the rest of my desk. It's pretty much all packed I just need to haul it down to my car.

I've been doing a lot of church related activities lately. It started with going with some people from my branch to the Cinco de Mayo celebration on Cherokee street two days after my review. (I referred to it a polygamy date because there were four girls and one guy and I referred to the girls as Dave's Harem.)

Side story: One of the girls on the polygamy date, named Angie, was just graduating from the accelerated nursing program at SLU, whom I had never met. Well it turns out she is awesome. We've hung out a lot the last week considering we just met. It sucks because she is moving back home to North Carolina, tomorrow, to take her boards and find a job. But if we ever find ourselves living in the same city or near each other I will have a non-drama oriented friend to hang out and complain about boys with.

Continuing on with Cinco de Mayo:

The male in the polygamy date was very insistent on me riding the mechanical bull. So after walking by the bull multiple times in two hours and one last jab from Dave I thought to myself "What the hell?!"

Dave went first and did pretty well. Then before I knew it it was my turn. I hopped onto the bull with a small crowd gathering and was actually embarrassed for the first time in years. With a flushed face and pounding heart I clenched my legs around that metal bull, grabbed onto the handle and with the knowledge that I could very easily die threw my arm into the air and took off. The bull operator was nice at first and much to my surprise I stayed on. I believe it was all the years of dancing that gave me the balance and strong legs that kept me on that thing. Eventually my inner thighs were getting really tired and I couldn't squeeze my legs hard enough to stay on so I gave in, accepting my fate I fell off. I hit the blue mat and to my surprise didn't die, the mechanical bull didn't trample me.

I did it. Seriously. I rode an #*&@ing mechanical bull!

So thank you Dave for doing that with me!

It's late. I'm tired. I will continue on with this tomorrow.

Quick Update

-The semester is coming to an end. My studio final review is next Thursday. I am excited because I really like my project this semester.

-I still have a few loose ends to tie up for Design Thinking...the never ending class.

-Side story: when I was talking to my Argentine professor I asked him about my board and what I could do to improve. He shook his head, touched his forehead and said in his little accent "Oh, Cassandra. Cassandra. Cassandra. It looks like an accountant did it."

Now, two years ago I probably would have been crushed. This year I just laughed because I knew my board was not up to standard, and really an accountant?! It's humorous. Sung Ho once said my project looked like a pregnant worm and during my final review for 318 I had the critics tell me twice that my plans looked like bad contractor plans (I then started crying and hyperventilated.) I've had to grow a pretty tough skin and now I find the humor in the absurd comments and metaphors, and actually appreciate the creativity.

-I have an assignment and quiz tomorrow for my Climate and Light class. The professor is this ~70 year old guy who is the driest funniest grandpa guy in the world. I actually really enjoy his class.

-Life is good. I still don't know what I am going to do this summer. Wish me luck in figuring it out.

-That's all.

Warning: this blog is lame

So I really only have 2-3 people who read my blog so I feel as though I can be more candid on this forum than on others. So here it goes...

Hello, my name is Cassie and I'm a sugaraholic.

I have had a sweet tooth for as long as I can remember, I think it may have even started in the womb. I know candy and sugar is horrible for me. I know it. But there's a little devil that lays dormant on my cravings organ for 27 days of the month. The rest of the time he raises hell and turns me into a monster, kind of like the one in Men In Black that can only be satisfied by consuming a large amount of sugar. It's horrible.

But since my last relapse I have stayed off the wagon. Holiday candy proves way too tempting for me! I love holidays (see my last blog) and the candy is half the fun! For example I am eating Starburst Jellybeans right now that I found in the Easter section and they are delicious.

I have said this time and again but Peeps are the reason holidays were invented. Forget religion, culture, and tradition; peeps=holiday. But for some reason I don't buy peeps unless it's a special occasion or if I'm going to share them with somebody. I think it may be because to me peeps seem worse for me because they don't even try to hide the fact that it's sugar. Whereas other forms of sugar mask themselves as something slightly less poisonous like Starburst jellybeans, they are FRUIT flavored.

Okay I've had enough of this ridiculous blog.

Oh yeah and who swears at FHE? Apparently I do in front of my entire group while we are playing a game. I'm getting pretty good at sealing my fate as a spinster.

Holiday Madness

When I was younger my mother would always do something fun for every holiday. For example practically every Valentines Day she would leave five matching shirts (old banana republic animal shirts) folded in the kitchen with a little note or treat. Easter baskets were always fantastic! Peeps, peanut m&m's, jelly beans, humming bird eggs, and usually socks or tights.

When I was a teenager my mom kind of stopped doing those things because we the two oldest were out of the house and D,E and I were little brats that didn't appreciate it. She's kind of picked it back up as much as she can even though we are all pretty much out of the house. She sent me some Halloween window stickers to help decorate my desk at school (I web it every year.)

NOW I LOVE holidays and birthdays. I love to make birthdays special for others. It kind of started in High School when I bought 18 balloons for my best friend and had the office aids deliver a couple per class period. In college the more memorable birthdays was when I threw a little surprise dinner party for my really good friend. I love to decorate with crepe paper and make things as cheesy as possible. I also like to buy the number of balloons the person is turning, so they have a ridiculous balloon bouquet in their house.

Oh and don't even get me started on decorating cookies! I love decorating sugar cookies. It all began with Grammy Lou, sometimes she would have my sisters and I over to swim and make sugar cookies, my favorites were the dinosaurs.

Today I have a set of 100 cookie cutters and a bunch of others that I have collected along the way. When I bake sugar cookies it turns into a huge 2 day production. I usually set up a special work table (Dina HATES it when I do this) and I custom mix all of my colors, have toothpicks for detailing, and gels and sprinkles galore. I love to make weird ones, for one of my friends who's in med school I made a bunch of severed fingers, pussy bleeding feet, people with broken limbs, etc. I think I may have scared him, amongst other things.

One year I made chocolate covered cookies on sticks and then decorated them with colored chocolate Halloween style. I made mummys, Frankensteins, black widows (legs and all), ghosts, and scary pumpkins. I gave them to everyone at Dr. Bowen's office, oh I miss him. I really hope I have a picture of those somewhere because they were pretty dang cute.

These days I don't have the time to do stuff like that anymore...hopefully someday I will. I just know when I have kids I'm going to go crazy.

In conclusion, I really appreciate holidays and I know that a lot of it stems from my mothers example. This is just another reason why I love her and think she is wonderful.

Crap, when is mothers day?