Over the last three months, my blog was invaded with a virus which didn’t let me enter my site. With several months of calling back and forth, I finally got my site to work again. I’m pretty proud of myself because I was also able to import my older post which date back to 2002. Anyway, I would like to fill everyone in on my summer.
I had a blast this summer, it was everything I could hope for. 2010 has been one of my best years by far, and I’ve been quite happy with everything that happened to me this year. I don’t know whether or not I blogged about my unhappiness with Spanish last semester, but I passed it! All that cramming and studying paid off and I’m glad to get rid of it. With all that hard work, I definitely deserved a treat and what better place to go to than Hawaii.
Hawaii was such a beautiful place; I think everyone should go there at least once throughout their lifetime. At first I was quite hesitant about spending the money, but I take that back because the trip was definitely worth it. Before traveling, I figured that the money spent could’ve been used on a nice graphics computer – I was wrong. Ultimately, if I were to go explore Hawaii at an older age, I would not be able to hike, swim under a waterfall, kayak, snorkel and experience the beauty of the Polynesian islands. I will definitely make a trip back or perhaps travel to more exotic islands.
First off, I would like to describe the beaches there. The water is wonderful, and it is as clear as you would imagine. The people and the atmosphere is completely different than the urban setting that I am accustomed to. Don’t even get me started with Hawaiian food! It’s pure goodness and very delicious. A homecooked, hearty meal makes anyone happy. Doesn’t it? In addition to the great food that this island provides, you must have a shaved ice for dessert. Okay, I know shaved ice doesn’t sound that great, but you must try it to believe it. You would think that I would’ve packed on a lot of pounds by the way that I am describing the food, but the people on this island are so active that you end up working everything off.
One of my favorite activities on this island was swimming under a waterfall. It’s just so perfect! I mean, the thought of kayaking and hiking through the mountains was not a good idea, but as I was swimming under the waterfall, I knew I couldn’t take back any of the things I said. Everything was worth it and I want to definitely experience this again in my lifetime.
Did I mention the great fruit on the island?! Okay, the list goes on. I think you have to ask me about everything in person before I go on about the trip.
Coming back to New York wasn’t that easy. I thought it was a bit heartbreaking to go back home. When people say there’s no place like home, you begin to wonder what kind of crappy vacations people go on. I’ve never really wanted to go back home after a vacation, nor have I felt homesick.
Coming back to New York was depressing to say the least because everything was just too ordinary and familiar. The rude people, the hot humid air, the honking cars… The whole urban setting just sickened me. I was excited to start my new internship to say the least.
My internship was at an art consulting company located in the heart of Manhattan’s shopping – Soho. The office was located on East 11th street in a little loft close by NYU. During the internship I was able to work for clients such as the JW Marriott located in Chicago, the BLT bar and grill, Sanctuary hotel and Trump. Various task included packaging art work, designing for the buildings, doing research and creating architectural layouts. I was trained to use their network, look through image servers, and use a huge epson printer. The work was very tiresome, but I got a lot out of this internship. It was definitely a good time working there, although I had to leave earlier since the company was dropping interns.
Once I got dropped, I found a new internship a week later at a web design company. The work that the company produced was great although the setting was not as comfortable as I would like. I only had two more weeks before the beginning of my Junior semester, therefore I did not take the job.
On the days that I was off for work, I spent it with my friends and my cousin who stayed with me a month. Usually my day would consist of having lunch, watching a movie and even bike riding. Everyday was an eventful day.
On the weekends I also worked on a side project with a few friends. As you may or may not know, I am designing for a small clothing company which will drop in the Spring. Keep an eye, and if you would like to know more information, I would be glad to let you in on the scoop. Oh yeah, did I mention that a summer without a BBQ is not a summer?! I had three BBQ’s this summer and they were all great.
Since summer break ended, I am currently in school now. I am taking a lot of boring classes this semester because I need to get rid of my general education classes. My roommate Chris is studying in Italy so I have a new one this semester who is a great guitar player. He has appreciation for old music and I’m interested in learning about topics that I’m not familiar about.
Yesterday I met a great new person in class and his name is Mike. Mike is very interesting because I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as similar to me. Our personalities are both different, but we like the same things. It is nice to meet someone who finally knows about design software and has a passion for it like I do. It’s rare for me to find compatibility; I’m surprise he even exist. He lives off campus, so I probably won’t be seeing him around much. It’s probably a good thing to keep my distance because I tend to get sick of others quickly if I’m not entertained.
Classes are going well and everything is going well for the most part. My school has a new building on campus and it’s a very nice updated look. The new building almost appears to be as futuristic as an airport. I enjoy the new facilities and I hope to take full advantage of everything.
As much as I want to update, I should not bore you with useless details. If you would like, leave a comment about your summer. I would like to see what everyone has been up to.

I’m so glad to have my website back! My entire blog was hacked and I didn’t know how to fix it, but I figured everything out. I have so much to update, I can’t wait to get started once again.

Can’t believe summer is already here! It felt like just yesterday when I was waiting for finals to be over. I hope I passed all my classes. I purchased a new website about two weeks ago, and I really hope to set it up this summer or else I’ll be throwing money away. 2010 has been a good start, I’m pretty happy. I can’t believe I’m a junior this upcoming fall, it’s sickens me. I’m ready for the real world though, I want to learn more about designing. I start my internship at Novo Arts June 1st.
I got back in NYC on Thursday. I packed and left to Montauk on Friday to go camping. Camping in Montauk was relatively different from my usual camping experience because I wasn’t settled in the wilderness. Instead, I was camping by the beach listening to the waves crash. Some cons about camping near the beach is that it’s really windy and it’s colder than usual. When I wasn’t at the camp site, I went to explore. I like the whole environment of Montauk, I get a fisherman sense when I enter the town. I don’t see myself living there, but who knows. Life is unexpected. Right?
Yesterday, the tickets to Hawaii were booked! I’m glad that my workplace let me off for a whole two weeks. I’ll be relaxing on the beach and sipping tropical drinks as if I were native. I never been there, but I feel that every experience is good. The money spent made me upset because I would much rather have a Macbook, but I guess creating memories are priceless. I can buy a laptop anytime within my lifetime.
I’m ready for the break a head. I bought 3 pairs of shorts online yesterday because I needed to qualify for free shipping. There better be heat or else I wasted my money.
I’m excited to see all my friends. The workload is over and I’m free until August. Get at me!

Happy Earth Day to all! I haven’t done anything too eco friendly, although I did recycle all my bottles and cardboard. Today was a beautiful day despite the angry clouds. I slept in until 12 today and it felt quite refreshing since my alarm wasn’t buzzing in my ear. I had to run a lot of errands today, nothing worse than going to one advisor then being appointed to another one. I could swear that I met with over 4 advisors who eventually pointed me back to point one. No one really knows what they’re doing in their offices, and it sad that many colleges have this reputation with the excuse that they have to deal with many students. On top of issues with my school, what is up with the new website? We had a whole discussion about this in our graphic design class and instead of wasting a million towards the new website, simply hire a graphic designer within the department as an internship. That precious money could’ve been funded for the several students taking out loans. In my opinion, fixing the website shouldn’t have been a priority. I believe that if the website does it purpose well, why change it? Am I right? Oh well, I should stop my complaints because everything is said and done and there’s nothing I can do.
I did horrible on my last Spanish test. I don’t want to speak about it because I knew I could’ve done better. The only excuse I have is that I had another test I had to study for on the same day which didn’t give me enough time to study for my other subjects. I spoke with the dean for the arts department for the first time, he’s definitely a nice guy and I expected a dean to be a lot more stricter. He says I have a “magnificent GPA” for an art student. What a compliment. Wait until I change two of my grades from passing to a letter grade. Oh, I’m not surprised if I get kicked out any honors or lose grant funds.
Last week I went in to meet with an art director for an internship. I did well, and I start this summer! I’m excited for everything and I hope college credit with my school works out. The college credit is only a bonus, experience in the field is always most important. Graphic design plays a large role in my life, I don’t see much effort coming out of me if I were to do something else. Following your dreams really does give you this satisfaction inside your soul. I’ve been doing this as a kid and to realize I’ll be doing this for the rest of my life makes me happy. Hey, the pay may not be well, but happiness essentially does mean most.
I can taste summer coming soon. I’m excited for camp nights and beach bumming.

The JamAsia show went pretty well this year, despite the piss attitude given before the show.  Even at the end of every show, there’s always room to criticize about how well you thought you’ve done. I’m surprised how many people came to support and watch. I would like to thank everyone who showed up to watch, especially on a Friday night. For those who didn’t, I don’t blame you for not coming either because you’re probably busy. The after party was great too!

I always get a weird feeling after the show is over. It truly does bring a nasty side out of a person. It’s definitely hard to tolerate people, but if you’re willing to take on a huge role, then there will be consequences. I thought about how things would be like if the situation switched with my friends at home.

I realized that in college, some people don’t like my straightforward personality. I think a few can respect the fact that I tell them the truth and that I won’t lie, while others think I am going after them out of jealously or pure hate. You’ll eventually realize that the quiet ones are the ones making your life a living hell. If I find anyone talking about me, I swear you’ll wish to take it back. It’s disrespectful towards me and it’s even worse when you can possibly convert someone’s perspective on my identity.

I sometimes wish I had my friends back at home because they can take my feedback. What’s worst in college is when you get an unproductive comment that already states something you know. For example, if I say something wrong, there is no need to reiterate that I’m a “horrible person” because it’s already inferred in my statement.

Last week was spring break which was well needed. A few friends and I went to Atlantic City to unwind from all our school work. I rather be with my friends than staying at home because that’s an environment where I’ll definitely fall asleep. I stayed on campus for the first two days of spring break. It was a horrible situation I was in because the cafeterias and food services were closed. In addition to my food crisis, I was forced to pay 25 dollars for Chinese food which included tip since there was supposedly a hurricane. Trapped on campus with international students felt lonesome though needless to say, I was more productive than I ever been. Applied to 20 internships, but I haven’t heard a word back from any. Either I really suck at what I do, or the competition for a graphic design intern is on demand.

To get back to my story about Atlantic City, I had a good time because my friends and I were able to upgrade our room. Man, it was a nice room and I miss it dearly. We hung out on the boardwalk, went to the mall, shopped at the outlets, and checked out the aquarium. One memorable moment was when the car broke down, though with the efforts from a stranger, he was able to pop the clutch to get the engine started. It was funny, yet I would’ve been sad if I had to find a way back home.

As for the other weekdays, I went to the Emeril Lagasse show. It was quite interesting although the place filled up quite quickly and I was unable to have a constant seat (I was moved around from seat to seat due to the camera being too close to my face haha).

Currently back at school, really nothing special. Week has been passing by faster than I thought. I hope April speeds up quickly because I can’t stand sitting in a classroom while looking out to see other students chillin by the grass.

Six Flags opens up this weekend, super excited. I’m planning to go with some friends in May. Perhaps a trip to Canada although I need a cool crew to join in. We’ll see.

Me, Izzy, Carmen and Angela

Taken from Angela’s facebook album

I’ll just update from here until my new site is up. I was planning on making it my portfolio site, but it’s going to take longer than I expected. Spring break is coming up this week, but I have a bad feeling about it since there were a few things that occurred last night that might interfere with the trip plans. I’m sure things will work out, I haven’t had much time to focus on personal issues since I’ve been working hard lately. It pays off when you’re recognized for your efforts though. I was in the studio printing out my pictures for photography which took nearly three hours. I’m glad it’s over with. That reminds me, I need to write a statement. Hope all is well, I would like to see everyone soon.

I’m moving to a new domain. Coolcarrots will be shut down within the next three months. My new website and upcoming portfolio will be www.theowlhoots.com

See you guys on my new page!

Today the class complained to our teacher about how she doesn’t do her job well. A bit amusing, but sad.

Here are some expressive typography work that I printed out from the computer:

Kerning and inking assignment with Martin Puryear

Anyways, the album leaf came out with a new album this month. Check it out if you haven’t heard of them. Good studio working music for any artist working on a project 100 hours plus.

Happy Chinese New Year for all those who celebrate. I went back for the weekend to celebrate with family. I figure it shouldn’t hurt since it’s my usual tradition. I’m not the one to believe in superstition so it feels a bit dumb for me to follow the rules on this day. Sometimes I feel a bit awkward doing these things because I don’t understand its significance. Since it’s what everyone else is doing, it doesn’t hurt to follow.

On an even happier note, my sister bought me a bar of soap (haha). Not because I smell, but it’s because it’s the only soap that gets rid of these bumps on my arm. It’s called the mammoth minty scrub soap made by bliss. It’s a good investment because you’re more willing to take a shower once you feel the refreshment for the first time (believe me, you’ll be doing everyone a favor as well). I feel like a brand new person every time I come out of the shower. 18 dollars for a bar of soap – a bit pricey if you ask me. If you’re determined to stop by lush or any other soap store, I recommend you get this awesome mint soap.

On the way home, I was delayed due to traffic. Apparently there was an accident in Jersey which took forever! Since it took a long time to get back, I took a nap while on the trip. Big mistake because I had an 8AM class on presidents day. Felt horrible, but I made it through.

School is keeping me occupied as usual. Must look for those internships so if you know anything good, you know where to find me.

Spring break is almost here! A few of my friends and I are planning to go to Atlantic City to hang out. I’m happy about the trip because it’s a well needed break for me. Hope the weather changes quickly, winter is causing a mild depression. Mild depression affects my creativity which will greatly affect my projects. Stay tuned for some suicidal photos for my digital photo class. I’m excited to turn morbid, I think I’ve always been quite interested in the whole dark subculture.

I’ll try to keep up with these post; not a promise!