I've Been Hacked!

That's right, my sneaky and subversive husband has hacked my account, and has typed this blog post as a surprise to me. Just so y'all don't get confused, he'll be talking as though he's me, even though I, Janae, had nothing to do with this particular post.

Let's start off by setting down some basics that we can all agree on.

• I'm Janae, and I'm incredibly attractive. Also, I'm lots of fun.
• I have such a wide range of interests and talents that I can hardly keep up with them. I love to cook, bake, sew, craft with paper, scissors, fabric, glue, wood, and just about anything else I can get my hands on
• I have an excellent eye for design and aesthetics, and I love to bring that to play in organizing and decorating my home, and in all those crafty things. 
• I want to learn and do so much more! I've always wanted to go hang gliding, I love climbing but don't go enough, and I love snowboarding, but same problem there. I still need to learn to crochet and a bunch of other crafts and hobbies. 
• I'm hopelessly addicted to Halo. I wasn't very good a few years ago, but after weekly sessions with friends, I can legitimately hold my own. I've even won a few rounds. 
• I really really really want to learn metalsmithing so I can design and cast my own jewelery. Why does everything I want to do cost so much?
• Case in point, I also want to travel the globe. I want to see third world countries and the remnants of the height of European monarchies. I want to see the tropics, the tundra, and be swallowed in the vastness of the Sahara. I want to see all the different places right here in the U.S., from the Painted Desert, to the Redwoods, to Mt. Rushmore, to the Everglades, to New York City, to the coasts of Maine, to the underground Boston music scene...
• Have you noticed how cute I am? I'm seriously attractive, really! Who else do you know that could pull off any hair color, any outfit, any style? We are few and far between. Worship us.
• I throw the BEST parties.       ....E V A R R R.
•  I am one tough chick. If you had any idea all of the crap I've been through in my life to get where I am, you would probably faint. Or maybe you'd relate if you've been there, too. Respect my journey.
• A side effect of all that is PTSD, which I've written other posts about, from time to time. This makes even the most trivial of matters sometimes insurmountable in the moment. Do you get it? Maybe. But unless you've dealt with it, I doubt it.  Like I said, I'm tough. I always make it through it.
• I have an incredible amount of faith, and a very strong testimony of the Restored Gospel. Sometimes the social side of attending church is hard for me to deal with (see above), but I will always love the Savior, the Gospel, and my Heavenly Father. It's unshakable.
• My husband is better than your husband. 
• Did I mention how ridiculously attractive I am?
• Have you hung out with me lately? Why not? I promise you that I am outrageously hilarious, and a load of fun! Seriously, what's your excuse?
• I've changed through about 9 different majors in college (lots of interests) so I know a lot about a lot of stuff, instead of a little bit about a lot of stuff or everything about one thing. Except for sewing- my husband thinks I might know just about everything about that, but I don't really think so; There's always something new to learn!
• I love animals and I really want a dog! We never really got to have one growing up and now that I'm older, I want one. 
• I love my sisters-in-law and I wish I hung out with them more. What do we have in common? What can we do together?
• I'm going to be the coolest mom ever, except for maybe my mom, who is perpetually amazing. My husband has no doubt that I can live up to her legacy, though.

Well, that's about all for now. Comment on this post and tell me how much you love me, because after all, I'm not really writing this, so it's not fishing for compliments, is it?!

Stress and Success (part I)

The past two weeks have been absurd.

I was selected among many other students to give a brief presentation to a bunch of people who donate lots of money to BYU's School of Technology each year. Since my major is in that school, and some of the donors funded a lot of money for me to go to Singapore, and the professor in charge of the trip to Singapore adores me for some reason (I really don't know why he thinks so highly of me--I didn't suck up or try to be teacher's pet at all; I was just myself and he and his wife somehow love me... not that I mind...), the Dean of the school asked if I would be willing to share with these donors what I learned from that trip, how it's helped me, and express my gratitude to them. Of course I accepted. I love speaking to people and large groups. I know, I'm crazy, but I really enjoy it.

So on October 22nd, I woke up early and got ready for the day. Bob really wanted to come and hear me speak, even though it was only going to be for 2 minutes, so he came with me. We were both all dressed up and professional-looking. We arrived and quietly sat in the back until my turn to speak.

There were only two of us students who were selected to present. A guy who went to China for a study abroad went before me. The poor guy was nervous and shaking and tripped over his words a few times. I wanted to just hug him and tell him to relax. He finished, and it was my turn.

I felt a little nervous too, but I did my best to hide it. I had a few PowerPoint slides with pictures from the trip. The first picture was of the whole group of students who were a part of the class. We were all dressed professionally in it and had our projects displayed. My small group was gathered around the wheelchair we designed and prototyped, and I was sitting in it. As I was standing there, I briefly explained that I was not actually confined to a wheelchair, which several people chuckled at. I discussed our project idea and the basics of how it worked. The next slide had several pictures on it. One was of me eating some weird food with chopsticks. I told them of some things I learned, especially that I don't like fried oysters as I pointed to that specific image, at which everyone laughed.

'Okay,' I thought, 'I got them all to laugh, so now they have some connection with me.' I was able to relax and opened up more about my experience in learning how to work with engineers, design products, listen to various viewpoints from different people, etc. As I started wrapping up my short speech, I gave some small background on me, that I lived on a farm in Tennessee, and I never really thought that I would have a chance to travel to such an incredible country to further my education. I meant every word of it, and I unexpectedly got choked up and teary-eyed. I finished by thanking them all for helping me to have such an amazing experience, because I never could have gone without their help.

I ended and as I walked back to my seat, I thought, 'Holy cow. Where did those tears come from?' I sat back down next to Bob, beaming because I felt so good about how I spoke. He leaned over and hugged me, then whispered in my ear, "Good job!"

I really felt like I nailed that presentation. I know, it was only a couple of minutes long, but it was partially up to me to show these donors that the money they donate is really going to a good cause and being used well, and we even hope they'll consider donating more. If I hadn't have given a great speech, it could have affected the donations they give in a negative way.

After it was over, I went out into the hall/lobby to stand and see if anyone wanted to say hello to me or anything. On my way out I was stopped by several people who complimented me on my presentation. As we were talking I glanced over at the other student who spoke. He had all of two people talking to him, while I had about eight talking to me. I felt kind of bad for the other guy. I'm such a spot-light stealer sometimes. And yet, as much as I felt bad, I also felt like I had to do that to some extent, because his speech wasn't very good. He had some good pictures and made some good points, but I felt like I had to be really good to make up for anything that his was lacking.

Man, I am so analytic. Is that a bad thing? I'm not sure if the way I think sometimes is right or wrong. It's just how I think.

Either way, the presentation was successful and everyone appreciated my words and insights. I felt great about myself, and met a lot of important people. I can't remember all of their names, but I sure home they'll remember me.

Here today, Gone tomorrow.

I love how things in life can change so quickly. One day I'm single, the next I'm married. When I go to bed the house is nice and clean, I wake up in the morning and there's an inch of water covering our bedroom floor. My hair is long in the morning, then short and messy in the afternoon. I wake up at home and go to sleep that night on the other side of the world.

On Monday I was registered for summer classes, and on Tuesday I dropped all of them.

As it turns out, I filed my FAFSA too soon. Had I waited a month until after I had gotten married, I would be getting grant money to go to school right now. But because I filled it out when I was still single, I was considered dependent on my parents. It just so happens that the 2009 FAFSA is still being used for summer term, and there's nothing I can do to change it even though my situation is drastically different than it was eight months ago.

So to avoid getting a loan for as long as I possibly can, I'm just pushing my classes back another year. I'll finish my GE's this fall, while I should be getting some nice grant money, and then in January I'll take the classes that I was going to take now. That means I won't get to apply for sophomore year of Industrial Design until August of next year.

As frustrating as it is, I've decided to stop trying to rush it. The fact is, I'm not going to graduate any sooner, and I might as well try to enjoy life instead of trying to rush through it to get to a final end point. I need to enjoy where I am now, wherever that is. Besides, Bob still has at least four years of school left, so it's not like we'll really be going anywhere anytime soon.

Now I need to find a job. I was going to wait until August to find one, when I finished summer term, but since I'm no longer taking classes I need something to do. Plus, Bob isn't really making enough income by himself at the moment, and we've been hurting a bit for cash since I quit mine back in April. I searched on-campus jobs at BYU and only found three that I'm interested in, and then I found a few others on Craigslist. I'm surprisingly motivated about this too-- yesterday I made a resume in half an hour, and I think it's pretty awesome.

(https://acrobat.com/#d=Towitc6GfueosOBk9uCucg)

Then today I made an online portfolio to go along with my resume. Most of the things in the portfolio are likely graphics you've already seen in an earlier blog, but I like the effect of having them all together in a nice and neat slide show display. (After clicking on it you can use your mouse or left and right arrow keys to navigate through.)

(https://acrobat.com/#d=4grH5CmqSpiAfdsc85X9Tg&x=s)

So if anyone knows of anywhere in Provo or Orem or any other nearby place that could use a designer with my abilities, let me know. I would really love to get a job doing something I like that will also help me in my career goals.

Also, the other day a friend of mine sent me a message via Facebook. I met her and her family in San Antonio while I was serving as a missionary there. I love them a lot. So in this message she tells me that she wants to stop at my place on her way back to Texas from Washington state. She'd gone up there with her mom and siblings because they moved there recently, but she needed to get out and find a place to work. So rather than just stop here for a night, I told her she was welcome to stay here for a little while if she needed to. So Chelsie and her cat, Tiger, are staying here for about a month now. She'd like to get a job, but I 'm not sure if she'll be staying long enough to find one. She's planning on leaving in August, so we'll see.

As I was discussing this decision with Bob, I was reminded of my own mother. I remember letting a few people live with us from time to time. My mom was so willing to open up our home to friends and family if they needed a place to stay. I guess some people might think it's a little weird, but I feel like it's my way of serving others when there's not much else I can do. Plus, when I was 19 I remember wishing there was somewhere I could go and get away from life and my problems, a haven of sorts. If I'm able to do that for someone--especially a friend I care about--and help to get their life in order, why shouldn't I? Besides, we have fun together. She does remind me a lot of myself a little bit when I was 19.

And on a random note, I found this cool website the other day. If you like fabric and have some extra money, or if you need something for a specific sewing project and you can't find it, here's a solution:

SpoonFlower.com

I think it's a great idea. I just wish it wasn't so expensive.

Favorite ID Assignments

In case you don't know, I'm studying Industrial Design and BYU. I changed my major about 8 times before I found this one, which is what I was looking for all along. Let me explain why this is my chosen major. I'm a hands-on learner. I don't do well in lectures or on tests, I struggle to stay focused on what I read when I study text books, and I can't stand writing research essays about something I have no interest in.

So why am I in college? Because I need an education. I'd often catch myself drawing or sketching instead of reading, looking around myself and analyzing how poorly things are constructed or made instead of listening, and enjoying interesting images and nicely designed things online instead of typing papers.

Industrial Design requires no text books, we have no tests or final exams, and lectures are rarely longer than 20 or 30 minutes. For homework, we get really vague, ambiguous assignments and we have to complete them by the next class period. They involve the various elements of design, both on 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional levels. In other words, we have to make things look pretty--both images on paper and models you can pick up and hold. And it took me three years of misery in majors that I hated to find this four year program that I adore. Yes, I still have three more years of it even though I've already done four years of schooling. The timing is my main regret.

So I love my major and I'm super excited to continue on in learning and making tons of projects when summer term starts on Monday. But I still have this incomplete that I took for a class last fall when I was dealing with, well, lots of things. I wanted to finish the incomplete grade and get all those assignments turned in before summer term began, but I just feel stuck--like I can't get creative enough to finish all of the assignments.

The other hold up was that I have to take pictures of all the projects and assignments I do. I lost Bob's camera battery charger around the time that I went to Singapore. So I've been trying to finish assignments and find a good deal on a charger (especially since we literally have zero money to spend ever since I quit my job). I looked online and found the charger for about $25. That's a quarter of $100! Do you have any idea what I can do with $25??? So then I felt a ping of inspiration and looked on Craigslist. No luck. I went to KSL, and just a day earlier someone had posted an ad selling the exact charger I need--plus a battery (which, batteries are expensive!) and transfer cord, all for $10! I LOVE when inspiration comes. We went and picked that up yesterday.

So back to my dilemma of not feeling creative. The assignments I have to do are all 3-D. In other words I have to build things out of card-stock, balsa wood, and foam-core board.  I've got one and a half of the 7+ assignments done. So how do I find inspiration to finish the rest of them before August?

I remember getting some ideas from looking at my 2-D assignments for some of my classes. So I found my USB drive that I had them all stored on, and took a look at them again.

I impressed myself. It's been eight or so months since I've looked at them, and I really like some of them! I wish I could print out my favorites, frame them, then hang them around our office so I could inspire myself. However, a lack of money is keeping me from doing that.

So next best thing, I'll post them on here and see how other people feel about them. I'm not really fishing for compliments, just encouragement...

Okay, if you want to call that fishing for compliments, maybe it is. But really, I just need a little reassurance and a pick-me-up.

So to explain a bit on these, I used Adobe Illustrator to create them. There was no right or wrong way to do our projects, as long as we were using our knowledge and understanding of design to do them. And our assignments were extremely vague, which I quickly learned just gave us more freedom in creating them. For example, one assignment from that class was to make a composition using four squares to demonstrate the word 'tension'.

Wait, what?

                     Exactly.

An assignment on rhythm and emphasis.

Another assignment on emphasis. 

Notice how your eye travels as you look at it. I learned to manipulate lines and space to have you look where I want you to without you really knowing it.

Assignment on rhythm and how to make it nice instead of annoyingly repetitive.

Another on emphasis and movement. 

(This one was inspire by a photo of sand dunes. Can you tell?)

Inspired by the way fabric moves in the wind (like a flag).

Inspired by stairs. 

(It's hard to make it interesting and not boring. You try it!)

I love brick and cobblestone roads and walkways. Can't you tell?

This was a fun assignment! We had to come up with and present a product of limited edition M&Ms in honor of the Olympics. This was mine. I really like it.

 An assignment on pattern exploration and presentation.

Can you find the single shape I created the whole thing from? 

I highlighted it somewhere.

My final project for that class, called a "Perceptual Painting".

We were to create something that expressed ourselves using all the elements of design that we'd learned so far in the class. This is my explanation of it:

I love sketching, especially with charcoal. I created the squares using lines that resemble the way different sketching mediums look on paper. 

I always want to be unique and different. Sometimes I feel like people are expecting me to be this perfect little person, a 'square' just like everyone else. So I do that for a while, but before long I have to break out of it and be me again. Hence, the squares and the one in the background that is being destroyed. 

I picked the various shades of brown because it seems like such a boring color to many people, but if you look carefully, it can turn into some of the richest, most warm and comfortable hues you'll ever find. Similarly, I hope that people can see more in me than what first meets the eye.

Lastly, I love literature and poetry, both reading and writing it. With that in mind, I incorporated some favorite lines of a favorite poet. The words leave an open-ended question, because I'm curious to see what others will make of this creation of mine.

That's all I'll post on here. It's kind of a lot, but we had tons of assignments like these. I just included my favorites.

What do you think?