Fades Away

With finals now happening and me being more stressed than ever, I managed to pull myself together to come home to Thief River for a church conference. It was so much fun to see everyone again and had wonderful deep talks with many people whom I haven't seen for awhile. Even people who I have never talked to had something to talk to me about. Last night was the Fades Away concert which rocked the Ralph Engelstad. I was surprised by the turnout of people and saw many lives come to Christ. Even the hardest of hearts were softened by the testimony given. Afterwards I talked to a couple of the band members about some of the photography that I did during the concert. They were really interested in purchasing some or all of the images(what a great thing to hear when jobless). I was pumped to hear about their need for all types of photography and I look forward to chatting a little bit more with them. Hmmm, sounds like there may be a possible photoshoot/concert shoot in the cities in the next year. Sounds like just one more reason to upgrade. Goodbye two thousand dollars. Maybe.

Moving Day

Well, yesterday was moving day. It was definitely a sweet sorrow. Sarah and I will definitely miss our safe, sweet, quite apartment. We have less space since our house will be shared with four people total; although it will be nice to have that company. Moving went extremely well since our previous landlord paid professional movers to move everything for us. So after 2.5 hours all of our belongings were at our new downtown/north Fargo home.

It hasn't been lived in for awhile so there are a lot of little things that have been fixed or need to be fixed. One of our most recent discoveries happened while showering.  Since it is an older home, There was no shower head from the wall. So maintenance put one of those removable hoses that run from the faucet. Well, the water pressure is similar to someone blowing water out of a straw. Not pleasant. Well let me tell you that this showed took a really long time. Since there wasn't proper pressure there was zero steam. As a matter of fact, the 6-inch radius that the water was hitting was only somewhat warm. My toes actually went numb. true story. If they don't do anything about this water pressure I think I may resort to not showering throughout the winter. Our other discovery happened earlier that day when I decided to try our brand new washer and dryer. We found that when the washer is running it cuts off all water to the upstairs bathroom. This may be an issue once there are four people showering, doing dishes, and laundry.

Well as you may be able to tell, it is a very interesting old home with the squeakiest floors, walls with stories to tell, and things in boxes waiting to be unpacked. I will hopefully take some better pictures once unpacking is done. For now here are a few snapshots to show you our 'old' apartment  and our 'new' house(click to view larger image).

Portfolio Review 2009

Here are 4 of 30(roughly) presentation boards.

Ah, Portfolio Review 2009 is officially over with.  Yesterday, I walked into the room with my three judges who made nerve-easing(is that a word?) small talk with me while I set up my presentation boards. Review went much faster than I imagined and luckily my nerves didn't catch up with me. I did forget to breath in the beginning but I didn't stumble over any words or forget my place.  After they privately reviewed my work and discussed my progress throughout the past year and a half, I was asked to come back in the room. I was so nervous about what they would say since many of my friends have gotten their hearts ripped apart by the judges. They started it off with, "we feel like your work has stood out above the rest today because you have taken your own photos. We hope that you continue to go in that direction." Next they started the 'constructive criticism', which isn't always very constructive. The first suggestion I was given was that I need to research more color palettes to steer me away from continually using orange which I had noted earlier in my presentation. The only other suggestion was that they would like me to take another 3-dimensional class like ceramics or sculpture to enhance my knowledge about working 3-dimensionally. Thankfully this was only a suggestion so instead of taking a class, I may try to work in another product design piece into my portfolio.


Well, I think I will just take my above average score and my checkbox marked 'recommend to continue.' Now I can be thankful for the progress I have made and I look forward to see where this may take me.

New Home

Well, Sarah and I just got back from signing the lease for this 4-5 bedroom 2 bath home. Heres a google street view image of the home. It may look like it needs some work on the outside, but to tell the truth I think this image is better than how it looks today. Dead plants and brown grass aside, the inside is surprisingly decent. It may not be the highest standard of living but it is perfect for a group of poor college kids. We have one roommate in and continuing our search for the last and final roommate. Hopefully at least one of our multiple meetings go well this weekend.


14 days till move-in day!!
(Wow, that makes me stress out even more)

Stress Test

I apologize for the mess but this apartment was everything I ever wanted. Now it's being ripped away.

When life feels like it's slowing down it only speeds up. I've been so overwhelmed lately by bad news. My landlord informed me that he is selling the condo we are living in and need to find a place to live asap. That same day I lost my job due to financial issues with the company. So here I find myself homeless and jobless in Fargo, ND. Luckily school was going the right way until I was informed that I have a 45 minute presentation in one week to see if I am talented enough to continue in Graphic Design. I hate talking for 5 minutes let alone 45 while being judged on how i speak, creativity, craftsmanship, and appearance. Luckily everyone has to do it.

Once my roommate and I started our search for places to live we found there is no where that meets our safety and quality standards for the price we pay now. That leaves us in a mad search for a larger place to live and more roommates to cut costs. The house search is finally nearing the end. We found a very nice 4.5 bedroom 2 bath home close to downtown Fargo. It's quite nice but nothing will add up to where we are now. Searching for roommate is like a win-lose battle that can't be won. We keep recieving e-mails but once we meet up for coffee there is usually something we can't agree on.

So here I am. Jobless, homeless, and two roommates short of a house. It seems like it never ends when teachers are now assigning our final projects.

Due Dates

Mail many things (today)

Ellenson photos (asap)

Homework 4 assignment (5th)

Emily's Funeral (7th)

Prelim for Graphic Design(10th)

45 minutes presentation including a straight 24 hours of preparation (12th)

Have everything packed for moving day (19th)

Thanksgiving (26th)

PREPARE FOR FINALS

End note: I just was informed last night that a friend from my freshman year of college just passed away. She has a seizure monday morning and never came out of it. As far as I know she has never had a seizure before so this was a shock to the family. Her mom was diagnosed with brain cancer a few years ago. No one ever thought something like this would happen to 20 year old Emily.

Love Life

It seems that every hour of the day the same thought rolls through my brain.

"I love my life!"

Honestly I don't know why this has been happening for months but I am not complaining. Each time this happens my stomach does a somersault, I want to scream, and I can't get the enormous grin off my face. This might be because my relationship is right where I want it to be, I feel like a woman and no longer a child, I have so much drive to succeed that I don't know what to do with, or that I feel like I have found my niche.

Recently I went on a graphic design field trip to minneapolis to visit multiple firms such as Yamamoto Moss, Schematic, and Capsule. The head designer at Capsule ended our presentation with this quote, "Just think, someday all of you will be paid to use your talents to create, explore and to help others succeed. Yes design is a business, and there are certain "things" that come with it. Anyplace you work will have that, but just think about what you get to do, what a great profession!" I still cannot stop thinking about how lucky I am. Recently I received one of my projects reports back to find out I got a 96 out of 100. My teacher wrote multiple comments like "Fun! Exciting!", "Wonderful!", "Very thoughtful!", "Excellent!". and to top it all off he wrote this on the bottom, "Great to have you in this class. You are/have the capabilities to go a long way! Great Job!" I think this will be framed.

This happiness doesn't only account for graphic design but also photography. If it weren't for my sister I would have never bought my first DSLR 3 years ago! Wow, I look back and I love seeing how far I have came. From just pointing and shooting to now being able to shoot in full manual mode with ease. I am so thankful for my education and work which help me strive for excellence. I am so thankful for those who let me steal them or their kids to take some pictures of so that I can learn the personal aspect of photography! Thank you Kirsten, Jade, Tiffany, Jenny, Janelle and many more to come!

I love that along with photography and graphic design come my art friends to whom inspire me(and I can talk all nerdy with) Thank you Tiffany L, Amber P, Josh K, Sarah C, and Sarah D!

My mind is running circles still so I hope this made some sense! Thank you to all of you out there who inspire me!