what to put in the portfolio...

so i'm applying to get into interior design on friday, which includes turning in a portfolio. i'm trying to decide what to put in my portfolio and am having a rather difficult time narrowing things down. i've decided to post the works i'm considering to see if anyone has any suggestions. i need to include about 8-10 strong pieces and am trying to make sure i have some variety. we can include photography, so i'm thinking about putting one of the following in. anyway, if anyone would like to give me advice on which ones to include, feel free to express them.

photo: napoleon's hat

photo: sailboat

photo: clouds over sanford stadium

photo: water lilies

photo: red fireworks

photo: blue ship

photo: canopy

photo: shipwreck

photo: water lily

photo: glory rays over paris

charcoal: flea market

conte crayon, charcoal: purse collection

charcoal: paper scraps

graphite: paper scraps

graphite: contradiction

graphite: rockin' the boat

grahite: flopsey

graphite: reflection

photoshop: homage of henry ford

painting: red sunset over keowee

photoshop: good vs. evil

painting: gerber daisies

the valentine's day special

february 14th this year was a much different day than the february 14ths of years past. the day of pink hearts and red roses never really caused me to sulk over the fact that i was boyfriendless, as is customary for many people without a significant other. i was always aware that my day to be showered with kisses, love, and a dozen red roses would eventually make its debut. and yesterday was the day.

jonathan arrived at my door shortly after 1 p.m. with his right arm cradled around a red glass vase holding 12 beautiful red roses with a touch of baby's breath. we found a place on top of my dresser to put them where they can easily be admired. i put on my shoes, grabbed my coat, and we were out the door heading toward the mall and a light lunch at chick-fil-a. after lunch, we browsed a little through the mall and then made our way to target, where jonathan bought me a pair of brown heels that would go with my dress for the evening.

we parked at the deck to avoid the evil parking services tickets. jonathan had to grab some things he brought for me out of the trunk...including his guitar! i absolutely love when he plays his guitar for me and he knows it :). he played for me for about 20 minutes before i had to get ready for our early dinner so that we could beat the valentine's day dinner rush.

jonathan dropped me off at the last resort so we could get on the waiting list (they didn't take reservations) and i wouldn't have to walk uphill in my heels. just as jonathan made it inside, the host was leading us to our table for two. the tables were draped with white tablecloths and were set with tea light candles and a tiny vase with a small pink rose. the heat lights by the kitchen cast a red glow on our faces, but it went along with the valentines vibe.

it seemed odd to us, since they didn't take reservations, that the table next to us was perfectly set up for about 10 young women. it took me until the end of our delicious meal to realize that it was the gym dogs. of course, there are special exceptions to the "no reservation" policy. good for them.

jonathan and i went back to my dorm to exchange gifts, so i had him park in a general lot, assuming that it would be safe after 7 p.m. on valentine's day. after we finished opening gifts (jonathan got me two adorable skirts and a matching camisole), we headed to his car to go to a coffee place and found a special pink-enveloped valentine tucked under his windshield wiper from parking services with a $40 ticket enclosed. it had been left no more than 15 minutes after we had parked. that put a damper on things, but a warm hot chocolate cheered things up a bit.

since nothing was really out in theaters, jonathan and i decided to watch a dvd. i'd never seen signs, so that was the romantic movie of choice :). i got pathetically scared quite easily, but it turned out to be pretty good.

in summary, jonathan was the most wonderful first valentine's date i could have ever hoped for. he spent a whole afternoon and evening with me and went above and beyond every minute to make this valentine's day special.

jonathan, thank you for showering me with kisses, love, and a dozen red roses :).

girls' night out at east west bistro

amy and anna acting odd...

me and lola

colette and amy (and anna) looking over the menu

me, lola, and jamie with our delicious food

colette, amy, and anna getting ready to dig in

the first speech

i have to give a speech tomorrow.

i'm taking intro to public speaking this semester. yes, partly due to requirements, but i did have the option to chicken out and take a communications class that doesn't require you to stand in front of a class for 10 minutes trying to mumble out a coherent speech. i decided to take a speech class to help me overcome a fear (not necessarily my worst nightmare, but definitely a discomforting situation) of having all eyes on me as i awkwardly deliver a speech. i've never really been good at it so, being ambitious, i signed up for it.

well, tomorrow is the day of my first speech. for some reason, i selected the topic of the media and how it affects people's self-image. i've spent the past week researching stats and have come to the conclusion that it would be best if i tackled advertising, since the media is such a broad topic and i only have 4-6 minutes to fit everything in. this first speech is a non-biased general overview of the topic, so i will focus on the role advertising plays in the economy and how it affects our lives and culture.

some interesting stats i've found:

• The average person watches 4 hours of tv a day (2 months a year)
• until 1982, commercials were limited to 9.5 minutes every hour. today, there are 14-17 minutes of commercials every hour.
• there are 17-18 minutes of commercials on the radio each hour
• the average american sees 3,600 ads a day

its amazing how much we're exposed to the media and advertisements. ads are everywhere...tv, movies, internet, billboards, inside the bus, logos on drinks, clothes...it goes on. we don't even notice them most of the time. but the images of gorgeous people with perfect bodies that we see in magazines, movies, in clothing stores, etc., affect our self-image and set our standards and expectations of beauty in others. dove's "campaign for real beauty" is pretty much the only company breaking out of traditional media's glorification of the perfect model that doesn't exist. on their site, dove had some interesting facts:

• only 2 percent of thousands of women from 10 countries around the world consider themselves beautiful
• ­more than two-thirds (68%) of women strongly agree that “the media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty that most women can't ever achieve."
• well over half of all women (57%) strongly agree that “the attributes of female beauty have become very narrowly defined in today's world.”

now that has to say something about how the media has affected us. i hope it goes well tomorrow.