Live vicariously with me for just a moment...

Happy 2010!

Posted: December 31st, 2009 | Author: Ellen | Filed under: Life | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | No Comments »

So today is the last day of 2009. That kind of snuck up on me. I’m happy for the excitement of the new year though.

One must wonder though, now that there aren’t two zeros together in the middle of the year, what in the world are they going to do for those kooky glasses in New York? Have a 1 down your nose? A 1-shaped eye piece. That would be disorienting to me.

Well, no matter what shape your glasses are this New Year’s, I hope they are all slightly rose-tinted and that everyone has a wonderful night, and a great year ahead! Welcome, twenty-ten!


Bus Stop Projection

Posted: December 23rd, 2009 | Author: Ellen | Filed under: Life | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | No Comments »

Bus Stop from Ellen on Vimeo.

This is the documentation footage of my Time Studio final project. This video was made with the context of the bus stop in mind, and projected onto the surface during the evening in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. (There is no sound.) This was recorded with my lovely new Canon Rebel T1i. Enjoy!


#28 Happy Chrismahanukwanzakah!

Posted: December 20th, 2009 | Author: Ellen | Filed under: 101 in 1001, Life, Photography | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | No Comments »

Yay, holiday season! I’m on a three week break from school, and Christmas is soon approaching. I’ve made cute little mugs of candy as gifts for my friends. They’re easy to make. You just need to arrange the following:

  • A Christmas Mug
  • Peppermint Patties (in the bottom)
  • Giant Christmas Kit Kat Bar
  • Skittles or M&M Tins, containing their respective candies
  • 2 Sweet Tart Candy Canes

And you’ve got yourself an affordable and enjoyable gift for many people. I think this also sort of counts for one thing my list of 101 Things to do in 1001 Days; #28. Make Christmas presents. This counts, right? Sure….

It is my hope that everyone enjoys this holiday season. (And really… who can’t have a nice time with all the pretty snow, music, lights, and happy friends and family about them? If you can’t, you are a grinch. And I’ll call you out on it!)

A note to Santa: I would like my own Santa Hat this season so I don’t have to Photoshop one onto my head each year. (P.S. I’ve been a very good girl.)

Happy Chrismahanukwanzakah!

~Ellen


First Snowfall of the Season

Posted: December 4th, 2009 | Author: Ellen | Filed under: Life, Photography | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

The first fresh blanket of winter white always manages to take my breath away. But never have I seen a first snowfall come this heavy or fast. Usually the tips of the green grass are still sticking up for a week or more before there’s enough snow to cover it and not melt in a day. But today it started snowing, and didn’t stop… and it’s sticking. After about three hours, there was four inches of snow on the ground. I ran back to my apartment, grabbed my new camera (I bought the Canon Rebel T1i over Thanksgiving break), and ran back on to campus and took photos of the freshly fallen snow.

Of course, I was not alone out there, even though it was eleven at night by then. Plenty of other people were already out making snowmen, having snowball fights, and taking their own photos of the first snow of the season. Walking around in such a beautiful snowy world put a goofy grin on my face and just made my day.

In my excitement, I’ve already uploaded a few photos on my flickr tonight. Nothing like enthusiasm of fresh snow to get my motivation going.


Two Minors or Not To Minor?

Posted: December 1st, 2009 | Author: Ellen | Filed under: Life, Poetry | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | No Comments »

So there are two new minors this year at my university that I am interested in, the Entrepreneurial Minor and the Writing Minor. The problem is, I don’t know which to pick, if any, or if I could handle both. The deal is, I’m already looking at being here four and a half to five years with summer studies to stay caught up in my art studies. AND I’m trying to study abroad. I don’t know if I can fit it in, let alone handle the insanity of a double minor.

Considering I will pick one, I’m balancing which would be more useful versus fun. Entrepreneurial would certainly be useful. I can see it being creative and fun. I mean, being an entrepreneur means starting your own business from scratch and being your own boss. Keeping a business like that takes a lot of creativity. So I think I’ll be okay, just as long as it doesn’t get all technical business lingo-y on me; that’d just be downright scary.

Writing, however, I would probably pick mostly creative writing classes since that’s what I enjoy the most. I would love to take some Creative Writing classes or Intermediate Poetry. But writing can also be useful. So many people don’t know how to communicate effectively with the written word. Or their grammar makes them sound like they’ve just graduated from Primary school. Just the other day, someone posted on facebook, “I don’t want to go to class either but I already have went to one.” That makes my die a little inside, each time I read that.

Anyway, writing is a big part of communicating properly on the internet. You can’t be there to explain your services to someone on your website, so you have to be good at communicating effectively in writing without getting too long, or complex. I tend to be a little bit long winded (as I probably am here, but it’s my blog and I’ll rant if I want to), or I can’t think of enough to fill the space.

Winding down, I still can’t decide. I think next semester I will start some Intro classes for each and maybe that will help me decide. Until then, any input from readers would be great! Anything I’m forgetting to consider, ideas, opinions, your experience with college minors? Thanks!