highlights of 2010

January was full of adventures - I went to the 2010 Rose Parade for the first time in my life, after years of watching it January 1st on TV and enjoyed watching all the floats in real time with my mom and sister. Went to San Jose to visit Tommy and his family and visited the Winchester Mystery Mansion and the San Jose Flea Market! Since I had the semester off I started tackling the gigantic mess that is my room and simultaneously went flea market/thrift store hopping with my mom every chance I got. Also - lots of art, mostly linoleum block print making that month.

February I started working as an intern at an architecture firm, finally getting some structure in my daily routine. Worked on a competition and outside of that frequented art museums with Dan, hung out with Tommy, helped my mom with art classes, took care of the poopies and cooked a lot!

In March after the usual with work, flea markets, etc. I went to San Jose again! We visited San Francisco, explored Golden Gate Park, the Aquarium, and ate lots of good food. This visit marked my Pizza My Heart obsession as well as my newfound love for artichokes!

In April I went to Chicago, en route from Kansas City and St. Louis by Amtrak. My first time in the Midwest! Saw lots of great architecture and saw Frank Gehry give a talk which made me like him! Back in L.A., got laid off of my interning duties, and soon after got a job at Trader Joe's. Started going on lots of hikes with Tommy and got a bike to start riding around.

As the weather continued to get better in May, hikes were more frequent as well as trips to the beach. Tommy graduated, and for a while we had more time to spend together before he headed down to San Diego to start his job. My friend Joe started gaining more exposure doing his music thing and I accompanied him at times to his gigs.

In June I went to lots of museums and this is the time I painted the most. I think I began to understand colors in a more profound sense and wanted to express that knowledge. Work, paint, boyfriend, eat, sleep.

July equaled lots of outdoor time, good food and the beach. And prime flea market time as Tommy my mom and I went looking for furniture for his new place, oftentimes quite successfully! Started my t-shirt quilt which is pretty much done now except for some major hemming.

August! Went to Mammoth and spent time with my pop fishing and enjoying nature. Went to Spokane shortly after with Tommy and had a great trip before the inevitable mental trudge back to school. For my birthday Tommy got me a beautiful typewriter, which I used to type him letters in San Diego.

September. I wasn't in love with school, and having a mini crisis in realizing most all of my friends had graduated and left. Readjusting was slow... I just threw myself into my work at school, work at Joe's, and got another work study job on campus.

October was a little more enjoyable - the calm before the storm before schoolwork began to explode. I enjoyed having to read for class though, had a bit of roommate trouble but that's over, and started really getting into my metal sculpture class. Visits to Tommy in between classes and work!

November, Thanksgiving, work, midterms. A crazy month. I started going home a lot, despite the high cost of rent...

December was a mixed bag. I was so burnt out from school that I didn't get into the Christmas spirit at all, until a day or two before when I prepared the secret santa gift I had to bring for a coworker... I only really got gifts for my family and boyfriend, which is all that really matters I think. I am just happy that I have one semester of school left, which also means I need to find a real job...

2010 was a great year. Lots of creative stimulation in the first part, the second part was different but still a good learning experience and I think I learned a lot about myself. Lots I can improve upon for the future, anyway.