Up And Away

as of my last post i have been officially attending Academy of Art University (AAU) in San Francisco. ive gone to each of my classes at loeast twice now and i can honestly say i will enjoy this semester. im not saying it will by any means be easy, because it definitely sounds rigerous and challenging, but at least it is relevant to what i want to do as a career and it will indeed be fun. my classes are as follows:

Perspective for Industrial Design - this class begins with a drafting style drawing that i didnt expect. so... we drew simple objects (box, pyramid, cylinder) from top, side and front views. simple enough, i took drafting in high school, so this is a breeze. but now we are begining to get into actual perspective, which means we will be drawing objects that appear 3 dimensional because their sides seem to converge on vanishing points along the horizon. like so:
in fact, that is exactly like my hw for tonight. i need to take plan (top) and elevation (side) views of an object and make it 3D by giving it perspective.







Model Making - in this class i will again be using my drafting skills to sketch out and design objects (3 in all) and actuaally build them from materials that we have on hand. our first project is a box. or more specoificly a display case for something. we will have wood and acrilic (clear plastic) to use for this build. we have to design the box EXACTLY to the specifications (and scale) as we will want the finished product to look. and then, build it. i forget what our second project is, but our final project will be a teapot. sounds simple but they are built to look real and finished like something you would buy. but they are also artisitically designed like this one done by a student:
so yeah, thats made of foam i believe and painted to a professional finish using industrial grade equipment. i took a tour of our shop last night. its state of the art with full size paint booths and a complete set of the best automotive quality paint, which is likely what was used on that teapot.







Computer Drafting - this seems like the most un-interesting class i have, eventhough it is probably most related to what i want to do for a living. in this class we use a program to do our drafting for us. so basically all the drawing i do in the above classes, with a mouse and keyboard. the worst part is that we use a program that NO ONE in the industry uses. it is similar to AutoCAD, but its different enough to be frustrating for me to use. it is fairly intuitive but its not the same. it would be like using Paint Shop Pro in a class about graphic design while EVERYONE in the industry uses photoshop. *sigh* plus its super boring watching a screen as the teacher does demos. im gonna need lots of caffeines.

Design Problem Solving - this class is very interesting. on our first day we were told to build a cantilever out of spaghetti. for those who dont know what a cantilever is, it is a structure that extends outwards from another but is supported only on one side. the best example i can give you is to outstretch your arm. that is a cantilever. supported at your shoulder but otherwise free or any other support. my group did... ok. actuaally ours was the shortest only because i wasnt finished yet. other groups' were longer but had arched down to the floor. in this class we will be doing McGuyver type stuff. our first project will be to construct a water pump out of simple objects such as a funnel, soda bottles, a dowel, super balls, a foot of vynil tubing and as much adhesive/sealant as we want. its alot harder than it sounds, and it sounded impossible.

so yeah, thats a rundown of my classes, in other news, ive been staying at my aunt's house in South San Francisco with my dad. i sleep on the couch most days, and get my dad's bed when hes out of town. my back hasnt been much more sore than usual, so i think its working out ok. i am currently using their computer to type out this post. its in the boys' room, which is actually a basement. so... i have NO cell phone signal here at all. so if youre trying to get ahold of me, im sorry.



last weekend we finally replaced my poor truck. with its twin. the new one is identical to the old one in every way, except that it has a different brand camper shell and has several other upgrades that i had only dreamt of putting on the old one already installed. and what it doesnt have uypgraded i had already upgraded on the old one, and saved. so.. by next weekend, it will be pretty much done. here are some pics (of the new one):

and last, but certainly not least, rene left for Japan monday, we sent her off friday night with dinner at Bucca Di Beppo, a family style italian restaurant in San Francisco. i had a blast. i hope she enjoys herself there in Japan, cuz we'll certainly miss her. im glad that i got to see her before she left, at the very least.

and speaking of "up and away" i got 2 parking tickets on consecutive days for not curbing my whells while parked at nathans house. *sigh* cuz i have money. and the police department is busy.

thats all for now.

Wake Me Up When September Ends

as promised:

1. I don't know where to start
2. my favorite color is green
3. I'm currently unemployed
4. I'm a scorpio
5. and I like long walks on the beach. actually I really do. I'm
serious
6. I'm intraverted. but wish I wasn't.
7. my first car was a 1988 ford taurus
8. I am the oldest of 3. I have a younger brother (16) and a younger
sister (12)
9. I design cars for a hobby
10. I love to drive
11. I am totally obsessed with cars, especially how they look
12. I like just about anything car related. (can you tell?)
13. I currently drive a 1995 Acura Integra
14. 3 is a speacial number
14. I used to play a lot of video games
15. World Of Warcraft is the only game I play anymore
16. I am currently a level 54 Human Mage (Cenarious server, named
Gulalur if you wanna play)
17. I need a job
18. some nights I just can't sleep
19. as a child I deamt of going to Stanford
20. as an adult I dreamt of going to The Academy of Art University
21. I am currently enrolled at AAU
22. I have an Australian Shephard named Layla
23. yes, she's named after the song
24. I wear glasses
25. I've had asthma all my life
26. I have flat feet
27. my hip is sort of crooked, as a result, one leg is barely longer
than the other
28. I have chronic back pain from bad posture, and a genetically
outa-wack back
29. I am afraid of being drafted into the military, but due to 24-28
doubt they'd have much use for me
30. as a child, I had a leash
31. I'm named after my dad
32. who was named after his uncle
33. who was probably named after someone who was named after someone
too. etc. and so on
34. apparently my TV turns off by itself
35. my favorite band is Led Zeppelin
36. my favorite song of theirs is "Dazed and Confused"..... no wait,
"Stairway To Heaven". no, "Since I've Been Loving You". yeah.
37. my favorite flavor of ice cream is vanilla
38. I like pepsi. so hah!
39. I've never traveled off the north american continent
40. and I've only left CA for NV, AZ (barely) and Mexico
41. I REALLY wanna go to Hawaii
42. my middle name is Edward
43. I often misspell my own name
45. I hate green peas
46. I am 100% Mexican
47. yet I don't like beans much
48. I think I have issues sleeping sometimes
49. I've seen every episode of CSI. multiple times. and I probably
remember what happens in each one.
50. I'm about halfways done. wheeeee!
51. I admit, I don't remember to brush my teeth every day
52. yet I have never had a single cavity. ever.
53. my room is full of flourescent black light posters
54. and a black light
55. and a lava lamp
56. I listen to a lot of late 60s and 70s rock
57. but I don't smoke pot/weed/marajuana/grass
58. or do any other drugs
59. I don't drink either
60. I'm a dork, I know, I admit it
61. the following statement is true
62. the above statement is false
63. I was born the day before halloween.
64. my 2 favorite baseball teams are the giants and whoever is playing
the dodgers.
65. I'll have a double double with cheese, animal style with a Vanilla
Shake or a Mr. Pibb. to go
66. my sister is named emily
67. she owns a chihuahua named chica. original, I know
68. my brother is named chris.
69. he owns my old iPod
70. I love to drive and just get lost.
71. I HAVE seen all 3 LOTR movies. and I own all 3 on special extended
edition DVD
72. I like strawberries. but I don't like to eat/drink/smell anything
strawberry flavored/scented
73. I'm not a ford guy, or a chevy guy. I'm a dodge guy. (but I want a
toyota tacoma... shhh!)
74. I wonder what percentage of this list is car related.
75. I am writing this list on my T-Mobile Sidekick II, so I can add to
it whenever
76. 1 15170111 989312 6003.... 501278
77. I never really owned a pager
78. my favorite disney animated movie is probably Emperor's New Groove.
it was very under rated and it was pretty damn funny. also, it reminds
me of our trip to mexico
79. I'm pretty tolerant of people not being nice. especially if I know
them or they are my friend.
80. my toe is in an excruciating amount of pain right now
81. I'm bad at spelling
82. and I'm too lazy to correct typos
83.0 05 is today's date. its 2:26 and I'm hungry, bored, tired and hot.
84. is the year I was born. and what I fine year it was.
85. most of this list was written late at night (or early in the
morning) while overdue for sleep.
86. I'm a very impatient driver, especially if I'm in a rush
87. I'm often in a rush
88. I've always placed friends at a higher priority than school
89. I'm not as excited as a should be about going to the school of my
dreams.
90. when I get tired I stop making sense. (I had something different
written there, but upon closer inspection I have no idea what it said)
91. I will eat just about anything
92. but there is a lot of stuff I would prefer not to.
93. my back reeally really hurts
94. I have 3344 songs on my ipod
95. I have more on my computer
96. this is my first day of school
97. I am currently in Perspective Drawing
98. I used 14 twice
99. I'm done.