i woke up and discovered that the U is writing me a random check for $85 for a reason that is beyond me.

i went to work and got paid time and a half.

while at work i discovered i got the job i interviewed for this past friday.

i met up with brian and inhaled chipotle (and i'm still hungry?).

took random pictures.

i'm convinced everything looks better in black & white.

sunday mornings really are my favorite times. after being out on saturday nights you wake up whenever you feel like it and know that the entire day is yours for the taking. really, sunday is a breath of fresh air.

i woke up this morning and ate some cereal. however, feeling unsatisfied i went right to making lunch. i did some laundry and hung some clothes up to dry. thusly, the scent of freshly laundered clothes filled my room and the sun spilled through the windows and danced around on my floor. and then i realized that it was too nice to be inside.

i biked around lake calhoun where eventually it was my plan to enjoy the sun and read a book. i only read two chapters and spent a majority of the time talking on the phone. i took some pictures, none too exciting (sadly).

and then it occurred to me: this is the last free weekend i'll have for months. literally, months. i work next sunday which means that my weekend is more or less foiled. and then there's school. until december. and there is nothing worth doing outside in december in minnesota.

today was basically my last day of summer. as much as i'm looking forward to autumn, summer really could stand to be twice as long.

lots has been resolved since my last post of frustration. i've been awarded reciprocity already- overnight rather than the 4-6 weeks the website told me to expect. tomorrow i have to contact the admissions lady and then my tuition will be knocked down several thousand dollars. heavy sigh of relief.

it turns out the design job with the architecture department fell through. i actually was looking forward to the experience. the job sounded nice, the pay was excellent, and the hours were flexible. i got the email on my lunch hour and i moped back to work in dismay. i was convinced that the day would end with me in a drunken state. mission accomplished. thanks angie and heidi.

before meeting up with the girls last night i applied for yet another campus job. the guy emailed me back this morning and thanked me for applying and told me that he would get back to me later on if he wanted to set up an interview. later this afternoon i got another email. i have an interview tomorrow at 12:15.

so i laughed the other week when Dell recalled 4.1 million laptop batteries. fools. but then i read today that almost 2 million powerbook/ibook batteries are also being recalled. Sony made both of the batteries. way to go, guys. oh well, this little mistake is only costing you an estimated $225 million. ha!

i framed a poster today. another project done, up on my wall for me to enjoy. and it was free. thanks, alex.

i love the U, don't get me wrong. as of late i've been thinking that it probably would have been a whole lot easier if i hadn't taken this past year off. i mean, i've been paying student loans since december and i'm finally able to defer them this month. (aka: i've been paying out hundreds of dollars that i should ideally be saving for school.) i guess no one ever told me that i'd lose my MN-WI reciprocity so i took a look at my tuition bill tonight and noticed that i was charged the out-of-state tuition. and then i nearly collapsed on the floor at my total bill for the semester. i've gotta go in and talk to the peeps tomorrow morning before work.

if you haven't checked it out already, i started a new facebook album of all the stuff i've made around the house so far. let me know what you think.

i read fast food nation a couple of summers ago. the facts were interesting and it was a decent enough read. i guess i never really eat enough fast food to actually care about the material the author discussed. and then i was on the apple trailer website and i noticed that they made a Fast Food Nation movie. and i think it's supposed to be a fictional plot that somehow covers all of the same material the book covered which was more of like a personal memoir/non-fiction work. that, and avril lavigne is in this movie too. this thing already has the meat cleaver at the ready. box office bust, i can tell.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/fastfoodnation/trailer/

(i'm too lazy to hyperlink it.)

i've come to a conclusion that interviews are the god damned devil. not only is it stressful enough to meet with a total strange and discuss ridiculous questions, but afterwards i get the little mini-throw up feeling once i realize that i might not be as good as the competition. anna and i discussed this yesterday: "why did we go to a state school for graphic design?" we both agreed that any private art school would better prepare us for our careers in graphic design. i think i might digitally alter my diploma after i graduate and replace "University of Minnesota" with some prestigious art school.

honestly, when i look at some peoples' work online i at first am amazed (at their skills), jealous (of the fact that they're a million times better than me), and then lastly vindictive (because one day i might give them a run for their design money). in an industry that's so subjective, you've really just gotta find your niche. or have good connections. no matter what field you're in, connections are key. hell, they're so important, the word should probably be capitalized.

Connections.

yeah, that's better.

i must say that the past couple interviews have been rather helpful at least. if anything, i'm getting lots of experience and i have a whole bank of mental answers ready for the repetitive questions they all ask me. and i'm hardly nervous anymore! it's a great feeling.

and just to reinforce the importance of the concept...Connections.

i had my second interview for a job this afternoon. when i spoke to the guy on monday he told me that i should plan on being there from 3-4. i got there a little before 3, waiting while the manager solved a minor catastrophe and then he grilled me for all of ten minutes. ten minutes. a sixth of the expected duration. i have class in the morning, leaving me mostly available to work afternoons and nights and weekends. they want someone for the morning. he told me i was contending for one of two spots with 25 applicants gunning for the spots. part of me was thankful to know my chances, but when those chances are miniscule i tend to lose all hope. oh well, even if i don't get it, i'll probably shop at that location cuz the people there are awesome.

my graphic design job's interview is tomorrow. if it weren't for the fact that appearance does actually count, i would probably buzz my hair off tonight. if i can get my hands on one i think i might just do it. why is it still august? where the fuck is october? october=the greatest month of the year. hands down. well, in close contention with late september and may...and most other months...except november thru february.

we're still not moved in. will we ever be completely settled? probably not. but pictures from last week anyway...

while coming back from my lunch break at work today, i ran into some design friends and we ended up talking for a while. while i was gone one of the two ended up getting engaged (isn't everyone these days?). both are getting ready to graduate in may and i'm just thankful that i have two whole years left before i graduate. honestly, i'm scared to graduate. getting a real job scares me. and even though i didn't really enjoy my internship in berlin, it was a good experience. it really helped me figure out what i do and do not want to do for a future career. gah, career. that word alone is daunting to me.

with the uptown art fair this past weekend, i've been thinking about just setting up my own business and becoming an artist...of some kind. if i ever had money to get off the group, i wouldn't mind trying to sell prints of my photography. i just don't have the money for frames right now. and after making my desk, the idea of furniture design sounds kind of tempting. i know making stupid desks out of old doors wouldn't make me enough money to live off of. but it would be cool to own my own shop selling my own things and making a profit off of it.

which brings me back to meeting up with aforementioned design friends. we talked about internships and life after college and i mentioned how i wanted to try my luck out east and get a job with a publishing house. i've been keeping new york in the back of my head for months now and i think when the time comes, i'm going to apply for it. ten weeks in new york would be great. i could get my feet wet in the publishing business and summer in nyc would be amazing.

...and i continue to look for a second job in mpls. never-ending, uphill battle.

the Killers second album comes out on October 3. mark your calendar, molly!

i think in the end this "free" door is going to cost me about $80. and it took about 10 hours. but it was worth it. i'm pretty sure you don't know anyone else who has a desk made out of an old door.

(this is also my 100th entry. hooray. :-\)

thank you, alex.

i met up with liz (liz from berlin, liz) tonight with some mutual graphic design friends/acquaintences for dinner and a slideshow. it was nice catching up with people and hearing news about other people. i guess you could just call it gossip. a couple people are now engaged. a couple people are now single. i feel like i'm disconnected from the rest of the graphic design kids. i guess i've been hit with a double whammy. after looking at liz's pictures, i realized that there was so much she had done after i left that i missed out on. and at the same time, i missed out on so much back in minnesota while i took the year off.

now i kind of feel like a lone soul floating around in a vast pool of social disparity. this past year has been a trip; literally and figuratively. i am grateful that i was able to go to so many different places, yet i really can't relate to anyone cuz a majority of the people haven't been to places in eastern europe. what's with everyone hitting up england and france? and i've grown up. i know i have. i think i have a lot more on my plate, at least financially, than most people my age do. and i'm proud of the fact that i'm pulling this all off.

i talked to beth tonight, who, like liz, just got back from germany recently. we talked on the phone for a good half hour and caught up and laughed. i haven't spoken to her on the phone/in person since january when we spent my birthday weekend in prague. isn't it funny how unforgettable some peoples' voices are? i remember beth's vividly for some reason. all summer i've been catching up with old friends, and even though we haven't seen each other for close to a year, i love how easy it is to catch up and get back into the groove.

i've been to the hardware store three times in the past 24 hours. i recognize the sales people; i'm pretty sure the recognize me as well. the last time i went there i went in my little crafting clothes and i felt so cool. like a little weekend warrior of sorts. the door/desk is coming along slowly, but swimmingly. i'm hoping to wake up early on sunday and get the thing painted and inside on its legs.

work tomorrow. work saturday. basically work sunday. work monday, tuesday, wednesday, friday. and then it's basically time for school again. man...