i really haven't written anything on here since school started. i've been way too busy.

what's new: i quit both of my jobs on campus to take an internship at a design firm downtown. it's nice to be downtown.

picture of my desk. i have a desk: (my apologies, i took this picture with my cell phone)

mid-august has cleverly disguised itself as october this weekend.

temperatures barely above 60 and day-long rain lent themselves perfectly to sweater shopping. two sweaters (one of which is argyle(!)) and josé gonzález have mentally prepared me for school, fall, and a really busy upcoming semester.

i found out a friend of mine is accepting a job in new york and is moving away in a week. i forget that we're adults now.

i'm living a life i never envisioned for myself.

listening to the beautiful guitar of josé gonzalez on a sunday night with the cool breeze blowing through the sun room window is almost like drinking a cold glass of lemonade. this has been a ridiculously good and bad weekend.

i've come to grips with the fact that i am an independent person. years ago i would rely on people if i ever wanted to do anything. now that i'm older i'm not so apprehensive. it feels good to just wake up and go somewhere without feeling lonely. i guess that can be said about my life in general. i don't feel lonely anymore.

since people have been graduating in the last couple of weeks, i've really started thinking about life after college. granted, it may be a year and a half away, but it's something that is now constantly in the back of my mind. i went home a couple weeks ago and my parents asked me what i am planning to do after school. honestly, i have no idea. on tuesday i have an informational interview at a design firm in edina. it will be my first, and hopefully one of several. ideally i would love to stay in minneapolis and work at a firm in town. denver, chicago, san francisco and boston are all possibilities as well. i'm interested to see where i'll end and what i'll be doing.

i can honestly say that i have never been more excited for the future.

with the end of the academic year nearly a week behind me, an old job done and over, and the beginnings of a new job sitting right in front of me, i feel like now is sufficiently exciting enough to write. about something. anything.

never before have i ever worked so hard, academically, in my life. my creativity and my patience were pushed to the breaking point by the end of the semester. finally, after months of solitude i came out of my shell and befriended a bunch of new people i had passed off all last semester. it's great to be able to go to class again and look forward to seeing familiar faces; people you enjoy spending time with. lots of revision, several hundred dollars later, a much-improved knowledge of power tools, and several great portfolio pieces later...i feel like i'm well on my way to going where i want and doing what i want to do.

all that dedication has made me a stronger person. there were many weekends where i didn't do anything but homework. ever since germany i have prided myself on being a self-sufficient person. to see people, couples, who depend so greatly on each other is almost a turn off. it's hard to know people like that and continue to be friends with them. when you have no common interests with each other, is there a point to continuing that friendship? why keep a dysfunctional friendship, now based on a bedrock of misunderstanding and disrespect, going? there comes a time when you have to let people go.

i quit my job this week. although it was a decent job with ok pay, i feel like i made the right choice by accepting this new position. i was sincerely hoping that i could land a design internship for the summer, but i know this experience will be beneficial to my career. i'm excited to observe and learn and contribute.

i talked to my mom the other week and i just told her that i got my new job. she mentioned how she was really proud of me and said that it was finally that time in my life that i have experience and skills that make me a really desirable candidate. i owe a lot to my parents and my friends. thank you.

while sitting at work today, i perused my usual websites (almost all of which are related to Apple Inc.) and noticed that they have a new ad. i thoroughly enjoy it. for your pleasure:

http://movies.apple.com/movies/us/apple/getamac/apple-getamac-security_480x376.mov

i've also come to realize that i just don't have the time to blog anymore. so i'm taking a break. i would shut down this site, but i like it too much to do so. so in the meantime, it will stay dormant. perhaps someday something will respark my desire to blog.

until then,
-michael

so i'm taking a package design class this semester. it's interesting to finally think of graphic design in three dimensions. i'm not going to lie, it's harder, but really rewarding. for our first assignment we had to package the Elements (earth, fire, air and water). most of the people in my classes suck these days, and i'm anxious to totally blow past everyone when we present our projects tomorrow.

enjoy.