Tag Archives: maiki

my ten things

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I found this great word press site called 10 Things and it inspired me this spring break to be reflective and remind myself how damn fortunate and happy I am!
Saturday 3.15.08
one- maiki. _
two- girl scout cookies! yay for samoas!
three- gadgets: computers, cameras, blackberry oh my
four- fresh baked bread. lately I have been buying bread from the Bread Workshop on University Ave.
five- sleeping in. My bed is so comfortable.
six- big puffy clouds in the sky
seven- good beverages from Trader Joe’s. I got Apricot Wheat Beer and a bottle of Cabernet.
eight- housemates & friends with me here at Cloud Ninth makes it feel like home.
nine- my health is good. My tummy is not always happy with me but lately I have been feeling great!
ten- books. I have so many books lined up to read this week including the Little Prince and a dozen new manga.

So much, so quickly!

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What I have been doing as of late:
• Lots of homework. In all classes. Sometimes doing it over and over again. Currently designing comps for two different websites.
• Learning crazy techniques in Printmaking. First relief printing where I cut into linoleum. Second metal plate etching that develops in acid.
• Learning to draw the human form with the help of nude models in Sketching.
• Playing Magic: the Gathering. Not very much I am afraid but I did participate in a Kamigawa tournament last weekend here at Cloud 9th.
• Hanging out with lots of friends. Have had many visitors and house guests and it has been awesomely fun.
• Riding my new bike. It has not been raining this week so I have been able to enjoy it. The seat stays wet but other than that it works great.
• Trying not to get sick! I slept like thirteen hours last night. I guess that I really needed to rest. maiki made sure that I drank some Emergen-C.
• Registered for Fall classes. Crazy I know, it seems so far in the future. I am signed up for Screenprinting, Book Arts, Digital Imaging and Digital Arts.
• Eating lots of good fruit. I went to the Berkeley Bowl market where they have the largest produce department that I have ever seen. It is like an inside farmers market. Yay for cheap, delicious organic fruit! _

Last week before school starts

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My Spring semester begins on Monday and I am so excited. My winter break has consisted of sleeping in, bike riding and adventuring. It has been great fun but I am ready to get back into it. This past week I have been doing some volunteer work for SVBC and it just occured to me that I should have started doing this months ago. I enjoy it; it keeps me busy and gives me a purpose. My mind is already drifting to places that I could work/intern during the summer to further develop my skills.

Spring for me will consist of four classes, four days a week, in three separate buildings around San Francisco. I am enrolled in Sketching for Communication, Printmaking, Motion Graphics, and Interactive Design. Two are first semester courses and two are second semester so I will be able to meet new people as well as see my friends again. I am really looking forward to my new schedule and hope that it will keep me both busy and inspired.

Last week maiki got a new lappy—a MacBook Pro—so his old 12in Powerbook is now mine. I named it Ichigo and it’s already kawaii with stickers. Also I picked up a new backpack for it and it is definitely the most comfortable that I have ever worn. I am so jazzed. I am really enjoying taking it out and going to cafes around Berkeley. Also in the last month I got a new cell phone. I have had my old Nokia phone for years and I was finally ready for an upgrade. My new one is a Blackberry Pearl and it is totally cool. It took a while to decide on a which service and which phone would be a good fit and so far this is working out well. I now have my personal e-mail sent to my phone plus my Blackberry mail. I still have the short messaging capabilities (like Twitter) and Blackberry’s phone to phone chatting. It’s fun and I feel so very techy. I also can access the internets and having Google maps has already proved to be pretty handy. Now while I am away at school I will be armed with all the gadgets that I could possibly need.

reflections on my holiday trip

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We went to Oceanside and L.A. for the the holidays again this year but spent a much shorter time away from home which was lovely. We also chose to drive rather than fly because LAX is hectic and road trips are infinitely more fun than waiting in line. Overall it was really fun and maiki is an awesome traveling companion.

First we stayed with Alaina and Victoria and that was really cool. I enjoyed taking lots of pictures of the ferrets. They are so funny to watch. Next we visited my family and that was hectic but enjoyable. I only wanted to stay a few days with my family this trip because the holidays are particularly intense, and I much prefer to spend time with them one-on-one rather than the large group all at once like at Christmas time. It seemed quick but I could not have lasted another day away from my Berkeley home.

The day after Christmas we went to Little Tokyo before the drive home and went to the Japanese American National Museum to see the Giant Robot exhibit. I loved it and was surprised that I actually knew of all the artists that were being presented. maiki and I did some shopping and I got to eat lots of melon pan—which is one of my most favorite treats.

When we returned to Berkeley I was so filled with happiness to be home. I was back with those that I feel understand me the most. It is where I can be comfortable with friends, or not, and there is no expectation. It is also a place that has clean air and organic food and that is a beautiful thing.

Creative Commons celebrates 5 years *_*

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maiki and I went to the city and attended the CC birthday party where we hung out with Lawrence Lessig and Joi Ito. It was awesome. I donated some monies and received a cool Moleskine journal with CC and Mozilla imprinted on it. Also they gave me a Zagat restaurant guide for San Francisco. We took a lot of photographs with the new Lomo and cannot wait to get them developed. It was a fun party and Lawrence Lessig gave an awesome talk as usual. He shared info about a couple of new forms of CC licensing and updated the crowd on their new funding and worldwide support of CC. And they had awesome chocolate cake. Maybe the best I have ever eaten. I always meet new and interesting people at CC events and tonight talked to a cool guy about free culture site which I shall start reading up on after I get some sleep. maiki was so excited that he got to talk to so many accessible and friendly guys like Lawrence, Joi, and Jimmy Wales. He was geeking out. I was just glad to be there. Now I am going to upload my digital photos from the event and listen to the new DJ Spooky CD’s they were giving out at the party. Whee!