weekend: enjoying

Hello Stash,

Hope you're having a good time in Stockholm. I am happily puttering around the apartment after yesterday's fun but long outing to Roosevelt Island/Long Island City/Astoria. I love showing people around the city, as long as they're good sports. A couple of people who were thinking about coming actually spent the gorgeous day at school working on weaving! Priorities, people. But whatevah, I know my priorities are not necessarily the same as others' priorities. At least that's what I tell myself. :)

Various points of information I should convey to you:

- I deposited a check for $2k (#129) from the eTrade money market account. I'm hoping it will last me through June, with possible supplements from b-day gifts. Filing our taxes sooner means getting the refund check sooner, but at this rate, I may not get around to it until after graduation. May is looking busy -- pleasantly busy!

- I received your classmate R's package, as well as your Amazon.com book order.

- Ever heard of Behance? http://www.behance.net
It's a creative network/portfolio site. It looks like a really cool way to showcase work. My friend J is friends with the founders. They are very well-connected! My page I'm going to J's house for dinner Tuesday night after my afternoon with Lotta. I need to return her lightbox and she's making her delicious Moroccan chicken. Mmm...

- Speaking of eats, your classmates probably have lots of ideas for where to eat, but a reminder that the blog on the Kiosk site has a nice list of cheap eats in Stockholm. I emailed the list to you, too.

much love from your,
Girl

enjoy the weekend

Hey Girl,

I had a slow spring day. The sun was out all day, and it feels really nice – probably a bit cooler version of the nice spring days you're having there. People seem happier.

I'm about to leave for the airport to go to Stockholm. I'll call you tonight once I'm there. I love you and I miss you! Think if you need something from there. and let me know when we talk.

Lots of kisses,
-stash

two weeks exactly!

Hello Stash,

It was good to see you on Skype this afternoon. I didn't get much else done during class, but I did write some nice long emails. In two weeks exactly, you will be here! I can't wait to have you physically near me. Two months is too long to go without kisses.

I added a new set to my Flickr. Yesterday, our textile sciences class took a mini field trip down to the basement to see the industrial knitting machines! You would have loved all the old equipment from the '60s.

Check out this amusing sign in the stairwell of our building. Its language is rather, er, forceful. I'm surprised it got approved!


Have a great trip to Stockholm. I hope to report good progress in cleaning up the apartment.

much love,
Your Girl

two weeks

Hey Girl,

I miss you a lot too. I really look forward to being beside you and holding you. Nice weather will be a bonus.

I'm glad you've been productive. The pigeon prints look really awesome. I love your color choices and the pieces work so nice as a series. The chicken feet pattern is brilliant.

Today I presented the invitation card design to the Degree Show committee and it went well. I have to finish it tomorrow morning and then send it out to get printed. Then there's a stack of work more after that. I'll have to figure out how to balance it with my schoolwork.

A contract for the internship should come this week. I sent a confirmation email ratifying my interest, so I hope things keep moving forward. I also want to be 100% sure about the sublet, so that opportunity doesn't disappear. I also sent an email to the contact at school about helping me get housing for next year, but no answer yet. I'll have to corner her at school to remind her of my situation and get some help.

I look forward to hearing about your experience at Lotta tonight.

I love you and I'll be there soon!
-stash

missing you

Hello, my Stash,

I am about to go to bed so I don't use up all the extra sleep I banked this weekend. I've been busy, but productive. Yesterday I went to a talk at Kiteya, the nice Japanese store in Soho, about haura -- the ornate linings of traditional Japanese jackets. Then I took my laptop to a Starbucks to work on my pigeon drawings in Illustrator. You can check out the collection at my portfolio site. (I took your advice about reducing the contrast with the grey pigeon.)

Then J called and said she was available for dinner, as her son and husband were out of town. She must be a witch or something, because suddenly I found myself making *spontaneous* plans to have dinner at a *vegetarian* restaurant in East Village! There was a walnut-lentil paté that was quite tasty, and J treated me, which was nice.

We have to turn in paper copies of our Illustrator designs, so when you called today, I was in the computer lab printing them out on nice textured paper. It's amazing how much nicer a simple inkjet print is when it's on heavy, watercolor-type paper. People were asking if they were painted when I displayed similar printouts at the trade show!

Today was cool, but it's going to warm up again. I miss you a lot. So much it aches sometimes. I think it's the warming weather that's heightening it. It makes me think about how much you'd enjoy it, and it makes me think of those days last summer when we would take long (to me!) walks to Battery Park City and up the west side. Hopefully the weather will be nice when you're here, so we can be outside. (Though holing up with you in a museum or in bed sounds mighty nice, too!) I can't wait to see you.

Tuesday will be busy, too. I'm going to Lotta's in the afternoon, and then it's back to the city for an appointment at 6:30pm. I won't be on Skype but will be available by phone around 11pm-midnight your time. I'll give you a call when I leave Lotta's.

I hope your degree show presentation goes well!

love,
Girl

spring is here

Hey Girl,

Sorry for the pause in posting. This weekend I can slow down a bit. It was nice to walk around yesterday and enjoy the sun, even if it's still a bit cold. The sun makes me happy. Today the sun is bright again, so I think I'll head out soon for a walk in another direction. I have to do the degree show stuff tonight, so I'll be back to do that and catch you online.

My shoes are taking a beating. A tip for next year is to bring different types of footwear. With the snow having mostly melted away, the walking paths are covered in the dirt they use here to absorb/melt snow and reduce slipping. It's really gritty, gets inside your shoes, and when a car or a disabled-person-mover passes by it leaves a cloud of dust.

The party yesterday didn't happen. Or it did, but we didn't make it since it ended at 11. Pretty lame. I just hung out with a few classmates.

Have fun on your SoHo outing! I'll be online a bit later to talk to you and see you.

Missing you,
-stash

Stockholm-Munich on Asia Miles

Hey, Stash! Some good news. We have enough Asia Miles for a roundtrip ticket Stockholm-Munich on British Airways! When we know our dates, let me know, and I can request the tickets.

love,
Girl

views from the city

Hello, my sweet Stash,

I look forward to seeing you on Skype Friday. It's been a busy week for us, with school projects and the trade show and little things like figuring out where we're going to be in the summer! I'm very excited about our upcoming plans -- seeing you in 3 weeks, Munich in the summer, Sweden in the fall. We always talked about living in Europe, and now we're going to do it! Hoorah for us!

I was asleep by 9pm last night, so I woke up at 6am and caught the sunrise. A very rare sight for me, especially when not waking up early to catch a flight! It was very pretty.


And here are shots of that weird morning when it was so foggy it looked like someone had dropped dry ice into the East River:



In 3 short weeks you'll get to see this view for yourself! See you soon on Skype.

love,
your (favorite) girl

p.s. Kinda funny site that covers men's fashion: Magnificent Bastard

quick hello

Hey Stash,

Lots happening on your end! You have been most productive. I am about to go to bed. Yes! I will enjoy that a lot. I have been so sleep-deprived that I've started talking aloud to Nesty. "Nesty, I think I'm going to run out of time. What do you think, Nesty?"

3 weeks! I am so excited and full of anticipation. I look forward to getting the trade show done so I can fully enjoy the anticipation. The show isn't heavily trafficked, but I'm getting good feedback. People are especially enjoying the textured fabric experiments and the dioramas I made out of the Abercrombie&Fitch underwear boxes.

Talk to you soon, with love,
Your (Best) Girl

p.s. Can you confirm your Umea-Stockholm flight on the SAS website? There's a "Find Booking" link and you just need your confirmation code.

swinging by

Hi Girl,

I hope the event is going well. You'll be relieved soon and happy that you took part in it. I look forward to hearing all about it and seeing pictures.

Today I presented the degree show poster to the teachers who are supposedly in charge. It went relatively well. I also attended a meeting with the Head of the school and another high-up administrative lady. There hasn't been much progress in their search for a new Programme Leader for IxD we learned. It's likely we won't have one even next year, even. It's a pity.

Luckily, there's a lot of good stuff happening at our school lately to balance that out. Yesterday, a UK design recruiting firm gave a presentation, and today many of us did quick-fire portfolio reviews (15mins). It was kind of fun. The guy who interviewed me asked me to come in for a second mini interview during an open slot. I told him I'm most likely booked for the summer, but if that fails I think there's a chance he can hook me up somewhere in London. It'll be good to keep in touch – their firm works with places I'd like to find out more about and were in my list of places to approach. I also got a bit of information about getting hired in the UK. It seems a lot less difficult than the US, but still takes 2-3 months to clear. He seemed confident that the companies he works with can make it happen. It's good to hear.

We had a lecture today by a Danish strategic design consultant who has worked in NY, SF and Hong Kong. A really sharp guy. Then tomorrow someone from Sony-Ericsson gives a talk and does portfolio reviews.

Tomorrow will also be a busy workday. My team for the current ethongraphy project is totally slack and we have to catch up for a review on Thursday. I think I will have to stay late.

What's greatest is that I'm coming to New York to see you in 3 weeks! I think the Umeå-Stockholm ticket purchase went through, but I need to make sure.

I'll call you before bed.

I love you!
-stash

run away, run away!

Hello Stash,

Sounds like you had a busy week, indeed. Glad there's some progress on the degree project front. I know what you mean about feeling compelled to step forward because no one else will. There are a few in my class who will speak up, but I'm getting pretty tired of playing advocate for us. It seems like the department really isn't willing to address the flaws in the program or this derelict professor, so I have to decide after the trade show if I have the energy to escalate this.

I'm happy it's the weekend, too! After near panic about prepping for the show, I think we've all concluded that there's only so much we can do for it. I'm going to work on things for it today, of course, but won't stress too much. I'm really pleased with the funny fabric shapes I made for the museum show and want to continue working on those. Maybe I can get a grant to study those techniques in Japan some day, eh? :)

I know you're sick of the snow and cold, but May is coming up, and soon you'll have those endless days of spring/summer. And we'll be together! Try to stay on the positive side; I really think it helps. When class was canceled on Thursday, some classmates went to the park for lunch, but it included the anxiety girl, so I opted to go to Koreatown instead. I just couldn't take anymore negativity.

If you want to get away, why not schedule a trip to larger city after you're done with the current project, or just on a coming weekend? That was the plan for this semester, right, to arrange some trips? Anyway, I'm sure you'll figure it out. I am freshly showered and pondering what to eat. I'll probably step out to get some food. Hope to see you on Skype when I get back.

much love,
Girl

new kinds of weirdness

It's past 8pm, there's light outside and snow covers the ground. Strange when the amount of light makes you feel like it's summer, but it's still freezing outside.

Of course I'll help you with your submission to the gift wrap contest. And other things too. We'll also make our summer fun whatever the circumstances. We just need to think hard about what makes sense once I know my real options.

Today was busy. I spent the morning working on the degree show poster. It feels like it's going somewhere now. This whole degree show thing is going to be tough. I've also been appointed to talk to the head of the school (along with a couple others) about the absence of a leader. It felt like I had to volunteer because no-one else would. To let out one more complaint, I ended up doing most of the work for our team's assignment today. I don't like so much responsibility. Ok, I'm done – thanks for listening. :)

I'm happy that it's the weekend. I know you're going to be busy preparing for the show, but we should find a time to skype, and for you to take a break. Good luck with all that preparation. I'm proud of you for going through with it.

There's a get-together tonight to celebrate M's birthday (the finn). I'll go, but probably won't hang for long – I don't feel like drinking so much. I'll get on skype when I'm back.

Love,
-stash

I'll show those bitches!

Hello Stash,

Again, good job with the interview today. Like I said, we will make any place exciting. Time Out's intro to Munich sounds like it has possibilities. Though of course, NYC is always a good option.

Thanks for letting me know about the giftwrap contest. It does sound right up my alley, though I may need your help for getting the submission together. Did you see the Speachless project they're doing as well -- your school could get involved.

In any case, all this is after the trade show for me. I'm looking forward to the show but also looking forward to getting my life back. Thanks again for talking me down yesterday. It was an upsetting experience, but overall, I'm encouraged by how quickly I bounced back. By the time I met with my therapist, I could articulate why I thought the professor was wrong and why I was rejecting what she said. It's funny that you asked if I was considering not doing the show, because that was never really an option -- perhaps a sign of how far I've come! Kind of amusing in a sad way, that whole situation, like wanting to be an actor and having your guidance counselor recommend that you work at a video store instead.

I love you very much, my Stash! I look forward to seeing you again, on whichever continent it may be!

Your Girl

p.s. Did you see that Flickr now allows video?

you are a secret stasher

Hi Girl,

You have the funny schemes. I like them (except maybe the really evil ones).

Sorry the painting isn't working out how you'd like it to. I think 1st to 3rd grader styles are nice. If you continue moving up, make sure not to get stuck in one of the middle grades where the cuteness is lost.

I had a boring day. I did my laundry this afternoon feeling a bit hungover. The 80's party at school was nice, but required drinking to enjoy. A lot of people showed up, and the swedes of course had their costume game on (they love dressing up). Some others did too.

Tomorrow I will go to school to learn about ethnography. I also have to work on the degree show thing, which I hope to get more excited about.

I hope your craft fair outing was fun. You can tell me about it when we talk. I hope I can catch you tonight.

Love you!
-stash

painting skillz. i don't has them.

Hello, my Stash (m'stache, my stash, get it?),

I finished eating dinner at 1am. I spent *9* hours at school today! 2-11pm. Yikes. I got a fair amount done, though of course, not nearly as much as I'd thought. Amy did say that she usually stays at school until 11pm Monday-Thursday -- wow!

Today's project just reminds me that painting is so not my thing. We were supposed to use various techniques to get "authentic"-looking textures, and I enjoyed figuring that part out. I used wallpaper samples from SCRAP as a stamp, to give the painting an underlying texture. But man, the actual painting. Egregiously bad, I think. Looks like a third grader did it. But that means I'm improving, since I usually think my drawings look like a first grader did them. :)

I think my niche is in finding interesting uses for things, don't you? I had a roll of Glad Press & Seal plastic wrap with me, and got such pleasure in using it to: 1. Create a baggie for a classmate's supplies, 2. Seal off another classmate's tray of leftover paint, and 3. Mask off areas of my design that I needed to paint around. Love it.

I also get great pleasure in stashing away art supplies so I don't have to cart them back and forth from my locker. For instance, in the classroom I'm in for 3 classes, I keep an extra ruler taped under my desk. Tonight I stuck some tracing paper in an unused drawer, and commandeered an empty drawer (usually reserved for teachers) for my own use. My goal is to have hidden supplies everywhere, the way spies in the movies always have a stash of weapons hidden in their homes under the counter, behind photos, etc. (Noticed how I used your name twice in one paragraph.) Perhaps scheming is my niche.

It was good to be able to see you briefly and to show you my freshly scrubbed face. This facial lady isn't as great as Ming from Faces NYC, but who is? She did do a very nice face massage with oils, while tsk tsking about how long it's been since I had a facial. I hope you had a good time getting your '80s on. I think I'm headed into Brooklyn tomorrow to check out the giant craft fair, but I will try to catch you online.

much love,
Your Girl

videoing

Hey Girl,

I was so tired last night, even if it wasn't a particularly tough day. I was at school early for some training on how to use the video cameras. We'll be using them during ethnography in the current project.

Tonight there's a dinner to celebrate a classmate's birthday. R, the Canadian guy, turns 30. Then tomorrow there's a school party with an 80's theme. After all this, and much more importantly, we have a busy school week coming up after the weekend. We're also starting the degree show stuff, which is going to take a chunk of my time. As is to be expected, the budgets are low and the organization non-existent.

I'm missing you. I've decided to stop worrying so much about finalizing summer plans. I think it was becoming too overwhelming (maybe it's why I'm feeling tired). My new approach is to just wait to see if anything happens with my attempts so far. If nothing happens by the end of the month, then ny is not a bad prospect – stressing a bit less, taking care of the move, and more importantly, hanging out with you.

I hope you enjoy your off day. I hope I can catch you on skype tonight.

Love,
-Stash

rested and watching Top Chef

Hello Stash,

I did wind up cutting my afternoon class -- well, at least leaving right after the quiz. I think I only got an 80% on the quiz. Poo. :) Then I came home and napped for 3 hours. Hurrah!

Congratulations again on winning the contest for the degree show! Mad skillz. My husband has them! Eeeee! What's the next step?

Now I'm working on my design for screenprinting tomorrow. It's a coordinate for the first design. If you'll recall (and you will, because Stash has excellent memory), the first was takeout containers, boba drinks and sushi rolls in 3 colors. The example is on the website that shares my name (look at me being all cryptic). The coordinate is only one color and simpler by definition. I'm doing a polka dot using those slightly off circles that you made for the boba balls.

Then I'm working on another layout for wrapping paper. Putting things into repeat is so confusing. It doesn't help that today the Illustrator professor noted that Photoshop and Illustrator aren't the best ways to put things into repeat, that there are specialized software programs for it. Er, great, but that's not what we're learning!

Anyway, I am trying to stay focused and keep my priorities for the next week in mind: getting taxes done, developing conceptual pieces for the show, figuring out how to present myself. Maybe putting together that "turn off the tap" display. And looooving you!

I hope you had a good night's sleep. Have a good Thursday, and I will speak with you on the telephone!

much love,
Girl

p.s. The blog for Kiosk has a post about cheap eats in Stockholm. I doubt I'll make it to the AIGA talk; it's probably sold out and the next few weeks are going to be jampacked for me. I wonder where they're going next (current place is Hong Kong). Perhaps a venue for showing my photos?

p.p.s. And we are both lovely. And not foolers.

the day for the foolers

Hi Girl,

I am not much of a fooler. Truth, I has it.

I hope you had a productive work session at school yesterday evening. I'm getting ready for school, which I am looking forward to today. Luckily, I got an email from one of the Philips people in the email chain asking to postpone my phone conversation with them until next week. Hopefully the person arranging it gets it.

You can check out the Interactive Institute and the project that was presented to us yesterday: Static! The project we'll be working on is Switch!

What they do at the Institute seems quite interesting. The work with textiles they have been doing lately (a separate project) is in collaboration with the Swedish School of Textiles at the University College of Borås, which is near Gothenburg, if I'm not mistaken.

I need to get going soon. It's very foggy so I might take the bus. Have a good day – I will call tonight.

Love you!
-stash