Beautiful things of today

I'm finding posting quite difficult at the moment - nothing is springing to mind - so bare with me

1. Dad's birthday, and his excitement at finding mum has bought him a kinetic watch, we sit on his bed and listen to the rattle of the internal parts with wonder

2. Dad reading the first 2 chapters of my dissertation, and it only coming back to me with a handful of errors.

3. The impending excitement of the Glastonbury ticket scrum...watch out for a very angry/upset/disappointed Ellie if I'm not successful!

Spacious, waste, and research

1. Moving the furniture around my room, by just moving 2 pieces, the whole room seems to open up

2. Finally getting rid of the computer equipment!

3. Reading all my research papers for my dissertation in a morning - that doesn't mean I've done anything about it yet tho...

Levitation, Sunny haze, and Cooking

1. Seeing a light plastic bag float down the road, about 6 ft off the ground, it looks like it's levitating

2. The beautiful weather, if only for one day

3. Not having to do the cooking :D

The last few (uneventful) days

Apologies for the lack of posting, I have been relaxing after the end of term, sleeping in, and generally being a slacker!

I went out with Nikki on Friday for a few drinks but we were both shattered and back in bed by 11pm and I only managed to stay out til midnight on Sunday due to the clocks going forward, although it was nice to sit in the pub with the guys and drink cider. On Saturday I went round to Tegans for a cup of tea at 1pm, Julia joined us and eventually we gave up on the idea of moving, so went to get a DVD and I left Tegan's at midnight - it was great to spend a whole day with the girls for a change, especially as I'm now away for a month.

I'm now at home and have unpacked all my stuff, I didn't bring home much, but what I have seems to fill the room completely...it might have something to do with the fact that Mum has been using my room as a dumping ground for all her old computer parts - so far there are 3 monitors, a keyboard, 2 printers, a scanner, and a CPU...I feel like I'm living in a computer shop....something must be done about it.

Its also a lovely day today, and I'm going to go for a walk with the family later, it'll be nice to get out and about for a change, but then I must sit down to doing my dissertation. I have collected 9 interviews over the weekend, so it was productive in some terms, now I need to transcribe each one and possibly fiddle the answers a bit to give me stuff I can use...let's hope my dissertation tutor never reads this!!

Anyway I'll sign off for now, I expect I'll be blogging a lot over the next month as I get incredibly bored of working!

The end...for now

1. Getting 150 sections of MDF cut in a day

2. The last day of term - 4 weeks off to write my dissertation!

3. Going out for a few drinks with Nikki and having girlie chatting

Nervous, Confusion and Relaxation

1. The nervous excitement when I blow up a circuit, I burn my hand but the fireworks are pretty ;)

2. The confusion for Stu who won't come and get me for the Easter holidays, it turns out there have been crossed wires along the way

3. Realising that for the moment my workload is decreasing in the evenings so I can relax a bit more

Tasty, Shiny Newness and Ruination

1. Trying Oatbix and working out that they taste better dry accompanied by a mug of milk!

2. Finding a new blog I like, feminist and witty, its a rarity that I find something that interests me! (her writing style, not the pole dancing...!)

3. The hilarity of realising that the chewy bits in my bolognese is actually the paper backing from the minced beef that I accidentally forgot to peel off, so it got cooked into my meal...

Exhaustion and demoralisation

Sins to music have been committed tonight, I've been listening to the Moulin Rouge soundtrack :S
However I've been enjoying the very uplifting pop of it all, so that can't be a bad thing!

Life and work are slow at the moment, my files for the water jet cutter have all been corrupted and I'm starting again...for every 1 step forward, 5 steps back, but that's just the way I guess. I'm going to try to get some (highly boring) footage of the jet cutter in action - loads of steam and spraying of dirty water!

I have been making progress with my heating circuit tho, so things are all doom and gloom :)
This weekend I'll be doing my interviews and hopefully getting them transcribed quickly so I can go home.

I need to have a break, I realised I've been working straight since Christmas Day, with only 1 day off for my birthday. I'm tired, I ache and I need a reality check, to get out of the vacuum and get some perspective. Home seems like a very good idea.

I've also decided to experiment with tagging - I'll see what happens to my traffic counts to see whether it'll be worth bothering with!

Trouble

Today has been a bad day in some respects, the linework I have spent so long trying to complete had over 6000 errors when it was opened in the cutting programme, which means I have to start again, however I only have until 5pm tomorrow to get it sorted or I miss my slot...


3 BT
1. Seeing the council workers cutting the grass for the first time this year

2. The sense of tempting danger as I walk underneath the wind turbine which is spinning wildly and giving off a screaming sound

3. Getting a 1 week loan book from the library and finding that they've extended all loan periods until after the Easter holidays :)

Dodgy, Cracking, and Lessons

1. Being in the panoramic photo of the department twice - it involved carefully dodging behind the scrolling camera :D

2. Writing 1500 words of my dissertation in an evening

3. Learning that 10 heads are quicker than 1



**PS, I've changed the time logging for you Stu....**

Degree Show 2007

So the Industrial Design Degree Show 2007 is coming up and I will be exhibiting...so I thought I'd do at least one post about it....!

It will be on Saturday 16 June - Tuesday 19 June 10.00am-5.00pm in Holywell Park, Loughborough and you will soon (if not already) be able to see the proper website here...just waiting for Rob to make the site "go live"

You're all more than welcome to come and see me standing next to a display of my last 4 years worth of work....(don't hold your breath on it being any good ;)

3 Beautiful Things

Wednesday

1. Nikki taking me on an emergency trip to the computer shop at 9am

2. Kate bouncing round the house because its her birthday

3. Tom letting me go round his to work as I am sans computer

Thursday

1. The computer man calling me to tell me he's already fixed my computer in record time

2. Tony (Head of Department) putting up with my over excited face being pressed up against the glass door of the water jet cutter, all day.

3. The realisation I can get round CNC coding if I do a layered model cut on the water jet.

Friday

1. Tom helping me put together all the degree show booklet images, while Ben (supposed to be helping) plays with my phone. He makes a call in French and I get home to find a bundle of funny photos he took...

Hard at Work


Ben's "Bum"

2. Going to bed and hearing Kate giggling to Comic Relief

3. The suspense of a good old soap opera Neighbours, it lets me forget my work pressures for just half an hour a day

Saturday

1. Going out to dinner with Kate, we go Australian, to Moomba and have a great evening of girlie chat

2. Finally seeing Hot Fuzz even if it's a pirated copy - its hilarious in a darkly understated way, none of this American slapstick style you get in their so-called "comedy" movies. How terribly British

3. Miss Pickering agreeing to teach me the rules of rugby so the guys have no excuse when I want to go to the pub with them!

Sunday

1. Kate giving me a lift to the library so I don't have to walk in the hale for too long, when I come out its a bright day

2. Seeing Annie and Anila in town for coffee, we chat and its a nice way to catch up.

3. Finally getting my dissertation started, it's an uphill struggle but gives a sense of eased guilt that I'm not putting it off too much.

Global Leader

Have you ever thought of what you would do if you had one act as global leader (which of course I will be one day)...?

My 1 act was to ban incandescent light bulbs. In my view there is no reason for their use - energy saving bulbs are just as cheap nowadays and with something so simple, an individual can "do their bit" without even thinking about it, its not like they even have to change their lifestyle.

I'm all for helping the environment but I think to get more people on board the strategies for helping have to have zero impact on people's everyday lives - people don't like inconvenience.
It is also one of the many reasons I became a designer - if I can help people or the world out with my work, I will be happy, trying to get more efficient products and items that help people's life's become easier, and to ease suffering.

Well obviously my idea was a good one. So now I have to think of a new "1 act".

I have to say I'm pleased that something that I came to of my own conclusion has also been thought of and implemented.

I'll keep you posted on my next act as global leader...!

Lax

apologies if you've been coming here recently, expecting to find my usual stream of posts.

I've been a bit lax and to be honest it's just that I can't be bothered to post right now. I seem to be spending upwards of 16 hours a day in front of the computer at the moment - which is giving me the distinct need not to be on for any longer than is absolutely necessary. I'm sure this will change in the coming weeks, but I can't tell you how much I'm hating all this computer-ness!

In a bit of a project update, I'm cutting all my sections of MDF on the water jet cutter in the next week which is exciting - it does mean that I have to have all the vector linework sorted (hence the endless hours in front of the computer), however it will save me nearly hundreds of hours coming up - if I had to bandsaw out the parts (all 400) I could possibly be working forever and never finish!!!

Today and tomorrow are dissertation days - I haven't really started anything yet, so I need to crack on, I've promised myself I'll knock out 2-3000 words this weekend, but I reckon I'll never make that as I have to get back into the library and do some research. I've also promised my tutor that I'll do 5-10 structured interviews...sounds easy but I need to plan the questions and research how to do it!!...then find the people to chat to...

oh the fun....

Technical Difficulties

Similarly to the Blue Peter presenters, I have been having technical difficulties recently, although I haven't been involved in a premium rate phoneline scandal.

My computer did, however decide that enough was enough, and it was going on holiday to Devon...sorry, Heaven.

The little, rather helpful, man at the computer graveyard, has swapped out the old hard drive, and given it back all brand spanking new.
My computer did have a little surprise when the man opened him up...and a massive spider jumped out...hehehe

Anyway service has been resumed, with a younger, faster model :D

Achievements, Basking and Comfort

1. Getting 75% in my DesignWeek work, and breaking my "65" curse

2. Having lunch sitting on a wall with the sun on our backs

3. The satisfaction of sinking into a soft chair at the end of a long, long, tiring day, the body sighs as you sit down.

Fresh, Crisp and Seedy

1. Freshly cut mangos for breakfast - a lovely treat for a Monday morning

2. Clean sheets, all crisp and fresh smelling

3. Buying some herb seeds for the coming summer

More Beautiful Things that just can't wait

1. Seeing my first ladybird of the year, creeping slowly across the pavement

2. Seeing a father and son racing each other in a game of tag up the street until they get to their car

3. The smell of freshly cut grass

Friends, Departure and Concern

1. Spending time with Tegan, she cheers me up and pulls me out of the little cloud of depression I felt

2. Knowing its not too long now before I can leave uni and get away from some of the horrible, cringe-worthy memories that are here.

3. Kate ringing me from home to ask if I'm ok, she was worried I might be injured

Reparations, Refreshment and shocking hair

1. Good music at FND, and seeing an old ex, we apologise for each other's behaviour, have a hug and go our separate ways.

2. A shower at 2.30am, it washes away the nights smoke and I wake feeling fresh and clean, not smelly and horrible

3. The postwoman knocking on the door at 8.30, it makes me jump out of my deep slumber and we joke about how I looked so shocked when I eventually make it to the door before wishing each other a good day.

Mystics, Alone, Having a life

1. Finally getting somewhere with my electronics, to me it is a misty ethereal concept which i struggle to grasp, but the clouds seem to be parting, a little

2. Being home alone and able to listen to all me "guilty pleasure" music

3. Going out for the first time in ages tonight!

New toys

I was having trouble logging on yesterday, thankfully I've had more luck today.

After handing in my engineering drawings I have had the go-ahead to get on with making, I'm thinking I'll start next week as I've got a lot more to do before I start, including ordering materials!

I've been browsing around the Adobe website, and I'm doing the free trial of Photoshop Lightroom, a programme for photographers, and its simple amazing! You can edit masses of photos at once, in a specially dedicated programme - brilliant, and also very helpful as I'm doing the mugshots for the Degree Show booklet, approx 120 in total...

I've also downloaded Adobe InDesign, which is more to do with Publishing but it looks to be quite good, the only problem is that it's only a 30 day trial and I don't know if I'll get a chance to play with it!

I've also been self teaching myself Illustrator, plodding through the tutorials, and I have to say although I'm a little slow on the uptake, I'm starting to understand why people love it so much, its very versatile and much easier to use than most vector graphics software, which does annoying cut outs without you asking it to!

I've got to head into uni today to sort out my electronics and to speak to Sean about the CNC router, only he scares me, so I'll have to pluck up some courage to speak to him...

3BT

1. Home made rice pudding, first time of making it and it comes out perfectly

2. Having an evening off

3. Getting too hot in the night, meaning its time for the summer weight duvet to come out

Oh, What a Beautiful Day

It's been a good day, I have 2 very large A0 print outs of my general assembly drawings and an exploded view. I just need to add dimensions and labelling this evening (generally you'd do that all on the computer, but it takes a long time, and although tedious I can probably get it done a lot quicker by hand and in front of the telly!)

I also bumped into Julia today, it was lovely to see her in such a spontaneous way, she convinced me to have a well earned tea break and a natter in the union. Although distracted, its good to sit down with a friend who understands and doesn't mind if I'm a million miles away.

I'm also looking forward to Julia and Nikki's parties on Friday, it means flitting a bit between groups, but they both understand and don't mind - at least they're both in the same venue!

With the recent warmer weather, it has reminded me of how horrible the coming weeks are going to be - 120 people, 2 moderately sizes workshops, no ventilation, 25 deg outside, long sleeves and trousers for safety... hmmmmmmmmm a lovely BO trap, its going to be very unpleasant I think!

There are 5 beautiful things today, just because my walk home was so lovely :D

1. Walking home for the first time this year in just a jumper with a blazing sun behind me, its a bit chilly, but a brisk pace keeps the worst of it away.

2. Early cherry blossom that flutters to the ground over my head as I walk by. I get home to find some in my hair.

3. A brother and sister walking home from school together. The sister is bossy and insists that her brother crosses the road correctly, looking both ways.

4. A group of wannabe gangsters in full black, caps and puffa jackets. They all look far too hot, but too cool to take off the coats.

5. A very fluffy white cat that looks like it has never stepped outside gets sprayed in muddy water as a car drives past

Accuracy, Permiation and Discovery

1. The distinct pleasure of getting my technical CAD model finished, with each dimension accurate to the nearest 0.2mm.

2. The warmth that is starting to filter down from the skies on days like today

3. Rediscovering Radiohead after a few weeks without.

Birthdays, Working, Food, Accompanying and Punctuation

Life is pretty boring at the moment, I generally seem to just be working and sleeping with a small amount of eating in between.

There have also been seemingly hundreds of birthdays happening at the moment, and I'm finding it pretty hard to keep up with who's day is who's and how old they are. I wonder what significant date happened about 9 1/2 months ago...actually on second thoughts I don't want to know.

(For those who are interested, there is a higher than average proportion of people born on 27th October each year. This is 9 1/2 months to the day after Valentine's Day...)
Birthday count - 3 down, 3 to go...

I have a major deadline on Thursday, and I'm not going to complete the work, and frankly I don't care, I'd rather follow my Dad's philosophy - better late and correct, than on time and wrong. It makes perfect sense.
I'm going to keep working and plodding onwards, luckily my tutor is very understanding and has already said to us that he's rather see a few engineering drawings that are correct, not hundreds that are wrong.

And on that note it is my cue to get to bed, ready for an early start tomorrow!

3BT

1. A pack of Hobnobs that provides a welcome distraction to part drawings

2. Rich walking me home from the department so I don't have to walk alone in the dark

3. The occasional bursts of sunshine between the heavy downpours that punctuate the day.

Smells, Giggles and Procrastination

1. The familiar smell of pencils when I open my crayon box

2. Comedy and giggles at Comedy Club, it distracts me from the worries weighing on my mind

3. Drawing whist watching About a Boy. More watching than drawing happens.

Save me, cookies and butter

Lack of posting is due to a general malaise that has descended...

1. Kate and Sam saving me from choking on some meat

2. Chocolate chip cookies

3. Bread and Butter for breakfast

Crystal, Models and Builders

1. A crystal clear sky this morning with sun shine blazing through my window at 7am

2. A nice foam model of my seating installation

3. Builders coming to fix our damp problems