Blegh.

With sickness comes an extreme lack of willingness and inspiration.

This may be just a head cold, but it's completely dampened my whole weekend.

I'm so thankful that I just happened to be finished with the hardest part of my homework the night before I woke up with this mess.

Blegh.

I will revive my blog soon.

Pulling Ahead!

My "beating procrastination" techniques are working!

I am way ahead in my academic studies and assignments for this whole week.

This isn't a very insightful post, so treat it like a sort of milestone marker of sorts?

It feels great to be on top of my game.

Good Advice and Rubber Cement

http://www.aiga.org/after-school-special/

We had to read the above article and write a reflection in my graphic design class today. I liked what I wrote, so I thought I'd share it here, too!

I will just go chronologically through the first few of the list since time is a factor, as I feel that each piece of advice could be truly applicable to me in some sense, whether it is an asset I feel I possess, or an asset I would do well to learn. In saying this, allow me to begin with the beginning. Number one.

The first piece of advice listed in the article states that the theory and practice of art and design differs and mean completely different things inside and outside of academia. Within an academic setting, as stated by the article, you are in competition with your peers, in a sense, when it comes to unique creativity, and in the real world, you work together with your peers to create a unique piece that draws the eye of your client. I like to think I understand this a little bit more than others my age may since I have had a little experience working in a real world design environment. I have had hands-on learning and guidance with professional design, in-house design, and a set clientele. With this sort of knowledge, there is never such a thing as “knowing it all,” though, because every firm is different, and every professional design environment will ask so many different things of a person. I have much to learn, in the long run, but I’ve had a decent kick off.

Habits are things that matter to everyone, artist or not, and can easily make or break you. To develop a good habit, the article says the sooner you attempt it, the better. It’s true, you know. The more you do something positive, the better you’ll do whatever that task is, and once you do it long and good enough, it will become ingrained almost permanently. Personally, I feel like I have a lot of bad habits that I need to outgrow. Because of these habits, the worst being laziness and procrastination, I struggle with maintaining the academic lifestyle I’d like. I am doing what I can to get out of these habits in a number of ways. In due time, I will have my own positive routine to counteract the life I’ve led over the past few years.

Positivity is huge when interacting and dealing with people, especially strangers. No one cares about your insecurities and idiosyncratic tendencies if they’re outside of your personal social circle. Optimism in a work environment is the best way to go. As the article states, no one really wants to work around someone who is always negative about their work or situation, or even just complaining about every little thing. I feel like, over the past few years, that I have become more and more positive and optimistic about certain things. I can remember a time when I was nothing but a girl with the darkest mood, and I never thought anything good would ever come out of me or anyone around me. Socializing with more people and taking classes where I could see my own personal strengths, weaknesses, and growths has improved my outlook on life immensely. Granted, I still have a ways to go in the sense that I can still be quite anxious about a lot of things, especially when my work doesn’t go the way I plan it to.

This fourth piece of advice is my favorite. Learn to write. It’s huge in any field, really, to have goo communication skills. All those language classes that so many love to hate? Well, they’re in place for a reason, and when you perfect (or at least come close to perfecting) your use of grammar, spelling, and syntax, among other writing elements, you become the better definition of “literate.” If you can communicate well, be it through oral or written mediums, you can only excel in the world around you. Being literate when it comes to writing opens new doors for opportunity, for suddenly you are capable of conveying and sharing your ideas, concepts, and designs in a whole new way. I love to write, and I do what I can to write often, so I feel like I adhere strongly to this piece of advice.

The value of working harder and understanding the difference between work and play, and even understanding that work can be considered play in some situations, is something that everyone can benefit from. I feel like I can benefit from it, too. With this, I can kind of refer back to the habits portion of this reflection, since the harder I work, the better I become at overcoming my nasty habits and setting up a proper routine for my life. The more you work and focus on something, the greater your chances are to adhere to what you strive to obtain.

Ignoring the naysayers, or those that constantly doubt you, your work, or your skills, is huge. It is difficult to ignore such a blatant expression of pure doubt and distaste. When someone constantly tells you it’s not good enough, or you’re not good enough, can take a huge chunk out of your personal self-esteem and self-worth. However, by getting to the point where you’re confident in yourself and your work, you know better than to let all of that pull you down. I am working hard to get myself to that level, as well. I am working hard to understand that I am good enough to push past the doubt and prove myself to those who need or may want to see it.

There are lots of great things to be heard and learned in the world of design and the world of just simple and great advice. As humans, we are constantly learning and struggling. I learned something interesting, recently. This past weekend, I panicked hard because a pretty big project was not turning out the way I wanted. Essentially, I was to the point of mounting images to a board, and I was using rubber cement as adhesive due to its elasticity and ease of movement after placement. I had dripped a massive drop on the board where it was not supposed to be. Naturally, I freaked out even more. How was I supposed to get that stuff off? After I calmed down a bit, I finished the project with the kind help of my best friend and waited a while for everything to dry. The nasty blob of adhesive rolled off of the board like it was nothing.

In the end, there was nothing to worry about, and after having read that article today, I realized that you could compare life to rubber cement in a pretty abstract way. Most things seem and sound so permanent. Cement is in the name, after all. However, after you give things time to dry off and cool down, it's so much easier to fix and peel off than when it was still gross, wet, and easy to mess up further.

I don't know, I just had a bad weekend that was only bad because I thought too hard about the wrong things. I'm thankful for this reflection.

Gross

Greatness is worthless when
Rudeness and judgement
Overtake the minds of
Sinister bigots who
Surround us all.

The Violent Media Argument

Honestly, I am so sick of the whole "violence in video games ruins the world" arguments.

I read an article this morning about a place in California planning on taking a day to "inspire people to become part of the movement to create peace in a violence-free environment" by setting up a sort of buy-back program where people (kids being the target audience) can trade in their toy guns and violent video games for Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

What gets me most about this is that they think it will actually work? Well, the toy gun and other plastic weapons meant for imaginative play part may be effective, but the video game part, not as much. Honestly, who would willingly trade a video game that cost at least $60 for a $5 bowl of ice cream? Even in the case of younger children that play these violent video games, who are required to be with a parent/guardian at the time of purchase from any major retailer or local trade shop, will likely never buy into that. I doubt their parents would, either, considering they are the ones that shelled out the cash for said game in the first place. (But it's for peace, they say!) 

I just hate that video games are what people are attacking now, because, really, it's just the latest technological thing for people to blame. I say "latest" deliberately. There is a trend. In the 1800s, dime novels were blamed; in the early 1900s, silent films were blamed; in the 1950s, radio dramas and comic books were blamed; in the 1980s, rock and metal music were blamed; when the 2000s came around, and technology began to further modernize, the blame fell upon modern cinema and video games. What's next? Who or what will my generation or the next generation blame for violence if not people?

Use me as a sort of example. I have been playing video games since I was a little kid. (That's at least fifteen or so years of gaming experience!) I grew up with video games, essentially. I played all sorts of games expected of me and my demographic, like Pokémon, Hamtaro, and Barbie, as well as all sorts of games outside of my demographic, like the Elder Scrolls, Halo, and Grand Theft Auto. I guess you could say I have been playing violent video games for a long time. Even now, I don't think I own and enjoy a single game that does not require combat and violence in some form. (Well, save for maybe Jeopardy, because I don't think a battle of wits and trivia knowledge counts~) I have spent a huge portion of my life losing myself within these games, enjoying the new environment and semi-escape from reality, and I came out just fine. I still play on a regular basis. In fact, I paused my second play-through of GTA:V to write this. I chock up my stability inside and outside of video games to my lack of mental instability. I know the difference between fantasy and reality; I know the difference between right and wrong; I know what's expected of me and what I need to do to achieve the goals I have set for myself. 

I just want to know when people will stop blaming things and start blaming the people who commit the acts they are trying so hard to prevent. Most of the time it's mental instability, right? And when it's not, it's because of the influence of something mind-altering, like narcotics and alcohol. Granted, I do understand that not all cases are because of mental instability (be it illness or something else), or even caused by illegal binging, but I feel like the majority are, according to what I've seen and read through the news.

Unfortunately, people will likely still rely on attacking technology and objects because it's easier. Even if the blame game worked and these people eradicated all violent media (comics, books, movies, music, games, etc.), would that stop the violence?

Oh Rain

I like to think that I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with rainy weather.

A lot of people just really love it, or really hate it, but I feel like I'm stuck in the middle. I mean, there are certainly some days where I really love the rain–you know, just water falling from the sky at different torrential intervals. It can be calming, and relaxing, or even just a good excuse to stay in my pajamas all day, reading or playing video games.

Sometimes, though, it is the exact opposite. Like today, for example. Even as I sit here typing this little post, I'm listening to the rain constantly tapping the window at an incalculable pace. It doesn't sound bad, I'm sure, but it's just so exhausting: the weather, in general. I've been so sleepy all day. Even trying to read or play video games to just keep my mind active has been making me want to just nap all evening. I haven't, though. Granted, I don't have class until after noon tomorrow, but I have a pretty solid sleeping schedule so far.

Can you tell that I'm tired? Haha. I feel like this post has taken a far more casual tone in comparison to what I've done before. Oh, well!

On a quick, positive note, I have learned that I'm doing far better in my life drawing class than I thought! I'm actually kind of enjoying it. c:

Happine$$

They say that money can't buy you happiness.

I've been seeing that a lot, lately, in variation while just browsing around and surfing the web. I have seen merely that statement, and I have seen jokes and other humorous plays on it. Mostly, the jokes are taking the phrase and turning it around.

For instance, "I'm pretty sure I would be 200% happier if I were rich."

Posts like that are almost everywhere! Especially on different social media outlets, whether it's an image on someone's blog, a post on tumblr, a tweet, or simply someone's silly status update. I have never thought about it before, and I don't know why I started to think about it when I saw it earlier this morning. I guess this time, something just clicked in my brain.

You see, I think that the original phrase is geared more towards people who already have wealth. Wealth is all they know and understand. These people are capable of buying or owning almost everything they could imagine, and, in some instances, these people are literally capable of acquiring everything, should they want it. Because of this excessive amount of money, not only are these people's frivolous lives taken care of, but if they have family and friends, there is little doubt that their lives, too, are taken care of. What is left to bring you happiness if everyone is already so well off? Only in that instance, I think, is when "money cannot bring happiness" is truth. These are people who have to go out and find happiness, just like anyone.

However, if you were to turn the situation around and consider people of the lower middle and lower classes, money could very well bring them happiness. Look at it like this: these people have never known wealth, usually. These are the people that live every day working, earning, and spending almost every last dime (and even more, in some instances) just to get themselves and their families by. Sometimes friends can be included, sometimes not! Some of the more middle class people can afford some extravagance, but not often, and for lower class people, extravagance is a desirable scarcity. If these people were to gain sudden wealth (imagine the lottery, for example, or some insane, unexpected inheritance), how do you think they would react? Probably shock and excitement. Immediately, sudden money has given them happiness. The first thoughts running through their minds are ways to make their situations better, ways to save the money for better things, ways to use the money to get out of debt, pay off houses or education. Money in the hands of these people does far more good, in the long run, than money in the hands of the wealthy who tend to take it for granted.

I guess, in the end, it's an interesting phrase. "Money can't buy you happiness." However, Internet joking aside, when you turn situations around, the words turn around, too. Happiness is everywhere and in everything, but it really depends on who you are and how you find it. Or even how it finds you!

Beating Procrastination

I'm trying so hard not to procrastinate this year. I have been doing incredibly well since this summer, and it's really a lot harder than it seems. I am constantly in the presence of distraction and temptation between television, my Xbox, my iPhone, my laptop (with or without the Internet!), and even with merely my dog or roommate!

Either way, I've figured out a way to maintain a schedule and reminder/alarm system for just about everything from academics, like class times and homework allotments, to basic living essentials, like bathing, eating, and even sleeping. It's good for routine, and I'm hoping that one day I will not have to rely on alarms and schedules because it will become habit. All in due time.

Anyway, my graphic design teacher posted a really great list about beating procrastination online the other day. I only just saw it today, and it's actually set as my MacBook's wallpaper!

I found the list completely insightful and figured I would share it for whoever may see it. It's not impossible to beat the bad habit of procrastination, but it is challenging. You have to work really hard. Self-discipline isn't a tool that develops overnight. 

I know. 

I Love My Hair!!!

As much as I love change and changing myself, in this case regarding my hair, I don't think I will ever love any color better than blonde.

Did that make sense?

I recently lightened my hair and touched up my roots, and I just really love the way light blonde hair looks on my head. It softens my skin and lightens a lot of my features, especially my eyes; all the same, though, it warms a lot of my features as well!

I don't think I'll ever stop dying my hair, or anything. I'm certain I'll darken and lighten and mess around for a long time, I think, but I know I will always come back to blonde! Any kind of blonde, really. My natural hair is a warm honey blonde, but currently I'm sporting a light sunny blonde.

I love it a lot, and it really suits me, I think. It still has a little yellow tinge to it in this photo, but I was also under tungsten lights. I have also been using some of my purple toning shampoo, and the colors are evening out and brightening up like crazy!

I just really love my hair. 

www.alyssaoliver.com

There are only a few minutes left in this day. Well, technically. It's the third day I've had this blog, and I've already almost forgotten my challenge!

I need to write something everyday. What can I say, though?

Perhaps I can discuss my new domain!

If you look up to your browser's navigation bar (you know, where you type your website URLs~), you will notice that it is no longer a blogspot URL!

I finally bought my own domain. <3

www.alyssaoliver.com is now mine!

For now, I just have it pointed to my blog, just so that it has some sort of use. I don't want it to just sit in the dark while I horde it around during the building of my website.

In the future, I do plan on putting together just a personal website for myself. I have a program from Adobe called Muse which is a brilliant piece of software that allows me to build a site visually and without coding! The whole coding thing is what's kept me from creating a better website. Another good thing is that with my Creative Cloud subscription, I'll get free web hosting through Adobe! That way, when I'm done building my site, I'll be able to easily publish through them and then point this domain to it, instead!

Now, I'm still learning that program, but I'd like to figure out how to include a portfolio section where I can upload my work (and new works) periodically. I'd also like to figure out a nice way to incorporate this blog should I be able to keep it properly running. Maybe if I cannot include it in the site, I can redirect to a subdomain (blog.alyssaoliver.com, perhaps?). I'd also, naturally, like to include links or special spots for my social media things.

There are so many things I want to do with the site. It'll take some work, but hopefully I'll be able to afford the time to get it up and running someday. I'd love a personal hub online! It'd would simply so much of my net life.

Anyway, I'll conclude this little post with a followup to what I posted yesterday (Chocolate Bars and Birthday Cards). I visited Conroe earlier today to give my grandfather the funny card and chocolate I got for his birthday. He laughed and liked it a lot. It was pretty simple and relaxed. I like to visit them when I can. c:

Chocolate Bars and Birthday Cards

I asked the most random question this morning. It wasn't like it was a strange question, but that the timing was odd and the content was unexpected.

My grandfather's birthday is tomorrow. I think. I texted my grandmother to make sure I was remembering correctly. Despite that, I have been thinking... What should I do for his birthday?

Default ideas came to mind. Like tools, or something, because he's a mechanic, but I don't know anything about tools. Then I considered maybe something silly related to automobiles or mechanic-like things, but I don't know where to find anything like that offline! (And I definitely don't have the time for shipping or the funds for overnight!) Then I joked with my roommate that I should just get him food. He likes food.

So I called him.

He greeted me as always, and we made small talk before I said I had a pretty out of the blue question.

"What's your favorite candy?" I asked, and he considered it for a moment after clarifying that, yes, I did ask about his preferred candy.

He answered with, "Hershey Bars." Plain and simple. Honestly, I could have guessed that would be his answer, but it was good to get the clarification. Now all I have to do is find a nice card. Maybe I will find something funny. He's always appreciated humor more than formal sentiments.

It'll be great, this time, because last year I was so swamped with school that I completely forgot! Luckily, I happened to have dropped by that day to visit when someone wished him a happy birthday.

This year will be different. Even though it is little, it will mean more than I know to him.

Happy birthday, Poppa.

9/11

I was a kid when the event happened.

I was six during the month of September in 2001.

Six years old.

I understand the trauma and horror of the event that happened, I understand why what followed the event followed it, I understand why the whole country continuously vows "Never Forget."

I understand because eventually I learned.

However, please forgive my lack of reblogging, tweeting, sharing, liking, etc. I was a small, innocently ignorant child on the day of this treacherous event. Unlike so many others older than me, or the others my age who had a direct relation to the event, that day had no effect on me.

I don't remember what happened, like you may. While it was going on, they kept us in the dark. It was first grade, for goodness sake. I don't remember being taken out of school like some were, I don't remember anything changing like some did, and I don't even remember the first time I heard about it on the news some always will. It was not until I was much older that I really got it, you know?

I will "Never Forget" because I learned about it, like everyone in the country did who was not directly affected. I will share my condolences whenever necessary, or should someone ask. I will not, however, be constantly reposting the same things as everyone else.

No, this is not a lack of patriotism or respect on my part, it is merely that the event does not mean the same thing to me as it may to some of you.

Despite all of this, everything about today is emotional and affects me just as well. Sympathy is a powerful thing, and I feel and pray for all of you affected by this day from long ago and the memories of this day today.

Thank You Musi

It's a few minutes past midnight, and all I'm doing is customizing my first real blog while waiting for a YouTube video to load. Lame, isn't it?

It may seem that way, but I like it. The silence of the midnight hour and the patience required to wait for my unreasonably poor Internet connection to load the latest video from my favorite channel makes everything worth it when it's all ready! Most of the time, at least. At this time of night–or is it day?–it's far easier to be patient and wait for something to happen. After all, if I wait too long, I'll just fall asleep, and what better time is there to accidentally crash?

Regardless of all that nonsense, I really should mention that I owe the creation of this blog to an idea formed in my head years ago. I wanted to do something to keep my writing logged, but I guess I was always too worried about it all being online for anyone to see. At this point, I don't even care about that anymore. It's all a means of expression, and my pursuance of art has given me the courage and understanding that privacy is not always the best thing when it comes to certain ideas. However, despite harboring the concept of this little place, I never made it. I blame just being lazy and afraid.

A while ago, at least a year, or maybe two, a dear friend of mine created a blog for herself for similar reasons. It's a beautiful blog filled with lovely writing and inspiration, as well as a good sense of who she is as a person. (Take a peek here.) I've been reading her blog for a while, and lately she's become even more active! I love her work, and I love that her writing is such a dream-like hobby of hers. The whole inspiration thing sprung the idea of making my own blog back to the front of my mind.

The past few days I've been mulling over whether or not to go through with it. I finally bit the bullet and did. Obviously. Here I stand (actually, I'm laying on the floor lol), ready to craft this simple little place into my own little island. No borders. No laws. No restrictions whatsoever. Whatever I create and post here will be straight from the mind, or the heart. This will be my zone of release outside of my world of art and music.

I love to write, and starting now, I want to challenge myself to write a little something everyday. Whether it's some little poem, my favorite quote, some song lyrics, something that inspires me, a summary of day, my latest artistic process, anything! I need to get back into the habit of writing. The more I do so, the better I will become.

I look forward to it, and should I happen to gain a few followers in the process, then I hope that they may look forward to it, too!