More Photography!

Well here I am, keeping my promise to myself after a long day of slight homework and a lot of being lazy that I would post as much as possible this week (go me!). Yesterday, I decided to get a head start on one of my photojournalism projects due next week, so I thought I'd share it with you all! It's an assignment about "environmental portraits," which basically means capturing a posed portrait of someone in their natural environment (home, work, etc.) that tells something about them without having to use words to do so.

This assignment was fairly simple to me since I used my mom as the subject. Knowing that her favorite things on Earth are cats and that my house has many cat decorations (and actual cats, for that matter), I went to work and produced some pretty nice images.

I really like this lighting in this one, how organized everything is on the stand, and the subtlety of the cat.

Troy and my mom in their natural habitat - he's just so cute!

I really love the composition of this one.

There's the smile! Gotta love her.

I had a blast shooting with my mom despite her insisting she looked bad, which was totally not true! She got into it more as we kept shooting and really opened up, and that's when you know you've established a good connection with your subject (granted it was easier for me in this case because it was my mom), but this sort of connection can be easily gained with friends or strangers as long as your friendly and considerate.

Well, I'm sure I'll have something else to share with you all tomorrow since I plan on seeing my friend Mimi at Champlain College, and we never have a definite plan, so who knows what we'll be up to! 

Happy Tuesday!

Spring Break Weekend.

Hey everyone, hope you're having an awesome spring break so far (or if you had it last week, I hope it was a blast!)

So far, it's safe to say I've done little to nothing school-wise, but I had my friend Paul stay at my house this past weekend and it was great! He got to meet all of my animals and we took a drive around my home town of Saint Albans, Vermont to explore the sights.

It was a fantastic weekend for sure with a good friend, and I can't believe how quickly it flew by! It's odd that we're already over halfway through March too (which is actually kind of scary because I have so much to do between now and the end of the semester...pray for me), but on a less serious note, here are some pictures from our weekend shenanigans!

We got $12 meals at Olive Garden thanks to Paul and a nice stranger who gave us a coupon - it was absolute heaven!

After a long drive around Saint Albans, we stopped by the bay and took some pictures. What can I say, media major problems.

Lake Champlain was gorgeous as usual.

And I can't forget about these two, baby Suri and her best friend Troy. They're so cute!

I hope he can come up again sometime in the near future, we definitely didn't have time to explore everything so we could give it a second go! In the mean time, I have a few goals to accomplish before going back to school next week:

1. Write a 20-page essay (I know I'm freaking out internally too).
2. Write a much less daunting 3-page essay.
3. Highlight my volumes for my Air Force testing (which hopefully won't take too long).
4. Write a journal entry for Shakespeare class.
5. Brainstorm and research project ideas for both my science class and my photojournalism class.

Well, that should all be doable if I don't procrastinate any longer than I already have...wish me luck! Also, I'm going to try to post most days (if not all) over break on here since I'm not going to be too busy about anything and everything I'm doing, so stay tuned!

Oh, and happy St. Patrick's Day! Have fun and stay safe!

Tattoo Adventures!

Tattoos are an intriguing thing. They can have the deepest meanings and personal connotations for some, while for others, they may simply get them and admire them for their artistic nature. I had always wanted tattoos when I was younger, but I wasn't sure what I would get and to be honest, I would always shy away from them because I was afraid and didn't know what to expect. But this year, I really wanted to try something new and prove to myself that I was spontaneous, and there was one way to do so that I'd been thinking about for a long time: conquering my fear of tattoos.

I don't know if I've told you all before now, but I got my first two tattoos this past January during the first week of classes. I decided to get the words "worry less" on one forearm, and "love more" on the other as a personal mantra for me to follow when life gets hard, and I love them to death.

Here they are a couple of hours after I got them!

After getting these two and finally experiencing what it's like to get tattoos, I discovered it wasn't so bad! I definitely want to get more and I've started a list of a few larger pieces that I'm planning (which I'm sure I'll share with you all), but I decided to get another this past Monday at Vermont Custom in Downtown Burlington!

It was a pretty whimsical decision because a couple of my friends wanted to get their cartilages pierced, and I'd been itching for another tattoo since the first two anyway, so I decided to go for it! I went with my idea of my mother's birthday (6/26/69) in roman numerals on my front left shoulder blade, and it was a neat experience this time because I'd already had tattoos and because my friends were also getting something done.

Just casually getting tattooed, no biggie.

The finished product!

I'm saving up now and starting to plan my larger piece that'll go on my right arm, and hopefully I'll be able to get it done sometime in April! Tattoos are a wonderful thing, but make sure you really give some thought to what you want before you go because it'll be on your body forever.

Ice Skating!

Happy Saturday! Mine has been a bit stressful and overwhelming since it's drill weekend once again and I'm trying to balance my job with getting my school work done, but staying busy has always been good for me (I'm not kidding I actually go crazy if I have nothing to do...I found that out this past winter break...but that's beside the point).

Last night St. Michael's put on another free skating night at the C. Douglas Cairns Arena in South Burlington and it was a blast! They put one on last month as well, but I wasn't able to go to that one, so I was stoked to go and get on the ice and have a good time with some awesome people (plus I hadn't skated in years, so I needed a lot of help, but it was worth it!)

Paul and I posing for a shot (but really he was probably supporting me so I wouldn't fall...)

The skating crew!

Paul and Kathryn, the happy couple!

Ivana, Brendan, and I living it up on the ice!

Lily, Paul and I being goofs - love these faces!

So basically ice skating was supremely epic, and I love that St. Michael's puts on events like these that get everyone off campus for a bit and enjoying each others' company! I had an awesome time, and I'm definitely going to go again if the school offers it!

If you didn't go, you totally should next time! C'mon, just think of how much fun you'll have watching me fall on my face...I'm getting better. I think. Maybe. We'll see!

Free Pancake Day at iHop!

So today I actually did something eventful off campus for once and I'm super excited to write about it and share it with you all, so here let me tell you about my life!

As I'm sure many of you already know, it was National Free Pancake Day today at iHop, so my friends Paul, Kathryn (who also happens to be a fellow blogger), Lily, Callie and I decided to go there for lunch! I hardly ever go off campus to eat (which I should do so much more since Burlington is the #6 college town after all), and I had an awesome time getting some amazing free pancakes and catching up with my friends!

Lily and I after ordering our short stacks...we could hardly wait!

Paul and Kathryn showing some love. Aren't they a cute couple?

The short stacks and sausages arrived! They were FANTASTIC.

Clearly, this trip was beautiful in every sense of the word, and I definitely plan on going on more of them in the future! It's hard to get off campus as much as I'd like to with my busy schedule for sure, but I'm going to try to much more because Burlington has so much to offer and as much as I love St. Michael's, it's nice to see new and different places.

If you want to check out Kathryn's blog, here's a link! She's stellar.

Look forward to a post about new photos in my Photojournalism class this coming Friday! I've got a ton to share.

Adios!

Music Sunday.

Hey everyone!

Do you want to have your own radio show? I've thought about the idea for a while, since St. Mike's offers up the opportunity at the beginning of each semester to any individual or duo who wants their own 2-hour show on WWPV the Mike (St. Mike's radio station), and I think I might go for it next semester since it's a little too late at this point. I like the idea of just having a couple of hours to relax, perhaps with a friend of mine, while playing some tunes while getting some work done. I've always used music as a solace and a tool to get in the zone when I have responsibilities to uphold or even if I'm just getting a good workout in at the gym, so I think a radio show would just deepen my love for it that much further!

I usually listen to harder music like rock, metal, or hardcore when I'm at the gym or just feeling like I'm in the mood, but when I'm in the car or hanging out with a few friends, I'll usually play more pop or hip hop. I'm not gonna lie, I can get down to some Miley or some Ke$ha, but I try not to overkill that kind of music since the radio does that enough without my help.

WWPV's new setup on the second floor of the Dion Family Student Center (photo courtesy of WWPV 88.7 The Mike)

The station's old setup in St. Edmunds Hall (photo courtesy of WWPV 88.7 The Mike)

From what I understand. the school leaves it pretty open as to what you can play and when, but the only rule is there can't be any profanity in the songs that you play. I'm definitely going to look into this for next semester, and if you're interested in learning more, here are some links for you to check it out!

WWPV Website: http://wwpv.smcvt.edu
WWPV Blog: http://wwpv.wordpress.com/events/

Friday (K)Night Dry!

It seems like I might as well move my blogging schedule to Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday at this point since I'm always doing something exciting around campus on Friday nights - last night, it was Friday Night Dry!

For those of you who may not know, Friday Night Dry is something that St. Mike's puts on usually once a semester where they'll hold a bunch of games, concerts, performances, and a raffle for everyone to come enjoy and participate in! It's a great way to get out, meet new people, and become involved in an unconventional way (as opposed to drinking and partying, for example, which is why it's called Friday Night Dry).

First I went to see Dog Sees God, a play that the St. Mike's Drama Club put on in the Trapdoor Theatre in McCarthy, and it was awesome! (If you haven't seen it, you should go tonight at 7 because they're putting it on again! Same time, same place). I had a few friends in the play and I met a few new people there as well, and I loved seeing the talent of St. Mike's Drama Club live!

My friend Julia and I at Dog Sees God last night - she's the best!

A shot of the Acabellas performing last night - Maggie Bogan, one of my best friends, is in the middle (please don't hate me for this!)

In short, I had an awesome time going out with some friends and taking a break from the usual homework-filled nights I tend to have. That being said, now that the homework is piling up and my time is running out before Monday, I should probably get to that, but if you didn't go to last night's Friday Night Dry, you should totally go to one next semester! I promise you'll love them.