ae221 Vlog #1 - Universal Studios Orlando Island of Adventures

So for you guys who don't know, I went on vacation in Orlando. Visiting with my family and seeing those famous attractions like Universal Studios. 

Obviously, I got really lazy during the editing process. And I sound so retarded, You can tell I'm more delusional towards the end of the day. Sorry. Enjoy anyways. 

Team 7 Vlog - Episode 1

This is one of this instances where I'm like, "I have no idea what I'm doing." I apologize for how lame it is. Hopefully it'll be better in the future. Recorded with my Canon Powershot G15. 

 

Canon Powershot G15 Test Video and Photos

Sooo last Sunday I decided that I would buy a Canon Powershot G15 after I had returned my Sony NEX-5N. The 5N was good, but since I had no plans to purchase more lenses there was no point in buying a mirrorless SLR. Instead, I went for a prosumer point-and-shoot. The G15 has a good sensor, shoots in RAW, has a fast lens, and has 1080p video. I just wished it had the swivel screen like the G12, but oh well. I'm still happier with my G15 than the 5N because the 5N's touchscreen meant that I had to go through a lot of submenus in order to change settings like ISO or shutter speed. No bueno. The G15 has a bunch of easy-to-use dials instead, which I prefer.

I love how clear the audio is. The video quality is good as well.

The pictures do end up a little overexposed sometimes. Easily fixable, though.

See more photos from the G15 by clicking the link below:
https://plus.google.com/photos/112994609708042405063/albums/5822795890063955665?authkey=CL6egaGmk7uQ9QE

Selling Yourself Short: Placing a Value on Freelance Work

Using crowdSPRING as a guide for freelance design pricing...

So I'm definitely in a pickle right now. Recently, I've managed to pick up a potential client and I'm trying to figure out the pricing for my services (no, not those kinds of services). For me, putting a price on my skills has always been a challenge. Up until this point, I've always sold myself "cheap" designing t-shirts and posters for free. Of course, that's because my projects were almost always for my youth group. I had two clients before that wasn't related to my youth group. One had requested a poster design for a youth rally, and in return for my help I received a $25 Target gift card and a tin of brownies. The other project was a logo design for my cousin's tax and bookkeeping services firm. For that, I earned $50 in cash.

The difference between this new project and my projects before is that this is going to be an established company. What it is is a Western themed bar and grill in Houston. Any logo that I create will ultimately be copyrighted and be associated with the company for(almost)ever. Since the person that asked me to do this job is a religious brother, I'm a bit reluctant to charge too much. My friend says to ignore that fact and treat it as only a business thing, that I shouldn't sell myself short. So what is a good price for a logo?

On top of the logo design, he asked me to help market and advertise the grand opening of the restaurant which is set to open early next year. I mainly consider myself a graphic designer so I feel uncomfortable even trying to set up advertising strategies. But then again, I got a marketing minor for a reason. Ugh. This is going to be wayyy outside of my comfort zone. Time to put my business classes to use.

Sony NEX-5N Test

So on Black Friday I purchased myself a Sony NEX-5N. There wasn't a Black Friday special per se. It was just a regular sale price item. Since I was already looking into buying a mirrorless SLR, I just decided to buy it. I was already at the store so why the heck not? I'm still debating whether or not to keep it. Don't get me wrong. The image quality is great. I just kinda wished that certain things were different about the camera. Like, you don't use a dial to change the exposure modes. You have to flip through a menu. Changing the ISO requires going through a sub menu. It's just a pain for me cuz usually I shoot using manual mode. I'm still debating. I would get an Olympus E-PL5 except it's outside of my budget. Maybe a Panasonic GX1 or G3. But then again, the G3 looks a bit big. I wanted something compact. Otherwise, I might as well just carry my Canon Rebel all the time. But yeah. Any suggestions?

Hard Work Wasted

Alright. So I recently quit my job at Studio Movie Grill. Even though I've only been there for 2 months, I think that was more than enough. It's the most rigorous job I've ever had. I mean, seriously. You're scheduled to come in a certain time and then you stay until the manager feels like they don't need you anymore. Most days, I end up working 10 hours. On top of that, your pay is based on tip. Some days you end up averaging below minimum wage. With the running back and forth between the kitchen and several different theaters and dealing difficult people, minimum wage is not enough to make me stay. I'm even tired of going home at like 2 or 3 in the morning. Plus, there are some people who complain at work and make things more difficult by not showing up when they need to. I know that my managers felt like I was a great employee and praised me often for my hard work but I'm tired. It sucks having to let them down. I've had a few people try and convince me to stay by telling me that promotions are coming soon and stuff, but I can't wait for that. I'd be dead by then. I will miss the friends that I made at work, though. I'm actually gonna miss my managers, too. I actually know people outside of thieu nhi. Shocking.

But yeah. Regardless of how hard my job was, I would've had to leave eventually after graduation. After college, a part time job as a server is not going to cut it. My favorite manager Barrett made an offer for me to come back and work seasonally if I wanted to. We'll have to see about that. 

Dreading Graduation: Trying to Find a Graphic Designer Job in Dallas

I have about a month left until graduation and December 8th is becoming more of a date that I dread rather than something that I'm looking forward to. I only turned in my order for graduation announcements 2 days ago and it takes about 2-4 weeks to be finished so I don't know if those will finish on time. My cap and gown haven't come in yet so I can't do photos with those til later. My parents keep bugging me about what I want to do to celebrate my graduation. "Do you want a party?" At this point, I don't know. I'm not much of a party person. Gahhh. On top of all that, I still haven't heard back from Reynolds and Reynolds. I think they dropped me as an option. Now it's back to job searching. Dohhh. Or I can just stick with Studio Movie Grill until forever and ever. YEAH RIGHT. I'm getting a degree for a reason and it's not to work as a server forever. I guess whenever I have time I can go back to applying for more jobs. Hopefully I can find a place close to home so that I don't have to worry about paying for housing and leaving my friends and family behind. But I keep falling behind on homework and stuff because of work and thieu nhi. Grrr. I need better time management skills. I hate stressing about these things.

ACTUALLY, what if I tried to apply as a graphic designer for Studio Movie Grill? I could design the menus and promotions and stuff... Maybe being a server could serve as a start towards that road. Dohhh. I wished that the Richards Group would contact me back. That design internship from Disney based in Dallas isn't available anymore either. Fossil and the Dallas Mavericks rejected me, too. Could someone just plop a graphic design job opportunity in Dallas in front of me? That would be awesome.

Anywho, that photo was from my graduation photoshoot with Tien. Click the link below to check out the less flattering photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hungrytien/archives/date-taken/2012/11/01/

IF you are indeed interested in potentially hiring me for a graphic design job, click the link below to check out my portfolio:
http://www.ae221.co.nr/

Imitation: There is a Limit

My boyfriend actually posted this on my Facebook wall. At first I was amused, especially with the couples and the matching underwear. Seriously, though. Who does that? Ain't no one gonna see your underwear except you and (maybe) your significant other. Nobody is gonna see your matching getup. Eventually, the video got to the topic of going under the knife to change your appearance. Now, I'm not bashing on the South Koreans for developing a culture wear it is socially acceptable to get plastic surgery. It just makes me kind of sad. I understand the pain of taking the time to put on makeup in the morning to make yourself look prettier, but getting plastic surgery is rather extreme. And for it to be acceptable for girls to have such easy access to this stuff just makes the Koreans seem a bit shallow (at least in my opinion). You can't always be fixated on looks. There are risks involved in the process as well as pain. Like, the story the doctor tells towards the end about the girl who came in for plastic surgery after her boyfriend left her. That made me just super emo. That being said, I'm not a supporter of this trend. For me, plastic surgery should be used on in cases where your health is at risk (like with cleft palates). I hope that there is a way to reverse this unhealthy trend. 

The Texas State Fair and the Chinese Lantern Festival!

So yesterday, Tien and I hit up the Texas State Fair (even though I had a marketing research class in the evening). It's okay. What do kids say these days? YOLO. Anyways, they had a special for admission. It was $2 a person if each person brought 3 canned foods for the Kroger canned food drive. Total admission cost: $7.50 for 2 people.

We didn't go on any rides just because I can't really stand carnival rides. Roller coasters at Six Flags are fine, but the carnival rides are so shaky and make me sick really easily. Last year we went for Tien's birthday and that did not turn out well. We ended up just going to the car exhibits, window shopping, watching a pig race, visited animals, and ate.

The main attraction this year was the Chinese Lantern Festival. It was pretty pricey for entrance at 28 tickets ($14) a person, but it was worth it. Apparently, the exhibit took 3 months to put together and it was freaking amazing. Like, pictures and videos will not do it justice. So if you haven't hit up the State Fair yet and plan to do so, remember to shell out $14 for this thing. You won't regret it. Unless, of course, you're one of those people who aren't easily impressed. Seriously, though, it'll rock your socks.

For more of my photos from the State Fair, click the link below:
https://plus.google.com/photos/112994609708042405063/albums/5800840313742030289

Cube, What Are You Doing? STAHP.

Okay, seriously. Cube just took HyunA to a new level of crap. No offense, but she's not that talented at all. All she's got are looks, which, quite frankly, aren't that redeeming either. I don't know why Tien thinks she's so hot. The only way she sells is through sexualizing herself. Alright, I understand that she doesn't make the creative decisions in how she's presented. But geez. Have you guys tried listening to her performances with the MR removed? Just terrible. She's not great as a rapper either. The one time 4minute did a cover of "Pinocchio" by f(x), you could barely hear HyunA. 

"Change" was an okay song but I won't listen to it voluntarily. HyunA just got lucky with "Bubble Pop" cuz it was catchy. Otherwise I would've flushed that down the drain, too. This new "Ice Cream" song doesn't sound too great. Then again, I might be wrong. What the heck is with the bubble bath? Is that necessary?! Makes me wanna puke. This is called taking it wayyy too far. 

Don't Be Afraid to Aim High

So here's my official rejection email from the marketing team for the Dallas Mavericks. My buddy Leon was surprised that I even applied because he said he wouldn't even have the confidence to try. It's not about confidence. It's about going after what you want. 

Long ago, back as a senior in high school, my advertising design teacher talked about when her son was going job hunting for a graphic design position. He applied starting at the most prestigious ad agency in Dallas and landed the job. When you aim high, you have a chance of actually starting out with a great job without having to climb from the bottom. Plus, it's not like your chances of getting hired somewhere decreases just because you were rejected somewhere else. I'm taking the tactic of applying at the most prestigious places first and moving down to the least prestigious. Rejected by the Mavs? Fine. Let's see if the Richards Group will take me. If not, there's still Reynolds and Reynolds. Worst case scenario is that I'd be stuck making brochure templates for printing shops. Let's hope I never have to apply for a job at that level. 

That being said, I will accept my rejection with a smile. Why? I've managed to impress a senior designer AND he gave me good tips. His advice actually does make sense, though. I use too much sans-serif fonts in my design and don't branch out into other typefaces. Adding logos to my portfolio is going to be tricky, but I can try. I'm not sure about going to portfolio school, though. I don't even know any portfolio schools nor am I really sure what is the definition of a portfolio school. I tried Googling it and all I got was stuff like the Art Institute and I cannot afford that. What to do...

Welcome to the Real World, Alyssa!

So I haven't really written a post in a while, and if you follow me on Twitter, you know why. Anyways, this is a just a little update about me getting thrown into the real world after living in my ivory tower so long. Recently, I've started a job at the new Studio Movie Grill that opened on Spring Valley. Honestly, I kinda hate it. I work as a server so my pay is really unstable since most of my pay depends on tips. Base pay is only $2.13 an hour, which is average for a waiter job. Everything else is tips, tips, tips. It's like the first week that this location has opened so the managers kind of overstaffed just cuz most of us are new and might need help. The bad thing is that the more people that we have in our little team, the more times we have to split our tip pool. Saturday I walked away with an okay amount of money for 10+ hours of work. Sunday was okay. Monday I only walked away with $10 for the 6 hours I was there. They put me in a 6-man team for a 2-man job. Bleh.

Another thing I hate about working at SMG is the fact that we don't have a definite end time for our shifts. They give us a start time and they'll keep us as they need us. Saturday I started at 10am and got stuck at work til 8pm. Sucked balls.

At least the people I work with are pretty cool (for the most part). I just hope that everyone I work with is reliable. Sunday I had a team member barely do anything. Every time I saw him, he was in the kitchen taking a drink break. And he walked away with an even share of the tip pool even though he didn't do scrap. Seriously? Ugh.

On to life after college. So you know how I went to a job fair back in September with Hien? Well, I got a call back from the Reynolds and Reynolds place. Went through an interview on Skype and got to the second step of the interview process. If I get this job, I'll be set the moment I graduate from college. The thing is, I know nothing about what to ask for for a yearly salary. It says on most of the websites I've been to that the average starting salary of a graphic designer is around $30,000 a year. Landing a job at Reynolds and Reynolds means that I would have to pack up and move to Houston. Can I live on $30,000 a year alone in Houston? Maybe. My parents were making a huge deal out of it saying that I should've tried to push for more and whatever. Ugh. I don't know what to do.

In the meantime, while that second step is going through, I'm still trying to find a job closer to home. I applied for an internship at the Richards Group and got rejected. Now I applied for a full-time position as a designer. If I can land this, then I can drop Reynolds and Reynolds and live at home and stay close to the people I know. I also applied for a graphic design internship for the Dallas Mavs. If I can land either of those jobs, I'll be fine.

So the moral of the story is, start applying for jobs before you graduate so that you'll have something lined up as soon as you get your diploma. That way, you won't have to bum around for a few months after graduation waiting for a job offer. The second moral is that waiter jobs are hard. Don't do it.

Movie Marketing: You're Doing It Right

For those of you who don't know, Disney and Pixar have created a sequel to Monsters Inc. called Monsters University. The movie isn't set to come out until June 2013, but the Disney company has already worked on marketing it. There was already a lot of hype about the trailers that were released, but now Disney and Pixar have added something else to their marketing scheme: a website for Monsters University. Now I'm not just talking about the movie. The companies have created a university website complete with information about professors, alumni, and even financial aid. There's even a store where you can buy actual Monsters University merchandise. I believe that  Disney and Pixar have raised the bar for movie marketing. The site is already viral. This is one of the reasons why my ultimate goal is to work for Disney. Their advertising creatives are top notch. I really, really hope I get to be part of their team one day. Until then, I gotta start small. Hooray for being a server at Studio Movie Grill.

To see the Monsters University site, click the link below:
http://monstersuniversity.com/edu/index.html

To see the Monsters University trailer, click the link below:
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/monsters-university/trailers/monsters-university-teaser-trailer-29717274.html

South Korean Coca Cola Campaign and Other Ways to Happiness

So here is a Coca Cola campaign set up in South Korea. For those who don't know, the guys featured on the machine are part of a boy band called 2PM. This was a really cute and interesting idea. Dance for your Coke. If you didn't notice, many of the people had smiles on their faces while they interacted with the machine. The concept behind this machine isn't new for Coke. For a while now, Coca Cola has always tried to associate their brand with happiness. Coke has created several campaigns internationally to go with their happiness theme. Here's a couple of more:

Do you guys feel that Coca Cola's advertising strategy is effective? Would Americans buy into the idea of the dance vending machine? I know that some of the YouTube comments joke that Americans would be too lazy to dance for their coke, but come on. I'm pretty sure that someone would try it because it's such a novel idea. I know I would.

Click the link below to see more of the Coke Happiness campaign:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL35A497C9C1B48A4E

Photoshop Tutorial: Different Colors and Overlaps

Requested by my buddy Angelina. Haha.

First, set up the text that you want to use. Make sure they overlap.

Duplicate one of the layers and rasterize it.

Make sure the rasterized layer is still selected and then press and hold CTRL then click the rectangle with the T next to the text layer that you didn't make a copy of.

 Click and hold CTRL, SHIFT, and 'I' to inverse your selection. Then press delete to get rid of the parts of the layer that you don't want to recolor. Then click and hold CTRL and 'D' to unselect everything.

 Double click on the copied layer and select 'Color Overlay.' Click on the color box to change the color of the overlapped font area.

The end.

Michelle Phan's Empire is Starting to Tank

For those of you who don't know who Michelle Phan is, she is a self-started makeup guru who has recently built up a massive following and basically founded an empire under her name. Her videos used to be non-commercialized and had a very humble feel to them. Kind of like what bubzbeauty's videos are like. Since Michelle was hired as a spokesperson for Lancome, her videos have gotten crappier and crappier. Everything has suddenly turned into an endorsement and there isn't anything that seems genuine about her anymore. I used to actually really like her back in the early days. I just don't anymore. 

Recently, Michelle was featured in Seventeen magazine and (surprise surprise) there were Lancome products involved. No offense, but I thought Seventeen magazine was supposed to be aimed towards younger girls. How are these young girls going to afford these Lancome products? It seems a bit impractical to feature such high-end products in this kind of magazine. Even I can't afford to spend $42 on a blush and I'm 21. 

Along with her constant endorsement of Lancome, Michelle has been involved in some shady business. Who remembers IQQU? Yeah, that's right. That's the brand that was once endorsed by Michelle. There was a question about whether or not IQQU products were FDA approved. Michelle said that they were, but further investigation into the issue showed that they weren't. I don't think that lying to your followers about how safe your products is going to reflect well on you.

You can read the investigation below:

http://michellephail.tumblr.com/post/3025093924

Now there's this whole MyGlam debacle. MyGlam was basically Michelle's version of a Birchbox. When the bag was first launched, everyone was so excited and it was apparently a really great service at the beginning. Eventually, the quality of the bags declined and plenty of people complained. I've watched plenty of YouTube videos to know. As complaints started pouring onto MyGlam's Facebook and YouTube pages, Michelle handled it the mature way: by deleting angry comments. Recently, the bags have begun to regain the quality that it had when the subscription service first launched. Michelle has even tried to revamp the brand by including this ipsy thing. Many people were irked by the fact that she didn't admit to her wrongdoings. She's just like, "Oh, MyGlam is now better than ever because of ipsy." I'm sorry, but this ad was so cheesy and awkward to watch. It looks like Michelle is really struggling to keep her empire alive. Good luck with that, Ms. Phan. 

I mean, her humble rise to fame was admirable up until the point that she let fame get to her head. Sorry I'm not sorry for stating my honest opinion about this girl. 

Attacking Catholics: Is This Something You Want to Include in Your Portfolio?

So I'm browsing through the graphic design tag on Tumblr when I come across this: a series of "posters" about pedophilia in Catholic churches:
http://overthewembo.tumblr.com/post/
32265987330/posters-about-pedophilia-in-catholic-churches

Okay. I'm about to go on this huge angry rant. Like, forreal. This  kind of stuff is not okay. Alright, I understand that the Catholic religion has been getting a lot of bad press because of child molestation charges against a few priests. But it's not like it's only happened to the Catholic church. I'm sure that there are some cases like this involving Baptist pastors. It's not like anyone is hating on Baptists. On top of that, is it really fair to attack a religion as a whole for the actions of a select few? People say it's insensitive to attack all Muslims for the actions of a few radicals that decided to carry out the September 11th attacks. Isn't it insensitive to do the same to Catholics?

ON TOP OF THAT, these images are a series done by a 24-year-old graphic designer to include in his portfolio. HIS PORTFOLIO. Really, is this something that you would want to include in your portfolio? Do you honestly think that your potential employers would find this a "tasteful" piece? I'm pretty sure that if this is the kind of aesthetics that you're into that you're going to have a hard time finding a job. These aren't even that cleverly done. Like, what the heck. All the guy did was throw in a few penises. The composition and the execution just suck. How long would it take to make all these "posters?" Probably less than 20 minutes. You know that kind of effort is going to land you a graphic design job.

Alright. End of my angry rant.

DBSK's New Music Video: "Catch Me"

So TVXQ (also known as DBSK) released their newest music video called "Catch Me." The song sounds alright. Not a huge fan of the music video itself. Then again, this kind of music video is what's typical of DBSK. Props to the choreographer for coming up with that cool little arm trick they got going on in there. I don't know why, but in some shots Yunho kind of reminds me of Justin Chon. Haha.

Honestly, I really miss DBSK's old songs back when it was still a 5-person band. I don't know if you can really count Yunho and Changmin as a "band." At least their sound was a bit more original. "Catch Me" sounds like every other song that's coming out these days. The techno-y, dubstep-y stuff is getting pretty boring now. I miss their "Mirotic" days. Oh well. Let's just hope SM Entertainment will actually round up some more quality songwriters and producers. I'm becoming wary of the new stuff that SM is cranking out these days. 

Plano Balloon Festival 2012

So today me and Tien went to the Plano Balloon Festival near Quad C. First time ever. I mean, it was pretty neat even though I was rather cranky at the beginning. It was really hot and we couldn't stay long cuz Tien was called in for work. The whole thing was kind of like a mini state fair. There were food booths, rides, a concert stage, toys, face painting, and games. The only thing different was that instead of Big Tex there were hot air balloons. Just like the state fair, the food is pretty expensive. A cup of lemonade at Conway's cost $5 and it wasn't even that good. I feel like we got juiced. Parking was $5 when you parked at the Plano Centre and then you had to walk a mile (literally) to get the festival grounds. I wished they had some sort of bus transportation like they had at the Red Bull Soapbox thing. Oh well. Would I go again next year? Maybe. Maybe not. It'll depend on my mood and probably the weather. It'd be nicer if it was a bit cooler outside.

Tomorrow is the last day of the Plano Balloon festival so if you want to check it out, you still have time to! The hot air balloons launch at 7:00am and 6:00pm.

For more info along with a complete event schedule, click the link below:
http://www.planoballoonfest.org/

Watching the balloons launch was pretty neat. Very colorful. Everything was a lot more impressive in person, but I tried to capture the moment nonetheless.

You can see the rest of the photos by clicking the link below:
https://plus.google.com/photos/112994609708042405063/albums/5791241346667748129

Samsung's Newest Jab at Apple

And this is why I love studying advertising. Not that I hate Apple or anything. I actually own an iPod touch and am planning to get a Macbook Pro after I graduate. It's just amazing to see what these advertisers can come up with. And the girl with the hoop earrings at 1:07 was on the PBS show Cyberchase as a girl named Bianca. Haha. How weirddd.

You gotta love these Apple loyalists, too.

Underrated Boy Band: U-KISS

So U-KISS came out with a new music video yesterday entitled "Stop Girl." I think some of the members are missing or something. There have been quite a few changes in the members recently. This isn't really their best song, but I still feel like they're underrated as a boy band. They're always being overshadowed by the elites like BIGBANG, Super Junior, and 2PM. U-KISS has talent and I enjoy watching the members interact. Not that I'm saying the other bands aren't talented or enjoyable to watch. I'm just saying that not enough credit is given where it's due. 

I think as of right now, my favorite song from U-KISS is "Believe." But that's as of right now. My mood changes all the time. Actually, I really enjoy their slower songs alot. Songs like "Someday" and "0330" are great to listen to. I love listening to those songs live, especially with all the harmonizing. Amazing. I love listening to Soohyun's voice, too. 

Late Night Learning: Why Does My Nose Run When I Eat Something Spicy?

So for a late night snack I decided to eat hot and spicy shrimp cup noodles with lime, and my nose started running like it always does whenever I eat something spicy. Curious as to why, I decided to Google the reasoning behind the occurrence. This is what I found: "All hot peppers contain capsaicinoids, natural substances that produce a burning sensation in the mouth, causing the eyes to water and the nose to run, and even induce perspiration. Capsaicinoids have no flavor or odor, but act directly on the pain receptors in the mouth and throat. The primary capsaicinoid, capsaicin, is so hot that a single drop diluted in 100,000 drops of water will produce a blistering of the tongue."

And this is the positive result of curiosity: I learned something new and educational and probably won't remember this next week. But that's okay. Good thing I'm not curious about other things. Like drugs.

Meanwhile, at my former high school...

So this Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale was found at my former high school, Hebron High School. I know nothing about this car except for the fact that it's apparently super rare and that there's only 150 of them in existence worldwide. Honestly, I could care less about the car. I'm not a huge car fanatic. What I do care about is the abusing of the hardship license. I mean, come on. There's gotta be some reason why Texas decided to raise the official age to get a license from 15 to 16. And it's because of that new rule change that parents feel it's necessary for their kid to apply for a hardship license? You have to fall under at least one of four conditions in order to get this license, which include:

1. The applicant's family faces an unusual economic hardship and is being deprived of the basic necessities of life. 
2. The applicant has an ill family member who needs transportation to medical treatment or the applicant must drive in her place to keep the household running. 
3. The applicant is enrolled in a vocational educational program. 
4. An immediate family member has died and remaining family members need him to drive temporarily to carry on household routines. 

Back to the Gallardo STS. The driver is apparently a 15-year-old girl with a hardship license. Please explain to me what sort of hardship she is under in order to get that license. I'm sorry. I didn't get my license until I was 18 and that's cuz my parents are Asian and wouldn't let me drive until then. Is it completely necessary to be on the road at 15? Where else would you be driving besides school? You can just ride the school bus. I also don't understand why some parents would encourage going around the system like that. Do you really want to be paying higher auto insurance rates cuz last time I checked paying for insurance was not cheap. I also blame whoever is handing out these licenses. Geez. Can't you do something to make sure the applicant actually fall under the conditions necessary to get that license? Get yo stuff together, man.

To read the full article, click the link below:
http://jalopnik.com/5944568/is-a-15+year-old-texan-girl-driving-this-ultra-rare-lamborghini-to-high-school

UTD Job Fairs are Pointless for Me

So in the light of my very recent rejection from the Disney College Program, I decided to hit up the UTD Career Fair with my good buddy Hien. Turned out to be a huge waste of time for me. Not that I'm surprised by that fact or anything.

Now, this isn't the first time that I've been to a career fair on campus. The last time I went, it was a lot less crowded. But huge crowds aren't the problem. The problem for me walking into any of these career fairs is the lack of variety in jobs or internships. What do I expect? UTD is a school focused on business and engineering and computer science. Of course there's mostly going to be job listings for program designers and business managers. Being a graphic designer, it's hard to find a niche in any of these job fairs. For artists, we have to rely on building connections elsewhere like on Facebook or Twitter or LinkedIn. Meanwhile, business and computer science majors can just walk into these career fairs and boom! Opportunities everywhere!

My time spent at this job fair wasn't completely wasted. I did hand out a couple of copies of my resume (a couple being only 2). I handed one to the lady from Michaels (like the craft store) for a summer internship next year. Not exactly what I was aiming for, but if I have no job by the time summer rolls around again, I'll take it. The second resume went to a company called Reynolds and Reynolds. What they do is that they provide marketing and business solutions for automotive retailers. Luckily for me, they did have a graphic design internship even though it wasn't listed on the job fair's program. The only thing about this internship is that if I get accepted I'd have to relocate to Houston. That's not too bad, but I wouldn't have anywhere to stay.

So in essence, UTD needs to learn how to expand and accommodate these job fairs to not just business and computer science majors. That is all.

The Mark of Athena

Oh man. The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan comes out in 13 days! So excited! The first chapter has been posted on Rick Riordan's website already, but I've restrained myself from reading it because doing so will cause me to be more anxious. On top of that, I should be reading the Wizard of Oz novels for my fantasy literature test on Thursday instead. I'm debating whether or not I should pre-order The Mark of Athena...

For those of you who don't know what I'm blabbing about, The Mark of Athena is the 3rd book in Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series. This series is kind of like a sequel to the Percy Jackson series, but instead of following Greek mythology it follows Roman mythology instead. The premise of the books is that in modern times there is still the existence of Greek and Roman gods. These gods sometimes do the bang bang with mortals and they end up making demigod kids. These kids can be sent to one of two camps for survival training based on their godly parents' form during conception: Camp Half Blood for Greek kids and Camp Jupiter for Roman kids. At these camps, kids learn how to sword fight and stuff like that to fight off mythical monsters and stop the invasion of Titans and giants.

So these books are obviously more suited for 12-year-old kids instead of college seniors. Why do I enjoy them so much? They're really entertaining and educational at the same time. I love the humor that Rick Riordan incorporates into the books. Some of it is in-your-face and some of it is subtle, sarcastic humor. What's educational about these books is that they help teach me about Greek and Roman mythology. I can name all 12 of the main Olympians using their Greek names and can probably match up their Roman counterparts. This information came in very helpful during my art history class.

Rick Riordan has another series called the Kane Chronicles which is based on Egyptian mythology. I only read the first book and it was okay. I believe there are now 3 books in the series. I wasn't fond of the setup of the book. Rick Riordan wrote these books to resemble an audio transcript of a brother and sister retelling their encounters with Egyptian gods.

I guess if I have nothing better to do then I'll read books 2 and 3 for the Kane Chronicles. Too bad I have to read the Chronicles of Narnia next for my fantasy literature class. Still a better story than Twilight. I can't believe I used to like that stuff. I actually reread the series and now I realize how horrible of a writer Stephanie Meyer is. My goodness. Now I gotta find a way to get rid of my Twilight books. They're worth almost nothing on Half.com and Amazon. Bleh.

To learn more about Rick Riordan's books, click the link below:
http://www.rickriordan.com/home.aspx

A flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all...

My acceptance card from last year.

Sooo those who know me know that I was really looking forward to doing the Disney College Program. It was part of my career plan since forever. I got accepted last year so I assumed that I'd be able to nail the job again. Nope. I bombed my phone interview so badly on Sunday that they didn't have to take 2 weeks to make a decision. They took less than 24 hours. Ouch.

Why would I want to take part in the Disney College Program? I mean, it's only an opportunity to work in one of the Disney parks on an hourly wage. That's because the Disney name has that much value to it. On top of that, based on what I've read, if you start at the bottom of the pyramid you can work your way up to higher internships and eventually corporate positions. Disney does have a graphic design program. On top of that, the Disney College Program is a "magical" experience. It's a great way to make connections. Plus, it's a good idea to get out and be independent if you haven't had a chance to (like me). I've lived at home with my parents for my entire life.

Some of you are probably wondering why I didn't take the opportunity last year. There's really one reason: my parents. My dad was concerned that if I took a break from school to go work that I wouldn't come back and get my degree. I guess that is a somewhat legit fear although I'm not sure about the percentage of people who take a break from school and don't finish their degree. I'm actually really regretting not taking the opportunity last year. I know that I'm determined enough to finish everything that's necessary in life including finishing my degree.

So what's the plan now? I'm just trying to build up some kind of work experience. This is an area I'm seriously lacking in. Tomorrow (or more like later today) I'm heading to the UTD Career Fair to see if I can land any good internships.

Billboard by The Richards Group

I tried to apply for an art director internship at The Richards Group. If you don't know, The Richards Group is basically the largest marketing firm in Dallas. They have worked with several huge clients including Chick-fil-a, The Home Depot, and Zales. They have quite an impressive portfolio and it would be awesome to work for them one day. My friend Shirley is actually interning there right now and based on what she's said it's a great place to work.

Maybe I'm being really ambitious in the way that I approach things. Ambition is what killed Caesar but without ambition you have no goals and accomplish nothing. Here's to being ambitious and hopefully landing a job before my parents can nag me about being a good-for-nothing artist.

For more about the Disney College Program, click the link below:
http://cp.disneycareers.com/en/default/

For more about The Richards Group, click the link below:
http://richards.com/index.html

Men and Makeup

Click the link below to read the full article:
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/s-korean-men-makeup-foundation-success#overlay-context=article/keira-knightley-i-had-no-life-besides-acting

Alright. So as much as I like certain Korean men (hello, Super Junior), I'm not a huge fan of this men wearing makeup thing. I mean, sure, physical attractiveness is important but for a lot of people masculinity is just as important. Now I'm not saying that men who wear makeup aren't masculine. I'm just saying that it kind of ruins the image of masculinity. If my guy started wearing mascara or something, I would say that he's being a girl. I dunno. Maybe that's just me.

Modern Family, Season 4!

Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh! OH MY GOSH! I can't wait! Ahhh! I need to catch up on all of season 3 cuz I haven't had time to sit down and watch any shows recently. But, dude. So excited!

If you have never watched Modern Family before, you need to check it out. Here's a little outline of the show: there are 3 families: one gay family with 2 dads and an adopted child from Vietnam, one "regular" white family with parents and 3 kids, and one interracial family with a Columbian mother and son and white father. All of them are related to each other. The setup is kind of like a documentary. The producers show you what's happening with the families and then have cuts where the family members make a statement about what's going on. A lot of it isn't like in-your-face funny, but that's what I love about it. Subtle humor is the best cuz it makes you think. But yeah. This is like the only show that I love watching that's not a Korean drama. 

Samsung Galaxy SII, S III and S IV

According to Laptop Magazine, the Samsung Galaxy S III broke records when it was launched in May with over 20 million units sold within the first 100 days of availability. That's a lot more than when the Galaxy S II was released. Honestly, I wouldn't mind getting a Galaxy S III over the new iPhone 5. I mean, it has a bigger screen and looks very sleek. There's also that feature that lets you watch videos while doing other things. That's pretty nifty. I know that Tien really wants one, and he's still rather bummed about the fact that his dad has one instead of him. Plus, the advertising done for the Galaxy series recently has been pretty awesome and effective.

If you haven't seen it, Samsung released an ad for the S II that basically pokes fun at the iPhone fandom with their waiting in line for hours or maybe even days for a new release.

I'm not trying to bash on Apple cuz they did at one point have a very good run of innovative releases. However, I think that they're really starting to run out of ideas for the iPhone. So what does Apple do instead? They decide to target Samsung and file suit about patents. Apple is now targeting the Samsung Note and the Samsung Galaxy S III. I feel like this is getting ridiculous and that Apple is just behaving childishly just because the Note and Galaxy S III are doing so well. Pfft. I don't know. 

Now on to the news that I've heard about the S IV: it's going to be bigger. The new model is expected to be on shelves by March of next year and is said to come with a 5-inch screen. That's 1up from the iPhone 5. Samsung is still working to include their flexible screen technology which was something that was supposed to show up in this year's devices but production problems have prevented that from happening. In the new Galaxy, Samsung also hopes to include a new processor that they created instead of using the Qualcomm chips found is some of the Galaxy S III variants. 

The New Wii U is Ridiculous (and Not in a Good Way)

So here's my current opinion on this WiiU system: it seems like Nintendo is trying too hard. Like, no offense, but I don't think I would be interested in buying this system. Is it supposed to be a portable gaming device? If so, then it's pretty chunky. The design makes the Wii U look like one of those kids' Leapfrog toys that teaches you how to read or something. The starting MSRP is pretty steep at $299.99 for a standard set and $349.99 for a deluxe set. Actually, I guess that's kind of standard for home gaming systems (if that's what it is). What I hate about this system is the fact that it basically renders the original Wii obsolete. There is no longer any resale value in the old Wii system and my parents bought that thing at $249.99. So what was the point in scrambling for the Wii system when it first came out? Nothing. Now the old Wii system is just going to sit and collect dust. Either that or people are gonna have to toss them out. The TV functions of the Wii U make the system look like a glorified TiVo set. It's not like the concept of using a touchscreen to flip through your shows is new (hello. Logitech Harmony). You know what? I bet that this thing still can't play DVD's or BluRay. The only plus that I see to this whole system is that it's backwards compatible with Wii games and Wii remotes. Bleh. Too bad my youngest siblings already bought into this whole trap. They're asking my parents for one. Geez.

The Wii U will be released November 18th. For more information about the Wii U, click the link below:
http://www.nintendo.com/wiiu

Edit: I've just been informed that the Wii U is not meant to be a portable gaming device.

PSY on Saturday Night Live

So PSY's reign in America continues. I'm wondering when this wave is gonna end. But at least here PSY gets included in the show in a more creative way. It's not the show hosts asking him to teach them the dance. Even so, every appearance that I've seen so far has been focused around the dance. I've already said it before: PSY is considered to be a joke in America. He's merely a novelty. No one really knows how established he is as a musician. He's spent more than a decade in the music business as a singer-songwriter, rapper, AND record producer. Yet none of his accomplishments are mentioned. It's only about his "Gangnam Style." Gahhh. I give up. 

Red Bull Soapbox Race

So I went to the Redbull Soapbox Race in The Colony with Tien on Saturday. It was alright. The biggest pain was actually finding parking. They closed off Plano Parkway so I had no idea where the heck I was going although I know how to get to Austin Ranch. Bleh. We stayed for a couple of races. It's actually pretty cool seeing what people are capable of building. Tien says he wants to try it sometimes even though seeing people get injured when they jump those ramps does not look fun. Not sure if I would go again next year. Maybe it'll be better now that we know what to expect in terms of traffic and parking. That was the only frustrating thing for me. At least we got free Slurpees to make up for my sour mood!

To see more about the Red Bull Soapbox Race, click the link below:

http://www.redbullsoapboxusa.com/#/event/dfw-2012

No More Sodas Larger Than 16 oz. Allowed in NYC

Read the full article here.

In New York City, a ban has been placed on the sales of 16+ oz. sodas or other sugary drinks in establishments under the Board of Health regulation. This means restaurants and concession stands. The only places exempt are grocery stores and most convenient stores. The ban will take place starting March 2012.

Um, say what? I don't live in New York, but I find that a really ridiculous ban. I know that people are trying really hard to combat obesity, but if people are desperate enough they will find another way. Nothing's stopping these people from buying two 16 oz. cups.  Better yet, they can still go to the grocery store chug down all the Dr. Pepper they want at home.

You would think that the council would spend their time and resources banning something else that's more important like maybe cell phone use in the car (hello, Arlington). Don't go around passing some sort of ban that isn't going to work in the long run. You just wasted your time. If the people really wanted to lose weight, then they would make their own choices about how much soda to drink. It's something called willpower.

iPod Nano: What the Heck, Apple?!

Yeah, so I really don't know what to make of this new wave of Apple products. iPhone 5? I don't see much of a difference from the last generation. The new iPod Touch actually looks really nice. Maybe once I save up enough I'll upgrade from my iPod Touch... 2nd generation... The one thing that really bugs me is the evolution of the iPod Nano. Like, what? I don't even know where Apple is going with this product? It starts out with the basic scroll wheel with a rectangular shape. Then it's a square. Then it's a rectangle again.Then it starts getting colorful and by the 5th generation it has a camera. Then it's a tiny little rectangle thing with a touch screen and NO camera. Then it's back to the original shape with a touch screen AND camera. Please explain this to me. I don't understand.

Help My Friend with the Team LIVESTRONG Challenge

Hey, guys! My friend Anh is planning to do the Team LIVESTRONG Challenge in Austin on October 21st with his fraternity Omega Phi Gamma from UT. His challenge is to bike 65 miles in an effort to fundraise for the LIVESTRONG organization. What LIVESTRONG does is provide help "to find new ways to raise awareness, increase outreach and facilitate collaboration in an effort to improve the cancer experience." The reason why I'm helping is because I actually had experience with having a family member affected by cancer. You don't have to donate much. The minimum online is $5.00. If you can, please help out with the cause.

To donate or find out more about LIVESTRONG, click below:
http://laf.livestrong.org/site/TR?px=2303022&fr_id=1182&pg=personal

Orange Caramel's "Lipstick"

So Orange Caramel has a new comeback song called "Lipstick." If you don't know, Orange Caramel is a subgroup for After School, a Korean pop group under the company Pledis. What Orange Caramel specializes in is trot music or basically the old, cheesy pop music that was popular in Korea back in the day. Obviously, that leads to the quirky sound that you hear in their songs. The only song of theirs that I really listen to is "Shanghai Romance." I'm not that big into trot music. The concept for the "Lipstick" music video is pretty cute. The song itself is alright. I tried looking up the lyrics. Interestinggg. Haha. I mean, I guess Pledis did an overall good job. It might not win any awards, but it's still noteworthy in its own way.

Disney Dream Portraits

Here are Annie Lebovitz's newest photos for her Disney Dream Portraits collection.  These photos have already been out about a month now and I just found them. This time the photographs feature Russell Brand as Captain Hook and Jack Black, Jason Segel, and Will Ferrell as the hitchhiking ghosts from the Haunted Mansion. Seriously, I love Annie's work. My favorite image is probably the one where Scarlett Johansson is Cinderella. I also enjoy watching the process.

You can check out behind-the-scenes shots here.

Obviously, there's going to be some heavy Photoshop going on, but the end product is still fantastic. For those of you who don't know where you can find these pictures, you can probably see them in some magazines. These portraits were designed for print advertising for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. What do you guys think of these portraits?

Harry Potter Spells Gone Wrong

A Dreamworks animator illustrates how spells can go wrong. I have to say that this is bloody brilliant. Props to Stodoe Studios!

Wreck It Ralph

So I haven't seen or heard much about this new Disney movie coming out in November (or maybe there's been stuff and I haven't been paying attention), but I remember writing something about it in my Disney brand audit project. It's called Wreck It Ralph and it's basically about this guy named Wreck It Ralph who's tired of being a bad guy in his video game. So he goes game jumping in an attempt to try and play the hero. It's a really cute concept. There's going to be some appearances of famous video game characters like Eggman from Sonic, Bowser, and the ghost from Pacman. I think I'm probably going to go see this movie when it comes out. I feel like it's been a while since Disney has released an original movie instead of releasing old movies in 3D. Actually, I take that back. It's been a while since Disney released an original movie that was worth looking into. I think there was that one movie, The Odd Life of Timothy Green, that came out in August. I wasn't really super interested in that. There's another animated movie coming out that's directed by Tim Burton called Frankenweenie. I've never watched a Tim Burton film before so I dunno. From most of what I've seen, he's not really my cup of tea. But I dunno. 

PSY on The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Alright. So maybe, maybe I'm just overthinking things but I seriously feel like some Americans are treating PSY as some huge novelty that's rolled around. They aren't talking about his music or anything like that. They're just talking about his horsey dance and music video. I'm also sure that most media coverage being done is just an attempt to ride the bandwagon and gain viewers (even if it's only temporary). Eventually, his 15 minutes of fame will run out and most white people won't even remember his name. I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm pretty sure Ellen enjoyed having PSY teach her the "Gangnam Style" dance. It's just some of the other people like the ones on CNN International that I question. Gotta give props to YG Entertainment for getting PSY this far, though. This was the kind of attention that SM and JYP couldn't get with the Wonder Girls and Girls' Generation. 

Another "Shocking" List of Worst College Majors for Your Career

Read the full article here.

     Honestly, I'm not shocked by anything that showed up on this list. Any kind of art degree is going to be considered "bad." I guess the world isn't so interested in developing a fine culture anymore. It's all about business, science, and technology. Just human advancement through the discovery of things in the world, not the discovery of the mind's potential.
     The high unemployment rate for art majors isn't completely shocking either. I would expect as much in such a highly competitive field. And on top of that, some people go and get an art degree despite the fact that he or she might not actually be built to become a good artist. Not that I'm hating on everyone who wants to be an artist. I'm just saying that you should definitely explore more into fields that you might be more well-suited for. I guess that's why UNT has such a competitive communication design program. 300+ students could be lined up to try and get into the program and at the end of 4 years, only about 50 kids would end up with a communication design degree because their portfolios got accepted. This kind of competition scared me so much that I transferred to UTD. A cowardly move? Maybe. I didn't want to waste 2 years of my college career studying art only to be rejected. I guess I should clump myself in with the other people who might end up being ill-fit for the art world.
     Actually, I don't regret my decision to transfer to UTD. Why? Because it's much easier to get a minor at UTD than it is at UNT. My major may be graphic design, but I made sure to have a backup plan in case I can't immediately find a job as a designer. My backup comes in the form of a marketing minor. Business is a pretty stable industry right now compared to art. If becoming an artist fails, at least I have enough knowledge to take my skills to the business world. If I do end up as a designer, my marketing knowledge will actually benefit me as well, especially if I'm going to be doing ad design.
     I guess what I'm trying to say is that you art majors shouldn't give up hope just yet! You can still be an artist. Just make sure you have a backup so that you don't end up in the unemployment numbers.