]]> Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:51:36 -0700 http://virb.com/alisawilhelm/posts/text/864707 http://virb.com/alisawilhelm/posts/text/841843

]]> Thu, 25 Sep 2008 01:01:30 -0700 http://virb.com/alisawilhelm/posts/text/841843 http://virb.com/alisawilhelm/posts/text/832940 The only thing more embarrassing than seeing someone you know in the grocery store while wearing sweatpants and buying 5-gallon vats of ice cream is seeing someone you know in the shrink's office.

As soon as I sat down and opened up a newspaper, out of the office came Leno. I slouched in my chair and held my newspaper higher. Leno is one of those people who, when given a soap box to stand on, will stand on that box for hours. Every time I talk to him, I try to think of something to say that is so absolutely absurd that it throws him off-track. Phrases that have worked so far include: "The fungus on my foot is literally rainbow colored," "One of my best friends is a serial unicorn rapist," and "The leftover spaghetti that I had for lunch was magical -- the sauce was red last month, but this month it's green (red's complimentary color)."

I was slouching under my newspaper when Leno spotted me. "Hey! Alisa! You're in here seeking mental health counseling as well?"

"Yep. I'm a crazy too! Who knew that we would have something in common?"

"I'm not crazy. I'm just mentally unstable."

"You know, I was having a conversation with my pet praying mantis the other day, and he told me that crickets taste great. I don't know about you, but I just don't understand how he would think that tastes good. I think grasshoppers are tasty, but I don't understand the cricket fetish."

"Uhhmmmm."

Success!

Actually, I was seeing the shrink because I've been really depressed lately. We talked through some things, and decided it's a combination of too heavy of a work load, my perfectionist tendencies, and culture shock. Here's a quick summary:

Problem: Working 50-60 hours a week at the Daily Wildcat on top of being a full time student.
Solution: Stepping down from my position as managing editor to being a page designer, online assistant, and occasional photographer, and dropping one of my classes. I'm now working 20-30 hours a week and taking nine credits.

Problem: Seeing everything I do as a failure.
Solution: Finding at least one thing that I'm genuinely happy with in every project that I do.

Problem: Culture shock. This one is a little weird because I never really left the country, but this summer I lived in a very tight-knit community that was very opposite of the real world. Culture shock snuck up on me because I really didn't expect it to happen.
Solution: I'm still trying to come up with a solution for this one. I'm really unsure of what to do, and no one really has a tangible answer for me.

My shrink also gave me a flow chart that shows different stages of depression and physical steps to take to get back on track. He was very helpful, and I'm going back for a follow-up visit in a couple weeks.

See also: 2008 presidential candidates positions on issues involving mental health

As soon as I sat down and opened up a newspaper, out of the office came Leno. I slouched in my chair and held my newspaper higher. Leno is one of those people who, when given a soap box to stand on, will stand on that box for hours. Every time I talk to him, I try to think of something to say that is so absolutely absurd that it throws him off-track. Phrases that have worked so far include: "The fungus on my foot is literally rainbow colored," "One of my best friends is a serial unicorn rapist," and "The leftover spaghetti that I had for lunch was magical -- the sauce was red last month, but this month it's green (red's complimentary color)."

I was slouching under my newspaper when Leno spotted me. "Hey! Alisa! You're in here seeking mental health counseling as well?"

"Yep. I'm a crazy too! Who knew that we would have something in common?"

"I'm not crazy. I'm just mentally unstable."

"You know, I was having a conversation with my pet praying mantis the other day, and he told me that crickets taste great. I don't know about you, but I just don't understand how he would think that tastes good. I think grasshoppers are tasty, but I don't understand the cricket fetish."

"Uhhmmmm."

Success!

Actually, I was seeing the shrink because I've been really depressed lately. We talked through some things, and decided it's a combination of too heavy of a work load, my perfectionist tendencies, and culture shock. Here's a quick summary:

Problem: Working 50-60 hours a week at the Daily Wildcat on top of being a full time student.
Solution: Stepping down from my position as managing editor to being a page designer, online assistant, and occasional photographer, and dropping one of my classes. I'm now working 20-30 hours a week and taking nine credits.

Problem: Seeing everything I do as a failure.
Solution: Finding at least one thing that I'm genuinely happy with in every project that I do.

Problem: Culture shock. This one is a little weird because I never really left the country, but this summer I lived in a very tight-knit community that was very opposite of the real world. Culture shock snuck up on me because I really didn't expect it to happen.
Solution: I'm still trying to come up with a solution for this one. I'm really unsure of what to do, and no one really has a tangible answer for me.

My shrink also gave me a flow chart that shows different stages of depression and physical steps to take to get back on track. He was very helpful, and I'm going back for a follow-up visit in a couple weeks.

See also: 2008 presidential candidates positions on issues involving mental health

Today my roommate and I decided to try a church that meets in a movie theatre on Sunday mornings. We arrived, I parked the car. As soon as I stepped out, a man in the car next to me opened his door and asked if I wanted to buy perfume.

Him: Would you like to buy some perfume?
Me: (thinking: What is this? A Mexican border town?) No, thanks.
Him: Really? It's a good price! You sure you don't want perfume?

My roommate stepped out of the car.

Him: Hey, how about you? Would you like-- no, no you wouldn't. Okay. Have a nice day.

We turned and went into the theatre.
Me: I wonder if he thinks I use coke. Do I look like a coke user to you?
Her: You look like an art student.
Me: Well, you could be a meth head.
Her: He was selling "perfume", and isn't that stuff written on your class supply lists?
Me: Whatever. I'm pretty sure the bookstore stocks adderall for the rest of the university.

It was pretty funny that he knew right off the bat that my roommie wasn't going to buy anything. Also, I do believe the ONDCP needs to update their list of street terms.

1: ]]> Thu, 14 Aug 2008 05:54:55 -0700 http://virb.com/alisawilhelm/posts/text/770884 http://virb.com/alisawilhelm/posts/text/760860 In his book Escapism, Yi-Fu Tuan explores the relationships between humans and nature. He argues that humans invite nature into their lives by planting gardens and growing grass, but try to escape that nature by trimming it back, forcing it into patterns and designated places, and arranging it according to our standards of beautiful.

I've thought about that a lot since I arrived in Colorado for the summer. My stereotype for Coloradans (particularly people who live in the Denver Metro area) is that everyone is very environmentally conscious, runs up and down mountains in the summer, skis all the time in winter, bikes to work or takes the bus, and is generally aware of their actions towards nature. Because of my stereotype, I thought that more people would prefer natural-looking flora over manipulated, pristine rows of common suburban plant-life. I was wrong, and I found that yuppie troops march in full force, leaving in their wake highly-structured and tightly-scheduled gardens.

I went looking for an ungroomed plot of nature that was within walking distance. I promised myself that I would look without touching, appreciate without prying, and seek to find beauty in even the ugliest of creatures.

All but the second-to-last photo are unposed. ]]> Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:18:06 -0700 http://virb.com/alisawilhelm/posts/text/672884 http://virb.com/alisawilhelm/posts/text/667046 I'm spending the summer in the Denver suburb of Lakewood, Colorado, with a group called Project Impact. We are a group of 30 or so people who all have the same goal this summer - to grow and strengthen as people, and to help out those around us. Because we're all in college, we're working full time jobs, and then doing volunteer projects in the evenings and weekends.

My mentor was a Project participant in years past, and she really encouraged me to go. I was a little apprehensive about participating, mostly because I didn't know what to expect. We have two weeks to find a job that may or may not put a black scar on my crisp white resume? I will be moving in with a group of girls that I may or may not get along with? My family group of girls is going to be paired up with a brother group that may or may not be made up of immature boys?

Two late-night jam sessions, a couple home-cooked meals, and a set of clean dishes later, I've become very appreciative of my brother group. One-hundred business inquiries later (this is not an exaggeration), and I've been hired as a hostess at Johnny Rockets and Chili's. Ten days later I can't imagine not knowing the girls I'm living with. Everyone has been so honest and open; I feel like I've known them my whole life. Things that might normally be awkward to do to people you've only known for a couple days are totally fine and accepted. Case in point:

My professor said that we can do the collage by hand or on the computer, so I jumped at the chance to use Photoshop and Illustrator. It takes me five times as long as a lot of good photoshoppers, but I'm not going to complain- it's a learning experience. I have never really used Illustrator before, so after creating only a couple of the panels, I've already tripled my knowledge of the program. Handy!

I think that my art classes are just as difficult as other classes, but in a different way. Forcing out creativity for so many hours every day, all week long, is exhausting. Also, art, unlike research papers, can not be slapped together the night before it is due. It is very time-costly.

Update

View all of the panels here.

The next English paper that will be turned in (five weeks from now) is to be written using a technique called Mystory. This technique was first created by Gregory Ulmer, a professor at the University of Florida Basically, it combines several different topics and looks at each topic through the lens of the other topics.

My professor requires my class to have 5 topics, a few of which are pre-selected.

1. Future career: Graphic Designer / Print & Layout
2. An idea from the book Escapism by Yi Fu Tuan
3. A narrative to respond to
4. Option: Photography
5. Option: Visual appeal and the flow of font

This might get hairy.

This was taken in my 3-D studio class. We cut the foam into smaller squares, layered them, and glued them together. Now we are working on carving the foam into something that's recognizable.

I have taken a camera into all of my classes, and no one has ever said any negative comments about it. I've found that my professors think that it's a little strange at first, but once they are in the passionate parts of their lecture, they become oblivious to the camera.

My drawing teacher encourages the use of the camera in the classroom. A lot of our still life drawings take 9-15 hours to complete, and we're only in the classroom with the real still life objects set up for three of those hours. So, you know, the drawings need to be finished outside of class, and it's hard to get everything exactly correct from memory alone. Additionally, the camera is extremely useful for converting three-dimensional objects onto a two-dimensional plane. For me, a student taking her first ever drawing class, it is mentally exhausting to look at the three-dimensional world and try to replicate it in two dimensions. It's something that takes time, practice, and experience, but a digital camera is little guide to give a push in the right direction.

Photo Set: Big Blue Foam Project

So anyways, I was walking out of my office, and I spotted this friend's roommate first. His roommate always has this goofy, crazy, mad scientist look in his eyes, and you can pick him out from a mile away. I literally did a one-two step backwards and whispered to myself, "No. no. nononononono." I spun on my heels and jammed my fingers at the keypad to get back into the building, where it was safe from uncomfortable situations and full of things that are nice and predictable like Mac computers, gay guys, and every edition of the AP Stylebook since 1980.

"Hey girlfriend, didn't I just see you leave?"

"Yeah, well, I'm back. There were some people out there that I didn't want to talk to, so I am avoiding an awkward situation."

"Ooohmigosh. I KNOW how you feel. I TOTALLY feel like that at least once a day."

"That's good, I'm not alone."

"Would you like to read an AP Stylebook to calm your nerves?"

"Yeah. Are you using that Mac?"

"Weeeeellll, I'm done now."

"Okay good. Would you bring me the the 1994 edition of the book?"

]]> Mon, 19 May 2008 18:30:39 -0700 http://virb.com/alisawilhelm/posts/text/624718 http://virb.com/alisawilhelm/posts/text/624717 The week after spring break feels kind of strange in Arizona. ]]> Mon, 19 May 2008 18:30:39 -0700 http://virb.com/alisawilhelm/posts/text/624717 http://virb.com/alisawilhelm/posts/text/624716 Note: This is really long, and a type-out of a journal entry. It's not extremely interesting, and there are no photos, charts, or graphs. Just a day in the life.

Note #2: Normally, my journal entries don't look anything like the following. I blame it on the changing of the seasons.

0600 Wake up

0630 Leave by bike to school

0645 Arrive at art building. Two people are there before me.

0700 Wait

0730 Wait

0750 Jump up when I hear noises on the other side of the door.

0800 Door opens

0801 Found my name in the stack of registration sheets.

0805 Registered for Design Studio 1 , Illustration 1, and Art History: Pre-history through Gothic

0810 Bought Dunkin Doughnuts Dunkachino. Never again, it's not nearly as good as I remembered it to be.

0815 People watch.

0900 English class. Learned about artist Maya Lin. She was 20 when her design for the Vietnam War Memorial was selected to be built.

1000 Psychology class. Some TA was talking, and it was the most boring thing ever (even though that particular TA is the best of the bunch that are in that class). Played tetris on my phone with Mark Wilkinson.

1100 At Christian Challenge building. Wrote a witty response (in binary) to the statement, "There are only 10 kinds of people in the world-those that understand binary and those that don't."

1115 Traveled to Chick-Fil-A on Oracle Rd.

1130 Ate meat for the first time in over a week.

1145 Met with Chick-Fil-A marketing representative to discuss the company's sponsorship of Christian Challenge at Spring Fling. Create a logo that is a hybrid of Chick-Fil-A's famous cow spots and the Christian Challenge logo.

1400 Fill-in member of the board of interviewers for Arizona Student Media. We interviewed candidates who applied for General Manager of UATV and General Manager of KAMP Student Radio for 08/09 school year.

1500 Started working on RedBlue Magazine things. It's production weekend.

2240 Stoped working on RedBlue Magazine things.

Things I Thought About Today:

1. I've had Wire Tap Pro for a very long time now, and I just realized this morning that it can record anything that can be heard. No really, it can. I'm not pirating music any more... I'm spying music. I can't believe that it took me this long to figure this out.

2. I want to participate, with my camera, in an anti-war protest someday.

3. What would it be like if there was a draft? How would walking around on the street feel if there were no men my age there? Who would occupy the fraternity houses? Would all universities involuntarily become girls-only universities? How would this affect learning?

4. I feel guilty killing bugs. I killed a moth today, and after I smacked my hand against it on the wall, I was absolutely appalled with myself for such destruction and violence. It's a weird thought for me to have, because I thought that only hippies, Hindus, and Buddhists had those kind of thoughts. I'm not one of those people. I know that I ate meat today, and I didn't really feel guilty about doing that. I mean, I feel a tinge of guilt every time I eat meat, but that guilt was much easier to deal with than the guilt I felt after killing the moth. I am totally sure that if I ever saw an animal slaughtered to be eaten, I would never eat any kind of meat again. Maybe this is a sign that I should be a vegetarian for real.

5. During and after today's interview with the man now selected to be KAMP's general manager, I realized that I love being involved in mass media production. Even though I feel like being photo chief for RedBlue Magazine next year is something that I shouldn't do (it's just not a good job for my personality), I really do love being involved with the media. It makes me feel special to know that I can ask questions and put myself in situations that would be unacceptable for normal people. (For example, going into the bathroom with a virtual stranger and photographing her applying make-up.) I like that, I just don't like the stress that goes with it. I am never happy with the photos that I take when people ask me to take them. I am only happy with my photos when I have specifically taken them for me. I have yet to learn to bridge that gap between the work mindset and the nonchalant mindset. Maybe it's a bridge that will never be built. Maybe it's never supposed to be built. I don't know. All I know is that my two types of photos are noticeably different (one sucks and the other doesn't).

6. So, I still want to be involved with the media, but not with UATV, and not with the Daily Wildcat (too many bad reputations), but maybe a little bit with RedBlue and/or KAMP. Some of the vision the new General Manager of KAMP has for this next year includes raising community awareness of the importance of KAMP Student Radio. They really do have good programming, just not a whole lot of outreach. I would like to come alongside KAMP to help raise awareness of KAMP programming and special events. So I would design all of the posters and fliers, create the album art for the recordings they cut of in-studio recordings, take photos during the artist interviews to use on the internet and elsewhere, act as a representative during UofA orientations and other public events, and maybe even maintain a blog with photos and descriptions of events and concerts that KAMP was at. I don't really know what title this job would have, but it's a combination of all the things I like to do.

7. OMMMGEEEE!!!! I'm taking GRAPHIC DESIGN and ILLUSTRATION classes next semester! Also, I should be able to have my Fridays school-free next semester. Three-day weekend, every weekend!