THE LAST MIDTERM CRIT OF MY LIFE.

Katie posted pictures of our Oscar Party on her blog! Check it out.

Heading home tomorrow morning--packing and working tonight until John's rehearsal is over (at midnight. >:|), then SLEEP, because I have to get up early to catch le bus.

Had a great day--got up EARLY for my 6-9 AM shift, and got three solid, computer-less hours of work done before my midterm critique with Rebecca and Jamison Odone. I was mixed up with a whole bunch of new people, and saw some really great stuff! I went last (probably for the best with all of the pages I had to tack up), and heard some good feedback. I've bee told to do full color from the outset, but print in greyscale. AKA Time Suck. But I suppose it's for the best.

I got some good ideas as far as marketing myself, which is a good thing. (Phew.) I also got Jamison's email (I'm usually so good at talking to people, but his awesomeness made me into a bashful, stuttering MESS), so I'll be begging him for guidance at some point soon. :P

After the crit, I had lunch with John out in Cohen Plaza and watched other MICA students lounging out on the grass, in the sun. I watched one professor play with his adorable babies and WISHED I'd had my sketchbook so I could've drawn his adorably chubby baby son. :D Aw, bbs.

After lunch I had seminar, and I watched Jamison and three other artists present, and they were all very successful, which was encouraging. I got to work AND bond with some fellow illustrators in the senior studio after seminar, which was really refreshing, as I usually feel like I'm a completely separate entity from the department (sometimes I still did, even today).

Now I'm home, procrastinating both artwork and packing and waiting for John still.

Looking forward to heading home, but I'm not looking forward to being without John for a week. Boo. :/

Love,

A.

Senior Gala/Bowling Photos! :D

Art blog updated! And photos!

More family hilarity.

Why do I post so close together, then have these dry spells?

My younger brother (who will be 15 in April) has been on Facebook for the last five or six months. TOO YOUNG. FACEBOOK IS FOR COLLEGE.

But anyway. I was looking at the profile photos Facebook said he uploaded. I came across this beauty:

(Me, Lauren, KJ)

Aren't we cute? :) (Actually, this is one of the best recent pictures of me I've ever seen.)

So, I commented, asking "Where was this taken? And how long ago [Because KJ looks much older now, but I look the same]?"

Lauren replies: 2 years maybe... [Mom confirmed it was Christmas 2008, right before I went to Florence.]

Me: WEIRD. I feel like I look the same and you guys look so different.

Lauren: You're old. That means you'll start to look the same. Then it goes downhill.

Me: Aaaaand, thank you. You do know if this was taken two years ago, you're the same age now as I was when this was taken?

Lauren: I've looked the same since I was born. It's been downhill for me since the 2nd grade.

This is pretty accurate, minus the downhill part. Lauren's face has been virtually the same since she was a newborn. :) Aw, bbs.

Love,

-A.

P.S. Another fun tidbit about my brother: he's in The Sound of Music at his school this year as Max Dettweiler. Woo! He gets to play the comic relief! And he has a duet with the Baroness! John and I are going back to Sewickley at the end of this month to see the show! I'm so proud of KJ. :D

Halloween Fun!

There will be more and better photos eventually, but here we go:

My group was:

-Betsy and her little sister Mamie as Luigi and Mario, respectively.

-Robin as Robin A. Bank. (He's been a 'Robin' every year--Robin the Boy Wonder, Robin Hood, and Robin Williams as Patch Adams.)

-Jess as Quinn Fabray (from Glee!).

-Colin as Bob Ross (He even made Happy Tree stickers!).

-Katie as The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

-Ben as TinTin (I have no photos of him here yet--there was only one, and it was not flattering. :P).

-Jen as a Baltimore Cop (No photos of her yet either!).

-John as The Doctor (from Doctor Who--he is a huge Anglophile, in case you haven't noticed).

-Me as Alice (as you remember!).

Here's a better look at my costume (and incidentally John's), which I was very proud to have sewn myself out of an old thrift store dress and a dust ruffle! (Jen made my 'Drink Me' bottle at the last minute like a champ.)

It was a lot of fun--Robin was a leeetle drunk (and by a little, I mean blasted), and just did hilarious things all night. The after-MICA party came to our apartment and it was an all-around good time! I'm happy. :)

However, that means that it is now November. Let's see what that means:

Today is November 2nd.

Closer is in a week and a half.

My 21st birthday is in exactly two weeks.

My Mom's 46th birthday is in three weeks.

Thanksgiving is in three and a half weeks.

My sister's 19th birthday is in exactly four weeks.

Winter Break is three weeks after that.

BLAAAAH.

Love,

A.

New York, New York: Where cute Jewish babies threaten to kill each other in the sandbox. Part Two. (With a dash of "Why I Love Brian")

When we left Our Heroes, they had ventured into Long Island. :)

After the bad news about my aunt, we stopped at Haagen-Dazs to get Ben, Betsy, and Jess a Banana Split Dazzler (*shhhing!*) and went to the park to eat it and saw five adorable Israeli kids in their underwear and smirking at us, then went to this restaurant called Pancho's for Mexican. Yes, dessert first. :P

Lunch was good, but the waiter was a jerky face and they added the tip automatically so we couldn't stiff them for their bad behavior. LAME. But we drew cute cartoons on the table paper, so we win.

After lunch, we worked off the calories at a local playground--we played on the swings (Ben took one particularly nasty spill and scraped his arm after Betsy and I both warned him on separate occasions about jumping from swings) and had an impromptu photo shoot on the grass. We overheard the toddlers responsible for my entry title--some gems from their mouths include:

"I'm gonna cut your head off!"

"My mother and my brother are gonna kick you in the ASS!"

"I'm going to get a bat and hit you in the FACE!"

Yup. Charming.

We drove around a bit more and went back to Ben's house to chill for a while before I met his dad more properly. Whew. He was intense! SERIOUS EYE CONTACT. But in a good way, although he wasted no time in telling me that if I don't learn Flash I'll never make money. :) He warmed to me more once he found out my interest in conservation, however.

The drive back to Baltimore was more pleasant that the drive from--we were all more awake and good-tempered. :) Not to mention the wide array of funny things that went down. More bridge-phobia for Jess (that trooper! :D), a great deal more Betsy-and-Alyssa-Sing-Along ensued, and during a rousing rendition of "Poker Face" by Lady GaGa, my personal favorite moment occurred:

Bets and Lyss: "P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face!"
Jess: "What is she saying? Poke her face?"
Bets and Lyss: "No, no. POKER FACE. Like the game. Have you heard that term? Poker face?"
Ben: "She's saying 'butterface'. You know, like a Butterface."
Jess: "Butterface? Poke? Poke-her-face?!"
Bets and Lyss: "NO! POKER. POKER FACE. Like the card game!"
Ben: "B-b-b-butterface, b-b-butterface!"
Jess: "I don't understand! Why are you all saying different things?!"
Bets and Lyss: *Laughing too hard to correct Jess*

Hahahahaha. I can't even keep from laughing now!

Also, Betsy was foiled in her search for a Spock collector's cup--she is now in love with Spock since seeing Star Trek with me, Robin, the two Bens, Colin, and Jen a few weeks back.

It was a fantastic weekend all around. :) Thanks, you guys, for making it so awesome! :D

SIDE NOTE!: Eric, the Gossip Girl fan who came over last week, did come over and hang out. He also admitted that he wanted to ask me out on a date, but thanks to his return to Austin, no go. But, we made plans to hang out on Friday. He said he would call me and--Surprise!--did not. Well, that is, he called at 9:30pm, while I was on my way to New York City. And he only called to tell me why he couldn't hang out that day! Leave my hanging all day, then that! Lame. But oh well.

I also saw Marla on Monday. I got called in to work at the Meyerhoff desk that morning from 8 AM to noon, and posted a status update about it on Facebook. At about 11:30, Marla walks in. I look up and freeze, but she just says "Hi", her mouth in the hint of a smile, and walks to the computers. I felt my eyebrows fly up "Hiiiiiiiiiii..."

About twenty minutes later, she goes to walk out, without saying one word to me.

"Marla, wait."

She turned, and I saw that her eyes were red and moist.

"I'm sorry."

She almost smiled, but mirthlessly. "Thank you." Then she turned on her heel and walked right out.

Like any stalker, I checked her internet history. She only visited two frivolous animal blogs, no e-mail. It clicked. She has a computer at home. She saw my status update. She came to see if I would apologize.

Joey had a different theory: "She prob wanted to see if you gained weight in Italy and then got pissed when she realized you lost a babillion pounds!" (Unlikely, but funny. Except for the part where I had a babillion pounds to lose. :P )

So, relatively painless, and I guess that's that for now. We'll see if we see each other again any time soon.

I hope you're all well. Love you!

-A.

P.S. Why I Love Brian, Part 4? 5? Lost count.

Me: *Persuade, persuade, persuade*
Brian: Haha. You're like the little devil on my shoulder, except you have good intentions.
Me: So I'm the angel? Maybe a bit of both.
Brian: I can deal with that. Angel of gossip. :P
Me: Angel of human interest!

P.P.S. GO PENS! Lord Stanley, here we come! :D

Photos!

www.betsyvanlangen.com

>>>"Enter"

>>>"Basement"

Enjoy. :)

Crossing the T's and Dotting the I's.

I am not very good at it. :/ I always forget these important things!

I'm having a teensy panic because I'm supposed to be meeting Rebecca, my thesis advisor, before 5ish PM, and I left the book I made this past semester in my apartment, but, because the girl I sublet to, Lee, hasn't given me her key yet, and because Jen and Betsy are out, I am now locked out with no way to get my book! :(

But, Jen or Lee should be back before 4 pm--at least, I think. I'll let you know how it goes.

ANYWAY, Betsy cut and lightened my hair last night--it's about five inches shorter and light gold/brown. Not too drastic of a change, but good. :) I look more grown up, but simultaneously more tough, in a way. Or maybe I'm just projecting. :P

Jen, Betsy, and I had a photo shoot in our basement last night--it is super-creepy and horror-set worthy, and on top of that, the photos came out beautifully. Once Betsy posts them on her website, I'll direct you over.

In exciting news for Lauren, her dating slump is over (although considering she's never really dated, I suppose it never technically began), and she has FOUR guys looking for her attention this summer. Two of them are about 23 (kind of old for her 18-year-old self, and one may have a girlfriend already), and one is a pothead (a definite no for her, thankfully), and the other was in her graduating class, but doesn't have the best reputation for sobriety. We'll see how it pans out. I'm just pleased that she starting to get the attention she deserves.

No romantic opportunities for me, of course--it's a little soon to say, after all--but I should be concentrating on school and work anyway. :) Seeing the commencement party yesterday for MICA '09 gave me a little scare, coupled with this thrill of excitement. But mostly scared. :P

Hope you're all having a good day. Wish me luck with getting into my apartment!

-A.

P.S. For those of you who watch Gossip Girl. Holy ish. Last night?! AMAZING.

P.P.S. For those of you who watch the Pittsburgh Penguins. Holy ish! On our way to the Cup! One down, three to go! :D

PICSPAM!

FYI, you're about to get slammed with awesome photos. Be warned. :P


Me, seeing how convincing my costume (now more doll than marionette) is on Betsy's bed:


RIDICULOUS EYELASHES.


A better picture of my makeup:


The full costume, bloomers and all:


Robin and Betsy (Put faces to the names)!


Mah roomies, Betsy and Jen!


Me and Robin--guess what his costume is. If you get it, you get a cookie.


Awwww, we love each other. :)


Me and Betsy (as Mickey Mouse)!


Hot!Ryan as Steve Jobs, and Betsy. Isn't he hot? Am I right? :P


Me and my best buds at MICA (minus Marla): Me (and my boobs, which have their own zip code in this picture), Betsy, Jen (who made that Belle dress from scratch), Robin, Paul (as the most hilarious Pokemon trainer of all time), and Tiff (as a Battle Royale kickass chick):




Thoughts? Comments? Love you guys!

-Alyssa

P.S. Oh, by the way--Dan Wolf has a new squeeze. I'm sure those of you friends with him on Facebook saw the pictures of them smooching. Tasteful.:P