Art, Philosophy and Intestines

        So, I know I have been absent for a while, but working three jobs, going to school full time, and attempting to get accepted into art school has been consuming most of my time.

Please forgive me.

Art:
        So, I will be applying to RISD in the near future, and I would like to make a shout out to the admissions office: Please accept me! I am worth the investment I promise. I want more than anything to be in an environment where I am infatuated with my school, peers, and studies, and I feel very strongly that RISD and the Duel Degree Program can fulfill this. If accepted, I will provide just as much a benefit to the school as the school does to me. Cross your fingers for me.

        Also, I won first place in my schools art competition! I beat out all the AP Studio Art students.

My new Art Tote! In love....

Philosophy:
        Additionally, I have picked up a few new books:

• The Book of Secrets - Deepak Chopra
• The Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment - Thaddeus Golas
• Many Lives, Many Masters - Brian L. Weiss

Intestines:
        Okay, I know this is a little strange, but as I was reading I came across this passage and just have to share it with you all.

• "Ten years ago it would have seemed absurd to speak of intestines being intelligent. The lining of the digestive tract was known to posses thousands of nerve endings, but these were just remote outputs of the nervous system -- a way for it to keep in touch with the lowly business of extracting nutrition from food. Now it turns out that the intestines are not so lowly after all. Their scattered nerve cells form a finely tuned system for reacting to outside events -- an upsetting remark at work, the threat of danger, a death in the family. The stomach's reactions are just as reliable as the brain's thoughts, and just as intricate. Your colon, your liver, and your stomach cells also think, only not in the brain's verbal language. What people had been calling a "gut reaction" turned out to be a mere hint of the complex intelligence at work in a hundred thousand billion cells."

Additional Tid Bits:

• Going to San Fran this weekend
• Graduating next Thursday
• Still need a new car...
• Mississippi in a few weeks! Time to get some artwork done!
• Learning German... Well not yet

        A special shout out to Bob, a customer I helped at Sweet XO. He has offered to give me a significant amount of publicity (hopefully jump starting my art career!). Also, another shout out to my twin Leah G. and her incredible family.

Your good thoughts are appreciated, Ta Ta for now.

-A

Fun Facts

Nothing like relaxing after a long day at work with some random, silly facts...

1. Sea Otters hold hands in their sleep so they don't drift away from each other.
2. Only 55% of Americans know that the sun is a star.
3. Silly Putty was discovered as the residue left behind after the first latex condoms were produced. It's not widely publicized for obvious reasons.
4. A study finds that people aren't meant to have more than 150 friends.
5. Squidward from Spongebob Squarepants is an octopus, not a squid.
6. Spanking can lower IQ. Children who were spanked for punishment grow up to have lower IQ.
7. People who complain of boredom are 2.5 times more likely to die from a heart attack or stroke than those who don't.
8. Rats can't throw up, that's why rat poison works.
9. A woman jumped off the Eiffel Tower and landed on a car. She later married the car's owner.
10. A strawberry is not an actual berry, but a banana is.

Now, to sleep. Goodnight world. Project Learn German starts tomorrow!

-A

Rhode Island School of Design

Alright, I am going to let my excitement leak all over the page now...

RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) is my new motivator. I have decided today that I will be applying to art school next year, and among those I will be applying to RISD! I am officially obsessed with the school and want so badly to attend their "Dual Degree Program."

RISD's Dual Degree Program is a program they have where a student is allowed to double major -- one Fine Arts degree at RISD (in my case Illustration), and one other degree at Brown University (in my case Environmental Science). As you all probably do not know, I applied for Brown University (my absolute, hands-down dream school) this past year and was deferred and then rejected... but could this be my chance to not only attend Brown, but the #2 ranked art school in the country?!

My heart has literally leaped out of my chest, packed a suitcase, and moved to Providence, Rhode Island.

I could not be more elated that a program as magnificent as this exists and is available to me (well sort of... I have to get in first.). The only catch is that I:

1. Have to be accepted to RISD. A very difficult and competitive art institution. And...
2. Also have to be accepted to Brown. A very elite, unique Ivy League University.

Details...

I will be starting a portfolio this summer and as soon as admissions open up in September, I will begin working on my application (they have criteria that must be met in an applicants art portfolio).

Please let the odds be in my favor this time. I am worthwhile I promise. To all you followers out there (if any), here are the links to RISD's and Brown University's websites.

Link: http://www.risd.edu/

          http://www.brown.edu/

Let's leave it to fate... I will post my artwork when I get it photographed in the next few weeks.

-A

Dilemmas

I would just like to start off with the quote of the day, courtesy of my genius boyfriend, Taylor:

Quote of the Day: (sound of phone hitting something) "Ouch... My face."

Secondly, I would like to dedicate this post to the soul reason of sorting out my thoughts.

Dilemma #1: How to spend summer
Here are my plans, both optional and not optional.

• Work -- Sweet XO, candy cashier
• Work -- Beanscene Espresso, barista
• Learn German
• Read 6 books (at least)
• Learn to speed read
• Learn violin
• Take Saturday workshop at Art Institute
• Practice drawing skills every day -- develop likeness (portraiture)

Dilemma #2: What do I study?
Here is everything I want to do... too much?

• Major: Environmental Science
• Second Major/Minor: Fine Arts
• Minor: Spanish (I want to study abroad in Barcelona)
• Plus: pre-med requirements

Dilemma #3: Where do I go?

• Plan A: Willamette University
• Plan B: Stay in SoCal, work, etc.
• Plan C: Santa Barbara City College
• Plan D: San Francisco
• Plan E: Art School?

Working on it... Keep you all posted. Nighty Night for now!
-A

Pineapple Planting

Did you know you can plant and grow a pineapple? I DIDN'T.

HOW COOL IS THAT.



How to plant a pineapple:



1. Cut off the top of the pineapple
2. Place top in a dish of water and move (what I call) pineapple hair into sunlight. Leave for three days.
3. Plant the top in a pot with well fertilized soil and wait. Wait for 24-36 months.
4. You're done! Enjoy your delicious, mouthwatering home-grown pineapple!

Like this....

Then this...

And you get this!

Link: http://www.tickledred.com/planting-a-pineapple/

What's Amanda Watching?

        Crew Training videos for Beanscene Espresso... I now know how to make every kind of coffee drink known to mankind.

Check it out on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/BeansceneEspresso?ob=0

        Alright world, I did owe you a cool post, and if growing a pineapple isn't cool enough for you... well, I don't know what I will do.

Gutenacht,
-A



Personal Note

So over the past week this is what has happened:
-I worked
-I studied for my English AP Exam
-I caught a cold and started having alergy attacks
-I took my English AP Exam (with a cold and alergies to keep me company)
-I worked some more

Tonight was my fifth night of work, and only the beginning of a very rough next few months -- but who knows, maybe i'll actually make enough money to go to college next year!

Exhausted. Sleep. Goodnight.

Monday

It's Monday... Yet again.

Difficult few days, but I did successfully fast for a day and a half! Longer than I have gone in the past. I have decided that perhaps its a better idea if I ease into it.

Meanwhile, studying for APs is horrific. High school can't be over soon enough.

Literature Wishlist:
-The Collector by John Fouls

Fasting Day One

Update on liquid fast:

What I've consumed today:

• Water
• A few sips of coffee
• Half of a protein drink
• More water
• 2 cans of Amy's Organic Split Pea soup :]

Thoughts: I am hungry... mentally hungry, not physically hungry. Gotta get over that and reset my eating habits.

Fun Stuff: Top 10 Superfoods

• Edamame: 17 g of protein per cup
• Kiwifruit: 84 mg of vitamin C -- increases fat burning potential
• Sweet Potatoes: Increases fat burning; reduces hunger
• Yogurt: Contains 20% more of daily calcium needs
• Eggs: Blocks fat absorbtion
• Olive Oil: Contains healthy fats, protein, and complex carbs
• Lentils: Shrinks fat cells and fat burning
• Quinoa: Protein rich and full of essential amino acids needed to build metabolism-revving muscle
• Apples: 4-5 g of fiber; filling and delicious!
• Wild Salmon: Omega-3 fatty acids; reduce body fat

Source: Self Magazine

Note to self: Eat Healthier. Snack Less.

Much Love,
-A

The Magic Mirror

        Today I am going to share one of the miracles I have found in Bragg Healthy Lifestyle by Paul C. and Patricia Bragg. This weekend (starting Friday and ending Sunday morning) I plan to go on a liquid fast consisting of lots of juices and water, guided by Bragg himself.

The Magic Mirror: (chapeter 9)

        The tongue, believe it or not, is actually a great indicator of your health; a white-coated tongue tells us that you are full of toxic crap.. literally. The coating is evidence of "Mother Nature" attempting to force out all the deep toxic waste of the body.

        So... what if you find that your tongue is white? Or what if you are feeling heavy, tired, or sickly?

The Fast:

        The goal here is to get to the point where I fast regularly, allowing my body to push out all the bad and make room for the good! Bragg reccomends a once-weekly 24 hour fast and an occasional 3-day fast. If done regularly, fasting helps maintain a healthy, comfortable weight and leaves a fresh, cleansed feeling!

The Gameplan:     

        Prep Phase, Day 1: Friday -- green drinks (juiced kale, alphalfa, wheatgrass, etc.); fresh, live fruit drinks

        Day 2: Juice Fast; new combinations -- TRY: Beet, Alphalfa, Garlic, Radish, Watercrest,Goji Berries

        Day 3: Water fasting, day 1. Continue for 1-3 days.

Benefits of Fasting:

• Quickest way to loose weight
• Relieves tension and insomnia
• Eliminates addictions such as drugs, alcohol, and smoking
• Effectively treats schitzophrenia and other mental conditions
• Improves dietary habits
• Educates the body to consume food only when needed
• Fasting is a rite in all religions

Over the next few days, I will document my progress and feelings as the fasting continues. I encourage everyone to pick up a copy of every single Bragg book on the market!

Happy Fasting,

-A

P.S. I have decided to re-adopt vegetarianism. More to come on the benefits of that.

First Day of Work

On a personal note,

I would like to share with all of you that I am now an official employee of Sweet XO, a candy/treats company in Agoura Hills.

Today was my first official day of work -- I closed and god off at 11:00 pm.

Didn't break anything, didn't kill anyone, rang up a lot of customers...

Success.

Here is a picture that I like; I was going to paint it for my acrylic painting "final," but my art teacher is making me paint a portrait to "challenge myself":

The End.
-A

P.S. I promise to post another interesting article tomorrow...