A. Many of my friends know that in 2006 i was the National Science Olympiad Tree Identification Champion, but did you know I was also the national champion in thermochemistry too? Hot i know. (Must mean i am exothermic, right?)
B. When i was little, most sunday mornings my parents and i would go to our favorite donut place in Chicago, Amy Joy and then go to a local park. Some of the most magical childhood memories involves sprinkles, fried dough and park benches.
C. I have really good luck winning sweepstakes and random-drawing contests. Here is a list (within a list) of just a few of my good fortunes.
1. Three day pass to this summer's pitchfork music concert in Chicago
2. Tickets to Justin Timberlake
3. Free French Toast Sticks
4. Tickets to Donny Osmond in Joseph and the technicolor dream coat (1995)
5. Penguin puzzle (1996 or 1997)
7. Seventeen Magazine backpack filled with fabulous prizes (1998)
So, in the past year I have come to realize that i am very lucky with not only contests but also in my daily life. My friends and family are wonderful people, who, at the moment, are all happy and healthy. I was fortunate enough to have a paying job in this economy this past summer and i am fortunate to return to a great school with great people constantly pushing me to do my best.
As for this quarter, my goals are to tackle this dentist chair project and be more comfortable with solid works in alias. Although i feel like i can finally navigate myself around in these and function, i would like my designs to be less driven by my competency in these programs. Sometimes i feel like i over-simplify to make it easy on myself in these programs. I would also like to work more on my digital sketching speed. At my past co-op, i got pretty comfortable with it and did a few things i was proud of, but i would like to up my speed in photoshop or sketchbook pro.
My past 2 co-ops were at Hasbro toys. Co-op one i worked for the Littlest Pet Shop division and then my second time around was in the Playskool division. Although i have three playsets coming out in LPS from my first round, the job involved lots of cleaning up after the senior and junior designer's photoshop work and also taking over all the bitchwork of a girl who left in a dramatic uproar. (8-10 girls all working together= mass chaos) The second time around was much better, I was given lots of concept work, and for the first time, a little bit of respect. My first co-op was at Burton snowboards, where i worked under the Channel Islands surf team helping to re-do their accessory line (surf leashes, fins, traction pads) and i had a blast. I was working with an engineer and we really worked well together, it was really easy to take his concepts and add some style to them. Burlington, Vermont where Burton was also was a wonderful place for a first co-op, its absolutely beautiful and i met some really great people.
So this quarter, i am going to kick some design ass, i'm taking names, and giving my best possible one-two design punch. Really though, i have come to realize that i came back with a burst of confidence after Burton, and that had faded by the beginning of spring quarter. I am ready for my new portfolio to be smart, fun and hopefully very Eleanorish.
