Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Orientation for Hobos

Graduate school orientation was yesterday, and let me tell you, it felt like a new chapter of my life. I mean, not in a cheesy way, but I could tell that I am about to begin something brand new and very different. First of all, people actually paid attention during orientation. That never would have happened in undergrad. Secondly, introductions were a lot easier and a lot more mixed-- there were no visible "cliques" so to speak; rather, we were sort of congregating by program.
I got my Loyola ID made-- it was a strangely important moment. Maybe it's because I'm a scrapbooker and I live off nostalgia, but to me it felt like that picture ID was marking this new beginning. Plus I didn't blink when the picture took, which is always a plus. But there it is, I'm officially a Rambler.

Okay, so a "rambler" is the Loyola mascot. Anyone know what that is? You'll never guess. Apparently the Loyola basketball team never had a home court to play on; they had to travel around to play other teams, but could never host a game. They rambled. However, our mascot is not a basketball player.

Our mascot is a hobo.

That's right, a homeless person. At least, that's what "rambler" means. Of course, the good people at Loyola recognized that an unshaven man with his belongings on his back was probably not the most inspirational symbol for aspiring students, so they chose a wolf from the seal of St. Ignatius instead.

There you go! We are the Ramblers: wolves. Not hobos. Personally, I would rather our symbol be a hobo.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Settled In

Today I officially began my time in Chicago as a student on my own. My mom and I drove up Tuesday, stayed the night in St. Louis, and arrived Wednesday afternoon. We unloaded craploads a lot of stuff. The movers brought the rest on Thursday, and until last night it looked like everything I owned had exploded all over the floor. My dad came up as well, and we had a great time seeing campus, going to the sparkle Target (the side that faces the "L" has a giant sparkly logo on the wall) eating at the nearby pizzeria more than once, and just unpacking. Today they left to head back to Texas.

I'm strangely conflicted. On one hand, it made me sad to see them leave; we had such a good time laughing and joking and enjoying each others' company. And being here alone is pretty terrifying. On the other hand, I'm excited to see what it's going to be like, and I'm excited to get to know this side of myself. On the other hand, it sure was nice to get spoiled. On the other hand, it's nice to live by my own schedule... I'm running out of hands.

Anyway, in the days leading up to the big move, I didn't have a whole lot to do, since all my stuff was packed up and ready to go. So I resorted to knitting:


Behold! The first of a pair of socks to be worn around the house! Chicago is going to be interesting...

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

X & Y

My posts here have been somewhat sporadic and will continue to be a little more sparse than usual. In the all the crapitude hooplah of moving and getting packed and ready for all my stuff to be transported, blogging has fallen by the wayside. It probably doesn't help that my internet access is restricted to when I schlep to Starbucks for internet, since my neighbors finally secured their internet connection after 2 months of giving it away to others. Personally, I say sharing is caring, but I guess they disagree.

I've started working on my researching duties which come with the whole graduate school education package. So far it's going well-- that could be due to the fact that it's somewhat unofficial as of yet, and school hasn't started. I'm anticipating a little more of a freak-out once classes begin and I'm reading 14 books in a day. But so far, it's actually a bit fun to get my feet wet and get used to how I'll be doing things.

Speaking of this wonderful job, though, I must return to my work. I leave you with a musical recommendation:


It's Coldplay. Now I know that many say they're whiny and maybe they are. But they whine so melodically and lyrically that it's really almost like reading Catcher in the Rye, which happens to be one of my favorite books-- and if you don't know what I mean by that, go read it! It'll be evident by page 10.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

From Jeans to Skirt

I took a pair of Eric's old jeans and turned them into a denim skirt! Luckily for me his waist matches the size of my hips, so it fits perfectly. I tried to add details to make it unique, without making it look too busy. If you have a pair of old jeans and you're wanting to try this, it's extremely easy! There are plenty of tutorials online and I strongly encourage you to let your creativity shine!


Not the best picture, but this shows the back of the skirt. You'll see a small slit up the back that keeps the skirt functional for going up and down stairs.  I also added decorative edging on the back pockets with "No-Sew" glue that stays adhesive even after washing. It saved a ton of time, and all I did was stitch the ends to add extra security.


Here is the front of the skirt. I added the decorative edging to the front pockets, as well as around the whole hem. The bow on the left is added to keep the skirt looking feminine, even though it lacks a clingy shape.


The front is my favorite part. The triangular addition in the middle is assembled from layered pieces of denim sewn together before being placed in the middle. You'll notice it alternates between lighter and darker denim. I left the hem raw to contrast with the black edging; I think it keeps it fun and cute while allowing it to be worn in semi-casual settings as well.

I had a blast making this skirt-- what are your favorite creations?

Friday, August 5, 2011

Changes Are A-comin'

Today is my last day babysitting for the family I've been working with for almost a year. It's the longest I've ever worked for the same family on a day-to-day basis, and it's going to be extremely weird not to be chatting with the kids about superheros and nail polish colors. I'm going to miss them!

The void left by their absence from my everyday routine, however, will be filled very quickly: in the last couple of days I found out who I'm working with at Loyola during my first year as a research assistant. If nothing changes with that (as it may, in the next week or so), I already know which project I'll be working on.

Luckily for me, since the Prof at Loyola knows and works with my two Profs of choice at OU on collaborative research pretty regularly, it actually turns out that I'll get to keep working with my OU Profs! This is great on a few levels:
A) I already know these guys. I know what to expect from them professionally, and we get along well; they've also been known to teach me a few things in life outside the classroom and have been personal mentors on more than one occasion.
B) I'm already familiar with the research project. I've worked on this particular project before and have been familiarized with the premises and questions, as well as the methods and goals. I won't be going in blind.
C) I am finding all of this out earlier than the usual window a grad student gets. I have a few weeks to mentally prepare myself for this project and its demands on my time. I have time to really realize how much of a life I will not be having, come August 30.

I'm leaving Norman in 11 days! It's going to be quite a change!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Raindrops and Gumdrops

For the first time in several weeks, I heard raindrops on the roof. And not just raindrops, but soon hail and wind, too! It was glorious. I just stood at the window and stared for a few minutes, so grateful for the much needed water. The heat has been so relentless and the wildfires have become so commonplace that I forgot how amazing rain smells and feels and looks. It was wonderful!

At the time of this marvelous event, I was babysitting the kids. And what did we do? We all stared out the window, silently enjoying the rain.

Well. Mostly. The youngest was upset that she had been forced to water the flowers just minutes before the rain began. Her bitterness dissolved quickly, though, when the hail started landing in the grass and bouncing up.

For all you out there wondering what the secret is to making a bitter child happy-- stick 'em in a hailstorm and watch the miracle happen!

Monday, August 1, 2011

How I'm Filling My Time

I have 2 weeks left to enjoy my free time and craft away. I've been able to make several Christmas presents already, which is always nice-- it's fun to make original gifts for my loved ones AND to have them taken care of way in advance so that when December rolls around and I finish gathering gifts for everyone, I don't get too overwhelmed.

Yesterday, after Eric left I immersed myself in a project: I made a travel jewelry roller. Here are the pieces:


These pieces took half a yard to make, and they're all interfaced with the same fabric so that the insides of the pockets look as nice as the outside.


This is the finished product! It is about 7" wide and unrolls to about 18"-- great for traveling. 


Opened, this is the roller. From top to bottom, it has one unfastened pocket, which can hold bracelets; it has two fabric ribbons that tie together-- the user slips her rings onto the ribbons then ties them to hold everything in place; and it has a zipper pocket at the bottom to hold necklaces.


The ring ribbons are easier to see in this picture.

Every woman who has ever traveled with jewelry knows that if you don't have  some convenient way to store it, it can get lost, tangled, or damaged in the process of going from one place to another. This little roller took just a few hours and half a yard of fabric to make, and I can't wait to give it to someone special for Christmas!