This is long, long overdue, and for that I apologize.

My Secret Santa package arrived awhile ago, and it is AMAZING. Seriously. You can't imagine the joy I felt as I ripped all of the individual packages open. They were wrapped really beautifully and I took photos of them all, but then my camera went crazy and corrupted my card and I lost everything that was on it, so you'll just have to envision how pretty they were.

Anyway, on to the goods!

First of all, this cute little guy was hanging off of a package. So adorable!



Then I opened these, and my salivary glands exploded:



I haven't tried the espresso cups yet, but I'm sure they're amazing. As far as the asian candy goes: HOW DID YOU KNOW?! Those are two of my favorite kinds!! Uncanny.

Anyway, then I opened THESE:



And seriously... awesome! I'll watch the movie while I wear the clips. It'll be a party. (And for real, those are the best hair clips ever).

And then I found the epistolary novel.



Have you read this one? Well, I have now, and it's a great book. Well worth the read :)

But WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

The next part left me flabbergasted. It's beautiful.

Anyway, I took photos of all of it so that you could revel in its glory.

























Seriously... FUCKING AMAZING. I can't even fathom the amount of work that went into that. And furthermore, you managed to somehow find uncannily perfect gifts. You're amazing.

And you didn't reveal yourself, so I'm dying to know... who are you, you wonderful person?!

Dear holiday season:

Please be over so I can go back to eating vegetables. I think I am suffering from a cookie overdose.

Love,
Margo



....


Am I just getting old? I could totally scarf cookies for days when I was twelve without any negative side effects. Now I eat two or three in a day and I feel like I'm actually gonna die.

:D

YOU ARE FABULOUS.

I had pictures, but my camera card decided to wipe itself (? really? I know, right?) Now I have a cold and my immune system has decided to go on vacation in general, so I look like a mess and don't really want to post photos of my face. So... basically, photos are coming! I promise! I was absolutely DELIGHTED with your package. It couldn't have been more perfect :)

EDIT:

So, here's how half of it turned out :)



Thanks, friends!

-----

Okay, so I'm working on putting my final project together for photo, and while I know exactly what I want to do, figuring out how to get there is another matter. Basically, I want to overlay newsprint and then maps on a couple of different photos.

Something like this:



becomes this:



(it's a shitty mockup, but I think you get the idea).

I tried doing it in the darkroom in a couple of ways and it looked too sloppy (like... I used a rudimentary mask, which was a total pain in the ass to make and the results weren't great), so I'm down to my final option, which is making transparencies.

Either I'll make normal ones and put them on top of the images and then rephotograph them, or I'll make negatives of the images I want to overlay and then try to use those in the darkroom.

I guess my question is, ultimately, do you have any advice for how to do this? I need to get this stuff ready tonight, and while I have a basic idea of how to do it, I don't have loads of time (three days, and I have other classes/finals), so I can't afford to waste too much.

If I want to print 8.5x11 transparencies, should I be making them at 300dpi? Also, I don't really know how much texture/detail I should try to leave on them. Sigh. I'm going craaaaazy.

My least favorite is when all of the external things in your life seem to be going to shit and you feel like the universe is conspiring to ruin your happiness.

I seriously just had a silent screaming session because I am so stressed out that I feel like my head is going to explode. And not a single part of it is my fault. It's all other people's shit or unfortunate circumstances that are just fucking with MY life.

GAH.

I want to punch someone. Or destroy something.

I feel like I always start to go crazy about a month before the end of the semester. I am so bad at being stuck.

I know my life is still objectively awesome, but damn if things aren't getting me down right now.

First, the anecdote:

my Econ professor is Chinese and kind of inept/hilarious, at least as a professor.

Yesterday I got an email from him that said:

"Attached please find the file "Oral presentation in public". This file maybe helpful for your paper presentation and also beneficial for future career in devour."

I'm pretty sure he meant "endeavor," but boy am I excited for my future career in devour!

Anyway, the plug part:

I hate to be a pain, but several people have told me that I'm doing a shitty job promoting my etsy site and that you probably wouldn't all hate me if I brought it up again. So there it is! Christmas and things are coming up! Buy prints! Er....

Anyway, here's what I have to offer right now:











Among other things...

Plus, I take requests!

Anyway, there it is, and I hope that wasn't too terrible. I miss you all.

Okay, so this is the HEIGHT of inanity, but I didn't sleep at all last night and I just saw some boots I want and I think I might buy them but due to my ridiculously stressed-out, sleep-deprived state I'm not sure whether or not I'd be making a good decision. So, tell me, should I buy these? I'm really, really tempted:





All of the people I would normally ask are gone, so instead I'm being a jerkface and making a stupid blog.

Oh, and they're about $60 in the end, but I do indeed have $60 to spend on boots, somehow.

I hope you're all having a good night :)

I did, I did. And while there were probably some minor issues, I think the results are pretty good. These are just edited scans because we haven't learned how to print yet, but OH MY GOD I AM SO EXCITED. These are just a few shots.







Anyway, this is a silly post, but I AM SO EXCITED OH MY GOD. Actually doing it, mixing the chemicals and going through the process, is the best feeling ever. I'm afraid I will become a recluse this semester from spending too much time in the darkroom :)

Hope you're all doing well, and I'm totally jealous of everyone (Kevin especially) who's going to Chicago this weekend!

so, I use US Bank, and every time I go to log in to check my balance, this greets me on the front page:



IT IS SO TERRIFYING.

This woman looks like some kind of vicious nightmare lizard, and there's no way to make her go away. I feel like she's some kind of dreadful toothed creature that's guarding my money and will probably eat me while I attempt to bank.