(robots apparently do not make the best roommates, good news for me!)

The museum is looking for a new roommate??? Oh my goodness!!! I just had to apply (more on that later)

So, Month at the Museum 2. How awesome is that? Last years winner got to have some of the most amazing experiences (starting with the awesome selection ceremony below, I wonder how the winner is going to be chosen this time…)

(so much orange foam!!!!)

That’s right. Kate won last year (hopefully I’ll be next!). Her entire month was spent doing exciting things around the museum and blogging the whole time. (click on the photos below to go to some of my favorite posts).

she did a handstand in the tornado!

got to hang out with the artifacts that are NOT on display.
(including an oscar!)

slept under the globe AND got to hang out on the wing of a 727
(I wonder if you can do a pirouette on an airplane wing)

Along with the awesome blog posts, Kate also documented her stay with videos. Below are two of my favorites (mostly because they deal with night-time in the museum).

( I wanted to sleep in the Giant Heart that I explored as a kid, but it’s been replaced…
I wonder if they would leave the new heart turned on so I could sleep near that…)

(flashlights make everything more fun)

While reading Kate’s posts and watching the videos was fun, they only made me wish that I had applied last year. I just know that actually experiencing a month in the museum would be incredible. Can you jump any higher within a tornado? How long does it take for one baby chick to free it’s self from an egg? Do the fairies come out of the castle to play at night? There are so many things to play with (and so much to learn) I want to be that roommate (and with Month at the Museum 2, I have my chance)! So…. Within 4 days of learning about the contest I sent out my application (learn more here). 6 Pages of questions, a 500 word essay, a 1 minute long video and 1 awesome FedEx employee later my package was on its way to the museum (it was delivered just 3 days before the deadline).

Funny note: the photo of me was actually a test shot to see if I liked the background, we
took about 20 more shots with me posing and smiling but I kept coming back to this one.
As Genie would say “BEEEE yourself”



(I love post-it notes!)

I thought I had gotten in rather late, and actually ran out Sunday night to make sure I could meet the deadline. But according to MSI’s twitter account (@msichicago)”Many “Month at the Museum” apps being dropped off in person at ticket counters – under an hour left! http://bit.ly/MATM2 #MATM2“. Guess I wasn’t such a late applicant after all…

This of course is only stage 1… Stage 2 (Semi-finalists)  involves a phone interview, Stage 3 (Finalists) involves an in-person interview as well as public voting, Stage 4…. MOVE IN (go all the way man!!!!)

I can’t keep myself from wondering what the judges think of my essay and the rest of my application. Have I shown them what an awesome time we could have together? Did I make an interesting enough video? Time will tell, we should be hearing who moved on to the semi-finals mid August (which should be soon!). Random thought: I started this blog post to work off some of my nervous energy (but really, I’m just more excited now… but excitement is fun too!).

My only way of knowing who else has applied is searching youtube, below you’ll find some of my favorite videos. Good luck to everyone who has applications in! Hopefully we’ll hear who’s moving on soon (crossing my fingers I’m one of the lucky ones!!!)

Oh, also… Kate’s video from last year!

I’ve watched the Disney movie more times than I can count (and when I was in high-school I choreographed to All in the Golden Afternoon)

I wore out our recording of the special 2 part Alice that first aired in 1985

I would go over to my friends house (who had cable) just to watch the Disney TV show adventures in wonderland (we’ve long since lost touch, but if you’re reading this Lauren, you were much more than a TV to me… Promise)

I attempted to beat this game on my older brothers C64 more times than I care to admit… And (being that I had yet to blossom in to a fully functional gaming nerd) I don’t thing I ever succeeded.

This may be the only monologue that I can watch, out of context and still love.

My favorite ride at Disneyland? You guessed it!

I didn’t read the book until I was nearly 16, I know I kn0w… But seriously, I think had I read it sooner that I would have spoiled it. Knowing all I knew from all the different perspectives people have taken on Alice I was able to appreciate the genius and madness that takes place within the world of Wonderland and beyond the looking glass… MADNESS!!! That’s why I started this post in the first place!

“Alice: Madness Returns” comes out for PC, Playstation and X-Box Tuesday June 14th. This is the sequel to the game that changed the way I look at games forever. Up until buying this game (and I should mention I had fallen in love with the toys long before I knew they came from a game) I had played lots of adventure games, some pokemon, plenty of puzzle games. But games where you run around and kill things? Never…. Killing? Alice in Wonderland? Have I gotten confused? No… Go ahead and watch the trailer for the original game.

It was/is a seriously awesome game that has a whole new story attached to it. I really feel that what makes it great is how weird and strange it is. Although, I will admit that I had a ton of problems with some of the jumping puzzles (although I am still pretty terrible at jumping in video games, just ask Chris what it’s like to play little big planet with me). And the first time I played it through (and I’ve played all the way through 3 times) I had to have Chris help me beat several jumping puzzles, and a couple of bosses. But after that I started to get the hang of things.

So back to my point (oh you had a point? I thought you were just taking up space on the internets!)…

The sequel comes out on June 14th!!!! FINALLY!!! I’ve been waiting for SOOOOOOO long. There has been talk of a movie (that never happened) rumors about sequels (that never came to) but this time it’s real! YIPPEEE!!!!! I ordered my copy (for Playstation  since along with getting better at games in general I have also gotten better at console games, and this means I can play it on the big screen in the living room), and along with the game code to download the original game (awesome), Amazon also has a special pre-order bonus of the soundtrack (can we say ring-tone?), throw in the fact that it only cost me $45 to buy it on Amazon, I can’t imagine pre-ordering anywhere else. There are tons of trailers on youtube (most of which give you some idea of what the game will be like) but my favorite is the most recent, rather arty, super awesome (awesome is another way of saying disturbing in this case) teaser…. ENJOY! (oh and in case you want to make plans… I’m going to be very busy starting June 14th)

Pre-Order on Playstation

Pre-Order on X-Box

Pre-Order on PC

Portal – Still alive

 

Disney – Mickey Mouse Club

who’s the leader of the club that’s made for you and me?

M-I-C

K-E-Y

M-O-U-S-E

So in case you haven’t jumped on the True Blood bandwagon let me tell you a little about it. It’s a show based on the Southern Vampire Mysteries that take place in Bon Temps, by Charline Harris starring:

Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse

(human, waitress, necrophiliac)

&

Stephen Moyer as Bill Compton

(vampire, solider, loves humans).

It’s on HBO and has already run for 3 seasons. While Sookie and Bill are the “stars” they are not in my opinion the best characters (sorry guys… you just aren’t) but they at least aren’t the worst (that award goes to Tara)

Rutina Wesley as Tara Thornton

(Sookie’s best friend, annoying, obnoxious, really should have been killed off by now… Sorry! It’s true!)

I’m not sure if it’s Tara the way she is written, or Tara the way she is played, that annoys me so much, but whatever it is… I just can’t stand her.

Best character on the show??? Make that characterS. I can’t choose… So the joint award would have to go to

Nelsan Ellis as Lafayeette Reynolds

(Tara’s cousin, cook, gay, drug dealer, outspoken, awesome)

Alexander Skarsgård as Eric Northman

(vampire sheriff, Bill’s nemesis, hot…it’s okay, he’s also man-crush worthy guys)

The show is full of murders, mysteries, and hot sex (human on human, vampire on vampire, and of course the all important human on vampire [or would that be vampire on human?]). Which reminds me of the other two characters that would also have to share that “best” award (sorry guys, it’ll have to be cut 4 ways).

Ryan Kwanten as Jason Stackhouse

(Sookie’s brother, bon temps resident playboy)

&

Chris Bauer as Andy Bellefleur

(bon temps human slightly dimwitted deputy/sheriff [just an amazing character])

Jason and Andy are connected but without really giving to much away I can’t tell you why. All I have to say is that between these 4 “best” characters the story is pushed along (or kept way more interesting than it otherwise would be). As you might have guessed from the pictures Eric and Jason are the eye candy on the show, and they are involved in many of the bedroom scenes as well… Oh man… Why did I start writing about this???Oh YEAH! True Mud.

Okay so this show OBVIOUSLY doesn’t sound like Sesame Street material and it really isn’t however they have managed to make a skit that is not only great for kids to watch, but also plays to their parents who may watch True Blood. So for your viewing pleasure here is the True Mud excerpt (but first the opening credits and one of the scenes from the first episode of True Blood for those of you that haven’t seen the show ever/just in awhile).

True Blood opening credits

True Blood

True Mud

Way to go Sesame Street… I remain one of your biggest fans!

Music.

Now I know that music causing some great problem is quite hard to imagine. I have to admit I was quite perplexed with myself when I figured out the problem. But belive me… Music could potentially ruin me.

So let me explain. Many people find that they work better with music in the background. This is particularly true for visual artists who tend to draw out creative juices from music. Since, for the most part you are starting with a white screen in most graphic arts, many people find it’s helpful if your other senses are stimulated so you have SOMETHING to pull from and are not left with a completely empty head.

My creative juices do flow when I listen to music but… This is where my problem begins. Because, since I have one foot in the world of graphic arts and the other in the world of dance, music inspires me, but it inspires me to choreograph. I’m inspired to move and create but not on the computer screen. This may be why I have always written papers in complete silence, or why my car radio is tuned to NPR and I hardly ever change that. I’ve never been one to listen to music and do anything else, other than clean… But I digress…

This problem has become more and more apparent in the past few weeks. One of my co-workers has begun playing some very interesting music. Music that I like. Not that I hated what was being played in the office before, however, it was Techno Dance Music and not anything I would ever be inspired to choreograph to… Which is great! Now, with flaming lips, postal service, ra ra riot, green day and others playing throughout the day I’m finding myself increasingly distracted and less productive. Drifting off into my own thoughts has become normal and I feel like I am functioning at 85% which is not where I like to see myself work.

It’s a little hard to explain, because, I don’t choreograph per say, but my mind drifts in that direction. It’s very hard to concentrate with music I like in the background. Which is sad because I would love to be able to just listen as I go throughout the day. Alas… I think it’s really becoming an issue. So I need to turn to other forms of noise.

For whatever reason although I cannot listen to music and concentrate, I can watch a movie and continue functioning at a high level while keeping other parts of my mind occupied and avoiding that blank white mind syndrome I mentioned. I started and completed a huge illustration in school while watching memoirs of a geisha. Watching videos at work is however not an option. My solution to this problem is to listen to books on tape (or iPhone as it happens).

I started listening to books at work sporadically over a year ago, I’ve listened to a Disney Biography and Coraline (both were excellent). Now however I’m afraid that I will have to start walking around with one headset in, which, I will admit makes me less approachable but what can I do? It’s either that, or be utterly distracted. I’d prefer to be functioning at a 98/100% so I think I will opt for the less approachable.

My current book is “Are you there Vodka? It’s me Chelsea” written by Chelsea Handler (a comedian) it’s a bunch of random stories from her life and is very entertaining. On top of that I’m working on a Michael Crichton and a book called You are not a gadget. Both of these are on my kindle, honestly I’m took lazy at the moment to either A) get up and grab it to explain more or B) google it to give you more info (and since this is my first post in MONTHS I think I deserve a little bit of a break) so I’ll leave the googling to you. Suffice it to say that the three of these books are immensely enjoyable and I’m very excited to finally be reading again after taking a hiatus because of all the reading I was doing for school (like 6 years ago).

The only real drawback to this new plan is that on top of my new found kindle habit I also have an audio habit to feed. I suppose it could be worse.

I am the proud owner of a 2007 Saturn Ion. Bought all on my own. AHHHH!!!!!

I also changed my insurance to Flo… It’s been a week of being slapped in the face with the fact that I’m an adult… Crazy.

SPRING IS HERE!!!! (much better) How do I know? There were about 20-25 Robins hanging out around my building today… Being the shutterbug that I am, I ran outside to catch some photos of them. (click on any photo to get a larger image).

I caught (well photographed) them on the ground…

With worms…

In flight…

In the trees….

And to my surprise, the Robins were not the only bird that caught my eye! Walking around with my camera to my eye photographing the Robins I heard “tap tap tita tita tita tap” I immediately followed the sound. By scanning the tress (killing my neck in the process) I was able to find the woodpecker that was the source of the sound.

I did not expect when I woke up this morning that I would be grabbing my camera and getting some great pictures. I I did not expect to see not only the Robins that drew me out of the house, but also the cutest woodpecker I’ve ever seen. I’m not normally very impulsive, I normally just make a plan for my day and stick to it… But I am always amazed, when I do act on my impulsis how much fun I have. Spring is here!!!

Ive been thinking about cheese popcorn and golf lately. Can we go back to a time that was simpler?

I love you.

I belong to three of these although I only really am active on two. Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter.

Facebook

The basic idea here is that you can connect to people… Anywhere. Share notes with friends, let everyone know what you’re up too. You create a profile that has as little or as much information about you that you want, and you have the option of making that profile public or private. The main differences being…. Public: anyone can read your profile and see you wall, Private: people can find you by searching and see your name and the area you live in but you have to approve them before they can see your profile or wall. My profile is private. I don’t want just anyone being able to get all up in my business. Once you’ve made some friends… You have the option of talking to them in private messages or on their public wall (just be warned that EVERYONE who is a friend with you friend can see the wall, so don’t say anything you don’t want others to know). I broke down and got a Facebook because some people at work wanted to be my “friend”. I created an account and “friended” a select few people but then… Didn’t really touch it much. That is until the Facebook iPhone app was released. It just made it so easy to see what all my friends were up to. Open the app and I can see a list of what all my friends have posted as their status (a sentence or few of… whatever you like, mostly moods and what you are up to), plus all the rest of the facebook stuff through I’ll admit I rarely post on anyone’s wall. It’s one of the few apps I open every single day and allows me to keep in touch with people that I don’t get to see all that often. I’ve even re-connected with a friend that I had when I was 5, as well as people I knew when I was 9, 13, 16…. I’ve had people request to be my friend just because they have my last name, and in theory you can find people with similar interest, though… I don’t really go searching for random friends (that’s just a little too creepy for me). Companies and musicians make sites, and you can sign up to be their fan (I haven’t found much use for this however, I am a fan of  Mike Doughty, Jonathan Coulton, Sweeny Todd, Rock Band, Portal and others). I really love Facebook, for no other reason but that I can see what all my friends and family have been doing without them having to remember to tell me (and visa versa).

LinkedIn

So this is the network I belong to because… It’s supposed to be good for business networking. I belong so that if and when I need to continue on from my current job I have an easy way of getting in touch with the people I’ve met there who aren’t on Facebook. But really… Aside from visiting the site to take the picture above. I haven’t opened it in months. But I belong!

Twitter

Something I just started using last night, but I’m kind of hooked. It’s kind of like the status updates on Facebook and… Nothing else. The main draw here is that on top of people that you choose to follow (you don’t friend people on Twitter, you follow them, like a stalker, only… NICER???) you can also read the “TWEETS” of random people that you would have otherwise never seen. Celebrities, companies and Websites also Tweet, but unlike on Facebook where you can become a fan and then have to visit their page to see their thoughts, twitter just requires you to open it up and see what their doing. People you may know that I’m currently following on Twitter include: Rainn Wilson (from The Office), Adam Savage (from Myth Busters), Penn Jillete (Bullshit/Penn & Teller), Ira Glass (This American Life on NPR).  Unlike Facebook, it’s not uncommon for normal people to Tweet 20 times a day, using it as an update for everything (where as on Facebook it seems to me that the average person updates their status 1-3 times a day).  Twitter also has an iPhone app that allows you to Tweet and look at others Tweets, and really the only flaw is that it doesn’t allow you to add someone to your list of people you follow (you hear that Twitter? Add the function and you’ll be perfect! We all want perfection right???).