I figured out what my career goal in life is: to open up my own food place (shop? store? bakery?) that is environmentally forward and incorporates great art and design. Now that I have figured this out, am I going on the right track? Weellll... maybe. I am majoring in visual communication design, but I want to specialize in photo-illustration. Unfortunately, they completely overhauled this major, and now it's designed to be a 5-year program. I'm already bummed that my VCD major is a strict 4-year program, but another year?? Guys, I don't know if I can take any more of this. People ask me, what's the rush? Well there is no rush really, more just too much impatience and desire to begin things NOW. And the fact that I'll be graduating in oh, 2010 or 2011 with only a bachelor's. And that when I have this BS, I still will not have taken any culinary courses.

So what do I do!! I really love the VCD/photo-ill program here, it's exactly what I want to do. I don't think I can find a program equal to this anywhere closer to Louisville (though I will be asking an advisor about this), so I'm not ready to leave school again. The only way I would feel satisfied and okay with going through the five year program is if I was able to go through this program AND learn culinary arts at the same time. This might mean that I'll be double majoring in Hospitality Management, but I don't know if that is feasible with my strenuous VCD major. I might also see if any nearby schools or businesses offer cooking classes. Or... can I be enrolled in two colleges at once? That would be a trip :) Hm, I could also just find some cooking job during school. TOO MANY OPTIONS.

If I decide to go through the five years, I think I will definitely try to gain residency in Ohio (even though I don't really like Ohio...). Amy was able to do it, though I hear it was pretty much just a pain. But cutting tuition in half might be worth the stress. Siiigh... I'm already under too much self-inflicted stress. Well, whatever, I'm sure everyone (all five) is tired of hearing me go back and forth and back again on all my decisions. I'm 90% positive that this career goal is going to stick, but who knows.

Let's see. It's been kind of chilly these days, so I haven't spent as much time out in the sun. I've been attending this bible study on Tuesday nights for a few weeks now, and I've really enjoyed all the spiritual stimulation. Christianity is a huge part of my life, especially my childhood, so I feel everything comes together when I spend time with fellow Christians. The only thing that bugs me though, is that I'm pretty much the only minority in the entire Campus Crusade at Kent, and I'd really like to meet more Asian Christians. I guess that is asking for a bit much, it's hard to meet Asians here period, but the American approach to Christianity is different than what I grew up with. Also, apparently Kent State is a very "spiritually dark" place. Speakers and pastors who come and visit here say they feel this darkness (Heartless???), and some parents with prospective students feel it too and send their kids elsewhere. I can't really see what they're talking about, since I figure most college campuses, especially state schools, are "spiritually dark" because it's... college. Maybe it has something to do with the shootings. Well, I'm going to strive to be more involved with this ministry group while I'm here, I think it'll be good for me. Plus, I always hear of these snazzy trips that they go on - Italy, Greece, Sweden... I must go!

Ooh, another thing I am interested in: Marine biology. Yes I know, completely unrelated to anything, and very impractical for me to pursue, but Jackie and I were watching this program on the Travel Channel about the Valencia Aquarium. And... I want to help out! I guess this is the environmentalist side of me speaking out (can you be a conservative environmentalist? I suppose not...). I want to save the animals! Haha. The new Wired magazine came a few days ago and it's all about environmental issues, which is why I've decided that whatever place I open up MUST be environmentally forward and friendly. Organic and recyclable furniture and decorations, a lot of organic food, very little energy consumption... I can't wait to buy a house just so I can practice energy conservation! Oh man, I am such a nerd guys. I don't know what to do with myself... art and saving the environment! :coughhippiecough: I should just go visit the Cleveland zoo.

Okay, enough about majors and careers and crap. School is out in two weeks, and then SUMMER!!! Guess what else is in two weeks? My 21st birthday, woohoo! Yea, you better be excited. The final that was on my birthday got moved forward, so now I can properly celebrate! But of course, I have a small wishlist. I don't expect anyone to buy anything for me (no really, don't, well okay maybe a drink), but I just want to show you all what I'm currently interested in.

I couldn't fit a laptop lunchbox, or a car. =P

I am going to go swimming and not thing about life's troubles. Then work on my new portfolio/website. Summer is just around the corner! Be excited! ^_^__^^__^_^_^__^

edit: Nintendo's Revolution is now called the Wii. So far this is my favorite reaction to this... really dumb name. Welp, I'll probably still enjoy playing the crap out of it. Wii-wii!

Listening: Sondre Lerche - Faces Down
Playing: Chrono Trigger
Reading: Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

Posted by Joanna at 6:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Oh Thunder Over Louisville this year was fantastic. The weather was in the 70s, clear, sunny, and I was surrounded by parents, boyfriend and great friends! Aaaah wonderful! The rest of the pictures are here, check em out. They're COLORFUL and CHEERY!

So pardon my rant down there. It just never occurs to me to think to look for jobs out of my locality. Maybe I am too afraid to step out of my comfort zone; I know my parents have given me the opportunity to teach English in China and Taiwan many times, but I feel like it's too big of a step for me, to teach English AND to live in a foreign country for a whole semester alone. I see studying abroad as something different, since there is some structure and I am most likely going to be with other English speaking students. But since everyone is getting incredible opportunities in the US, I think I can handle that. So Amy helped me out for a bit; I'll be shopping for interesting jobs for summer 2007. Lets hope something works out...

Nothing really interesting to report. I've been thinking of getting rid of this whole blog thing and just making this into a portfolio. I'm getting tired of updating about my non-eventful life, and when events do happen, I feel that my photos speak enough for me, even though I know everyone likes to read words as well. Going along with the whole finding interesting jobs thing, I am trying to propel myself forward since I don't feel like anything in my life is. I finished a resumé, and I'm trying to think of small graphic design projects for myself, which includes revamping this website (I know I know, about the twentieth time I've said this...) and organizing a portfolio. Yeaaaaa, we'll see what actually comes about, but since this semester is coming to a close and I really have nothing left to do but beat Chrono Trigger and Kingdom Hearts II (:hangs head:), I might as well be somewhat productive. Go go Joanna! Or as Anna says, Fight fight fight!!~

Listening: Steam Soundtrack
Playing: Chrono Trigger
Reading: Real Simple Magazine and Burr Magazine

Posted by Joanna at 10:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I had a great weekend, but I will update about that after class. I am just wondering, how am I missing out on so many opportunities? Amy is going to Wyoming for the summer, I know people going to DC and California and many many places overseas for jobs and internships... why am I still here? Why don't I hear about these opportunities? Why don't people TELL me? It's never occurred to me to apply for jobs online... but how do you even FIND these jobs online? Can someone help me out here, please?? I mean, this summer is somewhat out of the question considering I have summer classes, but just for future reference; I don't think it's very fair or nice that people are flying all over the place without me. :hmph: Shakespeare time.

Posted by Joanna at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My favorite photos from Easter, which I spent on Amy Thompson's farm. What a great break from the ordinary :) See the rest of the photos here. Hope everyone had a great Easter!

Listening: Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
Playing: Chrono Trigger and Kingdom Hearts II
Reading: Machiavelli's The Prince

Posted by Joanna at 12:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Spring has sprung! Oh wait, it definitely just snowed here last night in northeast Ohio. sigh Well, this is how things ought to look:

All my life I've been saying that winter was my favorite season. It's because the feeling of holiday cheer and gift giving and family and togetherness is unbeatable, and I love cuddling up in blankets with hot cocoa and watching the snowflakes make a fresh blanket of snow outside. But now I've spent a winter in northeast Ohio, and I take it all back. Winter here is about 5 months too long; it's always a mixture of snow, rain, slush and wind, and it's definitely still snowing on April 5th. Spring is now officially my favorite season, because it is the season I find myself yearning for the most. Everything is new and happy in spring, I have wonderful childhood memories of Easter egg hunts, rolling down hills and driving around aimlessly, and then there's summer and fall to look foward to. From this day forth, Joanna likes spring the most. Thank you.

I also have a huge craving to go to a beach. My mom (she comes back from Taiwan tonight! yay ^_^) told me that one of my cousins in Taiwan is getting married, and they are going to spend their honeymoon in the US, haha. Anyway, I will probably take them to Mammoth Cave since that's what everyone who lives in Kentucky does, but they also want me to take them to Disney World! I'm so excited about it, but I don't think it's until August. Ideally though, I'd like to have gone to a beach before then. I'm going to see if I can't organize a nice trip in the month I have between spring and summer semester.

So... spring break was wonderful! But then, any time spent back in Louisville is. The first night I went with my dad to see the Ju Percussion Group, this percussion troupe from Taiwan. Apparently they're famous worldwide (they performed in the first Fantasia!), but since no one really knows them in the states, the tickets are really cheap =P The show was aaaawesome; there were usually at least five people on stage playing everything that is percussion, and sometimes they did a light show (using only lighters as percussion) or some comedic acts (like having the fat guy do all the wrong things). Because what is any Asian show without slapstick humor! ^_^ I think their next stop after Louisville was Yale University (go figure). If they ever tour in your town, go see them!

I spent the first weekend in Lexington, and then the majority of the rest at The Taipei Cafe. If The Ohio State University insists that their "The" be capitalized, then so shall The ever important Taipei Cafe! One of the chefs got sick on Monday, so I helped around in place of him on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then my dad caught it, so I worked on Thursday and Friday. Then one of the servers caught it superultrabigtime, so I had to work for her Saturday and Sunday. I love working there, but all I'm saying is, LUCKY IT WAS MY SPRING BREAK HUH. Get all the sickness out of the way while Joanna's here, yea I see how it is. If the other server got sick after I left, well then tough luck. But anyways. I grumbled a little in the beginning, but working there always brings my spirits up. Something about the whole independent / family business thing that makes working there so much more worthwhile. And of course, de-li-cious chinese food. I've been eating really badly at school, but I didn't realize HOW bad until I saw vegetables! And I'd have to say the only vegetables I've eaten lately were two servings of broccoli in the past month or so, and some bell peppers. Ah, I can't wait until I move into the apartment and have a kitchen ^_^ Ashley better beware, I will be doing crazy food experiments in there, wheeee.

Let's see... movies. I saw Inside Man, Aeon Flux, Thumbsucker, and Walk the Line. I recommend Inside Man and Walk the Line! Great movies, great actors, great stories, etc. I didn't know Aeon Flux used to be a cartoon on MTV back the day, so the plot was a little hard to comprehend at first. But very entertaining with neato action sequences and hot outfits, so not bad, not bad. Thumbsucker... GOD. I am so tired of the artsy awkward still-framed movies; the genre is ridiculously worn out, circa Royal Tennenbaums. It's about this high school kid who still sucks his thumb (based on a true story), but the artistic direction and acting style was so exhausted that I couldn't sit through the whole time. Shame too, because The White Witch (Tilda Swinton) from Narnia is in this movie, and she's fantastic. ^_^ Oh well.

Aaaand Ben and I had our two year anniversary! It wasn't actually over spring break, but we "celebrated" it by um, exchanging video games =B I got him Metal Gear Subsistence and some internet hooky-up thing for his PS2, and he gave me Kingdom Hearts II!!! Clearly I am the winner in this exchange, heh. No actually, I really like the Metal Gear series, I started the first MGS but apparently I can't be stealth for crap, so I'm not exactly progressing very fast. But I've been waiting for KH2 since freshman year of college when I spent many a day and night playing with Ashley and Eric, and it's finally here! The shiny case keeps beckoning me o.O But unfortunately I try not to play multiple games at once, and I'm still in the midst of Chrono Trigger. :sigh: Well, at least when I play it I can fully enjoy it.

I also picked up Tetris DS for myself. Of course, Tetris is the world's most addicting game ever, but now they have missions! and puzzles! and touch! and multiplayer! and I think I've acquired a permanent headache from the overstimulation over break. Everyone needs to pick up a Nintendo DS. Honestly, it's quite affordable, the design is unique, the games are awesome especially with the wi-fi capability... and most importantly, the DS Lite is SO sexy I can't contain myself. People say the design for the PSP is hot (and it is), but the DS Lite trumps all. Now there really is no argument for the PSP, except maybe the screen is big and clear and stuff, but there's no worthy games on it! (Except maybe the Katamari game that is coming out for it, but even then you don't have the joysticks...) And movies? Come on. That's what the iPod video is for ^_^

Okay, enough technoramble. School is back in session, there's snow on the ground after a nice, WARM, SUNNY spring break, and I'm having issues with scheduling. Plus I just got my financial aid award letter for the upcoming year, and let's just say that my predictions of Kent State being a cheap school were dead-wrong. Am I going to stay at Kent State? Most likely. But you can bet your ass that I am going to try anything to get out of here in less than the supposed three years. Either that or just spend a lot of time harrassing the financial aid office. At least they gave me work study, so I will be employed! Finally. Well, I have 3 midterms and a paper coming up in the next week, and Chrono Trigger to beat.

Will someone buy me one of these for my birthday?

Listening: Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
Playing: Chrono Trigger
Reading: Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice To All Creation

Posted by Joanna at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Posted by Joanna at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)