November Already?

(via.)

How is it already November? And dark by five? Crazy I tell ya! These last couple of weeks (well month, two months?) have been a blur. With life picking up, alongside a well-timed lesson in church today, I knew I needed to spend a couple of minutes writing down life as of late. Spirit of Elijah! Huzzah!

School has been so full of goodness this last little while. And this week before Halloween has been my favorite week of school to date. Each one of my illustration classes allowed us to let loose and just draw. I'm feeling my groove pick up in figure drawing, and am really enjoying all four hours on a drawing horse now that we've covered most of our material for the semester. My confidence is starting to resurface in Character Design. And I learned the Thriller dance in Spin! A little break from spinning my legs silly is always appreciated, no matter how embarrassing the alternative may be. There have been several late-night Uncrustables from the vending machine, many misprints and miscuts made in the visual arts Print Lab, and tons of early treks to campus. I'm happy to be getting an education, and especially to be getting an education in the visual arts.

In other, cooler news, I ran a half marathon! And have an obnoxious, completion medal sitting just to my left to prove it. Over the summer I started running again, (always "again") so my coworker Meghan and I decided to really make something of it! The first month of my training was awesome. The second month, well not so much. The big day crept up on us anyway, and after a night of very little sleep it arrived. The morning started with a spooky bus ride up Provo Canyon to the top of South Fork where we were dropped at a cloud of eye-stinging smoke. Standing in the cold for the next two hours probably wasn't the best way to warm up our legs or unfreeze my toes, but we made the best of it and tried to keep the nerves away. Once we finally got going I felt so good! And continued feeling that way up until mile ten. Truly. That stretch in the open canyon had to have been the best part of the entire race, I felt like I could fly. We had a longer than necessary pit stop thrown in the mix, and once we got past the Riverwoods I could just feel the weight of lactic acid seep through my legs.  Oh, and I may or may not have thrown up (but only a little!) at the medal table after a surprise sprint to the finish. But despite those few set backs we did it, and we did it together. Meghan really helped motivate me at the end, and I like to think I kept her going too. It was tender knowing we had gone into it together and finished it as a unit. I loved building up our friendship through running, and genuinely looked forward to our Saturday morning runs! And may I just say, It's crazy fulfilling to have a long time goal of mine finally accomplished. Now I may not be my former fifteen year old self, running miles upon miles every morning... But my pride has come into play and I'm feeling motivated to do another half marathon! This time, for time. And this time, with actual running shoes. (I swear though, that race was my gateway to obesity for a hot second there. So much pasta and candy and hello, I can eat whatever I want! Do you know what I just did?!)

Speaking of goals, I scored an internship for this semester and next at Sycamore Street Press! Somehow the stars aligned and I landed right where I want to be. I knew I wanted to find a job in my field or to study under an illustrator, and now I've got the best of both worlds! While what I'm working on right now is only one gear of the experience, every day I find myself admiring the cards and prints around me and thinking of how lucky I really am. It's been fun to grow as a designer leading up to this (and I'm talking like, MAJOR growth).  To look at my portfolio and feel proud at how far I've come. And to now take that growth and apply it is exciting! Kirk and Eva have been great and their love for what they do is inspiring and motivating. Plus, the drives to Heber are beautiful and definitely set the tone for my day. I can't wait to look back and see what I've learned and what I've offered to the brand!

Another exciting item of business, I made the jump and bought a newwwww (read in a Price is Right voice) camera! HOLY GUACAMOLE the difference in quality was instant. In. Stant. My images are now just so creamy, and buttery, and I've found myself wanting to haul that couple pounds of greasy goodness with me everywhere. Gone are the days when I would leave shoots feeling confident, only to come home to my computer frustrated and so deflated. So while the photography world is still so vast and ever so overwhelming, I no longer feel as held back in terms of quality and creativity. Slap that stereotypical "utah-photog" badge on me, I will wear it with pride. (Hint hint, hire me!).

Are you still reading this? Well if you are, other highlights of this last little while include driving the Mount Nebo Loop, the Alt-J concert, and watching the X-Files. Exploring Mount Nebo left me screaming over the yellow-leaved beauty at every stop. Really. It could not be contained! Coby and I would drive up and up, jump out for a bit, run around in windy nature dance, and slump back in to the car. Back to the warmth and the Kanye remixes. The Alt-J concert was just as magical. Coby's brother oh so graciously gave me his ticket (I know) and it proved to be one of my favorite concerts. I wanted to lay down right there in the middle of the floor and float off into sweet, sweet lyrical heaven. And then the X-Files, the perfect amount of mystery without the twisted gore. Perfect for getting some Halloween spirit. And how can you not love Agent Scully and Agent Mulder?

Go team!