I'm in the [blog] zone

My general feeling about blogging:

Just kidding.
Actually~

I think it was hard to keep up with a topic in a long extension sometimes, so it was stressful. But not quite as a dramatic as it could have been.

I enjoyed it because we don't get that many chances to grab a topic and say anything we want, not trying to please the teacher's personal taste.

I don't know if I ever got my points for the blogs I wrote at home or a few days late, but I wish there was a way to have them because I did my best trying to write decent posts and taking good care of my grammar. The thing is, I only skipped class one time without a real reason. All the other times were because I was feeling sick after having almost nonstop classes from 8:30 am to 3 pm, and sometimes I didn't sleep that much the night before (because I was studying or... I don't know... trying to figure out some ridiculous actionscript), so I drank too much coffee in the morning to stay alert and it also made me feel sick, etc, etc, etc.

So Wednesdays are an all day long torture for me. Yet, I tried to post most of the entries we were supposed to write, so, compared to the people who didn't even bother, I think I should get at least MERCY :( I really did my best~

I DO feel like I learned something. I don't know if there's a big difference, but there sure is. And it was really useful to read my classmate's blogs too, because I got an impression about my own skills compared to theirs.


I'll miss this, seriously.
This isn't farewell~ this is~... you know what I mean.


[Angélica]

Hazy's Blog ♥

This is a screenshot of Hazy's  (Natalia Muñoz's) blog, http://haziestdinosaur.blogspot.com/ :

And MY reaction when I visited it for the first time, was

Yes, I turned into a pear, and my eyes and nose were gone.

Some information to introduce:
- It's called  "COLORFUL dinosaurs"
- So far, she's  posted 7 entries since march 31st, 2010.

My reaction has a lot to do with the colours and the fonts she used to design her blog's display.
I know she likes dinosaurs and I know she likes bright colors. I don't really have anything against dinosaurs, but I'm more of a dark person, or at least less shiny, so the contrast between the black backround and the colorful letters made me feel transported to a retro kind of place.
It's not a bad feeling, but I WAS a bit shocked. In a nice way, I respect her style.
I wouldn't recommend any changes on the design because I think she has it going her way and that's a good thing.

Although I might change the text font. To make it a bit easier to read, because the one she's using (I don't remember its exact name) is too condensed and confuses the eye (of mine).

Speaking of her blog, I specially liked that entry where she talked about her cellphone--because I thought it was the cutest story with the happiest ending ever~ and also the one where she talked about Laura Vresky, mainly because I felt that Laura's work is a lot like Hazy, like I could easily think the pictures she posted could have been designs of her own. It made a familiar image to me, it felt nice.

About her english, I don't think she's far from right in pretty much everything. There are some tiny little details that she could fix, but not essential issues. She could perfectly communicate with a native speaker and not sound spanglish at all.

I say way to go, Hazy!~

Sweet Shin'en

This is not actually my favourite picture, but this is the only decent one I have.

It was taken in my room by~ my desk. We set the camera on automatic mode, and the three of us posed at once.

It shows the band my friends and I started last year: Sweet Shin'en. To the left is Daniela, the guitarrist (also know as Aki), on drums in the middle, that's me (leader Nat), and to the right is...Daniela, our bassist (we just call her Moriko or Moshi... because of the japanese sweet rice balls Mochi, except we're chilean, so it's Moshi. I gave her that nickname because she used to call me Loafy, and re-named Aki as Purin, so I thought she needed to be named after some kind of food).

This is not my favourite picture because our vocal, Macarena (or Hitomi, which I prefer) wasn't there with us at that moment, about ten months ago. In fact, we don't have any pictures, all together.

I like it because, as I was telling Jorge earlier, this is what I'm the most proud of; my band, my Jrock band. Last year we started aching to gather and form a band, but the other girls woudn't do much about because neither of us knew how to play any instruments. Except for Moriko, who knows how to play the violin. Or knew... whatever.

The thing is I proclaimed myself as the band leader and found someone to teach us how to play. It was hard, really hard, and sometimes demotivating, but it worked. We managed to learn about five songs before many things happenned in our personal lives, and the band fell on hiatus.

However, I often think we'll resume the band's activities soon. I'll have time, and they will too, and we will rehearse again. And we will beat every other bands's arses, because we'll be the best. We have the strenght, the desire and the will to be the best.

You'll hear from us soon. You just wait~

[From 'Shin'en Strip', 2009. Rehearsal scene with: Hitomi on vocals, Akiko playing guitar, Moriko playing the bass, and Natsuko (me) playing the drums. All rights reserved to ME ♥)


[Angélica]

PD: I love that wall~

Sir Ken Robinson's point of view

I think this man is completely right.

Our minds's wings have been severed by the fear of being wrong. We have been educated on the base of believing we have to be right all the time, and mistakes are punished and mocked at.

I think it has something to do with efficiency. You make the right decisions, wisely, and you become more efficient. If you make a mistake, you're not that useful, or you're even worthless. Everyone is ashamed of you, and they try to make you feel better, because they know how harsh social pressure is.

The result: We're scared. We're not that confident'. We don't DARE doing something different, fun, weird, original. Because it could be the wrong choice. To who? to everyone else. Not us. To them, to the rest of the people.

This relates to us, graphic designers, in a critical way. Well, it does to pretty much everyone, but I'll speak for my partners.

We may not open our minds wider to better and more interesting graphics, because we're insecure about everything. We have been educated that way, and under the circumstances, it's hard to change the way we feel.

If we were younger, perhaps it wouldn't be such a hard task. We have our beliefs, they have strong roots in our minds, it's a tough job to modify them.

But it doesn't mean we must stop trying :D our future is in our hands, and soon our children's education will be our responsability too. We have to know how to face that challenge.

Lets go for it!!

Technology? Sounds like fun!

I don't have just one favorite, but the one I definitely can't live without, is the MP4.

Yes, that's right, I could use my phone to listen to music, but I'm not used to it and I really don't crave it. I only use my phone to text people and make emergency calls, that's it.

But the MP4 goes everywhere with me. Before it was the personal stereo (had 4, but their audio input broke), then two discmans (classmate broke one in high school and I don't know what happened to the other one), an mp3 (which I lost) and 2 MP4s (one was stolen from me aboard transantiago and the other is still in use).

I got mine (current one) last year, after I was mugged on a transantiago by this huge guy who got out of the bus with my beloved device in his hands. This, because I use to keep it inside a pocket, like in my jeans or my coat. That way it's easy to change songs, pump up the volume or manage the playlist with one hand, while the other holds tight on anything. AND it's easy to be stolen, too.

I like it because I can take it everywhere, and charge it in any computer (I don't like batteries because they pollute~ they're expensive and they don't last as much as the pink duracell bunny says. That damned furry liar. Besides, it works up my state of mind everyday. Listening to music is one of the most inspiring things ever.

The thing is, I never stop using it while I'm alone doing stuff, unless someone comes up and starts talking to me. I actually CAN live without it, but I suffer, I feel awkward and incomplete.

Guess I'm a needy person? Don't really know~

The skills are strong with this one~

Our main skills needed are, in my opinion, the following:
- Creativity

- An open mind (not quite the same as creativity)
- Decent crafts
- An intense perception
- To be punctual (I giggled at this one)
- A decent oratory


I think most of them are learnt, but we're still born with predetermined skills to be skilled... you know? It's easier for some to learn some things faster than the others.
In my opinion, university provides lots of valuable things to us, but not as many as they could, and some students don't really appreciate it either.

It highly depends on us, on how we can improve these skills even if we don't have enough money resources.

We should somehow learn to learn.

I don't feel prepared. But once thing I do know: I will fight and I will go on no matter what. With skills or without them.

See, that's a skill too, and I strong, essential one, I must say.

To be DIE HARD! :D How do we survive not eating for several hours or even an entire day? How do we manage not to faint aboard transantiago after staying up all night? How do we handle the doubt of not knowing if we're using the right concept or not? That's right, we're the hardest!



[Angélica]

Quintay, V Region

 First of all, I hope it's not too late to do this.

 This place is Quintay. I don't quite remember exactly where it is, but it's in the V Region, somewhere near Valparaiso...probably.

The thing is, we went there with our high school's 4th grade B as a final year's trip. 'Viaje de estudios', that's how we call it. It was twenty of us. We were fourty, but many people didn't show up. It was ok; more fun for the few of us. The beach, the cabins, the pool room, etc. We used to do crazy touristic videos, or horror films in the forest, so we had a lot of nice memories together.

That picture above, is from a photoshoot that me and a couple of friends did the last day we stayed there. I didn't quite enjoy it as I could have, because I didn't drink any alcohol, nor could stay up late. I kept falling asleep before 1 am.

I haven't seen any of my classmates since the day after that picture was taken. Except for the first girl on the left; she's still one of my closest friends and bassist of my rock band.

This is a part of my life I keep forgetting about, until I see these pictures again. Then all the memories come alive vividly, in a really beautiful way.

That's why I like Quintay ♥