Corner View : Four-legged

I can't help but be excited about today's topic! I've had pets my whole life- one black lab (Lucky), two chocolate labs (Ceaux Ceaux and Rusty), and one cat (Socks), all outside animals. Now there's little Rufus, the smallest and most social dog of them all, who cannot possibly ever get enough of people and is very friendly with other dogs of all sizes. He's always excited to see you, and I wish I could get half as jazzed about anything as he does about going outside. He loves ice, minty things (is especially good at finding already-been-chewed gum!), or snacks... the latter two of these he finds on his own when we go walking. He's about the most loving ball of fluff you'll ever meet!

Empty Backpack Syndrome

We've all heard of Empty Nest syndrome, when parents feel lonely after their children have moved out of the house for college or marriage or whatever. I believe there's something to such a big life change (and Lord knows I've had my share of those in the past few years!) And the next one on my horizon is nearing-- I finish grad school in just a few months. Sure, ideally I'll be working at a fabulous job that I am excited to go to everyday, that challenges me, that pays me well and affords me the opportunities outside of work that really add to life. Now, if any part of that doesn't unfold just so, what ever shall I do? Well, I've been crazy busy throughout school and I told my friends that I wasn't going to volunteer for anything for a year once I start work. No clubs, no organizations, nothing. My friend Amy said she's looking forward to when I'm no longer the busiest person she knows. I told her that I'm going to come home and stare at the wall and love not being stretched every which way.

...of course, I'd like to be less busy, but literally doing nothing doesn't exactly sound ideal either. Well, not for long. I was talking to a woman in our alumni department recently and she was talking about all of the things she creates at home. I've wanted to learn how to sew, and whipping up a simple, cute skirt or curtains or anything that's well-made, really, would be so nice! That, and I've studied French, but Spanish has become so much more prevalent and useful it seems (especially in a post-Katrina Louisiana, but plenty here in the DC area) that it may be a good thing to study. Perhaps these will be my solutions to my Empty Backpack Syndrome?!

What other things do you do to pass the time? What are your passions that you'd get into if you could? What do you love to learn or would you study if you could get to it?

Corner View : Favorite Fine Artist

Hello, Corner Viewers!

I have been MIA and without internet, but I'm back! And with that, back in school for one more semester. (Anyone know of marketing/HR/management jobs in DC or Atlanta!?) Here goes!

I can't pick my favorite fine artist, as is today's theme. I do like Salvador Dali's Persistence of Memory as well as Metamorphosis of Narcissus - the style is crisp and has volumes of underlying meaning. But truly, I love, love pictures of boats and harbors and masts with sails. I typically dislike photos of flowers, as there are entirely too many and very few are distinctive. Still life pictures remind me of elementary school art class, but architecture can capture my attention for hours. I've often wondered, "what's the big deal!?" when I see the real deal from Picasso or Matisse. However, I think Jeff Koons has some pretty cool pieces, and Frank Gehry even inspires jewelry from Tiffany that I'd wear, though none of these considered "fine" by the trained artist. I usually base what to buy on what grabs my eye as I pass by a sea of look-alikes, and when I've traveled before my one regret has been not bringing back more artwork. Now when I travel again, I'll work on that ;)


To see art from around the world, check out:
jane - ian - bonnie - joyce - kim - trinsch - ritva - francesca - state of bliss - cabrizette - isabelle - janis - kari - jgy - lise - cate - otli - dorte - sophie - mcgillicutty - sunnymama - juanita - daan - ibb - kelleyn - ninja - sammi - theresa - cherry b - cole - grey lemon - lucylaine - lynn - skywriting - anna - dorit - conny - l´atelier - kamana - rosamaría - victoria - yellow door - tikjewit - juniper - annabel - valerie - merel - mlle paradis - wander chow - tally - nadine - don - flowtops - susanna - tania - dana - tzivia - mari - mezza - hinke - susan - guusje - annemiek - barbara

Holiday Recap!

Happy New Year!

I went home after finals to enjoy a couple of weeks with family and friends. While I don't have any desire to return there for my own career/life any time soon, I love being from a small town in a region of its own, distinct culture. I love visiting periodically (hadn't been back since May) and seeing everyone I miss the rest of the year. I love eating, seeing what new things have popped up as well as the familiar.

Left: With the Amandas :)
Right: Jordan and Taylor with Nanny, who brought presents!

I spent a few days in Houston and one of the best parts of that trip was that I took my 3-year old godchild to her first movie (Tangled), and she sat on the edge of her seat the entire time. I ate at Armadillo Palace, which had a giant rodent out front. Back home I saw old co-workers and high school and college friends. I went to the shooting range and managed to avoid the mall. My dad even watched the pooch for a couple of days while I visited Baton Rouge, and if you know anything about my dad or his stance on inside animals, this is a pretty big deal. Overall, I had a really nice time and while I wasn't ready to return to DC, it was a pretty fulfilling time in the South. I even did pretty well for Christmas, which isn't the norm once you're past adolescent years it seems. I may've been most excited about my new gumbo pot (or stock pot, as is the non-Cajun name for it ;), but there were some other goodies to love as well. Now I need to make a gumbo!!!

With one of several first cousins, Garrett

And here it is, 2011. A year that begins with 1/1/11 has to be lucky, right? With graduation and hopefully a new job not far away, I'm planning on just that! One more semester to go, plenty to get done in it, and hopefully a lot of enjoyment to accompany the undoubted onslaught of work. I will sit down at some point this week and rework my flowchart of life and probably make some resolutions to fit it.

What was the best part of your holiday? Do you have resolutions or plans for 2011?