Packing is frustrating!

All of it is just getting a little overwhelming! I believe that as soon as I fill a box, things magically appear in corners, unseen, making the room look less and less like I'm going to be able to finish packing by the end of the week.

I am incredibly excited though. The thought that I am about to move into my first apartment all by myself is INSANE. And I have this great feeling everything is going to be fine...even though things are getting bunched up around the move-in date. I have to move out of this apartment by 10 pm on Saturday. My dad is being...my dad and trying to find a place to store the U-Haul he's renting so he doesn't have to drive it all the way back to the suburbs and then back to the city.

At 10 am on Sunday, I have to go pick up the keys to the apartment from the apartment finding service I used to find my new place. And then it's off to the new building and attempting to find the freight elevator and hope beyond hope that the one I've been using isn't it. It's waaaaay too tiny.

I got new shoes today because the knock-off Toms I've been wearing quite literally fell apart on me on my way to work. I have this really weird tan line from them so whenever I have a moment outside (usually during breaks for my class) I take off my shoes to get a more even color.

I'm starting to really see the appeal of instagram, if that isn't obvious by now :p

I made wine with my granny and my boyfriend over the weekend but I totally forgot to take pictures >.< I've been pretty hair brained lately, which is why I probably won't post a whole lot until after I get settled in the new apartment. I will be certain (fingers crossed) to take lots of pics of the move and the set up!

Look for me over on Tumblr. I'm really active on there.

This will probably be one of those posts that will lack a lot of photos. I just want to get a few things off of my mind right now.

Looking for things for my new apartment and making plans for moving and packing....all of that has been pretty stressful. I have a lot of crap that I've accumulated over all of my life. My parents kicked me and all my stuff out of their house when I moved into this place so all of things I've owned that I haven't thrown out at this point are currently either in my bedroom with me or in the storage closet across the hall. It's quite a bit, as I'm sure you can imagine. A life time of....things. It's hard because I have decide to what stays and what goes  and where all the garbage is going to be put. So I have a lot on my mind.

And moving has definitely made me think about money, as I'm sure it does for everyone. It's all made me dream about the day when I won't have to ask, "Will I be able to get everything paid on time and still get to eat this month?" which is a pretty crappy thought process now that I think about it but I am certainly not the only person who thinks about this on a day to day basis. Not that that gives me any comfort.

More than anything, though this is all making me excited about my future, not anxious or worried. If I were to get a job after school that paid 30k a year (maybe not even that much) I'd be able to afford most spacious one bedroom apartments in my area all by myself with money left for minor lifestyle expenses. I told my dad something similar and he seemed upset that I didn't want to achieve more for myself. That is definitely not that case and I certainly want much more for myself. But I have to think about the not so distant future and I can't think about making six figures until I think about making slightly more than the hourly wage I do now.

Maybe thinking in those terms isn't great. I'm basically saying to myself, "Okay, dear, just don't be homeless. There's time to think about being successful ten years from now. Now, just think about not being a bum." Which is fine, but it's not really giving me challenging goals is it? I went into college knowing there was slim chance I would get an amazing career right after graduation. I went in declared as an English major (HAH), switched to game design almost immediately and then switched to animation. Pretty niche paths, right? And not the majors you think of when you want to start being financially independent right away.

I'm remaining positive though. It appears that just having a degree will get you a full time job. It might not be in your chosen field, but it's money. And there is (fingers crossed) plenty of time for me to explore my horizons as I get older and experience more things.

</stream of consciousness>

I'm working more on portraits and I've got one more to share!

Definitely still working on it, so watch out for my progress!

I also caved and got an instagram! My username is kowbonez so look me up. I haven't started taking a ton of picture just yet, but I plan on it, especially once this whole moving process gets going.

If I had my dream apartment

So the place I'm moving into on July 1st is pretty teeny. It's studio apartment with a walk-in closet and hardwood floors. It's pretty updated, the kitchen is cute (kinda narrow though) and there's tons of nature light that comes in from this adorable courtyard. I have to start thinking about organization because of how little space I have. My current (lovely) queen sized bed is going to have to go and is being replaced by a twin bed my boyfriend is so graciously letting me borrow.

I was at work and a coworker suggested that I look on Pinterest for ideas about decorating and organizing. The whole experience made me wish I owned a mansion and had infinity money but I had a lot of fun picking out things I'd like to have in my new place. Not all of it is reasonable but, a girl has a right to dream right??

OK so I'm totally starting out with a set of things that I could...and yet couldn't have in my apartment. I have a little space for a small breakfast table just like this and those drapes would look amazing on my windows. I can sew (sort of) so making similar ones myself wouldn't be too hard. That tablecloth, UGH, too adorable. The photo looks like it was taken in a trailer though. Very homey. I love this style!

I'm in dire need of a desk! I'm writing this post on my desktop computer with the keyboard and mouse on the bed with me >.< I was going to be extra crafty and partially destroy one of my dressers to make a desk out of it but....this is too cool! The biggest window in my place is a perfect spot for this...but then you would have to think about glare...hmmm. Still, excellently designed in my opinion.

A slightly more practical work area. I could never be this organized, no matter how many strategically decorative file folders I have. Does seeing excessively organized things make anyone else feel really at ease? If there was a person that would organize my crap for me, I'd never have to stress about anything!

More with organization. The idea behind this is using the baskets as containers for small clothing items like undies and socks so you save space in dresser drawers. This is great for me because I take up four drawers in the three small dressers that I have with just my under things, socks and flimsy sleepwear. The closet I'm going to have is pretty huge and I can see myself letting the mess inside get out of hand. Things like this would definitely prevent that from happening.

This is all I feel up for sharing right now, but take a look at my Pinterest Album to look at some of the other things I've looked at and drooled over. Also, if you have any ideas for me, certainly throw them my way. I'd love to hear your ideas about decoration and organization!

This morning I was feeling a bit inadequate. We have to bring certain supplies to our art class most of which I had to buy because I didn't have them at home. I couldn't get everything because, well, art supplies are expensive and I work two jobs just to pay rent and bills on time. So I've been using the shopping bag I got my giant sketch book in as my portfolio for the time being and hopefully I'll be able to round up the money for a real one within a week or so.

I always end up feeling like everyone has more money than I do at some point during the school year. A few people showed up with all the things the professor required the day after she gave us the list. Well over 100 dollars, an amount I have no business dropping at one time. This financial struggle of sorts does make me feel good at times, though. Like I'm working really hard for what I want and I don't have to rely on anyone to help me.

My desire to be financially independent while also not having to fight to keep from being homeless is post for another day I think.

I'm at work currently. Part of our summer project is to clear out some of the junk our office has had since the 70s. My coworkers and I had to toss a bunch of stuff away. The vast majority of it was from when I was a toddler and a few things from when the department was created. We were pretty overcome by dust by the end of it.

before

all done! :D

My breakfast/lunch (I get to work at 1 and I usually don't eat before then >.< ). Pretty typical. The supermarket I go to has 69 cent bagels so I get two. Also this giant tea lemonade from the starqueen. Always ask for light or no ice. I always feel like restaurants are ripping you off when they add ice.

It was really fucking hot today so I felt that a few cubes would be fine.

My new apartment won't be ready to move into until the first. I was hoping to move in a little sooner but it looks like the current resident won't be leaving until the night before. Hopefully they'll have the place all cleared out by the time I show up with my fam to move things in. I have to look for things for my new place since most of the stuff that I'll need in the place I'm in now belongs to my roommate. Maybe I'll make a post about my dream apartment items next ;)

Going out to dinner with one of my best friends from home after work. I'm one of those annoying people that take pictures of their food so expect to see that too!

Sooo I'm doing this mostly for shits. It's summer break and I'm often not doing much besides going to my art class, work and doing my database homework.

How about recent news about me? I'm currently in the process of moving. I have a lot of crap so I've been trying to decide how much of this stuff I actually need. Been trying to find the charger for my camera so I can't take pics of the stuff I want to give away yet.

Been drawing a lot. My art class requires we draw something every day for 30 minutes (obvs not a necessary time restraint). I'm getting...better. I think. I'll let other people decide that, huh?

Simple sketch with some detail in the hair. I have a bunch of stuff to say about the mistakes I made with it but I've always been told the moment you apologize or make excuses for your work, you lose respect from the people viewing it. So here it is, no excuses :p

This is my only art contribution for the day. I got back to my apartment a few hours ago. I went to my parents' house for a cookout. Had this awesome wine my grandma made while I was there so I'm going back to make more with her over the weekend.

Not sure what I'm hoping to happen with this blog. Every time I start one, I end up giving up on it. But maybe, because this one is linked to stuff I want to do for a living, I'll give it more attention. My tumblr is really the only thing I keep up with but I adore it. Feel free to stop by digiplease.tumblr.com