!!!SHA!!!! ~Sha Designs~ designing all over the world!

just popped in for this

2010-03-22T22:05:00.001-04:00

EPIC WIN!

watch and adore. this is why sailor moon rocks

kim daul died a while ago and i have a toothache

2009-12-08T23:53:00.004-05:00

so kim daul died. she was a model. same age as me---i'm older by a couple of months. she committed suicide. and the only reason why i'm mentioning it now even though she died on November 19th is because i followed her blog regularly and in my blog feed her last post is glaring at me loud and proud. say hi to forever. unforunately her blog is closed now so a link would be useless. THOUSANDS of comments. daul is the ninth korean celeb to commit suicide this year. she needed help. millions of ppl need help. why the hell is suicide seen as a solution? i'm pitiless most of the time when it comes to that subject. i think suicide is a selfish, cowardly act. so shoot me, but i really think that. especially when there's children involved. it just pisses me off. if you can't live for yourself then live for that child dammit! but for some reason, daul's death just really upset me. like REALLY upset me. and it has something to do with me reading her blog, looking at her pictures, and us being so close in age. she was so talented. are artists really so misunderstood? 20 years old, and becoming a new face for korea that has recently been rearing a really ugly head to the world. her death doesn't help things...

i have a toothache. damn wisdom teeth. they hurt so bad i can't really eat. i have a dentist appointment for friday at 11am... they're gonna have to take them out---i kno it! it just sucks because my christmas party that i planned is going to have to go on without me. oh the irony. that's what happens when you're lazy i guess....

fishy!!!

2009-11-24T15:05:00.004-05:00

these are SO weird looking but so cool!!! all these new deep sea creatures scientists are discovering. they think there are thousands more cause they can withstand deep sea pressures that ppl can't. the last one is my fave!!! so creepy cute!!!

2 things

2009-09-24T18:34:00.002-04:00

1. no one does advertising like the japanese

2. namie amuro is the shit

oh! and patricia field is an amazing designer! i guess that's three things...

oh dear

2009-08-06T14:03:00.002-04:00

i think i'm gonna die in debt. good thing i have plans to be successful. heh..heh...heh...=(

and from school:

Temple University needs your help right away. Call or e-mail your Pennsylvania state legislator today.

As you may have read in the newspapers, the entire Commonwealth appropriation for Temple University, approximately $175 million, is in jeopardy in the House of Representatives. The loss of the Commonwealth’s support would be a devastating move that would have a dramatic impact on the university’s students, employees and alumni.

The impact on our students could be particularly devastating since they could see their tuition rise by almost $5,000. In an economy like this, a 45 percent increase in tuition will damage the lives of students and their families for years to come.

The impact would not end with our students. There also is the potential of job cutbacks, a reduction in research and the elimination of projects that make Temple an economic engine for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Temple University is vital for Pennsylvania. We take great pride in providing an excellent public education for more than 27,000 Pennsylvania students at an affordable price. We also have become a critical driver in the region’s economic development, as an incubator for human talent that has a positive impact on the city of Philadelphia, the Commonwealth and the nation. As we work together to survive the worst economic recession in 60 years, institutions like Temple are more important than ever.

I urge you to get involved on behalf of Temple University and call or e-mail your state legislator now. A vote could take place as early as today, so immediate action is critical. You can find the e-mail and phone number of your legislator online. Sample messages and an online form are available here, if you need them.

Thank you for your continuing support of Temple University.

i love this school too much to not be able to afford to attend it. i think i'm going to cry...

money sucks!

2009-07-31T19:59:00.002-04:00

oh...nothing to cover my schooling---prices have maybe risen--WHY oh WHY is education so ridiculously expensive in this country? like, do they WANT their kids to sit at home and not seek higher education? no? then be aware of the fact that NO ONE has money these days, lower tuition costs, increase financial aid and merit based scholarships, and quit making parents put so much damn pressure on their kids to find money!

scholarship searching is a pain in the ass. my parents make too much money for me to qualify for many federal grants, i'm not going to any of my state's schools, and i don't want to make a video about the benefits of tea to compete against other desperate kids for a measly $1,000!

damn recession...

Jeremy Scott for Adidas

2009-07-27T19:53:00.003-04:00

don't get me wrong, i'm no fashion/sneaker freak but every now and then i just like to shop till i drop. for example, i spent the whole day today shopping with G and Victoria---more than half my time in forever 21. i can't help it---a lot of the stuff there reflect my personal style. i went with the intention of getting dressier things and i did walk out with a dress and two really beautiful flow-ey shirts (one of which i'm totally wearing when i go to NY with Victoria, wednesday). but i can't help it---deep down inside i'm a laid back jeans, t-shirt, sneakers kind of chick. dressing nicely comes tough to me. for someone who goes to church every sunday u'd think it comes easy but noooo....but i DO look forward to wearing my black lace hemmed dress. it's really hot, lol---i just need shoes to match it.

speaking of---i have it in my mind to buy new kicks for school because it's what i'll be wearing the most and i set my eyes on these babies below

i first saw these kicks rocked by CL of korean girl group, 2NE1 and i've been dying to get my hands on them since because they're SOOOOoooo HOT!!!! finally someone pointed me out to these wacky addidas shoes designed by some guy named jeremy scott. i'm late because the designs came out in february and i've been looking but they're sold out everywhere. T_T i just gotta have them---i HAVE to! i'm hoping me and Vic will be able to hit up an adidas outlet store so i can finally make these babies MINE!

and just in case anyone cares. tribal is SO in this season! granted summer is almost over but i'm african anyway so i think i can get away with tribal print in the fall---we'll see... that dress i got definitely looks inspired by nigerian lace patterns but maybe i just see that because it's my culture, lol.

GO BEG!

2009-07-24T19:30:00.002-04:00

lately i'm into everything retro and fierce. right now the koreans totally OWN in this area.

Brown Eyed Girls- Abracadabra

FIERCE!!!!! the song takes a while to grow on ya tho...vocally these girls are the best korea has right now. and the hip swaying arm folding thing? i would rock it in the club if ppl could catch the reference... "do u love me? do u love me?"

JUS INK

2009-07-09T13:08:00.006-04:00

my friend justin bobby is doing his thing these days! i'm so proud of him! read more about him and his work for my "brother from the homeland" Tolu, and other good stuff, here.

Tolu's "Ayo Music" Video (justin makes a cameo at the end as the last person to recieve Tolu's CD)

ignore the hater remarks on the youtube page--Tolu's music is gold and the video is a great start for an indie artist.

i'm so nigerian! i originally read the song title as "Ayo (eye-yoh) Music." Ayo is a Nigerian name---it means joy! ^_^

Back Home!!!

2009-05-06T14:23:00.005-04:00

and have been for a little over a week now. i could go on and on about how i barely slept my last week in rome, how the result was me catching a bad cold the last night there, how united lost my luggage and i had to almost curse the lady out on the phone to get those fuckers to deliver the luggage to my home, how i finally got my job back but how it's so slow i'm barely making money, how i signed the lease to my new apartment for $450/month only to find out there is a better one for cheaper, how i'm trying to revive my keiko fansite only to run into to one road block after another discouraging me more and more...

but enough about that.

i finally went to school and saw the new building my mouth dropped open. they did a FANTASTIC job! i'm like, "omg---is this my school!" i look forward to seeing it grow on the best art schools in the country list----state of the art everything could compete with the likes of RISD and it's a university art school which makes it even more amazing. now if i could just work out my scheduling....

new layout courtesy of momoko! i miss her SO much, it's not even funny. she's in milan right now, living it up with her friends. she wrote my name and a little message for me in japanese on our last day there. i may never be able to read it but i'll trust that she wrote me something good. ^_^ random images from my sketchbook above and below!

Ciao, Ragazze!

2009-04-22T19:33:00.003-04:00

just came back from the National Geographic LIVE World Earth Day Concert! Rome Chapter! kickin' it from the infamous piazza del popolo!!!! fuckin' AMAZING! there were THOUSANDS of ppl! THOUSANDS!!!! and we pushed ourselves through all the way from the ramses' obilisk to the front stage! the lights were incredible! the opening act,Nat Geo's newest artist Bibi Tanga, was really amazing! she had a stunning voice with a gorgeous african folk beats it was soothing and moving to listen to her. then next was the italian group Subsonica who were like rock music meets electronica. let me not get into how much italians love their fuckin' house music. my god---it's their version of baltimore club music except a thousand times worse! anywho----they were REALLY badass and totally rocked the crowed! everyone was jumping up and down and screaming. there was a lot of pushing and shoving and at one point i was practically lifted off of the ground in the pushing.

but i had tons of fun regardless. and they were some really nice (and one incredible HOT) italian guys nearby who helped us and stuck by our sides and made sure we were ok when things got too rough. then the main act, ben harper came on. i personally don't think he's that great but his live performances changed my mind a little. he has a really strong and beautiful voice and he's very amazing at playing the guitar. truthfully i only kno him through the video that heath ledger (RIP---LOVED HIM SO MUCH!) directed for him. SO beautiful! but his musical style overall is a bit---meh---for me.

yesterday was rome's birthday! i went to circo massimo and saw a reenactment of the story of the birth of rome with the brothers romulus and remus. it was pretty good. even tho it's legend, the romans take the story pretty seriously mostly because it connects them to i guess who u could call the "father" of all romans, Mars (Ares). then i went to some place near the colosseum (totally can't remember what it's called) to watch this famous italian singer (can't remember her name either) sing songs in commemoration of the day! 2, 762 years old! whew! ALL HAIL THE ETERNAL CITY! this place has really been through so much...

AHAHAHAHAHA!

2009-04-20T14:04:00.003-04:00

u kno that whole saying, "what comes around goes around?" ahhhh...karma's a bitch. thank god i'm nice to most people i meet, otherwise i'd feel like a certain someone who thought she could bring me down but here i am---still alive and kickin. MUHUHAHAHAHAHHA

quote of the day:

"it's funny how everyone talks about Graphic Designers as if they're lepers, when in the end they'll be the only ones that actually will succeed."

--Andrew Michael

ahhhh....i love my friends...

Leaving...

2009-04-20T06:42:00.003-04:00

ahhhhh! i'm going to be leaving the eternal city soon! SO not excited! i miss my family and friends but i don't really want to leave. i'm just thankful, rome has opened my eyes to a lot of things. i want to accomplish so much more than every before, i have stronger goals, but i also realize that none of these things will come simply by sitting on my ass and doing nothing. so i'm pushing myself to work harder and having people by your side to support u is most important.

most of all i'm thankful to the two greatest friends that i made here, because they made me happy and they added to my experience here! first is jen! i love jen! she's always so happy and goofy. she can't be on time to save her life. u tell jen, "be ready by 8"---you can bet ur bottom dollar we're not leaving until 10. sometimes it can drive me (and everyone else) up a freakin wall, but she knows how to have fun and she always looks out for everyone around her. she helped me with my italian and encouraged me to speak more. as a result i've gotten better at the language. she's inspired me to come back here (to rome) and do something with myself. it's really not enough to just "dream." she taught me that and i love her for it.

second is momo! momoko-chan! love her to death! always so happy and helpful! if we didn't sit down and have serious talks sometimes, you would never know that she has things she struggles with as well. she's the one that helped me learn to stop stressing the little things and has invited me with open arms to stay with her when i go to Tokyo. my own personal tour guide! and translator! she's offered to hop on full board as a translator for my keiko kitagawa fan site! makes me SO excited---i can learn japanese from her and she can improve her english with me. "i like it!" and "va bene!" her two favorite things to say shows off her positive attitude ("va bene" is "it's okay" in italian). she's inspired me to just have fun and take whatever problems that come my way in stride like it's nothing. and seeing her always makes me happy.

and even tho michi is nothing new (been around that chick for 2 years) we've fought the most this semester! and i think it's because we both has so many things stressing us and our tendencies came out. my laziness and her attitude came in conflict quite a few times. i just love how we trust each other enough to talk things out and how we don't hold grudges. we have the same hopes and dreams and goals to travel the world and become successful and fears that we won't be able to do everything that we want and that we won't be able to support our parents the way we want to. because being an artist is just as hard as being a surgeon---it's just a shame that nobody thinks so.

right now i'm focusing on getting myself together. finish registering for classes, get my loans sent through, pick my job back up, apply for summer classes, find an apartment for next year, and finish reviving my fan site. i can do it ALL. thanks to these people, i kno that i can do it all!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

2009-04-12T11:29:00.004-04:00

it's easter and instead of going to mass (i'm not catholic, i'm christian and yes same God but WAY different ways of praising) i rolled out of bed and came straight to the studio. T_T working on my dreaded final project for advanced drawing. it's coming along ok...i guess...i mean, minus the fact that it's SUPPOSED to be a self portrait but it looks nothing like me and i can't fix it because it's done with charcoal and ink pen. T_T

if i was home i would be helping my stepmom cook. i woulda woke up this morning, put on my new sunday dress, hurry and eat breakfast so my dad can kill me with family photos, hop into the car, and head to church. then we would do praise and worship and have an excellent sermon. then i would come home, take off all my church stuff and stand in the kitchen for the next 4 hours, helping to cook a huge dinner. maybe my aunts and uncles bring their wonderful (and occasionally annoying) kids as well as their own food. there would be nigerian music BLASTING (and i mean, BLASTING) from the sound system. when all the adults are settled they'll pop in a nigerian movie and sit around while i run around helping with the food and taking care of THEIR children.

THEN, when all is said and done, all the food would be laid out on the big dinning room table. Uncle John (Pastor) would pray for a long time thanking God for his mercy and for dying for our sins. and then we'd all rush around the food and eat and laugh until we couldn't stand anymore. then i'd stay up helping to clean before going to bed and waking up the next day to do to work.

IF i was home.

but i'm here, in the holy city of rome. holy week was so beautiful but i missed most of it because i have a lot of final work to do for my classes! T_T i went to go see "stations of the cross" at the colosseum and got to see the pope do his thing. people had candles and recited a lot of prayers. it was REALLY beautiful! HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of people! i've never seen rome so crowded before! shame i just don't understand half of the traditions catholics do around this time even tho i do the same things in different ways! T_T makes me feel like a heathen! lol i'm sad i missed out on palm sunday tho...easter is seriously one of my favorite christian holidays and waving the palm leaves was something i look forward to every year. but i'm stuck in the drawing studio until late tonight when we'll have a makeshift easter dinner...

roma lost to lazio yesterday. SO glad i didn't get my hands on tickets because it was a miserable defeat against a team that most romans hate (even tho lazio is a roman team) who've been losing their past four games!!!! they scored within the first two minutes!!!!! WTH!!!!! they are DEADLY rivals, i mean---people kill over these two teams. it just really sucks that roma didn't SMOTHER lazio like the should have!

my new favorite song, "Jidai (This Period)" by Hidemi Uematsu

she's a new japanese artist. while i don't kno how i feel about her voice (YET) i got momo to translate what she's saying. u can definitely hear traditional folk rhythms in her musical style (which she inherited from her parents). but basically the song is talking about how all the animals even the littlest things in the world live and breath and fulfill their lives but lately humans have been stagnant and not moving. they sit around watching TV and wasting their lives which might as well be the same as being dead. and she wrote the lyrics herself! so i'll be keeping an eye on her...

Hmmmm

2009-04-08T06:36:00.003-04:00

today i woke up crying. and for that moment i didn't actually kno why. at first i thought it may had been something from my dreams but i couldn't remember what i dreamed about. so i'm wide eyed running around with tears streaking down my face and then i realized it: i'm leaving rome. and goodness i have just as many good memories and recently some regrets.

i've learned a lot about myself i think. i realized i still have many child like tendencies. i'm 20 years old and i still can't wrap my mind around certain concepts. every time i seem to run into problems many times i push these issues off. sometimes they're really important things and i KNOW that but for some reason, rather than deal with the issues then i always push it off until i'm "ready." and when i DO get around to fixing it, it's too late or i don't have enough time to fully address the issue. somehow i end up defeating myself long before i've even tried and i fill the void in between with all sorts of silly things.

and i keep looking for some sort of acceptance. some sort of reassurance that i'm wanted or needed by someone. so i help others when i should help myself and i look for affection where i may never get it. goodness! it's a good thing i have this incredibly rational mind or else i might as well just be an alcoholic. so i think i was crying because i felt so sorry for myself. because somehow no matter how many times i've told myself that "i've learned from this" i seem to make the same mistakes over and over again. and i do them KNOWING that i'm making these mistakes. and i don't understand WHY i can't just keep whatever motivation that i have to see these things through. i feel like as time has gone on i've just LOST a large part of my spirit and i don't kno where it's gone. because i don't seem to be as strong, as defiant, and as strong willed as before. i think i've become a pale version of what i used to be and i don't kno where i lost the more vibrant me.

so i think because i've discovered that that maybe i've found a piece of something that i lost before coming here. and i've been half looking for it. these pieces--i need to gather them fast and carry them back home before i fall apart! only a couple of weeks left to create more memories. so many these past few days. i'm happy---i guess---but i'm so heart broken! *sighs* ahhhhhh!

Happy Birthday, Big Mama!

2009-03-31T12:45:00.007-04:00

yesterday me and momo had the luckiest night of our lives. like, seriously. it was the last night of the 3 day celebration of Rome's first house of blues---Big Mama. talk about being misinformed! we were under the impression that it was a JAZZ club (as according to the lame e-mail sent by the school) so we were really shocked when the first performer strumming on the guitar started playing familiar blues tunes. but first!:

let it be known that the most difficult bus to catch in Rome in the 23. it's just HARD because it come once in a blue moon when u really need it to come. so me and momo left extra early preparing to wait at least 30 minutes to catch the stupid bus that would take us to the hallowed area of Trastevere (a charming place with restaurants and bars often overrun by obnoxious tourists). so, luck number 1? after not even 3 minutes me and momo almost died of shock when the bus came barreling our way!

but we got lost. lol---we got off at the right stop, yeah, but Trastevere is full of winding side streets. good thing it's just as beautiful at night as it is during the day or else we woulda died of fright. empty streets didn't sway us tho---we asked for directions and everyone was pretty sweet about it. and since i now understand directions in italian it was so cool for someone to say "a fondo a Via San Marco, girare a destra!" and I would know to turn right at the end of the street. anywho---eventually we found our way to Big Mama. lucky number 2? the night was extremely warm! i had nothing on but thin jeans, tank top, and leather jacket and i was beyond comfortable! even after getting lost almost 40 minutes out of our way we were STILL early (that's how awesome it was to catch the 23 immediately!) the guy in the ticket booth was really nice (and really hot--hehehehhe) and we bought memberships to the club for 13 euro. not bad considering that we could now go to future shows for free. even tho we didn't book a table and had to stand the whole time, the show was AMAZING! i always liked blues music and old school rock and roll but hearing it all live just made it that much more wonderful. even though majority of the performers sang in english---there was one blues artist (and AMAZING guitarist) who sung in italian. it was SO beautiful!

majority of the crowd was older but there were some italians there that were in my age range. overall it was a wonderful night! me and momo didn't leave until the very end. lucky number 3? because we're some damn lucky we caught the ever evasive N10 bus all the way to ottaviano. so because we're fatasses rather than walk home we bee-lined over to the infamous Old Bridge gelateria and got ice cream! THEN we walked home. momo is honestly so wonderful to be around. we laughed and chatted the whole time there and back and danced during the show. it was just awesome to have a carefree, stress free night. on a monday! i have one month left here. i'm so sad! i don't want to go! once again another chapter of my life is coming to a close...

for dinner tonight i finally got my hands on most of the ingredients needed to make african red stew! i wanted to cry with nostalgia---hadn't had african food in MONTHS! so i made the red stew with rice, chicken, and fried plantain. yum yum!!!!! and YES i like my plantain burnt! it wasn't an accident! i made a huge nasty mess but the result was painfully delicious. ^_^

The Blog Roll

2009-03-28T08:09:00.002-04:00

Lemme introduce the new members of my "blog roll" which has been renamed "tyler heads" lol.

Victoria

Major: Drawing/ Painting/ Art Education

i love this girl to death. hands down one of the few people i can stand for extended periods of time. we have so much fun together and she has a lovely eye for color. "Maria!!!!"

Ashley

Major: i really don't kno...lol, remind me to ask her

sweet girl and always smiling whenever i see her. too nice! and can you believe she's spanish?! not when u see her! lol, but she speaks better spanish then victoria and victoria is the one who looks 100% puerto rican! lol

Michelle aka Michi

Major: Graphic Design/ Photography

my closest friend at school. we're both pisces and we get along together like peas in a pod...enough said

Justin aka Justin Bobby

Major: Graphic Design

not to be mixed with his HILLS counterpart at all. they're not even remotely alike i just like to call him that ^_^ love his aesthetic! he's one of my closest guy friends

ahhhh and me! well, if u read this blog then u kno me well enough ^_~

Tyler School of Art DECLARES WAR!!!!

2009-03-28T07:20:00.004-04:00

u may not kno it, but i'm proud student of Temple University's Tyler School of Art. for a university art school, it's one of the best there is---and our new state of the art building has garnered A LOT of attention. and equipped with the proper...equipment, my classmates have decided to declare "war" on the three other major art schools in Philadelphia. i love those kids, i really do! it's all in good fun. but the retaliations the other schools have given have been pretty hilarious. some have take it WAY too seriously (*ahem* MOORE!) while the rest are giggling uncontrollably and accepting our invitation with great sport. this "war" we've started is even getting MEDIA attention! this is the first time i sincerely wish i was home...

PHILADELPHIA HAS OFFICIALLY BECOME THE NEW TROY!!!!

Tyler's Trojan Horses:

genius, ne? i give the sculpture department mad props for this stunt. they constructed and delivered these horses to each school IN ONE DAY. not to create animosity but to let them kno that Tyler is no longer in the boondocks of Elkins parks and just wanted to create some playful banter between the art schools. talking about pushing the envelope! SOME of the other schools only WISH they did something this clever. point in case 1:

Moore College of Art and Design:

*yawn* "hustle hard/ stack paper/ it's alright---ya'll haters/...u see me?/ hi haters!/ hi haters!/ hi haters!" i'm sure not ALL the members of MOORE are this lame (i have some pretty good friends there) but at least they had the balls to blast the fun and accept our invitation.

Philadelphia University of the Arts:

*applause* MUCH better. good times with UArts! and WAY more creative! i love how they bust on how ghetto north philly is compared to where the other schools are located. don't hate on our hood status! LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts:

they casted a figure of helen of troy and turned our trojan horse into a chariot! they take the prize for BEST CREATIVE RESPONSE!!!!!

we have yet to here from The Art Institute of Philadelphia but peep the media attention!

WHYY and MSNBC

i wanna cry because i'm so proud! this blog is about to move into full force artist mode. just u wait and see. i have to start putting up my work now---no way i'm gonna sit back and watch even if i AM in another country!

Because it Moves Me

2009-03-23T16:30:00.003-04:00

let me state a musical fact:

Epik High is hands down the greatest hip hop group to come out of Asia. Lyrically, compositionally, and musically speaking there isn't a single asian hip hop group that can challenge them and WIN. because epik high is the shit. point blank, the shit. you think you're cool if you can rap in english? they rhyme english and korean like they're the same language and IT MAKES sense no matter how you translate it. their lyrics challenge you to think about yourself and the world that you're living in, psychologically, politically, and just simply---to BE. THEY'RE AMAZING!!!

epik high is a three man hip hop group consisting of the english speaking lyrical genius Tablo (rapper, producer, lyricist, writer), Mithra Jin (rapper, producer, lyricist), and musical mad man DJ Tukutz (producer, turntablist, engineer). they've been pushing the envelope in the ever changing korean music industry since they debuted in 2003 with "Map of the Human Soul." while their style has certainly evolved, they never "sold out" to the kpop industry and i love them for that.

so when their record label kept pushing them to go more mainstream, and when the korean government kept censoring their words they did the free will thing and left their label. it made things a thousand times more difficult for them, but now they are releasing an album with a book (Tablo is also a best selling author) that is in english and korean---reaching out to their fans in ways no other artist seemed smart (or brave) enough to do. they cut out the middle man and the music is coming from them straight to us! MAP THE SOUL. "Remapping the Human Soul" and "Pieces, Part One" are my absolute favorite albums of theirs. I mean, I love everything they do but I especially love these two albums. SO POWERFUL!

*faints*

i want their new album, SO BAD!!!!! the book and everything looks so amazing! it will probably leak all over the internet but i really want to read the book. T_T i might have to order internationally and have it shipped home...

the only thing about the new album that makes me sad (well a few things actually) is that it's only 10 tracks! and there are no female features (Ji Sun and Horan gave the best vocals), and the chances of there being a music video for any of the songs are slim to none. but i appreciate their hard work. i would love to work for them! illustrate/ design for them. seriously i'm gonna get an account there and start showing my artwork on here more...lol--that WAS the point of this blog too....

WARNING: sometimes their MVs are NOT for the faint of heart. their videos get banned a lot because of images shown and the touchy issues that their lyrics touch up on from politics, religion, race, and suicide (which is a REALLY big issue in korea) so i admire their guts. they don't censor their lyrics for anyone.

Epik High- Fan (album: Remapping the Human Soul)

Epik High- 1 Minute 1 Second feat. Haru (mini album- Love Scream)

Epik High- Breakdown (album: Pieces, Part One)

Oh, hello there...

2009-03-20T13:42:00.009-04:00

so i'm lazy as hell. i kno. and u kno too because i haven't updated lately. but that's ok, because i'm doing so now. SPRING BREAK RECAP!

first of all--Tunisia sits right under Italy as the greatest travel experiences of my life. i spent 7 days and traveled the whole country, beginning in the capital city of Tunis, all the way south to Sousse, into the Sahara Dessert, and back around again to end up where i began. the customs, the culture, it's amazing! 5 hotels later and i have to say i'm a total pro with arabic music. everyday was so full of amazing things that we never went anywhere afterwards. we just chilled, talked, and sat around watching arabic music videos. amazing.

one thing that came to my attention that i must mention is the genius of the tunisian ppl. even the poor are wicked pro at languages. while the native language is arabic, the vast majority are bilingual with french and even MORE speak english, spanish, italian, portuguese, and are now learning japanese thanks to a lot of investment japan is now putting over there. because my italian was kinda weak and i kno no french, more often then not i had to revert to spanish. it sucks because thanks to learning italian i've lost a lot of spanish (because the languages are SO similar!) but luckily i understood it very well.

i could go on and on about how i was guided through the country by the amazing Maria Ponce de Leon (PONCE! for short) and Monir, how i went off roading in the sahara desert, climbed one of the three major mountains into an oasis, rode camels into the sunset, watched a young tunisian boy climb date palm trees inhumanely fast, and bartered with some of the toughest multilingual merchants in the whole world. but then u'd be dripping with envy and this post would be five years long. so in short--it was a great experience. AVOID TOURIST AREAS! they are the WORST in tunisia which has become the european version of florida.

that aside, i do have to tell one story:

while wandering the souks (markets) of tozeur me and michelle walked into one store where they were selling a wide assortment of handmade bowls, dishes, ect. the merchant was very nice and although he wasn't as obnoxiously pushy as his neighbors he was very unwilling to bargain for lower prices. but he was still nice and didn't harass us while we walked around. in the shop there was a young man watching us shrewdly, i guess to make sure we didn't steal or break anything. he was eating a tunisian dish and he invited us to have some but we politely refused. he the most incredible hazel eyes i've ever seen in my entire life! and coupled with his dark skin and black hair his eyes seriously looked like they were glowing. but the kid could barely speak any english and unlike the many other tunisians he only knew arabic. he was also annoying me because he wouldn't meet my eyes. he kept staring then looking away, lol, it kind of made me uncomfortable. so i asked the merchant about him.

me: who is he? he helps you out here?

merchant: yes, sometimes.

me: but shouldn't he be at school? how old is he?

merchant: ah...15.

me: WHAT?! he looks 12! his eyes are beautiful!

merchant: hahaha, yes, that's how i make the money. i bring him along to make deals and everyone agrees because he's so handsome. will you understand if i say things in spanish? my english...

me: of course!

merchant (in spanish): he comes from a poor family. things are rough now and they can't afford to send him to school. so he works with me and i teach him myself. if he went to school, he would already be bilingual, but i am teaching him french now. he's very clever so it's a shame he can't get a proper education, but he is well behaved and works very hard.

me: Que lastima! (what a shame!)

merchant: but he is ok.

he then says something to the boy in arabic. and the boy nodded his head. the merchant asks him something else and the boy starts to laugh and he looks really shy. the merchant laughs and goes, "oh, i was wondering why he was so quiet and acting so shy! he likes one of you!" he asked the boy which one of us he liked and he nods at ME! ahahahahahaha! then i think he asks the boy why because the merchant goes, "he thinks you're pretty." *faints* WHAT?! way to boost my self esteem! so he was looking away because he liked me and he was shy. ohhhh....one of a thousand great memories. i love that kid, i really do! in 10 years if he still wants me i'll be his "noona" and i'll take him to america and we can get married! ahahahaha!

the people there will move your soul in ways like you've never experienced before. GO! if you ever get the chance, GO!!!!!

i also went to pisa and saw the leaning tower of pisa and then to florence to visit the infamous leather market. but we're not gonna talk about it because it wasn't as cool

Birthday Weekend!

2009-02-22T08:25:00.002-05:00

ahhh! i was supposed to recap Milan but i'll get around to that later...let's talk about my aging, shall we? this is gonna be LONG...

well for one thing, i'm turning 20! it's the one age i've been dreading. seriously, i have a love hate relationship with the age 20. it means i'm officially leaving my teenage years, yah, but i'm still a whole year off from actually being technically a REAL adult by american standards ('cause 18 is legal but doesn't cut it). but then i don't want to get older so by the time i'm 21 i'm gonna wanna stay that way forever! wait, i take that back, i want to be 23 forever. lol, i like that number.

so since my birthday is officially tomorrow (how AKWARD is it to be on a monday?! ewww! hasn't been like that for YEARS!) rather than wait till the end of that week to celebrate (i won't be in the country yet again---will explain why in the future) i decided to celebrate this weekend. so here's how that went:

thursday: after class i meant to chill and be studious and do some work but that most certainly did not happen. it just so happened to be someone ELSES birthday that day and the infamous italian/ american bar, "on the rocks" was having a ladies two for one special. meaning two drinks for the price of one. alcohol has never been an incentive for me to go anywhere before. but since "on the rocks" is a predominantly american place (although a significant amount of italian men attend---mostly to pick up american girls) the only way for me to go is if lots of other ppl were going and if i felt it was worth my money. so then it was worth my money, lol, and the drinks special was just something added on.

anywho i decided to try something new! my usual favorites are mojitos and recently strawberry daiquiri (only frozen), this green drink (can't remember what it's called), and white wine (i LOVE white wine). and that's only because my friends make me try it because honestly i don't know jack shit about alcohol. i'm told that i hold alcohol well because the italians make their drinks STRONG (the bartenders don't measure and they but tons more alcohol than juice because its cheaper for them to do so) and i'm always just fine after three---well i'm tipsy, but i'm fine, lol. so i got persuaded to get a sex on the beach. it was ok, i guess. but after taste testing some other drinks apparently i'm a fan of rum, vodka, or bacardi mixed drinks---tequila is absolutely the most disgusting thing (next to beer) i've ever tasted in my life. it's a good thing i don't have alcoholic tendencies because i really like mixed drinks...O_O

it wasn't what happened in "on the rocks" that made my day. i mean, sure there were hot italian men (way for than usual) and yeah i made friends with some guy named Luke (not skywalker) and some african girl named Maxine, but it was when we rounded the corner and went to this dance club called "coyote" that my tipsiness worked into me. so some guy tries dancing on my and i push him away and go "quanti anni hai?!" which is italian for "how old are you?!" because he didn't look like the 22 year old italian that my friend was dancing with. so our conversation:

him: "trienta" (30)

me: "sei molto voccio!" (you're too old!)

him: "no no, it's okay! 10 years not so bad!"

me: *rolls eyes* "no!"

and i walk away but he follows me. "que cazzo voy? a vete!" (what the fuck do you want? leave me alone!) then i got saved by my friend. i think i woulda drop kicked his ass because i was getting so annoyed. i'm a natural fighter so if he didn't stop then i think things woulda gotten nasty. lol, i didn't have the censorship of complete soberness to save myself---well i'm pretty blunt sober so.... i was just proud that i was able to handle myself really well! ahahahaha!

friday: my official celebration day! that night i went to appertivo! appertivo is this italian thing where you simply pay for your drink and have an all you can eat buffet of little (usually cold or warm but not particularly hot) foods. so i experimented again and asked for an apple mojito (which michi says was cheating because it had mint leaves---a mojito signature) but the bartender (who was REALLY REALLY REALLY HOT!!!!!) was out of bacardi apple. SO, he offered me a Jamaican breezer instead. it's apparently chopped strawberries, pineapple, bacardi, some brown liquor, and mint leaves topped off with sliced lime, strawberry, pineapple, and sugar. SO GOOD!!!!!!!

after some time there we made our (kinda too early) to la distilleria (no, not the cancun restaurant). La Distilleria (LD) is an imaginary neighborhood. meaning, it's not on the map and only the people who've been there know what or where it is. i just happen to know about the place from a chance visit thanks to an italian american guide me and michi met on the bus on our way back home one night. O_O lol, only the cool ppl know about that place, seriously. there are students who've been here a whole semester longer than me who have never even heard of/ seen the place. i mean, it's a 100% italian place so if you're the scared american, it's not a place for you. for one thing, LD is almost in the middle of no where. when u get off of the metro stop for LD u are literally in the middle of dead grass and graffiti sketchville. it's not until you round the corner and follow the other traveling, young, hip italians that you find yourself almost in a whole other WORLD of clubs and bars. the place is really amazing! from 2-5am it is one of the craziest little known hot spots in all of rome!

we went to a "house" club! and thanks to jill's superb italian, were able to slide in scott free! for those of u who don't kno what "house" music is---it's like the european version of baltimore club music. and if u don't know what THAT is then i can't help u, lol. it was interesting to say the least since i'm a fan of hip-hop/ r&b clubbing. i had lots of fun tho---met a hot italian guy named stefano. such a shame we met right when i was leaving. he was GORGEOUS! we had one dance and was thoroughly confused when i told him no when he asked if he could kiss me. *rolls eyes* is it me or is it that all italian boys seem to be after one thing? i mean, american boys are bad but not THIS bad! i think it's just apart of the culture because whether in italian or english he couldn't understand for the life of him why i would say no to his request! i'm like, "do you even know me?!" and he's like "what?!" even when i said it in italian. ahahahaha! he was cute so i'll be totally biased and forgive him. at least he didn't try to force himself on me.

saturday: SOCCER!!!!!!!! i went to the olympic stadium to see roma play (and beat) siena! the roma fans are INSANE! ahhh, the europeans and their futbol! i love the atmosphere. i'll be back with pictures and more in depth info on this because i need a mile to explain everything!

Recap Part 2: Gianni and the Round Table

2009-02-17T06:37:00.003-05:00

what can i say--everyone loves gianni. and when i say everyone i mean, EVERYONE. normally i don't do the groupie thing but gianni puts the icing on my BFF crush cake. gianni is the student activities coordinator at temple rome. good god he's HILARIOUS! he's absolutely amazingly wonderful and he's madly in love with my name (sade is one of his long time favorite singers) and every time he sees me he sings "your love is king..." holds my hand and twirls me around. but he's no fool. he's naturally funny but very aware that he has the fatal attraction of a friend magnet. so say things to him like "gianni where do you live?" or "gianni where do you hang out?" or "gianni where have you been?" he laughs and goes, "okay." and dodges all of those questions like neo would a bullet.
it's only natural that someone like that would have a seriously amazing range of wonderful italian friends. he organized a "round table" where dozens of his italian friends came to speak and practice their english with us as we asked them questions about italian culture and they asked us things about american culture. this was---two and half weeks ago? but the effects were lasting. it's amazing the things they were curious about like how sex sells so crazily, and why people are in such a hurry to leave their families. in italy, people stay with their parents well into their 30s which is like, blasphemeous in america. and PDA is SO CRAZY over here. it's...otherwordly, romantic but borderline psycho. making out in the park? no. but something looking dangerously like sex on a bench outside by the steps of the villa borghese? yes. very much so. we complained about it and they go "it's beautiful!" i guess it is. the italians have a romance that we just...lack?

and every girl had her eyes on one particular group of outspoken italians (who sat right behind me and my friends!!!!) who were definitely hot and so well dressed it made my mouth drop open. i mean really, italian men don't walk they STRUT. they strut their stuff in tailored pants, snake skin shoes, armani coats, silk gucci scarves, and 100% leather briefcases. not a single hair out of place and shades dark enough that they can see you even if you can't really see that they're watching. honestly, it's impressive

granted, they're not ALL like that. in fact, for an italian man, gianni is rather underdressed compared to the Golden Three that sat behind me. i think it was a monday that this was happening. one question asked was what was our best/ worst experience in rome so far. i had to answer that one (since san lorenzo happened that past thursday) and to my delight gianni launched into a bright eyed explaination about how much he loved my name (brownie points!) which automatically made me the center of attention among the Golden Three. And even MORE so when i talked about what happened to me in san lorenzo. interestingly enough, as if to contrast the worst, that weekend ended up finishing up as one of the best. every italian that i met afterwards were so amazingly kind and so much fun to be around. it made my spirits soar! but the italians there (particularly the Golden Three) were appalled by what i told them. "where were you?!" they asked "what did they say to you?" "how did they act towards you?!" when i told them san lorenzo one of the Golden Three snarled, "they're fools over there. don't go there they're poor and stupid!" i was touched, lol, the general consensus was that i got very unlucky in that altercation indeed.

but i had to made gianni translate to emphasis that i didn't let it affect my opinion of the people as a whole. that made them relax a bit but everyone was generally at a severe unrest. especially gianni being that he suggested that we go there in the first place. OMG, he felt SO bad that i almost wish i never said anything in the first place. but the rest of the discussion went on smoothly and everyone laughed their way to the common area for some mingling. wondering who the Golden Three are? well i'm getting to that. one of them (and the hottest one with stunning eyes and gorgeous lips) was immediately swarmed by girls. like i said earlier i don't do the groupie thing so i avoided him until much later. i loved how he had this wide-eyed innocence about him---you could tell he was oblivious to the effects of his looks. ANYWHO---the first person of the Golden Three that i met was alfredo.

alfredo is a personal trainer who was fluent in english and the one who was especially upset over my san lorenzo story. he his also an event planner in rome who works with all sorts of people with different backgrounds and he couldn't wrap his mind around such ignorance. he called me beautiful (yes, i love him---i really do) and insisted that i didn't let that incident effect me. i assured him it wouldn't. soon after i was entranced by the second of the Golden Three. He was 5' 6" maybe (next to alfredo's 5'10") and was very quiet. he was tastefully dressed in pressed grey pants, black alligator shoes, black and grey mid-length pea coat, black scarf, lightly styled hair, and an impossibly stylish dagger earring. that's the only reason that i remembered so clearly what he wore---it was impossible stylish. most boys in america look like they just rolled out of bed! what the heck was this?! his named was mario and he was a PERSONAL SHOPPER!!!! O_O every girl's dream BFF! his english was very limited but he tried really hard and when he didn't understand or couldn't explain himself as well as he wanted to alfredo translated. he was so little brother adorable. we exchanged names to find each other on facebook.

when they stepped outside to smoke, most people cleared out to take the metro home. me? stuck around. and good thing too, the last of the Golden Three was FINALLY alone. he was amazing to watch from a distance. his face was VERY expressive, his smile was killer and he was just as styling as mario (and alfredo for that matter). how we started talking? too cute: he motioned over to the last of the cake and said, "you want?" when i said no he ran over and shoved the whole slice in his mouth. i started cracking up while he rushed to swallow and said "ho fame!" which is italian for "i'm hungry!" very amazing! he introduced himself as nicola. he just moved to rome three weeks ago at that time (just like me and my friends!). he went to theater school and was an aspiring actor! THAT explained why he was so good looking and had such an expressive face. my god---SO theatric, i loved it. he worked part time as a bartender and was 21. he was very interesting in knowing where i was from, ethnically and showed he was brains as well as beauty with an extensive mental map of africa in his head when i told him i was half nigerian. loved him , honestly.

he didn't realize that i already met the other members of the Golden Three so he had a fit trying to introduce me to alfredo and mario when i already knew them. it was the cutest thing because when he would go to introduce us and i would explain that i already met them he would go, "oh! okay, well i bet you haven't met..." and proceeded to introduce me to all his friends. so as of now i'm friends with alfredo, mario, and nicola on facebook. they're all so wonderful. i hope to meet with them again someday! i'll definitely see nicola and alfredo (michi has already ran into nicola on the metro!!!!) but mario lives in venice so.....

Recap part 2: OVER!!!!

Recap Part 1: Race and Rome

2009-02-16T08:56:00.002-05:00

well i'm definitely behind and lots have happened since my last entry so it's high time i stopped being lazy and started bringing ppl up to speed.

a couple of weekends ago (pretty sure it was still january then...oops...) me and michi, and new friend jillian donned some chill clothing and decided to brave the kinda sketchy italian student neighborhood, san lorenzo.

during the day san lorenzo is creepy as hell. it's deserted because the student residents are at school and because it's cold, they're in doors. every inch of EVERYTHING is cover in graffiti, from simple tagging to politically charged comments. everything from "lazio merda" (lazio shit---lazio is the facist soccer team in rome) to swastikas and communist signs, to peace and rainbows, to full scale works of arts. it's a great and terrible beauty! by nightfall tho, the streets come alive in ways you wouldn't believe! every inch of it covered in young, smoking, drunk, rowdy, (and hot italian boys) young people. there was SO MUCH to see. it was obviously a non tourist spot so we had literally thrown ourselves headfirst into the italian cultural pool.

first we kinda wandered around. i mean, we obviously stuck out as not being italian. we didn't linger with the other italian people there who were in crowds of 7 or more, so 3 free-floaters are a dead give away. and also, michi is korean, i'm black, and jillian is like 5' 9" when the average italian girl height is like 5' 3" so it's not like we blended in in anyway. we settled on one bar where the bartenders were really nice. if i remember correctly i didn't really have any money on my so i didn't order a drink but michi and jill did. we spent most of the time giggling and observing our surroundings. italians are VERY interesting to watch, and it's not just the crazy hand waving--it's also the eye contact and body language. you could always tell when it was a group of friends or lovers going out. italian men are very romantic, can hardly keep their hands off their blushing girlfriends. i guess it's kinda cute--sometimes it's kinda sleezy---but it's still not american so therefor very enchanting.

after an hour or so there, we decided we had failed miserably at our mission (that was to meet hot italian boys and practice our italian with them) and stopped by to get something to eat. i remember that i had just straightened my hair that night (i had been keeping it curly since i got there) we had only been in rome for 2-3 weeks i think...but i was very conscious of race in a way that i didn't think i would be. rome isn't a racist city---they have immigrants all over the place so it's kinda impossible to shock anyone with race. but that doesn't mean everyone is particularly welcoming. most of the immigrants here are african or asian. most of the asian immigrants are from china. you rarely see them but they do own little restaurants here and there and sell things in large market places. however, the annoying street vendors and solicitors that liter rome almost to a fault are lybian, tunisian, egyptian, ect---north african. very dark skin or dusty brown middle eastern skin. they are very much disliked almost as much as the gypsies who are facing crisis as the new right-winged italian prime minister (that some call the next mussolini---which is VERY bad) is taking away their homes and trying to force them out the country.

now, while my skin isn't as dark as the north africans, as i am half nigerian myself, i have african features as well as medium to dark shaded skin. i'm always getting stares, and more of polite curiosity as i'm difficult to place. i'm not selling anything even tho i look african enough to be like those vendors, i'm young but i'm not carrying a baby or asking for money so i'm not poor, i have a book bag so maybe i'm a student but i don't speak italian so maybe i'm british? perhaps luckily (or unluckily?) so the last assumption they make is that i'm american. but i'm okay with it, the stares crack me up. i knows it's out of polite interest and it doesn't bother me anymore. but if there is one thing that i do know, it's when i'm being looked down upon. those stares are dark and menacing or dismissive. those people don't meet my eyes and mutter under their breath when they see me. but i don't think much of that either---i come from the so called "land of the free and home of the brave" but i've experience similar things. i don't know, maybe i was secretly hoping that coming to italy would mean something different? or maybe i was worried all along that race would be an issue but i was secretly hoping to be wrong.

but then i was right...

the boys that we ran into were nice enough. but the atmosphere changed. at that time i didn't know much italian but i knew when they were saying underhanded comments and i especially knew that it was particularly about me. they turned their backs to me, they dismissed my words and one went as far as to say, "you and you can come with us (referring to michi and jillian) but she can just go away." before that point i knew i was being singled out and it made be very uncomfortable but michi and jill were enjoying themselves because they guys generally liked THEM. i didn't feel threatened enough to say something, but when that guy said that i to me i was so angry and hurt. i think because he verbally communicated what i was feeling the whole time and i just didn't want to here it. shame, i didn't know how to curse. i just walked away. i was aggravated that jill and michi didn't notice, i was aggravated that when i started walking away they kept calling me to come back. i couldn't blame them, i DIDN'T blame them but i wanted them to understand what i obviously couldn't explain. i knew it wasn't because i was black. jill is black too---but jill is about 35 million shades lighter than me. i think it was the darkness of my skin that singled me out. it's not something i could hide. not something i WANTED to hide anyway---i'm proud of the color of my skin and i'm proud of my odd name and where i come from even if it wasn't always like that.

they followed me to the piazza where the other young people were gathered. but they were far enough behind that they didn't here the hissing, the barking--literally barking like dogs at me, the "hey africa!" people were yelling at me, and the kissing noises of men trying to hire me like i was prostitute. and when they asked me what was wrong i just snapped. i wanted to cry, i wanted to scream, i wanted to LEAVE and it bothered me that rather than rush away they insisted i tell them what was wrong. i didn't even want to talk about it and they were angry at ME that i was angry. maybe thought i was jealous that the guys were talking to them and not to me, i don't know, but i had to hold everything inside. the boy apologized to me and said "joking! joking!" but i'm not STUPID, i just didn't know how to say that in italian. when they all left none of them said goodbye to me, i was just happy to get a taxi and get home.

i cried myself to sleep that night. i didn't hate italian people, but i hated those boys for making me feel worthless and uncomfortable and self conscious about the color of my skin. and i hated them for ruining what ignorance i had on the subject of race in rome because no matter how you slice it, ignorance IS bliss. it crushed my spirit and whatever it was inside of me that made me bold and defiant, was silenced. for the first time in such rare occasions i was at a loss for words because i couldn't quite communicate them that way. and when i woke up the next day i was empty inside. but i think i decided that i wasn't going to let that experience ruin the rest of my time here. i think that's why some three weeks later that experience is such a distant memory and even though thinking about it makes me feel terrible i'm still eager to learn more about italian culture. and i HAVE.

recap part 1 is over---wow---i had a lot to say...

Second Day of School!

2009-01-20T11:32:00.002-05:00

okay--should be first day of school but i forgot to update. classes are---amazing, to say the least. my italian class is SO much fun! my teacher (cristiano! "sono christiano! ti chiami?" "mi chiamo sade!") is very hands on so i find my self learning a lot. i just have to practice what i learn. so far the most specific thing we've gotten into was the alphabet. he insists that we pronounce perfectly! but everything else has been more general things that we'd need to know when interacting with shop owners, getting directions, and properly greeting people. all very informative! good thing i have it everyday!

unfortunately they're moving the infamous 6 block Andrea Doria outdoor market IN DOOR (weeps!) so i won't be able to ask for "un chilo di patato" until at least the end of the week. and there was something so amazing about the andrea doria---it was lively and it's own little city of merchants by day and by night it was a ghost town---almost like the place didn't exist! it was SO thoroughly clean! if it wasn't for the slight smell of fish as you pass through the "carne district" (what i call the meat section of the market) you wouldn't even believe it existed!

i also had my my advance drawing class. my teacher is pretty cool---very laid back and insists that we get away from drawing on blank paper. he even told us to tear down the posters (and there are TONS that cover rome) and draw on the back of them. there is a lot of freedom, which scares me and he insists that we draw everyday (which i haven't been doing) but i think i will really learn from this class even tho i'm sure that it will be my most difficult.

today i had my inside italian design class! THAT i was so looking forward to and it turned out to be so much more than i expected as we're covering all forms of design from architecture, to engineering, to fashion---the list goes on and on. for a country that was was behind the world by 15 years, italy has grown while retaining amazing traditional trades that has been lost to the rest of the world. every thursday we go on excursions and get to meet various designers as well as the head of major design companies in italy! we also have a three day excursion to MILAN coming up where we will be attending major design shows so i'm VERY excited.

so far rome classes are AMAZING!!!!!

Into the Mountains

2009-01-18T15:42:00.002-05:00

so today i went to Tido (tee-dough) to attend the "welcome to rome" banquet organized by my school! i was smart and packed ahead but i was also a smart ASS and forgot to load my camera with batteries so unfortunately i was unable to take pictures BUT tido is an old medieval town located high up in the hills. so high up that once there looking down is like looking down from an air plane. it was FREEZING! and yeah the air is fresher but, my god! anyway, many movies have been filmed there and i can totally see why, it's the perfect replica of a medieval town, very well preserved, and very picturesque. but after walking around for about 30 minutes i quickly became aware of the fact that tido looks EXACTLY the same no matter where you turn. there's that brief "ah, how beautiful!" "wow, like a fairy tale" feeling and then i just got bored. i was SO ready to go at the end. tido is not a day trip, it's an hour trip---nothing more.

after tido we went to a nobleman's manor called Titignano (tee-tee-anno) and enjoyed a three hour meal. yes, that's right--THREE HOURS of delectable italian food. everything was made fresh because everything was grown/ made/ produced by the manor. that made the wine (cheap as hell---only 4 euro!) stronger than normal, more pure, and even at three years old the white wine was BEYOND amazing! it was SO good! i downed two glasses before i remembered it was a bit more potent then other wine so the potential of getting tipsy was triple! we had pizza (and italian pizza is WAY different than american and also way healthier) then we had ham, rice, chicken, lamb, spiced potatoes, vegetable, salad, fresh fruit, biscotti, tiramisu, expresso, and sweet wine. all of this was served over three hours, slowly, and in proper portions so i was able to eat ALL of it without feeling overstuffed! SO GOOD! i was glad to leave todi was sorry to see titignano go. it was cold but the castle like setting was amazingly beautiful and the food was SO delicious and the wine SO good and SO cheap! too bad i was low on euro--woulda bought a 20 pack of that white wine in two seconds.

i remember my manager (who's been to italy many times) asking me if i drink, and i'm like, "no." he goes, "by the time you live italy you WILL drink." and he's right! O_O i'm no alcoholic in the making but i've developed a huge appreciation for good wine and---liquor in general as the italians drink with a lot of finesse and very often.

classes start tomorrow! italian and then advanced drawing! everyone keeps scaring me, saying advanced drawing is difficult for sophomores but i really want to improve my drawing skills! we'll see how that goes...

The Vatican!

2009-01-14T09:45:00.003-05:00

day 2 of orientation! can't believe it's already wednesday! the days go by so slow, i really lose track of time. it's so EARLY right now but i keep thinking it's supposed to be 6pm or something. really weird. and i get tired really fast too. maybe because i WALK like 3hrs a day now, lol. i met the legendary gianni today! TOO FUNNY! ahhh---he's a natural comedian even tho he thinks he isn't. teaching us ways to cheat the italian customs. "and don't be american, ya kno...cause that's, not cool." in a thick italian accent.

since me and anna got had orientation earlier than michi and cheryl, we left and went to the market today! it was so nerve racking! there were tons of stalls selling fresh fruit, vegetables, and all sorts of random things. we finally settled for this one random vendor who had lots of fruit and was very nice. we bought pineapple, apples, blood oranges (good for your health!) and bananas. she spoke a fair amount of english and the transaction went fairly well until she said it would cost 80 euro! at least that's what it sounded like that's what she meant but it was really 8 euro. and we got a lot of stuff too. we also bought cookies and orange fanta! i would like to kindly point out that italian orange fanta kicks american orange fanta's ASS! the stuff is SO GOOD!!!!! so i bought two bottles today, lol, even tho we need water SO MUCH more.

so me and anna dropped off our stuff and decided to go exploring! we walked into these mini gardens, braved italian traffic, and walked up these steps and around the corner to THE VATICAN! gianni was right, lol, the vatican is so close we can see the pope brushing his teeth! we didn't want to go in without michi and cheryl so we explored the stores around. total tourist traps. we DID go into an italian footlocker and watched this awesome italian rock video. LOVED IT! made me all giddy inside because it was so american rejects. many shoes were on sale but i figured it would be really unwise for me to blow 80 euro, no matter HOW cool the purple chucks with gold olive branches looked. O_O

we walked back around and stopped by this gellato place! the guy working there was very cute and very nice to us. he spoke good english and asked us where we were from even tho the obvious answer was america. lol, he asked us what we wanted and didn't even charge us for the cone! we gave him 5 euro each (because he didn't ask what size we wanted) and he gave us two scoops on a cone! he didn't even count the money we gave, he just kept smiling. lol, he asked us our names, i think he liked us! will definitely go back there again!

IN ROME!!!!

2009-01-13T15:14:00.004-05:00

had to change the time stamp for this and future posts so...

yeah, yesterday i woke up at 2:30am in the morning and didn't arrive at rome until 7:20 the next day (keep in mind rome is 6 hours ahead) so i'm living in the future! lol

the flight was LONG. oh my god. and i wasn't feeling too hot so having a ridiculously RUDE passenger in front of me didn't help at all. with economy class there is barely any room and she had the NERVE to back her seat, quite literally trapping me and practically in my face. and when i kindly asked her for breathing room she snapped, "I'm trying to sleep!" like no one else on the EIGHT HOUR FLIGHT was trying to do the SAME thing but was considerate enough to think of the equally unhappy people behind them.

anyway, when we got to rome we were met by our student activities advisor (gianni!!!!) and took shuttles (18 euro but since he didn't have change i had to pay 20) into the winding city of rome. even that early in the morning traffic was INSANE! there seemed to be no rules whatsoever and mopeds/ motorcycles seemed exempt from ordinary driving laws, lol. lots of beeping horns, lots of stores, lots of stylish people, lots of posters, and crazy cool billboards. knowing a little spanish helps a ton (as far as reading things go). the city has so many hills so all the houses look as though they are piled on top of each other in a precarious but really beautiful way. random tropical looking plants flourished EVERYWHERE and stuck out funny against the cold air and cloudy sky. it seemed like we were going in circles and when i thought i couldn't stand it anymore we FINALLY arrived at our apartment!

the place is nice, the lobby is OUTSIDE for one thing, which was odd to me. the maids on staff were VERY nice and even though they spoke mostly italian to me and michi, we could understand them pretty well and they helped us with the odd elevator where u have to open a door to get into. it was VERY tiny so michi went up first and i came after. cheryl was already there (lucky duck) and took the better of the two rooms (which had a BALCONY!!!!!) and me and michi got stuck in the smaller room. it's VERY cute tho---and is sectioned off nicely so it's almost like we own the bathroom (which is also VERY cute).

there is SO MUCH storage space! i spread my limited clothes over THREE full closets (in one room, i kno!) while michi took the wardrobe. after we finished unpacking, i took a shower and clocked out. i fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pilow! when i woke up we had a 40 min. to the Temple Rome campus where we mingled and had a pizza party. and lemme just say that italian pizza isn't all that great---definitely not what i'm used to. definitely just sticking to cheese pizza instead of experimenting in the future...

tomorrow is orientation! gotta be out the house and walking by 9am. me and anna are going first and then cheryl and michi will follow. when all is said and done we're going to the market place to buy some much needed food. we're STARVING here with next to nothing to chomp on! need to get more euros....

Shopping

2009-01-07T13:36:00.003-05:00

having no money, sucks ass. but having things to buy and having money but not ENOUGH money sucks even worse. still have to buy art supplies (cause i'm SUCH a procrastinator!) and a memory card and junk for my brand new camera (hell yeah, canon baby!) so i can actually properly DOCUMENT this crap. then all my bath stuff and i STIL have to buy dressy clothes. i suck at plannng...hahaha...oh going to the mall this weekend i guess. hope there are still big sales going on...

Here we go!!!!

2009-01-06T16:13:00.002-05:00

first post! oh wow...this is...serious business. probably the first time i'm posting/ updating about something seriously meant for me and not for...others..? anywho...exactly 6 days until i board a plane and fly (with michi!!!!) from philly to DC and from DC to ROME, ITALY!!!!!!!! ahhhhh! my heart beats faster every time i say it! SOOOOOOO unreal!!!!!! let's relax a little...

first, hello there, i'm sade! i'm 19 years old (gonna be 20 in february!) and i'm an aspiring graphic designer currently attending school at temple university's noteworthy tyler school of art. recently i decided to attend Temple University Rome with my snazzy roommate Michelle "Michi" Maben. now, me and michi were roommates at the beloved peabody for one whole semester of drama and new freshies before being snagged away from our good friends (fake ones thankfully left behind) for...FOUR MONTHS! oh boy...

michi (for those of u who are smart enough to make the connections) is the hachi to my nana, ya did? we're both 19, both pisces, both the same height (for goodness sake!) and both heading on the same plane dreamy and hopeful for (tokyo?) rome! so we're going to be traveling all over rome and most of europe doing very un-american things as to be american (or fulfill the american stereotype) is very uncool in another country. granted, being black, it's gonna be pretty hard to...uh....blend in? maybe i'll fake a british accent or something so people will think i'm cool...

!!!SHA!!!! ~*Sha Designs*~ designing all over the world!