Oh, ps.

I forgot to mention.

I'm starting an intense entrepreneurial workshop (the fewer times I have to type entrepreneurial the better.. whew) to help me run my business. It's one night a week for 3 hours.. starts in the beginning of February and goes until beginning of May. They say that you spend 7-10 hours outside of class per week doing reading/market research/business plan work.

I'm kind of nervous because that's way more effort than I put into regular classes... and about the same or a little less than photography classes even!

However, I think that the program will give me a very good understanding of how to handle not only the day-to-day operations, but also setting goals for the business and learning how to reach them successfully. I'll also be writing a kick-butt business plan. :)

Anyway, so you might not see much of me for the next few months as I'm kicking Baseman Studios Photography, LLC into top gear with this entrepreneurial class (there it is again) and other things I'll be starting up.

Wish me luck!

Sigh.

*Warning* **Nostalgic memories ahead**

At work, we got to talking about high school the other day. As I was sharing some of my "experience," I realized I came across sounding really bitter, which is not how it was at all.

So yes, it did take until mid-high school for those not in my group of friends to say hi in the hallways to me, but had I ever made eye contact, smiled, and/or said hi in passing to them before? Of course not.

I actually rather enjoyed high school. Choir became my lifeline. Voice lessons were my driving force. Classes were fun and enjoyable. Teachers (mostly) were those to be respected, and ocassionally sparred with. Homework was a priority, but only to get the A. Art was present every semester. I loved my job at the little library where I made just above minimum wage (back when it was $5.15). Trips to Wisconsin, dating Joel, among others from there... ;) My group of friends from school; we did something like once a year.

Riding with Justin. Getting my license. Accidents, losing my license, getting close to Mom as she drove Blair and I every day.

Graduating 2nd in the class. Having a huge gathering of relatives and friends at my graduation party.

Yup. Sure was a good ol' time.

Okay, got all the papers filed. Now..

38 "Mature" questions.. whatever that means. Courtesy of Amber.

1. What bill do you hate paying the most?
Anything that's over $50... which is pretty much every single one. :) Back in Waterloo, it was our energy bill in the wintertime... I mean, really, $240 to heat the dang apartment?

2. Where was the last place you had a romantic dinner?
Uh, romantic? The night Joel proposed? lol.. We don't do romantic very much. The last "nice" place we went out together was Red Lobster.

3. What do you really want to be doing right now?
Something. I'm tired of getting put off with this whole job situation. I've already cleaned the whole house, including windows, this week. I can't even do laundry, because there's a shortage of the dryer that I ordered. Ho hum. Of course, it would be nice to be wrapped in a hug with Joel, too. :)

4. How many colleges did you attend?
2.. Master of the community college, right here.

5. Why did you choose the shirt that you have on right now?
Uhm. Because I went for a walk this morning, and haven't changed out of my old t-shirt yet..?

6. What are your thoughts on gas prices?
Dumb. We need to get a more fuel-efficient vehicle... a truck, cargo van, and a premium-only car doesn't really cut it for the drive down to Houston we're planning on this summer sometime.

7. First thought when the alarm went off this morning?
Hm. Do I have an agenda today? No. Could I keep sleeping? Yes. Do I actually want to turn my alarm off? No, I might sleep way too late. Darn. There goes the snooze ring.

8. Last thought before going to sleep last night?
I miss my sweetie.

9. Do you miss being a child?
Eh. No.

10. What errand/chore do you despise?
Washing windows.

11. Get up early or sleep in?
Honestly, I love how I feel when I get up early. Can I do it without Joel? Rarely.

12. Have you found real love yet?
You bet.

13. Favorite lunch meat?
Roast beef or smoked turkey.

14. What do you get every time you go into Wal-Mart?
Usually, its Mountain Dew for Joel.

15. Beach or lake?
Can't you have beaches on lakes? Or does this mean oceans?

16. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual?
Are you kidding? No. It should be kept sacred.

17. Sopranos or Desperate Housewives?
Ew. Neither.

18.What famous person would you like to have dinner with?
Jack Johnson. And then we could go back to my place... KID-ding!

19. Have you ever crashed your vehicle?
Hm. Let me count the times. There was the "Ooos, took the gravel corner too fast in the minivan" time, and there was the "Thanks for pulling out in front of me, Mr. Milktruck driver, on the road you can't even walk across because it's that slick from the ice" time, and then there was the, "Hey, Mom, these people are all going really slow.. it's not even slippery out here. Oh wait, icy/slushy curve bridge ahead" Trailblazer time. So 3.

20. Ever had to use a fire extinguisher for its intended purpose?
Nope. Thank goodness.

21. Ring tone?
I lost my "Office" theme ringtone when I got my Blackberry... I should get that again.

22. Strangest place you have ever brushed your teeth?
The dentist's office. Really, think about it. Brushing your teeth there?

23. Somewhere in California you've never been and would like to go?
Mm. The Redwood forest?

23. Do you go to church?
Church as a building, no.

24. At this point in your life would you rather start a new career or a new relationship?
Eeek. Neither. I don't do change that well.

25. How old are you?
21

26. Do you have a go to person?
Two of them actually... Joel and Mom.

27. Are you where you want to be in life?
Sure. I've accomplished all of my goals for this time in my life.

28. Growing up, what were your favorite cartoons?
Er. Um. I didn't really have any growing up.

29. What about you do you think has changed the most?
I've relaxed about a lot of things... I was very uptight even just 2-3 years ago.

30. Looking back at high school, were they the best years of your life?
They were pretty good. I actually liked school, had a good group of friends, finally gained some self-confidence, had a low-key easy job.. yeah they were pretty good.

31. Are there times you still feel like a kid?
Sometimes.

32. Did you ever own troll dolls?
Actually, no.

33. Did you have a pager?
What in the world for?

34. Where was the hang out spot when you were a teenager?
I wasn't really a hang-out type. I'm pretty sure you could just take your pick of parking lots along main street in good ol' Sioux Center, IA.

35. Were you the type of kid you would want your children to hang out with?
Yup

36.Who do you think impacted your life the most?
My parents...

37. Was there a teacher or authority figure that stood out for you?
As in stood up for? Didn't really need that. There were very few teachers that I didn't respect or like... and I think there was only one that didn't like me...

38. Do you tell stories that start with “when I was your age..."?
When I was your age... oh wait, I am your age.

Oh and...

yeah, that parking ticket?

I went to go pay it last week, explained how Joel and I switch vehicles all the time and he didn't want a sticker in there so I forgot, blah blah... w/e, only about 1/2 true. The lady promptly scribbled on it and threw it in the trash.

"Don't worry about it."



Score.

Gotta good feeling..

Today went really well. I enjoyed all my "interviews" and people browsing through my work. I got some really great suggestions and complements.

I suppose it's safe to say that the single most important day (relating to school) in the past two years was a success!

:)

Maybe I'll even walk away with the top portfolio of the class? I hope!

Now then, time for a nap and bowling with HCC people later!

Too many irons...

... in the fire.

A lot has gone down this week. Too busy to post. And certainly too much on my mind to write in complete sentences. :)

I *did* end up getting sick Monday evening... and was really sick on Tuesday. Now the leftover remains are a slightly stuffy nose, and lots of pressure in my head/neck/back. Or that part is just from stress, who knows.

This week I had to get all my portfolio images sent to the lab so they could print my beautiful 11x14 images, mount them and get them back to me by Wednesday. I finally had to call and after a little bit of persuading, I picked them up Thursday morning. Needless to say I wasn't too happy, as I had specified they needed to be picked up Wednesday afternoon.. mm. Anyway, after looking at them, 1 of them was scratched, 2-3 of them had spots on them that were white.. I think maybe it was a little scratch?, and all but one had big greasy fingerprints on them. ew. One of them was even cut weird. But I'm over it. I had one of my teachers help me fill in the scratch, so that's all good.

Also on Wednesday, I get this call from my landlord. She says that this guy is coming over to look at the place and wants me to show him the apartment. ... What? Hello. I don't want to let some strange guy in, especially when the landlord isn't going to be there. And I doubly don't want to do my landlord's job. Ugh. Anyway, I guess it went okay.

After meeting on Wednesday, I went over to Lisa's and went for a short walk with her. It was great to get some fresh air and catch up a little.

Thursday morning, I get a call right after I begin my first class at 11:00, which is the mortgage rep asking me to make sure we bring our reciept of 1-yr prepaid homeowner's insurance to the closing. The closing was yesterday. As in Friday. And he called me Thursday at 11:05. Dork. We're first time home-owners, we aren't going through a realtor or lawyer, and so the only information we get is from you, the mortgage rep. And we didn't think about that. So.... after I got out of class at 3, I started rushing around, calling our insurance agent, and other freaking-out behaviors. As it ended up, our insurance agent is a doll who stayed until 6, getting this figured out for me. Whew.

Our closing was yesterday, and it went relatively well... as well as it could have gone with our dork of a mortgage rep. He had to leave a couple times and make sure that we were making the check out right and something else that was not figuring right. I bet we spent 30 minutes just by ourselves waiting for him to get back. Anyway, it's all over and done with and we're the proud owners of a duplex! woo hoo.

Monday, I've got "Portfolio Day," which is where we take our portfolios to 5 different mock interviews with professional photographers that our instructor has invited to come. They go through our portfolio and interview us, and determine whether our portfolio is "acceptable" or not. It will be fun as I know some of the photographers interviewing me... :) I'm not too worried about doing well.

However, I do want to get a new accessory for an outfit for Monday. Something cute and cheap, like a new scarf. You know, just something to dress up the day a little. :)

Meh.

I've got a 4-5 pg paper (not including preface and title page), short story, & a 30-day notice to write, a year-end print to submit to the lab, be creative with some sort of guerilla marketing idea, and an official wedding price list to finish.

But meh. I'll procrastinate a little more.

A - Age: 21

B - Bed size: queen

C - Chore you hate: dusting and washing the bathroom

D - Dog's name: .... :( We dont have a dog yet.

E - Essential start your day item: breakfast! and a shower.

F - Favorite color(s): mmm, well I don't really have one

G - Gold or Silver: neither... not a big jewelry person

H - Height: 5'4" or 5'5"

I - Instruments you play: piano... on past occasions, I have been known to hum a few bars along with the accordian

J - Job title: mmm. Peon.

K - Kid(s): Joel... ;)

L - Living arrangement: Our apartment... soon, our duplex.

M - Mom's name: Deirdre, but "Mom" to me

N - Nicknames: meh. Never got into that.

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: nada.

P - pet peeves: Waterloo drivers, slow drivers, people who don't drive *at least* the speed limit (not asking for much, here... really), clothes hangers when they get all tangled up, alarm clocks, Harley's stopping at the light at midnight and revving like crazy, cleaning the microwave, people abusing my stuff or copying my ideas

Q - Quote from a movie: mm... "That's what she said" TV show?

R - Right or left handed: Right

S - Siblings: Blair, Justin

T - Time you wake up: meh. well. Other than these last two mornings, 7:45 was the norm. I'd like to get back in the habit of 6:00.

U- Underwear: ??

V - Vegetable you dislike: lima beans. sick.

W - Workout style: I believe this would require both workouts and a sense of style.... so....

X - X-rays you've had: my arm

Y - Yesterday's best moment: chatting with Joel and my mom on the phone

Z - Zoo favorite: tigers

I always said...

... that I would pay for parking.

Seriously. The arts/photography students always are carrying gear from school to vehicle and vice-versa. And I refuse to park on the other side of campus and walk with bags, purse, water, etc in tow for half a mile. Well not really a half a mile... but especially when it was cold through out the winter, that's a long way to walk. I literally would pay $10 a month to have preferred parking stickers for the program.

So I parked in visitor parking and just took my un-attached sticker off of my dash, so they couldn't attach it to my student account. (I have a source that told me they don't track the license plate numbers...) Visitor is conveniently the same distance from the building as the best spots in the student lot.


Well, yesterday it bit me in the butt. Hard. Okay, not.
I got a $10 ticket for parking in visitor, and $5 for not having a sticker. Hmm.


So if they don't attach it to my student account, can I "forget" to pay this before I graduate?




I always said I'd pay for preferred parking if they'd let me...

My new favorite song!

"My Skin" by Natalie Merchant

Oh and I've got all my portfolio images ready to go to the lab... and I've got a grand total of 14, 2 more than I actually need for the minimum. It's a real relief to me, as most people are struggling to find at least 12.

I'm ready for the weekend and Joel to be here!

Quick update...

So we're going full speed ahead on this mortgage business.. We were able to lock in at 4.5%... so we're ecstatic! :) We're (by we, I mean Mary Jo and Joel..) getting a kit from a titling company to work up the offer, so we can proceed. I have no idea what's happening or even supposed to happen, so we're pretty lucky to have some help figuring that all out!

Mom and Dad were here Sunday night through this morning to help me out with a few assignments. It was great to see them again, and be with the whole family.. Too bad Joel's in Wisconsin. I should get photos up from that soon. They turned out well.

I babysat the Simons' kids for an hour or two tonight and then stayed for supper.. I thought it went pretty well for my first time (ever!!) babysitting...

School's coming to a close reeeaaaally quickly. The date I've set for myself to submit all my portfolio images to be printed at the lab is less than a week away. Eeek.. In addition, I have to do some work for my wedding final (a wedding consultation including price lists, wedding contracts, and booking the wedding with a "bride"), my portrait final in the studio, my final painter image, a final test and assignment for my studio promotions and marketing class. Thankfully, my portrait instructor changed our assignment from a business plan to a 3-5 page paper... Heck, I'll take 1-2 hours of work over 3-5 days anytime!

Busy and tired as ever, but doing well. Now, don't expect blog postings for a looong time. :)

Portrait field trip

So we went down to Ames and Des Moines for a class trip to tour some studios and basically get away for a day or two.. or something. Because we don't have anything to do here, like work on our portfolios or scrambling for our last assignments...

My neck feels so good after riding in one of those realllly uncomfortable tour buses. Or not. Thank you, pillow. Thank you, Blackberry. Thank you, Pandora. Thank you, headphones.

Anyway, it was fun, we learned a lot, and we got to drop by the Jordan Creek Mall there in Des Moines... mmm. We sooo need a Wet Seal in Appleton.

Here are some photos of my purchases... maybe I'll even post some photog stuff we were learning/observing.. I would be the one to come home from a photography field trip and only post photos of my shopping items.. :) The watches and Gladiator sandals are from Wet Seal and the scarves from Vanity.

Busy week..

WPPA was great! Missed that memo? Check the photo blog. I had a great time with Sarah Orlando, my cousin and a great photographer all in one. We got to chat about all sorts of things, which is probably why we only got 4-5 hours of sleep a night! :)

I've got a crazy week ahead. Today I'm working at the store in a bit, and then tomorrow (Tuesday),I have class, and a re-shoot with the Simons family (that just wasn't a good deal on my part last time) and the workers over. Wednesday morning I have class, and then I'm doing a photo shoot with Bruce, one of our workers. Right after that I'm getting a "mock-engagement" session out of the way for my weddings class with one of my high school alum. Thursday's pretty normal with classes and Friday we're heading up to Wisconsin again, but to be with the in-laws this time. Maybe I'll get another assignment in on Friday at the shop, too.. we'll see. :)

Now, to schedule in some sleep time..

Photos!

Check out the photo blog!

Got some new pics up.

Urg. Bullet style.

*No internet for 4 days. I've gone crazy and feel out of touch.

*PPI was fun, exhausting, and exasperating. My prints didn't do well. That wasn't fun. But there were a lot of great marketing techniques. Learned a few new PS things.

*I now have to do 4 more assignments than I was originally hoping.

*My first day of work at TNK starts in less than an hour.

*I'm sick. Sore throat, sore neck muscles, headache. And stomach-ness. No puking as of yet, but have been close. (Dear Sierra Mist, Thank you.) Unfortunately what I have eaten has made dramatic exits for the last couple of days.

*I've lost all organization with classes, blog, keeping house, finances (yes, I'm an online banking addict. I DO need it every day to monitor, otherwise overdraft fees happen. 4 of them to be exact. I'm happy.) That's what happens with no internet.

*I cant stay warm. 2 layers + multiple blankets or 5 layers of clothing and I can't keep warm. Yet Joel says I feel warm.

*I got my van stuck in the Belling's driveway. Just trying to drive up the slippery hill. Thank you, Joel for fixing the U-joints on the truck so I can have my 4x4 back!!

*Aunt Flo decided to make her presence known at the same time as that... which was on Saturday afternoon. So yes, I'm sick... and I dealt with that the whole convention.

But hey... its my birthday on Saturday. *ahem, Joel*
We're going back to my parents for chiro treatments and ice skating... something to look forward to!

STOP!

Go check out my photo blog... and search for "Baseman Studios" on Facebook...

Some pretty sweet stuff going on...

.. and you're missing it all!

Blegh.

I'm stressed already.

Money's hard to stretch, when it seems to already be at the breaking point...

And PP of I convention/competition starts a week from Saturday... and I'm still picking prints out, much less editing, printing samples, and getting the final product mounted, etc.

Whoooo... And I'm a primary shooter this Friday in the weddings class, which means I need to be prepared to create the poses that I missed last Friday due to the truck... mm.

And I had a migraine today... as did Joel.

But meeting was good. And the workers are coming Friday night (which is a little more to do.. okay a lot, because I haven't cleaned house in a while.. :D), but I'm really looking forward to that!

Hah... Overwhelmed

I sense a lot of stress in my future. And I'm a touch overwhelmed and panicky-feeling about it already.

So my weddings class is going to give me some great experience, but it's going to be extremely difficult. As I mentioned before, it should be considered a 6-credit hour class since we spend six hours a week just in class. The four hour lab time on Fridays is done all on location in churches for now and outside later. The huge class is split up into 4 groups which will rotate in and out of two different scenes (the altar with lights, and window light). And then within that rotation, one person gets 20 min to get 3 poses, and the other people in the group have 5 min each to get 1 pose each. And starting in February, one person has to stay after and do an hour of independent shooting with an assistant... and turn in the photos unedited, uncropped, etc.

Make any sense? Don't blame you. It took nearly 2 hours for that whole concept to sink in with me. The worst part? We have to find our own models to be bride/groom every single Friday.

And since it was improbable that Joel would work here the rest of the week (as he hadn't yesterday or today), the idea came that maybe he should call up the fam in Wisconsin and see if they could use any help this week. Even though they're a bit slow, Mike said he'd take him... I'm so beyond grateful for them that it makes me emotional.

Yes, it does mean he'll be gone until Saturday.... but at least he's working, which not only is paying bills, but also keeping him occupied.

Dont worry about me, I have chocolate.

School

Only the first day back... but I'm soooo pumped to be back in class again!

I've got a decent schedule, with only my major class Monday and Wednesdays starting at 9:00.

Then on Tuesday and Thursday, I have three different classes: Advanced Electronic Imaging... which isn't really Photoshop; a "lecture" hour for my Weddings class; and then a Studio Promotions class, which is about marketing and the business end of things. However, the first one starts at 11:00... so that will be a refreshing change from 8:00 class every morning. I'll get so much done in the mornings! Or something.

Then on Friday I have a four hour "lab" period for the Weddings class... which is a four-credit hour class that meets for six hours a week...?? Hmm. Whatever.

I think possibly the most exciting thing about going back to class is the fact that I'm back to my usual 15-20 hours a week at work. :)

Seriously though. I'm super excited to be in my last semester of school!

study study Camera study study study study Canon..

Mmmm... so its late, and I'm still studying (and not concentrating obviously). Darn Photo Journalism, I can't wait to be done with that class.

But earlier tonight I hung out with Lisa at Perkins for a bit and even before that, I ordered that Canon SD880 IS. And I'm groovin' to a Norah Jones song. And eating chocolate chips. Life's good.

Note to self: "Free shipping," "On sale," and "Free 1GB card" from BestBuy.com actually means you'll pay 3x as much sales tax even though its online. Go figure.

2 Finals and VI!

2 Finals down, 2 more to go.. I have 1 more each on Tuesday and Thursday. Pretty pumped about that.

Those are the hard ones though. Neeeeeeeeed to study. Tonight.



Bunch of ppl from school went out to lunch at Village Inn... kind of our little finals tradition. Last year it was Applebee's.. Had a good time. I thoroughly enjoyed my chocolate shake. Mm hmm.