2015? I hardly knew her!

Zero blog posts all year long! However, I probably wrote a gazillion pages worth of papers over the duration of the spring and fall semesters.

The following is a bullet point list of highlights, as well as a few lowlights, from 2015:

• I got straight A's in the Spring and almost all A's in the Fall (thanks, Nutrition).
• I made my first zine for my CFA symposia.
• I broke up with Tegan & Sara because they're fake feminists and sellouts.
• A new kitty wandered into the house and RJ named her Pistachio.
• We went to the Grand Canyon.
• Lena got me donuts and stuff from the Hello Kitty Cafe.
• Renee rescued a bunny from her worksite and we named him Barnaby.
• Alastair went missing for a week.
• I got a couple of new cameras and spent most of my fall semester in the dark room.
• We had our five year anniversary.
• I took some core art classes and decidedly changed majors, HAHAHA! I love learning about art and how to strengthen artistic skills, but other art majors are not my people.
• My parents and I drove up to California twice: first to visit Auntie Precy because she was in the hospital for Leukemia treatment. Sadly, the second trip was for her funeral.
• 2015 was indeed the year of death. At least three of my friends had parents pass away, one of my coworkers passed away, one of my friends passed away.
• That's how we adopted Abigail. She was one of Jenn's six dogs that needed homes.
• Christmas and New Year's Eve was nice and low-key. I got some film, photography books, cash and coconut coffee. We made pizzas and had champagne. Carbs and booze, the best way to usher in a new year.

Obligatory End of My First Semester at Uni Post

My mom posted an embarrassing photo of my CAAP exam certificate on Facebook:


She should have posted a photo of my GPA instead: 3.87, y'all - which is actually four As and one B+ (with special thanks to my #1 study buddy slash #1 girlfriend), but I suppose that the certificate is easier to brag about as opposed to telling people that her daughter is a Fine Arts major and Gender and Sexuality Studies minor AKA academic lesbian. I really enjoyed my first semester as a university student. It was hard, but the end result was worth it. I feel a smidge smarter and a smidge more disgusted with patriarchy and dominant race discourse.

Since I was unable to take art classes this fall, I overcompensated by taking too many photos around campus with a plethora of different cameras:


Various spots at UNLV
Taken with a Fujifilm Instax90 Neo Classic


"Tuscany"
Taken with a Polaroid 101 Land Camera


West side of WRI
Taken with a Polaroid 600 OneStep


Pida Plaza
Taken with a Polaroid 600 OneStep


One of the many golf carts on campus
Taken with a Polaroid SX-70 Sonar
In other news, I finally got a few rolls of film developed from the summer. The following are shots from a heavy Mamiya Tower 18A that I thrifted for $11.


I am quite pleased with outcome...after I finally figured out how to use the light meter, of course. Trial and error, such is my life.


















My Uncle Charles gifted me with his near mint Canon AE-1 and accessories. Even though Art104 (B&W Photography) filled up before I could even sign up for it (thanks, upperclassmen), this SLR is indeed a lifesaver because the alternate AE-1 in my possession is in shambles.


Most of the roll is from what looks like a house hunting expedition shot previously by my uncle. I do not know how it happened, but I managed to take a multiple exposure:



Highlights of Fall 2014 include:

+ Turning Katy Perry's racial ignorance into an eight page paper.
+ A lecture on the origins of the Italian porn industry given by Italian field scholars.
+ Using expensive telescopes to observe a massive waning gibbous moon.
+ A guest lecture by Lauren McCubbin. When asked what comics she currently reads, she mentioned at least three titles that I also read.
+ Working less retail.
+ Access to free highlighters and study rooms for law students.
+ Being mistaken for a law student.
+ Pop culture courses.

Spring does not start for another twenty something days and while it is refreshing to not be holed up in the library for hours on end, constantly read thick academic journals or write 4+ page essays weekly, I am excited to complete my first year of college and maintain my fantastic GPA. It's not easy, but I love it. I never thought that I would enjoy academia or even aspire to go to graduate school. Maybe I will end up double majoring since I have turned into a late-in-life overachiever. Who knows? So what? Who cares? My mom.

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

(photo by Uncle Nat)
MY COUSINS CAME TO VISIT!!! It has been at least three years since the last time we saw each other, so I was missing them pretty bad. And I miss them still. (Insert crying emoji here)


(photo by Uncle Nat)
We went to Red Rock Canyon and did not go on any hikes because a) it was too dang hot and b) senior citizens.


(photo by Z)
This photo was taken after I dropped a cartridge of Spectra film into the desert tortoise preserve. My klutzy ass totally climbed in there to retrieve it.


(photo by Uncle Nat)
We also went to the Hoover Dam. I took a few Spectra shots, but it was just too dang hot out.





I even brought a cooler with an ice pack, but it did not help much. Maybe I'm doing it wrong. I probably am. Story of my life.


The following day, went to Zion National Park. Getting there was an adventure (no, it was not - it was ridiculous). We did not leave Las Vegas until well past noon and there was a lot of highway construction going on. Then my cousin was unsure of his driving directions and blah, blah, blah.


So, it was pretty late when we actually made it to the park. Most of our time was spent in the car and not ideally the way in which one should enjoy mother nature.


(photo by Lena)
Next time, we're sticking to a laminated itinerary and leaving the old people at the slots. I found Zion to be beautiful. However, I found the resort area right outside of it to be THE WORST. We all had to tinkle right after leaving the park and the teen working the register at the convenience store in the same strip mall as the Zion Canyon Giant Screen Theater ignored my mom (she's not quiet), when she asked him where the closest restroom was, AND THEN told us to use the theater's restroom after it had been closed for at least fifteen minutes. So we went to the ZION CANYON BREW PUB next to the convenience store and the dirty hipster schmuck working the door completely ignored us (five women of color varying in age from 20 to 70). Luckily a (POC) busser recognized that we were in search of something and pointed us in the right direction. Part of me wanted to leave my used sanitary napkin on the forehead of the host, but I digress. I know that had it been just Lena and I, the customer service would have been the opposite. The best part of that strip mall was seeing a doe in the parking lot. With the exception of the National Park, I knew I never liked Utah.


(photo by Z)
ANYWAY, I miss my cousins. Next time, we're gonna go hiking. And get cocktails. Next time, na lang.