Waffles

I mixed my flesh palette today, it took me nearly 3 hours. I should have gotten a picture, I took this instead:

COLOR COLOR COLOR COLOR! I wish I had more progress to show you, but since I only go in once a week, so progress is slowww, it's the worst. Really spring term could come a little faster, thanks. 

All those little paint dots are systematically mixed, and I can actually match the value of the color with the value of the gray-green verdaccio of my painting. I don't know you if you can tell but there are columns of value on the palette that correspond to the values of my painting as well as the values of the paint. I see value everywhere now, I swear I'm going crazy. Darin said it would happen: you look at someone's face and you can see a fifth value or a seventh value... and all you want to do is paint. their. face.

I want to tell you guys about something cool that happened this week, irrelevant to art. First the uncool: I didn't get the internship (after second round interviews) I wanted at Goldman Sachs. I was beginning to feel like a real loser (I'd gotten rejected by another firm two weeks before). I was feeling a little overwhelmed/inadequate and gave myself permission to cry a little in the dark on my way home from school. This is normally a very private time-- I'll either have the Les Mis audiobook or music pumping in my headphones, and I'll just stroll, uninterrupted. Well of course, halfway home, I run into Preston and Brandon, two very good friends. I clean myself up but they could tell I was pretty upset. So here begins the cool: Brandon asks me, "Do you want waffles?" Hahah. I shrug off his offer, but he persists, insisting that he has a plate of ready-made waffles leftover from a ward activity. We begin chatting, and at some point I realize the conversation would be better over waffles, so I accept his offer. Man did my night take a complete 180. We get back to their apartment and before I put my backpack down, waffles are heated, orange juice is poured, and frozen fruit is thawed. And whipped cream is set out. Lots of whipped cream. We just sat and chatted. Roommates came in and out, Preston and I tap danced, and I had a smile on my face you could not wipe off if you tried. World class friends.

Brandon (left) and Preston (right) celebrating my 21st birthday

I'm telling you this story because outside of my art world, I'm still trying to figure it all out. I'm doing the best that I can: I'm throwing myself into everything I find remotely interesting, including TAing and RAing to feel out academia-- just so maybe I can figure out... life. (How does social innovation sound to you? Yeah, it sounds pretty sweet to me too.) In the meantime I have amazing friends and an AMAZING dad who let me know that everything's going to be OK. Have you had moments like this?

Love // Christelle