Backlogged

I have a backlog of posts in Word on my home computer that I will probably never upload. They are mostly thoughts about service, interacting with homeowners, confronting poverty (in a very mild sense), and my changing understanding of community development. So, yes, brilliant and interesting (ha!) but a bit serious. I've been playfully reprimanded (once again) for being too serious about work.

So here is the lighter side of what I do: I make pretty pictures. I'm not going to say much about what this is, but this is the second project I'm working with Oisse architects (Julie) on.
I'm starting to get the hang of Maxwell, a rather complicated and powerful rendering program. What's cool (and different) about Maxwell is that it calculates light particles with real physics-- this results in extremely photorealistic images and lovely, soft shadows. This image took over 3 hours to render, and it's still grainy.

How to be poor... And still fabulous.

Ok, there are definitely perks to dating a chef. Apart from the most obvious (hello delicious dinner!), there are secret chef-y events happening all the time that I am beginning to be introduced to.

For instance: invitation-only gourmet wine tasting. Oh, and it was free. Oh, and there were 40+ wineries with full portfolios. Oh, and they were all fabulous. Oh, and it was in a stellar "library" room on the top floor of the building just east of the Sears.
So, while you sipped delicately balanced wines poured by the French winemaker who grew the grapes and munched on a nice selection of cheeses and meats, you could gaze out the floor to ceiling windows at the tops of the skyscrapers, surrounded by two stories of heavy, monochromatic law textbooks.
This went on for several hours.
...followed, of course, by The Map Room (100+ beer list) and dinner at the Longman and Eagle (foodie pub).

So that was cool.

Unfortunately, however responsibly you drink, after 12 hours of it you might still look like this in the morning:


Not happy.

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On a much more sober note...
I have decided to stay a second year as AmeriCorps member with Rebuilding Together Aurora. It was a tough decision only because I enjoy the AmeriCorps program and wanted to try out a different one. However, I love the people I work with, the mission and projects are truly inspiring, and I'm so excited to see the growth of the organization through the programs I'm developing / managing, that I couldn't help but choose to stay!

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Other things on the radar...
1. Design collaboration with professor is going great. When I can, I'll post sneak peeks of the projects we're working on. But for now, just know they are cool. Really cool.
2. Putting together thrifty centerpieces for Volunteer Apprecation bbq. The board members are concerned: I'm using pasta sauce jars, tin cans, and a lot of white tissue paper. (The best part... it's 100% recyclable!)
3. Photography mentorship program well underway: so far, I'm counting on 6 professionals, and I'm receiving more encouragement from the Public Arts people than I expected. New competition aspect will be a great success and gallery show is a definite GO. I need to find a sponsor.
4. Changing personal definition of 'community development.' Sneaking suspicion it has so much more to do with time + personal investment than the rationalist in me wants to accept.
5. Moving to Aurora? Purchasing property? A strange idea seed has been planted...
6. Growing centerpieces for BBQ? Horticulture experiments to follow.
7. Epic drive to Iowa to commence in 2.5 days. Ashley arrives on Thursday evening.
8. Waiting for pictures from fisheye camera to get developed. Should have ridiculous series of photos to post in about a week.