Babies...!?

I'm not a huge fan of babies, never have been. I attribute this not a dislike, but an avoidance of children and babies to my mom who raised me while running her own daycare. We always had children around, and when I was old enough, I had to help babysit. This included changing diapers, being spit up on, and tons of crying. It's not like I didn't do fun things with the kids, but now I find that I'm not as tolerant of snot and drool and wailing as I used to be (although I do hang out with my brother Bruce at times). I guess that I sound like a horrible person right now. I suppose it's the notion that they are better to look at than actually interact with. This has been my perception for a long time until recently... Whoa whoa whoa! I'm not saying that I want a baby right now (Brent and I were reminded how lovely they were at the Seattle Aquarium, we were going insane. My mom called us yuppies... I resent her claim) just that I feel differently about one baby that I met last night...


Baby Noa

My cousin and best friend who I have known all of my life had a baby a couple of weeks ago. I was fortunate enough to meet Noa Tao Ioane last night at my cousin Jake's homecoming luau. I also must mention that I'm not a hugely emotional person either. It is rare when I cry over sentimental things, but I was the biggest baby last night when I held him in my arms. I bawled over his beauty. I don't think that I have ever seen such a pretty baby. I can't figure out if I feel that I have a connection with him because Sarah is one of the closest people in my life, but I love him, and this is one baby that I don't think I would mind changing diapers for or watching. I was quite enamored with him. I mentioned to Sarah that if she needed anyone to babysit for her, that I was her gal. She might not trust me though, it has been a LONG time since I have done anything with kids, and considering my outlook on these specimens, the opportunity might not present itself.

Kristen really loved the food :) It was refreshing to have Hawaiian food homemade by my Auntie. Mmmmm....

Best friends with our new little Noa. (Sarah wouldn't let me keep the pics with her whole body because she still feels self-conscious. I think regardless she is beautiful!)

The new parents

I think he is smiling at us!

"Peep Minima"

Peep Minima, Pam Justice, 2008

Ok, so this is how cool I am, and how much time I have on my hands... Pam, my manager, and I were talking about the art contest that they are holding at our work. She was talking about how she had created a picture of chicks through her facebook graffiti mode. I, trying to encourage her, told her that she should enter it. We both thought it was funny. Well, the idea got a bit out of hand as I felt the need to post a formal analysis of her work on her "wall". I feel that I must post it here as my duty to Pam and how cool of an artist she is. I must give the disclaimer that the analysis was made up in the short span of an hour and in no way reflects my academic writing...

A Formal Analysis on Peep Minima by Amanda Beardsley
After scrolling down the webpage, one encounters Peep Minima, by Pam Justice, a yellow on black motif including six intertwined chicks in what may seem to be a Can-Can dance. Humorous as this may seem, the minimalist elements of serial repetition, geometry, and apathy (the anti-abstract expressionist) are used as a formal approach to create an aesthetically pleasing work.

Twelve sets of eyes stare eerily out, void of expression and erratically spaced. They look out towards the viewer, consequentially, drawing one into the work and making one aware of their position in comparison to the work. Yet to say that these peeps are indeed looking towards the viewer is contradicting the notion that there is no expression, so I must divulge that these “eyes” could merely be a method to enforce the repetitious rhythm in line with the minimalist theme. Twelve uneven talons mirror the “eye” markings, creating a fissure of the canvas and giving way to geometry. Circles and angles mimic each other doubling the meaning and attributing to the concepts of repetition and geometry. Attention is brought to the media as no realistic representation is seen in these “peeps,” with the flat surfaces and absence of distinguishing lines or brushstrokes. The only hint at the nature of this work is in the title.

Because of the geometry and the seamless technological style used, we come to find that while Peep Minima may seem simple, it exhibits a deeper, more complex method of exploring a rejection of expression.

(Please see above image for actual duplicate of Peep Minima)

Birthday memories

It has been almost 10 days since my last post and honestly, nothing has happened. I turn 23 on Wednesday, and I don't know exactly what I am doing there... This sounds dismal... I'm sure that it is going to be a blast actually! I've been thinking that I just want to go low key. Usually I always have tons of people over for my birthday. I will just have my close friends around me hopefully. Which will mean that it will probably be the same as the past couple of years because I have like TONS of friends :)

Anyway, happy early birthday to me! I can't believe that I am already going to be 23. I feel like the same person as a couple years ago, which I'm not quite sure is a good or bad thing. I know I look older, and I must be much much wiser right? I feel as I get older, the more memories I lose. For example, right now I'm trying to recall my favorite birthday and am having a difficult time with it. There was that one time...

I think it was in 7th grade where I had a birthday party with all of my girlfriends. My mom thought that no one was going to come (I had invited something like 20 girls) because I was so shy that I only had like 1-2 people that I actually talked to. All of those girls came and we played truth or dare. One girl had to wear a diaper and walk all the way down to Michael Christensen's house and hit on him. I had to call my crush and read him a poem that the other girl's had written. It was horrible, but funny. Now that I look back, it is hilarious. I can't help but giggle to myself right now as I write this. That had to be one of my best birthdays. I remember that we all had our sleeping bags on the floor of the family room and when my mom turned the lights out we all talked about girly stuff, like who had started their period, what it was like, etc. I think that Sarah and Kristen seemed to be the most educated on that. I was so jealous of them! It's so funny that what you might think to be as such a big deal, is really only something so small compared to the actual reality, if that makes any sense.

Another one of my favorite Birthdays was spent in Seattle. I believe it was my big 2-1. That was a pretty fun birthday, despite not being with any of my close friends. That was the first birthday that I had without my close friends. I missed them, but man I had fun. I got the most beautiful roses from Brent. He invited all of his friends to celebrate me. I was in this amazing suite in a room full of strangers who were singing me "happy birthday." I know, it doesn't sound like my ideal situation considering I feel incredibly awkward around strangers, hate forced conversation, and hate even more being the center of attention when people sing praises to my existence. I don't know though, it was still somewhat enjoyable. One of Brent's friends worked at the hotel and was able to take us up to the roof to get a 360 degree view of Seattle. It was so so cool. This birthday made me love Seattle.

Seattle

Brent and I just got back from Seattle and as usual, had an incredible time. This was a low key trip, so we didn't do too much, but we didn't have to because we always have fun regardless of our activities. Seattle is still my favorite city in the world. I love this place! Below are a couple of pics from the trip...
This was the coolest shop in the world! It had shrunken heads (see below), mummies, and a plethera of strangeness!
The shrunken heads of the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop.
Brent and I walking along the pier.
This is the view from one of the parks of downtown. It is an amazing city scape.
We went to the aquarium and they had Chihuly glass on exhibit! Only in Seattle!
Some of the starfish in the touch pool. I couldn't really touch them, I'm not big into water creatures, or water for that matter.
Brent in Pike place market. We bought a HUGE bouquet for his mom. That bouquet was only $20! The same bouquet in Utah would probably be $70.
Pike Place Market
I had never seen a street performer be a piano player before. This guy was incredible!
This is Christopher Columbus and I.
This is the EMP (Experience Music Project). Paul Allen built this, and I guess that it is a pretty controversial building because of how expensive it was/still is. Inside there is a Science fiction exhibition and the music project. It is an interactive museum which features Jimmi Hendrix. Seattle is big on its music scene, and that is one of my favorite things about the city. The sci-fi exhibit was interesting. It would have been more interesting had we not been worrying about parking...
R2D2 in the EMP museum. I wasn't supposed to take this picture, and the hard core security guy informed me of this the minute I took the pic. He loved his job.
Inside the EMP on the tribute to music side, there was this amazing work. It goes all the way up to the ceiling.
This is the view from Brent's parents house. It was incredible! I would love to have a house with this type of view someday. It was so peaceful and serene. Too bad I was sick the entire time :(