First Crit (well sorta)
We had our first day of our typography class today (usually on Wednesdays but last week's was cancelled because the tutor was sick). We were paired up with another of our classmates and had to develop a business card and letterhead for them. All within about a 2 hour period. Very challenging to get to know a "client" and design something in such a short time. I was relatively pleased with what I came up with. One of the friends of my partner looked at my work and said it suited her really well. I took that as a great compliment. We all brought our work and then the class had to put the projects in order from best to worst on different qualities (reliable, innovative, overall success, etc). The professor/tutor really had no input, it was all the class judging their peers. It didn't go that well for Okkie and I, the two exchanges students. I can't say I blame them, it's easier to be critical to someone you don't really know than to upset a dear friend! I'm not too worried about it, it was such a quick project that I really have no emotional attachment to it.
Laundry? Nope.
Running low on long sleeved shirts so I tried to do laundry this afternoon. Our house only has one washer & dryer for about 30 of us. It always seems to be busy. Things tend to be left when they're done and I'm not sure what the policy is with removing other people's stuff. I don't want to upset anyone so I guess I'll just wait until tomorrow when it's LITERALLY my last!
Tuesday, Jan 15
First Crumpet!
Bought some crumpets at the store last week! Tried my first one. They're a bit strange, sort of spongy but they have the taste of an English muffin. Now if only I could learn to drink tea….
Early Start -> Laundry & Phone Top-up
I woke up early today so I could get my laundry in (there were still clothes in there but I was desperate now). It took me some time to figure out how to use the washer and dryer but I got the general hang of it. The dryer doesn't seem to truly dry anything, it just gets them damp, even after 2 cycles so I gave up and just hung everything around my room. I also finally got my pay-as-you-go phone "topped-up". After no luck with doing it online or with a rep over the phone, I had to go to a convenience store and buy a voucher with a PIN code. Hey it finally worked so I'm happy.
Short Studio Visit (talk with tutor + wireless fiasco/fix)
After getting my necessary errands and chores done around my house, I finally got to studio. I arrived and turned on my laptop but then was having issues with my wireless internet. It's very frustrating because I could have gotten my work done just as easily in my room. I don't know how I fixed it but it eventually worked. Later I was able to have a nice chat with my tutor. He's very helpful and I seem to be on the right track in regards to my project so that's a comfort.
First Cooking Disaster
Had my first cooking disaster! I was trying to make some chicken tenders and potato smiles and I tried to listen to the box by putting the track on the upper shelf of the oven. Bad idea! When I came back to check it someone had shut the oven off and opened the oven door to let the smoke out. Poor little smiles….next batch was done on the lower shelf with a lot more success. Nice and tasty!
Ouch! Poor smiles!
Wednesday, Jan 16
Type Presentations
2nd day of Typo this week! Fortunately this one was better. We were just put into groups and made a presentation based on some typography concepts like kerning, spacing, tracking, leading and the like. A much more manageable assignment in 2 hours that's for sure! One of the guys in my group also showed us this awesome website! http://type.method.ac/ Well awesome for type nerds like me. Kerning is the space between the letters, it's more an art than a science. There's no formula for kerning and putting equal space between the letters does not work. It's all about visual weight.
Design Domain Project
After a rushed lunch, we ran to our next meeting for the day. We were introduced to Design Domain. It is an additional group project we will be doing for our design studio. We were split into groups and each group was given a neighborhood in Glasgow. We were instructed to go and visit and just experience the place. Take pictures and record our experiences and how we feel while we're there. This is the first step of the project but it seems like we will also get to share our experiences with a community group from the area. It's not entirely clear to me what we're doing beyond that. I'm kind of looking forward to this project because I did something in Philly last semester. It's a great way to get to know an area of the city I might not otherwise see. After our large class meeting we broke into our small visiting groups. We exchanged contact information and made plans to have people go Friday and Monday, depending on what was more convenient for you. Both me and Okkie are in the group to go Monday. This should be an interesting project, I'm looking forward to exploring another part of Glasgow.
Thursday, Jan 17
FoCI Lecture
The lectures today were slightly better. First one was really enjoyable. The artist/lecturer worked on a project were she worked with local people all over Scotland and looked through their family photos with them. They would find a photo to use and then the owner of the photo would take her to where it was taken. The old picture was than edited to overlay the contemporary photo. It takes a look at how the scenery changes over time. I've seen something like this before and just love it so it was really good to hear her talk.
© Nicky Bird
The next lecture was more fashion-oriented. I felt like it was good but a little lost on me since fashion's not really a key interest of mine. This lecturer looked at loved objects as a way to connect with a life and stories, particularly items in a wardrobe.
FoCI Workshop
Had my first FoCI workshop which is basically class time with a tutor to discuss your research. I have not yet heard anything about how we choose our topic so when I was told to "mind-map" I was at a loss. It has to relate to our major because it's actually intended to be the start of the local student's dissertation. Hopefully I'll figure something out.
First Bible Study
Thursday nights are when the church I attend hosts their international student bible study. We have dinner first and tonight was some sort of latin dish with beans served over rice. I'm not entirely sure what it was. All I know is I don't really like beans, that fact has been confirmed. But overall it was fine. After dinner we sang a few worship songs all together. When it was time to split into small groups, I was a bit disappointed that I was not in the same group as my new friends Cat & Sheryll. But my group was really nice and it's a nice opportunity to meet new people. For the next few weeks we will be study the book of Philippians. Tonight we literally went over the whole book. It was a little overwhelming but it was good to see how all the chapters interact. We saw a lot of repeating phrases/themes like partnership, joy, and imprisonment repeated through the book. We even managed to summarize the book in a sentence, "Stand firm in the Gospel together, despite opposition, because it will lead you to joy." Overall a good night and looking forward to getting to know everyone more. Oh and on a more humorous note I was told my group leader's name was Paul. So when I found him I double-checked I was in the right place and asked, "Hi are you Paul?". He corrected me and said, "I'm Paul actually." [Scroll over pink word "paul" to on the left to hear the "proper" pronunciation] He then proceeded to say he was used to correcting his American cousins. Haha I was very embarrassed that's for sure!
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