change of address

I had to relocate the blog to the address below-sorry!
but its much nicer :)

http://alyrose15.wordpress.com/

Feb 3, 2010

Thursday

Last night-ladies night at Tavern-my outlet
Mahima, James and I went in early and James and I went for food during her meeting. We went for him (hardrock cafe-steak), then we went for me (Indian coffee house-dosa and coffee) before reaching tavern.

There was Kris, Gounder, and Mamansa. No signs of Emma, Benny or Mahima. We hung out and talked for awhile. Gounder told me about his temple and I am going to try to go this sunday.

We then went to a five star hotel to dance and hang out until we had to go back to yelahanka. This place was beautiful-but we got scolded for putting our feet in the outdoor pool-which was silly. I danced for a really long time and met some people before joining Mimansa and Nitin at the pool.

We left around 11:30, since that is when everything closes, and we went to see Nitin's studio. He's a filmmaker with this huge house just for himself where he has his studio and a huge terrace. He painted the whole place, it is very cool!

Drove home-security guards gave us the key- and I stayed up till 3 working on my assignment. Then i gave up for some sleep, and got back up at 6 to finish. It was either that or not showing up. But not showing up... I couldnt make myself do it.

Class was long
(and it was a half day)
I took a really nice nap and started soaking garbanzos for hummus!
something to look forward to.

Last night I spoke with a woman (whose apartment I am in love with) whose from Oklahoma and has been living in India for eight years. She hasn't gone home once since she moved here. I like her, and her apartment is like a tree house. I want to live there.

the five star hotel that housed Ice and our eventful evening

Hardrock cafe, is INSIDE a castle

i went for a walk yesterday :)

the house from the back. The window on the left is the one at the foot of my bed. 

walking on this nice walkway behind the house. 

backyard-

front yard?

walk to school-old campus. This is the nice walk to school. 

Old campus

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Jan 31, 2010

first of all,


HAPPY BIRTHDAY 
dad- of the ackermans
and
dad of the watts'
and
justin timberlake
!!!
I hope its wonderful






I have submitted all my website documents and was the first one to do say
finally- all done- kind of
its not very pretty but it functions the way I want at this point. I am going to take a break and then get back on it. 


My next class- just found out- is going to be using after effects, flash, AND arduino!
I am super excited. 
interactive type design
the final text will be showcased on the Nokia N810 phone? 
well- heres the outline


N810 + SENSORS = INTERACTIVE TYPE-ART

Addition of a sensor to a device makes it a pseudo-living object. It can take input and output/communicate via its screen. Use this to create type-based video-art. How would the user talk to the device through the sensor? How would this conversation affect your type-art?

Try to keep it simple and achievable :)

This is a workshop, so you'll have to work for answers to your problems. They will not be handed to you. We're here to guide and support.

The final outcome would be an installation of type-art is affected and responds to the environment/objects/users. The piece of art would be purely visual and purely type, with the choice of medium (analog or digital) being left to the student. The only constraint here being that After Effects CS4 is mandatory for compositing and final output.

The type-art will be showcased on Nokia N810s
The N810 will interact through Arduino boards and basic sensors
The videos will be played through Flash

The mode of working would be in teams of 4, working towards a final installation.
Each student will contribute one mandatory type-video that will tie-in with the group's concept. The entire group will take responsibility and motivation for their own installation.
There will be daily spot-critiques where the facilitators will go around reviewing each student's work.
Assessment will be based on individual videos, contribution to class, contribution to group and final exhibits. WEEK 1 ~ Concept & Technique for Type Videos
M:    Intro to Course | Intro to After Effects CS4
T:    Experiment with concepts & technique for Type in Motion
W:    Freeze on concepts (including sensor-idea) & Rough Cuts
T:    Critique & Freeze on technique
WEEK 2 ~ Type Videos, Interaction Ideas
M:    Critique & Freeze on technique | Refine Videos
T:    Define interaction & showcasing | Work to finish videos
W:    Critique of finished videos | Intro to Arduino & Arduino IDE
T:    Continuation of Intro to Arduino & Sensors WEEK 3 ~ Finished Videos, Working Sensors, Working Programmes
M:    Bring Sensor-data into Flash | Program Sensors
T:    Arduino+Sensors & Flash
W:    Arduino+Sensors & Flash
T:    Self-sustained Studio-time towards Final Installation WEEK 4 ~ Finished Piece ready for Installation
M:    Test Debug Refine Build Critique
T:    Test Debug Refine Build Critique
W:    Test Debug Refine Build Critique
T:    Self-sustained Studio-time towards Final Installation WEEK 5 ~ Install & Exhibit
M:    Set Up
T:    Set Up
W:    Showcase
T:    Showcase

Anyways, I stayed up late working with Surgam (Mahima's house mate and fellow arvind stuent). Her roomate was gone, so the two of us sat at the desks listening to pearl jam, writing html haha. We both worked until we were so exhausted that (in my case) I stood up, took three steps, and fell into her roomates bed. I woke up at 8, walked back over to the desk and finished everything up and sent it on its way to Arvind. I then hung out on the porch for awhile in the sun before breakfast. 


Today has been okay. A girl is shifting into our house, so that should be nice and we are starting to make the house a little more cozy-concrete floors and all. I went for a long walk because I have been going a little crazy cooped up in my house in front of the computer. I am going to start running before class- however I have to find a route because the park I checked out today is really really small. 


We will see. 
Washed my underwear, have been thinking about my photo essay, cleaned my room
normal sunday things. 

Jan 29, 2010

At home, I call my dad saying

I have never worked this hard in my life

but NOW
i can say
I have NEVER (note capitalization) worked this hard in my life. 

two days learning html

two days

thast it- !

that’s not possible nor healthy

no no no no

arvind is crazy-crazy crazy

but I appreciate his pushing us-for the impossible

the challenge is nice-I suppose but steep!

That said, 

I am so comfortable here

not with regards to the house, the classrooms, my bed and such

but with regards to clothes

I can walk around school in bare feet

Rima just bought me these crazy pants

(Bright ones- Ill put up a picture) that should be a whole new class of clothing

Its impossible not to be happy in these pants-they are super bright-but more importantly, they are insanely comfortable. 

 It’s like… not wearing any pants, only somehow its much much better. 

media class today- photo essay due in two weeks

and then we are doing web journalism things- blogging and such.

He also claims we will be using facebook-?

Its cool here today

aladdin pants and a tank top cool

clouds 

jan 27, 2010-and for those who wondered "why INDIA!?"

Gokarna.

I got permission to stay on campus the entire night to do the work that needed to get done in order for me to not fall completely behind by leaving for the weekend. I had walked to the market and bought my first- kind of- redbull- I figured tonight would be decently painful and I deserved it- and chana- really delicious spicy garbanzo beans- the closest thing I have found to hummus haha. I walked over to new campus, ready to surrender my night and desired sleep for wireframes and personas… which I was actually alright with. I was in the school alone, had my stuff strewn across desks, had music playing, things were looking promising.

            Until Mahima called telling me-with a good amount of excitement- that class tomorrow had been cancelled. There was a lot of jumping around before she pulled up at the school and took me home-well almost home-I met some girls from my class and we went to the market for fresh juice.

            When I got home, I went to Rimas- she was super upset on the phone and I sat on their internet for a bit, wondering what was going on. I made her a card and hung out with her housemates before Emma and Benny came knocking saying we had internet! We sure did- and we all skyped and were finally able to show some of our families a live 360 view of the house- plus I got to talk to my brother and dad at the same time- which was a nice treat!

            Stayed up late and got up early. I went to the market, they went to school. I stayed in the house eating bread and peanut butter, skyping a bit and working on wireframes and such. The girls got back, packed and headed with Mahima and Nimisha to the bus stop. We had a one hour trip to the city and then a 12 hour trip to Gokarna. Super concerned that we would have no bathroom and that the bus would stop only once- we were extremely hesitant to eat at the restaurant we sat down at. The bus stop was a whole new kind of crazy. I wondered how I ever thought I could manage that myself… maybe after a few times with people who know their way, but it was dark, it smelled incredibly-like nothing I have ever experienced we were presented a hole in the ground after paying to use the rest room, and the bus we boarded… very cozy. Also freezing cold. The entire time we shivered, the windows didn’t close and sleeping was impossible.

            Fast forwarding the brutal 12 hour trip- and the nice restroom stop where a huge line of women wandered out into the woods under the beautiful moon and stars in order not to use the public restroom. We arrived in Gokarna 8 am the next morning, and got in two autos. We could see ocean from here and were extremely excited. While emma tried to talk to me, we passed a tree with seven monkeys just hanging out- she was bummed to have missed it, I smiled for the rest of the day.

            We arrived at what appeared to be… the dessert? And Mahimas auto pulled up with some boces of necessities. We carried them down a rocky path, meanwhile being passed by women and men carrying massive concrete bricks and piles of egg crates on their heads. When we finally stepped foot onto the sandy beach, we were greeted by a bull. Looking out on the beach we saw at least a dozen bulls and just hanging around the beach. Small huts/hotels scattered the beaches and hippies everywhere. Dreadlocks, harem pants, tattoos, hemp, and the works. It was an interesting crowd. Emma and I searched for accommodations and finally found two huts on the beach, 5 dollars a night per hut.

of course I loved it here- there was a garden

It was all beach
and all sand
and cows
and dogs
everyone was happy
and relaxed

The less busy of the bus stations.

First thing we see upon reaching the beach! Bulls. Just hanging out. All day.

all the hotels were like this- minus one which was super ritzy. we were looking to pay 300rps/night- they wanted 1500rps!

FINALLY the mosquito net I always wanted since I was little and thought it meant you were a princess. It was kind of like that... except that we were prepping for

This is one of the huts- identical to ours-just looking right at us- they had a nice treat when they walked out of their cabins the next day.

neighbors

it looks nice from the outside

This is when I can truly appreciate the fact that I wake up early and no matter how hard I try- I cant go back to sleep. A different light changes the place completely. Yoga, running, swimming, stretching, and watching the sun rise took place all morning. Fishing too-more pictures to come.

The resturaunt at our hotel- and at all the hotels on the beach. They all had india, italian, mexican, and chinese foods- all bases covered.

Jelly fish, baby-everything- baby sting ray was especially interesting.

my favorite- one hand mouth, one hand dead fish

to paradise beach

back to kudle to watch the sun set

and throw up all night.

We hung out all day on the beach, splitting up for coffee, reading, juice, swimming, sleeping whatever we wanted. I got to run on the beach while the sun set which was nice although my legs really hurt for a long while after.

I took a nap in the hut for a bit, which was hot- but very necessary, and on our second to last day we went to PARADISE beach via-a tiny boat. We passed Om beach and pulled up to a mix of huge black stones protruding from the ocean and a beautifully sandy beach.

Here, we played all day.

We ordered fresh juice and banana nutella pancakes all day long

until--------

benny got sick :(

we took a boat come and she went to bed, as did Mahima who was feeling feverish. The rest of us went to dinner where we met a very interesting man who lives 6 months in canada, 6 months in bangalore doing-nothing but learning to calm and slow his mind.

he made a lot of  money in the matress business-apparently- and lived in the dominican republic on the beach for 10 years first.

musta made ALOTA money

Anyways, home and to bed- unfortunately that didnt last long before Emma and I were both in the sand outside the hut-sick- all night and the entire next day and the accommodations were not very luxuries-other than the cool sand of course.

12 hour bus ride home

grabbed my computer from the house

and went directly to class-html

really

long

day

all mail to:

and we could use it!!!
House No. 101A
SFS 208 Colony
Yelahanka New Town
Bangalore 560106