Post from Amsterdam...

all these were written on my ipod touch and so i'm posting them up here in one giant entry! :D Enjoy.

So this is the first day in Amsterdam and we are going to miss it!! I am super sad but at least they are getting their sleep. Hopefully I can wake them soon. It is about noon here. I hate that we lose an hour here. I just want around Amsterdam.

So yesterday was pure hell!!! Flight was delayed! Two hours later we took off. It was like a twenty minutes flight lmao. One of the plane rides that I have ever been on. Then getting the train and stuff was a whole different story!!! Ahh. Someone had a wolf on their head. All the streets are in a circle and curvy. People get more annoying in the cold. Almost froze to death to get over here at the hotel but the lady was really nice and ordered us food :) she was coool. So thankful that everyone speaks English. It is like a skeleton crew here. :D what else happened yesterday...I am not sure. They have really good street signs. Straat lmao. Yeah. I am so going to learn Dutch, ja. Lmao.

I think I am going to wake them up right now....it is almost noon. I hope they won't hate me. I am putting the alarm on. Why do I always wake up early no matter what time I sleep at. Kinda of pisses me off.

I am going to be home in four days omg that is ducking crazy. Oh yeah dutch guys are really hot!!!!!!! :D I am loving it, rawr. Lmao...today is going to be awesome. We are going to stay out late hopefully :) then come back and die.

Fifteen minutes to noon... Do you think I can make it? Dude, coughing all night...Annoyed. I hope I can just upload this today. I have only two things i want to do here. Van Gogh museum and Anne Frank house :) that is all I want to do. Man, only three minutes have passed and I am just sitting here in the dark waiting and waiting.

Things:
Two hour bus ride to airport
Misspelled faye last name
Dinner at gariffe
Waited forever for the plane
Two hour delay
Passport dude hotness
Train ride
Walk to the hotel
Reaching the hotel at two am
Late dinner of pizza goodness
Television :)
Sleep
_____

Today was fun! Random things today. Went to pumerned city central and had a good time there. Freezing but fun. Dutch me and I'll creep you. :D I love 30 seconds to mars.

Things did:
Bus ride
Christmas market
Waffle of awesome.
Freezing
Ice skating
Bus ride home
Walk to hotel
Watched music videos
Faye coughed all day
Dinner at th restuarant
Watching movies :)
______

I had the scariest dream ever last night. Totally freaked myself out!!! Never eating Spainish meatballs and hot chocolate before I go to bed at night. Totally not a good mix.
______

Yay! Another day in Amsterdam and it was amazing. Anne Frank's huis was depressing an informative :) I enjoyed it. Then we walked everywhere


Things we did
Bus trip to Amsterdam
Walking to Anne Frank house
Chocolate waffle
Snowing
Getting lost
Anne frank house
Buying her diary
Walked towards van gogh museum
Snowball fight part one
Hard rock cafe
Van gogh museum
Iamsterdam sign
Walking around again
Soveunies shopping
Walking to central station
Gay market
Snowball fight part two
Mc donalds
Creme filled yummies
Hot shower :)
Pirate ship
Walking on the waterways
Bus ride back to the hotel
Closed restaurant
Late night ordering
Annoyed
Nasty garlic sauce
Fafafel fail :(
Good night rest
_____

Omg it is the last day in amsterdam i am kinda sad :( didn't really explored the whole again. Going to have today. Red Light Direct :D I am having a blast though. Yesterday was totally fun I love snowball fights woo hoo I wonder how long they are to sleep. I might go into the bar soon and relax.

I can't believe I am going to be home in two days! Omg!!!! I'll be back in the states. Blah. I am kinda of happy about someone leaving. Lmao so bad. I am going to kill someone. God, why can't people cover their mouths

I'm back in Hatfield...

I have no idea but i am sitting here and crying yet again. I don't know why. Maybe just the flight and jetlag or just being alone right now. I have no idea. I couldn't get a hold of Whitney to see what she is doing, I think she is out with Michael. Deborah went to London but I don't want to take the train there by myself. I haven't even taken a shower yet. I just finished unpacking right now and My room is still not cleaned up. This is going to be my life for the next five months. The only break i get is when I see Libbi in March then in April my mom during spring break then my dad later in April.

It just hard at times when you just sit around and think, shit, this is going to be my life. None of my friends are online because they are out having fun, can't call my mom up because she is at work, my sisters are working and have lives. I'm just stuck here in another country just dealing with emotions that come up and trying to figure out myself. I just want it to end right now. I know I will be better later on when I finally start hanging out with people again but man, it is hard. I'm like stuck at this point and I have no where to move until tomorrow. I'm sulking in my own pity. It is the worst thing to do and of all day's its bloody new year's eve! I have about 3 hours and 57 minutes before the new year and i better not be crying cause I will be pissed off at myself. I guess its time for a shower and hopefully it will wash away my blues right now. or maybe a phone call from my mom.

Happy New Year! :D

Love,
Marianna

live kicks you in the face

sometimes life really does kick you in the face. it is so hard to say bye to those who you love. I can't stand this part. Yeah, I will see everyone in JUNE but man, it is so incredibly hard to do it. I'm just sitting here trying to take up so much time so I don't have to go to the airport so early. I just hate it. I don't want to deal with it right now. Sara is giving me sad looks for the last two hours. Mom is looking more upset and she is sick. :( I just totally hate it.

Last night at Virgie's house, was horrible saying byee. I felt like I didn't get to spend any time with people...But I do get to go back to friends in england. It just so hard. blah.

I need to get out of this funk so I can handle really saying bye to my mom at the airport. it is going to kill me again. :( Already crying right now.

Next update will be in England when I get back to my room.

Love,
Marianna

Merry Christmas

i hope you all had a wonderful christmas i did! I will post up photographs and stuff later! Been too busy to do anything! :D

OMG

I AM GOING HOME TOMORROW! GOING TO BED NOW SO I CAN WAKE UP AT 3:30AM TO GET TO THE AIRPORT! I'M LIKE FREAKING OUT MAN! THIS IS SO FUN! I MISS YOU ALL.

Love,
Marianna.

Photographs and all that cool stuff will be up later this week!

back in hatfield

I'm back in Hatfield. Had a wonderful time in Amsterdam! Now, it is time to get ready to go back to California! :D

amsterdam!

I'm going to amsterdam sooon! I am about to leave my room in like 10 minutes to head over to the galleria to meet up with everyone! so insane! Then I'm going home after that trip! HOMMEEEE! :D

so weird....

so i went out to eat realllly late with Faye. i got a pizza at Frankie and Benny's restaurant. Service there kinda of sucks most of the time but tonight was interesting. The waiter was really nice guy. Kinda of funny. He got us our drinks right away and stuff. Then when we were going to order, he sits down next to me on the booth, like almost shoulder to shoulder and we order our food. lmao. while doing this, he is eating nuts from the bar. LMAO! I have no idea. But the pizza came out quickly and we were out of there within our 30 minutes. i was really surprised! but the waiter was just strange but nice. :D I gave him a 2 pound tip. lol. I know i'm a dork. yeah, it was random.

oh yeah, it SNOWED this morning! so awesome. I have some photographs I will post sometime before Friday before I leave for Amsterdam! Can you believe it? I will have gone to two different countries by Christmas! wow! Next semester is going to be crazier! more countries more opportunities! so happy!

i'm going to go to bed. goood night.

love,
Marianna

this is totally random but...

I am so confused about some of the 30 seconds to mars lyrics...they relate to bible stories then he writes he doesn't believe in god. i dont' know. i think i might be analyzing this too much. i should just go to bed...but read the lyrics...they are from their new album "This Is War".

look...
Night of the Hunter lyrics:
I was born of the womb of a poisonous spell
Beaten and broken and chased from the lair
But I rise up above it, high up above it and see

I was hung from the tree made of tongues of the weak
The branches were bones of liars and thieves
Rise up above it, high up above it and see

Pray to your god, open your heart
Whatever you do, don't be afraid of the dark
Cover your eyes, the devil inside...


then....
100 Suns lyrics:
...I believe in nothing
One hundred suns until we part
I believe in nothing
Not in sin and not in God

I believe in nothing
Not in peace and not in war
I believe in nothing
But the truth in who we are...

does not believe in God. :/


then
Vox Populi lyrics....
...Ever want to be free?
Do you even remember?
Want to be God, the devil like me?....


Search and Destroy Lyrics:
Found my faith, living in sin
I'm no Jesus but neither are you my friend
I'm on hope above the broken dreams
This simple answer is never what it seems
...
Sold my soul, from heaven into hell
Sick as my secrets, but never going to tell
Lock the blame, burden of my dreams
Cause of faith in a blessing I believe
I believe
I believe
I believe
Oh I believe (A million little pieces)
I believe...


Stranger in a Strange Land Lyrics:
...Enemy of mine
Fuck you like the devil
Violent inside
Beautiful and evil

I'm a ghost, you're an angel
One and the same
Just remains of an age...

Angel or demon
It came from my soul
I'm guilty of treason
I've abandoned control

Your soul...

ARHG:NAKSDOA:N! I don't understand....

Closer to the Edge by 30 Seconds To Mars

I don't remember the moment I tried to forget,
And I lost myself and is a better not said
Now I'm closer to the edge

It was a thousand to one and a million to two,
Time to go down in flames and I'm taking you.
Closer to the edge

No I'm not saying I'm sorry,
One day maybe we'll meet again
No I'm not saying I'm sorry,
One day maybe we'll meet again
NO NO NO NO!

(Can you, can you, can you)
Can you imagine the time when the truth ran free
The birth of a sun the death of a dream
Closer to the edge

This never ending story
It fall with pride and faith
We all fall short of glory
Lost in myself

No I'm not saying I'm sorry,
One day maybe we'll meet again
No I'm not saying I'm sorry,
One day maybe we'll meet again
NO NO NO NO!

(NO NO NO NO!) I will never forget
(NO NO!) I will never regret
(NO NO!) I will live my life

(NO NO NO NO!) I will never forget
(NO NO!) I will never regret
(NO NO!) I will live my life

No I'm not saying I'm sorry,
One day maybe we'll meet again (NO NO!)
No I'm not saying I'm sorry,
One day maybe we'll meet again (NO NO NO NO!)

Closer to the egde
Closer to the edge
NO NO NO NO!

Closer to the egde
Closer to the edge
NO NO NO NO!

Closer to the edge

I'm loving this song right now. :D

dude, time is going by slowly right now..

I want it to be friday so we can go to Amsterdam on a trip! it is going to be super fun!!!! Then next wednesday, I will be home! HOME in beautiful Sunnyvale!!! I miss you home! I miss everything right now but I am learning so much and exploring. I am really starting to love Hatfield for its creepiness at night!!!

Tomorrow I'm doing research and planning for my trip in January!!! i can't wait. I hope i have the money!!! I'm seriously broke. Thank you mom for helping me out this month! I really appreciate it. When I become successful and produce enough money, i am paying you back dude!!!

It is almost 11:15pm. I should really go to bed. I think I might just wake up late tomorrow and have a little more rest. I sleep better during the day, yes, time zones are still killing me a bit. lol. Hopefully, I will wake up to snow outside! It might snow. I am getting long johns tomorrow at the galleria so i won't freeze. Thank you mom!

Here are some photographs I took tonight when it was 28 degrees out and everything was frozen. Even the grass was frozen. The playground was frozen too!











Good Night.

Love,
Marianna

man oh man, what a day

today has been totally crazy and insane. yes, it has. Woke up late because I had a cough fit all night. yes, i feel bad for the person who lives next to me. Then the trash was filled up to the top and so was the recycling. Thank you roommates. lol.

The seminar part went over by a half an hour. I tried to edit and do photographs but I kept on coughing. it totally sucked. :( if i talked i coughed. it was just a long time in the studio. stayed until around 3ish i think. Then went to the LRC to print out my paper, which was a nightmare, yes nightmare! no money to put on my stuff, color printers breaking and jamming, paper running out, and getting confused. Plus, a million people in the lrc! ARGH! not fun.

After being in the LRC for a hour, finally go to go back to my room around 5pm. :D Then been slacking since then. I watched Kiki's Delivery Service and then edited photographs. wrote some christmas cards. fun fun stuff. lol.

Katja is leaving this week! I am totally bummed. She is on the people in my studio at school. She is so awesome. I love her work. It is amazing. I should take some photographs of it and post it for you guys!


I posted new photographs up on flickr. here are the websites:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/softspokenmc/sets/72157622873777681/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/softspokenmc/sets/72157622998556052/

I hope you enjoy them. I have about 9 more days until i'm back in california for christmas! nine more days! about three more days until i'm in amsterdam! ahhhh!


I can make your eyes bleed. lol.

Good night. time to read once again!!!!

Love,
Marianna

10 days until i am home

woo hoo! :D

walk for the week:
monday 6.1 miles
tuesday 8.6 miles
wednesday 6.3 miles
thursday 4.0 miles
friday 8.9 miles
saturday 8.6 miles
sunday 10.0 miles

my legs hurt. time to sleep :D

Merry Christmas

oh dear today

today was crazy....i was a slacker and melanie was productive. totally different roles today. i was crazy and ate spicy food. almost had death by spicy food. i really thought i was going to throw up in the studio. lol.

I love the artist Scanner. he is really cool but dude, that was a long hour of trying not to cough. i had to take like three cough drops during that period and of course, i still coughed. :( embarrassing.

Asda was fun looking for pancake mix. I thought they had american pancake mix but they didn't. :( so, they were crepes. lol. the bacon was ham and the eggs were good. lol. :D it was fun though cooking it.

Faye and I watched Wolverine. It was great. :D I didn't like the ending with deadpool saying shhhh...CREEEPY!

But it is time for bed. almost 12:30am! Good night. I am going photography crazy this weekend. lots to do lots to do!

love,
marianna

my official name is slacker

I feel like a slacker lately but dude, i did a lot yesterday!!! I emailed people, did work, researched places to go, and some other stuff. :D Then I went to bed early and read city of bones for a bit. I love that book. it relaxes me. :D

Now, I am just sitting in my room debating if I should finish my paper like the footnotes and bibliography or read city of bones. this is such a difficult question.

My tutorial went well today!!! So HAPPY!!! Lynne said this...the one who didn't like my work...

"good progression of work - photography, particularly the night photos, should be developed- take london exposure to create 'over exposed' images - perhaps more painterly or abstract. Research more about contemporary artist you see in London in contemporary galleries- look at reviews and at criticism"

woooo hooo! :D so good. so good.

I am going to "over expose" the photographs when I take some more night shots. Don't know when i will. I am going to go nuts in amsterdam and the surrounding areas. lol.

okay, so i am going to head and rest for a bit.

miss you all. See you in 13 days. wowie. so fast.

love,
marianna

early night...

heading to bed instead of going to party. I kinda of feel like shit right now which isn't so good. I think it might get loud later.

Good luck to you Melanie!!! :D

Tomorrow is my tutor. I gotta wake up early to get more research done about places. Too much to do!

Good night...

Love,
Marianna

4:06am

i am awake right now and it is making me mad. I should be sleeping but I can't fall back to sleep. I guess no more soda late at night even if I walk nine miles that day. geez. I am getting annoyed. :D

I've been writing more pieces of art work then actually doing them. It is interesting. my ramblings have been very depressing and dark. I think the light here is getting to me. It gets dark around 4 to 5 everyday but if it is rainy or cloudy it is gets pitch black at 4pm. booo. Also, thinking about leaving in December 23rd. I am scared to fly back. I hope nothing happens with plane ride and i can't go because of ice. I want to change my flight back so I can stay a bit longer in Cali and not feel so rush. I should ask my mom to figure it out for me. :D

I am sneezing, my eyes are watery, and blowing my nose right now. this kinda of sucks butt right now. lmao.

so i am going to try and go back to bed. i am getting sleepy right now so hopefully it works out. lmao.

Tonight's Photographs!

no headache, no stuffy nose, no congestion. I am feeling BETTER for once in about almost two weeks! woo. :D

love you all miss you too

see you guys in california in about 15 days! WOWIE!

love,
Marianna

I'll be home for Christmas...

I am so happy to see everyone! :D I still can't believe it is only 15 days away! I am surviving England! OMG. I am rocking it. I have a sinus headache again. This is stupid! I took sudafed and painkiller stuff. but nope. not working. I have a beanie and hoodie on, two paris of socks, two shirts on. Maybe I should invest in long johns. Maybe laura's friend ED can get me some. lmao.

Everything is going well here. Just proof reading my essay right now again. I took a little nap and it was good. now it is time to get some work done again.

Went and photographed stuff around here again! FOUND a half circle of mushrooms!!! :)

Will post photographs later.

Become my fan at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Sunnyvale-CA/Softspoken-MC-Photography/190067353364?ref=ts

Love,
Marianna

Yes, i am alive and I finished my essay!

I finished my essay!!! WOO HOO! I stayed up to midnight to finish it but I did finish it. If it makes sense is another story. lol. It is about seven pages long on A4 paper. It is so weird looking. It looks like a professional essay. eewww. lmao.

Now will be the detailed events happening on Saturday!

I woke up early around 8:30! I want to sleep in but it didn't happen which was okay. My eye didn't have as much nasty nasty on it when I woke too! I was so thankful. It is getting better!! :) Then around 9am I get a im from Susie asking if I wanted to go to Asda and the post office with her. I needed to go so we went on our adventure. This adventure lasted from 9:15am to about 5pm. lmao. Yeah it was crazy.

it all began with us going to Galleria to see if the ornament she wanted to send to her family was there so she could buy it and send it home for christmas. The Galleria wasn't open until 10am so we waited around until there. Just sitting and chatting which was nice.

okay I think I am going to stop and go for a walk outside because it is sunny!!! oh my gosh. it was just raining awhile ago. craziness!!!!

so i think i have pink eye....

i think England is trying to kill me slowly. So, i am kinda of getting better than all of the sudden my eye goes nuts! WTF! i am so angry. This morning i was completely achey and felt like i was dying. Then it got worst and worst during the day. Once everything was over and I got into my room all the weight of the world was release. IT was beautiful. lol

My tutor read my artist statement out loud because someone liked it and told him to read it. SO EMBARRASSING! But people liked it which is amazing. I don't like it that much. lmao. It doesn't sound like me....

here it is:

My work consists of the hidden moments of time, which are lost when we glance away for just a minute. The beauty of the forgotten, the darkness of night, and beauty of mistakes. These provoke a deeper question on how we relate to these mistakes and moments in our own life. I try to recreate moments which have touched me in a personal way. The light shining on a leaf produces feelings of being young again and playing in the leaves with my family in our backyard. The light streaking across the image brings back memories of the feeling I used to get on the drives on family vacations or to concerts when I was in high school and community college. Images of lonely streets in a new environment and just seeing things for the first time gives the sense of exploration which I have craved for since I was young. These memories are present in all of my work. A part of me is taken away when the shutter clicks. The images are close and personal to me even though I don't see anything from the image at first and it is just a straight image. The people who have influenced my work and process are Sandra Frank, Valerie Mendoza, Paula Butler, Patricia Prettie, David Apuzzo, Ansel Adams, Laura Taylor, Sara Renee Murray, and Yosigo. They have shown me different aspects that I can improve, how to challenge myself and to use the camera as more of an extension of myself rather than a tool producing a work. By mainly having photographs as the medium of choice, I give a person a real moment in time that I have experienced. At the current moment, I am exploring other mediums such as painting, drawing, sculpture, and printmaking. Maybe by giving real shape and substance to my works, it can create a more emotional attachment with the viewer.


I just have to change the artist and stuff to explain more. :D


But I uploaded a lot of photographs! I am thrilled. I didn't get to paint today which sucked. but I am going to on Monday with Melanie! WOOO HOOO! :D





those are from leeds.

So, i am going to finish watching Bridget Jones' Diary and then sleep. sleep in tomorrow. No worries about doing the wash because i just did it tonight. so happy. :D I am going to read City of Bones before i sleep though. I am thrilled about this weekend. Essay, Store, Mc D's, and more Essay. then the most important thing ever SLEEEEEEP!

Next semester is going to be crazy than this one. Traveling, working, doing projects. crazy. crazy.

okay, good night. Check out my flickr accounts!!!




Linton Falls: http://www.flickr.com/photos/softspokenmc/sets/72157622932947846/

Rare Breed Farm: http://www.flickr.com/photos/softspokenmc/sets/72157622932952372/

Leeds: http://www.flickr.com/photos/softspokenmc/sets/72157622808350213/

December 2nd (more photographs up!): http://www.flickr.com/photos/softspokenmc/sets/72157622920645320/

these I didn't take i took screen shots of them but they are beautiful images you can see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/softspokenmc/sets/72157622807865451/

love,
Marianna :)

jensen ackles...makes me smile :D

Banksy Reference in

Kings and Queens Music Video from 30 Seconds To Mars music video....





BANKSY lmao.

hey mom...

can i marry him?? lmao.





I LOVE JARED LETO!!!! :D

where is the time going?

I last checked my clock it was barely 9:10pm and now it is after 10pm! what the heck! I am going nuts dude!!! I did so much today. I think my brain is going to go on an overload about information of photography competitions and stuff. I am just scared to do anything because I feel like i still suck at taking photographs. Yeah, I like my photographs but I don't think I could win anything. My work isn't like a perfect photographs you see in magazine. It trips me out. :/ Hopefully I will just do it and do the competitions.

I have to start emailing photographers to shadow too. Why do they have to be so far away? i have no idea how i am going to get there. lol.

This is going to be short so I can go to bed soon. I miss you all and love you.

Love,
Marianna



P.S. I painted again and there is paint everywhere. lmao. Clothes, arms, and jeans. lol

good night.

december 2nd

the days are flying and i feel like i am standing still. it is hard to think that time is going forward and i feel like i haven't done anything. i am feeling like a failure right now. Maybe because I am getting over a cold that I am feeling this way but dude, i wish I could finish everything and not stress! Could someone please answer my emails? Can someone explain the things I need to do? Only two out of three tutors I like. dear me.

I really starting to miss my family because it is Christmas time now. It is kinda of punching me in the gut at times but I get to see them soon. I scared about getting the bus over to the airport because I don't know if my bag will fit. :/ I just have to see. I just look and it seems okay. lol

I painted today!!!






Photographs from today:






I have more :D It was fun. It was raining and stuff. I need to get a shower cap like Gina told me. :)

I am chatting with Melanie and she is in Paris!!! Her cousins seem awesome. :) She is eating home made food and I am jealous. lol.

Anywho, I am going to go. Going to get ready to bed. :D

Love,
Marianna

p.s. sorry this is all random and crazy like.

dying in the studio

this is me dying in the studio.

I got to school around 10am! I was so thankful for taking a shower the night before. I felt so good in the morning. had a perfect night sleep last night. it was amazing!!! :D

I worked on photographs for 2 and half hours in the studio today! it was fun. I am going to do about the same thing tomorrow as well and then go to the LRC to work on stuff. busy busy me. I just need to upload all my stuff. I need to go home and back up all my photographs because I am running out of room on my hard drive. I wonder if i should get an external hard drive here, would it work? Or a smaller portable one when I get my money next month.

Dude, I really can't believe it is december. Next month people are going to leave me. Kinda of sad about that...Gotta meet new people for next semester. Hopefully, I can hang out with Tristan and some other people. :D I know i can hang out with Tina.

Well, I should go to bed because it is 10:30pm. I gotta wake up at 8am again. lol. trying to get my full 8 hours of sleep. :D

Love and miss you all.

what i missed... :(

I miss her so badly right now. :(

Breakdown.

So, I am going to make this short but long. lol. I am going to try to get the main points of each day in the entry then go into details tomorrow. :D I need to get some rest so I can feel better soon.

Thursday:
-thanksgiving!
- my first one away from home.
- first time making a turkey in England
-the turkey split in half like in the National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
- enjoyed it with friends!
- Felt like my little family here. i am going to miss all of them when they leave in January. :(
- deviled eggs flew by. only at three lol. Need to make more. :D
- no pumpkin pie. :(


Friday:
- Thursday night was horrible. Almost felt like i was dying. Barely slept at all.
- woke up early and got ready to go and see the doctor.
- emailed the host that i might not make it because I didn't know what the doctor would say
- didn't get into the nurse until 10am
- found out i had a viral infection. Said I should stay home but it would be okay to go. If I get worst, it would turn into a bacterial infection. NASTY!
- talked to Eric and Marie and they wanted me to come still even though I was sick.
- rushed and got ready.
-missed my first train and had to wait for the next one which made me late for the next one. I had to get a 70 pound train ticket to Leeds
-arrived and it just felt awkward.
-central leeds
-meeting their son, Mark
- first english dinner
-tea time, not for me.

Saturday:
-linton falls
-driving around the area of yorkshire
- rare breed animal farm
-thanksgiving meal
-meeting wonderful british people
-chit chatting with them
- thankful they were all nice

Sunday:
-national railroad museum
-rain rain rain
- watched TV for the first time
- slide shows for two to three hours


Monday:
- Angela left at 10:30 =(
- stayed at the house until 1:30
- train ride home
- One train from Stevenage to Hatfield cancelled
- had to take train to Welwyn Garden City
- From there 603 to de havilland
- never felt better to see Hatfield
- washed all my clothes and sheets
- now ready to hope into bed and get things all nice.:D

- all clean


Oh yeah, I love Virg! I got new music. Tegan and Sara new CD is AMAZING!!! :D


I am so excited about it!

being sick

yeah, i am little under the weather and it sucks. i gotta make a turkey tomorrow. i am freezing so i am going to turn on the heater. the weather here is killing me slowly i swear. This weekend is going to be COLD!

pretty much me right now dying. the heater is on and I think I am going to head to bed right now. this is insane. first time i am in bed before 10pm! i am always up till midnight. lol.

I miss everyone and tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I am going to miss it for the first time without being with my mom. This is totally weird. Thanksgiving with no family. But I am thankful for my friends I have met here. They are family here which is awesome. I can't wait for tomorrow. Turkey and all the trimmings!

Well, i am going to get ready for bed right now... good night.

Love,
Marianna

I'm in heaven

Yes, it is true. lol. I am so happy right now that I found the different places where Pride and Prejudice was filmed at. I am going in April to these different places! Dude, i am so getting my photograph taken at Wilton House which is pemberley!!!!! I can't wait. I've been researching different houses and castles in the area. I think they are all cool. Got to print out a lot of stuff tomorrow. :D Super excited woot woot.

The presentation went well. Five minutes of hell. I didn't speak correctly but I was scared. She just stares at you with ugly eyes and i wanted to die. lol. But i am glad I don't have to do it again. Now, I get to worry about taking more night photography and getting things done for my professional studies class!!! ARGH. Oh yeah, my essay too! I am halfway done with it. I just have to figure out if I am doing it the right way. I am going to ask my C&CS teacher this week. lol.

Tomorrow is working in the studio and then going to shopping at ASDA for thanksgiving! Yes, we are doing thanksgiving over here. I guess I have to take a lots of photographs to document it. lol. I think I might pass my camera around to get some good shots. lol.

FRIDAY! I am going to LEEDS!!! I am going to pack thursday morning. I am going to be cooking all day thursday after this. I am going to die but at least my train is later. I gotta take the bus over there too. lol. Should be interesting. :D

Well, that is pretty much it. Time to go back to read Myths and Legends of Britain and Ireland. :D YAY!

Love,
marianna

talking to my mom is so much fun...

I almost fall on the floor laughing. lol.

Canterbury

It is beautiful. I fell in love with it as we first entered the city. You could see the towers from the Cathedral and then the castle watch towers. It was truly amazing to see. It was cooler when it was dark... here is a photograph of one of the towers...



Skipping to the Ghost story of Nell Cook...here is the ballad. so cool....the place where she was buried is called Dark Entry. It is really dark when you walk through and it is creepy! If you walk there around 9pm on a Friday night and you feel like someone is breathing down your neck you only have a year to live. =/ So, i am not going there on a Friday night. lol.

At the time of Henry VIII there was a Friar who lived near to the Dark Entry in the Cathedral Precincts. The Friar who, in rank was supposedly a Canon, had a servant by the name of Ellen Bean. For some reason, and probably to amuse himself, he always called her Nell, or Nelly, Cook. I too shall call her Nell as that's the way the story's told.

Nell was quite a pretty girl although her real claim to fame was that she was a genius in the kitchen. So much so, that there was a great deal of dissension among the other clerics of the Priory of St. Saviour in that it was considered that the Canon lived too well. None of this bothered Nell who was, of course, gainfully employed at a place of work that she enjoyed. However, this peace was to be disrupted when one day a rather attractive and brash young lady came to stay with the Canon.
The Canon stated that this was his niece and that as her Father had been called away on business overseas, it was his Christian duty to take care of the young lady. However, from the time the 'niece' walked into the house, things changed. There were sumptuous meals required every night with lots of wine followed by the couple singing and dancing to music not fit for a cleric. If this was not enough to arouse the suspicions of young Nell, the fact that the young lady's bed did not appear to have been slept in since her arrival, did. It seemed that Nell, unbeknown to him, had 'a bit of a thing' for the Canon.

Carefully, one evening, Nell place a poker and a pair of tongs in the young lady's bed. When she next checked the bed they had not moved from where she left them. As a result, the next night, Nell crept up to have a peep through the keyhole of the Canon's private chamber. What she saw did not amuse her. She decided upon her only course of action and went out the next day to purchase the ingredients for a "Warden Pie" for the couple that night. The Pie was a particular favourite with the Canon but this time Nell added an additional item to the Pie.

The morning after, the Canon did not arrive at the Priory and eventually the monks came to his house to find both the Canon and his young lady poisoned as a result of eating the Pie. What a scandal there would be if this was found out! A midnight service was held in the Cathedral by the monks and the Canon and his 'niece' were laid to rest under a flag stone in the nave.
What happened to Nell? .........Nell disappeared.

Nothing was heard of Nell again until one day, three Masons were called to repair a flagstone that had become loose in the Dark Entry. When they lifted the stone, what should they find but a skeleton huddled in the corner of a pit dug under the stone. Beside the wretched find was a small piece of the crust of a "Warden Pie"!

Within a year of making this grisly discovery, all three of the Masons were dead. Two of them were hung for the murder of the third. It was the death of these three unfortunate men that started the legend of Nell Cook. However, there have been others since that have supposedly seen the ghost and suffered the same fate.

Consequently, no local person is likely to tempt fate by walking through the Dark Entry late on a Friday night. For whoever sees the ghost of Nell Cook will die within the year!

taken from: http://www.kentresources.co.uk/nell.htm

I walked through and it is creepy!!! lol. It was creepy before I even heard the story.

These places have so much history and tradition it is really amazing. I wish I had that much so I knew so much about where I came from and not being lost. i just love it.

I know there is more to be said like I saw New Moon twice and laughed. yes. i laughed. lol. Hmm... I don't know what else to write....

Oh yeah, been working on my paper and i have about half of it done. so I am excited. :D I need to more.

This weekend I am going to Leeds!!! It should be fun. Going to go and have an adventure by myself. :D

gotta run to deborah' bday dinner! ahhhh

The Hunt

The hunt for Banksy's work is going to start once this semester is over!!! I am going to search for his work in London, Bristol, and other places along our trip back from Scotland. This is the mission and I must at least see one piece or I will get mad. lol. After viewing all the books and articles about him, I want to stencil something in a tunnel here in hatfield. LMAO. But I am too scared too. lmao.

Anywho, must be running. Long day today!!!


this is one in Bristol that I am going to see!! lmao.

painting with light on whitney

where does the time go?

okay, I officially forgot what I did tuesday night. if you know please me know because i am totally blank. no i didn't drink or anything. i have been too busy with things. OH YEAH, I did my CV and Artist Statement....wooo. I thought I was losing my mind.

We booked the trip to Amsterdam yesterday!!! I am totally excited. I can't wait to see the Netherlands. I think it is going to be beautiful. We aren't staying in Amsterdam but a town about 9 miles away. I guess we can rate bikes from the hotel and take bike riding trips around the area. I am going to try to do some night photography there. I think it might look pretty cool. Oh, cute british boy James commented on my status. :D yeah, i am a nerd.

Yesterday was movie night. It was fun. Made some good stir fry! It was yummy. I might need to make it again soon. I think chicken noodle soup next time. We watched P.S. I Love You!!! :D I cried...i hide the tears from Whitney and Faye pretty good. lmao. I wonder if they saw.

Today was good but busy. Went to asda to get prints, picked up my package from Kelly!!! She is the best! She shipped BAKED COOKIES from home! I can't believe it. Also, a 50 dollar itunes card! I was shocked. She surprises me all the time. Also, some socks. mine are stained and gross. lol. I went to the LRC to do research and got some done but I think I am going to have to stick with Banksy because there isn't even information on Camille Rose Garcia online and they don't have books on her here.

Crap,i need to put more money on my phone. =/ this sucks. No more doing stuff. lol. No more calling Laura anymore. Cost too much money. this really sucks. Less communication with home.

Anywho, I need to edit photographs then go to bed to wake up early and do wash.

Love,
marianna

photographs from last night... ;D

Took more photographs. I was totally drain last night. My charger for my phone blew up. Then I smashed my knee against my bed...it was just horrible.

Today was pretty goood... got some stuff. like WHITE CHRISTMAS! Going to watch it later. Tomorrow is movie night. ;D I think I might be making stir fry. We are actually booking our trip to amsterdam. :D WOO HOO!

Time to sleep...


love, Marianna

things sucks

today sucked at the end...

-woke up late
- finished early
-went to the kitchen to take out the trash because it is my day. The garbage was overflowing and the recycling bins FULL. No more garbage bags, had to use all mine up. horrible. took 20 minutes to get all the trash outside.
- arrived at class early
- lecture was horrible. already learn the stuff two times before.
- picked up my prints which were pretty cool. i have them on my camera but i left my camera at the studio
- had tutorial, told i was doing good with the essay, got no feedback. feel like failing
- studio time for a bit
- back to my room to take the paper off the transfers
- picked up shannon's package which was like dead.
- met up with whitney
- had a good photoshoot
- starving
- mel's domino pizza...yumm...
- photoshoot.
- home after 10
- cell phone charger blew up
- none of my plugs worked
- security came by and fixed it
- need to buy a new phone and sim card. =/
- edited photographs
- smashed my knee into my bed and now i have a bruise and it hurts badly
- time to sleep.
- it is past 1am right now

i am feeling worst and worst as i write this. back cramping, leg throbbing, but at least i am talking to nes.

good night


love,
marianna

so this is going to be the tatoo...

My new home...

The British Museum...

So, i am in love with the british museum. oh my gosh. i am live there. i almost cried when i saw the west pediment of the Parthenon. I wanted to go and hug the figures. it was totally a dream come true. I was like so amazed and with my mouth gapping open, yes i looked like an idiot. I am going back there again and sitting in front of it. I can't wait to go to Greece to Athens to see the whole thing. I am going to cry fat tears there. I took over 500 photographs, so I will be editing them sometime soon but I don't know when. I am extremely busy this week. So much to do and craziness.

Anywho, it is almost midnight. I gotta sleep.

Love,
Marianna

Tired

Printing making workshop killed me this week. Two days intense sessions of printmaking!!! I swear those chemicals can really screw with your head. lol. But the outcome was great. I will post photographs of them on Tuesday. I am going to be busy until then.

I did a photoshoot this tuesday for Tina or was it Monday. I don't even remember. this week was a blur. This weekend is going to be a blur too but I am super excited about the British Museum Tomorrow! YES AND IT IS FREEEE!!! :D

Tomorrow: London...British Museum, Good Chinese Food then home and starting to read or watch a movie.

Sunday: LRC with Melanie for like 5 hours of doing research and writing for essay. Then photoshoot for her then home to edit. i think.

Monday: Class at 10 to 12 then 12 to 1 tutorial for essay. After that I am staying in the studio then heading to De Hav to get my package. Then going back to the studio and from 4 to 6 photographs tunnels and woods with Whitney. After that, heading back to the studio do shoots of TIna and Melanie I think. Then home to edit.

Tuesday: I think we are going to go to Welwyn Garden City to Snappy Snaps to get prints.

Wednesday and Thursday: Hanging up work and printmaking i think

Friday: Dali Universe in London with Melanie then hurrying back for Art Talk at 3pm.

Saturday: Canterbury ( Christmas Shopping)!!!! Then London from 9pm to 5:30am. Photographing London at night instead of going to all the clubs.

Sunday: cleaning and working on stuff.

Monday: C&CS

Tuesday: Midterm Review at 1:30pm. lol.

wooo that is my week. I am going to die again

Good night. Much love.

Love,
Marianna

oh yeah, people need to stop screaming like wild animals. What is the POINT?!?!?!

Video Time!

Calendar

so, mike showed me this link http://shuttercol.com You can put photographs up everyday and do a little caption about it. I am going to do this...here is the link to mine.

http://shuttercal.com/calendar/softspokenmc/2009/

I have some stuff in September and november up. I will put more when I can go into the studio to upload where it is a million times faster than in here.

lichtfaktor

star wars V star trek

LICHTFAKTOR | MySpace Video

i love this. amazing work.

Dude, people are rude...

i swear the think that no one has school tomorrow. It is freaking annoying when people are sound like they are screaming outside my window. I swear, one day I am going to go crazy and call security on their butts!!! I just want some fresh air coming into my room but that isn't happening. =(

also, people don't understand how to move when walking around. seriously if I don't move at the last moment they would run into me. or if i am standing waiting for the bus, do you think they would give me room and go around me, nope. they almost hit me while going around me. I know I am fat but dude, i am not that fat man. It makes me mad. They just run into you and then they get pissed at you. don't get their concept.

okay, now they are getting quiet outside and i can finally go to bed. Gotta wake up early for school. blah. it should be interesting tomorrow for the print making oh crap, i gotta bring money for the kit!!! THEY ARE TAKING ALL MY MONEY. Just spent 10 pounds on supplies for it today. =/

good night. sorry for complaining.

love,
Marianna

stencils...

i am going nuts... ;/ making stencils will kill you...at least i'm listening to dropkick murphy right now. :D so happy!! :D

good night. i gotta clean up my desk and pack up my backpack for tomorrow morning. Early day. :)

Post photogrpahs of the prints tomorrow!!!!

Photographs on FLickr!

They are up!!! Here are links to the albums!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/softspokenmc/sets/72157622755392660/
November 7th

http://www.flickr.com/photos/softspokenmc/sets/72157622650168093/
November 9th

Beef Stir Fry!

Yes, I made beef stir fry! It was absolutely lovely!!! :D I was so excited about it all day.

I did my presentation today and it went well. I suck at speaking but it is all good. British kids are talking to me more. So i am thrilled about it. i know i sound lame. lol. Stayed in the studio for about four hours and did the transfer. I am going to make it thicker tomorrow.

So, I walked home after the dinner and researching prices for the amsterdam trip and our scotland/england trip!!! it actually rocks!!! I am thrilled about it. Michael came over and hung out with us all...Whitney and him are cuute together. lol.

But the walk home was funnn!!! It was foggy and cold...check the temperature and it was 37 degrees out. yes, almost freezing and I just had my sweatshirt on, three layers of shirt. I am a moron. I didn't know it was going to be that cold.

Here is a photograph from tonight:


I will upload the other ones tomorrow when I get to the studio. i am going to bed. i am dead right now.


good night. miss you all

Love,
Marianna

Read, Read, Read

I spent half my day in my room cleaning, and doing wash. The second half in the LRC. I spent about 3 hours in the LRC researching and reading about Banksy. There is a lot of fake stuff about him on the internet and it is pissing me off. Sorry to cuss but dude, DONT POST FAKE STUFF ONLINE! IT ISN'T FUNNY WHEN YOU ARE DOING A REPORT ON THE "GUY". If he really is a guy, totally kidding. I am getting fed up with researching him. People have too many opinions and you don't know if half of it is true!!! Oh dear, going to go crazy on this subject. Just wait i am going to go to Bristol for two days and photograph the graffiti and street art there!! YAY! Then i will spray paint something there. yeah right, i would feel like crap doing something like that and a total poser. lmao.

Some quotes I like from him...:

"Think outside the box, collapse the box, and take a fucking sharp knife to it." — Banksy

"All artists are willing to suffer for their work. But why are so few prepared to learn to draw?" — Banksy

"Because so many artists, they worry about what trends are happening in art and design and street art, they read too many magazines, and they are too wrapped up in everything; they're paralyzed."- Banksy

Yeah, so I spent way too much time reading about him and doing research. I am over it right now. lol. I am just ready to head to bed finally. I have a presentation in the morning which sucks but it should be okay. I hope I get everything right for it. lol.

Here is a photograph I took today while walking home from the LRC at 5:30pm



Yeah, I got to see fireworks while walking home from the other campus. someone was shooting them off in their backyard. it was coool! Well, good night and I will update later!!!

Love,
marianna

Welwyn Garden City is my new best friend, sorry you guys in the states...lol

Today was our adventure to Welwyn Garden City. I thought it was going to be this shady scary town but oh dear, it was AMAZING! I am in love with it. But I will tell you everything from the beginning. yes, this is going to be a looong entry. sorry my dears...

As I said in the other entry, I woke up at 10:30am. LOVELY. I finally slept in one day. I started getting ready to go meet up with Whitney and Faye for our adventure to Welwyn Garden City. Man, did i ever move slow. I finished getting ready around 12ish. But I vacuumed my room, cleaned up some stuff, straightened my desk, and made piles for the wash tomorrow. :D

I left around 12:15 to head to the other campus. It was a beautiful morning so I decided to walk. As i was walking by the bus stop the intercampus shuttle came by. I just glared at it. "Damn You Evil Bus" popped in my head. lmao. While walking, the sun was shining through the clouds and hitting the leaves perfectly. I decided a mini photoshoot! it was so much fun. I was listening to Off By One too. I took photographs for about ten minutes of different leaves and the sun hitting. It was just perfect. The best way to enjoy your day just walking around and taking photographs.

Here are some of the shots:












I have more but I didn't edit them. Yeah, it was just beautiful outside today. lovely, lovely.

Okay, back to the story, lmao. I got to the bus stop around 12:40ish. A minute later the bus comes. While getting our tickets for the bus, the bus driver kinda of gets an attitude. He is a grumpy old man. He was pleasant to any of the the passengers. Something happened to this one girl who was trying to get the bus drivers details about something or needed something but I have no idea what she really wanted. Attitude though from the bus driver. He just gave off this horrible vibe. Traveling to Welwyn Garden City was cool. I didn't know which stop to get off of so I kept looking for the name of the street we were supposed to get off on. It only took about twenty minutes or less to get there...so nice!!! :D

We found the street and got off the bus. Just walked for a bit and found the street we were supposed to go on. Walked down there for the art store and it wasn't scary until we reach the Tewin Court 1-20. Yeah, that place was creepy...Whitney said it felt like a concentration camp which it did. It was just erie. We walked all the way down and then turn left to see if Unit 1 was down that way and it was. It was on the nicer side of this werid court thing.

Okay, this art store gets its own paragraph, seriously, I felt like I was back at home. It was the most amazing place ever. They had EVERYTHING YOU POSSIBLY NEED FOR ART! CANVASES, PAINTS, BRUSHES, FABRIC PAINTS, PAPERS, SCARPBOOKING STUFF, AND ALL THIS OTHER STUFF. It was amazing. I found my stuff that i wanted to use for the photo transfer but it cost me about 41 pounds for three little bottles of the stuff to do the transfer. It is worth it. I think they are going to be awesome. :D I am going to transfer the house photograph and some other ones. I am going back to this store for all my needs later this semester and next semester. So nice. :D

After checking out the art store we decided to explore the town centre. Yes, we had to find a bathroom for Whitney first. We went to waiterose i think it was or something like that and she the toilet there. They say TOILET here instead of restroom or bathroom. lmao. It was an awesome store. Completely clean and nice. People were nice looking there and it was not shady like Hatfield. lol. When we finished there we went through the subway to the town centre but we stopped at the garden first. It was really cute and had the toilets there. I had to go to the bathroom and so i went in. BIG MISTAKE. NASTY ASS TOILETS WITH POO MARKS EVERYWHERE AND IT WAS SMELLY. I DIDN'T TOUCH ANYTHING AND LEFT. Whitney made a phone call and while she was talking, i was taking photographs of everything. The trees, the sun through the branches, and some leaves that the sun was hitting. Then Whitney told me that there were mushrooms! I headed over there and started taking photographs of the mushrooms, (they will be posted when I get them done tomorrow or the next day). Halfway through taking photographs, Faye was going to step on them. =( So I was like please don't step on them and she didn't, I was so happy I got more photographs of them. =) They have the cutest and coolest mushrooms growing at random spots.

Oh yeah, I forgot about the art in the subway...


MAN ATTACK! LMAO

Finishing there, we headed up to the town centre! Of course it was completely amazing. HUGE! Lots of shops. Like always, there was an art and craft market there which i had to go to and see!!! ;D I loved it!!!!! People were selling food, cool crafts. I didn't buy anything..i was trying not too but then I went to jewelry booth and thought of Libbi! i was like dude, i have to get her something here. It was amazing jewelry!! So my new mission was trying to find some cash. I went to the ATM and I couldn't get any cash. I was mad and thought it was a sign not to get anything. Then Faye decided to go into their little mall and guess what was at the entrance, Barclays! My bank here!!! So, I got cash out and then we went inside. We were hungry, Whitney and I. Then we went upstair and I finally got to use the restroom. In the restroom, there was a straighter so you can fix your hair before going out into the mall! LMAO! You had to pay a certain amount. I thought that was great. After our walk around the mall, we spotted a candy booth and we got candy!!! A giant snake gummy, cherry coke gummy, crocodiles, and other ones. It was great. I spent 5 pounds on candy. lol.

Our next stop was McD's. It tasted wonderful. It was great. While go into McD's, we say a photography store! After eating our food, we went to the photography store. I found some cool things in there. They also develop 120mm color film in a HOUR! yes, i said A HOUR! For much you think...5.99!!! FIVE POUNDS AND NINETY NINE PENCE. I almost died when she told me that. Then if I wanted prints too it would be 15 pounds for the developing and prints. I was like OMG.I was kinda of freaking out and i think she saw me too. lol. I am definitely going back there with my film now to get prints!!!! I am super excited.

As we started our walk back towards the bus stop, i was thinking about the jewelry lady and I thought she would have left but she didn't! So i got Libbi a gift there! WOO HOO!!! I hope she likes it. It is freaking awesome. :D OMG. the funny part is coming now. while going down in the subway, there was a cleaner guy outside his cleaning machine and we went in front of him because I thought he wasn't going to go down there. Yeah, he did. lmao. Once we reached the end of the one walkway to go to the next one in the subway, he starts coming down, the girls who were walking up ran the other way. lol. I ran to the next little tunnel and then up the stairs. lmao. oh course, Whitney and Faye were laughing...I was scared he was going to get us. lmao.

We waited for the bus about 20 minutes and then we headed to the galleria to finish our errand day. I had to get hiking shoes and a large backpack to take with me to Leeds in two weeks and Whitney needed pedometer to count her steps. So, i spent more money but I got some really cool hiking boots and a nice backpack. :D We stayed there until 6ish then headed back to our rooms.

They went to Karaoke tonight but I decided to stay home. I worked on my artist statement, and cv. Almost done with the rough drafts on those. I totally forgot I am losing one weekend for my Leeds trip and one Saturday for Canterbury trip! :D More shopping for christmas gifts. Christmas is everywhere here now!!! I want some Christmas songs. so please send some my way! lol. I also finished my presentation for Monday. I got one more slide and some more notes even though it was going to be 5 minutes long. :D

Tomorrow, I am just doing my wash and hopefully booking my trip to Amsterdam!!! ;D It would be awesome. :D Then Monday is my presentation then studio working then night shoot at Asda. i am going to the creepy tunnels. I need to do more research on scary places in the area. :D I am weird.

Well, Good night all. I love you all and miss you all terribly.

Love,
Marianna