Summer Bucket List

Too often, the words "not much" or "nothing exciting" follow questions of "What did you do over the holidays?"

Before she left to go overseas for three months, the best mate sat me down and made me write a list (I love that Jana is also a list maker) of things to accomplish while on holidays. 

"You'll kick yourself if you have nothing to show for the holidays except an increased knowledge of daytime T.V programs."

The list started with:

Read a book. Preferably one I haven't read before.

And then the list grew as weeks went by. There was so much I realised I wanted to do. When would be a better time to do these things than when you have nothing else to do?! So I documented it in my companion, The Sketchbook. 

Disclaimer: I thought that with a lot of people reading/judging my Sketchbook from all over the world, I would leave out a heap of things. "Go to Jamberoo" doesn't mean anything to someone reading this list in New York. So there are a lot of things on my Summer Bucket list that didn't make it into The Sketchbook. There's still a couple of things I haven't done. These have now been transferred into other lists such as "2012 Bucket List" and/or "The Bucket List". 

Side note: I still haven't been to Jamberoo.

Challenge: I dare you to make your own Bucket List. Whether it's before the year kicks the bucket, the season kicks the bucket or you kick the bucket. Do it. It's an exhilarating feeling when you get to cross something off.

Also, I'd love to hear about some cool things you've crossed off. Or even just some things that you want to cross off. Email me-

emandshano@hotmail.com

 -or simply leave a comment below. :)

(If you click on the pictures, they get bigger.)

Another Project

I am doing Project 365 for the second time. I suppose it is "Project 366" this year. This means, I take a photograph every day for a year. When my year is complete, the photos will aid me in creating my diary for 2013. I really encourage you to take part in it! It's not too late to start. The last time I did Project 365, I went from September 17th to the following September. It is a great reminder of the year that's been. You can be totally crazy with it! Or be structural about it: On Mondays, take a photo that shows a lot of the one colour; Tuesdays could be something architectural; Wednesdays, take a photo that reflects what you got up to that day; Thursdays, capture some food; Fridays, find a cool word/font somewhere, in a book, on a sign, in a letter, on a menu etc; Saturdays, a household item; Sundays, anything outside! There are an unlimited amount of options. I'm not very structural (as much as I would like to be), so I just look for something to take a photo of. Sometimes (most days) I have more than one photo per day. That's cool too.

I thought that I would share some of my "January" with you.

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Call Number: 140A. 1-5.

If you haven't already heard me harp on about The Sketchbook Project, this is the post for you. Basically, you sign up online (pay a small fee) and the lovely people at the Brooklyn Art Library (yes, that's in New York) send you a sketchbook for you to fill, personalise, re-create... etc. Then send it back to Brooklyn, where it gets a call number (incase you're ever in town and want to look it up!) and then all of the registered sketchbooks from around the world go on tour... around the world! And just the other day, I received a much anticipated email...

And since I had received this thrilling confirmation email, I decided to look on the "Digital Library" (an optional [paid] extra feature) to see if mine was up yet. Kids, this was one of the most deflating moments of my time. Some people are crazy talented... & it seemed that ALL of them had taken part in the Sketchbook Project. No, mine still isn't on the Digital Library, but you know what? (Hindsight #2:) Who cares. I'm freaking famous. I have some original illustrations touring the world this year.. and then after the tour, MY sketchbook, the one I created, is going to live in the Art Library in New York! YEAH! 

She's back?

"Well, it's about time" I hear you saying (some of you, perhaps).  No? No one? Great start. I have don't know how I stumbled upon this dusty old URL, but I felt that I had some catching up to do. And while uni holidays and unemployment has left me crippled with boredom, I'm hoping that this might be the cure I've been dreaming of.

Yes, you read correctly, I am on uni holidays. That would make me a uni student. (Proud much?) Yes, the 16 odd months break from "Strawberries and Suncream"means that a whole heap of change has occurred without  my documentation. How fascinating would it have been for you to witness and laugh at the high-school-drop-out going back into study mode after 5 years of full time, mind-numbing retail. Yeah, you missed out on a lot of laughs. Or did you? Now that the dreaded first year is over, I now own a precious gift: hindsight. We know this already, right? Things are way funnier looking back at them. Or maybe you just "had to be there."

Try using your imagination, and laugh anyway. 

Hindsight 2011 #1: First day of uni. Being on my Ls meant that I had to catch public transport to uni. 2.5 hours later (as if this isn't already hilarious!), there are countless ways that I embarrassed myself and that others embarrassed themselves. One girl tried to make friends with me by saying "How IZ YOUUU?"... We are not friends in case you were wondering how that turned out.. And who could forget the classic moment when it's half way through the class and you realise you're in the wrong room. Not to mention the time you slip on the wet brick pathway and flash the outdoor smoking section and the entire left hand side of the library your least flattering pair of underpants. Or being so nervous for a presentation that you stutter the first 2 minutes of it, panic because you've got another 18 minutes to go, and BAM! GET A HIGH DISTINCTION BABY! (I seriously don't even know how I did that...)

I propose that this year will be a year to laugh at yourself, regardless of how awful it may be at the time. Or laugh that it's not happening to you. Or laugh because it is happening to you! Just think, "this will make for a great story".

There shall be more instalments to come of "Hindsight 2011" as I remember them. But let's not dwell on the past.. I have my 2nd year of uni coming up!