Street Light Algorithm

The other day, a friend of mine said the conversations my husband and I have are basically a sitcom.  I thought this could be an easy way to get glimpses into my life, without the more detailed, time intensive blog posts.

Today, when driving home, Joshua was trying to decide if he could make a particularly annoying left turn (because Clemson doesn't seem to decide to put in protective turning lights)

Him: Can I make it?
Me: That car is far enough away.  It's three street lights.  Except one of the street lights is burnt out, so the algorithm is broken.
Him:  Yeah, I decided not to.  Because it was broken.

Because, obviously the way to determine turn-ability is based on street light distances. 

Confession

I have a confession.

I'm terrible at this whole blogging thing.  I don't write often enough; I seem to feel I have nothing to say.  Yet I know this isn't at all true.  I'm a walking contradiction.

I have been spending a lot of time trying to design a graphic identity for myself; for my resume, portfolio, and "professional" website... Here's a preview:

Anyway, this is a post just to say:

I'm here.

I'm alive.

& I'm going to make an effort to write more.

Low Carb Beginnings & Migraine Relief

It's now been about a year since my husband and I first gave up on the Atkin's diet.  Not really gave up, even, but became too busy for it.  As students who also worked, we found it hard to balance the time it required in preparation, cooking, etc.

I've decided it's time to return to a low carb style of eating.  My body really responded well to it and I know with how my hormones work, it's what I need to do for myself.  So, starting tomorrow it will be back to a low carb life style; cutting out sweets and sodas entirely, and going to nearly no pasta, rice, breads, you name it.  I do know I need fruit in my diet, and that was a large part of why Atkin's wasn't entirely successful for me; I eat a lot of fruit and yogurt which were not allowed in the early phases of the diet (which we remained on for several months).

I'm doing this for, obviously, weight loss but also other health concerns, primarily to combat my migraines.  I get far more than are healthy and I think that if I work to better balance and control my diet, I can nearly eliminate them.  Or, I hope so, at least! 

So, today it's shopping and prepping for the week starting tomorrow! Wish me luck. :)

Russian Architecture Reading List

The internet is a big, scary place.  In one of my adventures through it's windy corridors, I came upon an article about Soviet Brutalist architecture.  Here's one of my secrets: I love Brutalism.  Those who know me might find this a little bit odd, but I find it beautifully fascinating.

Roads Ministry Building, Georgia

The architecture I saw sent my head spinning.  Sure, I'd studied Brutalist architecture, at least a little, in my history theory courses.  But, the structures built in this far corner of our globe seemed quite different.   This is what I'm left with: questions of what and why it seems so different, and a thirst to see more brutalist beauties! 

I've now got a long list of architecture reading ahead of me, included but not limited to:

1. Blueprints and Blood: The Stalinization of Soviet Architecture 1917-1937, Hugh D. Hudson

2. CCCP: Cosmic Communist Constructions Photographed, Frederic Chaubin

3. Soviet Modernism 1955-1991/Unknown History, Ritter, Shapiro-Obermair, Steiner, & Wachter
4. Reshaping Rusian Architecture: Western Technology, Utopian Dreams, William C. Brumfield 

The drawings and photographs of these works are simply phenomenal, which we could learn a lot from.

 

 

 Industrial Miniatures by Iakov Chernikhov

Social Media Hiatus

In an attempt to declutter and destress my life a bit, I'm taking a hiatus from social media; Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and trash TV.  Getting rid of all of it to refocus on my life, school, family, and hobbies (including blogging!)

image from my drawing class; playing with pastels!

I think this is something that deserves my time and focus, as opposed to mindlessly browsing the internet for no real substance.  I miss the depth of reality that comes from more intimate ventures in to life (be it relationships, studies, or hobbies) and the power it has on thinking.

I miss focus.  I miss living! So, time for a break from the electronic clutter to reorient myself.

Until next time!
~Joy

Making Home - My ?? Day Journey to an Organized Home

I've been reading a lot of blogs about organizing your home. [See: here, here, or here] Organization in general is something I have struggled with; I have gotten better in a lot of ways, but my home is still rather, well, tragic. 

[p.s. I totally already have those handled baskets in my fridge.. but mine are green! Dollar Tree score 1]

I'm going to take my time before school starts this fall [eek, only one more year! woop!] to get my home organized! I'm definitely the type of person who cannot focus when the house is out of order, which makes working on school work that much harder.  So, for my own mental health, the next 30 [or so?] days will be for organizing the home.  I don't know how many days it will truly take me, so this will be an adventure.

Today I'm going to do some prep work [scoping out the supplies at Dollar Tree, which is supposed to be excellent for this task when on a budget, and I definitely am] and perhaps starting the pantry.  Here we gooo!

"Good Enough"

I've come to realize over the years that I've adopted the attitude of "good enough".  In everything that I do, I reach the point which I've decided is good enough; efforts beyond that point would be too time consuming to be worth the outcome.

But, as of late I've come to realize this is a poor way of thinking about my work.  If I am forever pursing this good enough state, how can I ever really produce the best work I can? If I know eventually it will be enough to quit working towards, I won't ever strive for the best I can produce. In light of this, I've decided that in all that I do, when I would normally ask myself, "is this good enough?" instead I will ask, "what can I do to make this better?"  I know in the long run this will make both my work better and myself a better person.