Bad News

UIC doesn't want me. Two years of preparation.... They say that I didn't take Calculus I (those of you who knew me last year at this time definitely knew the pain that was Calculus was for me). They must not have gotten my transcripts from Harold Washington. But I check my application status online and it told me that it was received. I also spoke to an admissions consuller at the main school and via email at the architecture school who told me all my transcripts had been received. They also said that I didn't complete a second art history course with a C or better. Well, I took art history I and II at Northeastern. I got a B in II and a D in I. But I also took 20th Century Art History at Columbia with an A or B. And I guess I thought that when they said I had to complete a year long survey in art or architectural history, I didn't think that they wanted a proper survey.

They also told me that my portfolio needed work. I guess I would need to talk to someone at the school for advise on how to fix that.


The issue is now what do I do? I don't want to work at my job another holiday season. I don't want to have to look for another job. What could I do? How do I make enough money to be able to pay my debts. I feel like there is a force somewhere that wants me to be a bum and not pay my bills and never amount to anything.

But I guess that's just the rejection letter talking.

Annoymous

(susan works at the palatine public library)

me: can you check out the fountainhead for me.

susan: koey doke

me: kewl

susan: it's checked out. i can put a hold on it.

prbably kids reading it for school

me: stoopid kids

how about letters to a young poet?

Sent at 11:37 AM on Friday

susan: got it. i'ts nice and yellow.

what lit class are you taking?

me: haha

i'm taking beginning pretension at the university of bite me

susan: ah, you'll do well there.

Guess What?!

I have finished my portfolio, turning it in just in the nick of time. Two days before the due date I was running around the UIC campus dropping an application here, a letter of recommendation there. I missed all the priority deadlines and will thusly probably not be eligible for any aid financially. Which is my own fault and that’s okay. Today, I received a letter from UIC. I ripped it open, half expecting the worse, half expecting UIC junk mail…. It was the latter. It was basically a standard letter with a logon and pin number that I could used to check on my application status. This would have been helpful had I gotten my application in in November and I could use it to track when my transcripts were received, my recommendation letters, my portfolio, GRE scores, etc. But since I sent everything in at the same time, it was all just there. The only field that is blank is the decision status.

Did I mention that my portfolio looks nothing like the one pictured below. I re-constructed it 5 times. 5 TIMES! I guess it looks a little similar. Unfortunately, I don't believe I have pictures of the final product. I was just so happy to throw it in a padded mailer and get it out of my hands.

My Portfolio Is Nearly Complete

After months of toiling, I am almost finished. Needing only to secure the textblock to the cover and glue the mats and titles down. The more I look at it, the more uninteresting it all seems – the still lifes are bland, the books are unadorned and one of my photographs is bent in the corner (which is really just unacceptable, yet I'm still submitting it).

I will attach photos of the pages, minus the labels for the items. Please, please tell me what you think. Do you think the cover paper attracts finger prints grotesquely? Do you think the pages would look nicer without titles describing the content? Do you think it's boring and lacks a since of personality?

For your peeping pleasure, I proudly announce my 2008 (and if I don't get in, my 2009) Master's of Architecture Portfolio.

Enjoy....

this is the first impression

this is the second impression: the first page

page 2

page 3

page 4

page 5

page 6

page 7

final page

detail of the title of the book

title detail with clue to the material of the cover

okay. this is the endband and the tape you see will not be there once i glue the mats in

you previously viewed the pages without the titles that will accompany each image. this is what it will essentially look like with a title. i believe i'm making the type size smaller.

unnecessary close up

this is the book cloth spine and the cover paper which is a plastic y feeling, really difficult to maneuver around the corners of the book "paper" with mild groves running along. think a very thin extreme close up of a record

fin

Okay I Lied, But Let Me Tell You About My Day

The Post Office

I missed my priority deadline. No big deal! (I freaked out). But now I'm a little bit better and I finally got around, today, to getting my transcripts sent. Hooray. So this took me all day. The point of this post is that I bought the wrong sized envelopes for my recommenders' packets that I made up, so I had to go to the post office which is normally a hell of mine. But I've recently moved, as you all may know, and I now have a different post office. Previously I went to the Wicker Park branch post office and a well known fact among these parts is that it is the worst post office branch in the entire city. My new post office is the Logan Square post office and not only is it two blocks from my home, it's also efficient, relatively friendly, no lines, no beggars, etc. To read more about the worst post office branch nestled on the tree of the worst postal system in the United States, put your cursor over the word poop and press it.

Hello and I Promise I Won't Ever Do That Again

I have been away for a few months, buried in a hectic heap like a maimed elderly walmart employee at 4am the day after Thanksgiving.

I won't do i again.

I moved and my home is awesome. I have pictures but will post them later.

I have changed jobs and it is better. Having a steady income, even a low one, is such a relief.

The priority deadline of my application is fast approaching: February 1st and I don't have any transcripts, no letters of recommendations and my portfolio is only half finished. I don't think I'm going to make the priority deadline, and I have it in my head that it's curtains for me if I don't make it. I have this feeling that if my application arrives complete February 15th or March 1st, even though the schools regular deadline is May 1st, that they won't even consider me. They'll take one look at my old ass, haven't been in school in 8 years, portfolio items created in 1999, recommendations from math teachers that only knew me as the girl who sat by the window in their fall semester intermediate algebra class 2004.....

well.....

Thanks for all the comments and support. As a result of the mayhem, and lots of advice, we are moving. We saw two great apartments last Sunday and actually had to choose!
The first place was right off the boulevard in Logan Square. Near to the train and the movies and El Cid, on a beautiful quiet, tree lined intersection on the second floor. It contained basement laundry and an enclosed porch/storage area. It had strange 70s tile on the wall in the bathroom. Green. I don't like that color anymore. But we could move in on the 15th. A bonus!
The second place was right off the intersection of California, Fullerton and Milwaukee and featured a cute courtyard entry and outdoor porch. Laundry and storage are in the basement as well. Located on the top floor of a three flat, there would be no neighbors above. It had an interesting layout and mini-kitchen. And a very large bathroom.
Both units are two bedrooms with a living and dining space and both are about $875.
We chose the second of the two for it's central location and close proximity to grocery stores and bus lines. Hurray!

Only two obstacles remain:

1. find someone who wants to live at our current place

2. survived the remainder of the month