About a week ago, my mom was at Kroger, ready to back out of her parking spot, when a lady in the car next to her waved like she needed help. They both rolled their windows down, and the lady said, “Are you familiar with this area?”

The lady told my mom her story; how she drove here from Texas for a job, and ended up not getting hired. She spent all of her money in order to come to Indiana with her mom and four-year old son. But, they got in a fight, and her mom flew back to Texas, leaving the lady and her son behind.

The lady said she asked the employees inside Kroger if they knew of a shelter nearby she could go to, but they didn't know of any and told her she wouldn't be allowed to sleep in her car in the parking lot overnight. So, the nice woman my mom is, she gave her some money for gas.

Tonight, my mom was at Target, walking to her car, when a car pulled up next to her and a lady said, “Are you familiar with this area?”

Sure enough, it was the same lady in a Jeep with a Texas license plate.

Enraged, my mom tried to go to the police, but the police station was closed because of Election Day. She went into Target and told security. After my mom told them about what happened, it turns out that they had already been told about the woman by other people, and the police had previously filed a report.

So, if you live in Indiana, don’t fall for the lady in the green Jeep Cherokee with a Texas license plate and a four-year old in the back seat. She's a crook.

It's that time of year again--time for apple orchards, hot cider, pumpkin patches, and jack-o-lanterns!


The pumpkin patch!


Getting the guts out was the grossest/funnest part. Ha ha.


So meticulous.


Beautiful!


From left to right, Andy, Molly (& Sean), Michael, Bruno, and Eric. We got creative with our designs, and they turned out great!

This. Is. Amazing.

On the night of July 27th, 2012, a huge prank was pulled in New York City and this is the video of what took place. Brett Cohen came up with a crazy idea to fool thousands of pedestrians walking the streets of Times Square into thinking he was a huge celebrity, and it worked! Not only did it work, it caused quite a stir. This social experiment, of sorts, makes a profound statement about how modern culture is so attracted to pop culture, without any real credibility needed.

Monday was a short day. I had a doctor's appointment so I left early. I got some things done in 3ds Max, though--mainly just importing geometry from SketchUp and adding textures.

Tuesday and Wednesday, I continued to work with 3ds Max to create the room environment virtually. We met with EVS again to revisit our designs, and it went very well. They solidified our design decisions while giving us new suggestions.

Thursday and Friday, I kept working on the 3ds Max renders. I cut up a ton of our color palette paint samples (pictured above) while I waited for my computer to render. It's basically can't do anything else while it renders or it'll freeze.

Friday was supposed to be the last day of my internship with IU Health, but I'm thrilled to announce that they want to keep me on their Design/Construction team! I'll be working for them while continuing my education at IUPUI. I'm so excited!

Also, Friday, Christin and Bridget, along with their husbands and I went to Dave and Busters to celebrate my "last" day. I had never been there before, but it was a lot of fun!

Monday, we found out something that completely changed the direction our inboard patient room floor plan was headed. We were told that the nurse servers need a pass-through and the W.O.W. needs a place to sit in the room without being in the way.

Tuesday, we met with an Infection Control representative who used to be an RN, and she gave us plenty of good insights. She said the nurse servers and W.O.W.'s don't need to be in the room all of the time, so we are not planning on them having a designated spot in the room anymore.

Wednesday, the wood laminate samples came in the mail. We mixed and matched the samples to figure out the most soothing/harmonious combination. While doing so, we discovered that darker wood finishes show fingerprints tremendously more than lighter wood, but the lighter wood shows scuffs more easily. It's sort of a trade-off. Would we rather see fingerprints on the cabinets all the time or have an occasional scuff that can be eliminated with each cleaning.

Thursday I continued to work in Google Sketchup while Bridget and Christen started translating our data into visuals.

Friday was fun. We met at Christin's house instead of the office because our boss was out of the office and 2/3 of us live closer to the north side of town. It was nice to sleep in. We did our work while watching the Olympics. I started working in 3DS Max again while Christin and Bridget continued to work on visualizing our insights.

Only 1 more week to go!

Monday was weird--only because Christin and Bridget are gone this week. The bullpen (our work space) was awfully quiet without them, but BT came to visit a few times. I worked in Sketchup the whole day; modeling the ceiling and editing the components I've already added. The more I add, the slower my computer (or should I say my dad's) runs.

Tuesday, I felt like a classic intern. I ran errands for my boss because he was booked with meetings all day. It was nice to get out of the office and breathe in the fresh air. I met with a Director of Environmental Services to talk about the redesign of the Methodist restrooms. It's amazing how design has changed since the hospital was built. The tile in the restroom looked like subway tile, and there was a lot of wasted space. I'm excited to give my take on what commercial restrooms should look like and inspire a design through someone else. The rest of the day, I just continued to work on finishing up the inboard toilet design. It's getting closer. The 3ds Max part is going to be interesting, though. For some reason my mouse won't work with the program.

Wednesday, I ordered samples of wood grain laminates and worked on the Sketchup layout of the inboard patient room. I redownloaded 3ds Max because apparently 2013 has a bug that doesn't allow my mouse to work, but 2012 is fine.

Thursday, I continued working on patient room layouts. Christin came in for a couple hours so we could talk to EVS about how our room designs are or aren't going to make the cleaning of the rooms relatively easy. Also, I got in touch with some floor covering manufacturers and ordered some samples. It's amazing how willing these companies are to give out free samples just for the possibility of us placing an order. The most exciting/scary part of the day was when the fire alarms went off. We had to trek down 11 flights of stairs just to find out it was a false alarm, but it was an overall good day!

Friday, I finished the inboard patient room design. It's pretty much complete. There might be a couple of details that need to be changed, but the layout is finished. I still have yet to decide on the manufacturers of the surface finishes, but that's the next phase I guess. Some more samples came in today of flooring material. Two representatives came to our building just to give me a sample book, then two hours later, I received the same book through the mail. If only it were like that for students...

Only 2 weeks left!

Have you heard of Marina and the Diamonds?

Electra Heart is probably one of my favorite albums that has come out in 2012. I heard "I Am Not a Robot" from Marina's previous album, but when I heard "Primadonna," thanks to Perez Hilton, I was hooked. Every song of Electra Heart has a meaning behind it and/or it's fun or relatable. The melodies are catchy, and it helps that I'm a sucker for accents. She creates characters through her songs and music videos, which I find refreshingly unique.

The first time I listened to this acoustic performance of "Lies" is the moment I fell in love with her voice. Watch below:



"Primadonna is just a fun song all around, and I love how deep her voice gets for some reason. "Pop that pretty questions right now, baby."



Below are some of my other favorites:

Monday was sluggish, to say the least. I wasn't feeling very well with this stomach thing going on. I worked on modeling the 5 patient rooms in Google Sketchup while the other two interns continued working on writing the case study.

We continued to to the same on Tuesday and Wednesday. Wednesday, we talked to Joe about what we're doing and showed him our most promising design of a patient room. Also, it was my birthday. :)

Thursday, we kept mocking up layouts in Sketchup and writing the case study. Also, we made a trip to the Simon Cancer Center to see their current patient room design. They just opened in December, so we thought their designs would help us develop ours, seeing what does or does not work for them.

Friday, Christin and I met at Saxony to interview more patients, then we went to IU Health North to do the same. Saxony is probably my favorite out of all of the hospitals we've visited. The feedback we gained from visiting and interviewing has definitely helped us confirm our design choices.

3 weeks left!

I turned 23 today! I worked all day, then came home to some wonderful surprises :)

Mom made me a sugar-free cake because of my tummy troubles (still have yet to figure out what's exactly the matter). I could barely tell it was sugar free, it was so good!

If you follow my Instagram, you already know this, but I got an iPad. I've been saying I'm going to get one for the longest time, and I finally did. It was a birthday gift from my parents--they payed for part of it and I payed for part. I love it!

Anywhoosers, there's not much excitement associated with turning 23--at least nothing compared to 21--but it was still an exciting day, and I'm so lucky to have the family and friends that I do. I love you all!

There's an apple tree in our backyard, and the apples have gotten heavy enough to make the branches hang low -- so low that we had to use a ladder to keep a branch off the ground.

The dogs have taken full advantage of the situation and get a snack (or two) when an apple is in reach. I caught Rocky trying his hardest to get the last in his reach.

The limbs are so heavy that we had to put a ladder underneath one of them. Otherwise, the dogs would have about 50 apples they could reach.

Check out the video below:

Monday and Tuesday, we generated sketches of elevations and floor plans. I've been gradually developing the patient room in Google Sketchup. We made a mockup room in our work area by putting tape and stickers on the floor. It has really helped gain perspective on the size of the space we have to work with.

Wednesday, Bridget, Christin and I started deciding what exactly needs to be in each hospital room based on our research. At the end of the workday, I went to Simply Amish to talk to their manager about wood grain finishes and the trends they are currently seeing/predicting. We want our design to be timeless.

Thursday was a super productive day. Brandon and I worked on finalizing the floor plan of the inboard patient room while Bridget and Christin created floor plans and elevations for the outboard and in between rooms.

Friday was a very productive day also. We're to the point of finalizing all three room layouts: inboard, outboard, and in between. I figured out how to export a Sketchup file to 3ds Max, and I'm really excited to see our designs to come alive in a realistic-looking image. In the meantime though, we need finish final details on the patient rooms and get more feedback from the RN's and/or patients.

As much as I'm relieved it's the weekend, I can't wait to get back to work on Monday as well.

Friday night, I saw The Amazing Spider-Man in 2D, then I saw it again Saturday in 3D. It was fantastic both times.

I have yet to read the comic books, but I've heard that the reboot's plot is more like the comic book storyline. Instead of shooting webs out of his wrists like in the "old" Spiderman movies, Peter Parker develops a wrist gadget that dispenses spider web material.

I absolutely love Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. She and Andrew Garfield have real chemistry on screen, and she's one of my favorite actresses besides.

Having seen both 2D and 3D versions of the film, I don't feel like the 3D glasses made much of a difference. Sure, there were some parts where it looked like Spiderman was coming out of the screen a little bit, but it wasn't mind-blowing or anything.

The film itself is great, however. If there's one movie you see this weekend, make it The Amazing Spiderman. You won't be disappointed.

Overall Score: 95%

The official synopsis from IMDb:


If you want a more detailed plot (watch out for spoilers), look here or watch the trailer below.

This week was a little weird. Monday, we met up with the Director of Engineering at the JW Marriott and he gave us a tour of some of the hotel rooms including the Hospitality and Executive Suites. He explained to us JW's design aesthetic and was very helpful with providing information about why the hotel rooms are designed the way they are.

Tuesday was spent developing ideas, diverging and converging.

Wednesday, we took the day off for 4th of July. I think that's what really threw us off. Tuesday felt like a Friday (we even listened to Rebecca Black's "Friday" to get in the spirit) and Thursday felt like a Monday.

Thursday and Friday were diverging and converging days. By the end of Friday, we conceived some space plan ideas for inboard and outboard patient rooms.

Every week I feel we have made substantial progress, and I'm really excited to see how this project turns out!

Yesterday, for the 4th of July, I went to an Indians game at Victory Field with Mary, Katie, and Carla. The Indians beat the Louisville Bats 6 to 1. After the game, the stadium put on a fireworks show, and it was a lot better than I expected it to be! I took a video of the whole 7-minute show below:



After the Victory Field fireworks, we watched the Indianapolis fireworks show from the stadium. They were pretty good, too. They were 20 minutes long, but not as good as Conner Prairie's usual fireworks. I didn't have enough memory on my phone to take a video of the entire show, so I just recorded the finale.



It was weird not shooting off my own fireworks this year because of the drought, but it was nice to do something different. Hopefully next year Conner Prairie won't cancel their fireworks and we'll have enough rain to allow the non-professionals to shoot off theirs too. Either way, I'd definitely go to an Indians game for the 4th again.

My mom was watering the flowers the other day, and a bunch of baby bunnies scattered out from underneath them. She came inside the house to tell me and I of course took some pictures!


This little guy was just sitting in the flowers, frozen.


Another one was sitting in the grass, barely noticeable.


Then we found the nest!


There were 5 or 6 babies burrowed in the mulch.


The next day, I checked on them before going to work and I was able to get so close to them without any of them moving the slightest bit.


After I got home, they were out of the nest, bathing in the sun.

Today, it looks like they are ready to venture out because none of them were in the next when I got home from work.

This week was a lot better than last weeek

Monday, we finalized how we were going to approach the patients about form and function. I created some mockups of color schemes and what an elevation of the footwall might look like in each color scheme with artwork.

Tuesday, we went to Bloomington hospital and Morgan Hospital to interview the patients about their experience, and what they would change about the room. We showed them optional color pallets and had them choose which combination they liked the best.

After Bloomington Hospital, we got a bad vibe from one of the head honchos we talked to and he apparently emailed our supervisor complaining about us starting rumors in the hospital about redesigns. It was a huge misunderstanding, but it's all sorted out now.

Wednesday, we went to Riley to interview patients, nurses, and families. Instead of showing each nurse or patient optional color combinations, we just gave them all of the paint colors, wood grains and artwork, then they made their own combinations.

Thursday, we started organizing our data and Friday we finished a concept map of it all (that schnazzy picture up there is part of it).

It was a fun week!

I go through phases when I listen to songs over and over again until I get sick of them. Here are the top 7 songs of the moment that I can't get enough of (in no particular order).

	"Good Time" - Owl City ft. Carly Rae Jepsen
	"Call Me Maybe" - Carly Rae Jepsen
	"Scream" - Usher
	"Wide Awake" - Katy Perry
	"Tongue Tied" - Grouplove
	"Warrior" - Kimbra
	"It's Time" - Imagine Dragons

I started an internship with IU Health this week, and I must say it has been a rough couple of days. I felt so sick on my first day that I couldn't focus on anything but trying not to toss my cookies. Luckily, I didn't have to work very much on the first day. The other two interns, Bridget and Christin, who have been in the office for 2 weeks already, showed me around the office and hospital. I got to know them and my supervisor. I have a feeling we're going to make a great team.

I was out sick the second and third day. I felt so bad.

Thursday and Friday, we sorted out how Bridget, Christin, and I will bring our skills together to essentially design new hospital rooms for IU Methodist. They will be doing more of the research side of the project while I'll be implementing the data into designs. Since I can't really design much before the research is done, I'll be helping with that, too.

So far, I've been given 12 paint colors that are "standards" of IU Health's new hospital rooms, and it's my job to figure out what patients respond to the best and perceive as "luxurious." I've been creating color palettes with the paint sample colors, and I'll use them next week--hopefully--to ask patients' which ones they like or don't like.

I'm beyond excited for this amazing opportunity, and I can't wait to see how it all plays out!

Today is Cody's 10th birthday! It seems like he was just a puppy not that long ago. He's looking pretty good for an 70-year-old!

I haven't been blogging lately because I haven't been feeling very well at all. For the past two weeks, I've had abdominal pain and stomach aches. I got a CT Scan to rule out diverticulitis, and the doctor suspected IBS. I did some research and I think I've found the problem.

About a month ago, I stopped taking a medication I've been on for 6 or 7 years, and apparently I did it the wrong way: cold turkey. If my theory is correct, restarting the medicine will help my digestion get back on track. If I'm wrong, I have IBS. Either way, right now I lose because I feel terrible.

Today was the first day of my internship with IU Health, and I must say it was a rough day. I really like the people I'm going to be working with, but I was nauseous the whole day. At one point, I was walking to the restroom and my vision just went away. Everything turned white, and I was super lightheaded. I apparently shouldn't have started back on the medicine at such a high dose and eased into it. You learn new things everyday, right?

Today, I saw Prometheus in IMAX 3D with my dad, and it was everything I expected it to be--fantastic. I haven't seen Alien, but I have heard that Prometheus is roughly based on it and there are multiple Alien references in Prometheus. Afterall, they have the same director, Ridley Scott.

If you decide to see Prometheus, I would recommend not seeing it in 3D. Unlike The Avengers, I didn't really notice the 3D effect. I don't think it made much of a difference.

I don't want to give any of the plot away, but in the end, they do leave it open for a sequel. Based on the midnight showing numbers, my guess is that there will a sequel in the future.

Overall Score: 95%

The official synopsis from the Prometheus Movie website:


If you want a more detailed plot (watch out for spoilers), look here or watch the trailer below.

I stumbled across this video, and it's one to watch whenever you think you're having a bad day.

Yesterday, Mary, Katie and I took a trip to Cincinnati just to have some fun. First, we went to the Cincinnati Zoo. We saw all sorts of animals, and the people-watching was entertaining, too.

I'm excited beyond words about this movie. It's based on one of my favorite books and stars one of my favorite actresses.

Hermione Emma Watson talking in an American accent is sort of weird, though. That's going to take some getting used to.

If you haven't read the book yet, read it before the movie comes out! I know I'll be reading it again soon.

For the past week or so, I've been riding my bike almost every day. My parents gave it to me as a birthday gift last summer, but I just recently got the chance to take it for a spin. I'm kind of obsessed with riding my bike now.

While riding through the park, I, being obsessed with Instagram as well, absolutely had to take some photographs with my iPhone. The pictures below are from each of the 6 bike rides I've been on so far, and of course they've been "Instagrammed."


The first time I rode through Potter's Bridge Park, I heard a scratching noise as I passed by a tree and saw something move in the corner of my eye. I turned around and saw this raccoon staring right at me, frozen.


The photo above is from my second ride on the same path, inside Potter's Bridge looking down the White River.


On my third bike ride through the park, the sky was exceptionally beautiful.


This photo, taken on the fourth ride, is of the path I ride on. Immediately after I took this picture, it started to thunder and pour down rain.


My fifth bike ride was probably the worst. I went at a bad time, right around 8 o'clock, and all of the gnats and mosquitoes were out. It would have been okay if I were running, but bugs hitting your face at 20 miles per hour doesn't feel good.


The last bike ride I went on was the longest. I rode through Potter's Bridge Park and Forest Park until I ended up at Morse Park. I had to take a break at a picnic table before I made the adventure back to Potter's Bridge. The lake was so relaxing that I'll definitely be taking that route again.

Dad decided it would be best to add plywood on top of the framework, so we did that today. He cut it to size and I fastened the two sheets to the beams with screws. Then, just in case any water gets trapped on the surface of the plywood, I drilled some holes in it--22 to be exact.

Now we're hot tub ready :)

Grandpa Claud & Grandma Alice

Today, Mom, Dad, and I drove down to North Vernon where Mom grew up. First, we visited Mom's parents' grave site at St. Mary's as well as her cousin's.

St. Mary's School

On our way to visit my great-grandparents' grave, we drove by Mom's old school and church.

Where my great-grandparents are buried

Then, we stopped at her old house. Her father built it over 70 years ago, and he and my grandmother raised 5 children in it! It would have been neat to go inside, but other people live there now. It's nothing like my great-grandparents' old house in North Dakota we visited last summer. This house doesn't look as old as it is-- from the outside at least.

I had been to North Vernon with my parents before, but it's still worth going back and seeing everything again. I've been told stories about my Mom's family and her childhood, and I love seeing where they took place.

Visiting my grandparents' burial site is kind of nostalgic, however. They passed away before I was born, but being that close to them and seeing where they raised my mom makes me feel like I know them.

Today, we came up with a better idea for the framework supports. Instead of using metal supports (along with some untreated wood because we ran out), we opted to do something else. We went back to Lowe's to pick up the same treated lumber we used to build the framework, cut them to size and screwed them in as supports. It looks so much better, and will definitely be sturdier than before!

Here is an updated and final image of the deck, ready for the new hot tub! Hopefully we won't need to change anything before the hot tub is delivered. We'll see...

Last night, Kristen Wiig bid farewell to Saturday Night Live. She is/was by far my favorite SNL cast member.

The final sketch of the night used a loose graduation premise to send Kristen off in style. As Arcade Fire played “She’s a Rainbow,” Wiig danced with each of her cast mates in turn while trying to hold back tears. Finally, SNL head honcho Lorne Michaels had the last dance, and the band transitioned into “Ruby Tuesday.” Mick Jagger, the band, and the cast sang the nostalgic tune together, joined by a few SNL veterans -- Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, and Chris Kattan. It’s tough to watch this touching tribute without tearing up.



Here are Kristen Wiig's most memorable sketches and characters:

Target

Weekend Update: Judy Grimes

Surprise Party

The Lawrence Welk Show

Penelope

Shanna: Basketball Game

Garth & Kat

Paula Deen

Björk

Our 8-year old hot tub hasn't worked for 2 or 3 years, and I finally got my Dad started on fixing it this summer. About a week ago, we went to Royal Spa and talked to their engineers about getting it repaired, but just hauling it to the factory would cost $1,000 in itself. Fixing the cracked pipes (from water freezing in them over the winter) would cost even more. So, we looked at other options. The final decision was to recycle the old hot tub and buy a new one at a discounted price because it was our second purchase.

Well, two days ago, our old hot tub was taken away. That left one problem: a giant hole in the deck where it sat. Here is what the deck looked like right after our old hot tub was lifted out and taken away:



Yesterday, Dad and I bought the treated lumber to build the framework that will sit in the hole. The new hot tub will sit on top of that, making it even with the deck. We screwed all the pieces together on top of the deck, then pushed it into the empty square. Moving the assembled framework was probably the hardest part. One 2 x 12 x 8 is heavy, but when you attach 9 of them together, it's nearly impossible to lift.



Dad is thinking about buying more 2 x 12 x 8 lumber to make the framework sturdier. That will be the next step. Otherwise, now it's just a matter of waiting for the new hot tub to be finished and delivered.

I stumbled across this video on uberhumor.com--even though it's not humorous--and Arthur's story is very inspiring.

Has anyone ever told you that you can't do something, or have you ever thought one of your goals was impossible? If so, prove them and/or yourself wrong.

...it's good for your wallet, too!

For the past two days, my mom and I have been cleaning out the garage. Some of the things we found had been sitting on the shelves for over 20 years! It was basically leftover scraps from when our house was built. We took all of the metal junk we found to a scrap yard.

Yesterday my parents took a couple boxes of junk to the scrap yard and received 11 bucks for it all, but today they gave us 78 for just three boxes! Apparently copper is where the money is. If you have any insulated copper wire from when your house was built, don't let it just sit around for 20 years. Take it to the scrap yard. They'll recycle it, and you'll get paid for it! Any metal at all, you will be compensated for.

Tonight, Desperate Housewives aired its 2-hour finale. I'm sad that the show had to come to an end, but it was good while it lasted and had a good run.

I remember watching the very first episode--Mary Alice Young's tragic demise and meeting the desperate housewives for the first time. I've watched and enjoyed every episode since then. It's hard to believe I've been watching DH since I was 14 years old. Every Sunday night, I would look forward to seeing what the ladies of Wisteria Lane were up to next. I would always want an episode to last longer than it did.



Tonight was no different. I wish the series could last longer. I wish it didn't have to be over, but unfortunately all good things must come to an end.

Here is a summary of the final episode:

SPOILER ALERT!!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!!

There were basically two episodes back to back: Here are some key events from the two parts:

Part 1:

• Karen (Mrs. McCluskey) confesses killing Gaby's stepfather in court after overhearing Gaby and Carlos talking about Gaby taking the blame for Alejandro's murder. 
• The DA decides not to press charges against Karen because of her condition, and the charges against Bree are dropped.

It's May, so college graduations are happening everywhere. Today, Megan and I went to Michael's graduation at Butler. There were 879 other graduates! It made for a long ceremony, but seeing him walk across the stage was worth the wait. Now he's officially a Doctor of Pharmacy!


After the ceremony and taking lots of pictures, we went to Formosa, a new seafood buffet. I ate entirely too much, then we went our separate ways until dinner.

The dinner destination was Scotty's Brewhouse. I had been there once before, but this time the food was exceptional this time. The dill chips are indescribably delicious. I could eat baskets of them.



The rest of the night was spent celebrating at Jacki's while eating ice cream cake--yum--and having a couple celebratory drinks. I played Flip Cup for the first time ever, and my team won--ha ha.

The whole day was a happy occasion. Hopefully next year it will be my turn to walk across the graduation stage.

Tis the season to plant a garden, and today I helped my mom do just that. Over the past week, I've helped her unload bags of garden soil and get the rototiller started, but she's done most of the work. Today, we planted green beans, tomatoes, green peppers, cabbage, zucchini, spinach, cucumbers, and marigolds (to keep the rabbits away). Hopefully it turns out better than last year. She even took it one step further to keep the little critters out. She sprayed coyote urine around perimeter of the garden, which is apparently supposed to deter a rabbit invasion.

Update later!

Green beans, tomatoes, and marigolds

Green peppers, cabbage, spinach, zucchini, and cucumbers

P.S. That random cinder block? It's to stop the water dripping from the barn gutter from making a giant puddle.