Catching Up

Well, it's been nearly a year [oh crap] since I wrote last.
Barbados ended up being the trip of a lifetime!  I got to snorkel and swim with sea turtles.  One even came up for air on my NECK!  It was absolutely terrifying for me at first, but Logan calmed me down.  I got a huge sunburn right across my ass that still hasn't completely gone away yet.  I was able to meet a few of Logans good friends, Luis, Kristin, and Dre.  They were all very kinda and have continued to keep up with me on Facebook.
Things have been going well for me.  I graduated this past November.  Logan and I had some ups and downs, broke up, but have since then gotten back together.  There really is no one that makes me happier than he does.  He told me that during our time apart, he missed me a lot.  Since our getting back together, we have been taking things very slowly and enjoying the time we get to spend together.
I have been applying to jobs but no one has bitten yet.  I moved down to Savannah in January in order to be close to all of the facilities and the studios coming to visit the campus.  My demo reel has greatly improved upon moving here.
My newest project addition has been for Tell 'Em Steve Dave Puppet Theatre.  Logan's roommate, Thorne, has brought me onto his film crew as the VFX Coordinator.  I have greatly enjoyed and appreciated the work and experience that I have been able to receive because of this endeavor.
My current plans include me going to NYC in just 2 weeks!  I'm going to be visiting some studios while I'm up there!  Logan might come as well, but he's not entirely sure yet.  I guess we'll find out this weekend.  Anyways, I'm so happy to be getting some more news out on my blog.  Gonna try and not forget to write so often.
Tomorrow Logan and I are going to a gallery opening.  I'm so excited.

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http://kenziparker.wix.com/knzparker

The Beginning of Business Week

So the beginning of my 6th year at Business Week was today!  I have really enjoyed it thus far.  We just set up for the rest of the week for students to arrive tomorrow.  We have 9 assistants this year!  Three boys and six girls.  It has been a breeze so far and we are more prepared than I think we have ever been!

I even had enough time to Skype Logan tonight which made me really happy.  We were talking about all sorts of things.  Especially my trip to go and see him in August.  We are both really excited.  I really want to go and see these crystal clear waters and pretty beaches that he's always talking about and showing me.

Logan Skyping me... with a handheld phone thingy

KNZ

Logan visits!

Life since Ohio has been pretty great.  We got back and I got to go downtown with Justin for our usual Mellow Mushroom trip.  We then got to walk around and he showed me some of the end results of construction that I have missed in the past year.  It was very nice to catch up and get some conversations out of the way.  Not to mention see my best friend again!

Justin and me hanging by the Peace Center!

The past 10 days have been such an amazing part of the summer.  My wonderful boyfriend, Logan, came and stayed with me and we had so much fun chilling and spending time together.  He really enjoyed having the garden in the backyard.

The garden

We woke up one morning and he went out and picked some fresh jalepeños for his omelet.  We also got to see 'Brave' in theatres.  I absolutely love Pixar movies.  We also got to watch a few movies over at my parents which was nice.  I got him into Guitar Hero.  He wasn't very good, but he got better towards the end.

Logan playing GH with my sister

We went downtown a few times which was nice.  We both rather enjoyed the falls.  We also got a picnic in with my youngest sister.  He really enjoyed being downtown from what I could tell.  Seeing as he's from Barbados, he had never been to Greenville before.  We have the beautiful Reedy River Falls right smack in the middle of downtown with Liberty Bridge stretched across it.  I know that he loved that!

Cassidy and me by the Reedy River on a picnic

During the evenings at my parents house, we would end up playing some form of game.  One night we had a crazy tickle fight that lasted half an hour.  The other nights, we would play 'Devil' or some other game where you had to guess who you were from asking questions to the other players.  I ended up being a plethora of people.  Marilyn Monroe, Ellen DeGeneres, Kermit the Frog, and Peggy Bundy.  They were pretty fun to play with the family!

Logan playing cards with us!

On the 4th of July, which Logan had never been here for one before, we woke up and made my special Cinnamon Twists for the family to enjoy.  They were gone before the night was out.  We played some games and shot some fireworks with the neighbors kids.  We even got to get downtown for South Carolina's biggest firework show!  Fireworks are illegal in Barbados, so Logan really enjoyed watching all the huge explosions in the sky!  When we got home, we had the deep fryer going and we did some bacon wrapped jalepeño poppers as well as some squash tempura!  

Us on the 4th of July

Well, today Logan left on a plane to go back home.  It was sad to see him go and the house has been a bit quieter than usual, but we talked when he got home over Skype.  I used my day going to the Greenville Humane Society to get a puppy to foster for the next 8 days.  I have been enjoying the company of the lovely Fuji since around 4pm today!  We have had a lot of fun so far and hope to have lots more before the next weeks end!

Fuji!

Will write again soon

KNZ

Updates

So, it's been a good long while.  I'm updating this now because I want to start writing again.  It's currently my last summer vacation before I graduate from SCAD in November.  I am super excited because I will finally be able to move and start the life that I will lead for the rest of my... well... life!

Me, Andrew, Preston, Eric, Thorne, and Logan at the end of our camping trip

Currently, my summer is being very relaxing, but super busy.  Eight of my friends and I went on a camping trip for the first weekend of my summer on the outskirts of Atlanta.  We really enjoyed the relaxing by the fire and playing on the guitar and singing songs.  We even went down to a little river!  There were a good many ticks found, but none on me.
The next big event of my summer was my siblings and mom going to Ohio to visit my grandparents and cousins.  We ended up doing a bunch of fun things.  We hung out with my grandparents for a while in Cincy before driving up to New Riegel and then Lake Erie.  We spent a day at Put-In-Bay which is an island on Lake Erie.  We then went to Cedar Point for a day and rode tons of roller coasters!

The fam at Cedar Point!

Not sure what the rest of my summer has to hold, but I'm sure that it will be wonderful!

KNZ

First week home

So it's finally been a bit over a week since I've been home. It's been quite a ride. I did some digital artwork this week with my NEW TABLET!!!!! My grandparents came in to town from my cousins high school graduation. We spent some times together by going to Cassidy's final soccer game in which she made her FIRST goal all year. It was a Penalty Kick but those are the easiest, yet HARDEST goals to make. All of the pressure put in to one simple kick into the goal. She made it though and I took video of it!

I went to Columbia earlier in the week. I had a meeting/dinner at the Chamber of Commerce with my fellow Business Week friends. It was GREAT to see everyone again. Especially Matthew and Clarence. The three of us rode down together to save gas. It was a great ride there and back because we had so many stories to tell. The dinner was really delicious and we all chatted about our years and about the year to come. Business Week begins on July 11, and I absolutely cannot wait!

Today was my older sister, Julie's, baby shower. She will be giving birth to her and Tate's first child in July. It was so wonderful to see her and her big self opening my gift. I made her a Super Sheep for my new niece. I bought the sheep body, but the cape, I sewed myself. It's detachable for washing convenience. She also received a few rattles, clothes, and other baby necessities.

I have been keeping very close contact with my friends back at SCAD. I video with someone at least once a day which is always wonderful. We get in a chat room that we created every night for a while and have some pretty hilarious conversations. It's awesome to continually see artwork and everything from their summers. One of my friends is coming to visit at the end of June. We are going to have a load of fun.

Updates of my life.

Wow, I haven't updated in so long. I guess that I should start back up this summer.

So life has been treating me well lately. I guess I'll start by talking about what has happened since I last updated.

In November, Eli and I ended our 3 and a half year relationship. The story is a bit long, so I'm not going to go into it. In February, he got into an accident and was pretty badly injured. His truck was totaled. He was quite upset and I spent a few days visiting him in the hospital. He has recovered since then, but still has a recovering knee. He also has gotten a new truck, although it's the same model and everything.

The weekend before I left for college in Savannah, I got to ride up to Raleigh, North Carolina to see the ONE AND ONLY Clay Aiken! He was doing a small concert that was being recorded to be replayed on PBS over the summer. It was so wonderful! He sang a bunch of covers of old popular songs like "Unchained Melody", "Mack the Knife", and "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You". It was one of the best of his concerts I have been to.... and it was the 6th one I've been to.

March 20th, I got down to Savannah, Georgia where I

moved into a dorm room at Savannah College of Art and Design, or SCAD. I came in as a sophomore and, with my awesome roommate Jenii, spent a wonderful 10 weeks working strictly on art. I took Drawing 2, Colour Theory, and Survey of the Western Arts 2. I made a lot of new friends. Alex V.,Jenii(my roommate), Alex B., Gui, Jon, Chrystal, Sarah, Logan, Jason F., Jason Q., Akmyrat, Eakkasit, Ben, Mikey, and Josh. Those are only a few of the main ones that I met, there are tons of others. Most of them would hang with me in the lobby of my dorm late at night working. What can I say, we are artists! Some of us went the beach one weekend for the Sand Arts Festival... in which I got a freakin' parking ticket... which made me upset.

Logan and I went the next weekend to the beach again. He is a photography major and so he took a ton of photos while we were down at the beach. He's also from Barbados

Logan took this at the beach

Jason F. was my pool buddy. When either or both of us were upset with work, we'd message each other a meet up for a game or two... or even three of pool. He taught me some stuff about it which was really cool. He is an animation major. He is from India.

Josh took me for a night of bowling one night at the beginning of the quarter. That was really awesome! It turns out that he's on a league back home. He was really good... and I wasn't. He is an animation major. He is from Virginia.

Ben and I took a couple of walks downtown to explore around. He also helped me out with a good bit of my work towards the end of the year. I also went out to dinner with him and his parents on our last night in Savannah. He is a video game design major. He is from Delaware.

Gui and I really started off on a good foot. He took me to Galleria Expresso one night for tea/coffee. We did some viewing of art video how-tos and did some sketching of the locals in there. We also did a lot of movie wat

ching together. He is an animation major. He is from Brazil.

Akmyrat and I just met in the lobby. He knows EVERYONE and is so friendly and into the school events. He got me to go to a couple of the swing dance club meetings. He's an amazing dancer. He is a TV and Film major. He is from Turkmenistan

Eakkasit is my FAVOURITE little Thai man! So many inside jokes... so much fun. He's a lucky guy at pool. He just walks around and shoots them in like no tomorrow. He is also totally into anime and also has created his own characters. He is ultimate. He is a video game/animation major. He... as I said earlier, is from Thailand.

Now I am back home and ready for an art filled summer. Skype has become my best friend, even though it likes to randomly cut off on me in mid conversation. Everyone is

home safe. It's nice to see a few friends back home. I do dea

rly miss Savannah though.

Here's a few pieces from

this quarter at SCAD!!!

Are You There?... Really?

I have had several experiences of this. Friends that you've known for a long while who always claim to be there, but when you need them most they've disappeared.
I am always there for people when they need me. I have my cell phone on 24/7 and under my pillow at night so that it can wake me up when someone needs to talk. People always like to come to me for advice. I don't know why they come to me, but I'm there for them. I help them no matter how tired I am, or how early I have to wake up the next morning.
I guess I just don't understand why, when I need help or someone to talk to, no one is there to text me back or answer their phone. I guess it doesn't really matter does it?
I, for one, will go on helping people even if I never get help.
I'm not calling anyone specific out because I have a good many 'friends' that do this to me.
I just wanted to put this out there and vent a little bit, so no one get mad at me. Also if you ask me if it's you, even if it is, I will say "No". I don't want to hurt feelings. Those of you who are these 'friends' should know who you are anyways.