Goal 12: Christmas Presents and the Winter Wonderland Ball

In an earlier post I displayed some graphic design I had done for a friend, for a fundraising Winter Wonderland Ball she was organizing. As time went on, I was called for more and more input, and in the end it worked to complete a goal of mine.

The tickets and programs came out pretty well. They weren't professionally printed (or cut) so some of the fliers got printed crooked, and some of the tickets were cut crooked. But the girls saved a lot of money doing it that way, so it's not really my place to say anything.

[When I find them, I will upload pictures of the program and Tickets]

Goal 12: Sell a Piece of Art

After talking about the ball, and many of the deets, Anna asked if I knew anyone who could make a donation to the silent auction. Unless the bal-goers are interested in some lumber or political bumper stickers, I'm not too well connected in that area. BUT, I could always make something myself. I offered to make a painting similar to the one I had just given her for Christmas.

This is what I did for Christmas this year as far as my friends go. They were all made on variously sized, flat canvasses, and the quotes were typed on a Remington Rand, full manual typewriter. The quotes were specifically matched to the receiver of the gift.

But for the church auction, I knew I should make something a little more than a flat canvas with my face on it. I wanted it relevant, and worthwhile. I spent some time thinking, and eventually created two pieces on 20" x 16" canvas, one of Mother Theresa and the other of John Paul II. I had never made stencils this large before, but it turned out to be quite easy. I made them in my backyard the night before the event.

On Saturday, January 29, the Winter Wonderland Ball commenced.

The last I checked, my two paintings made $127.00 for Immaculate Conception Parish. Everyone I talked to decided that this was confirmation that I had become an 'artist.' I also received lots of interest from people who lost the bidding war, so perhaps I will start making things more often.

Status:

Goals 6, 43, & 59: 49er's Weekend

This was the first true 49er's I've ever had. I wasn't underaged, or out of town, or pre-occupied. I was in Socorro (for most of it) and I was ready to enjoy my final 49er's. Really, it all started early in the week when we started making Pauly Shore t-shirts as an ASME fundraiser. We sold a good amount of shirts, getting a lot of publicity in the process.

The night of Pauly Shore, things escalated rather quickly to involve fleshy tagging.

Naturally, I was pumped. I was about to see a childhood role model. Pauly Shore, of Bio Dome was coming to my school, and I was going to let him make me laugh.

On stage, he acted exactly as I expected. It was like he hadn't changed a bit. He made noises, acted immature, and did the weasel.

Then there was a lot of in-depth info I hadn't exactly bargained for. Things like his sexual positions, his previous partners, and his experiences with ladies. I couldn't stop laughing because Pauly Shore was up on stage, in his 42 year old time capsule appearance.

Goal 59: Meet Someone Famous that I Respect

I'll admit, respecting Pauly Shore is a stretch, not to mention considering him famous, but it's as good as I'm going to do for right now. Meeting Pauly was pretty low key and quick, but he did tell us he liked our shirts and chests, and we were told to post this picture up on all of his social networks.

Goal 6: Take the GRE

The Graduate Record Examination is like the SAT for big kids. Last year at the SHPE conference I attended a GEM Fellowship seminar, and got a 50% off code for the GRE. I've been waiting to use that coupon. I was going through the rules, and when I saw that you can only take the GRE once a month, I decided I needed to take it in October, just in case. So I went on the website on that Tuesday, and luckily there was an opening that upcoming Saturday! Someone must have rescheduled at just the right time, because all weekends through November have been booked for a while. So I jumped on the opportunity, despite it being 49er's weekend.

Goal 43: Conquer the GRE

I didn't study for the GRE too much, and it probably showed in my verbal section. I tried to learn tons of words, but none of the words I learned showed up. In the quantitative section I missed one question. I put a decimal when it asked for a percent (my answer was 1.25; the correct answer was 125%). In the end, it was a 790/545 (out of 800/800) or an [above average]/[average]. I would retake the exam with my confidence that I could get a perfect score, but I'm not sure it's worth the $150 pricetag without a discount coupon.

After the test, I drank a celebratory beer with David, and headed back down to Socorro to finish the weekend. First up was getting tatted like we be hardcore, and rollin' intah kaseeno night!

We were rollin' like celebrities...

Tearin' it up, makin' mad monies...

Walkin' on the floor with mah cronies...

Cacklin' loud as the bills accumulate...

After winning an iPod as a team, it was time for bordeaux to titillate...

Our friend Natasha was getting pretty irate...

After a night of dancing and drinking at Ashley's house, followed by a late night of partying at Nick's house, followed by a macing, it was time to sleep for a little while before climbing the next mountain: M-Mountain.

It was the 99th anniversary of the M-Mountain climb, in which people gather and haul up bags of lime and marble dust to keep the iconic 'M' looking white and defined.

We were Team Amber Ortega, and as a team, we had team t-shirts. Comprised of Adam Anderson, Austin Silva, Matt Swanson, and myself, we had a great time carrying 50 lbs of lime up to the top.

The first time for three of us, we made it up in a little under two hours. Not too shabbeh, if I do say so myself.

We finished as a team, keeping everyone close the whole time, and not more than two minutes between each member finished.

The world from the top.

Austin brought up some prayer flags, and we put them up by ripping one tree out of the ground, and conveniently relocating it.

Walking around in the lime was like walking on flour. It makes me want to dedicate a room just to flour playing.

49er's was concluded with a Socorro Springs feast, and celebratory beers.

With that, my final 49er's weekend had come to an end. Very eventful, I had somehow managed to not do any homework the entire time, and get away with it. The next weekend will be the FE exam, and grad school applications. The semester pushes on.