its a'comin...

my two best friends from home are now college graduates...


now its starting to feel real.

you just have to laugh.

i get really excited about birthdays. i love mine so much that i want others to love theirs as well, but unfortunately not everyone has the same fuzzy-feeling associate with their day of birth. today is one of my "bff's" (thats right i went there) day of birth here at cornell, and lets just say she is less than thrilled. she says weird stuff usually happens and it ALWAYS rains. i keep laughing at her pessimism and trying to make her excited and make plans for her "special day", but shes been horribly adamant about not making a fuss. i keep maintaining that she's silly, and low and behold as today rolls around...

she ends up in gannett health services because she has a sun-exposure rash and it appears that its going to rain for the first time in like 2 weeks.

now how bout that?

and to think she almost didn't join...

@cornell's new vp exchange is kate mcdermott, one of my personal recruits and one of those people who surprises the shit out of you. you think you have her pegged from first meeting her bc shes sweet and "save the world"ish, but do not underestimate this girl. ever. i wont divulge any further because i dont want to ruin the surprise for @US. all i have to say is get to know her.

when things such as someone who almost didnt finish her application to join aiesec becomes a vp, it makes me glad that i dont keep my mouth shut. so people, keep inspiring others to find themselves by just being yourselves. it has more power than you realize.

work in progress

the quarter scale model of my soon to be full scale ergonomic, intergenerational sociopetal love seat:

its intended to facilitate interaction between the elderly and their grandchildren through its rounded backframe (which allows them to see each other while sitting and/or easily cuddle) and all of the seating and angle measurements are those of ergonomic lounge seating standards.

here is a picture of it with my "1/4 scale person" to give you a better idea of dimensions [note: theres tape on her neck (her name is regina) because i accidentally decapitated her while cutting the shape out of particle board]:

moral of the story: im taking the most baller classes.

simple, yet awesome.

what's the best advice you've received about the creative process?

Not sure if anyone ever really told me this, but the best advice I can think of is to get comfortable spending a lot of time alone. Also, don't let anyone else hold the keys. If the galleries aren't liking what you make, come up with your own way of showing your work. If you can't get an agent, make the movie yourself and post it online. If you can honestly stand behind the work you're making, you can find an audience for it --most of those gatekeepers are there to screen out the people who aren't committed. When you give other people the keys, you give yourself an excuse not to make the work, and then you might as well just go to a baseball game. Also, it's good to learn to edit out the stuff that isn't working even when you can't figure out why. This is very difficult for me. It's easierif you find a way to enjoy destroying the ones that don't work. I prefer fire. [Tucker Nichols]

continuing the legacy

tracey y. hsu, the 5th president of aiesec cornell (well, since its resurrection in 04)

email her congrats at tyh6@cornell.edu

a whole system's perspective

"Successful corporations need a healthy society. Education, health care, and equal opportunity are essential to a productive workforce. Safe products and working conditions not only attract customers but lower the internal costs of accidents. Efficient utilization of land, water, energy, and other natural resources makes business more productive. Good government, the rule of law, and property rights are essential for efficiency and innovation. Strong regulatory standards protect both consumers and competitive companies from exploitation. Ultimately, a healthy society creates expanding demand for busiess, as more human needs are met and aspirations grow. Any business that pursues its ends at the expense of the society in which it operates will find its success to be illusory and ultimately temporary. At the same time, a healthy society needs successful companies. No social program can rival the business sector when it comes to creating the jobs, wealth, and innovation that improve standards of living and social conditions over time. If governments, NGOs, and other participants in civil society weaken the ability of business to operate productively, they may win battles but wil lose the war, as corporate and regional competitiveness fade, wages stagnate, jobs disappear, and the wealth that pays taxes and supports nonproit contributions evaporates." [Porter & Kramer, Strategy and Society, Harvard Business Review Spotlight]

as much as ive studied and researched and preached about the responsibility business has to the community, i dont think ive ever really thought about how the community has responsibility to business, but in fact it does. in order for one to survive it needs the other. it isnt us versus them, because in fact we are all "us" and we are all "them".

leading with this framework in mind puts out a whole new question; how can business and community as one closely integrated entity move forward as a whole without hindering any part of itself, especially in this "globalized" society we now live in?

just baller.

Thank you for submitting your Senior Essay for consideration for the Excellence in Leadership Award. I am pleased to let you know that we would like to submit your essay to the MFCNS Alumni Steering Committee for review and final selection for the award.

Attached is the information that we need from you. If you have any questions, or would like your essay for final review before I send it on to the committee, please let me know.

Again, congratulations!

Stephanie Spackman
The Cornell Commitment

the award is special recognition, an invitation to speak at the MFCNS alumni reunion, and some moolah.

one guess on what leadership activity i wrote my essay on...

a weekend of goodies.

the following is my top 10 list of events/experiences/revelations that made this weekend spectacular:

1. going to the first ithaca farmers' market of the season and being completely satiated after eating food from approximately 10 different kiosks
2. watching a [dance major] friend's senior thesis and seeing a compilation of not only her past 4 years of college but pretty much her entire life's work on stage
3. being on the selection committee for a contested election of aiesec cornell's next lcp
4. participating in a sing-and-dance-a-long until 3am with some of my favorite people from my college experience
5. finally meeting my eye-crush since freshman year and finding him completely endearing (to clarify, an eye crush is someone you have seen around, have never met, and in your mind is the world's most perfect person...and usually meeting them can ruin this made-up reality)
6. two days in a row hearing [and singing along to] counting crows "mr. jones" and retelling the story of when my brother and i performed it during a camp talent show when i was 7, david on air guitar and me on vocals
7. getting a call from my mom telling me she wanted to jump in the car and come to ithaca to hang out with me for the weekend just because
8. seeing julia everyday...shes just one of the people that just makes you feel so incredible about yourself in the most genuine of ways
9. being offered to have a mac laptop reserved for me by the girl at the mann helpdesk (people get into fist fights over these babies)
10. realizing that in the end i have more than a handful of people in this world who are whole-heartedly there for me...and vice versa.

to sum up: i fuckin love life. the end.