Growing Up? . . . Nope. Never.

It's Thursday! That means we have made it passed the half way mark! This week is actually going by pretty quickly. I can't wait for it to be over though. The National Cherry Festival is in town this week and I am tired of the groups of teenagers hanging out on every corner downtown. I will miss the corn dogs and elephant ears though.

There isn't much new to report. I am getting settled in here. I am staying at The Whiting. I definitely recommend it. Very classy! No shower, holes in the wall covered up by vents, smelly bed sheets, windows that wont close, TV cable that has to be adjusted every two minutes, midget sized bed, creaky floors, strange neighbors, and so much more!

Work is going well though. I am enjoying it a lot. I love that I actually have a job where I am designing, not dishing ice cream or selling glow toys. I have a desk in the corner with my computer all set up. It's very legit. I almost feel like an adult. (Just without the paycheck).

This has been a crazy summer. I have been all over the map, but I am LOVING every minute!

Summer of Travels!!!!

It's been a while, so I figured you guys deserve an update on what's going on in my life right now.

After living out of my car for a month in Logan, I quit Aggie Ice Cream (forever this time) and took a quick trip to California with some friends. We stopped in Vegas for a night. It was really fun. Disneyland was awesome! Of course. I hadn't been there in 3 years, so it was good to go back. Disney World is still bigger and better, but the original will always be Disneyland.

After that trip, I left Utah again and drove out to Florida. On the way, I was able to stop in Iowa and visit with my friend Michael. I spent a day in Louisville, KY with Mattie. It was so good to see old friends.

The best surprise of the summer was waiting for me when I arrived in Orlando. The Scottish Twins, Steph and Kimbers, were there!!!! They planned a vacation to Florida and kept it secret from me. It was SO good to see them. We had a lot of fun while they were in town. We went to Miami for a couple days. Drama pretty much sums up that trip, but it was still a good time.

I was in Florida for 3 weeks. It was good to go back to work at Fantasmic! No matter how much I complain about it, I do miss it some days. I made a lot of new friends in the short time I was in town. It was extremely hard to leave. Every time I go back to Disney, I am tempted to never leave. But no one can live in that bubble forever.

I left Florida last Thursday. I was on the road in Georgia when I got the news that Michael Jackson had died. I have never considered myself a huge fan of Michael, but it hit me harder then I thought. I grew up listening to his music. I realized how big of an impact he had in my life as I listened to countless radio stations play his music over and over. I remember being stuck in traffic in Atlanta. It was maybe an hour after he had been confirmed dead. Traffic wasn't moving. I was listening to a station that was playing Michael and talking about him. I rolled down my window and heard the same station being played from the car next to me. Then I looked behind me. The lady was lip-syncing to the same song. As I turned down my radio, I heard numerous cars on the freeway playing Man in the Mirror in unison. EVERYONE was listening to this station. It was a moment I wont forget. I watched everyone around me in their cars as they listened to a man who had influenced their lives in some way or another. It was pretty awesome.

Anyway, I continued on to Chicago. I stayed there for a day with my friend Alix. Fun times! haha. Then Alix and I drove up to Traverse City, Michigan. That's where I am now. I started my internship yesterday. Its going well so far. I feel very legit. I have my own desk in my own corner. It's great! And that's my summer so far.

Hope you are all doing well! Miss you all!

Curtis

VERY quick update from my VERY homeless life. (no really)

As most of you know by now, I am currently homeless. I live in my car. It's been over a week and things have been going more smoothly then I expected. Living in a car is really pretty easy. I have been lucky though. I have the most amazing friends in the world. I have been able to sleep on a couch or bed nearly every night. People have fed me. People have sheltered me. It's been great. I have actually learned a lot. I was so naive before this experience. I am surrounded by people who truly care for me! I didn't realize that until now. 

So this is just a quick shout out to all of you who have been helping me in any way. I love you all so much! Thanks for making this experience so great! I will only be homeless for a few more weeks and I think it will be very rewarding! 

Love you all!

Swimming in $#*t? Not me.

So I just finished my last homework project of the semester. Tomorrow, I will present my portfolio at the Senior BFA Show and then I am done for this semester! This has by far, been the busiest 4 months of my life. With 18 credits and essentially 2 jobs, I have had little time for much else. But, it's actually been a REALLY good semester. I feel like I have accomplished a lot and defeated the monster! There were times I literally was not going to get things done, but somehow it always magically worked out. It may have meant several sleepless nights, but it worked out. 

I remember the week Jason, our Disney recruiter from Orlando, came to campus to do our big Disney presentation. It was right before spring break and midterms were that same week. I went over 60 hours with ZERO sleep in that week. Total I probably ended up with 6 hours of sleep that entire week! I look back and have no idea how that was even possible! I still can't believe I survived all of this.

I am just now starting to see the rewards for my hard work this semester. Last week, I was accepted for an internship with the Traverse City Film Festival this summer. I am thrilled to have received an actual Graphic Design position!

Today I took my Stats final. I spend over 8 hours in the Library yesterday studying. And guess what? I think I pulled it off. I feel confident that I did really well of that test!

A few weeks ago, I received a Grant for next year. This was miraculous news. I have worked by butt off to make it through college and all I ever saw was a disappearing bank account and growing debt. News of this grant brought me to tears. If there was ever a time in my life when I needed financial help, this is it.

So life has a funny way of working itself out. I don't know how it happens, but it does. My life is far from perfect, but I have no desire to focus on the negative. What is the point? Enough shit happens, I don't need to spend my time swimming in it.

You should have seen this by now, but just in case you haven't. . .

If you haven't heard of Susan Boyle yet, you must be living under a rock. In just under a week she has become the WORLDS obsession. And for good reason. Watch this video and you will be amazed! I have watched it at least a dozen times. I absolutely love this woman!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

I love that the world has fallen in love with Susan! I first saw this video on Tuesday when it had just over 4 million views on YouTube. I immediately began telling people about this amazing sensation. By yesterday, everyone I know was talking about Susan Boyle. Last night while someone was texting me about Susan Boyle, I heard the Susan Boyle video being played in the apartment above me. This morning, a customer came into work raving about Susan Boyle. Today, I was sent a link to websites selling Susan Boyle T-Shirts among other things. Oprah asked Susan Boyle to be on her show. Susan Boyle, you have become an international superstar faster then anyone in history! I love it!

One Second of Breath

There is not a whole lot to report on in my life. I FINALLY got an interview for an internship. It was a phone interview and I honestly don't know how it went. It was a very relaxed interview. We went over the description of the interview and the program, but she never actually asked me any of the typical interview questions. I don't know if this is a bad thing or a good thing. I know I didn't say anything stupid, so I am hoping for the best!

This last weekend was Easter weekend. On Friday night, I went to a Rock Band party in my apartment building. Then a big group of us went up the canyon and created a mini bonfire. We cooked hot dogs and roasted marshmallows. It was actually a BLAST! Most of the time, I really hate that there is nothing to do in Logan. However, nights like this remind me how fun this place can actually be. I am going to miss certain aspects of Logan when I leave. Nights up the canyon will definitely be one of those aspects.

I worked on Saturday where I had the most fun I have had at that job in probably close to a year. We got into an ice cream war and I left work covered in rocky road ice cream. Needless to say, I had some laundry to do.

After cleaning up, I left to Salt Lake City to visit some friends. We had a ton of fun that night. I actually met Britney Spears while we were out! Well. . . sorta. I do have the picture to prove it.

I then drove home to American Fork to spend Easter Sunday with the family. I went to church with them. It was interesting to see people from my childhood and have fake conversations with all of them. They never cared about me growing up, but now they all want to know what I am up to. People are interesting. I am not bitter or complaining. It was good to see people and talk to them. I just find human behavior intriguing at times.

Later that afternoon, we had dinner. It was amazing! I miss having home-cooked meals. It was so good to be able to spend time with my family. I love playing with the kids now too! I was trying all afternoon to take a nap, but my niece, Emilee, and nephew, Matthew, seemed determined to stop that from happening! It was fun though! I love being around little kids. They force me to remember a time when life wasn't so complicated.

I drove back to Logan Sunday night and have been going nonstop since then. Finals are in a couple weeks and I have a lot to get done before then. Combine that with increased hours at work, and you have one busy Curtis. Once I make it through these next two weeks, I can officially celebrate and breath for a second. I can't wait for that second. It's my last remaining motivation. That one second of breath.

What if the real world wont take me? Then what?

I decided today, that I need to do better at keeping up with these blogs. I was going to update my design blog tonight, but am being too lazy to scan in all my sketches. So I figured I could at least update this blog.

There is not too much going on in my life right now. I am staying pretty busy with school, but I am okay with that. Things have slowed down a little now that my Disney recruiting for this semester is almost over. I have been able to focus more on my design projects, which has been great. They keep me busy, but I love working on them.

Earlier today, I was looking up classes for Fall semester. I can't believe I am planning out my last semester of college EVER! It's been such a long journey to get to this point. When I graduated high school, I never imagined I would still be in college 6 years later. The last 6 years have taught me to not take my life plans too seriously. Things never go exactly as planned. I have also learned that it is that exact reason life is so wonderful.

Last week, I found a place to live in the fall. I am moving in with my old roommate Tim Ray and some other guys into a house. Yes! An actual house! I am stoked for that. It's going to be tons of fun. I have decided since my time left in Logan is actually pretty short, I really am determined to take advantage of all this little town has to offer. It's not the typical college town, but it definitely has some advantages. I plan on immersing myself in the Logan culture the rest of the year. There is so much here I have never done and I don't have a whole lot of time to do it all.

Time.

That  brings me to my next subject. There are less then 4 weeks until the end of the semester. I still have no internship set up. In fact, I don't have any job set up. In other words, I am screwed. I have no idea what I am going to be doing and that stresses me out a little. I have a couple options if an internship doesn't come along, but I don't really like either of them. So please pray that I get an internship. I have applied for over a dozen, but no luck so far. Today I actually applied for an internship with the Traverse City Film Festival. It's unpaid, but I still think it would be a great experience. Plus, my amazing friend Alix will be there! Me and her together for another summer pretty much equals FANTASTIC! And I will be closer to Kim too. I haven't seen her in almost 3 years, but she still completes me. haha. (inside joke).

If I get that internship, I kinda have a plan for the summer. I think I would be able to pull in off too. If I don't get that, it's an entire summer at Aggie Ice Cream or back to Disney. Staying for Aggie Ice Cream might just make me kill myself. That job has worn itself out. Sorry. It's fun, but I am burned out. A person can only scoop ice cream for so long before they start to lose their mind. Plus I feel like I am better then that now. I should be able to get an actual job. I am 23 years old and have talents that are NOT being used there. It's a great job while in school. It's convenient. But enough is enough. 

Going back to Disney would obviously be fun, but with their recent cutbacks, I am sure the hours would not be enough to get me through the summer. So both are bad options. I NEED an internship.