You and me and a monday night in front of InDesign. It is all good.

Best thing that’s happened to me in weeks!

Ok so here is another thing to add to the list of why I do not understand how our course is run: apparently some people get given a secret discc with thousands of expensive typefaces for them to copy an use. Dude… seriously? Yeah we all already know that we are not all as important to our tutors but that shit is fucked up. Is that even legal? Are these selected few supposed to be hush-hush about the whole thing and just be flattered that the tutors are giving them these advantages?

Maybe this special disc with typefaces is available to everyone, I do not know, but the tutors have made a very good job to keep it from us who are not as important and do not show as much promise to pimp the University’s website out for future students.

I cannot wait to leave this university behind.

*This is not me sitting at home feeling sorry for myself not being one of the ones who got offered the cd - I have come to terms with not being one of those people a looong time ago, and it is not in my interest either - it is about the principle .

Stop me before I go black.

I love this woman. And also yeah, for a long time I though ‘Two Doors Down’ was about masturbation. But those are my problems, not hers. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind me continuing on thinking that it is.

The ability to get ugly and still remaining the sexiest and coolest things in the world!

I was going to do a blog post about how I never drink alocol anymore when I remembered drinking both friday and saturday night. But to be fair, I only had a few beers with Craig and Kate while watching Aliens and I wouldn’t say that I got crunk. Because I haven’t been crunk in a long time! I think it is the fact that my dissertation is in in less than two weeks and I have been a bit sick of everything lately. But when you read my blog I always seem to be sick of everything, so I guess it isn’t an excuse. ANYHOO what I was gonna get to is that after we have handed in the dissertation I am going to have a few weeks when I get my party ON. Starting with Victor’s bday party. Knowing this it will keep me motivated until then. And I want to leave you with a song that makes my heart melt and also makes it much more enjoyable being stuck in front of a computer all day:

Even though he rearranges my chair every fucking day, so that it makes me annoyed and totally ruins my night when I have made coffee and am gonna sit down in front of YouTube and look at a new Chris Crocker-video, I still think he is super pretty!

(Mikael took the photo)

Chicken, black currant, soya, creme fraiche, chicken stock, juniper berries and rosemary. Dudez I promise you, those are some killer ingredients.

It is time now baby. Time for your comeback. You are ready.

My best advice for someone who is in a bad mood - baking. It does work.

Det märks tydligt och klart att Benjamin nu har en flickvän och jag är inte lika vitktig längre. Jag har tillochmed blitt löjlig.

This is from Grafik magazine. This is how they introduce two different designers, both illustrators:

“Thanks to — uncle Brian in Iceland, —- ——– took up illustration at a young age. Never without — camera and little blue notebook — works between Wales and London, feeding off fashion and nature in equal measure. Life is all about drawing, drawing and more drawing.”

“— been honing — pencil skills from a very young age, creates some intriguing combinations of geometry and nature and is poised for graphite greatness. Take it away, illustrator —– —–…”

Guess which one is the man. *SPARKLE PINK FLUFFY CLOUDS SPARKLE*

Today my tutor said to Deniz that she should do the brief we wrote together by herself.

Thank you so much for the support. That didn’t make me feel like shit at all.

“I see my work as a series of attempts to ruin certain representation, to displace the subject and to welcome a female spectator into the audience of men”.
– Barbara Krueger, Press release (New York, Annina Nosei Gallery, 1984)

Barbara Kreuger is awesome, do not get me wrong. She is one of those that would probably be high up on the OMMMGGGG!!!*SPARKLE*VOMIT-starstruck list (highest on that list would probably be Ricky Gervais, because I will never be that funny). But yeah. Why is it that so many of the really famous graphic designers still does “masculine” graphic design. I understand that this was a clever choice coming from her, it is not that I believe that I am smarter then she is. But. What I do feel is that this would probably never had been appreciated in the same way if the colours were different (red black and white… yeah… the most boring colours in the world, but I’m probably not aesthetically celever enough to understand the GENIUS that is that combination).

And still. She wasn’t in the list of “Graphic Design Heroes” when we had that project in 1st year. Not one woman was.

Ok so I have read a few articles now about whether Mad Men is a feministic tv series or not. In my opinion it is not. I fully agree that you get to see realisticly how sexist the 60s were. But it all comes down to this - you still get to see these problems through the men’s eyes. You understand that the women feel oppressed etc but it ends there. And you are supposed to identify with Don Draper, who is the definition of an asshole. That is what I do not understand?! I mean the first scene of the series is him talking to this black servant, asking about his opinion about a marketing idea (even though the white owner apologised for the black man even talking to him) - SUERLY this means that we are supposed to have sympathy for Don Draper and that he is supposed to be a likeable character. And then he cheats on his wife and blames her for being flirty with his boss and has secret phone calls with her psychologist to find out what they have been talking about. FUCK THAT.

I gave it a chance but now I am done with it. DOUBLE SNAP UP AND GO.

To quote Deniz - today didn´t go exactly as planned. I was super excited about starting the new briefs but they got shot down. Me and Deniz was going to make children’s book together - something I have been wanting to do for a long time. We were gonna make it with different textures to create different environment - to create a very distinct feeling of the world the story was set in. But no no we have never done anything like that before (I got the feeling that it was more that I haven’t done anything like that before) so there was no point in us even trying. Something about knowing anything about child psychology which, first of all, surely can’t be a criteria for doing a children’s book and secondly, I have worked with kids full time every summer for three years now and I would like to think I know a fair bit about how they think/how reading a book later can inspire them to continue the story in their imagination and in their games. It actually really did make me disappointed that we were not allowed to do that one.

What I am gonna start on now instead is creating an identity for Kristofer & Emanuels club GROW UP. Making a new logo and making a website, blog, etc. That will be a fun project and I really want to make a good job with it.

I have been feeling bummed out all day today. When I got home I made a potato gratin with marinaded lamb chops. It released some of the anger and stress and made me happy enough to enjoy Arrested Development. And it made Craig happy also. And Craig is never happy.

I am going to top this of with a photo of myself looking disappointed. And also showing off my new Illamasqua lipglosss (Illamasqua is one of my new favourite brand, it is so so amazing! Look at that colour! That’s a lipgloss! And it stayed on all day! I should probably save all this for the make up blog, but this is so awesome to me that I wanted to share it here too):

It has been a shitty day and then I come home to chill out and look at my favourite websites/blogs. And then this. I don’t know about you guys, but right now it would be a nice time to get a time out from life.

I’M NOT WORTHY!

YOU WOMAN!

Hello there. I am back in Carlisle. Again. I came back last monday. Me and Deniz flew to Liverpool and then we took the train back in the freezing cold. Nothing compared to Sweden though I guess. I did not do much last week, just finished my projects for the hand in. On friday me and Victor got on the train to Crewe to watch Craig and the rest of Maps of Columbus play. It was awesome and I felt very proud. Then we got crunk and danced. Saturday we were all hungover and in the evening we went to a really nice restaurant and had dinner. It was a really nice weekend and we came back to Carlisle yesterday.

This week I am going to focus on my dissertation and hopefully I will get a good start on it. I just have this cold that needs to go away forever and then everything will be fine. Fingers crossed.

To all the girls who changed their Facebook status to what colour their underwear is to “see if any guys can figure out the game”:

SHAME ON YOU!!!!!!!!

Lunch 6/1: Avocado and soya beans. An black coffee.

1. Did you do anything this year that you’ve never done before?
I was funnier than myself.

2. Did you keep any of your New Year promises?
I don’t think I had any, and if I did then I obviously did not keep them.

3. Did any of your friends become parents this year?
Nope they did not. I hope it will take a long time before anyone does also. I have no interest in bringing a bebbelito to Birger Jarl. Do you hear me?!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Chris Brown. Goodbye forever.

5. What countries did you visit?
Sweden, England, Scotland and Ireland. Wow, that was actually quite good? I have to add that I actually went to a few new places in England like Liverpool, Newcastle and yeah Crewe. Me and Deniz also spent an awesome day in Edinburgh.

6. Anything you’re missing from 2009 that you’d want in 2010?
Hmm. I don’t know. I feel like 2009 was all a long preparation for 2010. I am more focused now. I am sure everything will come together 2010.

7. What date from 2009 will you always remember?

8. Your biggest success during 2009?
That I didn’t leave Carlisle. That I passed my referral work. That me and Karolina actually had all of the responsibility at the day care over the summer and we did it awesomely.

9. Biggest mistake?
It was probably letting things other people said get to me. You live and you learn though.

10. Have you been sick or injured?
I had the killer flu two times! It was fucking horrible! I blame the coughing douchebag behind me on the airplane for the first time, and C for the other time. Not fair.

11. Best purchase?
Oh dear god, there are sooo many. But I have to say my MacBook Pro. Baby I will never leave you.

12. What did you spend most money on?
Make up. Without a doubt.

13. Did anything make you really happy?
The summer made me really happy. It was a good summer. My friends made me happy as usual. Jenny always make me the happiest. Deniz’s gorilla dance made me happy (a dance that I originally came up with). Alcohol made me happy. Craig made me happy even though he stole all my jokes. The kids made me happy. The sea made me happy. Etc.

14. What songs will always remind you of 2009?
Beyonce - Halo, Fibes oh! Fibes - Run to You, Camera Obscura - French Navy, Kanye West - Robocop, XX - Heart Skipped a Beat, Miike Snow - Sans Soleil

15. Were you happier or sadder this year compared to previous years?
So so so much happier. So much happier.

16. What do you wish you had done more of?
Got crunk.

17. What do you wish you had done less of?
Worrying. And also anxiety. That fucking anxiety. It will be the death of me.

18. How will you spend Christmas?
I did spend it with my family and Jenny. Like it’s supposed to be.

19. Were you in love this year?
I wasn’t planning on but it I was very much in love with Craigster.

20. Favourite show on the TV?
Life, the Apprentice, Sommarpratarna, På Spåret, etc.

21. Best book you’ve read this year?
The History of Love. It got to me.

22. Biggest musical discovery?
Local Natives, Avett Brothers, Miike Snow, Paper Bird, Lil Wayne, Wild Beasts, Camera Obscura

24. Something you wished for and got when for birthday?
I didn’t wish for anything, but I got some awesome gifts. The pug-coaster is the winner though.

25. Something you wished for but didn’t get on your birthday?
Hmm. Nahh I didn’t wish for anything.

26. What did you do on your birthday this year?
I got crunk.

27. Is there anything that would have made your year much better?
Moneyzz. More fabulous clothes.

28. How would you describe your style in 2009?
Confused.

29. What made you feel good in 2009?
The same thing that made me happy I guess.

30. What celebrity did you have the hots for?
I don’t think there was anyone in particular. I guess I am still in love with Shia LaBeouf though. Yeah I will say Shia.

31. Who did you miss?
I missed my friends when I was in England, I missed the girls and Craig when I was in Sweden, I missed Annika.

32. Best new person you met?
Hmm. I don’t think I met a new person that I hang out with. I’ll say Malin though because we got to know each other for real this year. She is awesome.

Yeah, I know.

I am so bored tonight. Like, I want to fucking kill someone. That’s how bored I am. I guess I could’ve organised something but I really cannot be asked. Everything pisses me off right now, so it’s probably better that I am not around people.

I had a nice day though. Was in town with Jenny and Kristofer. Then me & K went back to my place and did two posters for Grow Up & Fight Night. Celebrated mums bday with lobster and some wine. Now I am bored to death though. Bored and tired and annoyed. Angry. One of those nights, you know.

I should probably just sleep it off.

I mean obviously it is not done, the timing is off and the images needs to be corrected. But I am very happy that I made it work, and in less than an hour also. HUZZAH!

That feeling. When you have finished a really good book.

Emptiness.

Christmas is over and I am totally OK with that. I got some really nice Christmas gifts and I am very happy about everything. Here are some photos from the last couple of days (taken with the camera on my new phone):

Last night we had drinks @ Moa’s place and it was fun. We went to a party later on and there was a starnger bitch there that pissed me off so I went home. I was also very drunk. Looking forward to New Years now, but before that I am going to have a week of some hardcore healing. Tonight I am gonna do some work on the Body Shop-projects and tomorrow I am gonna go spend some money on make up. Hellz yes.

I did my last Christmas shopping with Benjamin and I am happy with what I have gotten everyone. I also got myself a book to read over Christmas. Yeah that’s right - a book. Take that, University of Cumbria! I am going to read a book without feeling guilty that I should instead be dissecting every little word Sagmeister has ever written just to prove that I even have a slightest interest in graphic design.

These two books I got for my brothers and hopefully they will like them. I did like Invisible Monsters (I still have your book btw, Deniz) so I am guessing these ones are good also. Plus the covers are awesome. So yeah. I am done with the Christmas shopping and tonight I am going to watch the Office. HUZZAH!

I got a letter in the mail today and I immediately knew who it wad from. “ROBIN!” I’ll never forget what his hand drawn type looks like. And I got excited because Robin is never ever boring. He will always be a million times more clever and witty than me and even though we don’t talk like we used to I do keep myself updated on what he does because it is always awesome.

What I am trying to say is: check this out.