#everyone gets to see my capstone project now

[lostnlucky]

(mario voice) wahoo

#dnd #dnd character #urban shadows #tianyu #digital painting #i cant remember my tags #everyone gets to see my capstone project now #enjoy #art tag

[pepprs]

it’s like i made it this far only to completely fucking crash and burn and give up right in front of the people who believed i could do it and who i made to trust me to do it. awesome

#purrs #every time i try to work on my capstone i start hysterically sobbing so i just emailed my counselor (since she never replied after telling m #me that i missed our session even though i wrote back literally 3 minutes later when there were still 40 mins left) to ask if she could plea #please pretty please meet with me tomorrow bc i am fucking dying right now. i hope she sees it bc ive been crying for like an hour and my ey #eyes actually hurt. I need to go to bed and ineed to get permission from everyone to give up because i just can’t do it. i can’t #relatedly i got my fucking p*riod which im sure has no bearing at all as to why ive been miserable for weeks. and now im gonna be in pain wh #while finishing this too which is exactly what i need right now #like i do not see a way out of this other than a) excruciating suffering or b) giving up. the absolute DESPAIR of it all #literally the only reason i am not sewerslidal rn like i was last semester (🥴) is bc im about to graduate and never have to deal with this #shit again once it’s done EXCEPT for the fact that if certain things go certain ways i may forever have to live with the unbearable shame o #of having failed my motherfucking capstone project after working on it for 3 years. like the literal L of it all #*burns thru half a box of tissues in one evening* this is normal. this is exactly what finishing your degree is supposed to feel like

[wenasvault]

Week #7 UPDATE (Feb 26 - Mar 4)

Posted today, March 4th

Aloha everyone, 

The first set of photos is my progress after posting for almost two months now. I made sure from the get-go to establish a theme for my posts. I also specifically chose Reels in order to come into contact with more Swifties so that I can interact with them more! 

Note: @wenaswiftie is my temporary fan account. I will be switching to an infographic style of posts that will reflect my PSR progress! 

My Current PSR (parasocial relationship)

I am still posting on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I have also maintained my daily schedules of interacting with Taylor Swift content and editing for at least two hours a day. Overall, my current PSR with Taylor Swift falls between entertainment-social and intense-personal, but I am more towards the entertainment-social side. 

Similar to what I’ve previously said, other than time management being a factor, many of my personal values do not directly correlate with Taylor’s, so growing in the intense-personal level has been harder than expected.

Interacting With Swifties

I continue to talk with other fans via other accounts' comment sections, in my comment sections, DMs and also through the use of polls and other interactive posts. 

Speaking of, similar to what I posted last week, I wanted to see what Swifties thought about a very viral video of another fan bursting out into tears after hearing a song at Taylor’s concert. You can find the link to my post here where I made a fan edit out of it. I ended up putting up a poll on that post for a few days to see what Swifties had to say, and these were the results I came up with (see bottom photo). 

I mentioned this in one of my confessional videos but it is honestly intimidating to have so much power over someone’s life, especially when it relates to art. While I did think that fan’s reactions were intense, music does have the ability to move people deeply. And in that Swifties case (and in her own words), it “saved her life.”

A Swiftie actually got a bit defensive in the comments, which was a reaction that I was honestly expecting. 

What’s Next

After Week #8 or Week #9, I’m going to begin my “shift” into my final posts for my Capstone project. Again, these posts will be in an infographic format detailing my PSR with Taylor Swift. 

I also want to conduct more of a direct poll for Swifties after I have made my “shift.” 

Additionally, I need to continue to remain adamant about engaging and posting until then. 

Mahalo for reading,

#parasocial relationships #taylor swift #swifties

[prickly-problematic-programmer]

X people you’d like to get to know better

(it originally said 9 but i’m not tagging that many people. i’ll decide how many people i’m tagging when i get there lmfao)

thank you @gothmothinc for the tag!! i am pretty sure you already know 90% of these things!!!

Last song - oh this is embarrassing actually. uh. Online Game Addicts Sprechchor ft. Hatsune Miku by Satsuki ga Tenkomori. just discovered this song this morning actually it goes real hard you should listen to it.

Favorite Color - orange!! a warm varient of it preferably, but in truth anything but that neon traffic cone orange. green has also been growing on me recently though.

Currently Watching - heartstopper with moth! but in general i watch gab smolder streams in the background while doing most things that i require background noise for.

Currently Reading - i’m currently listening to the audio book of The Cat That Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa. for anyone that’s read it, i think you know how funny it is for me to be listening to this specific book while drawing/doing other things and also playing the audiobook at 1.3x speed, but i’m very much enjoying my time with it regardless!

Sweet/spicy/savory - sweets are definitely my go to for snacks, but i also love savory food. the thing is that i also like some spicy food but Cannot Handle Most Of It

Relationship status - much to the joy of everyone who was reading this real life slowburn- i’m very happily and unmistakably taken by the most amazing partner 🧡

Current obsession - the problem is actually that i’m in-between obsessions at the moment ^^’ is staying on top of assignments an obsession?? but no really the two games i probably think about the most right now are project sekai and everhood but nothing’s given me Proper Brainrot in the past little bit.

Last thing i googled - the date of the play date anticipation jam back in 2020 since that was the game jam i did during the last week of unus annus and i wanted to make sure i was remembering that correctly when i made my unus annus post!

Currently working on - :( too many things. we’ve got 1) capstone game (a cozy space flight simulation game coming to computers near you sometime next may!!!) 2) capstone programming project that i can’t talk about online 3) alphabet superset that i’m trudging my way through 4) a podcast for my podcasting class! moth is working with me on that one ^^ 5) my novel! she’s taken the back burner but she’s still there. rotating. in the back of my mind. the robots \o/

ok woo we’re at the end!!! sorry i’m only tagging one person @funfaerie i’m tagging you!! feel free to do this if you want!

also uh. anyone that sees this can do it! just say i tagged you! it’s just 12:38 am and i’m tired and didn’t proofread this so we’re not risking anyone seeing this that don’t have to lmfao

#tag game

[pbandjesse]

I am at the theater with James! It is intermission right now. And James has to keep running out to deal with job stuff. But I am having a great time. A great Halloween.

I didn't sleep great last night but I woke up in a great mood. James was out on a bike ride. I got up and got washed up and as I was getting dressed James was coming home.

And it was a great day. Sweetps 8th birthday! We got him a present and special treats. And I was feeling good.

Me and James worked on finishing the drawings for the staffs. I think they came out so cool. Though James is going to attach them for me and the first one went crooked. So we have to reassess that. But I loved having James's help. They did the big coloring in after I did all the details. And I'm just thrilled so far. I can't wait to see them done.

We hung out for a while before we ventured into the world. We wanted to get lunch and do Halloween photos and get groceries before we went to the theater.

So there was lots to do. We would drive over to Pepe's and get sandwiches. And it was just really nice being out together. We enjoyed our lunch and then drove down the street to the same park we did our engagement photos at.

Honestly we had to much fun. We set up a tripod and we did use it but I had more fun just running around and screaming. We were having a blast. We swapped costumes half way through. I found being a sheet ghost was to disorienting. But I love just taking pictures with James.

And I think we really got great shots. And some just hilarious faces. Ever since I figure out how to export live photos as videos I have really appreciated them for my little tiktoks. And I was really happy with the snapshots we got today.

The running was a lot for me though. And after a few runs towards and away from the camera I was ready to chill. We did some cute photos on the benches by the water. And then it was time to get out of the drizzle.

We went to the grocery store and I was disappointed that they had no pumpkins at all!! I was hoping to make pumpkin seeds but no suck luck. But that was okay. I got some stuff for lunches this week from the deli counter. And we popped around the store for a while. But I was feeling tired all of a sudden so I was happy to go home.

James put away all the groceries while I laid down for a while. I didn't sleep but my body didn't hurt so much anymore.

So I would knit for a long while. I got all caught up to today so I can do my monthly clip for progress. And I got started on my new rectangle loom. And I'm really excited about it but I already broke a peg off. So that is annoying but at least I have the proper glue to fix that now.

James made us Indian food in bed. And after dinner got our shoes back on and headed to the theater.

I requested we drove both because of the rain and because I didn't want to walk home in the dark.

But that made us a little to early. So we waited in the car until 6 and headed in.

James got people checked in while I knitted. And the show was honestly great.

I thought it was an opera but it was actually the Johns Hopkins dance capstone projects! And it was so fun! I started this during intermission but the show just finished. The second dance was my favorite and had the best outfits. The solo dances were my least favorite but you could really see the control they had over their bodies and that was really neat. The whole thing leaves me curious what you do with a BFA in dancing. Only because from what I know about ballet and figure skating. Your career is usually over by 26? But this is different so I'm curious what a career looks like. It's really cool though!! I'm glad we came.

It was a really good Halloween. And I am in a good mood. But I am also tired. They are doing a q&a right now. And we'll stay until the crowd leaves. And then home for showers and bed.

Tomorrow we are going to go to Ellicott city to start Christmas shopping. And I'm looking forward to a nice day.

Goodnight everyone!! Take care of yourself!!

[eskewcity]

is the shitty undergrad storytime an offer to your friends/mutuals over dms, or the general public of ur followers? i dont mean to be overfamiliar, but if you wanna post it for the general public id love to hear it lol

no literally it's for anyone because I hate him so much that the offer is open for the general public. I usually am not comfortable with sharing super personal information but in this case I am the one who said anyone could ask so its cool :)

so to begin his name is trent. and yes that's his real name because I can't be bothered to make a fake one and he deserves to be blasted. i would like to state as a bit of background info that I am unintentionally a darling of the history department at my school. I don't know how it happened because I wouldn't necessarily call myself a model student but my one professor offered me a research job for the summer of my freshman year and I have worked close with him on various projects ever since. this has also made me close with the other professors and yes to brag I did win an award because of it :} anyways we are besties blah blah blah it gave me an ego blah blah blah

in comes Trent my sophomore year. he immediately wants to get in the good graces of the department and is just a general kiss ass to everyone there. he does a lot of things to really get professor s. (the professor i work with) to like him but he doesn't really buy into it because he can see through bullshit including mine while I'm writing my capstone lol.

anyways Trent already doesn't like me because I took his spot as a friend to the faculty even though I was there a year earlier. add on the fact that I was (briefly) the treasurer of the history club on campus (I didn't do anything because pandemic and then I went abroad) which is the position he wanted but I got elected.

okay sorry that was a lot of build up for the thing he did that made me cry. so last year, prof s. approached me to essentially work as an online monitor for his class which was half online and on person. basically, I was to watch anyone that raised their hands via zoom and call on them since my professor was in the classroom and couldn't always spot them. I was told explicitly to first pick anyone who doesn't often speak and not necessarily go in the order that people raised their hands. if im honest, it was a really frustrating job for something so simple. I could see students roll their eyes at me when I wouldn't call on them first and it was overall an uncomfortable experience for me because I consider myself a rather reserved person who now has to interrupt almost every class.

so one day I'm calling on people and Trent raises his hand. however a lot of other people also raise their hand that don't often speak so I have to go to them first. I could tell he was getting antsy but I didn't think much of it. when it gets to him, instead of answering the question he decides to berate me endlessly. he goes on to talk about how if my professor's "helper" had picked him earlier that he would have been able to answer and just is insulting me. mind you this is in front of a 30 person class. then he mutes himself looking smug and i was shocked. thankfully the class was almost over so it ended and I just cried after that. like the job was difficult enough but he just made me feel like total shit. I ended up sending him an email to tell him to come to me privately if he has a problem with me instead of announcing it in front of the entire class. needless to say he never emailed me back instead he apologized to MY PROFESSOR for interrupting class. my friend who was even in the class talked to professor s. about it because people were just so rude to me when I did this job <3 anyways professor s. took my side but I have not forgiven Trent for being such an asshole and not even being apologetic about it like I’m not a human being with feelings

idc if seems like im overreacting and overly sensitive but literally terrible terrible time I hope he rots and his entire bloodline is cursed xoxo

#asks #anon

[nakimkcapstone]

PRESENTABLE IS HERE!

I hope everyone’s final capstone day went well and that everyone was able to get their projects in on time!

It was a very rough few weeks. All my filming, the edits, and of course the troubleshooting all took so much stress and mental energy and now I’m exhausted.

On top of that, yesterday I had a scare when I almost completely lost my premiere pro project file (thank God there was an autosave!) which set me back a good 4 hours as I tried to recover the file.

Ultimately in the end, I got it done! It’s not in the state I want it to be, and I had to cut a lot of corners to ensure I could get it done before the deadline. It’s definitely a project that I’ll continue to refine and develop.

The whole goal of my project was to see if I could combine the use of either free or cheap AI tools with traditional filmmaking. Hopefully my project can encompass that! Just a reminder that not all the AI used is visual!

Enjoy!

#Vimeo

[sholtiscapstone]

No. 5 Progress Update!

Hey, everyone! 

I hope you’re all doing well with your projects so far. Time is flying by and we’re almost at the end. For me, things haven’t been exactly what I wanted them to be in terms of timing but I’m still feeling confident I can get this wrapped before our last week deadline. It’s been taking some hours away from my sleep but that’s all worth it lol, and not that big of a deal. 

As for any hurdles I’ve faced, I’ve had some personal things take me away from my time on the project. I’m putting the time back into it though, and I’ll get everything back on track in no time. Realistically, I believe we still have so much time left to accomplish things, so if you’re stressing over our time frame, don’t worry about it. It’s better to be patient and finish the race a little bit later than you expected you would, then to give up and not finish at all. 

I’m also feeling more confident I can get things done quicker now after my check-in meeting with Sharla today. Lately, I’ve been gathering footage from the films my interviewees mentioned as I was considering adding in the characters they speak about in our conversation, but Sharla recommended that I should avoid doing that, as it takes away from the discussion. Super good advice, and it also helps me just focus on editing my interviewees. I’ve already chopped up the episodes, but the hardest part overall is adding in the different angles to the correct time. It’s a very meticulous task. Also, color-grading them to appear similar has been tricky, as I feel like my eyes have been bugging out on me. Thankfully, I have friends I can use as guinea pigs. 

Moving on, another topic that came up during my meeting with Sharla was my YouTube page that I’m going to be doing my posting on. I made one tonight and plan to upload everything there, so I’ll link it on my account for future reference! 

Then, for my visual component of this update, it’s a little different than a straightforward attached image. Instead, I’m going to link a project I did last semester in a short film class. I was lucky enough to have the chance to try and do a rough draft of what I wanted my capstone to look like back then. It’s awesome to see how much it’s changed since then. Instead of doing one-on-one interviews it’s now a group project, there’s no outside footage, and the questions aren’t the same either, as my new talk story series allows the interviewees to guide themselves more than anything. I can’t wait to do a full reflection on this experience because the change is pretty significant, but I love my current concept way more, which I didn’t think would happen lol. 

Females in Frame - CM 353 cut

Other than that, I’m getting back to work and planning to spend a few more hours tonight editing since I’m off of work tomorrow, so much sleep isn’t required. I hope you all are on track with your projects and seeing the results you want. And again, if anyone needs help feel free to reach out to me for whatever. You can email me through Laulima if need! :)

#capstone #editing #postproduction

[lgbtq-history-museum-cfl-intern]

The Final Count Down

Sunday 11/26/2023

Technically I’m supposed to be on vacation until tomorrow, but I have some time on my hands and thoughts on my mind.

This is the last day of classes and I’m working on some final assignments: The last touches on a research paper for the capstone course for my Interdisciplinary Studies major, a PowerPoint for the Hands-on History Internship Showcase on Friday, and a reflection on my service-learning hours with the LGBTQ History Museum of Central Florida – again, for capstone.

All I can think about is graduation! I’m so close, I can feel the end nearing!

My nerves are finally dissolving, leaving me with anxious anticipation, and a bit of “senioritis” as I chug through these final tasks.

Once the semester ends, this internship will fulfill the last course credits that I need – pending the History Department’s substitution – to complete my history minor.

Even though UCF has an Interdisciplinary Studies Master’s Program, I’m looking forward to turning in my application for the Public History Master’s Program by the priority deadline (January 15th). I aim to start my degree in the Fall of 2024 and, after learning about another student’s experience from Rollins’ Archival staff, I plan to take one seminar course at a time.

The only exception would be if I’m accepted into the Summer Research Program at UCF, allowing me to earn 6 credits the summer before.

This plan to take things slow is to hopefully avoid burnout and allow me to work with plenty of thought, care, and attention to my master’s degree. I’d also like to have time and energy to dedicate to internships and other forms of hands-on learning experiences like volunteering – maybe even a job that provides opportunities to expand skills that are relevant to public history professions.

Thursday 11/30/2023

Tomorrow is presentation day and I’m first up on the schedule (thank goodness! I’ll get to just sit and listen to everyone else’s experiences for the rest of the time!)

I’m literally functioning on meeting and due dates:

Tomorrow is the Hands-On History Showcase.

Sunday, all of my Capstone Assignments are due.

The following Friday, my final is due.

Then the Friday after that is graduation.

After that, I have about a month until the priority deadline for applications for the Public History Master’s Program at UCF.

That’s as far out as I can think right now.

I’m full of excitement and anxiety, but I’m also hopeful and optimistic!

Most of all, I am grateful, and I plan to spend some time throughout the following weeks communicating that to the mentors who positively impacted my undergraduate journey – pretty much all of them. (I was wondering if I was going to get sentimental leading up to graduation and, finally, here I am typing through calm tears as I reminisce on how lucky I am to have so many wonderful people to reach out to with gratitude.)

I’m glad this is how I chose to spend my final semester. Earlier this year, I was thrown off my path and I was heartbroken trying to piece together a new plan that accommodated my limited capacities as a student living with disabilities.

Now, two weeks from graduation, I stand firmer and more confident in my plans, goals, and desires.

Thank you to the wonderful faculty, staff, and peers who taught me so much along the way! Without their support, I would not have accomplished all that I have throughout my undergraduate career.

See you next Fall as a master’s student! (fingers-crossed)

Friday 12/01/2023

The showcase just ended and that just about wraps up the semester for me!

Everyone else had some incredibly enriching experiences and it was cool to see someone else who participated in the HerStory: Women in History Internship at the Orange County Regional History Center.

It seems the structure of it has come a long way, allowing her to accomplish so much more hands-on work than I had during my time there!

There was a lot of diversity in the projects everyone worked on, so I also learned other ways of being a public historian and doing public history work.

Hopefully, when I enter the Public History Master’s Program at UCF I’ll get to work alongside some of these wonderfully talented individuals!

Thanks for following my journey!

- Marena

#history student #internship blog #public history intern blog #history intern blog #public history internship #museum internship #student internship #college student #internship #history exhibit #banned books #graduation

[mealswildride]

A Rant about Death, Gettysburg, and Observational Research

After losing dad, my friend came hundreds of miles to be present for the funeral. We went out to dinner afterwards, and once everyone was a couple of drinks in, he managed to talk me into attending the 160th Reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg with him. 

This is something I'd NEVER do, but I accepted. Partly because of how much he went out of his way for me, partly because of simple peer pressure (I'd be called a bitch if I said no (Mama didn't raise no bitch) ), but a substantial part of it was, for me, this idea of the Quest. Especially as the weeks went by, as I finished school and returned home for the Summer only for my grief to grow worse, I think I marked the battle as this climax in my "James is sad'' arc, where, once I was up and over that hill, I would have completed this objective I arranged for myself at the lowest point of my life, and it would have, somehow, told my brain that I didn't have to be sad anymore.

The battle was on the hottest day of the Summer, on one of the hottest days of the Literally Ever, and the air stunk of campfire as the whole of Canada was, at the time, burning. I sweated my ass off, nearly fainted from dehydration, fell asleep in an officer's chair and, just by the good graces of a medic, didn't get pranked by the rest of my crew. Ultimately, while it's not my thing and I'd never do it again, I had a blast. I spent time with good friends I almost never see, saw a part of the country I’d never see if it wasn't for this, and gained a whole lot of respect for the guys who died to reunify the country. This being said, upon returning home a seasoned veteran, I felt no better than when I had left. Life returned to our new, miserable, "normal", and I isolated myself for the next few months until school resumed. 

I bring this story up now because, frankly, I've been struggling with searching for sources of observational research for Capstone. That isn't to say I haven't found any. Everyone I've spoken to has been really moved by my ideas, and has had something I should watch, read, or play to suggest as a result. While I am appreciative of these, when it comes to words on paper every time I try to connect them to my project, I'm lying. I have to lie to say with a straight face that Red Dead Redemption 2 or The Good Place or Black Mirror, or basically anything apart from some Unity tutorials has actually influenced where I thought my project was going from Day 1. I want to talk about the things that influenced me at the start, but all that delivers is "I haven't done anything since the start of the semester". I’ve used all my other original inspirations to their fullest extent, with the only exception being Gettysburg. It has been something of six months now, and in the midst of exams (seems like we really only have two weeks between the end of my latest midterm and the start of my earliest final), I had forgotten entirely about it, and whenever I did think about it I didn’t think it related at all to my work.

This changed recently (tonight, as I write this), as I finally connected some other puzzle pieces that have made it make sense. In conversation with my Game Design instructor some weeks ago, he asked if I knew how the game I'm developing would end, which, at the time, I didn’t. We talked for a bit, which yielded the conclusion that the Emulation your character is trying to build disables itself once you find the last memory piece. This was based on the fact that the game is supposed to mirror my own thought process in discovering what preservation is actually about. It begins with this idea of restoring somebody through A.I., through a big metal box with their personality inside, a literal monument, a physical presence, but ends with the box lecturing you about how this emulation isn’t real, and how the way the person being emulated truly lives on is through the adventure you just endured, through the memory that bullshit, exhausting quest just created. 

I did all of this without consciously thinking about the battle, but I think subconsciously, it was always there. The character you play as understands his quest to complete the Emulation as a means to end his sorrow. I thought of the battle that same way. The character undergoes a revelation at quest’s end that it wasn’t about some physical thing fixing their sense of loss, but rather using death as a means to spur on new, exciting things, to build new memories, to live on because the ones they loved were once there. Gettysburg didn’t fix me. Gettysburg was never going to fix me. But it was fun, and I never would have gone if I wasn’t at that funeral. 

[sofs-studio]

DES301 - Week 11 Capstone

Once again another week swings by... it's pretty scary writing this out and realising that there is only 1 month left of this project. Although it seems like a lot of time, I know I have such a magnitude of work to do; and on top of this project another paper, work and somewhat trying to keep up a social life.

Driscoll (1994) helps me reflect on last week with the prompts; What? So What? and, Now What?...

What? Last week I mainly set aside time to work on my International Business assignment. However, I also took my attention onto creating a high-fidelity campaign name for my project. I did this based on feedback I gained from my stream partners (Diversity Works NZ), for the most part I got the tick of approval for my work and that they are really keen to see what I create. But, they did not love my original campaign name "SheMeansBusiness" this is because of its prompt that are not gender neutral and therefore not inclusive to the community that suffers maternal stereotypes. I'm not going to lie I was pretty bummed to hear this as I was really set on this campaign name as I felt it was catchy and meaningful - I soon realised this was only meaningful to me that my positionality (not of those around me).

So What? Therefore I stepped back into the define phase and sought out how I might neutralise this campaign name. Looking in the lens of DEI, this helped me come up with names such as WeMeanBusiness, OurBusiness and yOURstory. Finally, I came up with MindUrBusiness, and after gaining user feedback this name stuck with everyone in terms of its meaning, catchiness and of course inclusivity. I took this on and reviewed typefaces, colour palettes and symbols I wanted to include and here I created my first high-fedelity prototype of the market campaign name.

Now What? Now, I have gone and gained more feedback on the visual implements of the name. I was surprised to gain some negative feedback on this. For instance the colours don't feel right for my project (I should implement a brighter purple due to its significant meaning towards feminism). Another note was that I don't need to stylise my title so much - I personally disagree with this comment as I want it to be memorable and easily transferred to multiple collaterals (business card, stickers etc...) Conclusively, I understand this was only my first high-fedelity prototype and that it is still a 'work in progress'. However, I am proud of myself for making the first big move and finalising the campaign name. My next steps are to move forward with creating the still images of my campaign as this is what will take me the most time. Then I will allow time to move back to the campaign title. I hope to get both of these sussed in the next 1.5 weeks. This will put me in a comfortable position to begin animating.

Ta ta for now!

//References//

Driscoll (1994). What? So what? Now what?

#capstone #302week11 #302week10reflection

[jordanp2]

Jordan Priest ENVIR491 Capstone Blog

Greetings fellow ENVIR491 internship folks! My name is Jordan and I am excited to be joining your cohort this quarter and in the fall! I got off cycle with my capstone project, so I will be finishing up my capstone with ya'll. I made this blog post in winter quarter, but I want to get to know you folks and so I am going to treat this as an introduction. I have just made a couple of updates to the post for relevancy.

Hi! My name is Jordan Priest, my pronouns are he/they, and I am a senior. I am interested in environmental education, public transportation planning/urban design, and water pollution. I love wetlands as well, I think they are so cool!

I had the pleasure of working with the Seattle Subway Foundation (SSF).  They are a Seattle-based nonprofit organization that advocates for the best possible public transportation plans for the city of Seattle. SSF works with local community groups, politicians, and the public to spread awareness about light rail and propose ballot measures.  More specifically, their objective is to help build an accessible and reliable light rail system that serves the people of Seattle well. SSF have created a "Vision Map", which outlines their ideal light rail arrangement in the city. 

The bulk of my work with SSF has been to research one of the prospective lines on that map.  In particular, am looking at how a light rail line might run from the Olympic Sculpture Park area across to Madison Valley, and then South to the Mount Baker Transit Station, which I have nicknamed "The Gold Line" due to the golden color with which is depicted on SSF's vision map.  To do this work, I've been doing research remotely, interviewing experts, and making site visits.  The photo below is of me at the under construction station of Judkins Park, which will likely intersect with the Metro 8 corridor line I am investigating.   Everyone who I've met at SSF have been knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and I am thoroughly enjoying this chance to work with them.

One interesting thing about working at SSF is that everyone is working on a volunteer basis.  I have found that this changes the dynamic of the internship, because everyone feels just as motivated and excited about public transit as I am.  It is so inspiring to me to see all of the fantastic labor that SSF folks put into advocating for the accessibility of Seattle.  It also means that I have the privilege of working with people from different backgrounds and diverse day jobs.  In fact, I have been able to speak to several people who work at some of the places that I aspire to work for.

One challenge that I confronted during the project so far was the process I went through letting go of the concept of at-grade light rail for my line.  For context, I spent last summer studying light rail systems in Europe, including Amsterdam's efficient street-level tram.  I love the idea of a cheaper light rail that can be installed on existing streets, transforming the city into a rider-friendly place.  What I did not account for was that all the case studies I was looking at (Portland, Amsterdam, etc) were relatively flat.  It wasn't until my site supervisor took me on a trip to look at Capital Hill through the lens of building light rail tracks that I fully visualized the problem it would be to run light rail on the surface of such steep streets.  Now I realize the benefits of building rail underground or elevated. 

The question I pose to you is an approximation of one that I've been asking at the end of my interviews as well: imagine two streets run parallel to each other and you need to decide which one to put light rail on.  Would you rather have the rail run along a street full of houses or businesses?

#capstonesu2023 #ENVIR491 #Environmental studies

[matteblacklips]

april updates i

Disclaimer: I would like to begin this email thread by saying if you didn’t want to receive emails from me you shouldn’t have given me your email to begin with.

Joke of the chain: I'm 2-0 on being canceled on trips because of work, and I'm not saying it's a lie but it's funny how it happened twice.

Hello all, 

Long time no talk, huh! So much has happened the last few weeks and I'm very excited to spill the tea. I know last month I said I had a full roster, that's a lie, I have no roster as men are unreliable and gross. I'm still unemployed and interviewing for jobs is so draining when you're being fucked in the ass with coursework, but if I don't have a job after graduating, please mind your business, I'm trying my best. Some jobs sound so good but they're just not the right fit and that's okay! I'm applying to jobs and I'm super excited to see where some of these interviews go. The hardest part about job-hunting right now is that there are so many jobs available that I should not accept offers if they don't work for me. Every time I reject a job offer I get scared that I will not find a better offer but that's life.

Birthday's to look out for; Priya: April 9th, Anthony: April 30th, Farid: April 1st, Tyler: April 9th

Let me know how I planned two trips, one to Austin and one to NYC, and both of them fell through the day before I flew out. I'm not upset but extremely disappointed because I wasn't initially excited but by the time I got around to packing and being excited, the plan fell through.

Pop culture update: Allegedly, A$AP Rocky cheated on Rihanna with a Fenty footwear designer. Crazy how we all thought they were endgame/goals and now the future of the baby is now TBD. When is her due date, I feel like she's been pregnant forever?

Master's Update: I'm in the last few weeks of my master's and the stress I feel is out of this world. Thankfully, I was able to big-time grind the last few weeks so that my current workload is not unbearable. This is all that I have left for the rest of the semester. The underlined course is what I need to pass to graduate.

DRA808

- Essay 3 Due April 23

- Essay 4 Due April 23

- Week 15 Discussion

- Reflection

DRA811

- Final Exam Due 04/28

DRA816

- Final Exam

MCR803

- Final Exam

MCR804

- Extended Concept Sheet 04/17

- Final Capstone Submission 04/30

Lynn Cam: Lynn went on a date and ordered a dirty martini. She did not like the dirty martini. Second date is a maybe because men ain't shit.

Boy update? Arjav was the main prospect of the last few months and I'm extremely tired of his work getting in the way of spending time with him. Background information on him, he works at EY, which is apparently one of the big four of accounting but he's been letting me down for weeks now. We were supposed to spend a weekend together in March, but it did not happen because he was working through the weekend and only had time to see me one of the three days promised to me. Then I detached myself from him, only for him to fill my little head with promises of a better work life balance as the project he was on was ending. He had finally figured out a good time for him to plan a weekend in NYC and cancel the day before I flew out. The sad and shocking part of this is he did all the work in making sure everything was planned and I just had to show up. I literally just had to show up. This gives me fever flashbacks to the trauma I faced with him in the past and I'm sick and tired of him prioritizing me for a few days only to change back to work only mindset. I hate this because his work ethic was one of the things I admire most about him but this is insanity.

Alisha Update: Alisha is sick. How are you going to get COVID in January and still be brought down by a seasonal flu. Everyone send her love and affection.

Availability this week: Absolutely none. No one talk to me as I recover from this L.

Best,

Shefali Patel

Follow up questions:

Do you like dirty martinis?

What is your work-life balance?

Keep in mind you would be responding to the chain so don’t blow my spot if you can help it. I would really appreciate keeping my dignity if I could.

What to expect: weekly to biweekly emails regarding things that matter to me including but not limited to bad jokes, an update on plans, current events, and my personal favorite new recipes and places to check out!

#shefalipatel_ on ig