state_issued_id

Money.

"To all the artists out there
To all of you who devoted your life to what you believe
To searching for inner truth
To expressing yourself
To sharing your heart with others
To developing your craft
To making sacrifices, To not giving up
To not knowing if youre doing the right thing, but it's the only thing you can do
To not letting this world stop you

Here's to you"
- Rocki Stevens

If Starbucks was really about coffee no one would go there. Let's face it. It is not the best cup of coffee in the world, in fact, its probably not even close. It isn't about what's in our cup so much as the white, green, and brown cup it's in. Yes, the spirit of Starbucks is the cup itself. A mass produced, mass marketed cup with a logo so imprinted in our minds i bet any person could draw that logo to such a degree that people would recognize it's origin. The cup everyone wants to have and to hold. It's not just a cup it's a status symbol. After all, $5 at Starbucks 5x per week is $1,300 at the end of the year. How about that.

So why, then, does Starbucks project themselves in this graphic, contrived little cafe? It is not honest. Why not take the cup and allow it to stand on it's own? To become a symbol of the harsh reality and coffee factory mentality. True there is nothing wrong with it, but let's not kid ourselves. The image portrayed and what it actually is are inherently different.

When you think about how this happens in virtually every business, in every home, in every office in the world.. we have to wonder: Is this reality, or is this the matrix? Are we the encapsulated slaves of consumerism that only wishes us to breed to exist for the purpose of consuming more? Has this come to affect who we are, and can we ever recover?

This is my sole purpose: to define the line between what is real and what is not and make the true reality clear. For better or worse.

I have just learned it is very possible to be too honest.
yet I do not regret it.

I have always had a gift for expressing the truth as I see it plainly and clearly, to the point of it smacking you in the face.

I now realize that that is precisely the key to everything. That is how I must live, speak, and design. Wholly and painfully truthful, in its simplest and clearest form, without any additional adornments or decoration, not about seeing thing in a different way but about seeing them clearly.

that's all.

The most complicated week of my life.

So much has happened, but I have learned fate will always have it's way, even if you don't really understand why.

I have also learned that, although I have a deep appreciation for healthcare and therapeutic design, it is not my passion, and I often find myself thinking about educational design... and I'm not even sure about that. I suppose it's understandable, since I know my passion lies in the exterior, not the interior.

Time will tell.

Everwood disappeared far too abruptly. I wish they had put down 7th heaven instead, but I will miss Will and Grace the most.

I am a leaf.
I am a part of a greater being, a branch encompassing us.
I grow slowly, strong and full of life.
Here I sit, but a moment. A moment before my colors turn.
Deep rich hues of red and umber, and slowly, I disconnect, fluttering off in the wind.
From umber to brown.
From brown to dust.
I was a leaf.
I was part of a greater being.
But first, I was nothing, and nothing I shall be again.

whats funny is...

my mom, dad, sister, and me had dinner
we all cleaned up our setting.. except for the empty can of soda...
so at 10:30pm, the cans are still there... 4 cans of cola, and not 1 is the same...
1 coke,
1 wild cherry pepsi,
1 diet pepsi,
1 caffeine free pepsi

how great is that?

i'm really starting to believe men are useless.

i designed a kick ass gallery.. im presenting thursday.. i'll have to post soon

"well yeah Dan, he's not like us.... he's still in the "ME" phase."

I think you don't leave the me phase until at least age 20... something we should all keep in mind.

wow.. I havn't made a post in 20 weeks.

So for the past 7 weeks I've been working on a group project for school... studio of course. It's a 13,600 square foot floor for a publisher. This department in particular publishes travel magazines. My group is challenging. I have a group member that challenges me to my very core on a daily basis. I told my professor she was like vinyl. If you are a green builder, as my professor is, and as I am becoming, you know that vinyl is toxic. It isn't good for anyone. What I didn't realize until today was what I could gain from overcoming the toxicity.

My other group member is fantastic. We work very well together, we are on time with everything, and we can easily compromise with each other. We have had a significant impact on each other's work. I have learned that no matter how tough it may get... and no matter the cause, we find a way to support ourselves, and each other.

I have dealt with so much negative energy recently. I feel the good Karma building... and that means it's time to take another step, further into what I was to be able to accomplish as a designer.

A few years ago I was putting my life back together, and it was hard for me to see myself being a productive, capable person. I spent my first semester realizing it wasn't people I needed to fight to get there, it was myself and my own vices and mentalities. Since then, I've been able to break free of the bonds that classify my work. I am a style unto myself. Since then, I have managed to clean up my act.. before I even have one. I have spent the past 3 months studying sustainability, and how we can have a less negative impact on our environment. With a bit of guidance from a pioneer of sustainable Interior Design... 14 years... I am one of the the most knowledgable on the aspects of green building among my peers, among all students not only at my school, but at all schools. I am, as it turns out, the youngest person to be titled "Emerging Green Builder" (which is an official title, by the way) in the New York City Area.

It's time to take this a step further.
To allow this information to foster itself and grow, to design that truly benefits humankind. Not only humankind, but the plants, animals, and all that dwell on the planet, that we may not use our power to destroy them, that we increase our awareness of the destruction we have caused, particularly in the acquisition, consumption, deterioration, and devastation caused by the use of fossil fuels. That we harness the energy the earth gives freely, and learn to live off that. To design to engage the user, to take them on a journey, to show them what they never knew could be. To make the impossible reality. To realize some will hate this, and some will not understand. To realize that as I make decisions that shape your space, I affect how you live and function when in that space, and to maximize that experience. That you may detest you experience and know I will not cast judgment on you for it. Judgment will be cast on me for moving you to powerful emotion.

This is my goal.
For you to wholeheartedly love or hate what I do.

I cannot for the life of me find websites that sell branches. One would think this wold be easy, considering, contrary to the proverb, they actually DO grow on trees.

hurt
human
hopeful
understanding
something i havn't felt in a long time
willing

i've totally lost taste for white guys.

and i think i need to ask mario out soon if i'm ever gonna.

the drama ends and the baggage begins

life catches up with us i suppose.

MastEr aRkiteKt: the problem is ive allowed this to get to the point where dragging my feet has become the norm
MastEr aRkiteKt: and i need to break that

You don't really know how I feel.

I swear it's about to start singing Hung Up.

(i think I love madonna too much)

too many thoughts running through my head.