DIY Recording Studio

Looks like I'll be staying at my father's house for a couple months until my brother and I are able to move back to Austin. In the meantime I have some projects I'd like to do, including converting the upstairs "jam room" into a more capable recording studio.

DIY Pantry Project

Pantry project completed.

And I'm eager to start the next project...

DIY Pantry Project

Student housing in Austin's West Campus area is characteristically overpriced and undersized. The kitchen/dining room/living room of my condo, however, is almost comically tiny. Exacerbating space issues in the kitchen is the lack of a pantry and convenient storage areas. Thus I am making a small pantry which is sized to fit into a space between the wall and water heater.

I bought my saw off craigslist.com and the lumber from Lowes

I used thin wood runners for the shelf supports, but if I did it again I might just buy metal supports to save time.

I may box in that water heater with 1/8" plywood.

One of my neighbors happened to be throwing out this entertainment center thing, so I was able to salvage some free drawer runners. Score!

Paint primer

52 minutes until last final...

If I start living in Montgomery, I should either join or start a book club as a way to meet people and further my education.

I've found it difficult to concentrate on my studies this last semester. My imagination has left the university for greener pastures...

Graduation

On Saturday I attended my college graduation ceremony. I am graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in East Asian Studies and a minor in Architecture. Instead of writing about what I enjoyed or regret about my two-year experience at the University of Texas at Austin, I'd rather write about my future plans. Some things I'm thinking about doing in the coming year include:

1. Learning German
2. Taking a cross-country motorcycle trip to visit friends and experience my country
3. Living overseas for three months
4. Transforming my father's attic storage into a guest room and art studio
5. Recording a music album
6. Continuing my education through a book list
7. Producing an art collection
8. Creating an investment strategy... I'm considering silver or fine art

Also, my dad gave me a MacBook Pro as a graduation present, which I'm loving (right now, in fact)

I'm still trying to think up a name for her...

Perceptions

This morning the the pedal bar broke off my bike on the way to class. Because of this I didn't have time to get coffee and was falling asleep in class. During my next class I was informed that an event that I would really love to attend is going to be held at a time for which I have already made plans. At the gym, I realized after working out that I didn't put any protein in my protein shake, so all I had to recover with was a banana and some milky water. I had been suffering the intense heat and direct sunshine all day, but when I went out to the pool to tan it was overcast and windy. When I got home I stepped into the shower, only to have a piece of plastic from a broken towel rack stab me in the foot. I got out and called the haircut place - they were booked until close. I took some laundry to the dry cleaners to find it was also closed. On the way to the dry cleaners I met a girl from one of my classes who wanted to talk to me, but I didn't use the opportunity to seduce her. I can't download reading files from Blackboard, even though my teacher has assured me I can.

Today sucked donkey balls.

NO!! This morning I overcame a difficulty and made it to class on time, and saved a couple bucks by not buying coffee. I also answered 5/6 in-class quiz questions correctly. I went to the gym and didn't waste time lounging at the pool. I discovered that a cute girl is attracted to me, and she is not only in my class but lives on the same floor of my apartment complex. I also found out what time the dry cleaners and haircut places close, and I didn't spend any money eating out. I'm now the cafe with plenty of time to do some much needed reading on a subject I'm passionate about, architecture.

Today was good.

UT Architecture Tour: Waller Creek

Here are some images from today's campus walk-about. Richard Cleary is the professor leading our Campus Architecture & Planning summer course.