What's in Your Bag

So at some point between elementary school and adulthood (though it's debatable whether I can validly call myself an adult) I got stuck on the backpack concept.

A couple years ago my brother and Kim gave me a messenger bag as part of an attempt to wean me off the backpack. I used it for a few months, and agreed that it looked better, but the problem is I lug around so much stuff that even when I can fit it all into a messenger bag, having it on one shoulder is really not good for long term back health. They're meant to look more mature I guess, but they aren't designed to wear long term. There's a reason they're called messenger bags: you put them on when you need to deliver a message, it's ideal because you can stop when you find the person to receive the message, you don't even have to get off your bike, just unzip the pack which is in FRONT of you, give them their package, and turn right back around. Backpacks are obviously not as well designed for such short term missions, but for someone who needs their stuff hauled from here to there to anywhere for use later, it's the best solution. I stuck with the messenger bag right up until we went on a camping trip, at which point of course I switched my stuff back to the backpack. Carrying it around on my back I was reminded how much more comfortable a backpack is, and I never quite got around to switching back.

Part of the problem is all the stuff I consider a necessity. If I could find a true Mary Poppins purse I'd be fine. Though, I always thought the purse seemed oddly disorganized for the Poppins character, things strewn around inside so that it takes even Mary Poppins several minutes to find what she's looking for. With my backpack I occasionally can't find what I'm looking for, but usually I know right where everything is. I shudder to think about the bent books and broken pens that would result from throwing everything into a Mary Poppins purse.

When I explain to people why a backpack is the best thing for me, they usually roll their eyes and suggest I scale back on the things I carry (no relation to The Things They Carried, a novel about Vietnam). To defend myself, here is a list of the things I carry and the reason why I absolutely need it:

Main pocket:

Sketchpad- Well I'm supposed to be an artist, aren't I? It's kind of depressing to see how little I've used my sketchpad lately, but I know (because it's happened) that any time I decide to leave it behind that will be the moment I'm completely inspired to draw. At any rate, now that I'm doing this Drawing of the Day thing, it really does make sense to have my sketchbook in case I have a few minutes to scribble something down.

Notebook- For some reason I have a problem writing things down in my sketchbook. I'll do it in a pinch if I've got no better place to do it, but for whatever reason, it bugs me. I think it's the waste of drawing space, although I waste plenty with a single random line that I decide isn't good enough to continue, or a smudge that ruins my canvas, the idea of using my sketchpad as mere scrap paper offends me. So I carry around a notebook to jot down story ideas, composition ideas, random overheard quotes that are too wonderful not to write down, "I wonder" questions to look up the answer to later, and just about anything else that pops into my head that I want to save. At some point I'll get a phone with a decent notepad function, so this will be less necessary, but I'll probably keep carrying a notebook, kind of like a security blanket.

Book- Whatever I happen to be reading at that moment. I probably really shouldn't carry this, because whenever I'm going somewhere to work on something I tend to tell myself: just one chapter won't hurt and end up wasting an hour or so, but I'm going to carry one regardless, for the times when I'm actually justified in relaxing with a story.

Art Kit- This is actually just a glorified pen case. In addition to my microns and pencils (with one end padded to keep the tips from breaking!) it holds erasers, pencil sharpeners, a small eraser stencil template, paint brushes, dip pen ends, charcoal and conte crayons. I'm not even going to argue why I need this, because I assume it's obvious.

Other things I don't exactly need but like to have- Lately I've been taking my digital camera with me, design or craft magazines, a copy of Offbeat Bride (what? I'm getting married in a year and I'm allowed to be a little girly sometimes), a handful of Vindicators (the magazine I edit) and whatever handouts I've got from my most recent class.

Front Pocket:

Although it's smaller, my front pocket probably holds more essentials than the main pocket. Part of the problem with the messenger bag was that the side pocket wasn't nearly big enough. My actual necessities include my inhaler, an emergency pad, Dramamine, Rolaids, Benadryl, and Advil.

The rest of the side pocket isn't strictly necessary, but very good to have on hand. I have Chapstick, some Chloraseptic throat strips, Airborn, a granola bar, Kleenex, hair ties, a spare phone battery and a phone charger. I keep my headphones because having them on helps me focus, a pocket constitution because I got sick of hearing people argue "It's my constitutional right" when it's not, and a tape recorder because you never know. Sometimes I carry a pocket knife but I tend not to because I fly often and am always afraid I'll forget to take it out.

For a while I was having a real problem organizing this pocket, it all just turned into a mess of junk at the bottom and I couldn't find anything. It was worse than a Mary Poppins purse. I went out and got some kind of craft kit from Jo-Ann Fabrics that's worked beautifully. It keeps most of the small things separated by netting so I can still see what I'm looking for. For pills I picked up some twist-close bead containers and, since they were in the same aisle, put googley eyes on top. What isn't better with googley eyes?

Finally, in one side pocket I carry my Nalgene bottle and in the other I keep my computer adapter. The only thing I can't carry in my backpack is my laptop, I know they make laptop bags but I haven't seen any I particularly like. I'll get one at some point, but for now I just carry it in a slim computer case, so at least it doesn't take up much room. I actually can shove it in my bag if I have to, but it's a pain in the ass.
Anyway, that's why I use a backpack, and I defy anyone to convince me that this all could fit into a purse.

Drawing of the Day

Sometimes you sit down to draw with no clear idea in mind, and what ends up on paper is so brilliant and wonderful that it surprises even you.
Today was not one of those times. I call this "Crazy Hippy Bird Lady Thing." I think there's really nothing more to say about this drawing.

Actually I take that back, silly as this drawing is, I do enjoy funky creatures and weird sketches such as this, and would like to do more in a similar suit. I think I'm just embarrassed to admit that I like this drawing.

Neat

I just ran across a nifty website. It's called 43 things and the concept is extremely simple. It looks like people just log in and make a list of things they want to do. They can be daily goals, life goals, or just silly whims, and the combination is really quite entertaining. People who log on do have the opportunity to write a post on their goals, but for the most part it's a site of just lists. The best part is the site's design, I can't really describe it, so go check it out. http://www.43things.com

I found it while looking for other blogs that do a Drawing of the Day type thing. Apparently there are four people on the site who have as one of their goals, to do a drawing every day. Kinda cool. I've still yet to find another blog that's doing this with sketches. A few that used to, a few that call it a drawing a day but post almost never. I'm sure there must be others, can someone tell me if they've seen some?

I Promised You Dragon Sex

In an earlier post, I mentioned something about dragon mating, so I thought I'd go ahead an explain that now.

A little while ago, I got to wondering how whales have sex. These sort of thoughts pop into my head all the time and Matt and I have a rule (which we do our best to follow) that whenever we wonder something, we look up the answer. This came about after because both of us are inclined to say I wonder a hundred times a day, and then we used to leave it at that. We realized that if we started finding the answers to all those "I wonders" we'd be the smartest people in the world within weeks. Or maybe not quite, but a lot smarter than we are now.

At any rate, I was wondering how whales mate, but I said I guessed that they mated stomach to stomach like birds, because, like birds, they aren't really effected by gravity and so can mate in midair so to speak, only in the water. Matt looked at me like I was crazy when I said this, (I get that a lot) and asked what I meant.

Of course I thought everyone knew that all birds mate in midair, but as soon as I started to think about it I realized I didn't mean birds after all. I meant dragons. Everyone knows dragons mate in midair, right? Right?

See I was remembering reading Dragondrums (Harper Hall Trilogy) by Anne McCaffrey as a teenager. There's a scene in the book where two of the mini-dragons (were the called fire lizards maybe? It's been a long time. I guess I'll have to look THAT up too.) had a mating flight, and the image was so vivid that I automatically thought of any creature with flight, or flight like abilities (swimming) as mating in the same way. When I continued thinking about it, I realized most birds probably mate the same way most animals do, mounting from the back, with a bit of aid in balance from the wings.

So I looked that up. I couldn't find any specific explanation of how birds mate, but when I did a search for midair mating I found that some kinds of swallows at least do mate in flight, which is kind of cool. They seemed to be the exception however. And then of course, I had to look up whales. I couldn't find much, at least nothing much useful. I did find a site on dolphin sex, and by that I don't mean sex between two consenting dolphins. Of course the humans who enjoy dolphin sex claim that the dolphins consent and are obviously enjoying themsleves. I'm hoping it's a parody site, but with the things people do, it's kind of hard to tell. At least one kind of whale does mate stomach to stomach, and I'm still betting the others do to, just judging by their shape. The tail seems like it would get in the way of mating from the back/top, unless the whale in question had a vagina on top, which defies my ideas of biology.
Since I couldn't actually look up dragon mating, I guess we'll never know if I'm right about dragon mating. Now that I think about it, I wonder how Komodo Dragons mate, since they're obviously stuck on the ground, but there's still that huge tail in the way. I guess it could be shoved aside. They certainly aren't built for missionary style.

Drawing of the Day

I guess I was feeling a little whimsical or something today.
This is a quick sketch in soft black pencil. I'm not usually big on mermaids, but for some reason this is what came out when I sat down to draw today. The eel was originally going to be a fish, but it was starting to look a little too "cute" and I wanted the visual overlap of something larger. That's not a lumpy shoulder on the left, it's supposed to be lighter color hair, but the scanner didn't quite pick up that line.

Garden

I took today's drawing from various photos on Kim's garden site.It's hard to tell these are flowers I guess since I'm just using line and no value, but line is quite fun for me and I haven't had much time to play with it lately so this was a nice exercise. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed drawing flowers, I was wanting to draw something organic but uncomplicated (and flowers believe it or not are surprisingly simple when compared to other plant life). Here are some flower drawings I did years ago when I was in a product design class (Industrial Design) which I unfortunately dropped because I was an idiot.

I'm not sure what kind of pen this is, since I'm fairly certain it's before I discovered microns but it's obviously got a very fine point. I'm thinking it might have been one of the decorative roller point pens I loved when I was younger, with a .01 point.I loved doing this drawing, and ended up using the eye-like buds for a creature drawing a few years later. I might post that some later day if I can find it in my old sketch books.
This one is kind of loose, which I think is the charm.My favorite part of this drawing is the joint on the bottom twig. I also think the energy of the bouncy leaves is a lot of fun.
Those drawings were taken from a sketchbook assignment under John Caruso, I'd guess in 2001 or 2002. Frighteningly, they're all more effective than the drawing I just did today (though it's hard to tell at this size and with scanner problems), which makes me think I need FAR more practice...

Super Bug Difficulties

On WCPN a few days ago there was a talk about the risk from the "super bug" and how best to prevent it.*
MRSA is becoming more common in hospitals and now it's starting to turn up in schools, and people are kind of panicking. The general conclusion seemed to be that the best way to keep yourself and your children safe from MRSA is to frequently wash your hands (and make sure they do as well) with soap and water (no matter whether or not it's antibacterial), and make sure your doctors do the same (frightening that you might need to police your doctors and nurses as much as you do children). This is a pretty commonsense answer, but one of the speakers did bring up an interesting problem that I hadn't considered. With kids at least, many schools do not allow children to wash their hands before, say, eating lunch.

Now one of the experts on the show said this appalled her, not just because of the current health issue, but because it undermines a basic tradition of most families, washing hands before eating is kind of one of those basic lessons children learn before they remember learning it, like: look both ways before crossing the street, don't talk to strangers, and don't put the knife back in the peanut butter jar after you lick it. When I first heard this, I'll admit, I also thought not LETTING children wash their hands before eating was ridiculous, but when you think about it, as Dan Moulthrop (the show's host) pointed out, it kind of makes sense.

For the sake of simplicity, imagine a school which is made up of a single thirty student class of first graders. Now let's say it's lunch time, should the teacher release all thirty students at once to the bathroom? Talk about a bad idea. Of course this problem is pretty simple, this small class could easily be released in groups of five, no more than three boys or girls at one time. It would take a bit of time to manage, but not really a big deal.

Only there's no such thing as a school made up of just first graders, and even a thirty student classroom is pretty optimistic these days. What happens when two or three classes have lunch at the same time? What if the entire school eats at once? Again, these single problems are easily solved by staggering times, but as the variables increase the solutions get a bit stickier, and the end result is a logistical nightmare. The more children you have roaming free the easier it is to lose track of a child (or ten), and this is generally frowned upon at schools.

One possibility is to have the teacher escort the class, but then again you have a bathroom full of children all at once, disaster waiting to happen since the teacher can obviously not supervise both the Girls and the Boys room. If the teacher has an aide or two this might be easier, but with faculty-student ratios shrinking (spreading? I'm never sure which way that goes. worse anyway) all the time aides are probably a bit of a fantasy at this point, and even if they all do have aides, again you run into the problem of space, when an entire school has to eat at some point near midday.

The best solution Matt and I could think of was to have a bank of sinks at the back of the classroom. That way students can line up while the teacher supervises, and hopefully the mess and excitement that would otherwise occur could be avoided. Even this is not perfect however, since at a guess twenty minutes would need to be set aside just for hand washing, and unless classrooms are already equipped with a convenient bank of sinks, the likelihood of getting the funding for it is far-fetched at best. It's an interesting problem, and unfortunately I doubt the schools will come up with a practical solution. I don't say this because I think a practical solution doesn't exist, I say it because I don't trust any large institution (public schools) to both see and choose a practical solution.

*Photos from flickr and UK's Daily Mail.

New Trash

This probably makes me a huge freak, but I really like the new trash cans downtown around Cleveland State.

It's nice to see even subtle touches like this as part of the effort to update and beautify downtown Cleveland. The "meh" made me wonder though, it's part of my vocabulary but I didn't realize it was part of the popular vocabulary. Is it a meme, or just a random collection of letters? I found it odd that the word was the only typography on the design, and odder still if it's an intentional choice: the only word is an expression of apathy.

Thesis Preoccupation

So far I'm about 80 pages into my novel, which I'm writing for my MFA Thesis. I've been making pretty quick progress but it's been stalled since I got back from DC. I'm not all that worried, but the fact that I'm not worried worries me (isn't circular thought wonderful?).The story is about seven years in the making. I won't tell you what exactly it's about because I wouldn't like to ruin the surprise. When someone asked yesterday I told her it was about faeries, adolescence or humanity depending on how deep you read. I realize that's vague so I'll try to give a description as though you were reading the back of a book:

"Gale has been obsessed with humans ever since she first met Breeze. The two girls are the closest friends imaginable, but Breeze's mother is beginning to feel threatened by their relationship. She senses that something is strange about Gale, that there is some secret surrounding her family, but even her darkest suspicions don't touch at the truth. Gale doesn't really live in the broken down house she pointed out when pressed, and that confused looking woman at the door isn't her mother. Gale lives behind the school, deep in the woods, her bed tucked in the trees. Her fathers are brutal satyr like creatures, stupid and cruel. Her mothers are dark angels, cold and vicious. Her sister is an imp. Her brother is a puck. Gale is a faerie.As Gale and Breeze prepare to leave their childhood it becomes more and more difficult for Gale to hide her nature. Breeze's mother does everything within her power to protect her child, and break up what she sees as an unhealthy relationship. Gale meanwhile is forced to contend with a home that is less enchanted and more dangerous everyday. When Gale finds out Breeze is to be shipped of to boarding school the prospect of being alone with her family seems unbearable, so with the help of a capricious brother, Gale sets out to free herself or make peace in her otherworldly family once and for all."

Ok I realize that's super cheesy but it's the best I can do without giving too much away. My BFA thesis was 5 drawings from the same story and I've only now felt that I was ready to start writing it down. It's been forming for a while. This will be the first of four books, called "Lost Child of Summer." The other three books will be "Lost Child of Fall," "Lost Child of Winter," and "Lost Children of Spring," with the main characters shifting from Gale (summer) to Breeze (fall) to Gale's brother (winter) to all three.

Writing this so far has been odd. Although I've written many short stories, this is my first attempt at a novel, and this I would guess is particularly strange since I keep having plot tidbits pop into my mind that won't show up until book three or four. Not to sound all mystic, but if you've heard artists talk about how the painting or sculpture is there, on the canvas, in the stone, and the artist has only to release it, it's a bit like that only less stupid feeling. The story is all there, playing in the back of my head like shadows, and I'm always afraid if I look too closely it will become forced and not come together right at all.

So far I think it's coming ok, I'm not so much stuck right now as I am having a hard time managing my time (which is not remotely a new problem). I hope to be back on track next week. I'm so in love with this story, so engrossed in it, that I feel like I owe it to my characters to get this right.

Another Stupid Quiz

I can't help it, I love these things. This one is "Which Discworld Character are you?" which I ran across on William's site. I don't know whether to be alarmed or gratified by the result...

Which Discworld Character are you like?

You scored as a Lord Havelock Vetinari

You are Lord Vetinari! Supreme ruler of Ankh-Morpork! Cool, calculated, and always in control. You graduated from the assassins guild, but failed a course on stealth and camouflage, because the professor never saw you there (even though you attended every class). You always seem to know what everyone is thinking, and after a conversation with you, people feel that they have just escaped certain death.

Lord Havelock Vetinari 75% The Librarian 69% Esmerelda (Granny) Weatherwax 63% Greebo 56% Commander Samuel Vimes 50% Carrot Ironfounderson 50% Gytha (Nanny) Ogg 50% Cohen The Barbarian 31% Rincewind 31% Death

Drawing of the Day

Here is the final version of the drawing copied from Through the Lens: National Geographic's Greatest Photographs.This is potentially the most boring thing I've spent three days on. Charming picture, certainly but not in my usual line, so I'll try to pick something a bit more exciting for tomorrow. I also will not likely do a multi day drawing again for a while, but it might be nice to do every once in a while so people (any people out there? Hello? Echo?) can see the progression.

Drawing of the Day

Continuing the drawing I started yesterday of two boys wading in the water.
I think I'll be finished tomorrow, but we'll see. I've decided to do the tones in ink because it's quick and easy and I'm lazy. Also since it's a b/w photo it probably makes the most sense. This is probably a medium I ought to experiment with a bit more often because in some ways it's very similar to watercolors (though the layering can be completely different) and although I haven't used it quite as often, I'm a bit more confident with brush and ink than with watercolors. Probably because I'm happier working in b/w than in color, and in the case of using a brush (not high on my comfort zone) it takes away a major variable. I thought I'd also give you a look at my work space since I've got everything laid out until tomorrow.
Photo I'm copying is from Through the Lens: National Geographic's Greatest Photographs.

Asthma Devices

For some reason I was thinking of my asthma today. I was diagnosed when I was about eight and I was struck today with the sudden memory of the thing they gave me to control it.

Adult inhalers are pretty simple, and easily recognizable. Looking back I think at eight I probably would have been fine, but my pediatrician was a bit senile in those days and couldn't keep track of what sex I was (I had short hair) much less how old I was (I was also small for my age). So he gave me the kiddie model of inhaler which was a rather silly contraption.
Please forgive my drawing, I haven't had quite the standard in industrial design training (I think they spend three hours a day practicing drawing circles) which is entirely my own fault, but there you go. The inhalers were medical blue, you know the color, and in three parts. The actual medicine came just the same as it does today, in it's disposable plastic inhaler. You would take the metal piece out and install it into the plastic mouthpiece, which installed into a spacer. (I haven't drawn the locking mechanism so you'll have to take my word for it). As best I can remember, the medicine actually went through the mouthpiece so I'm not exactly sure how it went into the spacer rather than into my mouth. I think there was a grey rubber thing inside with an "x" cut through it so the air inside would only come when the child using it sucked on the mouth piece. The spacer itself was sort of a cross between a balloon and a trash can. It spiraled together to collapse on itself, then unwound into a blue cylinder. It made a noise that my friends claimed sounded like Darth Vader, but didn't really. It was a surprisingly loud plastic sound though.

There were all sorts of design faults with this model. The main one was that the collapsible plastic was fairly thin so when a kid carried it around, treating it as carefully as kids will, it tended to get ripped apart pretty quickly. The newer models are quite a lot better, they have rigid plastic instead which can't be broken as easily. It still works in much the same way, only now you stick the full adult inhaler into one end and suck through the other. I'm pretty sure it uses the same rubber "x" to keep the air separate. Other models which I think are pretty clever, go over the child's nose and mouth. This is a much better design, because honestly the timing probably is less of an issue than the fact that it's hard for a kid to understand the difference between inhaling through one's mouth and inhaling through the nose. I think this design is intended only for very small children.

This brings me to my main point, which is that I really never ought to have been on a spacer. Most kids over five are capable of learning the timing of a normal inhaler with a little work on their parents part and having the spacer is inconvenient and unnecessary. In my case it also made me assume that I was for some reason incapable of using a normal inhaler, so that I stuck with the stupid spacer until I was fifteen or so, long after they'd stopped producing the blue folding garbage cans. I've never had very severe asthma, I've never been hospitalized and I can count on both hands the number of "attacks" I've had. Nevertheless, asthma has affected me. When I try to think why, one of the main memories I have is of that stupid large pack of crap to carry with me everywhere.

*Although I was never great at team sports, partially because of my asthma and partially because of my size, I continued doggedly with them because I enjoyed them. I remember when I was about twelve I had to stop in the middle of a basketball play because I couldn't breathe at all, but that was probably my first real attack in years. By the time I was a teenager I actually had "normal" lung strength, which my doctors always seemed to find surprising in an asthmatic. My first non-pediatrician doctor told me that if it weren't for situational symptoms, he wouldn't be able to even tell I had asthma. This made me absurdly proud, as though it were somehow my own doing, but I still carried around the niggling thought at the back of my mind that I was somehow disabled. Looking back I think this had less to do with the asthma itself and more to do with that damned spacer.

*Basketball picture from flickr. Children with inhalers from here and here.

Cool Photography

While blog browsing today I stumbled on this photographer. He's got some extremely fun, silly pictures that are surely worth the time it takes to page through them. Check it out: http://www.janvonholleben.com/

Blog fun

I've been playing around a bit more with blog elements. I ended up wasting a lot of time for almost no changes at all, which is sort of the nature of web design.

Either I'm a lazy web designer or an extremely over confident one. I have no copies of the html content of my blog, so if I make changes that don't work out I just have to remember what it is I changed. I don't really recommend this but so far I haven't had any disaster's. I did end up adding a border to my bio photo because I didn't like how it looked either nudged right up against the green box, or with a white bar in between. I think this looks much nicer even if it is a bit "neat" which kind of irritates me.

Something I'd like to get done soon is to replace that header image. Although I think it's a cool image (and is part of the reason I chose this template) it's not actually my image so I feel a bit stupid claiming to be an artist when I haven't even created the dominant image on my blog. I've been putting it off though, because at least one of the images is going to require watercolors and they're a pain in the ass to set up. I've got all my drawing tools nicely organized and in easy reach now, but my watercolor supplies are buried in piles of stuff. In fact I'm not even sure I even have any usable paints at this point... last time I did a watercolor the paints were all crusty and nasty and it was that much more of a bitch to get color out of them. So I think the header image might be a while yet.

One new addition to the blog is the sidebar section of "Books I Love." I'll be adding more here over the next few days, and they'll probably change over time, but I'll try to keep the list down to fifteen or so. I think I'll also eventually add a "Books I've read recently" section, but probably not for a little while. I'll also be doing more reviews. I've just joined Amazon's Associates program which basically means if you visit Amazon through any of my links and end up buying something, I get some money. Don't worry, I'll warn you if the book I'm linking blows.

Earlier today I finally had a chance to gather all (or at least most) the books I own that I have not yet read, so I should have some interesting new things to read, depending on how motivated I'm feeling. I tend to re-read books I've read a thousand times rather than starting a new one. Which is why I'm lumping my favorite books with the unread ones: I really have no excuse to say, "I've got nothing to read!" as Matt has heard me whine plenty of times.

Drawing of the Day

This is the beginning of a drawing that I'm copying from Through the Lens: National Geographic's Greatest Photographs. The photograph by A.W. Cutler was taken in 1929 in England. There are several children playing in tide pools but I've decided to focus on just these two boys which I think makes a better composition for a drawing. Tomorrow I'll start putting in value. This way I don't have to spend all night on it and you can see a bit of the process. For anyone who cares.

Drawing of the Day

For a while I'm just going to be drawing from photos because my hand is a bit rusty.Here's a sketch of yoda. I copied this from a press photo out of Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars. This is an extremely cool book that I would highly recommend to anyone who has an interest in extravagant costumes. It's all pretty pictures from all six movies. If you're interested in the actual drawing process involved in costume design a better book is The Art of Star Wars, Episode I which has some fantastic concept art in all areas. The costume god here is Iain McCaig (I want to be Iain McCaig when I grow up). I actually have a hardbound version and paperback version of this book because I look through it so often that the paperback looks well loved.

Bathroom Oddities

Have you ever noticed that some bathrooms don't have the mirrors in front of the sinks? This is most common at service stations along the Ohio Turnpike but you sometimes see it in Airports as well. It's something I've noticed before, but never really thought about much until last Friday. Emerging from the restroom at the Mahoning Valley Service Plaza, I said to Matt, "I wonder why they separate out the restrooms like that?"

"What are you talking about," he asked me.

"You know, there aren't any mirrors in front of the sink," I said. He shook his head, looking bemused, so I continued, "They put them in front of the doorway instead."

"Really?" And then he had to go check because we thought he might just never have noticed, but it turns out this is a trend unique to Women's rooms. In the Men's bathroom, there were small mirrors lined up in front of the sinks as usual. This got me thinking of possible reasons for this weird design change.

Women's bathrooms have been a problem for designers, at least conscientious designers, for ages. I remember my annoyance when I went to a football game with my father, I must have been about ten years old. Although the crowd was probably eighty percent male, it was the Woman's room that had a line out the door. But this has to do with the fact that women physically take longer to use the bathroom, it's solved easily by adding extra stalls, though the number of toilets may never catch up to the speed that lines form in Women's bathrooms. A problem I hadn't considered is the second congestion that often occurs in Women's bathrooms. That's right, in front of the sink.

I'd like to think that people are considerate enough to not screw with their hair when people are waiting behind them to wash their hands. Alas, if I did, I'd be showing regrettable naivety. Women often linger, using the excess water from their recently scrubbed hands to squish, flatten, and fluff their hair. I've seen women who don't bother to wash their hands bend over the sinks to play with their hair or re-touch makeup. And of course, some women go into the restroom for the sole purpose of looking into the mirror. No mirror equals less congestion, people washing their hands can get to the sinks more easily, and will leave more quickly.
This is bound to be less of a problem in the Men's room. Aside from the fact that men are less likely to primp, I have serious doubts as to how many of them actually bother to wash their hands.

Moving the mirror near the doors is actually an intelligent solution, though I have to think it causes a fire hazard. Not a major one mind you, for I'd like to think even the most engrossed primpers would move away at the sound of the alarm, but by having the mirror near the entrance, congestion near the door is almost guaranteed during high volume use of the service station. I think this concern is minimal however, for by moving the mirrors away from the water, primping is less desirable. In addition, by placing it in the pathway of the door, people are more likely to feel foolish and in the way, and are therefore more likely to pass by quickly. The open space does not invite people to stay and look in the mirror.

Curiously, I've not seen this design as frequently in newer travel stations. This service plaza was one of those older, probably mid eighties buildings that all look kind of the same: you know, one "restaurant" such as McDonalds or Hardeys, a giftshop, restrooms and some vending machines, but not much else. Maybe a map and some video games. Everything seems to be brown even if it's painted a different color. The newer service stations tend to be larger and brighter, lots of blue colors and shiny metal fixtures. These bathrooms do not have separated mirrors, instead they have an enormous bank of sinks with smaller mirrors like in this Men's room. The actual toilets tend to be garrisoned off into labyrinth like segments that can be opened and closed as needed. I've never really noticed a problem with congestion in either type of bathroom, though I haven't necessarily traveled much during high volume weekends. I certainly prefer having more sink space to having missing mirrors, but I wonder what made them decide to change?

Humor Piece

I posted a humor piece on Newsfreak (a college news site run by Newsweek). You can read it here.

How to have a Successful Road Trip

Just got back from Hershey, PA- about a six hour drive. Here are a few things Matt and I have discovered to make a pleasant trip:

1. Save the caffeine for when you really need it. Otherwise, stick to water. Caffeine is a diuretic, it dehydrates you and makes you have to pee more frequently. Water will certainly make you have to pee, but not more than usual if you don't drink it by the bucket. It will also help keep you feeling refreshed and, obviously, hydrated, keeping headaches and general icky feelings to a min. Particularly helpful when stuck in a car.

2. Pack lots of healthy snacks. Our favorites are cherry tomatoes. Of course for tomato haters this one is out, but they are good for killing a sweet tooth and a salty craving at the same time, and also help with hydration. They're clean; self contained in bite sized packages with no disposable bits. Other things we've taken to bringing are nuts, dried fruit and granola bars. I was hoping to take some pre-popped popcorn this weekend but couldn't find any at Giant Eagle and was too lazy to pop my own.

3. Not to sound like a mom, but make sure your AAA membership is up to date. Mine had lapsed and I forgot about it until Thursday night (fortunately MY mom doesn't read this blog). I renewed it Thursday, but it takes 24 hours to take effect. Obviously nothing bad happened, but with winter coming it's a good idea to KNOW nothing will. The one time I did get stranded in the middle of nowhere I got a decent discount on the hotel room I had to rent and another the next day when I took my car into the shop.

4. Shuffle your music. It helps when there are two or more people on a trip so that some new stuff will be in the mix. Alternate between people to keep things fresh.

5. If you know the rout, plan stops ahead of time. Figure out where the decent places to stop are so you don't get stuck at a McDonalds. We actually didn't do this, but we got lucky on the way up and found a very decent Mexican place around Pittsburgh. We stopped there on the way back too.

That's all for now. Back to normal bloging tomorrow.