check out the sweet 'stache i grew this week

me at liquor and fireworks
Originally uploaded by kellypeach

i've been working on growing a mustache this week and just wanted to post a few photos to show everybody how it's workin' out. there's a few more on my flickr account showing the different styles i've been working on.

let me know what you think...i'm thinking of shaving this weekend.

wanted:

wanted:
Originally uploaded by kellypeach

click on this photo, and it will take to you flickr. if you flip through the photos in the set 'my plea to you.' you'll get the picture. mail. that's the bottom line. i want more pen pals.

so, here is my concept if you feel like 'mail' is too nebulous:

send me your top 5 once a week. i'll send you mine too. examples of top 5 lists you could craft: top 5 awesome things that happened this week, top 5 bikes in my town, top 5 silly hats i own, top 5 reasons grad school sucks, top 5 songs i like, top 5 things ever, top 5 things i like to do right now, top 5 beers, top 5 ways to pimp your life, etc.

yeah. any interested parties should check for more details on flickr. forsheezy.

i've quit the bike shuttle.

so, turns out i'm a quitter. i am officially quitting the bike shuttle from here on out. i'm now going to commit to always riding my bike up to campus. quick update for people who that doesn't make sense to:

i work at ucsc in the chemistry department. the ucsc campus is about 5 miles with 800 ft. elevation gain from my house, which makes for a pretty gnarly commute to work for me. i used to be really good about riding everyday, and then i got a cold. i didn't know how to get to work, until someone introduced me to the bike shuttle. since ucsc is on a hill the school has purchased huge bike rack trailers with a 15 bike capacity to haul up biker from the bottom of the hill to the top of campus. they run every 15 minutes all morning long, starting at 7am. they are ULTRA convenient, and drop me off right in front of my building. once i started riding the shuttle i couldn't stop!

however, a lot of the people who ride aren't very thankful for the FREE service. they get pissed off when it's late, they make snarky remarks to the drivers, and they are generally stupid and annoying on a whole. plus, the bike shuttle is like cheating from a commuter perspective. these people play like bike commuters, but they get all the glory of bombing the hill at the end of the day with none of the work. it makes them overprivileged. when service is cancelled they flip out, rather than just getting on their bikes and huffing up the hill. once a driver trying to deal with an asshole rider exclaimed, "well, you could just ride up." it was awesome. the rider did not respond kindly.

when the quarter started i tried to remember when i last rode up. i couldn't. so, i've made the resolution to ride up everyday i'm able, whether it will make me late or not. i've riden up three weeks straight! it feels great and really jumpstarts my day.

ps. the reason i've been proclaiming all of these resolutions on my blog is because i sort of feel like the internet makes my goals published and makes me more accountable. kinda funny because i'm pretty sure only 3 people read this mush. ha.

i'm quitting tv.

rather, i've quit tv. i don't own a television, but this awful innovation called the internet has now made so many shows available that i couldn't resist. it started with LOST. then i got hooked on grey's anatomy, which quickly spiraled into desperate housewives and private practice. to top it off i discovered nbc.com and heroes consumed days of my life. it was a disaster.

then the holidays hit, and the shows took a break. i started making things again. i started reading at night. i have even started juggling again. it's so wonderful and fulfilling. i feel like a whole human again with hobbies and skillz.

these past two weeks i've been streaming tv free. it's getting hard though. my labmate watches all the shows and drops little hints and excited squeals while at her computer and it's challenging not to load up the tube. BUT, i'm doing it. i heard that LOST started again yesterday, and i REFUSE to watch it. YOU HEAR ME, I'M TV FREE. i hope i can hold on.

I JUST WANT TO BE FREE!

pop-up cards, what WHAT?!

my pop-ups from Kelly Peach on Vimeo.

i like to make pop-ups. here is a showcase of a few i've done this past year or so. i hope you like 'em!

dino hat

dino hat
Originally uploaded by kellypeach

i made this hat this weekend! mikey got me a fabric store gift certificate for the holiday and i bought EPIC quantities of fake fur. i have pink (think unicorn), light blue (think narwal), neon green (see dino), black (think panther), brown (think bear), sparkley blue, white tipped blue, etc. it's a furry shit storm. my room is full of synthetic hairs making all of my clothing hilarious. there will be future design photos to follow.

not that these hats are very practical down here in sunny-ass santa cruz. it was 75 degrees today. there was a point today when i was lounging on the beach thinking, 'it's too fucking hot out.' so, i jumped up and ran through the GODDAMN FREEZING ocean to cool off. then in 5 more minutes i returned to my too toasty condition. there was sierra nevada celebration ale at the store, and i thought, 'that's silly, that beer is for winter!' then i remembered that it's still JANUARY. it was 75 DEGREES IN JANUARY. what the hell?!? not that i'm complaining. who gets to bike around in a sun dress in january? ME! i love my life....on the weekends.

more list:



did kelly ride all the way up to campus today? hell no, it's the weekend!
if no did she get halfway? nope. i did get to the beach though
health: 9 (my skin loves the sun!)
happiness: 8 (hooray for sun)
# yoga poses completed: 0
# of liters water drunk: 0.5 i suck today
servings vegetables: 6

it's 1:15am and i've come upon my second wind

look! i'm caffeinated. i'm awake. i feel like i'm in college again, undergraduate that is. i NEVER stay up working on school this late anymore. kind of make me feel young again...HA.

i'm working on both of my laptops right now and feel like a big, big dork (BBD). it's pretty awesome though. also, photobooth is so fun! look at this amazing picture i've taken to share with you. no digital camera required. i love it.

MAN, i should drink black tea all the time. this is great! i'm back to work. hoo haa!

ps. everybody be careful not to get malaria. i've been reading about it A LOT and it's not good. also, if you accidently do get infected don't accept quinine as your treatment that shit will FUCK YOU UP! for real. we're talking a fat list of gnarly side effects that effect almost every single person that takes that drug. whoa. side effects include: nausea, headache, tinnitus (buzzing or ringing in your ears!), hearing impairment, dysphoria, and blurred vision. not only that, but you have to take 7 days of treatment. i'd rather stick to euphoria. don't get malaria friends!

whoa coffee shop politics

holy crap the sexual tension among the coffee shop partisans at lulu carpenter's is blowin' up. it's nuts. it's better than tv. i just want to made power point slides about malaria and i can't take my eyes off everyone around me. right now there is a love triangle between an old man, a hot young girl, and a sauve philosophy grad student dude. it's high tension. the old man is PISSED about the grad student moving in and has been slamming down his coffee mug and shuffling his books ever since the new dude arrived. the girl isn't interested in either of them. all she wants is a table alone so she can check all her social networking accounts. there's also a really codependent gal. a really cute young animated couple, who should really just get a room and get it on. etc, etc. who knew i'd have such a hard time getting work done. i'm going to be awake until the wee hours of the night. damn it. back to work i guess.

thanks god for friday!

DIPEA distillation
Originally uploaded by kellypeach

it's friday! this morning i was actually stunned that this day had already arrived. that seems to be how academics go though, fast as hell. it's like living life at hyper speed. which is an ideal speed for me seeing as i want to get the hell out of here as quick as humanly possible.

i'm working on a really elaborate pop-up card at home right now, and i finally understand why pop-up artists refer to themselves as 'paper engineers'. orchestrating all the events i want to see in my latest card has been a headache to say the least. it's really fun to incorporate my own drawings now that i feel like i'm a better comic artist (due to my postcard comix project). i may post a video of the pop-up in action at a later date.

this is a photo of a distillation setup required to purify DIPEA (one of the reagent in my reaction) for my fluorescent amide coupling. isn't the thermometer with a built in ground glass joint adorable?

it's a really fun purification because i get to heat the dirty DIPEA side up with a glorified super hairdryer to get it boiling.

now for the list:

did kelly ride all the way up to campus today? yes
if no did she get halfway?
health: 8 (i love riding bikes and think it helps with this)
happiness: 6 (my santa cruz transition is finally kickin' into gear)
# yoga poses completed: 0
# of liters water drunk: 1.5
servings vegetables: 4

long time hey?

so, i know i suck at this blogging thing lately, but today i was inspired to return to the world wide web to share my funny life.

yesterday i tore a frozen sponge to pieces and submerged it in methanol. it smells like the ocean. dying. i even found a teensy baby brittle star clinging with it's dead arms to the crinkly surface of the sponge. the methanol is going to extract all the interesting chemicals inside and make them easily accessible. pretty cool.

lily is a friend of mine who has a fun list she completes on the internet each day. i thought that was a cool idea. so, here's my version:

did kelly ride all the way up to campus today? yes
if no did she get halfway?
health: 7 (i've been unexplainably phlegmy lately)
happiness: 4 (going to portland drug up my previous santa cruz melancholy)
# yoga poses completed: 0
# of liters water drunk: 1.4
servings vegetables: 2

i miss the shit out of portland. being in santa cruz sometimes feels like tearing out my insides one organ at a time. i am trying a new moral boosting plan to solve this indifference though. i'm going to draw and do art projects all the fucking time. no more shitty online television (damn you internet!!!). no more useless drinking. i am a mail art machine. i will craft away my sadness. you just watch. maybe you'll be a lucky victim of my crafty rampage. check your mailboxes people, i'm going nuts!

love to all the people who are my friends and read my blog. in particular, I LOVE YOU TONY! i miss you a whole bunch and know i'll make it up to seattle sometime soon to cook you breakfast ungodly early and convince you i'm still a viable friend. not just a barrage of angsty phone calls.