betsy oslund

But now im stuck with a goofy grin and an interesting makeup job ;)

T minus 6 days and ill be moving back to LA into my new house!!! Its gonna be a stress filled week this week though b/c i finals for my summer classes that i need to start studying for asap, gotta say goodbye to anyone + everyone in this state, and somehow manage to pack all my clothes, shoes, etc into no more than 3/4 suitcases and then i will ready to jet set at 4 am on saturday morning in order to get back in time for a meeting at my work and then that night sit green-room at the hellogoodbye concert which should be fun if i can stay awake (hello energy drinks galore).

On top of all that I have to move into my new house before I start my fall semester classes that monday (yes my summer break will only be a whopping 2 days). Thankfully my amazing roommates already went to my storage place and took ALL of my boxes + boxes of random stuff out for me, set up my bed + furniture, moved my car from its storage lot + unloaded it, and so on and so forth. I honestly dont know if I would be alive without them, they are seriously responsible for my survival during the past 2 years...whether listening to me bitch about stuff for hours, making sure i get places i need to be, or saving my ass from many many sticky situations they take care of me like my mom had to when i was 2 haha. All-in-all though, m soooo excited to move in though. 1 house, 4 boys, and me. Its gonna be quite the experience for all of us and there is going to be far too much testosterone in my life. Enough said.

So i cant decide which text one of my roommates sent me the other day is worse...you decide:

1) 'I think we might have a roach problem already.'

2) 'Someone broke into your car...and they left a scewdriver jammed in your door'

I basically wanted to cry after reading both of those but being 2000 miles away from those problems there is nothing I can really do but shrug my shoulders and say 'oh well.' Ive realized that getting all upset about things like that is absolutely pointless...sometimes life sucks but might as just play along and laugh back at it.

So I did a photoshoot for Pure Imagination Clothing last weekend...the shoot took like 5 hours but was super fun so i didnt even mind. We shot down-town on the freeways and such so it became a game of run onto the road when stoplight turns red, pose + snap some photos, dodge the oncoming cars, wait pateiently on the side and then repeat. I havent seen the results yet but they should turn out really good after seeing the designer's other work. He does amazing graphic designs and is turning all the promotional and catalog photos that we took into these superhero comic-book character style type art.)Apparently my character is the bad-ass car-jacker...how fitting ;]

I also did an all-day shoot yesterday with a photography team in their studio. I felt really groggy the whole day but hopefully i dont look it in the photos! I wont get to see those final prints for a good month though cuz they are apparently super backed up in post-processing but Ill post everything once I get it from them :] 

Had an absolutely amazing night last night with an old friend i missed far too much that lasted until the sun came up this morning which has left me worn + exhausted so now its time to read for an hour or so + hit the hay.

According to prophecy, I live in a quasi-autobiography of make-belief and myth.

Historical or dramaturgical?

Inspiring or mind-numbing?

Informative or deceptive?

What do you see in that box we call our tv?

Television has never been something I have become engulfed in or addicted to...it has just never had a huge hold on my mind. Maybe its because I grew up actually playing outdoors and making up my own games rather than sitting on the couch or maybe its because I'm far too ADD to sit and let some object choose how to entertain me. Lately, however, I have noticed how absolutely infatuated the world is with this console of telecommunicating static and pixels. Its like the leader of a cult; the preacher of the church; the dictator of a mass of people with one thing in common: the need to stare at a screen and let it invade their brain's space.

Its interesting to realize that at the origins of television… Before it was cheap enough for the common household to buy, public television (in Germany – the first country to have regular public television) was controlled by the Hitler regime. Rather than television being a private undertaking inside the home, the mass public would watch tv at special television docking points around town. Although, similar to today's programming, tv consisted of the usual news, music, food, and sports being aired, there were obvious overtones of racism, hatred, and conformism linked into every show. Subtle warnings were devised into programs, every news anchor hailed Hitler, and swastikas were flashed regularly. Television was not being utilized for public entertainment; it was an extraordinary means of public brainwashing. Although Hitler's actions were unbelievably inhumane, crude, and barbaric, he was a highly intelligent individual. Its absolutely tragic how he used his intelligence, but he achieved his goals in a very thoughtful way…by dulling the senses, the morals, and the judgments of the public and morphing them into a pre-designed form of thought through the use of easy entertainment.

We flock like sheep to the television, internet, and all other mass media. Really makes you wonder how your own thoughts are being transformed. Im not saying that television and/or the internet are these horrible destructive inventions, but its interesting to note how highly we uphold things that were invented with the intent of numbing our minds into the programmed minds of the government's soldiers. Just to put it out there…I still barely watch tv although I do from time to time when Im with friends and what-not…but for example, in the apartment I lived in all of last year, I only turned my television on TWO times. The only shows I have ever found to be somewhat exciting? 'Weeds' and the teenage British drama 'Skins'  If you watch 'Seinfeld' you deserve to be brainwashed…worst show EVER haha.

I don't think television is a bad thing, I just think we should be aware of the vulnerabilities we face when facing it. Same for the internet and magazines…you need to try and realize that barrier between entertainment and propaganda, impossible though it exists…

Because are minds were made to expand through knowledge, not be controlled through deceit.

work hard. play hard. story of my life.

Some people work hard all week and use the weekends to relax , whereas others play hard all weekend and use the week to recooporate+regroup. I guess im just the outsider b/c I dont belong to either group. Most people know how I am so very obsessive about school, grades, and learning shit that I spend an average of anywhere from 2 to 6 hours studying a night...i dont have a choice really, the type of kids in the classes i choose to take are the kind of people who dont have a life beyond the library. HOWEVER, on the weekends I dont waste a single moment sleeping in or watching tv...its always go-go-go. The type of people I like to go out with are the people who live in the moment and make horrible decisions but are tons of fun. I think everyone needs a balance in their life...too much of either type of life just isnt healthy. Knowledge is power, BUT life is too short to be spent alone.

So recap on the weekend...

Friday:

Got stopped by a guy at the Starbucks I go to at the vert same time every single day. Turns out he writes a fashion editorial in Minneapolis and told me he had seen me there and had chosen as one of the 4 best dressed people in Minneapolis. Asked me if I would mind being interviewed + photographed for the article on the spot...only problem was that that morning I was still wearing my makeup from the night before and had grabbed the clothes closest to my bed cuz I was so tired and had literally 2 minutes to get ready. I was what I thought was a train-wreck. Will be interesting to see the article when it comes out nonetheless, especially the photo of the mess I was that day haha. Biggest fashion advice I gave...DONT EVER WEAR CROCS NO MATTER WHAT!!!!

Friday night lasted until 6 am (ironically) running, screaming, jumping, and wrestling like we were all far younger than any of us should really act. Some intersting events finally led to sleeping in a little girls bed with 2 of my lovely friends, all of us wearing a combination of wet and/or borrowed clothes. I personally sported someones bob marley tee that was 2 sizes too big. Reason for wetness? Everyone piled into a tiny jacuzzi at 3 am with clothes still on. We went in the water only to find a few interesting sponges and a couple pairs of womans underwear stuck to the bottom and came out leaving hair-balls floating in brown water. End of story...

Saturday: headed to Uptown Minneapolis w/ my mom at 9 am to go check out the Art Fair...it was 90-some degrees out and the fair went on for blocks+blocks so my feet felt like rubber by the end ...but I did find some amazing artists and great inspiration which made it worth it. Afterwards went shopping at some vintage stores in Uptown where I bought a few 50's style dresses that I am going to reconstruct along with some rad pink winter moonboots so I can walk outside when I come home for Christmas. Milkshakes for dinner + finished up some sewing projects with the mother and called it a night after getting treated to a manicure+movie.

Sunday: Dragged my sleepy-self out of bed and over to the cities at 8:30 am to meet up with Ana + Travis to go to Warped Tour....what a day, oh geeeeeze. Ana and I always end up in some sort of mischief...which is exactly why I love her. Long story short: we met at a leadership camp my school forced me to go to when we were both still sophomores in high school. We became far too well known at the camp before officially becoming the first people to ever be banned from the camp for life...dont even ask ;)

ANYWAYS...warped tour consisted of meeting some crazy cool people, pink+green flasks, signing girls boobs + guys stomachs, running around + into old friends, some good music, etc etc. We got asked to be in a magic-show after the magician convinced himself we were porn-stars (?) and said he would light me on fire and it "would feel really good"...got creeped out, ran away, only to have him track us down a few hours later and ask uf for our numbers which resulting in sprinting away. The interview for warped tour promotional stuff by myspace staff ended up being all about watching the wrestler in the pink thong who claimed to be straight.

Why yes, my brain is in fact always in ADD mode.

I took pictures with other people too that day on their cameras...if that includes you, send me them =]

After the exhaustion that is Warped Tour, we jet-set to White Bear back to Travis's house, threw some Cheez-Its in our hungry mouths, washed off the layer of dirt + grime off our faces and said screw it to being tired. Plan of attack: guzzle down some more "special water" and move on over to the Gay 90's Club in minneapolis. Trav got his "girl" on, dressing up in head-to-toe drag, and made me feel like troll cuz he looked so stunning. We had to run in the rain (most of us in heels) from our car to the club where we stayed until closing dancing our asses off + watching the drag queen/king show.

Getting up at 7 am for class Monday morning = worse than shoving a needle in my eye.

BUT...my wonderful mother surpised me with the beautiful gold skirt/dress that "wasn't for sale" (according to the clerk) at a vintage store I had been eyeing far too hard. So that makes it all better. Im more-or-less completly re-vamping my closet lately w/ vintage finds...thank you Mary-Kate. I swear that I sport a different time era every other day...

Being conventional is sooo 1990...