mayumipops

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Video narration update pt 3: just realized this airport living room doesn't have a bathroom but...there are some receptacles here so I guess I have some options. #minneapolis #twincities #universityofminnesota #binghamton #newyork #alternativetoilet #poop

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My own personal living room at the airport say whaaaa!?!?! #minneapolis #twincities #universityofminnesota #binghamton #newyork #selfie #morganfreeman

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MOVING TO THE TWIN CITIES!!!

Hi! Great news. I was accepted into the University of Minnesota’s landscape architecture master’s program and will be pursuing a concentration in sustainable community development. There are also plenty of public art and creative placemaking opportunities that I plan to carry on when I move there.

With that said...I am going to be a new kid in Minneapolis (or St. Paul)! Looking to connect with some people there! Any info that you think I should know about the place, feel free to respond! 

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Late nights working on the application, compiling supplemental materials, writing two essays and putting together a portfolio...did not go to waste. Happy to say that I will be attending University of Minnesota this fall for a Masters in Landscape Architecture with a concentration in Sustainable Community Development. Lots of opportunities for public art and creative placemaking as well so I will be continuing on down that path even when I'm there! #UniversityofMinnesota #gradschool #landscapearchitecture #twincities #minneapolis

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GAHHH

I’m so nervous!!!

I want to know now!!!

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Are we ill?

Question: Is "suicide" still frowned upon? Am I allowed to talk about it here? If you answered yes to the first one and no to the second question, then keep scrolling (you have been warned). Just want to share a weird experience we had today. I was with a group of people, mostly minorities, at a bar...we had a long serious conversation about suicide as an option incase things got out of hand in this world. It was awkward at first and people felt hesitant to say much about it...but in the end, we all broke the ice and felt comfortable with each other on this topic. Trying to become acquainted with the idea of death by suicide had strangely put our minds at ease and when our minds were at ease we felt powerful...powerful enough to fight. Ironic how such conversation ended with us feeling more energized to fight for our lives and the lives of other people. It's probably because we are starting to accept this as a backup plan...or if it ever becomes the only plan. #TrumpAmerica

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Had a great meeting with Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo at the state office the other day about possibly starting a program in placemaking and community engaging public art somewhere in Broome County. And then I devoured this delicious Buffy's Burrito! Yum! #binghamton #newyork #placemaking #publicart #communityrevitalization

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Complete stranger at the bus station asked me "do you love to sleep?" to which I replied, "why yes, of course." followed by a long pause. She then stood up with a smile on her face and said, "that's good. that's very good. do not be afraid of death..." After a while, you start to think that's actually the most comforting thing anyone has ever said so far this year.

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Yay, finished drawing one of Binghamton University's student fuel stops! This was very challenging for me. Hoping to draw more cool indoor spots. #binghamtonuniversity #newyork #drawing #interior #architecture

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Work in progress day 1 (yesterday). #binghamton #newyork #drawing #interior #architecture #cafe

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I've been sour lately, you say? Life in 2016 has given me too much lemons, of course I'm fxcking sour. Make a lemonade, you say? Fxck that. Life in 2016 hasn't even left me a grain of sugar. No sweet lemonade for anyone.

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Cardboard Gun

Some kid on my block tried to sell me his handmade cardboard gun for $1.50. I politely refused to purchase his product because it didn’t come with paper bullets. Also, he used drywall screws to fasten the parts together, which a true craftsman wouldn’t use when it comes to cardboard/paper prop fabrication. Don’t care if he’s still a young boy, the real world is tough and I didn’t want to waste a buck on something that isn’t froyo.  

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Probably gonna get back into photographing neglected canned drinks again. I took these photos about a year ago and it made me think about and imagine the people who were drinking these drinks. Who are they? How did they look? What were they thinking? Under what emotional state were they in when they left the canned drink? Yeah, it seems like a really dumb thing I’m doing, but the process of imagining the drinkers is kind of interesting. I have a bunch of these kinds of photos, all taken in Binghamton, and these two are the ones that struck out to me the most.

Subjectively feeling the person by examining the structural state that the canned drinking receptacle was in and the environment it was neglected in essentially brings more comfort to my intrapersonal relationship. 

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Meeting someone at the cafe

The other day when I was waiting in line for my morning tea at a local cafe ive decided to muster up the courage to meet someone new just for the heck of it. I carefully scanned the cafe, attempted to read everyone’s personalities, the atmosphere they have created immediately around them…and finally picked a person who was sitting alone with a notebook opened in front of him. There was an empty seat next to him so i settled my things down and told him good morning as i was doing so. It seemed like he was looking for someone to talk to because his face lit up as soon as i acknowledged his presence. He enthusiastically sparked up a conversation and i realized he wasnt from around here based on his heavy french accent and whattya know…turned out hes a traveler from France and works as an urban planner. I’ve been very interested in the field of urban planning so i was very glad for this opportunity to learn more about it. Anywho, he thought he’d come here to learn about Binghamton’s revitalization progress before heading up to meet his friend/professor of regional and city planning at Cornell University. We talked for maybe more than two hrs about films, storylines, graphic novels, what people want in their city, Freud, optogenetic, social injustices, and also learned that he studies ancient manuscripts (freaking cool!) Anything he thought was worth highlighting on anything i said he would jot them down in his notebook even things i thought were insignificant. I definitely learned a lot from this well educated person and the best thing is…he made me forget about people and their snobbery. One thing i hate about having conversations with “experts” or “connoisseurs” is their pop cultural, science, and social snobbery. If people were able to have a conversation like him it could make a community much better. Absence of snobbery helps people learn and communicate better. I also appreciate him for his honesty and general life advises that i can apply to my projects and whenever i work with people. Oh my goodness, i think this was my highlight of the year. This is like two years ago when i met an Australian who came to Binghamton to check out the carousels for artistic inspiration during his improvised trips. Just wow.

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Inside the abandoned factory. #urbandecay

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New character in the making. #workinprogress #binghamton #newyork #art #illustration #drawing

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January 15th

UMich (MSW) UBuffalo (MUP)  TempleU (MCRP) UW-Tacoma (MA-Community Planning) SyracuseU (MFA)