door girl

This is my 200th post! I find the thought a little unsettling, for some reason. When I conceived of this blog, I decided on the name "Have Degree, Will Travel" because it perfectly summed up how I felt at the time. I had a degree I loved but wasn't using in a job which didn't challenge or satisfy me nearly as much as I'd hoped. I'd applied to a grad program but had little hope of being accepted. I was anxious and restless with a couple thousand dollars in savings and a burning need to go somewhere, anywhere. It's hard to believe that was only a few months ago. My life is impossibly different now.

Anyway, I've been racking my brain for something special to do, all to no avail. Instead, you get stereoscopes, recent images which have caught my eye, and a pretty cool link.

Highly cyclical stereograph image of a woman looking through a stereoscope.

My first week of classes is over. It wasn't a week so much as it was a class and some tours. The most exciting tour was by far the Library of Congress, where we were restricted to certain areas while the Capital Police dealt with a threat. The rumors were flying as we watched the librarians of Congress gossip amongst themselves. While there, we also got to play around with a stereoscope in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, and man was that ever fun! I've been unsuccessfully suppressing the desire to bid on one on eBay ever since (learning from my mother that my great-grandmother had one they would play with as kids didn't help).

Awesome use of an old door by knack studios.

We, the new crop of HDA (History of Decorative Arts) students have been asked repeatedly to explain our interests, and I'm definitely the only door crazy. I've been asked and have been trying to put into words exactly why I'm door-crazy, and have discovered to my surprise that the reasons are actually more metaphysical than "THEY'RE SO PRETTY."

Image from newest Anthropologie catalog. Love that letter I.

Finally, here's the link. I've been playing the game Home Sweet Home all evening and just had to share. It's an interior decorating game! Using the likes and dislikes of clients and sticking to a budget, you put together a room! The clients themselves can be pretty cryptic which brings in the challenge of it, but on the whole the game is a ton of fun and ridiculously addictive. Plus, the more money you make, the more things you can do with your own home (mine is below). Sadly, you're limited to just one room, a sort of living/dining space, in this game, but they've just released a second game for kitchens and baths (currently only available for PC).
I downloaded my copy here.

It's been a good 200, yeah? My blogging will likely sharply decline in the next months as I focus on school and work, but I promise not to abandon you completely, internets. I'll try to post about the LOC Adams Building in all its Deco glory soon. A bientôt!