Fast Food Blues

My plan for this summer is to work as much as possible to save up money for fall semester -- potentially my last semester of college. (Yes, Mom, you read that right. Last. Semester. Of College.) Not wanting to leave any stones unturned, I am applying for as many places as I can think of, and that is how, as a soon-to-be college graduate, I have just applied for a job . . . at Burger King. What can I say. Sometimes life hurts. In the spirit of seeking commiseration, I present to you what I wrote (but did not send) in response to the questions, "Why do you want to work at Burger King?" and "What sets you apart from other candidates?"

Why Do I Want to Work at Burger King?
by Meagan Toiaivao

Why do I want to work at Burger King? I don't. Obviously. But as broke as I am, if it means a paycheck -- any kind of paycheck -- then I'm ready to do my time flipping burgers. There are plenty of jobs out there just as soulless and menial as trying to push French fries on haggard mothers through sheer force of pep, although granted, none of them are quite so iconic in their ignominy. Janitors have more dignity than fast food employees. Garbage collectors have more dignity. Even telemarketers do. At least all of them get to be anonymous. And as for what sets me apart from other candidates, how about, I'm in college? How about, I'm sanitary? How outstanding do I need to be to put a sandwich in a paper sack? If I actually submitted this in my application, would that set me apart sufficiently?

I had a fun time writing this. Comments and editorial suggestions welcome. Have a fun summer, everybody.

Geometry Garden

Here's the postcard I made for my grandma's 91st birthday:
I couldn't think of anything really clever or even relevant to put on it (note to self: do not write greeting cards), but it looks like quilts and flowers, and she likes both, so hopefully she'll be pleased. :) I'm calling it a "geometry garden." I think I may have to do more of these, 'cause it was a lot of fun.

Haaappy Biiirthday to . . . Oh No, Wait

My grandmother turned 91 years old this week, and I wanted to be good this year, so I drew up a handmade postcard for her. Unfortunately, I drew it quite intricate and very, very small, which is a bit of a bad move when you intend to paint something and still want to keep your eyesight and/or sanity, so I am still plugging away at it even though her birthday was on Wednesday. :P Sorry, Grandma. If your old eyes can see it once I finally mail it to you . . . that'll be more than I can say for myself, 'cause I'm already half-blind! But I'll post an image on this blog once I'm done, 'cause this sucka is gon' be DOPE. No lie.

In the meantime, enjoy this piece I did for an art contest about Celebrating Human Dignity.

What Have I Been Doing?!

Phew, time flies! And I have been busy, kind of. Has it really been a month and a half since my last post?

Here are some things I've been working on. (Some of them are revisions of earlier posts.)

1. When Zombie Pilgrims Attack

Says my friend Michelle: "Puritans are already scary. But zombie Puritans? That's terrifying."

2. RIP Scotty

He passed away quite a while ago, actually. I just thought it would be cool if you beam yourself into the afterlife like it was the Starship Enterprise.

3. Suck-egg Dog

Family crest, anyone? What's the Latin for "egg-sucking dog"?

4. You Dick

Based on Greg Spalenka's college story. Greg showed a painting he was working on to his roommate, who looked at it for a bit, said something about destruction being a part of creation, and promptly threw the piece out the window, where it fell into traffic. When Greg finally retrieved the painting (bellowing "yooooou diiiiiick" all the way down two flights of stairs), he discovered he actually liked the damage.

5. Plugged In

A metaphor for "soft" addiction.

6. The Greatest Danger Could Be Your Stupidity

Inspired by a real fortune cookie fortune I found on Google Images. Sounds like a Flannery O'Connor story, doesn't it?

Now that summer is (almost) here, I should be keeping up with this blog more regularly.

Love to you all.
Meag

Low-down Dirty Dog and a Doodle

Guest Artist Ron Mazellan's Challenge:
Make an illustration based on a family motto or family saying.

My Response:
The Suck-Egg Dog


I couldn't think of any good sayings to go with my childhood except "It's kind of like a bucket of sand" (Mom's attempt to explain by creative analogy why she wouldn't let my sister go somewhere; it didn't make sense then either), which seemed too difficult to interpret, so I went with a saying from my Mom's youth, namely, "suck-egg dog!" This evidently was a base insult back in the day, but its meaning and origins are forgotten, so I felt free to devise my own interpretation: a punk bulldog, sucking eggs malevolently. (Well, smooching them, more like. I should maybe fix that.)

Also, Because I Am Proud of It:
Sketch with Ball-point Pen

The Prodigal Blogger Returns

Sorry for the lapse in blogging; I'm afraid I just get derailed sometimes. In the spirit of penitence, I offer the following updates:

1: Color studies for a painting about being surrounded by zombie pilgrims. (I had a nightmare of this when I was little.)

2: Tribute to Montgomery "Scotty" Scott.


3: Superhero doodles from the flight back to Salt Lake.

I think I have issues with superheroic foreshortening. :(
Love to you all. Happy Monday.

Guess My Wish

I hereby promise an original hand-painted postcard to whomever can guess what I wished for before I blew out my birthday candles. I would post a picture of said postcard, but 1) I haven't painted it yet and 2) I don't think I have a scanner here at home. (Hint: it's real simple and kinda lame too.) You have one week (until midnight of Tuesday, January 5) to leave your guess and address in a comment to this post. I will mail the card to the winner. Good luck!