breakthrough ministries

last saturday i found myself serving at breakthrough ministries , as they celebrated opening a new, and may i say, amazing men's shelter. they threw a giant block party with entertainment, free food, games, and people. even the jesse white tumbling team came out!
there were tons of volunteers, kids, adults, and lots and lots of food. i got put in a food tent assembling and serving hamburgers and hot dogs and was at it for nearly five hours. i made some friends at my tent and with some folks from willow, the church i've started going to. i had a great time.

i've also had the pleasure of seeing my friends perform at iO a few times in the past few weeks, which is great fun in and of itself, not mentioning the el rides to and from wrigleyville. (cub games nights are the most frustrating, but somehow the most assuring).

classes are going just fine: we're starting the home stretch in both drawing and photo: discussing and getting the gears turning on final projects. woohoo! i'm definitely looking forward to getting these things done and i'm just as curious as anybody as to what form my projects will will take.

speaking of, these are from my sketchbook-



drawing cloth is still a hard thing for me, but i think i'm getting the hang of it. i really like the way the umbrella turned out!

i miss being with you all.

movie! on my block!

as i walked back from church this morning, i passed a sight not often seen.


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a section of balbo street, above, was cut off from traffic and covered in film crews, traffic diverters, and actors. ("b" is where i passed by. "a" is where i assume the blockage ended. "c" is where i LIVE. boom baby!)
i asked a traffic diverter what all the bustle was about, and he said it was for the film traitor. he said that85-90% of the cast was in chicago today, doing reshoots of walking from place to place. and just for today. i may or may not have seen don cheadle walk into the south loop club, a local bar/restaurant. (but it was from a distance.)

the film comes out in august. i wanna go see it now!

where are you from?

i had to answer this question all the time in australia. and it makes sense, too-- you talk funny, you have a slightly different way of dressing, and something about an international kid just reads "international kid" to the locals. it makes sense. but i have recently started getting the question again.

it makes a lot of sense. i just forgot that i wasn't done answering the question because it's just been so long since i got it. and i forgot how complex the answer was.
i'm from arkansas by way of the suburbs by way of australia by way of chicago.
of course that's not the answer i give when i'm really asked, but it's the most accurate concise honest answer i have.

maybe it's just late, maybe i'm over-thinking things. but i think the variety of answers i can give for this question is fascinating and i never would have guessed any of it a few years ago.

good news!

i have to congratulate my big brother, matt, for recently being accepted to med school at / uams, after a long process of back and forth with different schools and such. give three cheers and a huzzah for him!
also, keep victoria (his wife) in your prayers this weekend as she takes the LSAT. [my family is brilliant. is that okay to gloat about?]
also, keep ME in your prayers this weekend as the entire malony clan except for me will be in arkansas briefly. i am jealous and excited for all of them, but the last time all seven of us were in the same room was last may! this will not do!

stay tuned.

update. and not daily.

hello! this is the second week of june, if you can believe that. i've been here three weeks! it feels like a day if it feels like a year. i am enjoying my classes well enough. i have enjoyed getting into some discussions on theory with my drawing teacher and our class continues to bond, slowly but surely. my photography class is even smaller than the drawing and meets twice is often, which means we are quickly becoming friends and complimenting each other's photos. it makes being in class until nighttime tolerable.

last week, dad was in town on his last visit to chicago. due to our schedules, we didn't get much face time at either of our mental peaks, but i was glad of some company. we stopped by the chicago blues festival and were able to listen to blues great johnny winter jam before dad left bright and early on friday morning.

i FINALLY got into wheaton last weekend for improv playtime, and it turned into an afternoon of hanging out with folks and dinner! it was SO GOOD to see friends, to chat, to share a meal, to giggle over online movie trailers and laugh at shared references. (we even shared the best kind of Christian school humor: theology jokes.)
i miss hanging out with those people. next weekend can't come soon enough!

on sunday, i saw a little more improv at iO, but i missed my friend's show. and walked home from the train in the rain. i sang the whole way home!

this week doesn't hold anything that exciting it would seem. i'm doing some volunteer work for a gaming graphics class at columbia (will report on that!), keeping up with homework and the like, hopefully going back into wheaton this weekend, and perhaps doing some vounteer work with some contacts i made at willow creek last week.

meh. not much to report. i have borrowed a few seasons of the office and am plowing through it, and have been listening to ender's game while working in the darkroom and on my sketchbook. i'm keeping myself entertained.

much love to you all. i am super envious of my family this weekend, as ALL my brothers and sisters will be gracing
northwest arkansas with visits.
miss you.

ps. i am now facebook friends with the president of my college.

of course.

of course, it doesn't take two days for me to fall off the wagon with this "one post a day" thing. keep on the lookout, i'm coming back.