Mandilian.com » Personal http://www.mandilian.com The Home of Lauren Mandilian Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:41:03 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Somewhere beyond the sea… http://www.mandilian.com/blog/somewhere-beyond-the-sea http://www.mandilian.com/blog/somewhere-beyond-the-sea#comments Sun, 02 May 2010 03:15:49 +0000 lauren http://www.mandilian.com/?p=410 …between the East Coast and Europe is the small, remote island of the Bermuda.
Mark and I just got back from our Royal Caribbean cruise to Bermuda. It was right out of Cape Liberty, NJ (right outside NYC) so it was really easy to get there from Philly (ie no flying required).
The interesting part of the story is how we booked the cruise in the first place. We “won the cruise” by attending one of those crazy interactive (Powerpoint) presentations trying to sell us a timeshare. In the end, the cruise wasn’t completely free (of course), but we still ended up getting a pretty good deal.
The ship was huge! It had 3 large pools, 6 hot tubs, a basketball court, rock climbing wall, miniature golf, and even an ice skating rink!
Despite the bad weather on the way to and from Bermuda, we had a really great time. While we were on the ship, we participated in all the activities like dance classes, jewelry making. scrap booking, Bingo (funny story, we actually won a game of Bingo, but didn’t realize it until it was too late – yea, we could have won $500 our first night…). They had parades and shows on the ship that were absolutely amazing – there was even an ice capades show! One of my favorite shows was the Cooking Demonstration where yours truly volunteered. I got to stand up on stage and make my own chocolate cherry cake and drink cherry brandy while doing so! And of course we ate a ton of delicious food and were treated like royalty – one of the waitresses cut my french toast for me one morning :)
The weather in Bermuda was much better then the weather at sea. The days would start off overcast, but by 11am, the skies would be clear and it would be a beautiful, sunny day. We certainly made the most of our two days on the island. We rented a two person scooter to get around the island. This was definitely the highlight of our trip. It made having to travel from place to place on the island our own little excursion. We booked a cave tour excursion through Royal Caribbean where we explored one of Bermuda’s many caves. At the end of the tour there was a lagoon that we could swim in. After the excursion, we explored the city of St. George, which is more of the historic section of the island. Bermuda has a lot of old military forts, so we saw one of the more famous ones, Fort Hamilton, which is located in the bustling city of Hamilton. And of course we went to the beach. The sand was not as pink as I thought it would be, but the water was absolutely beautiful (a little cold, but beautiful). Bermuda was formed by three volcanos, which are now inactive. Because of this, the island is very rocky so there were rocks to climb and play on while we were at the beach.
My rambling doesn’t do the trip justice, so head on over to flickr to see some shots from the trip.

]]> http://www.mandilian.com/blog/somewhere-beyond-the-sea/feed 0 End of Summer :( http://www.mandilian.com/blog/end-of-summer http://www.mandilian.com/blog/end-of-summer#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:27:28 +0000 lauren http://www.mandilian.com/?p=315 Sorry I haven’t posted anything all summer – I can’t believe its just about over! It seems like we were just in Maine for the 4th of July. This year our friends came up with us to experience a true Maine vacation! We ate lobster (twice) and Gifford’s Ice Cream (every night). Activities included waterskiing everyday, white water rafting, kayaking, hiking, as well as cliff jumping =)
This summer I was also a Teaching Artist at Montgomery Theater for the Young Actor’s Workshop Mixed Media Week. The students had a week to write a play, perform in their play, and create multimedia content to be projected during their play. This is the first year that Montgomery Theater has ever done a Mixed Media Week; fortunately, the students plays were so successful that there is plans to continue the class in the Fall, Spring and even next Summer! If you are interested in seeing the kids’ performances, head on over to youtube!
I also was involved with the 2009 Siggraph Conference as an XSV (Ex Student Volunteer). I worked as a project manager on the Encounter Siggraph SCVNGR Hunt, an interactive SMS game developed by SCVNGR. I was excited that the conference was held in (the very hot) New Orleans because I had never been there before. During my free time I went to Bourbon Street, listen to a lot of awesome live music and even went on a Paddle Wheeler dinner/jazz cruise!
This summer I have also been doing some freelance work for an awesome projection company in Philadelphia. Klip Collective is a video installation company that can transform any space into an immersive visual experience. Here are two projects I edited for Klip this summer that showcase what they do: W Fort Lauderdale & Infiniti
I don’t have too much in the works for Fall, but I’m hoping some opportunities will come around. I will be sure to keep you posted ;-)

]]> http://www.mandilian.com/blog/end-of-summer/feed 0 Is that a dog in a bag? http://www.mandilian.com/blog/is-that-a-dog-in-a-bag http://www.mandilian.com/blog/is-that-a-dog-in-a-bag#comments Tue, 19 May 2009 16:58:34 +0000 lauren http://www.mandilian.com/?p=288 Buckley in a bag

This weekend we took Buckley to the Italian Market with us. On the walk home he decided he was too tired so we put him in a shopping bag and carried him home the rest of the way! As you can see, he doesn’t seem to be struggling to get out and is pretty content to be carried around in a grocery bag.

]]> http://www.mandilian.com/blog/is-that-a-dog-in-a-bag/feed 0 Home from Pair-ee http://www.mandilian.com/blog/home-from-pair-ee http://www.mandilian.com/blog/home-from-pair-ee#comments Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:34:26 +0000 lauren http://www.mandilian.com/?p=213 We had a fabulous time in Paris! We were there for 8 days so we were able to see a lot!! I can sum up the trip like this: I ate at least one French baguette and one Nutella crepe a day, we climbed up every tower in the city (Notre Dam, Arc De Triumph, Pantheon, Eiffel Tower, Sac Le Carre), and saw a ton of art (Palace of Versailles, Pompidou, Orsay Museum, Orangerie Museum, Rodin Museum, Louve).
One of my favorite sights was walking through the catacombs, which are underground passageways that go all throughout the city. As you walk through, you enter a section of the catacombs were bones were kept because France ran out of places to bury people during the Black Plague. I have some great photos of us standing next to human skulls and femurs =)
Another sight I really enjoyed was going up the Eiffel Tower one night (something I’ve always wanted to do). We stayed up there long enough to see the lights on the tower flicker at midnight. It was amazing, the trip was amazing!
Head on over to Becky Huot’s flickr to see photos from the trip.

]]> http://www.mandilian.com/blog/home-from-pair-ee/feed 0 What’s going on? http://www.mandilian.com/blog/update-on-my-life http://www.mandilian.com/blog/update-on-my-life#comments Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:37:27 +0000 lauren http://www.mandilian.com/blog/update-on-my-life Its been awhile since I posted anything so this post will be an update on my work as well as life…
The start of 2009 has been busy, but its a good busy. January I was the video designer for Impressions of Pelleas, an opera performed by The Curtis Institute of Music. Right after finishing Pelleas, I did a project for Aaron Levy, one of the Board of Directors for Slought Foundation. I designed an interactive presentation and map for one of their exhibitions, Into the Open, Positioning Practice. The Interactive Map is on the Exhibition’s website. Right after finishing the project for Slought, I worked in NYC for 2 weeks as a projection assistant for Columbia University’s Young Company’s rendition of Romeo & Juliet. We designed imagery as well as incorporated 3 live cameras. Recently, I was in NYC filling in for the associate projection designer for the new Broadway show Rock of Ages. The show is really fun and features hit music from the 80s.
As for life, I feel really good about all the work I’ve been doing so far this year. Next month Mark and I will be going to Paris for nine days! We are both really excited especially because neither of us have ever been there. I will be sure to post about that trip when we get back.
P.S. Buckley and turtle say hi!

]]> http://www.mandilian.com/blog/update-on-my-life/feed 0 Another Addition to the Family http://www.mandilian.com/blog/another-addition-to-the-family http://www.mandilian.com/blog/another-addition-to-the-family#comments Mon, 02 Feb 2009 21:57:11 +0000 lauren http://www.mandilian.com/blog/another-addition-to-the-family After years of begging Mark for a dog we FINALLY got one this weekend. We had started seriously looking last month. We decided we wanted to get a dachshund (aka wiener dog) and wanted to rescue a dog rather then go through a breeder. I had come across the Dachshund Rescue of North America’s website and decided to apply.
The application process was pretty lengthy. First we had to fill out an application, which asked for 3 references as well as different types of scenario questions. Once the application was approved a home visit was conducted. After all that we were approved to adopt Smokey, a one year old healthy, energetic boy who came from a great family but was surrendered to the DRNA because his human mom was allergic to him.
We’ve renamed him Buckley (after Buckley Field – the first place Mark and I met). He is the most perfect dog (and of course adorable). He is already potty trained, hardly ever barks, loves to play as well as snuggle!
Going through the DRNA was the best decision we could have made. Everyone is so nice and more then willing to answer any questions we had. It is obvious that they have the dogs’ best interest in mind. They are a great resource and I would highly recommend going through their organization if you are considering adopting a doxie.

Buckley

]]> http://www.mandilian.com/blog/another-addition-to-the-family/feed 0 ACM Multimedia Conference http://www.mandilian.com/blog/acm-multimedia-conference-same-workshop http://www.mandilian.com/blog/acm-multimedia-conference-same-workshop#comments Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:42:07 +0000 lauren http://www.mandilian.com/blog/acm-multimedia-conference-same-workshop This weekend, Mark and I ventured to Vancouver, Canada. My thesis was accepted as a paper presentation in the one day SAME Workshop (Semantic Ambient Media Experience) a part of the ACM Multimedia Conference. The workshop was set up a little differently as the focus wasn’t on presentations of the papers, but more so discussion of ambient media – I found it to be a pretty interesting day. Once the workshop was over, Mark and I spent the rest of the weekend exploring Vancouver. Check out the pics on flickr!

]]> http://www.mandilian.com/blog/acm-multimedia-conference-same-workshop/feed 0 A New Addition to the Family http://www.mandilian.com/blog/a-new-addition-to-the-family http://www.mandilian.com/blog/a-new-addition-to-the-family#comments Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:26:33 +0000 lauren http://www.mandilian.com/blog/a-new-addition-to-the-family This past weekend we adopted a baby turtle we named Puddles from “The Turtle Man” outside Wendy’s on 15th and Chestnut. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into- I thought raising a turtle was as simple as raising a fish. Boy was I wrong…
Puddles cost 10 bucks and came in a little plastic container with a plastic palm tree (which I learned later through this site is illegal). We decided to go to Petco to get him a bigger tank (you know like a 10 gallon or something). When we got to the store the employee showed us the tank we would need- It was a 20L tank (about 3 feet long x 1 foot deep)! On top of the tank, we also had to buy a special light! When everything was said and done, we ended up spending $200 for a turtle that only cost $10.
We were a little overwhelmed by everything- where the hell were we going to put this giant tank we just bought in our tiny apartment? We drove home, set everything up, and introduced Puddles to his new home. He seemed to be a lot happier (probably because we were raising him correctly now).
Despite the initial shock of it all, we’ve really taken to Puddles. I know I’m his mom and all, but I most say, he’s the cutest thing on four legs! Mark even set up a webcam for us to watch his every move!!

]]> http://www.mandilian.com/blog/a-new-addition-to-the-family/feed 0 Back from Orlando http://www.mandilian.com/blog/back-from-orlando http://www.mandilian.com/blog/back-from-orlando#comments Sat, 12 Jan 2008 18:10:22 +0000 lauren http://www.mandilian.com/blog/back-from-orlando Although the weather was abnormally cold (the coldest day was around 30 degrees!), my trip to Orlando was pretty awesome! Mark and I spent four “adventure-packed” days in Disney. Highlights included staying in Magic Kingdom until 2 am, spending New Year’s Eve in Epcot, meeting Remy & Emile in MGM, and riding Expedition: Everest in Animal Kingdom. Check out some pictures from the trip at flickr.
The reason we went to Orlando to begin with is because ASI hired Taiko drummers to perform at their conference and I was asked to design an animation to be projected behind them. The performance turned out great – check out the video clip on my portfolio page.

]]> http://www.mandilian.com/blog/back-from-orlando/feed 0 Orlando for New Years… http://www.mandilian.com/blog/orlando-for-new-years http://www.mandilian.com/blog/orlando-for-new-years#comments Tue, 06 Nov 2007 18:16:27 +0000 lauren http://www.mandilian.com/blog/orlando-for-new-years Five times a year ASI hosts a conference called The ASI Show!. The first conference of the year is always in Orlando and this year, yours truly will get to attend! Taiko drummers were hired to perform right before the show floor opens and I was asked to design an animation that will be projected behind them. Pretty exciting, huh – especially since this project is right up my alley. I will be creating an interactive Flash piece- There will be nine preset animations that can be controlled using the keyboard to play with the beat of the drums. Because this is being created for ASI, I will have to use a certain color scheme and each animation will be abstracts of our logo.
And if you thought that was exciting, since the conference takes place right after New Years, I have decided to go down to Orlando early with Mark and celebrate New Year’s Eve in Walt Disney World! I’ll let you know how the trip turns out when I get back.

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