Trip to CalArts- pt. 3
Want to finish this up now. Weekend is going to be hell- I can sense it now...
Anyway, I left off with buying my shirts and hoodie.
After all was said and done, I went outside and sat on a bench in front of the school. There was cottonweed? pollen blowing around everywhere and it really gave the sense of magical things happening there. I sat there and flipped through my old sketchbook. Seeing as how Accepted Students Day was officially VERY over, everyone was going home for their weekend. Students were wondering around, some were taking photographs in grassy areas, doing homework in the sun, lounging, playing music- I swear, it's like Art Haven! So, as I am just sitting there, trying to decide what to do next, one of the Financial Aid ladies, who only BRIEFLY talked to me when I was asking questions earlier, walks by and stops to ask me if I was waiting on a ride. I'm like- whut?! She was seriously asking if I had a ride home. I was so blown away! I mean... most people just wouldn't CARE! So I told her I had a rental and she continued home. I called up Lindsey and wanted to see what their plans were for the evening. They didn't have much, and I wanted to send off the email to the lady about financial aid, so I went back to the apartment. (I'd WANTED to go to Starbucks and sit and hop on wifi and just hang, but I realized I hadn't brought my laptop- FAIL!) Back at the apartment, they needed ink for their printer and wanted to go grocery shopping, so I got to see a little more of North Hollywood/Burbank-ish area, we went to Fry's and Ralph's (LA grocery store). Grabbed just a few things and I started the search for a cardboard tube to mail all of my life drawings back home to myself in. (I'll cut to the chase- I never did find one.) Ended up for dinner at Arunee's House- a Thai restaurant they both adore. This place was SO COOL! We entered through the back, and we had to shimmy down this little hallway from the storeroom into the front room where all the tables were. They were greeted by the entire restaurant, which makes me think Lindsey and Will are BIG TIME regulars! hehe The food was GREAT- I tried a little bit of everyone's food. The only issue we had was a really loud party of drunk-sounding people behind me. I was STUFFED and I didn't even finish all the food they gave me! It was crazy good! Went back to the apartment and somehow ended up watching House on Haunted Hill (the old one with Vincent Price! <3 ) with a rifftrack. I ended up laughing when I thought that movie was going to scare the crap out of me. Again- we all went to bed VERY late. Lindsey was cutting out stickers and even though I had been planning to play tourist on Sunday, I had an invitation from a first year animation student at school to give me a "behind-the-scenes" tour of CalArts. I was supposed to meet her at 9 AM, so I had another VERY early morning ahead of me.
Sunday arrived far too soon for me... At 9 AM, I was on campus again, waiting for my sweet host, Sammy Jo- who was still asleep! HAHAHA! When I finally got to meet her after talking to her online for over a year, I didn't know much of what to say. She showed me to the cubes, only this time I got to see hers and we milled about talking about all SORTS of stuff. I got a good idea of what kind of stuff I would need in my cube (cereal is a PREMIUM!), learned not to bring plants because she REALLY killed hers, got an idea of the size of sleeping bag I will need for sleeping in the cube and looked through her stuff. She showed me the Arcade machine in Chris Sanders Court. XD Talked about financial aid and loans on a human level and not a teacher/staff vs. student level. Wound up heading back to the dorms (got to see Tim Burton's door!) and got to see Sam's dorm room. MUCH bigger than I'd originally thought, but still a dorm room- not a lot of space. Her roommate wasn't there, but I was making mental notes of stuff to bring, stuff there would be no room for, stuff I would NEED, etc. Finally it must have been her breakfast time because we headed back to the main building to grab breakfast. She called her boyfriend on the way, wanting me to meet him. When he answered, he said, "I am looking at the clock and I am not pleased..." XD HAHAHA! She'd woken him up after a late night. I never did get to meet Vincent.
While she grabbed food, I stood in the food line with her and we bumped into her roommate! XD REALLY small school- have I mentioned that? They were both getting breakfast and I introduced myself to her- Rika. She knew of me as puddle! She posts on the forums sometimes too! We grabbed a table and sat. Soon we were joined by Sophie (posts sometimes on forums), then another Character Animator, then another, then another! Suddenly I am a table FULL of them! XD Turns out Rika had been one of the first years at Accepted Students Day. My friend Sammy Jo was mad that Rika hadn't woken her up! hehe We sat and talked about all mess of things: films, gossip, etc. It was so much fun and I REALLY felt like part of the group! It was too cool! However, I suddenly realized it was now about 11 AM, it would take me an hour to get back to Lindsey's apartment (I'd missed a chance to do lunch with her and Will) and another hour to get back to LAX... I had to RUSH! So Sam said she'd walk me back to the front of the school, and while waiting for Rika to throw her trash away, I spotted another guy from the forums. I think he recognized me too. As we walked to the car, he shouted out, "HI puddle!" XD I waved and off we went. Rika and Sammy Jo walked me back to my rental and Sam (from Miami) was FREEZING! It was so nice and cool out. So we said goodbyes, I thanked them both and told Rika to get Sammy Jo back inside before she froze to death! XD
I had intended to swing into Fry's to buy a cardboard tube, but forgot in my rush to not miss my plane. By the time I got back to Lindsey and Will's place, I had just enough time to throw my stuff in my suitcase, hug them repeatedly and dash out the door- no lunch. :(
Now, this whole weekend, I'd MASTERED getting from North Hollywood to Valencia... however, getting back to LAX was... well, more difficult. I got lost! I had no time! I made a desperate call to Lindsey and got instructions and got situated going the right direction and got to the car rental place with less than an hour to get to my plane. I checked the car back in, hopped on the bus and nervously bounced the whole way back to the terminal. Got to the security line and OMFG! I only got to the first part (where they check your ID!) and I had 20 minutes before my plane LEFT! The girl in front of me was also flying to Houston, so I felt a ~little~ better knowing I wasn't the only one, but the second segment of security (the scanning, shoes, etc.) was going to take 45 minutes to an HOUR there were so many people! Suddenly a security guard, apparently after getting worried stories from other passengers, called for anyone who's flight left in the next 15 minutes. (My flight was 20 minutes.) We asked if he was going to call for us next and he said yes, so we anxiously waited. All the people he called cut ahead of everyone and made their flights, then he called us. We high-tailed it and the girl got through security fast, but I'd forgotten to throw out a bottle of water in my bag, so they had to call Security to come check my bags. She went ahead and said she'd try to stall the plane if need be- haha! I FINALLY got cleared and hauled it! I was one of the last people on the plane and in the one of the very LAST ROWS, so I ended up walking right by the girl from the line. We traded very grateful smiles and I found my seat. The flight home was uneventful, except for the last 20 minutes, when I ended up talking to the guy next to me and I found out that his daughter is an editor in Hollywood!
After the plane landed, I waited until everyone left before hopping up. When I did, I snagged my fingernail on my laptop and tore the CRAP out of it. The sad thing is: I'd been thinking all weekend that I needed to trim them... Fail! Now, my plane had somehow arrived an hour early or something, so I was thinking that I would not be seeing my folks, but when I came down the escalators, I heard my mom and sister both shout out my name! *SHOCK!* We went outside and waited for Dad to swing back around and we all went out to eat at Pappas- YUMM! I joked in the car that this was what it was going to be like every time they saw me from now on- I get into town and say, "Okay, feed me!" XD
It was seriously an amazing trip and spending Sunday with Sammy Jo truly gave me the last piece of the puzzle I needed....
I feel I truly belong at CalArts.
Anyway, I left off with buying my shirts and hoodie.
After all was said and done, I went outside and sat on a bench in front of the school. There was cottonweed? pollen blowing around everywhere and it really gave the sense of magical things happening there. I sat there and flipped through my old sketchbook. Seeing as how Accepted Students Day was officially VERY over, everyone was going home for their weekend. Students were wondering around, some were taking photographs in grassy areas, doing homework in the sun, lounging, playing music- I swear, it's like Art Haven! So, as I am just sitting there, trying to decide what to do next, one of the Financial Aid ladies, who only BRIEFLY talked to me when I was asking questions earlier, walks by and stops to ask me if I was waiting on a ride. I'm like- whut?! She was seriously asking if I had a ride home. I was so blown away! I mean... most people just wouldn't CARE! So I told her I had a rental and she continued home. I called up Lindsey and wanted to see what their plans were for the evening. They didn't have much, and I wanted to send off the email to the lady about financial aid, so I went back to the apartment. (I'd WANTED to go to Starbucks and sit and hop on wifi and just hang, but I realized I hadn't brought my laptop- FAIL!) Back at the apartment, they needed ink for their printer and wanted to go grocery shopping, so I got to see a little more of North Hollywood/Burbank-ish area, we went to Fry's and Ralph's (LA grocery store). Grabbed just a few things and I started the search for a cardboard tube to mail all of my life drawings back home to myself in. (I'll cut to the chase- I never did find one.) Ended up for dinner at Arunee's House- a Thai restaurant they both adore. This place was SO COOL! We entered through the back, and we had to shimmy down this little hallway from the storeroom into the front room where all the tables were. They were greeted by the entire restaurant, which makes me think Lindsey and Will are BIG TIME regulars! hehe The food was GREAT- I tried a little bit of everyone's food. The only issue we had was a really loud party of drunk-sounding people behind me. I was STUFFED and I didn't even finish all the food they gave me! It was crazy good! Went back to the apartment and somehow ended up watching House on Haunted Hill (the old one with Vincent Price! <3 ) with a rifftrack. I ended up laughing when I thought that movie was going to scare the crap out of me. Again- we all went to bed VERY late. Lindsey was cutting out stickers and even though I had been planning to play tourist on Sunday, I had an invitation from a first year animation student at school to give me a "behind-the-scenes" tour of CalArts. I was supposed to meet her at 9 AM, so I had another VERY early morning ahead of me.
Sunday arrived far too soon for me... At 9 AM, I was on campus again, waiting for my sweet host, Sammy Jo- who was still asleep! HAHAHA! When I finally got to meet her after talking to her online for over a year, I didn't know much of what to say. She showed me to the cubes, only this time I got to see hers and we milled about talking about all SORTS of stuff. I got a good idea of what kind of stuff I would need in my cube (cereal is a PREMIUM!), learned not to bring plants because she REALLY killed hers, got an idea of the size of sleeping bag I will need for sleeping in the cube and looked through her stuff. She showed me the Arcade machine in Chris Sanders Court. XD Talked about financial aid and loans on a human level and not a teacher/staff vs. student level. Wound up heading back to the dorms (got to see Tim Burton's door!) and got to see Sam's dorm room. MUCH bigger than I'd originally thought, but still a dorm room- not a lot of space. Her roommate wasn't there, but I was making mental notes of stuff to bring, stuff there would be no room for, stuff I would NEED, etc. Finally it must have been her breakfast time because we headed back to the main building to grab breakfast. She called her boyfriend on the way, wanting me to meet him. When he answered, he said, "I am looking at the clock and I am not pleased..." XD HAHAHA! She'd woken him up after a late night. I never did get to meet Vincent.
While she grabbed food, I stood in the food line with her and we bumped into her roommate! XD REALLY small school- have I mentioned that? They were both getting breakfast and I introduced myself to her- Rika. She knew of me as puddle! She posts on the forums sometimes too! We grabbed a table and sat. Soon we were joined by Sophie (posts sometimes on forums), then another Character Animator, then another, then another! Suddenly I am a table FULL of them! XD Turns out Rika had been one of the first years at Accepted Students Day. My friend Sammy Jo was mad that Rika hadn't woken her up! hehe We sat and talked about all mess of things: films, gossip, etc. It was so much fun and I REALLY felt like part of the group! It was too cool! However, I suddenly realized it was now about 11 AM, it would take me an hour to get back to Lindsey's apartment (I'd missed a chance to do lunch with her and Will) and another hour to get back to LAX... I had to RUSH! So Sam said she'd walk me back to the front of the school, and while waiting for Rika to throw her trash away, I spotted another guy from the forums. I think he recognized me too. As we walked to the car, he shouted out, "HI puddle!" XD I waved and off we went. Rika and Sammy Jo walked me back to my rental and Sam (from Miami) was FREEZING! It was so nice and cool out. So we said goodbyes, I thanked them both and told Rika to get Sammy Jo back inside before she froze to death! XD
I had intended to swing into Fry's to buy a cardboard tube, but forgot in my rush to not miss my plane. By the time I got back to Lindsey and Will's place, I had just enough time to throw my stuff in my suitcase, hug them repeatedly and dash out the door- no lunch. :(
Now, this whole weekend, I'd MASTERED getting from North Hollywood to Valencia... however, getting back to LAX was... well, more difficult. I got lost! I had no time! I made a desperate call to Lindsey and got instructions and got situated going the right direction and got to the car rental place with less than an hour to get to my plane. I checked the car back in, hopped on the bus and nervously bounced the whole way back to the terminal. Got to the security line and OMFG! I only got to the first part (where they check your ID!) and I had 20 minutes before my plane LEFT! The girl in front of me was also flying to Houston, so I felt a ~little~ better knowing I wasn't the only one, but the second segment of security (the scanning, shoes, etc.) was going to take 45 minutes to an HOUR there were so many people! Suddenly a security guard, apparently after getting worried stories from other passengers, called for anyone who's flight left in the next 15 minutes. (My flight was 20 minutes.) We asked if he was going to call for us next and he said yes, so we anxiously waited. All the people he called cut ahead of everyone and made their flights, then he called us. We high-tailed it and the girl got through security fast, but I'd forgotten to throw out a bottle of water in my bag, so they had to call Security to come check my bags. She went ahead and said she'd try to stall the plane if need be- haha! I FINALLY got cleared and hauled it! I was one of the last people on the plane and in the one of the very LAST ROWS, so I ended up walking right by the girl from the line. We traded very grateful smiles and I found my seat. The flight home was uneventful, except for the last 20 minutes, when I ended up talking to the guy next to me and I found out that his daughter is an editor in Hollywood!
After the plane landed, I waited until everyone left before hopping up. When I did, I snagged my fingernail on my laptop and tore the CRAP out of it. The sad thing is: I'd been thinking all weekend that I needed to trim them... Fail! Now, my plane had somehow arrived an hour early or something, so I was thinking that I would not be seeing my folks, but when I came down the escalators, I heard my mom and sister both shout out my name! *SHOCK!* We went outside and waited for Dad to swing back around and we all went out to eat at Pappas- YUMM! I joked in the car that this was what it was going to be like every time they saw me from now on- I get into town and say, "Okay, feed me!" XD
It was seriously an amazing trip and spending Sunday with Sammy Jo truly gave me the last piece of the puzzle I needed....
I feel I truly belong at CalArts.