First day on the job
I stand at the bus stop at 9:00, clutching three 2ft by 4ft canvasses with both hands. These are a three part painting - a kind of 3 in 1 deal - they stand alone, and also make up one bigger painting. All I have done is a peachy wash of paint in the background (all different shades, which wasn't intentional) and pen drawings of nude female models in crouching positions. Like most of the paintings I have been working on this semester, I have no idea what else I want to do with it. I just know that I want to add something. This fact is beginning to stress me out, because I have to complete these along with one other painting - a collaborative effort - with two other people. It seems like there aren't enough hours in the day.
I step onto the bus when it arrives, thankful that there is some standing space available at the front so that I can lean my canvasses on the side of the bus. I spend the rest of the ride to class trying to stop myself and the canvasses from falling over.
When I get to class my teacher (Jim) seems really impressed by my work and says that he considers all three pieces finished. This surprises the hell out of me, since my other paintings are mostly negative space, and he kept pestering me to finish them. So even though I still want to add something to the three paintings, in the interest in saving time and spending it wisely, I decide that i'll consider them finished too. There went a huge load off my mind.
So I set to work on the collaborative piece. I very quickly draw a contour figure and paint the figure's shirt in black and white. It's nowhere near as detailed as my other ones, but I simply don't have the same amount of time to devote to it. Now that i've done my part in that, it's up to my other group members to work on it. It's due on Thursday - i'm skeptical that we'll get it done.
After an uneventful geography class, in which we discussed China and its population problems, I make the short walk to my first day of work at the school newspaper. I enter the building at around 2 and there doesn't seem to be anyone around. I tentatively walk into a nearby room and i'm greeted by Rob, a nice guy who, it turns out, is going to be training me today.
We set to work, and Rob goes over all the preliminary stuff I need to know, such as how to name files, different ad sizes, printers and their specifications... quite a lot of stuff for a first day. I, liking to be thorough, take notes (even though Rob hands me a handbook with all of this information reiterated inside it). Then he has me create a mock up ad for a womens fitness center in two different sizes, which I then have to send to someone else. This takes me quite a while, because one of the ad sizes is significantly smaller than the other and I have to scale objects and still have them look similar. After i'm done with this, I send them and print them, and my training for the day has ended, at about 4.
Rob and I (and another guy who I work with whose name I can't remember) talk about music, my accent, the feasibility of making a bong out of wood (?), and Kanye West's blog... it's supposed to be 'the shit' according to Rob.
I text Gary to ask if he can pick me up at 5 (i'm on the clock until then, so this post is killing time) and he almost immediately sends back a reply; "No". I'm a little surprised by this, considering this morning he said he could probably pick me up today. But oh well, he's probably working a little later than usual, which is good because they've given him the last two Fridays off. I'll just make the trek back to campus and catch a bus home. Luckily they run until 7.
I step onto the bus when it arrives, thankful that there is some standing space available at the front so that I can lean my canvasses on the side of the bus. I spend the rest of the ride to class trying to stop myself and the canvasses from falling over.
When I get to class my teacher (Jim) seems really impressed by my work and says that he considers all three pieces finished. This surprises the hell out of me, since my other paintings are mostly negative space, and he kept pestering me to finish them. So even though I still want to add something to the three paintings, in the interest in saving time and spending it wisely, I decide that i'll consider them finished too. There went a huge load off my mind.
So I set to work on the collaborative piece. I very quickly draw a contour figure and paint the figure's shirt in black and white. It's nowhere near as detailed as my other ones, but I simply don't have the same amount of time to devote to it. Now that i've done my part in that, it's up to my other group members to work on it. It's due on Thursday - i'm skeptical that we'll get it done.
After an uneventful geography class, in which we discussed China and its population problems, I make the short walk to my first day of work at the school newspaper. I enter the building at around 2 and there doesn't seem to be anyone around. I tentatively walk into a nearby room and i'm greeted by Rob, a nice guy who, it turns out, is going to be training me today.
We set to work, and Rob goes over all the preliminary stuff I need to know, such as how to name files, different ad sizes, printers and their specifications... quite a lot of stuff for a first day. I, liking to be thorough, take notes (even though Rob hands me a handbook with all of this information reiterated inside it). Then he has me create a mock up ad for a womens fitness center in two different sizes, which I then have to send to someone else. This takes me quite a while, because one of the ad sizes is significantly smaller than the other and I have to scale objects and still have them look similar. After i'm done with this, I send them and print them, and my training for the day has ended, at about 4.
Rob and I (and another guy who I work with whose name I can't remember) talk about music, my accent, the feasibility of making a bong out of wood (?), and Kanye West's blog... it's supposed to be 'the shit' according to Rob.
I text Gary to ask if he can pick me up at 5 (i'm on the clock until then, so this post is killing time) and he almost immediately sends back a reply; "No". I'm a little surprised by this, considering this morning he said he could probably pick me up today. But oh well, he's probably working a little later than usual, which is good because they've given him the last two Fridays off. I'll just make the trek back to campus and catch a bus home. Luckily they run until 7.