A Decision Reached, And a "Little" Story
The semester is, thank the higher powers, over.
During the final two weeks at MSU I believe I was close to going insane (you know, in the kind of way that my friends wouldn't just smile at, but would instead hold their heads in dismay over). Of course, it's not as if I was the only person going through this hair pulling experience, needless to say.
So, crazy aside, the last two weeks were rather eventful. The first of the two weeks was critique week. This past semester I luckily only had two studios (as is the norm for the first few years as an art student), so I only had to worry about two critiques (next semester will probably kill me). Being that my two studios, ceramics & wood shop, were both 3-D classes I was a bit new at it all. Sunday night, before my 4-8 AM shift in Franklin, I was in the wood shop toying with my box and table. While at work I painted the lid to my box. After the box lid was finished (around the time my shift ended), I dashed off to begin my day of classes. They passed as per usual, followed by my shift at KIIS. Afterward I discovered that my mother, that darling woman, had sent me spiced tea and a stick of gum in the mail. Soon after Aaron was kind enough to model for me (I needed to play with pencil and paper, having only been working with wood and mud recently) and even kinder to give me a lift to Lowe's for the Danish Oil I needed for my table. I managed to oil my tabletop and glue the rest of it together, which was exciting. Soon I was back at my dorm, working on compiling articles and information for my final English paper, being that my meeting with the professor was Tuesday. At about 3 AM I decided 36 hours without sleep was enough for the time being and clocked out. Tuesday's meeting went as well as any meeting would when the point of it is completely absent due to not having anything but an idea to present to the professor (but I did get a glimpse at her KISS collection).
The rest of Tuesday (after work) was devoted to finishing my table and box in the wood shop. The table top was attached to the legs and BAM! My table was finally a table! After this, I moved on to work on the box while Maxine worked on paper crane prints. Both of us worked diligently until David showed up with pizzas. This was the point at which we took a break; Wyatt, David, Max, Wesley and myself stood around one of the shop tables and devoured the modge-podge pizza and amateur bread sticks, discussing all manner of ridiculous things. The whole while John Albert was lurking somewhere in the building as well. I continued to work on my box while Maxine and David worked to make stickers. I finally finished around midnight and decided to retire, nearly driven out of the wood shop by Wyatt's Charlie Brown Christmas music. I managed to snag an hour of rest before I awoke for my 4-8 AM shift.
The rest of the week flew by, classes ending. I devoted that weekend to finding sources to use in my English paper, and yet I still didn't actually start writing the paper until Monday. In my final Woods critique Paul gave me an A for the semester and told me I was a natural artist, but that I needed to work on not being quite so timid when building things. I spent a majority of the day staring at my computer, wondering what to write. David and I tried out the new Mexican place that was once the log cabin (I suggest the potato enchilados) and then I was, once again, left to my paper. By six in the morning I had completed what could be seen as one of my worst research papers all in all, but one of the best conceived in several hours. My French final was a few hours later. Once I finished that, tall one and I met up in the library and ran around completing the requirements for our final English paper. After that, it was all done (except for poor Maxine who was told to turn her paper in the next day).
Wednesday was a busy day as well. Work, followed by my ceramics critique; John told me I did well and that he'd never seen an intro student use the glazes the way that I had and with such fine brush work (curvilinear designs for the win!). We discussed my short comings and ways of correcting them and then discussed the project line up for next semester in Ceramics II. And finally, John said, "So the ceramics lab is on fire. What piece would you choose to carry out with you?" To which I responded, "Well, couldn't I grab my large pot and fill it with several of my thrown bowls?" John got a look on his face, grinned in his geeky grin, and replied, "I suppose so. I've never heard that one before."
A few hours later I used my gift from Chris to eat lunch at Jasmine's with my darling Amber where a commission was discussed. Shortly after this there was an office party with KIIS where I was greeted with many the tiny gift from my co-workers. And then from there I briskly walked to Gloria's where I enjoyed fruity tea and heard many an amusing tale. Then to close the night, I ventured to David Honaker's residence for a small gathering. There Maxine and I witnessed one of the most depressing creatures ever to stumble into the room. Unfortunately for her she was far gone by the time we were introduced, though I'm not sure it would have been much better for any of us if she'd been sober. The events of the night were quite memorable, though. I'll never forget how David regressed to high school foolery and dialed Aaron several times in his inebriated state.
Thursday began with volunteer work, followed by an Art History final and then topped off with comic reading. And as predicted, Maxine loves Fables. After the library kicked us out at 1 AM, Max and I procured tea and then sat back to watch Coffee & Cigarettes. I enjoyed the film and recommend it. Once the film had come to a close, we made a Walmart run in which cash, a pomegranate and fake tattoos were procured. Back in the dorm, ink was applied and then soon after Aaron, Heather and Jarod arrived and whisked Max and I off to Sammon's Bakery where we enjoyed baked goods and ridiculous conversation. Some time after, Maxine and I learned how to eat a pomegranate.
The rest of Friday was spent being disappointed by a closed library, but was a success when Maxine managed to climb out of the 7th floor window and make it down the steps without falling to the ground and convulsing; I always knew she could do it, with enough sugar and boredom. Packing and napping filled the rest of the night and a majority of the early morning hours.
Saturday we set off. That night a Masquerade was held by Emy and I managed to pull out an old dress, sport a mask, and arrive with flowers and gifts in hand (it's amazing what can be accomplished within a few hours). I did not get to stay as long as I would have liked, being that I rather wanted to visit Christine that night, which I managed to do (and I most definitely approve, GGG, if you're reading this). I was later dropped off at my house by my lovely Emily Kidney and happily retired to my room, glad to be able to curl up in my bed.
And finally, Sunday was spent with several friends beginning a D&D campaign (a 2 or 3 shot). For once, I'm not a bard. In this campaign I am a sorceress, the groups blaster, and Chaotic Good instead of my usual Chaotic Neutral. So far, the game has been good and I can't wait to continue on Tuesday. A few hours after we disbanded I returned to Christine's house where we baked a cake and watched 1408 (Rob's reactions to the movie were quite amusing).
Now, I'm sitting in the basement, listening to music and thinking. This coming weekend I will be house sitting for friends. During this time I will be reading, curled up in their sitting room with Athena and her feline companion, Bubo (the canine and feline pair to the goddess and her owl), quite content with the silence and a crackling fire. Their home has always been one of my favorite places.
And for the remainder of the break, if I'm not working on my webcomic or responding to emails, I will avoid the internet, instead filling my time with accomplishing a long list of things I've been compiling.
That and thinking.
I have quite a lot of thoughts to rummage through during this month and each one deserves careful consideration.
So, before I depart...
Now that's dope
Indeed.
During the final two weeks at MSU I believe I was close to going insane (you know, in the kind of way that my friends wouldn't just smile at, but would instead hold their heads in dismay over). Of course, it's not as if I was the only person going through this hair pulling experience, needless to say.
So, crazy aside, the last two weeks were rather eventful. The first of the two weeks was critique week. This past semester I luckily only had two studios (as is the norm for the first few years as an art student), so I only had to worry about two critiques (next semester will probably kill me). Being that my two studios, ceramics & wood shop, were both 3-D classes I was a bit new at it all. Sunday night, before my 4-8 AM shift in Franklin, I was in the wood shop toying with my box and table. While at work I painted the lid to my box. After the box lid was finished (around the time my shift ended), I dashed off to begin my day of classes. They passed as per usual, followed by my shift at KIIS. Afterward I discovered that my mother, that darling woman, had sent me spiced tea and a stick of gum in the mail. Soon after Aaron was kind enough to model for me (I needed to play with pencil and paper, having only been working with wood and mud recently) and even kinder to give me a lift to Lowe's for the Danish Oil I needed for my table. I managed to oil my tabletop and glue the rest of it together, which was exciting. Soon I was back at my dorm, working on compiling articles and information for my final English paper, being that my meeting with the professor was Tuesday. At about 3 AM I decided 36 hours without sleep was enough for the time being and clocked out. Tuesday's meeting went as well as any meeting would when the point of it is completely absent due to not having anything but an idea to present to the professor (but I did get a glimpse at her KISS collection).
The rest of Tuesday (after work) was devoted to finishing my table and box in the wood shop. The table top was attached to the legs and BAM! My table was finally a table! After this, I moved on to work on the box while Maxine worked on paper crane prints. Both of us worked diligently until David showed up with pizzas. This was the point at which we took a break; Wyatt, David, Max, Wesley and myself stood around one of the shop tables and devoured the modge-podge pizza and amateur bread sticks, discussing all manner of ridiculous things. The whole while John Albert was lurking somewhere in the building as well. I continued to work on my box while Maxine and David worked to make stickers. I finally finished around midnight and decided to retire, nearly driven out of the wood shop by Wyatt's Charlie Brown Christmas music. I managed to snag an hour of rest before I awoke for my 4-8 AM shift.
The rest of the week flew by, classes ending. I devoted that weekend to finding sources to use in my English paper, and yet I still didn't actually start writing the paper until Monday. In my final Woods critique Paul gave me an A for the semester and told me I was a natural artist, but that I needed to work on not being quite so timid when building things. I spent a majority of the day staring at my computer, wondering what to write. David and I tried out the new Mexican place that was once the log cabin (I suggest the potato enchilados) and then I was, once again, left to my paper. By six in the morning I had completed what could be seen as one of my worst research papers all in all, but one of the best conceived in several hours. My French final was a few hours later. Once I finished that, tall one and I met up in the library and ran around completing the requirements for our final English paper. After that, it was all done (except for poor Maxine who was told to turn her paper in the next day).
Wednesday was a busy day as well. Work, followed by my ceramics critique; John told me I did well and that he'd never seen an intro student use the glazes the way that I had and with such fine brush work (curvilinear designs for the win!). We discussed my short comings and ways of correcting them and then discussed the project line up for next semester in Ceramics II. And finally, John said, "So the ceramics lab is on fire. What piece would you choose to carry out with you?" To which I responded, "Well, couldn't I grab my large pot and fill it with several of my thrown bowls?" John got a look on his face, grinned in his geeky grin, and replied, "I suppose so. I've never heard that one before."
A few hours later I used my gift from Chris to eat lunch at Jasmine's with my darling Amber where a commission was discussed. Shortly after this there was an office party with KIIS where I was greeted with many the tiny gift from my co-workers. And then from there I briskly walked to Gloria's where I enjoyed fruity tea and heard many an amusing tale. Then to close the night, I ventured to David Honaker's residence for a small gathering. There Maxine and I witnessed one of the most depressing creatures ever to stumble into the room. Unfortunately for her she was far gone by the time we were introduced, though I'm not sure it would have been much better for any of us if she'd been sober. The events of the night were quite memorable, though. I'll never forget how David regressed to high school foolery and dialed Aaron several times in his inebriated state.
Thursday began with volunteer work, followed by an Art History final and then topped off with comic reading. And as predicted, Maxine loves Fables. After the library kicked us out at 1 AM, Max and I procured tea and then sat back to watch Coffee & Cigarettes. I enjoyed the film and recommend it. Once the film had come to a close, we made a Walmart run in which cash, a pomegranate and fake tattoos were procured. Back in the dorm, ink was applied and then soon after Aaron, Heather and Jarod arrived and whisked Max and I off to Sammon's Bakery where we enjoyed baked goods and ridiculous conversation. Some time after, Maxine and I learned how to eat a pomegranate.
The rest of Friday was spent being disappointed by a closed library, but was a success when Maxine managed to climb out of the 7th floor window and make it down the steps without falling to the ground and convulsing; I always knew she could do it, with enough sugar and boredom. Packing and napping filled the rest of the night and a majority of the early morning hours.
Saturday we set off. That night a Masquerade was held by Emy and I managed to pull out an old dress, sport a mask, and arrive with flowers and gifts in hand (it's amazing what can be accomplished within a few hours). I did not get to stay as long as I would have liked, being that I rather wanted to visit Christine that night, which I managed to do (and I most definitely approve, GGG, if you're reading this). I was later dropped off at my house by my lovely Emily Kidney and happily retired to my room, glad to be able to curl up in my bed.
And finally, Sunday was spent with several friends beginning a D&D campaign (a 2 or 3 shot). For once, I'm not a bard. In this campaign I am a sorceress, the groups blaster, and Chaotic Good instead of my usual Chaotic Neutral. So far, the game has been good and I can't wait to continue on Tuesday. A few hours after we disbanded I returned to Christine's house where we baked a cake and watched 1408 (Rob's reactions to the movie were quite amusing).
Now, I'm sitting in the basement, listening to music and thinking. This coming weekend I will be house sitting for friends. During this time I will be reading, curled up in their sitting room with Athena and her feline companion, Bubo (the canine and feline pair to the goddess and her owl), quite content with the silence and a crackling fire. Their home has always been one of my favorite places.
And for the remainder of the break, if I'm not working on my webcomic or responding to emails, I will avoid the internet, instead filling my time with accomplishing a long list of things I've been compiling.
That and thinking.
I have quite a lot of thoughts to rummage through during this month and each one deserves careful consideration.
So, before I depart...
Now that's dope
Indeed.