Hello! Yes, I am back from the dead. I'm sorry for not telling you all that I went on vacation and even more apologetic that I didn't write once I got back either. Lack of internet has had something to do with it admitedly, but that's no excuse! I'm a slacker of the worst kind - a procrastinator and a bum. I am such a procratinator that I did not register for classes until four days before school started. It worked though, so I didn't learn a thing. I'll try to be better about it next time though. Really. Ha ha ha. ahem. Yes.
So I moved and I have a new apartment. I thought it was a great deal since it costs only 50 dollars more than my apartment on Van Buren (the street infamous for prostitution) with utilities included, is riding distance from my school, riding distance from Bing's house, and bigger and nicer and safer than my other studio. And I still think it's a great deal except that just the other day the police came to investigate a burglary and discovered two disgruntled evictees planting pipe bombs in one of the complex's buildings. So much for safety.
I'll be sure to give you all a grand tour as soon as it's looking good. At the moment it needs more posters on the wall, and I need to get rid of my blasted futon that's in the middle of my floor because I have a couch! And not just any couch - a blue one. A blue fold-out couch. The only downside of my having a blue fold-out couch is that it is trememdously heavy and I only had two guys to help me move it yesterday. It wouldn't have been a problem, mind you, if they were both body builders, but it just so happens that one works with law and government and the other is a lab rat. So neither were prepared to lift a half ton couch up the stairs to my second story studio. I felt so terrible - they were sweating and their muscles were spasming and what could I do but try to lift the middle? And that didn't help at all. Plus I couldn't fit there when we were going up stairs. I was probably more hidrance than help. Poor Jeff's fingers turned to mush and Nathaniel had sweat pouring off his face like a busted faucet. They both had to stop at the bottom of the stairs. They'd lifted it up the stairs at Darla's (who gave me the couch) and then into Nathaniel's giant rusty subaru monster, and then across the parking lot and grass at my complex. But the stairs - that was just too much.
I tried to get help from the office - like a maintenance man or something, but the lady there rattled off something about liability and herself being pregnant so that was no help at all. (side note: We have new managers at my complex now and so far they have been no help whatsoever with anything) Then just by chance (or actually - by the grace of God) my downstairs neighbor - a more burly type of fellow walked out and I said, "Oh you're probably going somewhere aren't you." in a disappointed voice and he said, "Actually, I was just going to get a drink. You need some help?" We gladly accepted and being the broad-shouldered fresh-out-of-the-airconditioning fellow he was, we got the couch up the stairs in no time with minimal strain on my two original volunteers. I bought everyone sodas and we sat exhausted under the ceiling fan for several long lethargic minutes during which I thanked them profusely and hoped they wouldn't hate me for abusing them so. Nathaniel left to go home (and likely take a long cold shower) and Jeff stuck around to eat waffles with me and play Oddworld: Abe's Exodus, which is one of the most genius games invented in my opinion, because it actually incorporates your brain into problem-solving situations without being boring. Sure you have to die a lot and it can get rather tedious when you have to start a level all over again, but it's addicting because you KNOW you can figure it out and you know you can beat it if you just do one thing different. And then there are always lovely cut scenes and new challenges thrown in.
Okay so I should probably add that I have a job now that is not Cousin's and it is at the Mall between my apartment and my school. Very convenient. And I should probably mention that school has started for me as of today and Bing is back. I should be very busy from here on out, but busy with things like painting and sculpting and acting yes yes ha ha ha ha! I have fun classes - except for programming concepts. I mean, I'm sure the Roach would be thrilled by such a class, but me. . .that's just not my forte'.
So right after this I'm going to find another class so I have at least 16 credits going for me. If I get 16 this semester I should be able to get my BA by next fall. 37 credits to cover in the year 2004. I might have to divide it up between three trimesters rather than two. But at least during the fall semester things will have cooled off weather-wise. Holy crap! I could be out of Arizona by the end of next year for good! Ha! Yay! And then I can go back to Montana where I belong and earn another BA in Wildlife Biology, work at Museum of the Rockies and maybe do some research in Yellowstone Boooooo yeahhhhhh!!! And then maybe I can combine both my multimedia and wildlife degrees somehow and get into paleontology or something totally awesome and get a cool job that will pay crap and be in debt for half my life from student loans!
Wheeeeeeee!
That is all for now. Go rest your eyes from the destructive effects of the glowing screen.
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COMING SOON!
THE ISLAND OF DOCTOR MORON:
A colored comic based sarcasticly on a certain existing story.
Sammi and Jess obtained free baseball tickets. So if any of you saw the game between the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks - I was there. Yeah. My first game ever. And it was all indoors - I'm talking HUGE - thousands and thousands of people. A coliseum! And Jess told me that the roof opens. Groovy. It was the top of the 8th inning, tied 3 to 3 when Sammi and Jess and their friend Charity decided that they wanted to leave because they were thirsty. They wanted to LEAVE! And miss the end! I wanted to stay and see how it ended, but I was out-voted and we went to McFarlens or McFallans or something like that. A bar with loud music just outside the stadium.
Everything was really really expensive, except we found that we could trade in our baseball tickets for free penny shots. So we all got two and. . .aside from New Years champagne and a sip of my Uncle's beer and self defense teacher's lager, that's the first alcoholic drink I've had. I mean where I showed my I.D. and drank the whole cup ya know. Ha ha ha. Penny shots. I'm such a wuss. They were pretty good, actually. I guess because there was so little actual alcohol in them. And then I wouldn't drink anymore of them because I'm all funny like that. Then we had chicken wings and potato skins and cheese sticks on a platter. That was my supper. Two potato skins and a chicken finger. The music was kind of overpowering so there wasn't much room for conversation. Sammi and Jess and Charity decided to get up and dance and after a while someone told them that if they danced on the bar, they'd get free drinks. They thought about it and said they might if they played the hip-hop song, "Hypnotize". In the mean time they danced and tried to get me to dance, but I was like a statue in my chair, watching them with a silly grin. Like they were amusing. Then another girl got up on the bar and started to dance. Sammi thought she could dance better I think and. . .I agreed, though I didn't say so. Seeing that other girl up there made me feel like Sammi and Jess would be less likely to do it because she looked kind of lame and with all those guys gawking at her, I thought it was a little debasing. But then when Hypnotize came on, Sammi, Jess, and Charity decided to do it. I guess they wanted to show everyone how it was done and since they all knew the song and weren't alone, it was much easier. So I watched my friends dance on the bar. They only did the one song though and then got down. They were all having a blast and me. . .I was just there. And I didn't want to dance. Not there, not then, and not to music I didn't even know. Jess pulled me up out of my seat and tried to get me to move but I let my arms flop around as she moved them back and forth and was really really a wet blanket. Jess went away once and I took the opportunity to sit down again and drew a monster belching on the paper table cloth. I wrote "Belching is a complement (in some countries)! Here's to you, McFallens!" And then later I did a boogy-monster wasp, but mostly I ended up just watching Sam and Jess and Charity like the analytical geek I am. I think I would dance if I was more comfortable and knew how and knew the music. Like I got these free dance lessons from someone at work and so Bradley and I are going to drive up to a Fred Astaire dance studio and learn some swing sometime. And if I ever get the chance I want to take some belly-dancing classes too. Yeah. That'd be so cool. That's more my kind of thing. Finger cymbals, coins, bells, and snakey movement. Yeah, ha ha ha. I'd also like to get back into Aikido again, but that also costs money, which I'm not sure I have.
The Dodgers scored 7 points right after we left. Sammi said something about us being the D-back's good luck charms and since we left they lost. Oh well. If we hadn't left early the kitchen at the bar would have closed and we wouldn't have been able to eat anything. I was remarkably tired by the time I got home at 11:30 and even though M*A*S*H was on, I didn't watch it (a rarity). I woke up this morning and got ready for school and finished a sign to put up in the laundry room to sell my futon for $30. I got it for $20, but I thought if someone wants it for $30 that'd be good, and if someone wants to bargain with me that's okay too. I said "or best offer" so if thirty is too much I'm sure I'll find out. It's a whole freakin' couch and bed though so thirty should be okay me thinks. And I will be honest and tell them that it is uncomfortable and has a bent screw.
My first (and only) class of the day was Acting and Movement. It sounds to be a fun class except that I will have to memorize stuff. My brain is not good at memory, so that might be tough, but my teacher is nice and she understands that memorization is hard for some people so I think I'll do alright. After class I stuck around and talked movies and acting with a few people and then ran out because I wanted to catch the bus before my ticket ran out at 11:40. But I stopped in the parking lot between the bus stop and school and remembered Highlight of the Day. I am determined to keep up with it, and since I only have internet access here at school, I have to do it here. But I knew if I went back I would have to pay to ride the bus later, and why pay when you can go free? But then I thought more about it and I don't have to be at work until 4, so I'd have four hours to wander the mall. Even though I have Michael Crichton's book, "Prey", I think four hours is a little much - expecially when I could be here typing this. So here I am. Besides, it's just a dollar twenty-five, right? Hrrrrrm. I'm a scrooge.
This purple thing is something I made yesterday in my new "Painter" class. It's digital painting. I thought the texture tools were really keen. Now I have 17 credits. Pretty decent. I should definitely be out of here by the end of next year. Yay!
9-10-03
Comix
Tryin' out some new stuff here. Maybe I'll do more than one comic and then see which one I like best. Do a bunch of different storylines. News for today: Hmm. Um. Not much. In my programming class we split into groups. One person was to be a robot and the others were to write a program for him to follow so he could move from one end of the room to the other around obstacles. We picked a freshman with a Pacman T-shirt to be our robot since he had a Pacman on his shirt and because we didn't want to be the one to run into things. So we had Pacman take a few steps so we could get a general idea of how long his stride was. We wrote the program real quick - or at least, this one dominant fellow did. He wrote them like the robot could see though, like the "forward" instruction meant "towards the other door". I wasn't sure that he would be able to see though - I had a sneaky suspicion that our guy would be blind-folded or something. So I went and asked the teacher if the directions were relevant to the room or the robot and he explained that the robot was stupid and that direction was relative to his current position. So, he said, if the robot turns left, the direction he is facing is now forward. So I went back and told the dominant fellow that we had to change the directions to fit the robot's perception and he got all mad and disgruntled because I challenged his program and said it was wrong. I did my best to be nice about it and tried to just let him know that I was trying to help not undermine his skills and be a bossy know-it-all, but he was still disgruntled. Pfff. Men.
Anyway, we "ran" our program in front of the class and found that we got points off if our robot opened his eyes. So it was good that we modified the directions (the others went along with me, despite dominant male's disgruntled insistance that he was right). Pacman ended up taking smaller steps because he was nervous about not being able to see, so it screwed things up. It worked with a few adjustments and we were only docked 3 points. But out of 10 that's kinda sour. Anyway, at least Mr. Dominant agreed with the rest of us that the program would have worked if Pacman had taken normal strides.
I met Bing and his dad after class and then Stacey helped me scan my pictures on big fat dumb scanners that don't work like my scanner at home. They came out alright, but it took forever, and he did most of the converting for me since it was all very alien to me. He said he hated the scanners then and I agreed. I hope neither of us ever has to deal with those monsters again. *shiver*
Now Tim the goat boy is bugging me to draw Jasper the snail for his game he has invented. It should be a pretty cool game if he gets it done - and if anyone can do it, Tim can. He's one of the few students here who has motivation to act on his own ideas. I guess I need to update my character page again. Maybe I'll work on that tonight.
Happy Birthday to Bradley!
School seems to be going well, except that I've not done an iota of homework. But I'm still uncertain what exactly is due. I suppose I need to read a chapter of Programming and do some questions. . .play around with Painter and start making spheres. Today was my first Acrylic painting and sculpture classes. They will be the highlight of this semester I'm sure - the only classes I KNOW I will love. I wish I didn't have other classes to bog me down.
Nothing unusual happened today so far, and I guess that's a good thing seeing as it's the 9-11 anniversary. My bus didn't explode and things are running like clockwork at school. I ate my peanut butter and jelly sandwich mere moments ago and a bunch of fellows were in Cuba Pete's watching Tron. When I asked what they were watching they looked aghast, saying it was shameful not to be able to recognize the movie Tron. It looked like a cheezy sci-fi flick from the 80's like Logan's Run or something. I think everyone here knows what it is but me. Oh well. All those high school jerks were wrong about me I guess. I'm not that big of a nerd. Ahahahahahahahahaha!
Well sorry about not posting Friday. I forget why I didn't, but I didn't post Saturday or Sunday because of the simple fact that I don't go to school on Saturday or Sunday and that's the only place I have internet access these days. I will have to remedy that. Friday afternoon I went to the movies with Preston and Eric and we saw Pirates of the Caribbean and it was AWESOME! I wanna see it again! Johnny Depp was a terrific pirate. And speaking of pirates - Friday is National Talk Like a Pirate day!I think I will indulge.
Sunday I had Jeff come over after church to play Oddworld, and I made my classic biscuit dough pizza. I found my milk had a skin and expired the 5th, so I decided I probably shouldn't use it. So I knocked on my next door neighbor, Bud's, door. He had no milk though, so I went downstairs to ask Dennis (I think that's his name - the guy who helped me with the couch) but he did not have milk either. Two grown men without milk. Amazing. I remembered, however, that I had powdered milk, so I used that. And the pizza: It was good.
So this morning I was hurrying down the windy twisty road that leads down to the bus stop, trying to stay in the shade as much as possible (yes it's still blistering hot here in hell - er...I mean "the Phoenix-metro area"), so since all the shadows from trees were on the left side of the road, I walked on that side. I was distracted by the two waffles I was carrying, the cars coming at me, and the bit of waffle I accidently inhaled and coughed back into my nose (how bothersome). Guess I shouldn't run and eat at the same time. So at one point I looked where I was walking and noticed a very active line of ants and moved away. I arrived at the bus stop before the bus arrived (thankfully), and I was quite thirsty. I stopped at a cement wall under a tree and set my backpack down to pull out my water. Then suddenly I felt all these stinging sensations on my feet and looked down, discovering to my horror that there were ants all over my feet sinking their vicious little mandibles into my flesh! So I stomped my feet with an "Argh!" then ran out to the bus bench in the sunlight, yelping and slapping and smooshing ants the entire way. I sat and rolled up my pants and they were on the inside of my pants and on my toes and sandals so I took my sandals off and beat a couple to death, then went up and down my legs, searching for any survivors. And of course, at the same time there were stupid men honking their horns at me because I'm a girl. Grrrrrr. So that was the start of my day. Made me mad for a little while, but I'm over it. And I wasn't angry at everyone around me - just the ants. I don't like ants. There are too many here.
This is Nina and Jen. They really did this. I thought it rather humorous, even though I wasn't there. I work with Jen a lot - she's the one with long "red" hair there and freckles. She gives me rides home sometimes and has a boyfriend named Ed who is part of a band. Once I went and saw the band with The Shadow and his friend, Nathaniel, the fellow who makes electronic music and wears wrestling shoes. We all played an electric dart game that seemed to be from the 80's. It was pretty fun, actually.
That was a while ago though. I will tell you about yesterday now. Yesterday began, as you know, with the ants. Then after school I met up with Daniel (the fellow everyone insists is my brother even though he's not) and we stopped at the college bookstore to play chess, but the chess board that is usually there wasn't. So Daniel bought several giant heavy books and ended up carrying them around the rest of the day (ouch). Before we left, however, the lady behind the counter asked if we were brother and sister. We both slapped our hands to our foreheads. We really don't look that much alike - I mean, Daniel has a defined chin and mine's all rounded, he's got cheekbones also and I do not. We both have long brown hair and glasses, but at the time my hair was up and you couldn't tell it was long. So since it's about the 20th time someone's asked us that, we asked the lady why she thought we were related and she said it was our mannerisms. That we act alike. And then she reasoned that it was probably because we hang out so much, but we don't so it's just a strange phenomenon.
Daniel was looking for something to do so he followed me to the grocery store and offered to help me carry things home as well. We discovered toffee bits and chocolate chips and I decided to make cookies. I asked if Daniel would like to help because he thought cookies sounded good, and he accepted. So we hiked up to the bus stop and watched as the bus drove away without us, and I realized I'd need eggs to make cookies. Boo. So we waited about 10 minutes for the next bus and got off at the next grocery store, thinking that once we came out with eggs, we could catch the right bus. But we missed that bus too. It was rather miserable because, like I said - Daniel had about 30 pounds of books on his back as well as grocery sacks in his hands, all the cold things were thawing, and the weather, as usual, was sweltering (even though it was 5:30).
So we finally reached my apartment and things were good after that because we had airconditioning and my ceiling fan and ice water and a nice blue couch to relax on. I had to clean up my dishes before we could start so we just sort of hung out and listened to music while I got things ready. Then we made cookies the rest of the evening and watched "The Ghost and the Darkness" til 11:30. It was good, as usual. Now I need to get more movies because I've watched all of mine too many times. I think I will get Lord of the Flies, Monty Python: Search for the Holy Grail, maybe Prince of Egypt or Toy Story or something really cool like Lord of the Rings. Dancer in the Dark. But then that might get expensive. I'll keep my eye out for good deals. Gotta find The Neverending Story too. And The Rescuers Down Under. Yeah, you get to feel like you're flying in both of those. Wheeeee. Oh oh - and Princess Mononoke. That one would be nice to have too.
Oh yeah I should probably write something about today too, but really nothing notable happened. I rode the bus and someone stepped on my foot, I got to class on time and we did yoga and recited Dr. Seuss poems. Now I'm helping Bing again and I believe the plan is to go to my place where I can run up and fetch my swim suit, go to Bing's, eat, swim, and then. . .uh. . .play with the dogs or something. Yeah, hee hee hee. Drink cream soda and crack jokes. Sounds like today will be a good day, no? Okay bye.
I am retraining my back muscles to sit up straight. My mother always told me to sit up straight and stop walking like a duck, but I didn't see why I should sit up straight when it was so much easier to slouch. That's just the way I was meant to sit, right? Well yesterday in class when we first started doing yoga, my teacher made us sit up straight the entire time and commanded us to sit up straight for the rest of the day (I think I forgot, but I'm remembering more often now). She then moved to explain that yes, it might be a strain and it may be easier to slouch, BUT that's only because we've strengthened our back muscles to be that way. She said that by learning to sit up straight, we'll train our weaker back muscles to support the spine the correct way and make them stronger. It's all in the muscles, not the actual backbone. And it's supposed to be easier (not to mention healthier) to sit up straight than to slouch after the right muscles are strengthened. If I'd understood this when I was a kid, I might be sitting up straight today. Hmmf.
This is a sketch of Danny from my acting and movement class. I drew it when he was forced to stand in front of the entire class and "get looked at" for several minutes. He's a nice fellow. He's in my small group that gets together Thursdays to rehearse for the class. Yesterday he followed me around and asked what I was looking for. I said, "Bing," as I peered into classroom after classroom. He said, "What?" I said, "Bing." He came closer, "What? I didn't hear you..." I said, "BING. I'm looking for Bing. He's a person. A human being." Then I laughed because "being" sounds the same as "Bing" and I think Danny was confused.
I had jell-o with mandarin oranges in it for breakfast because I'm out of waffles and bread. I'll have to get some bread before I go home. I think I'm going to stick around school and go to Stacey's first 10-second club meeting. He wants to get a lot of people together so we can participate in the 10-second club contest. But right now I'm hungry. I will have to go hunt something down to eat. But I will also have to keep my eye peeled for Jared the excellent artist I have yet to meet. I would like his opinion on some of my stuff.
Tim the goatman found a news article about scientists growing meat grapefruits (cloning cow genes with grapefruit genes). I don't think I believe it, but heck - they made monkeys glow with jellyfish DNA so who knows. Maybe it is possible. But we all agree that if the trees were grown here, it would stink to high heaven when the fruit fell or got cooked in the sun.
Avast ye maties!
Tiz national talk like a pirate day! An don't ye forget it landlubbers!
So what happened to yesterday? Arrr, I had class right up to thur last minute, mates, and it were all art flotsam. I can say now with confidence that I've got me Dr. Suess poems all stored up in me skull, har har! Me messmate Danny sailed me to the bank and work where I worked the slave galley for a good four hours, arrrrr!
I got home and started me halloween costume project fer me sculpture class - a giant head with movin' eyes and jaw, har har - it'll be a sight me hearties.
Then at 2 in the mornin' a great thirst came upon me, but curse it all there weren't no water to be had of the filtered sort. The water machine was outta order and then when I went to get me some bottled water from the blimey Coke machine, all me change got jammed in the slot! ARRRRRR! So I used me hook to try and unjam me treasure, but came out empty-handed in the end, arrarrrrr. Then I missed me ship in the mornin' and had to hike the accursed shore until I found another. And now I'm runnin' outta time and I've just discovered that me "Underworld" ticket got left in me cabin, ARRRRRR! So it's back home and then to work again, mates, and I'll have to leave you rotting 'til Monday since I don't have any net to surf at home.
If ye haven't already - take a look see at Dr. Monro. There be a new comic since Wednesday.
I'm sick. I have a cold. First time I've been sick since I moved to Arizona and it's a drag. I want to be at home, nursing hot tea and watching old episodes of M*A*S*H. But no, I'm at school, getting ready to go to work from 2 to 10. Booooo! A pox on all this responsibility crap. I want to stay home when I'm sick without worrying that I'll lose over $60 that I need to pay stupid bills. I want to be a slug on the couch and sleep off my sickness, waking upon occasion to draw or eat. I don't want to be organized. I don't want to have a schedule. I want to be freeeeeeeeeee!
Well I suppose I should update you on what went on the four or five days I skipped out on you. Friday night I went to see Underworld with a couple of folks from my acting and movement class. I thought the movie interesting until about halfway through and then I just thought it was lame. Too much thrown at you at once, too Matrix-wannabe (unoriginal) and, well - I just couldn't get into the story or feel for any of the characters. Particularly the fellow who was supposed to be "special". And I don't get why, if he's so strong and special, that he had to rely on the girl to save his sorry tail. And I've seen the whole "I cut you, you just haven't realized it yet" before. I just wasn't impressed - not to mention fact that at that part where the guy is dying and is supposed to give our heroine a helpless look I burst out laughing in the middle of the theater. Yeah, I'm sorry. I know it was supposed to be serious and I don't usually do that sort of thing, but I couldn't help it. And to tell the truth I wasn't the only one. I think my favorite part of that show was the preview for a horror movie that made everyone in the theater go "Eeeiwwww!" at once. Now that's entertainment.
Danny boy drove me home and that was the end of my piratey Friday.
Saturday I set my VCR to record X-men Evolution and went to work from 11 to 7. The boss bought us burritos (a lovely treat) and at the end of my shift, I was delighted to find out that the two rainsticks in the back were free if I wanted them. These monsters were almost as tall as me! I also bought myself a little bongo drum so that I have something to play if we add a musical element to our bible study at school. Oh yes - and I don't know if I mentioned it, but I met a very talented guy last Thursday who is an excellent artist and has offered to help teach me a few things about drawing people. I could certainly use the help. I found he is a Christian too, and maybe he can add his guitar to our growing "music team". That'd be really fun. Maybe I can incorporate my rainsticks...
Speaking of my rainsticks, I will continue my recollection. I sat at the bus stop at the mall and found myself beside a man that I am fairly certain was drunk. He spoke of various topics including Woodstock, drugs, Hippies, and then he said something about girls flashing people at which point I grew silent because I didn't really want to go there. I think I made him mad because he insulted me before he got off the bus.
I had my rainsticks partially covered by a black trash bag to help keep them together and to protect my hands from the sharp little parts (which is why they were free). I hiked up mill with my rainsticks under my left arm and held the paper bag with my drum and a few candles in the other hand, switching back and forth every once in a while to relieve muscles. Then about half a block from my street a red car drove by and I heard a loud popping sound next to my leg and felt something. I froze and looked down and saw a quarter-sized hole in my paper bag, and a matching hole out the other side. The noise had come from whatever it was that shot through my bag and ricocheted off my little drum (I think). I wasn't sure what I felt and for a moment I just stood there, shocked, assuming the worst: That I'd been shot or something and the blood would come at any moment. But despite the fact that I'd felt something and there were two holes blown through my big paper bag, my leg was okay when I checked it. But I shook all the way home, certain that someone had just tried to shoot me. Only when I reached my apartment and stepped through the door did I consider whether it might not be a gunshot. After all, I didn't hear any concussion - just the pop of something shooting through my bag. Maybe a ballbearing. Maybe a rock. Either way, it moved with dangerous force and I'm still rather unnerved. I called Bradley because I saw that he had tried to call me on the caller I.D., and then I called my Mommy because she too had called and I wanted to tell her what happened. She seemed remarkably calm about the incident and we both agreed that nothing could be done. She then told me why she called - someone had mailed my wallet to her! I couldn't believe it - how long's it been - nearly 4 months! There's no return address and no explanation...
Ack - I've gotta get to work! Er...Sunday I went to church, swam with Bing and his family and did laundry and stayed up late watching "Candyman". Then Monday I came down with my sickness and worked all day and the rest of the week's been running from class to work and freaking out because things are due and I'm not ready and I'm behind, but thankfully I got through it all and last night my boss let me take home more fun stuff from the store that's defective. Yay!
That's it for now.
Okay so pretty much all day I've been working on my big Halloween costume (a big giant head). It's been fun - especially since I don't have to worry about work.
I missed the bus by a long shot. I was trying to make it, carrying my paints, the frame for my giant head, and all my sculpture tools and my backpack and a bagel that I was eating as I went. So I guess it should be no big surprise that I was slow. A stupid car of testosterostified jerks honked at me while I was at the bus stop so I put up my hair and then no one else honked so I think that it worked as a deterent of some sort. Maybe "hair down" signifies something I'm not aware of.
Anyway, Tuesday my teacher told us all to pay attention to the world around us and to smell and savor things with extra attention. I would do this gladly, but I am somewhat hampered by my cold. If you cood hear be talkeen dow I would sound like this.
This dragon I drew at work when everyone told me to just stay behind the register and not do anything. But I have to always be doing something with my hands so I drew this dragon and it got me in a heap of trouble later because the boss didn't like paying for me drawing. *Sheepish grin*
Okay gotta run. Bye!
This is a picture I drew at work the other day after looking at myself in the bathroom mirror in the backroom. I thought to myself, "My, I have big hair - and it's not even intentional." And then I thought about how inaccurately I probably draw myself as a cat. So I tried to do a more accurate portrait where I'm thicker (except for my weak boney arms) and my hair is big, and yet, it's still cartoony and exaggerated. *Shrug*
Yesterday you recall how I was happy about not having to worry about work and how I was working on my big head all day? Well I remembered later in the evening that I was supposed to attend the meeting of my class peers for my acting and movement class so we could memorize our parts in "Waiting for Godot". It's one of those things where you really really have to have another person to practice with, so I pretty much screwed myself over since I live alone and completely spaced the one chance I had at learning my lines.
At 6:30 I met with the people who are to make up our bible study this semester. This includes myself, Bing, Daniel (my declared "brother" look-alike), and Jared. I brought my bongo drum, Jared brought his keyboard and guitar, and Daniel brought his violin. We sat outside Cuban Pete's and warmed up, attracting lots of attention because no one plays musical instruments at my little tech school. It just isn't done. So it was like we were this band playing and people stared and a few stopped and asked what we were doing. I said, "We're doing this as part of our bible study." They guy laughs and then, after noting our faces, stops and says, "You're serious?" Jared says, "Yeah. God's given us all talents and so we're going to use them for Him." The fellow did not know what to make of this, to be sure, but he talked a bit with Jared and then left all cool. The only problem we had after that was getting started because A: We had no music, and B: Jared can't read music. So we were trying to sound out "Amazing Grace" by ear and Daniel was having a tough time because he doesn't play impromptu and Jared was having trouble because he doesn't know Amazing Grace (he's a relatively new Christian). But next time we hope to have music for Daniel and a rainstick for Bing and Jared might get some practice in after downloading a few songs from the internet to memorize. Bing told us how he came to become a Christian and then Jared told his story about hitting rock bottom. Daniel talked a little about where he stands and I just sort of listened and threw in a comment here and there (de ja vu). We've pretty much decided now to hold music practices Thursday nights and have the actual Bible Study on Wednesdays.
After that I was to hang out until Bing finished some homework. I didn't know when he would be leaving though, and since I'd been working on my project all day I didn't start any new homework projects. Instead I went to the library to look into borrowing movies (a feature I was pleased to discover last week). I thought that maybe I could see one that very night. I borrowed "Airplane!" and "Pulp Fiction" because I'd heard a lot about them, and in the library I talked to Rob, the guy behind the desk who also happens to be in my acting and movement class. I told him of my woes about missing my group rehearsal and he invited me to his group's rehearsal Monday morning. I just have to get up earlier. It was a relief to find a solution to that problem.
I walked out of the library and talked to one of my Professors about the movies. He said he found "Pulp Fiction" disgusting and that the reason it was so well-known was due to the difference of generations. But I didn't want to watch something anyone thought was disgusting. I asked a few other guys about it and they all agreed it had crude language and perversion. So I decided to put it back and get something else instead. I brought Daniel and Tim with me and asked them and Rob what I should get. They all said I HAD to see "The Last Starfighter" - That it was ridiculously funny. So I chose that one instead. I invited them both to come watch it with me because it's always funner to see movies with others rather than by yourself. Tim and Rob said they would if I waited for them to get out of class and work at 9:30, and I said I would leave when Bing left.
It ended up that Bing left around 8:30 so Daniel was the only one to come. He helped me carry my big head and big brown bag of art supplies (which, incidently, included a new electronic notepad!). We called Jeff on the way, but he wasn't home, and so we decided to call again in a bit. I straightened up my messy apartment and put some fish sticks in the oven for supper. I also put on a pot of water to boil for hot tea. Then Jeff called back and said he would like to come over and see the movie with us. So we made tea for him too. I whined about the heaping pile of newspapers I was obligated to subscribe to for the sake of a school boy's trip to Six Flags, and went about hanging my antelope head over my doorway with measured precision. Jeff arrived and we watched "Airplane" after eating fish sticks and drinking our tea. Right in the middle of it a woman flashed the camera which surprised me because the movie is rated PG. Not even 13. Maybe they forgot about that bit. Anyway, the rest of the movie was pretty good. Lots of corny jokes and silly puns. The movie ended and it was only 11:30 so we decided to play poker with paperclips. We played several hands and I lost almost all my green ones and a good chunk of my black ones (the most cherished). I think Daniel probably won. He had a lot of clips. I'm very bad at poker, but I learned a little more about strategy and bluffing this time around. We talked and ate crackers with cream cheese and I showed them my old sticker book. Then at about 1 a.m. we egged Daniel into pulling out his violin and playing us some music. It was great. Live violin music at 1 a.m. I hope we didn't wake up my neighbors. I wonder what they'd think - hahahahahaha! Violins at 1 in the morning. What an outrage! Ahahahahahahaha! So then around 2 we decided we should probably all get sleep - especially since Jeff had work in the morning. I was sad to see it end because we were really having a good time, but I too had school in the morning and knew that I should probably get enough sleep if this cold is to ever go away. After they went away I sat at my computer and went through half a chapter of my book before crashing because it had to be done (don't ask me to explain the way my brain works).
So then this morning I awoke, ate peach oatmeal and hot tea, showered, and started for the door when I realized I need to turn in that signed FAFSA form Mom returned to me for school so I can get my loans before it's too late. Since it's Friday I figured I should not wait any longer and so I started looking for it. But I couldn't find Mom's letter anywhere! I ran around until I was late and then I still didn't find it, so I ran out the door with a scowl and saw my bus drive away without me. So I hiked down past the railroad tracks to catch the 92 so I wouldn't be AS late as I would be if I waited a half hour for the next 77. When the bus arrived it was empty except for the driver who was a man with an Amish-type beard and a cheerful disposition. It was just he and I the entire way and I learned that his name is Jim, he's been married twice, he's best friends with his X-wife's husband whose name is also Jim, and his current wife is so paranoid that when a scooter passed by their house this morning at 1 a.m. (when we were listening to Daniel's violin) she didn't want Jim to go to work and leave her alone. I learned that there are about 200 bus drivers now and when Jim started there were 40 or so, and I learned that a common mistake drivers make is passing the bus in front of them when it stops, which causes them to miss passengers. And that, my friends, is the highlight of my day. Look for my next update Monday. And I'm sorry about Dr. M. - I'll try to get that up Monday as well.
That is all.
The sky is falling, oh my, the sky...
Is falling.
So yeah, things are weighing down heavy on my poor brain. Stress with school, stress with bills, stress with work. It's just not fun. But I don't really have a choice. As it is, I'm not even sure my income will cover this month's expenses, so I can't cut back on work any more.
Friday night was hellish because there were only two people - Meg and I. She had to go take out the garbage and so then it was just me and suddenly the store was filled with people and they ALL wanted me to help them at the same time and they were all getting aggitated because I wasn't able to help them all at once. I was about ready to scream as a lady slowly picked up the different pendants, studying each one as two other people waited for me to get back to them and two other people were standing at the register waiting to check out. I told the lady I had to go help the other people and she was greatly annoyed. I did my best and in the end everyone was eventually helped, but then I was so incredibly stressed out that I forgot to charge one lady for her sterling pendant and chain. So I basically let her walk away with 18 dollars. What a nightmare that was. Meg helped calm me down though, and said that I should prepare myself for such situations because that is what Christmas will be like only a lot worse.
Saturday was pretty good though. It started off with X-men Evolution as usual, then I went to work and the bus door closed on me like a big trap. I forced my way through, bending the rubber around my body, then looked back at the driver, astonished, but either he didn't care, didn't notice, or did it on purpose. So I went ahead to work and things went well. I met some cool girls who like X-men and spoke to a fellow who showed me how to play the digiridoos. I think I'll get one. It'd be a good deal - and I know I probably shouldn't because I can't be throwing money around, but it would be a great addition to the bible study music team and it will last a long time and be a relaxing hobby.
My boss scheduled me to work at 2 today even though I have a 2:30 class. Either I gave her the wrong information or she misread it. I'll have to find out what happened. Tonight I must memorized my lines for Vladimir in "Waiting for Godot" and say them tomorrow morning for my acting and movement class. Now though, I must get to work.
That is all.
I have a didgeridoo!!! Weeeeeeeeeee!
Now I just have to master the art of playing the thing. What fun!
Yesterday I worked all afternoon and missed my digital painting class. Meghan usually gives me a ride home after work, but her car broke down and she was having a bad day besides. I learned a lot more about my boss's history. I've had it really easy compared to her. Sure we were poor, sure there were five kids and Dad wasn't home much, but life was good man. And my parents brought us up well and loved us. So even if things weren't always peaches and cream, we were happy.
So I had to take the bus home. The light under the mall stop was out so I had to sit in the dark with strangers. But I guess the fact that I had pepper spray dangling out of my right pocket, my stun gun strapped to my left, and a giant stick in my hands might have deterred would-be harassers. The bus driver talked to me about my didgeridoo and about a live online TV station in Tucson I should listen to, then he got into the history channel and a story someone did on Hitler, and then it was time for me to get off and he hurriedly added that in the end what Hitler did was really wrong. (Well, gee, that's news to me - pffff.) I think he was just worried that I'd think he was a racist for watching Hitler biographies.
So then I went home and was a little apprehensive about another car shooting or flinging rocks at me. This time I didn't have a paper bag to shield my legs. I made it home alright though. Got some water and played my didgeridoo until I was out of breath. Then I watched M*A*S*H and fell asleep in uncomfortable clothes. I also found that I'd been sleeping on a pencil and my didgeridoo the next morning. Oh well. Doing yoga in my acting and movement class probably fixed my poor back.
So what did I do with my DAY OFF? I sat at school and fiddled around until after 9 p.m. (drawing things like this monster), and I'm still not home. I don't think I'll have time to make cookies or anything, but right now I'm just thirsty for water. So, I think that I will end this little entry and go home.
Oh yes - I got to voice act today. I was shut in a tiny sound-proof room and I said things like, "The hostage is on the floor below you!" and "Alright you're good to go!" in a girly voice. I'll have to post the picture of this blue-haired anime chick I'm playing when Dave sends it to me, ha ha. It was fun, even if I was a chipper 16-year-old girly girl.
That is all.
