2003 Year-end review

Hooray for 2004! Time for the 2003 year-end review...

-2003 rolled in with winter term, rebuilding the furnace, and blissful blissful free time. Sitting quietly and watching D Flo, Brendan, Eric, and others play Gauntlet for 12-18 hours each day was like heaven. Heaven I tell you!

-Spring term was quiet front-loaded, and I remember most of the beginning was spent preparing for SETC, which was a great and fun experience. I'm really glad I went, and hope to go again this year.

-Getting the job at Berkshire was a great relief in the spring, because it meant I had no foreboding worries about the summer. It was also helpful that my scheduling for school worked out perfectly, and that I was able to get my first choice in campus housing for the next year. That spring term really was apologizing for all the hard stuff I'd had to do before, I think.

-The summer and The Berkshire Theatre Festival. I'm so glad i took that internship; I learned so much, had tons of fun, and that's where I met and developed my initial friendship with Carleton.

-Fall came around and school was tough, but I started dating Carleton, which was a big deal for me. Like, it goes down in the "Notable events of Lisa's Life" section.

-New Year's Eve. Hanging out with Brendan and Maria. Playing video games. I always have a rough time at New Year's parties, because I don't drink, and many of my friends who do would rather do that than sit and play video games. This year I decided to have fun, and I feel bad for not seeing Darren or Will, but I will see them again, and I actually had fun this year! Woohoo!

2004 is looking out to be scary and exciting, as graduation and for-really-real life is right on the horizon. I'm ready for it, though, i think. Hope everyone has a great year!

Must be Gremlins...

Today I went and used the art supply store gift certificate I got for Christmas. I picked up some colored pencils and some watercolors.

Now, I had purchased a set of watercolors a long time ago, and used them now and again, and then one day found they'd gone missing. Before buying a replacement set, I gave them a year to show up. I looked in every conceivable place, at home and at school, and gave it plenty of time to pull that "Oh, I'm going to show up now that you aren't actually looking for me" stunt. A year later and still no sign, so I figured it was safe to buy some more.

I'd be willing to bet money that now that I've bought a new set, the old one will magically appear in a place I've looked a thousand times before.

In other weird news, my parents' keyboard is acting very strange. Sometimes weird things type out on their own. You know how sometimes you type something and it doesn't show up right away, then later it all types out at once? Kinda like that. Maybe there's some ghost trapped in my parents' computer, trying to contact me with secret messages. Very odd.

Meeeemorieeeees

Even though I was a total slug yesterday, I've been getting some work accomplished today. I've been going through my piles of stored junk and sorting it...stuff to keep, stuff to find a new home for, stuff to throw away, stuff to store...that sort of thing

I'm particularly proud of myself for finally getting my large pile of photos dated and organized into an album and an "extra" box, it took up the bulk of the morning. Dating pictures is one of those things that I hate doing, but know I'll regret later if I don't do it. Nice to have that pile finished with.

After sorting together a bunch of random papers and bits of memories--programs, newspaper clippings, notes, etc.--I pondered, "What can I do with all these scraps of things?" Scrapbook, duh >_< So that's another project to contend with, though I think it will be a good one. I love keeping stuff for memories, but have no good way of storing it beyond throwing a bunch of papers in a box; a scrapbook would work nicely.

Another big project will be going through my piles of notebooks and school papers. I keep EVERYTHING, right down to high school, because I like to go through my papers and snip out the little doodles I've drawn. My papers have backed up considerably through college, so I'd like to get through them quickly so I can cut out the drawings and doom the piles of paper to recycling.

I've already cleared up several storage boxes--only to be refilled with different items, of course, but oh well. Well, back to cleaning, I suppose.

Loot

Another holiday completed. Christmas this year was very pleasant, in spite of my initial sadness due to lack of Carleton. Crazy family time kept me busy and my mind off it.

I got a few books I'd wanted, some other nice things, and my mom got me yarn (so I can knit her a scarf ¬_¬ ). I enjoyed spending time with family and friends, and spent the evening with some friends from high school I hadn't seen in awhile.

Now that the holiday is over I am overwhelmed by the fact that I still have a week of break left. I have a feeling I will get little accomplished, as I am very tired.

I am excited about winter term, it should be fun to design props and make puppets and such, and it will be nice to have no evening obligations. However, I feel I'll spend most of that time sleeping and resting. I suppose there is a possibility I will suddenly become motivated, perhaps work on figuring out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life, and all that. So much to think about, so exhausting.

I suppose I'll postpone thinking about all those big things a bit longer, and just work on thinking about what I should buy with my gift certificate to the art supply store.

Christmas

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday!

Carleton's visit was awesome. Granted, most of it was spent playing Final Fantasy X, but all the better to have time to waste playing video games. We did manage to make it out to visit all my friends, and had very tasty meals thrust upon us. Granted, I was sad to see him off this morning, but the fact that it's Christmas helped to cheer me up.

That, and the fact that I still have the rest of Christmas break left! Woowoo! Maybe I will get that site redesign underway...or at least get some cleaning done.

Stay safe and warm on the holidays, everyone!

Cake!

One final down, two to go. The OS exam was ultimately cake, and I'm glad I studied the Dining Philosophers problem, it made a would-be tricky problem very easy.

Carleton will be here in 7ish hours. So close, yet so far, ack! I want to finish my art history paper in the meantime, and finish cleaning, and study a bit for Compilers...but I'm so antsy and excited!

The term is certainly winding down nicely.

Politics?

For people like me, who often have no idea where to even start thinking about politics, this was a nice little quiz. Nice, at least, to give me an idea of where to start researching (and they have helpful informative links! Woo!). Unfortunately, it says that even if your highest scoring candidate is in the 80's or below, their actions in office will likely disappoint more often than not. Doh!! >_<


Your Results:

1. Your ideal theoretical candidate. (100%) Click here for info
2. Kucinich, Rep. Dennis, OH - Democrat (71%) Click here for info
3. Dean, Gov. Howard, VT - Democrat (69%) Click here for info
4. Clark, Retired General Wesley K., AR - Democrat (65%) Click here for info
5. Edwards, Senator John, NC - Democrat (61%) Click here for info
6. Gephardt, Rep. Dick, MO - Democrat (57%) Click here for info
7. Kerry, Senator John, MA - Democrat (51%) Click here for info
8. Sharpton, Reverend Al - Democrat (44%) Click here for info
9. Libertarian Candidate (39%) Click here for info
10. Lieberman, Senator Joe, CT - Democrat (35%) Click here for info
11. Moseley-Braun, Former Senator Carol, IL - Democrat (28%) Click here for info
12. LaRouche, Lyndon H. Jr. - Democrat (27%) Click here for info
13. Bush, President George W. - Republican (18%) Click here for info
14. Phillips, Howard - Constitution (5%) Click here for info

Art Rant

I am taking an art history class. The course is entitled "Northern Mannerist and Baroque Art." Now, the casual observer might make the mistake of assuming that in this class one would learn about Northern Mannerist and Baroque art. Perhaps you would talk about Mannerism until the middle of the term, then talk about the Baroque the second half of the term. That seems like a logical assumption, right? Ha! Fools!

We started off the class talking about the Northern Renaissance in the lowlands, because, of course, it is important to know about the Renaissance before talking about Mannerism, so you know where it came from. A few weeks worth of classes, actually, just to be sure. Around midterms, we were finally getting into Mannerism in the lowlands, and as we neared its end, with the Baroque and Peter Paul Rubens right on the horizon, what do we do? We go back to Germany. We go back to *before* the Renaissance in Germany.

Then we get into the Renaissance in Germany, and talk about Albrecht Durer. Now, I'm as big a Durer fan as the next girl, and I know it's important to talk about him to see where later German mannerism comes from, but we spend class after class after class on Durer. Then we touch on German mannerism. Then student presentations.

Now, in the last week of class, we FINALLY get to Peter Paul Rubens. We have two days to talk about the Baroque. TWO FRICKIN DAYS!!!!!!! AGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Be aware this is no new phenomenon. When I took the second art history survey class, which was to cover Medieval to Modern art, we got stuck in the Renaissance again, and barely scraped Baroque at the end. Look, I like the Renaissance and all, I know it's important, and I know it's Dr. Levin's "thing," but as a senior art major, I feel *severely* under-educated in the realm of art history. Ask me anything about the Renaissance, Italian or Northern, and I can probably answer, but Romanticism? Impressionism? Modernism? I am utterly clueless.

And it pisses me off.

But, alas, such is one of the disadvantages to going to a teeny tiny liberal arts college. I wish Sheldon could have taught an art history class. Art history with Sheldon would have been an awesome adventure, if museum trips with him is any indication of his presentation of the material.

Bleh

*end rant*

Hooray for Fire!

Last night I worked a shift out at the Anagama Kiln. It was very fun!


Every year, the ceramics department and local potters build this giant, one-chamber wood-firing kiln and fill it with lots of pieces. The ash from the burning wood forms a natural glaze on the pieces, and the kiln is fired for 4 days. To keep the fire stoked, students and local potters volunteer to work shifts around the clock. I'd never done this before, but thought I'd give it a shot (I even made a little dragon sculpture to sneak into the kiln amidst all the large pots and vessels).

The kiln is very large, and kind of resembles the head of a dragon (appropriately shooting fire out of its mouth), which I thought was really neat. It's hard to tell because my shift was from 6 to midnight, so it's quite dark.




I thought it was going to be a lot of work, because we had to stoke the fire every few minutes. However, each stoke we alternated between feeding the front of the kiln and feeding the sides, so there was plenty of downtime (enough to sneak in a few roasted marshmallows ^_^)



My shift was still pretty early in the process, though, and by Sunday they will be stoking continuously. It's really neat then, because the whole structure is nearly aflame. Maybe I can get some pictures of it from years past, because it looks really neat.

Ultimately, it was like sitting around a giant campfire for 6 hours, keeping it aflame I got a ton of knitting done, and it was great to have a huge block of time to just sit and do nothing. The company was good too; Carissa was there on my shift, as were 3 potters from Lexington, Louisville, and Indiana. I didn't know any of them, but they were all friendly and good company.

For Really Real Life

Another tasty Thanksgiving dinner complete. Hooray! It's always nice to see my family, especially since I'm in school and don't get to see them much. In spite of all my fears about graduating, today I've been feeling pangs of want to be out of school. I want to clean out my room and Stuff Collection and sort and throw things out. I want to clean the basement and set up a workplace down there. I want to go through things, and see what can be given away. All these things would take a longish, extended-stay-at-home time that I've been craving for awhile, though.

Talking to the puppet folk at UConn left me in high spirits, but I'm certainly going to have to spend a good amount of time, a year at the very least, building a portfolio. Whether I do this by getting a related job (John Hickman worked for a puppet place in Tennessee for a year and suggested I check it out) or working on my own (can't wait for Dave and Brendan's combined playwriting efforts to complete, wee!) I do not know.

There are all these looming things about my student loans if I don't go straight to grad school, and I'm going to have to find some way of supporting myself in the meantime. I've considered looking into places that need digital image database work done, since that is the sort of work I've been doing for the college's slide library. Just have to find a place with a need, I suppose.

At any rate, I'm not as panicky as before. I would fret and fret about my senior show, and Sheldon would comfort me not to worry too hard about it (but his method of doing this was pointing ahead to post-graduation, which I should spend more time worrying about) but I've stumbled upon something that could make for a good exhibit. So no, though I've made at least 5 glass armadillos, that certainly won't be my senior show (it was a good method of clearing my mind), color fade vases might be the right direction.

I still have much to meddle with and figure out, but I think things are going to be okay. It's just that, after spending your whole life looking ahead to these very short significant time slots--grade school to high school, high school to college--looking ahead and seeing "the rest of your life" waiting ahead is rather indimidating. At least I'm not in the boat alone.

In lighter news, some friends from high school are visiting tomorrow, and I am very excited to see them all. It's been a year since I last saw any of them, and I'm looking forward to catching up.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Burrrr...

It's coooooooooold in Connecticut (or maybe just in the house). So, my trip up here went smoothly, in spite of last minute planning changes and Carleton's phone dying before I finished giving him directions to Ali's apartment where he could pick me up. Madness and Chaos! But all turned out well.

I saw The Christmas Carol and was very impressed with the puppetry, especially the Marley puppet, very cool! Ali introduced me to the puppetry people before the show, and Carleton's friend Frankie showed me around the puppet lab afterwards. Everyone was very friendly and informative. We also stopped by UConn's puppetry museum, which currently has an exhibit of works by students and alumni. It was very cool. One UConnite did puppets for Pinwheel, and as I turned the corner to see great, green, glaring Ebinezer T. Squint, I nearly melted with Nostalgia, exclaiming "Ah! My childhood! My CHILDHOOD!" and weeping. Anyway, I got to see the puppet lab and talk to the puppet people and got lots of information and made lots of connections. It was a very successful day.

Yesterday was a lazy just-hang-out day, the bulk of which was consumed by the extended version of The Two Towers. It was very good (and very long) and full of lots of little helpful explanatory tidbit scenes. Today and Tomorrow Carleton has to go in to Hartford to do work, so I am using the time to catch up on my glass sketchbook and such. Being on break is soooooo nice.

surveyage

First real kiss: 'out a month ago

First job: I volunteered for the Louisville Science Center for a long time, and my first paying job was working in their Kidzone

First screen name: Wertle. Yup, without the 1. You see, I created that SN on a friend's aol account, because we didn't have aol. When we did get it, I deleted the other account, thinking I could remake it on mine, but lo and behold, it still would not let me have the screenname. Doh!

First self-purchased album: I think it was some soundtrack, maybe Jurassic Park

First funeral: My Great Aunt Helen, though I was very young and didn't really know her. I do recall the experience being rather surreal.

First pets: Joe B. is the earliest cat I can recall, but I had more memories of Nip.

First piercing: None!

First true love: The Moogley one over there *points*

First big trip: To Germany in the 4th grade. It was my first experience flying, too (what a way to break someone in to plane rides x_x)

Last big car ride: Massachusetts this summer. It was even longer going up, since we had the cat with us.

Last good cry: I woke up crying from a touching dream the other night, so I guess that counts

Last movie seen: Finding Nemo

Last beverage drank: Dr. Pepper

Last food consumed: A cheeseburger

Last phone call: D-flo, calling me from Louisville for directions

Last TV show watched: Dexter's Lab

Last shoes worn: my fuzzy house slippers. I like to wear them outside, because it gives you the sensation of walking bare foot over the earth, but you don't have to worry about sharp rocks.

Last CD played: The BTF summer 2003 shop mix

Last item bought: I think the dvd of Finding Nemo

Last soda drank: Dr. Pepper

Last ice cream eaten: Cowan soft serve

Last shirt worn: My new Zim T-shirt! Hooray!

Curious

Hey you! Yes YOU *points*! Who are you? And how did you find my journal? And why do you read it? Inquiring minds want to know! Reply here please ^_^

stupid sound board

I hate the dichotomy of feeling very excited and wanting a week to get over with as quickly as possible, but at the same time feeling overwhelmed by all the stuff you have to get done before the week is through, and thus wish you had more time.

Thursday I worked Saturday Night Fever, which was nice, as it was a very small show and the load-out ended at 12:30, earliest yet I think! On the other hand, it was not nice in some ways. You see, our theater has this inherent problem that every now and then (which is more frequent than it sounds like), the sound board for a road show will not fit in our elevator. Thus, to get it to the back of the house, it has to be carried up several flights of stairs. Sound boards weigh from 1600 to 2000 pounds, or more, and are also quite fragile--which means any idea you have about making it easier to carry up the stairs, you can't do, because it has to stay level and you can't tip it and this and that.

Because of this, road shows have always been a good opportunity for me to practice my Nimpo skills, because as soon as I hear the sound board does not fit in the elevator, I vanish! Blend in to the walls. I haven't had to carry it up so far, but Thursday (after stacking some very heavy trusses with too few people--I'm surprised no one lost a finger) I was captured with the other electricians to carry it down. If carrying the sound board down the stairs is so much easier than carrying it up as they say, I never never NEVER want to have to carry on up. UGH x_x

The resulting soreness made the Kempo clinic on Saturday a little rougher, but it was still fun and enjoyable. And now I am four times as sore. Ah, well, as soon as the muscles knit back together I will have SUPER HUMAN STRENGTH.

Well, i'm really only writing this entry now to put of the load of work I have to do today. I suppose, however, I should get started. If anyone needs me, I'll probably either be in Olin or the Art Barn.

Whoosh!

Last night the wind was howling something awful, so *that's* what a cold front sounds like. It was like November was late for class, and so ran as fast as he could to get there on time last night, and this morning he was all huffing and puffing and saying "See? Cold! It's November now, heh heh...what?" Silly seasons.

I saw the Lion King (onstage) Tuesday night, it was frickin amazing. If my interest in puppetry was just a lingering possibility before, it's now properly inspired to "life goal." I will make puppets!!

I loved the Zazu puppet, the hyena suits, and the big Timon puppet the best. The cheetah was great, too. It took me forever to realize that its head was attached to to operator's head with wires, I was sitting there and staring trying to figure out how it moved.

Art History paper: complete. Rock!

Inappropriate? What??

Oy, what a mess.

So I've been having weird access problems to my site. Someone's server blocked it for adult content, which was really bizarre. I wasn't sure if it was the domain name--if wertle.com was once the domain name for an adult site, or if it was the host, or what. Strother, however, through some research, discovered my suspicions to be true. Apparently, wertle.com was at one time the domain of a site boasting, ahem, "inappropriate" content, and the link to the domain is still present in many link directories.

Sure enough, I look up wertle.com in archive.org, and there it was. DOH! >_< I suppose, ultimately, the worst this does is redirect pornography-seekers to my happy little art site, which may cause a bit of confusion, but nothing else. However, it does make me sad that people's servers are blocking my site for adult content. Alas! I suppose that's not something I'll be able to shake the residual effects away, but I don't suppose I should go applying for wertle-dragon.com or some such, either.

Ugh. x_x

Collin: "What you don't know is that plot's catting to kill us all right now..."

Crunch crunch crunch, that is the past week or so, leading up to this one. It's going to be a busy one.

This weekend has been another one of visiting friends. Dave visited Friday night, and watched some cartoons with me before he went to see the play, while I spent the latter part of the evening napping. We chatted about the shutting down of 2D animation studios, and puppetry, and this and that.

Saturday Ken () came up to help me in the studio, which was really nice. He helped me make some large vessels, and gave me some ideas about how I make my armadillos. We worked practically all day long, and then helped Che pack up and clean out his show. We went to Guadi's afterwards; it's nice when you are so ravenous from the day that any meal tastes like it was sent from the heavens! YUM! Unfortunately, I was so exhausted by the day in the studio that I slept for the time afterwards before the play, so no work was accomplished.

That evening I went and saw The Beloved Community. They did a great job with the script that was given to them. Toooooooo many issues! On the up side, I did get to see Alison and Eric, which was great, they're always a joy to be around. I also got to say hello to Evan later in the evening. With so many visits, it would have been logical for me to venture out and play the whole evening, but I was so tired.

I really am becoming a hermit this term. But, I think it's working in my favor. Eh, oh well, time to write that art history research paper...

Hooray for Halloween

Halloween was good fun, even though it's been one of the more mellow ones I've experienced.

Thursday night, Crack had a pumpkin carving party, which was really enjoyable. Just a bunch of people hanging out and gutting pumpkins (or in my case, watermelons) and eating candy and the like. I worked really hard making a gargoyle mask, which I am very proud of:

http://www.wertle.com/dump/mask1.jpg

I used a rehearsal mask as a base, which worked out really well (and the rehearsal mask still survived!). It's nice because it fits perfectly to my face, and is really comfy.

So, my Halloween was mostly spent gorging myself on candy, and watching cartoons and History Channel specials, and playing games. Overall, I'm glad I stuck with my goal of not doing ANY work after 4:00, and had a good time.

Making the mask was a good release, and I really think there needs to be more mask-related holidays. I say we revive Carnival. Anyhow, back to work.

Spooooooooky

Muahahaha! Fear the scary glowstick carving, FEAR!!! Because, well, if you knew its secret, it wouldn't be so scary.



Strother and I went to get pumpkins today, but the were all out. So I bought a watermelon.



No matter how scary my carving is, the terrifying fear-striking jack-o-lantern element is just lost on the fact that...well.....it's a watermelon. Oh well, at least it's a festive watermelon!

Armadillo

I'm rather proud of my armadillo...

I want another First Kiss...

I have a strange perception of flying as a mode of transportation. I mean, it's not that I don't like flying, it's kind of fun, and taking off is always a bit exciting and roller-coaster like...then you get into the air and realize it's absolutely nothing like a roller coaster, so it's a bit boring and uncomfortable. I suppose my level of excitement didn't help. It was like Christmas back when I was 8; I'd never been so excited.

Needless to say, my visit with Carleton was beyond awesome. We played video games, watched cartoons, and spent a significant amount of time lazing about and doing nothing. He showed me around UConn, and I got to see Ali and Scott from the summer, and all was well and pretty.

His home in Westbrook was very nice and pretty, and his family was lovely. We had hot pot for dinner, which was totally awesome (hot pot is this tasty asian make-it-at-your-table dish that's vaguely like fondu, only not really, and involves extraneous skills--like custom sauce-mixing and basket-weaving. Beyond awesome).

While we were eating, we discovered an inch-worm-like bug on the vegetables, and I offered Carleton $5 to eat it, and he offered me 6, and I went up to 7, expecting the bidding to skyrocket, when he plucked the thing up with his chopsticks and devoured it whole. I was surprised it only took $7, and felt instantly guilty for ending the life of an innocent buggy through such a bet. Eh, a bird or cat would have eaten it eventually, I suppose.

Anyhow, my stay there included marveling at the computery-ness of his home, and we also went to the shore (showing me that New England does have some redeeming qualities, healing the wounds of homesickness that showed up at the end of the summer).

Leaving was, by default, a bit sad, but not terribly so. We fell quickly back into our normal pattern of communication as soon as I got home, and are already planning the next visit. Hooray! Even though I missed the visit, arriving back in Kentucky was comforting. My understanding of my connection to my home is growing more and more lately.

Conclusion: I learned a lot this fall break.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!

I fear I will never have as hard a time paying attention in class as today, especially in Art History, I will surely explode. My backpack is already packed, thus leaving me time to clean my room and water my plants before the parental units pick me up after class.

Then I will have that nasty waiting period between the time I get home and the time we leave for the airport, in which I will surely pace around all giggly and anxious.

Can'twaitCan'twaitCan'twaitCan'twait
WEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(and since I won't be here this weekend to celebrate, I must prematurely wish the happiest of birthdays. You should go do the same.)

Wow

I finished my Compilers project suddenly and way early, so I used the extra time to FINALLY update my site..

http://www.wertle.com

As I mentioned before, I'm really considering a site design. I would probably turn it into a portfolio type of site, with my best glass and paintings and drawings. Very simple and static.

I'd likely keep a personal section that contained my silly and fun things and how-to's and photos and such.

However, I'd like input about this. What do you people who look at my site on occasion like about it? What do you look at the most? Input! INPUT!!

"Are you in Love with her?, "Well, that's a bit strong", "Oh...are you in Like with her?"

It has been the weekend of visits! Homecoming brought such lovely visitors at Ken, Evan, and the beautiful Alison Furlong, along with many others that I did not see because I was so busy.

It did not end there, though, as I arrived at my glass slot, tired and unmotivated, who should I see but Nathan Whitfield--the genius (though he denies it firmly, I know it's true, he can't hide it from me). Seeing Nate is always a trip, he always has adventurous stories to share. He even helped me blow glass, as Anne had to leave the slot early. Hooray for visits!

Speaking of visits, 2 Days!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ponder ponder

Well, I managed to survive the week without too much damage done by the massive, merciless, flesh-eating robot that is college. I actually managed to defy it and get copious amounts of work done! It's also been great fun with lots of friends up to visit and such.

My website is in dire need of an update, and I'm actually considering redesigning it to a more "static" format, since my chances to update have been few and far between. Rants of the week that have been up for half a year just don't work. I might just haul off and make it a portfolio site, with a personal section for fun things, I'm just not sure. We'll see how the time fairy treats me with that project.

In other news, 5 days!

Giggle giggle

Which sounds shorter, "1 week" or "7 days"?

Weee....*dances*

Straight-Short-Haired Lisa still eats Candy

This weekend was nice. Since it has been established that I will be spending fall break in Connecticut, I wanted a chance to hang out with my friends in Louisville. So, Saturday I spent the day with Brendan and Ken. It was just the refresher that I needed.

Having just gotten paid, we went to the comic book shop with the sole intention of me buying myself a treat (I'm trying the whole goal-reward system with all this work I have to do. I got a lot of work done this week, I get a treat. A little operant conditioning never hurt anybody ^_^ ). I bought the first four volumes of the Bone comics. I love this series soooo much, but I always get my fix from Brendan's collection, and I decided I wanted to start getting them for myself. Four volumes at a time seems reasonable, don't you think?

Anyway, after chilling and reading comics and being sucked in by VH1 at Ken's place, Brendan and I went back to his home for a sketchbook party. It was really nice to draw for fun again, and I think it was very refreshing for me. I spent that night eating buffalo wings, going through my books, and having a pleasant phone conversation with Carleton (which are always fun and awesome).

A successful weekend: I got to rest and be refreshed, but I did not do so by being a slacker and idling the whole time. I was hopeing to be able to catch some time with today since she was in Kentucky, but the paper I have due tomorrow, the midterm I have tomorrow, the improv show I have tomorrow, the newspaper copy editting I'll have to start on this week, and the constantly increasing pile of programming assignments I have due makes it seem like that will not get to happen. Curses!! Alas, back to work...

Slacker

Amidst a busy week I am graced with a block of free time, and I'm so startled that I don't know what to do with it. In keeping with my goal to be on top of everything by fall break, I've been very productive and have been getting a lot of work done. It's surprising and satisfying, but at the same time, I'm a little discouraged with myself.

I have had nearly an hour to myself before load-in, and what do I do? Sit and idle. Maybe it's just because I need rest, but I can't help feeling like I'm neglecting all the important yet un-urgent things in my life. It would be a perfect time to pull one of those doodles from my notebooks (which I do frantically each day to keep up my drawing) and turn it into a finished work, or go and paint on my own, or start building a Halloween costume. Instead, I'm laying and staring at the ceiling, not even napping.

It wouldn't be so bad if my mind would quit drifting back to the conversation I had with Carleton about the product of a fortune cookie taped to the paper towel dispenser in the painting area of the art barn that says "Idleness is the holiday of fools" to me every time I wander past.

Then again, it could be my body's way of telling me to be still for a moment.

In more lively news, the chickens-to-be have been securely incubated, and I count them every chance I get ^_^

Plants anyone?

Who can give me advice about caring for aloe plants? I hear they can be tricky.

My parents got me one, and it will be handy in case I set myself on fire in the glass studio. At first I was going to name it Ali, since it's an aloe plant, but then I decided that was dumb and cheesy. It did, however, remind me of my friend, Ali, from the summer, so I thought of naming it Crutchfield. That, however, sounded a bit too serious, so I've settled on Crutchy.

While we're on plants, anyone have advice for jade plants? I acquired one of those as well, and heard that can also be tricky. I keep fearing that one day I'll go to water it and it will explode. (its name is Jade, only because I got it by accident. My philodendron, which has been running strong for many years, is named Sydney).

What was that?

Today has been packed full of fun times. I spent a greater portion of the day at a Kempo clinic, which was awesome. I missed all my Kempo peoples, it was great to see the second fam again.

This evening I hung out with Ken, since we were both exhausted from our days (Ken () has been busy at work down at Glassworks). We happily chilled and watched cartoons, then went to the Pie Kitchen, where I fretted and debated over whether I wanted pie or icecream, pondered getting both, decided that would be splurging way too much, and ended up getting two pieces of pie instead x_x 'Twas good, though, and we ate our pie and watched cartoons for the rest of the evening, joined later by Dave.

I'm beginning to feel the fun, creepy Halloween spirit tonight. Last night still held remnants of the summer, as the tree frogs and night critters were out making pleasant music. Tonight, though, it was nearly silent, with a few lingering crickets. We were also graced with a few calls from our local fox, which greatly added to the atmosphere. Have you ever heard a fox call? It sounds like a screaming child, especially when muffled slightly by the woods. Mmmm...must think of good Halloween costume this year.

Oh, and an Update: I may now safely count the chickens, i just need to figure out which way to incubate them ;)

Weekend

Well, that weekend was productive. I managed to get started on my work for this week, plus got in the studio and made some good progress, had a fine and tasty cookout on Friday night, plus found kitten a new home! Saturday was a particularly nice recovery day, as I'd stayed on the phone up until the wee hours the night before, so slept till 1:30, did some cleaning, and then took a long nap until 5:30 or so (in preparation for staying up and talking on the phone until the wee hours again ^_^). I suppose I needed the sleep, though, and Sunday was quite productive in terms of my workload.

As I am planning to go home this coming weekend--for a Kempo clinic and my brother's birthday--I'm going to try very hard to motivate myself and get as much work done this week as possible. Knocking out a weekend will do a serious blow to the amount of time I use to do work. Plus, if Jeff's shaky plot for fall break ends up happening, I would like to go home the next weekend as well, to spend time with Brendan, Dave, Ken () and whomever else (though, that is homecoming, it may cause conflicts because I want to see my brother also). So, two weekends in a row with no work would be quite rough.

However, I shouldn't be counting any chickens just yet. Must talk to Jeff today, must not count chickens...

Another year, another kitten

Following the great Rodes 2 temporary kennel tradition, I've taken on an abandoned kitten until we find it a good home. Cute little thing, very snuggly and playful, but I am in no state to be raising a kitten, so I'm searching for some new parents for it (any takers? Kitten, anyone?)

Ugh, this week has been quite overwhelming, with lots going on at once. Yesterday seemed to be the culmination of it, what with working the first road show (Cats) of the year and still trying to get my program for OS done. I was up until 2:30 or so, as the program was due at 3 in the morning, and I did not get it to work properly. It's quite frustrating, because it was a fairly simple program, and I could have written it in Java with my eyes closed. But, learning C and programming in it at the same time proved to be quite tricky for me in this case (I wasn' the only one in that boat, though, which is slightly reassuring).

By the time I got home last night I was exhausted, both from unsuccessful coding and the load-out. Perhaps it was just because it was the first road show of the year, but my hands are torn to pieces. My achilles tendon was not happy with me last night, and frequently piped up to remind me that it still had tendonitis. Consequently, my sleep last night was not terribly restful.

I called in to work today. Anne (the slide library curator) is always very understanding of me and working road shows, and had no problem with it. I thought about using the extra time to jump right in and work on finishing my other program for Compilers, but I decided that I could use some refreshing, and that it would ultimately do me more good.

So, I slept an extra hour, tidied up around the apartment, showered, and cooked myself an omelette. I have many emails to respond to, so I may spend the rest of the morning doing that. However, it is more likely that I will nap some more before my 12:40 class, and just generally get some more rest.

(and to think, my glass slots haven't even started up yet. Next week's going to start to get busy x_x)

Bliss

Do you ever just not have words?

I am QUEEEEEN!

As I was teaching the Glass I kiddies how to gather today (and unintentionally creating a batch of hard asses, because I completely forgot to offer them the option of using a glove. Toughin 'em up I say! *cough* oops) I realized something.

I am the only senior glass major, and thus am undisputed queen of the hot shop. This means one very important thing...I have total control of the music we listen to in the studio! Muahahahaha! There is Woody to contend with, I suppose, but he is not an art major, and thus I take precedence.

Now, don't get my wrong, I didn't mind Ken( and DH's reign of Phish and Pearl Jam for the past couple of years in glass, but it's nice to realize that you hold musical power.

Hehehehe! *dashes off to make hot shop mix cds*

Drama Picnic

The drama picnic was fun and exciting, as it always is. Even though overcast weather could not hinder our usual fun.

Every year when we go to the drama picnic, once in the fall and once in the spring, we always go through Junction City, and every year I see this sign. Every year I say "I really need to take a picture of that sign," and since I'm a senior this year I thought I'd better get on it. Anyway, here it is...





Josh, Elizabeth, Julia and Kate play on the dock


That great big tree in the middle of the lake is awesome for jumping off of, I plan on jumping off the top before I graduate (it's tricky, though, my arms are too short for me to get all the way up there).


Jeff and Crack


Collin and D Flo ponder musical truths


Strother tries on the local plant life as a new fashion statement (by local I mean "bottom of the lake")


Everyone has fun with a foam deer head!



Unfortunately, the usual fresh-water jellyfish that show up in this lake didn't seem to be around in as great of quantities (I thought I spotted a few over by the lily pads), perhaps it has been too rainy the past few days, or something. Oh well. All in all, another successful picnic

pleasantries

Weee! What a first week! It wasn't as overwhelming as I thought it would be, though this weekend will be busy with me preparing my proposal. I think the art society, if Nick and I can get it off the ground, is going to be great fun. We're going to get the kids to help out with the Anagama kiln this year (which I'm very excited about, I'll be sure to take lots of pictures!)

Meanwhile, the weather has been overly pleasant this week, and I've been in good spirits every day in spite of the busy schedule that faces me. There have been slivers of lonliness here and there, as the absence of my many graduated friends makes itself more and more apparent, but at least I still have D Flo () to save the universe from Covenant aliens with!

In fact, I've been spending quite a bit of time on my own this week, which is pleasant in its own right. It's been too long since I could enjoy my own company and inner ponderings. I'm going to paint this term, on my own. I even did the unthinkable, and bought one of those pre-stretched pre-primed canvases instead of stretching my own, Sheldon would be so ashamed!!

In other news, I have floaty ideas about this year's Halloween costume, but nothing solid yet. Also, this project in my Compilers class is going to be brutal..

*sings* C is for Cookie, it's good enough for me... *code code code*

I woke up this morning, stretched, did my computery things, and headed out to the bathroom only to find that my doorknob was broken and I couldn't get out of my room. Fortunately, Caroline was home, so I called her room and she had Physical Plant come and free me. I just thought it was a funny way to start off the morning (it's a good thing I didn't have class until 12:40!)

So far, things are moving slowly, which is really nice. I know that once next week comes around, I'll pick up more things to do, like working at the slide library, teaching the glass I kiddies to gather, and starting up glass slots. There is a family reunion at home on Saturday, but I don't know if I'll be able to attend. I have a lot of work to do on my Rhodes Scholarship application before next week, and I'd like to get started on my Compilers project, and I won't have a lot of time after this weekend. At any rate, I'd like to get my site updated this weekend, even if it only ends up being a small update. I'm also hoping that my injury will be better by next week, I wanna play Frisbee!

C-worthy vessels

Well, my first day of classes went quite well. I managed to wake up early and get a lot done (a trend I hope to keep).

Operating Systems seems like it's going to be fun. Dr. Oldham seems to have a very dry, Shannon-esque sense of humor, but I think he's going to end up being pretty good. I think this class and Compilers will compliment each other nicely (it will be the term of C!)

Northern Mannerist and Baroque art...well...it's a Dr. Levin class, I fear it will be the same as all the others. I'm hoping to be able to do my research paper on glass in the time and place, but I don't know yet.

I also met with Nick and Judith (and Augustine came too) about Art Society stuff for the year. Nick Holmes and I have found ourselves to be co-presidents this year, and I'd really like to do some fun stuff, because last year the club was fairly nonexistant. I think we're going to try and get Art Society kids to join in on the Anagama kiln that we build every year (and I want to get my own pictures this year!).

I also talked with Matthew today, as he wanted to know all about my adventures at BTF this summer. He was very pleased with me, and told me I should be quite proud of myself. I told him about how much I loved making the wolf heads and dead dog, and how I wanted to make puppets and stuff, to which he responded by conspicuously lifting his clipboard and saying "Well look here, I need some props work for The Yellow Boat this winter, and there will probably be some puppetry work too. I'll get you a script tomorrow." x_x Well, I hadn't had anything planned for winter term anyway, so I guess I'll look into it.

I was planning on playing Ultimate Frisbee today, but when i put on my shoes, I was painfully reminded that my Achilles tendon is not quite done healing yet, thankyouverymuch. Hmph, it'd best get better soon. I probably will sit out on frisbee for the week at least, but I really want to play.

The evening drew to a close with a nice game of Ghost Recon with D Flo (), then a hall meeting, then being image compression wench and Dreamweaver advisor for Carleton ()

Tomorrow will bring me Compilers, and a whole lot of free time which I will hopefully convert into lots of finished work. We shall see.

Fox 2

I love my new home.



My room. Lots of cool glass and stuff in the window sill, and you can't even tell that I had to duct tape the ethernet cable all the way across the floor! (Dammit, I wanted my desk next to the window!)


The living room. The ugly gold striped couch isn't ours, someone left it here. We may be getting rid of it. The room was too empty, so I put DangerMouse up on the wall.


More living room (and kitchen)


Fear my OCTOPUS LAMP!


I give you, the hall of a thousand cartwheels!

Fun-packed week

This week has been a wonderful homecoming. On Monday, I was happily reunited with Brendan, Ken (, Dave (of being-hit-by-a-TARC-bus fame), and Evan. There was much hugging and grand tours of new apartments, and plenty of Halo of course. Brendan, Ken, Dave and I made dinner that night like a family, then we went to Evan's for dessert. Tuesday was even more fun, with the infamous D Flo() come to visit, featuring Emily Tate. All was joyous and partyful.

Though I will be sad that most of my friends will not be returning to Centre, now that they're bound to the real world, I'm happy that they will be so close. I'm also excited about the schoolyear, though a bit frazzled by having to move back tomorrow.

I spent Wednesday night with my parents. We got buffalo wings and watched Two Towers together (sorry Carleton, I was so excited about the prospect of actually *eating* the buffalo wings that they were completely devoured before I thought about taking a picture ^_^). Today I had lunch with my mom and grandmother and cousin.

I also went to the doctor today about my Achilles tendon. It seems it is merely a case of tendonitus (boooo!), and I was given some drugs and shown some stretches to do to get through it. Stupid tendonitus. Ah well, if that's the worst that will happen it'll be all good.

I also managed to get my website updated, so go look at that. http://www.wertle.com

All in all, it's been a very fulfilling week. By next update I should be back at Centre!

Home at Last!

After a grueling 15 hour drive, Whitney and I got out of the car only to be greeted by that pleasant sound of crickets and tree frogs and night bugs which had been so noticeably absent from Massachusetts. I have never felt so very happy to be home.

I arrived safe and sound (with the exception of my Achilles tendon, which was bugging me all last week, got worse at strike, and which Ken () suggests I get looked at so I don't end up unable to use it properly. A crippling leg injury is certainly very low on the "Things I Need Right Now" list.)

I was going to make a big list of things I learned this summer, but as I am still pretty tired from the trip, and as Brendan is bouncing all over the walls waiting for me to come over and visit, I'll put that off to a later time (I'll also get around to the rest of those interview questions, I promise!)

It's going to be a busy week, with unpacking and updating websites and preparing for school, but I know one thing to be true: Carleton gave me Dynasty Warriors 4, and I plan on spreading its addictive powers to every friend I can summon, muahahaha!

::ninja backflips out the window (carefully, due to her injury of course)::

Interview by <lj user=morgandria>

I'm a big fan of the 5 question interviews, so I asked for one.

1. Who is Wertle? How is Wertle the dragon a part of Lisa the person?

Geez, I didn't know the first question would be such a hard one! Anyway...


Wertle started out as just a name. It actually originated back in the 5th or 6th grade or so, when a friend of mine was doing an adlibs on the computer. It asked for a name, so she typed w-e-r-t-y across the top of the keyboard, then added l to create Wertyl. I was very taken with the name, and asked if I could have it to use. She said yes, and I changed the spelling a bit to suit me better.

After that, Wertle was a character that I drew and wrote stories about. It was always a dragon (at one point came close to being a gryphon), though the type and gender changed around a bit. By highschool I had solidified Wertle into a standard Western female color-changing dragon, appearing more often than not in a cartoony form.

Since then, Wertle had changed from a mascot to an avatar to a representation of my imaginative self. Dragons have always been important to me, and she does have a strong connection to my spirituality, though my spirituality is a muddlesome explanation that I haven't been able to formulate properly, so we'll just leave it to what you know abuot me that is true.

She changes over time. Honestly, I made her a color-changing dragon because, at the time, I couldn't decide what colors I liked best. Now, however, she's settled into a certain stable scheme, and I may consider just calling it that (though I haven't decided, the color-changing bit is a good attribute.)

All in all, Wertle represents things about me I wish to retain, or have misplaced since being younger and wish to gain back. She takes the world in stride, is fairly fearless, and embodies my silly imaginative part.

2. Do you find any sort of transformation or magick in the art of blowing glass?

I don't know much about magick, but there is definately powerful energy in working with glass. It's so different from any other medium I've worked with. It has so many states and ways of moving, you really have to work *with* the medium, rather than just *work* the medium. It's such an active thing, like, you have to be actively involved with what you're doing, and it requires a certain intense sort of focus from me that I rarely experience in anything else. It's a mesmerizing thing, you can't control it, you just have to reach a compromise (whoa, that sounded a bit dorky...oh well! ^_^)

3. If you were a series of movements, sounds, shapes, and colours, what would you be?

Movement? Hugs, plain and simple. Anyone whom I've befriended in person would probably agree. I like to be an encompassing sort of comfort mechanism.

Sounds is trickier, but I would say the combination of the tree frogs, crickets, and other nighttime critters that make up a summer night chorus in Kentucky. I've never really been connected to it consciously before, until I spent this summer up here, where it's been noticeably different.

Shapes...fractals! Okay, I don't really know if fractals count as shapes, but that's my choice. It looks complex to begin with, but then you zoom in and each complexity is more complex, and you zoom in on those and find even *more* complexities, and you keep zooming and finding and zooming and finding until you're lost from the total shape altogether!

I've always had a connection to cool colors...deep blues and purples. It's just sort of always been like that.

Do you have any serious pet peeves?

Yes. One is loud, imposing noises, like snoring or power tools. They evoke in me inexplicable rage like I have never felt. Working in and around the scene shop this summer has remedied that somewhat, but I still have to wear ear protection (to save my hearing and to save those around me from grinding rage!). Stupid router, it's the worst, stupid stupid router.

The second is a situation in which a person has a problem with someone, complains about it to no end, makes mean comments and defenses, and yet never talks to the person in question or does ANYTHING to move towards solving the problem.

5. Describe the interior of the perfect room for you.

Hmmmmmm....Lot's of little levels and shelves to crawl upon and curl up among, drawers to no end for keeping things in, a large, comfortable, accomodating sitting arrangement for guests, a big clear workspace in the middle, windchimes hanging from the ceiling, aaaand.....a firepole, sliding board to the room below, and secret passage. yes.



Fun times! I guess I'll follow everyone else's lead. Post here if you want ME to ask YOU 5 questions.

Weekend adventures

The weekend has been packed full, but of fun and games instead of changeovers, so it's all good.

Most of the UConnites ventured back to school, so the Festival is a bit more empty now. I woke up Saturday morning very puzzled because someone was in my room (Katie-Bug had moved into another room, so I was confused), but it was just Ali. She'd come to say goodbye, which made me very happy, and bestowed upon me the tricky mission of taking care of Thumbs, and making sure he doesn't drink too much.

Carleton also left that day (I'm on the ancient beast of a prop shop computer), which made me sad, but we got to hang out a bit before he left. We even finally beat Nitrous Oxide on normal, so that sort of completed the summer. He'll be back for this coming strike anyhow, so it won't be so bad.

That night, us remaining folk had a Slumber Party in Ripley Apartment, complete with Halloween and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and a bit of Silent Hill 2 thrown in for good measure. It opened up a whole new door of opportunity for scaring the bejeezus out of Sara.

Sunday, we bid farewell to LambChops, and promptly went on a shopping trip. As everyone is gone and I'll have little to do this week, I decided to take up knitting (after a quick lesson from Katie Bug, I'm on my way to a new scarf, made of llama wool to honor Ian, and so that I can wear it in the winter when Jeff wears his alpaca jacket, and we can match, or something). Shopping would have been fun, but I didn't realize that Thumbs was a for-real shopper, and had to go into EVERY SINGLE STORE just to find a stupid sweatshirt.

Anyway, there was dinner and icecream and a bonfire and fun times the rest of the evening. Marshmallows and everything.

Agenda for the week: knit, rest, research, and prepare for the going-home. My brother will be visiting soon! Yea!

Tinkerbell's TinkerHut of Lurve

Whew! It's been a busy few days, hence the lack of updates, but oh well, we'll catch up!

First off, visitors. Dave Clark visited me on Thursday, which was totally awesome. My parents have been in town all weekend. They're going to see Assassins tonight, then leave tomorrow morning. It's been fun--we got to go to an air show, to Six Flags, to the Berkshire Museum to see the William Morris exhibit AGAIN! Plus, I've been eating quite well since their visit.

Peter Pan, though it nearly killed the lot of us, went up and is good. Keller and I, however, are caught in the middle of a tricky situation. The name of the game show is: Who Get's Tink's House!

The situation: Tinkerbell's house, which looks totally awesome, has been in the eye of several wanters, but who is its rightful owner>

The contestants:

Noel--the props artisan. She built the thing. It took her forever, and she put soooo much work into constructing it. She thought it would be good to have, you know, for her portfolio, and even though she took lots of process pictures, she called dibs. She had to leave to go to school, but was going to pay us to ship it to her.

Tim--the designer. He designed Tink's House for Noel to build. Nevermind the fact that the measurements he gave were off and his scale was wrong, it's his concept. He saw it while Noel was building it, and said "Ohh! It's so pretty! I want that when the show is over."

Kate--the executive director of the company. She wants to buy it, and her word is pretty much the final one on any situation in the theater.

What to do what to do! I hope Keller and I don't get caught in the middle too badly.

In other news, I miss Louisville, just look what kinds of shoddy things happen to local booksellers when I'm not around!

Good and Bad.

I was watching a friend look at my webpage today, which is somewhat of a bizarre sensation, and she was going through my "By Others," section. I realized how much I miss my online communities, and a wave of longing for consistent internet hit me again.

I miss the DT community quite a bit, I'm going to be so out of the loop on the message boards when I get back from the summer. I'd already been so busy at the end of last year that a visit to DTMirc was a once-in-a-blue-moon-sign-of-the-apocolypse sort of thing, but I still miss everybody, and I miss the art forums and seeing how everyone is improving. Graaaaah, I'm such an internet junkie!

Yesterday was somewhat of a bittersweet experience. On the fun side, Assassins opened and was a fine performance. It was funny, and quite dark and intense in places, which I was not expecting. Everyone laughed at the scene with the dead dog that I worked so hard to make, and I beamed all proud-like (I would show pictures, but it's somewhat grotesque). Anyway, the show was great and things were looking up for the evening.

On the un-fun side, back at the housing complex, after the show and before the opening night party, we found Jill's (the housing complex's cook) cat, Linus. He had been hit by a car. Losing a pet is tragic, but losing one in such a way is incredibly wrenching. There was a group of us gathered around to comfort him. His back was broken and he was crying, as were the rest of us. Someone had gone for Jill, and she came to get him, but there are no nearby vets that are open 24 hours for emergencies. I bawled all night, out of sympathy for Jill, as she'd already lost a cat earlier in the summer, and for Linus. He was dead before the morning.

The day was drearier because of it, and was just the start. People are starting to leave for the summer, the stresses of getting Peter Pan open press harder on all the shops, people being called home because of mysterious family emergencies...it's all a bit much to happen in one day.

At any rate, I am not overly saddened. Things will start looking back up again, I'm quite certain,

Berkshire Safari

Hooray! My journal entries are back and safe and sound. You know, living in New England for the summer has been quite an experience. I have discovered many new things and spotted many new creatures, and fortunately I've had my digital camera handy.

Sooo, today I thought I'd take you on a safari of sorts, and show you the many creatures I have encountered on my stay.



First up, we have this really spifty moth thing I found on the curtain. Look at its fuzzy antennae! Isn't it neat? It's orange, and METALLIC BLUE!! That totally rocks.


These butterflies are everywhere up here. I don't know what kind they are, but they are very pretty and abundant. We don't have them in Kentucky, I don't think.


Not all creatures of the Berkshires are friendly and bug-like. One must beware of the ferocious parasite alien dachsund, which lays eggs in an innocent victim's chest cavity, only to have them burst open as they hatch, allowing a dachsund to burrow out of one's ribcage to freedom, only to plant eggs in other unsuspecting victims. Fear!!


Next is another cool bug. I named him Lu Bu, after my obsession with Dynasty Warriors and his nifty long antennae.


There is a virus that creeps about the Berkshires. It infects people and makes them do strange, abnormal things. Like making carpenters sew. Weird.


We have mice in the breezeway next to the prop shop. The other day, momma mouse transfered 7 baby mice from one location to another. The babies are so cute! Little balls of fluff. Daaaaaaawwwwwww.


Sometimes the baby mice would wander around fearlessly and not follow their mother, so she'd get fed up and carry them.


Strange creatures lurk in costume storage....very strange.




I hope you enjoyed your adventure! Now, off with me, two shows to go...

This and That

So the usual crew braved the elements Monday night, traveling through frightening thunderstorms to go to the usual American Chopper night hangout. We were all excited about the newest episode of American Chopper (Mikey was gonna build a bike! What's not to love). However, we found out that when they say "On next week's episode..." at the end of the show, they really mean "the next time we show a new episode..." Alas, reruns. To add insult to injury, next Monday they're having a Monster House marathon. What's up with that??? Nobody watches Monster House!! Yeesh.

Dynasty Warriors 4 is quite possibly the most fun I've ever had playing a video game (it's nearing Halo as my favorite multiplayer game! Eeek!). I highly recommend it.

Yesterday, Matt (my boss) and I had to drive to Connecticut to return some prop furniture we'd borrowed from another theater. It was a nice little trip. Being in New England for the summer has made me realize a few things about my own home region that I would have never noticed before. Granted, the existance of full service gas stations was a new thing for me when I got up here, but we've found a few other things. To go on this trip, we had to take the shop truck, which is a clunky old thing with no AC and only a tape deck. We thought it would be amusing to get some tapes to play on the way. Now, I am from Kentucky, and Matt is from Georgia, and so we were always used to the fact that when you go into a gas station, there's always a rack of really obscure music tapes up near the counter, with such favorites as "Ultra 70's Funk," "Cowboy Songs," and "The Best of the 80's" type music. Apparently, though, this commodity (or oddity) does not exist in New England, as we were unable to find any gas stations that sold tapes! How sad! Perhaps it is a southern thing? At any rate, we had found a Primus tape in the Prop Shop, so that kept us entertained for the ride.

No more days off for 3 weekends, it's going to be hard core! I think I'll survive nicely, though. If I am lucky, I may be able to work in another internet update before the summer runs out! I miss my computer.

Sloooow afternoon

Sittin all alone in the props shop. Well, not entirely alone, Keller (our props carpenter) is working away in the back. We were going to go pick up some donations today, but one of us had to stay behind in case Keller needed any help, guess who drew the short straw. Oh well.

Since Tommy is opening tonight, we're kind of slow, so there's not much to do right now. Things will pick up soon enough, though. We'll have to crank out a lot for Assassins and Peter Pan, but for right now, we're not busy (hence the journal update on the agonizingly slow 14.4 K modem x_x).

I made the luckiest phone call ever the other day. I was giving Brendan a call to say "hello," and I just happened to catch him out shopping with Ken, Evan, and Dave Clark (plus, they were at Great Escape, where Adam Watson works). I got to talk to all of them, it was great! Super bonus phone call. I miss all of them, and I can't wait to see them when I get home. At least I'll get to see Dave, who is coming up to see Assassins.

This Sunday we have our last day off until all shows are open. After that, we'll have 3 changeover weekends in a row, then everyone starts leaving. I'll be here till the 31st, though, so after Peter Pan opens, I'll have 2 weeks where NOTHING happens. Keller and I will probably spend a few days cleaning the props shop (we'll be the only props crew left), then it's like 2 weeks of pseudo-vacation. Pseudo in that many of the friends I've made here will be gone, and that I don't have a car, so sight-seeing may be tricky. Perhaps something can be arranged, though. My parents will be coming up, and my dad seemed interested in going to Six Flags. I'd definately be up for that again.

So, kinda slow at the moment, but later should be fun. Carleton bought Dynasty Warriors 4, which he says to be an awesome game, so we will have a little PS2 fest sometime.

DOOM!

Reason why Carleton is awesome #1: He let me use his computer to update my website.

About that Mardi Gras party, it was awesome! I was so excited to see how everyone would decorate those cheap, cheap, CHEAP masks we gave them 2 days before the party. I was quite impressed with everyone's creativity. Go and see! Isn't everybody pretty?

http://wertle.com/photos.html

Reason why Carleton is awesome #2: He has all Invader Zim episodes on his computer and has me watch them regularly.

This is important, because I totally missed out on the Invader Zim phenomenon. It ran when I was at school, and thus not watching tv, and then ended by the time I was home for the summer. Apparently, having not seen more than 2 episodes was not acceptable, so I'm getting to watch them all. The results are rather predictable--I think it's hilarious, and I love Gir. That is all.

O.o

Carleton is awesome because he lets me use his computer to check my email! Hooray!! I'm hovered in the 'lectrician's office while the Stillborn Lover preview goes on above us. It has been a mostly good tech week (in spite of pesky actor notes). All went well, except for some general confusion about me having to screw a table to the floor. I will demonstrate. *ahem*

Matt (props boss): Go screw that table to the floor
Me: Okay.

*walks over to aforementioned table with screw gun to notice the 'lectricians moving it for space for a ladder*

Me: Oh! The 'lectricians must need to be here to focus and such.

*walks away*

Scenic Designer: Hey, go screw that table to the floor
Me: Um...I think the 'lectricians need that space.
Scenic Designer to Lighting Designer: Do you guys need this space?
Lighting Designer: Um, no...
Scenic Designer: Okay, go screw it down then

*walks over to move table back, angry 'lectricians say "No", walks back to prop shop*

Matt: Go screw that table into the floor.
Me: Um, the 'lectricians need the space.
Matt: Go wait for them to finish.

*walks back to main stage*

Me to 'lectricians: Um, when can I screw down this table?
Carleton: GO AWAY OR I WILL TAKE THAT SCREW GUN AND ATTACH THOSE HINGES TO YOUR EYES!! RAAAAAAAAAAARRR! (fire ensues)

*note, he didn't really say that, it was implied, I think.

*runs back to props shop in terror*

So, after much confusion, they decided that they really didn't want that table screwed down anyway. Yeesh! Confusion is okay, though, I suppose. All is well otherwise. We are having a Mardi Gras theme party after the show opening tomorrow, and I'm all excited because I get to make a mask. There really are a shortage of costumey, mask-ish holidays in the world. Anyway, I don't want to hog the puter too much, so I am off!

Strike

Whew! We're almost finished with our first big Main Stage strike. We have all the props cleared out, and we're waiting for the big truck of scenary to get back to see if the carps need help unloading it. Two tech weekends in a row, no days off for awhile.

The good news is, I got to go see that William Morris exhibit at the Berkshire Museum. It was AWESOME. I almost peed myself. There was other contemporary glass there too, so I was all running around with Adam (Master 'lectrician) and Carleton (Assistant Master 'lectrician) and rambling my head off. It was great.

Truck is back, gotta go unload, see ya!

FUN!

My family has always been a super-planning one. We always get our tickets to amusement parks in advance, and I've never been to one on a weekend. You know, that sort of thing. So on Saturday when it was spontaneously decided that we would go to Six Flags on Sunday, I felt like it was some grave sin that we would plan it last minute.

I got over that quickly enough, and we had an AWESOME time at the park. It's been much too long since I've ridden a roller coaster, and I must say the Superman ride is by far the most awesome coaster I've ever been on (although, due to the high speeds of the ride, I would salivate uncontrollably, and end up drooling all over myself. A small price to pay for good fun). It was also nice, because until now, I've only been to two amusement parks over and over again. Riding unfamiliar coasters was quite refreshing. It was a good way to spend our last day off for the next two weeks

I would write more, but tonight is American Chopper night, and I have to get back to the laundromatte to pick up my freshly cleaned clothes. In the meantime, you guys should all go say hello to D Flo (), and read his journal. I'm sure it will be totally awesome.

(as a side note, thanks to everyone who's been sending me letters! I love getting mail, and you should be expecting letters from me on the way!)

Update

Whew! Been awhile since an update, but it's been awhile since I could snag a ride to the library. Many things have happened! I will divide them up by "good" or "bad" on a case by case basis.

Bad: It's quite hot, and humid too. The sort of weather where you drink water every half an hour and never have to pee.
Good: At least it's stopped raining!

Bad: I had to use the router last week, which is the scariest power tool ever (on the up side, my favorite power tool--the compound sliding miter saw--is doing quite nicely and has yet to cut off my hand).
Good: I got to dull the blade of a machete by beating it against a rock.

Bad: You know how I was gonna wait until the end of the summer to buy myself a PS2? You know, as a reward? WELL, due to the unspeakable PEER PRESSURE of a certain, left-shoulder-perching, demon winged friend (I won't mention any names (*cough*Carlton*cough*), I went out and bought one, and RUINED my goal.
Good: I have a PS2 now.

Bad: While buying said PS2, I also purchased Ghost Recon, and though I am 21 years old, I got CARDED for buying a Rated R game.
Good: I'm sure it'll do me good when I'm 40.

Bad: I'm terrible at volleyball.
Good: Nate the Carp taught me how to throw a hammer! Now I will return to school and amaze all my ultimate frisbee friends! ...or something.

Overall, things are good, plenty of work, plenty of play.

By the way, does anyone have a spare LJ code laying about? D Flo wants to start a journal, so he'll have a place to rant, and so I won't have to advertise his music for him (he can do it himself!). Hope everyone is well!

Books

I brought The Stand with me to Stockbridge, because I thought I could use a big book to keep me occupied for awhile. I like it, I read it last summer, but I think the main reason I enjoy reading it is that it is very long, and thus can sustain my fast reading habits for more than a few days.

I finished the thing in a week and a half. After sitting a moment to figure out what to read next, I discovered that I still have Brendan's copy of Watchmen that he loaned to me awhile back (so Brendan, if you've been searching for it, you know where it is now ^_^). I started it yesterday and am nearly through.

I was fretting all day about what I would read next, and where I would get a book, fretting all through checking my email. "Where on *earth* am I going to find a book to read?" I thought. Then I remembered I was in a library and felt really dumb.

Seriously, though, it's been a long time since I've gotten books from a library for anything more than research, I'd nearly forgotten what wonderful things libraries are (and not just for an internet addict to check her email while she's stranded in Massachusetts).

I picked up Watership Down, because it's something I've always intended to read, and also The Once and Future King, because my friend, Carlton, and I were pondering over its role in X2, and he said that I should read it and then tell him all about it. I guess being a fast reader has its advantages. If I can finish The Stand in a week and a half, I should have no trouble finishing two normal-sized books in two weeks.

Meanwhile, if anyone has any good recommendations of very long books (like, 1500 pages or more...and Not Moby Dick), leave them here. I need long books!

Rest

I thought that I'd be so busy this summer that I'd burn myself out. While I am very busy at work, with plenty of different things to do, I'm actually getting a lot of rest. With none of the extra responsibilities and activities and work I usually pick up at school, I have plenty of time to sit quietly, read for fun (I missed it so much!), and sleep. I'm averaging 9 to 11 hours a night, and my body loves it, I think.

Activities vary quite a bit here. Either I'm running around doing everything or sitting and doing nothing. One night will be filled with volleyball and video games, while another will be sitting and watching movies all night. Thursday night was the company picnic and an exciting bowling night, while Monday I wandered quietly about the housing unit, finding maps with circles and x's in them, and labeled them as "Helipad."

I don't mind the variation, and I certainly don't mind the rest. I'm having time to write letters (though I only have one or two addresses to write to right now, hopefully that will change) and also journal (the for-real kind) and draw. It's a perfect balance. The work keeps me from being bored out of my mind, and the free evenings give me plenty of rest.

Hooray for summer camp for grown-ups!

Oh yeah...

As a side note, I'm sad that I don't get real mail. So, if you're bored and have money for postage, send me a letter, or a scrap of paper, or a random doodle, or a photo turned into a makeshift post card. Anything. As a return, I promise to write back, as I LOVE getting mail, I love writing for real letters, and I have plenty of time to spend writing them. That is all.


Lisa Brown
c/o BTF
PO Box 797
Stockbridge, MA 01262

the Brendan Phenomenon

Based on some of Jeff's stories, the Berkshire Theatre Festival seems to have a history of lengthy summer prank wars. I think I just experienced a first strike of sorts.

Theater people, especially tech people, always baffle me with the supplies of tools they seem to have instant access to. So, when I woke up at 4:30 this morning to the sound of drilling in the hall, I wasn't overly surprised.

I wandered out into the hallway in my pajamas, only to find the Master Carpenter screwing sheets of plywood in front of my neighbor's door. He seemed quite startled at being found out, but I think I sleepily shook my fist and muttered something along the line of "Pesky carps and their confounded pranks!" and went back to bed, unconcerned that my neighbors were now boarded up inside their own room.

This brings me to a new addition to a strange phenomenon in my life, the Brendan series. I knew two Brendans before this summer. The first Brendan was my Kempo instructor back in Louisville, who was inadvertently poetic and insightful, if not a bit silly, and was a great teacher. The second was our very own Brendan Adkins, a multitalented and very close friend of mine. Now a third Brendan has been added to my series, one who boards up his crew in their own rooms in the dead of the night. I'm considering referring to him as #3, to avoid confusion in conversation with all the Brendans I seem to be acquiring.

Anyway, things are going well. We had a day off yesterday, but I don't think I'll have another for a good long while. No matter, I'm still having fun.

Massacusetts

Woohoo! Here I am in the Stockbridge Library, alive and well. Things are going great. I really love my job so far, and the people I work with are all really cool, I'm so busy that I hardly even notice my lack of internet...

Well, that's not exactly true. Yesterday, we managed to get dial-up in the prop shop for research, and I was able to check my email for the first time in a few days. After I was finished, I walked outside. My boss noticed me, made a strange face, and said "You look like you just had sex! You're SICK!"

Okay okay, so maybe I am a bit addicted to the internet, but I'm sure I'll get over it. Some highlights from the past week.

- I drove up here with Jeff, and for the whole 900 miles of the drive, his cat, Pollock, rode on my lap. My first impression at Berkshire was me covered in cat fur, but I didn't mind so much.

- It was cold here the first couple of days. The other day, I spilled a bowl of hot soup on my leg, and my first reaction was "Mmm, that feels really good..."

- While prop hunting yesterday, I came across a shop called "Needful Things." Is that not a little creepy? In New England no less! I was almost sure that if I went in, I would be able to locate the more difficult props (like a 1930's payphone), but that I'd have to sell my soul in return. I passed the shop quietly.

- There's a glass gallery here! Right here in little 'ole Stockbridge! I peeked in the window today, and they have Lino Tagliapietra stuff and Chihuly stuff and Billy Morris stuff! I'm going to have to go in there on Sunday and gawk and drool.

- So far, this is like summer camp for grown ups. However, you should take that with a grain of salt, as I've never been to summer camp before. Maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll get to update this journal every week or so (though, I'm afraid chances of getting my website updated look grim).

I hope everyone is doing well! Keep me informed of adventures on your end!

The End!

Whoosh! I let a lot happen with no entries. Here we go...

Finals went well. Senior week was relatively good (a lot of packing and playing of video games). A lot of bonding happened. Jeff taught me to drive a stick (which is good, since I'll be helping with the driving to Massachusetts, it'll be good to know how x_x). For the first time since high school, we broke out the old Magic cards (D Flo and , after killing me and Brendan off, spent like 2 more hours trying to kill each other).

While Wednesday and Thursday were full of cheer and play and video games, Friday was a bit intense in the wrong way. The night was highlighted by the completion of our year long proclamation of "Dude! We should hook up two x-boxes!" I totally won. Anyway, that was the fun part. The un-fun part was that every sliver of residual drama leftover and building up throughout the entire year EXPLODED. Drama here, drama there, venting here, crying there, misery and ranting and purging, you know...it probably would have been less dramatic if not for the addition of alcohol to the whole formula. Feh, no good.

Saturday, I frantically gathered the last of my belongings, went home, spent like 3 collective hours with my family, came back to school, took one more "confidence drive" on the stick shift, bought a cake, sat down to spend some time with my friends before they graduate...and realized it was frickin midnight! Tomorrow will be madness, with graduation (I have to be a Junior Marshall, which, unfortunately, does not involve guns, a star, not even a cowboy hat). Jeff wants to leave for Massachusetts right after commencement, so no summer break for Lisa.

Long story short, I'll be noticeably absent from the internet for the summer. If anyone's trying to email me at my aol address, I've blocked it from email (to cut back on the spam for the summer), so mail me instead at my wertle.com address. I was intent on doing one more website update before I left, but that didn't happen. Alas! Well, there will always be the library. I imagine it will be slightly difficult to cram all of my normal internet chores into 15 minutes, but I'll manage. I'll at the very least try and update this one.

I hope everyone has a lovely summer! I'd like to reflect on the year, what I've learned, experiences that have been important to me, life lessons and all that, but I don't have time. Never enough time!!!!!!!!

David Flora--musical genius (part III)

Another theme based on one of his classmates..

Dilengaire

He's got that whole "capture personality with music" bit down pretty good.

David Flora--musical genius (part 2)

The Centre composers put a show together awhile back, and I fetched up a recording of it so I could show off D Flo's music again.

These pieces (I'll post one now and one later) had to be played off the composition software, because our dear Flora writes music that is TOO COMPLEX FOR HUMAN HANDS. The midi piano sounds really good, though.

This is a theme based on one of his classmates:
Grace Period

Enjoy!

Hello Moon

The Matrix Reloaded has become a new and easy way to pick out exactly who speaks French among a group of people gathered in a movie theater.

I watched the eclipse tonight, it was nice and clear (save a few wandering clouds), and it was fun to rouse up others in the vacinity to go and watch. It started out as a large group of students and professors lounging on the side of the road to watch. As the eclipse lingered in totality for a bit, people wandered back in to study for their respective exams, or get sleep or some such.

I chilled out a bit longer outside, watching the moon with Sheldon's cat, and took Inky's departure to go do kittie night time things as a signal to head on in. By in, of course, I mean Rodes. Brendan, D Flo, and Alison left long ago to do a scene rehearsal, and have not been back. I fear Grant has eaten them. I hope they got to see the eclipse also.

Discrete Math exam tomorrow, then I'm clear until Monday. Although I feared the speed with which the year was ending, I forgot how everything seems to sloooooooooow down during finals week. It's a good thing.

CD Player Woes

My CD player is shot, which I discovered late last night after tearing apart my entire room to figure out what that obnoxious buzzing noise was.

I got my first portable CD player for my birthday when I was in the 6th grade. It was a Sony, and it lasted me until my sophomore year in college. I think that...(does some finger-toe math)..8 years is quite a respectable lifespan for a cd player. Granted, by that time it was a clunky old warhorse, had to be held closed with a rubberband, and needed extra encouragement to get the buttons to work, but it still did its job.

Sophomore year of college, after Christmas and before my England trip, I decided to treat myself to a new cd player, and retire the warhorse. The wretched new thing barely lasted 6 months before it broke. I tried going up on price a bit with the next one, an Aiwa that was working wonderfully until last night. I had so much faith in it!

Now, I do put my cd players through some abuse. I fall asleep on them, drop them, smash them in my backpack, expose them to dangerous chemicals (oil paints), and the like. I might need to break down and buy a "really nice" one next. I don't know if I can find one that I can squeeze another 8 years out of, but one that would last at *least* a year would be nice.

Anyone have any recommendations?

Last Day

Today was awfully busy for being the last day of classes, especially since I only had one class! I was running all around to go to meetings and picnics and blowslots and stuff. The last glass slot of the year is always a bit bittersweet...good because by this point I'm exhausted of the studio in general, bad because I know it won't be until the fall until I get back in the hot shop. I bought my closers some cookies tonight, because they've done such a good job helping me close all year. Last time to close the studio, my hands are free of art barn responsibilities! (Except for finishing my final project, of course).

So, technically, I suppose I should be out frolicking since there are no classes tomorrow, but I'm terribly tired from the day. Plus, everyone seems a bit busy tonight, too busy for fun. I did get on my universal AIM settings today for the first time in like FOREVER. It was nice to have some time to just sit and chat.

I don't know when I intend on getting out of bed tomorrow. I considered setting the whole day aside for rest, since my first final isn't until Friday, but I think I have too much work to do. I have a lot of coldworking to do in the studio, and I need to get my materials from classes all organized in preparation for studying. I also need to start packing things...things to go home and things to go to Massachusetts with me this summer. I suppose tomorrow (well...today, technically) will be a work day, and Thursday will be reserved for such fun things as the Matrix and lunar eclipses.

Ramble

I tend to think about a lot of things under the delirium of being sick. I got a nasty cold-thing earlier in the week, and I'm just starting to get better. However, under my icky daze, I found time to ponder great questions in life. Who am I? What am I going to do with my future? Why do I have "4 dimensional Mandelbrot set" written on my hand? Being sick induces strange things.

I think I may have found a solution to my art focus problem. On a glass trip to Louisville the other day, I saw some work by Lisabeth Sterling, and was absolutely astounded. She does very detailed and elaborate engravings on glass, and it struck me that if I should try this, it may very well be the perfect combination of 2D and 3D that I've been looking for. I'm going to give some engravings a shot for my final project this year, and see how I feel about it.

Needless to say, that is a big relief to me. Consequently, it made room for some other worrisome bits. May is flying out from underneath me, my last classes are this week, and before I know it, graduation will fling my friends out into the real world and punt me into Massachusetts for the summer. I get really clingy at this time of year. My very close friends are going away, and I would like nothing more than to spend time with them before they vanish. However, this time of year is so very busy, it's hard to do. Excessive clinginess, therefore, is frowned upon.

I spend too much time at Rodes. Brendan assures me otherwise, but would he really come out and tell me if he thought I did? Becoming a near default regular at the place does have its comforts and advantages, but it also means I'm not a guest anymore, so no one's really obligated to treat me like one. It's very understandable, everyone is so busy. I feel invasive and in the way a lot of times, but every time I resolve to stay away and in my own space, I have the need to not be alone. I do need to round up all my things from there at some point, and pack them to be sent home. Bleh, I don't like the end of the year, it's too exhausting and heavy.

Honors

I got to have an extremely brief visit with and yesterday as I ventured to UK to see their Beowulf Cluster for a presentation. I was sad that the stay was so short, but I had to get back to Centre for the Honors Convocation, because I'd received a cryptic note in campus mail informing me that I would receive an honor.

I also learned an important lesson about Centre's Honors Convocation. It is very different from the honors assemblies in high school. The college superiors must have done research into how little one really cares about a fancy certificate that you'll just throw in a box as soon as you return home, and decided to give students something worthwhile for their honors.

Now, we all know that there are two fundamental worthwhile prizes: food and money. Having missed dinner, I would have been thrilled to receive a cookie for my outstanding achievement in art, but when I discovered that the little envelope I got did NOT contain a dinky certificate, but a check, I was equally enthusiastic.

If they'd given us money in high school honors assemblies, I would have been much more spirited about going! So that was my pleasant surprise for the week, I'll use it to buy art supplies...or maybe a playstation 2 ¬_¬

Carnival

I always forget about Carnival until it is right upon me, even this year when little ooze-shaped paper advertisements showed up everywhere from dorm doors to the back pockets of unexpecting launderers returning to fold their clothes from the dryer.

Carnival is awesome. It's a big festival with live music, endless supplies of free cotton candy, snocones, and popcorn, and large inflatable play devices. You know, the kind of big bouncy things you played in as a kid, only they're more awesome because they're college-student-sized (and even MORE awesome for little kids, since they're twice as gigantic).

Anyway, I thought this year's Carnival was getting off to a bad start, as my stomach was upset all day. However, I decided to have fun in spite of this. I challenged Strother to a race in the Safari Challenge (a large, inflatable obstacle course with a plastic palm tree for setting). In my frantic scramble to win the race, my back bent in a way it was not supposed to. It was one of those injuries that didn't hurt right away, but you FELT it, and you knew it would hurt like nothing else in a matter of time.

As all people are entitled to make ridiculously poor decisions every now and again, I thought to myself "Well, my back's going to stop working here in a bit, I'd better use it as much as I can before that happens," and proceeded to play on the inflato-bungee course (on which I promptly injured my head and neck).

In spite of the fact that today I can barely hobble without some sort of pain, I had a fun time at Carnival. Chalk Circle was also awesome. David Flora is a musical genius. That is all.

Frickin decisions

I have a dilemna.

I'm almost certain I've brought this up several times in several different places, but it has come down to crunch time. I have to pick a focus for my art major.

Up until now, I'd been leaning almost 100% towards glass. The reasoning, since I listed out everything I could and realized I love glass and painting EXACTLY the same, was because Nick and Augustine (my fellow art majors) are doing painting, so I figured I'd throw in some variety. However, I talked to Sheldon about it, and a number of issues have brought themselves up.

1. Steve is going on sabbatical in the fall term. Now, I could still do an independent study, and I'm sure Bohack could still help me, but Sheldon was concerned that I wouldn't get the proper critique I needed to develop work for my show. This is indeed a serious concern, for while my glass is improving, it's nowhere near where I'd like it to be and I have a long way to go.

2. I explained to Sheldon that another reason I was leaning towards glass was that I felt it was an easier outlet for my cartoony nature than painting. My oil paintings always seem to turn out darker and more serious, and I think I want to do something lighter for my show. However, Sheldon then said, "Well, you have a solid enough foundation in painting that if you'd like to pursue a more humorous route, we could arrange that. I mean, you could bring in a portfolio of your outside work and we could look over it and set something up, I've seen your website and the comics you do for The Cento, but I'm sure you have other things." Basically, that's Sheldon-speak for "you can do cartoons for your senior show if you want to." My response..

O.o

This changes EVERYTHING. I'd dismissed the possibility of doing my more illustrative stuff for my senior show in the very beginning, because I didn't think it'd be appropriate, or thought Sheldon would dismiss the idea. This opens up a whoooooooole new realm of possibilities.

So this swings me right back to dead center regarding the choice between glass and painting. Now, let it be known, that this is not an issue of doing both. A lot of people have noted that "it's not fair" that I have to pick, or say "why can't you do mixed media?" That's not an issue at all. Even if I *had* the option of doing both, I would NOT do it, because...simply enough...I would die. Explode even.

It's a troubling decision for me. All my glass buddies want me to do glass, and Emil hovers over me when I'm not looking to say I should do painting. I'm hesitant to ask advice from aquaintances, because glass is usually the default answer (because it's cool). If I had some idea of what I was going to be doing with my art in the future, it could help me decide, but as of yet I have no idea.

I suppose, all in all, it's a better situation to be in than others. I mean, I love them both, so no matter which I choose, I will be happy doing it. I will just miss not being able to do the other one. This is the first term I haven't been able to take both glass and painting, and while I miss painting terribly. I know that if the roles were reversed, I would be dying to get into the hot shop. I'm getting no gut feeling about which of these is the better choice, but this matter is too big to let the Coin of Fate decide. Graaaaaaaaaaah!!!

...on a less important, more aesthetic note, I also have to decide whether I want to get a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. Sheldon says to pick whichever looks best behind my name, and Dr. Shannon recommends I pick the one corresponding to my preferred color for the hoods. It's nice to have a less pressing decision to make in addition to the bigger one. What do you think?

Regarding the bigger decision, I just don't know. I keep hoping I will talk to someone and they will give me the perfect advice, and I'll be able to decide without hesitation. Maybe I'll go talk to Judith.