3 days left until my last semester...

I got an email yesterday from the Book Arts teacher.  He said that since I took the beginning class in the spring, I did not need to attend the regular class time.  He invited me to meet with him next week to talk about what projects I'd like to work on this semester.

It's a good thing Rachel called tonight because this and other school-related items were making me batty.  I was fully prepared to do more complicated versions of the Book Arts projects and instead I'm essentially getting independent study!  I could start making weird, beautiful little books right away!  This is really interesting news, but I was not completely thrilled by it.  For one, I built my schedule around this class.  If I had known I wouldn't have to actually be there, I might have chosen other classes than what fit around it.  But the registration system would not have let me be in two places at once, so this is probably something I should not fret about.  And this random schedule change does let me work.  I don't plan on working very hard, but I can be there in the back, typing up a storm and ready to lend a hand if needs be.

I should start sketching out some ideas.  I am really excited about the idea of working on my own projects.

Tonight we did laundry and I got a busted dryer.  We were there for three hours instead of our normal two.  There was no time to walk the dogs so I put them each on the treadmill.  Jasmine did fine, but Riley (here's a surprise) spazzed out.  I'm going to continue to try, maybe get them on in the mornings so they have some little bit of exercise before we're gone all day.  Practice makes Olympic champions!

Yet another reason why Steve Martin is awesome.

From Q & A with Jack Black, Steve Martin, and Owen Wilson about The Big Year, a new comedy about competitive bird-watching:

Entertainment Weekly What about you, Steve?  How did you prep for the film?

Martin I just went out and shot as many birds as I could so I could look at them close-up.

Black That's really missing the point, I think, Steve.

Ceramics

You've been waiting for this, I know.  I thought I would use a real camera but then I would never get it done, and I am in a productive mood.

Let's start with the crap.

My teacher passed right over these in the critique, ha ha ha.  These were originally going to be bookends, attached to slabs of clay and standing upright.  I was going to make signs from ASL to say "I'm fine."  The green should be resting on its unfinished side and pointing to the chest, and the purple should be standing up with the thumb touching the chest.  I started these early on when I was still floundering for ideas and by the next day I had a better idea and abandoned this project.  By the last firing, these two were still sitting on my shelf wrapped in plastic and I thought I would just throw them in for no good reason.  My friend in the class thought they would make funny paperweights.

This is also not my favorite.  I liked it better unglazed.  If I had more time I would have made him much bigger with defined spikes.

I do like this.  I left most of it unglazed and just used black and a little pink on her ears.

Tracy thinks she looks like a giraffe, which is fine.  She's already part goat, part bat, part sheep...

Wow, that was a little dark.  Sorry.  I sent out my other project, which were little puzzle pieces.  I took pictures of them but I can't find them right now.

This is my favorite.

Chris thinks we ought to make tiles and sell them as flooring.

Who doesn't love a random picture blog?

I just finished this puzzle.

It wasn't the most difficult puzzle, but it had some neat shapes.

Ant wants me to do this one next.

He told me he was going to pick out my next puzzle and I knew he'd pick that one- he's been eyeing it since I bought six puzzles at Savers on Tuesday.  I usually follow DadnPatti's old "No Landscapes" policy, but it was only 80 cents and it does look neat.  And I am a masochist.

I tried to get Ant to change his mind and choose the other hidden picture puzzle.

"But I picked it with looooooove," he said.

Great.

"Which one are you going to do?" he asked, grinning.

"The damn Australia one, and you know it!"

"Because I picked it with loooooooove."

While I'm here and because I'll never get to it again, here are some other random pictures.

Here is Ant at the laundromat.

He got one of the school trumpets, thank god, and he seems to be picking it up fine.

Chris, on the other hand...

Dad got me some birthday shoes in San Diego.

They are Dr. Scholl's and have built in massaging gel so now I can honestly say that I'm gellin', but then I would have to stab myself for being so obnoxious.

San Diego Pictures

Note to self: Buy more toothpaste.

Here I am with my Aunt Susan modeling flowers from Dad's front yard.

I burned my poor wittle wegs at the beach so Dad went out to his yard and got me some aloe.

We went back to the beach later for dinner.  Here's Susan.

I love succulents.  I don't know if that pea looking thing is a succulent, but it looks like it and I want it.

Here is Susan playing with bubble wrap.  The damn things were nearly unpoppable.

Me and my cousin Niki finally seeing each other after 22 years.  Apparently I inherited only half of Mom's can't-smile-without-squinting condition.

Here I am with Niki and her friend Rox.  Niki and I are texting each other in order to have a private conversation at the table.

Here is Dad as a young'un.

Dad's friend must have made a hundred of these cookies.  Be thankful I'm not showing you the cake.

Dad played some songs at his party.

I also got him in red.

This is at the meditation garden.  I was fascinated by the koi.

He is a very hungry hippo.

Maybe the photography class will not be so bad.

Here's me, Dad, and some lady.

Yay!

Blogs

I am sitting in Dad's office in San Diego at 10:42 at night when I should be packing my crap and going to sleep.  I have been staying up late here and reading the book my aunt Kate bought for me.  When I return I will have lots of fun telling you about my trip but for now I will just tell you that I am tired and ready to sleep.  That said, I will probably go pack, then read my book, then listen to Chris's ipod and put on silent concerts in the bathroom mirror.

Tracy, I'm sorry that I am so obviously annoyed with you but I told you I would not be very happy if you didn't come.  I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures.

It is going to take a lot of writing to tell you about this trip and to come to terms with it.  It was emotionally draining, especially after finishing that class and immediately running off to San Diego.  I am really tired.  Dad burned a bunch of pictures for me so you can look forward to lots of pictures both from this trip and older stuff, though I'm not sure I'll be able to top the Arizona pics.

I have a little time to crank out the blogs before the fall semester starts but there's lots to do, like order books and apply for graduation!  Yay!  It will still be busy, but blogs will start arriving shortly.  Woo-hoo!

Summer classes suck.

I need one more paragraph for my last paper in Fear, Risk & Rhetorical Criticism.  Then I have to write that frigging cover letter AND create a handout defining the method I created and how to use it.  I am over it.  Tomorrow I have to go to school to turn this paper in and present my method to the class.  Then I have to go to the laundromat, pack, and get on a plane.  I am tired, this is ridiculous, and I am over it.