:: well hey ::

it's been a while, huh? blogging is just not on my list of priorities right now.

to be honest, I probably could find something else to do with my time now, too, but I have 40 minutes until my next class and I am just tired of always being productive. or at least trying to be productive, because let's face it, sometimes you just have to catch up on kalamatea. one can't always be working (as markham would probably put it).

I definitely try to be productive, almost always. the problem with watching kalamatea is that when you've finished the latest super-emotive episode, you have accomplished nothing and you're unmotivated to accomplish that something you just didn't, like your viking reading and summary.

yeah, about that.

my viking seminar is awesome, really, it is. I was thrilled to be taking it; I'm possibly a little less thrilled now that I'm halfway into the semester (halfway. COME ON GIRL YOU CAN DO IT), but I still enjoy the class. my problem is with the the time-consuming nature of the work attached -- like most honors seminars, it requires a ton of out-of-class commitment, and that is killing me. basically, we always have to read ~150 pages a week and write 750 words on those pages (300 in summary, 250 in at least 3 questions based on the text, 200 in at least 3 issues we want to discuss in class). that's every week, period; over the course of the semester, we also have a 20-minute class presentation, two 7-page research essays, and an oral exam.

believe it or not, I'm not complaining about the work itself. I enjoy the reading, and I've fortunately always been a fast reader, and while the questions + issues part takes a while to come up with, it's forcing me to dig more deeply into the reading and I'm getting a lot out of it. my problem comes in with the time, because I just don't have a lot of it and anthropology is not my major. my schedule is dominated by vikings and that's really hard when I want to be focusing on designing webpages and words and neat things.

design is going fantastically, though. 371, my foundation design course, is exhilarating. I am so, so blessed to be here and I am so, so excited to be doing this, and against all my fears, it energizes me. I have design from 9-11.55 am on mondays and wednesdays, and I leave it pumped, wanting to create more. which is really encouraging, obviously :)

art history 501 is okay; I'm interested in the history of graphic design but somewhat frustrated with my teacher (incidentally, he also teaches 371, so I'll have to get used to him. HA HA). despite being halfway done, I'll still have to see how this one pans out.

art history 270 is great right now because we just had a test last week and I think I did well. but I don't have another test for some weeks so that's just peachy. this teacher requires VERY MUCH by way of memorization: title of work, artist name, location of piece (if original), exact dates (from gardner's), and the freaking medium because she wants us to know which are fresco. for the test she sent out a study "guide" of 72 pieces "we should memorize"... 10 days before the test.
yeah.
a friend of mine got married that saturday and I literally practiced my terms while waiting for the processional to start.
BUT I got them all done, and we'll have to see how it went. I don't have my grade back yet; maybe tomorrow night (last class period was cancelled).

385 is super-fun: we make books. literally make literally books. it's a blast and I love the tactile nature of, well, making books. the paper and the thread and the glue and the patterns and the sewing and the beautiful objects that open and close! it's a very social art, as well. think quilting, only books :) I'm enjoying this studio quite a lot.

that's an overview of my semester. I also just came off fall break, during which I got sick and also tried to get ahead on viking reading and a ridiculous art h 270 paper -- I got very little done and it was pretty discouraging because then I'd spent all this time not getting a lot done but not enjoying my break, either. we did go apple picking on monday, and that was incredible (as were the fritters we had when we got home, YUSSS).

the days are long but short -- I'm up at 6.15 every morning because jess has an 8 am calc or engineering class monday-friday, but my classes go until 6 on average, so we're on campus for 10-12 hours a day (on tuesday nights we don't get home until 9.15 pm. vikings, what else). but the day is full of classes and it's hard for me to get work done in the small gaps between, and getting home that late is not conducive to productivity, either! it's teaching me a lot about time management and diligence. and being extra-nice to jessa, who has to wait for hours for me sometimes. yyyyyeah. (she recently told me, "next semester, NO NIGHT CLASSES." and I was like, "YESSIR. BELIEVE ME.")

it's meaning some hard things, though: I'm tired and not used to having to stretch myself this much. it makes personal devotions harder to do, and of course right when I need it! I don't see my family much; I really don't see my friends; it makes my internship stressful ("I have all this work that I need to do!!"); I'm always tired and not eating well at all. it's unhealthy on the emotional, physical, and spiritual levels for me, right now, and I'm trying to figure out how to stay out of this same problem in the future. one thing I think I'll have to do is drop out of honors, and I'm sad about that, but I can't justify the time sink. and the classes have just not been that incredible. neat opportunities, but too much work for someone this in love with her major.

things will get better, though, I know this. and there is always coffee.