At this moment, I'm in a dark computer lab, on a mac, pretending to do my modeling homework. We use Maya 2012 and I must complete a science fiction lab by tuesday. I also have 2 small stopmotion projects, and at least 40 pages of reading.

I also stayed up till 4am last night. 4am is the morning. I don't like it. When I stay up at night, I feel like the sun won't come up in the morning.

It's not that much work. Or, I feel like it should be more. Or, I can sequence time and plan more effectively. I don't know. Next semester will be more, I hope. The best days are when I don't have 5 minutes to breathe, I have everything done and I get things done, and I come back to my room still energized after 9 hours of classes.

Luck, The Importance of Planning,

I say that I'm lucky, I wish people luck. And I don't really believe in a 'luck', but coincidence, circumstance. And I believe that I know myself well.

To know thyself is to know how far you can go. I'd forgotten to hole-punch my animation paper (we use the  -        .        -  punch), so I planned out as much as I could. I have two hours of lunch before Animation 1, so I punched my papers and did it. 7 seconds on 2's, 100+ drawings, put into iStopmotion, exported for Quicktime. I felt like such a superhero. And I didn't gloat. I just smiled like and idiot in class, filled with personal satisfaction in my own abilities. When a mistake was made, I formed a new plan of action and did not succumb to stress.

But how far can I go? My classmates stay up almost all night, my own roommate gets sleep whenever she can. I don't feel the stress. I see time in blocks of hours, and I usually don't need to stay up later than 2 or I can wake up a few hours early if I need to. And in some ways I find this distancing. Saying 'oh, I am able to structure my time in such a way that I usually don't need to stay up too late' is elitist, arrogant.

I wasn't expecting my dashboard to fill with new stac blog posts. Good job, little artists!

I have been relaxed with my work, but I have time to get on it A busy semester awaits. A busy, paper-eating semester (between animation and screenwriting).

I have, however, found a new love in friendship bracelets. I brought some cotton thread with me to school and weaving has just been an amazing stress relief. Plus I've been using manual dexterity in almost every class this year, so it's good practice. Plus it's great procrastination. And a calm-down from the focusing energy of my work.

folding box

I've completed my first animation!!
and class isn't for over 12 hours. Success.
hopefully it won't be harshly received.

thus, school starts again

First day of classes, 3rd semester.

Some teaches faster than others. They teach fast, I mean. My classes are falling into two categories:
1. It's what you make of it.
2. Work hard, follow assignments, do well.

So out of this year, I need to make sure I get the most out of everything. And a sketchbook. I need to draw more.

Orientation Staff, Mingleling, and How I've Improved

The last two weeks have been move-in, preparation for Orientation Week, and the week itself. All of which have left me tired and worn out, to be rejuvenated during the hurricane this weekend. Hurricane Irene.

Over the last week, I was in social skills bootcamp. We practiced answering questions correctly, respectfully, and positively (freshmen have questions). I learned a ton of getting-to-know-you games, name games, and ice-breakers.

I got a lot of practice. When my schedule actually tells me to Mingle with the freshmen, I took initiative and joined conversations, added myself to groups, and tried to talk to new people.

I came to Pratt terrified of this getting to know you bullshit. And now it's just something that clicks me into a mode of "I want to get to know you" rather than "what are you thinking about me? Is it bad?" I think, at this point, I assume that people will either like me and talk to me, or stay clear of me.

I don't want to say 'it was an experience like STAC', because it wasn't- I had less than a week to get to know everybody and lose my shyness, then a week to work as the team we became, and now it's all over until I seen familiar faces next year.

After the whole experience- this is the college life I didn't have last year. I can keep my door open and people will say hi, I can get to know people. Through O-STAFF I met a lot of heads of clubs/associations, the top people of Student Involvement, and may have even found a small job for the year.

So if you can join any kind of student leadership group, go for it.

shoutout from the computer lab

My computer is dead. A summer of being in something close to storage, and the hard drive won't speak to the other parts.

Long live Aldrick, 2007-2011.

packing, it's about time.

I am at ease. A day at home to get everything done. Cooking dinner, visiting grandparents, packing for school. I have bedlinens, cleaning supplies, bathroom/make-up things, towels, and winter clothes done. I'm very excited to be going back to school.

I'm going to miss so much. But I look forward to so much. It's even.

I need to admit something. My music tastes have recently turned to hiphop and rap. I cannot say "I listen to it", because that would mean I know more than a couple of albums. But I enjoy it.