I have now endured my first semester at Columbia College Chicago. It has been a mildly eye-opening experience, as I seem to be a mere second-year freshman. Being in a large city was a nice change at least. This has honestly been the most socially miring year so far, from having mixed opinions about roommates to having altogether too much interaction with boys. They're everywhere. Unavoidable. XD

I'm still a Graphic Design major, though I am also a Fiction Writing minor now. That's one of the finer points about Columbia that CVA didn't offer - liberal arts. My first semester was woefully void of any drawing or especially "artsy" classes, so I took refuge in the few enjoyable classes I picked. Namely Japanese I. yuss. Fiction I could've been much more enjoyable, had my overall workload not been as high. As it is, I will be taking Fiction I again next semester.. oops.

I have not really drawn for the sake of drawing.. for a very, very long time. It's most shameful. Baby steps, it seems, will fix that. A couple less than satisfactory doodles yesterday. Nothing terribly inspiring. Though, I'm not really all that inspired myself of late. Autopilot gets you through the day, but it does no service to your imagination.

"Don't cry for me. I don't need your sympathy. I've got everything I need inside of me."
This CD, Welcome to the Masquerade. It was a Christmas present from my parents. Keep listening to the good, wholesome music, they say. Keep your mind off the occult and those vampires.

"I feel you like an angel watching over me."

It's all a matter of self-motivation now.

I've been given the talks, the encouragement and the harping, and that's really all there is left. If only my strongest desire wasn't to crawl back to bed every day.

"I know I'm not supposed to, but I can't break away."
"The part that hurts the most is me."
"It's everything I do without you."

Today is the day I turn off zombie mode. Yeah, right...

So... it's summer again. As of this week I'm working full time in production at a small town newspaper, the Blair Press. Most days are at least slightly challenging as I increase organization and productivity, but none of it is nearly as bad as what I've had to put up all year at art school.

We've managed to finish building and putting software on my desktop computer Muse. He's so shiny.. blue led fans in a clear case all lit up like awesome at night.. I make myself jealous. There's a gorgeous Keiichi Hiiragi figure from Sanrio's Onegai My melody, a "famous violinist and teen heartthrob," poised with his violin on the stage of my hard drive, which looks pretty sweet illuminated by the blue leds. I might still add a floppy drive for funn, but otherwise it's all ready for me to get to work in Photoshop again....

Another year past, another year forgettable..

So many things to wish for, so many wishes yet to become real.
A dream of improvement and change..
Still so far to go.

Wishes of connecting..
Met by the usual solitary confinement.
Settling into the endless role of loner.

Wishes of skill..
Met by competition.
Unable to erase the labels.

Wishes of health..
Met by the sickness and more.
Condescendingly frail body.

Wishes of endurance..
Even when time is sluggish.
Realizing an entire year has passed,

And promising that another year is coming..
A changeling year.

Reason for hope.

Yay, life. ^_^ It's been lovely recently.
Unfortunately I don't have anything of artistic merit to speak of, so there isn't much reason to say anything.. but I was growing weary of having the same during-cast whinings up.
I'm officially celebrating my first post-grad summer. I can't say that I will miss that school any time soon, because now I'll be able to pursue education I'll actually use. ^^
In just a couple months I will be a college student.. scary. Hopefully art school won't be too intimidating..
As such, I will be sharpening my skills much more this summer. Look forward to seeing better art from me in the future!

I've been extremely inactive for the past month or so, given my broken wrist and all. The [black] cast comes off April 1, so I'm more than ready to have my drawing hand back. Really. Ready.

Since I had to adapt to doing absolutely everything with my left hand, my art has actually improved. It started out a little shaky (and anything resembling a straight line was nearly impossible), but re-learning how to manipulate my hand was a refreshing experience. My gesture drawings have much more freedom, and my proportions are better because of that. Since the strokes themselves take more thought, I've actually been paying attention to detail (stand in shock) for the first time in pretty much ever.

As for my handwriting, learning to be lefty was a bit more of a challenge (because of the left brain aspect). After a month and a half of utter desperation, I now have a cross between my old handwriting and my father's (who has been a lefty his whole life). All in all, I mark that one up as a hurdle cleared (even if my current penmanship is not exactly stationary material).

Sure, it might seem like it was crucial timing to be drawing more than ever and this injury is something like the end of the world.. Wallowing in self pity at this point wouldn't be totally uncalled for, would it?
Believe me, I would have if I'd gotten the chance, but with [high] schoolwork and [college] drawing workshops going on, it was either adapt or get left behind.
As soon as I get it matted, I'll show off my first big lefty drawing that was from the CVA drawing workshop, as well as a set of much smaller drawings that I've done since then.

My car hasn't been leaking anything since we got the transmission seal fixed, but it was smoking and shaking when I got up to 25.... and they couldn't find anything wrong with it.

I would wish these circumstances upon nobody, not even someone who needed a kick in the face.