So! Another year at school has come and gone, and my wonderful car has survived another cross-country trip. There were times when I was a bit unsure this time around, but she's held together, and when a bit of smoke has come up it's just been really hot under the hood; no warning temps on the gauges or anything. :3 So I can still drive around for a while yet!
Also, happy Mother's Day to moms of the world, especially my own awesome mom who drove all the way back from VA with me! There were some trying times, but we survived~ <3
For this past semester, I am happy to say that I got As in at least two of my classes!! 8D The other two are still waiting to put everything in... the grade says WIP, so I've got to chew my fingers about that for a while yet. But my audited class is on my transcript, so I must have done well enough in the class! (I don't have a grade, but it's there) It was fun, I'm glad I took it. I wish the book would have been cheaper to keep, but even the rental was a bit expensive so I had to let it go. I did keep a few other books, though, partially because I could and partially because I wanted them for further reference in the future! There are some very useful books, indeed~ (and fun ones)
Now that summer is officially here for me, I have about three months to get a job, write, do an online class, and keep up with ballet. Also try to update the notes I've taken over the school year to my notes on my computer, organize them, and prepare for classes in the fall! And read things that have been on an ever-growing list. And talk with friends more often. Yeah. Three months. Got this. (I hope)
Good news: I believe I already have a part-time job for the summer! Still working on the details, but I've been told that it's pretty certain that I have it.
Regarding the online class, if I want to complete my Family & Child Development (FCD) minor, I'm about one class short if I do one per semester over the next two semesters. So, I'm going to do an equivalent online with BYU Independent Study (because I've gotten their programs approved by the coordinator at my school) before school starts again.
Reminds me: next year I'm going to be a senior!! O_o Wow. Time. It moves fast.
That also means I need to get more work done researching a graduate program/school. Yeesh. If anyone knows of good psychology programs or schools, let me know in comments or something! I'm more looking into Research Methodology-ish, I think, but with a psych focus. Hm. We'll see how that works.
And I'm going to be writing like mad. I want to finish that fanfiction I mentioned before. I've been able to work on it about once a week during the semester, but especially not so much near the end of the semester. So close!! And, of course, I've gotten at least three different ideas for short stories during just the last few weeks of classes. (bursts of inspiration always seem to come at the busiest times, don't they?) So... we'll see how those develop. If they do. Because I do have other things that need more development themselves. <w<'
Anyway! That's pretty much what's happening recently. Still have yet to unpack everything because we just got back last night, but we got back before dark this time! I'll unpack later.
Right. More to organize. Got this!
(I hope)
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Maaaaarch
The mid-semester point has passed, and I am starting into the headlong rush to get through the end of the semester! (Ok, maybe not quite 'headlong', but it can sure seem crazy at times!)
Being Editor-in-Chief of The Review (the literary magazine here at school) has been quite intensive! But I think we've made awesome progress: we had a rather successful poetry reading night even last semester (as in people came; it's the first one the magazine has held), and this semester we're having a fundraising event of dinner and poetry reading together! It's been a bit crazy trying to plan it around the tons of concerts and other school events (I love them all, but space gets crowded!), and we're still hammering out details. But I hope and pray that we have finally got a date and time set, and that people will come! Another wonderful thing about this year: our layout looks awesome! Our previous years looked nice, but this year we had a layout editor who was able to put more time into everything, and I'm really grateful to be able to work with her and the professor who heads the project. And the staff! Staff that come to meetings and are involved! It's fantastic.
So, aside from my rant concerning that... I've really been enjoying going to a Mythology course!! I got into Greek & Roman Mythology, which is the first time I've actually seen the course offered. I was unsure if I'd be able to get in, but I just started going to classes at the beginning of the year anyway, and while I have to cut out a little early once a week to get to another class, thanks to the awesome voice recorder my uncle gave me over the Christmas break, I don't have to actually miss what he says! It's really intriguing~
The class I have to skip out to catch is Endocrinology. I am actually auditing the course, or simply taking it for informational purposes and not getting credit for it. I'm not taking the tests either, though, so there's that! It's a 300-level Biology course, about hormones and their roles throughout the body. I figured it would be good for me to have at least some knowledge about that if I'm interested in psychology. It's not quite the course I was imagining, since we're not talking about neurohormones/transmitters at all really, but it's still interesting information! It's also a small class, so that helps me understand things better. I don't get absolutely everything we talk about, since I haven't but taken two other Biology courses here, but it's still cool. Wish I had more time to read, though.
The other classes I'm in are Marriage & Family, Child & Adolescent Development, and Physics Fundamentals. The Physics course is more of a summary/overview course for the main points of physics in our world, and the people who contributed, like Newton and Kepler. (learned that Tycho had a silver nose, too) The first two are Family & Child Development courses. I am learning a lot about the growth of humans in general. (I hope I remember these things when I have kids...)
I'm also attending a ballet class at a local studio~! The teacher also does classes on my school's campus, but very few, and I don't have the schedule to accommodate those. So she suggested I go to the others, and I've really been enjoying it! The class is intermediate level, and aimed at slightly younger level/age group, which is really more my level, honestly. I'm learning so much about ballet, and instead of just rushing along with it, I'm retaining a good bit of it! And it's rather helped my balance outside the studio, too! XD
My hair has been getting longer, and I need to keep it up during practice. So my wonderful roommate usually does my hair for me! She says it's fun~ Here are some of her results:
Yeah. I didn't know my hair could do some of that either. XD
In other news, I have been applying for scholarships, and searching for internship possibilities, and going to career fairs... I feel like I'm not doing enough, yet when I sit down and list things, it is a lot. And yet I don't feel much closer to figuring things out. XP Probably just my natural indecision-ness being annoying.
And in what extra time Idon't have, I've been writing! I'm using a new program a generous friend helped me get a discount on called Scrivener, and it's really cool. I haven't used all of is capacities, of course, because it's kind-of like Photoshop: there is always something new. But the current project I'm using it for is going rather well! I shortened the chapter length so that getting a chapter done is more attainable for me (usually I write ~6000 words/chapter, this time I'm trying to keep it under 2500). It's exciting actually seeing progress!
It's a Princess Tutu fanfiction, and it's something totally new for me because I'm doing a frame story. For those unaware, a frame story is a story within a story. Like books that start off "The man went to the fireside and told his children, "This is a story that took place long ago..."" The Princess Bride would be a frame story. But I'm trying to actually involve the frame part of the story, so it doesn't seem pointless and just tacked on. I think it's working, but it is difficult! Especially when I don't really have time to think about it frequently. But I am really happy to be getting it done.
Also, I don't remember which night it was, but I apparently needed to do something with my hands. So I took about an hour or so and made a collage for the back of our room door.
The lighting isn't the best, but we don't have the best lighting. :p
I used old calenders, scissors, and tape. :) I'm rather happy with how it turned out~ I keep old calenders around anyway for impromptu birthday gift wrapping. (cheaper and easier to store than actual wrapping paper, too)
I'll try to keep this place a bit more updated. Until then!
Being Editor-in-Chief of The Review (the literary magazine here at school) has been quite intensive! But I think we've made awesome progress: we had a rather successful poetry reading night even last semester (as in people came; it's the first one the magazine has held), and this semester we're having a fundraising event of dinner and poetry reading together! It's been a bit crazy trying to plan it around the tons of concerts and other school events (I love them all, but space gets crowded!), and we're still hammering out details. But I hope and pray that we have finally got a date and time set, and that people will come! Another wonderful thing about this year: our layout looks awesome! Our previous years looked nice, but this year we had a layout editor who was able to put more time into everything, and I'm really grateful to be able to work with her and the professor who heads the project. And the staff! Staff that come to meetings and are involved! It's fantastic.
So, aside from my rant concerning that... I've really been enjoying going to a Mythology course!! I got into Greek & Roman Mythology, which is the first time I've actually seen the course offered. I was unsure if I'd be able to get in, but I just started going to classes at the beginning of the year anyway, and while I have to cut out a little early once a week to get to another class, thanks to the awesome voice recorder my uncle gave me over the Christmas break, I don't have to actually miss what he says! It's really intriguing~
The class I have to skip out to catch is Endocrinology. I am actually auditing the course, or simply taking it for informational purposes and not getting credit for it. I'm not taking the tests either, though, so there's that! It's a 300-level Biology course, about hormones and their roles throughout the body. I figured it would be good for me to have at least some knowledge about that if I'm interested in psychology. It's not quite the course I was imagining, since we're not talking about neurohormones/transmitters at all really, but it's still interesting information! It's also a small class, so that helps me understand things better. I don't get absolutely everything we talk about, since I haven't but taken two other Biology courses here, but it's still cool. Wish I had more time to read, though.
The other classes I'm in are Marriage & Family, Child & Adolescent Development, and Physics Fundamentals. The Physics course is more of a summary/overview course for the main points of physics in our world, and the people who contributed, like Newton and Kepler. (learned that Tycho had a silver nose, too) The first two are Family & Child Development courses. I am learning a lot about the growth of humans in general. (I hope I remember these things when I have kids...)
I'm also attending a ballet class at a local studio~! The teacher also does classes on my school's campus, but very few, and I don't have the schedule to accommodate those. So she suggested I go to the others, and I've really been enjoying it! The class is intermediate level, and aimed at slightly younger level/age group, which is really more my level, honestly. I'm learning so much about ballet, and instead of just rushing along with it, I'm retaining a good bit of it! And it's rather helped my balance outside the studio, too! XD
My hair has been getting longer, and I need to keep it up during practice. So my wonderful roommate usually does my hair for me! She says it's fun~ Here are some of her results:
In other news, I have been applying for scholarships, and searching for internship possibilities, and going to career fairs... I feel like I'm not doing enough, yet when I sit down and list things, it is a lot. And yet I don't feel much closer to figuring things out. XP Probably just my natural indecision-ness being annoying.
And in what extra time I
It's a Princess Tutu fanfiction, and it's something totally new for me because I'm doing a frame story. For those unaware, a frame story is a story within a story. Like books that start off "The man went to the fireside and told his children, "This is a story that took place long ago..."" The Princess Bride would be a frame story. But I'm trying to actually involve the frame part of the story, so it doesn't seem pointless and just tacked on. I think it's working, but it is difficult! Especially when I don't really have time to think about it frequently. But I am really happy to be getting it done.
Also, I don't remember which night it was, but I apparently needed to do something with my hands. So I took about an hour or so and made a collage for the back of our room door.
I used old calenders, scissors, and tape. :) I'm rather happy with how it turned out~ I keep old calenders around anyway for impromptu birthday gift wrapping. (cheaper and easier to store than actual wrapping paper, too)
I'll try to keep this place a bit more updated. Until then!
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Been A While
Soo... It's now 2014! Yay! 8D
... Let's move past the awkward 'I forgot this existed' phrases, and just get to summarizing what's been happening, eh? X3'
So this past semester I took an Abnormal Psychology course, which I loved, Intermediate Ballet, also loved, Epistemology, which was rather fun if confusing at times, Approaches to Literature, which I enjoyed, and another semester of Intermediate Creative Writing! Which, of course, was fun~ I took Teachings of the Living Prophets as my Institute course, and we discussed the past spring's General Conference. It's crazy what you can gain when you re-read things! I mean, I've known that for a while, but still; it still amazes me at times~
Midterms and finals came and went, along with the associated stress, and apparently it paid off! I've managed to pull off As in all my classes!! That made me rather excited~
For Halloween, I dressed up as a woodland fairy of some kind~
Over the semester, I also managed to watch some movies with friends, and make progress on watching a few animes: Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Princess Tutu. Yes, they sound very strange together, but they are both epic and beautiful!! Princess Tutu is much better than it sounds, and even I was put off by the name, but perseverance pays off~ Tis a wonderful story of stories, fairy tales actually, and ballet, and about the author who is still affecting it after his death. And Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood is just plainly epic. It is so intricate, and crazy, and well-planned! Note though: tis also long. I and my friends have gotten to season... 4? 5? Something like that. And there's still another yet to go. But it will be worth it~
On the other side, Princess Tutu only has 26 episodes in all! And they're not even a full half-hour each. Really. It's a great watch, I highly suggest it~!
In fact, here; have a nice little video of it that's not really spoilery (really it highlights the dancing, actually; but the story is just as beautiful):
A better representation of the crazy story is this video, but warning! It has spoilers!
Anyway, this Christmas break, we got three whole weeks! It's crazy, but I'm rather happy with it. I worked back at the Observatory for a while, and we put up Christmas stuff together~ Like our tree!
Then this past weekend we traveled to AZ to visit my grandma and uncle again~ Twas just a quick visit, but I'm happy we got to go!
Mexican Train is always fun~ At the end, dad helped clean up in his own way.
Another wonderful thing: I have finally been catching up with Doctor Who!! I have finally seen pretty much all the released episodes, I do believe. There's just the extras of looking back over things meta-production wise that I want to see~ But regarding the show itself, I don't think there's any show that has made me cry and get excited so much, sometimes within the very same episode! It's so wonderfuuuul~
So, this next semester (aka next week) I'll be taking a few classes for Family and Child Development, as that's the route closest to Psychology that my school offers. Then, there's research ahead for graduate schools/programs... I want to go into research, so it'll be a bit of a different focus than if I were going to be a practitioner or clinician. But it will still require lots-o-schooling, so I really should get looking. Especially since this is the second semester of my junior year! Next year I'm a senior, and I need to have applications in before that's over. *sigh* The search for funds and programs never ends~
Which reminds me! A friend is selling a book of short stories and poems to fund a Travel Study trip she wants to take this summer. She is a great writer, and it doesn't cost very much, so if you're interested, here's the link.
Until next time! <3
... Let's move past the awkward 'I forgot this existed' phrases, and just get to summarizing what's been happening, eh? X3'
So this past semester I took an Abnormal Psychology course, which I loved, Intermediate Ballet, also loved, Epistemology, which was rather fun if confusing at times, Approaches to Literature, which I enjoyed, and another semester of Intermediate Creative Writing! Which, of course, was fun~ I took Teachings of the Living Prophets as my Institute course, and we discussed the past spring's General Conference. It's crazy what you can gain when you re-read things! I mean, I've known that for a while, but still; it still amazes me at times~
Midterms and finals came and went, along with the associated stress, and apparently it paid off! I've managed to pull off As in all my classes!! That made me rather excited~
For Halloween, I dressed up as a woodland fairy of some kind~
I got to help a friend dress up as a Kyoshi Warrior, as well! It's amazing what friends, fabric, and facepaint can do!
Over the semester, I also managed to watch some movies with friends, and make progress on watching a few animes: Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Princess Tutu. Yes, they sound very strange together, but they are both epic and beautiful!! Princess Tutu is much better than it sounds, and even I was put off by the name, but perseverance pays off~ Tis a wonderful story of stories, fairy tales actually, and ballet, and about the author who is still affecting it after his death. And Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood is just plainly epic. It is so intricate, and crazy, and well-planned! Note though: tis also long. I and my friends have gotten to season... 4? 5? Something like that. And there's still another yet to go. But it will be worth it~
On the other side, Princess Tutu only has 26 episodes in all! And they're not even a full half-hour each. Really. It's a great watch, I highly suggest it~!
In fact, here; have a nice little video of it that's not really spoilery (really it highlights the dancing, actually; but the story is just as beautiful):
Anyway, this Christmas break, we got three whole weeks! It's crazy, but I'm rather happy with it. I worked back at the Observatory for a while, and we put up Christmas stuff together~ Like our tree!
Another wonderful thing: I have finally been catching up with Doctor Who!! I have finally seen pretty much all the released episodes, I do believe. There's just the extras of looking back over things meta-production wise that I want to see~ But regarding the show itself, I don't think there's any show that has made me cry and get excited so much, sometimes within the very same episode! It's so wonderfuuuul~
So, this next semester (aka next week) I'll be taking a few classes for Family and Child Development, as that's the route closest to Psychology that my school offers. Then, there's research ahead for graduate schools/programs... I want to go into research, so it'll be a bit of a different focus than if I were going to be a practitioner or clinician. But it will still require lots-o-schooling, so I really should get looking. Especially since this is the second semester of my junior year! Next year I'm a senior, and I need to have applications in before that's over. *sigh* The search for funds and programs never ends~
Which reminds me! A friend is selling a book of short stories and poems to fund a Travel Study trip she wants to take this summer. She is a great writer, and it doesn't cost very much, so if you're interested, here's the link.
Until next time! <3
Friday, September 20, 2013
Mental Health
Stigma is not something to push aside or ignore. Ignorance is the biggest problem. Don't let ignorance stand between you and helping others. Mental illness is a real thing, and it affects nearly a fourth of all Americans. That means, more than likely, someone you know has a mental illness. Does that make them dangerous? Does that make them incapable of functioning 'normally'? No. In fact, not only are those cases fairly rare, but they are usually treatable. If the person will seek help. Stigma often prevents that.
From the site linked above (emphases added):
- 20 percent of the ailments for which Americans seek a doctor's care are related to anxiety disorders, such as panic attacks, that interfere with their ability to live normal lives.
- Some 8 million to 14 million Americans suffer from depression each year. As many as one in five Americans will suffer at least one episode of major depression during their lifetimes.
- About 12 million children under 18 suffer from mental disorders such as autism, depression and hyperactivity.
- Two million Americans suffer from schizophrenic disorders and 300,000 new cases occur each year.
- 15.4 million American adults and 4.6 million adolescents experience serious alcohol-related problems, and another 12.5 million suffer from drug abuse or dependence.
- Nearly one-fourth of the elderly who are labeled as senile actually suffer some form of mental illness that can be effectively treated.
- Suicide is the third leading cause of death for people between the ages of 15 and 24.
"[A]s many as eight in ten people suffering from mental
illnesses can effectively return to normal, productive lives if they receive
appropriate treatment..."
We wouldn't blame someone for going to a doctor for trouble breathing, or a racing heart, or intense headaches, right? Why should it be any different when the cause is more psychologically based?
Monday, August 26, 2013
The Wheel of School
It's comin' round again. That's right, I'm heading back to VA this week! Crazy how fast the summer can go.
My job at the Cafe went great, and I might be able to come back and work some more during Christmas break, depending on how long I have. The past two years we've only had two weeks off for Christmas. However, I have seen on the school's calender that we should be getting three weeks off for Christmas this year! I'm hoping so. It'll be a nicer rest time, and I think it'll cut down on the amount of sickness at school in the spring. :p (again, hoping)
Another good thing: I've been writing a lot this summer! Well, I have more been using Dragon for dictation, which is helping my arms, so I guess 'technically' I've been dictating a lot this summer. (that sounds funny... XD) BUT either way, I've gotten at least 5 chapters written this summer for my Nightmare Before Christmas fanfiction!! I am now working on chapter 30. The entirety of those previous 29 chapters is around 110,000 words, which I am super happy about. I want to try and finish up the story before I hit 35 chapters, and see if I can finish it up right quick, too. I was hoping to do it before getting back to school, but despite not doing that, I'm rather happy with what I have done.
(Note: if you are interested in reading it, I post it on fanfiction.net - http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3800184/1/Broken-Doorway . I will say the first chapters are rough, but it gets better as you go, really.)
Anyway, at school this coming semester, I'll be taking Intermediate Creative Writing again (it's a weird set-up; gotta take it twice to get into Advanced), Approaches to Literature, Intermediate Ballet, Abnormal Psychology (technically "Topics in Family and Child Development" ), and Epistemology (the study of knowledge). That last one's a philosophy course, if you couldn't guess~
I am excited for all the things I'll be learning! I've been keeping up with ballet on my own over the summer, doing the exercises I remember from class two days a week, generally for an hour or so. I've been doing yoga stretches the other three days of the normal week, so I think I'll be at least semi-prepared for ballet this semester. I bought a book for the psychology class last semester really cheap, and have been reading it most of the summer. I'm a little over half-way through, and while I've discovered we're using a newer edition in class, I'm hoping that I'll be able to use this one because the books are super-expensive... And honestly, I don't think a great deal is going to change between the editions besides some pictures and categories. The latter mostly because of the release of the DSM-V earlier this year. In case you didn't know, the DSMs are a series of manuals that help present symptoms of different disorders in categories. They aren't a guarantee for diagnosis, nor are they exactly correct all the time - most professionals simply use it for referencing. Most insurance and similar companies won't offer support unless something is 'officially' diagnosed from the manuals, though, and even then I'm pretty sure most plans don't cover mental health, which is stupid. Anyway. Informative rant over.
Other than classes, though, I'll be involved in extracurriculars again. Aaaaall over the place. Just seems to be something I can't keep away from. XD' I've been doing a bit of prepping for those in addition to packing lately, because I'm usually one helping to getting ads and public information together. I hope it all works out alright. :p
So! I probably ought to get back to packing now. Even though I've got a lot of that covered, actually. But I'm still organizing notes and stuff. Always organizing. (because I keep forgetting to keep up with it...)
Off to another school year!
My job at the Cafe went great, and I might be able to come back and work some more during Christmas break, depending on how long I have. The past two years we've only had two weeks off for Christmas. However, I have seen on the school's calender that we should be getting three weeks off for Christmas this year! I'm hoping so. It'll be a nicer rest time, and I think it'll cut down on the amount of sickness at school in the spring. :p (again, hoping)
Another good thing: I've been writing a lot this summer! Well, I have more been using Dragon for dictation, which is helping my arms, so I guess 'technically' I've been dictating a lot this summer. (that sounds funny... XD) BUT either way, I've gotten at least 5 chapters written this summer for my Nightmare Before Christmas fanfiction!! I am now working on chapter 30. The entirety of those previous 29 chapters is around 110,000 words, which I am super happy about. I want to try and finish up the story before I hit 35 chapters, and see if I can finish it up right quick, too. I was hoping to do it before getting back to school, but despite not doing that, I'm rather happy with what I have done.
(Note: if you are interested in reading it, I post it on fanfiction.net - http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3800184/1/Broken-Doorway . I will say the first chapters are rough, but it gets better as you go, really.)
Anyway, at school this coming semester, I'll be taking Intermediate Creative Writing again (it's a weird set-up; gotta take it twice to get into Advanced), Approaches to Literature, Intermediate Ballet, Abnormal Psychology (technically "Topics in Family and Child Development" ), and Epistemology (the study of knowledge). That last one's a philosophy course, if you couldn't guess~
I am excited for all the things I'll be learning! I've been keeping up with ballet on my own over the summer, doing the exercises I remember from class two days a week, generally for an hour or so. I've been doing yoga stretches the other three days of the normal week, so I think I'll be at least semi-prepared for ballet this semester. I bought a book for the psychology class last semester really cheap, and have been reading it most of the summer. I'm a little over half-way through, and while I've discovered we're using a newer edition in class, I'm hoping that I'll be able to use this one because the books are super-expensive... And honestly, I don't think a great deal is going to change between the editions besides some pictures and categories. The latter mostly because of the release of the DSM-V earlier this year. In case you didn't know, the DSMs are a series of manuals that help present symptoms of different disorders in categories. They aren't a guarantee for diagnosis, nor are they exactly correct all the time - most professionals simply use it for referencing. Most insurance and similar companies won't offer support unless something is 'officially' diagnosed from the manuals, though, and even then I'm pretty sure most plans don't cover mental health, which is stupid. Anyway. Informative rant over.
Other than classes, though, I'll be involved in extracurriculars again. Aaaaall over the place. Just seems to be something I can't keep away from. XD' I've been doing a bit of prepping for those in addition to packing lately, because I'm usually one helping to getting ads and public information together. I hope it all works out alright. :p
So! I probably ought to get back to packing now. Even though I've got a lot of that covered, actually. But I'm still organizing notes and stuff. Always organizing. (because I keep forgetting to keep up with it...)
Off to another school year!
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Heeeeeyyyyy....
I'm back in Texas!
...for those who didn't already know. <w<'
It has been a while since my last post, but I am in fact still alive. I'm now working part-time at the Observatory Cafe, pretty much just doing Star Parties. The nights can be late, but honestly, it's not too different than when I was at school. My body gets on a different schedule at home than at school, though, so it's a bit tiring at times - but I'm happy with it. I get time during the day to work on my own projects, which are finally making progress!! Not just small steps, either, but good bites! Like I found out that I can write a bit over 10,000 words in a week if I've got the determination, even with distractions. ^.^
Speaking of projects, I'm finally nearing the end of transferring my notebooks over to computer text. That way I can index all my notes, and compile them according to topic instead of just being here-and-there-and-everywhere. I have three more notebooks to complete, including the one I'm on currently because I'm already almost finished with it... XD'
Thankfully, my Dragon (software) has been cooperating with me as well, and it's been helping me get my notebook stuff transferred. Typing by hand works too, as I'm doing right now (because it's faster), but when I've already got something written down, Dragon helps speed things up. Unless, of course, I've got a whole bunch of non-existing words, or it's in Spanish. Then typing is still better. But Dragon is behaving for me again, pretty well thus far; let's hope it continues.
Another wonderful thing: we've finally been getting rain!! <3 For at least the past week we've been getting thunderstorms here and there. It's been glorious~
I'll try to remember to upload some pictures of clouds that I got the other day. Thunderstorms can create the most beautiful sunsets.
Until then, back to projects!
...for those who didn't already know. <w<'
It has been a while since my last post, but I am in fact still alive. I'm now working part-time at the Observatory Cafe, pretty much just doing Star Parties. The nights can be late, but honestly, it's not too different than when I was at school. My body gets on a different schedule at home than at school, though, so it's a bit tiring at times - but I'm happy with it. I get time during the day to work on my own projects, which are finally making progress!! Not just small steps, either, but good bites! Like I found out that I can write a bit over 10,000 words in a week if I've got the determination, even with distractions. ^.^
Speaking of projects, I'm finally nearing the end of transferring my notebooks over to computer text. That way I can index all my notes, and compile them according to topic instead of just being here-and-there-and-everywhere. I have three more notebooks to complete, including the one I'm on currently because I'm already almost finished with it... XD'
Thankfully, my Dragon (software) has been cooperating with me as well, and it's been helping me get my notebook stuff transferred. Typing by hand works too, as I'm doing right now (because it's faster), but when I've already got something written down, Dragon helps speed things up. Unless, of course, I've got a whole bunch of non-existing words, or it's in Spanish. Then typing is still better. But Dragon is behaving for me again, pretty well thus far; let's hope it continues.
Another wonderful thing: we've finally been getting rain!! <3 For at least the past week we've been getting thunderstorms here and there. It's been glorious~
I'll try to remember to upload some pictures of clouds that I got the other day. Thunderstorms can create the most beautiful sunsets.
Until then, back to projects!
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Happy Easter
I took a doodle I did during sacrament today and scanned it, then painted it in Photoshop~ :3
I was originally planning on using the tempura paints I have to actually paint it, but I realized that 1) getting the right colors with the awfully-translucent paints I have would be super frustrating, and b) that it would take forever to do, and I knew there were other things to get done. Plus, 3) my arms would not like me very well afterwards, since I'd probably do it all in one sitting... <w<'
This only took about an hour or so~ :)
I'm so happy with that tree~!! I usually make them look super-awkward and stuff! While it's not amazing, it's my best one yet! <3
...Moving on.
Yesterday I got the opportunity to go to Washington D.C. for a class trip, and we went to the National Gallery of Art! I went once last semester for a different class, and there are still a number of things I haven't seen! Here's me in front of the main rotunda fountain of Hermes. All the fountains were all decked out for Easter. Or maybe it was for the Cherry Blossom Festival...? Or the National Kite Day? I don't really know. There was a lot going on, but I'm assuming they were celebrating Easter.
And there are so many things I love to just sit and look at! Like Degas. He was so talented - there's a whole room dedicated to his statues of ballerinas/dancers and horses, pretty much. I love looking at the crazy poses he was able to get! Not only that, but he did some wonderful paintings, too. They were scattered around on the upper floor.
*sigh* Alas, we had a packet to fill out, which did allow us a nice semi-overview of a good portion of the building. However, there was just so much to do... but I loved the time I had there. I was with my roommate, and we did the packet (same class), and looked around a bit.
Then, we went over to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History! Goodness; smaller building, sort-of, but packed full of amazingness!! We spent the most time in the mammals area~
I also oogled over the bones section for a while~ <3 Next time, I'll plan on just spending a day in this museum or something so I will be able to actually assimilate more information.
We briefly saw the Hope Diamond - it's really quite pretty, but the mob surrounding it was ridiculous!! I mean, look at that!
And Allan now has evidence he travels with me!
Then, after we got back from that, my roomie and I hoofed it to a cafe in town to get to our RA's concert! She's really quite good - writes and sings her own music for keyboard. She doesn't have anything for sale yet, but she's working on it~ ^.^
So... since my car is getting fixed right now, we walked there and back up the hills to our dorm, after walking all over in D.C.. My legs are kind-of letting me know, but not nearly as bad as I was anticipating. (Of course, talk to me tomorrow, and we'll see. XD)
That was yesterday, the 30th. On Tuesday the 26th, I had an experience I will remember for the rest of my life with happiness and joy. I got to go see a Broadway production of Les Miserables~!!!!!!!! *scream of joy*
I know the story of Les Mis by heart; have read the book (unabridged), listened to and seen the 10th anniversary I don't know how many times, listened to the 25th anniversary as well (doesn't stick in my mind as much, though)... I'll be seeing the new movie once I get home. I wasn't sure if I'd ever get to see the musical performed though.
AND then this opportunity came up. I got medium-priced seating from the school, and ENJOYED EVERY MINUTE OF IT. <3 I really should have known that I'd need tissues though. Really. I noticed later that my hands were rather salty because of all the tears I wiped away. >w< Usually, I don't cry so much, but Les Mis is a crazy spot for me. I cried at the end of the book. I cried when I first saw the anniversary performance. I expected to cry here, but got so excited I forgot tissues. XD AH well - I survived. And loved it. So barking much. <3 <3
I noticed a lot of things, some new, at least to me, and some not so new but wonderful reminders. So, I wanted to catch you all up with my craziness, and also wish you a happy Easter. I love the gospel, and I love the people in my life. Thank you for helping me look again at some of the things I've done.
School will be done next month... *sigh* I will do as best I can for the rest of this semester!
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