I N T H E N I G H T K I T C H E N 10.27.2001
B Student [written and unfinished on 10.26.2001] This has been a very long week. I think the pressure of studying for the midterm plus getting my other work done turned out to be more than I thought. Stress? Over a test? How novel. I think I did okay, though. I should have done better but the fill-in-the-blank at the end probably knocked me down to a 'B'. Some of it was just the way the questions were worded. For example, the last question was something like this: Images of ballerinas, horse races and [something else] were a favorite theme of ___________ because of their repetitive patterns.So my thought process went something like this: Hmmmm... Degas did all the ballerinas. I can't remember images of horse racing discussed in class or in our book. The impressionists were often very repetitive in their mark-making. So, I guess I'll put down 'The Impressionists' since Degas was definitely among them. Which sucks because the answer was "Degas." I thought she was looking for a movement. Grrr. 10.24.2001
Midterm I have a midterm today for Art History class. It's going to be tough. I haven't studied nearly enough and we had a practice test last week which was way more difficult than it should have been. I've been reading the material and paying attention in class but clearly that isn't enough. I thought I was being all nerdy. After all, reading the text was usual not on the agenda the last time I was in school. I've always been a no-effort, B student. My parents were always wondering just what would happen if I really applied myself. Maybe we'll find out. + + + I have an appointment with an advisor on Thursday. I have some big questions for her. I need to know if I'm wasting my time in this program. I need to know how far a degree could get me. I need to know if I'm going to end up at the end of this only having moved two feet instead of 200 miles. Maybe it's just hard at this stage, the early stage in the early classes because the design class in particular seems so pointless. I'm learning terminology and that's it. It could be that I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around the somewhat abstract projects. I'm working without a goal and it's difficult for me. However, I think that class is making me reexamine my whole reason for going back to school. Its pointlessness may be reflecting on my whole experience. I've been wondering if I know what my goal is. I think the advisor will be thoroughly exhausted when she's done with me. + + + I've been adding stuff to the MSN page which seems to be getting a lot of attention. I think customer service rants share the same appeal as wound stories among strangers. "When I was thirteen, I broke my arm in three places when I was climbing a tree infested with bees...." 10.22.2001
One Year Oh hey -- I just noticed that I've been doing this new journal for over a year. Pretty amazing for something that I thought for sure would be temporary. Pretty amazing for something which I still feel hasn't found its real purpose. I continue to vacillate between making this "public" or not. After a year, I'm still mulling. Who knew that I could mull for so long?
Exquisite Corpse I've been working on a homework assignment for my design class which is to create an "exquisite corpse." As near as I could tell, this amounts to an exercise in creating surrealist imagery. Unfortunately, my teacher does not like to tell us much about our projects. She prefers to keep us in the dark as long as possible, doing each step with very little direction or guidance. We are on a need-to-know basis. This can be very frustrating at times especially when it comes to critique. I don't think it's really fair to critique pieces where the artist clearly didn't know to what end they were working and had no control over the process. "Fair" probably isn't the right word -- maybe "helpful"? As luck would have it, Heather linked to a neat project on this very theme. I've sent them an email. I'd like to participate. Sometimes you just have to try something to see if it moves you. 
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