Say no to hate

I drove up to Tulsa yesterday, I'm sitting in Colin's apartment on TU's campus now, and I just realized that for the first time in 2 years, I don't hate school. I hated it during my senior year--I could hardly wait to be finished. I hated it the year after that, remembering how "awful" it was the previous year. But now that I'm a little more removed from experience, I no longer have such negative feelings toward it. I can even see myself doing more in the future, either tech or grad school, and not being miserable the whole time. (The only downside--really steep downside--would be the cost.)

I think perhaps the reason why school seemed to suck so much was because I wasn't happy with my life in general at the time. I liked school my sophomore year, and I liked my life. I didn't like school my junior and senior years, and I didn't like my life. Funny how that seems to work. It's hard to be satisfied with one part of your life when another is severely stressing you out.

Right now, I'm mostly happy with my life, but I'm uneasy about where it's headed. I like both of my jobs, and I love my coworkers. I'm in a healthy, fulfilling relationship with a guy I love. I have a fairly good number of friends in OKC now. But I do still somewhat feel like I'm in a rut. I don't really have a concrete game plan. I don't know where or when I'll end up moving (or even if I'll be moving at all, frankly). My life so far has consisted of working toward the next level of school. Now that I'm done, I'm not sure what to do with myself. I'm not even sure I want to pursue a career in the field I studied.

At least I can rest easy knowing I'm not in debt, like most other people my age who just graduated. That's a really nice situation to be in, and since I'm living with my dad, not having to pay rent, I'm able to save up money. I guess even if nothing changes in the next year or two, I'll have a good chunk of change in my savings account that will allow me to do whatever, and go wherever, I want once I figure out what, and where, that is.

I'm finally done with it

The TU Student Film Festival was on Monday, and it went pretty well. There was a great turnout, and people seemed to enjoy the films. This crop in particular was exceptional, I think--better than usual. The film program here is definitely on its way to become really awesome. (It's just too bad I had to be here in the early stages.) Ah, well.

The audience laughed at the right spots in my film, and they understood what was going on, so that made me feel good. I'm just sad I didn't actually finish what I had originally planned to do. The entire film, as it is now, was actually only supposed to be the first act. You can watch it on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeVWR_NmoZU

The story was going to continue after that point, but since most of it is animated, I simply didn't have time to do it all in one semester. If I had formulated a plan over the summer and gotten started as soon as I got to Tulsa in August, then maybe I would have had enough time. Maybe. Animation just takes so much time (and I'm not that good at it), and trying to do stop motion outside, where you're at the mercy of the elements, it's somewhat futile.

Well, it's over now, so no worries. *whew*

I Want More Snow Days

Ugh. It's only 3 weeks into the semester and I'm already tired of school. Getting last Friday off because of snow and ice put me in the no-school mood and I'm still in it. Good thing my schedule isn't too strenuous. If it was, I'm not sure I could make it!

Nah, I could, but it'd be torture. So far, band, poetry, and digital recording II have all been great. I've had no desire to skip them and the homework either nonexistant or interesting. ASL IV hasn't been too bad, either. I'm liking it a lot better than last semester--probably because of the new professor. Astronomy is a doozy, though. Most of the stuff I'm supposed to be "learning" is stuff I already know, and the homework is fairly heavy and boring. I've already skipped that class 5 times. I know, I'm bad. But there's no attendance policy and the prof puts all the powerpoints online, AND my sleep schedule is wacked out.

Astronomy is my earliest class--at 11am. Now that's not early by any means, but when a person doesn't fall asleep until 3am or later, it sure seems that way. I'm in the process of trying to fix my sleep schedule, but so far I haven't made much progress...

Seniors got letters in the mail today from Signature Anouncements about ordering graduation announcements. It really can't come soon enough, I tell you.

Jobing

Looks like this semester is going to go pretty well. All of my classes are either interesting or easy, and I have a fairly loose schedule. No class on Tuesday, only one 2pm class Thursday, and I'm done by 1pm on Friday. Also, I don't have to worry about going to football games on Saturdays (or other days). I still work for The Collegian, which is a nice, easy source of income, so I shouldn't be too broke.

The only bad thing is that I have to search for a job or something to do after I graduate in May. I've always hated job hunting (as does everyone), and I've never been very good at it. I don't really think Craigslist is going to help me out much. I might need to use some kind of job-finding website. Maybe google will help some. Blurg!

I like the way this semester is looking, but my mind won't be at ease until I know what I'll be doing and where I'll be going after graduation. I really want to be ready to go as soon as I'm finished at TU. It'd be a real doozy to have to keep looking for something afterward.

Less sleep = more headaches

It's 6am. What am I doing up? I never actually went to bed last night. Well, technically, I am in bed now, but I never went to sleep. Probably because I slept all day yesterday. Too bad I have to get up really early tomorrow to be at the band room at 8:30am to get ready to go to a pep rally at the Reynolds Center for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in which the band will be playing except for the pit because the band will only be playing stand tunes and pit instruments take up a lot of space and are a hassle to move so it's pointless for us to be there anyway and I don't even have class tomorrow so I wouldn't otherwise have to get up in the morning at all.

*whew* Ok. I'm done ranting now. Suffice it to say that my morning is going to be something like torture. I'll probably get back to my apartment after the rally and immediately collapse onto my bed.

I'm so ready to be done with all of this...

Been a while...

I've been back from Ireland for, like, 7 months now, but I haven't posted a thing on here. I got got kinda tired of blogging while I was in Ireland, so I didn't do it over the summer, and I was hella busy at TU last semester, but I'm good to go now. We'll see if I can keep it up for more than a couple months. :P

*whew*

The semester is finally over. I am so glad. I ended up with pretty good grades, too, which is great, considering what a bad month November was. I can finally relax after working almost constantly for 2 weeks--I even stayed up for 54 hours straight at one point.

Now I can finally start concentrating on my trip to Ireland. Woo! I'm excited. I still have a lot to do to get ready, though, and so little time to do it--my flight is only 10 days away, for crying out loud! One of the things I need to do is see friends. I got that done in Tulsa, but I still have some Edmondites to take care of. I'm really glad I'll be in Edmond for the next few days so I can do that.

Man, oh, man. It's gonna be surreal. It's gonna be a blast. It's gonna be awesome. Especially after talking to Ciaran (student from Northern Ireland going to TU), I'm really pumped for this adventure.

I'm in a perpetual state of waiting.

Well, I thought that with the coming of November, my life in general would become less stressful, but so far this has not been the case. This semester is starting to wear me thin. I'm STILL in the thick of all my class projects, so school is a bit chaotic. Band obligations have diminished slightly, but I've been skipping rehearsal some lately and I feel guilty for it. I keep staying up till the early hours of the morning (take a look at the post time below) and then waking up obscenely late. It's not responsible and it's not healthy. I have yet to fully catch up in Animation, though at least I haven't gotten any further behind. Today (meaning Monday) was the most unproductive day of the semester as well as one of the worst days I've EVER had. Study abroad forms continue to bombard me and probably will through December. I can't wait to leave on January first. I definitely need a change in scenery. Routines make me crazy, which may be why I'm slacking off so much lately--this does tend to happen in the latter half of semesters. In any event, tomorrow (meaning Tuesday) I will try to force myself to get my act together, and hopefully I can get through the rest of the month and half left of school with good grades, health, and confidence to be ready for travel. I'll be counting down the days.

Miracle Day:

I originally didn't feel at all like going to the game, but I had no choice 'cause I had to take photos and play with the band at halftime. So I went. And it was fun! I enjoyed myself immensely!

I guess I forgot how nice it feels to be on the sidelines of the game. And when I flash my media pass to get in it makes me feel important. :P Plus, I can go basically wherever I want as long as I'm behind the white dotted line that perimeters the field. I got some really great shots the first half. Caught two of the touchdowns up close.

Then I left a little before halftime to go change into the band uniform and help move the instruments over. I love my vibes. Soooo much easier to transport (and play) than the old set (too bad for Jesse). We played pretty well. Going back to the band room was a workout! I was basically dripping with sweat when we arrived there. Totally worth it, though, and it makes root beer taste that much better.

I figured I didn't need to go back for the second half we were ahead 35-0 and I got all the photos I needed. So I called up Dad, who came in from Dallas, and we went to The Brook. I'm so glad he came. We had a fun time tonight. Also, Sam Inman randomly shows up at our table! What a gas! He and Mike and Mindy and a few other folks decided to eat there after the game. Great minds think alike, I guess. I'm glad he came over to say hi. I would otherwise never have known they were there.

So after all that I decide to go over to John and Kevin's to chillax with the guys, but I swing by Agatha's first for a short visit. While there, I'm starting to feel tired and then I'm even thinking about maybe going to bed early and then... Frisbee happens. I can't say no to Frisbee. I just can't. It's an infatuation. It's an obsession. Just before that, though, I got to try some banana rum--that stuff is the goods!

So we go out and we warm up throwing my light up frisbee around and then... Ultimate! I had not played that beloved game in so long, and this just really brightened up my overall mood. It was the same tennis group from earlier in the day, plus these two guys, Pavo and James, who were passing by. One of the reasons why Ultimate is so great is that it brings people together. It's a laid back game. Everyone is welcoming and welcome. This night's game turned out to be one of the best I've ever played. Everyone got some action and everyone was great. I even rolled up my jeans and took off my shoes, just like old times. I really hope we do it again sometime. I predict we will. That new field between Lorton and Mayo is the shizzz.

Over the last week or so, my prevailing mood has been somewhat melancholy and disheartened. This day really brought me up. My spirits are still intact. I even got to have a brief chat with Heather, who I haven't spoken with in quite some time. Love her to death.

I may be without a permanent home, but I do think that TU is serving as a superb temporary one. Thank you, everyone. Thank you, God.

This is just a tad overdue.

The film shoot was great. I learned quite a lot, and I really enjoyed being outside at that location in Fairview, OK. Even our motel, the Walleye in Longdale, wasn't so bad. It actually grew on me the longer we stayed there. I met some awesome people, both crew and actors. I now have some new Facebook and MySpace friends. :P

We did not finish the film, which means we'll have to go back at some later date, but that date probably won't be anytime soon. Eric, one of the actors, is in a band and he's about to go on tour, so we'll at least have to wait till he gets back from that. Funny thing is, we'll probably be going back out there in Novemeber when it's super cold, unlike this time when it was mostly super hot. Each morning started out pretty cool (it even rained for a while Friday morning), but each day in the early afternoon the clouds parted, out came the sun, and we all got scorched. Needless to say, I am now quite tan. Luckily none of my sunburns peeled except the one on my nose.

I took a ton of photos. Here are some my favorites:

JR fixin' up the camera
Cast and crew hangin' out in the tent

Checkin' out the dolly

Mike Price doin' his thing

DP

My sound stuff <3

Applying the fake blood

Foolin' around

There was a lot of beautiful scenery.

Breakfast

Justin directing

Justin and Mike

"Action"

Mike on edge

Eric as Bill

Ashley as Ashlee

Down time

Nathan as Michael

I had to hold the mic from inside the car for this shot.

"Now I see clearly, and the dawn in coming nearly."

Well, my situation has definitely improved quite a bit in a week.

I now have a job at the bike shop. Today was my first day. It was fun! Putting bikes together. The only bad thing about it is that it's in the morning, but that's ok. I need to stop sleeping so late, anyway. The job doesn't really take any skill; it's just screwing in this, and attaching that. I love putting things together. Legos were my favorite toy when I was little.

I'm also going to be the photo/graphics editor for The Collegian again. I'm glad. I thought last May that I wouldn't do it again because I knew I had a busy schedule, but I do really need the money, and it is pretty fun most of the time, and my class schedule isn't going to be as hectic as I thought...

I'm not doing orchestra this year. *whew* My only B last semester, and probably the most time consuming class I've ever taken, and it's at such an inconvenient time! Ugh! No thank you. I might do it my senior year if there's not too much else going on, but for now, no way, José.

I've also decided to drop Music History III. I only went to two class periods and I already knew it was going to be my most boring class, by far. It would likely turn out as a B if I were to stay in it, and I really want this semester to be a blast, so I can wait till next year to take Music History. Also, the books for that class were WAY expensive. I didn't see that coming. But now I get a refund, thank God.

I think I am set. I have some great film studies stuff ahead of me, and band is going to be great, and I will be able to earn some money, and... I have decided to get out more, meaning I am going to get into exercise. Agatha and I had decided to play tennis on a regular basis, which shall be wonderful, I am sure. I am going to go disc golfing as much as possible, partly depending on whether others will go with me. And I'm going to start running. I have decided. I think now is when I will finally be motivated to get out and just run. I have an iPod that I don't use much, so running will be good use of that. Also, I've heard Riverside is a great place to run about. Also, I'm just sick and tired of being out of shape (pun intended). I miss that feeling. I miss being active. I feel better about myself when I'm outside moving around, and hey, that's basically a description of running! Imagine that!

I should probably add that I'm helping out at a film shoot tomorrow through Sunday, which should be a good and fun experience. I can't wait to use the sound mixer, if I can figure it out, that is...

I think this semester is going to be good.

Well, the first week of school went well. I think my film classes are going to be a blast, and I'll be able to overlap some projects with some of them, which is cool. Music History is probably going to be my least favorite, but at least it won't be real difficult.

Band is great. The pit music this year is quite challenging, which is a nice change. It was frustrating during band camp, but now that I'm starting to get it down, I'm having a lot of fun with it. Also, I love all the freshmen and new members. We have a great section this year. A real section.

It's amazing what listening to a bit of music can do to change one's mood. I was feeling somewhat blue earlier, and I decided I'd just sit down, chill, and listen to some of my favorite songs. It did wonders. I feel at least 50% better. :P I think the song of the moment right now is KT Tunstall's "Saving My Face".

Also, Lori has offered to give me a ride to Scottish dance on Thursday nights sometimes, and that is awesome. It's going to take me a while to get used to my new bike, so this way I won't have to miss dance for the first half of the semester.