Where You Are Is Where You're At - Deal With It

Hey again all.

So...once again plenty of updates here. :) Life has been crazy busy and also very stagnant and limbo-like at the same time. Because of my PTK status, I got a lot of schools e-mailing me information and inviting me to apply. Some of these schools are very, very good schools - like Columbia in New York (which was my dream school when I was 16), and also DePaul University in Chicago, which I'd never thought about but promptly fell in love with when I checked into their programming.

However, love is all well and good, but as DePaul is a private university, it's also mega expensive. And I have not been able to find work anywhere in Chicago to be able to facilitate a move. As such, while I applied and was accepted, there just isn't enough financial aid available and/or a job there to be able to make that dream come true, which is very sad. But, sometimes where you are is where you are and you just have to suck it up and deal, make the best of the situation, lemonade from lemons, etc. Considering I haven't won the lottery, I'm taking the present state of things as a sign and making due with what I have where I am.

To that end, I went earlier this month to the big orientation at UCF. And I mean BIG. SO. MANY. PEOPLE. o.O And, honestly, their staff? Not the nicest folks on the planet. The free lunch was garbage and....well....I'm just not in love with that school or the programming. But, it is what it is and so I am moving forward. I got through the orientation and got classes scheduled, but I have had to re-work that schedule into all online classes for this first semester. Like with Chicago, I still am unable to find any employment in Orlando that can facilitate a move. As such, I can't commute 4 hours each day trying to get back and forth while staying here in Ocala so....online classes it is. Which is fine with me because I'm a Technical Writing major and I actually prefer my writing classes online.

As such, here is my schedule for this first semester of classes at UCF:

American Literature II
Writing for the Technical Professional
Theories and Tech of Lit Study
World Literature I

Looks like a lot of reading and writing which are my two favorite things. Every time I have had online writing classes I have enjoyed them so I'm looking forward to this semester. Classes start August 22nd and I'm ready to get back to the studying.

As for the educational future, I do still long for DePaul, and maybe some time I can either transfer or head there for graduate work, but for right now I must make due with the options available to me. Once upon a time, when I was young, reckless, and stupid, I would have taken off and lived out of my car or something just to get the experience I was dying for. Now, older, wiser, and much more cautious, I'm hoping to do things the smart way. I'm either maturing or getting soft in my old age - some days that feels like a judgment call either way.

So....I will be back later next month to relay the fun and excitement of new classes at a new school with a new major and lots and lots of....newness. Until then - stay cool all! Cheers!

P.S. - before y'all say anything - yeah, scholarships, I know. Only problem is they contacted me with the invite to apply after the deadline for scholarship applications. It blows, but there it is. But - hey - maybe it might work out later? Who knows. We'll see. :)

Update to the Drama

Hey there hi there ho there y'all!

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it may not be the headlamp of an oncoming train! I have a tutoring session scheduled with someone in my major that is supposedly an expert on all this software. Bright and early Monday - yippee. :) I am continuing on with my independent study, but learn so much better if I have someone to ask questions of. Also - I was informed there is an on-campus class I can sit in on if I like. Good news all around! I have to give it to my school, they are willing to do whatever they can to help you succeed. Woot! :) Great way to start the weekend.

Also - new classwork for Week 3 posted today. Success Strategies was easy and it's already done. As previously mentioned, hearing about that would make y'all fall asleep so - we're skipping posting that stuff. English Comp is seriously busy this week. Lots of fun for y'all later. Intro to Computer Graphics and Typography is more of the same as last week so....there will be lots of fun and exciting posts to follow. Stay tuned! Cheers!

English Composition - Week 2

Hi all.

Okay - it's that time again! :) For my English Composition class, we are working on Storytelling this week. So - discussion assignment was a short narrative to be posted for peer review, written assignment was to write a fable in the style of Aesop with a moral. We had five to choose from. Again ALL WRITING IS MINE, HAS MY COPYRIGHT, SO DO NOT STEAL IT! LINK IF YOU CAN, CITE IF YOU MUST - DON'T STEAL MY SHIT!! So....first, here is my discussion narrative:


On a cold, dark, and drizzly Friday evening in January of 2004, I was the victim in a pedestrian vs. SUV accident while living in Seattle. My car had been stolen in September of 2003, and I was left with no option but to take the bus to get anywhere. I had gotten off of the bus on my way home from work to run into the 7-11 closest to my home to pick up some soda and milk for the weekend. While crossing the street back over to my bus stop after making my purchases, I was struck by a Dodge Durango that was pulling out of a park entrance at the cross-street near the 7-11. The driver had not been paying attention at all and hit me head-on. I had braced myself for the impact at the last second, and as such did not immediately fall when he hit me. Rather, I popped back and landed on my own feet again. Unfortunately, once he hit his brakes after hitting me, his tires locked and the SUV slid forward into me again. That is when I hit the ground and slid about 8 feet before coming to a stop. Unable to move due to the shock of the impact, I found myself lying on a cold, wet street surrounded by strangers. I had moved all the way across the country from all of my family, so I had no one to call to pick me up from the emergency room or for help during rehabilitation. Finally, unable to continue living in Seattle while trying to recuperate, I moved back to Florida and family for my rehab. While I still miss Seattle terribly and hope someday to return, this experience has given me a new appreciation for living closer to the support of family and friends.


And here is my fable:


On a crisp autumn morning, one of the last before winter’s chill set in, two squirrels met each other on the top of a fence.

“Sister Squirrel!” said the first, “surely you are not ready for the coming winter already!”

“But I am, Brother Squirrel,” said the second. “I have everything I need stored safely away.”

“Tosh!” exclaimed Brother Squirrel. “See you my tree – it is full to overflowing with nuts for the winter!”

And indeed his tree was full. Nuts had been stuffed into every available knot of the tree, spilling over in some places.

“Aye, Brother,” said Sister Squirrel, “I indeed do see the fruits of your labors, but do you not worry that some of your nuts’ shells are broken, and that they are packed too tightly in places, exposed to other animals and the elements?”

“Nonsense!” said Brother Squirrel. “If some are not good or are stolen, I have plenty of others! You are the one who will be sorry you have not stocked more away.”

“We shall see,” said Sister Squirrel.

And, indeed, as the cold, harsh winter endured, Sister Squirrel enjoyed the finest and freshest of nuts, as she had stored only the best nuts she could find, and kept them safe from the elements and theft.

Brother Squirrel, meanwhile, lost most of his best nuts to other animals and the freezing ice and snow. He was left with only the spoiled nuts he could salvage from the broken shells in the bottom of his tree.

The moral being that quality is better than quantity.


Yeah, and in case you're wondering, I agree - apparently my squirrels are Scottish or something. :)

I'm not going to post anything from my Success Strategies course - 'cuz it's all about returning to school, balancing school and life, blah, blah, blah. I do have some assignments for Intro to Computer Graphics this week and Typography - and those will follow later.

Anyhoo...enjoy my English Comp assignments. Thoughts? Leave 'em!

English Composition Assignment - Your Mind to Paper

Hi all. By popular demand (hee) I am going to be posting classwork from all of my classes, not just my graphics classes. As such, here is my first assignment from my English Composition class. Please note that the copyright on the writing here belongs to me. As such, please do not plagiarize my work. If you want to share something, link it to here, kthxbai!

The title of the assignment was From Your Mind to Paper. What we had to do was read an excerpt from Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" and then write our own description of Gregor the Bug Man, so....here is my assignment of what I decided Gregor the Bug Man looks like:

With his relatives pounding on the doors around him, Gregor tried in vain to raise himself from his bed. He realized that his body, before soft and human and flexible, was now long and hard and unyielding. He glanced down to see himself a foreign entity entirely. His soft, light skin had been replaced by a kind of hard, dark green body shell. Where once he had two strong legs, he now saw nothing. He attempted to raise his left hand to pinch himself, only to find that the physical response to his mental command no longer raised one arm but four long, dark green feelers covered in rough black hairs. A glance to his right showed four answering feelers in concert to the ones on his left. As he rolled his eyes in agony, he looked up to see two more feelers sprouting from his head. An angry sort of rustling, like the sound of sandpaper rubbing against itself, turned his head further to the side to see a translucent white wing rubbing against his bedding. He felt a strange pulling and fullness in his mouth that he could not define. With a great deal of effort, he managed to roll himself off of his bed and land awkwardly on two of his bottom feelers. With speed he could not comprehend, he found himself across his bedroom standing in front of his mirror. He could not believe the horror he beheld there. The fullness in his mouth came from two large pincers, like those of a large spider. His eyes were a bright, sinister red, and his head was covered with large, jagged protrusions of what appeared to be bone. Unable to handle the enormity of what he had become, his eyes rolled back into his head and Gregor the Bug Man fainted dead away.

Also for my English Comp class, we have to write a research essay on the topic of diversity in our chosen field. I am getting my Bachelor's in Digital Design and Animation, and my focus is going to be on animated film. As such, here is the research essay topic decision I turned in:

I have chosen to focus my diversity research project topic on the need for more women in the animated film industry. My research and arguments will address the need for more women in the film industry in general, and the animated film industry in particular, as not only inspiration for the following generations of young women, but also as pioneers in striving to achieve a more accurate and positive portrayal of women and girls in animated films. My research and arguments will show that the current portrayals of women and girls in animated film are distorted, and that with an increased diversity of more women in higher level positions in the industry (i.e. directors, story creators, etc.), that these issues can be addressed and the images of women and girls changed to more accurately reflect real society.

Know what I like best of all about that? You can't tell one little bit that I'm a militant feminist, can you? (wink wink nudge nudge) Heee...So....thought's y'all? Post 'em! Laters!