mats mats dock dock

Yay! Weekend! I haven't had a weekend since May or was it June? Ohh this year is going by fast.

Had a small breakfast of cupcake and tea. Then helped dad and mom haul fire wood for an hour and a half. I'm the one who tosses the wood from the truck and mom would stack it in piles for dad to stack in the wood shack thing. Then mom went and cooked and I had to make the piles. Worked for an hour and a half. Took a break. Worked for another hour. Unloaded three truck beds worth of wood! Was it three? Or two. Errr.

Either way, it was a lot of work. I got some stuff in my eye at the midway point, but I washed it out and all was well.

After wood, ma, pa, and myself packed up some cooking and went to Mats Mats for dinner with Grandma and Grandpa. Dad showed them a slideshow of our San Juan island trip. Dinner was a casserole, a spinach salad, some green beans, and apple pie for dessert! There was a squirrel outdoors that kept peering in at our dinner.

We left at around 7, as dad had to get home and pack.

I watched Fringe. Tomorrow Dad is off to Brazil for the week. Ma and I will be going to Seattle to meet a Buddhist nun!

Todays Portrait Is: Anais Pouliot.

the landscaping in the lot is nice, even if it does take up would be parking spaces

Up late watching Six Feet Under (only two episodes left and then I am done with that series, though I don't think I can emotionally handle that right now, plus like I said it is late).

It is weird how I used to have class at 1, and I would sleep in till 11 or so. Back at PNCA. Now I have a 1am class and I am up at around 9. I chill and eat and get ready in my own time. But not having wildly different sleeping hours through the week is best.

In class Tim the teacher started going over the basic items about shot compositions and things. Some of it I know, some of it I don't. I like realizing how much I have picked up over the years. It isn't a half bad assortment of knowledge in my noggin, if only I could apply them to something. I was sitting in what felt like the middle of old drama between several students. Olympian/ASOC drama or something. Like acquaintances that don't really like each other. I think I'm going to try sitting in the back. The boys in the back at least have seen Drive, so that is a conversation starter.

It was rainy in the morning but the sun came out. I have the hardest time navigating where I parked my car in the new lot.

Back at home I did a substantial amount of nothing. And continued to do nothing till dinner. Mmm soup. Then I watched my downloaded telly, ma and pa went to bed at 8. Now I am tired and shall sleep. Tomorrow I help dad haul fire wood and then we eat dinner and Grandma and Grandpa's.

Todays Portrait Is: Lindsey Wixson.

slab

Ma and pa packed me a really nice lunch. Mmm! I left a bit before eight, so that I could get to school and find parking. And parking I did find in the upper lot. Got to class at around a half an hour early, so I perused the teacher's text and relaxed. The first chunk was lecture about Illustrator and the program and what this and that did. We took a break and then started working through the book. Some of it is really basic stuff that I know from using the Adobe Software Suite, but other things are good to know, and the fact that he is going through it part by part is really helpful.

During the between class break, I ate half my sandwich and gobbled some food.

Flash was one part lecture, and it was a Muybridge/motion/frames per second lecture. One I've heard before from Rose Bond. After break we watched a video called Film Before Film and it was all about zoetropes and glass plates and illusions and stuff, all the ways people entertained themselves before film. It was really neat. And then class was over.

Had a nice drive home. Chilled for the rest of the night. Dinner was a slab of turkey, corn, and broccoli. Mmm!

Todays Portrait Is: Daphne Groeneveld.

intense lecture class ahoy!

Even though my class wasn't till 1, I managed to get up at about 8:30 or so. Go me! Got my portraits done. Ate breakfast. All in good time. I put my face on, and drove off to school. Found parking easily and then realized I wasn't anywhere near the theater. So I walked over to the theater and saw the sign saying class was in the Business building. I was the first one there. Some interesting characters trickled in. We have a chuckles in the class, you know, the loud kind that makes jokes and already has previous camaraderie with the teacher. He settled down.

The film directing class will be all lecture. Learning the terminology. Learning the language. It will be lecture, and I'm looking forward to it. It is all previsualization in direction. Unfortunately it is part of a three part program, so I won't take part two and three (as I should hopefully have moved on from there). After class I got a notebook and some sweets.

Then I stopped by Rite Aid and got some facial cleanser (trying out Cetaphil) and a new hair clip because the last one broke.

My car is behaving well.

Dinner was a baked thing with soup. It was good soup.

Ma and I watched Glee. It had a few laughs and a few good numbers. Raising Hope was the big star on the night. Hilaaarious! Such a charming show with a great class.

I think film is the class I'll be most enthusiastic about.

Todays Portrait Is: Kristen Holden-Ried.

drive Drive drive

Got this pounding headache out of nowhere, but I took a couple Advil and it seems to be going down.

Alarm went off at 7:15, rolled out of bed an hour later. Dad made me a delicious salmon sandwich for lunch. Munched on Cheerios on the way to school. I should have left a bit earlier, because even with the new parking lots at Olympic College, at 10am it is all full up. I ended up parking near the curb in the art parking lot section. Sort of okay but not really.

Wandered around the art room section and eventually found the elusive 113. I have sort of missed the mixed bag of students that show up for Olympic College courses. Returning students, moms, running start, all sorts. Pretty much the opposite of PNCA's skinny scruffy crew.

First class was Illustrator with Jonathan. Got a nice long lecture about how he doesn't care if we miss class (or rather he doesn't care about finding reasons for this and that, he isn't going to track us down) and got a lengthy talk about how to save stuff and some basic this and that. We start in on Wednesday. My textbook better arrive soon. Should be an interesting class. Lots of projects.

Class ended early, so I went to the library and had a great little chat with my old boss Michael. Caught up a bit on all the changes. Olympic College now gets funds for students who complete, not for the number of full time enrolled students. LAAAME. Because I'm full time right now, but they get no money for me because I'm not going to complete (all though I already got my degree four years ago).

After our little chat, I sat on the lawn where the Humanities building used to be and read and ate my sandwich.

The next class was Flash with Clydene. Some of the people from the first class were in this one, and we did proper all around introductions. There is a Digital Media Arts program now, well there was and now it is closing down. What the hell OC?

The class was mostly a lecture about the history of Flash and file sizes and vectors and then got into a PC vs Mac rant, and those are always exciting. Each serves a purpose.

Taylor, a guy who was three years behind me at Klahowya, is int he class. Recognized him right away.

Had a nice drive back home. Chilled for a bit and then went to Silverdale to see the movie Drive, one which I have been anticipating for months. Nicolas Winding Refn is fast becoming one of my favorite directors. He just knows how to put stuff together. Yeah, that wasn't the most articulate thing I've said. It was so beautiful. The colors vibrant but not distracting. The actors great. Sometimes a bit overwrought but generally awesome. The action had a punch like nothing I've seen in a while. Solid film. Can't wait till Refn's next.

Ma and pa tucked in to bed when I got home. I did the internet thing. No homework yet.

Oh dang, I have to do a portrait. I'll do one tomorrow before school. I don't have to leave till noon, so I'll be sure to get up early. Time to get a sleep schedule again. I think my goal will be a 7:15am alarm Monday-Thursday.

Todays Portrait Is: Ben Whishaw.

can't be bothered

Boating in the San Juans was fun, if a bit cold and cramped and cold at times. It was a long trip and I took no notes and I really don't feel like summing it up, it would just be the most generic blow by blow account any way. Sailed out of Anacortes, Jones Island the first night. Then Friday Harbor. Then...? Somewhere near Orcas I believe. Then Sucia. Then near Olga. Then home again. No swimming.

Anyway, sorry there isn't a proper post but I'm not in rhythm of posting right now. Tomorrow I start school again, so that will be something new to write about.

Macaulay Culkin

Oprah Winfrey

Ken Watanabe

Sam Rockwell

Trent Reznor

Lynda Barry