Entry 000168; 08.29.03

Words cannot describe how intensely busy I am going to be this semester, perhaps this entire school year. And to think, I was looking foward to school as a vacation from work. It always works this way.

To start off with (and mostly to bore you) I'm taking 6 and a half classes this term. The half really depends on how hard I can push myself. Clark only lets you take 4 classes a semester, which is a pity amount and really, who can learn anything at that rate? So they let me overload a 5th class because I have a high enough GPA. Then I am going to audit photography and every tuesday of Jen's 2D design class. The reason I am overloading photography is obvious, as I am sort of shooting to be a photography major. The reason I am overloading 2D is because I would like the background for graphic design, and I don't want to be caught having to take it next term with the hippie proffessor, Valerie. Jen rocks, no really. This is why I am taking half a class, which I get no credit for.

So photography should be ok, I can work out a schedule so I see Tia and Tess on the weekends, develop and print on the days when I am TAing, and go to Steve's house on Tuesday nights for critique. Jen's class I will be attending mainly for the sake of sponging up information, so it's not like the homework is mandatory.

The classes I am actually enrolled for are the ones that are going to be biting me in the ass. I have to take sociology because of this stupid school requirement where they don't believe that social psychology, which I took at WPI and flew through no problem, counts as any form of soiology or studying groups of humans. Clark, jesus. The class made me buy about 200 dollars in books, most of which will bore the pants off of me and take up all of my free time trying to keep up with the reading. The second class I'm taking is Senior Studio. Honestly, I'm not really sure exactly what this is or how it works, but my advisor suggested I take it just in case I might be able to graduate this year. The only thing I do know about this class is that I am not ready for it. Supposedly 7-13 seniors take this class every year in preparation for another ambiguous, scary class the next semester, Senior Thesis. We're supposed to be working independantly on our own projects. At the end of the semester, a panel of faculty judges will decide whether we are fit to take this next class. I think it all has something to do with Honors, with respect to what, I have no idea. The main point is that I don't have the foggiest idea of what I'm going to be doing, nor do I even know what medium I'm going to be working in. The cool part is that we all get our own studios, which I didn't know until I showed up to class and the professor started to talk about our "space." She then led us across campus to the basement of the building I used to take chinese in. Apparantly, in the basement of Estabrook Hall is a freaking APARTMENT, complete with mickey-moused stereo system carved into the walls, mouldy couches off of the road, and shittons of plaster, wire, and all kinds of other crap all over the place. One of the couches even has a pull out bed. After a lot of people going "well I'd like a space with my own door but I'll settle if you really want me to..."s, the professor just told us to run to the first room we wanted and whoever was there first won the room. It worked rather suspiciously well. I ended up getting my own corner room with two windows (that doesn't mean much, seeing as how it's in a basement) and more space than my old bedroom. What I am going to do in it, I have no idea. I'm allowed to do whatever the hell I want with it. This includes painting it, probably knocking down walls, and I'm willing to bet they'd let me build a spiral staircase to the cieling that ends up nowhere. I've always wanted one of those in my room. All I know is that I want to paint it dark and use it as a giant chaulkboard for lists.

The third class I'm taking is an art history class that focuses on O'Keefe, Stieglitz, and American Modernism. That sounds boring but it's actually more interesting than the previous art history classes I've taken. Probably because it's not taught by an angry chipmunk like that guy at WPI. It's a bit of reading and a lot of looking at slides. No worries.

The fourth class I'm taking is ...oh god it's so hard to keep track of them all. I have to keep a list on my monitor so I remember to think of them all when doing homework. Ahh yes, typography. That shall probably be hideously time-consuming, but I'm looking foward to that one as well. I haven't had a class in it yet, but the instructor is my favorite professor so all is well.

The overloaded class I'm taking isn't really a class but an internship. I'll be working for the Clark University Gallery doing graphic design things. I'm not sure if I'm the head GD or not, but I know I was just given a crapload of more things to do than the other GD intern. Luckily, the other intern happens to be the only person in any of my GD classes whose opinion I really respect, and the only person I would expect to come up with something worth saying. I'm really glad she's working on this. The main point of my job description is to design flyers that advertise for the various shows, set up signs to make the public aware of the shows and galleries, and when showtime happens, help the grunt-people put up and take down the work. My first deadline is next friday, and I am saddled with the task of designing a way of folding and templating the pamplets for the permanent use of the Clark Gallery for all eternity, or until someone thinks of somethign they like better. Sure, it doesn't sound daunting to you, but I will be in charge of the first professional thing in my hopefully long and sucessful career, and people will be building off of it to years to come. If I screw up now...Oh jeez. Also, during the meeting today, I somehow got wrangled into painting a wall black on Tuesday, when I would ordinarily not have to even drive onto campus. Such is life.

So I mentioned the TA job that I got back, but I didn't mention the clark athletics job. I was sort of hoping to avoid Coach Bradley until it was absolutely necessary to ask him for assignment, in hopes that he would find another photographer more suited (and equipped) for the job. Unfortunately he flagged me down and told me that this year I was to be taking pictures. Also, as per the usual conversation, I would be taking fewer, better pictures. I wonder if he will ever know how absurd that sounds. I really don't want this job, but it is seven hundred dollars worth of practice. It also will use up the hours in work study as a TA that I can't use up, and it does look good on a resume.