Don't follow the shadows

I hardly have time to update LJ these days, so a relatively quick one is definitely in order. I have been enjoying the strange spring-like weather after the 14 inches of snow we got down by the lake Monday morning, and had a much better week than the last one.

I. I ended up being in Peter’s group during class, and he said if he can get off work we are going down to Chicago to see Týr and Alestorm over Spring Break. :D He said he didn’t want to go by himself, so I offered to go with him. I am still inwardly cringing for inviting myself, but I think it was necessary. We also had a long conversation about folk metal and about how Petri left Norther to spend more time with Ensiferum, so I’m definitely feeling more optimistic. However, I’m kind of devastated about the whole Norther thing because I never go to see them live and I am not feeling too hopeful about them finding anyone as good as Pete for a replacement. But on the other hand, Ensiferum is my favorite band and the last Norther album kind of sucked. Anyway…

II. I don’t know if I mentioned it, but two of my suitemates moved out this semester, leaving our suite with one person to a room. Needless to say, things have been very peaceful at the dorms. That was until they started using the toilet and sink as garbage disposals. They clogged Thursday night, and despite maintenance working on it for hours on Friday, they’re still broken. I really hope this gets taken care of over the weekend because I really don’t want to take the elevator down to the lobby every time I need to go to the bathroom and brush my teeth. Honestly, I’d love to know where people get these ideas.

III. I’ve talked about it a few times, so I thought I might as well say that I won’t be studying abroad this summer. The cost of the trip to Ireland increased from $2,600 to $3,600 not including airfare and passport stuff, so it looks like I’ll be going next summer instead of this one, granted I’m able to get a job after the semester is over. Besides, I want to start taking Gaelic language classes before I actually go. I’m hoping I’ll be able to get some kind of office job, since I really need to get more money. I also need to keep getting tattooed regularly because Lane and his wife want to move to London as soon as possible, and I’d hate having it incomplete, having to get another artist to finish it, or flying out there just to have tattoo work done. Catherine also wants me to go with her to her grandparents’ place in Florida over Spring Break next year. None of this stuff is cheap, so I definitely have to decide what my priorities are.

IV. Today was the last trip I’ll make to Atomic Records, since they’ll be closed in less than two weeks. Everything is starting to get picked over, but posters were $2, so I got ones from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and a general punk rock one and a t-shirt. There was an awesome wood plaque in the window with Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie on it, but unfortunately it wasn’t for sale. They always have such unique stuff, and I’m really going to miss it.

V. I also got my hair cut today for the first time in over a year. It was just to even it out and get rid of split ends, since I’m still growing it out. I think it’s coming along pretty well considering a year ago it was a good inch and a half above my shoulders and now it’s like this:

( ... )

Today was Columbus Day, and although my best friend is in Spain right now, still...fuck it. Leif Ericson was the first European to come to North America, and he did it centuries before Columbus did. Even then...

"Perhaps, after all, America never has been discovered. I myself would say that it had merely been detected." - Oscar Wilde

My sleeping schedule is getting a little better. I will try to avoid going to bed later than 3:30 AM as well as waking up after 12:30 PM. Not being able to fall asleep until around 6:00 AM last Wednesday because I didn’t wake up until the middle of the afternoon on Tuesday was not fun at all, and I will be trying to avoid repeating it at all costs. Especially while I’m in school, since I skipped astronomy that day to get a couple extra hours of sleep.

Speaking of astronomy class, the average for the exam was a 66%. Even though I got a 69%, I don't feel so bad. There's another quiz coming up this week, so hopefully with the extra studying, I'll be able to bring my grade up.

As for my angry nostril piercing, I did some sea salt soaks over the weekend, left it alone as much as possible, and thankfully, it's nearly healed again.

Choke is not (and never was) showing at Marcus Theatres in the Falls. The only other theater I can get to that is showing it is The Oriental, however the only two times it's showing don't work with my class schedule. Damn.

I ended up blocking the people on MySpace I previously mentioned wanting to do so, but feared I’d meet in person again. I figured I needed to keep my peace and sanity at the moment, and that if I actually see these guys again, I can always tell them I deleted my MySpace. I know I’m bending my own ethics a bit with being dishonest, but if it’s the only way to stop these needy, desperate guys from constantly bugging me, then I think it’s for the best. Besides, I already tried letting them down lightly, and they weren’t taking no for an answer.

Also, I have heard O-Town's "All or Nothing", Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On", and K-Ci and Jojo's "All My Life" more times this past week than I should in my entire lifetime, courtesy of my wonderful suitemates. Although I'm usually listening to music while I'm in here, I am not when I'm trying to read something technical, meditating, practicing yoga, and sleeping. Unfortunately, all my suitemates do when they're conscious is listen to horrible, old American pop music.

For once, luck is on my side. I got to go home a day early! I don't have to go to my astronomy class on Friday since we had a Planetarium show this week and I already attended this week’s lecture on Monday. Now I can catch up on sleep and enjoy the long-forgotten sound of silence.

Not much is new in Sandburg except the daily occurrences of what has previously been bitched about. The dreaded yellow towel has now made its way out of the bathroom and in front of the entrance to my room, next to the bookcase in the hall. From a bit of eavesdropping, I have also found out that the guy who used it allegedly has (an) STD(s). Lovely. I’m still debating whether I should post a passive-aggressive note, just leave it there, move it in front of one of their doors, or put on some latex gloves and drop it down the garbage chute. Being mature and confronting them about it isn’t really an option because of the alliance they mysteriously formed against me when I was only ever nice to them and told them my door would be open if they needed anything. I realize I am probably stooping down to their level by avoiding them, but I really have no desire to try to be friends with someone who doesn’t want to be friends with me. At this point, everything that goes on in the dorms is regarded with more of a bemused annoyance than fiery hatred. Perhaps my tolerance is just increasing.

Everything else is fine, except I hate working with oil paint. After four paintings, I’ve finally started to get the hang of how much I can put on the surface before it starts to get muddy and that I have to be careful when blending and making changes. I like the look of it, but I still feel like I have more control with acrylic. I’m also sure there are ways I can achieve the look of oils without actually using them. I just don’t like spending half an hour trying to clean all my stuff with three different solvents and still walk away with a nasty, oily film on everything, including myself. Once again, it’s probably something I have to get used to. I know I have adjustment issues with nearly everything in life, so until I become comfortable with it, I’m just going to complain…as usual. The good news is that I am making progress. My artwork is among the best in the class, despite having hardly any painting experience and working with oil paint for the first time. This is saying a lot because I think my paintings are quite bad, especially with the dreadfully boring objects we had to work with.

I also recently received ( this ) in my inbox, and I must admit I’m a little weirded out. As much as I’d like to help this person, I don’t take my LiveJournal seriously at all, and therefore do not want to be defined by it or have my entries analyzed (at least while being aware of it).

So, it’s been a week since classes have started. Surprisingly, everything academic-wise is going well. I like my Digital Art instructors much better and their curriculums are not as involved, so I’ll be able to get through this semester without dropping a class. I’ll be glad when I’m finished with the Pre-Art program and get those General Education credit required classes out of the way.

Living in Sandburg is another story. I never thought I’d say this, but I miss my old suitemates from last year. Like I said, it’s only been a week, and here is a taste of what has materialized thus far:

• Every year, a suitemate has to have a loud, obnoxious, gay friend that stays for hours and hours and won’t shut up. It never fails.
• If you open the door once, see someone in the bathroom stall and the shower running, why would you open the door again five minutes later to ask if anyone’s in there when you should clearly be able to hear the shower running?
• The one who’s a total ghetto-ass hood rat talks freely about how she thought my backpiece was a rash. What a dumbass. There are other tattoos out there besides the tacky black and gray airbrushed graffiti-esque memorial script stamped into your skin by some scratcher.
• Being awakened by a blast of “A Whole New World” half an hour before my alarm is supposed to go off from the next room, and they don’t even have the decency to keep the door closed.
• The aforementioned classiest one of the bunch leaving the radio blasting the filth that spews forth from Kiss FM when she’s not in her room.
• Another one who was in the shower for over forty-five minutes when I was supposed to clean it before my tattoo appointment. (I ended up leaving with her still in the shower and was still late.)
• The two white small-town ones screaming like a bunch of idiots during the Packer game. This is why women still don’t have equal rights in this country. You sound like a bunch of fucking retards screaming shrilly at the television for the players to “go”. I thought we were smarter than this, but then again I tend to overestimate the abilities of my own gender.
• It's like there's a block party going on below my room for twenty hours out of the day. There are several tables set up where a bunch of drunk, loud idiots like to yell nonsense with their neanderthal-esque friends. They also like to start screaming matches between people of various floors in all four towers, which is actually more entertaining than annoying. However, listening to some guy yell, "Blueberry! Blueberry!! Blueberry!!!" at the top of his lungs at 3:30 AM isn't so much fun.

The one good thing is that the bathroom is still clean, and we have a weekly cleaning schedule, although I have a feeling two of them will refuse to clean up after “white bitches” because they bring up racism everyday. And I’m the one being accused when my ancestors didn’t even immigrate to this country until after slavery was abolished and none of them settled in the South. What a joke. They’re the ones who are being racist, and it’s only fair that if I clean up after you one week, you do the same for one week. It’s only the fucking bathroom. ...Not to mention that the bookshelf is still in the hall, which is a great source of annoyance to me when I'm trying to get through with a messenger bag and a portfolio and is probably a fire hazard. *facepalm*

I think it's a good time to use this comic.

In lighter news, now that I’m over the shock and pain of the large addition to my back, I thought I’d mention that I’m very happy with the progress. It’s kind of hard to judge what the end product will look like, since Lane just finished the drawing before he tattooed the outline on me, but the peacock has a rather cute face. I also took a vote, and decided to name him Fritz. The outline is in gray right now, so before more permanent marks are made, Lane will probably have the drawing more developed so I can get a better idea and work with him on anything I may not like. On Saturday, I had my belated birthday dinner with Catherine at Olive Garden followed by white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake, and she came over to my house afterward to hang out. She got me a photo album disguised as a clutch that was filled with random inside-joke related pictures of us and Joe hanging out, and a shirt and scarf from The Gap. As for Sunday, I was in a mad rush to finish all my homework, and ended up hastily packing and forget to pack underwear! I have one spare pair here and don’t have the time nor energy to take the bus downtown to buy new ones, so I’ve resorted to hand washing them. I can’t use the washing machines here because you have to have money in a special account. Lame.