not falling down

1. Describe, in a concise fashion, your CentreTerm experience.

… Wack.

Show opening kicked some butt. A-yep.

I’m on a diet. Don’t panic, Mom–mostly what that means is “no more french fries and soft drinks at every single meal.”Actually I’m trying to avoid fries period, as well as the greasy Cowanburgers that usually ride sidecar (of thedamned!). I don’t honestly think I’m fat, but the fact is that my pants aren’t comfortable anymore, and I misscomfortable pants. I’m the guy who wore sweats for two solid years in middle school. Comfort is a high priority, withme.

Judging by sleep patterns and hair growth, my metabolism is as frighteningly fast as ever, so I can only conclude thatthe sheer amounts of fat and salt I’ve been taking in for the past year or so have left my body no options butlong-term storage. It’s not something I’ve been doing it purposefully–Cowan food is some of the most cardboardlike,vaguely sickening stuff in the world, and the grease and sodium do wonders to hide that. Pretty soon theburgerfriesCodeRed at lunch and dinner got to be a routine.

Now, I still maintain that salt is a necessary part of every diet, and studies show that the only effect pop has ontooth decay is “milk deprivation.” But I want my 33 waist back, so I’m trying to get used to pasta-and-turkey-sandwichwith apple juice as my default food setting.

If nothing else, I’ve finally proved to myself that my body will change shape over time–after cross country left meexactly as muscular as it found me, I had my doubts. Now I guess we’ll see if it takes me a year to change back.

I think this is the most boring thing I’ve ever written. How to spice it up? Oh, yes, Object A did in fact go through with it and Ican’t seem to find whatever it is I need to go after her. Ah, the drama.

I hate it when all the diaries I read take a weeklong hiatus, but I can’t claim to be innocent of it myself.Bleagh.

CentreTerm (look! trendy capital!) is barreling to a crashing stop, as is Forum, and I am consistently too damn busy. Irecently (like last night) got moved from Assistant Spoon Monster to Spot Op, which I have done exactly once and atwhich I suck heartily. I hope I merely detract from the show’s quality and don’t actually ruin it.

No class today, so I spent a few hours in my underwear fiddling with the site. The Archive page is at least functional now, although it won’t be what I have in mind until Ihave a few spare weeks to learn mySQL. I added some stuff to the Creds page, and officiallysigned up for the AltBrand Army. Call me a sheep.

I also spent a lot of time relearning how to work Animation Shop, and finally put together a banner ad for Xorph–I’llput that and some buttons up later tonight, most likely. For now I have to go try to find Patrick Kagan-Moore, who willnot show up, and then listen to Will weep over it.

Wish me luck.

I tried to tell you, tried totell you
just took a bit too long

I am attempting to master the art of showing everything but myself in my webcam. Why? ‘Cause damn.

I quit running around finals last term, and I just got back from my first attempt at it since then. It’s been at leasta month, and it shows, and the cold air is unkind to my raspy secondhand lungs–but I feel better, and I haven’tslipped as much as I thought. Then again, I also have new shoes, so that could be part of it.

Part of KERA (Kentucky Education Reform Act, which went into effect around seventh grade for me) meant that we wrote alot more in school. I think that’s a good thing. What’s stupid about it, though, is that we were doing the work fornothing. As we got older we started to realize it. I have no doubt that the low scores for our junior KIRIS tests weredue not to a lack of ability, but to a lack of caring.

My tracery of KERA results:

• Students began to write more.
• Because this writing was intended to judge teacher ability levels, teachers made students spend time on thesepieces instead of regular course work. At the same time, students were not graded for said pieces because they wereportfolio-bound. This had two direct results.
  1. Students were not taught as much useful material.
  2. Students were taught that it was more important to write more than to write well.
• Students did a great deal of work for which they were not held accountable. They got a wishy-washy level like”apprentice” or “distinguished” for it, but they couldn’t put it on a college application.
• Because it was stressed that students have a wide variety of work available for portfolio assembly, no piece couldbe thrown away–which, as most teachers translated, meant no criticism.

And that’s what really gets to me about the whole damn thing. We as a generation have not been taught to separatecritiques of work from personal criticism, a desperately important distinction that most of us are forced to learn onour own. I think it hurts a lot of people when they get to college, and it’s not their fault.

The comic that went up on today was kind of rushed. I did some different things with it, and I’m not too unhappy withhow it turned out… except the third panel. Grr. I may sneak back in and fix it up.

I have finally wrangled myself a copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which I think is going to be myfavorite already, because the other ones were so damn short. Here’s the thing about the HP books: they aren’t fantasy.They may be set against monsters and spells and junk, but the fact is that they’re detective stories through andthrough. The rest is just window dressing (and, occasionally, plot convenience).

Nerds are hailing this as the breakthrough of fantasy into the mainstream, and idiots are decrying it as the samething, but they’re both wrong. Kids are reading the books for the same reasons they read Hardy Boys or EncyclopediaBrown: they always have and always will eat up a good mystery, and the HP books are top flight.

I read the first three books (usually within 24 hours) in the past month. I also finally read Who’s Afraid ofVirginia Woolf, and the copy of Sabriel I borrowed from Meg in October, and all four of the Chronicles ofChrestomanci books Mom got me for Christmas (if you haven’t, read Diana Wynne Jones as if your life depended onit). I’m reading As I Lay Dying again, concurrently with Goblet, and I need to start re-reading my OrsonScott Card Character and Viewpoint. And I still feel guilty that I didn’t get through Fellowship of theRing before I saw the movie.

It’s been a long time since I read this much, this voraciously, and it feels good. I forget sometimes how much I usedto do it, and the fact that reading for fun essentially got me where I am in life.

And she says “I’m breaking up with him tomorrow,” and sits there looking forward, like she just assumes I’m stillbreathing.

A few hours of finagling on my part, and voila–I am no longer a Music Writer (ie desperately out of my depth) but aCreative Writer (ie out of my depth with water wings). It’s only the second day of classes and already I’m causingtrouble. Sue me!

My thoughts on MUS 124, yesterday, went quickly from “Hey, it’s cool, he’ll adjust for different skill levels” to”SHIT! HEADLIGHTS!” Dr. Bitensky’s idea of “little experience” and mine are rather different, I’m afraid. I would haveloved to hang out and jam, play some percussion, and learn about writing music; the class as set up,unfortunately, was more like writing a whole lot of music right now. I could theoretically have gotten throughit, but I’d rather wait until next year and take an entry-level theory class. I think I’ll get the same benefit, andprobably a much better grade.

So this morning I trailed my roomies to ENG 280 and, though the guest prof is a bit of an odd anatida, hada lot of fun. The ensuing paper chase to get myself transferred was mostly boring, cold and stressful, but suffice itto say that there are some pretty helpful people on this campus and some really unhelpful ones. I’ve said it before,I’ll say it again: fuck the Registrar.

Now I’m going to write a story about barf on a t-shirt. Whee!

They told me it was going to precipitate last night, but I said it didn’t smell like it… which it didn’t, but hey, Inever claimed my nose knew. With the exception of the rather bitter walk to church this morning, I’m happy to be wrong.There hasn’t been much white stuff this winter, and I enjoy it rather more than rain.

Three days after moving back in, I’m finally unpacked and pretty much everybody’s back. I have already begun my Kartdominance over Ken in GP (he spanks me severely in battle mode, but I consider that a petty woman’s game), and for thefirst time I didn’t spend all damn day in rehearsal. The next three weeks are going to be interesting.

Of course, now that I’ve said that they won’t.

if I writeenough I have to come up with a good one now and then
but what do I do with all the other bits like this one

(Just-Read-Over Preface: Warning! Rampant parentheses ahead!)

On today’s IdiotCam©: Man, my face looks fat.

I didn’t write anything about New Year’s because, essentially, I have no friends and I stayed at home. Almostimmediately afterward I started packing up to head back home (read: school), four days early because I am AssistantStage Managing (read: bending over) for Forum. It’s boring work, but the pay’s good (read: there is no pay). But I amone with the broadband once more, and its speediness soothes my soul.

Meanwhile I’m paying for all my own meals, attending to Melinda’s needs (which are sadly few) in rehearsal twelvehours a day, still unpacking and having Ken kick my ass in new and exciting ways. I do have my SNES back, though, so said ass-kicking will cease once I haveunleashed the Kart. Cower.

I wanted to take a pic to put up here, but the cord for my damn webcam isn’t long enough. Suffice it to say that I havea new desk (if you are one of my roommates: surprise)! I built it from raw carbon and iron ore, using my bare hands.Actually it came in a box, but that is frighteningly close to the truth. At one point I was literally lying on my back,pounding in nails upside down with a screwdriver handle. I now consider myself hardcore. It is pretty and spacious andtakes up an inordinate amount of room (if you are one of my roommates: no it doesn’t!), and for the first time in twopoint five years I have a flat space on which to do homework and draw. I expect my grades to drop precipitately.

This is all I can think of at the moment because I am tired and still have not finished unpacking, and also my eyeshave been watering all day (I think I am allergic to me). On the other hand, I managed to finagle my way intoFreshman’s room yesterday. Her underwear drawer will be mine!

Update 0914 hrs: I just checked my site stats for the first time in a few days, and apparently my averagevisitors quadrupled yesterday. The only cause I can come up with is that Monica is checking this site from her job,where they have an ip randomizer that makes the counter track more unique hits. In any case: Silly receptionist! Getback to work! Also, buy some merchandise.