Saturday, March 8, 2003

Lots of stuff today.

First of all, Happy Birthday to Jasy and to Todd!

Second, the grandparents are gone. But not before having dinner with the people they used to live next door to! We have a military base here in town, and they used to live here. In a very, very, long story, their ex-neighbors are my best friend's grandparents. So Julie came to dinner, too, and then she and I went to Walmart. We always go in the "cosmetics" section and smell all the lotions and shampoos and stuff. It's fun.

Robin, at work, had her baby on Wednesday. Monica and I skipped out on Thursday morning to go visit at the hospital. He's very cute. And we didn't get in trouble, either. Erica's going to work until Robin comes back, and that's a good thing. She used to work there, and I missed her.

The national art school accreditation people came to our school last week for an inspection. It went well, according to what I heard. My printmaking teacher is the department head, and he was freaking out, of course. In class, he made sure that we noticed that he'd spent all weekend re-labeling every single thing in the studio. And I do mean everything. "Sink" included. Poor Mr. Pearce. Then someone turned the linoleum warmer up too high, and it smelled like it was burning. We asked him if it was okay, and he said he didn't care if there was a fire, as long as it was properly labelled and burning correctly.

In Geology, we have to do a group project for our lab midterm. The people with the top grades had to be the leaders and "draft" their own teams. I decided that I didn't want to have to choose people, and that it wasn't fair to the person who got chosen last. So I stood in front of the class and announced that we were going to do it a different way. Dr. Chatelain gave me an odd look because I was basically telling him no, but he let me do it the other way. And the class liked it. It was much easier, too. I said the first three tables were one team, and the last three were the other team. I'm still responsible for making sure my team's stuff gets done, which still isn't fair to me, but I can live with that.

Finally, we had a monsoon or something on Friday. It had to have rained at least three inches. It was absolutely horrible. Raincoats, umbrellas, whatever, they weren't doing any good. I had to walk in puddles that were literally up to my ankles to get to class. After art history, I made John drive me to Main Campus. Then, after Ancient Greek History, I began the loooong walk to my car. Halfway there, realizing that I was going to have to ring out my socks, I decided to catch the bus. The bus stop is nowhere near a building or a shelter of any kind, but I decided to risk it with my umbrella. This is what happened:

Me: *arrives at bus stop at 12:05*
Girl already at bus stop: I left class early to catch the noon bus, and it came early! We have to wait for the 12:10!
Me: Guess so.
Girl 1: Can you see anything across the street to tell when the bus is coming?
Me: Not really.
Girl 1: Damn rain.
Girl 2: *arrives at bus stop* Hello!
Me and Girl 1: Hi.
Guy 1: *arrives, smiling* It's storming out here! We're the only crazy people out today! And look, we're holding lightning rods!
Me, Girl 1, Girl 2: *stare*
Guy 2: *arrives* ...
Guy 1: Umbrellas, lighting rods?
*Wind changes direction*
Everyone: Shriek! *moving of umbrellas*
Girl 2: My umbrella is leaking!
Girl 1: Mine's not doing any good anyway. Damn rain. *puts umbrella away*
Guy 2: ...
Guy 3: *drives by and laughs*
Girl 2: They should put up a shelter out here!
Everyone: *agrees*
Guy 1: It's 12:15! I give up, I'm gonna hoof it! (Yes, he said hoof it)
Girl 1: You know if you leave, the bus will show up.
Guy 1: I know! *walks away*
Girl 2: *calls after him* Thanks for your sacrifice!
Guy 2: ...
Me: Good luck!
*Bus arrives at 12:20, we get on. The seats are wet, we sit anyway. The bus drives down the road.*
Girl 1: *looking out window* There's that guy!
Guy 1: *bows at the bus as it drives by*
Me, Girl 1, Girl 2: *laughs*
Guy 2: ...



Monday, March 3, 2003

So the trip to the airport was uneventful. Except that they cancelled the "death march" trip for good reason. Severe thunderstorms, the entire way there and back. A drive that usually takes about an hour and a half took about two and a half. People were all pulling over on the side of the interstate because we literally could not see to drive. The plane finally got cleared to land an hour late, along with all of the other planes that had been circling above the clouds. Otherwise, uneventful.

When we got home, we decided to go shopping, just me, my Mommy, and my Grandpuff. Yes, Grandpuff, long story short, when I was young he used to smoke a pipe. Get it now? Moving on. We were at the store, and I saw one of those sixties, hippies-type dresses with the big sleeves and the flowers and the lace and whatnot. The conversation was thus:

Me: Grandpuff, you like this dress?
Grandpuff: Why?
Me: I've always wanted something like this. It's all back in style now, you know.
Mommy: I didn't know you liked that.
Me: I do.
Grandpuff (staring critically at said dress): Go try it on.
Me: Okay!
Me, upon returning: I liked it!
Mommy: That's a surprise.
Grandpuff: Let's go then.

He bought me a dress! That is really odd. I told Grandma when we came back and she said I should feel special, he's never bought her a dress.

Okay, why did I need the dress? Sunday was my brother's Confirmation! It's a traditional Catholic ceremony in which the 8th graders and some converted adults officially become members of the Church. I was my brother's sponsor. So we go to Mass, and it's a High Mass, meaning more than one priest. Anyway, the procession begins with the Knights of Columbus, who take their job and their costumes way too seriously. Then we filed in, all sixty-something candidates and sponsors, between the Knights and their swords. We were followed by six altar boys, six priests, the deacon, and Bishop Kevin. When the bishop visits, it's a very big deal. During Mass, he leads everything, and everyone else is nervous about making a mistake in front of him.

He always asks the students to write letters, and he chooses the subject. This year's subject was "What do I tell people who ask me why I'm Catholic and what does being Catholic mean to me." When I was confirmed, my question was much easier "What did you like best about service projects?" He chooses some of the letters to read in front of the whole church. One girl's response was only this: "When people ask me why I'm Catholic, I ask them 'why aren't you?'" Oh, and the funniest one was a boy who compared the church to TV commercials. The Olive Garden, 'When You're Here, You're Family,' and Glad Trash Bags, 'Don't Get Mad, Get Glad.' So then *all* the priests had to lead the Eucharist, and if you hear one chanting off-key, it's sort of weird, but we had all six of them chanting. Which reminds me, some of the guys from the choir helped out with the music for the ceremony and we had real Gregorian chanting going on. I liked it.

Then it was pretty much all over, and we went out for dinner. The end. More adventures with the grandparents tomorrow!



Friday, February 28, 2003

The "death march" trip has been cancelled because it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow. Now I can go to Jacksonville to pick up my grandparents at the airport! I don't like flying, but I love going to the airport. I'm weird, I know. Anyway, in celebration of the weekend, I have more quotes from the sex book!

"This stuff (different names for various body parts) is too strong perhaps for Apollodorus' audience, or Aeschines', but we can trust Aristophanes to go the whole hog."

"It is not too difficult to see how the whambamthankyouma'am kind of sex celebrated in comic visits to the brothel could be associated with a word that elsewhere denotes insolent behavior."

"On the seventh he feasted with Perdiccas and drank again and on the eighth slept. On the fifteenth day of the same month he was at it again, drinking and on the following day he did the usual things that follow drinking [i.e. he slept?]. He dined at Bagoas' on the twenty-fourth and two days later was still sleeping--accordingly one of two conclusions must be true, either Alexander damaged himself through drinking so many days in a month, or those who wrote this are lying."

"The fourth century BC saw an explosion in manuals and handbooks which soon covered everything from 'how to cook' to 'how to survive a siege.' Among them were sex manuals, w hich included advice on flattery and seduction, as well as a range of sexual positions. Aristophanes mentions a woman called Cyrene who had apparently mastered twelve. To most of these we can't even put a name, and those we can, like the so-called "lion on the cheese grater," leave us none the wiser."



Wednesday, February 26, 2003

My grandparents from Maryland are coming to town this weekend for my brother's Confirmation. My Grandma is substituting for me in Sunday School because I have to leave early. The kids better be good. I had a talk with some of their parents last week and they got in trouble. Which is what I wanted, really.

Speaking of Saturday, that's my big geology field trip to the beach. I'm looking forward to it, and I plan to have a good time. Except Dr. Chatelain keeps talking about his "death march" down the coast. We're afraid.

Quote of the day goes to Brandon from my lab group: "It doesn't make me any less of a man if I'm afraid of giant frogs."



Wednesday, February 19, 2003

Art classes got cancelled today. Not because of anything bad. Because of something good! Our department is out in the middle of South Georgia. Not exactly a good place for the arts in general. But, somehow, the department had a visit today from another artist. A "real" one. This one. They cancelled classes so that we could go and hear him speak about his work. It was very interesting.

I moved my piano yesterday! From my Daddy's house to this one! My brother helped us. I wish I had a camera at the time. The piano was on the back of this rusty, old, trailer...thing...which was attatched to the antique tractor. When I say antique, I mean that. My brother drove the tractor across the field with the piano, my Daddy, and me on the trailer. Just picture that.



Monday, February 17, 2003

So I'm reading this book for my Ancient Greece and Rome class. It's about the private lives of the ancient Athenians. Including their sex lives. It's one of the funniest books I've ever read. Here are some quotes:

"The two sisters popularly known as the 'anchovies'...were apparently so named because of their 'pale complexions, slender figures, and large eyes.' And so, by way of a startling metaphorical transistion from appetizement to seduction, fish come to be represented themselves as coquettish flirts and paramours."

"It's almost as if they catch the amused eye of posterity in the rear-view mirror and play to it, as if they know how peculiar they are going to look to future generations."

"An opsophagos was a fish-lover...Opsophagein is one of those bad habits the Athenians of former times prohibited, along with giggling, fidgeting, and snatching celery from one's elders."

"His (Pollux) Onomasticon, or Book of Words, which survives in an abridged and interpolated form, was a collection of Attic vocabularies grouped by topic, including thirty-three terms with which to abuse a tax-collector, and fifty-two terms useful in praising a king."

"One antique law from the Draconian code allowed a man caught in the act of having sex with another man's woman (wife, daughter, mother, sister, concubine) to be slaughtered on the spot. It was thus a matter of some importance to define those women with whom one could copulate in safety."



Thursday, February 6, 2003

You know how I was so worried about that whole printmaking portfolio thing? I finally decided to go with a theme of "quilt patterns." My teacher liked my ideas. I am so very relieved. Oh, and I took a test in geology, but I didn't do so well. Luckily, the last two pages of the test were all extra credit, and I knew all of those answers. Weird.

Saturday is Robin's baby shower. I told Monica I'd help set up because I live fairly close to the house it's going to be at. Should be fun.

I was putting stuff on the drying rack today, and the assistant teacher, Chris, walked over to me. This is our conversation:

Chris: Whose stuff is that?
Me: Mine....?
Chris: *You* made those?
Me: Um...yes?
Chris: (pause) Good job!

Yeah, thanks Chris.



Thursday, January 30, 2003

The girls in my printmaking class "bonded" today. The class is mostly girls. We had to sit and wait for our gel medium to dry and we discussed "things." The poor guys. The wouldn't come sit in the classroom. Our teacher came in a few times and stared at us, then went back in the studio with the guys. It's going to be a good semester.

Quote of the day goes to Mr. Pearce: "Do not be a slave to the rectangle."



Tuesday, January 28, 2003

*glares at FTP program* It deleted all of my entries since Christmas. So the whole saga of my vacation is gone. *glares more*

Anyway. I despise cutting out mats and foamcore backings with an X-acto knife. That is all that needs to be said.

And I still maintain that I love my geology class.