A blog about a girl who speaks her mind and talks about whatever she wants. So its a blog about everything, and absolutely nothing, all at the same time. . .
Profile
Name: Kami
Alias: Risawn
Location: Washington State, United States
An avid Snowboarder, rabid NRA supporter, Starving Artist, Military Junkie, anti-fru-fru Glorified Private that basically posts incoherant ramblings and things better left unsaid.
So I dropped two courses, so no blog research paper for me. I was kind of looking forward to doing it, but I was just assessing my probable plans in the next two months and it didn't look wise. One class looked manageable so Digital Layout it is. Actually I like this class and if I have familiarization with Indesign, I know I can get a job. Actually, with the software knowledge I have, I can get a job working with computers which is actually pretty cool. Like a newspaper or magazine place, or maybe even a gaming company somewhere in Utah.
But before I search for a job that doesn't entail stripping magazines, I have to get past this little mobilization I keep hearing about. The one that ends in Knox.
Well, I've heard the latest, and its not necessarily bad, but its not good news. The mob date has been pushed back by two months.
In other words, I didn't have to drop the two classes I thought would drive me stark raving mad.
Actually, they probably would have. Eh, no regrets from dropping out here.
I've run into a dilemma with school these days. Well, aside from the book issue, which has been resolved, sort of, but I think I wanted to give myself an excuse to drop out subconsciously.
Last term I did, I realized that this wasn't really the direction I wanted to go. I love working with the software and everything, but it is something I want to do on my own terms, and this term is going to suck.
For one, I'm taking two classes which are heavy writing intensive, one a research paper that will demand a lot of my time.
I'm supposed to go to Fort Knox sometime in the next few months, and I'm supposed to be there for somewhere around six months, give or take. This is still up in the air, as I don't have orders yet and I am very much well aware that the army can do whatever it wants when it comes to what it needs to do with me. Knox isn't guaranteed, heck, I won't believe it is set until I have set boots on ground. And even then its not certain. They can still say 'hey, we don't need you' and send me home. The army is like that. And this might happen because they are sending me, a female drill sergeant, to an all male basic training post. I'm not counting on anything right now.
As soon as I get my orders, I'm going to take a road trip to get to my destination, mainly to see friends and family along the way and there is no way I'm going there without a car. I went to DSS without a car and it sucked royally.
If the orders say what I think they will say, this is going to mess with my school pretty bad. I'm going to be on the road the last two weeks of school, trying to finaggle homework (to include a majorly huge research paper) and visiting people and, oh, did I mention I need to move out of my brother's house next month? He's getting married while I'm in Knox (good news, I'll probably be able to swing a few days off to come home to attend the wedding) but I'm guessing that the newly weds won't want a roommate hogging up the bedroom next door. This isn't a very big house, and I want to be in my own place when I get back anyway. So I have to plan a road trip, move out, prepare for Knox (meaning I need to really start trying to run as soon as the ground outside lets me), and did I mention I still have a job that I need to work?
As much as I would like to, looking at my homework, and my complete and utter lack of motivation for doing it, I think it might be best for me to drop out of school for now. Or dumb it down to one class instead. I'm going to talk to my adviser tomorrow and see what I can do, but right now I think it would be very wise not to be taking a full load right now. I want to be able to continue to go to school while I'm in Knox as well, but I know I'll be down to maybe a class while I'm there.
I don't know, I'm just seeing the potential problem here and the fact that I would rather not pile my plate completely full and find myself ready to pull my hair out of my head when it is all said and done.
Ok, so I finally got my books in for class this quarter, except they made an error. And I'm pretty certain they made an error because when I ordered the books I made sure I was ordering them for the right class.
So I got a Geometry book instead. I don't need a f*%@#& Geometry book, I need my research methodologies book, and although I can probably get by this week without it, I will need it by next week and so I will need them to ship it to me ASAP so I can get it without having to worry about it.
However, I'm pretty certain this is their error, not mine, and because college is expensive enough, I'm not going to pay anymore then I have to considering I have to pay to ship this book back to them. So I drafted an email.
Oh, and yes, the invoice they sent me in the mail did mention the Geometry book, but once again, pretty certain that when I ordered the books, I ordered the book I needed and not a geometry book.
My Tactful yet very Persistent Email.
I'm sorry, I didn't pay attention to the invoice, and didn't notice until I recieved my books, but I am 99.999% (meaning pretty damn) certain I had ordered RESEARCH METHODS PKG WESTWOOD - ISBN# 0618556400 but I recieved the book for the Geometry class I dropped out of instead. I need this book pronto, like yesterdary, and I'm not asking to be charged for the overnight shipping on the book you mistakenly did not give me, since if you had given it to me like you should have, I would have recieved it on time. I will be sure in the future to check the invoice closely and make sure that I recieve the books I specifically requested, but now I would like to have the one I need.
Any help on your part to resolve this issue would be most appreciated, and I will send back the Geometry Book for the class I dropped out of ASAP. But since I have to send it back on MY dime when I did not order it, and you sent it to me anyway, I would like to NOT BE CHARGED for the shipping on the book that I do need. If you are unable to resolve this issue satisfactorily, I can resolve this issue by taking my business to another school. Because this kind of stuff bugs the crap out of me.
A hasty reply will be appreciated. I'll be home pretty much all day tomorrow (Tuesday).
Thanks
PS - Just to clarify that once again, pretty certain that this is your error and not mine.
Think they will get the hint? Or is it not threatening enough?
So, I've figured out what I want to research for my research paper. I'm going to do a paper on Blogging. I might see if I can get some quotes from some bigger bloggers (if they have the time to respond, which I might not be able to get) but because everybody has a blog these days, I can probably find somebody to quote as a source.
To make this a sociology issue, I thought maybe I would bring into terms about how people use blogs to keep people up to date on their lives and how they use them for a variety of topics such as news sources, a one person editorial, journals, or whatever else. I think I can get enough sources that it might make a worth while topic. I'll post my findings when I turn in my research paper too.
Of course, I have to specify that indeed it is my findings. They are pretty big into making sure you cite your sources and all that jazz.
Meanwhile, I noticed that I tend to write a lot. The snow is melting, I think I'm going to try going for a run sometime this week. Hopefully I don't slip and crack my head open on the ice.
So, its been kind of busy what with school starting back up and all. I'm in Management Functions (this class is going to suck), Survey of Research Methodologies (this class is really going to suck) and Digital Layout (I might survive this one). So all in all, this term is not one I look forward too. Bleh.
For Research Methodologies, I have to figure out a topic I want to write about for a Research Paper. I bet I could do one on blogging, lot's of good info there, but I'm not sure exactly. It has to be a topic I can take a stance on.
I was thinking out of the general topics to do one on are:
Women in the Military Gun Control Addiction to: (a list of items that people gain addictions to like Pornography, Alcohol, Drugs, Gambling, etc, but I need to focus on one) Teen Pregnancy and Sex Education Old and New Issues on the Internet (blogging comes in here) Influence of Mass Media on Our Lives
We have a select amount of topics that we have to research, and these are the ones that gained my attention. I have to be able to find ten sources to cite for a 12 - 15 page paper. Research papers don't really bother me, its just that this is coming at the beginning of a mobilization, so if I can stay on top of things in school, I should be fine but no guarantees, especially considering this specific class doesn't allow me to work ahead. Bleh. Again.
So, I'm focusing on what I want to do for this class, waiting for my books to come in for my other classes, and I just caught the crud that's been going around. Fortunately I only work a short four hour magazine shift tomorrow and I got the weekend off to recuperate. Unfortunately, well, it's dumped about a foot and a half of snow in town and I'm sure the mountains are going to be fan-freakin'-tastic and I'm caught up indoors with a flippin' cold. I think I need to just try to find some time to relax and chill, drink lot's of Emergen-C and work on homework.
And my comic as well. Yeah, I'm updating it again. Unfortunately I can't remember my password so I have to FTP the files in. Triple Bleh.
This is a relief. However when I get done with my Drill Sergeant School, I'm not sure what is going to happen in regards to regular school. Whatever the case, I don't think I can come back until January term. And I might be cutting my workload to only one class a term, depending on where I am at during that time.
Anyway, my final project for 3D animation was creating an architectural structure. I admit, I completely shammed this piece, but I like how it turned out in the long run. I was doing something a lot more complex originally and that thing went to complete shambles. So although I would like this to look better then this, I'm ok with it.
There are some flaws, like the fire having a shadow, but I don't know how to do fire yet so I was compromising. And the exterior looks like it belongs on a model trainset or something. Still, I like this part of modeling better then character modeling, which will take me a long time to get the hang of. Meanwhile, I think I'm getting a better grasp of things so when I do come back to school, I don't think I'm going to be entirely in over my head.
So, I uploaded my animations onto YouTube to share. No, they are nothing fancy. At all.
I don't know why they uploaded weird like they did, but the first moment is kind of weird looking.
They are all really quick, only a couple of seconds. And yes, the meshes aren't right, hes not skinned properly, and he has no eyes. But the character works for me. The first one is a walk run excercise, where I had to do my character walking or running. He's running. I've only got one cycle though, I can't figure out how to loop it yet.
Here he is pulling on a box. This one may have come out most successfully.
And here he is pushing on a box. More fun.
His arms look like puddy at times and the mesh isn't exactly perfect, but I'm very excited to be able to understand how to do this now, I just have to iron out the details. Now that i know what I'm doing *sort of* I feel better about the software. THere is a lot of it I understand, like lighting *sort of* and cameras and now animation and all of that. Now I got to figure out the modelign and skinning better.
I don't know what it is about it, but I think everyone hates the sound of their own voice.
I'm certainly no exception to this. I've gotten used to it, but I feel like I sound different then how I hear myself. Why do you suppose your voice does this? Its like you hear somebody else when you speak then what everyone else hears.
Aside from that paragraph making absolutely no sense, I just wanted to reiterate that I can't stand the sound of my voice.
And though I'm getting a grip on Flash, my animations aren't that great as of yet. Heck, their a blooming mess.
I should have my next animation up here soon, I like the story, but it is really painful to watch and quite frankly, I'm getting sick of watching and listening to it, as I'm narrating.
So yes, I have made a few more flash animation type thingees, and I can definitely say that these will become more and more frequent upon my blog and other various ideas on the internet.
Bloody hell, I feel like I'm twelve again. Everything I do seems to surround a horse or horse like creature (with an occasional ferret jumping in and stealing the show now and then.)
So you have a horse, and you can dress him up, granted if you know what's going on here. The assignment was called "Ms Potato Head" and the example was a potato with a bunch of body parts, kind of akin to, well, the potato head toys. You were supposed to be somewhat original with this game, but I didn't know what to do really so I decided to draw up a horse and give him a bunch of tack that you can put on him. You can even mix and match a bit. Hmm, I probably should have done more mix and matching. But whatever the case, here he is, though yeah, not to exciting but the fact that I can do this is just cool to me. I'm going to do a lot more with it later.
Flash is awesome and I'm totally getting it (most of the time). I'm still completley lost on 3ds Max.
This is a slideshow persentation of Spots on Horses. Although Paint markings aren't generally thought of as spots so to speak, but I don't care, I'll call it whatever I want. So, Paint and Appaloosa Marking, for those who don't know what they are.
I got the images all over the net, so if you are perusing my website and recognize one of the horses as your own and are upset with me, I apologize but do take note that I make no money off this website.
I felt like I had to go back again and again to make sure my Tovero example was in fact a Tovero. I might be wrong and it is actually an Overo, so if you know spots and horses and you see something on my presentation as incorrect, please enlighten me.
I can definitely see using this program more in the future.
Yes, I am currently learning how to use Flash, however there are still quite a few things that I still need to learn about it. Like how to embed files so that they look exactly how I want them to look.
This file is VERY rough, as I ignored artistic talent in favor of actually making something that was animated. If you use Netscape, I'm sorry but I'm still trying to figure out how to embed objects for Netscape browsers and I can't test it to make sure it works, so you might not be able to see it. Also, you will need a Flash Player.
I call it Running Ferret. I can foresee using Flash a lot more in the future. It is lot's of fun!
I've come to the decision that going to school online is not working for me. It might be the whole communication thing for me or my undecided lack of motivation currently, but I don't think this is what I want to do anymore. Now don't get me wrong, I still want to go into Animation or Game Design, but I don't think that this is the way I'm going to go about getting my degree. In other words, I need to find a school that offers a good curriculum for getting my degree choice that is affordable and in a classroom. Of course, this will mean I will likely have to move.
I think what got me is the fact that I'm paying a lot of money to attend school and I don't feel like I'm getting the information I need from it. In fact, I'm tempted to just buy the books and learn it on my own, because honestly, this is how the whole school appears to be run. Its a curriculum for reading a book that is monitored by another adult that sometimes offers their advice. I've had some good teachers and all, but I'm not getting what I want or need out of this course. I'm going to attend one more quarter, then go to Drill Sergeant School and afterwards try to find a way to mesh all of this together and figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life. *sighs*
I was motivated with this course at first, but in all honesty I'm getting some heavy doubts with it. It might work for some people, but its definitely not for everybody.
I fear that my financial aid is so screwed up right now that the school could be charging me for things that I'm not getting and I wouldn't know the difference one way or the other. I do need to get that all sorted out before much else.
So, remember the post of me with the bigass gun that I did in illustrator a few days back?
Well, let me finish the assignment for you.
See, we had to take a picture of us and convert it into a super hero pose, and I decided to do a girl in a post apacolyptic world. So I stripped her down to just grey BDU bottoms and a tank top, and gave her a scar and some tattoos (that's to seperate this fictional alter ego from myself) and then I slapped a horrible background onto it because I suck at backgrounds and this popped out.
I had to give it a comic title name, so its a comic called "Girls with Guns", until I could think of something more clever, which I didn't by the time the assignment needed to be turned in.
I've grown a little attached to Illustrator now. Excuse the abnormally long neck and the strange shape of the left pantleg, I took the bottoms directly off the other picture and I'm actually not this skinny so it looks a little. . . weird.
Eh, but not bad for a person just learning how to use Illustrator, eh?
So, for my current homework assignment, I have to take a picture of myself or somebody I know and convert it into a digital illustration, or more specifically, a super hero.
Huh?
Well, I got the converting part down at least, and so I've been playing with the illustrator software and I must admit, I'm not in love with it. I still don't know what I'm doing, but I'm kind of getting the gist of it.
So, back to the 'super hero' assignment, which had me scratching my head. When I first heard the assignment, I wasn't aware of it being an assignment converting a picture into a super hero, and I was thinking of doing something with a ferret (I have plans to do a spoof comic with ferrets, its not a long term thing by any means) but alas, I got the memo that I was to use a picture for this assignment.
Well, I need a lot of work, but after fiddling with it, I got, something?
What picture did I use you might ask? Why, the one that I ran into the ground about two years ago.
It's still a work in progress. I've got to find a way to make this all super hero-y. But I just converted the bare basics.
I even thought about giving myself long hair with it down, but, well, that would feel weird because I'm in uniform, so in order to make that a go, I have to ditch the uniform. And its so baggy that I'm having trouble trying to figure out where my limbs are underneath.
Maybe I should get another picture instead? Ah, but it's so much fun!
So this quarter started off rough enough, but now I'm starting to get in the swing of things again and its not that bad. In fact, I'm actually learning something.
The first class is Intro to Business, which truthfully I've been dreading because I'm not really interested in business that much. However, this class is actually coming in handy and I'm even learning a thing or two that will probably come in handy later on down the road. This kind of stuff will actually be useful if I go into freelance work. Indeed, this could be useful!
The second class is Public Speaking, which got off on a really rough start but now I'm starting to get the hang of it. I had a couple of technical issues abound that didn't help things out either, and part of the assignment is giving a speech in front of an audience of five people and gathering five people to sit there and watch as I try to give a speech can be a little frustrating at times. I could have been a bit more prepared, but now I have to come up with an idea for an informative speech.
I'm thinking about doing one on Ferrets. :) I will post it when I finally get around to giving it.
The third class is on Digital Illustration, which is all about learning Adobe Illustrator, which I must admit, has had me scratching my head for some time. I never truly got it. But I'm picking it up pretty quick and so far am acing the class. But I've been acing all of my core classes so I'm not suprised really :) Now that I'm on top of things, hopefully the rest of this quarter will go smoothly.
I'm still debating on what I'm going to do with next quarter, whether I'll be transferring to another school or sticking with Westwood. I should know the answer to that in a couple of weeks.
I got the results of my foot back yesterday. We went in for an X-Ray and it came back broken. Fourth Metatarsel on the right foot. I'm going in today again to see my doctor and have him give me a recommendation on what to do to get it taken care of.
One thing for sure, Drill Sergeant School is out for March. But not all is lost. I just have to flip my schedule around for a bit.
I was originally supposed to go to DSS in March and come back in May, where I was going to have to finaggle getting back into school and all that jazz. Actually, this works better. For one, I won't be missing Helena Handbasket and I might be able to finaggle Bloomsday in. And I won't get thrown off of my schooling for my degree.
I just have to keep myself from getting hurt again.
But they say I might be able to be back on it in a couple of weeks, so I'll probably still be able to negotiate the March Snowboarding Season.
So, I'm ending my second week of this quarter and so far everything seems to be going fairly smoothly.
So far.
My first real assignment in 3d Modeling was making a robot. This is the rough work-in-progress. I decided to do something along the lines of a dinosaur bird type thing.
Meanwhile, in my character development and design class, I had this assignment that I ended up doing backward. Once upon a time I used to not draw humans at all. I've gotten a lot better, but now I need to learn how to color.
I took a basic character design and had to give them traits of a character type (ie Villain, hero, side kick, comic relief, etc) that you find in a story. Then you had to take that character and modify them so that they fit another role. I ended up making a girl and giving her five character roles. The last one is my favorite. I think this is obvious.
No, just because she's blonde and a chick, this is NOT me.
I've had a lot of thought about school and where I'm going with it. In such a way that I made a decision to really try out this course I'm in to make sure its what I want to do, and the education i'm recieving is worth it to go through the classes that I don't particularly care for. See, there are some General Ed classes that I have no desire to take but are required, and to get the degree, I have to take those.
Usually, i take 1 Core class which is essential to my Degree and two general ed classes. The core classes are seven credits and the general ed classes are usually 3. The thing is, a lot of my general ed classes transferred, but there are still some that I have to take. But for my degree, which is primarily art based, my concern is why do I have to take all of these General Education classes when I already have an AA degree and most of those should have been out of the way. By all rights I should be a Junior and focusing on my degree. The pains of being a transfer student I guess.
So I decided that this quarter, I'm going to take 2 core classes to make sure that this is even the route I want to go and that I'll get the education I need out of it. I'll hopefully know midway through this quarter if this is doable or not.
See, my further concern is the fact that I seemed to have gotten my As perhaps a little to easily. Sometimes I ran out of time and totally shammed some of my projects and still got full credit for it. This is kind of a red flag to me. I did my best in some work, but not all of it. I would like to say I'm a total genius and these assignments came easily enough to me, but I have no idea what kind of grades other people recieved. Just a bit of a cause for concern.
Meanwhile, online education is expensive. I'm thinking of other options, and maybe if I can get the education I want, I can try to negotiate through some of these other core classes. I mean, I require a certain amount of credits in Science and social sciences, but because I have those credits from another school in classes that aren't offered at this one, why can't those credits transfer as well? What's wrong with that?
I think I'll talk to my advisor about this as it will continue to be an area that will affect my further education with Westwood. I'm going to try to negotiate with it.
Anyway, I am looking forward to this particular Quarter. 3d Modeling and Animation and Character Development and Design. I'm hoping to have a lot of fun this quarter. But anyway, this quarter will be the deciding factor on whether or not I stick with this program.
I don't get the reason to flatter somebody over a job that is subpar. Being an artist, I am a firm believer that if you see something you don't like about a piece, you tell the artist what it is (constructive criticism here). They can then use your criticism to either fix the piece, take it into heart the next time they do a piece, or tell you to go to hell and ignore what you said. I don't believe in being rude about it or anything, you can just say "hey, I really think that this color doesn't go well with this other color in the way you put them here, try a different shade, like a darker red perhaps.)
I've been getting this from my Image Editing class. There are some people who are awesome in the class, and then there are others who are still learning the software and therefore because of their experience, they are prone to having work that is not as clean as the others. Often times, I get the impression that other students in the class are catering to these students by telling them "this looks great!" when it is obvious that there is plenty of room for improvement. I won't cater to your feelings by telling you a piece looks great if it doesn't, however I will acknowledge improvement and encourage them to keep working at it. Undue flattery doesn't help anybody, and I have found that you learn greatly from your mistakes.
In fact, I learn more from my mistakes then my successes. As long as my mistakes aren't fatal, I generally only make them once because I learned from them the first time. I like to be told what I'm doing right and not have every mistake pointed out to me, granted, but please give me constructive criticism and tell me how I'm doing. Let me know if I totally messed something up or if it doesn't work. I'm a big girl, I can take it.
Or when you're just busy working on homework and other miscellanious projects.
I feel lately that if I'm not working, I'm doing schoolwork. And when I'm not doing schoolwork, I'm most likely asleep on the couch. Which is strange considering I have this nice comfortable bed that I can always sleep in, but if I go to bed in that, I tend to not want to get up in the morning.
Tomorrow, I shall be buying a bag of nice juicy ripe tomatos, and making them go *SPLAT* against a brick wall. And then I will photograph them.
This splattered tomato will then be used on a poster for my image editing class. . .
I've learned new techniques in Photoshop. I'm in love. . .
For my Critical and Creative Thinking class, we had to write a movie review for a movie we saw recently. The point of this assignment was to use language in a way to give the reader a clear idea of what the movie is about and how we formed our opinion on it.
We were to avoid a review such as : "This Movie is really neat. I liked the characters and the story was really fascinating. . . blah blah blah."
Neat, interesting, nice and the like are vague descriptions, you're definition of what makes something 'neat' or 'nice' may be different then somebody else's, right? So I tackled the review with this in mind.
I chose "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is an engaging and clever film. The main premise involves a mild mannered man named Joel (played by Jim Carrey), who realizes that his eccentric girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) has recently gone through a revolutionary procedure to have him and their entire relationship erased from her memory. Confused and angry, Joel decides to do the same, only to realize as the memories fade that he doesn't want to forget her.
The movie takes an unusual twist by showing events out of chronological order, as Joel's relationship with Clementine is revealed in reverse, from the last argument they had to the moment they met. The casting director also did something rather unorthodox by casting Winslet in the eccentric role instead of Jim Carrey, and both actors perform their parts brilliantly.
I found this particular film fascinating as it engages your mind and makes you wonder about what you would do if presented with a similar situation. It also mixes humor with drama and presents itself in a light manner while remaining deep and thought provoking.
I felt I covered the assignment and I posted my answer. Of course, I have to read other people's reviews and post in reply. One struck me as particularly, well, bad. I get the impression that she didn't read the instructions and only saw 'Write a Movie Review'.
The movie I saw a couple of weeks ago was about a man who became a cop so he could get the down low on his mob friends. The other guy was a cop how was sent to the mob to be under cover. In this movie the main mob boss was trying to find out who was the snitch or undercover cop in his mob. He was giving the other cop information about all of the guys under him to see who was a cop. The movie starts out with this bad cop handing out with the mob boss as a child. He is taken in like an orphan. Then it catches up to this day in age. I liked the movie and I just can't give a way the end it would ruin the whole movie. I came to this conclusion based on my perception of the movie.
My reply:
. . .
Huh?
Ok, two questions. One, what is the title of your movie, and two, Huh? You lost me, as this appears to be a rambling mess and I have no idea what I just read.
Ok, so I didn't particularly say that (though I want to) but I'll probably write something similar (and toned down for proper netiquette) but still, what in the world?
I would say, and this is just me, that this is below standard for a 400 level college class. I feel compelled to reply to this girl. I mean, seriously, can I critique something like this without coming across as an ass?
It kind of makes me a bit weary about continuing with my education at this institution. We shall see, eh?
I tested out of Computer Applications, which is great news, btw. And by the freakin' hair on my chin too. I had to pass the test with an 85% and I scored exactly 85%. What a load off! A little close for comfort, but I did it! One more class I won't have to worry about.
Meanwhile, my Image Editing class is doing pretty good. I'm still learning some new stuff, but a lot of it is reenforcements. I probably could have tested out of this class, but its to late now so I'm going to have to do it. My latest assignment is to make a poster for some kind of performing arts venue, and to be quite honest, performing arts really isn't my forte'. I'm thinking of doing one involving the Lippizanner Stallions, but if that won't be excepted, I have to find another idea. I'm thinking a Poetry slam might work.
In fact, I have an idea for a poetry slam as I type this. Hmm, so a Poetry slam it is! Or Lippizanner Stallions. One or the other.
So far, I love my Critical and Creative Thinking Class. At first, I was a little worried that I would grow bored with this class, or feel overwhelmed by it. But I'm getting back into the swing of things and fell right into a routine. I have struggled most with this class then any of them, but the content is awesome. I would like to consider myself a Critical Thinker of sorts, and I feel while taking this class that I am one. And I think it will help me be a more well rounded individual in other areas as well.
Success Strategies can be described as a 'welcome to college' class, with some ideas of how to better yourself as a student and a person in the work field. It does have some very helpful information, and I have discovered more then a couple links between this class and my critical thinking class. Most of the students in my critical thinking class are in their later terms in college, coming toward the end, where this class you take within your first couple . I specifically asked for the critical thinking class so that I could get it done, and looking back, this was the perfect quarter to take it.
And so far, I'm getting all A's. I'm not sure if the method of grading is just more slack then a traditional classroom or if I'm just better suited for this type of learning environment. Honestly, I have found that I am absorbing the material and doing it at my own pace better then I had been in the normal classroom, but fortunately I tend to be a good student regardless of where I learn. I'm just glad that I am able to adapt to this style of learning so well.
This is a professional grade personality test that grades you on sixteen different types of personalities. The first time I took this test was with the Army a few years back. I don't quite remember what I got then, but I think it hasn't changed much from the test now. I actually took it twice with some other online tests and got quite a range of results. However, when I took it with the school's version, I got the accurate result I feel I had recieved last time I took it.
I got INTP - The Thinker (The Architect) Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Perceiving DOes this fit me? I would think so, and most people who know me personally probably agree. Defining INTP
Actually, depending on my mood, I can act extroverted, and in some circumstances, I will be an extrovert. But overall I tend to be into my own little world and oblivious to what is going on around me. Yeah, that's totally me.
So far my image editing class has been interesting. A lot of this stuff is repeat of things I already knew but I'm also reinforcing techniques and picking up on some stuff I didn't know. I've been enjoying the class immensely.
My first assingment I was given three black and white photos of butterflies and was told to put them into a collage in some manner. This was in essense a practice of the Marquee, Lasso and Magic Wand Tools. This is what I came up with.
Nothing fancy really, me mostly playing around and messing with the color.
The second project was reinforcing the ideas of the first, except for we had to find a full body image of a human either online or a picture of ourselves and at least five additions to it, whether it be articles of clothing, background or what not. I didn't feel like searching for an already made image, so I used myself. I mean, i have Photoshopped myself before. And then I looked for the strangest outfit I could find. It was really tough finding a pair of shoes that would work. But overall, I had a lot of fun.
I actually bought a hat like that in Bulgaria. More for the novelty of it then anything.
This week's assignment was a practice with the Gradient Tools and an enforcement of colors. We had to create a 'still life' using geometric shapes. Well, I wouldn't really call this a Still Life so much, more of me goofing around (which a lot of these assignments seem to be) and for a bit I was thinking that this wasn't going to work. And then I messed around with it a bit more and then discovered that I actually really liked it! I'm not much of a color person, I'm more into subtle tones, monochromatics and neutrals. This is bright and cheerful, and it looks sweet! I see one thing I should probably go back and fix but overall, cool!
I do one to two images a week like this, one major assignment for that week. The fact that I have prior experience with Photoshop (and a lot at that) has really helped, and so does the ownership of a Wacom Drawing Tablet. Don't do Graphic Arts without it!
In Success Strategies, one of the initial assignments we were tasked with was to define success and what success meant to us in various areas, such as education, career, relationships and so forth. We were to answer and then respond to other people's definitions as well.
This was my definition of Health Success:
Health - Free of disease and independent in movement, keen use of all five senses, weight height proportional. The ability to run, jump and swim. I will consider my health failed when I can no longer endure riding a Snowboard.
One of my classmates didn't like my definition so much, as it was somewhat pessimistic. THis was her response to me.
I agree with you on some parts such as education and relationship but on your views on health when you get older and are no longer able to snowboard will your health be poor then? I feel I live a clean drug free lifestyle and even though I might not be able to climb mountains or ski that I'm still healthy. Perhaps though when you get older and are no longer able to snowboard that you will find another hobby or something that will mean just as much to you as snowboarding.
Well, I fear I had to clarify what I meant. So I did.
The health comment about snowboarding was a bit tongue-in-cheek, mostly because I never really thought about this question and right now that's one of my motivators in life.
However, looking at my history, Snowboarding may be hazardous to my health! So far I've ended up in the Emergency Room twice on account of running headfirst into a tree (battle scar on chin to prove it) and coming home with Global Transient Amnesia (true story!). And I still Snowboard! Call me crazy, everyone does.
Ah yes, I probably won't live to see old age at this rate, so when I finally become paralyzed from my adventures in snowboarding, I'll consider my health finally failed. If I retire from snowboarding in good health and all my brain cells in tact, then I'll consider my health a 'success'.
Though if Snowboarding doesn't get me, the military might.
Latest on classes now that I've actually had an opportunity to sit down and evaluate them.
Well, so far, my Success Strategies class appears to border on being extremely useful to extremely cheesy. But I like the text book. And it looks like it will be my easy class.
Critical and Creative Thinking has gotten me into the thinking mode again, as I go through my assignments, I'll likely post my responses on here. The questions posed are blog worthy. Sometimes.
Image Editing is the class that presently I'm most frustrated with because A) its a seven credit class which menas B) its expensive and C) I know a lot of this already and if I had done it correctly, I could have saved myself a bunch of money and tested out of it. But when all is said and done, I hope to learn a thing or two.
I didn't leave the house today, or get dressed. I just worked on homework. I can see how I will both love and hate this arrangement.
Wow, I'm in for a wild and crazy time. Fortunately I have plenty of time right now to work on classes, though I do admit its a bit distracting when Glenn Beck is on the radio in the background.
For those of you who don't know, I'm going to college via Online through Westwood College Online. They have an acredited program and I'm hoping to get a degree in animation.
I will likely be displaying some of my course work within my blog. My website will also be showing some of the things I learn and be going through a metamorphisis over the course of the next few years. I can't wait to learn how to use Flash.
My current classes are: Success Strategies - Granted, this is not the class I'm most excited about attending this quarter. But I think I will learn a lot of valuable lessons from it, especially as I focus on my career. I think this is also a class to help me get accustomed to the online learning environment, and I will admit that I'm a little intimidated by this medium of learning. I know my strengths and weaknesses, and I know that I'm not my strongest in this learning environment. So that means I need to be dogging myself. Hopefully, this class will really help with all of that.
Critical and Creative Thinking - I had to work hard to get in this course. Its actually a 400 course and I'm in my first quarter at Westwood. Despite that, this is not going to be my workhorse class this quarter. This class is manageable and I'm looking forward to using this part of my brain again.
Image Editing - Remember my photoshopping blitz? Well, expect more of that. I'm going to be formally trained on Image Editing Software (think Photoshop, latest edition) and learn all of the fancy tricks of the trade. This is going to be SWEET! However, this is an intense course. Read, 7 credits.
I will be spending the next ten weeks going to school online. The unfortunate thing about online classes is that I get really distracted when I'm online. The good news is I don't get distracted nearly as much as I have in the past.
I kind of hit a snag in regards to my schooling recently. And I've hit a bit of a stubborn streak because of it. Mainly because I'm irratible, easily annoyed and can go from sweetheart to heinous witch in 2.7 seconds. Just one of my many quirks that come with being me. *sighs*
As of this very second, I'm kind of set to go to two schools. And neither of them are really working for me right now. I might as well make my infamous LIST.
First, the MAJORS!!!
Ok, I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up, and this is a bit of a problem because at 25, well, I'm pretty grown up! I would like to be on a career track of some sort by 30, and right now my career track looks ok for the Army but in the civilian sector, well, not so good.
EDUCATION - Once upon a time, I really thought about what I wanted to be when I grew and education kind of appealed to me for some bizarre strange reason. The problem with Education however is its a so-so field that is in heavy demand in some areas and oversaturated in others. And then there is the subject you want to teach, what age group, and all that jazz. Once upon a time I thought I would really like to teach high school science. Because I'm a bit of a science nut, and there is usually a demand for science teachers. Small problem however. See, my current Associates Degree is kind of shorted in the science department, and if I went back and got my degree in Education, I'll likely have to be in school for another 3 years, to include picking up classes I missed. Yikes!
Animation - Somebody casually mentioned this option to me earlier this year and I was all 'why hadn't I thought of this earlier?' Depending on the school I go through, and whether i do 2d and 3d animation, or just 3d, and because of my art heavy associates, it should take me two to three years to get this degree, and its something that excites me. I would love to go into the animation field, and I think I have a fairly decent feel for cartooning for somebody who is only self taught on computer illustrating, I just have to fine tune my skills a wee bit more. Yes, the three year program is a little daunting, but I think the program would hold my interest enough that it would be ok in the long run. If I'm not broke out of my mind when its all said and done that is.
Gaming - Ok, We can call this Animation in gaming, or game design, or whatever, but it is related to the Animation field, especially 3D animation. But the beauty of the whole gaming thing is I can stay in Washington State with this degree, and although I'm not a heavy gamer by any means, the whole story design and creativy involved with creating video games is something that does interest me. If I do it right, I could get into a field where I get a little of both and can go in either direction, but ultimately it comes down to do I want to do strict gaming or strict animation?
With the degree decisions I'm looking at aiming for, now the question is, where can I get the said degree?
Eastern Washington University - Ok, this school has been on my blacklist for a few years on account of their strange inability to work with my parking dilemma when I took ROTC through my community college with them way back when. Eventually, I dropped out of ROTC because the commute sucked. Bleh. Well, anyway, I reapplied because they are relatively close to home and they're a four year university. Right before I left for Yellowstone, I actually got registered for classes and was all set to do their brand new Gaming Program. The problem with their gaming program is its highly intensive with the programming part of gaming and less so on character design and the artistic part. Its more of a Programming Degree with an emphasis on Game Design. Me + Computer Programming = Bleh! If I do go back to an Education Major, Eastern would be an excellent choice. However right now I don't think this is what I want to do. I have to make up my mind however, classes start Sept 20, and I'm still registered to go, so either I have to go or I need to drop those classes.
Art Institute Online - The second school I'm all but set up to go to. AIO has a great competitive program for both Game Art Design and Media Arts and ANimation. I'm set for the latter course, however one thing that's kind of got me up in arms about this school is that I will be in school for three years despite which program I go through. I do like their online curriculum, which means I work out of my own home, but I'm a bit weary of my lack of discipline when I'm in a class like this. I'm also in kind of a dilemma in regards to a class they are telling me to take and I keep calling BS on it. Its the computer literacy class, which is basically a class telling you how to use the computer and software such as Microsoft Office. I vouched to test out of it and took the test without practicing at all and failed by one question (you had to get 75% to pass) because I didn't know Excel as well as I thought. Alright fine, so I took some online courses to help me get better at Microsoft Office and I'm being told that they won't accept them and that I have to take the class through THEIR school. Problem is, this is a 3 credit class and the credits are $392 per Credit. That's pretty pricey. Especially for a lame class such as this. I do get a 20% discount on account that I'm in the military but I'm still calling BS. I think they can work with me in regards to this one class or else I think I should look elsewhere, because they are kind of pricey to begin with. Maybe I shouldn't be making a bit fuss over it, but this is just a red flag for me.
Westwood College Online - I looked at these guys as a response to checking out my other options in regards to the animation field for online education, and so far I do like them. And I think from what I've seen that though the same kind of BS that happened with AOI may occur through these guys as well, they seem more willing to work with me. Plus they offer similar programs and they aren't as expensive. I think their program is more accelerated, in that I'll likely get into the career field SOONER! Sooner is better. There are some offsets, such as different fees that might make Westwood a little expensive in some areas, but let's face the fact here that School is just expensive these days!
Overall, right now I'm looking at three schools, and actually, as of this moment, I am set in going in any direction with them. I don't think I'm going to do EWU though, I really am not looking forward to that commute, but overall, the big question is, once I got this degree, what am I going to do with it?
They say animation is a booming career field right now, let's cross our fingers and hope its still that way in about three years. Otherwise, well, I might be volunteering for a lot of deployments afterwards.
I've been debating on the whole schooling process, when I decided on something that really struck me as a job I would love to do.
Animation.
Actually, if you think about it, it's a growing career field and you see animation everywhere. It also crosses over into the gaming industry. I already love drawing, and I was thinking that this is a way to get more proficient in something I enjoy doing and making a legit career out of it. I might have to relocate to make a living, but its something that sounds like if it comes down to it, I could probably still do it from a distance. Eh, we'll see.
If I can manage to still do it from some place local, I think that would be perfect. The only place I really don't want to go that strikes me as the animation hub is California. Something about moving back to the Golden State sends chills. I think I'll see if there is a market in Seattle first.
Next Drill, I should have a weekend that will finally make Carnival of Cordite news. It should be good fun too. I'll meet some more people in the unit, as well as hook up with the Montana units that I will most likely be drilling with this summer while I'm in Yellowstone.
Bloomsday is May 7th. And I am running it. Or will try. If it doesn't kill me first.
Because of my little Tree Accident, I had to take a break from Karate. I could have gone back by now, but with drill weekend and everything taking a big chunk of my week, I'm going to be back in class first thing in May.
May consists of a lot of nothingness. I have my stuff, which I need to sort through, and I have to get that stuff all prioritized and in order so I don't leave a gargantuan mess for my parents to deal with. I promised dad I would get it taken care of, now I need to buck up and commit to it.
Of course, there is Creature. I'm trying to update it enough so I won't be having to many breaks while I'm in Wyoming. I'm not sure what the lifespan of this will be, I just need to update it sparingly or something, so it doesn't take over my life. I can only hope not.
Anyway, summer madness will be sweet. June through early September I'll be riding horses and leading trail rides in Yellowstone. So if you are going to Yellowstone this summer, drop by Roosevelt Ranch. Not sure how my blogging will be down there, I'll try to maintain it if at all possible. Regardless, this is going to be a summer to remember.
September brings me back home. I'll likely move in with my parents for the remainder of the month, get checked into school with everything in order, and look for an apartment, with the hopes that I can be moved in by October.
I've already got my acceptence letter and everything. Then of course, I will need to get a real job. And hope that my temper won't get the better of me with it.
Today was a busy day, and now i have to get ready for German Class. So I think I will officially be starting tomorrow. I'm not to horribly worried, I got the story I decided I would write in my head. In fact, I'm continuing a story I had started before (I'm not going to count the already written total, however). I think I might even post it online as I write it. I'm not too concerned about people stealing it actually, I don't really care if they do. Well, actually, i do mind a wee bit, though I'm not sure if I'll get the required 50,000 words (but when I get in the habit of writing, I'm a writing fool). I also didn't officially sign up either, I'm kind of doing this on my own. But no big deal. Ok, that was remedied, I'm officially signed up now.
Meanwhile, I've been tasked with the Yearbook, and I got to working on that and trying to finish it up today. It goes. Not entirely smoothly and all, but I think eventually this too shall pass and then I can move onto bigger and better things. Like Slideshows.
Also, I will be winding down and posting less and less on my blog as the next few months progress, I may even stop completely for a short while on account of three things. One, I'm going to be busy and I don't want to worry about blogging, and two, I'm offering it as a courtesy to my command who politely asked me that as things start getting crazy and we are getting ready to leave that I shouldn't be divulging information to the rest of the world. I think I can grant them that request, so probably around mid December, my blogging may come to a complete halt (with an occaisional Merry Christmas Post thrown in for good measure) and I'll start up again when I get back to the states.
Third reason was Nanowrimo. I'll be busy writing my story in my limited spare time. Between work, school, and finishing that boarhog and miscellanious other art trades.
Blisters are doing better. I can actually walk normally now. I'm going to still see if I can get out of the run on Thursday however.
The rest of this week is going to be nuts! Heck, what am I saying? The rest of this year is going to be Nuts! Wish me luck!
German II and Physical Science are both a maybe, I'll know more Tuesday. Unfortunately the books are pricey. Ouch!
The Short Story is a No Go. Darn. I was going to use that to get me propelled for the Nanowrimo. I can just hope that I can come up with something sort of creative and on this side of just plain wrong and demented.
Meanwhile, well, finished all of my trades for this month. Maybe this is a good time to get back on my poor neglected comic.
So, um, I was walking back to my room when somebody catches up with me and takes note that there is a new class being offered at the UMUC (University of Maryland University College, yeah, I know, it is of the same redundancy as the American Dodgeball Association of America but they give me free classes so I'm not complaining).
As soon as I heard the name of this Junior Level Literiture class, I found a reason to go ahead and skip BNCOC all together. Yeah, I know, I should go ahead and take BNCOC, but part of me really really REALLY doesn't want to, especially considering I'm getting out in a few months anyway. And I am going back to college when I get back to the states so I probably should focus more on that anyway.
So I go over the Tuition Assistance office and ask to sign up for this literature class, and since I'm taking this, I might as well look over what other classes they have to offer and get some of those bad boys out of the way as well.
So, well, when you are coming to the end of a deployment, not a lot of people are thinking about School. They are thinking about going home. And after being here for nine months, nobody wants to think about what they need to do over the course of the next three or so.
Where am I going with this? Well, I signed up for my literature class, and then I saw a class called English 246, The Short Story. See, I like to write, and although I'm not sure exactly if this is a class where we write short stories or read short stories, but I'll take either one because my story writing co
