School.

I hate school.

But I also love school.

Right now, though, it's not lookin so fantastic.

I enjoy learning. It's something of an addiction. Learning new things and reading and writing are awesome, but when things I have to learn/read/write conflict with things I want to learn/read/write, I get fussy. I get... well, like this. I decide to write blog entries that no one will read instead of finishing Mrs. Dalloway for my British Novel class. My room gets really, really clean. Chores get done that would normally be ignored. I am a procrastinator, but quite a productive one.

It's an interesting problem. I don't have time to do the things I want to do, and because of that I really value the free time I do have. I don't ever write or draw as much as I do when I'm on an academic crunch. Christmas break? Eh, I'll write later. Ten-page paper due tomorrow? Wow, I have so many AWESOME ideas for a story! It happens.

I have two speeches coming up. They won't be that intense. I don't like speeches, though: and that is enough of a factor to make me dread them. In one I have to do several close readings, and then summarize the text and help facilitate class discussion. In another I have to analyze two books we're reading and give a ten-minute presentation on the themes or style. Eh. Eh eh eh.

My Shakespeare class is probably the least stressful class I'm in. Here's proof.

How's that for good note-taking skills? I know. I'm special. "And then Hamlet turns, and *loss of focus*... I'mma draw a pony! With WINGS! and maybe some random doodles on the side, and oh - an eye. Because eyes are nice." Sometimes after a long day of school I'm surprised I have any mental functions at all.

I'm also trying to revive my poor garden. Well, maybe 'revive' is not the right word... maybe 'restart' is a better one. Starting last September I kind of just... um... left everything, and it's in various stages of decay or piteous half-life at the moment. I turned under about a third of the garden, stuck a few seeds in the dirt, and will see how that goes. If I have time.

But now I really must go read Mrs. Dalloway. Not my favorite thing to read before bedtime, but hey. Stream-of-consciousness is really not my thing, at least not in this style. Wasn't much of a fan of Joyce's either. I like some of it - the heightened sense of self-awareness and description of internal battles is interesting - but when it just keeps going... and going... and going.... annnd goinggg... and - you get the idea. Not my favorite.

I almost wrote that last sentence in German, which is a sure sign that a) I just finished my German homework, and b) I need to go to sleep.

Alrighty then.

NEW YEAR

Hah. July. Yeah.

It is no longer July. It is 2011 and I start school tomorrow. I've been up to a bit of this and that: getting into trouble and making a general nuisance of myself. Fun stuff, that.

Finished my first quarter at Cal Poly. Did relatively well. Enjoyed my classes for the most part. Got the lowest grade I've ever gotten in a class - and in Stress Management. Figures. I've learned to embrace it, and I must admit I kind of like it now (didn't have much of a choice... grumble grumble...), because it's ironic. I know, fail. Ah well.

This quarter I've got German, Shakespeare after 1600, Language and Human Behavior (which I am stoked for), and Modern British Novel (not so stoked). Two repeat professors and two new. That's a class more than I had last quarter but I don't have as many extra things to do this winter/spring as I did last fall. And I love school and reading and writing, so yup. Stellar.

I've technically sort of written a novel. Not published or anything, no - a long way from finished. But a novel nonetheless. 57,000 + words, 100+ pages: now I've invested too much time to not finish it. Heh. It frustrates me beyond belief because it refuses to cooperate: but that's kind of what it's supposed to do.

I haven't done as much art as I would like, but I sketch and draw and paint still. Finished another portrait recently (and that will probably be the last one for a year or so, lol), and noticed today that my sketch book is half-used-up. I've been sketching some scenes from dreams I have, and those are... uh... interesting. Drawing is crazy, and a great stress reliever for me. Put my headphones on, get my pencils, and go. I can spend hours that way before noticing how late it is. And of course I get the best drawing ideas (and writing ideas, for that matter) the night before a test or major project is due. Oh silly human brain.

Still have some pets. Got my guineas, and three rats. That's all. I'm not going to say how many guinea pigs I have, but I only have two species of pets at the moment: and that's quite a feat for me. I won some nice awards for my guineas last year at the national Specialty show for guinea pigs. Had some great litters, and am currently bringing up quite a few show-stoppers. If showing guinea pigs sounds strange to you, well... it is. If you're a pet lover you'll understand. If you're not, think of it this way: it's a gamble and a challenge. You have little critters that can be quite arbitrary and come in many colors. Your goal is to play a game with genetics and try to create the 'best' guinea pig: body type, markings, coloration. It's rough because it's not a color-by-number type of deal. You never really know what one guinea pig plus another guinea pig is going to make, and you have to roll with the punches. I have been raising guinea pigs for about ten years, and I have four or five generations of guinea pigs I have personally raised. There's just something about showing a guinea pig you've bred that is contagious, and winning helps. They're neat little animals anyways, and make great pets.

So does that help you understand? No? Didn't think so. Oh well.

My poor garden is all mud and a few greenish-brown sticks right now. I need to work on that. Found a praying mantis out there the other day. It's raining right now (ILOVERAIN), so it'll probably be a few days until I get to work on it again.

Oh, and I left my car windows rolled down today. Fail. They were only rolled down an inch or so, but then we were gone all day, and it rained, and... yeah. Fantastic. The only reason they were down is because I finally got around to shampooing and vaccuuming my car and left the windows open a tiny bit to dry. Good thing I didn't check the weather forecast.

Well, I need to close out. The only real reason I wrote this was because I was procrastinating. Come to think of it, that's really the only reason I ever update my blog. Heh. I need to work on that story of mine, and hey-presto blogging instantly sounded like a great idea. Ugh.

Quote time. Love it. C.S. Lewis is amazing.

If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.