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.