Grad Pics

SPARKLY JULES IN THE CAMPUS ROSE GARDEN DIRECTLY AFTER COMMENCEMENT.




THIS IS ME WITH MY PARENTS (my dad and his wife).





THIS IS MY SISTER AND I TRADING OUR HATS.....(the sister who's never had a weight problem. And my only sister.;-)




THIS IS THE DRESS I WORE UNDER MY GRAD GARB--IT WAS A HUGE HIT, AND LOOKED SO PRETTY ON. WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT CAME FROM THE LANE GIANT CATALOG? ME NEITHER! BARGONEE

Gradualated

Well, that's what my four-year-old niece calls it. I graduated today from college with a BA in English.

It was mind-blowing. I went from Euphoria to almost-tears, to stress to holy crap it's hot out here, to exhaustion.

I have pics, and I'll write more, but at the moment I'm just damn tired.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Science Class

My geos professor is old-school and believes in giving out grades as soon as he has them ready instead of making us wait six weeks for the formal posting on the school portal. He said if we would e-mail him, he would get back to us in a week or so.

He got back to me TODAY.

I got a 76.5% on the test (I was close: I thought 80%).

My overall grade in the class? C+. It's official. I'm done with college. Well, my BA anyway.

I just need to get my web site to validate before 11pm tonight so I can get graded on that. I got kicked out of the campus library when they closed at 4:30 (WTF) people still have work to turn in today and tonight.....unfortunately, it's my only access to a Mac; I don't have an FTP program that I can make work from here at home. I'll....punt, I guess.

*bangs head on keyboard*

But I PASSED that science class. :-)

Right on.

My Husband Asked Me to Post This....

So here it is........

Sliding Towards Home

I just finished both of my finals for today--I'm totally done with finals. Staying up late last night and making an index card for EVERY SINGLE STUDY GUIDE QUESTION for GEOS 355 was time-consuming, hand-hurting, and totally worth it. I think I got an 80% or better on the Geoscience final. And the bastidge asked again, the six properties of soil. Of course I knew. :-D

The web design class was open book/notes...yay...and I'm fairly sure I will receive if not a 100%, then a 99%. I was out of there in 45 minutes.

I just need to finish my final web design project. I've done some of the code-writing at home, but I can't get the FTP for PC's the school offers to upload, so I need to use a MAC, and Fugu, here on campus. Get this: the Mac lab is only open tonight from 6-8pm, hours when I am supposed to be hanging out with my in-laws at a Farmer's Market; and of the other computer labs on campus, there are only TWO macs, in the library first floor, where I am now, waiting for someone to get off of one. I can write code on the PC, then convert it to Mac when I Fugu it (fugu as a verb...niiice). Unbelievable considering the amount of graphic design majors and web design majors here.

I'm tired, but I managed to get a shower in before class...LOL My bathroom is mostly painted, but not all painted. I had paint squares painted on the walls for about six months trying to decide on one, then figuring we'd be moving to Monterey so why bother; then when I got "the job" I decided to go ahead and paint it. I am never working with latex paint again. Or red, or in this case, Claret. It matches my towels, two different sets. I painted one wall Claret, the other 3 Hazy Charleston Yellow. I've been watching too much HGTV....but it looks nice, even though it's not done and I totally ruined one baseboard and got red paint everywhere (thank goodness for "Goof-Off".). So it's workable while we have guests.

I'm getting that dizzy/tired feeling from having only five hours of sleep. I may take a nap somewhere if I can't get access to the ding-dang Mac across the way.

How to I feel? Numb. I'm too tired for euphoria or tears. They'll come later. Hopefully not in a public place.

Yay me.

I'm Still Studying

Why? Because there is SO Much Stuff to Study. I'm only 2/3 of the way through the study guide and I still need to review the previous mid-terms.

Granted, I procrastinated. A lot. Because looking at this stuff is, for me, the same as having dental work.

The other problem? On Thursdays I had a tendency to become drowsy and/or even nod off in class. Why? I had an 8am class which meant getting up at 6 to leave by 7 for the drive to Chico. And that also meant four hours sleep, or less, then a three hour art class followed immediately by a science class, and the room was always muggy and warm, and the Professor's voice was deep and soothing and well, my notes look like an earthquake graph on those days. I couldn't help it. I really, really tried, but I could not stay awake on Thursdays. So my notes are useless. I was really a flake this semester. I have a million excuses, but the bottom line is that I was a flake.

Freakin' Out, Man

Emotional diarrhea, big-time. Why? Geoscience 355, Geological Hazards. I currently have a "D" in the class. I have "A's" on all three papers, but I failed the second mid-term and got a C- on the first mid-term. Tomorrow is the final. I studied a bit last night until I fell asleep sitting up, and I've done some studying today. I'm having to FORCE myself to do it because I hate it and I know, I KNOW I won't remember anything I've studied. I studied my ass off for mid-term #2 and I failed it: 55 out of 100. Of course, the questions are odd. One question is often 3, 4, 5, 6 answers, at length. Here's an example:

List the four most important anthropogenic greenhouse gases:

Which are, for the record:

a) CO2
b) Methane
c) chlorofluorocarbons
d) PCE's (from dry cleaning fluid)

Now how is that ONE question?

Here's one that killed me, but I totally got right (by guessing):

Name the six properties of soil:

And they are not dusty, brown, muddy, dirty, Sleepy and Doc. For the record.

a) fertility
b) porosity
c) permeability
d) liquid index/Liquidity
e) plasticity
f) absorption

Also one question, worth 2 points, each.

So, I'm panicking. The more I panic the less I remember. I'm turning into demented woman, junior.

This is the only class I need for my degree: the other two are for a certificate in editing and publishing.

Sing along with me to Beck's song, "Loser": I'm a loser baby, why don't you kill me...


panic.....


Anyone who thinks there is no prayer in school has never lived through finals week. Lord help me.

One Final Down, Two To Go

And it was with Mr. Crankypants. *sigh* It was a weird-ass final. All the things I studied so hard...designer names, style, and era? Two questions. But there were at least 50 questions which were groups of photos (really grainy multi-generational photocopies on bright pink paper), which I could barely focus on. I had to take off my MF bi-focals, and hold the paper up to my face to see. MC came over and asked if more light would help, and I said, "No, I just have bad eyesight."

*sigh*

I then asked when he wanted my final project? He said, "they've all been turned in and graded."

Huh?

"I thought you wanted them at final time?"

"No," he said.

I said "Other people have theirs to turn in."

"Like who?" he said.

"Like her," I said and pointed to a young lady who dropped off her small book project, smiled, and walked out.

He asked to see mine.

He looked at them for about 1 minute. The change of address card, that I completely redid....he liked. My small book? "Overly ambitious."

Huh?

And he mentioned the trim problem which we had already talked about. I wasn't going to go through $30- more in ink cartridges because my trim (edges) were off a little bit.

As for my grade? Who knows?

The final nearly made me cry it was so....weird. Actually, I did cry for a bit at Trader Joe's, where we went to pick up some liquor for a party I'm having Saturday night. But regardless...it was like I hadn't studied at all.

Right now I'm just looking for a "C". All my academic grades of 3.7 are being crashed and burned by some f*cking ART classes. It galls me, it really does.

My friend who I had lunch with yesterday is in this class, and she looked like her dog had just died and didn't want to talk. I'm thinking she got her grade on her project, it was low, and he left snide remarks. I am going to call her tomorrow.

One of the things I learned in the editorial classes I have taken, is that no matter how hard we try, we bring our biases and subjectivity with us to any project, be it a paper or an art project. Mr. Crankypants considers himself the guru of graphic arts, and the only subjectivity that matters is his. Me personally? I hate Picasso, but lot's of people love him. His work is worth millions. Me, it just hurts my (bad) eyes. That's subjectivity.

Mr. Crankypants, I just discovered, designed the logo for my university, which I've hated since the moment I first saw it. It looks like one of those flame logos you'd expect to see at a church or a Christian college. I hated it then, I hate it more now. He's a teacher. His job is to help and guide us, not shit on our work and make nasty remarks. There is a way to give criticism and advice without being an asshole about it. I really resent that. I'm too old to put up with that, but I had to, and it's left a very bitter taste in my mouth despite enjoying the projects themselves. Shame on him.

Now I'm going to finish some painting I've been doing in the bathroom and then go to bed. Tomorrow I have to read up on tornadoes, estuaries, and lightning. Oh joy.

PS: In case you weren't sure, the photo is writer Truman Capote, who Mr. C. could be brothers with.

This is It

Finals week. My last finals week, maybe ever. My first one is tonight at 6pm. It's a graphic design class, the one I made my book for, and right now I'm hanging in with a B-.

Everyone I know who has taken this class says the final is "Weird," but then won't elaborate. I know his final review sheet has some things on it we've not gone over in class, or only touched on briefly. For example: how the hell do you tell the difference between Mondrian and Modular layout systems? They look very similar.

And having the memory of a gnat isn't going to help on any of my finals.

I went down to town yesterday to meet up with a new friend, my age (roughly), who is in the class and just ending her first semester at the University. We had lunch, then went next door to the bakery who has FREE wireless, in case we needed to look something up. Oh yeah: and a lemon bar and large coffee. (It's the bakery that made my wedding cake--to die for goodies. I always have a lemon bar when I go in there, though, so I try to stay out. LOL.).

Anyways, we spent so much time talking, creating boundaries for our new friendship, and excitement to find someone our age on campus, that not much studying was done. Fortunately, she had to leave early so I still had the whole evening and into the morning hours (2:30am) to study, especially since I didn't need to get up too god-awful early due to the late final. I like my new friend. Why is it women my age seem to have had such hard lives? Including me. That first generation after "Women's Lib" seems to have had the shit kicked out of it. WTF?

Well, back to studying. I'm not procrastinating or anything....lalalalala

OH: pick up cap and gown today. All black. Perfect for 95+ degree weather in the sun. :-) I can't wait.