Monday

First of all, lists are easy; I don't have to be all witty and creative in my prose.

Things I accomplished:
- aced another Japanese quiz, this time on 46 hiragana (one of the 4 written languages used by the Japanese)
- pugged around 100lbs of clay (that's basically reconstituting it so it can be worked with again)
- participated in a critique and had my work critiqued (both were pretty good)
- ate lunch
- worked for two hours in the gallery
- attended Japanese drills (pratice sessions with a native speaker, lots of fun!)
- threw from 3:30pm to 10:30pm, with only a half hour break for dinner at Johnny's
- threw 6 teapot bodies (we'll see which ones really work out though), 4 large bowls, 3 tall vases, a rounded jar that was too small to be considered a teapot body, and a plate... it was supposed to be a platter, but there were issues... my issues... with throwing.
- talked to my roommates for a while, and went to bed

Things to accomplish tomorrow:
- throw at least 6 spouts for the teapots
- pull 6 handles for the teapots
- trim the feet of all the things I threw today
- attend sculpture and Senior Seminar classes
- hopefully glaze some works I bisque fired last Thursday

But it's only the beginning of the week and already super busy!
But also really fun.

Cough, Cough, Sneeze, Sneeze...

A List of things I've learned this week:

The cold season has hit.

Earl Grey Tea is great for sore throats.

Days spent in pajamas, while seen by some as unproductive, can do wonders for your attitude and mental health.

The afghan I knit is really warm and keeps me comfy on the couch.

Original Chap-Stick three packs are a good buy.

Coughing is a great ab workout... although it isn't my choice of workout.

Despite being ill, my work in the studio went really well this week, including experimenting with underglazes, and firing some work already.

Saturdays are great for sleeping in.

Why Tuesday evenings are my favorite... or what I did tonight.

On Tuesdays I have a 9-10:00am class, a 1-4:00pm class and a 4-5:00pm class. It makes for a long day, and when fixing the pugmill is thrown in, along with some unsuccessful researching, it makes one heck of a day. Furthermore, my throat is starting to do that thing it does right before you get a cold, and I'm hoping and praying (and drinking my fluids to) the possibility that it might not be a doozy... but there's been one doozy spreading around campus.

So, this evening, because I have no classes on Wednesday, and because I spent a couple hours in the library between classes doing homework, I got home at 6:00pm, changed into my pajamas, and ordered pizza with my roommate, after which I proceeded to fall asleep to CSI, and woke up to another CSI (you have to love the 3 hours of CSI on channel 59 in the evenings!). After I woke from my comatose state, I flicked through the channels, and decided it was time for an 'early' bedtime. Early for me anyway.

So, goodnight, and tomorrow's another day to do stuff... and maybe get a little more accomplished in the evening!

Some things I've learned this week...

1. The painful thing on my left ring finger knuckle is a ganglion cyst.
2. Ganglion cysts are painful, especially when I have to bend my finger.
3. I have to bend my finger a lot, like when I'm typing, or when I'm throwing on the wheel.
4. The sports medicine doctor at Health Services must want me to get a bleeding ulcer.
5. The sports medicine doctor told me to 'ice the knucle, take 3 motrin at each meal, and rest your knuckle when you can'.
6. Staring blankly in disbelief at the sports medicine doctor is apparently a common reaction from his patients.
7. Dr. Do-nothing, as I like to call him, dosen't understand that I have a BFA show that I'm working towards right now and cannot 'rest my knuckle'.
8. From what I've read, a ganglion cyst is not related to swollen joints and therefore won't be helped by lots of Motrin.
9. I've also read that immobilizing the joint does nothing for the cyst.
10. The nurse the day before said it could be drained, or hit with a Bible to get rid of it.
11. My knuckle still hurts.

One more thing...

I've learned today:
- talking with your sister for an hour goes by extremely fast, and is worth every minute
- sisters have that weird vantage of knowing you so well from growing up, and yet are distanced enough to give good advice over the phone at 11:30pm when they are a couple thousand miles away
- Denver is looking better and better for grad school...

Day 2

Since the first day of school is always overwhelming, crazy busy and stressful, I thought i'd post on day two instead.

Things I learned so far:
- 'Ohayoo gozaimasu' means 'good morning, politely' in Japanese... just don't pronounce the final 'u'
- 'Ohayoo gozaimasu' is pronounced like 'Ohio gozimas', not too tricky
- Japanese has 4 different ways of writing words out, all of which can be used in a single sentence!
- Sculpture will be interesting, as I get to learn to weld this semester
- a CUPPS mug of coffee is only 50 cents! (I'd forgotten it was so cheap)
- coffee is not a good lunch, whereas chicken salad taken from home is
- I miss my friends who graduated
- lots of my friends graduated
- throwing on the wheel is always fun, no matter if everything falls apart, or everything is great
- lots of my things fell apart today... I think I was pushing the clay pretty far, but I have a vessel shape in mind and I want to see it realized
- crocs, the really comfy shoe brand, can be cleaned in the dishwasher
- I need to clean my crocs
- the best thing about seeing friends you haven't seen all summer is the hugs
- my ring finger knuckle has been swollen for the past week and I don't know what I did to it... I don't think it's broken, but I think something is wrong
- My B.F.A. show opens in 28 weeks... that sounds like a lot, but it isn't