Cultural intake

After months of practically nothing going on, everything opens this weekend.

Thursday night Emily and I bravely dressed up and headed to a VIP skyline lounge party for the kickoff of Artchicago. It turned out to be less food-ridden and more bar-like crowded, but we did get to feel super special going in. I mean, the guy by the elevators had to input his keycard before he could press the top floor button. And at the top, we were all, "we've got a blackpass" and they were all "go on in". We didn't have to show it, cuz we're connected.



Then today (Friday) the normal Artchicago/Next/Antiques fair all opened at Merchandise Mart, which the school sent out tickets to which made us feel considerably less VIP than before, especially when we arrived and realized they were pretty much just letting anyone in for free. It was still pretty awesome and overwhelming, though. I'm sure we got lost at least 4 times.





As if that wasn't enough, the MFA show opened also, so right after Artchicago closed we bopped back over to the Sullivan galleries for the cheese spread and (less) cool art.

And if that wasn't enough, crit week starts and I have more projects to finish than I know how to deal with.

Rainy thoughts

Today's rain is an unavoidable, misty sort that saturates the air in your lungs and lingers somewhere between cool and warm.
I find myself unusually short of breath on stairs, and unusually damp despite the overhang.
The train pulls up right under the gutter overflow, the water spattering on top the roof to collect on the lip above the door, pausing briefly before overflowing in a wide sheet.
A man on the train wipes his head with a small towel.
The mail in my mailbox is extremely soggy.

And Jewel doesn't sell jelly beans

The memories of last year's lonely easter prompted me north to evanston, where I had brunch with Danny and Amanda.


We made monkey bread, which is amazing and will give you a sugary butter coma.



and made our mangoes a little more festive.




The Amanda and I went to see Jane Eyre, which was really good as far as I could tell from my uncomfortable position of second row, and on the way home I saw a bunny. Happy Easter.

Artbash

Ah, Artbash-- the yearly orientation-like student exhibition madness in the Columbus building.. run by admissions, of course.

If there's one thing I can say about Larry Lee, it's that he's intense. This whole newly-hired first-day process was much akin to being chucked off a cliff.

There are 5 other newbies besides myself, and yesterday morning we all found ourselves suddenly in the midst of the (usual, expected) event behind-the-scenes craziness, mixed in with all the vetrans and only vaguely understanding what we're supposed to do. There was no introductions of the other Stubassadors, or the Coordinators, or even of the faculty or other Admissions helpers (I just had to guess about everyone); it was assumed we knew all about Artbash and the rooms in the Columbus Drive (I didn't: newly learnt, the Millenium Room!); and even with Larry's briefing about how the crowd of 300 visitors was going to be split up and handled, it was incredibly hard to figure out what was going on next until it was actually happening.

Ay, ay. Not that it was all bad. Us noobs clumped together most of the time if there was a lull in projects (seemed wasteful to stand around but we didn't know what to do!) until a more authoratative person passing by could hand a project off on us. We were fed, too, catered lunch with everyone else (nummy turkey and carmalized onion sandwich with some sort of cheese I didn't recognize), as well as a pimpin' $20 worth of food at Sonny's (the 2nd floor "cafeteria") (which is like, 2 1/2 meals worth, which is like 5 meals because they give you too much to eat in one sitting!). But only good Sunday and Monday, which is pooey.

Because it was wild Artbash things, we get paid for 18 hours, huzzah! In actuality it was more like 7 or so. (Was tired when I left an didn't check the exact time, but I think it was around 2:30.) Now I just need someone to explain the whole timesheet thing to me...

Next Thursday: shadowing a tour. How boring! (Jk, jk)

Fall 11

If my understanding of the advisor's charts and scribblings are correct, I am 34.5 credits away from The End, which smooths out to about 14 classes, or 2 summers, a winter, and a fall+spring. Huzzah.

I feel like I was given a "sophomore" enrollment time (i.e. really late). Nevertheless, I've successfully managed to enroll for next fall, minus one or two or five pitfalls of courses I want/need being full and therefore have been replace with courses I don't want/but still need.

It's an odd schedule. I'm not taking any writing classes, which may appear contradictory to my degree, but in actuality.. I've finished all the writing requirements, and am now focusing on getting rid of those pesky (and picky) "academic electives", of which writing does not contribute (so I am told). I am, however, taking an extra social science beyond what I need (see above: picky. pesky.), and two regular sciences (see above: 5 pitfalls), as well as 2 studios (which I still need, despite taking 1 per semester, even 3 last semester?) and a humanities.

In summary: I might die. Just a heads up.


p.s. This is completely unrelated: You know that annoying voice SNL's Nasim Pedrad uses when she's being Kim Kardashian or whatever? I totally heard a girl that sounded like that on the train. Only she was in complete seriousness. My brain cried a little.

Paparazzi

Today I forced myself to go to class so that I could (finally) aquatint my latest etching. After arriving awkwardly late, I discover the entire acid room plus nearest sink are closed and out of order due to some sort of plumbing issue.

So I had to spend the class finding odd ends to work on. Which was well, I suppose, since it forced me to actually work on the large etch I've been planning forever but hadn't actually started.

But I like to think I wasn't meant to go to class at all today. Because while applying asphaltum the jar exploded on me and completely showered me and my clothes, of which I am fairly fond. (aprons don't save everything. And, I know, I know, I shouldn't have been dressed so nice in the studio, but I was going out right after!)

Great day for the sink to be not working. Not that asphaltum comes out whatever you do anyway.

I had to strip in the bathroom and wear my coat like a flasher. Dropped the clothes off at the dry-cleaners in vain attempt that their cleaning magic will work. Cheered myself up by watching movies with Abosy and painting my nails with gold glitter.

Right now the neighbors are having a party, which was slightly awkward to pick through the smokers on the sidewalk to get through the gate. Not as awkward as the blinds up in the living room that unconsciously made a fool of me as I tried to open one of the painted-shut windows (it's SO BLOODY COLD in this apartment ALL THE TIME) while people sitting in the back yard watched me struggle and fail. Ha.

Readings

Tonight was the BFAW senior thesis reading. I went, not only because I'm aquainted with most of the readers, and not only because there was food, but also because I have to do this next year and I wanted to know what's expected of me.

Crap.

It was all very good and lovely. I know that I have a year to write something equally good and lovely to read, but I couldn't stop myself from thinking the whole time, "I don't have anything like this to read, I'm so screwed"

Well, maybe not screwed, but I seriously need to come up with a focus or a regular format before next spring. Can't really go into the thesis class as splay-legged as I am now.

In any case, grats to the readers. happy graduating.

I asked for it.

The universe loves irony.

I whine about my boring life, it throws me paramedics.

I'm fine, by the way. Funny story actually.
Well, not so funny really but I've taken artistic liberty here.

The day before I had gotten very little sleep, so when I arrived home after class (a bit later than normal due to printing: 10:30 pm?) I, in a fit of responsibility, left my computer unpacked (my number one temptress for keeping me up) so I could plop into bed right away.

(I had to be up earlier than 2 pm you see, because I was meeting Anna to go look at a gallery or something.)

Sleep's like a credit card. Lack of it is like buying a bunch of stuff you can't afford. Eventually you have to pay your debt. Despite going to bed early (or reasonable time?) when 10 rolled around I most certainly was not ready to get up. (This might also be due to the broken-ness of my morning due to alarms, text messages, etc., that, when appearing in succession, only serve to make me more stubborn on getting the sleep I want.)

In any case, I was still up before 2 but by like 5 minutes. Sleep schedule fix FAIL.

So I had to make it downtown by 3, so I threw a bunch of stuff I thought I'd need into my bag o' random-stuff-I-think-I-need and sauntered to the train station where I promptly missed the train downtown by a staircase.

This happens sometimes, and is very annoying, but thus is the universe.

On the next train it was suddenly: too hot. And a bit nauseous. And light-headed. I got off at State/Lake to at least get some fresh air, maybe go sit on a red line bench or something, but didn't make it far past the turnstile before getting horribly dizzy. I stopped walking and hugged a nearby post.

Lucky for me, a nursing student was also getting off the train. No seriously, really lucky. It's not any fun feeling ill by yourself in a public area. I kept trying to think of a place of refuge for me to stumble to and sit, drink some water or something, but there wasn't anything around.

Nurse girl (she told me her name but I forgot) made me sit on the dirty pigeon-poop and garbage platform and asked a bunch of insightful questions, like "have you eaten today?" and "has this happened before?" and "any medical conditions?" which is how I knew she was a nurse. At least my inductive reasoning was working. (that is inductive, right?)

Anyway, she thought I had low blood sugar and got me some juice. Made me eat my granola bar, which was very difficult. I learned there's a store or at least someplace with a vending machine right below the station. Life is full of surprises.

This is getting really long, so I'll abbreviate the sitting-and-waiting:
"Are you feeling any better?"
"Not really. My hands are tingly. Now my legs are tingly."
Then a CTA guy came. Then he called some paramedics. (I actually might have started feeling better around then but it was hard to gauge because this whole time my uterus decided it needed some pain-enduced attention. Seriously, I think it was forming navy knots or something. Talk about obnoxious (it's hard to determin level of crappiness in one part of self while another is vying for negative attention).)

Paramedics took me down the stairs, tested things like blood pressure, asked if I wanted to go to the hospital.
"Um," I said.
"We recommend it," they said.
I was definately almost clear-headed but still shakey. Personally I didn't feel like getting back on the train to ride for another half hour to get back home.
"Ok." I said.
"Northwestern is really close," they said.
I didn't say anything else but was wondering, do they still charge you for the ambulance if it doesn't take you anywhere?

Hospital said:
Sign treatment release here.
Wait a bit here.
Answer some questions there.
Wait some more over here.
Get an EKG here.
Wait 4 hours there.
Run a test here.
You're fine, go home.

Then I walked out of the hospital and went, "..where the hell am I?"


p.s. Nothing makes you feel like you're making a big drama over nothing like sitting in a hospital waiting room for 4 hours feeling perfectly fine the whole time so that they could tell you you're perfectly fine (which you know they're going to tell you).
p.p.s Don't try making clever comments or jokes with the nurses because your hours of lethargically watching the news will dull your head into forgetting the key word in what you're saying. Twice.
p.p.p.s Did you know the Field Museum shipped in a giant whale (I'm assuming model..) for their exhibit? Like, it was massive. Life size. (Also, when CBS ends, Wheel of Fortune comes on. Seriously? That show's still running?)

I'm so tired I can't think straight, but I'm bringing you this update anyway

I have been failing on the updates lately. Nothing exciting ever happens in my life anymore.

Seriously, this is the most interesting thing that's happened all month:

This morning I left early to go to Jo-Ann's (way up in Lincoln Park, there needs to be a better location). By mistake I arrived just around opening time, which of course meant I got to stand outside the door like a fool with several other, middle-aged women and a couple of toddlers.

Eventually they had to let us in, but there appeared to be some technical difficulties with the cash registers due to their remodeling that would delay our purchases. (Or rather, it was less appearing and more being told this directly by a worker.)

I only went to get some applique pins (which they didn't have ANYWAY), so I mosied around all the isles to give them time to sort it out. I mosied too quickly, and ended up standing at the front of a growing line making the employees flustered for about 35 minutes until, in the midst of tech support calls and installation guys and cashiers trying to do transactions by hand (impossible for us that pay with plastic), someone got one of the registers working and we all rejoiced.

Poor ladies.