SCHooooooOOL's OUT for SUMMER !!!

As a full-time student at Cornish College of the Arts, I made it, once again, to another summer vacation. This year was seriously minboggling! 

As soon as I started in September my head was still spinning hard on Prednisone, I was sleeping only six hours every three days, completely losing track of reality, with audio / visual hallucinations (the whole nine yards). "Ok, just act like you know what you're doing, nobody will notice". RIGHT!!!

Within my first week of class a paranoid conspiracy had developed in my head: "All of my classmates (minus the current Freshmen) have closed me out ---I did something very wrong and whatever it was, they're not going to tell me what is was".

Really, I already knew the effects of Prednisone, and how it is known to cause these types of thoughts, therefore I took it with a "grain of salt". However, that "grain of salt" only enhanced the flavor of my paranoia. No matter how absurd I tried to think this scenario was, the more apparent it seemed to be. 

Before I could say or do anything about it, I had already fallen behind. I first suspected my multi-tasking skills were somewhat skewed once I lost the ability to count. After that, it was all about working the WC Fields program: searching for loopholes. 

I registered my disability with the Student Affairs dept of the school as quickly as I could: it took about 2 and 1/2 months. By then I had already failed two mid-term exams, acquired four letters of concern from teachers, and continually fell more and more behind while my train of thought became more and more distracted as time carried on.

When presenting my studio work my mind would go blank (sometimes blacking out), the words would come out of me as if they were not my own, many times the teachers would immediately start yelling at me, and classmates would laugh. Merely, I was showing up to participate in my own embarassment.

The Fall semester came and went too fast! The best thing I could do was file "incomplete" with the four classes that gave me the letters of concern. Previously having a career 2.7 gpa (C+ average), a single 'F' could easily expell me from Cornish altogether. For their lowest average allowed is a 2.0 (C); even still, they frown at anything below a 3.0 (B).

Finally, during Winter break, I was able to catch up on oodles of sleep. I couldn't believe the changes the whole world went through while I did that. However, my goal was to finish all incomplete work before the Spring semester started. That didn't happen. In fact, it wasn't until half way into that following semester I had finished 95% of it when time had run out.

My grades came to be:

Production Lab: A-  

Theatre History: B-

Tech. Management: C

Studio: D

Lighting Fundamentals: D+

      ~and then ~

Visual Art History: F 

Thus, scoring myself a whopping 1.7 gpa for the semester, I nearly pooped myself until I checked the 'career' gpa, that was at 2.35! I was able to continue.

However, by that point, I seem to have cleared my head a bit and developed a system that seems to work as long as I can stay focused: work first, sleep at least six hours (sometimes five) per day, and stay fed!

That's ALL I did throughout the Spring semester! I believe my grades will have improved because of it (I'm still waiting to get them).

Now I'm at home: no 'incompletes' to finish, no research necessary, no presentations coming up, no groups to meet with, no deadlines (of any kind) until the first week of September!

So now I have a good look at my home: it's FILTHY!!! And I sniff my clothes: they're all STINKY!!! (sorry Anna, and classmates). My freelance work outside of school (clients / customers) have nearly given up on me, and Anna, my fiancee, is fed up with me.

My head is a whole new MESS; different than it was before, but very much the same as it ever was. Same as it ever WAS! SAME as it ever WAS!

"Letting those days go by!....water flowing on the ground..."

A*09 

*In reference of images in My Pics

Some of you know know the story:

In 1994, a frightful group of spook-artists once known as "Haunted House Productions" moved into this wharehouse known as the Van Vorst Building to build and operate the KUBE Haunted House once again. 

It was the perfect era for running a haunted house, especially in such a theatric city like Seattle. The local economy was BOOMING with Microsoft on the rise with Amazon.com, Starbucks had everyone addicted, our own microbrews poured through thousands of taps as bands like Nirvana and Soundgarden were redundantly overplayed by all the locals who claimed to be their best friends. Yeah, the market was PERFECT for a Haunted House.

Our first year at this residence was rather tough due to it's enormous amount of space (recent developement has removed 1/3 of it's structure). However, our senior crew had been together since the mid '60s and still had many unbelievable ideas that proved successful after opening. Such as:

The Veg-o-Matic by Rick Burgy:  A walk-in human blender. You enter what appears to be a hallway through a flooded mausoleum...until the liquifying blades swing down through the sides.  

The Wizard's Keep by Dale Hansen:  You enter a very small theatre that seems to be completely vacant with lightning flashing in a lone doorway on stage. You might catch a sudden glimpse of a wizard in the doorway but he instantly disapears. Most people stop wondering "where did he go?" and assuming it was some kind of projected image -but then the wizard jumps out at them. *Some people literally pee'd themselves! I saw one person jump so hard they broke through a wall unit. 

I can write for days about the phenomenal sets, costumes, actors, and make-up artists., but I'm tired already. However, this group, currently known as "ScreamWorks NorthWest" is what lead my interest into the industrial arts, something (the only thing) I wanna do as a career.

We remained at The Boren House for three years allowing us to expand our ideas and excell beyond imagination.

In 1996, Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft owned the entire South Lake Union neighborhood and made a motion to the city to level all structures (including The Boren House) and regrade the entire landscape as a park known as "The Seattle Commons".

Very quickly we made a petition with many thousands of signatures coming from many artists, residents, students, sponsors from radio, TV, Fred Hutchison and Children's Hospital. It was undeniable that people valued the building (with or without us in it).

Therefore, uncle Paul said we could stay. It was a VICTORY! -so, we thought.

Just a few days later fire marshals came for reinspection. Ironically, what had past a few months prior to that had then become "structurally unsound" and irrepairable. Their exact words were that the next earthquake, big or small, could easily collapse the building and we needed to vacate right away. We did as they said and things weren't the same ever since.

Since then, Seattle has been shaken by the Nisqually Earthquake (6.8) in 2001 and two small ones, the building still stands proud!

In Y2K the building was registered as a historic landmark. Recently, Amazon.com has purchased a few acres of it's land for their future headquarters. The facade of the building will remain intact.

*Early history of this amazing buiding found at:

http://web1.seattle.gov/DPD/historicalsite/QueryResult.aspx?ID=160466209

A*08

Last weekend was unbelievably warm and sunny here in Seattle with sunny blue skies and people everywhere putting their raincoats and winter clothes away. On Friday we finally touched the 60s for the first time since the wet cold "mad season" started in October. Saturday reached toasty 74 degrees.  I was pleased to wear my shorts and bummed that I was stuck indoors all day.

But last night I was convinced that the weather report on my computer was completely wacked when I saw that snow was expected to be mixed with rain. But this morning's breezy chill confirmed the relapse of winter that was stated on my Toshiba Home Page. Sure enough, the tiny white stuff started to appear one flake over here, and one flake over there. Then, all of a sudden, everything went white, cars were sliding around, and everyone became confused. Everything went quiet just in time for a flash of lightning followed by a thunderous ROAR! My adrenaline LOVES that!

Like I mentioned in my Christmas Day blog, snow in Seattle is known to notoriously be washed away by rain immediately after it falls. It's an absolute RIP-OFF! In the meantime everybody flips out, closes down, bunkers up, and sells out as the media treats mother nature like a psycho bitch!

Oh, woah.... I just did that! Oh well.

A*08

ART School Professor: A Job for the MILITARY

As a sophomore at Cornish College of the Arts I’ve come to an understanding:

*The first half of the job of an art professor is to creatively teach the students step-by-step the greatest techniques known of how to express themselves. Cornish is AMAZING at doing this for students who already believe they know it all and are lifted to levels beyond their imagination.

*The second half of the job of an art professor is to completely obliterate the student! The idea is to rip the students’ heart out, set it on fire and make the student to put it out FAST because it might destroy their schoolwork.

Having this clear understanding, I can easily accept my teachers not just for who they are, but also respect them as soldiers serving in the war on cheap art. Only 2 years, 1 month, 5 days, and 90 minutes until I graduate.

A*08

Ok, cool. I got my schedule for the fall ’08 semester. It be:

-Tech Management

-Humanities / Sciences

-Scenic Studio

-Production Lab

-Lighting Fundies

-Theatre History

Seems like a lot for 17 credits, but they say its time I "step it up a little".

As I arranged these classes with the big Dave T-L (head of my dept.) he showed me a glimpse of my mid-term progress reports. Apparently, the graphics class I thought I struggled in is sitting pretty with a B, including the 3 or more absences. I was impressed!

The other report was from my scene painting class, the one I automatically assume I master with flying colors. A solid A+ is what I’m expecting with smiley faces and a letter of recommendation for Yale or something…. No, not really.

But the only letter of anything I could find was just another B… …a B? …Where’d I go wrong?

Looking over the marks that aren’t in the "good" boxes, they gave me a "fair" score on "Understanding Subject Matter" (whatever THAT means), "class attendance", and this one: "Ability to Accept Constructive Criticism" –DAMMIT!!!.....WHERE’S MY ice cream???

Yeah… a B.

Later in the eve, I hobbled over to a nearby church where many fellow friends of Bill W. meet. I encountered the first follower of Nellie Cornish I ever met among them. I feel better now. 

A*08