I haven't written for a while.

Dear Blogger,
I'm sorry for neglecting you recently. It's been one of those times where I've felt like I had a lot to say, but somehow, I never felt inspired enough to commit my thoughts to words. Also I've been pretty busy as of late... but enough with the excuses. Here's what's up:

The "new" quarter is already more than half over, and I'm getting nervous. For one thing, this might well be my best quarter yet at Cal Poly, at least in terms of how much I'm enjoying myself, and I'll be sad to see it end. I think it's the first time I haven't had a class I didn't like, and I don't have to get up obscenely early on any days (the earliest I have to get up is at 8:30 to get to work by 9:45). But mostly, I am thoroughly enjoying every class I'm in this quarter. I'm taking philosophy with my dad, which was sort of awkward at first (for both of us) but we've gotten over the initial weirdness, and I no longer have a problem speaking up in class. Also, it's a big enough section that I can easily remain anonymous (we decided it would be best if the class didn't know I was the professor's daughter). I'd always found my dad to be engaging in conversation even at home, so I was curious to see what he'd be like in a classroom setting, and I must say... I know I'm biased here, but I'm quite happy with my dad as a professor, and the class has managed to consistently keep me interested and attentive.

My religion and violence class (the "sex, death, & human nature" class I had hoped to take had a waiting list about as long as the enrolled list by the time I got to register, so I had to go with my second choice) has also been interesting, although it didn't start off so well. I found the lectures in the beginning to be a bit pedestrian, but the professor has warmed up to the class quite a bit since then, and we're covering things in much more depth than we had been.

My history of photography class is also interesting, even though it's with a professor I don't like. It's better now that I don't really have to interact with him (previously the only classes I'd had with this guy were photo labs), and he's alright as a lecturer (I've certainly learned a lot so far), but mostly, it is nice to finally have some kind of a background in the history of my concentration. Arab Music is a joy as always, and even more so now that my best friend has decided to join (she plays flute). We have a concert in about two weeks that we're all very excited for (I actually just got two women at the PAC who bought tickets for our show and were raving about our ensemble, saying it was the best thing at Cal Poly!)

But the best thing about this quarter is Corp. Ed. AKA Corporate/Editorial Photography: a class which takes place every Friday for 6 hours, during which we do on-location shooting for actual clients. Every time I tell someone I have a 6-hour class on Fridays, they click their tongue and express their sympathy, but I always tell them that I honestly couldn't imagine a way I'd rather spend my Fridays. The class is very small (only about 8 people in total, plus our professor) and we've become like a family. I had most of them in my photographic expression class last quarter as well, so we were already friends before this class, but working together as one big team has brought us even closer together. Every Friday, one team (2 people) is responsible for arranging a shoot somewhere, dealing with the people who run the place, deciding on what lighting equipment to bring, and deliver the final photos to the institution for promotional purposes if they choose to use them. We usually spend the first part of class going over what we did last week, and then we check out equipment and go. The first week we did glassblowing and welding at the lab at Cal Poly as sort of a practice run, the week after that we did the Children's Museum downtown, last week we did a skate park in Cayucos, this week we're doing a restaurant in Morro Bay, and next week, I've arranged to shoot at the Performing Arts Center at Cal Poly. I'm actually thinking of setting up another blog to document the progress of this class... I have to turn in a journal at the end of the quarter anyway, so I figure I could just make it public in case anyone's interested, and after the class is over, it can segue into a regular photography blog.

In addition to our Friday adventures, we also have individual assignments--but that's where the anxiety comes in. One of the things I really do appreciate about this particular professor is that he really challenges us; he doesn't let us make the excuse of "oh, well, I'm just a small-time student from a small school in a small town, I can't do anything," he makes us really get out there and do things we didn't think were possible. Among other things, this quarter I have to get a photo published in a magazine or newspaper (the school newspaper doesn't count), and I have to take portraits of a celebrity. Because these are daunting projects, I (and the rest of the class) have been dragging my feet... so I have about a month to get these things done. Yikes. Luckily, for the publication project, I only need a letter saying that they have agreed to publish my picture (because it could take a while before it actually comes out in print), and as it turns out, my boyfriend's dad's boss has a property in Lake Nacimiento that neighbors Alex Trebek's property... so they said they'd try to get me in contact with him. Here's hoping that all of that works out, because at this point I don't have a lot of time to work with.

In other news, I've finally got myself some equipment for a full, albeit primitive, lighting studio. My friend generously gave me some of his old equipment a while ago when he moved (2 lights, a sync cord, and a white backdrop) but I couldn't really use them until I got lightstands, which I finally purchased on B&H for a very fair price. I've also got 2 umbrellas coming in the mail from China; they're due to arrive sometime at the beginning of March. This is all happening just in time because I've got a shoot planned for the first weekend of March with a girl in Arab Music (she's a vocal major and needs headshots for her senior recital), and a friend of a friend is interested in doing a bubonic plague themed shoot--combined, we have everything we need for a Medieval doctor's costume except for the mask (she's thinking of either buying or making one, and I'm very excited about this shoot because it's right down my alley (costumes and a macabre aesthetic), plus it'll allow me to get creative with lighting, which I'll be eager to do once the umbrellas arrive.

Also on the photography front, I've decided to finally make business cards. I got the idea implanted in my head a few months ago when my friend came home with business cards for her Brazilian Jazz band, and I found a website that will send you 500 cards for $10. What a deal! I also looked online for a light meter (it's something my professors have suggested we get, and it's nice to have on shoots because it tells you what settings to put your camera at so you don't have to fiddle around while your client loses faith in your professionalism) but they're insanely expensive, even for used ones on ebay, so I think that'll have to wait for a bit.

I just realized I've only covered the most recent stuff, so let me fill you in a bit on other happenings within the last few months since I last wrote.

My oldest friend (oldest because we've been friends since kindergarten, not oldest in age) got married last month on the 22nd. That was sort of a trip. We've grown apart as of late (we went to elementary school together, but although we still kept in touch, we branched off after that) but she still made me maid of honor because, as she said, "I've been there the longest, and I've known her through everything." She's pregnant too, and due in June (though they didn't know that when he proposed, so it wasn't a shotgun wedding or anything like that), and it all feels so... strange. We're not kids anymore I guess, but I still feel much too young to see kids I went to school with getting married. That said, they do make each other happy, and they've been together since 7th grade. I don't know him too well, but the smile he had plastered on his face at the wedding was the kind you don't see too often. So good for them, I guess. The most important thing to me is that they're both happy.

On the other side of the spectrum, probably the biggest emotional drain lately has been coming from another friend who's had some issues confronting things that happened a long time ago, but suffice it to say it's the kind of thing I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. As she is my best friend, it's very hard for me to not get emotionally involved, and I feel helpless. I know the best thing I can do is just support her and offer help if she needs it, but it's hard to see her in such a terrible position and knowing there's not a thing I can do about it, when I would do anything to make her better. She called me into her room about about a week ago and finally told me everything that had happened recently and how she'd been handling it, and I was scared. I mean really scared. I have never seen someone that upset. She is taking steps toward recovery, but after so long of having ignored the problem, the solution isn't going to come easily. She's a strong person, and I know she'll pull through, but it's going to be difficult. I would go on at length about this, but this is a public blog, and I don't feel it's my place to disclose anything so personal, so I won't.

Last quarter did take a big toll on me, as I expected. I passed web design, but just barely (and I still haven't resolved the question of it being added to my curriculum, so depending on how things go with that, it may have an even worse effect on my GPA than it does currently). Despite how much I studied for the bio class, I only came out with a C, and I got a B in art history. But the biggest bummer was my photographic expression class. I had thought that that class was in the bag, because I'd gotten As on 3 out of 4 assignments, and a B on the 4th, but I still somehow got a B in the class. When I checked the breakdown on Blackboard, it said that I had received a 17/30 on class participation, which, pardon my French, is absolute bullshit because I can confidently say that I was the biggest contributor during class critique (my classmates will back me up on this), I never missed a single lecture, and I only missed 3 labs (2 of which I emailed him for--he denies this). When I went to office hours this quarter to talk to him about it, he said that I hadn't talked to him enough during lab (he's the kind of teacher who, if you don't get his opinion every step of the way and take his suggestions no matter whether you agree with them or not, he'll dock you). So, fine. I wasn't 100% material, but 17/30?? Really??? He also admitted that I'd been one point away from a B+ (ONE point!), yet despite the fact that I've had 3 or 4 classes with him where he praised my work and gave me As, he still wasn't willing to give me the benefit of the doubt and grant me that one point. I have no words to describe my aggravation. In summation, last quarter sucked. And I've made an effort to not let myself slip this time; I can't afford to have another quarter like last one.

So that I don't end on an unhappy note, I'll conclude this lengthy blog by pronouncing my excitement for this weekend. It's Valentine's day weekend, and my boyfriend and I will be spending it in San Francisco. It's an exciting place that we both love, so we decided a trip could be sort of a gift to each other. We'll be staying at my friend's house who lives close to a BART station in Berkeley, and we've gotten a few suggestions for places to go, but mostly we'll enjoy the change of scenery, and maybe we'll see an exhibit or something if we find out about anything interesting that's going on.

Oh! Also! One more thing before I sign out. I've entered a few photos in a competition online, and it's got 4 hours left for voting. I already got one "fast tracked" to the finals, which means that one of the judges picked it to be a contender in the finals, so it's no longer relying on votes, but I'm trying to get as many of my photos into the top 20 as possible to limit my competition. So if you're reading this in the next 4 hours (haha) and you feel so inclined, you can vote here: Snapshot Scholar Photo Competition I'll let you know what happens once the results from the judges are in.

Alright, that's it for now, I get off work in 15 minutes, and I've got class in 25.
Cheerio.