I just finished my antibiotics for my second round of strep throat on Wednesday. Today, I started my new antibiotic for… strep throat. For those of you keeping score, this makes three times in four weeks I’ve gotten strep throat. It may be time to call a specialist.

There’s this woman in my ceramics class who annoys me to no end. She’s a retired principal, and she’s very quick to let you know she’s already had a REAL job, but is going to be a clay artist now that she’s retired. This is her first formal ceramics class, but she’s already making plans to buy a kiln and build a studio in her back yard. Of course, since she’s already had a REAL job, she can afford these things.

There seems to be three catagories of artistically minded people in art classes. There are those that get it; those who admit they don’t always get it, but they’re improving (ME!); and those who don’t get it at all, but are too proud to admit it. Retired Principal falls into the latter group.

I joked wtih a friend in class the other day that I didn’t know the difference between crap and art. My friend gave me the old, “art is subjective” spiel, and we both laughed about it. Art may be subjective in the grey areas, but the black and white of crap and art still exists. And as art students, we’re expected to learn the difference between the two extremes. (It’s not as easy as it sounds!) Retired Principal told us that she didn’t care about what other people thought. She likes what she likes.

Twenty minutes later, the wood fire kiln was unloaded. Overall, we didn’t achieve the results we wanted. Many of the pieces were a disappointing shade of brown. One student mentioned that we may be able to glaze and refire some of the pieces. Retired Principal found her pieces, took them to my professor, and asked if she could fix them with glaze and refiring. My professor (and several other students who apparently get it) told her that they wouldn’t change the pieces, since they were among the few that were the intended color. Retired Principal’s response? “Oh, okay. Well, if you like them, I guess I won’t change them.”

There aren’t many things at which I think I’m great. Even when I’m told I’m great at something, it takes a lot more to convince me. However, there is this one Thing I think I do very well. At the very least, I have a lot of confidence in myself when it comes to this Thing. I really hate being immodest (which is why I don’t name the Thing), but you have to know how I feel about my abilities relating to the Thing to understand why I feel the way I do about the incident. Last night, I was given some unsolicited advice on how I could improve my Thing. And it made me a little cranky. Perhaps I’m oversensitive when I’m criticized on something I feel is a strength of mine, butI don’t want advice on how to improve this Thing because, quite frankly, I don’t feel there’s much room for improvement. There, I’ve said it. Witness my impudence.

Today took away the crankiness that kept me from sleeping well last night. Ten continuous hours in the studio plus my ideas from last Friday’s lazy session produced some pieces that turned out better than I had hoped. Even my professor seemed impressed with my work. It was nice to feel successful in the studio after my confidence had been shot down the night before.

The icing on the cake was the voicemail message I received while working in the studio. The woman from the clay job called and wants to arrange an interview two weeks from now.

Isn’t it nice when the good things erase the bad?

I find it interesting that when I play Sims 2 I always focus on the same few aspects of my Sims’ lives. I build their creativity, logic, and career as high as I can, as quickly as I can. I’m pretty sure that relates somehow to my insecurities in those areas of my own life.

We’ve had four sessions with nude models in my drawing class, and now that we’re moving on to something else, I’m sorry to see it end. I’ve been studying the human form in all four of my classes in one way or another, and it’s changed the way I think of it. I find that I’m able to appreciate the human form better than I ever thought possible. Every curve, every crease, and every little thing that I used to find unappealing has suddenly become beautiful. I’m positively mesmerized by the way light changes when it touches flesh.

I see myself continuing the study of the human form and incorporating it into my art.

It’s been a fast moving, get-nothing-done sorta day. I woke up with all sorts of plans for making pottery, but once I started the 60+ mile drive, I changed my mind. I still wanted to go to the studio, I just didn’t feel like making the drive there. Instead of going to the ceramics studio, I went to see the new Harry Potter movie.

Now it’s nearly dinner time and I haven’t accomplished much of anything. And on top of that, I’m bored. Really bored. I don’t feel like tackling the have-to stuff yet. That pretty much leaves out homework, chores, and… well, everything. I did a load of laundry. That’s something, right? I might clean up the kitchen. I think I might eat dinner today too. Somehow, I’ve gotten through three nights without eating dinner.

Wow, you know things are slow when I blog about something like dinner.

One of my first friends from Dragon’s Gate has returned to the game recently and asked me to bring back one of my “retired” characters. So, instead of spending my evening writing my two take home essays for 20th c. art history (which, by the way, are due tomorrow) or getting a good night’s rest so I can get up very early tomorrow morning to write the essays, I’ve chosen to play the game until… well, whenever my friend is ready to sleep.

The children are with Rob in Florida for the week, so I don’t have to set a good example for them. I’m allowed to make a bad decision once in a while, right?

Edit: I got to bed three and a half hours before I needed to get up to write the paper. Bad.

Jacob and I just finished our antibiotics for strep throat on Tuesday. Friday, Jacob started a new antibiotic because the strep throat returned (or was never really gone.) Today, I started my new antibiotic. I know I’m contagious, but I’m going to school tomorrow anyway.

As of today, there are 90,234 people on the waiting list for an organ transplant.

Today is the second anniversary of my dad’s kidney transplant. Happy Kidney Day, Dad.

United Network for Organ Sharing
Coalition on Donation

I found this funny meme (which is basically blogger-geek talk for “blog game”) on SpaceCase’s blog. It works like this. You Google “kerrie needs” (with the quotation marks) and list the first ten things you get.

1. Kerrie needs no introduction to all of you hip knitters. But if you’re an unhip knitter, or even a hip crocheter, I may still need an introduction.

2. Kerrie needs constant care. Much like an orphaned squirrel. Or a houseplant.

3. Kerrie needs to acquire the social and work skills that will enable her to get along with co-workers and respond appropriately to supervision. This could be why I am unemployed.

4. Kerrie Needs You!!! Actually, I don’t. I already have enough people who need me.

5. Kerrie needs HANSON! Because I secretly adore Hanson, of course.

6. Kerrie needs to back the van down an incline into oncoming rush hour traffic.

7. Kerrie needs help in understanding what a 125 needs. This is so true. I don’t even know what a 125 is, let alone what it needs.

8. Kerrie needs an answer to the question on Seaweek 2006 theme.

9. Kerrie needs 5 people to go to a meeting regarding The Rae Review and give The College perspective on November 8th.

10. Kerrie needs a break, and my brain has stopped hurting from the last few she’s posted. Yes, I know. The words “difficult” and “annoying” have been used to describe a conversation with me already.

I can’t let these others go without posting them.

11. Kerrie needs to change salons. Did my sister pay you to say that?

12. Kerrie needs a good slap. Because I’m “difficult” and “annoying” no doubt.

13. Kerrie needs to use soy formula, she keeps spitting up the milk.

14. Kerrie needs as much love as possible, because she deserves it. It says so, right here on the internet.