Almost. The schedule for the last week of July has been released, and the first new 2-7 has finally been announced! It's been basically half a year since the position opened, and they just now announced the promotion. GG Kohl's.

Anyway, I'm still scheduled as a supervisor that week, but that's probably to help train Susan in her new duties. I'm expecting to be a cashier again by mid-August.

Or else. :

Just watched Donnie Darko Director Cut. Haven't seen the original version, and I couldn't hear or see half of it, but overall it was an entertaining. Jake Gyllenhall has a great face.

I'll need to watch it again later when my monitor isn't gammad all to hell. Probably watch the original version though.

Sitting in the front row in English class seems to cause problems, because the teacher has a habit of making a lot of unintentional puns. I caught at least four today and laughed each time, stopping the flow of the conversation while everyone else realizes what she said. The front row's really far up too, so it feels weird having so many people behind me. Think I'll give sitting there another try tomorrow, see if it's any different.

I tried that opening a banana from the non-stem end thing today, but I think I squeezed a bit too hard. Felt really awkward looking at it from that angle. Tasted kinda off too. /shrug

I was planning on finishing up the composition for my surrealist drawing tonight, but I'm just too tired. I really can't wait for this class to be over; I feel like I don't even have a truck anymore, considering how little I drive it. But then that's probably a good thing. I'm too possessive of "my" stuff as it is.

Oh yeah, one more thing: while planning my surrealist picture, I browsed through some books on Dali and Heinrich Kley, and those guys are amazing! The Dali book kept talking about how he saw everything as having originated in food, and something about God being a mountain range of cheese. I didn't read it all, but what I saw was totally ridiculous and awesome. Kley's stuff was absolutely hilarious, totally over the top and bizarre. His drawings make me want to visit Germany more than I already did. And I will.

Someday.

I probably should have been working on catching up on my homework, but instead I started editing my segment for Cascadathon. Odds are good that I'll be done with it by tomorrow, unless I have a big assignment or something due Wednesday. I've really been in a creative rush recently, and it's hard to balance that against my schoolwork. I can hardly wait til these classes are over and I have a two week break before the fall semester. I'll pretty much spend almost every day editing. Maybe so much editing will make me sick of looking at video so I can get down to business when my new classes start.

Earlier tonight while I was covering a lunch in jewelry, a kid was walking by playing his DS with the volume up loud. Immediately I recognized the Pokemon battle music, and as he got farther away one of the pokemon fainted and I knew what Pokemon it was! I haven't even played the game in weeks, and I can spot a Shinx without even looking. I'm not really sure what to do with that realization.

I'm starting to think there's a strong chance of me crashing in this drawing class. I still have a chance to make a comeback, but I'm definitely falling behind. Fortunately, it isn't required for my degree at Sierra, and it probably won't transfer, but I can't remember for sure if it's required or just recommended to pass it before taking 3D modeling. Whatever, I'll catch up.

Last night I agreed to switch shifts with Stephanie so I would close today and she would work in the afternoon. This morning, around 11:00, Kohl's calls me to ask if I can come in early since Stephanie called out. I ended up starting work about two hours earlier than I was scheduled, and I somehow managed to get everything closed up and gone by 10:45, which is earlier than I usually can do. I really hope tomorrow won't be as busy as today and yesterday were.

Before I left for work, I finished my application essay for IIoA, so I've almost completely finished the application process. I actually really enjoyed writing it so much that I had a hard time not writing more than just a page. Didn't get a chance to start my English essay before work though, so I'll write that as soon as I finish this entry. If I finish it before bed tonight, I can spend all of tomorrow's not-work time on my drawings.

I got my shiny gold name badge at work today, which signifies I've been working there for two whole years now. It's kind of a weird feeling realizing that I've been there that long. I was actually a little bit late for work, because I decided to edit part of my video this morning while eating breakfast.

Speaking of breakfast, I ate strawberry Pop-Tarts by mistake, and surprisingly, they were really good, as good as s'mores. It's sort of like the difference between chocolate milk and fruit punch.

I ended up spending most of my not-work time on editing instead of homework, on account of work was so stressful I needed to just lose myself for a little while. Probably could have finished the video if I hadn't taken a break to eat pizza and watch the new episodes of The Soup and Eureka. Eureka's season premiere was incredible, and I especially enjoyed the lack of deodorant filling the screen. I really hope the new sheriff stays in the show and becomes a regular character. I also hope that doesn't sound particularly spoilery.

Y'know, come to think of it, two years ago today was my first day at Kohl's, and exactly two years before that was the premiere of my first full AMV. I can't really remember anything especially life-altering happening July 11 in 2006 or 2008, so I'm kinda curious if today will continue the pattern. It probably won't, considering I'll be at home most of the day working on homework and at work the rest of the night. Then again, it isn't really a pattern until there are three pieces, so who knows?

Just finished editing the first third of my Masters video, and it's coming along pretty well so far. I've really got a good feeling about this one. This could be my first good non-gimmick video!

I'd like to keep going with it tomorrow, but I really need to get cracking on homework. I've got another informal essay due (and this time I'll actually do it), plus all three perspective drawings have to be ready for Monday's pinup. I've got a long workday tomorrow, but I can at least take care of the english work. Actually, I should write my application essay tomorrow too. Maybe I'll do that during my lunch break. Depends how hungry I am.

I actually almost finished the essay what was due today before class, but I only made it through two pages before I was late for class. I figured five points wasn't worth missing the discussion. The class (or at least the teacher) has really won me over, now that I've figured out what I think of her. The thing that was keeping me confused about her is that I couldn't figure out who she reminded me of, but today I realized that she seems very much like a combination of Kenzichu and godix. She's got the unbridled enthusiasm (for literature, in her case) and the somewhat scatterbrained speaking style that remind me of Kenzichu, and her repeated talks about finding our individual voices and certain bits of her sense of humor feel godixy to me. I could be wrong about the resemblance to either, since I just started really looking for these connections today, but I wouldn't be surprised if I were right. She definitely seems more Kenzichuy than godixy, but there's at least a bit of each in there.

My return credit for my incorrect textbooks should be appearing soon, most likely tomorrow. Adding in the transfer I started from my savings, I just might be able to buy my plane ticket for AWA this weekend. I doubt it, cause that'd be pretty dang cheap, but it can't hurt to look.

I still haven't gotten much opportunity to look at auto dealerships around here, with all the new class craziness going on. I'm hoping on Monday or Tuesday after drawing, I can stop at one of the dealers on 49, since there are several. That's several days away though. First I gotta work and finish homework and junk like that. And that means sleeps.

Can't wait to finish my video though. I've been having such an influx of ideas lately that I just might end up dropping some of my longest enduring videos that I haven't finished in order to get to all of these new ones.

Looks like I misread my checking balance earlier today. Turns out the application fees for Chicago school reduced my account below zero, giving me my first overdraft charges ever. I'm transferring most of my savings over to try and get out of the hole before I'm dug any deeper, but since I didn't fucking notice until after the banks closed, I've got a bad feeling that I'm going to be charged a few more times before I can escape. Suppose it was only a matter of time, considering the nature of money is to disappear. Still, I can't help but feel more and more upset about not keeping track of that shit. I'd be glad pay day is two days away, except the entire check's gonna be eaten up by the constant advances my dad takes out every time part of it gets paid off. I shouldn't have bought those fucking DVDs last month. At this rate, I'm not going to be able to make it to AWA this year. Oh, who am I kidding, I'll figure out a way to fund the hotel room and fly out there.

I could have sworn the $93 I spent on textbooks got credited back yesterday though. That should have covered it, right? I wonder if the return is still pending. That would be pretty messed up, delaying the return of my money but not delaying charging me for the replacement books. That's how retail works though, I suppose. I'll talk to the bookstore tomorrow and find out what the deal is then.

Speaking of firsts, today was the first day I missed of drawing class. I just would not wake up this morning for some reason. I really hope I'm right, and we aren't doing a pinup tomorrow, because I've made like no progress on my drawings or sketches, and I've got a three page essay due tomorrow for english. I swear, these overlapping summer classes are going to destroy me.

On the bright side, I happened upon a better idea for Masters that should be much easier and much cooler than my old idea. I'd like to start editing it right now to try and calm myself down, cause I'm still freaking out about the overdraft thing apparently, but I'm not even finished ripping it. Maybe a shower or bike ride or something will help me out. Can't take too long with soothing my nerves, cause I haven't started on my paper yet. Oh well, wouldn't be the first paper I've missed. Nah, I'll do it. Probably just miss another day of drawing.

fahahahahaha, this song title is too long for the Music textbox.

I've been reading so much today that my eye actually started crossing again. Made it through the first five chapters of She's Come Undone, and so far I'm having the same reaction to the book as I am to the class: still do not know if want. For those who haven't read it, it's very slice-of-life from the point of view of a bitchy little girl in the fifties. So far it's pretty sluggish reading, but you know my motto: if I don't like it, I haven't stuck with it long enough. At least I think I mentioned that attitude in here. Whatever, I have now.

As far as the actual class goes, it's becoming increasingly clear that the teacher has little control over the students. At least twice side conversations got loud enough that the main discussion was almost impossible to hear. Heh, I say "main discussion" like we actually stay on topic. Half the time she was talking, the teacher kept getting distracted and talking about zombies or vampires or her brother or her friend... It felt more like a massive conversation than an actual classroom environment. Not that that can't be a good thing, but it definitely wasn't what I expected, and it isn't something I'm used to doing (conversing with thirty people at once, that is).

I was going to catch up on my drawings today after english, but I ended up screwing around for a while before going home to read, since that was supposed to be done by tomorrow. Come to think of it, we might not be doing a pinup in drawing this week because of the perspective assignments, so maybe the only things I need done by Thursday are my sketchbook drawings.

During said screwing-around time, I remembered that whether I finish the major requirements for multimedia design at Sierra, I already have the major requirements complete for the "secret" liberal arts AA/AS, so I'm pretty much guaranteed to get an associates after all. I just gotta check with my counselor again to make sure the class I took with her doesn't actually need to be completed.

Today was kind of a crappy day. I stayed up late last night listening to Demetri Martin and chatting with Pas so I didn't get much sleep, and my one-point perspective drawings we started in class just would not look right. My mind kept flashing back to a line from the AMV Telephone Project: some days, it just isn't there. Fortunately it felt more directed at Limepie's segment and not my take on the line though. Class flew by pretty quickly too, so I didn't really get to relax there.

My english class began today, and I arrived at the Rocklin campus early enough to browse through the Rocklin auto dealers, but apparently the only dealerships near school are hella pricey, Benzes and Porsches and whatnot. I'm still on the fence regarding whether or not I like this class so far. On the one hand, the teacher's young (it's her first time teaching literature, and it doesn't seem like she's had many years experience teaching other things, though she says she has taught only composition so far, whatever that implies) and she read the syllabus word for word, which is something that always irritates me. She also kinda sounds like a valley girl.

Another slightly annoying thing is the fact that the textbooks I bought months ago were for the teacher she replaced, and so the book list was changed too. I can still return the other books, so that's good, since they didn't strike me as particularly interesting. Even better is the books they were replaced with: Neil Gaiman's Stardust and She's Come Undone, by Wally somethingorother. I've been meaning to read Gaiman for a while, but I kept not doing it, so hooray for having an excuse to finally check him out. Two novels cost way less than the anthology thing I originally had to get too.

With all the off-putting feelings I get from the teacher, she definitely comes across as being very passionate about literature, which is always helps my interest. She even had us mark up the "textbook" (photocopied stories and poems) in class so we could get used to writing on it, which is something I've always had trouble doing. She also talked a lot about broadening the definition of literature to keep it alive instead of only allowing in "Classics", and half of today's class was discussion of what we think literature is and isn't, which eventually segued into becoming the basis for our first essay. Turns out she's majorly into comic books too; during one of her mini-monologues she said something about how spiderman shouldn't have taken off his mask in civil war. I'm curious what I'll think of the teacher and class by the end of the week.

I mentioned that we've already begun an essay on our personal definitions of literature, and while thinking about my definition, I browsed through several of the org discussions on WHAT IS ART to remind myself how those "who matter and know their shit" think of art, so I could organize my thoughts through them and combine them into an answer that makes sense to me. My dad saw me doing this and basically said that I didn't need to look at what other people were saying because I already know what to say but that I don't have any confidence in my own words. I mean, I guess that last part's probably true, since my main creative outlet is just regurgitating other people's works into a single work, but doesn't researching informed opinions to inform my own have some merit to it? It's still my words that combine the words of other people, after all. Or am I misunderstanding the meaning of personal voice?

I should really start reading philosophy and psychology books so I can figure these things out myself.

Just when my bottle of shampoo was nearing emptiness, my dad bought me a new bottle. I'd planned to shave my head once I was out, but now that I'm not, I wonder if I should even bother. I mean, it's not like my hair's gotten long enough to annoy me yet. Besides, haircuts cost money anyway, so I'll just wait til I get back from AWA.

Finished cutting down my audio for Masters. Kept getting distracted by rereading Legostar Galactica though, so I haven't actually started laying down clips yet.

I should really wash some laundry tonight so I have clothes for class tomorrow.

I woke up an hour or so later than I wanted to, so I didn't get any sketching or editing done, but I did submit my application for the Illinois Institute of Art before I left for work. Now the wheels can start to turn...

Speaking of work, I'd forgotten this before today, but since today was a holiday I got paid time and a half. Combine that with me being scheduled for a full eight hour shift, and that'll be quite a tasty check. It was also nice that the store wasn't quite as busy as we were yesterday. Btw, I forgot to mention this last night, but apparently I'm still a supervisor until at least the end of July. Is this ridiculous, or is this fucking ridiculous?

Caught up on Burn Notice tonight, as sort of an explody independence day celebration. This season is so goddamn amazing. This really is one of my favorite shows ever.

Speaking of awesome shows, NEW EUREKA NEXT FRIDAY BITCHES WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Kitler out.

First time in a while that I've posted past mitternacht. Not sure exactly why I'm still up this late. Started the application process for the Illinois Institute of Art, though, so that's probably part of it.

Work today was crazy busy, and it was even more stressful because we nearly ran out of receipt tape. Grace had to run across the street to OfficeMax and buy a box so we didn't completely fall apart.

House lock has been replaced, so that's something. Made a little more VG5 progress too, so I think that break I took from editing it really helped.

Starting Monday, I have two classes going at once. It's time for me to try English 1B a second time and see if I can beat my English 1A record. Summer classes seem to be working out a lot better than regular semesters have, but I'm not sure if it's the acceleration or just because I'm taking only one class at a time. I guess I'll find out over the next few weeks.

I'mma try and catch up on sketches tomorrow, maybe browse though my English textbooks, and finally begin my Masters video. Or maybe I'll just catch up on Burn Notice with my dad to celebrate Independence Day. Nothing says July like explosions, right?

Last night while my sister was out clubbing, her friend's car was broken into. Her wallet and my keys (which she'd borrowed) were stolen, among other things probably. So now we have only one key to my truck and no key to the included toolbox or spare tire. Fortunately it's only gonna cost us like thirty bucks or so to have the truck re-keyed, and replacing the locks on the house shouldn't be too difficult.

I should probably buy my plane tickets for Atlanta soon.

Went bowling with Colt after class. We were originally going to go to Sunsplash, but he said he doesn't have a swimsuit yet. We're doing that next time; today we watched the three new Haruhi episodes while we waited for bowling to get cheaper. Bowling was pretty fun; I hadn't gone in a while, so it was good to get back into it. I won the first game, and he won the second two. The last game was super close though. He beat me by only two points.

Looked over a few Chicago schools tonight, and it's really narrowing down to a couple schools. Illinois Institute of Art is the definite frontrunner, since the idea of quarters instead of semesters is definitely appealing. I'll look into it some more tomorrow, I guess. I'm about to collapse. I can hardly believe I'm still awake.

I wonder what my work schedule for next week will look like...

This week's sketchbook theme is Things With Wheels, so being the clever guy that I am, I convinced the teacher to allow sketches of just a wheel with nothing else in the sketch. This lets me be hilarious and draw a wheel of cheese. On my way home from class today I bought a five dollar wheel of smoked gouda for a model, and I cut out a wedge to make it a more interesting drawing.

I'd forgotten how fucking delicious gouda is. It was incredibly hard not to gobble down the rest of the cheese before my sketch was finished. As it stands, and it stands alone of course, I'll eat the rest of it with some chocolate milk tomorrow morning during the drive to school.

Still gotta sketch my chair and then I can go to bed. I would have been able to sleep a lot sooner had I not wasted a large chunk of my day watching my reference material for Masters, which proved surprisingly not useful. I've got (almost) enough done to stay alive though, so the only problem left will be waking up early enough. I totally suck at going to bed early. Maybe I'll be able to get it down by fall semester though.

Btw, I totally forgot to say rabbit rabbit this morning. I can't believe it's already July. Jeez. I guess it's true... time waits for no one.

My collage drawing's coming along nicely. I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish the background like I'd like to by Thursday, but at the very least I'll be able to finish the foreground and middleground tomorrow. Should be able to catch up on my sketches too.

Completely finished watching through my sauce a few hours ago. Even with all the hype, it was actually better than I expected. Minor characters (and major characters that aren't included much in amvs I've seen of this show) really made it a lot more interesting than most videos made it seem. Rented the reference disc today too, so I should be ready to start editing soon.

Speaking of editing, apparently I'm part of the Michael Jackson Thriller Tribute MEP.

I've stayed up way too late again. I could hardly get up this morning.

Shortly after I got home from class today, I spoke with a lady from the Illinois Institute of Art about what I was looking for in a school and what they had to offer, and it's actually sounding pretty neat. I think I'll compare it with some other schools (especially Columbia, since that's where I've been saying I'll transfer) sometime Thursday night. I'm liking the idea of taking classes there online before I even move out to Chicago. That's probably a pretty common thing these days though, so we'll see what I found out later.

Got through a third of the sauce for my Masters video tonight. It's actually a lot more interesting than I thought it was going to be, even though people kept hyping it up. I'm gonna try to finish the rest of it tomorrow, but I still need to record the rest of my sister's lines for godix's Pro video, so I might have to save the finale for another day. I need Wednesday to catch up on my drawings though, and Thursday I'm hanging out with Colt at Sunsplash most of the day and researching colleges the rest of the time. Maybe Friday after work...

My copy of Look At Me, the first collection of Least I Could Do: Beginnings, arrived today, as well as the DVDs I ordered from TRSI a week or so back (yeah, I was a bad boy :X). I think after the deadlines for my current projects pass I'll start that DVD-a-day plan I was considering earlier this year. It might be a bit tough to balance that with my fall classes (especially if I take an additional class from whatever Chicago school I choose), so maybe I would watch one every other day. Actually, on second thought, I should wait until I clean and rearrange my room, so I can actually see my DVDs better organized. Course, the hard part of that is figuring out how would be a good arrangement of my furniture and such. I'd ask for suggestions, but that probably won't work too well without seeing the room.

Reminder note: rent movies and buy a wheel of cheese. Smoked, if available. Nyoro~n

For the past few nights I've been dreaming a lot about work for some reason. Usually it focuses on dealing with particularly difficult customers (or at least that's the memorable part of the dream), though these customers aren't any specific customers I've helped. Dreaming about work is annoying though.

Speaking of work, I got to take the ethics CBT last night, and it was pretty informative. Most of the stuff was basic knowledge, but a handful of policies discussed in the videos were never pointed out to me before. There were also two mini-quizzes during the program, and I failed both. I'm so unethical.

The previously called "Cash For Clunkers" program has been signed into law and is set to take effect around July 23rd. I'll admit, I was more excited about the program before I found out it was only valid toward new vehicles, but maybe there's an eligible vehicle out there that's fairly cheap. I'll probably browse around some of the local dealerships over the next couple weeks before CARS takes off.

The Renaissance Faire is still going today, and I'm actually going to make it probably! My family used to go every year, but like with Yosemite until last year, we haven't been in the past several years.

EDIT: Not going after all. Only have two hours before I have to leave for work, so the $12 entry fee (I forgot it wasn't free) just doesn't make sense.

I also forgot to mention that my dad found my watch last night! It's been missing for about a week, and it was really awkward not having the time being readily available.

I stopped by Dimple Records before work yesterday to pick up a physical copy of Appreciation Night, but apparently it's out of print. Looks like Amazon still has a few copies left, though, so that's cool. Still, I'm a little surprised the album's already discontinued. It's only three years old, after all.

Later that day at work, Pravind called me into the office to fill out some forms that I was supposed to fill out after my first and second months working for Kohl's. Obviously, I've been working there a lot longer than two months; in less than two weeks, I'll have been there for two years. Crazy, right? Anyway, I'm supposed to have those forms in my file, so I filled them out, but one of the sections asked about my progress on the training programs. I still have yet to have taken any of the computer-based training. Pravind says I'm supposed to at least view the ethics and harassment program, considering I'm still a supervisor, so if I get time tonight I guess I'll do that. I'm curious to see if I've been unethical and harassing people.