summah (round three!)

well, hey there kids. what's up?

it's hard to believe it's been only how long now? three weeks or so? since the last post. my locales have changed since then, but not much else. i'll try to give the short version:

i spend my first few weeks of summer at home in arkansas, as planned. i had a wonderful time once i started some allergy medication (who knew?) i saw a few friends from high school, putzed around the house with mom, helped with housework, saw some fun movies, and basically got pampered by my folks for two weeks. it was awesome.

last saturday, i jumped on a plane back to chicago. a friend of mine helped me move in to the apartment that day and took me to see some improv (io) AND the neo-futurists! the next day i got some rest, continued to settle, went on a nice walk to the parks, and went back to io for a friend's improv show. dee-lightful. monday i really slept in and seriously unpacked.

classes started on tuesday:
-drawing I: tuesday/thursday, 1:30-5:20pm
(we've yet to go till 5:20, but it seems some days we might. i'm no good at drawing and don't even like it much, but it's kind of a basic i need to get under my belt.)
-photography I [taken together with darkroom foundations]: monday/friday, 6:00-9:40pm
(basics of taking a good photograph.)
-darkroom foundations: tuesday/thursday, 6:00-9:40pm
(basics of custom-printing a good photograph. this process is specific and technical, part art and part chemistry. it should be interesting...but expensive. ouch.)

if you do your math, that means i'm in class every evening until 9:40 or so. ouch again. these classes end on july 17th, leaving me the rest of the summer to do as i please. i plan on making myself available to saatchi part/full time intern/volunteer. the office seems bustling nowadays, very different from last summer. it was under half-full then.

recall last summer, when i had an old bike i called "charlie?" i left charlie at school between the end of classes and my return to chicago, and it appears that charlie has been stolen. i miss it and hope somehow it misses me, too.
but i still need to get around! i went back to working bikes to see if lightning struck twice. never the same way, it seems. my new bike, who i have named dylan, is newer, bigger, looks as though it has been lightly modified for tricks, and is covered in funky stickers. very different than old charlie, the old road cruiser. i would love to meet dylan's previous owner for coffee, a drink (once i'm legal, of course), or whatever the heck it is that person likes to chat over.

the apartment is okay...not great, but okay. my room is spacious, i have a bookshelf and a desk and chair when i thought i would have no furniture. my roommates are still strange creatures to me, but nice enough. i am still curious about a great many things, including what cleanliness standards can be negotiated between the three of us. i am, for the very first time, feeling like the "clean" one. i mean, my own room is a little chaotic, but i was taught to put my stuff away in the kitchen for sure. particularly if one has used someone else's kitchenware... also taking out the trash, and HOLY COW WHY DON'T ANY LIGHTSWITCHES WORK IN HERE? WHAT HAPPENED?
the summer is still very young and i look forward to what there is in store.

in the next few days, i look forward to participating in critical mass with dylan, shooting, processing, and printing a contact sheet for another roll of film, doing some sketches for my sketchbook, going into wheaton for some improv love, attending willow creek chicago, spending some time with my dad, and sorting through some paperwork. it's gonna be GREAT.

one last thing: i'm hoping to restart my promise for a post-a-day. i would love to get in the habit of making a daily short post to be sure days don't go by without my consent. here's hoping. check back soon and often! love and miss you much.