New Beginnings

Here it is well past the middle of January. One of my resolutions for this year was to better organize myself. At the top of my list was to be more conscientious about pulling my keys and guarding my purse. I have this habit of just leaving my keys and purse in the car... with the door locked, of course, accessible through the door's keypad. And then the Maria-Thing Happened (someone stole her business deposit right out of her car) which put a bit of a scare into me--hence, the New Resolution.

So tonight on my way to my Art Appreciation class, I squeezed into a faculty parking lot to save myself some steps in the FREEZING weather. It is SOOOO cold right now... we are hovering around the zero degree thingy, although today it did get up to about 30 at one point, I think. I made sure I pulled my keys . I had locked everything up when I noticed that my purse was sitting there in plain sight. So I quickly unlocked the car, retrieved the purse, and locked it into the trunk.

I went to the library after class to work on my homework. I finished up about nine and then ambled on out into the chilly night to my car. I punched in my security code and then realized that I had forgotten to re-lock the door when I had put my purse in the trunk. I mentally chastised myself for being so careless. Still thinking about it, I got into the car and prepared to leave. I had parked on the very end and was thinking I could just drive straight ahead instead of having to back out, but in my preoccupation with the purse thing, I forgot that there was a certain Something in front of the car. My forward launch was not a gentle one for I was in a hurry to get home. First thing I knew, I had CRUNCHED down on top of a cement parking block. I slammed on the brakes, and I was almost certain I could feel the distinct bump of the block bulging up under my feet. Oh dear!! The last time I did that type of thing, I had to get my oil pan replaced to the tune of $300. I decided that since I was closer to the front end than the back end, I should back up. Oh, but that was painful--somewhat akin to that of the scratching of a chalkboard. And for a moment, I thought I was literally suspended up on top of that mini-mountain with no traction and was imagining having to turn into a she-Hercules in order to lift my car up over the hump. Fortunately, this was not necessary, and I made it off with much trembling and scratching. As I made my way out, I kept glancing in the mirror, halfway expecting to see a stream of oil running out behind me. Daybreak will tell what I've done <>.

So I suppose the year has been properly initiated now, and I can expect more Things of this Nature to keep happening [why me, Lord?]. So much for new beginnings.

My classes [since I'm sure you're just dying to know about them].... This semester's schedule is the worst one yet, although I think the classes are of such content that I don't have to just dread, loathe, or despise any of them. I have Math 116 at 8:00, M-F. William and Crystal are in my class, so it was like a little reunion for us. You actually get kind've attached to these people, ya know? So that makes that class alright... especially since we're just reviewing so far [I reserve the right to change my tune at any time]. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, right after Math, I have a Cultural Diversity class from 9:05-9:50. This is probably my least favorite class, but it was the lesser of two evils. My other option was Philosophy, as aforementioned; I had the textbooks and everything to that class, and they looked just perfectly awful! So when some slots became available in the Cultural Diversity class--Praise God--I dropped Philosophy as fast I could and signed up for the CDiv. Never mind that I have to write two eight-page papers and that the exams are all essay. I'm just not all that philosophical, if you know what I mean.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, right after Math class, I have German 101. This will take a little effort, but I think overall, it will be a great experience, and I'll develop the knack for it naturally. So far, I've really enjoyed it. I've got a little band of four in the class with whom I "hang." There's a German graduate student who will be hosting "kaffeestunde" every other Friday afternoon for German 101 students at Java City. I think this could be interesting. It's to give beginning students a chance to practice their German. I may have to try it once or twice.

So all three of those classes are in the mornings. Then comes the awkward blurb to my schedule. Art Appreciation is Tuesday and Thursday from 5:00-6:15. So I've got about five hours in between my morning classes and the afternoon class on those days to be at work. It really is unhandy, schedule-wise, but I find I'm enjoying the class itself. The teacher is young-ish--my guess is probably low 30's. He says he's not an art historian and doesn't expect us to be either (praise God again). He's been very interesting so far, and he's even offered to teach me how to use my PrismaColor color pencils if I stop by his office sometime. How cool is that?? I've always had artistic inclinations, although undeveloped, so I'm having to battle my feelings of "I'd LOVE to be doing that." So far, however, I've managed to keep myself from switching to an art major. That would be so unpractical. This Prof prefers to be called "Mike." For one class period, Mike showed us nothing but his own work. Amazing. And he told us all the stories behind the works, which made it even better. I've put it on my "Things to Do Before I Die" List. So it's on the shelf, but not forgotten. One of the assignments we have to do for the class is go to a LARGE art museum and then write a paper on a work of art of our choice. We can either go to Nashville or Louisville. I'm thinking I'll go to the one in Louisville at the same time I go up there for Lyle's concert on Feb. 20.

Our first assignment in my art class is to write a paper on the following topic: Is beauty objective or subjective? That is, is beauty contained within the object itself or is beauty truly in the eye of the beholder? There's a doctor by the name of Marquardt who created the perfect mask by which he performs his plastic surgeries. It's composed of 40 different decagons of six different sizes. It comes from what is called the golden rectangle, the same shape as your credit card. Anyway, this doctor's philosophy is that beauty is objective and this mask is the perfect formula to achieve "the most beautiful shape a human face can have." Holly Barry has this perfectly-shaped face. So anyway, we have to write 3/4 page response to this doctor's philosophy. (For more info, check out this url: http://tlc.discovery.com/convergence/humanface/articles/mask.html. )