November 2004 Archives

This past weekend I found the need to bring back one of my old hobbies, wheel based ceramics. I have always loved working with clay, but up until tonight I had forgotten what a challenge it is to get started with something on the wheel, all the work with the clay before you can even get it to the wheel, and of course the actual effort to make something that doesn't look like shit. My biggest issue is that I am not remembering the exact texture needed in the clay before it can be successfully wheel built. I am considering forgetting about the wheel for a little while and going with hand building using the coil method for now and maybe progressing on with the coil method to being on the wheel for the final smoothing. Eventually I should be able to get fully back on the wheel again. It has been a long time I feel that I need to retrain myself for the wheel and all of the associated techniques. Another issue I am having is my need to actually be clean with the clay, I used to be so messy with it and now I am actually concious of the fact that I shouldn't be making messes, however, being clean is not part of the artistic proccess. I have always been fascinated with the art of ceramics, it is so hard to get right, but yet so easy to screw up. One drop of a piece can destroy hours (or even days) of work. At the moment im working with some air-drying home-use clay, but my professional clay is on its way via UPS, so hopefully things will go better with it. Actually, im counting on things going better with it, since I ordered 50lbs of it. I have gone so long without doing any molding, sculpting or ceramic techniques that I have lost touch with the medium, and I find myself needing to reaquainted with it, and get back to understanding the medium and its quirks. I lack artistic talent, but working with clay makes me happy, so I do it and to me thats all that matters.

What I find strange is that pieces I made with clay years ago, back when I was between 7 and 15 still exist and are on display in my home as well as in my aunt's home. My family has this weird attachment to my horrid creations, I don't know why.

I have considered taking a ceramics course but am not fully certain about it, I don't really know how being in an academic environment with something I love this much will affect me. I have done it with networking and computer stuff, but thats different, there is a lot to it and it is a very intellectual science, but ceramics is not, ceramics is more about the feel of the clay and the feeling of being in your own world, hypnotised by the spinning of the wheel as the piece comes together in front of your eyes.

Through my senior year in high school I was certain of what I wanted my college major to be and swore I would never change it. That major was Information Technology. A few months after I was accepted to UNCC I sent notification of changing my major to Psychology because I had a change in my life that inspired me to escape my technology closet and enter a world of humans. Information Technology required too much math and Psychology involved too much biology, so both of those were bad. I went to SOAR (Student Orientation, Advising and Registration) as a psychology student, or so I thought. My records had been slightly skewed due to an error at the Undergraduate records office, this placed me in the Pre-Business field somehow, and also managed to exempt me from SOAR completely (yeah, the DOS was pissed about that one, but she's a bitch). From being declared as Pre-Business I found a great new path for myself, a path to my seemingly ideal major, Management Information Systems. Basicly, IT with some busisness skills and not as much math. Up until January 10th I could change my major again without any ill effect, but I think I am happy where I am for this major, and once I add a minor I will have something more to shoot for in my future. I entered this whole situation thinking I knew my life path and knowing what I wanted form the university, I had no clue! I am now finding myself wanting to get involved and start to know people. I am heavily considering a minor in Philosophy at this point, however, I will not lock myself in permenantly to that, I could see myself doing a double major with Philosophy, but I am not mentally preapred to make that commitment yet. According to the current requirements and registration path I have 48 hours remaining of my MIS degree, that is roughly 2.5 semesters, which places my graduation at Fall 2006. I would have spent only 2.5 years on my BS degree from high school graduation. I am not prepared to make things go that fast. I will take at least one elective per semester, that will extend me to Spring 2007, even though I am supposed to graduate in Spring 2008 and am allowed until Spring 2009. Another aspect for me to consider is the fact that I have to have 53 more hours to graduate, so I need 5 elective hours on top of my requrements, I think I can do that though, with how much I love my electives :-).

A lot of people have asked why I am considering Philosophy, well, there are a lot of reasons. First is the people, I feel so welcomed by the Philosophy department and its staff, even though I don't officially belong to them yet. Next is my general interest in the subject area. I have always been fascinated by the great minds of the past, but was highly turned off by history courses. I enjoy learning the theories and ideas of these antique thinkers, even if some of them lack validity. Many of the modern theories and ideas are based on something from the old greek and roman thinkers. Another reason I like the topic area is the tradition of it, it is one of the oldest departments to exist in a college and has earned its place as a distinquished art.

I think my ultimate goal is to be happy with what I am doing while in college and let things afterwards figure themselves out when the time comes.

Where did November go? I think at some point I found myself ignoring the installation of MovableType on the DisturbingThoughts.net domain.

My classes are going well and are reaching that critical point in the semester when the final lectures are being given and exams are being completed and we are all breathing a sigh of relief, we freshmen (yes, I am including myself in that group even though I have 46 49 credit hours) have survived our first semester of college life. One year ago I was at HST still wondering what university I would attend (if any) and trying to determine a life path for myself. Now I am here and know what to expect from life for a little while, although at times a few curves are good to keep things interesting.

My schedule for Spring 2005 has been created and it is:

I am a person of precise planning and coordination of every major and minor life event. This evening before I departed for UNCC I decided to check the UNCC campus map to determine an alternative route to my normal parking lot due to the traffic that occurs on my normal route (which is more direct). I found the route and had it all planned in my head, only one small detail I overlooked, the map is 2 years old! When I arrived at the campus I was forced to adapt to a change in the road that I was planning to use, there was more of it than there was before and it took a slightly different path. For a moment this confused me until I decided to just go with what I felt, I made the turn, not knowing for certain wether it was the right one or not, then I suddenly realized it was, at about the time I passed the road that contained my parking lot....ooops. Time for plan B, cut across another parking lot (which I soon recognized as parking lot 6, my secondary parking location). In a few seconds after my mistake I was in the correct location and parked. Why do I fear making navigational mistakes so much? Roads are apparently designed to help us avoid them, and humans are adaptive enough to not have to worry much about something not being exactly perfect in a plan. I guess I am navigationaly competent after all (well, as long as i know my destination).

Last week was my final normal week for this semester. Next week is a partial week (2 days) and the week following ends early, then we enter the 10 days of exams.

The past few weeks have been mostly calm and the days have just sort of floated by. An assignment here, a test there. No many things to create excitement. My life is just going so fast, I can hardly keep up.