It's Mid-terms...

...and a real update is mandatory.

It should be no surprise to me that its the middle of October, and here in the Twin Cities we are smack dab in the middle of fall. The brilliant colored leaves and the brisk air remind me everyday. It's just hard to believe how fast these 7 weeks back in college have flown by. I guess time really does fly when you're having fun.

My Intermediate Algebra class, the one that I dreaded the most when the semester started, is going fantastically. Really! We've had two tests so far, and I've gotten A's on both of them, including a perfect score on the most recent one I took last Friday. It's truly amazing how a good instructor can change your perspective on and motivation in a subject.

Likewise for a bad instructor. I wont say that my Psychology prof is bad, but he is not engaging whatsoever. I get more enjoyment reading the textbook than going to lectures. I don't skip those classes though, because if I started that cycle, I would not stop, and I'm not a fan of just throwing my money away. So I just try to stay as attentive as I can, and if that results in a few lectures where I'm being bored to near sleep, so be it. This is not to indicate that I'm doing bad in the class, by any means. I also got an A on our only test to date, and there is an opportunity to do a large extra credit assignment, just in case I get a B on any of the subsequent tests.

Choir is still the highlight of my week. Every week. Chamber Choir is obviously my favorite, but Concert Choir still has its charms. An extremely annoying, absolutely tone deaf bass that sits immediately to the left of me has turned from a painful experience to a hilarious event each class that us Sopranos laugh and bond over. Yes, I realize this is a bit insensitive, but my theory is that if you want to sing and be in a choir, you should at the very least be able to match some pitches. I don't care if you can't sightread or determine intervals, but by golly, at least be able to match a pitch or two with the rest of your section!

Chamber choir is starting into the performance season, and we have our first mini performance for 400 high school students tomorrow. I've very excited for it, but not excited for getting up two hours earlier than my norm. Ah well. These things require sacrifice.

Besides sacrificing my previous overload of free time to homework and studies, I've also been sacrificing it to a newly acquired job at Best Buy. Yay electronics. All kidding aside, it was about time that I get a freakin' job, and I'm excited to be learning new things and have new challenges. Maybe I'll try to work in the Digital Imaging department after a few weeks, because from what I can gather, I know more about cameras (at least DSLRs, its hard to keep up with all the cutsie features that the P&S's have) than most of those department employees.

Speaking of cameras, if anyone is wondering... yes, I do miss being in front of the camera. Correction: Yes, I do miss being naked in front of a camera. I feel as though I've hit a plateau, however. (Which is another component of why I'm taking a break from modeling for a while, besides the primary reason of continuing my studies.) I know that I can do infinitely more exciting, evocative and artistic work, but I've become so goddamn picky about who I want to work with and trying not to replicate any of the work that I've done before. I feel like the only way to significantly expand and enhance the work I've already done is to travel to the photographers I want to work with. This is very hard in our state of the economy. Most artists do not have the extra income to fly a model out to where they are, not to mention provide food and lodging. And I completely understand. If only I had a million frequent flier miles, I would be one happy traveling art model.



____________

Stephen Haynes.

It's amazing to think how Stephen has shaped my modeling. He has always pushed me to create depth and true artistry in the images I help create, and taught me how to convey emotion by pure body language and position. Thank you endlessly, Stephen.