New Classes, Responsibility, and Recovery

So this quarter is looking pretty good so far. I had a pretty bad week (so many things went wrong, it was ridiculous.), but for some reason I suddenly felt optimistic after my most difficult class. It was awesome, I knew things, actually volunteered information, and got to say a little about Creative Commons. This quarter I am taking Intro to Film Studies (Which I am feeling like I am going to be a tad bored in, but it’s for the minor, Kaveh is teaching it, and I get to feel all knowledgeable and stuff.), Recycled Cinema (Writing proficiency class, 400 level, skipped the pre-reqs, balls, etc. But also taught by Kaveh. =D) and Intro to Sculpture (Teacher seems like he’s more into experimental work, which could be pretty interesting.).

I’ve been told of most of our assignments in my film classes, and I am pretty damn excited. In Intro, there are a couple basic essays and tests, not very interesting, but I am presenting on “The Death of Cinema,” which I have taken to mean (I could be entirely wrong), the change from the old cinematic traditions to the new technologies, such as digital video, viewing movies on I-pods, and the rising popularity of the DIY film culture (Youtube).

In Recycled Film, we have three big projects. The first is a “recycling project”, where we have to create something out of old film material. It can be in any media, even writing, but I am going to try to make a found-footage piece entirely from Creative Commons. I’ve wanted to try something like this for a long time, but have never had any real reason or motivation. Our second project is a 20 minute class presentation and I have to lead a discussion. The topic I got was “Film and Museums.” This is pretty exciting because I potentially get to talk about more artsy stuff, such as video art, and installation, as well as actual film archives. The last assignment is a 10-12 page essay on a topic of our choice. I haven’t officially decided yet, but I am thinking that I would like to write something about how Tim Burton appropriated everything he has ever done from German Expressionism and early Vincent Price films.

Besides the classes, though, I have been feeling a little weird in general. I have been at my parents for 3 months, so being responsible for myself is a strange change. For a while feeding myself was very difficult, and I didn’t really eat anything for a couple days there. Also, having to drive myself everywhere, and having to do adult things is intimidating sometimes. Living alone is also kind of lonely, since I am used to living in a loud house with many other people. I think I will adjust to it, though, especially once I get busy with school work.

And then there is the recovery. My leg is actually doing quite well. I can put about 50 lbs on it, which was quite a bit at first, but I feel like I go over that sometimes, accidentally. I am going up to Harborview next week, and will hopefully get full weight bearing privileges. Then I can start swimming, and kicking ass. Also, it is looking more and more like a real leg, which is very exciting, it has a tiny bit of muscle growth. Unfortunately it still hurts. Sometimes worse than others…