Blip and a Happy New Year!

We're still alive, don't worry. :)

We want to wish all of you a very Happy New Year, and thank you for sticking with us through some pretty crazy times.

And here's to 2012. It's going to be amazing.

Cheers!

Epic Journey XXV: The conclusion, and the letter

This is it. The last part of this epic journey of 10,000 words of nonfiction. I survived.

Thank you for all standing by me as I gave my radio blips from the middle of the wilderness, letting you know I was still there, still alive.

As to my art tag references, the first was to Monte Python and the Holy Grail, the second to Douglass Adams.

And now, on to The Letter from two Fridays ago.

It's simple.

I got into med school. :D

EPIC JOURNEY XXIV!!!!!! THE SUMMIT!!!

DONE DONE DONE DONE!!!
I MADE IT!

Yeah, I did it.

I sent the email that had the attachment that means I'M DONE!

The EPIC JOURNEY is complete.

Or nearly so, but whatever.

I'll post a wrapup tomorrow, of course, and I'll tell you about The Letter.

Clue 2: It was the best early Christmas present EVAR!

Epic Journey XXIII.5: Happy

It's a really good feeling when you start realizing that things are actually coming together and this whole project might work.

Epic Journey XXIII: Denial

M said it. The reason we seek distraction in the crunch time is denial. Trying to deny that we really need to do this.

Oh procrastination. How I love thee.

Just get me through the next four hours, mind, and we can spend the next week writing gibberish and frivolous stuff like stories about hipster aliens who are trying to take over the world.

And tomorrow marks 2 weeks after The Letter. I'll be telling more about it then...

But the first hint? I've mentioned the process before on AdC...

Epic Journey XXII: Seeevvveeeeennn Hooooouuuurrrrssss

UNTIL FREEDOM!

Midnight is the deadline.

It's one deadline that I will most definitely love the sound when it whooshes by.

Since no one got the reference made in Epic Journey XX, bonus points if anyone gets what I referenced in this post, and double bonus points if you catch the first one.

Epic Journey XXI: At least the first two pages are good...

Doncha just dread the break? You're working, you're writing, and all of a sudden, you stop. You can't figure out how to transition from the idea you just finished into the next one, and suddenly, you lose all motivation...

Yup. I know how it feels... And it happened just as I hit the 25% mark. Still got 6 pages (at least) to write!

Epic Journey XX: 'm not dead yet!

Just cuz it's been a while since I've sent out one of those radio blips that I'm still alive.

Bonus points to anyone who figures out why I've tagged this post with "art."

Epic Journey XIX: Positivity

So my question to you all today is thus:

How do you end a paper in which you talk about all the things that are wrong on a positive note? 

Maybe I should explain: I'm writing a paper about water rights in my state, and it turns out, there are a lot of things that aren't that good. I give solutions, of course, in my paper, but how do I end it on a positive note when most of the solutions aren't that practical and aren't that tangible?

Epic Journey XVIII: This post has no title

Well, I'm not exactly passionate an excited about this project, but it's definitely turning out to be fascinating. I've learned a lot about topics that are actually relevant to my own life.

It's very interesting...

Epic Journey XVII: Disinterest

Every been on one of those quests, those project, where you're all excited about it at first, and then yu actually go to get started, and it isn't as cool?

Oh yeah. We've all done NaNoWriMo. Should have remembered. We've all been there.

Well this time, there is No Way Out. Damn figuring out how to commit to projects.

Epic Journey XVI: The next stage

There has been a secret trail discovered! One of the papers isn't due until after Christmas!

But that still leaves the mountain to climb. Time to set out. This weekend was a great rest break, and now, it's time for the slog to the end.

Epic Journey XV: Kermit Like Spaz

Watch the first ten seconds of this video and you'll see what I'm talking about.

And one of my favorites, just to get it stuck in your head:

Epic Journey XIV: 19 minutes to spare

I DID IT! I MADE IT!

*does a kermit-like spaz*

And now, a rest break before heading on to the highest peak: A Review of Water Rights in the West.

Epic Journey XII: One hour

One hour to the summit, and the best thing that I can think of doing is posting here? I know they've entertained M, but is anyone else even reading this? Or is it just annoying?

Epic Journey I forgot which number: In which one throws up hands

And wishes that a prof would actually reply to emails.
I"m not going to say I'm in trouble yet.
But that's the general consensus.

Epic Journey XI: Three hours

This time frame makes me thankful I've done National Novel Writing Month so many times and know how many words I can crank out in a short amount of time. I have three hours to reach the summit before darkness.

Epic Journey X: Realization 3

I should have started this project a long time ago... And found the one book that details what I'm working on, and read it.

Epic Journey IX: Waking up

Every had one of those days when you wake up and realize that nothing got done what needed to be done? Then you know what Day 3 of the Epic Journey feels like. The clock is ticking at 10 hours until I'm due at the next summit, and there are things that must be done before then, like prepare my pack animal for the journey and take care of business here. I didn't get much past the way point, but I made it to a herder's yurt, and spent the night on the floor there. It was warm, that was the best part. I've grown very fond of being warm.

Epic Journey VIII: Just one

Just need a paragraph.

<3 PHD comics. Such a great way to procrastinate!

Epic Journey VII: In which I realize I am crazy(er) [than previously thought.]

Mainly for my choice of chosen sport. Watching other climbers crush outside a. makes me want to go and climb outside and not do homework. and b. makes me realize that we're um only slightly crazy. We climb big things with only 4 inches of foam between us and the ground if we fall. Right. Very brilliant.

Epic Journey VI: The Summit 1

I did it! The first summit. The Exam is finished and emailed off to the prof, and now, it's on to the next hill. The downhill stretch isn't long--there just isn't time for it, and the next peak, it's higher than the first was.
I can do this. I can do this.

Art the Unsure

Epic Journey V.5: In which I get distracted watching climbing videos instead of finishing the exam.

I think the title says it all. I should never have posted those videos. (Check out Energetic Young Men)

Epic Journey V: The Morning

All good things must come to an end. And that includes the glory of sleep.

You wake up, and it's morning. You know that this is the time when you should be leaving your warm hut and continuing on the journey, but breakfast calls, then time to read by the fire, and you know what you're doing is wrong, but it feels so right, so you do it.

Epic Journey IV: The Waypoint

(This was originally Epic Journey III)

You've done it. You've made it through the first day, and you see that hut on the top of the hill where you're going to spend the night. Inside, there is a warm fire, and maybe even company, but most importantly of all, there is a soft, warm bed waiting for you. That bed is your refuge, that place where you can go when things look rough, and by the time you wake up, everything is good again.

Epic Journey III.5: Realization 2

When did I start to feel like a grownup?

Epic Journey III: The Problem with Austerity

As a student, you often run into the concept of austerity. Life, and often finances, are such that you live a life that is much less ostentatious than you might wish it to be. During certain times of the year, you retreat into your cave and don't come out except for midnight food scavenging runs and ambushes on the printer when it is time for that. But, in theory, you deny yourself the simple pleasures of life, like dessert or TV time, and there is a point at which you crack and after that, it's all downhill. You spend inordinate amount of time on Hulu and Wikipedia, researching totally irrelevant things, much like you do during NaNoWriMo, but this time, you're even more distracted, because you've been depriving yourself for so long. That's not even counting the chocolate binges that are sure to come, at least if you get your hands on the money to procure chocolate, even the cheap chocolate. Your mind slowly melts away, wishing that you had more time or more motivation and you weren't writing long and rambling a pointless blog posts, but it's useless. That's the price of Austerity.

Epic Journey II: Realization

It's late, and you're freezing your ass off. You don't know why you decided to make your Epic Journey into cold places, as you're not a huge fan of the cold, but then you remember. It's December. That's why it's cold.

Epic Journey: Motivation

There are times in the life of every intrepid explorer that they must stop and consider their motivation. Why do I want to do this? Why shouldn't I be off doing something like watching TV or sleeping? That's the big question to answer, right now. I currently sit at 682 out of what will end up being about 1500 words... which is where I need to get by midnight, and I am questioning why I'm not getting this done, why I'm still sitting here after all this time.

The Haze of Academia: In which I embark on an epic journey of 10,000 words into nonfiction

The title says it all. I handwrote 9 pages in 2 hours today for my last in class exam, and now, I am about to embark on the epic journey, as it says in the title, of writing two papers, one take home exam, one reflections essay, and one set of comments to the BLM. Not in that order.
Yup. Here I go, into that hazy world in which so much happens and not as much is possible as in fiction.

Wish me luck. If I survive, I'll tell you a little more about The Letter from Last Friday.

Art the Intrepid

Ephemera: Life Changing Letters

In my closet, there hung a cream sheet of paper with a post written on it in pencil. I wrote it last year, about this time, and the words I wrote are telling.

I'd try to imagine how I'd be feeling right now. Elation and joy, of course. The thrill of the unknown. Nerves at leaving my childhood home. But when I imagined them, they never felt quite like this. I'm on top of the world.

Truth is, I'm still in shock. I think the top of the world feeling will come tomorrow, will come later, will come when I've processed everything that just happened.

But things are never going to be the same.

Just Shoot Me Now

Procrastination.

It's because of you that I'm turning in my card as a writer.

Well, that and the internet.

But it's true!!!

If not for you, I'd enjoy writing. As it is, writing is one of those things where you want to faceplant face onto keyboard repeatedly--and sadly, it'd probably come up with better results than the actual writing is.

You know, I totally wasn't going to post until finals was over, just because I knew it would turn into another one of those rants about procrastination, but yeah... I couldn't resist.

So here's my card. Here is my badge, too, to get me into the secret writer's lounge that I've never actually visited but have heard it is really cool.


Wait... why do we have a card and a badge? Isn't that a little redudant?

The End Is In Sight

This is it ladies and gents...my last week of college...EVER!  Or until I decide I no longer hate it and continue on for my Master's.  Like that will ever happen.  I probably shouldn't say that without the appropriate conviction.  But what a ride it turned out to be.  I feel like that kid coming off the rollercoaster for the first time:  a strange twisted expression that's mostly relief they weren't killed and a little near-disappointment that it's finally over.  Now to figure out what to do with myself next!  That will be the fun part.  Wish me luck.

Sad.

One of the local consignment stores, one that consistently has typewriters, is going out of business.

Excuse me why I go be bummed. It's always hard when an awesome local business can't make it.