Africa or Mexico?

Well, I officially finished up my first year of school last week. I had to exams. I think the Art History one went okay, and the English one... Did not. I feel confident for about 2/5ths of it. I think I managed a decent pass. Overall, though... I'm afraid to see what my grade will be. The prof really grilled us on some obscure characters and element. A large portion of the test was identifying the authors with the short stories, which I was a MORON for not studying. I even thought of it, too. "But there's no way that'd be on the test, it has nothing to do with plot/setting/characters/etc." Well, foolies on me. 10mins of extra studying would have put me in a much better position.

Now that I'm out of school, what have I done with myself? Well for starters, I watched Top Gear this evening - the first episode of the season. Man, I love that show. Similarly, I've discovered the Nurburgring Webcam. the track is open for the first few hours while I'm at work, and I love watching all the sports cars go through. Lots of hot hatches and crotch rockets, and tons of Porsches. Being in Germany, that shouldn't be surprising. In one single frame, I managed to see a Ferrari 430, Porsche 911 Turbo, Lamborghini Mercialago LP640-4, Audi R8, and a Ford Focus RS. I know it's on the other side of the world, but I'm totally blown away at how much I enjoy watching that live feed. Because it's happening right now!! Apparently I can rent a Porsche 911 Turbo for a full day of driving the 'Ring for about $1000. Add it to the bucket list, I suppose.

What else... I've been drawing a bit. I was challenged to draw a lone figure in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi/steampunk/fantasty setting. So I did this:



Which turned out rather well, I think. It took me longer than I would've liked, though. But overall... I think I'm pleased with it.

I read the Complete Maus comic over the past two weeks, and it's nothing short of phenomenal. Really hard-hitting - I felt so uncomfortable reading it. What a tragic story - the combination of an account of the holocaust paired with the strains of a father-son relationship. And the animal metaphor adds that much more depth to it, in a way. You could write a paper on that kinda stuff. Heck, I even did for HUMN115.

I watched 500 Days of Summer while I was working on the final draft of the challenge. What an incredibly depressing a heart-breaking movie. I loved it. I liked the completely un-cliche story, and how you really feel the rug being pulled out from underneath you. It does such a great job of subtly presenting the story from the point of view of the one character. And the ending... I can see how it can be interpreted as happy. For me, though, I totally read it as being the opposite. It's all just a cycle, and things are about to get colder and more miserable.

I've had way more spare time over the last five days than I know what to do with. It feels surreal, almost. I don't like it.
-Cril

I got out of bed today,
Swear to God I couldn't see my face.
I got out of bed today, staring at a ghost.
Who forgot to float away,
Didn't have all that much to say.
Wouldn't even tell me his own name and where'd my body go?

Where oh where'd my body go?
Africa or Mexico?
Oh where'd my body go, and where'd my body go?

Oh have you seen my ghost? Seen my ghost, seen my ghost?
Oh have you seen my ghost, staring at the ground?
Oh have you seen my ghost? Seen my ghost, seen my ghost?
Oh have you seen my ghost, sick of those god damn clouds?

Wintersleep - Weighty Ghost