Studying for disorders of language and communication...

Looking over the powerpoints and the book for my Disorders of Language and Communication class. I'm not too worried about this exam, I don't imagine it to be difficult, but I need a good grade on it so I'm minimally stressed out. I haven't been sleeping well lately and I've been quite tired. School has been very difficult to focus on. I don't know if it's Senioritis or just stress but I feel very unmotivated. I glance through notes and am like, "good enough." It's a shame that it ends up being good enough, too. I wonder when education became so watered down. Research of previous years in education shows how much of a sacrifice school used to be. People had to pretty much focus on nothing else when they were going to school, but that's not the case anymore. Obviously, some people have a harder time than others keeping up or doing well and some people have higher standards, but for the most part higher education is far too easy. I am very hypocritical though, because I'm glad I can get through with little effort, but then those few times I have to actually apply myself, it's quite a trial. I'm not sure that I know how to study correctly or get a large amount of work done. But I get by. I wonder if I had been born in centuries past (barring the time when women weren't allowed in higher education) if I would have been able to make it to college, let alone through. College was a big deal, it was the cream of the crop (and the rich kids). Now they'll let anyone with a decent credit report or cosigning parents in.

Ah, but on a lighter note I finished Game of Thrones and now I'm hooked. Started reading Clash of Kings a few days ago and I'm about 30% in. I am working on a book review for Game of Thrones. We went to New York City on Sunday and got to see (and sit in) the replica of the iron throne HBO had made to promote the show.

You may note the white ball of fluff on my arm presuming to be Ghost. I made him a few nights ago and for my first attempt at a stuffed animal I think he turned out decent. I may try to make a version 2.0 at some point though, since this one has.... flaws...

I wish that angle had a better view of his tail. His body came out rather well, particularly the cute fluffy tail. But I'd rather just ignore from the neck up. He may resemble Tyrion Lannister a little more than Ghost.

We watched the first episode of Game of Thrones on Sunday night and it was pretty amazing. It was quite faithful, albeit with some minor alterations. I didn't mine the alterations very much. It's interesting to see how the people working on the series have a different interpretation of the characters and the scenery. I was amazed at the level of production value. The amount of time and money that must have been spent on this series is phenomenal. There were so many different settings and places. I was shocked at how intricate the armors and costumes were. The level of detail is mind-blowing.

I have had little chance to work on my novelette. I've been mostly reading The Song of Ice and Fire books and getting some projects done for school.  I'd like to get back to it whenever possible, but I foresee is being stalled to May. I can't wait for mid-May when I can sit back and say "that's all." Of course I will still have one more summer course, but that seems almost irrelevant. I am very excited for the week we're planning to spend in Spain. I don't know that it's truly hit me yet, but when it does I can't imagine being able to contain my excitement. Right now I am just waiting to get the plane tickets and I think we'll be pretty good to go at that point. Sure I was born in Cuba, but since landing here I have never stood on foreign soil. I am hoping that I will have a chance to see my family, I haven't met any of them but I'd love to. I also just kind of  want to wander around. I'm still not sure if I want a tour or if I just want to explore on my own. I'm guessing a tour is a better option for the "first-timer." 

Ah well, back to studying, I suppose.

*The sky is over...*

Sitting on a cold chair in a dark room...

I worked on that story and I finished up the first chapter. It's a little short, but I plan on expanding it a little with time. In order to better work on the story I have kept working on a map with Campaign Cartographer. It's looking pretty nice so far. Lots of work though.

Looking fancy!

The hardest part is the scale. I keep trying to figure out just how long it would take my characters to be wandering around this world. The entire first book is going to happen in those 1,000 sq. miles on the middle right (where the trees are). I must really like to make maps because I spent a ton of time working on the Pyraliss map. Using this program I should remake the Pyraliss world.

I also used a different program called Fractal Terrains. That program gave me a basic idea of the landmasses. BUT the greatest thing about this program is that it gives you temperatures, climates, altitudes, and rainfall. It's like map porn. I feel like having a realistic map like that helps shape and guide your story along. It also gives the world a more realistic feel. Also, it just helps my characters not inadvertently end up in different places that are mysteriously the same exact place (my orientation skills suck, I could never just keep track of this without something physical).

Note the list of climate on the side. I can also change it to reflect rainfall and altitudes.

I can't wait to finish the map. Updates coming soon.

*The sky is over...*

I forgot to give this a title first time around...

I am experiencing hunger.

Isn't it strange how people learn coping methods? How they find ways to work around their dysfunctions? I suppose it's not really strange, it's actually quite normal. It's something that's done every day by most adults, and maybe even some children. Teaching yourself ways to function, regardless of circumstance, that's part of the human condition.

I've always had difficulty finding a happy medium so I have two modes: panic mode or lackadaisical mode. I either care too much, or I just completely lose interest. Everyone at school always comments how I'm "so relaxed" and how they wish they were nearly as relaxed about school. Little do they know that if I didn't force myself into that state I'd probably lose my mind (as I almost have some semesters before I taught myself to cope). It is a bit frustrating though, I never quite know how to give myself the proper level of motivation to get things done. If I let myself get into a panic things don't get done anyway because I just break down. To hell with it. I just have to keep teaching myself around it.

I actually got a chance to keep reading Game of Thrones last night, it was only a little while but I got a couple of chapters read. It's fascinating so far. I'm really enjoying it, but I'm looking forward to finishing it and moving on to either the second book or something else.

I am working on a story, I may have mentioned it before. It doesn't have a title yet, but it's looking quite lengthy. I got a copy of Campaign Cartographer and am using it to make a map of the world it's in. I started to lose track of where the hell the characters were while writing the outline. Decided a map was necessary.

Added a new little guy to the previous picture:

I like how fluid he looks, I don't usually get that effect very easily. 

I'm still waiting to hear back from graduate schools. No word yet. Ah, well. Soon, I hope.

*The sky is over...*