soo.. very...tired....

I think today was designed especially to test me, my nerves, my patience, my body, and my resolve to not skip class unless I have no choice.... I am currently sitting in "online" status at my desk, and I have been sitting here like this for the last 30-45 mins, without a single chat coming in. Some people might think I'm insane for complaining about this state of affairs, especially since my co-worker had a death in the family, and Seamus called in ill today, so wasn't able to come and cover for said co-worker (and thus I've been here alone since midnight), but those same people also aren't desperately trying to stay awake, and weren't counting on the chats to help them do so. I've already taken one no-doze tonight, and am counting down the time until I can take another one. This is because I've had a grand total of a nap for 4 hours (not counting times I woke up to shift, etc) since 6:30 PM on Monday, and won't get more sleep until I get home after class around 1 PM today . I hate Tuesdays!!!!!!!!! I have 5 weeks of Tuesday's left this quarter, and am skipping the one next week to pick up Seamus's mom at the airport, so in effect that's 4 more weeks of living hell to put up with. I will make it through this, but I swear I'm going to be comatose for 1/2 of next week...

What else has been testing me today? Well, let me go back 2 weeks to recap. I had to shoot a roll of 3200 ISO film for class - excellent for very low light or extremely fast shutter speed situations. So, since I hate sports, and had NO interest in using the film that way, I went to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History - thought it would be easy to shoot the roll there since I like the museum, and they had just re-opened their mineral displays. I get there (and get followed in every room I shoot in either because I look that much like a criminal casing the joint or because the guards were just that bored) and get the roll shot, in the photo journalistic style that was part of the assignment, in less then 2 hours, and go home for sleep. The following Tuesday, I develop the film, get to the fixer and check it to see the beautiful images I captured at the museum, and instead see... nothing. Oh, there are very faint images on the negs, but someone at the cage mixed the T-Max developer wrong, and thus the film wasn't actually developed properly. So, I'm out the film, being able to work with those negs, and the money and time spent at the museum, and get to repeat the same experience. This time I get Seamus to come with me (Thank you hon!!!) and notice that with two of us there, the guards don't seem to find me as dangerous looking (what, SWF's can't go to the museum by themselves for fun?) and we re-shoot the roll - this time in about an hour, since I knew the shots I wanted, and was hurrying to appease an increasingly tired and cranky sweetie; and we go home and get some sleep. I develop the roll today (this time using the directions for the D-76 since I'm now paranoid about the T-Max), and it comes out well. I pack up my roll just in time for our class field trip for the quarter - to the museum . At least it was to the art side this time, which I visit less often, but still 3 weeks in a row to the museum can be a bit tiring even for me. After I was done with our assignment (writing down images and impressions from 3 photo's, 1 2-D media, and 1 3-D media) I declined to explore the natural history side again for some strange reason :P

I get to work, find out that I'm on my own for the evening, take my 4-hour nap, realize that I somehow forgot to remember to bring food (not, however until 11:30, when downtown has rolled up the magic carpet of anything being open) and don't want to rely on soup for the night and the class the next day, and frantically search for someplace that is 1) open 2) delivers and 3) I can stand the food from. (Obviously, this was not my most competent night; Seamus, you get teasing rights on this one :-) ) I get my food delivered, and have to go downstairs twice because the delivery person apparently didn't get my request (or ignored it) to call at least 5 mins before he arrived... and have been sitting her diligently working since then. Only 7 hours left to go before I can get some sleep.....

The good news is, that things have to get better from this point! There's 5 weeks of class left, I get to start shooting for my two final projects in photography, and have only the one class next week (which I'll be missing) so I can get caught up on my sleep. I have finished my online class with a 100% in the class, and my lowest grades currently are b+, which I should be able to pull up to a's by the end of the quarter (yes, I think I can get an "a" in my drawing class, something wrong here...). I have my classes scheduled for next quarter, and will have no crazy days like I have this quarter. I have a clean house, and thus it will not be hard to get it ready for the guest next week - which is good since I need to fit in a zoo visit and film developing this week for the class I'll be missing. And a friend put in Seamus's resume for a CS job at the company he works at, with a recommendation for him . While I enjoy working with Seamus, I am willing to sacrifice that to have him in the field he trained in, doing a job he enjoys! We'll find time for each other, somehow :-) This quarter has definitely proven that.

Oh, and just for you Mom, the roll of pushed film I had to shoot for yesterday's class (i.e. roll of 400 ISO shot as if a roll of 800 ISO, then overdeveloped) was taken only at the apartment so that I can scan the negs, which came out very well, and upload them next week. You'll finally get to see some of the new furniture I've been telling you about :-)

Anyhow, this has served its purpose, and kept me busy/awake until the chats started again, so it's now back to work I go :-)