...The All-Nighter

As my first all-nighter in a long time, I feel that tonight is something special. This is the night I spend 12 hours writing a research paper on something I care very little about. I regurgitate information from a multitude of sources at an exhausting rate, citing craziness left and right. I organize and re-organize and throw in some opinions and a bullshit argument for good measure. I rework my thesis statement over and over again because I have no idea what I'm talking about. I space out and stare at the wall for long periods of time now and then, only to look at the clock and see that 30 minutes have passed. I step back from my paper for a second and realize I'm sore all over. This is the stuff dreams are made of. 15-20 pager due tomorrow, and then a 5-6k word one due wednesday. throw in my final painting and you have what i'll be doing up until finals week! stay tuned for a rant on rituals and ceremonies!

watched...
Twelve Monkeys

listening to...
Band of Bees
The Books - Lost and Safe
The One AM Radio
Add N to X
The Octopus Project

reading...
one god damn shitty paper
Heart of Creation
The Art of Mesoamerica
The Sculptures of El Tajin
Ceremonial Sculpture of Ancient Veracruz
More Human than Divine
...and your mind.

...Money money makin'

I loathe what I know of the business world, which is very little. I am still waiting to hear back from the Chelsea gallery to which I initially applied for summer work. If I get the position, I probably won't actually be making any money - it's an internship position, which means one more summer of relying on good ol' pops to provide the money (mostly for food). While this option makes me feel like shit, I don't really have the right to complain. I've been contemplating applying for other positions. One in particular looks really interesting, but I'm totally clueless as to the likelihood of my being accepted. Both of these companies were referred to me by "connections". Connections...probably the biggest word in trying to start out in any career. You can't get anywhere if you don't know anyone, which is despiccable in any career; just because you don't know someone doesn't mean you're not a talented individual. Luckily, I know a guy who knows a guy, and all that. Whether or not that gets me a job is another story.

That anxiety aside, I have more short-term things to moan and groan about. I already handed in the outline for my research essay on Battle Royale, but this Friday I have to hand in my outline on the shamanism of Veracruz. On Monday, I have to have read Dance Dance Dance and finished my abstract painting (which I think I have), not to mention the presentation on Marusa no Onna (A Taxing Woman) I have to complete for Wednesday. After that my grumbling will stop for a bit before I have to swing into action on both of the aforementioned 20-page research papers. My next painting is supposed to be entirely text-based. That means there can't be any semblance of an image in the piece that isn't text. None of those poems that formed shapes that we did in middle school, amazing though I'm sure they were. And by the time I'm done with all that it will be finals week. Fun fun fun.

In other non-whiny news, I had a dream that the lead singer of the Decemberists was sick so I had to fill in for him. I got all nervous when we had to play at South by Southwest. I guess it was an anxiety dream, just a really weird one.


READING:
Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami
The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami
Intense Years by Rebecca Fukuzawa
Understanding Japanese Society by Joy Hendry
Contemporary Japanese Film by Mark Schilling

WATCHED:
Battle Royale
The Village
One Hour Photo
Weekend
Cannibal the Musical
Proof (special showing)
Akira

listening to..
The Coral
Clinic
Cornelius
Blonde Redhead
The Books
The American Analog Set
Bedroom Walls
Beck - Guero
Aphex Twin
Belle and Sebastian
Funki Porcini