Yvette's Inner Geek Blog

My first day of school is tomorrow. Again. If I’ve calculated correctly, this will be my 25th first day of school since I started kindergarten. I’m counting each semester of college in there as having one first day so the numbers may look a little inflated. It’s not like I’ve been going to school for 25 straight years. I mean, I’m not in a PhD program…

I’m registered for 19 credit hours again in all Digtial Media classes at Utah Valley University, but I’m pretty certain that’s going to drop to a more reasonable 16. I just need to attend a couple classes first to decide which one goes. I won’t be learning new languages or intense programs like last semester (Adobe Flash and ActionScript, I’m looking at you) so I think overall my semester will be more conducive to blogging, freelancing, and you know, general sanity.

I haven’t addressed what happened to make me stop blogging a few months ago. Basically it started with a seriously intense Flash class, and two weeks into the semester I’d compounded my initial struggle to learn the program with two failing quiz scores. That’s very unlike me, and I was dramatically distraught (I’m a girl, I’d also like to call hormones on this one). I almost dropped the class, but I really wanted to learn Flash… and dropping it would screw up my graduation plan. The professor was great and encouraged me to stick with it. I came to terms with the possibility of a potential poor (but passing) grade and gave it a go. I’ve never worked harder in a class before, and there’s no doubt that I learned a ton. I managed an A- so I guess it paid off.

My Flash professor has turned into my favorite professor at UVU. I had another fall semester class with him (Advanced Photoshop) that required a ton of work as well, but for me it was mostly dedicating the time to do it. I actually have decent study habits now. Quite the change from College 1.0. Anyway, I had 4 other 3-credit-hour classes and a weekly lecture series that required nine 2-page papers. It was a challenge to keep pace and my blogging and social life suffered.

Oddly, I picked up cross-stitching at the end of the summer and keeping up with that helped me stay sane. I craved the rhythmic needle movement and loved seeing little details reveal themselves as I went along. All of my classes required computer programs, so when I wasn’t doing homework, I didn’t want to be staring at my monitor.

It’s important to note that I’m doing subversive cross-stitching. Fun stuff, not the vomit-inducing crap that might typically come to mind at the mention of cross stitch. I was influenced by my friend Marie, maker of the hot zombie chick embroidery, and also by the awesome Subversive Cross Stitch book by Julie Jackson. Marie prefers freeform embroidery, but so far I’ve been very happy following a set cross-stitch pattern and having predictable results. Like these! It’s good left brain activity that doesn’t make my right brain jealous.

Okay, so I still need to iron and frame them. Baby steps, people. I haven’t scanned my first project from the Subversive book yet, and I have a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy pattern in the works right now. Hopefully I’ll find a way to keep up with school, cross-stitch, AND blogging this semester.

I better post this. Midnight is fast approaching and I have lots more to do before I can go to bed. Holy crap, I’m over 1% through my blog-every-day challenge! Inconceivable! Yay.

It’s too bad I screwed up 2009 by not blogging the last half of it. I’m not one to make a list of New Year’s Resolutions, at least not publicly, due to my tendency toward self-hatred if I don’t successfully resolve them. (Resolve? Is that what it’s called when you win?)

But I am happy to report that the one resolution I made last year (item 8 in last year’s update vomit) has been RESOLVED. I did *not* watch the ball drop on TV, nor did I watch any portion of the ultimately disappointing “Rockin’ New Year’s Eve” with Dick Clark’s head.  So, in light of this unexpected success, I have decided to set one goal for 2010. Drumroll, eyeroll, whatever… here it is:

To blog every single day in 2010.

Now, I almost just changed that to blogging 365 times in the year, just to give myself a little room to breathe, but that’s an example of me bending the rules up front to prepare myself for eventual failure. I’ve been unable thus far to write 50,000 words in 30 days for NaNoWriMo, or even blog for 30 straight days for NaBloPoMo.

This is definitely going to be a challenge. But it’s a goal, not a resolution. Sure, I’m also making the informal resolution with myself to “make healthier lifestyle choices” (i.e. lose some fucking weight already), but I already fucked that up this morning my ringing in 2010 with coffee and a brownie for breakfast. Go me. And I’m still buried under my continued failure to produce a new website for innergeek.us, let alone update the geek test. So. This one goal I have for 2010 doesn’t involve any specifics or require much in the way of perfection. It will be an exercise in follow-through for me that I think will be helpful. And maybe along the way I’ll attack some of my other non-official goals.

If you’re inclined to support my 2010 goal, I would greatly appreciate it if you would comment on individual blog entries from time to time. That helps my motivation. Of course, feel free to be a lurker and just hang around all quiet and creepy to watch the pain and impending disaster. Everyone loves a train wreck. Either way, I’m happy to have company for the ride ahead.

There! 0.274% of the way toward reaching my goal! Oh, God.