My life in a hamster wheel

Ever feel like this? I do.

This weekend, I took a much needed break to attend the Fort Point Open Studios. Fort Point is a community of live-in studio spaces for artists. My friend Jen was one of the artists who opened their home/studio up for people to view and purchase her work. My husband and I couldn't stay very long (he had to work later that afternoon), but it was nice to stroll around and see what other artists are working on. Plus, I bought this awesome print from Jen. I love her work.

It made me really miss illustration life and creating my own paintings (in fact, I have 3 mail art pieces that have been sitting in my studio for over a week, waiting to be finished up and mailed out. Sorry MAA. I'll get on it, I promise!). School has absorbed every ounce of free time I have. In fact, spending that single day on something other than homework threw my entire weekend into turmoil. Now, I'm really far behind on the huge list of things I need to get done for classes Wed/Thurs. I somehow have to find time to do all of them in the little time I have after work. This is why having a life is absolutely not an option while I'm in school. I should've known I'd pay dearly for a second of down-time.

To compound my troubles, I have officially upgraded my old PC with clunky 100 year old design programs to a new Mac with new programs. Sounds fantastic, right? Not so much. My new Mac can't read any of the homework I previously created on my PC. That typography project I've been working on for the past 3 weeks? Yeah. I had to re-do that last night. And...come to find out, my scanner is not compatible with my new Mac. The scanner company has zero drives available for it. I have to get a new scanner. Of course, I find this out by trying to use my scanner for homework. I can always order a new one, but in the meantime what the heck am I supposed to do this week? Looks like I'll either have to head over to my mother's house or try to sneak a scan at work.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Mac. It's a beautiful piece of equipment. I just wish I'd been able to afford it this summer when I could've a) had time to figure out how to work the thing b) had time to update my scanner and other equipment and c) had not started massive projects on my PC then had to switch over. I could continue to complain about how busy/miserable I am, but I think I should wrap it up now.

Hedgehog Update:

I got so many wonderful caring e-mails on my last post regarding our beloved hedgehog's terminal cancer...so I thought I should keep all of you updated on his health. Baxter has been accepting his pain medicine. Or...he did for the first couple days. The vet flavored it with honey and he was really enthusiastic about lapping it up (he even tried biting the dropper!). This Saturday was a different story. He wouldn't take any of it. His swollen foot is still awkwardly rolling under him, and he just seemed like he couldn't get comfortable on my lap. He kept poking his head out of his little sleeping bag and looking at me confusedly, then going back in to sniff and circle around like a dog trying to find a good spot to lie down. Poor baby. I think this week, we'll switch over to his winter fleece-lined sleeping bag since it's been getting cold here already. Maybe I'll buy more crickets, drip the medicine on them, and see if Baxter will accept it that way.

Design Whine

I'm exhausted. The weather is just miserable. Coffee isn't even helping me this morning - which is a shame because I have a long commute and an even longer day ahead of me.
I have class tonight, and I'm not at all confident in the homework I completed for it. I worry that I misunderstood something about the project, or missed some crucial direction and that my work will stick out like a sore thumb amist beautifully executed pieces.
I really don't "get" typography and layout. It's like my brain simply isn't wired that way. You might as well be speaking to me in a foreign language. I suppose that's why I'm in school in the first place, but still...you don't want to be the worst girl in class, right? You want to at least appear that you're catching on. Especially when I already have BFA from an excellent art school. I imagine people raising an eyebrow at my credentials then pointing at my homework and saying, "And this is the best you could come up with???" (I realize no one would actually do that. But that's what goes on inside my head sometimes.)
Adding to my misery, I'm working on a PC at home. A Mac is really more appropriate for these design programs. I think I missed out on a pile of potential fonts that I could've used last night for this project just because I'm working on PC platform. Not to mention that my bare-bones knowledge of design programs will eventually conspire against me. I certainly don't have any money right now to invest in a new computer system. (Unless I win the lotto...which would REALLY help right about now! Where's that genie in the magic lamp?)
Last week, our teacher mentioned that we could work our school's computer lab, but he also doesn't know that I am an out-of-state commuter. I'm not going to drive down an hour (sometimes 1.5 - 2 hrs depending on traffic) on a non-school day just to pop in the hopes there's a free seat in the lab. I do have a full-time job, an online shop, and a home to maintain. Ugh.
Anyone want give me a boost of confidence? Or at the very least, a really strong cup of coffee?* I need it today. :oP

*Along with the lotto genie, there should definitely be coffee fairies. They're much needed creatures, you would think nature would've designed them by now! Lol.