So here's the update on me:

- Finally got my AAS in 3d Animation and Game Design. If you think you can work full time, go to school, and get anything done in a reasonable amount of time: think again. Don't waste your time with jobs you don't care about because it's easy.

- I got accepted in to the Art Institute of Seattle. I'm in their Bachelor's of Fine Arts program with a major of Media Arts and Animation. It's a different gig then what I'm use to. Everyone there is an artist, which makes for a very cool (and competitive) environment.

I use to have a low opinion of the Art Institutes, mainly because I felt many of the students get an inflated head. Well.. There may be some people who feel that they're awesome. That's great for them. I'll be impressed if they have something to bring to the table; but I tend to be more impressed by people who are humble and are willing to learn.

I also felt that for the money you spend to go, you're basically just buying a degree. In some cases that might perhaps be true, but considering the fact that in all four of the classes I have, I'll be spending an equal amount of time out of class just doing my homework, I think I'm getting a raw deal. heh. The teachers are knowledgeable and very capable, the classrooms are stocked with the needed tools, and the life, sounds, and smells of the market is only a couple blocks away.

Also, I'm finding that the time I sent at Lake Washington Technical College wasn't wasted. Already I seem to have a bit familiarity with the subjects being taught than many of the other people in class. Hard Surfaces and Organic Modeling, a Maya class, for starters. Some of it is stuff I already know: but rather than being bored I'm finding it a fresh change from how I usually think about a project. It's a good chance to refine my work process and learn some easy shortcuts that I either never knew or forgot.

I think I'll end up getting a better education from this place now than I would have had I gone 5 years ago. And thats all just with my own head space, not even accounting for the technological leap. It's a bit easier to take education more seriously when you KNOW that the shitty jobs are the only thing to look forward to should you choose not to put your best in to what you're doing.

- Still living in Kirkland, couple blocks from the water. I'm hoping things work out here, but I would be lying if I didn't say I wasn't a little nervous. I have a student loan, and I'm certainly that I'll get a disbursement, but whether that will allow me to make ends meet I'm a little unsure of. I suppose I could always sell some of my leatherworking and art skills. I've been told that I could turn a profit if I really put my mind to it. I dunno, my finances is a bridge that I'm approaching with caution.

- The drama amongst my friends has died down a bit. Mercury is no longer in retrograde so I guess that's something. Personally I think people just need to chill out a bit. I know I've needed to in the rat race leading up to school starting. I got my financial aid figured out the day OF classes starting. It was down to the wire there and I haven't been that stressed since.. well.. I was working at Authorize.Net.

- Speaking of, apparently Authorize.Net is hiring again. For the position they laid all of us off for. For more pay. I was tempted right up until I remembered that they chose to try and save themselves some cash by hiring inexperienced people in Utah to replace a group of us in Bellevue who had actually CARED about helping their merchants and resellers. Corporate BS at its finest. But whatchya-gonna-do? I don't hate them for laying me off. And hell, I still believe in the product. I just wish they'd told us the truth up front instead of two-facing us for a year. I shake my head sadly in their corporate management's direction.

So that's all thats on my mind currently.