Just a little update: Eportfolios, Arts Night, Studying, FUN!

Hello my friends! It’s been a while.

Originally I was going to post three consecutive posts, after the Keith Haring one, about my recent museum visits. But then I thought that would be overkill. So instead, let’s take a break and talk about other random things.

1. The Macaulay Eportfolio Expo is coming soon. I entered. I excited to share my work with lots of other people! And I am excited to learn from other eportfolios. There are definitely things on my site that need improvement and what better way is there than to learn from fellow eportfolio-ers. (That was redundant.) And that brings me to my second thought…

2. Things I want to improve on my eportfolio: Lately, the number of posts I dedicate to museums/art in NYC is multiplying! Originally, I was thinking of creating a new eportfolio just dedicated to the arts of NYC. But what would I do with the posts I already posted here? And then what would I write on this post since all I ever feel about talking is about art? But art is such a huge category… Oh difficulties! Should I create a new category in my eportfolio for museums and art in NYC? Or should I create a new eportfolio just for NYC art in general? Or all art in general? Hmm… Decisions decisions…

3. One obstacle I have with maintaining the eportfolio (besides my personal laziness and un-interesting-ness) is the space available for my photos. I am approaching the 100% space used because I love to upload photos for each post. Dun dun dun… So, I have to troubleshoot this problem. I attempted using Flickr to embed my photos in my posts, but it doesn’t look as nice as uploading it straight to the post :( I’ll figure something out. This has been resolved! Yay! Thanks to Professor Ugoretz, the Associate Dean of Teaching, Learning, and Technology, I now have more server space. To more photo-uploading!

4. MACAULAY ARTS NIGHT! April 28th 6PM at the Macaulay Building. Save the date. As you may or may not know, I am a curator in the show and it will be fabulous. I was extremely lazy and inactive in high school. So I’m making it up now by doing tons of things (without straining myself too much) to gain experience, meet new people, have fun, feel proud of myself, get my butt off of my bed, etc. And everything is working out well so far. Anyways, back to Macaulay Arts Night: there will be food (the second word that comes to college students’ minds when they decide whether to go to an event), visual art, performances, written works, short films, workshops of all sorts, and mustaches! Mustaches? Well, this year, the theme is Dada and mustaches. Why? I’m not so sure, but it is what it is. So yes, be prepared for mustaches. Some of my photography will be on display, if that persuades you to attend. *wink wink* Support your fellow classmates and friends. Everyone is welcome.

5. Sirens outside my window have been blaring off for the past hour now. It is driving me half insane. However, not be insensitive, I hope that everyone outside is safe and that everything will be alright.

6. Registration time: Well, it is official now. I am set to take two courses this summer. Back to back. No break for me :( But, you gotta do what you gotta do. I am double majoring in Art History and French and I plan to go to France for a year and maybe Japan for a summer (more on this in a bit). So, as to not fall behind, I am going to take courses this summer to help me graduate on time. But they’ll be fun classes! And the way I figured it is that it’d be better for my health and well-being if I take classes since I’ll have to leave the house. If I were not to take classes in the summer, I just sit around at home eating and watching movies, i.e. wasting my time. One is the require Brooklyn College core music class on theory. Sounds interesting, though the thought of it being a core class makes it sound a bit ennuyeux. (That is a false cognate. Ennuyeux is the French word for boring not annoying. I knew that and I put the word there on purpose, because cores are generally, a bit of both – boring and annoying, that is.) The other class is 3-D Design. Sounds fun. We only meet twice a week (although for ~4-5 hours a day). So my summer is settled. But what about my fall?! It’s a total mess. Let’s go through it together, shall we? Or you can completely skip it. It’s quite boring. (Writing it out will help to assuage my anxiety and frustrations.)

Here’s the rundown: I want to take (1) Japanese 1, (2) Architecture of WWII – Present, (3) Modern Art, (4) Core Biology, (5) any French class, (6) Macaulay Seminar, and (7) Sociology 1.

I can’t possibly take all these classes so I have to pick and choose. My problem lies in which classes to take. sociology I can always take next semester. No big deal. The biology class will always fit in my schedule, so no worries. Modern art may or may not fit in my schedule, depending on the seminar, but again, no worries for this course since Brooklyn College offers it each semester. Japanese will generally fit in my schedule, with one exception (which I will discuss in a bit). It’s the French class and the architecture class that I worry about. And the problem revolves around which Macaulay seminar time I choose.

There are two really good Macaulay Seminar times. Let’s call them seminar A and seminar B. If I take seminar A, I get to take the architecture class. I also will not be able to take modern art, but I can take that next semester. I’ll just take sociology this semester instead. But, the big problem is that I will not be able to take any French class for my French major. All the French classes offered are during the seminar A’s time. BAD! They are not offered frequently but are requirements for the major. I don’t understand the logic behind this. *Sigh*

If I take seminar B, I get to take any of the French classes offered this semester that are required for my French major. I also get to take modern art, instead of sociology, which is what I’d rather do anyways. BUT seminar B is the same time as the architecture class. This class is not a class I HAVE to take to complete the Art History degree, but it will count towards the degree if I take it. And I really want to take it. But it’s now or never. This class is offered very infrequently. The last time it was offered was two years ago. That’s a long time.

My last option is taking seminar C. This one is on Friday though. Originally, I had reservations against taking seminar C since, you know, I like my Fridays off (for several reasons which I won’t name, but you can probably guess). With seminar C, I get to take both a French class and the architecture class. And if I really want I can make a case to my advisor to allow me to take 6 class instead of 5, so I can take Japanese and modern art. (I won’t take sociology.) But if not, I think I’ll postpone modern art to next semester, because I just really want to take Japanese right now. (This was that one exception I mentioned about a schedule without Japanese: if I can’t take 6 classes and therefore choose modern art over Japanese.) And writing this done has practically convinced me now. One class on Friday is all that bad. It starts at 11 anyway and ends before 2. I still have plenty of time to do stuff. And it’ll be better for me because if I join clubs that meet on Fridays or I want to go somewhere on Friday, I won’t have to drag myself out of the comfort of my bed and pajamas. I’ll already be out. Now let’s just hope I get my 6 classes *crosses fingers*. It’s a challenge I can definitely take on.

That felt so good to get off my chest. Sorry for the rant. That was kind of more for me than for you. But it wasn’t a complete waste of space since, if you read it, you got to learn a bit about of my thinking process and about what kind of things I like to learn. It’s a very indirect way of learning about me, but hey! You’re still learning.

7. Studying abroad: Before college even began, I was already planning my study abroad. (Did I talk about it in an earlier post? I’ll just repeat it here if I already did.) I know I want to go to France during junior year. But where in France? Let’s take a look at the timeline of my study abroad planning:

1. Study abroad in France for my whole junior year to really become fluent in French. Anywhere but Paris. I want to experience a life away from the city. Preferably Bordeaux. Maybe Lyon. Strasbourg sounds really nice too. I’m also quite a fan of Toulouse.
2. I kinda want to go to to England now. a study abroad program at Cambridge?
3. Cambridge is too expensive. I’ve always wanted to go to France anyways. MUST GO TO FRANCE.
4. Very difficult to find a yearlong study abroad program in these smaller cities. There’s a CUNY exchange program to Paris. Hmm… Pay CUNY tuition. That means Macaulay will pay for it. I don’t have to pay for tuition at all! Okay, my reservations put aside, I love Paris anyways. Maybe I’m not cut out for a YEAR in the countryside. I can always visit them by train anyways. Okay, I’m convinced. Paris it is. Go to Italy? It holds some of the major art cities. No. I’ll just visit as a tourist.
5. I feel in the mood to study in Ireland. Or Scotland. Summer study abroad in addition to the year in Paris?

Credit: turones on Flickr

1. I’m over the Ireland/Scotland phase. What about this summer study abroad in Tours, France. It’s at a beautiful mansion.Tours is a quaint, little city right by the Loire Valley (where all the gorgeous chateaux are). And, supposedly, people from Tours speak perfect French. I could go the summer before Paris and sharpen my language skills in preparation for French classes at the Sorbonne in the Fall. More time in France, more time to sightsee!
2. Go to Yonsei University in South Korea?
3. No, Tours it is.
4. Scotland again? Look at all that natural beauty! Never mind. This is just a phase.
5. Ooh, there’s a fellowship to study in England summer 2012! Completely paid for and everything. I should start to apply.
6. Never mind. Studying abroad for two summers and one year is probably too much. Back to Tours and Paris only.
7. I really want to take German or maybe even Russian next semester (fall 2012). Neither will fit in my schedule! No! What class should I take instead? Japanese? Chinese? Japanese it isAll of the sudden, I remember my past love affair with Japanese culture and language. Study abroad in Japan? Oh! Kyoto in the summer! It’s really beautiful. No more Tours. Going to Japan is better than going to Tours anyways. I can experience more cultures and learn more languages. But during which summer should I go? Will this even be possible. Plane tickets are so expensive. I wish I could go to Japan for a longer time. Then I could also visit nearby Asian countries.

Credit: fecielo.com