Ok, so depending on how long it takes me to get ALL my homework done this weekend will depend on whether or not pictures will be on the next posting. For now - all words. They'll have to be fast words too, because I have to go grab my laundry in 30 minutes. I have this irrational fear about my laundry being stolen from the dorm laundry room...
I'll start with the housing saga...
So, last December I received an e-mail from UCLA housing saying they were not going to be able to promise me a room for this school year. In order to have the possibility of giving them all my money, I had to fill out a housing form online, pay $30 (non-refundable) and wait...
Finally in August, I was offered a triple suite. So, a triple suite is a little smaller than the room I was in last year, PLUS instead of having 2 girls per room, they have 3. Needless to say, I'm really old to be bunking (literally) with that many people in such a small space. On top of that, I have A LOT of stuff - something I am fully aware of - and didn't want to over run my poor roommates with everything bring to school.
I started calling the Housing Office to see if they had anything else open, or if other people had declined their housing offers that had more space than a triple. While the people who work in the Housing Office are all really nice, let's be honest, why do they need so many? None of them actually help you. The are all trained to say, "Sorry, we can't help you." It's irritating and stupid. The only answer I got was that I would have to go to room swap night 2 weeks after school starts and hope someone will want to trade. Even then, there is no guarantee.
Side Note #1: Last May, I started having some soreness in my joints. I blame it on the curse of getting old, and have added Glucosamine to my morning vitamin regimen. Continuing with the story...
So, I told the housing people that I would not be able to comfortably live in a triple because I was having joint trouble, and climbing a latter several times a day would not help that. They said I could try to get into a better suited room if I went to the Office of Student's with Disabilities.
I called the office, told them my situation, and they said I needed to have paperwork to show that I was indeed having these joint problems. Here's the kink: I have health insurance through school only, and the school insurance doesn't kick in until the first day of classes. Not nly that, but I would have to go to the health center AT school to get the paperwork done. So how does this help me? It doesn't. So, I went round and round with these people and nothing came of it.
Side Note #2: This summer while I was working at Sea World, I went to put something away, and messed up my back. I really hurt, and finally I was coerced into going to Medical Services for help. I was sent to the company doctor, who gave me some medicine and told me to go to physical therapy. It is still sore, last night was an especially bad sleeping night, but the appointments since I came to school have sort of slipped through the cracks - no one wants to take me on, I guess. Am I really that scary? :)
So, I moved into my room here at school... A triple. Three girls in each side. All of the girls (except me) were fresh from high school. I feared that for them it would be like living with their mother... All the girls were super nice though! They were fun, and enjoyable. still, it was a triple, and I DO have a lot of stuff...
Well, sometimes blessings come at a price. I hurt my back, and it was painful and not fun, but it made it so i was able to get the paperwork I needed to get help from the Office of Students with Disabilities in order to get a different room!
I now live in a double suite, and can actually sit up straight while sitting on my bed - a bed I don't have to climb a ladder to get into! There's more space, and not as many stairs (it's on the second floor instead of the third) so it's a lot easier to get what I need where I need it. I'm much happier with the living arrangements, even if I had to leave all my other little roommates behind...
Now for a quick view at this school quarter:
BUSY.
I am taking 20 units. My classes are: Spanish 2, Hand Drafting, Disney Imagineering (again, yeah!) and Scandinavian Crime Literature. Plus, I am Stage Manager for the undergrad show, Balm in Gilead.
Spanish 2: So, maybe I should have some idea about Spanish, considering that I'm half Mexican and all, but really, i think the Mexican half of me is more about the food than the lanuguage. For the life of me, I cannot seem to get the hang of it. It stresses me out because I still have to take one more quarter after this, and I feel like I am getting farther and farther behind...
Hand Drafting: If I have been having joint trouble before, it is nothing compared to the way your hand feels after spending 12 hours practicing your alphabet for drafting homework. If you can get a migraine in your hand, that's what i had last weekend. It was TORTURE! I have another project due in a couple of days... I have been working on it very slowly, but hope that I can figure it out with the smallest amount of muscular damage possible. Basically, it's a lot harder than I thought it would be.
Disney Imagineering: Yup! I'm taking it again! Most of the people coming to class to speak are different than the people who came last year. In the winter quarter they have a much smaller class that actually puts the princples you learn in the fall to use to make a project that is presented to the Imagineers for your final. I'm hoping to get into that class this year. If have a feeling that the people that are asked to come and speak to us have experience that will better help us accomplish the projects we are given to work on in the winter. Maybe this time I will get to find out what that project is!
Scandinavian Crime Literature: Right? How cool is that! We get to read detective stories from Scandinavian authors. Right now we are reading a book called The Locked Room. I have limited amounts of time, so I'm only about 120 pages into the book, where as normally I would already be done. It's a sad day when i sit down to read, and I fall asleep 2 paragraphs in. But even if I have to stay up all night, I'll get it done. :)
Balm in Gilead: It's a play by Lanford Wilson. Our director's name is Heidi Davis, and she is very nice! She works at the LA Film School, and travels weekly, so she is a very busy person. I'm grateful she has taken us on! We have a cast of 25 people. I'm still trying to remember names. Our show opens the first weekend in December - 10th week. My only concern is the week prior to opening is Thanksgiving break, so we will have our last rehearsal, a week off, one night of tech, 2 dress rehearsals, and tada! We're open. A little nerve racking.
The one good thing about this show is that we don't have rehearsal every day. Due to Heidi's schedule, we have monday and tuesday nights off. That is a HUGE help on the homework front! With all the work I have I pretty much run around this place like a chicken with its head cut off. Without those 2 extra evenings free, I would probably be crying in a corner...
That's about it for now... I have to go get my laundry, and work on my drafting. I'll try to do it all fast. Then I can put some pictures up! :)