Empty spaces, again

I meant to post this set last week … or during the weekend, but I’ve had a lot on my mind and editing the images took three and a half forevers. These photos are from the 23rd, during the two-hour break (1:00-3:00) we get in the monograph course.

You can count on the Arts & Communications building to be very empty at noon on Saturdays. It’s lunchtime, and all the offices in it are closed for the rest of the day. Most classrooms remain unlocked, be it for afternoon classes or waiting to be cleaned. Good place to sit around when one is looking to be alone … or to take a nap.

Think of this one as a follow-up to that other post with a similar name … a sequel with more art direction than writing. This one could have been split into two parts, which would’ve made my job much easier, but there just isn’t much to say about the photos and time has become somewhat critical with college-related work. So, best to throw this all in now, once and for all.

It seems that I’ll be working alone on my monograph thing, and I won’t be able to reuse that work that I did for Graphic Design 6 (and part of 7), meaning that I’ve got until the 10th –yes, next week– to figure out what I’ll be doing as a final project and write up a proposal for it. I better work, and work fast.

All right, those are all from the break. These two are from the class. No one seemed to mind my fiddling with the camera, but there also wasn’t much to capture.

So, that’s it for this set. It was meant to be published earlier, but there was an issue with WordPress that kept me from completing the post.

This is the last big set of college photos, and perhaps the last set done with this camera. It has become a bit too quirky, the limited control is a tad frustrating and the results fail to impress. Besides, I’ve photographed most of what’s interesting about my surroundings. Maybe if I get a much better camera in the future … but, for now, I’ll settle for writing and throwing in the occasional (old) photo or two. I do need to concentrate on college work –this is the last leg of that race, after all–, so posts might become scarce.

Thanks for looking, reader … watcher?

Said and done

Another week comes to an end. With it, go a handful of days of doing nothing that could qualify as productive right now, but we’ll have to see if, in the long run, there is some benefit.

Said

I did say that this was all part of one humongous post that had to be split in two. I just won’t know whether the split was worth it as I just notice these things as I go, and I really didn’t have any of this written down. Whoops.

College work, while minimal, invades my mind in the same way, gnawing happily at the part that handles patience and calmness. After handling the first assignment last week, I tried to get others in the group to work on the following one. I rested easy for the first few days of this week, but then realized that no work had been done by others, so I took the reins once again, assigning things and telling people to wake up and smell the deadline. It’s a group of four, doing work that one person could easily handle. But, sometimes, we think that an assignment is so unbelievably easy that we might as well do it in the last minute. No, no, no. I just don’t like that. After much prodding at the other three, and doing quite a bit of work on my own, the work is almost done and my mind is more at ease.

My being vocal about Harold Priego’s distasteful comic from the 19th got this blog quite a few more views than I thought. Quite a few visitors –though not necessarily readers– stopped by thanks to my commenting on its blog, and my speaking of the issue. I should do that more often … commenting, I mean. Mr. Priego has since published a commentary on his opinion about same-sex marriage, and today’s daily strip sees his character Diógenes showing his frustration at the response he got for a subject he touched once (and in a very inappropriate way). Best not go there again, sir. Ever.

Done

As I mentioned above, I spent most of last week on one small college assignment. The other three contributed with findings, and I gave the presentation with one of them. It turned out well, I think. I wrote in the previous post that I stayed in college during the class break. I didn’t feel well, and the two hours between one half of the class and the other wouldn’t be enough for me to go home, eat something, rest and then go back. So, it was nearly two hours of sitting on a bench, waiting for class to resume.

Earlier this week, I received an e-mail from the credit company, the one that’s allowing me to go to college without much hassle (yeah, right). The e-mail said that my check was ready. Check? What check? I know that I had filled a form requesting the release of a certain amount of money, but it was the first time that I’d handled the whole credit thing, instead of my father, who had also been wondering what the check thing was about.

I went to pay a visit to the credit company the next day. I had to wait a minute or two, sitting in front of the desk of one of the ladies who helped me with that time-limit issue. I was handed a check by this other lady at the next desk. The amount is equivalent to a few hundred U.S. dollars, but it’s the most I’ve ever had.

I still wasn’t sure about where this money came from, so I wanted to ask around. Before that, there was this other thing that I thought I’d solve, taking advantage of my being there. In order to get my college ID, I need to present the receipt that shows that I paid for the right to get that ID. I gave that receipt while filling the form I mentioned above. So, I went to the second floor and talked to the other lady who helped me with the limit issue, who immediately recognized me and asked if everything had gone well. After explaining my problem, she made a call, and all I had to do was go back to the first floor and wait for a big folder with a bunch of papers in it. This was my file. The receipt was right there, but it seems that they must keep the original one, so all they gave me was a copy. There are five days in which I can get the ID, so I’ll try to go on the first one and see if the copy works. If not, I’ll have to bother them again or just go through this final term without a valid identification.

After getting the copy –well, copies, because the first one came out too bright, but I still kept it– I went to ask about the check. The lady told me that I could use the money to pay for my monograph-related expenses. It seems that the amount in this check represents what remains of the loan I’m getting from them. I could have cashed it right away at a nearby bank, but I was on foot, and the chances of rain were too high. Maybe later.

In other news, I worked out a bit last Friday. Not the best day for doing so, given eight-hour stay for a six-hour class that I have on Saturdays. I felt sore for the few days that followed, but I gave it another try on Monday. This time, though, I decided against the full-body workout from Friday and instead settled for focusing on different parts each day. Oh, and I’m stealing borrowing my brother’s whey protein. I’ll make up for it if I get a job.

This whole working-out thing went well the first three days of the week, but yesterday was a holiday –the Virgin of Something-or-other–, so everyone stayed at home and I couldn’t have some alone time for my workout. Today, I also couldn’t do anything because there’s that assignment for tomorrow and my sister called from work and asked told me that I would join my brother in picking up my baby nephew from school. I was very, very annoyed by this because, not only did I have to put everything on hold, but I hate it when people plan things for me or get me involved in things when I don’t want to.

The school is close to college, which is close to home, but the car traffic is incredible. I can’t believe that people have to endure it every day. That’s some patience my brother has. Now, while I thought that I would only have to watch my nephew for a few minutes until my sister got home, more than two hours went by, and I nearly fell asleep watching Rolie Polie Olie: The Baby Bot Chase. Not that it was bad, and I like the animation in it, but I can only lie down on a bed –we were in my parents’ bedroom– for so long before falling asleep.

Eventually, I figured that the baby wouldn’t try to destroy the universe sitting on his stroller, so I went to the living room to get an update on the assignment (still almost finished) and to finish this post before I forget about everything. My eyes are still trying to shut down, but that assignment needs to be done, and I guess I’ll have to encourage the group to start working sometime before the first half of the week flies by. It will be better for everyone, especially when we start working on the monograph, which is something apart from these two courses we’re taking.

So, that’s pretty much the gist of the last two weeks. Only took me a couple thousand words … and a few hundred after that.

Where are my awards?

Seen and heard

So much time this past week, and so few posts. I guess I could write one post per week, with whatever is new, but I’d have to dig deep and think hard … or dig hard and think deep, to gather enough events to fill the void … of the post editor. I have enough for today.

Seen

Very few familiar faces in college at this point. Yes, yes, it’s a Saturday class. I know, I know, it’s the very last term, but … it seems as though most people I knew hate having to go to class on weekends –which is justified–, or they have graduated, or they’ve still got a few classes to take because they also have jobs. I guess I’ll settle for a combination of all those reasons.

During the class break on Saturday, I spent most of the time sitting on a bench on the second floor of the Arts building. Apparently, you can always count on it being mostly empty on weekends, or at least in the 1:00-3:00 period. I was staring at what seemed to be the perfect quiet moment for me: it was cloudy, raining for a few minutes at a time, rather deserted because the Arts building was empty and the one in front of me only had a few classrooms occupied. The moment didn’t last long, as the clouds went away, revealing the sun.

As I had found myself without my moment, I walked around the second and third floors of the building, looking at the empty classrooms, and even walking into some of them. I like walking around empty places, and I seem to have taken a class in nearly every classroom in the building. Had I brought the camera with me, there would be more to show of that emptiness, the sun going through the windows, the silence. Oh, well. There’s always next Saturday.

On the second part of class, our made us watch a French movie called 99 Francs, about the excess everything of the advertising world. I thought it was quite good, but the subtitles were screwy and the teachers skipped a couple of “inappropriate” scenes, meaning that I’ll have to find the movie and watch it again to make full sense of it. It saddened me to learn that one of its lead actors, Jocelyn Quivrin, died in a car crash just last year. Feels strange to watch a movie and knowing that one of its leads died young, and it’s even worse when that happens not long after the film’s release. Ruins things a bit for me.

A few nights ago, while doing my usual night-thinking, I looked out the balcony door. It’s a set of sliding glass doors, and it’s possible to look outside without being noticed, as long as the lights are off. As I spied, I saw a group of young folk coming out of the house right in front. They had been partying, apparently. A girl had to be held up by two friends because she drank a bit too much. A guy got very agitated and was held against a wall at one point, to prevent a fight. Another guy thought it would be good to leave some bottles of rum on our side of the street, right where they’re working on the electronic gate … and not far from the garbage containers. Eventually, they –seemed to be about ten of them– managed to get into a small SUV and drive off. I hope they had a designated driver, even if the streets are very empty at three in the morning.

It seems that Harold Priego, a popular cartoonist who has increasingly gained fame with his one-panel daily comic, Boquechivo, is looking to lose a few thousand fans. I was appalled to read today’s comic. After being asked on his thought about same-sex marriage, the character Diógenes, often the voice of reason, uses the slippery slope fallacy, saying that making same-sex unions legal would lead to allowing marriages to other things (dead people, animals, etc.). I respect his opinion on the issue, but he chose the worst way to express it, and only ended up displaying his ignorance and turning his most well-known character into a homophobe, as he is. If you know Spanish, you can see the comic here (link is now broken). Many of the comments on that page support him, some using cherry-picked bible quotes, while others –myself included– expressed disappointment at Mr. Priego’s ignorance. I’ve greatly lost respect for that man.

Heard

As I sat on the bench, last Saturday, enjoying that perfect quiet moment, I realized that it wasn’t just about it being cloudy or mostly devoid of students. That brief moment wouldn’t have been so great if I didn’t hear the sound of leaves being rustled by the wind. I think I may have closed my eyes for a bit, and not just because I felt sleepy and weak. Had someone walked up to me and asked if I was sleeping, I’d have told that person that I just didn’t need my eyes for that moment.

My baby nephew’s speech is evolving, as if he were gaining experience points. It’s not quite there yet, as he still can’t make much sense, but more syllables are in use now.

Our dogs just bark their way through life. My father is supervising the installation of the electronic gate and, when he doesn’t have to go outside, one of the workers will come by, ringing the bell or standing at the balcony, causing the dogs to act all … dog-like. At one point, Kondoleza, the biggest, fastest and meanest of the four, managed to go out on the parking lot –partly mea culpa, I have to admit– and was barking all around at one of the workers, who was trying to kick her and hit her with a wrench. He didn’t succeed and, after much running around, I managed to get her back inside. Now, we keep her away from the entrance door for as long as possible.

There’s this incessant screeching sound in my head that … oh, look what happened. This post is quite long already, and I’m not even finished writing. It’s best that I stop here and make the award-winning sequel later in the week.

Did you read all this? It probably takes less time to click on that SocialVibe widget on the right, you know. Prove me wrong.

Aftershock

We interrupt the irregular schedule of nothingness to bring you a special report.

Yesterday, on the 12th of January, a magnitude-7 earthquake occurred in the neighboring nation of Haiti. The catastrophic event was centered in Port-au-Prince, the nation’s capital. It was followed by aftershocks, all of them between magnitudes 5.0 and 5.9 and tremors were felt all throughout the island of Hispaniola, including the Dominican Republic’s capital of Santo Domingo.

With Haiti being one of the poorest countries in the world –ranking at 149 of 182 countries on the Human Development Index–, it should come as no surprise that the earthquake and its aftershocks have caused severe damage in Port-au-Prince, as well as the loss of numerous lives.

Casualties are estimated in the hundreds of thousands, while the search for victims continues. As the earthquake happened late in the day, rescue efforts took place throughout the night. The tremors were not only enough to damage or completely bring down houses and buildings in the poorer areas, but they were strong enough to destroy the National Palace and cause significant damage to several government buildings. Haitian President René Préval has been relocated following the destruction of his residence.

International response has been overwhelming, with rescue teams being sent from all over the world, along with medical supplies and food for the displaced. Social services such as Twitter and Facebook have proven to be extremely useful in providing real-time updates from those affected in any way, and allowing the exchange of information to/from those who have friends and relatives in Haiti.

You can help, too! Nick Zantop currently maintains an updated list of various sites from which you can donate. You can see the list here, constantly updated.

If you’re in the U.S., you can easily donate $10 by text-messaging HAITI to 90999. The amount will be charged from your cellphone bill and go directly to the Red Cross’ relief fund. You can also donate $5 by sending YELE to 501501 and the amount will be given, in the same way, to Yéle Haiti’s Earthquake Fund. Whether or not these two numbers work by dialing from outside the States is currently beyond me.

Boston.com’s Alan Taylor is also constantly  updating an image gallery with photos and video screengrabs from Haiti on The Big Picture. Note that some of the images might be too graphic for certain people.

For more technical information and statistics, there’s an up-to-date Wikipedia page on the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

We now return to the irregular postings of nothingness, hoping that this is the only significant display of nature’s rage for the entire freaking decade. One can hope, right?

Worth mentioning

Not actual post in the sense of being one that contains thousands of words, as mine tend to be. Just thought it was worth mentioning that today marks the third anniversary of my very first blog post. Will I see a fourth anniversary? A fifth? A tenth?

Anyway, reader, have some color:

Now, scram. There are real posts out there for you to look at.