So I have obviously been very busy. I was supposed to post this blog on Saturday, but due to crazy busy-ness, I have not. So I am writing it now, while I have the time.
I’ll start with classes.
Math 342: Linear Algebra II
Its a continuation of linear algebra I, and therefore sucks by default. To its credit, however, the teacher this term is far better (and seems to know what he is talking about this time). We are still in the reviewing stage of things, but looking through the book, linear algebra seems to get more interesting when it starts getting into real world applications. In a similar way that precalculus is terrible with all those proofs, because they become necessary later. Doesn’t mean I have to like it though…
Math 281: Several Variable Calculus
I have yet to see the calculus bit yet, so far it is more like vector studies with a little bit of matrix algebra thrown in there, but I expect we will get there soon enough. I did read through this book a little bit, and by the time you get to the 5th chapter, it is completely beyond the scope of my knowledge (not just in terminology, but in ideas) so I am really looking forward to getting taught something I know absolutely nothing about. The teacher is kind of hilarious. He reminds me of Dr. Strangelove (not just because he is polish and his accent matches, but in his mannerisms – and I don’t mean he has a Nazi hand – but every time he says the word “computer” I can’t help but giggle a little), and all jokes aside, he is really good. He has a sense of humor, and likes to tell math jokes, and since he is in a room full of math nerds, the humor is not lost on us. The thing I like most about him is that when he is asked a question, he answers it very precisely, unlike the teachers I had last term, who all had a round-a-bout way of answering anything, usually leaving all of the students even more confused than before.
Chem 335: Organic Chemistry II
We are still in the reviewing stage of this class as well, although we have gone more in depth into stereochemistry (now we know a little about stereotopic analysis, although we have no idea what the application of that one is…). I don’t know anything about what we are going to get into this term, but I know that whatever it is, we will be on top of it, for sure. The teacher this year kicks some serious ass. He is competent (and actually does O-chem for a living…) and really knows his stuff. He is organized, good at controlling the class, which is impressive, given that there are more than 400 of us, and I really like learning from him. That’s really all I have on this class so far.
Linguistics 211: Languages of the World
Taught by Prof. Scott DeLancey, the man who has the ability to make anything interesting (and who I had last term for Ling 301), is teaching this one, and he is living up to his name. We started off with a discussion of language, and what it is, and what makes a language dead, and that there are actually two different definitions. These definitions refer to Latin or Visigoth. They are both “dead,” but there are thousands of people who speak latin all around the world. Latin never disappeared. There was never a time when Latin wasn’t spoken. The difference between Latin and English is that nobody has Latin as their native language anymore. People learn it from books. That is the definition of “dead” we use in this class (which makes Visigoth dead as well, because since nobody knows it, nobody has it for their native language).
This class is cool because, first of all, we cover every single language class (note I did not say every language, given there are between four and six thousand of them in the world) from Belorussian all the way to Kuot and over to Klamath and we have to remember where all of these languages are spoken. The other reason the class is cool is that there is no homework. 30% of our grades are the two midterms, which are just match the language with the country/area (15% each), 30% a short paper we write due in three weeks on some language in the world, and a second, much longer paper, on a different language that is our final (40% for those who are not keeping track) and that’s it. So this is my first class where I have to actually write anything, and today is the day I get to thank Ms. Toews and Ms. Harings so very very much for teaching me ever since 8th grade and putting up with my crap, I know there was a lot of it. I learned well, and I am helping all of my friends with their essays for WR 121 (which I don’t have to take) and laughing (silently) at the grammar mistakes that got pounded out of me in 9th grade.
ENOUGH OF CLASSES!
Circus update:
I am now working two days a week at Bounce Gymnastics, continuing to teach silks and trapeze, but now I have added acrobalance, juggling, and hand-balancing to the list of things I teach (not that I am an expert in hand-balancing, but I am better than all of the students, and I am better than Francia – so I get to teach it). I really do get to work with the most amazing people there. My co-workers are amazing people and artists, but it is the students whom I love most. They are just so full of positive energy and they want to learn so much, and it really pushes me to work harder for them. In addition, those who really want to learn – I push them harder as well. I ask more of them than others would, because they can take it, and they keep showing me that they can take more. Amazing little kids, I swear.
On my circus training, I am still attending juggling club here on campus, and working on new things. I am getting to do some pretty awesome passing patterns with the people here, but I am also learning (teaching myself) to juggling ping pong balls with my mouth, I can do two without hands, and 4 or 5 with my hands and mouth (depending on the day). I also found a new acro partner, named Isha (pronounces ee-SHA, emphasis on the last “a”) and she is perfect. She is just so tiny and light and flexible and wants to learn so much. I am enjoying learning to base, and she is learning to fly. I also get to work on some flying with a man named Seager, so I am getting everything I need.
Plans for circus:
Dave Kha sent me an e-mail yesterday telling me that a woman in florida (who she is working for, I don’t know) is looking for contact jugglers for a commercial. I sent her an e-mail telling her that Dave told me to contact her, and that I am making a demo video for contact juggling that I can send within the next week (I am making the video for other reasons, which I will explain next). This commercial will be shot in Orlando, FL, and if they decide to use me, they will fly me down there for a weekend and pay me to do it! I don’t know if I will get the gig, but I’ve got a shot, at least. So that’s cool.
The reason I am making the demo video is for something else entirely. I am making a full video including aerial silks and trapeze, juggling (balls, clubs, and rings), poi, and contact juggling. Emilie has found a circus school in Philadelphia that trains professionally, and if I want to work for Cirque, that is the place to go. We plan on going there for a month together over the summer and doing work-trade for them. Taking classes and teaching classes – the demo video is to show them what I can do for them – it’s going to be a showcase of the best that I’ve got. So I’ll be filming and editing over the next week, and you should look for it on youtube in about two weeks or so (also, if you go to www.youtube.com/derachne919 and click on the “favorites” tab, the first one is “ElementalFirstNight” and that is a video of me on stilts doing fire breathing for New Year’s Eve at the Tucson Museum of Art).
PLUS! With all these amazing jugglers (and acro people and contact staff masters and blah blah blah) there are a lot of people who are interested in forming a professional company, and one who is interested in helping me lead it (plus, he wants me to help teach acro at lane community college). The future is literally wide open, and I couldn’t be more excited.
I still have the greatest girlfriend, and the best friends anyone could hope for, and life is pretty much as good as it can get at the moment. It is cold and rainy (although we had nice sun showers today) and I love every day of it (except when there is a fire alarm pulled and we have to go stand in the rain for a half hour at 11 at night, that kinda sucks).
Questions? E-mail em!
