The College Short Term

My college was and is on a 4-1-4 semester system, going four months, one month, then four months. The one month is in January where we students would take one course for the month for several hours a day. I loved the Short Term because that's when the really cool classes would come up, a chance to step outside your major and explore new things. One year I took "Science & Fiction," where we read and discussed fictional sciences, like phrenology, and also read science fiction novels and watched movies, seeing the evolution of science fiction and how some fictionalized science at the time eventually became reality. My very favorite was "Humor Writing," where we learned to write jokes, cartoon gags, situational comedy, stand-up, etc. Don't be fooled, trying to be funny on command was hard.

martini_tim reminded me yesterday how much I loved college. so on a lark, I checked my college's current short term catalog and found the following gems I would love to take. I put the descriptions behind the cuts to save space on everyone's pages.

( Computer to Paint )

( Bring Out Your Dead! )

( The Geometry, Art, and History of Quilts )

Found Money Total and Flurries

I took the day off. It's not the snow I fear so much as the hideous traffic I'll encounter on the way home today. I have a lot of comp time that needs to be used before I lose it, so today sounded like a good day to do that.

Around this time last year, I started my Found Money project, collecting money that I found on the street, in the coin slots of vending machines, etc., just to see how much I could accumulate in the course of a year. I even included any foreign currency I found here (mostly Canadian) and abroad (Euros and Danish Kroners).

The grand total for 2009: $3.17, mostly pennies.

I'll likely continue to do it, though I don't think it'll make me rich.

Photos and Toons

Here is some photos and toons since my birthday.

These are two birthday toons drawn by online buddies. The first is an Otteresque cartoon of Grizzly done by the very sweet designerotter. I adore this as it's both cute and hot at the same time. I envy his skills. The detail in the uniform, the colors used, everything is perfect. Click the image for a larger version :)

The next is a toon of me done by fuzzbelly from a photo of myself. He's doing 365 bear drawings and I'm #5. I've never actually seen a cartoon of me that I didn't draw myself. I feel pretty honored here and I think it's a fantastic likeness. Click the image for the larger version.


I really didn't spread the word around my office that Tuesday was my birthday. I have been very busy lately and trying to get a lot done. My coworkers were meeting my predecessor Charlie and his wife for lunch and I begged off to get some stuff done. A coworker took this photo of the now-retired Charlie because she couldn't get over his beard being so long. I had her send it to me. I wish I had gone now. I think the longer beard looks great on him and I wish mine could grow that thick.

Looking outside, it looks like I made the right call skipping work. The snow seems to have fallen earlier than predicted. Still, before it got too rough out, I headed out to get my hair cut.

It really isn't until I get a haircut that the gray and silver hairs on my head stand out. I can hold the tufts of hair that fall and see that they really are becoming more plentiful. I'm not sad about it or anything. It's just the way things are and it seems to blend well with the dark hair. I only hope I look half as good as Charlie does when I retire and can begin my career as a daddybear model *wink*.