I've been plodding along being a dedicated little student, working during the day rather than all night long, spending six out of seven days a week on schoolwork, and keeping a positive attitude toward it all (a complete turn around from past quarters). In all honesty, this is the least stressed I've been the entire time I've been taking classes at SCAD. In a moment of self-analysis, I decided that my brain must be making "oh well" chemicals to get me through to the end, because, trust me, this has not been a completely unfrustrating process. From somewhere in the depths of my patience levels I've managed to just say to myself, "Oh well, it's almost over. Just nod, smile, jump the hurdles, and keep going." And that's what I've been doing. Until this week's midterm review when I got stopped dead in my tracks.
First let me say that I am out of condition for pulling all-nighters. There once was a day when going 36, 42, and 48 hours straight was the norm. My internal clock had been reset to night shift work and staying up was no big deal. That was just this past fall and previous quarters when I was able to work myself to death (not that it was a good thing!!). Since coming back to school after winter break and having a drastic change in homework requirements (much less than ever before), I've made an effort to hit the hay by at least 12 or 1 am. So, when mid-term week rolled around and we had to present what we've been doing, my classmates and I spent 18 hours at school trying to get to a point we were happy with what we had to present all the while knowing that whatever we pinned up stood the chance of being changed. Let me tell you, I was dead after sitting on the same stool for that long. My old self was gone, daddy, gone and I wondered how I got through the past quarters. My brain must have been making other self-preservation survival chemicals back then. I like the "oh well" ones much better.
Getting ready for my mid-term review...
Unlike my other two thesis committee reviews given in winter quarter which both ended in accolades, this review did not go well at all. My committee chair was a no-show with no explanation, one member contradicted everything she'd told me in the past few weeks, and the last member focused on something not relevant to my project. After 45 minutes of taking left and right punches I left thinking "IT'S A DO OVER!!! CRAP! What am I going to do since I've got three weeks to wrap up the design part and present it for a final grade?" My classmate Ghazal's review was right after mine so I waited in the computer lab to hear the results of her meeting. She emerged over an hour later with red eyes and a completely dejected look on her face. It was a do over for her too. I got home around 9 that night, collected my thoughts, and emailed the chair of my committee to see if she could meet on Thursday or Friday since she skipped my review. My chair, the contradictory member and I met later the next day, and guess what? The chair made some constructive comments, liked most of it, overturned the direction the other committee members told me to take, and totally saved my butt!!!! Funny how things can turn on a dime around here.
Ghazal, on the other hand, was still stuck in Do Over Mode so we used our regular weekly Thursday Night Potluck Club time to hold a design intervention. I made dinner, Ghazal brought dessert, and Ran brought her ideas. We put a banquet table in my living room and set up design central for Ghazal to work and bounce ideas off Ran and me while we all worked on our respective projects. Teamwork!
Truffle cake, strawberries and orange slices. Design student brain food!!
Mad designer at work on a social center for scientists.
The magical book...Pattern Language has all the answers for design conundrums.
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