Feeling :  scared  Listening :  Monster Hospital - Metric  Reading :  Too freaked out to read!

OMG, today was the weirdest day ever… and it’s not even done yet!

Today, I was determined to finish as much of my Outlaw Genres project as I could. I want to start arranging it and finalizing everything. So I let my niece talk me into driving in the dirt to get to this mountain behind our community in order to photograph pride. I’ve never really driven in dirt before, but I was like, “There’s no way we’re getting all the way to the top in my car.” I drive a Nissan, mind you. So we parked it at the bottom and hiked up.

It’s the kind of place where degenerates hang out. Graffiti on the walls, broken bottles and beer cans strewn about, evidences of fires everywhere. It made me sad. I’m such a nature person. To see it misused in that way breaks my heart. I took as many photos as I could. I’ll post them on Heaven or Las Vegas soon. The view was beautiful from up there. You could see all of Vegas from that vantage point. We didn’t stay long. I didn’t want to.

I got the shot though! So that wasn’t too bad.

My Spidey sense told me to check my tires when I got home. There is now a screw permanently embedded in my rear passenger-side tire. :/ Luckily I work early tomorrow, so I’m gonna jet to a Discount Tires on my way to school to get it patched up.

Of course, my dad got suspicious when he saw all the dirt on my tires. I didn’t out and out tell him we went to the mountain. I don’t think he would have approved, particularly because I took my nieces with me. :/

“My 4×4 doesn’t even go in the dirt! *guffawguffaw*” he says.

I bite back the retort that he doesn’t even use his truck the way its meant to. I think the truck is more of a status symbol for my dad. He’s always loved trucks. But he’s so paranoid about it getting messed up, he keeps it on city streets. We keep telling him it’s no fun to have a truck and not do things to it. But he’s a stubborn one.

I know that taking my nieces was a v. bad idea, but it was a snap decision. I’ve always wanted to visit that mountain. Now that my curiosity is sated, I’m never bringing my car near it again! lawlz.

After we figured out the leak in my tire is slow and I could get it fixed in the next day or so without worries, I decide to film greed. I took some backstreets near work where I wanted to capture greed. I was minding my own business, trying to find a suitable place to stop to get the shot. This dude in a beat-up white truck stops in the middle of the road and honks at me!

I was like, “WTF? Stupid tourist.”

I kept driving and forgot about him, thinking he’d find his way around on his own. But I was wrong, oh so wrong. I kept driving trying to get closer to my idea of greed but not too close, and HE FOLLOWED ME.

I had stopped in a parking lot of a Motel 6 because I liked how grungy it looked and how the shot right there was perfect. I hear this honk behind me and it’s him! Shit, I didn’t even think I’d see him again. I thought he was a tourist and needed directions or something.

He cracks open his window and waves at me again. I’m like, “I’m not getting out of my car.” So I cracked open the window too.

“Sorry to bother you…”

Then he tries to tell me he fixes bumpers!

I dented my bumper quite awhile ago, but I never had the money to fix it. It doesn’t bother me, nor are my headlights affected, so I just leave it be. This is the second time someone has flagged me down trying to sell their auto body repair services. There is nothing more annoying to me than bothering me when I’m minding my own business. If I wanted to get it fixed, don’t you think I’d do my homework first? What makes these people think I’m gonna listen to their spiel and buy their services right then and there?? This economy makes sharks out of everybody!

Besides, I’m used to the dent now. I wouldn’t be able to tell my car from the others in the parking lot, ahahaha.

I think it’s a cosmic joke or something now, Christ almighty.

Anyways, I told him what I told the last guy. I don’t have any money. These dudes always get me when I’m between paydays, geez.

He says I should listen to him, but I tell him no more firmly.

Thankfully, he lets it go and drives off.

I wait a few minutes before I get out of the car. You can never be too paranoid.

Unfortunately, behind the lens, I don’t think the picture will work in that spot, so I keep driving. The second location I found just might work. But I’ll have to decide later. Little details change when you get home and download ‘em to your computer.

I’m so unsettled now. That’s why I’m blogging. I’m so weird.

But the rest of the photos I can film are self-portraits, so off I go.

?: “Has anyone tried to pitch and hustle you when you’re minding your own business?“

Feeling :  mellow  Listening :  True Faith - New Order  Reading :  Angela's Ashes, Sputnik Sweetheart, Hacienda caras

I was so excited to have a Saturday off, like a normal person. Was up pretty early so I could do everything I wanted to do.

I made breakfast. I actually had TIME to make and eat breakfast, haha.

The library was our first stop. I got “Das Boot” and “Threepenny Opera” from the international section DVDs. I brought my Nikon with me with the full intention to do some filming for Seven Sisters. We parked at Fashion Show, and met up with Corinne at the Wynn, where she personified patience for me. I wasn’t even gonna take her photo there, but she suggested it. I needed a busy place in order to take the photograph.

I also filmed kindness starring the girls. The rest of the photos for the project I can take by myself. Most of them are self-portraits. The others (gluttony and greed) need some more fleshing out, believe it or not. I’ve got a couple more weeks to do it. Hopefully the natural lighting in LV will be decent and the crappy weather won’t mess me up or anything.

We went to FAO Schwarz at Caesar’s Palace as a treat. N was such a nerd. We had just seen Big starring Tom Hanks on AMC this week. I was feeling a little nostalgic so we watched the whole thing. I was like, “Dude, we’ve got an FAO Schwarz at Caesar’s,” and she’s all, “What’s that?” Even though it was clearly on the screen and they were playing “Heart and Soul” and “Chopsticks” on the piano right then.

Then, as we weaved in and out amongst the crowd at Caesar’s, her sister explained to her that it was a toy store, and she goes, “It’s a TOY STORE?” lawlz. I love my nieces.

We were gonna go to the Bellagio for the botanical gardens and water show, but I think we were all tired from walking around. So we called it a day after noshing on some crappy McDonald’s. Went to Target for some art supplies for temperance, then rotisserie chicken from dinner.

It’s all coming together. It’s hard to contain my happiness. I still need to tune up the abstract, and get some reading done for my other classes too.

?: “Have you ever been a tourist in your own town?“

Feeling :  annoyed  Listening :  N/A  Reading :  A TON of books. :)

Happy birthday Corinne!

In case you didn’t know, I got back into fanlistings. I just opened 3: Victoria Asher, Ghosts, and Revolution in Me. I also just got approved for Stephen Campbell Moore, and I applied to adopt a few as well. I doubt I’ll get the adoptions, since I’m technically “new” to fanlistings. But let’s hope! *crosses fingers*

So what’s on my drama plate today? rofl.

I got a call this morning from the registrar’s office at school. “We got your fax and we need to refer your call to the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences to check on the status of your prerequisite block override forms for such and such classes.” They gave me a phone number to call, so I called it.

In case you were wondering, I managed to get off of financial hold, because I finished paying my fees for last semester with my last paycheck. \m/ I added two classes to my fall schedule: Outlaw Genres and US Foreign Relations I. I need 12 credits to be a full-time student, which would be 4 classes.

Since this is my first and last year at school, I decided I needed a little help financially and applied for FAFSA. I checked to see if my money had been awarded, but they’re saying I need to sign paperwork in order to determine my eligibility. No problem. Since I was financial hold for so long, they probably thought I wasn’t even gonna come back. And signing paperwork? Pfft. I’m a corporate drone; I know ALL about signing paperwork. rofl.

I only really need 3 more upper division English classes to finish on time. They just so happen to be offering them: Fundamentals of Business Writing and Comparative Literature (and Outlaw Genres). The system wouldn’t let me add them though. It said I didn’t meet the prerequisites. Bullcrap. I took the prereq class at another school under a different name, and ran into this problem last semester. So I filled out the paperwork and got the call from the office.

When I called the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the lady I spoke to (who needs to work on her customer service tone, geez) said that they were in the process of checking my paperwork and would have an answer for me by the end of the week.

I asked her why, since they processed my last prereq block override form in no time flat. She explained that they were moving the department to our shiny new Liberal Arts and Sciences building. That’s the reason why I have to wait until the end of this week to get confirmation on whether or not those classes can be added to my schedule.

This is SO unnerving. School starts at the end of the month already! But I just have to remind myself that a few days wait isn’t so bad. Ugh, ugh!

ETA (August 6): I logged into my Student Account just now… and they added the 2 classes I need! Yay! Now I have to hot foot it down to my financial aid office on my day off next week and sign whatever paperwork I need to sign so I can get some help ’cause ooh boy, I need it. They also processed the check I sent them for graduation in the spring too. I knew everything would work out! 1 more semester. Meep. I need Community-Based Learning Capstone, Historical Investigation and Senior Seminar. And French 4, but I’m taking that at another school. As soon as I use what I need for this semester, I’m gonna use whatever’s left over for French 4. YES. \m/

Today was a good day though. Me and my niece C picked up her friend N at noon or so, and we all went to do errands. N had to be home by 3, although we failed at that. If I had known the night before that N needed to be home by 3, we would have left much earlier. Anyways, they came with me to get my oil changed and my smog check done. Then we went to Caesar’s Palace to take pictures. We hit up FAO Schwarz and Niketown. That’s all we had time for.

I took my D40 with us, and the pictures came out so well! I’m not gonna post the ones I took with their faces in it, because that’s just wrong. Maybe their feet, but not their faces, rofl. I’ve uploaded the ones I took that they weren’t in to Heaven or Las Vegas. LOL, most of the pictures I took they were all up in ‘em so I don’t have a lot to upload.

I have so much to do tomorrow. It’s crazy. I better eat dinner and go to bed.

?: “Favourite cover song?”