ARGH I H8 U

I just opened the box and these are not oil pastels.

They are chalk pastels.

I hate chalk pastels. I didn't even think they made them anymore.

Oh well. I will do this in chalk pastel but man I am gonna hate washing my hands every five minutes

ARGHHHHHHHHH

SKate challenge #1 - Done!

Got my GRE book on Wednesday - finally got some photo evidence today.


Now I just have to actually read it. And figure out what to do about grad school. Ugh. This is the challenge that keeps on challenging.

I am a b*tch slapped potential grad student.

So here's where I stand on my January challenge:

1) I have ordered my GRE prep book, and it will be here by Saturday (hurray! I slip in under the line!)

2) No colleges in my general area offer a master's program in Economics.

The closest place that offers my preferred program is Gainesville (about 60-80 minutes drive), but they have this hideous, ivory-tower prep program that feeds straight into a PhD. and accepts only about one person a year. I don't have the time, the motivation, or the GPA for that. My other option for an advanced Economics degree is University of Central Florida (two and a half hours drive). Their program actually looks great, but seriously - five hours in the car? If I feel I can't simultaneously hold down a full time job and take care of my daughter, how the heck can I justify that?

So it's back to the drawing board for me. Right now the plan is to pass the GRE, and then I'll either find another subject to study or try to work something out with UCF. Either way, I'll make it happen. It will just take some evil plotting.

I am a frustrated artist.

You can read the above in your preferred hilarious accent. Bonjour c'est moi Inky with the update to my challenge. It's coming down to the line, isn't it?

Being unemployed has its perks. The main perk is that I don't have to go to work, but really, I am able to draw as much as I like and not worry about the fact that it might be five in the morning. Therefore, I have completed a concept sketch for my finished project. Hooray! The hardest part is over.

However, even though I have many scraps from my very short art school education, I don't think I have the right paper for these darn oil pastels. I think I only have smooth Bristol board. UNSUITABLE. However, now that I am looking up oil pastels on the Internet, it seems that I can use watercolor paper. Who knew? Not I. So perhaps somewhere amidst the remnants of my semester at Ringling, there is some watercolor paper, and I will not have to spend my money on yet another pad of expensive art paper.

Also, while I am speaking of looking up oil pastels on the internet, I never really thought of the act of using them being called 'painting'. Oh well. I guess I have always thought of it as a high-class crayon.

That's it for me. I hope there is some watercolor paper lurking in my room. Hope to post again soon with the finished results!

Challenge # 1: SKate

I have a feeling that your end product is going to be much more decorative than mine, Inky (for anyone who doesn't already know, Inky is an incredible artist).

My January project is a lot simpler and less labor-intensive: I'm going to order a GRE prep book and finally check the prerequisites for a Master's degree in Economics. Since I've been talking about grad school since Bean* was about five months old, this is a long overdue step. But better late than never!

I'll report back in a couple of days with my findings. Since I already have a BA in Econ, I'm hoping that I won't have to take too many crappy courses to qualify for an advanced program. However, I did get that sucker through the business school at my college, and I'll have to go through Arts and Science for the master's program. This could signify the coming of my doom.

Wish me luck!

*= my daughter, who was born March of last year. This is just a nickname, I did not christen my daughter after the common word for a legume.

Challenge #1: Inky

Bonjour c'est moi INKY with my January Challenge.

I have very many things that I have been putting off doing. As of this moment, I am putting off at least ten things, and very possibly even more than ten things. It is of my opinion that I have inherited my procrastinating genes from my parents. One day I will perhaps go out and get some new genes (designer ones, preferably), but this would also involve Doing and therefore I am putting it off. So, as you can tell, choosing something To Do from my enormous list of Yet To Do is a bit daunting.

However, I am up for a challenge, so my January To-Do Challenge is to use my brand-new, still-in-their-box oil pastels that I bought months ago and finish a piece of artwork. I can't guarantee that I will not finish it on the last day of the month, but it is my challenge and I choose to accept it!

Let's get this party started!

Welcome to the world of Inky and SKate. It may seem a little pink here, but don't worry - you'll soon come to love it as much as we do.

A little background on us: Inky and I have been best friends since we met in first grade (Inky always says it was third grade, but I have photo evidence of her attending my sixth birthday party, so I hold fast to my claim). We're pretty different people, and always have been, but we have some great stuff in common, first and foremost being wit and style. And now we bring that wit and style to you.

Since every blog needs a focus, we've decided to build ours around a series of monthly challenges. We'll each post weekly to report any progress we've made on this month's task, or to just bitch about random stuff we hate (and we hate lots of stuff). This may change over time, but for right now it will give us a little structure and purpose.

My idea is that we alternate who throws down the gauntlet each month, so that one of us is always surprised. Since I got to write the first full post, I'll start.

January Challenge: Do something you've been putting off for a while.

Since we only have ten days to finish this one, make it something fairly small or easy (especially since you have to come up with February's challenge, too, Inky).

I'm off to scour my to-do list for my task. Bring yours on, Inky!

Whoo-hoo!!!!