The Silence Before The Storm

Unbelievable. It's almost surreal how fast this semester has gone by, let alone the entire school year. I guess it's because I'm getting closer and closer to graduating. Of course, I'm not particularly excited to be done here, as I'm actually thinking of staying here and getting another degree, but who knows. Also, I can't say that I'm really happy with my performance during my time here. Almost feels like a waste, except for last year when I actually did make quite a push to finish strong and I did just that.

Now, It's that time again. It's dead week here at ISU and everyone is crunching to make a last final effort to make the best of this semester. I, on the other hand, am probably not making as much of an effort right now. I have to say, right now is NOT the perfect to be hung up on World of Warcraft. It's already Wednesday and I promised myself that I would start at the beginning of the week to really push for finals. So far, I haven't studied any of my art history, the class I need to do the best on out of all my other classes. Also, I'm like about 2 assignments behind on my 3D animation class, which should be the one I would do the best on because that is my intended focus (go figure).

What happened?

It's like all of a sudden I got really lazy and am falling behind on a lot of things, and I'm more concerned on what is socially buzzing and video games. I really don't understand myself sometimes. It's as if I'm wanting to fail in life. It may also be because it's only a week and half away from summer break, which I should be thinking really hard about because I may need to make some major changes and work over the "break". Heh, this summer may not even really be a break for me. But then again, I have put all this pressure on myself. The situation that really concerns me is the effort of my parents for me to make it in life. Here they are paying all this money right out of their pocket for me to the have the chance of a lifetime they never received. I'm wasting it away playing video games and being lazy all day. I've had to ask for rent money for a couple of months because I'm just spending all the money I earn from work on movies, video games, and other items I really don't need.

It's very strange how I work and I don't think I'll ever fully understand myself. Not in this life anyways.

"Life is a lesson, you'll learn it when you're through" - from "Take A Look Around" by Limp Bizkit.

I have to admit, it's not like my parents really did any better. My mom is probably my main source of encouragement to really strive to do better. She's always pushing me to do my best and I feel like I'm letting her down.

My dad.....well, let's just say I'm not on good terms with him right now. I'm not really sure what he thinks of me, but really at this point I don't really care. I always feel like I have something to prove to him because he's really a skeptic. He's had his moments where he actually does seem to be encouraging me and we actually have a good time, but those times are rare and far between. Not to put him on the spot, but he's even been abusive at times, but I really don't want to talk about that.

*sigh*

So much to think about in such little time. It really doesn't make for happy blogs. As this final week of studying before finals winds down, I really need to get my shit together before it's too late and I get hit hardcore.

For all those who are taking finals either this week or next week (like me),

Good Luck :)

God knows I'm going to need all the help I can get.

Sanctuary (Part II)

So the trip to Minneapolis was definitely a worthy experience for any up and coming artist, especially for people like me who haven't been exposed to the true art scene. It was great seeing all those works from people who were in similar or extraordinary positions from my own.

My own art really stems from the works of others.

I love viewing my peers' works of art because we are of the same generation and are experiening similar events in our lives. It's amazing to see some of the draftsmenship of some of my peers; I'm just blown away at times, how far we've come in the evolution of art. And so many have found their place in this world. Of course, I have yet to discover where I exactly fit in this world, but for some reason, I kind of like the feeling of ambiguity and flowing in and out of certain social rings in society today. There are so many different social groups and as scary as some might be, I want to experience them all. I guess the idea is to really try and put myself out there now. Before, I was comfortable where I was drawing the norm, with random characters that I would sketch, and in a sense I still do that from time to time. But with the latest development, I've discovered possibly a deeper connection to my artwork.

Enter Fort Minor.

I recently picked up Fort Minor's debut CD a week or so back. Although I was a little worried about Mike Shinoda leaving the group, he was there to inform all Linkin Park fans that it isn't true. Thank God, because to break up one of the greatest rock bands for all time would just be a crime.

Anyways, Fort Minor's sound is something pretty unique not only to the rap scene, but to just about anything I've really listened to in a while. Some tracks do considerably classify as rap, but some of the tracks had more to them than just a rap or rhyme.

"Kenji" - One of the most influential tracks I've listened to in a long time. I guess to break the track down a little, the subject of the track happens to be about the Japanese-American interment camps that were initiated during WWII, post the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese. This had a profound affect not only to the Japanese-Americans who dedicated themselves to a new culture and country, but also had a major effect on U.S. history. Problem was, no one would talk of it.

This is a problem we have. We tend to ignore the "smaller" details of war.

Although the Japanese-American interment movement is definintely not a small event, history seems to make small of it.

WE'VE BASICALLY MADE THE SAME MISTAKE THE NAZI'S DID TO THE JEWS.

For those who actually know me and what culture I was born into, you may ask, why am I making such a big deal out of this? I mean, I am Korean after all. The Koreans were victims of Japan's early tyranny during the World War's. Why express sympathy?

Because they were innocent. They are human too.

So with that said, I have actually dedicated my exhibition piece that will be finished in about 2 weeks for a student showing at the College of Design on 3rd floor. I will make sure to post it on here as well and hopefully my new website when that's finished.

Fin.

I guess before I am truly done with this post, I'd like to make not that the song "Sanctuary" by Utada Hikaru has been the song that has been stuck in my head for the past 2 weeks. It's a great song and I highly recommend it. In case you're wondering what it is from or where to seek the track, it's from the Kingdom Hearts 2 soundtrack, or Utada Hikaru's latest album. It's also kind of interesting how that song "Sanctuary" would come in at time like this, with me working on such an art piece. *shrug*

Check it out. Seriously.

Sanctuary (Part I)

I originally was going to post sometime last week, but couldn't because I would either forget or I would choose some poor times to start a blog entry, like right before work.

Last Thursday and Friday I participated in a great field trip to Minneapolis, MN. It was for my ARTIS 311 class, which is my Issues in Contemporary Art class. It was an interesting with some very cool artwork from some well known contemporary artists within the Minneapolis area and even nationally. Weak...

I'm not saying it was an interesting trip, but I guess it was the way in which we visited the area. I have to admit though, it was quite overwhelming seeing all that artwork being displayed seeing as we don't have an art scene like that here in Iowa. Also, there were some fun times on the bus ride to and from Minneapolis, as well as the night that we stayed in a Days Inn in downtown Minniapolis. I actually discovered that I was only a block or two away from where one of my friends was living.He lives in a large apartment complex that basically houses many U of M students. Of course, he happens to attend a technical institute, but still, a very nice place to live. The campus area of Minneapolis is amazing. It sprawls throughout the city, combining a campus atmosphere with the heart of the city.

There really isn't much else to the trip, other than actually meeting some more of my classmates. I have to admit, but I'm not much of an extrovert, but that is something I am trying to work on.

Heh, I have been watching a movie and writting in this blog as the same time. So, I've pretty lost concentration all the really deep thoughts I was going to explain, but I think I'll just save that for another time.