Thankfully it was dry today.

Today I went to my painting class.  I was a little late because I didn't get up on time . . . it was one of those mornings where it took me 15 minutes just to get myself awake and out of bed.  Thankfully my teacher is chill (and thankfully I wasn't the only late one--lots of students here drift in late just like they do at CSULB).  This class for me follows such a weird pattern.  I feel like I'm fighting the paint and guessing at what I'm doing almost the whole class, and my painting always looks absolutely awful until the last 15 minutes or so when I somehow manage to pull it together and make it look like something.  Acrylics are super tough to work with . . . I chose them for this class because they're not noxious like oils, and they dry plastic, so they're essentially waterproof and flexible enough to roll up for when I have to transport them all back home at the end of the semester.  But boy, do they dry fast!  It's like a mental exercise just to figure out how to mix enough of the right color and get it on the paper before it all dries up.  Even the retardant that I mix into it doesn't always keep it wet long enough.  I've had trouble with color mixing too.  It's like the paint is controlling me, rather than the other way around.  Maybe by the end of the semester, I'll have finally begun to master acrylic . . . but I think I like oils a LOT better.

Thankfully it did not rain today, which made the walk to and from class much easier and more pleasant.  I like the rain, but it can be tough when you're carrying a bunch of school stuff and trying to juggle an umbrella (and keep all your stuff under the umbrella) at the same time!  I think my boots are finally dry after yesterday's downpour--I put them next to the heater last night to make sure all the dampness got out of them.

Didn't do much after class aside from running a couple of quick errands.  I decided to mail postcards and buy groceries today because I have a printmaking workshop all weekend.  This is a special class that runs one weekend of each month rather than meeting weekly.  This weekend we're meeting Friday,  Saturday and Sunday, so I will miss church, which is a bummer.  But the other weekends we meet only Friday and Saturday, which will be easier.  I think this class will be cool.  It's a mezzotint class, which will basically be more of what I'm doing in my other printmaking class but just with emphasis on a certain technique.  I liked the teacher a lot when we had orientation--she has a pretty smile and seems very nice.

At the grocery store I bought almonds (mandeln) and powdered sugar (puderzucker) so we can make MARZIPAN on Saturday night!  Indra found us a recipe, and Marni is going to contribute chocolate!!!!

Finally got around to listening to the rest of the songs from Needtobreathe's brand new album, Rivers in the Wasteland.  "Brother" is playing right now and it's making me smile!  I love it!

Been going to bed super late on a regular basis almost since I got here, but tonight I think I'll try to hit the sack at a reasonable hour.  I don't want to be late for class again, even if it's only by 10 minutes!  It's so much nicer to be able to walk to school at a relaxed pace and to not arrive all sweaty and out of breath!