I think the video department has officially given up its Conversion Quest™. The realization has finally sunk in that it'll never happen. I think it may have really hit them when I mentioned that my audio teacher threatened to strangle me if he ever found out I was switching. Or it might've been that time Tuesday... I was trying to video-tape an interview and I had just calibrated my focus and gotten my zoom where I wanted it when the bloody thing went into standby. And the only way to get it out of standby is to turn the camera off and then back on, which effectively wipes out all of your settings and you have to start from scratch. So in a highly irritated voice I declared, "You know, I've never had an audio console just shut off on me."

Kyuui: 8; Video Dept: 1

[For those keeping score, yes I had 6 at last count. But I gave myself two for that one.]

The fact that I'm taking three audio related classes next semester (ProTools®, Music Theory, and History of Rock'n'Roll) and no video classes probably also helped.

In video lab yesterday morning, my video teacher finally conceded. He didn't actually say it straight out, but it could be inferred. They have accepted that my will is stronger than theirs.

Actually, it's really got nothing to do with will-power, it has to do with the fact that I still hate TV.

So going back a couple paragraphs, I signed up for next semester's classes on Monday. Three of those I've already mentioned. The other two are International Marketing (which I really didn't want but I needed another business class and that was the only one that fit into my schedule) and Lit and Research, which could go either way - good or bad. I'll [try to] keep you posted.

I'm really looking forward to the ProTools class. This is the first semester that I haven't had an audio class since coming up here, and I have sorely missed it. But that means I need to convince my audio teacher to have an Audio 6 and 7 by next fall so I can have some classes during my senior year.

There's probably as much chance of that as there is of us getting that $300,000 SSL console that I drooled over at AES.

I was working down at the Comm Center tonight for my buddy, whose band has a gig down... somewhere. South. Anyway, I was standing outside eating a candy bar (which turned out to be all I had for dinner tonight; I was working on a video project from 1:00 to 4:15 and working in the equipment room from 4:15 to 6:00 and then monitoring from 6:00 to 11:00) when the dean stopped by because he had forgotten something and needed to get it. He looked at me and said, "Do you ever go home?"

"No."

I have had freshmen whose names I do not know ask me where I hide the bed at the school. Actually, the aforementioned buddy is getting an office when they build the addition on the school, and he promised to let me sleep in it. Now if I can just convince them to hook up a shower in one of the bathrooms, I'll be able to stay there all the time except to eat.

But apparently they're not sick of me yet (which I really can't believe, because I would be sick of me if I wasn't me). Last night while we were on break during Business of Music, my BoM teacher was talking to my audio teacher. He glanced at me and said, "So, should I fail her?" To which my audio teacher replied, "No, I've got her for a couple more classes, I'll fail in one of mine."

I just looked at the two of them and said "Boy, do I feel loved." If they were bound and determined to keep me from graduating, I just wish they'd find a way to do it that didn't affect my GPA.

I got my Best Buy bonus check today, and I'm torn between paying the full balance of the school New York trip in April and buying CDs. I've been arguing with myself about it all day.

"You're working for Aforementioned Buddy every Friday night this month, so you'll have a fair amount of extra money to buy CDs later. You should pay off the New York trip while you've got the money."

"Exactly. Plenty of extra money to pay for New York later; buy the CDs. Why pay for a New York trip that happens in April when you can have CDs now."

"Don't forget you'll have to save some money for food in New York, unless you plan on starving for the weekend."

"Eating is overrated. And besides, you now have enough money in the bank for your TelePaul [a guitar that a friend of mine is building for me] but if you take the New York $200 out, you'll be short again. But if you only take out $60 or so for CDs, then you'll still have enough for the guitar. And wouldn't it be easier to just tell the school to keep your next paycheck as payment for the NY trip?"

That guy in italics makes a convincing argument.

Bullmoose, here I come.