OH ECK!!!

Well, today was day one of the infamous "journey" to becoming a professional photographer.

The day started, as all important days should, with Brooks pouncing on my feet at 4:00 in the morning. Despite my threats, bribes, coos, and unmitigated anger, she wouldn't go back to sleep. So, when my alarm went off at 7:00 (luckily I found a decent radio station and was alerted of the time by the Red Hot Chili Peppers) I was...let's just say less than pleased.

But, up I had to get, so I started the shower and splashed some luke-warm/cold/scalding water in my eyes and tried to wake up with little sleep to keep me going. (To be fair, I don't know if I would have slept anyway, but she made sure I didn't.) After showering and the usually "getting ready" I went into the kitchen to make breakfast. I don't have any idea what happened, but breakfast ended up all over me, all over the kitchen, and all over the floor. Seeing as how breakfast has cocoa powder in it, of course Brooks wanted to lick it off of the floor before it had time to splash properly.

Panicked for her health, my outfit, and my diminishing spare time, I cleaned up the floor, rinsed off my favorite pair of jeans, and ripped off the shirt. The shirt that I have been planning to wear to my first day for A MONTH! The shirt that I feel comfortable in. The shirt that reminds me of home, reminds me that I am a mature woman with experience, well-dressed with a casual flare (the jeans) and confident. THIS WAS MY CONFIDENCE OUTFIT!! I remade breakfast in my skivvies, just to be sure, and then donned my day two outfit. I had not planned for day three, so I am screwed for tomorrow and will undoubtedly end up in Full Metal because it makes me smile. It also makes me look like a juvenile anime geek, so we'll see how that goes.

It was also raining. I don't know how many of you know this, but my sunroof leaks. On the driver's side. Right on the "ass cheek" part of the seat. Fun times. So, with a renewed panic, I got into my car and felt around to see if I was going to get my THIRD bath for the day, but was relieved to see that the water hadn't saturated the seat and I should be able to make it to orientation without too much drama.

Traffic was okay. I had planned my route the day before and knew exactly where I was going to exit, where I was going to turn left, and where I was going to park. I was over anxious and parked in the parking lot three blocks south of where I meant to park. So, rather than moving (I don't know why) I huffed the three blocks in the rain with "pinky" my umbrella companion.

The orientation desk was outside of the theater. Outside, in the rain. There was a line. Granted, it was a misty rain by this point, but still, come on people. This is the conversation before mine.

Boy - Welcome to Brooks! Your name?
Girl - Jane Doe
Boy - Excellent. Well, it looks like you will be taking the placement exam tomorrow at two, so be prepared for that and if you have any questions about what will be covered, be sure to ask Student Management.
Girl - Thanks.
Boy - Have a great day!

I was right behind her and heard the whole conversation. It was then my turn. Here was my conversation.

Boy - Welcome to Brooks! Your name?
Me - AQ-F.
B - So, is that AQ-F like traditional, or are you married.
Me - Um. Married.
B - Cool. How long have you been married?
Me - Two years.
B - Wow. Congratulations.
Me - Um. Thanks.
B - So you already have a degree? What in?
Me - Film Studies.
B - Great! (Fumbling around for paperwork that his coworker has already handed me.) So, let's see, you'll need one of these.
Me - Got it.
B - Right! Okay, you will also need one of these...
Me - Yeah...got that too.
B - Right! Have a great orientation!

Is it just me or is that weird? He was very nice. He reminded me a lot of Mr. N (mostly in appearance) and that made me miss Kung Fu. (Oh hey, by the by, got my blue sash, for those of you that don't know, or did I blog about that??)

Anyway, I went inside and found...nothing. No one. Empty space. I swear that every other person who had been in line had just come in this way, but this space was vacant. Okay.... So, being not timid, shy, or in any other way inhibited (yeah, right) I milled around the seats trying to determine where I should sit. During my milling, two more people came in and sat in the second row. Right, second row, cool. I can do that. Second row. So I sat next to a friendly looking girl and started up a conversation. (Yes, yes, I know, you can all close your gaping jaws now.) She was very nice and we talked until the orientation started.

LOTS OF IMPORTANT BROOKS INFORMATION GOES HERE!!

After that we had a break. I went up to meet my Admissions Rep who I have been speaking to on at least a monthly basis since August and simply had to meet in person. I hugged her. She is the reason I am at Brooks now. She and I and a fellow San Diegan (who has a fiance and a six month old baby girl) struck up a conversation. Then another rep started in and my new SD buddy (I will call him ST) and I talked with that woman for the extent of the intermission. I missed my chance to get hot chocolate, but both of them were very nice.

Then came lunch. I was going to go with nice girl that I met at the beginning, but she went off one way and I was too sheepish to follow her, so I ate a remarkably fast lunch and walked around SB for an hour. I made it back to the theater before anyone else and eventually NG came up and sat next to me. She surprised my by taking a half-knit scarf out of her bag and starting up work on it. She reminded me of JQ in her multitude of artistic talents. It was beautiful. Then ST walked up and he and I started a conversation about medical devices (I know, crazy) and it turns out that he has a Bio Chemistry degree and knows a lot about my former industry. We talked about it (and all of my previous woes) until the second half of orientation started up.

The second half was a group-oriented photographic scavenger hunt. We had to run around downtown SB in search of elements that we could photograph that represented items on the list. For instance, Italian Cuisine - picture of a restaurant, Something Sacred - picture of Ganeesha.

My first was Something Lucky. You will never believe this. I had in mind what I was hunting for, but couldn't find it. And then, out of the blue, there was the PERFECT answer. The same design that I have on My Lucky Flogging Molly T-Shirt (reference past post) was on a tee in the front window of a shop and I knelt down to get it. Granted, it has a four-leaf clover on it, but more importantly, it has personal meaning for me!!! Lucky indeed.

I also got a picture of Paseo Nuevo (the local mall) and the courthouse. There are supposed to be prizes for the best and most creative shots. We shall find out about those on Friday.

Then we met back to meet some local vendors and then I came home. And then I wrote this. And then I wrote that I wrote this. Hmmmm. This could perpetuate.

Ultimately, the whole thing starts again tomorrow. Hopefully just not at 4:00 am.