Wednesday...

It's Wednesday today. =) And I am being productive. This blog post is part of that productivity. Though some may say, "You are wasting time on the internet when you ought to be doing other things," I would answer, "This is on my list of things to do." I've found that productivity has some inertia to it. It's really hard to get going at the beginning, so any little bit helps. This blog isn't a huge undertaking, it's just a record of my thoughts and feelings and a little of my art too. So that's that... a little more momentum... a little shove to get my productivity moving a little more effectively.

Tea...

I am drinking tea, and it makes me happy. Whenever I need to get into "work mode," I drink tea. I suppose it is part of the routine... Drink tea, do homework, drink tea, do stuff on computer, make more tea, tidy desk, drink tea, eat dinner, drink tea... Mom sent a whole bunch of tea with me, so I have enough to last me for awhile. Thank you, Mom! =)
So this quarter I am very excited because I am taking a couple of classes that give me some direction, not just general credits. I can't remember if I've talked about my major previously, but if I have: I've changed it. Surprise! x) I knew I wanted to do something in design and so I thought I wanted to major in architecture... That is, until I discovered industrial design. In essence, industrial design is the application of art to engineering. It is why the VW Beetle doesn't look like any other car on the road and why a Coke bottle has its distinctive shape. Water fountains have beveled edges and mobile phones don't look like bricks (anymore). The field is so wide and the options are limitless... and I heard from three separate people who knew or knew of architects that became industrial designers because business in architecture was poor. So here I am! =) The two classes I am particularly excited about are Intro to Materials & Processes and Intro to CAD. In the former, I will learn about various production materials, their qualities and uses, and the production processes used in dealing with them. The latter will provide training in AutoCAD, a design and drafting standard.

A New Year...

This is going to be a hard habit to start up again... but I'm going to do it. It is part of my new year's resolutions. Another item on the list is to exercise more regularly. It is so easy to explain away exercise in college with truly legitimate reasons, but you can't explain away weakness. ;) I will swim every weekday before lunch at the university pool. I kept the specific goals simple this year. That is the one I must hold myself to. I have a general idea of the other things I'm going to do, but they aren't as regular and set in stone. Post here once a week, and swim every weekday before lunch. Aside from that, I've got to keep life relatively simple, focus on school, and find a job.
Speaking of jobs, I do have an interview for one sometime this week. The position is as a technical article writer for a company that specializes in technology-oriented mobile content. (Essentially an online magazine that mainly has articles on technology-related subjects.) I hope it'll work out, it'd be nice to have a steady job! The main challenge is simply that I don't have a whole lot of regular time, and it appears that they want to pay by the hour.
Enough of these ramblings, let us say something important! It is important that I am starting my second quarter of school. First quarter was somewhat of a disaster, as I had no idea what I was doing (still don't), but this quarter will be better! I hope... I have a plan, and I think it's a good one.... I think.

College...

Well what do ya know, I'm in college now. It's one of those things that I always thought of as a distant future event, but I realized the other day that no, I'm here now. It's not in the future anymore. The future is getting closer. That's a little scary.
I've been at college for a week now, attending meetings and social functions as a part of a "Jump Start" program for college freshmen. It's been a long week. x) I'm anxious to begin my real classes. I've attempted to begin setting up my "new life" in the way I would want it to remain long-term, such as keeping a tidy living space, exercising regularly, and establishing a regular sleeping schedule. So far I've only achieved the first in that list. Among the things I intend on doing, I shall begin doing more art and posting it here on the blog. I have other stuff I want to do too, but I must start small or I'll never get there. Regular art is good enough for right now. I'll have to form a study schedule soon anyhow. Better save room for the textbooks! =)

All Summer...

Ya know, I'm not even going to bother trying to describe the past summer, as though I could "catch up" on blogging and somehow still be living up to the original purpose of the blog.  I shall just pick up again wherever I am at.  I worked at summer camp, and that is why I stopped blogging.  There.  So!  I've picked up painting again! =) I'm quite excited about it.  I still don't know if I want to post stuff to Facebook or here, though.  Facebook gets more traffic, but I suppose if my art is simply for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of close friends and family that are interested, it doesn't really matter where I post it.  I posted this piece on Facebook with the caption, "Sometimes I just really want to write a song or draw a picture... but nothing comes to mind. It's frustrating."

Is It Right? ...

Inspiration is a funny thing. It makes you want to do something. It gives you the ideas on how exactly to do something and makes you willing to give what it takes to accomplish it. But the thing is, it doesn't make it the correct thing to do. Inspiration is largely an emotional response and is thus prone to error, whether in the wanting or in the planning. So this is what I have been wondering...

My career choice is architecture. That is what I plan on doing with the majority of my working life. That's fine, that is probably what I shall do. But I want to do music too. Okay, that is okay too, a guy is entitled to a hobby or two. But I don't just want to write music for fun. I want to put on a show. Every time I go to a concert and see the polished product of fine musicianship and engineering, I get this feeling like, "I want to do that..." 

Perhaps it is overly-presumptuous to even think I have the ability and the slightest chance at that, but my self-confidence wasn't my purpose in this discourse. My question is: "Is it right for me to want that?" Being a Christian, it is my belief that God gave me the skills and talents that I have. Some Christians believe that means it is wrong to put on a show with them because it is "taking credit" for them as though it is our own accomplishment, thus downplaying God's role in it. Others believe glory can be given to God in their performance, and they make sure He receives the credit He deserves. (I am speaking, in this case, about generic, non-religious music. Leading praise music or doing a "Christian concert" is another matter entirely.)

So which is it? Is wanting to stand on a stage and perform wrong? Is it contrary to a Christ-like attitude to want to be famous? Ouch, perhaps it is. Though it could be argued that His purpose actually was to be famous, it just wasn't for self-serving purposes. So the attitude with which I go about it plays a huge role. Is it wrong, then, to enjoy being onstage? As a musician, I have spent a fair amount of time being onstage and have lost much of the stress and nervousness that one initially feels when first stepping into the focus of attention of any group of people.

I love making music, I love sharing emotions. That's what music is: sharing emotions. I share thoughts and ideas by writing, like I am doing now. I can evoke emotion in writing too, but music seems to lend itself to that so much more easily. (Just as music can communicate factual information as well, but writing is far more effective, I think.)

So if I go onstage with truly the sole desire of wanting to share the art form I love and have been given to work with for the enjoyment and betterment of others, that is right? But music manipulates emotion, that is how it works. So in actuality, I love to manipulate people's emotions. A good musician is a good manipulator. That makes it sound bad, doesn't it? I want to go up there and wield this power over my audience. Then again, it isn't wrong to have power or influence, it just means greater responsibility.

I think the answer to my question is in what I said before about how Jesus went about His life's work. It was unselfish. It was awesome, it was powerful, at times it was quite a show (I do not use this term to describe a lack of sincerity, only the extraordinary nature of His actions, specifically His miracles). But it was for the love of people, and the love of helping them.

If my purpose is to write music because I love it and to share it with people because I love them, then that is right.

P.S. I am still planning on being an architect. ;)
(edit) P.P.S. I changed that plan... now I'm going to be an Industrial Designer! =)

The Year...

Well this  school year has been quite a year... Which is to say: it has been nearly a complete school year. x) I am frantically trying to get my life together before the transition into the summer and my summer job. Unfortunately, recent events have added to the list of things to do. My car window was smashed in two weekends ago whilst I was away on a high school campout. Then last weekend, while I performed with the school's band and choir at a church, my laptop computer, cell phone, wallet, and miscellaneous hardware were stolen out of my backpack. Thankfully, most of the messes have been taken care of, but I still have to get a replacement driver's license and computer. More money. Woo. <=P

So now all of my personal projects have ground to a halt and I'm focusing on the important stuff now... Sort of. ;) I REALLY want to start making YouTube videos more regularly, but I can't without a computer! And it's really hard to film video blogs when there are other people around. I'm the type of person that doesn't even like talking on the phone when there are other people in the room! Hopefully I'll be able to do a bit more when I'm at university. Ah, speaking of which, my dorm roommate has been confirmed, and I am rooming with an old music friend I met a few years ago. I am quite excited as he and I have always seemed to have got along well and have similar interests. I am sure he will be more understanding of my merely hobbies than any of my family. It's a plan then! =) I'd also like to get back into making stuff in Blender and writing more music, but I suppose I can't do it all. I'll just have to decide what stuff to do regularly and what stuff to do as filler. This blog, for example, definitely needs to be on the "regular" list, which it shall be and is, sort of. Now that I can post stuff from my iPod whenever I've got a wi-fi connection, I should be able to post stuff more easily. Oh, I also have made a Twitter account! We'll see how that goes. Twitter seems to be geared more towards a more constant stream of ideas and comments in shorter form. I don't know. Are blogs supposed to be a weekly thing like my YouTube accounts? And Twitter is the everyday posts thing? And what about Facebook? No, forget Facebook. =P I am happy to read other people's stuff and post once in awhile when I've really got something to say, but for the most part, Facebook is an extra thing.

Hmm, time to finish some Street Law notes and then hit the hay, I am so tired.