So, heads-up... I got a bit over-excited last post, if you hadn't noticed. I got so excited, in fact, that I forgot about previous commitments.
This whole week, starting yesterday and going through Sunday, I'm busy being a counselor for this local day camp thing. We get to go to Safari Sam's, which is basically Chuck-E-Cheese but about fifty times better, the local pool, see a movie, visit an amusement park, and do one more thing I can't remember right now. The point here being that it's fun.
But, because I'm doing this thing, I can't really post anything until next Monday. Sorry folks, but that's due to poor planning on my part. I will totally be done with everything and ready to go by next Monday, which is the 29th. So, see you then!
~Polar
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Dishes and School
I try to breathe as I sit down on my bed. I look at everything spread across it: Papers, sketchbooks, a coffee mug, a bag of yogurt-covered pretzels. My usual stuffed bear, Jack; colored pencils. Loads of colored pencils. My laptop: I was just using it to post something important on my blog. It was a pretty big milestone, in fact. But that's not the point here, I tell myself. Not anymore. If you over-think your success, you'll just be disappointed later. So I blast some music and go on Tumblr: the only place where I can do what I like and not worry too much about what others will think. But just as my song starts, Mom knocks on my door and opens it. She never waits to see if I say "come in" anymore.
I tense, knowing what will come. I've been avoiding my responsibilities all day. And now the sun was setting. Time to face my fears.
"Come downstairs and do the dishes," she says. I reluctantly get up, stick earbuds in. Listening to music always makes the job a hundred times easier. As I walk downstairs, Dad says something, but I can't hear. Turns out he was just saying hi. I say "Hi" back. Really, when I think about it, this job is a pretty good distraction in itself.
As I start working, at first putting clean dishes away in the cupboards, my mind wanders. I think about earlier today, how I went out of town with friends. We went to the art museum, the one in the (probably) most famous city in the state, known for being extremely weird and full of hipsters. The art museum was nice, though. I had to draw some of the works of art in one of my classes a few months ago, and it was cool to see them in person, I guess. But when I go to big art museums like that, my brain almost short-circuits after a while. Too much information at once, too much thinking. If I've been in one for too long, I start feeling lightheaded and jittery, the way I do right before I get a headache or become too dehydrated. Except it's not a headache, and it's not me being dehydrated. It's just me thinking and looking too hard. It's me exploring and loving the art too hard. It's one way to prove I'm the kind of person who does everything the hard way or not at all. Either I like the art so much I practically pass out, or I don't like it at all. I'm so weird.
It reminds me of how I play hide and seek, actually. The first round, I'm never found. I get the perfect spot. But then, after that, I get too cocky, even if I tell myself not to be, and I try so hard to find a good hiding spot that it becomes so obvious where I'm hiding everyone begins to wonder if I cheated the first round. That's how it worked last night, when my sister and two other friends and I went to the library for game night. There was both Wii games on the bottom floor and hide and seek on the second. At night. It was pretty cool. But in the dark, I tend to get mistaken for a boy a lot. Like, I'm not kidding. I wear too many printed T-shirts, I guess. But I can't help being a super-geeky nerd who can only win Super Smash Bros using the most cutesy character ever. Seriously, though, Kirby? Out of every single character I've played as, I can only win as Kirby? What is my life becoming these days?
My back hurts now. Lots of bending down to put the dishes in the dishwasher. And then standing back up to get another thing and bending down again to put it in the dishwasher. It's really hot tonight. Does Mom realize how warm it is? Of course she does. But doing the dishes in the heat isn't an excuse for anything.
An ad interrupts my thoughts; I forgot I was listening to the radio. I sigh. Almost done, anyways. Maybe I should draw something cool and relaxing when I get back upstairs.
I think about my summer homework. Yeah, you heard that right. Advanced Placement classes have homework over the summer, so students can get a head start when school starts back up. I mean, summer has barely lasted for a week and two days, so I don't need to worry too much about it yet. I already have the reading material I need. I remember being so excited to have gotten it. I wonder why I was so happy to have summer homework?
I suppose it wasn't so much the work itself, but what it signified. It meant that I was in. I was in the clear, and I will be taking Junior Shakespeare next school year. And I know that that is a good sign, because A) it was the class I signed up for; B) I love Shakespeare for reasons I have yet to understand; and C) it means I am on the road toward an Honors diploma.
But at the same time, I have the attitude of not ever wanting to set foot in that place ever again. I don't know why. I used to love school; I used to want to go, every day. But high school isn't nearly as rewarding as it should be, in my opinion. It's like, in order not to get a letter home, in order to not get in trouble, you have to do well. Instead of doing well being a rewarding experience, you're expected to just get good grades. And I don't know why but I just despise that expectation. Plus, the grading is brutal, compared to other countries. In a lot of other countries, getting 50% is a C. A passing grade, a job well done. But here, in America? 50% is a low F. You think us Americans are dumb? Maybe it's just the grading system that needs to be fixed.
Not to mention that my school is adopting this "proficiency grading system". Ugh. Instead of percents or letters, we're being graded on a 1 to 5 scale. Let me explain these in that order. If you get a 1, it means you didn't even turn your assigment in, or you weren't there. It's basically the equivalent of "missing." If you get a 2, it means you tried, but messed up so bad you might as well just redo everything. A 3 means you missed a few questions; you could have done better. A four says you missed maybe one or two at the maximum, but you didn't get a perfect score; you know your stuff, but can still improve. And a 5 means it's perfect; there are no notes to make, other than that it's pure perfection -- nothing wrong or out of place. A 5 is 100%.
I would like to point out that a 3 is in the middle, like a C would be. It's designated for those who missed more than a couple, but still obviously get the point. But the thing that bothers me the most is that everyone's saying that a 3 doesn't pass. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, a C just doesn't cut it anymore -- now you have to get a 4 (aka a B) or higher. Now they're really expecting everyone to succeed.
And I don't know why, but the expectation that I will do well just makes me about 60% more likely to fail. And that is why I hate this system. Everyone's grades will start to go down. I'm already stressing about it too much and it's not even really the official grading system yet. I"M NOT EVEN IN SCHOOL RIGHT NOW AND IT STILL STRESSES ME OUT. Kids don't need more stress in their lives. They should have more freedom, give them more of a chance, not less of one.
Ugh. I frown as I squirt dishwasher soap into the little compartment, slam the door of the dishwasher closed, and press the start button. I grump upstairs. I talked myself into a bad mood, darn it. Well, I think. There's only one way to fix that.
I should go write about it.
~Polar
((If you didn't see it yet and are too lazy to specifically navigate to it, I posted the first page of a comic not too long ago. You can go here to read it.))
I tense, knowing what will come. I've been avoiding my responsibilities all day. And now the sun was setting. Time to face my fears.
"Come downstairs and do the dishes," she says. I reluctantly get up, stick earbuds in. Listening to music always makes the job a hundred times easier. As I walk downstairs, Dad says something, but I can't hear. Turns out he was just saying hi. I say "Hi" back. Really, when I think about it, this job is a pretty good distraction in itself.
As I start working, at first putting clean dishes away in the cupboards, my mind wanders. I think about earlier today, how I went out of town with friends. We went to the art museum, the one in the (probably) most famous city in the state, known for being extremely weird and full of hipsters. The art museum was nice, though. I had to draw some of the works of art in one of my classes a few months ago, and it was cool to see them in person, I guess. But when I go to big art museums like that, my brain almost short-circuits after a while. Too much information at once, too much thinking. If I've been in one for too long, I start feeling lightheaded and jittery, the way I do right before I get a headache or become too dehydrated. Except it's not a headache, and it's not me being dehydrated. It's just me thinking and looking too hard. It's me exploring and loving the art too hard. It's one way to prove I'm the kind of person who does everything the hard way or not at all. Either I like the art so much I practically pass out, or I don't like it at all. I'm so weird.
It reminds me of how I play hide and seek, actually. The first round, I'm never found. I get the perfect spot. But then, after that, I get too cocky, even if I tell myself not to be, and I try so hard to find a good hiding spot that it becomes so obvious where I'm hiding everyone begins to wonder if I cheated the first round. That's how it worked last night, when my sister and two other friends and I went to the library for game night. There was both Wii games on the bottom floor and hide and seek on the second. At night. It was pretty cool. But in the dark, I tend to get mistaken for a boy a lot. Like, I'm not kidding. I wear too many printed T-shirts, I guess. But I can't help being a super-geeky nerd who can only win Super Smash Bros using the most cutesy character ever. Seriously, though, Kirby? Out of every single character I've played as, I can only win as Kirby? What is my life becoming these days?
My back hurts now. Lots of bending down to put the dishes in the dishwasher. And then standing back up to get another thing and bending down again to put it in the dishwasher. It's really hot tonight. Does Mom realize how warm it is? Of course she does. But doing the dishes in the heat isn't an excuse for anything.
An ad interrupts my thoughts; I forgot I was listening to the radio. I sigh. Almost done, anyways. Maybe I should draw something cool and relaxing when I get back upstairs.
I think about my summer homework. Yeah, you heard that right. Advanced Placement classes have homework over the summer, so students can get a head start when school starts back up. I mean, summer has barely lasted for a week and two days, so I don't need to worry too much about it yet. I already have the reading material I need. I remember being so excited to have gotten it. I wonder why I was so happy to have summer homework?
I suppose it wasn't so much the work itself, but what it signified. It meant that I was in. I was in the clear, and I will be taking Junior Shakespeare next school year. And I know that that is a good sign, because A) it was the class I signed up for; B) I love Shakespeare for reasons I have yet to understand; and C) it means I am on the road toward an Honors diploma.
But at the same time, I have the attitude of not ever wanting to set foot in that place ever again. I don't know why. I used to love school; I used to want to go, every day. But high school isn't nearly as rewarding as it should be, in my opinion. It's like, in order not to get a letter home, in order to not get in trouble, you have to do well. Instead of doing well being a rewarding experience, you're expected to just get good grades. And I don't know why but I just despise that expectation. Plus, the grading is brutal, compared to other countries. In a lot of other countries, getting 50% is a C. A passing grade, a job well done. But here, in America? 50% is a low F. You think us Americans are dumb? Maybe it's just the grading system that needs to be fixed.
Not to mention that my school is adopting this "proficiency grading system". Ugh. Instead of percents or letters, we're being graded on a 1 to 5 scale. Let me explain these in that order. If you get a 1, it means you didn't even turn your assigment in, or you weren't there. It's basically the equivalent of "missing." If you get a 2, it means you tried, but messed up so bad you might as well just redo everything. A 3 means you missed a few questions; you could have done better. A four says you missed maybe one or two at the maximum, but you didn't get a perfect score; you know your stuff, but can still improve. And a 5 means it's perfect; there are no notes to make, other than that it's pure perfection -- nothing wrong or out of place. A 5 is 100%.
I would like to point out that a 3 is in the middle, like a C would be. It's designated for those who missed more than a couple, but still obviously get the point. But the thing that bothers me the most is that everyone's saying that a 3 doesn't pass. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, a C just doesn't cut it anymore -- now you have to get a 4 (aka a B) or higher. Now they're really expecting everyone to succeed.
And I don't know why, but the expectation that I will do well just makes me about 60% more likely to fail. And that is why I hate this system. Everyone's grades will start to go down. I'm already stressing about it too much and it's not even really the official grading system yet. I"M NOT EVEN IN SCHOOL RIGHT NOW AND IT STILL STRESSES ME OUT. Kids don't need more stress in their lives. They should have more freedom, give them more of a chance, not less of one.
Ugh. I frown as I squirt dishwasher soap into the little compartment, slam the door of the dishwasher closed, and press the start button. I grump upstairs. I talked myself into a bad mood, darn it. Well, I think. There's only one way to fix that.
I should go write about it.
~Polar
((If you didn't see it yet and are too lazy to specifically navigate to it, I posted the first page of a comic not too long ago. You can go here to read it.))
The Last Panel is My Favorite
Hey. So, to tell you the truth, it's been ages since I've written anything even sort of lengthy about a fictional event -- most of the writing I've done in the past few months has been strictly essays for classes. Please bear with me; I'm still warming up, and trying to shake myself from the conformity that school forces onto oneself.
In the meantime, I stressed out about not having anything to give you, so I rushed to start drawing this comic I was talking about. In fact, I'm already finished with the first page.
It was at this point I realized: Who says you have to do it all at once? One of the main reasons I've been having so much trouble with this comic dealio is that I try to do the entire thing before posting it. And then I realize it isn't good enough, or it gets ruined by some rebellious weather conditions, and I have to start over. And every single time, it gets longer. So here I am, drawing this comic I've been trying to get finished for the past year and a half, the longest run yet, and I'm going to go one page at a time. None of this "biting off more than I can chew" business. And I have to say, this one's a doozy. You remember my other two Randomness comics? They were terribly done, black and white, not even past the pencil sketching stage. They were sad excuses for a finished product, to be honest. But this time? Inked! With color! And probably at least three times longer than those other two! So buckle up, people. The ride may start out bumpy but I assure you, once we get going, there's no stopping the fun until it's done. (I also sort of didn't scan this one in; I jumped the gun a bit, honestly. This one is a literal picture taken with my literal iPod.)
You ready? Like I said, it starts out bumpy. But it only goes up from here, I swear.
SUPERHERO PSYCHOLOGY
#1
I know, this seems to leave a lot to be desired. But trust me. It will get a lot better as we go along. Puns and all.
~Polar
((All superheroes shown or to be shown in this comic are copyrighted to DC and Marvel. Storyline is copyright of my freshman Drama class.))
In the meantime, I stressed out about not having anything to give you, so I rushed to start drawing this comic I was talking about. In fact, I'm already finished with the first page.
It was at this point I realized: Who says you have to do it all at once? One of the main reasons I've been having so much trouble with this comic dealio is that I try to do the entire thing before posting it. And then I realize it isn't good enough, or it gets ruined by some rebellious weather conditions, and I have to start over. And every single time, it gets longer. So here I am, drawing this comic I've been trying to get finished for the past year and a half, the longest run yet, and I'm going to go one page at a time. None of this "biting off more than I can chew" business. And I have to say, this one's a doozy. You remember my other two Randomness comics? They were terribly done, black and white, not even past the pencil sketching stage. They were sad excuses for a finished product, to be honest. But this time? Inked! With color! And probably at least three times longer than those other two! So buckle up, people. The ride may start out bumpy but I assure you, once we get going, there's no stopping the fun until it's done. (I also sort of didn't scan this one in; I jumped the gun a bit, honestly. This one is a literal picture taken with my literal iPod.)
You ready? Like I said, it starts out bumpy. But it only goes up from here, I swear.
SUPERHERO PSYCHOLOGY
#1
I know, this seems to leave a lot to be desired. But trust me. It will get a lot better as we go along. Puns and all.
~Polar
((All superheroes shown or to be shown in this comic are copyrighted to DC and Marvel. Storyline is copyright of my freshman Drama class.))
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
ARRGH Hello Fellow Readers, How is Your Life
I'm thinking hard about what to write. And it's not happening.
Look, I know what I want to write. I know when and how to write it down. I'm listening to good writing music. I want to talk about so much stuff. But my own thoughts constantly interrupt what I'm planning to do. And I end up going nowhere. Sigh.
So, right now? I'm working on this possibly big-scale comic. And I plan to follow through with it! Once I prove to myself that I'm good at meeting personal deadlines, I can finally finish that other one that I constantly have been promising everyone for the last year and a half. Yay! :)
Also, if you didn't catch on, I have a Tumblr. Two, actually. I spend a lot more time on them than I anticipated, and one of my usernames is epicninjabowlerhatguy. Pretty long, but meh. I like it. I also have an ask blog, designed for people to send in questions and I make tiny little comics in response. It's been as successful as one can expect. Username for that one being ask-fressy-faxbeat, because it's aimed at the characters of the horror game franchise Five Nights at Freddy's. And ask-freddy-fazbear was already taken. Parodies are more fun anyways. Feel free to check them both out, though I haven't been too active on either lately. I've been too busy with -- shock, gasp, surprise -- working exercise and fun outdoor activities into my schedule.
It's actually pretty cool. But I have to ease into it.
It's summer, guys. But I don't quite feel the freedom summer usually offers quite yet. And thus, I have a lack of excitement to voice to you all.
I want you to know that in the past couple months, I've seriously upped my artistic game. Like, I've explored more artistic media in the past three weeks than I probably have the rest of my life. And for once, I'm liking what I'm turning out. So maybe I'll be uploading some images of said artwork. Who knows?
Okay, I'm really losing any sense of direction here. I guess my point here is that I'm really, seriously, not dead, and I am doing things with my life. I'm not just sitting around being a lazy potato. That would be really cute, actually. A potato doodle.
*Mind wanders again, then I realize I'm talking about something and abruptly jumps back in, pretending I remember what I was going on about*
Bloggers tell about their lives. And as such, I plan to tell you about my adventures. But I've not been too adventurous quite yet, so it'll have to wait a bit, but I'm trying to point out that I will be posting over the summer like I promised! And there will be cool stuff! Because I've become a cooler person since last summer!
I would really love some feedback, too, y'know? Even if it's just a random conversation or a compliment or a criticism. It's all cool in the house of random. You know where to find me.
~Polar :) *Quickly ends it before I ruin everything*
See you in the next post!
Look, I know what I want to write. I know when and how to write it down. I'm listening to good writing music. I want to talk about so much stuff. But my own thoughts constantly interrupt what I'm planning to do. And I end up going nowhere. Sigh.
So, right now? I'm working on this possibly big-scale comic. And I plan to follow through with it! Once I prove to myself that I'm good at meeting personal deadlines, I can finally finish that other one that I constantly have been promising everyone for the last year and a half. Yay! :)
Also, if you didn't catch on, I have a Tumblr. Two, actually. I spend a lot more time on them than I anticipated, and one of my usernames is epicninjabowlerhatguy. Pretty long, but meh. I like it. I also have an ask blog, designed for people to send in questions and I make tiny little comics in response. It's been as successful as one can expect. Username for that one being ask-fressy-faxbeat, because it's aimed at the characters of the horror game franchise Five Nights at Freddy's. And ask-freddy-fazbear was already taken. Parodies are more fun anyways. Feel free to check them both out, though I haven't been too active on either lately. I've been too busy with -- shock, gasp, surprise -- working exercise and fun outdoor activities into my schedule.
It's actually pretty cool. But I have to ease into it.
It's summer, guys. But I don't quite feel the freedom summer usually offers quite yet. And thus, I have a lack of excitement to voice to you all.
I want you to know that in the past couple months, I've seriously upped my artistic game. Like, I've explored more artistic media in the past three weeks than I probably have the rest of my life. And for once, I'm liking what I'm turning out. So maybe I'll be uploading some images of said artwork. Who knows?
Okay, I'm really losing any sense of direction here. I guess my point here is that I'm really, seriously, not dead, and I am doing things with my life. I'm not just sitting around being a lazy potato. That would be really cute, actually. A potato doodle.
*Mind wanders again, then I realize I'm talking about something and abruptly jumps back in, pretending I remember what I was going on about*
Bloggers tell about their lives. And as such, I plan to tell you about my adventures. But I've not been too adventurous quite yet, so it'll have to wait a bit, but I'm trying to point out that I will be posting over the summer like I promised! And there will be cool stuff! Because I've become a cooler person since last summer!
I would really love some feedback, too, y'know? Even if it's just a random conversation or a compliment or a criticism. It's all cool in the house of random. You know where to find me.
~Polar :) *Quickly ends it before I ruin everything*
See you in the next post!
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