Grad School.

This is a big time of year. 

At work, students have just finished their midterm projects.  They're crewing up for their final projects (which means I've had producers asking me lots of great questions). 

At church, we're really into the swing of the school year again.  We've started new small groups - both in student ministry and in adult ministry.  To be successful, both of those require a high level of investment.

Oh.  And I'm applying to grad school.

I've applied a few times before.  I was even accepted once, which was great.  $90,000 was a bit steep, though.

This month, I've decided that I'm going to use every spare moment to get into school.  If I don't make it in, I'll at least have done everything in my power to try and I'll have a year to try again.  (And I have plans for that year...)

Right now, the Digital Arts and New Media program at UC Santa Cruz is my top choice.  But I've made some connections at USC that suggest that could be an exciting program as well.

Over the last year, I've discovered that publicly saying that I'm going to do something helps.  (See my Blogging Challenge from a year ago or my recent Points Project...)  So this is me publicly saying that I'm going to apply to grad school.  Both of them.  And work really hard to do it.  This month.

That is all.

On goals.

Every time I look forward to a new phase of life, I tend to write back here on the good ol' blog.

(Side note: it drives me crazy when people put the apostrophe on the wrong side of the contraction. Like 'ol. I've seen it.)

Today was my last day of work until January 11, when I will triumphantly stride back into a newly reorganized CAMS to greet the J-term-ers. So that leaves me with almost a month of free time to manage.

I've been looking ahead to this time, thinking about what I want to do with it and I needed to write it out (so why not publicly? This is the digital age, after all...).

Goals for Winter Break 09-10
1. Read the Qu'ran. I need to expand my mind like my public school friends had to do.
2. Finish applying to Grad schools. Which leads into the next goals...
3. Make a game. A short game, naturally, but something to add to the ol' portfolio. I may actually run some beta versions of the games I have on paper, too.
4. Write. Every day. Again. Some more. Blog, journal entry, poem, script, ideas, short story, anything.
5. Ideate. I need to keep stoking the fire of my imagination again. I want to lead and cast vision (How did that metaphor even start? Casting vision? Flicking the fishing rod of our eyes into the stream of the future? I dunno...)
6. Read a fiction book that isn't part of some canon of things I'm "supposed" to read. I can't even remember the last fiction book I read, let alone the last fiction book that I wasn't forcing myself through...
7. Keep thinking about things. All kinds of things: God, leadership, life, writing. Anything but getting stuck in ruts of thoughts.
8. Love people.
9. Have fun. All this goal setting scares me and exhausts me before the break has even started... Sheesh. I just bought Rock Band 2 and I need to finish The World Ends With You. Lots of fun to be had.


Anyway. That's my list. It's longer than I expected, but that's what I get for wanting to be better at a lot of things...