... Well, for a certain value of it, at least.
I've had some really,
really demanding classes this entire year, summer included. I don't really have much of a life outside of working on all the assignments that pile up; in the Spring semester I jumped at the chance to take a Game Design course that specialized in Unity. Unfortunately the professor teaching that class (who was only at this university for a semester) had very,
very short deadlines for projects. Case in point: He expected student teams to present their work at Oklahoma Research Day. Other Cameron students I spoke to while at ORD told me that their departments gave them a year or so in preparation; our professor gave us, at best, a few weeks.
I don't regret taking that class as it bootstrapped me where developing in Unity is concerned, but when it came to the assignments ...
Anyway, my department has another professor who is a big believer in making students spend a minimum of two hours on assignments outside of class for every hour spent
in class. Said professor will assign a lot of different things all due at once to ensure this. I was in one of that professor's classes this Spring, and now I've got two of their classes this Fall. Had no choice; their classes are required for my degree plan.
Suffice to say, I've been pinned down pretty hard. It's actually really frustrating, because I've been so busy that I haven't even had time to start looking for a job once I graduate this coming Spring, to say nothing of working on my resume and portfolio. A full-time job would be far less stressful or demanding than this. And I'd be getting paid rather than paying to do work, which is another plus.
I
did have a brief reprieve just before the Fall semester started, though, and that thankfully coincided with Tree of Savior's first English closed beta. I was phenomenally lucky, because I wound up getting in on the beta test.
Here's proof of that! Since all of the first closed beta testers are guaranteed a spot in the upcoming second closed beta starting October 29, I've been in overtime trying to see if I can clear my schedule enough that I can actually spend time playing the second closed beta.
If all goes well, you guys will see me there.
To that end, I've got some art I'm trying to find the time to put up in my gallery. There's also some art I've had in my gallery for a while that's been in storage, which I'm considering taking out ... it'll make sense
if I actually get enough time to get things in order here. Classes come first, and I've already been pulling allnighters (or short-sleep days at least) just trying to keep up.
Medically ... well, no news is good news for now, I guess. My oncologist wants me to get a CT scan to make sure everything is okay, but since Cameron University no longer offers insurance to local students, there's just no way I can afford that. I need a job, preferably with its own health insurance plan, before I can think about that. Trying to finance a CT scan without insurance would gobble up
all the remaining money I have.
The recent news that TotalBiscuit's colon cancer
didn't clear but instead metastasized into his liver is a reminder that I can't just blow this off, but I simply have no choice for now. And even if, in a few years, I'm confirmed to be cancer-free, I may not be out of the woods. Yesterday, my father informed me that he's found out his family suffers from Reed's Syndrome, which is a rare inherited condition that raises the risk for kidney cancer. Most of his siblings tested positive. My father is going to get tested to see if he has it; if he does, I need to get tested, because there's a 50% chance I will have it as well. I'll have to get regular screening if I do have the syndrome.
Hopefully I'll be making some more updates before the 29th. See you guys later!