Week 3: 6/18 - 6/24
This week has also been slow. I've been working on the blobs, scaling them and such in Maya. I got all the files done, after going through two entire rounds, because I found that I was scaling them from the wrong files. Yeah, it helps to keep notes and a checklist to make sure I don't mess anything up. Checking one's work is very important! Jessica wasn't kidding when she said rendering would take a loooooong time. I have 18 scenes to render (3 values for gravity, 3 sizes of figures, all with a blob and a man), and each scene takes about 3 hours. I only have the 'medium correct' stuff done right now. There's got to be a more efficient way to do this. I tried looking up stuff and attempted to make a batch file so I wouldn't have to babysit the computer, but a weird error happened and once the DOS shell opened, it kept running my commands repeatedly like an infinite loop. So, uh... I guess I'll have to do this the hard way. Yeah, and it didn't help that I started rendering the wrong files! Agh, even though I'm not disorganized, it definitely pays to be careful when doing such time-intensive work (even if a lot of it involves sitting around).
I feel like I have a lot to do now, though, which is great. I'm supposed to learn how to use the high speed camera next Monday, woo! Sophie is out on vacation, and she sent me her files for the hand stuff, but I've got to handle the blob stuff first, since that's my main project. I admit that I've been using my babysitting time to read a lot, which is both fun and tedious, but only because it involves so much waiting. I've tried doing other productive things in the meantime, though.
This weekend I didn't go out with the girls because April has a guest over. Some college 'friend' or something, and she leaves a great mess in the bathtub after she takes a (long) shower. She's been here all week, too. I don't mind having guests over for a couple of days, but she decided to park herself on the living room sofa, so I can't even watch tv. April thoughtfully bought a longer cable so we could actually enjoy the Comcast subscription that the regular house residents were kind enough to leave active for us (this may be their only redeeming trait, besides their handling the electric bill). To be honest, I was more than a little depressed this weekend because I had nothing to do and don't really know people around here. A lot of the younger people walking around are high school students here for summer programs. Not that there's anything wrong with high school students; I suppose that 20 is a funny age in terms of whom one feels like are 'normal,' age-appropriate peers. I was never too great at meeting people outside of classes and clubs anyway.
I've been having a hard time sleeping, so I went out to Target with Raye, and bought some sleeping pills. They seem to work alright, but I guess it'd help if I actually ate a proper diet and got exercise. It's a little hard, though, because the campus gym closes at 8 PM, and I usually get out of the lab by then (go late hours!). It's nice to be able to work around my own schedule, though. :)
I also got to see Tina, an old high school friend. She's visiting another friend in Pittsburgh--what a coincidence! It's such a small world, but I'm a much happier person for it. I think I would've gone crazy if I stayed cooped up again this weekend. We went to see Ocean's Thirteen and also had dinner at Silk Elephant in Squirrel Hill. It's less Thai food and more pan-Asian-fusion. Going out is bad for my wallet, and I even try to remain thrifty. :(
