Orientation!

In the past two weeks so many amazing things have happened it's like "If it's Monday, I must have taken my kid to college," "if it's Tuesday, I think I bought a car..."

In case you didn't hear, my Kickstarter Project was funded (wink wink) - thanks to YOU! And the same day, we signed papers selling off our shack...ahem...cottage... at a ridiculously low price, but with a huge sigh of relief (it only took five years to sell!) And I found out I have a piece being published in a coloring book. Cool. And I got my 4 page comic submitted for the Summer Anthology - I'll write about that soon. With pics.

Funding the Kickstarter was just the beginning! There was all the spreadsheet stuff to figure out and all the rewards. I finally created an assembly line of all the things I wanted to put into the Goodie Boxes...

I kept thinking of more things... And then my dad asked if I could put some pens in his... ooo, pens, good idea...!

This is when I remembered that I'm not good with repetitive tasks! I needed three trips to the PO and had to apologize for holding up the line - no, kidding, I did'nt apologize. I probably help keep this post office in business.

Well then. Here we are!

Welcome to the Glyphs & Glitches blog!!! And welcome to Cartoon School!!

Today was Orientation and I didn't sleep much last night because I was so freaking nervous! I couldn't think WHY? I have done so many things that were really scary - like speaking at TangleU in front of 120 people... why be scared of going to Orientation?

Now I know why. Here are a few things that top the list:

1. Being around people (even really interesting ones) for hours on end.
2. Information overwhelm.
3. New technology (which I love) with learning curves (not so much).
4. Learning that White River Junction spends most of the winter hovering around 30 degrees below 0. And did I mention the extreme wind?
5. Actually being told that... ahem... sleeping with colleagues is frowned upon for many reasons. "That's what Dartmouth students are for." Although it hadn't crossed my mind... Good to know.
6. The Wednesday night class starts at 8pm. So, no, commuting home to visit with Lilah midweek probably isn't going to work.

On the positive side:

1. We have a very small class, only 11 first year students. There are about 20 in the 2nd year class.
2. No one seems to mind my daughter wandering in and out. In fact, there is one other kid - who just happens to also be 8 and passionate about comics. And he told her there is a cartooning club for kids on certain Saturdays - playdate!
3. There are Cintiq tablets on the mungo sized Macs! (Geek heaven)
4. Although 24 inches of snowfall is very common - the town clears it up in a few hours. And there is no reason to drive anywhere. (Except if I want to visit with my kid!) The winter months here are called the cartooning months. No distractions. Just draw! And school is never canceled. Everyone lives nearby.
5. The food co-op has an entire wall of chocolate bars.

I definitely think having the small class will be a good thing for me. Nowhere to hide. And a chance to really get to know a bunch of other odd-folks. ;-)

And a pretty good mix too - as an icebreaker, we added ourselves to a big map...

When we had our pics taken for our IDs, my daughter just happened to wander in... they had suggested we not be too serious for the photos... so I pulled her into the photo with me.

We got a tour of the neighborhood, the local shops, and the school's facilities (as in, the buildings, not the lavatories!) We get some cross-privileges with Dartmouth - we can borrow books from their library and get discounts at the Hopkins Center (theater). And I learned that not only is there an amazing Aquatic Center here with lap pools and an indoor water park - but they don't use chlorine! (I'm allergic) They use light to clean the pools. And there is a great FREE bus system. I'm not sure when I last rode a bus. Do we even have them in NH?

There was a kickball game in the afternoon - but I went home and hid for an hour (I quick charged my introvert battery) - then we all headed back to the school for BBQ and chatting. Are you wondering how well Mom and Lilah fit in? I've already said Lilah's IN, but Mom... Eleven students from all over the world - and one walks up to my Mom and says "Do you work at the Pillsbury Library in Warner, NH?" Yep. She can go anywhere. ANYWHERE. And run into someone she knows.

Now I am crazy exhausted and looking forward to keeling over in bed - but my brain is too buzzed to actually sleep. Tomorrow, my mom, Lilah, and I will enjoy the last full day before classes start, by heading up to Montshire Science Museum, perhaps, and the King Arthur Flour store (bakery!!) Hmmm... Ben and Jerry's not too far either...

To borrow the words of the immortal Little Orphan Annie..."I think I'm gonna like it here!