I played hookey today and I really had no good reason to except, I could not face my ceramics teacher. With a week full of mid-terms assignments piling up, essays coming up, friends and lovers coming to town, Mitch is a very tired carbon based life-form (maybe a wee short on the carbon base). I tried to glaze the surviving ceramic projects that are required for that class; my first was a ceramic crystal ball which I was going to call Clear As Mud or An Uncertain Future-this snapped in two, along with my last nerve for this week.

So instead of going to school, Mitchey went shopping. I went down to Main Street and checked Urban Source, which I highly recommend to any art student (or real artist) who actually gets there hands dirty at this school (I am noticing that a great portion of the student body never even dirties there hand with anything cheaper than a blackberry or a laptop-I thought I was attending an art school for crying out loud-not a technical institute). Urban Source has all sorts of knick-knacks that accessorize with artworks and materials at ridiculously good prices-I bought leather tags to label artwork for like 25 cents each-magnets for 30 cents, I got a large burlap sack for like a dollar fifty-anywhere else that material would have been like twenty bucks plus. It made my day and gave me some inspiration where school had beat it out of me.

I followed my shopping up with lunch next door at The Rustico Italian Café-this place is hands down the best café I have dined at (as in I actually sat down and felt welcome to stay awhile) since I got to this uppity city. The owner greeted me, he made me a coffee the way I wanted (as in he asked me what I liked while he was making it, and that ended up being an Americano misto with fresh cream), made me a fantastic lunch of a delicious panini and minestrone soup, chatted with me and all the rest of his customers the whole time smiling away and infecting everyone with his optimism-just made the rain outside seem an illusion-a woman was there whose mother had died only the evening before-hes sent her away smiling and with an invitation to come back anytime after hours to join him and the girl working with him for dinner and company-great jazz music going, in the corner a shelf of community novels-while I was finishing up lunch, the owner even brought me a little espresso with whip on top-a little dessert with a tiny spoon he assured me. By the time I left, I felt better than I have in days! I will go back soon.

Although I skipped school today, I did come in for the evening and worked until the security guard had to lock me out. I just could not do it today, could not see you all, fight my way through for the resources, deal with the politics and the critiques (maybe they could rename these things artist support group meetings-artists after all, do need help apparently). I paid a pretty penny for this day off, tuition in the wind-oh well, maybe all I will learn at this school is that university is financial suicide and no one really has time to teach you anything or make you feel like you are worth the time you paid them for-after this last week, I have come to realize I do not enjoy one out of any of the five classes + seminar I am either obligated to attend or I registered for without being able to find out before hand were truly relevant to me. Next semester will be better; if I survive until then.

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