Okay so this little doodad is called a water pen, and it is AWESOME. Pretty much it is...a water pen? The blue midsection holds water instead of ink, and the tip is a brush instead of a pointy pen tip or whatever, so basically it just helps you to really quickly and easily and cleanly make lines with water. You use it in repairs because when you cut the pieces of repair paper you want it to be a really fuzzy kind of cut, not straight and sharp, so you can have lots of fibers to overlap onto the paper. So, it's like when you are trying to rip a paper in half without scissors or something, so you just fold it back and forth and crease it and then sometimes lick it? Was that just me? Anyway, this cuts straight to the licking stage, and then you just rip it and it's perfect. This is me feeling like I am awful at explaining things, but whatever. I just bought it from the school supply closet and thought it deserved to be featured like my other favorite tools from yesterday.
Okay, so things not pictured:
a)I had the little evaluation with Renate this afternoon, and it went pretty good! She said that she liked my enthusiasm for the work and that I didn't get all frustrated with having such a difficult first project. Also she said that I did a really good job with guarding along the folds. Woohoo! She said what I should work on is my repairs, which I totally agree with, because I sometimes didn't think through the kind of repair paper I was using enough, and some of them are pretty messy. It's totally true, so I am okay with it. :) Also she wants me to be more careful with general handling of the paper and such-- she thinks maybe I am too cavalier in the way I whip the paper in and out of the wash water and whatever. I see what she's saying, but I also know I'm going to have a harder time working on that. She has a specific way she likes you to hold the paper when it's wet and you're moving it from the tub to the counter or whatever and I just think it's awkward and unnecessary and dumb. But she's the Head Conservator at the Folger, so maybe I need to concede defeat here. :) Overall she gave me a 3.5, which I am fine with, and for 'homework' between classes (so, for the next 6-12 months pretty much ) is to pull and wash 2 more books and then to pull but NOT wash one book, but to do all the repairs. That's because when you don't wash a book but do repair it you have to be more careful with the repairs because the paste you use makes water marks and things, which doesn't happen when it's all already been all wet and whatever. Yeah, I don't completely understand that either, but I trust that it is tricky so she wants me to try to do that and not mess it up :)
b)We had a little end-of-the-class shindig at our house, Judy the director of AAB got us pizza and we all hung out for a bit. Before that I went with Emilie to her house to get her dog, so that he would not be left alone all night. Fun fact: I used to think Emilie lived in Durango, like 2 hours away, but in fact that is just where she like, LIVE lives; for the 5 weeks of classes she is subletting a condo in Mountain Village, which is like 20 minutes away. So anyway, we had a fun little car ride and chat and her dog has the rare distinction of being a dog I've decided I like, so that was fun and nice feeling. Then we came back to my house where everyone else already was gathering and had our pizza shindig, which was also a pretty good time. It was kind of startling to come in and have there be beer cans and wine bottles on the kitchen table, but I just went out to my car and brought in my 12 pack of cream soda and put it along side the other drinks and had a tasty time! The party lasted til like 8:30 (we are indeed a rowdy bunch!) and then the NEXT uncharacteristic thing happened (the first being a long but non-awkward car ride interaction with a still semi-stranger)---
c) I went out on the town with the other younger woman in the class, Courtney! People had been talking about wanting to check out the Telluride Off-Season Night Life, and I kind of thought about it but was maybe going to be too scared of new things, but then in the end I decided to go, so we went! Judy, who lives here year round, told us that the hip place all the younger kids went to was the Steaming Bean, a coffee shop about 3 blocks away that I pass on the way to class everyday. The only other place really open on the main street was the Last Dollar Saloon, which sometimes sounds rowdy when I pass it on my way home from class when I come home late. I assumed that's where we would end up, and I was getting all nervous about asking for a Coke at a SALOON, but when we passed it there were literally maybe 6 people inside, so it was not tempting to my companion. Instead we went to the apparently hopping youth hang out coffee shop, ...which also had about 4 other people in it. It....it was pretty funny. So but anyway we went in and Courtney asked about the local beers and the dude at the counter went on and on and I sort of smiled awkwardly and looked at the ceiling, and then when he asked what I wanted I asked if he would laugh if I asked for a hot cocoa, and he laughed and said that he was laughing, but it was still ok. So she took her beer and I took my really really good hot cocoa to a table and we sat and talked for probably like a half hour? Which was cool because usually it's hard to get much out of her, but she said the wine she'd had at dinner was so that she'd be better at talking to all of us so I guess it is to alcohol that I owe my thanks for having a fun night and getting to know my classmates and colleagues better. Huh.
3 comments:
Your life is going down paths that are both awesome and foreign to me!
awesome post! Sounds like you're having fun-I'm so glad everyone is starting to mingle more easily. Can't comment more-mom is leaning over my shoulder anxious to read this!
For years and years upon years I never had scissors and my tongue was the go to cutting device. I know exactly what you're talking about.
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