Artist Mad Scientist

Bayani, this'll sound familiar.

So I got turned down for taking that class at MIT. Got a general GFY that basically said "you don't belong here."

Why? Because my undergraduate QPA was too low. Really. I had a fair number of C's in my transcript, did I know that? That's what the lady asked me.

The fact that I got within two classes of finishing two bachelor degrees in 4 years by massively overloading my schedule? Didn't count for anything.

Neither did the fact that the only "normal" load semester I did, I made Dean's List or the fact that I had As and Bs on every graduate level class I've ever taken. Those didn't balance out my less than spectacular undergrad QPA.

That I've been in the work force doing funded research since I was 19 and that I've won awards from NASA, the various branches of the military and Draper itself? Also not counted.

And don't get me started on CMU's wonderful QPA policy, in which 2.0 is truly is average for many of the colleges. MIT's is apparently around 3.2 for their undergraduates. Nothing like a level playing field.

I don't know which is more annoying ... that CMU's messed up grading policy is still able to bite me in the ass or that now, 10 years later, I'm still paying for my decision to try to do two degrees in the time it takes most people to do one. Although, even if I had stuck around another semester for those last two lab courses, I would still have low QPA by MIT's standards. I would have just had two sheets of paper up on the wall instead of one.

Hindsight is 20/20, I know but I seriously should have spent more time goofing off, less time busting ass and then maybe I would have had the 3.whatever that MIT was looking for.

Although, come to think of it, I'm still pretty happy with my 2.8 or whatever it was. Cause damn it, I worked hard for that.

Okay, New England, ENOUGH ALREADY!

It is the first of July, for God's sake.
Can we PLEASE have one day of sun? Please?

It has rained for three weeks straight. My garden has rotted off. I haven't been on my motorcycle more than a handful of times. I've gotten to ride the pony outside maybe three times and even then, we were rained on. Heck, I had to go get my winter sweaters out of storage since it is not only raining, but it's cold! It was 42 degrees at the house the other night. In late June! ENOUGH!

I want clear skies, 80 degrees and the occasional thunderstorm. In that order.

When am I going to learn that internet forums are not worth the time or effort and that I should just keep my big keyboard quiet?

( rules for interacting in online communities )

At least my java API loves me.

No, wait, no it doesn't. APIs don't love anybody ... especially not their creators.

Damn, yet another life lesson I keep forgetting.


Friend locked and screened since I may still explode here.

Nice to see that the yearly cycle continues. Not the seasons, of course (hello, autumn), but the amateur vs. profession discussion in the art circles. They show up like clockwork, every year.

( artists with delicate sensibilities, I suggest you go elsewhere while I rant )
So this rant is going to piss off people. I'm okay with that. I gave up editing myself just to be liked a long time ago. I'll be the bitch since, really, every project needs one. If you don't have one, the candy colored glasses never come off and reality gets to blindside you with a two by four. And the bitch says that the labels don't matter but skill level does.