A really busy few months ahead!

I have finally entered my last (undergraduate) term! In just 2.5 months, I will have a Bachelor's Degree in History! My only regret is that I was unable to squeeze in a Writing minor. With my transfer credits figured in(online courses while in the Army), my three years at OSU is equivalent to graduating a semester early. I could have squeezed in the minor, but I did not want to add another Fall term-- the added stretch of Summer makes that one-term extension a bit too long. Good thing too, since this was decided before we found out we would have a July 2nd due-date for our first baby!

In the mean-time, a LOT of things are happening:

I am wrapping up my research project. Last term I finished my paper on spirit and traditions at OSU. I will make it available online later, after doing some edits recommended by my instructor. After it is touched up, I plan to follow her urgings and enter it into an undergraduate competition of sorts for large papers in the History Department. I think there might be a money (scholarship perhaps) prize involved, but I'm not exactly sure. If I end up being lucky enough to earn a scholarship, I hope it can transfer to a private school rather than be used just at OSU.

I am starting a new research project. I needed four more upper-division credits to graduate (since then it lowered to three since I added another band one more time), so I implored my instructor to let me basically retake her thesis course as an independent study for four credits. This one will be the first-ever extensive program history of OSU's Track and Field program (it was actually quite a big deal back in the day). I have started research on it already, and look forward to spending more time in the Archives, as if I didn't spend enough time there already! If only I could get a job researching OSU (especially athletics, band, and ROTC)... I would be fine with that!

I am wrapping up my undergraduate studies. Besides my Independent Study, I have Biology 103 (anatomy), History 341 (Russia post-1917), German 213 (only 9 weeks left!), Horn Ensemble, and a German conversation class (easy one-credit class that reviews for GER 213 and offers time to just talk in German). Related to German, I am also getting together with classmates to watch The Two Towers auf Deutsch. Wir hat "The Fellowship of the Ring" (auf Deutsch) gesehen letzte klasses. (We saw part one last term). Gimli is awesome as an angry German! They are just the dubbed German versions, with no subtitles. The Elfish is still Elfish, though it was mostly dubbed by the German actors for continuity. The History of Russia class is also pretty neat-- the instructor tailors the class towards those serious in their studies instead of those trying to fulfill requirements, and his lectures are basically 2-hour presentations rather than just boring lectures. Awesome.

I am still working at the OSU Archives. 17 hours per week, not including my hours researching Track and Field. My main task involves researching minorities in baseball, and I have already taken one field trip to the Sports Information Office's super-secret archives. Ok, not actually secret, just not generally for public use unless you ask very nicely, and maybe have a good reason to go.

I am preparing to be a dad. We toured the labor unit and had a one-on-one meeting with the nursing coordinator, and I have to say, I am very impressed. With just one exception, every single concern about hospital birth addressed in my Anthropology class is covered at our hospital. (I took a class which included a lot of information on midwifery, from an anthropologist who became a midwife in order to study the culture of midwifery. She has attended over 1000 births, holds her own practice, and along with her doctorate, is the first person called as an expert witness in pretty much any court cases involving midwifery in the state of Oregon.) I have also been signed up for numerous classes. No idea what they are, just that we (or sometimes just I) am going to. Thanks Deanna! I am excited... but also nervous. But also excited. I also feel ready, but also not at all. But still ready to take on the challenge, I think. All I know for sure is that I will miss sleep terribly, but can't wait to 1) try the patient's menu that I was denied while staff, and 2) hold my son for the first time. Not necessarily in that order. (Well, chronologically, the order is right, but you know what I mean...)

I have a ton of reading to do... for fun. Book 14 of Robert Jordan's (and lately Brandon Sanderson since Robert Jordan did not live to see the end of the series)The Wheel of Time, A Memory of Light, is coming out in January. In preparation, last Fall I decided to do a re-read of the series so I would be ready. This genius plan had a few hitches. First, I was using the audio book for book one, The Eye of the World.Great plan, except it only worked during car rides and in the gym. Then I discovered that Brandon Sanderson is an AMAZING writer. A. M. A. Z. I. N.G. Really. That side-tracked me over Christmas, and getting an XBox 360 during Black Friday didn't help either. During Spring Break, I dug into book two since I had the time, and now I am reading between classes if I don't have time to research (if only an hour break), on the bus, and sometimes instead of computer/XBox time. I am back to my former fast speeds in High School when I would slam through one a week... just required a reduced use of electronics. Only 10.8 more books to go! I want to be mostly done by the end of summer (maybe leave one for Christmas Break) so I have fewer things going on when I start school in the fall. Studies + Pleasure reading = not a good combination sometimes.... that is when I will switch to mindless video games to unwind at times.

I start Seminary in the Fall... hopefully. The plan is to start in the Fall as I begin a journey of earning my Master of Divinity in four years (can be done in three, but new baby means I will go slower). I am accepted by the school and my denomination, but am still waiting on word from the Army. I just got my fingerprints scanned, so hopefully my packet is now finally done and will go forward to the review board, unless my physical needs to go with it. If not, I will also look into the Navy and Air Force before giving up and finding a new direction in life. Hopefully that does not happen, though God does sometimes have a funny sense of humor! The biggest challenge there will be income. Tuition will be paid, but not by the GI Bill, so no more living allowance. Deanna may go part-time to her culinary school (which has a job placement program) so maybe I could transfer it and we could still get some of that income, but I still need to find a job as well. And even worse, unless we live in a drug-infested complex, we are going to have to get a co-signer for our lease, unless something amazing happens with income, like a huge influx of scholarships, etc. More to follow on that I guess... But really, it is to be expected. I mean, going to Seminary, how could I not expect some hard testing? At least I know enough to expect to not be able to expect anything.

So that about sums everything up...

Oh! Except for this blog! When I am a Seminary student, I can't very well leave this as "Tales of an Archivist," can I? We'll see what happens, but I think I'll need to find a catchy name describing the adventures of a seminary student/new dad... we'll see!

Towers of Midnight

The latest book from The Wheel of Time has a release date! Towers of Midnight (Wheel of Time) will be released on October 26, 2010.

If you are not aware, I am what you could call not just an enthusiastic fan, but even maybe a rabid fan of the Wheel of Time series. Unfortunately, a couple of years ago its author, Robert Jordan, passed away from a rare bone disease similar to cancer. At the time of his passing, his series had 12 volumes, with one more to go. The last volume, titled "A Memory of Light," was outlined, with about 1/3 of it in a rough draft form, with a few smaller sections worked out to completion. Jordan's wife hired Brian Sanderson to finish the series, so Jordan and Sanderson are credited as co-authors. The last volume was also divided into three sections because it was just too big! It was physically impossible to bind a book that was the size of three seperate large books!

Deanna and I are planning to read the series outloud together sometime soon. While our original plan was to read it, timing it so that we get to the final book of the series upon its publication (probably fall of 2011), I think I will be too impatient and will read Towers of Midnight when it comes out as well!

Redwall

I recently started rereading the Redwall Series. At work, I don't need to bring a bag if my book can fit in my pocket, so the Redwall series is perfect since I have most of them in paperback, and the only ones I don't have are, in my opinion, not that important anyways (the author has kind of lost his vision and is no longer producing the same quality work).

I just finished the first book, Redwall. It was entertaining, but I have realized that it is not as good as I remember it. The story is fun, but I can definately tell it was the first attempt.

A lot of sentences have exclamation marks!
And they form new paragraphs on their own too often too!

There are also some continuity errors, especially in the size of the animals. (In no other book would an entire rat army fit inside one wagon driven by two horses.) Also, some plot advancement is too good to be true; riddles are solved too easily, and some character development needed for plot advancement is not realistic.

But for all its problems, it still remains a favorite of mine, especially since it started my love of reading. It is also necessary as it lays the groundwork for the series-- the later books build off each other (in each one, the younger generation grows up to be the older generation in the following sequel), and the prequels all have more meaning when you know the future events. A good concept comparison is that Star Wars I-III are a lot better if you have seen IV-VI first, although the cheese factor in the first three don't compare to the Redwall series at all. Except that a mousethief in Mossflower loves cheese more than anything. I have also begun reading Mossflower, and many things in the writing style in Redwall that annoyed me are noticeably less poignant. I fully expect the series to continue to improve as I read in this manner.

It is also fun to reread it simply from a nostalgic point of view. Redwall introduced me to the world of reading, and it is fun to get back into it again.

Writing in my Fantasy World

I am writing again.

Ever since I first laid my eyes upon Brian Jacques' masterpiece Redwall Series in 2nd Grade, I have been obsessed with the fantasy genre. Admittedly, my exposure has been limited to just a few series: Redwall, Shanara, Wheel of Time, a few smaller Christian books, and a series that shall be nameless (after deciding it was too inappropriate in content, I got rid of it, so while it is written well, I do not want to appear to endorse it). While my exposure has been limited, I have made a head-first plunge into what few fantasy series I have read, especially Redwall and Wheel of Time (understatement of the decade, when applied to the latter!)

Almost from my earliest days of Redwall, I have shared an obsession with writing.

I am a creative person. To say I am right-brained is an understatement. While I am very logical, I use my logic creatively; I am skilled at taking my illogical conclusions and make sense out of them with logical arguments train of thought. Other than my logic, my left-brain is almost nonexistent, especially when bored with math and science.

My writing started in 2nd Grade, the same year that I started my Redwall craze. (On a side note, reading 7th Grade level reading material does wonders to a 2nd Grader who does not like to read much, especially if said material is captivating and interests the 2nd Grader.) I remember writing a book which was later bound. My book was about a boy which was captured by a lion, who traded him with a dragon. In the dragon's dungeon, the boy found the key and found his freedom. The End. Also in my illustrations, I showed that they key was under a trapdoor, and if the boy had looked in another trapdoor, he would have also found a musket. Like I said, my creativity ran wild.

Writing and Drawing have always been an outlet for my creativity. Some times I suddenly get this overwhelming urge to just express my creative ideas. I will get to a sketch pad or paper (later, computer screen) and hold the pencil poised over it, waiting for an idea to pop out. Besides being creative, I am a perfectionist-- but usually only in the context of straightening crooked pictures on my wall, and in creating only a masterpiece in my art or writing, or at least something which, at the time, I think might be worthy of that masterful title. Anything less bothers me enough that I often cannot stand to look at it later, unless peering over childhood stories and artwork.

My writing craze struck again in 4th Grade, this time in my 2nd actual bound-book assignment. The Search for the Glooks was my masterpiece, and I spent hours working on it. I irritated one of the class parents volunteering as an assistant (who will remain nameless), when I had half the progress of the rest of my class, but wanting only perfection, I perservered in my slower pace, especially where my artwork was concerned, although it did bother me that I was being rushed at the expense of missing "Literature" (the teacher reading aloud) to focus more on my story. I ended up running out of time, to the effect of the last half of my artwork being vastly inferior to the first half, but I was still proud. Looking back, my story was simply terrible, but I realize now that it was not the story that was so poor, but it was my undeveloped ability to portray on paper what was in my mind alone.

I have always had a problem of portraying my imagination. It is just so huge, complex, and detailed, that often it surpasses my skills of storytelling or depiction through art; quite a frustrating problem for someone whose head oft comes close to exploding after not draining its creativity enough to release the pressure.

My third (and final) bound-book project came two years later, in 6th Grade. I had recycled the plot of my 4th Grade story, knowing full-well that the plot was good, but that my portrayal was the only weakness. Looking back, the plot could have been improved, but hey-- it was pretty good for a kid that young. Again, I ran out of time with the artwork, although the writing and artwork both were vastly improved.

After my last required attempt at my story, I began several rewrites in middle school, but they all fizzled out. My writing was just not advanced, and I found myself with a problem that would last until college: I was able to take hold of my narrative writing, but put two characters in the same room, and I could not write their dialogue to save my life. For this reason, my writing was put on hold until a couple of years after high school.

Since then, I have done many short stories, most of them for class, and have worked on two larger stories as well. The first one focused on a girl who is an elf disguised as a human, but does not know it because her parents died when she was young (yes, very loosely borrowed concept from Harry Potter, though I did not realize this until later). Developing the backstory (I do this in EVERYTHING I write these days), I realized there was even more of a story in the past, and I decided to do a trilogy-- one with the history of the elves, one with Merlin (an elf), and one with the present-day story. After a good 15 or 20 tries though, I never got past five pages. It still sits on my metaphorical shelf.

This time, though, I finally have a keeper.

The story I am writing now is science fiction. I have never written a Sci Fi before, and I had no desire to until one day, while trying to occupy my time on a bus in Korea, I was pondering the annoyance that, apart from Battlestar Gallactica, no Sci Fi series that I knew of really accurately portrayed the military, or how it would likely develop going into space. (For example, it took Star Trek until its second spin-off series to realize that the military has more than JUST officers. It still bugs me that Chief O'Brien was retroactively made into a Senior Chief Petty Officer when he went an entire series as a Lieutenant who was Chief of his section.) From this idea, I made a list of military ranks from three branches of the military, and my story was born.

After having nothing but ranks, I soon developed a character's name, and later a very basic plot. Then previous problems hit me, and plagued by my perfection, I must have gone through half a dozen tries. Then I found it: The Snowflake Method. I adapted this writing method to fit my own needs. I summarized my story in a sentence, then a paragraph, and then into 5 paragraphs. Then I found the idea for my prologue and wrote it as well.

Today I am in my 8th page. As far as I know, I have never made it to 8 pages before-- instead, I have written 20 or 30 pages in a single story, but due to deletions made by my perfectionistic qualities, those 20 to 30 pages were compiled of the many, many tries for my first 3 or 4 pages.

While history would tell you that I am doomed to fail, I am optimistic; I am further than ever before, and apart from a temporary one which I finally broke through, I have not yet hit a major wall, and have an idea of how things will unfold for the rest of the story. Will I make it? Only time will tell. One thing, though, that I know for certain: I must try, or my head will explode.