New Folder

My digital art folders are one way to track the chapters of my life. In every chapter so far, I've been a student.

The first folder, ULTAMEW, is the only archive left to mark my first foray into DeviantArt. It was an era that saw many of my first OCs. Their tragic, initial forms which I keep whenever I need to remember what cringe feels like. It is my fullest art folder.

The second folder, WAMULET, is somehow marks a shorter era than the first. The name and this folder's contents are all that survive of a second DeviantArt account.

The folders from there follow a different organizational scheme. High School sits innocently after the second folder, boasting a decent number of files that were not really posted anywhere. Tumblr, maybe. I spent more time writing in high school.

College I (originally just College) sits next to College II with a painfully small number of files that makes you wonder why they're divided. The dates on those files are spread quite apart in one versus another. College II was a university with free counseling for students.

Grad School was the last folder I made, six years ago. At a glance there isn't much to see. It is one of many folders that begin to populate other parts of my D:/ drive. Stream Assets in one place, Commissions and Live2D Models in another. Suddenly, one folder just wasn't quite enough to put everything in.

I've stared at the New Folder option for a while. It doesn't seem right anymore to click it. I've decided to name the My Art folder something else, and start something entirely new.

>JOB SELECT

Well, I'd like to start something new at least.

I am cautiously optimistic about my job hunt. In many ways I have heard "we want to hire you" in as many ways it has not actually been said. It's the same etiquette I've learned about car accidents - do not say anything like "sorry" or "my bad" even if you're at fault. Let your car, or theirs, sit in unusable stasis while the insurance companies duke it out. Be ready to go nowhere for a while.

Put a contract in front of me! Let me sign it! I might be selling my soul for a year or two, but I'd be glad to squeeze some money out of it first!

Package returned to sender.

Job seeking is not the only unfinished business I got.

My PhD advisor, CC, sent me a gift in the mail in mid-June. She said it was an inside joke. Something based on my work. I had a few guesses: four-leaf clover earrings, a mini Starship Enterprise, a Harry Potter invisibility cloak...

Surprisingly, my last guess was rather close!

The Medieval Renaissance-style cloak is a thoughtful gift for many reasons. I've always wanted a clothing item as cool and mysterious as me. In fact, I've always wanted something I could don for a Renaissance fair. In fact², I had once mentioned it during a trip I had taken to Lyon to visit her for fun and work.

CC took myself and another PhD student on a walking tour of Lyon. We walked between many old buildings, perusing local wares. One shop hosted a collection of amazing medieval gear. I spent a long time looking at them but didn't think I could afford to stretch my wallet on anything there.

It's not something I would have ever considered asking for. But sometimes the most thoughtful gifts are thoughtful because someone else perceived you through it!

However, I am cursed. sadly, this package is somewhere in the void right now. UPS doesn't have it. The Etsy vender doesn't have it. CC does not have it. And I certainly don't have it...

...Maybe it was an invisibility cloak after all?

Signing off!

WAM