I'll sleep when I'm dead

It's been a blur lately. I've begun the past couple of weeks with all-nighters; Sunday into Monday, Tuesday into Wednesday. Yesterday, I took a nap at 9pm and woke up around midnight. Knowing I can no longer afford to rest, I hunker'd down at this computer and typed out 7 pages of an overdue research paper. Not bad, though I've done better without the need for caffeine or pharmaceutical assistance. At that point, I was up. No turning back or lying down. I was able to actually catch the bus on time for a change. Called Alex at the RT station, hopped on the train, did the 16th street boogie, and had time to spare on the walk to campus. Today, I remembered to bring an oil paint pen with me, and somehow Fate cast a wicked smile in my direction.
As I crossed the Elvas walkway into campus, I spotted it. A train was slowly moving across the tracks over the walkway. When the universe offers you a chance to cause mischief, TAKE IT. Just pack bandages. And don't wear sandals. Like I did. Getting up to the tracks requires scooting across a water runoff ditch that was now filled with itchy foliage. This mass of vegetation scratched up my ankles and found their way into every centimeter of my sandals. Upon crossing the 30 feet wide ditch, one must climb up a roughly 50 degree embankment. I reached the tracks, and tested my ability to write on a train car that was moving at around five miles an hour. I only got a quick "S" scrawled on a tanker car. I chickened out on the possibility to grab a ladder attached to the tanker and made my way back down the embankment, ditch, and back onto the walkway. I picked random bits of dried prickly things out of my sandals and realized the train was slowing down. I then gave it one more try. I dropped my bag, and rushed back up to the track. When I made it back to the train, I pulled out my oil paint pen and then the whole endeavor seemed pointless: the nib had fallen out and was nowhere to be found. Luckily I still had a poster paint pen, so I went ahead and completed a small tag. I realize it was broad daylight and a decent amount of cars were cruising into campus along the road next to the walkway. Fuck it. At a certain point, my to-and-fro train hustle caused my sandals to scrape the middle toe digit of my right foot. The walk across campus was annoying, but it was a minor consequence for a spontaneous act of vandalism.

I walked into an unlit ASL, and immediately saw Her, the heart-wrenching crush of this semester. Said hi, and she replied with a "Shhh." Wow. But then she pointed out that there was a presentation going on in the adjacent studio. I pulled out my canvases and oil paint gear/bag, removed my sandals, and set up shop on an 8 foot table along the wall. I wandered out to the back patio, in hopes of finding Kari to ask if she had an oil paint pen I could borrow. I saw her in the makeshift ASL patio lounge talking to the other cute girl in my Tues/Thurs painting class. I joined the conversation, which went from whatever it was they were originally talking about to my quick tagging jaunt, graffiti, Banksy, and Ritalin. Before I knew it, my classmate asked if we didn't mind that she smoke a bowl right then and there. Ballsy! At first, I was going to refuse, since I was cautious of any compound effect of THC and sleep deprivation. But I relented to take one hoot. We chatted some more, and then Mark (asst. prof Emerson) waltzed in right after the girls finished the last round. Class was about to begin, and I was still barefoot. I dashed over to the sculpture side to flag down Bob (prof. Ortbal) to ask for a band-aid. I didn't care that I was walking thru studio spaces that would possibly have stray nails and sharp things to stab into my feet, but Bob did (how considerate). The class period breezed by, and I noticed a slight effect of that one hit. Evri (prof. Kwong) was kind enough to give me a few postcards of the Senior Show at the Else Gallery on campus. If you're interested, the Senior Show is a group show of art majors (including three 11x14 painting/collages I created) that is open until next week, check it out!

Okay, so class wrapped up, and I continued to paint after everyone left. Eventually, the usual group of M.A. grad studies folks rolled in, and I moved my work to the scrapyard/patio of ASL to enjoy the daylight. The highlight of the day (other than a quick tag on a train, scraping a toe, smoking a bowl, and seeing Her #52) was shmoozing with the grad studies cats in the patio. Andrew (prof. Connolley) brought a 12 of Sierra, and drank with the M.A.'s during and after their seminar. There was one last beer at the end of the night, and I eagerly snatched it and enjoyed a bottle with cigarettes among the Sac State artkin. Well, back to nosleepallart through the night.