School's Out For...Winter!

I just checked my grades for my first semester at UVU, and things are good, if not perfect. I earned two A-'s and two B+'s. So I'm in good shape, but still have room to improve. The most important thing I learned was not to leave points just lying around. Both B's could have been A's if I had been a little more attentive. Art History from the Renaissance would have been helped by turning in the first homework assignment and tracking down a study guide for the first test. I failed to realize just how big a factor that first assignment would prove to be. Not that I didn't do the work for it, I did, well sort of. Am really helped me out when I was feeling positively stressed out at the beginning of the semester (and before the wedding). It just took me too long to buy the book, so when I finally finished the assignment, I thought it was too late to turn it in. I just figured that every assignment would be similarly weighted, but it was the biggest one of the semester. I also missed points on the first midterm because of the missing study guide. I didn't study for a third of the material and still got a B- on the test. Most people dread this professor, but I seemed to get his tests, and did well with minimal effort in, or away from, class.

My photography class was harmed because I didn't work hard enough at the end of the semester. I hardly studied for the final exam and it showed. I left several questions unanswered because I drew a complete blank. And I could have taken better care of my negatives on my last roll of film, they got hammered being loose in my bags, and it showed on what could have been my strongest images. Ah, lessons learned, right?

But the grade that had the most importance to me was the A- in my Typography and Layout class. This is the one class that required the most out of me. Which is good, because typography and layout skills will be going to be my bread and butter for years to come. Art History will fade, and photography will only be a small side of what I do. (Speaking of which, If you know anyone that needs a photographer on the inexpensive side for a couple of hours, I'd be interested, I'll do a couple of hours for $50) Some in my class complained about how rigorous our teacher was, but I felt he pushed us when we would have been satisfied with less. And from what I understand, other teachers expect even more from the students. That's the thing about my experience at Stevens-Henager. I learned how to use the tools, but because classes were four weeks long, there wasn't enough time to refine that knowledge into how BEST to use the tools. At UVU I'll be getting that. But I count myself lucky to get into UVU when I have. Now it is pretty much open enrollment for the design program, but there is a push to really tighten the admission standards and slim the number of students down. So I'm getting in while the getting is good, but I'm also getting the really good instruction that comes from a lean design program.

A Recent Development

In the last month and a half or so, I've developed a new stress response: migraines. I've never had to deal with them before, and I wish things could go back to the way they were before. I can deal with uneasy stomach and cold sores. These migraines occur on Thursdays and sometimes Tuesdays, which coincides with my typography class and class critiques. I've found that high doses of caffeine help mitigate the pain, but then I'm hopped up on this stimulant. So on days that I need to be at my best, I'm in pain or I'm jittery. I've never had a problem with an occasional Coke, especially of the vanilla variety, but I've never been a caffeine addict either. I don't particularly like how it makes me feel. I tend to crash off any high I might get pretty fast. And now I worry that if this trend continues, I'll get used to having caffeine in my system and it won't work as well on the headaches. Is there anything out there besides caffeine, and absolute quiet and darkness, that you've found that helps with migraines?