A real busy week

I've been sitting in front of a computer all day, and now I'm back in front of a computer. Why, I don't know. maybe because it's the first time I've been back in my room since early this morning, and I'm reluctant to go to bed without spending some waking time alone. Also, it's reassuring to be at my own computer instead in the Journalism lab at one of the Macs, whose transparent keyboards give me a good view of all the grime between the keys. Sets off my gag reflex every time. I make a point of not eating in the lab, not to protect the computers-- to protect me.

There are other things I've learned to wash my hands after touching: Last week on my way to Coney Island there was a man lurching around the crowded subway car, grabbing onto the bars with one hand and digging around deep inside his mouth with the other. He was clearly out of it and maybe on drugs or just mentally unstable, I don't know. But since then I've tried not to touch any of the bars on the subway.

I have to use the school computers because mine doesn't have Adobe InDesign or Photoshop (real Photoshop, not Elements). And I need those programs because I am now the graphic designer at Four Corners University Press! The press, which is affiliated with the foremost research university in the American Southwest, seeks to facilitate understanding of the university’s local heritage as well as its role in an increasingly connected world. Situated at the four corners of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico, the Press draws inspiration from the intersection of cultures and disciplines to encourage scholarly discourse that defies borders.

I took that verbatim from our mission statement. No, this isn't a real job. I'm working with 9 other students at a mock publishing house to come up with 6 titles for publication by Saturday morning-- this includes contacting real authors about writing our imaginary books, figuring out royalties, publicity plans, subsidiary rights, etc., and designing jackets (my job). This workshop is the most highly anticipated part of the course. The CPC staff tries hard to keep us all on edge, giving us last minute homework assignments, scheduling meetings all day long, waiting until late in the PM to give us the next day's schedule. It's not really necessary; things are hectic enough as is. On Sunday we came up with about 50 potential book titles, and today only 8 remained. All 5 of my original ideas were rejected. I'm actually kind of fuzzy on the details, since I spend most of my time cloistered in the computer lab, away from the in-fighting. It's all make-believe, but it's pretty serious stuff.

And then I did the stupidest thing tonight: I closed my work before saving it! All I have left is a PDF of the book cover I've been working on ALL ALL ALL DAY. Can I can import the PDF file into InDesign? I wonder. I wish I could post it here--I'm really proud of it. But I can't figure out how to do that, either. These are things I will work on tomorrow.