Okay, I lied.

I acknowledge the fact that it has been less than 24 hrs since my last post and here I am, again, posting.  But, in my defense, I am sitting in the lounge talking with my new friends!  Anyway, I just wanted to tell everyone that I am having an awesome Saturday.  We spent the majority of today at the lake on the beach.  I tore up the volleyball sand court with some pretty rusty moves I remembered from middle school gym classes and covered my feet in sand (I also cut my knee while diving for a ball).  Then I got a little sunburnt while I waited in line for tubing.  Other, more coordinated folk went wake-boarding (I was too scared to try it out).  

Tonight, the entire Camp Royall team is going out for a night in Chapel Hill.  We'll be dining someplace tasty after which we will be set loose to roam the city and do as we please.  Some people might go to a movie.  I haven't decided what I'll do yet, but I'm excited.

Love,

Monica

P.S.  Just incase you guys were wondering why my job sounds more like a vacation than an actual job...it's because we are plunging into hardcore training starting tomorrow.  Our campers will, then, come the week after.  Hopefully I'll be ready for them.

Camp Royall

I've arrived and am settled.  I'll spend my nights on the bottom bed of a bunk (the room is also the size of a closet and I am beginning to appreciate the "generosity" of college dorm rooms for once).  

Today was crazy, filled with lots of team-building activities.  I've met so many new people and still need to meet so many more.  So, because making friends is hard for me (I know it's hard to believe, but I'm actually shy in the beginning), I won't be writing in this blog as often as I have in the past.  Maybe I'll have some updates every now and again, but don't expect too much until August comes around.  I really should spend the majority of my time here socializing and making this place my home!

Good night, and wish me luck with what promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Love,

Monica

P.S. Spring semester's grades are in and my GPA has never been happier.  I guess this is an indication that my major change was a smart move.  

Butter Cookies

Today was my last day of work at the Nursery until I come back in August.  I was pretty sad today, especially since most of the little ones didn't understand that I was going to be gone.  I guess they'll figure it out for themselves next week when I'm not there.  Here's today in pictures:

My little buddy at snack time.  He LOVES those butter cookies!

After every picutre I took of him he would say, "Lemmee see!"

Teaching the baby to play with the trains instead of eating the trains

Baby godzilla eating the train tracks.

Close-up self-portrait

They'll make a cute couple some day.

She always wears those giant bows and they always fall off by the end.

He's my little helper.

Teddy grahams!

Here's to making new friends at camp!

Done with junior year forever

Everything (and more) is in the living room now.

I had my last exam today.  It was my ceramics final and my classmates and I had a group critique.  It lasted for a while, but the worst part was that at the end I had to transport all of my ceramics/pottery back to my apartment (all 3 hundred tons of it).  

Need I remind you about my tiny, tiny car? 

Anyway, now everything is awkwardly on the coffee table in the living room.  I've also got stuff on the end tables and next to the TV.  Hope the roomies don't mind too much.  Signing off now.  Here's a painting I did on the last day of Drawing II: 

Lego house

Here it is:

and the interior:

Raku

Three raku pots that I made!

Today I was a little late to the raku firing, but I still got to help out a bit.  I pulled three pots out of the trash-can-on-fire and got to see a lot of cool glaze effects.  Here's Mike doing the raku:

Raku from Monica Huang on Vimeo.

Now I'm watching an ANTM marathon (don't judge) waiting to go to work at six o'clock.  I'm so happy because I am completely done with Issues in Contemporary Art for good (I finished the two essays of death, and I think I did a pretty good job).  Tonight, I hear there's a mechanical bull someplace and food (possibly free)?  I've also got to break in those legos (by the way, 1500 is not as much as one would think).  

Gas Kiln

Burn, baby, burn.

Today was my last day of classes and, voila, just like that, Junior year is done!  Well, for the most part.  Now I must sprint through this week of exams and make it out alive.  I've got two critiques to prepare for my studio classes, a drawing project, two essays to write for my contemporary art class and, miraculously, I've done everything for my psychology class.  My last day here will be Sunday (I'm sticking around for one last day of work at the nursery) and then I'm hanging out at David's house until I have to get to camp for training week.  Nothing can stress me out too much, though.  I'm looking forward to camp and today I had lots of fun watching the gas kiln with some classmates.  I can't wait to see what comes out of the reduction firing:

Will feeding the fire.  This is an electric kiln that Mike converted into a gas kiln.

Will from Monica Huang on Vimeo.

This is the kiln that Mike built.  Pretty impressive!

Gratuitous pics of kilns can be found in this album.