School is in Session

I added an icon file to my site so that if you turn my blog into a webclip on an iPhone, you’ll see a customized icon instead of just a mini-screenshot of my page. This is pretty pointless, since I highly doubt that anyone will turn my blog into a webclip except me, but it was fun (and easy) to do.
Classes started for me at UHCL last night. For the first time, I am taking two classes in one semester, and I’m both excited and a little nervous about how that will work out.

See, I started taking classes in fall 2005 with a graphic design course. I did it because I was interested, and because I wanted to feel like I was working towards something totally different if I eventually chose to leave engineering behind. Technically, I was a graduate student working towards a master’s degree in Humanities with a concentration in graphic design. But a humanities degree required three core English/literature classes, and those did not interest me at all. I doubted I would ever take them, and thus doubted I would ever get a degree.

But last fall it all changed. UHCL introduced a graduate program in Digital Media Studies. Core classes are no longer basic humanities classes, but are actually communication and technology subjects. Graphic design is a core class, foundations of information technology is a core class, and the most “English-y” of the bunch still deals with new media. It’s much, much closer to what I’m interested in, and suddenly the idea of getting the degree was something I definitely wanted to do.

At the rate of one class a semester, I’ve accumulated 15 credit hours. I’ve tried to take classes in the summer but haven’t had luck with the scheduling. Still, 15 hours is almost halfway to a master’s degree, which is something I’m interested in getting because I like the material I’m learning and because I feel that having a degree would “legitimize” me if I choose to take the leap into a totally different career once the space shuttle stops flying. But at this rate, it will be May 2011 before I finish.

That’s 6 years to get a single master’s degree.

So this semester I’m trying two classes a semester. I’m actually pretty nervous about how things will go, because I keep a busy schedule and giving up both Wednesday and Thursday night for class, plus the many hours required outside of class for projects and homework, is a big deal. But by May I’ll have 21 hours. Then 27, then 33, and all of a sudden I’m looking at finishing the master’s degree in December 2009 — or even by May 2009 if I can find something to take this summer.

We’ll see how my two-class test run goes. I’m crossing my fingers that I can handle it while still thinking it’s fun. Last night was a good start. Wednesday night is 3D modeling — something I’ve never even attempted before. I don’t know anything about the software, and my impression has always been that 3D modeling is 1) hard and 2) takes loads of time. But it’s definitely a new challenge, and I like the professor a lot. I definitely came home excited.