I'm back from Ventura. Oh man what an awesome time. I followed my Dad as we drove down, walkie talkies are too much fun. When I arrived at Brooks I was a good 1 1/2 early, so my Dad and I snooped around the campus. There's a back lot (which is a bunch of fake buildings used for filming), two sound stages (really big empty warehouse to build things in for for filming), an editing suite with tons of computers, classrooms, a cafeteria, and just tons of good times. We went on a tour and had already seen everything the tour guide showed us because we were snooping earlier. But, it did afford me a great opportunity to ask him some questions about the school.
I met with Barbara finally. She's the nice lady who's been walking me through the enrollment process. It was nice talking with her and putting a face with a voice. I also ended up meeting with Bernice in financial aid. The whole financial aid process is a scary one for me because I really don't know much about it. But Bernice walked me through all of it and even got me some extra money. The really good news is I'm all set for going to Brooks. That means tuition, housing, car payments etc.. the bad news is that the interest rate on one of my loans is 14.125%. Yikes! It's ok though, I'm willing to do what I need to do.
I stayed with Nate and his roommates. Nate is about half way through the 3 year time at Brooks. He's the top student of his class and I really look up to him, so it was nice to hang with him for a while. After he got out of class we hooked up and went over to edit a film he's working on. In the midst of editing a ton of people came through to talk with him about various projects. Listening to them gave me an opportunity to get a feel for student life. There are tons of politics involved with the school. They vote on scripts, directors, producers etc later into the school year to work on projects. The bottom line I found it is, don't be a jerk. Which I don't will be a problem because I generally get along with people.
After that we went to Carrows to eat, then Nate's place to sleep. I woke up, got my car jumped (because I left the lights on.. d'oh) and drove home. Good times. I can't express how excited I am to goto Brooks. At the same time I'm anxious because I want to do the best I can. I feel as if I'm not artistic or creative enough sometimes, but I think I'll be ok.
I goto Peru sometime around October 8th and I'll be back sometime around the 28th. I know this because I got an e-mail from the Peru people today. So much exciting stuff. Now, I have to clean all my crap out of the shed and get my clothes washed and ready etc. I hate this part. -BRiAN