(Wow, that was a pretty long time without updates...)

A lot happened in the last months and somehow I didn't get to write something new here. But actually most of the events weren't worth mentioning. Nevertheless I'll sum up the most important.

The last three weeks I spend with my parents in my hometown. I did a placement at an aluminium factory which was quite interessting and gave me lots and lots of new experiences. (And also some new ideas for art projects but I won't promise anything. I did that in the past and never came to the point to realise them.)

Since Sunday night I'm back home in my own flat and yesterday my comrades and me started to learn for our exams. I guess we'll get through somehow although I find it kind of hard to motivate myself after three weeks of not working for university. Naa, we'll see...

On a different note something interessting happened to me after we finished our work session yesterday. I wandered the streets of Aachen, went into different shops in the city centre and when I finally got on my way home the sun was already setting. And at that special moment I really felt happy and peaceful, easy and excited at the same time. I think after one year of living here I finally feel a connection to this city that is strong enough to miss it even if I didn't realise it when I was at my hometown.
I hope everyone will experience this feeling at some time because it's just awesome.

So that's it for now. We'll see when I'll update again.
So long
DuskFennec

Yeah... I'm still alive. Sorry for my long absence.
I survived my exams - the results were quite satisfying by the way - and spent three great and relaxing weeks at home. Well, I had to do a lot of stuff for my parents and other people (work in the garden, repair things and stuff and so on) and therefore I didn't even touch my pencils. I feel kind of disappointed about that but on the other hand I had a great time with my friends and that's the stuff that really counts.
So, no new art for now but I have a dozen of ideas for new pictures. I hope I get to realise at least some of them in the coming days and weeks. We'll see...

That's it for now. Hope to update soon.

DuskFennec

Yep. Today I wrote my first exam for this semester. Well, it wasn't too big a deal. All one had to do was to learn some models and facts about communication and organisational development. "Which are the important stages of working in a team?", "How can you improve your personal skills refering to communication?", "How does change management work?" and bla bla bla... *really boring stuff here*

Actually, there were some interesting facts and information and even some of those concepts although being kind of abstract and relatively far away from reality on first sight somehow changed my view on my future job as an engineer. Not my attitude towards it, more the way I expect the everyday life to be like.

But there were even some things I learnt that can be applied to other parts of life as well. For example one of the most important guidelines concerning feedback:

"Never react to critique right away. Be it positive or negative criticism, just sit back and take some time before you give any reply."

I personally think a lot of drama (here at dA or anywhere else) could be avoided if the people would just stick to this rule. It would make things so much easier. People tend to get defensive when they get some "negative" feedback (including myself ) and just like a harried animal they start to get emotional/aggressive. If you just lean back, think about the aspects the other referred to and get some distance you'll almost certainly find out what your critic wanted to show you and that he or she maybe isn't that retarted you thought him or her to be. Remember: You still have the opportunity to explain some things if you really feel misunderstood but by reflecting on it first you'll be a much fairer partner in conversation. Unless the critism you get is something like "lol this sucks ass!!11!eleven"... Well, it's still some kind of opinion... but... you know... it isn't really worth to think about...


Wow, looks as if I've wandered from the original subject a bit . But I guess it's a good sign that my brain hasn't suffered too much damage in the last time.

So I'll better end now and get back to work. Still 5 exams stand between me and the end of my first semester at university. Hope you're all doing fine.

So long,
DuskFennec

Hello everybody,

so, yes, the first journal of this year is about the obvious lack of updates on my side. Months came and went and I didn't get anything new online. Actually I did some sort of arts (a quick and dirty christmas-card-like picture for example) but there was nothing worth to be uploaded and those that would be worth it, aren't finished yet and probably never will be.

And here comes the bad news: It's highly unlikely that this situation will change in the near future. Exams start at the end of this month and the last one will be written in late March. Therefore I won't be able to get anything done that isn't related to university. Impressive how fast you can lose your live...

Note: This is just for those very few people who might wait for anything new. I'm sorry but I really can't tell you when this will finally happen. I only hope it will happen someday...

Until then I'll stay a 24/7 student.

DuskFennec

THIS - IS - SPARTA!

Sorry for this, but I can't find anything that fits better to what I saw today. We have the first snow for this winter - quite early, if you ask me - and consequently the temperature is low. Around 0 °C (32 °F), wind is blowing and most people don't leave home without their scarves, gloves and woollen hat. Most people... almost everybody. Well, everybody except for that one hardened stutend, Mr. I'm-too-tough-for-your-weather. I didn't believe it at first sight but he really came to university just wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Well, I bow my head for him. He's really some hard-boiled guy - possibly the only creature that could withstand a roundhouse-kick .

Or maybe he's just crazy.


Conclusion: The world is full of wonders...

So that's it for now,
DuskFennec