How do you like the new me?

I'm on a roll with redesign. Blogger is too. I love the new templates. The one I've chosen for the time being is bit like Tumblr, very visual. And that works for me right now.
I'm in the throes of the final week of my first semester as a grad student, and if I'm honest, I have to say: the semester isn't ending a moment too soon. Being a student is exhausting. Not perhaps in the ways you might think, though.
It's not the work, but the navel gazing that gets to me. Bring on the books. And the art works in progress. But all the considering, and reconsidering, and wondering why, etc. etc. All the writing about it. That's what tires me out. It's a bit like being on a merry go round for me. Too many words.
I'm a "first thought, best thought" kind of girl. And I like shorter vs. longer sentences. I like fragments. And big words don't really wow me. As I tweeted recently "pedagogy" and "pithy" are two of my least favorite words. Add to that list "praxis".
Don't get me wrong. I like thinking. And I like thinking on a certain level. But what really excites me is communicating. And understanding. And that means easy to understand. Maybe it's my ingrained advertising ethos. Keep it simple.
I'm not big on hidden messages. It's elitist. It's tricky. Sometimes I suppose, it's sacred. And that's something I do like - or that resonates, if I'm using more academic language.
So, for all of you who have been hoping for grad school blow by blows, I'm sorry. I just don't have the words. But pictures! I've got pictures.
This is what my semester at Goddard looks like:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21863196@N07/collections/72157628030828275/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21863196@N07/collections/72157627861054569/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21863196@N07/collections/72157627736579723/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21863196@N07/collections/72157627583956651/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21863196@N07/collections/72157627376096833/