August 10: Japan! Kara and Derrick will be coming too. Going to try to see different matsuri since it's obon season. Woot! I'll also visit Shu. I'm hoping to squeeze in some Hokkaido since the lavender should be in bloom.

Yay!!

And I mean that in the singular. My load this semester is pretty brutal. I have two graduate level courses: one 611C Showa-heisei literature and one 602 Syntax. As a non-linguist, Government and Binding is not exactly simple to grasp. As a second language learner of Japanese, reading, understanding and comprehending texts in the original Japanese (and sometimes with the rare obscure Kanji that doesn't even get used anymore) is a feat that takes up a lot of my time. However, I learn quite a lot in those classes and the work that I do always feels productive. Even though the assignments take time I feel like I accomplished something, I feel like I gained something. I'm also auditing a 272 EALL class to get a better grasp of basic Japanese Lit. history. We do a lot of reading in that class and there are quite a lot of dates and names to remember. However, even though it is a freshman level class, I feel very inspired to do well - and I put in the effort.
Then comes work. I've got so many projects to work on - some my own that I have to create bottom up from scratch, some that I inherited that I have to dig through (and sometimes I redo from scratch). But it's work I enjoy and I don't mind that they pay me (and they pay me well) for it. My boss is rather open to my persistence in trying to keep the web standard-compliant and friendly and supports me in my efforts to do so.

So what causes me to select the "shu-poo" face as the icon to represent my post today? The same class and the same teacher that I'm having very "optimistic" thoughts about.
Maybe I'll talk more about it later. I really hate that class, and the reasons are varied. The main reason right now is that it isn't being conducted as a university class should. Guidelines are dropped at a whim (and at the whim of a pretty cocky pretends-to-be-a-monk-but-is-really-an-asshole-that-only-studies-zen-because-of-martial-arts) and it is the students that suffer.

I'm a graduate student. Aren't the stupid classes supposed to be over with? This professor is supposed to have decades of experience teaching - yet can't produce a single grading rubric? How did he manage to get by through the years waving his hands and assigning grades based on "his feeling of how committed you are to the assignment"? This is a writing intensive class, and the instructor is supposed to be grading writing.

The deadline to drop is tomorrow. And it doesn't seem like that is an option right now. I have a tuition waver to worry about, and my standing with the department is in trouble if I have a W in my grade.

Unless my "optimism" proves true, we might be seeing a grievance action being filed. I hope it doesn't get that far, but with the way things are going - the pattern seems to be headed that way.

...doodling.

I've been feeling a bit like a floppy fish as of late. I suppose I will feel better when I start taking classes that are more interesting to me. This semester, I had few options.

GB is kicking me in the bum, but I suppose it is interesting enough...iff [get it?] you're into that sort of thing. I've been eyeing this ICS course about Cognitive Science, but I'm a bit confused as to why it's being offered by the ICS department.

Anyone have brain vitamins?

Working on some Japanese translation for class, and I'm stuck on those blasted sounds! Katakata is a rattling sound... old lady with a wobbly hand and the tray jiggling...katakata. Makes sense in Japanese, but how do you say that in ENGLISH?

Same with pachipachi. That's what applause sounds like. Yay! Cheer! pachipachi...

:: sigh ::

I took on a mochi project on December 31st. Shu suggested peanut butter mochi. That sounded like a great idea until we got to MAKING it. The recipe I had was lame and vague! I ended up with a GOOEY mess all over the kitchen. The only way to save the dough was to add obscene amounts of powder, but the dough ended up tasteless because of it. At least I managed to make the mochi balls look cute.

--

As for news unrelated to mochi, I've been running around to various offices to get school stuff in order. I'm too tired in the brain to give the details, but essentially I have a lot of work ahead of me.

Regardless, the weather is great!

Never attempt to trace language evolution. It's pointless.

Dust bunnies looks cooler with a Z: Dust Bunniez.

Las Vegas sucks at 32 degrees.

Brownies are good for your mental health.

Just kidding. I actually didn't get a chance to vote. Well, I was basically free all day, but I didn't find the time to register. And for one thing, in all the elections prior, the person I voted for lost.

So I figure that the best way to support my candidate is to NOT vote. I mean, I'm not suggesting this for everybody. You need to exercise your constitution-given rights and support your views! But in my case, I find the best way to support my candidate is to NOT make them lose. It's worked so far - both Lingle and Mufi are in office.

So yeah, I did go out and buy Lumines II yesterday. Played it through partly and got Heavenly Star. The history tab says 88% skins, but since the majority come from the challenge modes (which I think I cleared already), that last 12% will be hard. I do hope they didn't get rid of "Lights". I really liked that song. Anyhow, I'll be keeping track of the news and seeing if the Japanese version coming out in December will be different. Rumors are that BoA might be featured.