The Point has been Conquered

On Friday I attended Anime Society for the first time. It was pretty interesting. The people there were a lot more outgoing than I expected. Later than night I attended a party at Ben and Bruce's in the village. I would have to say that I didn't know over half the people there. And as with all parties comes loud rowdiness and a drunken walk home. Hey at least the half-hour walk to southside only seemed like a couple of minutes while talking to Sarah and another guy whose name I cannot recall.

Anyways, I only got about 4 hours of sleep when my phone rang. Steve woke me up and reminded me that we needed to be on the road in a couple of minutes. I'm really surprised I remembered to bring all my crap. I grabbed my camera, deck of cards, phone, ID, a pop-tart, and put on some clothes. The morning was not good to me. I slept for an hour in the car while Steve drove.

We arrived at Cedar Point a little after 10am. There were 3 cars being driven by Jeff, Steve, and Michelle. The college paid for all of our tickets so we got a free trip to ride some coasters! The day was really fun. We started at the Millenium Force (which Hiro and someone else rode as their first roller coaster ever!) and worked our way around the park. We hit up pretty much everything. It was a great day.

Castles have been Crashed

I just got done with a 4 hour playing session of Castle Crashers for the Xbox live arcade. I played a co-op game from start to finish with Steve sitting beside me and Ben on the other side of campus. Bruce was supposed to play too so we had 4 people, but he was being a lazy bum. It is like crack and I will be playing through it again soon.

The classes I had today were actually pretty interesting... That is, I stayed awake in all of them >_< I also had Japanese class today! It was great! There are only 5 people in it, 2 of which are Japanese. The other one is a 5th year student who started taking Japanese as a Fresman. Talk about dedication. Finally, there is Mieon. I'm not sure if she is going to stay in the class or not.

I decided on a senior project for Japanese. I am going to do a translation of the Goemon 2 script and then revise it while playing through the game while looking at both the original and my translation. It will basically show how important it is to translate in context. After all, knowing who is speaking will alter how the script is translated.

No class tomorrow! Whoo!! Study!!!

First Day of Swimming

I am really glad this week is slow. I had Algorithms this morning and swimming right after. The rest of my classes were canceled.

I found out that I am not a good swimmer anymore.

We did a swimming evaluation at the beginning of class (freestyle of course). Along with most of the other guys, I did pretty terrible. That whole breathing thing is what killed me. It's kinda required. The coach put me in the intermediate level which is where most people were placed. We get to spend the semester perfecting our strokes and hopefully getting better. At the end of the session I tried swimming across the pool again and did much much better. Yay! Now I really wanna go swim during free time at the pool. It's a really nice break from classes.

Swimming left me dead. I wanted to pass out on the grass in the middle of the quad... But there were other things to take care of. My ID card money needed some fixin' at Crawford. I stood in line for 15 minutes downstairs. They told me to go upstairs. The guy up there messed around with my card and the computer system for 10 minutes before saying that I needed to go downstairs again. GAAAAAAAAH! Luckily he came with me and I got to bypass the line. Apparently when the school switched from using our social security numbers to random student ID numbers, it wasn't changed everywhere. The number in the system was my ID number, the number on my card was my social. I got the magnetic strip re-magnetized with my other number so hopefully it works now. I really should try that tomorrow by getting a bagel or something...

In Nord I noticed a security guard sitting on his laptop playing solitare. Good job CWRU security.

Once home I took a nice long nap. Refreshing.

Note to self

Do not under any circumstances eat an entire box of mac and cheese ever again.

2nd Day of Class

It was the same as the first. I just got to my computer moments ago (it's already midnight!) I am still trying to figure out exactly what I need to graduate. If all of my credit transfers smoothly, I just need to take 4 EECS classes I am signed up for now, 2 EECS classes next semester, and a final project in Japanese and Computer Science. It sounds pretty manageable on paper, but after browsing through my portfolio and trying to figure out what I still need something may have been lost. I am going to talk to undergraduate studies tomorrow about graduating.

My classes today looked pretty tough. Compilers is going to be a really hard course, Computer Logic Design is going to be really easy, and the senior capstone course (which I am unsure if it is required at this point.)

During lunch I found out that my ID card isn't working for money transactions. Apparently it has been happening to all the abroad students. I had to pay cash for my subway. Hopefully I can get that fixed soon too.

After class I went to Thwing with Claire, Michelle, and Hiro to the poster fair. I didn't feel like spending the money so I just browsed. Hiro tried to buy a foil poster of the world but Claire and Michelle insisted on paying for it. Hiro is 20 today. They convinced the cashier to not accept Hiro's cash and were successful at buying the poster as a birthday gift. We then headed to the party.

Yoshimoto and Michiyo came to visit everyone today! We had a dinner party in the Hvorka Atrium that was really fancy. Everyone that had any relation to the program came if they could. There was lots of free food and free drinks. Yay for being 21! I got to drink plenty of wine and beer on the schools tab. ^_^

Once back at my dorm I had to show everyone my rabbit. He is getting pretty used to people now and let everyone pet him. We then went downstairs to see Jack's hamster. It was so cute! Finally, before getting to my shower I got to meet my roomates for the first time, Mike and Lin. Mike is a senior Electrical Engineering student who is one of the head members of the fencing club. Lin is a junior Business student who loves to play sports. They both seem pretty nice and they are both really quiet at home so I'm not complaining. Looks like it will be a good year with them.

Just One More Hour

I keep waking up 1 extra hour before the time that my alarm is set. I dunno if it is instinct or just the change in living conditions. My bed is not as comfortable as my one at home. I guess it gives me time to get everything around and play with Shiro for a little bit. Speaking of which, he is doing good. I have not taken him to the vet yet but his condition is getting better. The fur near his hind legs and under his feet were a yellowish color, probably from living in a small cage for months at the animal shelter. That is starting to turn to a nice shade of white. He is also getting more genki (happy/spunky) by the day. He likes to come over and nudge my legs when I'm on the computer which means "Pet me! Pet me!" As for the litter training, it is going good. He always goes number 1 in the litter box thankfully so I don't have my room smelling like piss. Number 2 is about half and half though. It's all right near the litter box so I am almost there I think. In any case, it is fun to have someone to come home to every day and take care of!

Senior Woes

Today was the first day of class and as such it has just dawned upon me that I am a senior. It doesn't seem like 4 years ago I was a beginning senior in high school. Time really does fly with wings.

I only had one class today, alogrithms, which was in the morning. After that I attended an intro session to my physical education class. Swimming starts on Wednesday!

First and foremost I finally declared my Japanese Major and switched my computer science to a B.A. It really is the only way for me to graduate on time. Along the way I had to talk to my adviser Podgurski and asked about what kind of thesis is required. He said that there are 2 options. I can complete it in the fall with a 3-credit, lecture based course in which has a very large group project. The other option is to do an independent project worth 6 credits in the springtime. I am fairly certain that the first option will be much easier on my part, but I need to drop another class and/or overload. For the Japanese end of things, Hagiwara Sensei needs me to declare some sort of research project/topic very soon (within the next two weeks.) I don't even know where to begin to look. My original thought was to look at localization within Japanese game companies like Nintendo and Sony. Research why some games come over and some don't. Another thought was to look at the original Japanese and English translation of a particular game and see what kind of things were lost/changed/improved with the dialogue and story. The latter is more of a compare and contrast thing which doesn't work too well for a senior thesis. Today I came up with the topic of Buddhism (because I loved the classes I took at Waseda) but again I have no idea where to go off of that. Blarg.

It's the first day and I already have too much on my plate to think about.

So I decided to go have some fun. I attended almost all of the 101 and 201 Japanese classes in order to promote Kaiwa club. It was great to see all the sensei's again. I also saw Debbie in order to get a $60 refund for the BBQ that we had with the Waseda students. Hiro and Michelle also happened to be there looking for something t do. Michelle mentioned tennis and we were off. The problem was finding rackets. By the time Clair called saying that she could play with us, it was almost 6 o'clock and time for the actual tennis team to use the courts. We'll try again another day.

Dinner was at a noodles place down the street. Tasty.

Joe and Yuki met up with us and decided to hang out at my place with Smash Bros. As always, once set up in a dorm room, it is a magnet for other geeks to gather around. Brilliant. I had a great time studying my Japanese (and helping Claire!) too. My kanji writing ability has went down the drain... Heisig here I come!

Kaiwa Club

I didn't do anything this morning but figure out my classes and play a little 360. At the moment I will be taking 4 EECS courses, a graduate level Japanese course, and a physical education class (swimming). It is going to be a tough semester with those EECS courses. Tomorrow I am going to add my Japanese Major and change my Computer Science BS to a BA. I'm not 100% sure but I think I can graduate on time. I also am going to talk to my advisor a little bit about it.

Anyways, Kaiwa Club was today! I got to meet Matt and Brenden for the first time in a year. I still cannot believe how far my Japanese skills have improved. I wasn't the only one. The other students from Waseda had yet to hear me speak a word of Japanese until today. They were floored when I started talking to them. What a great feeling. The club had an attendance of 20 or so people including a Freshman from CIA (Cleveland Institute of Art) and a senior high school student with her father wanting to Major in Japanese. Crazy. I hope they decide to keep coming to Kaiwa club. Afterwards we went to a Chinese place with everyone. Yummy.

Tomorrow classes start and as far as I know only two other people have moved into my suite. I met one of them briefly before Kaiwa club and just noticed moments ago that someone elses door was open. He was stealthy. There was nothing in the kitchen and nothing in the bathroom. I hope they are on the meal plan so I have the kitchen to myself...

Tomorrow is the first day of class! Better get some sleep before then!

Back and Ready for Action!

Well not really... I got back to school 3 days ago and am starting to realize that classes start very soon. I am most definitely not looking forward to it.

It has been exactly 1 month since I got back from Japan. It sure doesn't seem like it. Being back at college is really surreal.

My summer was cut short to a mere 4 weeks at home. Sure it was a blast for the most part. I spent a ton of time at home playing my 360, hanging out with friends, riding my bike around town, going to the lake, awww I miss it already. Even though it was really short, I believe it was the most relaxing summer I have ever had. I had absolutely no obligations to fulfill and nothing to worry about. Rock on. I spent a lot of time with my cousins Ed, Alysa, and Logan. I also spent a lot of time with Jessica, a classmate from high school with whom I rarely talked to. It just goes to show you what happens when people grow up. The day before I went to school I went up to the animal shelter and adopted a rabbit. His name is Shiro and he is white just like my cat. He is a friendly little guy who is still warming up to me.

Back at school. I moved into my dorm room, got everything unpacked, and left. The Japanese students arrived last week and Debbie is looking for people to go out with them. So for the past two days I have been hanging out with them. Yesterday we played basketball and had a sweet drinking party at their apartment. The CWRU students were me, Clair, Kristin, Meion, and Joe. There are 8 Japanese students whom I still cannot attach names to faces. Ryo, Yusuke, Taka, Hiro, Hideki, Abe, and 2 more. We taught them one of our drinking games and they taught us a few of theirs. I wrote them down as soon as I got home so hopefully I can get some of my other friends to play the English equivalents at our next party.

Today I met everyone at Little Italy for lunch. The food there was delicious and pretty cheap too. Then Claire and Mieon left and I took everyone to Severance Town Center to do some shopping. I think everyone liked picking up some English stuff there. I got a book about the comic strip Dilbert. We got back around 7:30 and I cooked myself some dinner. It is going to be really weird doing all my own cooking this year.

Now, off to see Bruce and Ben!