ddr digs its drive into the denster
An incredible (note: I find myself using that word often lately) number of events and happenings have occured since I last updated, and I don't nearly remember them all, but I'll write about the few I do recall.
The homework load has been growing steadily, especially from Spanish 275. We had five twenty-some question worksheets to complete that was assigned on Friday, due Monday. All I can say is that it's a rather intense class, but I appreciate the challenge. But before I forget, on Saturday evening, I noticed that the weather was really nice--not too cold or humid--and the sun was beginning to set. I headed out for a walk, grabbing my CD player with me. I had no destination in particular, but it was overwhelmingly refreshing to go out, get some fresh air, and be amazed by the city that is Ann Arbor. Everyone was either running to workout or walking in groups, eagerly chatting away. I don't know the campus all that well yet, but I don't think I've felt so peaceful for a long time. I wouldn't say that I felt at home, because my sense of "home" has been befuddled lately, but it was a very nice walk. I'm always in such a hurry to get from class to class, particularly on Mondays and Wednesdays. The shine shines annoyingly into my eyes as I squint to prevent myself from becoming blind. And Saturday's walk was such a welcome contrast to all that--walking around and taking in the environment. It was almost as if I were inspired, but I wasn't, so I won't mislead you into thinking that I was. I wouldn't say college and my workload has gotten unmanagable, but the break and fresh air were rather enjoyable.
Enough about walks...when I returned, my roommate, who sensed that I was in a strange mood, asked if I wanted to go play pool, so a few of us went, and I learned the game. It was quite a bit of fun, even though I am a terrible player. Still, I was able to improve--even while we were playing. It turned out to be more money than I thought, but it was worth it for the good times I had. I think I'm going to make Saturday night a "regular" for the pool group, and it'll be a nice break from studies. After pool, we explored Stucchi's, a local ice cream store. I was going to get peanut butter nut, or something like that, as my hard ice cream flavor, but my roommate got that, and I felt like trying something different. The mango I chose instead was good, but the flavor wasn't quite as strong as when I had it during Orientation (probably because it was a different ice cream store). Now I feel as if I'm merely wasting time writing about my not-so-exciting weekend.
But, to the point, I played Dance, Dance Revolution for the first time on Friday, and it was an entertaining game. We stayed up until 2 a.m. playing it. There's even a karaoke version to it, so it turns out that I should have listened to western music on a more frequent basis. The karaoke verison is pretty cool, too, because you get "rated" on how well you sing in pitch to the song. It helps so much to actually know the words. For example, I got this one song I'd never heard of...don't quite remember what the title was...to sing, and I "failed" so terribly that I stopped in the middle of the song. Then, I performed Michelle Branch's All You Wanted and got a Platinum award. Granted, it was evaluated on the easy level, but it still illustrates my point. I look forward to getting to know more western music in the future through DDR Karaoke. Plus, it's just a plain fun activity to use to waste time.
Speaking of music, during Sociology seminar today, when some people were "sharing" the items they'd brought in for the culture box, I had a semi-revelation. I couldn't find anything to represent Asian culture that I had readily accesible here at Mosher-Jordan, so I ended up bringing Hong Kong ramen noodles, which I wouldn't have much to really say anthough of substance about anyway. Then, while some girl whooped out her latest copy of Vogue magazine, I realized that I can bring in Canto-pop CD! It was a great idea, so I'm looking forward to "sharing" that next Monday. We're talking about the reading on Wednesday, which was semi-interesting. I think this is shaping out to be one of my favorite classes.
The rest of the weekend was spent doing homework. I read Econ for a few hours on Sunday, and it was very exhausting. It's all mircoeconomics, which I've heard is harder than macro, so it didn't relieve my nervousness about the class at all. I knew the material today during lecture, so it wasn't interesting at all. I nearly fell asleep--the guy in front of me did. I saw his head bob up and down, even as Professor Malone stood near him with her booming voice and helpful microphone. I guess those poeple largely constitute the "rest" of the grades, meaning those who aren't in the 1/4+1/3 who get As and Bs. Security/attendance is so loose in large lectures that I could probably go and sit in on some lectures just to satisfy my interests, if I really wanted to. Today, the door was left wide open in Econ 101. Tomorrow, actually, is my first discussion section, so I'm pretty excited about that. I just hope I get a good GSI, UM lingo for "graduate student instructor." I heard some hardly speak English, so if mine happens to swing that way, perhaps (s)he'll speak Cantonese.
That's all I really have time for now...I'll try updating later this week or next.
zaijian
The homework load has been growing steadily, especially from Spanish 275. We had five twenty-some question worksheets to complete that was assigned on Friday, due Monday. All I can say is that it's a rather intense class, but I appreciate the challenge. But before I forget, on Saturday evening, I noticed that the weather was really nice--not too cold or humid--and the sun was beginning to set. I headed out for a walk, grabbing my CD player with me. I had no destination in particular, but it was overwhelmingly refreshing to go out, get some fresh air, and be amazed by the city that is Ann Arbor. Everyone was either running to workout or walking in groups, eagerly chatting away. I don't know the campus all that well yet, but I don't think I've felt so peaceful for a long time. I wouldn't say that I felt at home, because my sense of "home" has been befuddled lately, but it was a very nice walk. I'm always in such a hurry to get from class to class, particularly on Mondays and Wednesdays. The shine shines annoyingly into my eyes as I squint to prevent myself from becoming blind. And Saturday's walk was such a welcome contrast to all that--walking around and taking in the environment. It was almost as if I were inspired, but I wasn't, so I won't mislead you into thinking that I was. I wouldn't say college and my workload has gotten unmanagable, but the break and fresh air were rather enjoyable.
Enough about walks...when I returned, my roommate, who sensed that I was in a strange mood, asked if I wanted to go play pool, so a few of us went, and I learned the game. It was quite a bit of fun, even though I am a terrible player. Still, I was able to improve--even while we were playing. It turned out to be more money than I thought, but it was worth it for the good times I had. I think I'm going to make Saturday night a "regular" for the pool group, and it'll be a nice break from studies. After pool, we explored Stucchi's, a local ice cream store. I was going to get peanut butter nut, or something like that, as my hard ice cream flavor, but my roommate got that, and I felt like trying something different. The mango I chose instead was good, but the flavor wasn't quite as strong as when I had it during Orientation (probably because it was a different ice cream store). Now I feel as if I'm merely wasting time writing about my not-so-exciting weekend.
But, to the point, I played Dance, Dance Revolution for the first time on Friday, and it was an entertaining game. We stayed up until 2 a.m. playing it. There's even a karaoke version to it, so it turns out that I should have listened to western music on a more frequent basis. The karaoke verison is pretty cool, too, because you get "rated" on how well you sing in pitch to the song. It helps so much to actually know the words. For example, I got this one song I'd never heard of...don't quite remember what the title was...to sing, and I "failed" so terribly that I stopped in the middle of the song. Then, I performed Michelle Branch's All You Wanted and got a Platinum award. Granted, it was evaluated on the easy level, but it still illustrates my point. I look forward to getting to know more western music in the future through DDR Karaoke. Plus, it's just a plain fun activity to use to waste time.
Speaking of music, during Sociology seminar today, when some people were "sharing" the items they'd brought in for the culture box, I had a semi-revelation. I couldn't find anything to represent Asian culture that I had readily accesible here at Mosher-Jordan, so I ended up bringing Hong Kong ramen noodles, which I wouldn't have much to really say anthough of substance about anyway. Then, while some girl whooped out her latest copy of Vogue magazine, I realized that I can bring in Canto-pop CD! It was a great idea, so I'm looking forward to "sharing" that next Monday. We're talking about the reading on Wednesday, which was semi-interesting. I think this is shaping out to be one of my favorite classes.
The rest of the weekend was spent doing homework. I read Econ for a few hours on Sunday, and it was very exhausting. It's all mircoeconomics, which I've heard is harder than macro, so it didn't relieve my nervousness about the class at all. I knew the material today during lecture, so it wasn't interesting at all. I nearly fell asleep--the guy in front of me did. I saw his head bob up and down, even as Professor Malone stood near him with her booming voice and helpful microphone. I guess those poeple largely constitute the "rest" of the grades, meaning those who aren't in the 1/4+1/3 who get As and Bs. Security/attendance is so loose in large lectures that I could probably go and sit in on some lectures just to satisfy my interests, if I really wanted to. Today, the door was left wide open in Econ 101. Tomorrow, actually, is my first discussion section, so I'm pretty excited about that. I just hope I get a good GSI, UM lingo for "graduate student instructor." I heard some hardly speak English, so if mine happens to swing that way, perhaps (s)he'll speak Cantonese.
That's all I really have time for now...I'll try updating later this week or next.
zaijian