Jr. College Retrospective Part 4 (of 4): Semester by Semester Academic/Social Retrospective
One more retrospective before my preview entry on my first semester at Cal (which will be in Mid August)
Semester by Semester Wrapup
Here are the grades and social highlights from EVERY semester.
Through the Fall 2005 semester all my classes (except one) was at Vista College.
Summer 2002
2.5 units
Drawing for Animation - A (2 units)
Writing Workshop - A (.5)
GPA: 4.0
Memories: Drawing and animating was cool, I wish I still had my animations. I do not. In writing workshop we just learned how to type essays. It wasn't hard.
Best moments: none
Worst moments: none
Social stats: None, my sister asked one of the guys in DfA out though.
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester:: AS Saturday, E-girlfriend, Eternal Darkness
Fall 2002
7 units
Basic Reading - A (in the transcript as a W, but I'm too lazy to challenge it) (3)
Arithmetic/Pre-Algebra - A (4)
GPA: 4.0
Memories: Hot desk lady, but never talked to her. I kind of annoyed her with my attention whoring.
Best moments: being way too smart for both classes
Worst moments: lol attention whoring
Social stats: None
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester:: Super Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime
Spring 2003
8 units
Elementary Algebra - W (would have been an F) (4)
English 1A - B (4)
GPA: 4.0, Cum: 3.619
Memories: This was a huge turning point for me, my math teacher cancelled a class when the Iraq War started and we all went to UC Berkeley to protest. I started to morph into a "far-leftist" around this time. I always had liberal values, and I was never a Bush supporter, but I started to read lots of far-left websites and became an activist.
Best moments: Protest
Worst moments: Not doing well in the math class, and winding up getting dropped by my teacher to avoid me having an F on my record.
Social stats: None
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester:: Iraq War started, Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Lupin III, Reign, Trigun
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After the semester didn't go the way I wanted academically, I experimented with a Sudbury school in San Rafael. Fun stuff, met cool people and had two memorable fieldtrips (including a VG developer studio in SF) but it was a one and done year and it was too expensive to justify the benefits. I went back to Jr. College midway through the year.
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Spring 2004
4 units
Elementary Algebra - C (4)
GPA: 2.0, Cum: 3.172
Memories: I gave the class another shot and did a much better job, understanding the concepts better, but barely passed the class. It was still a huge victory though.
Best moments: don't remember
Worst moments: don't remember
Social stats: None
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester:: The Killers - Hot Fuss, Muse - Absolution (came out earlier but got into it), The Cure - The Cure
Fall 2004
7 units
Intermediate Algebra - B (4)
History 7A (US History through 1877) - B (3)
GPA: 3.0, Cum: 3.116
Memories: I did a much better job in this math class than the Elementary one, as I had a lot of momentum. The teacher was the same as the one I had in the Fall 2002 semester. The History class had a conservative teacher, judging from her "I refuse to bash Bush" during the first class and her random defense of Condeleeza Rice (basically it seemed like she just liked her because she was also a woman). Nonetheless the classes were good, though in Intermediate Algebra I had a falling out, after starting the class with two A's, I struggled down the line and wound up with a B. I was too scared to take Pre-Calculus so I took a semester off Math, which wound up being a huge mistake that I never rebounded from. (more on that later)
Best moments: don't remember
Worst moments: don't remember
Social stats: None
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester: 2004 Presidential Election, Full Metal Alchemist, Ghost in the Shell: SAC, Venture Brothers, Curiosa concert, Live 105 Not So Silent Night, Cure 31B remaster
Spring 2005
6 units (3 after the first two weeks)
History 7B (US History 1877-Present) - W (3)
Geometry - B (3)
GPA: 3.0, Cum: 3.102
Memories - US History wasn't offered at a time I liked (night class) so I settled for an online class at the College of Alameda (my only class there) but I couldn't get into the online system and I dropped the class. Geometry was very difficult and I had a hard time with it, and I'm not sure how I got a B. There were 7 people in the class, so there may have been a curve as most people struggled.
Best moments: Going to E3 near the end of the semester
Worst moments: None
Social stats: None
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester:: 18th birthday, E3, New Order concert, Samurai Champloo, Paranoia Agent, The Decemberists - Picaresque, The Cure remasters (SS, Faith, Pornography)
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Beginning with the Fall 2005 semester I became a full-time student, which meant I would be taking twice as many classes and would be at school more often. Also, since I was 18, my social life would possibly benefit from being around people my age for a change. The next 8 semesters will be presented with more stats.
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Fall 2005
12 units
Spanish 1A - B (5 units)
Pre-Calculus - C (4)
History 7B (US History 1877-Present) - C (3)
GPA: 2.417, Cum: 2.877
Memories - After trying twice to take Spanish, I finally was able to take the class in the Fall 2005 semester. I did struggle a lot but I would make a comeback late in the semester, getting two Bs on my final two tests to get a B in the class. (My earlier 4 were Cs, with one dropped) History went well this time. I had a fun teacher although I would struggle with the midterms and would have to settle for a C. As I said earlier, I took a semester off algebra/calculus because I was scared how I would perform. That wound up being a huge mistake as I forgot EVERYTHING I learned in Intermediate Algebra. On the first day of school we had a pop quiz which featured questions based off Intermediate Algebra which I did good in. I couldn't answer anything, even the easiest stuff. Pre-Algebra was basically Intermediate Algebra again, and I struggled mightily. I was lucky to get a C.
Best moment: Whenever I partnered up with a cute girl in Spanish. Halloween comes to mind.
Worst moment: Not talking to one of the girls when I had a prime chance. (See Worst Moments #3 in the first Retrospective)
Social stats:
Hugs: 1 (Girls: 0, Teacher: 1, Other: 0)
Long term friends met (Over 1 year): 0
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester:: Raiders 2005 season (first time i watched a full season), The Decemberists concert, Depeche Mode concert, Depeche Mode - Playing the Angel, Live 105 Not So Silent Night, Shadow the Hedgehog (lol)
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In the Spring 2006 semester I started taking classes at Laney for the first time.
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Spring 2006
VISTA
Spanish 1B - B (5)
LANEY
Calculus - C (5)
Piano - A (1)
Voice - A (1)
GPA: 2.750, Cum: 2.845
Memories: After going to the New Order concert a year earlier near Laney College I discovered that the school was close to the Lake Merritt BART station. I planned on taking classes there the next semester but for some reason or another I forgot to. (Maybe I went for a 12 unit max) So I signed up for classes there for this semester, notably entering the Music department for Piano and Voice classes, with the same teacher John Reager. I did well.
Rather than taking Spanish 1B with Pisano from 1A, I took it with Mr. Banga because of schedule reasons, I thought it would be easier to go to LA in May and miss one class (Wednesday) rather than missing two (Tuesday and Thursday) by taking her class. He was a funny teacher and he was in a way a one semester wonder since all but one of my other Spanish classes was with Pisano.
Calculus was very difficult and I had difficulties understanding just about everything. I managed to survive with a C, but I gave up Math for good after that. Should have taken statistics.
Best moment: The Voice class, singing in front of people and enjoying it
Worst moment: Struggling in Calculus midterms
Social stats:
Hugs: 0
Long term friends met: 2 (John and Osborne Reager)
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester:: Colin Meloy concert, Coldplay concert, Depeche Mode concert, E3 2006, 2006 A's season (first time watching an entire A's season), E-girlfriend, Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
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In the Summer 2006, Vista changed it's name to Berkeley City College, and got a cool new building!
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Fall 2006
12 units
BCC
Computer Science - A (5)
Laney
Music 1A - A (3)
Choir - A (2)
Piano - A (1)
Body Building - A (.5)
Body Conditioning - A (.5)
GPA: 4.0, Cum: 3.074
Memories: I gave up on Spanish and Math, because I didn't want to take 22 units, and I decided to pursue Music. I wanted to be a composer but simply learning piano and how to sing wasn't enough. I need to know theory, so I signed up for Music 1A. I found my calling, as I breezed through all the quizzes to an easy A. I also established a good relationship with the teacher Jay Lehmann, also the Music department chair.
I continued to take Piano with Reager but rather than take Voice, I took Choir, which I thought would be more rewarding. It was great, I enjoyed performing and I even got a solo. (It would wind up being my only solo in 6 semesters) I remember there being cuties in Piano.
I also took P.E. classes for the first time, hoping to get some good exercise going. Body Building was basically having an hour to use the gym and it's exercise facilities. Had fun. Body Conditioning was an Aerobics class. I was the only guy. Lot of cute girls in the class but I only talked to an old lady who I would actually see every semester because she was in the Choir.
I also wanted to take Computer Science for several semesters, so I finally got around to it in in that semester. I struggled mightily, failing two open-note midterms, but I did all my homework and studied real hard for the final (even took a one month break from IRC) and got an A on the final, which somehow netted me an A. It's the first and last time I got a 4.0 GPA, which is amazing considering the 2.8 I had the previous semester. It was the begining of a great 2-3 years for me academically. This was also the last semester where I only took 12 units.
Best moments: Performing with the Choir at Jack London Square
Worst moments: Falling asleep all the time in Music 1A and Computer Science
Social stats:
Hugs 0
Long term friends met: Marc (Choir), Laura (Choir), Beverly (Choir), Teresa (Music 1A, Choir), Jay Lehmann (Music 1A)
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester: Trinity Blood, Bleach, Raiders 2006 season + one tailgate, Oakland A's 2006 season + playoffs, The Decemberists - The Crane Wife, The Decemberists concert, Live 105 Not So Silent Night, The Killers - Sam's Town, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Splinter Cell Double Agent (XBX), Outrun 2: Coast to Coast
Spring 2007
18 units
BCC
Computer Programming - A (5)
Scriptwriting and Storyboarding - B (3)
Beginning Conversational Spanish - B (3)
Laney
Music 1B - A (3)
Choir - A (2)
Piano - A (1)
Aerobics - A (.5)
Body Building - A (.5)
GPA: 3.667 Cum: 3.210
Memories: This was a springboard to the social era (Fall 2007-Spring 2009) of Peralta, and I came in the semester with a lot of momentum after getting a 4.0 GPA from the Spring semester (I did not find that out until the first week of school though)
I continued my Computer Science aspirations by taking Computer Programming. I did a good job at the class. I took Scriptwriting and Storyboarding as a prerequisite to a video game class. I had fun and wrote a script for the Nik Jam video game (I wrote it as a movie though). There were some awesome people in the class, and almost all of them wound up being one semester wonders if not for the fact that I didn't really get to know any of them.
I thought about taking Spanish 2A but since I didn't want to make the same mistake I made with math, I decided to take Beginning Conversational Spanish with the intent in getting back to the speed of things with Spanish. As with Spanish 1A and 1B I did a lot of talking to people and everyone was cool. One person I would see again, but there was a guy who befriended me for that semester and he was a fellow Raiders fan. (He saw my Raiders folder) We'd talk about the team early on but later on we didn't talk much.
As I pursued a Music major I took Music 1B and breezed through that as well. My first B came with an analysis of Autumn Leaves which I rushed during Spring break. Most of the class was about chords. I pretty much decided on taking a Music major, it was the first time I had a major at Peralta. I took Piano and Choir again. Choir had another bunch of good songs, but I didn't care much for my status as a Bass. I wanted to be a tenor, but I couldn't sing well enough. I had realized that I should have continued to take Voice. I made a point to take it in the Fall. I also wanted to play Guitar... (foreshadowing!)
I continued taking P.E. classes, the same ones from before, at the same time and with the same teacher. Same ol'
Beginning this semester the Music department would hold World Music Series concerts, I missed the first one but have seen every one since.
Best moments: Performing with the Choir at Graduation, showing off storyboards in S&S
Worst moments: A situation involving a girl in Body Building who I believe was scared of me for no reason was never resolved
Social stats:
Hugs 0
Long term friends met: Gene
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester: Sonic the Hedgehog (well, it sucked but whatever), Splinter Cell: Double Agent (360), The Killers concert, Muse concert, The Decemberists concerts, A's 2007 season including a game I attended, a 15-3 rout of the Giants, Blood+ and the Takahashi Hitomi theme
Summer 2007
1 unit
Web Design - A (1)
Memories: I took a one week long HTML class to learn new things, but all the things that were covered I already knew except how to make a list and make a form. Neat, I guess?
B/W moments: None
Social stats: None
Notable things: none
Fall 2007
16.5 units
BCC
Spanish 2A - C (5)
Animation/Authoring I - Cancelled (2)
Laney
Ear Training - A (3)
Harmony - A (3)
Choir - A (2)
Piano - A (1)
Voice - A (1)
Guitar - Credit (1) Probably would have been an A if I chose to take a grade
General Exercise - B (.5)
GPA: 3.323 Cum: 3.237
Memories: This semester will be known by me for being the launchpad to school suddenly becoming fun, something that I looked forward to every night, something that made the weekends seem boring in comparison.
The semester began with my continuiation of Spanish with the Intermediate level. There I met a lot of people, most of whom I'd see for semesters to come. It featured many stories that I posted on my Top 5 Best Moments, and other ones I didn't mention, like when I dressed up for Halloween and stood out amongst the entire class (who didn't dress up), or the negative times, when I struggled during activities and looked dumb in front of girls of interest. All in all it was a landmark class.
The Animation class that I wanted to take, and took Scriptwriting as a prerequiste for was cancelled before the semester started.
I decided for the first time to take Guitar class, which meant I could no longer take Choir at night, and I'd switch to daytime. Both of these decisions became huge. I also opted to take Voice classes with Lucy Kinchen instead of Reager because I wanted to see all the other teachers the Music dept. had to offer. All three of these classes were huge in my development. I made a lot of friends in Choir, most of whom I no longer know, and joined a clique in the Guitar class that would stay together for over a year. Lucy Kinchen was also a great teacher.
This was also the first semester that I was also taking therapy sessions with a guy named Josh, midway through the semester, and he helped bring the semester to a successful finish.
Also the first semester where I hugged other classmates.
Best moments: Last week of school, being able to say goodbye to nearly everyone I wanted to.
Worst moments: A situation in Voice class involving Mrs. Kinchen getting a racist death threat.
Social stats
Hugs: 8+ (4 girls, at least 3 other students, 1 teacher)
Long term friends met: Leslie, Analisa, Pricilla, Juanita, Brateil, Sampson, Stan, Luis, Eve, Viky, Ron Galen, Ms. Kinchen; Sara, Ruben, Tommy, Tony too but I didn't really meet them till the Spring 08 semester, 4 to 5 people from Kinchen's class whose names escape me.
Other notable people: Theadora, Ashley, Cicci, Eugene, Carlos, Lauren, Rachel
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester: Raiders 2007 season including 8 memorable tailgates, the Download festival featuring The Cure, finale of the A's season, first time I watched a full Sharks season, same with the Warriors, though I missed a few games early on, Cal's season including their unfortunate collapse late, Radiohead - In Rainbows, Dave Gahan - Hourglass, Super Mario Galaxy, Blood+ including Hyde and UVERworld intros, Bleach (season ended midway through the semester), Death Note, The Amazing Race 12
Spring 2008
18.5 units
BCC
Spanish 2B - B (5)
Laney
Harmonic Analysis - A (3)
Harmony - A (3)
Sight-Singing - A (2)
Choir - A (2)
Jazz Piano - A (1)
Guitar - A (1)
Voice - A (1)
General Exercise - A (.5)
GPA: 3.730 Cum: 3.317
Memories: This semester came off the heels of the Fall 2007 semester and it's memorable ending. I was hoping I would recieve some momentum that would carry me through the semester. But I did have to start over somewhat. Several of the people I was close to in Spanish left, and I tried to make new friends or rekindle friendships with people I knew, and it wasn't easy. While one of the girls in the class added me on Myspace (we're still friends) I couldn't take advantage of the situation and become close to her.
In the end, I had to watch all the cool kids leave to hang out and I felt left out, but I never did much to do anything about it. One day I was able to hang out with most of them at a restaurant and that was memorable. Most of the time though it was rough. The last day had it's moments good and bad (see Worst moments) and all and all it was a good learning experience.
The class itself was difficult. I don't know how I got away with a B, I probably did a better job in Spanish 2A which I got a C in (I would never get a C again) I had to write two essays that were mostly assisted by my dad. I had trouble reading the stories too.
As far as the music classes went, Harmonic Analysis fared much better. I got all six essays done without a problem (they didn't have to be very long) and I got A's in all of them. There was a cool moment at the last day when I played Depeche Mode for the class.
Choir was good, though the magic of the Fall 2007 semester was lost, I still continued friendships with the people I met that stayed around, notably Eugene. However, most of the people there did not come back in the Fall of 08. In fact, two of my friends, Laura and Lauren, left that semester around Spring Break with personal issues. Kind of marred the semester. I wound up taking Voice with Reager because Kinchen's class was at the same time as Spanish 2B. Not much special things happened there.
Sight-Singing was my first and only class with Jennifer Navarette, she's a good teacher and I had fun with Sight-singing although there weren't a lot of people in the class. Those that were in it were pretty cool... I liked the cast of characters that took the class in the Fall 08 semester more though. Shoulda coulda woulda.
Jazz Piano was my first class with John Gove, the jazz teacher, very nice guy and very knowledgeable on all sorts of jazz artists and jazz theory. The class wasn't that bad but I didn't spend a lot of time practicing the chords. I couldn't take actual Piano class because I had taken the class 4 times in a row, so I was required to take a semester off. I would have taken JP anyway.
With more World Concert shows including my two classmates Sara and Ruben in Gamelan Sekar Jaya, a lot of fun stuff occured during the semester. This was also the semester I joined Phi Theta Kappa.
Guitar class was very special. My new friends that I met in the Fall were always wonderful. We recorded a video of us performing a song that turned out very well. (I no longer have it) I really bonded with them well.
Best moments: Recording a Youtube video with my Guitar friends, having a Pizza party afterwards. That came off the heels of a very awful Spanish class where I embarrassed myself in front of two notable girls. (By being awful at Spanish of course) Lunch with Spanish 2B buddies. Final Guitar class. Spanish 2B party
Worst moments: The hugs that weren't (last day of Spanish class), feeling left out all the time in Spanish
Social stats:
Hugs: 8+ (4 girls [1 girl three times], At least 2 other people [some multiple times], no teachers)
Long term friends met: Sara (officially), Ruben (officially), Marie, Joseph, Harold, Tommy and Tony (officially), John Gove, Jennifer Navarette
Other notable people: Elaine, Daniel, Will
Other stuff that happened at the time: Dem Primary, Sharks playoffs, Patriots/Giants Super Bowl, Warriors barely missing the playoffs, my first Cal Basketball season, The Pillows concert, Colin Meloy concert, The Cure concert, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Super Paper Mario, Blood+ with Jinn intro, Death Note (both intros), Code Geass, Bleach, variety of AS comedy shows, A's 2008 season including games in Japan, The Cure - The Only One single, Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
Summer 2008
3 units
Intermediate Conversational Spanish - B (3)
GPA: 3.0 Cum: 3.309
Memories: Although I tried to be a part of the cool clique at Spanish class, sitting with them nearly all the time, I was probably a better fit with the "smart" table, which featured mostly older people who were very nice and welcoming. This group included my friend Leslie too. We all decided to take a two week Spanish course in June. It went through 10 days and each class was 6 hours long. I did a lot of bonding though with my friends, especially Leslie.
Best moments: Hugging Leslie for the first time at the last day of the class
Worst moments: Um, I guess none of the "cool" clique were there, that kind of sucked
Social stats:
Hugs: About 3 (at least 2 girls, at least 1 other person)
Other stuff that happened at the time: A's season, the same anime mentioned above, The Cure - Freakshow single, we got a new pet Jenny, Grand Theft Auto 4, Coldplay - Viva La Vida, I left for Bolivia the very next week after class ended
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We're at the home stretch!
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Fall 2008
18 Units
BCC
Psychology - B (3)
3D Animation - A (2)
Laney
Geography - A (3)
Music History - A (3)
Choir - A (2)
Voice - A (1)
Piano - A (1)
Jazz Piano - A (1)
Guitar - A (1)
Basketball - A (.5)
General Exercise - A (.5)
GPA: 3.833 Cum: 3.379
Memories: After taking mostly music classes in the past year it was time to stop taking classes simply because I wanted to take them, and start completing my IGETC requirements. Most of my friends in Spanish transferred out and I figured I had no reason not to do it too. So I began my quest to get to UC Berkeley. I took two required classes - Geography (science) and Psychology (Humanities)
Geography, my first ever science class at Peralta, was fun. We had a good teacher named Mark Rauzon who had a great resume including cleaning up several islands in the Pacific. He knew his stuff. There were lots of activites we did including an optional trip to Dimond Park in Oakland where we cleaned up the park for extra credit. (I did do it) We also did a group project at the end which was fun although my grade wasn't very good. I did very well on the take home exams and the final to take an A even though I didn't do so well on the quizzes and the homework. Cool people in that class too, most of whom were one semester wonders or close to.
Psychology was originally my only class at BCC. I had somewhat of a strict teacher, Mrs. Kocel, but overall she covered a lot of stuff and I learned a lot about the brain and human functions. The class was very rewarding, and there some cool people in the class, very few that I'd see again. I did show flashes, getting A's on several quizzes and midterms, but I couldn't overcome a D on my first midterm, and a shaky final dropped my grade to a B.
I also took 3D Animation so that I could #1 have more classes at BCC #2 Get to the target of 18 units. In retrospect there were other classes I could have taken, but I was happy with what I had. It was good to get knowledge in the field since I want to do 3D animation in the future anyway. The class indirectly set up a twist where I decided to go to BCC Monday and Wednesday afternoons to work on my homework (the class was on Thursday night) and wound up giving me an oppurtunity to see a friend from Spanish again. (See Best Moments)
The semester started off with Music History, and there were a few people I knew already, Barbara and Ruben. I would also meet Sophia, although we wouldn't talk much at all. We learned early music history dating back to the Gregorian chants, up to Mozart. A lot of fun listening. In the tests I got pretty much all A's, including 50 for 50 on the listening tests combined.
One of the things I was looking forward to was seeing my Choir buddies again, but to my surprise (or maybe not) most of them didn't come back, notably my favorite person from the Spring 2008 semester Eugene. This was very disappointing. Some did come back, like Marc and Laura, and I met some new friends like JQ. The semester had some great songs including a few songs in Spanish. I returned to Lucy Kinchen's voice class and things went well, I enjoyed seeing most of my classmates who were still around. She had some great songs to sing including Lionel Richie's "Hello" and Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria." I took Piano class (unknowingly) with her daughter Lori Willis. Her class was a little too organized for me. I liked the flexibility of John's class, but I couldn't take his Thursday night Piano class because of 3D animation, so I took her Wednesday night class. I continued to take Jazz Piano with Gove but I didn't do so well, only completing half of my assignments. The class is mostly about effort and attendance, so I still got an A. It was weird not taking a class with Jay Lehmann for the first time in 2 years, but I saw him from time to time.
This was the final semester I took Guitar, as the class was taking it's toll and I didn't feel I was working too hard. I saw my friends for the last semester, most of them didn't come back either. We recorded some more videos. I miss them all very much.
I continued to take General Exercise, an open entry/open exit class where I use the fitness center anytime during the semester to accumulate 30 hours. No socializing ever happens there. I did take Basketball class, and it was a struggle to get used to playing but it wound up being fun later on and I liked my classmates.
Despite starting off slow, the Fall 2008 semester was very special, and likely my favorite of all time. Socially it was my best, and a lot of great moments happened during the semester.
Best moments: Asking Analisa out at the end of the semester (despite the no answer), the final two days of school (Guitar party, hanging out with Geography classmates, bonding with music classmates to close the semester), a particular World Music series concert where it seemed all my friends showed up, and several classmates sang beautifully. Singing my own composition "Around the World" for Kinchen and Reager's voice classes and getting incredible feedback.
Worst moments: Coming to grips with the lack of certain people early on, the frustrations during the course of the Analisa saga.
Social stats:
Hugs: 13+ (9 girls, 1 teacher, at least 3 other people)
Long term friends met: Shanti, John, Kate, Annie May
Other notable people: Kevin, Kaitlin, Racquel, Sophia, Natasha, Wily, Rene
Other cool stuff that happened at the same time: Raiders 2008 season including 10 tailgates, Outside Lands concert including Radiohead, The Decemberists concert, Sharks tremendous start to their season, Warriors season, A's ending their season including a win I attended on fireworks night, Bleach (with Beat Crusaders intro, really fitting), Code Geass, Moribito, The Amazing Race 13, replaying Banjo Kazooie and Super Mario RPG, The Cure - 4:13 Dream, The Killers - Day and Age (including song of the year, Human)
Spring 2009
21 units
BCC
Intro to Biology - A (4)
Jazz and Blues History - A (3)
Laney
Critical Thinking - B (3)
Communication - A (3)
Music History - A (3)
Choir - A (2)
Voice - A (1)
Piano - A (1)
Basketball - A (.5)
General Exercise - A (.5)
GPA: 3.857 Cum: 3.444
Memories: As I found myself with lots of work to do to fulfill my IGETC requirements, I wound up having to take 21 units to take everything I had to, in addition to classes I wanted to take. Being my last semester, I wanted it to be very special.
The semester began with Music History, which itself began a saga that would last the whole semester. A saga that started out with so much promise but ended badly. Leslie, my friend from Spanish, also took this class. I decided to pursue something more with her. I talked to her the very first day and even hugged her, and we'd have some good moments during the first half of the semester, but after Spring break it all fell apart. She would give the silent treatment during the last few weeks of the semester, capping off what would be one of the worst moments ever in my time at Laney.
And she wasn't even the only person to do it.
Now I know I have some trouble socializing, but this was ridiculous. I can name about 5 girls who gave me the cold shoulder this semester, all of whom I never found out why. From time to time I'd run into Analisa and she wouldn't talk to me. After it appeared I had made friendships with a few other girls, they wound up avoiding or ignoring me later on in the semester. I don't think there was a conspiracy going on, but come on.
Other than that, the semester was still fun.
There were some people I met that stayed friends with me the whole way through, the most notable of which were the Biology people. During the lab I started to sit with the same people every day, and they took me in and became friends with me. The whole class was very fun. It was a subject I've wanted to do for years, and it satisfied the life science requirement. The labs were very fun and informative, including checking out cells through microscopes and using devices that separate molecules. I got A's on my first few tests but stumbled late. I thought I completely stunk up the final, but somehow I still got an A, meaning I probably did better than I thought.
Jazz and Blues History was great. It was a night class and that kind of stunk, but my teacher Ben Flint was very cool. I liked my classmates, and I enjoyed listening to jazz music. I breezed through the quizzes for a no-doubter A grade.
Critical Thinking fulfilled my final English requirement. This was arguably one of the toughest classes I've taken since Spanish 2B, and I managed to survive six grueling and difficult essays to obtain my only B of the semester. I fell just 3 points short of an astonishing 4.0 GPA with 21 units. My teacher was strict, but she knew a lot about what she was talking about, and helped me a lot when I was struggling. At the end of the semester she told me she could tell I was very smart. How? I didn't think I acted smart. Maybe I'm too humble. The class was pretty much all young people, and everyone was fun to talk to, but I wouldn't say any of them were long term people.
Communication was a requirement to get into SF State, not Cal, but I took it just in case. The class was very easy and I felt like I did a good job. I breezed through to an A. There were some cool people in the class, one of whom added me on Facebook a few weeks after the semester ended, but other than that not a lot of fun stuff happened here. On my birthday I got to talk to a Japanese girl for like an hour about stuff, but we never talked much after that. (I wouldn't say she gave me the silent treatment though) My teacher was also the Phi Theta Kappa advisor, so I had seen her before. Very nice, and she seemed to like me a lot.
Still continued exercising, but Basketball was a waste of time, none of the people from last semester that I played with came back (a few did, but dropped a few weeks in) and I hardly played much because people weren't encouraging. I usually left early and exercised at the fitness center instead.
Now for the music classes, still business as usual. I maintained my friendships with Marc, JQ, Kate and others. Choir was great and included some cool songs including one from Harry Potter. A few new people joined the class, some of whom I'd get to know like Mikhail and Gaby. I still took Voice with Kinchen and she had good songs again, like "Somewhere" from West Side Story but I went with Handel's "Lascia ch'io pianga" for the final and I thought I did a great job. Same people from last time, all awesome, but a few girls in the class I could not get to know as much as I would have liked. Music History went from Beethoven to modern day electronic music. I really liked what I got to hear. I again went 50 for 50 on the listening tests, and including 13 for 13 on my Jazz listening tests, I went 113 for 113. Not bad.
I took piano with John instead of Lori because I liked the flexibility. My attendance wasn't that great and I even missed the final two classes with graduation and related events. I did not take Jazz Piano or Guitar because of lack of time and JP conflicted with Comm.
The last few weeks of the class were hectic, trying to keep friends I was going to lose, working on papers and preparing for graduation. Graduation was very pleasant. My family came and although I messed up my outfit, I still appreciated that people recognized me and congratulated me after the ceremonies, even if I didn't recognize them myself. 4 years of hard work finally coming to fruition and I recieved a Music and Language Arts AA.
I don't know if the Spring 2009 semester was special, and it was not as great socially as the other semesters (though I did maintain a lot of friendships here) but it was very emotional and full of drama. I can say it was a lot of fun.
Best moments: First day of school and hugging Leslie, Graduation, last day of Voice class
Worst moments: Girls giving me the cold shoulder, esspecially Leslie, lady calling me out for talking to myself, awkward bump ins with former classmate
Social stats
Hugs: Around 7 (2 girls, at least 3 other people, at least 2 teachers)
Long term friends met: History will judge
Facebook friends out of it: 3 (John, Kate, Saleem)
Other interesting stuff that happened at the time: The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love, The Decemberists concert (got to go with internet friend Sammy), Depeche Mode - Sounds of the Universe, Bleach (Yui intro, also fitting), Code Geass R2, Sharks playoff collapse, end of Warriors season, Sonic Unleashed, Mario Kart Wii, Yoshi's Island DS (I played them around these times, they've been out for a while), Banjo Kazooie and Tooie.
Summer 2009
.5 units
Lifelong Body Fitness - No credit (.5)
Memories: I took a P.E. class because I thought I was gaining too much weight. I didn't go much, but I was able to see some people from the Spring semester, which was cool. I also got to watch the Summer Choir (kids only) perform. Nice way to close things out. I saw John Reager do a seminar at the Berkeley Library and got to see Marc, Shanti and Annie May and some of them found out I was leaving for the first time. It was a very nice day.
Best moments: See above
Worst moments: none
Social stats: none
Other interesting stuff: Assassin's Creed, Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts, Bleach, Coldplay concert, a few A's games, spend a few days in Sacramento to do some work, Cal student orientations
Semester by Semester Wrapup
Here are the grades and social highlights from EVERY semester.
Through the Fall 2005 semester all my classes (except one) was at Vista College.
Summer 2002
2.5 units
Drawing for Animation - A (2 units)
Writing Workshop - A (.5)
GPA: 4.0
Memories: Drawing and animating was cool, I wish I still had my animations. I do not. In writing workshop we just learned how to type essays. It wasn't hard.
Best moments: none
Worst moments: none
Social stats: None, my sister asked one of the guys in DfA out though.
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester:: AS Saturday, E-girlfriend, Eternal Darkness
Fall 2002
7 units
Basic Reading - A (in the transcript as a W, but I'm too lazy to challenge it) (3)
Arithmetic/Pre-Algebra - A (4)
GPA: 4.0
Memories: Hot desk lady, but never talked to her. I kind of annoyed her with my attention whoring.
Best moments: being way too smart for both classes
Worst moments: lol attention whoring
Social stats: None
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester:: Super Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime
Spring 2003
8 units
Elementary Algebra - W (would have been an F) (4)
English 1A - B (4)
GPA: 4.0, Cum: 3.619
Memories: This was a huge turning point for me, my math teacher cancelled a class when the Iraq War started and we all went to UC Berkeley to protest. I started to morph into a "far-leftist" around this time. I always had liberal values, and I was never a Bush supporter, but I started to read lots of far-left websites and became an activist.
Best moments: Protest
Worst moments: Not doing well in the math class, and winding up getting dropped by my teacher to avoid me having an F on my record.
Social stats: None
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester:: Iraq War started, Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Lupin III, Reign, Trigun
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After the semester didn't go the way I wanted academically, I experimented with a Sudbury school in San Rafael. Fun stuff, met cool people and had two memorable fieldtrips (including a VG developer studio in SF) but it was a one and done year and it was too expensive to justify the benefits. I went back to Jr. College midway through the year.
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Spring 2004
4 units
Elementary Algebra - C (4)
GPA: 2.0, Cum: 3.172
Memories: I gave the class another shot and did a much better job, understanding the concepts better, but barely passed the class. It was still a huge victory though.
Best moments: don't remember
Worst moments: don't remember
Social stats: None
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester:: The Killers - Hot Fuss, Muse - Absolution (came out earlier but got into it), The Cure - The Cure
Fall 2004
7 units
Intermediate Algebra - B (4)
History 7A (US History through 1877) - B (3)
GPA: 3.0, Cum: 3.116
Memories: I did a much better job in this math class than the Elementary one, as I had a lot of momentum. The teacher was the same as the one I had in the Fall 2002 semester. The History class had a conservative teacher, judging from her "I refuse to bash Bush" during the first class and her random defense of Condeleeza Rice (basically it seemed like she just liked her because she was also a woman). Nonetheless the classes were good, though in Intermediate Algebra I had a falling out, after starting the class with two A's, I struggled down the line and wound up with a B. I was too scared to take Pre-Calculus so I took a semester off Math, which wound up being a huge mistake that I never rebounded from. (more on that later)
Best moments: don't remember
Worst moments: don't remember
Social stats: None
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester: 2004 Presidential Election, Full Metal Alchemist, Ghost in the Shell: SAC, Venture Brothers, Curiosa concert, Live 105 Not So Silent Night, Cure 31B remaster
Spring 2005
6 units (3 after the first two weeks)
History 7B (US History 1877-Present) - W (3)
Geometry - B (3)
GPA: 3.0, Cum: 3.102
Memories - US History wasn't offered at a time I liked (night class) so I settled for an online class at the College of Alameda (my only class there) but I couldn't get into the online system and I dropped the class. Geometry was very difficult and I had a hard time with it, and I'm not sure how I got a B. There were 7 people in the class, so there may have been a curve as most people struggled.
Best moments: Going to E3 near the end of the semester
Worst moments: None
Social stats: None
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester:: 18th birthday, E3, New Order concert, Samurai Champloo, Paranoia Agent, The Decemberists - Picaresque, The Cure remasters (SS, Faith, Pornography)
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Beginning with the Fall 2005 semester I became a full-time student, which meant I would be taking twice as many classes and would be at school more often. Also, since I was 18, my social life would possibly benefit from being around people my age for a change. The next 8 semesters will be presented with more stats.
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Fall 2005
12 units
Spanish 1A - B (5 units)
Pre-Calculus - C (4)
History 7B (US History 1877-Present) - C (3)
GPA: 2.417, Cum: 2.877
Memories - After trying twice to take Spanish, I finally was able to take the class in the Fall 2005 semester. I did struggle a lot but I would make a comeback late in the semester, getting two Bs on my final two tests to get a B in the class. (My earlier 4 were Cs, with one dropped) History went well this time. I had a fun teacher although I would struggle with the midterms and would have to settle for a C. As I said earlier, I took a semester off algebra/calculus because I was scared how I would perform. That wound up being a huge mistake as I forgot EVERYTHING I learned in Intermediate Algebra. On the first day of school we had a pop quiz which featured questions based off Intermediate Algebra which I did good in. I couldn't answer anything, even the easiest stuff. Pre-Algebra was basically Intermediate Algebra again, and I struggled mightily. I was lucky to get a C.
Best moment: Whenever I partnered up with a cute girl in Spanish. Halloween comes to mind.
Worst moment: Not talking to one of the girls when I had a prime chance. (See Worst Moments #3 in the first Retrospective)
Social stats:
Hugs: 1 (Girls: 0, Teacher: 1, Other: 0)
Long term friends met (Over 1 year): 0
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester:: Raiders 2005 season (first time i watched a full season), The Decemberists concert, Depeche Mode concert, Depeche Mode - Playing the Angel, Live 105 Not So Silent Night, Shadow the Hedgehog (lol)
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In the Spring 2006 semester I started taking classes at Laney for the first time.
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Spring 2006
VISTA
Spanish 1B - B (5)
LANEY
Calculus - C (5)
Piano - A (1)
Voice - A (1)
GPA: 2.750, Cum: 2.845
Memories: After going to the New Order concert a year earlier near Laney College I discovered that the school was close to the Lake Merritt BART station. I planned on taking classes there the next semester but for some reason or another I forgot to. (Maybe I went for a 12 unit max) So I signed up for classes there for this semester, notably entering the Music department for Piano and Voice classes, with the same teacher John Reager. I did well.
Rather than taking Spanish 1B with Pisano from 1A, I took it with Mr. Banga because of schedule reasons, I thought it would be easier to go to LA in May and miss one class (Wednesday) rather than missing two (Tuesday and Thursday) by taking her class. He was a funny teacher and he was in a way a one semester wonder since all but one of my other Spanish classes was with Pisano.
Calculus was very difficult and I had difficulties understanding just about everything. I managed to survive with a C, but I gave up Math for good after that. Should have taken statistics.
Best moment: The Voice class, singing in front of people and enjoying it
Worst moment: Struggling in Calculus midterms
Social stats:
Hugs: 0
Long term friends met: 2 (John and Osborne Reager)
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester:: Colin Meloy concert, Coldplay concert, Depeche Mode concert, E3 2006, 2006 A's season (first time watching an entire A's season), E-girlfriend, Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
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In the Summer 2006, Vista changed it's name to Berkeley City College, and got a cool new building!
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Fall 2006
12 units
BCC
Computer Science - A (5)
Laney
Music 1A - A (3)
Choir - A (2)
Piano - A (1)
Body Building - A (.5)
Body Conditioning - A (.5)
GPA: 4.0, Cum: 3.074
Memories: I gave up on Spanish and Math, because I didn't want to take 22 units, and I decided to pursue Music. I wanted to be a composer but simply learning piano and how to sing wasn't enough. I need to know theory, so I signed up for Music 1A. I found my calling, as I breezed through all the quizzes to an easy A. I also established a good relationship with the teacher Jay Lehmann, also the Music department chair.
I continued to take Piano with Reager but rather than take Voice, I took Choir, which I thought would be more rewarding. It was great, I enjoyed performing and I even got a solo. (It would wind up being my only solo in 6 semesters) I remember there being cuties in Piano.
I also took P.E. classes for the first time, hoping to get some good exercise going. Body Building was basically having an hour to use the gym and it's exercise facilities. Had fun. Body Conditioning was an Aerobics class. I was the only guy. Lot of cute girls in the class but I only talked to an old lady who I would actually see every semester because she was in the Choir.
I also wanted to take Computer Science for several semesters, so I finally got around to it in in that semester. I struggled mightily, failing two open-note midterms, but I did all my homework and studied real hard for the final (even took a one month break from IRC) and got an A on the final, which somehow netted me an A. It's the first and last time I got a 4.0 GPA, which is amazing considering the 2.8 I had the previous semester. It was the begining of a great 2-3 years for me academically. This was also the last semester where I only took 12 units.
Best moments: Performing with the Choir at Jack London Square
Worst moments: Falling asleep all the time in Music 1A and Computer Science
Social stats:
Hugs 0
Long term friends met: Marc (Choir), Laura (Choir), Beverly (Choir), Teresa (Music 1A, Choir), Jay Lehmann (Music 1A)
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester: Trinity Blood, Bleach, Raiders 2006 season + one tailgate, Oakland A's 2006 season + playoffs, The Decemberists - The Crane Wife, The Decemberists concert, Live 105 Not So Silent Night, The Killers - Sam's Town, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Splinter Cell Double Agent (XBX), Outrun 2: Coast to Coast
Spring 2007
18 units
BCC
Computer Programming - A (5)
Scriptwriting and Storyboarding - B (3)
Beginning Conversational Spanish - B (3)
Laney
Music 1B - A (3)
Choir - A (2)
Piano - A (1)
Aerobics - A (.5)
Body Building - A (.5)
GPA: 3.667 Cum: 3.210
Memories: This was a springboard to the social era (Fall 2007-Spring 2009) of Peralta, and I came in the semester with a lot of momentum after getting a 4.0 GPA from the Spring semester (I did not find that out until the first week of school though)
I continued my Computer Science aspirations by taking Computer Programming. I did a good job at the class. I took Scriptwriting and Storyboarding as a prerequisite to a video game class. I had fun and wrote a script for the Nik Jam video game (I wrote it as a movie though). There were some awesome people in the class, and almost all of them wound up being one semester wonders if not for the fact that I didn't really get to know any of them.
I thought about taking Spanish 2A but since I didn't want to make the same mistake I made with math, I decided to take Beginning Conversational Spanish with the intent in getting back to the speed of things with Spanish. As with Spanish 1A and 1B I did a lot of talking to people and everyone was cool. One person I would see again, but there was a guy who befriended me for that semester and he was a fellow Raiders fan. (He saw my Raiders folder) We'd talk about the team early on but later on we didn't talk much.
As I pursued a Music major I took Music 1B and breezed through that as well. My first B came with an analysis of Autumn Leaves which I rushed during Spring break. Most of the class was about chords. I pretty much decided on taking a Music major, it was the first time I had a major at Peralta. I took Piano and Choir again. Choir had another bunch of good songs, but I didn't care much for my status as a Bass. I wanted to be a tenor, but I couldn't sing well enough. I had realized that I should have continued to take Voice. I made a point to take it in the Fall. I also wanted to play Guitar... (foreshadowing!)
I continued taking P.E. classes, the same ones from before, at the same time and with the same teacher. Same ol'
Beginning this semester the Music department would hold World Music Series concerts, I missed the first one but have seen every one since.
Best moments: Performing with the Choir at Graduation, showing off storyboards in S&S
Worst moments: A situation involving a girl in Body Building who I believe was scared of me for no reason was never resolved
Social stats:
Hugs 0
Long term friends met: Gene
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester: Sonic the Hedgehog (well, it sucked but whatever), Splinter Cell: Double Agent (360), The Killers concert, Muse concert, The Decemberists concerts, A's 2007 season including a game I attended, a 15-3 rout of the Giants, Blood+ and the Takahashi Hitomi theme
Summer 2007
1 unit
Web Design - A (1)
Memories: I took a one week long HTML class to learn new things, but all the things that were covered I already knew except how to make a list and make a form. Neat, I guess?
B/W moments: None
Social stats: None
Notable things: none
Fall 2007
16.5 units
BCC
Spanish 2A - C (5)
Animation/Authoring I - Cancelled (2)
Laney
Ear Training - A (3)
Harmony - A (3)
Choir - A (2)
Piano - A (1)
Voice - A (1)
Guitar - Credit (1) Probably would have been an A if I chose to take a grade
General Exercise - B (.5)
GPA: 3.323 Cum: 3.237
Memories: This semester will be known by me for being the launchpad to school suddenly becoming fun, something that I looked forward to every night, something that made the weekends seem boring in comparison.
The semester began with my continuiation of Spanish with the Intermediate level. There I met a lot of people, most of whom I'd see for semesters to come. It featured many stories that I posted on my Top 5 Best Moments, and other ones I didn't mention, like when I dressed up for Halloween and stood out amongst the entire class (who didn't dress up), or the negative times, when I struggled during activities and looked dumb in front of girls of interest. All in all it was a landmark class.
The Animation class that I wanted to take, and took Scriptwriting as a prerequiste for was cancelled before the semester started.
I decided for the first time to take Guitar class, which meant I could no longer take Choir at night, and I'd switch to daytime. Both of these decisions became huge. I also opted to take Voice classes with Lucy Kinchen instead of Reager because I wanted to see all the other teachers the Music dept. had to offer. All three of these classes were huge in my development. I made a lot of friends in Choir, most of whom I no longer know, and joined a clique in the Guitar class that would stay together for over a year. Lucy Kinchen was also a great teacher.
This was also the first semester that I was also taking therapy sessions with a guy named Josh, midway through the semester, and he helped bring the semester to a successful finish.
Also the first semester where I hugged other classmates.
Best moments: Last week of school, being able to say goodbye to nearly everyone I wanted to.
Worst moments: A situation in Voice class involving Mrs. Kinchen getting a racist death threat.
Social stats
Hugs: 8+ (4 girls, at least 3 other students, 1 teacher)
Long term friends met: Leslie, Analisa, Pricilla, Juanita, Brateil, Sampson, Stan, Luis, Eve, Viky, Ron Galen, Ms. Kinchen; Sara, Ruben, Tommy, Tony too but I didn't really meet them till the Spring 08 semester, 4 to 5 people from Kinchen's class whose names escape me.
Other notable people: Theadora, Ashley, Cicci, Eugene, Carlos, Lauren, Rachel
Other cool stuff that happened during the semester: Raiders 2007 season including 8 memorable tailgates, the Download festival featuring The Cure, finale of the A's season, first time I watched a full Sharks season, same with the Warriors, though I missed a few games early on, Cal's season including their unfortunate collapse late, Radiohead - In Rainbows, Dave Gahan - Hourglass, Super Mario Galaxy, Blood+ including Hyde and UVERworld intros, Bleach (season ended midway through the semester), Death Note, The Amazing Race 12
Spring 2008
18.5 units
BCC
Spanish 2B - B (5)
Laney
Harmonic Analysis - A (3)
Harmony - A (3)
Sight-Singing - A (2)
Choir - A (2)
Jazz Piano - A (1)
Guitar - A (1)
Voice - A (1)
General Exercise - A (.5)
GPA: 3.730 Cum: 3.317
Memories: This semester came off the heels of the Fall 2007 semester and it's memorable ending. I was hoping I would recieve some momentum that would carry me through the semester. But I did have to start over somewhat. Several of the people I was close to in Spanish left, and I tried to make new friends or rekindle friendships with people I knew, and it wasn't easy. While one of the girls in the class added me on Myspace (we're still friends) I couldn't take advantage of the situation and become close to her.
In the end, I had to watch all the cool kids leave to hang out and I felt left out, but I never did much to do anything about it. One day I was able to hang out with most of them at a restaurant and that was memorable. Most of the time though it was rough. The last day had it's moments good and bad (see Worst moments) and all and all it was a good learning experience.
The class itself was difficult. I don't know how I got away with a B, I probably did a better job in Spanish 2A which I got a C in (I would never get a C again) I had to write two essays that were mostly assisted by my dad. I had trouble reading the stories too.
As far as the music classes went, Harmonic Analysis fared much better. I got all six essays done without a problem (they didn't have to be very long) and I got A's in all of them. There was a cool moment at the last day when I played Depeche Mode for the class.
Choir was good, though the magic of the Fall 2007 semester was lost, I still continued friendships with the people I met that stayed around, notably Eugene. However, most of the people there did not come back in the Fall of 08. In fact, two of my friends, Laura and Lauren, left that semester around Spring Break with personal issues. Kind of marred the semester. I wound up taking Voice with Reager because Kinchen's class was at the same time as Spanish 2B. Not much special things happened there.
Sight-Singing was my first and only class with Jennifer Navarette, she's a good teacher and I had fun with Sight-singing although there weren't a lot of people in the class. Those that were in it were pretty cool... I liked the cast of characters that took the class in the Fall 08 semester more though. Shoulda coulda woulda.
Jazz Piano was my first class with John Gove, the jazz teacher, very nice guy and very knowledgeable on all sorts of jazz artists and jazz theory. The class wasn't that bad but I didn't spend a lot of time practicing the chords. I couldn't take actual Piano class because I had taken the class 4 times in a row, so I was required to take a semester off. I would have taken JP anyway.
With more World Concert shows including my two classmates Sara and Ruben in Gamelan Sekar Jaya, a lot of fun stuff occured during the semester. This was also the semester I joined Phi Theta Kappa.
Guitar class was very special. My new friends that I met in the Fall were always wonderful. We recorded a video of us performing a song that turned out very well. (I no longer have it) I really bonded with them well.
Best moments: Recording a Youtube video with my Guitar friends, having a Pizza party afterwards. That came off the heels of a very awful Spanish class where I embarrassed myself in front of two notable girls. (By being awful at Spanish of course) Lunch with Spanish 2B buddies. Final Guitar class. Spanish 2B party
Worst moments: The hugs that weren't (last day of Spanish class), feeling left out all the time in Spanish
Social stats:
Hugs: 8+ (4 girls [1 girl three times], At least 2 other people [some multiple times], no teachers)
Long term friends met: Sara (officially), Ruben (officially), Marie, Joseph, Harold, Tommy and Tony (officially), John Gove, Jennifer Navarette
Other notable people: Elaine, Daniel, Will
Other stuff that happened at the time: Dem Primary, Sharks playoffs, Patriots/Giants Super Bowl, Warriors barely missing the playoffs, my first Cal Basketball season, The Pillows concert, Colin Meloy concert, The Cure concert, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Super Paper Mario, Blood+ with Jinn intro, Death Note (both intros), Code Geass, Bleach, variety of AS comedy shows, A's 2008 season including games in Japan, The Cure - The Only One single, Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
Summer 2008
3 units
Intermediate Conversational Spanish - B (3)
GPA: 3.0 Cum: 3.309
Memories: Although I tried to be a part of the cool clique at Spanish class, sitting with them nearly all the time, I was probably a better fit with the "smart" table, which featured mostly older people who were very nice and welcoming. This group included my friend Leslie too. We all decided to take a two week Spanish course in June. It went through 10 days and each class was 6 hours long. I did a lot of bonding though with my friends, especially Leslie.
Best moments: Hugging Leslie for the first time at the last day of the class
Worst moments: Um, I guess none of the "cool" clique were there, that kind of sucked
Social stats:
Hugs: About 3 (at least 2 girls, at least 1 other person)
Other stuff that happened at the time: A's season, the same anime mentioned above, The Cure - Freakshow single, we got a new pet Jenny, Grand Theft Auto 4, Coldplay - Viva La Vida, I left for Bolivia the very next week after class ended
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We're at the home stretch!
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Fall 2008
18 Units
BCC
Psychology - B (3)
3D Animation - A (2)
Laney
Geography - A (3)
Music History - A (3)
Choir - A (2)
Voice - A (1)
Piano - A (1)
Jazz Piano - A (1)
Guitar - A (1)
Basketball - A (.5)
General Exercise - A (.5)
GPA: 3.833 Cum: 3.379
Memories: After taking mostly music classes in the past year it was time to stop taking classes simply because I wanted to take them, and start completing my IGETC requirements. Most of my friends in Spanish transferred out and I figured I had no reason not to do it too. So I began my quest to get to UC Berkeley. I took two required classes - Geography (science) and Psychology (Humanities)
Geography, my first ever science class at Peralta, was fun. We had a good teacher named Mark Rauzon who had a great resume including cleaning up several islands in the Pacific. He knew his stuff. There were lots of activites we did including an optional trip to Dimond Park in Oakland where we cleaned up the park for extra credit. (I did do it) We also did a group project at the end which was fun although my grade wasn't very good. I did very well on the take home exams and the final to take an A even though I didn't do so well on the quizzes and the homework. Cool people in that class too, most of whom were one semester wonders or close to.
Psychology was originally my only class at BCC. I had somewhat of a strict teacher, Mrs. Kocel, but overall she covered a lot of stuff and I learned a lot about the brain and human functions. The class was very rewarding, and there some cool people in the class, very few that I'd see again. I did show flashes, getting A's on several quizzes and midterms, but I couldn't overcome a D on my first midterm, and a shaky final dropped my grade to a B.
I also took 3D Animation so that I could #1 have more classes at BCC #2 Get to the target of 18 units. In retrospect there were other classes I could have taken, but I was happy with what I had. It was good to get knowledge in the field since I want to do 3D animation in the future anyway. The class indirectly set up a twist where I decided to go to BCC Monday and Wednesday afternoons to work on my homework (the class was on Thursday night) and wound up giving me an oppurtunity to see a friend from Spanish again. (See Best Moments)
The semester started off with Music History, and there were a few people I knew already, Barbara and Ruben. I would also meet Sophia, although we wouldn't talk much at all. We learned early music history dating back to the Gregorian chants, up to Mozart. A lot of fun listening. In the tests I got pretty much all A's, including 50 for 50 on the listening tests combined.
One of the things I was looking forward to was seeing my Choir buddies again, but to my surprise (or maybe not) most of them didn't come back, notably my favorite person from the Spring 2008 semester Eugene. This was very disappointing. Some did come back, like Marc and Laura, and I met some new friends like JQ. The semester had some great songs including a few songs in Spanish. I returned to Lucy Kinchen's voice class and things went well, I enjoyed seeing most of my classmates who were still around. She had some great songs to sing including Lionel Richie's "Hello" and Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria." I took Piano class (unknowingly) with her daughter Lori Willis. Her class was a little too organized for me. I liked the flexibility of John's class, but I couldn't take his Thursday night Piano class because of 3D animation, so I took her Wednesday night class. I continued to take Jazz Piano with Gove but I didn't do so well, only completing half of my assignments. The class is mostly about effort and attendance, so I still got an A. It was weird not taking a class with Jay Lehmann for the first time in 2 years, but I saw him from time to time.
This was the final semester I took Guitar, as the class was taking it's toll and I didn't feel I was working too hard. I saw my friends for the last semester, most of them didn't come back either. We recorded some more videos. I miss them all very much.
I continued to take General Exercise, an open entry/open exit class where I use the fitness center anytime during the semester to accumulate 30 hours. No socializing ever happens there. I did take Basketball class, and it was a struggle to get used to playing but it wound up being fun later on and I liked my classmates.
Despite starting off slow, the Fall 2008 semester was very special, and likely my favorite of all time. Socially it was my best, and a lot of great moments happened during the semester.
Best moments: Asking Analisa out at the end of the semester (despite the no answer), the final two days of school (Guitar party, hanging out with Geography classmates, bonding with music classmates to close the semester), a particular World Music series concert where it seemed all my friends showed up, and several classmates sang beautifully. Singing my own composition "Around the World" for Kinchen and Reager's voice classes and getting incredible feedback.
Worst moments: Coming to grips with the lack of certain people early on, the frustrations during the course of the Analisa saga.
Social stats:
Hugs: 13+ (9 girls, 1 teacher, at least 3 other people)
Long term friends met: Shanti, John, Kate, Annie May
Other notable people: Kevin, Kaitlin, Racquel, Sophia, Natasha, Wily, Rene
Other cool stuff that happened at the same time: Raiders 2008 season including 10 tailgates, Outside Lands concert including Radiohead, The Decemberists concert, Sharks tremendous start to their season, Warriors season, A's ending their season including a win I attended on fireworks night, Bleach (with Beat Crusaders intro, really fitting), Code Geass, Moribito, The Amazing Race 13, replaying Banjo Kazooie and Super Mario RPG, The Cure - 4:13 Dream, The Killers - Day and Age (including song of the year, Human)
Spring 2009
21 units
BCC
Intro to Biology - A (4)
Jazz and Blues History - A (3)
Laney
Critical Thinking - B (3)
Communication - A (3)
Music History - A (3)
Choir - A (2)
Voice - A (1)
Piano - A (1)
Basketball - A (.5)
General Exercise - A (.5)
GPA: 3.857 Cum: 3.444
Memories: As I found myself with lots of work to do to fulfill my IGETC requirements, I wound up having to take 21 units to take everything I had to, in addition to classes I wanted to take. Being my last semester, I wanted it to be very special.
The semester began with Music History, which itself began a saga that would last the whole semester. A saga that started out with so much promise but ended badly. Leslie, my friend from Spanish, also took this class. I decided to pursue something more with her. I talked to her the very first day and even hugged her, and we'd have some good moments during the first half of the semester, but after Spring break it all fell apart. She would give the silent treatment during the last few weeks of the semester, capping off what would be one of the worst moments ever in my time at Laney.
And she wasn't even the only person to do it.
Now I know I have some trouble socializing, but this was ridiculous. I can name about 5 girls who gave me the cold shoulder this semester, all of whom I never found out why. From time to time I'd run into Analisa and she wouldn't talk to me. After it appeared I had made friendships with a few other girls, they wound up avoiding or ignoring me later on in the semester. I don't think there was a conspiracy going on, but come on.
Other than that, the semester was still fun.
There were some people I met that stayed friends with me the whole way through, the most notable of which were the Biology people. During the lab I started to sit with the same people every day, and they took me in and became friends with me. The whole class was very fun. It was a subject I've wanted to do for years, and it satisfied the life science requirement. The labs were very fun and informative, including checking out cells through microscopes and using devices that separate molecules. I got A's on my first few tests but stumbled late. I thought I completely stunk up the final, but somehow I still got an A, meaning I probably did better than I thought.
Jazz and Blues History was great. It was a night class and that kind of stunk, but my teacher Ben Flint was very cool. I liked my classmates, and I enjoyed listening to jazz music. I breezed through the quizzes for a no-doubter A grade.
Critical Thinking fulfilled my final English requirement. This was arguably one of the toughest classes I've taken since Spanish 2B, and I managed to survive six grueling and difficult essays to obtain my only B of the semester. I fell just 3 points short of an astonishing 4.0 GPA with 21 units. My teacher was strict, but she knew a lot about what she was talking about, and helped me a lot when I was struggling. At the end of the semester she told me she could tell I was very smart. How? I didn't think I acted smart. Maybe I'm too humble. The class was pretty much all young people, and everyone was fun to talk to, but I wouldn't say any of them were long term people.
Communication was a requirement to get into SF State, not Cal, but I took it just in case. The class was very easy and I felt like I did a good job. I breezed through to an A. There were some cool people in the class, one of whom added me on Facebook a few weeks after the semester ended, but other than that not a lot of fun stuff happened here. On my birthday I got to talk to a Japanese girl for like an hour about stuff, but we never talked much after that. (I wouldn't say she gave me the silent treatment though) My teacher was also the Phi Theta Kappa advisor, so I had seen her before. Very nice, and she seemed to like me a lot.
Still continued exercising, but Basketball was a waste of time, none of the people from last semester that I played with came back (a few did, but dropped a few weeks in) and I hardly played much because people weren't encouraging. I usually left early and exercised at the fitness center instead.
Now for the music classes, still business as usual. I maintained my friendships with Marc, JQ, Kate and others. Choir was great and included some cool songs including one from Harry Potter. A few new people joined the class, some of whom I'd get to know like Mikhail and Gaby. I still took Voice with Kinchen and she had good songs again, like "Somewhere" from West Side Story but I went with Handel's "Lascia ch'io pianga" for the final and I thought I did a great job. Same people from last time, all awesome, but a few girls in the class I could not get to know as much as I would have liked. Music History went from Beethoven to modern day electronic music. I really liked what I got to hear. I again went 50 for 50 on the listening tests, and including 13 for 13 on my Jazz listening tests, I went 113 for 113. Not bad.
I took piano with John instead of Lori because I liked the flexibility. My attendance wasn't that great and I even missed the final two classes with graduation and related events. I did not take Jazz Piano or Guitar because of lack of time and JP conflicted with Comm.
The last few weeks of the class were hectic, trying to keep friends I was going to lose, working on papers and preparing for graduation. Graduation was very pleasant. My family came and although I messed up my outfit, I still appreciated that people recognized me and congratulated me after the ceremonies, even if I didn't recognize them myself. 4 years of hard work finally coming to fruition and I recieved a Music and Language Arts AA.
I don't know if the Spring 2009 semester was special, and it was not as great socially as the other semesters (though I did maintain a lot of friendships here) but it was very emotional and full of drama. I can say it was a lot of fun.
Best moments: First day of school and hugging Leslie, Graduation, last day of Voice class
Worst moments: Girls giving me the cold shoulder, esspecially Leslie, lady calling me out for talking to myself, awkward bump ins with former classmate
Social stats
Hugs: Around 7 (2 girls, at least 3 other people, at least 2 teachers)
Long term friends met: History will judge
Facebook friends out of it: 3 (John, Kate, Saleem)
Other interesting stuff that happened at the time: The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love, The Decemberists concert (got to go with internet friend Sammy), Depeche Mode - Sounds of the Universe, Bleach (Yui intro, also fitting), Code Geass R2, Sharks playoff collapse, end of Warriors season, Sonic Unleashed, Mario Kart Wii, Yoshi's Island DS (I played them around these times, they've been out for a while), Banjo Kazooie and Tooie.
Summer 2009
.5 units
Lifelong Body Fitness - No credit (.5)
Memories: I took a P.E. class because I thought I was gaining too much weight. I didn't go much, but I was able to see some people from the Spring semester, which was cool. I also got to watch the Summer Choir (kids only) perform. Nice way to close things out. I saw John Reager do a seminar at the Berkeley Library and got to see Marc, Shanti and Annie May and some of them found out I was leaving for the first time. It was a very nice day.
Best moments: See above
Worst moments: none
Social stats: none
Other interesting stuff: Assassin's Creed, Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts, Bleach, Coldplay concert, a few A's games, spend a few days in Sacramento to do some work, Cal student orientations