The Story Behind Nishimura-sensei
As a young, naive sophomore, I made my way to Packard, on my way to making perhaps one of the most egregious errors I ever allowed my judgment to nudge me into. I was on my way to declare my major in EE, with a specialty in Signal Processing. A little less than a year prior to that point, my former RCC had told me he was majoring in EE with a specialty in Signal Processing. I responded with more or less the equivalent of "What the hell!?!", the sort of which you would say when someone were to try to sell you a device that demagnetizes your rain gutters. Really, it's so practical and everything and you so absolutely need one!
I had to talk to the Vice Chair, a stocky man who has a strong resemblance to Santa Claus (as well as Dr. Light from the Mega Man series) except for the fact he's evil. I should have been put off at that point and also after taking 102A which Dr. Gray personally ensured was horrendously poorly taught. Nonetheless, I remained stubborn, ignoring all the warning signs that, in retrospect, could not possibly have been louder.
So the Vice Chair asks me what my tentative specialty would be in, and I respond Signal Processing, not really having a clear idea what that or anything else in EE really was. I was to be assigned Dr. Nishimura as my advisor, but since he was on sabbatical, he told me I could choose an advisor or be assigned someone in general EE. I was assigned Dr. Khuri-Yakub, the lecturer of E40 who brilliantly analogized resonance to an elf pushing a sumo wrestler on a swing. (Note: after TAing E40 in Kyoto, he tells the same jokes every year, I learned.)
Later on in life, I wind up going to Japan. Along the way, I learn Dr. Nishimura is taking a quarter abroad with us and teaching EE261 for us, which I took. Also, despite him and his wife being pure-blooded 日本人, neither knows more than a little Japanese. He was a good guy, but I think my attitude was a little too casual; I didn't make myself out as very professional in class, but it's hard not to hide your personality when the class consists of all of 6 people. I was in fear of the class getting curved, but by and large, it was okay anyway. In class, he gave us Hanshin Tigers candy which his kids didn't like. We looked up to him as an instructor, our guide to the wonderful world of Fourier Transforms. He looked at us as garbage disposals, at least when it came to treating us. Still, the fact he treated us was more than what we were expecting. I shared some Chotos with him in class one time, but David and I finished one flavor of the Chotos before it could make its rounds to Dr. Nishimura. Damn Chotos. You win this time.
So eventually, after Japan passed, we returned to the US where Dr. Nishimura was kind enough to have lunch with us. A few weeks prior to this, I discover Dr. Khuri-Yakub, my advisor, is on sabbatical. I sort of needed a program sheet signed by someone in the department to do such somewhat important things as graduating, so at the luncheon, I asked him to be my advisor. He actually cared about us, and when he was teaching us 261, it was much better than the average EE class in quality. I decided I could like the guy. I felt that a good portion of the profs in the EE department were either mean or inaccessible.
It's kind of like asking in a "実は。。。" sort of tone. You didn't foresee something happening, something messed up along the way, and you want the good favor of whomever you're asking a request of. Dr. Nishimura (whom we never actually called "Nishimura-sensei" however fitting it sounds) is my advisor now, or at least I'm led to believe so. And, if all goes well, his guidance will serve as the vehicle for my redemption from what may have been one of the most serious errors in judgment I have ever made.
I had to talk to the Vice Chair, a stocky man who has a strong resemblance to Santa Claus (as well as Dr. Light from the Mega Man series) except for the fact he's evil. I should have been put off at that point and also after taking 102A which Dr. Gray personally ensured was horrendously poorly taught. Nonetheless, I remained stubborn, ignoring all the warning signs that, in retrospect, could not possibly have been louder.
So the Vice Chair asks me what my tentative specialty would be in, and I respond Signal Processing, not really having a clear idea what that or anything else in EE really was. I was to be assigned Dr. Nishimura as my advisor, but since he was on sabbatical, he told me I could choose an advisor or be assigned someone in general EE. I was assigned Dr. Khuri-Yakub, the lecturer of E40 who brilliantly analogized resonance to an elf pushing a sumo wrestler on a swing. (Note: after TAing E40 in Kyoto, he tells the same jokes every year, I learned.)
Later on in life, I wind up going to Japan. Along the way, I learn Dr. Nishimura is taking a quarter abroad with us and teaching EE261 for us, which I took. Also, despite him and his wife being pure-blooded 日本人, neither knows more than a little Japanese. He was a good guy, but I think my attitude was a little too casual; I didn't make myself out as very professional in class, but it's hard not to hide your personality when the class consists of all of 6 people. I was in fear of the class getting curved, but by and large, it was okay anyway. In class, he gave us Hanshin Tigers candy which his kids didn't like. We looked up to him as an instructor, our guide to the wonderful world of Fourier Transforms. He looked at us as garbage disposals, at least when it came to treating us. Still, the fact he treated us was more than what we were expecting. I shared some Chotos with him in class one time, but David and I finished one flavor of the Chotos before it could make its rounds to Dr. Nishimura. Damn Chotos. You win this time.
So eventually, after Japan passed, we returned to the US where Dr. Nishimura was kind enough to have lunch with us. A few weeks prior to this, I discover Dr. Khuri-Yakub, my advisor, is on sabbatical. I sort of needed a program sheet signed by someone in the department to do such somewhat important things as graduating, so at the luncheon, I asked him to be my advisor. He actually cared about us, and when he was teaching us 261, it was much better than the average EE class in quality. I decided I could like the guy. I felt that a good portion of the profs in the EE department were either mean or inaccessible.
It's kind of like asking in a "実は。。。" sort of tone. You didn't foresee something happening, something messed up along the way, and you want the good favor of whomever you're asking a request of. Dr. Nishimura (whom we never actually called "Nishimura-sensei" however fitting it sounds) is my advisor now, or at least I'm led to believe so. And, if all goes well, his guidance will serve as the vehicle for my redemption from what may have been one of the most serious errors in judgment I have ever made.