a history of me

Yesterday was the second day of classes, and my first Acting I class. It was a little weird, at first, but I'm sure over time it will become routine. At the very least, it's not particularly "challenging" in the way a 300-level class would be. Physically, on the other hand, it will test my habits and hopefully leave me in a better condition than when I arrived.

Last night I went to a little party at Kento's apartment. It was kind of a birthday party for Nao but it was also the first gathering of the semester for all of us. Well, "us" isn't the best word, more like "me and the students I've met." I don't feel comfortable saying "us" yet because I still feel like an outsider. Hopefully last night's party was another step closer to integrating "us." Certainly new ground was broken when we ate the ice cream cake. Without any plates, we served the cake on paper, specifically toilet paper. The ice cream started to melt so I started to eat more aggressively. When it melted, the ice cream stuck to the paper, and I ingested the combination of paper and cream.

So I've eaten toilet paper. I didn't want to do it, but it's done. I suppose that's what college is all about: new experiences.

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Class is back in session. I had three today, Japanese Drama, Japanese 102, and Readings in Japanese Religious Studies. I'm a little nervous about the third one, but so far all of them sound interesting. It's funny how many people I recognized in class today from last semester. I guess when you take multiple classes in the same department, you tend to see the same faces. It makes this giant school seem a little bit smaller.

I found out why there weren't more books in the bookstore. There's an off-campus bookstore called Mary Jane which a few of professors chose to order their texts from. Thankfully, Mary Jane is very close to my dorm so I didn't have to go far. I ended up spending another $70+ on five books which I hope will be sufficient for the semester.

In the meantime, I'll sit back and enjoy another evening of losers on American Idol. Nothing is funnier than people embarrassing themselves, especially when they think they are really awesome.

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Last night was very pleasant as nearly everyone I know here at the dorm dropped by at one point or another. Everyone seems happy and rested from the break. I was also pleased this morning when I discovered the showerhead had been replaced. It's actually quite powerful now and seems to warm up faster too.

I ran off to the bookstore today to avoid the trouble I had last semester. Several books I needed sold out and I ended up searching for them elsewhere or waiting for them to restock. However, when I arrived I found only one book. One? ONE? Four of my five classes did not reserve any textbooks at the bookstore. I'm either incredibly lucky or totally screwed. I hope they don't expect me to do all my work in the library. Worse, they might expect me to buy packets of photocopies at an off-campus store called Shipmates.

Classes start tomorrow, so I guess I'll just show up and find out what the deal is. It's a short week, with classes tomorrow and Thursday but no class on Friday. It's a shame the Super Bowl isn't for another three weeks. I could have used a little party before classes get too serious.

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I've returned to Albany at last. I enjoyed my break of course, but after a month I really did need to get back to work. Classes don't start until Wednesday, so I've got some time to get my books and other stuff in order. Hopefully I can submit my Study Abroad application tomorrow to get that process underway. Also, coming back early allowed me to grab a nice spot in the parking lot. With the upcoming forecast of freezing temperatures and occasional snowfall, I don't want to leave my car on the street if I can help it.

Kazu is around but my roommate isn't. I wonder where he went to, and why do we suddenly have extra chairs?

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Let me explain. Yesterday I left NYC to spend the weekend in my hometown with my friends. Shortly after I arrived we were invited to a dinner party at Dani's house, the same house I had my little accident in three weeks ago. Fortunately, nothing went awry this time. We had a wonderful dinner and spent most of the night playing poker. At Dylan's insistence we played for actual money, but I was adamant about keeping the stakes low. I know playing poker without betting is like going to the airport without flying, but I refuse to make a friendly evening into a costly venture. $2.50 apiece satisfied everyone, and Dylan turned out to be the winner. He was quite boastful while at the same time very intoxicated, resulting in a "victory lap" where Dylan, unable to stand up, crawled on all fours upstairs. A winner indeed.

Today will include little more than chilling with my friends for one last night. Tomorrow I'm going home to Albany. Oh, and Dad, Happy Birthday.

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