a history of me

In fairness, I am a college student and I'm very busy with schoolwork, paperwork, and other assorted "work," but is this the extent of my creativity? I don't think so. I want to write more, and by that I don't mean post more often to this blog. I've gotten into a pretty good habit of daily posts and considering the banality of my day-today existence, I'd say that's more than enough.
No, when I talk about writing more, I really mean creating more. That means writing more essay-type stuff for my Writing page as well as trying to write more for other media, like music or film. My New Year's experience showed me that I can write anything if I give it a serious try and it can be as fun as performing.
I suppose the real question is "am I any good?" Is this blog even remotely riveting? Is the music my friends and I sweat over as funny as we think it is? Maybe Ashlee Simpson's friends all hang out and tell her how great her music is while the rest of us cover our ears.
Irregardless of my potential ability, I've got this urge gnawing inside me and I've got to let it out somehow. I've made plans to hang out and record more over Spring Break next week but as far as I'm concerned this is the beginning, not the end, of my self-exploration.

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I've oft complained about the food they serve here at UAlbany but tonight's "dinner" reached a new level of laziness and contempt. They had a "nacho bar" featuring chips and cheese sauce with some self-serve sour cream, salsa and onions on the side. Given the choice between lame nachos and their always soggy Buffalo Wings, I chose the nachos. Yet imagine my surprise when the server gave me a plate full of Fritos. Are you shitting me? Fritos are not nachos, not on any planet in the universe! That's as ridiculous as serving large hamburgers as Rib Eye steaks.
Out-fucking-rageous.

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I'm ashamed to admit I submitted to peer pressure this morning. We gathered for Acting class at 10:15AM. Rumors abounded concerning our professor's health. She had complained of various symptoms in recent meetings and had actually used a substitute last week. On Tuesday she seemed OK but made a casual reference to getting "chest X-rays." So today, everyone was abuzz with the notion that she was in the hospital, according to someone's friend who was in her other Acting class. Everyone decided that if no one came by 10:30, we would all leave. A key element to this plan was everyone had to leave. I didn't want to leave, at least not after a mere fifteen minutes, as I had no better place to be. Also, if a teacher were to come by after we left, we would not be excused for assuming no one was coming. So when everyone decided to leave at 10:26, I did my best to dawdle and drag my feet. I ended up leaving at 10:33 and I hope no substitute materialized (and that our professor is OK). By 10:45 I wasn't worried about it anymore, as the worst that could happen would be a recorded absence.

I spent my morning in the library browsing the Internet, and through its magic I stumbled onto a series of interesting pages that made me think. I started on this innocuous article about why award shows suck (duh!) and found a link to H.O.P.E. That's Horrified Observers of Pedestrian Entertainment and they echo a lot of my feelings about popular "celebrities" like Paris Hilton whom I've complained about before. Among their many posts I found myself on this site where people were discussing real social and political issues (in between ranting about crappy movies like House of the Dead). All of this makes me wonder why I don't do more with my own website. I'd like to, honestly, and I just might. It'll need a total graphic redesign first though. Maybe over the summer.

Anyway, my kanji "midterm" this afternoon was surprisingly short and simple. This was the last exam of the week, bringing an abrupt end to M-Week. Sure, I've got my take-home test due Monday and a PHI112 test on Tuesday, but that's a lifetime away. Not to mention Spring Break is just around the corner...

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It is fucking cold in Albany right now, and I wouldn't mind it so much if Monday hadn't been clear and wonderful. Yesterday we had a nasty snowstorm squat on the area, complete with high winds that made shovelling a futile task. For some reason, they decided to cancel classes yesterday at 2:00 even though the snow fell all day without intensifying or letting up. This meant that my PHI112 was cancelled which pushed back Thursday's test to Tuesday. Today no new snow fell but we still had low low temperatures and high winds. It was an ugly day to walk around outside, believe me.

I had no tests yesterday. The test I expected on Friday (EAJ389) became a take-home test today (due Monday), easily the best news I've gotten in weeks. My other test, EAS394, went ahead as scheduled after being moved from Monday to Wednesday. This was the one test that worried me the most. In truth, it wasn't that bad. He left a lot open to interpretation and made it clear that there were no "right answers." Of course, that doesn't mean there weren't any "wrong answers." We'll find out next week which kind I gave.

So tomorrow I only have one test instead of two. It's a sort of kanji midterm. I'm not worried because my previous Japanese tests have gone very well. I just wish I wasn't so hungry all the time.

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Welcome to M-Week, where the M stands for midterm. I have no less than five tests this week of varying severity. Today I was supposed to have two tests but one was postponed until Wednesday. So I was left with only one test, a Japanese vocabulary quiz. Home run.

That's not to say I didn't do anything today. I spent all morning running up and down Western Ave. First I went to get ID photos taken for my study abroad application, then I had to come all the way back home to retrieve my passport before getting back on the bus and going to school. I spent a good ten minutes fumbling with the copy machine, trying to get a clear copy of my passport with the "amendments" page visible so they would see the correct spelling of my name.

Good news of the day: I handed in what should be (fingers crossed) the last of my study abroad paperwork. Bad news was they told me I needed more photos. Apparently I was supposed to submit ten (10!) photographs. Lord knows what they're going to do with all these 2 X 2 headshots...make a collage? Anyway, I hopped on a series of buses after school to get to CVS where they take lots of pictures for very little money. I had planned to read up a little for Wednesday's EAS394 midterm but I ended up spending two+ hours helping Kazu prepare for Thursday's PHI112 test. That's OK, I should get ready for that test too. After all, I only got a 91 last time and that's unacceptable.

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This afternoon I ventured to the mall to see Ong-bak. You may have seen the advertisements which feature no hint at the story, just The RZA running his mouth about how "bananas" the movie is. That's because the story is actually rather emotional and religious in nature. Sure, young Ting beats the living hell out of everyone, but he does it in the greater service of Ong-bak, his precious deity. Something tells me the target "urban" audience wouldn't go for that. Oh well, I guess anything's better than another hackneyed trailer with "Kung Fu Fighting" in the background.
For the record, the movie kicks serious ass and it's subtitled to boot! Let's hope this is a sign of newfound respect for Asian films in America.

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