Friday, May 18, 2007
あばよ、オールバニ
"So Long, Albany" in other words. Another good title would be 学末, gakumatsu or "end of school", a play on bakumatsu. After all, not only is this the end of my time in Albany, this is the end of my schooling in any format.
I don't have a lot of time because I'm still cleaning up my apartment and packing my things. My friends are on their way to hang with me tonight and tomorrow my family arrives. We'll all be on campus for a small East Asian Studies department ceremony, without any pomp or circumstance. There will be no photos of me wearing a cap and gown, sorry. Here at Albany, they don't hand out degrees or even call out names, everyone just stands around while people I've never met give speeches I don't want to hear. No, I'd much rather say farewell to this university in the company of the people I've shared the most time with.
Speaking of which, I attended a quiet party Wednesday night on campus which featured deviled eggs, lots of pizza and a crude party game that got me sprayed with silly string. Some ended up in my mouth but apparently it was non-toxic. Within a few hours of that event I finished my last assignment and e-mailed it to the professor. Yesterday I ate my final dining hall meal which wasn't as terrible as you might think. Things definitely worked out better this year concerning campus food but I certainly won't miss it.
In bigger news, perhaps the biggest news I can share right now, Mako is coming to visit in July! We're planning a lot of excursions, including a Yankee game, a ride on the Circle Line and maybe a day-trip out of town to see...well, I'll leave you in suspense. Of course, there's much more suspense where that came from as I have heard from the Jet Programme. It seems my placement info is...in the mail! Sorry, you'll need to wait to hear more on that too.
So farewell to Albany, university life and six-month-long winters. I'll be in New York as of Sunday night and I hope to resume blogging shortly after that. By then, I should be ready to share more about my future. In the meantime, Feit...Out.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
I don't have a lot of time because I'm still cleaning up my apartment and packing my things. My friends are on their way to hang with me tonight and tomorrow my family arrives. We'll all be on campus for a small East Asian Studies department ceremony, without any pomp or circumstance. There will be no photos of me wearing a cap and gown, sorry. Here at Albany, they don't hand out degrees or even call out names, everyone just stands around while people I've never met give speeches I don't want to hear. No, I'd much rather say farewell to this university in the company of the people I've shared the most time with.
Speaking of which, I attended a quiet party Wednesday night on campus which featured deviled eggs, lots of pizza and a crude party game that got me sprayed with silly string. Some ended up in my mouth but apparently it was non-toxic. Within a few hours of that event I finished my last assignment and e-mailed it to the professor. Yesterday I ate my final dining hall meal which wasn't as terrible as you might think. Things definitely worked out better this year concerning campus food but I certainly won't miss it.
In bigger news, perhaps the biggest news I can share right now, Mako is coming to visit in July! We're planning a lot of excursions, including a Yankee game, a ride on the Circle Line and maybe a day-trip out of town to see...well, I'll leave you in suspense. Of course, there's much more suspense where that came from as I have heard from the Jet Programme. It seems my placement info is...in the mail! Sorry, you'll need to wait to hear more on that too.
So farewell to Albany, university life and six-month-long winters. I'll be in New York as of Sunday night and I hope to resume blogging shortly after that. By then, I should be ready to share more about my future. In the meantime, Feit...Out.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Monday, May 14, 2007
カイザーウェイブ
Hey everybody! I just got back from that trip to China I told you about. Did you miss me while I was gone?
Sorry, I'm kidding. I have no viable excuse for ignoring my blog for nearly an entire month. I wish I could say I was extra-busy with class work as the semester came to an end but the truth is I had plenty of time to go to the movies, play video games, and watch hours of Star Trek on my DVR. I could get into more detail, I suppose, but leisure activities like these have dominated my free time as of late. Since being hired to teach in Japan (no, no word yet on where I'm going) the significance of schoolwork reached an all-time low. I didn't shirk anything but I found myself caring a lot less about how my assignments were received.
Anyway, today I took the first of only three final exams (hence the Japanese title) and I was completely un-nervous. I knew I could answer the questions and that's that. In a way, the loss of grade-anxiety has given a wonderful boost to my confidence. It's almost a shame that senioritis only surfaces when school is coming to an end. If I felt this good about school in the first place I wouldn't have spent so much time panicking over grades for all these years. All in all, knowing that "school" in my life will soon be over forever is a fantastic feeling. And don't asking me about grad school. It's not happening. Ever.
Oh, one last thing: it's a close friend's 30th birthday today! I'll be seeing you real soon buddy. Congrats.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
Sorry, I'm kidding. I have no viable excuse for ignoring my blog for nearly an entire month. I wish I could say I was extra-busy with class work as the semester came to an end but the truth is I had plenty of time to go to the movies, play video games, and watch hours of Star Trek on my DVR. I could get into more detail, I suppose, but leisure activities like these have dominated my free time as of late. Since being hired to teach in Japan (no, no word yet on where I'm going) the significance of schoolwork reached an all-time low. I didn't shirk anything but I found myself caring a lot less about how my assignments were received.
Anyway, today I took the first of only three final exams (hence the Japanese title) and I was completely un-nervous. I knew I could answer the questions and that's that. In a way, the loss of grade-anxiety has given a wonderful boost to my confidence. It's almost a shame that senioritis only surfaces when school is coming to an end. If I felt this good about school in the first place I wouldn't have spent so much time panicking over grades for all these years. All in all, knowing that "school" in my life will soon be over forever is a fantastic feeling. And don't asking me about grad school. It's not happening. Ever.
Oh, one last thing: it's a close friend's 30th birthday today! I'll be seeing you real soon buddy. Congrats.
つづく... (Click here to read more)
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