exis_night

No, I'm not dead. I've just been really busy these past couple of months.

Working 72 hours a week at a "part time" job for minimum wage (LOL recession-empowered employers) can do a real number on one's free time.

Anyway, the fall semester has begun and I'm now a full-time student again, so that job can go to hell.

The classes I'm taking this semester: Biology, Social Science (retaking this one), Geography, and African History. Yep. All GenEd classes. Can't say they were my first choices of subjects to take, but the sooner I get through with them the better.

Registration went relatively well this semester, but of course, there were a couple of snags. Classes running out of seats and having to wait for people to drop them before I could sign up myself was the main source of annoyance this time around. Having to see two advisors -- one from each college I attend -- so that I can actually get clearance to register for my classes was also a hassle. On top of that, I also have to find out tomorrow when I can get my student ID and email account over at DePaul.

Blargh.

But even then, it was still fun seeing old faces from semesters past after so long. I just hope nothing like the shit that occured last semester comes around to ruin this one.

今は29℃でもう十分に暑いのですが、天気予報によると、これからさらに３５℃以上になり、今よりもっと蒸し暑くなってしまうようです。

．．．

．．．

．．．

えええええええ！！ふざけんな！

昨日エアコンを窓に取り付けたばっかり！夏はそんなに俺のこと嫌いなわけ？！もう勘弁してくれ～ orz

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新たなアルバイトをやっと見つけました。給料はたいしたことありませんが、来週祭りがあるから、金欠より少しでも金を儲けた方がましだろう？

けど、それは来週。今は今。

そして、今はエアコンの下でのんびりのんびりさせていただきま～す。

あ！Lang-8の皆様、いつもお世話になってありがとうございます。

My old theme was a bit too ostentatious, so I decided to switch to something more simple. I think this one will do fine for now.

There's not much else for me to say at this point in time. I began a new exercise routine a few days ago, but that's hardly something worth writing about. Given the sorry state of the economy, neither is my burgeoning search for employment since everyone and their mutant zombie grandmothers are no doubt doing just that.

Man, it sucks trying to be original.

P.S.

これから、もっと日本語で日記を書きたいと思います。三日坊主にならないように。では、次回の日記は全部日本語にしま～す。

Class: CIS 120 - Introduction to Computer Information Systems
Final Grade: B
I liked this class, even though it tended to drag at times. I can't say I learned anything new about computer systems in general, but since the first half of the class focused on mastering Microsoft Office 2007, I did finally learn how to work several Office programs I've been ignoring since... forever. Excel being a prime example; I had to get the hang of it fairly quickly because it was vital for the completion of my final project. I especially enjoyed the part of the class where we covered the basics of networking. Again, I already knew most of what was being taught, but I appreciated the refresher nonetheless. Can't say I'm happy with my grade, though. I would have gotten an A if I hadn't missed a few assignments because of work.

Class: Fine Arts 104 - The World of Cinema
Final Grade: B
We watched a bunch of old movies and learned how to critique them. That's... pretty much it. I'm pretty sure I learned how to do this crap in my Humanities class. As for the grade, there were only two assignments in the class: a mid-term test and a final test. I got a C on the mid-term (missed a few classes because of work) and an A on the final, so they averaged out. It wasn't a bad class, but I don't think I'll miss it.

Class: Sociology 211 - Race and Ethnic Relations
Final Grade: C
Ugh. I really liked this class since I learned a fair deal about race; ethnicity; and cultural identity in the United States, but I unfortunately bombed the final group presentation. There were originally four people in my group, but two of them washed out and left me and the other remaining person high and dry. We tried to put together a decent presentation, the two of us, but it didn't turn out very well. The fact that I missed a couple of assignments -- again because of work -- didn't help, either. I was saved from a failing grade thanks to a final short essay that I guess my professors found satisfactory. I'd love to take this class over, but definitely without the group assignments.

Class: Social Science 101
Final Grade: NA
This is the class that was taught by that asshole professor I raged about in an earlier entry. I tried my best to put up with his bullshit if only to justify having my tuition money fucking wasted on this clown, but in the end, I cracked under the pressure. Rather than get pissed off and do something that would land me in jail, I just walked out the door and never looked back. And you know what? I don't regret it one single bit. I can just retake the fucking class in August, and with a more competent instructor. If you're reading this, Professor Nameless, I hope I never see your face again.

Conclusion: God, what a horrible semester. If I hadn't taken that part-time job, I'd have definitely performed a lot better than this. And I really should have looked into my professors before registering for classes; Had I known about Professor Nameless beforehand, I'd have dropped his class faster than a fat kid drops gym. At least now I know better, so you can be damned sure that I'll be more careful next time.

As I mentioned in my previous entry, I ran into a bit of trouble installing Windows 7 on my Vaio FW notebook. I was able to stabalize the final install, but because Sony's drivers were being royal bitches, I wasn't able to retain a lot of my notebook's functionality. Namely, all of the custom hardware controls (the S1 button, the Volume +/- buttons, the AV button, etc.) and both the SD card and MemoryStick slots ceased functioning. The MemoryStick I could live without, but SD cards are used fairly often in my household. I couldn't just leave the slot dead.

After looking around the net for a bit, I found this amazing little guide made specifically for Vaio users. The problem apparently was that the drivers needed to be installed in a fairly specific order. A before B before C, etc; installing B before A or C before B would just result in your notebook falling D.E.D. I had nothing to lose by trying it out, so I gave it a shot. To my great relief, it actually worked. Now all of my hardware and expansions slots work again. If your Vaio notebook and Windows 7 aren't playing nicely wih each other, you should definitely give this guide a try.

Be warned, though, that it's a fairly involved process. As the guide mentions, you'll have to be comfortable with manually installing hardware drivers. By that, I mean installing them from the command line or the Device Manager, without an automated installer. You'll also have to extract several individual installer programs from the cryptically named binaries you'll need to download from Sony's website and apply them individually in Compatability Mode (specifically, Vista SP1-mode). An HTML guide is included with the downloads so you can tell what each file is supposed to be, but keeping track of them still proved to be annoying at best. And speaking of Sony's website, you'll need a special download program to access any of the files you'll need since FTP servers are apparently no longer in style. Before you head off to download those drivers, however, be sure to log into your machine as an administrator and launch your web browser with Administrator rights! The downloader will NOT work otherwise!

The whole operation should take about an hour to complete.

So yeah, give it a try. What's the point of having a stylish new notebook with a stylish new OS if half of the things it came with don't even work?

I installed Windows 7 on my notebook on Friday. I am by no means a Microsoft fanboy, but I must say that I like what I've seen thus far. There's nothing that really screams "STONKING GREAT!!" about it, but all of the little improvements here and there come together to exude a subtle but palpable air of "betterness". It's something you can just feel on a visceral level.

I'm truly impressed.

Not quite as impressive, though, was the trouble I had during installation.

I had intended to do a simple upgrade so that I wouldn't have to reinstall all of my applications, but since I was using the Japanese version of the Windows 7 installation DVD, that wasn't possible. Apparently, you can't upgrade from an earlier version of Windows if it isn't in the same language as the installation CD. And since I was using an English-language version of Windows Vista...

*sigh*

The things I do for the sake of my language studies...

In the end, I just went with a clean install and used an external hard drive to transfer backup files from my desktop PC. What a hassle. On top of that, when I reinstalled a number of Vaio drivers from Sony's website, one of them fucked up the power management settings and kept causing my notebook to go into Sleep mode. It took a while, but I did fix it eventually. The only problem now is that none of the expansion ports work. Not that I ever had any use for them...

That ugliness aside, Windows 7 has thus far been nothing short of great. It's faster than Vista, more customizable, and easier to tweak. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Microsoft may actually have gotten something right.

今のアルバイトはもう終わりです。

というわけで、ほかのバイトを探さないと、もうすぐ金がない状態になってしまいます。　orz

しょうがないな…

授業や宿題が終わったら、履歴書を書き直しておきます。

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Anywho... Silversun Pickupsというバンドに興味津々で最近よく聴いています。音質が複雑ですから、「The Smashing Pumpkins」っぽく聞こえると言ってもいいと思います。PVを見てごらん。


Edit: Lang-8の皆さん、中途半端な日本語を添削してくれてありがとう！

Two classes complete, two classes left to go.

Gotta endure for another three weeks, then sweet, sweet freedom!

...For a few weeks, anyway...

My old theme was starting to bore me, so in celebration of the APRIL SNOWSTORM OUTSIDE THREATENING TO TURN MY WORK DAY MONDAY MORNING INTO A FRIGID SLIPPERY HELL... I decided to go with a newer, brighter theme.

I really love the graphic work. Not only does it go well with my avatars, but it also matches the title theme (something the content has utterly failed to do...)

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go dig out my snow boots.

Dear Unnamed Professor:

Your job is to impart to your students knowledge about the field of study to which your class is dedicated.
Your job is to encourage your students to be lifetime learners.
Your job is to provide your students with a solid education that will prepare them for life and beyond.

However...

It is not your job to create arbitrarily bizarre and complex sets of rules for your students to follow.
It is not your job to stress the shit out of your students by making them worry more about following your insane rules than actually studying.
It is not your job to punish the entire class because of one person's honest mistake.
It is not your job to talk down to working, responsible adults as if they were children.
It is not your job to humiliate your students by nitpicking their work in front of the entire class.
It is not your job to make half of your students openly discuss dropping your bullshit class.
It is not your job to make the other half walk out of the door in absolute disgust.
It is not your job to make your students regret spending their hard-earned tuition money on you and the institution that you represent.

I've tried talking to you about my misgivings on more than one occasion, but you would always blow me off. Well I've had it. I will try to talk to you about my misgivings one more time, but make no mistake: blow me off again, or otherwise refuse to change your ways, and you will be hearing from the Dean.

You're a nice guy and all, but as an educator, you are a miserable failure.

I mean that.

Sincerely,
An Extremely Disgruntled Student

「バ～カじゃない？英語でおｋ」
「英語をちゃんと使いなさい！」
「辞書に載っていないのなら、本物の英語ではないよね。」

うっせぇな。

そういうものを言うやつは大嫌い。
言語というのは、大雑把なもので、唯一のやり方しかないことなんてではないんです。なのに、自然に聞こえるかどうか考えずに厳しく堅い英文法規則を英語の勉強している方に教えちまいます。

たしかに文法は役に立つことですけど、話しながらそんなものについて考え込むのは．．．だれ？その場合、役に立たなくて、むしろ流暢なコミュニケーションの邪魔になるだろう？その上、自然な英語はよく、ごちゃごちゃな乱雑なものです。

Grammar Naziどもめが鮫に食われたらいいのにな．．．

romaji wa daikirai.

nazenara, nihongo o benkyou shite iru hito igai, hotondo tsukawarete inai kara.

"he---? omae ga tsukatten ja nai?"

sou da ne. ore no baai, daigaku no pasokon de kana to kanji ga nyuuryoku dekinai n'desu.

sugoku jirettai yo...

kedo, monku o iu ki ga aru shi...

ie ni modottara chanto kakinaosu, kono chuttohanpa na nikki o.

Why do the tomatoes in my Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger taste as if they were marinated in ass sweat?

Why does the wireless network at school hate me so much?

Why can't I remember to return my library books?

Why am I the only one in my household aside from my mother who has a drivers license?

Why couldn't Apple make it so that my iPod Touch wouldn't collect finger prints like a fat kid collects candy wrappers?

Why couldn't Nintendo make it so that my DS Lite wouldn't collect finger prints like a fa... wait. Already did that one.

Why can't my supervisor stop mangling his sentences?

Why can't the weather here in Chicago make up its damn mind? Yesterday it was almost 70 degrees. Today, it's 25 degrees with a wind chill of 8. What the fuck.

Why did EGM die off and GamePro live?

Why can't I stop listening to Namie Amuro's Play?

Why can't I stop having naughty thoughts about Namie Amuro?

Why can't the local Best Buy keep a decent selection of Blu-ray players in stock? Why, why , why???

Why is the girl I try to talk to in class seemingly less than thrilled to acknowledge my existence? Maybe it's my breath...

Why did my PS2 have to die?

Why does the PS3 taunt me so?

Why am I turned on by bondage?

Why do I suck at coming up with interesting things to write about?

Wow. I just landed a part-time job with the U.S. Census Bureau as an Enumerator for the upcoming 2010 census.

Heh... At least someone is still hiring.

Even though it's a temp position lasting only eight weeks, they're going to pay me $17+ an hour with paid training (which begins on the 10th). That's nothing to sniff at, especially in this craptacular economic environment. I just hope my professors will cut me some slack since this job will encroach on my normal school hours a bit.

I went to a tattoo shop this afternoon and got two really sick piercings in my ears. Why?

Because I felt like it.

I think they make me look awesome. Ironically enough, though, they weren't my first choice of jewelry. I had actually wanted to get a couple of solid bands through the mid cartilage of my right ear, but someone had just beaten me to the last band and the shop wouldn't receive a new shipment of them for at least another month. Not letting that stop me, however, I looked around for something else that would please me.

That's when I found the pieces I'm wearing now. They're silver rings with a sort of blade-like shape. All in all they're pretty simple in design, but their simplicity is where their beauty lies.

Anyway, since the shop didn't have the bands that I had originally wanted, they offered me a discount on a pair of the silver rings. They looked awesome, so I took the offer. I'm really glad that I did.

I don't have a digital camera yet since I just recently splurged on an iPod Touch (yuppie bait or not, they're damn sexy), but I'll try to get some pictures up sometime soon.

There. You finally have your damned money. Are you happy now, LiveJournal?

Now get those stupid ads out of here.

As I've undoubtedly mentioned in previous posts, I'll soon be attending DePaul University as a bridge student. The school I'm currently attending, Harry S. Truman College, has an agreement with DePaul that allows its students to attend special classes that are not only composed of students from both institutions, but are also taught at both institutions. The setup makes it possible for DePaul students to gain multiple competencies for each bridge class taken (a normal class only gives one competency), and for Truman students to accumulate credit hours/competencies prior to transferring fully to DePaul (though they don't get as many competencies per bridge class). It's a pretty sweet deal, especially since I'm getting a HUGE tuition discount: the tuition I pay to DePaul each quarter is the same as the tuition I pay to Truman each semester. Meaning, I only have to pay $72USD per credit hour vs. $440USD per credit hour.

Again, pretty sweet.

I'm enrolled in two bridge classes this semester (6 credit hours/4 competencies), both of which will meet at DePaul's Loop campus in another two or three weeks after completing their stints at the Truman campus. I'm a bit excited since I've always wanted to go to DePaul (despite the fact that my dad was a Loyola man...) Though I won't be a full-fledged student there for at least another year, I'm already beginning to feel like a part of the Blue Demon family.

I just hope I don't get lost on my first day there...

I haven't been feeling too well as of late, so I think I'll skip class tonight. I just don't have the patience to deal with my social science professor's quirkiness today. He's a nice guy, don't get me wrong, but the guy is an oddball. He's also something of a motormouth; he often spends half the class talking about junk that barely has anything to do with the subject at hand. It's seriously the most boring shit ever.

I need a break.

I don't know if it's seasonal affective disorder or simply fatigue, but hopefully some rest will set me right before the weekend.