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5 . 3 1 . 0 1 Busy Busy week, and it looks like I'm having a rather productive vacation afterall. Went in to see SS, working on the last year of data for my thesis, and looking into some job options for my year off. Looking pretty good so far, the options actually make me feel cautiously optimistic about the great unknown. Which means that I needed to bust ass on getting a CV compiled, a revised resume and statement of purpose, and abstract of my research. Of course the first step is getting hired. I think I'll be null until I actually apply, no like bachi. Nothing like a little fire under the okole to get the Senior bug out. Met one of Lisa's classmates at the office, i think she might've been helping her out with her research with the dept. Found out that she had an uncle who served in the 442nd. Seems like I run into little hints of their story here and there, hopeing to meet with Mr. Akita next week with some of Dad's patients. Should be a very interesting conversation. Also bought some books at Borders, a revised version of Haunani-Kay Trask's "From a Native Daughter", a compilation of first person narratives from WWII Nisei veterans "Japanese Eyes, American Heart", and a hypothetical historical account of the invasion and occupation of the Hawaiian Islands by Japanese forces following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Still waiting on that final grade in bioethics, it reads "I" for incomplete now, I think I'll have to consult an advisor for what this means. I feel sorry for the students who are relying on that final grade to get their degrees. I guess incompetence can be found at every level of educational development, nothing is sacred. Maybe I should consult a Dean. On a side note, its pretty amazing that its been almost 2 years since I started this online shindig. and there are actually some important people who i actually care about out there reading it too. 5 . 2 7 . 0 1 Saw Pearl Harbor a couple days ago on opening day at the new Ward theatres. Had a free small bag of popcorn and a strawberry Icee, not much to wash down the 3 hours of xenophobic American patriotism typical of the big screen, and of disney. Makes me want to see Shrek instead. The movie itself wasn't that bad, but I think that it was an insult to the historical event and tragedy of humanity - I guess I was expecting more of an anti-war message, instead I got a lot of mixed messages. in my opinion they should've been more solemn and respectful to the thousands killed in the attack rather than using it as a go-git'em battle cry. A good part to end the film would've been in the aftermath America's worst military defeat, FDR giving his declaration of war speech. I guess they had to mention the Doolittle raid on Tokyo to end on a more positive note. No mention of the 120,000 American citizens carted off to concentration camps, nor of the all-Nisei units that would be formed in light of racial prejudice and distrust. The absence of almost any local people in the film was also notable, also the fact that 29 of the 30 explosions that rocked downtown Honolulu were later discovered to have come from the anti-aircraft fire from Pearl Harbor seemed lost when the Zeros flew over the frantic and terrified Haole Boy Scouts and Haole kids playing on a baseball diamond at 7:55AM on a Sunday? hmmm. What made me think was the fact that people can actually applaud a movie like this one, let alone cheer and jeer when the word "Jap" is used? In Hawaii too, auwe. Wonder if there'll be much of a backlash afterall. 5 . 2 3 . 0 1 Back in towne, and its pretty humid. Had a long flight back w/mom, lots of delays and layovers, gotta love United airlines. actually this is the first time that they've really fucked up my schedule, and honestly it wasn't that big a deal, more of a hassle in getting home really. they lost my bags, as expected after 3 delays, so it gives me an excuse to bum around - nothing to unpack. Should go hit the beach in a bit, I hear that its a good way to kill the fungus. Salt water is good for a lot of other things as well. Ended up getting a decent grade in crim law, was a little worried about that course, guess studying with Lucy paid off after all. Hopefully I'll see her again this summer, she said that she was going to be around Madison a bit. Its the other two that I'm worried about, the ones that lost me during the semester with bullshit. especially the 558 class, we'll see what mr procastination gave me. had a fun weekend, got to show the mad city to the fam, think they had fun. At least the cat seems to remember me. 5 . 1 8 . 0 1 Finally pau, but in a pretty pissed off mood. My last final fucked me over big time. Namely the professor did, sending out a last minute email which was what I took as an offer for extensions for the take home final sent out to the entire class list. I found out about 30 minutes past the due date that the offer only applied to a small handful of students, and of course I was not one of them. WHY SEND IT TO THE WHOLE LIST then? shiet. So I ended up taking a day-late hit on a paper that I couldn've honestly finished in time. In a pissed off mood too the whole time. probably end up with a shitty grade, which doesn't actually matter, but with this last semester coming up, and GPA is looking at grad school, it'd not gonna be pretty. This is the professor who doesn't give a syllabus the entire semester, and then returns a midterm on the last day of class after handing it over to a bunch of philosophy grad students who have nothing better to do then croon over undergraduate's paper that by far don't meet the philosophical standards that they're subjected to by their own profs. Wonder if theres any policy or options I can undertake, afterall I think a syllabus is a contract in many ways between a student and teacher as what is to be expected in the semester. Actually the large part of my bitterness comes from the fact of wasted time dealing with incompetence at work. Partly because some people insist on dealing with their problems on their time with no regards to the other party's situation. Finals week is the worst time in a student's academic year to try and deal with this kind of shit, I don't know why it doesn't dawn on some people. Too much mental energy spent in dealing with people of this caliber, honestly some people take this shit way to seriously. Save the fucking world why don't you? heh. I honestly have much better things to do with my time. anyway, through venting for that for now, tomorrow I'll be walking, got a yellow tassel since I'm a B.S. Mom is coming into Madison with Jase in about 2 hours, I should clean up my shithole aparment. Glad I made it though the semester, honesly I'm in a very strong mental state of mind as compared to years past. Maybe thats the source of my angst. at least I can say that it is constructive angst. 5 . 1 3 . 0 1 One down, 2 to go. Actually 2 down, and 2 to go. I turned in my 1st semester thesis assignment on Friday, and had Crim Law today. Crim Law went OK, although I admit I could've been better prepared. then again when are you ever really prepared to your full potential? Working out on the fees and what not for the summer, hopefully the LASER stipend can pay for some of it, along with some of the work stuff. Apparently I guess we got a raise of sorts. Not too sure how legal this all is, but will see. At least I don't lie about how much I actually work. Or buy shot glasses using students money. shit. Been a fun year, and its coming to an end. only thing different about this one is that this is a last dance of sorts, even though I'll be back over the summer, its a little different in feel. Looking forward to finishing up and learning how to whack ppl with a big stick. Not like I don't already have some of that in me already. metaphorically of course. Still have to figure out what to do w/my life. hehe. not worried at all either. Maybe I should talk to Barry when I get back. 5 . 8 . 0 1 A week later and I'm up to the neck with finals. Had a last minute mishap with the summit banquet and had to clean up some mess. Wasn't too chipper about it, being that it wasn't my responsibility to begin with. seems like thats a normal thing, working with student orgs. Not much along the lines of competence to be expected I suppose. Never ceases to amaze the height to which some individuals can elevate their shoddy quality of work to something grand sounding. and actually try standing by it too. Anyway, thats all officially pau for the semester. I'm glad that the WWII tribute thing went well, Jin actually was inspired to follow up on documenting and researching on the topic, I'd like to go for a drive through the desert to see Col Kim this summer perhaps. At the very least we'll be taking a trip down to Chicago to take care of the rest of the proclamations. Interesting, even Thornton mentioned that he would be interested in making the trip. Still gotta work on the pictures from the event, I submitted an article on the subject to the paradox, a little curious how it'll be used. Apparently it goes well with the article on Kiyota Sensei. 14 days to Hawaii nei. 5 . 1 . 0 1 Pau! well at least with the big event as far as I'm concerned. Lots of hard work, frustrations, not to mention the occasional politics (all uneccesary, of course), and some sleepless nights (actually necessary). Got to meet a fine group of people, with names like Norikane, Toki, Hashimoto, Ozaki, Kaihara, Yoshinari, and Crisostomo. I'm thinking maybe I got a glimpse of why they call it the "Greatest Generation". War years shape a lot of attitudes and personalities. Fort McCoy was very interesting, unchanged from when the 100th as there is some ways, in other ways, very different. Got a lot of stories from some of the vets on the way up there. Kolohe bunch these old guys. Especially those that have something to do with food. Interesting was the amount of pidgin that a lot of the 100th replacement guys had picked up, 442nd too, come to think of it. old time pidgin too, the kind that I only hear stories about. Lots more to say, I'll probably be writing a reflection about the whole experience, first time in a while it seems like I've been inspired to free-write. In the mean time I think I need to catch up with my studies. Lucky me all my classes are big lectures, now its time to pull the second wind and buckle down. 22 days to Hawaii nei. |