The Purple Tux
With just enough education to perform.Wednesday, March 26, 2003
Yeah, I know I don't update my online journal as often as often as many of you people do, but my posts are long. I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.
Spazzing out.
It was a quick winter quarter this year. I think this quarter, I spent more time hanging out with other human beings and being semi-social than I have in any other quarter in my college career. Especially on Friday nights. Boy, Friday nights, back in the day, used to be all about brooding alone in my room while listening to weird music. This quarter, I think I spent most of my Fridays with other homosapiens. Either that, or spazzing out. It was cool hanging out with more of my friends in Davis and getting to know 'em better. If any of my Davis friends reads this, I love you.
Academically, what can I say? Chicken class was much harder than I thought it would be. I guess there aren't really any "secret" easy classes to take. I think I passed Chicken Class, but still, that was a close call. Dinosaur class was okay. I felt pretty confident about the final after I crammed like a Lowellite hours before the test with the man E-Less. So that should be fine. I don't think I got an A in German this quarter, which kind of stinks because I could have used a 5 unit A. German only gets harder from here on out, but fortunately, I only need to take one more quarter of it. Unfortunately, next quarter the only German 3 classes available are at 8AM and 9AM. Hopefully, I won't miss TOO many 9AM classes... The sun should help me wake up. English 43 was pretty jacked up. The professor, while knowledgeable about the subject matter, was a complete snore and I honestly could not pay attention to her lectures at all, even when I tried. To top it off, my TA graded like a total ho and I got jacked of my money on some of the essay grades. I feel pretty confident of my abilities, though. I guess I really can't blame the TA if she's not clever enough to appreciate my finely toned intellect.
Next quarter, what do I got... Let's see. There's that pesky but necessary German 3 at 9AM, and of course, the requisite English course (Approaches To Reading, I think that's what I signed up for). I also have this Science And Society class about AIDS and society. I donno how that class will be, but at least it counts as science GEs. Lastly, there's Geology, I think Geology 1. That's also for my science GEs. In total, it's 17 units, the most I've signed up for so far. I don't know, I'm thinking of dropping one of those science GE classes. For one, I don't want to get jacked because I spend a lot of my time doing non-academic stuff, and secondly, I'm already behind on units as it is, so I assume I either need to go to summer school a few times, or stay a few extra quarters. Yes, even though my major is supposed to be English. Some English majors double major and still get out in four years, but I don't think I can keep that pace.
This quarter, after visiting an academic advisor, I discovered that English 3, which I took Fall Quarter freshman year, wasn't necessary because I got a 4 on the AP English test. So not only do I lose 4 units, but the easiest A of my college career was deducted from me! And the annoying thing is, they wouldn't have even realized that it needed to be deducted if I didn't go to the advisor. Those bastards. So I think total, I've actually lost about 10-12 units. 4 from this English class, plus 6 or 8 more units because I failed Math the second time I took it (I got a D+ the first time). Yes, I know, that's pretty sad, to do worse in a class the second time, but what can I say? I make no excuses and I'll take all the snide comments like a man. So I think I'm behind on units, but I still don't wanna rush myself. This is something I got to pray for right now, to figure out what classes and crud I am gonna take. Basically, I need a gameplan.
To top it off, I definitely won't be taking summer courses this summer. I've decided to go on a Crusade-sponsored Summer Project to Newport, CA. What's a Summer Project? Well, from what I understand, "Project is tight!" The project is basically moving down there for about 9 weeks or so (June 9-August 17, I think), getting a normal job (y'know, like flipping burgers, selling shoes, wrestling alligators to impress little kids and their hot moms), and learning more about what it means to have faith in the Christian God, while likely telling anyone and everyone else about Jesus Christ. I'm pretty pumped up about the summer. It's going to be pretty rad getting to know Christians from other college campuses and bonding with people from Davis and getting closer to God. The main thing that concerns me at the moment is the fact that I have to raise $2500. So it's kinda expensive. I have no idea how I am gonna raise the money, all I can do is trust that if I ask around, God will provide. If anyone reads this blog, I might have to ask you for a donation to the Get Dru To Newport Foundation, or else The Journal will no longer be able to operate as a non-profit website. That's right, if I can't raise enough of the 2500 bucks in a timely manner, I may have to start charging you all to read my insights and little ditties on life.
Oh well. I still have a few days of spring break left, I hope I can still enjoy it even though the shadow of the future looms heavily in my mind. Lately, I haven't been doing too much. Played some MvC2 and CvS2 for a little while with Sam and Sherwin (and I used some Juggernaut for you, Steve Z). Started to reread Madame Bovary, one of my favorite novels, despite the fact that it was written by a Frenchman. Hung out with the main man Danny and wandered around good old downtown SF today. Planning on playing a little basketball tomorrow with the homies from UCSD and elsewhere. Other than that, haven't been doing much. Went to some record stores. The albums I've bought this break are-
Blur- Modern Life Is Rubbish
Oasis- Be Here Now
Massive Attack- Mezzanine
The Offspring- Americana
and I finally got my own copy of Radiohead's Amnesiac. I can't wait for June 10th when their new album comes out. This year should be a pretty sweet year for music. New albums from Blur, Radiohead, R.E.M., Weezer, U2, Fleetwood Mac, Mos Def/Black Jack Johnson project, Mars Ill, and Jars. I'm sure there's some stuff I'm forgetting, but even so far, there have been some pretty sweet records released. Like Zwan's debut album, aw man, that is so good! Gets better every time I listen to it. It's much better than I initially thought it was. The Juliana Theory and Switchfoot have also released albums this year. And The Flaming Lips have an EP coming out in a few months.
And now I am going to peace out. Keep it real, all my people.
Saturday, March 15, 2003
Today, I hung out with Matt "Little Oli" and watched the track meet. I think it's the first track meet I've actually just watched and enjoyed. Back in high school, I could never just kick back and enjoy myself whenever we had track meets because I'd always have to keep myself prepared for my events. Plus, the coach was a bastard, but that's a whole other topic. But it was fun today just watching skilled college athletes. There was this one Japanese guy from some Japanese College who ran 5000 meters in about 14 minutes, 41 seconds. That's pretty crazy. I also noticed that a group of black dudes from City College of San Francisco really tore it up on the sprinting events, especially the 4x400. I wonder if any of those guys ran track in my rival high schools back home.
Chatting it up with Matt today, I was reminded of some pretty funny track stories of mine. There was that one invitational meet where I was in the 4x100, but somehow, through miscommunication, I misunderstood and thought we were in the second heat. I was running the second leg that day, and I was just chilling near my spot with my warm up clothes on. Then the gun goes off and I'm just looking at this one guy running, and all of a sudden, I'm all like, "Oh, !@#$, it's Jarrett!!!" In a rush, I tear off my warm up pants and jacket and hop on the track barely in time to make the handoff, but obviously, it was incredibly ugly. Plus, I didn't have time to take off my T-shirt, so I think we got disqualified anyway because they couldn't see my jersey. Otherwise, we actually did beat one or two other schools. But just imagine how panicked and surprised I was when I realized I was supposed to be in the first heat!
Here's another war story. It's kind of gross, though, so there's a warning. Okay, so at this other invitational meet, I had to run the 400m. I don't know, but I guess for some reason that day, my stomach was acting up, and I had massive flatulence. I didn't think it was bad enough to bother me in a race, so I just ignored it. All right, so we're about to run the 400m. The gun goes off, and I start running as fast as I can. However, on the first straightaway (probably somewhere around the 120 meter mark), I just lose control and let a FAT and LOUD fart RIP outta the ballpark. It didn't feel good at all, trust me. Actually, it was pretty freaking nasty. I kind of crapped myself on that one since I was still trying to run as fast as I could. Pretty gross, huh? Here's the funny part. I farted pretty loud, right, so some of my competitors heard it. I clearly remember this one guy just laughing, and as he laughed, I passed him and smoked him. Talk about strategy. I beat some people in that race because I farted while we were concentrating on running and it made them laugh and lose some breath. That was awesome, but I don't know if I really recommend that strategy.
And of course, there's THE BLISTER OF DOOM, but I think I'll save that one for later. Or you can ask one of my former teammates about it. It was cool- and by cool, I mean totally sweet.
Tuesday, March 11, 2003
I want to close my eyes and make my make believe believe in me.
For posterity's sake, so I don't lose this crap I posted on the J. Go's Journal.
And here's what I've learned from playing Marvel Vs. Capcom 2.
1. Lasers are better than fireballs. Basically, a focused, concentrated beam of pure energy will always defeat a measly ball of flame. In real life, that translates to how a person ought to take the time to channel his energy in order to do the most damage. Or you can toss a fireball, but that won't really do much except waste some time and effort.
2. Sentinel dominates. Basically, if you have a 12 foot tall heavily armed mutant-destroying robot with super armor fighting against a human being, the robot will most likely destroy the pathetic mortal fleshling. In real life, you want to be that 12 foot tall heavily armed mutant-destroying robot with super armor.
3. A strong anti-air assist will save your life. Basically, having a good anti-air assist like Captain Commando, Cyclops, Cammy, Psylocke, Dr. Doom, or even Ken or Iron Man will enhance your chances for success. Good AAAs will not only protect you from devasting rushdown assaults, but open up even more combo possibilities. In real life, this means that we always need to be on guard, because a bird might crap on us at any moment.
4. Throws are your friend. Back in the day of old school Street Fighter, throws were considered "cheap" and "dirty." However, any expert or dedicated player knows that throws are useful moves. In MvC2, throws can open up many combo possibilities, and are also useful for playing mind games and destroying turtles. In real life, this all translates to "don't hold back" and "by any means necessary."
5. Rushdown is the hardest style of fighting to defend against. Against a runaway Cable, it's quite possible to overcome the opponent by using patience. However, it's insanely difficult to effectively block a rushdown, triangle-jumping Magneto or Storm. By the time you know which way to block, you have already lost half your life. It's also tough to overcome a rushdown Sentinel if you are stuck in the corner. There's only one way to overcome crazy rushdown tactics, and that's with creating your own offense. It's true, the best defense is a good offense. In real life, this all means that aggressiveness is the way to go. I mean, if you're hungry and want to eat, a sandwich isn't going to make itself if you just sit in your room and turtle from it all day. Naw man, you got to rush that crap down, burst into the kitchen, fling wide the cupboards, rip open the bread, furiously slam the meat between two slices of bread, and eat that mothersucker down!
6. Comic book characters can kill devoted martial artists. If you think about it, it really doesn't make sense that a guy like Guile is fighting someone like Iron Man. Look, Guile is basically just a military guy who knows how to fight and throw a sonic boom and do a flash kick. Iron Man, on the other hand, can pull out a 2300 pound Proton Cannon out of thin air. Why the hell would a martial artist fight a guy who uses lasers? That's why the Marvel characters dominate the game so much. Why would a guy like Ryu fight a guy like Cable, who can use telekinesis to manipulate his gigantic lasers?? It doesn't make much sense. The real life lesson is this is, if a guy wants to do an Air Hyper Viper Beam x 3 on you, don't try to fight him with your bare hands, because most likely, you will get the snot beat out of you.
So as we can all see, videogames can teach us numerous useful things which can also be applied to real life.
Thursday, March 06, 2003
Don't worry about me
If I wear my fake plastic smile
The world is a nicer place
The world is a distant place
Don't worry about me
If I choose the wrong words
Freedom to breathe, freedom in whatever I say
Nobody listens to me anyway
Don't worry about me
If I give it all away, I can be so free
Did you see the candle in the darkness?
So much strength lives within
Don't worry about me
If I shed my tears, who will care?
Will the beauty of my inner love
Shine forth from this blemished being?
Don't worry about me
If You come down in Your glory
Who am I to You? I have no clue
Transform me into a remade image
Don't worry about me
If I open my mind
I know I can find
Who I really am.
