My friend Bill has the Battlestar Galactica board game, and I love it. Except that I also hate it.
You don't play very far into the series, but the goal is to make it to the planet Kobol, which is 9 "distances" (I dunno what they're called) away. You use the FTL drives to jump, and your admiral (generally Adama) chooses your destination, which can be 1-3 "distances". Problem is, the Cylons are beating the shit out of you constantly. Other problem is, you run out of resources and humans REALLY FAST. There's fighting, there's politics, there's "OH MY GOD, THEY'RE KILLING US, DO SOMETHING!", and it's really fun. But we have yet to see the humans survive all the way to Kobol. One time, we would have, but we had to stop early, at 6 "distances". We totally would have made it. Second and third times, Cylons crushed the humans. This fourth game, the humans ran out of food.
The other really awesome and aggravating aspect is that not everyone is human-- we start with Loyalty Cards, and yeah, someone's gonna be a Cylon. Lying in this game is getting silly, since we can just about tell who is and who isn't telling the truth. I was a Cylon three out of four games. When I was a Cylon, I decimated the human race, except for this last game. I decided to try and help them win. But even with four of us on one side, we still lost to a single Cylon player. Part of it is luck-of-the-draw, and the rest is what the players, human and Cylon, do. Personally, I think we're doing all the wrong things (what else is new?), and I really want to see someone besides Jonathan being the admiral. Being the president (I was Pres. Gaius Baltar, not Roslyn) was really fun! I had the power to do some crazy stuff, but the most I did was making Jon my Vice President, giving a couple of Inspirational Speeches, set up some Food Rationing, and signed off on some Excessive Force to help blow up a bunch of Cylons (it cost us some people, though).
But we can't win! Where are we going wrong?! Argh....
Tomorrow (Sunday), we're having tons of people over for some form of Hannan reunion. I'm hoping that I can skip out a little early to head to Japanese bible study. I dunno, does anyone else get tired of introducing themselves? I've been saying the same stuff in person that I write in this blog, which is largely the same from post to post. "I'm going to OCC, I study Japanese, I wanna double-major in Linguistics at Eastern, maybe I'll go for a Master's in Cognitive Linguistics." I'm sick of hearing myself. I don't want to say all this thirty times tomorrow. I don't want to make small talk, either. It's not interesting, it's not stimulating. It's generally just annoying because it's so boring. Let's talk about fun things. Let's talk about ideas, concepts, let's argue, even.
It's not even just small talk, because at least it has it's place. You introduce yourself, you get to know enough about another person so that maybe you can segue into a real conversation. Gossip is the issue. Idle words. Mouth-noises for the sake of mouth-noise. Please, everyone, stop. I would rather everyone just sit in silence, because at least it's authentic. There does not need to BE conversation if it's void of substance. Anything that lacks that element is fake and mindless, and I DESPERATELY want to be done with it. This is why I dread family gatherings.
Well, that, and the all the crap I'm gonna catch for not talking to anyone.
I've been reading some snippits about a lot of different things recently, and the most, I guess, jarring? It was about stoic sages. The little blurb I read was something like "A stoic experiencing strong emotions is as natural as his falling asleep." So even stoic sages are not constantly "stoic" (I feel the word has taken on too-strong connotations in modern usage)! The goal is to control "primitive instincts", and not just to live devoid of emotions. That's cool.
I feel exhausted, but unusually, not in the physical sense. So much shit is getting to me. The whole Grandpa-hospital thing is wearing, and I say that completely taking my position, as neither Grandma nor Grandpa, for granted. Thinking about tomorrow feels like my nerves are being grated. I'm still stressed about how poorly I did in math. I haven't stepped foot in church since St James, and I don't know if I can even bring myself to look for someplace other than St Andrews, which is a problem. I haven't had a really good, thoughtful conversation in a longer time than I like. My temper is getting out of control.
I'm glad I have a house, friends, Nova, a family, and a computer with internet access. I'm not anxious about upcoming classes, I'm excited and a tad impatient, even though they start in about five days. I'm glad I raked the lawn, because I picked up about a half a bale of hay, and people are gonna be walking back there.
Sean
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Buh?
Fall semester's starting a few days earlier than I thought, which means I have just a week of vacation left.
Only two classes are starting next Thursday, Japanese and Intro to Logic. I have Japanese in the mornings on Tuesday and Thursday, and Logic is just Thursday afternoons. My Poli Sci class doesn't start until the following Wednesday (the ninth). I'm excited for all three. I've already cracked open my book for Logic, "Becoming a Critical Thinker," with the hope that going in with a little preparation will help me. The first skill I have to learn is how to be able to identify elements of an argument. It sounds easy enough, but it's sort of not, at least for me, so I'm gonna see what I can put into practice between now and next week. One of the interesting bits in the first chapter was the focus on the "issue", and how it got lost the longer and more emotional a debate got, but also that a truly skillful speaker would be able to keep things on task. That's cool.
Japanese actually looks... daunting. Part of that is because the book is like an instruction manual-- it's written entirely in both English and Japanese. I'm really hoping we have a good instructor. It's not that big of a deal, I think, just because I have 15 weeks to do it in, unlike my last 4-credit hour class. But I'm excited! This is what I want to do!
Speaking of what I want to do... I have to be completely honest with myself. I thought I hated fighting, but looking at it, I *love* fighting. The stuff that bothers me was the circumstances around the fight, which were the reasons the fights ever *happened*. But real martial prowess? Totally awesome. There's only one discipline I can claim to "know" much about, and that's not just close quarters combat, it's swords! Kendo, to be exact. I "hold" the rank of ni-kyu, which is two below ichi-dan (ichi-dan is essentially "black belt"). I really wanted to do more outside of Eastern, but it's kind of expensive... which is why I'm gonna do more of it when I go back =D. But I have my eye on something in the meantime...
Fencing! OCC offers it, and I wanna take it. I was inspired in part by my friend Adam (not to be confused with Ypsi-Adam, of Adam-and-Courtney) because he fenced for a couple years at CMU's club, and had actually done a couple of tournaments. One day on Facebook, he mentioned that he just wanted an all-out fight or semi-formal fencing thing, and I was saying "Man, I'd like to take him up on that." I just have to know what I'm doing first. Adam likes fighting with an epee, something I wouldn't learn until the second fencing class OCC offers, so I gotta get moving! Not happening this semester, though. I wanna see how I do with 10 hours/3 classes before I do more. If that works out, and then 11/4 goes well, I might take full time credits next fall.
I really want to be done by May of 2011. Jonathan put off schooling til next fall, and that means, if I'm back out there soon enough, we'll probably rent an apartment together! That sounds good to me! I mean, my other options were live alone on campus, or live alone just off of campus, because there's no way I'm living with a stranger, and having Jon as a roommate would be awesome. It's not like I could live with Adam and Courtney. But even with things as they are, Jon would probably only be around for a year before he was done. I think he's crazy for trying to get everything done at once, but from what I've heard about his habits at his last school, he could handle it. But, it all depends on how I'm doing now.
I want to read more before next week.
Sean
Only two classes are starting next Thursday, Japanese and Intro to Logic. I have Japanese in the mornings on Tuesday and Thursday, and Logic is just Thursday afternoons. My Poli Sci class doesn't start until the following Wednesday (the ninth). I'm excited for all three. I've already cracked open my book for Logic, "Becoming a Critical Thinker," with the hope that going in with a little preparation will help me. The first skill I have to learn is how to be able to identify elements of an argument. It sounds easy enough, but it's sort of not, at least for me, so I'm gonna see what I can put into practice between now and next week. One of the interesting bits in the first chapter was the focus on the "issue", and how it got lost the longer and more emotional a debate got, but also that a truly skillful speaker would be able to keep things on task. That's cool.
Japanese actually looks... daunting. Part of that is because the book is like an instruction manual-- it's written entirely in both English and Japanese. I'm really hoping we have a good instructor. It's not that big of a deal, I think, just because I have 15 weeks to do it in, unlike my last 4-credit hour class. But I'm excited! This is what I want to do!
Speaking of what I want to do... I have to be completely honest with myself. I thought I hated fighting, but looking at it, I *love* fighting. The stuff that bothers me was the circumstances around the fight, which were the reasons the fights ever *happened*. But real martial prowess? Totally awesome. There's only one discipline I can claim to "know" much about, and that's not just close quarters combat, it's swords! Kendo, to be exact. I "hold" the rank of ni-kyu, which is two below ichi-dan (ichi-dan is essentially "black belt"). I really wanted to do more outside of Eastern, but it's kind of expensive... which is why I'm gonna do more of it when I go back =D. But I have my eye on something in the meantime...
Fencing! OCC offers it, and I wanna take it. I was inspired in part by my friend Adam (not to be confused with Ypsi-Adam, of Adam-and-Courtney) because he fenced for a couple years at CMU's club, and had actually done a couple of tournaments. One day on Facebook, he mentioned that he just wanted an all-out fight or semi-formal fencing thing, and I was saying "Man, I'd like to take him up on that." I just have to know what I'm doing first. Adam likes fighting with an epee, something I wouldn't learn until the second fencing class OCC offers, so I gotta get moving! Not happening this semester, though. I wanna see how I do with 10 hours/3 classes before I do more. If that works out, and then 11/4 goes well, I might take full time credits next fall.
I really want to be done by May of 2011. Jonathan put off schooling til next fall, and that means, if I'm back out there soon enough, we'll probably rent an apartment together! That sounds good to me! I mean, my other options were live alone on campus, or live alone just off of campus, because there's no way I'm living with a stranger, and having Jon as a roommate would be awesome. It's not like I could live with Adam and Courtney. But even with things as they are, Jon would probably only be around for a year before he was done. I think he's crazy for trying to get everything done at once, but from what I've heard about his habits at his last school, he could handle it. But, it all depends on how I'm doing now.
I want to read more before next week.
Sean
Friday, August 14, 2009
Final (revised) Fall schedule!
I swear, every time I look at school stuff, something is different, even though the words have been exactly the same.
So I had registered and paid for my Fall classes already. Beginning Japanese 1, Intro to Logic, Organizational Psych. But, as I learned Sunday (I think? Possibly Monday), the Psychology of Organizational Behavior is essentially "Business Psych." Marian had told me this, since she had worked for the APA, and I said "Wait, that sounds really boring." I went back and read the course description to figure out what I had done. From what I can tell, it was because;
1) It was a Psych class.
2) It was a Psych class that didn't have the Intro to Psych prerequisite
The issue with #2 is that I'm currently TAKING Intro to Psych, and to take other Psychology, I need to have PASSED it, and based on how long it took to get my grade after Summer 1, I won't have a posted grade for it until the semester starts. That's fine, I thought, because this other class has no prerequisites! But it's for Management and Business students... They don't need Intro to Psych, because they take this class instead. It's not a class you take to further your psychological studies (unless you're totally anal). I ran back to the online registration page, worried that there would be difficulty in switching that class out, but everything went smoothly. As long as I took another 3-credit class, there would be no additional charges.
In place of that Psych class, I will be taking my required PoliSci class, American Government. Again, my charted plans have deviated wildly. I had originally set up my schedule so that my summers would include my required credits, leaving my fuller Fall and Winter semesters with mostly electives. That way, the fifteen weeks I'd spend would be fun and interesting, while all the suffering of boring General Education classes would be confined to seven and a half. So why do Poli Sci now? I panicked. I didn't know what else to take. The issue with all of my Psych stuff still stands, so I couldn't do something like Abnormal or Experimental Psych, which would have been more awesome. I WAS going to do one of my two English requirements, English Composition 1, but because it's "computer-enhanced," it had an additional lab cost (I assume it's because we'll be typing and printing things out instead of handwriting). I just needed three credits, so I did something "good" for myself by taking a required class. I chose a particular American Government class with this extra bit in the description: "Notes: Class uses Social Sciences Lab A-301 for Special election exercises on election statistics and analysis of voting behavior." That sounds more fun than just a regular lecture class.
I stopped thinking about the Fall semester after the first time I set up a schedule, but this was all brought back to my attention because I had previously told Richy Davis to take a class with me (unfortunately, one I couldn't take anymore because it conflicted with my Japanese!). We spoke a little on the phone, and when I thought about it some more, I grabbed my coursebook and headed over to his house. Richy has a lot of his required classes done, but not all, and as we were talking and reading, we found out he might have to take a whole year (that is, both a Fall and Winter semester) of electives AFTER this semester. There are different degrees he could qualify for that would get him out after January, like the Applied Science Associates, but if he did what I was doing, the Liberal Arts Associates, he'd be there another year. He wants to do Physical Therapy for a four year degree, so I don't know what would benefit him more, but I DO know he'll be there for at least this Fall, and that's because we're taking the same Intro to Logic class.
It occured to me this morning (>_<) that I had neglected a large sum of helpful information by not talking to the Davises about their schooling more often than I have. John especially, since he's done at OCC. He's even taken Intro to Logic. There are a few things I could definitely use some insight on before I take certain classes. I'm really glad I went to OCC when I did, although I wouldn't have minded starting last year, either...
I'm doing bad in Math. I know I was all nonchalant about it early on, but I should have done a little more when I could. Homework isn't graded, but I wish I had done some in the last chapter or so. The issue I'm having is that I now know a dozen ways to solve a polynomial... but I never know which way is going to give me credit on a test anymore. I can't ask the teacher during a test, she'll just ask me which way we just studied... And I don't remember what we just did! I mean, I know what we learned, but I forget what we did Monday, which is what we're being asked, instead of last Wednesday, which can be extremely similar, but not relevant to the problem. I bombed this last test in a major way. At this point, if I do very well on the last quiz, the last test, AND the final exam, I can pull out a B-. Which is why I'm doing the homework now.
I only have three sessions left of each class. That's next week (Mon-Thur), and the first two days of the week after. I'm looking forward to being done with this part.
Sean
So I had registered and paid for my Fall classes already. Beginning Japanese 1, Intro to Logic, Organizational Psych. But, as I learned Sunday (I think? Possibly Monday), the Psychology of Organizational Behavior is essentially "Business Psych." Marian had told me this, since she had worked for the APA, and I said "Wait, that sounds really boring." I went back and read the course description to figure out what I had done. From what I can tell, it was because;
1) It was a Psych class.
2) It was a Psych class that didn't have the Intro to Psych prerequisite
The issue with #2 is that I'm currently TAKING Intro to Psych, and to take other Psychology, I need to have PASSED it, and based on how long it took to get my grade after Summer 1, I won't have a posted grade for it until the semester starts. That's fine, I thought, because this other class has no prerequisites! But it's for Management and Business students... They don't need Intro to Psych, because they take this class instead. It's not a class you take to further your psychological studies (unless you're totally anal). I ran back to the online registration page, worried that there would be difficulty in switching that class out, but everything went smoothly. As long as I took another 3-credit class, there would be no additional charges.
In place of that Psych class, I will be taking my required PoliSci class, American Government. Again, my charted plans have deviated wildly. I had originally set up my schedule so that my summers would include my required credits, leaving my fuller Fall and Winter semesters with mostly electives. That way, the fifteen weeks I'd spend would be fun and interesting, while all the suffering of boring General Education classes would be confined to seven and a half. So why do Poli Sci now? I panicked. I didn't know what else to take. The issue with all of my Psych stuff still stands, so I couldn't do something like Abnormal or Experimental Psych, which would have been more awesome. I WAS going to do one of my two English requirements, English Composition 1, but because it's "computer-enhanced," it had an additional lab cost (I assume it's because we'll be typing and printing things out instead of handwriting). I just needed three credits, so I did something "good" for myself by taking a required class. I chose a particular American Government class with this extra bit in the description: "Notes: Class uses Social Sciences Lab A-301 for Special election exercises on election statistics and analysis of voting behavior." That sounds more fun than just a regular lecture class.
I stopped thinking about the Fall semester after the first time I set up a schedule, but this was all brought back to my attention because I had previously told Richy Davis to take a class with me (unfortunately, one I couldn't take anymore because it conflicted with my Japanese!). We spoke a little on the phone, and when I thought about it some more, I grabbed my coursebook and headed over to his house. Richy has a lot of his required classes done, but not all, and as we were talking and reading, we found out he might have to take a whole year (that is, both a Fall and Winter semester) of electives AFTER this semester. There are different degrees he could qualify for that would get him out after January, like the Applied Science Associates, but if he did what I was doing, the Liberal Arts Associates, he'd be there another year. He wants to do Physical Therapy for a four year degree, so I don't know what would benefit him more, but I DO know he'll be there for at least this Fall, and that's because we're taking the same Intro to Logic class.
It occured to me this morning (>_<) that I had neglected a large sum of helpful information by not talking to the Davises about their schooling more often than I have. John especially, since he's done at OCC. He's even taken Intro to Logic. There are a few things I could definitely use some insight on before I take certain classes. I'm really glad I went to OCC when I did, although I wouldn't have minded starting last year, either...
I'm doing bad in Math. I know I was all nonchalant about it early on, but I should have done a little more when I could. Homework isn't graded, but I wish I had done some in the last chapter or so. The issue I'm having is that I now know a dozen ways to solve a polynomial... but I never know which way is going to give me credit on a test anymore. I can't ask the teacher during a test, she'll just ask me which way we just studied... And I don't remember what we just did! I mean, I know what we learned, but I forget what we did Monday, which is what we're being asked, instead of last Wednesday, which can be extremely similar, but not relevant to the problem. I bombed this last test in a major way. At this point, if I do very well on the last quiz, the last test, AND the final exam, I can pull out a B-. Which is why I'm doing the homework now.
I only have three sessions left of each class. That's next week (Mon-Thur), and the first two days of the week after. I'm looking forward to being done with this part.
Sean
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Saturday, August 1, 2009
s'nice not to wake up to an alarm
I don't do much, but I started to forget what it was like.
I'm more than halfway done with these two classes! That's crazy! Every time I think about them, they seem to stretch on and on, but they're seven and a half weeks long... And this was the end of week four. Whaaaaat.
It's hard to talk about spiritual stuff, here, there, everywhere (digression-- I had a Beatles dream last night), and, more importantly than venue, the people I'm trying to talk to. A lot of my friends are irreligious (agnostic and atheist), and whenever I'm trying to bring up a certain point, it and whatever issue of faith I'm speaking about is disregarded in different ways, depending on the circle of friends. With my Ypsi crew, it's "Why do you even *need* religion?", while in Redford, the responses are nothing more than snide comments, which carry implicit messages that are only immediately apparent to the speaker(s) or are not conducive to a real discussion, which is what I'm looking for, dammit!
On the other hand, those spiritually inclined in any sense are either uninterested or unavailable. I need more acquaintances who care about the same things, know the same things, or will at least humor me! I was about to say I needed to talk about serious things, or maybe I was taking things too seriously, but I just need to talk about something a little heavier than hypothetical Army stuff with Ken's friends. I feel withdrawn.
I met with a new psychiatrist for more Concerta (my form of ritalin), and I really liked him. He was a genuine mumbler, though. Not like my parents think *I* am, this guy was a REAL MUMBLER. But he was cool! He pointed me to the Maple Theater, the artsy film theater I'd always heard about but never knew where it was. He mentioned it specifically because the night before, he and his wife had seen Depatures, which was a Japanese film, and we'd already spoken about my school plans (guess what prompted him).
After I got my new 'scrip, as they like to call it, I made my second visit to the Holocaust Museum. I wish I had more time, but they have odd hours, which are even shorter on Friday. I got there around noon, and it closed around 12:30, so I just breezed through. I somehow missed a guided tour, because as I pulled out of the parking lot, a giant group was standing outside. I've been wanting to learn more about Judaism and its connections to Christianity, and I grabbed all sorts of fliers, because they have these free lectures and such, but it looks as though I grabbed the wrong ones for that information. The website isn't much more useful, but I'm pretty tired, so I didn't look hard... yet.
I'm going to bed at 12:30 AM, and it feels so early, but I'll actually wake up... TOMORROW MORNING. Madness!
Sean
I'm more than halfway done with these two classes! That's crazy! Every time I think about them, they seem to stretch on and on, but they're seven and a half weeks long... And this was the end of week four. Whaaaaat.
It's hard to talk about spiritual stuff, here, there, everywhere (digression-- I had a Beatles dream last night), and, more importantly than venue, the people I'm trying to talk to. A lot of my friends are irreligious (agnostic and atheist), and whenever I'm trying to bring up a certain point, it and whatever issue of faith I'm speaking about is disregarded in different ways, depending on the circle of friends. With my Ypsi crew, it's "Why do you even *need* religion?", while in Redford, the responses are nothing more than snide comments, which carry implicit messages that are only immediately apparent to the speaker(s) or are not conducive to a real discussion, which is what I'm looking for, dammit!
On the other hand, those spiritually inclined in any sense are either uninterested or unavailable. I need more acquaintances who care about the same things, know the same things, or will at least humor me! I was about to say I needed to talk about serious things, or maybe I was taking things too seriously, but I just need to talk about something a little heavier than hypothetical Army stuff with Ken's friends. I feel withdrawn.
I met with a new psychiatrist for more Concerta (my form of ritalin), and I really liked him. He was a genuine mumbler, though. Not like my parents think *I* am, this guy was a REAL MUMBLER. But he was cool! He pointed me to the Maple Theater, the artsy film theater I'd always heard about but never knew where it was. He mentioned it specifically because the night before, he and his wife had seen Depatures, which was a Japanese film, and we'd already spoken about my school plans (guess what prompted him).
After I got my new 'scrip, as they like to call it, I made my second visit to the Holocaust Museum. I wish I had more time, but they have odd hours, which are even shorter on Friday. I got there around noon, and it closed around 12:30, so I just breezed through. I somehow missed a guided tour, because as I pulled out of the parking lot, a giant group was standing outside. I've been wanting to learn more about Judaism and its connections to Christianity, and I grabbed all sorts of fliers, because they have these free lectures and such, but it looks as though I grabbed the wrong ones for that information. The website isn't much more useful, but I'm pretty tired, so I didn't look hard... yet.
I'm going to bed at 12:30 AM, and it feels so early, but I'll actually wake up... TOMORROW MORNING. Madness!
Sean
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