Category: University

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I asked someone out in Japanese.

It was around 11:25 AM. I had just finished taking my environmental health exam when I looked at my phone and realized I’d have to rush if I wanted to make it there in time. “There” is conveniently just one floor above my classroom. The room is painted a warm, rustic orange and was decorated with Spanish-themed items – probably the Spanish department’s little base. We’ve got permission to use the room every week at our designated time though, so no worries there. After a few minutes I pop the question, “will you go to the museum with me” in my heavy gaijin accent (don’t blame me, I haven’t had much practice lately).

Right after I said that, the guy next to me swooped in and asked her to go to the aquarium with him. What in tarnation is going on, you ask? I’m at the weekly Japanese Conversation Club! We’re a few days past Valentine’s Day but the native Japanese volunteers who organize the club’s agenda decided on a Valentine’s theme! The first portion of the club I’ve got class, so I can only make it for the last half of the club but even that ~45 minutes or so of listening to natives and speaking with them is a great help! We discussed places you’d take someone out to and also some ways to ask someone out in Japanese. They prepped us all for “yes” or “no” responses so at least now everyone’s aware of what to do if someone rejects you!

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Times a blur.

These past two years for me have been hectic and filled with a lot of changes, and that’s probably the reason why time has felt like a blur. It used to be that I could remember exactly what I had for dinner a week ago on a Thursday, but if someone asked me that now, I would probably forget most of the details or mix it up with another day (although recently I’ve been eating pretty much the same frozen meals/chicken so I’d have a 50/50 chance of getting it right). And so I’ve been wondering if there’s a reason why all my days feel like they’re mashed up together, and I came to the conclusion that it’s mainly just the anticipation of graduation that’s the source of my sense of time getting all mangled up.

My degree isn’t a technical degree like computer science or engineering, but it’s still a great degree and the probability of me getting a great job is still high from what I believe. A great job would mean a higher quality of life, being able to enjoy more of my hobbies, take the vacations I’ve always wanted, and have a good amount of worry lifted off my shoulders. I suppose my brain, in anticipation for all those rewards, is mashing up my sense of time until I finally attain what I’ve been waiting for all these years. It’s sort of a mental standstill in other words, and I’m not really sure how I feel about it. On one hand I’m happy that time doesn’t feel like it’s dragging on and my time in school is progressing quickly, but on the other hand I hope this sense of time being a blur doesn’t continue after I’ve finally gotten a job too.

I guess we’ll see soon enough considering I might just be walking the stage this summer. Although, I still have to take one class next semester to officially get my diploma so my “real” job won’t probably start until next year if all goes as planned.

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Operation Graduation

Key Personnel: Me.

Location: Undisclosed.

Level of Importance: Extremely Urgent

Looks like this mission won’t take much longer to finish from the looks of it. All I’ve got remaining is one class actually, BUT as usual there’s always some sort of obstacle in my way that will delay everything if I’m not proactive about it. As it turns out, a pre-requisite I need for the class is an introductory course which I’ve taken at a community college but it wasn’t considered to be an equivalent to the course offered at my university. Oh come on! I submitted the syllabus and a reason for why I believe it should be accepted to my advisor and I can only hope the board that overlooks these petitions okays this. Because if not, I’ll be stuck taking some class over the summer and dishing out a couple hundred dollars for a course I’ve already taken.

I should know by next week though!

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