The Day Before...

Well, I guess technically it’s not; it’s the day of. It’s nearing 3am and I am unable to fall asleep. I tried thinking of nothing… thinking of work… thinking of the dream house… all to no avail. So I came out to the living room and played some Counter-Strike: Source in the hopes that maybe violence would somehow rid of my nerves. Killing computerized terrorists would do that, right? *sigh* So here I sit, still unable to get my mind off of what’s to come. Mortal Kombat is on TBS: SWEET! J

So what’s my deal? Why be nervous? I’ve done this before, so why isn’t it easier? A part of me wonders who else out there is going through the same thing. Anyone? Maybe I’ll ask some people tomorrow.

I’ve got 3 on-campus classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays: Intro. to Mass Media Comm from 12 – 1:40, Japanese (of course) from 4-5:40 and Intro. to Interpersonal Comm. from 6 - 9:30 (only on Tuesdays). I also have an online class: Intro. to the Teacher’s Education Program. Upon reading over the syllabi for two of the classes, a part of me wonders if they are going to be as difficult as they seem. Are the professors going to be cool or are they going to suck? So far, the professors have been outstanding! Here’s hoping that trend continues…

It’s the unknown that gets to me. I guess after tomorrow things will be easier…

Here’s hoping. The final battle of Mortal Kombat is about to start. Then it’s off to bed for me.

I’ll keep ya’ll posted…

Round 2 *ding, ding!*

Okay, so it’s time for my sophomore year to begin. I can honestly say that I’ve felt my stress slowly rise over the past couple of weeks in anticipation of the unknown: what are my professors going to be like (save for Maeda Sensei, who—and I’m sure all of his students will attest—freakin’ ROCKS), and will my schedule be survivable?

I’ve managed to cram all of my classes into two days per week to cut down on commuting costs again, which is cool.

However, the financial miracle my wife and I are trying to do is to pay for this semester out of pocket. Well, why the heck would we wanna do that? Well! The G.I. Bill is being revamped, and my wife and I want to reap as many benefits from the updated G.I. Bill as possible. They are adding BAH (basic allowance for housing), cover 100% of tuition costs and also allow pay $1,000/year towards books and/or other misc. academic fees.

We’ll see how it all pans out. As it stands, the updated G.I. Bill will go into effect next September.

Suffice it to say, I’m pretty stoked.

Hope everyone else’s first semester back goes well! For those new students, welcome to UIS!

10-4 (good buddy).

Finally, I am employed!

I am now a part-time dispatcher for the Carlinville police department.

Now, many of you may think that a town of 6,000 cannot possibly be busy. You would be surprised just how busy it can get. And for those times where not much is going on, certain officers will make it busy for you.

There is a ton to learn and you always have to be prepared for anything.

Many are quick to ask, “Which day is your busiest day? What times are busiest?” Honestly, there is no answer for that. Anything can happen at any time. Such is the life for police officers and their dispatchers.

Now, to tie in school to the jobby-job, I brought my English-Japanese/Japanese-English dictionary in to work the other day just to look up words and get reacquainted with looking at Japanese characters. Suffice it to say, the officers were rather impressed to hear what their jobs are in Japanese. Police officer = keisatsu-kan.

For awhile I was tempted to go into law enforcement myself. However, I keep thinking about my 64” 135 pound frame, chuckling as I imagine myself saying, “RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH!!!”

What to do, what to do…

Well, for now – stick it out as a dispatcher and see what else happens!