i love my schedule, i think... i dont have classes on tuesday til like 1:35 pm.. and that's for ENG 1101... and i only have MATH 1501 to follow that, so only 2 lessons on tuesday.
classes yesterday was pretty nice. HIST 2112 and HPS 1040 were s0-so, but I think PSYC 1101 is gonna be pretty good, lecturer's engaging speaker. i need to do a hell lot of a reading for HIST and PSYC, but its gonna keep me interested, so its all good.
the only problem? it seems all textbooks are sold out. i really hope the new shipment lasts before my classes end at 1625. I need used textbooks, and there's only new ones. and the psyc ones cost like US$80. luckily i can sell off the texts at the end of the semester, if not its just bad investment. i need like 4 texts for history, so its gonna be a prob.
Bank of America called me up this morning to say that my bank account wouldnt exactly be free. i need to make a minimum deposit of US$99 and then pay an annual fee of US$30 for maintenance. so much for signing up for a supposedly 'free' student checking account. but i need it. gotta talk to my dad later to see if i should go to some other regional bank. i need money to buy all these freakin expensive texts and my ibook or powerbook, i still have not sorted that one out yet.
anyway, i havent been updating with too much detail lately. my room mate's great. we get along pretty well and im glad that i have him as my room mate. he's real funny and its fun being around in the room or having meals with him.
so whats been going on since the orientation is that we basically explore the campus coz the fraternity houses are open for us to check them out and see which one to join. i kinda had decided not to join, since it seemed fake, which some of them are, but there were some that were really nice. one of the first ones i visited, Delta Tau Delta, had this hypnotist over as a guest and that one hour was a spectable. he really hypnotized 6 out of a possible 13 volunteers and it was just amazing and hilarious. those guys didnt recall what they were doing in the past hour. but it wasnt exactly my kinda frat to join.
as a matter of fact, i still am not sure if i should pledge to a frat, coz of two things. money and the doubt whether i'll stay at tech or move to urbana-champaign (first semester was really ex. i can cut the cost to half if i transfer) so i gotta talk more. there was this one frat tt indirectly kicked us out, i dont think i should mention their name, coz it will probably violate the tech honor code. but they were really rude. they could just let us go through their place and if we ever decided to pledge (now we're never ever gonna do that) then they could just say they dont wanna give us a bid. simple as that. and there was this completely nerdy/weird frat, that's totally off my list. im considering Chi Psi and Chi Phi, it seems to suit my ideal. i like Chi Phi, even though its technically in shambles, but im very impressed by its ex-president coz he really cares about his frat and is hopeful about recolonizing the whole frat. i think i could help do that. but i'll never know. they've been really sincere and nice.
oh, and we met Luke Schenscher yesterday. he's like one of the most important member of the tech basketball that was the national runnerup last year. he's super tall and really nice. his left leg was in casts, but he should be ready for the new season. james (my room mate) went wild when we walked past him and realized it was really him. we talked to him for a while and wished him all the best for the coming season. that's the first time i actually saw a player from TV (during the NCAA earlier this year) and he could potentially become really big in the future, possibly NBA. he was saying that he couldnt make it to the Aussies team for Athens, but i think he should have been and he would have done pretty well. well, there's always Beijing 2008.
what else... there's just so much to say that i keep forgetting. campus is huge. my dorm's right next to the tech stadium, so when the football season starts, its gonna be really cool. east campus is the way to be! but gotta walk real far to classes, but im not complaining. i think wit all the walking ive done, its a real good workout for the legs.
i really need to go wash my stuff. its been one week. im soon gonna run out of things to wear if i dont do my laundry today or tomorrow. i need to do laundry, i need textbooks, i need to start reading, i need to apply to co-op and barnes & noble for part time work, research undergrad research, etc, etc. damn.
and i had a surprise test for maths on my first day. i was MCQ. by singaporean standards, its an A, but here, its a C, im quite pissed that i got couple of questions wrong. and i still havent decided whether to skip Calculus I for Calculus II. the TA told me to talk to the lecturer but at this rate, it might not be worth it. but im getting a full 4.0 if i claim credit. and i cant find out whether the credit is official, it doesnt show online. dammit.
and there's still the japanese to consider. i wonder if there's any credit available for JLPT. if not i'll start straight at the 4000 (the highest course series) and not get enough for certificate or minor if i dont go to study abroad at Waseda. i prefer to go to Singapore for the industrial engineering exchange program. it'd be weird, coz i was there for almost 12 years but going as an exchange student. i better go to Waseda instead. Dr. Kikuchi, whom i talked to regarding the minor thing, told me if i go there and transfer everything, i will get a minor in no time. but i might take SPAN I & II, learn something new. its a requirement anyway, so it might not be a problem.
undecided engineering gives me option to explore, but the planning which course to take is a heck of a problem. its basically 4 choices now i think... computer, electric, industrial or mechanial. ah well, i still have time to go through everything.
okay, im gonna head for lunch and then go to ENGL 1101.
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