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| So, school has started up for me once again - hopefully and with any luck, my last semester here.
I'm taking Computer Science 152 - Programming Languages, where we will learn about all kinds of languages you haven't heard of, I haven't heard of, and may not use again, depending on what I do after I graduate. I'm also taking CS 116B - the second course in computer graphics. It combines some aspects of math and computer science, but sadly, not nearly as much creativity, drawing, or artistry as I had hoped. Maybe the second course allows for a little more freedom.
Lastly, I'm taking Kinesiology 46A. That would be Social Dance - Beginners, for those of you unfamiliar with the mysterious workings of SJSU. As part of my graduation requirements, I'm supposed to take two units (two classes) of physical education. Only, they're not called physical education. It used to be called "Human Performance", but that got nixed for some reason, too. It just means it makes it harder for people like me to sign up for classes.
"Where would I find physical education? It's not under physical education or Human Performance. What about Health Sciences? Nope. Health Professions? Nope. Intercollegiate Athletics? Apparently not. That's just if I want to be part of the soccer, basketball, football, or other team sports, but not THE sports teams of SJSU. University studies? Nope. Aw, of course. Kinesiology, the study of human movements. Except I don't want to study it; I'm the one doing it, aren't I? Nope. I'm doing both, apparently."
I just finished taking table tennis, and this semester, everything, and I mean EVERYTHING is filled and then some with other students. I'd be half-way down the waiting list for anything else I take. Well, unless I want to take Modern Dance. Then, I'd just consider taking one unit during the summer. So, Social Dance it is...
I figured that I'd be the most awkward, ungainly, uncoordinated person out there and I'd step on women's feet left and right (so to speak). It seems I greatly underestimated the physical abilities of my peers or dismissed all the years of marching band I had that may have given me the ability to do two things at once, even if they're directly contradicting one another. For a few of my partners today, I had to lead with my left foot and whisper, "Right", take a step with my right foot and whisper "Left", then quickly move left-right to the side while whispering "Right-left". The class also had the problem of trying to dance in a circle and keep the spacing even - yet another skill I can transfer over from marching band here. I guess being the "lead" in the couple is a little more literal than I had guessed.
We clearly have an great inequality between the sexes, as the teacher let all the guys add, while telling the women who wanted to add to stick around and see if more guys added. As it was, we had something like 18 women and 13 guys. At least it's not as imbalanced as UCLA Choir which had more Sopranos than all the men combined.
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| I got a new set of graphite pencils, so...
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| Happy New Year's Day! (and Happy Birthday to the two New Year's babies I know)
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| For the bouquet toss, all the single women went on the dance floor and there were so few, they grabbed a woman with a boyfriend, and the groom's underage sister to go diving for the bouquet.
When it got to the guys, there were considerably more of us, but the enthusiasm clearly wasn't there. I had the best chance to go for it, but I passed and let the guy next to me pick it up off the floor. I value my pride over superstition. Apparently the DJ had no problem bringing all of us down a notch, however, and he, with the aid of the groom, called all the single guys out for a dance, each of us donning ridiculous hats and doing our best dance for everyone. My dance skills are best described as... well... they're best not described at all.
Most of the rest of the night was uninteresting, save for a few joking moments. One of the bridesmaids noticed that the groom's sister was bored so she asked me for a deck of playing cards, which I had in my motel room adjacent to the dance hall where we were. My guy friends gave me a few looks, not unlike that Monty Python skit - nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more, say no more. Except she made it absurdly clear if I had any ill intentions that she was happily married.
After the reception died down, being the only sober and awake one in our group, I got to act the part of designated driver for a bunch of us who wanted to go to a bar in our suits and see where that got us. I got free water, some conversation with a pretty girl named Barbie who wore an absurd amount of glittery items on her person - a necklace, shoes that sparkled, and some sparkly makeup. More experience in this realm would have lent me a better line than comparing her to a Christmas Tree, but that's probably why I'm still single.
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