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[May. 13th, 2009|01:22 pm] |
So the previous post was about: I almost had to leave Monterey last Friday on about 6 hours notice because my orders situation got resolved. I was spared that panic by our senior Marine because I wouldn't have had adequate time to pack, move my stuff, check out, and fly down to Texas. I will now be here until July-ish.
My brothers came to town for my graduation, which was cool. We're all similarly loony (some of you already know), so the nonsequitur humor was in full swing. For instance:
[trying to plan things for his departure on Monday]
Me: I have a question.
Jerms: I have an answer.
Me: How long did it take you to drive down here from San Jose?
Jerms: Chicken pot pie. I never said the answer I had ready was related to the question.
Me: Hmm... Well then. What's delicious?
Jerms: About an hour and a half.
My girlfriend looked on, befuddled. This sort of thing is why my brothers and I are often quite a handful as houseguests.
After watching Star Trek (SO GOOD), playing some DnD, and a day trip to San Francisco and some other low-key hangout stuff, Jerms and his wife Rachel headed back to Florida. Jon and I kicked around Monterey, then took a road trip to Fresno last night to see Dredg, a mutual favorite. The show was so amazing that even the pair of "I want to start a mosh pit at a chill, relaxed show" douchebags couldn't ruin it, though they did their best. My brother and I were joined by a pair of big, muscled, tattooed-n-pierced metalhead dudes in insisting, angrily, that this show was a spiritual thing that needed to be enjoyed, not an opportunity to flail around spilling beer. Look, if even the hardass metalhead dudes don't wanna throw down, clearly you are in the wrong.
Had not the band stuck around for photos, hand-shakes, autographs, and heart-to-hearts, I have no doubt the four of us would have been waiting for the wannabe-moshers after the set. As it is I'm not sure the metalheads weren't anyway.
Now I'm back, and finishing up my leave chilling in the room a bit. It's been an amazing couple of weeks since I finished my DLPT, and I hope this feeling sticks around. |
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| (no subject) |
[May. 7th, 2009|10:33 pm] |
FUCK
elaboration to come later. pray it becomes irrelevant. |
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| Pardon the delay |
[May. 6th, 2009|09:18 am] |
I've been so swept up in finishing things up around here I ended up leaving everyone hanging.
I got a 3/3/2.
These numbers represent levels on the ILR scale. The tl;dr version is, the scale ranges from 0 (no ability) through 5 (native), with half-levels represented by a +. The numbers are given in order of Listening, Reading, and Speaking. The objective of this course was a 2/2/1+. 3/3 is the highest possible results from the "lower range" test we took; while I might be even better, the test isn't designed to gauge that. 2 is an excellent speaking grade for someone without time actually living among Arabs, as higher grades are dependent on cultural elements that can't be picked up completely in a classroom environment.
Back in December, I was the only member of my class (20+ people) to even pass the trial test, with a 2/2+. 3/3 means I now make $400/month extra (the maximum possible for a single language), and essentially kick total ass at my job. Within the scope of my previous metaphor, Wiley has just figured out how to levitate, and the Road Runner is going down.
That's all for now. Brothers are coming out for my graduation and I gotta get some stuff finished here. |
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| Wiley Coyote as a metaphor for my current state |
[Apr. 30th, 2009|11:46 am] |
After about a year and a half in this course, right now I feel like Wiley Coyote.
Since last January, I have done exactly the same thing (just change the exact words I was learning) every day, for around month at a time, then taken a test about it. Every time, by the time I took the test, I was ready to just have it over with. Every time I was petrified my grades would be terrible, and every time I was among the best grades in the class. And then it would all start over again. I've seriously done this about 18-20 times.
This is the part where poor Wiley is running frantically next to a scrolling background, rendering any progress nothing more than an optical illusion.
Now I'm on the cusp of having my real, final test grades back from the ACTUAL last test I'll take here. The course has ended. We cleaned the classrooms this morning, threw out pounds of old papers and such, and are turning our classroom gear in.
This is the part where Wiley has overshot the edge of the cliff. Inured to the passage of distance by the looping background, and focusing on a goal so far ahead of him that his immediate surroundings are meaningless, poor Wiley is now suspended over the chasm. His only support is his own unawareness of what has just occured.
I get my grades back in an hour. I already passed the test back in December, but this time is what really matters. It's also the moment where my world changes from what it's been for almost a year and a half.
This is the part where Wiley looks down, and possibly holds up a little sign with a pathetic expression on his face before gravity takes hold. |
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 24th, 2009|01:37 pm] |
A fresh start would probably be better with some actual material. It's been like half a year since I said anything here, that's probably a bit of a gap...
I'm on the verge of graduating from my course, as one of the top students in my class. I'm seriously very good at Arabic. We'll see HOW "very good" in a couple of weeks, but I passed the final exams early back in December. That didn't get me outta here early, it just got me a pay raise while I stayed in class. So now it's almost time to graduate, 2 weeks from now. Still a long way from picking up Corporal, but whatever.
What's next? I'm going to end up in Camp Pendleton near San Diego. Timeframe expectations are a little vague. So's just about everything else.
But it's fine, I make do. |
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| Fresh start |
[Apr. 22nd, 2009|02:03 pm] |
It's been a reeeeally long time since I've posted on here. I think the long history of my posts going back 6 years was starting to weigh me down, make me think too much about the past, so I associated LJ with the person I was as I was evolving during college.
So with a little judicious refiling of my old entries to private, I'm ready to start over here with a clean slate. New design, new userpic, all that stuff.
How's everyone doing? |
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gornul's journal
rejuvenated