Bad Day

[spritechan]

I'm actually not one to have bad days. Not since I cut myself free after 5 years with Dan and our poor excuse for a relationship. Steve and I get along phenomenally, and if we have a conflict (which is pretty uncommon) it doesn't take long to talk out. I'm on good terms with my family (minus the bad dreams I often have that i think hurts it from my end), and on good terms with my friends. I pretty much don't have bad days - more like, A Couple Hours of Suck Wrapped in a Pretty Good Day. 

Yesterday was A Bad Day.

The evening went fine while I was working, until it was time for shift change. My coworkers noticed one of the Narc counts was off. I know I only counted 79, but I signed for 79.5. Pickle. The program manager was super pissed at me because I didn't look at the number I was signing off on. I'm sorry that I put too much stock into my coworkers to LISTEN to the number I tell them, and if it doesn't match to let me know and we'll figure it out from there. So my coworker was stupid for not hearing me say half a pill less than she wrote down, but I was the bigger idiot because I was the one PRESENT for the wrath and for not double-checking what she wrote. There was a ton of confusion at this time, because I had been trying to talk to them and give out meds and write an incident report and med error (THIS IS WHY WE HAVE MED ERRORS DON'T MAKE US MULTITASK) and so I kept missing places to sign all the meds. It was a DISASTER. I almost cried I was so stressed out.

I was finally able to get out of there, and I stopped at school to drop something off, and I went to the Michael's by my Dr's office. Of COURSE they didn't have the right color yarn for me. I bought all the secondary colors I'd need (or at least a good chunk of them), but I can't use them unless I have a finished scarf. So I still needed the purple. Having more time left before my appt, I stopped over at Half-Priced books... and bought some stuff. "A Guide to writing Kanji and Kana" By Tuttle and the revised edition of Japanese for Busy People I. I am suuuuuper excited about the writing book. I have a copy machine at work and I made several copies of the first few hirigana practice pages so I can really begin to learn. I'm so happy about that!! AND the nurse called me and told me they found the missing half a pill and all is well with the world of narcotics at Maghakian Place. When I left though, my car gave me a scare and did a hard start. I need a new battery.

My doctor's appointment contributes to my Bad Day because it was a follow-up pap. My yearly came back abnormal but I also had an infection at the time so I refuse to pay for a colposcopy until I get confirmation again. It's expensive and invasive and 99% of the time comes up with nothing.

I stopped at WalMart on the way home (though it wasn't actually "on the way") and got my yarn. Then I FINALLY got home about 11:30am, and I get a call from my new advisor for school. She did EXACTLY what I knew she would as a new staff - searched my credits with a fine-tooth comb - and is having me come up ONE CLASS SHORT OF FUCKING GRADUATION. I told her I WAS graduating this fall. That the Department Head, Dr. Shelton, told me this summer that if my Audit Report gives me a checkmark, that it SHOULD SLIDE. I think I intimidated her (I was very edgy by this point and maybe talked with a harsher and more condescending tone than I should have). We agreed I would CC her on an email to Dr. Shelton. I'm practically BEGGING them to just let me graduate. I've been in school for 6 years, I've taken more than enough credits, just PLEASE, PLLLLEEEEAAAAASSSSEEEE let me graduate. *sob*

And finally, Steve works until 11 this week and I leave for work at 11:45 so GOD that sucks. And Mike, a good friend from HS and my 2 years at UMD who now lives in Utah doing Geology stuff, had to cancel dinner on the 4th because he mixed up a wedding date. BUT! That might be salvaged with lunch the next day. Not sure. Ugh.

Begone with you, Bad Day!

*poof*

Comments

[silver-tiamat.livejournal.com]

Baby Jesus on a stick that sounds like a shitty day. I don't know what's wrong with the University system, but my friend Anji, you, and I have all had people tell us at the last minute "Oh, yeah, sorry...you're not graduating. Lol." Which dumps an ENORMOUS amount of stress on us, all the more frustrating when you manage to win your case, or they discover they screwed up...argh. Thank god I'm out. And people wonder why I'm so hesitant to jump into graduate school...

You know, I really hate it when bosses don't disperse the blame on all the people responsible. I mean, I'm willing to take my fair share when it's my fuck up, but when someone else helped, I want them BLAMED. I want them scolded. Fire and retribution and all that.

A happier note: When it comes to the kana (hiragana and katakana), make sure you memorize them as much as possible in their "alphabetical" order (a i u e o, ka, ki, ku, ke, ko, etc). It'll help later on, trust me. Also, this may sound strange, but learning the radicals of the kanji along with the katakana and hiragana will make it a lot easier. Because the kana are, of course, simplifications of the kanji (radicals). So, you'll start getting familiar with the form of the "letters."

For reference, I spent about four weeks (painful, painful weeks) drilling the hiragana and katakana (for a placement test). I came out of it able to read hiragana even after months of not practicing, but still don't know my katakana. So, make sure when you're studying, you're drilling both equally. Practing writing them over and over and over and over and over again. Flashcards are good for kanji, but for the kana, you need to practice it like you once had to practice the alphabet. You need the sensory memory of writing it. Plan on this taking at least a month to recognize them, and mabye three for being able to write any of the kana on command. Then with kanji...uh....XD

[vixenofflames.livejournal.com]

WHY DO THEY TORTURE US SO?! D: Makes me soooo sad.

I feel the exact same way. I KNOW that I should have double-checked. It's so elementary. I definitely felt like an ass for not looking, and I let myself feel shame and reproach for my part. But yes, I was unhappy that I also received my partner's part of the blame as well. The program manager is an African American woman who just blunts everything to the max, making you feel like the most unintelligent moron on the planet when you screw up. It's like being half an inch tall.

This book is great because it encourages the same thing (learning them in order), and includes several other tips, such as:
-dividing the learning into small units
-practice the pronunciation without looking once you feel comfortable while looking in order to link the writing to the sound
-Memorize the order of syllables
-memorize the shape of each kana and compare it to others in order to note similarities and peculiarities
-memorize the stroke order and the direction of each stroke

It has separate sort-of tips for kanji, and compares the benefits of learning katakana or hirigana first. Also, for each kana character, it shows which which kanji from which it is derived and the sequential number of that kanji (a touch over my head atm but maybe you get it XD)

What do you think of those tips? Anything you want to revise? :D

You haven't taken that huge test yet have you?

[silver-tiamat.livejournal.com]

I think it has to do with money. They figure, if they can fool you into thinking you can't graduate, then you pay them more money, and no one ever has to know. ~(''~)

You know, sometimes I wish that I convince bosses and superiors and such that I really can do a more-than-sufficient kicking of my own ass when I fuck up than they could ever manage, so that they'd just be disapproving, and let me get in on the self-loathing. I don't take responsibility for mistakes that aren't mine, so if I'm beating myself with the self-flogger, it's because I did something wrong. I just can't approve of someone else trying to belittle me, or make me feel like I'm the biggest fuck up in the world. Maybe I have a self-complex? The only person allowed to beat me up is me? XD

A couple notes on studying the kana:

-Do two different groupings for studying: 1. Correct order of a i u e o and 2. "Random" selections. You need to know only know how to write/read "ne" when it's next to "nu" but when it's next to "ta" and "ri." You should pick around 5-7 characters at a time, unless you're having a lot of trouble with them, then stick with 2-3.
-Find either online or if you have some, things written in Japanese and decipher the words. You'll get better at reading, and you'll pick up more vocab.
-When you practice, make SURE you learn it in the right stroke order. It's not like learning the order of our alphabet wrong. With the alphabet even if you write them wrong, they're still legible. But, with the kana and kanji, when you start getting into kanji and calligraphy, if you don't know the stroke order, then you won't know why there are lines all over the place. (It's sort of like reading someone with messy handwriting who connects their letters because they don't pick up their pen a lot--if you know the alphabet really well, you can decipher it, but if you only know printed letters, you'll be struggling for ages).
-READ ALOUD. When you get to the point where you can recognize at least several kana, start reading them aloud. Yes, you will sound like a four-year-old just learning to read. Yes, you will read at a speed you haven't read at in almost two decades. Just bear with it.

I would also suggest that rather than only working with the boxed paper they give you, to write in notebooks like you would usually. Also, practice reading/writing BOTH ways--vertical and right to left, as well as horizontil and left to right. You'll encounter both in the course of your studies. And if you have anything that records your voice, use it. Play it back, and then listen to a native speaker (I'm sure there are YouTube videos). Do not despair. With practice, you can go from sounding like The Typical "domo arigato mr. roboto" Gaijin to The Impressive Gaijin. You should have heard my French accent when I started learning five years ago. Hahahahaha. Now, apparently I have only the tiniest trace of an accent. It's just practice. Listen to native speakers. Read aloud. Get it as close as you can. Try speaking for at least an hour. Your tongue will get tired, but that's good. It has to learn how to move in a different way than it has for the past 20-something years.

Wow. Seriously, don't get me started on learning Japanese...XD I think I leaked some LEARN JAPANESE OH MY GOD DO IT!!!! passion all over your journal. ごめんなさい。

And no, the JLPT is in December. *doom doom doom doom* T.T

[vixenofflames.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! I will try to incorporate as much of that as I can! It's definitely a little overwhelming right now, but I really think once I get out of this DAMN SCHOOL and probably start Japanese I next Fall at the University of Minnesota, I'll be great. In my experience I'm pretty good at languages. I ALWAYS listen to the Japanese in anime, and will point out words or phrases that I recognize to Steve, and also note whether or not I feel the subs person translated it well - to the best of my abilities of course, which isn't much right now, but I do recognize a lot of random words. And I am VERY particular about pronunciation; it matters A LOT to me. It really bugs me how people are cool with pronouncing things wrong. My friends think I'm being a jerk when I absently correct their pronunciation of weeaboo words (I use weeaboo somewhat loosely, and never in a derogatory fashion, btw), such as "kawaii" "desu" "gozaimasu" and even "weeaboo" itself!

Oh also! I giggled out loud at your *doom*s... I heard Gir saying them :D I'm certain you'll do great, but I feel your tension in the months leading up to it! Oh noes! But I totally believe in you! *cheer*

[silver-tiamat.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! =D I'm always eager to help someone along the path of Japanese!

Yeah, anyone who talks to me on a regular basis inevitably picks up random foreign vocab words. I'll replace an English word with something else (like French), and use it for awhile. Or in the case of Japanese, when some things are used as filler to indicate that the listener is engaged and attentive ("sou desu ne"), I'll put in those. I think that even if I could get native speaker understanding of a language, but at the cost that I will never have above just decent pronunciation, I wouldn't take it. I feel like it's ignoring the language (especially in both French and Japanese which have amazing pitch accents).

I was the Japanese 'teacher' in my high school's Nihongo Club. I correct people's pronunciation like it's second nature.

Mmm...I think if you start memorizing the kana and kanji, you'll feel my anxiety more and more. T.T

[silver-tiamat.livejournal.com]

PS--I said I might, and I totally am, rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender. Starting with episode 1. I forgot how great the animation is at showing human motion (one of the things I was impressed with, but even more so now after seeing some horrible ones). I love the moment when Appa (spelling?) sneezes on Sokka, and he's covered in the gook and in his "oh god oh god get it off me dance" he gets down on his knees and tries to "rub" it off on the ice, because he can't use the water. It's so realistic of that panic to get something OFF, but you can't just magically wipe it away. XD

[vixenofflames.livejournal.com]

JC I hate IE. I wrote a gigantic comment about both the series and the movie and when I went to click on an icon I accidentally clicked the "picture" link and unlike with firefox, IE has no memory. ;A;

I vividly remember that scene! I also loved that kind of animation! Actually, the animation and the humor is what made me love it so much. The Nickelodeon humor was awkward but necessary for the younger audience, but the show definitely matured and evolved, like HP did. I think it's awesome! And yes, Appa :)

[namidanotsuki.livejournal.com]

Would you like a eclair? You should. I know I do... 100% scientifically proven to improve a shitty day.

[namidanotsuki.livejournal.com]

Also try not to be too down on the school thing. Universities are vast, medieval bureaucracies designed with the intention of inefficiency. Ironically their inefficiency usually ends up netting them more money. Your advisor was probably just trying to do her job.

I'm kinnda shocked that you deal with your advisor at all. I know I sure as hell didn't because I figured pretty early on that he was a narcissistic flake. Sooo I always went straight over him to the department chair and got all my stuff done.

[vixenofflames.livejournal.com]

The problem is, your advisor is the one who signs off on your stuff to graduate. I did go over my advisor to one of the heads, but he could only "clear" it and my advisor is the one who has to sign off on it or I don't graduate. It's so stupid because my LAST advisor (who apparently was only interim) would always get up and just go ask questions of the heads, so it's like... I could have just done that myself.

And yes, eclair plz.

[namidanotsuki.livejournal.com]

What the hell kind of mest up system is that? Do you at least have the exception your old advisor made in writing or in e-mail? I would bring that up. In most schools they still have to clear the exception with the head of the department. Maybe he/she knows about it?

[vixenofflames.livejournal.com]

What I did was forward and email about the exception to the head, and he didn't respond, so I called him on Thursday and we talked it out for like 45 minutes and he finally said he'd print out my Degree Audit Report (which my new advisor DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT WAS - it's a very nicely laid out plan that lists all general and major requirements and whether or not you've completed each) and okay the section in question and put it in her box. I'll wait until after Labor Day to follow up with her to make sure she got it.