Announcement! Steam Summer Sale Series

Try saying that five times fast.

Awful alliteration aside, I’ve got a series of reviews coming your way as I play through all of my Steam Summer Sale impulse buys (that I made very responsibly by limiting myself to a $100 CAD budget).

On our roster (so far) we have, in no particular order:

1. Influent*
   
2. Aviary Attorney
3. VA-11 HALL-A
4. Forgotten, Not Lost – A Kinetic Novel
5. A Little Lily Princess
6. Season of 12 Colors
7. Learn Japanese To Survive! Hiragana Battle

*I’m playing the Korean language-learning version, as I wanted to refresh my knowledge and learn new words.

I’m very excited to finally have more games in my library that I will get around to playing whenever I can/feel up to it. I know that this selection is pretty much half visual novel, half language learning, but I’m pretty stoked to play all of these and share my thoughts with you!

I’d love to hear about the games you’ve recently bought in the sale or are planning to pick up. Leave a comment!

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On a more personal note, life has been hectic lately. I know I say that a lot, but this time it really is.

Right now, we’re dealing with a broken water heater that was leaking and flooding the basement (we opted to shut off the water altogether and have had to walk to McDonalds to use the bathroom for *ahem* no. 2s), a house guest arriving this weekend, as well as an upcoming move to an apartment! That doesn’t even include the other stuff going on for my co-dictator of the universe involving college preparations.

After we’re set up in the apartment, looking for work will be my top priority. So, I’ll likely opt to play the smaller games/VNs for stress relief. Thankfully, I’m well-stocked in that department now.

In a fit of excited graduation feelings, I decided to take advantage of the post-graduation credit offered to me by the university. Alumni get a sum of money to put towards any School of Continuing Studies course they wish, provided the money covers the cost of the course. Since I am a language nerd, I’ve decided that I’m going to take a course in beginner Dutch, starting in October.

When it comes to stress levels and having too many things on my plate, as with dessert buffets, my eyes are bigger than my stomach. Let’s see how all of this goes. Wish me luck!

 

Well, I’m Here. Now What?

On Wednesday (June 15th, 2016), I stood in a line, received a card with the number 142 on it, and waited for my chance to walk up the steps to the stage of Convocation Hall, where I would shake hands with several important members of my university (and college) faculty as well as hold the hands of our convocation address-giver, who brought me to tears during the end of her speech.

I would descend after posing for a quick picture taken by my father, who was in one of the galleries, and proceed to receive my degree in the hallway and pose for pictures taken by university-hired professionals. I then returned to my seat and watched the hundreds of other New College graduates do the exact same thing. I’m sure all of us were feeling the exact same feelings: relief, a bit of anxiety, and excitement at finally being able to say that WE DID IT.

Photo cred: John Meadows

 

Well, now that all of the festivities are done … now what?

My Degree isn’t Useless

I promise that this post isn’t coming from a place of preemptive angst as I count down the hours until my first class of the term tomorrow. At least, not entirely.

While I was fretting over returning to classes today, a chat I had with my co-dictator of the planet (a.k.a. my significant other) a few weeks back popped up in my mind. I’ve been told (directly or indirectly) from various sources that I am studying things that aren’t practical or valuable in the grand scheme of life. My boyfriend pointed out that it’s not what I’m studying specifically that is the valuable thing–it’s the fact that I’m completing it. Four years ago I left high school with an idea of where I wanted to go for university and what I would study there. Four years later, I’m nearing the end of my time at the school I had hoped to be in, University of Toronto, finishing up my undergraduate degree in the major and two minors I signed up for at the end of my first year. Sure, there were some bumps in the road along the way. Had I anticipated having to do three summer terms of courses to make up for the failed credits during the year? Of course not. Here I am, about to embark on a term with the maximum course load allowed for one semester. Every course is crucial. So, as you might have guessed, this term is easily the most difficult and scary one out of all eleven I will have done by the time I graduate. It hasn’t even started yet.

Great Start to My School Year (Not)

So, for those who aren’t in the know about Canadian universities, my school was recently the target of some online, anonymous threats around a week ago.

Here’s a piece from National Post about what happened: Online posts about killing feminists prompt University of Toronto to increase campus security

Course Selection: a digital nightmare

A week from now, I’ll be suffering through course selection for what will hopefully be the last time. Out of everything required for university, this has to be the number one thing on the “things I can’t wait to stop doing” list. Why? Well, here’s the typical experience I’ve had with course selection.

Why East Asian Studies? Part Three: Looking at History

The last thing I want to talk about in this series is the main reason I’m in East Asian studies and the part of the explanation I love getting to when I talk about my major with people. I’ve often said in the past that the practically memorized answer I have is 85% bullshit, but since then I’ve realized that no, it’s actually fact now. Or at least it’s part of a larger explanation that the length of most small talk conversations don’t have time for. This post has taken longer to write than my previous ones as it is at the centre of why I enjoy my major so much.

Thoughts On: Finding Motivation

This post comes to you from a lack of motivation. I have three posts sitting in the drafts section and, while I could finish them, I can’t find the drive to write them right now. So, for the purpose of having something for you, I thought I’d talk about my struggles with becoming and staying motivated. This won’t be the most entertaining post in the world, but there will be more game-related posts during the week when I pick up the two drafts I’ve been working on. The third installment of my East Asian studies series will be out next Sunday.

I was diagnosed with ADHD in 2013. Some people with ADD/ADHD find that only their work (academic and/or professional) is compromised by their condition. For me, my whole life is affected. If I don’t put something in my calendar, I will likely forget about it. Important items need to stay in the same place or be in a place of extreme visibility. My medication has to be in the same place each morning or the likelihood of me almost forgetting to take it increases significantly. Nearly every time I’ve set something in a specific location “so I don’t forget it”, it will probably be left behind. I’ve recently changed the sounds on my alarms so that this week when I start my summer courses, I won’t drown out the sound of the alarm and fall back asleep. Getting out of the nearly-nocturnal sleep schedule I’ve been in since the end of last term will be a struggle during these first few weeks of school.

Why am I telling you this?

Why East Asian Studies? Part Two: Cultural Education

Last week, I talked about some of the more directly annoying parts of people asking me about my major. This time around, I thought I’d talk about some of the positives and reasons why I study it. You know, actually answering the question as opposed to telling you what I can’t or don’t want to do with my degree? Unfortunately, this goes hand-in-hand with certain assumptions that other people make about what you study within the department.

Note: I cannot stress enough that this is based on my experience and my opinion. I do not speak for everyone, nor am I claiming to.

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Now, with that quick warning out of the way, I’d like to transport back to first year Korean class. I had watched exactly one and a half Korean dramas, seen maybe two or three Korean movies, eaten Korean food once, and the only K-pop group I knew was Girls’ Generation (SNSD/소녀시대). Everything I had watched or listened to was quite old compared to how on-the-ball my classmates were with the latest K-pop group debuts and Korean dramas. To make matters worse, I had only eaten one meal at a Korean restaurant in my life and if you had asked me to name what I had eaten, I would have had no idea. This might seem like no big deal, but when you’re in a class where pop culture is used to illustrate grammar points and pictures of food are shown without the names being clearly given (but eventually learned through listening to classmates), being unaware of Korean culture becomes a huge roadblock.

Why East Asian Studies? Part One: Jobs and Skills

Note: If you’ve spoken with me about my area of study, this post will likely be redundant for you. I still want to write it.

I don’t mind small talk. It can be pleasant at times, when awkward silence is the worse option. The only thing I don’t like is the inevitable question that follows the usual banter about my education. It comes in many forms, but I usually hear:

“Why’d you pick that?”

“That sounds interesting. What made you choose that?”