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Disclaimer…i’m trying to now keep up a journal of stuff I do while at Stanford.  Here it is…don’t expect it to be insanely deep or whatever.  I suppose I’ll see where the journal “goes” or whatever as time goes on and those things called classes begin.  For now, it’s more of a summary of things done while at Stanford and also my general feelings towards things.  I guess that’s it.

September 18, 2003

Awoke in Aunt Pats/Uncle Le’s house.  Loaded up the Mecury Mountaineer rental car and headed to Stanford.  I met my roommate Curtis Aundrus from El Dorado Hills, CA.  He’s a nice guy, interested in studying math and likes Japanese Anime.  Funny that he knows more about Japan than I do!  The dining hall food is spectacular – I had tandori chicken for dinner and there will be a sushi bar opening up on Monday.  There was convocation this afternoon, where the president and all the other people speaking said the same traditional convocation-type things.  At the resident hall I said goodbye to my parents.  My mom cried, and it made me sad that they were leaving.  Guess it’s the intial letting go thing, but I’m going to have to learn to live by myself now.  That’s really strange for me I guess, but that’s how the transition goes.  The kids of my floor all seem very nice; it’s an all guys floor so we will have to take some time to bond and such.  That night we introduced ourselves and also said what we were apprehensive about and also what we were excited about at Stanford.  I said I was excited about the diversity at the campus but was apprehensive about the long distance relationship me and Andrea are now really having.  I miss her a lot.  But I know things will go well because we both really care about each other.  Loud music is playing in the hallway, and there’s a lot of kids here who all like music and hanging out.  I’m sure we’ll all become good friends in the future.  Now it’s time for bed, because I plan to wake up around 8AM for breakfast. 

September 19, 2003

Today we had our first breakfast – I had eggs and bacon and some orange juice.  Pretty good, I must say.  We then went to the auditorium where we shouted our house name and also learned about what we should expect at Stanford, as well as an explanation of the Stanford Honor Code.  I met my peer academic advisor and academic advisor for lunch, and I struck up a pretty good conversation with the rest of the people in my group – most are interested in the social sciences, so that’s cool.  Nathanial had met the president, and Laksh has played viola with Dave Brubek.  It’s all very amazing – what these people have done.  After that we had a little skit put on by the PAA’s where we learned about axcess and the time schedule…although they didn’t explain much.  We then discussed our book, The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, although I didn’t say much, it was the first real intellectual discussion so far.  After dinner we met back in the common area and went to The Real World: Stanford, where some students put on a funny skit about drugs, eating disorders, alcohol, and sex at Stanford.  We discussed these issues back in the common room, although nothing too constructive was said.  After that, we all said interesting things about ourselves – I personally didn’t say anything but lots of other people had crazy things happen to them.  For example, one guy had nipple surgery, another pee’d on a nurse when he was 5, another had 12 surgeries, one saw a guy get his penis shot off, many guys had made their name in the snow with urine, and a girl had driven so poorly on her driver’s exam, that she made the tester throw up!  IT was hilarious!  The Stanford Band then came, and we ran around the campus with them.  That was insanely fun!!  I had a good time, dancing and cheering and showing some Cedro love.  I think I’m being more outgoing, which is good for meeting people.  Afterwards some of us threw around the frisbee for a bit outside, and I made my first venture to the girl’s floor—only briefly and only to some of the outside rooms to visit Annie and Laksh, two people I already knew from yahoo Stanford group.  Things are looking good, which makes me feel a bit better about things.  Still having trouble getting to know Curtis, but I’m working on him.  But now, it’s time for bed.  I have a Spanish placement exam tomorrow – eek!

September 20, 2003

So I missed my placement exam because I showed up 10 minutes late, but no worries, because I can take it on Monday.  I went to some stupid lectures where the people really didn’t help much, a lot of the stuff everyone said was in the course bulletin, so I wonder why they bother going through it all.  It is Orientation, so I guess it’s what they want to do.  That night we went to Cardinal Fan 101, where we learned some Stanford cheers. Some people brought back an ice sculpture with a big “S” that was at the stadium.  It must have been cold to carry, but it was really cool to have in front of our house, and we took pictures with it as well. Then, our dorm headed over to the “California Dreamin’” party, where we all danced and had a great time.  I’m surprised I danced, I guess I decided that if you just do what other people are doing and have a good time, nobody will think anything less of you.  Plus, our house has a ton of unity and cohesiveness thus far, so I thought I shouldn’t break that.  That night I played Kasra in ping pong, but the match abruptly ended when he was snatched and thrown in the shower because it was his birthday.  Since my roommate was sleeping, a lot of us hung out in the common room, where I got to meet some really cool people.  I listened to Mike play the piano for a long time – he’s amazing at piano.  I also threw around the frisbee with some people and watched a game of Mafia.  I’m glad a lot of other people stay up late and can have fun without alcohol.  I hope that continues through the school year. 

September 21, 2003

I had brunch that morning with some people from Cedro.  After brunch we went to Wilbur field to throw around the frisbee.  A lot of the guys were really good, and Adam also showed up to play.  It was fun, but I realized that I am definitely out of shape if I want to play frisbee as an intramural sport.  I met with Jose, my Peer Academic Advisor, and confirmed that taking Chem 31, Math 42, and my IHUM: Citizenship would be a good healthy choice for my first quarter here at Stanford.  That afternoon we went to FACES, which dealt with many diverse issues on campus – culture, death, disabilities, and a person named Ellen who was gender-clear.  We then went back to the house to discuss the issues, and wrote traits that were shared and also hidden.  Many hidden traits were things that I had similarities with other people, but of course wouldn’t overtly share a lot.  That evening I went to Jamba Juice with Phoebe, Harry, Mickey, and Curtis.  It was nice to socialize and have a good time just chilling and hanging out.  Later that evening we went to Frost Ampitheater and watched Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, a great classic teen movie.  We headed back to the dorm, where I hung out with people and taught Kevin how to play Scrabble.  I sure hope people like to play Scrabble, because they think I make up words when I put down my two letter words.  Haha, oh well – it’s alright, and I think it serves as a means for me to make friends.  A guy named Mike here is really really good at piano, so it’s nice to have music playing while we hang out in the common room.  Anyway, I have to go to bed kind of early – around 1AM because I have to wake up at 7:30 to take the Spanish Oral Placement Exam.  I know it’s going to stink, but meh, I gotta do what I gotta do.