Joseph Natividad

I’ve been quite the busy bee. Spring quarter is turning out to be as good as I was hoping for. It’s been awhile since I’ve updated this thing (yet again), but lots of crazy stuff has been happening in my life as of late.

For starters, I injured myself badly in a skating rink accident while broomballing with my friends. Here’s a closeup of the aftermath (click on the image for the full effect!):

I got it glued back together and now I’m as good as new.

There has been a lot of schoolwork in between that mess and then some giant music festival called Coachella made my brain explode to pieces (a good thing!). I got in for free for all three days simply because of a connection I made through my friend’s employer, who happened to own a company on the side selling beverages at concerts and such. And so I was hired on the spot and I tagged along for the weekend earning tip money and watching a bunch of Indie rock shows. I ended up seeing Santogold, Scroobius Pip vs Dan Le Sac, The Bird & the Bee, The Teenagers, M.I.A., The Shout Out Louds, The Cool Kids, Chromeo and Justice. I was never disappointed…

not even for a second.

That weekend of insanity followed by a barrage of essays and midterms brought me back to earth. So here I am now, trying to revive what’s been missing from this blog for over a month: something new to look at.

My first day back at school was personified by long lines. Lots of them. Work at the dining halls was more tiring than usual and I never would have predicted that so many people would order salads and chicken wraps last night. I had to stand in even longer lines to get the books I needed for class at AS Soft Reserves and at Groundwork. I probably shouldn’t have played too many pickup basketball games the night before. I woke up sore and exhausted for my 11AM Spanish class, which looks like it’ll be even harder than last quarter (but I already expected that).

I’m probably exaggerating a bit though. This quarter won’t be too grueling for me and i kind of know it. I’m confident that I’ll survive and continue to improve my GPA to where I would like it to be. I felt like I was about to mentally shut down after getting through last quarter’s finals. I ended up doing as well as I had hoped for and I hope that replicates into similar success this spring.

I find myself looking a lot to the future right now, usually towards summer and what lies ahead for me next schoolyear. But then I sit through class and get a reality check. I really need to keep my head in the present and focus on the things I need to accomplish for the time being. The things that I end up doing after this quarter will have to wait.

I had quite an intense Spanish final last night. I had two and a half hours to write a two page essay, translate sentences, remember random vocabulary and other grammar rules, as well as jotting down all the countries and capitals of South America for a minuscule five points of extra credit . I’m glad I got this final over with first because it was the one I was most worried about. I don’t think I got an A in the class but I’ll be completely satisfied with a B grade or even a C something. I plan on taking LTSP2B next quarter, the next step up from this course. Hopefully my plan stays the way I’ve drawn it out but that depends on whether I end up passing this one first.

I had a Computer Science final this morning, which wasn’t too bad. It turned out that all I had to do was review the practice final on the course website and remember all the right answers because the ACTUAL final contained about 80% of those very same questions. I wouldn’t be satisfied with myself if I don’t end up receiving something in the B+ to A- range as my overall grade for the course. CSE3 is a joke and I really want the last laugh to belong to ME.

I have one final left on Thursday for CAT2B, my college’s core writing course. I still have to write a few essays to turn in during the test day, when I’ll have to write another in-class essay based on watching a scene from a film of the professor’s choosing. From that, I’m supposed to relate all the relevant material I can into an essay that spans five pages in a matter of three hours. It won’t be too bad as long as I’m allowed to use my notebook. My constant note-taking during every lecture will finally come in handy.

I just got back from watching the film screening on campus of the award winning film “No Country for Old Men,” which told the story of a dope deal gone totally wrong and an innocent man who gets caught up in the aftermath. It was a heart-stoppingly morbid tale of the depths that someone or some group of people would go to in order get their hands on a suitcase filled with $2 million worth of $100 bills. Javier Bardem gave a bone-chilling performance as the homicidal freak named Anton and absolutely deserved his nod for Best Supporting Actor in this year’s Academy Awards. I can’t stop thinking about what an evil, sadistic psychopath that guy he played was.

I walked out of Price Center a bit uneasy about the ending of the film, which I think has been debated by many critics and moviegoers before me. *SPOILER* When the sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) recounts his dream to his wife at the dining table, he talks about his father in the past who goes ahead of him to build a fire in the darkness. The sheriff says that if he followed him later, he knew he would still be there waiting by the fire for him. As I watched this scene unfold, I don’t know if I was imagining things but I swear that I heard footsteps coming slowly and steadily before all things faded to black and the credits ran. In my mind, I was thinking that Anton had come back to finish off the sheriff and maybe his wife as well. It was an abrupt and completely open-ended conclusion that supposedly compares faithfully with Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the same title.

Everyone has their own interpretation of what must have happened next after the final scene, much like what the response was to the series finale of “The Sopranos.” In this case, I’m actually not bent on believing what I’m thinking. I know that whatever the author or directors meant by that scene turning out the way it did might not be how I think I see it. There was nothing definite about the ending; that’s for sure. The thought has crossed my mind that I may be rambling a bit right now, so in the spirit of Mr. McCarthy and film directors Ethan and Joel Coen i will let this entry stop on a dime (or Anton’s quarter) and fade to black…

I’m more than ready for a respite from studying and working here at school. This quarter has turned out to be a lot better than my first one, as I continue to survive my classes and probably won’t end up failing a single one of them. I’ve found interest in attending my writing and intermediate Spanish classes. Too bad I can’t say the same about CSE3 (Computer Science). That’s the only trace of math I’ve experienced for the past 3 months and I can surely say that I still don’t enjoy it.

These past few days, I have begun to yearn for something I’m not too sure about. I don’t want to say that I’ve become drained by my college experience. Classes are hard, but they are bearable. Work isn’t too tiring; it’s tedious at its worst. Maybe a change of scenery for just a bit will do me good. I get back home next Friday to the Bay Area. I can already smell the food on my plate that doesn’t present an aroma reaking of the UCSD dining halls. Seeing old friends for a week and driving a car again — coming back home brings back people I never see or things I never do here at school.

I have a feeling that next quarter is going to be even much better than this current one. My schedule will be even better because I don’t have to wake up too early for my 11AM classes. I’m looking forward to becoming more involved and meeting even more people on campus than I already have. I have a lot of ideas in my head that I don’t want to give away just yet. I just know that everything will work out in the end. In some crazy way, it will. And before I know it, summer has arrived and my first year at the university has come to a close.

No Country for Old Men, the dramatic film that captured the most Academy Awards this year, is showing at the Price Center Theater this week. To be more precise, tonight (Thursday the 13th) and this following Saturday at 6PM and 9PM. Tickets are only $3, as usual.

If you haven’t checked it out before at another cinema or bought the DVD that arrived in stores this past Tuesday, I suggest it’s worth a big look. I have yet to see it myself and will probably check it out this weekend instead of tonight. The Golden State Warriors are going to be on national TV against the Phoenix Suns at 7:30PM PST and that’s a higher priority on my list at the moment.

• What: Film Screening: “No Country for Old Men”
• Where: Price Center Theater — UCSD Campus
• When: Thursday, March 13 or Saturday, March 16
• Cost: $3

It was a near death experience for me (or the closest one to it). I just got back from work and emptied out my pockets. Out came my cellphone, my keys and my wallet. Where the #$%& was my iPod?!?! Panicked and sweating like crazy, I checked my pockets again and scrounged through all the clothes on my bed and the random stuff on my desk. It was nowhere to be found.

I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. I’d rather lose my cellphone than my iPod, one of my most treasured possessions. At least if i lost my cellphone, it was more likely that whoever found it would call one of my contacts and I’d get it back sooner or later. So I ran back to the dining hall where i work and searched the hamper with all the dirty aprons and towels. I looked at all the pockets of every apron I could find. I still didn’t know where it was. It was at this moment that I actually began to consider the possibility that Lynn Carey had stolen it from me.

I jogged back to my dorm (I was getting tired from all the unexpected running) and searched once again through most of the possible places it could have ended up. If it wasn’t in my jeans pockets then it couldn’t be anywhere else in my room. I took my dormmate’s bike and sped back to the dining hall. I left the bike in front of one of my friend’s apartments and jogged the rest of the way. I searched through the hamper full of aprons one more time. This time I dug deeper into the pile past the towels…and there it was — grimy but unmistakeably my iPod.

Hallelujah.

I began registering at 9:00PM. My Spring Quarter schedule was all set by 9:01PM. That was quicker than I thought it would be. I got into all three classes I was aiming for and didn’t have to waitlist for anything. It was the perfect outcome to a stressful situation I had wanted to get over with for over a week now.

It’s less than half an hour before I finally get to register for my Spring Quarter classes here at UCSD. The waiting has been a pain, especially after hearing most of the people in my dorm already talking about the classes they’ve gotten into because of their earlier registration dates. Because I came to college with less credits than most of the people here, I got stuck towards the back end of the priority sign-ups.

I blame my high school for not offering enough of a variety of Advance Placement classes. But what can I do about it now? It blows my mind to hear about students who are already at Junior standing with the university because they have completed so many AP and summer classes prior to coming to UCSD.

I’m just holding my breath and hoping that there’s just enough room for me to get into the three classes I want: CAT3 with Peter John (the best professor I have come across here thus far!), Intermediate Spanish 2B and a Biology GE focusing on Nutrition and Diet. If it reaches the point that I have to waitlist, I won’t really mind too much. It looks like I’m not taking much next quarter but these three classes combine to make up 15 units. The limit that a student can take next quarter is 19.5. I’m practicing a balancing act between my classes, work and my social life. I’m not too stressed and I know my limits now. I’ve learned a lot since last quarter for sure. And my grades are a testament to that.

Damn. We were so close to scoring so many times in the second half but it just wasn’t enough. At the beginning of the game, UCSD jumped to a 7-0 lead and looked to take control of the game from there on out. But it wasn’t that easy. UCLA came back with a pair of score while all we could muster up was a kick through the uprights. Final score (or what I think it was): 14-10 UCLA.

This was the first rugby match I’ve ever attended. I don’t even know the rules but got the gist of it at some point during the game. I was watching our women’s club here at UCSD before their season was close to wrapping up. I was quite impressed with how physical it gets. The players are basically wearing soccer gear without the shin guards and tackle the hell out of each other to prevent the other team from crossing the endzone. People got hurt but it didn’t seem to bother the coaches too much. They seem to have seen worse than when players bang their heads into other people or getting bruised elbows.

The referee let a few no-calls go too. During halftime, he chatted with the men’s rugby players in the stands and told them that he learned early on in his job that it wasn’t a good idea to drink too much the night before a match he officiates. For today’s game, he was nursing a slight hangover.