Rules/laws are usually in place for a reason, which means that they should be enforced. but it's bad when rules are obeyed blindly, since there may be cases where extraordinary circumstances can (or maybe should) allow rules to be bent. i'm of course talking about my module issue. despite the reasons i've given, all the dean's office can say is "it's not the policy to allow clashes in schedule"...which i find akin to a parent saying "you can't do something perfectly harmless because i said so" to their child. i've already made an appointment to speak to the vice-dean about it tomorrow. if that fails, my last resort is to speak to the registrar directly. normally, i'm not crazy enough to pursue things to this extent, but this time, i believe that i have a strong case, and there is no real good reason for them to say no to such a simple request.

that aside, i've got progress report tomorrow. at 8:30am, no less. i don't really mind being first in the cohort, but the timing is really killing me. means i have to wake up at about 6:00am, 6:15am latest. get to school by 7:30am, maybe have a light bite if i feel up to it, and be ready at the venue by 8:10am. what a way to start my last undergrad semester. should probably try to sleep before midnight later. as for the slides, i've been looking through them since afternoon, trying to see if i've missed anything out or not corrected any mistakes. i SEEM to have caught everything already, but i think a few more go-throughs wouldn't hurt.

kata practice this past tuesday coincided with SJC's training. based on what i observed, i kind of like their training...comfortable pace, relaxed atmosphere, and friendly coaches. one of the black belts who knows me from last year's grading invited me to train with their club sometimes, and maybe even teach a little. while this is a very good opportunity, and in line with my goal of wanting to go further with judo coaching, i still feel quite awkward just butting into the club suddenly. and it's not like i'm some world-renowned master, either, so i expect some resistance. not to mention that it's honours year. since his offer doesn't have an expiry date, maybe i'll go down a bit more over the summer, and gradually introduce myself to the coaches and members.

yesterday was a nice change from routine. went to turf city in the evening for a korean steamboat buffet dinner to celebrate my friend's birthday in advance. the last time i'd been to turf city was around august last year, where i went straight to the saturday morning gathering venue. i was quite stunned at how much the rest of the compound changed. aside from giant, the seafood restaurants, and curry gardenn (not a typo), i think none of the previous tenants stayed. the dinner was ok...a little bit lacking in variety, and at about $34 per person, i thought that it was a little overpriced. at least they had free soup and drink refills. we then headed to this ice cream (or gelato?) place for dessert. they had friendly staff, and many interesting flavours, such as nutella cheesecake, lychee martini, and marsala wine. i went for salted butter caramel and my usual mint chip. they were good individually, but mixing them didn't really do anything to enhance each flavour. now, i am SO tempted to go down there every saturday after group meeting, just to try all the flavours...and if i'm crazy enough, every combination of flavours.

for now, i think i'll just look through my powerpoint a few more times, and see if i can catch any more errors. other than that, i think i'm sufficiently prepared for the first day of school.

-random thought of the day: What's with the administration!?-