First, for all of you wondering how the HAL-MODE FESTIVAL went, I did a writeup for Cerise: Seeing the Future of Game Design at the 2008 HMF.

The Systems Administrator exam is coming up on Sunday. I am so going to fail it. I’ve spent this week and last week doing nothing but preparing for the test, so I know a lot more about the subjects we need to know than I did before but passing is just not going to happen. And this is the last year for us to take this particular test because they’re retiring it. Oh well, at least I know how to better study for the Basic Information exam.

Less than 2 days until the HAL-MODE FESTIVAL. Everyone has off tomorrow, but being part of the Assistant Staff means that I have to drag my ass out and take a tour of where the HMF is being held so that when the high schooler I’m showing around asks burning questions such as, “Where’s the bathroom?” I won’t give them a blank stare or start crying or something.

I mostly just hope that I’ll get a nice and chatty student, so when I have obvious Japanese Fail it won’t result in an awkward silence that lasts for several hours. No, seriously, when I was in charge of entertaining prospective students during the AO (dunno what it stands for; it’s basically a mock class so prospective students can get a feel for the school) there was like 5 minutes of awkward silence in which all my efforts to start up a conversation died a miserable, embarrassing death. I ended up telling them random facts about the school until more people arrived. My reputation as “the weird foreigner” is justly deserved, believe me.

So, anyway, I’ll have more to report on this time-honored school tradition of mine later (the HMF, not letting weird foreigners be in charge of entertaining prospective students). Just felt like giving a random update, since it’s much easier to do that than to do more work on the FAQs.

For those of you who can be in the Osaka area on September 23, my school is holding its annual HAL-MODE FESTIVAL, wherein graduating students show off their portfolios (among other things). As a student, I can get as many tickets as needed, so drop me a line if you’re interested.