Argh, argh, argh
Oct. 10th, 2004 12:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tarigwaemirLowell House on the Feast of St. Francis Borgia
I take back what I wrote about kendo a week or so ago. What I am currently imagining (I'm too angry to adopt a properly journalistic tone, but pretend it's a newspaper clipping):
"Two Harvard Sophomores Acquitted for Attempted Manslaughter After Pleas of Insanity and Extreme Provocation"
On --- --th, 2004, two Harvard students, Tari Gwaemir and Lady Daera (Internet aliases used to protect their identities) attempted to drug the drinks of two former alumni with an as-of-yet unnamed compound they developed in organic chemistry lab, without the knowledge of their lab instructor. The alumni were former members of the Harvard-Radcliffe Kendo Club, who frequently attended the club's practices and helped train the undergraduates. The convicted students claimed that the alumni had ordered them to do the club's laundry, which, on top of a weekend spent mainly in kendo practice and an already hectic class schedule (not to mention an upcoming chemistry midterm), had been, according to Ms. Gwaemir, "the straw that broke the camel's back." The two were apprehended when traces of the compound were found on their glassware sets in lab. The jury appeared sympathetic to the two students, who were both mild-mannered and well-behaved, and stated that both girls seemed to have been driven insane by academic pressures not to mention unreasonable demands placed on them by their extracurricular commitment.
The victims are still hospitalized and are experiencing extreme abdominal pain and internal bleeding. As part of their 300 hours of community service, the two convicted students have agreed to research an antidote.
All right, note of explanation. This weekend was Alumni Weekend, when many of the kendo club alumni come back to visit. We've had practice Friday, Saturday and today, which has left us with a serious lack of time to study for our first chemistry midterm at the end of this week. Today, we were told to come an hour early so the veterans could practice jigeiko (free sparring) against the alumni, and Jenny and I went because we're obedient little Asian girls. >_< Argh. Anyway, much to our relief, instead of jigeiko, the alumni were cleaning out the closet and doing inventory of the bogu because we have a lot of beginners this year and probably not enough complete bogu sets for all of them. The alumni promised to help us out by donating money, negotiating discounts, etc., which is nice of them, but that's not the point.
Ken, one of the alumni we happen to have seen the most often (second only to Chit and Jeff, who actually live around here and come to every single practice), told me to wash and dry a bag full of used tenugui (the cloth you wrap around your head before you put on your men). I made a face (who wouldn't?) and he told me that I should be glad I wasn't asked to wash all the hakama and gi in the closet. I took this as a joke of course. Chit gave me $5 to pay for the laundry costs, and I thought, hey, whatever, I need to do laundry anyway. I took the bag and the money, and thought no more of it.
Of course, at the end of practice, when Jenny and I were totally exhausted, Chit told us that we were, indeed, charged with washing all the hakama and gi. What?! Furious, but still obedient, we dragged the box full of super-sized uniforms, stuck them in a washing machine, and finally hung them on hangers all around my room. Do you know how freakin' heavy wet cotton gi can be?! Argh.
I think one of the reasons for the whole senpai-kouhai relationship in the martial arts is to get the kouhai so enraged and full of hate that they get motivated to become good enough so they can kill their [insert all the swear words I wish I could utter] senpai. (You know, like a lesser version of the sensei-deishi relationship, except with more hatred.) Unfortunately, since I know I'm never going to be good enough at kendo to do that, all it has done is resurrect my secret inner psychopath, which is currently contemplating the most subtle and satisfying mode of revenge.
Actually, the alumni aren't all bad, and I'm sure even Chit and Ken have their reasons for abusing us sophomores (It's a character building experience! You must devote your entire lives to kendo like we do! The Japanese senpai are ten times worse, so take it like a man/woman! Oh yeah, let's not forget Ken's particular version: Schoolwork? Bah, I still graduated summa cum laude and never skipped a practice!) but, um, sorry, my rational mind shuts down when I get enraged. I've been sort of vaguely annoyed--not angry, just mildly irritated--by the alumni, which is probably a usual state of mind for our poor captains and EC president (I feel so sorry for them sometimes and resolve to never, ever get duped into being more than EC treasurer), but wow, this incident has made me snap.
Okay, I feel somewhat better now. Jenny says that she's going to try to forget about it because she doesn't want to waste any energy on being angry (the alumni are definitely not worth that much time). I, not being so cool-headed, tend not to let go of grudges easily, but writing about it is more cathartic than I thought.
::sighs:: And I have to admit, my parents have some pretty horrible seonbae-hubae stories (albeit not necessarily from their own personal experience), and being asked to wash some ten or so gi and hakama isn't that bad in comparison. But, oh, I really want revenge. Somehow. Any suggestions? ^_^
The weekend, unfortunately, never starts until kendo is over, and since I have chemistry tomorrow morning at 9, I feel like I'm not having a weekend at all.
Yours &c.
Post-script: In shoujo manga, it's the freakin' club manager who is supposed to do all the dirty work, not actual club members. Where is our token kendo groupie who hangs around, looks cute, squeals over the boys, and does all the stupid chores, so us poor kouhai don't have to?! Actually, what would make it even better is if we had a Asian boy be "manager" (it would satisfy my desire for irony). I've often said that I want to read a sports manga about a school kendo club, something along the lines of Prince of Tennis or another such Shounen Jump series, but I've changed my mind. I want to read a horror manga about kendo, where the kouhai go psycho and do all sorts of insane and maybe vaguely supernatural things. That would be very cathartic.
Post-post-script: One of our co-captains has taken to muttering, "Murder, murder, murder! Kill, kill, kill," while standing around us because he says that it's his personal goal to turn us all into "assassins" by the end of the year. So yes, subliminal messages, etc. In retrospect, it's all very highly ironic.
I take back what I wrote about kendo a week or so ago. What I am currently imagining (I'm too angry to adopt a properly journalistic tone, but pretend it's a newspaper clipping):
"Two Harvard Sophomores Acquitted for Attempted Manslaughter After Pleas of Insanity and Extreme Provocation"
On --- --th, 2004, two Harvard students, Tari Gwaemir and Lady Daera (Internet aliases used to protect their identities) attempted to drug the drinks of two former alumni with an as-of-yet unnamed compound they developed in organic chemistry lab, without the knowledge of their lab instructor. The alumni were former members of the Harvard-Radcliffe Kendo Club, who frequently attended the club's practices and helped train the undergraduates. The convicted students claimed that the alumni had ordered them to do the club's laundry, which, on top of a weekend spent mainly in kendo practice and an already hectic class schedule (not to mention an upcoming chemistry midterm), had been, according to Ms. Gwaemir, "the straw that broke the camel's back." The two were apprehended when traces of the compound were found on their glassware sets in lab. The jury appeared sympathetic to the two students, who were both mild-mannered and well-behaved, and stated that both girls seemed to have been driven insane by academic pressures not to mention unreasonable demands placed on them by their extracurricular commitment.
The victims are still hospitalized and are experiencing extreme abdominal pain and internal bleeding. As part of their 300 hours of community service, the two convicted students have agreed to research an antidote.
All right, note of explanation. This weekend was Alumni Weekend, when many of the kendo club alumni come back to visit. We've had practice Friday, Saturday and today, which has left us with a serious lack of time to study for our first chemistry midterm at the end of this week. Today, we were told to come an hour early so the veterans could practice jigeiko (free sparring) against the alumni, and Jenny and I went because we're obedient little Asian girls. >_< Argh. Anyway, much to our relief, instead of jigeiko, the alumni were cleaning out the closet and doing inventory of the bogu because we have a lot of beginners this year and probably not enough complete bogu sets for all of them. The alumni promised to help us out by donating money, negotiating discounts, etc., which is nice of them, but that's not the point.
Ken, one of the alumni we happen to have seen the most often (second only to Chit and Jeff, who actually live around here and come to every single practice), told me to wash and dry a bag full of used tenugui (the cloth you wrap around your head before you put on your men). I made a face (who wouldn't?) and he told me that I should be glad I wasn't asked to wash all the hakama and gi in the closet. I took this as a joke of course. Chit gave me $5 to pay for the laundry costs, and I thought, hey, whatever, I need to do laundry anyway. I took the bag and the money, and thought no more of it.
Of course, at the end of practice, when Jenny and I were totally exhausted, Chit told us that we were, indeed, charged with washing all the hakama and gi. What?! Furious, but still obedient, we dragged the box full of super-sized uniforms, stuck them in a washing machine, and finally hung them on hangers all around my room. Do you know how freakin' heavy wet cotton gi can be?! Argh.
I think one of the reasons for the whole senpai-kouhai relationship in the martial arts is to get the kouhai so enraged and full of hate that they get motivated to become good enough so they can kill their [insert all the swear words I wish I could utter] senpai. (You know, like a lesser version of the sensei-deishi relationship, except with more hatred.) Unfortunately, since I know I'm never going to be good enough at kendo to do that, all it has done is resurrect my secret inner psychopath, which is currently contemplating the most subtle and satisfying mode of revenge.
Actually, the alumni aren't all bad, and I'm sure even Chit and Ken have their reasons for abusing us sophomores (It's a character building experience! You must devote your entire lives to kendo like we do! The Japanese senpai are ten times worse, so take it like a man/woman! Oh yeah, let's not forget Ken's particular version: Schoolwork? Bah, I still graduated summa cum laude and never skipped a practice!) but, um, sorry, my rational mind shuts down when I get enraged. I've been sort of vaguely annoyed--not angry, just mildly irritated--by the alumni, which is probably a usual state of mind for our poor captains and EC president (I feel so sorry for them sometimes and resolve to never, ever get duped into being more than EC treasurer), but wow, this incident has made me snap.
Okay, I feel somewhat better now. Jenny says that she's going to try to forget about it because she doesn't want to waste any energy on being angry (the alumni are definitely not worth that much time). I, not being so cool-headed, tend not to let go of grudges easily, but writing about it is more cathartic than I thought.
::sighs:: And I have to admit, my parents have some pretty horrible seonbae-hubae stories (albeit not necessarily from their own personal experience), and being asked to wash some ten or so gi and hakama isn't that bad in comparison. But, oh, I really want revenge. Somehow. Any suggestions? ^_^
The weekend, unfortunately, never starts until kendo is over, and since I have chemistry tomorrow morning at 9, I feel like I'm not having a weekend at all.
Yours &c.
Post-script: In shoujo manga, it's the freakin' club manager who is supposed to do all the dirty work, not actual club members. Where is our token kendo groupie who hangs around, looks cute, squeals over the boys, and does all the stupid chores, so us poor kouhai don't have to?! Actually, what would make it even better is if we had a Asian boy be "manager" (it would satisfy my desire for irony). I've often said that I want to read a sports manga about a school kendo club, something along the lines of Prince of Tennis or another such Shounen Jump series, but I've changed my mind. I want to read a horror manga about kendo, where the kouhai go psycho and do all sorts of insane and maybe vaguely supernatural things. That would be very cathartic.
Post-post-script: One of our co-captains has taken to muttering, "Murder, murder, murder! Kill, kill, kill," while standing around us because he says that it's his personal goal to turn us all into "assassins" by the end of the year. So yes, subliminal messages, etc. In retrospect, it's all very highly ironic.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-10 03:35 pm (UTC)Yeah, writing about it helps. Shred paper! Break pencils! (That one might be a bit costly, though...) And imagine scenes when you tell your alumni that they suck and ... mmm, explicit language. ^_^;; (Or you could actually go further and enact the scenes...)
I told you you were insane for going into kendo! OooO
(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-10 04:48 pm (UTC)I can't wait until next semester. Will be so happy not to be the default choice for getting ordered around any more. Chit at the beginning of the year asked us to consider what types of people we wanted in the club: the athletes, the leaders, and the work horses. Jenny and I said to each other, "We're the work horses."
(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-10 04:22 pm (UTC)I think it is time for you to start singing the "Ode to Tachibana" to summon a Tachibana-san to save you from the evil sempai. ^___^
Continue mumbling like this, and I'll start refering to you guys as Fudomine.
O.o
(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-10 04:50 pm (UTC)Obviously, it's unnecessary. All he needs is to sic the alumni on us, and we'll get pretty mad. (Even if we can't express it. XP)
We don't need a Tachibana-san. We need an ichinensei who is gung-ho enough to want to do all the work, instead of us poor work horses who have the Asian instinct to blindly obey elders.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-10 04:52 pm (UTC)O.o
(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-10 04:52 pm (UTC)http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1781991/1/
O.o
(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-10 05:04 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-11 08:39 am (UTC)Unfortunately, shoujo manga is idealized. Though I'd love to do a comic of that kendo horror manga of yours.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-11 09:45 am (UTC)i say you have much patience for 1. attaining all the equipment, 2. washing all of it, and 3. not rubbing the insides of said equipment with itching powder. =X
when you do become a killing machine, let me know. i'll be sitting in the bleachers rooting you on as you [ok, i don't know the verb i'm supposed to use, so i'll pretend this is right] kendo people to death. =)
(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-11 07:41 pm (UTC)On the other hand, the newbies are going to wear the stuff, and it's really not their fault. But itching powder...brilliant thought, must save it for some future date. Mwahahaha.
I love Febreze by the way. ::clutches spray bottle tightly::
(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-11 05:36 pm (UTC)I want to do a L cosplay.
Tell me to get a life and go back to my calc homework.
O.o
(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-11 05:39 pm (UTC)But do your calc first.
(And get the next five chapters here: http://www.symphonext.com/manga.php?title=deathnote)
(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-11 05:43 pm (UTC)Oh, and explain to my mother that no, did not cut my hair because I suddenly became a lesbian.
O.o
(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-11 06:11 pm (UTC)O.o
(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-11 07:22 pm (UTC)The world needs more chain!fic. Go join
(Didn't I tell you you'd like this series? Ahahaha, I've finally corrupted you.)
(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-12 02:37 pm (UTC)*lol* You do have a flair for writing the funny, you know that? I giggled through the whole newscast thing.
Hmm. I think a manga about a homicidal kendo club would be interesting. (There may be one already) although ... I've always wanted to see a manga about an all girl taiko squad like they had at one of the schools I used to be at in Japan. The sempai really do run around screaming at the underlings though. It was quite amusing. ;) Though really, not as bad as what you seem to be going through. Rawwwrs at inconsiderate sempai. I hope you get good enough to whack them one day. *nods* And I wouldn't be surprised about the whole sensei-deishi thing ... the sensei enraging the deishi enough to superceded him. *Snerk*
Good luck! At least you're doing something cool like Kendo. Me, I barely move enough as is.
cheers,
muri
sorry for popping up so unexpectedly on your journal! snerk.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-10-12 08:18 pm (UTC)Heh, glad to have made you laugh. And all-girl taiko club manga sounds cool too! Actually, I bet it's much worse in Japan no matter what the activity, in terms of senpai-kouhai relations. I hear all sorts of horror stories about how kouhai have to clean up after their senpai drinking orgies. >_>;;
Heh, if it weren't for kendo, I wouldn't move either. Tari = unfit, scrawny nerd. ^_^;; But kendo isn't so much about being all tough and cool as it is about being sheerly masochistic. Hee...