006 - NIKKEI SPORTS DAY!

[I know Sports Day was like 3 weeks ago, but don’t worry…the awesomeness that follows is well worth the wait…]

You know those sports movies where the team ends up losing in the championship game, but by overcoming adversity along the way, the losers still feel like winners in the end? This story is kind of like that…but instead of overcoming adversity and shedding a bunch of first-loser tears while the other team hoists the trophy in the background, my team set out to create adversity for everyone else and just declared ourselves the real winners at the end of the day – we even have the trophy to prove it.

First, let’s backtrack a little: it was a sunny Saturday afternoon on March 8^th, 2008, a perfect setting for USC Nikkei’s very first Sports Day. The basic premise of Sports Day was to get into teams and race around campus completing a bunch of different sports-related challenges. On completing a challenge, the team would receive a clue to the next event and so on, with the team finishing first being the winner. Now, the first thing to realize about races like these is that there are always rules (or lack thereof) that you can exploit to your advantage. With that said, Austen, Mika, Ryan, Lance, and I christened ourselves “The Bus Drivers” (because we’ll take you to school…get it? get it?) and set out to win this thing in the most diabolical (read: awesome) manner possible.

Our first event was a basketball challenge at the Cardinal Gardens Apartments basketball court. We sunk shots forward, backward, granny-style, and even from behind the backboard. During the course of the challenge, Josh mentioned that he propped the usually locked Cardinal Gardens door open with a bicycle lock so teams could get inside. We couldn’t let that opportunity pass us by, so the first thing we did on our way out was to remove the bicycle lock and thereby lock out whichever lucky team came behind us.

Penny was in charge of our next challenge, which involved our team shooting darts from a Nerf gun at a target in various ways. I knew about this challenge already, so, being the evil genius I am, I told my team to jack as many of the Nerf darts as possible when we left for the next challenge. With 4 of the 6 darts in our possession, my team grabbed the clue out of Penny’s hands and took off running before she could even realize the greatness that had just taken place.

We were skipping, three-legged racing, crab-walking and wheel-barrowing around the track during the next challenge when I saw Jeni, who was in charge of this station, answer her cell phone and look knowingly in my direction. When she ran over asking me if I knew anything about the 4 missing Nerf darts that were crammed in my pockets, I think I replied “Jeni, I’m kinda busy right now” before skipping away as fast as I could.

The next two challenges were fairly uneventful in the way of rule-bending, although I did have to give up 3 of the darts to get the clue from Jeni that sent us to Jillian’s event. We hula-hooped, did cartwheels, and formed a human pyramid in order to get our second to last clue, which brought us to Mario’s golf challenge. After a few Tiger Woods-esque puts, we were on our way to glory.

Well, we would have been if Missy’s team hadn’t beat us there by literally 10 seconds. We were running to the last station in Topping and saw her team go in the door just in front of us. In addition to the clues we received at the end of each station, we also got a puzzle piece and a song lyric that we had to assemble and sing at the end. When we got into the classroom, Missy’s team had put together their puzzle and was already in the middle of singing their song. We rushed in, put together our puzzle and sang the most bad-ass rendition of Disney’s “Under the Sea” you’ve ever heard, but we were still too late – Missy’s team had already won.

After all that effort we put into sabotaging everyone else, we were still only second place – the first losers. The Bus Drivers (psh, you know you love it) weren’t going to stand around and watch someone else take the trophy we schemed so hard to deserve, so we did what any self-respecting team would do: we made our own. If you’re observant, you’ll have noticed that I said we jacked 4 darts but only returned 3 – so what happened to the last dart you ask? It was branded with “THE BUS DRIVERS: TAKIN’ YOU TO SCHOOL SINCE ‘08” and all of our names.

No doubt about it, Missy’s team was 1st place that day, but it was the Bus Drivers who took home the trophy!

-Craig

UCSD Culture Show

So on March 9th we made a trip down to San Diego to see the very hyped UCSD NSU Culture Show, "Living For Retribution." The show was directed by juniors, Alan Choi and Connie Yiu and included performances by the amazing Rina Nakano, Asayake Taiko and Ascension hip hop dance team...

So we made the supposed 2 hour car ride down to sd. I think i was driving around 90mph or at least trying to most of the was se we got there in about an hour and a half. My legs were so sore when we got there and my car was playing DS the whole freakn way. "I" was so bored. We then pick up some food from the "better than Chano's, Roberto's." Next off to the show...

When we arrived i saw oh so many familiar faces but most, to me, were unfamiliar. I HAVNT BEEN TO AN INC EVENT TO A WHILE. Anyways we seated and were sooooo anxious for the show to begin....

It started by an amazing performance by vocalist Rina Nakano who sang Alicia Keys' "No One." It was followed by the steps of UCSD's hip hop dance team, Ascension. I was pretty entertained but still so anxious for the culture show performance. The skit was pretty entertaining filled with little but hilarious random jokes. The plot was about a young detective who joins a Police force based in LA that specializes in Yakuza activities. As this detective gets more involved with stopping the Yakuza he ends up uncovering part of his past, finding his long lost brother, solving his parents' murder and of course he falls in love. After intermission Asayake Taiko gave a great performance .

Overall i think the show was pretty good. it was filled with lots of random goofy antics and nipple caressing amongst the seriousness nature of the plot. Great job UCSD! We'll see you next year.

On the way back we grabbed so In-n-out and we arrived at usc at around 11:30pm.



see you all next time.
holla at your boy,
-evan

004 - Culture Night Retreat!

It's been a while since this blog has been updated. That ends now!

So, since USC Nikkei is putting on its first (ever) Culture Night this year, we figured that it was a good idea for all of us to get together, have some good food+fun, and think about why we're actually putting one on. Here's some pictures to help get you through all the text.

This picture cracks me up. We started off the day by giving everyone a CN Buddy! and played this game called Bird on a Perch. Basically, it involves running around in circles until someone yells "BIRDONAPERCH," after which everyone has to find their partner and jump on them. You don't see any of that here though- just lots of joyful, carefree frolicking.

Notice how much fun everyone is having, despite having lost already. Don't notice the girl tending to her wounded knee.


After what will always be remembered as the "Rice + Spam" potluck, we had each of our performing groups show their skills to the rest of Culture Night. Of course, we started off with USC's very own Kazan Taiko! They officially became their own separate student organization this year. Guess where they're performing on April 26th!

If you said Nikkei's Culture Night, then awesome! If not, then you're wrong. Sorry.


After Taiko, we performed a scene from our skit. To let everyone in on the story, the skit this year features 5 kids in Japanese school who, in order to not flunk out, have to (you guessed it) put on a Culture Show-show-show-show!

From left to right: Jason (the Taiwanese best friend), Trey (the Yonsei male love interest), Mi (the valley girl from Japan), Leaf (the half-JA female love interest), and Laura (the angry video blogger from Hawaii).

Our last performance group was from Nikkei's very own hip hop team! (Name yet to be decided). Just like Taiko and skit and the rest of Culture Night, it's history in the making with the very first team from our club! You know those pictures that are awesome because there's that one person who looks awkward, or two? Well, this is like that, only everyone seems to be in an awkward pose. That's Awesome x 12!








After we had each group perform, we gave everyone an opportunity to learn one of the others. Of course, a lot of people flocked to Taiko (who wouldn't?), but skit and dance had a good number of people as well. The dance that Sean led was actually the Odori piece we're performing for Culture Night, otherwise known as Soran Bushi. They look like superheroes.

All in all, I think everyone had a fun time at CN Retreat. We talked for a while about what we have learned and still have to learn about why we put one on in the first place. Each part of CN (skit, Taiko, hip hop, Odori, etc.) is really a unique aspect of JA culture, if you want to look at it that way. More than anything though, it's ultimately about building community and shared experiences, which is what really define any culture at the end of the day. Be on the lookout for more Culture Night updates as April 26th approaches!

I'm gonna go take a nap now before Taiko.

-Victor