Orientation yesterday was suprisingly helpful. I was able to speak one-on-one with representatives from the Business Advising center as well as from GE peer advisers, and they were able to effortlessly sort through my classes and determine what holes I needed to fill in order to graduate - a processes which I've attempted several times, and just about given up on - it's easy when you're transferring from a community college, but adding a state school to the loop tends to complicate things quite a lot.

I still need to take a biological science class (I'm actually hoping that I'll be able to take Mammalology concurrently at the JC to wipe that off the slate,) and a state history class, as well as something that fulfills a writing intensive and ethnic studies requirement. It also appears that, given that I am accepted into the school of Business and permitted to concentrate in MIS, as is the plan, that I will with one additional class, be able to declare Computer Science as a minor. (I'm not entirely sure about that though.)

My biggest concern currently arose from the additional requirements Business has - I'll have to submit all of my transcripts to the business department after acceptance for approval as a Business major (as opposed to pre-business). The Business school has certain constraints on grades and the number of times you can repeat a major course, as well as even tighter restrictions on MIS concentrations, which had me panicking as I learned of them. Ultimately, the less CSUS credits my major classes at Poly, the better off I am. Consequently, I'm still holding back what enthusiasm there is to be had until such time that I can be certain that I'm in the clear.

Oh, and so far as meeting new people goes... I'm still the same Coward (with a capital 'C'.)

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Quickly, Cars was fairly good. I don't think I would consider it Pixar's best film to date - the stakes were just too low and I felt it was occasionally more juvenile than it really needed to be. The pacing is uneven, which is understandable as it seems that it pertains to one of the key themes of the film, but the juxtaposition makes it feel a bit long. It's a technical marvel, to be sure - the animation is unparalleled and there is plenty of witty sidegags that are not-in-your face (be on the lookout for the white and gray car 48 and the Apple logo on it's corresponding trailer). But in terms of pure entertainment value, I think I found Hedge more enjoyable than Cars. (I might also disclaim that Cars has long been the film in Disney-Pixar lineup that I was least interested in - Ratatouille, their next film due in a mere year (breaking the typical 2-year hiatus between films) looks awesome.)