Alcohol, Bars, Midterms and Casinos

So.....as the title mentions, this post is focused on the four things that I found interesting this week: my trip to the "infamous" La Bamba, alcohol, my upcoming midterms, and some recent casino news that I find interesting.

First off, the weather (completely random, I know). The winds of change are blowing...literally. Friday afternoon, I went out to run some errands, and there was a very high wind blowing. It's like the Santa Ana winds back at home...but worse. They blew my hood off my head....it was interesting. I loved the wind here, though....it had a bit of a chill to it that hit my cheeks, but I still like it. Recent weather reports have stated that there's still two more cold fronts that are bound to hit the area within the next week, which will bring high winds, rain, and potentially snow. I'd better get that North Face jacket I bought here ready, since it's going to be put to good use. =) As I write this, the wind is starting to howl outside my window...literally howl.

Now to the four major topics: the first two go hand in hand. Last night was my roommate Troy's 26th Birthday. Now, I normally don't drink or anything, but since it was a special occasion, I decided to let my guard down. I went over to a friend's place where they had already started a bottle of Johnnie Walker Whiskey. I joined in on the fun and took three shots with them. Afterwards, we went to La Bamba, which I had heard about multiple times, since most everyone in my program had gone there a couple of times. I actually enjoyed the ambience and atmosphere there. The Dodger game was on the TV, but I wasn't really paying attention, seeing as I was too busy buying my friend a drink. In total, 4 drinks for about $15 is not too bad, at least on my perspective, especially when stuff like this in the States cost upwards of $10 for one. Of course, one has to be super careful, so I normally just wait at the bar and watch the drink made, since for the most part, I know the ones I like to order. It was great to be around them in a different place and just let loose for a while.

Next, Midterms week has arrived at BeiDa. Lovely.....at least my TingLi exam isn't until next month. Hanyu and Kouyu are required to give midterms this week. I don't really have a study guide for Hanyu other than know your sentence structures and vocabulary words. Speaking of which... I have a character exam tomorrow. -_-'' My Kouyu professor gave me a study guide. We each had to pick time slots, and yours truly had the FABULOUS luck of being number one. Anyway, the test is 6 minutes long. There are six portions to the test...take too long and you jeopardize your time for the remaining portions. It consists of:
1. Repetition: The professor will say a sentence and ask you to repeat it. Each repetition is worth 5 points each.
2. Q&A: The professor will ask you a question, and you are required to answer using a new vocabulary word. 5 points
3. Sentence Structure Q&A: Again, a question is asked, and you will be required to use a certain sentence structure to answer the question.
4. Topic-Based Dictation: After selecting a topic and looking at the possible vocabulary words, you are required to make 6 sentences using a minimum of four vocabulary words.
Although the test is short, it's important to do well here, as there's only three tests that account for 70% of your final grade. Homework and other stuff compensates for the remaining 30%

Finally, my favorite topic: casinos. For those of you who don't know, my major is Business Administration with a concentration in Entertainment and Tourism Management. My goal is to hopefully either obtain a second B.A. in Gaming Management or enter UNLV's MBA in Hotel Management program. My main area of interest is Macau and its rapid development into the new Gaming Capital of the World. I personally agree with this assessment, although Vegas is still the Entertainment Capital of the World mainly because Macau hasn't really started to establish itself as a place to stay for longer than a day. It established itself as a gaming capital where it's predominantly Asian clientele stayed and played as a day trip and returned to other places, such as Hong Kong, which is I believe less than an hour away. Furthermore, since the legal gambling age is 18, it's easier for them to get a larger amount of people playing. In the last week, there's three major developments that may change the way Macau does business to a more Vegas-esque structure. For starters, Macau wants to elevate the legal gaming age to 21. This means that foreigners that want to avoid the 21 and over Vegas casinos by coming here will now be out of luck. Second, they want to stop the expansion of Vegas casinos and casinos in general. They feel like the expansion has been too quick and they want to control it just a little. Mainly, they plan to stop foreign entry into the market, at least for the short-term. Finally, the son of Macau's famous gaming clan is opening his own casino in opposition to his father's casino company. He is part of a joint venture with the son of an Australian media family. It's interesting at least for me to be able to analyze this type of stuff, since they feel that Asia will recover faster than any other portion of the world. While that remains to be seen, I hope to have an opportunity to take a more in-depth look at Macau's gaming industry.

Well...that's it on my front. Back to Hanyu/Kouyu studying.