I like Magic: The Gathering

And so our hero marches on in his quest of introspection. Now, there's only one hobby left to explain, and that would be collectible card game known as Magic: The Gathering. Perhaps you've seen the fad Pokemon or the newfangled Yu Gi Oh running around. Well, the father of all such games is Dr. Richard Garfield, who created M:tG.

I'll try to sum up the basics of the game. In this fantasy world, there are five colors of magic: red, blue, black, green, and white. Each color has two "ally" colors which complement it and two "enemy" colors which hate it. Red is the color of fire, chaos, and destruction. Blue is the color of water, illusion, and control. Black is the color of darkness, disease, and sacrifice. Green is the color of life, regeneration, and growth. White is the color of light, order, and protection. Each color contains cards of varying strengths, and making a deck out of them is what magic's all about.

I could go on and on about the strategies of the game, but instead I'll focus on two more general aspects of it. How did I get addicted on this cardboard crack, and why do I still enjoy it? Let's start with how I got started. When I was in the sixth grade, this guy named Ryan Wise moved in from Seattle (which happens to be where the headquarters of the company that makes magic, Wizards of the Coast, is located). He had a few casual decks built, and he taught me the basics of the game. Unfortunately, he moved away after one year so I never really got into it.

Fast forward to eighth grade, and my friend Andy turns out to have some of these same cards. In fact, he introduced me to tournament level magic at a place called Hawghead Games. I got my butt kicked for awhile before I understood the finer points of this game. There are countless of interesting interactions in the game, and learning them enabled me to become better. On this path I would pick up other friends like Mike, Jameson, and Luke.

The reason I still play off and on is because it's more than just the cards. It's just kind of cool to hang out with your friends slinging spells. Some of my best memories include magic moments that went for and against me. I suppose that's why I don't play as much magic when I'm in Tulsa, because I don't really know the magic players there. When I'm back home, I'm apt to go out to a tournament at Fortress Games (I miss ComicMania) precisely because I can do something interesting with my old friends.

What my name tag should say

Daniel Tu, from Ft. Smith Arkansas, attending the University of Tulsa, and a dual major in electrical engineering and history.

That would preempt ninety precent of the questions people will ask when I'm at a conference. But how exactly did I become a dual major (fyi, a dual major is two majors in different colleges, a double major is two majors in the same college)? That's a story that I haven't had the opportunity to share often.

When I first arrived on campus, I only had one major. My parents always wanted me to become a doctor, but I abhorred my high school chemistry lab so much that I wanted nothing to do with chemistry in college. My parents, being sensible people, wished for me to choose something that would make sure money. Being fairly good at math, I decided to pursue electrical engineering as my profession of choice.

I also enrolled in the honors program, which is like tacking on a bunch of English classes to your schedule. My first class involved Greek studies with Dr. Rahe, whose specialty happened to be ancient Greece. What I didn't know at the time was that Dr. Rahe was an endowed chair in the history department and a Rhode Scholar. Yeah, his class was freaking tough. But I survived with an A.

Then, during my freshman Christmas break, I received a letter in the mail from him. This can't be good. I perused through the contents of the letter. It turns out that he thought I had talents that would not be utilized in the engineering field. Only by supplementing my studies with a liberal arts major could I fully develop my talents. I went ahead and scheduled a meeting with him early that spring semester.

I pondered long and hard about it, and I decided to inform Dr. Rahe that I was just an engineer. Or at least I tried to. The one thing about Dr. Rahe is that you can't outargue the man. It just have been some Jedi mind trick or something because I walked out of his office not only a dual major, but involved in history research as well. That research on the Vietnam War has afforded me the opportunity to speak at the conference I will be attending shortly here in the nation's capital.

Still, I wonder what Dr. Rahe saw in me. I only have two years left to find out.

Why I grew up in Fort Smith, Arkansas

As a history major, I wonder why things ended up the way they did. One time, I wondered why my dad chose to start a family in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. No offense to Mayor Ray Baker, but I question why anyone would think live is worth living in Ft. Smith.

Remember, my parents were refugees from the Vietnam War and never had heard of the place before. In fact, he had sponsors in Seattle, California, and Minneapolis. Why did he choose the Fort of all places? Well, it had to do with its location. It was the closest to the center of the country. And you put all the good and important stuff in the middle, right?

If he knew then what he knew now, then he would not have chosen Ft. Smith. Nobody had warned him of the weird weather or how boring this place could be. The Vietnamese food here was not as advertised by the sponsors who brought him here. Oh how different my life would have been.

Yet, it was a good, quiet place to raise a family. After all, look how I turned out.

How I developed my writing style

So how exactly did I develop my writing style? Call it Kroppification, i.e. Senior AP English. It may be a coincidence, but Mrs. Kropp graduated from the University of Tulsa.

What do I remember from her class? The very first day we walked in we had to do a timed writing in class on a random poem. That scared the crap out of us who were in her AP classes. And she made us write a lot. I recall having to do five essays in five days.

But there was method to her madness. I wrote well, but I never wrote enough. More, MORE she would always write in red ink across my papers. Somehow, I developed my terse style in response to that. The more she wanted, the more specific I became. I'm sure even now I don't realize how much of an influence she had on my writing.

My thoughts on arranged marriage

I'm back home from our nation's capital. The conference was pretty cool, as I got to meet a lot of awesome people. Vietnamese youth from France, Germany, Belgium, and Australia attended, so you could call it an international affair. I did the whole tour thing, though we couldn't visit the White House or Pentagon because of the terror alert. I must say the new WWII memorial looks pretty awesome. I'd also have to say my speech went over fairly well with the audience. On Saturday, I did go to the wedding of my second cousin (it was the first and probably the last time I will ever see the guy).

I guess it's time to let go of one of the big guns. Now I have something that will explain a bit of my unique perspective on life. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always thought I would get an arranged marriage. No, not the arranged marriage where one set of parents has a son and another has a daughter and they go, hmmm, let’s force these two to get married even though they probably won’t end up loving each other. Those days have long past.

Every time I mention this to someone (usually because I mention that I fail to understand American courtship rituals), I get some response involving what true love is. Daniel, happiness isn’t going to fall into your lap. Love isn’t easy; love is something you have to discover and fight for.

But let me think about this. My parents know me fairly well, and they know my socioeconomic standing. So, they’re probably the best people to match me up with someone of similar interests and socioeconomic background. And, contrary to popular opinion, I actually have a choice in the matter. I call it an arranged marriage, but it’s more of a marriage arranged by the parents. What’s the difference? I have the latter, and in the latter I have veto power.

So what kind of woman do I hope for? I’m actually pretty picky. So far, I’ve figured out that she’s going to be Asian, possess awesome cooking skills, and have the ability to hold meaningful conversations with me. A big plus would be an insight into people, which is something I admire in my mom (I’ve heard that boys look for girls like their mothers and girls look for boys like their fathers). Eh, maybe I shouldn’t be so finicky and settle for two of the above.