Pink Umbrella Man is actually exceedingly rich and, yes, he’s probably one of the chillest guys you’ll ever meet. Doesn’t talk too loud - calm and sincere. But pretty creepy to watch from afar.
As for critters, I almost rammed into a deer at night. I was running down lower quad, in Crown, and the deer crossed my path and I was two feet away from it. The deer, whilst somewhat startled, just gave me the ‘wtf’ look. Also, there was a rabbit nest hidden right inside the gutter. Cutest little things I saw.
Also, you’ll find some obese squirrels near the dining hall. I, literally, mean obese. They’re so fat that they can’t climb trees nor run away. You could chase them all day long and they could only wobble.
Parking officers won’t show you mercy - so get a parking permit ASAP. There’s no cops, but there are late night CSO units (Community Safety Officers) that go from dorm to dorm to report any suspicious activity. Most of them aren’t lenient when it comes to rule-breaking, but yeah.
As for arcades…no hype. 
You could go to the boardwalk for CvS2, MvC2, and ST, but there’s nothing people are really into.
I’m not sure about the 2 year enrollment, but email the registrar about your questions regarding transfer (registrar@ucsc.edu). If it’s within the UC system, then almost all of your GE classes should be transferable. If it’s within a different school, then you have to look at their transferable GEs. Other than that, glad you made the choice to go to UCSC. If I ever visit next year, I’ll be sure to send you a PM.
AND…I HIGHLY recommend you take the CMPS 80K class - Foundations of Interactive Game Design. It’s the one class I, truly, regret not taking! It’s during the winter quarter.
i have yet to see these obese squirrels, i’ll make sure to keep an eye out for those guys when i go today…maybe get a game of squirrel tag with them :).
