Post-SAT

Wow, I haven't blogged much at all this week. My scheduling has been a bit skewed this past week due to the SAT I I took earlier today. I got to catch up with my friend before she took the Korean language subject test for the IGETC language requirement, so I didn't feel so bad being the only non-high school student there. Although some of the students there didn't look THAT young. If I wasn't wearing my Marauders sweatshirt I would probably would have fit in.

All in all, the test took about 5 hours with about three 5 minute breaks squeezed in. The material wasn't grueling...just the length of time it took to complete it. What surprised me the most was my timing. At home when I did practice tests I made it my priority to have a timer. I always finished my tests with three or so minutes to spare. However, I found that I was nearly making it. This was probably because I couldn't see the wall clock as well and better gauge my timing. I was still able to complete every question. If I didn't do as well as I would have liked, then I will just have to retake it. I'm very fortunate in that I have the money to do so. That's the power of working, people! :p

I feel rather confident about my essay. As all SAT testing goes, speaking about the questions and essay topic is prohibited. The only advice I can give for prepping for that portion of the SAT is to go to collegeboard.com or flip through a practice book for samples. Five at the most and you will be ready.

Now I'm off to set up before the movie night at AVC. If you aren't doing anything particularly interesting tonight, then feel free stop by.

7:30-10 p.m. in FA3 rm 162. Wrestling films "Wrestling Then and Now" and "Hard Knocks."

Tomorrow is going to be really HW busy.

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"Viewer of the Day" came from Rotterdam, Netherlands.

SAT Week

This Saturday is my SAT I test. I'm a bit curious as to how this will all work out. Not just the test but the test site procedures. It has been a while since I have taken a standardized test. The best advice that I have read about the SAT is to know the directions of each section ahead of time, so I won't waste time reading them in depth. I seriously don't want to do something that will forfeit my score because these scores are extremely important to me. As you can see, I have the pre-SAT jitters.

The English part of the SAT seems fairly easy to me. This subject has always been effortless. I'm more concerned about the math section. If I just look over all the formulas it should be good enough. I have 4.5 days of SAT review. Wish me luck.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Chicago, Illinois.

Pre-med Requirements At AVC "Revisited"

Last May I wrote a post titled "Pre-med Requirements at AVC". After going over it, I can say that some of that progress has changed. Below is the post and the green highlighting corresponds to changes.

If you're a student at AVC who wants to complete the first two years of pre-med requirements before transferring, here are the classes that you will need to take:

Biol 110 I will complete this on December 12th. So far I'm an A. :)
Biol 120 (I will complete it on June 5th) I actually completed this as planned.

Chem 110 (I will complete it on June 5th) I actually completed this as planned.
Chem 120 (I will complete it on December 12th) - Did not take. Will do so this spring.
Chem 210 (Not sure if it's offered spring 2010). - Not offered. Only during the fall.
Chem 220 (Not sure when this will be complete since chem 210 is the prereq). Offered only during the spring. Will take spring 2011 if I am still here.

Physics 101 & 102 ---- Note: You don't need to complete these classes if you're going to be taking or have taken Phys 110/120/211. Since I'm taking the three series physics classes just mentioned, I don't need to take Phys 101 & 102.
I shall complete Phys 110 by December 12th and Phys 120 by the end of spring semester 2010. When I had to drop phys 110 (long story) and could add it again, no one dropped before the class started. When I went to the first day, half the people there were crashers. I didn't win in the card draw lottery so I was out of luck. I'm taking phys 110 in the spring with McGovern.

By the time I apply to MIT next year (deadline is March 15th), I will have finished Biol 120, Chem 110, Chem 120, Chem 210 (hopefully), Phys 110 & 120 for pre-med and major requirements (overlapping classes are the best kind of classes). Yay.

With all the revisions I will have finished Biol 110, Biol 120, Chem 110, Math 150 when I submit my application by February 15th. By the time spring 2010 ends, chem 120, phys 110, and math 160 will be complete.

I'll be finished with my "suggested" semester of chem, semester of biology, and 1 year each of calculus and calculus-based physics when I apply to MIT. :D

When the semester ends, I will have 1.5 years of biology and will also have 1.5 years of chem when the spring ends. When the spring ends I will hopefully have 1 year of the calc and only .5 of the physics. Gah...I hope it doesn't hurt me. :\

It's always good to revisit these posts. It allows one to see where things worked out or epically failed.

By the way, I am getting two degrees from AVC in the spring! Biological Sciences and Liberal Arts: Math and Science. I didn't even know I had completed the Liberal Arts degree. It was over this past summer to be exact.

The Great Pumpkin

Yesterday I was going to post pictures of the pumpkin I carved. Unfortunately, what would have taken a minute to send to my email (via camera phone) took about 7 hours. Very slow. It was the phone because I sent it to another email service that took the same amount of time. Ek.
After deciding that I didn't have the right tools to make a Jack Skellington or Darth Vader pumpkin, I opted for what I know best -- an MIT pumpkin!! :D

The candle I used let it burn for several hours. I lit it around 5:30 p.m. and it was still burning when I got back from the movies at 10:30 p.m. The longest burning candle just happened to be in an MIT pumpkin. Very nice.

Morning after Halloween conversation:
Me: "Is my pumpkin still lit?"
Dad: "No, but someone carved Caltech into the back."
Mom: "I don't think Steph would mind."

hehe

The film I saw at the movies last night was The Stepfather. I'm indifferent towards this film because some of it was creepy and some of it was ridiculous. The guy that played the stepfather was believable, so no complaints there. My bro's gf and I are starting a Halloween tradition since last Halloween we went to the movies on the spur of the moment after a haunted house. We're doing this next year. :)

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Encino, California.

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween!

Last night I went to an Alpha Iota sponsored party at the cafeteria. There was loads of food and a DJ. I wasn't a big fan of this particular DJ because of the music he was playing. Some of his songs completely cleared the dance floor. o___o
I dressed up as Billy Jean-era Michael Jackson. Surprisingly enough, I was the only one who dressed up as MJ. haha
As much as some wanted me to enter the dance contest, I didn't because I wanted to at least have some official MJ dance movements learned. The dude who dressed up as Napoleon Dynamite won the contest and actually used the moves from the movie. He was good too. The costume contest award went to two guys that dressed up as the Teletubbies.

As I type this, our club members are participating in a free haunted house in west Palmdale on Heathrow Drive near the Vons.

Check out this pumpkin I carved today:

EDIT: The pic is taking its sweet time sending to my email. I will post it later because I need to leave for the movies.

Beyond the Ring

Beyond the Ring: The Art Careers of Professional Wrestlers
October 26- November 13

The campus art gallery has had many beautiful, amazing, and thought-provoking exhibits this past semester (see: Divining Nature). My favorite would have to be our current show called "Beyond the Ring: The Art Careers of Professional Wrestlers". The artists featured are undeniably talented and impressive. This past Thursday the gallery had an opening night premier with featured artist Steve "Strong" Cepello as the guest speaker. My boss made apple cider that tasted like pumpkin pie (must have been the orange slices) and Cepello signed an autograph for me!

Cepello is a very nice guy and is practically a self-taught artist. Many of his pieces are based on observation. This makes sense to me since I draw based on observation as well. Although, my drawing isn't as good as his (cell biology has gotten me into drawing again).

Here is a picture of Cepello's art. I'm only posting one since this is a show you need to see in person. This is a portrait of Cepello's version of Crazy Horse. The detail of the bead work, feathers, and individual hair strands is quite remarkable.

There's this cove painting Cepello did that is absolutely beautiful but like I said, you're going to have to see it yourself! :) Raised in Arizona, Cepello was the youngest student to ever be admitted to the "Kachina School of Art" at the age of 7. He is a former wrestler and was the tag partner of Jesse Ventura. Cepello doesn't have a distinct style for which he is known for since he paints many different things.

The other artists featured besides Cepello are Ted Lewin, Marc "Excalibur" Letzmann, and Pete "Mr. Everything Johnny Leboux" Bregman.

Ted Lewin is famous for writing and illustrating children's books. He has won The Hamilton King Award and a Caldecott Honor for Peppe, The lamplighter. I have actually read Peppe, The Lamplighter as a child. It's really cool that the gallery has gathered so many talented and recognized artists for this show. As long as you wash your hands (we have bathrooms in the art gallery), you can read his books.

Lewin section:

The next artist is Marc Letzmann. He is a graphic artist/comic book colorist and still works as a professional wrestler in Los Angeles. I must have deleted some of his pics so I don't any to post. Another reason for you to go!

The last artist featured is Pete Bregman. Bregman works as an art director and creative director as well as artist. He co-directed Cartoon Network's Clio Award-winning "LEGO Star Wars: Revenge of the Brick" and Lego Batman. He also wrote and illustrated the graphic novel, "The Trap-Door Maker: A Prequel to The Phantom of the Opera", which was nominated for three Rondo Awards.
Bregman currently works as Creative Director for Hasbro's Marvel Comics brands and a wrestler for Forgotten Championship Wrestling.

Bregman section:

LEGO Star Wars storyboard.

Storyboard for "The Trap-Door Maker".

LEGO Chewbacca!

If you like what you see, then please visit the Antelope Valley College Art Gallery.
Where: Building FA1 on the west side of campus, 3041 W. Ave. K, Lancaster.
Time: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 9 p.m. Friday, and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Dhaka, Bangladesh.

This Is It

Last night at 9 p.m., I went to the premier of Michael Jackson's concert rehearsal film called This Is It. The film opens officially today and will run its course for two weeks. My mom had bought the tickets a month in advance so it was her, me, my sister, and my bro's girl friend Jasmin. The film was amazing. All the people MJ hired as dancers and musicians are very talented. His female guitarist Orianthi was awesome. I think it's pretty neat that he hired her on for the tour.

It was fascinating to see the entire process of rehearsal and all the little things we may not pay attention to. There were some funny parts as well. Watching MJ dance better than his dances, who of which are half his age, was fairly amusing. If the show had gone on it would have been one of a kind and very unique experience.

By the way, this is my 250th post!! Woohoo! Also, three more months and this blog will be 2. :)

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Kidsgrove, England.

SWE Member

Today I applied for collegiate membership to the Society of Women Engineers. In one to two weeks I will be official. :)
I applied for many reasons but the biggest reason was so I could remain true to being an engineer. I'm serious about it. This isn't something I'm half sure about, ok? There have been many obstacles and I'm still unrelenting. Even if I don't get to go to MIT as an undergrad, I will still be an engineering student elsewhere.

In other news, I have been going to department meetings for the Math, Science and Engineering department. Two weeks ago I went to my first meeting. Since the department is so large, math and science split into two for more convenient meeting times. Of course there is always a big meeting for everyone that comes up now and again. This past Friday was the large department meeting. Topics such as SLOs, next year's class scheduling, budget/class cuts, and no more work experience were brushed upon. My introduction at meetings has been interesting. I'm officially the ASO senator Stephanie.....who wants to go to MIT. hahaha
This title followed me today when I went to the meeting just for math professors. One of the profs from last Friday's meeting remembered and was talking to the other profs about it.

Earlier today was also the honors program committee meeting. I'm the student representative for Alpha Iota and my job is to go to the meetings once a month when they are held. I give the group of faculty, counselors and classified my report on what Alpha Iota has been up to and partake in the proceedings of the meeting.

As a student representative for groups ran entirely by the inner workings of AVC, I can say that they have your best interests at heart. Lots of things are discussed, deliberated, and either passed or rejected. At times it can get a bit heated and then resolved. AVC, the state, and the economy are going through some tough times. It's definitely eye opening seeing these proceedings take place.

By the way, Alpha Iota will be having its Halloween party this Friday!! We're also going to be scaring people at club President Katry's house. If you're interested in going to a haunted house this Saturday, I can give you the house address.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Gaithersburg, Maryland.

This Week in Picture 6

This a fairly short edition for this past week.

The back roads near Little Rock and Lake L.A. (which doesn't have a lake at all).
I wasn't joking when I said I lived in a desert.

That's Los Angeles National Forest in the background.

The emotions of calculus brought to you by Rima '10.

Giant shark at Joe's Crab Shack in Rancho Cucamonga.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Griffith Observatory Field Trip

This past Tuesday I went to the Griffith Observatory down in Los Angeles with Prof. McGovern's astronomy honors class. No, I am not in this class but I know a few people in the class, I'm in the honors program, and McGovern and I are homies (he was my trig prof and this upcoming spring physics prof). We left at around 2:30 p.m. and got home at around 8:30-9ish. Back to post. I've been to the observatory before when I was younger and have been trying to go back. Since recently G.O. has been closed due to reconstruction. That and no one is free to go with me (I don't drive, ok??) or it's always put off. This was the golden opportunity for me to tag along and see the new changes. Plus, it would be fun going with McGovern's class. And believe me...we had fun.

By the way, if you have never heard of the Griffith Observatory (shame on you if you live in SoCal), maybe you remember seeing it in a little movie called "Transformers"?

We took the college bus down and arrived in good time. The class had a Q&A assignment that I partook in since I could use it later. The questions were based in different parts of the museum so we were able to see a decent amount of it. When you approach the museum you are confronted with an monumental Art Deco statue of what has been deemed six of the greatest astronomers of all time - Hipparchus, Copernicus, Galilei, Kepler, Newton and Herschel. I have a picture of myself posing in front of this from back in the day. I've been meaning to rummage through the family pictures to find it.

Front of the building. I absolutely love this art style. It reminds
me of Frank Lloyd Wright (who is one of my favorite
architects). See Hollyhock House post.*

Because fiddling with a calculator out front of an
observatory just isn't nerdy enough. haha

Big view.

Check out this view of the Hollywood sign. I remember when
Caltech changed the sign to read...well...Caltech.

Check out this view!



The evening.

When you first walk into the building, there is a pit with a pendulum (Get it? If you don't know Poe don't worry. Moving on...) called the Foucault Pendulum. It offers proof of the rotation of the Earth. Plus, it's shiny.

If you look above, the dome is painted in a rich and magnificent fresco foray of Atlas holding the Earth on his shoulders.

Both sides of the museum's centromere (biology has crept into my subconscious and everyday vocabulary) has entry into different exhibits such as Day and Night, Night Sky, Eclipses, Seasons, and the Tesla Coil as seen below. That is in fact electricity. Yes, it was loud.

In the same room as the Tesla Coil was a IR camera
that was really neat. Here I am:

At 5:15 p.m. we went to one of the planetarium shows called "Centered in the Universe". It was fascinating. Next time I want to listen to Leonard Nimoy's sultry voice as he narrates the history of the observatory. Me-ow.

After the show was over we went to the museum's eatery titled "Cafe at the End of the Universe". That's probably the most awesome name ever for a place to eat. Across the way from that was a gift shop where I bought this beautifully printed postcard of the museum. They even had those orange astronaut training suits. I want one. o___o

The downstairs portion of the museum had scales where you find out what your weight would be on another planet. I think I like living on Earth better. heh
In that same area was a statue of Albert Einstein because no museum is complete without one.

Funny but sickening story about the Einstein Statue. I went to sit next to it and get my pic taken by a friend but someone else was using it to do the same. While I was patiently waiting this woman straight up sneezed on it. Twice. She didn't cover her mouth or anything. I was pretty repulsed at the lack of manners and sanitary precautions for the rest of us. I opted for a crouched pose instead.

When it started to get dark, we headed to the roof so we could take a look at Jupiter and its moons through a telescope. That was a fairly interesting experience. From the roof I took this picture of L.A. at night. My pictures didn't really turn out too well.

Afterwards we decided that is was time to depart for home. Although, not before stopping off at a Subway which turned into an amusing parking situation. Armed with Subway, we drifted down the freeway filled with good food, spirits, and extra credit.

Group picture. I'm the tall girl in the back.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Montreal, Quebec.