Life at Antelope Valley College

The End of an Era

2011-06-02T23:13:00.000-07:00

That's all folks. Today Life at Antelope Valley College has officially closed for business.

June 02, 2011 at 8:50 p.m. --the official date and time concluding my studies at AVC. Now it it time to get ready for the next three years of my life in awesome La Jolla at University of California, San Diego (UCSD). :D

Goodbye desert!

I am going to miss my professors and friends very much. Good thing Skype was invented. :)

As one blog ends, another blog begins. **Click here to be transferred to the next installment.**

Thank you for being a dedicated reader.

Four More Days!

2011-05-29T14:42:00.000-07:00

Four more days and my studies at AVC will be complete. I cannot wait for the summer to get here so that I can start planning for UCSD. :D I'm going to be a La Jolla resident for three years. :D

In other news, I now have 400 songs worth of Trent Reznor's work. I have loved NIN for over a decade. Now I have just about all his music (with exception to movie music). Also, I finally got around to getting more music by Sia -- three albums to be precise. She's so talented.

I'm going to get back to studying for my finals.

One More Week!

2011-05-27T14:16:00.000-07:00

Next week is my final week at AVC! I have three finals to take and I am finished. My last ochem lab was this past Thursday. It's a bittersweet feeling since I loved that class. I loved going everyday and having a blast with my classmates/friends and Dr. Newman. The experiments were awesome too. I made nylon last Thursday:

I am excited and nervous at the same time for UCSD. I hope I can snag some great research opportunities. Also, I really hope housing will allow me to live with my AVC friends. We shall see.

Well, good luck on finals!

Two More Weeks!

2011-05-22T14:38:00.000-07:00

There are two weeks until I finished AVC! My finals are on June 1st and 2nd. Wow....the end is in sight! That's what is new with me. UCSD classes start in the mid-September. :D

UCSD Smörgåsbord

2011-05-14T13:36:00.000-07:00

This is what I have been waiting for. All my years of hard work are represented by this image:

There are three weeks left in my semester at Antelope Valley College. Yes, I am sad to say goodbye to my favorite professors (Nisani, McGovern, Agahari, Newman, Jaffe, etc) and my best friends, but I am excited at the same time because I finally get to attend a university. An excellent university at that!..............*Click to read the rest*

UCSD Transfer Admit Day 2011

2011-05-11T22:48:00.000-07:00

Transfer Admit Day was officially last Saturday. I know I know….I’ve pretty late getting this blog post submitted. There are no words to describe how amazing the campus is. UCSD has, in a way, become my dream school. I am honored that UCSD accepted me. I feel that I have been given a real opportunity that many people in this world would love to have. So, how was my Transfer Admit Day? Awesome!..........*Click to read more*.

Transfer Admit Day

2011-05-06T22:15:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow is UCSD's Transfer Admit Day. Woohoo! I have my schedule planned out and can't wait to see the campus more in depth. Earlier today my mother, sister, and I ventured into San Diego (UCSD is located close by in La Jolla) to find a place to eat. I was very happy to see that the area next to Horton Plaza had lots of Indian food restaurants. :D We decided to try Royal India in the Horton Plaza..........*click to read the rest*

Official Transfer University

2011-04-30T02:19:00.000-07:00

After much deliberation (a lot), I have decided to pursue chemical engineering at UC San Diego. I accepted their offer of admission earlier today. :D
I decided to post the new blog right now. I will use it for the time being to post anything UCSD-related until this blog officially ends on June 04, 11.

Drum roll please!

*Life at UC San Diego*

Go Tritons!

I'm EXCITED!!!

2011-04-25T17:47:00.000-07:00

I just checked my email and I received this message:

Dear Stephanie,

Congratulations on your admission to UC San Diego and the Jacobs School of Engineering!

OMG. Bioengineering accepted me! That's one of the nation's top bioengineering programs. I'm in shock. This is the best news I have received all semester. My family came upstairs to read the email and we all did a jumping group hug. lol

MIT Decisions 2011 Released Today!

2011-04-19T14:54:00.000-07:00

Okay.....I had this huge post I wrote up and I accidentally deleted it all. OMG >___< Blogger then decided to auto save the second that happened. Today is not my day. My product yield in ochem earlier was incredibly bad because I have been mentally detached waiting for this decision.

Okay long story short -- I was rejected. I typed out my response better but yeah.

I am very disappointed that I didn't try harder but whatever. C'est la vie. I'm 21 and have family members who have lived past 100. All in all, I have at least 79 more years to experience MIT. Now that I have been rejected from MIT a second time you're probably wondering if I am going to keep applying until I get in. The simple answer to that is no. As previously stated, this is my final time applying to MIT undergrad. It is time to move on and find out what that other path brings. In my case -- paths.

MIT wasn't the only university I applied to. So far I have been accepted to UC Santa Cruz for Bioengineering and I am waiting for UCI to confirm my TAG standing for Biomedical Engineering. UC Davis, UC San Diego, UCLA, and UC Berkeley will release all decisions at the end of the week or next (definitely next for Berkeley). Stay tuned!

By the way, congratulations to the extremely lucky people who were accepted! Let me know if you don't want your spot. hehe

MIT Decisions Tomorrow!

2011-04-18T13:13:00.000-07:00

MIT decisions are going to be emailed tomorrow! Just a quick reminder. heh I am going to wait until the end of the month before I post anything (I'm 98% sure about this). I am not sure I want to reveal the new blog by that time. Probably not because there's a lot to consider when making the decision to reveal a new student blog. A good day to check this blog would be April 30th. Sorry if any of you were expecting an immediate post from me tomorrow. I am changing up my game and doing things differently this year. What's two more weeks?

Psych! lol I will post tomorrow. Wouldn't that be horrible if I made everyone wait 2 more weeks?

MIT Decisions To Be Released Next Week!

2011-04-15T16:51:00.000-07:00

MIT sent out an official email today stating the day and time when decisions will be released. :D

The official day is Tuesday, March 19th at 3 p.m. EST. Since I live in California, I will be frantically checking my email at noon.

------
My semester has been going about the same last time I blogged about it. I have been a bit frustrated this past week waiting for decisions to be released and the barrage of exams -- which seems like every week now. I seriously think College Confidential is bad for one's health. Everyone claims to know release dates that aren't really release dates at all. I pretty much snapped Wednesday night. I am doing much better now! I had my favorite Indian food (which is my favorite food altogether) and listening to a new band from France my friend Maria was listening to called Phoenix:

Good musicians are people who sound like their album live. They don't need special software or auto-tune to trick the public:

Interesting music video:

Check out this awesome experiment from this past week in ochem II:

Mine is on the right behind the front Erlenmeyer flask. We're isolating ethyl acetoacetate from a yeast-sucrose solution (there's some other stuff in there too). I was in lab 5 hours yesterday filtering and extracting the ethyl acetoacetate from this sludgy mess. I had to run off to work so I didn't completely finish "drying" my ether-ethyl acetoacetate clear solution. I'm very ahead....which is awesome since I won't be waiting in line to use the machine to find its optical purity. :D

Reflections: Life at AVC

2011-04-12T00:43:00.000-07:00

In the next few days a part of my future will be decided. Since summer 2006 I have dreamed of being able to walk down the Infinite Corridor. This past December I actually made it there. Three years and seventy days ago I created this blog to document my transfer journey. It was not easy finding a direction initially but overtime I think this blog has fulfilled its purpose. I am quite impressed with the attention this blog has gained and will keep it online for whoever wants to read it. When will Life at AVC end, you ask? ....Before I can even give an answer I just thought back on how long these three years and seventy days have been. I can't believe it is almost over. Wow.

I will always think back on this blog as a great learning experience. In the past I have created random websites that never made it far. Life at AVC was my first attempt at a personal website and it has been my most successful yet. I would have never guessed that this blog would hold its own with MIT in the search engines. Truly amazing. To answer the previous discussion, Life at AVC will be officially finished on June 04, 2011. Why this day? It is the last day of spring semester -- my last semester. As one blog ends another one begins. In fact, I have already finished creating my new blog. I am still waiting for that special university name to put in the title. Life at MIT would sound pretty nice, huh?

My second shot at MIT undergrad is almost here. Looking back on it, I wish I did a few things differently in my student career that would have improved my application. Having said that, I have no regrets. I am me. I did not expect to be reflecting on my life at 12:41 a.m. heh I seldom look back on my mistakes and lament on them. That is not who I am. Instead, I learn from my mistakes and try to correct them from happening again. I feel like some old, white-bearded wise man who sits on top of a misty mountain top....only mentioned in a delicate haiku. Yes, I feel quite wise right now. ヽ(´ー｀)ﾉ

I now leave you with an conversation I had a few hours ago:

Friend: "When do you hear from MIT?"
Me: "Later in the week."
Friend: "Wow are you nervous?"
Me: *nod
Friend: "I will pray for you!"

I deeply appreciate all the support I have gained. I certainly have not been alone during my five-year journey to MIT because of my friends and family. Hopefully that email at the end of the week will be an acceptance. I'm so anxious right now. ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ

Good luck to all the other transfer applicants.

Possible MIT Transfer 2011 Release

2011-04-11T18:15:00.000-07:00

I was browsing through College Confidential and a user posted in the MIT forum transfer thread that they received an email from MIT. The email that this user was sent said that we should expect notification towards the end of the week. This sounds reasonable since the second week of April still counts as "early April". Maybe now some of us can sleep at night knowing that decisions are very close to being released. :p

Great Day For Science and Movies

2011-04-09T22:20:00.000-07:00

It appears that MIT still has not released decisions yet. I am glad that I didn't sit around all day and check my email. There is a lesson to be learned here. Decisions will be emailed out all in good time. The more you go out and experience life, the less you'll think about this whole decision business. I decided to go out today with my mom and brother to experience the last days of my beloved Spring Break. We went to the Huntington Library in beautiful San Marino. When I graduate and finally have a steady job, I am definitely going to look for some place in live in the Pasadena/San Marino/Arcadia/La Canada Flintridge area. I just love it there so much. The botanical gardens are certainly a selling point. :)

Last time I visited the Huntington Library, my mother and I focused on the botanical garden aspect. We did not visit the museums. This time, however, we (and my brother) focused on the museum aspect (we still walked around the gardens too) of the Huntington Library. I have visited several museums in my time, so I have seen a lot of amazing stuff. It's not often when a museum has a collection that leaves me in awe like the Huntington Library. I visited two of the many collections during my trip today. One of the collections was an exhibit called "Beautiful Science: Ideas that Changed the World".

It's kind of a given that I would choose this exhibit because I love science. I have been wanting to see this exhibit for quite some time after reading that an original copy of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" was on display. If you think that's amazing, imagine standing in three large rooms surrounded by original books, letters, etc from the greatest scientific minds you have ever read about. I was starstruck. Learning about these incredible people in college is one thing...standing a foot away from their greatest discoveries/work is an out of body experience. What a great way to keep my mind off MIT! Well, the first thing you read when you step inside this exhibit mentions MIT!! hahaha I can't escape decisions.

*If you're interesting in why MIT was mentioned, click this sentence.

I wish I could spend the entire day flipping through the pages of Newton's books or deciphering the German of Einstein's neatly penned letters. I definitely would not say no to observing the expansive collections of centuries old medical textbooks and anatomical drawings. Each room is dedicated to a different scientific discipline. One room explores astronomy with the most famous astronomers who ever lived (Copernicus, Newton, Galileo, Herschel, etc). The next room features the greatest minds in medicine and biology (Lamarck, Wallace, Darwin, Hooke, van Leeuwenhoek, etc).

The last room is no different with physics-based pieces and electricity/light as the main theme (I want the fiber optic "chandelier" in my house). In the physics room, I walked to each piece and proudly talked about how I was just using a certain physicist's equation in class last week. I think it so incredible how the work of all these great minds, who have since passed decades or centuries ago, is being taught to people all over the world today. I am very thankful that I have had the pleasure of having professors like Nisani, Newman, and McGovern (to name a few) who taught me well enough to be able to go around that entire exhibit and know about these people without even reading the wall descriptions. Now THAT is an education.

I am still awestruck by this experience. We all hear about these people who shaped our world but few of us get to actually bask in the glow of their original work behind glass. I would also like to add that the donor (Dibner family) kept everything in superb condition. The title of this exhibit describes the collection quite well because science IS beautiful.

I failed to mention earlier that when we first pulled into the parking lot (it's a huge parking lot btw) we saw a bustling Paramount Pictures film crew (trailers/catering trucks included). In California this is normal to us. Also, tons of movies are shot out in the desert where I live every year. Despite this, we all still get pretty excited when we see a movie being filmed. Side story: When I lived down in Torrance my family and I once drove past the set of Interview with the Vampire. It was the scene at the end with the car on the bridge. :D Tom Cruise was in the car.

Back to my post. We thought it was neat that the garden was being used for a movie. I kind of forgot about the film crew until after we left the science exhibit and walked over to Huntington's huge estate. The entire place was swamped with dozens of movie extras dressed in 1930s/40s garments and military uniforms, loads of equipment, a large film crew, and a green screen. :D The museum inside the estate was still open for visitors, so we decided to go inside. This was after my mom asked one of the garden employees which movie was being filmed. She told us it was called "Frostbite". I personally thought that this was an odd title for what seemed to be a war film. :p

We went inside the gallery and admired yet another amazing collection of fine art. In one of the rooms we saw paintings of the Spencer family. If you're English like us, then you know that the late Princess Diana is from this family. I am very interested in finding out how the Huntington Library procured portraits of Princess Diana's ancestors. While we were in this room I noticed that I could see the movie being filmed through the mesh cover on the windows. I saw the director and a large camera and a communist era flag. O___o Frostbite....right.

Walking around this estate we also saw a lot of portraits by famous English painter George Romney. We left the gallery to visit another day and walked along the back of the house where a balcony/patio area was located. The film crew had set up here and had started to film a new scene. We noticed that a few bystanders stopped to watch. Given that there was a large film crew that did not ask them to leave, we decided to watch the movie action as well. It was very nice of them to let us stand there quietly to observe. Yes, we were watched by this security-looking fellow. haha This was an exciting experience because I have never watched the filming of a movie before. By this time I had forgotten about MIT decisions again only to be reminded by my mom later (I am humbled by all the people that want me to go to MIT. I get asked several times a day by everyone I know if I was accepted yet hahaha).

As we looked on from an allowed distance, the director asked everyone for quiet on the set and yelled "action!". The scene focused on a man in a suit telling a seated audience of WW2-looking extras that he was awarding a medal to his close friend. This was the moment that we realized that the title "Frostbite" was a ploy to stop fans from rushing the set because the actor yelled "Captain America!!" as the recipient of this medal. That's right folks....we were watching the filming of the new super hero movie "Captain America". Know what else? The person who was speaking was Tommy Lee Jones. How friggin awesome is that? My Spring Break was officially made complete today!

So that was really how my time away from MIT decisions was spent. I say it was a rather fine day indeed! :D

Side view of the scene I watched. I was in the back of the actual set (click to enlarge):

No MIT Decisions Yet

2011-04-08T22:39:00.000-07:00

I think it's a safe bet that decisions will be posted next week. I am going to go on a nice day trip tomorrow to forget all this transfer business. If decisions are posted tomorrow, don't expect a post because I won't be here. On the topic of transferring, I finished my new transfer blog a few days ago. :>

Still Waiting for MIT Transfer Decisions 2011

2011-04-06T23:47:00.000-07:00

I have a feeling that MIT transfer decisions for fall 2011 will be sent out by the end of the week. If not, then we all know for sure it's next week! haha I base my reasoning off the fact the decisions were sent out May 6th last year. Since MIT stated that this year's decisions would be emailed "early" April, I going to keep assuming that that means the first week. heh

In other news, I stuck to my plan and finished three chapters of physics early. I'm now a month ahead in Mastering Physics. Isn't Spring Break nice? :D Now it's time to move on to ochem prelabs.

On the topic of course work, I have tried not to think about college decisions. There's quite a UC frenzy on College Confidential right now. I try not to get too caught up in transfer decisions craziness when I browse those forums. Instead, I partake in shopping pilgrimage trips to places like Glendale Galleria (believe me, driving out of this desert is a trip in itself) with some of my best friends -- Maria, Kumi, and Joy. We then proceeded to go to Teavana (in the mall) and talk about which tea sets we would buy after transfer. As you can see, we all have the transfer jitters. There are lots of things to start considering now....like purchasing a bike. Exciting!

In conclusion, I would like to announce that I have won a scholarship. Yay! :>

Well....that's all for now. I hope MIT emails decisions tomorrow or something. heh

I feel Relaxed

2011-04-02T14:24:00.000-07:00

I really needed this spring break to clear my head....and catch up on some sleep. Yesterday when my alarm clock rang I jumped out of bed and yanked the cord from the wall. I did this semi-consciously. I guess all those late nights with little to no sleep finally caught up. That day went pretty well with dinner at a local sushi restaurant with my homies Lea and Nelson from Linear (plus some of their friends). It's always interesting hanging out with a new crowd (especially if we're all engineering majors). It reminds me that everything is going to be just fine when I transfer because I went into linear algebra knowing only one person. Now I know more people in that class. I am ready to begin the new chapter of my life in an unfamiliar environment due to this new confidence. Will it be MIT? I hope so! :)

One of the dishes I ordered at this sushi restaurant was calamari (i.e. deep-fried squid). I wasn't a fan of how this dish was prepared since I prefer my squid a bit chewy. At that moment I remembered the calamari I had in Kendall Square by MIT. Again, I remind myself that decisions are going to be posted any day now. I can't explain how much I felt at home in Boston. It felt as familiar to me as Los Angeles. I would love to go back for the 4th of July fireworks show.

If I do not get accepted again, I am not certain I will blog about it. One rejection post is enough. We will see. MIT will always be there for grad school. Also, who says I can't apply to a research program at MIT? Amgen Scholars allows this. Although I am trying to make good of a possible rejection, I still hope deep down I get in because I have wanted MIT undergrad for so long. MIT was the first university I wanted.

I try not to think about university decisions too much. One of the things I like to do to keep my mind off universities is to watch documentaries via Netflex. Last night I watched Only When I Dance and Last Train Home. I thought both were really good. Only When I Dance follows two people, who live in poverty in Brazil, compete for a ballet company competition in New York. One gets it but the other doesn't. Last Train Home followed two parents who are migrant workers in China's growing manufacturing base. They work so hard for many hours sewing clothes so their children, who are left behind in the countryside with their grandmother, can have a better life. These documentaries were a real eye opener. I like cultural documentaries because I like learning about the world.

Yay for Spring Break!

2011-04-01T12:28:00.000-07:00

Spring Break is officially here for my college. My exams went so-so. I know that I did extremely well on the ochem exam for solving reactions. I hope that this exam will yield my highest grade yet. On the topic of ochem, I received my highest lab score. I was absolutely elated because I work so hard on my write ups. My labs can only get better because I know the "great lab formula". I just need to focus on the little mistakes that add up.

Last night was my last exam of the week for physics II (similar to 8.02 at MIT). Let me just say that I wrecked that exam. I don't know what it is but I do better in calculus-based physics than I do in actual calculus. Don't get me wrong...I understand calculus but I do better in physics. It has certainly been a tough week because two exams were scheduled at the last minute on top of two other syllabus scheduled exams (altogether: calc II, Phys II, Ochem II, and Linear Algebra). Even if I didn't do well on an exam, I am not going to use that poor performance as an indication of how my future as engineer will be. People can't start second guessing the career they have worked so hard to get just because they're not acing exams. I hear this sort of talk from students all the time. I don't allow myself to do this because I honestly can't see myself doing anything else other than engineering and science. I don't let the small things get in my way.

AVC Library Freeze

2011-03-30T21:18:00.000-07:00

A bunch of people I know got together and decided to recreate Improv Everywhere's famous "freeze pose" at our campus library. The video is pretty amusing. I wish I could have been there but I was taking an exam. Here is the video:

The Week Before Spring Break

2011-03-28T00:15:00.000-07:00

One more week until spring break! I plan on going back to the Huntington Library to see the actual library/art collection this time. Last time I walked around the majority of the gardens with my mom. Of course it would be silly to say that we finished looking at the gardens because one never finishes looking at a garden. Something always changes. I may also spend a couple of days at my sister's apartment at her respective university. For the past month I have been saying "let's do that during spring break" to the point that I don't really know what else I am going to do. I think a shopping trip for my friend's Coachella outfit is in the works.

What I would really like to do during spring break is to get a month ahead of my classes....again. Before the semester started I finished all my ochem homework and did half of my calc homework. Now I would like to write up a few prelabs for ochem, finish an entire month's worth of Mastering Physics, and finish another chapter of calc. I don't want to get ahead of Linear since homework is given every Wednesday.

On the topic of classes, I was initially right that all my exams would fall on the same week...again. One chapter was omitted from my linear exam and another exam in calc was squeezed in before break (it's about a week after the last). So....this Wednesday and Thursday will be filled with test after test.

I better get back to studying. Auf wiedersehen!

p.s. No, I haven't heard back from MIT (I must have been asked 20 times this past week). Yes, I am very anxious.

LAABJETRP Still Going Strong

2011-03-26T21:20:00.000-07:00

LAABJETRP looks so amusing to me. This acronym stands for "Life at AVC Blog Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Project". The relief is going well with another donation made today. I decided to change it up a bit and send the donation to the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund via Globalgiving.org.

According to Globalgiving.org,

How will this project solve this problem?

This project will disburse funds to organizations providing relief and emergency services to victims of the earthquake and tsunami. GlobalGiving is working with International Medical Corps, Save the Children, and other organizations on the ground.

I like that the funds will be distributed amongst these organizations. Also, Globalgiving has posted a summary of donations received/needed:

Funding Information

Total Funding Received to Date: $2,115,098
Remaining Goal to be Funded: $1,884,901
Total Funding Goal: $4,000,000

Thank you to Diana for entrusting her donation to my relief project. Here's the receipt:

MIT Transfer Decisions 2011 Are Very Nigh

2011-03-20T17:27:00.000-07:00

That's right. Transfer decisions for fall 2011 are very close. The last email that I received stated that decisions would be released in early April. My guess is to look out during the first week because last year's decisions came out the first week of May. Right now admissions decisions have me at the edge of my seat. All these years of preparing for transfer all come down to a few months of waiting for that elusive email with the words "congratulations!"

Truth be known, I have always been on the edge of my seat. Most of the time it seemed the end wasn't in sight and things were at a standstill. It has only been now that I can finally see all the progress I have made. I still can't believe that in a few more months I will be documented in a university system somewhere as a "bioengineering" or "biomedical engineering" student. Quite frankly, it's a surreal feeling. And you know what? I want that university to be MIT. I am extremely happy that I saved up and made the effort to fly to Boston just to see MIT (and then some). From the minute I set foot on campus I knew that I had chosen the right place. MIT was everything I thought it would be and more. It was truly an amazing experience.

Given that decisions are very close to being released I think it's a fair assumption that the majority of the applications have been looked over. I just really hope that I made the cut this year. I know I don't have a 4.0 or have tons of scientific/mathematical competition victories to my name....but I know that I am committed and don't give up when I fail at something. I always find a way. Given that I know this about myself, I will continue to remain confident and graciously accept a place at whichever uni wants me.

Good luck everyone!

Will this happen again in September??!

P.s. Don't forget to check out my Life at AVC Blog Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Project!

Week 2 Commence!

2011-03-18T22:22:00.000-07:00

The previous post features the submission of donations gathered from week 1 of the Life at AVC Blog Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Project. As I blog, the cause continues to grow! Starting off week 2 is Diana. Thank you for your contribution. The cause has raised a total of $233! We're 23.3% of the way there! :D

The thermometer has been updated accordingly -->

Week 1 Donations Submitted!

2011-03-18T21:09:00.000-07:00

The Life at AVC Blog Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Project has been a real success this first week. Friends and family have come together to help out this cause by contributing donations. A week into its creation, the cause has raised $206! This is really wonderful. The donations will be sent out to the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders for their work in Japan tonight (remember, donations are sent out every Friday night). Let the new week bring the same good fortune and generosity that the first week has brought. Thanks again to our contributors:

Chris C.
Enrique C.
Inna E.
Karole O.
Alvaro T.
Jessica H.
Patricia O.
Roxana G.
Karla P.
Christiaan P.
Melvin R.
Jenna C.

$10 has been given to Doctors Without Borders (as specified by donor):

$196 has been given to the Red Cross for their Japan effort:

Message from the American Red Cross:

Thank You!

The American Red Cross is acting swiftly to put your donation to work in communities affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific. We are supporting relief work to meet critical needs. On behalf of those we serve by our humanitarian mission, thank you.

As one of 186 Red Cross and Red Crescent societies around the world, we belong to a global humanitarian network of 13 million volunteers uniquely positioned to save lives and provide assistance to those affected by emergencies, such as the earthquake and tsunami in countries across the Pacific.

We’re grateful to have your support. To learn more about your gift at work, please visit redcross.org. On those rare occasions when donations exceed our American Red Cross expenses for a specific disaster, contributions are used to prepare for and serve victims of other disasters. Once again, thank you for your generous gift.

Sincerely,

The American Red Cross

Join Life@AVC for the new week and help the cause reach its $1,000 goal! :)

Japan Relief Fund A Success

2011-03-14T22:17:00.001-07:00

My **Life at AVC Blog Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Project** is slowly becoming a success. Thank you to Inna for her very, very generous contribution and Patricia as well! As of tonight, the fund has raised $135. The $1,000 goal is definitely in sight. :) Thank you contributors!

In other news, I think I was too quick to freak out about my exams in the previous post. Due to cancellations, my prof has moved the calc exam to Monday. I actually like this since I won't have four exams at the end of the month. In fact, my linear algebra exam is in April. :D

How Is Your Semester?

2011-03-13T20:47:00.001-07:00

If you weed through my most recent posts, you will find a post about my exams all falling on the same weeks. I must say that that has never happened to me like that before. Usually there is an exam on one week and then another exam the following week. Somehow I managed to get my linear algebra class, calc II class, physics II class, and ochem II on the same week, if not same days. Of all semesters, huh? Well I guess I can think of it as going out with a bang since I transfer in September. Where? Let's wait until MIT releases its decision because we all know that MIT has been my number one choice for the past 5 years.

I am contemplating staying up all night and finishing all my calc hw, this week's ochem labs (we write up everything in composition books), and reviewing my linear algebra notes. I am just about finished with three chapters worth of physics HW that's due in 1 month. Gotta keep ahead!

In other news, I have been really pushing my new "Life at AVC Blog Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Project". Please check it out.

In other other news, my newest obsession is Explosions in the Sky:

I am going in April with my friends Kumi and Joy to see them perform live. :D

-Stephanie

Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Devastation

2011-03-13T20:26:00.000-07:00

There are no words to describe this image:

Source: TokyoMango.

**Life at AVC Blog Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Project**

Latest Nuclear Plant/Tsunami News from Japan

2011-03-13T19:56:00.001-07:00

**Please check out my blog's Japan relief project.**

From Yahoo!:

By Taiga Uranaka and Ki Joon Kwon Taiga Uranaka And Ki Joon Kwon – 12 mins ago

FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) – A hydrogen explosion rocked the earthquake-stricken nuclear plant in Japan where authorities have been working desperately to avert a meltdown, while media said a fresh tsunami was heading for the same coastline that was hit last week.

Japan's nuclear agency confirmed there was an explosion at the No. 3 reactor of the Daiichi plant in Fukushima, and TV images showed smoke rising from the facility, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.

Officials said they could not immediately confirm whether the blast had caused a radioactive leak.

Operators had earlier halted injection of sea water into the reactor, resulting in a rise in radiation levels and pressure. The government had warned that an explosion was possible because of the buildup of hydrogen in the building housing the reactor.

Japan battled through the weekend to prevent a nuclear catastrophe and to care for the millions without power or water in its worst crisis since World War Two, after a huge earthquake and tsunami that likely killed more than 10,000 people.

A badly wounded nation has seen whole villages and towns wiped off the map by a wall of water, leaving in its wake an international humanitarian effort of epic proportions.

Kyodo quoted authorities as saying the new tsunami could be up to a height of three meters and issued an alert for the country's Pacific coast, including Fukushima prefecture.

As the country returned to work on Monday, markets began estimating the huge economic cost, with Japanese stocks plunging around 5 percent and the yen falling against the dollar.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the situation at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant remained worrisome and that the authorities were doing their utmost to stop damage from spreading.

"The earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear incident have been the biggest crisis Japan has encountered in the 65 years since the end of World War Two," a grim-faced Kan had told a news conference on Sunday.

"We're under scrutiny on whether we, the Japanese people, can overcome this crisis."

Officials confirmed on Sunday that three nuclear reactors north of Tokyo were at risk of overheating, raising fears of an uncontrolled radiation leak.

Engineers worked desperately to cool the fuel rods in the damaged reactors. If they fail, the containers that house the core could melt, or even explode, releasing radioactive material into the atmosphere.

The world's third-biggest economy also faced rolling power blackouts to conserve energy, and Tokyo commuters reported long delays as train companies cut back services.

DEATH TOLL "ABOVE 10,000"

Broadcaster NHK, quoting a police official, said more than 10,000 people may have been killed as the wall of water triggered by Friday's 8.9-magnitude quake surged across the coastline, reducing whole towns to rubble. It was the biggest to have hit the quake-prone country since it started keeping records 140 years ago.

"I would like to believe that there still are survivors," said Masaru Kudo, a soldier dispatched to Rikuzentakata, a nearly flattened town of 24,500 people in far-northern Iwate prefecture.

Kyodo said 80,000 people had been evacuated from a 20-km (12-mile) radius around the stricken nuclear plant, joining more than 450,000 other evacuees from quake and tsunami-hit areas in the northeast of the main island Honshu.

Almost 2 million households were without power in the freezing north, the government said. There were about 1.4 million without running water.

"I am looking for my parents and my older brother," Yuko Abe, 54, said in tears at an emergency center in Rikuzentakata.

"Seeing the way the area is, I thought that perhaps they did not make it. I also cannot tell my siblings that live away that I am safe, as mobile phones and telephones are not working."

NUCLEAR CRISIS

The most urgent crisis centres on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, where authorities said they had been forced to vent radioactive steam into the air to relieve reactor pressure.

The complex was rocked by a first explosion on Saturday, which blew the roof off a reactor building. The government had said further blasts would not necessarily damage the reactor vessels.

Operator Tokyo Electric Power Co said on Monday it had reported a rise in radiation levels at the complex to the government. On Sunday the level had risen slightly above what one is exposed to for a stomach X-ray, the company said.

Authorities had been pouring sea water in two of the reactors at the complex to cool them down.

Nuclear experts said it was probably the first time in the industry's 57-year history that sea water has been used in this way, a sign of how close Japan may be to a major accident.

"Injection of sea water into a core is an extreme measure," Mark Hibbs of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "this is not according to the book."

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said there might have been a partial meltdown of the fuel rods at the No. 1 reactor, where Saturday's blast took place, and there was a risk of an explosion at the building housing the No. 3 reactor, but that it was unlikely to affect the reactor core container.

A Japanese official said 22 people have been confirmed to have suffered radiation contamination and up to 190 may have been exposed. Workers in protective clothing used handheld scanners to check people arriving at evacuation centres.

"NOT ANOTHER CHERNOBYL"

The nuclear accident, the worst since Chernobyl in Soviet Ukraine in 1986, sparked criticism that authorities were ill-prepared for such a massive quake and the threat that could pose to the country's nuclear power industry.

Prime Minister Kan on Sunday sought to allay radiation fears: "Radiation has been released in the air, but there are no reports that a large amount was released," Jiji news agency quoted him as saying. "This is fundamentally different from the Chernobyl accident."

Kan said food, water and other necessities such as blankets were being delivered by vehicles but because of damage to roads, authorities were considering air and sea transport.

Thousands spent another freezing night huddled in blankets over heaters in emergency shelters along the northeastern coast, a scene of devastation after the quake sent a 10-meter (33-foot) wave surging through towns and cities in the Miyagi region, including its main coastal city of Sendai.....

Read the rest of this article **here**.

To date the Life at AVC Blog Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Project has raised $75! The project's goal is $1,000. Thank you to Christiaan for contributing a generous amount to the cause. We're 7.5% on our way! :D

The Japan Relief Fund is Underway

2011-03-12T15:03:00.000-08:00

If you are just reading about my new "Life at AVC Blog Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Relief" project, please visit this *LINK* and this *LINK* (most recent) to find out how it all started. I have since added another widget below the donate button in the right-hand column that keeps everyone updated on the fundraising progress. I chose a thermometer. The fund has officially raised $45 via PayPal. Thank you to my brother Chris and my friend Karla who have both contributed. Every dollar makes a difference.

If you would like to donate but do not like the organization that I have chosen, your donation will be given to Doctors Without Borders for their work in Japan.

Thank you everyone!

p.s. I am so glad to see AVC students getting involved with this project.

p.s.s I would like to thank Inna, Diana, Sara, Enrique, and Karla for getting the word out through FB. :)

-Stephanie

Edit: Thank you AVC Associated Student Organization President Enrique Camacho for donating! :D

<--- read previous information on this project.

Japan Relief Project Update

2011-03-11T19:53:00.000-08:00

If you read the previous post then you know that I started a relief fund for the earthquake/tsunami disaster in Japan. The funds are going to be donated to the Red Cross on a weekly basis every Friday because the Red Cross will need these funds as soon as possible. You can donate by clicking the donate button in the right-hand column ---->

I just want to say thank you to all my friends (and their friends) who have gotten interested and have donated. Within 15 minutes I donated $20, my friend Karole donated $5, and my three other friends Inna, Diana, and Kristin have pledged (as I post this even more people are offering support). In fact, Diana is rallying all her FB friends for the cause! Thanks ladies! Let's make a difference!

p.s. Here is the link I will be visiting to deposit the donations to the Red Cross (look for Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami). **CLICK**

-Stephanie

*Note: Disclaimer: To clear up some confusion -- This fund is in no way related to AVC. This is not an AVC-sponsored event. This is a fund created by me and backed by my personal blog. I give my full support and openly welcome the AVC community if they would like to get involved too.

New Project: Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Relief

2011-03-11T18:27:00.000-08:00

I finished my four exams this past Tuesday. I vowed that if my exams ever fell on the same week again I would study weeks in advance. The only assigned test days I know are for ochem II and phys II. The other exams occur when the material that needs to be covered is finished. By my estimation, it looks like all my exams are going to fall on the same days again (ochem and phys on the same days for sure). Good thing I know!

In other news, I have decided to start a relief fund for the recent earthquake/tsunami in Japan. I could not think of a name to call this fund, so I am sticking with what I know. The fund is officially called the "Life at AVC Blog Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Relief". I am excited to see how this turns out. All funds will be donated to the Red Cross (confirmation will be posted). If you would like to help out my new project please click the donate button in the right column --> . I will find a way to make sure donations are updated in real time like the MS Walk donation thermometer.

Thanks!

Donate -->

Super Exam Time

2011-03-03T11:50:00.000-08:00

Tonight is my Phys II exam. I would probably be in a better state of mind if my calc II exam wasn't scheduled for Monday....last night. That means I have to find more time for review on top of Monday's linear algebra exam and Tuesday's ochem II exam. I am sure this is nothing compared to MIT. I think I will be fine. Ochem makes sense and calc is focusing on physics applications for the Monday exam (easy). I better go study physics some more. Bye.

Guten Tag!

2011-02-25T18:00:00.000-08:00

Hello readers! I have conquered the first month of the semester. Not much has changed since I last blogged. I have three exams in ochem, physics, and linear coming up in about a week. This weekend is quite vital since it affords me so much free time to study. In fact, I am about to start on a study schedule. Hope I do well. Fingers crossed!

Nine Days Down...

2011-02-15T13:53:00.000-08:00

It's already the second week into the semester. I have been keeping busy with my classes this semester. Ochem lab was great today. I had the most amazing amount of product and the experiment looked perfect. I enjoy lab because I am....well....good at it. That aside, my linear algebra class is rather enjoyable. It may sound odd but I understand concepts better at higher course levels. I am still in awe of finally making it to these classes. The journey certainly has been long. Next semester (or quarter -- depending on the university system) will yield a whole new level of classes. Exciting.

So long for now. I am going to complete my ochem lab and study for a physics quiz.

Two Days Down...

2011-02-08T22:35:00.000-08:00

....110 more to go!

As I write this blog post, day two of the new semester is slowly winding down. I should actually be in bed right now. My course load this semester is strictly math and science. Classes in the arts, humanities, and social sciences are now a fixture of my soon to be former days at AVC. Before I can transfer, I have to pass the ultimate test -- quizzes and tests. Oh man, will there be a lot of them! I am averaging about 42 quizzes before the semester ends. I haven't quite had time to look at tests...but I would say that there are about 20. I do not have a problem with this because the semester has been interesting so far. Ochem II is going to have another batch of fun labs and my four hour physics II lecture is quite insightful.

That is all for now. Onward to day three.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Columbia, South Carolina.

Classes Tomorrow

2011-02-06T13:21:00.000-08:00

My spring semester starts tomorrow. The nineteen units (max) will certainly keep me busy until June 3rd. I can't believe this is my final semester! It has been a long ride. I have been waiting for this day for a while. September shall bring a new university with a new adventure. Until then, let's see how this final semester turns out.

This is what I want to do!!

2011-02-02T03:48:00.001-08:00

Amazing Device!

2011-02-02T03:44:00.001-08:00

HAPPY 3rd BLOG BIRTHDAY!!

2011-01-31T00:24:00.000-08:00

Yay! Life at AVC has made it to its 3rd year!

In the past three years:

Posts: 405
Hits: 15,900
14 average daily visitors
135 average weekly visitors
27,141 page views

5 Most popular posts:

1. Caltech Transfer Exam Material
2. SWE: How to be a Successful Engineering Student
3. MIT Transfer 2010 Update
4. Mummies of the World (really fun!)
5. Caltech Tour

Although Life@AVC has reached a milestone...this will be its last birthday. I will definitely keep the blog online and will have the link to my new college blog posted. June 4th will mark the day of the last post on this blog. As one door closes...another one opens. In this case, as one blog ends another blog begins. ^__^

Highlights from the past year:

1. MIT TOUR!!!!
2. Visiting the wonderful Boston/Cambridge.
3. Having fun in o-chem....which resulted in awesome matching shirts.
4. UCLA Tour
5. Having my first college interview, which lasted a whopping two hours.
6. Making no-sew blankets for AV Hospital's Sexual Abuse Response Service.
7. Going to a NCSL conference in Atlanta with ASO.
8. SSCCC General Assembly with ASO.
9. Being elected Vice President of Public Relations for AVC's student organization.
10. Visiting the L.A. Arboretum (Love this place!)
11. Receiving my first A.S. in Biological Sciences at graduation (I have since added 2 A.S. and 1 A.A; bringing my total of degrees at AVC to four. :D)
12. Finally getting around to visiting the Huntington Library.
13. Completing my third Blog Action Day!
14. Recently reaching my 400th post. :)

Happy birthday Life at AVC!

Hola!

2011-01-29T14:58:00.000-08:00

One more week until the spring semester starts. One more semester until I am transferring! :D
I have been busy doing HW for two of my classes. Let's see how much I can finish before the semester starts on February 7th.

That is about it.

Oh....I also submitted three summer research program applications online today. I hope I get placed! o____o

MIT Application Sent!

2011-01-21T15:34:00.000-08:00

Today I gathered 90% of my application and sent it in the mail. :D
I say 90% because I am waiting on two recommendations. I am early this time because I decided that I do not want applications lingering around my room. Now all I can do is wait for decisions to be released. Is it me or is spring semester the "waiting semester"? I am waiting to hear back from AVC Scholarship Foundation to see if I finally won something (fourth year is the charm, right?) and all the university decisions. More than anything....I am waiting on a decision from MIT (second year is the charm, right? :p ). Whatever decision I get....life goes on.

p.s. I got a $3 plastic recorder from Target and can already play two songs!
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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Taichung, Taiwan.

A Very Interesting Read

2011-01-19T22:50:00.000-08:00

Hello readers! I was browsing the bioengineering classes MIT offered via MITOpenCourseWare and came across the course page for 20.010J -- otherwise known as Introduction to Bioengineering. I found a final paper under assignments by Jiao Wang titled A Suitable Replacement Heart. Wang gives a brief history of artificial hearts and the obstacles to perfect the artificial heart. If you are interested in human physiology, definitely click the link to Jiao Wang's paper.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

2011-01-19T18:58:00.001-08:00

I am almost finished with my MIT application! Woohoo! I am continuously rewritting my "why MIT" essay. I have noticed my previous MIT application mistakes and am working hard to correct them. I am definitely focusing on my essays. I am also trying some new things with the supplement portion of the application. Hopefully I can send this thing off Saturday at the latest. Here is to one last attempt at MIT undergrad.

How many other people out there are applying for transfer?

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

A Very Special 400th Post

2011-01-16T16:23:00.000-08:00

Despite this blog focusing on trying to transfer to MIT, I thought that I would talk more about my other university choices. Honestly, no one applies to just one university unless they know they are getting in. Gaining acceptance to MIT as a transfer is like winning a lottery. I am not saying MIT chooses people by a lottery. What I mean is that one never knows if they have the “winning application” because everyone who applies to MIT in general is an excellent applicant. Competition is fierce! Haha

Yes, the blog focuses on me trying to transfer to MIT but the blog’s purpose will always be about me transferring. I have more than one university on my list like most college students. Picking the right university to transfer to is the same as a high school student picking a university. Although the applications we fill out are different, transfer and HS students evaluate universities similarly. I will say, however, that I think transfer students know what they want more in a university because we are at college! Haha

We transfer students know what we could not find or gain at our previous institution. We know how the system works and are able to become better integrated. That all aside, I wanted to do this post because I feel like I have been drifting away from college topics. Of course I can blog about personal stuff like trips or life updates because Life at Antelope Valley College is after all a personal blog. Also, since I am on break until the spring semester starts, I do not have much material on college stuff. What did I have planned for this post, you ask? I am going to list all of the universities that I am applying to.

I am usually low key on where I have applied to because I really want to go to MIT. I invite anyone who reads my blog to comment on which universities they are applying to and why (HS and transfer students). Perhaps you already got into your dream university or graduated. You’re still welcome to comment because this could be a good resource for those who truly do not have any clue on what to look for in a university. At the HS age no one has much life experience. We are all made to think that prestige is where it is at. Honestly, prestige is not where it is at. I will explain further in this post what I mean. Please click the graphic below for my transfer outline.

As you can see, I applied to mostly in state universities. This is a great benefit for me since the cost of attendance is DRAMATICALLY reduced. Tuition at a UC like UCSD is around $24k (for me) a year compared to like $37-40 at a private. I would basically be saving on average $26K (for junior and senior) just to attend a public in state university. That is the most expensive estimate because fin aid, scholarships, and book rentals lower the price even more. My goal is to graduate from university without any debt whatsoever. I have already accomplished that at AVC. If anything I will go as far as incurring $10k in debt. I have read or heard of so many stories where people graduate uni with a quarter million in debt because they were financially ignorant. I am thankful to say that I can cook, clean, and balance a check book better than people twice my age. I thank my parents for that. :)

Finances are probably the biggest pro for choosing a public in state university. Many people who graduated from the Ivies or an expensive private university often say that that was one of the worst decisions in their life because the debt they incurred was not worth it. Choosing a community college to start my college education off with was one of the best decisions in my life. I have met so many great people and have experienced teaching by an actual professor! Going to a university and perhaps never being able to meet my professors is a con for me.

You might still be on the fence about private versus public. We all are. The best advice that I can give is that it does not matter where you go or what name is on your diploma. What matters is what you do when you are there. You cannot get by with the name of the university with nothing to show for. Yes, I went to a community college. So what?? I managed to get elected twice in the campus’s student government – among other things. I have participated in enough campus activities for four university students. Why? Because your college life is what you make it. No one is going to advance your resume or get you into the grad/med school of your dreams. You have to!

On the topic of relying on university prestige, always research the program you want to major under. I personally would not apply to the Ivies again because their engineering does not seem to rank as high as UCB, MIT, or Caltech. The Ivies seem more geared towards non-science. That’s okay but I personally focus on the quality of the program first before I even look at prestige. Plus, grad school is where prestige is important. ;)

What would I do once I transfer? Finally join the Society of Women Engineers! Being the only Collegiate member at AVC is lonely. Lol Since female engineers at AVC are extremely rare (more rare than the Himalayan Snow Leopard :p ) there are not enough people to start a SWE chapter. I am not sure if I would commit myself to student government again. I think I will be too busy working in labs and campus programs geared towards my major and career development to have time. I am going to be all about building up my resume in career and research experience.

On another topic, the best way to get into a UC is through a California community college. Kid you not! We are given priority and are taken more seriously. I would have never been admitted to a UC out of HS. I just went straight to AVC. Because I did this, I have a really good shot at being admitted to an excellent uni for engineering! Actually, I have TAG to also thank for that. ;)

By the way....I do declare this post as my 400th!! :D

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Durham, United Kingdom.

Break Is Still Fun

2011-01-14T16:43:00.000-08:00

Thursday night I finally beat FF13 for XBOX and promptly listed it on Amazon for the price I bought it for preowned at the mall. It sold in hours. w00t! The ending was pretty nifty and featured a song by Leona Lewis (English version song selection):

The graphics in FF13 were amazing and have come a long way from previous editions. It also helps to have HD to view the game. I am not a FF snob at all. I have to roll my eyes when people criticize the franchise. The game play to date has been my favorite. I cannot even imagine going back to FF8 or FF9 game play. I can't even go back to FF12! haha

Now that I am finally finished with FF13 I can focus on other things like homework and finishing my MIT application.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Edison, New Jersey.

My Break So Far

2011-01-09T15:48:00.000-08:00

I have exactly one month before I head back to AVC for my final semester. Currently I am finishing up transfer applications and playing FF13. I am almost finished with it. :D I have imposed my first homework deadline for tomorrow. I am intent on getting at least a month ahead of two classes. I would try to get ahead of all of my classes but I do not have syllabi or textbooks for the other classes. Having said that, I could always just ask for the syllabi and make photocopies at the campus library of the books on reserve. Decisions decisions.

That is all for now.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Versailles, France.

Snow!

2011-01-02T15:38:00.000-08:00

The new year has brought snow to the Mojave Desert. This has been the first snow fall in....uh...not sure. I remember the last big snow fall was on December 17, 2008 (supposedly the worst in 20 years). I remember that because December 17th is my birthday. First snow fall in the past two years looks reasonable. Since I live in the desert, years pass before I see snow. There will be more snow tomorrow, which means I may have enough snow to build an igloo. :D

About two hours ago:

Yes, this is dusting but no doubt there will be more snow fall.

Enjoying the Break

2011-01-02T13:06:00.000-08:00

I have been on break since December 10th. My break continues until spring semester starts on February 7th. I have obtained syllabi for two of my four classes and will start working on homework. I hope to get at least 2-4 chapters into both classes before the semester starts. This would be really beneficial for my schedule considering I have max units for linear algebra, ochem II, phys II, and calc II. I am also clear of extra curricular activities this semester too. Just work and school.
I have exactly five more months until I am officially finished at AVC. :D

This month I plan to finish FF13 and my book on infectious diseases.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Kista, Sweden.

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-01T01:10:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!!! It is officially 2011! Well.....in California it's officially 2011. :p

This is definitely going to be a year of change. I will be officially finished with AVC on June 4th and I will be transferring out in September. Where will I go? I guess we will all have to wait until April-May for all the university decisions to be released. I am picturing the new blog in my mind. :)

p.s. All the Boston trip posts are up -- including the MIT tour!!!

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Menlo Park, California.

MIT TOUR!!

2010-12-31T19:09:00.000-08:00

<-- Previous Boston Post

This is the final installment of my trip to awesome Boston -- the MIT tour! Woohoo! You can find my first visit **here**. My first visit consists of my mother and I walking from the T station/COOP. We walked through the back buildings and made our way to the front where the Great Dome is. We got as far as walking inside the Great Dome and walked down Building 4. Pretty significant for the first day, no? This time we obtained a copy of a self tour printout from the MIT Information Center (7-121) and followed it. Campus tours headed by MIT students ended on December 10th. Unfortunately, I arrived in Boston 5:20 a.m. December 11th. heh
I don't feel like I missed out much because the self tour is informative and hits many good spots that I have read about in my four year (going on five) MIT quest.

I have already posted a College Confidential visitor report that can be found **here**.

Date of self tour: December 14, 2010

MIT has been an idea that I have built up going on five years. I visit the official MIT student blogs daily and read up on the various programs, research, and classes offered at MIT. I don't see how one would not do this....especially someone who lives 3,000+ miles away. Visiting MIT is a rare opportunity, therefore one must be able to know as much as they can about the Institute. Deciding on which university to apply to is hard because the fit has to be right. I thought I would be a good match for schools like Cornell and Brown. This was not the case when I was denied last year. True, transfer to private universities is extremely hard because freshmen have more priority. After visiting Harvard and getting a feel of their "undergrad" (NOT grad school. That is a completely different subject and criteria) life, I realized that Ivy League education for UNDERGRADS (I can't stress that enough) would not suit me. I would love grad school though. ;)

A person knows when they are suited to their environments. I felt suited to MIT. The tute was everything I thought it would be and more. Unlike the previous Boston trip posts, I am going to be more thorough on my review of MIT.

MIT is a private university that offers co-education. Last time I checked, the ratio of men and women students was around 50:50. People are actually shocked to hear this because they see MIT as having 99% men and 1% women. haha This is a good reason why I like MIT -- the ratio. I applied to a university last year that was "technical" and had a fairly good engineering program. The admissions review was extremely speedy and I was at the stage of course work description evaluations for credit. I realized that I did not want to attend this university because of the negativity surrounding the attitudes of the largely male student ratio. Also, I hate to admit it but the location was all wrong. I am the type of person who wants to attend a school for the education, resources, and research opportunities. I could not care less if a university has excellent surfing nearby. That's not why college was invented. Going away to college means getting an education to better oneself and life aspects. I feel that I could find this at MIT.
(I am not going to lie....living along the Charles River looks nice heh).

Back to my story -- despite the university being public, the course load was extraneous. I do not have a problem with this at all. It seemed that many of the students underestimated this state school's rigor and thus became bitter. Adding in the horrible gender ratio, undesirable location, and bitter student body, I knew that this school was definitely not for me. I wanted it to work but I was forcing the issue because I thought the good engineering program would win out. I found that sometimes non-educational aspects can ruin a university decision. I rescinded my application. I knew it would not work but I got too held up on the engineering program's "prestige". I was simply settling because I did not get into MIT during the fall 2010 circulation. Plus, I did not even apply to the UCs. When I visited MIT, I did not feel that I was forcing myself to like the school because I wanted to attend for prestige. I genuinely like MIT.

The people at MIT helped my decision even more. Although it was finals week, everyone was cheerful and social. I expected a ghost town because of finals but instead found lots of people hanging around areas like the Student Center. This is nice considering MIT has a small student body of 4,153 undergrads (2008-2009 data). I like the small student body because one can become better integrated.

Let's start the tour!

a.) Leaving Building 7 lobby.
Leaving Building 7 consists of going outside (cold) and walking across Massachusetts Avenue to where the Student Center is located. I thought that my mother and I would be the only ones doing a self tour during MIT finals week. There were at least 5 other people.

First things first --

I can't leave MIT without taking an obligatory picture of a dome.

Walking away from Building 7. Who's that?!

MIT coppers!

Julius Adams Stratton Building (Building 20). The Student Center can be found here. Also, check out that neat sculpture. It's made of mathematical numbers and symbols!

Obviously built for photo shoots.

This building has a Bank of America, a grocery store, and a few places to eat. I also found a tiny gallery and a TV/movie viewing room (second story I think). Most of the attention seemed focused on Anna's Taqueria. Understandable since burritos are awesome.

There seems to be three levels. My map says that there is a basement with a U.S. Post Office, salon, and dry cleaning. Convenient!
*Note: there is an upper level not pictured.

This building is also convenient because it is very close to the majority of undergrad student housing. The buildings in back of Kresge Auditorium are some of the student housing. This is a big plus for me because I have seen universities where you have to trek across campus to get to the bank, post office, or find somewhere decent to eat.

This building has a lot of bikes chained up around it. MIT definitely has a bike culture. This is obvious due to the active lifestyles of people in Boston and Cambridge. I think MIT would be a good place to pursue sports. MIT even has a sailing class! I would definitely take that class along with glass blowing. I wish the holiday glass lab sale could have been during finals week. I would have bought something.

We walked over to Kresge Auditorium and walked into an empty theater:

A custodian came out of no where and scared us. heh

In back of Kresge is more student housing -- Simmons Hall. I read that Simmons Hall was designed to be like a sponge. All the windows are supposed to be the pores of a sponge.

Next on the tour is MIT's Chapel (w15). The design reminds me of Star Trek or something:

Pretty.

On the way back to Building 1, Ashdown House (graduate student housing) was being renovated for undergrad use. The new Ashdown house looks nice from the official website.

Walking back to the main structure, I think I went into a door leading to Building 1 because I found myself in Building 3 very quickly. I took some stairs and was in the mechanical engineering department in no time.

2.007 display. This class looks really fun and consists of engineering students building and programming a robot to successfully complete an obstacle course.

I found a hack! Yes, it's old but still cool nonetheless. Hack/hacker in MIT culture does not mean computer hacker -- that's cracker. To read more about MIT hacks **click here**.

MIT has something known as the Infinite Corridor (click the link to see my Infinite Corridor picture). The Infinite Corridor is a hallway that is 1/6 a mile long. MIT has about 7 miles total of connecting corridors and buildings. That's a convenient feature because who wants to walk from building to building outside when it's snowing? Always thinking ahead, MIT!

I was looking at my map trying to get to Killian Court and a random student asked if I needed help getting somewhere. That's the first time a student at a university has went out of their way to help me. This seemed to be the attitude around the campus.

Further on my self tour I read that MIT has more than 70 labs on campus alone. If I went to MIT, I would want to UROP with Dr. Dava Newman and Dr. Sangeeta Bhatia. Bhatia's Laboratory for Multiscale Regenerative Technologies would be awesome to work in.

Another aspect of the self tour details exchange programs. MIT has a few cross registration programs with nearby universities like Harvard and Wellesley for no additional tuition payment! MIT has a study abroad program with Cambridge University in England too. Neat! Although, I am certain there is extra tuition and fees that go along with that.

Next stop was the Ellen Swallow Richards Lobby. Ellen Swallow Richards is MIT's first female student, first female student to graduate, and first female instructor. Triple Threat! This area consists of humanities, social sciences, music, and libraries.

I had already visited the Stata Center in my previous MIT post, so we headed off to the T station at Kendall Square. We took the train to Quincy Market and grabbed one last lunch in Boston before heading off to the airport.

Check out the huge Christmas tree they out up!

We had another weary late night flight that was an hour delayed. There was a line on the runway. :\
The pilot tried to make up for this time by flying really, really fast. The last shuttle service to the Lancaster left at 10:30 p.m. We made it to the airport at 10:40 p.m. Lancaster is such a hassle to get to from Los Angeles that we just spent the night in the airport. We left at 7:15 a.m. Yeah...long night.

Official Boston/MIT photo count = 440.

Campus overview:

Things I Liked About MIT

Everyone is really nice and helpful. I didn't get the feeling that there were students there who were miserable. The Student Center and close proximity to most of the undergrad student housing provided a good social environment. Also, the Z-Center (the campus gym) is right next door to the Student Center. The Z-Center has squash courts, a lap pool, and other stuff. More social interaction.
The Infinite Corridor. The convenience of being about to get from A to Z without having to keep going outside into the cold or snow is great.
The student housing. I love the closeness of people on certain floors or dormitories. There is no distance or problems experience in state university dorms.
MIT classes -- 2.007, glass blowing, sailing, etc.
Labs. I really want to UROP for Dr. Sangeeta Bhatia's Laboratory for Multiscale Regenerative Technologies. My career preference is tissue and organ engineering. Also immunology and bioastronautics. Mainly tissue and organ engineering though.
Quick walk to a T station. You can get anywhere in Boston via the T. Love it!
Ability to walk to Boston if not in mood to use T station via Harvard Bridge.
How active everyone is in Boston and Cambridge. Lots of students jogging. Boston is known as the "walking city".
View of the Charles River and Boston.
The collaboration environment. In my ochem class everyone helps out each other. We're a tiny family. This is one aspect of AVC that I will miss. Not all universities are like this. Some of them have super fierce competition. MIT students are willing to help out each other.
Campus safety -- MIT seemed pretty safe to me. I saw the MIT police truck and the Student Center had tons of bikes. If this was a campus high on theft, a lot of people would not lock up their bikes there.The Tech prints a fairly in depth crime report. It's important that these issues are being made known to the students on a regular basis.
Campus cleanliness -- MIT is clean and maintained well. Major plus!
The self tour. This is a great resource to pick up at the MIT Information Center if you plan to do a self tour or supplement your campus tour.
MIT strikes me as an active student body with loads of clubs and organizations. I would join the Society of Women Engineers. Also, there is a lot of campus pride.

I could go on about all the things I liked about MIT. I rate MIT a perfect 10.

Boston Trip: December 13th Part 2

2010-12-30T15:06:00.000-08:00

<--- Rewind to part I

After walking from #8 Old South Meeting House, we made our way over to the Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market area for our #9 destination -- Old State House Museum.

Yup. The Declaration of Independence was first read to the Bostonians here. Inspirational!

We were walking and could not find the Old State House anywhere. We stopped at one place along the Freedom Trail to stake out the building. I turned around and we had our backs to it! haha....hopeless.

As we walked across the street to where Faneuil Hall is located, I was able to get a nice shot of the old and the new:

If you look at the above picture you will notice road construction in the middle of the intersection. That is where #10 on the Freedom Trail is located -- site of the Boston Massacre! This spot has been marked out by these cobblestones:

Five men were killed at this site (see: Old Granary post ) - including Crispus Attucks, the first African American to die for the patriotic cause.

Although every destination on the Freedom Trail is awesome, Faneuil Hall is one of the best because it boasts Quincy Market across the way and great surrounding shops (North and South Markets). Faneuil Hall was a gift from Peter Faneuil in 1742. The building served as a place for meetings and open-air market. It was pretty neat walking up the old stairs into a nicely maintained meeting house. Faneuil Hall was nicknamed the "Cradle of Liberty" because many influential people like James Otis and Samuel Adams gave speeches here. Also, Bostonians spoke out against the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, the Townsend Acts and the arrival of British Troops in the area at Faneuil Hall. Cool, huh? Actually, cool is an understatement. Amazing!

Faneuil Hall:

Faneuil Hall again:

Quincy Market on left and South Market on right.

Quincy Market! Quincy market consists of a very, very long corridor cafeteria with lots of yummy food! You will not find redundant fast food chains or mall cafeteria food fare here. There is definite variety with Italian, Indian, Chinese, Greek, bagels, etc. I visited Bombay India during my visit. I have finally accomplished my four corner Indian food journey (Atlanta, Vancouver, Boston, SoCal).

A brief look inside Quincy Market:

After having lunch at Quincy Market, we continued on with our Freedom Trail. The next stop on the trail is Paul Revere's house. Unlike the other Freedom Trail sites before, Paul Revere's house is farther away. Each site has been practically next door to each other (that's why the Freedom Trail works). Paul Revere's house is about 0.5 miles away walking from Faneuil Hall. The walk is all apart of the experience because there are interesting streets:

Cool bridge:

Entry to the North End:

Three of the Freedom Trail sites are based in the North End. The North End is known for Italian food. Unfortunately, I did not get the opportunity to enjoy Italian food. This is due to eating at Quincy Market. Next time!

#12 Paul Revere's House
Built in circa 1680, Paul Revere's house is considered Boston's oldest, private owned building in the downtown area. It is from this very house that Paul Revere set off on his famous "midnight ride".

Sorry for the quality. It was raining.

Inside is a museum but I did not go inside. Onward to #13 - Old North Church. Old North Church is famous because it's the oldest church in Boston and on April 18, 1775 Sexton Robert Newman hung two lanterns to signal Paul Revere to start his famous ride. Paul Revere's ride is recognized as the event that helped start the American Revolution.

Old North Church

Who's that?!

Not too far away is #14-- Copp's Hill Burying Ground. Copp's was used by the British to aim their cannons towards Charlestown during the Battle of Bunker Hill. The burial ground was first established in 1659.

#15 is even farther away than Paul Revere's house! #15-- U.S.S. Constitution is about 1.1 miles from Copp's Burial Ground. We walked across Charlestown Bridge to get to where the U.S.S. Constitution is docked.

Bridge:

Nice harbor view:

Yay....we finally made it!

The U.S.S. Constitution was launched in Boston in 1797. This ship is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. Also, the ship is manned by an active duty U.S. Navy Crew.

About 0.6 miles from the U.S.S. Constitution is the final destination of the Freedom Trail -- #16 Bunker Hill Monument. I was not sure if I would get time to see Bunker Hill Monument because of how far it was from my hotel. That all changed when it was apart of the Freedom Trail. heh The monument is 221 feet tall and commemorates one of the bloodiest battles of the American Revolution (1,400 causalities).

We walked up to the monument and then walked about 0.5 miles to the T station at Bunker Hill Community College. Isn't that cool that a community college has a train station? :D

Total route: This is a map that I found on Google Image of the Freedom Trail. The extra blue line is my added route to the train station.

I feel like I really got to know Boston. Look how far we went! This is definitely one of my top cities.

When we made it back to the hotel, we went to the Prudential Center and had dinner at Qdoba Mexican Grill. It's basically Chipotle's twin. The atmosphere is certainly different here. The choice of food and shops are nice too. After Qdoba we browsed the shops, went to a grocery market called Shaw's, and went to our hotel.

Good day indeed!

MIT post --->

Boston Trip: December 13th

2010-12-28T15:13:00.000-08:00

<--- backward to December 12th post

A unique experience that can only be found in Boston is the Freedom Trail. This route should not be regarded as something "tourists" do because it is not. Yesterday, Yahoo! named the Freedom Trail one of the top 10 inspiring things to do/see. I have searched all over for the article but cannot find it. The Freedom Trail was definitely inspirational because so much history took place at all sixteen points of reference. It was also neat seeing all these old buildings like Paul Revere's house and King's Chapel tucked in between tall skyscraper buildings. It is nice to see the old with the new because the old serves as a reminder of how those who came before us lived and what they fought for.

My mother and I arrived at the Visitor Information Center at the Boston Common. There was not going to be a tour for at least another hour so it was suggested that we buy the map and do our own thing. The tour is supposedly 90 minutes long. I don't see how anyone can walk the Freedom Trail in 90 minutes and truly appreciate the significance of each site. One is basically walking from point to point nonstop. Do not let this put you off the Freedom Trail. Doing the self tour is perhaps better. Of course this is only my opinion because you're not with a bunch of other people. There is no tour guide to keep the flow of the tour. Instead, you leave the site when you are ready to leave. It is because of this that I was on the Freedom Trail for several hours. haha Excellent exercise. ;)

So.....let's begin the tour! The Freedom Trail starts right outside the Visitor Information Center because the Boston Common is #1 out of the 16 points of reference. The Freedom Trail is a 2.5 mile long path that has been conveniently and thoughtfully marked out by red bricks or red paint. Every so often there is a plate like this along the path:

It is impossible to get lost on the Freedom Trail. Just follow the red line. Why is the Boston Common apart of the Freedom Trail, you ask? It is the nation's oldest public park. Back in the day the park was first used for grazing cattle. The British militia also used it. The Boston Common has been used for public hangings, duels, and public events. Interesting, huh?

Only a small walk up some stairs is #2 on the list -- the Massachusetts State House:

Isn't it majestic? The State House offers tours but I never got around to doing one. Next time!
Built in January 1798, the land was originally owned by first elected Governor of Massachusetts, John Hancock. That's right....one of the Declaration of Independence signers. The dome was originally plain old wood but Paul Revere was commissioned in 1802 to cover the dome with copper. If you did not already know, Paul Revere's profession was that of gold/coppersmith. In 1874, the dome was again changed to 23-carat gold leaf. Are you starting to see why this is called the Freedom Trail? History. ;)

The next Freedom Trail stop is Park Street Church:

Park Street Church was founded in 1809. The steeple is 217 feet tall and served as landmark for those sailing into Boston. This church originally served as a grain storage site. The first Sunday school program started here too. On July 4, 1829, William Lloyd Garrison gave his first anti-slavery speech here. Two years later, the hymn America (My Country 'Tis of Thee) was first sang on the steps! Next door to the church in a gated area (see pic above) is #4 on the Freedom Trail -- Granary Burying Ground. This site was definitely on my list of places to visit in Boston. As you can see, the word "granary" comes from the fact that the church next door was a granary. This cemetery is home to dozens of extremely old gravestones and is recognized as Boston's third oldest burying ground. Many prominent figures were laid to rest here. Most notable are John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, Peter Faneuil, and all five Boston Massacre victims! I was in the presence of some of the Founding Fathers! o____o

There have been buildings built around the cemetery. I wonder what it is like to have a office or an apartment looking out over the Granary.

Samuel Adams:

The Boston Massacre victims:

Benjamin Franklin's parents:

There were people cleaning up the leaves and maintaining the Granary.

Paul Revere:

After we left the Granary, we walked over to #5 King's Chapel:

King's Chapel looks like a fortress to me. King James II ordered the seizure of this land in 1688 and had the first Anglican Church built. In 1749, it became apparent the old wood church was too small for the congregation. A Georgian chapel was therefore built around the original church. President Washington sat in the Governor's Pew during is 1789 visit. Previously in 1785, King's Chapel became the nation's first Unitarian Church. King's Chapel has the first burying ground in Boston. William Dawes (accompanied Revere on ride to Lexington) and Mary Chilton (believed to be the first woman to step off the Mayflower) are buried there.

The next stop on the Freedom Trail is right next door to King's Chapel. #6 is the nation's first public school -- Boston Latin School (1635). Famous alumni include Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams.

Pretty!

Benjamin Franklin:

Who's that on the steps?!

Onward to #7 - Old Corner Bookstore! The Old Corner bookstore was vacant. Therefore, I could not go inside. I did, however, go next door to The Body Shop. :D
The Old Corner Bookstore was built after the great fire of 1711 destroyed the previous home of Anna Hutchinson, who was banished from Massachusetts for her religious views in 1638. In the 1823, the Old Corner Bookstore was established. During the 1800s, it became a popular literary center. Ticknor and Fields, the nation's leading publisher from 1833 to 1864, published a wealth of works from many authors that are still renowned today.

Across the street was #8 -- the Old South Meeting House.
This meeting house was built in 1729 and is the second oldest Church in Boston. Many of the events that led up to the Revolutionary War took place at the meeting house. In 1775-6, the British used the meeting house as a stable and riding school. Phillis Wheatley, the first published African American poet, became a full member in 1771.

Phillis Wheatley book of poems:

Hanging out

Tea!

Onward to Part II!! --->

Boston Trip: December 12th

2010-12-23T16:48:00.000-08:00

<-- Previous Post

In the morning my mother and I decided to go to the Boston Common and walk around Beacon Hill. We set out to the T station at Copley Square and traveled the Green Line to Park Street:

The Boston Common is a 50 acre park that is actually the nation's first! I found that Boston is home to many of the country's "firsts". You will see this in the blog post detailing the awesome Freedom Trail. In the past the Boston Common was used for grazing cattle and even public hangings! Many important events have taken place there. Definitely read up on this historical park.

Check out the big tree!

Outside the Boston Common near the Massachusetts State House was the Cheers Bar:

We walked past the Cheers bar into Beacon Hill. Beacon Hill is a well-known historic neighborhood. Beacon Hill is known for its rowhouses and old brick streets. I really liked the lamp posts. They added a Victorian feel.
Beacon Hill:

This place had delicious gelato and chocolate-covered oreos.

That is Beacon Hill in a nutshell.

It was getting late so we went back to Park Street station and grabbed the Green Line back to Copley Square. After going back to the hotel, we went back to Copley Place and Prudential Center to check out more of the shops. I must say that Boston has excellent shopping. If you're not into designer or well-known mall shops, independent shops are easy to find. Newbury Street had quite a few.

Next post --> Freedom Trail!!!

I'm Back

2010-12-21T11:09:00.000-08:00

I have not blogged in a few days since my laptop's battery was defective and thus rendered my laptop incapable of using the external battery plug in source. I patiently waited and received my battery yesterday. When I finally got around to going online, the Internet was down due to the "record-breaking" rains. Now it's 11 a.m. the next day and I am finally online again! I will continue to post about my Boston trip and MIT review so stay tuned!

Boston Trip December 11th PART II

2010-12-15T13:31:00.000-08:00

Here is part two of the December 11th post of my Boston trip review! If you have not read part one yet, please click here.

I last left off on my mother and I going back to Kendall Square to see MIT.

MIT's portion of The Coop!! I was going to buy an MIT shirt but thought that that is something I would have to earn via undergrad, grad, or research. I instead opted for an MIT magnet.

MIT's Coop borders a tiny food court (hallway, really) that has the best calamari ever. I did not try the other places in this food court (the online reviews aren't that great) but Beijing Tokyo's calamari is quite decent. After my mother and I finished our Coop visit, we walked to MIT. Our MIT was very brief because we were tired and wanted to go to the hotel.

Here are some pictures of MIT (I toured the campus on Tuesday, December 14th btw):

A view of the Charles River. I think it's awesome that MIT has this killer view:

Student housing?

Better view of Charles River. One thing I noticed about Boston is that loads of
people jog. I am not sure if I previously mentioned this but Boston is known as the "walking city". This is definitely true. Everyone seems to be fit and active -- a great atmosphere.

Green Building in the left:

Walker Memorial:

Chilling on the steps of Walker Memorial:

A little further....a little further...and boom! The Great Dome!!! :D
Isn't it glorious?

Huzzzzah!!!

Sculpture by famous English sculptor Henry Moore. Every time I see a Henry Moore sculpture my mother reminisces on how she toured his house and garden as a kid.

From the inside looking out.

Inside the Great Dome. Yes, those are real life MIT students.

Infinite Corridor!!!! :D

A poster for MIT's EMS. This is often blogged about via MIT's website.

A lab:

Clever name!

After we scratched the surface of MIT, we headed back towards Boston via the Harvard Bridge. Our hotel was only 1.6 miles from MIT....so why not walk back? Halfway on the bridge we saw this message. My guess is that it is to be read while walking "towards" MIT. haha
p.s. I also saw the Smoots!

What Harvard Bridge pictures would be complete without a view of Boston? I am not sure if you can tell but there were ice sheets.

We walked through Beacon street (not to be confused with Beacon Hill) and admired the architecture. A couple of streets over were Newbury Street, Copley Place, and Boston's second tallest building the Prudential Tower -- all known for excellent shopping.

Check out the brick streets. According to a source, these bricks were laid in 1850:

Trinity Church:

After walking around and missing our street, we finally made it to our hotel -- the John Hancock Hotel and Conference Center. I liked the hotel because it was quite central. It was practically next door to Copley Place and the Prudential Tower. The inside was neat too (built in 1925):

The view from our hotel window:

MIT to Hotel:

This walking is nothing compared to the Freedom Trail excursion.

I cannot quite remember if we retired for the day since we were allowed to check in one hour early (2 p.m.). We may have walked over to Copley Place to browse the shops -- a small 0.2 mile.

Niiiiiice:

Continue to next part -->

Boston in the Eyes of a Californian: December 11th

2010-12-15T12:07:00.000-08:00

<-- Five hours before

About five hours and 3,000 miles later my plane finally arrived at Boston's Logan Airport at 5:20 a.m.! My mother and I grabbed some coffee until we decided to brave the cold Boston air, which actually was not that bad, in search of this "Silver Line at Terminal A" according to Google Maps. A woman at the airport saw that we did not know if we had found the Silver Line (we thankfully did) and told us the running times.Let me just say that Boston residents are extremely nice! I cannot tell you how many times I had someone go out of their way just to help me find where I needed to go. They seriously approach you and ask if you need help! The generosity of strangers always makes a trip even better. I can go on forever about Boston hospitality. We somehow came across a transportation fare machine at the airport (they are easy to find at bus stations....train stations...airport...) and bought our very first Charlie Tickets! This was my first time utilizing a transportation system like this. In fact, I cannot remember the last time I rode the bus! That's southern California for you. We are a car culture and it honestly sucks. I loved Boston transportation and it has been almost a dream for me to ride around on a transportation system such as this. I rode every line except for the Blue Line (well, I used State to get to the Orange Line, so it almost counts!). One can ride around the train/bus system all day and only pay $2. This only works of course if you do not exit the underground! haha Transportation map (click to enlarge):

My mother and I both placed $10 on our Charlie Tickets (quite possibly my new best friend)
and grabbed the Silver Line to South Station. From there we grabbed the train to Alewife because Harvard Station was one of the stops on this route. We seriously managed to get to Harvard Square without any problems. That is another thing I love about Boston transportation -- it is so easy! One can basically travel across town - and cities - in a matter of minutes. If you are not amazed by this, then you are not from SoCal. haha
Not even our Metrolink can do that.

We did not count on how fast the transportation system was. We therefore arrived at Harvard Station quite fast (I want to say 20 minutes from airport to Harvard). Why Harvard first, you ask? Well, although I am not applying there, I wanted to visit the area. Honestly, who goes to visit the Cambridge area and does not walk through Harvard Square? Also, the reason why we went straight to Harvard is due to our 3 p.m. hotel check in time. We had hours ahead of us before we could even consider checking in.

It was still very early and hardly anyone was outside. We went to find a Starbucks to hang out at before we ventured off to find where the Harvard tour started.

Look familiar?

We decided that we did not want to camp out in Starbucks until 11 a.m. - when the tour started. We strolled around the streets and found the admissions office. Along the way we saw:

This is where tours meet -- Agassiz House:

Now that we knew where would meet, we went to explore some more. I was borrowing my brother's camera and forgot to charge it. My mother and I went off to find a bookstore so that we could sit and charge the battery. In the meantime, I took pictures with my cell phone until we made it to Harvard's portion of The Coop. One thing I noticed about Boston and Cambridge is that there are loads of people running. In fact, Boston is known as the "walking city". One literally does not need a car.

The Coop via Harvard:

I think there were two upper levels and a base level.

After my camera battery charged and we partook in some rice pudding at the cafe inside the store, we set out for the Harvard tour. Before the start of the tour the group watched a video that had famous graduates like Tommy Lee Jones talk about why Harvard is good.

Start of tour:

Inside Harvard grounds. Say hello to the nation's first university:

We left the tour halfway through and decided to go back to Harvard Station and go back
towards Kendall Square. This is where MIT would be found. :D

Outside Harvard:

Part II -->

Boston Trip Review: December 10th

2010-12-15T11:17:00.000-08:00

The main focus of my Boston trip was to visit MIT. I organized my trip by using Priceline.com. I have never used Priceline before and was anxious to see if my flight and hotel were properly booked. To my relief, Priceline came through for me and almost everything went smoothly. I am definitely using Priceline again because it was quick, easy, and very reasonable. In fact, my mom and I are talking about another Boston trip! We loved Boston that much. :D
During the span of my trip I took around 400 pictures. I did not have a limit because I bought a card at the last minute that stores 1,300 pictures. I just pointed and clicked. heh

Back to the trip:

5:20 p.m. -- My mother and I embarked to LAX airport via Antelope Express. AVC mathematics professor Dr. Kitto happened to be on my shuttle as well. I think she was going international.
That aside, Los Angeles traffic did not stop us from making good time.

7:00 p.m. -- We arrived a good two hours early for our 9 p.m. flight at American Airlines terminal 4. Yes, we had a red eye flight. Despite the drag of a red eye flight, I have had excellent airport experiences thus far. I have never waited in line for more than 5 minutes. *knock on wood
We literally made it from the curb to the gate in under 10 minutes!
To be honest, I was not looking forward to the new TSA security monitoring system. Nonetheless, I walked through it and made it through unscathed....except for the small examination of my hair accessories. I can see how security has definitely beefed up since I last flew during my Atlanta trip.

7:10 p.m. Debate with oneself over the price of airport commodities. $3 for water?! Seriously?

9:05 p.m. Lift off!! The night view from the plane was amazing. The lights were beautiful and expansive. During this time I was thinking about how much electricity was being produced. It is always exciting to take off over the ocean and then turn back.

11 p.m. -- In need of....leg room.

11:01 p.m. -- I should have bought a neck pillow...

5 hours later -->

Finals = Over

2010-12-09T23:17:00.000-08:00

Woohoo my final exams are officially over! I get a nice two month long break period. :D
I should really be getting to bed because tomorrow is going to be extremely busy (also, I am running on one hour of sleep). I have to get things for the Boston trip, tutor my little tutee, and...well...fly to Boston! My friend Inna is going to be at the airport at the same time. She is flying to New York. I guess I was not crazy for planning a trip the day after finals. Although, we are in ochem....so maybe we are crazy together. hehe

The weather in Boston looks a bit bleh. I therefore plan on wearing my rain boots. I am sure it will look weird walking through LAX with rain boots, but after the plane lands, that will change. I am super hyped to see MIT! Finally!! There will be lots of pictures. :D

Besides all the MIT trip awesomeness, my laptop's battery decided to fail me. I am still contemplating dishing out the extra money for a new battery. Being tethered to the plug in battery is not so bad. I am just bummed because this laptop is not even a year old yet. :\ I guess this gives another reason why the laptop is not coming to Boston. Laptops and their batteries. If the battery is not failing you, the input jack is.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Spruce Grove, Canada.

Last Ochem Lab.....For Two Months

2010-12-07T17:48:00.001-08:00

I turned in my last ochem lab for the semester! Woohoo! I hope I get good marks for it. :) Earlier today, I cleaned up my lab station and said goodbye. That will be its cleanest until spring semester starts. Do not worry. It will see clean when spring ends. In other chem related news, I finally got around to including all the information the prof has been asking for in the table of chemicals. Always the last week....heh

Funny how I am blogging my most during finals week! I am enjoying the calm before the exam storm on Thursday. I wish I had the ability to stay up for days on end but I manage to talk myself into going to bed by 1 a.m. That is no way for a student to live! Oh well. It is better than taking those horrible energy drinks.

Good luck everyone!

Oh, and p.s. -- MIT/Boston this weekend!! :D

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Melbourne, Australia.

It's Fall 2010 But I Am Thinking About Spring 2011

2010-12-07T09:09:00.000-08:00

You read right. My finals are on Thursday but my mind is on spring 2011. I have all my FINAL classes selected at AVC. Just think...six more months and I will be done with AVC. I would have really liked ending my last semester with classes like ceramics or photography. Due to my apparent inability to schedule classes and keep to that schedule, I have 19 units. bleh. There is not one GE class in my spring schedule. I finished them all and then some. Instead, it is all my major classes. They are:

CHEM 220 (ochem 2!!!!)
Prerequisite: Completion of CHEM 210. This course is a continuation of the study of molecular structure, bonding, nomenclature, stereochemistry, spectral and other physical properties of organic compounds. A major topic will be the preparations, reactions, and reaction mechanisms of organic compounds. A short introduction will be given covering biochemical topics. The laboratory generally follows material that is being studied in lecture.

PHYS 120 (Phys 2!!!)
Prerequisite: Completion of PHYS 110, and Completion of MATH 160 or concurrent enrollment. This course is the second part of a three-semester calculus based introductory physics course for scientists and engineers. Topics covered are: electrostatics, electric fields and potentials, capacitance, resistance and current, DC circuits, magnetic fields, magnetic induction, Maxwell's Laws and AC circuits.

Math 160
A continuation of MATH 150 including applications of integration, integration techniques, indeterminate forms, improper integrals, infinite series, and topics in analytic geometry

Math 220
This is an introductory course in linear algebra, designed for students majoring in the mathematical, biological, physical, engineering, sociological or managerial sciences. Topics to be covered include systems of linear equations, matrices, determinants, vector spaces, inner product spaces, linear transformations, eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Applications of linear algebra may be chosen from the following: differential equations; least squares fitting to data; geometry of linear operators on R2; diagonalizing quadratic forms and conic sections; cryptography; or modeling traffic flow

Manageable.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Pars, Iran.

Hurrah It's Finals!

2010-12-05T14:03:00.000-08:00

This week marks the end of the semester! Woohoo! I will get to enjoy about two months of break. :)

In other news, I am studying for two finals in ochem and calculus. Thankfully, both are on Thursday. That means I have the entire week to study! I have never planned a trip that consisted of me leaving the day after finals. This shall be interesting. Pack Thursday night and pick up things I might have forgotten Friday morning. I am also tutoring in the afternoon before the flight. One hour after I finish tutoring I am taking a shuttle with my mom to LAX. Cutting it close? Meh. I am not bringing my laptop to the airport this time because my carry on luggage is going to be a backpack. Therefore, since I am not bringing my "main picture uploading hub", I will need to buy a memory card for the camera. Right now the memory cards I have are dated. One hold only 70 pictures! I remember when I went on a road trip to Key West, Florida and forgot to bring the adapter for the computer. Having to choose the best pictures to keep was tough. A trip like that needs at least 200 pictures.

This past week marked the end of ochem 210 labs too. Our last lab was the extraction of eugenol from whole cloves via steam distillation. Everything smelled great until dicholoromethane was added. Afterwards everything smelled like vomit. :\

Check out our cool set ups as shown by Maria:

Next semester ochem lab is going to be amazing. The experiments are awesome.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Saratov, Russia.

Neutron bomb inventor Samuel Cohen dies in LA

2010-12-01T23:47:00.000-08:00

Source: Yahoo News

LOS ANGELES – Neutron bomb inventor Samuel T. Cohen, who designed the tactical nuclear weapon intended to kill people but do minimal damage to structures, has died, his son said Wednesday.

Cohen died from complications of stomach cancer on Sunday at his home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, his son Paul Cohen told the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.

Cohen worked for the RAND Corporation and the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory when he developed the small neutron bomb in 1958, which used tiny particles that could zip through tanks, walls or buildings with minimal damage but kill humans, usually by attacking their central nervous system. It also minimized long-term nuclear contamination.

Ethicists questioned a weapon designed to destroy only life, but Cohen spent much of his life advocating for its adoption, saying the bomb's limited effects were a more moral alternative to other nuclear weapons.

"It's the most sane and moral weapon ever devised," Cohen told the New York Times in September. "It's the only nuclear weapon in history that makes sense in waging war. When the war is over, the world is still intact."

The Reagan administration worked on developing the weapon in the 1980s, and other nations including France and Russia are believed to have possessed them. But the neutron bomb was never widely embraced as Cohen had hoped.

Paul Cohen couldn't immediatedly be located by The Associated Press and a listed for Samuel T. Cohen's Brentwood home was disconnected.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Cohen went to college at the University of California, Los Angeles, graduating in 1943 and joining the army.

The army trained him in physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and assigned him to work on the Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb during World War II. He worked on the calculations for Fat Man, the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.

After the war in a 1951 trip to Seoul, South Korea for the RAND Corporation, he saw a city largely destroyed by the Korean War, and later said in his memoirs that it provided the inspiration for the small-scale neutron bomb.

"If we are going to go on fighting these damned fool wars in the future, shelling and bombing cities to smithereens and wrecking the lives of their inhabitants," he wrote, "might there be some kind of nuclear weapon that could avoid all this?"

Cohen is survived by his wife Margaret, sons Paul and Thomas of Los Angeles and daughter Carla Nagler of New Mexico.

I wonder if he knew Richard Feynman...most likely.

The 2010 National Geographic Photography Contest

2010-12-01T21:52:00.000-08:00

I just finished my programming final exam two hours ago. I am currently in the process of preparing for another exam that is tomorrow night. This is not the final for that class...just a chapter test. The final is next week along with ochem. Thankfully, they are both next Thursday. That gives me about six days to really knuckle down and study. In the meantime, National Geographic came out with 47 beautiful and fascinating pictures from their 2010 photography contest. I absolutely love reading National Geographic magazines because of the pictures. They truly are some of the best photos out there. You can see these pictures by visiting Ned Hardy. Although I am absolutely in love with all 47 pictures, I will post a few of my most favorite:

Breathtaking!

Good luck to everyone on finals!

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Great Neck, New York.

Gawker: What $200,000 in Student Debt Looks Like

2010-11-29T19:38:00.000-08:00

I was sent an article on student finance from my mom just now about a newly graduated Northeastern University student who racked up $200,000 in student debt! For an undergrad degree!!
If you are a high school student or college student reading this, definitely check out the article at **Gawker** and learn from it. Also read the comments section because people are giving good advice on their student loan nightmares.

Loans are very real and people need to start getting wise about them.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Helsinki, Finland.

The Finish Line is in Sight

2010-11-28T23:17:00.000-08:00

The end of the semester is in sight. I decided that I did not want to have any sort of homework assignments during finals week and am diligently working on finishing all of them by the end of this week. I am 95% done with my research English class and await for my fellow students to blog for this week and next. I need to comment on their posts you see. I need to finish three more blog comments and make revisions to my research paper. I thought there was a final exam but I do not see any mention of it. I am sure that is will pop up between now and the final week. Finals always have a habit of doing that, no?

My organic chemistry class consists of two final HWs, two more labs, and a cumulative final that makes me weep. :(

My other classes are manageable too. I can't wait to see what semester's finals will look like with ochem II, phys II, upper level calc, and linear algebra. x____x
It all leads to two more A.S. degrees and a good shot at transfer. I will therefore muddle through it.

Also, tomorrow marks the end of my last Associated Student Government meeting. I am stepping down from V.P. of Public Relations. I had lots of fun and absolutely loved being apart of this awesome group of individuals. That is not the last of me though! I am designing the new campus food pantry brochure. Also, I need to update the ASO Sticker Program.

Good luck everyone with finals! I have four.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Villafranca Di Verona, Italy.

Two More Weeks of Fall 2010

2010-11-25T16:01:00.000-08:00

After this week, there will be two more weeks in the semester. :D My ochem exam is cumulative (eek) and I have writer's block on a research paper. I was going to write about the Iranian Revolution but now I am leaning towards women's rights in Iran. So that is what is new with me. The Boston trip is coming up fast too! :)

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Corbeanca, Romania.

Medical Awesomeness: Hand Grafted to Leg

2010-11-20T15:33:00.000-08:00

I always like reading articles in medicine, science, and tech. This is a great article about a Chinese girl who had her hand grafted to her leg. Here is the article:

"Surgeons in China saved a little girl's hand - by grafting it on to her leg for three months.

Nine-year-old Ming Li lost her hand when she was run over by a tractor on her way to school in July.

But her arm was too badly damaged to reattach it to her wrist so doctors temporarily attached it to her right calf instead.

Dr Hou Jianxi, spokesman for the hospital in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, said the hand had now been transplanted back on to her arm.

"When she came in, her left hand was completely severed from her body. It was very scary," he told the Zhoukou Evening Post.

"But Ming Li can now move her wrist again and her left hand is a healthy pink colour proving that the blood is circulating well."

Li will need two more operations over the next year. One to improve her hand functions and some plastic surgery to remove her scars.

But Dr Hou said: "After surgery, and with plenty of physiotherapy, we are confident her left hand will be capable of doing most things.

"We can't give a precise percentage of how much movement she will get back but she should be able to look after herself and even drive a car."

*Source: Orange News

Picture:

Neat! This reminds me of this fireman who had his burned hand sewn into his stomach to help with the healing process.

Finals Are Nigh

2010-11-20T14:35:00.001-08:00

You read right -- finals are nigh. Two more weeks of preparation until finals on the week of December 5th. Also, nineteen more days until Boston! Woohoo!

This would also be a good time to announce that spring will be my last semester at Antelope Valley College. Last year I was not certain on whether I would transfer anywhere. Given circumstances I decided to stay another year. This was actually a good choice on my part since I was able to finish more classes. What does this mean for Life at Antelope Valley College? This blog will still exist. It will not be deleted. I will keep it and add a link to my newest blog. Keeping with tradition, this blog will be called Life at "blah blah university". Exciting! The unveiling of the new blog will be after spring 2011 ends. Graduation is usually on June 4-5th, so expect to see the blog posted around that time. My friend wants me to walk with him...so I will be at graduation again. I will be earning two more A.S. degrees. :)

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Mechanicville, New York.

New Project

2010-11-17T19:37:00.000-08:00

I am always looking for new ways to shove copious amounts of information into my skull. I often do this by using flash cards. They are compact, convenient, and make the perfect fall accessory. Well....everything but the fall accessory. With my busy schedule and urge to procrastinate (we all do it), I have decided to start a Youtube channel. What does this Youtube channel entail, you ask? I will be posting videos of my hands writing down ochem stuff while I explain it. Not only would this help other students but it would help me. I would be able to watch these videos and remember how problems were solved.

Tomorrow I am going to buy a dry erase board and start an account. I am still contemplating using the video camera or my laptop's web cam. I think web cam would be the best option. *nods

Stay tuned on this venture.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Bethpage, New York.

Clean Out

2010-11-13T14:40:00.000-08:00

I was cleaning out some papers in my room from when I was fifteen (almost six years ago). These papers were from a resume workshop. One of the papers had a question that asked what my long term goal was. I had written -- "I plan to graduate from high school and hopefully be accepted to The Royal School of Music in London. I will study opera." Opera to engineering. How does that happen? haha
Oddly enough, there was a paper with probable career choices. Besides music and artsy stuff, computer and nuclear engineering were options too. Yeah, I do not know how photography and nuclear engineering place in the same grouping either. Funny how things change. Now I could not even imagine pursuing anything artsy. A hobby or a minor -- yes. Not a full time career. I love science too much.

In other news, I am still going through the stages of applying for transfer. My week has been going swell thus far.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Darlington, United Kingdom.

Five Weeks to Go

2010-11-07T19:17:00.000-08:00

There are five more weeks in the semester. Do you know what that means? My Boston trip is almost here. I was planning out some fun places to see like MIT (the main reason for the trip), Faneuil Hall, the New England Aquarium, the Boston Common, cool tours, etc. Boston weather in December should be an experience in itself. I will finally be able to say that have visited the "four edges" of the United States. Woohoo!

Are there any suggestions out there on what I should see in Boston or at MIT? It looks like I am planning my own MIT tour. The tours seems to cut off after December 10th. Yay? Oh well. I have been around long enough to guide myself. All I need is an MIT map and a self-made guide. Of course I will be blogging about the entire excursion. :D

AVC wise...I have an ochem midterm this coming Thursday. That is really it.

Also, ASO is planning a food bank on campus!

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Vitacura, Chile.

Super Quick Update

2010-10-30T16:02:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I can't believe I have not blogged anything in a week. Don't worry....I am not dead. Just lazy. lol

I have a few blog posts that will be posted soon when I finish them. Until then, Happy Halloween!!!

MIT pumpkin 2.0:

I like keeping up with tradition. :p Speaking of tradition, tomorrow will be the three year anniversary of my movie night with my bro's gf, Jasmin (including my bro and mom). We have made it a point to go to the movie theater every Halloween night. Cool, huh? What to see...what to see...

In other news, my 6th grade tutee got a 97% on her Paul Revere memoir book report! Woohoo! That report was kind of exhausting*. lol I'm proud. :)

*Teaching someone how to structure an essay for the first time and teach them about plagiarism IS exhausting. haha

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Village of Nagog Woods, Massachusetts (sounds mythical)

Lost and Found

2010-10-22T17:24:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday I was working on campus and someone came into where I was based and asked if we had a "lost and found". This person had found a relatively new iPod Touch....on campus.....in the middle of the day. I was really surprised that someone would bring an expensive electronic like an iPod Touch to me. I was going to turn it into the campus security office but decided to do my own detective work.

The iPod in question was locked and needed a code to gain access. I knew that if I tried to load this iPod to my iTunes I would receive a message saying "blah blah iPod cannot be loaded". I was hoping that this "blah blah" would be their name. Instead, I received more valuable information -- a unique nickname. I typed this nickname into Google and found Twitter and Tumblr accounts. How could I possibly know that these accounts belonged to the owner of this iPod? Well....the nickname was really unique and the location of the Twitter/Tumblr person was Lancaster, CA. That pretty much narrowed it down.

Long story short -- I contacted the owner via tumblr and we arranged a pick up. Early today we met at the college and the iPod exchange went smoothly. The End.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Las Vegas, Nevada.

Thunder!

2010-10-19T23:07:00.000-07:00

Last night and today have been filled with crazy thunder in the Antelope Valley. In my sixteen years of living in the A.V. I have never witnessed thunder this loud or have seen lightening that has continuously repeated. Usually our thunder and lightening lasts for a couple of minutes in different areas of the A.V. -- nothing special. This, however, the lightening lit up the entire sky and kept delivering a blast of loud rolling thunder. The thunder is still continuing as I type. It feels as if I am on another planet; like Venus. The lightening in its entirety has been absolutely beautiful and fascinating. I wish there was a really good place to watch all the lightening.

I took two videos of the lightening on campus but my cell phone won't transfer the video. In the mean time, here are two pictures my friend Christiaan Patterson took. She takes great weather pictures.

Taken from the BE Building on campus...

Imagine seeing that lightening setting the sky ablaze in a continuous cycle. Now I just need to find a way to get my videos off my phone....

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Paris, France.

Blog Action Day 2010: Life@AVC Edition

2010-10-15T20:40:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again! Welcome to the third edition of Life@AVC's participation in Blog Action Day. Every year I use the same presentation -- student thoughts and opinions. The topic that was voted on for this year is "water".

The first entry comes from the first person to contribute (plus, she is one of my bffs):

Water is a precious and vital resource that fuels the Earth and those on it. Unfortunately water is often taken for granted. I guess with having it all the time we never see the possibility of ever running out of it. In order to conserve water we don't need to take outrageously drastic steps, but simple things such as practicing water conservation while brushing our teeth or washing our face (such as turning of the water faucets). Also cities can take more of an active approach by fixing pipes when they need it as opposed to just go until it needs to be fixed.

-Catherine Wofford, Biology and Criminal Justice, CSU Los Angeles and former AVC student. *Catherine also participated in Blog Action Day 2008.*

After Catherine's response I started to ask a prompt question -- "Why is water important to you?" Here are the responses:

It is life!
It drives the metabolic forces in our world. In our bodies especially. It's a universal solvent too!

-Jessica Hukill, triple threat in bio, chem, and RN. Antelope Valley College

Because without water, life, everything, and the universe would collapse.
Water is the one singly thing, aside from living, that binds everything together.
Not only does it bind everything together, it is also the one single thing that can destroy practically anything over time.
It's nature's magic, and without it, I'd be sad panda.

-Tucker St. John, MechE or EE, Antelope Valley College

Our bodies are made up of mostly water, and without water we would die.

-Elaine Tsai, Nutrition, Antelope Valley College

Life@AVC welcomes back Nicole with another great anecdote.

Water is important to me because its the number one thing humans, and all other organisms, need to survive on this earth. The earth needs clean/fresh water to survive. We need 8 cups of clean water a day, plus more if we do any kind of exercise. Water is a necessity, how can it not be important?
Interesting thing happened to me today concerning water, I got my bill. It's balance was a credit of 3.00. I was astonished..Why isn't my water bill due? (The balance was 3 dollars because I rounded my check up last time.)

Apparently, living alone for a month, I use very little water. I was so proud. I drink at least a gallon in fluids and food cooking total. I have a Britta filter, and use that to give to my dog also. So she drinks at least 5 cups. Then, I do my dishes, wash my hands, take a shower, brush my teeth, and wash my face. All in all, it's an average of 50 gallons a day. Here is what it read. My total bill was

AVERAGE GALLONS PER DAY COMPARISON
# DAYS BILLED 30 YOUR ALLOCATION 124Gallons/Day YOUR USAGE 50Gallons/Day Total Water Usage: $1.82

I use a shower head that is eco-flow and has a pause button. Every time I shave or soap up, I press the pause button and it only let's out a less than a half gallon per min. I really appreciate having clean water, and I think more people should conserve it. It saves money number one, by proof here, and it saves lives number two, because I can take that extra ten dollars I would normally spend on water, and donate clean water to someone who needs it!

The question was why is water important to me, but really I'm not that selfish. Water is important for everyone and everything, and THAT is why it's important to me.

-Nicole Davidsohn, Psychology and Social Behavior, UC Irvine (former AVC)

Spanish. water is important to me because I plan to go to rural areas of south america and fix their irrigation system to reduce illness cased by insuffienct sources of water :)

-Paris Bath, Biology and Spanish minor(or)double major, Antelope Valley College

Considering the fact that in so many places people have to walk miles to get water (sometimes it's not even clean), that there's faucets in the house but no water ever runs through them...it's nice to know that whenever I turn on the faucet at my place, water flows out. It's easy to take it for granted until it's not so easily accessible anymore...but we shouldn't.

-Patricia Owiti, Biology, UCLA (former AVC student)

Thank you to all the students who participated in this year's Blog Action Day. I dig the recurring theme of science/engineering students. What can we say....we're hydrophilic.

Petitions by Change.org|Start a Petition »

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Contagem, Brazil.

Life Thus Far

2010-10-10T22:48:00.001-07:00

I thought transfer application season would be tough with my ever-growing list. I neglected the fact that most of these universities use one application. All in all, I am only filling out about six vastly different apps. Good for me....bad for my wallet. I am in the process of organizing a budget to pay for these application fees. There is quite a bit of sacrifice since I only get paid so much once a month (don't ask). Public universities are fairly tough to get fee waivers from. This is a sharp contrast from when I applied for transfer last year. All the private universities accepted my waivers. Two were Ivy! (I am not applying to any Ivies this year. I am better suited for other places).

What have I done to save up some money? Well, before you ask about canceling the MIT trip stop. I tried and the airline only allows exchanges which tack on $100+ in fees. I wish I saw that coming. :p
Back to my money saving. I went to Winco (affordable and very clean) to buy groceries to make lunch for a week. It cost me around $22 to make lunch for a whopping TWO weeks (Food Network should replace that $10 dinner woman with me because her meals cost around $20). Think of this tremendous savings like buying a $5 sandwich from Subway. I made some Thai tofu curry, a vegan meatball dish, and a quinoa dish. I will post my pictures in the next post. I am going to discuss how students can save a loooot of money cooking and freezing food. Say no more to guinea pig lab experiments! :)

Ochem is still cool. My second exam is next week and I plan on studying everyday for it too.

Here are some lab pictures.

Distillation set-up. That is my lab partner's hands. I am in that stage of my education where pre-written workbooks are a thing of the past.

How to organize a communal sandbath:

Note: biology is also a very cool subject too. :p

MIT Media Lab Medical Mirror

2010-10-10T21:53:00.000-07:00

(There will be more posts, I swear!)

As we all know the graduate school that I want to attend is at MIT (well, it is shared between MIT and Harvard). If you are a really devoted reader, then you know that this school is known as Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology. If you are a really, really devoted reader, then you know that the program insider this school that I want to study under is Medical Engineering and Medical Physics. The big question is what I would do in this spectacular and broad program. Well, MEMP has three sub-training programs. One of which is known as bioastronautics. Sounds complex and futuristic, huh? This training program was actually the driving force behind my interested in Harvard-MIT HST.

I remember several years ago I was watching TV (Back when I had satellite. Now I just watch Netflix via Roku)one of the Discovery Channels showed botanists trying to grow plants in a space-like setting. I thought this was so fascinating and cool (still do). When i thought of possible careers I would think back on the women scientists growing dozens upon dozens of big leafy plants (on a side-side story, an episode of Futurama inspired my want of being an astronaut. True story.). The funny thing is I never knew what this career was called. Three or so years ago I was looking at different MIT grad programs and somehow navigated into the MEMP section of Harvard-MIT HST's website. The deal was not quite sealed until I came across a word I had never heard of before -- bioastronautics. This program is so unique that only a hand full of universities have it.

I finally had a name to go along with some resemblance of what I saw on TV many years ago. Sounds like destiny. Although I do not want to work on growing space plants (would not say no if the job came up), I do want to do something equally as cool and useful. I want to be *drum roll* a organ engineer and research space medicine. Growing organs and developing solutions for planetary conquest is a far cry from the girl who wanted to be an opera singer like Sarah Brightman, Sumi Jo, Beverly Sills, and Renee Fleming. Or the forensic detective for the FBI. Yeah, I had interesting hobbies. Still do.

What prompted this back story? The grad school that I want to attend always has amazing inventions being created. One of these inventions is a medical mirror that utilizes a camera that tells the user their vital signs. It is still a working concept in development, but brilliant nonetheless.

Read the full article here:

"You can check a person’s vital signs — pulse, respiration and blood pressure — manually or by attaching sensors to the body. But a student in the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program is working on a system that could measure these health indicators just by putting a person in front of a low-cost camera such as a laptop computer’s built-in webcam.

So far, graduate student Ming-Zher Poh has demonstrated that the system can indeed extract accurate pulse measurements from ordinary low-resolution webcam imagery. Now he’s working on extending the capabilities so it can measure respiration and blood-oxygen levels. He hopes eventually to be able to monitor blood pressure as well. Initial results of his work, carried out with the help of Media Lab student Daniel McDuff and Professor of Media Arts and Sciences Rosalind Picard, were published earlier this year in the journal Optics Express.

Poh suggests that such noninvasive monitoring could prove useful for situations where attaching sensors to the body would be difficult or uncomfortable, such as for monitoring burn victims or newborns. It could also be used for initial telemedicine screening tests over the Internet using a patient’s own webcam or even cell-phone camera.

Such a system could also be built into a bathroom mirror so that patients who need ongoing monitoring, or just people who want to keep track of their own health, could get pulse, respiration, oxygen saturation and blood-pressure readings routinely while they brush their teeth or wash up, displayed in a corner of the mirror.

Measuring brightness

The system measures slight variations in brightness produced by the flow of blood through blood vessels in the face. Public-domain software is used to identify the position of the face in the image, and then the digital information from this area is broken down into the separate red, green and blue portions of the video image. In tests, the pulse data derived from this setup were compared with the pulse determined by a commercially available FDA-approved blood-volume pulse sensor.

The big challenge was dealing with movements of the subject and variations in the ambient lighting. But Poh was able to adapt signal-processing techniques originally developed to extract a single voice from a roomful of conversations, a method called Independent Component Analysis, in order to extract the pulse signal from the “noise” of these other variations.

The system produced pulse rates that agreed to within about three beats per minute with the rates obtained from the approved monitoring device, and was able to obtain valid results even when the subject was moving a bit in front of the camera. In addition, the system was able to get accurate pulse signals from three people in the camera’s view at the same time.

Graduate student Ming-Zher Poh discusses a system he designed that could measure vital signs just by having a person sit in front of a low-cost camera such as a laptop computer's built-in webcam.
Video: Melanie Gonick

The concept of using a camera to detect such health information is not entirely new, but the innovations that allow the use of such low-cost camera equipment is. Fokko Wieringa, senior scientist at TNO Science & Industry in the Netherlands, published a paper describing a photographic pulse-detection system in 2005, but he says “the exciting thing about this new method is that they identify a fixed region on the face and track it (thus improving motion artifact tolerance), plus the clever processing method. The achieved gain in signal quality allows them to use a simple and cheap camera, even on moderately moving persons.” The ability to monitor multiple people at once is also new, he says. “These combined features are very original.”

The project won third place and a prize of $50,000 in June in the second annual Primary Healthcare competition run by CIMIT (Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology), an organization created by a group of physicians at Boston-area hospitals in collaboration with mechanical engineering faculty at MIT in order to develop new devices to meet clinical needs. The competition is open to teams of graduate or undergraduate students in engineering from anywhere in the U.S.

Poh continues to work on developing the capability to get blood pressure and blood-oxygen measurements from the same video images. Extracting such data from optical imagery should work, he says, since conventional blood oxygen sensors already work by using optical detection, although they use a dedicated light source rather than ambient lighting.

“It’s not going to be easy,” he says of the next steps. “But it theoretically should be possible.”

Wieringa, who was not involved in this work, says, “There are many pitfalls in the road from idea to approved medical device, and even more once a device is used in practice. However, the results achieved now look quite encouraging. To be honest, my hands are itching to exchange ideas and cooperate with these young researchers; it's exciting stuff.”

Link

That's a taste of MIT.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Strassen, Austria.

Check Out AVC's Website

2010-10-05T21:35:00.000-07:00

Check out one of the new banner's for AVC's website. Yours truly is working on this:

ASO Sticker Program FTW!

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Things I Did Not Know Existed in the Desert

2010-10-03T00:38:00.000-07:00

I just read an article about a prominent and historical “Mars antenna” located out in the Mojave Desert. How could I not have known that this antenna existed? I live in the Mojave! Talk about hidden. It is called Deep Space Station 14. This sounds like some Dharma Initiative facility off of Lost – my newest obsession. :p

Check this out:

Since its first year, Deep Space Station 14 has shepherded, at least partly, every NASA spacecraft that has traveled far past the moon. That includes the Galileo mission to Jupiter, the Cassini to Saturn, the Mariner missions to Mars and the Voyagers 1 and 2, which are at the edge of the solar system.

The antenna also played a role in several famed manned space flights. In 1969, after the first manned mission landed on the moon, it captured Neil Armstrong saying: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

In 1970, when the Apollo 13 moon mission had to be aborted after an on-board explosion, vital communication went through the Deep Space Station 14. After a risky return through the Earth's atmosphere, Apollo 13 made it safely home.

Cool!!! I want a tour. *wink wink

Article Source: **CLICK**

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

It's That Time of Year

2010-10-02T13:57:00.000-07:00

Happy October everyone! Cooler weather is afoot.

So it's that time of year -- transfer applications. Too be honest, I am nervous. Yesterday marked the official release of CSU and UC online applications. CSUs run for two months and the UC app is filed during Nov 1-30. Even if someone finishes the UC app during October, they will have to wait until November to submit it. This is kind of my case. I have already finished and submitted one CSU app yesterday! I am finished with two others but I need to talk to their fin aid offices before submitting. If I can't get a fee waiver, then they are off my list. I can't afford 10+ application fees.
The UC apps are finished too with the exception of the last essay questions. I want these to the best they can be.

Right now I am procrastinating on the private/Common App universities. Yay for 2011 due dates! lol Yes, MIT is included in this mix. I made a list of all my transfer universities and ranked them. MIT was the only university to take the number one spot. <3

Now I am hanging around finishing my research English HW and finishing an ochem lab early. I am proud to say that I obtained a TLC Rf value approximate to what the prof wanted. I was so happy that I wanted to shout it from the roof. It's a science student thing. :p

My three friends and I wore our awesome Carole shirts to lab. They were a hit.

Kumi, Joy, Maria, Eric!!, and myself.

Yeah, Eric totally photobombed us. Also, Joy's Carole tank top features Carole in flames. Wow.
That's ochem in a nutshell.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Yellowknife, Canada.

Anatomy of a Carole Shirt

2010-09-25T23:30:00.000-07:00

Okay so....there is this safety poster made by Flinn Scientific that has become sort of a cult symbol in a few chem labs. There are fan pages and everything. Here is the poster:

Before knowing about Carole's celebrity chem status, my friends and I fell in love with this poster. There are four of us and we call ourselves the "Carole Gang". This title works out conveniently for us since we all share the same work bench for ochem.

What do Carole fans do to express their allegiance? They make t-shirts. We could not find a place that had Carole shirts, so we made our own using an inkjet home printer and t-shirt transfer paper for dark shirts. I learned a few things about designing a shirt using the transfer paper process. I'm basically hooked and want to make my own t-shirts now since it is cost effective. :D
Plus, I found this video for custom shoes and want to try it.

Most "how-to" websites and videos on Youtube showed people applying the transfer paper image and ironing it to the shirt the "light t-shirt" method. Luckily after trying this method out and failing horribly, I found a video that used a different method. With light t-shirts, the image is flipped. This is not the case with the brand of transfer paper I used. Instead, I reprinted a new fail-safe image of Carole normally onto transfer paper.

I cut around Carole and the words because I wanted to save black ink:

I grabbed an x-acto knife and peeled away the grid backing. The image is delicate once removed from its tough paper backing.

I placed the first word phrase onto the shirt and placed a piece of parchment paper on top to act as a barrier between the image and the iron.

Of course the iron was never allowed to sit on the image. The iron has to be moved back and forth for a couple of minutes.

Now the second phrase:

Now Carole:

and voila! A bootleg Carole shirt!!

Pretty good for my first attempt.

And now I leave you with a picture of my cats fighting over a paper bag:

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Auckland, New Zealand.

SWE: How to Be a Successful Engineering Student

2010-09-18T14:14:00.000-07:00

*This is quite possibly my longest post to date.

My Society of Women Engineers fall 2010 magazine has a great article titled "How to Be a Successful Engineering Student". Basically a professor gathered tips from engineering students over the years and compiled a list of the top twenty-five. These tips can be applied to non-engineering majors as well. Several of the tips I can contest to, so here is the list:

CLASSROOM

#1. Go to class -- every class, every day. Sit in the front row or near the front -- especially if it is a large lecture class.

Me: This is so true. Unfortunately, not all colleges and universities have the luxury of watching lecture videos in the comfort of their room. Even then so the person is still missing something. You build a relationship with your professor and classmates.

#2. Do all homework, in-class, and out-of-class assignments. Take advantage of any extra credit and bonus opportunities offered by the professor.

Me: This is a no-brainer. One of my classes allows the students to use whichever textbook they want and doesn't collect HW. In fact, your grade is based mostly on quizzes and exams. The HW is a study tool and is reflected by how well you do on the exams. Even if you don't have a class like this, it is best to do the HW anyway. A very small percent of students can get by without opening the book. For the rest of us, HW is important.

#3. Read all the directions for every assignment. If you do not understand them, ask the professor or teaching assistant for further clarification.

Me: My best advice to all students is DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS!!! I know people who are in the highest level science classes at AVC, have been coming here for two or so years, and they are STILL scared to ask questions. They are so intimidated by nothing. I have created some of my best student-professor relationships by asking questions. Trust me, your professors will know who you are and will respect that you're not mindlessly drifting through the semester. Never be scared to ask for help.

#4. Always take a calculator to class, do math problems in pencil, and have an extra eraser.

Me: Common sense information. A pencil should always be used on quizzes and exams. Since I am left-handed, I get tired of having lead residue on my hand. To stop this, I write my notes in pen because the ink dries fast.

#5. Always include your first and last name, date, course number, and assignment identification on all of your papers and work.

Me: Papers can get mixed up. It happens. If you go to a school with a lecture hall of 300 plus students, you are going to want to write your name on everything.

#6. Regularly check to make sure that your assignments, tests, lab reports, etc. have been graded and recorded properly - professors and teaching assistants make mistakes, too.

Me: The best way to approach this situation it to discuss it calmly with the grader. Obviously they made a mistake and you have the proof to back it up. Chances are they are not out to get you like some crazy college movie. Don't go into their office angry and threatening. Just say hi and tell them what happened.

#7. All project/technical reports and lab reports should be typed -- even if not specified by the professor.

Me: This really depends on the professor. I am sure for the most part professors want typed lab reports. If you have Prof. Newman for organic chemistry like I do, typing your report will earn you no credit/F. Every page of our composition books is handwritten and has to follow a format (they average 20 pages a piece). White-out and scribbling out mistakes is not allowed. Everything must be written in pen. Newman is teaching us to be real scientists. I think when reports are typed information can be changed and mistakes omitted (a.k.a skewing and lying about results). We think professors want to see clean reports that get perfect results. There is no such thing as perfect results but close results. You can actually earn more points admitting your mistakes! I can't tell you how many mistakes I have made in my lab classes or how different my data is from everyone else's.

STUDYING

#8. Allocate 2-3 hours of study time for every credit hour in which you are enrolled. Some courses will take less study time and some will take more, but this should allow adequate study time for all of your courses each semester.

Me: Time management can be hard. It is true that some classes take only a few minutes to study for and others take days. Train yourself to know when to study and how long to study for.

#9. Utilize your professor's office hours, teaching assistants, and tutors to get help and answer questions.

Me: This is a great resource. I do this often.

#10. Join a study group or at least find a study buddy in your engineering major.

Me: In my experience, a study buddy is the best way to go. Unless your group is on task, expect to lose valuable study time goofing around.

#11. Gather and organize course materials at least one week before a test. Start studying at least 2-3 days before a test.

Me: Sooooo true. Don't start making flash cards the night before the test. Flash cards are to made throughout the reading and flipped through during studying and down time.

#12. If available, take advantage of "test banks" to review old tests from previous semesters and professors.

Me: Definitely a great way to study for a test. This gives you a better of idea of what to study for so you don't feel helplessly lost or overwhelmed.

#13. Always show all of your work when solving engineering problems - some professors may award partial credit.

Me: Just because you don't know how to finish a problem does not mean you should leave it blank. One of my professors has exams where the question and the answer are present. It is up to the student to do the work.

#14. Don't forget the units -- your answer is wrong without the units or with the incorrect units.

Me: If you weighed a substance to find its mass in grams, then write your answer with grams at the end of it. If someone was to read your work and replicate it.....how would they possibly know what measurements you were using?

TEXTBOOKS

#15. Buy your textbooks and any online or supplemental materials and utilize/read them. Even though the professor may not teach from them page by page, you are still responsible for the material in them.

Me: You can always find supplemental material not required by the professor as well.

#16 Work the problems in the textbook and at the end of the chapters -- even if they are not assigned by the professor. Professors often like to use these as test questions.

Me: Oh, yes. Professors will even tell you that they use chapter questions on their tests.

#17. Treat your upper-level engineering course books as an investment. Keep these and your notes -- you will need them to study for the FE and PE exams, and you may need them as a resource in your job.

Me: This makes sense. I personally don't do this. I think I may start to when I transfer.

ACADEMIA

#18. Establish GPA goals for every semester, for the academic year, and for graduation. Commit to these goals in writing by identifying what specific steps you need to take in order to accomplish these goals. Contact your academic advisor or learning center if you need help setting and identifying realistic goals.

Me: Your GPA comes down to how hard you're willing to work to earn that grade. You can make plans and dream about the perfect GPA, but everything always looks better on paper. You have to push yourself and not try to burn out while doing so. It's tricky, I know.

#19. Understand your course curriculum (flowchart) for your engineering major. Know the critical path to graduation - the courses that are prerequisites to your other upper-level courses. Many universities offer some of their upper-level courses only once a year or during a specific semester. Skipping a prerequisite course or taking courses out of order could delay graduation by one or more semesters.

Me: This is so important. Know from the beginning what is required of you and fix your courses in a flow chart. Don't take extra classes that are not needed to graduate unless you can finish in a timely matter. If you go to a community college in California, assist.org is your best friend. Those are the classes you need to transfer.

#20. Get to know your professors - someday you will need a reference for a job, medical school, graduate school, scholarships, etc.

Me: This is where going to class and office hours comes in. Make yourself know.

#21. Get to know the administrative staff in your engineering department - they are usually a great source of information and knowledge regarding your degree program and requirements.

Me: Surprisingly, I have found that most students don't even know who their department dean is. Being a part of campus student government afforded me this opportunity.

FUTURE

#22. Create a resume your first year on campus, then update it every six months throughout your college career. Utilize your campus career center and university resources for information and seminars dealing with resume writing, interview skills, business etiquette, etc.

Me: Update it frequently so you don't forget certain assets. I update my resume regularly when I get a new job, etc.

#23. Get involved -- join your specific engineering major technical society and at least one other multidisciplinary engineering organization (SWE, NSBE, AISE, SHPE, EWB, etc.). Utilize these organizations to practice leadership, communication, and management skills before you join the real world.

Me: As you can see, this entire list was published in a SWE (Society of Women Engineers) magazine. AVC does not have a chapter or the amount of female engineers to sustain one. You don't need to have a chapter at your school to pay for collegiate membership. As soon as I transfer, I am going to hook up with a SWE chapter at the university I will attend. That would be so cool being apart of MIT's SWE. *wink wink

#24. Get work experience in engineering while in college through cooperative education programs, internships, or part time/summer jobs. Also, investigate research opportunities in engineering offered by your professors and department, at another university, or with a government entity (NASA, DOE, EPA, etc.).

Me: This is good advice all around.

#25. Engineering is global -- expand your engineering horizons, knowledge base, and contacts. Attend guest speaker presentations and seminars offered by your major department, other engineering departments, and professional/technical engineering organizations. Participate in study abroad programs, learn a second language, and attend engineering conferences.

Me: This is really good networking advice. I always wanted to do a study abroad program and will try to do so when I transfer.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Littleton, Colorado.

Ochem is Awesome

2010-09-16T21:49:00.000-07:00

You can see where this is going with the "Ochem is..." blog titles. Today was our review for the exam on Tuesday. Needless to say, it was eventful. Newman brought us desserts and fruit from Walmart. He called it "fattening us up before the kill". lol! It was awesome.....ochem is awesome. I am going into study mode because I want to get at least an A. I'm not looking for 100% because that is rare for a Newman exam. All I am saying is that I want a 99.9%. :p

Wish me luck!

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Jamestown, Rhode Island.

Ochem is (still) Great

2010-09-15T20:48:00.000-07:00

Nothing groundbreaking has occurred this week. I have not found the cure for cancer yet, but I have found Lost. I was skeptical at first but the first season has been really good. I am entertained and that is all that matters. :p

My ochem lab this week has had an obstacle. I redid a lab because my product yield was too small the first time around. This lab takes a really long time and I was so close to filtering some crystals, when my lab neighbor/friend accidentally mistook my acid residue for her own.....and dumped it. O_____O
Needless to say, I have to turn in my lab with the low yield as opposed to the other lab. I guess it is no big deal because class was just about over anyways. I would not have been able to filter, so yeah. My other friend wanted to use my sand bath to heat his acid mixture and did the exact same thing someone else did -- he neglected the boiling and it sprayed me. HCl AND benzoic acid. I'm starting to think that either A. my lab station is cursed or B. the sand bath should be moved away from me.
Yes, I still think ochem is easy.

Now I am prepping for two exams next week and need to get a start on drafting my rhetoric essay for English. Right now I am putting the finishing touches on two labs that are due tomorrow. I just want a 92% again. lol My last lab had some ill advice and I missed a vital part of the experiment and thus predicting my unknown wrong. I think I will stick to be joined at the hip with Newman. I ask him a lot of questions but I retain everything he tells me. It's like an apprenticeship because, hey, he's the one with the Ph.D. in chem from Berkeley. That's like super saiyan status.

In other news, my MIT trip is still on. Well, until it snows. -___-
Also, the fall 2011 transfer app was released today. I have been scouting out for it since the month started.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Vilonia, Arkansas.

Ochem is Great

2010-09-09T20:08:00.000-07:00

Ochem puts me in a good mood. I don't know why but somehow ochem is easier than lower division chem! haha My friends/fellow classmates beg to differ. The labs are fun and I just feel like I am absorbing so much information. The average score on our first labs (written by hand! 10+ pages) was in the seventies-eighties range. I got a 92. :) I was thinking that maybe I was the one who "made mistakes" because that is how my other chem classes kind of went during the start of a new semester. Guess again! I really like ochem. Whenever something troubling happens in lab, one of my friends says, "Do you think ochem is easy now?" Yes. lol

Today we isolated caffeine from tea using dichloromethane. It was fun. :)

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

MIT TRIP!!!

2010-09-05T15:09:00.001-07:00

Last night I booked two tickets for Boston from Priceline (best deals) for my mom and myself. I'm going to be staying at a hotel 1.6 miles away from MIT. I'm so excited. :D
Hopefully bad weather doesn't cause me to cancel the trip. No stone will be left unturned because I will be seeing EVERYTHING MIT has to offer. Grad school included.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Torres Novas, Portugal.

This Week in Space

2010-09-02T22:51:00.001-07:00

Basically it has been a week since I last blogged. What can I say? It has been a busy week. heh
My classes have been keeping me quite busy. I am glad to say that I am a week ahead in programming and a couple of sections ahead in my calculus. I find it fun discussing calculus with my prof after class. :D

My ochem is pretty exciting too. Labs are unpredictable because the class always works past when class ends. We usually need to come in the following morning to do a few extra things. It's no biggie because I want my lab to be the best that it can be. I'm still contemplating whether or not to buy a lab coat. I might since the lab apron is absolutely useless. To illustrate how useless they are, my work bench (5 of us) were using a sand bath to boil solutions for an experiment testing an unknown. My friend was distracted by something while holding her reaction tube towards me. Needless to say, the solution reached more than its boiling point - it shot out and pegged me in the arm. Phthalic acid + water above boiling point.....yeah it hurt a lot. Thankfully I don't have a scar. She was really sorry and it was a mistake, so it's not a big deal. It just really shows how useless lab aprons are. Live and learn! You're not a true lab student until you have broken glassware and have been attacked by chemicals. :p

Other than calc and chem, I need to focus on my research English class now. Lots of writing this weekend.

Student government (ASO) is going well too. We have a full cabinet with awesome people. The president told me today that my new ASO sticker brochures just came back from the college printing center and look great. If you're near Student Development, make sure to pick up the colored version ASO sticker program brochure! The bookmarks look really nice too. I'm pretty proud of them. This is what they look like front and back:

It's pretty nice having all my advertising around campus. I know the cashier has the new poster I made, so hopefully that is hanging in the window. The poster:

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

One Week Down

2010-08-27T16:09:00.000-07:00

Fifteen more weeks to go! When you think about it, that's really short. The semester will be over in no time. I figure that since the first week of fall semester is over...why not blog about it? I spend most my time in organic chemistry or working. I have three other classes that altogether equal the amount of time I spend on ochem alone. Yesterday was the first lab and it involved recrystallization (purifying).

Newman says that the labs are supposed to take 45 minutes a piece (lab is 3 hours; small lab lecture + lab). I totally believe it. Since it was the first lab, it actually took most of us an extra hour+ after class to complete. This is normal for all labs because you're becoming reacquainted with procedure. I was working up until I had to go to work (2 minutes before), so I was really happy to have finished the experiment right when class ended.

Things I like about ochem:

Newman. We were homies back in chem 110.
We are the only section (20 students) AND we get our own lab room.
Since we get our own lab room, we get equipment that is untouched by anyone else for the entire semester (the other rooms facilitate chem 101, 102, 110, and 120. That's hundreds of students). Our drawers come with a set of keys!
Each student gets two swanky kits for microscale and macroscale experiments. Some of the stuff I've never seen before.
The chemicals! I thought I was using dangerous stuff in chem 120 with 6m acids. Ochem has 18m sulfuric acid!!! O___O
The people. I know 80% of the class = teamwork.
As my friend stated, "I feel like a scientist."

Ochem is by no means easy. There is a lot of work involved. Unlike all the chem classes below 210, we don't get to use a lab manual that consists of a few pre-written pages with fill in the blank questions. We use a textbook and write out our labs. Prelab is around 5-10+ pages. Check out my table of chemicals:

I was told to add more information. o____o
It's very useful. I can look at 95% ethanol or Diethyl ether and see what the boiling points are or how explosive they are. Bunsen burners need not apply.

Other than ochem, my classes are going well.

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

First Day Back

2010-08-23T14:08:00.000-07:00

This morning was my organic chemistry class and SI job. It's nice being in a class where you know 75% of the people. That's one of the things I like about upper division AVC classes - you eventually meet the same people again. Dr. Newman basically went over a review chapter that covered material from chem 110 and 120. So far I am off to a good start because I remembered everything and was able to answer stuff people didn't know. Good thing I like nuclear chemistry or I wouldn't have known that tritium, also known as isotope Hydrogen-3, was the glassy substance found after a nuclear bomb detonates. Yes, I felt special being the only one to answer that question. :)
Learning rules! *high five

Tomorrow we go over lab procedure and content. This is going to be a pretty rigorous class, but I don't mind because I want to go to MIT. After ochem finished, I went to my job as SI leader for bio. Usually I do SI during the summer, but since I enjoy it and gain more experience, I decided to continue into the next semester. Unlike summer terms, SI leaders only attend one class and aid those particular students. During a fall semester, however, we can attend all the classes that a certain professor has and help all those students. Although my schedule only allows visiting one of Nisani's classes, I will be available to all three of his sections. That's around 216 students. Usually I only get around 8 students who regularly come to sessions with just one class. I expect to see around 24 +/-. If so, I wonder if I can have the classroom in the LC for my sessions as opposed to the cubicle. :D

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"Visitor of the Day" comes from Sauensiek, Germany.

Monday, the Start of Fall 2010

2010-08-20T15:41:00.001-07:00

Two and a half more days of break before the new semester starts. This will probably be one of my most busiest semesters ever with organic chemistry, calculus, computer programming, and research English (103). The book selection for Engl 103 is quite intriguing with books such as Animal Farm and Reading Lolita in Tehran. I'm especially interested in the book Reading Lolita in Tehran because I like reading books about real events. Some of my favorite books are Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Into Madness, The Coming Plague, etc.

Also, I like writing papers about issues that I care about because I think my papers turn out better. I can't really get excited about writing a 10-page paper on hidden symbolism in a 3-page fictional short story (33 pages are better, no?). I can, however, get excited about writing on such topics as science, culture, human rights (trafficking, prejudice, etc), North Korea, etc. Hopefully the chosen paper topic for Reading Lolita in Tehran will be a good one that I can get into.

This past summer has been kind of hectic with organizing the ASO Sticker Discount Program. My brochure is out in circulation and can be found at SSV 180 and at the ASO table during Welcome Week next week. My poster is also up around SSV and the cafeteria (the one with the post-it note). It will be up around other parts next week.

I was so close to finishing the envelopes that were going to be sent out to the ASO businesses. The office printer ran out of toner and the laminating material was practically gone. Come Monday, those letters are being sent out. The display case is also finished. The design concept is growing on me, but I'm happy. Seventy-five percent of the display case was made of a very tough material. Not even the stapler gun could puncture it.

In other news, I picked up my diploma in Biological Sciences today! I was already given the leather case on grad day and the sticker at the Honors Convocation:

I think I will be getting two more next spring.

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

Summer = Big Success

2010-08-17T14:19:00.000-07:00

Not only did I manage to keep all my SI students the entire summer, like last year, but I also earned an A in microeconomics. I seem to remember 40 people in my class. Over the spread of 8 weeks, my class dwindled down to 18. I am proud to say I was one of those 18 students. On average, the study group worked at Camille's and Panera 12 hours a week. We were determined to do well. Not only did I not use the current edition book, but I used the past edition (honestly, I do this all the time. Save tons of money and buy/rent the last edition) and earned one of the top grades in the class. I was soooooo happy when I logged in yesterday to see my grade. I felt on top of the world because I worked hard all summer.

To add more cherries to the sundae of summer awesomeness, my little tutee retook her middle school placement exam and placed at the level that she needed to be at in English and math. I'm being hired on to tutor her every Friday for the new school year. :D
My teaching skills have come far. :)

Overall, I aced this summer. I am now ready for the fall semester to start on Monday with four classes and three jobs.

By the way, the MIT app comes out next month. Let's begin round two!
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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Alexandria, Egypt.

National Left Hander's Day

2010-08-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

I forgot that yesterday was National Left Hander's Day. It wouldn't be right for me not to blog about it because A. Left hander's are awesome and B. I'm left-handed. We only account for around 7 percent of the world's population (possibly less). Besides Barack Obama and Harry S Truman, I am the only one in my entire family (mom's side and dad's side) who is known to be left-handed......and I have a lot of relatives.

Here's some facts:

1 in 4 of the Apollo Astronauts was left-handed
4 of the 5 original Macintosh computer designers were left-handed
Famous painters such as Picasso, Michelangelo, M.C. Escher, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci (inventor/artist combo).
Many politicians like George H.W. Bush, Reagan, Truman, Obama, Clinton, Michael Bloomberg, etc.
Interesting article
There is a higher number of left-handed people in science, math, and engineering. I'm an example. Also, out of the 4 people in my physics study group last semester, 3 of us were left-handed. There is definitely some truth to that.

I love being left-handed! I am also proud to be among those like Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, Marie Curie, and Albert Einstein. So, hug a lefty!

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Gdansk, Poland.

Huntington Library

2010-08-09T23:41:00.000-07:00

The Huntington Library is:

"A private, nonprofit institution, The Huntington was founded in 1919 by Henry E. Huntington, an exceptional businessman who built a financial empire that included railroad companies, utilities, and real estate holdings in Southern California.

Huntington was also a man of vision – with a special interest in books, art, and gardens. During his lifetime, he amassed the core of one of the finest research libraries in the world, established a splendid art collection, and created an array of botanical gardens with plants from a geographic range spanning the globe.

These three distinct facets of The Huntington are linked by a devotion to research, education, and beauty."

Source: About

After visiting the L.A. Arboretum, Descanso Gardens, and many other California historical sites, I decided to add yet another to my ever-growing list of travels. I personally love the Pasadena area. You can grow practically anything there. This is definitely reflected in the expanse of public gardens. I also love the area because of the neighborhoods, shops, and close proximity of other things to do (it takes an hour+ to get anywhere from the desert). So, I guess you can say that I am a botanical garden/historical site connoisseur.

What makes the Huntington Library different from L.A. Arboretum or Descanso Gardens is that the landscaping and points of interest are different. Not all botanical gardens house the same 30,000+ species of plant nor do they have the same facilities.
The Huntington Library, if you didn't know, has art galleries/exhibitions and a sprawling 16,000 square-foot greenhouse. According to the Huntington website, scholars from all over the world visit and conduct research on various works in The Huntington's collection. It's that legit.

Like all botanical gardens I visit, there needs to be more than one trip made. Although I covered a decent amount of terra firma, there's really no way to see all the gardens, galleries, greenhouse, etc. There's even a mausoleum of the late Henry Huntington and his wife.

Without further delay, here are pictures of this beautiful near 100-year-old estate.

One of many pathways.

Back of Henry Huntington's estate.

The greenhouse.

The Chinese Garden. The Japanese Garden was also beautiful.

For all my pictures, visit:

Huntington Library

p.s. a new feature in the left column called "Travel" has been added.

Guilty Pleasure

2010-08-09T23:10:00.000-07:00

This pre-semester entry was brought to you by cupcakes.

Lancaster Blvd is almost finished and half the street has been opened up already. One the shops that line the street is a cupcake shop called Rae's Cup+Cake. This shop also sells delicious cinnamon rolls. Without further explanation, feast your eyes on this:

Located next to BeX.

Other than making a quick update about a great cupcake shop in the A.V., I had a six-hour calculus tutoring session with my friend. She'll be ready for calc II. :)
Secondly, my little tutee is taking her second placement exam for her new middle school tomorrow. We will be reviewing over concepts before she takes it. I hope she scores higher.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Haedo, Argentina.

Empress Pavilion

2010-08-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I went with two of my friends, Kumi and Melvin, to see the Mummies of the World exhibit at the California Science Center. This was my second time going to see the exhibit. I think I preferred this time better since the mad crowds of opening month were gone. We barely waited in line and were able to go through it a second time when the fire alarm was accidentally pulled. :D

We took some time to look around the new exhibit Ecosystems. It's fairly large and consists of a few rooms. The second story has an outdoor aquarium with an observation area on the first floor.

Below lies a plethora of fish!

That all aside, let's get to the main focus of this post - the Empress Pavilion. Based in Chinatown near downtown L.A., the Empress Pavilion is a delectable restaurant known for its dim sum. It may be hard to find because it's located inside a parking structure-type building known as the Chinatown Bamboo Plaza. It's a very popular and busy restaurant. Although, just because it's popular, doesn't mean that getting a table or fast service is nonexistent.

The beauty of this restaurant are the servers, who walk by with carts that hold delicious food, and the quick service. If you come by for lunch, like my friends and I did, then you will get to choose whatever dishes meet your heart's , or stomach's, desire. The servers simply stamp a sheet of paper that lets the cashier know how much to charge you. It's really that simple. I must say, that I have finally found a Chinese restaurant that is legit. I'm hoping to go again next week. :D

Don't mind the groups of people. Just grab a number at the front and you
will be called in no time. Just take a stroll around the quaint shops located next to the restaurant. One sells awesome bonsai money trees (I own one from Home Depot and it's huge) and two others sell Sanrio merchandise and imported magazines from Japan. There's even a holistic remedies shop with amusing translations.

These are soooo good. They're like a dessert. The filling
is orange-colored with a fusion of coconut. mmmm

Check out our spread!

Definitely a great place to experience Chinatown. Not too far from there is a place called Queen's Bakery. The desserts are very good and wallet friendly.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Ipoh, Malaysia.

Delicious

2010-08-01T00:48:00.001-07:00

Earlier today, I went to Palm Desert with my mom to visit friends. It was also our friend's birthday. Do you know what that means? Delicious, vegan cheesecake parfait from Native Foods (vegan restaurant).

I'm enjoying my summer a little too much. :)

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Medford, Massachusetts.

Fun With Origami

2010-07-30T22:58:00.000-07:00

Today while browsing Netflix for cool documentaries, I came across one from PBS about the art of origami. I've never really sat down and tried origami before...until now. Using the wonderful teaching tool known as Youtube, I set out to make a crane, lotus, and butterfly. Here are the results:

I'm quite proud. :)

After making the lotus only once, I was surprised when I was able to remember every fold when I showed my friends at a going away party (for Catherine - going to CSULA) hours later. I was making lotus' big and small. Even a origami lotus made of napkin! Yes, it stayed in place. Who knows how many more designs I will stumble upon.

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

Summer Finals/Crown fire

2010-07-29T23:21:00.000-07:00

Next week is summer finals. I'm happy to be almost finished! For the past couple of nights, I have been going to Panera or Camille's with my friends to do econ study groups. We've put in a lot of time and hope to get the grades that we want.

Right now there is a huge fire six miles from my house. The hills are aflame and people are being evacuated. Yet another devastating California fire. I lived in that area 1.5 years ago and have quite a few friends who live there now. It has been raining ash all day (some managed to get caught in my eye and irritate it). I just heard that the fire jumped our aqueduct and that the Villalobos Animal Rescue in Agua Dulce is in trouble. Poor animals. :(

Here is a picture my friend, Tara, took:

Here are some pics my other friend, Christiaan Patterson, took.
She takes the best natural phenomena pictures
(her lightening pics have even been featured on the news).

This looks like a scene out of Pompeii.

Over 1000 people have been evacuated in surrounding areas.

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

Busy Day

2010-07-24T19:03:00.000-07:00

Wow. Today was a really busy day for recruiting businesses. Elaine and I were driving around and visiting all sorts of businesses for about six hours. All in all, we visited a whopping 44 businesses in two days. We have had a lot of success. If you're a student at AVC, you will love the new ASO discount sticker businesses. Here's a sneak peak at the newly signed businesses - Tutti Frutti, Roundtable Pizza, Pick up Stix, Brunswick Sands Bowl, Baja Fresh, and more. Plus, we have renewals with businesses like PARS Fine Persian Cuisine and Robeks Juice.

I'm totally buying the ASO sticker for the new semester. :)

Expect to see advertising for this sticker all over campus. We're really going to push it this year.

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"Viewer of the Day" comes from Avon, Colorado.