Month: January 2010

I need to learn how to…

Jeff

make up my mind. Seriously, when it comes to course/major selections, I’m as indecisive as can be. There was one point when I wanted to do Computer Science, then Materials, then Chemical Engineering, then Digital Media Design, and now it looks like I’m right back where I started: good ‘ol comp sci. After a couple of weeks of elementary drawing, I realized that virtually everyone else in my class had some kind of experience before, and I was the only person who was clueless half the time. So now I’m taking a math elective (also needed for my minor) that meets a total of 3 hours less than drawing! It’s a win-win situation for me. That being said, I’m not really looking forward to next semester, when I hope to get most of my core Wharton courses done: ACCT101, MGMT101, MKTG101, STAT430, CIS121, CIS240…some people I talked to recommended taking the honors version of MGMT101 and MKTG101 (better curve), so if I can get into those classes, then it should be significantly better.

David and I also applied for housing in one of the high-rises next year. If we get it (and there’s a good chance that we will), then we’ll be in a quad with two singles and a double (I guess the occupants will switch off after fall semester). But it’s significantly better than Hill, because besides the three bedrooms,  there’s also a common living room and kitchen. Needless to say, I’m pretty excited about this change…if everything works out, I’ll also be a lot closer to Huntsman, so it won’t be a pain in the ass to walk to all my classes (although conversely, going to engineering classes is now going to suck). Either way, I’m considering bringing a bike on campus.

It’s good to be back

Jeff, ,

It’s funny how it works: when you’re at school, you look forward to break, but when you’re at home for an extended period of time, you’re always itching to get back to campus. Although classes are only just starting up, I’ve been keeping myself busy with revamping the Lambda website, which I finished yesterday. Now I just have to fix some cross-browser compatibility issues with IE and Chrome. I also managed to reread The Da Vinci Code at home before break ended, and I was thinking about bringing The Count of Monte Cristo, but I decided against it because I figured it was way too long; once I start it, I would be very tempted to finish it within a couple days, and seeing as I have 9 o’clock class everyday, I need to get enough sleep on the weekdays.

I also got my guitar back from Peng a few days ago, and I’ve been doing some light practicing. I half expected by fingers to get calloused again, but so far, there haven’t been any signs of damage…let’s hope it stays that way. David and I have are also re-watching Death Note. We’ve got about 10 episodes left (and IMO past the best part), but overall, the anime is still one of my all-time favorites.

Back from the Caribbean!

Jeff, , , , , , , ,

Wow, the last week seemed to fly by. We drove with another family to Florida on Christmas Day, spending the night in a hotel along the way, and boarded the boat at around 5:00pm the next day. We had gotten pretty lucky when we booked our tickets; although we originally booked a room with just an ocean view, we got upgraded to a suite with a balcony, which was really nice. The cruise boat itself, the Costa Atlantica, was magnificent. I had never been on a boat before, so I was pretty amazed by all the facilities that were available on board. From a casino to several theaters, to a modern gym and a miniature jogging track, the ship pretty much had everything. The whole place was like a miniature floating city.

We spent the week visiting four locations: Key West, the Grand Cayman, Roatan, and Cozumel. We usually docked in the morning and left in the afternoon, giving people a good 6 hours or so to explore each destination. Since I’m not a big fan of the beach, my favorite places were Cozumel, (a Mexican Island) and Key West, although jet skiing in the Grand Cayman was one of the funnest of most exhilarating experiences I’ve ever had. Nothing like holding down the throttle and going 50 mph on the open water (I’m surprised I didn’t fall off the boat, haha). Aside from that, I found the informational tours at Key West and Cozumel a lot more interesting than simply walking around in the sun. I didn’t realize that Key West had such a rich history, and I was equally impressed by Cozumel’s “Discover Mexico,” a tourist destination showcasing Mexico’s history through miniature and accurate models of some of its most significant structures and places (both modern and historic). The really cool part was seeing the “miniature” versions of the Temple of the Sun and the Aztec temples–the 50:1 models themselves were several meters across, giving us a good sense of just how massive these things are in real life.

When we weren’t off exploring our island destinations, we basically spent our time alternating between eating and playing cards (with Chinese people haha). I don’t think I’ve ever eaten that much food in the span of a week before, and I’ve never seen such a variety of meals among all the ship’s buffets and restaurants. It’s astounding to think that they can even fit and prepare that much food for two thousand people (not including the workers and the crew) over the course of a week and still have leftovers remaining. If I ever get the chance to, I’d love to take a tour of the lower decks just to see how a cruise ship manages to sustain itself on a voyage (lot’s of recycling, I imagine). I also didn’t get seasick like I thought I would. In fact, it was pretty smooth for the entirety of the cruise except for one night, and I still managed to get through it without vomiting.

But now that I’m back in New Jersey, I’m actually appreciating the cold weather. Call me crazy, but I’d much rather be in cold weather than in extremely hot weather. (The mild temperatures of Key West were perfect.) With a little over a week until school starts up again, I don’t really plan on doing anything besides eating, sleeping, reading (I’ve decided to reread The Da Vinci Code), watching movies, and playing PS3 (just ordered Metal Gear Solid 4 from Amazon Prime, haha).