I know it has been a while since I have posted, things just got really busy in the past month.
In the beginning of August visited Oklahoma and then came back to California. It was nice to see the family but overall I did not enjoy my trip home. I was going to write a post about the trip, but I decided not to as what I have to say could be considered 1) whining and/or 2) offensive to people I know back home. Lets just suffice it to say that I love my life in California.
Once I got back to California, though, I had jury duty - and I was actually put on a jury! The trial lasted about 2 weeks and it was at the same time very interesting and incredibly boring. It was a medical negligence case involving the death of a diabetic 25 year old who was survived by her three young children. There were a lot of factors in the case, but we ruled that the doctors were not at fault for her death. Now I'm off the hook for duty for 1 year, and if I am never on a case again that would be fine with me.
As soon as jury duty was over I had training for my IT jobs, then freshmen orientation happened, and ever since my life hasn't slowed down for a second. My classes are going to be challenging this semester, if not only because each class is going to take many hours a week.
I am taking:
1. Applied Biostatistics - I don't expect the course to be overly challenging for me as I have a respectable background in stats, but I do expect to spend at least 5 hours a week (maybe more) doing problem sets.
2. Organic Chemistry - This class is going to be a challenge, I know. Not only because o-chem is hard for everyone, but because I find chemistry exceptionally challenging (even though I adore science). It is also going to take A LOT of time per week to do problem sets and study. Luckily I have already made plans to spend a lot of time with my friend Tori, the only other senior I know who is taking o-chem. I may or may not also live in my professor's office. Wish me luck!
3. Senior thesis - Surprisingly, I am not at all concerned about thesis at the moment. Most of the other members of my class are in a frenzy about it, but I have already done the brunt of my research and I have 2 semesters to write about it. Plus science theses are not overly long.
4. Jane Austen (Literature) - I am at once very excited about and nervous about my literature class. I am taking it not only because have put off my humanities general education requirement until my second-to-last semester of college, but because I have loved what I have read of Jane Austen and because I love the professor who is teaching the class. The reason I am nervous, though, is that even though I used to love literature and do very well in the subject in high school, majoring in a hard science has not helped me in my literature reading abilities. I do not feel confident anymore that I can read a novel and analyze it critically and intelligently. Even the research assignments for the class have me nervous. Writing a 20 page science research paper, even if it is not primary research, is cake compared to writing a 5 page literature paper. The standards are different. Besides, papers for science classes have a very rigid format, tone, and organization whereas I think of literature research papers as more organic. Plus I am always intimidated by knowing that a literature professor will be reading my grammar. I can just picture her cringing at every comma splice.
Hopefully, though, I will make it through and be better for it. If I can just maintain all A's and B's this semester that will really help me in my graduate school applications (that reminds me, I also need to get the GRE over with...). Wish me luck, and good luck to all my friends with your semesters!
Update: August/September 2008
Labels: biostats, CMC, daily life, graduate school, gre, literature, organic chem, thesisDo you ever watch TED talks? Here is one that I watched today that I found incredibly interesting. It is about the next 5000 days of the web and how it relates to our future:
Some people are bothered by the idea of humanity being completely dependent on the web, and are even more bothered by the idea of having almost no privacy due to the essence of the web. I used to be bothered by both of these things, but now I'm not. Instead I am looking forward to the day (coming soon) when my entire life is online and each one of my interactions with the physical world are streamlined and improved by the semantic web.
So how do we get over these mental blocks?
Well fear of dependence comes from simple fear of change, and fear of change never helped anyone. If it is fear of becoming dependent then losing the thing you are dependent on, think of it this way: humans survived for thousands of years without the internet, we will probably be fine without it. Besides, as is mentioned in the above video the web is the only machine that has run for 5000 days without going down. There is no reason to fear losing the internet.
Also, fear of disclosure can only come from two things 1) shame about what you are doing online and 2) fear of other people taking advantage of you by using your information.
1) I have come to to the conclusion that everyone searches things online that they don't necessarily want others to know about, but when it comes down to it everyone has things they are embarrassed about and for the most part none of them are all that embarrassing. Virtually every teenage boy (or college boy, or middle aged man) has searched porn, and many women and girls have too. Everyone has googled some ailment they may have from butt pimples to too much sweating to some rash down there. We don't want our friends or family to know about it, but really, if they did would it be the end of the world? Shame comes from within yourself. If you really don't want people to know you do it, then just don't do it - and if you are okay with doing it then why be ashamed of it? Really it is an issue of self-acceptance, being honest with yourself, and forgetting about what others think.
2) Okay so fear of exploitation is valid, but it is still mostly unnecessary. Think of it this way: every time you get in a car there is a chance that you will have an accident. The car safety features and traffic laws work to protect you, but if you drive dangerously you could still have a wreck - and even if you are driving very carefully accidents still happen. Hopefully you won't be seriously injured, and insurance will cover your losses, but you may still be permanently damaged. This is a risk you take every day on the way to work or to the grocery store.
The internet is the same way. Online companies will do everything they can to protect your information, laws make it illegal for you to be exploited by scammers and identity thieves, but if you are dumb about giving your information out you will still be taken advantage of. Unfortunately, even if you are very safe you could still get burned, but the when that happens insurance (or bank guarantees or whatever) may be able to swoop in and save you. On the other hand you could lose a lot of money or credibility. But isn't it worth the risk, just like driving? I think so.
5000 days is about 13.7 years. I will be 35 when the web is 5000 days older. I'm looking forward to what the future will bring, are you?
CMC Princeton Review Rankings 2008
#2 Best Career/Job Placement Services
#4 Happiest Students
#5 School Runs Like Butter
#5 Best Quality of Life
#10 Students Happy with Financial Aid
#11 Most Politically Active Students
#11 Most Accessible Professors
#11 Dorms Like Palaces
#13 Lots of Beer
#15 Best Classroom Experience
#15 Best Campus Food
#18 Lots of Race/Class Interaction
Yup, that is where I go to school. We have great food, great dorms, plenty of beer, and financial aid money. We also have a lot of political debates in and out of class, plenty of conversations with our professors, and the school does basically everything it is supposed to do so overall we are quite happy. In fact it is like a $52000 a year country club where we also work hard to get good grades and leave after four years with a BA, and usually a job! Plus, because of the financial aid, it isn't just all rich white people. Its pretty much all an undergraduate could ask for, and much more.
It is strange that I am beginning my senior year in about a month, and even stranger that next May I will be leaving Claremont McKenna College. I'm excited about going to graduate school (though I still haven't figured out how I'm going to pay for applications), but it really will be sad to leave CMC. It has been my home for the last few years. It has been a lot of work, but also a great experience.
Luckily I have 2 more semesters, but unfortunately I will be in organic chemistry for both of them. Who knows, maybe by May I will be glad to be finished.
Okay, well "evidence" may be a stretch, but seriously, if Springfield won't allow teaching of creationism (aka "intelligent design") in schools, then surely no school district should.
Enjoy:
http://www.pixelgirlpresents.com/images/desktops/Siebe_Warmoeskerken/Retro_Love_by_swiebel.jpg
I like it. It makes me feel simultaneously uncluttered, creative, and relaxed. Don't you want to go curl up in that chair?
I wasn't planning on having another update post this month, but alas I slacking on my blogging again. It is easier for me to write a post about me and what is going on in my life than it is for me to compose something more thought out. I still have a few posts brewing, but every time I sit down to write them I get frustrated with the incoherency of my thoughts. I think what I really need are a few old-fashioned high school brain storming sessions. Majoring in a science has not helped with my creative writing ability...
In any case, for me this month (and next month?) is about meeting a few athletic goals:
- I want to run 3 miles at a 9:30 minute/mile pace. I know that's pretty slow for some of my friends, but since I haven't run competitively since high school its a good goal for me. As soon as I get to that goal I am going to start running with a local running club called the Daybreakers. They meet at 5:00am... but I know if I start running with them I will be motivated to boost my pace and my mileage. I am logging my runs here (click "View my training log" at the top).
- I want to be able to do 100 push ups. This is to help me build upper body strength... since I really don't have any. The four athletic activities I do most often are running, hiking, biking, and yoga - none of which help my arms out at all (well yoga may help a little). I used to swim a lot, but lately I have been more into my land-based workouts, so to balance it out I am going to do pushups! I was inspired by a user group forum at runningahead.com. My workout program can be found here if you want to join me.
Besides working out this month I have been working in the lab, a lot. Research is still going well, though, and I am excited to be starting a new project where I will be using a virus to trace axons within the brain. Its great because I get to integrate my passion for molecular biology and my love for neuroscience into one awesome experimental set up.
Somehow this month I have also found time for fun! You can ask any of the people I spent the 4th with about that. Maybe I had a little too much fun... but hey, we all need a little break sometimes, right?
