Classes Fall 2010 [Junior Year]

I'll start out with my major courses, then premed req courses, then random courses.

1. Evolution [BIO205]: Hutch 473

It's a pretty interesting course so far. It's a lot more math than I had expected. The math is a bit confusing, but things work out after you put some logic into it. I haven't really done much for this course except the weekly p-sets [there's been 3 so far]. The first two psets were pretty easy and the third one was a pain... I spent like an hour working on it and I ended up getting like two or three questions wrong.

The teacher (Dr. Fry):
First thing I noticed was that he has a lisp. He's a bit boring when he's just talking in lectures, but he does random activities for the class to get the class a bit more engaged. I think there's been 2/8 classes so far where he's let us out on time. The other 6/8 times, he's let us out of class after 12:20, so I always need to fast walk to physics.

2. Animal Behavior [BIO260]:Dewey 2162

This course is probably the course I look forward to going to the most because I really like the subject. I would enjoy it a lot more if the class wasn't so much work. We need to find and read an article about a topic he gives us and then summarize/criticize the article like at least twice a month. There are also lots of readings. I just got my first exam back for this class like an hour ago and T_________T when I first saw the grade. It made me feel a lot better after I heard the average was probably in the 60s [Apparently there was 1 90, 5/6 80s, rest were below. The range was 30s-90 for this exam].

The teacher (Dr. Werren):
I like the teacher as a person and as a teacher, but as a testmaker and grader... he is MEAN. He makes the lectures very interesting so I really like going to his class, and he has a sense of humor [and we watch cool animal behavior videos], but his tests are sooooooooo ambiguous. They're fill in the blanks and "short answers" with word limits of like 30words, definitions and examples, and "long answers". He also tests on things that he didn't talk about in lecture, but that are in the reading. Maybe half the test is in the reading and the other half are in his lectures so it's a lot of material he tests us on. He also wants short and detailed answers on his tests, so he takes points off if it's not exactly the way he wants the answers to be [missing key words, small details, etc]. Oh he also obsessively sends and checks his emails, so now I have a tag just for him in my email.

3. Animal Behavior Research [BIO261W]: In the Lab and HH486A

The class is basically a directed independent research course; there are a total of 7 of us because a few people dropped the course. We choose our own projects to do on the behavior of Nasonia [parasitic wasps]. My project is determining the QTL for the strong female mate discrimination in Nasonia oneida against Nasonia vitripennis. This course is really time consuming because I need to be in the lab around 10hours a week and I need to read many papers about Nasonia. I need to come in during the weekends because I don't have enough time during the weekdays, but because of that, I have a key to Hutch now :D [and one to the lab].

The teacher (Dr. Werren):
Yes same teacher. Like I said, he emails obsessively and wants us to email him obsessively. He emails us assignments like a day or two before it's due and expects us to get it done. We have to email him when we arrive in the lab on weekends and when we leave. He's very strict about us spending enough time in the lab and will email us if he doesn't think we've spent enough time.

4. Physics [PHY113]: Hoyt Auditorium
This class is basically what it is. I can't say I really like the class, but I don't hate it either. The pace of the class is very fast, which is a good thing since I took AP Physics in high school, but on topics we didn't really cover in AP Physics, it's like what?

The teacher (Dr. Bodek):
If he didn't have some accent [people think it's German, but I can't tell] and if he didn't mumble, write badly, and go through the material so fast, he'd be a great teacher. I think he's a really nice guy, just can't speak English, or speak at all. I don't really pay attention in class anymore since he does post up lecture notes and the test is in two weeks. I need to start studying... but evolution exam is next week so that's my priority right now.

5. Music [MUR101]: TODD 202F

The class is a bit interesting, I guess. I think it's boring, but it goes by really fast, so I'm not sure if I think it's boring or not. I don't know all the material lol. Yay I learned rhythm, meter, and basic conducting. We're doing pitch right now and I know all the notes, but I don't know any music terms.

The teacher (Prof. Hanson):
He's a really nice and cool guy. He's extremely enthusiastic about the subject too so he's what makes the class interesting. He seems very young, like maybe our generation-ish and he's really modernized.

6. Linguistics - Morphology: MEL 208

This is probably my easiest and yet most interesting classes. It's 70% homework, 10% participation [which includes going to class] and 20% final project. Yes, no tests or quizzes or a final, just a final project. The subject is really interesting and we get into class discussions about random topics that has anything to do with linguistics.

The teacher (Prof. Paauw):
I took this class because of Paauw. I took LIN102 [Linguistics and Social Identity] with him. I thought LIN102 was going to be a boring class, but I was def wrong. Paauw makes the subject very interesting with his enthusiasm about the subject. Even though he's old in age, he's very modernized and a cool guy. I didn't think morphology would be an interesting class either, but the things he tells us is intruiging, especially about the weird languages [in New Guinea and the Caucasus].

OTHER STUFF

So aside from my 6 classes [24credits again], I have lots of "other stuff" I need to do.

Volunteering

I have to volunteer at the hospital, which reminds me, I need to call Occupational Health to make an appointment before I can start volunteering [I should have called Monday and it is already Friday omg I thought I'd told myself to stop procrastinating D:]. The program I'll be volunteering at is the Enhanced Elder Care Program in Strong Memorial Hospital. It's basically like working at a senior center, but in the hospital so these are the elderly with more severe medical issues. I'm actually looking forward to this program, even if it means waking up early on the weekends.

Tutoring

So after I came back from my first interview for volunteering, I got an email from LAS [Learning Assistant Services] saying I need to tutor four kids. I was like O______O no, so I emailed them back and was like "give me two". They gave me two kids, one CHM203 [Orgo] and one BIO110. Last night, I just got another email saying my BIO110 tutee switched subject and doesn't need a tutor anymore. So now, I only have one tutee and they're looking for another one for me. My orgo tutee hasn't contacted me yet, probably because they just had an exam yesterday morning. I just signed my tutoring contract like 2.5hrs ago, so now I can get paid [$7.50/hr]! Yay! That's like less than half of what I got paid over this summer x_X.

Badminton

I've been trying to take badminton a bit more seriously this year. I've stopped playing in jeans and I have my own racket [which is in a bag with my tennis racket and all three have my name and phone number written on them in case I lose it again]. There are sooooo many freshman this year... but thankfully a lot of them have stopped coming now. There weren't courts to play at for like the past few weeks and no birdies to hit either [they just ordered some so now it's fine]. I forgot to bring my Badminton shirts :( When I go back during winter break, I'll make sure to bring them here.

In Conclusion

So yes, this will be the activities for Fall 2010, the first semester of my junior year. I've been pretty good so far at waking up early. The latest I've woken up is 10am, but for the past two weeks, I've been getting up around 7:15am and getting to Carlson Library at 8am when it opens and doing work then. I have just realized this year that I can't do work at night and that I'm so much more productive in the morning, and that I function pretty well with 6-7hrs of sleep. So I've been sleeping around 12-1 and waking up at 7:15. I slept a bit late yesterday, so I wanted to wake up a bit later today [7:45] but I naturally woke up at 7:00 and couldn't go back to sleep after trying for 20minutes, so I just gave up, got up, and made it to Carlson at 8. Yes Carlson is officially my second home, if not my first. I probably spend around the same time in Carlson as my dorm lol. Okay, hopefully I will update when something new comes up or when it's a week I have three exams and I need to complain about something. Otherwise... it may be a while till my next update since I'm pretty busy this semester, but we will see.

Flora and Irene owe me money

This is a note to myself that Flora owes me $4 and Irene owes me $3 >:[

Two weeks before...

It is like exactly two weeks before school starts. YAAAAAAAAAAAY!! As you can see, I am very excited to go back to school :D! What am I doing for the two weeks before school starts? EAT >_<.

So basically tomorrow, my mom's friends at AstraZeneca are taking me out to lunch because I usually eat lunch with them at work.

Friday, my manager and supervisor are taking me out to lunch because it's my last day. We'll proabably go out to dinner either Friday or Saturday because Friday is my bro's and my grandpa's bday and Sunday is mine.

Sunday, after hospital shadowing [yes I'll be spending half of my birthday in the hospital ><;], I'll probably go with Kyumin and maybe others to porter to eat TAKOYAKI :DDD [Can't wait to try it].



Tuesday, TJ is coming and we'll probably eat lunch at Minados [sushi :D :D :D], and maybe take him porter/Chinatown or something for dinner or for lunch Wednesday because we'll probably all be too stuffed from Minados.



Thursday and Friday are going to be packing days and we're going to drive back to Rochester Saturday~




Then Sunday - Tuesday is like Shengji/Mahjong/Badminton/Tennis days.



Yep, so those are my plans for the next two weeks. Wow I sound too happy in this post, it's even making me feel weird.

Tentative Schedule for Fall 2010

So this is my tentative schedule for next semester, at least, if I get everything I want [work and volunteering]. The blue represents work and volunteering. The yellow represents sports/exercise. More yellow may be added later depending on how busy I am. Because my BIO261W, Animal Behavior Research Course, has just been changed from 2credits to four 4credits, I am no longer in the class because I have to go back and add this course as an overload. Yeah I'm going to be busy next year... T__________T. I was hoping to have a relaxing year too... but I guess that's for second semester. This is like senior year in high school. First semester was like really busy and second semester is like empty, or rather, I didn't really care about second semester, so I didn't do anyhting about it even though it was still busy. I have random slots throughout the day that I'll hopefully be using to do homework and I'm free usually after 8/9PM. Yeah I don't think I'll have too much socializing time next year... I still need to find a time to go do groceries >_<; or Linda and I will starve on the weekends and Linda will die. I'm fine with starving or eating random crap, but Linda will die... Wahhh it's so crowded :(. Just endure it for one semester..... then it'll all be good...

Another Slight Change w/some Reflection

I changed my background quite a bit because the black was starting to annoy me. Maybe this change symbolizes the change from depressed/gloomy me to a lot happier me compared to high school, so it would be a change for the better, I guess [Yes, I disagree with Chinua Achebe's book Things Fall Apart. Change is for the better!].

People change a lot in college and I guess I've changed a bit, hopefully matured a bit compared to before. Of course I'm hoping to change myself even more because even though I've gotten more open with people and I've attained the ability to talk to someone seriously without sarcasm or attempting to crack a joke every few seconds, I'm still my awkward self.

That's the part, I think, that needs to change the most... I need to learn how to communicate with people without being too "shy". I realize I need to get out of my comfort zone, which consists mostly of Chinese people my age and maybe even start talking to white people some day :O. I've never felt comfortable making what I thought a "fake conversation" with people, like asking people about themselves when I know I really don't care about the answer. Some times, I need to tell myself to pretend to care for the sake of the other person, but I can't help feeling like I'm lying to them and I'm hiding something from them. You know, those conversation starters like "How's the weather?", "How've you been?", "I like your [insert article of clothing]" sort of things. I especially can't see myself doing the last one. I've been trying to attempt conversations like "What've you been doing over summer?" but usually people answer with just "nothing" and the conversation goes nowhere and once again, I am at loss for words. I'm always amazed at how my mom can be one person at work and a completely different person at home. It annoys me, sure, to hide yourself from others, but now I think some times this is necessary to survive in this community. Being too honest is a bad thing now, but I still have this thing called guilt that keeps reminding me to be honest and it's hard to just ignore it. Maybe I'm just too lazy to do anything to change myself. I need to change that too. I've been answering too many "Why" questions with "Cuz I'm lazy" and I realize that's just an excuse to not do something. I've been forcing myself to not be lazy and actually maybe cleaning the house, doing the laundry, even when my parents don't tell me to do those things. It's hard to break out of those lazy habits of just sitting in bed with my laptop on my knees and watching dramas, chatting online, playing games all day, and never leaving my room [which I did during most of the Sundays at Rochester]. I was even too lazy to get out to buy some food... I had a bag of chips and a bowl of ramen the entire day Sunday. I've been trying to get out more and playing tennis every day [Sorry about bothering people about tennis like every day, but I really do need to get outside more and run around/enjoy nature more, plus tennis is awesome <3].

Next thing I should change is my study habit. I will attempt to try in school and see how that works out. Studying a lot for me in school is like sitting down for one hour and focusing for one hour. I don't understand how people [-cough- Linda -cough-] can lock themselves every night and study for like 6hours straight, sleep at 4/5am and wake up at 10am... I am amazed at people who are able to do that every single day... If I put in even a quarter of the effort they do, I'll feel proud. Right now, I'm putting in like an hour a week... while they're putting in around 40hours a week... next semester's schedule will be busier and hopefully I'll be able to manage my time well, along with cooking, cleaning and grocery shopping. Hopefully I'll spend less time watching dramas, playing games, chatting online, and spend those hours studying, playing sports [hopefully I'll have enough time for badminton and tennis next semester] and going outside more and hanging around with real people rather than just talking to them online.

Yeah so those are my reflections and what I think I should do in the future. I'm currently waiting for my manager to get his air condition fixed. He isn't sure how long it's going to take so I'm just waiting for him. He had to drive all the way back home and he says it's around a 30min drive without traffic and he left at like 11:30, so we'll see. AZ has been great. Working in chemistry made this summer go by really fast. I was just thinking, only four more weeks before my job here ends and only four more weeks before I hit two decades, five or six more weeks before I'm back at school and back at that other life in college with no restraints and freedom. But is it really freedom? With courses, work, and MCATs, I don't think it'll be too much different from now control wise, I just need to exercise some self control in order to carry out my future plans. That's it for now, I'll hopefully update this blog a bit more than I have been.

Grease

So I forgot to advertise on this blog about the musical by LYST [Lexington Youth Summer Theater] which my bro was in. He wasn't a main part but w/e he said he still had lots of fun. I went to watch it Saturday and it was pretty good. These kids are pretty good at singing and acting...

Well, here's my bro's banner/advertisement:


[Christopher Wang all the way on the right side :D]

There are like no asians in these things... He's the only Asian kid in his group. I saw three asians total: my bro, Alina's sister, and another azn kid I don't know

Organic Chemistry at AstraZeneca?

I haven't posted in a while because I've been busy with work... It's actually a lot more interesting working in Chemistry this year as an Intern compared to Biology. Sure it's so much more tiring [I'm in the lab 6/8hrs of the day while last year, I was in the like maybe 1/8hrs of the day >_<.] but it's quite interesting... or at least so far. I feel like things might start getting repetitive again because a lot of the techniques are the same, but in another way, it's not really repetitive because you need to figure out different ways to deal with each compound. I went to my first chemistry meeting today... but didn't understand half of what was going on. So many pharmaceutical company terms like PD, BID, MTD, etc. They're like all abbreviations... I could probably figure out what things meant if they said everything out loud, but hey... people are getting lazier and lazier.

Speaking of lazier... I haven't read my MCAT book in a while >_< and I had wanted to get through a chp a day at first... yeah that's not happening at all. Work is tiring me out and mom makes me go everywhere with her these days so I don't have much time to do what I want D:.

Okay, I'm going to go watch Wo Ai Hei Se Hui Bang Bang Tang now. I'm interested in the new people, esp Teddy. I wonder if they'll be on this one...