I've finished the finals and am back home for the holidays. It feels like I just started college, and now the semester is over. One down, seven to go!
The exams weren't easy by any means. However, the hardest part of the semester was probably the Engineering 77 assignments; debugging my implementation of depth-first search at 3 a.m. isn't exactly my idea of a good time. The final for that class ironically turned out to be the easiest. I guess I lucked out.
In any case, it's time to enjoy a well-earned vacation. The nice thing is that we get five weeks off for Christmas. :-)
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Thursday, November 25, 2004
an awesome Thanksgiving party
Happy Thanksgiving!
Today was fun as we invited lots of people over. The best part is that our family friend Mei also brought food to share. That was so generous of her. Everything was delicious, especially the egg custard. Though the Lu and Shieh families left early because Rae and my uncle Dong are morning people, most of our guests stayed past 11 p.m. On the whole, this was one of the best parties ever.
I'm very thankful for getting into Berkeley this year. Being accepted into such a prestigious school was the last thing I expected. Speaking of which, I should probably start preparing for my finals. Haha.
Currently listening to: "Fluid Combustion" by Synthetique
Today was fun as we invited lots of people over. The best part is that our family friend Mei also brought food to share. That was so generous of her. Everything was delicious, especially the egg custard. Though the Lu and Shieh families left early because Rae and my uncle Dong are morning people, most of our guests stayed past 11 p.m. On the whole, this was one of the best parties ever.
I'm very thankful for getting into Berkeley this year. Being accepted into such a prestigious school was the last thing I expected. Speaking of which, I should probably start preparing for my finals. Haha.
Currently listening to: "Fluid Combustion" by Synthetique
Friday, November 5, 2004
new family car!
So my parents bought a new Lexus RX 330 while I was at school. Imagine my surprise when they picked me up from Berkeley in their new ride!
Because our 1988 Volvo 240 was becoming unreliable, my parents had been looking for a replacement for some time. However, they decided to jump the gun after the engine died in the middle of the road the other day. Though we didn't have much time to carefully consider the choices, the RX 330 is really nice. I don't have any complaints so far.
Mom gave the Volvo 240 to charity because we didn't need that many cars. The Volvo has served us well for over 15 years and will be missed. On the other hand, the donation should save us a few hundred dollars in tax deductions. :-)
Because our 1988 Volvo 240 was becoming unreliable, my parents had been looking for a replacement for some time. However, they decided to jump the gun after the engine died in the middle of the road the other day. Though we didn't have much time to carefully consider the choices, the RX 330 is really nice. I don't have any complaints so far.
Mom gave the Volvo 240 to charity because we didn't need that many cars. The Volvo has served us well for over 15 years and will be missed. On the other hand, the donation should save us a few hundred dollars in tax deductions. :-)
Tuesday, November 2, 2004
I voted!
I just got back from the polling station. This was my first time voting in an election. :-)
The lines were extremely long, but that wasn't an issue because the polls are legally required to stay open until the last person has voted. At least that's what I learned when I worked the polls in March. Though I received a provisional ballot because of an address change, everything else went without a hitch.
Update: The idiot from Texas somehow got re-elected. Judging by Bush's poor decisions, I'm not looking forward to the next four years. God help us all.
The lines were extremely long, but that wasn't an issue because the polls are legally required to stay open until the last person has voted. At least that's what I learned when I worked the polls in March. Though I received a provisional ballot because of an address change, everything else went without a hitch.
Update: The idiot from Texas somehow got re-elected. Judging by Bush's poor decisions, I'm not looking forward to the next four years. God help us all.
Sunday, October 31, 2004
MCCCC trip report
I've been working with on a graph theory paper with an SJSU professor in the past few months. The cool thing is that we were invited to attend the 18th Midwest Conference on Combinatorics, Cryptography and Computing and present our research. The conference was hosted at Rochester Institute of Technology this year. It was definitely a neat experience.
Day 1
Given the tight schedule, my parents picked me up from Berkeley right after lunch. I had to miss my Math 1A lecture as a result, although Prof. Haiman was cool with that. The plane landed at O'Hare in the evening. I couldn't help but notice how windy it was outside. No wonder Chicago is also called the "Windy City"!
We bought some souvenirs at the airport before catching our connecting flight to Rochester. Because it was almost 11 p.m. when we checked into our hotel, I didn't do much else other than proofread our paper.
Day 2
The three of us met up with Prof. Lee at RIT after breakfast. There was some free time, during which we took pictures around campus. The fall foliage was beautiful.
It was then our turn to present. I was a little nervous at first, but everyone said I did a great job. Speaking of which, my parents and I took the opportunity to listen to other speakers. The topics were fascinating but over my head.
Prof. Lee had other work to do and left for his flight back to San Jose after the conference. However, my family wanted to explore the area a bit more and decided to stay another night. The day ended with a nice dinner at a Chinese restaurant.
Day 3
Happy Halloween!
Our flight was in the early afternoon, leaving a few hours for sightseeing. The scenery along the Genesee River was incredible and made for some great pictures. This was the best part of the trip. The three of us then stopped at Quiznos for lunch. Their subs were delicious!
Dad wanted to visit Syracuse as well, but we were short on time and didn't want to miss our plane. The flight home was uneventful. Back in the Bay Area, my parents dropped me off directly at Berkeley as it was rather late.
Conclusions
Though we were in Rochester for academic reasons, the trip was still enjoyable. This was a new experience as I had never presented at a conference before. I also didn't know Rochester was so beautiful, especially in the fall. Looks like we'll have to go back there soon!
Currently listening to: "Saved by a Bell" by Mike Oldfield
Historical note: Pictures from the trip are available here.
Day 1
Given the tight schedule, my parents picked me up from Berkeley right after lunch. I had to miss my Math 1A lecture as a result, although Prof. Haiman was cool with that. The plane landed at O'Hare in the evening. I couldn't help but notice how windy it was outside. No wonder Chicago is also called the "Windy City"!
We bought some souvenirs at the airport before catching our connecting flight to Rochester. Because it was almost 11 p.m. when we checked into our hotel, I didn't do much else other than proofread our paper.
Day 2
The three of us met up with Prof. Lee at RIT after breakfast. There was some free time, during which we took pictures around campus. The fall foliage was beautiful.
It was then our turn to present. I was a little nervous at first, but everyone said I did a great job. Speaking of which, my parents and I took the opportunity to listen to other speakers. The topics were fascinating but over my head.
Prof. Lee had other work to do and left for his flight back to San Jose after the conference. However, my family wanted to explore the area a bit more and decided to stay another night. The day ended with a nice dinner at a Chinese restaurant.
Day 3
Happy Halloween!
Our flight was in the early afternoon, leaving a few hours for sightseeing. The scenery along the Genesee River was incredible and made for some great pictures. This was the best part of the trip. The three of us then stopped at Quiznos for lunch. Their subs were delicious!
Dad wanted to visit Syracuse as well, but we were short on time and didn't want to miss our plane. The flight home was uneventful. Back in the Bay Area, my parents dropped me off directly at Berkeley as it was rather late.
Conclusions
Though we were in Rochester for academic reasons, the trip was still enjoyable. This was a new experience as I had never presented at a conference before. I also didn't know Rochester was so beautiful, especially in the fall. Looks like we'll have to go back there soon!
Currently listening to: "Saved by a Bell" by Mike Oldfield
Historical note: Pictures from the trip are available here.
Friday, October 15, 2004
R.I.P. Grandpa :-(
The week ended on a sad note as I found out my paternal grandfather Bien-Chuan Chia had passed away from liver cancer last month. He was 80 years old. Dad was afraid it would affect my mood and didn't tell me until I asked him about Grandpa.
For those unaware, liver cancer is one of the worst forms of the disease. The prognosis is generally very poor. Though the doctor gave him two months to live, he passed away just a few weeks later. I didn't see Bien-Chuan often as he lived overseas, but we had many good times together. One of my favorite memories was lighting fireworks with him during our second trip to Taiwan. It's hard to believe I won't see him again.
I'm going to miss Bien-Chuan for sure. Rest in peace, Grandpa. :-(
For those unaware, liver cancer is one of the worst forms of the disease. The prognosis is generally very poor. Though the doctor gave him two months to live, he passed away just a few weeks later. I didn't see Bien-Chuan often as he lived overseas, but we had many good times together. One of my favorite memories was lighting fireworks with him during our second trip to Taiwan. It's hard to believe I won't see him again.
I'm going to miss Bien-Chuan for sure. Rest in peace, Grandpa. :-(
Sunday, October 10, 2004
Happy 19th birthday to me!
I'm now 19 years old. It's hard to believe this is my last year as a teenager. As mentioned in the previous post, my parents got me a new Dell Dimension 3000 desktop as an early birthday present. I actually just finished setting it up. :-)
The day was otherwise uneventful, although my mother bought a large box of chocolate chip cookies for me to share with my suitemates. Everyone definitely loved them. Thanks, Mom!
Currently reading: Chemical Principles by Steven S. Zumdahl
The day was otherwise uneventful, although my mother bought a large box of chocolate chip cookies for me to share with my suitemates. Everyone definitely loved them. Thanks, Mom!
Currently reading: Chemical Principles by Steven S. Zumdahl
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