morceaux.

being thankful

A long time since I’ve posted: the 365 Day Challenge has OBVIOUSLY gone to shits. Anyway.

It’s Thanksgiving Day today and it’s my first time celebrating this uniquely American holiday. Amidst all the turkey, cranberry sauce and talk of Black Friday shopping however, I think it’s a good time to think about the things that I should be thankful for.

First of all, I should be thankful that I’m here at MIT. Sure, there are days that seem rough - actually scrap that, rough days are the norm here; off days are rare - and there are things that happen that make me feel useless, helpless, or an unhealthy combination of the two. But when it all boils down to it, it’s a privilege to be here, not a right. And I should be thankful that I was admitted to this premier institution. Sometimes I still find myself wondering why they admitted me.

Second, I should be thankful to have such a wonderful and interesting group of friends here in Cambridge. Some are immature, trying to plant such ridiculous words as “racialist” and “doggie-style” into my vocabulary, some are epic bro(mancer)s, and some I’m thankful for for being able to put up with my nonsense and 8 year old-ness. Some need to go to the bathroom at 11am sharp every day, some like fine wine and food, some have extremely tender fingers, and some help me escape being gangraped by Thermo and Transport assignments every week. I should be (and am) thankful for each and every one of them, as I don’t think I would have survived this long here without them.

Third, I should be thankful to have such an awesome and supportive family that have backed me in all my decisions. It’s difficult being literally on the other side of the world and being inundated by all this work, so all the support is much appreciated (and required!).

Fourth, I cannot forget to mention my old friends at UWA who have kept in touch with me since we last said our goodbyes in April. I really appreciate that you all have maintained contact with me despite there being a 12-13 hour difference in time zones and a numerically larger distance between us.

Last but not least and most importantly, I should be happy that I’m living my life the way I want it… Or so I think! :P …  Yea, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

mit: a summary

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a solid post here. And for that I blame the extreme lack of time. It’s really karmic because just under 2 months ago, I was in Kuching complaining about how I wasn’t using my brain at all and how I had absolutely nothing to do. And now, I’m in Cambridge, trying desperately to drink from the MIT fire hose without choking to death (they actually have a water fountain hooked up to a fire hose in the Stata Center, just for kicks). So you may be wondering why I am posting this now, after claiming that I have no time at all. Well, everyone needs a break and I’ve been mindraped by Thermo, Transport & Matlab enough to warrant this short break, I think.

Many people have asked me how MIT is. Well, there is no easy way to describe it. Being arguably the top engineering school in the world, MIT is, needless to say, intense to the point of being ridiculous. Case in point: MIT designates one day a month as a “Student Holiday”, this being a random day with no significance whatsoever. The upper echelons in MIT call it a “Student Holiday”, but everyone knows it’s really a “Suicide Prevention Day”. Because MIT - and this may be an urban legend - has one of the highest suicide rates across universities. With that said however, MIT is an awesome place to be in. It is intense, yes; but it is such a dynamic place - there is so much going on and so much to do. They have a Sailing Club. And a Chocolate Lab. And the coolest thing: a FLYING CLUB. Flying as in aeroplanes. And even more cool (or less, depending how geeky you are) is that they have an Origami Club (aptly called OrigaMIT). They made a full-size origami T-Rex last year and put it up on display. Yes, it is insane. AND THEN there’s hacking which is…  Well, I’m already suffering from verbal diarrhea so here’s a link. And if you ever get tired of Cambridge, there’s always Boston just across the Charles River. Going to a university pretty much smack bang in the city has its perks. But yea. I’ve only been into Boston like 4 times since I got here.

The people at MIT are also colorful. You get the feeling that everyone is there because they want to be there, largely because THAT IS THE CASE. People don’t go to MIT just because it’s the next logical step in their education. They go there because they want to, and MIT’s tight admission rate makes sure that only those who really want to come end up coming. And this makes for a totally different experience from what I had at UWA. And the MIT community is a paradox. You would think that being in such a pressurized environment, competition would be fierce. Well, I don’t really think that’s the case. The people are friendly, helpful and there’s a real collegial and cooperative vibe all around. Probably because attempting to survive MIT solo would drive anyone to suicide.

In short, MIT is an inspiring place. And despite the crazy workload, there truly is nowhere else I’d rather be. Going to MIT is not a given. It’s a privilege.

And an awesome one at that.

365 Day Challenge, Day 67

Day 67: How you found out about Tumblr, and why you made one

Again with the hiatus. I blame the fire hose that is the MIT education.

To answer the question, I can’t exactly remember, I think I stumbled across Tumblr when randomly surfing the web. I made one coz Tumblr seemed to look so much better than Blogspot.  I was right.

365 Day Challenge, Day 66

Day 66: If you could switch lives with someone for a day, who would it be?

No one.  OK, maybe the manager of one of my favorite bands.  But only for a chance to meet them.  Otherwise, no one.

365 Day Challenge, Day 65

Day 65: One random fact about yourself

My favorite cheese is a toss-up between Brie, Danish blue and Pecorino Romano.  For now anyway.  There are too many new cheeses to try here in the US of A.

365 Day Challenge, Day 64

Day 64: Your best friend is in a car accident and you two got into a fight an hour before, what do you do?

Rush to help him/her of course.  I’m not that petty.  Plus, if I don’t go I might live to regret it.

365 Day Challenge, Day 63

Again, the MIT fire hose is to blame for me not honoring this challenge.

Day 63: Your views on gay marriage

I support it.  Everyone should have the same rights.  Homophobia is the new racism.
 

365 Day Challenge, Day 62

Way behind due to the monster that is starting out school in MIT.

Day 62: Describe your best friend completely

I don’t have a best friend.  I have multiple good friends.

365 Day Challenge, Day 61

Day 61: One of your most prized possessions

This is kind of sad but I think it would have to be my Vampire Weekend shirt signed by Rostam Batmanglij (keyboardist of Vampire Weekend). Not only did I have to wait in the cold outside Metros for close to 2 hours for the band to exit, I had to pay 70 bucks to get my car out of the parking garage because it was locked in (this was at 2am in the morning on a Sunday).

I hope this will get replaced soon by another signed shirt, preferably signed by BFlow.

365 Day Challenge, Day 60

Day 60: A Youtube video you absolutely love and describe why

A slight blank spot of a few days because I was busy ‘enduring’ Hurricane Irene and settling down in Cambridge, amongst other things.

This is my favourite video, for no other reason than it makes me laugh so damn hard.  I remember when I first watched it, I couldn’t stop laughing for 10 straight minutes.

365 Day Challenge, Day 59

Day 59: One person you can tell everything to

Yuhan Goh.

There are a few more.

365 Day Challenge, Day 58

Day 58: Places you want to visit, and why

As of today, the list stands as follows, in no particular order:

1. Madagascar - To see the Tsingy de Bemaraha.
2. Cairo, Egypt - For its culture and ancient history.
   
3. Alexandria, Egypt - Same as above.
   
4. Siem Reap, Cambodia - The gateway into Angkor Wat.
   
5. Tehran, Iran - For its culture and ancient history.  And to see whether or not the Iranian Navid taught me is functional.
   
6. Shiraz, Iran - The gateway into Persepolis.
   
7. Dubai, UAE - To see the epitome of the word ‘rich’.
   
8. Melbourne, VIC, Australia - Because it’s kind of embarrassing that I haven’t been yet.
9. Hutt River Province, ‘WA, Australia’ - Because it’s a crazy person’s ‘country’.
10. Hobart, TAS, Australia - See 8.
    
11. Toronto, ON, Canada - To explore the city.
    
12. Montreal, QC, Canada - Same as above.
    
13. Garibaldi Lake, BC, Canada - For some hiking, it’s beautiful: google it.
    
14. Vancouver, BC, Canada - See 12.
    
15. Iceland - I heard that it’s really beautiful.  And I want me some hot springs.
    
16. Croatia - I’ve seen pictures and they’ve persuaded me to visit at least once before I die.
    
17. Poland - I’m interested in its Nazi-era history.
18. Greece - For its ancient history and architecture.
    
19. Istanbul, Turkey - To see the Hagia Sofia.
    
20. Copenhagen, Denmark - To explore the Danish capital.
    
21. Hammerfest, Norway - To see the Northern Lights
22. Oslo, Norway - To explore the Norwegian capital.
23. Stavanger, Norway - The gateway to see the Pulpit Rock.
24. Stockholm, Sweden - To explore the Swedish capital.  The architecture here must be pretty awesome as well, birthplace of Ikea after all.
    
25. Antwerp, Belgium - I hear it’s got a good indie arts scene: would like to check it out.
    
26. Brussels, Belgium - Headquarters of the EU and the capital of Belgium.
    
27. Stuttgart, Germany - To explore the city and the Black Forest beyond.
28. Capri, Italy - I heard it’s beautiful.  I need to see it for myself.
    
29. Naples, Italy - Same as above.
30. Sicily, Italy - Again, same as above.
    
31. Venice, Italy - Because heaps of people have told me that it’s a must-visit destination, despite being extremely touristy.
    
32. Liechtenstein - Just a drive-through to see one of the world’s smallest countries.
33. Luxembourg, Luxembourg - No real reason, I just want to cover most of Europe.
    
34. The Hague, Netherlands - Because I really should have visited it when I was in Rotterdam but I kept procrastinating, regretfully.
35. Spain - because I really want to go and the Spanish airport strikes prevented this from happening last year.
    
36. Switzerland - Because it’s Switzerland.
37. Liverpool, UK - The birthplace of the Beatles!
38. Ireland - Because the Irish brogue is awesome.
39. Scotland - I heard it’s really awesome to wander about in the scenic Scottish Highlands.
    
40. Uyuni, Bolivia - To see the Salar de Uyuni.
41. The Chichen Itza, Mexico - Because it looks amazing and is disputably one of the Seven Modern Wonders of the World.
    
42. Easter Island, Chile - To see some Moais. 
    
43. Atacama Desert, Chile - The driest place on Earth? Gotta see this.
44. Machu Picchu, Peru - It’s Machu Picchu, nuff said.  Watching ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’ really made me yearn to see this amazing place.
    
45. Chicago, IL, USA - The birthplace of the skyscraper.  And I wanna see myself some Frank Lloyd Wright architecture.
    
46. Lawrence, KS, USA - Morbid, but I wanna see the Stull Cemetery, apparently the entrance to Hell.  It’s located close to Lawrence in the town of Stull.
    
47. Mount Rushmore, SD, USA - Landmark.
48. Buffalo, NY, USA - To see the Niagara Falls.
49. New York City, NY, USA - It’s New York City.  Thinking of heading there sometime soon.
    
50. Philadelphia, PA, USA - To try Philly Cheesesteak.
51. Washington D.C., USA - To see the capital of the US of A.  And to eat Nandos.
52. New Haven, CT, USA - To see Yale.
53. Acadia National Park, ME, USA - Google image search this place and you will understand why I want to visit.  I’m actually heading there next weekend lol.
    
54. Cape Cod, MA, USA - For its beauty and also for the fact that there’s a Vampire Weekend song about this place.
55. Providence, RI, USA - Seems like a cool place to visit.  Also, Brown University.
56. Hawaii, USA - For obvious reasons.
57. Florida, USA - Everglades National Park, Disneyland, Florida Keys…
58. Atlanta, GA, USA - To explore the city featured in ‘The Walking Dead’ and to experience the busiest airport in the world.
59. New Orleans, LA, USA - Birthplace of jazz. Also wanna try me some Cajun cuisine.
60. Grand Canyon, AZ, USA - Landmark.
61. California, USA - San Francisco, Los Angeles, Disneyland…
    
62. Las Vegas, NV, USA - IT’S LAS VEGAS. Also, home of THE KILLERS woot woot!  Hope to come here with the boys sometime next year!
    
63. Roswell, NM, USA - To see whether aliens really exist.
64. Salt Lake City, UT, USA - To see the Salt Lake Mormon Temple.
65. Yellowstone National Park, WY, USA - To see Old Faithful and for hiking.
66. Seattle, WA, USA - To drink heaps of coffee and to explore the city.

This list will obviously change in the coming years.

365 Day Challenge, Day 57

Day 57: What is your definition of happiness?

Happiness is doing what you truly enjoy and being at peace with yourself; it is also less of an ends and more of a ‘work in progress’.