做勇敢的女孩

It's snowing...

21

Wow

Yesterday concluded my days at Bloomberg. I know at this point everyone must be pondering the same thing that I have been struggling with lately: what the heck has happened to summer? (one question mark is certainly not enough to depict the uncertainty). The eight-week internship seemed more like a day-trip to me. I was there the first day having all those mixed feelings about returning to Bloomberg and the next second I know I was giving my badge back to my exit interviewer. Wow. Thinking that this time next week (in seven days!) I will be in Boston and accepting my life as a college Junior has given me goosebumps. Ah, life is tricky. I am in great shock.

Nevertheless, I have been kept busy throughout the summer. Great people and great events... and great memories.

I am so thankful for all the wonderful things that have happened to me. Luck must have been on my side. People have been giving me all sorts of inspirations and advices about virtually everything and I hope I was able to absorb and digest all that was offered to me. Thank you for helping me develop and grow! You have invested in me and I will forever be grateful. The people that are supportive and kind to me either from the past or the present have served as great role models. I would like to give a big shout-out to them. Anna, Beatrice, Sulin, Dr. Hammerling, Andrew, Dave, Madhavi, Pablo, Bob, Steven, Julie, Vanna, Lindsay, Lindsey, Bryan, Lex, Dr. Wasserman, Mitch, Bill, Melanie, Eda ... and those that I forget to mention at this moment... Thank you all for entering my life. It feels great to have those whom you are thankful for acknowledged. I owe them a big time.

And a big hug to all my friends.

Another chapter of my life has completed as I stepped out of Bloomberg. A new one has yet to start; but I can hear the approaching footsteps. Excited.

Krystle dropped me a line on Facebook reminding me of the death of Mr. Squirrel around the same time last year. Yes, how can I ever forget that disheartened scene? Life is fragile indeed. We hear about accidents and brawls all the time; what makes it even harder for us emotionally is when someone we know is involved in the affair. Ah I feel I have matured greatly this summer in terms of realizing my goals, weighing the different options, and possessing the right attitude towards life in general. The changes that I am seeing or experiencing, which come either from within myself or others around me, are sometimes too hard and quick to accept. But I guess this is what life is about. Things evolve. What Lex Fenwick said during his luncheon with Bloomberg interns still echoes in my mind: "Welcome changes. Change the way you live everyday. Evolve".

I was reading the early journal entries I posted; mostly rather shallow writings I think, may they be about the fun day I had with friends or the random thoughts I had on the movies I saw. But I guess now the very same mentality is not there anymore. In recent entries I no longer write about my jolly summer days and adventures... I like to reflect on things now. You may think I ponder too much, but this is quite inevitable in all honesty. What I experience in the summer (or even in school except I didn't realize then), what I learn from other people's standpoints, and what I hear about their stories have gotten me thinking these days. Am I treating life fairly? Am I living life to the fullest? I am in a great doubt of myself.

Speaking with Eda today prompted me to think I have wasted two years of college (but not pathetically entirely) and missed out on what college can really offer us. My revelation:
- Career: perhaps it is too early to have a definite picture. I only completed two years of college, what do I know about the outside world?
- Academia: do I really know any professors on a personal level? Have I made enough awesome and inspiring acquaintances in school?
- Family: am I too dependent? Why am I thinking that my parents will not let go of me?

I have to sort these out before I can concentrate with schoolwork again. It is time to grow up and think about what I would like to accomplish in the new school year, in the next five years, and even in the next decade. I hope dots will connect eventually. This transition period is certainly difficult for me, but it is quite an exciting journey to embark on. All the great people I have met (so many of them!) and all the great events I have been to (Broad Advantage, company receptions, leadership forum, Monster DLP, trading floor, also dinner appointments =)...) have made me realize I am becoming a more peoples' person now. I am definitely scared of the slow yet fulfilling changes both mentally and physically, but this is part of life. Now I think I can fully see the message that Lex was delivering the other day: we have to change and evolve, can never stay and act like a kid...

No I did not quit Live Journal. I haven't been writing much since I came to college. In fact I didn't expect to write much when I decided to come to college. You don't want to know how technical this crazy school can get sometimes. Sophomore year is passing by without my noticing it. Time is slipping away and I am behaving more and more like a real adult. Well, given the fact that I am no longer a teenager (sigh), I need to take a more serious responsibility of my actions, not that they're malicious. I just need to acquire a wiser outlook on things. It's almost Saturday and I have done absolutely nothing this week at home. Spring break is awesome! (for the most part at least). Then it starts to bite you ruthlessly near the end when you realize you accomplish nothing in the week and there are tons of assignments awaiting you in the upcoming week. But here I am, instead of flipping through my lovely Thermal-Fluids Engineering textbook I am writing a journal entry reflecting upon random things. I am making up every possible excuse for myself to avoid picking up the book. It's not entirely my fault; reading the textbook is like reading a foreign novel full of sketches that you will never grasp, bleh.

Focus J!

Nonetheless, it has been a relaxing week. I haven't been able to sleep till 12pm for a long time. And most importantly, I haven't been able to eat decent food (especially Mom's cooking) for a LONG time. My parents and I ate out so many times this week. I love Chinese food, especially 小笼包.

^_^ (so Asian)

My calf is so sore! I had spent most of the day in the city walking, riding the subway, and walking. Tiff came to NY from NJ to visit, and it was a good time to prove to her that NYC is not as sketchy as she (and a dozen of other people) thinks. I really should be named "Miss Proud Representative of New York" or some sort. I hope my passion is infusive if not majorly influential. So Tiff, Waitan, and I went to see the space show "Cosmic Collisions" at the Hayden Planetarium at American Museum of Natural History in the morning, which was narrated by award-winning director and producer Robert Redford. What an eye-opening experience! (though I have to admit that I had already witnessed the phenomenal presentation back in 7th grade, but most details must have been modified or improved over the years). Ask me why cosmic collision can be both beneficial and detrimental, how meteor showers come about, and what we can do to avoid tracked collisions with Earth... now see how the show is educational to the general public? The one Tiff and I saw at the Museum of Science in Boston was not at all comparable to this one. Yet another compelling reason why NYC > Boston.

Then it was dim sum time at Chinatown. Yumness! Don't you just love the name "Lucky" that Waitan's friend has? Anyhow, spending a fair amount of time locating a subway station in Chinatown after getting out of the restaurant was definitely not something that would please me. But since Tiff was excited to see MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), I guess all the walking was worth it. Wait, no, the walk had just begun. After arriving at MoMA for the second time for me since the past summer, we did nothing but strolling in the museum while trying to appreciate the artworks (at least that was the case for me). MoMA is such an artsy and sophisticated place; too bad I never seem to grasp the inner meanings of paintings with merely a few stripes or strokes of simple colors (or monochrome) running across the entire page with erratic courses. And I wish I could name the specific artists who produced such masterpieces; perhaps I'll pay even more attention the next time when I visit.

Waitan and I saw the premier of "Beauty and the Geek" season III at my house later in the day. I loved the first two seasons. Can't believe one of the "geeks" is another MIT graduate. But then we're not alone this time. There's one representing Harvard hoho. Since when does Harvard nourish geeks?


MoMA
 

So I'm listening to some of the most popular songs of 2006 and chatting with friends online... Let me shout here: HELLO 2007!!! What a perfect day to update LJ. For some strange reasons I am very much awake at this moment, unlike an hour ago when I was nearly falling asleep in front of the television watching the party at Times Square. The last time my family took part in the celebration was the year of 2000, but the dismal weather finally beat our endurance in the cold, forcing us to retreat to the warmth of our house and finish the new-year countdown before the TV. I haven't been to Times Square on New Year's Eve ever since. However, I did pay my visit to THE place on Earth a few times last week. The crowd there was incredible that it was ridiculously difficult to just make your way through the people on the street. Not joking. But I still love NYC!

So many things have happened that I don't even know where to start, thanks to my laziness to keep LJ up-to-date. The biggest change by far is my saying good-bye to being a teenager. Oh my, I have lived for 20 freakin' years! When I stand in front the mirror, though, I would never see myself as a 20-year-old girl, because I do not possess (or at least I think I don't) the maturity and intellectual level that a 20-year-old is supposed to embrace. There are so much out there that I still need to learn, not only in academia but also in real-life situations. These revelations did not happen overnight; they emerged from experiences that I have had both in and outside the school, some of which are the memories that I am very fond of but others are quite frustrating. The Institute offers ample opportunities for growth; all I can say is that I am doing my best to not let them slip by me despite the level of sweetness of the outcome. And I shall stick to this philosophy throughout the rest of my college life. As to other things that I long to have and feel? Let life takes care of that. Someone will pave the way for me. I believe.

Third semester was as hectic as expected after going through the torture last year. Can't believe I'm a Sophomore already (and I'm 20)... To those of you who were greatly shocked at the fact that I'm already in college, I much appreciate your surprises; who doesn't want him/herself to look younger than the actual age? So I guess I enjoyed most of the classes in the Fall, though final grades were of a bit disappointment. I hate the workload at MIT! I hate realizing that MIT is making me feel inadequate! But I love being an MIT student! I hope what Mr. Omoloju said is right: it will pay off tons later on in your life. I am very much looking forward to that moment to come with the piece of paper that I will be getting after I graduate in a few years.

I shouldn't be upset right now. It's New Year's day! I'm glad that at least the break has been nice to me. Seeing Leon Lai's concert at Mohegan Sun though had not a single clue what he was saying to the fans OR singing, witnessing the splendor of Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Hall for the second time, ice skating with friends at Bryant Park, dining at Times Square, having people taken me out to free lunches, visiting New York Times crew at the annual get-together event, attending the Met opera "The Magic Flute" after a special backstage tour, and of course going on shopping sprees with parents... What a crazy week! I hope the fun will last forever (but I wouldn't mind doing some problem sets from time to time; God what has MIT done to me)!

My teeth deserve a special line in this entry dedicated exclusively to them: no more embellishment from the notorious hard-metal braces! What a relief after three years and three months! And I love my new boots from The North Face :)

新年快乐！

Highlights of my third (yet another painful) semester at the Institute: Live Vudoo Soul Concert, Japanese Lunch Table, Women’s Professional Day, Career Fair, The Art of Japanese Incense, Case Question Workshop, Play “Lady Windermere’s Fan”, MITSO concert, CASPAR Emergency Services Center volunteer, Fall Formal 2006, Mythbuster Lecture, Forte Foundation Career Lab, Korean Culture Show, Course 22 Holiday, VentureShip Program Party, Dance Troupe Fall Concert, Fall 2006 $1K Award ceremony, SWE Banquet... On a scale of 1 to 5... College life - (big fat) 5 :D

He: You love to giggle girl
I: Yes. I like to be a fool
He: You certainly won't giggle as much when you grow older
I: It makes you happier; hence less worried about your problems
He: I love your giggles
I: Thank you

My last Thursday at Bloomberg :(

30 minutes till lunch with Pablo

...

Brighten a Senior's Day event at Bloomberg was awesome! All the seniors that visited the company enjoyed themselves very very much. It was a gratifying experience

Intern dinner was yum yum yum, though I didn't win the raffle for the iPod. Thanks Dali for rooting for me

It was a pleasure to meet with Steven and John. They're good fellows. Yingdan and I had a *furious* discussion on how I responded to their advices and comments. To all the passengers on the train who were staring at us the whole time, we were not arguing, we were *exchanging ideas*

20 minutes till lunch

...

Dragon Boat Festival was interesting. Pam rocked the stage! Chelsea, Haixi, Pam, and I met for the last time before Chels left for China. Happy birthday girl!

Weisha visited me yesterday at work. I'm going to miss her so much. When you become successful one day, don't forget about my resume :)

Bowling tonight with Tradebook Dept. I suck at it

Dentist appointment again tomorrow. How could you quit in the middle of the procedure! I have been suffering from toothache ever since...

...

Time to change shoes


Dragon Boat - Chinese tradition

Finally completing this entry when I was supposed to do it a few days ago. So I've changed my LJ profile a bit, adding more "cuteness attack" elements to it due to the great demand of the public (just kidding). I have to admit I'm not a fan of the words "cute", "girly", or anything that falls within the realm, but why not let the non-JJ side of me be expressed via webpages? I find it quite exciting.

The squirrel photo... here goes the story, a rather disheartened story. Some Bloomberg interns volunteered at the Central Park Conservancy event on Aug. 9th. We were driven to the park and were asked to help re-paint the benches on the sides of the pavement. Krystle and I decided to share a bucket of paint and started off with the first bench in line. While we were so preoccupied with the task at hand, we heard a big and disturbing thump behind us. I thought somebody that might be passing by us dropped a bottle of water and whatnot. We turned around and were stunned. It was a seriously injured squirrel that had apprantly fallen from the tree atop. The fragile creature was lying flatly on the concrete, twitching the body from time to time, and opening his eyes as wide as possible as if he was trying to see the world one last time. As the blood gushed out from the body, he began to lose the battle slowly against his will and didn't make it after all. The rest was history. I have never witnessed such horrible deaths before. In memory of the poor little guy who lost his grip, this entry has been dedicated to him. Rest well fella.

JJ's confused about the ridiculous speed at which time travels. Before you know it, summer vacation will be over and it's time to wear yourself out at school again. So what the heck has happened in July? I can summarize my weekeday activities with two words: working and exercising. Sigh... I get home from the gym so late that I don't even have enough time to do other things such as watching TV and going online. For the past few days I just totally collapsed on the bed right after a light dinner, one because I spaced out and two because I spaced out even more when I stayed up longer. Frankly I do not hate the lifestyle I'm having, I just think that I should be granted more time doing things besides working and working out. But time is fair; everyone has 24 hours a day and 7 days a week... bahh.

Well, as I think about it, July has been not that bad. Reunion fiesta at the Times was pretty awesome. I finally got a chance to see Pam; it amazes how she hasn't changed at all. In fact, not that many people have changed much over the year, in terms of both appearances and the ways they approach people. I saw "Devil Wears Prada" with Yingdan, Lily, Dali, and Zoraida after the Times event. The movie was superficial in my opinion. It serves no purposes but displaying something so ostentatious that every girl becomes so dejected at the end of the movie because she knows she can't be like Andy Sachs played by Anne Hathaway. Nonetheless, all the fashionable and flashy designs were quite fun to watch. Speaking of movies, "Miami Vice" is coming out today, and my Dad has wanted to see it for a while. We'll probably go to the theater this weekend.

I have met up with Bill twice over the last two weeks for lunch. He has given me a lot of advices in regards to college, grad school, and work in general. We also dined with his nephew Eric this Wednesday and he talked to me about his internship at Citigroup this summer. I love hearing about other people's experiences because I get to learn how to grow accustomed to today's super-duper competitive world and to build up network piece by piece. I appreciate their sharing their stories with me; it's an honor.

I actually went back to school last weekend. It was a very impulsive decision. I was at work one day and thought about what I would be doing for the weekend. Suddently the thought of going back to Boston popped out of nowhere. I e-mailed Tiff and told her about my interest in visiting her at school. So there I was, on the Feng Wah bus to the lovely Cambridge, MA. I'm still pissed at the fact that it took us six hours to get there from New York; the driver spent at least one full hour in Manhattan! Funny story, I felt asleep right after I boarded and Weisha called me and woke me up after an hour or so. I stared out of the window and behold! We were stuck in a traffic jam with skyscrapers and cars all around us. Are we in Boston already? Confused was I. The two days at Boston were spent very productively. Tiff, Cindy, and I visited Salem, which is about 40 minutes away from Boston by commuter rail. We went to see The Threepenny Opera at night at Little Kresqe. On Sunday we hit the Museum of Science, whose Space Show was a little disappointing becase it certainly was not as great as the one in the Planetarium at the Museum of Natural History. It was a mixed feeling going back to school when there weren't any classes in session. The campus looked deserted, perhaps everyone was out partying heh. The place was so familiar, so intimidating, yet so close to my heart. Am I dying to go back? No. Am I willing to go back when school starts again? Yes.

Regina finally came back from Indonesia. I was so worried about her when the tsunami and earthquake hit her place. Thankfully she was all right. She came to Bloomberg all the way from NJ on Tuesday to hand me the presents she bought from Indonesia. That was very nice of her. :D

Enough about entering random things. I really should return to work...

7.28.06
11:55pm
Update: "Little Miss Sunshine" was such an adorable movie!

Salem Witch Museum

Ah I'm bad. I'm actually updating LJ at work. Well I guess I do deserve a productive break from updating database for a few hours straight (except for lunch of course). I actually do not have Internet access on my computer because my manager didn't approve it. But through some clever tricks that have been performed on Bloomberg Terminal Service, I can load up MIT web from a list of U.S. colleges and type in Facebook in its google search box. Then I open up my profile and find the link to LJ. Whoo go me :D

I spotted this really cute tote bag at H&M the other day; the store is literally right next to Bloomberg. During lunch hour today I figured I had exactly 30 minutes to kill, and consequently the image of the bag appeared in my mind. What the heck, why not utilize the time to buy myself a little present, thought I. Without much hesitation, I went back to my desk, grabbed the wallet, and dashed out of the building... Enough about the story. I shall return to work (argh conscience). I'll do the second half when I get home.

...

So I'm finishing up this entry as I promised even though I am too much fatigued to stare at my laptop screen at this hour. Now that I go to work and gym routinely, I already am very much looking forward to the weekend since weekdays no longer bring me any excitements. I met up with Suchen, Waitan, and Redi last Friday after work and we went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. It was such an awesome movie. Now I can see why everyone is in love with Captain Jack Sparrow. Sorry guys! I made them travel to Times Square for nothing because all the tickets were sold out at the opening night. We had no choice but going back to Flushing and visiting our beloved Collegepoint Multiplex Cinema. The ending was so abrupt that everyone groaned when it was over. Can't wait for the third one to come out. I hope the love for the Captain will not lessen in spite of the long wait. On Saturday we partied like rock starts at Bloomberg Summer Party '06 hehe. It was definitely breathtaking. I couldn't believe that all the people showed up at Randall's Island represented only a portion of the employees worldwide that are working for the company. I had my arm painted in black (because the theme was "space") at the party and the color matched flawlessly with my black-and-white-striped T-shirt. On the way back home, I was receiving a lot of weird looks from the people on the bus because I was carrying a gigantic hoola hoop I got at the party while my arm was completely black. Yep that's right, JJ's sketchy :)

Can't believe July is here. Without much accomplishments, one third of my precious summer vacation has gone already. I have to pick up the stuff I left off in the beginning of June before internship at Bloomberg started, hmmmmm... such as finishing reading the books I'm supposed to, learning HTML, studying Spanish... tons of things. In addition to that long list, I need to complete my Girl Scout Gold Award Final Project Report so that I will be awarded the highest honor in Girl Scout (even though I'm technically considered an "adult" scout since I entered college last September). Nonetheless, the committee has been kind enough to allow me to send in the paperwork I did last year and to review it for my eligibility. So I stopped by the library today and visited the Chess Club that I founded for my project. Simon and his friends have been taking a very good care of the club (and of course the little kids) since I went to college and surprisingly the club is still in an excellent shape today. I'm really glad that they are doing this when I was away since the club would've been shut down had there not been someone to look after it. So there's a strong proof that my project has done something good for the community; the kids are enjoying it, and it will never go out of business. Next time when you're in town on a Saturday, swing by the library and check out the coolest Chess Club!

After that Yingdan and I traveled to Times Square to join Weisha to watch Superman Returns. Yes yes... people love watching superhero films especially their battling scenes against the evil. Depite the fact that Brandon Routh has gotten THE Superman look and that his love for Lois Lane has drawn deep sympathies from the audience, the movie overall has unquestionably fallen into the usual and typical realm of superhero tale. Of course this is just my opinion. I think the movie ought to have more exciting stunts and fickle story-lines.

Hasta Luego

It's a quarter to nine...

I usually start watching TV shows at nine when I get back from the gym after a long and tedious day of work. I'll write whatever that comes into my mind since I have fifteen minutes to kill. So the weather has been extremely crappy these days. After ruining the weekend by pouring incessantly, it didn't think it was enough. It was drizzling throughout the day today. Waitan had definitely picked the wrong day to visit me during lunch. I had to borrow an umbrella from Jin in order to avoid the rain at noon. We walked for a couple of blocks and ended up eating at Subway. Hmmm... Never a fan of that; I bought a plate of spaghetti from next door instead.

Having watched me going to the gym after work everyday, Yingdan has finally decided to join me. So as usual, I ran for two miles on the treadmill and did some weights. I have grown so accustomed to running now that I will actually feel uneasy if I don't run for more than a day. It definitely takes a while to develop this habit; and I have to trace this back to the times when I was still in school. Getting up early in the morning and paying a visit to MacGregor gym, jogging around the Charles river with Cynthia or Carolyn... good times. Having no homework to do and no exams to cram for is indubitably the best life-style I can ever ask for, yet this emptiness that grows out of it has been a challenge since I usually like to keep myself busy and focused.

[edit]

There are many things in life that you can't get a grip of. When the right time finds you, things will happen spontaneously and flawlessly under the magical power of fate. There are many things you can't possess despite your desire or resist despite your hatred; that's what makes them impossible to be manoeuvred. So do I believe in fate? Absolutely.

Summer heat is ruthlessly intruding into our lives. NYC has been scorched by the ridiculously radiant star a.k.a. our beloved sun. Yet at work we employees (being loved deeply by Michael Bloomberg) are being pampered to the extreme (I mean it) despite the heat outside. The moment you step into the building you will forget about the suffocative weather that is going after other poor pedestrains. You're hungry in the morning because you don't have time to eat breakfast? No problem. The company will feed you with anything (yep, you name it) you need to energize yourself for the day. Ranging from toast, bagel, and cereal to fresh fruits and drinks... It's a food paradise. And you know what makes it even more paradisial? Everything is free! Yes, you heard me. Free food every single day from morning to night for employees to grab whenever they feel like taking a break from work. The two gigantic counters filled with all varieties of food, snacks, and drinks have been my favorite part at Bloomberg so far. Who doesn't like free and super yummy food? I haven't spent a single penny on breakfast and lunch this week. Why bother? Bloomberg loves us ^_^

What I also like about working there is the professional atmosphere. Everyone dresses up so nicely everyday and it's a great feeling to have walked amongst them. I haven't touched my jeans for a long time.

The people in the Tradebook Sales team are all fairly young. Not even in their 30s I would say? There's this guy whose seat had been taken over by me for two days in a row (because a. he was away and b. I didn't have a desk then) that has made me want to go to work more than the usual need to be punctual as an intern. I would say it's more out of admiration than infatuation. He's young, tall, handsome, and articulate. He's the type of guy whom you just can't come across with randomly on the street, at least not in Flushing (okay, partially because he's white, and Flushing is seriously devoid of white people). I went to a seminar taught by him today. Everytime he looked at me, I would just do some really silly things to avoid having eye contact with him. I consider the standards I use to judge guys to be pretty high. He's definitely the kind that I would look up to. I'm not expecting and wanting anything, just that it totally brightens my day to pass by him and greet him during work, reminding myself that the people (or the atmosphere in general) that I'm working with now are totally different from other experiences I've had. And I appreciate that.

Tomorrow will be the fourth day of my intern @ Bloomberg. The company is located at 731 Lexington Ave (between 58th and 59 streets). The number 731 is hung up between two massive poles in front of the building. The pristine color of the sign and the exterior of the structure makes it impossible to be missed by visitors and pedestrains. Yet on the first day I just couldn't spot the number. I went around the street and got lost in front of a chain of clothing stores. Silly me.

So I have been assigned to Tradebook Compliance Department. I had not a clue as to what I would be doing until the day I started. Sometimes the positions are pretty self-explanatory, such as Sales, Human Resources, Recruitment... But Compliance? What on Earth does the department do? It turns out that the department actually works really closely with the Sales Dept. The Product Sales team's mission is to sell the financial information product aka Bloomberg Terminal. Tradebook Compliance folks assist with all contractual and legal issues that arrise in Bloomberg's busineses. In the summer we the interns are responsible for the negotiation, modification, and execution of customer/representative agreements/files signed by the company. Bloomberg prides itself on its financial information product and boasts it as the best in the world. I mean Bloomberg Terminal is among the coolest things I've ever seen or used. I have yet to learn the basics/fundamentals in this field. And it's good that the Human Resource Department has planned out tons of educational and recreational events for interns to partake in.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to tackle some chapters of "Teaching Yourself Spanish" hehe. I went over a few pages yesterday and amazingly the vocab and sentences I learned late last night were still fresh in my mind when I woke up this morning; I guess my memory hasn't gone too bad hehe. Waitan and I are planning a week-long trip to L.A. by the end of August. We've found some pretty cheap deals so far. I'm really excited about our trip... no parents, no tour guides, no cars, no specific aims/plans... it's going to be quite an advanture.

I've been watching World Cup this whole weekend. I don't really have a favorite (since China didn't make it, or will it ever?). I mean come on, why do soccer players have to be so hot?

I started my ten-week internship at Bloomberg (an interactive and financial information company as described by her employees) today. One word to describe me now: exhuasted. I'll update on the news later.

JJ needs to get some sleep. zZzZzZzZz...

The building is magnificent!

I got bored last night on the couch surfing on the web. I suddently remember the cool website that Tiff built about herself on web.mit.edu. So I opened that up and tried to construct one of my own. And yea.. you need to write html scripts in order to make that work. And since I was bored so I thought why not teach myself how to write the codes. After fooling around with it for a while, I finally figured how to import images and align them side by side, whooo! This is just the beginning. I am now determined to learn how to write html files and get my personal site on mit web to work. Maybe that'll happen by the end of the summer, we shall see :D

So after that I thought about other things I'd like to accomplish in the summer, such as teaching myself basic Spanish (after my parent's suggesting me that I need to know at least conversational Spanish in the US) and learning how to use MatLab, which is required for 18.085 (the math class I'll be taking in the fall). Yep, not that many things to do but they'll indeed keep me busy for a while.

I have been home for over a week already, and have yet to accomplish something meaningful and productive for the summer. The feeling of being home is definitely not the same as that of being at school. One thing different for sure is that my spontaneous waking up in the morning a few minutes right before my alarm clock went off no longer happens at home. These days I go to sleep until I get sick of staring at random things on my laptop rather than do p-sets in school, and get up late in the morning until I can dream no more rather than force myself to get up to work out in MacGregor gym. Oh yea speaking of working out, I signed up for three-month membership at this local gym in Flushing, which is around 20 min bus ride from my house =D. This is one of the very few things I did in school taht I am still doing at home. The extra pounds I have gained over the past year in school have really gotten on my nerves. Now I not only have to focus on getting rid of baby fat but also the atrocious Freshmen 15. =/

Columbia lab experience was fun and beneficial in general. The lab has its own tokamak and stellarator! Jason, the grad student whom I worked with, was among the main designers of the stellarator. It is definitely one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. But... after all, I am a Freshmen who knows very little about plasma physics; and as a way of appreciating my visit to the lab, I was asked to drill holes on this absurdly looking water tank, which is used to store water to cool down the copper for the stellerator. =/. On a lighter note, I am really looking forward to my other job in the summer: internship at Bloomberg. I'm so glad they didn't turn me down after my "bs" during the phone interview, hehe.

I feel that there's so much to do in the summer. Maybe I'll spend some time exploring the city and see what's out there that I haven't seen or visited. But New York City now seems to be a lot more sketchier than I thought. Perhaps I have been away for too long. I miss the city I adored! Today when I was walking down the 42nd street in Manhattan with my mom, this guy at the phone booth suddently fainted in front of us. We were stunned and had not a single clue as to what we were supposed to do at the moment. Thank God the police came right on time. While we were walking, either on the street or inside the subway station, I noticed the place has become much more diversified and poeple just look more random and scarier than before. Have I been in Boston for too long? I seriously need to spend more time with my city in the summer to re-establish my admiration and appreciation. And I'm hoping I still can prove to some friends of mine who think NYC is sketchy that you don't just get mugged by some strangers on the street.

Met up with some old friends in the past few days and am super-excited to see some more later on. YAY
Nice weather, nice people, nice city (yes I still believe)... Life is good.

Aren't you proud of me Mace?! Look what I'm doing right now!

Oh my gosh look how fast time flies! I haven't updated LJ for a couple of months already. Bad bad JJ. The last time I visited here was when I was about to start the second term. And the first time since last time I visited is two weeks before the second term is going to be over! Nice job JJ! What a way to keep your journal updated, hehe. Okay enough about teasing myself. Let's get down to business. *clears throat*

Wondering if my writing ability has gone down the spiral this semester. Since I'm not taking any writing-intensive classes this time, I haven't written anything that's more than a page long. Or have I written at all? Or have I ever had the thought of writing something? *frown*

A lot of things have happened this term. Classes are certainly much more difficult and more challenging. Keeping up with the materials and staying happy after gazillion hours of cramming requires not only optimism and energy but also a healthy state of mindset aka sanity. I still remember how I joked about my being on the verge of mental breakdown when I was hanging out with old pals during IAP. Well, things are definitely getting a lot better this semester in terms of anticipating stress and acquiring enough sleep/rest. Meanwhile, grades that I have been getting are not as satisfactory as the ones from last semester. One thing I have learned at MIT is that everyone is different and possesses his/her own strengths. The key thing is to learn how to focus on yourself and do the best you can. You can't guage your intelligence by comparing yourself to others. After all, this place is full of geniuses. And this is one of the reasons that keep me going everyday. Two more weeks before going back to normal life at home. Finish this term strong JJ! Only two more weeks left...

Other than dragging my butt to classes every day, I'm done quite a handful of fun things. Let's see, I did Splash on Wheels at Hudson High School with Maria at the beginning of the semester, where we taught the kids how to do origami (though I know absolutely nothing about it). And and... went to a talk by photographer Arnold Newman; his comments on Bush still crack me up. I also went to MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble Concert, Juggle Mania II Performance, lecture by economist Clyde Prestowitz, “Chicago” put up by Musical Theatre Guild, WILG semi-formail, New York Times scholars get-together at Hai Xi's place... and lots of movies! That's all I can think of right now. It's true that college experiences can be fun and rewarding. But I can't deny the fact that they are often overshadowed by the heavy and intimidating workload that we receive every week. Sometimes I feel like my life here is inundated with problem sets and exams. *sigh*

Back to happy thoughts. I'm really glad that I've made some new friends this term. They're all awesome people! Upperclassmen told me that once you start taking classes within your major, you would barely see the friends that you made in Freshmen year. I sincerely hope it won't happen to me.

Enough about this entry. It's impossible to summarize everything in the past few months in a few paragraphs. I shall return soon, hehe.

I'm so psyched about going to Six Flags with old gangs!

Just to remind myself of how much I loved Disney World! Florida rocks! Maybe I'll move next to Disney when I graduate.

Current status:
back to campus

Current goal:
purge the thought of next term's classes from the spotless mind

Happy Chinese New Year!

Since Waitan is going back to Amherst on Thursday, I decided to have breakfast with her this morning. I'm always late to our appointments. Needlessly to say, she always has to call me several times before I physically arrive at the destination to meet her up. And today was not an exception, hehe. I had my orthodontics appointment at 10:30. Dr. Huang got so upset with me because my last visit was in September. He then entered his usual realm of tirade of how he can't treat me anymore because I am an irresponsible patient, blah blah blah. Only after he discovered that I came in early January and the other doctor who treated me did not write down the report of the visit on my record did he start dropping off the furious mask on his face. All I'm praying for is to get my braces off soon. I then met up with Lulu and headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was my second time visiting there this month, and Lulu's first time! I'm glad that she liked it and it was nothing close to the "dull" impression she had previously established about the museum. We got off fairly early because Waitan was waiting for me back in Flushing and her MetroCard transferring time was expiring. Lulu went home early to prepare for her first day of classes on Thursday. Waitan went home with me and stayed over for a bit. I burned a CD of songs for her as well. Her dad came and picked her up at around 7:00pm.

Okay, everyone besides me is back to college now. I surely will miss all my friends and the fun I have had during the break. Four more days till I'm heading back to my school. Yikes!

Lulu hung out with me pretty much the entire day today. Thanks to her I didn't feel bored at all when I got back home from Cornell. So I visited the Queens Center for the first time since its renovation. The place looked fabulous and sumptuous. I spent some big bucks on a laptop case, an iPod mini armband, and shower gels/lotion. Lulu bought herself a black iPod nano; it was so exquisite! Thanks to my support and advice, the "big decision" as to whether to purchase it or not was made without a glitch. She went to my house afterwards and asked for the songs I have on my iTunes. We then cooked together (mainly frying vegetables) and had our dinner while being seriously entertained by the new episode of "American Idol".

Check out the black iPod nano , it's so neat!

So my parents left for China last Thursday to reunite the rest of our family for the fast-approaching Chinese New Year, leaving me behind in New York. I rejected their offer of going back with them. I have a pretty legitimate reason for declining, well, reasons. First of all, I'd already been back to China last summer and yet did not feel a strong attanchment to living there anymore. Frankly, if my friends hadn't been there for me everyday to keep me excited about our adventurous road trips or excursions, I would have been bored to death or complained throughout the whole stay. So hurrays to friends from childhood! In addition, it is super cold in China right now. I certainly do not want to wear as much as I wear outside the house when I'm indoor, thanks to the lack of heating system inside the buildings. There you go, I have to celebrate New Year alone this year, which can be both special and yucky. The sudden loneliness I felt right after my parents left the house had definitely struck me by surprise. I have never felt that way before. I think the main reason for that unusual sentiment was not the fact that my parents weren't there with me (since I've gone through many days without my parents' accompanying me), but the realization that I was left alone in this country, on the other side of the globe, for the first time. In order to regain the energetic side of me, I decided to go visit Weisha at Cornell and stay over there for a weekend. Luckily Waitan too wanted to go with me. So travel buddies for the second time!

My stay at Cornell was fantastic! Weisha and Diana were great hostesses. Millions thanks to their generosity and kindness, we actually got a chance to get acquaninted with Cornell pretty well. The campus was gorgeous, though a bit empty and chilly; the facilities were great; and the Cornell food was the best by far! I can't believe Cornell kids are being treated so well in terms of cuisine. Waitan and I just couldn't stop complimenting on the food there. I mean come on, which place has dining halls with different sections that allow you to make your own waffles, order different kinds of omelets, enjoy tons of fruits, grab as many spring rolls as you can, and indulge yourself with Cornell-made ice cream, or apple cidar, or probably everything else? And imagine a place with several dining halls of equivalent luxury. I'm typing this with a great sense of jealousy and a deep regret for schools like MIT.

We did a lot of stuff at Cornell. Visiting dorms, touring campus/taking tons of pictures, playing badminton, swimming, watching the movie "2046", eating brunch, skating, attending classes and pretending we're Cornell students... good times.

I met one of the worst creatures on Earth! Well he is not exactly a creature, he is my inspector during the road test. Bahh who does he think he is? Don't you dare staring at me with your watered eyeballs on your goofy-looking face. I hate you for yelling at me for no reason. I hate you for picking on the right things while I was driving. I hate you for giving me that disgusting attitude. For those of you who are wondering what he looks like, look down. Yep, meet the loser.

Attention: 1/14/06-1/15/06

JJ and Waitan's exhilarating yet blah skiing trip

I had my driving lesson at 1pm, which ended at 2:30pm. I went to the Flushing Library right afterwards to meet up with Suchen and her college pal Wendy. We then traveled to Bryan Park at 5th Avenue to ice skate. My second time ice skating during the winter break! It turned out that Lulu, Waitan, and a bunch of their friends were also ice skating at Bryan Park, which I knew the night before. So this explains why I took Suchen and Wendy to Bryan Park. When we arrived there, the others had been skating for a while already. Let me try to list all the people that were there: other than us three, there were Lulu, Waitan, Alice, Matt, Angela, and Elaine. A pretty big group I guess. I had so much fun there except for the incident when Wendy made me fall with my butt dropping vertically down onto the ice. That was a huge "ouch". Lulu and Alice left the rink early so the rest of us hit a meal at McDonald's. The decor of the place is ridiculously crazy. You can spot the word "McDonald's" from a few blocks away. Since everything is bundled up in that particular area in Times Square, we decided to see a movie after we ate, which was literally a minute walk from the food place. Standing in front of the self-purchase ticket machine and discussing which movie to see was a bit aggravating. I wanted to see Tristan&Isolde while Suchen wanted to see Hoodwinked. After realizing Memoirs of a Geisha was showing, all but me and Suchen got so pumped up that without a second doubt they all bought tickets to that movie. So having checked the machine again, we finally agreed on seeing Casanova, which was not completely sold out. The movie was great overall. Heath Ledger was just plainly hilarious. But I don't think the romantic spark in the movie was strong enough between Casanova played by Heath Ledger and Francesca played by Sienna Miller.

A busy and fun day!

Bryan Park


Casanova

The world-renowned Swan Lake Ballet show is coming to town! Having been successfully made possible by the New York City Ballet group, the show had greatly fascinated my mind. Thanks to Weisha, Waitan and I got Student Rush tickets for only $12 per person. I was a bit mad at Weisha at first for not remembering to bring her photo ID. But I was glad that Waitan was able to go with me to see it at night. So the show was held at the Lincoln Center, the spotlight for artistic burgeoning in the world. I was completely enchanted by the gracious and elegant movement of the ballerine and the flawless delineation of emotions. Everything was just too classic, too phenomenal, and too perfect. Frankly, the more I have enjoyed myself back home in New York, the more I have fallen in love with the city. The ample opportunities out there throughout every corner in the city have provided the New Yorkers with a healthy balance alongside the fast-paced living style. Encore!

Finally NBA game! When I went back to China last summer, I was asked by so many of my friends whether I had gone to an NBA game or not. Now that my parents are leaving for China soon, I realized it should be the time for us to catch one of the most exciting plays in the season: New York Knicks vs. Dallas Mavericks! And of course, Knicks rocked the Madison Square Garden! With a close margin we beat Dallas by only two points. What a joyous night.

I have come to realize that keeping a planner is one of the best things that can happen to you in the world! It will come in so handy later on when you have yet to notice about its advantages other than reminding you of all the upcoming events. So when it comes to retrospection, nothing works better than a well-kept planner. Okay, enough with this taking-pride-in-relying-on-your-planner-for-everything business.

On this day, I went back to Bronx Science with Suchen. It was so nice seeing all your old teachers again. One weird thing I surely noticed about our school was that the color of the building seemed completely different to me than what I used to remember when I attended there. Was Bronx Science always white before? Hmmm... that's something to be contemplated upon. I had a really nice long chat with some of the teachers, like Mrs. Klausner, Mr. Lawrence, and Mr. Omoloju, and was glad that I could catch up with some others while classes were in session. Going back to Science reminded me so much of the old good days in high school. I definitely felt awkward filling out Guest Pass at the security desk. How dare they kick me out of their domain already? Didn't they know I was once the star in the school? Okay, the "star" part I kind of made up. =D The bottom line is I really miss high school and the yellow bus. Those are the traces that can never be effaced from your memory.

After coming out of Bronx Science Suchen and I met up with Minghao to go swimming. I learned how to float in the water in about half an hour. What a feat! Swimming is not that hard to learn after all (accompanied by a conceited smirk)

I started my first driving lesson today. The coach arrived at my house an hour later than what was orginally schedueld and drove me to Francis Lewis area to practice. Driving is so much fun! Stay tuned for my road test result, which I can tell you now will not be pretty. At night I went to see King Kong with my parents. What a thrilling movie! Peter Jackson just shrank himself into half of his original body size and did an incredible job on this movie. I can't believe King Kong fell off of the top of the Empire State Building. The tenderest part of his heart ultimately fell for the beauty of Ann Darrow which couldn't stand seeing any pain being inflicted upon the beauty. The storyline was so touching and fascinating. I'm sure everyone will fall in love with this appalling yet decliate and affectionate creature, or beast, if I may.

Here we go again, JJ's LJ marathon night. "Today" I toured the Metropolitan Museum of Art with Michael Kimmelman, chief art critic of the New York Times. Overall it was a well-planned event except for the fact that only a small amount of people showed up. Chelsea, Pamela, and I are the only ones from this year's scholars. Whee, that shocked me by surprise. We paid a close look at a dozen of modern artworks to which I did not pay any attention at all when I previously visited the Met. Michael Kimmelman is such a knowledgeable and eloquent man-I'm pretty sure he has read countless volumes of books and examined millions paintings/drawings in order to become who he is today. It's so fulfilling to have your perspectives opened up to a completely different realm of things and to learn how to appreciate them, which might seem exotic and eccentrinc to you at first.



This is a picture of The New York Times building at Times Square 229 West 43rd Street.

Have a very jubilant new year everyone!

Okay, I'm cheating on this entry or many entries to come after this because today is not the the first day of 2006. =D Today is actually the 19th of Janaury. Okay okay I know what you're thinking: another slacker in the realm of LiveJournal. But at least the tiniest sense of guilt inside me won over the battle against laziness. That's why I'm picking it up again. So just bear with me as I am attempting to retrace my life thus far in the new year will ya? Hmm... flipping through my planner and try to remember what I had done on Jan. 1. I got it, Christmas Spectacular at the Radio City Music Hall! The splendor and and the milieu in general just took our breadths away. I finally had a chance to witness the world-renowned performance made possible by the beloved Rockettes! Go New York! Go Christmas! Go New Year!

Oh yea how can I forget to list my new year resolutions? So behold, here they come
1) Lose any unwanted weight (or just become a contestant in The Biggest Loser, okay, that's not funny)
2) Endure the torture that school has blithely brought me
3) Maintain good grades without a complelte mental breakdown
4) Save more big bucks and ask less from my parents
5) Travel to Japan and actually live with Janpanish style (and no, I'm not a traitor to China; this has no implication whatsoever of politics)
6) Get to know more people (oh God Almighty, why are there so many human beings on the earth?)
7) Live happily

Ah as planned out last night, I woke up early this morning to go to Cornell Medical Library to do more research and print out all the articles I need for the writing. Gil wrote to me late last night asking when I can be done with the work. I promised him I'll be turning it in in like two days. Ah, still busy day ahead. I'm going to start writing tomorrow. Wish me luck. I missed studying at the Cornell Library. I used to do work there almost everyday throughout the summer of Junior year in high school. It is so cozy and learning-friendly. And and... Weisha and I would always find some yummy places during the lunch hours to feed our stomachs. It was also the summer of 2004 Olympics. So we actually had a chance to catch up with several episodes while we were eating in the building across from the library. Good times good times =D

My research paper is due within a few days. All I did today was researching for articles that I need to read before writing the summary. I've rested for long enough after getting back home, so now should be the time for me to start doing the assignment. The worse part is that I need to print out like 23 articles, hmmm... Flushing library is ridiculously stingy, computer at home is not plugged into a printer. Great, this means that I need to go all the way to Cornell Medical Library in Manhattan tomorrow morning to use their printers. This is about the only place I can think of now that allows us to print as many pages as we want.

I went ice skating yesterday. It turned out that Chelsea and Pamela didn't want to ice skate at all after we met up. That kind of confused me a bit. So at the end it was just me, Eli, and Lulu at the rink. I didn't see Haixi and Xiaomeng at all throughout the whole time though I talked to Xiaomeng on the phone for a couple of times asking for directions. Oh well, quite an interesting get-together I must say. I had a great time skating yesterday. I certainly am not so bad as a beginner, =D. If Eli hadn't come and watched me as I skated, I would've fallen onto the ice for like a thousand times. So thanks to him. I felt a lot securer either when holding onto someone else or skating besides a person who can take care of me. Hopefully I will be totally independent next time.

My head started to hurt for no reason last night. The pain bothered me so much that I couldn't even fall asleep. I'm pretty sure it came from inside my head, which was haunting every single nerve in my body. The horrible headache was finally gone after I woke up this morning. God I've never had such migraine before. It was so sucky.

Sorry couldn't stick to my morning jogging routine today. As always, I went back to sleep after turning off the alarm clock. I guess at this point our bodies are well suited to sleeping through an entire morning without being disturbed by any means. After being pulled out of bed ruthlessly by my parents, we went back to this sumptuous shopping place at Exit 36 in Long Island which we attempted at going on Christmas day. Hah, funny story. Then I went to see Memoirs of a Geisha at Multiplex Cinema with Lulu, Alice, and her friend. The movie started at 7:00pm and we rushed there at 3:30pm. But hey, there's an explanation for our unusual promptness. We were actually aiming for the one at 3:30pm, but unfortunately the tickets were sold out. argh. So killing almost four hours before the movie was a pretty tough challenge. To me, what we did was quite miraculous. We walked all the way to Target at Exit 20, not to mention that it only took us about half an hour, hehe. Okay, back to the movie, it wasn't as good as I expected it to be. The storyline was kind of mundane. But I had to admit Ziyi Zhang did a great job in delineating the life of a geisha in the early Japannese history. Her English improved too, =D. Throughout the movie, I had so much trouble appreciating the motives behind Sayuri to pursue her love for the Chairman which, seemed to me, was rather blind and immature. Also I couldn't tell when and how the Chairman developed affections for Sayuri and why in the end he embraced her so passionately that he didn't seem to care about her past history and status at all.

I'm going ice skating tomorrow at the Central Park, having a little get-together with Chelsea, Pam, Haixi, Eli, and Xiaomeng. So excited! Oh the better thing is that I finally convinced Lulu to come with me. Go me!

Wow it's late. I never know that you can have so much fun fooling around with LiveJournal. Hmmm.... it's still Christmas! I tried to go shopping with my parents, but we realized that there isn't much to see on Christmas day after driving around aimless for two hours. How foolish! argh. I have to admit we went pretty far today. First Long Island, then back to Flushing, then Manhattan Midtown. I guess with all the depressing drizzles and dismal weather, staying in the car would probably be a better option than walking around on the streets anyway. Ha, a good way to comfort ourselves for not doing Christmas shopping earlier.

The current goal is to maintain health by exercising. Well, I sort of started doing it today. Woke up at 8, which is a total miracle for me (those of you who know me should know), and went jogging around the blocks for...ehhhh......20 minutes. It was so foggy outside today. I was a bit disturbed by the fact that I couldn't see anything in front of me as I ran/walked. So I finally decided to quit. Maybe you'll see me jogging for more than 20 minutes tomorrow morning. =D

I miss my Kung Fu class! I used to exercise a lot. Sigh
~Everybody loves Kung Fu fighting--heeeyaaa~

Merry Christmas!