Ivy Life

Freshman Year Finished

2009-05-23T23:24:00.000-04:00

This is it, the end of the my freshman year. I'm at Sekhar Mama's house right now, and I'm exhausted. It's been a very very long day. Lucky me, I had my last final exam today for my politics class at 9 in the morning. The exam went really well, but it was really frustrating to have an exam on the last day with all the packing you have to do at the end of the year. I hadn't really thought about much except my last exam, and now that it was over, I could finally move onto all the other things I had to get done. After the exam, I packed until I met up with Cristina, Olaf, and Dorian for lunch at Mehek. After a very yummy and fun lunch, I had to get back to packing. Packing really sucks. It really really sucks. Cristina came over later in the afternoon to help me, but she was really sleepy since she helped Gabe pack up the previous night, and fell asleep on the couch. Eventually we said our goodbyes (oh I will miss her!) and I continued to pack. I didn't finish until after 8 PM. Sekhar Mama then came to pick me up, and I'm now at their house.

It's been such an eventful year, and it's amazing how much I have changed. I can't believe how fast it has gone, but so much has happened at the same time. I'm ready to go back home though, I miss my family, especially my mom! But I'm sad to leave Princeton. But before I know, I'll be back.

Dean's Date Spring 2009

2009-05-12T15:25:00.000-04:00

As reading period comes to a close, everyone is going crazy to complete their dean's date assignments. I didn't actually have anything due today. I had a short paper for my writing seminar and a program for my computer science class due yesterday, but I turned both in early. Even more fortunately for me, my exams are very well spread out, so I can study for each exam one at a time. I've been spending a lot of time studying for my ORF final, although it's not until Friday. In fact last night, I stayed up really late studying with Abby and Olaf, who were working on their dean's date assignments, while I studied for my ORF exam. We studied in the East Asian Studies library until closing, and then moved our operations into the Forbes Dining Hall. I also discovered the Forbes Cafe for the first time; an endless supply of coffee all night long! I will definitely come back to Forbes for some late night studying. So I studied for ORF until maybe 3 in the morning, and left Olaf and Abby to continue their Dean's Date work.

So today, humanities majors are celebrating the end of their agony, while us science and engineering people are just embarking on our week and a half of hell called exams. I don't think I'll go out partying though; I think I'll head back to the library for studying later tonight.

Spring Lawnparties

2009-05-03T23:13:00.002-04:00

Today was a very tiring extravaganza of musical performances known as spring lawnparties. Unfortunately, it was raining like crazy, but that still didn't stop everyone from enjoying the concerts. In the early afternoon, I headed over to Tower for Mates of State and Apples in Stereo. Fortunately they were performing under a tent, so I didn't get wet in the rain, but I did get mud on my dress. Both acts were really cute! I was a bit disappointed with Apples in Stereo; they played a lot from their old albums. I really loved Mates of State; so adorable! After Tower, I went to Quad for a little to see Gym Class Heroes; it wasn't very exciting, and I didn't stay very long. I then went to Terrace to eat lunch. It was Terrace food, so nothing great, just corn on the cob, baked beans, and some other food along those lines. But it was fun just chilling in Terrace in the afternoon. There was supposed to be a special Stones Throw feature with lasers at night at Terrace, but because of the rain, they had to perform inside. So later that afternoon, there were several DJ sets. After that, James Pants performed; it was really awesome! To end the set was VJ Peanutbutter Wolf; the way he mixed the videos was amazing, but the music itself was kind of lame. Overall it was a fun and exhausting day.

Frist Fest

2009-04-30T23:23:00.003-04:00

Today was Frist Fest. I guess I missed the day time festivities as I was working on my school work, but I went in the evening with Danny E. to stuff teddy bears. After we both made our bears, we went outside to play some of the carnival games. One game seemed like it almost defied the laws of physics; you had to push a bowling ball over a hump on a set of rails and you win if it doesn't roll back. But the way the rails are set up, because of energy conservation, it has to roll back, unless it loses enough energy from friction, which makes it possible, yet very difficult to win. I wasn't close to winning any game, but I think Danny almost won a couple, but not quite. It was still fun. After that we made a stuffed dalmatian; while stuffing the animals, you put in a little star and wish on the star. We wished for whoever gets the dalmatian to be happy and healthy. After that, I listened to my friends' band, the Plagiarists. It was lots of fun!

Feminism in Full Swing

2009-04-29T10:32:00.005-04:00

In order to raise money for the Susan G. Komen campaign against Breast Cancer, a group of students were holding a "Manicure for the Cure" fundraiser. Among some of the posters advertising this event were posters featuring the slogan "Save Second Base." The feminist community (which I am part of; check out the blog Equal Writes) reacted very negatively do this poster, as it objectifies women. So in response to this poster, an anonymous person (although I have a hunch I know who put those posters up) created parody posters for a fake event "Massage for the Cure." Just look at the picture carefully to see the hilarity of these posters. So the original group got very upset and has been sending many emails to various mailing list defending their campaign as the "Save Second Base" slogan was coined by a breast cancer victim (that does not make it any less hurtful to women and does not negate the fact that it does objectify women) and the group seems very offended by the parody posters. But I think the posters raise interesting dialogue and highlight the issue in just the way the perpetrator intended: this slogan is just as bad as the other offensive slogans and it should not be used on a poster to help raise money for breast cancer research nor any other poster as it supports the objectification of women.

Interfaith Day of Service

2009-04-26T21:09:00.004-04:00

Today I participated in the Interfaith Day of Service sponsored by the Religious Life Council. We planted a community garden in Trenton at an inner city elementary school. It was so much fun! It's been a while since I've planted any gardens; I haven't gardened since CA week! I guess in high school, I did so many tree plantings and community gardens that relatively, it seems like I just haven't done that much at Princeton. Back to the story, we started out with nothing but an empty lot. First we rolled up the sod and then tilled the areas. Then of course we added soil and then planted the flowers. It was so much fun to play in the dirt and plant the flowers; well, it's fun to play in clean, new soil. Had there been bugs in the soil, I probably would not have been sitting in dirt the way I was. In the end, it was so nice to see how much we accomplished! We had created a pretty garden from nothing, and I'm sure the children at the school will be so thrilled to have a garden!

Afterward, we had a small discussion on faith and service, as it was sponsored by the Religious Life Council. It was nice to hear what everyone had to say. It was also nice to spend time with really nice people. Lately, I've been spending more time with my friends involved with the RLC because they are so open-minded and tolerant and caring. My own view on religion are very fluid, and I don't have strict religious views as many of the RLC members do, but I still enjoy their company and engaging in discussion with them.

The same weekend, Princeton hosted a conference on Arab-Israeli relations called Visions and Revisions. Many college students from the Middle East were invited to the conference, and as part of the conference, they helped us plant the garden. It was so nice to meet all these new students!

Overall, it was a wonderful day of community service and I definitely enjoyed the time spent outside the Orange Bubble of Princeton.

PACE Center Grant

2009-04-25T21:36:00.000-04:00

So I found out I was awarded a grant from the PACE Center today! I'll be getting $3600 this summer to work for the Old South Baton Rouge Partnership at home in Baton Rouge on economic revitalization. I'm super excited to spend my summer doing a community service internship, especially at home! It'll be awesome to work out of the McKinley Alumni Center and help the community in its redevelopment process.

Penn Microfinance Conference

2009-04-04T17:27:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, I went with the Princeton Microfinance Organization to the Penn Microfinance Conference. It was so much fun!! It took forever to get to Philly; it's so easy to get to NYC, but Philly requires going on so many slow trains! The UPenn campus is pretty cool; I like how it's integrated into the city. The Wharton building is gorgeous! There are escalators and there are platforms that lead to nowhere but let you look down on the floor below and see all the people buzzing about. They also have really cool study rooms with special computers and whiteboards for group projects.

The conference was set up as two speaker sessions and two panel discussions. The first speaker session was a lecture by NYU Professor Jonathan Morduch; he mostly lectured on the economic and policy implications of microfinance, showed some charts and graphs. It was interesting, but nothing I didn't already know. After that we went to a panel discussion on the financial crisis and microfinance. It was really interesting to see how the crisis had impacted microfinance; it was actually very different than I had imagined. There was another speaker from Citi Microfinance, the division of Citi group that works as an intermediary between the main bank and small local banks to help local communities; it was so interesting! I actually think I'd really like career-wise to be a banker or consultant and do similar work. The last panel discussion was on technology and microfinance and it was really cool to see the new types of technology being developed for small businesses in poor countries; there was this awesome phone to help shopkeepers keep inventory and manage their finances. There was also a networking session (why don't they just call it a reception? Oh Wharton tools) where we got to meet the speakers and other students involved. I really had fun and got to know the other students of PMO really well from that.

Birthday

2009-04-03T02:19:00.000-04:00

Today (or really yesterday) was my birthday. It was a blast. Only one class today (actually two, but I haven't gone to COS lecture in a while), which was my political theory precept. Most of the day was very quiet, but it's always nice to have people just smile and wish you happy birthday. Later, after dinner, my roommates surprised me with a sign on the door, a really cool card, a notebook, and some candy. After that, I went to Zach and Garland's room to watch The Office and 30 Rock, but no new episodes because there was the series finale of ER. Instead we watched FOTC videos on youtube. :) Still fun spending time with Colleen, Garland, and Zach. Zach also gave me a really awesome card which he got everyone to sign. Later that night, Jacquelyn called asking me to help open the room for her since she was locked out. I came to open the door and everyone yells surprise and happy birthday; I was so surprised! It was so nice to see everyone from the hall there. We had yummy House of Cupcakes cupcakes; mine had a cherry on it! It was lots of fun! We went to Terrace later that night, but I left early. Overall, I had a fun birthday!

Half a Semester, Gone By So Fast

2009-03-07T22:47:00.002-05:00

Midterms are next week; it's hard to believe how fast this semester has flown by. It feels the semester just started. Classes are going fairly well this semester and I am continuing my exploration of the vast number of libraries on the Princeton campus. But that doesn't mean midterms week is any less stressful. Fortunately my microeconomics midterm was postponed until after the break, but I've got two papers to write and a computer science exam to study for. I just finished my ORF exam yesterday.

George Soros Dinner

2009-03-05T22:52:00.002-05:00

Like I saw Norman Ornstein last semester, I got see George Soros from the CEPS event at the Princeton Club of New York. It's hard to believe I got to see such a celebrity at such an intimate event! He mostly spoke about the dismal state of the economy (no new news) and speculated an upcoming social crisis (haha, speculate; so punny!). Surprisingly, I understood everything he spoke about (thank you Dr.Bogan!). John Nash was there too, but unsocial as always. His son was there too (I think to take care of his father). John Nash Jr. was quite a character. He was wearing a baseball hat that said "Millionaire" and had a simple calculator in his hand. Nik and I were wondering who the eccentric character was at cocktails, but on the bus ride back to Princeton we realized the man was John Nash's son.

Sometimes I forget how amazing Princeton is and the amazing opportunities it provides. I get to hobnob with George Soros and John Nash as a freshman. How astounding!

Terrace Shows

2009-02-08T12:27:00.002-05:00

Last night at Terrace, I saw School of Seven Bells and it was awesome! Terrace (F. Club) has some street cred plus the fact that Ray has lots of contacts means awesome shows this semester. I guess there are always really good shows at Terrace, but a bunch this semester. Last night there was School of Seven Bells, and this week, I'm looking forward to Soft Circle, High Places, Daedalus, and CYNE. And one of the best things about shows at Terrace is I can stand right at the front and see everything. I was literally touching the synthesizer of one the twins last night!

A New Semester

2009-02-05T13:55:00.005-05:00

The new semester is off to a good start! Two days before the start of the new semester, I decided to change my schedule, replacing my physics class with a politics class. I still have five classes. While it will be a lot of work, I think I will really enjoy my classes. So a brief overview:

-POL 303, Modern Political Theory: Amazing class!! We will read and analyze Hobbes, Rousseau, Kant, Locke, Hume, and Marx, focusing on the concept of the social contract. So far, I am really enjoying lecture; it's so interesting! I can't wait for the start of precepts next week; I can tell discussion will be very good.

-ORF 245, Engineering Statistics: It's just the first week of class, so I'm not too sure about the difficulty of the material, but it doesn't seem too bad (so far though it's really easy). The professor is very enthusiastic and engaging and he looks a lot like my dad, especially from behind.

-ECO 100, Microeconomics: Right now, the material we are covering is a review from Macro and Free Enterprise, but Prof. Willig is a really good lecturer. My preceptor is foreign, but from the Middle East, so he isn't too bad; I think he explains clearly at precept.

-Writing Seminar, Wal-Mart Nation: Although everyone says they hate their writing seminars, I really like it so far. The readings are very easy to read, as they are not very dense. The discussions in class are also very good, and I'm sure there will much to write about on the subject. It's mostly a focus on consumerism and consumption in America.

-COS 126, Java Programming: I've heard the class is really fun. Coding usually is. So far, just a review, as we have only written some simple output code. Both my professor and my preceptor seem like good teachers though.

I'm really looking forward to my classes this semester. So far, I am enjoying all of them. Last semester I made some poor class choices, but I think I now have a better idea of what subjects really interest me.

Intersession

2009-01-27T17:18:00.002-05:00

So I've been hanging out on campus for intersession. It's been pretty quiet over here, as most people have gone home, but there are a select few of us here. I went grocery shopping. Since Nik and I are vegetarian, we pooled our groceries together and he's been cooking for us at night, since I'm not too skilled at even boiling water. I've also been able to watch movies every night and do some leisure reading as well. I'm working on Norwegian Wood by Murakami right now.

One Semester Down, Seven More to Go

2009-01-22T20:04:00.002-05:00

Last night I finished my last exam, CHE 245 (ChemE Principles and Processes)! I am very ready for a new set of classes, though I would like to get the prereqs out the way so I take the more exciting classes.

After the exam, I went to Adjani's room with Nizette was their make-up subject. We quickly finished and just made it in time to Tower for their blacklight party. So crazy and so many people.

Today was very nice, being at Princeton with no worries. I went to the public library and meditation today and I made a necklace.

Exams and Snow!

2009-01-19T13:49:00.002-05:00

One more exam to go; I have finished three. This morning after my physics exam, I went to eat in Rocky-Mathey (which has AMAZING grilled cheese). After lunch, it started snowing, but not too heavily. Just the magical perfect amount. Usually when I walk in the snow as it falls, I don't pay attention to the snow, because I'm focused on getting inside a warm building, but today it was in the 30s, so it was nice outside (for this time of year). Snowflakes actually look like the snowflakes we draw as children (the six pointed star). I love the snow!! It's so beautiful. Now it's snowing a bit heavily, but I'm in Marquand, admiring the beautiful snow as it falls.

Dean's Date

2009-01-13T16:35:00.003-05:00

Today was dean's date, the day on which final papers are due. I didn't have anything due for dean's date, but I do have an economics exam tomorrow. around 4, you can see people celebrating, screaming with joy, or perhaps running to turn their paper in. Near McCosh Hall, the marching band serenaded the student body as we stood in line for (free) scarves or kettle corn. Unfortunately they ran out of scarves before I could get one. It was so cold outside (oh such fail). The eating clubs are having really good parties tonight, but I have an exam tomorrow so I need to study. I'm in Lewis Library right now, in the treehouse, while most people are getting crunked now that they only have a philosophy or politics take-home open book final. However, us science students are slogging away at our work.

Reading Period

2009-01-12T21:08:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow is Dean's Date, the day when most people have many papers due. I, in fact, have none, but I have four exams coming up. Those humanities students, tsk tsk, get it easy, once they turn in everything on dean's date. They often have none (or few) exams, and leave to have a long intersession, while us sciences students are slogging to take exams and going to review sessions. The very unfortunate have both papers and exams. I must get back to studying (I have had quite a productive day though). I'm in Marquand now, but I've visited three libraries today so far. I think I'll be heading to late meal soon.

Tickets to Inauguration

2009-01-12T14:29:00.000-05:00

Inaugurations come only once every four years, and there's only one time in one's life they can be a college student at inauguration. And especially this year, such an exciting election year, will be a spectacular inauguration. So for the freshman class, the student government was offering to take 130 students on a bus to inauguration. Tickets went on sale yesterday at noon, but people got in line at about ten. I joined the line at about eleven with my laptop studying for finals. Frist was crazy and the line was very long. I can't wait for inauguration! It will be a blast!

And the year wraps up

2008-12-13T22:05:00.000-05:00

Last night was the last night at Princeton of 2008! After spending 2 hours in the dining hall for dinner, Chloe and Jasmine hung out (on our comfy couch) for a while. We didn't get to make smores, because soon after, we went to the goodbye party for the Oxford exchange students. It was fun and semi-classy (in a Chardonnay and Bordeaux in plastic cups sort of way); I met a couple exchange students from France as well. After that, we went to Johannes's room for a dance party and more fun. I left Johannes's early to watch Love Actually in Stephen's room. I fell asleep though (I was so tired from all the work I had to do; I had been up since four in the morning and didn't have much sleep due to a Physics test, French paper, and ChemE problem set).

Today was quiet, as most people left this morning. I had lunch with Michael Collins and Josh at Panera (I'm going to miss their Mango smoothies). On the shuttle to the airport I had finally met Will (who went to Brother Martin with Michael; there's not many people from Louisiana at Princeton), who is pretty awesome. Tricia and Farrell were also on the flight; I saw them at the airport. They are also both from Nola and are so sweet.

Gimme a break!

2008-12-11T12:01:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not talking about kitkat bars (but I wish). As the semester is coming to a close, all my professors are cramming as much as they can into this last week. Argh! My ChemE problem set already takes forever to solve, and Prof. Loo has doubled this week's pset. All my classes are going at 100 mph and saturating me with work. I am really looking forward to winter break!!

Monday night's alright... for partying?

2008-12-08T23:29:00.001-05:00

Okay, not really partying. More like just too much T.Sweets ice cream (and it's 20 degrees outside!). Today was Sarah's (our RCA) birthday, so we (as in our zee group) surprised her with an ice cream cake. After that, Lisa, Kalila, and I hit up the Festivus celebration in the Whitman Common Room. For those Seinfeld-ignoramuses, Festivus is a holiday "for the rest of us." And to celebrate Festivus, the college council had T.Sweets ice cream (and lots of toppings!) and the special episode of Seinfeld playing on the TV.

Frosh Winter Semiformal

2008-12-07T10:54:00.001-05:00

While the upperclassmen have their formals at eating clubs, the freshman class government holds a semiformal for the freshman class. Thus last night in the Rocky Common room, we had a dance. As most Princeton students never went to many high school dances and probably were wallflowers at the ones they went to, the semiformal proved an outlet for awkward and embarrassing dance moves. My facebook account has too many pictures of a sweaty Eduardo doing god knows what.

I had an awesome time. It was snowing that night!!! Soft, magical flakes too! It was the first time I had seen snow. Anyhow, first we went to see the Kindred Spirit, an a Capella group, sing gospel songs and religiously themed Christmas songs under some archway in the Frist/McCosh vicinity. Next we (Stephen, Gabe, and I) hit up Murray Dodge's hot chocolate night and eventually ended up at Rocky for the dance. It was so much fun and so different to my high school dance experiences. It wasn't until the end of junior year I felt comfortable dancing, and this time, I didn't feel like the third wheel. And they actually played the Spice Girls' "Wannabe."

Pre-Thanksgiving Fun

2008-11-26T14:09:00.001-05:00

The only times I ever really party seem to be right before a holiday. As Thanksgiving break starts tomorrow, I went out last night (though I have class at 8:30 this morning). First Kalila, Astrid, Mike, Lisa, Josh, and I went to Bent Spoon for hot chocolate, ice cream, or cupcakes. I had hot chocolate, which was a cup of wonderful goodness (imagine drinking melted rich chocolate with marshmallows and whipped cream). After that we walked around Palmer Square and Nassau Street, and Mike of course tried to slyly make us walk in the direction of Hoagie Heaven for roast beef sandwiches. We did not go that far down Nassau, realizing Mike's plan around Hamilton Jewelers. We headed back to North B/C where we all (except for Mike) live for some singing and guitar playing (of mostly Kate Perry songs) in Josh's room. A little later that night, Josh and I went to Tower to see Sensemaya perform. There, I met up with Colleen and Garland. Christian and Luis were there too (I can never tell them apart; I can't tell Leah and Danielle apart either. Sheesh, twins. I (unwisely) agreed to play flipcup, girls vs. guys. I don't think we won, but I was at least decent. After too many rounds of flipcup, we went to Terrace and I think the night ended soon after.

Studying in Firestone

2008-11-22T17:46:00.002-05:00

This afternoon has been quite productive. After my dance class (which ended at 1:30), I came to Firestone to study for my CHE and PHY tests this coming Monday and Tuesday. Not looking forward to either test. No matter how much I study, I still feel so unprepared. For CHE, we just haven't had enough time to digest the material we have covered. We had so much time to cover material balances and now we are rushing through temperature and pressure. At least this material isn't as difficult. As long as you know what equation to use, it's fine. My PHY test is going to cover rigid body motion; I really understand the moment of inertia stuff, but I really hate torque. I just hope I can solve and finish all the questions on the test.

As far as the studying is going, I've been quite productive. I really love coming down to the C level (3 floors underground) and sitting in the atrium. It's much quieter down here. I usually don't study in Firestone, as it is really far up campus. I usually study in Marquand or Lewis. I love sitting in libraries with large windows, which is why I really hate studying in Whitman library. But unlike Marquand, sitting in the atrium is less distracting (because I'm not looking out a huge window at the beautiful north side of campus). There are skylights though in the atrium, so it still gives that feeling of natural light and windows. It's also a bit more homey than Lewis, but the chairs aren't as comfortable. In a way that's good, because it's hard to really focus when you are too comfy.

Picking Classes and a New Direction

2008-11-21T18:01:00.001-05:00

The semester is starting to wrap up and it's time to start thinking about next semester. Although I don't have to declare a major until the end of the year, it looks like I will most probably major in Operations Research and Financial Engineering. I have decided that I don't want to spend four years learning about chemical engineering processes, and that I enjoy computational math (problem solving) and I really like economics. Thus I have decided that I'd like to major in ORFE, towards the Finance side. And so I come to picking next semesters classes. As a BSE, I don't have much flexibility; I have to take PHY 104 (Electricity and Magnetism), COS 126 (General Computer Science for Engineers; yay Java!), and a writing seminar. I had planned on taking ECO 100 (Microecomics) since I wanted to get a Woody Woo certificate, but since I need it for ORFE, it works out well. I'm also taking ORF 245 (Introduction to Engineering Stats). Unfortunately no exotic classes, but I think all a good deal of my classes will be enjoyable for me, and this will give me space in the future for more Woody Woo classes. I think that my decision to switch to ORFE is a good idea. When I look at the departmentals, I actually get excited about those classes, unlike CHE departmentals. I think the only reason I'd change my major would be finding ORFE too difficult, but I think I'll be fine. In that situation, I could easily switch to Economics, and since I've been taking a variety of classes, I should be able to fulfill my distribution requirements.

Frozen Woody Woo Fountain

2008-11-19T17:57:00.002-05:00

Winter is approaching and the Woody Woo Fountain is frozen!

(photo courtesy of Alyssa Kylie)

should have guessed it was schmoozing

2008-11-18T21:32:00.002-05:00

This evening I went to an information session about internships with J.P. Morgan. Foolishly, I expected us to receive information about the application process and deadlines. I arrive, dressed in jeans and ugg boots (thank god I was at least wearing my peacoat and trouser jeans that covered the majority of the boots), when everyone else is in a suit. I was about to cry; I didn't know what to do. The lady at the registration desk said it wouldn't be a big deal, so I stayed. The information session was more of a schmoozefest: we exchanged business cards and networked. None of my questions about the application process were answered. Fortunately, I can talk to strangers with ease and carry myself well, so I wasn't too awkward, but it was definitely an embarrassing experience. Yet now I know what to expect in the future.

On a side note, I was a bit disappointed today with the other students I met. Many of the students there didn't really show a love of computational mathematics or economics; they were really there for just the money. I guess that's why they call those headed to i-banking tools.

Princeton Halloween

2008-10-24T22:45:00.000-04:00

Although real Halloween is next week, so is fall break. Thus, Princeton students celebrate Halloween a week earlier, to celebrate the end of midterms and just dress up in general. So this year, I was a homeless investment banker (so fitting for the current financial crisis). I had a suit on, but in a disheveled fashion and wore make-up so that I had a tired look. I also carried a cardboard sign saying "Laid off by Lehman, Need Money... Preferably Yen" and an empty vodka bottle. That night I met Val, whose dad used to work for Lehman and we took a picture together (I don't really know if that is a good thing though). I helped Lisa create her Amy Winehouse costume by drawing on her tattoos. Michael Collins dressed up like a bunny, Kalila was a cowgirl, and Josh was a feminist (he's part of the feminist group on campus, so he had a shirt that said "this is what a feminist looks like"; add boobs, make-up, a skirt, and combat boots, and voila!). It was a blast seeing everyone's costumes and since midterms were over, we could all party without the anxiety of schoolwork.

A Mercy

2008-10-14T19:23:00.003-04:00

Toni Morrison, who is one of my favorite authors, spoke earlier today in Richardson Auditorium, and it was amazing!!! She read three excerpts from her latest book, A Mercy. First of all, her voice is so musical and soothing, and her writing style is so poetic, which made the reading very lyrical. Also, the content of her book was so captivating; I can't wait to read it! I'm still in shock I had this opportunity, as Toni Morrison was part of my ultimate Princeton dream of a collegiate utopia.

Ornstein Dinner

2008-10-02T16:55:00.005-04:00

Last night I went to NYC to attend a dinner at the Princeton Club, where Norman Ornstein, a famous economic policy analyst with the American Enterprise Institute, spoke about the financial crisis and the upcoming election. The event was held by the Center for Economic Policy Studies. There were about 15 students from Princeton, either Economics majors or residents of Whitman College (since the information about the event was sent through WhitmanWire and to students in the Economics department). We took the train to NYC and got off at Penn Station and walked to the Princeton club, which was walking distance. First there were cocktails and a bit of socializing; some photographer, probably for the Alumni weekly, was taking pictures. After that, we ate dinner, which was really yummy (which is often rare as a vegetarian at formal events). At my table, the man sitting next to worked for Bloomberg (the company) and there were two alumni from the class of 1950 (yes, very old). Also at my table was a couple from Israel who work at Princeton every fall semester with the Economics department due to mandatory retirement in Israel. After dinner, Norman Ornstein presented his talk, which was awesome! He started off with a bunch of political and economic jokes, and throughout his talk he would make humorous comments. His talk was very entertaining, engaging, and intellectual all the same time, yet very accessible and contained; following his talk he answered some questions of the audience. Overall, the affair was quite small; there were probably only 50 to 60 people at the event, who were either affiliated with Princeton in some manner or worked in a field related to economics. I had so much fun and I met a bunch of awesome people, especially the other students who came on the trip. I'm so glad I had such an opportunity. It's quite unbelievable. Ornstein is a frequent guest on many important news shows and works with many important politicians, including Obama and McCain. Even the attendees not only read about the financial crisis in the paper, but are a huge part of the events that are going on right now. I met a man who was an accountant for the US Treasury, who works with Paulson. I love Princeton! There are so many amazing opportunities available to us that one would not be able to find elsewhere in the world!
On a side note, it was very exciting to visit the Princeton Club. It's a special club for alumni, and oddly enough, there are no obnoxious combinations of orange and black there. There are many pictures and paintings of the University and portraits of past University presidents. There's a really nice portrait of President Tilghman in the room the event was held in. Near the staircase, there is a mural of Nassau Hall with a tiger on the front lawn. There are a lot of tigers throughout the building, which tend to point in the tacky memorabilia direction, but it nonetheless makes you excited to be part of the tradition of Old Nassau!

vote for me!

2008-09-27T14:31:00.002-04:00

As elections draw near, the feel of campaign seasons is in the air. No, I'm not talking about the presidential elections, but USG elections. A good deal of Princetonians were their high school's president, and thus there are many candidates for President. I have four friends running, and have heard and seen posters for many others. Of course, being Princeton freshman, they will not settle for a lesser position and there are a disproportionate number of people running for class president.
On another note, Kunal Poddar, a hilarious international student that lives two doors down from me, is running for social chair. I think the hilarity (is that a word?) of the situation is better understood if one knows Kunal. Essentially he is a really fobby Indian student, but he is really nice. As everyone on the hall says, "He's a character!"

a beautiful mind

2008-09-24T21:41:00.002-04:00

Today I saw John Nash!! I was biking back to Whitman from McDonnell, the physics building after my physics lab. As I was biking , I see John Nash walking very slowly with his laptop bag (or maybe a brief case) towards Fine Hall. I am in awe on the genius (he did win the nobel!) and say hello. He looks at me like I'm crazy, but I am still excited I saw him nonetheless. It is not really that surprising that I saw him, as he was a member of the faculty and still lives in Princeton. He still works with the math and economics departments and gives lectures frequently. He also generally doesn't get noticed, as most people don't recognize him and don't really know what he looks like. He is also rumored to be a bit unsocial.

So that's two famous people sightings so far: Cornell West and John Nash!

working for the prince

2008-09-23T21:37:00.001-04:00

Today was my first day of training at the Prince! I still can't believe that I am working for the Prince, even though they aren't selective. It's so amazing to be part of such an important institution. So as part of the business department, I have to help manange a $400,000 budget. The paper is independent from the university, so we have to raise all the money ourselve for the paper. So through advertising (most revenue from advertisements from potential employers), the prince generates enough revenue to support the newspaper. My first day of consisted of checking mail and doing some book keeping, but I am definitely excited to be on board!

backstreet's back all right!

2008-09-21T03:06:00.005-04:00

So I went back to the street this night and had way more fun. Now that I have been here a little longer, I know more people and the eating clubs were fully open, so we could go inside instead of just standing on the lawn. First I went with Cammie to Quad and Cloister, which were okay. At Cloister, we met up with Julia and Luciana. After Cloister, I went with Julia and Luciana to Tiger Inn. You need passes to Tiger Inn, which we didn't have, but a member of the club helped us climb over the front gate (which is short, because I'm afraid of heights and would not have climbed it if it wasn't short). But TI had a bunch of people I knew, and we saw Clay there; Julia has a huge crush on Clay (who is pretty cute), but I'm not really sure what exactly they have between them, but I think they were having fun. Even though I was a third wheel, I still had fun dancing and hanging out.

Trying new things

2008-09-20T07:51:00.004-04:00

I was really upset at first because I wasn't in the orchestra (because my Mondays and Wednesdays are really hectic); not a year since I was nine have I not played in a full orchestra. In high school, I participated in about five different full orchestras a year, so not being in PSO was like a major part of my life lost. Even worse, lessons are frightfully expensive and you only get a subsidy if you participate in orchestra. So I'm not even taking violin lessons. Woe is me! But I've taken it upon myself to try to find some new activities.
1) The Daily Princetonian: I am working for the Prince!!! So excited. I'm trying to decide between layout and business, but I am definitely working for them. I can't believe that I am actually working for a newspaper that sends writers to the Wall Street Journal and New York Times! And surprisingly, not a major time commitment.
2) WPRB: Again, I can't believe I could be part of the oldest FM college radio statio. They have a huge audience, especially in Philly. I don't start dj training for a while, but I am probably going to help out with publicity and listening to new music. They get hundreds of new CDs each week from a bunch of independent record labels, and I get to listen to a bunch of awesome new bands and stuff. And the people there are awesome!
3)Ballroom dancing: Talk about painful exercise. My feet were throbbing yesterday, but I went from downright hopeless two left-feet to being able to do some basic waltz and rumba steps. It's a lot of fun, but I tend to think and worry too much. For an anecdote, one of my partners was a really short guy from Hong Kong who was amazing at ballroom dancing, but he was really strict about making mistakes, but I think he helped me improve at the waltz significantly.

Studying in the Lewis Library

2008-09-16T17:36:00.005-04:00

I'm studying (or at least should be) in the Lewis Sciece Library, which opened just last Thursday. It was designed by the famous architect Frank Gehry and looks too much like MIT's Stata Center (also designed by Gehry). Right now I'm sitting in the study room of the Lewis Library, located on the third floor. The wall of windows next to me lets in bright light (which is good since the dumb table lamps don't turn on or at least work in a fashion unbeknownst to me). The walls are colored in bright hues of orange and lime green, with white walls adjacent. The furniture is slightly modern, to go with the rest of the funky design. It is very quiet up here, with the exception of the soft snores emanating from a student taking a nap. In fact, I have seen more students in here using their textbooks as pillows instead of reading them. I will get back to finishing my chapter on supply and demand for macroeconomics now. Toodles!

Lawnparties

2008-09-15T19:39:00.003-04:00

Each semester, the eating clubs host "lawnparties" on their front lawns on a Sunday afternoon and USG sponsors a major musical artist to perform for all the students. One tradition of the lawnparties are for all the girls to wear sundresses and the guys to wear very preppy outfits. Many popped-collared polos, pastel shorts, and of course the occasional madras print pants (yikes!). Yesterday was the day of fall lawnparties and our special musical guest was Lupe Fiasco. Perhaps I live under a rock, but I had never heard of him, but apparently he's won a grammy. The concert was awesome. His back-up bassist and drummer were beast musicians. I had a lot of fun; mostly dancing and sweating profusely in the horrible heat, but I had a blast.

First Days of Class

2008-09-12T14:22:00.004-04:00

Classes started yesterday morning. My only class on Thursday was my economics class, which I think will be amazing! It was just an introductory lecture, but macroeconomics in general is a very interesting subject. Today I had my physics class and french class. My physics lecture is huge! There are 78 students in the lecture and I think the precepts will have about 12 students. We also got iclickers today, which we have to use to answer questions throughout the class. The class is set up very similar to the class at Caltech featured in Mr. Namba's physics videos. My french class on the other hand is very small. We only had 8 students in the class today; the class seems to be pretty easy and reasonable, and I think it will be a lot of fun! I'm so glad that classes started!

Life on the Street

2008-09-10T19:23:00.002-04:00

So to those of you unfamiliar with Princeton's eating clubs, they are similar to co-ed fraternities/sororities that also provide upperclassmen with food during meals. They are also a "central" part of social life, in that they host parties on their front lawns during the year on party nights. So last night, I went with Julia from my zee group to the Street, Propect Ave where the eating clubs are situated. Since it is orientation week, everyone is taking advantage of the "free time" and trying to party. Before we went to the street, we went to a pregaming party. Well, not quite. Julia's Outdoor Action leader, a sophmore, was at a "party", he was actually a few doors down from a real party in Forbes Residential College and along with about eight of his friends, using the alcohol provided by the real party. Most of his friends were pretty lame, but thought they were so cool (confidence of alcohol), and were already quite drunk. I do not drink, so I my opinions are based on a sober point-of-view. We then left Forbes for the Street, with a large group from the real party and headed toward Ivy, an eating club. There, a large mass of people were crowded on the front lawn. Most people were fighting in line for beer in front of the keg and some were dancing to music. In the bushes and lined up against most walls were people relieving themselves; they were mostly guys, but every now and then there were a few girls squatting in the bushes (I really hope I didn't step in anything). In addition to this sight, I overheard many nonsensical conversations and guys attempts to hit on girls they hoped of hooking up with. After much too long of this, I finally saw my CA leaders and decided to go to Terrace, another eating club, with them. At Terrace, I met some of their friends, and eventually retired for the night. According to many students, this was not a good representation of true eating club activities, so perhaps as the year goes on, I will have a better view of eating clubs.

On a side note, this morning, I was talking to Danny (not BR Danny, but a member of my zee group) and my roommates, all of whom do not drink. I think if we spend time with sober friends at eating clubs, our experiences might be different. But as the sober one of a large group of drunk people, it is never fun to have to babysit your friends.

Fall Registration

2008-09-09T17:27:00.004-04:00

Today I registered for classes. What an adventure! I had my meeting with my advisor at 2 this afternoon and I had my courses picked out, but we had to figure when to take each lecture/precept/class. I knew I wanted to take PHY 103 (General Physics), CHE 245 (Introduction to Chemical Engineering), FRE 108 (Advanced French), and ECO 101 (Introduction to Macroeconomics). I was thinking about ENV 201A (Environmental Studies Core) or MOL 215 (some necessary bio class), but neither worked out with my schedule. After meeting with my advisor, I went to the Friend Center to schedule classes, but first I had to meet with a math professor to verify my placement. I have to go back in a couple weeks with my notes from multidimensional calculus and differential equations and linear algebra and take a placement test as well. If I place out of everything, which the professor said I probably will, I will be finished with my math requirement. So after speaking with him, I scheduled the four courses that I was definitely taking. I then went back to my advisor and tried to find a fifth class that would be useful and would fit in my schedule, and finally came upon CEE 102A (Engineering in the Modern World); it's pretty much as history class about engineering with policy and business applications. And it counts to my historical analysis distribution requirement. After scheduling classes, I went to Labyrinth Books to buy my textbooks. I spent nearly $700 on my books! That darn CEE class requires some coffee table books on bridges and dams. Looking at the locations of my classes, I'll really need a bike so I can go across campus in 10 minutes, since my classes are not clustered together. I'm looking forward though to starting the new school year!

Opening Exercises

2008-09-07T22:56:00.013-04:00

Today was a filled with "welcome to Princeton" activities. In the morning, my zee group (Residental College Advising Group) went to a scavenger hunt, and was not very successful, but we had fun. Later in the afternoon, we went to the chapel, where President Tilghman and others welcomed us into the Princeton community. The event was spectacular; during the procession, when the important figures and the african drummers walked in, there were colorful kites soaring through the air. The choir sang several times during the event, and I had chills because they sang so beautifully. After the welcoming remarks in the chapel, we exited and walked out onto Nassau street so we could enter through the Fitzrandolph gates. Passing through the gates was unbelievable! Walking through the gates, seeing all these faces smiling at you (like President Tilghman and the upperclassmen), everyone cheering, it was just amazing!
After the prerade, there was a barbecue near Blair arch, with the most yummy veggie burgers I have ever eaten. And in the evening, Professor Gideon Rosen (a professor of philosophy) addressed the freshman class; he spoke about free will and determinism, and whether one is morally responsible for one's actions. It was very thought provoking. After the speech, I and a small group of students actually got to speak with Dr. Rosen; it was amazing to hear the arguments that were stimulated by his speech. We also had a discussion with our zee groups in Whitman, which was equally as interesting. I can't wait for my precepts!!

CA Week

2008-09-06T22:56:00.002-04:00

To start off my freshman year, I spent a week in Trenton doing community service. About 15 groups of around 10 students and 3 leaders each work on different projects near Princeton. I did Environmental Group, where we did environmental related projects throughout the Trenton/Princeton area. In order to completely immerse ourselves in the community, we slept in local churches. The week was amazing! First of all, the people in my group were phenomenal; they were all intelligent, kind, hilarious people and I know they will all be good friends for at least the next four years. After spending all day and night together, we have really bonded. Our leaders were so thoughtful and gave us so much advice. Also, the projects were so much fun, but also a bit exhausting. We planted organic gardens and did some clean-ups; we also gave a recycling presentation to a first grade class at a local elementary school. And one day we picked apples; it was very relaxing. Overall, I had an awesome experience.
On a side note, I got to see Cornell West one day during a CA scavenger hunt. I passed him near the front gates and he was wearing his signature three piece suit. He even waved and said hello to me! I am still squealing with excitement!

Move-In

2008-08-29T16:42:00.002-04:00

Today I moved into my dorm room in Whitman! This morning, we went crazy shopping for all my dorm supplies that I needed, like detergent, office supplies, under the bed storage, etc. After frantically shopping and eating at Panera bread (for the thousandth time), I got my key and prox card (id card) from the housing office on campus. My room is a lot larger than I expected. The beds were debunked when I got there, which was awesome, and Cammie had already moved in. Surprisingly, it didn't take too long to move in my stuff, and later in the evening Cammie came. She seems really nice; I'm glad she's my roommate. I really like the way the room looks. Our beds, dressers, and wardrobes are in the bedrooms and our desks are in the common room. I need to get an Audrey Hepburn poster for near my bed and I will bring my memory board in October to hang above my desk. Can't wait for Community Action tomorrow!

Almost Here!

2008-08-24T15:28:00.002-04:00

There's less than a week left before I leave for Princeton. I'm so excited! Right now I am working on packing. So many things, such little space. We are flying, but the whole family is coming so we'll have quite a bit of luggage allotted to us. Only a few days left before I leave for New Jersey.

Living in a Castle!

2008-07-16T16:26:00.001-04:00

I got my dorm assignment and I'm in Whitman! So excited! My roommate is Cammie, a girl from California and my other two suitemates are Rebecca, from Colorado, and Jacquelyn, from Pennsylvania. Whitman is the newest dorm, finished about a year ago. I will be only the second occupant of my room. Whitman also has the best dining hall. Even though it's new, it's built in the gothic style, so I'll still be living in a castle!!