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C'mon and slam, and welcome to the jam, y'all.

Lilies

Big Butts = Higher Intelligence?

Damn, some of these articles on Facebook are killing me.

My personal favorite: "Big butts = higher intelligence."

My rebuttal? Asians.

I rest my case.

Research of Bezier Curves

I want to start writing about the mathematical side of me.  I don't really show my academic side, in a sense that I'm not the type to bring up my research or what I have learned in a social setting if the people I am with most likely would like to talk about something else (which is always okay by me!!).  '

I need an outlet to record what I'm doing these days, so I can look back to see where I was in a certain period of my life, and I figure this should be the start of this type of recording.

Currently, I am taking the following classes: Numerical Analysis, Advanced Probability, and Probability (Stochastic Methods).  This semester was self predetermined to be the semester in which I would pick an area to begin to start a research foundation.  My internship in Berkeley helped immensely in the type of maths that I want to pursue, but I hadn't exactly honed in to one area.

I considered applications in business, computer science, software, engineering, but the fact that I most likely wouldn't be able to use the majority of maths that I learned in undergraduate/graduate school was disheartening.  I do not like the fact that all the subjects and problems that I have learned to solve and spent so much time on would be forgotten at one point in time. Thus, the only career path that could provide that for me is the academic one.

And here in my year before graduating with a Masters degree in Math, I have decided that I would like to start exploring in the realm of Numerical Analysis.  This type of math is used in industry and within many areas of applied mathematics courses as well, so it, for me, still has many options to explore within the field.

Currently, I am studying Bezier curves, and they are just as interesting as they sound.  I don't want to go into detail yet, but the fact that straight-line curve drawings were my passion in middle school, and that these curves explain the math behind these elegant drawings fascinates me entirely.

:edit: what a serious post!! More joy and laughter to fill future posts coming soon.

Berkeley: Winding Down

Wow, so I'm really bad at posting on this thing.  But, I have somewhat of a good excuse, and that is...my computer has died.  I think I overloaded it with a dual Linux/Windows platform, and one July day, I got the green screen.  I've never gotten a green screen but to the best of my knowledge it's just as bad as the PC blue screen and the XBox ring of death. So, I've only had an iPad, and I don't like to type up long reports on it.

I have only one more week here, and I don't want to leave.  I've actually made friends (I know, right?!?!?!), and the weather here is actually enjoyable.  But, it's all coming to an end.  I just hope I have a chance to visit again.  Fall break, anyone? Spring break? Any break?

Also, Kelsey visited me, and we spent her weekend in San Fran and ate In-N-Out.  That's all I remember.  I'm still recovering from the In-N-Out induced coma.

In-N-Out

Fishmerman's Wharf with Kelsey

Kite Festival with Elsa, Joey, and Erika

Boba!

I can't get enough of this yummy deliciousness.

It's called boba, and I plan to check out all the hot spots of this concoction given to me, a mere mortal, from the boba gods.

Raspberry smoothie boba

Matcha green tea boba

Who needs friends when you can drink boba?

Yeah, that's what I did this weekend.

Every. Day.

(Okay, I'm just kidding.  It's too expensive, but in an ideal world, yes, every day.)

But, since we're on this Asian-related topic.  Here's my favorite Asian commercial: Sponge-bob-buh!!!!!

Halfway there

Work has been amazing.  The weather is brightening up around here, and every day is a perfect day. 

Here, are the spectacular views from my office at LBNL:

What have I done so far?  Well, a lot of firsts for sure:
        1.      Danced at a block party during Gay Pride weekend

        2.      Rode the BART

        3.      Watched a movie by myself (This is the End-  I recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Pineapple Express and doesn’t mind blood and gore).

        4.      Had bubble tea

        5.      Got yelled at by multiple hobos on separate occasions.  My favorite comment was that I was a “raggedy a** ho”.  Thank you for that.  I shall use those exact terms to describe myself in icebreaker conversations.

        6.      Walked up a 1 mi. hill with a 30 lb. bag of groceries + a cantaloupe. 

        7.      Went on the worst date of my life…and, didn’t realize it was a date until it was over.  (I live in a world of extreme denial).

       8.      Watched Despicable Me 2 in 3D with some friends while sneaking in screwdrivers.  Wasn’t my idea, but it made the movie that much funnier.  Maybe that’s why I think it’s the best movie I’ve seen in a long time.  Hmm…

I’m really trying to make an effort with this blogging thing, but so far, I’m failing miserably. 

Best friend visited me and took me to San Francisco!

Week 1: I Deal with Nukes and Trolls

I finally can tell you all what I'm doing at my new job (but if it gets boring you should just scroll down to the nice picture of me at the lake).

First of all, I work in the Nuclear Sciences Division at the lab.  To sum up what that feels like.  Imagine walking into a room with a bunch of Asians that are speaking in Chinese and are smarter than you (well, that's a given, right?).  And, they all know each other, and there you are...you only know English.  Way to not be bilingual.  That's how it is every day.
  Seriously though, all my coworkers are amazingly smart.  I get to work with a community of nuclear physicists all working on projects dealing with radiation.  So, there are people working with sensors, others working on mobile robots, a few working on public policy, etc...and then, there's me with a Bubba water bottle having Crystal Light chugging contests by myself when no one is looking (not even joking).

I work in a shared cubicle with a professor.  He works on Python codes that deals with data from an air monitoring system measuring the level of radiation in the surrounding Berkeley area. So far, I've learned the basic gist of a program called MySql to work with databases.

And the reason I have to learn MySql is because my job is to be able to target domestic public concerns that came from the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear disaster of March 2011. 

After the disaster, the Berkeley team created a forum (BRAWM forum) to address the public's concerns, and boy, did it get interesting.  Conspiracy theories popped up.  Trolls posted that the world was going to end in 2013.  Yadda yadda yadda.  We at the lab want to make sure that we can somehow gain the public's trust and be able to alleviate concerns and avoid bouts of panic and stress.  So, I'll employ some type of data analysis and with a little bit of magic make heads or tails of the situation.

Anyways...I'm already a regular at the UC library and the Speiker pool.  The librarians know me, and the lifeguards know me now.  But, today, I went down to the underground floors, and they have this type of shelving system:

 



I was in between shelves today, and this girl started closing the shelves on me.  If I hadn't gotten her attention, I would've been flat as a pancake...or run-over squirrel...or my abs (definitely mine).

Also, I went to Lake Merritt with a good friend from my travels in South America.  She gave me a mini-tour of Berkeley, and took in the sights and sounds around the lake.  We saw crazy capoiera and an old guy jogging.  Those were the highlights. Especially the old guy.

 

And, with that, I leave you with my favorite YouTube baby:

Happy Chuesday!
:edit: Oh my word, it's Chwednesday. I'm so off...

Welcome to California

Well, my dad finally left me all by my lonesome in Berkeley, CA. I'm actually typing this on UC Berkeley's campus. I don't know where I am exactly. I just hopped on a bike and rolled down to this spot. The big question is...I'm not quite sure I can manage biking back up. The seat on this bike is super low and the brakes are very worn-down. Needless to say, I haven't been this scared on a bicycle since I was 7 years old.

The last three days, my dad and I did a little sight-seeing in both Berkeley and San Francisco. We checked out UC Berkeley and the surrounding area and, of course, San Francisco where we got to see the Golden Gate Bridge and Lombard Street.  

UC Berkeley Memorial Library. Underground floors. Chamber of Secrets!

Golden Gate Park/ Ocean Beach

Golden Gate Bridge

Lombard Street

From the top- Lombard Street

I just woke up in the middle of writing this from one of the concrete benches on campus. Now, the hobos and I have something in common.

Departure Day: I'm Off!!

Megan and I are praying to the ancestors to wish me good luck with my travels.

I might be around the Bears while I'm there, but I will always be a Vol at heart. 

Also, at an Asian at heart too.

PEACE!!! In Beyonce we trust.

Berkeley: Pre-departure

So, there you have it.  I'll be living in Berkeley, CA this summer (for 10 weeks!).  Every day, I'll be hustlin'. Kind of reminds me of Kevin Hart: 

 "ALL day! Just me. By myself. On the block. Holdin it down. Gun in my waist. Straight face. All day. Not a game. In jail. By myself. 1 bed. No pillow case. 1 pillow. Didn't nobody write me. It was early. Woke up. Went back to sleep. Took a nap. You ever go night night??" 

I'm moving in with this lady from Craigslist.  In her living room.  I don't even know her.  I've just talked to her on the phone once.  I just hope she's not the type of lady that likes to clip her toenails and leaves the clippings on my pillow.  That would be inconvenient for me.

Oh, back to my job.  I'll be working at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.

I've been told that the views from there are amazing.  And, since it's on top of the hill, I'll have maximum sun exposure.  In other words, my goal of becoming the tannest Nasab might actually be attained.  However, since I'll be working in front of a computer all day, it's going to be a challenge to get that outdoor sunshine time.  But, I'll git 'r done.  And, that's a promise.

I can't exactly describe my job in detail because it's SUPER TOP SECRET.  I'm working with the Department of Homeland Security working with nuclear radiation sensors.  

“The Mobile Imaging and Spectroscopic Threat Identification (MISTI) System is a state-of-the-art, truck-mounted gamma-ray detection system designed to perform wide-area surveys for passive detection and imaging of radioactive threat sources, such as special nuclear material or radiological dispersal devices.  MISTI is currently being used to characterize the diverse gamma-ray backgrounds that would be encountered in a typical operation scenario.  The truck employs high-resolution, high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors as well an array of low-cost, low-resolution sodium iodide (NaI[Tl]) scintillators in conjunction with a variety of external sensors:  GPS, visible light cameras, infrared cameras, light detection and range (LIDAR) sensors, and a weather station.  This project aims to measure the systematic fluctuations in background and the correlation between these variations and the external sensors, allowing for increased detection sensitivity and specificity.”

TL;DR  

I have a little more than a week before I leave, so I need to start brainstorming what places I'd like to see while I'm up there, and so far, my main one is to explore Berkeley's campus a bit.  Especially, this pool:

Spieker Pool

They have four outdoor swimming pools that I can swim in; all open to rec swimmers.  And, there is a swim club...but, I won't go there for now...haha.  If they are anything like these hoodlums, I might consider joining.

I hope I have the same luck as "Ridiculously Photogenic Guy":

Secret's Almost Out

My latest obsession has been Craigslist.  But, I'm not talking about "Hey, girl- meet me in the club at midnight.  I'll be wearing a red shirt with the collar popped open.  Code word: Mack Daddy."  No! 

I'm talking about summer housing specifically.  A fully furnished sublet.

And, I might actually rent one out this summer.  Where? 

It's a secret.  

Ahhhhhhhh...I want to tell you all so bad.  This is a waste of a post. 

 

Marching to Victory

It's the end of March, and within the past few days, I have received the greatest news.  Until it becomes official, I'm keeping it secret from the public.  If all things go as planned, I will be making an effort to blog about that experience on the daily this summer.

Also, here's me after the dreaded triathlon with UT roommate Kelsey.  It was so much fun, I want to do another one in the near future:

ADPi Triathlon 2013: Post-race, post-shower, pre-grub

For now, I leave you with this gem of a video:

Cheers!

New year, new post

Due to my indecisive nature, I'm back to this blog again.  I did have one on Wordpress, but after much heavy deliberation, I have returned to Blogspot.

So, I am back.

What is up 2013?  I've decided that I will start recording topics that I've found interesting from class, from the real world, or from my guilty pleasure, Reddit (The narwhal bacons at midnight. Nah what I'm sayin'?). 

Currently, my biggest concern? Reorganizing and redecorating my room.  I am in the process of painting it from light blue to Behr's neutral color "ivory princess".  In the satin version, of course.  I like living in luxury.

Just like Switzerland.  Super duper neutral.

But, what I'm most excited about is to place my bed right in front of my window, so I can have the great view of all my 70-year old neighbors watering their plants every morning.  They do it with elegance.  And, in business casual attire and occassionally while sporting those form-fitting high-waters. Ow ow.

My room is tiny...think 10' x 11'.  You know how many cartwheels I've not been able to do because of the space of this boudoir?  A plethora.

And, since my bed is in front of my window, it will also be blocking my closet door.  And that in turn, will force me to unscrew the door from its unneccessary hinges, fling it up the attic (I'm strong. Country Strong.), and replace the door with a chevron shower curtain. 

What does this mean other than not upholding to any feng-shui principles?

I will be able to backward somersault from my bed into my closet every morning.  That's what.

Like this but backwards.

If you don't get it, I will post a video for all you visual learners out there.