Train

February 28, 2010 South Pasadena

A train passed in front of me! It's a metro line. Lights flashed and rails came down, and I could not cross onto the other side until the train went away.

Crêpes

February 28, 2010

These are turd crêpes that my mom makes now and then. I really like them.

By the way, I knew neither the word "turd" nor the word "crêpe" until someone from the Midwest pointed them out. A more colloquial name is "cheese pancakes", but that's a bit wrong.

Golden

February 27, 2010 USC TCDance

This is one of my favorite dances. It's fun and big and shiny. I probably had some better pictures, but this one is most interesting to me. Tonight was our big showcase. Throughout the year we perform at small events for other groups and such. Being in the audience is strange compared to being backstage. I didn't know the new dances or revisions. I didn't even recognize one of the dancers (she might be a guest performer). No long dance hours for me this year, but next year, I'll be a part of the group again!

Marmalade

February 28, 2010

My parents brought these candies back from Oregon. It's a fancy box - heavy - and has small but thick marmalade. They taste good. I also have a few bags of the marmalade that we get from a Russian store, but these are fewer and better.

Love

February 26, 2010 Blood Orange

I have been chasing this elusive fruit for nearly a year now. Unfortunately, this one is very small. And it's not mine. I was so excited to see it though. Ahhhhhh. Yummm. I need to go to TJ's to see if I can find any. If I do, I'll probably buy two dozen.

Party

February 26, 2010 | ((enKore))™ Karaoke on the Ave

This is at the karaoke place on the Ave, where Kevin took us a few times last year. And today we had a "surprise" birthday karaoke party. It was fun.

Village

February 25, 2010 New houses

These houses are relatively new. I think they went up last year or so. I like the plaza with the chairs and tables. It's a pretty nice place to study, though I've only done that once. The houses are so colorful!

Cat

February 24, 2010 | Courthouse Square

Here is a courthouse and a man walking his cat. I think it's cute. In the center of a city, you just can't let a cat run around. In a suburban setting, though, it is different. But we'll have lots of time to think about the cat.

Class

February 24, 2010 "Library" a.k.a. classroom

This is some of the libary. It has a bamboo theme. The blinds and the table are made of bamboo wood because it is sustainable. We have a few pots of lucky bamboo. The coasters might be made of bamboo, too.

These are some of my classmates. Today, this side of the class took notes on laptop. On my side, two of us were writing by hand (myself included). I thought it was cute that there was a row of laptops on that side. Also, we only have one Apple user. Her laptop isn't obnoxiously white, so she fits in pretty well.

Portland

February 24, 2010 | Upper stop of the OHSU Cable Car

So Portland has this cable car, called "Portland Aerial Tram" that runs from one Oregon Health Sciences Institute building to the complex on a hill. You can get good views from there. I tried to get there for sunset, but spent 20 minutes trying to get to the station. It was in plain view, but there was a freeway interchange in the way.

So when I got there it was already getting dark. Here you go.

Calla

February 23, 2010 Homegrown calla lilies

Our chef brought in calla lilies from his yard. Isn't that exciting?! I love calla lilies. They are unusual and beautiful. I might like them more than roses. I haven't decided yet. But roses smell strongly. Yum.

Amtrak

February 23, 2010 | Amtrak Train to Portland

I decided to go to Portland and jumped on this train. I arrived in Portland, checked in the hotel. The room is small and I'm tired - since last night, actually.

This is what an American train looks like, apparently. It's nicer than what I imagined it to be. I'm not sure how to compare to European trains, though, especially the nice German ones. It's definitely slower.

Below

February 22, 2010 View from "Mount Wrigley"

DJ and I climbed the gigantic hill. Everything is so small from above. The hike was intense. You're coming with me next month. :)

It doesn't look very high in this photo, but it is. I promise.

Moonlight

February 22, 2010 | NRH Woodlands Park

This is me on in the park by my house after returning from UW. I brought a tripod anticipating a group picture with my MCM team (which I did take), so I was able to photograph myself in the park.

Here's the catch: the photo was taken at 20:11, way after sunset. When I entered the dark park, I realized that it was not dark at all. The moon shone bright, illuminating a black-and-white world. Everything was visible, and you can see shadows - it was a clear night.

Naturally, I took a picture, and when that worked, I did something harder. Exposure here is 30 seconds. Posing for 30-second pictures is not fun, no matter what camera you use. I'm blurry, which means I moved. And look, you can see color!

Chef

February 21, 2010 In the kitchen with the chef

Usually we get served with the buffet style hot pan things. Since there aren't that many of us, I guess our chef decided to plate individually. We have two chefs and they split the week. Today's dinner was healthy which is not very common. Haha. The salmon was surprisingly good, and the broccoli was, of course, the best. He makes them tender, but not overcooked, and I just don't get it! We also had chocolate-covered strawberries earlier in the day! Man, today was a good day for food.

Names

February 21, 2010 | Pin space of CSE 482

So, we're in CSE 478, and this is CSE 482, three doors down the hall. Why is my name on it? Why is your name next to my name? How long have our names been up here? I'm confused...

Scuba

February 20, 2010 Underwater Clean-up

I went to Avalon today to assist with the underwater clean-up. I did not get into the water (I'm not a scuba diver, and I'm a little afraid of water). It was pretty cool to see a large gathering of scuba divers. I think there were 80 or so total. They hauled so much trash! I saw a lot of glass bottles, of course. And quite a few fishing rods and swimming masks. It was kind of sad seeing how much trash was there, and with only about an hour to dive, the divers didn't even get all of it.

Office

February 20, 2010 | CSE 478

This is the office that we use for MCM. As you can see we use up a lot of paper. They shouldn't have put us right across the hall from a printer room.

I hope you can't see anything problem-specific.

High

February 19, 2010 Purple flowers

So, I went for a walk today on the road to Two Harbors. On my return, I looked up and saw these purple flowers! I wonder what they are and if they are endemic. A flower being an invasive species would be no less beautiful, but, as a biology major, I must disapprove of nonnative species. Remember that yellow flower you were so found of? The invasive one down by the boardwalk? Probably thoroughly destructive, that pretty yellow thing.

I also saw other wildflowers. I saw a red one! But it was too dangerous for me to get a photo. Quite a beautiful day out though today.

View

February 19, 2010 | View from CSE 478

This is the view from our office in CSE, room 478, that we have use of during the MCM. The other teams are in awe at our view, as well as the room and sign outside. (One other team also made a sign using the greek letter phi (φ) symbolizing the superposition of digits 1 and 0 to represent the year 2010. The other team put sticky notes in place of the door sign.) The room wasn't random. I was just the first to walk in and get the keys, and then alert the other teams right after.

In this photo, I am also trying out my circular polarized filter that I got for Christmas. See how the sky is blue to the right, and the mountains, clouds contrast?

Traveling

February 18, 2010 Middle Ranch

Oh...this picture is from Tuesday. Wow, that was forever ago. Hmmmm. But I like it! So, I hope you like it, too. I have to go study now. Good luck with your MCM thing!

MCM

February 18, 2010 | CSE Building

Today (in 40 minutes, actually) is the start of the 4-day-long modeling competition. We have an office in CSE with a lake view and lots of space around. I was here since 12:30 and just put up the door sign.

Other teams also got settled in. CSE is a great place to have an office. A printer room is just across the hall, and the tech support guy is really nice. Things seem set for the next 96 hours. Only one thing is missing: our third team member hasn't yet showed up.

Rosemary

February 17, 2010 Rosemary in bloom

We have quite a few rosemary beds on our campus near the admin office. They smell really nice. And they are a pretty color. A lot of flowers have been blooming recently. I'm expecting to be surrounded by spring flowers when there has been more rain and more sunshine. It'll be beautiful!

Lobbyists

February 17 | UW Campus near 15th and 42nd

An anonymous group decided to help set back the tuition hikes by offering students free pizza. I wonder who they are...

I magically finished my math homework, and nearly finished both CSE 341 homeworks, and I'm going to a concert tonight. Yay!

Tachi

February 16, 2010 Tachi the Fox

Today we had a field trip to Middle Ranch. I finally got to see the front of a fox! This one is Tachi. She's in captivity. They (the Conservancy people) hadn't intended on having her as a pet, but her mother rejected her and other families wouldn't take her. So, she ended up imprinting on humans when she opened her eyes. She's so cute, and they raise her like a dog! She gets walks and toys, and the one in her mouth is a squeak toy. ^.^

Blossoms

February 16, 2010 | Off Burke Gilman Trail near Pacific & Pacific

Cherries! I wasn't expecting them this early, but here they are. Also, my camera was set to manual, which probably explains why I couldn't get a good picture.

Weather has been crazily not cold this Winter. Rrr. There's talk that there won't be tulips for the tulip festival in April because they'd bloom out by March.

Nighttime

February 15, 2010 View from the library

[Sorry my post is so late!! :( :( :( And I would have posted earlier today, but I had to finish my lab in the morning, then I had class, then lunch, then field trip, then I had to read an article, then dinner, then journal club. Ahhhhhh.]

This is part of the Wrigley Marine Science Center building. When you come visit you will see, the building is fun to run around in. It has a cute layout and is semi insufficient. I like the murals around campus.

Horse

February 15, 2010

Here's your Valentine's day present to me, lest there be more confusion. The box said "horse", so I guess that's a horse. And that's us.

Happy Galileo's Birthday!

Valentine

February 14, 2010 Arts and crafts table

Remember how I told you that the girls remaining this weekend decorated the boys' house? Here is the preparation. We cut hearts and made valentines and wrote bad poetry. Lots of fun. Lots of funny, too.

Package

February 13, 2010

I'm cheating since I stayed home all day figuring out pictures and doing homework, and yeah, I have to finish whatever I'm doing by 19:00 these days.

I got your package yesterday. Thanks :)

Chirp

February 13, 2010 Birdie trying to hide from me

I wish I knew what kind of bird this is. It is cute. One of my favorite things about this place is the bird sounds. They're so chatty! And the quails sound like squeak toys.

Opening

February 12, 2010

We watched the Opening of the 2010 Winter Olympics and I talked to you meanwhile. And now you get to see the picture.

Exterior

February 12, 2010 Homeeee

This is the house I share with 6 other girls. The guys' house is to the right, but no one cares about it. Though, actually, I stayed in that house in November.

Accident

January 11, 2010 | UW Medical Center stop on Pacific Street

The benefit of not being able to upload binary files from home is that I actually post my morning picture in the morning. Not much fun, though.

Anyway, I was on the bus trying to sleep, and then this motor-scooterist gets hit by that car 200 feet from us. It was dark but I managed to take a few pictures. I hope he's ok.

Pantry

February 11, 2010 Food in my pantry thing

Well, actually, there isn't much food. Hot cocoa, green tea, Pocky sticks, and that Russian thingy. They feed us a lot here, so I don't snack very much. Okay, that might be a lie. I've been snacking on my Pocky sticks. And I have graham crackers, too.

How am I ever going to finish that giant bag of tea leaves?? O.O

Bowl

February 9, 2010

I took this picture, and then forgot about it. But since my Internet might not be working, I'm posting form UW, and I have this picture.

I had ice cream in a bowl that I made in high school pottery. Yay!

Stillness

February 11, 2010 Figurine Friendshi

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Sorry for the very late post! I was very tired last night.

Look who came with me to Catalina! Hehe.

Gifts

February 10, 2010

My mom brought these home when she returned from New Zealand. There's a notebook with leaves on it, which I am not sure what to do with, and a t-shirt. The comp book and rubik's cube aren't new.

I'm sorry we couldn't talk today :( I had another conversation with my parents. It's kind of my fault - in my family I usually start these conversations. Also, my Internet is practically dead right now... I'll have a tough time uploading the message, but no hope of getting a picture through. I'll post it when I have better Internet access.

Shoes

February 10, 2010 Shoes off!

We romped around in mud today to do a field lab, and our shoes got very muddy. And then, we had to go to class. So, naturally, we had to take our shoes off before entering the library/classroom. :)

Materials

February 9, 2010

I bought these for my sister, so she can work on her science experiment. That's a rectangular board, 1/10 in. quad-ruled paper, and a pair of balsa wood sticks.

Got all this at the UBookstore after class, all paid by UW Customer Rebate, that is, from my textbook purchases last year.

Working

February 8, 2010 Spreading out

Have I shown you the computer lab? Well, here it is. This is where I usually come to talk to you. Yesterday, though, I talked to you while I was in the lounge. I was going to show you the couches! But then, I forgot...

Computers

February 9, 2010

This is how my computers wake up. It's funny.

I hope you can hear me. My computers aren't as quiet as they seem on the video. Turn up the volume when my PC wakes up, so you can hear the sounds that it makes. Enjoy the demo :P

House

February 7, 2010 The inside of my house!

You see that cabinet thing next to the trashcan? It's actually a fridge. And bad news, the fridge freezes EVERYTHING. I don't know how to undo. It's on its warmest setting. :/

Asian

February 7, 2010

Today my parents brought home a long white radish that they said they like, called "diakon". I looked it up (Google automatically searched for the right spelling) and told them that it's an Asian thing. Ha ha.

I then discovered that we have other Asian things in our kitchen.

Plankton

February 6, 2010 Some more of the cafeteria walls

Igor, I'm so lame. Anyway, it was rainy and cloudy today, so I didn't really do anything. And therefore, the camera was not so necessary. I did see a fox today though! But it was so far away that at the distance, I thought it was a gigantic squirrel.

Left to right: Copepod, Foraminifera, Dinoflagellate.

Calendar

February 2, 2010

Since my mom came back from New Zealand, we have a new calendar. It's smaller than the old one, and already has some important dates. The last one currently is by me, on November 1st: check registration deadline for Dec. 11 ACT.

Jellyfish

February 5, 2010 Wall of cafeteria

This is painted on our cafeteria wall. On the adjacent wall, there is a more extensive mural with other zooplankton and phytoplankton. It makes for very pretty decoration. It is also one of the first things I noticed when I first came to Catalina during freshmen year.

Disks

January 5, 2010 | RC Lounge

The video editors of EDS today packaged the first copies of the recording of the play Marriage of Figaro, which they staged last Spring. Only a few copies have been made, so the disks have not yet gone up for sale.

And I have no idea how they managed to edit and export the whole thing. You know how I feel about video editing.

Ecoteen

February 4, 2010 My new green water bottle

We got water bottles today! This one has my name stickered to the bottom. So, we could choose from purple or green. I chose green. It matches my green scarf. Hehe. We should be getting ceramic mugs next week. Yay! Now people will stop using so many paper cups.

Adder

February 4, 2010 | RC Lounge

That's a digital circuit. The big white square, it seems, is a 64-bit adder (adds two numbers). "64-bit adder" got changed to "64-bit adder your mom", which I changed to "64 bit adder that ate pet rat".

All sorts of things find their way onto the RC lounge whiteboard.

Party

February 4, 2010 At my professor's house

My current professor lives on the island. For dinner, we had a barbecue at her house. This is her living room, occupied by several undergraduate students. :) People were playing chess and Battleship before dinner.