Pittsburgh is a Winter Wonderland

Pittsburgh has been getting a lot more precipitation this year than last. Although it was incredibly warm up through October, we got our first snow early on, and it has since been snowing quite frequently. I recently invested in new batteries for my camera, so here are some photos from Pittsburgh's Winter Wonderland:

When I walked to my 18-240 final last night, rain steadily turned to snow. When I walked back, the same event occurred. Events like these are what makes scraping the frozen snow from vehicles such as Andrey's difficult.

It's snowing! Just believe it.


One fascinating thing about winter that I enjoy is the appearance of birds' nests in the trees.

Snowy Shadyside, as seen from my apartment.

Christmas trees right outside our window!
St. Paul's Cathedral. Even Pittsburgh has some old-style architecture.
I did not know this at the time I took the photos (I took them because of the bagpipe band playing in the corner and the decorated people standing on the sides), but apparently there was a memorial service for Special Agent Hicks, the FBI agent from Pittsburgh killed in a drug raid last month.

The fleet of Port Authority buses to transport people to the memorial gave the event away as something important (if the bagpipes and decoration rifles didn't give it away already).Streams of people.

Snowy campus. Administration had to tie down their beloved "Walking to the Sky", since it was swaying in the wind too much.

Snow!

Welcome to Finals

Today was the last day of classes.

It's slightly depressing, since this means that finals start on Monday. If today were not the last day of classes, I'd have at least one extra day to study.

Here is what my finals schedule looks like:

12/8 5:30PM Physics II
12/9 8:30 AM Econ
12/10 10:00 AM Concepts of Mathematics (moved from Tuesday night since I had 3 exams in a 25-hour period; thank you university final exam policy!)
12/11 5:30 PM 18-240
12/15 5:30 PM Stats

This schedule makes me with CMU had a reading week between classes and finals, like many other universities, instead of a reading day in the middle of finals.

I'm not so worried about Econ or Stats. I have some topics to brush up on in 18-240, but I've already figured out that the best preparation for that class is a good night's sleep the night before and a flexible mind (and remembering to check your work!).

The exams that I am more concerned about are Physics and Concepts. Physics covers a broad range of applications. Concepts covers a broad range of topics. Plus I've been scoring on the borderline in both classes, so there is more pressure going into the exams.

Ah, study break is over! Time to finish up some hot chocolate and study more math!

'Til December 15th!

DCDI

I find it amusing that the last time I wrote on my blog was the first snow in Pittsburgh. That's only funny since today/yesterday were the only days since during which it has snowed.

Anyway, I went to D.C. a few weekends ago with the ballroom team to compete at the annual DCDI -- D.C. Dance Inferno! We had a great time last year, and with a larger team and more competition (that's what you get for moving up a level) , we were bound to have an even better time this year.

I mean, to start off with, I drove there in a BMW. Do you know a more classy start to a ballroom competition?

Silver level dancers (for comparison with the open level competition later)

Some members of the ballroom team.

Sophie!
Leman and James, who are awesome in Jive.

Jackie , my floormate last year, helped get me involved with ballroom. Now she dances Silver level.The professionals... or at least good enough to be in pre-champ or champ competition.

American
The better the dancers, the better the hair.

Quickstep!
Couple #2 in the nation in standard dancing. They swept everyone else off the floor.

Look at the footwork!Look at the stride!

Look at that fantastic reverse corte!
They're incredible.
I really liked this person's dress, too.
You see a lot of nice dresses at these events.
This one even looked like it was on fire.


Wow. You can never take a picture of them at an awkward moment.

Our attempt at a reverse corte. Not quite as great, but at least we have fun with it!

Snow!

Pittsburgh celebrated its first snow today! At first it was more like rain than snow, but it has since turned into nice, fluffy flakes and can most definitely be classified as snow. It started early today around 1 AM and hasn't really stopped since. It has finally gotten to the point where it's stopped melting when it hits the ground. Soon CMU will be covered in white!

It's hard to believe that just 3 weeks ago we were frolicking around in the high 70s.

Preliminary Schedule

Scheduleman.org finally updated its site to include the Spring 09 schedule. I put my preliminary schedule together this morning, which you can see HERE.

I've been telling myself that I'll take less units next semester, since I want to spend more time concentrating on my courses and other aspects of life. This schedule contains 5 more units than my current Fall 08 schedule, and the classes are notoriously harder. Most likely I'll be dropping a course (15-213 anyone?) by the end of week 2.

Tell me what you think.

Life's a Symphony

Andrey and I joined the math club in its annual outing to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. I was somewhat disappointed when the intermission came early and I realized that I was looking at the wrong schedule. The soloist was good, however, even though I missed hearing Dvorák's New World Symphony.

The weather in Pittsburgh finally got cold. We enjoyed a week of Indian Summer (which I celebrated with a cold) and now the city is plunging head first into winter (I'm celebrating the transition with another cold). I guess I was not gifted with a great immune system.

The schedule of classes has been unofficially released. I promised myself I would take very few units next semester in order to concentrate on my ECE classes and work on my own projects, but as always I find myself gravitating towards more classes. After this semester there are only 5 semesters left! It may seem like a lot, but when you look at the classes you need to take, and when you have to take them, 5 semesters seems to shrink.

This weekend will be busy. There are two exams next week, one of which will be easy (but it's on Monday...), and the other doesn't matter, since if you get a better grade on the final (almost guaranteed) your grade gets replaced. More importantly, Andrey and I need to practice our ballroom dancing. DCDI is next weekend!

Up, up, and Away!

This was a great, easy weekend for me. I have no exams next week, so I didn't have to spend hours studying (although I did some studying for Concepts and Stats anyway). Plus, we started circuits in Physics, so from here on out Physics is going to be easy (to attest to that, I finished all my homework on Friday night). Who said that Physics II for Engineers was hard? They must not have been an ECE major...

I am finally over the cold I had last week. Last week was miserable in general, what with two exams, a bunch of difficult homework, a lab, and no voice on top of that. I'm happy to be feeling better in time for the great weather, though! We're enjoying great 75 degree afternoons here in Pittsburgh, and it's supposed to last most of the week!

Besides this relaxing weekend, there is another three-day weekend coming up next week. I'm thinking about going to Kennywood, the Knott's-Berry-Farm-esque amusement park in Pittsburgh, with a group of friends. Last year they had some good mazes up for their Fright Night events, and it might be fun to go again.

Or maybe I'll just sleep.

A Picture Tells 32,000 Bits

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I have a full semester this fall. All my homeworks and lab reports are due Wednesdays through Fridays, plus I have at least one exam every week.

As you can imagine, classwork catches up to you fast. By Tuesday night, you realize the magnitude of all that you have left to do. I mean, if you don't finish most of your work on Tuesday, your Wednesday is going to be sleep-less. And I have an 18-240 exam on Thursday!

So if you don't want your work to pile up on you...
...do more work on the weekend. Then maybe you can get some sleep on weekdays, too.

Two for September

I don't know why I feel compelled to write blogs when I should be studying for impending exams. Then again, if I was actually studying instead of blog-writing, no one would hear from me until mid-October! As of last week, I have at least one exam every week until finals, except for the week of mid-semester break in October. Dropping 15-111 did not help a bit in that regard.

The first Concepts of Mackey (as we endearingly call that course) exam is on Wednesday. I hope we move on quickly, because I'm getting sick of proof by induction. Stats is on Thursday. 5 hours later, homework is due (same class). Not to mention Physics homework, a lab report, Computer Engineering homework, Econ homework, all due at varying times between 6:30 PM on Wednesday to 12:30 PM on Friday.

I generally like my homework schedule (most work is due on Thursdays and Fridays), because I use weekends to my advantage (=> no procrastination). On the other hand, once exams get thrown into the mix, work begins to pile up. There's only so much time in a day. Then you need to sleep.

It's finally weekend!

Although the week seemed to go by fast, Friday always seems to drag on and on. And that's with me cheating by going to the Computer Science lecture of Concepts! (The same material is taught, just an hour earlier).

The fire alarm in Doherty Hall during Physics II lecture didn't help make the day go that much faster, either. We stood for 20 minutes in the nice, warm sun hoping the alarm would keep going off for another 15 minutes so that we could enjoy it longer. Some classes move outside during such nice weather. Why not Physics?

This weekend will be eventful: tomorrow there is going to be a potluck at my apartment with friends of Rika's and mine. Afterward, there's a ballroom late night in the University Center. Basically, the ballroom club runs a couple free lessons, gives out some free food, and there's dance music on from 9 to 1. Sunday is sophomore brunch (more free food...oh, and they have a speaker, an alumnus from the College of Fine Arts; that's why I'm going, of course).

This is How to Spend Your Time

Classes began on Monday. Since 9:00AM that morning (when Rika and I walked to our first lectures in Hammerschlag) I've been keeping busy. Occasionally I've come back to the apartment during a two-hour break to make lunch at home or run some errands, but otherwise I've been spending a lot of time at CMU. By a lot I mean 9AM to 9PM. Sometimes later.

As far as classes go, they all look pretty good. I'm unhappy with some of my TAs, but there's a simple remedy for that. The professors seem better, though, which is a relief after last semester. That's also good because most of my courses this semester are renowned as "hard." The last thing anyone wants in a challenging course is a professor with poor lecturing skills (which could lead the course to be more challenging than it has to be).

I'm already planning to drop a course, however. I'd rather spend more time concentrating on five difficult courses than spreading myself too thin on six. Plus there are other activities in which I'm taking part that are taking up a lot of time (more on those later). At this point, the course in question is programming (15-111). I'm allowing a weekend (and a long one at that!) to mull it over.

Classes only last until 4:30PM or so...so where does all the other time go?

Well, first there's ballroom. Andrey and I teach lessons on Mondays in Beginner 2. Officer's are also supposed to table every now and again, which entails signing in people, answering questions, etc. Then there's the personal enrichment: intermediate and advanced lessons. I feel like I haven't danced in forever.

Then there is SWE, which hasn't really kicked off yet. My role on the executive board is not large, but I've resolved to volunteer for more events and take a more active role in the general body.

I also recently got an on-campus job. It's about as close as you can get to free money. I sit at a desk behind a computer, hand out surveys to people as they come in the Modern Language Resource Center, input the surveys online when they leave, and occasionally attempt to answer their questions. No, I don't have a copy of the Italian I syllabus.

New Apartment Pictures

Andrey helped me get my last box out of storage today, so I've been working on getting the rest of the apartment set up this evening (I'm not very into the "Last Saturday Night Party Before Classes Begin" thing; so I spent it at home, instead). My desk looks like a different world (or at least a number of different cities).

Rika and I also went out last weekend and did some shopping for things to brighten up the apartment. It still needs some work (like the half-hung hammock and the bare walls behind the table), but there are some posters to be hung up yet.

Voila! My "renovated" apartment!:

Yes, I have a ballroom competition number collection. There's one missing that is apparently still attached to someone's shirt...

I will be transported to Rome, Prague, San Francisco, any number of places when I do my Physics homework next semester.

Our seasonal table topped with spring flowers. The garland in the back is nice, but I think we still need something. Maybe just some posters, or Christmas lights (let's see how many seasons we can fit in one picture).
Johnny Depp staring at you when you eat...is that scary or what?
Just wanted to prove that I am not dead, sleep-deprived, or pale. Yet. Classes start on Monday.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Schedule!

I haven't been doing much this past week and a half. There's only so much tidying up to do around one desk, especially when most of the stuff that's supposed to be there isn't there storage doesn't open til Friday).

The most productive things I've done are gone to an interview for an on-campus job and bought a table cloth with Rika. Our apartment is starting to look even more colorful! Once I figure out how to hook the other side of the hammock up and my stuff comes out of storage, I'll be sure to post more photos. I also danced for the first time in months. Andrey and I are supposed to teach Foxtrot at Beginner 2 lessons starting on Monday. We're still a bit rusty.

I've also finalized my schedule! (Short of the possibility of dropping a class later). No more wait lists! If you are the type of person who enjoys following along, you can click HERE for a link to my schedule. Just don't show up to all my lectures unless you're in them. I might get suspicious.

The Apartment

Classes don't begin until August 25th, but that didn't stop my roommate, Rika, and I from moving into our new apartment two weeks early. Moving in on Sunday took longer than we anticipated, but thankfully we only had to make one trip with the Uhaul to take all our furniture and Rika's things from her summer sublet to the apartment. We've managed to set up our apartment and make it look livable since then, however.

We live in a convenient location: about four blocks from CMU (about 10 minutes walking), about 6 blocks from a large grocery store, and close to a variety of bus routes that can take us all over Pittsburgh. Our 6th floor apartment also has a great view of Shadyside!

The views from our windows. We live behind some train tracks, but I'm already getting used to them.

My side of the bedroom.
The "living room" and my study area. The [extremely heavy, but free] desk broke while we were on the home stretch: while we were exiting the elevator! Fortunately, it still stands.

Living room with a peek at the dining area.


The kitchen. I haven't tried using the oven, yet, but everything else seems to be working properly.

We're still looking for a few more things (I'm looking for a desk chair, for instance). Maybe I can post some more pictures when the apartment is complete.

The End

The reason I haven't posted since Salzburg is because after leaving Salzburg for Munich, I made a spontaneous trip to Prague to visit a Czechish friend of mine from my exchange student days. I would have loved to stay in Munich longer than the day and a half I did, but Erika was leaving for Finnland that Sunday and it was already Wednesday. So with very little planning I hopped on a train the next day for Horovice, a small town about 50 minutes outside of Prague, but fortunately directly on the regional train line from Munich to Prague.

It was great to see Erika again (it's been over two years now) in her home country. We relived a few of our exchange student moments, but we did a bunch of new things as well. She toured me around Prague one afternoon. The other day I was there we went to Carlsteign, the Czech Republic's most famous castle. Otherwise we spent most of our time taking walks through the fields, woods, and hills behind her house.
The National Museum, a statue of a national hero, and non-nationals.
Overlooking Prague.

Carls Bridge
Carl.



Astrological clock

Inside of Prague's main cathedral. What's odd is that Atheism is the Czech Republic's official religion...

Erika and I.
Carlsteign, built by the same Carl who built the bridge. He was the Czech's most popular king (and as far as I am aware of, one of the first; guess it went downhill from there).
Horovice:
Believe it or not, this is an ant hill.

Erika had to throw her dog, Benji, into a lake to wash him off during one of our walks. He took a detour through some mud puddles.

Epilogue:

After the Czech Republic I left for Frankfurt, where I met with my host family and ended my backpacking trip. The drive back up to Wesel was only about 3 hours, which seemed incredibly short (I was bracing for 7; I forgot that Germany is so small). I flew out of Düsseldorf on Friday and, after a 5 1/2 hour flight, am safely back in California.