So here I am, sitting on a plane bound for San Francisco, the first stop of my three-month long travel. Indeed, my three-month long travel has finally began. I have been looking forward to this day ever since I realized weeks before my graduation that my true calling lies somewhere outside of Boston. As the plane took off from the runaway at Boston Logan Airport, I took a last glimpse of the Bostonian skyline under a beautiful summer sky and reflected on the wonderful memories of my life in the city. For this is my final departure from Boston, a city which I have lived for the last ten years. Even though I was feeling excited and happy to leave Boston I suddenly gave one last sigh of melancholy. Departing Boston was bittersweet. The city has been a huge part of my life. My lifestyle and so many of my decisions were explicably influenced by the city. Most of all, I will miss doing the familiar things that I have come to like, such as eating Iggy's bagels, running along the Charles River (still one of my favorite running spots in the world), the New England early fall and spring (the crispy air in New England is hard to beat), and last but not least, my fair city, Cambridge (as the Car Talk guys would say it). On the other hand, I yearn for starting something new in another city -- meeting new people, going new places, and doing new things. Yes, it is definitely time for me to move on and take on new life. So goodbye Boston and hello world.

6/25/2007 12:39:18 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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After a 6-month absence from the blogosphere, I decided to return to blogging once more. I recently have a hankering to express myself once more on the blogosphere, especially with all that free time that I now have after my graduation. More importantly, I no longer feel hindered by the fear of having a prospective employers reading my blog. When I was job searching in the beginning of this year, I was a little concerned about prospective employers discovering and reading about this blog. I thought the less they know about me, the better position I would be in getting the job - information asymmetry and all that. I recently changed my mind about keeping a low profile on the web. I am a good nature person and everything that I had written were generally non-controversial. Even if the content is controversial, it is usually framed in a constructive manner. In fact, I think blogging takes initiative, creativity, and discipline. And aren't these qualities that all employers are looking for in the first place?

So what happened in my life the past 6 months? In chronological order: I played a lot of War of Warcraft, sold my apartment in Cambridge, completed my thesis, quit my part-time job at Analog Devices, and graduated from MIT (just last week). I have lived in Boston for more than 10 years and had expressed desire to move out of the area about 4 years ago. Finally, with the sale of the property and graduation, I am finally free to pursue my life elsewhere. While many of my classmates have already received high-paying jobs (some even started working), I will be taking a post-graduation path that is less traveled. I have no desire to return to the industry anytime soon and not worry about finding the job that I want. I have good qualities and qualifications, as demonstrated in school and the industry. Nonetheless, I still feel I have room for growth. I am thinking big and outside the box. For once, I want to take some time to do some thinking and look for the ideal career and life. So for the next 3 months, I will be taking a hiatus in Asia traveling for at least 3 months. A rough itinerary of my travels look like this: S. Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Nepal, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, and possibly Cambodia and India. Who knows, maybe something great will happen. After my travels, I plan on settling down in the San Francisco/Bay Area upon returning to the U.S after my travels. After all, I am still a geek who seeks for a career in the high-technology industry.

6/16/2007 1:56:25 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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In my last blog, I said that I was going to reflect and write about my experience at MIT this weekend. After some thoughts and writing, I decided to hold off on posting it on the blog. I think it would be more appropriate if I complete my thesis first before talking about the experience.

I am, however, intrigued by Yoav's recent post on his blog about his retrospective of the SDM experience. I am going to write a similar post this week.

Last but not least, Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all (or if you are politically-correct, happy holidays).

12/24/2006 5:26:30 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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It has been a while since I last blogged and there is a good reason for it. So what have I been doing the last month or so? Personally, I would prefer not to talk about it on a blog. Let's just say that I prefer to operate on an in a mode where information is asymmetric, believing that not all information especially the personal ones should be shared in public especially in this point in my life.

Nonetheless, I am feeling much relieved and upbeat now. So on a positive note, I am going to start blogging after a month-long hiatus. I have also been living a very sedentary, unhealthy lifestyle as of late. So another activity that I would like to resume after a month long suspension is exercise. Not surprisingly, I went for a run today and scheduled for squash with Dr. AJ tomorrow at MIT. Kat was right when she said: "I get bitchy when I don't exercise." I do feel less of a jerk after today's exercise. Can't wait to exercise again tomorrow.

12/16/2006 10:34:29 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Once again, I have been preoccupied with other activities that kept me from updating this blog. At the moment, like any students who will be graduating next year, I have been pensive on what I want to do with my life and career after graduation from MIT. It is kind of paradoxical. On one hand, by being at MIT I have access to many career opportunities. Yet, being a mid-career person, I have found it challenging and sometimes frustrating to make a complete career switch in this point in my career. Nonetheless, this soul-searching process is forward-thinking and is no different from the time when I contemplated about going back to grad school. Ultimately, I believe and am still driven to doing something that I am passionate for. I don't think I can ever go wrong in going this direction.

11/2/2006 2:10:24 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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This is it: my last semester at MIT. I am excited about the life and opportunities that await me after my graduation in Feburary. While I am excited about my post-graduation life, so far I have been a little nonchalant about the Fall semester, which started last week. I have always been super enthusiastic at the beginning of a semester - catching up with friends, meeting new people, taking new classes, and being involved with campus acitivities. Not this semester though. I am still engaging with many of the acitivies albeit at reduced intensity and participation. Since returning back from my three week long vacation, I have not only attained substantial zen but focus, which is exactly want I need this semester. In the past, I have been known to do too many things once. Since school started I have been channeling all my energy into completing my thesis. This is good thing as it means that I can be sure that my thesis can be completed on time.

As far I remember, I have been a perpetual nightbird all my life. I thought that I would have recovered from jetlag last week; but I have been waking up before 6am everyday since returing from vacation. We'll see how long this last. I am still not convinced that I am a fully converted morning person now. Other newly acquired habits as a result of my vacation includes the sudden propensity of wearing casual business attire to school and the desire to keep my apartment neat and tidy.

So on top being fully rested and feeling relaxed, I am now more focused and organized in my life. It's certainly fascinating what vacation can do to one's well-being.

9/13/2006 10:16:43 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Finally, I am starting to make some progress on my thesis, which explains the lack of effort on my blog lately. I have finally devised a more plausible hypothesis for my thesis as I found the original one obscure, which resulted in the scope of the thesis too lofty. Another benefit of the revised hypothesis is that data supporting the thesis is easier to obtain. I hope that my new hypothesis will finally give me the momentum that I need to write a good thesis and get it done on time.

From now on, I really need to focus on my thesis and other pertinent school-related work in order to complete my degree program by the end of the year. As far as blogging is concerned, I am going to try writing blog posts that are terse from now on.

8/2/2006 12:32:08 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Interesting, I have just learned that French has no real words for seventy, eighty, and ninety.

Seventy in French is: Soixante-dix; literally, sixty ten (or 60 + 10)
Eighty in French is: Quatre-vingts; literally four twenty (or 4 * 20)
Ninety in French is: Quatre-vingt-dix; literally four twenty ten (or 4 * 20 + 10)

What ever happened to the metric system?

7/27/2006 8:32:27 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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I have been using French for Beginners, a podcast series of French lessons for adult beginners, for the last three weeks. This podcast is offered by the French Ecole, a London-based language center specializing in teaching French. New lessons are available for download almost every week but recent lessons have been updated less frequently. The lessons are available for free under the donationware model. In other words, you try it for free and if you like it you donate whatever amount you like.

So far, I am very impressed by the podcast. Each lesson is moderated by language instructor Alexa who makes the lessons incredibly easy to follow. The pace of the lessons suits me perfectly - not too overwhelmingly fast or boringly slow.

Language learning is mainly consists of two parts - perception and production. The more one listens, the better one gets in recognizing the phonetics of that language. This is where the podcast shines. With digital audio compression, I can load hours of lessons into my iPod and listen to it whenever and wherever I want. I have been carrying the iPod with me and listening to the podcast repeatedly whenever I have time. I am not putting any major efforts in learning the language (yet) but repetitive listening has made the learning process effective and pleasant.

7/25/2006 11:05:55 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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I barely have enough time to keep up with my readings of the magazines I subscribe to (The Economist and BusinessWeek), yet I have recently decided to order more magazines. I have read a few Harvard Business Review (HBR) articles as part of the required readings in some of the classes that I took at MIT. A month ago, I caved in and ordered a year's subscription of HBR to try it out. I have already received two issues of HBR and so far, I like what I have read. Most of the articles are written very thoughtfully and certainly has an academic tinge to it. Unlike BusinessWeek, which reports about the latest trends and news in the business world, HBR focuses on findings from the latest research in management science as well as issues that are nascent. Such characterization should be of no surprise since most of the contributing authors are faculty members of established business schools.

These days, I am still trying to make sense of the war and America's foreign policy. More importantly, in a highly globalized world and as a student of policy, I simply can't ignore the political and policy matters at the world stage. So I subscribed to Foreign Affairs, a magazine about international affairs, a month ago (about the same time I subscribed to HBR). Similar to HBR, a good portion of the articles in Foreign Affairs are written by professors as well as prominent players in the international affairs scene. Unfortunately, I have only received my first copy of the magazine yesterday, so I will defer my review of the magazine till a later time.

7/1/2006 1:36:32 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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The acronym KISS traditionally expands to "keep it simple, stupid." But I have a new definition for it and it's "keep it short, stupid." That's right, the KISS (keep it simple, stupid) principle should be applied to any communication. One thing that I have observed that is consistent among all bad presentations that I have delivered or seen while studying at MIT is that they are often too long. According to this BusinessWeek article, 15 minutes is the length of the average attention span for most people. That's right, less is more.

Yet, time and time again, I have neglected the mantra of keeping it short in my communication (writing and presentation) and ended up with some dismal performances. But I learn; after much reflection, I think I know where my weaknesses are. Sure, I can always improve on my showmanship during a presentation. But more importantly, I need to resist adding unnecessary content to presentation and recognize that it is perfectly okay to cross out extra content. So I need to strive for clarity and brevity in any communication.

6/21/2006 11:04:38 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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This weekend has been pretty awesome. Last Friday, I watched Nacho Libre, a movie about a Mexican monk (played by Jack Black) who desire to become a Lucha Libre. I find the movie amusing and funny and was laughing throughout it. But compared to Jack Black's previous movies, Nacho Libre falls in the middle of the road - not as good as School of Rock but still better than Shallow Hal. Nonetheless, I still recommend the movie to people as it has high entertaining value.

On Saturday, Fernando, Serge, Sorin, and I went to Nick's apartment and watch the World Cup. The Ghana vs. Poland game was exciting. I was surprised how well Ghana played. The Ghanaian players came into the game with energy and were determined to win. They got into rhythm early and eventually outplayed the Czechs. Good game. The U.S. vs. Italy match didn't disappoint like the U.S. game where Americans played the just a few days ago. The game on Saturday was a great, nothing short of dramas. While I that thought that U.S. deserve the loss for their lackluster performance in the game against the Czechs earlier, I thought that the Americans played very well last Saturday considering that the Americans played with only 9 players having gotten 2 key players ejected because of some bad officiating calls by the referee.

Later, with the exception of Sorin, we all went out to The Hill to celebrate Chris's (SDM 06) birthday. As usual, it was a good time hang out with these guys. I have to confess, for some reasons I am always lucky with the ladies whenever I hang with Fernando, Nick, Serge, and Sorin.

On Sunday, Camille and I took part in the Learn to Sail class at the MIT Sailing Club. We learned taught the basics of sailing in the first 2 hours of the class with classroom lessons and demos. In the last 2 hours of the class, all students were given boats to sail on the Charles River with our partners. It was a hot, muggy day with very little wind. None of our boats moved very fast today. Even the head instructor was apologetic that today was one of the worst days to sail in the season. Interestingly, the Sailing Club is the only Sailing Club among Boston's colleges that is still open to the public. The class is free to all MIT students, staff, and affiliates(bring your ID card with you). In addition, the students are allowed to bring one guest outside of MIT to sail for free. The sailing clinic is fun and definitely worth the 4 hours. With the sailing orientation out of the way, I am now eligible to bring a boat out to Charles River to practice. The rest of the afternoon was followed by working on the first assignment of System Dynamics (more about this class later) and running 4 miles around Charles River in a muggy 92 F weather.

6/18/2006 11:55:50 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Another awesome weekend, staying at home and mostly relaxing. In the tradition of Memorial Day Weekend, I have been grilling non-stop since Friday. My time spent at the grill was well worth it as I experimented with a few new recipes and most of them turned out well. Particularly, grilled mahi-mahi, thyme encrusted sirloin steak, and grilled vegetables with champagne vinegar were delicious.

Apart from food, I read the current and past issues of the Economist and BusinessWeek, worked on my thesis proposal, caught up with my emails, ran, and the highlight of my weekend (other than grilling), playing the computer game, Civilization IV. I am feeling super-rested after this weekend.

5/29/2006 11:56:26 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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These days my weekends aren't about relaxing but catching up on things - school or personal - that I have missed or lagged behind during the week. Occasionally, it is great to have a totally goof-off weekend. This weekend so far has been very relaxing and the feeling of not rushing from on thing to another (aka just being plain lazy) is just refreshing. After Real Options Analysis class yesterday, I invited Serge, Nick, Sorin, and Chester - the party boys of the SDM 06 cohort - to my place for grilled food and beer. The ultra laid back boys night out was fun and relaxing after a stressful week at school. Now that I the weather is getting warmer, I know that grilling at my place will become a common thing from now on. Excellent... nothing beats a cold beer and grilled food on a cool spring/summer night.

Last night sleep, a restful 10 hours long, was simply invigorating. It sure beats the 14 hours that I had in total from the prior 4 nights. I started the day slowly by reading the last 6 issues of the Economist that I had accumulated. Now that I am taking macroeconomics, I have really become immensely interested in international economics and foreign policy. Speaking of macroeconomics, for the nerd in me, I did managed to slip some school work into today's schedule by reading the case studies for my macroeconomics class - what! they were interesting papers from my favorite class. I then went for a sumptuous dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant, Lanna Thai Diner which unfortunately was located outside of Boston (it is still worth the drive though). I came home after dinner and dilly dallied around for an hour, mostly to digest the spicy Thai food, before going for a run along the Charles River. I am currently recovering from the run by writing this blog. But as I write this blog I am already thinking what I should do for the rest of the night. To paraphrase the Clash's perennial song: Should I stay or should go - Should I stay home to watch TV or to go to Flat top Johnny to join the SDM 06's in celebrating Monica's birthday...

4/15/2006 10:17:27 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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The sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, the birds are chirping, and the best of all, my braces are finally taken off. What a relief!!!

4/12/2006 11:51:00 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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With the weather going up to 60+ F yesterday, I ran Heartbreak Hill - the most fabled part of the Boston Marathon race - with Denise who will be running the Boston Marathon in 2 weeks. It was a great run.

Feeling exceptionally hungry after the run, I suggested going to Michael's Delicatessen at Coolidge Corner for food. I have never eaten at Michael's before but I have heard positive reviews of the place with some people telling me that the deli sandwiches here resemble to the those that one finds in New York City. I ordered a Michael's Special (I think) which is consists of roast beef, beef brisket, and horseradish sauce sandwiched between 2 breads. The sandwich was gargantuan but I easily finish it in one serving. It was delicious.

4/2/2006 1:52:20 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-04:00)

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Good news. After serving 1 1/2 year sentence of wearing the dental braces, I was finally told by my orthodontist last week that the braces will be taken off on April 12. I can't wait. Wearing dental braces can be unbearably uncomfortable and annoying. I have always been photo-phobic but my fear of picture taking intensified after I had the dental braces put on. I dared not open my lips whenever I have my picture taken. But this is trivial compared to the annoyance of getting food scraps stuck in the braces - perhaps one of the most vexing experience. But the most painful experience is having my 4 perfectly functioning teeth removed a month prior to putting on the braces. I am one of these people with huge teeth but tiny jaw - the wonders of heredity. The teeth were getting overcrowded and started to protrude. So 4 molars have to be removed to make room for the front teeth to move to the back of the jaw. I remember that my first visit to the oral surgeon wasn't too bad since I really didn't know what to expect. I was hoping that the oral surgeon could removed all 4 teeth in a day so that I didn't have to come back again; but no such luck as he said that I need at least 1 side of my mouth to chew. Knowing what to expect, there was a lot more hesitance on the second visit a week later. The sensation of getting my teeth pulled still haunts me to this day.

So why did I put on dental bracers? One word: vanity. Yep, that was price I pay for vanity... The good news is that I am finally taking it out.

3/27/2006 10:32:03 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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No time no blog... I can't believe that we are at the end of the second week at MIT. How time flies? Thank you to those emails and comments asking me not to stop blogging. I thank you for the encouragement. I am actually quite surprised who read my blog these days. Like I said, I am not going to stop blogging entirely, just not as often. And no, I am not stressed out or depressed - at least, I am not as stressed as I was last quarter. However, I do lament the fact that I am 35 and still unmarried. I am really sick and tired of the life in Boston. It is the same thing over and over again. There is enough negativity on my blog already. I will be more upbeat from now on.

2/16/2006 9:52:32 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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I had a good time spending my time with AJ (SDM 06) and his family over the weekend. I had a lot of interaction with his kids who are aged 5 and 6. They are so full with energy, reminding me of what I was when I was a kid that age. Maybe it's the age factor, I really enjoy my time with the kids. I am sure raising children requires significant time, energy, love, patience, and sacrifice; but ultimately I am sure there's no better feeling than to feel love and watch one's children grow up. For the first time, I really enjoy being around with kids and believe that I will make a good parent or guardian.

2/5/2006 5:28:25 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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What is up with the crazy weather in Boston?!?! The temperature last Saturday night was in the high 50's (F) then overnight it drop down to the teens and remained in the 20's till Monday. Tuesday was mild, somewhere in the mid-30's. Today, the temperature jumped back to the 50's coupled with a torrential downpour. The rain was so bad that I have to come to a halt before driving over a huge puddle of water on I-93.

1/18/2006 11:45:37 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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My past weekend was surprisingly jam-packed with football and social activities. I went to the Thirsty Scholar with John H. and his friend, Steve to watch the Patriots vs. Broncos game. I have always liked the Thirsty Scholar but it has been almost 3 years since I was last at the bar. I used to watch NFL and NBA playoff games there and enjoyed their curry fries (they changed the name to spicy fries now). I really thought that the Patriots had a very good chance to beat the Broncos but the questionable officiating and turnovers eventually let the Patriots to lose the game. *Sigh* After the game, I went to Ramey's apartment for a post-game party. It has been ages since I last partied with Ramey and it was refreshing to see the Max, Steve G. (who was in town from NYC), Todd, and the gang. We ended the night at Wonderbar - another place where I have not been at for a long time. I didn't really enjoy my stay there. It seems that the crowd is a little too young for me - it has now become a massively popular hangout for Boston College and Boston University students. In some way, Saturday was a reminiscing day for me.

I spent Sunday watching the Colts vs. Steelers game while cleaning up my apartment. The last quarter of the game was bizarre - turnover to the Colts and then a missed field goal kick by the most accurate NFL player ever in the last 2 minute of the game. The game was exciting and it kept me glued to the TV instead of cleaning my apartment. I eventually finished my cleaning chores late at night after a run to MIT for squash and Whole Foods for grocery.

1/16/2006 11:24:54 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Being it was Friday, Prof. Sadoway was in a hilarious mood, cracking jokes one after another. He also told anecdotes about past student hacks in his 3.019 - Solid State Chemistry, an undergrad Chemistry 101 course at MIT. He said that there was one hack that went wrong during execution and almost decapitating him. For the most part, most hacks are pretty benign and amusing. He said hacks are fine but safety always come first. Speaking of hacks, I wonder why isn't there any hack done in my SDM, TPP, and Sloan classes?

After Electrochemistry class, I went and played squash with John H. and Krishnan. I played well last night, almost beating Krishnan - an excellent player. Aftewards, I went to the Muddy Charles to join John L., his wife, and their guests from out-of-town for beer. That was when I mentioned about my favorite Thai restaurant in the entire world, which is located in San Francisco. Unfortunately, I drew a blank when it comes to the name of the restaurant. I called Squibby, a San Franciscan who lives a few blocks from the restaurant, but he, too, forgot the name. But being a true buddy, Squibby emailed me today with the name of the restaurant. Once again... my favorite Thai restaurant in the world: Marnee Thai.

1/14/2006 7:12:07 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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After years of celebrating New Year's Day overseas or with a bang, I decided to just have a good dinner with a few friends at Rendezvous, a new restaurant in Central Square, and then just lay low by staying at home for the countdown. The truth is that since school ended, I have really enjoyed doing little and taking it easy. I know it sound anti-social; but for a change, keeping a low profile is great. This also explains why I haven't been blogging much. Apart from being lazy, there really aren't any new insights (I have not been reading or thinking) or interesting stories to share. :-(

This year, there will be no New Year resolutions for me. I figured that I (or anyone) don't really keep my resolutions anyway because by the end of the first month I realize that it is all about "everything in moderation". Happy New Year everyone.

1/1/2006 2:13:40 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Today marks the 1 year anniversary of the devastating tsunami that laid waste to coastal communities around the Indian Ocean. I was in Phuket, Thailand a year ago. I recall blue-sky and perfect temperature - relatively dry and mild for a tropical country - just before the tsunami struck. Seriously, I was paradise. Then the wave came and everything in this path was razed to the ground. I was farther inland and was able to run to higher ground quickly. Earlier on, my group that I was with had contemplated going to the beach. Had my group taken the path to the beach that day, I am not sure if I would be alive today. You can read the full story here. For now, let us mark the anniversary by observing a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the tsunami disaster.

12/26/2005 12:21:47 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Moving is a time consuming undertaking and I hate doing it with a passion. Yet, I have moved twice this year. I was overconfident and made a miscalculated decision to move earlier this year - just don't ask why I did what I did. Nonetheless, I couldn't have asked for a better time to move than today. There was absolutely no problem getting a moving truck and parking it right outside the apartment building. Best of all, today's spring-like climate was perfect for moving - not too cold, not too warm. I also have helpers, who are essential to a successful move. Thanks to Michelle, Milt, and Brian B., we were able to transfer all my stuff over to the destination in record time. Thanks guys.

Afterwards, Michelle, Brian B., and I went to Michelle's family's house in Reading for Christmas dinner. It was great to finally meet Michelle's family after hearing so much about them. This year's Christmas movie at Michelle's family was Fantastic Four. The movie, like any superhero comic adapted movie, has enough entertaining value to keep me occupied while I digest my Christmas dinner but I don't think I would rent the movie on my own - you seen one, you seen them all. Nevertheless, the food was delicious and time spent at the Hayes was great. Well, it's almost (or past) midnight now. So merry Christmas everyone.

12/25/2005 12:01:45 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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I am a huge fan of Ikea as I like furniture that is affordable and has modern design appeal. In the past years, I have driven over 150 miles to Connecticut and New York to visit the Ikea stores in those states. I am very excited to finally learn that an Ikea store has opened within a 20 minute drive from my house.

Last night, Camille and I, along with his dad and brother who are visiting the States from France went to the newly opened Ikea store in Stoughton. After hearing that traffic to the Stoughton Ikea store has virtually come to a standstill in the first 2 days of its opening on November 9th, I anticipated a similar experience last night especially during the peak of Christmas shopping rush. On the contrary, my first trip to the Stoughton Ikea store was the most pleasant experience ever. There were no traffic around the store. in fact, we found a parking spot right next to the entrance. With very few customers shopping that night I was able to easily browse through the merchandise in the store. Best of all, there were absolutely no checkout lines. I went straight to the checkout counter. Overall, I really like the Stoughton store. The place is huge and the merchandise are well organized. Knowing that the store is open till 10pm and that there are very few people during the week, I am going to start shopping at Ikea after 7pm.

12/23/2005 12:26:29 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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I was paying for my groceries at the checkout counter of a local Whole Foods Market when I heard the following:

A young checkout operator singing: "People are people, so why should it be..."
The cashier in her late 40's said: "No, no, it's more like 'People, people who need people...' Hmmm... Who sings that song."
Me (to the cashier): "Well, the song that you had just sang is by Barbara Streisand."
Me (to the checkout operator): "Ah, the song 'People are People' is by Depeche Mode."
Checkout operator: "That's right. I think there's a generation gap between Sylvia and me."
Me (shrugging): "Well... I bridged the two disparate generations."

Anyway, this is probably the my only highlight of the day. I really don't have any exciting anecdote to share since school ended last week. Also, I have been really tired the past couple of days - as if the whole year of cumulated fatigue from my busy schedule has finally taken its toll on me. That's why I am staying put in Boston this holiday season to catch up on sleep.

12/22/2005 12:55:15 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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So far, this weekend has been great. I spent most of this weekend taking numerous study breaks to spend time with several classmates who will be leaving MIT by the end of the semester. For brunch yesterday, Robbie, Yoav, Ilana, Deming, John W., Paul B., and I went for some really good crab-meat dumplings at a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. I haven't had Chinese food that good for ages, I really like the food there. A return trip to the restaurant is definitely in the order.

Later that night, I hung out with Paul B. again at the Middle East for beer and Shawarma before heading to MIT to meet Ilana and John W. to watch a screening of the March of the Penguins movie. Sitting in 26-100, the room where most movie at MIT are screened, was reminiscent of my undergrad days. The movie is great and I will write about this movie later. Unfortunately, both Ilana and John were no-shows at the movie. :-(

I also started my winter running this weekend by making 2 runs yesterday and today with Camille. I didn't run that well today as my Honey Smacks with milk (been in the fridge for more than a week) was acting up half way through the run. That resulted in a very cute female runner overtaking us. We started catching up to her but with me being in a bad shape we were in no position to catch up to her. So I told Camille to take it for the team, leave me behind, and catch up to her. Hmmm... I wonder if he got her number?

12/11/2005 3:42:02 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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I came back home after another good game of basketball with fellow SDMers and felt like I was hit by roofies. I took a nap on my couch. About an hour later, Camille called and asked me to go running with him. Feeling really guilty about my pathetic sedentary lifestyle lately, I reluctantly went running with Camille. In hindsight, it was a good choice, since tonight was unseasonably warm and the run really woke me up. I had a good pace running the 5 miler. It was a good run.

Afterwards, we went to my favorite eatery/bar in Harvard Square, Grendel's Den - where everything on the menu is 1/2 price after 9pm with an order of beverage. But don't let the price fool you about the quality of their food. Even for someone like me who is extremely picky with food, I really enjoy Grendel's food. They have a good selection of vegetarian food and atypical bar food. Check out their menu here.

11/30/2005 12:21:16 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Happy Thanksgiving everyone. My turkey dinner earlier tonight was at Hanri, Denise, and Bruce's apartment (aka 217). It was good to see them as I have hung out with them since Fanny's going-away party more than 2 months ago. I have also met other guests at their apartment for the first time: Charlie (the new roommate), Alex (a Romanian PhD student at MIT EECS), Natasha, Katrina (Natasha's sister), and James (Katrina's husband). Food and the wine selection were good. For my part, I contributed a dish of stuffing done in a somewhat non-traditional way with seasame bread crumbs, chestnuts, shallots, saffron, chives, and mushrooms.

Right now, I am trying to finish up the last System Architecture opportunity set, which I dread. The class started on a high note but it has just been dragging on and on the past few weeks. Somehow I feel that the opportunity sets lately have been regurgitating the same topics over and over again.

I have been trying to get all my remaining assignments of the semester done by next week so that I can start writing my thesis proposal and hand it out to potential thesis advisors before school ends. Anyway, enough break... back to more writing for System Architecture.

11/24/2005 11:54:37 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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At the end of last summer, I purchased 3 books with the intent of reading them before my fall semester. I have only finished reading Freakonomics, which I highly recommend to anyone who has read it already. The other book Truth against Logic was a bit of a disappointment. I have finally found time to read Tom Friedman's book The World is Flat, which I really enjoy. The World is Flat is a pager-turner and it echoes many of the things that I have been hearing in classes at MIT - globalization, innovation processes, India, China, etc. I hope to share my thoughts on the book and the issues that it discusses on this blog as I read more of it. For starters, Yoav contributed this link that is critical of Friedman's work.

11/17/2005 6:05:34 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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After reading Ilana's blog entry on her nerd test, I have decided to take one myself.

Oh my gosh... I am nerdy. I scored exactly 87, same as Ilana. The result of the test indicated that I am "High-Level Nerd. You are definitely MIT material, apply now!!!" Indeed.

11/14/2005 11:53:34 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Taking advantage of the gorgeous autumn weather this afternoon, Kat and I went for a run in West Cambridge, Watertown, and Allston. Since Kat was relatively new to Cambridge, I led the run and took a few detours off the beaten path to better show her the hidden neighborhoods. We made a quick stop over at Mount Auburn Cemetery, a magnificent landscape in the fall, before running along the Charles River to catch the rowing teams practicing for the Head of the Charles, a regatta taking place on the Charles River this weekend. The Harvard side of town is hopping with people and activities today in anticipation of the regatta. The almost 2 hrs run turned out to be a fun event.

10/21/2005 7:06:49 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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I had the worst presentation ever in last night's Innovation Teams (i-Teams) class. I was nervous and couldn't articulate my thoughts clearly at the presentation. This was a far cry from a presentation on digital encryption that I presented earlier that day. Being familiar with encryption technology, I didn't even prepare for that earlier presentation and I breezed through the presentation by effectively explaining digital security to my audience.

I am still utterly disappointed with poor presentation performance last night - this has not happened since college. So what happened? In hindsight, I wasn't familiar with the powerpoint slides that I was presenting. My team prepared the slides while I presented them. I was totally out-of-sync with some of the animations on the slides. But what really made me nervous was the presentation of a subject that I don't know very well. With a high-profile audience making up of faculty members, VCs, PhD students, and other MIT students, all whom have a good understanding of technology, I was afraid that I didn't have the technical fluency to convey our team's ideas and technology effectively. It was an embarrassing moment for me. But this is no major setback as long as I learn from mistakes.

9/27/2005 8:59:54 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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2 weeks ago, my car broke down on I-93 while I was driving back to Cambridge. I have to had my car towed to my mechanic in Medford. I suspected that the timing belt was broken (yeah, I was due for a timing belt replacement). What worried me more was that the snapping of the timing belt may have severely damaged my car engine. A few days later, I was informed by Ken that parts of my engine, particularly the valves, timing belt gears, camshafts, and tensioner, need to be replaced. I finally picked my car up last Monday. Needless to say, the damages were not cheap. Sigh... The moral of the story is: timing belt replacement costs $200; fixing a damaged engine can cost you well over $1,000. On the bright side, new engine runs a lot smoother and is at least 25% more powerful.

9/21/2005 10:41:20 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Immediately after the Thompson Island Outward Bound trip, I flew to Detroit to attend Joanna and Zac's wedding. It has been 8 years since I last stepped foot on in Michigan. The last time I was in Michigan was the attendance of my commencement at Kettering University in 1997. I instantly felt the nostalgic memories of my undergrad days as soon as I arrived in Detroit airport. Siobhan, Steve, and Milt, who were still hung over from the previous night's party that they hosted in their hotel room came to the airport to pick me up. Once I got into the car, I was immediately updated with anecdotes from last night's social activity, which was apparently raved by many wedding guests to be a hugely successful occasion. Determined to maintain our good reputation as the wedding's most prolific party organizers, we stocked up on booze on our way back to the hotel to prepare for another great night of partying in our room.

Joanna and Zac's wedding was held in the beautiful Cranbrook House in Bloomfield Hills, MI. The matrimony was charming with a few moments of witty humor and wisdom from the rabbi. It was also fun meeting new people at the wedding, especially the ones that I have heard so much about from Joanna but have never met in person. Perhaps I was exhausted from the Thompson Island trip and the new school schedule, I was a little less than my usual energetic, genial self.

In any case, the post wedding party in our hotel room was a hit with a good showing of new wedding guests and the usual suspects from the night before. All in all, I had a fantastic time. As I reflect on the wedding while writing this blog, I think I have now achieved considerable "zen" from attending the wedding and partying with my partners-in-crime, Siobhan, Steve, and Milt. This is good. So, to my partners-in-crime, thanks for good times. We have to do this again - soon. Of course, to Joanna and Zac, thanks for having me at the wedding. Again, best wishes to the both of you.

9/19/2005 12:21:42 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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After writing the last blog entry, I still help but to continue lament my old age. I am think I am suffering another bad case of mid-life crisis. Sigh...

9/15/2005 9:51:38 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Last Saturday, I attended Rachel and Noah's wedding ceremony. I have known the couple for a while and I happy that they are finally married. I wish them all the best in their journey together. Here's a picture of Milt and me offering Noah our congratulatory gestures.

9/12/2005 12:25:01 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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I am a huge fan of Ikea furniture and I have always longed for an Ikea store that within reasonable driving distance of Boston. The good news is that my wish is finally answered with a new Ikea store slated to be opened in Stoughton, a 20 minute drive from Boston. The bad news: it won't be opened till the end of November. Having a need for furniture for my new new apartment, I drove 2 hours to the Ikea store in New Haven last Saturday. I got a lot of stuff that I had wanted to get and even picked up gifts for 2 weddings that I will be attending next month. Notwithstanding the long hours of driving, it was a productive day for me. Unfortunately, I pulled a muscle while lifting a package at the Ikea parking lot. The back still hurts today despite spending the past 2 days nursing it. I have to remind myself that my back isn't as strong as it was 5 years ago. Alas, the consequence of growing old.

8/29/2005 11:20:18 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Yesterday, I went to Amazon.com to shop for books to read now that I have more free time. All the talk about Economics on my blog lately prompted me to get Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. I am curious to see how the principles of Economics are used to explain and connect things and events that happen in our everyday life. The next book in the shopping cart is Truth against Logic by Jamie Whyte. And my reason for purchasing this book: I am so sick of today's political discourse and want to gain some frameworks to dissect the arguments of politicians (both left and right), pundits, and religious leaders. Last but not least, the book The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas Friedman was strongly recommended by my classmate, Kevin, for its anecdotal account of world history and for better or for worse, how it shaped today's globalized environment.

8/26/2005 10:26:14 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Since Dinesh, a recent SDM graduate, was throwing out a bunch of stuff as he prepared to move out of Sidney-Pacific dormitory, I eased his burden by collecting a handful of his swags. I am planning to, once again, sell my excess personal inventory at the MIT Swapfest this coming Sunday. I shouldn't have any problem selling Dinesh's items along with my stuff as I suspect that there will be plenty of incoming and returning students at the swapfest.

On other news, Pat Hale, our program director, was pleased that a handful of students showed up at Wednesday's SDM info session to meet with prospective students. He said that prospective students appreciate a different perspective to the program from current students. Conversely, I also learn something from prospective students about their profession, motivation, and career objectives. It was insightful.

8/19/2005 3:20:20 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Yesterday was great day for me. First, I declared summer semester officially over after turning in my final paper for Fabrication Technology. What a relief. I can finally start to enjoy my summer. But the day got even better. Other than the great news from TPP, I got a few of surprises in my mail as well. I was happy to receive a rebate from Apple for their Student Union promotion within 2 weeks of mailing my rebate application to them. The big surprise, however, was my receipt of a refund from Comcast. They said that I double paid for my July bill and they are refunding me the surplus. Sweet!

8/17/2005 12:11:43 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Last night was an interesting night. I met up with Dinesh, a SDM 04 student, at Tavern in the Square to talk about MIT, SDM, TPP, and life after MIT. After dinner, I went home to catch up on the research required for my Fabrication Technology paper while watching my favorite Sci-Fi TV