So some of you might know, I am currently attending school at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (or just MIT ). For those of you who don't know MIT, it's the school right next to Harvard.
I'm currently a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering (course II). I was debating whether to major in electrical engineering & computer science, but after taking 6.001 (one of the required classes for EECS), I decided I should just stick with mechanical engineering. I figure since I really like physics, but not enough to study it theoretically, mechanical engineering would be pretty close.I also plan on taking as many math classes as I can. If I end up with enough for a minor, that would be pretty neat. I would really consider majoring in math if I knew I could get a job with a math degree (sorry, Reid, maybe if I start my own company, I'll hire you to do conversions for me or something like that).
Fastforward to present day (December 2001). What do you know. I'm still a mechanical engineering major. Can't say that I love it. Well, I know that I'll eventually love the stuff I do, but I guess I'm still bitter about some of my Course 2 classes. Some bad professors here and there. But definitely mechanical engineering. I hope to go on to graduate school here. Ideally, I'd like to get a PhD and do some teaching and research. That would be nice. We'll see how that turns out. Oh, and also doing that second major in math. It was general math for a while, but depending on what I take next semester (Spring 2002), I might specify an applied math major.
For those of you who would like to know (and also for my own purposes so I can always look here if I forget), I've taken 18.02 (H. Rogers), 7.012, 8.012 (Klepner), 21H.311 (S. Ostrow), 18.03 (H. Miller), 8.022 (U. Becker), 2.001 (D. Parks), 6.001 (Grimson). Those of you who had Professor Lototsky for recitation, you should understand why I mention him here. He, my 18.02 and 18.03 recitation instructor, taught me more 18.02 and 18.03 than the lecturers. You can see his picture on the left. Sophomore fall semester featuresd 2.002 (L. Anand), 2.003 (N. Hogan), 2.005 (E. Cravalho), 18.700 (L. Caporaso), and 21M.301 (G. Burleson).
Okay, present day again. Yes, I've taken a few more classes since sophomore year. Let's see, so spring of 1999 I took 2.004 (again with N. Hogan), 2.006 (again E. Cravalho), 2.007 (A. Slocum), 18.04 (M. Bazant), 18.330 (A. Toomre). 2.004 was not much different from 2.003. Hogan was the same, though Nayfeh was a new addition. Our beloved TA, Yong Ye, also made a return. You can see the picture we took with him here. Complex analysis (18.04) was not so fun, as it kicked my poor little rear end pretty hard. Numerical analysis (18.330) was great. Toomre is one of the funniest professors I've had. His board technique is, well...., if you've taken a class with him, you'd know.
Fall semester 2000, I took 2.008 (E. Sachs), 2.010 (yet Hogan again), 2.671 (P. So), 18.310 (D. Kleitman), 18.353 (D. ROthman), 21F.109 (J. Zhang). This was by far my most favorite semester here at MIT. Well, 2.008 sucked because class participation was a good chunk of our grade. And guess who wasn't awake to participate? 2.010 was again with Hogan. That's THREE semesters of Hogan. In a row!! Actually, it wasn't so bad. I think there were ten or eleven people in the class. Fortunately, "gonzo" was a great TA and taught us everything we needed to know. Asada was our lab instructor and he was quite a bit of fun. Then there is So..... Haha, I don't know what do say about Professor So. The happiest man I've seen here at MIT. Always smiling. His accent is quite the best. There really isn't anything like it. Kleitman was another great professor. His teaching style is laid back, and classes are pretty entertaining. Last day of class, he told us about his acting experience in Good Will Hunting. Rothman was a pretty good professor. The material (non-linear systems: chaos) was pretty kick-a$$. Zhang laoshi was really good. She was hard, real hard, but she was good. Actually, if any of you know Christine Yee, you must go and visit Zhang laoshi. They look... identical. In fact, I had already thought they looked alike, but after Zhang laoshi got her haircut, I was convinced that they're long lost twins.
Some of you might know that I live at the well known East Campus (or just EC). It's the oldest dorm on campus, so the rooms are smaller and the outlets can't handle quite as large currents (I specifically mention this for obvious reasons) as the new dorms. People often call EC the freak dorm, along with Senior House, but I find EC quite the home. We have people stranger than most I have met, but everyone is strange in their own ways. It is also conveniently located near the infinite corridor, which means I don't have to hike every morning to class. I am currently living in a double with David Gandy. He's a senior also majoring in mechanical engineering.
All right, so it's been a few years, and I've had a few more roommates. In fact, the main reason I'm writing a lot of this new stuff is because my last roommate complained that he didn't feel the love. The love from including his name on the page. Anyway, so I'm still on 2nd West, and we call ourselves Putz (or PTZ). It has been pretty fun living here. After my freshman year rooming with Scott Johnston, I moved on to live with (as I mentioned above) Dave, or Dr. Gandy (drgandy). That was fall semester of sophomore year. Spring semester, I got paired up with Mike Hall. That was a bit interesting, complete with HEPA filter and fun sleeping schedules. Then junior year fall semester, I roomed with Chuck Hisamoto. Chuck was a frosh from Hawaii and he was a pretty fun roommate. He was big on classical music and computer accessories, and supplied me with lots of good chocolate from Hawaii (macadamia was invented there). Spring semester, I got assigned with Michael Simon Yates. Mike was a pretty interesting fellow. Born of British and Indian blood, but lives in Saudi Arabia, he was quite a worldly man. Turned out Yates went to Phillips Andover, the prep school down the street from my own PUBLIC high school. We discussed some pretty deep stuff, and had a sign language for commonly used words. A big Diesel boy, he also dresses in pants that have wider bottoms than mine (this is somewhat rare). Former course 14-er now turned 6, he had some pretty reaching goals (something with a law corporation that works to help needy people or something) back then. Not sure what he's planning on conquering now. Finally, senior year, I decided to get a single. After six semesters, I managed to go through five roommates. Must be some sort of roommate affinty factor. Yeah, feel the love.
OK, now I know everyone keeps a section for their friends at school, so I guess I'll just follow the tradition. Please excuse the "not-so-large" number of pictures (and people's info) I have. I don't have many friends to take pictures of. But as people say, it's quality, not quantity.
Speaking of pictures, I have been sorting out pictures at a new link. They are sorted by the time at which I scan them, and not necessarily in chronological order. There are some good stuff!
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last updated 09/22/99 | e-mail me