Updates for Sanity

So I’m back in Cambridge and realizing that it’s nearly been two months since my last post. While this is something I’d expect of Javier, I can’t help but feel a hot-faced sense of shame. I’ll try to recount, in an abbreviated list-type format, some of the more salient events of the last two months in order to negotiate with my shamed conscience. Thus, this is mostly for me, not you.

1.Trip to Edinburgh: Joseph Bonneau, Jessica Shang, and Jeremy Harris (full names for completeness) and I tripped to Edinburgh, Scotland. The country was a tousled, yet attractive head of hair: its winds nearly blowing us off Arthur’s Seat, rains driving us to insults of foreigners at Edinburgh Castle, and wool and whiskey comforting us into believing that upon returning to Cambridge, we’d be flu-free and ready to get back to work. Such were the days in Scotland, followed sharply by coughs and fevers in tropical Cambridge… where the sun rises around 9 AM and sets by 3 PM.

Climbing to the top of Arthur's Seat


Jess and Joe eating Haggis and Vegatarian Haggis, respectively.


Jeremy and I sporting our new Scottish Sweaters. Yes, we got looks in the hostel.


Rainbows do exist in Scotland. Given the weather, I'm indifferent whether or not gold exists at the end of them.



2.Sunday Night Potlucks: We’ve made it a tradition in our house to host a Sunday night dinner where invitees each bring a dish (generally centered around a theme) and we sit to eat from around 7 until 9 in the evening. As the food quality and portion size in Cambridge leave much to be desired this is generally the best meal of the week and followed, chronologically, by joking, ribaldry, and wrestling. The dishes I’ve made thus far include Seared Vegetables in a Korean Pepper Sauce, Mango-Avocado Bruschetta, Potato Latkes, Pasta Bolognese, and fresh chips/salsa. Following dinner we generally award some sort of prize which offers dish washing immunity and a host of other pride-based incentives. I’ve yet to win, but then again, haven’t had access to sashimi-grade fish.

Me chopping up peppers to add some heat to my mango/avocado bruschetta



3. Thanksgiving: The master at Churchill College hosted a buffet-style dinner on Thanksgiving for all Americans and any others who may celebrate the holiday. It was quite a feast, followed auspiciously by turkey-based meals in the hall for many subsequent days. Additionally, the day after thanksgiving (Friday), many friends and others took part in a potluck dinner at our Pepperpot which was absolutely fantastic. My dish, String Bean Casserole did not go over so well, but I blame that on the lack of fried French onions in Sainsbury’s and certainly not on the brutish tastes of the diners. Needless to say, we were fooded-out when Sunday rolled around so we all decided against hosting another Sunday pot-luck for the remainder of the semester.

A picture of the thanksgiving dinner put on in Pepperpot 62



4. US Presidential Elections: During my two weeks home, folks kept asking me if the Brits followed the US elections. While I can’t say I was in the US to make a fair comparison, I would venture to say they followed it just as closely as we did back at home. In fact, the night of the election there were several parties around town (Cambridge is a small town) which lasted into the early morning. Several friends and I ventured over to the Cambridge Union (the debate society) of which I am a member to watch the elections streaming live on CNN. Prior to the coverage there was a debate in which the five speakers around the table were all Obama supporters. The debate basically degenerated into a who-loves-Obama more contest, with one girl deciding her experience as an Obama foot soldier had prepared her to answer questions on foreign politics and John F. Kennedy. To further emphasize the one-sided nature of the locals, the BBC showed up at the Union building to cover the evening but couldn’t find any McCain supporters to offer both sides of the story. They promptly left us to our single-sided world views and social values.

Picture of the Cambridge Union when not in use. Not bad, eh?


Picture during election night (around 2 AM). Notice the support for McCain.



5. Cambridge/Oxford Varsity Match: At Cambridge, sport is a huge deal… but not in the disgusting way in which athletics have raped higher education of its basic freedom from commercialization and turned reminiscent alumni into perverse voyeurs of academically unqualified imbeciles prancing around on the field just about as they do in class (when they go) – but I digress. Anyways, at Cambridge, for the most part, sport is something most students take part in to cultivate the individual and so far it seems a successful experiment. Excluding myself, most people I know here play on at least one team and commit themselves to pretty healthy exercise regiments outside of their coursework. The minor exceptions to this low-key athletic attitude occur in football and rugby, where varsity matches (Cambridge vs. Oxford matches) attract thousands of alumni and viewers from all over the country. Fortunately, Joe was able to get us tickets to the Rugby match at England’s Twickenham stadium. Overall, the day was fantastic (what I remember of it) and the match was quite close. I’ve been told it was the highest scoring competition between our two schools in Varsity match history. By now, you’ve probably guess that Cambridge lost (as I didn’t mention it first), but the margin was slim enough for me to write it off as probabilistic fluctuations and Joe to rationalize that although Cam thoroughly outplayed the Oxford chaps, Oxford got lucky on a couple plays and it consequently changed the landscape of the game. Needless to say, it was a great day, sans the trip home where we were stuck standing on the train next to an out of order toilet.

Picture of the game... not that most Americans can follow what's going on.


Me cheering, aka heckling the other team.



6. Academics and Research: In my spare time, I sometimes study and read scientific literature pertaining to my research. In particular, my master’s project will focus on utilizing Ionic Liquids as an electrolyte component in Lithium-Ion Batteries. This work is a collaboration between both Cambridge and Nokia, and the research center is about a 3 minute bike ride from my home. If you’re interested to see more about what we’re aiming to create, check out the video here:

Nokia Morph Project

So far the course hasn’t been too bad and I’m not really worried about the exam. I’m sure when I get around to a more rigorous study schedule I’ll be in good shape when it comes time (April). In lieu of coursework, I’ve busied myself with reading hundreds of battery-related scientific papers and books and will be producing a literature review, the likes of which have not been seen for thousands of years, in a couple weeks. I’ll be naming the first chapter Genesis and the second half of the review which investigates future uses as the New Testament. I may even write an appendix which investigates disruptive and competitive technologies to batteries and call it Revelations. This may or may not be included for future generations.

My desk: Reading topics include Lithium Ion Secondary Batteries, Ionic Liquids, Technology Innovation and Enterprise, and Nanostructed Energy Materials.


7. Planned trips and events: Netherlands Trip: January 3-6, Literature Review: January 16, Poster Presentation: January 19, Mock Exam – January 21, Jeongmin Arrives: January 23, Churchill Spring Ball: February 13.

Taters

Tonight was Guy Fawkes Night. For those unaware, this Fourth of July analogue celebrates the day a Catholic dissenter failed to blow up parliament with stores of gunpowder locked away in a cellar directly underneath the floor… and was swiftly tortured and hung. And while I love the justice in seeing religious extremists executed and sent to their gods, there was something odd about celebrating the failure of a terrorist attempt. It may have to do with the fact that of all places, England perhaps should not be allowed to celebrate an Independence Day since they spent so many centuries depriving countries world-wide of said right (or giving, in our case). Also, one has to wonder if, weeks prior to getting caught, Guy’s accomplices were joking around with him in a pub that were he to foul up, he would be the laughing stock of Britain for centuries to come. Certainly, in their infinite jest they would have never predicted that even in a town as quaint as Cambridge, some 400 years later, thousands of people would be joyfully watching fireworks and the burning of a Guy Fawkes effigy at the stake while partaking in good drink and rubbish food. I think this deserves the title of epic fail if I’ve ever seen one.

On the topic of epic fail, I do need to stress that British food is sufficiently terrible. For a country that has spent at least the last half millennia globetrotting and land-snagging (or as my friend British Matt would call Smash-and-Grab) how could they not have integrated the high points of myriad cuisines from subjugated cultures into their mix. I have no doubts that Yorkshire pudding and Cornish Pasties have not evolved since the time the corn that went into making them was ground with a large stone mill turned by farm animals. To be fair, the British have developed quite a metropolitan palate… with Indian curry being a nigh-national food. However, I would posit this is an overcompensation mechanism to balance the pervasive dullness that currently riddles their menus. Next time I go to hall for lunch I must remember to take a photo of the vegetable section, generally consisting of French fries, fried potatoes, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes (mash), potato wedges, and carrots. If this weren’t bad enough, you’ll find all of these relatively harmless potato variations smothered in Heinz baked beans or Brown Sauce. Yes, the name of the sauce is brown sauce… and it tastes like some sort of Gravy-gone-bad and mixed with dates and vinegar to cover the funk.

Potatoes and Brown sauce everywhere:



In order to save this post from getting too negative, I’ll spend a paragraph applauding the British and the Europeans for their genuine interest in politics besides their own (something you would never see in Korea or America). I can’t tell you how many folks I’ve run into here who’ve initiated conversations with me regarding Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, or the Electoral College. Perhaps my opinion on them would be different were I to be a republican, but it is quite impressive and humbling to see a country so invest itself in the outcome of an election besides their own. Having spent all night and morning watching the elections through the BBC’s eyes, it is quite obvious that America has made the right selection in Barack Obama. On Monday afternoon, I left my courses an ignorant and oppressive American, on Wednesday morning I returned slapping High-fives (something Brits don’t normally do) and being applauded for my open-mindedness or tolerance.

You’re welcome. In fact, I think I’ve earned me some potatoes covered in meat and brown sludge.

I believe this blog should maintain a level of professionalism...

As such, I am forced to make haste in writing a post so that terrible photo can be taken down as soon as possible.

So let's talk. As you may be aware, I've been at MIT for the last couple months just starting my Phd in Physics, and MIT has not disappointed in terms of starting to swiftly kick my ass. The MIT physics program is rather infamous for having a particularly grueling set of Qualifying Exams, 3 in total, with the most fun I've had so far with my first exam which I had to take as soon as I arrived at MIT as a welcoming party. This was a 5 hour long exam on everything I "should have learned" as an undergraduate, and all you have to know is that it was long, painful, and I passed.

Since then, I've settled into a fairly good rhythm of cutting classes, handing in my hw late, staying at the lab till 11pm on fridays, and drinking atleast one night a week. All in all, graduate school has lived up to all miserable and romantic expectations (including drinking 5 cups of coffee a day) and I wouldn't rather be doing anything else right now!

Often I'm asked to characterize what being at MIT is like, or how it is different then being at Rutgers. In reply: it's pretty clear already from my short time here that MIT is not just a place with great ideas and intellect, but a place of action and implementation. There is this general attitude, and not to mention a great history of success, that seems to propel the students here to take their chances in taking an idea and making something out of it. Sure MIT has lots of resources and is very selective, but it's a self feedback mechanism right? All the students here know the reputation of their school and it seems they work hard to reinforce that idea.

I have begun research work, some what in earnest, with Pablo Jarillo-Herrero -a new, young faculty member in the Condensed Matter Experimental group. Pablo has all the energy that would be expected of a new professor in the perilous world of the tenure-track academic, and has no qualms of piling the work on me. In all fairness though, I don't work in the lab that much yet, what with having 3 grad courses and all, not to mention all the time I spend attending every free pizza/coffee/cookie event I can at the MIT campus.

For those interested ( all 2 of you), I am beginning my research work on a material called Graphene, most easily understood as a single atomic layer of Graphite -the same material that makes up a good amount of your pencil "lead". You can look it up on wikipedia, and as soon as I start making amazing discoveries I'll be sure to let you know more about this awesome material!

Winter is approaching and I can't wait to see how terrible the Cambridge frost can be. Look forward to seeing pictures of my wrapped head to toe as I trek the treacherous tundra on my point three mile walk to school.

I own a tuxedo.

One thing I've learned about people, whether it's pitching an idea, telling a story, or more generally trying to relay information is that:

1. People respond very positively towards lists.
2. They read and/or listen quite carefully to every word, oftentimes without immediately compiling the information or trying to anticipate your next point.
3. They will read this point even after having been warned by the foreshadowing in the previous item.



What follows are positive and closely correlated negative experiences, respectively.

1. Transportation
+ Owning and riding my bike often / not having to worry about a car.
- Riding my bike in a rotary, or traffic circle.

2. Cuisine:
+ Multiple Course formal dinners
- British food (yes, it's horrific)

3. Shopping
+ Buying a tuxedo for a reasonable price given how often it's required.
- British prices (everything costs double or more)

4. Privilege
+ A Multi-course dinner boat cruise along the Thames in London paid entirely for by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
- Being treated differently than other brilliant Cambridge students because of the Gates Scholarship.

5. Churchill Community
+ Churchill PAV dance party
- Churchill PAV dance party

6. Academics
+ Being way ahead in classwork.
- Not having any way to gauge my progress in class through homework or testing (We have two big qualifiers in the spring)

7. Communities
+ A vibrant and intellectual Gates Community.
- Feeling somewhat outcast back at Churchill as an elitist in spite of efforts.

8. Television
+ Not having American pundits vomit nonsense into my brain through talk shows or other television analysis.
- Losing Law and Order.

9. Humo(u)r
+ General appreciation of my cynical and often wry sense of humor.
- Those who don't get satire of the American system dressed up as patriotism.

10. People
+ Brilliant, passionate, and obsessively endeavoring individuals.
- Rich, entitled snobs


Some more pictures for those who have just doubled their daily reading after trekking through this post:

Some bridge in London we passed under during our boat trip. In lieu of forgetting its name, let's call it a London bridge.



My tuxedo, taken via webcam.



Several of my friends and I sitting down to a home-cooked dinner... in avoidance of hall food.

‘Merica: how to pronounce America for foreigners.

Classes have started, and along with them, an entirely new understanding of the word intense. In fact, I was talking with Javier a bit earlier tonight and trying to describe what life here is like. I remember analogizing it roughly as follows:

If Cambridge were a function, it would be the Intensity function, I(t). Furthermore, it would have an incredibly positive second derivative with respect to time. For those of you out there not interested in endeavo(u)ring, Cambridge is, to put it another way, a roller coaster drop that keeps getting steeper and steeper… eventually curving upon itself as in one of those nauseating Escher paintings.

After having completed nearly three days of safety training last week, and successfully passing the infamous Materials Science Departmental Safety Test (>50% fail rate, first time around), I’ve finally made it to the promised land of real coursework. Starting Monday, I embarked upon my semester course load of 8 courses (3 business, 5 science). Many out there must be thinking that either the Brits have a completely different system or I’ve absolutely lost my mind. Fortunately, the former is true and the courses generally only meet twice a week for two hours each and last about 2/3 of the semester. Thus, in any week, I’ve only got 6 classes to attend to. Furthermore, most of my classes have no homework associated with them and from what I understand, there are no final exams. As a side note, I will assuredly use this medium to lament should my final exam assumption prove to be false.

Regardless of the format, the coursework is intense and I’ve had to position myself into a nice little rhythm of waking early and pre-studying for about three hours, going to class for another four hours, and then reviewing some of my notes in the Gates Scholars Room (see below) for an hour or two before dinner or Business School (depending on the day).



Undoubtedly, my mother would at this point make sure to remind me that my mental health is just as important as my marks in school and as a way of calming her nerves I’d like to report that it seems to be the policy of Cambridge that you must have twice the social life as you do an academic one. This includes things like societies and organizations, drinking clubs, sports, formal dinners and dances, and drink receptions for no good reason. In the next two weeks I’ve got two drink receptions, three clubs to drop in on, a formal dinner, a Dinner cruise on the Thames in London, and a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland fully planned and purchased. Life is intense.

Brussels next month. Any takers?

Below, please find a picture of a formal dinner in the hall with fellows. Below this, please find the intended result of the formal hall.






The final theme I’d like to hit on is the joy with which I like to fall into the stereotype of the obnoxious and arrogant American (for good reason). Whether it’s the British language, their food, tea time, or simply riding on the wrong side of the road… nothing pleases me more than to make a quaint British ritual into a big deal in an effort to make a point to all nearby Brits and Europeans: You’ve got your heads stuck up your asses just as far as we do if you truly believe the stereotypes that circulate among these parts. The best treatment is to first make them thing you’re a dolt of an American and then debate them regarding Gordon Brown’s reappointment of Peter Mandelson to Business Secretary. Nothing makes friends better than smashing stereotypes through intentional confrontation. In somewhat related news, the Chinese seem to have the same allergies to caucasians as Korean Americans do back home. Not news: British Koreans are like Korean Americans.

I’ll never understand why people fly thousands of miles only to surround themselves with people from their home.

Cambridge University Chinese Soccer Team: They hope to play other equally valid teams like the Cambridge University Heterosexuals-Only Soccer Team and the CU Brunettes-Only soccer team.



Korean Church. If you want to go, the directions are right there!

Pictures for those with ADD

Since Javier seems to be adopting the Playboy tactic of pictures over content I'll play along for a bit and post up a few images of my accommodations, college, and university-at-large. It's only slightly older than MIT (652 years, give or take) and as such may just have something worthwhile showing visually which my lacking prose cannot portray otherwise. With this, I begin...



Right here we've got an image of the front of Churchill College's green. I thought it was indicative as it shows the general Livingston-esque architecture, the nice grass, and the presence of modern art. In fact, Churchill College is quite famous for it's random scattering of modern art including works by Andy Warhol in the dining area, Druva Mistry, and pictured here, Hepworth's Four Square Walk Through. In fact, the architecture on our campus has been variously hailed as a modern masterpiece. I'm not quite sure I'm buying it yet.




The two pictures above are of my room. While it may look quite sparse (the picture is a bit old), it remains true to the general layout of my room currently. Please make note of my large desk and bed couch, also known by frustrated Americans as a bouch. I've also my own bathroom and enormous closet space but thought images may be a bit too mundane for posting.



Above is a picture of my apartment, a member of the "Pepperpots". Please note how even the residences stay true to the modern art theme. As for why it's called a pepperpot, I've been told by a genuine Brit that it is because it looks like what else, but a pepperpot. When I inquired as to what this was I got a jarbled answer about how it is what you serve pepper from. I then asked if he was talking about a pepper shaker and he said "No, a pepper pot". You now know what 90% of my communications in the UK are like.



A picture of an undergraduate "staircase" which is another way of saying dormitory. In Churchill, they take the shape of quads and are usually surrounding a piece of modern art, a courtyard, or a famous tree planted by some dead politician or scientist.





So here's the Cambridge you've all probably got stuck in your minds. As far as mental images and stereotypes go, I can assure you what you've concocted in your mind is far less grandiose than what is actually here. The first two pictures are of King's College, Cambridge. In fact, a large number of the colleges look something like this. Not only are they nice on the outside, but are usually adorned with mahogany wood from some exotic locale, stained glass windows from the 1500's, and porters dressed like revolutionary soldiers who monitor who comes and goes. On top of this, some of the colleges have larger individual Trust accounts than the university-at-large. King's and Trinity, for example, have accounts larger than most small countries. The last picture of is a somebody going for a punt down the Cam in front of King's. Punting is basically sitting in a wooden boat and pushing yourself along the river using a large pole. I've been told everyone falls in once.



This last image is a very typical street in Cambridge. In fact, this particular street, Pembroke Street, is right outside of my department. While it is extremely beautiful and charming, I've grown slightly tired of hitting my head on 5 foot 6 inch door frames circa 15th century.

Efficiency: My Opiate

Efficiency. Nothing brings me more satisfaction or wears out the cartilage in my temporomandibular joint like it. And perhaps like other abused substance, it's times of stress (like starting off as a grad student at MIT) that make me turn to it more. It's those moments when I have the least amount of time and the maximum amount of work that I can't keep my mind off how I could be doings things faster, with less effort, and preferably through my google account.

Every morning I print out an updated todo list and weekly agenda onto a notecard. Cheaper then a smartphone, slimmer then a AtAGlance planner, it's the best PDA I've ever used.

A Casualty of Efficiency. One of my notecards assimilates itself into the backpocket of my favorite white pants after running them through the dryer. I'm loathe to throw it out, so I'm considering running it through the wash again with another pink notecard in the right pocket to even it out.


Where the information of my life is held. If google ever goes crazy and sells all my data to the world I'll be screwed because then they'll know how boring my life is.

Where papers go to not be seen again. The classic file setup = hands down the max marg utility as far as organization goes. (not pictured: stacks of surrounding papers yet to be filed)

Mandatory automatic labeler. What? Couldn't get your personal file setup off the ground? It's because you were missing this dude. This makes organizing FUN.

My new computer. Now in class I can draw obscene drawings right on my computer as opposed to on a piece of a paper (very old fashioned). Average hours per day spent taking digital notes: 3 Average hours per day spent restarting computer, repairing wireless modem, staring at frozen vista screen: 3 (efficiency = at least breaking even)

My bed caught fire momentarily afterward.

David Allen's GTD. My joy. My Sorrow. Seriously if you are anybody who has more then 2 things to do at once, you should get this book.


In the end, it's all about control. If you setup enough devices, organization systems, personal reminders, and automatic labelers... it makes you feel like you got it. Now, finally, I can get some work done.