Resolutions.

With approximately eleven and a half hours left in 2013, I think it would be appropriate to list off my five resolutions (or year-long goals) that I have set for myself in the year 2014.

#5. Become a better scientist. 
This goal may seem a bit peculiar to the average person. How does one "become" a better scientist? If you ask someone in academia, they would probably say that you should publish more papers or that you should be inquiring about acquiring tenure (if you do not already have it). As far as I am concerned, I want to both expand and deepen my knowledge of chemistry so that I can be prepared for whatever graduate school throws at me. Being in charge of supplemental instruction the past two quarters has allowed me to meet dozens of new people and has provided me with the title of "the Ochem guy." I admire the recognition because that is what I aspire to be. Within the next few years, I would like to be known as "the Dr. Ochem guy," which leads me to my next resolution...

#4. Succeed in graduate school.
This resolution is solely banked on the fact that I get accepted into a graduate program for the fall of 2014 (which I am hoping comes true). I have already received a rejection from one of my schools and I will keep my blog updated with news from the other five that I applied to. If post-secondary education were related to sports, undergraduate degrees would be the minor league teams, while graduate schools would be like playing in the majors. So far my track record with the Somerset Patriots (minor league baseball team that I grew up with), has been pretty good, but if I wish to excel in the majors (say the Yankees or Mets), I need to step my game up and not only that, I need to put myself back in the game, which leads me to my next resolution...

#3. Get better grades. 
I only have two quarters left in my undergraduate career (so this resolution should have been on last year's list to have any drastic impact), but I want to end my undergraduate career on a high note. I do not want to skate by with  C's because that is the minimum grade to pass; I want to show my peers and my professors (and my future school) that I can excel in my courses, especially ones that I will be using in my graduate study. This quarter I am taking a course that I am not required to take (Instrumental Analysis), but I believe that it will greatly set me apart from other Biochemistry majors whom do not take the course. I also plan to take a graduate-level organic chemistry course in the spring, which I am quite excited to take. Expanding my chemistry palette is a necessary tool for a scientist and a lack of knowledge in one area should be remedied with sufficient studying in said area, which leads me to my next resolution...

#2. Read the Bible. 
Hold on a second... I just said that I wanted to expand my chemistry palette. How does the Bible have anything to do with that? Hear me out for a second. Over the past few years, my "faith" has been questioned (granted I did not have strong faith to begin with), but the idea that God existed was slowly creeping out of my head. There is a quote by Harlan Ellison that reads "You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant." By definition, ignorance is the lack of knowledge or information; as simple as that. I could say that I am ignorant in my belief that God does not exist and I would say that it is true. However, I am choosing to enhance my knowledge on the subject, which shows commitment and dedication for understanding (non-ignorance). This leads me to my last resolution...

#1. Get below 160.
What does this mean? Get below 160 lbs in terms of body weight. If I go on an easy run, I do not want my heart rate to reach 160 bpm. I want to nourish my body, in such a way, that I can compete in any race I choose. I want to run a decent time half-marathon (sub 1:30) and maybe eventually a BQ time!

Thank you all for reading and I hope that 2014 is a big a year for me, as it will be for all of you! And remember, there is always room in your day for a little TrashTalk.

NT

Looking back.

As the calendar slowly become thinner and thinner, I like to take a few moments to reflect upon the past 360 days; one day per degree in a full revolution. 

January - The first month of the year; typically where New Year's resolutions are generated (and quickly forgotten about). For me, January was the time in my life where I changed my mind about pursuing the "teacher-path." My class schedule was now heavily filled with science courses and I had just planted the idea of Pharmacy as a potential career path. January was also the time when I took my first graduate course (as an actual participant, rather than a wallflower). Granted it was a basic seminar course, but that class taught me the importance/necessity of acquiring scholarly research articles (and leading a classroom discussion with said articles).   

February - Courses are approaching the halfway mark in the midst of February and everyone is feeling the pressure (including myself). I had started becoming more interested in Pharmacy and even did a job shadow at the local Pharmacy in town. Turns out, being a pharmacist was not as "exciting" as I thought it was going to be. My interest in pharmaceuticals had not been extinguished, but my plans to attend Pharmacy schools was permanently snuffed out.

March - Winter quarter is wrapping up quickly and I was more than ready to put some of the courses I was taking behind me. The month of March probably had the largest impact regarding my academic career because it was the time when I decided to participate in undergraduate research. I had a few professors that I was interested in working under and I will be honest, I did not get my first choice. I had gone into the professor's office to discuss the idea of conducting research with them and they told me "sorry, but I don't think I will have the time to train you in the spring. If you would like, you can ask me again later in the quarter and we can discuss research opportunities in the fall." To me, that was essentially a rejection. Nonetheless, the next professor on my list would allow me to become trained in the spring and then I would be able to conduct my own research projects in the fall. I quickly jumped at this opportunity and I think that it was one of the best decisions that I have made, thus far, in my academic career. 

April - The beginning of spring quarter. I had just gotten accepted into a research group at my school and classes were still in their early stages. In the eyes of an average joe, I was taking the most non-appealing courses (Multivariable calculus, Transition-metal Chemistry, Physics, and Biology), but surprisingly, I loved my classes. I guess I shouldn't say surprisingly because I have genuinely all of the classes I have taken so far (with maybe the except of Pre-Calc, but that's another story). This was the time where put serious contemplation toward attending graduate school. I made the mother of all Excel sheets, compiling information about each school, what their requirements were, MS or PhD programs, etc. I had just built a new floor in my house of education; all I needed was stairs to help me get there. 

May - I don't really recall much regarding May. Not because nothing important happened, but mainly because it melded with April and June and was kind of a blur.

June - The school year was over and the summer was just beginning. Did I tell you that I love summer? If I could live in an area where it was summer-type weather all-year round, I would move their in a heartbeat. I competed in my first marathon race (Seattle Rock and Roll) and while it was quite challenging (see blog post regarding the race), it most certainly won't be my last. 

July - If I had to describe the month of July, I would call it the month of travel. My sister and I went to New Jersey to visit our Dad and we ended up road-tripping up to Boston (see blog post regarding my vacation). 

August - For the first time since I have been attending school, I went back to school early (August 9th to be exact). I moved into my cottage the population of cows in Ellensburg was greater than the population of the people. The town was still and the weather was amazing (hot and sunny almost everyday). August also provided me with my first independent research project (which I am continuing to work on currently). 

September - December

The last fall quarter of my undergraduate career. I took some pretty difficult courses and managed to do decently well in my Chemistry ones (Math is another story). I applied to all of the graduate schools that I was interested in (see blog post regarding those). I received word from the University of Michigan that they did not want me in their program (Rejections 1, Accepted 0). Nonetheless, I have five other schools that still have to make their decision about me (and c'mon, its me!). I have continued my research in the lab and I am excited in the direction that we are heading once winter quarter begins. I am anxiously awaiting what 2014 has in store for me!

Have a happy New Year!

NT

...and one indoor helicopter.

Happy Boxing Day everyone! I hope that you all have had a wonderful holiday season thus far and will continue to enjoy bringing in the New Year with reflections on 2013, looking ahead to what 2014 has in store.

For the past few years I have been compiling all of the gifts I received on Christmas into a list (more so just as a keepsake for myself).

So here it is, the list:

Various Gift Cards:
$100 Safeway
$50 Subway
$30 Olive Garden
$30 Red Robin
$25 iTunes
$20 Chilis
Grey Aeropostale t-shirt
Blue sweater
Grey-striped Adidas beanie
Red/Grey striped Aeropostale sweatshirt
Various scents of Usher
48 Snickers bars (Full-sized)
Reflective leg bands (for running!)
A Natalie Grant CD (Awaken)
A novel, Wild at Heart (by John Eldredge)
A new yo-yo (to add to the collection)
15 pairs of boxers (including a pair of gingerbread ones!)
20 pairs of socks (including four pairs of sweet designed ones!)
A new pair of slippers
Two pairs of winter gloves
Costco pack of Belgian cookies (Tradition)
Stone-wave cooker (The "makes an omelette in one minute" item!)
A pair of headphones
Two identical 3-pack wooden puzzle sets (miscommunication of gifts or great minds think alike??)
Blue fleece jacket
A new reversible belt (brown and black)
A Puma athletic jacket (and matching pants, dark blue in color)
Red/gray/white flannel shirt (CWU colors!)
Columbia winter jacket (with the silver lining in it, very warm!)
Pair of Tony Hawk casual shoes (kind of look like Vans!)
Pair of blue Vans
A North-Face jacket (running jacket!)
Blue thermal shirt
Another beanie (Aeropostale brand)
Four new pairs of jeans!
Neoprene face mask
Five cans of peanuts (courtesy of John)
A "Burger stuffer" gadget
A plush "If you give a mouse a cookie" mouse
An iPhone 4s
New pair of running shoes (Brooks Adrenaline GTS 13)

...and one indoor helicopter.

That was my list of gifts that I received this Christmas and I hope that your gift exchange was as enjoyable as mine.

Happy Holidays and take care until next time,

NT.

Preparation precedes performance.

If I had a single superpower, it would be that I could state an athlete and could immediately acquire their peak fitness-level. I know that this sounds like a dorky superpower, but let me explain my thought process. If you were a collegiate athlete, you could simply state the name of a professional athlete and suddenly gain their fitness. You would never have to worry about training and you could win several, if not, all or your races. You would win accolades from your school, such as scholarships, or even championships. Fortunately, the superpower that I mentioned does exist; it is called dedication.

I went for a run for the first time in about a month. Prior to my run, I told myself that I am going to run sub 1:30 for the half-marathon distance (13.1 miles). A sub 1:30 performance calls for the runner to average 6:51 min/mile. I even went out on a limb and looked at the pace that would be required to run sub 1:20 (which is 6:06 min/mile). The most I have ran at the sub 1:20 pace is roughly five miles, let alone for 2.5x the distance. Nonetheless, I have established my goals and my winter and spring quarters are slightly lighter in terms of academic load. I even put a countdown at the bottom of this post.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" - Lao Tzu

Have a good day,

NT

Permanent Student

On one of my graduate school applications, I came across an interesting essay prompt that I had not seen on any other of my school applications.

The prompt is as follows:
In an essay, discuss how your personal background informs your decision to pursue a graduate degree. Please include any educational, familial, cultural, economic, or social experiences, challenges, community service, outreach activities or opportunities relevant to your academic journey; how your life experiences contribute to the social, intellectual, or cultural diversity within your chosen field; and/or how you might serve educationally underrepresented segments of society with your degree.

While I was writing my response, I thought about why I truly wanted to attend graduate school and the things that I am looking forward to once I complete my degree. 

My Response:

Throughout high school I had participated in a variety of education-based courses, ones that would allow high school students the opportunity to learn techniques from other teachers in the district. At the time, I felt like my path was drawn for me; I was going to be a math/science teacher and because of that, I chose to attend Central Washington University due to their prestige regarding their teaching program. Towards the middle of my junior year (of college), I came to a realization that I did not want to become a teacher anymore. I was beginning to take more advanced Chemistry courses and I was learning more in-depth about topics that I could not pronounce in high school. Although I had always wanted to become a teacher, at that moment, I decided that I wanted to be a “permanent” student. The perplexing idea of graduate school was introduced to me when I first made that epiphany, which coincides with my passion for learning. No matter the subject or the professor teaching the course, I truly love to learn and what better way to continue learning than by pursing higher education. After all, is that not what college is for aspiring high school seniors?

As I mentioned before, the idea of a “permanent” student seems counter-intuitive, but in academia, and more generally in the discipline of science, are we not all permanent students? We are consistently searching for answers, for cures, for reasons why the universe works the way it does. Our curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge is what drives scientists to make remarkable discoveries. Although we may think we are students because we do not take quizzes/exams every three weeks, we continue to test ourselves and our hypotheses through dozens of experiments and tests. The world of science is open to change. By that I mean there is always some new experiment to do, some new project or world-crisis that needs to be solved. A fresh perspective is all that it takes to take a turn an already novel idea into an extraordinary one. My passion to pursue higher education is fueled by the fact that I will be soon become a hybrid of academia; the student who thirsts for knowledge and the teacher who passes down his knowledge onto others. Graduate school would provide me the opportunity to become that hybrid and it will allow me to make a truly remarkable difference in the world of both education and science.

Just my $0.02 

Have a good weekend!

NT 

Summer's Ending.

As the first week of school is creepily approaching, I am both excited and nervous to begin my senior year. The classes that I will be taking throughout the year will (most likely) be the hardest ones of my undergraduate career (Physical chemistry, analytical chemistry, etc). Nonetheless, I am thrilled to think that in a year from now, I would already have started graduate study! My application process has been going quite well. I have my Statement of Purpose done (well my "template") and I have made my CV. I just have to ensure that my GRE scores get shipped to the schools and that my letter of recommendation writers submit their letters. My research has been going pretty smoothly (lots of failure, but hey, that's organic synthesis). My job starts up next week and i'll begin TA'ing next week as well.

I am feeling great about school and life right now and I am feeling on top of the world.

Thanks for enjoying your daily Trashtalk and have a good day!

NT 

New Digs.

Tomorrow it will be a week since I have moved into my new place for my last year at CWU. My place is nice! I'll post a profuse amount of pictures (profuse was one of my GRE vocabulary words, so I thought I would use it)! I'll give you a virtual-no imaged tour before you scroll down to look at the pictures. The exterior of the house is comprised of light-green paneling with a pink (yes... pink) upper half. It looks likes the house a watermelon fanatic would live in. There are four parking spots assigned to us (Lucas, Erik and myself) for our motor vehicles, yet Lucas is the only one with a car. So those will sit there emptily for the year.

As you walk into the house, you have three choices of direction. If you travel to the left, you will first face a decent-sized closet in front of you, then travel towards the downstairs bathroom. The bathroom also has our washer-dryer combo and has a "backdoor" to the downstairs room (which is mine). If you continue up the stairs upon entrance to the house, you'll eventually have to make another decision of left/right, either Lucas or Erik's rooms.

On the left hand side is Lucas's room, which has a vaulted ceiling and a window on the south-facing side of the house. One neat thing about his room is that he has access to a rather large attic that can house lots of stuff! I believe it runs to the front of the house, but I am not sure. Venturing to the right at the top of the staircase leads you to the master bedroom, which also has high ceilings. This room has a north-facing window, which conveniently allows views of the 3/4 bathroom that he has in his room. There is no door to the bathroom; it literally changes from carpet to linoleum as you turn the corner that is in front of his window. It could be slightly awkward for anyone who is outside looking up at the window, but luckily, there are blinds.

Traveling to the right upon arrival, you are greeted with the living/dining room. It is a pretty spacious area that has a large window, which faces the driveway. Heading towards the back of the cottage, you'll run into the kitchen is decent in size (nothing compared to my kitchen in my place last year). Although I will mention that the appliances (more specifically the stove and oven) work 100x better in this place than my place last year.

Once you have seen all the glory that the kitchen has to offer, you can walk through the door on your left and you will enter my room. I have a fairly decent-sized room, but i'll let my pictures do my talking.

My running wall

I finally have a closet!

My bookshelf :)

My "desk" haha

Its

Dresser and tub

Thanks for taking the time to read this post and have a good day!

NT

Birthday!

Today is my 22nd birthday! (Hooray!!!) Now if "all things went according to plan," I would have actually been born in the end of October (Halloween was my expected due date). That is a difference of 85 days, almost three months of valuable fetus-growing time that I missed out on. My mom, as well as the rest of my family members and medical professionals that I tell my birth story too, categorize me as a "one in a million" child and when you are that tiny, it is easy to see why.

I was officially born at two pounds and three ounces and fourteen inches in length. To put that in size comparison, go to your fridge and grab two sticks of butter. Also, grab a ruler (standard 12inch ruler) and add two more inches. It's crazy to recollect on how small I was and how lucky I was to live.

Standing up! Well not really haha

 My outward appearance is not the most pleasant in these photographs. When I look at myself, I frequently consider myself Benjamin Button (because he looked all wrinkly when he was born because he was born old). Notice how my eyes are shut. No, it wasn't because it was bright outside. My eye lids had not developed yet so technically, I was blind.

Too much work to stand up. 

Tubes for days!!

This is one my personal favorite pictures because it really shows the condition I was in when I was born. Breathing tubes, feeding tubes, checking my vitals, everything.

This was my home for three months

Sibling love :)

 This picture to the left is probably one of the first sibling photos ever (now that I think about it). My brother (who had just turned three in this picture) is feeding me with a syringe.

My mom and dad! 

Dr. Richard. 

This is one of the doctors/nurses who saved my life that day. His name is Dr. Richard (hence my middle name).

I hope that everyone has a great day! Live everyday as if it may be your last because you never know what could happen.

NT  














EDIT: I found out this morning that my good friend's sister was killed yesterday (8/7/2013) by a drunk driver last night and I would like this post to not only be a celebration of my life, but also hers as well. Although I did not know her personally, if she was anything like her brother, she would have been a charismatic, witty, and overall amazing person.

Moral of the story, don't drink and drive. It is really easy to call up a friend and ask for a ride home, don't put yourself and everyone else at risk of injury because you are too lazy to call a friend. Thoughts are going out to you and your family bud.

GRE update and potential school list.

As I have mentioned before in previous posts, I plan on attending graduate school and I think I have decided which schools I am going to apply for! But before I can send off my applications and enjoy the agonizing wait period of either acceptance or denial, I must first take the GRE. The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is a standardized test given to future applicants of graduate schools. There are three main sections: verbal, quantitative, and analytical. The verbal and quantitative sections are comprised of ~40 questions each. The verbal section focuses on vocabulary and comprehension of passages, while the quantitative section is all math-based (like the math you would have seen on the SAT's). The analytical portion is merely two 30-minute essays, one being an argumentative and the other being an "issue-based" essay.

I started studying for the GRE last week and so far things have been going well! Being a math guy, I do not have too many problems with the difficulty of the math, but I tend to make slip-ups here and there. I wish I had the same amount of confidence on the verbal section as I do on the math, because I would be sitting pretty if I did! My vocabulary bank does not have a lot of cash in it, but slowly and surely, I am depositing a few dollars here and there in order to help increase my score. I am taking the test three weeks from monday, so wish me luck!

My list for school is narrowed down to four. I know that does not seem like a lot, but I have faith that I will get into one of the Ph.D programs I am applying for.

Go Cougs! 

School #1. Washington State University 

To be honest, I love the feel of a college town. There is no rustle&bustle of a city and everyone seems to take more pride of the campus. My sister is an alumni from WSU and I know she would be thrilled to have me follow in her footsteps. Also my undergraduate research advisor is a 4x WSU grad (Two bachelors, a masters, and his doctorate). His advisor STILL works there (he has been there since 1957!) so I am potential looking into his lab or another professor's who does research on inhibitors for various cancers.

School #2. University of Washington

Go Dawgs!

Being raised in Washington, this is the school that every "intelligent person" plans on attending. Whether they get their undergrad there, their professional degree (MD, PharmD, DDS, etc), or attend graduate school there, UW has a noted reputation of being one of the best schools in the state. Now if I get accepted there, do I choose reputation over familiarity (not that I know Pullman extremely well)? Do I want to be the only native English-speaking kid in my class? (That was a joke people...). Nonetheless, I know that I would receive an outstanding education there, but I do not know if I want to live in the city.

School #3. University of California, Davis

Go Aggies!

Now this is my "longshot" school. There have been two other students from CWU that have attended their graduate chemistry program because they, similar to UW, have a reputation of being successful when it comes to publications and financial assistance. My one draw back is the location; it is in California! My girlfriend would feel obligated to move to California with me if I decided to attend UC Davis. I do not want to keep her away from potential job opportunities [in WA] because I want to spend more time in school, but it'd be pretty hard to not see her for long stints of time. I am going to apply there and whatever happens, happens.


School #4. Central Washington University

Go Wildcats!

Now you may be asking yourself, why would he want to attend graduate where he got his undergraduate degree? Why wouldn't he want to travel to another school and get more experience? I do want to attend other schools, but I need to stay realistic and if other schools do not want me, then I will stay at Central and get my Masters (rather than a Ph.D). Now that is even assuming I can get into the graduate school program here (which I think I could, but I want to keep all options open). I love Central and I love the faculty that we have there. I know most of them fairly well and would love to continue my passion for chemistry in the place where I first fell in love with it.



Guess what everybody?!?! My birthday is in three days! I am going to be double-deuces (22) haha.

Anyway, thank you for reading this and have a good day!

NT

College Majors.

As the senior year of my undergraduate school slowly approaches, I wanted to take a moment and reflect on my college experience. Being a science major, I would say that over 50% of my friends are science-related majors. Physical science, not social science (those don't count). With that in mind, I wanted to make a list of majors that I have not, and never, will understand. I watched a video on Youtube that discussed the "Most useless college majors" and that was the inspiration for this post.

NOTE: I AM NOT INTENDING TO DOWNPLAY ANYONE'S MAJOR/CAREER PATH WITH THIS BLOG POSTING. THESE ARE SIMPLY MY PERSONAL OPINIONS AND IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SHARE ABOUT MY LIST, YOU CAN LEAVE A COMMENT AT THE BOTTOM.

#5. Psychology.  

Why this on the list: Psychology is considered a "soft" science, grouped with others like sociology, anthropology, geography, etc. Unless you want to go into academia, I don't often find having a degree in a "soft science" being very marketable.

Jobs you can get with this degree: Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Counselor, etc.

While I think that the skills you learn as a result of your degree are valuable (such as critical thinking, identifying behaviors, counseling, etc.), I don't think that psychology degree's themselves are rather difficult (Its like Criminal Justice, which isn't on the list, but its like #6).

#4. English/Humanities

Why this is on the list: Other than being able to write long papers without any grammatical errors, can you tell me another benefit for having an English degree? I actually just finished up with my summer class on Latin American Literature (which was very enjoyable!) with my professor who has a Ph.D in English. I can understand a dissertation for a science-related field (a research project), but what constitutes a dissertation for an English major? Write a really, really long paper?

Jobs you can get with this degree: Writer/Author, Journalist???, English teacher, etc.

#3. Anything ending in "Studies"

Why this is on the list: At my school alone, we have so many different types of "studies" programs. Some of those include: Women, Any race you desire (Asian, Native American, Latin American, etc.) Family, etc. I have quite a few friends who have completed or are in the midst of completing their Family Studies degree. I don't even know the point of that is? I mean you grew up with a family at one point or another, am I right? The other types of studies, such as the different geographical areas, what can you really do with that? "I spent four years studying Women Studies, now I can be a better woman because I understand them," as if you did not understand them before?  

Jobs you can get with this degree: Family counselor, social worker, etc. 

I feel like the job market for people who have obtained these degrees is not very hot. I think that this degree could be a great asset as an accompanying degree (or like a minor). But I think the integrity of this degree is similar to that of wet paper. 

#2. Recreation & Tourism

Why this is on the list: Aside from my #1 most ridiculous major, I whole heartily do not see the purpose of this. "Congrats on your Rec/Tourism degree! You can serve me drink on the plane, or you can be the entertainer on the cruise I am on." At the end of this past school year, my Professor (for Transition Metal Chemistry) took us all out for drinks and we were talking about other degrees. Someone had mentioned Rec/Tourism and everyone laughed because that degree is seriously a joke. Scanning over the classes required for the major, I noticed that they all have to do with "helping people," as if that is hard? Here's a concept: Get a job that requires human interaction. There is your degree right there. 

#1. Interdisciplinary/General Studies

Why this is on the list: A college degree is suppose to prepare you for a future career, correct? Well, how does knowing little about unrelated topics useful to anyone? It may help you out on Jeopardy because that is the only way you are going to make money from a Gen. Studies degree. As I was looking through various images pertaining to Gen. Studies, I came across this little nugget (See the graduation cap). At the University of Michigan (which is great institution!), they surveyed their athletes on campus and found that athletes (which make up 3% of their undergraduate population on campus) make up almost half (49%) of the General Studies undergraduate degrees. What can we infer from this? That a lot of athletes are choosing General Studies for their major. Why is this? Because this degree is EASY! As a former student athlete, I can attest to the time commitment athletics takes throughout the course of just a single week!

At the University of Michigan (which is great institution!), they surveyed their athletes on campus and found that athletes (which make up 3% of their undergraduate population on campus) make up almost half (49%) of the General Studies undergraduate degrees. What can we infer from this? That a lot of athletes are choosing General Studies for their major. Why is this? Because this degree is EASY! As a former student athlete, I can attest to the time commitment sports takes. I understand that your passion is sports, but when your are at college, you are a student athlete! Not an athletic student. The webpage that this image is associated with (can be found here: http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/academics/stories/index.ssf/2008/03/athletes_safe_harbor_is_genera.html) has another interesting image of a General Studies students' transcript. It was noted that the student's GPA in the four independent study courses they took was a 3.91 and a 2.68 for all of the other courses they took. Not too surprised.

I would like to thank anyone who is reading this and please feel free to leave comments!

Have a good day!

NT 

Vacation.

Two weeks ago, my sister and I left from good 'ole Washington to my home state of New Jersey to visit my Dad and my other relatives that there. My dad's whole side of the family lives over there and sometimes I wish that they lived closer (or that I lived closer so that I could see them more frequently than once every year). Nonetheless, the time that I spent there was unforgettable and I cherish every minute that I get to spend with my family.

My sis and I on the way to NJ! 

We left from SeaTac around 3pm and the flight (scheduled for a little under five hours) went by so quickly! With the combination of my working on homework, reading my novel for said course, and my Ipod, I was surprised when I heard the captain say "...prepare the cabin for descent." Arriving in NJ at around 11:30pm (eastern time) we had to endure another hour and half of driving to get to my dad's house.

The first few days of our trip were spent relaxing down at the shore, enjoying the sunny days and the warm ocean. The eastern seaboard was in the midst of a horrendous heat wave with temperature in the upper 90's. Combing the high temperatures with the even higher humidity percentages made everyone feel like a roast pig at a luau.

The first day of "family time" came on sunday when we were planning on going over to aunt Lisa's to have a BBQ. On the RSVP list was: the four of us, my aunt Lisa and her kids (DJ and Lauren), my uncle Martin and aunt Debbie and their son Greg (who also brought his girlfriend Melissa), and my aunt Diane and uncle Tony. My grandpa also came to the BBQ and brought his "girlfriend." afternoon and evening was pleasant and filled with laughs, jokes, and great food.

The Treich clan

As with all family gatherings, everyone asks you the typical "How are you doing? what are your future plans? blah blah blah."Coming up to the conclusion of my college career, I was telling everyone that I was planning on attending graduate school (which I still am!).
During this BBQ I had an interesting conversation with my cousin Greg (the first person from the right on the second row). He graduated from RPI this past spring with a degree in Chemistry and is going to grad school for Materials Science in the fall. When I am at home, I don't tend to talk about what I do at school because most of them probably would not understand it, but it was great to talk with Greg because he could relate to practically everything that I had to say. He gave me great advice pertaining to the grad school application process, as well discussing what type of projects he want to work on.

My uncle Martin (Greg's dad) works as a executive at a pharmaceutical company (I think...), so when i told him my interest in pharmaceuticals, he began to tell me about his work (which I didn't mind). One of the interesting things that came up during our conversation was this website called LinkedIn, which is basically a Facebook for businesses. This website allows everyone to create a profile and depending on your "friends" (called connections on the website), allows you to chat and interact with one another. This website is designed so that people can connect with executives from other business for potential employment opportunities. So where does my uncle come into play? Well he said that if I create a profile, upload my resume (and all of the other jazz), he would try his best to get my a connection somewhere! I will definitely take him up on his offer after graduate school.

Fast-forward to wednesday morning where my sis and myself began our epic road trip to Boston! I was the driver for two reasons: one, I love driving and two, my sister hates driving. So naturally, it worked out!

On the road again! 

Our trip to Boston involved several pit stops along the way. Our first stop was New Haven, Connecticut, the home of Yale University. Being a Gilmore Girls fan, my sister was excited about walking the hallowed halls that Lorelai herself walked through (at least that's what we can believe!). The school is right in the heart of New Haven and the university buildings blend right into the local apartments and eateries.

The next stop on our trip northward to Boston was a little town of Springfield, Massachusetts. What is so important about this town? This town houses the Dr. Suess Memorial Park that houses several statues of famous characters from his books including Horton, the Thing's, and of course, the Cat in the Hat. Prior to our trip, we both were doing research about where we should stop and what attractions we wanted to see along the way. While the memorial was interesting and a fun little pit-stop on the way to Boston, the town itself was rather lower class.

Yale Bulldog!

Cat in the Hat

The North Bridge in Concord

The last stop before we arrived in Boston was in Lexington/Concord (appropriately home to the battles of Lexington and Concord). During the Revolutionary War, the British troops marched (on land) from Boston, through the town of Lexington and into the town of Concord. This trail (at least the portion from Lexington to Concord, which is about five miles) remains present to exhibit the same path the British soldiers marched nearly 240 years ago! Their is a national park that stretches the length of the trail and travelers can stop along the way to look at various landmarks (we didn't stop at too many places because a lot of the attractions were not open to the public).

After all of our shenanigans, we finally arrived in Boston and found the way to our hotel (which was an arduous process). After being in the car for five-ish hours on the way up, we did want to drive around Boston to find a place to eat. To solve our hunger problem, we walked across the parking lot to 99's (kind of like a TGIF's feel to it!). I had a delicious cod fillet BLT (minus the T) and my sister had a chicken wrap of some kind (can't remember exactly what). After dinner, we walked back to our hotel and decided to call it a night (after watching Big Brother of course). We decided that we were going to start tomorrow bright and early because we were going to explore the city of Boston and make our way over to Harvard University.

Touring one of America's oldest cities brings a sense of nostalgia to everything. Walking along the Freedom trail, which contains some of Boston's and America's most iconic landmarks, enhances the level of nostalgia 8974938714 fold! Boston is a phenomenal city that combines rich history with contemporary style. The entire "trail" (really just a red line painted on the street" is roughly two and a half miles. We did not walk along the entire length of the trail, but we walked a good portion of it! After we had our fill of history, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and made our way on the "T" to Cambridge, MA.

Harvard Square

Harvard University is one of the best institutions in the world. It has been the college of seven U.S. presidents including JFK and our current president, Barack Obama. In order to acquire the full Harvard experience, we decided to go on a student-led campus tour (something that we did not do at Yale). Our tour guide was named Sara who is a psychology major (I'll have a rant on that in another blog) and minoring in math. She proceeded to tell us that she knows six languages (English, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, and one other), which blew my mind! Nonetheless, our tour consisted of us two, 14 people from South Korea, one kid from Russia, and another couple (not sure where they were from because they didn't talk). Needless to say, the tour was very informative and I appreciated all of the little tidbits and facts that Sara was able to tell us.

After the tour, we decided to go over to the Museum of Natural History which housed an exhibit about glass flowers. To be honest, I wasn't too excited about the flowers prior to seeing them. After I witnessed the craftsmanship of the flowers, my mind totally changed. There were over 800 species of flowers on display and I can honestly say that I looked at every single one. In addition to the flowers, the exhibit next store housed hundreds of rock, mineral, and elemental samples. Being a chemist, I was looking at the chemical makeup of all of the rocks and tried to imagine the crystalline structure based on the formula (some were easier than others)

Glass flowers and leaves

Say that name five times fast

Giant hunk of Sulfur!

We left Boston on friday morning and started making the drive back to the Millburn, NJ. We had to pick up my dad along the way because he went on a business retreat with his co-workers and we took his car haha. On the way back, we got stuck in traffic and were in the car for two extra hours longer than it needed to be. All and all, our road trip was a great success and I will definitely visit Boston again in the near future!

Sunday morning was an action packed day. My dad decided to rent a pontoon boat and us four, Lisa and her family, and grandpa joined us for an afternoon on the water. The water was AMAZING! It was a perfect temperature and it wasn't too choppy (even with all of the boats and jet-skis in the water).

Overall, our trip was everything that I would hope for! I got to enjoy time with my family, travel to a new place, and just relax where I have so many fond memories. I do miss my family in NJ and I would never trade a second of my time there for anything else. I have frequently been asked the question "Which do you prefer, Washington of New Jersey?" To tell you the truth, both states have certain characteristics that fill me with happiness. So my answer to that question is "I do not prefer one over the other because they are both homes to me."

I know this was a long blog, so I would like to thank everyone who has the time (and patience) to read this!