Updates

Since the semester had started, I haven't quite had the time to update. Rather than a list of everything, it'll just be some things :-)

• When I was procrastinating one time, I came upon a cooking website for making mochi(more like something similiar to it). It looks very so I decided to get the ingredients and make it when I got the time. That was a disaster. I didn't get honey (but something else which had the word honey on it... tastes horrible). The instructions asks to microwave the flour/water mixure. Because we probably have different microwaves, mine came out way too sticky and too hard to work with (and tastes funny). Experiment #2 was a lot better, but still not quite there. After looking up some more about making mochi (and the red bean paste), I've finally managed to make a decent one (after the nth experiment of course). Pics will be uploaded when I find a camera.
• I've learnt to make bubble tea sometime during the winter break so I've been making it quite a bit recently. Just add milk to tea (maybe a little sugar too). Then add the bubbles. The bubbles only take 5 minutes to cook (more if you want it to be softer). Everytime I've had bubble tea recently, it had been with a spoon because I don't have any straws :-(
  
• This spring break, like most spring breaks, it has been plan-less. However, this really I really enjoyed not having any obligations. It feels nice to be able to do anything you want to do. I had thought that I would be really bored (and I was once in a while), but it is very relaxing. So far: I've updated this entry, saw "Diving Bell and the Butterfly" with Helen, Mary and Chenxia on Saturday night--it was a good movie (but there were some complaints, not by me though), made mochi :-D, went out for lunch. It helps that it has been sunny everyday so far, if only a little bit too cold.
  
• Classes: I'm taking 5 classes this semester, one of which is 9 units.
  
• 1.011 project evaluation: don't like this class, the professor teaches out of the book. He also says "you should think about it" to certain questions rather than explaining. Given that we have so much else to work on, when will we be able to "think" about it, and how do we know that we have reached the right conclusion?
• 1.036 Structural and Geotechnical Engineering Design: the structural part of this class, which we have just finished, is pretty organized, we have lots of handouts which goes through the steps of how to do certain problems (however, we still have problems doing our last project report). Apparently, this class used to be a full semester long class until the department decided to shorten it.
  
• 1.040 Project Management: Very disorganized class. The lecture notes aren't very easy to understand. We have papers due for this class, but we don't really know ahead of time what's due when.
• 21F.052 French Film Classics: This class is pretty interesting. I took it because I am considering minoring in French (only need about 3 more classes). Pretty much we watch a film once a week, discuss the film the next class. There's only 2 papers, an exam, and a presentation.
• French: Have to take this at Harvard because of time conflicts with the one offered here at MIT. Some of the differences between the French classes I have taken so far at MIT and this one are: an actual oral exam, weekly quizzes which is just mainly compositions, the midterm is like the exams I am used to -- with fill-ins for grammar, composition, etc. Because of this, I have started biking there using Yalu's bike while she uses mine (used to walk there in the winter when it was too cold to bike and the ground too slippery).