Thoughts on Mechanical Engineering

So I'm now wondering whether I should have been a MechE major instead.

O_o

That thought has never crossed my mind before. I don't know why it is now. It's just that the stuff they do seems really cool and relevant and applicable to the real world. Mechanical engineers solve real problems. And they can actually get jobs.

This is something I wish I'd considered freshman year instead of my fling with pre-med.

I'm not sure why I was so bio-oriented. Well, I do know. I wanted to be able to do something medically relevant. To save lives and all that jazz. So why am I having doubts now? Maybe I'm just jaded from the knowledge that there's not much to do with bioengineering except research and med school. Plus, we don't even have ABET accreditation yet. Oy.

So after my experience with research, I'm pretty sure that that's not what I want to do with my life. And I know I don't really want to be a doctor. And I'm not interested in law school. So I'm considering business, and dealing with the business side of the biotech and healthcare industries.

The sad thing is, even if I do succeed in that, I'm really going to miss all quantitative analysis and problem solving we do as engineers. Not that businessmen don't problem solve. But it's a very different kind of problem solving. Very different. You know what I mean?

I think I really just want to be an engineer. But I had to pick the one engineering major where that isn't really possible.

Oy, oh well. Maybe I'll go read some of the BioE senior design projects and hope that revives my interest and enthusiasm in BioE.

Wang Leehom on CNN

CNN's Talk Asia did a piece on Wang Leehom earlier this year. Oh, how I adore him. ;) Can't say I'm too fond of his new "rock" stuff, but he's amazing nonetheless. Enjoy.


(BTdubs, double click on the video to maximize. And if the it doesn't automatically transfer you to the next video at the end, here's the link.)

There's one thing I disagree with him on though. I think he does do a lot of "fluffy pop." Like all those love songs? Not that I'm judging him for it. The admirable thing, though, is that fluffy pop is not the only kind of music he's capable of producing. Quite a versatile guy, if you ask me.

One thing to do, three words for you

I really like this song. It makes me happy. And I love the video. And I love that it's so well done and so popular in spite of (or because of) its low budget simplicity. Kudos to you, Plain White T's.

Breaking Windows

I like to think that whenever a door closes, a window opens.

Of course, there's the fear that you can't really get the window open. It's stuck or jammed or something. Meanwhile, the fire edges closer and closer, greedily consuming all those highly inflammable hopes and dreams of yours, and you feel the hairs on the back of your neck begin to singe, and suddenly even breathing is hard...

Whatever, I'll break open the window. Throw rocks at it - that's my motto. (Okay, so it's actually a phrase I stole from Dave, but I feel that I say it enough to call it my motto.)

Okay, so I may have been a little melodramatic there. But hey, that was fun.

So that's what I'm going to do: I'm going to break the window... while watching out for shards of glass and sharp edges. I should also firesafe my hopes and dreams.

That should be my new motto: Throw rocks at windows, beware of broken glass, and firesafe your flammable goods.

--

10 points to you if you can guess what this post is really about. Heck, it'll be a good reminder. I probably won't even remember in a year.

Goodbye Stowers

Today, I quit my job at Stowers.

I have to say, it felt good. Best thing about this job since I started on Monday.

Love Story meets Viva La Vida

Hey, check out this guy:



Pretty cool, huh? Check out his website: http://www.jonschmidt.com

His stuff sounds pretty cool. Granted, I haven't really listened a lot of his songs yet, but I like what I've heard! I liked his arrangement of "Can't Help Falling in Love." Of course, that song has a special place in my heart because of Lilo and Stitch and A*Teens.

Anyway, enjoy.

Places to go in China

Whoo, my first post!!

Ok, I probably don't have any readers right now. But once I do... most of you know that I really want to go to China... as well as the rest of the world. Well, at the rate things are going, that's probably never going to happen *nervous chuckle*. Well, no, I'm going to make it happen eventually. So I thought I'd start by planning a list of all the places I want to visit in China. This way, I'll have a plan, so my next trip won't be so disappointing like my last.

Here goes:

• Xi'an. This probably due to Jing's influence and the fact that she's there right now. Anyway, I want to see the terra cotta soldiers. It's something I should see.
  
• Suzhou and Hangzhou. It's supposed to be one of the most beautiful places in China. You know what they say - 上有天堂，下有苏杭. I am going to this place that's supposedly heaven on earth.
• Beijing. Ok, so I've been here before, but it's been so long, and so much has happened (e.g. the Olympics). Besides, it's been 15 years since I last went. I think I should pay the Great Wall another visit.
• Shanghai. Another metropolis well worth revisiting. Besides, my mother's side of the family lives here, so I kind of have to go due to familial obligations. This should be fun though. It's like New York... only in China. And maybe this time I'll actually hang out with my cousins/aunts/uncles/grandparents, and things will be less awkward. I feel like I've become less awkward of a person over the past few years, right?
• Hefei, Anhui. Again, family. Ditto on hoping for fun with family and minimal awkwardness. Plus, the cabs here are super cheap (well, five years ago they were - can't really say I know if they are now), so it's a good city to just hang out in.
• Hong Kong. (Maybe?) You know, this is the only Chinese city I can think of which has a romanization that is written as two words rather than one. Why is that? Anyway, this is another touristy spot I'm succumbing to, I guess. But it's a prime place for seeing concerts - yeah!

Okay, that's my list for now. But there will be more, I assure you of that. Any suggestions? Maybe Taiwan? Maybe some places in Western China. It'd be neat to see the cultures of the ethnic minorities. Ooh, maybe Inner Mongolia.

I also really want to just live in China for a period. I need to find something to do in China first though. What a conundrum.

Ooh, if I do live in China, I want to learn to play the erhu. Apparently, one of my friends learned while she was in China and she said it's not that difficult if you have a violin background. Score! Of course, my violin background kind of sucks, but whatever.

So yes, while everyone else's blog is about the times they spend abroad, mine is about the times I spend thinking about going abroad. Sorry about the letdown. I will write about other things, and try to make this blog more interesting. Like my "25 Things" list. If I ever get around to finishing it, it'll come up on here. Whooo.

Out.