level 120 Invention in RuneScape

I just reached level 120 Invention in RuneScape on my main character. It's one of the last 120's I needed to meet the skill requirements for the completionist cape!

Jagex increased the Thieving level cap to 120 in a recent update, so there are now still have two more 120's to go. However, the good news is that Thieving and Necromancy both give high XP rates at higher levels. I definitely hope to get 120 in those skills this year. :-)

In other news...

It turns out I did quite well at UC Santa I received an "A" in ECE 238 and ECE 256 and also passed the comprehensive exams for both classes. Hard work has its rewards, that's for sure!

Currently listening to: "Tennessee Waltz" by Patti Page

done with my first quarter at UC Santa Cruz

So the fall 2025 quarter at UC Santa Cruz is over. I finished the ECE 238 final exam last night and am now packing up my things while waiting for my parents to pick me up. It's nice to be able to catch my breath after all those sleepness nights!

I'm confident that I did well on all my exams. Even though there were some challenging questions, the exams weren't too hard otherwise. Of note is the ECE 238 final also counts as the comprehensive exam for that course — this meant I only had to study for three exams rather than four. It made things a bit less stressful for sure.

One nice thing is the winter 2026 quarter doesn't start until the 5th. I'm going to relax a bit before I start to prepare for next quarter's courses. :-)

Currently listening to: "Moonlight on the Colorado" by Slim Whitman

a fairly simple Thanksgiving

I'll start by saying that Thanksgiving was a little different this year. It was the first time since 2021 that my family didn't have anyone over, nor did anyone invite us. However, the upside is it was a lot less work because we didn't have to clean up the house. Even though it was just the three of us, Mom still made us a nice dinner. One thing for sure is the leftovers will last a while.

We went to San Jose on Friday and checked out the fall foliage before going to a Grocery Outlet store. I really like Grocery Outlet because it has so many good deals, and there is always a wide variety of items. Our purchases were limited this time because we don't have that much space in our freezer, but we certainly plan to go back during the holidays. Otherwise, the past four days were uneventful as I mostly studied for the ECE 256 final and comprehensive exams.

This year, I'm thankful that I got the opportunity to go to UC Santa Cruz and continue my graduate studies. I've learned a lot so far, and all the professors are very kind and knowledgeable. UCSC is certainly one of the best schools for sure.

I don't mean to sound unappreciative, but Thanksgiving didn't feel like Thanksgiving this year. As mentioned earlier, there are several upcoming exams that I needed to prepare for. UCSC requires master's students to pass three comprehensive exams, and we are only allowed six attempts, so the stakes are very high. The other reason is that it was just me and my parents this time. Even though we some quality time together, I do sometimes miss having parties with other families.

On the bright side, my cousin Cathy is coming back to the Bay Area in mid-December and plans to stay until after the New Year. I certainly look forward to "properly" celebrating the holidays with her. :-)

Currently listening to: "El Cóndor Pasa (If I Could)" by Simon & Garfunkel

starting over at 40

"I can assure you... I'm not secretly an ageless vampure." -- me, after my suitemate Anthony said I don't look old

Summer is off to a good start as two of my aunts are visiting from overseas. Figuring we had to do something fun together, Dad took all of us to Reno and Tahoe over the weekend. Intense heat aside, this was an enjoyable vacation.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. It was pretty special for me because I turned 40 on the 10th. Can you believe I've been on Earth for 40 years?

People have told me you will always feel "young" after a certain age. In my experience, this is quite true. I still feel like a twenty-something all the time, and only stopped feeling like a fresh college grad in recent years. However, the latter is no longer true given that I'm now back in grad school. If only my body could stay the same age. :P

It's been a while since I've had a birthday celebration with people my age. However, that's not a problem because I got some nice presents again this year. For starters, my cousin Cathy and her husband Andrew sent me some cool new socks. I want to save them for special occasions, but they look really comfortable. Definitely can't wait to see Andrew and Cathy again during the holidays.

I also got a birthday cupcake from Nob Hill Foods. It was pretty sweet but otherwise delicious. On a related note, my parents bought me a birthday card while there. It's very high-quality and quite beautiful too.

Dad also ordered a TI-89 Titanium graphing calculator for me. I actually already have a TI-89 that I used in high school and college. It turns out ECE 238 and ECE 256 both involve a lot of calculus, so we spent much of Saturday looking for my old calculator. Because the original model is not supported anymore, my father figured this was a good time for an upgrade. It's pretty funny because the TI-89 was partly a present for my 17th birthday.

We also went to Nob Hills Foods and Ranch 99 Market this morning for groceries and snacks. Our plan was to the stores yesterday after dinner, but I was pretty busy due to an assignment for my statistical signal processing class. However, the good news is I managed to finish the assignment a few hours ago. It was not easy by any means!

One downside is that there were some events at UC Santa Cruz that I had to miss. I would have loved to check them out if I didn't already have plans to come home. You literally can't have your cake and eat it too. On the whole, this was an enjoyable weekend.

Currently reading: The Martian: Lost Sols by Andy Weir

returning to graduate school: two weeks in

It's been two weeks since I moved to UCSC for the quarter. I survived the first few classes and thought I'd share an update. :-)

One thing I noticed is graduate students have more autonomy and freedom when it comes to academics. We get to choose an area of study as opposed to just following a specific curriculum with "core" courses. Professors are also more lenient when it comes to assignments. For example, the exams in ECE 256 are open book and open notes, and the quizzes in ECE 238 allow unlimited attempts. If only college was like this!

Of course, technology also helps. UCSC uses a learning management system called Canvas that is useful for keeping track of assignments, grades and course materials. Online platforms like Discord make it easier to stay connected with classmates. I decided to give ChatGPT a whirl and found it to be quite accurate. It's certainly a lot different than being a student in the 2000s.

I'm considered a "non-traditional" student because I worked for almost 15 years before coming back to grad school for a second master's degree. One of my concerns was that people would find it weird to have a classmate in their late 30s. However, this turned out not to be the case. Everyone seems friendly and unconcerned about my age, and I've already become good friends with my suitemate Yuxin. It's nice to know UCSC is so welcoming and inclusive.

Of note is there is always so much to do on campus, even when the economic situation is terrible. I'm not going to lie: work life is so mundane in comparison. I'd be lucky if a company had one holiday party and one family picnic a year. We actually have so many events at UCSC that I often have to miss due to schedule conflicts!

Going back to school as a middle-aged person is a very surreal experience. On the whole, I'm glad I made the decision to continue my studies at UCSC. It's going to be challenging and sometimes difficult journey for sure, but also rewarding at the same time. :-)

Currently playing: Redneck Rampage

moved to UCSC for the fall quarter

I just moved to the my graduate student apartment at UCSC. It definitely feels a bit strange to be back at university after 15 years. I was a bit nervous at first but am already starting to feel at home. :-)

Our department-specific orientation is in two days, and the general graduate student orientation is two days days later. I'm definitely looking forward to meeting the faculty and fellow graduate students before classes start on the 25th.

For those curious, I'm taking a medical imaging class and a statistical signal processing class this quarter, as well as two seminars. Graduate school will be challenging at times, but I'm confident this is something I can handle. So wish me luck because I'm going to need it for sure. :D

Currently listening to: "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor

level 120 Archaeology in RuneScape

I just reached level 120 Archaeology in RuneScape and now only have two more 120's go!

Archaeology is an interesting skill as it is both profitable and also ties into the lore. It's easily one of the best-designed skills in the game. However, the downside is some items some items needed to complete certain achievements are dependent on luck and take a very long time to drop. For example, I've spent hours at the praetorium and still don't have all the pages needed for the Shadow Fall and Decimation mysteries. I won't lie — this can be quite frustrating at times.

However, the grind can be worthwhile because I've already earned a lot of chronotes. I'm really looking forward to completing the other dig sites after this. But someone please tell Jagex to add bad luck migitation to the journal pages. :-)

Currently listening to: "The Blueberry Shuffle" by Douglas Wood

moved my stuff to UCSC today

I just finished moving most of my belongings to UC Santa Cruz with the help of my parents. Even though this took a few hours, the process was simpler than had expected. There are still a few things we need to bring on my next trip, but the good news is the hard part is over. Of note is there was so much stuff that our SUV was packed to the gills. I certainly don't remember this being the case when I was an undergrad at Berkeley. It almost felt like I was preparing for a mission to Mars. :P

One nice thing about the graduate student apartments is we get single-occupancy rooms. It's nice to have some privacy — which often isn't possible when you have to share a space with others. I also don't have to worry as much people stealing my things. From what I've heard from family friends, this can definitely be an issue at times.

As mentioned before, my original plan was to begin doing research with Prof. Eshraghian during the summer so I could get a head start in my studies. However, he recently informed me he would be away from UCSC until around August as he is busy attending a workshop. So my family decided that I would move back into the dorms when Prof. Eshraghian returns to campus. At least I'll be able to relax at home for a while. :-)

Currently listening to: "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" by Whitney Houston

bits and pieces

Just some personal updates I want to share. I didn't feel like making a separate post for each of those events, so here they are:

Level 120 Herblore in RuneScape

I'll start by saying I got level 120 Herblore in RuneScape on the 4th. I now only have three more 120's left before I have all the skill levels needed for the completionist cape. Jagex does plan to increase the other skills to 120 in the future, but that is expected to take several years.

I'm planning to get 120 Archaeology next as I have less than one million XP to go. However, that will have to wait because the membership on this account expires in like an hour or so. It'll probably be a while before I resubscribe as I'm going to be busy preparing for graduate school in the next one or two months.

A literal trip down the memory lane

Dad decided to take us to Sanborn County Park on the 7th as we realized we had never been there in all the years we've lived in the Bay Area. Even though we didn't stay here for long as it was a bit hot outside, this was nice for a change. It's always fun to explore new places. However, one highlight of this day trip is it brought back childhood memories.

For one, our route took us through the area in Cupertino where my late maternal grandparents used to live. Mom and I would always stop by their house after my horseback riding lessons on Saturdays, and I'd spend the afternoon watching cartoons. I certainly still miss my grandparents from time to time. It's hard to believe they've been gone for over 15 years.

I should mention our old family friends, the Liangs, lived fairly close to my grandparents in Cupertino. It's been a long time since our families have gotten together as we had gradually lost contact over the years. I don't think I've seen Stacey in person since 2010, and Emily since the year before. It's apparently quite common for adults to grow apart from childhood friends. :-(

Of note is Sanborn County Park is located close to Walden West and and Via West — the latter formerly known as Camp Costonoan. Walden West was very popular among my old classmates at Springer. I didn't attend Walden West but did go to Camp Costonoan in sixth grade. On the whole, this day definitely brought back some childhood memories.

A few shots

I mentioned a few times that I'll be taking courses at UC Santa Cruz later this year. Due to the university's immunization requirements, there were a few shots I needed to get before I could register for classes. I first got the updated COVID-19 vaccine on the 14th. The side effects didn't become apparent until the evening and lasted all of Sunday. However, everything was back to normal by the 16th.

The university also requires two doses of the MMR vaccine. We looked through all my medical records and could only find evidence of one dose, so I had to get the second dose on the 17th. It wasn't without side effects as my arm became pretty sore afterwards. However, that went away after a few hours. I still have to get two chickenpox shots — one for July and another in August — so hopefully those go without issues.

On a related note, I'll be moving to Santa Cruz in less than two weeks. It's both exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time!

Currently listening to: "War" by Edwin Starr

a nice Memorial Day "staycation"

It's hard to believe Memorial Day has come and gone. For a while, I actually thought it was still mid-May or so. It's often said that time goes by faster as you get older. So true. In any case, our long weekend wasn't too bad.

Friday

I was pretty busy even before the long weekend started. So my father has been building an enclosure in our backyard to protect our fruit trees from birds and rodents, and he needed my help for certain jobs that require two people. However, the nature of this type of work means that times can be unpredictable. What my dad estimated to be a 30-minute job ended up taking up all morning and then some. I could swear I had barely finished breakfast and sat down when it was already 1 p.m.

Gardening can be rewarding but also demanding at times. I was helping my dad put up a wooden beam when it fell and hit me square on the head. Ouch. Good thing it wasn't serious because I've had worse before.

Mom was also busy as she had to prepare a picnic lunch for Saturday's day trip. I also had to help put some cabbage leaves out to dry later in the afternoon as Mom wanted to try out some new recipes for cabbage dishes. We were all a little tired and decided to forgo our daily stroll around the neighborhood. However, that wasn't an issue as I made sure to get plenty of exercise on my own time.

Saturday

Dad decided to take us to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park as we hadn't been there in a while. We encountered some traffic along the way but still managed to get there on time. I should mention we didn't hike as far as we did last time because we were all a little tired. It's probably because of all the yard work we did the day before.

On the way home, my mom wanted to stop at Nob Hill Foods for groceries. We took the opportunity to get some ice cream as it was a little warm outside. I could hardly believe how much the prices had gone up. For example, Ben & Jerry's was over $7 a pint at the original price. However, there was some Dreyer's ice cream on sale. :-)

Sunday

Some time ago, I received a $25 gift card for Target for attending my health insurer's orientation session. Dad figured this would be a good time to use it up and took us to the new Target store in Sunnyvale. I wanted some snacks but ultimately decided that frozen meals were healthier. It turns out $25 was barely enough for a small pizza and three other items, and all the portions were smaller than the pictures indicate. Food prices are insane these days!

We then went to Costco afterwards. Of note is there is usually a lot of samples around this time of day. This was nice for a change as it's been a while since I went to Costco. It was again past 1 p.m. when we finally had lunch.

Monday

Having done so much in the past few days, I spent much of the time studying for the classes I'll be taking at UC Santa Cruz later this year. There is so much to learn about AI and neural networks. However, I did find some time to play RuneScape and managed to complete the "It Still Should Have Been Called Aetherium" and "Work on Your Artisan II" achievements. It was quite a grind to smith all that armor after mining the required ores.

On the whole, this "staycation" was quite enjoyable. The only downside is I started getting a toothache a few days ago. I certainly hope it's nothing serious. Pretty sure a root canal operation would be unpleasant and expensive.

Currently listening to: "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz

going back to graduate school after 15 years in the industry

It may come as a surprise to some, but I've decided to return to school after almost 15 years. In recent months, circumstances led me to decide to pursue a second master's degree as part of a career change. I'm thrilled to share that I've been accepted into the master's program in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UC Santa Cruz for the fall 2025 quarter. Woohoo!

UCSC is a world-class research institution with many opportunities, so the decision to continue my studies there was not hard to make. Unlike pure computer science, ECE is a field that combines software and hardware. For those curious, my focus will be on artifical intelligence. I also hope to do research on spiking neural networks with Prof. Eshraghian and his Neuromorphic Computing Group.

You may remember that I took some courses at UCSC as an intern during the fall 2010 quarter. I had planned to apply for the graduate program in statistics after the internship. However, that changed after I received a job offer from Cisco. I figured a job was more important than graduate school at the time and made the difficult decision to back out after the quarter ended. Fast forward 14 years, and now I'm preparing to continue my studies at UCSC. Sometimes life comes full circle.

Because AI has now become such a major field in recent years, my dad and I agreed this was the perfect time for me to go back to school catch up. UCSC doesn't offer graduate course during summers, and the fall quarter starts in September. However, the graduate student apartments are open as early as July according to the university's website. I'm going to see if it's possible to move in early and connect with Prof. Eshraghian before the quarter officially starts. This will give me a head start and hopefully allow me to save a quarter. Tuition isn't cheap these days!

One thing for sure is this will be a major change in my life. I'm admittedly a bit nervous as I've been out of school for almost 15 years. However, the excitement outweighs the nervousness as there are many opportunities on campus. In my experience, there is so much more to do at school than in corporate environments. It goes without saying that it's much easier to make friends in college. I also hope to reconnect with my old landlady Connie and her daughters. So yeah... exciting times ahead. :-)

Currently listening to: "National Anthem of South Africa"

level 99 Necromancy in RuneScape

Just a short post to share that I've reached level 99 Necromancy in RuneScape and can now enter the Max Guild again. Given the Necromancy skill just came out less than a year and a half ago, this was my fastest 99 to date. Of course, all that bonus XP from the recent Christmas event definitely helped. In any case, the free alteration glyph from the Necromancy cape is quite useful when it comes to rituals. :D

Currently listening to: Pachelbel's Canon

a quarter century into the millennium

One of my most vivid memories was counting down to the year 2000 at our family friend Carol's house. At the time, the biggest concern was that the Y2K problem would cause worldwide chaos. I remember switching on my Windows 95 laptop right after midnight to make sure it could still start up. It's hard to believe it's been 25 years. We are now actually closer to 2030 than 2020. How time flies.

A bittersweet holiday season

So the holidays were a bit of a bummer. We had invited my cousin Cathy and her husband Andrew over for lunch on the 29th and were really looking forward to seeing them for the first time in two years. However, the couple both got sick during the holidays, as did my cousin Connie and her kids. I've been told this flu season has been especially bad. We decided to be safe and reluctantly canceled the get-together. I did get to catch up with Andrew and Cathy over FaceTime instead — which was nice but just wasn't quite the same as meeting in person.

But the holiday season had its highlights. One of my mom's friends in New Jersey sent us some high-quality candied cashews and mixed nuts. Mom did some research and found out those weren't cheap. Our neighbor Bob also gave us a box of See's Candies. We certainly appreciate all the love.

I also reached level 120 Dungeoneering in RuneScape on the 28th. I didn't actually have that much time for RuneScape as I was busy studying for cybersecurity certificates, but the XP rewards from the Christmas event definitely helped. Only four more 120's to go!

New Year's Eve report

Like the past several years, my family didn't host or attend any New Year's Eve parties. People just don't seem interested in celebrating the New Year anymore. It also doesn't help that food is pretty expensive these days. I mean... parties just aren't that fun when there's no food to share!

However, my New Year's Eve wasn't that bad otherwise as I got to watch Shazam! Fury of the Gods with my parents. I personally liked the first movie more, but the sequel definitely had its highlights. We also have a few other movies checked out from the library — those should keep us entertained for a while. :-)

2024 in review

Some say 2024 was a tough year. For one, the economy hasn't really gotten better. Food prices are still increasing and are expected to continue to rise. It also doesn't help that there are major conflicts all over the world.

We also somehow managed to elect Donald Trump again. I tend to avoid political topics, but Trump has certainly done many questionable things during his first presidency. I'm not at all confident that things will be better this time around. It's probably going to be even worse based on what I read about Project 2025. :\

Of course, there have also been personal challenges. For me, the worst thing that happened is that I was rejected in October by a company I had greatly looked up to. I felt I aced the interview and was fairly confident I'd get the job. It's no secret that the job market is extremely competitive, but that stung for a while.

I was also looking forward to a few events that ultimately didn't pan out for one reason or another. As mentioned above, my cousin Cathy and her husband Andrew had planned to come over for lunch. But that didn't happen because they both got sick after catching the flu from my second cousin Desiree. I was also eagerly anticipating the 20-year LAHS class of 2004 reunion. However, that event never progressed beyond the planning stage. It seems people in my generation don't want to meet in person anymore.

Another unfortunate thing that happened is my MSI gaming laptop suddenly died after the PSU went bad and apparently fried the motherboard. I was not immediately able to recover my data because I didn't realize the laptop also had an SSD in addition to a hard drive. It turned out the SSD had survived the power surge. I didn't have to spend a few hundred dollars on a data recovery service, but having to re-install everything on my new laptop set me back several weeks. That was a stressful month for sure.

However, that is not to say 2024 didn't have its good moments. For me, the best part was getting to see the northern lights. It's nice to not have to travel all the way to Alaska or Iceland. I also got some very nice presents for my 39th birthday in October. That was certainly one of my best birthdays in ages!

On towards 2025

A common prediction is 2025 is going to be a bad year as well. It definitely seems like the case so far, especially given what happened this morning in New Orleans. We're also less than three weeks away from Trump's second term. But as John Connor famously said: the future has not been written. We can certainly do our best make 2025 as good of a year as possible.

I'm also going to try something a little different this year. Instead of making a New Year's resolution — which I know I'm going to fail — I've decided to share my predictions for 2025. Here's what I think will happen in the near future:

1. We will see an improvement in the U.S. job market
2. I will get the opportunity to catch up with childhood friends
3. Donald Trump will be removed from office. He has already been impeached twice, so maybe the third time's the charm
4. I am not going to win a million dollars from the lottery

I don't expect all or even any of those predictions to come true, but I am nevertheless excited to see what 2025 has to offer. :-)

Currently watching: Shazam! Fury of the Gods