"I plan to put the lectures on YouTube, so please don't streak in the classroom." -- Prof. Eshraghian
I moved back to UC Santa Cruz on the 4th with the help of my parents. It's hard to believe how fast time goes because it still feels like the break had just begun. But at least I'm not the only one because I've heard two other people say the same.
Christmas break report
I'd say Christmas break was mostly awesome. For starters, our family friends Jeff and Sheila invited us over for lunch on Christmas Eve. Given that I was busy on Thanksgiving due to studying for finals, this actually felt more like a make-up Thanksgiving celebration. In any case, Jeff and Sheila made lots of delicious dishes, and so did my mother. It was nice to reconnect as we hadn't seen Jeff and Sheila in a while.
Another highlight is we had my cousin Cathy over for dinner on Christmas. This was long overdue because she and Andrew both got sick last year and had to call off our get-together. Andrew didn't come this time for reasons I'd rather not go into, but Cathy and my family had a great time catching up. Cathy also told me that she loved her job so much that she plans to stay in Chicago even after Andrew completes his Ph.D. there. I'm very happy for her but am also a bit bummed that we'll probably see each other no more than once a year.
We had also planned a lunch with Mom's friend group around the New Year. However, they agreed to postpone the gathering because a group member had an emergency eye surgery and needed time to recover. I won't complain because it's so much work to host large gatherings. Mom certainly deserves to relax during the holidays!
Gatherings aside, my family also went grocery shopping several times. We got to try so much new food in the past several weeks. I also got to play RuneScape than usual because I'm usually busy due to studying otherwise. On the whole, this break was quite enjoyable.
Continuing my academic journey
To make sure I can graduate on time, I'm taking three courses this quarter. Of note is all three courses take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and three 90-minute lectures in one day are a lot to absorb. ECE 255 looks to be a particularly challenging course. I also have weekly seminars on Mondays and Wednesdays. One thing for sure is that I'll be quite busy for the next 10 weeks.
However, the good news is there is some overlap between ECE 256 and two of my current courses. I'm glad I took ECE 256 because the content from that course may come in handy soon. It was also nice to meet Prof. Eshraghian in person for the first time. He's a great lecturer and is totally hilarious. I definitely look forward to his classes.
Currently listening to: The Greatest Showman soundtrack – "A Million Dreams" by Pasek and Paul
