an uneventful spring break

The nice thing about having a quarter-based system is that we get two-week spring breaks. But longer doesn't mean better - at least not in this case. Because the upcoming classes are pretty tough and I've been feeling stressed, my family wasn't really in the mood to travel. Though we saw Surrogates on DVD and went hiking several times, that's pretty much all we did.

At any rate, I should get back to studying as the spring quarter starts in two days. :\

Currently watching: Surrogates

my last spring break of college

So spring break has ended. It wasn't all that bad despite the economic recession. :-)

For starters, my family had dinner with Dad's doctoral advisor from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Seeing that Dr. Trick and his wife were in town, Dad invited them over on the 20th. This was followed by a hike in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park on Saturday. The plan was to go hiking on Sunday as well, but we went to a farmers' market instead as it was too windy outside.

The rest of the week was relatively uneventful as I mostly studied for the upcoming IEOR 161 midterm. Prof. Lim's class isn't easy for sure. On the other hand, Mom and I went shopping for groceries a few times. As weird as it sounds, I love going to supermarkets. There's always so much food. Haha.

The second weekend was nice too. The weather on Saturday was just right and made for a great hike. Stevens Creek County Park is one of those places that never gets old. Considering that it had rained a lot in recent weeks, Stevens Creek Reservoir was almost full and will likely overflow soon.

Our family friend Karen then came over for dinner. This was overall the best part of the weekend. Given that Karen is a foodie, the conversations were mostly about food and wine. Of course, there were also the usual lawyer jokes. Good times.

The three of us went hiking in Rancho San Antonio County Park this afternoon. However, my parents had to drop me off at Berkeley after dinner. These breaks are never long enough. On the bright side, I'm thrilled to see Bryan, Danny and Tyler again!

Currently watching: Second in Command

2008 spring break report

I'm now back at school as spring break has come to an end. The break was somewhat more stressful because all my current courses are fairly challenging. Case in point, I spent most of the week preparing for the upcoming IEOR 131 midterm.

That said, the week wasn't too bad. I went to the library to borrow some movies, although there weren't any good ones aside from The Bourne Ultimatum this time. On the other hand, "Our Worlds at War" by DC Comics was a great read. I didn't know comic books could be so enjoyable. Last but not least, my family went hiking several times and also went out for dinner twice. :-)

I did have to go to the doctor's office twice for annual health examinations, though. Blood tests are not fun.

Currently listening to: "Hips Don't Lie" by Shakira

not a bad spring break :-)

I'm now back at Berkeley as spring break has ended. The week started out well as Dad took us to Napa Valley and downtown Los Gatos. However, he also had to go on a business trip shortly afterwards. Because Mom doesn't like traveling when he's not home, the two of us didn't go anywhere else.

That said, the rest of the break was all right as I got to watch six movies on DVD. Of those movies, Ladder 49 and Paycheck were my favorites. Hide and Seek and 28 Days Later weren't too bad either, although Stealth and Eragon were somewhat lame. I love our local library because it has so much stuff.

The other highlight was the potluck lunch on the 28th. While the guests were mostly housewives, Tony came with his mother as he enjoys meeting new people. The gathering was pretty fun even though there was nobody else my age.

Last but not least, I played a bit of RuneScape during study breaks. I'm about three million XP from level 99 fletching and should get there in a few days. :-)

In other news...

I got a perfect score on my first Stat 134 midterm. W00t!

Currently listening to: "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire

an uneventful spring break

To be honest, spring break kind of sucked. Given that it was raining most of the time, my family didn't get to go anywhere. The only thing I could do was study for my linear algebra course. Damn, Math 54 is hard.

On the other hand, my parents invited the Swansons over for dinner last night. It was nice to hang out with Jason and Michael afterwards. I guess that's better than nothing. :-)