a great Lunar New Year + meeting some famous people!

We had a good weekend as our family friends Jeff and Sheila invited us to a Lunar New Year lunch on Sunday at their house. Our last time celebrating the Lunar New Year with others was six years ago, so this was nice for a change. Another highlight is I got to meet a few famous people this week at UCSC. :-)

I was pretty busy during the weekend as I had a homework assignment for my error control coding class. However, the good news is I managed to finish the assignment shortly before we left for Jeff and Sheila's place. It's nice to not have to worry about ECE 255 while enjoying the company of our friends. Jeff and Sheila made lots of good food like they always do. We couldn't stay long afterwards because I needed to head back to campus, but this weekend was overall enjoyable.

Of note is I got to meet two well-known people this week so far. For starters, Grant Sanderson — better known as 3Blue1Brown — came to UC Santa Cruz on the 17th to give a lecture. I admittedly had no idea who he was, but he runs a well-known YouTube channel with over eight million subscribers. I really appreciate that Prof. Eshraghian told us about this event and rescheduled the ECE 210 lecture so that they don't conflict with each other. For those curious, Grant's lecture was about deriving the surface area and volume of an n-sphere. It was pretty cool for sure.

Former actress and model Kaila Yu also gave a talk at UCSC earlier today. She mainly discussed the objectification of Asian women in today's culture, but she also talked about her book Fetishized and gave away signed copies to those in attendance. Even though I wasn't familiar with her either, this was also a neat experience. One great thing about UCSC is there are many opportunities to meet interesting people. I'm certainly looking forward to similar events in the future.

Currently listening to: "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" by Creedence Clearwater Revival

second quarter at UC Santa Cruz

"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

another quiet New Year's Eve + a look back at 2025

As you can probably guess, my New Year's Eve was the same as last time. We hadn't hosted or attended a party on the 31st in over a decade, and things were no different this year. However, last night wasn't too bad otherwise as I got to watch The Batman vs. Dracula on YouTube Movies. It seems that superhero movies have become a new tradition for New Year's Eve. I also did my dailies in RuneScape while waiting for the Times Square ball drop and the countdown to midnight on local channels. Looks like some things never change. :-)

It's true that most people just want to stay home these days. For example, this article from Real Simple says only around 24% of people are interested in New Year's Eve parties. So at least I'm not missing out on much. But man... I still miss the feeling of counting down the seconds with friends. Doing it online just isn't the same.

Of note is my cousin Cathy does like to celebrate the New Year. We couldn't see each other last night as she already had plans with someone else, but the good news is we did get to have her over for dinner on Christmas. She also says she'd love to celebrate New Year's Eve with us next time. It's certainly something I'm looking forward to.

2025 in review

On the whole, I'd say 2025 wasn't too bad of a year. Getting accepted into graduate school at UC Santa Cruz was one of the best things to happen to me, and I already had a great first quarter. I'm confident that I can complete the program and graduate on time.

For me, the worst part is that I developed a major during the summer. I had to wait a while to get it checked out because the dentist was booked pretty far ahead. It turned out I had a huge cavity and needed a root canal done. I then had to wait one more week for the procedure, and then another two weeks for the crown to be made. Because the temporary crown was fragile, the dentist told me to only chew on the other side until the crown was replaced with the permanent one.

Around the same time, a tooth on the other side also started to hurt because the old filling had cracked. I could not eat "normally" until both the new filling and crown were in place. It was a miserable two months, not to mention the huge bills because I didn't have dental insurance.

Furthermore, the economy hasn't gotten much better. Food prices are still on the rise, and that's probably the reason we didn't have our annual block party last year. I mean... parties aren't fun without food and drinks.

However, the good news is that many people are saying that 2026 is going to be a great year. I really hope that's the case. On a related note, I've decided to go back to New Year's resolutions because my predictions for 2025 completely failed. So for this year, my goal is to complete my master's program at UCSC by summer. It's going to be a challenge for sure, but nothing is impossible. :-)

Currently watching: The Batman vs. Dracula

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