Decisions to Make For My Last Quarter as an Undergraduate at UCSB

Next quarter (spring quarter 2024) will be my final quarter as an undergraduate at UCSB. While I do look for this quarter since there will be fun events like celebrating my 22nd birthday in addition to graduation (which will be on June 15 for me since my major is Statistics and Data Science), there are some decisions that I have to make. Specifically, I am still in the process of choosing which courses to take for my final quarter as an undergraduate, such as whether or not to take additional classes for my major since I already completed the requirements for my major but still have to stay at UCSB because I got into the yearlong Data Science Capstone Program for this school year. If I don't end up taking additional classes for my major, I will likely take some GE (general education) classes. Moreover, because I live off-campus, I have the option to purchase an off-campus meal plan (which I have done last year and this quarter (winter quarter 2024)) or make my own meals (which I did during fall quarter 2022).

Taking Additional Major Classes

Since I already completed the requirements for my major, most of the classes in my major's department (Department of Statistics and Applied Probability) that are listed on UCSB GOLD (Gaucho On-Line Data), which is where UCSB students like myself register for classes each quarter, for the upcoming quarter are classes that I have already taken. The classes that I haven't taken yet but could take include PSTAT 160A (Applied Stochastic Processes), PSTAT 171 (Mathematics of Fixed Income Markets), and PSTAT 175 (Survival Analysis). In addition to PSTAT classes, I can also take some upper-division math classes that can be counted towards my major, including MATH 108A (Introduction to Linear Algebra).

Pros

• Some of these classes can be helpful for graduate school. I have been applying to a few graduate school programs that relate to my major, and according to the Statistics and Data Science major sheet, PSTAT 160A is one of the classes that is for students preparing to continue to graduate school. In addition, at least one upper-division math course (MATH 117 (Methods of Analysis) and/or MATH 108A) is highly recommended. If I end up getting into any of the graduate school programs that I applied to, then perhaps taking an additional major class or two could be helpful for graduate school.
• For PSTAT 160A at least, some of the content covered is similar to the content covered in PSTAT classes that I have taken before or am currently taking. For instance, according to the Statistics and Applied Probability Courses page of the UCSB Catalog website, PSTAT 160A covers topics like Markov chains with applications to Monte Carlo simulation and mathematical finance. I am currently taking PSTAT 115 (Introduction to Bayesian Data Analysis), which covers topics including Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation. PSTAT 160A also covers random walks, which was covered in PSTAT 174 (Time Series), a class that I took last year during spring quarter. If I end up taking PSTAT 160A, I could learn more and potentially gain a better understanding of Monte Carlo simulation and random walks.

Cons

• The professors for these classes may not very good, so it might not be easy to do well in those classes, such as the professor for PSTAT 171. I also heard mixed things about the MATH 108A professor that I was thinking about taking if I end up registering for that class. Since the upcoming quarter will be my last quarter as an undergraduate, I do hope that it goes as well as possible. Thus, taking classes with professors who might not be very good could make my upcoming quarter not go as smoothly as I would like.
• Some of these classes are very early in the morning. Both PSTAT 160A and PSTAT 175 have 8am lectures on Mondays and Wednesdays, and their finals happen to fall on 8am on the last day of finals (Friday, June 14, 2024) according to the final exam schedule. Since 8am is quite early for me, I am worried that I would not always be able to wake up on time for 8am lectures. Moreover, I remembered taking a major class during the fall quarter of my second year (fall quarter 2021) that took place 8am on Tuesdays and Thursdays and ended up with a grade that I was not too satisfied with. I also remember missing a final for one of my classes last year during winter quarter that began at noon and lasted for about 90 minutes due to not hearing my phone alarm and staying up late to study, although I fortunately was able to take the final during the first week of the following quarter (spring quarter 2023). Thus, I'm worried that my last quarter as an undergraduate at UCSB might not go very smoothly if I ended up taking a class with 8am lectures.

Taking GE Classes

Although I have already fulfilled all of my GE requirements, I am considering taking additional GEs that sound interesting to me, including those that feature data science and those that do not feature data science.

Pros

• There are some GE classes that sound interesting to me, including those that feature data science training (and programming). When trying to find GEs that relate to data science, COMM 187 (Data Science in Communication) and ENVS 193DS (Statistics for Environmental Science) were two of the classes that were the most interesting to me.
• Besides the GEs that feature data science, there are other GEs that sound interesting to me, such as those in the Department of Asian American Studies and Environmental Studies Program.

Cons

• The GE classes that relate to data science that interested me the most COMM 187 and ENVS 193DS, already filled up on GOLD and so I can only waitlist those classes during my next pass time when I have more units. Moreover, the lecture times for COMM 187 conflict with those for the data science capstone class for this quarter (PSTAT 197C - Capstone Project in Data Science). For ENVS 193DS, not only is the class already full, but I also was not able to choose it during my first pass time since only certain majors, including Environmental Studies, could choose the class during the first pass time.
• Some of the GEs that do not involve data science but still sound interesting to me have lecture times that conflict with the data science capstone class for this quarter (such as CHIN 134K (Chinese Calligraphy - History and Aesthetics)), are classes that I am not able to choose until my second pass time (such as GEOG 119 - Climatic Change and Its Consequences), or both (such as ENVS 193GC (Global Environmental Change - Impacts on Terrestrial Systems)). There is the possibility that the GE classes that still currently have space may be full before my second pass time and so I would have to look for other GE classes that interest me.

Off-Campus Meal Plan

Although I purchased an off-campus meal plan during last year and this quarter, I am considering not purchasing a meal plan for my final quarter at UCSB since the closest dining hall from my apartment is around a 10 minute walk from my apartment.

Pros

• The dining halls provide nutritionally balanced meals, and I am someone who cares about my health. In addition to main meals, there is also fruit at the dining hall, and I tend to eat a few fruits at the dining halls in addition to eating some of the main dishes.
• I don't have to worry much about cooking my own meals. Personally, I usually make myself a sandwich, which doesn't involve cooking, for lunch and go to the dining hall to eat for dinner. Since I don't have to worry much about cooking, I wouldn't have to worry much about washing the dishes after finishing the food. When I cooked my own meals during fall quarter 2022, I remembered that it took me a while to finish washing my dishes, and I did want to spend more time on my academic work since I was worried about one of my classes that quarter.

Cons

• Last year, when I lived in the San Joaquin Villages apartments, the closest dining hall wasn't too far of a walk. This year, I live in an apartment in IV (Isla Vista), and the closest dining hall is around a 10 minute walk from my apartment. There are times when it may be more convenient to cook food in my apartment than walk to the dining hall. For instance, if it is raining heavily, walking to the dining hall may not be very convenient because my shoes would likely get soaked and I don't have boots with me in UCSB. Although I'm not sure how often I will be on campus for the upcoming quarter, there are many days during this quarter where I am not on campus or am only on campus for a while and so it might be more convenient to cook in my apartment than walk to campus and eat at the dining hall.
• The cost of a meal plan can be somewhat pricy. For this quarter, the cost for a 5 meals per week meal plan from January 8 to March 22 (the dates that mark the beginning and end of winter quarter 2024 respectively) is $678. This would be a total of 55 meals throughout the quarter, or around $12.33 per meal. I did hear from other people that eating out can be less expensive than having a meal plan, and my apartment has many restaurants nearby, including Freebirds and The Habit. Moreover, there can be times when the dining hall food is not very good, and apparently other people at UCSB have gotten food poisoning at the dining hall. Personally, I remember seeing undercooked eggs in the dining hall before. Thus, having a meal plan sometimes isn't worth the price.

Preparing my Own Meals

During fall quarter 2022, I cooked my own meals. Although it was nice getting to gain more cooking experience, I did find myself spending a lot of time in the kitchen washing dishes in addition to cooking the food. However, I do think that cooking can be more convenient than walking over to a dining hall. Moreover, there are several stores (such as the ones in IV that are close to my apartment in addition to Target) that have single serve meals and other meals that can be eaten once microwaved, and there are many restaurants close to my apartment if I wanted to eat out.

Pros

• There are many instances where it can be more convenient for me to stay in my apartment and cook food than walk around 10 minutes to a dining hall from my apartment to eat, especially when it is raining or if I am not on campus very much throughout the day. Moreover, it might be better to eat in my apartment if the dining halls are too crowded since I do remember often having trouble finding a place to sit whenever the dining halls are crowded.
• If I am too busy, I can eat single serve meals and/or other microwavable foods to save some time instead of cooking. I have personally tried some of these meals (including fried rice) and didn't find them to be too bad. I could also eat out since there are many restaurants close to my apartment, although I don't think that it's a good idea to eat out often.

Cons

• Cooking food and washing dishes after cooking can be time consuming. While microwavable foods can save time, I personally don't think that it's a good idea to rely on them all the time. Since my apartment during this school year does not have a dishwasher, I would have to hand wash dishes, which can take a while since I want to make sure that the dishes are fully cleaned. My apartment last school year did have a dishwasher, but some pots and pans were not fully cleaned even after using a dishwasher, and I remember taking quite a while to thoroughly wash any pots and pans that I used when I cooked my own meals during fall quarter 2022.
• I'm not very experienced in making that many foods/meals. During fall quarter 2022, I mainly cooked rice, noodles, and dumplings/potstickers in addition to various vegetables. I personally do not have much experience in cooking meat, so I would likely have to buy meat that is already cooked or meat that can be microwaved if I end up cooking my meals next quarter and wanted to use meat for the cooked meals. I am, however, open to learning how to cook additional meals, such as the meal in this video that I saw a few days ago (also shown below).

In conclusion, there are pros and cons on whether I should additional classes for my major besides the capstone class, take some GEs, get an off-campus meal plan, and prepare my own meals for the upcoming quarter, which will be my last quarter as an undergraduate at UCSB. I hope that regardless of what decisions I end up making here, I will be able to have an amazing final quarter as an undergraduate at UCSB 😊.

Bay Area Holiday Activities

Christmas is in a few days, and 2024 will begin in less than 2 weeks. There are many fun holiday and New Year's Eve events, including those around the Bay Area. Below is a list of some of these events that seem the most interesting to me.

Enchant Christmas, PayPal Park in San Jose (November 24-December 31)

San Jose's Enchant Christmas event features an all-new light maze called Santa's Magic Timepiece, The Village (consisting of tiny storefronts), an ice skating trail, Santa's Landing (where you can visit Santa), Little Elves Play Place (for young children), and various food vendors (including Pearls Mini Donuts, Scott's Chowder House Food Truck, and Lilikoi Boba). In addition, there are special theme nights, including College Student Night. The College Student Night occurred on December 15 but will occur again on December 28. Most of the special theme nights already occurred, such as Paws n' Claus Night (which took place December 3), but it would be nice if I could go to the College Student Night on December 28.

Christmas in the Park, Plaza de Cesar Chavez in Downtown San Jose (November 24-December 31)

I have been to Christmas in the Park several times before and have enjoyed it a lot, although the last time I went was 2016. Christmas in the Park is an annual holiday tradition that features over 40 musical and animated exhibits, glittering lights, and a 65-foot illuminated Christmas tree. The displays at Christmas in the Park include The 12 Days of Christmas, Enormous Ornaments, Snoopy's Christmas, Merry-Go-Round, and Countdown to Christmas. The event also has amusement rides and ice skating, with rides being $5 each and run by Winter Wonderland and ice skating being $21 per session (one session is 90 minutes) and across the street from Christmas in the Park. Christmas in the Park has various events and programs, including Jingle Bell Stage and Santa visits. When I visited Christmas in the Park in 2016, I remembered going on the amusement parks, but I don't think I have done ice skating there.

A picture of me with my brother and mom at Christmas in the Park in 2016

Holidays at Filoli, Filoli Historic House & Garden in Woodside (November 18, 2023-January 7, 2024)

Holidays at Filoli consists of thousands of glittering lights and decorations, and there is a 210-foot-long light tunnel, 3,600 strands of lights covering the gardens, and 7,000 ornaments individually hung throughout Filoli. Although the evening admission is sold out through December, there are still tickets to visit Filoli during the day, and the lights are on all day. There are also various events and attractions, including Santa Days, where one can snap a photo with Santa on his magical golden throne and enjoy a daytime stroll.

Glowfari, Oakland Zoo in Oakland (November 10, 2023-January 28, 2024)

Glowfari is a lantern festival event consisting of animal lanterns throughout Oakland Zoo, and this year features new themes, including the forests of North America, frosty friends of the Arctic, the Deep Ocean, and a stroll through the swamp. There is also a train ride through the island of Madagascar to finish the experience. Santa can be visited in the Rides Area Fridays-Sundays in November and every night  December 1-23 from 6pm-9pm, although tickets for December are sold out. There is a short video about Glowfari at Oakland Zoo on Youtube that briefly describes the event. Since tickets for December are sold out and winter quarter for college (UCSB) starts on January 8 for me, if I end up going to Glowfari, I would have to go within the first few days of 2024 (i.e. sometime January 1-6 since I plan to go back on January 7).

Glow at the Exploratorium, San Francisco (November 16, 2023-January 28, 2024)

Glow: Discover the Art of Light at the Exploratorium in San Francisco involves exploring galleries of luminous artworks, including touching quantum physics and playing with experimental LED dungeon crawlers and finding bliss beneath a vast glowing moon. The artworks at Glow include Quantum Jungle, Museum of the Moon, Sound Sculpture, and RGB Lights Mirror. Although I have been to the Exploratorium many times, I don't think I've ever been to Glow at the Exploratorium and so it would be nice to check this event out before I go back to college for winter quarter, which starts January 8.

Christmas at Temple Hill, Oakland (November 24-December 31)

Christmas at Oakland's Temple Hill includes a Christmas lights display along with events and performances, nativity tours (at the Visitors' Center), and Christmas lights tours. All of the Christmas events are free, and some events require a ticket to enter. For instance, most auditorium performances require reserving free tickets in advance.

Santa Cruz Holiday Lights Train, Boardwalk of Santa Cruz (November 24-December 23)

The Santa Cruz Holiday Lights Train departs and returns in front of Neptune's Kingdom of Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The vintage excursion cars are decorated with thousands of colorful lights and roll through city streets past Santa Cruz homes. The train features various activities, including holiday sing-along, live music, hot-spiced cider, and Santa visits. Although I have been to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk before, I have never gone on the Santa Cruz Holiday Lights Train and so this would be a cool holiday event to try out at the boardwalk.

New Year's Train, Boardwalk of Santa Cruz (December 26-31)

The New Years Holiday Lights Train involves riding vintage train cars decorated with holiday lights that roll through Santa Cruz's streets, as well as a live DJ and light-up hula hoopers. This event seems like a fun way to celebrate the new year, and it would be cool to try it out since I have never gone to it before.

Drive Thru Light Show, History Park San Jose (November 29, 2023-January 1, 2024)

This light show is programmed to music and helps fund non-profit organization Christmas in the Park. In this event, one can take a musical journey to a dozen of themed lands for a dazzling synchronized light show, and this event passes through a twinkling tunnel of lights and seeing more than 200,000 lights sparkling to holiday tunes. This sounds like a fun event to try out, and I have never been to this event before.

Garden of D'Lights, Ruth Bancroft Garden, Walnut Creek (November 24, 2023-January 6, 2024)

Garden of D'Lights is an exciting winter holiday light exhibit at Walnut Creek's Ruth Bancroft Garden consisting of three acres of illuminated cacti, succulents, and other plants. Dazzling sculptural art and new light installations from local artists are also featured.

Fantasy of Lights Drive-Thru, Vasona Lake County Park, Los Gatos (December 5-30)

Los Gatos's drive-thru Fantasy of Lights event consists of 1.5 miles of large animated displays, sights and sounds of an erupting volcano in the Dinosaur Den, cheering on Santa shooting hoops, waving at a pen of playful penguins, watching blazing pirate cannons, and sailing through tunnels of moving lights. There are over 50 themed displays and a 90-foot twinkling tree, and the displays use environmentally-friendly LED lighting.

Boardwalk Winter Wonderland, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (November 23-December 31)

Activities at Boardwalk Winter Wonderland include various boardwalk rides, games, and arcades, as well as holiday decorations and lights (including a 3-story tall Christmas tree), photos with Santa, and delicious boardwalk treats. It would be nice to visit the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk during this time of the year since although I have been to the boardwalk in the past, I have never gone to it during the holiday season.

Winterfest at Great America, Santa Clara (November 24-December 31)

During Winterfest, Santa Clara's Great America is transformed into a winter wonderland and holiday festival. There is ice-skating in front of the iconic Carousel Columbia, dazzling sights, hot chocolate, and spectacular live shows. There are over 60 rides and holiday attractions, including checking out Santa's workshop and baking cookies in Mrs Claus's kitchen. There is also one of the Bay Area's tallest Christmas trees decorated with thousands of twinkling lights accompanied by toy soldiers greeting guests. The event features millions of lights, and I would love to check this event out since the event seems fun and I have never gone to Great America during the holidays.

North Pole Nights at Gilroy Gardens, Gilroy (November 24-December 31)

Gilroy Gardens's North Pole Nights involve exploring the North Pole's wintry wonderland and finding new ways to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year. This immersive experience includes all-new characters, fun live shows, ice skating, a grand feast at Snowflake Square, Santa's Workshop, magical light displays, the brand new A Wish for Santa experience, and many more attractions.

Six Flags Holiday in the Park, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Vallejo (November 24, 2023-January 7, 2024)

Holidays in the Park at Vallejo's Six Flags Discovery Kingdom consists of holiday-themed attractions set against a backdrop of seasonal music, millions of twinkling lights and breathtaking light displays, seasonal music favorites, and a visit by Santa and his elves. Sights, sounds, and attractions include a 65-foot Christmas tree at the Christmas Tree Plaza, a Celebration Station where one can learn how the holidays are celebrated amongst different cultures around the world, Winter Wonderlane (features dazzling lights, a giant snowman, and snowflakes falling from the sky), and Jingle Junction (features holiday activities, including rides, face painting, cookie decorating, and more). The festive entertainment includes A Very Merry Christmas (starring seals and sea lions in this holiday tale about the true meaning of Christmas), Dolphin Holiday (features awe-inspiring dolphins), and Let it Glow - Christmas Tree Lighting (65-foot holiday tree coming to life with thousands of radiant lights in the evening). Holiday activities include festive face painting, Christmas cookie decorating, and holiday s'mores fire pits. Festival-themed attractions include Penguin Plunge, Winter Whirl, and Merlin's North Pole Tours.

New Year's Eve at Gilroy Gardens, Gilroy (December 31, 4pm-midnight)

This New Year's Eve event at Gilroy Gardens takes place at the Event Plaza, with the celebration kicking off at 5pm, followed by The New Year's Eve Dance Party at 9pm. There is a live DJ, specialty appetizers, and cocktails, photo booth, and fireworks over Coyote Lake light up the night sky at midnight.

There are also various holiday ice rinks that are open throughout the holiday season in the Bay Area, including Holiday Ice Rink in Union Square (San Francisco, November 1, 2023-January 15, 2024), Ice at the Veranda (Concord, November 3, 2023-February 14, 2024), San Mateo on Ice (San Mateo, November 10, 2023-January 7, 2024), Kristi Yamaguchi Holiday Rink (San Ramon, November 10, 2023-January 7, 2024) that includes S'more's night, Brentwood on Ice (Brentwood, November 17, 2023-January 8, 2024), and Walnut Creek on Ice (Walnut Creek, December 15, 2023-January 15, 2024).

The Bay Area has many different holiday events and activities, and I hope that I can check out some of these events this year to end 2023 on a happy note.

Summer 2023 Travel Recap

As summer break 2023 comes to a close for me, as I recently went back to UCSB for the upcoming 2023-24 school year, traveling to different places – including Lake Tahoe, Mono Lake, Bodie, New York, and Washington D.C. – has been one of the most memorable highlights from this summer.

Picture of my brother at the
South Lake Tahoe
hotel that we stayed at

During the evening of June 30, my family and I drove from our home in Palo Alto to our hotel in South Lake Tahoe. The hotel had a pirate ship vibe to it, and one of my parents took a picture of my brother in the hotel.

snow on Mammoth Lakes mountains

Tea House on the Emerald Bay Island

On July 1, the next day, we went to visit Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe and kayaked to the island at Emerald Bay. It was the first time kayaking, and although some of the water went into the canoe that my mom and I were on, it was a pretty enjoyable experience. After kayaking, we did some hiking at the island in Emerald Bay. We hiked to the top of the island and took some pictures with the "Tea House," the small stone building on top of the island. We continued exploring the Emerald Bay area and then drove to our condo in Mammoth Lakes. On the way to Mammoth Lakes, we noticed that the mountains still had some snow on them, most likely from the past winter, where the rainfall and snowfall was above average in California. There was a TV at the Mammoth Lakes condo, and I watched Sing 2 and the first couple of Bridgerton episodes.

snow on the way back home

On July 2, my family and I explored the Mammoth Lakes area, including visiting Convict Lake and Twin Lakes. After that, my brother and I went swimming in the pool around where our Mammoth Lakes condo was. Around early evening, we went to Mono Lake and went on a guided tour of the lake. There were many interesting facts about Mono Lake and the area in general, including the fact that the height of the tufa in Mono Lake indicates that the lake level of Mono Lake was once that high.

On July 3, my family and I continued to explore the Mammoth Lakes area, visiting a lake called June Lake. Afterwards, we drove to a ghost town called Bodie. We saw many different buildings there, including a church, a schoolhouse, and various houses. We were even able to watch a video that described Bodie, including its early years and how it became a ghost town. A fun fact about Bodie is that gold was actually discovered there in 1859. After visiting Bodie, we drove back home to Palo Alto, and like on the way to Mammoth Lakes, we saw some snow on the mountains.

The last 3 pics of one of my Instagram posts consists of photos from my Lake Tahoe, Mono Lake, Bodie trip

On the evening of August 2, I took a plane from SFO to the east coast, specifically to Newark, New Jersey airport (EWR), to meet up with my family since my mom, dad, and brother were already at the east coast due to my brother going to Cooperstown, New York for baseball. The plane arrived at EWR during the morning of August 3. It was my first solo flight, and although I did not sleep that much on the plane, I tried my best to stay awake. When my dad picked me up from the airport and drove us to the New York hotel that he stayed at with my mom and brother, I also tried to sleep a bit on the car ride to the hotel. However, the hotel that my family stayed at had some water problems and so my dad ended up switching to another hotel, which was where my family and I stayed for the night.

During August 3, my family and I visited various places around New York City, including Empire State Building during the morning, Grand Central Terminal and United Nations Headquarters during the afternoon, and Vessel, The High Line, and Little Island during the evening. I also visited Top of the Rock by myself during the afternoon since my mom, dad, and brother already checked that place out. At Empire State Building and Top of the Rock, I was able to capture various photos of New York City's landscape. The Empire State Building is also considered to be the world's most famous building, and many celebrities like Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande and cartoon characters like Miss Piggy from the Muppets have visited the Empire State Building. The Vessel has a pretty cool design, and the building's material allows people to be able to see their reflection.

On August 4, my family and I continued to explore NYC, visiting the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, Wall Street, The Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art), and Central Park. The 9/11 Memorial & Museum explored the event of 9/11 in great detail, including showing how NYC looked before and after 9/11, audio recordings of some of the people – including flight attendants on hijacked planes – who were affected by 9/11, and detailed descriptions of the four attacks that occurred on 9/11. There were many different sculptures at The Met, including European sculptures and Egyptian sculptures, as well as pottery from Asia and various pieces of artwork. During the evening, we drove to New Jersey to the house where three of my cousins grew up in. At New Jersey, my family and I got to meet my uncle (my dad's brother) as well as one of my cousins and her husband. My brother and I also played the board game version of Codenames with my cousin and her husband.

My Instagram post featuring some of the photos from my New York trip

On August 5, my family and I went with my uncle, my cousin, and her husband to an Asian restaurant in New Jersey for lunch, and the food there was pretty good. After lunch, my family and I left New Jersey and drove to Washington D.C. On the way to D.C., we passed by Amish Country in Pennsylvania (Lancaster, Pennsylvania). We arrived at D.C. during the evening of August 5, and since our hotel was located near National Mall, we walked around the National Mall area shortly after we arrived and went to and saw some of the landmarks at National Mall, including the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and World War II Memorial, which featured 56 pillars representing U.S. states and territories that surrounded a fountain.

On August 6, my family and I visited some museums in D.C. and nearby Virginia, including D.C.'s National Museum of Natural History and Virginia's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. The National Museum of Natural History had many different exhibits, including an exhibit on human origins and another exhibit on ocean life. There was a lot to explore at the National Museum of Natural History, as we did not have enough time to view all of the museum's exhibits. At Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, there were many different aviation and space artifacts, including Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird, a Concorde, and Apollo 11 Flotation Collar. My family and I then went to D.C.'s Chinatown for dinner, and the food at the restaurant we ate at was pretty good. Because it started to rain later in the evening, my family and I ended up staying at our D.C. hotel during the evening.

On August 7, my family and I visited D.C.'s International Spy Museum. The museum was pretty cool and interactive, as my family and I got to learn more about spying and different spies throughout history and work on a mission that uses spy skills. After visiting the International Spy Museum, my family and I went to the National Mall, and in addition to seeing landmarks that we saw two days ago – like the Washington Monument and World War II Memorial, we also saw the Vietnam War Memorial and the World War I Memorial. Later on, we went to the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) since we had a flight from DCA to SFO at 5:30pm. Although the flight got delayed, we were able to arrive safely at SFO.

D.C. Instagram Story

Overall, it was great getting to visit many different places this summer, and I look forward to visiting more places in the future. It was also nice getting to visit D.C. since I last visited D.C. 10 years ago in 2013.

New York, New Jersey, and D.C. travel recap

Below, here is a video recapping the different places that I went to this summer.

UCSB: Reflecting on Fall Quarter 2022

During Tuesday this week, I finished my finals for fall quarter at UCSB and got back home to the Bay Area Wednesday afternoon. This quarter was a lot different from last year in many different ways. Last year, I lived in the dorms on the UCSB campus. This year, I live much further away from campus in San Joaquin Villages, one of the campus-owned apartments. As a result, much of my classes last year were within walking distance from my dorm, while it would make more sense to take the bus or bike to campus from San Joaquin Villages since it would take quite a while to walk to campus from the apartment. Moreover, I had a meal plan last year living in the dorms, but since I decided not to buy an off-campus meal plan this year, I have been mainly cooking my own meals in my apartment. While cooking my own meals is a good skill to have, it is also time consuming because of cleaning up all the pots, pans, utensils, and other things that were used when cooking. I am considering getting an off-campus for next quarter (and maybe the quarter after), though, since I do want to have some more time to do other things, including doing work for classes. Speaking of classes, some of the classes that I took were either busier or harder than I thought they would be. For one of my classes, there were quite a bit of readings to do each week. For another class, I felt that the class was hard and wasn't managed very well. The homework was graded based on correction and not just completeness, so it was hard to get full points on homework assignments. In addition, I didn't do too well on the midterm mainly due to not being able to finish all the problems on time, but I wasn't able to get my midterm back until less than a week before my final for that class. I was supposed to get my midterm earlier during a section for that class, but somehow I couldn't find it during that section. I later found out that my TA did actually have my midterm and told me he wasn't sure why I missed it, which was weird since I was pretty positive that I wasn't able to find my midterm that time. After getting my midterm back, I told the TA that he should have helped me look over the midterm pile during that earlier section to find my midterm if something like this arises again. I am pretty worried about my grade for that class, since the grade is only comprised of homework, midterm, and final. Today, I saw my grade on the final for that class, and it was worse than I expected. For the 2 problems that I didn't finish due to time, I got little to no points despite showing some of my work. The grading for that class feels quite harsh, but hopefully I'll still be able to get a decent grade in the class.

San Joaquin Villages, the apartment that I live in this year

When I moved into my apartment this quarter, my parents brought down my bike from home so that I could use it to bike to campus. However, a few days after I moved in, my bike got stolen since I could not find it in the bike cage area outside my apartment. Consequently, I ended up busing to school for a while, and I found that the bus can be kind of unreliable at times, sometimes showing up later than expected. One time, I was waiting for the light to turn green so that I could cross the street to get to the bus stop, and there were 1-2 buses that were already at the bus stop before I was able to cross the street. However, the buses left before I crossed the street, so I ended up having to wait for a later bus (bus 27), which ended up arriving later than expected. Consequently, I was late to a section for one of my classes. Moreover, I used bus 27 the same day to go back to my apartment after a Circle K (a community service club at UCSB that I'm a part of) General Meeting, and for some reason, it didn't stop at my apartment and despite trying to request a stop, the bus when straight to the marketplace area. I ended up walking back to my apartment and felt really annoyed by bus 27, and I made a TikTok video expressing my frustration on that bus. I bought a bike on Facebook marketplace the day after that bus incident, so I was able to use that bike to get to classes. However, after nearly 4 weeks using that bike, I noticed that I couldn't really pedal the bike due to the bike chain being loose. As a result, I once again had to take the bus to campus. During Thanksgiving break, my family came to visit, and my dad tried to fix my bike but wasn't very successful in doing so. He ended up buying me a new bike and added a basket to it. Now, I'm trying to see if I can sell my old bike, which still hasn't been sold yet.

Despite the challenges that I faced this quarter, there have been some good things that came out of the quarter, including getting to bond with my roommates. We played some games with each other, including a TikTok edition of "What Do You Meme?" and Cards Against Humanity. We also talk about things that have been going on in our lives, including the classes that we were taking during the quarter and other activities that we participate in. Around mid-October, we had a Halloween Party at our apartment. During the party, I dressed as boba, interacted with some other people, and did some karaoke (one of my roommates brought a karaoke microphone to the apartment). In November, me and most of my roommates went hiking at Montecito Hot Springs, which was a pretty fun experience since it was nice getting to hang out with my roommates and have a good workout.

Some other good things from this quarter include being able to meet new people in clubs like Circle K and TASA (Taiwanese American Student Association). In Circle K, we were able to recruit several new members this quarter and got some interns for Circle K board. Currently, I'm the fundraising chair for Circle K board and hosted a Snack Box Raffle Fundraiser from late October to early November. Although the fundraiser wasn't entirely successful since not a lot of money was made from it, I do hope to host some more fundraisers next quarter (such as a food-related fundraiser). Circle K also had various events throughout the quarter, including a service event called Letters for Literacy that occurred twice this quarter, an ice skating social during early November, and a friendsgiving/baking/game social during mid-November. In TASA, I had a fun time participating in the Big-Little Pickup Events, which included speed dating (both virtual and in person) and an arts and crafts night, and I picked up 2 more littles this year (I now have a total of 4 littles since I also picked up 2 last year). I was able to hang out with them throughout the quarter, including during TASA general meetings, my TASA fam's kickback event in October, and my TASA fam's famsgiving in November, but the first time that all of my littles were able to meet each other in person was during the week before finals, when I had dinner with them at an IV (Isla Vista) restaurant called Naan Stop.

I brought some of my stuffed animals and plushies from home to my apartment, and those stuffed animals and plushies were able to help me get through the quarter as well, since they have been good emotional support buddies for me.

During this quarter, I started taking some flute classes at UCSB: private flute lessons and flute choir. Although sometimes it can be hard to find a good time to practice my flute, those classes were pretty good since I got to work on my flute skills, including familiarizing myself with the fingerings of very high flute notes. I also joined the Daily Nexus Data Team, although the group that I am in hasn't been able to do too much yet, but hopefully we'll be able to get some work done next quarter.

Overall, this quarter was quite different from last year and previous quarters. There were some difficult and fun moments, but hopefully next quarter and next year will go more smoothly. I also made an Instagram post (shown below) a few days ago that summarizes my thoughts on this quarter.

Caption for the Instagram Post

NorCal and Oregon Family Road Trip

Last week (August 7 - August 13), I went on a road trip with my family (mom, dad, brother, and grandma to be specific), where we went to various places in Northern California and Oregon, including Napa, Fairfield, Redding, Crater Lake, Prospect, and Crescent City. Overall, I thought that the family trip was a good experience since I got to visit places that I've never been to before. Also, it was the first time that I ever visited Oregon. I thought that the trip could've been better if I didn't get a sore throat that was accompanied with a runny nose and lots of spit in my mouth. I made a TikTok video, an Instagram post (shown below), and a Youtube video highlighting the family trip.

August 7

Downtown Napa

Bale Grist Mill State Historic
Park (Napa County)

My family and I visited the Napa area. One memorable moment that day included talking to the people at the Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park – we talked about our personal lives, including where we're from and where I go for college. My family also bought pastry flour from Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park. Another memorable moment was seeing the Napa Valley sign and going to downtown Napa. I have seen pictures of Napa online before, so being able to see Napa's sights in real life was a fun experience.

During the evening, we drove to a Fairfield hotel, which was pretty spacious since it had 2 rooms for sleeping.

August 8

We started the day by going to Fairfield's Jelly Belly Factory. We were able to see how the Jelly Belly jelly beans were made, which was a cool experience since the factory involved both the use of machines and people. Moreover, the factory had plenty of artworks made out of jelly beans (including the Statue of Liberty and various U.S. presidents) and videos relating to Jelly Belly.

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Another picture of Lassen
Volcanic National Park

After going to Jelly Belly, we I drove northward to go to Lassen Volcanic National Park. The national park was pretty mountainous with plenty of trees, although there were some trees there that were likely affected by fires that occurred during the last few years, such as the 2021 Dixie Fire. We also saw some hot springs in the Bumpass Hell area of the national park. We also saw some lakes, including Lake Helen and Manzanita Lake. At Manzanita Lake, the walk around the lake took quite a long time, and at one point my dad was not with the rest of my family, so we walked back to find him. However, the sky was also getting darker, and I remember my mom getting annoyed at my younger brother for walking too quickly in the dark because he could get lost too. It also rained a little bit later on, but we were eventually able to reunite with my dad and drive to a Redding hotel to stay there for the evening.

Bumpass Hell

Manzanita Lake

Lake Helen

August 9

During the morning, we went to Redding's Sundial Bridge. The design of the bridge looked cool, and the bridge functions like a sundial. Although the weather was quite hot (it was probably around 80ºF, which is pretty warm for the morning), I had a good time visiting the Sundial Bridge.

Sundial Bridge

Standing in the
Sundial Bridge
shadow

After visiting Sundial Bridge, we went to see various waterfalls: Burney Falls, McCloud River's Upper and Middle Falls, and Hedge Creek Falls. For Hedge Creek Falls, you can even go under the waterfall, which was a cool experience for me. Moreover, the Hedge Creek Falls area had some blueberries that could be picked and eaten (although they were sour compared to normal blueberries).

Burney Falls

blueberries at
the Hedge
Creek Falls Area

After visiting those waterfalls, we drove to Oregon, and it was our first time ever going to Oregon. On our way to Oregon, we saw some views of Mt. Shasta, which is one of the highest peaks in the Cascade Range and in California. Since it was summer, the Mt. Shasta did not have much snow on it, but more snow can be seen during the winter. For our first night at Oregon, we stayed in a Klamath Falls hotel.

Wizard Island can be seen
in this Crater Lake photo

August 10

Phantom Ship at
Crater Lake

We went to Crater Lake National Park. At Crater Lake, we saw the vastness of the lake and the islands on the lake (Wizard Island and Phantom Ship). We drove around different areas of the lake to have a better look at those islands.

Striking a pose at
Vidae Falls

In addition to Crater Lake, Crater Lake National Park also had waterfalls, and we went to Vidae Falls. We took some photos with the waterfall, and my dad, brother, and I struck some poses in some of those photos.

Pearsony Falls

During the evening, we went to Prospect Historic Hotel in Prospect, a place in Oregon with a very small population (only 455 people as of the 2010 census). Near the hotel, we went to a waterfall called Pearsony Falls.

August 11

A panorama of Diamond Lake

My dad, brother, and I played horseshoes around the Prospect Hotel area. There were also some other things around the hotel area, including a bear statue and a farm (where we saw a horse). After that, we went to Mill Creek Falls and Barr Creek Falls, two other waterfalls in Prospect.

Barr Creek Falls

Mill Creek Falls

After going to those waterfalls, we went to Diamond Lake and ordered lunch there. While we were waiting for our lunch, we walked around the Diamond Lake area and noticed some blue dragonflies on the lake's water. There were also views of mountains and trees around the lake.

Watson Falls

We then went to see some more waterfalls: Toketee Falls, Watson Falls, Whitehorse Falls, and Clearwater Falls. Although we had to do some hiking to get good views of Toketee Falls and Watson Falls, we didn't have to do much walking to see Whitehorse Falls and Clearwater Falls. Out of all of the waterfalls, Watson Falls was the highest. Meanwhile, we noticed a rainbow on Whitehorse Falls.

Close-up view of
the rainbow at
Whitehorse Falls

During the evening, we stayed at a hotel in Medford. In that hotel, my dad, brother, and I went swimming in the hotel pool. The pool itself wasn't very big, but there was also a spa area. After swimming, although I did use a towel to dry myself up so that I wasn't too wet, I made the mistake of not bringing the towel with me when going back to the hotel room, which was a likely reason why I ended up with a sore throat, runny nose, and lots of spit in my mouth on the day we went back home.

Lone Ranch Beach panorama

August 12

We explored Oregon's coast, although we had to cross the California border first and then cross the Oregon border during one point of the drive because the highway that we drove on involved crossing the California border before going back to Oregon. We visited Lone Ranch Beach, Arch Rock, Thunder Rock Cove, and Natural Bridges. When visiting the Oregon Coast, my brother decided to use filters to take photos. 

Thunder Rock Cove

During the evening, we stayed at a Crescent City hotel that was on Highway 101. We also ordered food for dinner from a Chinese restaurant and visited Battery Point Lighthouse while we were waiting for the food. 

August 13

I woke up with a sore throat that was accompanied by a runny nose and lots of spit in my mouth. We were heading back home though, so I made sure to take a covid test once I got back home.

The drive back home took about 7 to 7.5 hours. We drove by many different places along the way, including Trinidad, Garberville, Willits, Hopland (which has a wine shop called The Golden Pig), Cloverdale, Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Novato, San Rafael, Sausalito, and San Francisco. While the drive home did take a long time and that we could have gone home earlier if San Francisco did not have so much traffic, it was nice to drive by some Bay Area cities since I'm from the Bay Area. When I got back home, I did a covid self-test, which fortunately came back negative. However, my body temperature was quite high, although I'm feeling better now.