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i'm a security monitor here at unit 3, which means i defend the safety of incoming freshman here in the dorms. today is monday, august 24 2009, my first day of work for the 09 10 schoolyear and i feel a pressing need to blog about this momentous occasion

Continue reading "my first day of work for the 09-10 schoolyear" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 0:13 | Permalink

i'm sure its no news to anyone that uc berkeley has fallen victim of california's budget crisis. Throughout this past semester, the effects have been felt everywhere! Tuition fees have gone up, library hours have gone down, and even dear fresh faces has ended financial sponsorship of its bloggers.
according to san francisco business times, 500 million dollars of UCB's 1.8 billion budget has been provided by the state, but that number is sure to decrease given our current situation. Thanks to private sponsorship, the school can keep its head above water...but what if we run out of those? Read the rest of the story here:

Continue reading "budget cuts budget cuts evverywhere" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 0:35 | Permalink

A while back, I wrote a list of recommended places to eat. Since then I've tried a few more good ones and decided to write a mini yelp review for them on this site :)

for any freshman reading, be sure to check out these places to eat!

Continue reading "restaurant reviews" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 1:19 | Permalink

living independently in college can mean different things to different people. for some, it means finally being able to stay out as last as you want without having to let your parents know where you are. for others, it means being able to go to a cal football game knowing that you're cheering for your very own collegiate team. and for many, many others out there... it means cooking on your own!

so if you're one of the latter group, i'd like to pass on to you a few recipes that i've tried/ want to try. enjoy cooking them in your very own kitchen!

Continue reading "a few recipes to try" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 6:54 | Permalink

It's been a while since I've posted here, and now that summer school is over I finally have the time to.
This summer I took MCB 102 over here at Berkeley. For those of you who don't know, MCB102 (also known as biochemistry) is one of the major prerequisite courses for a lot of the science majors and premed kids. Despite being only 3 days a week, this class really made me work. Before summer started, I was afraid that I would be super bored, with only 12 hours of school per week but it turns out that 12 hours a week is pleeeeeeeenty.

Continue reading "!!!" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 1:11 | Permalink

recap of my relaxing break so far:

Thursday: deeelicious last dinner at berkeley :), then headed back to the cupertinoland for a night
Friday: reunited with long lost friend and saw mr. morris! then drove down to socal with the jaegerbomb family. had a lovely dinner with long lost UCLA friends carolyn jeff, saw mindy and harold for a bit and had a BOMB-DIGGITYY diddy riesses (im sure i spelled that wrong) ice cream sandwich.
Saturday: caught up with former competitor from CHS :). Turns out this day was Central Coast Section trials back in the bay, and two years ago we were racing eachother a good 8 freakin laps around good ol SJCC track. After that, got some UCLA food to energize me for the day, then visited getty museum. (sidenote, it turns out anything can be modern art these days? like a picture of a glove?) and left for san diego that night to good old friend's place :)
Sunday: finally got to splash in some water! Before beach trip, bro and I went grocery shopping and bought hellza sandwich materials for massive beach picnic. Went to Mission Bay, a site which was 15 minutes away. we arrived 1 hour and 15 minutes after leave time. why? PARKING. Every spot was taken, every crack was filled like the worst wedgie you've ever gotten. Ended up parking a mile down from where we expected to rent surfboards. Nevertheless, food was good, beach was fun, and SURFING was awesome despite the fact that the actual practice of surfing was one that escaped me. I'm sure I looked plenty legit with my brand new hundred dollar wetsuit I bought for Triathlon until I hit water. I hope no one was watching. Too bad coast guard had to help me out once I drifted too far. After surfing, showerrred and went to make brownies and ice cream! met up with good friend and had long overdue catchup time before sleep.

Continue reading "work hard play hard" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 7:51 | Permalink

Dear world,

Freedom is delicious. As of 3:30 pm on March 19th 2009, I have been liberated from what seems to have been eons of stress! I will remember that afternoon well, and how amaaaaaaaaaaazingly relieved I was to breathe lightly.
3:30 PM was the time on the clock when my organic chemistry final had finished. It was lighted up on a digital clock hoisted near the ceiling of the Haas pavilion, where an army of Dr. Pedersen's chemistry 3B had congregated for the last and final showdown. There are really no words that can explain how great it feels to be done with that class. Not to say that the class was not interesting nor enjoyable, because Dr. Petersen was really a great professor and the material was actually engaging. But this class will forever represent a trialing time period in my life.

Continue reading "freedome has never tasted so good!" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 5:08 | Permalink

And so the countdown begins. Here's what the ideal day should looks like for me!

7-9 Chemistry Problem Set
9-9:30 Breakfast
9:30-12 Read chapter on waves and oscillations (Physics)
12:00-12:30 eat lunch with long lost friend
12:30-3:00 Finish chemistry problem set
3:00-4:30 Mastering Physics
4:30-6:00 more chemistry
6:30 dinner with roomies
7:00 go for a run/swim
9-11 finish up for chem/physics!!

How incredibly sad is is that my ideal day alternates between studying and eating! Well the good news is that this should only last a few more days before freedom is come :)

I suggest yall make a study plan like this that will motivate you to get those brains into shape in time for finals. Good luck yall!

Continue reading "FINALSS" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 1:21 | Permalink

yesterday marked the last day instruction for my sophomore year. Wow. Freedom feels good.
For the next week until my finals, I have TONS Of cramming to do. Same for you? Try these tips out to help attain your studying goals :)

1. Find a quiet place to study. Whether it be a cafe, main stacks, or your own apartment, its good to set a specific study-friendly environment to get your studying done
2. Study in 45 minute increments. My MCB32 GSI told me last semester that 45 minute study, 15 minute beaks are very effective :)
3. make lists to organize your studying plan (like "do two problem sets of chemistry today, read three chapters of physics tonight)

Continue reading "freedom!!" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 8:32 | Permalink

My roomate sent me this article on the "germiest places at the gym" Think about this the next time YOU go to the RSF! Be wary of the publicly shared gym equipment, especailly those yoga mats! and make sure to wash your hands

The 4 Germiest Places at the Gym
http://www.learn-spanish.com/images/gym.jpg
There's no sense panicking about germs--they're everywhere. But, it is good to know where germs are more likely to congregate, isn't it? Here's what you need to know about the germiest places at the gym....

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Today Kim over at Little Miss Fortune is blogging about the value of gym memberships and whether it's cool to pay a small fortune for one. Do you work out at a gym? They frequently make "germiest places in America" lists, and it's easy to see why: pack a bunch of sweaty, sparsely clothed bodies into tight spaces and you'll get germs--lots of them. But there are places that germs are more likely to congregate, say experts. Here are the germiest zones:

*Public yoga mats. Beware of communal yoga mats, say experts. According to Elizabeth Scott, Ph.D., the co-director of the Simmons College Center for Hygiene and Health in Home and Community Settings, who I spoke to for this Vitamin G post, a yoga mat--like a pillow--is a personal item we probably shouldn't share. "I have some data that indicates that skin bacteria, including Staph aureus and the resistant strain, MRSA, can be found on yoga mats," she says. "Our studies indicate that these mats are seldom, if ever, cleaned. These bacteria can cause serious skin infections if they gain access via any small breaks in the skin. My advice is to bring your own mat, or at least a large towel to put between you and the mat."

5 Frightening Truths About the Germs Under Your Fingernails (and His!)

*Dumbbells. According to this article from ABC News, equipment that is used by multiple people in quick sequences, like dumbbells, harbor the most germs. Go ahead and use them, of course, but remember to wash your hands afterward.

*Exercise bike seats. It's no wonder why they're germy--people sit there and sweat! Yeah, it might be a good idea to sanitize that bad boy before spinning class.

The 10 Germiest Jobs in America: Is Yours on the List?

*Locker room showers and floors. No surprise here. Experts who tested gym shower floors found shocking amounts of germs in gym bathrooms: "Unfortunately, germs do survive in the shower, on walls, and on the floor," said Dr. Philip Tierno, a microbiologist. "I found it in hordes--unbelievable quantities. We use the word 'innumerable.' Innumerable."

OK, so not every "germ" that congregates on any of these places is going to make you sick--in fact, most won't. But, experts note that if germs tend to flock to a certain place, it increases the chance that harmful pathogens can to.

Speaking of all of this, I asked you a while back about whether you wipe down the fitness equipment after each use, and many said yes. But here's the funny thing: Most said they don't wipe them down before use. I was really surprised by this--the fact that you're protecting others from germs, but not yourself. Hmm.

Do you worry about germs at the gym?

Continue reading "Germy germy gym" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 7:06 | Permalink

okay well its that time of the year again... finals are steadily but slowly approaching. i dont know what it means for you guys out there, but i'm going to have to admit one thing about myself- for me, finals means stress means procrastination.
If i've learned one thing about myself this semester, it's that I've developed into quite the procrastinator. I don't know whether or not it's becuase my hectic schedule stresses me out, but i've realized my immediate reaction when i acknoweldge a pile of work to do is to put it off as long as i can.
so not a good habit.

Continue reading "procrastination" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 0:50 | Permalink

since it's all everyone is talking about these days...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/02/health/main4986753.shtml?source=mostpop_story
(CBS/AP) Mexico's health secretary says the number of confirmed swine flu cases has risen to 473, including 19 people who died.

The previous confirmed death toll was 16.

Jose Angel Cordova is urging citizens not to let their guard down against a virus that has killed 17 people and is spreading across Asia and Europe. Experts warned the virus could mutate and come back with a vengeance.

Cordova spoke at a news conference Saturday.

Cases outside Mexico suggest the new swine flu strain is weaker than feared. But governments moved quickly anyway to ban flights and prepare quarantine plans.

The swine flu caseload continued to grow elsewhere as well.

Pigs at a farm in Alberta, Canada caught the same swine flu strain that has sickened hundreds of humans around the world, Canadian officials said.

A farmhand who traveled to Mexico and fell ill upon his return apparently infected the pigs with the H1N1 influenza virus, said Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's chief public health officer.

"So far, basically what we're seeing in the pig is the same strain as we see in the humans," Butler-Jones said.

"The concern is that if it's circulating in a pig herd, that any other humans that come onto the farm might be exposed and be at risk."

This is the first time this swine flu virus has been found in pigs.

The farm worker returned to Canada from Mexico on April 12 and had contact with the pigs two days later. About 220 pigs in the herd of 2,200 began showing signs of the flu on April 24, said the country's top veterinary officer, Dr. Brian Evans of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

All of the pigs are recovering or have recovered and the farm worker has also recovered.

One other farm worker subsequently fell ill. It's not yet known if that person caught the swine flu.

Continue reading "swine flu?!" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 3:34 | Permalink

2:48 am right now and for some reason I can't seem to go to bed. I've been feeling really stressed out these past few weeks, for several reasons im sure. If you read my last post you'd be well aware that I had a 8 page paper due just two days ago, a pledge test to study for, work to go to...and of course... FINALS are coming up soon.
I was trying to think of good ways to destress because I'm well aware I'm full of it right now. Here's a pretty good link I found online about the subject!
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_relief_meditation_yoga_relaxation.htm

Continue reading "late night thoughts" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 2:48 | Permalink

hi all! its been a while since i've updated you! the reason i'm writing this is to give you a little snapshot of my life to explain why I haven't been updating this blog too much. and the reason is...you might have guessed it... time!
In addition to this blog, I have two journals I like to write in to record the ongoings of my life, but i've been so busy i havent even had time to update either for a good two months or so! with the schoolyear rounding up I figure a short bulleted synopsis will be the least I can do to update this thing on my life.
1)What have I been busy with? I've gotten so used to repeating my extracirriculars over in my head that it just rolls off my tongue when people ask me. "lab,triathlon,work, and... oh yeah... I'm pledging for a frat"
2) what's that you say?! you're pledging for a frat?

Continue reading "papers, stress, and five hour meetings" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 1:41 | Permalink

oh april. the month of college making decisions. I remember two years ago I was in such a dilemma choosing which school to spend the rest four year of my life at. Like many of my friends, I had applied to most the UC's and after a long, agonizing deliberation I finally narrowed my choice down to two: UC Berkeley or UCLA. Obviously, I chose the former and am quite content with the outcome :). However, there was no way of telling this and needless to say, it was a tough decision to make. I ended up choosing my fate literally the night before SIRs were due!

Continue reading "well word on the street is that it's time of the year again" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 3:54 | Permalink

Plan out your class schedule. My first semester as a Cal student, I took the most random classes for a science major, including PE, Babylonian studies, Italian, and Astronomy. Although they were interesting classes, I've found that my poor planning has managed to set me behind schedule-wise. Now I feel as if I am scrambling to finish certain science classes on time so that I will be able to graduate on time :( For instance, I am currently waiting for Bio 1a's waitlist to go down so that I can get on it. Yes, thats right, I am waiting to get on the waitlist. Oh the irony. So dear freshmen, before you follow too closely with the advice to take whatever classes you feel like exploring...make sure that you have some plan of what your schedule should ideally look like, and make a few back up plans if you want to make sure to graduate on time :)

Continue reading "A word of wisdom" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 0:36 | Permalink

HOWDY. its finals week, meaning one thing. i'm procrastinating! well class, the topic of today's note will be "beverage experimentation!"
yesterday, Angela had a chemistry review session to attend, being the good girl she is, she went a few hours early to the chemistry library to study her brains out as she has been trained to do since her years as a young'en in high school. after completing professor pederson's problem set 17, she realized she was very very cold. so, in order to fend off (is that the right word? fend off? i dont think so but i dont care either) her coldness, she left the chemistry library and ran all the way up to the tenth floor of latimer hall, hoping that by the time she came back she would be nice and toasty.

Continue reading "storytime" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 8:04 | Permalink

oh joy. it's that time of the year again, holiday season! quick update:

1) i got pretty sick last week and lost my voice. i couldn't talk for a good 2 days. it was pretty annoying to not be able to communicate vocally, but as silly as this sounds it was pretty fun. being able to be act as soleley a listener gave a new twist to the day and a newfound apprecation for spoken sound.

2)turkey was yum. i'd never cooked turkey before but this break i helped my mum marinate a big fat ol turkey with salt, veggie oil, meat seasoning, n garlic salt. pretty darn tasty! at first i was a little disappointed my sister had chosen to spend thanksgiving with her boyfriend down in LA, but luckily she made it back in time to have dinner with us :) our tg meal was followed up with a late night showing of i, robot. it was a decent movie (at least the half that i saw before i fell asleep) but a bit too unrealistic for me so it was hard for me to take it seriously.

Continue reading "thanksgiving recap" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 0:33 | Permalink

i have a roomate who likes to keep up with entertaining current events/ news. her latest find was this link:
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=665808

apparently some guy tried to pay his rent with a digital drawing of a spider?! read the whole email (and see the picture) below:

Continue reading ""man tries to pay bill with spider drawing"" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 9:19 | Permalink

berkeley project is tomorrow! i heard about it last year, but did not get around to signing up. i'm excited to get some hands on comm service though, i haven't really done that since high school. my site is James Kenney Park. I'm going to be helping out with things like sand sifting (so the sand is more comfortable for kids to play in), kill some ivy, clean up the park in general...fun stuff! This is the schedule:

8:00--Registration (free breakfast and free t-shirt provided!)
8:30--Depart for projects
9:00--Arrive at Site; Safety/Education Orientation
9:20-9:30--Work begins
12:00-1:00--Lunch will be delivered within this hour and will last for
forty minutes
~1:00--Back to work
2:00-3:30--Work ends
2:00-5:00--Celebration: closing ceremony with jump house, DJ and a chance
to win prizes

i'm pretty stoked about the free t shirt...and the closing celebration (how often do you get to party after doing comm service?) oh and of course, the outreach :) it feels good to give back to the community, and i hope to join a community service club sometime this semester

for more info: berkeley project: http://bp.berkeley.edu/

Continue reading "some events to check out" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 0:37 | Permalink

happy halloween! hope yall are having a great night. i saw some pretty awesome costomues on campus today; a few superheroes (lots of super(wo)men, tigger, and a mime to name a few). my halloween was quite uneventful to be honest. i was called in to work since my boss had stressed that we were short of staff members on that day (i wonder why..) originally i wasnt planing to work, but since no one else stepped up I decided to take one for the team and worked on the night when everyone else went partying. it wasnt that bad though, my shift was shortened becaues another staff member could take my place.
on a completely random note, i realized i made a stupid mistake and didnt sign up for chem 3b lab for next semester. i searched "chem 3b" thinking that the lab would automatically appear on the schedule, but it turns out you have to specifically request "chem 3bL <---make sure to include that "L" its very important). since i forgot to do that, i made the mistake of thinking that for some reason chem labs were not open for sign up...big mistake. by the time i realized i had made a mistake, there were already >100 people on the waiting list just to get in the lab. i couldn't even get on the waiting list because it was full. bummer, huh? i guess its physics for me next semester.

Continue reading "make sure you sign up for lab along with ur chem class!" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 1:56 | Permalink

hey all,

I'm at work right now. its 7:14 pm and I've got a lot of studying to do. There was a really big mix up about my work schedule tonight. I'm a SM at unit 3 and told a co-worker I could could cover her shift from 6-10. Then, I told another coworker that I could cover her today, because she sent out a request for help that I though was TOMORROW, but it turned out to be today. Oh boy. To make matters more confusing, It turns out I had class during the first hour of both shifts, so I had another friend to cover for the shift I was already covering. Things got messy, and basically I came to my shift late, and caused a lot of unncessary confusion. This is stress does to me I guess!

Continue reading "update" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 9:13 | Permalink

check out this video my friend showed me. its about a guy who goes to like 140 countries in 3 months (i probably got the numbers wrong but you get the point):

Continue reading "pretty cool video" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 5:21 | Permalink

heard of superb? well, they're a student organization on campus involved in a lot of entertainment events here on campus. last week, they organized a counting crows concert in lower sproul (i went! woo!). just a few hours ago i came back from watching wall-e, which was played in wheeler auditorium for only 3 dollars. let me tell ya, it was an enlightening movie. the story revolves around a trash compactor of the future who lives on a desolate, trashed, overpolluted earth. he finds a fellow robot who he has a crush on, and together they travel the universe and stumble upon human population, which has degraded into a society of flubbery, obese bodies completely dependent on advanced technology.

Continue reading "" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 0:16 | Permalink

im sitting in the security monitor booth at norton right now, and although i have tons and tons of homework to do, i'm in the blogging mood. so anyway, why am i sitting in a security monitor booth? BECAUSE I'M A SECURITY MONITOR! wooohoo. for a seemingly simple job, its actually been a long road to get here. I've applied 3 times; the first time my application was lost, the second time the hiring coordinator had already hired enough people, and i guess third time's a charm because here i am :)

Continue reading "october update" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 1:41 | Permalink

For those of you who don't know, Caltopia is recognized as, "the largest experiential College Lifestyle Festival in the nation." In this two day event at the RSF, there are tons of booths for different companies. everything from local restaurants and yogurt shops to bank of america. pretty much all the companies are putting on their best efforts at advertising and a lot of them give away free stuff to the people that stop by. so, it's pretty much a win-win situation! this year, i scored whole foods bag, lots of granola bar samples, vitamins,pirate's booty, a fan, notebook, frisbee, and lots of other stuff. although a lot of these prizes aren't too valuable, i did score some ipod speakers. by far the best free thing i've gotten so far.

Continue reading "put that pop tart back, you already took like eight" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 8:24 | Permalink

Continue reading "in case you haven't been keeping up..." »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 9:56 | Permalink

okay okay so i havent been able to watch as much olympics as i would have liked, but one thing i did get the pleasure to see was nastia lukin's gold medal win in the all-around gymnastics a few days ago. it was a pretty intense rivalry between the americans and chinese, and there was even a pretty dramatic discrepancy in the scores that the judges gave liukin and the chinese. i enjoy watching a lot of the olympic sports, but gymnastics never ceases to amaze me. check out nastia's uneven bars routine:



also check out shawn johnson's floor routine. its pretty crazy, and this is not even the final

Continue reading "liukin's gold medal win" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 0:01 | Permalink

i feel like its just getting harder and harder to find your spot in the classes that you need. scheduling at berkeley is like stuffing 100 people in a room and telling them they all must be seated in order to graduate college. some of the seats are the mighty fine lazy boy sofas, some are the sturdy wooden kind, and some have broken legs. some have gum on the sides, some smell fart, and some are just darnright crappy. so techinically you can grab any of the seats, but the coveted ones are always taken by the other schmucks who want to pamper their bottoms as well.

okay well thats a bit of an exaggeration, but it gets my point across. i tried signing up for so many classes these past few days, and MAN it is difficult. the physics class wont let me sign up, the korean class i want has only unfavorable time slots, and just when i have hope that i can get into my math class, i find out that all the sections are full. what a doozy.

oh well, i guess i'll just have to resort to "camping overnight"; waiting until classes to start, sitting in, and hopefully swooping in and taking a spot from somone that drops.

Continue reading "telebears, you are the death of me," »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 0:28 | Permalink

so i don't foget, here are some things i've got to do before summer ends

-run up my favorite home trails before I'm back in the city
-buy a backpack with functional zippers (sweet!)
-read more books
-backpacking trip
-finish making a t shirt quilt
SCHOOL STUFF
-Buy my backpack
-TELEBEARS! Figure out my schedule dangit!
-look into research (attention!! if you're looking for research to, search URAP (undergrad research apprentice program) and you'll find lots of juicy projects. CNR also has SPUR, a great research program! Im sure you can find more info on the CNR website)
-do some sewing

Continue reading "to do list" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 2:44 | Permalink

This summer has probably been the most hectic of all my summers in quite some time. I've been working 2 jobs and taking 2 classes (although one job is only 2 hours/week and one class is only 3 hours/week) and all my time seems to have been sucked away! i've barely seen my friends these past few months, but hey. at least im being productive right?
so i've decided to blog about my daily life for archiving purposes, so that i can remember what the heck i did during the summer of my eighteenth birthday...

Continue reading "a day in the life" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 7:25 | Permalink

A few weeks ago, I made a checklist and updated it on this site. now, i can check off a few of the things i wanted to do!
now i can proudly check of a few...

[ ]go backpacking
[ ]travel travel travel
[x]cook lots of new foods
[ ]go camping
[x] go swimming
[x] participate in a triathlon
[x]read a book at least every 2 weeks

1) Over this past week, i've been doing quite a bit of baking... so far i've baked: brownies, snickerdoodles, chocolate chip cookies, blueberry muffins, and oatmeal raison cookies. I pretty much went on a baking frenzy (i was surprised my mom didn't evict me from the kitchen by now)
2)my mom and I enrolled at the YMCA in our area, and ever since then my mom has been going there pretty much every day for around an hour. weird, since she used to never get near water just a few years ago. anyway, i don't go the Y that much anymore cus i normally don't have time (work/school keeps me busy during the day) but luckily i enrolled in a swim class at my local community college and i've been enjoying every minute of it :) and, just like every summer, my skin is progressively darkening. i swear i get a shade tanner every time i go swimming.
3) i've been doing a lot of reading these past few weeks, mostly becuase of my summer english class (so i can get r1b out of the way). our topic is detective stories. so far, we've read Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles, The Murders of the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe (supposedly the first ever detective story), some agatha christie, raymond chandler, and dashiell hammet. up next is a book called "a is for alibi"
4)TRIATHLON!! (i was so excited for this, it's the main reason i decided to post todaY). yeah, i competed in my first triathlon ever today! so here was my schedule

Continue reading "update" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 7:14 | Permalink

yesterday my sister came home to visit the family (she's away at college right now) and since my brothers were home too, the family was complete! i went to the farmer's market with my dad and picked up some strawberries, peaches, and apricots. then i went home and swam with my sister and mom in the (uncomfortably disgusting) overcrowded ymca pool on the neighborhood. For dinner, to celebrate the family gathering we had a yummy good ol american dinner of steak, potato salad, salad, and peach pie. DELICIOUS. I was in charge of the pie and so it was delicious (duh). just kidding. here's the recipe

Continue reading "summertime peach pie" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 8:49 | Permalink

SWEEET! i guess it works! now there's a face to the post i wrote about a few weeks ago. so, i will continue to shamelessly advertise my favorite american idol contestant:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1jgmCegf7WY (smoky mountain memories)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZHqYmx2jepg&feature=related (heaven, his hollywood audtion.)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vLgjjSFURAY (shop around. watch the whole thing)

Continue reading "just checking to see if i can load up pictures here." »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 7:54 | Permalink

so with this summer ahead of me, i am determined to keep busy doing productive or just fun things. i've gotta say, the worst way to spend summer is to sit around in the house watching tv. i've tried it for a few days and just get so extremely restless that I feel like i'm going crazy. so here are a few of the things i'd like to do for summer
[ ]go backpacking
[ ]travel travel travel
[ ]cook lots of new foods
[ ]go camping
[ ] go swimming
[ ] participate in a triathlon
[ ]read a book at least every 2 weeks

Continue reading "summertime plans" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 7:08 | Permalink

belongs to David Archuleta, runner up for American Idol season 7. I first heard this guy one or two weeks ago on a link to american idol, and i fell in love with his voice instantly. The first song I heard was "and so it goes" by billy joel: http://youtube.com/watch?v=bVh2_Na3Oz4&feature=related
I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend listening. This season ranked in the highest number of viewers for the finale, so chances are you've at least heard of the fierce competition. The winner ended up being David Cook, a bartender from kansas city. No doubt he he's a talented singer, but to me, david archuleta still more captivating voice. check out angels:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GMSy3jYrW-c

Continue reading "one of the best voices i've ever heard" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 8:48 | Permalink

thursday may 15th: max temp 99 degrees
friday may 16th: max temp 92 degrees

i don't know bout yall, but i've been burning up! i don't think it's been this warm in berkeley this year so far! Unfortunately, it also happens to be finals week...which makes the heat even more bothersome. Thursday morning, i walk out of my dorm to my bio final (which i bombed, by the way), and i felt like someone turned on the humidity switch in the atmosphere. my testing room was in lewis, and it was even hotter in there!! to make matters worse, i think the temperature change triggered my body to go into allergy-overdrive, because i was sniffling, sneezing, and itchy eyed throughout my final =[

Continue reading "it's gettin hot in here" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 9:22 | Permalink

I decided to take a break from studying, and post a little entry. a while back i wrote a post about ligers, and my friend john showed me this link about the tsavo maneaters. I don't know if you have heard about them, but to sum it up in a nutshell:
"The Tsavo maneaters were a pair of maneless lions responsible for the deaths of a number of construction workers on the Kenya-Uganda Railway, from March through December 1898."


sounds like something from a horror movie, doesn't it?!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsavo_maneaters

Continue reading "tsavo maneaters" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 2:24 | Permalink

of what happened this past weekend on south side. there has already been a memorial on sproul plaza, and i'm sure a lot of news stations have picked up on it already. but in case you haven't heard, here's some scary news for you:
BERKELEY, Calif. -- A 20-year-old college student is due in court Tuesday after being arrested in connection with a fatal stabbing at a party at UC Berkeley over the weekend.

May 2008: Berkeley Man Accused Of Fatal Stabbing Of Student

Continue reading "i'm sure you've probably heard by now" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 1:18 | Permalink

Letter from EALC Chair
To All Students Wanting to Enroll in Fall:
Due to the budget situation, EALC is having to cut Chinese, Japanese, and Korean courses by over 50%. This means that not everyone currently enrolled will be able to enroll in the Fall semester. We will not be able to accommodate students from other Colleges and Schools (outside of Letters and Sciences) in our courses. We recognize that many of you need our courses to complete minor or major requirements, and we sincerely apologize to those of you who will need to change your plans.

We will continue to accept students from all colleges in our summer courses on a first-come, first-served basis. This coming summer we are offering Chinese 1, Chinese 10, Japanese 1, Japanese 10, Japanese 100, Korean 1, and Korean 10. We are also offering 4 literature courses: Chinese 7A and Japanese 7A in Session A; and Chinese 7A and Japanese 7B in Session D.

That sad message above was taken verbatim from the East Asian Languages and Cultures department website :http://ealc.berkeley.edu/message.htm

Pretty sad, isn't it?

Continue reading "kill the languages?!" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 8:43 | Permalink

Well, I don't know about all you readers out there, but I can say that ever since my arrival here at UC Berkeley, I've spent more time playing super smash brothers than I have in the rest of my life combined. If you play smash, you might understand these next few paragraphs, but if you don't then you probably wont get a lot of the terminology I'm going to throw at you. Anyway, here's my take on the subject:
It started out last September, when my RA invited me and a few floormates over to his room for a good ol' game of classic smash on his old-school n64. I used to play every once in a while back home, so I figured "oh hey, this sounds like fun. I can try to play Kirby again!" So i grabbed a controller, sat myself down on his couch with a few friends, and played my first collegiate game of smash. Little did I know that within only a few weeks, the game would take over an unprecedented amount of time in my waking hours.
After that first game of smash, I began to play whenever I was bored in the dorms. I was terrible at first, but as I kept playing, I kept improving, and as I improved, I became determined to play more.
Before I knew it, i was playing smash three times a day; it even took priority over my schoolwork at times! And to make matters worse, my roommate decided to bring over her gamecube, and with a game counsel in our hands, all our studious endeavors were lost.

Continue reading "super smash brothers!" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 2:51 | Permalink

It's nearing the end of April, which means for me, it's almost time to sign up for classes via telebears -.- It's a pain in the butt for a lot of people, especially those who have no idea what to sign up for when that vital 24 hour period comes around- the one they call "phase 1." I remember people telling me "don't worry about what classes you take your first year. it doesn't really matter as long as you get your prerequisites them done eventually." And to those people, i say BOLOGNA!! Of course there's some breathe room to take some "just for fun" classes, but I recommend by all means to figure out some sort of plan to figure out when to take your prerequisites.
I'm an undeclared student, and for the last 2 telebears appointments I've had (fall 07 and spring 08), I've ripped out a lot of hair when the stressful time comes around to choose what classes to take. After a (almost) a full year here at berkeley, I highly recommend you to check out your college advising center.

Continue reading "some tips for incoming freshies :)" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 8:39 | Permalink

i know it's a day late, but i was reading online some april fools jokes that made me laugh. so, i decided to share them with you :). it's amazing how clever people can be, and wow you'd be surprised of how big-scale some of the pranks are...check out the website: http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/aprilfool/
Here are a few of my favorites:
#1: The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
spaghetti harvest In 1957 the respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied that they should "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."
#4: The Taco Liberty Bell
Taco Liberty BellIn 1996 the Taco Bell Corporation announced that it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke. The best line of the day came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet, he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold. It would now be known as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.
The April 1998 issue of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason newsletter contained an article claiming that the Alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi from 3.14159 to the 'Biblical value' of 3.0. Before long the article had made its way onto the internet, and then it rapidly made its way around the world, forwarded by people in their email. It only became apparent how far the article had spread when the Alabama legislature began receiving hundreds of calls from people protesting the legislation. The original article, which was intended as a parody of legislative attempts to circumscribe the teaching of evolution, was written by a physicist named Mark Boslough.

Continue reading "april fools!" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 0:12 | Permalink

So this past week marks the second time in a month that I've been pretty sick with a cold. Do you remember reading that book "Alexander and the terrible, horrible, No Good Very Bad Day" ? I read it back in elementary school and it was one of my favorites. Anyway, my point was that I felt like I was having one of those the day I got sick. See, on thursday morning at 8:00AM, I had a lab report for Chem 1a to turn in (a FORMAL lab report, might I add). So, I set my alarm for 7:10 because, well, 50 minutes is PLENTY of time to get ready for class right? Yes. But no, not if as soon as your alarm rings, your subconscious decides to pull a sneaky "lets turn off that darn noisy wake up call and go back to sleep"

http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/family/alexander/

Continue reading "sick." »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 9:18 | Permalink

What do you call an animal that is a hybrid cross between a lion and a tiger? Well, that depends on who you ask. According to me, it's called a liger- a real living animal... but according to my hallmates and some other skeptics out there, it's a load of bull.
Recently, I've been going through a bit of a "liger obsession phase", which was sparked a week ago by my roomate's boyfriend who was watching a liger video on youtube. He seemed pretty impressed and showed it to other people on the floor(including me)...who welcomed it with varying reactions. Half my floormates thought it was cool, and the other half thought it was all made up. "What proof is there?!" they would ask. Now, I know that googling is not the most completely credible way to find scientific articles, but in order to prove their existance I found some pretty legit sites including national geographic, wikipedia (a little more questionable),

Continue reading "what the liger?" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 4:25 | Permalink

so i don't know if you've heard the news from a few days ago, but being so close to san francisco it wouldn't surprise me if you have...
the tiger from SF zoo escaped!! it was a 300 lb tiger named tatiana (my roomate's name...hmm...) who may have climbed/leapt over an 18 foot wall to escape o.O!!
There were two injured people, and one was a 17 year old boy from San Jose (right by my hometown, by the way)
bleecchh, check out the details:
"The second victim was about 300 yards away, in front of a cafe. The man was sitting on the ground, blood running from gashes in his head and the tiger was sitting next to him, police said." (http://www.local6.com/news/14922583/detail.html)

Continue reading "holy moly" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 9:18 | Permalink

Mmmh, there's nothing like a good 15 weeks at berkeley to appreciate the home-ness of home. Without a doubt, it's one of the most relaxing feelings to be able to go to sleep as late as you want without the worry of waking up for an 8am the next day (which was well...monday,tuesday,wednesday,thursday,and friday for me). There is nothing in sight to do for the next few weeeks but hang out with friends, eat with family, and shop shop shop and get ready for the holidays.
Although at the moment, this seems like such an appealing idea I know that there is one rule that should be followed during winter break, and that is: don't just sit around. It is all too typical to succumb to the stereotypical actions (or lack therof) of being being a college student on vacation. This would entail sleeping when you see the sun come up and waking up when it goes away, eating junk food, watching tv, playing video games, computer games, watching tv, eating more junk food, etc. etc. Personally, I've had some pretty pathetic vacations which entitled way too many hours of tetris, sees candies, and the sad times I promised myself I would get out and run.
Hopefully this break will be different! We'll wait and see =] But I guess i'll have to start tomorrow since today I already went over to a friend's house in newark and played super smash brothers for a good two hours after watching "I am legend" and grabbing a burger at In-n-out. But i'll try real hard to make this the last day of lazy before i get out and do things this break

Continue reading "home sweet home" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 3:12 | Permalink

Being at berkeley, it's inevitable that you're probably surrounded by places to eat. whenever I walk to school, work, a friend's dorm, I more restaurants than I can count.
But what makes the food here at berkeley so great is that not only do we have a lot of restaurants, but we have an incredible variety of cultural foods that reflect the fusion of cultures that is prominent here at berkeley. Just walking down telegraph, I can spot out a mediterranian restaurant next to a chinese take out place which is right across the street from a sushi bar with an italian restaurant just across the street.

Continue reading "some yummy places to eat" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 1:00 | Permalink

Finals are approaching faster than I would like to admit, and like most of my floormates and classmates, it would be an understatement to say that studying takes some major willpower. But how should I study? When? Where? How? Here's my plan for the next two weeks.
Week of December 2-8:
-Check out study groups at Chavez learning center (located in lower sproul)
-Cross campus to Doe Library for some hardcore brain-frying in the depths of main stacks

Continue reading "time to crack down for finals" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 6:23 | Permalink

with only a few weeks left of school until the dreaded finals, there are a few things I have figured out about collegiate life here at berkeley that may be useful to freshman who may read this sometime next year...
1) If you live in a dorm, get to know your floormates: Chances are that for most freshman, dorm life will be last unique experience of living together in somewhat of a community living environment. Most of my closest friends here are the ones that live only a few doors away, and getting to know them has been the best way for me to feel at home here at cal.
2) Don't be afraid to challenge yourself. Although this may seem a bit clique, i really wish I took this piece of advice for myself a little more intently both from academic and non-academic perspective. For example, I originally was signed up to take chemistry 1a but was scared that I wouldn't remember my chemistry from high school. So instead I took the P chem class with Richard Gibson. And don't get me wrong, Richard is an amazing teacher and the class is helpful for those who didn't have too good of a chemistry background, but I really wished I went ahead and took the more challenging chemistry 1a class. Especially since many of my floormates are taking that same class right now, I realize that if i were to take that class then I would be surrounded by peers who could help me out. Also, since I've looked at the material that my floormates are studying, i've realized that the concepts were not as difficult as I thought. In the end, it's one of my regrets of this semester that I didn't challenge myself.
3) join things! clubs, sports, volunteering, jobs....whatever you choose, it will round out your experience here at cal.

Continue reading "almost done!" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 3:56 | Permalink

So unless I'm mistaken, Berkeley has a reputation for having one of, if not THE, "healthiest" dining options in the nation. I most definitely agree with the fact that our organic selection blows away competing universities', and I applaud the fact that trans fats don't dare trespass our campus boundaries. As I acquainted myself with the "healthy" campaign that seemed to surround me everywhere I ate during the first few weeks of school, I had high expectations that I would end up eating a relatively nutritious diet. But after those first few weeks I began to realize that my food options, that is, the "nutritious" ones, were much more limited that I had presumed them to be. For example, I remember specifically avoiding the main dishes at cafe three for a few days straight because the only options were fried burger patties, roast beef with a generous helping of lard on the side, or kung pao deep fried chicken loaded with extra salt. The only other alternatives were pho or pizza...which are not terrible themselves, but failed to attract my taste buds after eating them continuously for a whole week.

Continue reading "what to eat?" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 0:25 | Permalink

friday!!! wahoo! =] just a few more hours and then I will be over and done with my ancient babylonian seminar, then it's friday, the last schoolday of the week! As I write this, I have a big fat smile on my face because something about the weekend is so therapeutic.
and that's nice!
but..
...what exactly do I do during the weekend? As I am writing this, I am beggining to realize that that I just plain...don't do much. I remember at the beginning of the year, I made the conscious decision to not inundate myself in extracirriculars like sports, clubs, jobs, etc. Sure, I considered it perfectly acceptable to join a club here or there that catch my attention, but I wanted to be sure that my studies were my number one priority. Fast forward a month and a half later and I am starting to get the feeling that it worked out all too well.

Continue reading "it's almost..." »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 2:47 | Permalink

hi =] right now it's 10:37 and i am taking a break from studying italian in the academic learning center in unit 3. If you're reading this and you live in unit 3, i strongly suggest you check it out! It's this really awesome study space underneath cafe 3, by the mailboxes, and it's basically study heaven (as nerdy as that may sound). I discovered this place last week when i started studying for my nutrisci midterm which was two days ago. my FIRST midterm ever. wow it feels weird to say that; I'm still getting used to the fact that i'm a college student taking college courses, living in a college dorm.
So today, I went to an informational meeting today about being a calso counselor. For those of

Continue reading "hello hello!" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 2:37 | Permalink

Hi!! I have been meaning to write in this blog for the longest time, but i've never gotten around to it. Bummer. Just goes to show how easily it is to get caught up in all the things there are to do here at berkeley.
So tomorrow marks my third week of class, and my fourth week here as a berkeley student. I have finally figured out my way through campus and can figure out the way to all my classes (except I always get lost on the way out of dwinelle! that is one confusing building...)
Looking at my schedule, I think it's fair to say that I'm pretty content with the courses I am taking:
1. Elementary Italian
2. PE: Stretch, Strength, and Alignment
3. P Chemistry
4. Nutrition 10
5. Astronomy 10
6. MCB Decal course
7. What would your life be as a babylonian student?

Continue reading "courses courses courses..." »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 1:20 | Permalink

This is my first post ever as a CNR Fresh Faces Blogger. Whoa.
Well, i guess i'll start off by saying hi. Hi!!
I'm assuming that those of you reading this have never heard of me or seen me around before, so I guess i'll do a quick intro about myself. My name is Angela and I am an incoming freshman, class of 2011. I am undeclared in CNR, but i am really interested in nutritional sciences and am going to take nutrition 10 this week (eek! the first day of school starts tomorrow!)
So what have i been doing during my first week as a college student? This past week was welcome week and I got to meet people from all over the country, but mostly from somewhere in california. A few of the events i have been to already were Caltopia, Calapalooza, hall meetings, convocation, UHS opening, and the CNR meeting this past wednesday.

Continue reading "HI!" »

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Posted by Angela Hsu at 6:21 | Permalink

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