To every hard-working college student shaking their head in the wee hours of the night, rock on. Rock on :)
To every college college student procrastinating while shaking their head in the wee hours of the night, get busy :)
I everyone who slept tonight: I envy you.
www.pandora.com -- Free internet radio from the Music Genome Project.
Have you ever heard of BERC? It stands for the Berkeley Energy and Resources Collaborative, a 2-year old graduate student club that brings together people interested in energy, climate change, and sustainability. With over 400 graduate student members, the most active mailserv I've ever seen, and creator of the huge UC Energy Symposium that just went down on March 7th, I always thought it was a shame they didn't have a place for undergraduates. It's going to change this week:
**Cheese Board** Pizza, Ping Pong, and Air Hockey
Wednesday March 19th, 5pm-6:30 pm
Mulford, Room 260, CNR Student Resource Center
As a loyal reader of Fresh Faces, you're invited to the BERC Undergrad Kickoff Night! We want to have a fun, relaxing, time while introducing undergrads to the incredible opportunities and especially the community that is BERC. This event is for EVERYONE, grad students, undergrads, faculty and staff. There is no agenda, come eat, drink, be merry, and practice your leisure sports because the competition will be fierce.
The event will be organized by Harris Cohn (CRS) and I (EEP) who were appointed VPs of BERC Undergrad earlier this year. The title is still fuzzy, but our role isn't. Our plan is to first create a mentoring program where undergraduates interested in energy, climate change, and sustainability, can pair up with graduates students in business, law, engineering, public policy, and the many sciences: social, physical, biological, & environmental. Second, we're looking for sophomores or juniors who might be interested in taking over our role and developing something larger for future years -- like a BERC study abroad program, or renewable energy projects in developing countries.
Feel free to forward this announcement to your friends.
Drop us a line if you have any questions. We're looking forward to it, hope to see you there!
Harris Cohn (harriscohn@gmail.com) and Tay Feder (tfeder@gmail.com)
About five years ago, I thought to myself: why don't networks stream their shows online? Don't they want more viewers? It took them a while, but they're doing it now. Most stations, FOX, NBC, ABC, CBS, have started to offer their content online with ads. One site that has episodes and movies from multiple studios is Hulu.com, which just recently finished its beta testing and is open to the public. Netflix.com, also offers online viewing. If you or your parents use Netflix, you can log-on and watch some TV and movies online ad-free. Their content isn't as great as Hulu or content providers' sites, but the video quality is top-notch. In my mind there's no need to download illegal torrents / files from p2p apps and risk getting 'the letter' when there's a free and legal alternative...
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For though who don't know, on-campus recruiting happens in Fall for most full-time (for seniors) and Spring for most summer internships (2nd, 3rd years, and junior transfers). Although the majority of the OCR deadlines have passed, there are still some great job fairs. Here's one that I've been waiting for. I'll be at the Carbon Forum America Conference in San Francisco until 4pm, so hopefully BART will get me back in time!!! Hope to see you there!
ECO (Environmental Companies and Organizations) Career Fair
Wednesday, March 12, 2008, 5 - 7 pm
MLK Student Union, West Pauley Ballroom
Employers who will be at the fair listed online at: http://career.berkeley.edu/FairDir/fairDirDisplay.asp?fair_id=21
In the recent California storm, some of my family and friends went without power for up to four days. If you went without power for more than 48hrs, you qualify for some cash from PG&E. It's not much, but there's no reason not to take it -- is there? Also, if you lost a lot of food in your fridge or freezer, you can submit a claim requesting reimbursement for food spoilage. Check it out:
Food Spoilage http://www.pge.com/includes/docs/pdfs/customer_service/claims/claimform_santarosa.pdf
Safety Net The program provides a special, customer service staffed outage hotline, 1 (888) 743-4743 or 1 (888) PGE-4PGE, so you can speak to someone about your particular outage. Call and request a Storm Inconvenience Payment, which are provided in increments of $25, up to a maximum of $100 per event. Payment levels are based on the length of the customer's outage
* 48 to 72 hours $25
* 72 to 96 hours $50
* 96 to 120 hours $75
* 120 hours or more $100
So, my weekend was a blast. Basically, after finishing the GRE on Saturday, I've been happier than a clam -- that is, before the oceans started to acidify. Today, I participated in a fund raising event with my Martial Arts school in Danville. I used to practically live there, but I've only been there a few times this semester. I miss it!
A group of 14 of us performed 1,000 kicks for charity. We each sought people to sponsor us by pledging donations to the Bay Area Covenant House, a shelter for homeless youth in Oakland. Everyone who sponsored me pledged a flat rate donation, except a good friend of mine. Shout outs to Lucy, Brian, Dina, Dmitriy, Paulo, Donna, Kimberly, and John. Thanks guys!
Collectively, we raised more than a few thousand dollars, all of which will be paired with matching donations when the money makes it to the Covenant House in a few weeks. I'll add some pictures to this post later. Now, all I have to focus on are job interviews, finishing up final term papers, and studying for finals. It’s going to much more fun than practicing for a standardized test, that’s for sure!
#1) No calculator.
#2) $140x2 test fees = $280+TX
#3) $141.67 in used books
#4) Opportunity cost of countless hours of studying.
#5) A Yale study shows the explanatory power of GRE scores is only 1% for graduate psychology students' academic performance (grades, faculty evaluations on students). The correlation for women was NEGATIVE. [1] University of Texas and Blowing Green State University studies indicated that GRE scores were poor indication of graduate performance. [2,3]
#6) Did I mention you can't use a calculator? Why the hell is my ability to multiply and divide large numbers a fair estimation of my preparedness for graduate school?
#7) It's a test of endurance (hint: when you finish a section, don't hit continue and you'll get an extra break).
#8) ETS has added two questions types, but don’t incorporate them into the practice tests.
#9) ETS no longer tells you if you’re taking an experimental section or if it’s real. Sure, it’s great for their testing, but last time I got two quantitative tests. If the second one was the last test (which it was), and if it was real, then I was at a further disadvantage after 3.15hrs of prior testing.
#10) I'll still need to take the GMAT later. A great example of how a one-product monopoly can provide greater customer surplus than an uber-lame oligopoly. However, even if GMAC and ETS merged, I bet the tests would be kept separate :(
#11) You are videotaped, and your fingerprints are taken.
It’s 2:05AM and my stomach is growling. I have class at 9:30AM and if I’m late, my last problem set -- worth 6% of my grade -- will be marked down one letter grade. No, I didn’t just leave Moffitt doing last minute work. I did the problem set last week. I have a term paper due tomorrow – but I’ve already turned it in. I’m on top of it. The work is complete. So why can’t I sleep?
I’m NERVOUS!!!
The opportunities made available to me at UC Berkeley are beyond my wildest dreams (although, to be honest, I never dreamt about them ^_^). This May, I got injured and had to stop competing in the martial arts until I healed. Shortly thereafter, I got in a bit of a car accident while on a new scooter (read: don’t get one). While training 24 hours a week, in order to stay on top of my competition in the ring and class, I had to say no to all of those exciting academic and extra-curricular opportunities that pop up. So, once I had healed, I realized I could say YES, YES, YES!
Somehow, this has resulted in me taking 19 units this semester, auditing two additional classes, taking on three jobs, and being involved in numerous other programs. Beyond that, I’m taking the GRE next weekend, applying to four very special graduate programs and interviewing for two full-time jobs that would start next year. Surprisingly, I’ve been able to fulfill my commitments thus far in the semester. Unfortunately, as the semester’s end nears, the cumulative requirements of my involvement seems to be peaking, ACK!
Here is where my blog title, honor, gets involved. Wikipedia has a nice long article on honor. I was taught, however, a more simple definition: the ability to recognize and fulfill my obligations – both to others and oneself. Additionally, my capability to do this is most important when times are at their toughest – it means the most to come through for people when my life is at its hardest. To everyone stressing out – remember this. If we can follow through at our best now, during the semester’s peak, we will surely be ready to handle life under lower levels of stress. This is our time to shine!
Continue reading "Honor: Why you should not enroll in 19 units and work three jobs." »
I've got a lot of great ideas for blog posts. The obstacle, however, is that these epiphanies usually come when I have lots of work to do. Actually, now that I think about it, I *always* have work to do -- usually with impending deadlines of 1-2 days away. So, how can I make time for all the small stuff -- like blog posting?
My idea is to separate your to-do list in half: one with priorities and deadlines, and the other with all that small stuff you never get around to doing. When you find your brain fried and in need of a break -- pick up your 2nd to-do list and get a cracking! (PS. TeleBEARS phase II is coming… Don’t forget!!!)
Did you ever notice that Tele-BEARS begins right in the middle of midterms? After you finish your next midterm, you may to want start planning for next semester’s classes – if you haven’t already.
I remember my first year of college when I picked out classes based upon when they were scheduled, so I could wake up at 11am. For my second semester, it seemed half of my classes were already picked for me.. and by my sophomore year, all my classes were determined by (1st) the curriculum and (2nd) the professor teaching. It’s my personal opinion that quality of the professor teaching is the most important criteria next to the topics covered in the class – that is, if you have an option to choose. You will be spending a whole semester with them so you better enjoy the lectures!
Tay's Tip of the Day: Zamzar.com will convert Office 2007 file formats (.docx, .pptx, .xlsx) into Office 97-2003 formats. Ever want to download a YouTube video before it get's taken down by Google? Zamzar can also convert YouTube video URLs into video files you can download and save on your computer.
If you happen to be an OpenOffice user seeking interoperability with Office 2007 file formats, I recommend Novell's distribution which includes a plug-in that works with Office 2007's Open-XML (docx).
Are you considering declaring an ESPM major? ESPM stands for Environmental Science Policy and Management, and the department offers four majors: Conservation and Resource Studies (CRS), Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR), Molecular Environmental Biology (MEB), and Society and Environment (SE). Before you declare you need to attend a workshop before or after Tele-bears (I recommend before)...
What is SPUR?
It’s used by horseback riders, or those pretending to be on Halloween.
It’s a technical term in biology for an elongated sepal used to distinguish species within particular genera (ask your botany teacher, not me, I'm an economist paraphrasing wikipedia).
It’s a subsidiary summit of a parent mountain.
It’s a chain of steakhouses in South Africa (who knew?)
It’s an annual literary prize awarded by the Western Writers of America.
It’s a city in Texas.
Best of all it's a TLA (three letter acronym) for...
I remember Eva St. Clair mentioning the start of Fresh Faces to entering freshmen and junior transfers at CalSO 2006. I thought it would be fun, but I knew I had no time for it! See, back then, I was training 2-4hrs/day six days a week for the Olympics, of all things. Not only that, but I was about to start my first semester at Berkeley. That school where all the super-smart people go with their 5.00 GPAs, perfect SAT scores, and where classes are challenging in the worst ways possible: trick questions. What's best is that all of your classes will be graded on a normal curve -- you know -- because Berkeley students are normal, so you'll need a 96% to earn an A. At first, I was surprised at the number of students who introduced themselves as pre-Med/Pharm/Law/MBA, but there's nothing wrong with thinking ahead. The people here are really great. I’m glad to say I’ve enjoyed almost every aspect of the past 12 months at Cal (with one brief exception during my experience in the black hole that is Cal’s statistics department). Anyhow, after a year, it's time to catch up with my readers out in the not quite infinite cyberspace. It’s been a long time, and you don’t what you’ve been missing.
In case you’ve noticed, I’m very modest. I guess my ego-of-gold is a bit heavy, so it tends to sink down towards my digestive tract (don’t think too hard on that one, I’m not quite sure myself). If you’re still following along, your mind is probably stuck on thinking about you, me, or something that both relates to us. Well, stop thinking about that, let’s jump into another tangent.
I was just reading this blog to get a sense of what I should write. When I’ve read it, it seems like a small porthole into someone’s life, where I can identify with others, learn something new, or get some advice. I plan to write about usual blog posts of random thoughts , first days, exams, study groups, graduate school, undergraduate research, etc. Furthermore, I’ll be a rebel and try to have some fun telling a bit of my life too, even if some creepy stalker girl is reading this. If my posts suddenly disappear, blame creepy stalker girl. Really though, I’ll be comparing and contrasting my first year at Cal as a junior transfer with my current one, as a senior.
Back to me… the modest one. I was born in San Francisco, and moved to Marin just in time to start first grade. I don’t remember those years, don’t ask me why. I just ran into a dude from grade school, at a Kappa Alpha rush event last night. We were in band together, and he started sprouting all of these crazy detailed memories of childhood. All I can remember is that the playground was black. Moving on, twelve years later, I graduated high school and began full-time enrollment at College of Marin. Why? I already had 12 units from taking free classes under a concurrent enrollment program while in HS, and I realized $12/unit for a 30-student class was pretty cheap compared to any 4-year college. I also got to skip college admissions, SATs, and the associated stresses. Plus I got to live at home, rent was pretty much free, and boy was I excited. As an economist (at heart, before the declared major), I did a quick 30sec. CBA (cost/benefit analysis) in my head and it was decided.
After talking with some friends who happened to be business executives in the Tri-Valley. I was recommend to try Business Administration – go figure. So I asked around to find the best business schools, found Haas, figured I would do my best and shoot for it. (Haas, yes that’s right! Sure, Stanford's GSB wns but they don’t have UGBA! muahahaha… go ucb superiority complex! ;-), Remember those 12 units? Well, apparently I had signed up for a few more and forgot to drop them (read: F). My GPA in Fall 2004? 1.42. As a backup UC Davis and UCSC have guaranteed admissions given a few requirements, so I wasn’t worried. In retrospect, I felt safe shooting for a major with an 8% acceptance rate. My economics professor recommended I major in the broader major of economics. He did work for Arthur Anderson before the Enron scandal, but he was a biased economics professor in my book… so I kept Haas up top for a while longer. I still think I would have gotten in if I applied to Haas… but I’m soooo glad I didn’t.
// Don’t get me wrong. Haas is fabulous. Except for accounting/finance, I just don’t understand the concept of a pre-experience management degree. I love the cohort model, not just for the MBA program but for the undergraduate one as well. I’ve only heard good things. I took a phenomenal class last semester. The curriculum is just too focused on business for my interests. The academic plan simply isn’t flexible enough to study what I want to, and write a thesis to see what grad school will be like. Still, Haas is right up there at the top for what they do. If anyone at CNR speaks multiple languages and is interested in a Masters in Management or European Business, I recommend checking out ESCP-EAP – a top school in Europe.//
By fall 2005, I had cleaned up my ‘mixed record’ (what admissions calls bad grades) and discovered the world was going to hell in a handbasket because of peak oil (I’ll write up a post about it later). Around the same time I discovered a College within a College. What the hell, I thought. Why is there a ‘College of Natural Resources’ within another college. (Obviously, I’ve since figured out that UCB is a ‘University’ and that CNR was the original land grant college. Yup it’s true, go read the flyer, some of it is actually cool). Within CNR, I saw Environmental Economics and Policy. Awesome, I thought. I like the environment, and had a feeling I’d get to study how we’re destroying it. I wasn’t sure, so I nervously scheduled an informational interview to ask more about the major with Gail Vawter, the awesome advisor of EEP. To make this long blog post *slightly* shorter, EEP was a perfect match and my application showed it. I got in, but it’s taken about a year for the fact to really sink in. For the first 12 months it was sort of hard to believe. How the hell did I end up at Cal?
