Jae B.

dance music

special price

special report

day break

Scary, I have had that American Idol conversation....

one day

news budget

pick one

^… Same feelings. I think I know I'm making the right decision, but unfortunately -- for my other self that might have been -- it means giving up on an "adventure" and an Ivy. Most people in my circle -- while supportive -- have continually hinted that not going to Columbia would be a personal and career mistake, as well as a cowardly choice. But "they're both great schools, so congrats...." This nagging external doubt kept me from making a decision sooner, even though I pretty much knew I wanted to go to Berkeley as soon as I got in, before I even heard from Columbia. Even though Columbia had been my number one choice. But somehow the joy got sucked out of my decision.

low budget

guitar pick

power trip

string beans

power walk

The last 60 definitely matter. Cheers for your GPA going up -- that's great! If you can explain the relevance of what you've taken to your grad school and career goals, you're good. Without explanation, some of my coursework might have looked pretty off-track, so I accounted for that in my SOP. That way, they'd know I was thoughtfully planning ahead.

I like cross-body messenger bags built like luggage. I have a long bus / train commute and I walk everywhere else, so I need something comfortable. If you find the right messenger bag (usually by trying them on), sturdy with a good strap and short handles for awkward moments, and don't overload it, it won't hurt you -- and you won't end up with one shoulder-muscle bigger than the other from carrying a one-shoulder bag! (My poor, puny neglected right muscle....) I also realized one-shoulder bags were slowly stretching out the left side of each of my thin cotton shirts, between the collar and the sleeve seam. So my shirts started to look lopsided! (And me, too.) I have a very nice blue bag now, with gold hardware and a narrow adjustable strap that's soft and causes me no trouble in the chest area. Looks and feels good. Generally, bags never fit as much stuff as I want them to. After years of abusing bags by hauling around way too much -- having an exhausting 20 pounds worth of stuff and busting each bag I get in about a semester or two -- I'm making an effort to pack more conservatively (and distribute weight better). Most of the time, it means I have to read more at home to carry fewer books. But it saves my back and my bag.

brain drain

coffee beans

I'm looking over Temescal now myself, since I'm probably working in that neighborhood this summer. Someone was talking about living there on my bus ride today -- they said it's a little funky, but they like it.

I won't miss commuting 50 miles round-trip each weekday by public transportation. Especially since fare increases and service cuts have simultaneously made it less of a bargain and messed up my schedule by getting rid of buses I took and making my transfers take longer. I won't miss being told by financial aid offices that I should take out loans, because everybody does and it's the normal thing to do...and being treated like I'm a brat because I've tried so hard not to. The first thing I heard from the FAO loan guy at my Berkeley graduate student info session was, "Don't come see me unless you absolutely have to!" Totally refreshing encouragement for a change.

coffee jelly

bad storm

Wow, I didn't know Berkeley had one of these, thanks! It could scare anybody -- but after looking at Oakland's, this is okay. My area is pretty good. Just a bunch of noise disturbances (those are everywhere, haha) and drunkenness in public. It is interesting to take note of where the more disturbing crimes occurred.

Chinese food

...Did you take Moran & Walker's Los Angeles vs. San Francisco American Studies / Geography course? Sounds like it! We were all into analyzing metropolitan detective novels and films like "Chinatown." That segment of the course was really fun. What was your major? I'm more familiar with Davis (big fan -- sunshine and noir) than Klein, and it's been awhile. Did Klein have anything to do with mind maps people drew from memory, to visually represent places through how people felt about them? I.e. important or scary places / buildings drawn larger, insignificant ones drawn smaller, favorite / known places in more detail, less-known in less detail...etc. Or did that team not involve him? Because that was really interesting. I love historical sites in video games! Did you look into Final Fantasy at all? I just adjusted my thesis topic at mid-terms. It's stressful to change course, but now my thesis is more doable. What did you change your topic to?