The Masochist's Institute of Technologyanecdotes of an ambitious MIT student

There are many things in life that irk me, but as of late I’ve been trying my hardest not to complain too much about them. It’s actually working too – just today I refrained from whining too much about a colleague’s broken promise. Although sometimes it’s difficult to play the part of a momentary martyr by letting someone’s faults slide by, in the end I feel much more accomplished. It’s definitely a greater challenge to put aside grudges than to fight back, but I’m working on it =)

However, while I was calming myself, I started realizing that most of my annoyances can be easily categorized into a few select categories. I’ve decided to reflect a bit on them and how I can handle others who exhibit these traits.

Pet peeve #1: indecisive people

So which one will you choose? You look so confused.
Tell me the truth: do you know what you want?
- “Do You Know What You Want”, by M2M

I absolutely despise indecisive people (well, not really the people, just this particular trait in them). I am indecisive at times as well, but at least I make concrete decisions (which are “subject to change”). However, when I ask a person something like, “Are you available at 2pm today?” and the answer is, “Ummmm,” suffice to say I am not exactly pleased. Especially for someone who likes to write out everything in her planner, having someone spend 20 minutes deciding whether they are going to attend my event or not is super irritating.

Several of my friends are definitely guilty of this, but I’ve been trying to help them get past it as well. I’ve been very systematic in my approach, for example, asking them to list out their options and rationally eliminating enough to get to a decisive answer. This is the approach I take for most of my decisions, and it works wonders. Good luck to those who are in need of more assertiveness and decisiveness in their lives! =p

Pet peeve #2: people with lack of ambition

JUMP JUMP take off しようぜ！ 天使の羽を広げたら
(Jump, jump, let’s take off! I have the wings of an angel)
見上げれば 未来 Boys＆Girls! Be Ambitious
(If you look up, there’s the future. Boys and girls, be ambitious!)
– “Ambitious！野心的でいいじゃん” by Morning Musume

“Ambition” (also known as aspiration, goals, or any other similar variant) is one of the highest qualities that I value in a person. Naturally, the opposite is also true – I am not a fan at all of people who lack ambition. I’m not saying everyone should aspire to be the next Steve Jobs or Donald Trump, but at the very least people should try to do the best in whatever they decide to devote themselves towards. I have some friends who are set on becoming rich investment bankers in competitive firms, and that’s awesome. I have friends who want to work with cancer research; that’s great! On the flip side, I have some friends who really want to be fashion designers or professional cake decorators. While not quite as lucrative a career as a biomedical engineer or investment banker, I still support their decisions because they seem very enthusiastic and excited about their jobs. Not everyone wants the cut-throat pressure of Wall Street or wants to deal with extremely challenging work every day, and I acknowledge this. The cake decorator that devotes her time to learning new techniques, improves her style, and actively seeks jobs still deserves respect in my book. However, the student who doesn’t attend college because they “don’t see the need” and then end up working as a cashier in Wal-Mart for a meager income? That is a lack of ambition, and it irks me when my closest friends sometime express ideas like it.

Especially here at MIT, it’s sad to see a lack of ambition because we are sitting here at the breeding ground for brilliant people! Someone (whether your parents, donators, or federal aid) is paying for your Ivy-equivalent education, and it’s not cheap. Why waste someone’s hard work by squandering away your time on useless activities (like watching comedy shows all day long?) That time could be better spent on reading, learning new material, planning your upcoming semester, attending student group obligations (see pet peeve #3 below) or even socializing with friends (you learn a lot from other people). I just hope that people here would create goals and then actively start striving for them; I want friends on the same level of ambition as I do, so that we can help push each other to attain greatness =)

Pet peeve #3: skipped rehearsals (with no good excuses)

悔しくて　泣いた日もある
(There were painful days when I cried)
学校とレッスンの両立にあきらめた日もある
(There were also days when I lost my balance of school and rehearsals)
だけどアンコールがどこかで聞こえた
(However, I could hear the encore no matter where I was.)
– “初日”, by AKB48 Team B

I’m just being petty here, but ever since ADT started I realized how incredibly frustrating it is to do formations and practice when people aren’t present at rehearsals. Seriously, you have no idea how annoying it is when you expect 6 people to show up and only 2 actually do. From this point on, I swear I will no longer miss a rehearsal for any of my groups (Dance Revelasian, Concert Choir, Chinese Choral Society) unless I have a very good and legit reason (sickness, company interview, etc.)  Now I understand why Adam used to get so annoyed when all the violins decided to miss MITSO rehearsal.

Really, everyone. Rehearsals pay off because after all that blood and sweat and tears (figuratively, of course), we can produce a really great showcase that everyone will love. This leads to better recognition of our group, more members, more funding to buy costumes, and nothing but good things will be said about us. So seriously, come to rehearsal! :D

First off, I’d like to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving. Hopefully as you continue your festivities today, you’ll remember that there are many, many people in the world far less fortunate than you are. There, then, lies the true spirit of Thanksgiving – appreciating what you have, when you have it… and helping those who need it most.

This year, I’d like to take a few moments to reflect on the events this year for which I am most thankful. Besides the typical items and people at the top of my list (family, friends, MIT), I am additionally thankful for:

1. The opportunity to perform at AnimeExpo 2009 with some of my Sekai no Melody members!
2. Landing an awesome research position at Harvard Business School
3. All of the amazing sisters I have met in Alpha Chi Omega – we’ve had so much fun together!
4. The relative success that the MIT Asian Dance Team has experienced these past few months
5. Getting interviews from at least four companies, along with a second-round from one particular…
6. Staying in relatively good health, despite the one-week flu in September
7. Being able to stay at such an awesome grad dorm over the summer (Sidney-Pacific), to where I truly felt happy to “come home” after a long day at work
8. Finding majors (14 and 15) that most fit my personality and strengths, and having a direction in life.
9. Realising that I can hit all (except the final one) of Christine’s high notes in Phantom of the Opera. Yay for expanding my range..!
10. For that matter, living within distance of an amazing karaoke studio
11. And for that matter, living in such an awesome city! MIT is literally right across the bridge from Boston, which is one of the most amazingly arts-rich and socialite-rich cities in New England.
12. The fact that I can spend Thanksgiving sitting here in front of my computer, listening to old Sekai no Melody Christmas albums and feeling comforted by the fact that I have a safe home, a great education, a supportive family, entertaining friends, and a full stomach =)

Of course, Thanksgiving isn’t all fun-and-relaxation. I want to spend these two days catching up on some work and beginning my campaign to get amazing grades in all of my classes. Here, then, are a few items I hope to tackle in the coming days:

• Complete 14.02 problem set #6
• Learn enough 14.02 to pass the last test with an A
• Learn enough 15.301 to pass the last test with an A
• Write portions of the 15.301 paper as time allows
• Knock out some mixing for Sekai no Melody
• Pack for my second-round interview, and prepare…
• … by learning a bunch of common/important algorithms
• Do really well at my interviews
• Have a lot of fun in Seattle when I’m not doing the above
• Purchase books and prepare for spring 2010 semester
• Black Friday shopping with Chao and Jason
• Plow through more of my LSAT practice books
• Finish my new wall of projects
• Relax and reflect on life in general
• Begin coding the website for MIT’s Panhel
• Begin coding the website for Komaza
• Begin coding my personal website (it’s been “under construction” long enough!)

Between moving in, wrapping up my summer jobs, and fraternizing with freshmen, I haven’t had a chance to blog very much lately. Here’s a quickie post to show you all some bits and pieces of my new room!

After living at Sidney-Pacific for nearly three months, I think I eventually became a little spoiled. I got used to the huge room size, the oversized desk, the squishy carpeted floors, and the lovely armoire (upon which was affixed a full-length mirror). When I moved back into Next House – and I’ll admit it now – I was slightly dejected. Especially when I tried arranging my room in the orientation that I had planned, only to find that it didn’t fit that way.

Here’s my desk! It looks much the same as it did last year, only now the printer is on the right side. It is strategically placed right in front of the door, so that when people enter they may immediately see the irritated look on my face. In addition, it makes it feel more “office-like”, which – via an excellent placebo effect – somehow makes me want to work harder. And yes, that is a Rolodex on my desk. I am so excited to start using it! Other noteworthy items: raspberry-scented air freshener, bowl of candy, Caran d’Ache rhodium-plated solid silver pencil my uncle Banh gave me (it’s on the other side of the printer).

Right behind the desk is my food alcove. As you can see, I’ve already gone grocery shopping and stocked up on some delicious foods. There’s also some leftovers from last year (soy sauce). The sequined calendar was made by my mother, but I haven’t gotten the chance to hang it up on the wall yet. It will be placed on the wall to the right of my desk for a nice, quick reference when needed. Unfortunately, the chest of drawers upon which all this stands isn’t as deep as the one I had last year…

Most rooms at MIT come equipped with one desk, one uncomfortable chair, one bed, and one bookshelf. Some dorms have a wardrobe (like Burton-Conner) while others have a closet + chest of drawers (like Next). Last year, I was somehow fortunate enough to have two bookshelves in my single, which meant that I could spread out my stuff. I ended up using one for books and one for foodstuffs and random knick-knacks. This year, I’ve had to cram everything into only one bookshelf. As you can see, I even had to stack some boxes (they contain my winter clothes) just to get my three shelves (for silverware, office supplies, and technology, respectively) at an appropriate level. I have sorted my books so that the academic-related ones are on top while leisure reading is in the middle (the bottom shelf contains class notes, folders, binders, etc.)

My closet looks much the same as last year – thank goodness my hanging cloth shelf hasn’t collapsed on me yet. I’m not quite sure what I would do without it. I’ve hung up my suits and fancier articles of clothing, while the two boxes contain random items (like my iron and hair dryer).

Awesome things about my room:

• My desk has really deep drawers, for some reason. It’s useful!
• I really like the setup – it’s a perfect blend of cozy (the left side, where my bed and shelves are) and professional (the right side, where my desk is located).
• I finally got my whiteboard hung up on the wall. How awesome is that?

Not-so-awesome things about my room:

• The bed is not raised. This is my main complaint, as I can’t store boxes underneath, and it’s no longer fun to “climb” into bed.
• Next House is blazingly hot in the summer, due to lack of air conditioning. I’ve had to leave the window constantly open, but that brings up another thing:
• I have no window shade. This really isn’t a problem though, because…
• The view from my window is nothing but a green mess of leaves from the trees in the courtyard.

The positive things far outweigh the negative, though, and I’m really happy to be back with the undergraduates again =) It’s also getting really lively around here; today is the first day of orientation and the campus is teeming with freshmen!