new and improved

I've had my blackberry tour for the past 2 years. We've been through it all. I got it at the end of my sophomore year in college. It feels like I've had it even longer than that. I still remember getting it in the mail. It was a great feeling at the time. It was my first "cool" phone that I've had. I remember at the time having a cooler phone than everyone else. Everyone either had an older blackberry or some phone that didn't live up to mine.

But as the months and then years passed by, father time started to creep up on my blackberry. Eventually, I just had another phone. And nowadays, you can even say that my blackberry is pretty primitive. With all the droids and iphones out there, my blackberry just hasn't been cutting it. But its time to move on.

The other day, I finally got my iphone in the mail. It was a great feeling. It was kind of a similar feeling I had when I got my blackberry. But to be honest, it wasn't as great of a feeling. Everyone has an iphone so I'm kind of just another person out there. Its all good though. Im happy with my new device. So now, I can be classified as a mac fanboy. I got my macbook the other week. Now I have my iphone. What else is there to do?

friday night lights

So before the big trip to the tank on Saturday morning, I had to go through Friday. Friday was actually a big day as well for me. It was this way for 2 reasons. First, we had training for the new APAs (academic peer advisors). Essentially, as a current APA, we passed the torch down to the newbies who will be taking our place in the Fall. It was actually a pretty fun experience. We showed them the ropes around the office. We told about who we are and what we do. I could tell that the internship is in good hands with these future APAs. (not as good as our group but who is)

So after the big training session that we had on Friday, we had an APA party on friday night. It turned out to be really fun. I had a great time. It was cool to spend an evening with this group of people who are very similar to me. We never really all got to spend time together so it was cool. We hung out at one of the advisors house and then went to the beach. We took a lot of pics and played some volleyball. Then we hung out and talked a bit before heading out. Great time with great people.

my summer things to do

Graduation is finally around the corner. I figured that I should talk about my plans for the summer. and o yes, there are many of them. I think im justified in planning all these things to do for the summer. I am going to medical school in the fall. Im finishing college. Essentially, its my last free summer of my life. I hope that is not the case but it is extremely possible.

First and foremost, the top list of things to do this summer is to go to Vegas. Im planning a trip with probably 5 of my friends to go to Vegas in June. We figured that since were all graduating, we all deserve it. Its probably going to be expensive. But if were going to splurge on something, we figured it should be Vegas. This is probably my biggest goal for the summer. If anything else, it will set the tone for the rest of the summer.

The rest of my plans include basically having a lot more fun. I plan on driving down to florida with my family. I plan on going camping. Im probably going to take a trip to the jersey shore. Maybe go to atlantic city. I will probably also go to the city (manhattan) for a few nights and just enjoy all that the city has to offer. Thats pretty much it for the fun plans for the summer.

list of my friends things to do this summer

this was communicated to me from one of my fellow APA (academic peer advisers)

-paint my car on my own

-start applying to law schools (including preparing for LSATS)

-read a whole stack of books

-convert to a mac person

-get a job (at least a summer job in the meantime)

(will continue to update this list)

the tank aftermath

So towards the end of the tank, I started to really think about the experience we all had that day. It felt great at the end of the performances when it was all over. It felt good to see that all the hard work that we put in throughout the semester had finally paid off.

I know that the kinect was no longer being utilized after a few performances. But to be perfectly honest, it did not feel like that really took away from the work that was done. Watching the kinect being used throughout the semester in class, I know what we are capable of doing. I witnessed the fact that we can in fact control music and videos by moving our arms up and down. Even in rehearsal, we saw that it can be done.

So the fact that it was not fully executed to perfection during the actual performance doesnt really take away from it for me. In some sense, it might be a present in disguise. It's something that we can work on for the future. Even the gentlemen who spoke at the end said that Stony Brook is so far ahead in what we were doing. We showed what we are capable of doing and it felt great to just be a part of it.

the tank experience

I ended up arriving at the tank at 10 on the dot. I was one of the first ones there. When I got there, the actors were practicing their parts on the stage. On the inside of the tank, it was definitely not what I expected. The place in general had a very theatrical feel to it. The room was dark, the stage had an epic feel to it. It's not what I expected at all, but it was a really cool place.

I decided not to get any drinks at the tank. I figured that I'd be drinking later on that day anyways. No need to get too crunk that early in the day. Anyways, back to the show. The actors were practicing their lines for the first hour and a half. I enjoyed sitting there and watching them practice. It was cool to see a lot of the work they put into it culminating in the end here.

So the show began at around 1145. I can really say that all of the performances were really well done. Some performances were longer than others. But in the end, all of the performers did very well. Some stories drew larger applauses and some drew more laughs. But it was readily apparent that each actor put a lot of work into it.

trip to the tank

So I took the train to the tank. I actually had a party the night before, and got in to my apartment in stony brook pretty late. So I went to bed around 4am the night before (not a good idea). I actually had to wake up at around 7am the day of the gig. I drove to Valley Stream, which is where I live. I went to the train station, ate some breakfast at Penn Station and got into the city.

I then walked to the tank, which was about a 10 minute walk in actuality. It was actually a really nice walk. It's not too often that I just go into the city to walk around. If I would go into the city, it would be for something specific. Maybe for food, maybe to a club, maybe just to hang out with friends, or maybe for a basketball game at Madison Square garden. But its rare for me to go into the city just to walk around.

It's a shame because the city is a great place to be. It's fun. Theres a lot of people, places and things to see. I got to the city around 915 ish. I did that on purpose actually. I wanted to just enjoy the city for what it is. I probably sound like a tourist right now, but I'm not really. I go to the city pretty often actually. But like I said before, i rarely go in just to walk around.

going into the tank

To be completely honest, I really did not know what to expect going into the tank. I had that feeling pretty much throughout the entire semester. But you know what, that feeling of somewhat clueless was actually a good thing. You know the age old expression, "ignorance is bliss." I cant really say that ignorance the complete accurate word to describe it. I mean, our class was the one who basically put on the show. It was OUR gig. So "ignorance" is not the right word. But it's along those lines.

I knew the material we had going into it. We had actors. They had stories. We had the kinect, all of its codes and hacks. We had a few projectors. We had sounds. We had videos. We had that cool mind reading device. We had smartphones. We had a lot of things going on. It was our work that basically made the show. The thing I was confused about going into the tank was how it would come together; how we would really pull it off.

the last one

This is it. Blog #50. What to say in blog 50... its tough. I feel like i exhausted all of my thoughts and opinions about every possible subject. I remember at the beginning of the year when we were assigned the 50 blogs. All I could think about was Wow, I am never going to finish 50 blogs.

But it turns out that it wasnt as bad as I had originally thought. It's probably because I never really blogged before. It's my first time blogging and vlogging as well. But after doing it all, I realized that it's a cool experience. Im glad that I did it. I know that I will look back on it in the future. I'll probably look at how different things are now compared to what they will be like down the line.

It's kind of sad finishing this last blog. It's been such a long journey. Graduation is coming up in a few weeks. Finals are coming up. The gig at the tank is tomorrow morning. Everything is like coming to a halt, and its all coming down really fast. Well for now, that's it. Til next time....

vlog 49

http://youtu.be/uukd-LSWeos

vlog 48

http://youtu.be/mAUDkvSxuG4

vlog 47

http://youtu.be/cu0MLuURWVk

vlog 46

http://youtu.be/hjBhbGhiXW8

vlog 45

http://youtu.be/aOSgLQhglWY

vlog 44

http://youtu.be/mLe17bRVb18

roth regatta

Last Friday was the annual Roth Pond Regatta at Stony brook in the roth quad like the name suggests. This is my 4th year at Stony brook and my 3rd year attending the regatta. (Wasnt much of school spirited person my first year) But this year, its different. Instead of just watching the boat race like i usually do, i have participated in the festivities this year.

In collaboration with the advising center, we have built a pretty nice boat for the regatta. It was definitely one of the more realistic looking boats out there. It was of very high quality and has a lot of thing anchoring it adding to the sturdiness. We actually spent a few hundred dollars on supplies for the boat. (maybe a bit over the top but its all for fun) I would say that we spent about a month-ish building the boat. We put in a few hours every week until the day of the race where the final construction was done.

Then came the big day last Friday. I was part of the "land crew". Basically, it was my job to help get the boat in the water and give it a good push off. I think i did a pretty good job if I do say so myself. Our team came in 3rd place in the yacht class, which was pretty good since there were 48 boats competing. It was a great way to end the year. It was just fun to build the boat and compete, but getting 3rd place is like icing on the cake.

last week

Today is Wednesday, the 11th of May....which means that school is ending tomorrow for me since I don't have any Friday classes. Not only is this semester ending, but my career as an undergraduate student is ending tomorrow as well. WOW. It's definitely a sad moment but joyful at the same time. But it's time to move on.

It's sad because i'm moving on from stony brook university. a lot of people have a lot of bad things to say about stony brook but i really enjoyed my time here. i've met a lot of great people, done a lot of cool things and it's all coming to an end. It's kind of weird because its like life is about to start when i finish college. im going to be going to medical school and all the fun is over.

But at the same time, that's where the joyful aspect of it comes into play. im really exited to be going to medical school even though i kno itll be tough. i guess that bittersweet is the right word to describe how i feel about this week. Not to mention the fact that finals are coming up which adds to the bitterness. It's so overwhelming to think of. I remember my last day of high school like it was yesterday and now my last day of college is coming up.....wow

mac'ed up

Last week, i made one of the biggest and most risky transitions that a person can make in life. I acquired a macbook pro. I made the switch from my awesome dell xps to a macbook after realizing that i needed a new computer. My old dell has been great to me. We've been through a lot of tough and rough times together. But i knew that it was time to move on. The macbook has some huge shoes to fill. I've had my dell for 4 years; all through college and it still functions like its new.

So onto new things. I got a macbook after hearing nonstop from my friend who is a mac fanboy, how amazing his macbook, ipad, and iphone are. But the decision was by no means an easy one sided one. I really tried to do all i could to fight that decision to get the macbook. I was extremely close to getting another dell xps. If it aint broke, why fix it? But to counter that argument, people have told me that it's time to upgrade and not stay the same.

I've heard from countless people that a macbook not only changes your computer experience, but your life in general. I think thats an exaggeration but im willing to give it a try. At least no one can say that i didnt try. So far, the macbook has been great. It's only been a week but i'm not regretting the decision in any way. Hopefully, it doesnt let me down.

academic advising

So for this blog, i'm going to talk about being an academic adviser. i actually always meant to blog about it, but i haven't gotten around to it. Also, i've been saving it because i really like being an academic adviser. i became an academic adviser last year. at first, i was very skeptical about it. I had not really heard about it before. this whole concept was new to me. it was also very intimidating: did i really want to be advising other students with potentially life changing decisions.

Those were the risks that i had to deal with when i applied for the position as an APA (academic peer adviser). It turns out that it was well worth it. Part of my job responsibilities includes working at the front desk of the advising center, advising students on regisration, and teaching a class for first year transfer students. Students really look up to me in my ADV 101 class, and it feels great to be able to make their transition to stony brook an easier one.

All in all, it is an experience that i'm glad i became a part of. It is a huge time commitment; being a full time student as well, but it is well worth it. I've met some awesome people in the advising center as well as students who came in to the advising center. We also built a boat for the Roth pond regatta (which came in 3rd place out of 48 boats). So not only has it been constructive, but it's been a whole lot of fun as well.

spring break

Spring break is always that time of year that everyone looks forward to. The weather outside is finally starting to get nice; everyone is tired of school and the end is coming up soon; for some, graduation is right around the corner. So spring break is the time for a lot of people to just relax and take it all in before the final stretch.

Unfortunately for me, my spring break had been anything but relaxing and joyful. I had a genetics test the day after spring break. Of course, I have to pass, and do well in genetics to go to medical school so there was a lot of pressure on me for this test. So my spring break has been pretty stressful to say the least.

Pretty much every night I have been spending at least 3 hours studying for this (stupid) test. It's pretty annoying to have a test right after spring break actually. You'd figure that the professors would do what it takes to avoid such a situation so that we could at least enjoy our spring breaks. O well, the joys of being a pre med student. In some way, it probably has some benifit because it prepares me for the vigor of med school in the future.