Monthly Archives: November 2010

I found the academic advisement to be very helpful because it clarified what classes are required to take. It laid out the course requirements very clearly and I was able to understand it completely. It taught me where to find what classes I need to take on the website. This made me feel a little calmer about registering for my classes since I was a bit confused. The person who presented all this information was very articulate in presenting and made all the information easy to understand. This was one workshop that definitely had a lasting impression on me because it will help me in my future semesters here with registering for classes.

I was glad that we had a presentation about the classes we had to take and registration. I was confused about what i had to take and what to do. I feel that this presentation helped many freshman students figuring out what to do. Registration is a new thing to us, especially because we were basically handed our classes and schedules for the fall semester. For me, this process is overwhelming! The presenter did a great job explaining everything we needed to know. I know now to go on the website and I can get a list of everything I need to know, which I use when I am trying to figure out what classes to take.

I wish we did this in freshman seminar though. Instead of that one time we went over about presentations and resumes and job interviews, we should have went over any questions we had for registration because I know most of the class had many questions.

I hatedd the walk there:/ The museum looked nice but I had to wait till 11 (opening time) I was surprised to find Buddhist and Hindu gods(?) in the museum, the thing the struck out to me themost was the piles of rice and a random pile of curry powder (i think) i had no idea what that was for but it was a unique aspect to the museum

i really didn’t know how to appreciate artworks so i didn’t come out with much besides a orange ticket. Places with exhibits (museums, zoos, aquariums) bore me so i was glad to just walk around and just leave.

…I-I have no idea. Just wanted to add something to the post so it won’t look sooooo plain.

When I arrived at the Rubin Museum, I saw little children in their carriages and also running around. Must be a family trip, I guess. I don’t think children that young (5-7 year olds?) would be interested in the arts the Rubin Museum has to offer. Eh whatever.

The Rubin Museum pretty consisted of various religious arts from Hindu Gods to Buddhism. They were pretty cool and it’s interesting to wonder how people of the past made sculptures with minimal tools. The colors on cloth were so vibrant and all painters used were pigments probably mixed with water,  unlike today where color comes in a tube. What I liked most were the stairs. They were pretty spiral stairs leading up to the top with a cool hanging ornament. Of course, one can’t leave the museum without checking out the gift shop. I bought a really cute mini Bighorn Sheep. 🙂 I like cute things.

The Mishkin museum was very interesting. It had many types of abstract and geometrical art pieces. Most of the pieces reminded me of Pablo Picasso’s artwork. I recommend anyone with a taste for abstract art to go their, they’ll enjoy it.

They weren’t bitter at all but they kinda seemed bored. The reason why I went was not only because we had to go but because charles li was going to be there. I really enjoyed his book and the struggles he went through. When i got there there were other people up there with him. I ended up not paying attention as i could barely hear and others were doing the same. I expected it to be ONLY charles li but guess not. Besides that what he said was inspirational. Honestly not much was learned from this, but i did get to see and hear what an author had to say.

… to try the food from the Cafe. Haha =x. (I’m not kidding.)

My first thought upon entering the Rubin Museum of Art was the appetite-enticing aroma that lingered in the air. Their Cafe was located on the ground floor, and it just smelled so good! I would’ve definitely sat down to try something on the menu if I wasn’t in a rush.

Anyways, I also noticed how serene the environment was, which was completely opposite from my past museum experiences. The museum wasn’t crowded at all, and it felt a bit too quiet when I constantly heard heels clicking on the floor.

I really loved the decor of the museum overall. The center spiral staircase was beautiful. I actually tripped a little while walking down the steps because my eyes were too busy admiring the way the stairs spiraled up. Additionally, The displays were very interesting. I was really excited when I saw a statue of some elephant god (my favorite animal is elephants). I was also amazed by another display of painting tools. It was of little plates holding crushed minerals and ores in different colors, and it showed some of the rocks its whole too. It’s so cool how that’s the way people painted with colors in the past.

I felt that the STARR workshop covered some very helpful material, but at the same time, I felt like I’ve heard the same things before. I have attended similar workshops before so I was doing my crossword puzzle half the time. I was very happy to know that I can get my resume reviewed at one of the offices (I forgot the name). It doesn’t apply to me yet though, since my resume is outdated.

Actually, come to think of it, I’ve never actually used my resume for my internships or interviews before. Well, I did fill out other forms though, which somewhat counts as a resume. I’ve heard from somewhere before that most people get their jobs through networking and other connections, rather than sending out sugarcoated resumes and cover letters. All my previous jobs were referred from friends. The only problem is that they’re not what I would want to do for the rest of my life. I only see these jobs as ways to gain experience until I enter my real career though.

So until then… I have two options for myself.
1. Meet someone who’s in the field I want to join.
2. Come up with a really good resume.
… I hope it’ll be the first one =D

At the academic workshop four individuals spoke about their different life experiences. Charles N. Li, Katrin Hansing, Tashi Chodron, and Bruce Payne each discussed and speculated their lives in light of their experiences with identity and diversity. In this way, the Academic Enrichment workshop encompassed the ideas of our Freshmen Seminar class: self-identity. Although I could relate to most of the panel speakers because I am from another country, I did not experience my country in the same way that they did. Coming to America at age one feels no different from actually being born here, but something I could fully relate with is the fact that we are all different individuals living in a diverse world seeking to find out who we are through our life experiences.

I’ve never had the chance to meet an author before (though I did get to take a picture with a celebrity once**), so I guess it was pretty cool meeting Charles Li during the workshop. I must admit, I didn’t actually finish reading The Bitter Sea, but the part that I did read, was very touching and inspirational. I was even more inspired when Charles Li talked about how he came to find his identity in person.

**So about that time I took a picture with a celebrity… My parents and I were at Atlantic City for a concert, and when the concert ended, we went to eat. It just so happened that at the table next to us… was the singer who performed! He’s some Chinese singer and I’m not even sure what his name is, haha. I was very young at the time, maybe around 8, so I shamelessly went over to him with my cousin and asked for a picture. He was glad to take the picture with us… but here comes the stupid part: the picture was taken on his camera only. So to this day, I clearly remember the experience, but I’ll never see the picture again. =( This was totally irrelevant… but just a thought. Haha, I think I have A.D.D.

Identity. I’ve always felt like my identity is derived from everything around me rather than myself. I guess that it’s only natural, for people to be influenced by their surroundings, but it makes me wonder about who I really am. I feel like the morals of movies and stories have too much of an impact on how I see life. In a way, it’s good because it has made me a very optimistic and cheerful person. At the same time, I wonder if it’s really ME at all.

I don’t think I will ever settle with a certain identity though. I’m more than words can describe =).