Up at 4, Asleep by 9

This is my new schedule. I am out of the house by 5 and I get home a little before 6. I am at the work site by 7 and I leave a little after 4. The time unaccounted for is given to arduous task of commuting from Brooklyn to Hicksville.

Today, I attended my first meeting with a few of the guys. I now feel like I have a sense of what is going on; I feel I have a sense of purpose. What I learned from this meeting was that these folks were rather informal (which I love) and that they weren't very different from the engineering groups I became accustomed to this summer (i.e. homework groups with Taylor, Stephen, Jonathan, and ocassionally Anderson). Besides a few acronyms here and some jargon there, I was relatively comfortable. Let's see how tomorrow goes.... Bright and early.

iReady, uReady?

We are now on AT&T. I am now on an iPhone.

iReady is a reference to the silly (more like, stupid) attempt by AT&T to facilitate iPhone purchasing plans and activation. Its name screams to be made fun of. And so we did.

Driving in Brooklyn

There be some crazy drivers in this city.

National Grid

Work starts on Monday.

Am I mentally ready? Maybe.
Am I technically ready? Probably not.
Am I AutoCAD savvy? Not yet.
Will the first day of work be fun? Doubt it.
Will any day of work be fun? Maybe, but highly unlikely.
Do I miss the people at Cornell? Yes.

Do I hate it when people ask very long rhetorical questions and then answers them right after? YES! Please, don't do it! It is annoying and can easily mislead the listener with such a succint answer (of 'Yes,' for example) when the original direction of the question has been already forgotten.

Boating on Cayuga Lake

In perhaps the best way to end the COOP Summer Session, we celebrated Stephen's birthday early by going boating and tubing on Cayuga Lake.

I was reluctant to get myself wet, but once I fell in when I was going from the boat to tube(somehow), I no longer cared and enjoyed it. I fell in a second time while we were tubing (again, somehow). I was soaked. And I forgot what it was like to have to actually have to swim; it was not as pleasant an experience as the rest of today's little excursion.

P.S. Prior to this, we took a trip to the local McDonald's for a celebratory McFlurry, milkshake, and sundae. It was awesome.

P.P.S. I misplaced my old-time Nike cap amid the fun and only realized it was missing one the way back in the "Engineering Car" (i.e. Taylor's car). I miss it already, but I will probably miss the Cornell and Ithaca even more.

Il Finale

About I:

I will be departing from Ithaca at around 9:00 am Saturday. I should be home by late Saturday afternoon. I cannot wait to go home, but I am not ready to leave Cornell and Ithaca just yet. As fun and eventful this summer has been, I can't help but still feel that much of the time has been squandered and that there were many missed opportunities. I have learned a lot this summer, not only about Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer, but also about how I see myself as a mechanical engineer in the future, and what is further required of me as a life-long student. I am both enthusiastic and anxious, but probably more of the latter.

About Numbers:

1. Heat Transfer Final was today afternoon.
2. Structures Final is tomorrow morning.
3. I will have just Friday night to pack then.
4. I start work on the the 25th.
5. Note to self: Tomorrow is also the last day of Ming Yuan Summer Camp.

Beijing Olympics Online

Here are a few links that I found useful and interesting when following this year's Beijing Olympics online:

NBC Olympics Live Video Streams

Beijing 2008 Live Results and Brackets

NBC Olympics Medal Standings
Beijing 2008 Official Medal Standings (Detailed)

NBC Olympics Comprehensive Schedule
NYT Interactive Olympic Events Schedule

I am Away from my Computer Right Now

This is the last day I will be working at the CIT HelpDesk for the summer. I will not be around during the Fall, so the next time I will return will be for the Spring semester (2009).

I will miss it sorely.

Today at work, I watched a video feed of the Beijing Opening Ceremony on justin.tv. I cannot wait until I get back tonight to watch it over again, at a high quality than the web. The show was nothing short of spectacular and "kick-ass", as I'd like to say.

Licensed to Drive

I passed without flying colors. With no colors at all, in fact. None except the golden exterior of my $50-per-hour instructor's 2008 Honda Accord.

I committed a few minor mistakes I had never done before in the 8 hours of significant driving practice (only!). One of them, stupidly enough, was signaling. The other, I care not to mention. But all is well now.

I just can't wait to go home.

Driving Tomorrow

My road test is tomorrow. I am not nervous, but I am not absolutely confident either. I handle regular driving around very well. The only thing I am a little worried about is the parallel parking and my lack of driving experience (even though I do quite well).

We'll see. And wish me luck.

Partial Integration, of the Non-Math Variety

I finally was able to successfully bring the blog into the USuMBS template. I aim to finish the details of it soon. Maybe even tonight, although I should really be studying.

'Feeling Good' Update

I have not hit a brick wall yet and it is already a quarter past 2!