Howdy folks. These pics are already up on Brad's site but I thought I'd jack them and put them on my site...
Here's what I saw after setting foot on campus. A huge crowd at the Finger Fountain on the north end of campus. This gives you a great idea of how big an event this was. It really was insane!
Laura & I near the Finger Fountain. Brandon is there in the background (left) looking like he's staring at someone else.
Carie & I also at the Finger Fountain. She unsuccessfully tried to get me to jump into the fountain. If I were properly dressed, I probably would've...alas, jeans & sweater are not the way to go for an event like this.
Senor Tallon and myself (again at the Finger Fountain...lots of pics were taken here cuz there were so many people here).
Melony and a bunch of Paris Peeps: Lisa, Me, Kim, Brad, Katie, Sunshine & 'Cisco.
Carlos, some guy, Brad, Me & 'Cisco. Finally a pic not at the Finger Fountain! This was actually outside of Leavey Library.
Brad & Kim at an unnamed fountain near the Finger Fountain.
Maria, Christophe & Brad slip sliding in the (drained) Reflecting Pool outside of Leavey.
Me, Paul & Brad at the fountain in Alumni Park (outside Doheny Library).
Me, Brad & 'Cisco contemplating climbing the statue in the middle of the drained E-Quad fountain (Engineering!!!). We decided not to because it was pretty slippery.
Well kiddies, that was that. It was a surprisingly fun event to be a part of and I definitely felt like I was part of a class for the first time at SC since the Freshman year dinner/luau thing at McCarthy Quad. Here's to the beginning of the end! Take care everyone and, for all you SC students, best of luck on finals!
Howdy yawl. To celebrate my last ever class as an Undergraduate, we (the usual suspects: Darren, Priscilla, Brandon & myself) headed out to dinner at Claim Jumper. Here's what was on the menu:
We split two orders of the "Ore Cart" between the 4 of us. The Ore Cart came with beef ribs, pork ribs, a rotisserie chicken, garlic cheese toast and roasted vegetables.
As if that huge dish wasn't enough, we split the "Motherlode" 6-layer cake for dessert. This sucker was HUGE! The picture only shows half of the cake (we ate the other half before remembering to take a pic).
Damn good food if you ask me. I haven't had this since freshman year but I'm sure glad I got to come back here before it's all over.
Just to quickly mention the other event of the evening (I gotta grab pics from Brad, Katie, 'Cisco, etc)...Fountain Run! The graduating seniors got together to celebrate the end of an amazing four years by running around to all the fountains on campus and going for a swim. I feel really bad about wearing jeans and a sweater and not going in for even just a quick dip. I'll make up for my poor form some other way. It was, however, lots of fun to see everyone running around and just having a blast. While I've really been ready to graduate and move on (despite the high probability that I'll still be getting my learn on in grad school), tonight really made me sit back and appreciate this special time of my life. College really only comes round once (well, the undergraduate experience at least) and I feel blessed to have met so many wonderful people. I really will miss this place and everyone who I've met while I've been here. [End Nostalgia]
Finally, I'd like to congratulate my BME 416 Final Project group for an outstanding Presentation. We did a remarkable job and I'd like to thank everyone (even if most of you guys probably will never read this blog). On that note, cheers and good night.
I'm not sure exactly how many of you out there have read and enjoyed Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, but it was one of the most enjoyable books I've ever read. It was just one of those books that I could not put down. I certainly think it was even more special that I not only read the book while I was in Europe but I also got to see many of the things mentioned in the book! I certainly hope anyone visiting here has read the books, otherwise the little ensemble of pics below, taken during my travels, could be a bit "spoilerish"...you have been warned.
L->R: 1) If you look carefully, you can see the Da Vinci Code book on top of the night stand in my family's room during our Mediterranean Cruise. 2) Blade & Chalice. 3) A Smart Car. 4) The Mona Lisa herself. 5) A tomb inside Westminster Abbey. 6) Saint-Sulpice Church. 7) Musee du Louvre.
In any case, I digress. The point here is that it was a fascinating read and it really captured my imagination unlike any other book within the past few years (in fact, it started a bit of a personal reading frenzy). In a little under a month, they will be releasing the movie adaptation with Tom Hanks. I think they did an excellent job of casting Sophie (Audrey Tautou), Teabing (Sir Ian McKellen) and Bishop Aringarosa (Alfred Molina). The all really look the part. Choosing Tom Hanks as Langdon really didn't seem to be the best choice though I am at a loss as to who my ideal candidate would be. With each further trailer release, I find myself less and less agitated by the casting decision. I'll reserve my final judgment for after seeing his performance.
As a handy bit of promotion for the movie, Google is currently running a contest, known as the Da Vinci Code Quest. Starting last week, a puzzle will be released daily until May 11. The first 10,000 to finish all 24 puzzles will beeligiblee for a second round competition during which the person who can solve a few more puzzles the quickest will win a substantial prize that includes both European travel benefits and a ton of Sony electronics. I encourage any of you out there who like challenging puzzles and the Da Vinci Code to enter the competition to see if you just might possibly have a sharp enough wit to snare some cool prizes. Even if you don't win the grand prize, if you finish in the top 10,000 you get a cool little replica Cryptex.
You can enter the competition here (assuming you reside in the US, UK or Oz). This site is a pretty handy resource. Even though it looks like your normal everyday blog, it is actually owned by the movie studio. The official site is also an excellent resource with a ton of hidden features as well (onoccasionn, the puzzles will even refer you to the official site). Best of luck to you all and I hope to see some of you in the final round!
Well, it certainly is no Parisian METRO that we all know and love, but it's a decent effort. Tonight marked my second trip on the public rail system here in Los Angeles. During freshman year, we caught a ride on the Red Line out to Universal City Walk. This evening, we rode on the recently constructed Gold Line to Pasadena.
Darren, Priscilla, Brandon & I had a lovely dinner at Gordon Biersch (garlic fries!!!) where I had the tasty Mushroom & Swiss burger pictured below (you can even see my side salad in the upper left corner).
After dinner, we walked on over to the frozen yoghurt shop 21 Choices (sorta like Coldstone but with yoghurt instead). Pretty darn good with very generous portions! I chose, clockwise from top, Vanilla Roasted Almond, Cool Irish Bailey's (coffee with a hint of Bailey's Irish creme) and White Chocolate Cookies & Creme. I can't believe this was my first time I there...
Well, I'm glad I had a night of fun. It's been a long hiatus and awhile since I put up a quality post (the fallen tree one was a bit subpar) so I apologize for that. I really hope I'll have some time to have a bit more fun while I'm here in LA and I'll do my best to put up a post that is at least half as long as my Sydney post before graduation...
Just to update you on my life here, my University of Auckland application is currently in progress (I submitted the online portion and am awaiting them to send me the rest of it) and my USC app has been submitted (with a GRE waiver might I add...thank goodness I don't have to waste $115 and 4 hours of my life on that). Nothing really happening on the job search end. I'm happy with my single application to Stryker to be a design engineer in Ireland. Wouldn't that really be something if I got that...
In any case, next week is the last week of classes and then it's just a matter of finishing 5 final exams before graduation. I most definitely can't wait for that. Here's to the sprint to the finish. Best of luck to my fellow graduating seniors and take care everyone!
While sitting in class today listening to presentations, we were loudly interrupted by a crashing noise. A quick look out the window would reveal the source of the sound. Low and behold, it's been so windy today that a tree was knocked over. This isn't the windiest weather I've been in, nor is that tree a lightweight (the trunk is pretty darn thick) so it's a bit surprising to see. Thankfully, no one was injured and campus security was promptly on the scene.
Yeah, so it has been pretty lousy weather the past couple of days and hopefully things will be more like today (sans wind and accompanying wind chill). I've been fairly busy with various exams and projects so not a whole lot of time to have fun. I've also been looking at after graduation options during my free time. Only a few more weeks till the end of the semester. In many ways, I just can't wait. Take care everyone, I'll be in touch.
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