Journals

Thursday, March 30th, 2006

Spring Break! :) I am proud of myself since at least I relaxed. A whole day yesterday I went on a tour to Yosemite National Park. It is an exhausting, but fun day. I got up at 5am, prepared for the trip, then took off for Hyatt Regency Hotel in San Francisco, where the tour guy would pick me up. I came back to Berkeley at 11pm. Some of the things that i found interesting on the trip:

- My group: The couple on the left are from Poland. Then the family of three (standing right next to the couple) are from Wisconsin, USA. Next to the guy in red cap are the couple from Ukraine. Next to his mom is the lady from St Petersburg (old name: Leningrad), Russia. The right-most guy, and the guy sits right next to me, are from Australia. Lastly, the 10-year-old kid and his mom are from Indiana, USA. Such a diverse group.

- The Bear Proofed Stuffs: Everything outdoor here is Bear Proof. Unlike other places where people can just leave food unprotected, here, bears come after food, and sometimes attack people on their way. Therefore, food has to be concealed. This is where people can store their food, and this is for their trash. The top is designed so that no animal can open it.

- One of the most famous rock climbing site in the world: El Capitan (7569ft, 2307m). This is completely vertical, and looks hella intimidating. I don't understand why people would risk their lives climbing up this thing. Helicopter is just fine for me ^_^

- The three Falls that are in series of each other. The first one (called Upper Fall) flows from the top of the mountain into the Cone. Water from the Upper Fall freezes before reaching the ground, so the Cone contains only Ice, and people call this the largest Ice Cream Cone in the world :) . A little bit lower than this, the second one (the Middle Fall) starts, and ends before the Lower Fall starts. Someone might think of these as just one fall, but since they have 3 separates starts and ends, those should be considered as three. The lower one is off the photo.

Tuesday, March 28th, 2006

Went to the Vietnamese Consulate today to have my Passport extended. I got a major surprise when the lady at the reception desk could not speak/understand a single Vietnamese word. Although she's nice to help me in filling out the forms and everything, I still think it's a better idea for a VIETNAMESE consulate to have a receptionist who can understand VIETNAMESE.

After that, on the way back, I passed by the Grace Cathedral, and have a rest in there. I wonder why church always makes me depressed every single time I am in one.

Leaving the Cathedral, I walked to Union Square, trying to buy gifts and photo frames, but ends up only able to choose some greeting cards. What a unproductive afternoon, especially after considering the fact that I have to walk in the rain for almost 4 hours. San Francisco's rain sucks !!!!

Friday, March 24th, 2006

I watched something funny last night. This is a part of a Daily Shows chart about terms US President Bush used describing the Iraq war. On the right side is its real meaning. My favorite ones are the last two.

“DON’T LOSE HOPE” EUPHEMISM CONVERSION CHART

Political manuvering – giant air assault

Blessing of democracy – gunfire (targeted)

Open exchange of ideas – Gunfire (indiscriminate)

Spirit of Compromise – equal number of Shia and Sunni deaths

As they stand up, we will stand down – we are never standing down

Thursday, March 23rd, 2006

Wow, it's been such a long time since I actually write something on this site. Looking down the page, the most recent one was on September last year, at the beginning of Fall 2005 semester :). Now it is already near the end of Spring 2006, only 2 months away from graduation day. I apologize to anyone who actually tried to read my site but got disappointed for the total lack of updates.

Well, I'll be out of UC Berkeley real soon, and still find it hard to imagine. It was like yesterday when I arrived in LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) with my parents, and a huge pile of luggage. Uncle Loi, brother of Uncle Nhon, picked us up at the airport at 2 in the morning. It was so cold, three of us at a totally strange place, and mom was kind of sick after the 18h hour flight too. I did not know what to think at that time, my mind was totally blank. That was like the weirdest night I'd ever had so far. And look at where I am right now, graduating with honor from UC Berkeley, and the Department of Chemical Engineering, one of the most challenging department in the United States of America. It is like a dream comes true to me, except for that another tougher road will open ahead. I'm glad that I am able to survive on my own, and hope that the future will be bright. Thanks mom and dad for making me who I am today! I'll never forget that.

Okie, now is the fun part: vacation plan. There are two big ones coming: Spring Break, and Summer. The Spring Break one is kind of interesting. At first, me, Lulu, and Cynthia were planning on going to Vancouver, Canada, only until I realized that I am not an American Citizen, and needed a Canadian Visa to travel. Applying for one would take huge amount of time during a very busy period of the semester. So that's gone. Then, someone thought of Yellow Stone National Park, most of which later we was told would be closed for this season. Cynthia decided to go back to Los Angeles when one of her friends offered her a ride. Lulu got sick for a few days now, and I highly doubt that she's willing to go anywhere in this condition. Current options for me ? Yosemite National Park, which is a few hours drive from San Francisco. So many things to do even during the break though, including: driving license test, passport renew, shopping for gifts for Q and Vy, UK and EU visa application, confirmation for grad schools, and finishing the design report. At least, it will be a productive week.

Last week, I talked to Thao, and we decided the day for the Europe trip. So this summer I'll be there for about 1/2 month. Before that I might need to visit Uncle Long in Houston for some times. The rest of the summer will be spent in Vietnam with my family and old friends. Can't wait for that. Hopefully I'll be watching World Cup Final with mom, dad, Thuong, Q, Vy, and Uncle Nhon.

Lastly, some words to my friends,...

- Q, although it's a long time until University Entrance Exam, try your best from now, okie? I'll be with you wherever you are, just remember that. Ganbatte Kudasai.

- Vy, my little sis. I'm proud of you. Congratulation on getting in USC (University of Southern California) and University of Wisconsin at Madison. USC Business school is very famous, and Madison is ranked very high in the nation. The next best thing would be you getting in Stanford, Carnegie, or UPenn (University of Pennsylvania). :)

- Lieu, my little cousin. Law school is not easy to get it, and some people might not like your choice, but it's your life anyways. Think about it carefully, and after you decide, try your best and stick with it. I'll be waiting for your result. Good luck !

- Y: sorry that my Vancouver's plan was sabotaged by other people's discrimination ^_^. I'll try to visit you next time.

- Thuong: dude, seriously, I don' think what you are doing is a good idea. But since you are so stubborn, live with it and don't regret. I'll still be your best friend.

- T: sorry for ignoring your cellphone message, but I did not know what to reply you. Please understand. It is all in the past.

- Phuong: I'm glad that you sound so happy today. Keep it up. You are still the best balanced students I've seen in my life.

- Han: u r one of my many friends that are making the decisions of their life. Although it is risky and I'll never make that kind of decision myself since you really love him, go for it. Don't hesitate to ask me for help in any case. I might be in the US, but still have some connections at home. Unusual actions do not always result in bad results.

- Truc: girl, I'll be leaving in two months. Despite the fact that you might be living in a different world with me, I still think you are my good friend. Cheer up, for you, and your parents too. Call me anytime you feel down, don't be like last time.

- Chi: hey, when you finally move to California, I'm leaving. How ironic. Guess god don't want us to meet, lol. Then let him decides whatever he wants to happen later, right God ? ^_^

- All of my friends: thank you very much for congratulating my on getting the scholarship. From my heart, I sincerely appreciate it.

Monday, September 5th, 2005

One more semester has come. I've just been back from Vietnam last week. Can't describe how much fun I had. It's just un-imaginable! It's to the point that I told Ric, my roommate: "I dun wanna come back here, dude! It's boring here!" Man, people will laugh at me like hell if I tell them: I'm homesick. For a guy who already stay in America for 4 years like me? No way. But it's true. Last night, I sent a Vietnamese song to one of my friends to have a listen, and she kinda cried. She told me she hated Vietnamese songs since it reminded her of memory back at home. That really shook my nerve. After that, I lie in bed thinking: "Is that why I listen to all those Asian songs, but not Vietnamese songs, when I arrived to the US 3 years ago? Why am I listening to songs that I don't understand even a single word? Is this because Vietnamese songs suck recently, as I always told me friends, or is this because I just don't want to understand them? Am I lying to myself?" Anyways, it's a long question to answer, and I'll keep thinking about it. One thing is true though: Every minute at home is precious, and I didn't waste them, not even a single one.

About my study, I'm having a pretty demanding semester, at least that's what it seems at the beginning. I have to put so my time on my "Elementary Japanese" class to memorize the characters: Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji. But they are useful though. My CHE157 lab is a little bit scary, since there are oral presentations I have to do throughout the semester, which is not really my strong point. CHE150B is a theoretically hard class, and prof. Katz isn't really prepared in lecture, which makes the class a potential disaster. CHE141 is ok now. I probably need more time to be sure about how hard they are, it's only the first week anyways.

Gotta go sleep. Nite people !!!

Monday, March 1st, 2005

Wow, it's been almost 3 months since my last entry. So busy that I couldn't even go online that often anymore. Freaking Chemical Engineering is so demanding, so much to know, and people here are so smart. Anyways, I only pop in to update the Gallery session with photo from my Las Vegas trip, and one good story from Time Magazine:

Not as Brain Dead as they seem (Time magazine, February 21st, 2005: page 66, column 1)

Researchers using MRI brain scans found that some seriously brain-damaged - but not comatose - patients responded to a loved one's voice in pattern of neural activity similar to those of healthy subjects. Such scans may play a key role in future decisions over care of the unconscious.

===> isn't it sweet, right ?

Tuesday, December 21st, 2004

Jeeze, I am so lazy right now, hehe. Finals are over, yeah! ^__^ Here I am staying up until 3am, at my friend's apt in Los Angeles. Thought I should at least update a little bit on this page, it's getting pretty boring recently.

Uhm, so probably you already took a look at the update right above this one. That's the famous quote from the classic movie When Harry Met Sally. Harry used that to show his love to Sally. That movie is really good, funny and touching at the same time.

Anyways, the schedule is still the same, and Las Vegas will be the next stop. It is my first time to the city. I will take as much pictures as possible, hehe. But not games though, dun have enough bucks to spend already.

Wednesday, December 1st, 2004.

A new month everyone!!! The last month of the year, and the last month of the Fall semester in school too!!! I'm so excited!

So, as everyone else, I'm starting to plan for all sorts of things: register classes for the Spring semester, choose classes and sessions for the summer semester, choose housing for the summer, and for next year, and first of all, what I am gonna do this winter break. Right now, the plan is to go to Las Vegas for 4 days, then Grand Canyon for a day or two, then spend the rest of the time (until Jan 10th) at Uncle Long's house in Houston.

How about you guys? What are you going to do? Hope ya all have a nice break, hehe.

Btw, is there any one you live in the Bay Area? It was so freaking cold for the last 4-5 days. I don't even want to go pee, the toilet is cold too. Damn!

Thursday, November 24th, 2004

Today is Thanksgiving, an American holiday. Did I tell you holiday is the worst time for international students like me? If not, I'll say it now. Everyone else has a home to go back, except for me. Richard, my roommate, went back to Los Angeles since early Wednesday. The whole floor is now deserted. Food restaurants close, so do the school libraries. Oh well, after all, I'm used to it, one or two more years won't hurt, I guess.

And this is a part of an article about Harry Reid, the Democratic minority leader in the Senate. I saw it in a issue of TIME magazine, and thought it would be fun to share:

"Harry Reid is the kind of adversary who might just wear you down. Last year, for example, the Nevada Senator staged a filibuster, standing on the Senate floor and talking for eight hours and 35 minutes straight to put Republican Majority leader Bill Frist hopelessly behind schedule on other bills that he wanted to rush through before the Thanksgiving recess. Reid planned everything carefully, down to his diet. So he wouldn't be forced to go the bathroom and lose his right to the floor, he ate only a slice of wheat bread and a handful of unsalted peanuts for breakfast, kept Senate pages from refilling the water glass at his desk and made sure he sipped only half of it during the day."

He succeeded the disappointing South Dakota's Tom Daschle, who lost his Senate seat to the Republicans. I like the way Sen. Reid expressed his content a lot, but still wonder why he let his state (Nevada) slipped into Republican hands during the recent presidential election. Being right next to California, I thought Nevada would be better than all the red states, but it doesn't seem to be the case.