Yup

I know everyone doubts themselves from time to time but this semester has been pretty hard (last semester was too so this isn't too surprising). However it's been difficult in a multitude of ways. My roommate and I had a huge argument after my family came to visit (which by the way, was wonderful). She flipped out on me about something stupid. I was really hurt because I made a big effort to have a good relationship with her and she basically shit on me. It was a week before a big exam and I bombed it. I bombed the exam the week after in a class I thought I nailed. Goodbye 4.0. One of my professors even expressed his disappointment. That really hurt. Then Roxy got really sick while I was home for spring break. She has hemolytic anemia which is a disease that destroys her own blood cells. She is better, but on a lot of medication and there's no way to know what caused it or if it will come back.

I can't figure out how to get a firm grasp on things sometimes. It seems like my world is just swirling around me and I can't actually do anything about it. I got messed up because I made friends who wanted to study together. I ended up doing really poorly because of it. I can't seem to recover or think about recovering without getting this awful drowning feeling. My roommate has made it so that I am not even comfortable being in my room with the door shut. I say yes to too many people because I can't figure out how to say no without feeling like a jerk...hence my generosity gets taken advantage of at the expense of all of my own precious time. I had this feeling while working too. I fell behind on assignments because I didn't feel like I knew how to dive right in and get to it. I know what needs to be done but can't seem to get it applied. How do other people do it? If I just knew what their thought process was I could dive right in.

I don't want to just be special/marketable/hired because I'm a female, I really want to be number one in everything I do but I can't seem to compete with those around me. I know those cliches... but I just hate it. I am dating the smartest person I know. I hate it. I hate that he doesn't let his emotions control him, which is why he is the best. I hate not being the best. I hate it I hate it I hate it. I can't figure out how to be the best. I need to figure out how to be on my A game all the time and it feels impossible! I hate not having control of my world.

Oh Hai!

Hey blog how's it going.

I have new pictures posted! Check out the album (click the picture)

From Getty Center, Jan 2010

The Getty Center is a very beautiful museum. The main draw is the view! Its gorgeous, you can see all of LA. There are hummingbirds EVERYWHERE too. However, it is very much a date place. I had a loneliness relapse after Kris left and decided to go to a few museums on my own, which was a bad idea. However, I was better a week or so later after I stopped feeling sorry for myself and starting calling people.

Last weekend I was able to go to the SWE (Society of Women Engineers) regional conference on USC's dime in AZ. It was so much fun. I was excited because I would get to made some friends with some of the girls outside of my program, since there are so few in Controls. It turns out that there was only one other Grad Student out of the bunch and she was 22, the rest of the girls were about 17-20! Yes, once again I am the oldest in the bunch but it was very okay.

We had a blast in the car ride there. I remember how easy it was to make friends when I was younger, its as easy as walking up to someone and saying "Hey lets be friends!". No weird communication rules, the right amount of eye contact, the correct firmness of the handshake etc. These girls were no frills, friendly, intelligent, and down to earth. I forgot that everyone was an engineer, that usually means easier conversations!

After the car ride, we had dinner with other schools and participated in a build a paper bridge contest. Our team won a blanket (one of the 4 bridges that held up). In the evening we had super girl bonding time in the hotel room. There were 4 girls to a room. I don't have a sister, but if I did I can only imagine it must be as much fun as we had talking and joking with each other.

Saturday we had breakfast and several workshops, as well as a career fair, lunch, and finally dinner with a keynote speaker. Several positive things happened for me that day. I spoke to some recruiters at Intel, and while I am not looking for an internship (I will be at GM this summer), I was interested to see what they might have available for full time. Turns out a female pursuing an MS in Controls is very rare. It was great to hear some encouraging words that my future will be bright. There are always days that I am discouraged by the multitude of international students getting straight A's without trying, and it was nice to hear positive words from normal people.

I want to point out the cutest thing in the world- The girl I shared a bed with, and was co-driver with, woke me up on Saturday night by hugging me. She had rolled over onto my side of the bed and threw her arms and legs over me and started hugging me! I woke up laughing... so cute! She said that her and her sister share a bed and she always hugs her at night.

On the drive back we stopped at a gift shop in the middle of the desert where I picked up some very vintage post cards. Please send me your snail mail address if you want one!

XOXO

Crystal

Smoosh

Yo,

Who doesn't have a job and got 3.9 this past semester? THIS GIRLLLLL!

Yup! The breakdown:

Linear Algebra: A (not deserved)

Linear Controls: A (deserved)

Sensing and Planning: A (deeeserved)

This is what I am taking this semester:

Optimization (Numerical Methods)

Linear Systems Theory

Digital Controls

Yeah, three boring ass theory classes. But I guess that's what controls is. I have no idea what I want to do anymore. I just want to sit in a big room with a bunch of tools and books and horse around.

So I'm going to do this thing right now where I make a list of all the things I did over winter break, otherwise the post will sound like a girl rambling to a therapist.

Ehem:

Hugged my dog a lot

JD's Key Club with GM friends!!!!

Union Woodshop a bunch of times

Nadia and Steve time

Kris Healey time

Christmas Eve with Kris' family (they live in Monroe and have two horses!)

New Years Party at my friend Jay's, we played a Wii Karaoke game called "Lips". He got mad because people were beating his high score and shut off the tv and game and kicked us out at 2:30am.

Cleveland Food Road trip!!!

Went to the following delicious places:

-Delicious Breakfast Place featured on Food Network (I forget the name!!)

-Cleveland Chop House http://www.chophouse.com/

-Lola http://www.lolabistro.com/

-Tried friend bone marrow - REALLY GOOD!

-Melt (featured on food network), A GRILLED CHEESE RESTAURANT!!!

http://www.meltbarandgrilled.com/

-Flannery's Pub

-Great Lakes Brewing Company http://www.greatlakesbrewing.com/

-And an international food place I also forget the name of...

Anyway, it was four of us and we just shared plates at each restaurant so we would not ever be full. Eating is one of those great joys in life!

Kris came back to LA with me and we spent a couple days in La Jolla (near San Diego). The following Monday we were in the audience of the Price is Right!

Unfortunately we were not contestants but watch for us on Feb 26th!! We are definitely visible in the audience!!!

Anyway the invitation is open for anyone to come visit. I moved into my new place with my awesome roommate and we would love to have people! I can get us Price is Right tickets :)

Best weekend ever!!

Hello!

This weekend was pretty rocking. I have mentally checked out for Thanksgiving break since last week. This is what I did:

Friday- Group project buddy time (yay!!) and then a BELLY DANCING LESSON!! I am a big disgrace to my culture. I have no rhythm! I also can't do the butt shake thing, but... I also can not roll my R's and that must be related. However, it was a fun hour and a half with some freshman (yes I did not realize it was that kind of event) and made some new friends.

Saturday- Kayaking at Seal Beach!! It was actually a SWE retreat (Society of Women Engineers). They fed us and paid for the whole thing. I offered to drive and made friends with some new girls who are very fun. We paddled around for about two hours. We even saw a sea lion!!! I guess this would not seem weird by the name "Seal Beach", but we were kayaking in a marina type place that was actually more like canals in people's "back yards". EVERYONE has a yacht there!

Also, in the evening, I had been biking around town looking for food when I saw a commotion on campus. Turns out they do this thing called "Conquest" the week before the USC UCLA game. Jamie Kennedy MC'd the even (from the movie Malibu's Most Wanted...) and then they had a bonfire where they burned a UCLA bruin effigy. Yeah that was weird and scary. But hey, SCHOOL SPIRIT! Then came some awards and a free concert by OkGo. It was even more than a full set, 2 and a half hours!

Sunday - Met up with Binnsy and his friends. SO GOOD to see friends! I showed them around the campus and we came back to my place to chat. I really miss my GM buddies!

Good news too! I found a roommate off craigslist to move into the townhouse in the same building I live in. It's 100 cheaper per month for me and 2 floors! Its really beautiful and sunny, and I'm very excited to live there. It will be nice to have someone to live with, I think I am over living alone for now.

Anyway I hope everyone is doing well! I will be home for Christmas for 3 weeks - Dec 17-Jan 7!

Let me tell you about one of my group project partners. My group uses this file sharing system called "Dropbox" where every file someone edits gets updated on everyone's computer.

She text messaged me "v're is the code folder?" (yes, she is too lazy to type "where", so not only does she shorten it, she does it with an accent). It is past 3 am. I fix the mess (dropbox has an undo delete feature she could have found if she looked).

Yup.... this world breeds all kinds.

The Receiving End of It All

There is definitely something emotionally stretching about leaving your friends and family to be one with the world outside of your comfort zone, i.e. college, which sort of pisses me off that my parents tried to keep me from going away for undergrad. It's like I am five years behind. When I have kids I am kicking them out the moment they are able to go, that'll learn 'em.

Anyway, my classes are pretty under control. Group project is rocking and rolling, I am going to post a video this weekend when we record our robot doing its thang. Got a B+ on my linear algebra midterm and an A- on my controls exam. WOO! Unfortunately I did not get the scholarship I applied for. I found out 18 people applied and 7 got it... but its most likely because I am already paid for here so why would they give me money?

Sooo since the last post. So much has happened. I don't know who is reading this thing outside my immediate friends which is a little troubling but facts are facts and I have nothing to hide. As a celebration for working so hard, I decided to skip town with a new friend and head to San Diego. We went to the wild animal park, zoo, and camped two nights! It was really fun. I had a great time with her. However, I found myself in the middle of an argument between her and another friend of mine. We got back and more drama between them ensued. I just feel turned off by the things I hear about the argument.

A weekend or two passes, and Halloween arrives. My good friend Carlos finds us a Halloween party to go to. We head to Hollywood to find costumes. Did you know Hollywood is basically a town full of sex shops? Anyway, a few stores later I decide on being "Zora" (female Zorro). Sometimes Zorita. Sometimes not. Great party, I met a brother and sister, from Columbia, probably the nicest people in the world.

After the party I had an encounter with a fellow who can't keep his hands off me. Actually during the party he tried something and I told him to knock it off in front of everyone. He did it again 3 seconds later. I said "stop" louder. Then outside he got a little bolder. I screamed at him. He did it again. I hit him with my keys. Hard. I went verbally nuts. I can't say I'm not proud of myself. Please, try it again. See what will happen to you next time.

This isn't the first time he's grabbed at me. I hate that guy. I don't ever want to see him again. Why do some people think its okay to do this? What the hell does no mean to them? Nothing! Because the piece of trash thinks he's all that and a bag of fritos to women. He grabbed me in front of Kris once and the guy didn't learn when Kris threatened him. I don't hang out with this guy usually, he kind of comes along when I hang out with others. From now on I won't go if he will be there.

Kris paid me a wonderful visit last weekend. We had a great time.. we went on a booze cruise sponsored by the school. It went through Newport Beach marina which was really beautiful. Food, new friends, and I even got him to dance!!! Wow this was really something. He is not a dancer and really I only have like three moves. We even visited Griffith Park and Observatory and saw a great planetarium show with a really bizarre sounding narrator.

I am thinking about trying extra work for films, just to see what happens. What do you guys think? I also want to ride a horse through the desert really fast. Just throwing it out there.

The highest compliment

Hello, World (comp sci ref for those not in the know)

I couldn't have asked for a better trip back to Michigan last weekend..actually the getting sick upon return could have been left out... but it was so great to be back home for a few days.



I left here, got on a red eye flight, and was probably the only person awake, eventually made it home. Kris picked me up, he trimmed his beard as promised but his hair was so long!!! I guess I need to be more specific next time.. Friday we got back to my house and my mom had lunch ready for us! Roxy was insanely happy to see us, which made me insanely happy to see her! Her fur is so long and silky! I love her! We went out to eat with some friends in Royal Oak and then saw "The Invention of Lying". That movie was okay...but apparently not lying makes people really rude and idiotic.

Saturday we had planned to go to the apple orchard but it was rainy which means mud. So we went to Great Lakes Mall before meeting up with two of my favorite ladies Shannon and Nadia for dinner at Chef Aaron's restaurant: The Union Woodshop. GOOD LORD, best BBQ we've ever had! Please eat there! It's in Clarkston! They don't have a website but should to show you the awesome atmosphere and food.

BTW there are several reasons I love Kris. One of them is when he thinks out loud. Most memorable lately is what he said when he was with me here in August: "A hot dog is nothing more than a ketchup and mustard transport device" ...which is true becuase we both could eat ketchup and mustard on bread and be happy. Another is the kinds of things we talk about. What do you consider beauty? Is a scenic valley expanse pretty? Is a picture of that expanse pretty? I don't particularly think so. We'd rather say it's impressive, and not pretty, the way a girl is pretty. It's different. The word impressive means so much more. He pretty much always impresses me. We are both pretty lucky.

And then I'm back in California where I am faced with the reality of exemplary cases of really non-down to earth people who are nice enough. Regardless its really interesting being here. I went to a study room where there was a group of senior EE students doign homework, and watching the conversation unfold was like watching myself and my friends at school 6 years ago. People are not very different anywhere you go! It's like 10 billion parallel realities, all within 6 hours of each other. Heck maybe even more realities within a smaller time span. I meet people who are exact replicas or at least shadows of people I know back home. What's worse is meeting people who are more than shadows of myself not many years ago.

It makes me sorry that I didn't figure this out sooner. I am here, and I am the same person I was back home. I thought I would change instantly somehow, but a lot of my flaws that I ignored have become very apparent, yet a lot of the things I used to fret about don't matter. These might have been all of the things I missed out on by not going away to college. I might be here for the wrong reason. Several weeks ago I beat myself up very badly for that but I guess better late than never...so here I am.


Also here is what is going on in school:
Linear Controls: I enjoy this class. I've had it before so its a little easier and the instructor is very traditional in his teaching which I like. Also the lecture is recorded so I can go to class and its okay if I happen to zone out because I watch each lecture and take notes like 4 or 5 times.

Robotics Sensing and Planning: Holy cow hard stuff. My group decided to be ambitious and do a hard project. We are simulation audio localization. Basically, some remote says "chirp!" and the robot tries to calculate how far away that sound is and navigate. Ha, so the project has been stripped down to "How the hell do we figure out how far away the sound is?" (Hint: It's not the calculation that's hard...) If anyone has good ideas PLEASE let me know.

Linear Algebra: What a god damn waste of time. This prof is driving me crazy... worst instructor ever, never assigns homework so I don't have a reason to stay focused. And hes fucking teaching my Linear Systems Theory class next semester.

<./end post>

I have been a bad blogger.

I am so sorry I haven't updated in so long!

I have been really busy with classes, and actually haven't been able to go out and explore as much as I'd like. Of course if I had it my way I would never sleep and always be doing something!

Last I left my blog, I had gone surfing with my good friends Renee and Jason from Hawaii. The first time I went,I had great success because I was using a long surfboard (10 ft) made of fiberglass so it was very rigid. The next weekend we went, I felt daring and tried an 8 ft surfboard, but it was foam and kind of flimsy. I wasn't able to stand up once!! It was so frustrating but then again 2 ft is a big reduction for someone who just started.

A few days later, they came over to my place because they wanted to learn how to make tabouli salad! If you aren't familiar (i.e. not from Detroit) its a mid east salad made from finely chopped parsely. Oh man it was a blast! I didn't know I was so good at making it either! I have pictures that I will post to my Picasa account but right now am having trouble opening them.

Also, I made friends with a guy named Carlos who interned at Ford and who's mom is from Michigan. He's become my car buddy. I visited the old car museum with him and a few weeks back we went to see the Nethercut Collection which is basically an antique car museum plus old organs, nickelodeans, and a bunch of crazy antique collectables. It was really cool.

http://www.nethercuttcollection.org/


So the one girl in my Linear Algebra class who speaks english and I made friends and she has been a blast. Her name is Anapuma, shes indian but you would never guess it by the way she acts (ahhaha). Anyway she lives near Santa Monica and knows all the good places to go. A few weeks ago we went to Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills. Really its just a glorified Somerset Collection! But it is beautiful. People there are also hilarious as you can imagine...really California.

We had cupcakes at this cupcake bakery called "Sprinkles" and for $3.25 I had my own delicious Red Velvet with cheesecake frosting...omg my teeth hurt. Some guy bought 6 for $19 which is ridiculous to me, but the concept is nice and novel. My cupcake:



This weekend I am going home to visit Michigan since it will be Kris and I's 5 year anniversary. Yes 5 YEARS! Crazy!! We are going out to dinner with friends tomorrow night (Friday) and Saturday morning we are going to the apple orchard with my pup Roxy. Honestly I am more excited to see Roxy than anything else. She is my favorite creature in the whole world.

Anyway I just wanted to jot something down here so no one thought I abandoned this. I promise it will stay current from now on!

Blogging is my reward for finishing homework

Hiyas again...

The reality of how much I must study has hit. What's funny is that I have a similar workload to what I did in undergrad but don't remember ANYTHING!!! I have spent my entire weekend working on my controls homework and am finally done! This is going to be really rough, but it will have to happen one way or another.

In my computer science class we have a group project to design some kind of robot but aren't going to physically build it. It's going to be modeled in this linux based software that a group of the professor's PhD students developed and if the project takes off enough during the semester then we can build it. I had to install linux on my computer to get the simulation running and that was a trip! Really awkward at first but later you realize that most of it is meant to be intuitive.

However if you've never run linux I highly recommend it because everything runs so much faster. Even something as simple as surfing the internet is enhanced. It's not even that difficult install, and if you are a visual snob then you'll be happy to know it looks similar to Mac OS.


So that this doesn't get too long, here is a quick synopsis of the fun activities I did in the past week:

-Road my bike downtown with a new girlfriend from class (She is exactly me 6 years ago... which is very strange)
-Checked out the FIDM scholarship store (designer clothes for as low as $1, mostly damaged items but I got a lot of great stuff!)

-Automobile Driving Museum in El Segundo http://www.automobiledrivingmuseum.org/index.html
-Got to ride in a Studebaker!!! This one! http://www.automobiledrivingmuseum.org/Carpages/page_1963studebakeravanti.html


..and an 89 Porshe Speedster. Unfortunately was not allowed to drive. They circulate cars that they give rides to every week, so all the cars in the museum except a few are exercised every 2-3 months. This was an amazing museum. The docent gave a 2 hour tour of the place and had all kinds of stories about nearly every car.


I am trying to figure out a way to continue getting past my homesickness, I thought I was over it but I still find myself randomly really upset about being here. It's really weird because my logical side keeps trying to convince myself that this is good and important and I set out to do this for a reason, and the other half of me just keeps hashing all the reasons that this was a hasty decision that I should not have gone through. I should have appreciated my friends, family, and job more while I had them. It's not that I did not, it's that I felt like something was missing and I wasn't able to give my life my all. Anyway, when I figure it out I will let the world know.

BUT! Here is my address. I love mail :)
2660 Menlo Ave, #5
Los Angeles, CA 90007

Good
Night

1 Month Evaluation

So today marks my being here for one month. Yesterday was the first time I felt comfortable with being here, otherwise I've been extremely homesick. Forcing myself to call new friends and go out makes a big difference because it's really easy to sit in my apartment and just wait for time to pass.

Anyway! I went surfing today with one of those new friends! Renee and Jason are from Hawaii and have the most interesting background since they are from the Air Force. They were kind enough to let me tag along on their "Surfing Sunday" tradition. It is such a workout, but really addicting. I will rent a few more times and if I feel like I am improving at a good rate then I will buy a board.

Pictures!

Here's a teaser, click link for album!

Yes Detroit! The Feeling's Forever

I can't sleep. Its okay because I don't have class until 2.
A couple things about SoCal weather that are bugging me:

-Migraines appear with a vengeance because of the sun
*not as crippling because the weather is dry

-I can't find comfortable things to wear
*clothes makes me sweat, being naked makes me sunburnt and, well, naked
*showering 40 times a day is a little ridiculous

-My skin is so freaking dry, I had to actually buy lotion!
*Plus Side!! My skin has cleared up because of it! wooo!

Today I went to the Tigers vs Angels game and was lucky because I got a ticket for 5 bucks! It was a great time too! I sat by a group of kids who were at day camp and we discussed my oozing poison ivy leg. I can't cover it up because it needs to dry out and will just soak through my pants. I decided to move to a closer seat later in the game and got really nasty looks from some shitty old super fans every time I cheered. Why do people hate Detroit so much? Sorry you're only happy because you have good weather all year and hate when we beat you the rest of the series (yeah whatever we lost today!)

Actually I was pretty nervous because this guy got really mad when I cheered for Inge and wouldn't stop staring at me. Man I thought he was seriously going to kick my ass... Anyway that made me have second thoughts about my plans to later go to Laker's games wearing a Detroit shirt alone until I meet people. I'm sure Laker's fans are way more arrogant and into their stupid team than the Angels.


Kris left last night and that was really hard because we started to fight the last week he was here. We can't spend 3 weeks of stuck in one room with only the internet to entertain us after the beach closes/crazies come out at night. I think that's typical for any betrothed-but-practically-married couple. I felt really bad that we wasted the last week that way but it made me appreciate the three weeks he was here.

Woops..this post might get long if I keep going, so I will stop. Goodnight!

First Day of School

The Factual Part of the Post:
Today was my first day of school. This doesn't mean too much because I only have one class on Mondays - My robotics sensing and planning course. The professor wasn't there today but his TA lectured. The majority of the research they are doing is marine glider based- AHHHH!!! How awesome!!

It is mainly a group project course. Oh and guess how many girls are in the class :) One other and myself. I haven't met her formally but hopefully she will want to work together.

Saturday night I went out with a friend I made who is in the ME department. We (Kris and I) went out as a group with 3 other students. Let's just say it was an interesting time. Kris and I were not drinking but one of them was a little too heavily. OH TO BE A YOUNG GRADUATE STUDENT! We went to a venue called the Roxy to see a band. The Silent Years (my friends) are going to be playing there Sept 8th!

The Emotional Part of the Post:
I am finding myself rather lonely and bored here even though I have Kris here until tomorrow. It's just tough to find things to do that aren't a huge production. Everything is a far drive, about 10 miles or more. That doesn't sound like a lot, but it takes a long time to get to places. It's really a crippling feeling too knowing that I am going to burn at least 5-7 dollars on gas for each outing (more for parking sometimes). I thought I would be able to ride my bike or take the bus more often.

Things just seem so much easier in Michigan. Places are closer and more freely accessible. I can't imagine being here permanently. There aren't many homes with yards unless you live in the hills and are a plastic surgeon. I can't imagine not having a yard! Not many people have garages. I have no where to play with my car, no where to wash it (a summer favorite of mine). It's actually killing me right now. I am so cooped up inside my place. I can't really sit outside and I am on the first floor so its weird to have my blinds and windows open (people are constantly walking by). I wish I could escape to the beach more easily as well. That is a about a half hour away but the parking can be tricky.

I hope this doesn't sound petty. It will probably get easier once school is in full swing and I can better navigate this city. Right now it is conjuring up these feelings and fears that I might be a boring person and am unable to take advantage of my situation. That might be true, but I am having a hard time changing that. What's even worse about that possible fact is that I set out on this little adventure not only to get my MS, but also to do a little soul searching. So far I feel even more lost than I did before. But, I am trying this new thing called "Being Positive", so I am *CONFIDENT* that I will get there!

Anyway, these should be short and I've exceeded my personal limit. Hope everyone is doing well!

San Francisco Pictures!

We are back from San Fran! Actually it's been a couple days.

Anyway instead of posting the pictures in the blog I've uploaded them to a site:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Crystal.Nassouri

It was really hazy and foggy on the way up, so we didn't get the quality of pictures we hoped for. Regardless they are good.

Enjoy!

Picture Post 2 - Sorry I keep changing formats, last one couldnt view pictures

School pics!

Picture Post 1

Apparently confused at the hostel in venice


Venice canals






Santa Monica






Apartment

Post T(h)ree

I wish I could update this thing more often but I don't have internet at my apartment yet. I was hoping to make friends with someone so I could split the wireless bill but no one is ever outside...

Anyway, I moved in Thursday and there was a free bed from another apt. Kris and I spent the past few days shopping for food, sheets, and other neccessities. We also bought bikes and a bike rack! Tomorrow morning we leave for our big San Francisco road trip too!!

Yesterday we went to Malibu after our shopping and while driving down highway 1 we spotted dolphins! Kris' brother said sometimes they come up to you if you are in the water.

Today we went to Zuma beach and played in the waves. The water is extremely cold but once you get in it doesn't feel that bad. It's probably because your body gets numb. We are actually sitting at a starbucks right now.

Another cool thing about this place is the wildlife. We saw/heard a flock of blue crowned conures being chased by a hawk. What is special about this is these kind of birds are pet birds that have escaped and started their own colonies. I can't wait to go to San Fran because there are TONS of these and other conures all over the place. People actually try to kill them because they are so noisy and destructive.

People are probably curious about that whole school thing too. About that: I decided to do Controls and specialize in Robotics. Oh man, the robotics program is so awesome here. I'm taking three courses: Linear Algebra (easy), Linear Controls (easy), and Robotic Sensing and Planning (hard). I need to take the two easy ones because I don't remember anything from undergrad.

Oh and for those who are looking for my address, it's going to have to wait because I don't have a key to my mailbox yet.

Some guy called me 8-mile

Hey everyone,
I am still alive out here, everything is considerably better for the moment. Kris got here last night and we decided to stay in the hostel rather than inconvenience his friends. Previously I was staying in a 6 bed girls room but I checked out on the assumption that Kris and I might try his friends, but rechecked into the same hostel. We ended up getting two bunks in the 30 bed dorm hall.

It's crazy! It's a huge room with 30 bunk beds. It smells very weird and moldy. I climbed into my top bunk last night to put the sheets on and found an empty can of Barbasol (this is Barbasol) and a lighter crammed next to the wall. This morning I woke up and saw a used q-tip stuck in a crevice of a bunk. Kris has wet boxer briefs and socks draped over his bunk ladder. That smell I mentioned? I think it can be identified as the smell of weird euro traveler guys.

I spent the past three days in Santa Monica because the bus line goes straight there from the hostel. It's only 75 cents each way! The buses are punctual too. Oh so different from D-town.

Tomorrow morning I leave the hostel and move into the apartment...then I will post some pictures of the place and from the week! Also on the agenda tomorrow is a finally (but probably not really final) attempt to get my security deposit back from the trash jerk ghetto town place. If I don't get the deposit back, I am going to demand a key for the place anyway because I've paid for 2 months rent! So if anyone wants a weird random studio in a slum for some strange unknown operation, contact me.

OH! Funny story for those who have first hand experience with my sleep apnea. When I was staying in the girls dorm, I had a top bunk with an angled ceiling directly above me. My Dutch roommate was directly below me. The other day when I went to get coffee with her, she said she could not sleep until about 4:30am because one of the Italian girls in the room was snoring so loud. She said she was snoring like a man. I asked her if she was sure it was one of them and she said she was sure because it sounded like it was coming from the other side of the room. I'm sure you can figure out how a slanted ceiling saved me from embarrassment..

"Don't do anything weird", says my boyfriend

OKAY so I am here. It has been interesting.

Thursday- Car was supposed to be picked up by shipper in West Bloomfield on Wednesday but they never showed and the driver said he wouldn't be able to make it until Friday. Frankly I didn't trust my family to take care of it to my liking so I went with another shipper at the last minute. Thursday morning I met them at a Costco and said goodbye to MyVR6 (my car)

Friday- Plane ride went smoothly, picked up my rental and drove off to get into my new apartment. I spoke to the lady who set up my rental last Sunday, also the lady I sent $1000 last month, and let her know I was coming on the 31st. She told me to talk to the manager on the first floor. 1:30 pm, I get to the place, which is in a eeeeehhhh so so area (borderline ghetto but I can deal with it). Knock on the manager's door, no answer. Call the woman, no answer! Walk around, talk to locals, get a feel for the neighborhood (more ghetto the more I speak to people) and still can't get ahold of this woman. WHERE THE HECK IS SHE??!!

So after a few minutes of panic I decide to go to the store and buy soap, shampoo and a couple other things. I'm starting to realize that I was mislead about the location of this apartment. It's not in a good area. I can't ride my bike or take the bus safely. This isn't good... 3pm still no answer from the woman. I decide to start looking for other apartments and drive around USC. 7pm FINALLY she answers the phone (I left SEVERAL messages).

I go back to the apartment for someone to let me in (the woman called the managers family) and they don't speak a lick of english. They have no idea I am moving in. "Today? You are moving in today?" YES TODAY, NOW!!! They dig through a bucket of keys for 20 minutes and finally find a key but can't find a bathroom key. At this point I am fuming and have already decided I don't want to live there. I call the lady back and throw a fit. Plus the apartment is even smaller than I thought and there is junk still in it like a bed and stereo. This place is truly a slum.

My head is spinning and I go stay in a hotel. I call the lady back and demand my deposit back and let her know what kind of inconvenience she's caused me. I probably won't get my $1000 back. I'm pretty sure I am going to die broke out here.

Saturday- Wake up, call the lady, who still doesn't know if she can give me my deposit back (yes I have been harassing her). I found a place on Menlo (map it) which is a couple blocks from school. It is a studio, and I met the owners and they are honest. I have a good feeling about it, but that doesn't seem to matter because I had a good feeling about the other place. It is 900 a month and I get a parking spot. It's close enough to walk!!! AND ITS NOT A SLUM. However, I can't move in until the end of the week becuase they were painting, cleaning, and repairing the place.

I am still unhappy about the way things are and am still convinced I am going to die alone and broke in the happiest place in the world. My stipend only really covers $600 bucks a month in rent and I still have to eat. I won't be able to get a job taking 4 classes.

Saturday night I end up at a hostel that's $25 bucks a night right near Venice Beach until Kris gets here on Tuesday and we can either go stay with his friends in Koreatown or go camping until my apartment is ready and my car gets here sometime during the weekend.

Sunday - I made some great friends during my hostel stay so far. There is girl who I am sharing a room with from the Netherlands. I took my rental car back and took the bus to the beach. There was a Hare Khrisna fest today.

So I always wondered how brilliant and smart producers and writers must be to come up with the kind of shows and movies that they do, but in reality, they are living in the Los Angeles area and there are enough freaks here to provide several lifetimes of good material.

After eating a bunch of free vegan food we walked down the beach and found a massive 300-400 person drum cirle. It was a big hippie fest with a bunch of high on's banging on drums. Actually it was very cool. Some drunk guy dressed up as an eagle was dancing on some platform and fell off. I'll post some pictures later.

I met some guy from Jersey and that was actually a breath of fresh air because frankly I miss the midwest/east coast. People here are actually pretty nice and most of them are from out of state so its easy to make friends. Maybe I won't die out here but I will probably still end up being broke.

First Post!

Hi!
I just started this blog to document my Grad School adventure at University of Southern California. More posts to come.

Crystal-