Well, this week has been pretty weird. I haven't been at the normal level of busy-ness, so I think my brain's turned off a little. But more on that later.
Got the new project for Eng 198--it turns out that it's mostly stuff with circuits. It's pretty neat: we're planning on building an alarm clock with the arduino, and at when the time runs out, our project will play the "Imperial March" from Star Wars. To be completely honest, though, I am completely in the dark about that kind of stuff. It's humbling to go into class and not really have much to contribute. It's all good, though, because different people have different strengths. I'm sure that I can help somehow; an opportunity just hasn't presented itself yet.
So because I've been flaking out a little this past week (forgetting things, responding late to e-mails, etc.), a friend and I decided to go to a stress-relief fair. It was pretty fun; there were crafts, games, food, and activities about how to relieve stress. I made a stress-ball. Later on, I realized that I had left my calculator in Altgeld Hall. I was pretty glad that I had made a stress-ball at that point. Right now, I'm working on my to-do list for tomorrow, and I had to add, "Find calculator." Not cool.
Back to iFoundry stuff. The iCheckpoint was last week. It was informative. I keep wondering if AED should be doing a sweet project like all the other groups are. So I've been asking different folks about it, and they've told me, "If what you're team is doing works, don't mess it up," in so many words. So...I guess we'll just continue with service, our iCOAs, and more social events. After the iCheckpoint, I kind of felt that maybe I should be doing more as an iChair, like setting up committees and finding more project opportunities and the like. I feel like I let the team down. Guess we'll see what happens at the meeting tomorrow.
Woah, this post is kind of a bummer. That's not good. How about some news from other iChairs? Kevin Wolz had a really premium idea for iFoundry: he suggested that iFoundry students should give presentations about what they're passionate about, perhaps at a lunch or dinner function. The presentation content is only dependant on what the passion is, like running, chess, trains, etc. I think it's a great idea! I can't wait to learn about what people are interested in!
Ending on a good note: Illinites this Friday! And Halloween next Saturday! I'm so excited; Halloween's my favorite holiday!
That's about all I have time for now. Until next time, keep your stick on the ice!

Team Bunny strikes!

Well, today was pretty swell. Today, I found that the Illinois housing website lists calorie content for every flippin' thing it serves--for each day of the week. Now, I'm not obsessed with health stuff or anything, but after finding that, I immediately checked out the government's new food pyramid site. It was really cool! If someone was neurotic about it, he or she could count calories for everything in the dining halls that he or she's eaten down to a T. It's a little strange, and it might be meant for control freaks, but I like it!
Our projects for Eng 198 were due today, and our project did really well. Granted, we have been working our rear-ends off on it for the past few weeks, but I was really pleased on how it went. Team Bunny pretty much rocked out. Tracey sent us candy, so that definitely improved spirits.
In other news, I had a math exam tonight. It went okay; I felt that I knew the material pretty well, but there was some conceptual stuff that I didn't really understand. Oh well....
Just got back from running at CRCE. Coming back was kind of interesting; you wouldn't think that people would look at you weird for walking around in a sweater, a hat, leather gloves, and short-shorts, but they do.
Those are all the pithy insights I have for today. Until next time, keep your stick on the ice!

Wednesday night's not really alright for fighting, just for being busy.

Well, today was pretty fun, all things considered. There was an AED meeting at 5pm, and then a SWE meeting at 6pm, and then a band concert at 7pm.
The AED meeting was awesome. Among other things, parameters for the iCheckpoint were give out, so now we can get started on a cohesive and entertaining presentation. I'm really excited about next week's meeting; we're going over HAPI themes and what'll be happening next year. Ray Price was named the new Co-founder of iFoundry, which was great. After the initial presentation, we split off into our iTeams. AED headed for the Product Dissection Lab, which by the way is amazing. Something new happened in the meeting this week. Instead of everyone sitting down at a desk and staring blankly at me while I get in front of them and meander my way around the agenda, we all gathered around a table and had a discussion about what was going to happen next week. This was a far more effective way of communicating within meetings, so I think desks are out for good. For the iCheckpoint topics, we were able to split up into separate groups: one taking care of identity, social, and academics, and the other taking care of world of work and service. I'm helping with the world of work and service presentation. The toughest part of working in that group is trying to find a time when we're all available. For Pete's sake, we're freshmen! How did we get so busy so fast?
But I digress. We did agree on a meeting time, and then I went to work on our world of work presentation. It was really surprising, because my first instinct was to go to the whiteboard and draw diagrams. Dan Roam must have been telepathically communicating with me, or something. But the diagram that I drew looked pretty spiffy, so some of the group members suggested just building a few for our presentation, as opposed to the traditional powerpoint slides (I think sock puppets were also mentioned). I like that idea, but we'll see what happens as we go along. I'm excited that I'm learning new things, albeit inadvertently.
I left the AED meeting early to head to the SWE meeting. I was named SWE-ster of the Month, which basically means I went to a lot of different SWE stuff in September. They gave me a prize that included food, which made me happy. The prize also had a whiteboard and a sudoku book. I liked it. The Walsch group was presenting at the meeting, so I was depressed that I had to leave early and didn't get a chance to talk to the recruiters. The Walsch group builds many different kinds of buildings (basically everything except homes). Being a mechanical engineer, I love that kind of stuff. Oh well...
The band concert went well. I first arrived 15 minutes before check-in, when one of the volunteers informed me that the "ladies were to wear black, not white blouses." I rushed to the dorm, threw on a black top, rushed back, and made it with time to spare. Granted, I was sweating like I was in a sauna on the sun, but it's a small price to pay for looking professional and being on time. The third chair tuba player laughed at my story, and then handed me a towel to wipe the sweat off my face (I think that's a little too much information; sorry).
After that small incident, I played probably one of the best concerts of my musical career. It was an enjoyable experience.
I love being in band this semester because for me it's a great creative outlet. All day students are forced to memorize and optimize and hypothesize. In band, students just play. It keeps me in touch with my "creative" side because making music takes different thinking than calculus or physics. That's the main reason why I like it.
Anyway, I'm rambling a bit. That's about all I have for tonight! Until next time, keep your stick on the ice!

Harder, better, faster, stronger

Well, these past couple of days have been interesting, both in and out of iFoundry. I had a pretty fun weekend overall, having s'mores, watching Dr. Who, playing rockband, going on a cornmaze, and just hanging out with friends. The only real bummer of the weekend was my physics exam grade and unwanted visitors....
Sunday evening, the team I'm in for the Eng 198 project decided to meet to work on our project report. So we spent about an hour working on it, arguing over what narration we should use (you say 3rd person, I say first person, etc.), and generally causing mayhem at Grainger. Then some of the group members had a revelation that in order to finish writing the report, we needed to test the car. It was about five minutes after 5pm, and the lab was going to close at 7pm. On top of all of that, we didn't have a key to open the drawer to our project in the ESPL. Eventually, everything worked itself out. We were able to work with our project and fix some minor errors, with Pete Dragic's help, of course. He had a lot of great advice, and we definitely maximized on that. After helping with the Eng 198 project, I booked it over to the undergraduate library to work on a German project. And then I went home.
Today was pretty busy. In the morning, I went as a group with SWE to a kindergarten classroom. We talked a little about what engineers do. Then they went to work on building lego towers that could withstand an "earthquake" (being shaken by the SWE students). It was fun to see all of the kids working hard on with the legos, and I think some of them learned a little about what makes a structure sound. Even though it was at 8:30 in the morning, visiting the kindergarten class really made my day. At 2pm, I had lunch with some of the other iChairs, Karen, and Professor Goldberg. We talked about what the iCommunities would be doing next semester and how our class could participate still in the iCommunities next year. I like the idea of being just a "social member" for next year. Also, we talked about some of the problems with the iTeams, mostly regarding scope of projects and attendance. AED has been experiencing a bit of a drop in attendance, but that's okay. If folks genuinely dislike AED, then it's probably not a good idea to let bad vibes simmer in the meeting. As to scope, I think AED's doing pretty well. We're not overreaching, but we're getting things done. At first, we wanted to design a whole new product or put something into a design competition. These ideas, for now, are kind of on the back burner while we focus on our iCOAs, the iCheckpoint, and doing social stuff together. I think meeting in the product dissection lab will be a real benefit to AED, though. It can stimulate the creative process!
I'm getting a bit off track. Sorry. This afternoon, I also had Eng 198 at the ESPL. We finally got our car to run! I was so excited. To add to the ambiance, some of the other team members played elevator music and Daft Punk songs. Yeah, we're kind of strange.... At 5pm I had a physics lab, which was ok.
This week is going to teach me the meaning of time management. Wednesday night, to use one example, I am triple booked: AED meeting from 5-7, SWE meeting at 6, and Concert band concert at 7pm. Then there are meetings with AED folks, a German project meeting, a barn dance, classes, and other stuff. I am maximizing the potential of my iTouch Calender. But I kind of like being busy; it keeps me focused on what's important and keeps my mind off of trivialities. Well, I got a German midterm to study for and a World Religions essay to write. Until next time, keep your stick on the ice!

S'mores, Dr. Who, and iFoundry books

Well, today I was checking my e-mail and got a list of all the other blogs that iFoundry students are doing. Curious, I checked out a couple of them. I realized that my blog, quantitatively speaking, is huge, which basically means I am a nerd and have no life. Ah, college life! On the plus side, WIMSE (Women in Math, Science, and Engineering) had a s'mores night tonight, and that was fun. I just ended up telling scary stories to my friends and marveling at the stories that they told. Also, I watched some Dr. Who with a friend this evening, and that was really cool. Um...as to iFoundry, I guess this would be a good time to briefly discuss my views on the course reading material. I like both The Entrepreneurial Engineer and The Back of the Napkin. I think they both have pretty interesting material and are somewhat entertaining to boot (not in the punting sense). They're also both easy to follow, which I appreciate. I have to admit, The Back of the Napkin is my favorite because it is pithy and has pictures. On a previous post, I ranted a little about how the coursework seems directed at people who have already honed their technical skills, such as upperclassmen or people already out in the work force. With the readings, that skewed perspective doesn't seem as prevalent. I feel like I can use some of the techniques in both of the books for group projects and other school stuff.
As a side note, I learned in World Religions class today that Winnie the Pooh is pretty much a Dao Master. He just "goes with the flow," so to speak. This week, I'll try to channel my inner Winnie the Pooh and see how far that gets me.
Well, that's about all the insights I have for now. Until next time, keep your stick on the ice!

History is mysterious...

Well, I'm deciding to depart from the text a little today. This morning, while studying for a World Religions quiz, I realized that there is so much history placed in every person. Let me explain that a little bit.
These past few weeks there's been a ton of cultural events. Mostly, these events will focus on countries in Eastern Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and sometimes Eastern Europe. I haven't seen one yet about Poland, though. Both sides of my family are Polish, so it's kind of a big deal for me. So for the past few weeks, I've felt a bit rudderless on the culture front. But that's kind of beside the point.
When I was studying for my World Religions quiz, I realized something. My family is built from amazing people. Farmers, WWII radio operators, Franciscan monks, machinists, tool makers, teachers, and the list goes on. And almost every story I've heard about my relatives has been about their resiliance, their drive, their values, and their passion. My paternal grandmother, for instance, was studying to be a doctor (mind, this was in the 1930's) before her father became gravely ill; she stopped her schooling to take care of him, with no complaints. She was in passionately in love with learning; later, she was passionately in love with my grandfather (who later became a machinist). My great uncle (on my mother's side) was also a man in love with learning. When he was growing up, Polish families usually sent the oldest son off to become a monk. He did become a monk, but he also became a man of higher learning. He traveled around Europe, studied at great universities, and was often in Rome. When he would come back to my mother's home in Milwaukee, he would tell stories that fascinated her. He was also an exceedingly kind man; he took my mother on her first trip to New York City. To further illustrate, my maternal great-grandparents owned their own store during the Great Depression. My mother often says that my great-grandmother was so driven and so demanding that could have run a Fortune 500 company or could have been a high-profile lawyer. As another example, my paternal great grandfather and his family were forced onto a Nazi farm camp in Poland. His leadership soon emerged as he was singled-out by the other contained farmers in the camp as an unwritten leader because he kept morale high, and did what he could to keep people alive in the camp.
I guess what I've finally realized is that I'm not alone in my "culture quest." Everything I need is inside of me; it's my history, my roots that give me strength.
Sometimes I feel like I have a lot to live up to when I think about what my relatives have done. But then I realize that if they were great, then maybe I have some of that greatness within me. I think that an engineering education here at U of I can help me cultivate that excellence. My education will provide me with technical challenges, and I think that will be the driving force behind my growth and develpment into a person that has the determination and love of learning of my relatives. I hope that when my courage/values are tested that I can honor my relatives by taking the noble and right path.
Well, I don't really know what that has to do with engineering or iFoundry, but now it's stuck ingrained in your subcranium. Have a great Friday, and until next time, keep your stick on the ice!

Happy October!

Well , I was going to do a post on why I went into engineering in the first place, but that got deleted somehow. I don’t really know what happened, but it doesn’t matter; the post is gone, it’s time to move on.
I was told that I had to write a little on my thoughts about engineering at UIUC and iFoundry. So I guess I’ll do that instead.
I love the engineering program at U of I. It’s awesome! I feel like I connect with so many different people each day, and they’re all engineers. I hang out with engineers, eat lunch with engineers, and most of my friends that I’ve made at Illinois are engineers. It’s pretty swell. The extracurriculars are helpful in meeting people, too. For example, I joined the Society of Women Engineers this past September, and I’ve helped with football concessions, went to a barn dance, brainstormed fundraising ideas, and helped to start a lesson plan for a kindergarten outreach program. My professors and TAs are awesome, too. When I was in high school, usually I’d have one teacher who didn’t know what the heck he/she was doing, and that was frustrating. At U of I this semester, my professor’s lectures are informative and entertaining, my TAs are great at explaining the course material, and everyone’s relaxed about attendance. On top of that, there are quite a bit of resources available for extra help in courses. It also helps that I live in a LLC that’s filled with nerdy girls like me :) . Can you say, “instant study groups?”
I hate to be Pollyanna-ish, but I really do love Illinois. Combined with all of the great resources available, the high caliber of education, and the fun that I’m having, the scenery is the spray-paint on the steam-powered car. I enjoy riding my bike past the all of the buildings during the evening, when everything turns an oddly beautiful shade of orange. The archaic archetectural majesty of the buildings and surrounding oak trees strike me every day. Also, the Quad always looks glorious, even in the rain. And biking by Morrow fields...I could go on and on... :)
I think I was also supposed to put in my ideas about iFoundry. I like iFoundry (I think that counts for the stupidest sentence in this post). I appreciate the fact that it helped me meet new people before classes started. I also like having the intellectual freedoms that iFoundry affords us. Although the free-range educational style might be a challenge to some, I think it's a great way to really branch out and try new things, like inviting corporate sponsers over, or designing new stuff, or even making a video about AED. I'm really hoping that this will last into next semester and even next year. I'm not sure what we'd be doing in iFoundry as sophomores, but deciding that is half the fun :)
Three years ago I would have never imagined that I would be studying engineering, much less be out of state. Now I can't imagine being anywhere else, doing anything else. I know it might be a bit premature, but I think engineering is my passion. The possiblities for innovation and creation are endless.
My brain is pretty much mush now. I think I should go to bed. Well, until next time, keep your stick on the ice!