Teamwork

Today, I realized how important teamwork is. I realize that I'm not the smartest person on campus, but I have some areas that I'm fairly decent at. I feel that when I work in a team, it brings out the best in me because I use those areas to help benefit the team. But I also feel that I'm improving my own skills, because as other teammates make suggestions, I learn from them.
I realized that it's nearly impossible to be completely self-sufficient. And for the past few days, when I've had trouble, I've asked questions from more knowledgeable people and got the results I need. Although I've always been open to asking about how things operate, I've never actually realized how much other people account for my success, even on a daily basis.
Kind of on a tangent, as much as I believe in the power of asking questions, I also believe that there is a limit to that particular type of learning. I don't think one should blindly start asking if the answer is easily accessible. What's worked best for me is to struggle a bit, try hard, and if that doesn't work, ask someone. For example, when I was working on Physics 212 homework last night, I had to skip a problem because I couldn't figure out why I was getting the wrong answer. My instinct was to ask my friend down the hall about it, but I wanted to figure out what was going on myself. A few minutes later, I came back to the problem, found a simple mathematical error, and was able to answer the question on my own. I didn't waste her time, and I had the satisfaction on finishing a problem on my own. After all, how can one truly learn if all the answers are layed out in front of him/her?
In summary, teamwork is great. It's a good way to use the best skills, and it's a great way of building new skills. In terms of asking questions, if I'm truly stumped, I have no problem asking for help. But if the answer is somewhat attainable, I will work at it until I reach the desired results.

Nerdy

Today, I realized how nerdy I truly am. I used to be obsessive over Lord of the Rings. And every good Lord of the Rings movie fanatic knows about Figwit, the elf who never talks but pouts (here's the wiki on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figwit). Well, it turns out that the extra who played Figwit is Bret McKenzie, from Flight of the Conchords(and the Flight of the Conchords wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_of_the_conchords). Flight of the Conchords is a New Zealand comedic folk group with their own show on HBO. Conclusion: I'm a nerd and am not spending my time wisely at all.
I also realized how bad my spelling is. On the last post, I forgot to check my spelling; some of the stuff in there makes me cringe, literally (is "treasurer" even a word?). Oh well. Like engineering, you live, learn, and move on to the next thing.
Speaking of next things, next semester is only a couple of days away. Hooray (kind of)! I'm really glad to see my U of I friends again (woo hoo for out of state!) and I'm psyched for new and interesting classes like Physics 212, but I'm not packed, don't have my books, and just generally am spazzing out. But it's all good; in a few days, everything will work itself out. That's pretty much been my mantra all this week.
Oh, also, iFoundry stuff is really exciting this semester! I did a presentation for Mason High School students, which was cool. Also, I'm working on bringing in a presenter from IDEO, and we'll probably have a telecon this week! Amazing! Gosh, there's so much more stuff going on! A MechE graduate from Olin is coming in, interviews with Russ, the SWE Region H conference, etc. Also, in AED, we're lifting off on our mini design projects to get them ready for EOH! I'm a little stressed over it, but I'm way too happy and excited about it to let the stress be a bother.
Earlier last semester I mentioned in a post that I would try to channel my inner Winnie-the-Pooh. I think I'll try that again this week.






Here's Bret...












...and here's Figwit. Amazingly similar, no?

Workin' in the New Year

Today, I went to work. I've been working at the same place now for the past 2 years as an environmental research technician. Now, what that job means, I don't exactly know either. For the past two summers, it's meant converting a paper database into an electronic database, helping people hang diplomas on their walls, updating Wikipedia articles, creating a database of all of the firing ranges in the U.S., shredding documents, etc. Basically, anything short of data analysis. Well, for the past few days, I've gotten to do some data analysis! At first it was kind of difficult because I was using software I haven't heard of, but once I got help from a coworker, it was really exciting! Don't get me wrong; I like helping to expand the electronic database. But helping a researcher analyze data from hundreds of audiograms was really, indescribably neat for me. It felt like I was doing something important and worth-while.
I've been reading this book recently called Be Happy At Work: 100 Women Who Love Their Jobs, and Why. In the introduction, the book's author, Joanne Gordon, explains that there are three main paths to happiness at work: love of the process of the job, love of outcome of the work, and love of fellow coworkers. Loving the process of a job means loving the everyday aspects of it, like a wedding planner who loves to help pick the exact right color for table cloths, or an engineer who loves to crunch numbers or who loves the design process for a new bridge. Loving the outcome of the job is basically enjoying what the work accomplishes, like a volunteer who enjoys the fact that his or her nonprofit is working to eradicate AIDS, or like a computer engineer who is proud to build top of the line surveillance systems for our military. Loving coworkers is just getting along with and having a good time with the people you work with (that was pretty self explainatory. Sorry). I'm only a bit into the book, but reading about women who love their jobs has inspired me to go out and find a job that I love, or love a job that I find. After all, sometimes I've found that a job can be much more enjoyable if a positive and enthusiastic attitude is maintained. I'm definitely excited to jumpstart my career.
This past week, I've been thinking about 2009. Really, I have no regrets. Sure, there were points that I could have improved on, such as my registration day fiasco. But I've had such a great year, and I've learned so much. AP Physics, Academic team, German class, AP English, Playdoh in calculus, Watching The West Wing in Government, Reading to kindergarteners, Beloved, the Profile committee, Graduation, Grad parties, the Intern lunch table, Summer Vacation, Hair, Moving in, WIE camp, Meeting floormates for the first time, iLaunch, Quad Day, Illinites, Career Fairs, iFoundry, the iCommunity, SWE and service, ENG 198, Meeting amazingly innovative people, Football games, Saturday Night Sips, Ghost hunting, Apple picking, Corn mazing, Care Packages, Habitat for Humanity, Drawing on the back of calc exams, Going to SOM, Turkey trot, Demented Gingerbread houses, Open House, Watching Hercules and Ghostbusters and falling asleep to Muppet Treasuer Island, Races to Late Night, OK Go, Karen's grad party, Aunt Helen's awesome house, Baking cookies, Getting sick and some sweaters, Being around and hanging out with friends I love and I care about and who can always make me laugh. Truly one of the best years.

All the best in 2010!

New Year's fun

Today, I rang in the new decade with a few close friends. It was awesome, because they brought cupcakes and a Geiger counter. We watched "Inglorious Bastards." I was suprised that almost everyone died, until I remembered that it was a Quentin Tarantino film.
I hope this new year and decade goes well. With perseverance and a good attitude, I think it will. Keep hoping, keep striving. That's about all I got for today. Enjoy the new decade :D