After visiting CMU, I am somewhat relieved that the grad students in my program aren\’t that crazy. For some reason, I had gotten the feeling that they would all be HCI-hardcore. And considering how little I talk about HCI (beyond my desire of FOAFness aka the need to stalk people), I felt somewhat guilty that I wasn\’t as insane about HCI as I should be.

I had planned to do all my thank yous when I finally got a new layout up (ideas: DRAMAH QUEEN layout, generic GRAY layout, kiddy-themed layout, layout based on \”pretty\” pictures I have taken earlier), but that doesn\’t seem to be too soon.

When I first started applying to grad programs, I googled everything. I got inspired by people who were applying. In particular, metamanda.com (who decided to go to UCI), snowedin.net (who decided to go to Indiana – I decided not to go to this program), dorkyspice.com (who decided to go to UMich – I decided not to go to the same school as my cousin) Yes, these people don\’t know who I am.

And of course, I would have to thank Kevin Fox, the most \”famous\” cmu grad. And the only person I know who was (like me) an undergrad cogsci major at Berkeley and CMU mhci! :) Also not to mention Micah.

So thanks to everyone who showed me around (or attempted to show me around) last weekend. That includes Marina, Patrick, Sandi, Gahgene, Belinda, Jenna, Professor Alice Chen, and the creepy guy Warren!

When I told someone at work today about my incident at Pittsburgh, he observed \”Jenn, do you wear a sign that says \’gullible\’ on your forehead?\”

I had always been anti-war. Not that I am a pacifist (people know how easily I cause drama when my blood is boiled), but rather I didn\’t agree with the invasion of Iraq. So I had been intrigued when I overheard some girl arguing how wrong the war was. She spoke so loudly, arguing with some people she was sitting with. A full blown debate. She wore a t-shirt proclaiming her stance on war. While I ate my fish sandwich and french fries, I stared at them. I thought about joining the conversation, but then I realized that it won\’t do any good. People are often unbiased prior to entering a debate. Yet by the end of debate where they are nearly forced to choose a side, they find themselves so much to the extreme right or extreme left. Not to mention, last year I learned during another anti-war debate, that people can get so defensive that personal feelings are hurt. I had taken a short leave from an online community as a result. So I got up and walked around the airport, looking for a power outlet to charge my powerbook.

By the time I returned to the gate, they had already started boarding. I heard the girl still talking amongst her group. But now it was about presidents. How so many presidents cannot avoid scandals. Now I realized how pretentious all that was. It seemed like she was influenced by Michael Moore\’s \”documentaries\”, which are very obviously biased. It seemed like she was just arguing for the sake of arguing about politics. To appear like a liberal San Francisco resident? In the end, it doesn\’t really matter how much you debate, but as long as you do something about it. It\’s all about if you don\’t like how something is done, then go out and do something about it.

And so ends my first journey to Pittsburgh.

Things I am looking forward to:

things I am not looking forward to:

on a side note: I have always disliked comments that are \”empty\”. That is, the comments don\’t really have anything do with my entry. (you can always e-mail/im me) *cough* I think you know who you are.

I had to check out at 11 am today. So right now, I am sitting in front of Morewood Gardens in a pseudo-park. There are 3 guys standing at the corner, waving posters around. \”CAR WASH! CAR WASH!\”

Then at one point, they would carry dialogue:
\”MY CAR IS DIRTY!\”
\”GET A CAR WASH!\”
\”WHERE IS IT, SAM?\”
\”IN THE MOREWOOD PARKING LOT! THAT WAY! THAT WAY!\”
\”HOW MUCH IS IT, SAM?\”
\”DONATION-BASED!\”
\”WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, SAM?\”
\”GIVE AS MUCH AS YOU WANT!\”
\”CAAAAAR WAAAAAASH!\”

If some people think that I had very bad judgment in the Mike Fernando incident, then they must think I had no common sense today.

For the evening, I walked to the area close to University of Pittsburgh to visit the restaurants that were detailed in the Guide to living in Pittsburgh. I ate at this Mexican restaurant that were full of people watching a soccer game. As a result, I didn\’t have a place to sit, but it was somewhat fun watching people cheer (loudly) each time their team made a goal. Afterwards, I went down the block to Dave and Andy\’s, a highly recommended ice cream store. I got a waffle cone with Birthday Cake flavor (and it really did taste like Birthday Cake) for $2.75. The store didn\’t seem that different from other ice cream stores I know of in California. People kept streaming in all the time.

So I walked along Forbes back to the place where I was staying. While crossing the street at Craig/Forbes, there was some guy that screamed random obscentities. I didn\’t really take a second look, because that kind of thing happens all the time in Berkeley. And so I was charging across the crosswalk and passed by this pleasantly plump late thirties guy who stopped in the middle of the street, amused and chuckling to himself. He noticed how calm I was and caught up with me. He asked for my name. At first, I thought he wanted to know my name, because he thought I was someone he knew.

I paused in surprise. Knowing how I have gotten into trouble (aka Mike Fernando) by giving my name, I asked, \”Wait…why.\” Then looking at his expressionless face, I said, \”I don\’t live around here.\”

\”I know you don\’t. Going to CMU?\” I nodded. Then he asked, \”Where are you from?\”

A pure innocuous question. I told him I was from California, the San Francisco Bay Area. Then I made my mistake. I told him that I was just in Pittsburgh for a few days and that it was my first time here. According to the guide, people in pittsburgh are very friendly. But still it was surprising, he offered to take me up Craig Sreet to show me the nearby restaurants. I thought that was harmless, but nooo…after going up for a few blocks, he turned onto some residential streets and showed me architecture. He pointed to some tall buildings to our left and said that Orientals and Arabs live there. Slightly offended, I said, \”You mean, Asians and people from the Middle East?\”

Then he went onto say, \”Most of them are aliens.\”

\”You mean, immigrants?\” I wanted to leave, but he had already led me to some streets that I sort of lost my own sense of direction.

\”Oh I mean they\’re here on student visas,\” he explained.

The politically incorrectness got to me and I said, \”Oh, international students. This the international area.\” I was still not happy with his use of words when he started showing me some buildings. \”That\’s a mosque,\” he said. \”Jews go there.\”

\”You mean a temple.\” The broken terminology was getting to me. He didn\’t seem offended at all by my comments. To my surprise, he suddenly asked, \”When\’s your birthday?\”

Was it because my ice cream was the Birthday Cake flavor? I hesitantly told him it was in May. He asked me if I was a Taurus. I shook my head and I said that I was a Gemini. At this point, I was wondering whether he was trying to hit on me. While walking, I kept my face turned away from him, pretending to be interested in our surroundings (mostly, I was trying to be aware of my environment). He asked me whether I was into movies or amusement parks. I had always hated that kind of question and reluctantly told him that I did things on the computer. Then he mentioned how his friends who were writers did some \”crazy\” stuff online. I asked him for an example. \”Just crazy stuff!\” Then he made an ironic statement, \”You can say anything you want! You can say that you have 3 eyes! How would you know who you\’re talking to is really who they say they are.\”

At least meeting people online, I wouldn\’t feel as creeped out.

I attempted to always keep three feet away from him. On some impulse, he walked into some driveway. I stopped at the sidewalk and asked whether we were entering private property. He shook his head. I reluctantly followed him and he showed me some art building. Then he started walking on the lawn…unlit. There was a gate at the back of the building. I stopped about ten feet from that, because it seemed like he wanted to go to the back where there was obviously no lights. \”That\’s sort of dark,\” I said.

By this time, I wasn\’t happy and I kept trying to think of a way to get out. I told him that I had to get up early and that I should go. Unfortunately, I didn\’t know exactly where I was. So I reluctantly followed him (through some random rendevous with \”cool\” buildings where the areas were dark, always trying to look inside the alleys and the windows). Finally we reached a large street where I recognized some landmarks and I was able to escape. I told him I didn\’t have a phone number in Pittsburgh and fortunately he didn\’t press on for another form of contact. He gave me his number which something like 881-8979. Thankfully, Pittsburgh is large enough that I\’ll never have to meet you again, Warren.

Edit: my sister says that I was being too polite. Next time, I should say no to tours!

I have met too many people from CMU so far! (I keep forgetting their names. Sobby.) Although I complained about how the Pittsburgh adults were unhelpful, it seems that people around my age are consistently friendly people (maybe their high tuition is wearing on them). I met several students from my program (most of which I don\’t remember the names) and a retired professor who is the friend of a friend of my neighbor back in Lafayette. My mom had talked to the retired professor before asking if she would take my two boxes. When I got the two boxes down to the professor\’s car, she asked if I would like to spend some time with her (to my surprise). So she drove me around the Pittsburgh neighbor, emphasizing how I should live in Squirrel Hill and not Shadyside (because it\’s \”boring\”). Then she invited me into her house for a cup of tea (instead she served me water) and we sat on the porch. That entire day was slightly disorienting because I didn\’t sleep enough and wore myself down by walking over 5 miles in 90 minutes.

What bothers me much about Pittsburgh (besides the obvious impending cold winters) is that…the city isn\’t as environmentally-conscious or health-conscious. Coming from California, I expected that there be recycling available, but in all the apartments/houses I have seen there are none! Paper/cans/bottles all get thrown in the same bin as trash. When I was walking up and down Murray, I couldn\’t find a single juice bar! No Jamba Juice or Juice Stop here. :( There were just a lot of pizza places as well as bars. Nothing that healthy.

Today, I was taken on a tour from a student in my program. I got to admit the campus is somewhat better than that of Berkeley\’s. Although CMU is significantly smaller, the buildings are nicer (probably because it\’s a private university) and there is a real university center (almost similar to Price Center of UCSD). As we were crossing the street to an Indian restaurant, the students I was with suddenly saw that the program advisor was inside. They immediately tried to go the other way. But the advisor noticed them and they had to say hi. I asked one of the students why we didn\’t want to eat in the same restaurant as faculty and she said, \”Because we will talk frankly.\” Eventually, we (me and four mchi students) ate lunch at this Middle Eastern restaurant called Ali Baba. And the lunch was charged to the department, to my surprise. Too bad, I didn\’t order more. :) What\’s weird is that everyone at the table ordered a glass of coke (except me of course I stuck to my glass of ice water). Soda is too fizzy and too much sugar! Where are my smoothies!?

EDIT: I found a smoothie shop on the top floor of the University Center. :D I am now happy.

As I got into line at the departure gate in SFO, I overheard a man in the group ahead of me about how he served in Iraq and how he has been in the Marine Corps for 19 years. I could tell that he wasn\’t part of the family, but just a passerby. I thought about how anti-war I was and how I have yet to meet someone from the service (in person) that wasn\’t an idiot.

But to my surprise, my seat 27B was right next to that guy from the Marine Corps. One of the first things he said was how he planned to retire after 20 years of working in the Marine Corps. Then how he has been traveling for more than 24 hours straight (and look at me complaining) because he was coming home from Okinawa (apparently, he had to fly from Okinawa to Taipei, then to San Francisco, then to Chicago, then to Memphis). He kept emphasizing how technology was so magical. I nodded in response and gave some general comments such as \”that\’s true\” or \”Sometimes we forget how far we have come\”. I told him how I was flying to Pittsburgh to visit a school in a city that I had never been in. Coincidentially, he spent his childhood in Pittsburgh. Immediately, he ripped off a piece of paper and asked me for a pen. He wrote his sister\’s name on it, telling me to try to contact her. Then a few minutes later, he ripped off another corner of the piece of paper and wrote his name and his e-mail address-\”e-mail me and I\’ll add you to my favorites\”. Realizing how this all seemed one-sided, I stooped down to my backpack, saying that I should give him my e-mail address, but he stopped me. For the rest of the flight, he talked about the best way to sleep in uncomfortable places (fold hands together over chest to feel heart beating, it didn\’t work for me) and how he worked in an aircraft carrier-the grapes, the yellows etc. He asked me if I wanted to grab a cup of coffee later and I said no saying that I had already ate.

We parted at the arrival gate in Chicago O\’hare. I scurried away. I saw him later talking to more random passengers in the airport.

After a long dreadful 7 hour flight (where at Chicago, I had to run from one end of the airport to the other side to make my connecting flight) and a 45 minute wait for a 45 minute bus ride to cmu…and me dragging along two huge packages up and down the block, looking silly, I have finally checked into the Morewood Gardens (not to mention that I probably got only 30 minutes of sleep in the last 24 hours). What is funny is that there is an idtech camp downstairs, the same camp I am servicing at Berkeley. Maybe their setup is different, but whoa so cool. The room I got is a double, but apparently I am the only one here. We get card keys instead of metal keys. I have my own private bathroom and the desks are really nice. The beds are slightly lofted. The weather outside is humid but cloudy. So goes my first day at CMU.

The next two days I will spend looking for housing and just getting to know the campus. So far, it seems that some Pittsburgh people are just obstinately unhelpful (at least the older adults). I asked one person where Tower B was and all she said was \”YOU CAN\’T ENTER THIS WAY YOU CAN\’T ENTER THIS WAY GO THAT WAY [which was tower c]\” Then I overheard some mother/daughter group ask the bus driver if they could get off at Liberty/7th. The bus driver just said that he doesn\’t stop there. Then later on, he finally admitted that he stopped at Liberty/6th. How did this happen?

How do people in the movies get how things are spelled when someone tells them verbally? And even more, how do they remember a phone number after being told it once?

Maybe it\’s just for the time, but anytime someone tells me a phone number, I have to have them slow down and repeat it slowly. Then when someone tells me a street name, I have to have them spell it. Today, I asked for the address of a prospective place in Pittsburgh. She gave me the street address really quickly. Then said it was at the intersection of Elwood and Donmey. Then I looked at the map. It was actually Elwood and Negley. Maybe my hearing is going bad…

People have always said that I am more articulate in text rather than verbally.

When calling someone, I tend to jumble all my words together. I am thinking too fast and the words don\’t come out as smoothly as they would on paper (or screen). What\’s horrible is that when I try to tell people about my ideas, it comes out as a dizzying rollercoaster. And then when I write e-mails, everything is organized into paragraphs.

It\’s interesting that speech therapy only works on ennuciating the proper sounds, but they don\’t focus on teaching how to articulate thoughts clearly and succintly.

After 6 years of using my Greatland green backpack (with a zipper that is now falling apart), I have finally gotten a new one. A new feature-laden SILVER Adidas pack with a laptop sleeve, water bottle holder, cellphone pocket, organizer for pens and pencils, hidden pocket, music player sleeve, headphones jack, large zippers, and high-tech straps. Just because next year I\’ll probably carry all this expensive equipment with me. And this probably would be the last backpack I\’ll ever own.