F-I-J-I

What does that spell!?!


FIJI!

So folks. Great news today.  I have the first 2-3 weeks of Summer 2012 planned out.
Making biodiesel from coconuts for the people in Fiji.


Beaches, engineering, coconuts, service, credit applied to graduation, friends, travel....all rolled up into one burrito.

Stay around for the updates, coming Fall 2011/Winter 2012 when I start working on my project.  click here to learn some more.

Later days!

RUNNIN' ON AIR

You cannot tell me that isn't cool.
Me and my team members machined each part of that sucker by hand.
I freaking love my major.


And I heart my little v1 engine.

I'M ALIVE.

I turned in my last DiffEq assignment yesterday

SUCH a good feeling.

Maybe even better than when I finally finished a test in the same class after 3.5 hours.

Take that, math.

Bring it on, finals week.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM MY FIELD TRIP TO THE MRI

I was hatin' today, no lie. Crappy differential equations test with crappy transformations, crappy 5 page political science paper, just crappy crap.

Oh, and I was going to have to sit it a frickin' tube for a solid 45 minutes without wiggling.  Just swell.


But oh, how my attitude changed when I saw that sexy machine.
"Whoooaaaaa. Tell me how this WORKS!"

I said to the MRI technician.


I was very pleased with his answer--usually techs don't really know what is happening. They just 'press the buttons'.

He proceeded to explain the mechanisms of the giant current-carrying coil that produced a whopping 2.0 tesla magnet. (That is HUGE, by the way.)  Then he explained that tissue, bone, and fat all have different natural frequencies, and by getting them to emit energy, the computer can use a Fourier transform to turn the readings into 2-D, and even 3-D images.


I suddenly had a new motivation to study for my differential equations test--I could potentially save lives with those blasted transformations that I have cursed to the high heavens over the past semester.


Huh, this day was turning out to be pretty cool.



I contently sat in the tube 
and listened to the various calming frequencies and blissful clankings of the current through the coil,
pondering the sheer genius of the invention,
and hoping that someday,
I could come up with something like this, too.

HOBBIES...?

Hobby.  This has been a virtually non-existent word in my dictionary for the past two years.

In light of recent events, I have found myself with a lot more time on my hands than ever before.
(Two "breaks" this week: leg and heart.)
So much time, in fact, that I don't know what to do with it all.

I resort to making things out of paper.



Cutting up books....

Making hearts.....

Apparently, this is also how I deal with stress.
(Just don't read too deep into the fact that I am cutting up books and making hearts...)
I feel pretty satisfied, to say the least.
If you're reading this, please call me so we can do lunch or something.
Get me away from my scissors/sewing machine.
It isn't healthy.

I should really look into being intern for Martha next summer.