I'm in Taiwan right now because I had to show up for the opening of an exhibit which involves my mom's family at the national 228 museum. I've only been here for a week, and I've realized that I desperately need to relearn (really, learn) Chinese. If my department will allow it and not frown upon it, I am going to take a class in it at UCLA. Hopefully it's not too late for my brain to learn something linguistic.
In Taiwan, I feel really at ease. It's probably because I am not working here and I don't have to pay rent or cook for myself in the kitchen and take out the trash when the trash trucks come playing Fur Elise or really worry about life stuff while I'm here with my mom's extended family, but I really like it here. Assuming my Chinese is passable by the time I enter the job market, I will consider searching for a job here. A UCLA alum from last year apparently got placed at National Taiwan University, which is pretty cool and indicates that it is possible if I work really hard.
I passed both of my second-year fields so things are looking pretty good on the grad school front. Right now, I'm preparing for my advancement to candidacy (ATC) presentation that I need to give when I go back to UCLA to formally transition to being a Ph.D. candidate. Thankfully, VPN will allow me to access all the journals I need access to so I can hopefully get it done in the next few days.
In July, I moved to a new apartment with a friend in my program, Allen. Moving everything from our apartments using a U-Haul truck to the new one was quite tiring, but it worked out in the end.
Showing posts with label ucla. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ucla. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
no longer a bachelor....... of economics.
My Master's of Arts in Economics was conferred to me via a very impersonal e-mail. It didn't even say that my degree was in economics; it simply said that my "MASTER OF ART" degree was conferred. I guess whoever programmed the script left an pretty important field out. But at least it read "GO BRUINS!" at the end.
I'm set on studying Industrial Organization and Econometrics as my two fields. I'm already swamped with work, but at least I'm not as disgruntled about it as I was a year ago. I'm almost done with my paper for a class from last quarter (which is already more than 3 weeks late) and I have a bunch of problem sets to do this week for econometrics. Tomorrow I'm giving a short homework presentation estimation with lagged variables with Miao, but the problem is my code doesn't seem to exhibit the results that the professor wanted, and it's already 12:50 a.m.
I'm a teaching assistant for ECON101, which is the last course in the undergrad microeconomics sequence. Formally, it's called Microeconomic Theory, and it serves mostly as an introduction to game theory. I must say that the undergrads here are receiving a much stronger undergraduate education in economics than I did at my alma mater. The stuff my students are learning now was taught mostly in my upper division Game Theory course back at Maryland. I'm optimistic about it though, since I've heard that it has been going the whole nine yards in terms of revamping the undergrad program, making it much more math-intensive. Anyway, I really enjoy being a TA for the class because at this level, the students are mostly econ or business econ majors and want to really learn the stuff.
I'm set on studying Industrial Organization and Econometrics as my two fields. I'm already swamped with work, but at least I'm not as disgruntled about it as I was a year ago. I'm almost done with my paper for a class from last quarter (which is already more than 3 weeks late) and I have a bunch of problem sets to do this week for econometrics. Tomorrow I'm giving a short homework presentation estimation with lagged variables with Miao, but the problem is my code doesn't seem to exhibit the results that the professor wanted, and it's already 12:50 a.m.
I'm a teaching assistant for ECON101, which is the last course in the undergrad microeconomics sequence. Formally, it's called Microeconomic Theory, and it serves mostly as an introduction to game theory. I must say that the undergrads here are receiving a much stronger undergraduate education in economics than I did at my alma mater. The stuff my students are learning now was taught mostly in my upper division Game Theory course back at Maryland. I'm optimistic about it though, since I've heard that it has been going the whole nine yards in terms of revamping the undergrad program, making it much more math-intensive. Anyway, I really enjoy being a TA for the class because at this level, the students are mostly econ or business econ majors and want to really learn the stuff.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
end of fall quarter 2010
The exam week is almost over for the fall quarter. The only exam I had was on Monday and it was in Contract Theory, and needless to say, I was defeated by it. I did in fact study for it, but maybe not with the same fervor (read: desperation) as I had during exam periods last year.
Right now, I have to finish two papers for Economic History and one last Search Theory assignment, and then I'm going back to Maryland on Sunday, Dec 12. Oh, and I have to help proctor the final exam of Principles of Microeconomics, which I have been TAing for this past quarter.
Speaking of TAing, I was assigned to be a teaching assistant for the Microeconomic Theory course under Professor Bill Zame next quarter. Before I came here to UCLA, one day I was reading off the names of faculty to my dad and Zame's name caught his attention. This was because when my dad was a senior at Caltech, he was the grader for the graduate abstract algebra course, which Zame was taking as a junior. My dad recalls an instance where Zame argued with my dad about why these or those points were taken off on one assignment. This story has only remained folklore among my cohort, since I have not had the chance to bring it up with the professor. But yeah that'd be pretty cool if he remembers my dad too.
Plans for the winter? I have to write an econometrics paper on kernel estimators and modality robustness for my metrics class. Oh, and I'm getting at least one wisdom tooth pulled. Other than that, hopefully it'll be relaxing with family and friends. I also need to be thinking about what topics to write my field papers on.
Right now, I have to finish two papers for Economic History and one last Search Theory assignment, and then I'm going back to Maryland on Sunday, Dec 12. Oh, and I have to help proctor the final exam of Principles of Microeconomics, which I have been TAing for this past quarter.
Speaking of TAing, I was assigned to be a teaching assistant for the Microeconomic Theory course under Professor Bill Zame next quarter. Before I came here to UCLA, one day I was reading off the names of faculty to my dad and Zame's name caught his attention. This was because when my dad was a senior at Caltech, he was the grader for the graduate abstract algebra course, which Zame was taking as a junior. My dad recalls an instance where Zame argued with my dad about why these or those points were taken off on one assignment. This story has only remained folklore among my cohort, since I have not had the chance to bring it up with the professor. But yeah that'd be pretty cool if he remembers my dad too.
Plans for the winter? I have to write an econometrics paper on kernel estimators and modality robustness for my metrics class. Oh, and I'm getting at least one wisdom tooth pulled. Other than that, hopefully it'll be relaxing with family and friends. I also need to be thinking about what topics to write my field papers on.
Monday, September 27, 2010
moving on
So I finally passed all my comprehensive exams and can rest easy for a while. Barring some major meltdown when writing my field papers, it seems like I am safely in the Ph.D. program.
What's next? Many huge sighs of relief. Also, the quarter has already started and it looks like I am concentrating on econometrics and industrial organization. That may change though, as I may change to micro theory or macroeconomics/monetary.
I know it's only the end of the 1st year, but in most economics programs, it is the most stressful since most of the program's attrition occurs at the conclusion of it. I would like to thank my parents, unnamed friends, unnamed professors for their unequivocal support, and thank Patrick for literally helping me start this journey. I'm not sure when I can start naming people (especially professors) in posts because I'm pretty sure this would turn up in a Google search.
What's next? Many huge sighs of relief. Also, the quarter has already started and it looks like I am concentrating on econometrics and industrial organization. That may change though, as I may change to micro theory or macroeconomics/monetary.
I know it's only the end of the 1st year, but in most economics programs, it is the most stressful since most of the program's attrition occurs at the conclusion of it. I would like to thank my parents, unnamed friends, unnamed professors for their unequivocal support, and thank Patrick for literally helping me start this journey. I'm not sure when I can start naming people (especially professors) in posts because I'm pretty sure this would turn up in a Google search.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
first day of "class"
Math boot camp started today. My friends laugh when I describe it as such.. but that's what it really is. It's a crash course in real analysis and linear algebra. Crash course in the sense that we're spending minutes on topics that would normally take half a lecture period. We were shown a proof of the existence of converging subsequences of bounded sequences by the iterative shading out of quadrants on the blackboard. Yeah.
For those of you who don't know, my laptop went out of commission apparently because of a bad chip of RAM. I talked to Dell and its contractor while on the road to LA and everything managed to work out. My parents brought it over here when they came to visit this past weekend.
I have most of my room furnished. I still need to build the dresser, a small cabinet/drawer thing, and a loveseat. Pictures of the room will come later when everything's up and I clean up the mess I've made over the last week.
So yeah, my parents came to visit over the Labor Day weekend. On Friday they flew in at 1:30 a.m. after missing their first flight from DC. I didn't go to sleep until maybe 4 a.m. that night >___<. On Saturday I had to wait around for an Ikea delivery and then we saw one of my mom's research collaborators at UCLA Neuroscience. Then we went to see my dad's old high school classmate at her house in Whittier. She had a couple other guests and family members over and yeah.. they were all about the same age. Despite the age difference, it's still good to know that my parents and, by association, I have good friends in the LA area. I got this sick shot of the LA skyline from her house up in the hills:
On Sunday we went to Pasadena to see my dad's alma mater Caltech. For dinner we ate at a really good Chinese restaurant in Arcadia. It was interesting to see so many plazas with signs all in Chinese.
So yeah, that pretty much sums up the visit from the parentals. Here's a picture of me and my mom right before I took my parents to LAX on Monday:
And thank Patrick for the awesome pic at the top. [EDIT: I removed the video and picture of my father cause he's paranoid of the interwebz.]
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
leaving tomorrow
Tomorrow (well... at 9 a.m. today), I leave for Los Angeles. My route has changed from the last post to this blog. Instead of driving to Ann Arbor to pick up my cousin Patrick, he has flown down to Maryland so that we can begin the journey in Bethesda. We're going to stop in Nashville, Dallas (for two nights), Tucson, and finally LA.
Saying goodbye to friends has been difficult, but bearable. Instead of descending into despair or sadness, I am overwhelmed with a feeling of a great void. People who I have befriended and grown to trust and love for many years of my life will suddenly no longer be relevant in my daily life. I won't be able to call the same old friends to grab a bubble tea, to play tennis, to play poker, to hit the bars, to play ps3, or to play counter-strike. I supposed I could still play video games with friends, but the ping would be too damn high.
For the first time in my life, I will be completely alone. I'll know one person (sorta) in Los Angeles and one more in the SoCal area. Parents won't be 15 miles away like they used to when I was at the University of Maryland. This is definitely a great opportunity for me to finally mature (albeit steadily since I'll still be in an academic setting), but I fear that I may become lonely. I'll surely meet people through my classes and campus activities, but the familiarity of setting and deep connections with many people that I've enjoyed in the 22 years of my life will be lost. I will still have the memories and hopefully they'll comfort me as I embark on my journey across the country and as I settle in to a brave new world (for me). Oh, and MSN and AIM will comfort me as well.
Farewell Maryland. I owe you and your flagship university an immense debt. Thank you friends for your support, patience, understanding and the memories throughout the years. And thank you ma and pa for being not-so-Asian and supportive of my decision to move 2700 miles away. I'm not sure when, but I hope to return in even happier times.
Monday, July 27, 2009
money and driving
I am not going to lie. The California budget crisis really worries me. The fact that higher education is probably get a $3 billion cut is disconcerting to say the least. This will obviously impact UCLA since it has the highest operating costs out of the whole UC system. The economics department promised in writing that admitted graduate students would be able to gain financial support by undertaking teaching assistantships in their second year, but I'm not so sure that's actually going pan out. Even before the announced proposal, the department couldn't offer me a first year stipend, and only offered my friend $10,000, which is only barely enough to cover rent and not enough for UCLA's own graduate housing. I'm even beginning to have regrets about declining Duke's and Cornell's generous offers so deliberately.
The current budget deal will shut down a lot of programs that in particular aim to benefit low-income people (and in Los Angeles like most cities, that means minorities). The Los Angeles Times wrote that lobbyists for the makers of TurboTax were even pressing the state legislators to dismantle a program that has the state tax board fill out the tax returns of low-income residents for free. It definitely must suck to be poor in California now. There probably was a convincing reason to start the program in the first place. Maybe.. it was to make it so that people who don't speak English and therefore don't know which fields mean what on the tax forms would be able to file their returns. This seems pretty important, and it's sad that the politicians were actually listening. I understand that taxes were astronomically high in California already, but I don't understand why the Republicans won't even allow a teeny tiny tax increase on the rich.. which LA and SF have many of. That would save programs that people really depend on, not to mention the jobs that the programs support.
Anyways here's a screenshot of my planned driving route to California, for the sake of adding images to this colorless blog. In posting/editing mode, this image seems to be of very low quality. Oh well. (EDIT: but ah, I see you can click on the thumbnail to see the original image in its full Microsoft Paint-cropped glory.)
Some of you readers have heard this from me already, but here are my stops:
I don't have any obligations until September 8, so I'll have some free time to check things out. I fantasize that this will include locating all the sweet bars, the cool clubs, and the hotspots in West LA but this will probably boil down to locating where the closest supermarket, convenience store, pharmacy, and farmer's market are.
The current budget deal will shut down a lot of programs that in particular aim to benefit low-income people (and in Los Angeles like most cities, that means minorities). The Los Angeles Times wrote that lobbyists for the makers of TurboTax were even pressing the state legislators to dismantle a program that has the state tax board fill out the tax returns of low-income residents for free. It definitely must suck to be poor in California now. There probably was a convincing reason to start the program in the first place. Maybe.. it was to make it so that people who don't speak English and therefore don't know which fields mean what on the tax forms would be able to file their returns. This seems pretty important, and it's sad that the politicians were actually listening. I understand that taxes were astronomically high in California already, but I don't understand why the Republicans won't even allow a teeny tiny tax increase on the rich.. which LA and SF have many of. That would save programs that people really depend on, not to mention the jobs that the programs support.
Anyways here's a screenshot of my planned driving route to California, for the sake of adding images to this colorless blog. In posting/editing mode, this image seems to be of very low quality. Oh well. (EDIT: but ah, I see you can click on the thumbnail to see the original image in its full Microsoft Paint-cropped glory.)
Some of you readers have heard this from me already, but here are my stops:- Bethesda, MD
- Ann Arbor, MI
- Memphis, TN
- Dallas, TX
- Temple, TX
- Los Angeles, CA
I don't have any obligations until September 8, so I'll have some free time to check things out. I fantasize that this will include locating all the sweet bars, the cool clubs, and the hotspots in West LA but this will probably boil down to locating where the closest supermarket, convenience store, pharmacy, and farmer's market are.
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