My 2015 in under 150 words

December 31, 2015December 31, 2015 karenalin6Leave a comment

A great writing prompt I found on Medium says, “In one hundred and fifty words or less, describe one of the happiest days of your life.” Instead, I will use these 150 words to describe how my 2015 went:

Overall:
Opportunities appeared, while others faded. This year, I enjoyed my favorite college classes and struggled through my least favorite. My newly declared career path demanded focus, so others fell away as mere passing fancies. I neglected music in order to hop on the computer science bandwagon. I found and lost a relationship. I climbed my way to a leadership position at The Daily Californian but relinquished other extracurricular activities. Ireland became a new home, but I lost any illusions I had about the perfection of Europe. Despite my desire to explore every corner of the world, I discovered limits to my time and energy. But those limits also helped me gain focus, and now my world is sharper than ever.

Summary of winter break/Star Wars mania:
My brother and I raced to find a product with Star Wars packaging in the Target groceries section. He won by finding Darth Vader (and friends) Mac & Cheese.

Few regrets.

How was your 2015?

A workaholic’s struggle with Christmas

December 24, 2015December 28, 2015 karenalin6Leave a comment

Tonight is Christmas Eve, and I’m desperately trying to squeeze this blog post out onto the Internet. Vacation? What vacation?

I never thought I was a workaholic. I usually watch other people and think, “Wow, they work so much harder than I do!” But tonight is evidence that I am overly obsessed with productivity.

This week, the first week of freedom after my final exams, I felt guilty every time I hung out with my friends or watched Netflix. I also watched Star Wars, went on a family trip, and completed a home-improvement project. I am spending holiday break like I should be. Why do I feel so guilty?

I made a list of a billion projects to complete over break, but never thought to actually enjoy my break. I have trouble focusing on the present moment. When I try to meditate, a string of thoughts rudely run through my head to plan out the next minute, the next hour, the next week. I’m terrible at meditating because I’m terrible at relaxing.

So the next item on my to-do list: learn how to take a break.

Merry Christmas!

Why I don’t get drunk

November 30, 2015December 31, 2015 karenalin6Leave a comment

“More and more of my friends are now turning 21 and becoming old enough to (legally) drink. But I don’t expect much to change, since most of us don’t get drunk.” Read more at Medium.

How I battle rejection (not without scars)

November 21, 2015 karenalin6Leave a comment

As an experiment, I published my latest post on Medium. Check it out here.

Why a writer is a word engineer

October 30, 2015October 30, 2015 karenalin6Leave a comment

PenTag-01 — Hooray for HTML tags. I designed this in Adobe Illustrator.

When I tell people that I consider myself a logical person, they sometimes ask why I’m not more involved in engineering or math. After all, people usually associate “logic” with mathematical proofs that show you how to get from “ABC is a right triangle” to “a² + b² = c².” But math and science don’t have a monopoly on logic. The more I study programming, the more I appreciate writing as a logical activity. Here’s how some principles of logic and engineering apply to the writing process:

Why I’m considering a career in technical writing

October 12, 2015October 14, 2015 karenalin6Leave a comment

Now that I’m a college senior, I’ve been answering more and more questions about my post-graduation career plans. Thankfully, I’ve found a solid answer. But when I tell people I want to be a “technical writer,” I get lots of different reactions, from “that sounds boring,” to “what is that?” to “Hey, that’s an actual job!” So to explain the reasoning behind my choice more clearly, I compiled a list of reasons I believe my skills and interests are relevant to the role of the technical writer.

Before I begin, I must add that there’s so much more I need to learn about the technical communications field. I’m also keeping an open mind about my career options (marketing is also a good choice). But it’s nice to leave college with a fully articulated goal. So here goes:Read More »

How I got tired of Europe

September 22, 2015September 24, 2015 karenalin6Leave a comment

It’s been a month since I returned home from a two-month study abroad trip in Ireland. I’ve always wanted a study abroad experience, and I got it. But after two months, I was so ready to come home. The magic of Europe faded as the constant motion of travel wore me down mentally and physically.

I chose to study abroad in Europe out of curiosity. After all, many people dream of living and traveling there. My friends and I spent most of our two months interning in Dublin, but we flew off to various places during the weekends. It was two days in Kerry, back to Dublin for a week, three days in Barcelona, then back to Dublin for another week, etc.

Ireland, week eight: Packing up (and yes, I’m Chinese)

September 10, 2015September 21, 2015 karenalin6Leave a comment

Saturday 8/1

We struggled to get up early today to check out the Guinness Storehouse. None of my friends and I are drinkers, but we wanted to see the supposed “number one attraction in Ireland.” We smelled the beer as soon as we neared the factory, but weren’t able to see the actual beer-making process. Instead, we toured the exhibits in a giant beer glass-shaped building geared toward tourists. They showed us the main ingredients in Guinness and how the beer and casks were made.

When we got to the third floor tasting room, they first herded us into a white room with smells from the disparate ingredients of Guinness. Some of it smelled like chocolate. They gave us shots of Guinness and showed us how to properly taste the beer. Truth be told, I much prefer smelling it to tasting it. We took a few pictures in the advertising exhibit and saw the 360 panoramic view of Dublin in the Gravity Bar before eating lunch in the restaurant. Fittingly, I had the beef and Guinness stew.

Ireland, week seven: Turning up the heat

July 31, 2015 karenalin6Leave a comment

Friday 7/24

Woke up at 2:50 am to catch a bus for the airport. That’s what I get for booking 6 am flights. Immediately upon landing in Barcelona, there was a giant line to get through passport control, the airport Wi-Fi sucked, and everyone was immediately blasted by the humid heat. I waited for the other four girls to squeeze through passport control, as their flight landed 20 min after mine.

We spent a while trying to figure out the metro system but eventually got to city center via a slow tram. Apparently there is no ventilation system in the metro tunnels, so we were boiling in there. Lunch was at a tapas place on Passeig de Gracia (the main shopping street), where we splurged on sangrias, shrimp omelettes, and potato plates. Walked around for a bit before deciding to go to hostel and check in. Words cannot describe how disgustingly sweaty we felt by then. All of us changed into shorts.