American Born Chinese

Reflecting on Japan

chino1001@yahoo.com — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 04:15:42 GMT

It has been a little over one week since returning from Japan; returning from my first overseas vacation in a long time. I must say it was a wonderful experience. At first, I expected to feel some sort of "butterfly in the stomach" effect, being that it was the first time that I traveled out of the country with out my parents present, but I didn't. I didn't feel nervous at all. Navigation throughout Japan was very easy, no harder than navigating through the United States. This was most likely due to the fact that most of Japan is tourist friendly, with most of the crucial information translated into English. In a pinch I was able to effectively use my 3 years of Japanese skills to ask questions to get around. But I must say that my 3 years of Japanese was pretty dismal when it came down to traveling around Japan. Under the low pressure environment of a classroom, I performed alright. But add push me to use it in the real world, I performed worse than expected.

My first downfall was the lack of practice speaking practical Japanese. All of the Japanese we learned in class was, how should I say, was very textbook. All of the phrases that I was so use to hearing in class, I rarely used. The Japanese that I heard around the various regions of Japan, were all foreign to me; I have never heard them before. Even in simple situations such has ordering food, and checking out at the convenience store I often got hung up on a simple questions such as "would you like a bag". I guess they expected me to speak Japanese since I am Asian. None the less, this didn't hamper my experience in Japan much. The kindness, and politeness of a majority of the Japanese population didn't make me feel all that bad speaking broken Japanese.

After a few days in Japan, I started to understand why so many people develop a yearn to go to Japan. First the people are very polite, and willing to help. Everywhere you go, the shops and restaurants, the employees treat you with the utmost respect. Just about everyone seems to take their job seriously, working fast and efficiently to get you in and out as fast as possible. Food is all about quality not quantity. Take McDonald's for example. The portions for soda, and fries are smaller, but it taste better. The double quarter pounder actually looked appetizing. The meat was not super greasy and gray looking, like an American quarter pounder, and it actually tasted like quality beef. Food in Japan seemed to have a very short shelf life, a bag of chips that I got only had a 4 month self life; born on date and expiration date are printed on the bag. 7-eleven actually had food that you wanted to eat, and looked appetizing, the 7-11's in American could learn a thing or two from the ones in Japan. I wonder if Japanese people that come to America are disgusted by what is available in the convenience stores in America.

Another plus in Japan was the public transport, which was once again, fast efficient, clean, and on time. We stayed in and around major cites in Japan most of the time, so we never had trouble catching a bus, subway or train. What impressed me the most was the Shinkansen (bullet train) system in Japan. What would normally be a 6 to 7 hour car only takes about 2.5 hours. At speeds up to 177 MPH, we were flying, flying on the ground. On the bullet trains, there was also food service, which made it feel like we were on a plane.

The regions of Japan has as much variability as America, except with no deserts. All the mountains were absolutely beautiful. My next trip to Japan will definattly involve more hiking; probably focus on Mt. Fuji, Nikko, and Hokaido.

So do I want to live in Japan, yes, but I am a little hesitant. I'm not sure if the experience that I receive in Japan will be relevant to working in a national laboratory, which is where I would like to end up working. I don't know right now. But hey, I'm still young...I guess. I'll be damn near 30 years old when I finally leave school and start living my life.

We'll see!

...as with everything in life...to be continued...

Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Nikko, Osaka, Tsuraoka, Yokohama....

chino1001@yahoo.com — Fri, 22 May 2009 15:03:22 GMT

Another one of my brain dumps...I'm tired...so here goes...

We have five more days in Japan, and I'm surprised on the number of places that we have visited. I have done more hiking (OK more like street hiking) than I've ever done. I'm still a little shocked that I'm half way around the world with out parents. The only other two times that I've travel this far was with them, and it was always to Hong Kong; this trip was definitely a learning experience. The only time that I got to use my Japanese abilities was to translate for the Osaka police.

I definitely want to come back here one day to do some more hiking in the Northeast portion of Japan, specifically Nikko, Hokaido, and around the base of Mount Fuji.

The people here are very kind and willing to help for the most part. Unfortunately, since I look Japanese they expect me to speak the language fluently, and it takes a little while for them to realize that I'm American. I'm still not sure I want to start a career here; I didn't get a chance to see the academic and engineering side of Japan yet.

MVI_0720

chino1001@yahoo.com — Thu, 21 May 2009 15:53:36 GMT

MVI_0720
Originally uploaded by chino1001

Subway Packing!!!!

chino1001@yahoo.com — Mon, 18 May 2009 01:17:51 GMT

Not much time to sit down and think so here goes....

Waking up before the city of Tokyo and then watching it erupt in activity was amazing. It really nice to see the city before there is any activity, seeing the calm and then the madness. What was really amazing was the sudden torrent of people at Tokyo station as they disembark from the first of the rush hour trains.

So far we got to see both sides of Japan; the city and the rural. Getting lost in the language that I have studied for 3 years is a very humbling experience. So far we have been to Yokohama, Tsruoka, Haguro-san, and Niko; we're going back to Niko tomorrow.

This has been an amazing experience and I'm so glad to be hear and to share it with a good friend.

The more I see the more that I want to come back to go hiking and back pacing.

I'll be back...

Some photos from Japan

chino1001@yahoo.com — Sat, 16 May 2009 15:47:39 GMT

These took forever to upload!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chino1001/sets/72157618263602116/

"I have NO IDEA what I'm doing with my life right now!"

chino1001@yahoo.com — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 04:59:17 GMT

kakusaretatench's quick 'outburst' has made me try to find my self again.
So we go through life so sure of where we're headed, but in Clemson I have now lost my self. At UF, my goal was clear, do research, get a Ph.D, and teach and conduct research as a professor. But nearly 3 years ago, I got an offer to go to Clemson, and pursue a degree in automotive engineering; something I've wanted to do since high school; I love cars. Awesome, as I think to my self, I get to get out of Florida, and experience living in another part of America. Fast forward to the present, I realized that I should not have made my hobby my research topic, let alone try to make it a career. Others that I've meet share the same view, 'don't try to make your hobby your career, you'll hate it'. So now, I switch back to mechanical engineering, but no longer have the same goals that I've had while at UF, I just don't feel like being a professor at the moment.

In two years, I'll be graduating, and entering the real world, something that I've been avoiding, or more accurately didn't feel ready for, since graduating with my BS in Dec. 2004. Lets back track to Dec. 2004, and why I entered graduate school. I entered graduate school because I didn't feel well prepared to be a mechanical engineer, I wanted to learn more. I liked tutoring, and helping other students learn what I know, so OK lets become a professor. Heck, why not do research as well. Great, now I have some goals. But those goals have since been canceled. Alright, lets get some new ones, or more accurately borrow from others:

- working in Japan: A lot of students do this via JET. Sounds like a popular thing to do, and most importantly, its fun. OK, I can try to do a post Doc. research, or do an internship with a company that is partnered up with Clemson such as Ryobi, or Michelin.
- national laboratory: Many students in the field of science have this as a goal. I'm working on a research project with a national lab right now, so thats got to help in getting a post Doc with them later
- go back to original goals: Can I get fired up about teaching again? I do get satisfied when students finally understand what I'm trying to explain, and to see the joy on their face when they "get it".
- A combination of all three: intern in Japan, while finishing up my Ph.D dissertation, apply for a post Doc. in a national laboratory, work there for a couple years, and finally apply for a tenured track position at a university (American or other wise)

Well that could be it.

- Or say screw it, and go where ever the wind blows me.

Sometimes when you lose your way, its really just as well...

Studying

chino1001@yahoo.com — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 23:02:26 GMT

I thought I knew what studying was all about, I thought I knew how to do it, but as it turns out, after being in college for nearly ten years, I never really placed 100% effort into studying. That is until during this past winter break. In a 2 week time frame, I've covered over 1,000 pages of material relating to Material Science. After each section that I've read, I would summarize the main points in my own words, and write it down; this has helped me remember most of what I've read. I've never used this technique before, but it worked, I retained a lot of the information in my memory and was able to pass my final PhD qualifying exam. Now, I'm a full fledged PhD candidate at Clemson. I'm not patting my self on the back, but I did realize something while I was studying in this manner, what if I placed this amount of effort into studying when I was in High School, Undergraduate Studies? I'm under the impression that I could have accomplished so much more. Normally, I don't put a lot of effort into studying, in fact there are times when I've put in enough effort to pass the test, not learn the material; yep there is a difference. But at any rate, I've got at least two more years here at Clemson, I'm going to keep this momentum going.

After Clemson, is "life"...I'm finally ready

Happy New Years Everyone

chino1001@yahoo.com — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 15:37:44 GMT

Blue_Ridge_Sunrise 1-1-09
Originally uploaded by chino1001

First sunrise of 2009. Photo taken at the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was freakin' cold, but worth it.

Facebook

chino1001@yahoo.com — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 03:01:58 GMT

Well I finally did it; signed up for face book, let the time consumption begin. And I thought the internet was getting boring.

EDIT: And one more photo from Christmas day stitch together by spikevicious

click

Sunset

chino1001@yahoo.com — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 00:31:00 GMT

My winter vacation pretty much went like this:

Wake up
Go to gym, work out for 1 hour
Shower
Eat breakfast
Study
Break
Study
Lunch
Nap
Study
Break
Study
Sleep

Rinse and repeat.
What I've accomplished, I know a shit ton about engineering materials now, yay!!!!

Oh yeah, I did get a chance to get out on Christmas day to take this photo:

Are you OK?

chino1001@yahoo.com — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 04:21:44 GMT

Finding someone on the ground, thats what happened at work today. I was just taking a break strolling through the lab area of ICAR and saw something out of the ordinary; a person laying on the ground. As it turn out it was our morning janitor, his body was in the door way of the janitorial closet, with his legs propping the door open. As I move closer I find him breathing heavily, incoherent, and blood on his face. At first I though he was attacked so, I looked around, while asking "Are you OK"? After a few seconds I run off to find help. I was scared, but remained calm. I yelled for help to one of the technicians (Frank) , and have another (Dave) call 911. Frank and I get back to the closet and help him sit up. Our facility engineering (Mike) showed up and mentioned that our janitor has a history of seizures. The blood was most likely from him bitting his tongue. After what felt like half an hour EMS finally showed up (it actually took about 7 minutes). By the time they showed up, our janitor was fully coherent, but doesn't remember how he ended up on the ground. He had some trouble talking due to bitting his tongue. But was OK.

Now I'm starting to understand way we have a "silly" policy of not allowing anyone to work in the building by them selves at night. Its a big building, you can pass out, fall down in a stair well or inside one of the labs, and even with others in the building, you can be laying there for up to an hour before someone finds you. Imagine if he was there on Friday night, with no one else around; might not have been so lucky.

Be safe everyone.

chino1001@yahoo.com — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:28:04 GMT

Got an A in the only class that matters, Vehicle Dynamics.

Two years ago....

chino1001@yahoo.com — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 03:13:31 GMT

Well, it's been exactly two years since I bought my S2000, and I must say it wasn't the car that I expected it to be. At the time that I was looking for a new car, I just wanted something that was good handling and responsive for carving up the mountain roads of North Carolina, but this car has done so much more than that. No, it hasn't really attracted any girls, not that I expected it too ;-), in fact I've had more guys come up to me to ask about the car. To me though, this car offered what no other car that I've owned ever offered, an instant vacation.

With the convertible top down or not, in this car, with the right song (I like "I'm not Okay" by MCR), all the pains and misery of the day melt away inside the car, I return home a happy person. Throw it on a twisty mountain road, and anything that bothered you doesn't matter any more. All you concentrate on is threading the car through the corners. The quickly changing mountain scenery whizzing past you as your row through the gears just grabs your attention. Many other S2000 owners that I've meet share the same view, which brings me to another wonderful thing about owning this car; the owners. They range from 16 to 60+, all of them coming from different walks of life, but all come together because they share one thing common, the car. These are people that you wouldn't have meet otherwise.

The enthusiastic owners of S2000 are a community of people that will offer to help you out on your car, all you have to do is ask.

I guess essentially what I'm saying is that a car has brought some happiness and enjoyment in my life; yep I bought some happiness. Even though I always admired cars, I never understood what it was like to own a enthusiasts' car, but I'm glad I took the plunge two years ago and paid the price of admission to own one.

95!!!!!!!

chino1001@yahoo.com — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 02:21:09 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5qIxdWGYBg

95 Horsepower, and 94 ft.lbs of torque that is. Not powerful, but weights only 1,800 pounds...

Just ramblling....

chino1001@yahoo.com — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 22:32:50 GMT

Not sure what got into me this week, but some how I feel motivated again as a student. For the past two years, I haven't taken school very seriously; studying just enough to scrape by. On the surface, I've attributed this to the lack of having an very interesting research project, and not having a lab to call my own. Even though I've been able to publish with out those things; I guess I'm just spoiled from being at University of Florida, I had everything I needed there. During the past month, I've set some goals, and can sorta see when my tenure at Clemson will end. I have a project that I like, a lab to work out of, and all the resources I need so far. Watching everyone around me graduate, probably has motivated me to work as hard as I use to. Hopefully, 2 years from now, I'll be defending my Ph.D thesis; keeping my fingers crossed.

Time to be stingy to my self

chino1001@yahoo.com — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:57:22 GMT

Today I start saving for the Japan 2009 trip. spikevicious motivated me to start.
Projected savings for this month:
Take shuttle instead of driving to Clemson $150
Don't buy Nintendo DS and Games $175

So I should be putting about $325 into my special savings account; lets hope that happens.

I might sell Domo-kun next year,probably wont have time to race it much with research and all.

Fear, confusion, & anger...won't forget that day

chino1001@yahoo.com — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:47:51 GMT

Take me away from here

chino1001@yahoo.com — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:20:36 GMT

It is sucha' nice overcast day outside, I just want to fill up the car and drive...anywhere...I don't care where.

But work, and studying for Ph.D quals. is the sad reality.

Back on track

chino1001@yahoo.com — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:23:49 GMT

In a recent email from a old high school friend

i feel like i could have accomplished so much more at 26 had i been born in a society that acknowledge difference in people...rather than being forced to live a confused adolescence...i would have been a much more stable, and confident individual without the nagging confusion...

Can society really affect people in this way? What monsters have we become where people can't be who they are? Being forced to be someone that you're really not. I feel ashamed for not being more helpful when we hung out together.
He has since gotten his life back on track. Hopefully he can live his life happily now.

よろしくおねがいします。yoroshiku onegaishimasu

chino1001@yahoo.com — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:51:38 GMT

I used Japanese at work today, and I didn't screw it up completely.
Our Japanese visitor was very impressed. I was afraid to offend him to use Japanese instead of English like everyone else, but he was very forgiving of any mistakes I made.
We spoke for only a few minutes, and I showed him where the restroom was, but it felt great to have used a new skill.
I can't wait to work with these guys.
As he left, he said 「Canton, Ohio へ行ってください。」
やった！

It's been a while...

chino1001@yahoo.com — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:11:25 GMT

Well, it’s been nearly two years since I’ve made a post on LJ, so here goes.

A lot have happened in the past two years of my life, as I sit here and reflect upon it. I’ve finally earned my Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering, gotten involved in motor sports, learned a good amount of Japanese and somewhat picked up on the Mandarin dialect of Chinese, got into hiking and running, drove to New York City and re-established contact with childhood friends, but most of all I’ve made many good friends or as I would call my role models.

Leaving University of Florida after one year was a tough decision, I’ve meet great people and made good friends there. I enjoyed where I was working, enjoyed the people, and enjoyed the atmosphere. But new opportunities where presented in March of 2006, a fabulous new research center being formed at Clemson University called the International Center for Automotive Research (ICAR). My current graduate studies advisor was to be one of the four endowed chairs at this new facility, which pretty much meant I was already in the program if I so pleased. Since Automotive Engineering was something that I wanted to get involved in since high school, I was very tempted to go. But I was hesitant to be so far away from friends and family. As my parents are retired and older, I want to be close to them and help out when ever they needed it. But after three months, of thinking, and talking with my parents, they convinced me that they would be fine since my sister lived close by. So, I packed up, sold the condo, and followed my dream of being an automotive engineer.

…to be continued

chino1001@yahoo.com — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 01:49:12 GMT

Very cool. I want one for our new milling machine!

http://ted.com/tedtalks/tedtalksplayer.cfm?key=j_han&flashEnabled=1&flashEnabled=1

I can't take pictures!!!!1

chino1001@yahoo.com — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 00:52:45 GMT

- More later...

...maybe

Off to clemson

chino1001@yahoo.com — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 02:23:01 GMT

The view from a grad student's office:

UPDATE

chino1001@yahoo.com — Sat, 12 Mar 2005 03:32:45 GMT

Someone tried to hijack my LJ...password has been changed.

As a follow up to my previous post. After graduating from college, I still don't have a real job; I haven't searched, it's not my intent to have a real job yet. Instead, I plan to spend another 4, 5, or 6 more years in school to pursue a Ph.D or two in mechanical engineering. There are several reasons for me to choose a career track often not chosen by other students in my position. In fact, three years ago I made a promise to my self not to get involved in graduate school, but as I approached my graduation date, I began to realize how much I didn't know about mechanical engineering. As the curious person that I am, I yearn to learn more about the subject that I learned to love. I want to perform research, and "put my self on the map" of mechanical engineering. I wan't to experience science that some only read about, and turn dreams and ideas into reality.

The toughest decision that I have at the moment is deciding which school I would like to attend. After submitting applications to Virginia Tech (http://www.me.vt.edu), Georgia Tech (http://www.me.gatech.edu), and The University of Florida (http://www.mae.ufl.edu), I'm happy to say that I've been accepted to all of them. At the moment, Georgia Tech and The University of Florida, are the two schools that I'm strongly considering. Everyone that I've talked to has suggested Georgia Tech, who could blame them, Georgia Tech is ranked fifth in the nation as an engineering school, while The University of Florida is ranked as 26th according to US News 2005: "America's Best Graduate Schools". But this week, I received an email that is currently swaying me toward what I believe is a pivotal decision in my life. A professor that is deeply involved in research gave me a rather substantial offer to attend University of Florida. The stipend I may receive will involved research as well as a teaching assistant position, in exchange I will receive enough cash to pay for all the essentials in college. Still, some have asked how will my future prospects affected by graduating from a number 26th ranked engineering school whereas graduating from a number 5th ranked engineering school. The way I see it, those are just numbers. A good comparison of this "number ranking phenomenon" would be like car shopping. You can read all about a certain class of cars in a publication, and compare the performance numbers (horsepower, torque, 0-60MPH times, etc). But when the time comes to actually buy the car, it all comes down to the actual test drive. And often, individuals will chose a car that didn't perform all that well on paper, but was right for them; thats the type of car...err school that I'm looking for. The school that I've graduated from looked horrible on paper. I've sometimes thought about whether or not I could get a job after graduating. In the end, it was the student, me, that made the difference. I took every opportunity to set my self apart from the rest of the students, and gave 110% effort to my college career. And, now I wonder if I would have gotten from scoring a 990 on my SAT (no joke) to being accepted to some of the top engineering schools in the nation if it wasn't for the experience I had at Florida Atlantic University.

Before making my final decision, I will pay a visit to Georgia Tech, and give them a test drive.

But for now, Go Gators

..I mean Owls (Florida Atlantic University, http://www.me.fau.edu , my Al La Mater)