local December 29, 2009

2009 at Caltech

Happy Break! Ahhh, I’ve had a busy long weekend. Between Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and a day trip to Atlantic City with my family, the last thing on my mind has been school and schoolwork. But now that things have calmed down before ringing in the New Year, I figured now is as good a time as any to think about what has happened in this year of my life. It’s the last full year that I’ll be a student at Caltech! Never thought of it like that before, but now I’m getting a bit anxious about graduation in 6 months! So here are some of my highlights from this year: Rose Parade: I rang in the New Year in Pasadena! My family and I wanted to see the Rose Parade, since I go to school just around the corner! So we talked to my friend, Diane, who has lived in Pasadena all of her life, and got our seats for the parade. It was so exciting to be in such a familiar place, but see it in a whole new light.

Ski Trip: My House (and some others at Tech, too!) go on an annual Ski Trip. Ours is to Mammoth Lakes, about 6 hours away. What a difference from sunny SoCal! I love to ski, so I’m glad I have the opportunity to ski with my Caltech friends! Look at us, all bundled up :).

Go Karts: Another House event, this was another fun one! We drove to a local Go Karts place, and I had a BLAST showing off my NJ driving skills to my friends and beating them down in our races!

Dim Sum: Pasadena is conveniently located near some hot spots for Asian food. As a food reviewer, this is of course very exciting to me, so I definitely was pumped up for my friend’s birthday, when we brought her to a local Dim Sum restaurant! Delicious!

**Shopping!: **One day, Dannah and I decided to take a Saturday off, and took the express bus (for $1.25 each way!) for 30 minutes to Glendale, to have an afternoon of shopping. Between the Glendale Galleria and The Americana At Brand, it was a great (and not too expensive) day!