9 AM: Departure from Mattress, Top Bunk, 212 Random Hall, Cambridge, MA 02139. Please mail excess pillows to address above.
9:20 AM: Conduct first-hand research on the process by which humans die by freezing. Selected approach is to go for a long run in sub-zero weather and the sort of wind chill that eats Jack London novels for breakfast.
10:00 AM: Toast, hummus, crushed olives. High-fiber cereal. Soymilk.
10:20 AM: Start studying physics.
12:05 PM: Pretzels leftover from Katelyn's fondue study break on the previous eve. Half-priced sunburst tangerine from the organic supermarket down the street. Granola bar of unknown provenance.
12:30 PM: Resume consumption of knowledge.
3:30 PM: Study break! I decide that I can afford to treat myself to quality relaxation time, so I spend half an hour writing my undergraduate research (UROP) proposal*. It's like yoga for the brain cells.
(*In the past two days, I've been taking study breaks to the limit. Unfortunately, this appears to be the limit of absurdity as fun approaches zero. Recent themes of mine have been the 250% Vitamin A Study Break, during which I ate carrot sticks, the Turn on My Calculator Study Break, during which I applied pressure to the On button, and the Blog for MIT Admissions Study Break, which really, really sucked. Just kidding on the last one. Once, I also took a study break from studying biology by studying chemistry.)
4:00 PM: Study: The Return of the Coursework comes out in theatres. I go for the IMAX experience, so to speak.
5:00 PM: French toast for dinner. I underestimate the absorbency of bread, or overestimate the viscosity of eggs. I drink soup from a can, except that this is semantically misleading because I actually poured it into a bowl before drinking it. Finished off with more pretzels. Classy.
5:40 PM: I go on a spontaneous ski trip in New Hampshire and fall down a slope and break my collarbone on a large, protruding rock. (Not really. I studied.)
6:10 PM: Naptime. Tonight, my subconscious is in a recursive mood. I dream that I fell asleep and woke up at 2:23 AM. “I should have woken up earlier,” I thought. At this stage in the dream, I immediately wake up in real life, clutching a cell phone that reads 8:07 PM.
8:10 PM: I resume my glorious pursuit of infinite knowledge.
9:20 PM: Blog. After which I will travel across the land, searching far and wide, teach Pokemon to understand the power that's inside, Pokemon! / Gotta catch 'em all . . . I mean, study.
(To be fair, Random Hall smothers its residents with group dinners, desserts, massages, daily breakfasts, and even wake-up calls upon request as they descend into the level of Hell reserved for final exams. If not for the onslaught of tests next week, this weekend would be the cherry lovingly dropped on top of the semester sundae. As is, it's the pits. Pun intended, as always.)
Famous last words: I send my dearest wishes to all the EA applicants! Please, try not to explode.
EDIT:
3:10 AM: Just finished studying. The power goes out. Bedtime is postponed another half hour while I join the rest of Random Hall in playing with glowsticks and running around various floors pretending to be zombies. I also draft a plan to steal back my floor's bowls from the fourth floor while the lights are off, but Expedition Dinnerware: Total Stealth fails due to lack of volunteers. This is the highlight of my day.
Comments (Closed after 30 days to reduce spam)
Posted by: 0 on December 13, 2008
Also, my finals aren't until after winter break. So that means if I do explode before Monday 9pm, I won't have to take my finals.
Hmmmm...
Posted by: cc ('13 hopeful) on December 13, 2008
And good luck on finals!
Posted by: JieMin on December 13, 2008
Posted by: zax on December 13, 2008
2) Yay for Finals!
3) Yay for Naruto Sage Mode!
Just kidding about 2, and maybe 1
Good luck on your finals!
Posted by: Alim on December 13, 2008
I got kind of confused here, I thought you were saying that it was the sort of wind chills that eat Jack London novels for breakfast. (WHAT...???) ^^ But on a second reading, I realized that that was just me.
Good luck on your finals and to all EA applicants!!! We're in this together...
Posted by: Cathy on December 13, 2008
"..the very best, that no one ever was..."
:D
Posted by: Anonymous on December 13, 2008
I got kind of confused here, I thought you were writing about a kind of wind chill that eats Jack London novels for breakfast. (WHAT...??!) But then I took a second look and realized that was just me. ^^
And definitely, good luck on your exams, and good luck to all EA applicants!!!
Posted by: Cathy on December 13, 2008
Posted by: Snively on December 13, 2008
Darnit, now people will notice.
Posted by: Yan on December 13, 2008
My nap was 5pm-9pm, though.
And, what Snively said.
EACH ONE, TO UNDERSTAND
THE POWER THAT'S INSIDE!
Posted by: Cam on December 13, 2008
Oh yeah, EA applicants don't fret just make sure that you come and visit right after you get notified that you got accepted I need a PREFROSH!!!!! (Overnight program)
Posted by: Evedizzy 12' on December 13, 2008
Posted by: Chris on December 13, 2008
Posted by: Suril on December 13, 2008
Posted by: 0 on December 14, 2008
Posted by: pikachu on December 14, 2008
Today I spent 4 hours on "Watch Pointless Videos on Youtube" study break. Needless to say I felt like banging my head on the wall when I noticed I still have about 100 genetics problems to go through before Tuesday.
Posted by: Oasis '11 on December 14, 2008
Genetics sucks. Evolution is for Pokemon.
(After the Biology final on Thursday, I shall never speak of living organisms, ever again).
Posted by: Yan on December 14, 2008
Yay, more spam. I missed you....
@ Alim
Actually, yay++ for more Ryujin Jakka!
@ Yan @ Chris
Or Digimon. Don't forget Digimon.
Posted by: CAPTCHA on December 14, 2008
I wish people could reproduce like Pokemon (however the heck they reproduce...=p).
Posted by: Oasis '11 on December 14, 2008
Posted by: Charles on December 14, 2008
Pokemon don't reproduce! They just appear in the grass! Or, you give them to a weird little man in the woods and he magically makes new ones for you (I think that was in Gold & Silver -- aka the still-good versions before the series went south).
Likewise, they only faint when suffering severe physical injury and perhaps poisoning. You can easily revive them with weird beeping and booping noises on a special table, though.
Posted by: Cam on December 14, 2008
... maybe 8.012 -is- preferable to study breaks after all.
Posted by: Vivi on December 14, 2008
I didn't get what you meant by the 4pm entry (i.e. Study: The Return of the Coursework comes out in theatres.....and so on)
And how did you take a break from studying Physics by studying Chemistry.....(gosh! -Organic Chem. is tough!!)
Your exams start from Thursday then?
Good Luck with them!:D
@Oasis
You watched YouTube videos for 4 hours?!?
*look of disbelief*
And you woke up at 4am??
I thought that people either slept very late here or got up early?! - Not both......!
Posted by: Vaibhav on December 14, 2008
Posted by: rose on December 14, 2008
That's ok, this post and thread seems to be full of miscommunication anyway.
I'm actually in Solid State Chem., not organic. I love the subject, so it's literally a break from biology.
Exams start Monday! My last one is on Thursday.
(End of Reply-to-Comments study break.)
Posted by: Yan on December 14, 2008
huzzah!
Posted by: AGH on December 14, 2008
Posted by: Rebeca on December 14, 2008
Posted by: deng on December 14, 2008
Also, epic Pocket Monsters reference XD
Posted by: Narce on December 14, 2008
Correction: I slept at 6:30 AM last night. It's almost 2 PM now. I just woke up. =D
Posted by: Oasis '11 on December 14, 2008
yeah, you're right. i didn't notice the lack of pictures until snively pointed it out.
i like semantically misleading sentences.
and yes, i will try not to explode...
Posted by: hamsi on December 14, 2008
Posted by: REM on December 14, 2008
yay for EA.
Posted by: matto on December 14, 2008
@ vivi:
nothing is preferable to studying for 8.012. however, Everything is preferable to taking the 8.012 final, if that makes any sense...
good luck with finals, everyone, and best of luck to all EA applicants out there!! =D
Posted by: moose on December 14, 2008
Posted by: Katelyn '12 on December 14, 2008
Initially I thought you were talking about my UROP proposal, and I was going to thank you for reminding me to finish writing it. Actually, thanks anyway because now I'm going to take a study break and finish my UROP proposal.
@ Charles:
Of course.
Posted by: Yan on December 14, 2008
Yan, would you like to become a female polygamist? T.T
Posted by: Narce on December 14, 2008
Beats doing calc homework, really funny
Posted by: ben on December 14, 2008
Posted by: Student on December 14, 2008
Good luck to all other EA's out there, we're in the final 24 hours!! (School tomorrow will be like the going up the chain lift on a roller coaster)
Posted by: Matt A. on December 14, 2008
Posted by: deng on December 14, 2008
LOVED the roller coaster analogy!
This whole weekend has been a total adrenaline rush (waiting in line for the ride, if i dare to take the reference too far...)
Good luck to everyone INDEED! Try to have fun tomorrow!
Posted by: David E. on December 14, 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hihp_Jjdnsg
Posted by: Cam on December 14, 2008
Lamely trying to continue the roller coaster analogy...this journey (especially this weekend) has felt like when you get in line and once you've been in it for a while, you find out it's way longer than you thought. And then you decide to follow the rest of the excitedly anxious mob and stay in line anyway. You know you won't regret it in the end; even if the roller coaster is not quite as satisfying as you hoped, at least you still had the experience, you can say you tried but it just wasn't going to quite work out.
I think I went a bit to far with the analogy, oh well. I guess I'll have to settle with trying to remember that life will most likely resume eventually regardless of tomorrow's outcome ... we'll see how long this works for ... (at least I don't have to deal with any finals, yet)
Anyway, thank you Yan and all the other bloggers for making this experience fun and memorable (whatever happens tomorrow). And good luck on your finals!
Posted by: Morrisa on December 14, 2008
Best of luck. Whatever happens, the world will still go on.
Posted by: Yan on December 14, 2008
Posted by: m on December 14, 2008
Attack of the Coursework in IMAX 3D
8.01 Again in 4K Digital 3-D Cinema
PSets: The Ride at Walt Disney World Resort's Epcot
Posted by: Colton on December 14, 2008
I updated the site to include a few new goodies.
Check it out, I think you'll like it.
http://www.DidIGetIntoMIT.com/
Posted by: Brandon on December 15, 2008
You're the first person I'll find when I show up, because I want to thank you for your wonderful food blogs.
Posted by: Narce on December 15, 2008
Posted by: Yan on December 15, 2008
Posted by: Charles on December 16, 2008
btw, Yan, by your blog page, you started from your HS junior year, so you're actually the age of the incoming freshmen?
Posted by: Narce on December 16, 2008
Yeah, I'm 17 until May, which means that your class is actually my class. Until it wasn't, I guess.
Posted by: Yan on December 16, 2008
Wow, that puts you two months younger than me.
Posted by: Narce on December 16, 2008
(v wasn't thinking anything like that >.>)
Posted by: Narce on December 16, 2008
Nah, I didn't apply EA. I'm just a slacker like that
But congrats on getting in!
Posted by: Charles on December 17, 2008
Except that if you don't go, it'll be harder for you to marry Yan >.>
Posted by: Narce on December 17, 2008
Posted by: Charles on December 18, 2008
Posted by: T_Ted on December 18, 2008
The darkness shines when I use flash.
Also, I doubt I could have captured the full glory of zombie Teddy.
Posted by: Yan on December 18, 2008
My everything-casual username, HikaruYami, is a rough translation to Japanese of "Shining Darkness"~
Posted by: Narce on December 18, 2008
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