Caelifera

Starting MIT

caelifera — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 06:39:22 +0000

My previous blogs always started with something about how it’s been a while since my last entry. I’ll say the same thing here. A lot has happened.. I applied to 5 grad schools for urban planning and happily got into all of them. The choices were really between UPenn, MIT and Harvard. After going to some open houses and making some rather random choices, I ended up with MIT, which means that I turned down Harvard (awesome). Really, the story is that I wanted to work with a professor named Tunney Lee who has done work in Chinatowns and is highly respected in the Boston planning world. He’s probably 80 years old and still teaching. I’ve even seen him operate a computer and make maps with GIS! The other story is that I was really torn between Penn and MIT. My heart was telling me to go to Penn and my brain was pulling me towards MIT. My mom made me write their names on slips of paper and then randomly draw them out of a hat. I chose MIT five times in a row. That was a sign, if you ask me.

I finished up my job, though it was sad to go. It was actually the perfect job for me for that stage of my life. My bosses and colleagues were great and I grew professionally in ways that I never thought were possible. I think it was because I felt surprisingly comfortable in that environment. The other time when I had the same feeling was when I met my boyfriend. Funny, eh?

Well, now I’ve started my two-year Master’s at MIT. I already feel like I’m overloading on classes but that’s what happens when there’s only two years. The Cambridge/Boston area is relatively nice.. It’s urban, has public transportation, and has beautiful views of Boston across the river. I’ve even gone sailing on the university’s boats out on the Charles River. I still like New York City by a mile, but at least it’s a doable city.

More to come as I explore.

Grad school

caelifera — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 02:44:10 +0000

I’m applying to urban planning graduate schools. I never thought I would go to grad school. I was one of those who thought that I would get a job, probably in banking, and then work until I got promoted. Many times over. But during the stressful days of on-campus interviews my senior year, I discovered that that wasn’t me at all. I didn’t care about how a company could save money by off-shoring its call centers. I couldn’t come up with a reason why I wanted to work for JPMorgan. And I certainly couldn’t get up to make an 8am interview. Very well, that is.

And so, I was lucky enough to be saved from that misery. After college, I took the first job that I was offered. I worked at a real estate and economic consulting firm. It was a lot of hard work and despite some challenges, it made me a better and stronger person. I now work at a non-profit economic development organization in New York City. I love my job. But I also know that for me to move in my career, I need a graduate degree. Plus, I love urban planning. I love thinking about it, seeing the history of cities and how it shapes how people lived, photographing buildings and urban landscapes, and appreciating the nuances of city life. Its grittiness. Its harsh realities and grandeur. I love every minute of it.

I think I’ll take this blog to document what I do in New York. This will be where I talk about the best places in the city, any urban planning musings, and talk about where I want to photograph. Come April, I’ll also know whether I got into any of the schools I applied to. Obviously, I hope I get into all of them so I have some options. This is exciting. Despite the recession, there is much to learn, and much the city can do to keep it moving in a positive direction.

Summer Day

caelifera — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:38:23 +0000

It’s a hot summer day and we don’t feel like going outside in the heat. Staying cool indoors is hard enough with a portable air conditioner. But we manage.

This is the start of another blog, but with the same underlying themes that have traveled with me since high school. Caelifera. My interpretation being “holding up the sky” though my Latin translations have always been a little subjective. I just think it sounds nice, and it’s quite a lot of vowels in one word.

What is my blogging history? I wouldn’t call it blogging. I wrote in online journals, starting in high school. I wrote not only to practice the art of writing, but also to document all that were important to me. Reflections on life. Especially a time when change and future are all sort of up in the air. College was another major topic of conversation. That, and the SATs.

It’s funny because I actually can’t remember the service that I used for my high school blog. It’s probably still out there on the digital waves but to this day, I can’t remember what my username was or how to access it. That sort of defeats the purpose of recording.

And then I wrote for years in a Xanga. This was a great idea. Three years after graduating college, I went back and read every single entry. All about homework, a cappella, concerts, vacations, and random reflections. That one, I will remember.