Senior Night, Round 2

NCAA Championships 2010

 I can't believe that it's been a year since I last stood on the floor of Maples Pavilion with my team, celebrating the accomplishments of my class.  Now it's time to do it all over again, but this time we are celebrating the class of 2011, including Shelley and Dani, as well as redshirt senior Allyse (Weedge).  Shell and Dan have been through so much together, and I am so proud of the leaders and young women they have become.  They have helped lead this years team to an unprecedented 14-0 start, and look to continue their success as they enter the home stretch of the regular season.  I wish you girls, and the rest of SWG, the best of luck tomorrow afternoon.  Enjoy your time together as well as the love and energy that the crowd will give you.  Congratulations on everything you have achieved up to this point.  I love you!

Internet!

One down, one to go.  I finally have internet set up in my room.  That means I now have the capability to use Skype, which is awesome because while talking to people online has been great, it's definitely not the same as being able to see their faces.  Before this I have been doing all my online stuff in one of the libraries.  The nice thing about having to do that is that I have discovered a place where I think I'll really like to study.  This library is about 3 minutes from my room and has wifi and lots of study-friendly spaces.  The only downside is that Skype isn't supported on the university's internet network, which is why I felt the need to get an outside connection going in my room.

I mentioned that I still have "one to go."  Getting a phone set up has proven to be very difficult, and I thought that I had all of my problems solved today, only to find out that AT&T has locked my SIM card.  That means that there are going to be a couple more hurdles that I have to jump through to finally get a phone up and running.  Hopefully I'll have it soon though.  My goal is by the middle of next week.

Besides logistics, I have been keeping myself pretty busy.  Yesterday I decided that I wanted to go on a run, and I did so, but not without getting completely lost.  I was planning on doing an "around the block" kind of thing, but apparently I missed a turn somewhere.  However everything turned out just fine; I had the chance to explore places that I probably wouldn't have stumbled upon otherwise.  I spent the majority of my time in a place called Royal Park, and next time I go there I definitely want to have my camera on hand.

I am getting pretty comfortable with walking to downtown and finding places there.  I was just down there about an hour ago and there is a lot going on.  I really like the atmosphere and hope that I won't be too busy to spend time there once school starts.  Speaking of school, my first class is on Monday, and I am very, very nervous.  I just hope that I'll be able to handle whatever they throw at me, especially because I don't have my partner in crime with me in class anymore.  Hopefully I'll be able to find someone to study/suffer with me, otherwise this is going to be a very long 10 months.

Aussie Froshie

Well, I am officially living in Australia.  The remainder of my flight from Auckland wasn't too painful, but I was greeted by a very long customs line when I landed.  They gave me a scare when the lady behind the counter looked at me and said, "Some of your information isn't coming up in our system, so I am going to have to ask you to go with one of the immigration officers."  Nothing came of it, but after 19 hours of traveling, that was not something that I was really ready to deal with.  After customs came baggage claim, which was yet another adventure.  It was a very extensive process to get and check out my bags, not to mention that I had a lot of trouble trying to carry everything that I had.  Part of me felt bad about bumping into people with my bags, but the other part of me was too tired to care or control where they were going.

After waiting for a little bit, I was taken to my apartment complex.  The drive there was interesting, and I definitely tried to get in on the wrong side of the vehicle at first.  Making a left hand turn on a red light really threw me for a loop, but it's something that I'm going to have to get used to.  My apartment building is located right across the street from the university, which I have found to be more than convenient.  I checked in by signing some papers and then hauled my stuff up to my room.  Afterward I made my way to the bank, but not without accidentally walking around the entire perimeter of the campus.  It was a great way to see things, but my trip took me a lot longer than anticipated.  I got back to my room after getting some food, and passed out at a very early hour.

The entrance to the university.

 This morning I woke up feeling a bit better.  I think it's going to take another solid night of sleep before I am really feeling like myself, but I'm definitely on my way.  I got breakfast on campus and went over the the Engineering Student Centre (not Center).  They were able to lift the overseas sanction on my student account, and I was able to sign up for classes!  I am going to be taking four of them, and switching to the semester system is going to be interesting.  At 10 weeks I am going to want new classes, but I will still have a solid month and a half with the ones I have.  Oh well, what's one more adjustment?  After enroling (yep, with one "l"), I had a program orientation.  I walked into the room to find that my program consists of about 15 people.  Sometimes I forget how spoiled I was at Stanford, because the other people in my presence got really excited at the opportunity to have small class sizes, but that is what I have come accustomed to.

The hallways kind of remind me of Stanford  :)

 The late afternoon consisted of catching up with some of my friends, as well as my mom.  It is great to be able to talk to them online, but I would really like to be able to set up my phone.  This is proving to be difficult, but will hopefully be resolved soon.  Before dinner, I set off on my first real adventure;  I took the tram downtown to the grocery store.  It took me awhile to find it because it is actually underground, where the train runs.  The train station is actually like a mall; there are so many stores there, and then you turn around and you can see the train going by.  It's kind of an interesting concept.  I was also able to see just how expensive groceries are here and I found Vegemite!!  It's going to be fun to see how my eating habits change in the next couple of weeks.  Needless to say, I made it back safely to my apartment and cooked my first meal.  I have also just finished "decorating" with all of the pictures that I brought from home.  It is starting to look more and more like a room that I will like living in.

Melbourne Bound

I was successful in making it to Auckland.  The flight was pretty much right on time, and upon my arrival I had to go through an “International Transfers” screening with my carry-on luggage.  It was a quick, modified version of the security that I went through in the states, and soon I was on my way.  My gate information wasn’t posted, so I just hung out in a big, neatly decorated space, and made a call to AT&T to try to sort out some issues with my phone.  Soon after I made it to my gate, it was time to board.  This time I am on a double-decker plane, and I was able to arrange for an aisle seat.  After sitting for so long it’s really nice to have the chance to stretch my legs a little bit.  Unfortunately I am sitting near three families with small children, none of whom are happy at the moment.

To my surprise, there was yet another meal service (meaning my second brekkie of the day), and this time I was actually hungry, so I had eggs and chicken sausage.  The flight attendants couldn’t be nicer, which makes the flight much more bearable.  American flight attendants could really learn some lessons from them.  I’ve also had my first encounter with someone who was curious about where I was from because of my “accent.”  He guessed Canada, which I guess is close enough  :)

Our flight was a little late getting out of Auckland, and we aren’t scheduled to land in Melbourne until 10:15am local time.  I am supposed to meet someone who is going to take me to where I am staying, so hopefully they’ll wait for me while I get my bags and go through customs and whatnot.  It’s crazy to think that yesterday I was in San Francisco, and now I have been to New Zealand and am on my way to Australia.  By the looks of it, we are about 1146km away from Melbourne, woohoo!  Upon landing, I will have to find my way to the orientation activities that are planned for today.  I think I’m going to miss the international student briefing (oops), but will make the one for all the engineering students.  Let the adventure begin!

Bye Bye Bay Area

There was a lot going on this weekend with Senior Night on Saturday and the Sunday departure looming over my head.  Senior Night was definitely a treat, with the boys performing well, and with a very exciting atmosphere in Burnham Pavilion.  Some highlights include Alex landing his vault, Ryan jumping in on high bar without warming up, and seeing all five of the seniors in the floor line-up. While it was sad to see the seniors finish up their last routines at home, the season isn’t over, and there are many more exciting things to come for them in the next month or so.

After the competition we went out to celebrate the boys, with the added pleasure of having the Japanese Collegiate All-Stars in attendance.  They were definitely fun to hang out with, and know how to have a good time.  It was fun for me to be out with my closest friends one last time, but the night went quickly, and I soon found myself waking up this morning with a weird feeling in my stomach.  I went for a run, did some errands, and then headed to brunch with my sisters (gym class of 2010).  After some heartfelt notes and a couple of tears, we went our separate ways.  It was hard to watch them go, but I know that they will be in my life forever and I can’t wait to see their faces on Skype in the near future  :)

After brunch I went back to my apartment to make sure that everything was in order.  My parents came down with the truck so that they could take home some of the bigger pieces of furniture that I had left.  They headed off to the airport, and we all met up after the very emotional car ride that I had with my best friend.  After checking in and a quick snack with my parents, it was already time for me to head through security and off to my gate.  I waved goodbye one last time, and from there everything went really quickly.  Before I knew it, I was sitting on the plane, getting ready for take-off.  I am currently sitting here (well, as I’m writing, but when I am able to post this I won’t be), recently fed and experiencing a very nice bought of bumpy air (not a good combination).  I have to say that the service so far (almost three hours in) has been great, and the food was very good as well.  For dinner I had pesto lasagna, with a small salad, a dinner roll, some cheese and crackers, and a piece of carrot cake that looked delicious, but by that point I was really full, so I didn’t get to sample it.  I have also been offered a glass of wine on four separate occasions so far.

On the other side of the equator!  Hello summer  :)

Dinner

 I have about 10 hours left until I land in Auckland.  I have watched one movie, and am extremely tired (three and a half hours of sleep last night plus the emotional drain of the day), so hopefully I’ll be able to stay awake for another hour or so before trying to conk out for a little while.  Brekkie (breakfast) will be served before we land (ETA 5:55am local time), and I can’t wait to see what we will be having.  I’ll keep you posted!

Senior Night, Round 1

Tonight is the last time that the community will have the pleasure of seeing the Stanford Men's Gymnastics Class of 2011 in action at home.  It's senior night for these guys, who have been the rock of the team this year, and have proven to be a dominant force over the last four years, both on the team at Stanford, as well as on the floor of some high level national and international competitions.  As a group, these guys have won a NCAA National Championship and have a shot to do it again this year in April.  Having gone through Senior Night myself last year, I know that it is a bittersweet experience, but one that you will remember for years to come.  It's hard to do while you are immersed in it, but the best advice that I can give is to live in the moment and just soak up all the love and support that is surrounding you.  Everyone who will be in attendance tonight is there to cheer you on as you compete for the last time on your home floor.

Good luck tonight to Alex, Josh, Tim, Ryan, Nick, and Abhi.  You deserve to have an amazing night, so have fun and live it up.

Packing, Unpacking, and Repacking

Tuesday afternoon I finished packing up my apartment in the Bay Area, put everything in my little car, and made my way up to my house in the valley.  From there I unloaded all of my stuff, realizing along the way just how much I actually have.  For the greater part of this afternoon, I had to try to cram all of that into a couple of suitcases.  In the end, I was able to do it, but not without some innovation and force while tugging on the zippers.  I don't really know what I'll be wearing for the next couple of days, because almost everything that I like to wear is now lost in the abyss that is my suitcase full of clothes, and I am not leaving until Sunday.  Oh well, I'll have to make it work I guess  :)

Wine, Money, and Electricity

Sometimes it is necessary to take a step back from all of the things going on in your life to enjoy a beautiful, sunny California afternoon.  We are lucky to have 70 degree days in February, and they are often calling out your name, telling you to come outside and bask in the sun.  I have always been one to have a very structured schedule, not having much time to just pick up and do random things as I please.  But last Friday, that all changed.  The gym girls were approximately 2000 miles away, and of course I'm not in school right now, which means no class time and no homework hanging over my head.  Taking advantage of the situation was a definite must, and I have to say that it was a wonderful experience.  Alex and I had the entire afternoon, and decided that we didn't want to stay around campus, so we took a little drive, with the windows down and the music blasting, and somehow ended up near SFO and the bay.  We found a place to sit, opened a bottle of Australian-made wine, and just sat out there talking and watching the planes go by.  It made for a very nice and peaceful afternoon.  However, little did I know that we would soon be finding our way to the bar at the nearest hotel, and ordering drinks and food from there at approximately 4 in the afternoon.  I have many friends who have done this numerous times in their college careers, but I have to say that it was first for both of us.  It was a wonderful experience, not having any obligations to anyone on a weekday afternoon, sitting and staring at the water through a large glass window, being waited on, and enjoying nice company.  I would definitely recommend it and feel that a repeat performance is necessary before I leave, if the weather holds up (forecast through Saturday is rain...bummer).

This weekend has been all about converting my American things to their corresponding Australian ones.  First it started off with money.  I am now poor by American standards, because I wiped out my savings account as well of most of my checking, and converted all that money to Australian dollars.  This is all too easy to do online...transferring money from one account to the other, placing a foreign currency order...it's crazy.  Apparently my order will be here by tomorrow, and all I have to do is go to the bank and pick up the new money.  I'm really excited to see what it looks like.  Did you know that the bills vary slightly in size, increasing with the value of the bill, and are made of polypropylene polymer (which means nothing to me besides the fact that this makes them water-proof and un-tearable)?  There are also $0.50 coins that are 12-sided and there are no $0.01 coins at all.  Cash transactions that come to less than $0.05 are rounded up or down to the closest $0.05.  No more pennies taking up space in my wallet!

Yesterday was spent trying to find an electrical converter.  With guidance and reassurance, I found what I needed at Best Buy.  It was interesting to open it up, read the directions, and find out that, "The converter is designed to be used only for short periods of time (approximately 10 minutes)."  This caused me to question my decision of buying this product, but instead of taking it right back to the store, I decided that I was going to place a phone call to the company and ask about it.  I got through to what I am pretty sure was an office in India, and after some clarification and being mocked by the man on the phone ("Well ma'am, I can't see why you would only want to use an appliance for only 10 minutes at a time."), I was finally told that the directions were in fact wrong, and that I can leave my things plugged in for however long I please.  So, I can now safely plug in my computer and other important electronics without blowing them up.  Not only does my purchase allow me to do this in Australia, but also in most other places around the world.  Playing with it after all of this drama has led me to the conclusion that the UK has the coolest outlets ever.  Now the only thing left to do is to test my power strip when I get there, because otherwise I am going to have a fun time trying to juggle charging only one piece of equipment at a time.  That will get old really fast.

SWG Rules!

Today was my last official practice with the Stanford Women's Gymnastics team (SWG).  SWG has been such a huge part of my life for the past 4 years, and it's great that our head coach let me stay on this year to help out with the team.  I'm sad that now I am going to have to watch from afar instead of interacting with the girls each and every day, but this team is amazing, and there are going to be some special moments for them as the year continues.  It's going to be fun to watch them succeed from here on out, and hopefully they know how much I love them!  Good luck this weekend in Chicago and Michigan  :)
Special shout out to Allyse Ishino...represent the class of 2010 in the amazing way that you always do!!

14 days and counting...

Well, the title just about covers it, but my departure date is exactly two weeks away.  I will be taking a 15 hour trip from San Francisco to Auckland, New Zealand, and then a two hour "hop" over to Melbourne, arriving two calendar days from when I first left.  At this point, all of the major things are taken care of:  accommodation, plane tickets, passport, visa (that's a story for another day), confirmation of enrollment at the university, and the list goes on.  Now it's time to start worrying about the little things, like getting converters for the electrical outlets so that I don't blow up my computer, setting up banking, phone lines, and internet, and oh yes, packing.  As of right now, I am planning on checking two rather large bags, and stuffing my carry-ons to the brim.  The goal is to pack up as much of my life as possible without tipping the scales at the airport (I am not really in the mood to have to pay yet another fee to cover my overweight baggage).  The packing process will be left for a little bit later next week, as I always manage to put it off until it is absolutely necessary.
In case you were wondering why I am making such a big move, it is because I will be spending the next 10 months at the University of Melbourne, trying to get my masters degree in Biomedical Engineering.  I very recently graduated from Stanford University with a BS in Biomechanical Engineering, and sometimes I wonder how I made it through.  But I came out almost unscathed, with the help and entertainment of others who were also feeling my pain.  While I wouldn't necessarily want to go back and take my classes over, I would not alter the path I chose.  I am sure that I will have somewhat the same love/hate relationship with the next degree that I am trying to conquer, but when it is all said and done, I know that will be a better person for pursuing it.
At this point, the days are filled with my attempts at getting organized, but I've determined that a lot of things are going to come down to the wire.  I am doing what I can, with the help of my Americans' Survival Guide to Australia and Australian-American Dictionary, to prepare myself for the culture shock that is to come.  While I would like to think that I made a good life choice in deciding to go somewhere where I speak the language, I am learning that things are not that simple.  There are a lot of words that have different meanings, and I am sure that I will have my fair share of incidences where my friends (assuming that I make some) will laugh at me for a few minutes for "no apparent reason" before informing me that what I thought was just an innocent phrase was in fact offensive or inappropriate in some way.  My only saving grace will be my accent, which is apparently very highly thought of in Australia.
The next week will be a little more mellow compared to what lies ahead, but I am trying to make the most of my time with my friends and family.  It is going to be inexplicably hard to leave them, but I know that they will be here with open arms when I return back to California.
It is now time for me to resume my lessons on Australian culture.  Today's lesson?  Food  :)