Organic chemistry
I’ve been studying from dawn to dusk for the past three days (including today) and I still cannot do those dratted retrosynthesis questions. The final is on Friday.
Should this be the opportune time to say, “I’m screwed?”
Microsoft Office 2010 Beta
Today, I decided to “upgrade” to Microsoft Office 2010 beta. I have never tried out Microsoft beta software before, mainly because they always write on their website, “Please use this on a secondary computer.” I don’t have a secondary computer to test out software on; I don’t have the time to use another computer just to play around with the programs. But I thought that if Microsoft was putting something out in public beta, the software has to be pretty much completed already. So I uninstalled my Office 2007 package and installed 2010 beta.
I have a Chinese essay due tomorrow, so after I installed the new package, I decided to give it a whirl with an actual task. The loading screen of the beta looked pretty neat; it looks sort of like when the Adobe programs load and displays the amount of program loaded. However, when the program actually opened up, the interface definitely did not look as nice. I think the interface no doubt would be beautified before the actual release, but the boring gray or gray tones of the entire program sort of made writing my essay kind of gloomy. Staring at the gray screen actually made me kind of unhappy. I know–weird.
The program also decided to get rid of the microsoft office button on the top left that when clicked would reveal the open/save/print options. I actually grew to like that button but apparently the majority of users did not. In the new version, this button is replaced with a more traditional “File” option in the ribbon navigation bar that leads to another entirely different page with information about the file and other options. I dislike this function because it takes away all the screen from the actual file.
But the major problems I have found already with the program is that the CTRL+Z option does not work and there are problems with saving. When I tried to save my essay first in a .doc file, it cut out half of my essay. I would not even have noticed if it was not for the fact that when I emailed the essay, I realized that when I opened it with Google Docs that half my essay was gone. Thus, I had to go back to the file (thank goodness I had not closed the Window), save it in .docx, and then save it in .doc.
I hope there are updates soon to fix these problems and in the coming weeks that the interface updates would come. But overall, I am excited to be testing a beta product.
IBC Convention
I was a staffer at the IBC convention today, which was held by HUWIB. It’s the 5th Intercollegiate Business Convention and there were even more people this year than there were last year. However, I hardly knew because I was busy doing traffic control, setting up, cleaning, etc. throughout the day. I did manage to go to the career fair, where I definitely added to the moral hazard of our society, and heard a bit of the last keynote, who was an executive vice-president of NBC universal.
I remember reading the FAQ sheet handed out to the volunteers which read, “What if I want to go to a breakout but it conflicts with the career fair that I was assigned?” The answer: Although we discourage this, we want you to enjoy the day at IBC. Go to whichever one you would like. I was like, “Oh my god! They are so nice to the volunteers!” Until I realized that was the answer that we were supposed to tell attendees who ask the question.
Highlights of the day: (1) Eating the Bolocco burritos and realizing there was no vegetarian option (2) The break in the staffing room; maybe it was that everyone was sleep-deprived, but we were so giddy and ready to laugh at anything (3) Being at the career fair and realizing my Harvard status actually meant something–I have gone to career fairs or networking sessions before sponsored by Harvard where no one cares if you come from Harvard since everyone else there was also from Harvard (4) Going to the “exclusive” networking session after the convention to get food to eat–the mini-quiches were delicious! I also found it funny when my friends were waiting for me so we could split a taxi back to Harvard. Every time I turned around, they were eating chicken on a stick. It was actually pretty funny–more funny than it actually sounds.
The day overall was not that bad though. I feel like I actually bonded with the other WIB committee girls who were staffing. In the past, I felt like I didn’t really get the chance to because I would see these girls at their events, participate in their events, and leave. Or they would come to my events, participate, and then leave.
It was also an interesting experience being on the other side of such a big convention. Even though I definitely did not feel the pressures the IBC committee must have felt, I did realize how chaotic everything must get at times when there are streams of people just rushing out and rushing towards you for answers.
Also, I met Crystal today. Second person who I met in person who I first met through the net.
My birthday and a burn
It was my birthday yesterday. It didn’t really feel like a birthday because of all the studying I had to do, but my sister had threw a surprise birthday party for me on the 25th, where I was actually surprised and was really happy because many of my friends did surprise me there.
But a quick update before I head off the chem class: today in the morning, I burned my hand. It was so stupid. I was going to get some boiling water to make tea and instead of sticking the cup under the faucet, I stuck my hand there instead because I thought this handle was the faucet. Of course, when I pulled the handle, the boiling water went on my hand instead.
It looks to be a first-degree burn except it hurts a lot. I just hope it will heal some before the exams on Friday. I will continue to pour cold water on it and hopefully it will be all right. It looks pretty nasty when a hunk of my skin swollen red–not too swollen, but it is definitely higher than the rest of my skin.
Good thing I did not get blisters. I have burned myself three times within the past two years. Maybe my skin has become tough.
Midterms galore!
This week I had a midterm in MCB 80 on Tuesday. It wasn’t that bad, but I had studied a lot for that test. I woke up on Monday in the morning at 7AM and started reading through lecture after lecture for slides. That took such a long time. Throughout the entire day, with exception to classes, I was basically just reading the lectures.
Next week, I have a PS 2 midterm on Tuesday and Chinese and Chem 17 midterm on Friday. I am nervous for Chem 17, but also a bit worried about PS 2. I need a good grade on both these midterms badly. I had not done that well on the first round of tests, so if I do not want a disappointing grade for the semester, I have to do well on the following tests.
The weekend is cut out for me.