Studyspo - Blog Posts

tuesday, jan 28th

hi beanz. welcome back.

picked up this sparkling lemon soda from an italian deli near my house on my walk home to drink as i study.

today, i had my biomedical modeling and my biomedical instrumentation class. both of these are my most difficult classes, so i have to put quite a bit of work into them.

in modeling, i learned how to serve cunt about partial differential equations and modeled cellular diffusion using a partial differential equation. this class is actually so cool and it's an easy favorite. i have a quiz on thursday, so i have to study for that.

instrumentation is...confusing. this first portion of the course has been a review of my circuits class from fall 2023. which i then basically repeated in my signals/systems class last semester. but somehow i still don't really understand what's going on so maybe i need the review. i have an exam next week and need to lock tf in.

i also have some stuff to do for research. i have a proposal to write due on feb 15th, and ideally would like feedback from prof next week. so that means this needs to get written by lab meeting on friday. i haven't even made a document. absolutely cooked.

to do:

finish start 4 problems in instrumentation homework ✅

redo pharmacokinetics example for modeling quiz

start modeling homework 2 ✅ 1/29

start research proposal ✅

🎧: tchaikovsky violin concerto in d major

250217/26

30-39/100 days of productivity

song of the week: b2b-charli xcx

it's been over a week since i last posted. i have been so stressed for my calculus midterm. i did over 250 integrals in five days, staying up until 4 am every day or not sleeping at all. my physics midterm got pushed to after the break so now i have three midterms back to back.

just had my calculus midterm last night and it honestly did not go well. this past week leading up to and after my exam definitely took a toll on me mentally, physically, and emotionally which undoubtedly affected my exam. but i'm going to try and stay motivated for my other classes and get a better mark on the calculus final.

i have so many lab reports and proposals to write now but at least reading week is next week and i'll be going home to see the sun.

pictures:

walking home after my midterm

6 am after studying all night

integrals on the classroom blackboard at 3 am (the janitor forgot to lock the door)

practice questions an hour before my midterm with friends

250213/16

26-29/100 days of productivity

song of the day: hypnotized- minh

i might be cheating by summarizing multiple days but i really don't have the motivation to post every day.

spent the weekend studying for my physics midterm. went to the bar and a concert over the weekend which i enjoyed immensely. also viewed an apartment which i might sign soon: i really liked it (huge modern open kitchen, washing and drying machine, quiet... what more can one ask for).

my school has called a snow day for tomorrow so now my both physics midterm and chemistry lab have been pushed to next week... same week as my calculus midterm. just amazing. and just after my biology lab last week got pushed as well.

i am currently feeling very unmotivated, evident by how i have not been posting. but i know that i have to study or my calculus mark will be worse than last semester's so tomorrow i will force myself to walk through the blizzard to study at a cafe. i am feeling quite confident about physics however i still have not fully formatted my crib sheet. so i will do that during my study breaks tomorrow.

slight vent: a lot of my classes have been getting cancelled recently and it's really frustrating because i studied for these midterms (i was even doing physics at the bars) and now my entire study plan has been thrown out the window. also online classes and meetings are just so draining. it's really miserable to be constantly freezing then trek through a meter of snow in the rare cases when i get out of the house. i can't wait for summer. my mood is only boosted by the big glass of red wine i had last night and the prospect of hot matcha tomorrow.

images: very out of tune piano in the physics building, however still beautiful. a bagel cafe study session with a friend (im going there again tomorrow). roses i bought myself on valentines. unfortunate car.

250212

25/100 days of productivity

slow day today. finished my biology assignment and started working on a piece for an art competition. did a chemistry quiz and went to see an apartment. did some calculus.

250210

24/100 days of productivity

song of the day: good kid- kendrick lamar

had a very stressful lab today and got less work done then i would've liked.

academic: worked on my biology assignment and did some calculus review. worked on my lab report.

tomorrow: chemistry quiz, finish biology assignment, chemistry notes.

250208/9

22-23/100 days of productivity

song of the day: open hearts- the weeknd

completed a 17 hour 2 day first aid course this weekend. got my certification for working as a first aid responder in my school's first aid club next semester. caught up on my calculus and did notes. finished 75% of my calculus problem sets. finished my chemistry pre lab. finished two physics assignments. am now two weeks behind in chemistry but my next midterm is after my reading week so i think i'll focus on my calculus midterm since i still haven't done any practice problems. overall i had fun this weekend, my course was genuinely really fun and i made a lot of new friends.

250206

21/100 days of productivity

song of the day: big sleep- the weeknd

pretty tiring day today. my ceiling light is still out (it has been a week).

academic: completed two pre labs and a lab and a lab report. finished my biology essay assignment that's due tomorrow (i've been putting it off since i've had midterms). caught up on calculus since i've had to skip this week for midterms. got two math problem sets assigned at once and due at the same time which is just plain ridiculous.

research: our wet lab data is finally starting to look okay. our adhesive still isn't strong enough but at least the graph looks like a graph. i'm still editing my article which is due in a week.

self care: cleaned my room and finally got rid of the salt snow dirt stains on my floor.

tomorrow: have a physics lab. i need to catch up on chemistry and biology. also have a first aid course this weekend so i should review for that. also going out to celebrate my birthday with some hotpot!

250205

20/100 days of productivity

song of the day: ashes and blood-arcane

had my chemistry midterm today. i woke up 15 minutes before the exam and sprinted across campus in 3 minutes. i was running on pure adrenaline all evening and had an epiphany during the exam that made me feel like walter white. catching up on all my assignments and pre labs right now. stuff to do: biology pre lab, physics pre lab, biology essay, chemistry pre lab, watch three biology lectures (i skipped class), catch up on a week of chemistry.

tomorrow: biology lab, finish physics pre lab.

250204

19/100 days of productivity

song of the day: cry for me- the weeknd

studied until 3 am for chemistry. did some practice midterms and rewatched all my lectures.

250203

18/100 days of productivity

song of the day: cry for me- the weeknd

spent 11 hours studying for chemistry today. finished all of my practice problems. going to office hours tomorrow and doing the practice midterms and I should be all set. also did two sets of calculus notes and some calculus problems. went to an amazing conference on sustainability and the keynote speech was very inspiring. I wish that I had more chances to interact with things like this as a stem major. ft. my campus squirrels

250202

17/100 days of productivity

song of the day: two- bbno$

over 8 hours of studying for chemistry today! i did so many practice problems my brain is barely working now. just finishing up a physics discussion assignment because i completely forgot about it... oops. made a little list of concepts to review tomorrow.

my ceiling light has been out for the past 3 days and my room is literally freezing... good thing i went apartment hunting for an hour instead of studying today.

tomorrow: going to an 11 hour conference but i think i'll leave early to study for my midterm.

240201

16/100 days of productivity

song of the day: abyss- the weeknd

feeling better today so went to my lab workshop. actually threw away the flow through while doing pcr so that was really fun. luckily I have enough so I don’t need to restart. I want to get lots of sleep before my midterms so I’ll leave my chemistry review to tomorrow.

240131

15/100 days of productivity

wasn’t feeling very well today after running errands and having labs all day. still went to my evening tutorial but sleeping early tonight.

250130

14/100 days of productivity

finished lab report, started my chemistry midterm review

250129

13/100 days of productivity

song of the day: spartacus: ballet suite no. 2:1. adagio of spartacus and phrygia- aram khachaturian

woke up late and had to skip my biology lecture. went to my next lecture and headed to the library to do work. wifi went out campus wide when i was submitting my research application so i was struggling to connect to my data for two hours.

academic: finished my biology pre lab. attended a networking event with some professors and had a fun time with my chemistry professors.

tomorrow: biology post lab, physics problem set, physics pre lab, review for chemistry midterm.

250128

12/100 days of productivity

song of the day: muse au musée- isolde lasoen

got some free stuff from the club fair and went out to dinner to celebrate chinese new year. did some statistics and physics homework.

250127

11/100 days of productivity

song of the day: lune noire-isolde lasoen

pretty okay day today. starting to lose my motivation a little bit but i have midterms coming up. i have a chemistry one next week and i am very behind on content which is... unfortunate.

academic: finished my chemistry lab and my lab report. finished my calculus problem set. halfway finished my physics problem set. finished my chemistry quiz with a friend. attended an engineering symposium and got free pizza.

research: did some research into egg albumen adhesives. apparently our wet lab is using it as a control so i'll have to add the protocol to our paper. it was very interesting though.

selfcare: got myself a nice turkey apple brie sandwich today. i had no idea the sandwiches at my school's sandwich and soup bar were that good. it was so yummy i will be buying it again. sadly they close at 2 but i want to try other sandwiches.

tomorrow: i have to submit my appliation for a summer research position since it's due in 3 days. my school is having a club fair so i will be getting free stuff.

250126

10/100 days of productivity

song of the day: headlock-imogen heap

got quite a lot done. had to catch up on a lot since i've spent the past week hanging out with friends and attending events.

academic: completed physics and chemistry notes, a physics problem set, a biology problem set, and started reviewing for my chemistry midterm next week.

research: had to organize a lot today with the wet lab team and had a meeting with my co-lead about our paper. i had to read a ton of research papers but it was quite fun.

selfcare: did my laundry and cooked dinner! dinner didn't turn out as well as i had hoped but it was my first time cooking in over a month. took a lot of energy so i'll prioritize sleeping tonight.

tomorrow: i need to finish my calculus problem set which is due in 5 days and submit a research application. i'll try and finish my paper for the journal but i don't think it's doable in one day. i also have a chemistry lab that i still don't fully understand yet.

250125

9/100 days of productivity

attended a biomedical engineering conference today! i got lots of free stuff and learned a lot. i spoke with my country's leading researchers and one is accepting students in the summer so i will be applying! if i get the position i will abandon all my other offers with no second thoughts. afterwards i finished watching arcane with a friend and went out for dinner.

250124

8/100 days of productivity

almost done my calculus problem set and applied for a scholarship. just have citations left for my article. have a biomedical engineering conference tomorrow that i am very excited for.

250123

7/100 days of productivity

did my physics notes and some calculus practice. tiring day today.

250122

6/100 days of productivity

song of the day: zwitter- rammstein

finished my physics notes and almost done my research application. finished my chemistry and biology pre labs. attended a very interesting symposium by one of my professors who works at NASA about how her team got the first picture of a black hole (M87* & Sgr A*) and other facts about supermassive black holes. never regretting coming to this school ever again.

250121

5/100 days of productivity

song of the day: the line-twenty one pilots

finished my physics problem set, started on my calculus set. finished editing my blog article for the second round. sent out some emails to profs confirming interviews.

250119

4/100 days of productivity

song of the day: L no theme- hideki taniuchi

stayed in bed until 3 pm recovering from last night. eventually got up to send out some emails and work on my physics problem set. finished my physics pre lecture readings. debating switching professors for my summer research but i'll have to speak with both. i guess today wasn't that productive but i had to distract myself and at least i got something done. i'll save the rest for tomorrow.

250117

3/100 days of productivity

song of the day: you're in love- joe hisaishi

pretty good day today! my physics labs haven't started yet so i only had one lecture today.

academic: went library hopping and finished notes for 3/4 of my classes. (my biology slides actually make no sense). got started on my physics problem set and prepared for my lab workshop tomorrow.

self-care: might be masochistic but i find writing notes very relaxing! i suppose that counts as self care. i was watching let's plays while studying so now i really want to play a game. side note: i just found out that poppy playtime chapter 4 is coming out in 2 weeks? very exciting.

tomorrow: i don't think i'll have much time after my 5 hour lab and a party with my friends but if i do i'll work on my physics and math problem sets! i really need to stop putting off my biology notes but formatting it is just a nightmare.

welcome everyone who has been following me recently! i love making new mutuals- it's very heartwarming.

250116

2/100 days of productivity

song of the day: me gustas tu- manu chao

very tiring day today, i regret not taking an afternoon nap. but quite productive! i came back from my 8:30 pm lab to find the power out which was quite fun. gone were my plans of crashing right on my bed and i proceeded to drag myself to the library. it is now 10:30 pm and apparently the power is back so i'll crawl up the hill back home once i finish up my chemistry notes!

research: halfway through editing my article. only one body paragraph left to rewrite.

academic: did calculus until my brain exploded. physics was very fun and the fire alarm fortunately did not go off this time. my ta for my 2 hour long calculus tutorial is not so endearingly clueless so needless to say i will not be attending calculus tutorials anymore.

self care: actually didn't do too much today and i am very very tired. but i am in surprisingly good spirits considering everything that has happened today! i really like this "library": it is actually the basement of our math building, nicknamed "the dungeon", but i love the atmosphere. photo attached below!

250115

1/100 days of productivity

song of the day: vienna- billy joel

had three very tiring but very productive meetings today!

the fire alarm went off during my physics lecture so i had to stand outside for 30 minutes. also met with an upper year bioengineering student and now i'm very interested in applying for a transfer.

research: met with a bioengineering/biomedical engineering professor and i can happily say that i now work in a bioengineering lab. also met with my research team for the first time since the break.

academic: finished my chemistry lab report and did some calculus problems. worked on some notes.

self care: got a bit of exercise (walking) in today! unfortunately i wore my doc martens for too long yesterday so it was a little painful.

above: icicles hanging off our museum, snowflake that landed on my sleeve

250111

song of the day: futile devices- sufjan stevens

not the most productive day today.

academics: completed next week's notes and half of next week's readings. spent most of my time revising physics.

selfcare: took a nice hot shower. then the hot water cut out. it was not pleasant.

tomorrow's goal: do last week's practice problems and get started on this week's problem sets so i'm ready before class. also need to prepare for my lab on monday.

notes: i, in fact, did not figure out my program and am still debating transferring.

250108

song of the day: metamodernity- vansire

very chilly day today. my life flashed before my eyes too many times to count. why is my campus on an icy hill.

research: finished citations for my article and submitted it for editing. started the outline for my next article. bugged my team about finding our introduction for our paper (it has been over a month). sent out a few emails to profs.

academics: finished some online lab training courses for my upcoming synthetic biology lab workshops. am very excited!

selfcare: learned a little bit about game design. i know next to nothing about coding but i have to learn it eventually. ordered myself a very nice and comforting hot meal.

tomorrow's goal: i need to start doing reading assignments before i fall behind. i'll try to finish my pre labs before labs start next week.

notes: i didn't post for the past few days as i was quite stressed about my program. i was debating transferring to engineering, even transferring to another school. but i've figured it out so it's all good now.

some notes from fall semester