Kelly Hee '11

Legacy

KHee@scu.edu (Kelly Hee) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 12:03:00 PST

Can one person make a difference in the world? If you weren’t born, would things be any different? Everyone wants to leave their mark during their time on earth. Just something that says "hey I was here.” On a smaller scale, the same goes for Santa Clara. There have been many students before me and quite frankly, there will be many students after me. But as I enjoy my last week as a student here, I ask myself, have I left a mark? Did I make a difference while I was here? Will I be remembered?

To make a difference, you don’t necessarily have to do anything hugely significant. Not everyone has to have a library or a gym named after them. It could just be the fact you were on an officer board in the MCC or completed the Iron Bronco. Maybe you were the person who suggested the name “Camino” for the Angel website. Or even the person that burned the couch after the Gonzaga game.

The truth is, even the slightest things can alter the course of events. If you didn’t register for the Iron Bronco, your name wouldn’t be on the list of finishers. And maybe the person who saw your name on that list inspired by your accomplishment wouldn’t do the Iron Bronco the following year. Just think about it.

Time has flown by so fast and as I look back on the past four years, I get a little sad. Coming to SCU was like jumping into a pool. It was a shock at first, I got used to it, and now I don’t want to leave. But I can say I definitely emerge as a better and more mature person. My exact experience would not have been possible without every single class I took, the teachers who taught the classes, all of the friends I’ve made, everyone I have ever lived with, my supportive family, and, ultimately, my parents. And I just want to say thank you to them. Also, thank you BlogSCU for giving me an outlet to share my time here with everyone. It really was a constant in my life these past four years and is something I consider part of my legacy. I loved telling people to search my name on Google because this would pop up instead of my chess team and tennis scores from middle school.

Anyway, I hope I have positively touched the lives of others and contributed to SCU’s story in some way during my time here. And no matter where you are on your journey at SCU, just think about the legacy you’ll be leaving behind. What kind of impact did you make? How do you want to be remembered?

One day, when this blog comes off the SCU website, everyone who ever knew me here has left, and people ask “Kelly who?” at the mention of my name, only I will know that I have ever made all the difference and that my legacy lives on.

Feel free to contact me at kelly.a.hee@gmail.com or watch the youtube site that goes with this blog http://www.youtube.com/user/hellokelly7 . I love getting emails from readers. And thanks for following the past four years. This is Kelly Hee signing off!

Everthing at the End

KHee@scu.edu (Kelly Hee) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:50:00 PST

As this blog and my college career come to an end, I just thought I’d update you all on my last days as a Santa Clara undergrad.

Here are the highlights:

Silent Library: JSA put on our version of Silent Library which included challenges such as licking cool whip off a team member, dying someone’s nose blue, or drinking a “mystery” drink (trust me you don’t want to know what was in there).

MCCBearys: MCCBearys is a dinner where everyone in the MCC comes together for end of the year awards and the transference of the power in the boards. This year it was held in the Locatelli Center and the food was Pan Asian.

Angela Graduated: My smart and wonderful cousin Angela graduated from USF! (And turned 22!) I went to her graduation party held in SF and enjoyed some delicious Chinese food and super yummy cupcakes J I’m so proud of her!

JSA End of the Year Dinner: This year we held our annual dinner at Okayama in J-Town. We made a video as a tribute to our cochairs, Ian and Marc, and gave them both presents. I think Marc really liked his dinosaur cake. Good company always makes food taste better J

Art Department BBQ: I had never gone one in the past, but thought since I’m a studio art minor and my whale got chosen to be in the Juried show, I should probably go. Katie and I went to the BBQ for a little bit, and I will say, the art department knows how to throw a BBQ. The food, drinks, and dessert were excellent. They also had an old record player going and held it inside the open space outside, so it had a real organic feel to it. I couldn’t stay for the whole time, but Katie won awards for her pieces in the show!

The end of the year really snuck up on me and I’m sorry to see my college career end s fast…

Last Day of School (EVER)

KHee@scu.edu (Kelly Hee) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:46:00 PST

"Wake up in the morning feeling like Kelly Hee.
Put my clothes on, I’m out the door, gonna hit Arts 163
Before I leave, grab myself a straight up snack
Because when I leave my last class, I aint comin back!"
(To the tune of Ke$ha's "Tik Tok")

So, yeah...I got out the door and saw two black squirrels on my way to my last ceramics class ever. I took it as a good sign. Even though I was officially finished with all my projects, I stayed to glaze some miscellaneous pieces I made and then hit up the gym. Then after the gym I came back, ate, showered, and went to my LAST CLASS EVER, Financial Information Systems with Professor Chaiho Kim. The class was basically a review of what we needed to know for the final and then he dismissed us. I took a picture with him after and tried to get him to throw a “shaka,” but he changed it to a thumbs up at the last minute. My last class was short but sweet and my OMIS friends and I celebrated by going to Halu Ramen for dinner at 6pm. So for an hour, I went to the Art Awards BBQ with Katie. We viewed the exhibit since our pieces were selected and ended up eating and talking with people. Then I went to Halu Ramen with Dennis and Roger and caught up, reminisced, and just celebrated our last OMIS class ever.

The Iron Bronco

khee@scu.edu (Kelly Hee) — Thu, 26 May 2011 11:09:00 PST

Every year, SCU’s Malley Fitness Center holds a “triathalon” called the “Iron Bronco” which is extended over two weeks time. It’s completely based on the honor system and at the end of two weeks you turn in a sheet that says you completed 26.2 miles of swimming, 112 miles on the bike, and 2.4 miles of swimming. You can have up to a team of three, so I partnered up with my roommate Katie. Having a workout buddy motivates you to go a little further, do the extra mile. Once we posted our progress on the fridge, we began our first few miles of running.

Our schedules were busy, but we managed to finish the running in a week. I have never done the campus loop so many times in my life. I also ran five miles one day and explored the surrounding area. Did you know there’s a monastery around campus? And playgrounds? Well now you do.

What I realized from the biking portion is that there is no way to sit comfortable on a bike seat for more than 10 miles straight. I think the bike was trying to say, “if you’re not comfortable, you’re not working out hard enough.” And normally, I choose my cardio depending on what the TV is playing. “Oh TBS has friends on? Guess I’ll do that Stairmaster. House on USA? Treadmill it is.” Being forced to sit on those stationary bikes kept me in the loop with “Las Vegas”, “Supernatural”, all the sports on ESPN, and whatever was happening on the Today Show. Katie did her biking in about three days. I don’t know how she can sit on the bike for that long, but she did.

We finished the swimming part pretty fast. We went to the gym together and just cranked it out. It’s really easy to lose track of how many laps you did in the pool so we used our kickboards and the little tiles by the edge to count. I did every stroke I could remember to change up the monotonous laps. There was one stroke though that made me look like a dying fish so I only did it for half a lap. Only some people look good doing a dolphin kick. Katie was determined to finish the pool part ASAP so she did it in one go.

The Iron Bronco was a fun experience but honestly, I don’t feel any more fit than I did before. Probably from all the eating I did simultaneously. Anyway, check out our shirts!

Sharing the Beauty of Blooming Flowers

KHee@scu.edu (Kelly Hee) — Fri, 13 May 2011 10:20:00 PST

Culture shows take a lot of planning, time, and money. In my opinion, I think Ka Mana’o O Hawai’i’s luau takes the cake in all of those categories. The luau is very large almost entirely student run production, consisting of lunch or dinner, a show, and a concert after the dinner show. The planning starts in the summer with fundraising and meetings about the committees (publicity, entertainment, food, lights and sound, cargo, country store, decorations, and dance).

Fast-forward nine months later and we are selling tickets, digging an imu pit, finishing the preparation of the decorations, holding last dance rehearsals, and arranging a U-Haul for cargo pick up from San Francisco. And then the day finally arrives and the no-sleep marathon begins. On Friday once dinner was done, we took over Market Square in Benson and transformed it into something completely different. This year we covered the pillars with black paper and had a string of paper flowers wrapped around it, used purple table cloths to cover the 40 round tables, and decorated the corners and sides of the room with kahilis and plants. We hoped to capture our theme, `Alo I Ka Nohea O Na Pua Mohala, meaning “Sharing the Beauty of Blooming Flowers” through the colorful coffee filter flower decorations for the lunch show, the real flower arrangements for the dinner show, and the flowers on the backdrop sign and the pillars. On Saturday once the doors opened, Market Square filled with parents, friends, and guests and took on a welcoming atmosphere. People were talking, eating, and enjoying each other’s company and the performances. Coming together in the spirit of aloha is what a luau is all about.

All committees worked extremely hard to give guests a little taste of what an authentic luau from Hawaii was like. The food, kalua pig, chicken long rice, haupia, poi, lomi salmon, macaroni salad, rice, and teriyaki chicken, were all homemade by the food committee, the country store sold local goods, and all of the dances were beautifully choreographed. Now that I look back on that day, I feel a little sad knowing that it was the last time I would ever be on stage performing hula at Santa Clara.

Anyway, everyone seemed to have a good time and enjoyed themselves. And that is what really makes a successful luau. If you missed luau or would love to watch the dances, here is a youtube link for the show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhmJUfDLgAI

Thank you everyone, cochairs, volunteers, dancers, parents, friends, and directors, who made luau possible this year and every year. Luau would not happen without you guys. This has been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had annually throughout my four years here at Santa Clara and I will never forget that I was a part of something so special. I can’t wait to watch it for the first time next

My Last and Final Quarter

KHee@scu.edu (Kelly Hee) — Thu, 05 May 2011 10:47:00 PST

This is the least stressful quarter I have had during my whole time here at SCU. This is also the first quarter where I get to experience no school on Fridays J I have overloaded and stressed long enough and even if I don’t deserve it, I’m giving myself a treat my two months or so here.

For my very last quarter to SCU I am taking a graphic design class, ceramics (again with Don), a once a week Commercial Law class, and OMIS 150, Financial Information Systems. Basically finishing up what is left of my minors.

Since I had never formally taken a graphic design class and just taught myself Photoshop and Illustrator, I thought it would be good to know how to properly use it and maybe pick up some shortcuts and tricks I didn’t know was there before and perhaps even improve my shirt designing skills. The class runs just as long as any other art class (2.5 hours) and takes place in the computer lab they have in the art building. We have learned to make effective logos, business cards, and letterheads so far and are currently working on designing a menu for a restaurant. It’s pretty impressive to see the kind of work college students can produce! Some of the logos, business cards, and menus look like they should be used in real life!

I’m also taking ceramics again to fulfill my last upper division art class requirement. Since I had previously taken the class, I am able to focus on doing a series of pieces. I originally had two ideas for my series, animal awareness or emotions and behavior, but Don told me to combine the series into one big one! So the first project I did was a genie lamp, which was a symbol for hope or wishful thinking, with a sea life scene carved into it. So in a sense it was kind of “hope for the oceans”? My next piece which I am almost done with is a giant pig which represents not only cruel animal raising techniques but the greedy nature of humans. Glutton. I haven’t thought of my next piece yet, but I will let you know when I do.

I was originally scared of taking the commercial law class as I heard it would be a lot of writing, but it turned out to be quite an interesting class. Some of the cases are so ridiculous you wonder how they even became an issue you could take to court. What I have learned so far is that the law is not as finite as you think. There are loopholes, ways around the law, and different strategies one could apply to sway the law in their favor.

And my last class, OMIS 150, is the fullest OMIS class I have ever been in. It could be because it is also the only upper div OMIS class they are offering this quarter. We are learning how to do UML diagrams and how to use SAP in this class and I hear those are pretty useful things when you go out into the business world.

Anyway, that’s a short overview of my last quarter at SCU! If you have any questions about the classes I’m taking, feel free to contact me and I will gladly tell you more about them!

Happy Easter!

KHee@scu.edu (Kelly Hee) — Thu, 05 May 2011 10:43:00 PST

Easter is a lot of different things to me. I learned about the religious background and meaning behind Easter when I attended a Catholic school for eight years. How Lent ties together with Easter. How Jesus was ridiculed, pained, and then triumphantly rose from the dead. How the colors and symbols associated with Easter came to be and what they represent. And how Easter, back in grade school, meant a 4 day weekend beginning with Good Friday going till Easter Monday. Yes, Easter MONDAY.

And at home, I learned about the “celebration” aspect of it. Easter Sunday is one of the more wholesome “holidays” or “excuses to have a party or dinner” in our society. When I was little, my cousins, sister, and I would all go on an Easter egg hunt in our yard ending in prizes for us and a week of garden maintenance for my dad. Then we’d all have a nice big Easter dinner followed by copious amounts of dessert.

At Santa Clara, I tried recreating that Easter I knew from home. JSA held an Easter egg hunt during our weekly meeting, hiding eggs all around the outside of Benson. Some of the eggs had animal faces on them so it was very amusing to see a shark peeking out of a tree or a chick chilling in a flower bush. I think everyone had a good time looking for those eggs. I feel like it’s just that thrill of potentially finding the most eggs that really gets people’s blood going. I think we hid the eggs a little too well because in the end, I don’t think everyone found all of them. I guess the gardeners are going to get a nice surprise.

On Sunday, I hosted Easter dinner in my apartment. No ham by Ian though L Instead we had a nontraditional meal of loco mocos, spaghetti, garlic mashed potatoes, cheese biscuits, deviled eggs, pasta salad, shrimp in butter sauce, kalbi, corn, icecream bars, and cake. Everyone came to eat which is nice since not all of us live on campus anymore. Ian and Geoff made the shrimp which tasted great and “B House” (Shawn, Jake, Matt, and Daynard) made the Loco Mocos which was pretty local of them. Good job boys for cooking some legit food. I think everyone had a good time and no one left hungry. And that is what really matters.

I honestly meant to go to church this Easter, but somehow, I didn’t end up going due to time constraints. My goal is to go to at least one mass before the end of the year! Anyway, however you celebrate Easter, I hope you all had a great Easter Sunday!

Care Package

khee@scu.edu (Kelly Hee) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 08:33:00 PST

Thanks Mom and Dad for the arare, new Ekolu CD, Hurricane Popcorn, and the package of fujook.

LOL.

MATSURI 2011

KHee@scu.edu (Kelly Hee) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 10:40:00 PST

Every year, the clubs that are a part of the Multicultural Center (MCC) are required to put on some kind of culture show or event that educates and demonstrates what their culture is all about. The first weekend back from school, the Japanese Student Association (JSA) had our event in the form of Matsuri, which is Japanese for “festival”. Of all my years at SCU, I would have to say this Matsuri was one of the best we have ever held. (Okay so there have only been three Matsuris in JSA history, but whatever.)

After months of planning, the festival came together on a Sunday in between Benson and the Library. All the volunteers met at 6AM to help set up the festival or prepare the food that was going to be served. The layout for Matsuri was organized in an enclosed shape, which was meant to give it that crowded-booth-Japanese-festival feel. We had a small stage set up for entertainment and a raffle table near the front. There were festival games such as Ring Toss, Dime Toss, Pachinko, and Green Tea Pong, along with a vending booth that sold odd Japanese products and Japanese yoyos attached to strings, another common sight at a Matsuri. The Arts and Crafts booth included temporary Kanji tattoos and origami folding and in the middle of Matsuri, we had set up Sumo suits and a mat. Additionally in light of the recent disasters in Japan, we also had an educational donation booth as to spread awareness about the situation and provide an outlet for people to contribute to the cause. As for the food, we served bentoos with chicken katsu, curry, rice, yakisoba (fried noodles), gyoza, and yakitori (bbq chicken). And because it was a Springtime festival, we decorated all the booths with cherry blossoms and red and white balloons.

The festival always had people coming and going and everyone seemed to enjoy playing the games, eating the food, and watching the entertainment. The Sumo suits were really popular this year and people got really into it! I think the icecream man with a cart even enjoyed our festival since we attracted a sizeable crowd to sell to on such a sunny day. The weather was really nice, we completely sold out of food, and the volunteers were excellent. There weren’t any big problems we had to solve and I even got to enjoy Matsuri! Also, we raised a nice amount of money to send over to the Japan Red Cross for relief efforts! Overall, I would have to say Matsuri was a success!

Domo argiato to everyone who came or helped out! I hope everyone had a great time and learned something new about Japanese culture!

All the Animals in the Zoo

khee@scu.edu (Kelly Hee) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 09:30:00 PST

Thursday in San Diego was spent at the San Diego Zoo, which has almost every animal you can imagine and more. The day was sunny so it was great weather for walking around. We took the guided bus tour which covered about 60-70% of the zoo and found it to be quite an educational experience. I didn’t expect to learn anything during Spring Break but here I was learning that elephants give themselves a dust bath to stay clean or that a camel’s hump doesn’t contain water. The San Diego Zoo is a huge place. After lunch, we took the gondola that ran over the park and even caught a clear shot of a panda eating bamboo. We did some more learning at the polar bear exhibit and even got to see a polar bear feeding! We were in a lot of the right places at the right time because there were a bunch of baby animals born recently (like a 111lb giraffe) and they even walked a couple of leopard looking cats in front of us! The zoo was a great experience and I would highly recommend visiting. Cmon who DOESN’T love sleeping koalas??

After the zoo, we headed to the beach to meet Jake and Cathy who had decided to enjoy the sunny day there. The beach was still a little too cold for comfort, but it was nice to see real sand and water that wasn’t brown. After the beach, we hit up the pool again and got takeout from Phil’s BBQ. When we went to pick up our order, the line for a table stretched around the building. I guess it is just THAT good. After dinner, Sam, Jake, and Cathy went back to downtown San Diego for our last night out. I was too tired to go out and passed out early.

And that ended our San Diego vacation. Stay classy San Diego!

(Well that ended our vacation in San Diego. On the way back we locked the keys in the car while at a gas station near Bakersfield, called Triple A, and sat on the curb eating ice cream while waiting for them to arrive. Don’t worry, we made it back.)

Welcome to San Diego!

khee@scu.edu (Kelly Hee) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 09:27:00 PST

Mmm. San Diego. Drink it in, it always goes down smooth. Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diego which in German means… I’m completely kidding here. Everyone knows San Diego was discovered by Eskimos. Anyway, San Diego was the city we spent the last 3 days of our trip.

We arrived in San Diego around noon on Wednesday and ate at a great seafood place for lunch before checking into our hotel. It was a little windy that day, but we went to the pool anyway for a bit before going out for dinner and drinks. Downtown San Diego is actually pretty cool. If you ever are down there, you should go to a bar called the Tipsy Crow for Happy Hour drinks. The Tipsy Crow has three floors, all with a different feel to it. We stayed on the main level which was serving Happy Hour. The way it works is they have a screen, which looks similar to one you would find in the stock market, which updates every 5 minutes with new prices for their alcohol. The drink prices can go up and down, like the real stock market, until happy hour finishes. Besides the drinks, they also have board games to play with like Connect Four or Uno and a variety of food. Besides the Tipsy Crow, there are a lot of other cool places to eat and neat bars to go to. We wandered into one with a mechanical bull, which I badly wanted to try, but knew if I did try, it would end up badly.

When we got back from our night out, we found a pizza flier for this place called Abelina Pizza. The deals on the flier seemed too good to be true. And it was. After we placed our order, we looked on Yelp at some reviews. Abelina Pizza came up with TERRIBLE reviews. They over charged for their pizza and delivery and didn’t even list an address. Additionally, the reason they ask you to call from your cell phone is because many hotels have actually blocked their number. We cancelled the order and exchanged some nasty words with the man on the phone. The next day, we found a similar looking flier for a place called “Mexican Food.” Definitely learned our lesson.

Day at Disney

khee@scu.edu (Kelly Hee) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 09:22:00 PST

Disneyland cannot be done like the commercials you see on TV. You know, the ones where the Dumbo flies to the kids’ window and the parents are like “we can afford this” and the next scene cuts to them laughing and leisurely enjoying themselves at the park. No, no. When the commercial asks us, “what will your Disney memory be?” my answer would have to be, “standing in lines.” Disneyland needs to be planned out right or you won’t ride everything you want to or end up spending hours waiting in line for 2 minute rides.

We got to the park at 9, when it opened, and someone ran to Space Mountain to get everyone fast passes while the rest of us waited in line for the Matterhorn. After we rode the Matterhorn it was 10 o clock already so we went over to California Adventure and rode Screamin since the line was short, while Cathy (who didn’t ride Screamin) got us “World of Color” and Tower of Terror fast passes. We then proceeded to ride the Grizzly River Run since the line for that was short too and got completely soaked. It felt like I had voluntarily jumped in a pool. The only thing dry were my shoes. Wet jeans are just the worst. We rode the Tower of Terror next, which is an elevator ride that suddenly drops you. The feeling of your stomach in your throat is incomparable. After we were finished, we got our Indiana Jones fast passes and rode Space Mountain which is basically a roller coaster in the dark with music. I think everyone really enjoyed that ride.

We took a break for lunch and then went to Toon Town so we could digest and relax a little. After that, we headed BACK to California Adventure and got in line for the Mr. Potatohead ride. It was an interactive 3D ride (similar to Buzz Lightyear) where the rider would play boardwalk games. That was the longest line we stood in all day, but was worth it! After that we rode Indiana Jones, which is really cool because it feels like you’re actually in the story. Well done Disney. After that we kind of hung out till “World of Color” (which is a water and laser show) started.

This was the best water and laser show I have ever seen. Disney really knows how to put on a performance. After the show was over, Sam, David, and I went back to Disneyland to ride Autopia while the fireworks show was going on. Then we stood in line for the Matterhorn (which was broken at the time) and rode it one more time before heading back to our hotel.

Sam and David estimated we walked 10 miles that day. My feet were so sore but Disneyland was so much fun. Can we go back again? HA

Road Trip to SoCal

khee@scu.edu (Kelly Hee) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 09:18:00 PST

This was the last spring break of the rest of my life. I initially wanted to go home, but my dad said that “it was too expensive.” Four hundred dollars to Hawaii seemed pretty reasonable to me and in the end, I could’ve just done it. Instead, a couple friends and I took a road trip down to Southern California. Since we had never really driven any down to SoCal, we thought it would be a good idea to try it at least once.

We left in two cars full of muddy buddies, cookies, cereal, water, corn puffs, cuties, and spam musubis. On the way to Anaheim we encountered every type of weather possible—rain, sunshine, and even snow. Yes, snow. The other car stopped at a gas station just so we could enjoy the snow. Once we got closer, five of us went to USC for a little bit to check out “the other SC.” Walking around there reminded me of the time I first went to tour Punahou. The campus is huge and really beautiful. It looks like the kind of college campuses you see in the movies.

Outside the campus, it wasn’t as nice. That’s an understatement actually. There were bars on every window (including the churches and houses), graffiti everywhere, and instead of real signs, the names of establishments were painted right on the buildings. I guess it’s a lot cheaper to paint over a name than replace a new sign. Because we got lost getting back on the freeway, we spent an hour taking a self-guided tour of USC’s surrounding area. The jealousy we had felt walking around USC disappeared as we checked to see if our car doors were locked.

When we got to Anaheim, we checked into a two beds and one bathroom suite that had a living room with a pull out couch. It fit all six of us nicely and for two days, we all had a blast living together. After dinner, we decided to hit up the heated pool and hot tub. When we got there, a bunch of high school cheerleaders were sitting in the hot tub. The guys were smoking and all the girls had belly button piercings and wore the tiniest bikinis. I felt like I was watching a dumbed down Laguna Beach, except listening to their conversations made me cringe even more.

“So he was like ‘I miss you’ and we had only hung out once before. I don’t know how he could miss me if we had never really hung out rightttt?”

Right. Well we all showered after that and slept early (for college students) because the next day we were going to DISNEYLAND.

The Final Presentation

khee@scu.edu (Kelly Hee) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 10:09:00 PST

Well we’re in Finals week right now and I can’t believe how fast this quarter went by. It’s amazing how much you can learn in 10 weeks. (And for some, it’s pretty amazing how much you can learn in one night.) I guess the good thing about being on the quarter system is that when you don’t have any work to worry about during Spring Break.

And as the quarter comes to a close, I just realize that on Friday, I think I gave my last group presentation EVER. In my OMIS 108 class we had to get into groups and tour a factory plant and do a project relating the concepts we learn in class to real life. My group chose TCHO chocolate, a local chocolate maker located next to the Ferry Building in San Francisco. TCHO gives free tours daily and is a great educational experience if you’re wondering how chocolate is made. Since they’re a fairly new company, TCHO’s factory is pretty small. The walking part of the tour was through two rooms and lasted for about 15 minutes, most of the time standing in front of one of the few machines they had. The other half of the tour was spent watching a power point, tasting chocolate, and a question and answer session. Everyone is required to wear hairnets and covered shoes. If you do not have any shoes, they will give you some clogs.

For the project we had to give a presentation to the class and write a paper on the manufacturing aspects of the factory. Needless to say, even though we had planned with project out thoroughly, we still ran into a few problems along the way which put us back. So like any other SCU group project, we all found ourselves spending some quality time together on Wednesday and Thursday since our project was due Friday. We finally got everything done by Thursday midnight. We all went home tired, two of us sick, and I made calls to home because Hawaii had a Tsunami warning (which turned out to be ok).

The next day, I overslept for the first time all quarter. I was actually late to my last required accounting class ever. (Haha.) And one of my group members made it just before our presentation started. But surprisingly, we gave a pretty good presentation. Most of the class looked like they were paying attention and actually enjoyed it. While I’m not sure what we got on the paper, I think the presentation aspect of my SCU career went out pretty nicely.

Java: It's Not Your Cup of Tea

khee@scu.edu (Kelly Hee) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 13:35:00 PST

This quarter I decided to take OMIS 137, Object Oriented Programming, with Professor Ghiassi, who has a reputation of being the toughest professor in the OMIS department. Object Oriented Programming is basically the language of Java, which I thought would be interesting to learn since Java was such a common programming language. I have never worked so hard in an OMIS class in my life. It was like jumping off the deep end of a pool. The beginning sessions were the hardest for me. I was told I was constantly “out of the ball park” with my answers in class and dreaded being called on in fear I would get the wrong answer. I’ll admit I even cried a few times after class. And in the first week, I wasn’t even sure if I even knew how to submit the homework! I had never used eclipse, filezilla, or putty in my LIFE. We started with only 7 people in our class, dwindled down to 6, and surprisingly after the midterm, no one dropped. Everyone in my class is either an OMIS major or have had some kind of C or C+ /programming experience prior. Ten weeks ago I would’ve asked you what the hell C or C+ was.

Coming from just about zero experience with programming, I have had to spend so much time out of class teaching myself and understanding Java and I cannot believe how much I have learned within 10 weeks. Out of everyone in my class, it is unanimous that I have come the farthest. I still may not quite be at the level of everyone else but I am so proud of myself for how much I have learned. I know how to compile a program and submit my homework. I can tell you what System.out.println();, extends, and scanner do. I know what String, int, double, and char are and that APIE is not a dessert, but an acronym for the key components in Java.

This is by far my most challenging class this quarter and despite the tears shed, the countless hours doing homework, frustrating the TAs during office hours, and the long nights reading the textbook and notes, I genuinely do find this class interesting. The feeling you get when your program finally runs the way you want it to is similar to the feeling an accountant gets when everything balances. I may not get the A or even a grade that truly reflects how much I actually know, but the amount of information I have learned and will retain, far exceeds a letter on paper.

Just Another Day

khee@scu.edu (Kelly Hee) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 12:35:00 PST

We have been making masks in ceramics. I figured most of the class would choose some version of a tiki or African mask so I tried to brainstorm of something original. I originally wanted to do an Iron Man mask, but I don’t think that would’ve followed the assignment directions. My next idea was to make an Oni, a Japanese demon or ogre. I told David and after a second he asked me “why would you want to make a mask of the devil??” Okay I guess Oni is out. So I stuck with making an old man. Who I think would be my Popo’s idea of the “Chinese Father Time.” He might be Confucius actually. I’m not sure.

Anyway, I thought I was 90% done with the mask on Tuesday and was pretty stoked to get out early so I could study for my Tax test the next day. But when we did the critiques, my teacher “lobbied for lobes.” He’s so puny. He wanted me to add these huge earlobes to my old man, which I did. The lobes are so big, it kind of reminded me of this guy who works at the Kinko’s on the Alameda because he wears those huge disks in his earlobes. Yet, I think a Chinese god would lose respect if he sported some disks and a lip piercing.

I’ll admit it looks better, but so much for getting out early.

CalTrain

KHee@scu.edu (Kelly Hee) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:17:00 PST

One of the things that make SCU so great is its prime location. The bus is pretty reliable and will take you just about anywhere, with a central station right across the street. (The #10 shuttle to the airport is even free!) SCU is located about 40 minutes from Santa Cruz by drive, near to a big mall, and the surrounding area is made up of quaint little towns, great for exploring and foodies. Additionally, the area is pretty safe to the point where I feel okay walking around at night. And of course, we have the CalTrain station right across the street that can take you anywhere from Gilroy to San Francisco for a price that can range up to $7.50 one way.

I know over my years here at SCU, my friend Max from Stanford has used this train numerous times to visit me and our friends and my cousin Angela, who goes to USF, has most definitely used the CalTrain to come and see me as well. I have friend from Hawaii who recently just moved up here as well, looking for apartments near the CalTrain station as he plans on visiting the city frequently. Unfortunately, the CalTrain station is rumored to cut down service or even discontinue service to Santa Clara due to a smaller 2011 budget. This station will not be the only station with this dilemma, but it is the station that matters most to me. Life without CalTrain service would mean no Bay to Breakers, no Max or Angela, and no easy excursions to San Francisco.

I know I’m not the only one that feels this way. So CalTrain, please leave the Santa Clara station alone!

Today is the Last

KHee@scu.edu (Kelly Hee) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:30:00 PST

Instead of being a first, today there is a last. Today is the last time I will ever register for classes here at Santa Clara.

How crazy is that?!?

You Are Love

KHee@scu.edu (Kelly Hee) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:29:00 PST

While Valentine’s Day traditionally celebrates the love between couples, it has turned into something much more than that over the years. For secret admirers, it is a day they take a chance and risk the outcome of unrequited love. For long time husbands and wives, it’s an excuse to go out and eat and a test to see if the husbands remembered to make reservations ahead of time and send flowers. And for single people, it has become known as Single Awareness Day, SAD, a day where the fact they are alone is even more prominent. Well I don’t think Valentine’s Day should be exclusive that way. I think it should be a day where everyone is included in the celebration of love. So here is my Valentine’s Day list of love.

I love you Mom and Dad because you let me learn by myself, gave me the opportunities to succeed in life, and supported me in just about anything I did. Thanks for putting the band aids on and making sure I was always well fed and safe.

I love you Grandma, Grandpa, and Popo because you were there to raise me, take me to hula practice, and spoil me when my parents wouldn’t. Thanks for the countless licees, my first tamagochi, and teaching me my address, phone number, and Chinese name (in case I got lost).

I love my friends because they know who I am and still choose to hang out with me. Thanks for letting me sing really loud, being my other family, giving me gao during Chinese New Year’s, making me feel popular whenever I get a text, and making sure I don’t do anything REALLY stupid.

I love all of the crushes, admirers, and boyfriends I have ever had because they made me stronger, built character, helped me figure out what kind of guy I want, contributed to who I am today, and even some, made me feel like I was the only girl in the world. Thanks for caring about me.

I love my sister, Jamie, even though I don’t say it often enough. Thanks for being my longest roommate and being the “compassionate one”.

I love Santa Clara not because I’m obligated to, but because without SCU, I wouldn’t be writing this or even be here today. Thanks for being the right choice.

There are about a thousand other people I would love to mention, but I covered most of my bases and I don’t think I could fit it on my blog. You would probably stop reading right about now anyway. But if you’re really interested in who else I love, I’ll tell you, but you better set aside a month. Happy Valentine’s Day to EVERYONE!

Giant Shoes and Humpback Whales

khee@scu.edu (Kelly Hee) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 12:28:00 PST

I haven’t taken a formal hand building class since I was about 8 years old. And since ceramics or hand building is a requirement for the Studio Art minor here, 14 years later, I’ve gotten my hands back into the clay. Sometimes when I work with clay, I pretend I’m building a cake like they do on Ace of Cakes of Cake Boss. It’s a very similar concept if you think about it.

My most recent piece was a Keds shoe, 18 inches long, and transformed into a rocket. I basically made a huge rocket shoe. What do I plan to do with it after? I have no idea. But if anyone would like a ceramic rocket shoe, please let me know. When I told my mom I was taking this class, she told me to make something “useful”. By “useful” she means easily displayable around the house like my sister’s smaller pieces or the glass cups I made when I did glass blowing in high school. I offered up the huge rocket shoe (which I don’t think would do well shipping to Hawaii) and she said, “well I guess you could use it as a doorstop…”

My next piece is a breaching humpback whale. It’s also big, but this time in the vertical direction. I’m thinking about having it burst out of a bunch of flowers instead of water though just because I think it would be cool. While this class is very time consuming, I do find it very relaxing and a great balance to my business classes. SCU provides the clay and there are no additional lab fees. All you have to do is buy the tools. (Thanks for your tools Meli!) I would definitely recommend signing up for this even if you aren’t a minor or major.