The University of Southern California invited me out to visit the campus, and helped me pay for the trip. Sold. Moments later I rented a car, grabbed Whit, and we were on our way.
Jorje, of course, joined us for the ride. He was pleased with the luxury of the vehicle we acquired.
Passing deserts and mountains, it was a mostly nice drive.
We didn't make it in one day, so we stopped at this rest stop to sleep over. Whit took over the heavy lifting of driving, so she required morning stretches for the long day ahead.
After missing an exit, driving sixty miles towards San Diego, and getting stuck in bad traffic because of a terrible accident, this is what entering Las Angeles looks like if you were looking through a crystal ball in a dark room.
We were staying with a friend of mine who went to USC, Catherine Ames. She and I go way back to middle school at Taylor and Monroe middle schools in Albuquerque. I had seen her a couple off times since then, but we agreed that it had been at least four years since we saw each other last.
It was great to see her, and it was so nice of her to let us stay with her! Her and her boyfriend were kind enough to show us to campus, and I got to see a potential future of mine: USC Viterbi School of Engineering.
Visiting is such a prime way to make connections at a University. While I was there, I was able to catch a professor, Dr. Lin, whom I am interested in working with for grad school. Doing research in Design and Manufacturing under the mechanical engineering discipline, working for him seemed quite reasonable, and he was excited to talk to me. He even introduced me to some of his students, and showed me his lab.
The in-depth conversation we had was enlightening, and I realized some important things. First of all, if I'm ever going to be a professor (or professional of any sorts probably), I will need to know how to talk about what I'm doing in an awesome and passionate way. Second, USC may technically be a top-ten engineering school, but the students don't feel that way. Third, other important things about grad school, like MS degrees don't get funded.
So, an added bonus from my ability to seize opportunity during my last trip to Disney World arrived in the night. Her name is Felicia Provost, and she is a very good friend from Disney World. I paid half of her ticket with my Southwest Airlines Voucher. She had never been to Cali, and we had big plans.
Whit knew about Roscoe's chicken and waffles. I didn't know about chicken and waffles. Apparently an L.A. thing, she enlightened us all.
...and it was pretty delicious....very delicious.
Then we checked out Hollywood. Good 'ol Hollywood has some familiar names cast into the ground.
Being at the Hollywood that actually is, and isn't from movies, was pretty good. We got to see the real-world version of the great movie ride, and other replicated icons from Walt Disney World.
The next day was my big 'tour' day. Whit and Felicia went to Malibu while I found out more about the University of Southern California.
They dined me without wine, and I got to talk to a lot of people who had a lot to say about USC and the programs.
The band was called in for a little demonstration, which was awesome.
I was given a bit of a tour of the campus, and got to see some of the facilities, which seem...adequate.
I could imagine myself being a Trojan, and I definitely felt like I made a connection with the school. Not without disadvantages though...
Walking back to Catherines, I realized that living in California means increased fence danger.
The next day was what we'd all been waiting for: Disneyland.
It had been a long time since Whit or I had been to Disneyland, and Felicia had never gone. Luckily I'm still an employee of Disney.
It was interesting considering all the things people have said over the years about Disney parks. This was the third one I've been to this year, and first time I've been back to the Land since I've been working at the World.
Very good to see and experience some different rides, it was definitely different. Felicia commented that it was 'smaller' and 'hokey.' I couldn't help but agree a bit.
The Nemo ride is much, much better at Disneyland though.
...and considering Walt Disney World doesn't really have one, ToonTown at Disneyland rocks harder too.
Who woodah thought there'd be a skybridge IN the California Adventure theme park?
The girls got ice cream.
Did someone say Aladin show?
Probably the best show I've been to at Disney. The Genie is either given an awesome set of jokes, or he's a hilarious dude. He was set with about a hundred current pop jokes that were hilarious! He couldn't stop making fun of Jersey Shore, brought up Gaga, and even took it back to Austin Powers.
Let's just say that after the show we got Spanish krazied and danced our hearts out at a Tron 2.0 dance party.
The night ended with a "World of Color" spectacular. It was new, and liquidy, and painty, and colorful.
That was the end of our little adventure in Southern California. The next day we said goodbye to Catherine, drove Felicia to LAX, and headed home.
So after a big adventure, I should mention what came out of it....
Goal 3: Apply to Grad School
I guess I could go into all of the different things I did to apply to grad school...but that wouldn't be that interesting. Long story short, I learned about it through Purdue and USC visits. I learned more through reading and seminars. I interviewed Dr. Wedeward, the chairman of the Electrical Engineering department at NMT, to get him to know me better. Then I did my research, and I chose my top programs. I wrote my essays about eighty times, and on December 1st, I applied to UC Berkeley's graduate MS/PhD program (appropriate because my first school was the number one pick). Since then, I've applied to Stanford, USC, and the University of Michigan. Just a few months from now I'll know how I did!
