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 ~   April 6, 2014   ~
3-Month "Report Card"
I can't believe how fast 3-month went by! Now it's time to see how I did on my 3-Month Dreamline goals!

Mission Accomplished!
Learn to snowboard .......................................................................1
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It was a truly...a painful experience...
Paint more ..................................................................................... 3


2........................ Afterschool STEM Mentor Fellowship (NanoAMP)
                           I am proud to report that I've finished my 
                           training and is already on my 6th mentoring 
                           session with some of the smartest middle 
                           school girls. Their enthusiasm in STEM makes 
                           me proud to be a scientist. 
Picture
Student proudly holding the result of their "chicken leg dissection" experiment!
4 .............................................Working knowledge SEM and E-SEM
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"Don't make fun of my bulkiness...I'm worth more than all your paychecks combined!"

My New Year Resolution

I've never made a New Year Resolution before, for the fear that I will lose the motivation in a few weeks and spend the rest of the year drowning in the guilt of not living up to my own expectations. But then again, I've never had a blog before either. I figure that the public exposure will force (therefore motivate) me to achieve my goals in 2014. To make it a little more interesting, I'll be using the Dreamline Worksheet from The 4 Hour Work Week, to plan out my year. You can get your own excel file of the worksheet here. 

So without further ado, here is my 3-month (Jan~March) Dreamline resolution for 2014.

Have...

1. 200+ article references in Endnote library
2. Working knowledge SEM and E-SEM
3. Draft of my thesis proposal

Be...

1. More physically active
2. Afterschool STEM Mentor Fellowship (NanoAMP)
3. Fluent in Morse Code
4. Learn to snowboard
5. Better blogger

Do...

1. Polyphasic Sleep Schedule (Everyman Cycle):  
2. Host a party in my apartment for friends
3. Finish Level 1~3 Spanish in RosettaStone
4. Learn HTML
5. Paint more

To make it happen...

- read a minimum of 2 articles everyday; could be from different discipline
- contact experience fellow graduate students for training
- regular meeting with advisor


- workout 3 times per week
- finish training by the New York Academy of Science
- memorize alphabet and practice verbalizing code
- plan Vermont trip with friends in February 
- make at least 2 posts per week; update Challenge weekly
  make Facebook page, invite other to blog


- follow schedule and guideline; update daily progress here
- invite fellow graduate fellows, reserve apartment club house 
- complete 1 level per month; each level contain ~15 hours of material
- use Codeacademy HTML lesson to code for 10 minutes everyday
- create 1 original painting per month, post in Art section
This might look like an over-ambitious and stressful 3-month plan, but I'm the kind of person that works better under pressure. So I'll be updating my progress regularly, if not daily. I really hope my family, friends and readers could help me eliminate any attempts to procrastinate!! 


Progress Update

Week 1 (Jan. 6~Jan. 12)

Have...

1. Read 8 articles
2. Met with adviser

Be...

1. Went to gym once
(excuse: not feeling well...)

Do...

1. Roughly followed the polyphasic sleep schedule
(very difficult to stay awake since the weather has been rainy and gloomy all week)
2. learned 10 lessons in HTML
3. finished 2 lessons in RosettaStone
Overall: not a very productive since I wasn't feeling well. 

Week 6 (Feb. 10~Feb. 12)

Have...

1. Met with adviser weekly
2. Provided research update weekly
3. SEM training session

Be...

1. Finished NanoAMP training
    ~Actual mentoring begin in March!
2. Ski trip planned (Weekend Feb. 20)

Do...

1. Finished Level 2 Spanish
2. Finished 1 Painting "Sherlock"
3. Learned basic HTML and CSS
I've decided to discontinue the polyphasic sleep schedule because it was too difficult for me to adapt. Not only was I sleep-deprived everyday, I also experience lost in appetite and decreased ability to focus in class and research. Throughout the 3 weeks that I attempted polyphasic sleeping, my mind was mostly occupied by the thought of my next nap. In the end, let this be a cautionary tale that polyphasic sleep is definitely not for everyone!! 

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