To All the Graduates: Congrats!

Have you noticed that when your schedule is packed with classes and tests, a few years may seem like a few months to you? These past 4 years have passed by incredibly fast for me. So much has happened, so many memories made, but it's all coming to an end and a new beginning is about to unfold. I know that today, many of you will be graduating and receiving your degree. I wish I could be there to walk with you guys and take pictures to commemorate the completion of college together, but I'm still in Taiwan, preparing for my finals. So, to make up for that, here are some of the SB people that made my four years memorable at UCSB (obviously not in any particular order).

Josh: I remember living with you freshman year and junior year. Same ole Josh, always skipping class and sleeping in. Haha! Maybe I got that class-ditching mindset from you. Just kidding. I remember our freshman year consisted of games, dominos, Furnando, games, not playing basketball, and more games. Furnando was by far the best and worst thing you brought to our apartment. The satisfaction of Furnando sleeping on your lap and the problem with him peeing on our blankets. Junior year was pretty much still the same, I mean, we played games and ate dominos (still no basketball). Anyway, thanks for always trying to include me in your basketball games, but I just can't keep up with you guys. Sigh.

Albert: Although we weren't all that close by the time we moved out, I was glad to be your roommate. As a fellow biology major and pre-med student, you helped me prepare myself for the upcoming years at UCSB. I remember you introduced me to Ma's lab (and you were his star pupil). Haha! But apart from that, you gave me countless tips and suggestions about being a biology major. Ultimately, my goal was to top your GPA, but that didn't happen. Haha. Too smart.

Elliot: Crazy roommate #1. I can't believe I lived with you for 2.5 years. Haha! I can definitely say that I was not used to living with you at first, especially with all the parties and the who whats. It definitely didn't take long for me to get used to it all. I mean, I developed a way to sleep through intense noise levels. I remember you would always ask me if I wanted some of your cooking, but I often declined. Maybe it's because I always felt 不好意思 (you can ask Heidi what this means). Thanks for putting up with me and my anti-social behavior. Now that I think about it, maybe I could've partied a bit more with you guys ;).

Heidi: My fellow Cell and Developmental Biology major and my neighbor! I think I spent most of my time studying with you, but those times were always fun. Do you remember that one time after our organic chemistry final, we were studying for religious studies? I asked you to define a term for Jainism and your half-asleep self responded with how the hydrogen should attach to the oxygen molecule. Hahahaha! I couldn't stop laughing after that.  I also remember when you guys surprised me on my birthday after I hung out with Jkoe after lab I believe. Honestly had no idea that you guys were planning that, but then again, I'm pretty slow. Thanks for putting up with my often-late self and for studying with me every quarter and can't wait to hang with you again!

Pola: You were all over the place in my college life. Even after we became neighbors, I didn't get to see you much because you were always at school or at intern, but when we do hang out, we would always get... nothing done! That's because we would always be chatting about random topics and catching up with each other (usually talking about our experiences at intern). I wish we had more time to hang out, but hey, you're not that far from DB, so we can always hang out anytime right? Still going to miss our coffee outings and your delicious dukbokki. :)

Jeff: My other crazy roommate. I remember getting to know you better after you joined Ma's lab the summer after sophomore year. It would always be Jkoe, you, and me going on those Domino runs after lab. After that we became roommates, so we'd still hang out all the time even though you left me alone at lab. Just keeding. Thanks for being an awesome roommate. I mean, you always see if your parties bother me, while I'm in our room. I'm going to miss having our random, sassy conversations. Haha!

Jkoe: Dude, I haven't heard from you in a while. Hope this year has been doing you well. I remember how often we'd talk about lab whenever we went out, since we hated him that much. All those nights of studying together sophomore year and junior year. Fun times. Even played a few games of basketball with you, but I just can't keep up with you guys. I mean, I couldn't even drive back home that one time after playing with Josh and Elliot, so you had to take over for me. Haha! We got to hang out again when I go back and congrats on graduating!!

Annette: You were my closest friend in Ma's lab. We haven't been talking much since you graduated, but whenever we do, we would always talk about life. Yes, life. Well, you know what we were talking about specifically. Haha!! You have yet to come to Los Angeles to come visit me and Jkoe! If you come, I could take you to eat more legit Chinese & Taiwanese food (compared to the crap served at SB). Thanks for teaching me your "perfect" cell culture techniques and hanging out (and driving) with me!! Going to miss our little outings.

Jen: Apparently, everyone calls you 姊姊 now, so I will too. Haha! I recently got to know you after coming to Taiwan, but you were the first to message me on Facebook, making me feel more relieved about coming to Taiwan. I mean, now I knew there was at least one person I could talk with when I arrived. I remember when I first met you in the global lounge, I was really shy and didn't know what to say to you, but after a few outings with the other Californians, I got to open up to you and the others more. I wish we had more time to hang out, but even while in Taiwan, we still have to focus on our schoolwork, right?

Sonia: I met you the summer after freshman year in that shroud of laughing gas. I honestly don't remember what sort of conversations we were having, but we just couldn't stop laughing for one hell of a long time. Thanks for making my senior year more memorable by inviting me to those Seoul'd out and cooking nights. I'm definitely going to miss going to those, but I'll probably go visit you guys again in the fall! Thanks for hanging out with this lame ass person. Haha! Also, karaoke, I've been practicing.

My co-workers at Ma's Lab: You guys were my motivation to continue working in Ma's lab. Honestly, day after day of listening to his complaints have left me feeling stressed and depressed, but I can always feel a little better when you guys were there to help relieve some of that tension. Special shout out to my cell culture students: Andrew, Mike, and Andy! I had a lot of fun teaching you guys how to work in the hood and now you guys can take over my job for me when I graduate. To the alumni, I'll miss our outings and dinners, I wish we had more time to do some more exploring around the Santa Barbara region.

Thanks for all the unforgettable memories!! And congratulations to the class of 2014! I shall be seeing you guys soon.

Hugs,
Jeff

&& I also wanted to shoutout to Samantha. Although she studies at a different UC than I do, I would always spend my weekends in LA with her. It was always great to know that there was someone I could hang out with when I go home, so every week I'd look forward to our outings. When I felt down, I'd always turn to her and rant; she would always listen and offer suggestions and her own insight. Similarly, I'd offer my ears to her when she needed them (but I'm a terrible listener compared to her). We grew so much closer since college started and so many memories were made. Congratulations on graduating best friend!! Can't wait to see you again and catch up :).

&& I realized I don't take a lot of pictures with people individually. Gotta start doing that more often.