It's been a while since my last post, but it's been incredibly busy here (yeah, nothing new right) - basically what happened over the past week were my finals for the summer. I had four finals over three days, and basically only a weekend to study for all four. The Contact Lenses III final was super long and covered probably among the most material we've had in a single test. This happened because due to the recent curriculum changes, CL III became a combination of two classes and the material was very compressed - oftentimes the lectures would go over time. It was a three hour long test...I took a little over two hours myself though but most people finished at almost two hours into the exam.
Next quarter is just around the corner - it's going to start this coming Monday. Here is a quick breakdown of my classes:
End of summer, beginning of fall quarter
August 15, 2008Learn Something New #6: Adaptive Eyewear
August 06, 2008
It seems to be that there is a solution for easy to make glasses for third world countries, and it has been in existence for a couple of years now...it's called Adaptive Eyewear! Basically, clear bags within the frame are filled with water, and the amount of water adjusts the amount of power the lens will give. Although they probably look a little awkward, the makers claim that they are functional and have helped thousands of people in third world nations...check out the links and the video below for more info:
Adaptive Eyewear Homepage
How it works
Adaptive Eyewear Homepage
How it works
The strongest earthquake I've experienced
July 29, 2008
I keep talking about all the great things about living here in California - but of course, any place has its downsides too. Minor earthquakes are a part of life here in California due to the San Andreas Fault. But
this morning I experienced the strongest earthquake I've ever felt (see an article about it in the NY Times here). It was about 5.4 on the Richter Scale, which fell into the Moderate Earthquake category. Luckily my friends and family were okay through the ordeal, and everything was alright in my apartment (only my box of Grape Nuts fell from the top of my fridge). I was basically just sitting in my apartment during my lunch break, and all of a sudden I hear things dropping really hard and loud in the apartment above me, then I felt the ground moving around, almost as if several rolling waves just passed by. The whole apartment was shaking and all of the loose items (e.g. glassware, cups, etc.) were rattling. It didn't occur to me that there was an earthquake right away, but as soon as I realized it I ran outside. I just read in this article from FEMA that you're supposed to stay indoors actually (oh well). When I was outside, my neighbor from upstairs came down and told me about how he had to stay in the apartment to hold down the fish tank, which would have tipped over and potentially cause a leak down to my apartment through the ceiling!
What can I say, I'm so used to living in La-La land here, thinking that nothing can go wrong, but it's crazy to know that because of the seismic activity here in California, within a few moments, all of your things can be buried in rubble. Now I'm thinking, geez all of this stuff that I have related to optometry school could be buried just like that, and not to mention all of my work in my computer!!! It reminds me of what Forrest Gump said: "life is like a box of chocolates, you'll never know what you're gonna get."
this morning I experienced the strongest earthquake I've ever felt (see an article about it in the NY Times here). It was about 5.4 on the Richter Scale, which fell into the Moderate Earthquake category. Luckily my friends and family were okay through the ordeal, and everything was alright in my apartment (only my box of Grape Nuts fell from the top of my fridge). I was basically just sitting in my apartment during my lunch break, and all of a sudden I hear things dropping really hard and loud in the apartment above me, then I felt the ground moving around, almost as if several rolling waves just passed by. The whole apartment was shaking and all of the loose items (e.g. glassware, cups, etc.) were rattling. It didn't occur to me that there was an earthquake right away, but as soon as I realized it I ran outside. I just read in this article from FEMA that you're supposed to stay indoors actually (oh well). When I was outside, my neighbor from upstairs came down and told me about how he had to stay in the apartment to hold down the fish tank, which would have tipped over and potentially cause a leak down to my apartment through the ceiling!
What can I say, I'm so used to living in La-La land here, thinking that nothing can go wrong, but it's crazy to know that because of the seismic activity here in California, within a few moments, all of your things can be buried in rubble. Now I'm thinking, geez all of this stuff that I have related to optometry school could be buried just like that, and not to mention all of my work in my computer!!! It reminds me of what Forrest Gump said: "life is like a box of chocolates, you'll never know what you're gonna get."
