First weekend on in Cambridge 2.0

I'm munching on a peach as I slowly write this... imagine that, a fresh, firm peach; saw it at the local grocery and had to have one, just cos it's something I wouldn't usually see in Singapore...

I've been here in Harvard for 4 days now; alternating my time between meeting friends, and shopping to furnish my room.

I think it's interesting (to me) what I have and have not been doing... I've spent a lot of time buying daily necessities, like a wastebasket (not the first thing you realize as a necessity, but you realize it real soon after), clothes hangers, toiletries, cups etc etc... I've forgotten how many things you really need to lead a normal life, and especially interesting are the little things you always took for granted but now realize how important they are... I'm still looking to rearm myself with cutlery and crockery, and start cooking again; man that's something I've missed...

I've NOT seen most of Harvard yet (at least not this time around)... I've not even seen most of the main yard; you know with it being "I'll be here for a long time, and I'll see it sometime anyways"...which is exactly the type of crime I promised myself not to commit again; hopefully sometime this week I'll have time to explore the place proper.

The university compound is actually fairly small, compared to neighbouring MIT... I really hate to admit it, but MIT really just reeks of coolness... like campuswide wireless internet, GPS tracking of their shuttle bus, and just various little things here and there that remind you that you're in one of the few places on earth where geekiness = cool. My university is just stuffy.

Everywhere though I keep getting surprised at the differences between the USA and UK or Malaysia and Singapore... like looking at the wrong side of the road when crossing (that's an accident waiting to happen one day, watch for it), total strangers just talking to you on the street or subway (some guy just sat next to me at a cafe and started telling me about his Vegas job, his private jet plane, all about his racehorses for half an hour... then asked to 'borrow' 5 bucks for the transfer charge for his USD14000 betting slip)...I was especially tickled by the sight of a plane pulling a banner advertising cable TV in the sky; to me it only ever happens in the movies or TV... and the alarm clock I bought uses the mains power as both an energy source and timing mechanism; apparently the Americans don't believe in batteries and quartz crystals...

I've not taken many photos yet, which is a pity as Cambridge, MA is a beautiful place in autumn (my favourite season), but here are a few:


My room! Feature to note: my chair has a rockable bottom, I'm guessing this is the solution to students sitting on two chair legs and falling backwards.








Here's a view of the Charles River from Shireen's (another ASTAR scholar, in MIT) place... hmm my room doesn't quite have the same view; mine oversees a carpark...






Tomorrow's my department orientation, a full week of activites, none of which include real work, so I have to rejoice for now... and tomorrow I'm getting my new Dell laptop (free for my department, haha, so join Molecular and Cell Biology!)