Hi everyone o(*^▽^*)┛! It’s hard to believe, but there is only one week left of SSP. Time has flown by so fast that the last weeks have blurred together, and many of us no longer know what day of the week it is. Yet, at the same time, it feels like I’ve spent months living, studying, and getting to know everyone else at SSP.
Today, July 9th, 2024, had a deceptively simple schedule: 3 hours of workshop in the morning, a guest lecture in the afternoon, and then 5 more hours of workshop at night. But today was also a monumental day: our final OD code is due at midnight, no exceptions.
Last night, in a bid for extra sleep, I turned off all but one of my alarms. Big mistake. I slept right through it and woke up just 10 minutes before the morning workshop. I leaped out of bed, threw on some clothes, and sprinted downstairs for a quick breakfast, but miraculously I was still one of the first to arrive at the lecture hall. During the workshop, I focused on the orbit visualization and report for my group while my partners put the finishing touches on their OD codes.
After lunch, I was heading back to the dorm for a quick nap when I saw the crew filming for a TV show near our building. Thus I changed my plans up a bit to watch the scene for a few minutes and then take a shorter nap. Sadly, I was not allowed to take any photos to post on this blog.
After this little side quest and a short nap, it was back to Phillips Hall for a guest lecture by Richard Chuang, the cofounder of PDI and an SSP alumnus. His talk was exciting, and he shared stories from his groundbreaking and innovative career in the entertainment industry, where he contributed to various iconic films and set many industry firsts. At the end of the talk, Mr. Chuang encouraged us to always seek out opportunities for innovation and to leverage the latest tools and technologies.
Post-lecture, I had an hour of workshop time before dinner. The room buzzed with energy as small groups wrestled with the OD code, while those who had finished worked feverishly on their group reports. After dinner, we continued our epic battle with the OD code. My report grew to 7 pages in just one day, and I’m almost certain it will double in length by the end of the program. I typed away, feeling the weight of exhaustion setting in.
At 00:20 a.m., I trudged back to the dorms, barely awake and starving. I decided to make my last bowl of ramen. It wasn’t great after three minutes in the microwave, but hunger trumped taste, and I devoured it. Seeking a quick break, I played 30 minutes of RPG-style “ping pong” with a friend as my exercise for the day. By 1:30 a.m. I was upstairs and washing up, and I finally crawled into bed at 1:50 a.m., utterly spent.
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|| (* ´ ｰ`) ZZzz
|ﾉ^⌒⌒づ`￣ ＼
( ノ ⌒ ヽ ＼
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＼,ﾉ||
-Luca
