more

Here’s a lot more random things that I participate in and enjoy, ranging from the semi-serious to the definitely-not-serious.

interests

A Cappella

I’m part of the MIT Centrifugues, a group that sings predominantly mashups and medleys. I sing baritone, have been learning how to arrange songs and beatbox, and am currently one of the co-Music Directors c: (I’m one of the soloists here, starting at ~2:26!) Haven’t done organized music since middle school, so it’s been fun getting back into it.

Bouldering

I picked up bouldering right before graduate school started. I climb at Boston Bouldering Project, and am roughly at a V3 level. I climb much less regularly than I’d like to given how busy graduate school is, but enjoy it every time I go.

Musicals

I love musicals! Favorite ones I’ve seen in-person are Hadestown, Waitress, and Les Mis.

Puzzle Hunts

I participate in Mystery Hunt (and many smaller hunts) with NES, a team composed of many former and current residents of Next House (where I lived in undergrad). I do hunts because they’re fun events to think hard about incredibly unproductive things and also I get to hang out with fun people.

Crosswords

Relatedly, in 2022, I finally subscribed to NYT Games and began doing the crossword daily. At this point, I can solve them without needing any hints, but still working on bringing down my averages to near-competition level :P

Deep Discussions

I love talking to people to learn more about who they are and how they see the world. One semester, I ran a small discussion series to bring strangers together to talk about big questions like “How do you define yourself?” and “What brings meaning to your life?”

Memory

I enjoy trying to remember all the random facts that people tell me. For one Splash class, I learned how to memorize a deck of cards; maybe I should work on re-learning this skill.

Scrabble

Word games are fun, and Scrabble is my favorite. I’ve taught Splash classes about strategy and two-letter words. One long-term goal of mine is to join competitive Scrabble tournaments.

Jeopardy

I’ve always wanted to make it onto to show. Now that I’m past college-age (and thus only eligible for regular Jeopardy), I’m slowly working on shoring my literature and pop culture knowledge. Fingers crossed.

good things on the internet

Entertainment

xkcd

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

Semantle

Crosswords (check out Down for a Cross)

Jelle’s Marble Runs (go O’rangers)

Thinking

Wait But Why

YearCompass

Although of course you end up becoming yourself, a blog post by Petey

Rabbit holes I’ve been meaning to explore

The website of bill wurtz, maker of history of the entire world, i guess

Wikipedia’s list of list of lists

this blog

Better Explained (here’s a blog post about it)

Google Patents (try searching random nouns, like football or pasta, and read the actual patent for entertaining content)

wholesome links

hugs

my favorite train video