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 V2-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 (and I know the soundtracks to dozens more).

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 Jeopardy. My main weaknesses right now are in literature and pop culture, so I’m trying to slowly build up that knowledge to have a shot at qualifying. Fingers crossed.

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

For a class I taught at Splash, I learned how to memorize a deck of cards in a month. Current record is ~8 minutes. I also try to remember all the random facts that people tell me, from birthdays to class schedules to more.

Rubik’s Cube Solving

I got into cubing in high school, though don’t do it much these days. My fastest 3×3 solve is 11.08s, and fastest 3×3 blindfolded is 3:31.

good things on the internet

Entertainment

xkcd

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

Semantle

Crosswords (finally bought a NYT subscription, but 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