2020 in Review

Thu Dec 31 2020

2020; this year will likely live in infamy due to covid. Reflecting on this year compared to 2019 is very solemn. Not necessarily because I didn’t accomplish anything; I completed more this year than in 2019. But, 2020 lacks so much travel and in-person events that frequently serve as the milestones for my year.

In my 2019 post, I reflect on all the trips that I took, the hackathons I attended, and the places I gave presentations. However, this year I feel like I can sum up everything I did in a single sentence. I graduated from RIT after taking two consecutive semesters of 18 credit hours, I presented my first published paper at a virtual conference, and I started a full-time job as a software engineer.

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Coming Out as Bisexual

Mon Jun 01 2020

I don’t know exactly who I’m writing this post for: maybe it’s for me, maybe it’s for that guy I’m trying to impress, maybe, it’s for the LGBTQ+ community this pride month. I’m not a elegant storyteller, but I wanted to share my coming out experience.

I’ve seen other blog posts and videos on the subject, but they never fully encapsulate what I went through. Maybe that is the point, not everyone is the same. Labels are convenient but, they are not perfect. Sexuality isn’t a spectrum where totally gay and totally straight are on different sides. Sexuality: it’s fluid, it’s complicated, it’s love… it’s exciting.

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College Cookbook Part 3

Sat May 30 2020

Woah, I’m making part three!! They say good things come in threes– unless it’s a Disney franchise. This continues my last post and goes over some easy-to-prepared and palatable foods that I have cooked.

1 Pork Chops

When done right, pork chops are probably the best meat you can cook – I enjoy pork chops more than steak. I start by seasoning the chops in a rub consisting of salt, pepper, garlic, onion powder, paprika, cayenne powder.

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Flirting with Burnout at RIT

Fri May 22 2020

“Your absolutely crazy,” my boyfriend exclaimed as he gazed at my schedule. Eighteen credit hours, two part-time jobs, and three clubs– my spring semester was shaping up to be one hell of a ride. That semester I flew too high, burned my wings, and was then was saved by Covid-19.

Indulge me as I recount what happened during this crazy semester and reconcile what I’ve learned while pushing my limits at RIT.

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How Films Portray Control

Sun May 10 2020

Sit down and grab a drink because it is time that we talk about the LSD trip that is the 1981 movie Shock Treatment. Shock treatment can be called a sequel to Rocky Horror; however, the storylines are very different, and the only common thread is our main actors Brad and Janet. Where Rocky Horror was a play about lust and sexuality, shock treatment was a musical about questioning your sanity… or something along those lines.

The problem with Shock Treatment -and part of why I loved it so much -was that it was a satire on absolutely anything and everything. The message of the show was unfocused; it shot a ton of stuff at the wall and let the viewer fill in meaning. Many themes could be elaborated on within this show, including mental health, control, gender norms, consumerism, censorship, human nature, and manipulation. Most subjects were one-off and did not serve further the plot that much, but other topics struck home. The show is still well worth the watch because it’s entertaining, and it’s eerie to see how well a movie from the early ’80s reflects society today. Moreover, newer shows like Westworld and Black Mirror are still portraying the same messages about control and consumerism but, using different narrative structures than the ones used in Shock Treatment.