Week 2: 6/11 - 6/17
This week has been a little slow. To be honest, sometimes I sit at my desk in the lab thinking about what I can actually do. I'm hoping that once all the 'prep work' is done, I can sort of dive into something more gratifying. I guess it's all a good learning experience, though.
I spent most of this week finishing off some business (like actually getting a Windows account--it was really bothersome to not be able to log into any computer in the lab) and learning new tools for the work ahead. Maya is soooo... it has too many features, but I'm sure once one gets the hang of it all, lots of great stuff can be done. I don't think I'll become an expert in a couple of months... Anyway, my goal was to familiarize myself with the basic functions and interface. I also went down to the motion capture lab to help Kate with her Wiimote experiments. I had to put on one of those skin-tight suits, and the team placed 51 (52?) markers on me. Then Kate bound 5 Wiimotes to my body--one on each foot, one on my torso, and one in each hand. The ones on my feet hurt a bit after doing so many walking takes, but I think she got the data she needed, which is what counts.
I'm a little afraid that I'm the most worthless person in the lab, but I guess I just have to become more accustomed to my surroundings before I can feel really at ease and involved in everything. Lab meetings happen every Tuesday and come with a free meal, which is nice. The kitchen in the house is a bit filthy, so I've mostly been living off of microwaveable food. Really healthy, I know.
I also feel a little lonely here in Pittsburgh, but I have a friend of a friend at CMU who invited me to a party, so I hope that goes well. It's nice to meet more people my own age. It's not that there's anything wrong with grad students; I just feel that I don't really connect with them as well? Or maybe I'm just being judgmental, I don't know. I'm also still having problems with my sleep, which I don't know what to do about, but I think I might at least buy some sleeping pills.
The girls and I go out every weekend to the Waterfront. At least I feel comfortable 'at home!' This week, we went to Target and had dinner at Red Robin. If I can correctly recall, I had a 'Santa Fe Burger' that had heaps of guacamole (good to a certain extent, but not when it makes eating feel like finger-painting or something like it) and peppers (mmm). I think I've developed a bit of a burger addiction while here. I think it all started with that Cheesy Bacon Cheeseburger (redundant much?) at TGIF's. It was incredible. I'm sounding a lot like Homer right now, but ughaahhhhhhhhhhhoooooooooooohhhhhhh, it was awesome. The deep-fried provolone on top was worth the extra 50 cents over a regular Bacon Cheeseburger. Still, it's a little disconcerting as to how much food is costing me here, and I only eat out once a week. Why is food so expensive? I feel spoiled by my college meal plan. I think it's terrible how if one wants something, no matter what it is, a really shoddy, less-than-mediocre version is available at an arguably affordable price, but prices increase exponentially with increasing quality. :\
Kate and Sophie from the lab are also very nice. I went out on Saturday with Kate, Manfred, and a few of his friends to do semi-touristy things around Pittsburgh. There are some spectacular views from Mount Washington.
I also need to learn Matlab for organizing frames for the 'humans moving artificially' movies. I'm supposed to work with Sophie on that later this week, since she's got a little mini-vacation.
