Caltech

A Must Sea Experience

Ahoy! I just went to visit the New England Aquarium and of my Boston adventures thus far, it is definitely a highlight! Would highly recommend to anyone in the region or visiting the region, although it was kind of expensive (around $30 for a day pass). The aquarium sits right on the edge of the bay near Boston's north end and was fairly easy to get to using the redline. Getting back however was NOT fun because while I had... Read more →

Breaking Bread

Yesterday, I went to a Bread Making and Olive Oil Tasting workshop where I learned to make potato rolls and focaccia, and to taste different olive oils. There were around 40 students and two chefs in the workshop. While the student to instructor ration is quite high, we all learned a lot and went home with hearty loaves of bread. When the workshop started we had to make name tags with name puns. A lot of people used "rye", "bun"... Read more →

Change of Scenery

Hello all! My name is Lexy LeMar. I'm a rising junior studying chemical engineering in the environmental track (ChE ESE for short). I am currently writing to you from Boston, Massachusetts where I am doing research this summer through Caltech's SURF program. For those of you who are unfamiliar with SURF, it is a ten week research program over the summer that allows students to conduct research in a lab on campus, at the Jet Propulsion Lab, or in any... Read more →

Beach Days

The best perk about living on the West side is that I can get to the beach easily. These past two weekends, I spent a lot of time at the Venice and Santa Monica beaches hanging out with friends, trying to tan and relaxing. Usually, all the tourists like to go to Santa Monica Pier, so that part of the beach is extremely hectic. It's worth going once to see what the fuss is about. Afterwards, you should probably spend... Read more →

Food Fe$t

Well. Here it is. The long-promised food update. Actually, it’s not really a full food update. I’ll give the two second update on everything and then into the big story. So, two second update: I ate carrot cake (not the pastry – actually a weird savory turnip dish that was delicious), hand-pulled noodles (from the SCHOOL CAFETERIA, Y’ALL I CAN’T EVEN), some Korean food, lots of curry, boba, putu piring, more boba, a burger on the Fourth of July (legitimately... Read more →

(Bird)Park it Like It’s Hot

I’m finally home. Not in the USA. Not back in Singapore from my trip to Indonesia (more to come on that next week!). But home. With the birds. Little known fact about me, I used to work at the Denver Zoo. For 5 years. I specifically worked in the bird department, and I got to care for everything from a Northern Helmeted Curassow (and the love of my life, Peggy), a pacific brant goose, flamingos, vultures, and every type of... Read more →

My Morning Commute

Japan is well known for its bullet train, the Shinkansen, but the country is very well connected through a lot of different train lines locally. It’s unbelievably useful in getting around (especially coming from LA, where one has to drive everywhere!) but it can also be super confusing if you don’t know exactly the direction you’re going in and what you have to take. For example, you can’t just know the train lines and the stations at which you will... Read more →

Honestly, the Pictures Speak for Themselves

This week I am avoiding food posts. You heard me right, no exciting meals this week. No mouthwatering delicacies. Actually, there have been so many that they’re going to get their own post. And besides, I did some very unique, other exciting things this week. This post specifically: my trip to quite possibly the scariest (for an American) place in Singapore, Haw Par Villa. Haw Par Villa is a Chinese art theme park constructed originally by a pair of brothers... Read more →

Aerial Silk Lessons

This summer, I want to try as many new boutique fitness classes in LA as I possibly can. This past weekend, I went to try Aerial Silks with another Techer. We went to a placed called Jagged Vertical Dance and Fitness in Sawtelle. My summer roommate actually takes lyra (aerial hoop) classes there and recommended that I check it out. When I mentioned wanting to try aerial classes to my friend, she was super down as well, so we decided... Read more →

A Trip to the “Bay Area”

Bet I fooled you with that title. You probably thought I went to the San Francisco bay. Or maybe not. But either way, I went to the Singapore Marina Bay this weekend! Actually, I’ve been there a couple of times. It’s where everything (including the ministry of manpower) is located, so one has to go there frequently to get everything done. This time was a bit more fun though: I got a deal on a membership for the Gardens by... Read more →