I have lived in Berkeley for a total of ten years, mostly while in graduate school. Berkeley is a one-of-a-kind place! Since the 1960s, Berkeley has had a reputation as being ultra left-wing, an image which has been upheld ever since. UC Berkeley is an excellent school, both academically and socially.

I first attended UC Berkeley in 1984, when I began my graduate studies in physics. Unfortunately I had a bad first year there, so I transferred to the University of Chicago, where I remained until 1989. Then I took a leave of absence and returned to Berkeley for another year and a half in '90 and '91. I completed my studies in physics at Chicago in '92, receiving a masters degree. Then I returned to Berkeley to study math, where I finally received my Ph.D. in 1997.

I was very busy most of the time I lived in Berkeley, so I had little time for socializing, but I did have some fun there. In 1990 I lived in International House and made some friends from around the world. One of my best friends for awhile was a game-nut named Isaac. I used to play some role-playing games with him, like Car Wars and a Star Trek game.

I had the privilege of having an excellent and very well-renowned advisor in math at Berkeley, Prof. H.W. Lenstra, Jr. I spent three years working on my doctoral thesis in number theory with him. I finally received my Ph.D. in December 1997.

I used to spend a lot of time at the ASUC, the student union, located right at the end of Telegraph Avenue. They have a great bookstore as well as an underground video arcade. I used to also sometimes walk along Telegraph Avenue, which is lined with street sellers selling cheap jewelry for several blocks.