Conceptualization of My Curiosity

 Contextualization of My Curiosity

            Out of everyone in my family, I would say, without a doubt, that my grandpa was a hardworking, tireless man who deeply cared for his family. Don’t get me wrong, there are quite a number of diligent members but he is placed on top of my list. Grandpa worked in a Chinese restaurant as one of the chefs for many years, even several years past the age of retirement. Out of the blue, he had to be admitted to the hospital. At that time, our family didn’t think too much it since he was probably overworked or some minor issue. After a battery of tests, it turned out that Grandpa developed terminal lung cancer. Although surgery was an option, it was decided that it was not worthwhile. When I learned of the news, I was shocked beyond belief and could not accept that fact. Out of everyone in the world, what were the odds of having cancer? Previously, I always thought that everyone lived to at least 80, quite a long lifespan. Those that didn’t hit the milestone would be considered lucky. In a way, I was oblivious to reality until I was in for a rude awakening. Needless to say, we still deeply miss him but we won’t forget him. There are times after his passing that my dad would say “if” questions and comments like, “if he hadn’t developed cancer, he would still be alive today.” In one instance, my dad mentioned that Grandpa promised to help him with replacing the roof on our house after he was discharged from the hospital. Like the blink of an eye, my grandpa was gone.

            In late 2007, I decided it was time to build a new computer, this one by hand, to replace the aging system that had been used for seven years. I had enlisted a friend of mine to assist me in assembling the hardware since I had no idea how to do so myself. A few months of completing my new rig, I stumbled upon the website, overclock.net, a forum where enthusiasts of every kind came together to show off their expertise. As I lurked about, reading some posts, a particular section of the forum caught my eye: Overclock.net Folding@Home Team. The more I read, the more I became interested. It was understood by me that through the donation of computing power from distributed computing, research breakthroughs would be hopefully discovered and would ultimately lead to cures. I decided to combine my love of technology and with the gaping sadness of my grandpa’s passing to help contribute to finding a cure, not just to cancer but a laundry list of deadly diseases like Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and MS. I feel that this would be the best way to remember my grandpa: by folding in his memory. Because running the program requires the computer to be on, it was taken a toll on the electric bill. Although I cannot fold at full capacity, I strive to reach the goal I’ve set at a million points.