truth be told, i've been feeling kind of gloomy at the prospect of heading back to pittsburgh. part of it is some sort of existential-like "what do i do with myself now?" aimlessness, part of it is anxiety at starting "my own" research again (in contrast with having rust work around me at all times), and part of it is apprehensiveness at being ( Read more... )

I didn't expect the academic culture at stanford to be so obviously different than it is at CMU, but I was surprised. the open house presenters basically couldn't stop talking about how great it was to be just down the street from all the tech companies, and it showed in the types of research problems the faculty were interested in. not that there ( Read more... )

I noticed last week that stargazing gives me an extra sense of peace on top of the usual trite "putting everything in perspective" one. a stab at putting it into words: "feeling at peace while staring into the vastness of the universe is pretty straightforward; feeling at peace with worldly concerns is always more complicated, but ultimately just ( Read more... )

oh wait also there was this thing where i ran a marathon ( Read more... )

i was in philadelphia this weekend! most of the time i was eating or sleeping or walking around, but i spent a little more than four hours running also.


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untangling mixed feelings is always bittersweet. i spent the first half of the bus ride over here being social and the second half contemplating what on earth i want to be doing with myself - the recently perennial question, "is being a grad student right for me?". i don't remember much of today's installment, but it was largely love/hate; that is ( Read more... )

i went with ntan1, aleffert, feis, and slizyboy to la folie.

slizyboy brought his camera; i really need to get one of my own, if i hope ever to get better at plating (here's looking at you, masqueradestar).

we arrived in jack's van and climbed out to greet the valet in our assorted "business casual" wear. when we said we were here for la folie, the valet took another look at the van and made a ( Read more... )

just arrived home in boston for a few days.

the vivid blue of the flowers out front, the distinctive smell of the house, the dog's unbridled friendliness, thoughts of canoeing on the lake out back...

not to mention free food and good company.

it was the house's smell that really drove the point home, though, that actually stopped me in my tracks

i will be in the bay area from wednesday 07/13 evening until wednesday 07/20 morning. west coast people, my time is yours to allocate!

spent the day with joshua_, knightofstarz, xsavvyx at beaver creek instead of vail today. while yesterday was exciting and intense, today was relaxing and confidence-building. (it was also a day of committing to decisions early and feeling good about it.) going down each slope i could feel where my skill level was, what i was comfortable with and when i was pushing myself, ( Read more... )