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tcmjoe_trotsky, but some would call me, "Paul?"
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| (no subject) |
[May. 24th, 2008|12:34 am] |
And thus I leave Hungary.
Viszontlatasra. |
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[May. 14th, 2008|04:50 pm] |
Nothing too exciting, just my upcoming class schedule and my finals schedule:
Next two days: Rehearse music, prepare for Hungarian final, prepare for all the other finals, finish off Differential Geometry homework.
Friday: Hungarian final. Work on reviewing DIG with Scott and others, possibly go out and get some Belgian beer under the pretense of productivity.
Saturday: 24 hour Differential Geometry final noon until noon Sunday. Possibly meet with some of my Hungarian friends. Bike ride?
Sunday: TA for Topology, prepare for Algebra final, prepare for film final.
Monday: More preperation. Do film paper.
Tuesday: Algebra final 8 AM, Film final and paper due 12:30 PM. Collapse.
Wednesday: Clean, do last minute Hungary things. Rage.
Thursday: Be hung over and clean, do last minute Hungary things. Rage.
Friday: Wash rinse repeat. Less raging, flight leaves 8 AM Saturday.
Saturday: Plane flight home.
It's going to be a full several days.
As for next semester, I've got:
Intro to Ling 11-12 MWF
Environmental Sociology 1-2 MWF
Honors Organic Chemistry 10:50-12 TR and 2-3 F
3rd year Russian 3-5:30 T
Jazz Combo 4-6 Sunday
Junior physics lab Whenever I can fit it in
Research Also whenever I can fit it in
Physics research seminar 3-6 M
So, in essence I'm going to be working steadily from 11-6 or so everyday but the good news is that things will be reasonably steady and I do not have to get up early.
Back to work... |
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[Jan. 29th, 2008|01:03 am] |
Once again, The Onion horoscope proves to be eerily accurate:
Cancer June 22 - July 22
Look to nature for encouragement and inspiration this week. Do this for as many ungodly hours as it damn well takes.
........................................... |
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| Some things |
[Jan. 8th, 2008|09:20 pm] |
Yeah, I never update this anymore, but such is life. As it is:
- Grades came in, as follows:
Intro Analysis: B+
Topology: A
Graph Theory: A
Intermediate Hungarian: A
Mathematical Physics: Sweet sweet audit.
Not bad, not bad at all. I definitely don't feel like a mathematician but it's comforting to know that I can actually do this stuff--I can actually do math proofs. The current plan for next semesters courses are Functional Analysis, Intro Algebra (this makes me sound like I'm secretly failing here), Differential Geometry, Advanced Hungarian, and a Film class. Nice easy courses. 5 classes gives me the option to audit something should things turn nasty, as well.
- My missing cat from a couple of months ago was found at the animal shelter. As a matter of fact, he was found a while ago at the shelter and yet when we asked them "do you have an orange and white cat there?" apperantly the question was far too difficult for them. Still, very happy to hear he's home again.
- How the hell does a person learn a foreign language? I'm completely useless when it comes to speaking and listening to Hungarian, despite my best efforts. I realize that Russian only began to feel like something I could speak and listen after a year and a half, but damn it!
- I've finally got internet again back at my apartment. It's very exciting. |
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| Not a good day... |
[Sep. 27th, 2007|07:37 pm] |
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Insomnia + 8 AM Topology, 10 AM Analysis + Realizing I was almost suckered into a cashier's check fraud (although infinitely better than actually being suckered) + finding out my cat has been missing from home for the past two weeks. |
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| It's Yom Kippur |
[Sep. 22nd, 2007|01:46 am] |
Time for a couple of prayers from the good Reb Allen Ginsberg
Feel free to read afterwards when not feeling particularly impatient due to hunger, and cut to prevent death by Friends Page
( Read more... ) |
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| (no subject) |
[Jul. 26th, 2007|09:13 pm] |
In list form, since I'm too lazy for such niceties as paragraphs and spending more than a couple of sentences discussing each dispirate topic.
- Work is going well; far better than my programming misadventures the past two summers. Sometimes it's a bit mindless, but otherwise I feel like I'm effectively doing things.
- Not today, though. We had lightning strike one of the UW transformers and kill the electricity. That means a weekend of fixing up the spectroscope post vacuum-pump failure.
- I leave in 3 weeks. I am seriously looking forward to this; part because it's Budapest, and part because I just really need to get out of the States.
- I've done practically no music this summer. In some ways this is good--I need my left hand to heal from my Reefer Madness injury--and in some ways it just feels odd. And mildly depressing; I'm not going to get much of a chance to play next year.
- My mother's new cat is adorable and is currently busy defending house and home from moths.
- I managed to tear my ACL in my left knee bouldering in early June. Unfortunately, there's no time for post-op recovery before I head out of the country--I get to wear a brace through the next year and avoid things that would torque my knee until next summer, when I'll finally be able to be fixed.
Things I can still do: Weight lifting, bicycling (my new love for the summer), general walking around. Probably swimming as well.
Things I cannot do: Running, long hikes. Most martial arts are probably a no-no, as is swing dancing.
I get to talk to some physical therapy people on Monday and see what I can do. Maybe I'll just find a Yoga class in Budapest or something. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 21st, 2007|02:42 pm] |
Summer has certainly been full, but I haven't really felt any need to post about anything.
But just so I feel like I've been communicating with the world at large, here's some Mack the Knife, as I cannot get Threepenny Opera out of my head:
Oh, the shark has pretty teeth dear
and he shows them, pearly white.
Just a jackknife has Macheath, dear
and he keeps it out of sight.
When the shark bites with his teeth, dear
scarlet billows start to spread.
Fancy gloves, though, wears Macheath, dear
so there’s not a trace of red.
On the sidewalk Sunday morning
lies a body oozin’ life.
Someone’s sneakin’ ’round the corner
is the someone Mack the Knife?
From a tugboat by the river
a cement bag’s dropin’ down.
The cement’s just for the weight, dear
bet you Mack, he’s back in town.
Louie Miller disappeared dear
after drawing out his cash;
And Macheath spends like a sailor
did our boy do somethin’ rash?
Sukey Tawdry, Jenny Diver
Polly Peachum, Lucy Brown.
Oh, the line forms on the right, dears
now that Macky’s back in town. |
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| (no subject) |
[May. 29th, 2007|06:16 pm] |
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I just had my first "did I break a hundred thousand dollar piece of equipment" scare at work today--fortunately, all is well and nothing was damaged. When accidentally flooding a chamber with gas, Argon is about as benign as you can get. |
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| And the grades are in |
[May. 18th, 2007|11:02 am] |
Things are so monotonous this semester.
2nd semester Quantum Mechanics: A
Intermediate Electrodynamics: A
Potpourri (Discrete Mathematics): A
Jazz Combo: A
Research: A
Russian: Pass (Probably a B+, but I don't really care)
Like Nat, I'll probably elaborate more on things later, but right now there is coffee to be had and people to visit. I got home last night, met our new cat (who's a slut for attention) saw Christy, and otherwise decompressed after 2 days in the car. |
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| (no subject) |
[May. 3rd, 2007|01:27 am] |
Finals and the rest
Russian exam and journals -- Done before finals week began
Math final and final problem set -- Final went well, problem set mostly finished (one part where I basically had to say "I know this is the answer, proving it I cannot do")
Electrodynamics final -- Wheee...
Quantum final -- Done done done!
Research summary -- So very done.
Preparing Visa stuff
Try and fenagle more financial aid from Rice to help with study abroad and next year -- Whoopee
See people before they leave -- In progress
Perform for Hanszen graduation party (will require plenty of practice with our new bass player)
Sell furniture
Move out
And "general advice" [slightly paraphrased] from our ED prof on the exam:
"Eat well and exercise. Brush your teeth after meals and remember to floss."
And a quote by Garrison Kellior. Well done Dr. Chan, well done. |
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| And on the subject of scholarships |
[Apr. 25th, 2007|04:25 pm] |
I just won the Bonner Book Prize for outstanding work as a physics junior. About $300 to purchase physics books--among the books I'm interested in:
Feynman Lectures
Bracewell's book on Fourier Analysis
Linus Pauling "General Chemistry"
R. Shankar "Principles of Quantum Mechanics"
--Aramis, any other suggestions on good books to get?
-----------------------------------------------------------
My fellow physics students are holding a going away party in my honor--this warms my heart to no end. |
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| More study abroad things |
[Apr. 23rd, 2007|02:39 pm] |
I just got all the acceptance materials in the mail today, so it's time to start sorting out things like visas and the like.
Secondly, I just got one of the Rice Study Abroad scholarships--$1,000 (which was about the level of all the various scholarships), which pretty much covers my plane ticket there.
And finally--Aaron will be in Cairo and I've got a place to visit over Christmas while abroad, so travel plans are all working out well. |
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 13th, 2007|12:17 am] |
I'm getting the impression that I simultaneously do too much and too little:
Things I do:
-(Music) Direct musicals
-Play in two (somewhat) different jazz combos
-Have big impressive gigs for OFJ
-Play Klezmer and Irish accordion
-See many wonderful student plays and performances
-Apperantly rock the house in all things Electrodynamics and Quantum
-I'm not kidding about the rocking here
-Get a reasonable amount of sleep
-Manage to actually get some reasonable exercise now
-Stage manage a drag show
-Play piano for two acts in the drag show
-Maintain some degree of contact with a number of friends back home
-Get a bit of reading in
-Cook amazing dinners
-Chug for Will Rice
Things I fail to do:
-Co-author 5 papers (I was just reading the list of people who are applying for big scholarships like the Rhodes and feeling insufficent)
-Come to think of it, any effective research
-Come to think of it, look up said fellowships and apply for some myself
-Court professors for really nice letters of recommendation
-Enough math homework
-Not suck as Russian
-Cook enough for myself that I'm not constantly wasting money on smoothies and mediocre pita and hummus at the campus store
-Win the hearts and minds of the study abroad people reviewing my application for BSM (although there is still a hope)
-Have a healthy and active social (and other such related things) life here at Rice
-Like relationships--how long has it been now?
-Practice piano and accordion as much as I really should--w.r.t. classical, Irish/Klezmer, and being able to do some good Latin Jazz piano rhythms
-Be as politically active as I want to be
-Figure out what the hell I want to do with myself
-Get peoples' names right |
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