Thoughts in the Hypnagogia state!!

This was something which hit me when I was in the half state of sleep and wakefulness (hypnagogia, wiki says)!! Don't we all experience some handicappness at one point in our life?! Let's say for me, I wear glasses and when I occassionally forget to, everything seems so blurred and it's so frustrating but there is nothing I can do about it! I am visually challenged at that time and that helps me to relate with people who are born with this defect. To a small extent I agree. I know at the end of the day I can go back and wear my glasses and then it will all be over. But.... :(
Another instance is when I am with people who speak a different language than me, isn't that how a deaf/dumb person feels all the time! And the irony here is that, even though they might/might not know the language they cannot speak. Also they never get to feel the relief I do when I am back in familiar territories.!
I don't know what I am trying to say with all this but it was like a wakening to me!! Just felt like sharing it! :)

A visit to the astronomy tower

It was by sheer luck that I ended up at the UCF Astronomy tower one night. To be perfectly honest I wasn't exactly very enthusiastic about the visit. It had been a long day and I was ready to go home and hit the bed. However, as chance had it I ended up at the UCF Astronomy tower around 9 pm. There were 3 small telescopes and one large one. The large one was awesome, totally computer operated. There was this nerdy, good looking kid who explained us about the stuff. He showed us some kinda nebula (I am not even sure I am spelling it right). I think it's some kinda thing when a star is about to die. The 3 smaller telescopes focused on Saturn, Pleaides (7 star cluster) and the nebula. We could actually see the Saturn with all it's rings. It was so awesome to actually see something which I have only read about, or seen pictures, on television etc etc. It actually seems much more real now. The Pleaides was very beautiful, it's actually a cluster of 7 stars. It was gorgeous, like fireworks glittering in the sky. This was an amazing experience and one I would revisit again and again!!

Will it be Donkey or Eeyore?!

With the qualifying exams approaching soon (in less than 3 hours :P) I decided to write a pre and post blog about the whole exam!! The qualifying exam is the most stupid thing to have ever been invented in the history of PhD. For the less fortunate ( or should I say more fortunate ;)) this is a 2 day 4 hour exam each taken after atleast 2 years of course study. Some students who pursue PhD in the same school as Master's are lucky (sarcasm dipping heavily) enough to be able to take it maybe an year from the beginning of their PhD. But they do have the advantage of being familiar with the teachers' and their way of teaching and problem setting techniques. That's the most important  thing for these exams!! Sigh. Anyways so UCF has various branches and I chose the Mechanical stream. I often wonder too, why not Aerospace track. Well it didn't help that the Aerospace track has the wierdest control subjects, none of which I have ever heard of. Okay maybe that's a lil exaggerated but still it has nothing to do with aero and that was a risk I wasn't gonna go with. Psst a birdie told me that the next year's qualifiers might actually have some related Aero subjects. Well I hope I dont get to take that anyways. I really want to get it right this time. I can't say I have prepared awesomely well, but I think I can survive unless they give a toughie! So yea since I am a huge donkey fan, I would know by the end of this day, if it's an Eeyore (sad/depressed donkey from Winnie the Pooh) or the Shrek Donkey. Good luck to me.

Obie!! - a new addition to the family!

TATOO!!!

This is the tattoo which I got recently. My first and the last. It's a dove and a heart, technically signifying love and peace. I am not gonna lie to you, it was painful. Took about 30 mins, got it done by this lady in an Orlando tattoo parlor. she was nice and very sweet knowing that it was my first but she (oh my gosh) was emblazoned with sooo many tattoos, it was freaking unbelievable. Got it done the day before my birthday! Many were and still are pretty surprised that I had actually got a tattoo but I really don't see it as a big deal. It was a fun experience and I don't think it makes me a rebel by getting one! I am lucky to have parents who were totally cool with it. Mom was just a little concerned about the safety of the ink and all that but otherwise she was cool. Dad just said your wish. Anna was envious that i got it before him! Boo!

This is the shop's myspace page. pretty cool store.!

http://www.myspace.com/chromelotusorlando

Facebook!!!!

FACEBOOK!!! I am still not sure why I am actually writing a note about facebook! But it's become such an integral part of my life that I need to talk about it! Oh forget the horse shit, I am freakishly addicted to it!! I go on facebook like a zillion times a day! Status updates, likes dislikes, comments, photos, videos etc etc! It is an amazing network which keeps you hooked on for hours altogether. And then I go back and regret all the time I wasted on that. Sigh.. As an experiment, with quals comin up in 15 days, I decided to go off "the social network" until exam time. I surprisingly lasted for 2 days which I actually consider a personal achievement! :)
It's the greatest invention according to me and one that is gonna stay!! 

Doctor of Philosophy!!

I can't believe I am actually doing a PhD!!! Truthfully speaking I was never the nerdy one! I mean I can learn and remember stuff. But was I good in studies? Not really!! Am I ready to take what this is offering me? I am not sure yet!! It's a huge challenge and more than once I have thought of quitting it! I mean what do I lose really? I did get some experience teaching, public speaking blah blah!  Who am I kidding?! I suck at teaching! That's a career which has totally gone down the drain!! That is a different story altogether!! Someday I will talk about that :( But sometimes PhD is kinda cool too. I mean really you get to learn and specialize about something of your own interest! And the PhD comics you get to read and feel the "hey I know what they are talking about" is an added bonus too! ;) This is an awesome website and has some of the coolest comic strips. 

I have a pretty decent advisor Thank the Lord. She is pretty cool and laid back. But the one drawback is that being the only doctorate student kinda sucks sometimes. You end up doing a lot of stuff which has nothing related to your thesis or anything else at all! And me being a teeny weeny bit (:D) of a pushover, it can be a pain sometimes. But at the end I think it's all worth it, when you walk down the aisle and get the doctorate degree, i don't think anything will ever beat it!! 

I would like to end this is with an awesome excerpt I read online! 

All the effort is worth it (believe it or not)

Experience from Ph.D. thesis research is unique. You have learned how to do research. Future research is going to be more interesting because you will know how to do it, so you will have more freedom and fun.

Almost all leaders in research have this experience. You will have confidence in your research ability. You will look at things differently than people who did not go through this process. It is very clear that Ph.D. thesis research is still the best way we know of in developing powerful researchers.

In summary, it is the best investment for becoming a successful researcher

These are some of the articles and blogs that have inspired and got me going through my 2 year course! 

http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~htk/thesis.htm#10

http://malenel.wordpress.com/

http://youngfemalescientist.blogspot.com/

Cartooning my favorites

Sometime ago when I had a lot of free time in my hand, (that's actually a nice way to put it but actually I was just home doing nothing :D) I started dabbling with a little bit of art. I guess most people wouldn't really call it art just some random drawings but whatever!! I decided to start off with cartoons for the only reason that they are simple to draw. My biggest encouragers (is that even a word? hmmm) were my mom and my brother. Anna actually liked all the pictures on facebook and I was so touched. It really helped me work on more of those. Mom is like super good in all these stuff, she loves decorating etc etc all those girly stuff which I detest and more importantly she is a big PERFECTIONIST! When she actually told me they were good, it felt gooood (that is a google good!! :P)

This was my first drawing. It is of Dora the explorer. 

I was crazy about Shrek!! actually i am still!!Tried drawin him.. sigh dint work out that well. that's the biggest understatement of the year!! it was horrible, just an effort so i am gonna leave it here ;)

Calvin and Hobbes!! No words to explain!!! love the comic!!

Love Noddy and Big Ears by Enid Blyton!! My first favorite childhood author. I can read these books even now!! Timeless!! 

SONIC!!

Pacman!! unforgettable games on the videogame!! 

A recent favorite: FAMILY GUY, Stewie!! Love the unmistakable humor and sarcasm!

This was when AVATAR was released!! A cartoony version of the Na'vi girl! 

This reminds me of a lot of childhood memories!! Playing endless games of Super Mario in an antique video game piece!! :P

Pikachu!! I am not an anime fan, infact I detest it. But I love this character's name and how it looks!!

SNOOPY!! Grew up reading Charlie Brown stories!! Thanks Dad for introducing me to the world of books!!