Deadlines

I love deadlines. Not just because of the whooshing sound they make as they fly by, but because they are the best incentives to get work done.

On the past few months I've been preparing for my quals, which should take place next month or so, and this has been my most efficient period as a PhD scholar ever since I started grad school. I accomplished more in three months than in the two previous years I've been working on my thesis.

Of course, there is a maturity component present. I wouldn't be able to write or to do research at all having skipped the time it took me to learn about the right programs, the right writing procedure, and of course, the physics. I guess I'm just starting to collect the first fruit of my labor and study since I started college. And that's very reassuring.

But, oh, I have so much to learn. I still feel very ignorant on group talks. I guess acknowledging that is also part of the process.

Well, let's get back to this presentation. I have to convince a board of professors that I'm worth staying on grad school.

On the geek side of life

And now for authentic (non) gibberish.

I made a resolution. From now on, I shall embrace my geek side, never to withhold my insightful commentaries or acidic responses from whomever I aim them to.

I came to this conclusion from a revelation I had while I was with at my girlfriend's place. She lifted a pan that was half filled with gelatine, holding it by one side. While carrying it to the fridge, which she asked me to open, she complained about it being too heavy.

Then I thought, "of course it's heavy. You're holding it by the empty side of the pan. The center of mass is far from your hand, so it becomes a very unefficient lever. The input effort has to be far higher. Thus the heavy pan. If you just held it from the full side..."

That's quite obvious, right? For a moment, I considered staying quiet and not making a fool of myself for saying such a pointless unremarkable observation. And then I remembered the Big Bang Theory marathon we had earlier that day. Several things appealed to me from those highly caricatural and archetypical characters, but nothing like their comments on each other's mishaps, which is what makes me curl up on the couch and laugh like i'm spitting out parts of my lung (which is exactly what has been happening lately because of this sore throat i've been caughing through for the last days).

It was an epiphany.

I figured, "what the hell?", and just said it. I explained to her why she should have picked it up from the heavy side. She answered, "yeah, I didn't realize it until I picked it up". It was beautiful.

Maybe years of second-guessing myself for acceptance among high school mediocre peers have actually jeopardized the development of my sense of humor all the way to grad school. But not anymore. Now I will embrace my geeky remarks and add another component to my (not so) social skills, now that I'm fortunate enough to have friends (and a girlfriend) who actually may develop them into a very rich and funny series of coffee house jokes.

Thank you, Sheldon.