Qualifying Exam: Ha!
November 27, 2005
So I haven't posted on my blog in like 3 or 4 months, or whatever, but it's not like anyone reads it anyways :-)
Well, right now I am basically studying hard for my Ph.D. Qualifying Exam. I have to produce a 50 page or so report, and accompanying presentation detailing how I have identified a worthy research problem to tackle, how the problem hasn't really been addressed by existing literature, and how I plan to solve the problem within the next 12 months. Piece of cake, right?
AWWWW hell no. What does it translate into in terms of work for me? Well, to start with:
So, of course, as you can tell, I'm pretty stressed out :-) However, the good news is, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is here. I sat there with the rest of the nerds on Thursday night, November 17th, at 11:59 p.m. I got to hear great things standing outside with Lisa, such as "wow.....pppffffhhhh....the expelliarmus spell is such a weak spell....man, how does it stop avada kedavra (ed. the "killing curse" in the potter books)?", and "....oooh, don't try levicorpus, that spell is just way tooo advanced for you, you need more practice...". I kid you not. There were kids outside the theatre in their Hogwarts robes flying around, saying this crap. And wow, I thought I was a Harry Potter nerd! :-)
Oh well, I'll try and post more often, but if I don't, you all will understand why hopefully...
Well, right now I am basically studying hard for my Ph.D. Qualifying Exam. I have to produce a 50 page or so report, and accompanying presentation detailing how I have identified a worthy research problem to tackle, how the problem hasn't really been addressed by existing literature, and how I plan to solve the problem within the next 12 months. Piece of cake, right?
AWWWW hell no. What does it translate into in terms of work for me? Well, to start with:
- Working on a 4 page paper describing my proposed thesis in a nutshell
- Scrambling to write the 50 page report inbetween my 2 full time jobs at JPL
- Trying to still enjoy spending time with wife in my spare time
So, of course, as you can tell, I'm pretty stressed out :-) However, the good news is, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is here. I sat there with the rest of the nerds on Thursday night, November 17th, at 11:59 p.m. I got to hear great things standing outside with Lisa, such as "wow.....pppffffhhhh....the expelliarmus spell is such a weak spell....man, how does it stop avada kedavra (ed. the "killing curse" in the potter books)?", and "....oooh, don't try levicorpus, that spell is just way tooo advanced for you, you need more practice...". I kid you not. There were kids outside the theatre in their Hogwarts robes flying around, saying this crap. And wow, I thought I was a Harry Potter nerd! :-)
Oh well, I'll try and post more often, but if I don't, you all will understand why hopefully...