It's 5:57 am now and the sun is already up.
I am going to bed....
Ciao bella!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
all-nighter
I can sense that I'll need to pull another all-nighter tomorrow (Wednesday) night. I have a homework due on Thursday (still working on it) and a project (haven't started any writing up at all). And I've planned to skip my other class tomorrow morning :) -- I just have no choice unfortunately.
Here's my sleeping history since last Friday:
Friday -- slept at Saturday 6 am to 10.20 am.
Saturday -- slept at Sunday 2.40 am to 8 am.
Sunday -- slept at 1 am on Monday to 6 am.
Monday -- slept at 5 am on Tuesday to 9.40 am.
Tuesday -- it is now Wednesday 3:36 am and there is no sign of sleeping yet =P.
Another bummer: I am fined by MIT libraries for two stuffs that I have returned last Monday. I'll definitely have to confront them first thing in the morning tomorrow.
Heaven helps!!
PS: Things can be worse... Nothing beats my sleepless days in high school haha. I sometimes wonder I was a wonder woman back then. I've also had days with much less sleep here....
Here's my sleeping history since last Friday:
Friday -- slept at Saturday 6 am to 10.20 am.
Saturday -- slept at Sunday 2.40 am to 8 am.
Sunday -- slept at 1 am on Monday to 6 am.
Monday -- slept at 5 am on Tuesday to 9.40 am.
Tuesday -- it is now Wednesday 3:36 am and there is no sign of sleeping yet =P.
Another bummer: I am fined by MIT libraries for two stuffs that I have returned last Monday. I'll definitely have to confront them first thing in the morning tomorrow.
Heaven helps!!
PS: Things can be worse... Nothing beats my sleepless days in high school haha. I sometimes wonder I was a wonder woman back then. I've also had days with much less sleep here....
Friday, April 25, 2008
Overheard
"Overheard at MIT" is a Facebook group gathering unusual things uttered randomly around the campus. They all happen in real conversation, thus "overheard." One example can be found here.
These are two conversations that I was in (I won't say which one is me):
First conversation
A: How do you make the peanut sauce for satay?
B: Oh, easy... just fry some chopped shallots, throw peanut butter in it, add water and stir until you get the right viscosity.
A: Oh, so... in other words, the taste is not that important but the Reynolds number is?
B: Well, kind of.
Second conversation
A: Your chocolate-coated strawberries were great!!
B: Thanks. Really, it's so easy to make.
A: What chocolate did you use?
B: Oh I just used Ghirardeli's dark chocolate.
A: You double-boil it?
B: Yes.
A: Did you add any milk/cream in it?
B: You can, but I didn't.
A: How long did you do it?
B: Well, you know... you have to adjust the heat, keep stirring to maintain... umm...
A: the consistency?
B: Yeah, exactly. I couldn't find a better word.
These are two conversations that I was in (I won't say which one is me):
First conversation
A: How do you make the peanut sauce for satay?
B: Oh, easy... just fry some chopped shallots, throw peanut butter in it, add water and stir until you get the right viscosity.
A: Oh, so... in other words, the taste is not that important but the Reynolds number is?
B: Well, kind of.
Second conversation
A: Your chocolate-coated strawberries were great!!
B: Thanks. Really, it's so easy to make.
A: What chocolate did you use?
B: Oh I just used Ghirardeli's dark chocolate.
A: You double-boil it?
B: Yes.
A: Did you add any milk/cream in it?
B: You can, but I didn't.
A: How long did you do it?
B: Well, you know... you have to adjust the heat, keep stirring to maintain... umm...
A: the consistency?
B: Yeah, exactly. I couldn't find a better word.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
so sleepy...
I slept less than 3 hours last nigt. Needless to say, I am so sleepy now (it's 8:18 pm and I am still in office). I am just constantly overwhelmed with the amount of work that I need to do, this is maddening.
Today's lecture was so damn boring (especially because it was done by video conferencing). Hmmpph hope to sleep early tonight.
*a hammer thumping from inside my head*
Today's lecture was so damn boring (especially because it was done by video conferencing). Hmmpph hope to sleep early tonight.
*a hammer thumping from inside my head*
time to sleep
It's already 4:11 am and time to sleep :).
Let's see what I've read: multiobjective optimization, isopermance, and a bit of pressure vessel. Well, OK... time for my eyes to have their long overdue rest.
I ate ice cream *sluurp*: Cold Stone's coffee lovers (I added rootbeer too), awesome!!
See ya!
Let's see what I've read: multiobjective optimization, isopermance, and a bit of pressure vessel. Well, OK... time for my eyes to have their long overdue rest.
I ate ice cream *sluurp*: Cold Stone's coffee lovers (I added rootbeer too), awesome!!
See ya!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
agenda for tonight
It is a rare occurrence that I am home before midnight :). In fact I was back pretty early: 8 pm. I had my dinner: raisin bagel with blueberry cream cheese -- but that was NOT all (it won't suffice). I'd like to spread the 'excitement': cheese peas (my friend's creative invention), ice cream (with root beer), or Thai tea. Yummy :).
I had nothing to do with my desktop computer tonight (read: no massive simulation or optimization to run). Instead, tonight will be a reading frenzy nigth. So I decided to do that at home (taking the risk that I'll get lazier in my comfort zone).
So, my reading agenda for tonight consists of: multiobjective optimization, isoperformance, kriging, pressure vessel, radial basis function.... hopefully that's all. Not exciting at all.
I'll update you again by how much I'd have done just before I go to bed :). Hopefully I'll remember. I can assure you that I won't finish them all. Luckily I've read (soft) kriging and radial basis function partially in school. So I can skip them.
Have a great day!
I had nothing to do with my desktop computer tonight (read: no massive simulation or optimization to run). Instead, tonight will be a reading frenzy nigth. So I decided to do that at home (taking the risk that I'll get lazier in my comfort zone).
So, my reading agenda for tonight consists of: multiobjective optimization, isoperformance, kriging, pressure vessel, radial basis function.... hopefully that's all. Not exciting at all.
I'll update you again by how much I'd have done just before I go to bed :). Hopefully I'll remember. I can assure you that I won't finish them all. Luckily I've read (soft) kriging and radial basis function partially in school. So I can skip them.
Have a great day!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Lingua
Blackboard (with its variant: greenboard or, less frequently found, whiteboard) is among a few of main 'staples' at MIT :).
Rumor has it that there is one male toilet that has a blackboard in front of each 'male urination thingy.' My friend actually found it, took a picture of it, and realized that there were actually worked numbers on the board *geleng-geleng kepala*.
We also have one in our tiny (but has window) office.
So I started "A word a day" some times before Spring break. Obviously, it stopped when Spring break was over. I prepared multiple columns: English, Hindi, Korean, Austrian, Indonesian, Chinese, French, and Spanish. From "how are you" to "uncertainty analysis" :). I filled up the English, Indonesian, French, and a bit of Chinese (I still remember some characters, you know).
Today (after we almost forgot about the table), B (French) came to our office and was amused with the table. He looked at the French column and started complaining "Oh, this is SO obvious that there are only girls in this office, no guys. The word for "pretty" is only the feminine one and for "ugly" is the masculine one." I only wrote "belle/jolie" for pretty and "laid" for ugly. Now: "belle/jolie & beau/joli" and "laid & laide."
Hahahhahaha I honestly didn't realized that.
Another story: remember when I mentioned that I stayed in office until 6.40 am... I wasn't alone that evening, my leggy friend Sonja was also there. She left earlier though, at 3.40 am. We were working on a project report and her homework (I'd finished mine that time). After some time, we started speaking in Indonesian and German to each other, but surprisingly we still talked :).
Time to sleep now... Tomorrow must wake up early (and I am really sleepy now).
Rumor has it that there is one male toilet that has a blackboard in front of each 'male urination thingy.' My friend actually found it, took a picture of it, and realized that there were actually worked numbers on the board *geleng-geleng kepala*.
We also have one in our tiny (but has window) office.
So I started "A word a day" some times before Spring break. Obviously, it stopped when Spring break was over. I prepared multiple columns: English, Hindi, Korean, Austrian, Indonesian, Chinese, French, and Spanish. From "how are you" to "uncertainty analysis" :). I filled up the English, Indonesian, French, and a bit of Chinese (I still remember some characters, you know).
Today (after we almost forgot about the table), B (French) came to our office and was amused with the table. He looked at the French column and started complaining "Oh, this is SO obvious that there are only girls in this office, no guys. The word for "pretty" is only the feminine one and for "ugly" is the masculine one." I only wrote "belle/jolie" for pretty and "laid" for ugly. Now: "belle/jolie & beau/joli" and "laid & laide."
Hahahhahaha I honestly didn't realized that.
Another story: remember when I mentioned that I stayed in office until 6.40 am... I wasn't alone that evening, my leggy friend Sonja was also there. She left earlier though, at 3.40 am. We were working on a project report and her homework (I'd finished mine that time). After some time, we started speaking in Indonesian and German to each other, but surprisingly we still talked :).
Time to sleep now... Tomorrow must wake up early (and I am really sleepy now).
Hello World
Wow, more than two months.
LOTS of things have happened in my few months here, and I am still in one piece :). That's a good news.
Doing PhD at MIT is MUCH more intensive than my Master days last year. The pressure is higher (esp. now that I am funded by the professor), the deadlines are tighter, the work is much much more, the stress is maddening, the meeting is endless, my sleep requirement is getting less and less (now a 4-hour sleep is enough, compared to the usual 6-hour). I get too used to sleep less now that I always wake up after 4-5 hours of sleep even in weekend when I really want to sleep longer.
At the same time, there's a fun factor of being here. And you start learning to appreciate simple things in love, for example:
1) a half-hour nap on a Sunday afternoon is a TOTAL bliss, and it will actually enhance your efficiency and 'workability,' seriously =). This happened on the last day of Spring break. My other two team mates just came back from their respective holidays (Florida and Austria) so we arranged to meet on Sunday, 2 pm. I didn't sleep enough the previous night, but I still went straight to office after mass (it ended at 11-ish, including the coffee & donut session =P). I felt so lethargic so I decided to go back to my room at 1 pm after finishing one report. I had a short nap and was already back in office just in time for the meeting. Trust me, that half-hour was a total bliss (I woke up wondering what made me feel SO happy and refreshed---it's the nap). I was ready to work long-hour again afterwards, just like an Energizer bunny.
2) having a freshly washed hair in the morning can lift up your mood :). I used to wash my hair every evening. One day, I reached my room at 7 am (yes, pulled an all-nighter in office) so I just brushed my teeth, washing my face and feet, and went straight to bed. I woke up just in time to do the final editing of the report :), take a shower, and dash to class. So I washed my hair that 'morning', went to class with my semi-wet hair let down (it almost never happens): spreading a gentle waft of Dove's cucumber and green tea scent---it simply made my day!!
So now I wash my hair in the morning and go to school (sometimes) letting my hair down---enjoying the breeze playing around with my hair, and (especially) the scent. Then I reached my office and have my ponytail again (I can't work with my hair down).
I have this very fine type of hair: they ALWAYS fall back into place after any kinds of turbulence... within seconds. Haha it's the envy of some of my friends so sometimes I do it on purpose by creating a self-made turbulence, shake my head gently a few times (kayak iklan sampo tapi ini beneran) and they are as good as newly washed and combed hair :).
I never knew before how much I like my hair :)
LOTS of things have happened in my few months here, and I am still in one piece :). That's a good news.
Doing PhD at MIT is MUCH more intensive than my Master days last year. The pressure is higher (esp. now that I am funded by the professor), the deadlines are tighter, the work is much much more, the stress is maddening, the meeting is endless, my sleep requirement is getting less and less (now a 4-hour sleep is enough, compared to the usual 6-hour). I get too used to sleep less now that I always wake up after 4-5 hours of sleep even in weekend when I really want to sleep longer.
At the same time, there's a fun factor of being here. And you start learning to appreciate simple things in love, for example:
1) a half-hour nap on a Sunday afternoon is a TOTAL bliss, and it will actually enhance your efficiency and 'workability,' seriously =). This happened on the last day of Spring break. My other two team mates just came back from their respective holidays (Florida and Austria) so we arranged to meet on Sunday, 2 pm. I didn't sleep enough the previous night, but I still went straight to office after mass (it ended at 11-ish, including the coffee & donut session =P). I felt so lethargic so I decided to go back to my room at 1 pm after finishing one report. I had a short nap and was already back in office just in time for the meeting. Trust me, that half-hour was a total bliss (I woke up wondering what made me feel SO happy and refreshed---it's the nap). I was ready to work long-hour again afterwards, just like an Energizer bunny.
2) having a freshly washed hair in the morning can lift up your mood :). I used to wash my hair every evening. One day, I reached my room at 7 am (yes, pulled an all-nighter in office) so I just brushed my teeth, washing my face and feet, and went straight to bed. I woke up just in time to do the final editing of the report :), take a shower, and dash to class. So I washed my hair that 'morning', went to class with my semi-wet hair let down (it almost never happens): spreading a gentle waft of Dove's cucumber and green tea scent---it simply made my day!!
So now I wash my hair in the morning and go to school (sometimes) letting my hair down---enjoying the breeze playing around with my hair, and (especially) the scent. Then I reached my office and have my ponytail again (I can't work with my hair down).
I have this very fine type of hair: they ALWAYS fall back into place after any kinds of turbulence... within seconds. Haha it's the envy of some of my friends so sometimes I do it on purpose by creating a self-made turbulence, shake my head gently a few times (kayak iklan sampo tapi ini beneran) and they are as good as newly washed and combed hair :).
I never knew before how much I like my hair :)
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