just now leaving the office

ok, friday was a very boring day as you may remember. but 20 minutes before i was planning to leave the office on friday, i got all the parts that i had been waiting on. somehow, i got the bright idea to stay and work on some things instead of leaving as i had prepared to. BIG MISTAKE. of course, i got stumped and could not get something to work, and anybody that knows me, knows that it is like pulling teeth to get me to leave in the middle of something. ESPECIALLY, if it is something that i am having a problem figuring out. to make a long story short, i left the office on friday at about 10 after 6 pm instead of at 4 pm. ok, fast forward to today. it's 10 minutes to 9 pm, and i am just leaving the office. and to think, today started off so well. i got to the office early this morning and was able to solve the problem that stumped me on friday. as i am cruising along, i begin to think of some things that i may need to incorporate into my project. i write down all of these ideas, and for most, i come up with solutions. i am cruising along just fine. then, about noon, i run into a brick wall. and, if you haven't figured it out already, i am just now leaving the office and STILL have not figured out a solution. not a very happy camper right now, but i am out of ideas at the moment. it is pointless for me to stay longer and keep going in circles. the WRONG circles at that. to top it all off, i am starving.

nothing exciting today

the title of this post speaks for itself. i really cannot think of anythiing interesting to write. i think i could have been more productive had i stayed in bed today. i did not read any papers, although i had two printed and ready to read. i just really did not feel like reading papers today. i did go pick up some lecture slides (compilers, optimizing compilers, and comparative architectures) from the undergraduate student administration office. i skimmed these and began an in-depth perusal of one. monday starts another week.

a boring day turned positive

after coming into the office today with hopes of receiving some parts i had placed an order for, i was quickly disappointed to see that no such parts had arrived. the only thing i had today was read more papers. if you think reading the papers is boring, try having to search for the right papers and THEN read them. yes, the internet makes this process SOOOOO much easier, but it is hard to get out of bed each day and come to the office to just use the internet to find papers to read. i can do this in my room. before the wonderful days of the world wide web, this process must have been brutal if not deathly slow. anyway, i found some interesting papers and began reading like a good phd student. to my surprise, the last paper that i read today was right along with some ideas i have for my research. it turns out that the paper gave me a lot more ideas and ways to implement them. not only did i get ideas from the paper, but it also lifted my spirits and gave me some motivation to keep reading. i guess i should be glad that my parts did not come in today, or else, i would not have found this paper.

impromptu demo day

we are having a visitor in the lab today, so we have an impromptu demo day to show off some things/research we are working on here in the lab these days. we'll see if the visitor makes his way around to my desk. a couple of the older students in my office have AWESOME work to show. my stuff is not too spectacular yet, but one day i'll be there.

thoughts on top of thoughts

today, i have been juggling ideas in my head about my phd research topic and my current short-range location project. i have been writing them down, and i am hoping at least one or two ideas actually formalize into potential brilliant ideas. it is just one of those cases where you hope for the best but dont get your hopes up to high. today, the paper reading and project testing continue. at this stage, i am beginning to become more optimistic as to the usefulness of the project. i am keeping my fingers crossed.

tired, exhausted, drained, and sore

basketball practice this weekend was crucial. of course, not having played any since early december did not help the situation. we only had 8 people at most at practice fri, sat, and sunday so the drills were even more intense because there were so few people in the lines. ok, back to business. i am trying to write out what i want to do for my phd (a draft of my first-year report) and what i have done this far this year. it is not anything too formal. i just wanted to have something in writing so i can begin to discuss my interets with different individuals and get as much insight nd feedback as possible. you have so many ideas in your head, but when it comes time to commit to paper, it is hard to find the words to accurately describe the millions of ideas floating around upstaris. hopefully, this exercise will better prepare me to write my report and outline my phd work for the next 2 or 3 years.

an unusually sunny day in cambridge

after a late night at the club, i slept in this morning until i was woken up by a very unfamiliar occurrence here in cambridge...........sunlight. i jumped on this opportunity as fast as i could and dashed out of the door with my camera in hand. the sun was definitely out, and i got some good pictures of a few places i have had my eye on. clear skies and the refreshing gleam on sunlight. this was a nice start to a friday. i guess i need to do some work now. all i have managed to do up to this point is take phots, upload them to my webpage, and write this blog (and check the time, i have wasted the whole day almost). i hope the weekend continues like this.

fun-filled day of reading papers

the title of this post decribes my day perfectly. not too exciting. reading, listening to music, and lattes. the weather seems to echo my excitement, so there is an infinite loop of gloom and boredom between the both of us. i have to make tomorrow better, or at least more exciting. hey, it will be friday.

a long hump day

this morning i envisioned getting an early start on my day, but i made the mistake of thinking it was cool to lay down for a bit longer. needless to say, i wound up getting out of bed an hour and a half later than i should have. ok, so you would think that getting up later would cause me to be in a hurry, right? not me, i decided that i would update my ipod with some songs i just got on my computer and to finish and fold my laundry before leaving. i had cereal to eat and left the house about 9:30 or 10 am. i made some good, not great, progress with my short-range location project i am working on before heading to basketball practice in the middle of the day. wierd, i know. i got back to the office at about 3 pm and read some papers. it has been such a crazy day that i almost forgot to write about it here.

i finally have an initial topic for my phd

i met with my advisor yesterday and he suggested a topic for my phd that i liked (won't go into detail about it yet because it is still in the works). i now have somewhere to narrowly begin searching for information and refining the topic into a phd title/these. Berkeley may still be an option too for an internship this summer. keep your fingers crossed and hold on tight. the real work begins now.

no MLK holiday here

in the office continuing my work. no MLK observance over here, but i needed to come in the office and get some work done anyway. i have an important meeting with my supervisor today as well as some paperwork to finish up. as far as my work goes, i am collecting some data on the short-range location system i am working on. no other news to report. things are still fairly boring around these parts, but hopefully, things will turn up this term.

and then there was a blog..........

yes, i should be doing some work, but i finished my latest project (i think). i am waiting on some replacement chips bc i burned up my last two by accident. anyway, i was updating my website and thought that a weB LOG ==> blog (for those that did not know where the term came from) would be a nice addition to my website as i continue my journey to phd land. i will try and keep things posted weekly, but i will not make any promises.