Parallel Universe

There are a lot of things I've had to get used to with starting a new school. New rules, new procedures, new thoughts, EVERYTHING. Today I learned something else new which honestly did shock and confuse me.

Lately, I've been looking up possible jobs that would interest me after I graduate. I considered the usual researcher, computer programmer..something I can actually see a result for and maybe possibly be applicable. (cross fingers dream job!)

I asked one of my fellow students what she was hoping to do after she graduate. Basically what do you want to be when you grow up! :D

(Image Provided by kcc_10)

Her answer was to get married. And...........

That was it!

I've never have really thought about the idea even though its probably becoming more obvious to me that some women just want to get married and then thats it. They will be married.

Well thats nice but then what?

(Image Provided by Favor Ideas)

And for that matter, what was even the point of getting a higher degree at all?
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Please don't tell me it was just to find a man..I think that would break my heart.
I don't know why finding out that some women are like this is like finding out there is no Santa Claus.
I guess because it makes me feel like all the work I've done so far could be pointless.

Holiday Cards!

I received a Thanksigiving card this year! I love getting holiday cards in the mail especially this one which was sooo cute! :D So I've thought about it and I want to make someone else feel special too so maybe I'll send out holiday cards this year. We'll see if that happens

My card from Miss Morals! (hehe because her last name is Morales..haha get it GET IT..oh whatever :P)

Me and Steph at the Rocky Mountains..hmm I miss these good times!

And this added bonus is from a hike I took with my dear dear sister..We must take more ;)

Ah Yummy (j/k)

Bad Habits

There are some things that I do often since starting college but probably more so now that I'm a graduate student.

No joke this is completely how I feel about sleeping in class. But I'm starting to think this might be biting me in the butt recently because teachers are starting to get upset. No clue why.

And this is just true. Logical and TRUE!

Pumpkins!

These will be the last pumpkins I swear! Ive been carving pumpkins for the last three weeks and these are my last two (at least for the season).

Alternating Series.

Every week feels very flip floppy. One week grad school is tolerable and other times its just not. Just like an alternating series that bounces between 1 and -1 and has no limit point.

A couple of weeks ago, I went pumpkin pickin with my sisters and mother. Some pictures (maybe a little too late) from Halloween/Homecoming celebrations.

The Geek's Date

Sorry sorry sorry. I haven't written in forever. From the countless complains of a certain sister I know its just been too long and I have a lot that has been on my mind but first of the events today!

I love phd comics. Most of the time, they are spot on with how grad school really is in particular to a certain woman in a mathematical program :D

So pretty much as suggested I was asked out by someone in my dept. This happens. I had it happen to me in undergrad and I'm sure it will happen again but what annoys me the most is the uncreativity that comes when someone from the dept asks me out. Its always quite logical or convinient but never ever does it have anything to really do with me. Its just the point of finding someone..anyone!

Luckily this time I was equiped with other woman in my dept who have been through this similar expierence before so all three of us went out with this one guy. If you date one of us, you are dating all of us! And it was quite amusing. Really I had a great time and i thought the whole thing was super funny. Unfortunately for the guy, I'm sure he didn't appreciate the backfire.

First of the First

Dear First Test,
Thank you for making me realize I have to study more. You were a lil discouraging at first but now I might have the hang of things.

Dear First Paycheck,
Thanks for coming a whole month late! But thanks for providing a wonderful lil trip to NYC, tons of shopping and endless eating out meals!

Dear First Weeks of Fall,
I'm sorry you have made things too cold but at least it means that there are only so many more weeks until Halloween. Best Holiday alive! and there are more oppurtunities for pumpkins, apple cider, and cute fall events.

Hello Floor

Thanks for breaking my fall..

I think I hit rock bottom.

(Image Provided by *mumblyjoe)

I wish there was a book that came with instructions on how to live your life and how to meet people that were good for you. These things have never been my strong suit but I was always good at math so I made sure to do the most I could with it to downplay what I'm missing. I'm missing a lot because I can't seem to find anything to make me happy anymore.

Soul Matrix: Ursino Park

I usually have most of Wednesdays off except for a lovely class on Linear Algebra at 8:30 am.

We discuss matrices and our professor likes to tell us that a matrix can capture the soul of a system of equations. With certain properties and operations we can learn more about the solution. This is about how poetic mathematicians get.

I have decided to try and capture the soul of something through matrices ever so often. This week is Ursino Park. Its a tiny almost unnoticeable park close to where I'm living at the moment.

4X2
-QED

Math Book Recipe

Some math books are set up as a cook book really. You have your ingrediants and you follow your steps and you are left with the end result.
Take my modeling class for instance.

How to Approximate a Non-Dimensionalized Ordinary Differential Equation
Ingrediants:
10-13 Pieces of Lined Paper
1 Scrap Notebook
1 Mechanical Pencil
1 Great Eraser
5-6 Wikipedia Pages
10-20 Different Properties and Trig Identities

Step 1: Brace yourself
Step 2: Get your scrap notebook, pencil, and eraser ready
Step 3: Look up all variables and units of variables. Wikipedia Baby! CHECK YOUR UNITS!
Step 4: Create non-dimensional parameters from the variables. Think carefully!
Step 5: Plug it into your ODE and initial conditions. Alright looking good!
Step 6: Approximate solution as a power series and throw that sucker in there. Does that look much better? I didn't think so.
Step 7: Time to solve instead of 1 now 3 different ordinary differential equations and also one is not homogeneous so its time to get out those trig identities. Fun.
Step 8: Write it all over again on that pretty lined paper! Be Neat!

End product: Several hours of your life wasted away as well as the several trees you just killed with the amount of paper used. But a job well done! Congrats. You get a cupcake! -Now interpret you solution. no joke. I'm serious.

(Image Provided by Anne-Marie)

Oh the Joys of HW!
-QED

Professors are Human too...

Today I was in the computer lab "working diligently" on Applied Mathematical Modeling when two professors came in. One was very forcefully explaining to an advisor why a certain student should not be permitted to take his course...again! All of a sudden the professor was cursing and evidently very upset about the situation. :O

It was quite amusing but personally, I have never seen a professor so angry before. I've seen them act sillier than most children but never angry. And I thought they were supposed to love us unconditionally :(

Please do not get your professors upset. They start to do things like this!

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(Image Provided by Tarelkin)

-QED

Blog Love

I love blogs. I love everything about blogs. I love the pictures in blogs, the stories, the great ideas! Here are a few that I enjoy reading.

http://taza-and-husband.blogspot.com/

http://playing-grown-up.blogspot.com/

http://courtneyskaleidoscope.blogspot.com/

(photo taken by me)

Its my guilty pleasure :D

-QED

When I knew math was the one...

I knew math was meant for me when I started drawing number cartoons in elementary school. Each number had a color and usually a silly story that only a little girl could come up with.

(drawn by me)

Now about 15 years later, its surprising how much of my life has to do with mathematics. I just graduated with a Bachelor's in Mathematics with minors in Computer Science and Art History and now I am a first year graduate student in Applied Mathematics, Phd Track. So far things have been interesting. Everything in one way or another relates to math. Not to say that this is going to be solely based on the subject that most despise. But that I hope this serves more of footprints left behind from a long journey. We'll see how it goes
-QED

09/09/09

Special things usually happen on the cubed days like take 8^3 (08/08/08): That was the day I left my research summer program at Colorado. And for those who do not know, CO changed everything.

And 7^3 (07/07/07): I was in Forever21 with my baby sister, Claudia, when I found a pink dress that was the last one perfect size. I wore it the Harry Potter Book 7 Release. Another good day.

Today nothing happened until now..

(image provided by Gosia)

Special things don't always happen unexpectedly. Sometimes you need to make special things happen.
-QED