Thursday, August 31, 2006
The life of the graduate student..
..is quite fun. Especially when 7 to 10 of you spend 16 of the 24 hours of the day sitting next to each other in cubicle's, writing a sentence each day on the white board in your respective language(for cultural integration?)..the whiteboard, also used more often, and more usefully, for solving complex mathematical equations. Then one day after the mundane-ness of doing the above, you realize you need a change.
"How would it be if we stayed back in our cubicles?", "We could go for midnight walks/shopping on orchard road..", "the nerds idea of having fun..camping at their workstations!". But I think many of us are quite excited by that idea.
Even though I am younger or of same age as many undergrad students here, I have this feeling of superiority. I feel they are a frivolous bunch. Using Stephen's as the framework for all undergrad experiences, I feel Undergrads waste a lot of time. They are always busy with clubs(socs in Stephen's) and here there are more than 100 of them..from finess, to climbing to aerobics to rafting, to guitar etc etc etc. The fitness club was recruiting for operation and finance positions the other day. I was tempted. But I have no time.
Yesterday, I laughed so hard till my jaws painfully locked, when my singaporean friend took me through the intricacies of 'Singlish'. She said many PhD thesis had been written on the origin and evolution of the famous La.Shwetha currently is inthe process of creating a blog with the various Singlish terms we learn.
Math: the terror of my life! I was never bad at math, actually very good at it. But currently I am struggling with the overdose of it. but I love it, so given time, I should be fine. Economics is math+gas. For example this is how my lectures always go, "Consumption of individuals is determined by various pararmeters. If the saving rate goes up in the short run, what do you suppose will be the long run effect on comsumption. Assume examples(all very interesting)..but the important and fascinating question is how to you decide on how much you are going to consume?!"..I wait with bated breath.."You take the langrangian.."..Shit!Math oh Math. As is the life of a graduate student I must get back to a 185 page supplementary reading. think the camping at my cubicle will happen sooner than I had thought.
..is quite fun. Especially when 7 to 10 of you spend 16 of the 24 hours of the day sitting next to each other in cubicle's, writing a sentence each day on the white board in your respective language(for cultural integration?)..the whiteboard, also used more often, and more usefully, for solving complex mathematical equations. Then one day after the mundane-ness of doing the above, you realize you need a change.
"How would it be if we stayed back in our cubicles?", "We could go for midnight walks/shopping on orchard road..", "the nerds idea of having fun..camping at their workstations!". But I think many of us are quite excited by that idea.
Even though I am younger or of same age as many undergrad students here, I have this feeling of superiority. I feel they are a frivolous bunch. Using Stephen's as the framework for all undergrad experiences, I feel Undergrads waste a lot of time. They are always busy with clubs(socs in Stephen's) and here there are more than 100 of them..from finess, to climbing to aerobics to rafting, to guitar etc etc etc. The fitness club was recruiting for operation and finance positions the other day. I was tempted. But I have no time.
Yesterday, I laughed so hard till my jaws painfully locked, when my singaporean friend took me through the intricacies of 'Singlish'. She said many PhD thesis had been written on the origin and evolution of the famous La.Shwetha currently is inthe process of creating a blog with the various Singlish terms we learn.
Math: the terror of my life! I was never bad at math, actually very good at it. But currently I am struggling with the overdose of it. but I love it, so given time, I should be fine. Economics is math+gas. For example this is how my lectures always go, "Consumption of individuals is determined by various pararmeters. If the saving rate goes up in the short run, what do you suppose will be the long run effect on comsumption. Assume examples(all very interesting)..but the important and fascinating question is how to you decide on how much you are going to consume?!"..I wait with bated breath.."You take the langrangian.."..Shit!Math oh Math. As is the life of a graduate student I must get back to a 185 page supplementary reading. think the camping at my cubicle will happen sooner than I had thought.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
11:30pm: I'm just about to doze off after a tiring day, in my twin sharing room's bunker bed. My last roomate(a 16 year old girl from Indonesia) returned home a few days back, so I had the room all to myself. Suddenly I hear keys being turned, and I wonder If it's my neighbour. It's too loud, so somebody's trying to break into my room. I sit up a little panicked, and very curious. The door opens and lo-behold, there stands a chinese lady with a towel and toothbrush staring at me. I turn the lights on, and for the next ten minutes I am subject to something I couldn't make head or tail off. I caught words here and there, but in the end, managed a "Wo bu shi Zhonggua ren. Wo bu mingbai ni shuo shenma"..translated "I am NOT Chinese. I cannot understand what you are saying". More than trying to understand my plight, she assumed I was familiar with the gibberish she was throwing at me and continued merrily, probably telling me what a terrible day she'd had, but I managed to stop her a little later and said "ni dung wo, wo hoilai"..meaning "wait for me, I will return". Then I asked her if she was planning to stay in the room. She was very excited that I finally understood what she was getting at.
The reason I was so confused was coz I has booked my room for this friend of mine who was to move in, in a few days. So I went down to clarify, with the manager. After that was done, as I was returning to my room, I felt immense satisfaction, at having been able to communicate with the poor soul. I couldn't wait to get back at try out more of what I'd learn.
I went back and we settle on who sleep "shange and xiage"..up and down. She said something, but I asked her " Switch OFF?". She nodded enthusiastically "OFF!".
The reason I was so confused was coz I has booked my room for this friend of mine who was to move in, in a few days. So I went down to clarify, with the manager. After that was done, as I was returning to my room, I felt immense satisfaction, at having been able to communicate with the poor soul. I couldn't wait to get back at try out more of what I'd learn.
I went back and we settle on who sleep "shange and xiage"..up and down. She said something, but I asked her " Switch OFF?". She nodded enthusiastically "OFF!".
Monday, August 28, 2006
WTF is Workstation 9?!
Encouraged by the two comments and three views of my blog, by three friends close to me, I have decided to be regular with my blogging. Firstly, let me clarify, what "workstation 9" is..
It's my little private space, my world, where as a research scholar, I "will" at some point be doing some original research. Currently though I am exploring all the music I missed out on during the past two weeks. I have taken a fancy to a lot of the new alternative bands like the raconteurs, finger eleven, fort minor(I'm wary of this band cause it seems to have a little hip-hop influence..and i hate all things associated with hip-hop) etc.
Coming back to Ws-9, I find it fascinating, how often I have these preconcieved notions, which I am so convinced about. For example, I always thought, a cubicle would be the worst torture a person could be put through..akin to a prison. The boredom, the mundane nature of the work associated with a cubicle made me think that worker efficiency may suffer becoz of it. Now that I am in one, I realize, how efficient this thing is. Conserves space, provides you with required amount of privacy, and a set of head phones on your head implies an added amount of privacy.
Well atleast it's better than the 'alive and kickin' library this place has. It's actually considered cool here to go to the library, and when all the cool kids enter the library, library's are not cool anymore..think you get what I'm trying to get at. Basically, the place is too alive to be a library!
I got my medical test done the other day, and my BP came to 110/70. That's better than normal I think. I was fairly impressed.
Encouraged by the two comments and three views of my blog, by three friends close to me, I have decided to be regular with my blogging. Firstly, let me clarify, what "workstation 9" is..
It's my little private space, my world, where as a research scholar, I "will" at some point be doing some original research. Currently though I am exploring all the music I missed out on during the past two weeks. I have taken a fancy to a lot of the new alternative bands like the raconteurs, finger eleven, fort minor(I'm wary of this band cause it seems to have a little hip-hop influence..and i hate all things associated with hip-hop) etc.
Coming back to Ws-9, I find it fascinating, how often I have these preconcieved notions, which I am so convinced about. For example, I always thought, a cubicle would be the worst torture a person could be put through..akin to a prison. The boredom, the mundane nature of the work associated with a cubicle made me think that worker efficiency may suffer becoz of it. Now that I am in one, I realize, how efficient this thing is. Conserves space, provides you with required amount of privacy, and a set of head phones on your head implies an added amount of privacy.
Well atleast it's better than the 'alive and kickin' library this place has. It's actually considered cool here to go to the library, and when all the cool kids enter the library, library's are not cool anymore..think you get what I'm trying to get at. Basically, the place is too alive to be a library!
I got my medical test done the other day, and my BP came to 110/70. That's better than normal I think. I was fairly impressed.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
The curse of "can-can"!
Singapore, Singapore, the little city that was named after the delusionary sighting of a lion by a malay King on a hunting trip! "Singa"-pore! If I had to gender-alize, I would thin of it as a petit, hairless woman! "Hairless"?! I am sorry, but that is one thing I will keep harping on as long as I am in the company of Singaporeans(-Indians). Its so not fair that most southeast Asian women(and men) have no hair! Implying no waxing for life! I have been told that it's their obessive consumption of all things made of Soya(they even have soya softy's!) that has lead to towards this Eden of Blessedness! On the men, I am not so sure whether it's a good thing. Being born in a South Indian family, where the phrase "grow some hair" would translate to being more manly, I find it very difficult to get attracted to any hairless man.
The other thing that struck me is how healthy people here are. My lunch now consists of two yummy(no oil and crisp) vegetable dishes, rice and soya/fish. That implies, starch, vitamins and proteins everyday!! A big change from the largely cholestrol enhancing food I used to eat in Delhi.
Also, a lot of chinks work out every single day. Since boys have to compulsorily serve in the army for three years, it's not surprising to see six pack abs on everyone of them. As my friend put it " to keep up with their fit boyfriends, the girls also work out". In my fitness obsessed world, this place is heaven.
Now coming to the most amusing bit about Singapore..what's called as "Sing-lish". The Singaporean Accent is one of the cutest, at the same time most annoying, at the same time, most addictive of all accents. It even beats the mallu "braying" and [for "praying"]. You can master Singlish if you:
1) speak twice as fast as any normal person would
2) use the word "alight" to get of the bus/train/cab/your classroom seat
3) add "loa" to a word as and when you feel it has not been used in the last 5 words. To exemplify "What loa you say"?
4) Reply "can-can", when your answer to any question is afirmative. Or "no can" when negative.
5) And lastly, the not so subtle accent which can only be picked up after it is heard. Like "food court" will be pronounced "fudh caut"..and you have to say that very fast.
That's why most english speaking chinese seem to follow Indians rather than the English speaking singapore chinese.
I am afraid, that after making fun of them all the time, I am soon gonna start speaking like them. Please god save me!"Alright loaaa, I think I'll take leaveloaaa". Shit!!.
Singapore, Singapore, the little city that was named after the delusionary sighting of a lion by a malay King on a hunting trip! "Singa"-pore! If I had to gender-alize, I would thin of it as a petit, hairless woman! "Hairless"?! I am sorry, but that is one thing I will keep harping on as long as I am in the company of Singaporeans(-Indians). Its so not fair that most southeast Asian women(and men) have no hair! Implying no waxing for life! I have been told that it's their obessive consumption of all things made of Soya(they even have soya softy's!) that has lead to towards this Eden of Blessedness! On the men, I am not so sure whether it's a good thing. Being born in a South Indian family, where the phrase "grow some hair" would translate to being more manly, I find it very difficult to get attracted to any hairless man.
The other thing that struck me is how healthy people here are. My lunch now consists of two yummy(no oil and crisp) vegetable dishes, rice and soya/fish. That implies, starch, vitamins and proteins everyday!! A big change from the largely cholestrol enhancing food I used to eat in Delhi.
Also, a lot of chinks work out every single day. Since boys have to compulsorily serve in the army for three years, it's not surprising to see six pack abs on everyone of them. As my friend put it " to keep up with their fit boyfriends, the girls also work out". In my fitness obsessed world, this place is heaven.
Now coming to the most amusing bit about Singapore..what's called as "Sing-lish". The Singaporean Accent is one of the cutest, at the same time most annoying, at the same time, most addictive of all accents. It even beats the mallu "braying" and [for "praying"]. You can master Singlish if you:
1) speak twice as fast as any normal person would
2) use the word "alight" to get of the bus/train/cab/your classroom seat
3) add "loa" to a word as and when you feel it has not been used in the last 5 words. To exemplify "What loa you say"?
4) Reply "can-can", when your answer to any question is afirmative. Or "no can" when negative.
5) And lastly, the not so subtle accent which can only be picked up after it is heard. Like "food court" will be pronounced "fudh caut"..and you have to say that very fast.
That's why most english speaking chinese seem to follow Indians rather than the English speaking singapore chinese.
I am afraid, that after making fun of them all the time, I am soon gonna start speaking like them. Please god save me!"Alright loaaa, I think I'll take leaveloaaa". Shit!!.
