Friday 21Jun19 - Interviews and Dances
Friday at last! I came early today, around 7:45 am. It's so nice to arrive here early, beating the morning rush and the heat, and having the lab to myself for a bit. It's quiet. I can make noise, talk out loud, do all the things a person normally does when alone. It makes being here more pleasurable. An additional perk to coming in early is that I can leave early with a clear conscience. While everyone else is burning out around 3:30 pm, a natural energy slump in the circadian rhythm, I'm cheerily out the door. The other scholars in the program probably resent that a bit. Early bird, worm, etc.
Last night I went two-stepping at a local spot called The White Horse. I had been there once before with my friend Allie (who lives here in Austin), the last time I visited, and I've been there nearly every free evening since I got here weekend before last. Free dance lesson and open social afterward, four bands in the lineup on a Thursday night, and reasonably priced drinks, all within a half-hour by public transit. Incredible. Tonight a group of us are going to Austin's Queer Prom at the Public Library. I've been told the library is a wonderful space, and that any visit to Austin isn't complete without seeing it. So pleased that we're here for Pride month.
Today I hope to meet with Rebecca Larson for lunch, and get on track to start research, provided we have the data and resources needed to begin. After only two weeks of time spent learning to program, I have the skills necessary. We'll see. I'll likely walk right into a brick wall with a confident smile. But I'm told that's the nature of research: one is always out of their depth.
Rebecca interviewed me last week, and sent me her writeup of the questions and answers for review. That's the first thing on my plate today. Dr. Micaela Bagley sent out some challenging Python problems yesterday with the invitation to try to solve them as a learning exercise. That will be my next goal. Today should be fairly easy if nothing unexpected comes up.
The UT library here is available to us, and so I've checked out a biography on Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. One of the things he's renowned for is his distinct and expressive writing style, in which he claimed to have emulated Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, and Henry James. I will slowly begin to study these authors in hopes of becoming an effective science writer like him.
Here's an excerpt from Rebecca and my interview:
Last night I went two-stepping at a local spot called The White Horse. I had been there once before with my friend Allie (who lives here in Austin), the last time I visited, and I've been there nearly every free evening since I got here weekend before last. Free dance lesson and open social afterward, four bands in the lineup on a Thursday night, and reasonably priced drinks, all within a half-hour by public transit. Incredible. Tonight a group of us are going to Austin's Queer Prom at the Public Library. I've been told the library is a wonderful space, and that any visit to Austin isn't complete without seeing it. So pleased that we're here for Pride month.
Today I hope to meet with Rebecca Larson for lunch, and get on track to start research, provided we have the data and resources needed to begin. After only two weeks of time spent learning to program, I have the skills necessary. We'll see. I'll likely walk right into a brick wall with a confident smile. But I'm told that's the nature of research: one is always out of their depth.
Rebecca interviewed me last week, and sent me her writeup of the questions and answers for review. That's the first thing on my plate today. Dr. Micaela Bagley sent out some challenging Python problems yesterday with the invitation to try to solve them as a learning exercise. That will be my next goal. Today should be fairly easy if nothing unexpected comes up.
The UT library here is available to us, and so I've checked out a biography on Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. One of the things he's renowned for is his distinct and expressive writing style, in which he claimed to have emulated Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, and Henry James. I will slowly begin to study these authors in hopes of becoming an effective science writer like him.
Here's an excerpt from Rebecca and my interview:
R: What advice would you give to other students (high-school students, new undergrads) wanting to follow similar academic and career paths?
B: Don’t do something that you’re good at; do something that you’re bad at. Go out of your way to fail, and learn from it. Do something that makes you uncomfortable.
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