Archive for September, 2008
Well, it turns out that I did not pass the all-important test I took a couple weeks ago. What this means for me is that I can no longer continue in the mathematics Ph.D. program here at UCI. However, I’m in the process of petitioning the school to stay on campus until the end of the year to get my Master’s degree. From what I understand, most students are allowed to stay through the end of the year, so I’m not to worried about the appeal process. Unfortunately, failing the exam means I lost my department funding (which came in the form of a teaching assistantship and fee fellowship), and the university will not offer me any other financial support.
So, since I don’t have any funding but we still want to stay on campus, I’m currently looking for a way to pay for a year of school. This kind of responsibility is really making me feel independent and maybe a little worried, but I think that a lot of good can still come of this. Namely, I’m hoping to find a new job that will hopefully help me decide what I’d like to do for the rest of my life.
Irvine is a good place to be for someone with my background, because there are a lot of tech companies in the area: Google, Broadcom, Microsoft and Blizzard all have a major presence in Irvine. Hopefully, one of these places can provide me with a part-time job to at least sustain us for this year. And it would really put the icing on the cake if I were offered a job that I’ll enjoy.
Keep us in your thoughts.
Today I took an exam that will effectively determine my eligibility to remain in my Ph.D. program here at UCI. All I can say is that I hope I passed, but since completing the test my mind has been racing with possible scenarios and situations that may come up if I failed.
However, rather than listing them here, I’d rather not think about them. If I failed, perhaps I will revisit the subject. Otherwise, I will congratulate myself and continue this chapter of my life.
I bought a road bike last July, and since buying it I’ve been pretty happy. This year I mostly used it as transportation to and from school, but recently I’ve been riding it a lot more as a recreational/exercise activity. Irvine has a great network of bike paths, and I’ve had a ton of fun exploring areas of town that I wouldn’t normally see in a car. It is also extremely exhilarating to see how fast I can go down some of the hills around the area. Also, after a short morning ride (5-6 miles) I feel better throughout the day than I would if I got no exercise. On weekends it’s pretty fun to see how far I can go before I get too tired and have to turn around.
As far as upkeep goes, I haven’t taken care of it as much as I should have, but fortunately when you buy a bike from Performance they give you free tune-ups for the lifetime of the bike. As far as overall customer care goes, however, I would recommend other local bike shops over Performance, since Performance is such a large corporation. It often seems that they don’t really drive home the importance of good customer service to their employees.
Anyways, getting a bike was one of the better decisions I’ve made this year, so I recommend it to anyone and everyone.
