This is my funny story of the day.
It is getting a little cooler and Mark is working outside, so he asked me if we had an appropriately manly scarf he could wear to work. (He didn't think my eyelash multi-colored tassly one was appropriate.)
I checked a few places and remembered this big box in the closet marked "seasonal clothes."
It had a garbage bag full of coats on top. Underneath... all my favorite cute clothes that I haven't been able to find since we moved (a year ago) that I thought were lost forever. We're talking a major landslide of really, really cute (and not inexpensive) clothes, including my souvenir shirt from Holland and some tan "tilt" cords. It's like finding something you thought you'd never see again. In fact, it's exactly like that.
Mark never got his scarf. And there was nothing in the magical box for him.
11.20.2005
11.19.2005
Book Of The Week
I just finished reading The Joy of Pi by David Blatner and it really lived up to its name. It was so fun to read. Blatner cleverly compiled every interesting fact, joke, puzzle, poem, cartoon and side note having anything to do with π.
One example: 2π times the diameter of an elephants foot = the height of the elephant. (I want to know who figured this one out, and how.)
One example: 2π times the diameter of an elephants foot = the height of the elephant. (I want to know who figured this one out, and how.)
11.14.2005
A Shot in the Arm
I got my vaccinations for our trip today. Basically, I'd rather get typhoid fever than get another typhoid vaccination. That's all I can say... considering I only have the use of one arm.
11.10.2005
Meticulous Details
I have realized lately that every daunting task is really just a seemly infinite series of small and ordinary tasks.
I really don't like filing, so it stacks up. But, it is such an easy little task. If I just filed it instead of throwing it in the "to file" pile... this terrible task would never get the best of me.
I just took a differential equations exam for which this observation is most true. Every problem taking so long to complete, and none of the steps difficult to keep your attention from slipping. I actually caught myself writing 1 times 1 is 2.
It seems like people with OCD should be the overacheivers in this world. (Or, maybe they are?)
I hate saying "everything's going good" but, that is really the sum of things at the moment. It's crunch time.
A limits law of the universe:
patience ~ time/tasks. As tasks goes to infinity, patience approaches 0.
I really don't like filing, so it stacks up. But, it is such an easy little task. If I just filed it instead of throwing it in the "to file" pile... this terrible task would never get the best of me.
I just took a differential equations exam for which this observation is most true. Every problem taking so long to complete, and none of the steps difficult to keep your attention from slipping. I actually caught myself writing 1 times 1 is 2.
It seems like people with OCD should be the overacheivers in this world. (Or, maybe they are?)
I hate saying "everything's going good" but, that is really the sum of things at the moment. It's crunch time.
A limits law of the universe:
patience ~ time/tasks. As tasks goes to infinity, patience approaches 0.
11.06.2005
December Schedule
Here is my schedule for the first couple of weeks of December for those of you who need to plan around me:
T 6 last day of class
R 8 Final for Differential Equations 7:40 am
F 9 Final Presentations for Math History 7:40 am
Su 11 off work
M 12 Final for History of Native People 6:40 pm / off work
T 13 Final for Probabilities 10:00 am
R 15 Off work – Set up / Prep (all-hands welcome)
F 16 9:00 Breakfast meeting with helpers (you know who you are)
10:00 Hair (all family members welcome to join)
1:00 Seating
1:30 Ceremony begins
Pictures (just until the food is ready)
Early Dinner
S 17 Flight for Costa Rica Leaves midday
M 18 Pick up car, La Paz waterfall for lunch, Drive to La Fortuna for two days where we plan to hike Arenal Volcano, relax in hot mineral pools heated by the volcano, explore the hanging bridges in the rain forest canopy, class III river rafting, and if we have the energy, windsurfing lessons.
W 19 Drive to Manuel Antonio. Three days of relaxing by the beach/Hike nearby National Rain Forest Preserve if we feel like it.
Fri 23 Monteverde Cloud forest.
Sa 24 return car by 10 am. Explore San Jose city.
Su 25 Return flight arrives midday - Christmas
T 27 Return to work
Only 5 weeks to go!
T 6 last day of class
R 8 Final for Differential Equations 7:40 am
F 9 Final Presentations for Math History 7:40 am
Su 11 off work
M 12 Final for History of Native People 6:40 pm / off work
T 13 Final for Probabilities 10:00 am
R 15 Off work – Set up / Prep (all-hands welcome)
F 16 9:00 Breakfast meeting with helpers (you know who you are)
10:00 Hair (all family members welcome to join)
1:00 Seating
1:30 Ceremony begins
Pictures (just until the food is ready)
Early Dinner
S 17 Flight for Costa Rica Leaves midday
M 18 Pick up car, La Paz waterfall for lunch, Drive to La Fortuna for two days where we plan to hike Arenal Volcano, relax in hot mineral pools heated by the volcano, explore the hanging bridges in the rain forest canopy, class III river rafting, and if we have the energy, windsurfing lessons.
W 19 Drive to Manuel Antonio. Three days of relaxing by the beach/Hike nearby National Rain Forest Preserve if we feel like it.
Fri 23 Monteverde Cloud forest.
Sa 24 return car by 10 am. Explore San Jose city.
Su 25 Return flight arrives midday - Christmas
T 27 Return to work
Only 5 weeks to go!
11.02.2005
A Good Job
This brilliant mathematician, Charles Something-Or-Other, innovated the math on electricity. So, Thomas Edison offered him a job at GE. He said he would take the job if instead of a set salary, GE would just pay whatever bills he sent them. And they agreed.
Imagine, just buy a house, send the bill.
Buy a Mercedes, send the bill.
Now that's the negotiating advantage of being brilliant.
Imagine, just buy a house, send the bill.
Buy a Mercedes, send the bill.
Now that's the negotiating advantage of being brilliant.
10.31.2005
Am I too old for this?
I am cutting out of class early to go trick-or-treating. I'm going as a princess this year. Last year, I was a courtesan... so I'm moving up in the universe.
I am not having any candy, though. I decided to be healthy leading up to the wedding, since I have enough to worry about without my body feeling crappy...
Good thing I love salad. What princess doesn't?
I am not having any candy, though. I decided to be healthy leading up to the wedding, since I have enough to worry about without my body feeling crappy...
Good thing I love salad. What princess doesn't?
10.28.2005
Square-ty Plants
I plant a plant every year on the anniversary of Dad's death, and every year, without fail, the plants quickly dies. This year is no exception. The leaves on the rose Evan and I put in just over a month ago are already turning brown. Irony?
Maybe I should just plant perennials.
Maybe I should just plant perennials.
10.12.2005
10.08.2005
Puzzling
I have started a new daily ritual. Instead of "relaxing" while I drink my morning coffee, I've been doing a logic puzzle. Afterward, when I tackle my homework, my mind seems to be more alert and functional. My recent favorite is a new kind of puzzle called Sudoku. Try it and you'll be hooked. ASU also has a puzzle of the week which is pretty fun.
If you want to be a millionaire, just solve a Millennium Problem. There are 7 one-million dollar prizes available.
Another all time favorite learning game is TextTwist.
Have fun!
If you want to be a millionaire, just solve a Millennium Problem. There are 7 one-million dollar prizes available.
Another all time favorite learning game is TextTwist.
Have fun!
10.06.2005
Two to much too coincidental
So, I had two math classes today on two totally unrelated fields/topics with two very different teachers, who within 20 minutes of each other randomly went off onto their own storytelling tangent and completely coincidentally told exactly the same story.
The story was interesting, but so was the fact that Math professors must not have too many interesting stories to tell. They're plagerizing each other's best stuff.
So the story goes, that this kid (true story) is some kind of amazing genius, but gets himself into a social situation so he has to be in a duel. He knows he's going to lose, so he spends all night writing down all of his genius Math stuff, gives it to his friend to give to Gauss, who he thinks might be smart enough to understand it. Then he dies the next day in his early twenties. The stuff he wrote down is an entire field of Mathematics (ha ha - Field theory.) And he's one of the most famous dudes in Math. (He wrote down a bunch of other stuff, apparently that gets him noted, at least today, in more than one discipline as a father of the stuff.
Someone in my class cracked that by using his last night to record his discoveries, he studied for the wrong exam.
Speaking of exams, can you hear the deep sigh of momentary relief?
The story was interesting, but so was the fact that Math professors must not have too many interesting stories to tell. They're plagerizing each other's best stuff.
So the story goes, that this kid (true story) is some kind of amazing genius, but gets himself into a social situation so he has to be in a duel. He knows he's going to lose, so he spends all night writing down all of his genius Math stuff, gives it to his friend to give to Gauss, who he thinks might be smart enough to understand it. Then he dies the next day in his early twenties. The stuff he wrote down is an entire field of Mathematics (ha ha - Field theory.) And he's one of the most famous dudes in Math. (He wrote down a bunch of other stuff, apparently that gets him noted, at least today, in more than one discipline as a father of the stuff.
Someone in my class cracked that by using his last night to record his discoveries, he studied for the wrong exam.
Speaking of exams, can you hear the deep sigh of momentary relief?
9.29.2005
Math-ter of my Domain.
I mailed our wedding invites yesterday. It felt like I was doing something momentous that I should take a cheesy picture of me slipping them through the mail slot. Until I realized that I forgot to put on the pretty return address stickers I bought. Oh well. We have the lease for a year. I'll still get to use them.
If you don't see an invitation soon, you're probably not invited. Don't take it personally. We're only inviting 24 people. Everyone else just gets an announcement. Call me if you want to come and weren't invited and maybe you can persuade me. (Maybe it was an honest mistake that I didn't think you would want to come or want to make you feel obligated. But keep in mind, it's a really small event in a really small venue. -- However, there were three people I would've invited if I had addresses for them.)
We're well along with the wedding stuff. We have our caterer, attire, flowers, rental equipment, vendors, invites, decorations, celebrant, honeymoon reservations, and rings. We still have to sew up the details on music, alterations, replacing lost passports, and those kinds of last minute things. Otherwise, it came together pretty easily.
School is going really splendedly. I love having to coordinate this many things in my brain. I have a lot going on.
If you are in my DQ class, we're having a open invitation study session on Sunday 2pm in the Nobel Library to prep for Exam II.
My Math History teacher said that early philosophers named the math theories and formulas so that you could swear at them in particular instead of just cursing the entire subject. Pretty clever idea, I think....
We're just going on and on and on about the baffling properties of the Fibbinacci numbers. Very weird stuff happens. The relationship is like this: F = 1 + 1/F. Isn't that mysterious? It also has a lot to do with constructing pentagrams. Maybe that's why some people associate science and witchcraft (paganism.)
I also learned that the Pythagorean Society (secret society symbol: pentagram) collectively murdered a guy for revealing that square root of two was irrational. It gives a new meaning to the cut-throat culture of academia.
If you don't see an invitation soon, you're probably not invited. Don't take it personally. We're only inviting 24 people. Everyone else just gets an announcement. Call me if you want to come and weren't invited and maybe you can persuade me. (Maybe it was an honest mistake that I didn't think you would want to come or want to make you feel obligated. But keep in mind, it's a really small event in a really small venue. -- However, there were three people I would've invited if I had addresses for them.)
We're well along with the wedding stuff. We have our caterer, attire, flowers, rental equipment, vendors, invites, decorations, celebrant, honeymoon reservations, and rings. We still have to sew up the details on music, alterations, replacing lost passports, and those kinds of last minute things. Otherwise, it came together pretty easily.
School is going really splendedly. I love having to coordinate this many things in my brain. I have a lot going on.
If you are in my DQ class, we're having a open invitation study session on Sunday 2pm in the Nobel Library to prep for Exam II.
My Math History teacher said that early philosophers named the math theories and formulas so that you could swear at them in particular instead of just cursing the entire subject. Pretty clever idea, I think....
We're just going on and on and on about the baffling properties of the Fibbinacci numbers. Very weird stuff happens. The relationship is like this: F = 1 + 1/F. Isn't that mysterious? It also has a lot to do with constructing pentagrams. Maybe that's why some people associate science and witchcraft (paganism.)
I also learned that the Pythagorean Society (secret society symbol: pentagram) collectively murdered a guy for revealing that square root of two was irrational. It gives a new meaning to the cut-throat culture of academia.
9.28.2005
Typing Math Stuff in Word
I don't know how I never figured this out before, but you can type in symbolic math notation in Word (and I use an older version.) I've always wanted to type nice fractions that actually stack on top. Now I can and so can you. Here's how you do it:
Go to "Insert" from the pull-downs and select "object," then from the "create new" menu, "Microsoft Equation Editor 3.0." From there, you will get a massive menu of options that is not to hard to figure out. There are shortcuts (I kept accidentally making an integral.) To get the object to act like any other character in your text, right click on it and select "format object" and under the tab "position," uncheck the box marked "float over text."
It takes a while to get used to but make very beautiful notes or typed homework assignments.
Go to "Insert" from the pull-downs and select "object," then from the "create new" menu, "Microsoft Equation Editor 3.0." From there, you will get a massive menu of options that is not to hard to figure out. There are shortcuts (I kept accidentally making an integral.) To get the object to act like any other character in your text, right click on it and select "format object" and under the tab "position," uncheck the box marked "float over text."
It takes a while to get used to but make very beautiful notes or typed homework assignments.
9.08.2005
I Heart Los Angeles
So, for the first time in history, I celebrated Labor Day NOT at work. We found out on Thursday that we both had the three day weekend off... so we wisked ourselves off to Los Angeles. We stayed in a very nice hotel. We met the bf's family for dinner - take out from my fave place there, ZanKou. It's middle eastern food. Yum.
On Sunday we woke up super early and had a big day. Farmer's Market, Breakfast at a Hollywood Blvd cafe, book collecting at some specialty shops, Melrose for some fashionable clothes for me - hit a flea market for more. Off to the beach, lunch in Santa Monica. To the hotel to rest a bit... then to a play with a few recognizable stars leading (We saw "Dead End" at the Almanson Theatre) and walked around the area. We ate pizza for dinner in our hotel room and then caught up with the bf's family again - they also had a big day at Magic Mountain.
Monday we lounged around, went out to eat and then went to the largest music store in the West to get some great finds (I got a collection of Django Reinhardt and we discovered an experimental group called Muslim Gause... check it out if you can find it. The CD we got is called "Sufiq" and it is amazing.) We had a private screening of some film school reels and some extra home footage that was very fun to see for the first time. And then, sadly, it was time for the drive home.
It was Europe-league fun.
On Sunday we woke up super early and had a big day. Farmer's Market, Breakfast at a Hollywood Blvd cafe, book collecting at some specialty shops, Melrose for some fashionable clothes for me - hit a flea market for more. Off to the beach, lunch in Santa Monica. To the hotel to rest a bit... then to a play with a few recognizable stars leading (We saw "Dead End" at the Almanson Theatre) and walked around the area. We ate pizza for dinner in our hotel room and then caught up with the bf's family again - they also had a big day at Magic Mountain.
Monday we lounged around, went out to eat and then went to the largest music store in the West to get some great finds (I got a collection of Django Reinhardt and we discovered an experimental group called Muslim Gause... check it out if you can find it. The CD we got is called "Sufiq" and it is amazing.) We had a private screening of some film school reels and some extra home footage that was very fun to see for the first time. And then, sadly, it was time for the drive home.
It was Europe-league fun.
8.23.2005
Summer's Over
Last night - at roughly 9pm, I took off my ill-fitting shoes and walked barefoot for a fateful five minutes. As a result, I have huge burn blisters all over the bottom of my feet. So, make no mistake, summer is still here in Arizona. I'm walking very carefully. Bad timing, since I have to walk nearly a mile to get from the parking lot to class (one way) and I guess I should be grateful that I'm not doing it barefeet in 5 feet of snow, but at least that wouldn't hurt as bad.
On the other hand, I've sampled all of my classes and I am very excited for the semester. It is going to be a real serious challenge, but I am relieved to think that it's nothing I can't handle! (And don't let me kid myself - I love to challenge myself.)
On the other hand, I've sampled all of my classes and I am very excited for the semester. It is going to be a real serious challenge, but I am relieved to think that it's nothing I can't handle! (And don't let me kid myself - I love to challenge myself.)
8.14.2005
Marriage
When I hear news that someone is pregnant, the question that pops into my head is "am I supposed to be happy for them, or sad?" That's bad, but not all pregnancies are greeted with equal anticipation and, technically, this could be bad news.
Likewise with marriage. Since I've been divorced, I know that all marriages are also not greeted with equal anticipation because some are made in such bad judgement at the time that when I hear the news, the question that pops into my head is "I wonder how long this one's going to last." It's sad, but the national average on marriage longevity and the "it's just not working out" mentality justify the thought. Most engaged couples are carried away by romance and have unrealistic expectations anyway.
Knowing this, it is still irritating when people ask me "are you still getting married?" I guess people either don't expect an engagement to last more than six weeks or expect me to come to my senses and decide that the lending my eight year relationship the cultural credibility of marriage is a bad idea afterall. And when someone who hasn't talked to me in a while asks, "are you still with that same boyfriend?" it reinforces our expectation for failure. What happened to our society? Why are we so cynical? Why is it a social anomaly that both our parents were never divorced? What happened to making an effort?
Likewise with marriage. Since I've been divorced, I know that all marriages are also not greeted with equal anticipation because some are made in such bad judgement at the time that when I hear the news, the question that pops into my head is "I wonder how long this one's going to last." It's sad, but the national average on marriage longevity and the "it's just not working out" mentality justify the thought. Most engaged couples are carried away by romance and have unrealistic expectations anyway.
Knowing this, it is still irritating when people ask me "are you still getting married?" I guess people either don't expect an engagement to last more than six weeks or expect me to come to my senses and decide that the lending my eight year relationship the cultural credibility of marriage is a bad idea afterall. And when someone who hasn't talked to me in a while asks, "are you still with that same boyfriend?" it reinforces our expectation for failure. What happened to our society? Why are we so cynical? Why is it a social anomaly that both our parents were never divorced? What happened to making an effort?
8.13.2005
From Discovery to Invention to Discovery
My journey with math has traversed a richly textured landscape of emotion: from the highest highs of discovery to the lowest lows of invention… I struggle with the question: "if we make up math as we go to fit the conditional desirability of the result, is the coincidence of getting that result elegant?" Today, I feel like the roller coaster has swept me up into the mysterious beauty of the world of math once again. The answer today is "Of course the result is elegant! It reflects the beautiful world we are desperately trying to describe – and so, our approximation of this world lends beauty to the math world." It is not pure invention, in the sense that we define math to reflect the actual world we live in. I am reading "The Math Gene" by Keith Devlin. I am finding it to be inspiring, motivational, and recommend it as a simple read for anyone who doesn’t like or feels they don’t have an aptitude for math. It makes the relevancy of all the arbitrary notions of math apparent.
I like what Devlin says about the invention/discovery debate. He points out the fact that two people on different sides of the planet can come up with basically the same idea in much the same way at roughly the same time... If Shakespeare had not lived, no one else could have written "Hamlet." But, it is likely that eventually we would end up with the same mathematical ideas regardless of Euclid or any other "great inventor."
I wish I had read it prior to taking "Math Structures." Because, I didn’t know what I was supposed to be learning until the end of the class when I "figured out" what math was (and how it has nothing in particular to do with manipulating numbers and notation at all.)
I like what Devlin says about the invention/discovery debate. He points out the fact that two people on different sides of the planet can come up with basically the same idea in much the same way at roughly the same time... If Shakespeare had not lived, no one else could have written "Hamlet." But, it is likely that eventually we would end up with the same mathematical ideas regardless of Euclid or any other "great inventor."
I wish I had read it prior to taking "Math Structures." Because, I didn’t know what I was supposed to be learning until the end of the class when I "figured out" what math was (and how it has nothing in particular to do with manipulating numbers and notation at all.)
7.29.2005
Franz Kafka
"I stand on the end platform of the tram and am completely unsure of my footing in this world, in this town, in my family. Not even casually could I indicate any claims that I might rightly advance in any direction. I have not even any defense to offer for standing on this platform, holding on to this strap, letting myself be carried along by this tram, nor for the people who give way to the tram or walk quietly along or stand gazing into shop windows. Nobody asks me to put up a defense, indeed, but that is irrelevant."
7.13.2005
Kaizen
I learned a cool word.
Kaizen: The Japanese term that means continuous improvement, taken from words 'Kai' means continuous and 'zen' means improvement.
The same japanese word Kaizen is pronounced as 'Gai San' in chinese meaning : The action to correct.
~
The principle is to apply kaizen in miniscule doses on something you've tried unsuccessfully to correct in big ways in the past.
I am feeling some noticable differences by doing this. Particularly with my eating. I just decided to only eat while seated at the kitchen table, and only foods that take my personal time (not the microwave) to prepare. So, I reduce my desire to snack unnecessarily, since I am fundamentally too lazy to prepare something if I'm not genuinely needing to eat.
I've added lots of little things since I started and it's pretty cool.
On the wedding front, I got all the decorations and flowers set up. There are only a few things left to do, but they are all pretty time consumingly major.... Food, renting stuff, registry, and announcements.
I have four weeks until school drops back in. I can't wait to flex my brain again. I've had a great time turning it into a sponge with novels and projects, but it likes the challenge.
Kaizen: The Japanese term that means continuous improvement, taken from words 'Kai' means continuous and 'zen' means improvement.
The same japanese word Kaizen is pronounced as 'Gai San' in chinese meaning : The action to correct.
~
The principle is to apply kaizen in miniscule doses on something you've tried unsuccessfully to correct in big ways in the past.
I am feeling some noticable differences by doing this. Particularly with my eating. I just decided to only eat while seated at the kitchen table, and only foods that take my personal time (not the microwave) to prepare. So, I reduce my desire to snack unnecessarily, since I am fundamentally too lazy to prepare something if I'm not genuinely needing to eat.
I've added lots of little things since I started and it's pretty cool.
On the wedding front, I got all the decorations and flowers set up. There are only a few things left to do, but they are all pretty time consumingly major.... Food, renting stuff, registry, and announcements.
I have four weeks until school drops back in. I can't wait to flex my brain again. I've had a great time turning it into a sponge with novels and projects, but it likes the challenge.
7.03.2005
Back to Work
I got my certification just in time to ruin my fine vacation I was having and I started back up Tuesday night. I've been spending time over at Jennifer's since Mark and Scott got back from LA so that we can all enjoy each other and I come home only to sleep. We've been firing up the grill every night and really relaxing.
I still would rather be in Utah, but at least I only missed a week of work, so figuring out the money won't be as complicated.
I found all of my accessories except my slip and jewelry for the Big Day. If any of you has a balldress slip (the kind that add volumn with tulle, not bone hoop) or jewelry I could borrow, let me know.
I still would rather be in Utah, but at least I only missed a week of work, so figuring out the money won't be as complicated.
I found all of my accessories except my slip and jewelry for the Big Day. If any of you has a balldress slip (the kind that add volumn with tulle, not bone hoop) or jewelry I could borrow, let me know.
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