Listening to:

The Tension and the Spark – Darren Hayes
05 – Dublin Sky

So, back in undergrad, so many months ago, I used to update this blog a lot. I don’t seem to have as much time now, but today, I shall endeavor to provide my dwindling, but loyal audience a little something to show my affection. Quotes from my beloved professors, of course.

On the importance of social norms:

When you’re walking down the street in New York and you come to a crosswalk and see a red light, what does it mean? Stop? NO! In Ohio, it means stop. A red light in New York doesn’t mean anything.

Why you should make your economic models simple:

The problem with very rich models is that it takes a lot of time to log-linearize them. There’s no computer software to do it automatically for you, so you have to do it yourself. Or, you can hire a research assistant to do it, but they might make typos.

That’s all for now. More to come as I prepare for midterms!

After an exciting weekend, I return to my desk with disappointment and dismay. I think there’s some unspoken rule that us poor grad students aren’t supposed to engage in any sort of fun activities. Schoolwork should obviously take up 110% of our time, and it does make every effort to do so. However, I did take time out of my very busy schedule to attend a New York Philharmonic performance, which, aside from the stuffy elitism of certain other members of the audience and an unfortunate rendezvous with a subway train that had “unrepairable mechanical problems,” turned out to be a nice experience. (I can always appreciate a Beethoven piano concerto, but can someone please teach me how to relate to some of this discordant post-modernist stuff?)

And… Perhaps if I’m not entirely dead by March, I’ll make time to see Darren Hayes play in New York. *sigh* I could make it a birthday present to myself… In the middle of the week. Yes, unlikely at this rate, but can’t a girl dream?

Now, back to my four problem sets for the week. The good news is, I love my Finance class. The bad news? The other classes, of course.

So, now that the term has revved up to full speed, I’ve managed to get sick. I have a horrible headache and a sore throat that wasn’t so bad when I woke up, but as I stepped into the sub-zero climate outside, I felt my good health (and all sensation in my head, hands, and feet) slipping away from me. Now 12 hours later, I feel so sad.

In other news, did you know that if you have a Boston mobile phone number, you can’t upgrade your phone in a New York-area shop? I went all the way to Flushing (which took about 3 hours, by the way. Long story!) only to be told that I need to go to Boston to upgrade my phone and service. Well, come to think of it, it would have only taken 4 hours to get to Boston, stupid MTA. But the moral of the story: Mobile phone companies are evil! And the New York subway hates me.