day one

Today was my first day as a graduate student. The math diagnostic test this morning was not so hot. Then again, some of it was there just to see if people knew what to do with it. I wasn't about to solve a PDE or a Fourier transform. I knew Vincent had to leave early, so I waited for him and left at the same time. I told him later it's like how herds form so predators can't pick weak individuals off.

Quote from lunchtime:
KC: "I wish I had a $65M yacht like [celebrity]. It has 12 bedrooms, a helicopter, a 24' fishing boat attached to the back and it can go 32,000 miles on a tank of gas."
Lisa: "You're in the wrong business then. Try being a porn star."
KC: "Porn stars probably don't make as much as you'd think."
Me: "Somewhere, there's a porn star saying, 'If you want that yacht, you're in the wrong business. You should be a physicist.' You know, someone in...porn grad school."

No quantum or E&M today. My TA seminar looks iffy. I don't want to get into touchy-feely teaching philosophy stuff, I just want to teach. My badminton class is pretty hardcore. The teacher was talking about how she had some badminton scholarship to Oregon State once, and she brought the captain of the badminton club, and went on and on very seriously about badminton. I'm like, it's badminton. We did get to practice a bit today, it was fun, everybody worked up quite a sweat.

My communication class looked like it was going to be painful. We had to arrange our desks in a circle, and they want lots of participation. However the class seems like it will be fun. Everyone in that class is a PSM - the first time I'd seen that many in one place. As such, the class is going to deal with things we actually care about. I don't remember off the top of my head but it sounded worthwhile. The teacher knows this class is required, but doesn't want it to be a waste of time. It was pretty easy to jump in and join the discussion. Some of the activities look like they are going to be a pain in the ass, but I will probably do them happily (or at least without complaint). The teacher ended class by showing a clip from Raiders of the Lost Ark. That's like a million bonus points right there.

Tomorrow I have...nothing. Next week I have two labs on Tuesday, but they haven't started yet. I have a bad headache and I'm tired so I'm calling it a night.