The Hills Are Burning

My home city is Los Angeles, CA and I am not at all happy about the fire that is going on in the Angeles National Forest. As I post this, 21,000 acres have burned and thousands of homes are threatened. I could rant about the wisdom (or lack of it) in building homes on the hillsides, but I won't. I could rant about the lack of a controlled burn program in the Angeles National Forest (ANF), but I won't.

Mt. Wilson is a mountain in the ANF at an elevation of 5,700 ft. From the top, you can see most of the Los Angeles metropolitan area to the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island. The Mt. Wilson Observatory has a 150 ft. solar tower with a TowerCam. The link is here. The fire is getting very close to Mt. Wilson, so I'm not sure how much longer this TowerCam will be operational. It is kind of interesting to look at.

This Is My World

I was working on my job application today in the building where our program study room is located. I had to take a break, so I went outside and took this picture. This is what it looked like outside the back door of the building. It was just starting to drizzle.


Then I had to go back inside and continue on with the application. This is what I had to look at.

I guess I wasn't standing straight.

The Pressure Is On

The summer semester is over and I have only one more semester to go before I graduate. So the rush to get everything done in time has begun. I have to complete registration for the fall, which involves filling out paperwork for internships, filling out a degree application, turning in my final program of study, making sure my graduate records are accurate, turning in my paperwork for the remaining competency finals, and studying for the finals. During the fall semester, I will also be presenting at 2 seminars, and taking 3 internships which total to 40 hours of work per week. How I am going to manage all this, I do not know.

To add to everything, I have to look for a job. I have already been looking and just saw tonight that a position with my favorite government agency has come open. It is located in my home state! It is in a city that is about 115 miles from my home city. Best of all, the pay is very good!!! I have to apply. The deadline to apply is Monday, Aug. 17. So I have one week and I'm sure it will be a very hectic one for me. These particular positions do not come open very often. The scientists that occupy these positions are so happy in them, that they stay until they are way past retirement age. So the only time this type of position comes up is when someone finally retires. The competition is fierce and there is no guarantee that I will even get to the interview stage.

I have to wonder whether it is wise for me to pursue this position when I have so much that has to be accomplished to graduate in December. But like I mentioned above, these positions do not come open very often and I don't know when another one will open up. Another reason in favor of applying now is that several faculty at the university have told me that I needed to be looking for this position title in my government job searches, because I am very skilled in this particular area. Or so they say. I don't quite know how that happened. I did not try to be skilled in that area, it just came naturally, I guess.

So, a busy week ahead for me here, but I just don't think I can pass up the opportunity to apply.

Life Is Good

It has been a while since I have posted anything, so I just wanted to provide an update. I am working full-time (two part-time jobs) and am enjoying it. I feel like I’m still on vacation. When I worked full time before going back to grad school, it did not feel like a vacation to me, but now full-time does. That is an indication of the intensity and difficulty of the graduate program that I am in. However, things are going to start speeding up for me. I have not started studying yet for the remaining three finals, but I have to start very soon. I have started preparing a presentation for a seminar that I have to give on September 17 and I am working on a lab notebook that is due next week. Yup, it’s going to start getting busy again and the pressure of deadlines will help me to start studying again.

Life feels good because in addition to being on "vacation", the financial aid office came through for me after I had given up on them. I got the phone number and email of my financial aid advisor and before giving up, I had called him a few times and sent a couple of emails. He always responded. Even though I was mad, I was very nice to him. So one day I got a big surprise! He emailed me and told me that he was going to combine the amount that I should have gotten for Summer 1 with the increased amount that I had petitioned to get for Summer 2. I quickly emailed my thanks and thoughts of gratitude to him. Soon afterward, I received the full amount of my student loan for the summer. Life is indeed good!

Vacation Is Over

Ever since I completed the First Competency Final that I took on June 23, I have been working on increasing my laziness percentage. On Facebook, I took the 'How Lazy Are You' quiz and my result was 32% lazy. Although I have been working part-time in the mornings, I have spent my afternoons and weekends just reading novels and listening to music. Last night I'm sure I increased my laziness percentage considerably when I was thirsty and chose to get an unopened water bottle from my backpack which was 6 feet away from where I was sitting reading, instead of walking 25 feet into the kitchen to get a glass and fill it with water.

However, my time for relaxation is over. Tomorrow, I start working a second part-time job, so I will be working a full 40 hours a week. I will be getting internship credits for both of my part-time jobs. I also have to start studying for the rest of my finals. I will be taking 3 finals during the fall semester and I have to pass them. The financial aid office approved for me to receive aid only for the summer and fall semesters and that's it. I can't afford to be in school without financial aid. So, the pressure is on. I have to pass the finals and I have to graduate in December. I will start studying this afternoon and will study every night after work.

War/No More Trouble

A few months ago my friend Makita posted this on her blog. I like it so much that I am posting it here.



For more info go to Playing For Change.

Nine Reasons to Celebrate America

In honor of America's Independence Day, BBC News has posted an article on nine inventions unique to America. They are as follows:

1. Air conditioning

2. Ice cubes

3. Valet parking

4. Aviation

5. Chewing gum

6. Cracker Jack

7. American cheese

8. Metal detector

9. Space pen

To read more go to BBC News Nine Reasons to Celebrate America.